text:
Styles and System
We are often asked what style of martial arts we teach at FMA. Whilst qualified to teach a variety of specific styles including kickboxing, jiu jitsu, catch wrestling, MMA and real combat systems, we choose rather to teach a way or a philosophy best described as Martial Arts Concepts. Martial Arts Concepts is an open philosophy of training with a Black Belt attitude and white belt mindset in any physical pursuits and martial arts styles that improves your health and fitness, self defence ability, or character and mental strength. Be this carding forum 2016 from now on. Whilst the core of the system is, and will always be real self defence, the health and fitness and character building aspects are truly profound.
What We Offer
Martial Arts
Self Defense
Leadership Life Skills
"The warrior is not someone who fights, because no one has the right to take another's life. The warrior, for us, is one who sacrifices himself for the good of others. His task is to take care of the elderly, the defenseless, those who cannot provide for themselves, and above all, the children, the future of humanity."


text:
Email has been sent to with instructions on resetting your password.
Enroll in a Dignity Health account to simplify finding a doctor and scheduling an appointment. Let's start!
By selecting "I Agree" or "Create Account" and clicking the box "I AGREE" below, you acknowledge and agree that you have read, understood and accepted the terms of service at the hyperlink below:
Legal and Privacy Notices
Bay Area Hospital Foundations
Dignity Health/UCSF Health Partnership
End of Life Option Act
Mission, Vision, and Values
Lung cancer is the third most common cancer in men and women and the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the US. Not all lung cancers have the same treatment strategies. At Dignity Health, an expert oncologist can determine the type of lung cancer you have and create a personalized plan for your care.
To receive personalized treatment for lung cancer in the Bay Area, Find a Doctor online today.
The symptoms of lung cancer don't begin until the disease is advanced. When symptoms do occur, they can include:
Dignity Health doctors diagnose these symptoms at cancer centers in the Bay Area:
The main cause of lung cancer is smoking, resulting in 90 percent of cases. Your risk goes up the longer you smoke and the more you smoke — this includes cigarettes, cigars, and pipes.
Additional lung cancer risk factors include:
Your risk goes down if you quit smoking, no matter what age you are.
Treatment for lung cancer depends on the stage and type of the disease. The goal of treatment is to stop the cancer from spreading and lessen pain and other symptoms. Your doctor may recommend one or more of these treatment options:
If you have lung cancer, you may want to ask your Dignity Health doctor about clinical trials that offer experimental treatments. We'll help you find an option that meets your unique needs.
Dignity Health hospitals in the Bay Area offer guidance on lung cancer risk factors and care to treat all stages of lung cancer in San Francisco, Santa Cruz, and Redwood City.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Several factors might push an organization to adopt an Enterprise Application. If you are a small or medium size company, it would be the invasion of large companies which forces you to conduct business electronically. All organizations are under tremendous pressure to deliver goods and services faster and better at reduced cost. For streamlining the operations of a business, several application, customer relationship, business intelligence, supply chains or other enterprise resources should work smoothly like good partners. EAI bridges the gap between these diverse systems and eases the flow of data between applications. And an interface will help manage the exchange of data among each other. An ERP can improve sharing of Information by Integrating ERP and Sales force or improve response time of the business in a dynamic environment. This will not only help you to identify opportunities for growth but also exploit the opportunities. A well implemented enterprise application will help your organization to take full advantage of your investment in technology. Developing an Enterprise Application is not like developing a general mobile application, that make businesses earn revenues. It is more like a business process, which is critical and bigger.
1 Comment
Hi, this is a comment.
To get started with moderating, editing, and deleting comments, please visit the Comments screen in the dashboard.
Commenter avatars come from Gravatar.


text:
Reading Terminal Market - Traditionally Fresh.
Mouth watering aromas. Produce fresh from the field. Amish specialties. International delicacies. Fresh meats, seafood and poultry. Unique souvenirs, hand-made pottery. Jewelry and crafts from around the world. It's all here in Philadelphia's historic farmers market, Reading Terminal Market. An exhilarating selection of eclectic restaurants, baked goods, meats, poultry, seafood, produce, flowers, ethnic foods, cookware and more await your visit. We invite you to explore this unique and extraordinary historic farmers market in downtown Philadelphia.
You are not currently logged in.
AgMap is nationwide ! Find out more!!
Thanksgiving is right around the corner. Find the perfect turkey.


text:
Apogee Group International is a legally registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Our mission is to advance business ventures, engineering and science in developing countries by providing education, mentoring, networking, consulting and funding.
We also offer a partnership for companies and organizations that want to expand their products to developing countries. We are engaged in the developing world by sharing their ideas, technologies, and their stories, so We together make both economic and scientific progress toward economic freedom and innovation advancement. We have offices in the Ivory Coast and the United States.
Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton


text: Theatre Please note this event has already taken place and you are viewing an archived page of the Lakeside website.For a list of current events, exhibitions and workshops, please click on 'What's On' in the menu above Dance4 Presents THIS EVENT TOOK PLACE IN 2010 Running Time: 90 mins approx An evening of exceptional international dance from young artists featuring Flying High Youth Dance Company (Nottingham), Tanzzeit Jugendcompany (Berlin), Dance4's CAT - Centre for Advanced Training (East Midands) Candoco Youth Dance Company (UK). Choreography by Miguel Pereira (Portugal), Matthias Sperling (UK), Pete Shenton - New Art Club (UK), Livia Patrizi (Germany), Florian Bilbao (Germany), Natalie Ayton (UK) and Sarah Blanc (UK). This exciting celebration of cross-cultural dialogue and performance is part of a wider creative exchange between TanzZeit and Dance4. Dance4 provides international opportunities for young artists with support from Igniting Ambition: the East Midlands Legacy Trust UK programme Youth Dance: International Exchange from Dance4 on Vimeo. www.dance4.co.uk


text:
Question asked by Sandy Todd Webster 3128 days ago
How Do You Deal With Competition?
Answers (12)
Below are a couple of my favorite quotes about competition. "I'm the first to admit that I am very competitive and that I'll do nearly anything within legal bounds to win. Sometimes, part of making a deal is denigrating your competition." —Donald Trump "I'm competitive with myself. I always try to push past my own borders." —Tyra Banks. When I give lectures to other business owners, the first thing I tell them about competition is that competition is a natural part of business life, so you need to accept it. However, what you don't have to accept is the competition "outdoing" you. If you give 100% of yourself, your creativity and gut instinct to be the best, you'll always win. No one will ever do what you do, the way you do it! So why not do what you do better than anyone else? Then competition simply becomes a business in the ring, and you have no problems knocking it out. If you don't believe you have the best business in the world, no one else will either. Competition simply makes you work harder and focus more on doing what you do better than others. It motivates you to become the best at what you do.
Hello Sandy,
I don't look at other Trainers as competition, but embrace them into the field. Time will tell if another trainer has chosen the right career by the results they achieve for their clients with the reputation backing those results.
I don't look at other Trainers as competition, but embrace them into the field. Time will tell if another trainer has chosen the right career by the results they achieve for their clients with the reputation backing those results.
There is always competition. Look at Coke and Pepsi, Verizon and Sprint, Apple and IBM or Adidas and Nike, for example. Whether I was pursuing my master's in exercise physiology, going for my ACE or ACSM certifications, attending an IDEA conference or even hiring my staff of personal trainers, the people I was interacting with were not only my contemporaries but also my competition. As Diane Sawyer, co-host of Good Morning America, once said, "Competition is easier to accept if you realize it is not an act of oppression or abrasion. I've worked with my best friends in direct competition." I'm used to competition. Prior to starting Solo Fitness, I moved to New York to be a modern dancer. My fellow dancers were my friends, confidantes and hang-out buddies. But when it came to auditioning, it was each woman for herself. That was understood. We supported each other in class and wished each other well in auditions, and whatever happened, happened. However, our support for each other when one got the gig and the other didn't never faltered. That was and is to this day a rule I live by. The work is out there. As colleagues we need to support, encourage and congratulate each other, just as we do with our clients every time we train them. I have found that the more I focus on my competitor's success, the more I freeze. As Sawyer said, her best friends are her competitors. And why not? They are alike, and only they know the "ins and outs" of the biz. Like minds migrate toward each other. I handle competition by moving and grooving to my own beat. Solo Fitness has been around for almost 20 years, and it has developed brand recognition as a specialized one-on-one training organization. Know what you do best, and keep on doing it. I feel that that's the only way to deal with competition. Once Solo Fitness has made a referral connection, we nurture and sustain it. It's the personal connections we make with our clients, trainers, referrals and other vendors that keep the association thriving. On another note, my staff is my competition as well. Even though my trainers sign a noncompete contract, they may take clients for themselves. My goal is to give staff incentives to refer potential clients to Solo Fitness rather than take them on personally. So what's the benefit to the trainers? It's financial. They receive referral fees as well as right of first refusal for the clients they refer. Most important, as staff members of Solo Fitness, they receive all the other benefits and support of being in an organization. Jack Welch, former chairman of General Electric, said, "The essence of competitiveness is liberated when we make people believe that what they think and do is important—and then get out of their way while they do it." So my closing thoughts: Know your competition; know what you do fabulously well, and do it!
I am not a competitive person, in that I am usually too interested in what I am doing to pay much attention to what others are doing. So when others compete, it doesn't affect me a lot; I just stay focused. I have found that concentrating on my work keeps me from dwelling on other people's behavior, which I can't change—and I'm happier for that. As the aerobics coordinator for a popular club and for Oracle Corporation fitness center, I focused on doing a good job and acting fairly to my staff. Periodically, I would run afoul of one of the instructors, but overall I found that striving for excellence and being fair worked, and things ran pretty smoothly. When I left after 6 years because I moved, the owner sent me a handwritten card thanking me for making the programs successful. As a studio owner, I naturally competed with fitness facilities in my area. But when I started my business, I made sure I offered something unique, and my business prospered. I left a small gym to open my own company, but I maintained an amicable relationship with my previous employer. Some of my clients came to me every so often to get tips on their programs, while doing their weekly workouts at the gym. Other clients started with me and then moved on to join the gym. So the gym was a tool, another option to help clients keep fit, not a negative. Three other businesses, a Pilates studio and two small fitness studios, opened in my area about the same time mine did. Because it's a small community, I already knew two of the owners, and I maintained good relationships with all of them. When I felt that a client could use a change or if I thought what I was doing wasn't working, I'd recommend that the client go to one of these other facilities. Now, as I downsize my own operations owing to life changes, I have offers to teach and to train for these other businesses, and I know that if I choose to work for them, I can count on these people to treat me right. Interestingly, a Curves® opened up while I still had my studio, and I picked up clients who weren't satisfied with their experience there. So the competition actually benefited me in that case. For me the lesson is that if you focus on making the right choices, educating yourself and being good at what you do, you find that the competitiveness in others doesn't really matter. You will succeed.
I'm assuming you mean business competition....I welcome it! It keeps us aware and on our toes. All I ask is that it's fair, clean, and legal.
I've never looked at other businesses in my industry as competition. I've looked at them as opportunities. Competition (like Michelle said) keeps me on my toes and pushes me to work harder and smarter. Also, it allows me to see what holes are missing and perhaps I can fill them. The minute you view competition as a negative thing, you won't be able to work smarter on your business.
Answered by Joanne Duncan-Carnesciali 3038 days ago
I think competition is healthy. Anything that you love is worth working really hard for.
Personally, I believe it is important to look at one's motivation behind being competitive. It is possible to lose out on business opportunities if one cannot see their competitor as a potential ally.
Personally, I believe it is important to look at one's motivation behind being competitive. It is possible to lose out on business opportunities if one cannot see their competitor as a potential ally.
I welcome it with open arms. I enjoy seeing my product shine in a contest of service amongst my peers. I focus most of my attention on the client, however, I learn the business end, largely FROM my competitors.
study them, adapt and overcome. Offer something better.
Answered by Harris Sophocleous 2486 days ago
I agree with Shawn, the best way to deal with the competition is to learn and offer something new and better. Don't put too much energy as to how your competition is doing, but rather as to what they are doing so you can offer something different. Keep educating yourself and learn how to promote and make your business known out there in order to get one or more steps ahead of your competition. It's true we all learn from each other, but what we do with all that knowledge is what separate us form the rest.
I always assess my unique values and I promote those unique values when I am interviewing a prospect. I don't worry too much about what my comp is doing per se. I do pay attention to how the industry is evolving and always try to stay on top of new trends.
When I was 17 years of age my mother revealed to me that she never had one of a kind abilities or unprecedented blessings. she put in diligent work and regularly felt that she needed to invest more energy to stretch out beyond his rivals. The key, she imparted to me, was to separate yourself from others. Still i am following her idea to succeed in my life
Zara gray
Yoga instructor and writer at https://sites.google.com/site/bestessaywritingservicereview/
Zara gray
Yoga instructor and writer at https://sites.google.com/site/bestessaywritingservicereview/


text:
A visual inspection and short test drive is necessary to determine an accurate and fair offer for your car. The entire process from start to finish usually takes 45-minutes or less.
While we accept customers who walk-in, we recommend you to make an appointment so that the process to purchase your vehicle will be quick and easy. Although we welcome anyone that walks through our door, walk-ins may lead to a longer waiting time.
Not at all. If your car is leased or financed, all you will need is a 10-day payoff quote from your lender as well as your account information.
If your car is financed:
You will need to have ALL individuals present during the time of sale to sign the transfer and payoff documents. If the registered owner(s), co-signer(s) or co-applicant(s) can't be present, please contact our office prior to your visit to see what we can do for you.
If your car is leased:
Many vehicles are eligible to be purchased by us and may be of benefit to the seller prior to returning to lessor because of their positive equity.
Please note – if there is negative equity on the payoff, we must collect the deficiency in order to provide the lender with the full amount of the payoff before receiving the title.
In an event that there is a positive equity on the payoff, we will gladly issue that to you.
No big deal. We'll purchase your vehicle and issue funds, but we can't release it until title is obtained from DMV.
Don't worry about that. Our costs for correcting or repairing any damages are usually less than what it may cost you so let us do the work for you so you can save yourself the time and money.
While we are similar in operation, we're also different in every other way. Although we buy cars, we do not have retail inventory to sell to our customers. Our team aims to change the car buying experience for everyone that walks in our doors and make sure they not only leave with a higher offer but also with an amazing customer experience.
We welcome all cars from year 2000 onward and up to 120,000 miles.
All you need to bring is ID, title (if owned), registration and all keys.
- If you don't have your title, then we can request a duplicate title. (California only)
- If you don't have your registration, we can look it up for you. (California only)
- If you don't have all the keys, depending on the year make and model, fees may vary.
- Do I need to contact the DMV for information prior to my appointment? Does my registration and all DMV fees need to be current?
Nope, our team does all the work. We can access DMV information directly to gather all the necessary information on your vehicle for you.
After your appointment, we will mail your check to you via FedEx Standard Overnight.


text:
Technology support in your own home
Is your personal PC full of viruses? Don't go through the hassle of bringing it into a service center. Call Technical Service Assistance and we'll come directly to you. We provide on-site technology support to anyone in the Philadelphia area.
Here's a list of the in-home services Technical Service Assistance provides:
- Computer Support – repair and maintenance on personal PCs, modems and printers
- Data & Communications Support – setting up your wireless network, file sharing, VoIP phone systems and more
The experts at Technical Service Assistance will teach you how to use any electronic device in your household. If you can't get your garage door opener to work properly, we'll do the research and give you an in-home tutorial on how to use it.
Let Technical Service Assistance simplify your technology.
Contact us today.
Areas Covered
We provide a range of Computer Support, Network Services and IT Consulting in Newtown Square, King of Prussia, Malvern, Norristown, West Chester, Philadelphia, Broomall, Conshohocken and Media.
Local experts who can visit on-site:Newtown Square Computer Support, King of Prussia Network Services, Malvern IT Consulting, and Newtown Square IT Support


text:
Posted: Feb 20, 2018
TULSA, Okla. – With heavy rains striking northeastern Oklahoma, the Oral Roberts baseball game scheduled for Tuesday afternoon at Oklahoma State has been postponed. A makeup date has yet to be determined.
The Golden Eagles turn their attention to an extended homestand playing their next eight games at home. ORU opens its second of three-straight weekends at home welcoming Nevada to J.L. Johnson Stadium for three games Feb. 23-25.
For the latest information on ORU Baseball, follow the Golden Eagles on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, or go to www.ORUAthletics.com. Fans can also receive updates on the team by downloading two mobile apps, ORU Golden Eagles Live and ORU Front Row, available on the App Store and Google Play.


text:
By Roger Morris, Ed.D. |
Parents, politicians, teachers and students are looking for effective teacher leaders and school administrators who will not only manage and lead a school but can navigate the difficulties surrounding school districts in America today. According to many sources, these are the most challenging times schools in this country have ever faced. "Perhaps more than ever the quotation from Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities describes the positions of public education: 'It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.' Actually, given the criticisms of public education, some of these directly involved in K through 12 education might argue that the only relevant part is 'it was the worst of times'" (Marzano, 2003, p. 1). While this may or may not be an accurate perception by some, education has always undergone change and transformation since the first Puritan schools of the 1640s. Change can serve as an opportunity for growth and higher success. Marzano even admitted to this when he stated, "In effect, we stand at a crossroads—will we implement the research-based guidelines to produce schools that don't just work but that work remarkably well? To do so requires a powerful commitment to change the status quo" (Marzano, 2003, p. 10) Likewise, school leaders are under constant pressure for schools to produce results on tests and other measures that are deemed appropriate by politicians and the communities which they serve. As a result of this pressure and other factors, such as retirements, the teacher leadership, and principal leadership pools are becoming smaller. "Filling vacant principalships is becoming problematic because the pool of candidates willing to assume positions as school leaders grows smaller" (Carr, 2004, p. 173). With the pool of qualified teacher leader and educational leadership candidates shrinking, communities are looking for dynamic school leaders that have a high degree of leadership qualities.
Much research has taken place on the concept of "servant leadership", which is a model that describes the leadership of Jesus (Grahn, 2011). Much of the research conducted on servant leadership is its application to either church ministry or business. However in education, servant leadership has been recently studied and has become a model for school leaders in the 21st Century.
In a review of leadership models from a historical perspective, there appear to be three underlying characteristics of leadership in the 19th and 20th Centuries. They are:
- The premise that leaders are born, not made.
- Management and the success of organizations are directly linked.
- No failure is tolerated (Crippen, 2004).
These characteristics are still expected by some organizations, including school districts, particularly in the era of testing accountability. The phrase taken from the movie Apollo 13 that is commonly used by people outside of educational leadership is "failure is not an option." Servant leadership has offered an old approach to leadership, but a new concept in the education world.
In this analysis, one question will be considered. Can Jesus' model for leadership work in a school setting? In order to answer this question, an examination of Jesus and His leadership traits needs to be examined as well as best practices for school leaders. This study examines the leadership of Jesus and whether or not His model can apply to the complex and sometimes difficult position of a school leader.
Servant Leadership as Jesus's Model to Lead Others
The term "servant leadership" appears nowhere in the Bible. It was generally used to define Jesus' leadership style and was first used by Greenleaf as early as 1970 (Crippen, 2004). Since then, much has been written about servant leadership, both in the context of Jesus and in the context of a general set of characteristics to be used by business leaders and others. Blanchard described Jesus' leadership approach as "a transformational journey" (Blanchard, 1999). Greenleaf, however, was apparently the first to recognize servant leaders as a model for successful leaders in many different types of organizations (Greenleaf, 1996). According to scripture, Jesus does address the importance of sacrifice and denying the importance of oneself as key. Mark 8:34 states, "Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: 'Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.'" In another discussion, Jesus described the attitude teachers and leaders need to demonstrate. In Matthew 25:40, Jesus stated in a parable, "Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me."
Effective Leadership
Greenleaf did not advocate a model or "formula" for leadership (Greenleaf, p. 299, 1996). On the contrary, he advocated that leaders "should design his own strategies if he wants to be his optimal best" (Greenleaf, p. 299, 1996). However, he did provide several characteristics of leaders that he believed, have proven to distinguished good leaders from bad leaders. They are generally characterized in his writings as the following (Greenleaf, 1996):
- Leaders should have a vision and set goals, both personal goals and work for the organization to have definitive goals.
- Leaders should be willing to prioritize tasks and be willing to neglect unimportant ones.
- Leaders should listen, even if the person is opposed to what is being done.
- Leaders must be able to clearly articulate the goal to the wide audience.
- Leaders must have a high moral and high ethical value structure and set the example for others.
- Leaders must be willing to grow as a person intellectually.
- Leaders must be willing to withdraw from leadership for a time to relax, rest, and reprioritize.
- Leaders must tolerate mistakes and imperfect people.
- Leaders must be genuine.
- Leaders may not be accepted by everyone, but they must be accepting of everyone.
Greenleaf's principles can apply to both teacher leaders and school leaders. With the emergence of teacher-based teams in the nation's schools, it is critical for teachers to see themselves as leaders of a larger organization (Portner, 2013). Likewise, principals should see themselves as a "leader of leaders" (Portner, 2013). These strategies are tied to two key qualities that all leaders must have, according to Greenleaf (1996) and they are to "know the unknowable, and foresee the unforeseeable" (p. 313). Many perceive these characteristics as a visionary perspective of what could and might happen in school situations requiring teacher and school leadership (Blanchard, 2005). Blanchard (2005) adds more characteristics of this model to include the following:
- Leaders serve as performance coaches
- Leaders identify potential leaders, train them, and transform them into leaders that can take over.
Comparison of Qualities of Effective School Leadership and Jesus' Model for Leadership
School leadership has been studied and written about for many years. The challenges facing school districts and schools in the age of accountability is a dynamic shift in the early days of the common school. The United States federal government is recognizing that the concept of school leader has changed. "Principals were thought of for many decades as building managers and supervisors of operations—and principal preparation programs were designed accordingly. But we now know that the role of the principal has changed dramatically.
Today, the job of a principal is to be an instructional leader, not just a supervisor. Top-flight school leaders are more like CEOs than building managers. They can oversee multimillion dollar budgets and hundreds of employees. They work with community organizations and the media and are expected to serve as change agents" (Duncan, 2015). In other words, in addition to supervision, school leaders are expected to be teachers of teachers and leader of leaders. Effective school leadership has now been quantified by the states that operated and supervise the schools in the localities. Each state has a model for effective school leadership. However, most states do have a general set of characteristics that are modeled after commonly-accepted standards that have been researched to be effective (Canole, 2015). These standards are commonly referred to as ISLLC/ELCC. For the purposes of this paper, they will be referred to as "the standards". Generally, the standards are broken into six areas (Canole, 2015).
Standard 1
A building-level education leader must have knowledge of how to promote the success of students by understanding principles for the development, articulation, implementation, and stewardship of a school vision of learning (Canole, 2015). This standard is directly reflected and referred to in the Canole (2015) report this concept of servant leadership. "Stewardship is a concept of leadership as a servant-leader advanced by Robert Greenleaf, who believed that the best way to lead was by serving. Stewardship involves using foresight; employing power ethically; seeking consensus in group decisions where possible; and, envisioning leadership as employing persuasion and building relationships based on trust…" (Canole, p. 22, 2015). To translate this school leadership standard into a biblical perspective, the question of whether or not Jesus exhibited these characteristics needs to be answered. To fulfill this standard, Jesus would have had to develop a vision for the organization, His church, lead others by serving others, employ power ethically, seek group decisions, build relationships, and persuade people (Canole, 2015). Obviously, there are many verses in Scripture that articulate these characteristics in Jesus. Perhaps the most quoted, is commonly called the "Great Commission" in Matthew 28:19-20 in which Jesus states, "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Clearly Jesus outlined a vision for his disciples and future believers. In other scriptures, Jesus used persuasion and relationship-building as tools to both encourage His followers and seek new followers.
Standard 2
A district-level, school, and/or teacher leader must have knowledge of principles for advocating, nurturing, and sustaining a district/school culture and instructional program conducive to student learning and staff professional growth (Canole, 2015). In Canole (2015), this standard closely aligns with distributive leadership, which, according to Harris (2015) is not simply the delegation of mundane tasks. However, in Woolfe (2002), Jesus provided a pattern of more than delegation and distributed his leadership to his following that continues today. Some of the distributive leadership characteristics include team member development and empowerment, in addition to the delegation of major responsibilities, not just minor ones (Harris, 2015). In Luke 10:1-20, Jesus sends out seventy-two individuals and not only empowered them to speak on His behalf but gives them the power to cast out demons and heal the sick, something never given to anyone before.
After this, the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. He told them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road.
"When you enter a house, first say, 'Peace to this house.' If someone who promotes peace is there, your peace will rest on them; if not, it will return to you. Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house.
"When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is offered to you. Heal the sick who are there and tell them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you.' But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, 'Even the dust of your town we wipe from our feet as a warning to you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God has come near.' I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.
"Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted to the heavens? No, you will go down to Hades.
"Whoever listens to you listens to me; whoever rejects you rejects me; but whoever rejects me rejects him who sent me." The seventy-two returned with joy and said, "Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name."
He replied, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven."
From this passage, Jesus empowered his followers to perform tasks that he himself demonstrated. Similarly, a successful leader empowers its followers to perform meaningful and relevant tasks to accomplish the overall mission of the organization (Harris, 2015).
Standard 3
A building-level education leader must have knowledge of best practices regarding management of a school organization, operations, and resources for a safe, efficient, and effective learning environment. Again, Canole (2015) describes a leader who fulfills this standard as someone who has distributive leadership qualities. But the Canole (2015) report goes further to explain that the school leader should have knowledge in human resource allocation and attainment, have knowledge of leadership traits and qualities that produce the necessary outcomes, and as in standard 2, more empowerment of the individuals in the organization that includes leadership development.
Jesus likewise chose and developed his human resource pool to maximize the message He was to deliver. Woolfe (2002) states, "It was no accident that this carefully picked group of twelve men was soon able to develop many times that number of leaders to spread the message and power of the organization. Once 'the Twelve' became 'the Seventy-Two,' an inexorable process was set in motion. And, Jesus made sure they had plenty of 'board experience'" (p. 213).At this point, many will ask about the one person that failed the Jesus leadership training and that was Judas Iscariot. In Standard 3, leaders are expected to give performance feedback and performance management involves positive and negative consequences. To an extension when Jesus needed His disciples most on the night He was betrayed, according to Mark 14:50, "Then everyone deserted him and fled." So, what does this mean about Jesus' leadership in the context that all of His followers failed him, particularly in His greatest hour of need for their assistance? Performance management is a significant part of the human resource function. While some staff members take constructive critique well, others do not. Likewise, Jesus had followers with varied backgrounds, that either took his teaching critique well, like Peter in John 21, or unlike Judas, who committed suicide. The Canole (2015) report does not address performance measures; however a leader is expected to lead in this area, which is a significant function of human resources and to an end, organizational effectiveness (Budworth and Mann, 2011). Woolfe (2002) cites a clear example of in which group members who fail, must confront the mistake, and be given a chance to improve, or be terminated if no improvement is desired or observed. In the case of Jesus, Judas is an example of no improvement after given a chance to improve, while Peter is an example of negative behavior observed and improved to become the leader of the Apostles in time. Peter certainly became a leader and it was noticed by the official leaders of the day. "When they (the Jewish leaders) saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus" (Acts 4:13).
Standard 4
A building-level education leader (be a principal or teacher) must have knowledge of strategies for collaboration with other faculty and community members, understanding of diverse community interests and needs, and best practices for mobilizing community resources (Canole, 2015).
Canole (2015) reiterates that developing an intimate knowledge of the community, its diversity, and working with all stakeholders is essential to a school leader's role. As early as the 1960s, writers of leadership strategies and models recognized that the emerging diversity of the population and the challenges of world events can make leadership challenging. (Greenleaf, 1996). Likewise, Jesus faced similar circumstances in the days following the Roman occupation of Palestine. In fact, Jesus knew very well the dynamics of the politics of His day, as well as the diversity of the community in which he served and lead. As a leader of a diverse group of individuals, Jesus reached out to the poor, the sick, the rich, the poor, the Jew, the Roman, the Greek, the man, and the woman. He was all inclusive in his approach to people. An excellent example of this outreach is the interaction with the Samaritan woman in the Gospel of John. To read the passage, one must understand that the Samaritans and the Jews were enemies and did not interact with each other. Here is an excerpt from the passage:
Now Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that he was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John— although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples. So he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee.
Now he had to go through Samaria. So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon.
When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, "Will you give me a drink?" 8 (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)
The Samaritan woman said to him, "You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?" (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)
Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water."
"Sir," the woman said, "you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?"
Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life."
The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water so that I won't get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water."
He told her, "Go, call your husband and come back."
"I have no husband," she replied.
Jesus said to her, "You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true."
"Sir," the woman said, "I can see that you are a prophet. 20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem."
"Woman," Jesus replied, "believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth" (John 4:1-24)
In this passage, Jesus makes it clear that His invitation to be a follower was open to everyone, regardless of what the follower's past was, the race of the follower, or the gender of the follower. Jesus had conditions for His followers as stated in the passage. Organizations do have rules and ethos to follow as Jesus expected out of his group. But, He also accepted their imperfections as well.
Standard 5
A building-level education leader, whether that leader is a teacher or an administrator, must have knowledge of how to act with integrity, fairness, and engage in ethical practice (Canole, 2015). Canole (2015) presents three key characteristics to fulfill this standard, which are integrity, fairness, and act with high ethical standards. This is a higher trait than simply following the law, though demonstrating knowledge of and following the law is a part of this standard (Canole, 2015). Greenleaf (2015) in discussing ethics added that ethics involves both the method to achieving the goal and the "ethical aim" itself (Greenleaf, 1996). Woolfe (2002) similarly agrees with the assessment that it is more than just the end goal being ethical, with the "purpose" and commitment to the "right priorities" being equally as important (p. 32-57).
Likewise, Jesus in Matthew 5-7, commonly known as "The Beatitudes" describes the ethics and morals of men and women that focus little on the ends but focuses on the means of getting there. "Social justice" as Canole (2015) describes it, is as "fairness" (p. 35). Jesus spoke frequently about fairness and summed up his attitude and belief in this way:
"So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets" (Matthew 7:12).
Standard 6
A building-level education leader (teacher or principal) must have knowledge of how to respond to and influence the political, social, economic, legal, and cultural context within a school and district (Canole, 2015). According to Canole (2015) states, "education leaders must be prepared to understand, respond to, and influence the political, social, economic, legal, and cultural context of education" (p. 37). This standard is similar to the fifth standard, but the emphasis is on the understanding and the exercise of influential leadership and using power to influence political and social change with the school and possibly the community at large. Similarly, this involves the stewardship of the organization, which the leader takes care to provide common welfare of the followers and ensure that the influence of the organization is relevant to the community at large well as the members of the organization itself (Crippen, 2004). Likewise, Jesus used his influential leadership skills to implement social change, both within the organization and in the community at large, though these changes were not recognized until after His death and resurrection. Several examples can be cited, such as the inclusion of Gentiles into the Church (Acts 11), the care and common welfare displayed by the followers upon themselves (Acts 4), and with Jesus directly in his treatment of women who were regarded as a subclass (John 4, 8, 20). Jesus even used the analogy of a shepherd, which was commonly regarded as an unclean occupation (John 10). Therefore within the organization, the Church, people were accepted based on believing in the goals of the group, not based on gender, race, or other non-relevant factors. This was a very radical approach for a society at that time that had completely different views of social justice and common welfare.
Analysis and Recommendations
In this overview, one question was considered. Can Jesus' model for leadership work in a school setting? Based on this analysis, it is indeed likely that Jesus's model for leadership can be very useful to study and work in a school setting. Teacher education and leadership preparation programs, based on this analysis, should consider using resources that study the leadership model of Jesus in the context of developing successful educational leaders. More longitudinal data will be needed to determine if a study of Jesus' leadership model and the leadership models of others are practical and relevant to the success of educational leaders. In curricula throughout the United States, educational leaders have used various resources to determine leadership styles and models to emulate. If using Jesus as a model, could programs develop better teacher/principal leaders? That is a question that deserves further study.
Blanchard, K., & Hodges, P. (2005). Lead like Jesus: Lessons from the greatest leadership role model of all times. Nashville, TN: W Pub. Group.
Budworth, M., & Mann, S. (2011). Performance management: Where do we go from here? Human Resource Management Review, 21(2), 81-84.
Canole, M., & Young, M. (2013, July 9). Standards for Educational Leaders – An analysis. Retrieved September 10, 2015, from http://www.ccsso.org/Documents/Analysis of Leadership Standards-Final-070913-RGB.pdf
Carr, C. (2004). Educational leadership: Knowing the way, showing the way, going the way. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Education.
Crippen, C. (2004). Servant-leadership as an effective model for educational leadership and management: first to serve, then to lead. Management in Education, 18(5), 11-16.
Duncan, A. (n.d.). Preparing the teachers and school leaders of tomorrow. Retrieved September 10, 2015, from http://www.ed.gov/news/speeches/preparing-teachers-and-school-leaders-tomorrow-secretary-arne-duncans-remarks-american-association-colleges-teacher-education-conference.
Grahn, T. (2011, November 8). Jesus: The role model for Christian leadership. Retrieved September 8, 2015, from http://christian-leadership.org/jesus-the-role-model-for-christian-leaders/.
Greenleaf, R., & Frick, D. (1996). On becoming a servant-leader. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Harris, A. (2015, July 1). Retrieved September 24, 2015, from http://www.almaharris.co.uk/files/distributed_leadership_pamphlet.pdf.
Marzano, R. (2003). What works in schools translating research into action. Alexandria, Virginia: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Portner, H., & Bill, C. (2014). Leader of leaders: The handbook for principals on the cultivation, support, and impact of teacher-leaders. Boston, MA: Pearson Education.
Woolfe, L. (2002). Leadership secrets from the Bible: From Moses to Matthew : Management lessons for contemporary leaders. New York, NY: MJF Books Fine Communications.


text:
- Dame Helen Mirren up for Outstanding Actress In A Miniseries Or A Movie for Phil Spector
- Toby Jones and Benedict Cumberbatch are in line for the Best Lead Actor in a miniseries or Movie.
- Dame Diana Rigg and Emilia Clarke is up for one of the hottest shows on television let alone HBO, Game Of Thrones.
- Damian Lewis is looking up for Best Actor in a Dram Series – surprise surprise… he won in 2012!
Downton Abbey is running with Brits hearts with 12 nods. ITV, which runs Downton Abbey in the US, has received several nominations for Hugh Bonneville, Michelle Dockery, Dame Maggie Smith and Jim Carter.
Julian Fellowes has received a nod for best writing in a drama series. While the how is also up for Directing and Best Drama Series.


text:
"Down at Dino's Bar and Grill / The boys are back in town / The boys are back in town / Friday night they'll be dressed to kill." Though Dino's definitely has been updated, the wide-open floor plan and big stage (and regularly scheduled live music) gave us some sweet little pangs of nostalgia. That, and the fact that they are once again serving Derailers, a dangerous concoction served in a bucket. A bucket!
Comments are closed.


text:
Bookmarking as a Web Marketing Tool
Perhaps you're familiar with bookmarking favorite websites on your own computer. web-based social bookmarking services like StumbleUpon, Faves, or Google Bookmarks not only let you access your bookmarks from anywhere but also permit you to share your favorites with others.
Unlike social news services, which focus on time-dependent articles, bookmarking sites are useful for longer-lived content, including specific content pages on your website and product detail pages from your online store. Like social news, many bookmarking sites rely on user popularity to rank bookmarks within topic areas.
Because you cannot submit your own URL to certain bookmarking sites, ask a friend, customer, or colleague to submit a bookmark for you.
If you do nothing else with social media channels, create social bookmarks for several pages or products. It can't hurt, and it might help.
As always, try to use search terms from your standard set somewhere in category names, tags, text, or titles for search engine purposes.
Bookmarking services for specific applications provide a much more targeted audience by subject area. Shopping sites such as Kaboodle, ThisNext, and Stylehive are terrific places for fashion product mentions. You can rarely recommend your own URLs on these outlets, but a coordinated campaign from friends, colleagues, or customers can help drive traffic to your site and vote it up.
Just as you use calls to action for visitors to Like you on Facebook, you can use calls to action to ask visitors to vote for your products on shopping bookmark sites.
Social bookmarking services now attract automated spammers who promise to submit your website to hundreds of bookmarking sites for a fee. Google and other search engines watch for these spammers, and you can be blackballed from their natural search. Avoid these sites.


text:
At Astarlifts we work with the idea of improving the quality of life of people, offering solutions that benefit accessibility in their homes, entities and public spaces, etc.
The lifts help to transport safely and quickly to people who may have some disability or reduced mobility.
For this Astarlifts we offer elevators and other lifting systems that adapt to the needs of each of our customers, to facilitate their mobility and save unnecessary physical efforts.
We have a wide catalog of elevators and other lifting systems with special designs and private, which allows us to save any architectural barrier that presents us the building.
Latest news on lifts, elevators and hoists. Receive FREE newsletter.


text:
International travel is entering a new era, one where disappearing for long periods of time isn't an occupation set aside only for the wealthy elite or the hardened loner. Not by a long shot. I consider this as I look out over Union Square in San Francisco and think about my own travel bug and how it just won't go away, especially after the wedding and a vision focused soundly upon the future. Life after marriage makes me wonder if I'll get to all those places before responsibilities force my hands away from a series of expensive airline tickets.
I look to my desire to travel with a conflict of interest. Is it possible to have the homespun domestic American life I could've sworn I wanted when I was younger and still be true to my aspirations to see the world?
I ask myself this question, in public no less, to you, the reader, not because my ideals have changed, but because everyone else's have. To accommodate this new capital E- Extended Travel motif, one we at AirTreks so wantonly promote, two-week jaunts are no longer enough to sate the bug. At least for me. No longer can the sensation of "It wasn't long enough" be brushed off as a mere consequence of the traditional American work ethic, the one where we come back to work to labor for the eleven-and-a-half months it takes to start the next one.
It's heartening to think that despite the amount of attention they receive, adventure travelers are a fairly rare breed, adventure travel of course being defined as that which brings you out of your comfort zone – exploring geographic backwaters, mingling with foreigners who may or may not have ever seen your skin color before, engaging in activities that would normally scare the crap out of you and generally living at the edges of your experience. These are what makes life interesting. But when I was growing up, I didn't know I wanted to live this way. I wanted a family, a house, a car and a crock pot.
The question boils down to this: How can we travel like we want and still maintain the nested, domestic life we spent most of our early days expecting, preparing for and nurturing.
Upon reflection, I've come up with a 6 ways for you to do it. And guess what, I'm gonna share them with you!
Get a job in another country
This may be your best bet. International jobs place you where you'd otherwise be traveling, allowing full-immersion cultural experiences to happen every day and to feel as though you're on the road without actually going anywhere. Weekend trips can be exotic excursions and a night dining out can be Cahill-worthy. Perhaps don't even leave your company but work remotely. Many companies are now allowing this to save money. Find out if your employer allows for this and if so, jump on it.
Lots of companies allow for sabbaticals at least once in their career, especially if they think it'll help the person become a more productive employee. Ask your boss if your company allows it and what the restrictions are. You may be surprised at how generous they are, you may be surprised that they even have one. If you're worried about not having a job when you get back, look at it this way – by the time you return you may not even want it.
Career break
I talked about this before but a career break may be just thing you needed, a sort of transitional awakening to show you what's important in your life. You may discover that it wasn't actually the crock pot you wanted all along. Plus, as we've been told, a career break doesn't have to equal career suicide.
Be a teacher
Teachers really do get it all: a great satisfying career that allows you to shape young minds and kick-start the next generation, one that gives back to the community and allows summers off to travel to your heart's content. Sure it doesn't pay, but you get summers off. And don't forget, travel doesn't need to be expensive.
Do it when you're young
This may immediately rule out a large number of you (perhaps tell your kids?), but the best way to skirt the above dilemma is to get involved with traveling when your responsibilities are few. Although beware, this may lead to the more difficult dilemma of needing to do increasingly extensive traveling as your life progresses. The travel bug is a compounding condition that gets worse as you get older. The upshot is this will make you a veteran traveler before most people have burned through their first two post-degree jobs.
Just. Let. Go.
Then there's the other route – to open your mind and accept alternatives to the traditional. Of course this would be the more difficult option since it challenges long-standing belief systems forged over decades. Fortunately, the white-picket-fence lifestyle is getting pretty tired in the new age. The general attitude of the 2010s is choose for yourself what to do with your life not what tradition tells you. Especially in America.
The irony is, after much hemming and hawing, you can have it both ways, at least to an extent. You may have to compromise but it's possible to be stable and mobile at the same time. You'll have to have courage to break away from old ideas but if you want it bad enough you'll make it happen.
Photos credits: Number Six (bill lapp), Daquella manera, daz smith


text:
...and Other Gun Facts For The Newly Uninformed
For those of you who are new to the public debate about All Things Guns that have sprung up since the Parkland, FL tragedy, this brief primer is for you whether you are a mommy, daddy, guardian or teacher of school-age children. Most of all, if you are a politician or reporter, this one has your name on it.
A basic Google search for "guns" returns 299,000,000 results in 0.52 seconds. So why another gun article? The cacophony of stultifying idiocy polluting media outlets via the Evening News, talk radio "commentary", wasting untold newsprint and bandwidth demands it. Never has the old saw, "He only knows enough to be dangerous" been more evident than in the blatherings of those who have swallowed whole the mistruths, half-truths and outright lies on everything from "firearm terminology" to the "gun show loophole." Indeed, many of the spouting pundits hosing audiences with their indubitable certitude are motivated by an evil political agenda that has been marinated in decades of gun grabbing propaganda, fear mongering elitism. And worse. (See MSDNC's "Morning Joe")
Sadly, strewing scary stuff stifles any rational discussion about guns. Anti-gun groups are using "NRA!" as the new pejorative replacing "RACIST!" as their trump card to shut down dangerously productive conversations. Claiming "we need a public debate about guns" really means "STFU and do it my way!"
To navigate this swamp of polluted palaver, here are just a few of the 372 Unadulterated Truths you can memorize and deploy in next big argument at work or Chuck E. Cheese. They are also suitable to Cut 'N Paste or carve into other suitable persuasive materials for more formal situations.
Note: the following assumes the Reader knows the absolute minimum about guns, i.e., they go BANG! propelling a projectile at Warp speed toward whatever lies immediately ahead. This is true of rifles, pistols, and shotguns-- also cannons, bazookas, mortars, RPG's and more other weapons of destruction,"mass" or otherwise.
Let's get started
First, despite the MSM and members of the phylum "moron" dedication to mislead you, there is no such thing as "gun violence". "Gun violence" is code from the Aggressively Ignorant for "It's not my fault; the gun did it." As an inanimate object, any firearm is no more intelligent or self-actuating than a rock (an early ancestor). All firearms require some level of participation from a human to function. This phase of the interface is loosely described as "human intelligence", is where problems begin.
Next, for purposes of accuracy and sanity, you must understand once and for all time, the indelible, incontrovertible difference between "Automatic" and "Semi-Automatic" firearms. Simply put "automatic" defining function of the "machine gun" like the one that did in Sean Connery in "The Untouchables". One pull of the trigger keeps the weapon firing until the trigger is released or ammo runs out. "Semi-automatic" describes those weapons that require one trigger pull for each "BANG!". Period. This is all you need to know at this level. Further details will either confuse you or turn you into an expert who embarrasses their friends at parties by winning all the arguments. Refusal or inability to comprehend this simple distinction qualifies you to be a Network TV News Reporter where ignoring such technicalities are encouraged in order to keep the viewer petrified and even more ignorant than the reporter.
Contrary to Media's Favorite Myth, fully automatic weapons ("machine guns") are not illegal unless acquired outside NFA requirements and regulations. With a Federal Class III Special Occupational Tax license application, fingerprints, pictures, license fee ($200) and hacking through additional red tape, you may (after a typical 10-12 month "processing" period) receive the government's Permission Slip to take delivery of your very own "machine gun". If this makes your leg tingle, be advised there are a mountain of other regulations imposed on the new Owner. If you live in one of the States that specifically prohibit Class III weapon ownership (CA, IL, NY, NJ, CT, RI, DE, IO, WA, DC, HI), you'll have to move. Be sure to check your Sate's peculiar restrictions). Oh - FYI: right this minute, a Colt M16A1 like mine is currently available for $33,000. (Less expensive makes/models are also available). Bottom Line Media Mythbuster: Full auto firearm ownership is legal in the majority of these here United States.
Finally, there is no also such thing as "the gun show loophole". Like the Loch Ness monster, Bigfoot and Ethical Politicians, it is just more liberal media effluvium. Depending on the archaic, freedom-snuffing status of laws in your state or gulag, there are two ways to purchase a firearm at a gun show: through an FF L licensed dealer or a private citizen walking his Iver Johnson. The dealer will require you to complete the BATFE form 4473 which requires your answers to several mildly intrusive personal history questions, show some state-approved picture ID and some am accepted medium of exchange (FRNs, MC/VISA or similar wampum). He will then call your info into the NICS System. Assuming you are not a convicted felon or similarly disqualifying lowlife, you will eventually be "approved" and off you go with your newly acquired shootin' iron. The Private Citizen transaction is infinitely easier inasmuch as it is a simple negotiated exchange of Personal Property: haggle the price with the seller, agree, pay, leave. State laws vary, but even in the most lenient, it's a damn good idea for Buyer and Seller to show each other some form of picture ID. Be thoroughly familiar with State and Local laws. The world is full of (insert profane noun here) and no principled person wants to be party to a transaction that could have dire consequences of any form. While there is no "gun show loophole", there are always ways, knowingly or not, to circumvent any law. Unless you'd like a tiny room with metal doors, lousy view and hangin' out for a few years with some dude named "No Ky", best to be intimately familiar with them instead of him.
There is a boatload of scary fairytales about guns floating around - usually on TV around 6p and, even worse, 24/7 on Social Media. Do your homework. Avoid becoming another brain-dead zombie, spouting clichéd, erroneous and terminal dumbness. Like free speech, guns are as beneficial as they can be dangerous. Be certain Intelligence is engaged before shooting mouth off. The Parkland shooting has released a frenzy of adrenaline-fired, fact-challenged, politically distorted, Freedom-killing propaganda.
Know the truth – it just might keep us free.


text:
Four federal grants for water and sewer projects
Four Kentucky water and sewer projects will share part of $547 million in grants announced Friday.
The loans and grants come through the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008, also known as the Farm Bill.
The Kentucky projects, with loan listed first, followed by grants, are: Eubank (Pulaski County), $1.8 million, $715,000; North Mercer Water District, $1.55 million, $750,000; Perry County Sanitation District, $240,000, $230,000; and Stanton (Powell County), $166,000, $75,000.


text:
ST. JOSEPH, Minn. (Blugolds.com) – Competing at the Saint Benedict Labor Day Tournament, the UW-Eau Claire volleyball team opened the season with a 3-0 win but followed with a 3-1 loss to start the year 1-1 at Claire Lynch Hall.
Saint Benedict Labor Day Tournament Website
Eau Claire had little trouble in the opener against Northland College, winning 25-7, 25-10 and 25-8. The Blugolds hold a 15-2 all-time record against the LumberJills, winning 12 straight matches going back to 1992.
The Blugolds finished the match with a .388 hitting percentage compared to -.246 for Northland. Katrina Raskie (Fr.-Weston, Wis./D.C. Everest) led the Blugolds with 12 of the team's 34 kills. Maggie Holcombe (Fr.-Shakopee, Minn.) recorded a match-high 16 set assists.
In the second match of the day, Concordia-Moorhead (Minn.) jumped out to a 2-0 lead with 25-19, 25-14 victories but the Blugolds won the third set 25-19. In the fourth set, the Cobbers narrowly edged the Blugolds 25-20 to win the match.
Facing the Cobbers, the Blugolds had just 11 kills in the first two sets but recovered in the third to finish with 14. They added 13 kills in the fourth set as Kelly Schuh (Sr.-Appleton, Wis./Hortonville) led the match with 16 of the team's 38.
Jenna Smits (So.-Green Bay, Wis./Preble) had a team-high 31 set assists and Lauren Sutherland (Sr.-Dayton, Minn./Meadow Creek Christian) led two Blugolds with double-digit dig totals as she recorded 21. Eau Claire finished with 10 total blocks to just five for Concordia.
Saturday, the Blugolds will play two more times against Bethel University (Minn.) at 9 a.m. and against host and 19th-ranked Saint Benedict (Minn.) at 1 p.m.


text:
Mikael Good, Photojournalist & Reporter
Born: 1968 in Borĺs, Sweden
Lives in: Husqvarna, Sweden
Inspiration: Josef Koudelka, Sebastiăo Salgado, Dorothea Lange, Werner Bischof, Christer Strömholm, Sune Jonsson and Cartier Bresson.
Latest exhibition: Meetings in the middle of China, 591 Photography Gallery
I have worked in China, Egypt, Russia, Turkey and Latvia. I am an advocate of simple straight photography, free of special effects and manipulations. The essence of my photography is to highlight the people in the pictures and to invite the viewer for a personal meeting. To quote Sebastiăo Salgado: "To me documentary photography is about human dignity."
I have participated in photo and art exhibitions in France, Germany and Sweden. My photos and articles have been published in Sweden, Finland, France, Norway and USA.
Mikael Good, photojournalist
Feel free to join my facebook group!
My gallerys on IRISF64
You can order some of my pictures direct from this online photography gallery!
Camera, lens, memorycard, pen and paper.
You can buy the pictures that are presented in my portfolio, both in a numbered edition or for web-publishing or printed matters. Please contact me for more information about prices.


text:
Sioux Empire Fair Starts Today
The Sioux Empire Fair begins today in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and features a lineup of outstanding performers, scrumptious fair food, and entertainment for the whole family.
In it's 70th year, the Sioux Empire Fair is celebrating a long history in the Sioux Falls area. It's the largest fair in the state of South Dakota, and has seen nearly 7 million visitors with its line-up of entertainment, food, rides, and events.
The fair begins at noon today, and runs through 10 PM Sunday. Events are already in full swing, with the new Miss Sioux Empire Fair, Aja Kessler, already crowned and ready to assume her duties. The entertainment is also ready to kick off tonight with comedian Jeff Dunham.
The week's entertainment line-up includes Big and Rich, Cowboy Troy, Alice Cooper, and Peter Frampton. In addition to live entertainment each night, the midway rides are open daily, along with Old McDonald's Farm. Gate entrance to the fair is $5, and kids under 12 are free! Click here for more information on the Sioux Empire Fair.


text:
From taking off the training wheels on your first bike to passing off the keys to the family car after your driving test, he's always been there for your biggest moments. Throughout scraped knees, broken hearts, and any of the other curveballs life throws your way, his healing advice was always the one thing you could count on to see you … [Read more...]
Yum! Here's Our Favorite Summer Cook-Out Recipes
There's something about sunny summer weather that makes barbecue just a little more savory and cold beverages just a little more refreshing. Maybe it's because you get to share this special time with people that you love, or maybe it's because a little Vitamin D is good for your mood. We know summer doesn't officially begin for two more weeks, … [Read more...]
Celebrating North Georgia's Wineries
When people think of fine wines, they immediately conjure up images of the patchwork vineyards of Napa Valley, the rolling hills of Tuscany, Italy or the Mediterranean region of Provence, France. Few people are aware of the deliciously decadent wines born of Georgia-grown grapes. Indeed, North Georgia is one of the greatest wine regions in the … [Read more...]
Beautiful Outdoor Weddings: Lighting Up the Occasion
It's simply an oversight, for the most part. An outdoor wedding, whether understated or outrageous, counts on the venue to be the star player - be it the beach or the backyard - but what happens after the sun goes down? Some of the best moments of the event can get lost without strategically placed pools of twinkling light. … [Read more...]
Accessorizing Your Outdoor Space
Why, it's like adding a string of pearls to a little black dress, y'all! The foundation of your outdoor rooms is already in place – comfortable deep seated furniture and expansive dining tables – so you've only the bling to bring. Those architectural elements, focal points and awe inspiring surprises that make guests wish they shared your … [Read more...]
Get Outside!
The calendar may say April but the tranquil dogwoods and brilliant azaleas are clearly signaling the start of the sublime open air season. There's no better time than the present to peel back the pool cover, polish up the grill and take stock of the seating, dining and entertaining options necessary to fully enjoy your back porch, deck and … [Read more...]
Mosaic Patio Furniture
The elements of mosaic patio furniture – hand cut stained glass tiles and tumbled marble, set atop iron and aluminum bases – are inspired by patterns in nature and convey the originality of a fine painting or photograph. No two pieces are alike. And ours are from the very best in the business – KNF GardenDesigns. Neille Olson's artistry with … [Read more...]
Wrought Iron Patio Furniture
When your plans call for new patio furniture you'll find a wide variety of styles and materials to choose from. Patio furniture may be constructed of plastic, steel, aluminum, resin, wicker, cast iron or wrought iron. And along with the variety of materials available there is also a wide range in pricing and quality, so it's good to know … [Read more...]


text:
Hong Kong residents attend a candle light vigil on June 4, 2019 in honour of the 30th anniversary of the Tiananmen Massacre. Victoria Park, Hong Kong.
The Baron of Landruk. This happy gentleman greeted us on our trek in the Annapurna Range with a smile and a dance. October 2018. Photo by Ben Marans.
The magical bamboo forest of Arashiyama, Japan.
The magical bamboo forest of Arashiyama, Japan. April 2017.


text:
Starting this morning, if you have a Xbox One, you can download Forza Motorsport 5 for free. You can play as much as you want until Sunday night. It's a full game trial. At first I was hoping it was a special deal and I'd get to keep the game, but I figured it would be like renting it. You have to be a gold member to try it.
Since my last review of The Sims 4, I thought I'd write another review of Forza. This is my first impression of the game as I just played for a little bit. The game feels a lot like it's predecessors. I have Forza 2 for Xbox360. It's a racing game that focuses on simulation. The handling can be tricky to get used to if you usually play arcade racers. You start with an easy difficulty mode which you can change.
Probably the biggest change in Forza 5 is that there are no longer any traditional AI racers. The drivers you face are "real" people in that you play against other people's driving habits. Every time you race your data is collected and after a certain amount of races that data is used to create the drivers that other people race against. It's similar to AI since you aren't racing against actual racers in single-player and you aren't racing against "ghosts." The drivers are simulated from real players.
It may sound like the game is harder, but because you get to chance the difficulty, you can still race against these drivers without too much trouble. I will say that I had trouble trying to get first place in the races, but I always finished in the top 3. You earn credits and as long as you finish within the top 3 you basically "win" the race. That takes some of the pressure off.
The graphics are very nice, crisp and clean. I feel like I'm really in the driver seat and the backgrounds look so real. The only time I am reminded that I am playing a game is when I see characters or people. Forza has always been good when it comes to graphics and visual performance. The game runs steady at 60fps. There are plenty of cars to choose from and there is a lot of download content. Some of it free, most of it will cost you. 🙂
I like the game and it's nice to use the Xbox One controller instead of the Xbox360 controller in a racing game. The controls are nice and the driving is pretty fluid. Also it's nice having the rumble in the triggers. Ultimately I probably won't be buying this game as I just spent a nice chunk of change on The Sims 4. However, I am likely to pick up Forza at some point. I recommend trying this game while you can for free and seeing how you like it. Oh and yes my profile is online now, so you may face a driver named SDBmania. That would be me. 😉


text:
College freshman Liv is more than just a fangirl: The Starveil movies are her life… So, when her favorite character, Captain Matt Spartan, is killed off at the end of the last movie, Liv Just. Can't. Deal.
Tired of sitting in her room sobbing, Liv decides to launch an online campaign to bring her beloved hero back to life. With the help of her best friend, Xander, actor and steampunk cosplayer extraordinaire, she creates #SpartanSurvived, a campaign to ignite the fandom. But as her online life succeeds beyond her wildest dreams, Liv is forced to balance that with the pressures of school, her mother's disapproval, and her (mostly nonexistent and entirely traumatic) romantic life. A trip to DragonCon with Xander might be exactly what she needs to figure out what she really wants. (Summary and cover courtesy of goodreads.com)
Please note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review courtesy of Xpresso Book Tours.
I loved everything about this book. Liv is quirky, fun and really grows throughout the book. The interactions between her and Xander throughout the book kept me cracking up and thinking "I can relate" constantly. She and her mom have a relationship that I found sometimes distracting, but I can also understand she's trying to look out for her. I wish that relationship had been filled out a little more and/or we saw more of it laid out in a sequel. The only bad thing about the book is that it was so short!
There are great references for fangirls and "light" geeks alike in this one and I'd definitely recommend it. By the way, if this one sounds good, you should also look into "The Unfortunate Decisions of Dahlia Moss".
Warning: Contains some sexual references.
Rating: 5 stars!
Who should read it? Fangirls everywhere.
Want a bonus - enter the tour giveaway for a copy of the book!


text:
The Buzz
TheChat: Rand Paul attacks Donald Trump (again), this time for his allegiance to the GOP
Here we go:
▪ "I probably identify more as a Democrat." — Donald Trump as seen in a video that rival Republican presidential candidate Rand Paul released on Wednesday.
In the video, Trump is heard saying that the economy does better under Democrats than Republicans. Paul's campaign is running the ad in New Hampshire and Iowa for the next few days in a bid to do something, anything, to slow down The Donald.
▪ "In stable condition." — a spokesman for the family of former Missouri Congresswoman Jo Ann Emerson who suffered a brain hemorrhage while on vacation.
Emerson, 64, represented southeast Missouri from 1996-2013 and was highly regarded by her peers. (link courtesy of johncombest.com).
▪ "It is not going to be accepted by a significant voice in the body-politic in this nation — in the near term. In the longer term, I think there will have to come a time when that (national standards) will happen." — former Missouri State Board of Education President Peter Herschend speaking of the controversial Common Core standards.
Herschend backed the standards in 2010 and described them as a way to prepare students to compete in the world economy. He now says the idea of national standards "didn't work" because of political opposition to a one-size-fits-all approach.
▪ "He has not interceded in any legal matter for any member of his family." — Eileen Hawley, a spokesman for Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback, speaking about whether the governor had gone to the aid of his brother, Jim, who is alleged to be something of a bully in Linn County.
Jim Brownback reportedly has been in conflict with his neighbors for years and has often said he's above the law, given his brother's status as Kansas governor.


text:
After almost three years in waiting, Gary Danko is finally inching closer to opening his second restaurant in the City.
The celebrity chef announced he is was going to open a restaurant in Ghiradelli Square, down the street from his current location at Fisherman's Wharf, in 2007.
Now Inside Scoop is reporting Gary Danko No. 2 finally has secured funding and construction could begin in a month.
Baring any major issues, the restaurant could open in 2011.


text:
Nicole Daksiewicz from Modern Handcraft joins us with a fun and easy project to brighten up your home for summer! Nicole's design highlights the beauty of this modern, graphic fabric from Josi Severson, and you'll learn how easy it is to appliqué with a striking effect. Visit Modern Handcraft for a great selection of free tutorials, quilts and more, then visit the Modern Handcraft shop for one of a kind crochet and quilts. Be sure to take a look at Nicole's latest mini quilt which includes a free tutorial. We love it!
These Modern Geometric Pillows feature some beautiful hand printed fabrics from Josi Severson, a fiber artist that sells over at Contemporary Cloth.
When I first saw these fabrics online I was first drawn to the bright colors, then the patterns really stood out. I wanted to create a project that showcased the pattern while combining some fun color pairings. This gives the look of a quilted project in just a fraction of the time. Feel free to cover the entire pillow front with your shapes or create an interesting pattern. The template gives you two shapes to work with, a triangle and a hexagon.
Materials Needed:
(For one pillow measuring 17″ x 17″, envelope back.)
- Three fat quarters of your main pillow fabric. Cut 1 – 18″ x 18″, cut 2 – 12″ x 18″ // Yellow print: April Showers – Organic Canvas, Orange print: Manic Monday Orange Crush – Organic Canvas
- One fat quarter of your shape fabric // Blue triangles: Ocean – Cotton Sateen, Gray hexagons: Heritage – Cotton Sateen
- Hexagon + Triangle Pattern
- Heat 'n Bond light fusible interfacing
- Fabric pen
- Sewing machine and notions (scissors, straight pins, acrylic ruler, iron)
- Coordinating thread
Step 1:
Begin by printing your pattern, or drawing one and creating a template. Trace your pattern onto your fusible interfacing, non fusible side. Leave space around each shape, you will be stitching on the line.
Place your interfacing shape fusible side down on top of your fabric facing up, pin in place.
At your machine, stitch along your drawn line.
Cut around the outside of your stitched line. You can now remove your pin.
Step 2:
Separating the interfacing and the fabric, snip a place in the interfacing about 1″ in size.
Carefully turn your shape right side out. The interfacing will tear a bit more, this is fine because it will not show when we are finished. Using a knitting needle or chopstick poke out your corners very gently.
Your finished shapes will now look like this; resist ironing since the back is now fusible. It will smooth out once we iron it to your pillow front. I used five triangles for my finished pillow.
Step 3:
At your ironing board lay out your shapes in the desired pattern. I wanted a flying geese design so I lined them up to the left of my pillow. Get creative… Scatter them around or create a fun pattern on your pillow front!
Once you have your final layout, use your iron with medium heat and steam to iron your shapes down carefully.
Step 4:
Once your fabric has cooled, stitch around the perimeter of each shape using a coordinating thread color.
Step 5:
For your pillow back you will take your other two fat quarter pieces and cut them to measure 12″ x 18″.
These will overlap in the back creating an envelope backing. Instead of folding over and sewing the raw edge I took my remaining shape fabric and cut two pieces measuring 2.5″ x 18″. Iron these both in half longways.
Pin the fabric strip along the 18″ edge of each envelope back piece, raw edges out.
Using a 1/4″ seam allowance, stitch along the edge of both back pieces.
Fold over your edging fabric and pin in place. Make sure the edge goes past the sewn line. Do this for both backing pieces.
Flip right side up again and stitch along the edge like shown.
Step 6:
Now that your two backing pieces are finished. Lay your pillow top face up, then lay your two backing pieces face down on top like shown.
Pin around the edges and sew using a 1/4″ seam allowance. Be sure to sew over the places where your envelope backing will feel the most stress when inserting your pillow (the two blue lines above). After you snip the edges do a quick zig-zag stitch around the raw edges to seal all of those loose threads in. Turn right side out and poke out your corners. You are finished! I hope you enjoy making these!
This post is sponsored by Contemporary Cloth. Contemporary Cloth specializes in original fabrics with bold modern designs by today's hottest new fiber artists. If you want your creations to be your own and have an individual, uncommon "look," Contemporary Cloth is a great resource for unique fabrics including Japanese prints, hand printed fabrics, Oakshott Shot Cotton and more.


text:
Jo Injeung – 'Mysteries of Jeju Island'
Jo Injeung's series 'Mysteries of Jeju Island' – "a journey to the heart of the island, where the perpetual motion of nature is captured by the eye of the camera, discovering timelessness in a frozen moment."
"Jeju Island is the biggest island and the smallest province of South Korea. It is a hidden gem in Asia with its pristine forests, volcanoes, and waterfalls; a World Heritage site; a true mecca for Korean travelers.
Jo Injeung's photographs not only capture the original beauty of Jeju Island but also make a reference to the concept of four elements, significant to the Korean culture. All four elements unite in Jeju-do, constituting the island's greatest mystery."
source Rosphoto.Museum and L'Œil de la Photographie


text:
Five "A's" for a good warmup routine
Every performer needs a good warmup routine - whether you're a musician, a right fielder or an acrobat. In addition to reacquainting yourself with your body, a good warmup helps you prepare mentally for the day and creates a routine of mindful repetition. Here are five "A's" for effective warmups, courtesy of my own impure brain:
(A)ttack the brutal facts of reality. Was the scale perfectly even, in tempo, correctly fingered, and clear? If not, why, and how will you address it? Never give in to the temptation of "I know this, my finger just slipped" or "I know this, I don't have to do it again." If you truly "knew it" in your body, you wouldn't have missed it. Mistakes are the body's way of telling you what to work on next!
(A)ddress your greatest needs. Which technical aspect do you need the most improvement on? Do you need to work on hearing a convincing phrase? Creating smooth tone? Be specific and plan out how you will work on your holes.
(A)nticipate the challenges of the day. Do you have a difficult passage of double notes to play that evening in rehearsal? Make sure to incorporate double notes into your warmup. Do you have to play for a conductor that enjoys changing tempos? Adjust your warmup patterns to at least five different tempos (with metronome!) so you are prepared for anything.
(A)ctively enjoy the process. Enjoy your sound, the feel of the instrument, and the blessing of being a musician. Take pride in your product and in the fact that you are participating in great works of art. Be thankful for mistakes and take advantage of what they tell you!
Create an (a)tmosphere of opportunity. Eliminate distractions (turn off the smartphone, don't answer email, put a "do not disturb" sign on the door). Listen to a favorite top-level artist before you start to remind yourself what great sound is.
Any other tips you'd like to share? I'd love to hear them!


text:
Preview: Hanazuki: Full of Treasures #3
Hanazuki: Full of Treasures #3
David Mariotte (w) • Nico Peña (a & c)
"What's a Chicken-Plant?" Hanazuki is all about helping her friends, but her patience is put to the test when Yellow Hemka just wants to goof around. Plus, Hanazuki's new friend, the Chicken-Plant, just won't stop complaining! Can Hanazuki find a solution to both problems—or just cause more trouble?
FC • 32 pages • $3.99


text:
Fluffy Lucy Seeks Forever Cuddles
Lucy will run to the door to greet you when you come home with lots of meows, even if she was asleep before your arrival! She loves to sit and snooze in the sun and is very, very cuddly after she wakes up from a nap. She loves to be pet and snuggled and will purr, purr, purr while turning over and over on the floor as you pat her.
Lucy is super soft and fluffy, and has a sweet and gentle, but fun personality. She will talk to you as she follows you around the home, and if she wants to play, she will come over to you and tap you on the leg a couple times with her paw or nibble your elbow if she can reach! Lucy loves to play, be chased and chase you around the house! She will be fine in a home with older children to play with her – she is a very fun girl. She will play alone when you are not home, but needs stimulation and her foster parents feel she might be okay with another playful cat.
Lucy easily lets you groom her and cut her nails. She loves to be wet – she loves to be pet with water soaked hands every day and she cries for more! She's the sweetest cat her foster parents have ever had. She sleeps on the bed every night by your feet or close to your chest, but never on you and not often touching your body. She drinks from a filtered water fountain, and her foster parents will give it to Lucy's lucky adopters, along with all her toys!
Lucy was born February 20, 2007 and is spayed and vaccinated.
Adopted in 2012!


text:
Cast Size: Medium (5-21). Vocal Demands: Challenging. Good For: College/University • Amateur/Community • Professional Theatre • Other.
To request the rights to make merchandise for this show email [email protected].
Fan Info:
Excerpted from "MAKE MINE RARE...BUT WELL DONE! ," as featured in Happy Talk, Volume 13, Issue 2 - Fall 2006:
"MY LIFE WITH ALBERTINE, with music and lyrics by Ricky Ian Gordon, book and lyrics by Richard Nelson and based on the work of Marcel Proust, is a rich and complex piece about the importance of love and art. Intertwined with the story of Marcel and his obsession with the alluring Albertine, we see that the artist lives his art while he creates it. The musical is both lush and intellectual, aurally conjuring up the spirit of the fin-de-siècle Paris—the impressionistic paintings of Degas, Monet and Toulouse Lautrec, combined with the poetry of Verlaine and Baudelaire. Deemed one of the creative heirs to Stephen Sondheim, Ricky Ian Gordon devises a show that pushes the boundaries of musical theatre for a thoughtful and probing audience. "...The music seems to swirl with regret, romance, fear and, yes, a sense of lost time, suggested by the wayward strains of an accordion."—Ben Brantley, New York Times"
Gilman & Gonzalez-Falla Theater Foundation Musical Theater AwardJanuary 12, 1970 — Award-winner for the Playwrights Horizons production, 2002-2003
January 01, 2002 — Award-winner for the Playwrights Horizons production, 2002-2003
Vocal Range of Characters:
// Photos
Written By: Ricky Ian Gordon
I was in a reluctant mood the day Charlie Prince brought Richard Nelson to meet me on a hunch that he was making a good match. I was preparing to go out of town for a new production of my show ONLY HEAVEN, for which I was doing a lot of rewriting and orchestrating, as well as trying to finish the second act of MORNING STAR, the opera I was working on with William Hoffman for the Lyric Opera of Chicago. I was feeling overwhelmed and disgruntled, and I had heard the name Proust bounced around and thought…well, that I would be buried alive. Then I met Richard, a charming magnetic man who, almost upon meeting him, could convince me to jump out of a plane if need be.
We spoke of his interest in dramatizing the one story of Albertine and Marcel which runs through Proust's REMEMBRANCE OF THINGS PAST, and within minutes of listening to his passionate discourse on this, what seemed then, monumental idea, I was hooked. I uttered a tentative "let me think about it" for self protection, and he left with Charlie.
Less than a week later, I received a call. Richard had finished an outline for Act I as well as sketches for many songs—lyric ideas, which he suggested I work on with him. I was stunned at how quickly he was working, with, or without me, and I thought, ok, I have to give this a go for him. I went home, and began work on "Is it Too Late?" thinking maybe I would find the language, and if what I came up with seemed natural and Richard liked it, I would just do it. Sometimes you just have to see if you can enter a piece. I was very excited after I wrote that one song. It seemed the subject matter, the place and time, called upon a world of musical influences which seemed easily accessible to me. I was obsessed with the French "Les Six" growing up—Poulenc, Honneger, Tailleferre, Milhaud, Auric, and Durey—as well as the scores for all the French films I loved so much; the films of Truffaut (Delerue, Jaubert), Carne, Chabrol (Jansen), Godard, Resnais (Fusco), Rohmer (though he never used music).
Anyway, it was an easy world for me to enter, and once I started, it seemed to flow very quickly. We continued working that way, Richard giving me ideas and lyric sketches, and me finding music and reconstructing things as well as adding things. The music seemed to be writing itself and consequently, the lyrics took shape quickly as the music and musical moments defined them. I was reading my head off as well—Proust, Proust, Proust. When I went away to Dayton, Ohio, I was waking up at 5:00 every morning, working for two hours on MY LIFE WITH ALBERTINE, tow hours on ONLY HEAVEN, and two hours on MORNING STAR. I was staying next to a very beautiful white cathedral which seemed, with its solemn deep bells, like the church of Combray, and I felt cushioned and supported by the place. Even those bells ended up in our piece. By the time I arrived home a month later, we had Act I.
Tim Sanford came over with a small entourage from Playwrights Horizons, and heard me sing/screech through it as Richard told the story and read scenes…and Tim asked us to open the new Playwrights Horizons Theater on Theater Row. The music feels to me like, if I put everything I know to be French—the things I mentioned, adding the visuals of Degas, Manet, Monet, Toulouse Lautrec, Picasso, Matisse, Utrillo, and the poetry of people like Verlaine, Rimbaud, Appolinaire, Beaudelaire—and throw it all in the blender, then add a dash of Offenbach and Faure—a mélange, so to speak.
Sometimes, interesting things happened in our process together. I remember one day, we had a reading at my apartment when we had a great deal of Act II. There was a place where Maurice looks out the window as Albertine is going out. Richard wrote a monologue wherein Marcel spoke of the entire world seeming to whisper her name. I knew this should be a musical sequence and soon after, this became "The Street." I remember how hyper and jubilant I was when I called Richard, having found the frame at the end of "If It is True," the one song which Marcel could not put in his story and had to tack on as a sort of coda. I was so happy to go back to the opening ALBERTINE chords and motif. It felt so right and I'm sure I half deafened Richard over the phone that day.
Oh…I want to tell you one other wonderful thing about Richard and our process. Before I ever committed a note or word to paper, Richard did a kind of mock-up, fake MY LIFE WITH ALBERTINE with a tentative outline, using songs and music I had already written, brilliantly archived from my already existing body of work, to kind of give me the feeling that I could do it because I had already done it! This man knows composers! We had a good, easy collaboration, Richard and I. I felt at all times like I was doing what I was supposed to be doing, and I often called Richard excitedly playing and singing to him over the phone from whatever city I happened to be in.
MAKE YOUR OWN PLAYBILL! Playbill VIP allows you to create your very own Playbill Program. We have provided Playbill with all of the credits, song listings, musical numbers and more so that most of the work is already done for you. Just add your productions details, photos of the cast and share it with all of your friends. Learn more: www.playbillvip.com
- MY LIFE WITH ALBERTINE - Orchestration Package (9 Books/8 Players)
- 1 – PERCUSSION (see "Materials Notes", under "Production Information")
- 1 – REED I (Flute, Clarinet, Alto Sax)
- 1 – REED II (Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Soprano Sax)
- 1 – TROMBONE (Euphonium)
- Rehearsal Set (22 Books)
- 20 – Libretto Vocal Book
- 1 – Logo CD
- Digital Logo
- 1 – Libretto Vocal Book
3 Women
2 Men
3 Women
4 Men
Singing ensemble with many small roles.
MY LIFE WITH ALBERTINE requires a strong cast of singers. The ensemble is traditional Soprano/Alto/Tenor/Bass, but they need to be good because the choral work is challenging, bringing the tenor to B-flat and the basses to G. They split up doing various roles-The Stroller, The Messengers, The Bathers. I leave that up to choice, but strongly suggest that a highly proficient group of singers be used for the cast of this show as its challenges are almost operatic.
-Ricky Ian Gordon
Narrator, 40s
Marcel, 18-20
Albertine, 17-19
Lift boy
Mlle. Lea, a cabaret singer
A Young Woman
Three Men
Ensemble - Strollers, bathers, mourners, cabaret audience, tango dancers, street singers, chorus: played by the company
MY LIFE WITH ALBERTINE requires a unit set representing a 'salle de theatre' (private theatre built in a private home) and various locales throughout the story.
Materials Notes
Featured Videos
Featured News
Media Rights
1. The Promotional Video shall be recorded and shown for the sole purposes of advertising your licensed production of the Play. For such a video, R&H allows theatres to film up to 10 minutes of total footage taken at either a performance or rehearsal (i.e.: 10 minutes of scripted moments.)
2. The Promotional Video may not include more than (i) 1 minute from any song or (ii) 3 minutes, in the aggregate, of footage of copyrighted material from the Play.
3. The Promotional Video may not include any sponsorship or underwriting without the prior consent of all R&H.
4. The Promotional Video must be submitted to R&H by sending the source video and video link to [email protected]
5. The Promotional Video must include the following: "Rights courtesy of Rodgers & Hammerstein, www.rnh.com"
6. Upon approval by R&H of the Promotional Video, you agree not to make any alterations in the approved copyrighted material used therein and you agree to obtain the prior written approval of R&H for any other use of the Promotional Video not specifically granted herein.
7. Upon termination of the Term, you shall cease to have any rights to use the Promotional Video including, without limitation, in connection with a future production of the Play, and shall immediately remove its content from any and all websites on the Internet.
8. You may not use a commercially available recording.
9. Any additional promotional rights must be approved by R&H by contacting[email protected].


text:
Back to All Events
Earlier Event: February 16President's Day Weekend Edition - Bottagra Brunch
Later Event: April 19The Bottagra Brunch Anniversary Celebration
Bottagra Brunch is NJ's premiere Sunday brunch party. Held once a month during September through May in Hawthorne NJ. During the summer months the brunch hits the road. Past destinations include South Beach, Vegas, Long Branch, and Atlantic City.


text:
Staffshift Mobile Application
Advantages Of Staffshift
We understand how busy our nurses and carers schedules can be, so we've developed a simple and easy to use App for Apple and Android smartphones to allow you to quickly indicate your availability for work up to 7 days in advance. Let our Staffshift Mobile application allow you to manage your diary more proactively. You will be able to see when you are booked and update us with your availability for Early, Late and Night shift patterns.
Shift Planning: Enable us to see your availability 7 days in advance and call you for work according to your indicated preferences
Manage your Shift Calendar: Easily view all your booking shift details.
Accessible: Staffshift Mobile is at your fingertips, log in and update your availability on the go and it immediately updates on our bookings system.
Fast, friendly, helpful support: Our bookings teams operate 24/7, 365.
System Requirements: To download the App, Apple iOS 7 or later or Android 4 or above.
Cost: Staffshift Mobile App is FREE!