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There are many differences between frogs and toads, but at first glance, they are alike. This is due to the fact that the toad is actually a kind of frog, but it is not considered as a real frog. Here, we will enumerate the similarities between the two species. Both species are amphibian and they have a very similar body structure. They share the same diet and they have the same predators. Finally, they both are born in water and they start their lives as tadpoles. We will now enumerate the features of the frog. The frog has long legs that facilitate the task when the time has come to swim and jump. Thanks to their webbed feet, they can swim much faster. We find some frog populations around the world except Antarctica. The frog mainly lives in the water or near a body of water. They lay their eggs directly into the water where they are protected by a thick gelatinous substance. The skin of the frog is smooth and shiny. It does not drink water directly from its mouth, but it absorbs it through the skin. The frog is a cold-blooded animal and must hibernate during the winter. There is a significant difference between male and female frog. You can tell the difference by looking at their eyes and ears. The male frog has ears that are the same size as their eyes while the female frog has much smaller ears than their eyes. The frog will hiss and croak. Finally, some species will have teeth. Here are the features of the toad. They have short back legs that they use for walking instead of swimming and jumping. They also have webbed feet. Toads do not live in Australia, Madagascar, Polynesia or in the polar regions. They breed and lay their eggs in the water and they live mainly on land. The toad has a rough skin and it will prefer to live in dry climates. They have a wide, flat body to appear much bigger. Some toads have a skin texture that can protect them against predators. They do not have teeth and they are not edible. CLANIMAL has listed for you the existing major differences between these two similar species yet, but which have a life quite different. Read more about the difference between frogs and toads.

https://clanimal.com/difference-between-frog-and-toad/

Welcome to a luxurious afternoon tea at Claridge’s, with a glass of champagne to make it an even more magical occasion. Served in the sparkling art deco Foyer & Reading Room, to the sounds of a musical ensemble, Claridge’s afternoon tea is a charming array of tasty finger sandwiches, scones served warm with jam and clotted cream, and freshly-baked sweet pastries, accompanied by your choice of 24 teas, sourced from small producers all over the world. We look forward to seeing you.

https://claridges.wearegifted.co.uk/champagne-afternoon-tea

Evan Clark Williams is an American computer programmer and Internet entrepreneur who has founded several Internet companies. Williams was previously chairman and CEO of Twitter, one of the top ten websites on the Internet. Jack Patrick Dorsey is an American computer programmer and Internet entrepreneur who is the co-founder and CEO of Twitter, an ... Medium is an online publishing platform developed by Evan Williams and launched in August 2012. It is owned by A Medium Corpo ... Evan Williams is a brand of Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey bottled in Bardstown, Kentucky, by the Heaven Hill company. The ... Christopher Isaac "Biz" Stone is an American entrepreneur who co-founded Twitter, among other Internet-based services. Biz wa ...

https://cofactor.co.com/ora/m/06b5lc

Thanks for the article and the mention. I had my debrief yesterday with the lead interviewer (a loss, unfortunately), and it went well. I called and left him a message, so he was prepared for the conversation when he called me back. He was very clear on what we did well, and most of it coincided with the messages were were trying to reinforce. He also talked about what he had wanted to hear that he didn’t. He mentioned that he didn’t get a satisfactory answer to his “big question” (related to managing subconsultants) from any of the interviewees, so he essentially deferred to the other interviewers for their opinions. In the end, I got the impression (even though there was a scoring system) that the voting was done based on with whom the panel felt a strong connection and rapport. The conversation was a good one – he actually mentioned that the debrief call was a “good business move” on our part and that it served to position us well for future work, increasing our understanding of the client and building the relationship. I had most of my “formal” questions answered during the conversation without needing to ask, underscoring the need to have a loose structure when entering into a debrief conversation. One other thing to note – I was not part of the actual interview, but was the lead in the preparation. I made this clear during the conversation, mentioning that it was a conscious decision to have someone from our firm, but not in the interview, do the debrief to avoid any potential conflicts (or hurt feelings!). All in all, it was a great move and it will absolutely become part of all of our wins and losses in the future. It is a great tool and serves to “close the loop” after interviews. It sounds like you succeeded at building the relationship. I like your use of the call, and I found it interesting that you chose to hold the debrief without your interview team (even noting it to the client). Long-and-short it seams that you were able to create success through the debrief process! Thanks for being apart of Cofebuz, I look forward to keeping in touch!

https://cofebuz.com/2009/02/02/debriefing-on-proposals/

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Gonzaga and Washington have agreed to extend their basketball series through the 2023-24 season. The current four-year series was scheduled to end this season with a matchup at Washington. The extension will feature games at Gonzaga in 2020-21 and 2022-23, and matchups in Seattle in 2021-22 and 2023-24. The extension is another sign of the thawing relations between the schools after a contentious stretch. After playing every year from 1999 through 2006, the series went on hiatus for a decade. The teams met in 2015 at a tournament in the Bahamas, but didn't begin a renewed home-and-home series until 2016. Washington leads the all-time series 29-18 but Gonzaga has won 12 of the past 13.

https://collegebasketball.ap.org/fourcornersnewsleader/article/gonzaga-and-washington-extend-series-through-2023-24

The image of women in the UAE society does not stand at any limits. The Emirati women achieved great achievements in the political, economic, social and cultural fields. Emirati women became a permanent and active partner in building the future and the homeland. A large number of Emirati women are considered to have university degrees and began to occupy managerial positions and engage significantly in social work and be part of civil society institutions. General Women's Union and various professional associations to name a few. The removal of restrictions that limit women’s involvement led to success beyond all perceptions, giving these associations’ international respect and appreciation. In the field of education, indicators show that women in education reach their target levels and even exceeded men in some cases. UAE women accounted for 74% of university students and 41% of faculty members in the 2015-2016 academic year.

https://communication.afu.ac.ae/en/posts/the-role-of-emirati-women-in-education/

I love to re-read old favourites from my collection. But then, we all do. It's something of a comfort to do this kind of thing when you really don't want to be delving into anything new right now. A lot of the times we do this when we have had a huge thing happen in our lives. When we've been dumped by that person who we thought was 'the one', we delve into our romance novels or the favourite Stephen King novel (and imagine the person who dumped us as the first person who gets killed in it. I don't know why, but this is a comforting thing for us to do). But re-reading our old standards is like slipping into a comfy pair of slippers on a cold night. It's the fact you know what's going to happen in each chapter, to each character and what's going on throughout the book. It's like rewatching your favourite television series, years after it's been yanked off the air... it's nice because it's a safe place to be. It's nice to see those actors at the very beginning of their careers and see them so young. I like re-reading 'The Stand'. It's an old favourite of mine when I just want to sit back and read something in the middle of Winter. You see, this book is set in the middle of Summer, so it pulls me out of the blues and right in the middle of a horrendous cold and flu season, which turns lethal... but it does have a good lot of twisting and turning before it turns out right - as all books do. Re-reading your old favourites is a good thing for you. It's not that you can't move on from them, I think it's because you want to set yourself up for something different; something more and something lovely in the future. Re-reading great books - just like re-watching old tv shows - is relaxing and fun. And it's something to kick back and chill out with... it winds us down and lets us know that we don't have to be working the old imagination all the time. Until my next post, happy reading. Wow! It's that time of year again... you know that time, where Christmas Carols are heard pretty much everywhere and you never have enough money to do anything but buy presents for people in your family. It's either stinking hot during the day, with lightning storms in the middle of the night; or freezing cold with 6 feet of snow and closed schools and roads and no way of getting to the store. Either way, we all have to celebrate Yule, Christmas, Hanukkah, Solstice, St Nicholas Day... and really, it's the biggest thing on our calendars. I plan ahead for presents for my family - the immediate family; as I can't afford to really buy anything for cousins and Aunts and Uncles - and so, I make sure I have my immediate family covered first. If I can score a few little presents for others, I'll do that. I buy for myself last... if I can't afford my presents, I'll get myself those presents at the After Christmas Sales. But what I look forward to at this time of year is reading something decent. You see, I head to the coast and chill out with a couple of books in my hands; and I'm hoping to get in and do some serious reading at Brunswick Heads while I'm here. You see, they don't really have a decent bookstore... and that's not a great thing for a place with such a colourful public library. So, I take down my own reading material. Yep, three books and a magazine. I'll also be taking my notebook computer to edit my novella as well which I wrote during NaNoWriMo. Otherwise, I'm hoping to get a bit of reading done during the day and editing done at night - the best time of the day to do anything is in the cool of the night. So, what are you going to be reading over the Christmas and New Year period, once all the overeating and celebrating is over and done with? Anything wonderful, relaxing or chilling? Or are you all going to just take a well-earned break by the pool, river or fireplace and enjoy a rest from the words on the page? Until my next post, happy reading. Or is that the fun part? It all depends on how you look at book-writing. Some people enjoy the editing and fleshing out of a book, while other detest it. I can fill in the details of people's lives, the feel of a city or the countryside, what they're wearing, how people stand, what colour their hair really is and how their personality really is like. It really is the fun part for me... and it also means that the word count fluctuates in huge way. I am heading towards the 20,000 word mark and - if you count up the words on the sidebar - you'll see I'm well on my way to making my book what I hope it to be; even if it's just a little novella and not a proper novel. Well... I've got another few books to read over Christmas and I'll get my nose into them over the next few weeks. Until my next post, happy reading! NaNoWriMo Is Over! Yep! National Novel Writing Month is over for another year. Now, for those of you who have been battling with writing your novels or novellas, and you've hit the 50,000 word mark, way to go!!! As for me? Well, I've past the 15,000 word mark on my novella and am well on my way to the 20,000 words I was initially aiming for! It's all in the editing, fleshing out and making the book into something somebody will want to read. Annabelle Wilson works in a book exchange in the very centre of Brisbane City, Australia with two wonderfully eccentric store owners, Richard and Millicent. She never thought she'd be working in a bookstore; as it was a temporary thing to get her out into the world of business. But it's been five years and she's loving it. One day, she and Millicent are going through a box of books and Annabelle find a 5-book series of travel guides called 'MacIntyre's Tour Guides' and asks Millicent about them. Her employer tells her that they are old-fashioned, hand-written tour guides which went out of style years ago; and they didn't sell well. So, Annabelle took the 5 home after purchasing them. Soon, she spends her nights reading about Scotland, Wales and the UK with a lovely tour guide, Darcy Wentworth, as her guide. Little does she know, Darcy knows she's reading his books from another dimension; and can see her and hear her. As time goes on, both Annabelle and Darcy's worlds begin to collide in the most unusual ways. Annabelle's employer's turn out to be people she never thought they'd be, a neighbour she had become close friends with passes away with a secret she never knew she shared with her and an old man who lives not far from her helps all of them by telling them all who he is. But as all of this happens, Darcy is on the run in his world. He's in love with Annabelle - which is against the rules of his employment - and to be safe, he must find a way to Annabelle's world to be with her. A storm is brewing in their lives... will they be together in time to thwart the authorities? Or will Annabelle and Darcy lose each other in the storm? So... there you go. The premise. I hope you guys can get an idea of what's going on and how hard it's been to get a title working for this book. It's been great fun writing something about time travel and books in it; but the title not coming to me at all is weird; normally I have one by now. Today was a real stinker of a day to be going out anywhere; but I attended the last meeting for the National Novel Writing Month... only to find I was the only person to attend. I went because one guy said he was a maybe on Facebook and didn't want to let him down just in case he arrived. So, an hour into it, and I was still the only one there with my little notebook computer plugging away at editing and fleshing out my work. Last week, I finished my novel... yay!!! But this week, I started editing and fleshing it out with details and scenery. At the 'meeting', I managed to add 200 words onto each of my chapters between chapters 1 and 5... which brought my word count from 7,859 (this number includes chapter 6) to 7,947; which is pretty darned good if you ask me. Anyway, I'm hoping to get past the last word count I made last week of 13,232 and get this book up to the 20,000 word mark... well, here's hoping anyway! The good thing is that I find fleshing out and editing not only difficult but also easy. Adding detail is always fun and then I'll correct the small things that aren't needed at the same time. Once I've finished the book - which still doesn't have a title - I'll throw a competition to see what I should name the book. This is always fun, as I really don't know what to name it as it's full of time travel, love, hate and is set in my hometown of Brisbane. Anyway, until my next post, happy reading - and writing. More Work Done! NaNoWriMo is coming into its final weeks, and I'm really excited about how my story is coming along. However, I have one tiny, problem... minute really... it doesn't have a title. Isn't it strange how people can write something so grand that by the end, they still don't have a title - not even a working title to get an idea of a title from for it. Oh well, I guess I'll be finding out what it's called in the coming weeks and months as I fiddle with it. However, my word count has shrunk a little as I've begun editing and working on each chapter... this number will fluctuate as time goes on: 13,232 words out of 9 chapters. Now, I know I said I had over 16,000 words; but like I said, the number has begun to change. I'll see how many there are by the end of the month and let you know how it all goes by the time I'm happy with it. Until my next post, happy reading - and writing. NaNoWriMo is halfway through and almost everyone is getting right into their stories and books! I'm very excited about my book as it's one of those magical, time-travel style books which reminds me of 'Time & Again' by Jack Finney... very much set in real time and yet set in the magickal times of the other realms. I hope I captured both worlds well. I set it in my hometown of Brisbane and in a bookstore - where else would I set it, but in a place I'd love to work. I've almost finished with the story part of it - as I love to get that part of the book out of the way first before tackling what people look like and the backdrop - and I'll be fleshing it out with the details everyone needs to follow it along in the coming weekend. So far, I've written 16,395 words... which will be expanding to far more by next week! How are your NaNoWriMo books coming along? Leave a comment and let us know. Until my next post, happy reading - and writing. It's been the first week or so since NaNoWriMo 2016 started up and I'm going well I think. But seeing I had started planning my book a few weeks in advance, I think I had an advantage in a few ways too - I think that's what has made all the difference. Over the past week, I've written over 11,134 words so far - with more words to come over the next day or so. I'm hoping to get more work done tomorrow and over the weekend - if the storms we're expecting don't interfere too much. How is your NaNoWriMo going? Please do let us all know if you're doing it - and how you're going. And if you're stuck, I can suggest a couple of books filled with prompts that may get you kicking along again. otherwise, good luck with your work so far! Until my next post: happy reading - and writing! Word Count for NaNoWriMo 2016! Okay... I'm assuming some of you guys'n'gals are taking part in this wonderful innovation for novel-writing this month. I love it, let's face it. Anyway... I thought to keep you all updated with my word count - as low as they may be; or not - on the sidebar at the top of my blog. I'll be doing this on a daily basis (or by date order; whichever comes first) and you'll be able to see how far I've come. Now, I've been working on a book in the weeks coming into NaNoWriMo... and thought to keep on writing it. However, I was writing it in longhand in a notebook, and in the last few days of October, I converted it all onto the computer to make it easier for me to look at. Then, whenever I could, I jumped onto my tablet or on the computer and typed up as much as I could over the last few days. Given it's only in the couple of hundreds... but I've been busily helping out my family over the last week or so. So, I am hoping to work on this more and more as time passes by. So, watch that top right hand corner and you'll see those numbers add up. But first, I'll put in the numbers for the first 9 chapters so you can see how far I've gotten - so you can see the true number of words I've done thus far. Good luck with your book this month, and do let us all know how you're doing. Until my next post, happy reading - and writing. November is National Novel-Writing Month, and I've taken part again. Today I took off out of the house early to be at the Logan Central Library to meet-up at the Logan-based NaNoWriMo meeting - my first - and got to meet up with another person who was a writer; and a publisher as well. I met Emily Cooney and another older lady and sat and talked for a couple of hours - however not a single word was written down, and yet we had a lot of laughs and talked about what we were hoping to get written this month. At our next meeting next week, I'm hoping to have written plenty. I have to catch up with the past three days' worth of work... that's 5,000 words a day. Woah! A lot of work to be done; and only a small amount of time to get it done. How about you? Are you doing NaNoWriMo? If so, how are you doing with it so far? Until my next post, happy reading! Woohoo! Selling Up My Books! Well, that got your attention, didn't it? Don't lie, it did... I'm kidding around. I'm not selling up all my books, just about 52 or so of them. They're in my Classics Section and I'm getting rid of them because I've already got my own lot of books which are classics themselves - yes, I have doubled-up on about a third of them. I know, I know, I really shouldn't be doing that, but when I find an omnibus of Edgar Allan Poe, of all his horror stories, exactly where am I to go from there? So, the best thing I thought of doing the other night, while I was chilling out in my Reading Chair, was to sell the books I had received for Christmas over 6 years ago - the whole set with the magazines - on Gumtree and pull apart my collection and find the Classics I have hiding amongst the shelves. And did I find some great classics! Man, I found some wonderful books I didn't know I had bought! But I was so happy to have found them and finally have a place to put them. When I told my Dad (who loves it that I'm a collector of books, but sometimes finds my collection a little overwhelming), he was really surprised I was getting rid of so many in one go. But when I told him what they were, he understood that when you do have a good look at what you have - once in a while - you realised you can double-up, sometimes triple-up on things and you have to get rid of them. So, the advert is now on Gumtree and I'm hoping to sell them all in one go to a home where there's a collector of these types of books or somebody out there will enjoy them for their content; not just to collect. Well, have you ever had to reavaluate your book collection (or any collection in that case?) Until my next post, happy reading. I've been a reader of ARC books for years. They are a type of book which is sent out to a group of readers before the book is published so the publishers can tell what little things needs to be fixed. Now, I didn't always know about them; I was introduced to them by a friend online and she asked if I'd like to try one out. My first one was 'The Gone-Away World' by Nick Harkaway. Now, this book has since been published years ago in 2009, and was followed up by another by Nick. And getting into receiving ARC books is a good way of reading and proofreading people's works for them - and reading books which aren't out on the market yet. You really do feel as though you're seeing behind the curtain before the show has begun. It's not easy to find ARC books - as they're not in the ordinary circles of publication. Usually you have to ask publishers if there's any ARC books for you to read for them. It's mainly done online and you have to fill out a survey to let them know what you think needs to be done - as it's not just a free book thrown your way to be read. You have to give your honest opinion of feel the book needs - or doesn't - and how the author can improve the book. Sometimes, this can be a sore point with the writers, but this is a good way of letting a small group of the public in on how the book works - or not - with them before the book is let out into the world. Small improvements through allowing ARC books out 6 months or so beforehand plays really well for the author. You see, when they do this for a first book, the author then knows what they have to do for the next book to be a success; no matter how insulted they feel at the time. The good thing with ARC books that the reader can either keep the book for their personal collection or they can return it to the publisher. I opt to keep my copies as they're something of rarity. And a lot of the times, I do find they end up in second-hand bookstores (which isn't where you're supposed to send them). I do enjoy my small band of ARC books and do wish to keep them in my collection; keep adding to them. So, have any of you done any ARC book readings? How did you find it? I enjoyed being a part of the final product of a writer's book... even if they didn't end up using my part of the survey; at least they knew where I was coming from. With 'The Gone-Away World' I did find the final copy in a bookstore and looked in the first couple of pages and found that what I had advised about making it more visual worked. The author had worked more on taking the reader along for the ride, rather than keeping us at arm's length (which was how I was feeling at the time). I felt good about that. I might see what other ARC books are on offer next year to take part in. Until my next post, happy reading. I love finding books about authors where movies have been made from their works. For example, 'White Fang' and 'Call of the Wild' were both by Jack London and were both made into great films. I have come across these books on their own in bookstores and libraries, however, I have never seen them with their accompanying books 'Tales of the Fish Patrol', 'The Cruise of the Dazzler' and 'The Son of the Wolf: and other stories' in one big volume. I found this particular volume by chance at my local community centre on an old library trolley where my craft group usually gathered. I happened to be walking by it (trying to ignore those gorgeously lovely books sitting there tempting me) when my eyes wondered to the large printing of Jack London's name on the spine... then, I found myself picking it up and reading the front; and found it contained the rest of the books and stories within! Oh! What a find! It was wasn't until I got this book home that I found out that it was a first edition from 1979, fully illustrated and that the copy of 'White Fang' was 'complete and unabridged'... how cool is that! I definitely had a great find here for just .50c! It was also a book which had been originally sold at Myers at a discounted price. Now, for those of you who don't know what Myers is, it's a major department store here in Australia which is usually very expensive. However in the 1970's, it sold things on sale and had discounted books - just like everyone else - before it upped its standards really high; and rarely does that anymore. 'Jack London was born illegitimate and in poverty in California in 1876. At fifteen he was the notorious 'Prince of the Oyster Pirates' on San Francisco Bay. At seventeen he shipped as a seaman on the Sophie Sutherland for Japan; later he served a term for vagrancy before joining the Klondike Gold Rush. He read voraciously and by the age of twenty-four was publishing in magazines; by thirty he was famous. In this relatively short writing career (1899-1916) he wrote over fifty books; h was also an ardent socialist, a pioneer in modern agriculture, a war correspondent in Korea and designed and sailed his own ship halfway around the world. London's most famous work is contained in his stories of the far North based on his own experiences, he wrote other stories for children (Tales of the Fish Patrol, The Cruise of the 'Dazzler') and he also wrote adult fiction, plays, travel sketches and important sociological books, the best known of which are The People of the Abyss and John Barleycorn. I found this short insight to Jack London interesting, and didn't wish to keep it to myself. Until my next post, happy reading. This past week, I was hoping to get my nose into some creepy books - for October and Halloween. However, I've had enough creepiness going on around my real life to cater my imagination for yonks. I haven't been sleeping all that great and so, my focus for reading isn't here. I started 'Magician' by Raymond E Feist and this stalled when things became complicated around my unit complex. Yeah, me too. So, 'Magician' is on hold at the moment, sitting there staring at me with a bookmark only a tiny way through chapter 1. If only I hadn't asked the neighbour two doors down to turn down his music, none of this would have happened... no, it would have, but much later. How frustrating this is. Well, my posts should improve soon once things settle down. Until my next post, happy reading! Banned Book Week is coming up soon - next week, actually - and I'm hoping to dig amongst my collection to get my nose into the some pages of some really great books which were banned to the public. The week spans between September 25 - October 1. So, what's Banned Book Week? It's a week to celebrated the written works which were banned to the public at some point in time, but people have written them to put the word out there. Some of it was political, some of it was written in a way where it may have broached subjects which were taboo at a point in time where society just didn't think it right to talk - or even read - about it. But then, those books were banned from being circulated. Here's the link to the Banned Books site you can look at which talks more about Banned Book Week. I'm sure you have some banned books and didn't even know it. Until my next post, happy reading. I love to travel places - as anyone does - and what I love to do most is to pick up one of my old travel journals and read it. I know, I know! This sounds really corny and silly to do! But I really do love to read about the experiences I've had places and when I do, I feel as though I'm reliving it. Okay. Now, whenever I go traveling to Brunswick Heads, I take a travel journal with me... and not just any travel journal: I take the same one! I bought a little black, hardcover sketch book and took it along to my holidays with me on year, wrote in it, then put it back on the shelf. The following year, when the time came to travel back down to Brunswick Heads, I grabbed the very same black, hardcovered sketchbook, took it back down the coast again and wrote about my time in Brunswick Heads - but a year later! However, the year later, I forgot the sketchbook and so this yearly travel journal misses a year... it has yet to make another journey to the coast with me. This was because I had had surgery on all 6 sun cancers on my hands and arms and clean forgotten to pack it - and besides, I didn't have the energy to do any writing. I did have plenty of energy to read though - as that's all I could really do. I have begun writing a book about a travel journal though - and it's been great! However, I hit a snag really early on in the piece as I sat at my computer trying to write it. It just didn't sound right with me typing it out on the page on the screen. So, I went out to OfficeWorks and bought a nice little notebook and pens and started writing the next few chapters by hand in the notebook - and you know, the words came so much easier when I wrote it by hand! I don't know what happened, or why this has happened, but it's been going really well. I'm not sure if it's going to transfer to the computer page all that well... I'll have to wait and see. Has this happened to you when writing a book or transferring your journals to a computer? They just didn't seem to look right up on a screen and they looked and read better in a journal written by hand? Well, I have this quandary. I wonder if it's best to have a book published looking like it's been hand-written or should it be published normally and have the unfinished appearance (like books were a few years ago)? I guess I'll have to wait and see.Well, until my next post, keep on writing and happy reading. I just love collecting notebooks - as well as books themselves - to use for different things. I have so many of them and hold onto them for a variety of reasons - but mainly I use them as journals; and so I often ask for them for Christmas. Sometimes, I'll be at the coast for Christmas and I'll find some at obscure stores in artsy towns and I'll buy some just so I have them to use when I want to. Dad thinks I'm wasting my money... but when my Mum looked through my journals, she thought the difference in them was great. You see, I come from a long line of journal and diary writers - and boy! Can we write! I often just write about my day, what's been going on in the week, or how something just affects me when I feel trapped or I can't sleep at night. Otherwise, I might leave my journal alone for months on end. But I've been keeping a journal - on and off - since 1996; a year after a Melanoma operation which saved my life when I was 23 years old. I found that writing in one really helped me; and I went from wondering if I was writing the right thing to knowing what to write when I sat down with pen and notebook in hand. But I have found that the notebooks aren't only for journals. A few of my notebooks are for particular purposes. I have one which is being slowly filled with things, sayings and information for somebody I'm writing it for - it's a work of art really. I'm hoping that when it's finished, I can just hand it to her and she'll be able to work on filling it up more with other things - as I won't fill it completely. Then, there's the large number of notebooks which I have dotted around my office which are poetry books, dossiers and filled with stories and story ideas. They're really just Mont Mart Art books which have been great to work with and I've taken them place where I can sit and write in them without the lines on the page haunting me. I also fill other little notebooks with poetry... these ones have been used usually in my bedroom when I have insomnia; and I can't get myself to sleep. I write the best poetry then about just about anything in those notebooks. Just yesterday, I was at Officworks looking for a couple of purple pens when I stumbled upon an aisle filled with notebooks! I wished I had more money on me so I could buy a few of these wonderful things! But I whittled my choice down to one and found it was the most lovely little book! Isn't it the cutest thing? I think so. I'm currently writing a book and having problems doing it, so I thought it would do me good to write it in a notebook first and see how I go... see if that works out. Yep, I'm going about it through the back door of writing; instead of sitting at the computer and forcing myself to write (which never ends well). So, what kinds of notebooks do you have in your collection, and what number of things do you use them for? Are your uses the same as mine? Or do you have other uses for them? Or do you buy them as you need them? Until my next post, happy reading! Writing is a dangerous thing to do - just like art is. However, it's how you write a book or a story that really does get your idea across. This 'person' didn't leave their screen name or anything, they went under the 'Anonymous' name/bio and thought they'd be safe. When somebody does that to my blog, I immediately delete their comments, because if they don't have the gut - the courage - to tell me who they are, they don't deserve a space on my blog to comment. Writing is a thing of the mind. It's a craft I've been working on since I was in high school and it's something I'll working on well after many people have made it big in the world. I'm not in it to make money, I'm in it to entertain people - and it's great for my mind as well. However, when somebody goes and abuses the system, leaving abusive notes and comments on a person's blog, it makes you wonder exactly why they're following your blog in the first place? Are they there to see you stuff up and they can point out the problems with your work? Are they waiting for you to make a spelling mistake and laugh at how you didn't correct yourself? Or are they just there to make sure their narcissistic personality gets online and makes you feel like crap? Either way, I don't care for it. If somebody doesn't like my work, don't read it. If you think I've ripped off a trademarked works - like Marvel or D.C Comics or Thor or X-Men - well, take a good look around, there's plenty of people doing fan fiction (which is pretty much the same thing) and you're not bugging them about it. So what if I wrote something a little sub-standard and not against the grain? I thought getting in with the X-Men thing was something good... I hardly ever get my mind into it as it's difficult to do. And if I want to write stuff like that, it's something I want to write. And other people are writing something similar to it as well. You see, 'Anonymous', I don't care. You're the one who is the problem in this society. If you don't like my work, don't read it. Until my next post, happy reading. You know, I'll tell you guys that I'm writing a book, and then you don't hear from me about it for a while; then I'll tell you I'm writing another one. Books are hard work. First the idea you have to come up with. You have to come up with an idea that you've never seen before anywhere; and that's never easy. Or have to rework an idea that's been done before in such a way people don't see it coming. Then you have your own style of writing it. Not everyone has the same writing style - no matter how many times a publisher will say to you that 'this is has been done before' they can't dictate to you exactly how it's been done. They can't tell you that your idea has been written exactly like Stephen King's or Peter Straub's or F. Scott Fitzgerald's. That idea may be similar to any one of them, but it's written in your style and that's what makes the difference. Then - and here's the hard part - you have to leave your book alone for about a year. Don't touch it, go near it to edit or read it again. Once you have done that, go and read it and see where you've screwed up. Go and see where you can either save it or toss it. Yes this is a lot of work for probably nothing, but it's all about your work, your time and your style. If you don't want to be a writer, don't put in the time to write a book (or a series of books). This is how long it takes to write a book - and this is before it goes into the agent or the publisher; before you start spending money on getting it put through proofreaders, editors and other people who have never seen your work... people who will help you sound like you but more refined; these are people you pay to get you published. This is where you start rewriting. Your first book will take between ten to twenty rewrites - because it's your first book and you'll screw up a lot. I know I did. My first book, 'Angie', never saw the publishers because it wasn't worth it. The idea was great, but the story, characters, the world ... it was all cardboard and when I went back to it to fix it? Well, it was too far gone to be salvageable. So, I left it alone and started on my next book. My next book took me fifteen years to write... I had to do some serious research to get it right. I had to travel overseas, read some sci-fi fantasy and get in and collect some books on sword-play and recipe books on what people ate, wore and customs of the Dark Ages (this was a world I never studied at high school because I never studied Modern History; instead I studied Ancient History - silly really). But I loved what I got into. I ended up at Medieval Fairs and enjoyed writing my world. However, when I finally went to finish the first book, I found my book wasn't finished; and it turned over into a second book - which never saw through to the end of Part One. The reason behind this was because I started writing a sci-fi action thriller right as the sci-fi fantasy one finished... I amazed myself. I went right from the Dark Ages straight into a world of Philip K Dick, where there wasn't a suit of armour to be seen anywhere! Writing is a great outlet for anything you want to show others. You can take them on your own magic carpet ride anywhere you wish. And if you do it right? Well, that's when the real magic happens. Anyone can write a book... but it's a matter of knowing how to keep your reader interested in your book, along with yourself, that really matters. The idea is the first hook - it doesn't have to be original. What reels in your audience is how you make that idea fly. Now, I was going to start off this post with 'Killing Willis' by Todd Bridges... but I didn't want it look bad with the first word being 'Killing' on Google. So, I thought to make it a 'Currently Reading' post instead. Here in Australia, on one of the free-to-air cable channels, we have 'Diff'rent Strokes' tv show from the 1980's. It was a standard show to watch in my family as it was a rag-to-riches kind of thing and my folks insisted my brother and I watched something of a broad range of shows when they were on offer. And when 'Diff'rent Strokes' came out, it was new, interesting and - well - different. It was about two African-American brothers - Arnold and Willis Jackson - from Harlem in New York City who had lost their parents in an accident who were adopted by a rich, white family uptown. Now, the white family weren't without their own problems. It was just a father and daughter and they wanted to have more to their family than just those two; and chose Arnold and Willis. This half-hour show turned into something of a weekly ritual for us to sit down and watch. I don't remember how many seasons there were or how long we watched into those seasons, but I do remember loving that show and having a huge crush on Todd Bridges - hey, I was young. And I still think he's not bad-looking. Anyway, I was perusing a bookstore over the last year and found a book written by Todd Bridges called 'Killing Willis'. It was all about his life after 'Diff'rent Strokes' and what happened to him, how he felt when he was seen out in public and how fame affected not only him, but Dana Plato and Gary Coleman. Being child-stars affected each one of them in a different way. Gary had a major medical condition that caused him to stay pretty much the same size he was in the show for his whole life; and caused him to become a very bitter and angry person. Dana Plato turned to drugs and never came out of that downward spiral in the same way Todd did. He knew there was a way out of that and worked hard to be the person he is now. And this caused him to write this book about his life. But it wasn't until I picked up the book recently that I found it was a new edition with an afterward that Todd penned about Gary Coleman - about how misunderstood he was; and how the media turned Gary's life into something it really wasn't. I haven't read the whole book (I'm only two chapters into it) but from how far I'm into it now, I can say it's a very revealing, candid and honest story about somebody's life. I don't know if I've read anything like this before where the hurt, depression and need to be heard is so evident that I don't want to put this autobiography down. I haven't read a book like this since Danny Sugarman's book 'Wonderland Avenue'. I look forward to reading the rest of it. I've been going through a huge decluttering phase in my life over the past 4 - 5 years; now that's huge! But it's been a great thing for me. I have given away some of my books that I have zero interest in, have found books I thought I had lost and have started reading some books I thought I never thought I would. I have also begun writing a book about my books and what piqued my interest in books, writing and how it all began in the first place... now, this has interested my family the most. My Mum thought it was weird to start with, until she read the first few pages of 'The Red Ledger' (working title) and found it fascinating of how the inside of my mind worked. However, she also found that when she came to my house she spotted a lot of books sitting around the corners of my house in places where they weren't supposed to be. For example: I have an autobiography of a famous book critic and another book about vampire stories in amongst my gardening books and journals in my living room. Exactly how they came to be there is still a mystery to me, and I didn't know they were there until Mum pointed them out to me; and I pulled them out of the collection there and brought up to the main book collection to place them where they were supposed to be. This was when a lot of other books kind of fell into view from all kinds of places. Yep, part of the tidying up in my house started with how many books I could find in my living room... it was kind of like playing 'Hide and Go See' book-style; and it was funny how many books I found! I filled a Green Bag with them all; and I'm still finding books around the place to bring up to the collection. Yes, it looks like they've multiplied on me somehow. Oh well, I guess that's how books become collections, right? Until my next post, happy reading. Today, I was out and about at InHouse Publishing Author Day at Underwood. It was a beautiful Winter's day to be there - but I didn't get there until the speeches were halfway through. So, my socialising had to be cut short for a bit as people were taking the stage to talk about their journeys in the publishing world. However, as with most public places, there's always a bit of chatter in the background during those things. I was told by one of the authors to 'shush!' while I was catching up with an author friend of mine from Facebook I've known for a few years and hadn't been able to attend her book launch due to having laryngitis that week. I know that it's not always everything you want when you do a public thing, but sometimes, it's the public who do the rounds who are just there to network and aren't really there for the speeches. Don't get me wrong, authors talking about their journeys is great. However, I watched the interviews online; and felt as though I had heard everything all over again when they were talking today, so thought I didn't really need to hear it. But that was just me. I did talk to my share of authors and people there, collecting a nice pile of business cards. I also got talking to a local writer's group who doesn't have a horror writer; so I might drop into that one to see how I feel about joining in. Well, it was a great day for it all, but I didn't stay for too long... just enough to talk to some people, have an ice coffee and make a few connections along the way. Until my next post, happy reading. The other night, I sat down and penned a letter to a dear friend of mine in Toowoomba. I love to write in longhand and she enjoys hearing from me. I also include a piles of photos when I post off my 4-7 page letters to her. Now, you're going to ask me: why don't you email her? It's cheaper and she can download the photos in a sinch. Well, my friend is Joan Lane and she's 80. I've known her since I around 6 years old and holidaying at Brunswick Heads. She's kind of like my second Grandmother and her and her now-late husband, Ted became close family friends of ours over the years. Joan doesn't have the internet and wouldn't know how to turn on a computer; actually, these modern-new-fangled things scare her. So, when I learned of this, I decided to write her letters and post them to her. She loves receiving mail and I don't mind if she never writes back; as she's not all that great at writing letters. So, about 3 times a year, I write Joan a lovely long letter, with photos included inside, telling her about what I've been up to in my life. She loves reading about it; and she shares the news and photos with her family. Do you still retain the skill of letter-writing? Do you have a collection of stationery at your disposal? Or do you sit and email all your friends; and if you have somebody who doesn't have a computer, you don't go near pen and paper for them? I love writing to Joan. It's reminds me of how tactile the act of letter-writing actually is and that we really shouldn't lose the skill of writing a really good letter to somebody we're friends with... it may be something we'll really treasure from somebody else someday. Until my next post, happy reading. Once in a while, I can't sleep. So, I'm up really late at night reading or writing to get myself tired enough to get to sleep. A lot of the time, whatever I write normally is just detail stuff on a book or a poem and it's something that's been bothering me since last week - silly really. However, there are times I get in and write a poem. I think it's the silence of the unit complex, or the way my brain works when I haven't slept for a few nights. But I kick out a very cool poem or two before I turn out the light. The problem is that I sometimes I misplace the books I have written the poems in for a few months; and then suddenly find them! And that's always like finding a piece of treasure when that happens, because I sit down and read what I've written from that sleepless night to find I've written either a lovely piece of writing, or something I wouldn't bother showing anyone! Last night, I was working on my book about books and came up to the part where I wanted to talk about poetry. However, I didn't know how long I've been writing poetry for and had to dig around the office to find it all. Strangely, I've lost a few books. I know they're somewhere around the office; so seeing I don't throw out any of my work (which makes me a paper collector too), I'm sure to find all of my poetry at some point soon. So, do you write poetry? If so, what kind of work do you write? I'm a concise poet - a writer of word pictures, small poems which aren't too long, but strongly-worded. These are difficult to achieve, but I do enjoy getting in and doing them when I have the time because they're a challenge. I love to read sonnets, ballads and funny poetry (Pam Ayres is one who makes me laugh). Until my next post, happy reading. The cold snap has finally hit Australia and we've got snowfalls in the Australian Alps. Yep, everyone is feeling the chilliness all around. Last night, it was 3 degrees Celsius here in Brisbane and it's still cold here - and it's almost midday - why, right now, it's 15 degrees Celsius... and I don't think it's gonna get much warmer. So, this calls for the Winter reads I'm going to get my nose into this year. I've already started 'The Stand' by Stephen King (an all-time favourite of mine). And I'm writing a book about books - which is going well. Then, I'm reading 'The Turning' by Tim Winton - short stories he's written; some of which were turned into three-minute films on the ABC. I didn't know until one day I saw them there by channel-surfing one day... very interesting. I'm also looking through my art books and reading up on how to do some different types of art - as I'm working on another book-related painting. I'm actually hoping to get together an exhibition - but I'm not sure when I'll get into the gallery. I'm still reading copies of 'Good Reading' Magazine and enjoying looking up knitting patterns as well at this time of year - as it keeps my hands moving. Otherwise, I'm hoping to get in and read some of the books by my bed that have been there for a while. There's one by Dean Koontz about a family dog and another 'Dandelion Wine' by Ray Bradbury. Yep, it's good weather to catch up with all the reading I've been putting off as the mercury plummets. I know that as it's getting colder here in Australia and the Southern Hemisphere, it's becoming hotter elsewhere. What are you Summer Reads as you cool off in the shade of a sprawling Oak tree in the park? Or are you by the pool under the shade of a huge umbrella? Or are you fortunate enough to be by the beach and digging your toes into the sand while you've got your nose in a good book or two? Let us all know what you're reading and your opinions of your favourite authors at this time of year. Until my next post, happy reading. I've come down with Laryngitis. Yep, I can't leave the house and I'm not allowed to talk... not fun. So, I've been getting in and cleaning the house, throwing out rubbish and doing laundry; all in complete silence - well okay, the radio's going, but really it does get very boring with just that going. But I have been writing again. I've written a flash fiction where my character had laryngitis; and the story was creepy too. It turned out to be a good story; I thought. I'm also working on a new book at the moment I'm calling 'The Red Ledger'. It's a book about books I've read in my life, which are all in my collection and are from my reading list from over the last 13 years of reading. This book is mainly about how the books I've read have changed my life, how good or bad they are and how writing has become a way of life for me. It's going along well so far. Since the beginning of the week, I've written up around 10 pages in longhand - and that's good. Most of the time I've written that in bed before I turned out the light. This is where I get a lot of my thinking done about what I read. I've yet to go through my collection and find the books that I truly use from day to day and write about them in a big way. I'm only 15 pages into it - but I'm enjoying how it's being written; in longhand. It makes me think about how to write what I want to put out there instead of just typing it out. Have you ever written something like this? If you have, what was it like? Did you enjoy talking about your books and your passion for reading and writing? Until my next post, happy reading. In my last post, I wrote about the great re-reads of my life... and why. This time, I want to ask you, my readers, what your most favourite books of all time are and how many times you've read them. Is there a reason why you go back to it - the characters, the storyline, the way it's written? And I have another question as well: if there was an ultimate read you've been wanting and pining after what would it be? Have you been looking at that book in the bookstore, at the library, on Amazon and wished you could get your head around or you have it in your Mt To Be Read and just haven't gotten around to it - and don't know why. Tell us about it. I have a few books that I have stored here in my collection which I'd love to just sit down and lose myself in; but it's finding the time to do just that I find is the problem. In between writing books, editing my current work and doing my craft, cleaning out my house and working on my garden, I think I have spread myself a little too thin. But I do love to just look at my books and recall where they come from (this is what I'm doing with one of my books I'm calling The Red Ledger; ie: the book ledger). It's a book about my writing and books I've read and have in my collection and how this collection came to be so big and why. There's others, but these are my top six of my list... and yes, I know that the second one is a series of books (of which I'm up to book 4). This list doesn't vary much but I do enjoy getting in and working on it when I can. So, do tell... what books are you ultimate reads, your whale, your mountain to climb? Until my next post, happy reading. Whenever I want to jump back into reading big books again, I'll reread something I have cracked the cover of for years. Dontcha just love doing that? I sure do! Right now, I'm reading my all-time favourite book: 'The Stand' by Stephen King. This book normally gets me back into my reading mojo again - I don't know how it does, but I once I read it, it just gets me into another book and then another; and not necessarily by him. There's always those books that do that to us, right? Well, I do have a few books I reread along with 'The Stand' to kick myself into reading again... and I usually get into doing this in Winter (yes! The best time to wallow well into a book is at the coldest time of the year) in my Reading Chair. So, when do you get in and do the great reread of your favourite authors? Or are you one of those rare readers who, once you've read a book, you never reread it again? Until my next post, happy reading! During the huge deluge of rain over the last few days, I watched 'The Stand' miniseries - made from the book of the same name by Stephen King. And speaking of Sai King himself, I noticed that this brilliant author shows up in this miniseries as Teddy Weizak; an everyday guy who survived Captain Trips and was on his way to Colorado with a convoy of other folks who had been having the same dream as he was - of Mother Abigail. But this isn't the first time we've seen this author in a movie which was made from his books. Stephen King has made a cameo in so many of the movies that sometimes you really have to look for him to realise it's him. It's easy to pick him in the early movies like 'The Langoliers', 'Pet Semetary' and he got to play a creepy part in 'Sons of Anarchy' where he was a dude who a 'Caregiver' or a cleaner... creepy - I think that was in season 3 or 4. But he played that part well. Another famous person we all know showed up in his own movies was Alfred Hitchcock. He was a brilliant director who had a thing for blonds and enjoyed making cameo appearances in his own movies. You have to really watch for him in a lot of the movies as he isn't in the credits. In 'Rear Window', he was in the musician's apartment winding the clock. In 'The Birds', he was seen in the beginning of the film leaving a petshop with two of his own pets as the main character enters. I found a Wikipedia site which lists a lot of them (I don't often go through Wiki, but this is a big list) and so here it is for you to look at. Have you seen writer or directors show up in films you've been watching and looked for them in the credits? If so, which ones? Until my next post, happy reading. May Book Buys??? Yeah, I didn't buy any books this month. Well, that's not exactly true. I received books, but I haven't bought any - does that make sense? I hope so. I've also begun to read some short stories before I turn out the light at night - so I'm getting back into reading again; after such a long stint of not reading and just writing (as you can read from a few posts below). But I'm still collecting and my office is starting to become cluttered with books again. Yes, this does mean I have to start on another lot of looking through the collection and figuring out which ones belong and which ones don't. Sad but true. But if I don't, I'll be the crazy book lady of my unit complex... and well, I don't want that. Anyway, the author I'm reading is Kurt Vonnegut. He put out a few short story books and I found one at the Logan Art Gallery which they were keeping it for art projects and I rescued it! Yay! Now, I'm reading it. I'm reading the rest of them. And besides, I have other books around the place which have poetry and novellas as well - just to get me back into the reading mode again. And I'm hoping to start saving up for another tattoo... this one is going to be book-related and I'm going to get it done next year sometime. Well, it's been a good month for me... I've been good in some aspects, bad in others, I'm reading again and I'm also writing some nice, short'n'sweet flash fictions (my last one was around 500 words long; and we had a word limit of 1,000 words). So, until my next post, happy reading! I've been working with art and words in my life over the last few years - and have found that there's not that many artists who do this. A lot of them make sculptures out of the books they use. I do as well; and use very old books that are falling apart to do this (so don't worry, I'm not using anything from my collection or anything new). However, I do book art where I write on the canvas book titles, author names, or song-writers names and they are turned into the shape of waves, leaves or trees. It's difficult to do and I find that I have to have a certain number of names, books or songwriters. It's a difficult thing to do and yet it's something I have the patience for because I have to write out the words in pencil first then paint over them the best way I can... in a contrasting colour. Yes, I've almost sent myself blind doing this, so my optometrist has been a great help to me by making me glasses to work up-close and personal with my art. I not only work with paintbrush and paint, but I also work with putting bookmarks into collages. I have a massive one about Bookcrossing called 'Spread the Word' which I still have sitting behind my front door because there's nowhere to hang it. And there's other works hanging around my library which is all book-related. I've even made a plaster cast torso which is all about books, has quotes on it and I built a book from plaster on it - with the pages all curled up as though they were caught on a breeze - then painted them gold. Do you know anyone who's done book art which doesn't involve the sculpture of books themselves? I find that my work takes a lot of time to do; so I don't have that much work to do a proper exhibition as yet, but it does show my passion for the written word in so many ways. Until my next post, happy reading. I've been asked in the comments about photos of my work. This is something I forgot to upload - sorry about that guys, I was very tired and it was late. So here's the few I've done so far. I've been writing more than reading lately. This is a good thing; and a bad thing. Bad in the way that there's no book reviews to read at the moment, but good that I'm getting stories and some books written. One book I'm working on currently is my 'One Page' project. This is where I write one page about the day I'm having - or have had - in a journal-style notebook. I started it last December and I'm going well with it. I don't write every day, and it's been a great challenge to me, as I don't always fill up every page. Sometimes, it's difficult to fill up the page I've allocated myself, while on other days, it's filled before I know it. Then, there' my garden journal. This is an on-going project that's being worked on since I moved into my townhouse. I'm onto my second garden journal and it shows a chronological change and life of my garden... I love reading over the old journal of how it's all gone from a desert of weeds, prickles and yellow paper daisies to the pretty little garden it is today - and it's still somewhat a project that's ongoing; and will be ongoing throughout my life. There's another book I pick at. This one's for my niece. I don't know when this one will be finished as it's something of a book filled with advice I've gleaned from all sources throughout my life... be it my Mum, Grandmother, friends, authors, artists, famous people... just about anyone I've spoken to has given me wonderful (and not-so-wonderful) advice. I'm hoping to put a lot of it into this book over the next few years and fill it up to give to my niece by her 21st Birthday; so she has something to read when I'm no longer around to be there for her. I know that sounds really horrible, but the day will come when I'll be gone; and this book will have everything I want her to know. Memory Book... now this is a new one. I've been recalling old memories from when I was a child and writing them in long-hand in a notebook. It's a way of getting my autobiography working from a different angle. I hope it works out. So far, I've got some stories from when I was around 7 - 12 years old. High school isn't too hard as I've been going to class reunions and talking to people I went to school with lately (so they're all bringing back good memories of being at school as well as bad - but we need them both). Then, I'm working on funny memories too... so I'm going to look through some photos Mum's got of when I was young. This will be something I'll work on over the next few years. Yep, writing is something of a lonely thing I don't mind doing and love to really get into; even if I am working on three things at once. Well, are you a writer? If so, are you working on anything new? Until my next post, happy reading - or writing.

https://continuousreader.blogspot.com/2016/

The Coopérative de Soutien à Domicile de Laval is a not-for-profit organization that provides various home care services to the elderly and those struggling with a loss of autonomy. Founded in 1995 at the initiative of the four Laval CLSCs (local community service centers), the Coopérative de Soutien à Domicile de Laval is a consumer cooperative created by and for its members. These two mission statements, which are at once complementary and indivisible, are commitments of the Cooperative that combine the needs of its members with those of its staff. As a result, they can mutually offer each other a better quality of life, bring about greater autonomy, and create a feeling of usefulness and belonging to our community.

https://cooplaval.com/en/about/our-cooperative/

The Copper Club, the leading organization for networking and educational grants in the copper industry, will mark its 75th year with a special Anniversary Gala on 5 June 2019 at the Pierre Hotel in New York City. In celebration of this milestone, the event’s theme will be the 1940s, the time of the Copper Club’s inception. Guests will enjoy a curated exhibit from the historical archives of the past 75 years, a cocktail reception, a formal dinner and live entertainment. Ron Insana, contributor to CNBC and host of The Market Score Board Report, will serve as Master of Ceremonies. Attendees of the 75th Anniversary Gala will include past Ankh Award winners as well as global industry leaders from the mining, refining and smelting, fabricating, manufacturing and financial services sectors. Guests are invited to wear 1940s attire. Sponsorships, tables and tickets are available.

https://copperalliance.org/2019/05/10/3the-copper-club-hosts-75th-anniversary-gala-on-5-june-2019/

For patients with psychiatric and neurologic illness, there are many barriers to accessing optimal care, including (to name a few) lack of information, limited financial resources, inadequate transportation, and stigma. The College of Psychiatric and Neurologic Pharmacists (CPNP) Foundation envisions a world in which individuals with psychiatric and neurologic disorders receive optimal treatment, live free of stigma, and achieve their full potential. The mission of the CPNP Foundation is to enhance the capacity of pharmacy professionals to provide effective and compassionate treatment of individuals with mental disorders. In collaboration with the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) the Foundation conducted research which showed that while many patients value their professional relationship with their pharmacist, many others do not have such a relationship. Those without such a relationship may be missing the opportunity to benefit from the professional services that pharmacists can offer. For example, not all pharmacists provide privacy for consultations, medication information and education, or monitoring of medications. The Foundation has developed a What You Should Expect from Your Pharmacist - A Guide for Patients with Psychiatric Disorders and their Families. The guide describes the care that should be expected from pharmacists to ensure that patients can benefit from the professional services that pharmacists can provide. Members of CPNP strongly believe that patients with mental illness and their caregivers should have access to readily understandable information about medications commonly taken by individuals with mental illnesses. To that end, CPNP members have developed and regularly update Medication Fact Sheets in cooperation with the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).

https://cpnpf.org/patients

If you suffer from hip or knee pain, you are in good company – many people experience hip or knee pain at some point in their lives. The hips and knees are the largest joints in your body, providing mobility and supporting your body’s weight. They serve important purposes, but it is also easy for them to become injured. If you are suffering from hip or knee pain, contact our office today to speak with a physiotherapist, and find out how our physiotherapy treatments can bring you mobility and relief. What causes hip and knee pain? There are a number of causes for hip pain, the most common being arthritis, sciatica, or a sprain. Arthritis – and more specifically, osteoarthritis – tends to be the most common culprit for hip pain. This occurs when the cartilage tissue in the hip breaks down, decreasing the ability for the cartilage to absorb shocks. Osteoarthritis can develop due to wait gain, increased age, or an injury in the joint. People suffering from osteoarthritis typically report stiffness in the joint or difficulty standing for long periods of time. Sciatica occurs when the sciatic nerve is impinged, typically due to a strained muscle or a herniated disc. Sciatica pain can root itself in the hip and extend toward the buttocks and down the legs, ranging from moderate to severe. Much like hip pain, there are a number of causes for knee pain as well, the most common being arthritis, injury, or mechanical problems with the knee. Knee injuries can affect the ligaments, tendons, cartilage, and bones that make up the knee. Symptoms of knee pain may include difficulty standing up from a sitting position, difficulty walking and running, or an uncomfortable “clicking” sound when moving the knee. ACL tears are a common knee injury that many athletes suffer from, occurring when the anterior cruciate ligament is torn. How does physiotherapy help with hip and knee pain? The goal of every physiotherapist is reducing pain and improving functional mobility. At your initial appointment, your physiotherapist will perform a thorough physical evaluation to determine what the best treatment options will be for you. Afterward, he or she will create a personalized treatment plan based on your needs, focused on increasing strength, improving motion, and most importantly, relieving pain. Your treatment plan will likely consist of both passive and active treatments. Passive treatments may include ice and heat therapies, massage therapy, ultrasound, or electrical stimulation. Active treatments may include condition-specific exercises and stretches. All of these are aimed at reducing your pain and inflammation, in addition to accelerating your healing process. Physiotherapy is a natural way to relieve pain and promote healing, and in many cases, it eliminates the need for harmful drugs or invasive surgeries. If you are suffering from hip or knee pain, don’t suffer in silence. Our experienced and dedicated physiotherapists will get to the root of your problem and work hard to correct it. Schedule your appointment today and get started on your path to recovery and long-lasting relief!

https://cravensportservices.ca/physiotherapy-the-simple-solution-for-hip-and-knee-pain/

Mason Creative Writing will be at the center of campus. See more here. In 2020-21, the Creative Writing Program at George Mason University marks its 40th anniversary. It is a time to celebrate our past and look toward our future. Ours is one of the older MFAs in the country, started in 1980 near the beginning of a wave of graduate writing programs that appeared across the country. Originally, it started as a two-genre program—fiction and poetry—and added nonfiction in the mid-1990s. The MFA was the first terminal-degree program in the English Department at Mason. As such, it has always received the attention and solid support from the English Department and the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHSS) within which it is housed. Novelist Susan Richards Shreve and poet Peter Klappert were its original architects and key faculty. It was patterned on a studio-workshop model that also blended in a significant requirement for major literary study, and so the curriculum has always required and still requires workshops, craft courses, and “reading” courses. Due to this approach, and its location near the nation’s capital, the program found early success, which led to the core faculty being enlarged to include fiction writers Richard Bausch, Stephen Goodwin, and Alan Cheuse, as well as poets C.K. Williams, Carolyn Forche, and Susan Tichy. When in the mid-1990s, the faculty and administration added nonfiction as its third genre, writer Beverly Lowry was hired to anchor that concentration. Over the intervening years, departmental and program leadership carefully selected from the best contemporary writers to serve as new faculty members who expanded the program’s offerings and continue to enrich its aesthetic diversity. As a result, the Mason program doesn’t teach what might be thought of as the "Mason way" to write; instead, it offers experiences and opportunities in a nourishing environment that encourages students to grow into the writers they want to become. Today, students learn from a core faculty of highly acclaimed, extremely experienced literary artists who bring to each course and workshop our program’s most precious commodity—their love of teaching. Another trademark of the Mason program is the development and expansion of “non-classroom” opportunities, which have been established to encourage the enrichment of individual writers according to their interests and abilities (as well as to add experiences and credentials to their resumes). The rich array of ways to engage publishing practice and literary citizenship that distinguish Mason’s MFA program from all other programs starts, at least chronologically, with the Fall for the Book festival (https://fallforthebook.org/), begun in 1999 as a venture in partnership with numerous community and arts organizations throughout the region. For more than 20 years now, it has presented multi-day literary experiences that students can—and we think should—take advantage of during their years at Mason. In addition, working behind the scenes with Fall for the Book can help students gain valuable experience in events production and arts management. In 2014, some MFA faculty, administration, and alumni joined together to found Stillhouse Press (https://stillhousepress.org), designed as a teaching press that both offers publication opportunities for writers from around the world and affords Mason students first-hand exposure to all facets of book publishing. Soon after its founding, Stillhouse produced its first title, a volume of short stories, Helen on 86th Street and Other Stories, by Mason alum Wendi Kaufman. Today, Stillhouse offers students experience in everything from manuscript selection to book design and production to effective marketing and business strategies required in the changing world of publishing. Engagement with the press is undertaken through course work, internships, and newly developed Graduate Professional Assistantships, as well as on a volunteer basis. Writer Alan Cheuse, during almost 30 years of teaching at Mason, encouraged young writers to both find their own strengths and also look beyond themselves to the larger world for ideas and inspiration. For example, through his involvement with the annual Pegasus Prize, he brought to the Mason campus each year an international writer whose work had been selected for translation into English and publication in a special Pegasus edition. The event featured the international writer reading from their work in the original language and then Alan reading from the translation. When in 2014 talk within the program’s administration and faculty turned to exploring international links, Alan advocated for a center that would bring writers from around the world to Mason on a consistent basis. Alan died unexpectedly in the late summer of 2015; it seemed only appropriate to name for him the center for international writing that grew out of those early conversations. Today, the Cheuse Center for International Writers (https://cheusecenter.gmu.edu/) regularly brings literary artists to campus and the Washington, D.C., area as part of its work to facilitate “the exchange of international creative writers and writing in order to help foster the tolerance and understanding a more connected world requires.” Events on campus and in the community built around those visits offer truly unique experiences for Mason’s students, but the Center also offers MFA students a chance to propose their own research-abroad agendas and receive financial support to make them possible. In 2019, the Creative Writing Program announced a collaboration with nonprofit Daily Poetry Association and Mason University Libraries to relocate the curation, publication, and administration of Poetry Daily from Charlottesville to Mason’s campus. Launched in 1997, Poetry Daily is a highly esteemed online journal that features poets, their poetry, and publishers of poetry. The new collaboration transforms it into a significant learning opportunity for Mason students. Working with Poetry Faculty, students help select works to be featured each day on the Poetry Daily website (reimagined and redesigned at https://poems.com) and emailed every morning to a burgeoning list of subscribers. Students also work with Poetry Daily’s editorial board of poets, and gain experience in design and use of online publications, social media and multi-media platforms, and nonprofit arts administration. Finally, the Creative Writing Program boasts not one but two highly-acclaimed and innovative publications. In the early 1970s, authors Richard and Robert Bausch started phoebe and immediately folded it into the new degree program. phoebe prides itself on supporting up-and-coming writers whose style, form, voice, and subject matter demonstrate a vigorous appeal to the senses, intellect, and emotions of its readers. It publishes one print and one online issue per year (http://phoebejournal.com/). So to Speak was founded in 1993 by an editorial collective of women—all MFA candidates—and has served as a space for feminist writing and art for more than 25 years. As the journal has evolved over the years, so have its editors’ outlooks on feminism; they believe in an intersectional feminist outlook that includes, advocates for, and amplifies the perspectives and experiences of marginalized women and nonbinary people (https://sotospeakjournal.org). Meanwhile, the Department of English launched a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Creative Writing in 2013. One of only 30 BFAs in creative writing nationwide, students choose from three concentrations to choose from (fiction, poetry, nonfiction). The BFA is structured to give undergraduate students ample opportunity to learn to write and think creatively while also developing vocational writing skills, skills that are desperately needed in the workplace. BFA graduates also become competitive candidates at MFA programs across the country. Together, the BFA, MFA, and vibrant activity centered on contemplating, creating, and celebrating the literary arts form a community that distinguishes the Creative Writing Program at Mason. Thanks to Bill Miller, who served the George Mason University community for 33 years and was Director of Creative Writing from 1992 to 2018, for drafting this program history.

https://creativewriting.gmu.edu/prospectivestudents/creative-writing-program-history

Among the controversies surrounding the wave of self-immolations inside Tibet that began in February 2009 are debates over the motives of those committing these acts and their inherent value (or lack thereof). These debates are going on both within and without the People’s Republic of China, at times as parallel, non-intersecting discussions. The first interpretations from the Tibetan exile community ascribed the self-immolations to hopelessness and suicidal despair, an interpretation that can be best understood within the structural dependency built into exile life, which often encourages pathos-based appeals to the consciences of benefactors. But this tack was largely brought to a screeching halt by one essay, written by the long-time observer of Tibetan affairs, Christophe Besuchet. Drawing on what was known about and said by those who committed self-immolation, he pointed out that there was no evidence of depression and despair; that on the contrary, available personal information on those committing self-immolation, though certainly not complete, indicated that the actions were undertaken as acts of strong-willed political defiance and resistance. If exiles interpreted the acts according to their own circumstances so too did several liberal Chinese writing in cyberspace. There the assumption was that the Tibetans who committed self-immolation were uselessly trying to awaken the consciences of those in authority to the depths of misery inside Tibet. One example is this comment: “Any self-immolation can only illustrate the self-immolator’s clinging to a fantasy of the authorities’ ultimate goodwill.” This was also reflected in some of the early commentary from outside Tibet which held that these actions wasted human lives for nothing; that they were, moreover, fundamentally un-Buddhist. On that point one Tibetan exile spokespersonasserted his agreement with a Chinese commentator in the People’s Daily who had denounced the self-immolators as un-Buddhist. This sentiment in turn lead some to advocate that the Dalai Lama call for a halt to such actions. This, of course, was something that would have put him in an awkward position. Were he to call for such a halt to no effect, it might have implications for his unofficial authority. Were he effective he would provide fodder for Chinese claims that he pulls the strings of protest in Tibet. Another well-respected lama, the Karma-pa, did in November 2011 publicly call for an end to self-immolations, but they continued. He has not reiterated that appeal. After resisting appeals that she call for an end to self-immolation, stating that such calls would not alleviate the causes of self-immolation, the influential writer Tsering Woeser, while continuing to maintain respect for those who had committed such actions, also called for a halt to further acts after a widowed mother committed self-immolation on 4 March 2012 leaving behind four orphaned children. Nevertheless, acts of self-immolations have not stopped. Both Wang Lixiong and Tsering Woeser have called for Tibetans to move beyond self-immolation as a tactic. At the same time, neither has denigrated those who have committed such acts, let alone characterized them as acting contrary to Buddhist principles. But in a milieu effectively bereft of civil-society options for organizing peaceful protest and dissent it has been difficult to conceive of a viable alternate tactic. Self-immolation is a solitary, individual act of protest that can be undertaken in an instant with little chance for the authorities to prevent it, or to shut out the protester’s message. An end to the current wave of self-immolations will likely require an alternative tactic capable of comparable effect or the ceding of adequate space for dissent on the part of the authorities.

https://culanth.org/fieldsights/on-the-questions-of-why-and-to-what-end

A quick pit stop for fuel only got Erik Jones the track position he needed late in Saturday night’s Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway and put him in the third spot for the overtime restart that decided the race. Jones watched from his driver’s seat as brothers Kurt and Kyle Busch swapped door-slams over the final two laps. As he watched the battle in front of him, Jones tried to find a path to victory. “Yeah, I had two choices there going into (Turns) 3 and 4 (on the final lap),” Jones said. “I knew they were probably going to slide up, so I was going to try to run to the bottom and make a run on them, but they didn’t slide up enough, and I was tight and couldn’t quite get the run I needed to. The good news is that Jones climbed into 16th in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series standings, the last Playoff-eligible position. He is now two points to the good over Ryan Newman.

https://cupscene.com/erik-jones-front-row-seat-busch-brothers-battle/

Lāna’i Community Health Center (LCHC), located on the Hawaiian island of Lāna’i, serves a target population of those living at or below 200% of the federal poverty level, as well as those who are underinsured. The practice is a non-profit organization where no one is turned away due to an inability to pay for service. LCHC was awarded Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) 330e status in 2007, and has provided primary care, behavioral health, dental, vision, and other clinical, outreach and enabling services since 2008. Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) play a key role in providing affordable and accessible health care to underserved communities regardless of a patient’s ability to pay. FQHCs such as LCHC receive federal funding to support their work in providing primary and preventive care. To maintain this funding, the practice must adhere to a specific set of requirements, and report to the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), a division of the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), on a regular basis to ensure they are meeting quality standards for care and operation. LCHC recognized a number of improvements that could be made in their practice through better use of their eClinicalWorks system. They knew they were not using eCW to its full potential, and that their workflows and efficiencies could be dramatically improved by eliminating duplicative steps and manual processes such as faxing referrals and medical records. In addition, they were facing billing, claims management and collection challenges that they felt could be addressed through proper optimization of their eClinicalWorks billing. All of these items are of great importance when it comes to reporting key measures for FQHC status, and the team at LCHC needed their eClinicalWorks EMR to work for them rather than them working around the system. Curas has served as the direct contact for the LCHC team for several years, supporting the practice through their eClinicalWorks go-live and helping them learn all of the features and functionality in eClinicalWorks. LCHC knew that Curas had many years of experience working with medical practices across the United States, and wanted to leverage their knowledge to implement best practices. LCHC has experienced a number of advancements since optimizing their eClinicalWorks and workflows with Curas. The practice is seeing better documentation, as they now have the system and process in place to enter data more efficiently, allowing it to be easily pulled and analyzed for reporting purposes. Productivity across all departments, including front desk, medical, dental, vision, CHW, referrals and behavioral health has improved due to automation of key tasks and enhanced workflows.

https://curas.net/case-studies/lanai-community-health-center/

Love will not be denied, will not be shut out. Love overcomes every barrier. Love is here for you now. Drop your defenses and open now your heart. When you are ready, click on “The Word of God” below for today's scripture and then continue to follow the remaining steps of the devotion. With the coming of the Christ child there unfolded a great reversal, beginning with the unlikely woman who was his mother. A young, unmarried teenager, Mary found herself pregnant and responsible for birthing the savior of the world. It’s no wonder, then, that the song she sang at the beginning of Luke’s Gospel is all about reversals. With the coming of this child, she sang that the powerful would lose their power and those who had nothing would be filled with good and wonderful things. All the inequities of life as she knew it would be turned on their heads and changed by the coming of Messiah. It took a lot of courage to hold out for the great reversal. We should start now: looking for ways that Jesus changes everything. O God, you are coming to turn all of our expectations on their heads. Help me to be part of your great reversal. Amen. Live into the love God is bringing. Limit yourself only to sharing God's gift with profusion. Amy Butler has served as pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Washington, D.C. since 2003. In her free time Amy loves to travel, read, garden, and write. She often comments on faith and life in general on her blog, Talk With the Preacher. You can also read her columns every two weeks on Associated Baptist Press. Amy lives with her family in Washington, D.C.

https://d365.org/devotions/love-devotion-for-december-24-2012/

It’s official. We’re on our way to making a theatrical dance show like no other. THE PRODUCTION OF SWAY IS UNDERWAY! We want to take you on a journey. Take you with us on the road to the big show. We’re documenting the making of SWAY so you can see what it takes to put on a dance show that’s never been done before. Go behind the scenes to find out how the three main parts of the show, anchored by Maks Chmerkovskiy, Val Chmerkovskiy, and Tony Dovolani,will go from concept to reality. In future episodes we’ll take you to production meetings, rehearsals, and include interviews from the entire cast. Plus we’ll check in with our celebrity guests (hint: Zendaya). We may even reveal a surprise or two… or will we? In episode 1, we took the choreographers, David Thomas Moore and Joao Tiago Fernandes, to see the space where the magic will take place, conveniently titled, “The Space.” They discuss plans for the show and potential issues they run into. David and Tiago describe their vision of the dance production that will change the way you look at ballroom and latin dancing. The Space is located in Westbury, NY. This iconic venue first opened its door in November of 1927, and has recently been renovated to include a state of the art sound and lighting system, stylish decor, flexible seating, and four full bars. It’s a perfect venue for a dance show as grand as SWAY. Take a look at the video below and hear first hand from the choreographers the concept of SWAY: A Dance Trilogy! CLICK BELOW TO SHARE WITH FRIENDS!

https://dancewithmeusa.com/making-sway-episode-1-space/

I start school tomorrow, and I find myself strangely nervous. This will be my 7th year at the school, and none of my subjects have changed. But I find I have butterflies. I wonder if it’s because I’m going to tell the kids we’re adopting a baby?? Thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes. Today I feel much better, in general, about being 34 and barren! I was reading through my journals today and I’m certainly in a much better mental place than I was at this time last year. I’ll have to post some of the things I’ve written in the past – I think they may help some other women out there. We’ve been approved for about three weeks now, but the lawyer still hasn’t posted our profile online. Tomorrow I plan to email the law office and find out why. I’m hoping in the back of my mind it’s because they’ve already given out our profile and are waiting to hear from the birthmom. I imagine it’s more they just got busy and forgot that we agreed to be on their website. We have an extended family workshop on Friday, August 21. Our social work agency hosts this event – it’s for parents, grandparents and siblings of adoptive parents. They will go over the unique things that will happen, comparatively speaking. For example, holding the baby. I’ve read that for the first six weeks, if our baby cries, Keith or I are to be the ones to address the need and comfort our baby. That’s for bonding purposes. Well, apparently that’s not “normal.” Apparently, it’s “normal” for grandparents and aunts and uncles to feed and change babies from early on. So I guess that’s a change. Plus they’re going to address how our families can support us while we wait. I’m looking forward to the event, as we have 9 family members attending. In fact, I’m going to email the presenter (who heads up the agency) and ask if anyone else is attending. If not, I’m going to ask her to come to our house. The agency is 1 hour north of us; it would certainly be easier for her to drive south instead of 5 carloads of people to drive north. That same weekend I get to host my niece’s first birthday party, because even my brother and his wife are coming down from Detroit! They are super excited we are adopting, get to be parents, and get to provide cousins for their children. They want to be as supportive as possible, too! Previous Post Happy Birthday to Me? Next Post Feeling Like Real Estate?

https://danielthree18.com/2009/08/13/nervous-teacher/

It is a little past 9:00am when the Tulcea seafront began to attract the early-rising visitors. The end of summer found us exactly where we had been for the past 6 years, close to the people from Tulcea and our friends from Asociația Mila 23 Ivan Patzaichin, at RowmaniaFest 2017. At this year’s edition of the fest we prepared plenty of surprises not only for the participants, but also for the numerous visitors that came to experience the spirit of the rowing competition. The expectation was the 7th year of the festival to turn into the most successful one so far and we were not left disappointed. Every year the festival becomes reality and continues to attract participants during the first weekend of September, thanks to the consistency and dedication of the organisers who look after the practicalities on the day and make the people from Tulcea more and more interested in environment, food, health and sustainability based topics. From the morning of the first day, children of all ages had the chance to get to know more about the sturgeon species that are currently living in the Danube, such as Beluga Sturgeon, Stellate Sturgeon, Sterlet and Russian Sturgeon, as well as those that had not been seen in the Danube for over 40 years – Ship Sturgeon and European Sturgeon. That was followed up by an arty-crafty activity where each of the kids received a t-shirt and textile marker pens to customize it based on their vision on the endangered fish species in the Danube river. Parents and the rest of the visitors were not left out from the fun activities – for them the organisers had an instant photo booth where photos were printed as magnets for everyone to take a little something that reminds them of the time spent at the fest in Tulcea. For WWF the location of the fest is of particular importance as it gave us the perfect opportunity to remind locals and the town’s guests of how crucial it is to continue protecting sturgeons in the Danube river and even most importantly – to raise awareness of the different sources of sturgeon products. People were advised that they always check the quality of the fish in terms of its origin to ensure it comes from clean waters and healthy environment and if it is fair trade, meaning that the rights of local fishermen are protected. Furthermore, when purchasing sturgeon caviar checking the contents information and the actual quality is highly recommended due to the increasing number of cases of counterfeit products made of algae and roe of another fish and not of sturgeon. Those are only a small part of the activities that fall under the “LIFE for Danube Sturgeons” project run by WWF with focus on saving the flagship fish of the Danube. We, from the sturgeon team of the WWF panda family, spent two beautiful days with the people from Tulcea where we met new people and were able to strengthen our bond with those who we already know. Now, it is time to reminisce on own our experiences, all of them inspirational and very stimulating for the work we do in the region and to come up with new ideas for our next year’s participation that undoubtedly will bring us even greater pleasure.

https://danube-sturgeons.org/the-sturgeons-arrived-to-rowmaniafest-2017/

We are uploading your image(s)... FOR SUBMISSIONS THAT ARE TO BE USED BY THE CHURCH, ITS AFFILIATED ENTITIES, AND OTHERS The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the "Church") has given individuals the opportunity to submit content including writings, photos, artwork, text, video recordings, audio recordings, music (such as sheet music, lyrics, tunes, musical recordings, etc.), and other content in response to requests for such materials from the Church for consideration and possible use by the Church. You have expressed a desire to voluntarily provide such content, but to do so you must agree as follows: You understand and agree that if you submit any writing, photo, artwork, text, video recording, audio recording, music, or any other material ("Submission" or "Submissions"), at any time, you grant to Intellectual Reserve, Inc. and its licensees, successors, assigns, and affiliated entities (collectively, "IRI") the right to publish and use the Submission. 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https://dctemplelights.churchofjesuschrist.org/dctl/upload

I’m a 20-year-old guy, and, while I think of myself as average looking, I have struggled with confidence in the past. I treated the escorts respectfully and am not a misogynist. I used protection, felt safe before, during and after, and got tested (and was NEGATIVE); however, I deeply regret using escorts in the past. I am trying to learn from that mistake and accept myself for who I am, and I’m ready to put this behind me. Maybe it was a good thing to get a little bit of promiscuity out of the way. I would never even think of doing it again because I believe I’m a good person. I do care about people, but, at that time, I was just foolish and horny. It’s not like I’m the first or last guy to do it (a lot of men just won’t admit doing it), but I know that’s not the point. My thoughts are that you are being too hard on yourself. So you slept with a few escorts. So what? And you know what? As long as you are disease-free and don’t have kids, your sexual history is no one’s business — not your friends, not your family, and not any future partner. You are allowed to have past experiences that are and remain entirely yours and they don’t need to be shared with anyone. You are allowed to have a past. You’re even allowed to be glad you had certain experiences, even if they aren’t experiences you’d ever want to repeat or recommend to anyone else. Those experiences made you who you are today, and, as you said: you’re a good person. But here’s the thing: even good people pay for sex sometimes. You can care about people and still pay for the experience of having sex you may not be able to have otherwise. Trading cash for physical intimacy isn’t a symptom of being bad. You know what is? Treating people disrespectfully. Being unkind. Blaming others for your own low self-esteem. Being close-minded. Taking, taking, taking without ever giving back. And people who are all of these things — even people who are “bad”— are still just human like the rest of us, making mistakes and maybe even learning from them and growing from them. We’re all on our own journeys, celebrating our own minor and major victories and battling our own demons or insecurities or general shit that gets us down. Most of us are doing the best we can, and some of us are even pretty good at hiding the ugly stuff, the hard stuff, the stuff that keeps us from being the best versions of ourselves we can be. But we all have that stuff. All of us. Every single one of us. You are the sum of all of your experiences, not just isolated ones that represent a teeny tiny percentage of your entire history. You are the kindness you’ve shown others and the work you invested in reaching a goal and the moments you’ve fallen a little bit in love with someone you just met. You are the good days and the bad days and the weeks you’ve lost to being sick. You are all your first days of school and summer vacations and the dates you’ve had with someone you were trying to get to know. You are the sum of ALL your experiences, and you are under no obligation to share with potential partners any of the isolated experiences you feel uncomfortable with or ashamed of or that don’t effectively represent who you are now. Don’t let a handful of experiences define your past or steer your future. Your life is so much bigger than that. And so are you. They should just legalize prostitution already. I’m not a big fan of it, personally, but it’s here and it’s not going away, so they might as well make it safer for the people doing it. Then guys like this won’t have to break the law if they can’t get sex through more “traditional” methods. Yes, I’ve seen that data before. But it’s not a reason to keep all prostitution illegal. I saw a great documentary a few years ago where they went around the world and studied legal prostitution businesses and which ones were safest for the prostitutes. The safest ones by far were self-owned. If it were legal to be a prostitute, but not legal to employ prostitutes, then it wouldn’t be as attractive to human traffickers because they wouldn’t have legal control over the prostitutes. If the prostitute themselves had to register as a business, it would be less safe for the trafficker. Another thing that would make it better is if you had to be a citizen to be a legal prostitute. That would make things much harder for traffickers. Also, I have to wonder if the uptick in trafficking is somewhat tied to additional awareness. When it’s legal, it’s not as underground, and so it can be tracked down more easily. Not to mention that illegal prostitution, if it involves a pimp, could be counted as sex trafficking anyway. Those prostitutes are typically not just free to go, they’re more like slaves. But they’re not counted in trafficking numbers because they weren’t necessarily brought in from another country. That’s really interesting. I had never thought of solutions like that to dissuade trafficking but increase safety for prostitutes. I agree with the must be a legal citizen and no employing prostitutes. Thanks! And the great thing about it is, if prostitution is generally legal, then you won’t end up with a black market for it, so there will be nowhere for the traffickers to go. Especially if you have large punishments for any john who uses an illegal prostitute. Who would risk it when they have legal options? I agree with you, jlb80. I live in Germany, and I see lots of negative consequences of the legalisation. Huge brothels (4500 sqm) are opening in my city – and this is not a very large city. Johns come over from neighboring countries where prostitution is illegal. You can imagine what kind of clientele that is, and how they behave when they’re in the city centre. Street prostitutes are everywhere, and many of them are from other countries. Are they here voluntarily? I wouldn’t bet on it. And like in the old, “illegal” times, they still have to be outside all night, going with whomever picks them up, risking abuse etc. So the dangerous half-legal milieu is still there. I’m a bit more critical than Wendy regarding the LW’s question, too. In my opinion, it IS misogynist to pay an escort for sex. It’s telling that he uses the expression “USING an escort” twice. So no, it’s not okay. But it happened, and you’re not intending to do it again. Personally, I’d like to know if my boyfriend paid for sex in the past. It’s of course not something that belongs on a first date, but if you want an honest relationship, I’d say disclose this fact at some point. I agree that I wouldn’t be happy to find out that a guy I was dating paid for sex. I guess it’s an unpopular opinion judging by the other comments, but I think that in the current environment it’s immoral. The main reason being that there’s no way the john can tell if the prostitute is doing it freely, or is being coerced. They may be debt slaves or they may be actual slaves or they may be living under fear of violence if they don’t comply. Or they may be totally free to leave prostitution and they do it for the money. But there’s no way to know, unless maybe you actually know the person and know their life. Therefore if you’re paying for sex, you’re basically saying that you’re okay with taking the chance that you’re contributing to forced prostitution. You might not actually be contributing to it, but you’re willing to take the risk as long as you get sex out of it. I couldn’t date someone who thought that was okay. And if he hasn’t thought it through or realized that sex slavery was a possibility, that’s almost worse. It just shows he doesn’t even think about what their situation might be like or why they would agree to prostitute themselves. It’s too bad that legal prostitution has gone so wrong in Germany. I hope that instead of fuelling the movement to keep it illegal, it can be used as a case study to learn the right way to do it. In my opinion, if the safety of the prostitutes is the core of the legislation, it will become difficult to take advantage of them. If no one was allowed to make money from prostitution except the prostitutes themselves, then traffickers would have a real problem doing business. So would the sleazebags who run those brothels. There will always be sex trafficking because some things will always (rightfully) be illegal: kidnapping/bait and switch, sex with minors, etc. Legalizing prostitution will chip away at some of the issues if more countries get on board. But as long as it is illegal somewhere, then it will behoove criminals to abduct women and children from that place for criminal activities. LW, I really think this should stay in the closet. Not because it’s something you need to feel ashamed of (it isn’t), but because it’s unnecessary information. I don’t need to know every detail of every sexual encounter my boyfriend has had in the past, and this counts as one of those details. I do know that he had some one night stands in college; that was many years ago and I couldn’t care less. It has zero relevance to the relationship that he and I have. WWS — I am not even going to try to add to that. WWS for sure – she really says it perfectly. My fiance and I are very open with each other, but we have never shared any specific details about our sexual pasts, including numbers of how many we’ve slept with and it has done no damage to our relationship. As you say, this is part of your past, so leave it there and move onto the next phase of your life! That was a super heartfelt response, Wendy. I loved it. LW, a lot of people judge others a lot of the time. ESPECIALLY when it comes to sex (and parenting and being single and weddings and your hair color, but I digress). That’s why I don’t think I would advertise your sexual past with potential partners. It’s nothing to be ashamed of at all, and Wendy covered the reasons why. Personally, I don’t care about a boyfriend’s sexual past and I probably wouldn’t continue seeing someone if he cared that much about mine. It’s just like, so what? You know? WWS. This is so not a big deal. And, if it is to somebody you’re seeing, then that’s not the right person for you! It’s okay that you did this. Probably will again. Nobody is perfect. And anyone who is, is lying (and really boring – seriously, our flaws are what make us interesting). You would only need to tell someone if you had an std and even then you would say I have x rather than I have x because I slept with prostitutes. There’s really no reason to tell anyone about it nor is there a reason to be ashamed but its just better not to tell. As for LW, definitely WWS! I have a checkered past too – to the point that I disclosed to my partners that I have tested positive for Hep B. Disclosing potential STD exposure is common courtesy and one has an obligation to do that. Yet disclosing shadows of a past, yet varied sexual history? That depends on the person you’re seeing and how much you trust them. One guy I was seeing did reveal to me that, although he did not have as many partners as I did, he HAS paid for sex before. Yet even though some people may make a revelation of that kind a red flag, I also saw how kind he was now, how I appreciated his honesty and how dedicated he could be, as well as all the other bells and whistles that signaled to me I could be serious with him. Almost 10 years later (including 7 years of marriage), I’m still seeing that guy. And I’m sure something similar will be happening to you too….Good Luck LW. I lost my virginity with a professional sex worker in Athens Greece (it’s legal there) and the only regret I have is that happened far too fast. It was not the last time that I hired a woman for sex but it didn’t take very long to conclude that masturbation was just as satisfying, safer and cheaper but sometimes a hard cock overrules reason. As long as you use protection and get tested before having sex with someone else there’s nothing wrong with paying direct. Telling a partner all about your sexual history is something that listening to your gut about is the best advise. The best general guide I can suggest is to not say anything until your pretty sure that the relationship is going to be long term. I bet this subject will kick off a lot of comments. That’s actually fascinating!! And isn’t it kind of a rule that most first encounters are over way too fast and/or fairly unsatisfying?? Hmmm so I once worked as a stripper and I take this kind of information similarly. I’ve always told partners because I don’t feel bad about it at all. It’s not a big deal. There are lots of sex workers and someone is hiring them, yet that side never gets talked about. I don’t think it’s wrong per se not to mention it to a partner, but I also don’t see the point in hiding it. The right person wouldn’t judge you or care that you paid for sex. My husband was a very late bloomer and told me he considered paying for sex so he could lose his virginity. He didn’t do it, but it wouldn’t have mattered to me if he did. So I wouldn’t go telling everyone if I were you, but I also couldn’t imagine not eventually telling the person I will my spend my life with. That’s what I was thinking. Don’t go around broadcasting it, but don’t hide it either. And also I just want to add, that I think it’s important to tell a lifelong partner eventually to help get rid of the stigma. Because again the right person won’t care. Everyday people pay for sex. The more people who can talk about it openly, the less stigma there is. There are many countries where paying for sex doesn’t have the negativity it does here. I’ll be the first naysayer: this letter gave me the creeps. Not the escort thing, but the language and tone. “Used escorts” =/= (to me) someone who recognizes those women as people. “Maybe it was a good thing to get a little bit of promiscuity out of the way”–the word “promiscuity” rubs me the wrong way; it’s a judgmental word. As Wendy says, paying for sex doesn’t automatically equal “bad person”. And why is he careful to mention that he hasn’t always had to pay for it? He’s learned he’s a “relationship person”, great. But when he meets women who are interested in a relationship with him, is he going to be as generous with THEIR sexual pasts or see them as “bad people” if they’ve engaged in behavior he doesn’t approve of? To me all this sounds suspiciously like Men’s Rights Awareness Activist stuff, though it may just be standard Nice Guy stuff. Hi, I’m the guy who posted. I understand how my tone may have been weird. I get that these escorts are people too, that’s the point I’m trying to make! Also, I’m sorry it offended you about clarifying I haven’t always had to “pay for it”. I just felt that someone was going to assume that’s the only kind of sex I’ve had. One last thing, I would never hold anyone’s past against them. Particularly people I like. People change and grow from experiences and mistakes. I don’t present myself in any weird way. I’ve just had low self esteem in the past. I try to be a nice friendly guy. It isn’t me anymore honestly. I know that it’s difficult for someone to understand someone’s tone over a letter, and I’m not being sarcastic. Thanks for the kind words everyone! I’m glad most people on here are very forgiving and open minded. I don’t think you’re getting my point–in my opinion (and apparently some others), you ARE presenting yourself in a “weird way”–at least through this letter. The only reason I commented on it was because I thought there was a chance that you are a good, regular guy not realizing how he sounded. I’m not offended. And I am, to some extent, “forgiving” and open minded. (I put “forgiving” in quotation marks because you haven’t done anything that I need to forgive you for.) The way I read your letter just made you come off as creepy. Again, it isn’t the behavior. It’s that you sounded defensive and judgmental. This, for instance: “I just felt that someone was going to assume that’s the only kind of sex I’ve had”–why would we care? Why would that matter in the context of your letter? You say you realize that “escorts are people too”, so make sure your words reflect the way you feel. I think you should disclose this information to your future girlfriends. It’s not a big deal, and it’s not something you should be ashamed of, but it seems like it’s a really big deal to you. Don’t sit your girlfriend down and have a Serious Talk with her and break this info to her like it’s something huge, but after you’ve been dating for a while and if/when the opportunity presents itself, like while watching Law and Order SVU or Pretty Woman, just mention that you frequented escorts when you were young but don’t do it anymore. And if she is curious about it, describe all the things you wrote here. If she runs, then she’s not someone you want to be with anyway. LW, I would say to give yourself a break. My husband and I have been together 10 years and both know that we were by no means virgins when we got married. We have talked about it from time to time but never really delved into the details. Let sleeping dogs lie and I will tell you that when you get distance from this, it will be less of a big deal. Now, that being said, I liked what Wendy (Not Wendy) said about the language you are using. Be open minded about the totality of your sex life and be kind to any future female partners and their histories. I say good for you. I wish it were as easy for girls to be able to pay for sex, because god knows I would have gone for it a long time ago. I thought it would get better over the years, I’ve gone to therapy, etc., but this feeling that I’m gross and no one will ever want me still lingers. Now I’m 33 and I have absolutely no relationship experience. The only sexual experience I’ve ever had is a handful of one night stands in college. Now I’m so afraid to even try dating because of my lack of experience across the board. I don’t know how to explain that to a potential partner. Now I’m at an age where guys don’t want to go to bed with a woman who really doesn’t know what she’s doing. So once again I say good for you for getting some experience. This really is no one’s damn business. LW, if I was dating you, I wouldn’t want to know that you paid for sex as a horny teenager. It’s not that I think it makes you a bad person (it totally doesn’t), I just don’t want to have to think about it. I guess it all depends on the girl that you’re doting. If they start bringing up past sexual partners, and ask you about yours, then, yeah, tell them. If they fault you for what you did in your past instead of looking at who you are now, good riddance to them. But I wouldn’t bring it up otherwise. So, my ex-fiance breast fed until he was four. His family jokes about it. BUT, it totally skeeved me out. I don’t know why. It just did. So yeah, I don’t judge him for it, but it was something I couldn’t get out of my head. The boob area ended up being off limits. That was totally my hang up, I realize that. Unless asked, there are some things I just wouldn’t bring up. But I’m not the kind of person that thinks you NEED TO KNOW EVERYTHING about your partner or friends or family. Everyone approaches relationships differently- I think with an issue like this it’s not about right vs. wrong but rather a subjective preference. Some tell their partners EVERYTHING and would consider it a lie by omission if you didn’t disclose this. Others their sex lives none of their partner’s business, so long as it’s not still happening and doesn’t affect them. You just need to figure out what level of disclosure you and your are comfortable with. If you want to know more about how your girlfriend views this topic, maybe broach a hypothetical with her, or even ask her flat out how she feels about partners sharing their pasts. I remember asking my now husband if he ever paid for sex and he said no. I wasn’t being judgey at all, just curious, we’re very open about our past sexual experiences. He said no. The funny part is the very next day he was telling me a story about vacationing in Brazil and that he hired a female local to show him around, have dinner with, and yes had sex with! I guess in his reasoning either because it was in another country where it was legal or because it was a “package” deal he didn’t think he paid for sex. I think you should tell your girlfriends/serious partners. For some people, it’s a deal-breaker, and they’re entitled to that kind of information if they ask for it or if you reasonably perceive that it would be important to them. I’m apparently in the minority on this, but I definitely think it’s relevant information that goes to character. Everyone has character flaws–don’t get me wrong–but everyone deserves to know the values of their serious partner. Just casually mention it when things get serious and see where it goes. For most people, I’m sure it won’t be a problem. If I’m being honest, twenty-year-old (very cautious) me would have been skeeved out if I guy I started to date told me his first few times were with escorts. I don’t think it would bother me now, but I think a lot of young adults who are just becoming experienced might have a less worldly reaction. Of course now is a different time and so maybe that isn’t the case. I would just avoid bringing it up early on. It really is nobody else’s business. But know that it doesn’t make you a bad person. This is going to be unpopular but I’m just going to say it. While I don’t believe people’s morality and sexuality are intertwined, I wouldn’t want somebody I loved to go into the sex industry. And would probably discourage someone I loved from turning to the sex industry to gain their first few experiences. I know there are exceptions. There are women (and men) who work phone lines, webcams, strip, or escort that are young and comfortable with their bodies and what they do. Maybe they feel empowered and like they make good money in a way that is fun and giving. But for every one of these young people, worldwide there are probably about 10 or more people that have been coerced into using their bodies in ways that feel degrading and hurtful. So many of these people got started as children or underaged teenagers that were often forced by their very parents to help feed their families. They are being deprived an opportunity to develop themselves in other ways. Even in the united states, many young people who have run away from home wind up in sex industries for lack of other options. And in my area, glamourous young escorts aren’t the norm. A lot of local prostitutes (don’t ask how I know) struggle with addiction problems. They aren’t educated, have crappy self-esteem, and are doing the only thing that seems accessible. The men who visit them tend to be married and often are suffering from sexual compulsions. The oldest profession isn’t going anywhere and criminalizing it instead of managing it might feed the exploitative nature. And there are certainly exceptions where paying for sex makes sense (I’ve heard of this in situations with disabilities). Nobody’s personal value should be associated with how they use and experience their own body. But if we are going to discuss sex work its only fair to examine it from all angles. Let the throwback begin!

https://dearwendy.com/should-i-tell-future-partners-ive-hired-escorts-in-the-past/

At Maverick Landing the design team faced the challenge of designing quality, mixed-income housing under the budget constraints inherent to such a project. Fortunately, through the cooperation of the Boston Redevelopment Authority, the Boston Housing Authority, and a private development entity willing to innovate, Maverick Landing reinvents what city sponsored multi-family housing can be in an urban environment. Distilled, the program’s requirements were ambitious. The project was charged with replacing the monolithic super-block of the existing 1940 Maverick Gardens Public Housing Development with 400 units of housing—both market rate and affordable—using a combination of mid-rise and low-rise buildings. The units were to be designed and constructed to be attractive and livable, with the varied needs of diverse users in mind, and were to incorporate as many cost-effective green elements, as set forth by the LEED commission, as possible. The result, as evidenced in Phase I, is a very livable and significantly green neighborhood. Maverick Landing sits squarely at the heart of redevelopment opportunities in East Boston. By restoring the historic neighborhood street pattern, interrupted by the 1940 development, the site is reconnected physically and visually, to the surrounding community, park, and waterfront. Throughout the Phase I development, a rich network of connected, pedestrian-friendly sidewalks and green spaces were included as well as completed upgrades to LoPresti Park, a waterfront park that sits off Sumner Street, just across from the project. These paths and green spaces encourage residents to explore and enjoy their community. This combination of restored streets, pedestrian walkways, and appropriately scaled and designed housing connect Maverick Landing to the social and physical fabric of the community and make it an attractive place to live. The development offers mixed-income housing to a community that has expressed a need for both. Phase I consists of a mid-rise building of 119 units and four low-rise buildings totaling in 31 units. Of these, 23% are leased at market rate. The range of unit types found in both the mid- and low-rise buildings can accommodate a variety of living situations. All ground floor units in the mid-rise are two- and three- bedroom family friendly apartments with individual entrances. Units on the upper floors are one- and two-bedroom, some of which are barrier free, and are designed to accommodate singles, couples, and smaller families. The four low-rise buildings are three-stories with a combination of gable and flat roofs and are comprised of multi-bedroom flats and three to four-bedroom townhouses that open onto individual back yards. These units are also specifically designed to be family friendly. Some parking is designated as on-street, but the mid-rise houses a 56-space garage below ground as well as several bike racks. Public transportation is also convenient to the project with Maverick Square, a major public transit hub, 1/4 mile away. This blend of unit types, amenities and transportation options allows for the integration of middle-class families in the area who can make significant contributions to the local economy. The array of photo-voltaic panels atop the roof of the mid-rise reflects most dramatically the commitment to sustainable design in this project. The 112 module 35 kW photovoltaic (PV) array and 75 kW cogeneration system is designed to produce all the power necessary to light the building’s common areas, run its elevators and act as a back-up for domestic hot water heating. But all buildings and unit types benefit from some kind of green strategy. The mid-rise is equipped with a highly efficient gas absorption chiller / boiler that acts as both the primary heating and cooling source for the building; all lights and appliances in both mid-rise and low-rise are Energy Star rated; and partly recycled materials such as concrete, steel, and carpeting were used throughout. Many local materials were used for the project including the structural steel, wall panels, concrete and granite. For water savings, planting species for landscaping are all native to the area and drought resistant. Maverick Landing’s high performance envelope includes fiberglass windows to help control condensation and thermal bridging. Extensive air sealing and air infiltration barriers minimize moisture and air intrusion. Working together these measures will ultimately prolong the life of the building and save energy. Residents have the opportunity to learn more about Maverick Landing’s solar, green and energy saving aspects at the projects information center, which is located in the lobby of the mid-rise. Quality assurance testing was specified for all of the project’s major systems during construction. Thorough training of building staff is intended to assure that the building continues to operate optimally. The project’s PV panels will be inspected regularly to verify that they are clean and providing maximum energy output. It is anticipated that normal rainfall will keep the panels clean. The development also strives to improve the health of residents, many of whom have asthma, through improved indoor air quality. All units conform to the Boston Housing Authority Healthy Homes criteria for floor and wall finishes. Marmoleum, a natural sheet flooring material low in volatile organic compounds (VOC's) was used as well as low VOC paints. Wet areas in all units (kitchens and baths) have smooth and cleanable surfaces that do not trap moisture, minimizing the potential for mold growth. Each unit is ventilated beyond code requirements, supplying fresh air directly from the outside. To eliminate the potential transfer of smoke and odors among apartments, extensive air sealing separates each unit from its neighbor. Maverick Landing is a recipient of a Massachusetts Technology Collaborative grant for renewable energy and one of the project’s mid-rise buildings is currently undergoing LEED certification. The Boston Housing Authority expects the project’s solar panels, on-site power generation, fiberglass windows and energy-saving lighting and motors to save $100,000 a year in energy costs. Lessons Learned from the architect - Green is not inherently more expensive, there are trade offs. If you build a tighter envelope you can reduce the size and cost of your mechanical systems. You need time to discuss options, so energy modeling should be done up front to give you the time to make good decisions and see how all your choices affect each other. Creating a strong team and maintaining a positive attitude is necessary. Access to Public Transportation Maverick Square, a major public transit hub, is 1/4 mile away. Daylighting Window placement and size allows for ample daylighting. Water Efficient Landscaping Planting species are all native to the area and drought resistant. Local Materials Local materials include the structural steel, wall panels, concrete and granite. Recycled Content Materials Partly recycled materials such as concrete, steel, and carpeting were used throughout. Steel and concrete structure clad in brick. New construction townhouse and flat rental units. Low income 50% - 80% AMI, Section 8 voucher holders. $54,000,000 ($360,000/unit); Completed in 2005.

https://designadvisor.org/node/4493

As you very well know, there are a dozen different reasons an individual may consider working with a personal trainer. Some want a program that has been designed specifically for them, while others may want someone that can hold them accountable and keep them motivated. No matter where you currently are on your health and fitness journey, having a personal trainer on your side may be just what you need to get you to the finish line. Here are 5 reasons you should consider hiring a personal trainer. Are you new to exercising? Are you feeling a bit overwhelmed by all the conflicting information being printed in magazines and posted online? If you don’t know where or how to get started, hiring a personal trainer is a great place to start. A certified personal trainer will know how to create a complete program based on your level of experience as well as your goals. A trainer can also show you how to maximize your time every time you workout. By getting the most out of every workout session you will be able to get better results in a shorter period of time. While most of us have an intrinsic reason to workout, for many of us that reason isn’t enough. So instead of working out we will opt to sleep a little longer. When you have a trainer they will hold you accountable. Every week they will expect you to be making progress. Your trainer will know if you have been following instructions based on your results. Having this type of accountability makes it difficult to cheat on your diet or skip workouts. A personal trainer can do more than just hold you accountable when it comes to getting in the gym. They will also be holding you accountable financially and time wise. To have a personal trainer costs money. Most people don’t want to pay money for something and then not use it. And being that your time is precious, you will be less likely to waste it when you have a personal trainer keeping a close eye on you. If you have a marathon, or any other special event coming up, a personal trainer can prove to be a huge asset. Coming up with the right workouts for a marathon can prove to be quite difficult. A personal trainer who has experience in this area will be able to tell you how you need to workout and how you need to eat to reach your goal. They will also help you come up with a training schedule that will ensure your body is able to properly recover after each workout. This is probably one of the more common reasons people get a personal trainer. Sometimes, no matter how hard you are working out, you just can’t seem to get the results you want. A certified personal trainer will be able to look at your current program and make it more effective. They will examine your goals and see if the program you are following is the right fit based on those goals. If it isn’t they will make the needed adjustments to help you get on the right path. Sometimes a lack of results is due to a lack of effort in the gym. When you are working out by yourself it is easy to slack off. Having a personal trainer there to push you a little harder may be all you need to get things moving in the right direction. If you have been working out for any length of time then there is a good chance you have been doing the same workout for several months. Eventually you will get into a rut and stop seeing results. A personal trainer can bring a new perspective to your workouts. A trainer will be able to look at your workouts and make a few changes that can instantly make them more interesting. Something as simple as adding more weights to a lift can make your workout more fun and more challenging. A personal trainer will also be experienced in a variety of different workout styles. They will know how to use different methods such as supersets to ensure you don’t hit a plateau. Keep in mind you don’t need to meet with a personal trainer everyday. Even if you meet with one two or three times a week, that can prove to be very beneficial to your overall results. When looking for a trainer look for one that not only has the proper certification and experience, but one that you are also comfortable with. Otherwise you will more than likely waste your money by not going to your training sessions.

https://dietbreakthroughs.com/2018/12/08/should-you-hire-a-personal-trainer-5-reasons-you-should/

Learn more about ImageMagick and GD Library and see why they are now present on almost every web server. ImageMagick and GD are two of the most popular graphic software libraries out there. They make the dynamic creation and editing of images and graphs on an internet site feasible, so they need to be available on a web server if you host your websites on it and you prefer to have something different than static images with fixed dimensions. If ImageMagick and GD are present, you'll be able to edit any image in many ways - generate thumbnails, change the colors, flip it, blur it, and so forth. Needless to say, these tweaks are possible if the script application that you employ on your site permits you to perform such things. The two libraries could be used with numerous web development languages - PHP, Python, Perl, etc., and support over 100 widely used image formats which you will be able to work with - PNG, PSD, JPEG, TIFF, GIF and many more. All shared website hosting plans which we offer are set up on our state-of-the-art cloud platform and due to the fact that both GD Library and ImageMagick are present on it, your script applications will be able to use these software suites at any time. The libraries are accessible with all PHP versions that we offer because we support PHP 4 and a few different versions of PHP 5. No matter if you use a custom-made script, one of the apps that you are able to install through the Hepsia Control Panel or some third-party application that you find on the worldwide web, you can build feature-rich multi-media websites, for example image galleries or socially-oriented portals where both you and your users will be able to work with graphs and / or images in real time provided that the script features such options. Since both GD Library and ImageMagick are installed on the cloud platform where all the semi-dedicated server accounts are created, you won't have any problems to run any kind of script app which needs these libraries in order to work properly. A number of apps allow you to work with graphs and pictures - community forums, content management systems, blog platforms, etcetera, so when you employ such software on our end, you will be able to use all of its attributes - automatically generated thumbnails for images attached to a forum reply or customizable avatars on a social network website, for example. The two libraries are available with all of the PHP versions which you're able to select through the Hepsia hosting Control Panel - 4, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4 and 5.5.

https://digital-canadian.com/hosting-glossary/imagemagick-and-gd-library/

Tags containing: "policy" As you consider updates to the ePrivacy Directive, we are writing to offer the perspective of premium publishers of digital media content. Digital Content Next (DCN) was founded in 2001 and remains the only U.S.-based trade association that exclusively represents premium digital content creators. Several of our members are based in Europe and many more have a substantial presence in Europe. DCN members include many of the Internet’s most trusted and respected media brands, collectively reaching an unduplicated audience of 230.6 million unique visitors – or 100% of the U.S. online population monthly. Importantly, DCN members maintain direct, trusted relationships with consumers and advertisers. We agree with the need to update and modernize the ePrivacy Directive to account for new technologies that are employed to track consumers in the digital world and hope to see a text which will more closely harmonize the Directive with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). As you consider changes to the text of the Draft Regulation, we encourage you to focus on consumer expectations. Consumers have nearly unlimited choices over where they can find news and entertainment online. If a consumer does not trust the site or the content, they can and do choose to go elsewhere. This creates a dynamic in which consumer-facing websites and apps must continue to earn the trust of their audiences or risk losing them. A key to maintaining that trust is to collect and use a consumer’s data in ways that meet with the consumer’s expectations. For example, when consumers visit a premium publisher’s site or app, they expect their data will be collected and used in ways to benefit their experience for purposes such as analytics, fraud protection, personalization, subscriptions and content recommendation. Consumers also are not likely to be concerned when their data will be used for benign purposes such as audience measurement or other uses where data is aggregated. At the same time, publishers need to be able to monetize their content through advertising in order to minimize costs for consumers. Certainly, there are also societal benefits from properly funded news organizations. However, most consumers do not approve of their data being collected in one context and then used in a different context. For instance, absent any transparency, a consumer would not expect or even know that a data broker or a broadband service provider might be tracking their activity across the internet for the purpose of building a profile about them, which could then be used to deliver targeted advertising. A consumer might see the value in allowing a social media company or a search engine to track their activity while using their website or app, but that consumer would not approve of those companies continuing to track them long after the consumer had left their domain and visited a different website. Our position is that the ePrivacy Regulation should require transparency and consumer consent in cases where consumer data will be collected and used across multiple contexts.Consumers understand and can see the benefits of the collection and use of their data within a single context. Conversely, collection and use of consumer data across different contexts is far less transparent and is much less likely to result in direct benefits for consumers. While differentiating between data collection and use within a single context versus data collection and use across multiple contexts would map with an average consumer’s expectation, it would have the additional benefit of avoiding over-notification of consumers. As the Draft Regulation notes in (22) of the preamble, “end-users are overloaded with requests to provide consent.” When consumers are flooded with notifications in digital media,they tend to become fatigued. They can also become annoyed when notifications cause friction in their digital experience – especially when they are simply attempting to access content from a trusted source. By focusing consent requirements on non-transparent data collection and use, the ePrivacy Regulation would minimize friction where consumers have trusted relationships while also creating a choice mechanism where a relationship does not exist. Finally, the current version of the ePrivacy Regulation suggests a central role for browsers in obtaining and storing consumer consent. While there may be merits to providing clear choices to consumers at the browser level, we are concerned that by making the browsers the sole point of obtaining consent for tracking, there could be an unintended consequence of increasing the leverage of large companies with browsers or platforms in the digital ecosystem, such as Google and Facebook, particularly if their primary business is selling advertising across the web thereby competing with publishers. At the same time, it would not make sense to require publishers to ask consumers for consent to track all of their activity across the internet. Indeed, publishers would likely ask consumers for consent to be tracked by the publisher and their chosen third party partners solely while on the site. As you consider the role that browsers can and should play, it is important that options are preserved and encouraged for narrow consent required for delivery of the context in which value is being delivered to the consumer. We appreciate your efforts to protect the rights of European citizens. Please let us know if we can be of assistance.

https://digitalcontentnext.org/blog/tag/policy/

Recently, Sonali Bendre shared a picture on Instagram with her son talking about how she broke the news of her cancer diagnosis to him. Here's what Psychiatrist Dr Sanjay Chugh has to say about talking to loved ones about cancer diagnosis. Ever wondered what it is like to hear from your loved one that they have been diagnosed with cancer? The amount of emotional distress caused by this statement can break you down. But this is when you need to gather strength and support the one in pain. Sonali Bendre's cancer diagnosis too has been quite shocking and distressing for her family, friends, and fans. But that did not stop the actress from fighting the disease upfront. Nevertheless, the one challenge she faced was to tell her son about her disease. Recently, the actress shared a picture on Instagram with her son talking about how she broke the news to her son and how maturely he handled it. The little boy, who could have broken down by the shocking diagnosis, became a source of strength and positivity for his mother. While in our world we believe in protecting our children from such devastating news, the actress strongly believes in making children a part of it. "In our effort to protect them from the pain and realities of life, we might end up doing the opposite," writes Sonali in her post. A study found that smoking can lead to depression and that smokers are 2-3 times more likely to have clinical depression as compared to those who never smoked. Read here to know more. Diet for mental health: Mediterranean diet has been found to be effective in improving mental health. Foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids can be helpful too. Here's everything you should know. Cancer is a disease which affects more than just your physical health; it has a debilitating impact on your mental health too. Cancer diagnosis is distressing, but what's more distressing is to see your loved ones go through the misery. If you are dealing with any such situation, read here to know what Psychiatrist Dr Sanjay Chugh has to say. My 36 years old client said to me, "I don't think I have been able to tell my own self yet. How do tell them that I have cancer?" To tell you the honest truth, there is no real answer to that. There is no formula to it. How do you make sure that your family doesn't get devastated with this news? How do you try to be sensitive to their feelings while you're not quite sure how you are feeling? How do you tell them to not worry while your own mind is flooded with 'What now' and 'What ifs', when the only tangible emotions might be intermittent fear and confusion? As a professional, I find it unnerving how often I find myself addressing such questions these days especially as the age of the questioner is decreasing. One may say it's tougher for the family when the person with cancer is young, but emotional pain is a very subjective entity. It cannot be compared. For each person, his or her pain is enormous and often unbearable. So, regardless of the age of the person, accepting the diagnosis and then disclosing it may not be an easy task. If, however, one were to find himself in such a predicament, there are a few guidelines that he may want to keep in mind. It's important to be in touch with how you are feeling before you embark upon this task of disclosing. Please note that I am talking about being in touch and not acceptance. Accepting your diagnosis may take some time. Don't wait for that to happen before telling others. You may feel a whole range of emotions or states of mind - shock, anger, rage, disbelief, denial, sadness and fear interspersed with phases of numbness. It may be useful to see these as milestones on the road to acceptance. c) The outsiders who may be well-meaning but also a potential drain on your limited mental and emotional capacity. It's the first two categories that you may want to talk to. What one usually needs at this time is emotional and practical support from non-judgmental people. In my experience, it is best not to spend much energy figuring out 'how' to talk about your diagnosis with your loved ones. The more you delay it the more you may end up feeling burdened with the whole task. Keep it simple and straight. You may want to save your energy for the impact this may have on your loved ones. They will have their set of emotions and questions. Do not bother trying to figure out a way of talking that will ease the blow. It is going to be tough on them too. Healing happens fastest when we keep it real and warm.

https://doctor.ndtv.com/cancer/sonali-bendre-s-recent-post-with-her-son-may-leave-you-in-tears-here-s-how-you-can-talk-to-your-love-1886647

This paper focuses on how the Literatura Periférica movement has contributed to creating an inclusive public sphere and expanded notions of citizenship for marginalized Brazilians. The civic engagement that occurs at and stems from events within the movement known as saraus underscores the importance of democratic cultural production and calls into question the practices and tendencies of the national cultural industry.

https://drclas.harvard.edu/event/brazil-studies-program-seminar-series-including-periphery-expanding-public-sphere?type=month&month=2019-09&mini=2019-08

Dr. Cory Torgerson is one of Canada’s most talented and prominent facial plastic surgeons, focusing on head & neck facial surgery. Dr. Torgerson has been frequently invited to teach and lecture on these topics across North America. His entire medical education and surgical training was completed at the prestigious University of Toronto, within their Toronto hospitals and the University Health Network. Dr. Torgerson has received national recognition from his patients and colleagues for his incredible surgical skills. He is certified by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada in head, neck, facial surgery. In order to obtain this certification, Dr. Torgerson was required to complete additional years of training. Dr. Torgerson’s skills have been showcased on Global News, 16×9, The Marilyn Dennis Show, The Morning Show, City News, and E! Beauty Channel Beauty News. We invite you to experience the rewards of a welcoming environment where you can expect to be listened to, understood, and delighted with the outcome. Dr. Torgerson is here to help empower you to make the changes you desire to lead a truly beautiful life. Considered a leading facial plastic surgeon in Toronto, Canada, Dr. Torgerson is able to provide his patients with a completely fresh and artistic approach to plastic surgery. With a finely honed gift for pinpointing specific areas that need to be treated, Dr. Torgerson is able to creatively and successfully provide the highest level of facial and nasal plastic surgery. The surgical precision and artistic approach of Dr. Torgerson has solidified his reputation as a leader in the plastic surgery field. He has completed 18 years of post-secondary education; one of only a few in his field to achieve this. He received his medical degree from the University of Toronto, which is widely acclaimed as one of the best medical schools in North America. During medical school, Dr. Torgerson stood out for his commitment and dedication to the practice of medicine and research. Among his many awards were scholarships for outstanding academic achievement in otolaryngology and awards for outstanding research and contribution to the medical society. He went on to complete a surgical residency in otolaryngology surgery at the University of Toronto and then a fellowship in cosmetic facial surgery, also completed through the University of Toronto. Dr. Torgerson is an individual who has consistently excelled at all his academic and professional endeavours. As an undergraduate, Dr. Torgerson received the Alberta Alexander Rutherford Scholarship for Academic Excellence from the Province of Alberta. Graduate awards received by Dr. Torgerson include receiving the Graduate Travel Assistantship Award in 2 separate years from the Faculty of Medicine at Calgary University and the Graduate Assistantship Award for Academic Distinction from the same. For three consecutive years, Dr. Torgerson was awarded the Graduate Fee Scholarship for Academic Distinction by Calgary University’s Faculty of Medicine, who also awarded him the Thesis Research Grant for Distinction in Graduate Research. Dr. Torgerson was also awarded the American Physiological Society Graduate Award for Outstanding Research Presentation at the Neural Control of Respiration Meeting in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Later on, he was awarded both the University of Calgary’s Graduate Research Scholarship and the Alberta Heritage for Medical Research Studentship from the Province of Alberta. Medical school faculty, departmental and recognition rewards received by Dr. Torgerson include the Alex G. Climans Scholarship from the University of Toronto and the Mary L. Cassidy Award from the University of Toronto (2 years in a row). Dr. Torgerson also received the Exodus Scholarship, the Medical Society Honour Award, and the Hugh Barber Scholarship in Otolaryngology, all from the University of Toronto Medical School. He also was presented with the Best Presentation Award for Outstanding Research of a PGY-2 Resident. A physician’s interpersonal and bedside manners are just as important as his surgical skills. Dr. Torgerson tailors his treatment plans to the unique needs and desires of each patient, while keeping their health and overall best interest in mind. Dr. Torgerson’s philosophy is simply more than just adjusting a particular aesthetic problem. His desire is to use his training, skills, talent, and passion for the best of his patients in any and every situation. Located in the heart of Yorkville, his clinic provides the highest level of comfort and a relaxing environment. His professional staff ensures that all patients’ surgical needs are taken care of. Dr. Cory Torgerson is dedicated to head and neck procedures, specifically facial plastic surgery. His keen, aesthetic eye coupled with his impeccable surgical skills ensures a result that is both youthful and natural. Dr. Torgerson’s safety record, innovative techniques and customized approach to each patient makes him a leader in his field when it comes to facial cosmetic surgery procedures. The priority for Dr. Torgerson is his patients’ comfort and outcome. Dr. Torgerson listens carefully to the vision, desires, and apprehensions of his patients; only then does he recommend the best course of action. Whether it’s an invasive or non-invasive procedure, Dr. Torgerson’s team will tailor a treatment plan for each patient, to achieve the best results. It is because of this that Dr. Cory Torgerson is far more than a “run-of-the-mill” plastic surgeon; he has committed himself to ensure that patients receive the right care and treatment. Dr. Cory Torgerson is a dedicated and compassionate facial plastic surgeon who strives to ensure the comfort and care of each of his patients. Please contact the office to make an appointment and to see for yourself why Dr. Torgerson is considered to be one of the leading cosmetic surgeons in Toronto. Submental Lipectomy Also referred to as a “neck liposuction”, this procedure removes excess fatty deposits, which have settled into the area, as well as tightens and tones the skin. Dr. Torgerson has performed several necklifts. Eyebrow Lift A brow lift is a procedure that provides a lift to the brow-line, reducing wrinkles and the “hood effect” over the eyes, giving the patient a much more youthful appearance around the forehead. Primary and Revision Rhinoplasty Procedures Dr. Torgerson provides the latest rhinoplasty surgery available, improving the proportions and profile of the face. Many patients wish to have rhinoplasty for aesthetic purposes, but there are some that need to correct anatomical difficulties with breathing, like a deviated septum. Whether you have chosen to undergo a first time or revision rhinoplasty, Dr. Torgerson will skillfully perform the procedure. As one of the most popular procedures, Dr. Torgerson has performed numerous rhinoplasty procedures and continues to on a weekly schedule. Blepharoplasty Blepharoplasty, also known as eyelid surgery, is a procedure that reduces the drooping and sagging of the upper and lower eyelid. This procedure can result in a more youthful and alert appearance. Dr. Torgerson performs eyelid surgeries on a regular basis. Face lift A facelift is also known as a rhytidectomy. It is a surgical procedure that removes and tightens the sagging and drooping skin around the face due to aging. This is also one of the most common and highly requested procedures that Dr. Torgerson performs regularly in his surgical centre. Otoplasty Otoplasty is a surgical procedure that corrects abnormalities and/or deformities which are in or around the ear. Dr. Torgerson has extensive education, training, and experience in this area of focus, and has a solid reputation for his ability, compassion, and success in otoplasty procedures. Injectable Treatment Options Some of the injectable treatment options available to you by Dr. Torgerson include use of the following: – Vobella – Dysport and Botox – VolumaLift – Juvederm products – Teosyal Redensity I & Redensity II – Lip augmentation – Teosyal products – PRP Therapy and Selphyl – Perlane – Restylane – Radiesse – Volift Dr. Torgerson and his caring, professional staff are highly trained and proficient in the use of all injectable products and their accompanying techniques, ensuring that you receive the treatment and results you desire in the best, most effective fashion. 3D VECTRA Imaging This method of imaging uses 3D technology to successfully show the patient what the potential results of their procedure will look like when complete and fully healed. This eliminates a major amount of guesswork and fear on the part of the patient. It helps solidify beforehand that the surgeon and the patient are both envisioning the same final result prior to surgery and have the same aesthetic goals.

https://drtorgerson.com/dr-torgerson-toronto/

The DTEK Energy B.V. group (the “Group”) has entered into an override agreement which governs the long-term restructuring of the Group’s bank debt (the “Override Agreement”) with a vast majority of its existing lenders (the “Bank Lenders”). Execution of the Override Agreement is a crucial step for the Group in the long-term restructuring of its debt. It will enable the Group to meet its debt service obligations and continue developing its operations. Following consensual negotiations between the Group and its Bank Lenders, the restructuring proposal of the Group with respect to bank debt has now been implemented pursuant to the override agreement which has become effective today. The Override Agreement overrides and amends the terms of the vast majority of the Group’s facilities (the “Overridden Facilities”). In particular it extends the maturity of the Overridden Facilities to 30 June 2023. The Override Agreement follows the long-term restructuring of notes issued by DTEK Finance plc (“DTEK Finance”), by which DTEK Finance’s existing notes were exchanged into new notes with an extended maturity of 31 December 2024 (the “New Notes”) pursuant to a scheme of arrangement sanctioned by the High Court of Justice of England and Wales in December 2016, as well as the launch of an exchange offer in December 2016 pursuant to which 98% of the Bank Lenders by value bound themselves to the restructuring heads of terms proposed by the Group. With the entry of the Group into the override agreement, the heads of terms have now in large part been implemented. Principal indebtedness will be repaid as follows: US$ 60 million in 2017, US$ 40 million in 2018, US$ 80 million in 2019, US$ 80 million in 2020, US$ 80 million in 2021, US$ 80 million in 2022 and all remaining outstanding debt and accrued PIK in 2023. The interest rate on each Overridden Facility is the aggregate of 5% p.a. and EURIBOR/LIBOR as applicable, with cash interest to be paid monthly as follows: 51% of the interest accrued in 2017 and 2018, 60% of the interest accrued in 2019, 70% of the interest accrued in 2020, 79% of the interest accrued in 2021, 88% of the interest accrued in 2022 and 100% of the interest accrued in 2023. The remainder of the interest accrued shall be PIK and shall be capitalised and added to the principal indebtedness. A quarterly cash sweep to repay/prepay the principal indebtedness. Voluntary prepayments can be made at any time on a pro rata basis, with break costs applicable in certain circumstances. Maxim Timchenko, CEO of DTEK, said: “First of all we would like to thank our creditors for their understanding and support during the debt restructuring process. The key objectives of the restructuring process were to strike a fair balance between the interests of all DTEK stakeholders: customers, employees and creditors. In particular, we wanted to ensure that the terms of the debt restructuring preserve DTEK's continuing ability to provide reliable, high-quality energy services to the millions of families and corporate and institutional customers that depend on it. Equally, another main objective in the debt restructuring negotiations was to protect the interests of company's employees who throughout the past difficult times demonstrated their professionalism and dedication. The need to restructure DTEK's debt arose from geo-political and macro-economic circumstances that were entirely outside of the company's control or doing. Despite this, a central guiding principle set by the company's shareholders and management has been the repayment in full of the debt DTEK owes and the fair and equitable treatment of creditor classes. We believe that this agreement that has been reached with our creditors achieves each and all of these objectives. We also believe that it has restored the confidence of capital markets in DTEK's enduring financial strength and its ability to return to these markets in due course for raising investment capital to further improve the quality of our services and the efficiency of our operations. We look with confidence to the future. Not only are there encouraging signs that Ukraine's economy is turning around. Also, the Government has embarked on a bold process of energy sector reform that, we believe, will instill efficiency and competition and ultimately benefit the consumers and population at large. DTEK embraces the promise of a greener, more efficient and consumer-orientated energy sector that these reforms entail. We are intent to seize the opportunities that the transition to a modern energy industry will provide». The Group was advised by Latham & Watkins, the Group’s legal advisers, and Rothschild, the Group’s financial advisers. This press release is for information purposes only and does not constitute any offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any security in the United States or in any other jurisdiction. The New Notes have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) or applicable state or foreign securities laws and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration under federal or applicable state securities laws or an applicable exemption from such registration requirements. This press release may include projections and other “forward-looking” statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Any such projections or statements reflect the current views of the Group about further events and financial performance. No assurances can be given that such events or performance will occur as projected and actual results may differ materially from these projections. Neither the content of the Group’s website nor any website accessible by hyperlinks on the Group’s website is incorporated in, or forms part of, this announcement. The distribution of this announcement into certain jurisdictions may be restricted by law. Persons into whose possession this announcement comes should inform themselves about and observe any such restrictions. Any failure to comply with these restrictions may constitute a violation of the securities laws of any such jurisdiction.

https://dtek.com/en/media-center/press/dtek-energo-soglasoval-s-kreditorami-usloviya-restrukturizatsii-bankovskogo-dolga/

This blog is about Dumbo, a Python module that allows you to easily write and run Hadoop programs. It’s maintained by Klaas Bosteels, the Hadoop fanboy who created Dumbo and currently works as data scientist at Massive Media. If you like this blog, you might also want to subscribe to the dumbo-user and/or dumbo-dev mailing lists, and when you hadn’t heard of Dumbo yet, you might also want to have a look at the wiki, in particular the short tutorial.

https://dumbotics.com/about/

What Is The Rarest Hot Wheel, And How Much Is It Worth? Find Out Here! A 1969 Hot Wheels VW Rear-Loader Beach Bomb, labeled by Rick as the “Holy Grail of Hot Wheels” is brought into the shop on Pawn Stars. It’s in mint condition, pink (which is apparently the color of the more valuable Hot Wheels) and still has the original surfboards! After being appraised by an expert, the owner and Rick try to negotiate a deal that involves quite a large amount of money. See what happens, and learn more about this rare toy in the clip below.

https://dustyoldthing.com/rarest-hot-wheel/

E3 Meat Company does not allow the use of antibiotics in cattle, whether in the form of injection, bolus or an ingredient in feed or water. E3 does not want producers to allow their cattle to die or suffer due to lack of treatment with antibiotics. When cattle are treated, they are removed from the E3 Certified program. Like USDA’s Never Ever Program, E3 is approved to and allows use of a coccidiostat at weaning when strictly following protocols.

https://e3ranch.com/pages/never-ever

Despite the reduction in enforcement resources at today’s EPA, serious misconduct is still being investigated and prosecuted by DOJ and EPA. The recent Clean Air Act conviction of a senior executive at a Montana energy company demonstrates EPA’s criminal program will continue to focus attention on catastrophic incidents and the underlying conduct that may contribute to these events. BILLINGS—The former project manager of an oil processing plant that exploded in Wibaux in 2012, injuring three employees and extensively damaging the facility, was sentenced today to two years of probation and fined $5,000, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said. Mark Hurst, 44, of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, pleaded guilty on Feb. 27 to Clean Air Act-negligent endangerment. On Sept. 27, a jury in Billings convicted co-defendant Peter Margiotta, 62, of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, of all three counts related to the plant explosion. The jury found Margiotta guilty of conspiracy, Clean Air Act-general duty and Clean Air Act-knowing endangerment. Margiotta was president and director of Custom Carbon Processing, Inc., a Wyoming company that constructed the Michels Disposal Well and Oil Processing facility in Wibaux in 2012. Hurst testified against Margiotta at trial. At Margiotta’s trial, the prosecution presented evidence that Custom Carbon constructed the plant in ways that allowed hydrocarbon vapors, extremely hazardous substances and hazardous air pollutants to be released into the air. The plant opened on July 4, 2012 before appropriate electrical wiring, ventilation and other safety measures were installed. In a November 2012 email Hurst sent to Custom Carbon management, he again noted “outstanding deficiencies” at the Wibaux plant, including issues with venting, and wrote, “I wanted all things venting into the building to be vented out the building.” Hurst continued to work at the plant as its project manager and the plant remained open. On Dec. 29, 2012, the plant accepted a delivery of highly volatile and flammable natural gas condensate or “drip gas.” During the offloading of the material at the plant, hazardous and flammable vapors from the natural gas condensate filled the plant building and spread out the open bay doors where the truck delivering the condensate was located. The vapors reached an ignition source, causing an explosion that injured three employees and extensive damage to the plant, the truck and trailer involved in the delivery.

https://earthandwatergroup.com/plant-manager-criminally-charged-and-sentenced-under-caa-general-duty-clause/

In this podcast, Tabitha talks to Drake, who is in recovery from an eating disorder and wanted to share some hope. In this podcast Tabitha talks to a person in recovery about her struggles with diabulimia. Tabitha: Hello there, welcome to this weeks podcast. This week I'm going to be talking to somebody who would like to remain anonymous. We are talking about her experience with diabulimia. Diabulimia is a type of eating disorder, that happens when a person has type one diabetes and then they start to use eating disorder behaviours or insulin control to control their weight. We start this conversation by my anonymous friend telling us a little bit about herself. Anon: I was diagnosed as type 1 diabetic when I was 9. A week before my 10th birthday. Then due to some treatment I received for the eating disorder when I was 12, I had quite a few other medical tests and things done because my diabetic control was so good because the lack of food, I didn't need a lot of insulin, I wasn't having very low or very high blood sugar levels and as a result of those tests they found out I had actually had quite an unusual form of diabetes called MODY which is, I think it's categorised more akin to type 2 diabetes but it's treated in the same way as type 1 and it's quite unusual. So for all intents and purposes I'm treated in the same way as a type 1 diabetic and I guess my eating disorder history is that I developed plain vanilla classic anorexia when I was 12 and then the anorexia really spiralled when I was going on 13 at which point in about 6 months I'd lost about a third of my body weight and I was towards the lower end of the healthy BMI scale as it was. I became very very unwell and was on the verge of being sectioned by CAMS, the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service in the UK. I remember sitting in my bed at home on the evening after my parents had taken me home from the outpatient hospital and brought me this bowl of cereal, bran flakes or something, but they brought me this bowl of cereal and they said, my mum was there saying you have to eat this you have to eat this. I don't know what it was but I was so distressed and so upset that I just ate it. And that started a three month period of what you refer to as feast eating. So I ate and I ate and I ate for 3 months and I ate no diabetic friendly foods at all. All cakes and chocolate and all of the things I'd been restricting and one of the things that the medical team had tried to get me to drink when I was underweight and I'd feigned drinking and poured away and done all the usual anorexic guise getting out of eating were these things called Scandishakes. They are basically like these meal replacement shakes. But they are actually really nice ones in terms of they are just full of sugar basically. So they just taste like McDonald's milkshakes so they are really quite enjoyable but when I started having those initially my blood sugar just went absolutely off the scale because I hadn't been having them before and so the medical team just assumed well those are fine for people with diabetes. But when I actually started drinking them, the sugars went off the scale and I didn't put on any weight. So I was eating a huge volume of food, a lot of calories, really a lot of food and I wasn't putting on an ounce. And at one point I was actually losing weight despite being extremely underweight. I suppose that was the first experience I'd have of what's referred to as Diabulimia which for any listeners who aren't aware, Diabulimia refers to when predominantly type 1 diabetic patients do not take insulin which is something they need to take to break down carbohydrates and sugars. They don't take their insulin because they know if they don't take it they can eat whatever they like, which if they are restricting is probably high fat, high carb, high sugar food and not put on any weight at all and in some cases lose weight. So that was my experience, it was completely in inadvertent at first and at that point I assumed that my brain was being nourished to some extent because I didn't put 2 and 2 together and think this is nice, I'm going to carry on doing this. I took the insulin, I got things under control again and it was all a bit up and down anyway because of the types of foods I was having to eat at that point to get to weight restoration. But when my BMI reached I think it was 18 the medical profession thought she's out of the woods, she's clearly put on this weight, she's fine and at that point, my parents were scared by the amount that I was eating as well because they didn't understand what was going on, they didn't think I had an eating disorder at that point. So they were very much OK great, so you can stop all of the eating now, you don't have to eat so much food, you can just go back to normal, eating normal foods and normal potions and go back to caring your diabetes and what's healthy for that. Because at that point I was in no way mentally recovered, nowhere close, I hadn't received any psychological support at that point because I was hell bent on not getting any mental help at that point and my parents, because I'd assured them being in the eating disorder mindset, I'm fine, I've got this under control they didn't compel me to go and get treatment and to be quite honest with you the only treatment that was offered to me was an inpatient facility that was 100s of miles away, I think it was in Scotland. It was 100s of miles away from them anyway and that was the last thing they wanted. They were really so concerned for me to then be whisked off away to the other side of the country wasn't something that they were keen to do at all. So I reassured them and I was going back to this regular quote pattern of eating with what I now realise was very much quasi recover and then I suppose at that point it was a conscious effort to pursue, for a lack of a better word, the diabulimia. So I would be craving all the high sugar, I don't like the term junk food, but processed foods and I'd be craving them and I didn't feel able to give myself permission to have those foods and take my insulin at the same time. It went in dribs and drabs. I did that for a couple of years and then after that time I just worked out that it felt so rubbish to abuse the diabetes in that way because I don't know what the experience is like for anyone with an eating disorder particularly anorexia without diabetes because that hasn't been my experience because it set in at 9 and I developed the eating disorder at 12 so I only ever had an eating disorder with the diabetes but I can not convey how weak and tired and how horrendous it feels to have low blood sugars and then how tired and just faint and unwell I felt when my blood sugars were high as well. When the blood sugars were low and I was very much in the anorexia stage there was this immense fear of having to eat in order to bring the blood sugars up again because I was taking next to no insulin but there was this huge fear of if my blood sugars go to low and I could go into the coma I'm going to have to eat something that wasn't planned for. Looking back on at, that is hugely scary because I would, and I think as well that the issue I had was that I was getting a lot of positive reinforcement from my diabetic team until my weight became a concern I was getting a lot of positive reinforcement because my blood sugar control was exemplary because I wasn't eating, I was having next to no insulin and my blood sugar control was excellent and so from their prospective I was the model diabetic patient which definitely plays into my plain vanilla anorexia type personality or susceptibility. Because I'm very type a, perfectionist want to please people. From a purely physical perspective if I don't eat my blood sugars go extremely low because I have to take a certain amount of insulin my body doesn't produce that and so I need take long acting and short acting insulin several times a day. If my blood sugars go too low, I become shaky, faint can not function when I've had they are called hypos, or hypoglycaemia which I know that a lot of people with anorexia deal with anyway, but I think with diabetic people it is just amplified because alongside the anorexia they are also dealing with this chronic health condition and so extremely weak, to the extent that if I was trying to get food when I had a very low blood sugar I would have to hold on to the work surfaces and things in order to not fall over, just to get some food. I actually am very fortunate in that I feel unwell whereas I know that for a lot of diabetic people sometimes they don't and it's just case of one minute they are walking around and then then next minute they are out cold on the floor. From the other end of the spectrum when the blood sugars were high and I weren't to take insulin then, I become extremely tired, extremely thirsty, unable to sleep through the night, because I will be drinking so much I needed to get up to use the bathroom. And I suppose the invisible signs if you like, that can't be seen when the blood sugars are high, that's when things like damage to the retina occur so blindness and because of the circulatory issues can lead to amputations in fingers and toes are quite common. T: I didn't know about the blindness. A: Oh yes, that's very common and diabetic people have to have retina screenings every year to check to photograph the retina to see if there are any signs of diabetic retinopathy. That is quite a common side effect of mismanaged diabetes, inadvertently. But obviously with diabulimia if someone is doing that in such an extreme level then that can be accelerated quite substantially so people that are quite young can lose their sight. T: Did you know at the time that that was a risk? A: Yes, I did and I can honestly say I didn't think about it at the time. On a logical level, I knew what all the risks were because other risks like kidney damage, damage to organs are really serious and in some cases organ transplantation. But to me, because the anorexia was so strong, at that point none of it mattered. It was, I want to be thin and I don't want to eat more than I'm eating now. And if I do eat then I can't take insulin and that's just the way it is. T: I know that when I had active anorexia sometimes I think it's part of that not knowing how sick you are or how risky things are but you can sort of know that something's a risk and do it anyway. You feel that you're special and it won't happen to you. A: Yeah sure and I think as well with me, I was pulled up on it by my medical team because I was so underweight but diabulimia can happen, like anorexia in someone at any shape, any size body. So someone doesn't have to be massively underweight and because mismanagement of diabetes can happen quite innocently as it's quite a difficult condition to manage. The management of it differs hugely between individuals so it can quite easily slip under the radar of medical professionals, unless someone actually comes out and asks for help which as you say, if someone is so hell bent on restricting then that may never happen. T: So what helped you to understand that you couldn't continue to do what you were doing? A: Honestly I think the only thing that got me out of the diabulimia was kind of moving into Othorexia. Which is horrendous, but I got into this mindset of, I feel really bad when I eat all this junk food because I'm not taking my insulin so I equated that with, if I eat all this processed food it doesn't matter if I take my insulin or not it's definitely the food and so I can eat as much as I like provided it's healthy. And then that went down a whole other rabbit hole so the diabulimia became kind of irrelevant at that stage because I'd found this other way of restricting and so that wasn't really required any more. It's only when I looked back on it and I'd managed to get myself to a point enough physical recovery to think, I don't want to do any of those things that I can see, there wasn't any conscious effort on my part to think, oh I'm really scared of the potential of going blind, or losing my foot or something, there wasn't nearly that rational, it was very much like, this is the way to go because look at all these people in Instagram or whatever that are eating clean and this is why I should be doing. T: But many people do that, most of us cycle through every type of fad diet or stage and you do something maybe for a year or so and it gets tired and you look for something else that's going to help you feel safe, but allow you to change what you're doing. S it sounds likes that move to othorexia was a way that helped you feel safe but it enabled you to change to do something different which isn't ideal either. A: No, far from it. T: OK, so anything else that you think is relevant on the Diabulimia? A: Having a quick look at that documentary that I mentioned to you which is the BBC 3 Diabulimia, it's called something like The Worlds Deadliest Eating Disorder, but they quoted a study which said that 60% of type 1 diabetic women have experienced an eating disorder by the time they are 25 so I think it's extremely common and I also think it's extremely difficult to not only diagnose but get help because I know people who are clinically very underweight, they should meet the threshold of inpatient treatment just as an eating disorder stand alone illness but nobody inpatient facility will take them because they are diabetic. They don't have the diabetes knowledge and they don't know how to adapt the standard meal plan that they give to everyone and everyone has to eat the same. T: Right, so they say there is a risk that they can't take on. T: So what do you think needs to happen in the treatment field in order to be able to serve what sounds like quite a high percentage of people with type 1 diabetes who also have an eating disorder or be using that to control their weight. So what do you think in your experience could have been offered and what do you think could have helped you maybe earlier on? A: I think that the first step with anything is awareness because at the time that I was suffered with diabulimia it wasn't a thing. It wasn't recognised particularity and I think that a lot of women and men too. There haven't been any stats on it but I'm sure men as well deal with the same issue and young boys as well. Just to raise it as an issue and really monitor them closely in terms of every diabetic child, adolescent and adult even, should have regular diabetic appointments. Their average glucose level, their HBA1C level which is their average blood sugar taken over I think 3 or 6 months will show if they've had high blood sugar levels for that period so that will kind of give away if they've been abusing or taking their insulin or not. Raising awareness among the diabetic consultants that this is a thing and then interdisciplinary discussions so have the diabetic dietitians work with the eating disorder dietitians and help people manage things in a way that isn't obsessive because I know with me, asking me to count carbs was not helpful because saying you can have X number of carbohydrate portions a day for this insulin wasn't helpful. So maybe just taking a more relaxed to it, saying you're taking this amount of insulin at the moment and you did this amount of insulin with this meal, so how were your blood sugars after that? Oh OK so maybe you need a bit more insulin if it was high or OK maybe that was a bit too much insulin so maybe we need to dial it down a bit. Don't go into this carb counting thing. T: Yep don't play into things that eating disorders really like to do. So I like what you said the interdisciplinary things there. It seems like it's a no brainer that it should happen anyway if somebody has diabetes and they also have an eating disorder that people work together but I guess maybe it's probably even harder in the US than it is in the UK because at least in the UK you have the NHS and I did find when I lived in the UK, things were more interwoven on the NHS because it;s one organisation trying to work together whereas in the USA it does feel more difficult that doctors don't talk to each other and aren't necessarily working in t he same organisation even. A: I agree, I think as well each NHS trust in the UK will have a segregated area, each trust will have a diabetic dietitian and an eating disorder dietitian and so it should in theory be possible for them to liaise. But I don't know why that doesn't, I guess because it's not picked up on. T: Right, the importance isn't understood is it? I guess a lot of people who maybe are diabetic specialists are not an eating disorder specialist, so it's just not on their radar that people can use being a type 1 diabetic to control their weight. As much as it should be. To me it seems really obvious but my head is in eating disorder world, so it would do, I guess maybe if you were not in eating disorder world especially if you work in a health system that is obsessed with what they call the obesity crisis then maybe that is also a factor that plays into it. A: Absolutely. I definitely agree with that, particularly with something like diabetes because what I've experienced a lot, just among the general population there is a lot of confusion between type 1 and type 2 diabetes. If you say your diabetic they just assume you are type 2 diabetic and they don't really understand what type 1 diabetes is. I think what's also tied up in diabetic dietitians in particular is this whole weigh management paradigm when they get a patient their objective is to get them to get their insulin levels under control primarily through dieting behaviours. It can be difficult when as you say, when people aren't really acquainted with the eating disorder world as it were that they don't understand why someone wouldn't take their insulin if it makes them feel really bad. T: Do you think there was anything anyone could have done or said that would have helped you out? Because I know that we may have family members listening to this and it's a really tricky subject. Like you said you were pretty resistant to hep and support initially just wondering what your thoughts are if you can think back if anybody could have said something that might have helped you? A: You have to reach a certain point of just being sick and tired of it and wanting help. I think if someone is in that frame of mind that they don't feel like they can give themselves permission and just go ahead and in the early stages of recovery, eat all the food. Just giving someone the permission to do that because that's all I wanted when I went to see dietitians. There's nothing that they could have taught me about nutrition or about diabetes management that I didn't know already. I was obsessed and so I think all I wanted was somebody to give me the permission and say you know what? If you want to eat 5 boxes of Krispy Kremes you can go for it and we will help you manage the insulin with that. T: So a big thank you to my anonymous friend there. Some of you might be wondering how she's actually doing so I asked her and she said in terms of where I am with my recovery, I have recovered fully from diabulimia and have been fully recovered for 10 years and I am in the later stages of recovery from both anorexia and othorexia. Mentally I feel as if I am very close to being fully recovered. I also asked her if there was anything that she would say with somebody with type 1 diabetes who was also dealing with an eating disorder and she said the thing she would tell them would be to reach out for support. Please tell someone, family, a friend and eating disorder therapist or anyone on the diabetes treatment team preferably someone who ascribes to a HAES model. Taking that first step asking for help can be terrifying but you reach out and the amount of support and love you could be shown would surpass any expectation you have. Diabulimia is a lethal illness and addition to all the long term complications of an eating disorder it has all of the long term side effects of poorly managed diabetes such as amputation, blindness and organ damage and failure. This is no joke and anyone struggling deserves a life so much better than they currently have, they are worthy of recovery. Never underestimate the courage and the strength you have just living with diabetes every day it's a real achievement just living with it. A life doesn't need to be made harder by introducing an eating disorder into the mix, not that an eating disorder is a choice. If they feel unable to give themselves permission to seek help, I am giving it to them now. You so deserve it. Thank you for listening to this weeks podcast, if you have a recovery story to share or if you have something you think you would like to hear covered in this podcast, please email me at |||EMAIL_ADDRESS||| or you can tweet me it's @love_fat_ Cheers and until next time cheerio.

https://eatingdisorderrecoverypodcast.podbean.com/2018/05/

Abstract: Nowadays, enjoying national dishes is considered an essential component of any kind of tourism, as it gives experiences specific to the nation. In tourism, dishes are important to any target audience. There are many nationalities in the world, and they differ from one another in their specific culture and national cuisine. Since ancient times, rye bread has been the main food for Latvians. Today too, rye bread is one of the symbols of Latvian identity and a treat for everyone wishing to get introduced to Latvian culture. Cultural heritage and cultural values are, to some extent, stagnant if not revived and cultivated. Cultural and historical heritage could be learnt through upbringing and education as well as its incorporation in a tourism product. Rye bread, the traditions of baking it, organic and natural foods and the setting – a rural farmstead, a festivity and a bakery where to taste the foods and participate in preparing the foods – could be referred to as the most significant resources with potential for development. Gastronomic tourism is promoted in rural areas, and small enterprises and local governments, considering the economic development of their administrative territories, are particularly interested in the growth of it. The research employed content analysis to analyse the incorporation of bread-baking traditions in rural tourism products in Latvia. An analysis of information available on the websites of municipalities and tourism associations give insight into the awareness and the ways of popularisation of gastronomic tourism. The research aim is to examine the ways how bread-baking traditions are incorporated in rural tourism products in Latvia. Bread baking traditions-related tourism services are created by entrepreneurs, while local governments and the national government and the non-governmental sector are involved in popularising the offers in the Internet environment. Activities of the private and public sectors aimed at popularising gastronomic tourism involve cooperation, as many websites are interlinked.

https://econpapers.repec.org/paper/agsicfae3/296783.htm

The Brits, however, maintained their stiff upper lip and Britain insists it has sovereignty over the archipelago, which it calls the British Indian Ocean Territory, despite the fact that already in February, the International Court of Justice handed Mauritius a victory when it said in a legal opinion that Britain had illegally split the islands and should give up control of the Chagos. After Britain rejected that ruling, Mauritius turned to the UN General Assembly to press for action. Britain evicted about 2,000 people from the archipelago in the 1960s and '70s to make way for a huge US military base on Diego Garcia, which played a key strategic role in the Cold War before being used as a staging ground for US bombing campaigns against Afghanistan and Iraq in the 2000s. The facility was used as a CIA interrogation centre after the September 11, 2001 attacks. In 2016, Britain renewed a lease agreement with the US for the use of Diego Garcia until 2036. But it has to end now and the evicted Chagossians must take their homeland back - NOW!

https://ecoterra.info/index.php/en/491-victory-for-the-chagos-islanders

Two California teachers unions, which are currently deadlocked in separate contract talks with their respective school districts, are on the verge of launching the West Coast’s biggest teacher walkout since 1989. Dr. Alan Addley is in his eleventh year as the Superintendent of Granby Public Schools in Granby, Connecticut. A native of Northern Ireland, Alan started his career as a professional soccer player and mathematics teacher. Alan has thirty-four years of administrative and teaching experience in private and public schools in the United States and Ireland. Addley received his Ed.D. from UConn’s Neag School of Education in 2014. Prior to this, Addley earned his Connecticut Intermediate Administrator Certification in 1997 and a Connecticut Superintendent Certificate from the Executive Leadership Program in 2007, both from the Neag School. The Connecticut Association of Latinos in Higher Education presented a Lifetime Achievement Award to Cromwell resident Walter Diaz, vice president for student affairs at Eastern Connecticut State University. It comes as no surprise that the way we consume information is changing. Increasingly, we are moving from text-based forms of information to visual ones, as evidenced by the popularity of visual social media sites such as Instagram, Snapchat, and Pinterest. Not all of these visual forms are vacuous as we might be inclined to think. “Being randomly assigned a black teacher if you are a black student leads to a significant impact,” Hyman said during an interview about his research published last month in the peer-reviewed journal the National Bureau of Economic Research. During a reception held at Queen Rania Teacher Academy (QRTA)’s University of Jordan campus, the Queen of Jordan expressed her pride in the academy’s graduates for the 2017-18 academic year, including 69 principals from across Jordan under the Advanced Instructional Leadership Professional Diploma. The Advanced Instructional Leadership Professional Diploma was developed and implemented in partnership with the University of Connecticut and in coordination with Jordan’s Ministry of Education. “To support students’ creativity, educators must question assumptions and instill a sense of possibility,” says Ronald Beghetto, a professor of educational psychology at the Neag School.

https://education.uconn.edu/2018/12/

With a teaching workforce that is majority White and female, less than 1 in 5 U.S. public school teachers (18 percent) are individuals of color, despite the majority of public school students being of color. Even more concerning is that only 2 percent of the educator workforce are Black males. As part of a national push for greater diversity among educators and to ensure that every child benefits from high-quality instruction, we at the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) are working to make National Board Certification more accessible for teachers to pursue—particularly teachers of color. National Board Certification was established in 1987 to define and recognize accomplished teaching practices and competencies and to advance teachers’ commitment to student achievement. The certification process is a rigorous, peer-reviewed system of professional practice that only 112,000 teachers—3 percent of America’s teachers—have achieved. As an African-American science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) educator and a National Board Certified Teacher (NBCT), I am not only a part of this small minority of teachers, but I can attest to the impact of board certification for advancing student achievement. With the support of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans President’s Advisory Commission, the National Board is collaborating with post-secondary education programs as well as school districts to implement components of the national board assessment to inform professional development. Earlier this year, I had the honor of speaking at Mississippi’s Jackson State University (JSU), a historically Black university and the state’s only urban university. JSU’s commitment to diversity among teachers and leaders is inspiring, and is particularly evident at its School of Lifelong Learning, where the focus on challenging minds and changing lives is displayed through the Southwest Mississippi World-Class Teaching Initiative. This initiative supports Mississippi teachers seeking National Board Certification and provides support for high-quality teaching, mentorship and professional development. Despite the challenges Mississippi faces with persistently underperforming schools and socioeconomic disparities of multigenerational poverty, the Teaching Initiative is poised to become a national model for teacher preparation, development and creating pathways for teacher leadership. Mississippi’s educational leaders and policy makers recognize board certification as important to creating an effective teaching workforce capable of preparing students for the global economy. Undoubtedly, it’s a smart investment. Over the past decade, research has shown that students of national board certified teachers outperform students in other classrooms on achievement tests. Further, the positive impact of having a board-certified teacher is even more significant for low-income and minority students. Most recently, a multiyear study in Washington state found that the students of board-certified teachers gained nearly one-and-a-half month’s worth of additional learning during the school year, nearly enough to counteract students’ learning slide over the summer. In addition to implementing the Teaching Initiative at state university campuses across Mississippi to support professional development, state lawmakers have rewarded board-certified teachers with a $6,000 annual bonus—one of the highest incentives in the country. Recently, candidates from JSU’s Teaching Initiative were paired with board-certified teachers in a collaborative effort to improve early childhood literacy rates. The board-certified teachers worked directly with 43 struggling third-graders to bolster their reading skills, while teacher candidates observed their instruction. By the end of the summer, 79 percent of the students in the program passed the Mississippi K-3 Assessment exam. Not only did the students benefit academically, but the board certified teachers modeled practices for excellent teaching that will enable future board certified teachers to achieve on their own. There is an ongoing effort to increase the number of teachers of color who achieve board certification, as well as to ensure that teachers are exposed to mentoring programs, can access study materials for board certification, and engage with support systems and networking opportunities that encourage certification. Consequently, the Teaching Initiative has been replicated in various communities across the country. From Native American reservations and rural areas to inner-city schools, the Teaching Initiative model has been implemented to increase teacher diversity and strengthen instructional leadership roles. These programs provide opportunities for teacher leaders to give back to their communities, mentor new teachers and promote teaching and learning that is culturally relevant. As we at the National Board continue to revise our process so that certification can become a reality for more teachers and particularly for teachers of color, we encourage programs like the Teaching Initiative to provide opportunities for leadership, rigorous and performance-based teaching competencies, and professional development opportunities designed to increase student achievement. Diversity in the teacher workforce is critical to advancing students’ academic and personal development. Encouraging educator diversity while improving the quality of professional development deepens our commitment to the recruitment and retention of teachers and leaders. National Board Certification is just one way to leverage teacher leadership—the ultimate reward is providing students with high-quality teachers who ensure that students thrive and are able to fulfill their promise. Photo by giovonnidodd, Twenty20-licensed.

https://educationpost.org/heres-what-national-board-certification-means-for-teachers-of-color/

By day, I’m a mild-mannered software executive and school trustee. By night, I’m a voracious reader and writer of science fiction, fantasy, horror. I love mythology, anthropology monographs, manga, comic books, and pretty much anything else that I can lay my hands on. I can typically be found in New Jersey, with my lovely wife (who shall remain nameless since she works in the publishing industry) and Macduff, the rambunctious puppy. Every Tuesday, I post some thoughts on speculative fiction, or writing, or reading. Now and again, I post random thoughts on other matters, although they usually relate in some way back to either science fiction, fantasy, horror, art, or pop culture. Apart from this blog, I also write a weekly column on Amazing Stories called Crossroads that focuses on genre mash-ups, and I can be found on Twitter as @KgElfland2ndCuz. And yes, FWIW this blog’s title is a reference to Lord Dunsany’s The King of Elfland’s Daughter.

https://elflands2ndcousin.com/about/

Have you ever run a coaching company? Well…it’s really hard. While my company was growing I could coach, but I couldn’t think straight. There were some really great things happening in my business life, but I ran into this thing called Imposter Syndrome. It’s this feeling that you are going to be found out to be a fraud, and I was convinced this was going to happen to me every day. While Imposter Syndrome was running my life, I made a lot of mistakes in my business. However, from a client perspective, everyone was awesome – everyone got what they needed, people were rank-advancing, students who were taking our sales course, Your Direct Sales Foundation, were growing their businesses…but I was terrified it was all going to fall apart. I was sure everyone was going to find out I was a fraud, and it was really, really hard. Then I got really sick. I was on Prednisone, so Imposter Syndrome and Prednisone had a party that led to some decisions at the wrong time. Our clients were doing well, but because of the bad decisions made at the wrong time, we lost a lot of money. So much so that in 2018 there was a question if Emerge was going to survive. That might seem crazy to those of you who have been around Emerge for a long time, but even earlier this year there were still question marks up in the air. That being said, last gala we had 128 Emerge students walk. I no longer feel like I have Imposter Syndrome, and I feel like we are out of the woods wondering if Emerge is going to survive. But I think God had a different idea. I think He wanted to see who else could I emerge; He wanted to see if I could emerge. So here we are now and we have a bright future ahead of us and I’m really excited about the plans we have coming up. So as I reflect on all that has transpired, I want to share with you some of the lessons that I learned this past year. What would a leader, who’s success is assured, decide? I did not know my superpower. I could see what other people could do really well, and I assumed that what I did everyone already know how to do and wondered if anyone would even want the training I had to offer. However, our superpowers are intuitive to us, it is like breathing. I didn’t place a value on the skills I had to offer, because I assumed that others also knew what I did, so I said I would step back and hide. Other people on my team would be up front. So earlier this year, I decided to come out of hiding and use my superpower, and it worked. This created a lot of chaos and craziness for my team. I had to get really focused on what was most important. Lesson learned: list out all of the things that you want to do and rank your priorities. Everything doesn’t have to be done at once. Progress in one area at a time is key. I realized I had been in a place of trying to prove my value. Sometimes we get caught up in “what do I have to offer and am I enough” rather than really looking at the person in front of us and helping them through their challenges. When we start to ask how can I provide value we come out of this place where it is about us. Final thoughts…Your best is enough. Just as much as all the motivation and inspiration is out there, fear, imposter syndrome, and the need to prove your value are too. So I want you to know that your best is enough, and you will get better. I am so grateful you are a part of our community here at Emerge. We got you. If you need help figuring out the right next step for you, email to |||EMAIL_ADDRESS||| and we will connect. P.S. Would you like to explore how to work with an Emerge coach one on one or in a small group? You can access all of the details HERE. I am so grateful you are a part of our community here at Emerge. We got you. If you need help figuring out the right next step for you, reply to this email and we will connect. Your Leadership Foundation – In this 9-week coaching program, we focus on having a strong vision that inspires others, planning, and prioritization as a leader, coaching to results, developing skills in team members, creating a strong team culture, and developing resilience. REGISTER HERE for the next group starting on October 15th at 11:00 am PT.

https://emergesalestraining.com/podcast351-4-mistakes-leader/

The RNA45S3 FISH probe is designed to hybridize to the RNA45S3 gene and is primarily used for detecting amplifications and deletions associated with the gene. This probe is FISH confirmed on normal peripheral blood metaphase spreads and interphase nuclei. The probe can be labeled in one of five colors. Each probe is sold in a 20 test kit (approximately 20 slides - 22x22 mm area) and includes hybridization buffer. Please note that due to design optimizations, prices are subject to change.

https://empiregenomics.com/fish-probes/gene/RNA45S3

06 Jan Ringing in the New Year! Happy New Year! The new year is often a time of reflection and renewal. People spend time reviewing the events of the past year and begin to think about the future and possible commitments for the year ahead. For many people that means making resolutions. A resolution is defined as “a firm decision to do or not do something”. People often resolve to lose 10 lbs, volunteer weekly, stop smoking, or start meditating. All of these resolutions come from the desire to create positive change in a person’s life. However, most, if not all resolutions create guilt and negativity once the year begins and people fall short of their goals. I used to be one of those people. I am a list person. I love making a list, on my phone, in my planner, and on post-it notes. I love the satisfaction of checking off an item on one my lists and declaring it done. The idea of making resolutions to me was like making my ultimate list for the new year. I didn’t just make one resolution I made several because like I said I love lists. I would make sure my resolutions were complete with specific and measurable steps towards my goals and would be set to conquer the world and create a new me. I greeted the new year with eager anticipation of all I would be after these goals were met… and then life happened, and all of those rigid specific measurable items were hard to stick with. As soon as I fell behind on any of my resolutions, I would become frustrated and feel stuck in a negative cycle about not reaching my goals. I would often try to salvage a goal by making some changes, but usually by March my resolutions were over, and I was actively avoiding those New Year lists. All of that changed when I began to set intentions rather than resolutions. An intention is defined by Merriam Webster as a “determination to act in a certain way, resolve”. I love this definition and the “intent” behind it. An intention is an awareness of something you want to create in your life, you can cultivate an intention and watch it grow. The following outlines the simple way you can begin to use intention in your own life. The first step to setting an intention is deciding what you would like to put your energy towards in your life. After you have picked an intention to focus on, your next step is to find a way to commit to that intention. One way to do this that I love is to write a letter to yourself for the new year, outline the ways you have grown and what you would like to see for your future self, then read the letter at the end of the year and see what has changed in your life. The process can be repeated year after year. Another great way to commit to your intention is to create a vision board, a visual representation of how your life would be with your intention at the center of it. If you are looking for something simple, you can just write a sentence or two about your intention and keep it somewhere you will regularly see it. Now comes the fun part! You have your intention and you have spent time reflecting and focusing on what that will look like for your life. The next step is figuring out ways manifest that intention in your daily life. This is where you get to be creative, an intention is about focusing on the journey not the outcome. I hope your new year is full of personal growth and fulfillment. If you are feeling stuck or looking for ways to support your goals, you may find it helpful to have a therapist support you on your path. Contact our team at Empowered Life Counseling to help!

https://empoweredlifecounseling.org/ringing-in-the-new-year/

The federal election is quickly approaching and the result could change the government and change Canadian society. But the campaign has been long on scandals and short on actual ideas. So we invited candidates from all the major parties to debate the issues that are of importance to all Canadians, but more specifically of importance to us here in Montreal. It’s the show that could help you make up your mind on the future of the country.

https://en.matv.ca/quebec/my-shows/citylife/election-debate-part-2

NDO – The winners of the 16th KOVA Awards were announced at a ceremony held in Hanoi on November 24, honouring the outstanding Vietnamese people who have made positive contributions to the community and national socio-economic development. KOVA is an annual award initiated by former Vice President Nguyen Thi Binh and Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Thi Hoe, Chairwoman of KOVA Paint Group, in 2002. Since 2012, the chairmanship of the KOVA Awards Committee was assumed by former Vice President Nguyen Thi Doan, in addition to the participation of leaders of central agencies as members of the Committee. Speaking at the ceremony, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam appreciated the contributions of Dr. Nguyen Thi Hoe, as well as the success of the 16th KOVA Awards. He also praised the efforts made by individuals and collectives that won this year’s awards to overcome difficulties. The deputy PM shared his desire with the winners to improve the quality of life and contribute to the country’s development, while preserving the good values of each human being in every living activity. The KOVA awards over the past few years are one of the incentives for those good values, with award-winning examples that need to be replicated in society, Dam said, while expressing his wish that the awards would continue to grow and expand to other fields to multiply the shining examples and honour more virtuous models. The 16th KOVA Awards were presented to winners in four main categories: Tectonics, Good Life, Prospects, and Fortitude Scholarships for disadvantaged students. Tectonics awards were presented to three researches, including a research on the treatment of renal function in patients with rapidly progressing renal failure by Assoc. Prof., Dr. Tran Thi Bich Huong and colleagues at the Kidney Department at Ho Chi Minh City’s Cho Ray Hospital, a study on the preservation of limbs in bone cancer treatment by Assoc. Prof., Dr. Le Chi Dung, and a study on growing and developing medicinal plants safely in Phu Yen by Engineer Le Thi Tuyet Anh. The "Good Life" awards were given to nine collectives and individuals who have committed noble actions and fulfill sacred missions to contribute to the national building and defence. The 16th KOVA also presented the Prospects awards with a value of VND10 million each for 12 students with excellent academic performance and prospects in scientific research, along with 151 Fortitude Scholarships (valued at VND8 million each) for disadvantaged students from 60 public universities nationwide.

https://en.nhandan.com.vn/scitech/item/6878902-vietnam-bear-day-encourages-youngsters-to-join-hands-in-ending-bear-farming.html

Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter has received an open invitation from President Vladimir Putin to attend the World Cup in Russia and intends to take it up, Blatter’s spokesman Thomas Renggli said on Tuesday. Blatter was suspended from the sport for six years for ethics violations in 2015 amid the biggest corruption scandal to shake FIFA. * Germany landed in Moscow on Tuesday (Jun 12) to attempt to successfully defend their World Cup title and hoping to leave the political controversy surrounding Mesut Ozil and Ilkay Gundogan behind them. The intent is clear - Germany want to become the first team for 56 years to retain the World Cup. * French World Cup star Thomas Lemar looks set to quit Monaco and join Atletico Madrid, the two clubs revealed on Tuesday (June 12). The slightly built Lemar looked set to join Arsenal a year ago but Monaco pulled out of the potential £92-million (EUR100 million) deal after selling a string of other stars. * FIFA members will decide on Wednesday (June 13) whether the 2026 World Cup should be played in North America or return to Africa for just the second time, in Morocco. The choice is clear - between a slick bid based on gleaming stadiums in the United States, Mexico and Canada or an ambitious attempt from Morocco based on as-yet largely unbuilt facilities. * A group of 14 Russian girls will act as ballgirls in the opening match of the World Cup on Thursday, the first all-female group to do so. The girls, aged 13 to 16, from Agryz, a small town of 19,000 people some 800 km (500 miles) east of Moscow, were selected by the Russian national team after making a sponsor’s shortlist of “inspiring entrants” to a national junior football tournament. * Egypt forward Mohamed Salah remains a doubt to face Uruguay in their World Cup opener on Friday, the country’s football association has said. The Liverpool player, who sustained a shoulder injury in the Champions League final against Real Madrid last month, took part in light training on Monday but the Egyptian FA’s managing director Ehab Lehita said it was too early to say whether he would play against the South Americans. * Barcelona Open runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas recorded his first grasscourt victory on the ATP Tour by beating Australian John-Patrick Smith 3-6 6-3 6-4 in the first round of the Libema Open at Hertogenbosch on Tuesday. Australian Bernard Tomic is trying to reignite his career after slipping to 181st in the rankings and recorded his first victory since October 2017 with a 6-4 6-2 win over American Kevin King. * Former world heavyweight champion David Haye announced his retirement from the sport on Tuesday following his defeat by Tony Bellew in May. The 37-year-old Briton won 28 and lost four of his 32 fights since turning professional in 2002. * At least 20 people have been arrested by Spanish police over allegations of match-fixing in football, relate to Spain’s women’s top flight and men’s Tercerca Division (fourt tier), Spanish newspapers El Confidencial and El Pais reported on Tuesday. The arrests were carried out in the autonomous regions of Andalusia and Extremadura, the papers said.

https://en.nhandan.com.vn/sports/item/6268702-sepp-blatter-to-attend-world-cup-in-russia-spokesman.html

The Fox Theater is located at 2001 H Street in Downtown Bakersfield, California. The theater, which opened on Christmas Day, 1930, is a historic performing arts and community events center located in downtown Bakersfield, and hosts a variety of events, ranging from ballets, numerous community events, movies to contemporary pop and rock acts. Bakersfield's Fox Theater opened on Christmas Day, 1930, with the feature film Just Imagine, a sci-fi film set 50 years in the future. The 1930s were a strong period for the Fox Theater. The silver screen featured the latest "talkie" pictures, and the stage was graced by numerous acts including Bakersfield native Metropolitan Opera baritone Lawrence Tibbett (1933); world-renowned soprano Kirsten Flagstad (1939); the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra (1939); and the classic pianist Arthur Rubinstein (1940). The Bakersfield Fox was an early work of Los Angeles theater architect S. Charles Lee. The exterior of the building is in the Spanish Colonial Revival style, as was the original interior. The 1500 seat auditorium was designed in the "atmospheric" style popularized by architect John Eberson, and featured a plain ceiling set with small lights to resemble stars in a night sky, while the walls were lined by decorative false walls with murals painted on the real walls behind them depicting open countryside, all meant to suggest that the auditorium was in fact a Mediterranean walled garden. Though the building survived the earthquake of 1952 intact, the following year the interior of the theatre was remodeled. The original Mediterranean theme was replaced with an Art Moderne motif, which was the style favored by Charles Skouras, then the head of Fox-West Coast Theatres. With the re-theme, a large concession area was added to the lower lobby of the theater. In the auditorium, the "garden walls" were stripped away, and the murals painted over. The ceiling's night sky effect with its twinkling recessed star lights was retained. A more limited remodeling of the building's exterior brought a new marquee, box office, and entrance foyer, embellished with glitzy neon signage, colorful terrazzo flooring, and bright metals. The remodel was representative of 1950s Hollywood style and showmanship. With this remodel, the screen was replaced with a state-of-the-art super-wide CinemaScope 20' x 45' format and the theater's projectors were upgraded with 6000-watt carbon arc lamps and anamorphic lenses. In 1977, after 47 years in business, the Fox Theater closed its doors. The theater re-opened for a brief period in 1983 and 1984, but would fall into decay until 1994. In 1994, the Fox Theater was threatened by the inevitability of demolition. A small group of city businessmen and women joined together to save the theater, forming the Fox Theater Foundation. The Foundation's "Save the Fox" campaign raised enough funds from over 380 donors for the down payment on the building. Restoration began on July 1, 1994 and has been a slow, but on-going effort ever since. A large list of restoration and improvement projects is still present for the theatre. On December 25, the Fox Theater celebrated its 85th Anniversary. In early 2005, the Fox Theater Foundation launched the Walk of Stars program, a new fundraising program for the 75th Anniversary. The program is intended to pay for the numerous ongoing restoration and facility improvement projects needed to preserve this historic structure. The Stars are available for purchase by any member of the community. They are available at three different price levels, each level coming with special benefits and specific Star locations: $5,000 (14-inch stainless steel star), $10,000 (14-inch stainless steel star), $25,000 (16-inch stainless steel star). The Stars are customized with the donor's name or company name or logo. The Fox Theater's 75th Anniversary Black Tie Gala was a large-scale event mostly centered around nostalgia for the old theater and entertainment it has seen throughout the decades. The evening was divided between live music inside the theater, a slideshow with live commentary by Foundation board members, and dinner and dancing to live local music acts in the Theater's large storage and maintenance building, which was partially cleared out and re-decorated for the evening. The evening's highlight was a raffle for a $10,000 diamond pendant, to which all proceeds went the Fox Theater Foundation for bills and restoration projects. Today, the Fox Theater is the heart of Downtown Bakersfield's arts and entertainment district. The theater is home to FLICS, Bakersfield's foreign film program which runs fall through spring yearly, showcasing the best foreign film of the past year. On Friday, September 22, 2006 FLICS celebrated its Silver Anniversary at the Fox Theater, kicking off its 25th season with the film Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story. The Fox Theater sees a variety of music stars including Cyndi Lauper, Olivia Newton-John, and Switchfoot. California rock band Black Veil Brides shot a majority of the music video for their 2011 song "Rebel Love Song" in front of the Theater.[2][3] The Theater also hosts numerous local dance recitals, school graduations, business meetings as well as performing arts events such as Russian ballet. ^ "The Venue: History". Fox Theatre Foundation. Retrieved 2017-08-03. ^ Ouellette, Mary (October 19, 2011). "Black Veil Brides Debut 'Rebel Love Song' Video". Loudwire. Retrieved 2017-08-03. ^ Sciarretto, Amy (October 20, 2011). "Black Veil Brides Premiere Video for 'Rebel Love Song'". Noisecreep. Retrieved 2017-08-03. Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fox_Theater_(Bakersfield,_California)&oldid=923078727"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fox_Theater_(Bakersfield,_California)

CROSSES made of "rawn-tree" (rowan, mountain ash) were placed over the doors of all the houses of a farm on Lammas day (August 1st, O.S.) at noon. This ceremony had to be gone through by the one that did it without the knowledge of any one, and without the utterance of a word to any one that might be met. (Tyrie.) In Strathdon pieces of "rawn-tree" were put into every byre on the Reed day"—Rood day—(May 2nd, O.S.) by the goodman after sunset. This had to be done in secret. ↑ See Folkore of the North-East of Scotland, pp. 71, 188, 189, 192.

https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Page:The_Folk-Lore_Journal_Volume_7_1889.djvu/365

It’s been eight weeks since we celebrated Pentecost and came out of the festival season of Easter and into the twenty-five week stretch that we call the time after Pentecost, or ordinary time. For the last seven weeks we’ve been reading from the gospel of Mark stories of Jesus’ miracles and teachings, deepening our understanding of the ministry that eventually led Jesus to the cross, the tomb and the resurrection. Today we begin a five-week excursion away from the gospel of Mark, and into the gospel of John, that begins with one of the best known miracle stories of Jesus: the feeding of the five thousand. Knowing that we’re going to be venturing into the esoteric waters of John’s metaphors for the next month, perhaps it is good to notice that this cycle of readings begins with a very concrete, observable action. Jesus saw hungry people and fed them. The story begins with Jesus making a comment to Philip, posing a hypothetical question, “where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?” Then John adds, “he said this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do.” This is the question, what did Jesus do? Upon hearing that there was a boy with five barley loaves and two fish, Jesus asks the disciples to get the crowd seated. Once everyone is settled in, he gives thanks to God for the food that has been provided and begins to distribute it, and there is enough for everyone with enough leftovers to fill twelve baskets – which means there were more leftovers than the original amount of food Jesus started with. Many preachers coming upon this story will wonder in front of their congregations if the miracle that took place that day was less a mysterious, mystical multiplication of loaves and fishes, and more a miracle of generosity. Doesn’t it make more sense to suppose that people were moved by the witness of the boy who offered Jesus all that he had, like the widow and her last penny, and that they too in turn opened up their traveling sacks to reveal whatever food they had packed when they left their homes that morning to hear what the traveling preacher from Nazareth had to say? I think that does make more sense, and taken with Paul’s letter to the Ephesians that we heard this morning, which concludes, “now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine…” I think it’s a useful direction to go – to remember that God’s power is at work within us, and that the power to feed the hungry people in our communities is within us as well. But, I also think it’s worth noting that the second half of this morning’s gospel reading has Jesus walking on water – so clearly the gospel of John isn’t uncomfortable with unexplainable miracles. Whether Jesus fed the five thousand by mysteriously multiplying loaves and fish on his own, or by miraculously mutating the human heart to incline the crowds toward generosity is not the point. God’s desire to see human life respected and the world transformed, that is the point. The ELCA sent out a packet of information on its world hunger appeal earlier this year, noting that this Sunday would be an excellent time to focus on the extreme needs of the one billion out of this Earth’s 6.7 billion human beings who live on less than a dollar a day. That is not an abstract number, though it is too large for the human mind to comprehend. One billion people is not a metaphor for spiritual hunger, it is a real number corresponding to real hunger – hunger felt in the belly, hunger that will kill more six million children under the age of five this year alone. I don’t debate the reality of the needs of these people, but I do wonder – as a preacher – about how best to address need this staggering in a sermon. I’ve been supplied with an entire package of statistics about hunger, infant mortality and poverty, and I’ve been encouraged to share it with you as a way of moving this congregation to deeper action. But, I wonder, is lack of information really the barrier between apathy and action? And, is it even fair to say that we’ve been apathetic on this count? Every week a portion of the offering we take up is passed along to the synod, a portion of which is passed along to the national church, which bundles our gifts with the gifts of other churches to attend to the needs of the whole church and to support the world hunger appeal. In the middle of June we took up a second justice offering of just over $125 designated directly for the world hunger appeal and sent that off. We know that our gifts are small, but we trust that the small gifts we offer to God – like the boy with his five loaves and two fish – can be multiplied into something much larger in God’s economy, where acts of generosity inspire even greater giving by those around us. It’s not that I think we are incapable of deeper giving. I think we are all capable of deeper giving, but only when our gifts are tied to our sense of love and compassion for those around us – not drug out of us by horror at the overwhelming needs of faceless people. People living on less than a dollar a day stopped being faceless to me when I traveled to South Africa in the summer of 2000. I was there with a group of college students, seminarians and faculty from Emory University. We were studying the Truth and Reconciliation process that South Africa undertook after the fall of apartheid, and so we were meeting with people all over the country who’d been involved in different ways. ohannesburg. The townships were the segregated areas designated for blacks during the apartheid years, and that is still who lives there. The homes and gathering places were made of corrugated tin panels, the floors were often still dirt, though new cinder block construction was beginning to go up. It was quite rare to find indoor plumbing of any kind, and you could see irrigation trenches running in between the shacks carrying water and waste openly in the streets where children played. I was in Alexandra for Sunday morning worship, which went on for hours. The preaching was energetic, the hymn singing was enthusiastic and bubbled up from the congregation as people called out song after song and sang everything by memory. Afterward they served a potluck meal (as universal a church tradition as the long folding tables) with the most savory dishes: meats in rich gravies, starchy sides and boiled vegetables. I ate as well at that table as I have ever eaten at any restaurant, and I knew for a fact that my hosts were among the world’s billion living on less than a dollar a day. What do we mean when we say that we’re in the middle of a bad economy? Financial analysts tell us that economics is the study of consumer psychology. That the credit crisis was the result of banks tightening up their lending out of fear of diminishing returns. That the home mortgage bubble was the result of collective greed and the assumption of unsustainable growth. Now we in the industrial west are waiting for the public to relax, loosen their anxieties about future earnings, and begin buying cars again. That’s what we call a bad economy. Some public figures are expressing outrage that government would even consider raising taxes when the middle class is being pressed so tight. But the economy has always been bad for the poor, and that is rarely talked about, and the “tightening of the belt” that we call budget cuts will affect the poor the most. So the poor have learned to put their trust in something else: in each other, in networks of people they see and trust and can rely on to take care of them and their children. Even in the never-ending bad economy that is the status quo for the world’s poorest people, there is, miraculously, still enough to feed strangers in your midst with the best food you know how to cook. The gospel of John has no trouble with supernatural mysteries, with Jesus walking on water. But I still tend to think that what happened on that grassy hillside was like what happened to me in Alexandra township. The people who chased after Jesus while he was alive were among the poorest people around. His message of God’s passionate concern for the least and the overlooked gave them hope that God was on their side, and I think it was they – the poor, the least and the overlooked – who were seated on that grassy hill, people with enough common sense to pack a lunch before leaving the house and enough spirit to share with one another when it was time to eat. I think Jesus knew that, that Jesus was banking on that, so that Jesus could say something to his disciples and the temple authorities – so that Jesus could say something to people living far enough away from hunger as a daily reality about what a bad economy really looks like, and reveal the miracle of human spirit that survives in the least expected of places. And if people can survive, even thrive, on bread and fish shared with a neighbor; if people can find hope for tomorrow and joy in a new way of living just by sharing a meal like the one Jesus wants to offer; then is the bread you earn for yourself and eat by yourself for you and yours really as satisfying as you’ve been led to believe? Is the bread of self-sufficiency really what brings life? → Announcement: St. Luke’s Summer Survey Results are In!

https://erikchristensen.blog/2009/07/26/sermon-sunday-july-26-2009-eighth-sunday-after-pentecost/?shared=email&msg=fail

Helsinki’s new central library Oodi opened on December 5, the eve of Finland’s 101st Independence Day, a fitting celebration for one of the most literate nations in the world. Located at Kansalaistori Square in the heart of the city, Oodi promises to be a transformative and multi-functional space, defying any notion of the library as a dated public institution. Viewed from the outside it is a work of architectural beauty, with an exterior comprised of elegant lines in wood, glass and steel. Equally impressive is what is found within. Oodi offers a contemporary take on the library, not merely providing the traditional, silent refuge for readers but by allowing visitors to engage in a wide range of activities across its three floors. Each floor is designed with different functions in mind, with the overall goal of creating a public ‘living room’ that can be utilised by visitors in a variety of ways. The first floor comprises a spacious lobby area where one can visit the info desk and return book loans. It is a mutable space, with a multi-purpose hall capable of being extended into the lobby area for large events, as well as a cinema and restaurant and a Fazer café, which is also located on the 3rd floor. The second floor is a creator’s paradise, containing studios for music and film makers, a ‘Maker’s Space’ featuring 3D printers and a range of other tools, as well as rooms dedicated to study, work and children’s play. Traditional library services are located on the third floor, with 100,000 books on the shelves and over 3 million more available through the library’s advanced service system. The design of this floor captures the timeless beauty of Finnish nature, the pure colours of the wood flooring punctuated by well-placed trees, white walls and shelves and a view to the surrounding cityscape seen through softly tinted glass. Cosy corners and wide open areas, under an undulating white ceiling that reminds one of the winter snow, create a wondrous space for reading and relaxation. In the summertime, visitors can enjoy stunning views of the city and look squarely at the Finnish Parliament building from the Citizens’ Balcony. The development of Oodi has been an admirable exercise in democracy, involving the citizenry in the entire process, from the design of the building and its contents to the final selection of its name. It stands in excellent cultural company, neighboured by Finlandia Hall, Kiasma art museum, Sanoma media house and the Helsinki Music Centre. Oodi is open weekdays from 8 am – 10 pm and on weekends from 10 am – 8 pm.

https://esd.discoverhelsinki.fi/activities/oodi-library/

Our in-house MythBuster at E&M tackles the topic of period. Disclaimer: I’m no period expert. But I do get my period once a month, and I’m tired of the word itself being a taboo. So let’s talk about period, and start by debunking some common myths – some more established than others, some still being debated, and some that will seem obvious to some of you and crazy to others. As ludicrous as it sounds, this belief was prevalent for a long time. Because they lose blood every month, womxn must be weaker than men… right? Interestingly, this partly explains the fear of witches in the Middle Ages (this and the fear of independent knowledgeable womxn, but that’s another topic). Witches were usually menopausal womxn, who therefore no longer had their period. So if you believed that losing blood kept womxn weak, you necessarily also believed that when they no longer do, they are likely to become superwomxn, or at least as strong as men. Menopausal womxn who also happened to be single and therefore had no men in their lives to contain their strength and insatiable sexual desire naturally inspired much fear. And that is indeed scary. Until the middle of the nineteenth century in France, doctors actually used to drain blood from pregnant womxn every month to make sure they did not become too strong while they didn’t have their period – or that their ‘surplus’ of blood did not risk poisoning the future newborn. So, we have come a long way. But we’re still quite far from the end of the myth debunking road. Isn’t it? Well maybe it’s not. While menstrual and premenstrual pain are common among many womxn and indeed natural, severe pain should not be. And it may sometimes be the symptom of a medical condition, such as endometriosis. But that’s only the most extreme possible explanation. There may be many different approaches to deal with the pain, such as changing eating habits to prevent inflammation or drink certain herbal teas. The point is, it’s not ok nor is it ‘normal’ to have to pop painkillers every couple of hours to survive period days. Sadly, many womxn do not talk about it – not to their doctor and not to the womxn around them – because they’re told from a very young age that your period is supposed to hurt and that’s how it is. This ‘culture of silence’ furthers this idea that my period is supposed to hurt, and if all other womxn deal with is, so can I. It is also hindering further research into possible treatments: as John Guillebaud, professor of reproductive health at University College London, puts it: “Men don’t get it and it hasn’t been given the centrality it should have,” meaning it is also often accompanied with indifference from doctors, whether men or womxn, who are simply embedded in this culture of silence. Bottom line: periods are not meant to hurt as much as a heart attack, if they do you should consult with a doctor, and beg your scientists friends to spark interest and research into the matter. Like E&M‘s Francesca Monticelli already started doing in her article on gender bias in healthcare. Also, slow down a little bit if you need to – it’s ok to take a day off (don’t tell your boss I said that). I’m not saying it’s good, I’m not a doctor and there is a lot I don’t really understand. However, all the doctors I know (which is indeed not a very broad sample) say that there is nothing bad about it. Let’s rewind a little bit. The pill was invented and marketed to mimic the natural cycle so it would sell more easily, not for sanitary reasons. With the strong influence of the Catholic Church, and little research on the effects of not losing blood monthly, the pill was created with a break (as a week-long pause from taking tablets or with placebo tablets replacing the actual ones for a week) for marketing purposes. Indeed, it was revolutionary enough that it was better to not also remove your period while we were at it. And this apparently reassured the Church a little bit (not very much though). Today, many womxn skip this break when taking the pill to avoid their period, whether consistently or occasionally. Some pills also exist without any break at all, and doctors do prescribe them. So is it bad or not? While the issue is complex, and the pill itself comes with many issues and health risks, it is safe to say that we do not need a regular monthly bleeding: It doesn’t make womxn weaker as people believed in the Middle Ages, and it is also not a key to womxn’s health as a lot of people still believe today. So as always, it is best to consult your doctor – just keep in mind everyone has different needs and different reactions so listen to your body and welcome the variety rather than accepting given dogmas. Alright, this is not really a myth. But… a lot of people think it is gross, to say things as they are. Gross, messy and embarrassing. While it may be all of these things, it doesn’t have to be. Blood acts as a natural and warm lubricant. At the end of the day, it should only be down to personal preferences (obviously). And the taboo needs to go, because a lot of womxn – and their sexual partners – may be missing out on a lot. E&M MythBuster is here to debunk the common myths of today's all knowing, all opinionated and all scary society. To be clear, the E&M MythBuster is no expert in anything, but instead is on a mission to get the conversation started on myths accepted in silence.

https://europeandme.eu/period-mythbuster/

Sparks “Flames of Inspiration and Commitment Grand Gala” – pictured from left: Ms. Sheresse Vanesa Jurgen (Founder of SPARKS), Ms. Judy M. Gomez (Founder of SPARKS), Mrs. Patricia Minnis (Spouse of the Prime Minister of The Bahamas), Ms. Yolanda Cabodevilla Bryan (First Lady of the U.S. Virgin Islands), Mrs. Cecile Rene Galiber de Jongh (Former First Lady of the U.S. Virgin Islands). Mrs. Patricia Minnis was highly commended and awarded for her commitment to mentoring girls throughout the Commonwealth of The Bahamas at a SPARKS “Flames of Inspiration and Commitment Grand Gala” at the Mark C. Marin Center in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands on July 20, 2019. The grand celebration officially recognized 25 years of SPARKS (Students Promoting Awareness, Responsibility, Knowledge and Service). The gala was hosted by SPARKS Founder Ms. Judy M. Gomez, former Senator and member of the US Virgin Island’s Board of Education. Mrs. Patricia Minnis (spouse of the prime minister), is a staunch supporter of women, girls and initiatives that encourage positive adolescent development. She is one of the co-founders of the Lady’s Chamber, a girls mentoring programme in her community of Gambier that seeks to improve self-image and outlook of teenaged girls. It was in 2008 that women of SPARKS travelled to The Bahamas to meet Mrs. Minnis, who has charted causes geared to affirmative adolescent development; and during this time that the birthing of the connection between SPARKS and The Bahamas took place. Mrs. Minnis hosted the group at C.I. Gibson High School, where they had the opportunity to participate in a special school assembly. They also enjoyed lunch and a tour.

https://ewnews.com/mrs-patricia-minnis-honoured-with-sparks-award-in-st-thomas

FDIC closed 6 banks in Georgia and 1 in New York today. That brings the July tally to 19. 16 Georgia banks have failed this year, more than in any other state. The 64 bank failures nationwide this year compare with 25 last year and three in 2007. Dow Jones Industrial Average managed to stay above the psychologically significant 9,000, ended the week at 9,093. It went up 3.99% this week. S&P 500 ended at 979, up 4.13% for the week. Nasdaq ended at 1,965, up 4.21% for the week. Small Cap Russell 2000 outperformed the major indices, up 5.63% for the week. Financials ended the week flat. Commodities did very well, with the Commodity Related Equity Index (CRX) up 6.02% for the week. Minyanville.com must have been one of those bloggers (they are not exactly blogs, but..) who were invited by President Obama the other day to receive his directive on how to sell his health care reform to the Internet mass. Here's an extremely simplistic, black and white argument for the so-called "reform", from Ryan Goldberg at Minyanville.com. Health Care Reform Opponents Argue, "Go Broke, Don't Fix It" "So what does that experiment include? Well, let’s compare “what these countries do” -- as the Arizona Senator says -- to the US. "First off, everybody has insurance. It's a guaranteed right. How silly is that: Who would want health care they get for free? "There are shorter lines in emergency rooms and it's easier to see a primary-care doctor. There's little paperwork -- for both patients and physicians -- and those physicians say they feel free to practice medicine the way they want. "The newspapers in those countries don't include stories of people going bankrupt or skipping medical care because it costs too much. And overall, they pay substantially less than we do. For instance, the French spend around 11% of their gross domestic product on health care, the Dutch around 10%. In the US, we spend around 16%." But... Is health care a right? If it is a right, why is there a price tag at all? Free? Then why are they proposing to impose surtax? Free for who? Nothing that the government does is for free. Taxpayers have to foot the bill. And where is the hard data to back his assertion about shorter lines and little paperwork, and all? In Great Britain, you have to wait 9 months for the treatment of arthritis. The French and the Dutch may spend less of their GDP on health care, but they also have higher income tax than the U.S. France's top rate for individual income tax is 40%. For the Dutch, it's 52%. The U.S. top rate is 35%. "The mainstream press covers the issue, as it does most policies, in terms of a political fight or horse race. Then there's the fear-mongering that deploys visions of Soviet-style rationing from rich politicians who have never heard from a person who lives without insurance. " Haha, that's funny. More Republicans oppose the bill than Democrats, but there are significant Democratic opposition, too. Somehow if they oppose, they are "rich" politicians? Nancy Pelosi's net worth is $19 million. President Obama's net worth is $7 million. The richest in Congress is John Kerry (D) at $231 million, with Jane Harman (D) closing in at $226 million. Are they opposing the bill? The author also fails to mention that Congress would be EXEMPT from the bill. The bill is only for us commoners. "Our plan might make us like France or the Netherlands, where private insurers have a role but the government offers a secure backstop. Everybody gets covered somehow. In both countries, people spend significantly less time in emergency rooms and get same-day appointments far more frequently." Might. Indeed. Might not. Here in the U.S., the government wants to run the show, not a backstop. Besides, France is no health care paradise ("French health care is badly run" by BBC, and "French Health Care Expert: France's System Broken, Should Copy US; Media Yawn" by Newsbusters). Just like President Obama, the author reduces the issue to a choice between doing nothing at all and handing over the medical decision to Washington and closing our eyes and hope for the best. The critics are not saying "Let's do nothing and go broke", as the author kindly simplifies for us. They are questioning the wisdom of foisting a trillion dollars on the taxpayers and employers in a severe recession in which the unemployment rate is likely to climb to a double digit; of the government bureaucrats dictating the private decisions with cumbersome rules and regulations. I have a sinking feeling though that this monstrosity of a health care "reform" will pass, just like another monstrosity (climate bill) will somehow pass (already passed the House). And that will be partly thanks to the people like this article's author who talks like the president - all fluff and no substance just to make you feel good. Other part will be the gullible mass who swallow anything in front of them without checking the label. Where is the red pill? "In last night's press conference, President Obama seemed to be reliving that famous scene from The Matrix. The main character is offered a choice between a red pill that makes him see reality for what it is, and a blue pill that allows him to continue living in a pleasant world of illusions. "Last night, President Obama appeared to have taken the blue pill before his press conference. How else could he convince himself, the Congressional Budget Office's numbers notwithstanding, that his health care reform bill will not increase both health care costs and the federal deficit? How else can he continue to make the argument that a massive expansion of government spending on health care will solve rather than exacerbate the current problems? How can he repeatedly express such absolute certainty that such a measure will easily pay for itself several times over in the long run? Why can he not at least acknowledge the possibility that it will become a costly and useless trillion-dollar boondoggle that follows in the footsteps of his stimulus package? "With his example of the red and blue pills, and another about whether a child's hypothetical tonsils should be removed, President Obama unwittingly presents the real problem with his plan for reform. Here is a well-meaning government official who so fails to grasp the problem in health care that he can present such absurd oversimplifications and suggest that this sort of thing is the real problem -- doctors simply lack the common sense to make obvious medical decisions. President Obama wants us to solve this problem by putting himself and other government officials in charge of rescuing medicine from the medical profession. If medical doctors with a decade of schooling cannot distinguish between good cures and ineffective ones that must be discontinued, then by gosh, we're lucky that the good folks from the government can. "President Obama thus frames the issue as a false choice between doing nothing at all and handing over to Washington complicated, case-by-case medical decisions that cannot possibly be legislated or dictated by government. "This transfer of medical authority to the bureaucracy is intended to curb costs. Unfortunately, there is exactly one thing that government can do to control costs in health care: it can insist on paying below cost. This shifts the cost burden to private insurance companies, which in turn pass along higher premiums to their patients. This is what government-run Medicare does today for many treatments, including cancer. Government will do more of this kind of "saving" when it assumes greater responsibility for funding citizens' health care, particularly if a government-option health care plan is established." "The one thing President Obama did not do last night was address directly any of the concerns that Americans have about his pending reform proposals. With this sort of rhetorical detachment from reality, it is not surprising that public support for his vision of health care reform is gradually eroding. "President Obama needs to take the red pill, even if it does cost twice as much." The problem is that the president seems to actually believe that the blue pill (his plan) costs less and just as effective. Understandable, coming from a person who spent the entire career in public or governmental service. He probably has definition of words "cost" and "effective" different from yours and mine. However, by distinctively recalling the storyline of this very popular movie and choosing the blue pill, he is saying he is in fantacy land where he can believe whatever he wants to believe. He is also recommending every one of us to do the same. I can already hear the excuse he and his government officials would say when it turns out that it costs more and not effective. They would say, "Who could have known?", just like the previous administration officials said on number of occasions. They might add, "We meant well." Well, you may know the saying... the road to Hell is paved with good intentions. What set today's testimony apart was in the prepared statement and his op-ed piece on Wall Street Journal: the Fed's "exit strategy" - how to shrink the Fed balance sheet once the economy gets going on its own. I ran into two articles that say "When" is more important than "How": Here's one, by Catherine Rampell of New York Times; the other is here, by Jill Schlesinger of CBS. They both gloss over the "how", treating them as standard, run-of-the-mill tools. The Federal Reserve's balance sheet exploded from $900 billion in September 2008 to over $2 trillion two months later in November 2008. This is simply historically unprecedented. Don't we need to examine the tools that purportedly shrink this balance sheet, or whether it would be ever possible to do so at all? Could "standard" tools do? If not, what would happen? I am more interested in knowing the "how"; from the recent past, I'm resigned to the probability that the Fed will get the "when" very, very wrong, unless by chance. So, let's take a look at the op-ed piece in Wall Street Journal, in his own words. "The depth and breadth of the global recession has required a highly accommodative monetary policy. Since the onset of the financial crisis nearly two years ago, the Federal Reserve has reduced the interest-rate target for overnight lending between banks (the federal-funds rate) nearly to zero. We have also greatly expanded the size of the Fed’s balance sheet through purchases of longer-term securities and through targeted lending programs aimed at restarting the flow of credit. "These actions have softened the economic impact of the financial crisis. They have also improved the functioning of key credit markets, including the markets for interbank lending, commercial paper, consumer and small-business credit, and residential mortgages." Many people (including myself) would question the validity of the second paragraph, but the first paragraph describes what the Fed has done. I accept that. "My colleagues and I believe that accommodative policies will likely be warranted for an extended period. At some point, however, as economic recovery takes hold, we will need to tighten monetary policy to prevent the emergence of an inflation problem down the road.... And exactly how is he going to do that? First, it will happen automatically anyway: "To some extent, reserves held by banks at the Fed will contract automatically, as improving financial conditions lead to reduced use of our short-term lending facilities." Second, he can raise the interest rate on the reserves so that the banks will keep their money at the Fed and not lend out: "we can raise the rate paid on reserve balances as we increase our target for the federal funds rate." The first one is not a policy choice, so basically the first and foremost attack on bulging reserve is to raise interest rate on the reserve so that it will not leave the Fed and flood the Main Street and cause inflation. Ummmm, hasn't the government been complaining that banks are hoarding the money at the Fed and not lending to Main Street? Reduce reserves by selling a portion of its holdings of long-term securities into the open market. Now, let's examine these four choices against the Federal Reserve's latest balance sheet. Repo agreements inject short-term credit, reverse repo agreements drain short-term credit. Currently the Fed has $66 billion reverse repo agreements on the balance sheet (liabilities), entirely with foreign and international account dealers. The Fed wants to greatly expand reverse repo agreements with a lot more institutions to drain liquidity. It is short-term and temporary. That's a longer-term than reverse repo agreement, but still temporary. The Fed already pays interest on the reserves. All term deposit offers is that the Fed will be able to lock up the reserve for a specified amount of time. It seems to me that there are so many Catch-22 here. First, Treasury notes and bonds. They are part of the collateral held against Federal Reserve notes (U.S. dollar bills, $1,054 billion outstanding). Also, if the Fed wants to vastly expand reverse repo agreements to drain liquidity, it has to post collateral, and the collateral for that operation is Treasury notes and bonds. That would mean the U.S. dollar's value would drop, as the dollar is backed less by Treasuries and more by securities of dubious quality (agency bonds and MBS). Second, the federal government will have to issue more Treasury debt as far as eyes can see on their ambitious programs. Adding to the supply would lower the price, raising the yield and raising the cost of the debt. Third, who in the world (literally) wants agency bonds, and who wants them at face value? No one. Ditto for MBS guaranteed by the likes of Fannie and Freddie. I don't know how much the Fed can get in the open market for these securities, but definitely NOT AT FACE VALUE. The only method that would actually reduce liquidity seems to be the No.4, but then the house of cards would come tumbling down when the open market price discovery happens. Luckily for Ben Bernanke, banks have very little interest in lending for now, as the economic "recovery" is seen tepid and slow. Unless they are forced to lend, like the Chinese central bank forced its banks by lowering the reserve interest, we don't need to worry about how the Fed is going to absorb excess liquidity. I would like to know what exit strategy the Chinese central bank has, if any... This from the Heritage Foundation. "With the public’s trust in his handling of health care tanking (50%-44% of Americans disapprove), the White House has launched a new phase of its strategy designed to pass Obamacare: all Obama, all the time. As part of that effort, Obama hosted a conference call with leftist bloggers urging them to pressure Congress to pass his health plan as soon as possible. "This is a truly disturbing admission by the President, especially considering that later in the call, Obama promises yet again: “If you have health insurance, and you like it, and you have a doctor that you like, then you can keep it. Period.” How can Obama keep making this promise if he is not familiar with the health legislation that is being written in Congress? Details matter. "We are familiar with the passage IBD sites, and as we wrote last week, the House bill does not outright outlaw private individual health insurance, but it does effectively regulate it out of existence." This blog covered the issue of private insurance under H.R. 3200 in this post last Saturday, with the actual text of the sections in question. As the Heritage Foundation says, the bill will effectively kill the private health insurance industry with cumbersome new regulations and restrictions and raise the cost to employers and individuals. And the President, who's clearly back in the campaign mode to sell this piece of monstrocity, doesn't even know what's in it. He probably doesn't know that Congress will be exempt from the very rules that they are crafting right now. And remember that the bill wants to penalize people who don't have health insurance by taxing them on their gross income. Has the whole country gone crazy or what? and it's just fine and dandy with them. Their latest on the Global Economic Forum is "Policy-Driven Decoupling: Upgrading Our 2009-10 Outlook", July 17, 2009 by Qing Wang, Denise Yam, CFA & Steven Zhang , Hong Kong. "The Chinese economy staged a stronger-than-expected rebound in 2Q09, with real growth reaching 7.9%Y, up from the trough of 6.1% in 1Q09. On a seasonally adjusted basis, we estimate that the economy grew by a strong 4.5%Q (+19% annualized), accelerating from 1.5% in 1Q09 and the trough of 0.4% in 4Q08. We attribute the better-than-expected economic performance to the maintenance of the growth-boosting policy stance, which made possible a much-accelerated realization of the real stimulative effect from the multi-trillion renminbi fiscal package and expansionary monetary and credit policy, which we originally expected to materialize only in 2H09. In particular, policy-driven monetary and credit expansion, which has been consistently surprising on the upside, has enabled the significant pick-up in domestic investment. The Rmb1.53 trillion new loans made in June sent money and loan growth to new record-highs of 28.5%Y (M2) and 34.4%Y, respectively. Credit creation in 1H09 totaled Rmb7.37 trillion, three times the amount in the year-ago period, and exceeding the 2008 total (Rmb4.91 trillion) by 50%, helping to finance the 35.7%Y growth in fixed asset investment (nationwide) in 2Q09, up from 28.8% in 1Q (33.5% in 1H)." So the Morgan Stanley analysts are basically saying that the Chinese stimulus is working miracles, unlike those in the Western nations. So where is this "domestic", "fixed asset" investment going, which is the result of "policy-driven monetary and credit expansion"? Their summary does mention "the strong recovery in property sector", but the detailed discussion oddly starts with domestic consumer consumption (which the analysts say resilient) offsetting external weakness (i.e. export). I take it to mean it has stopped going down. Export has cratered because the U.S. and Europe are not buying anytime soon. Then they talk about "policy-driven decoupling", meaning China has forced the banks to lend by lowering the interest on the reserves (they don't mention this) so the market is awash with new credits looking for places to go. And they are going places. "Specifically, sustained and stronger-than-expected credit growth in recent months has continued to buoy sentiment and helped to deliver: a) an accelerated rollout of public infrastructure projects; b) more resilience in private consumption and private manufacturing sector capex despite weak exports; and c) an increasingly convincing recovery in property investment. These positive developments, together with the steady asset price reflation, are serving to compensate for the prolonged weakness in external demand." The newly created money is going to public infra projects (not the most efficient use of money in any country, particularly in China), private manufaturing sector capital expenditure (without demand from export, that means overcapacity being built), and property investment. The money apparently make Chinese citizens feel good, as an important side effect. The Morgan Stanley analysts call these developments "positive", and happy to see "the steady asset price reflation". It's the bubble time again! Didn't we just popped one gigantic bubble based on asset price inflation? And these analysts are hailing the reflation of the same bubble and misallocation of capital? M2 is growing rapidly but there will be no price inflation for at least for 12 months even if asset prices are reflating. That foreign hot money is back in China I have little doubt. China's purchase of U.S. Treasuries jumped in May by $38 billion. China's central bank has been busy absorbing the U.S. dollar that has been entering their country; their foreign reserve recently topped $2 trillion. I can't picture a worse scenario than to have a central planning and have a flood of hot money coming in. Morgan Stanley recently announced that it plans to repackage a downgraded collateralized debt obligation backed by leveraged loans into new securities with AAA ratings. The firm seems to want the return of good old bubble, so it's little wonder it is cheering the new (old) bubble in China. Found the video in LRC Blog. According to the Fed Chairman, there was no housing bubble. Only a localized problem here and there, but nothing threatening the national market. Subprime? It was not the big issue. And global economic growth remained strong.

https://ex-skf.blogspot.com/2009_07_19_archive.html

Hearts in Atlantis Audiobook is a collection of two novellas and three short stories by Stephen King, all connected to one another by recurring characters and taking place in roughly chronological order. In Part One, “Low Men in Yellow Coats”, 11-year-old Bobby Garfield discovers a world of predatory malice in his own neighborhood. He also discovers that adults are sometimes not rescuers, but at the heart of the terror. In the title story, a group of college students get hooked on a card game, discover the possibility of protest… and confront their own collective heart of darkness, where laughter may be no more than the thinly disguised cry of the beast. In “Blind Willie” and “Why We’re in Vietnam”, two men who grew up with Bobby in suburban Connecticut try to fill the emptiness of the post-Vietnam era in an America which sometimes seems as hollow – and as haunted – as their own lives. And in “Heavenly Shades of Night Are Falling”, this remarkable book’s denouement, Bobby returns to his hometown where one final secret, the hope of redemption, and his heart’s desire may await him. Full of danger and suspense, most of all full of heart, Hearts in Atlantis will take some listeners to a place they have never been, and others to a place they have never been able to completely leave. Interestingly enough, I started out in the first story being entertained in the fantasy of a tale that not only took me back to a time of my childhood but was also connected to King’s Dark Tower series, a series I consider a masterpiece. So yeah, I was having a good time… but by the time I reached the fifth and last story of the book I was angry; angry at war, angry at the man, angry at the government, angry at the system, angry at the atrocities of life and angry at the cruelty of my fellow human beings. Being a child of the 60’s, having grown up in the Vietnam era, Hearts in Atlantis Audiobook Mp3 really hit home for me. But it wasn’t just because of the war itself. This was a look into the hearts of man (and woman). Stephen King – Hearts in Atlantis is now available in audible format, mp3 is almost 20 hours long, yet the narration by William Hurt is so enticing that you get hooked instantly. Stephen King – The Man in the Black Suit Audiobook: ...

https://ezaudiobookforsoul.com/author/stephen-king-audio/hearts-in-atlantis-audiobook/

Got a chance to do a little work on Chez Marcelle. Still working on the roof details. I know exactly what I want in my head, I just have to make it work for the house. I had to close out a few gaps on the side of the house. I will be using wood siding on the exterior of the house. I want to a make sure the siding has something to stick to in that area, so I used foam board and topped it with balsa wood. Here's an example of the roof style I want to use for Chez Marcelle. I'm not sure if I will be adding the windows, I want to keep the roof fairly simple. After I build the frame, I plan on using tin that I will apply a rusting effect to. The roof will have a wonderful brownish patina. I will talk more about the exterior house color next post…still searching for ideas. I chopped off the top and it all came together. After writing the am post, I decided to head to the garage to remove the roof entirely, I am so happy I did. I then, cut form board to play around with different roof styles. I finally decided on this one. It's a little shorter than the previous one and has a flat top. Once I decided on the top, I continued to play around with it. I plan on shortening the sides to make it more balance with the rest of the house. I also want a rim to go around the entire house, so I will play around with it a bit more before I actually build out the wooden frame. I started getting excited, so just to see, I taped up a few pieces of siding…yes, I think this is going to look great! It's looking more and more cottage/barn style, which is what I want. My mom has a sister, Marcelle, she and my uncle have a wonderful cottage/barn style home in the french country. I remember having wonderful times at their home with lots of food, wine and laughter. I decided to name this house Chez Marcelle, in memory of the wonderful times we shared there with family. Oh….that artist loft, I can wait to get going inside. I'm making edits to the dollhouse. So far I got rid of the columns and the front roof. I'm not sure what I'm going to do there, but I didn't like it, so it had to go. I may have to take off the entire top and make it more square looking. I think I'm going for "the large" cottage house. ???? The house started out with six rooms. I want the downstairs to have an open plan, so I knocked down the living room/kitchen wall. Upstairs, I am making the bedroom larger and the bathroom smaller. I know for sure there will be built-ins on the window wall. A few edits to the interior also. I finally decided to start working on a dollhouse. I was given this house by a friend and it sat around for a bit while I tried to figure out what I wanted to do with it. It's hibernation time and I am finally feeling excited about this project (The Painted Lady will have to wait). I plan on creating it for my daughter's room, using items that I have made, items I have purchased and a few items that were given to me. So first I want to show you what I am starting with. It looks like colonial house. I know for sure I want to make it cottage/vintage style. So there will be changes to the exterior and interior. I don't want the stairs (I want as much decoration space as possible). I've already made several changes to both the interior and exterior. I will update tomorrow.

https://fabulouslyflawedminiatures.blogspot.com/p/my-dollhouse.html

This conference has of course been focusing on both Ukraine and Belarus, and I shall try in this concluding talk to have both countries in mind. I don't pretend to be trying to sum up in the sense of presenting conclusions with which everyone is meant to agree. And obviously a good deal of what I'm going to say was prepared beforehand. But it does also include my own reflections on what we have learned over the last couple of days. If I show a certain bias towards Ukraine, I hope I shall be forgiven. I have visited Belarus several times, and I have met President Lukashenko - though admittedly the meeting took place in Lisbon rather than in Minsk. But obviously my main experience is of Ukraine, where I served for several years. What are we trying to do in Belarus and Ukraine? How can we do it better? Do we have an ultimate vision of the place the two countries in Europe and in the world? Is that vision one which we share with the peoples of the two countries, and if so, how can we help them to turn it into reality? And what role can churches and Christian organisations play in the process? As Philip Walters brought out in his opening talk on Tuesday evening, Ukraine and Belarus have obvious similarities, but also significant differences. The casual observer is more struck by the similarities, because both countries were part of the Soviet Union, and both are now sandwiched between Russia and the European Union. But even at this level, the differences also need to be stressed. Ukraine is nearly four times the size of Belarus - at 233,000 square miles, it is the second-largest country in Europe after European Russia. Belarus is landlocked - I think it was Peter Pavlovic who told us that it is the largest landlocked country in Europe - while Ukraine has a long Black Sea coast. Ukraine's population is a little under 46 million, while that of Belarus is somewhat under 10 million. And what seems to me to be a rather telling indicator of difference today is that in Belarus the main official language is Russian, while in Ukraine, even though many people prefer to speak Russian, the only official language is Ukrainian. The present Ukrainian government wants to change that, but is in some evident confusion, to the extent that the deputy head of the presidential administration recently proposed that there should be two new official languages - Russian, and English! Both countries, of course, had many similar terrible experiences during the twentieth century. Both were completely occupied by Nazi Germany during the Second World War, whereas Russia was only partly occupied. During that occupation, both experienced the full impact of the holocaust, symbolised in Kiev by the ravine of Babi Yar, where during a few days in September 1941 nearly 34,000 Jews were massacred. You may know Yevtushenko's poem on the subject. More recently, as John Leatherhead and John Gater so clearly brought out, both countries suffered terribly from the Chernobyl disaster. I may say that when I made my own first visit to Chernobyl, it was brought home to me graphically how close Chernobyl is to the Belarus border. I was attending a conference in Slavutich, the town built after the disaster to rehouse Chernobyl workers. The conference was followed by a visit to Chernobyl. Slavutich, like Chernobyl, is in Ukraine, but to get from one to the other you have to go through Belarus, and I did not even have my passport with me, let alone a Belarus visa. As a newly arrived ambassador, I thought I was about to create a diplomatic incident - though fortunately I got away with it. Both countries, of course, are still very much coloured by their communist past. Of course that is also true of countries like Poland or the Czech Republic, but very much less so. In those countries, at the time of the collapse of communism in 1989, there were still people who could remember life before communism, and knew how to operate a market economy. The concept of the rule of law meant something. But in most of Ukraine and Belarus, there had been communism for much longer, and it was only the very oldest people who could remember life before 1917 - or perhaps I should say before 1914. Of course the westernmost parts of both countries did belong to Poland - or in the case of a small part of Ukraine to Czechoslovakia - before the Second World War, but the wholesale change of population in these areas after 1945 was such that not many historic memories can have been left. Almost all the current leaders of these countries grew up under communism as their parents had done before them, and the only system they knew was one in which almost all organised human activity was under the control, or the very strong influence, of the Communist Party. The idea of independent organisations of citizens, with a wide variety of different ideals and objectives and policy goals, competing to win support and to advance their various different causes, simply did not exist. It was of course because they wanted to ensure that all areas of life and thought were dominated by the Communist Party that the Party leadership were opposed to the Churches. It was not simply that they thought that beliefs which they perceived to be superstitious were unhealthy for people - though no doubt they did think that. It was that Christian faith gave people an alternative source of authority. So almost throughout the communist period the authorities tried either to crush the Churches or to infiltrate and co-opt them. They had perhaps more success with the latter than with the former, but it is a remarkable fact that at the end of the communist period, the Churches were still there, weakened no doubt, and in many ways ill-equipped to cope with the challenges that faced them, but nevertheless still a major factor in their societies. Neville Kyrke-Smith told us something about how the Churches survived. third, that in that transformation, a wide variety of contacts with organisations and individuals in other countries is needed, and in particular that the Churches can play a crucial part. Of course I am not suggesting that the work of Aid to the Church in Need, or of Chernobyl Children's Life Line or Chernobyl Children's Project, are primarily directed towards preparing Ukraine and Belarus for the EU. They have their own very clear and valuable tasks. And I accept entirely that contacts can be of two-way benefit. But I do think that these contacts and many others rather like them can and will help gradually to transform society. First, then, the question of whether the European Union is or could be the right place for the two countries. Nathaniel Copsey spoke to use yesterday about EU Neighbourhood Policy towards the two, and obviously the fact that they are two of the EU's neighbours is an inescapable fact. Officially, Belarus at present indicates no interest in ever pursuing the path of EU membership, although an opinion poll last year showed that 44.1 per cent of the population would vote 'Yes' if there were a referendum on the question. I wouldn't take that too seriously, but it's quite interesting. It can be argued that Belarus has more affinities with European Union member states than do some of the Balkan countries which are candidates for membership, and certainly, as Philip Walters' talk clearly brought out, the present-day border between Belarus on the one hand, and Poland and Lithuania on the other, would not historically have been regarded as marking the end of Europe, or a dividing line between Europe and Eurasia, or, for quite a lot of history, anything very much at all. But obviously the question of membership could not even begin to arise so long as President Lukashenko is in power. The European Union would not admit to membership a state with an authoritarian regime any more now than it would have considered admitting Spain while the country was ruled by General Franco. And President Lukashenko, of course, has no aspiration for European Union membership. On the contrary, Belarus has signed a series of treaties with Russia including a Treaty on Russia-Belarus Union. Neither party appears to be terribly serious about this at present, but the orientation of Belarus policy is clear. Ukraine's position is quite different. The country has long had an officially proclaimed vision of itself as a country which aspires one day to become a member of the European Union. The new government which took office earlier this year continues to adhere to that vision, as was made very clear, for example, by the Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Konstantyn Gryshchenko, when he spoke at Chatham House last month. In that respect, even though the new government has been widely perceived as much more friendly to Russia than its predecessor, the policy has not changed, whereas by contrast, the goal of NATO membership has been abandoned. What makes the policy more difficult to pursue is that the European Union has persistently refused to accept Ukraine's right to aspire to membership, even though Ukraine is unquestionably a European country - unlike Turkey - and has a basically democratic system of government, if with many shortcomings. Of course, all of us realise that even on the most optimistic assumptions, Ukrainian membership of the European Union is many years away. For the moment, the task is to complete negotiation of the Association Agreement. But personally, I have always found it difficult to understand why the European Union should be so reluctant to acknowledge the possibility of eventual membership. Obviously such a step would risk upsetting Russia, but not in the same way that Ukraine's NATO aspirations did. The European Union has taken in the Baltic States without major damage to relations with Russia. Russia may well want to continue to present itself to Ukraine as an alternative pole of attraction. But that is not something which need affect European Union policy. Ukraine would obviously be a very difficult country for the European Union to absorb. But we are talking about a very long-term process. Turkey's right to eventual membership was recognised back in the 1960s, and it has not joined yet. An acceptance of Ukraine's right to eventual membership would send an important signal, and might help to give Ukraine a direction in which to steer. It may be that one day Belarus will change. I hope that the day will come when the same signal about eventual membership can be sent to that country too. But for the moment that is clearly impossible. And obviously one of the important differences between the two countries is that the European Union does not have the same significance for Minsk as it does for Kiev. At the same time, any Western European who knows anything about Ukraine must immediately be struck by the tremendous amount of progress that would have to be made before European Union membership could become anything like a realistic prospect. Political structures are seriously flawed, corruption remains rife, and the courts cannot be relied upon to administer justice without fear or favour. The Orange Revolution of 2004-5 looked for a time as if it might be the beginning of a serious attempt to tackle these problems. But although some progress was made, in the end the results were disappointing, largely because of quarrels between the two key figures in the Orange Revolution, Viktor Yushchenko and Yuliya Timoshenko. President Yanukovich claims to be making another fresh start, but the signs so far have not been promising. The cynical means by which he obtained enough defections from the opposition to create a new coalition government did not suggest any great respect for the principles of democracy. The deal he struck with Moscow to obtain continued supplies of cheap gas in exchange for an extension of the lease of the Sevastopol base to the Russian Black Sea Fleet has won short-term popularity, and on the surface looks attractive. Ukraine will get a discount of some 30 per cent on its gas supplies, saving altogether, it is claimed, about $40 billion over the ten-year period of the agreement. But the very fact that a political deal linked two entirely separate issues, and that the price of gas was settled by inter-governmental agreement, is contrary to the way in which a market economy should operate. And in the long run what the deal will do is to postpone again some difficult choices which Ukraine needs to make, while at the same time helping to perpetuate the opaque and dubious structures which operate the Russia-Ukraine gas system. Ukraine inherited from the Soviet Union a great deal of heavy industrial plant which depended crucially on the availability of cheap energy to be economically viable. By perpetuating the supply of cheap energy, it is continuing to subsidise that industry artificially. It is also making it likely that the country's current gross inefficiency in the use of energy will continue. If Ukraine is ever to be fully linked economically to the European Union, it has to learn to adapt to world market prices. Ukraine also has other huge problems. For example, the pension system is close to collapse. Although pensions are not high in absolute terms, pensions are set at 40 per cent of the average wage, and the retirement age is low - 55 for women and 60 for men. Total pension expenditure makes up 18 per cent of GDP. There are nine pensioners for every ten working people paying into the pension fund, and since the population is ageing, the problem is going to grow worse. The World Bank said in a report last month that fiscal reform was the most urgent priority for Ukraine, and highlighted pension reform as one of the key elements. To quote: 'The unreformed pension system and Ukraine's ageing population threaten short-term fiscal stability and long-term sustainability.' Of course these problems are always politically very difficult to deal with, and they are not unique to Ukraine. But the European Union will certainly not take on a new member state which is struggling with them. It is, I believe, in the long-term interests of both Ukraine and our own countries that the Ukrainian government should be encouraged to move in a different direction. There are plenty of instruments to hand through which this can be achieved. The Association Agreement with the European Union, including a comprehensive and deep Free Trade Area, can play an important part in encouraging desirable economic practices. So can the regular negotiations with the International Monetary Fund, on which Ukraine continues to rely heavily. For example, Ukraine's latest deal with the IMF includes a commitment gradually to raise the retirement age for women to 60, though there are indications that even this relatively modest change is being reviewed again. There are fewer instruments of this sort which can be used with Belarus. As we have heard, the Partnership and Co-operation Agreement between Belarus and the EU which was signed in 1995 was suspended by the EU. So long as President Lukashenko is in power, there could be no question for either side of moving on to an Association Agreement. As for the International Monetary Fund, Belarus joined in 1992, and has had a series of stand-by arrangements. The IMF has had some success in encouraging more stable macro-economic policies, but very little in promoting internal structural reform. But in the end, what is required in both countries is not just policy changes by government, but a transformation of the whole of society. Probably the most important reason why reforms are so difficult to introduce successfully in Ukraine is the very high level of corruption - and I believe there is also a high level of corruption in Belarus, although I cannot speak from my own experience. This is obviously a continuation of the corruption which was so rife in the late Soviet period, when there was a widespread collapse of moral standards. Doing business of any kind is very difficult in a country where you are not always sure whom you can trust, and where what appears to be a watertight contract may not be upheld by the courts because the judge has been bribed. The present government plans new anti-corruption legislation. But trying to combat such problems by legislation is hard because the members of Parliament who pass the laws, and the police and courts who enforce them, are all widely, and often correctly, perceived as corrupt. The foundation for change has to be the strengthening of individual integrity. It is also very important for Ukrainians, and I am sure also for Belarusians, to learn more about how western markets operate, what is the role of the voluntary sector in western societies, how things can be done differently. And it is important to spread experience of how democracies function. Ukraine has had some success as a democracy. It has several times replaced one president by another by democratic election. It is a pluralist society. But there are serious weaknesses. Only recently, Yuliya Timoshenko, who is in effect the leader of the opposition, complained that she was being harassed by the Ukrainian Security Service, the SBU, and in particular that she was being followed everywhere by an unmarked car. There are local elections due on 31 October, and in the run-up to them there have been arrests of political activists. One of the most depressing features is that so many political parties are not really parties at all in the sense we would understand, being vehicles for their leaders rather than groups of people committed to a particular political approach. Timoshenko's party is called 'Fatherland', and is part of an umbrella political organisation called the Yuliya Timoshenko block. Viktor Yushchenko's was called 'Our Ukraine'. Viktor Yanukovych's is called the 'Party of the Regions'. And these vacuous names are entirely appropriate for the rather vacuous entities which they describe. It is not surprising that changes of party allegiance are so frequent, particularly when money is on offer. Looking at all the issues, it is clear that a vast process of education is needed. And of course it has already begun, and much has already been achieved - we have heard something about that over the last couple of days. But much more is still needed to assist Ukraine with the building of civil society. This is of profound importance for bringing about the kind of transformation of the country which is needed if it is ever to become a serious candidate for membership of the European Union. All sorts of links between individuals and organisations in Ukraine and Belarus and other countries can help. It makes a big difference that so many Ukrainians now live abroad, and so many more have travelled abroad (in both cases, I believe that this is far less true of Belarusians, apart from the long-term diaspora). But I think there is a very important contribution to be made by links with Ukrainian Churches - and again, I suspect that is also true of Belarus. Neville Kyrke-Smith has shown us vividly how alive the Christian faith is in Ukraine, despite all the efforts which were made by the Soviet Union to destroy it. I want to recall a number of experiences which I had while in Ukraine which brought that home to me. Just up the road from the British Embassy in Kiev is a striking symbol of what has happened - the Orthodox monastery of St Michael, originally founded in the twelfth century, and later rebuilt in a Baroque style, though with many older features. In the 1930s, with all the care for cultural heritage which was so characteristic of that era, this building was blown up to make way for a monumental complex of Stalinist palaces for the Ukrainian government. Mainly because of the Second World War, only one of the buildings in the complex was ever completed - the building which now houses the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry. The rest of the site remained empty. After Ukraine's independence, the monastery was rebuilt, and it is now once again a functioning monastery - during Lent one year, one of the monks gave a series of lectures on Orthodoxy to the British Church in Kiev. Of course faith is not primarily about buildings, and a lot of the money for the reconstruction came from the Ukrainian diaspora as gesture of solidarity with the newly independent state. All the same, St Michael's is a powerful reminder of what Stalin failed to achieve. Kiev's greatest monastery, the Monastery of the Caves, is an even more impressive sign of the same thing. It was entirely secularised, and turned into a museum, for much of the Soviet period. But at the time of the commemoration of the 1000th anniversary of the Christianisation of Rus, in 1988, the lower part was given back to the Orthodox Church, and today it is the headquarters of the Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate. Much more important, the caves themselves are thronged with believers who have come on pilgrimage. Tourists can also visit part of the complex, but instinctively talk in whispers, and in places are reduced to silence, because they sense that for many of those around them this is a very holy place. You see people who must have spent most of their lives under communism kissing the relics with obvious deep reverence. And of course it is not only monasteries which have been re-established. Churches have been rebuilt, and many new Orthodox churches have been constructed in areas of towns and cities which had been developed under communism (such as the left-bank part of Kiev) and therefore had no churches. Let me turn to another example. In 2001, Pope John Paul II visited Ukraine. The visit was in some ways controversial, but not because of the sort of arguments which marked the recent visit of Pope Benedict to this country. As we have heard, Roman Catholics are a small minority in Ukraine, and even including Greek Catholics, who accept the authority of the Pope while following the Orthodox rite, you are still very much talking about a minority. But the opposition did not come from non-Catholics in general - it came specifically from the Moscow Patriarchate, on the grounds that the Pope was visiting its canonical territory, but not at its invitation. This was an interesting objection, since the Pope had in fact been invited by the President of Ukraine. However, this opposition did not damage the visit, which was a major success, with two open-air masses in Kiev and two in Lviv, in each case one in the Latin rite and one in the Eastern rite of the Greek Catholic Church - the first time that John Paul II had ever followed this rite. About 200,000 people attended in Kiev - I was one of them - and an estimated one and a half million in Lviv. I remember commenting in a report to the Foreign Office at the time that the Pope had more divisions than Stalin imagined. Nor is it only the Orthodox and Catholic churches which are active. There have long been Lutherans and Baptists in Ukraine, but since independence, many new Protestant churches have arrived on the scene; and although dismissively described as 'sects' by the Moscow Patriarchate, they have had a very considerable impact, both in attracting believers and in helping to alleviate social problems. Let me give an example from my own experience. Hope Now is a charity which operates in Ukraine and some other countries. Its brand of evangelical Christianity is very different from my own tradition, but I have become a regular supporter because of its obvious impact for good. Here is what it says about itself on its website. Hope Now exists to spread the good news of Jesus Christ. A balance of direct evangelism with social action ensures the message of the gospel touches the hearts of young and old, poor and rich, healthy and infirm, free and imprisoned... In 2007 Hope Now divided its work in Ukraine into two quite distinct organisations. The caring ministries such as providing healthcare for children with birth abnormalities, the work in orphanages and internats and for street children and the evangelism are retained under the Hope Now banner. The encompassing ministries such as Kompass Park, the Cherkassy Centre for Biblical Studies, Church planting, cycle clubs, student ministries and pre-independence homes now come under the newly formed Kompass Park Education Trust. To illustrate the work in a more immediate way, let me quote a story from a recent newsletter. At twenty-two, I was condemned to twelve years' hard labour. I was sent to a prison camp in Cherkassy... Here, convicted believing brothers came to tell me that God is love and loves everyone... Soon I recognised a difference between the grey, lifeless, emotionless faces of the ordinary prisoners and those who called themselves 'brothers in Christ'... Months later I accepted Christ as my own Saviour, and in June 2006 I was baptised. Similar things of course happen in prisons in other countries, including the UK, and indeed they were not unknown in Soviet times, as testified by Solzhenitsyn. The important point for our present purposes is to recognise that evangelical Christianity is having a social impact in today's Ukraine. The impact of religion on political life can be seen in some surprising ways. Not long after I arrived in Kiev, I was invited to the launch of a book of sermons by Patriarch Filaret of Kiev - the head of the Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate. I was still at the stage of accepting every invitation I could in order to learn more about the country, so I went along. I was not surprised to see the Polish ambassador there - no doubt invitations had gone to all ambassadors, and he and I were the ones who accepted. But it was more of a surprise that among those who gathered for the occasion was the then Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Boris Tarasyuk. I tried and failed to imagine the then British Foreign Secretary, Robin Cook, going along to the launch of a book of sermons by Archbishop George Carey. Of course Boris Tarasyuk was not interested only in Filaret's exegesis of 1 Thessalonians. He wanted to mark his support for Filaret because Filaret's split with Moscow, and the establishment of a Ukrainian Patriarchate, were seen by many Ukrainians as flowing naturally from the establishment of an independent Ukrainian state. Equally, the continued insistence of the Moscow Patriarchate that Ukraine is part of its canonical territory has obvious political overtones. It is not surprising that support for both the Kiev Patriarchate and for the Greek Catholic Church is strongest in the west of Ukraine, which is also the area where the Ukrainian language and support for Ukrainian independence has always been strongest, whereas support for the Moscow Patriarchate is strongest in the Russian-speaking east of the country. But the fact that there are these political overtones does not alter the fact that certainly in Ukraine, and arguably in Belarus as well, the churches are well-established independent actors supported by millions of people, and at least in the case of the Orthodox and Catholic Churches with very deep historical roots. This makes them quite unlike any other non-governmental organisations in those countries. The fact that in Ukraine there are so many different churches, with varying agendas, also contributes to making society more pluralist. When I was working in Ukraine, I had the opportunity of seeing many of the non-governmental bodies which first the Know-How Fund and then the Department for International Development were supporting as part of their efforts to build up civil society. Some were tiny groups of people operating in just one place, and very dependent on foreign support, and not really equal to the hopes being placed in them. Others were larger, and some managed to operate across the country, such as the Committee of Ukrainian Voters, who worked hard for free and fair elections, and whose representatives, when we took them to Britain to see how we did it, were not slow to point out flaws in our electoral practices. It is very important that there should be more and more such groups. But they have an uphill task. The Churches have the great advantage that they exist, have for the most part existed for a very long time, and are supported and to a great extent trusted. Of course it is also true that they are not necessarily bastions of western liberal values. We have heard how the Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, in particular, views the West with considerable suspicion. There are also extraordinary superstitions to be found - many people will tell you, for example, about the satanic significance of the number 666. Nevertheless, the churches are for the most part filled with people of integrity. They teach their followers that it is wrong to cheat and lie and steal - very simple moral principles, which if practised by everyone in the country would enormously benefit the economy. Many of them are also involved in social work, which brings new perspectives and is quite different from what happened under communism. Moreover, they can bring together groups who can then also become involved in the wider strengthening of civil society. This happened on a very wide scale in nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Britain, and it can happen, and is beginning to happen, in twenty-first century Ukraine, and I am sure in Belarus also. So I think the churches have a key role to play if Ukraine and Belarus are to develop in the direction which all of us want to see. In many ways, history and geography dealt very poor hands to both Ukraine and Belarus. Ukraine had a glorious early history, at the time when, under Prince Vladimir, Kiev became Christian. Belarus, or rather the principalities of Polotsk and Turov, also enjoyed independence or semi-independence between the ninth and twelfth centuries. But subsequently, the peoples of both countries were ruled from elsewhere. Both had a moment of independence at the end of the First World War, but were then absorbed into the Soviet Union. Now, after the Soviet Union's collapse, they are internationally recognised independent entities. They have perhaps the best chance that they have ever had. If they can succeed in becoming stable and liberal European democracies, and as I hope eventually members of the European Union, that will be of enormous benefit to their peoples, and to Europe as a whole. This may sound too western a view, but it is certainly one which is shared by all the best Ukrainians I know. So let us hope that all the efforts about which we have been talking will indeed be crowned with success. Roland Smith was the British Ambassador to Ukraine from 1999 to 2002.

https://faithineurope.org.uk/smith.html

Should Christians Forfeit the Right to Be Offended? That’s an epiphany I had shortly after my 35th birthday. So for the past 3 years, I have been living in that knowledge. That nugget of wisdom has only improved the quality of my life and truly has given my freedom from arbitrary burdens I used to carry. I have also accepted the reality that anything a person believes, in their own mind, is true. They are always right. To them, it is truth. To them, it is reality. Therefore, it is a waste of my time, energy, and emotions to attempt to prove them wrong in their perception. It is most likely that they have identity protective cognition, so that my attempts to correct their perspective about me will only reinforce what they already believe about me. Granted, I believe that often, when one person makes any kind of judgment call regarding another person’s character, there is a good chance that are simply broadcasting their own insecurities or uncertainties about their own identity. As a human being, I forfeit my right to be offended. I openly invite the free world to call me every name in the book. Ultimately, only I get to determine whether I am a victim, a villain, or a victor. It is my opinion, as a Christian, that it is ideal for Christians to forfeit the right to be offended. Jesus taught his followers to turn the other cheek. That implies the importance of not only taking the hit, but giving the “offender” the opportunity to strike again. I see this is a healthy state of being: to be ready at any time to instantly forgive anyone. Instead of being offended, I say we should use those opportunities to extend grace to the person; whether they are a believer or not. Who knows? That surprising response of grace could prove to be the simple act of kindness to help minister to the would-be “offender”. But hey, maybe I’m wrong. And if that’s what you believe, I won’t try to prove otherwise. That 100% of the time, no matter what anyone else says to me or about me, I always get to decide whether or not I will allow that person to hurt my feelings, insult me, or disrespect me. Similarly, it’s always a choice as to whether I will forgive another person, regardless of what they have done. Imagine the freedom that I have been able to appreciate these past few years knowing this unspoken nugget of wisdom: That I alone control how I feel in relation to other people… unless I allow them to control me. That bit of information is one of the greatest gifts I have received in my life so far. If only I could have known this all along! This mindset is generically based on the ideologies of Buddhism and Hinduism. Ultimately, people rely on the flaky concept of karma to determine what good things they do deserve in life and what bad things they don’t deserve in life. Here’s the problem: Karma, in this understanding, doesn’t actually exist. Children have terminal cancer. Meanwhile, white collar criminals go unpunished their entire lives because they have the luxury of being called politicians. Most people make themselves constant easy targets to be offended or disrespected because they believe they are moral people who “deserve better”, while they ironically deny the fact that only they alone decide whether another person offends or disrespects them. I don’t see myself as a good person or a bad person. I am a person. I make good decisions and I make bad decisions. I don’t deserve good and I don’t deserve to escape bad. I ultimately can’t control those things as much as I would like to. Instead, I can control my own emotions; especially in regards to how I react to other people. Wrong, ignorant, and/or immoral. I feel that in the real world, it’s the same way. People are insecure within themselves and haven’t fully figured out their own identity, so they look for people who will get offended, insulted, or allow their feelings to be hurt when it is applied they are wrong, ignorant, and/or immoral. Man, I wish somebody would have taught me this stuff about 30 years ago! If I ever ended up on a reality TV show, one where they had me living in a house with people of opposing beliefs and lifestyles and habits, I’m not sure there would be enough drama from me to make the episode controversial enough to be considered modern entertainment. Here’s the 1st reason. Despite me being concrete on what I believe in and stand for, as my Christian faith is the basis of my existence, my role is not to “convert” anyone who is close-minded to what I believe. I will gladly share my faith with anyone who I believe is searching for hope; which is what I believe Jesus and His followers demonstrated in the New Testament. But Jesus didn’t seem to argue with nonbelievers and skeptics. The people He seemed to really have an issue with were the people of His day who believed they already had their golden ticket into Heaven, but who weren’t willing to truly surrender their hearts to God’s will for their lives; which typically involved simply loving their neighbors as themselves. Therefore, I feel I have no business in arguing with a “non-believer” of Christ, the Messiah; whether it’s a person of a different religion, or a skeptic of religion, or someone who simply doesn’t participate in religion whatsoever. I feel that if my faith is not evident through my attitude and actions, words alone definitely won’t help the situation. From a secular (and marketing) perspective, what good is a professing Christian on a reality TV show if he or she isn’t willing to argue, lose their cool, and demonstrate the opposite of Jesus’s mentality? The hypocrisy of Christians sells. But if a Christian is actually helping others overseas to get access to clean water, that’s apparently not worth prime time advertising dollars. I feel the media is quick to give pedestals to the most opinionated and argumentative professing Christians, which helps make the rest of us appear as fools. Please don’t misunderstand me, I fully accept my title as “fool for Christ’s sake,” as the Apostle Paul puts it. But what if there were more examples of… I guess I could simply say… level-headed, nonjudgmental Christians in the media? I don’t think America is really accustomed to that. I would quickly and openly admit I am not perfect. If I was on a reality TV show, the 1st thing I would proclaim to the other people in the house was that I definitely, absolutely do not believe I am better than anyone else. I would share with them that my understanding of the Christian faith is not that we are people who think we are perfect. It’s quite the opposite. I know for a fact I am far from perfect and therefore have no right to judge anyone else. Instead, I depend on God’s grace not only for eternal salvation from my imperfect state of being, but also for constant salvation from my greedy, selfish mindset. I believe we are all sinners in need of God’s grace. I’m simply in the same depraved state as everyone else. Our society (on both sides of the fence) places so much value on the morality/immorality of homosexuality, as the controversial topic only further divides America in its own civil culture war. Our society actually places a high value on gossip, in case you haven’t noticed. What should be a shameful thing is instead worshiped. Let me be clear: While our society is divided on homosexuality, we love gossip. In actuality, gossip is condemned in the Bible; the whole way throughout the book. But it’s easier for us to question the things in the Bible that only some people relate to, like homosexuality… while the more identifiable issues to the mainstream, like pride and greed and gossip, are virtually excused. So if I was in a reality TV show, my role would be to help other people alongside me. For example, if I was placed in a house with self-proclaimed slobs, I would help them do their dishes every day before I would allow myself to lose my temper with them. Granted, I would still fear my scenes could be edited to be taken out of context, packaged into bite-size morsels, so convenient to be blasted all over Twitter- making me out to be the judgmental character I most wished to disassociate myself from. After all, I fear that in some regards, as we live in a time when the Internet has become the modern day Tower of Babel, we have learned to fear social media (and its potential backlash) more than God Himself. At the same time, isn’t it safe to say that we as a culture even worship social media, as well? It’s sad, but that concept helps me better understand the concept of both worshiping and fearing God; though at first it seems like a paradox. In a reality TV show setting, I would consider myself as a “competitor” in a contest, whose agenda was to prove that Christianity is serving others; not judging them. Christianity is about demonstrating love, by being patient and kind and understanding and forgiving. If we dumb down Christianity to “heaven or hell” or “traditional marriage or gay marriage” or “Republican or Democrat”, then I feel we’re not talking about the same faith Jesus taught His followers. Now, the question is, would an American audience buy into a concept so revolutionary… that serving others, not judging them, is what faith in Jesus is all about? You have officially learned to spit. That’s both a good and a dangerous thing. It’s good because it’s an important part of brushing your teeth. It’s a dangerous thing because I have to trust that you’re not going to spit at an inappropriate time or place. Yes, I know it sounds weird. But two or three times a week on the drive to school, I swish coconut oil around my mouth for 20 minutes (it helps serve as a natural mouthwash and preventative of headaches for me) and then at the Nippers Corner crossing, I spit the coconut oil out my car window. I always feel bad for whoever’s in the car behind me, especially if it’s a woman. I’m sure they assume I just got sick. Watching me do my oil pulling is normal to you by now. However, I don’t think you’re totally clear on when it’s okay to spit. With that being said, this past weekend on Mother’s Day, when Mommy told you that you couldn’t have a 2nd granola bar, but instead that you’d have to eat more of the main lunch she prepared for you, you acted like you were about to spit at her. You saw how important it was for you to apologize, so then about 10 minutes later, you apologized to Mommyagain. Within the hour, you had begun using “I sorry, Mommy” as a new way to ask for things. What if we aimed for the same outcome for adults who do us wrong as we do our own kids when we discipline them? I mean, instead of instantly wishing that a person suffers, what if we honestly hoped to see them restored to decency? What if instead of wishing for annihilation for our enemies and frenemies, we wished for restoration and positive progress? If I take away my son’s security blanket/girlfriendor put my son in time-out for no reason, then I am punishing him. But if I do either of those things after I already warned him against something and he refused to cooperate, then I am simply following through with disciplining him. To me, that is the difference. It’s punishment if there is no cause. It’s discipline if it serves a purpose to make my child a better human being. I’ve said it before: Disciplining a child is a weird thing. Everyone has their own approach to it that they feel most comfortable with and find to be the most effective. But I’m for certain that no parent disciplines their child in secret hopes of making them suffer indefinitely for their offenses. Instead, we want our children to mature and become less selfish. We want the best for them. By doing so, we make the world a better place. So here’s something I think is messed up about us as adults: It’s way too easy for us to want to see other people cursed and suffer when they offend us, rather than them being blessed and enriched. No matter how good of a person they may be outside of that single moment. Forget about how hard they work for their family and how they help others out of the goodness of their hearts. In fact, in that heat of the moment, the thought of that person being redeemed is absurd. It’s natural and easy to generalize them into an evil and moronic imbecile who intends to make your life hell; or at least annoying. Simply said, we want that person to suffer. Who cares about forgiveness, redemption, or reconciliation. They hand to you your debit card which slipped out of your wallet. You thank them; neither of you even aware of the incident the day before. We discipline our children to help them, not privately wish bad things upon them. Yet we so easily want to judge and punish those who slightly offend us or have the opposite view as we do on a political or parenting issue that doesn’t even personally concern us. But only because you seemed to be going slower than you actually were, but I realized it only after I had already pulled out in front of you. “Why do we think that hate’s gonna change their heart? I hear you knockin’ but you can’t come in. I just keep them there in purgatory. And the fact that they haven’t requested to be my friend yet either means that the feeling is mutual: Despite growing up together, we don’t have a desire to reconnect as adults. The problem with high school is that we were all immature back then. Sure we did foolish things we would be embarrassed if today if anyone remembered. But even worse than the embarrassing things we remember which we hope no one else does, are the hurtful things we did or said to others that we ourselves don’t remember doing. I realize that people from junior high or high school who may have spoken stinging words to me back in the 90’s or even that were just overall snotty or hateful, have grown up now, just like I have. They get the benefit of the doubt from me that they are now changed people, just like I am. But I can’t say the same for those I may have offended unaware. For all I know, there are some people in their late 20’s who remember me as a jerk from when I was a teenager. There’s no way for me to know how each individual classmate remembers me. Unless they accept the fact that there’s a decent chance I’ve matured since then, I will always be that thorn. There will always be a negative storm cloud associated with my name. And the people who tend to be the most sensitive about getting their feelings hurt are often the people most likely to hold in their hurt and let it fester into bitterness. And the ones who remember me in less than favorable terms would be the last to tell me. Instead, they would just turn the other way. And not make an effort to reconnect. It’s ironic that we can use prejudice from a person’s behavior in 1998 to determine that they are still the same way in 2010. Because let’s hope, at least, we’re not the same people we were back then. But sometimes it’s just better not to open that door at all. Sometimes it’s not a matter of hard feelings, necessarily, or not forgiving a person. Sometimes it’s just best to not to rekindle a relationship and let our best basic instincts guide us to click “ignore”.

https://familyfriendlydaddyblog.com/tag/forgiveness/

Welcome to Fantasy Football Tips Gameweek 1. It has been three months since I’ve had to write an intro, which means it has been three months since I’ve had an opportunity to moan. After three months you’d think I’d have a lot to moan about but it’s been an enjoyable three months. Liverpool won the Champions League. We then had the Cricket World Cup and the Tour de France. Both great sporting events in their own right but made even more enjoyable when you chuck in a fantasy element. Finally, we moved onto The Ashes last week. Who needs football? Seriously. Anyway, that’s enough about the past three months. We’re here to discuss FPL. Nicolas Pepe aside, the top clubs are yet to make any exciting signings so we could yet be left with the tried & trusted FPL options. I’ve just had a quick look back at my GW1 Tips article from last season and I’m sorry I did, let’s just say that this seasons GW1 Tips will surely be better. And if the Tips aren’t quite on the money you will hopefully learn something regardless. Did you know that Chris Wood is 15 feet tall? True fact! Unless you have been living under a rock you will know that Alisson (176pts) was last season’s highest scoring keeper, while Andy Robertson (213pts), Virgil van Dijk (208pts) and Trent Alexander-Arnold (185pts) were the three highest scoring defenders. It therefore goes without saying that you’ll want at least one of the fab four in your GW1 squad, some may have two or even three. These points were thanks largely to a mightily impressive 21 clean sheets. Obviously, the three defenders picked up one or two attacking returns and I will come to those in a moment. Alisson picked up the fewest points of the four despite playing the most minutes. To put some further context on this, he scored 9pts less than TAA despite playing 960 minutes more. The reason for this? His scoring potential is limited to clean sheets. Ok, he can pick up bonus points and save bonus points but these are limited given how solid the defence is. If we compare him to someone like Fabianski, we’ll see that Fabianski scored just 33pts less than the Brazilian did even though he kept 14 fewer clean sheets. Essentially, there is more than one way to skin a cat! So where did the three defenders pick up their attacking returns? VVD scored four goals with Robbo and TAA scoring one each. TAA had 13 assists, Robbo 12 and VVD four. Robbo picked up 29 bonus points, TAA 25 and VVD 22. What about their underlying stats? Robbo had 91 penalty area touches, VVD 70 and TAA 40. VVD had 31 goal attempts with eight on target, TAA had 29 goal attempts with nine on target and Robbo had 11 goal attempts with five on target. Robbo created 50 chances, TAA 48 and VVD six. So there’s a few numbers for you! Whom do you pick? I’d rank them as follows… TAA, Robbo, VVD and Alisson. TAA finished within 28pts of Robbo despite playing 756 minutes less than the Scot and I believe it’s safe to assume that he would have been the top scoring defender last season had he not missed a number of games through injury. His distribution around the pitch guarantees he’ll pick up attacking returns this season while he’ll also be involved in a significant number of set pieces. Some will argue that he’s open to rotation and while Klopp does have more options at right full-back than at left full-back, I don’t see him being rested very often. There’s little to separate Robbo & VVD but Robbo edges it for me due to his constant forays forward. However, if money is tight I’d happily swap Robbo to VVD to free up an extra £0.5m. As for Alisson, when you consider the options Liverpool offer further up the field in addition to the defenders in front of him I just feel that by picking him you are wasting one of your three Liverpool spots. At this juncture, I should point out that this was written prior to the community shield. Was I tempted to change it? Yes, I was. TAA was taken off against City for tactical reasons. It’s well known that he isn’t as strong defensively as he is from an attacking point of view. However, he’s not going to face someone of Sterling’s ability very often and for that reason he’ll start 90% of games and therefore I’m sticking with him. I’ll finish this section by throwing something of a spanner in the works and declare that I am far from convinced that the Liverpool defence can match last season’s exploits! I appreciate that we shouldn’t read too much into pre-season but it’s worth noting that Liverpool have kept just one clean sheet in seven games and looked rather dodgy at times in the first half against City on Sunday. Not quite finished. What of a £5.5m option in the Liverpool defence? With both Gomez & Matip both priced at £5.5m, it’s clear that the option exists. However, until we can be sure whom Klopp sees as VVD’s partner I’d steer clear. For what it’s worth, I expect it to be Gomez. The City defence isn’t bad either! We all know that City have won back-to-back league titles but at times it feels as though all of the plaudits go to their attacking players. The likes of Aguero and Sterling are constantly lauded while their defence is somewhat ignored. So I checked the current ownership figures… Ederson is the 3rd most popular keeper, Laporte & Walker are the 7th & 9th most popular defenders. What do I know! The issue with the City defenders is that they’re just not as sexy as their Liverpool counterparts are. Laporte picked up three goals and three assists while Mendy picked up six assists. Hardly figures to write home about. So who should we be considering? For me it’s either Ederson or Oleksandr Zinchenko. Of the other options, Aymeric Laporte is out of the Charity Community Shield and we don’t know the full extent of his injury. Either John Stones or Nicolas Otamendi could become a great option once it emerges who will partner Laporte. City are being linked with a move for Joao Cancelo, which puts Kyle Walker’s place in jeopardy. And then there’s the Instagram king, Mendy, who hasn’t featured in pre-season. So that leaves Ederson and Zinchenko. Ederson, along with Alisson, is the best set and forget keeper in the league. However, where I believe that Alisson is a waste of a Liverpool spot I don’t believe that this is the case with Ederson & City. In fact, over the course of the season he’s probably the best route into the City defence. Presently it would appear that the only nailed options in the City defence are the Brazilian and Laporte, and I’m not sure if Laporte warrants the extra £0.5m investment. With Mendy likely to miss at least the opening 4/5 weeks of the season Zinchenko looks set to start the season at left full. To be honest, even when Mendy is available I’m not sure he automatically starts over Zinchenko, as the Frenchman is always an Instagram post away from a disaster! Of course, there’s also Angelino who has been brought back to the club following an impressive season with PSV but he hasn’t exactly impressed in pre-season and therefore I don’t see him as an immediate threat to the Ukrainian. Not Ederson or Alisson? I’m too lazy to check but I’m convinced that there are more keepers mid-priced (£5.5m & £5.0m) than in previous seasons. I have never been a fan of keepers priced at £5.0m as I feel you’re better off going ultra-cheap or with a heavy hitter. This season’s options haven’t changed my mind although I admit that Fabianski could yet sway me. As for the £5.5m options I think there are question marks over them all. With Everton having lost Zouma & Gueye I’m not sure Pickford is worth it. I’m not sure why but the Spurs defence doesn’t instil huge confidence in me at the moment so that rules Lloris out. Chelsea are very much a work in progress and have looked shaky at the back in pre-season so I’ll rule Kepa out. David de Gea is as cheap as he’ll ever be and he could very well come into my thoughts in a couple of weeks, but for now I want to see how United start the season. Having ruled out all the mid-priced options we are therefore just left with the £4.5m boys. Unfortunately these keepers are priced at £4.5m for a reason…they all play for sides who are unlikely to keep many clean sheets. None of these keepers kept more than six clean sheets last season. When deciding which £4.5m keeper to start the season with most managers are likely to base their decision on fixtures. If we look at the fixtures for the opening six game-weeks we see that Bournemouth have a decent start, unfortunately they have three potential keepers. Mat Ryan at Brighton also has a decent start to the season and is certainly worth considering. The Aussie kept six clean sheets last season and 10 the season before. It remains to be seen how they adapt to their new gaffer but you would expect Ryan to pick up somewhere in the region of 8-12 clean sheets. Burnley face both Arsenal & Liverpool in their opening four games but they don’t have Europe to distract them this season and I suspect we’ll see an improvement on last season. With Tom Heaton now at Villa it’s a straight battle between Joe Hart and Nick Pope for the #1 jersey. I expect Pope to win this battle and come the end of the season I wouldn’t be at all surprised should he be the highest scoring keeper amongst those who start the season at £4.5m. Elsewhere the aforementioned Tom Heaton at Villa could yet be an option, as could Dean Henderson at Sheffield United. However, for now I’d suggest taking a wait and see approach with both until we see how both sides adapt to life in the Premier League. It’s all about the defence!! Everywhere you turn there is talk of playing four and even five at the back this season. Spending big at the back is certainly in vogue. Aside from Liverpool and City, where can we turn in search of clean sheets? The fixtures scream Everton. Aside from the visit of City in GW7 their fixtures are glorious. I appreciate I’ve already ruled out Jordan Pickford due to the loss of Zouma and Gueye but that’s because I didn’t feel he offered value for money. In spite of coming in at £6.0m I reckon that Lucas Digne could offer value for money. Despite a slow start he finished last season with four goals and five assists, and it’s worth noting that he created 21 more chances than any other defender in the league. He will be heavily involved in set pieces and with a full season in the PL under his belt, I would expect him to hit the ground running this time around. Having potentially stacked your defence with Liverpool, City & Digne you’re going to need to consider one or two slightly cheaper options to round off your defence. Picking any player at the beginning of the season comes with some risk as we don’t know how players will perform and this risk is increased 10 fold when picking budget defenders. I’ll start with an obvious & safe pick, Lewis Dunk. In previous seasons there was always a dilemma as to which of Dunk or Duffy were the better option. That dilemma has now been removed with Duffy receiving a price increase. Dunk is never going to set the world alight but he’s guaranteed to start every week and is capable of popping up with a goal or two over the course of the season. It’s worth noting that Brighton have played 3-4-3 in their last couple of games with Martin Montoya at right wing back. This seasons Doherty perhaps? At the time of writing Crystal Palace are yet to replace AWB which means Joel Ward looks set to start the season at right full. Just like Dunk, Ward is a dull choice but he has featured heavily in pre-season and is likely to start every week. I know everyone has his or her knickers in a twist over Martin Kelly. Yes, he’s £4.0m. And yes, he might start the season. However, Mamadou Sakho could very well be fit for the start of the season and there’s also James Tomkins to come back from injury. Palace are also being linked with moves for Ciaran Clark & Gary Cahill Palace have signed Gary Cahill and once he’s match fit he could be a great option at £4.5m. One cheap defender who has caught my attention during pre-season is Villa’s Frederic Guilbert. The 24 year old has made over 120 appearances in Ligue 1, so he clearly arrives with experience under his belt. He’s made three assists in pre-season and with Dean Smith encouraging his full backs to get forward Guilbert could be in line for some attacking returns. The £4.0m Superstars!! Who is going to be this seasons AWB? Or will there even be an AWB this season? The candidates, in no particular order, appear to be Martin Kelly (Crystal Palace), John Lundstram (Sheffield United, Diego Rico (Bournemouth) and Grant Hanley (Norwich City). As I’ve already mentioned above, Kelly might start the first game or two but no more. I know nothing about the other three so like a true weirdo I’ve checked out the message boards of their respective clubs. Despite featuring in every pre-season game the Blades fans don’t think Lundstram should start. I couldn’t find a mention of Hanley on the Norwich boards. The Bournemouth fans actually had some positive things to say about Rico, my favourite being, “Rico is a worry going forward but defensively he’s much improved. Last season he was basically a training cone, not knowing whether to engage his opponent or stand off.” Therefore, based on what I’ve read on the boards I’d go for Diego Rico. Pep has midfield options coming out his ears and a strong FPL case can be made for Sterling, B.Silva. De Bruyne and to a lesser extent D.Silva. And then there’s Sane, Mahrez, Gundogan and Foden (GOAT!) Sterling finished last season with 234pts, only bettered by Mo Salah. This was thanks to 17 goals and 15 assists which is very impressive but when you consider that he finished the previous season with 18 goals and 17 assists (229pts) it’s clear that he’s more than capable of topping last season’s tally. Many may disagree with me but Sterling is now arguably City’s most important player. Of course Sergio Aguero is all but guaranteed to hit the 20-goal mark this season but I wouldn’t be surprised to see Jesus compete with Aguero this season. I appreciate that at £12.0 Sterling is now the joint 2nd most expensive player in the game but I’m still quite surprised that he only features in 28.3% of teams, I firmly believe that it’s quite a risk to start the season without him. And what of De Bruyne and B.Silva? KDB ran the City midfield in seasons 16/17 & 17/18 racking up 21 & 18 assists in those seasons. Unfortunately for the Belgian an injury curtailed his minutes last season to just 968. He gave us a reminder of his capabilities in the Cup final with a man of the match performance and has shone in pre-season with a goal and three assists. Bernardo Silva started last season as a useful squad member but finished it as someone who was integral to the first XI and is now arguably one of the first names on the team sheet. It looks unlikely that Aguero will start the season so many have asked the question, can KDB & Silva cover Sterling? The answer is, of course they can. However, their combined value is £17.5m and I’d much prefer to have Sterling for £12.0m. I expect both KDB and Silva to reflect great value for money over the course of the season but for now I’d pick one of them in addition to Sterling, not both of them instead of Sterling. Sterling’s consistency makes him an ideal capo choice most weeks, I’m not sure how comfortable I’d be captaining KDB or Silva. Why is Mo Salah getting a section all to himself I hear you scream? Quite simply because he’s Mo Salah and has scored a total 562pts over the last two seasons. He’s £12.5m, is he worth it? Those 562pts suggest he is. Let’s give you a quick reminder of some of his stats from last season. He had more touches in the opposition area (322) than any other player in the league, more goal attempts (137), more attempts on target (63). He’s not so hot when it comes to chances created, but he still comes in at 10th with 68. Last season there was a solid argument that Sadio Mane was a viable alternative to Salah as he started the season £3.5m cheaper than the Egyptian did. When you consider that Mane finished the season just 28pts behind Salah it would appear as though that argument held some weight. That argument has been significantly diluted this season as Mane comes in at £11.5m. One thing that set Salah apart from Mane was his consistency. Very rarely did Salah smash a big double-digit score but he consistently picked up 8/9pts. Salah hasn’t had much in the way of a pre-season but he did complete 90mins against City on Sunday and while he didn’t get on the scoresheet he looked lively. A final word on Salah and Raheem Sterling. At present, it would appear, as these two players will form the cornerstones of many teams. There will of course be managers who are 50/50 on spending such a large chunk of cash on just two players. My take on this is that if you’re 50/50 on them I’d start with them as it will be easier to get rid of them rather than bring them in. There is a plethora of quality midfielders priced between £6.0m & £7.5m, and choosing which of them to include in your GW1 is a headache in itself. Leicester alone provide us with three options in the shape of Youri Tielemans (£6.5m), James Maddison (£7.0m) and new signing Ayoze Perez (£6.5). At this stage of the season none of the three can be considered a bad pick but for now I’ll plump for Ayoze Perez. Playing up top beside Jamie Vardy just gives him the edge over the others. In a poor Newcastle team who scored just 39 goals last season Perez finished the season with 12. As Rosco pointed out in an earlier article Perez tends to suffer from early season jitters but now that he’s surrounded by better players I’m banking on those jitters being a thing of the past. Of course, Leicester’s early season fixtures aren’t pretty but they will always try to play on the front foot and will be a stern test for even the best of sides. Similarly to Leicester, Chelsea are littered with options such as Pedro (£7.0m), Willian (£7.0m), Barkley (£6.0m), Pulisic (£7.5m) and Mount (£6.0m). In addition, there’s also Ruben Loftus-Cheek (£6.5m) and Callum Hudson-Odoi (£6.0m) both of whom are currently out injured. Of these Pedro & Pulisic are possibly the safest bets as they look set to start on the flanks. Willian and his Zimmer frame are unlikely to start the season and this leaves just Barkley and Mount who are probably competing for the one position. Lampard is obviously a big fan of Mount with the youngster making 35 appearances under him at Derby County last season. However, I’m going to stick my neck out here and tip Ross Barkley. Like many before him Ross Barkley was set to be the next English superstar, but like many before him it hasn’t quite worked out like that. He’s never scored more than eight goals in a season and of his 27 appearances for Chelsea last season, 14 came from the bench. Nevertheless, if anyone can extract the best from Barkley it’s surely Lampard. It’s now or never for Barkley. Clearly it’s only pre-season but Barkley has impressed with four goals (2 pens) and three assists. Mount has also impressed but it’s a big step up from the Championship and Lampard may choose to ease him into the Premier League. Chelsea don’t have the easiest of starts to the season but if anyone can get that club bouncing it’s Lampard… he’s the opposite of Moyesie going to United! Or anywhere. The standout player in the £6.0m to £7.5m bracket is undoubtedly Bournemouth’s Ryan Fraser. Only five midfielders scored more points than the little Scot last season and they were Salah, Sterling, Hazard, Mane & Siggy. Not bad company to be keeping. Granted his price has increased significantly to £7.5m but it’s worth noting that his total of 21 attacking returns were not bettered by any midfielder with a starting price at £8.0m and under. His 21 attacking returns consisted of seven goals and 14 assists so it’s clear that he’s a creator of chances rather than a taker. Last season only Eden Hazard created more chances and picked up more assists than Fraser. For those of you picking a squad for the short-term then Fraser has to be in at as Bournemouth face new boys Sheffield United and Aston Villa in their opening fixtures. Sorry, I drifted off there for a moment when considering which £4.5m midfielders to include. The most popular player is Wolves’ Leander Dendoncker and it’s easy to see why. It took him quite some time last season to force his way into the team, in fact he didn’t make his first league appearance until December. However, by the end of the season he was a regular in the first XI. He has started every pre-season game and also both of Wolves Europa League qualifiers. I won’t bore you with his stats but its suffice to say that over the final six game-weeks of last season they were head & shoulders above everyone else in this price bracket. Is the big hitter up top finished? 90% (completely inaccurate stat) of the teams I’ve seen both on the site and on Twitter seem to be ignoring the superstar forward. With everyone shelling out substantial amounts on their defence, as well as on the likes of Salah & Sterling, there’s not much left when it comes to picking a forward trio. It’s worth remembering that the FPL bubble we live in is quite small and one look at the current ownership figures highlights this point. Harry Kane (28.2%) is currently the most popular forward, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is 2nd on 23% and Sergio Aguero is 5th on 20.6%. In terms of price, these are the three big hitters. So, are we missing a trick? With regards to Aguero I don’t believe we are as the Argentine hasn’t featured in pre-season and as a result he may not start the first couple of games. The waters are a little muddier on the other two. Having started each of the last two seasons at £12.5m Kane has dropped down to £11.0m this season. He scored 17 goals last season but his average across the past five seasons is just over 24. A return to close to that average this season will see his price rise next season. Why are we ignoring him? He simply didn’t impress last season and at times there was an argument to be made that Spurs played better when he wasn’t in the team. Although he broke the August jinx last season he is a notoriously slow starter and perhaps it’s wise to give him a few games before we consider him. PEA finished last season as the games highest scoring forward with 205pts, thanks to 22 goals, seven assists and 32 bonus points. Arsenal finished 6th last season and this was thanks largely to 74 goals they scored. They will be hoping for a top 4 finish this season and if they’re to have any hope of achieving this they will hope that PEA can match last season’s exploits. Because, let’s face it, they’re not going to keep many clean sheets! Their opening fixtures are a mixed bag but there’s enough there to suggest goals will be aplenty. Therefore, if you are so inclined to start with a big hitter I’d be tempted to go with PEA over the other two. To answer my initial question, no, I don’t believe the big hitter up top is finished. Presently, City & Pool options at the back coupled with Salah & Sterling are the safe picks as these are where the points are expected to come from. This year’s Doherty, AWB and Jimenez are yet to emerge, but once they do, it might be easier to fit in a big hitter up top along with the expensive defence, Salah & Sterling. For the sake of this article let’s assume you’re not picking one of the big hitters. Who do you pick instead? Alexandere Lacazette is potentially an alternative to PEA but with doubts over the Frenchman for GW1 we’ll ignore him for now. Raul Jimenez was one of the stars of last season but is also a doubt for GW1. Jamie Vardy currently features in just 10.5% of teams despite scoring 18 last season and averaging just under 19 for the past four seasons. I’m well aware that Leicester have a tough start to the season but if any club is going to break into the top 6 it’s likely to be Leicester. As I’ve said time & time again over the past few seasons Vardy is a player you buy because your gut says to do it or he’s passed the eye test as his stats are never impressive. He’s got a decent record in games against the top sides and I reckon he’s a good bet to hit the ground running. Like the aforementioned Raul Jimenez, Callum Wilson has also been subjected to a £2.0m price increase. He finished last season as the 5th highest scoring forward with 168pts. The problem with Wilson is that he’s somewhat injury prone. He’s suffered two serious knee injuries over the past number of seasons and even last season, he missed quite a few games through injury. With Bournemouth having two superb fixtures to start the season I think Wilson is a great option and given his price point he’s an easy downgrade to whatever cheap forward starts the season well should things go awry for Wilson & Bournemouth. At £6.5m Josh King is a cheaper alternative to Wilson. He’s cheaper for a reason though. Despite making more appearances than Wilson last season he scored two goals fewer than Wilson and had six fewer assists. However, if we ignore Wilson and compare King to those at a similar price point he is potentially the best option out there. Given Bournemouth’s opening fixtures starting with both Wilson & King might be an option worth considering. You can then ditch whichever of the two that hasn’t impressed ahead of GW3. There are a whole host of forwards priced at £6.5m & £6.0m. Unfortunately it’s far from easy at this stage of the season to identify who will do well. Burnely’s Chris Wood has been on fire in preseason, scoring nine goals. However, some of these goals came against sides such as Accrington Stanley, Port Vale and Fleetwood Town. Burnley also have a tough start to the season but Wood is clearly in form and who’s to say it won’t continue. Diogo Jota was somewhat overshadowed by Raul Jimenez last season but he still finished 139pts thanks to nine goals and eight assists. He’s not going to set the world alight but very few forwards at this price point will. Neal Maupay scored 25 goals in the Championship last season leading Brighton to shell out £20m for his services. Brighton have a great start to the season and the Frenchman could be an interesting punt. Che Adams scored 22 goals in the Championship last season and Southampton have forked out £15m for his services. He’s looked lively in pre-season and Southampton also have some decent fixtures over the opening game-weeks. Are there any cheap options? You mean cheaper than £6.0m? In a word, no. Certainly no one that can be relied upon! Jurgen Locadia (£5.5m) has featured quite a bit for Brighton in pre-season and has been one of their more impressive performers with a couple of goals and assists. Shane Long (£5.5m) has featured for Southampton in pre-season but I wouldn’t envisage anything more than substitute appearances in the PL. Given Crystal Palace’s lack of forward options Jordan Ayew (£5.0m) might see some game time. Divock Origi (£5.5) might start GW1 for Liverpool but you don’t want to waste a Liverpool spot on him. Then of course, there’s United’s Mason Greenwood (£4.5m) who currently features in 14.6% of teams. The youngster has played 201 minutes of pre-season football but I’m not convinced he’ll play many more than that over the course of the PL season. Given his high ownership he is a price-drop waiting to happen should he not feature in the first couple of games. If you’re set on having a £4.5m forward in your squad, I’d be more inclined to go for Palace’s Conor Wickham!!! As if all this info isn’t enough, this fantasy betting prop preview seem to agree. With all the Premier League props ahead of the season this Friday, including odds on Pulisic being a top-goalscorer and whether Salah can be the top-point scorer for your fantasy team. Thanks for reading Fantasy Football Tips Gameweek 1. This article was written by Kop. Hey guys. Been a while and looking forward for the new season. First RMT for the season My team seems to be similar to the site team and it’s down to KWP + Ceballos vs Zinchenko + Ibe. Does anyone know if Ibe will play since Stanislas is out?? I think it’s risky seeing as Bournemouth have signed two other attacking midfielders this window. Slim pickings at 5.0mln though. Oops. Meant to post it in the Site team article. Hmm GP who would you go with at 5.0mil mid? Refer you to my previous statement! Consider John McGinn for Ibe and someone like Che Adams or Chris Wood for Josh King. Yep, can’t see Ibe starting much. Yikes. Any suggestions for 5.0m mid? Cheers AT. Any thoughts on Che Adams or Ings? Ings has penalties right? Not sure about penalties but Adams would be my preference. Just think he is a better striker, albeit unproven at this level. Cheers AT. Good luck !

https://fantasyfootball247.co.uk/fantasy-football-tips-gameweek-1-3/

Hey guys, welcome back! We’ve reached our first teal! Teal is not just a blue-green color, teals are also a group of small ducks. The U.S. had three species of teal, Green-winged, Blue-winged, and Cinnamon. Despite them all being teals, they don’t really look much alike, though they do share one quality; they’re small. The Green-winged Teal is the smallest dabbling duck out there! You can kind of tell in the picture above just how noticeably smaller they are than the Mallard. There are 3 regional populations of Green-winged Teal; the American, the Eurasian (formerly considered two species), and a population on Alaska’s Aleutian Islands that don’t migrate. Males are sharp looking birds, sporting a rich brown, almost cinnamon colored head with an iridescent green “crescent” from their eyes to the back of their heads. My friend Julie, whom I used to work with in Central Park, liked to name some of the ducks that visited. That dapper teal pictured above was given the name Gavin Tealy! Females look kind of like any female duck; mottled brown. Both males and females feature a bright green wing stripe, or speculum, which gives them away. Despite NYC being within the Green-winged Teal’s wintering range, Central Park never saw too many of them while I worked there. We’d get one, maybe two a year. The first one I ever saw was pointed out to me by another birder on the Harlem Meer, in the north end of the Park. It was a female. I found one the following winter, possibly the same bird. The next year, I finally saw a drake, Mr. Tealy up there. I can tell you until I’m blue in the face how small they are, but until you see one, you won’t really comprehend just how small. Funny how we all sort of picture ducks to be, well, “duck-sized.” Mallards are so common that we all just instinctively compare all other ducks to them, whether we know it or not. Size was the most Identifying feature for me when I did see that first one solo. I thought, “what is that? It looks like a miniature female mallard! Must be a teal!” It happened to be pouring rain that day, but I was able to see the bird preening, and caught a glimpse of the green speculum to verify my sighting. Unfortunately for you guys, I haven’t seen a Green-winged Teal since I got my camera, so that’s why today’s post is lacking in the high quality photos. Oh well, we’ll rectify that with our next post when we look at another small duck, this time a diving duck; the Bufflehead! See you all then!

https://featheredfocus.com/2019/03/22/green-winged-teal/

The truth is that corporations are constantly investing dollars back into their business operations, rather than simply sitting on their capital. What do some of the world’s biggest and most recognized corporations do with their money? Is it true that they are flushed with cash reserves? Do they sleep on top of their piles of rubies and gold like human dragons? While that tweet is in reference to individuals, it still captures a misconception held by many. Do wealthy individuals and megalithic corporations hoard vast sums of cash, only to have their piles grow larger and larger over time? Some might believe this to be true. However, the truth is that corporations are constantly investing dollars back into their business operations rather than simply sitting on their capital. Capturing market-share is a competitive process that requires constant reinvestment and innovation. Because of this, some of the largest corporations in the game turn profit margins lower than you would expect. Let’s take a look at what some of these corporations actually do with their money, it might surprise you. It’s no secret that Amazon is one of the biggest corporations in the game (#28 on the Forbes Global 2,000 list). Amazon reported a whopping $232.9 billion in revenue for 2018. However, in profit alone, they only took away $10.1 billion. That’s a profit margin of less than five percent. Amazon...has strongly favored growth over profits, reinvesting much of its revenue in improvements to its last-mile delivery infrastructure, the expansion of its Prime membership base, and the development of new business ventures. The e-commerce giant did not turn a profit until Q4 2001, and has had several unprofitable quarters since. One of the largest clothing brands and sponsor to the NFL, NBA, and hundreds of colleges and athletes, Nike ranks #280 on the Forbes Global 2,000 list and was the third-largest apparel company in the world in 2018, edging out Adidas but behind Christian Dior and Zara. Nike generated $36.4 billion in revenue but only took away $1.93 billion in profit. That’s a profit margin of around five percent. One of Nike’s biggest expenses is the promotion and strengthening of its brand. In fiscal 2018, Nike spent $3.6 billion on “demand creation,” which consists of advertising and promotion costs, including endorsement contracts, television, digital, and print advertising. Nike is also spending more on its physical stores and distribution chain as it attempts to boost its direct-to-consumer retail offerings. Nike spent $7.9 billion on operating overhead in fiscal 2018, a 9.9% increase from the year prior. Some of the spending likely went to the construction of its new Nike Live store, an interactive, smartphone-driven hub for NikePlus members in Los Angeles opened in July 2018. Although Uber didn’t make the Forbes Global 2,000, the largest ride-hailing service in the world is still worth analysis. The relatively new company actually operates at a loss. For quarter two in 2019, Uber lost $5.2 billion and had its slowest-ever revenue growth. In 2018, Uber reported $9.8 billion in revenue and just under $1 billion in profit. That’s a profit margin of about ten percent. The company incurs significant growth costs when it moves to a new city, shelling out on sign-up bonuses to recruit new drivers and ride discounts help build new customer bases. Uber also invests heavily in R&D, spending $457 million on self-driving cars and other advanced technology, as well as $1.0 billion in other research and development expenses. While some R&D-heavy ventures, such as Uber Freight, have shown promise in the form of growing revenues — captured in the “Other Bets” segment — investors may not have patience for Uber’s growth-over-profit strategy. Shares of Uber fell 7.6% on the day of its IPO on May 10, 2019, losing a collective $618 million in value — the largest dollar loss in U.S. IPO history going back to 1975. With worldwide notoriety, the world’s second-largest media company in 2019 and #70 on the Forbes Global 2,000 list for 2018, The Walt Disney Company, reported a stellar $59.43 billion in revenue generated and a substantial $13.06 billion in profit. That’s a profit margin of nearly 22 percent. That’s a substantial profit. But where did the other $46 billion go? As Headway Capital reports, Disney is constantly pouring revenue into other media properties and new digital operations. Disney has acquired a number of major media properties in the 21st century, purchasing Pixar in 2006, Marvel Entertainment in 2009, Lucasfilm in 2012, and, most recently, 21st Century Fox’s film and TV assets in March 2019. Disney is able to utilize new properties across its business segments, producing four Star Wars films since acquiring Lucasfilm and announcing four more through 2026, opening Star Wars-themed park lands at Disney World and Disneyland in 2019, and selling Star Wars merchandise throughout its Disney retail stores, for example. Other major properties majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company include ABC, ESPN, and Hulu. In conclusion, an analysis of the previous companies, perhaps excluding Disney, reveals that some of the biggest corporations in the world run tight profit-margins compared to the revenue they generate, which might lay waste to the claim that they are easily taxable profit-generating megaliths. The largest, most dominant companies in the world today are not necessarily the most profitable. In an attempt to establish a recurring revenue stream in the long term, some companies will sacrifice short-term profit and reinvest most of their income on customer acquisition and supply chain infrastructure. This tradeoff between growth and profit is often visually apparent in a company’s income alluvial. Progressive politicians might want to factor this into their assessments of who is easily taxable, given they might someday understand the difference between profit and revenue. Tyler Brandt is an Associate Editor at FEE. He is a graduate of UW-Madison with a B.A. in Political Science. In college, Tyler was a FEE Campus Ambassador, President of his campus YAL chapter, and Research Intern at the John K. MacIver Institute for Public Policy.

https://fee.org/articles/what-amazon-nike-uber-and-disney-do-with-their-money/

The financial information in this table were selected from the Company's condensed interim consolidated financial statements for the three months ended March 31, 2018 (the "Financial Statements"), which are available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and the Company's website www.filo-mining.com. The Company's condensed interim consolidated financial statements for the three months ended March 31, 2018 and related management's discussion and analysis are available on the Company's website at www.filo-mining.com or under its profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Sophia Shane, Investor Relations, |||PHONE_NUMBER||| .

https://filo-mining.com/news/2018/filo-mining-reports-q1-2018-results-122525

Anton Bruhin, “A Long Time Aglow” (2014). Courtesy of the Artist and Hacienda, Zurich. Is Hacienda an “off space”? Yes, but we don’t like to call it that. To us Hacienda is an exhibition space. It’s a hybrid, an artist­-run space. Arthur is a curator, Oskar has had a gallery and Fabian is an artist. You’ve just moved into a new space. Last summer it seemed like every art space in Zurich lost its home: you, Taylor Macklin, Plymouth Rock, Muda Mura Muri. Is this symptomatic of Zurich right now? It’s something that comes from Zurich’s economic structure. All of these spaces are temporary or precarious; nobody can really afford a permanent space. Even after receiving money from the city and the canton you’re lucky if it covers the rent. It’s almost impossible for a nonprofit to have a permanent space. It’s a choice that favors the commercial, and we’re not at the point where we want to do that. When we started Hacienda a year ago we knew we were going to have to move because the lease was limited. This is a good format though, because otherwise things get repetitive. For a year every project can be sort of site specific. The new location is a former childcare center, and it’s exciting for us. There’s all this history it holds: Zwingli, the Swiss reformer, worked here, and Hans Fischli, the artist and architect, renovated it. There’s a connection to recent and older Swiss history. The space is the reason we invited Andreas Dobler to do the first show here, whose childhood imagery and esotericism fits perfectly. Last year you did projects with both Dobler and Anton Bruhin. What is Hacienda’s interest in working with these very Swiss artists of an older generation? First of all we are huge fans of their work. Both Bruhin and Dobler have been around for a long time, but they didn’t really have shows in a younger context. Nevertheless, they are artists that had and still have relevance in the local scene. They have been actively working and showing, but in our certain group it just wasn’t seen. Individually both are relevant to contemporary positions. Dobler’s paintings add to discussions around post­conceptual and postdigital imagery, but he began working on them in the 1980s. Anton Bruhin was one of the first artists in Switzerland to experiment with performance, doing them at Bellvueplatz, near here, when nobody was even thinking about these things. Our logic hasn’t been one of rediscovery because we didn’t frame it historically; it’s important that we showed new works alongside older ones. We don’t follow a specific agenda. When we were first talking about doing Hacienda, Fabian said that he wanted to do this thing for one artist, Keith Boadwee, whom he met through Liz and Pentti. We looked at his work and thought of course it would be great. It has to do with friendships and personal biographies. There isn’t any East Coast vs. West Coast thing. It always has to do with us. The last time that Andreas Dobler had a solo exhibition in Zurich was in the context of Amberg & Marti, an exhibition series Fabian ran with Annette Amberg in their apartment when he was a student. From this point of view we do shows with people we know personally and like. Can you discuss the idea of noncommercial spaces like yourself participating in art fairs like NADA and Paramount Ranch? We don’t see these fairs as commercial platforms as much as places to meet with fellow artists, curators and gallerists. NADA asked us several times and invited us as an institutional project space. As the models for these kinds of exhibition spaces are changing, we also find that the fairs are trying to connect or build themselves in nontraditional ways as well. We take these opportunities to show Swiss artists that are not known internationally. At the first edition of Paramount Ranch we showed Anton Bruhin, Urs Zahn & Annina Matter and Bernhard Hegglin, who has never been shown in the US before. By definition, of course, you could say it’s a problem to do a fair as a nonprofit. But, fairs and art are merging in different ways than they did even a decade ago. Honestly, we’re happy to sell at an art fair. We’re supported by the state a bit, but the project should work on its own. It shouldn’t be the three of us putting too much money of our own into the project. What do you all have planned for the rest of 2015? In December we hosted a Daniel Spoerri show. The centerpiece of the show was the work Rezept Mappen Bibliothek, which consists of ten recipe books by Spoerri illustrated by his friends. We cooked one of the recipes at Hacienda ourselves, and invited friends for the dinner, as an homage to the infamous dinners Spoerri used to host himself. In March we will have a show with Swiss artist Bernhard Hegglin. Also during the month of March Heike Karin Foell will live at Hacienda to prepare her show in April. We are also very much looking forward to the exhibition of Timothée Calame, a young Geneva based artist that will show new works of his in May. We will end our year at Neustadtgasse 11 in June with a show by New York artist Lucky DeBellvue.

https://flash---art.com/2015/03/arthur-fink-fabian-marti-and-oskar-weiss-on-hacienda-zurich/

This is a screenshot of the visual system developed by Alsim for its flight trainers. I worked in this company eight months and one of the tasks was to design and implement some realistic volumetric clouds. The method used is inspired from the Mark Harris and Niniane Wang papers. It consists of dividing a cloud into metaballs and represent them by billboards. In order to reduce the number of metaballs required to give the cloud a realistic appearance, the billboards are textured. A set of textures is generated thanks to Perlin Noise functions. Also, to reduce the overdraw due to all those transparent billboards (125 per cloud), each cloud is rendered by an imposter (which itself uses a texture manager to avoid video memory fragmentation). On each frame, imposter's accuracy is tested in order to update it if needed. The number of imposters to update by frame rules the tolerance used in the test to keep this number low enough. The color is computed by hardware light functions. Normal vectors depend both on the position of the metaball inside the cloud, the observer, the cloud, and the sun. Finally, we can manage more than 200 clouds in real-time (at least 30 fps, on an Ati Radeon 9800 Pro powered PC). The user can fly around, and get in the clouds, resulting in realistic effects. You can find more information on the Alsim website (http://www.alsim.com) and on my personnal webpage (http://zavie.free.fr/alsim).

https://flipcode.com/archives/11-12-2004_clouds.shtml

Mexican health advocates are calling for far-reaching changes and greater coordination in tackling a public health crisis that is taking thousands of lives and costing billions of dollars every year. A 2012 study, the National Health and Nutrition Survey, found that 71 percent of Mexican adults and 34.4 percent of children were either obese or overweight. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) recently declared that Mexico had surpassed the United States as having the highest national rate of obesity in the world. According to the FAO, the percentage of Mexicans who are now obese has tripled from 10 percent of the population in 1989. The World Health Organization blames weight factors for the deaths of 141,175 Mexicans from circulatory problems in 2010 alone. Significantly, the toll for that year jumped from 97,655 deaths from the same cause in 2000. In economic terms, the 2012 Mexican health and nutrition study estimated that the country could spend five billion dollars annually on obesity-related health issues through 2017. In April, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto instructed the Secretariat of Health to develop a national plan to combat obesity and diabetes. So far, the outlines and particulars of a new strategy have not publicly emerged. Guillermo Melendez, obesity project coordinator for the non-profit Mexican Health Foundation, said the implementation of a viable national plan should extend beyond health authorities and draw in representatives from the taxation, commerce and education secretariats. Melendez said linkages between government, the private sector and society in general are critical for achieving success in reducing obesity rates over the medium and long terms. The health specialist opined that proposals to tax soft drinks and junk food would fall short of health goals if other measures were not pursued. “This has to be accompanied by the control of (product marketing) and physical activity programs,” Melendez said. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, obesity rates in Texas border counties were above 30 percent of the rest of the state and 37 percent higher than the national average in 2011. Sources: El Semanario de Nuevo Mexico/Agencia Reforma, August 8, 2013. Article by Paloma Villanueva Cruz. Laopinion.com, July 25, 2013. Cronica.com, July 10, 2013. Article by Dennis A. Garcia.

https://fnsnews.nmsu.edu/firm-action-on-obesity-crisis-urged/

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F1 (50% Wagyu).......................... *total meat yield varies on each individual calf. We are a family owned and operated ranch in Brownwood, Texas. We provide quality F1 and F2 whole Wagyu beef! We believe that how the animals are handled and cared for, directly impacts the quality of the Wagyu beef. Sign up to hear from Foley Ranch about our Wagyu beef specials, sales, and events.

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After a fall, Dutch author Adriaan van Dis broke all kinds of things. Casts and morphine put him back on his feet and behind the writing desk. Morphine in particular turned out to be a nice friend who stuck around for a while. Together they wrote a poetic report of their experiences. Morphine soothes, numbs and has a hallucinatory effect. But in this cycle Van Dis actually exposes reality and shows what lies behind and underneath the scars. His poetry makes them bearable and imaginative. Strik’s stitching has the same effect: they soften the scars so that you can look at them. The collaboration between Van Dis and Strik was initiated by 99publishers and resulted in the Morfine bundle, which appears as the sixth volume in the 99 Editions series, in a limited edition of 99 copies. The bundle comes with a signed and numbered piezography, with manually applied stitching, also in an edition of 99, format 24 x 18.5 cm, printed on 210 grs Innova IFA24 Fine Art Paper. The design is from Mart. Warmerdam. Price of the book and piezography with manually applied stitching: € 99.00. Adriaan van Dis (1946) grew up in Bergen, in a family with half-sisters and parents with an Indonesian (war) history. He debuted in 1983 with the short story Nathan Sid. In the early 1990s he wrote a number of travel novels, including Het Beloofde Land and In Afrika. In 1994 the extremely successful novel Indonesian dunes was published, about a son of an Indonesian family born in the Netherlands who is raised in the sphere of concealed suffering. Then Dubbelliefde, Op oorlogspad in Japan, Familieziek, Onder het zink. Un abécédaire de Paris, De wandelaar, Leeftocht en Tikkop. At the end of November 2011, he published Stadsliefde, which focuses on the city of Paris. In 2014, the novel Ik kom terug was published. Van Dis received numerous literary prizes, such as Libris Literatuurprijs, Gouden Uil and Publieksprijs. His entire oeuvre was awarded the Constantijn Huygens Prize. Adriaan van Dis's books have been translated into many languages. His most recent novel In het Buitengebied was published in 2017. 99 Publishers has previously worked with Adriaan van Dis. In 2008 the book Totok II was published, a collaborative project by Adriaan van Dis and visual artist Harald Vlugt. With his collages, Harald Vlugt always connects flawlessly with the sensory perceptions in Van Dis's poetry. Berend Strik (1960) edits photo images with needle and thread. Stitchings and pieces of fabric - mesh, velvet - become part of his photos. He consciously calls it stitching and not embroidery. The latter is a word that he finds not applicable to his work, it implies a certain motive too much. For Strik it is about anchoring and securing something on the image. He started making collages in the 1980s. Found and existing images are also the starting point when he started stitching in the late eighties. Later, family photos also serve as a base. More recently, Strik works with "own" material: situations photographed by himself. At the start of his career, he gained fame with pornographic images that he provided with a (thick) layer of yarn with needle and thread. This makes the photos more veiled and less explicit. The "hardness" of pornography contrasts with the softness of the material, creating more intimacy in the image. It is of great importance to Strik that the spectator has a place within the work. For that reason, not editing parts of the image, but keeping it open is essential. He believes that in a completely "stitched up" work there is no room for the viewer. Moreover, the edits that he performs must remain as close as possible to the reality of the photo in order for you as a spectator to continue to relate to it. Berend Strik followed his education at the Rijksakademie of visual arts in Amsterdam (1986-1988) and at ISCP (International Studio and Curational Program) in New York (1998-2000). Strik won several (international) prizes.

https://fonswelters.nl/exhibitions/adriaan_van_dis__berend_strik_morfine/about

A False Economy: A British Fan’s View of the Rams’ Move to L.A. As I've said before, St Louis cannot play the victim here - it was more than happy to take both the Rams and the Cardinals from two other cities so it is rich to go crying when someone else does the same. The Rams were in LA for 50 years and that is where most of their history is. Yes this is about money but it's also about taking the Rams back to what most would consider their true home (note I did not say city of birth). Think of it as a 20-year loan agreement. I feel far more sorry for the Browns fans in 1995, or the Oilers fans in 1997. Those were their own teams, founded in those cities, not teams they had taken from Los Angeles 20 years prior after a stadium dispute. Both those towns then made their own teams after their losses (Browns were a new team that kept their old history; the people of Houston didn't even get that). Maybe St Louis should lobby to make its own team too, although doing that in a league of 32 may not be easy at all. A good read, thanks for sharing. It is an interesting view point, but I have to say I don't agree with some of it. 1. Stan actually gave the CVC and City the opportunity to tie us in to the city until 2025 with the plans for the dome. Even after arbitration they refused to negotiate. 2. LA was always a football city. We used to sell out the Coliseum until the move to Anaheim, even when we were poor in the 60's. We had great success throughout the 70's and 80's (OK, during the 80's were were usually chasing the 49'ers). We were the first professional sport team in LA. 3. Georgia made it clear from the late 80's that she had no interest in staying in SoCal. She and Shaw systematically tore the team apart brick by brick. Somehow John Robinson kept them competitive until 89 (when I still say we were the best team in the NFL!). For example, Dickerson was possibly the best running back ever (at that time). He was awesome and carried the team. Only right he be paid his worth but they refused! Then, when we got Greg Bell to 1000 yard seasons they let him walk in free agency! 4. STL said nothing at all about any plans to persuade Stan to stay until he announced his plans - why? 5. People forget the economic situation in the late 80's when they started to demand a new stadium. And on that subject, how many other cities built? I can't recall one. I do recall Houston, Cleveland and San Diego all refusing. Also, LA had just gone through the Rodney King riots - spending money on a stadium wasn't exactly a priority. Whatever you're views on the NFL, capitalism or the rights and wrongs of it, there were fans in LA gutted in 94/95 and there are fans in STL gutted now. Many, many Rams stayed loyal in LA and many will still support us in STL. Lets just look forward now. Last edited by Burgerboy558; 28.01.2016 at 11:14 PM.

https://forum.nfluk.com/showthread.php?s=0e92e26a7d6bc9040f13110a0288a1a9&t=108153

Brave, and selfless, and smart, and kind, and honest... Re: Brave, and selfless, and smart, and kind, and honest... It may not be realistic for his world, given the breaks between the factions, but that only makes him braver to want to do that. In a way, all of the traits tie together. It can take a great deal of bravery to be honest, as well as to be selfless and kind in the face of danger. As for intelligence, a large part of learning is to confront your own ignorance, which is a very brave thing to do, as you can be forced to change your own mind. Veronica Roth captures the bane of human thinking and habits in this book: you cannot be all, so choose one. Why should I choose one when I can strive to be all? Even when I know I am bound to fail, I can still try, knowing this is the right thing to do. Unfortunately, it's unrealistic. In our world today, one can try to be these things, but they will be hindered noticeably by the tyrants in this world. The author of Divergent brings out these things immediately for you to contemplate on, for you to dig in and never let go. What do these things all represent? Morality. And what is the standard for morality? God. Who else? Tris Prior is a Christian in these books, or at least her parents were... Gives you something to think about in your free time. Everyone as the ability to have these traits and they do. In four's faction, he can't show all these traits because the government won't allow it. They want to label their citizens and tell them they can only have one trait in order to keep them from thinking and being expressive. I think it would be very difficult considering his faction. In the real world people are faced with that dilemma and must overcome many adversities to have such positive qualities. It is easier to be bad than good. For that society, no. He's forced to pick just one faction and can't show traits from any other. He could be seen as a faction traitor for simply showing a desire to learn something new or putting others before himself. If he lived in our society, it would be ideal. As he is divergent, I think he should have made a new faction with all of those traits for the divergent people. In this book the reality is no he can't be all those qualities. With the motto of the government being 'Faction Before Blood' and the fact that they kill divergents, they don't want one person to have all those qualities. Four's desire to be all five of those things is not realistic in his society. His society is purposefully split so that each person lives out one of those traits. Being more than one, or all five, is seen as dangerous in his society. It's the same way in our society, but not as taboo. People of different cultures are expected to act a certain way. Stereotypes control the way a lot of people think and act. Being anything other than how, stereo-typically, you are meant to be, often brings criticism. It's unfortunate, but true. For the society he lives in as dauntless makes his dream a bit unrealistic. But his desire for this shows his divergent side. Because he is divergent he won't fit into any certain class and he is a little bit of everything. I find the concept of factions based on characteristics to be interesting, but not very realistic. If you look at each individual person, not just one characteristic will shine through. The way I understood the book, the test would determine which characteristic you exhibited most out of all of them. You are considered Divergent if more than one characteristic is dominant. I would consider the people in my life to be Divergent, I believe that is what makes up their personalities, and makes each person unique. I also think that a persons experiences help build there character, which in the book would help decide their faction. Overall, I feel like Veronica Roth stripped away pieces of the human personality to form the factions, and it isn't really displayed in the books. Does this bother me? No I LOVE Fiction novels, and found that it was still very easy to immerse myself in this story line. I think the desire to be all of these things is entirely realistic for Four in the society that he lives in. Especially so because of the factions and the separation between different 'types' of people. It's also incredibly dangerous, but isn't anything that defies the norm? I think one has to understand the symbolism of this. See, Four desired to be everything. To be every single one of the 'classes' of society. Is it realistic? Not if he's the only one. But could it start a movement that would be realistic? Definitely. In the world that Four lives in, this goal isn't very realistic or rational or that matter. But I love that he wants to be all those things regardless of what society thinks or will actually do to him if they find out. In our society, I wish that there were more people out there that want to be brave, and selfless, and smart, and king, and honest. To be all of them, because then maybe our world wouldn't be in the predicament that it is in. I believe in Four's world and time, that it is very unrealistic to be able to have all those characteristics. Due to the fact that when faction acts somewhat like another faction that is frowned upon. And then that person will be discriminated by his original faction and look at with skepticism from the other factions. He would also loose the trust and loyalty of each faction. I, however, believe in our world and time that it is possible to have all these characteristics and still be able to be a productive member of society. I do not believe it is realistic to have all of these qualities in the faction society. This is made very clear throughout all of the books. The rulers of the society are very controlling and do not want their citizens to have any qualities to really make them actual individuals or stand out from other members of society. Although these qualities are not wanted in the Divergent universe, a person who possesses all of these characteristics in our society would be considered a wonderful human being. All of these qualities are very admirable. I don't know if I can think of a specific example of a person from our world who possesses these... If anything, Tris & Four teach us to fight for what you believe in and to break free from the constraints that are put around you.

https://forums.onlinephilosophyclub.com/viewtopic.php?f=54&t=19984&start=15

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom ("USCIRF"), established by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 ("IRFA"), issued a press release today. It took to task the State Department, which, under President Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, had failed to release publicly its 2008 list of countries of "particular concern," that is, countries where the denial of religious freedom is particularly severe. Such a list is required yearly under IRFA; however, it took an official inquiry from USCIRF to get the 2008 list released by the State Department ("DOS"). The two lists are substantially the same, though the USCIRF's list includes four countries that the DOS list does not. Tomorrow, March 27, China will inaugurate a new holiday, "Serf Liberation Day." China claims the life of ordinary Tibetans has improved greatly since they intervened 50 years ago. However, this claim shows China continues to miss the point. Whether or not ordinary life has improved is beside the point. Religious freedom is a fundamental human right, secured in America, of course, under the First Amendment. It is not up to China to tell the people of Tibet what to believe.

https://frcblog.com/2009/03/first-freedom-deniers/

Innovation drives productivity, and productivity is what drives jobs growth and the wealth that pays for our health, education, defence and social security systems. In short, innovation really matters. Governments, businesses and academics obsess over it. We need to know what works, what doesn’t and why - and that means turning to measurements and metrics. But can we really measure innovation today? Are we doing it right, or are our metrics more suited to Industry 2.0 and 3.0, rather than 4.0? In the era of Industry 4.0, all innovation is combinatorial. Leaders from England’s state-run National Health Service to former Google CEO Eric Schmidt recognise this fact. Almost no innovations can be attributed to a single source. For example, the iPhone may have been the work of Steve Jobs, Jony Ive and their teams of brilliant engineers and designers, but it was also the product of US government-led innovations such as GPS and, of course, the internet. It would be ludicrous to attribute such innovations as the iPhone to the state alone - but at the same time, there are few truly original ideas. Most successful innovations hinge on the execution rather than the idea itself, which many others may be pursuing simultaneously. The aesthetically similar LG Prada came out shortly before the iPhone, and there were plenty of touchscreen PDA-like phones before the iPhone, but none had the iPhone’s industry-defining impact. However, the complexity of measuring such innovations should not deter us from trying. The combinatorial effects of new technology will drive innovation in new and exciting ways - but how can we measure it? Good metrics can direct better policies. The OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), which measures school pupils’ performance in mathematics, science and reading, has improved policy debates and led to improved outcomes in some countries. It has driven Singapore’s extraordinary educational success. Statistics on the causes of mortality, meanwhile, have been instrumental in shifting health resources towards early intervention, which has improved life expectancies. But measuring innovation is troublesome. Indicators have to account for many different forms of innovation, with widely differing motivations, processes of development and consequences. In the past it was possible to identify innovation within particular organizations, teams or individuals; nowadays innovation is more often networked among multiple contributors, which complicates its measurement. Collecting data on innovation is hampered by the desire to ensure indicators are simple, easily accessible, comparable across nations, and cheap to acquire and compute. And these requirements do not reflect the complex and often messy realities of innovation, let alone capture whether the innovation has negative consequences, such as putting CFCs in refrigerators. The move over the past 60 years from products to services to an increasingly experiential economy has changed the nature of research and development (R&D). Traditional measures of innovation, such as R&D investment and patents, were fine when innovation mostly occurred in large manufacturing firms, but are of limited value when much of the action lies in services, business models, and entrepreneurial start-ups. Much innovation does not rely on traditional R&D investment and processes, and many innovations are not protected by formal intellectual property rights, but by the speed of changes and secrecy around them - and this makes them difficult to measure. A great deal of expertise has been developed around innovation surveys that ask firms whether they innovate, and in what forms. The EU’s Community Innovation Survey (CIS), for example, has coordinated national statistical agencies to collect extensive data on the innovativeness of EU regions and sectors. But self-reported innovations can be subjective and difficult to calibrate. We know of world-leading innovations in infrastructure and resources industries that are not accounted for; conversely, a firm that was recorded as innovative in a government survey turned out to be a hairdresser using a new brand of hair colouring. Other judgement calls are needed: are innovations new to the world, new to the sector or region, or just new to the firm? Is adapting an existing product or service to a new market an innovation? While these surveys can tell us about the ITALnumbers and ITALtypes of firms that claim to be innovative, they don’t address the more important question of ITALhow firms are innovating and whether this is improving. The nature and measurement of capital goods - the assets that are put to productive use – have changed significantly in Industry 4.0. In the past, these consisted mainly of investments in large-scale factories and production machinery, and were carefully recorded for accounting and taxation purposes, providing accurate information for governments. Nowadays, intangible investments and activities such as design are much more significant - but these are more difficult to measure. The new digital technologies of Industry 4.0, including AI and Machine Learning, virtual and augmented reality, simulation and modelling methods, and novel, small-scale ways of manipulating matter such as additive manufacturing and genome editing, for example, complicate the recording and classifications of important innovation investments. Agencies that collect national and international statistics are highly aware of the shortcomings of their approaches and are seeking more relevant ways of measuring innovation performance. The Australian government, for example, which has been a leader in this field, is undertaking a significant review of indicators, including a comprehensive literature review and public consultations. Important lessons have been learned in these agencies. The shortcomings of input measures, such as R&D, and averages of innovation performance, such as gross expenditure on R&D as a percentage of GDP, can hide skewed distributions and are not helpful. The opportunities for gaming the system at the national and organizational levels are being recognized. And there is awareness of the dangers when poorly determined indicators become targets for governments. We welcome the improvement in the collection of such information, but believe this needs to be complemented by some radically different approaches. There is value in including insights from behavioural science. Ideas for new services, the largest component of modern economies, occur at the point of consumption. This means the behaviours of consumers and ‘user-innovators’ matter more and more. Furthermore, as AI and automation replace repetitive work, and human attributes such as creativity, intuition and empathy become more important, understanding behaviours around innovation becomes crucial. By changing the behaviours of individuals and populations, behavioural science is starting to be used to address significant global issues such as the environment and health. Governments and organizations wishing to improve innovation performance need increasingly to bring insights from behavioural psychology and economics into their metrics. By applying behavioural science to, for example, the adoption of good innovation practices and better risk management, we may get insights into future performance. Data and digital science provide new opportunities for developing useful innovation metrics. Innovation statistics agencies are exploring the ways in which new sources of data can complement and supplement their work. Analysing social media sites and electronic marketplaces for ideas and employment, such as InnoCentive and LinkedIn, can provide valuable insights. While there are concerns about the self-selecting and potentially unrepresentative nature of the information collected, data-scraping and analytical tools can be used to provide useful new and real-time insights into innovation activity. Companies such as Digital Science are using AI tools for mapping the trajectories of science, and these could be used for mapping innovation. Scientists have created algorithms and used machine learning to study complex and emerging phenomena such as health and weather forecasting, and these could be repurposed and applied to measuring innovation. Real understanding of innovation requires a deep dive into what goes on within organizations. It has to take into account how risks are assessed, decisions are made and implemented, and how the rocky roads of internal politics and organizational battles over resources are navigated. If government policy is to be informed, quantitative indicators of innovation performance must be complemented with qualitative case studies. For these case studies to be valuable they have to comply with formal research method protocols to ensure they are relevant, accurate and can be compared. Government innovation policies have to be based upon, and directed towards improving, the performance and practices of the new industrial era. The way innovation occurs is changing - and so the indicators that measure it must respond to this new reality. If We Could Engineer Animals to Be as Smart as Humans - Should We?

https://freedomandsafety.com/en/content/blog/we-need-measure-innovation-better-heres-how

The Bible is the inspired word of God and is therefore our authoritative and infallible guide in all things. It contains a record of God's heart for people since the beginning of time and can give life and freedom to everyone (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:21). People are beings created by God and made in his image. When Adam (through the devil’s influence) did not obey God in the Garden of Eden, his disobedience caused Adam and all his offspring (all people) to be cursed (Genesis 3). This is when disobedience and rebellion (also known as "sin") entered the world. Sin causes us to be separated from God. Jesus came to bring us back into relationship with God (John 10:10, Colossians 1:21-23) and destroy the devil’s influence (1 John 3:8). He did this through his death, burial and resurrection (being raised from the dead). A life of being right with God starts when we recognize we’re trapped in sin and are powerless to "make it up" to Him. Only God can clean us from our sins, through Jesus (John 14:6). When Jesus died, was buried and was raised again, He freed us from sin and reconnected us with God. When we realize, believe and then speak this truth, we are saved. Salvation saturates our lives through repentance (turning away from our sin and toward God), and faith in Jesus. This salvation is God's free gift to anyone who chooses to trust him through Jesus (Romans 10:9-10). "Born again" is another way of saying "saved." You were already born naturally; when you’re saved, your spirit is reborn. Being born again is necessary for everyone and results in eternal life (John 3:3-5). Our salvation is worked out in us as this belief sinks in to our whole lives and we understand that all life, grace and peace come from God through Jesus. This is what it means to be a disciple—a student and follower—of Jesus. In Water. Being submerged in water is a public way to celebrate the spiritual change that happened when you were born again. Water baptism does not save you; it's a celebration of being saved. This is why water baptism is only offered to those who understand salvation and have been saved. In the Holy Spirit. Being submerged in the Holy Spirit is a free gift from Jesus Christ to anyone who is both saved and willing to receive it (Mark 1:8, Luke 11:13; Acts 19:1-6). This baptism sometimes first shows up as speaking in a spiritual language (also known as "tongues," Acts 2:4). Since the Holy Spirit is our helper (John 14:26), being baptized in Him empowers us to a life of discipleship (Acts 1:8; Galatians 5:22-23). Jesus paid for our healing (all aspects of it, from spiritual to physical to emotional) when he suffered and died on the cross (Isaiah 53:5). We're healed through prayer, and/or when believers place their hands on the sick to pray for them (Mark 16:15-20, James 5:14-15, 1 Peter 2:24, Matthew 8:17). Communion (also called "The Lord's Supper") is a chance for Christ-followers to remember and honor Jesus' death and resurrection. During his final meal before he was crucified, Jesus took bread, blessed it, then broke it and shared it with his disciples. He said the bread represents his body, broken for us. Then he took wine (which represents the blood that he shed for our sins) and shared it with his disciples. Jesus told us to eat the bread and drink the wine to remember him (Luke 22:14-20). The Bible goes on to tell us that we shouldn't take Communion lightly. We should examine our hearts and make sure we're not treating Communion as if it's a meal. We should take Communion understanding that it's an act of remembrance and honor to Jesus, until he returns for us (1 Corinthians 11:20-34). Marriage is a sacred covenant made between one man and one woman, before God. This covenant was created by God in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:20-25), and confirmed by Jesus Christ (Matthew 19:3-6; Mark 10:3-9). This sacred covenant as instituted by God is both promoted and celebrated at Freedom House. Jesus is coming back for his church (the "Rapture"). The angels said to Jesus’ followers, "And some day, just as you saw Him go, He will return!" (Acts 1:11). When He comes, "First, all the Christians who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and remain with Him forever" (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).

https://freedomhouse.cc/visionbeliefs/

Avengers 4 Full Movie : Avengers: Endgame is a 2019 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics superhero team the Avengers, produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It is the sequel to 2012’s The Avengers, 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron, and 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War, and the twenty-second film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). It was directed by Anthony and Joe Russo and written by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, and features an ensemble cast including Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Don Cheadle, Paul Rudd, Brie Larson, Karen Gillan, Danai Gurira, Benedict Wong, Jon Favreau, Bradley Cooper, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Josh Brolin. In the film, the surviving members of the Avengers and their allies attempt to reverse the damage caused by Thanos in Infinity War. How to watch “Avengers 4 Full Movie” Online Free in HD. Jennifer Aniston, Pink and Gwen Stefani were honored at Sunday night’s show. The 2019 E! People’s Choice Awards were handed out Sunday night, with Avengers: Endgame taking home the award for best movie. The ceremony took place Sunday at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, airing live on E! During the ceremony, Jennifer Aniston received the Icon Award. The actress also was nominated for female movie star of 2019 for her work in Netflix’s hit Murder Mystery, which was named comedy movie of 2019. Gwen Stefani also was honored during the awards show with the Fashion Icon Prize, while Pink received the Champion Award, which recognizes her support of and work with No Kid Hungry, Make-a-Wish Foundation, Planned Parenthood, REVERB, Autism Speaks and Human Rights Campaign, as well as her role as a UNICEF ambassador. Kelsea Ballerini and Alessia Cara performed.

https://fullmoviefull.com/avengers-4-full-movie/

FUN Motorcycle Training “LLC” would like to share this brief story on how the Thanksgiving Holiday came to be. The tradition of the Pilgrims’ first Thanksgiving is steeped in myth and legend. Few people realize that the Pilgrims did not celebrate Thanksgiving the next year, or any year thereafter, though some of their descendants later made a “Forefather’s Day” that usually occurred on December 21 or 22. Several Presidents, including George Washington, made one-time Thanksgiving holidays. In 1827, Mrs. Sarah Josepha Hale began lobbying several Presidents for the creation of Thanksgiving as a national holiday, but her lobbying was unsuccessful until 1863 when Abraham Lincoln finally made it a national holiday. Today, our Thanksgiving is the fourth Thursday of November. This was set by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1939 (approved by Congress in 1941), who changed it from Abraham Lincoln’s designation as the last Thursday in November (which could occasionally end up being the fifth Thursday, and hence too close to Christmas for businesses). But the Pilgrims’ first Thanksgiving began at some unknown date between September 21 and November 9, most likely in very early October. The date of Thanksgiving was probably set by Lincoln to somewhat correlate with the anchoring of the Mayflower at Cape Cod, which occurred on November 21, 1620 (by our modern Gregorian calendar–it was November 11 to the Pilgrims who used the Julian calendar). There are only two contemporary accounts of the 1621 Thanksgiving: First is Edward Winslow’s account, which he wrote in a letter dated December 12, 1621. The complete letter was first published in 1622. The second description was written about twenty years after the fact by William Bradford in his History Of Plymouth Plantation. Bradford’s History was rediscovered in 1854 after having been taken by British looters during the Revolutionary War. Its discovery prompted a greater American interest in the history of the Pilgrims. It is also in this account that the Thanksgiving turkey tradition is founded. The primary sources above only list a few items that were on the Thanksgiving “menu”, namely five deer, a large number of turkeys and waterfowl, cod, and bass; plus the harvest, which consisted of wheat, corn, barley, and perhaps any peas that survived the scorching. To that list, we can probably add a few additional things that are known to have been native to the area and eaten by the Pilgrims: clams, mussels, lobster, eel, ground nuts, acorns, walnuts, chestnuts, squashes, and beans. Fruits and berries such as strawberries, raspberries, grapes, and gooseberries were available growing wild. Pilgrim house-gardens may have included a number of English vegetables and herbs, perhaps things like onions, leeks, sorrel, yarrow, lettuce, carrots, radishes, currants, liverwort, watercress, and others. It is unlikely much in the way of supplies brought on the Mayflower survived, such as Holland Cheese, olive oil, butter, salt pork, sugar, spices, lemons, beer, aqua-vitae, or bacon. It appears the Pilgrims may have had some chickens with them, so likely had access to a limited number of eggs. No mention of swine is found in any account of the first year. They did not yet have any goats or cattle: the first of those arrived on the ship Anne in 1623. The “Popcorn Myth” would have us believe the Indians introduced the Pilgrims to popcorn at this Thanksgiving: but the Indian corn they grew was Northern Flint, which does not pop well. It was parched to make a simple snack, and the Indians sometimes ground it up and mixed it with strawberries for a cake-like desert. Potatoes and sweet potatoes had not yet been introduced to New England. FUN Motorcycle Training “LLC” we hope you enjoyed this brief look at Thanksgiving. We hope everyone has a safe and happy Thanksgiving!

https://funmotorcycletraining.com/brief-history-of-thanksgiving/

Minecraft is, without a doubt, one of the most interesting video games focused on creation. Granting gamers with an immense level of open worlds to roam, many players' only limit is based on what they have been able to create with their own imagination and ambition. Along the way, fans have built Star Trek's iconic USS Enterprise and recreated Star Wars: A New Hope entirely in-game – impressive feats without question. With that said, Minecraft users have pushed boundaries in other ways, too. The game's engine has been used to great affect to make in-game 3D printers and graphing calculators, and has even led to the creation of versions and homages of other games such as Sim City and Flappy Bird. There's a reason why developer Mojang was bought by Microsoft for $2.5 billion, despite criticisms from employees of the tech giant that initially thought that Minecraft was "rubbish" (or so says Peter Molyneux). Now, there's been a Minecraft creation that may put all the others to shame. An art student named Duncan Parcells, interested in the world of interactive design, decided to create a city in the world creation game. As it turns out, what he created looks like it would be more at home in Sim City 2000 than Minecraft. Parcells (who goes by the Xbox Live ID of ColonialPuppet) used an incredible 4.5 million blocks over the course of 2 years to create a Minecraft metropolis. He dubbed his creation Titan City, and managed to contract the immense block-based metropolis during sporadic sessions over the course of 2 years. Discussing the city on Reddit, Parcells stated that he had "probably spent a couple weeks building" overall, stating that "many people have played more CoD than I've played Minecraft." Instead, the digital foreman spent about "3-5 hours every 2 weeks" on Titan City, as well as making use of his college's "ridiculously long winter break" to build. If this city wasn't impressive enough, Parcells built it using the Xbox 360 version of the game, rather than the PC version. The art student did not own a PC at the time he started, and could not get Minecraft working on his Mac, so instead used the only device he had at hand – his Xbox. "The PC didn't come into the picture until about a year ago," said Parcells. "By then the city was well underway." The creator has felt the need to "keep it loyal to it's original platform," so he plans on completing the city for Xbox 360 and then creating a transfer for PC. That's right, Titan City is not even finished yet. According to Parcells, the city is nearing completion on Xbox, but there is still some work to be done. When that's done, Titan City "will be permanently moved to PC and made even larger." We can't wait to see what else he has in store. Meanwhile, Xbox One owners that want to make their own city can get in on the fun since the game is now available for download on the platform, and brick-and-mortar traditionalists can join in on the fun when Minecraft: Xbox One Edition arrives this November.

https://gamerant.com/minecraft-city-2-years-4-million-blocks/

The finale to the thrilling fourth season of the Call of Duty World® League, Presented by PlayStation®4, begins Wednesday, August 14, when the best Call of Duty® Esports players from around the world complete their quest to be crowned the 2019 Call of Duty World League Champion. The five-day competition to be held at the famed Edwin W. Pauley Pavilion sports complex in Los Angeles, begins with elimination play for all 32 teams. Doors will swing open to spectators to join the action onsite for the final three days of competition as teams march toward the grand final championship match to take place Sunday afternoon. All the action from the start will be broadcast live for viewers around the world. Fans can catch every epic contest on MLG.com, Twitch and even in-game inside Call of Duty®: Black Ops 4. The first two days of competition will see the top two teams in each group move on to the bracket stage of the tournament. With these 16 remaining teams, the tournament moves to a double-elimination format before a champion is crowned. The competition features Call of Duty®: Black Ops 4 from publisher Activision and developed by Treyarch. Tickets for the 2019 Call of Duty World League Championship are available, while supplies last. General admission tickets are available for $50.00 (plus fees and taxes, while supplies last) and include entry to all three days of the event (August 16-18) at the Edwin W. Pauley Pavilion. For more information and to purchase a ticket, visitMLG.com/CWLChamps.

https://gaminglyfe.com/2019-call-of-duty-world-league-championship-presented-by-playstation4-takes-over-los-angeles/

Hyrule Warriors Legends‘ producer, Yosuke Hayashi, has revealed that the game’s 3D function will only work on the New Nintendo 3DS. He said that Koei Tecmo tried hard to make sure large amounts of enemies could be seen on the screen during gameplay, so it was similar to the Wii U version. As the New 3DS is more powerful, they were able to make stereoscopic 3D possible, even with the huge amounts of different enemies on screen. Hyrule Warriors Legends will release in Japan on January 21st, but there is no official release date for the West. Hey there! I'm Josephine, a Scottish journalism student and a Junior Editor at Gamnesia. I'm here because I love to write, and I love games. Isn't that just the perfect combination for this site? My favourites are The Legend of Zelda, Animal Crossing and Telltale games.

https://gamnesia.nintendoenthusiast.com/hyrule-warriors-legends-only-supports-stereoscopic-3d-on-the-new-nintendo-3/

Talking about Education, Delhi is the hub for Indian students who aspire to achieve higher in life. Many students have goals of getting into a reputed college of medical Science and MD MS admissions are the next door for such opportunists. Delhi being the capital and educational city has many reputed colleges in various disciplines of study. The discipline of Medicine is like always topping the chart. Students come from small cities with dreams to make it in one of the top medical colleges in Delhi. It is not easy though. It takes hard work and determination. Patience is another factor. There are many colleges of medical science in Delhi. Here is a list of the top 10. Well, who doesn’t know this name? It has been a name that everyone chants to get admission into. They have some of the best faculties and facilities for those seeking best medical help without any biased means. It is definitely not only one of the top medical colleges of Delhi but of India too. It is not quite easy to get through this college but once someone makes it, the life gets a fresh turn to success. It is situated in the heart of the city too. These were the list of 10 colleges that should be in your mind if you are planning for medical study further. This field is quite tough and doesn’t come to everyone in the wink of an eye. Hard and perseverance are what can help you be in one of the top medical colleges of Delhi. There are more colleges in Delhi and there are colleges of medicine in other cities too. Students and even parents prefer their kids to study in Delhi for the all-round development. Delhi’s medical colleges are country’s top ranked and getting one of these is an achievement in itself. Is Blogging the future of Education? Why You Need To Take A Level Courses?

https://gauravtiwari.org/top-10-medical-colleges-delhi/?pdf=16963

By James Thornhill and Jeremy Hodges – (Bloomberg) –Spanish utility Iberdrola SA is selling a stake in a U.K. offshore wind farm to a unit of Macquarie Group Ltd. for 1.63 billion pounds ($1.96 billion) in a deal that highlights the widening appeal of renewable assets. Institutional investors are becoming more inclined to invest earlier in large offshore wind projects for the steady income from long-term power purchase agreements. For Iberdrola, the 40% stake sale in what’s expected to be world’s largest offshore wind farm will help it meet its target of delivering 10 gigawatts of offshore wind over the next few years. The annual income from the East Anglia One site will be about 400 million pounds, according to Tom Harries, an offshore wind analyst at BloombergNEF in London. While sales of offshore wind farms may be down from last year, a recovery is likely. “Projects are massive so it only takes a handful for it to rebound,” Harries said. The deal comes as wind generated more than half of the U.K.’s energy needs last week. Wind’s role in Britain’s power mix has also come into focus after the country was hit Friday by the largest power outage in years after failures at a gas-fired power station and an offshore wind farm. The 714-megawatt project off the U.K.’s east coast, which is expected to start operations in 2020, will generate enough power for 600,000 homes, according to Iberdrola. The facility is valued at 4.1 billion pounds based on the transaction with Macquarie, the Spanish company said in a statement. The operation has a capital cost of 2.5 billion pounds. It’s also the second major wind farm deal for Macquarie in less than a week. Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets announced a deal Aug. 7 to buy renewables developer Ocean Breeze Energy, which owns a 400-megawatt wind power project in the North Sea, from Italy’s Unicredit SpA. The sale of East Anglia One is part of Iberdrola’s 3.5 billion-euro ($3.9 billion) asset rotation program first announced in 2018, which also includes the disposal of its liquefied natural gas business in June. The deal will not have an impact on the group’s results for fiscal 2019, Iberdrola said in a statement Monday. Iberdrola rose as much as 0.9% to 8.90 euros in Madrid, the highest since July 3. The stock is up 26% this year. The Spanish utility was advised on the deal by Santander CIB.

https://gcaptain.com/uk-offshore-wind-deal-highlights-appeal-of-renewables/

Hi to all family & friends of my fellow glimpsers & I! My name is Dorian, and I had the privilege of being one of today’s LDD’s on Immigration Day. Today’s journey began at 5:00 am, as we woke up to loud motorcycles and chatter coming from the busy city of San Juan de la Maguana. My co-leader Jocelyn & I did another wake up call at 5:30 am to ensure everyone was ready for the long day that we had ahead of us. Breakfast for the day was toast, scrambled eggs, and hot chocolate. We loaded straight onto the bus for a 2-hour ride, and let Liz’s music play as some of us went to sleep. We stopped a few times at the army checkpoints, and Jelly and Melina informed us about the purpose of checkpoints: checking for the presence of Haitians. We picked up our tour guide Abraham for the day for our time at the border. Shortly after, we arrived at Elías Piña, and immediately started surveying our surroundings. Since we began our journey here in the DR, our program coordinators Jelly & Melina always remind us to think about who’s story isn’t being told. During tonight’s nightly meeting, Melina reminded us that someone is always profiting from an untold story. It’s not everyday that someone can visit a border between two countries that have a tense relationship. We got over to the border and walked over to the market area where Abraham gave us a quick history lesson between the DR & Haiti. He stated that we were standing in front of the Binational Market where Haitians can only come on Mondays & Fridays from 8am-6pm. One interesting fact he mentioned was that, in one day there is more revenue exchanged and generated by trading goods than all of Central America in one year. We walked closer to the actual checkpoint where we were introduced to a Border Patrol Commander. He took us closer to the border where he gave us an opportunity to ask him questions. As he answered our questions, we all concluded that his answers were very contradictory to what we learned in various history classes back home. For example, he stated that it’s easy for anyone to cross the border, there are no quality checks on goods, and most importantly, there is no discrimination against Haitians at all in the Dominican Republic. We were all suspicious about his statements, and even more suspicious when Abraham supported his statements since he is Dominican. They both stated that Haitian youth is well assimilated in Dominican schools as they learn Creole, Spanish, and English. After talking to the commander, we took plenty of pictures with him. They even stopped traffic for us so that we could take a picture on the Haitian side of the border. As we reflected in our nightly meeting, we realized that the commanders may utilize the pictures for their own purposes. After we excited the checkpoint, Jelly stopped a man who had just crossed the border from Haiti to answer a few of our questions. He introduced himself as Daniel, a Haitian man who now lives in Santo Domingo. We asked him a few questions, but it was evident that he was suspicious of us because of the military personnel in close proximity. He said that he has to pay a $20 USD fee each time that he crosses. According to him, Haitians are treated fairly here in the Dominican Republic. He stated that he hasn’t been discriminated against, and Haitians are the ones who look for the problem once they are here. As soon as he said that, we were all in complete shock. Lastly, he mentioned how sometimes Haitians bribe the border patrol to bring them back into the DR once they are deported. We allowed him to go on about his day. It was a bit challenging at first to find someone else to talk to us, but we eventually found someone who was willing. His name was Buji, and he also stated that Haitians are treated the same as Dominicans. As we walked back onto the bus, we noticed a guard who stopped a group of Haitian women and purchased clothes from them as they were on their way to the market. As we reflected in the nightly meeting, we all expressed how frustrated we were about the two Haitian men who weren’t able to be as transparent with us because of Border Patrol, and possibly because of our nationalities. Also, we didn’t get a chance to talk to any women for a different perspective. We loaded back onto the bus and traveled to the market. We split up into two groups and began walking through. I was so amazed how there was no competition between the merchants, and how each culture intertwined perfectly with one another. It was also interesting how we saw the underground garlic industry in full effect. Luckily, we didn’t get ran over by a motorcycle as we walked out of the market. We loaded back onto the bus to head back to San Juan for lunch and English tutoring. Everyone was so excited to eat lunch at our provider Charlie and his family’s restaurant. Despite the earlier chaos, Charlie pulled off our request for the special holiday today. Today, August 5th was Noah’s 16th birthday! We walked into the restaurant to a big banner and balloons hanging for her sweet sixteen. After we ate rice and beans, baked chicken, eggplant, and salad, we sung Happy Birthday to Noah as the staff brought out a cake for her. After coming back from the border, we began to get ready for English tutoring, where we get to teach a wide range of students another language. The class that I have the privilege of teaching is a class of little kids from ages 8-12. Since my students are very young, the class can be chaotic: they’re loud and struggle to pay attention. Luckily, it wasn’t our first class, so we were still able to teach them some new words and play games. After tutoring, we came back to the accommodations. There we were able to have a little time to do whatever we wanted before dinner. Our food providers– Charlie and his family– arrived with the food a little bit of delay but it was good and worth the wait as always! When dinner was over, we all gathered in the common area to have our usual nightly meeting. There, as previously stated before, we debriefed on the long and interesting day we had. Although my part was short, I hope you enjoyed this blog. Thank you for taking your time to read about our day and I hope you continue to tune in to read about the few days we have left in San Juan De La Maguana. Wow – what an incredible and eye opening experience for all! Thank you for the update. proud of you! Your blog post was so descriptive — it almost felt as if I was there! Well done! Happy Birthday Noah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Can’t wait to party with you for your sweet 16 when you return. Happy Birthday Noah! I hope you enjoyed your celebration! Dorian & Jocelyn, thank you for today’s blog. Seems like an intense experience traveling to the border, interacting with both Border Control & those crossing the border combined with what seems like a busy marketplace. Dorian, I am definitely counting down looking forward to your return! wow, what an amazing experience!! Hey Dorian, I can’t wait to hear from you. I hope that today’s experience inspires you and your fellow glimpsers to be the change you want to see in the world. Happy sweet 16 Noah! Thank you, Dorian and Jocelyn, for being our “foreign correspondents”, for the day. I’m sure that experience was quite impactful for all of you; it was very sobering for me to read about the state of affairs there. On a more joyous note- Happy Birthday to my baby girl, Noah! I am so grateful and proud to have you as my daughter! Keep persevering to do your personal best, and aspire to do even more!! Love you!! Dorian what a great experience for you.i miss you!!

https://globalglimpse.org/visiting-2-countries-in-one-day/66704

Greece’s largest island has quickly developed a reputation as a party island with crowds of revellers in the busier resorts looking for their next shot of ouzo, but you shouldn’t let that put you off visiting this sun-soaked island. Crete is filled with fine beaches, ancient treasures, dreamy villages, wonderful cuisine and hospitable locals who hold their traditional culture in high regard. There are still many quieter, less commercialized resorts, villages and secluded coves to explore and parts which are barely touched by tourism. Here is our choice for 10 of the most places to visit in Crete perfect for travel snobs. Triopetra is surrounded by Siderotas mountain, olives groves and of course, seafront, the area is named after the three majestic rocks that rise out of the ocean at the edge of the peninsula. The smaller of the two beaches, Small Triopetra (or Koumado), is more an enclosed, sandy and rocky bay. Here, you can available of the offerings from the nearby tavernas and umbrellas are available. Bored of sunning yourself? You can always visit the amazing chapel of Prophet Elias. Meanwhile, the main beach of the area, West Triopetra or Chatzi, is characterised by beautiful coarse sand which casts unusual colours across the beach and water. It is famous for its never-ending stretch of sand, fabulous sunsets and peaceful atmosphere. Definitely one of the most unspoiled places to visit in Crete, the pretty peaceful village of Loutro evokes some strong emotion when you land here – it is truly like stepping back in time! A small village consisting simply of a few hotels and tavernas, shops and restaurants and a church, but what Loutro lacks in modernity it makes up for in nostalgia and panorama. It is flanked by steep, mountainsides, home to a sizable herd of goats (judging from the clinking of bells) as well as a tepid sea, sheltered by a lush bay. No roads lead here and there are no nightclubs or nightlife. Visitors here can simply detox from life and tackle long-awaited books, take walks along the stunning scenery or simply eat, drink and be merry. The wonderful White Mountains are located in Western Crete, and their gleaming shine is the dominant feature of the region. Visitors to the area might be shocked to find that it retains its snowcaps until the middle of spring and offers innumerable hiking opportunities from the Samaria Gorge to the Askifou plateau to Mount Ida herself. Mount Ida is the tallest peak of the range, named after the daughter of the King of Crete according to Greek mythology. What delights visitors the most about the White Mountains is the central and southern part of the Lefka Ori which, due to the high altitude, resembles a lunar landscape and offers visiting hikers a surreal experience of walking on the moon which, is wholly unique to the northern hemisphere. The beautiful unspoilt Samariá Gorge is a major tourist attraction of the island and was created by a small river running through the White Mountains. The most famous part of the gorge is the stretch known as the Gates where the sides of the gorge close in to a width of only four meters and soar up to a height of almost 300 meters. The gorge became a national park in 1962, particularly as a refuge for the rare kri-kri (Cretan goat), which is elusive on the rest of island. It is an absolute must for visitors to Crete is to complete the walk down the gorge from the Omalos plateau to Agia Roumeli on the Libyan Sea, at which point tourists sail to the nearby village of Sougia or Hora Sfakion, where they could spend a night or they could catch a coach back to Chania. Although be warned, the walk takes five to seven hours and can be strenuous, especially at the peak of summer. Despite the small size of Falassarna, it’s a popular spot and has a reputation for being one of the best beaches in Crete. The beaches in this area are all sandy, clean and stretch as far as the eye can see! But there is also an ecological interest – Falassarna is part of the Natura 2000 network due to the extensive array of flora and fauna the area has to offer. It’s vulnerable to high winds – but on the other hand, this makes it ideal for surfers. Falassarna Beach has won prizes for being the most beautiful beach in Crete and is always one of the top ten beaches in Europe, with its wonderful, fine white sand and warm, crystal-clear water. Glyka Nera is one of the most beautiful beaches in Crete and definitely one of the most unspoiled places to visit on the island, with deep blue water and fine white sands. There are two routes to the beach – by boat or for the most extreme, there is a path from Chora Sfakion and another from Loutro. These hikes can be strenuous and at some moments, hair raising but they are well maintained. On the beach itself, there is a tavern which sells local nibbles and drinks as well as sunbeds. Due to the presence of cold spring water streams, the seawater can be cold, even in summer but the beach itself is stunning. If you chose to arrive by boat, the route and views are particularly beautiful. The walk between these two areas is truly stunning, the path along the way is marked with cairns to guide your route – thankfully – as it is easy to get distracted by the views! Although elements of the walk can be tiring, it’s most definitely worth it. Although the panorama can make you trigger happy with the camera, don’t ignore the beauty right beside you on the path – a Venetian fort, ancient churches, ancient cisterns and the breath-taking remains of the ruined ancient town of Pikilassos, not to mention the beautiful flora and fauna that you encounter along the way, including lots of olive trees – resist the urge to pillage! The walk can take upwards of two hours depending on ability and speed, but also inclination, make sure you take your time to soak up the beautiful views and atmosphere. Perhaps, Domatas unspoiled beauty has been preserved this long because the region has no roads or infrastructures. Access to this haven can be achieved through E4 trail but the climb can be treacherous in places as it climbs to an altitude of 700m, so it’s not for the fainthearted but on arrival, you will no doubt agree that this is one of the finest beaches in all the Greek islands. Most likely, it will only be you, the sound of the lapping water, the bristling sun and the rustle of the pine trees. For those who don’t fancy a steep, heady climb on their holidays, it is possible to hire a fishing boat in Agia Roumeli to take you to Domata. Aside from the peacefulness of the region, it is hard not to be astounded by the artwork the elements left behind- a series of terraces in the rock face which, will undoubtedly leave you awestruck. Margarites is located in the very centre of the island of Crete, it’s an unspoiled villages surrounded by the vibrant green hills of the Rethymnon region and is as well known for its picturesque panorama as it is for its extensive pottery trade. Even the briefest of strolls through the village will showcase many of the wonderful pottery studios. The architecture of the village looks like it just sprang from a WWII novel, winding streets, brightly painted buildings, plenty of brick and crumbling plaster. There is Venetian architrave, Byzantine churches, frescos from the 14th century and oodles of lush green countryside as a backdrop. And oh the food! Courgette balls, broad beans, moussaka and mezedakia. The beauty of Margarites does not need to be explained or even described, the minute it comes into view- it will take your breath away. Located in the south-eastern corner of the island is this tranquil, pristine, white-washed village full of traditional charm. The village itself is loaded with a rich history, including a museum which houses finds of Minoan archaeological importance found nearby and you can hear tales about the towns colourful past and folklore in the many local tavernas. The beach of Myrtos is a hidden treasure which, rarely gets crowded and provides a real opportunity to take a load off and truly relax. For those who love to explore there are ruins all over the area dating from the Neolithic and Roman periods which, with a bit of tenacity can be uncovered and discovered. Essentially, Myrtos has something to offer everyone – from a secluded, sandy seafront to a large dose of historical culture. With all these unique and unforgettable experiences lying across the island of Crete, it is hard not to feel guilty for so easily dismissing it into the realm of partying, disco balls and all-nighters. Clearly, the island has so much more to offer – aside from the famous mythology and legends, there are also sites of architectural, historical and natural importance, that will leave any visitor completely enthralled! Top 10 unspoilt places to visit in Crete was written by regular contributor Emma Clair Kelly. Thanks for this fantastic post! We just booked our first trip to Crete and look forward to visiting some of the sites that you mentioned. I would love to go back to Crete someday. It’s such a beautiful island. Great post! Great post, looks like there’s some fantastic spots to explore on the island! Got some great ideas for my next holiday here! Those beaches looks very inviting! To be honest I really didn’t realise there was so many unspoilt places to visit on the island still, you’ve really opened my eyes! Thanks Emma! It looks even more beautiful than I thought. Simply beautiful. I have been to Sameria gorge and its absolutely breathtaking. I guess I still need to go back to Crete.

https://globalgrasshopper.com/destinations/europe/10-unspoilt-places-visit-crete-travel-snobs/?replytocom=2044256

How Diet Affects Mental Health — What’s the Evidence? Integrated nutritional intervention and care in affective disorder studies and treatment. “We have found that there is increasing evidence of a link between a poor diet and the worsening of mood disorders, including anxiety and depression. However, many common beliefs about the health effects of certain foods are not supported by solid evidence”. “The interface between gut and the brain on the one side and diet and mental health on the other side is one of the most debated issues in biological psychiatry at the moment, and is an exciting development which has gained momentum in the last decade. Many high-quality findings (mainly from animal studies) have been published in top notch journals in recent years, but this contrasts with the comparative shortage of hard evidence on how nutrition and mental health are connected in humans. This leaves room for speculation and flawed science. This comprehensive review is therefore much-needed as it sheds light on hypes and hopes, facts and fiction in the new field of Nutritional Psychiatry. As the potential societal impact of this rapidly developing field is enormous, we must be scientifically sound in making our recommendations. This review is an important and scholarly contribution”.

https://globalhealthnewswire.com/2020/01/05/how-diet-affects-mental-health-whats-the-evidence/

The following will be the keynote speakers at the GSA’s Globalizing Cultures and Identities: Sport, Lifestyle, Heritage conference to be held at Manchester Metropolitan University on 5th-7th July 2012. Professor Richard Giulianotti joined the Sociology Department at Loughborough University in November 2011 from his previous post at Durham University. He is the author of three books, has edited several volumes and published numerous academic journal articles on the way to establishing for himself the reputation of being a leading authority on globalization and sport. Professor Guilianotti is currently taking part in an on-going study for the London Olympics on ‘policing and police-community relations.’ Professor Guilianotti will be guest-editor for an upcoming issue of the British Journal of Sociology. Professor David Inglis, University of Aberdeen, has written extensively on the topics of culture, globalization, social theory and the sociology of art. His authored books include The Globalization of Food, Culture and Everyday Life and Confronting Culture: Sociological Vistas. Professor Inglis’ current work often centres around the issue of irony and reflexivity within sociology. He is on the editorial board of several leading sociology journals and is a founding editor of the journal Cultural Sociology. Professor of Social Anthropology at the University of Manchester, Sharon McDonald brings a unique focus on cultural heritage and the globalization of heritage to the GSA conference. Professor McDonald has authored three books and several publications as well as having taken part in many events, conferences and research projects. In 2009, Professor McDonald published a work on negotiating Nazi architectural heritage in the context of a broader interest in ’difficult heritage’. She is currently working on a project entitled, Memorylands.

https://globalstudiesassoc.wordpress.com/2012/03/29/annual-conference-keynote-speakers/

Welcome Aboard, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt EFCU! We are excited to welcome members of the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Employee FCU to Hanscom FCU. They merged with us last month. With a 58-year history of serving employees at the global learning company, I can’t help hoping someone has a Curious George story to tell. We have a story to tell the 1,000+ new members coming our way, too. Our story is about people helping people and the power of a cooperative organization. It’s about financial products and services designed for the people who use them, not for maximum profit. And it’s about our volunteers, who dedicate their time to provide leadership and ensure we are on the right path. In the coming weeks, we will send a mailing to new members so they know how the transition will proceed. Things like how to find one of the 100,000 surcharge-free ATMs in our network, or how to use their mobile device to deposit a paper check. I hope our new members feel welcome when they call, visit a branch, or go to our web site. We are looking forward to offering tools to help them save more and make their financial life easier. We could do the same for you. Check out the services on our web site and open your own account now.

https://go.hfcu.org/blog/welcome-aboard-houghton-mifflin-harcourt-efcu

This is the last post in the Books of 2019 series! Wow, I’ve hit 20 books since I started keeping count in October this year. Not bad. Most of them are pleasure reads and nothing too taxing, and I’m happy to have found this world of beautiful books again! As a result of this, I’ve been watching less TV than usual. Let’s get straight into December reads. I had a good start, but had a week or so without much reading… Still, I’ve managed to read some good books this month. I really wanted to read a book I could rate 5 star, but sadly, that was not to be. Tragic. Dull ache of a read. The story moves very fast which I liked. Melancholic, very observant & honest, however, there were too many unnecessary descriptions. I skimmed through some of the descriptive paragraphs. Emma is quite an unlikeable character, and I felt in this day and age she’d have been diagnosed as being bipolar or with depression. Again, thinking about it from today’s perspective if she’d had a job of her choosing, something that helped with self actualisation, it might’ve been a different story. I did feel bad for Charles, the husband. But his blindness towards her anguish was also strange. I liked that the author commented with his take on Emma’s behaviour…. sometimes authors don’t do that with unlikeable characters such as Elena’s Ferrante’s Neapolitan novels, although, of course, there’s a difference between the two as Ferrante wrote in first person narrative (Elena), while Flaubert wrote as a third person omniscient narrator. Anyway, overall this was a good book, and I’d recommend it. I can see why it’s a classic, since it’s one of the first ever written honest & somewhat thrilling psychological portraits, but I don’t think it’s a MUST read. Largely entertaining, but needed a better editor. Too many typos. Language could’ve been better. It felt a bit disappointing in some ways because prompts for further examination of some simple truths of life were there but they were not explored fully. This was the most frustrating book I read this month. I actually picked up this book with the confidence (based on the many reviews I’d read) that it will end up being a 5 star read. Sadly, it was utterly disappointing (the second half). I LOVED the first half and can easily rate it a 5. But the second half felt like it was written by somebody else!! The second half is a 1 for me, so it would average out to a 3. It is a bit Austenian in the sense that it is a comment on & satire of the society and position of women during that period. However, there were many themes which were treated with such nonchalance that it was quite shocking for me. Violence against women, emotional neglect, snobbery. The characters were not actually likeable (especially the father) (I liked Cassandra in the first half, not second half where she turns into this highly weepy and deluded teenager), EXCEPT Stephen. If you read it and also feel annoyed by it, feel free to drop a line to discuss it! It’s a hugely popular book though and also considered a “classic” by many, so may be you’ll like the ending! I didn’t, but oh well. Another comforting, relaxing instalment of Aggie! Very pleased with it. Since I’ve been loving on Agatha Raisin this much, I wanted to try out other series by MC Beaton. However, I didn’t quite like this book much. It was just meh. It took me a long time to get into the book, unlike Agatha Raisin which was go go go. It was hard to get to know the main character, as the story isn’t really told from his perspective mainly. There’s a lot of head jumping, so it’s hard to relate. I understand though that it improves vastly from Book 2 onwards, so let’s hope that’s the case! I have the next one with me, and can’t wait to get into it! I read two more instalments of Mma Ramotswe (Ladies No. 1 Detective Agency series) this month, and both were fabulous, as expected. They feel like a warm mug of soup on a cold, grey winters day. Side note, I had first picked up the first book in the series in Law School from the Common Room Library, but felt bored with it and returned it without finishing it. Now, however, I see so much meaning and wisdom in these books. Though many teenagers might read these, these are the kind of books you appreciate more the older you get. Much like the Anne of Green Gables series. There is so much life experience here. TEDIOUS. It’s the post apocalyptic world, yet gypsy theatre performers have 100 candles lit up at the edge of the stage at a time when the author is trying to demonstrate how even basic necessities are scarce?!? Also, why/ how did this virus wipe out all civilisation? If its such a fast virus, it wouldve been contained. Also, North America is not the only place on earth. Surely, with such a deadly outbreak there would’ve been more serious attempts at quarantining the infected people? Also, why are people living in shops in the post apocalyptic world? Clearly buildings have survived, so dwelling houses/ units could still be occupied? Writing is a bit bizarre, flits and flops between characters and timeframes, and also rambles on. Characters randomly introduced and left behind. I reached page 100 and was very underwhelmed, and frankly quite annoyed. ABANDONED after 100 pages. Not my brand of humour, felt very contrived. Abandoned after 50 odd pages. I read somewhere that if you’re not LOLing within the first few pages then it’s not for you, and decided to take that seriously. Currently reading The Hobbit. It’s nice, but nothing too exciting. Quite a bit of wisdom in there, so that’s good. Let’s see. My TBR pile has grown alarmingly tall/ long in the past few weeks. I have finally managed to stop ordering books every second day, but November and early December saw a surge in book ordering resulting in my TBR pile hitting 30!! And this is just all the books I have RECENTLY ordered (i.e. not counting the 10 odd fiction titles and may be 25 non fiction title from the past few years lying in my shelves). Most are paperbacks, as I really love paperbacks and don’t love reading on the Kindle as much. I hope to not order more books until my TBR pile has whittled to under 5. Ambitious.

https://goodolers.com/

LONDON (Reuters) – English soccer fans are used to seeing heroes emerge in the historic FA Cup, but may not often witness the sport cross over with the world of Superman and Batman as it did on Sunday in Tottenham Hotspur’s third-round clash with Middlesbrough. Supporters at the match at Middlesbrough’s Riverside stadium, along with millions watching across the world, would have seen digital billboards around the ground light up with the words ‘#ReleaseTheSnyderCut’ in designated minutes during play. The slogan is part of a campaign to pressure Warner Bros to release director Zack Snyder’s cut of the movie “Justice League,” which features major characters from the DC comic book universe such as Superman, Batman, The Flash and Wonder Woman. Snyder left the 2017 project in post-production and was replaced by Joss Whedon, who made considerable changes to the film which was released in November that year to mixed reviews. Fans have since pushed for Snyder’s original cut, whose existence the director has confirmed on social media. Actors from the film, such as Gal Gadot (Wonder Woman), Ben Affleck (Batman) and Jason Momoa (Aquaman) have recently supported the campaign on Twitter and Instagram. Warner Bros said last November there were no immediate plans to release an alternative version of the film, which was preceded by “Man of Steel” and “Batman v Superman”, also directed by Snyder. However, campaigners have continued their efforts, and were able to crowdfund the money required to buy four minutes of advertising on the LED boards, with thousands tuning in around the world. “This has been a two year struggle for Justice for Zack Snyder. It comes hand in hand with concern over excessive studio meddling in the artistic process that fails to honor the artistic vision of directors,” the organizers told Reuters in a statement. “We hope that today’s efforts will primarily achieve three things. First, raise curiosity and awareness to a wide range of people, some of which may never have heard of our cause. Second, to energize our core support for the road ahead,” the campaign added. The game did not endear itself to any potential new fans, as Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham, without their man-of-steel striker Harry Kane, labored to a 1-1 draw with the second-tier side. The tie goes to a replay at the Spurs stadium later this month.

https://gossipingcenter.blogspot.com/2020/01/fa-cup-clash-features-justice-league.html

As a racehorse that snorts when the gate's latch is jangled by the jockey's aide as he fumbles with the lock, so the Christmas issue of Gottesdienst prepares itself to bolt onto the racetrack. The mailroom volunteers are like the horse's restless hooves: she can't wait to spring forth, and they can't wait to sort and carry the mailbags to the Post Office this week. The Marcions Are Coming! Not a subscriber yet? It's still very inexpensive ($15/year), so why not take care of that matter today. The publisher of Gottesdienst editors' choice is running a cyber Monday sale. Get Daily Divine Service Book, The New Testament in His Blood, and other titles from Dr. Eckardt or myself for 30% off with the code CYBERMONDAY305 at checkout. Speaking of Poetry . . . before snow, whole weeks before. of the trees lining the streets. gold is gone. the clairvoyance of snow. will begin to emerge. "The White" by Patricia Hampl, from Resort. © Carnegie Mellon University Press, 1983. From The Writer's Almanac for November 12, 2011. It is cold here, all the leaves are down, but the sun is shining and the sky is blue. The last two nights the sky has been clear, the moon full. Ms. Hampl just described my world and noted for me the sad foreboding reality that we are in our last "nice" days of the year: winter is coming. Anyway, great poem. DDSB in NKJV? While I have been constantly updating Daily Divine Service Book to correct the typos that users have found in the first edition, it has always been my hope to eventually offer a fully reworked second edition. As you might imagine, this is a lot of work and I wanted to make sure that a full-blown second edition would really have something unique to offer. If I'm not going to be able to produce a product that is significantly different than the first edition, then I can make better use of my time. Well, today I got an offer from Thomas Nelson publishing to allow me to use the New King James Version translation for the readings. But they are in this to make money and I don't know if the price they are asking is feasible. So, please see the poll at right to help me out with a little market research. And thanks in advance. The other part of President Harrison's address to the open forum in Ft Wayne the other day is actually the more important part, in my opinion. What he says about the need to reform our preaching is spot on: Click here to watch. What do you do all week? The guys at the local bar/coffee shop/restaurant/town meeting place like to rib me since I only work one day a week. I retort that yes, I only work one day a week, but I only get two days off all year long. This business of only working one day a week is, in my experience with myself and my friends in the ministry, where the parish antagonists are likely first to strike against the pastor: he's lazy, what does he do all week, why are we paying him so much for so little work, etc. Thus it is good general advice to young pastors, a pastor in a new a place, or a pastor who can see some conflict on the horizon to keep a daily log of just what he does all week. Lawyers have to do this all the time: they have to show what they are doing every 15 minutes (every 10 minutes if your hourly is high enough) in a "billable hours" journal. It is really handy to be able to plop this down in front of the board of elders, the district president, or the antagonist in the parish - it cuts them off at the pass. And there is an added benefit to keeping this journal for at least a month or so every year: it gives you a chance to review how effectively you are using your time. I've rearranged my schedule more than once based on what I saw in my habits. As every pastor knows, a "normal week" is hard to come by - but by keeping this journal you can devise a "normal week" as a goal to aim at, keeping in mind the sort of contingencies you've got to expect in your parish. FWIW, here's my "normal week." Sunday: Set up at church: 6am; Bible Class 7:30; Divine Services 8, 9:30; Bible Class 10:45. Usually home by 12 or 12:30 and usually have the rest of the day free. Daily Mon-Thurs: Prayer, Scripture reading, and study: about 1.5-2 hours where it fits. Usually morning, but also at noon or in the afternoon. Monday: Morning: in the office - prep services, newsletters, communication with parishioners, parish planning, writing (for this blog, papers for presentations, etc - not sermons), etc. About a third of the year there is a women's Bible study from 9:30-10:30. During the school year, opening chapel at 8:30. Afternoon: visits, errands, more of the morning stuff. I often spend either the morning or the afternoon visiting the sick or putting out fires that I learned about on Sunday. Evening: maybe once a month on average I have a meeting on Monday night. Tuesday: Men's Bible study early. Then opening at school at 8:30 during the school year. The rest of Tuesday looks a lot like Monday. It is often a good day to visit the far away shut ins. Once a month this is Winkel Day and school board meeting in the evenings. Tuesday evening is the night I also set aside for meetings with parishioners, visits of delinquents, writing notes, etc. Wednesday: Every other month during the school year, chapel at 8:30. Lunch with my wife (I often don't eat lunch or eat it at weird times, always on the run and alone as I like to think while I eat. On Wednesday I bring in something special from the bar/restaurant/coffee shop and we have lunch together.) Prep for Wednesday night stuff. Evening: 5 - set up for DS; 5:30-6:15, set aside to hear confession; 6:30 DS; 7:00 - catechesis for government school kids and whatever adults are "in the system." Thursday: Morning coffee at the bar to catch up on all the local "news" (that is, gossip and BS) with all the old men. This is the main place I learn who is angry with me, who is sick, etc. 8:00-10, opening and catechesis at the school. 10:00 - sermon writing. Afternoon: the long list of what hasn't been done yet this week, all the leftovers. Friday: Scheduled day off. Especially during the school year I might be stretched into doing a shut in call this day, but I am pretty good about taking it completely off. Saturday: More than half the time I also have Saturday basically off as long as Thursday went well and there is no sermon hanging over my head. One thing you will notice about my schedule is the paucity of evening meetings. I am just blessed in this regard: my people hate meetings as much as I do. This week is off to a normal start. It's Monday at 9:45 and here I am writing, with my study done for the day. Though not my prayers and Scripture reading! This is a perennial problem with me. I find it very easy to put that off until later in the day even though I am always happier when I do it first. I should repent. I have three people to check up on, but they can all either be dealt with via email or wait until the afternoon. Now it's time to get the Advent services figured out and maybe a shut in call this afternoon. Deer season is also coming up, so if I have extra time today I might get sermons done ahead of time. I should have tonight off to hang out with the family. I honestly don't understand you guys who take Monday off instead of Friday. Do you ever really get it off, free and clear?

https://gottesdienstonline.blogspot.com/2011/11/

Employing practices in design and capital construction, such as using sustainable building materials, recycled materials, and solar and other renewable energy sources to make facilities as 'green' as possible. Employing community-based strategies to encourage land use and transit-oriented development designed that increase public transit ridership. The above is from the American Public Transportation Association. Please check back for updated information on METRO's commitment and partner programs.

https://gpmetro.org/350/Transit-and-Environmental-Sustainability

A nativity is the story behind someone or something’s birth. When it is capitalized as Nativity or the Nativity it speaks of the birth of Jesus Christ. That story, or in other words the nativity of his birth, is retold at Christmas by many Christians. It is also commonly used as the name of the set of figurines depicting Jesus’ birth. In this sense it is not capitalized. Other definitions of nativity includes an astrological prediction made when someone is born, or the place of origin for someone or something. The plural is nativities. Nativity may be pronounced either with a long or short a sound. It should be noted that this term’s pairing with the Christian holiday is profound. The use of nativity will almost always bring up the thought of Christmas or Christ in your readers. If this is not your intention, then another word should be considered.

https://grammarist.com/words/nativity/

Now you might argue that the metallic mask would have looked bad or that this is more realistic, and you might be right, but what was wrong with the hood? I don’t buy the argument that it looked like a KKK hood, and even if it did… so what? Bad guys all look sort of universal, right? We are still talking about liberal Hollywood here aren’t we? And as for the realism argument… well I guess I can agree. I mean, when you’re talking about a super-elite military group made up of a woman who took the name of the heroin in Gone with the Wind, a black guy who always speaks in rhyme, and a ninja who are fighting against a terrorist group run by a used car salesman and a Scotsman in a metal mask who have their own ninja and an eastern European hottie as hench-people, then realism is of the UTMOST importance. We don’t want to look silly here.

https://greyweirdo.wordpress.com/2009/04/22/he-wassss-a-man/

The Gloriosa Piano Trio is one of the finest piano trios based in the U.S. today. This program includes the wonderful Saint-Saens Trio No. 2 with a work by Piazzolla, and two contemporary American works, both from 2016. “Driven by lush violin-and-cello unison melodies” and a timbre that is “fuller than the brain imagines three musicians can sound” (Jon Sobel, BlogCritics), the Gloriosa Piano Trio burst onto the music scene in January 2014 as brightly as the flame lily for which the group is named. The trio’s carefully-crafted thematic programs delivered in exuberant performance have appealed to diverse audiences around the country, with critics hailing the Gloriosa Piano Trio’s debut concerts in Palm Beach and New York City as “…a special, aesthetic experience not to be ignored” (Allen Rosenberg, the Daily News). All experienced chamber musicians with a passion for collaboration, pianist Yoonie Han, violinist Eric Silberger, and cellist Kevin Bate looked to the beauty of nature to inspire them with a name for their group, finding in the Gloriosa lily a fitting symbol to describe their fervent desire to share the music they love. The trio has performed and taught at the New Jersey City University, University of North Florida Jacksonville, Emory University, Georgia Southwestern State University, and the Boulder Chamber Orchestra Music Series.

https://grigorian.com/webstore/view.php?iid=2180440

We make websites multilingual and go global. We make websites multilingual and go global. With GTranslate you will get more international visitors and reach global markets. GTranslate is a leading Google Translate provider since 2008 and powers more than 500.000 websites worldwide. We focus on small and mid-size companies with very tight translation budget. The creator of GTranslate. The founder & CEO of GTranslate Inc. A young physicist holding Masters degree from YSU. He started his IT carrier in 2006 with an associate programmer position at Netsys JV LLC. In 2009 has been selected as a Google Summer of Code student and worked with Google Inc where he created Working Copy extension for Joomla. From 2010 he has a consulting contract with The World Bank where he is developing Complaints Logging System for project management and anti-corruption purposes. He likes football and is a big fan of Manchester United. He is passionate about cars. Knows Armenian, Russian and English. Explores German. Rafael is a business consulting professional with strong background in engineering. He holds Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from American University of Armenia (an affiliate of the University of California) and PhD degree in engineering from Yerevan State University. In 2013 Rafael has been recognized as the best PhD student of Armenia in IT sphere and received the first prize at the annual Presidential Awards in IT Sphere. Before joining GTranslate Rafael has worked as a business consultant at Grant Thornton Consulting (a member firm of Grant Thornton International) - the leading business consulting firm in the CIS region. Like Edvard, Rafael is also a big fan of football. Knows Armenian, Russian and English. Studied at Yerevan State University. His career started in 2015, as a Junior Developer in Incredo, an Armenia based marketing company. Soon after, he was promoted and operated as the Head of newly created Development and Design department, leading a team of 11 developers and designers. In 2017 he continued his career in Xcelpros, a Technology company with several backoffices across the world, and Headquartes in Chicago. Sergey has a dreamers personality, likes observing, creating and imagining new worlds, as far from the one we live in as possible. Fond of reading, watching movies, and playing videogames, preferring Fantasy genre in all of these. His interests also include dancing, traveling and intelectual riddles. Knows Armenian, Russian, English and Italian. Studied at Institute of Foreign Languages after V. Brusov. Her IT career started in 1998 as a Computer skills trainer and in 2001 she accepted the job offer at the American University of Armenia as an Instructor/Computer Lab Supervisor. In 2008 she was promoted to the position of the System Engineer/Webmaster in the same institution. She has been working for the Information and Communication Technologies Services Department for almost 10 years now. Ripa has Microsoft Certified Professional status since 2003. She has completed many web projects with different local and international organizations. She is a professional driver and has sports driving license. She participates in drag racing and slalom/drift competitions in her country. Addicted to her Toyota Altezza and Vincent Van Gogh. Borya is a student at American University of Armenia BS in Computational Sciences. He started his IT career as a freelancer at web development several years ago and completed many web projects with local and international organizations. Borya likes music, playing computer games, discovering new horizons. He is a quick learner, responsible and motivated, also an easy going person. Knows Armenian, Russian, English and French. Ella studied at American University of Armenia (Business Administration). After working in Marketing and Sales sphere for several years she ended up in IT sphere. Continuing career digging deeper into development is her goal for now. The main passion is dance, especially social dances. Those are danced in couples and can be led and followed, thus giving people ability to dance with a stranger. Traveling the world is one of her dreams. She also loves nature, animals, rock music and adventures. She strongly believes that if you dream big, dreams do come true. Knows English, Armenian, Russian, explores Italian. Studied at National University of Architecture and Construction of Armenia. She was working at 360stories as a VR video editor. Participated in web development projects at Basic IT Center. Suzan is a professional horseback rider. She's fond of drawing, reading and playing piano. Also she started taking boxing lessons few years ago. Loves animals and exploring everything about them. Trains and works with horses, dogs and lions. Being at rock concerts is one of her passions. Knows Armenian, Russian, English, explores Spanish. Tigran is a full stack web developer with strong background in programming. He holds Masters degree in Management of Information Systems from Yerevan State University of Armenia. His career started in 2012, as a Junior Web Developer in Armenian Virtual College (AVC), a system for e-Learning. In 2016 he joined programmers team of IFCMarkets Corp., a Forex broker company. Meanwhile he lectured Web Development in educational centers. In 2018 he has joined GTranslate Team as a technical support developer. Tigran likes sport-activities, watching films, reading books, playing video and intellectual table-games. Preferable genres are fantasy, strategy and history. Likes nature and animals. Lilit is a student at the American University of Armenia, BS in Data Science. She started her career as a developer back in 2018 attending courses of Frontend Development at Techno-Educational Academy in Gyumri and JavaScript course organized by Microsoft Innovations Center. Lilit has strong knowledge in biological studies, especially in genetics. She participated in a lot of Olympiads and competitions and got high results. Lilit is a big fun of rock music and plays on guitar. Her main belief in life is that everything should be in harmony. People have to keep balance in all spheres of life: society, family, work, friendship, and others. Knows Armenian, Russian, English and Latin. Zhanna joined our team in 2018. Although she has a Bachelor's Degree in Mathematics and a Master's Degree in Public Finance Management, she started her career as a Researcher and as a Journalist in one of the first online media outlets of Armenia, in Civilnet TV. It's already 8 years she has her own signature programme at Civlinet TV where she is trying to introduce the real problems her country faces with numbers and data analysis. Apart from her media career in Civilnet, she currently holds a Digital Communication Consultant position in UNICEF Armenia and she works to develop local websites under the management of the organization. She also engaged in other activities within Communication Programme like campaign development, content creation, video filming, storytelling and story writing, digital activations planning, etc. She is obsessed with travelling and she loves Europe, especially Italy and France. She also interested in fashion and she likes to surround her with beautiful things and settings. Maybe that's why she joined our company! And her super-cute 4-year-old daughter Luchia is one of our beloved guests in the office. She speaks Armenian, Russian, English and every year she plans to develop her knowledge of Italian. Susie is a student at the American University of Armenia, studying Data Science. Her main goal is to become a bioinformaticist, as she is very passionate about biology and genetics. She is also very interested in the development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its contribution to the creation of augmented humanity. Susie is very involved in volunteerism and gives great importance to active citizenship. After her exchange year in the United States, she has head-organized and volunteered in many events. Her biggest dream is to get a Nobel Prize in Science for some great discovery that will leave a significant impact on the world, making it even a slightly better place, as she considers making a positive change in the world her mission in life. Loves to make international connections. Dancing is the biggest of her hobbies. As another hobby loves to collect coins from different countries. Of course we are different, but we all are young and dreaming for a great future. We are best friends and we are multilingual!

https://gtranslate.io/about-us

In the 21st century, business and technology are heavily intertwined. In fact, it is rare to do one successfully without the other. Studies show that most consumers are more trustworthy of a business that has a solid online presence and are less trusting of a business that does not have a website or any kind of reviews on any popular consumer review sites. Studies also suggest that consumers will compare similar brands or products and often will make decisions based on who has the best, most modern or most efficient web design. Good web design suggests the business cares about staying on top of trends, following best practices and making their customers feel secure in doing online business with them. In the case of small businesses with potentially small budgets, best practices suggest that funds will be best spent to bolster online presence and make sure there is sufficient network security. Network security is important because with all of the time people spend on the internet, there are more and more opportunities for unsecured networks to experience infiltration and hacking. Hacking is not only a problem for small businesses. This is confirmed because numerous large, multi million dollar corporations have been hacked, even within the last few years. Hacks are so dangerous because they can leak important consumer information such as social security numbers, addresses and credit card numbers so that they are public. When these kinds of items become public, it is easier for identity thieves to access this information and use it for criminal behavior. Anyone who has had their identity stolen or knows someone who has, knows how devastating it can be not only to someone’s financial life, but to their future as well. As more and more of these types of hacking occur, people become more and more careful about the kinds of businesses they work with and purchase from. Businesses without IT security are almost ensuring that they will receive less business because consumers will not be comfortable sharing their information like credit card numbers online over an unsecured site. It is no secret that web design and other online presence-boosting specialists are in high demand for this very reason and because of that, their time is not cheap. This may seem a bit off-putting, especially for a new or small business owner who is likely still very cautious about where and how money is spent. With society as it is, however, investing in best practices for online presence is one of the most surefire ways to boost business and help it grow consistently over time. Though the initial price tag may seem steep, depending on the type of specialist, it is one of the best investments business owners can make because it will be key to their long-term sustainability. Another reason it is so important is that the people who specialize in information technology and web design, like those at The Tech Service, are experts in their field. Information technology is not the kind of job that just anyone can pick up and learn in order help out. Internet issues can become complex quickly and it is absolutely in a business’ best interest to work with someone who is highly trained to solve these types of problems quickly and efficiently. Next PostNext Gel coat repairs are an easy way to repair and protect water slides.

https://harrybrowne2000.org/web-design-is-one-of-the-most-important-factors-of-running-a-successful-business/

Throughout Karen’s time in the Horizon School of Evangelism, the Lord revealed His love, His power and His desires to her in a new way. He spoke of complete surrender. Karen recognized the need to yield her life, taking up her cross to follow the Lord wherever He leads. In losing her life for Jesus’ sake, and the gospel’s, she is finding it! Karen is currently serving at the Christian Academy in Baguio, Philippines as a 3rd grade teacher. Each day, Karen loves, teaches and encourages a group of children whose parents serve as missionaries in the city. In addition to her service with the school, Karen’s call includes discipling women in the Word of God, praying for those suffering and in need and sharing the gospel with all she encounters.

https://hcf.org/missionaries/karen-malsack/

The purpose of the Milton W. Heath, Sr. Memorial Award, sponsored by Heath Consultants Incorporated, is to recognize the outstanding contributor to leak detection, prevention, or repair. The contribution must be made during the past five years preceding the year in which the Award is made. Such contribution might consist of a plan, design, program, or any other action that adds to the safety, economy, or service of the gas industry in the area of leak detection, prevention or repair, but shall not consist solely of the delivery of a paper or report. However, an idea or ideas disclosed in a paper or individual report might be eligible for the Award. a) To be eligible for the Award, any candidate must be a regular employee of a gas company, holding company, or service company member of the American Gas Association. b) One Award will be made each year at the Operating Section’s Operations Conference if there is a candidate whose work, as defined herein, is sufficiently & outstanding and valuable in the judgment of the Award Committee to merit the Award. The Award shall consist of a cash prize of $1,000 provided by the award sponsor, and an inscribed plaque, provided by the AGA The sponsor may, at his discretion, pay for transportation for the recipient to the AGA Meeting at which the award is presented. d) The Award shall be available annually unless terminated by one year’s notice to the Section Managing Committee by the donor, or to the donor by the Section Managing Committee. The conditions governing this Award may be amended by joint action of the donor and the AGA Operating Section’s Managing Committee. The Operating Section of the American Gas Association shall have the right to suggest amendments at any time. e) The AGA Operating Section will make an announcement in early January of each year requesting nominations of individuals who have done outstanding work in leak detection, prevention or repair during the last five years. Nominations should describe the nature of the work done by the nominated individual and the reasons for recommending that he/she be considered for the award. To be eligible for consideration, nominations must be received at AGA by the date shown on the nomination form. f) In the event that more than one individual worked on a single project considered worthy of nomination, they shall nominate one person whom they consider most eligible. If there should be more than one project considered eligible, an individual may be nominated for each project. To be eligible for consideration, nominations must be received at AGA Headquarters by the date shown on the nomination form. g) Other candidates whose accomplishments may come to the attention of the Award Committee shall also be eligible for consideration, provided the candidate meets the above mentioned eligibility requirements. h) The award may be given posthumously, subject to the decision of the Award Committee and the approval of the Section’s Managing Committee. i) The Award Committee shall be made up of the Chair of the Operating Section, Second Vice Chair of the Operating Section, and the Chairs of the Distribution Construction and Maintenance, Safety and Occupational Health and Corrosion Control Committees; and the Sponsor of the Distribution Construction and Maintenance Committee. The chair of the Operating Section shall be the chair of this Award Committee. j) It shall be the duty of this Award Committee to review all nominations received and all candidates coming to their attention, and to select one of the candidates for the Award. If, in the opinion of the Award Committee, none of the candidates has made a sufficiently outstanding contribution to leak detection, prevention or repair to merit the Award, the Award shall not be given in that year. Candidates considered in previous years shall not be precluded from consideration during the current year. k) The decision of the Award Committee shall be final, subject only to authority of the Section Managing Committee to decline to make the Award to a person selected by the Award Committee. l) Applications received after the due date listed on the nomination form will be considered for the following year. Rules taken from the AGA Operating Section Awards Manual. 2015 Winner Steve Redding, Sr.

https://heathus.com/about-heath/the-heath-award/

In most cases, membership in the Plan is voluntary for full-time, part-time, term and casual employees at any time during the first two years of employment. However, if you are a member of the Plan with another Participating Employer or you were a member of the Plan within 31 days prior to new employment with a Participating Employer, you must join the Plan on the first day of the new employment as you are considered to have maintained membership in the Plan. If you are employed with two or more Participating Employers and you become a member of the Plan with one of the employers, either voluntarily or based on HEPP Plan Text requirements, you must contribute to the Plan with all of your employers that participate in the Plan. Note: It is a legislative requirement for employees to participate in the Plan upon completing two years of continuous employment. Once you start contributing to the Plan, whether on your first day of employment, during your first two years of employment, or upon completion of two years of continuous employment, you may not terminate your membership until the earlier of termination of employment, retirement, death or reaching age 65. If you are already receiving a monthly pension from the Plan and become employed with a Participating Employer, you are not eligible to contribute to the Plan and must complete a Return to Work Participation/Waiver Form. If you are already receiving a monthly pension from another pension plan and become employed with a Participating Employer, you have the option to join the Plan at any time during your first two years of employment; however, you must join after two years of continuous employment.

https://hebmanitoba.ca/pension/active_members/benefits-overview/your-pension-career/membership

German patriot, poet, knight, classical scholar, satirist and Renaissance humanist. Hutten was a contemporary of Rabelais and Paracelsus, and was a key figure in the German Reformation. He allied himself with Reuchlin, Erasmus, and particularly Luther, in the battle to free Germany from the yoke of Rome. He published Luther's works and Lorenzo Valla's refutation of the “Donation of Constantine” as well as his own attacks on the corruption of the Church and its political thralls. His efforts to unite the German nobility and free cities against the tyranny of Rome and the corruption of the princes and the clerical benefice-hunters ultimately failed, and he was forced to flee the country to Switzerland. He took refuge in Zurich with Zwingli, the leader of the Reformation movement, where he died at the age of 41, of syphilis.

https://hermetic.com/sabazius/hutten

HACEMOS is recognized by ASPIRE at the 2013 AT&T ERG conference for its work mentoring students. Very few people are as familiar with AT&T’s commitment to diversity as Delia Hernandez, the company’s associate director of learning services. Hernandez has been with AT&T for 26 years and has been involved in some capacity in employee resource groups since 1989. Today, she is also national president of HACEMOS, AT&T’s 6,300-member-strong Hispanic/Latino employee association with 34 chapters nationwide. Workforce inclusion is something AT&T takes seriously. The precedent is set by the company’s senior leaders, who are held accountable for leading diversity initiatives because, as Hernandez says, “It’s more than just the right thing to do.” Not only does diversity within a company help better serve customers, it impacts shareholders. HACEMOS drives business impact. “It’s a no brainer,” Hernandez laughs. Unlike other Hispanic ERGs, HACEMOS is a 501(c)(3) organization, which means all the leaders are elected, not appointed by the company. The group is also open to all employees, both hourly and union. Hernandez says this gives members more ownership over the organization and how it operates—and there’s a lot to lay claim to. The organization also offers mentoring opportunities for high school and college students, and the HACEMOS Scholarship Foundation has given away more than $2 million in scholarship money over the past 10 years, including more than $200,000 in 2013 alone. Carmen Nava reflects on a legacy of female leadership at AT&T. Read full article here. To round out our special issue on Hispanic employee resource groups, we present our lineup of most-valuable Latino ERGs at some of the nations largest companies—including highlights on our “Top 5,” selected by guest editor, Dr. Robert Rodriguez. View the ERG Roster here.

https://hispanicexecutive.com/att-4/

by Charles I. Elton. Every one who is interested in the history of property should welcome the appearance of the new volume of essays by M. Fustel de Coulanges.(1) We all remember what a change in the study of early institutions was caused by the publication of La Cité Antique, in which he collected the traditions of the ancient world on the subject of primogeniture, and showed how it arose in the cult of the household gods, the deified ancestors to whom the father offered the prayers of the family and for whom the mother preserved a perpetual fire. His modesty led him to attribute his great success to the simplicity of the problem, or to the scantiness of the evidence, which made it impossible to draw more than a sketch in bold outline of the conditions of life in the distant past. He has now undertaken a more difficult task. He proposes to trace the growth of the medieval institutions which form the foundation of our modern life, and he has in particular been for some time past engaged in studying the development of that system of feudalism which Europe has found it impossible to endure and hardly possible to eradicate. It is a work of enormous difficulty to trace the results of the rise of the German kingdoms on the ruins of the empire, and of the fusion of the civil law with a multitude of barbarian customs. The difficulty is increased by the fact that all the elements in the problem are both unstable and complicated. The German customs changed from time to time, and seem indeed to have differed according to the proximity of the nations to the boundary of a Roman province. The history of the empire itself reveals the existence of a number of domestic differences, originating in independent traditions and surviving the establishment of a central despotism. The feudal system, after centuries of slow development, exhibited a similar union of discordant elements. It may be said to have originated in an adaptation of the Roman notion of the double ownership of land to the theory of the personal tie between the German chieftain and his companions or military followers, who under the new system received the usufruct of a landed estate instead of the horse and sword and 'the blood-stained and conquering spear.' The rise of a nobility of service was rendered possible by the conditions of Roman agriculture, which assumed the existence on each domain of a home farm cultivated by half-free labourers established under hereditary tenancies. The spread of the doctrine of tenure and the eventual growth of the medieval manor, were insured by the constantly increasing necessity which forced the weaker landowners to accept the protection of the strong, and by the general confusion which destroyed the prerogatives of the crown and permitted the landowner to acquire the jurisdiction of the magistrate. Such was the. existing society. M. de Coulanges has determined to trace the history of feudalism to its beginnings; but he seems for the moment to stand appalled at the difficulties of his task. He describes its final development as a monster, un corps infiniment vaste, a creature of a vision with multiple organs and changing aspect, and a complex life hardly to be explained in language or conceived by ordinary thought. Such a portent must be studied with unwearied industry and patience. The historian must clear the ground of a number of subordinate growths before he can hope to reach the object of his ultimate research. Whoever, for instance, would understand the feudalism of the tenth century, must be able to contrast the position of the German freeman with the mutilated liberties of the Roman farmer; and whoever would trace from the English to the Norman form of lordship must distinguish the privileges of a continental rustic from the denudation of the slaves and the liberty of the customary leaseholder in England. and 'Domesday Books.' It is this portion of the work which will be of most interest to English readers, since it is here that questions are raised as to the nature of that system of dual ownership which has caused all the modern difficulties attending the enfranchisement of copyholds. The other parts of his inquil'y are primarily connected with the history of Germany; but they all have an important bearing upon problems still unsolved in relation to the origin of our own institutions. In one of the most interesting of these essays he discusses the judicial organisation of the Frankish kingdoms, and shows incidentally how the most tedious problems may be made attractive as a specimen of logical exactness in analysis. It is object is to show the scantiness of the evidence from which it has been inferred that the methods of medieval justice were survivals from ancient Germany. His whole work is in the nature of a protest against Montesquieu and his modern followers, who survey the complicated growth of eighteen centuries, and say, Ce beau système a été trouvé dans los bois. A German state, in the age of Tacitus, was divided into several territortes, each of which was under the government of a chieftain or alderman; the country, as a whole, was under the control of a national assembly, which acted with original authority as a high court of justice, and also elected delegates to hold coups throughout the territories and villages. Bach alderman chosen as a judge had with him a hunch'ed companions, taken from the body of ordinary freemen, who are described by Tacitus as ' his council and authority.' This looks like a committee of the national assembly; and there is nothing to show that the plebeian assessors were more. We can easily conceive that the people m/ght refuse to leave it to one person's unassisted judgment to decide on the facts and to declare the traditiondry law, when the lives of offenders and the property of their kindred were at stake. But the German jurists endearour to carry the matter much farther. Dr. Waltz and his school regard these assessors as the local suitors siftring as judges in a regular hundred court. The institution of the hundred in our own country, which is now nearly obsolete, cannot be traced back beyond the laws of Edgar. The centenarius of the Franks appears in the Sallan law as the head of a territorial jurisdiction, and in some of the later records he is treated as a police officer in charge of a district; and this may or may not have coincided with a more ancient division of the kingdom. We cannot help suspecting that the continental writers have been too eager to discover evidence of the existence in the first century of judicial districts representing the area occupied by a hundred households, or composed of a hundred hides of land, or furnishing a hundred warriors to the host. The Bishop of Chester, to turn to an English authority, sees the difficulty of rounding any such system on the statement of the Roman historian. But he dwells on the prevalence of the numeral in every account of the constitution of a German nation, and concludes that it must be ' a certain vestige of primitive organisation.' He attributes special importance to the name of the 'hundred,' which, according to Tacitus, was given to the picked soldiers in the van of each contingent, without much regard to numerical accuracy; and the weight of his authority is given to the opinion that just as the district sent its ' hundred warriors' to the army, so it 'appeared by its hundred judges' in the local courts of the aldermen. This of course implies that the word centeni should not be taken in its numerical sense, but as representing some ' hundred' of tradition or theoretical symmetry, a view which seems to be the more forced and arbitrary when we remember the great size of the territories. M. de Coulanges points out that the German school must allow that Tacitus made a very strange mistake when he presented s territorial organisation under the form of a hundred deputies riding with the alderman on his assize. Here is a whole judicial system based on one supposed mistake in a word. On ne possède aucun autre document que ce mot, sur lequel il taut que Tacite se soit trompé: s'il ne s'est pas trompé, route la théorie croule. We now approach a more difficult problem. We must consider upon the evidence before us whether the Germans of the first century held land in private ownership. Was it all ' folk-land ' or national property, as among the tribes described by Caesar in the 'Commentaries'? Was it the joint stock of a village community; and, if so, did it represent the settlement of a patriarchal family, or the domain of some rustic commonwealth such as those which fancy has seen existing far off and in a golden age of the world? Or again, may it have been divided among great lords and enjoyed after the Roman fashion? Were the tribes of the forest mere bondsmen, and, if so, what sense would there be in saying that 'there is more life among the free Germans than in all the realms of Arsaces'? Never was a debate conducted with such pertinacity as this long controversy, in which these questions are argued and re-argued; and never resulted from such slight premises. so surprising a variety of conclusions. The dispute after all turns mainly on a passage in the 'Germania,' so uncertain in its readings and so obscure in its form that it has been abandoned as hopeless by some of the most learned scholars, and is cited with confidence in support of the most contradictory theories. Tacitus has been speaking generally of the customs of the German nations, as Caesar also had done a hundred and fifty years before. Almost every chapter of the ' Germania' bears traces of a close study of the earlier work of the ' supreme authority,' who is now generally ignored by those who dislike his conclusions. Even where Tacitus differs from Caesar, he does so in words which call attention to the original statement. We may take as an example the description of the Suevi in the fourth book of the 'Commentaries,' where that 'most bellicose race' is shown to us as a semi-nomadic community. Of the men fit to bear arms iu each of its hundred territories a thousand go out each year to war, and the rest remain at home to raise the necessary provisions. Next year the soldiers return to work, and the new regiment marches out 'in turn.' But, though agriculture is thus maintained, they have no private or separate ownership of land, and they may not even stay more than one year in the same place; nor do they live much on grain, but mostly on the produce of their flocks and herds, and they are much engaged in hunting. When Tacitus has occasion to describe the soldiers of the free companies, raised for private expeditions when a state was at peace with its neighbours, he points out the result of the changed conditions by reference to the words of Caesar. You would never get such freebooters as these to plough the land or wait for the turn of the year; when they are not iu the wars they are not ' much engaged in hunting;' and 'the most bellicose' of these warriors will hand over the care of house and home and fields to the women and old men and the feeblest members of the household.(2) Again, is it not dear that in his remarks on the exceptional polygamy of the nobles he intended to make a direct reference to the marriages of Ariovistus, the one contracted in due course at home, the other imposed on the chieftain by motives of public policy? Another example may be found in a passage about the German settlements, the 'buildings and villages' so often mentioned by Caesar. They are usually called sedes by Tacitus, who was anxious to keep up the distinction between the Germans, who had houses of some kind, and the Sarmatians, who lived on horseback and in waggons. Every one knows, he said, that the Germans inhabit no cities, and cannot even bear their dwelling-places to touch each other. They dwell divided and apart, as a spring, a plain, a grove has attracted them; they set up villages, but not with buildings joined and standing together; every man surrounds his house with a space either as a safeguard against the chance of fire or because he is ignorant of building.' This is always quoted to show that the Germans had separate homesteads, which must have included granaries, cowhouses, and stack-yards, and probably a close of land sufficient to furnish hay for the winter, all in private and permanent ownership, aud held 'to them and their heirs for ever.' But it is more likely that Tacitus had chiefly in his mind a saying of Caesar about the Germans of an earlier age, who were obliged to shift their lands lest, among other evils, they should learn to build houses too carefully and thus 'escape the cold and heat.' The Gauls, on the other hand, generally 'escaped the heat by seeking for their abodes the neighbourhood of woods and streams.' Now Tacitus had stated at the beginning of his treatise that the Germans were especially bad at hearing heat, and in the later passage he indicates that their discipline was so far relaxed that for this very reason they had adopted the old Gaulish fashion, and set up their comfortable abodes in a wood or on the margin of a stream. There is one more point to be noticed before we discuss the chapter on which so many theories have been rounded. We are told that many of the cultivators serving under rich men or working on The public lands were members of subjugated tribes, living on in the position of hereditary farmers, and holding their lands on the condition of paying a fixed amount of corn, cattle, or clothing to their lord or to the public authority. 'Possibly,' says the Bishop of Chester, 'the more dignified and richer freemen cultivate all their lands by these means.' Now, of course, if the serf was an hereditary tenant, much more may his master be described as the owner of a private and separate estate. If we only go the first step with the learned writer we shall have to follow him to the end, and admit the existence of the subjugated nations, the private estates of the rich men at a time when even the chieftains had not sufficient corn or cattle of their own, and the growth in Germany of that complicated relation between lord and tenant which is usually attributed to a series of imperial decisions on abstruse points of Roman law. Certainly very little of this is warranted by the plain words of the ' Germania.' The historian has been describing the voluntary servitude of the gamblers who were sold off by the winners to avoid the record of a painful transaction. 'As to the rest of their slaves,' he says, ' they do not use them in the Roman way by assigning to them distinct domestic duties. Every one rules his own dwelling and his own house. As a master he orders a certain amount of corn, or beasts, or clothing, as he should from his tenant, and the slave's obedience is limited to this point. The rest of the domestic affairs are managed by the wife and children.' It is plain that the house and holding belong to the master and not to the man, and that the person who directs his slave to work out of doors is the freeman whose own family looks after the comfort of his home. Let us now suggest a rendering of the main passage in dispute. 'Lands enough for the cultivators are occupied by the whole of them in turns, and these they soon divide among themselves according as they are deemed to be entitled, and the wide plains render the division easy. They change their arable every year, and there is land to spare, for they do not strive with their rich and ample soil by planting orchards, or fencing meadows, or watering gardens; a crop is all that the earth is bidden to produce, and so they let not even their year pass into so many shapes; they understand and have words for winter, and spring and summer, but the name and blessings of autumn are alike unknown.' In other words, according to their system of rotation, the whole body of cultivators is provided with sufficient land: as soon as the land is taken up the cultivators divide it according to their respective allowances, and the extent of ground is so ample that no one need go short of his share.(3) Their method of husbandry is to change the tillage ground every year, and whole plains are available for this course in a country which has no orchards or gardens, and where even meadows are unknown.(4) They grow nothing but early crops of grain or flax, so that even the four seasons are not all required. Winter they know, and the charms of Spring and Summer; the figure of Autumn in his abundance to them is strange. Is this the description of a tenure or of some barbarous system of agriculture, or a mixture of the two? May it not be a mere sequence of independent statements? The whole passage is preceded by a sentence about the employment of capital, and is followed by a paragraph about funerals. One part at least is a complaint against slovenly farming. A great part of the land was always wasted. The Germans, like their ancestors in Caesar's time, 'cared nothing for agriculture.' They were fond of the wild crabapples, but there was not an orchard among them, nor an inclosed garden for growing pot-herbs and fruit; their wealth was in flocks and herds, yet no one had seen among them a hay-field or a water-meadow. They were like squatters making an intake on the waste. They pared and burned the grass or heather to make a temporary field for the crop of flax, or of grain for their porridge and beer; but hunting was the real business of all except a few idle champions or armed retainers, and their chief sustenance after all depended on what they found in the woods. Nor could it well be otherwise among people who had not learned to manure the land; or perhaps, as they had very few sheep, they found the task too difficult. At any rate the fact remained that they changed the tillage fields every year, not merely because they selected portions for summer and winter crops and left some in fallow for an ' idle shift,' but because they also tried when possible to break up stretches of land which were not tilled before. Is not this very much what Caesar said of the great nation of the Sueyes, who had no 'private or separate lands,' and might not make their abode for more than a year in one place? Perhaps we can even find the true explanation of the more difficult passage in Caesar's sketch of the tribes. We have to account for several distinct operations all described in one highly compressed and almost illogical sentence. First, there is the selection of a portion of the national territory according to the number of available cultivators. Then, there is the fact that the selected portions of territory are occupied by the whole body of cultivators, not all at once, but ' by turns.' Next, we are told that 'they at once divide these lands among themselves;' and this must refer to the workers who are at that moment in occupation, and cannot include any out of the whole body who are merely waiting their turn. There is plenty of room for every one to have his proper share. How then are the shares determined? Certainly not according to their rank or wealth, if Tacitus is correct in using the word dignatio, which has an derive sense and implies a decision of one man with regard to another. When a boy was emancipated from domestic control, we are told, in the same way, that his high birth or the merits of his ancestors might we him principis dignationem, a high place in the consideration of the chieftain. In Caesar's time it was the chieftain of the territory who chose tenants for the national property at the annual gathering of the kindreds and families. He gave what he thought necessary to each association, but took care that at the next meeting they should be removed to another district. War was the normal condition of the Germans in Caesar's time, or at any rate of all the nations near the Rhine; and, in one ease at least, it was the custom to employ the grown men at home and abroad in alternate years. In such a case the lands selected for cultivation would be occupied by the whole body by turns in a two years' rotation. If, on the other hand, the tribe were at peace, still the aggregations of kinsmen might be said to occupy all Together, but in turn, considering that each set would be shifted, if Caesar's system continued, every year and sent to break up new fields. It is probable, therefore, that Tacitus was describing in his ornate phraseology what had already been stated in simple language by Caesar. If this is so, the consequence will be somewhat important, since there will remain no direct evidence that landed property existed among the peoples described in the 'Germania' before their establishment within the limits of the empire. They were so far settled that they occupied well-defined districts, and inhabited houses and villages; but they can hardly be said to have held private estates in shifting allotments of uncertain amount; and they resembled the nomads in the ease with which they could change their quarters as often as the occasion required. We may conjecture that property in ]and began for them when the chieftains and bodies of kinsmen received allotments of conquered soil; for they must soon have recognised the inconvenience of redistributing old areas of cultivation. Even this comparative stability of estate must very soon have led to an improvement in agriculture, especially in places where the arable fields had long been separated from the pastures. The joint ownership of the new village community might be maintained for a considerable time by a system of constant redivision; but there must always have been a natural tendency to allow the co-partners to acquire a permanent estate in the lands which they had enriched by their personal labour. Applying these remarks to our own country, we shall find reason to believe that the English settlers distributed a great part of each conquered territory into townships, each held by a body of kinsmen who at first were the joint owners of all the arable land as well as of the pastures and wastes. There is but little documentary evidence for this conclusion. But as regards the original relationship of the settlers we are entitled to draw an inference from Bede's use of the same word to indicate a kindred and a district, and from the patronymic form of many of our commonest place-names. There are also traces of a custom giving certain interests to the neighhours when property in a village became vacant. The edict of Chilperic, on which M. de Leveleye laid stress, as showing that the vicini were at one time preferred to the children by the Frankish law, indicates at least that they were regarded as having some contingent claim or title to the land. Professor Nasse mentions a custom of certain German villages, only lately abolished, by which the neighbours had a preference over strangers in the purchase of land. There is a well-known case in 'Brownlow's Reports' where Chief Justice Coke described similar customs at Ham in Middlesex and at Gloucester: 'If any copyholder will sell, the next clievenor (which is he that dwelleth next unto him) shall have the refusal, giving so much as another will, and he that inhabits the east part first, and the south and west, and last the north, shall be preferred.' As regards the partition of arable land, it is said that the inclosure commissioners found instances of tillage divided by lot, like the dole meadows to which we are more accustomed. The arable in the common fields of a manor near London was formerly described as terra loftsbilis; and there are traces in several parts of the country of the tenancies called 'malmanni and 'molemen,' and of fields called 'molland,' which must have some connexion with the Dutch malen or partible arable lands, distributed until lately among the maalmannen by lot. occupied by the community as a body, and allotments, changed annually, are assigned to the several freemen according to their estimation or social importance.' Some will agree with Mr. Seebohm that Tacitus was referring to the migrations of the tribe: others will follow Mr. Denman Ross in supposing that the description relates to the distribution of servile holdings on a private estate. M. de Coulanges himself is very much attracted by the last-mentioned theory. He hesitated a long while before abandoning the idea that the historian might have been merely describing the methods of common labour imposed by the rich on their dependants. The explanation is tempting in its simplicity; but we must remember that a very obscure statement is easily adapted to any one out of a number of hypotheses. If we once assume a particular historical fact, as that the houses could not be moved, that the tribes were in a state of migration, that land was the subject of inheritance, or the like, all difficulities will disappear, except the initial task of reconciling the words of Caesar and Tacitus. M. de Coulanges takes up no very decided position. He is against the opinion that the land was owned by the state or by any smaller community, and in favour of the view that estates so far belonged to the family that the inheritance could not be alienated by its limited owner. But he takes the disputed passage as referring only to the current system of agriculture, and throws some light on the problem by pointing out that all the words of Tacitus may be taken in a highly technical sense. In his opinion it is as if a practical farmer complained that with an ample extent of ground the soil was taken up in small parcels by too scanty a body of cultivators; that they joined in preparing the soil for a crop, and divided it pro rata according to the size of their private estates; and that, after all, they never got the full advantage of the arable land, to which their efforts were confined; whereas, if every man had cultivated iris own estate in a proper way, there would have been no need of falling into this shiftless plan. It will, however, be observed that this explanation implies the existence of separate properties, thrown for convenience into a common stock, and then only partially cultivated. It is difficult to see how private ownership can ever have preceded the system of common possession. The evidence points rather to a gradual development of the notion of separate property in the house and herd, in rights of pasture, in the right to a lot in the field or a share of the crop, and in the right to retain the parcels which have been improved by individual industry. Mr. Denman Ross, who collected a very useful body of evidence in his 'Early History of Landholding among the Germans,' has lately propounded a new solution of the difficulty. His theory, to use his own words, was that the holding of land among the early Germans was vested in individuals and not in communities; that it was a holding in common, but not a 'communistic holding' and that there was individual ownership of land long before there was any division into severalties or separate estates. But how, it may be asked, was the ownership vested in individuals before any actual division had taken place? If the land was possessed in common, how is there room for the conception that the property was separate? Mr. Ross answers these questions in an essay on the 'Capitalisation of Land' which is printed among the 'Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences for 1886.' In his view the possession of a certain number of slaves or cattle carried with it the right to a corresponding share of the lands belonging to a community of kinsmen, the amount always depending on the quantity of stock or capital which was ready for application to the soft. This theory seems upon the whole to be less complicated than that which M. de Coulanges has adopted. The general opinion will probably be that neither of these hypotheses affords an adequate explanation of the facts. Petarena arva, divites et insalas. But surely these fancies cannot be accepted as having any real foundation in history. We know too many stories of those long and bloody wars in which the Welsh were smitten 'with fire and the edge of the sword,' when Cerdic passed through the land ' in his dreadful might,' and his mightier son took unnumbered spoils, 'and wrathful returned to his own.' Kemble himself could never have kept his theory alive if he had not rejected the words of the English chronicle, and accepted an absurd delusion about the population of the Saxon Shore. There were commonwealths and kingdoms enough through all that time when, in the words of the old chronicler, 'many and frequent were the expeditions from Germany, and many were the lords who strove against each other in the regions of East Anglia and Mercia.' Many a group of soldiers may have received allotments of conquered lands on which they might found their villages and exercise their co-operative industry. But we cannot find any trace among them that the state or republic was organised on an agricultural system. The very differences which we note between the customs of village and village are evidence against the existence in England of the 'mark' as an independent republic. Nor will the supporters of the ' mark system' in its widest sense fare much more successfully in Germany. If Caesar and Tacitus had not described the institutions of the ancient tribes, it might have been possible for us to believe that the genius of the people was agricultural, and that the country was laid out in a number of independent settlements inhabited and worked by a thriving and industrious population of farmers. We have seen that the facts point the other way. But- in the course of the long discussion we have all become as familiar with the ' markman' as we became, under Pictet's guidance, with the members of the primitive Aryan household. We know all the rights and duties of the 'athel-bonde,' dwelling in the 'athel-by,' with tort and croft and a place in the moot, and a parcel of corn ]and to serve as the 'attestation, type, and embodiment' of his civic and political rights. But since the doubts about his existence have been more strongly developed, the 'atheling' has been banished from the region of authentic history and relegated to a time when the kindred formed its original settlement ' in one of the great plains or forests of the ancient world.' The Bishop of Chester has dealt tenderly with the matter, and somewhat after the manner of Euhemerus. The 'Constitutional History' shows us archaic communities, very like the tribes of the 'Germania,' and yet considerably more civilised. We see them legislating in the council, and allotting the fields and meadows among the 'mark families,' or arranging for the equal use of the public pasture; new members are admitted in solemn form to a share in the public property; new farms are carved out for those who love to dwell by the spring, the grove, or the plain. We are told that the system was necessarily 'short-lived in its integrity,' though it has left and abiding traces on the succeeding forms of society. We feel that such a community might have existed at some time, although its history seems to have been pat together from very slight materials; but it has been removed into such a shadowy distance that we must despair of finding it in action on this aide of the Oxus or Jaxartes. territory without any implication as to the nature of the ownership, being equally applicable to an allodial estate and to the property of a village community. After a time the term seems to be specially applied to commons and waste lands, the estate being conveyed 'with all marks' or with a particular reference to the ' wood mark' belonging to the domain. In the twelfth century the word is almost confined to the woods in which the people of the neighbourhood have rights of common. The term, which originally described the belt of forest round a settlement, without reference to its use for grazing purposes, has now come to mean a place of common pasture, without reference to the question of boundary. M. de Coulanges complains that too much stress has been laid on this last development, as if the use of an ancient word for a special institution was evidence of the antiquity of the institution itself. Our English instances throw very little light on the matter. The disputed term occurs among the local names collected by Kemble; but the documents are so far ambiguous, that the word must be treated as applicable either to a real village community or to a township of the later kind. The 'marks' of the early settlers may have been the lands set out in allotments to groups of kinsmen; but, even if this be admitted, the wm'd has been used in sd many senses that it might be desirable to find a mere colourless term in order to avoid mistakes. It used to be said that the chief problem of medieval history was to show how the manor grew out of the mark. But it is plain that the question can no longer be stated in this simple form. We have nothing to show that the lord represents the successful beadman of the village or the chief of a household which has usurped its neighbours' privileges. Nor can it be properly said that the manor is a form of the township, though the two institutions were closely connected by such facts as that private estates were often organised on the model of the free villages, and that public lands already laid out in townships were constantly granted to churches or noblemen in private ownership. When the Norman chronicler wrote of 'those villas, which we call manors, à manuendo,' he seems to have been making a mere mistake in etymology. He meant to say that a manoir was so called in Normandy because it was a gentleman's residence; it would have been more correct to state that the common word for an estate was borrowed from the mansus, the territorial unit, the name of which was equally applicable to the lord's home farm and the rustic holding of the serf. The manor is undoubtedly very like that form of estate which Abbot Irmino depicted in his celebrated register, and which we may briefly describe as a district with special customs, treated as a separate fiscal division, and divided into the lord's 'manse' or demesne and the 'manses' of the hereditary tenants of various deuces. Mr. Denman Ross, in his work on the German system of landholding, and Mr. Seebohm, in his 'English Village Community,' have collected a vast quantity of evidence showing that this was the usual form under which estates were constituted in England before and after the Norman conquest and in all parts of France and Germany. The 'book land' of the English thane was divided into two parts: the demesne or home farm was cultivated by the farmers and labourers, and they were allowed in return to occupy portions of the 'out-land.' Among the Normans of the Duchy we find the same state of things prevailing. Throughout M. Delisle's gear work upon their provincial agriculture we see that every estate is assumed to be divided into a demesne kept in hand and a portion distributed in vilainages and bordages among the labouring tenantry. The estate of a Frankish noble was distinguished on the same principle into the 'salic land' round the hail, and the 'manses' reserved for the coloni and other dependent cultivators. If we go back to the days of Gregory the Great we shall see that the masse of the church estate was laid out in exactly the same way; and even in the earliest times of the empire we find that the villa of the great proprietor was managed on. a similar system. M. Guérard, in his disquisitions on the registers of the abbey of St. Germain, gave us an account of the colanus of the ninth century, in which we discern the true position of the hereditary cultivator of the demesne at the moment when his disabilities were being removed, and when he began to rise into the class which we may now call by the general name of roturier. M. de Coulanges has devoted his great power of research to examining the condition of the colonus at the time when he began to fall away from the status of a farmer holding under contract. He has traced the degradation of the class from the days when the tenants, unable to pay their rents, submitted to an informal obligation of paying in kind or in dues of labour, to the time when this sort of tenancy was accepted by the squatters on public lands or was forced upon prisoners of war. lie has shown, moreover, how the pedantry of successive emperors insisted on treating the coloni as slaves of the soft and fixtures of the farm, until they were only distinguished from the slaves by slight privileges with regard to marriage, and a somewhat greater chance of escaping the rack and the scourge. In course of time the serfs and the coloni attained to the same fixity of tenure, chiefly through the operation of the revenue laws, which made it convenient that the farm of the occupying taxpayer should always be entered in the same column of the collector's book. After the imperial system of taxation had disappeared, the old method of registration was maintained in the polyptyques or surveys of the great monastic houses and the managers of the royal domains; and we may trace in their fiscal arrangements the beginnings of the manorial district, of the local customs of tenure, and of the court rolls which became so important in a later age. Even in England there may have been some direct imitation of this system as soon as it became usual to fall in with the continental fashions. It appears, at any rate, from the documents in the 'Codex Diplomaticus' that the 'folk-lands' of the national property were arranged in districts occupied by tenants owing rent to the king in the form of produce and labour; and that these men were called by the same names and were in many respects in much the same condition as the tenant of a colonica or a mansus servilis in a continental estate. It is not surprising, therefore, that the question should often be asked whether either the French or the English manor differed essentially from an estate managed as in Pliny's time or in the age of the Antonines. The suggestion or implication is, of course, that the mediaeval tenures in both countries were survivals or modifications of the Roman serfdom. In one respect, at any rate, these institutions differed in each country from anything which had been known under the empire. When society fell to pieces in France under the third dynasty, and in England after the feeble reign of Ethelbert, the greater landowners began to acquire jurisdiction in legal matters over their own tenants and such of the neighbouring freeholders as were anxious for personal protection; and this kind of territorial magistracy was in familiar use on both sides of the Channel some time before the Norman conquest. But the civil law knew nothing of any such legal entity as the French lordship or the English soke, or of any such relations as existed between the seigneur and the vavassor, or the lord and his tenant in socage. This is not the occasion for discussing the whole history of the English manor, for distinguishing between the serf and other customary tenants at will, for showing how tenant-right appeared before the Conquest and was gradually extended to estates for life and for terms of years, and even to the estates which were originally intended to be terminable at pleasure. We have shown that there is reason for thinking that the resemblance of the English lordship to the Roman 'villa' is not due to any identity of origin, but was rather caused by a natural imitation of continental usages, by the adoption of legal forms which the Franks had first borrowed from the civilians, and chiefly perhaps by the Norman practice of describing the native tenures in terms. which disguised their character. The villani of 'Domesday Book' included tenants of many different classes to whom the name was hardly applicable in the strict Norman sense. So the coliberti, or 'boom,' of the western counties were found by legal trial to be free tenants of the manor, whereas the continental tenants of that class appear to have been bound to the soil and subject to forced services of husbandry; and so, again, when Bracton was describing certain 'privileged villeins' in terms borrowed from the Italian law books, he was forced to find a new meaning for the current phrase, and to explain that 'bound to the soil' implied in this instance that the tenants were only bound to stay as long as they pleased. The final solution of these problems will only be reached after long discussion and by means of the comparison of a vast and intricate mass of authorities. But we may be sure, in any case, that from the first step to the last all who take a part in that debate will be compelled to study the method and admire the industry and mental force which have been displayed by M. Fustel de Coulanges in his admirable series of essays. 1. Recherches sur quelques Problèmes d'Histoire. Par Fustel de Coulanges. Paris: 1885. 2. Tac. Germ. c. 15. The passage is often misread, as if it applied to all the freemen. The difficulty thus caused is evaded by leaving out the negative, as being too directly in opposition to Caesar's statement.

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When you have been used for sexual gratification from before you could speak, it does things to you on a deeply reflexive, primal level. I didn’t even know acquiescence until my brain developed more and i learned that i didn’t like it, but i had to submit to avoid pain and punishment. I’ve been sexually victimised my entire life, although the frequency has lessened the older and more aware i’ve become. I wanna write about how it’s still happening and what i think and feel about it, and what i’m learning. I didn’t know for most of my life that i didn’t like touch, and i’ve only been aware for a couple of years that i could say No. I haven’t said it yet – but at least i know that i can. For the first year i would still go in for the hug, and i was often the one to initiate. It’s a reflex. It’s what people do these days so i should do it. I might hurt someone’s feelings and i wouldn’t want to make anyone feel rejected. It would be awkward, and as much as awkward situations are a regular part of my life, i would prefer it wasn’t that way and i try to avoid them. I’m not the smooth, cool type, but i’ve always wished to be so. What i’ve been focusing more on now is the sexual aspect of touch. When it’s okay and when it isn’t. Who can and who can’t. Choosing to be in a monogamous relationship has helped. One person can seek me out for sex and nobody else. No one else may approach me sexually, whether it’s physically or verbally. This is very difficult for me to write about. I understand that a person has value just because they’re a person, but it never occurred to me that the concept also applied to me. I’ve only recently begun to understand that, a) i’m intrinsically valuable and worthy, and b) i decide to whom i mete out my value, and what part of the treasure that is me i share or gift them with, and also when i do, meaning that i am not required to do so ever again if i don’t wish to. But for the vast majority of my life i have not known this. All of this started a few months ago when i began walking for exercise. I live on an acreage and our road doesn’t get much traffic, but we do get the occasional driver who’s lost, or bylaw officer, or farmer checking his cattle or crops. I began to notice that i couldn’t remember the make/model/license plate number of any of the vehicles once they’d passed out of my sight. Nor could i tell you who was in the vehicle or give a description – even if i’d spoken with them briefly. All the Datelines and various forensic programs and cold case murders i’d watched on telly had impacted me and i realised i would be easy pickings for anyone looking for a victim. I started applying my mindfulness techniques to my walks. Looking around at things instead of just being lost in my thoughts. Using my phone to record license plates and other details about the vehicles i’d see. Who’s driving and is there anyone else with them? Calling my husband to talk to him if someone was pulled over for whatever reason and i had to pass them. Memorising the emergency number assigned to our acreage; knowing our land location and range road, and what township road we intersect. Awareness of my surroundings; body language that conveys that awareness and also let’s anyone know that Yes, i see you, and Yes, i’m taking note of you and your vehicle. As i’ve improved my fitness level i’ve grown to really enjoy my walks, and sometimes i’ll take on more distance. Sometimes i’ll walk into town for an errand. It happened the very first time i did it. A friend had taken me into the city for a doctor’s appointment (i don’t drive), and when we came back, i asked her if she’d drop me at a shop in town where i had some business, instead of taking me home. I’d then walk home from there. After i assured her that i actually wanted to walk home, it didn’t take long for me to be finished and on my way. I was nearly on the highway when a man drove by in a truck and he slowed, Wow!ed and whistled at my appearance, and asked me to go to coffee with him. I beamed a smile at him and said, No, thank you. That’s when i first started realising what i was doing. The reflex – like breathing. No thought involved at all, totally automatic. But i’d already learned from my walks on my own road. The awareness kicked in and i stopped walking after he’d gone on a bit, and i made sure he was out of sight before i gave away that i was crossing the highway, lest he take note of the easier access a deserted road might allow him, and mark that that road likely led to where i live. A few weeks later my husband dropped me off in town so that i might walk the dogs at the park for a treat. On the way home, i stopped at the local highway gas station for a cold drink. I came out not more than 2mins later and there were 2 men petting my dogs. They made with the dog compliments as they eyed my body up and down. They asked me to come out for a drink with them, and when i smilingly turned them down, offered to take my dogs home first. Again i declined, after which they tried to insist on at least taking all of us home. It’s so hot out today, you’re going to get heat stroke. They had greasy smiles and i could smell the booze on them, and then i switched. Hard and fast. Whoever took over was a GTFO type. Crossed us over to the service road that goes past the road home. I found myself back in the face before i’d even made the turn, so she must have thought we were safe. But i clocked them in their truck, driving down the highway. First in one direction, and then in the other. I pretended to talk on the phone and made like i was waiting for someone. I didn’t start walking again until i hadn’t seen them for 10mins or so. After all the work i’ve done in order to deal with my past, i’ve learned some things that help me deal, and being targeted since then has confirmed some of it. It’s not about me, personally. It has nothing whatever to do with how attractive i am or what i’m wearing or what i’m doing. Predators are gonna hunt. I’m potential prey. That’s it. That’s all. That’s everything. Then there was this morning’s walk. As i set off, i can see right away that there’s a truck on the road, driving extremely slowly, but away from me. The closer i get, i’m crossing more off the list. Maybe i recognise the truck but i can’t be sure. One male. The passenger side is so close to the shoulder i’d have to walk in the ditch to get around, and if i cross on the driver’s side he could easily grab me. I pull out my phone to record his license plate and make/model/colour of the truck. I make the pass on the barest shoulder of the passenger side, and he rolls down the window. He’s not looking at me and i can feel an aura alerting me that i’m getting ready to switch, but when i look at him, i think i know who he is, so i relax. A little. He says he’s just checking the fences, he’s not a robber. I say I’m walking my dogs alone, and a girl can’t be too careful. He seems a little offended. I’m considering this as i pass, and i almost went back to apologise. And i referred to myself as a girl. Ugh. There was some progress, though. I wasn’t smiling, and i didn’t say sorry. Not perfect, but it is progress, and i’ll take it, thanks. It’s okay because i was raised to be that way. It’s going to take time, advertence, and energetic application, but i will get there. Ownership of my body. My body serves me and my needs and desires, and no one else’s unless i decide i want to share. I look back on all the sexual harm that was done to me, and i will never, ever get over it. I was fully indoctrinated, brainwashed, made, schooled, expected, ordered, demanded, to always be available for whatever my mother wished. I did what she told me to do, went wherever with whomever; didn’t ask questions, and easily intuited that i wasn’t to speak of the evenings and weekends i went to a “babysitter”. It is the contention of the Peanut Gallery that i first split in infancy, but i’ll never know for certain. It doesn’t matter, but i am certain that i was fractured and fracturing by 4yrs old, which is the first time i clearly remember leaving my body and hearing someone else speak from inside my face. The thing that i’m currently most angry about with respect to the sexual abuse is that they made me complicit in their actions. Not just while they were actively abusing me, but after they had stopped. They taught me to allow myself to be used, abused, and victimised, by any and all who would come for me. Because of them i craved and was flattered by any sexual attention from anyone who’d show it to me, regardless of whether or not i wanted them, or would at least accept them, into my bed. And when i finally could smell the stink of what they’d done all over me, it caused me to act out in dangerous ways, in an immature and terrified attempt to scrub it off of me. A pretense of triumph and control. Because of them, predators may always get at least a whiff of prey about me. I will never forgive a single one of them for that, and i’m glad for every death that’s already come, and look forward to the last breath of those who yet have it.

https://histrionica.blog/2017/07/03/the-long-walk-home/

As people with a history like mine often do, i’ve had severe dental phobia most of my life. To have to hang my mouth open and have someone poking around in there, sometimes causing me pain, can be a brutal trigger. As a child, my mother stopped caring about my dental health around the time she was committed; i was in grade one. The only time she’d bring me in was for an emergency, which happened occasionally. I wasn’t much for brushing, which resulted in a few abscesses and a couple of pulled teeth. Once on my own i just dodged the dentist. I finally paid attention when i found an excellent family physician during my pregnancy with my second child. She urged me to attend to my teeth, which were becoming problematic. I required many appointments to get my teeth cleaned and a number of fillings followed. Neither the hygienist nor the dentist seemed to realise or care about my severe anxiety, and i was shamed and lectured every visit, guaranteeing more avoidant behaviour. It wasn’t until i was well into therapy with my current counsellor that i finally dealt with my fear head-on. I found a nice lady dentist who’d been doing it for decades, and i went to talk to her. No cleaning, just x-rays, and a chat about what i was looking at to get my teeth shipshape. I told her of my phobia. (No, really? Like my huge, watering eyes and clenched fists didn’t already announce it.) I indicated as delicately as i could that it was trauma-based. She was immediately receptive, kind and gentle in her response, and assured me that i wasn’t her only patient with these issues. She said she’d work with me, to help me overcome my anxiety as much as possible (at my pace), and to attain and maintain healthy teeth and gums. – maintain dental health as best i can on my own, do more therapy around the issue, and try again at a later date. I was stiff as a board the first time i sat for a cleaning; eyes as big as saucers, hands and feet clenched hard enough to cramp. The hygienist had a soft, soothing voice, and she calmed my jangled nerves with banter about her children, a recent move, a holiday. Her demeanor was quiet and kind, and i knew she wasn’t going to hurt me. Cleaning my teeth properly would take a few visits, they’d already told me, but i never sensed any disapproval from her, and there was never the slightest hint of a tsk or a tut-tut in her voice. Then it’s time for my dentist to do some fillings, some caps, and even a root canal, to preserve my teeth for as long as possible. Her voice is also soft (i think dentists may cultivate this voice – also smart) but her vibe is jovial, even goofy. Her assistant is sarcastic, with a deadpan delivery, and between the 2 of them, they provide a great service and a show besides, which distracted and delighted me so much that i came to look forward to seeing them. Not even kidding. I settled in to regular maintenance, and then the recession hit. We had to let go of our dental insurance, and i didn’t want to stress our already squeaky budget, when i knew my teeth were in good shape, and i was now diligent and conscientious with care. We still had a son at home who required extensive orthodontic work, and so i stopped going for a couple of years. When our financial situation improved, i went back, thinking there’d be no problem. I missed a number of appointments, for which i provided lame excuses, and i’d call after and reschedule with a self-deprecating chuckle. Six months later i did the same thing, i missed my first appointment and called, saying it had totally slipped my mind and i’d be there for sure next time. The receptionist fixed another time with me, but i noted something in her voice before we hung up – a hesitancy. I felt uneasy. She called me mid-morning the next day. She told me that they wanted very much to continue providing me with dental care, but in order for that to happen they were going to require the cost of the appointment up front. She explained that my dentist couldn’t continue losing money when i didn’t show up, that it wasn’t fair for her or anyone. I bristled. Feelings flooded my body, and i reacted with offense. “This feels like i’m being punished for being mentally ill,” i said. “I’m going to have to discuss this with my husband and i’ll get back to you,” i said. To my credit, before the end of the phone call, i knew she had me dead to rights. But shame is a massive trigger, and i was dissociated and edgy for the rest of the day. It took me a while to bring it up with my husband, but not too long, and he understood right away. I called the receptionist back within a day or 2, and told her i knew they had to do what they were doing. And then i paid them. I was anxious about the cleaning. I thought about why. It wasn’t just being embarrassed – it was a few things. There’d been a break in my association with them, one where i wasn’t in therapy, and i hadn’t had to deal with some of the triggers that dentistry touches on. I was now back in therapy, and learning to stay in my body during times when i feel emotions and/or physical sensations that i don’t want to feel. I understood why i was dodging. I knew i was setting myself up to miss my dates with my dentist. I was trying to avoid all the feelings. I told her that i did, and i told them all that i was sorry. I told them that it hadn’t occurred to me that i was costing her money, or inconveniencing anyone – but it should have, and i was ashamed about it. And i could see that that was true. I could also see that, while i’d fucked up, i’d also done some things right. I’d been honest about my mental illness and my fears and anxieties from the jump. I’d carefully built relationship with them, so much so that when i started behaving poorly, they tolerated that behaviour for as long as they could – perhaps longer than they should have done, and only for my benefit. And when they finally called me out, i accepted responsibility for my actions. Yes, for the briefest of moments -the space of a phone call- i reacted badly, but i knew almost immediately that i was in the wrong, and why, and that i could and would put it right and it was going to be okay. I got caught doing something shitty, and i reacted by trying to avoid taking the blame. To assuage my chagrin by haughtily providing an excuse. I’m not bad – i’m sick! While that is true in a way, it’s neither appropriate nor is it helpful to apply that in this instance. After i hung up the phone i felt it right away – i was convicted in my heart by a jury of me. I’ve identified myself to these people as someone who lives with serious, multiple diagnosis mental illness. I’ve done so first for my benefit, but also for others like me. I want to bring awareness and exposure to those around us, in service to us and apart from that, who have little or no experience with us (or knowledge that they’re having such – because they certainly are, am i right?), and by so doing, help pave a way for fellow neuroatypicals and those living with mental illness to do the same. To see that it can be done, and perhaps they might do it, too. I feel the weight of that responsibility. It’s a good weight, one i’ve willingly and purposefully shouldered, and it’s a right thing and a steadying force in my life. It gives meaning and provides balance and even serendipity. I would not so inadequately, so boorishly represent a community that has my love so easily, and needs help and understanding so desperately. The love and life that i’ve found there made my path clear, and set my shoulders squarely towards it. Yes, part of the reason why i behaved the way i did was the way i was raised and the way my brain responded to try and save me, to help me cope and to perhaps spare me some of the worst of it, that i might survive. And survive i did – and in these last years, even more and better. Yes, there are reasons -childhood causations- for my behaviour, but in the end, today, right now, at this moment, i am as free and autonomous and aware as i can possibly be, and i am happy and grateful and relieved indeed, to be solely responsible for my choices and actions. And sometimes i’m just wrong. And i was. I accepted the consequences, which were fair, and no one abused me and i didn’t die. I can hardly wait to screw up again. The weekend was okay. I guess. I’m still depressed, damn it. Not full-on, which i’ll take and i’m grateful, but maybe not grateful enough. It may seem as if i’m always up and celebrating my accomplishments, but i assure you that is not the case. I’m so often disappointed and frustrated with myself that it feels like part of my skin and has proven to be a rather sticky and sensitive issue to treat. That is what you witness on these pages. I mean, i know intellectually that i’ve come a long way, but i have so far yet to go. Comparison can be inspiring and motivating if done correctly. It can also keep one from veering too far off the main road, if you follow; i’m odd enough as it is, thankyouverymuch. An emotionally jaundiced eye such as is the current state of mine however, renders my vision suspect, and the reward not worth the risk. So today i will remember that i was intended for evil purposes that i will never fulfill. I was raised to do as i was told and not ask any questions and today i do as i wish and i demand answers and doggedly pursue them. Life happens and there has been joy in the tragedies and mercy in the pain – but only because i decided it was so. I have created the life that i live today. No one gave me this. Some of it may have fallen into my lap, but i (ME!) had the sense to see it for what it was and hang on to it. I chose to look for the lesson. I decided what and who to let go of and what to keep. I picked agony over avoidance. I picked truth over safety. I chose being happy over being right. I sought knowledge instead of acceptance. I chose myself over relationships. Today i love myself first so that i might love you better, but i love myself today because i loved you first. I did need a gratitude adjustment. Thanks H. Good job.

https://histrionica.blog/tag/choices/