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Appalachia Rising for a New Economy
Yesterday, 114 people were arrested outside the White House during a protest of mountaintop removal coal mining, a legal mining practice that involves blowing up the tops of mountains to get to the coal reserves within them. James Hansen, the NASA climate scientist who warned in 2006 that we have 10 years to take decisive action to avert catastrophic global warming, was among those arrested, as was veteran activist Reverend Billy of the Church of Life After Shopping. But so were dozens of ordinary Appalachian residents, including current and former coal miners—people who don't necessarily have a history of protesting, but who are taking a stand for a different kind of economy, one built on more stable industries that don't threaten their health and homes.
They came from West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee, and called the event "Appalachia Rising."
"Being arrested? That's such a small price to pay for being heard," said Mickey McCoy, former mayor and lifelong resident of Inez, Kentucky, who started opposing mountaintop removal (or MTR) when the creeks by his house ran black following a breach in a nearby sludge dam in 2000. "My home and people are paying the real price for mountaintop removal. They are dying."
The movement to stop mountaintop removal has long stressed the practice's impact on human and environmental health: groundwater polluted with toxic mining waste; increased rates of emphysema, kidney disease, and premature death; and of course, the destroyed mountains themselves. Proponents of the practice typically point to the key role that mining still plays in depressed regional economies and ask what would replace it.
But more and more, those fighting to stop MTR are the ones who bring up economics.
Far from enjoying unique access to jobs and security, "areas with especially heavy mining have the highest unemployment rates in the region," according to researcher Michael Hendryx. The number of Americans employed by coal mining has been decreasing steadily since the '80s (there are more than 60 percent fewer coal mining jobs now than in 1980). Meanwhile, jobs in renewable energy are on the rise; wind power jobs surpassed coal mining jobs for the first time in 2008.
"The message for the White House and for Congress was simple," said JW Randolph, a Tennessee native and an advocate with Appalachian Voices, a grassroots organization that opposes MTR: "Stop mountaintop removal and let us bring economic diversification to Appalachia."
Mountaintop removal, Randolph continued, "is keeping an entire region poor. It has meant a direct loss of tens of thousands of coal mining jobs in the region, and is 100 percent directly correlated with high unemployment, high poverty, and low economic diversification. We agree that Appalachia needs jobs, but we can create jobs without poisoning our communities. According to the Appalachian Regional Commission, we could create 15,000 jobs a year for the first five years by investing in energy efficiency."
That message made me think about last summer, when a coal mining protest of a different sort was making headlines: Miners from West Virginia (encouraged by the coal companies they worked for) had announced that they'd boycott vacations to Tennessee (my home state) because Senator Lamar Alexander had introduced a bill that would limit mountaintop removal coal mining. No trips to Gatlinburg, the Great Smoky Mountains, or the Grand Ole Opry. Two coal companies even canceled company picnics in Dollywood, Dolly Parton's Appalachian-themed amusement park.
In a region that's known repeated hard times when key industries declined (think tobacco, cotton, lumber...), it's easy to understand the desire to protect the status quo—even when that status quo is an industry that doesn't provide the livelihood it used to, not to mention endangers its workers and their neighbors. The boycott, however, seemed more than a touch ironic: To protect a dwindling industry with a limited future (a study released earlier this year found that central Appalachian coal production peaked in 1997 and will continue to decline), it targeted one that's both stronger and more lucrative. In West Virginia, coal brings the state $600 million in revenues each year (though a recent study [pdf] found that much of that is then spent on coal subsidies and coal-related health care). Meanwhile, tourism—much of it driven by the still-intact mountains of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the most visited national park in the nation—brings Tennessee $1.2 billion in annual sales tax revenue alone.
Last Mountain Standing
The last intact mountain in West Virginia's Coal River Valley is slated for mountaintop removal coal mining. Residents have other ideas.
Of course, tourism is just one industry that depends on an end to MTR. In West Virginia's Coal River Valley, residents are pushing for a wind farm that they say will bring more jobs—not to mention higher paying, more secure ones—than mining. But blasting for an MTR coal mine has already begun on the mountain ridges that would support the turbines.
Today, Randolph is visiting Congressional offices alongside coalfield residents, asking for help passing legislation protecting their mountains and finding more secure jobs. What does it mean, I asked him, to say that Appalachia is rising? As coal's economic power wanes, he answered, so does its political power—leaving a vacuum for the residents of Appalachia to fill. "The political clout of the coal industry has long outlasted its ability to provide job growth or sustainable economic development for the Appalachian region," he said. "Just like the coal, that power is going away."
And Appalachians are rising to take its place—in a more diverse, stable, and less destructive economy.
- : More and more people are recalculating the true price of coal and deciding it's simply too high to pay.
- : An Appalachian grandmother says no to coal, yes to wind power.
- : Bill McKibben and Wendell Berry call for mass civil disobedience against coal.


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Heather Nielsen always felt like she was waiting to find out she had cancer.
Both sides of the 31-year-old Rockford resident's family have been touched by cancer, particularly breast and ovarian. When she was 24, she found a lump in her breast that turned out to be nothing.
A few years later, her mother suggested the idea of genetic counseling because of the extensive family history of cancer. Dr. Kent Hoskins with OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center mapped the family genetics on both sides of Nielsen's family, looking for red flags.
She had all of them. So they started testing. Two people, including her father, tested positive for the BRCA breast-cancer gene.
Nielsen was positive, too. At age 26, she decided to have a double mastectomy to dramatically decrease her risk of getting breast cancer.
"That's why the genetic counseling is so important," Nielsen says. "Because he really wants you to feel like you know what you would do if it's positive.
"I'm one of those people who think the more information you can gather, the better off you are. Knowledge is power. I don't know how I would have handled it had I not been as informed as I was."
Nielsen's story might sound familiar.
Actress Angelina Jolie went public this year with news that she had a preventive double mastectomy upon learning that she had the BRCA breast-cancer gene.
Women aren't necessarily clamoring to be tested since Jolie made her announcement. But doctors agree that increased awareness is a positive side effect.
"It raises awareness of people to be aware of your family history and realize that there might be something you need to do about it," says Hoskins, director of OSF's cancer risk assessment program. "It's helped us with patients who already know they have a mutation and made it a little more acceptable to have the surgery done.
"I'd rather take people clamoring for (the test) and, with good education and counseling, help them understand if it's appropriate."
Risk factors
The BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, identified nearly 20 years ago, account for 20 percent of the familial risk of breast cancer and 5 percent of total breast cancer cases. But people who have those genes have a 50 to 85 percent chance of developing breast cancer.
There are three categories of cancer-causing genes described as having high, moderate or low penetrance, which means the probability of the genes actually causing cancer. BRCA1 and BRCA2 are high penetrance genes; inherit one of those and you have a very high risk of getting breast cancer.
The red flags doctors try to identify in your family history include whether several close family members (mother, sister, daughter, aunts) have been diagnosed with breast cancer, particularly at younger ages, or if someone in your family has been identified as carrying one of the breast-cancer genes.
Hoskins specifically notes risk if a close relative had breast cancer before age 45, if one had breast cancer between ages 45 and 50 and another had breast cancer older than age 50, and if three relatives older than age 50 had breast cancer.
Any breast cancer plus ovarian cancer probably would necessitate testing. The genes are also more common in Jewish families and in men who have breast cancer.
"Anybody who's at all concerned, Step 1 is to get genetic counseling even if you don't know if it's appropriate," Hoskins says. "The purpose of the counseling is to sort it out. ... The point of counseling doesn't commit you to testing. It's to understand and evaluate your situation and know whether it's worthwhile."
Doctors first like to test people in the family who've been diagnosed with cancer. That's what he did with Nielsen.
An emotional journey
Patients diagnosed with the BRCA genes are typically given two options. The first is a prophylactic mastectomy, or the removal of the breasts to reduce the risk of cancer.
The second is enhanced surveillance that begins at age 25. Patients need breast exams twice a year, as well as a yearly mammogram and MRI.
Hoskins says surgery is the most effective option. The surveillance does not prevent cancer, but it gives doctors and patients a better chance at early detection.
The decision was easier for Nielsen after she understood her risk.
"I could either get MRIs and be diligent about mammograms and wait — and this was my own thinking — for cancer, and then have surgery and go through" chemotherapy, she says. "Or I could have surgery now and skip the cancer part. So for me, it was not a difficult decision.
"It's different for everybody. It was still emotional. I never left Hoskins' office without crying. I usually didn't cry while I was in his office. I cried when I got to the car. It's emotional and it's overwhelming. I think it was having a lifelong diagnosis, having something that I will always have to deal with and take care of."
Nielsen's mastectomy reduced her risk of developing breast cancer to less than 5 percent. But it wasn't without complications.
She opted for immediate reconstructive surgery. During the same surgery for the mastectomy, doctors put expanders into her chest to prepare her for implants.
Four weeks later, she developed a staph infection and ended up losing the left expander. The ordeal delayed the full reconstruction for several months.
She finished with the surgeries in 2009 but opted to have another in 2010 to fix a few cosmetic issues caused by the previous surgeries.
When she heard about Jolie's experience, her first reaction was sympathy.
"I just feel like anytime anyone finds out this is happening to them, it's so awful. I wouldn't wish it on anybody. Again, it's a lifelong thing. It's tough, and everybody handles this information differently. Everybody chooses different things, and not everybody respects the decisions you make.
"This happened to me five, six years ago. Nobody knew what this was. ... I felt very alone in the process. I looked at ... Dr. Hoskins and said I know you can't tell me, but can you just tell me if there's anyone else in Rockford doing this right now because I'm pretty sure I'm the only one. That's really how I felt."
Ovarian cancer
People with the BRCA gene also have a 50 percent chance of developing ovarian cancer.
The fear with ovarian cancer is that oftentimes, it doesn't show symptoms.
"That's one that really sneaks up on women," says Dr. Frederick Church, medical director of the Women's Center at Rockford Health System. "It's not something, if a woman is not having more children, I tell her to wait on" removing the ovaries.
Nielsen gets ultrasounds on her ovaries every year, but she's not ready to give them up. She told her doctors they'll have another conversation about it when she's 40.
"Where the mastectomy choice was a very easy one for me to make, the ovarian choice is a very difficult one for me to make," she says. "It's always in the back of my mind, but I've sort of shelved it for a while because I don't need to make that decision now.
"It's scary to think of being 40 with all of my friends' kids going through high school and middle school and I'll be going through menopause. Again, it's intimidating because it's very lonely to go through something like that by yourself. That's a much harder decision for me to think about making."
Nielsen owns Shear Renewal salon in Rockford and her husband, musician Daxx Nielsen, travels a lot during the year. So their lives aren't necessarily conducive to having children right now.
But she also struggles with the idea of passing the BRCA gene to a child. There's a 50-50 chance that could happen, whether the child is a boy or a girl.
'What's best for you'
Because there are options after a diagnosis of the breast-cancer gene, Nielsen emphasizes the importance of patients being their own advocates. Ask the right questions, and write down questions and bring them to your appointments.
"You have to decide what's best for you. I'm not saying ignore your doctor's recommendations. But I hit a point in my life where I couldn't let this thing determine my life. I couldn't let it determine all of my decisions. It just couldn't control everything.
"I feel like the only way to fight and push back against the fear is to have knowledge. To be informed. To know what you're up against. And to get a plan. Once you have a plan, it's sort of the illusion of control. It enables you not to be so scared."

subset: commoncrawl


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How to Chat with Skype on an Android Phone
Text chat with Skype on your Android phone works similarly to texting. The only difference is that the other person must be a Skype user. So in that respect, Skype text chat works a lot like Hangouts chat.
To chat, follow these steps:
Start the Skype app and sign in.
You don't need to sign in when you've previously run the Skype app. Like most apps on your phone, Skype continues to run until you sign out or turn off the phone.
At the main Skype screen, touch the People tab and choose a contact.
Or you can choose one of the contact icons shown on the main screen.
Type your text in the text box.
The box is at the bottom of the screen. It says Type a Message Here.
Touch the Blue arrow icon to send the message.
As long as your Skype friend is online and eager, you'll be chatting in no time.
At the far right end of the text box, you find a Smiley icon. Use this icon to insert a cute graphic in your text.
The Skype Chat notification appears whenever someone wants to chat with you. It's handy to see, especially when you may have switched away from the Skype app to work in some other app. Choose that notification to get into the conversation.
To stop chatting, touch the Back icon. The conversation is kept in the Skype app, even after the other person has disconnected.
For the chat to work, the other user must be logged in on Skype and available to chat.


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Jake Varghese
Member since September 20, 2013
As an architect, Jake understands the process of solving complex problems that plague enterprise and medium size businesses. He is a full-stack problem solver who can build entire apps from scratch or optimize an existing app already in the field. Click to continue


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If you visit a webpage that requires the legacy QuickTime 7 web plug-in, your web browser might display a message that the plug-in is missing or not supported.
- This plug-in is no longer enabled in macOS Sierra, El Capitan, Yosemite, and Mavericks. Websites increasingly use the HTML5 web standard for a better video-playback experience across a wide range of browsers and devices.
- Recent versions of some third-party web browsers no longer support legacy web plug-ins.
Restore the plug-in, if necessary
If you can't wait for the author to update their webpage, you can restore the legacy QuickTime 7 web plug-in. Leaving legacy browser plug-ins disabled enhances the security of your Mac, so you should take these steps only if necessary.
- Make sure that you're using Safari or another browser that supports legacy web plug-ins.
- Choose Go > Go to Folder from the menu bar in the Finder.
- Type
/Library/Internet Plug-Insin the search field, then click Go. The Internet Plug-Ins folder opens.
- While holding down the Command (⌘) key, double-click the Disabled Plug-Ins folder to open it in a new window.
- Drag these two files from the Disabled Plug-Ins folder to the Internet Plug-Ins folder:
- QuickTime Plugin.plugin
- nslQTScriptablePlugin.xpt
- If you're asked to authenticate, click Authenticate, then enter an administrator name and password.
- Quit your web browser, then open your browser again. You should now be able to play the media.
To disable the legacy QuickTime 7 web-plug-in again, move both files back to the Disabled Plug-Ins folder.
Update your webpages to stop requiring the plug-in
If you're a web developer, update your webpages to replace any
<embed> tags that call the legacy QuickTime 7 web plug-in. You should now use the HTML5
<video> tag, which allows your media to play back in most modern desktop and mobile web browsers, without additional software or plug-ins. Information about how to use this tag is widely available.
- HTML/Elements/video on W3.org
- "Advanced Media for the Web" WWDC 2014 session video
If you're using the legacy QuickTime 7 web plug-in to display panoramic images, use an HTML5-based panorama viewer instead. Search the web for a panorama viewer that doesn't require a web plug-in.


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T-Rex's Deadly Weapon Calls Out Okwerdz! "Bart Simpson Lookin Nicca"
Blue Collar reports "T-Rex Got A Gun... Freestyle Coming At Okwerdz. Blue Collar Television"
Please click the "Report" button below if the video on this page is not working properly.
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(Silver Spring, MD) - The SECRETS OF SEAL TEAM SIX will be revealed in the new Discovery Channel special airing Sunday, July 10 at 9pm ET/PT
In SECRETS OF SEAL TEAM SIX, viewers are invited behind closed doors to learn the story of this top-secret Special Operations unit that officially doesn't even exist. For three decades, SEAL Team Six has been considered one of the most - if not the most - elite group in the U.S. military. These are the men who took down Osama Bin Laden. Now that this undisclosed group has made headlines, will they still be as effective as they've proven to be in the past?
In addition to the group's background and history, viewers will get a look at the recruiting, weapons and technology necessary in carrying out the year's top news story. Team members are put through some of the most rigorous training and examinations to prove that they have what it takes to complete missions intelligently, discreetly and seamlessly.
Through graphics, interviews and dramatic military b-roll, the stories of those who put it all on the line will be told candidly and informatively. The special introduces viewers to the team's founder, Dick Marcinko, and former members to give the first tell-all account of their experience in this underground organization.
"There's a group that will kick ass and save you," says Marcinko.
Viewers will also meet former SEALS, military analysts, journalists and Seal Team Six wives for an outsider's knowledge and expertise on the group's ability to remain under the radar while carrying out tasks successfully.
"We're rough boys. We want to fight. That's why we joined," says former Seal Don Shipley.
Delve into this mysterious world and learn the SECRETS OF SEAL TEAM SIX.
SECRETS OF SEAL TEAM SIX is produced for Discovery Channel by NBC Peacock Productions. Gretchen Eisele is executive producer for NBC Peacock Productions, and Brooke Runnette is executive producer for Discovery Channel.
About Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel is dedicated to creating the highest quality non-fiction content that informs and entertains its consumers about the world in all its wonder, diversity and amazement. The network, which is distributed to 100.8 million U.S. homes, can be seen in over 180 countries, offering a signature mix of compelling, high-end production values and vivid cinematography across genres including, science and technology, exploration, adventure, history and in-depth, behind-the-scenes glimpses at the people, places and organizations that shape and share our world. For more information, please visit www.discovery.com.
About Discovery Communications
Discovery Communications (Nasdaq: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK) is the world's #1 nonfiction media company reaching more than 1.5 billion cumulative subscribers in 210 countries and territories. Discovery is dedicated to satisfying curiosity through 130-plus worldwide television networks, led by Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Science and Investigation Discovery, as well as US joint venture networks OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network, The Hub and 3net, the first 24-hour 3D network. Discovery also is a leading provider of educational products and services to schools and owns and operates a diversified portfolio of digital media services, including HowStuffWorks.com. For more information, please visit www.discoverycommunications.com.


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Step 1
Carefully remove the old window. If it is cracked, criss-cross it with masking tape. While wearing safety goggles and gloves, tap the glass with the rubber mallet or hammer.
Step 2
Get out the old, gunky putty from around the frame. You can use the putty knife or a scraper to do that. You can make sure it is all out by using linseed oil on the tough spots. Let the oil soak before scraping out the old putty. Also, be sure not to bend the window frame while scraping or your new glass won't fit in it.
Step 3
Put more linseed oil around the wood so that the new putty doesn't dry out too fast. While you are doing this, you can take out any old, metal spring clips. They should be in the corners of the frames.
Step 4
Measure the new glass window by using the dimensions inside the frame. You want the glass to fit inside the frame by making it 1/8 or 1/16 smaller. The difference will make the glass fit better even if the frame isn't perfect or the cut isn't exact. Cut the glass with a double-strength glass cut.
Step 5
Roll the putty into a shape that will line the frame of the window pane. Think of it as a snake ready to eat your new cut glass. Tuck the clay into the frame using the putty knife and install the metal clips every six inches or so. They will help keep the glass in place when you set it.
Step 6
Carefully set your fresh cut glass window into the clay and frame. If you need to get more support to hold it in place, add more clips to the glass. You can use the putty knife to help get the glass into the corners or clips. Make sure that the glass is pressed hard enough to push out any air bubbles.
Step 7
Put more of the clay around the pane on both sides where the glass meets the frame. Press it all around and then cut the excess off with a putty knife by placing it at an angle between the frame and the glass.
Step 8
Scrape off the rest of the excess putty using a scraper. If it is too sticky to come off, use the linseed oil on the scraper and try it again. Let the glass window dry for three days before painting.
Fact BoxThings you'll need
¯linseed oil
¯putty knife
¯glass window
¯spring clips or glazier's points
¯glass cutter
¯masking tape
¯safety glasses
¯safety gloves
¯rubber mallet or hammer


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Ultimate Herpes Protocol Review - Proven Natural Anti-Viral Agents Methods to Cure Herpes Easily & Effectively
Melanie Addington's treatments to eliminate herpes virus type 1&2 have been acknowledged by medical doctors after being proved effective for several patients. Her eBook "Ultimate Herpes Protocol" includes information regarding the disease and its cure in a detailed and comprehensive manner to let victims understand every bit of the symptoms' causes.
Vancouver, CA -- (SBWire) -- 03/28/2014 --Herpes is now a major stigma in many of people's lives. This common, simple illness is exaggerated to become the leprosy of the 21st century! Most Herpes-infected patients haven't had a medication that could completely free them of the horrendous herpes simplex virus. While the reasons for this non-curability lie in a vast range, the most common of them is the reluctance of the sufferers to seek help, owing to the so called "embarrassment" that it might carry along. Unfortunately, there are many dishonest people and companies out there who prey upon people with genital herpes and other STD's.
Many people are desperate to find anything that might reduce or eliminate herpes symptoms – and fall for herpes treatment scams and herpes cure scams. The Ultimate Herpes Protocol is a highly potent herpes cure, authored by Melanie Addington, a sufferer of HSV-2. Suitable for use against Oral Herpes, Genital Herpes, HSV-1 and HSV-2, the program is the result of years of study, experience and research.
It is a program which kills the parasite that causes the herpes virus so that sufferers are not contagious any more. The active ingredients will dry up the infection very quickly and destroy internal pathogens and proteins. In addition, one will begin to notice that the intervals between break-outs increase.
How Does Melanie Guarantee to Eliminate Herpes with her eBook?
Melanie Addington had belief in the effectiveness of natural products over artificial ones. This is what made her reveal the natural remedies she had tried to get relief herself. As long as there are true stories associated with any product, people start believing in the reliability of that product. Melanie has cured her disease with no further symptoms to face and wants others to benefit from it as well as there are side effects to harm. Medical treatments can harm some patients or fail to treat diseases most of the time and the medical specialists claim it was not their fault. In any case, patients have to suffer even after having paid the huge expenses. Melanie's "Ultimate Herpes Protocol" is available for online download at an affordable price. This will certainly become the heart prevailing opportunity to grab for herpes victims as the book gets more acknowledgment.
An Assured Natural Treatment by Melanie Addignton
Melanie has also worked on the simplicity of the natural remedies as everyone does not have enough time to prepare for them. The easy print further improves the readability of the herpes treatment methods. Overall, the eBook has been able to gain many positive reviews online which has added reliability to the product. Herpes patients are now getting copies of "Ultimate Herpes Protocol as the eBook has brought back hope in their lives.
About The Official Website: www.ultimateherpesprotocol.com
The Ultimate Herpes Protocol By Melanie Addington develops a new revolutionary remedy to get rid of herpes and to stop outbreaks permanently, quickly, and cheaply. With this remedy, users will discover the most simple way to eradicate the herpes simplex virus.
Media Relations Contact
View this press release online at: http://rwire.com/484148


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A few weeks ago, I stood sun-lit on hard, wet sand in a deep redrock canyon, the edgewaters of Colorado River washing over my feet. I drew my body into Virabhadrasana 2: a deep lunge, right foot forward, the sole pressing into the sand, right knee at a right angle; left foot back, angled open and slightly forward, the leg straight from the hip, the outside edge of the left foot building a deep, still pressure wave of sand behind it. My shoulders were square over my hips, torso open, spine vertical; arms extended wide: right forward, left back. My head was turned forward, eyes focused upriver, just beyond the edge of the nail of my right, middle finger.
* * *
Yoga asana – the physical aspect of yoga – is the conscious forming of embodied patterns. Mind working with matter that responds to it, feeds it, becomes it. Is it.
There is an essential integrity of the mind, that sees everything outside itself as object, and body, that just feels and senses, sometimes feeling both sides of a touch sharply, sometimes less clearly, sometimes only one side, sometimes that, dimly.
But whatever objectifying lines the mind draws to cordon off the world like a crime scene, the senses nonetheless reach awareness. Emotions, too. Thoughts are not unique.
The classical yoga postures, and some of the newer ones too, are patterns, old trails traced in new bodies each generation. Yoga teachers familiarly tell fretful students that all they need do is practice and all else will come – mindfulness, peace, liberation, clarity. Just practice. But how, I'm asked and I wonder, can simply putting your body into shapes and holding them, breathing them, singing them, panting them, chanting them, gasping them, being them – how does that do anything except exercise (and that quite oddly) muscles to the point of trembling fatigue?
* * *
On the river trip, to cool off, to clean up, even just to play, I'd walk into the river. Almost everywhere we went, the river was the very definition of placid – flat, calm, slow, smooth. The river flows through most of Meander Canyon at about 2 miles per hour. Ankle-deep, it's a gentle caress. Knee-deep, a swirl around my shins. But once I'm halfway in – waist deep, my body squared to face upstream, the river presses me downstream. I lean into it slightly. We oppose each other, we support each other. But in up to my waist, if I ignore the river's slow push, I'll lose my footing. As I work my way deeper, the slow, slow, slow press of river equals my own strength. To go deeper, I have to turn my body sideways to the stream – aligning myself to present a narrower profile to the current that then slips easily around me.
* * *
As I understand Albert Einstein's insights, matter is simply one manifestation of energy; time and space are two ends of the same stick; and – with the insights of general relativity – matter/energy shapes space/time. Every experience we have is a manifestation of energy transforming in, while simultaneously itself shaping, both space and time.
* * *
Yoga asana is about consciousness perceiving and responding to energy. And energy, as anyone who's ever stubbed a toe against a rock (pretty dense and stable as far as forms of energy go) can attest, is not the same everywhere, all the time. It forms. It flows. It concentrates. It dissipates.
As I stand in Virabhadrasna 2, I feel three distinct axes of energy. A kind of dense, stable strength rises from the connection with the cold, wet sand at the soles of my feet. A kind of elevating verticality comes through the crown of my head, downward. And my heart expands outward in five directions at once; head, hands, and feet.
I'm not the first to find those energy channels. Virabhadrasana 2 was created by human awareness finding those channels – the pose is an expression of them.
That wasn't obvious to me the first time I moved into the pose. That day, whenever it was, my attention wasn't focused on the energy alignment of the pose, about which I knew and perceived nothing, but rather on assembling the verbal instructions into body language. And it wasn't the second day I did the pose, either. But after a dozen, or maybe a dozen dozen dozen times, I began to become aware of those lines of energy. Noticed them not as lines of zappy, jittery electricity, but rather as a kind of energetic ease, fluid power. Prana. At first, I didn't take any thought of them – just a random sensation in a body filled with random sensations. But going back to the pose again and again, resting in it's trembling exertion, settling my jumpy mind, the energy lines became more distinct, like stars in a darkening sky.
Why'd it take me so long to notice?
* * *
The third day on the river, we paddled into the heat of midday, then beached the canoe on a mudflat. After slogging through the mud to dry land, we hiked a winding trail through the verge of willows and beetle-killed tamarisks. We made our way up a low cliff to some ruins – a couple of ancient granaries nestled under a high outcropping of sandstone. After a bit, I climbed out along the same shelf, looking for more. Dad stayed behind, sitting at the base of a pictograph of hand outlines in spattered white – an adult-sized right and left, and a child-sized right and left, the child's right hand missing the fourth finger. I strayed upcanyon for longer than I'd planned, finding no other ruins in that direction, returned and then struck out around the other side of the promontory. Eventually, I worked my way back to the pictograph and my Dad. He'd been sitting quietly there, noticing. And in noticing, he'd found pottery shards, white flint chips – things I'd never seen.
* * *
Yoga was my first introduction to meditation.
Or rather my second, as I'd noticed the unusually clear and lucid mind-focus that arises in rock climbing years earlier. Though the word "meditation" carries so much baggage that it's hard to believe anyone ever actually ventures to try it out, it really just starts with noticing. Yoga's like that too, after you get started; not a thing to be completed – more of a practice. After you get the pose instructions more or less settled into your body, yoga's first the intention, then the motion into a pose, the awareness and noticing while in the pose, the new intention, and the motion out of the pose into some other. Intention, body, motion, and awareness.
And awareness is subject to an awful lot of refining. The more you persist at it, the finer the details that become evident.
Like my Dad's seeing the pottery shards and flint chips on the ground where I saw only gravel.
With time, through dozens of dozens of dozens of repetitions, those energy axes of Virabhadrasana 2 settled into my awareness.
And for kicks, I've tried variants of the pose that mess with those lines and aligns. And I got what I got – a sense of the absence of alignment, the tension of not being in that posture, that way, that Tao.
Like turning my body square to the flow of the river. Opposing energy directions, rather than aligning with them.
It isn't a sin.
It's just turning counter to the river's flow – it's being out of alignment. To my sense now, it feels incomplete, like an [url=http://guitar.ricmedia.com/Chords/Minor-seventh-sharp-five/audio/c-minor-seventh-sharp-five-chord-voicing-2.mp3]unresolved augmented seventh chord.[/url] Sometimes, the best part of a piece of music is the tension of that unresolved chord, the awareness of mind patterns and cravings that it apocalypses. Sometimes, it's the whole: the engendering of tension in the quadriceps strength of a deeply lunged knee, or the evershifting balance of the grounded leg in dancer's pose, or the just-this-side-of-painful ache of extended hamstrings in a seated forward bend, all resolving to stability: the lunged leg straightening, the balance calming as the second foot reaches the earth, the hamstrings releasing as the torso rises out of the forward bend.
Once we know where to find light and where to find dark, we can begin to draw.
Once we know the lines of energy in our skin and thoughts and muscle and intention and organs and bones and emotions and sinews, we can begin to practice yoga.
* * *
The assemblage of atoms and molecules and proteins and structures and energy of a human stands at the edge of the Colorado River, breathing quietly and seeing a slow-to-retire bat dancing on the ripples of air above the river that itself reflects the bat's silhouette against a brightening sky and fading stars. The human feet press into the riverwet sand, connected to the grains by the plunging shape of gravity-carved space, twisting itself toward matter. The human feels simply a draw earthward, and shifts his weight slightly, realigning the sensed mass of his body to the vertical planes of femurs and spine, which changes, ever so slightly, the shape of space that he is.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Dawning body awareness
A few weeks ago, I stood sun-lit on hard, wet sand in a deep redrock canyon, the edgewaters of Colorado River washing over my feet. I drew my body into Virabhadrasana 2: a deep lunge, right foot forward, the sole pressing into the sand, right knee at a right angle; left foot back, angled open and slightly forward, the leg straight from the hip, the outside edge of the left foot building a deep, still pressure wave of sand behind it. My shoulders were square over my hips, torso open, spine vertical; arms extended wide: right forward, left back. My head was turned forward, eyes focused upriver, just beyond the edge of the nail of my right, middle finger.
Posted by greenfrog at 4:17 AM |
Labels: channels, Colorado River, Dad, energy, prana, virabhadrasana, yoga


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4 – 13UK, 6½ - 10½ The Size On Oliver Boots is a UK/AUS Men's Size PLEASE SEE THE OLIVER SIZE COMPARISON CHART
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Great Early Stage VC: Jeff is a Real Asset
Fund: SoftTech VC
Posted by zip on 2008-02-01
I think Jeff will become a superstar in the next few years, as he has already has made some successful exits. More importantly for me, though, he has been a very entrepreneur-friendly investor. His due diligence process is quick. He is fairly transparent in his decision making. And moves quickly when he decides to invest. Post investment he has been very engaged in giving solicited advice, contacting other prospective investors on our behalf and even generating a little press for us.PRIVATE: Members Only (387 Characters)


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Policy Guidelines and Appeals
The Office of Graduate Studies policies have been designed and have evolved with the following goals intended:
- to facilitate orderly progress of graduate students,
- to meet expectations of accrediting agencies, other graduate schools and the Board of Regents,
- to provide a common standard and,
- to encourage development of quality programs.
Each graduate student has the responsibility of being aware of The Office of Graduate Studies policies described in the current Graduate Bulletin. Every effort will be made by Graduate Studies personnel, program coordinators and assistants and faculty advisers to aid a student in understanding the pertinent policies.
Appeals Process
Students interested in appealing an administrative decision or policy should follow the Graduate Studies Appeal Procedure. Contact the Office of Graduate Studies with any questions on how to proceed.


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FIVB President impressed with South American development
Lausanne, Switzerland,
September 26, 2013 – The International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) President,
Dr. Ary S. Graça F° was interviewed by 'Volley 360' during the 125th IOC Session that took place in Buenos Aires, Argentina earlier in the month.
Development of FIVB and volleyball in Argentina
"Today 90% of the FIVB budget comes from four countries: Japan, Brazil, Poland and Italy. We don't have a large market, so what we have to do is work hard on a bottom-up approach by developing the sport in continents like Africa and other places. The World League Finals and the Corrientes Grand Slam took place in Argentina because I believe in this country. We know since 1982 that Argentina is very capable of organising tournaments. The 2002 World Championship was fantastic, with excellent results and now we have new stability. I feel certain that now there are more sponsors because people want to put money into the game if there is more stability."
About the introduction of the 21 point rule
"We have to take into account that TV is very important. It's difficult to broadcast a competition if we do not know how many hours the game is going to run. We need for matches to last a maximum of one and a half to two hours."
Development of volleyball in South America
"South American players are good, have been good, and are going to be good. Chile has a sensational male beach volleyball duo and female duo is good, as well as Colombia. We do have to put more effort into helping Peru and Venezuela improve."


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Precise: Craft Refined
Iron wheelbarrows as delicate as lace. Silver wire soldered into fairy-like fragility. This exhibition brings together five contemporary artists who integrate beads, fibres, clay, silver and industrial metals into works of art that expand the definition of craft. The laborious production techniques result in skillfully constructed and conceptually complex pieces. While the artists are addressing particular issues of politics, gender, environment, and historical context/precedent, all the works are linked by the involvement of the hand, the commitment of time, the dedication to precision, and the creation of objects of exquisite beauty. Underlying the artists' work is a deep knowledge of the media and the techniques used to control and work with them. For each artist, the involvement of the hand is key; each work is unique and wrought from the interaction between concept, hand, and material. The hand guides, cuts, weaves, sews, forms, welds, crafts and brings into existence the work. The hand is integral to the equation.
Kye-Yeon Son was the 2011 Governor General Award Winner (Saidye Bronfman Award for Excellence in Fine Craft.) Her elegant and restrained compositions in silver consider the natural environment, speaking to its fragility, resilience, and enduring presence in our lives.
Greg Payce's practice considers the relationship between vessel and human, and our interaction with both the physical presence and the void created/filled by objects. Jane Kidd's exquisite tapestries speak to human interaction with the world in which we exist, our need to understand as well as control it.
Cal Lane transforms metal most commonly used in industrial industry into delicate, lacy statements that question ideas of preciousness, femininity/masculinity, artifice, and ornamentation.Teresa Burrow's incredible beaded creations speak to spirituality, to social issues, and to women's rights and power. Reimagining and reinterpreting cultural myths and storybook tales, she roots her work within her experience of living in Thompson and Northern Manitoba.
The work in Precise: Refined is provocative. It is visually accessible, instinctively engaging, and aesthetically rewarding. It aims to surprise, to awe, and to expand visitor's interpretation of craft as it is practiced in the 21st century.
Related Programs & Events
Past Programs & Events
Beadwork with Teresa Burrows
Embark on your own beadwork project with Precise artist Teresa Burrows
Saturday, September 17, 2011 to Sunday, September 18, 2011
William Kurelek and Precise: Craft Refined
A special day just for WAG membes and their friends with curator tours of these exhibitions.
Thursday, September 29, 2011 from 11am to 5pm
William Kurelek and Precise
Saturday October 1, 2011 at 7pm
Curatorial Tour of Precise: Craft Refined
Thursday, November 3, 2011 from 7pm to 8pm
Curator's Tour - Precise: Craft Refined
Discover the astonishing work of five contemporary artists working in diverse media: metal, clay, and fibre.
Wednesday, November 9, 2011 from 12:10pm to 1pm
Gallery Hours
- Tuesday 11am-5pm
- Wednesday 11am-5pm
- Thursday 11am-5pm
- Friday 11am-9pm
- Saturday 11am-5pm
- Sunday 11am-5pm
- Closed Monday


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A majority of jurisdictions in the United States,
including Massachusetts and New Hampshire, strictly limit a plaintiff's ability
to maintain a cause of action for emotional distress resulting from fear of
acquiring HIV or AIDS, otherwise known as "HIV/AIDS-phobia," by imposing an
objective "actual exposure" standard for determining the cause of the emotional
distress. To meet this standard, a plaintiff who has not tested seropositive
must prove both a scientifically accepted method of transmission of the virus and
that the source of the allegedly transmitted blood or fluid was in fact
In the 2001 Massachusetts Appellate Division case Cole v.
D.J. Quirk, Inc., 2001 WL 705730 (Mass.App.Div. 2001), a husband and
wife who purchased a used car brought claims against the dealership for
negligent infliction of emotional distress after the husband pierced his finger
on a pair of surgical tweezers left in the car by its previous owner. The
plaintiffs subsequently learned that the previous owner was a physician and
found prescription scripts in the car with the words "viral," "ELISA,"
"antibodies" and "specific toxicity," causing them to fear that the surgical
tweezers had been contaminated with HIV. The husband never tested positive for
HIV, and the plaintiffs never had the tweezers tested to determine the presence
of HIV. The trial judge directed a verdict in favor of the defendants. The
Massachusetts Appellate Division, in a well-written opinion authored by former
Justice Daniel B. Winslow of the District Court's Southern Appellate Division,
adopted the objective actual exposure standard of causation. The court,
affirming the directed verdict, determined that the plaintiffs failed to meet
their burden of proof at trial because they did not show that the source of the
allegedly transmitted blood or fluid was in fact HIV-positive.
As Cole was a case of first impression in Massachusetts
on this issue, the court analyzed the holdings of other jurisdictions and
considered the two competing views regarding the proof of causation necessary
to establish a claim for HIV/AIDS-phobia: the objective "actual exposure"
standard and the subjective "reasonable fear" standard. Under the minority
reasonable fear standard, adopted in only a handful of jurisdictions, a
plaintiff who has not tested seropositive may recover damages for emotional
distress by proving a specific incident of potential exposure sufficient to
create a reasonable fear of having contracted the AIDS virus, even in the
absence of a proven source and channel of exposure.
The court recognized that many lay
persons, despite scientific proof to the contrary, continue to believe
that HIV can be transmitted through food, silverware, handshakes and toilet
seats. With this understanding, Cole explicitly rejected the minority
view because the reasonable fear standard weighs heavily against public policy
by stigmatizing persons infected with HIV, and it fails to guard against claims
for HIV/AIDS-phobia that are "trivial, evanescent, temporary, feigned, or
imagined." Therefore, Cole does not preclude a plaintiff's recovery for
emotional distress arising out of fear of acquiring HIV/AIDS, but it limits a
plaintiff's ability to recover by objectively deciding which fears are
compensable in HIV/AIDS-phobia cases. By rejecting the subjective reasonable
fear standard, Massachusetts, like the majority of other jurisdictions that
have addressed this issue, has appropriately thrown away the key to Pandora's Box, along with the potential of stigmatizing persons
infected with HIV.
Questions still remain, however. The Massachusetts
Appellate Division explained in Cole that both the reasonable
fear and actual exposure views are "tempered" in some jurisdictions by
application of a "window of recovery" that limits damages for emotional distress.
This limitation allows for recovery only until the plaintiff has had a
sufficient opportunity to determine with reasonable medical certainty that he
or she has not been exposed to or infected with HIV. The Cole
court did not address whether a claim for HIV/AIDS-phobia would be subject to
this type of limitation in Massachusetts.
Cole also left open the issue of how to handle
HIV/AIDS-phobia cases where the defendant destroys key evidence, such as a potentially-contaminated needle, prior to the evidence being
tested. The court in Cole did note, however, that some courts would apply
spoliation principles to presume that the alleged source of transmission was in
fact HIV positive and leave it to the defense to prove otherwise.
As recently as Sept. 12, 2008, New Hampshire Grafton
Superior Court, in Brocklehurst v. Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center,
addressed the HIV/AIDS-phobia issue and also adopted the actual exposure
standard. There, the court granted summary judgment against a plaintiff who
claimed emotional distress resulting from a fear of acquiring HIV and/or
hepatitis. In adopting the actual exposure standard, the court agreed with the
reasoning of the Missouri Court of Appeals in Pendergist v. Pendergrass, 961
S.W.2d 919 (Mo. Ct. App. 1998), which when grappling with this issue offered
several reasons for preferring the actual exposure test: (1) it ensures that a
genuine basis for the fear exists and that the fear is not premised on public
misconceptions about AIDS, thereby preventing plaintiffs from opening 'a
Pandora's Box of AIDS-phobia claims'; (2) an actual exposure rule preserves an objective
component in emotional distress cases necessary to ensure stability,
consistency and predictability in the disposition of those cases; and (3) the
rule ensures that victims who are exposed to HIV or actually contract HIV as a
result of a defendant's negligence are compensated for their emotional
The overwhelming majority of jurisdictions (including
Massachusetts and New Hampshire) require that a claimant prove actual exposure
to HIV in order to make out a prima facie case involving
incidents of "needle sticks" or other penetrations of bodily integrity.
Consequently, when such events occur, care should be taken to identify and test
source instruments that caused the insult. In the absence of such evidence, it
will prove difficult or impossible for a plaintiff to recover.
Martin C. Foster is a senior partner at Foster & Eldridge LLP in Cambridge, where his practice focuses on the defense of medical providers in malpractice actions. He is also chairman of the Board of Trustees of New England Law Boston.
Stephen M. Fiore is an associate at Foster & Eldridge LLP, where he specializes in the defense of medical providers and provides risk management advice to health care professionals.
Kerry A. Sousa is a J.D. candidate at New England Law Boston (2010) and a graduate of Boston University (B.A. 2005). She is also the law clerk for 12 attorneys at Foster & Eldridge LLP.
Other Articles in this Issue:


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Defense not up to par with Tigers' offense
CHICAGO -- A late rally in which the tying run was just 90 feet from home fell just short as the Tigers were unable to overcome bad defense and ineffectiveness by starter Rick Porcello on Monday night at U.S. Cellular Field.
Detroit committed three errors while Porcello gave up six runs (five earned) on nine hits in five-plus innings in dropping the opener of a four-game series to the White Sox, 6-5.View Full Game Coverage
CHICAGO -- A late rally in which the tying run was just 90 feet from home fell just short as the Tigers were unable to overcome bad defense and ineffectiveness by starter Rick Porcello on Monday night at U.S. Cellular Field.
Detroit committed three errors while Porcello gave up six runs (five earned) on nine hits in five-plus innings in dropping the opener of a four-game series to the White Sox, 6-5.View Full Game Coverage
It was Porcello's error in the sixth, Detroit's third miscue, that proved to be the deciding blow.
Alejandro De Aza led off the inning by dropping down a perfect bunt along the third-base line. Porcello tried to make a barehanded pickup and tough throw to first, and instead airmailed the ball into the stands, allowing De Aza to advance to second and chasing the right-hander from the game. Two batters later, Adam Eaton chopped a single through the left side that scored De Aza and gave Chicago a 6-4 lead.
"When I threw it, I was saying some words that I can't say to you right now to myself for throwing that ball, because that led to another run and we could still be playing right now if I didn't throw that ball into the seats," Porcello said. "That was a play where I just didn't think and I just airmailed it. It was a stupid play and I deserved to come out of the game after that one."
The unearned run ended up being the deciding cushion. With a run already across in the ninth, Ronald Belisario struck out Ian Kinsler on a borderline pitch that frustrated Kinsler, after he missed a double down the left-field line by mere inches two pitches earlier. Belisario then induced a game-ending groundout from pinch-hitter Torii Hunter.
"Well, I mean, I squawked because I thought the pitch was up," Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said. "I haven't looked at the replay, so I can't tell you definitively where it was. But it's obviously a huge pitch because we've got a runner on third, less than two outs. Anything in the outfield probably scores him.
"But, you've gotta move on quickly because you still have a chance to tie it or win the game with Torii coming to the plate."
Detroit's first two errors -- which came on back-to-back plays with two outs in the fourth, ended up not costing the Tigers as Porcello was able to strand the pair. But the White Sox lit up Porcello in the bottom of the fifth after Eugenio Suarez had tied the game at 2 on his second home run, which made him the first Tigers player to hit two homers in his first four games since Brent Clevlen in 2006.
Chicago strung together four straight hits, sent seven men to the plate and scored three times in the bottom half as Porcello, a sinker-baller, struggled to keep the ball down. Gordon Beckham doubled and Conor Gillaspie singled for the first run. Porcello then hung a 1-0 slider to Jose Abreu, who launched it deep into the left-center-field bleachers for a two-run blast that put Chicago up 5-2.
"It's been impressive. But again, I don't look at him as a normal rookie," White Sox manager Robin Ventura said of Abreu. He's played enough and he's old enough and he's talented enough. You don't treat him like a normal rookie because he's a player, a good hitter.
The Tigers clawed back to within a run via their third long ball. After a Miguel Cabrera single, Victor Martinez cracked his 15th homer to right, cutting the deficit to 5-4.
Porcello gave up a pair of runs through the first three innings, but the first probably shouldn't have scored. Adam Eaton led off the first with a line drive to left that J.D. Martinez, who committed one of the fifth-inning errors, misplayed. Martinez let Eaton's hit get by him on one hop and into the corner for a leadoff triple, and Beckham followed with an RBI single.
"It was a struggle from the get-go," said Porcello, whose four-game win streak against Chicago was snapped. "It was in and out for the majority of the night, and just couldn't find any consistency in executing pitches. We face these guys a lot. They know what you're going to do and when you're not on point, on your game, they're going to got all over it."
Cabrera's 12th homer, a mammoth, 431-foot shot to left-center with one out in the fourth, cut Chicago's lead to 2-1. It was a welcome sign after the slugging first baseman was pulled in the seventh inning of Sunday's game because of left hamstring tightness. He served as designated hitter on Monday, and Ausmus said the team will evaluate him Tuesday before determining whether he'll DH again or return to first base.
"It felt better. It felt better than yesterday. Last couple innings it started getting tight again, but hopefully I can get back tomorrow in the field. I'm trying to get loose and trying to go out there and play."
Cabrera's blast, one of three for the Tigers, wasn't enough to overcome the club's sloppy play. Detroit dropped to 3-8 in itslast 11 road games following an 11-game road winning streak. It mirrors the team's slide over the past few weeks.
On May 18, The Tigers were a season-high 15 games over .500 at 27-12. Since then, they've gone 6-15, with a third of those losses coming by two runs or fewer. During that span, Detroit has lost games because of their much-maligned bullpen -- which tossed three scoreless innings -- a lack of clutch-hitting and its defense.
"If this was a young group of guys, I'd be concerned about some type of snowball effect. But because it's not, that doesn't concern me," Ausmus said. "We could've won [Sunday] night and didn't. We could've won tonight and didn't. I don't think with this group of guys that it's going to have a long-term effect."
Joe Popely is an associate reporter for MLB.com.


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Sister-dancers Bhima and SanitaThapa-Magar sway and strut to Nepalese music in a dance they choreographed and performed for their community and guests
I loved that my new Bhutanese friends asked me to join them and a host of guests in dancing, singing, and sumptuous feasting on the first day of Teej. The festival of religious and cultural significance to Hindu women commemorates the reunion of the Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati. Celebrants believe that observing Teej helps strengthen the relationship between husband and wife.
My instant makeover
When I arrived at the Odari home to help transport people to the Clarkston Community Center, the celebration venue, Mrs. Odari and her friends performed my instant makeover: They showered gifts of red bangle bracelets and a Nepalese yellow blouse that Mrs. Odari had purchased just days before they left the refugee camp last year.
Being fussed over (and loving it)
I relished my new Bhutanese friends' careful watch all day. Bishnu, Nirmala, Madhavi, Bhima, Tilchand, and Kamal hovered closely, making sure that I was enjoying myself and ate enough. (At evening's end, Bhima fixed a heaping plate for me to extend my feasting into the night!). My hosts explained the goings-on, translated speeches, and introduced me to their families — parents, grandmothers, cousins, aunts, uncles, nieces, and nephews plus families of their families, friends, and neighbors. I met fellow volunteers, resettlement agency workers, teachers, and other guests, and I caught up with Eve Calhoun, RN, of the DeKalb County Board of Health, and McKenzie Wren of the Refugee Women's Network.
At day's end, my camera battery was drained capturing the festive energy and infectious joy of the crowd as they sang, clapped, and swerved to the music, the Thapa-Magar sisters dancing in their specially-ordered Buddhist costumes, and the red-sari-clad Hindu women swirling while children bounced and spun — human tops in steady motion.
More about Teej
Hi Tamar,
We Bhutanese family are glad to know you, and we want u to come and enjoy with us Teej, the festival of Hindu women in August or early September [the Hindu month of Bhadrapad or Bhado].
Married women observe Teej to honour Lord Shiva and for longevity of their husbands and married life. Unmarried girls observe Teej for good husbands. Traditional dances and songs are features. Red is considered auspicious so most women dress up in red saris and wear glass bangles and heavy ornaments.
The program starts 11:30 am but we want you to come at 10:00 am at Biren's house. Bishnu and Nirmala will ride with you to . Thank you very much.
- FIRST DAY: Dar Khane Din (special food). Celebrations continue till midnight after which a 24-hour fast begins.
- SECOND DAY: Fasting. Women visit temples to offer prayers to Lord Shiva and pray to the Lingum (phallic symbol of the Lord), offering flowers, sweets, and coins, and seeking blessings of divine spirits. They light an oil lamp… and [keep it] lit all night to avoid a bad omen if it goes out.
- THIRD DAY: Rishi Panchami. Hindu Gods are worshipped to cleanse all sins of the previous year. Women take a holy bath with red mud on the roots of the sacred tree and with the leaves. They come out purified and absolved from all sins. After, they sit in a semicircle and chant devotional prayers.
— Madhavi Regmi
My related posts


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Tomato pasta
pasta tubes in tomato sauce (ve) 🥕
Church Road, Horley, Surrey, RH6 8AD 01293 825028
Whether you're looking for a place to keep the kids entertained during the school holidays or are gathering the whole family together for a celebratory meal, children are always welcome at Vintage Inns.
Our menu now allows them to build their own meal by; choosing a main dish, adding a veg side & one additional side.
v = made with vegetarian ingredients
ve = made with vegan ingredients, however some of our preparation and cooking methods could affect this
If you require more information, please ask your server when visiting your local Vintage Inn


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Welcome to the NEW WolfeOnDemand - the global LBGT movie-watching platform
A vibrant romantic comedy!
This wonderfully well-written, well-acted gay comedy is the feel good movie of the year! Dream-hunk René Alvarado (Fall To Grace) stars as nice family boy, Diego who works in his grandma's L.A. restaurant and has a handsome but closeted squeeze on the side (David Beron). Drop-dead gorgeous Steve Callahan (Nine Lives) and super-cute Cory Schneider (M.O. of M.I.) co-star in this hilarious gay love triangle.
Called a "feel good movie" by its fans, this appealing debut film of director Carlos Portugal tells the story of Diego (played by the wonderful and charming Rene Alvarado), a young, closeted Latino, who helps his grand-mother (standout Irene DeBarri) run the family restaurant while carrying on a clandestine relationship with equally closeted Pablo (the delightful David Beron).
Diego has long felt trapped by the conservative culture of East LA and plans to move away and open an upscale restaurant, hopefully with his lover. But Pablo views their situation very differently – a point driven home when he begins dating Diego's spirited Aunt Bianca (hilarious sexpot Gladise Jimenez.) At the same time, white gay men like Jonathan and Wesley are moving in, gentrifying the neighborhood. The attraction between Wesley and Diego is immediate and electric, forcing both men to reexamine their state of affairs in this entertaining comedic drama.
A "coming out" story that avoids all the tired cliches and stays committed to telling the stories of these characters, East Side Story examines bias of all kinds and features stirring performances by incredibly attractive actors. This story sweetly appeals to the romantic impulses of us all, gay and straight.
"Vibrant romantic comedy." – LA WEEKLY


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via press release:
New Series Marks Expansion of truTV's Popular Hardcore Pawn Franchise
truTV's enormously popular Hardcore Pawn franchise is about to expand with an all-new series set in Chicago. The network has greenlit Hardcore Pawn: Chicago, which comes to truTV from Bischoff-Hervey Entertainment (The Catalina and The Devils Ride), with Eric Bischoff and Jason Hervey serving as executive producers. truTV has ordered nine half-hour episodes of the series, which is set to premiere later this year.
Hardcore Pawn: Chicago takes viewers behind the scenes at "the baddest pawn shop in Chicago." One of the city's largest and oldest establishments in the pawn and gold-buying business, Royal Pawn Shop is owned by Randy and Wayne Cohen, two brothers who d on't always see eye to eye, except when it comes to finding the best deals for the business. These over-the-top siblings will wheel and deal with just about anyone, from a sweet kindergarten teacher to an intimidating mob boss.
"If you've ever spent any time in a pawnshop, you've probably seen some of the outrageous characters who come through the doors…or work behind the counter," said Marc Juris, executive vice president and COO of truTV. "Hardcore Pawn: Chicago takes things to a whole new level, thanks to Randy and Wayne's over-the-top personalities and the wild antics of some of their customers."
Hardcore Pawn: Chicago is the second entry in truTV's Hardcore Pawn franchise. The original Hardcore Pawn, which is set at American Jewelry & Loan in Detroit, continues to be truTV's most popular series. Now in its sixth season, with new episodes each Tuesday at 9 p.m. (ET/PT), Hardcore Pawn is averaging 2.5 million viewers this summer. The show ranks among basic cable's Top 5 programs in its timeslot with key adult and male demos.
About Bischoff-Hervey Entertainment
Bischoff-Hervey Entertainment (BHE) specializes in the creation and production of television content. BHE has created, developed and produced both television pilots and series for NBC, VH1, CMT, A&E, E! Entertainment, truTV and SPIKE, including two seasons of the hit series Scott Baio is 45…and Single and Scott Baio is 46…and Pregnant on VH1, and Home Again, with Billy Ray Cyrus on CMT. In 2008, BHE produced Hulk Hogan's Celebrity Championship Wrestling for CMT. In 2009, they produced Confessions of a Teen Idol for VH1, Posse and Runnin' Wild with Ted Nugent for CMT and more than a dozen shows in 2010. BHE produced Beverly Hills Fabulous for Vh-1 in 2011 and in 2012, BHE created and produced the hit series The Devils Ride for Discovery (now going into its second season) and The Catalina for CW. Addit ionally, BHE is currently producing Nick at Nite's first original scripted series, See Dad Run, starring Scott Baio. BHE also produces iMPACT!, one of the highest-rated weekly series on Spike.
About truTV
truTV, one of cable's fastest growing brands, offers a wildly entertaining look at the real world through outrageous characters, unpredictable situations and irreverent storytelling. Currently seen in 92 million U.S. households, truTV features such popular original series as Hardcore Pawn, Full Throttle Saloon, Lizard Lick Towing, Storage Hunters, Impractical Jokers, Operation Repo, South Beach Tow, Black Gold and World's Dumbest, as well as the acquired hit Wipeout. In addition, truTV is a partner in airing the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship. During the daytime, the channel features expert trial coverage under the name In Session.
Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company, creates and programs branded news; entertainment ; animation and young adult; and sports media environments on television and other platforms for consumers around the world.


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2 Senate debates scheduled before NC early voting
Two televised debates and possibly a third will air later this month so North Carolina voters can learn more about some of the eight Republican U.S. Senate candidates.
The first is slated for April 22 at Davidson College. Time Warner Cable News will broadcast the hour-long debate, which also will be streamed by co-sponsors The Charlotte Observer and The News & Observer of Raleigh.
The participating candidates will be Greg Brannon, Heather Grant, Mark Harris and Thom Tillis.
Tillis, Brannon and Grant currently are scheduled to appear April 23 at a half-hour debate at the WRAL-TV studios in Raleigh. Early voting begins April 24 for the May 6 primary.
And UNC-TV says it's invited Harris, Brannon and Tillis to an April 28 debate at the network's Research Triangle Park studios.


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Typical economic policy is fairly straightforward: Spend more and cut taxes when the economy is weak. Hike taxes only when we've recovered.
During a Reddit Ask Me Anything session, billionaire Mark Cuban offered up a very contrarian take on taxes.
First, here was the question that keyed off his claim that taxes should rise on the rich, and that it wouldn't be that harmful to the economy.
Could you further explain your stance on taxes for businesses? I've seen where you said that taxes essentially don't matter for business. That entrepreneurs will still start a business because they don't say, "Wow, I have a great idea but the tax rate is too high." Still, wouldn't it be helpful to have lower taxes because when those entrepreneurs sell their business, they have more money left to fund other businesses? If I sell my business for $1MM and capital gains is 5% higher than it is now, that's $50K that I can't invest in startups. That's easily 5 less businesses that will have to find capital elsewhere.
And here's Cuban's answer (lightly edited for punctuation):
Like everyone else, I want taxes lower. More money = more choices. BUT, I believe in taking responsibility for the circumstances we find ourselves in. As a citizen I voted for a bunch of the idiots in office. When they were doing stupid shit, I stood by quietly. Even when I spoke up, it didn't impact anything. So while I believe that lower taxes are good. I recognize that I was part of the problem. And given that we are in the middle of a big problem, what I believe is the optimal way doesn't matter. What matters now is fixing the problem. Unfortunately the way to fix the problem is to have those who can pay more to pay more. I've been proactive individually, I've written checks to the City of Dallas. I've written big checks for disasters where I know that anything not financed privately is going to come from taxpayers. So its my small way of trying to help. I think all these politicians who ignore the current context/realities of where we are, hurt more than help If it were up to me, I would increase taxes and create metrics that triggered declines. If the unemployment rate falls to 6pct nationally and the Deb/t GDP ratio declines to a specified amount, we lower taxes. If it goes the other way, we increase them further on the wealthy. I could go on for days on ideas, but no one is listening to me. :)
This is a very businessy way of looking at taxes, that lower taxes are like a bonus for good times, and that in bad times people should take home less. That does make sense in a business. As a tax policy, it's pretty much the opposite of what every economist will argue.
That being said, on Twitter Conor Sen makes a good point, which is that this creates an incentive for the rich to actively care about the unemployment rate, and to promote policies which would get there. There may be a way to structure it so that it works out well for everyone.


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(From Mordy Golding's blog.) Adobe has released a replacement plugin to fix an issue where layers aren't imported correctly when opening DXF or DWG files. Here's the information from Adobe:
This updated plug-in creates layers in Illustrator CS3 that correspond to the layers in the DXF or DWG file and imports the objects in the corresponding layer. However, because of differences in the way layers are treated in Illustrator and AutoCAD, object stacking order may change after importing a DXF or DWG file with this plug-in.
Install this optional plug-in only if you want to maintain the layer hierarchy while opening a DXFor DWG file in Illustrator CS3. This plug-in works for all languages and operating systems that meet the minimum system requirements for Adobe Illustrator CS3.
If you never import DXF or DWG files, then there's no need for you to install the plugin. If you do require this fix, please read the information and instructions carefully. Apparently, it's very important to first remove the older plugin before installing the new one.
Information and a link to the download can be found here.


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In Argentina, Mix of Money and Politics Stirs Intrigue Around Kirchner
Allegations Against Construction Baron Lázaro Báez Focus Attention on Wealth of President and Her Late Husband
RIO GALLEGOS, Argentina—During the 11 years that Argentine President Cristina Kirchner and her husband Néstor Kirchner have dominated national politics, they accumulated a small fortune.
Between 2003, when Mr. Kirchner was elected president, and 2010, when he died, the couple's net worth rose from $2.5 million to $17.7 million, according to their annual filings with the federal anticorruption office. A lot of people in Argentina want to know where that money came from....


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Rubber boa
|Coastal rubber boa
|Scientific classification
C. bottae
|Binomial name
|Charina bottae
(Blainville, 1835)
The rubber boa (Charina bottae) is a species of snake in the family Boidae. The species is native to North America.
Henri Marie Ducrotay de Blainville described the rubber boa in 1835. The generic name Charina is from the Ancient Greek "graceful" or "delightful", and the specific name bottae honors Dr. Paolo E. Botta, an Italian ship's surgeon, explorer, and naturalist.[3]
The family Boidae consists of the nonvenomous snakes commonly called boas and consists of 43 species. The genus Charina consists of two species, both of which are found in North America. Charina bottae is sometimes also known as the coastal rubber boa or the northern rubber boa and is not to be confused with the southern rubber boa (Charina umbratica). There is debate on whether the southern rubber boa should be a separate species or a subspecies (Charina bottae umbratica). The only other boa species found in the United States is the rosy boa (Lichanura trivirgata).
Rubber boas are one of the smaller boa species, adults can be anywhere from 38 to 84 cm (1.25 to 2.76 ft) long; newborns are typically 19 to 23 cm (7.5 to 9.1 in) long. The common name is derived from their skin which is often loose and wrinkled and consists of small scales that are smooth and shiny, these characteristics give the snakes a rubber-like look and texture. Colors are typically tan to dark brown with a lighter ventral surface but sometimes olive-green, yellow, or orange. Newborns often appear pink and slightly transparent but darken with age. Rubber boas have small eyes with vertically elliptical pupils and short blunt heads that are no wider than the body. One of the most identifiable characteristics of rubber boas is their short blunt tails that closely resemble the shape of their head. Rubber boas appear quite different visually than any other species that share the same range (except maybe for the southern rubber boa) and thus are usually easy to identify.
Rubber boas are the most Northerly of Boa species. The distribution of rubber boas covers a large portion of the western United States, stretching from the Pacific Coast east to western Utah and Montana, as far south as the San Bernardino and San Jacinto Mountains east of Los Angeles in California, and as far north as southern British Columbia. There have also been rare sightings in Colorado and Alberta in addition to the states/provinces that they are known to thrive in: California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, and extending to its northernmost range in British Columbia. This is also the highest latitude of any boa, that is to say the closest point to either pole for a boa.[4]
Rubber boas have been known to inhabit a wide variety of habitat types from grassland, meadows and chaparral to deciduous and conifer forests, to high alpine settings. They can be found at elevations anywhere from sea level to over 10,000 feet (3,000 m). They are not as tolerant of higher temperatures as other snake species and cannot inhabit areas that are too hot and dry, but can live in areas that are surprisingly cold, especially for a snake. Rubber boas also spend a large amount of time under shelter (rocks, logs, leaf litter, burrows, etc.) and thus must live in habitats that can provide this, as well as adequate warmth, moisture, and prey. It is also thought that rubber boas maintain a relatively small home range as many individuals are often captured in the same vicinity year after year, although individuals may occasionally migrate due to competition, lack of prey, or other pressures.
Characteristics of rubber boas behavior also set them apart from other snakes. Rubber boas are considered one of the most docile of the boa species and are often used to help people overcome their fear of snakes.[5] Rubber boas are known to never strike at or bite a human under any circumstances but will release a potent musk from their vent if they feel threatened. They are primarily nocturnal and likely crepuscular (active during dawn and dusk) which partially contributes to how rarely they are encountered. Because of the temperate regions they inhabit rubber boas hibernate during the winter months in underground dens.
Rubber boas primarily feed on young mammals such as shrews, voles, mice, etc. When nestling mammals are encountered they will try to consume the entire litter if possible and fend off the mother with their tail, this is why individuals will often have extensive scarring on their tails. Rubber boas have also been known to prey on snake eggs, lizard eggs, lizards, young birds, young bats, and there have even been instances of them eating other snakes.
Rubber boas can be preyed upon by almost any reasonably sized predator in their habitat. When threatened, rubber boas will curl into a ball, bury their head inside, and expose their tail to mimic their head. While this is thought to be a primary defense technique against predators, it is not effective against many predators (raptors, coyotes, raccoons, cats, etc.). The best defense of rubber boas is their secretive nature.
Rubber boas are viviparous (give birth to live young) and can have up to 9 young per year, but many females will only reproduce every four years. Mating occurs shortly after reemergence from hibernation in the spring and young are born anywhere from August to November later that year.[6]
The southern rubber boa is found only in a few disjunct areas of California.
The rubber boa is a primitive snake compared to its much larger relatives native to Latin America, which include the boa constrictor, emerald tree boa, and green anaconda. The rubber boa has retained the club-like tail of its Erycine ancestors.
It is an extremely adaptable snake. It is a good climber, burrower, and even swimmer.
The rubber boa has established populations around: Pemberton, British Columbia,[7] Williams Lake, British Columbia,[8] Radium Hot Springs, British Columbia.[9]
- ^ "Charina bottae ". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
- ^ Boulenger GA (1893). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume I., Containing the Families ... Boidæ ... London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiii + 448 pp. + Plates I-XXVIII. (Charina bottæ, pp. 130-131).
- ^ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Charina bottae, p. 33).
- ^ [1]
- ^ "All About The Rubber Boa Charina bottae, Natural History (and other info) of the Rubber Boa". All About The Rubber Boa Charina bottae. October 8, 2009. Retrieved October 8, 2009.
- ^ "California Reptiles and Amphibians, Northern Rubber Boa". California Reptiles & Amphibians. February 23, 2009. Retrieved February 23, 2009.
- ^ [2]
- ^ [3]
- ^ "Radium Hot Springs' Remarkable Rubber Boa: A Species of Special Concern". Parks Canada Agency. October 4, 2004. Archived from the original on February 23, 2007. Retrieved June 12, 2007.
- Hoyer RF (1974). "Description of a rubber boa (Charina bottae) population from western Oregon". Herpetologica 30: 275-283.
- Hoyer RF, Stewart GR (2000). "Biology of the rubber boa (Charina bottae), with emphasis on C. b. umbratica. Part I: Capture, size, sexual dimorphism, and reproduction". Journal of Herpetology 34: 248-354.
- Hoyer RF, Stewart GR (2000). "Biology of the rubber boa (Charina bottae), with emphasis on C. b. umbratica. Part II: Diet, antagonists, and predators". Journal of Herpetology 34: 354-360.
- Hoyer R (2011). All About the Rubber Boa.
- Klauber LM (1943). "The subspecies of the rubber boa, Charina ". Trans. San Diego Soc. Nat. Hist. 10: 83-90.
- Nussbaum R, Hoyer RF (1974). "Geographic variation and the validity of subspecies in the rubber boa, Charina bottae ". Northwest Science 48: 219-229.
- Rodrigues-Robles JA et al. (2001). "Mitochondrial DNA based phylogeography of North American rubber boas, Charina bottae ". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 8 (2): 227–237.
- Stebbins RC (1955). A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians, Second Edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
External links[edit]
- Data related to Charina bottae at Wikispecies
- Media related to Charina bottae at Wikimedia Commons
- Charina bottae - Northern Rubber Boa Californiaherps.com, A Guide to the Amphibians and Reptiles of California.
- Rubber Boa (Charina bottae). Reptiles of British Columbia.


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Leaving tomorrow, gone for two weeks. Stuffed suitcases with about 150lbs of nutritional supplements for wife's relatives. Feels like I'm boarding a time machine to the 1980's... who the heck brings back nutritional supplements to Beijing in this day and age? Well, I guess there's something to be said about being FDA approved... but then I'm not sure if nutritional supplements are. That, the perpetual smog, and the back to back banquets are making this trip seem rather bleak.
Well, Sanya should be a good break from all this snow. Spent around 6-7 hours shoveling last weekend. Just paid $115 for long term parking in a garage today, just can't leave my car parked in the usual places with all this snow.
Anyone know of of any (fairly recent) good games or WuXia series from the mainland worth picking up?