text:
Going--To All Nations
Track 11 of 14 in the Being with Him Compels Us to Go for Him series
Be sure to scroll down to read the transcript.
08/08/2004Scripture: Acts 16:6-40; 17; 18; 19:1-41
Track 11 of 14 in the Being with Him Compels Us to Go for Him series
Be sure to scroll down to read the transcript.
Sermon for Sunday, August 8, 2004
"Going--To All Nations"
"Being With Him Compels Us to Go for Him"
(Acts 16:6 -19:41)
C. Sackett
I grew up on the poor side of town, but never felt like I was not fully cared for. I grew up as an adopted child aware of the fact that by birth mother had given me away but I always knew that I was a loved person. I grew up often alone because I'm an only child and my parents both worked, owned their own business. But I never felt like I was an abandoned child. And yet, in reflecting over those kinds of early experiences, one of the things that I did learn in the midst of that is that I was not always thankful for what I had.
It was in the fall. I think, if I remember right, 1967, when I became a Christian. That's one thing for which I have always been thankful. I may have forgotten to thank God on many occasions for a lot of things that I took for granted in my life, but forgiveness was one of those things that was so far out of reach and so foreign to my own way of thinking that it has been impossible not to be grateful for what God did for me.
I remember as a young college student sitting in Acts class and coming to the text that we're about to look at this morning. In Acts 16, at least that's where we're going to begin where Paul is attempting to make a particular move in his journey when he gets this vision from Macedonia to come across the Aegean Sea and to begin to spread the gospel further west into what we know as Europe.
I remember sitting in church history class and recognizing for the first time, and you have to understand that I grew up completely outside the church and so all this information to me was brand new. And coming to this striking realization, that if it were not for the fact that European Christians sent missionaries to the United States, that we would just be a whole. . . .well, we just wouldn't be here first of all. Secondly, we wouldn't be Christian. And all of that begin to converge for me and I remember having this moment when I realized that the story of Paul crossing the sea to go into Philippi to preach the gospel while it was a two thousand year old story in the dusty pages of a book, was my story. That was me. Because if Paul had not heard that call and had not obeyed that call and brought the gospel to Europe chances are the Europeans would have never brought the gospel to the United States, in which case, I'm lost.
This text took on something of a personal feel for me because of that. When I read it I can't help but think about the core value of Madison Park Christian Church, that we believe that no one is beyond God's reach.
Acts is a huge book and we have not tried to take every little piece, one at a time. We've been walking through rather large pieces. We're going to do that today. We're going to take a chunk that's three chapters long. I've had the privilege of kind of wandering around in this book now for several months. And certainly this week I've had the chance to wander around in this text. Something that you may or may not have had the opportunity to do. And it just, it's so full of these rather interesting things. Just look at the first part of Acts 16. We're going to pick it up with the paragraph at Acts 16:6 Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, "Come over to Macedonia and help us." After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.
It's so reminiscent of the way this book opens back in Chapter 1. You will be my witnesses first in Jerusalem, then in Judea, then in Samaria, then to the outer most parts of the world and it's as if God is somehow trying to force Paul to recognize that he meant what he said. The whole world. . . . . . Now it was amazing enough when it opened up into Samaria and God poured out his spirit there. And then there was the story of Cornelius and God opened up the door to Gentiles. And then there was this intentional movement from there to try to get out beyond even that. So that they had that first missionary journey up into Asia Minor and Paul is making his way back into those Asia Minor territories and it's as if God says, Paul you still don't get it do you? I mean the whole world and so the Spirit stops him from going here and it stops him from going there and he won't let him go someplace else. The only option he has is to cross the ocean or the sea and take the gospel elsewhere. It's as if God's intention for the world to hear is just gonna have to be forced on his people.
You come to Acts 18 over toward the other end of the material we're looking at and again you hear this. When Paul has made his way through a variety of places and we'll come back and look at just a handful of them. He's in Corinth, this city in southern Greece known for its immorality and it's discouraging. . . .it's. . . .and here's what God said.
Acts 18:9 One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: "Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city." So Paul stayed for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God.
Do you hear? Is as if God said, Paul just take the gospel where I tell ya to take it. Just do what I'm asking you to do.
See, the amazing thing to me is that God already knows who's going to respond. That vast idea of God's foreknowledge is overwhelming. He knows who's going to be receiving the gospel and yet he has chosen in his wisdom. I say that from his perspective, not from mine. He's chosen to use us to get that job done. I'm gonna ask him about that, by the way. I don't want you to be offended by this, but I think that's one of the dumbest things God ever did and I don't usually call into question things that God does. But to put salvation into the hands of people like you and me. When I get there I'm just gonna ask him if he was really thinking that day. If somehow he just wasn't quite on top of things. Cause if Paul says, I don't want to go to Macedonia. . . . . if Ananias says, I don't want to go to Paul. . . . . if Philip says, I don't want to talk to the eunuch. . . . . if my friend Dan says, I don't want to talk to Chuck--what happens? I'm gonna ask him. I'm sure he'll have an answer and he probably won't bother to give it to me cause he probably doesn't think I need to know. But here Paul is being challenged to go here, in fact, it's so interesting when this story unfolds. Paul ends up in a riot. He ends up getting beaten . He ends up in the inner prison in Philippi. All of that so he can be where God wants him . . . . . you can't read Acts and not understand God's intention to get the gospel to the world. It's enough to make you wonder what he's gonna do with us to get us where we need to be.
Well, I wander around in this text. One of the things I notice about this text is the enormous diversity that's involved in the world and what God is trying to do. ah Come back over to Acts 16. Look at the very first thing that happens when we get over in to Greece. Acts 16:11 says From Troas we put out to sea. . . .sailed over to Neapolis. . . traveled through Philippi, a Roman colony. . . . .stayed there several days. . . .
Acts 16:13 On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. One of those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart.
The very first person who hears the gospel in Europe is a wealthy business woman. Now that's an oddity for you. Paul goes out to the riverbank thinking he's going to find a gathering of Jewish men and he finds a business woman and he teaches her the gospel and she responds.
The very next story can't go much further to the other end of the spectrum. We come to the next story in Acts 16 and Paul has been arrested. He's been thrown in jail. He dealing with the Philippian jailer. The jailer is a Roman, a polytheist (has multiple gods) probably because of his lower class citizenship. Never does much other than live in the prison. His whole life is contingent on being able to keep prisoners from escaping. In fact, when the earthquake comes, he thinks he's in trouble because if the prisoners escape, he has to kill himself or be killed by the Romans, either one.
You got a wealthy business woman. You've got a low class jailer. You've got Jews in synagogues in Acts 17:2 and Acts 17:10 and Acts 17:17. In fact, every city that Paul goes into, the very first place he goes is to the Jewish synagogue, because as a Rabbi he knows he's gonna have an opportunity to speak. He goes to the ready made audience that's right there in front of him.
In Acts 17 when you come over to Athens and you find yourself there in the middle of this great city, it says in Acts 17:17 So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there. A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to dispute with him. And they end up on the Areopagus. Here he is working from wealthy business women to low class jailers to Jewish men in the synagogue, now to the philosophers standing up on the hill. By the way, the Areopagus is nothing more than a big crop of rocks that about this many people could get on if we were really careful and tried not to fall off the edges. But it sits right in the shadow of the Acropolis in Athens.
When you watch the Olympics in the next couple of weeks and they show you those views of the Acropolis, just down below that, depending on the angle, you'll begin to see the marketplace and halfway between the marketplace and the Acropolis is the Areopagus, this crop of rock where Paul talked to philosophers.
There is this diversity that goes on in the gospel that is absolutely incredible. In fact one of the things that happens in Acts 17:4. Just look at this little mini report of Acts 17:4 He's come to Thessalonica. Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks and not a few prominent women.
Acts 17:12 Many of the Jews believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men.
Do you hear the diversity of this thing? You've got lower class and upper class and prominent men and prominent women and the gospel was intended for everyone. And Acts just keeps driving that point home. No one is outside the reach of the gospel. And then you begin to look at the various ways that they did this. Let me just rehearse for you.
In Acts 18 it says at that point he began to preach. In Acts 17:18 he debated or argued. In Acts 17:2 & 17 he reasoned with them. In Acts 17:3 he explains to them.
In Acts 18:4 he persuades them. In Acts 18:11 he teaches them. In Acts 17:28 he quotes from their own poets in order to get into their system. Didn't seem to matter how he had to do it. If he had to argue it, debate it, preach it, teach it, rely on their own poets, he was going to get the message out one way or the other.
It's a lesson the church must always come to grips with. The way we do things on a Sunday morning is not necessarily the only way the gospel gets out. There are lots of ways for God to use us to engage the world about Christ and lots of different ways of getting the message out there. The amazing thing is the diversity of response. If you look at Acts 17:4 which we just looked at, you see that some listened and they obeyed. They believed. That report comes up again in Acts 17:12. It shows up again in Acts 17:34. A few men became followers. . . . . Among them Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others.
And you walk through these chapters, Acts 18:7 & 8 Then Paul left the synagogue and went next door to the house of Titius Justus, a worshiper of God. Crispus, the synagogue ruler, and his entire household believed in the Lord; and many of the Corinthians who heard him believed and were baptized.
Sometimes when the gospel is preached, you just have to go into it knowing people are going to hear it and are going to respond. That's why we preach. But you know, sometimes that's not what happens. If you go back and look at this very carefully, they listen and they come on the attack. Paul ends up getting beat up and thrown into prison over this thing. Sometimes they just dismiss you.
Look at Acts 17:32. This rather interesting response from these philosophers.
When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, "We want to hear you again on this subject."Sometimes they just dismiss you because the message is so foreign to their way of thinking. It's just like, okay, well, that was nice of you. I'm glad that you came. Appreciate what you had to say, but you can move on now. While other people will say, hey I want to hear more. I want to come back. Some of them debated him. Some of them opposed him. That's what you expect.
As a preacher you become almost schizophrenic when you stand up to talk because you know on any given Sunday morning that your going to have those kinds of responses to the message. Somebody's going to walk out the back door and say, THANKS, boy that really met my need and other people are gonna look at you like, were you talking in Latin today?
I look at this text and one of the things that I notice is not just diversity, but there are some things that are held in common here. For example, there is the submissive spirit of the disciples to do whatever it is that they have to do to get the gospel out.
You notice that Paul didn't argue with God. He doesn't say I don't want to go there. Sorry! I want to preach over here. I don't care what the spirit says, I'm not gonna do this. He just does whatever God tells him to do. He allows God to push him wherever God decides to push him, including into really unwelcome circumstances. But he's open to God's activity in his life.
I'm also intrigued by the message. Look at Acts 17:2 Paul shows up in Thessalonica.
As his custom was, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that the Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead. "This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Christ."
Look at Acts 17:18 A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to dispute with him. Some of them asked, "What is this babbler trying to say?" Others remarked, "He seems to be advocating foreign gods."
They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.
Look at Acts 18:5 When Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself exclusively to preaching, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ.
The heart of the gospel is the message that is preached. That we need to remember. Everything else is up for grabs but the message has to stay the same.
Friends, this isn't about what time we come to church. It is not about what style of music we use at our worship. This is not about competition about which church has the best programming or which church meets at the most convenient time. The only thing that we can concern ourselves ultimately about is the gospel of Jesus. Preaching Christ and him resurrected. That can never change. Anything else can change. That must remain the same and you can count on the fact that some people will sneer at the resurrection and some people will rejoice at it. And there will be people everywhere in between, but it doesn't matter. We have to preach Christ and him crucified and raised.
The other thing that is common about this is the nature of their response. It is so interesting to me to see how often the same basic response occurs. You hear the gospel. You believe in Jesus. You identify with Christ in Christian baptism and you move on to be obedient. The pattern that walks its way all the way through this. We saw it with the lady selling purple, Lydia. She and her household were baptized.
We come to the Philippian jailer in Acts 16 It's such an interesting story because it strikes at the heart of people who do not know anything about Jesus. You just have to assume. You have to understand that this jailer is in Europe. The gospel has never been in Europe before. The chances of him ever having heard the gospel are next to nil. Its been there long enough to be spoken of down by the riverside among some Jewish women. It's obviously, probably, not made it into the prison. okay? And yet, Paul gets himself in trouble because he casts out a demon out of a little girl. He takes the livelihood away from some soothsayers and he gets thrown into jail and he and Silas are there in the inner prison where it's dark and dank and their bloody and locked in stocks and it's midnight and their singing songs. That's a Christian for ya! And they're more than likely singing songs about Yahwe (God) and Latin meaning (Jesus Christ) and I can just imagine that the people are thinking, who's gods are those. This is a polytheistic world. They don't care whose god it is, but if it's a new god, it's a new god. And then all of a sudden, what happens? There's an earthquake and the whole place falls apart. And you know what the jailer does. The jailer jumps up, realizes that the earthquake has opened the prison doors, chances are all of his criminals have escaped. He's ready to kill himself. Paul cries out--DON'T. We're still here. You know, your gut response is, WHAT ARE YOU HERE FOR? Why didn't you leave? So he runs in.
Look at what the text does in Acts 16:25 About midnight their praying and singing.
Acts 16:26 there's an earthquake. Acts 16:27 he realizes the doors are open. Acts 16:28 "Don't harm yourself!" Acts 16:29 the jailer calls for lights. He runs in and he says, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" Saved from what? I don't think he's talking about how do I get my sins forgiven. He's talking about, how do I get saved from a God who has the ability to listen to two foreigners sing and then send an earthquake. This is a powerful God in a pantheistic system. How do I get saved from this God? And look what happens. You believe in Jesus he says and you will be saved--you and your house. And so they go in (Acts 16:32) and they speak the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his family were baptized.
And then they had supper together.
By the way, just in case you ever wondered why we have very few baptisms on Sunday morning and yet we have lots of them at other times, this is why. Because it was the same hour of the night that the man responded to Jesus, that he was baptized.
Why hang around until Sunday just to get something done that needs to be done right now. So last Monday afternoon at 5:30 we had a baptism here. It happens like that all the time.
If you look at the story of Apollos for example. Over here in Acts 18, Apollos is this interesting fella. Acts 18:24 . . .a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and he spoke with great fervor and taught about Jesus accurately, though he knew only the baptism of John. He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately.
It is why in this church we do not engage in competition with people who believe differently than we do, but we do try to teach more perfectly the way of the Lord. And when people come with a misunderstanding of some element of the Scripture, we're gonna want to sit down and talk and just let the text itself explain itself. So the people like Apollos, in this world have a great knowledge of God and Scripture but don't understand everything there is to know about Jesus can at least move forward in their journey to understand more about him.
And he clearly misunderstood the place of baptism into Jesus. It's why we encourage adult believer baptism, informed baptism here. Obviously Apollos was mistaken. If you come to Acts 19 which is just on the other side of our text when Paul gets in to Ephesus there's this rather unusual experience. Apollos is at Corinth, Paul takes the road through the interior and arrives at Ephesus. He found some disciples and he said, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" They answered, "No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit." So Paul asked, "Then what baptism did you receive?" "John's baptism," they replied. Paul said, "John's baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus." On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus.
It's why we would practice around here baptism in Jesus name, that we would ask you to rethink whatever it is that you have been through in your experience of coming to faith in Jesus and ask yourself, have I done things Scripturally, the way the Bible teaches them? And we would encourage you to study Scripture to know that. Because the common response in the book of Acts in every major conversion experience is this.
You believe it. You respond to Jesus in faith and that faith includes repenting of your sins and being baptized into the name of Jesus so that you can identify with him and receive the forgiveness of your sins. That common experience runs through this book.
What we're about is trying to get the gospel to the world. It is a simple message.
Jesus came. He lived. He died. He rose again. That's the message and it goes to the whole world from prominent business women to lowly jailers, to slaves, to philosophers, to kings. It's for everybody and we'll use whatever method we have to. We'll shout it. We'll sing it. We'll write it. We'll argue it. We'll debate it. We'll teach it. We'll persuade it and we will assume all kinds of responses. Rejection? Sure! Argument? Sure! Violence? I hope not! Acceptance? We hope so!
When you read Acts it's a simple story. The gospel gets preached. People respond and the church grows. People come to faith. We believe that's for everybody. We believe that's for the neighbor across the street and for the people of Haiti and Africa and everywhere else. But it starts right here, in you and whether or not you have allowed Jesus into your own life. Whether you have let him guide you and call you.
I don't know where you are in your journey. I don't know what step you need to take. Of this I am confident, God is calling you to him. If that's a simple re-commitment of your existing faith, then that's what you're called to. If it's a word to a neighbor or a friend, that's what you're called to. If it's an obedient response of repentance because of sin in your life, then that's what you're called to. If it's to identify with the death of Jesus in baptism, then that's what you're called to. Now we don't want to do anything more this morning than to simply echo his call to you and to give you a chance to respond.
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text:
Brandon Sanderson
Tor, Jun 2009, $27.95
Though he is loathed to do so, King Dedelin of Idris must adhere to the treaty signed ages ago in which he is required to send his daughter to marry the God King of Hallandren; as he cannot renege since Susebron's kingdom is so much more powerful than his. However, the agreement is not specific as to which daughter he sends so he decides to go with his younger one, seventeen year old tomboy Siri rather than the apple of his eye, lovely Vivenna.
Upon arrival at her new home, Siri is shocked by the intrigue and backstabbing of her fiancé's retinue; especially those allegedly loyal to the monarch. Spies are everywhere. Meanwhile, Vivenna runs away from home to save her sister from a fate she believes is worse than death. She joins a band of Idrian travelers and begins to learn to control her magical skills. At the same time back from the dead hero Lightsong wonders what the Returned Gods commanding Hallandren's army of zombies want from King Susebron.
Known for his Mistborn saga, Brandon Sanderson provides a superb stand alone character driven fantasy. The story line is action packed from the moment the courageous Vivenna sets out to save her younger sister Siri and never decelerates. Yet with that fast pace, several great twists, and plenty of adventures, the cast makes the tale super as monarchs, reanimated dead, returning Gods all learn to never judge a book solely by its cover; because if so Vivenna would have stayed girly girl inside her daddy's castle. Hopefully Mr. Sanderson provides more tales in this interesting realm.
Harriet Klausner
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Warbreaker-Brandon Sanderson
Posted by Harriet Klausner at 10:07 AM
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
Scott McNay has seen wolves devour newly born caribou calves in minutes, but that grisly scene is not one he expects to witness this spring in northern B.C., where an unusual maternity ward has been set up in the forest.
"It takes no time for a wolf to devour a calf. It's pretty discouraging," said Dr. McNay, a wildlife biologist who is part of a team trying to save the endangered Klinse-Za caribou herd, near Mackenzie. The goal is to protect calves during the first weeks of life, when they are most vulnerable to predators.
Under a new program funded by government and industry, pregnant caribou are being captured and held in maternity pens until about a month after they have calved. The cows and their calves, which at five weeks of age should be able to outrun most predators, will then be released back into the wild.
The approach has been used before in Yukon and Alberta, but is being tried for the first time this year in B.C. both near Mackenzie, north of Prince George, and in southeast B.C., near Revelstoke.
Dr. McNay, project manager with Wildlife Infometrics Inc., said the northern project he's working on was called for by the Moberly and Saulteau First Nations because of fears caribou were headed for extinction in the area.
Native hunters stopped shooting caribou in the region about 20 years ago because several herds were declining. But Dr. McNay said that did not slow the trend, with caribou populations dropping by about 80 per cent in recent years. "This one [the Klinse-Za herd] was in need of imminent action because it was down to just 16 animals," he said. The nearby Burnt Pine herd was in even worse shape – down to one male.
Dr. McNay said the big problem facing caribou in the Mackenzie region, and throughout B.C., is that industrial development has opened up the forests, with resource roads crossing what were once remote caribou calving grounds. He said caribou historically calved in isolated areas with heavy snow packs. The deep, soft snow in spring limited the mobility of predators. But wolves, bears and wolverines soon learned they could travel easily along roads and cut-lines, penetrating areas that before had effectively been caribou calving sanctuaries.
The result: heavy predation on freshly born calves.
"Our world today is not the same as it used to be," Dr. McNay said. "In the past caribou would not have had to defend themselves against wolves as they do now."
In an attempt to reduce predation, First Nation hunters have been shooting wolves, but many packs still remain. And wolverines and bears have also been preying heavily on caribou calves.
This spring Dr. McNay's team set out to get to the pregnant cows before the predators did. They captured 10 females, trapping them by using net guns fired from a helicopter. The caribou were mildly sedated, wrapped in a "body bag" to stop them from thrashing about, and airlifted to a pen enclosing several hectares of forest.
"It's been really calm and interesting the way they accept the pen," Dr. McNay said of the caribou. "They are happy there."
Part of the reason the animals are content is that last fall work crews collected hundreds of bags of lichens, the caribou's natural diet, which is being fed to them now along with pellets loaded with nutrients. Dr. McNay said the caribou are treated for worms and any other problems they might have, and he expects when they are released they will be healthier than they would have been had they stayed in the wild. The first calves are expected to be born in May.


text:
Found a grant your nonprofit organization might qualify for? This guide will help you write a "master proposal."
A "master proposal" includes all the information you may need to apply for a grant. Every foundation will have different instructions. Make sure you follow them. A primary reason grant proposals are not accepted is because instructions were not followed.
Be discriminating about to whom you send a grant proposal. Having a master proposal ready will make it easier and faster to organize everything, but it should not be the only format an organization uses. Many foundations have moved to an online format that will ask specific questions about the goals and mission of your organization.
The first part of the narrative should explain why your organization/program is needed. Ask yourself these questions when writing this portion.
The use of reliable data in your need/narrative statement is imperative to a good argument. Use reliable sources for your data. These sites provide free and respected data:
A project description should be as detailed as possible. You can include:
Funders understand that plans may change, but expect the original proposal to remain consistent. Be committed to your original proposal.
Include performance measurement methodology in your project description. Also include how the program will sustain itself. Many funders require quarterly reports; use these as a period assessment guide. Before that, however, you need to decide what data you need to track. Write an evaluation plan for your proposal and use it as a guide from the beginning.
Obtaining relevant quantitative data for the evaluation can be difficult. For instance, if your organization is trying to "teach good home ownership skills," what methods of data collection will you use? Does it already exist elsewhere? Qualitative analysis may be useful in this situation. Design a survey with open-ended questions, for instance.
The following sites are useful for evaluation planning:
Funders want your organization to succeed long after their investment. Be sure the organization or program description demonstrates sustainable fiscal capacity and self-sufficiency. List other funding sources, if you have them. Funders are not competing with each other; they are comfortable collaborating with industry "friends" who back the same organizations.
Let funders know why you are uniquely qualified to carry out your actions. Items to include might be:
Contact us through our Ask A Librarian Service or
Call: (410-396-5317)
Email: email@example.com
Grants Collection
Business, Science, and Technology Department
Enoch Pratt Free Library
State Library Resource Center
400 Cathedral Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
Or, if you are outside of Maryland, contact your local library.


text:
Since arriving in Beijing I've suffered terrible insomnia. I've had problems before, but never like this. I'm 55. What can I do to guarantee a good night's sleep?
Insomnia is a common problem all over the world, but there are many causes for sleeping problems, so we need to dig deeper into your history. For example, why do you think you've only had sleeping problems since arriving in Beijing? What is different about your lifestyle here? Smoking cigarettes certainly disrupts normal sleep, as the nicotine stays in your system for hours. Alcohol can initially make people sleepy, but then they wake up after a few hours. Caffeine is a common culprit for insomnia; many people who have caffeine in the afternoon or with dinner can develop poor sleep, even if this was routine for many years. It seems that as we get older, our bodies cannot process the caffeine as well. When I was an undergrad, I could have coffee at midnight and still sleep fine. Now if I have any caffeine after 4 pm I will have a lot of trouble falling asleep.
The most common reason I've seen in China for sleeping problems is overwork – people simply work too hard, late into the night. They read their laptops in bed and expect to have a normal sleep. It just doesn't work that way. Watching a screen late at night (TV or computer) can disrupt a healthy sleep routine. Also, the stress of thinking about unfinished work keeps many people awake at night.
I suggest you first take a look at your lifestyle in Beijing and how it was before to figure out what could be causing your insomnia and fix that change. Again, major culprits are caffeine, nicotine and alcohol, as well as stress.
There are many healthy ways to get a better night's sleep, especially regular exercise, which studies have shown can help with better sleep quality. Another technique could be to stop looking at any screen at least two hours before bedtime, while many people feel more relaxed at night after a herbal tea, such as chamomile.
As for medicines, there are a few prescriptions that can help you sleep better, but they are always a last resort and only taken as needed. It's far healthier to work on lifestyle changes first; if you still have problems, you should discuss with your doctor.
This article was first printed on the China Daily Metro section, in my new "Ask a Health Expert" column.
Follow me on:
Twitter @RichardStCyrMD
Facebook @BainbridgeBabaDoc
Photography: richardsaintcyr.com


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Shore Dental Services is located at 437 Lakehurst Rd Apt B, Toms River, NJ. This business specializes in Dentistry.
Shore Dental Services is a Dentist facility at 437B Lakehurst Road in Toms River, NJ.


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You know the holidays have arrived in SW Conn. when....
Lidia Ryan
Photo: Carol Kaliff
It's the most wonderful time of the year and in southwestern Connecticut, there's no forgetting it. Across the region, annual traditions keep the holiday spirit alive and well.
Click through the slideshow to see some ways you know it's that time of year again.
RELATED: Holiday strolls around southwestern Connecticut
RELATED: Tree lightings and where to meet Santa
The most obvious things that signal the holidays are the annual festivals, holiday strolls, pop-up markets and tree lightings. But there are more subtle indicators too–like when cars start sprouting antlers and red noses.


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About Us
Our mission
Ark Burlington Danes Primary Academy believes that great schools can do more than achieve excellent academic results; they build and enrich both individual lives and the local community. We are part of a 'comprehensive grammar' all-through school and a Christian community, backed by Ark.
Every Pupil Matters: Every Lesson Counts
We aim to give all our pupils an outstanding start in life.
Every pupil matters. Every lesson counts. Every teacher is committed to no excuses: no matter your background, circumstances or ability you will succeed. Our agreed expectations are that pupils are formal, scholarly and courteous. Trips, sports and competitions are actively encouraged; subsequently both cultural enrichment and creativity flourishes.
Our vision and values
|We are independent learners and thinkers and are responsible for our actions
|We work together as a team, to support each other and our local community
|We are transparent, open and honest, therefore people trust us
|We volunteer in a variety of situations and display good manners at all times
|We value diversity and difference within our community
|We focus on excellence. Hard work and achievement are at the heart of our school
To find out more, click on the PowerPoint here
Our Journey


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Webcast Highlights:
Want to take the diversity in your organization to the next level? We all value diversity, but in our view, diversity is not enough. It's how you manage diversity that matters. If it's not managed well, it doesn't produce the benefits we know it can--financial performance, innovation, productivity, retention, and more!
In this session, join Kristen Bakalar, Senior Consultant at BlessingWhite and she will discuss our strategic partner, Catalyst's, beliefs on how inclusive leaders turn diversity into a strategic advantage, how they leverage diversity, and move from awareness to action. You will walk away with tangible ways to create an inclusive environment in your organization.


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What drives you nuts about your co-workers? Loud talkers? (Yes.) Irritating ringtones? (Yes.)
Taking food from the fridge that isn't theirs? (Oh yes.)
Hitting "Reply all" on emails? (This should be a felony.)
LinkedIn surveyed 17,000 office workers around the globe about pet peeves, and discovered what unites us and what divides us.
Americans are more irritated than any other nation if a co-worker takes someone else's food out of the fridge.
One co-worker has gotten so fed up with people taking her milk for coffee that she poured it into a plastic container and made a label saying...wait for it...BREAST MILK.
- Brazilians hate office gossip
- Indians detest ridiculous ringtones
- The Japanese don't care for office pranks
- And Germans are most annoyed by "dirty common areas" like the lunchroom
However, across this entire planet, we all agree on one thing. The top pet peeve among all workers is "people not taking ownership for their actions." Four out of five people listed this as their number one gripe.
This was also the top peeve in the US, followed by "constant complainers" and "dirty common areas." Meantime, two out of three American women hate "clothing that's too revealing," but only three in ten American men are bothered by that (and only one in ten Swedish men are--it's so cold there they probably don't see much skin).
Nicole Williams suggests on LinkedIn that if something a co-worker does is really bothering you, don't let it build up. "The secret here is the earlier the better and whenever possible, do it in the moment—'Hey, do you mind refilling the photocopier with paper?'...before she walks away."
Williams also suggests we ask around to see if we are more irritating than we realize. "Could you be a peever?" she asks.
I already know the answer.
Hello, my name is Jane, and I am a peever.
Looking at the list of potential peeves asked by LinkedIn, I recognize the following office crimes which I have perpetrated on my co-workers:
- Loud talker (it's just the way God made me)
- Constant complainer (define "constant")
- Eavesdropping and then chiming in (I am THE WORST at this)
- Sending too many unimportant emails (I think they're important, but...)
- Not filling empty printer with paper (can't you see how busy I am?)
- Coming to the office when sick (just did it last week—sorry, Robert! Didn't mean to sneeze all over the edit bay and make you sick)
But take heart. We Americans are not a particularly peevish people. The US ranked eighth out of 16 countries in the survey. The most annoyed country is India.
The least is Italy.
Hey, if I lived in Italy I wouldn't be annoyed, either.
Questions? Comments? Funny Stories? Email email@example.com


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Commanders Forum wraps up at 599th Transportation Brigade
Donna Klapakis
599th Transportation Brigade
Public Affairs Officer
WHEELER ARMY AIRFIELD, Hawaii — The 599th Transportation Brigade hosted its subordinate battalion command teams and total-force-integration partners during a commanders forum at brigade headquarters here Sept. 5-7.
The 599th has to cope with what is sometimes referred to as the tyranny of distance because the unit has only its headquarters in Hawaii, with each battalion disbursed throughout the Pacific. The annual forum gives commanders a chance to get to know one another, meet and exchange ideas, as well as meet and coordinate face to face with the staff at their higher headquarters.
"Riding on the wave of the recent Headquarters, Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command Senior Leader Forum, the 599th Transportation Brigade brought together the command teams from the 835th, 836th, and 837th transportation battalions, the commander of SDDC-Pacific Naval Reserve Unit, the 599th senior individual mobilization augmentee, and the 1192nd Deployment And Distribution Support Battalion command team," said Col. Frazariel Castro, 599th commander.
Castro said he appreciated the opportunity to discuss higher headquarters policy with all interested parties in one setting.
"This forum highlighted the SDDC R.E.A.D.Y., Set, Go Campaign Plan, training and leadership development guidance, brigade and battalion staff coordination and processes, total force integration opportunities, long range calendar planning, and exercise support," he said.
Although attendees considered different aspects of the event to be most beneficial, commanders and sergeants major all appreciated the chance to get together.
Command Sergeant Major Rufus Lewis has been the brigade senior enlisted advisor for more than a year.
"This was a great opportunity for command teams to come together and share knowledge and experience amongst the leadership," Lewis said. "We have new commanders and sergeants major on board, and this gave us a chance to get closer both at work and personally.
"They were able to share the ups and downs back at their locations, and we could hash it out and work to a solution. This is critical to this area of operations. And it is a good time to get everything worked out.
"This was also a great opportunity to reiterate the SDDC R.E.A.D.Y, Set, Go Campaign and instill its importance.
"Now that they came here, there is no doubt that they can deliver readiness and lethality," he added.
Lt. Col. Eldred Ramtahal is the commander of the 835th Transportation Battalion at Naha Military Port Facility in Okinawa, Japan.
"Anytime you have the opportunity to come face to face, it enables better synchronization efforts in meeting our commanding general's intent and to support his readiness campaign," he said. "When you are not in the same room, some things can get lost in translation."
Lt. Col. Gary Whittacre took command of the 836th Transportation Battalion in June.
"The value of a forum like this is the collaboration between all of the elements, and the ability to see the overall mission of the brigade outside of the individual footprint of our battalions," he said.
"One of the things that sets our profession apart from others is that we constantly strive for continuous professional development. To come together in a professional leadership forum like this helps us achieve that goal."
Each section in the 599th headquarters briefed roles and responsibilities and brought commanders up to date on latest developments. They also had an opportunity to find out how to better support the battalion commanders' needs from afar.
"While it is important to cultivate relationships, partnerships, and friendships with external teammates, this gathering strengthened the foundation of our internal 599th family and team," Castro said.
Category: Leadership, News


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On the hunt for the Democratic message
Texas Democrats continue their search to find the right message.
At the recent Texas Tribune Festival, at the end of the "Democratic Playbook" panel discussion, an audience member asked what the Democrats' message was. The chairman of the Democratic Party, Gilbert Hinojosa, said it was about the economy — and wasn't about playing "identity politics."
Wendy Davis, the 2014 gubernatorial candidate, took issue with that, saying she was "flummoxed" about why the party wouldn't talk about identity — i.e., women's rights, LGBT rights — since, after all, discrimination keeps people from achieving economic opportunity.
Intellectually, Davis is right. But elections aren't won on who is intellectually right or wrong.
What's really flummoxing is that identity politics was the foundation of the message strategy for both the Davis and Hillary Clinton campaigns. Neither worked out. When you segment voters into groups, you don't speak to all of them. People tune you out.
Progressives who insist on talking about people's rights and identity do so, I presume, because it feels good and is in line with Democrats' DNA. That's true. But the goal is to win at the ballot box, not to feel good.
The highest-priority issues for Texans are immigration, border security, health care, political corruption and jobs. These are the issues progressives should be talking about. And enough already about only reacting to Trump. Stop giving him all the attention. A hair-on-fire reaction may not be working as many wish it were.
As a matter of strategy, not conviction, less resistance (less, not none) and more persistence in persuading voters that Democrats are better than the alternative might be the prescription.
As a senior strategist on many marriage-equality campaigns, I can tell you our persuasion machine was always on and spanned across party lines for many years. It's what made support for the issue jump 20 points in a decade — unheard of in politics — and ultimately become the law of the land. Minds changed. (And we didn't play the identity game; we broadened the issue out to appeal to everyone.)
Lone Star Democrats need to change some minds, too, and build a similar communications infrastructure to hit people over the head with an affirmative narrative. That narrative, as Richard Parker pointed out recently in a column in The New York Times, could be about what anti-business Republicans have done to the Texas economy. It should be about health care — a total winner for Democrats and a loser for Republicans — and about the contribution of Texas' 120,000 "dreamers."
Finally, it should be about blowing up our tired, old politics. Dispense with the anachronistic red vs. blue mindset. Voters in both parties want a hero to save them from how corrupt and phony politics has become.
If Democrats can't win statewide, our values of equality and diversity will never see the light of day in government.


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Oppo-ers. I'm about to turn 27 and I have decided by the time I turn 30 I want to buy a 2 seater roadster. For years I've been longing the c7, and have been SO close to buying one, but for one reason or another things fell through.
Now with more retrospective, I've decided to wait until I've paid 100% of my debt off including current car, motorcycle, student loans and CC debt (thanks ex-wife).
Here are options I'm eye balling and why I like them:
- c7 Z51 - v8, magnetic ride, GOOD fuel economy for road trips, removable top, needs few mods to be done. BADS: $$, upkeep/repair
- c6 grand sport - v8, wide body, cheaper than newer c7, removable top. BADS: older car, feels aged, $$, repair costs
I've considered going back to a non-convertible/removable top. I had a 370z nismo which i LOVED and deeply regret selling, but I'm so in favor for the light chassis + v8, I don't know if I want to go back to the asthmatic V6. I've also considered a Z4, S2k, and miata, but truth be told I'm sort of wanting a v8 for obvious reasons.
What do you all like/want? budget is about 45k TOPS.
Snap from bike ride with friends the other day (mine is the Street Triple):


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Here we live to the fullest!
House Andrew Murray is a Dutch Reformed Church / United Reformed Church institution with a Christian-based world and life outlook on the caring and developing of 150 children in need. This is done through mentoring and couching of socially acceptable behaviour based on a religious, educational, physical, social and psychological process, executed by a multi-disciplinary team of experts. The children are equipped to skilfully manage the difficult tasks of life and to fulfil their duty as responsible and law-abiding citizens.
In terms of Regulation 75 (2) of the Children's Act 38 of 2005, programmes implemented at Child and Youth Care Centres must be approved by the Provincial Head of Social Development. The HOD has authorised the Director: Facility Management and Inspectorate, Ms L Goosen as a suitably qualified person to assess and approve the programmes of CYCC's in the Western Cape (refer to section 191 (4) (a) and (b)).
1.2 Individual Counselling
1.3 Grief Counselling
1.4 Psycho-social support
1.5 Trauma Counselling
1.6 Play Therapy
1.7 Behaviour Modification
1.8 Cognitive Behaviour Therapy
1.9 Conflict Resolution
1.10 Anger Management
1.11 Substance Dependency and Prevention
1.12 Occupational Therapy
2.2 Victim Empowerment – Adolescence
2.3 Theft
2.4 Bullying
2.5 Emotional Intelligence – Teenagers
2.6 Emotional Intelligence – Primary School
2.7 HIV/Aids Prevention
2.8 Rights and Responsibilities of children's
2.9 Independent Living
2.10 Independent Living- School leavers
2.11 Income Generating Activities
2.12 Early Childhood Development
2.13 Preparation for secondary school
2.14 Substance Dependency and Prevention


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Gifted & Talented Education
Every girl is unique and will experience different learning needs at different times. Most importantly, every girl needs to experience challenge and success to build her resilience and wellbeing and to reach their full academic potential.
In the Classroom
All SCEGGS teaching and learning programs include enrichment, extension and challenge activities for our gifted students. Some girls will complete different work on the same topic area, while others may cover additional texts or novels, comparing these to work completed by the rest of the class.
Sometimes, other curriculum flexibility may be more appropriate for a particular student, such as the study of additional electives or a program of acceleration in one or more subjects.
Outside the Classroom
Additional higher order thinking skills may also be encouraged outside the classroom in challenging cross-curricular activities such as Future Problem Solving or Tournament of the Minds.


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Tan Dun
Tan Dun
Tan Dun
Chinese composer Tan Dun's ethnically diverse and innovative compositions have been performed in the major concert halls of the world and have earned prestigious awards. He has been called on to score music for some the major events of his time, including the reunification of Hong Kong with China and the world's celebration of the new millennium. Tan grew up planting rice during Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolution, but his music has taken him to Manhattan, New York, and on tour around the globe. He came into the Hollywood spotlight in 2001 when his score for the soundtrack to Ang Lee's film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon won an Academy Award. He has become one of most prominent composers in the "world classical" genre, but Tan insists that he is not an ambassador between East and West. His goal, rather, is to "create my own unity," he told Time.
Born on August 18, 1957 in Si Mao, in China's central Hunan province, Tan was raised by his grandmother. Recruited to "re-education," or forced labor, as a child, Tan planted rice during China's Cultural Revolution. He grew up among peasants in a shamanistic culture that bore a distinct linguistic and folk identity. Tan kept his ears open to the music of village folk songs, and then to occupy his mind, arrangedfantastic compositions of the music with any instrument he could find. In addition to traditional folk instruments like the erhu, or one-string Chinese fiddle, he played on woks and agricultural implements. At 17, he was the village musician, playing at parties, weddings, and funerals. At 19, he heard his first piece of Western classical music, Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, while playing violin in a Beijing opera company. In 1978, he was selected over thousands of applicants for a spot at Beijing's Central Conservatory of Music where he earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in composition.
At age 22, Tan was recognized as the leader of an emerging "New Wave" art movement when he wrote the symphony Li Sao, based on a fourth-century Hunan lament, to be played by a Western symphony orchestra. In 1983, Tan was the first Chinese composer to win an international prize since the start of the Communist Revolution in 1949. With his string quartet Feng Ya Song, Tan was awarded the Weber Prize from Dresden, Germany. Subsequently, performances and broadcasts of his work were banned by the Communist Party for six months as "spiritual pollution." The composer's orchestral work On Taoism was noted for its Chinese feel though written for a Western orchestra. Inspired by the death of his grandmother, the work was Tan's first international breakthrough in 1985.
Tan accepted a fellowship at Columbia University in 1986 to work on his doctorate in music. He studied with Chou Wen-Chung, Mario Davidovsky, and George Edwards and made New York City his home. As a student, he wrote in an "international atonal style," according the All Classical Guide online. His truly
For the Record…
Born on August 18, 1957, in Si Mao, Hunan, China. Education: Bachelor's and master's degrees, Central Conservatory of Music, Beijing, China; also studied at Columbia University, New York.
Listened to village songs and played on folk instruments while working in rice fields as a boy; heard first piece of Western classical music at age 19, while playing violin in a Beijing opera company; entered Beijing's Central Conservatory, 1978; first Chinese composer since 1949 to win an international prize for Fen Ya Song, 1983; work was then banned in China; was recognized internationally for On Taoism, 1985; accepted fellowship at Columbia University, 1986; composed Heaven Earth Mankind for Chinese-Hong Kong reunification ceremony, 1997; 2000 Today. A World Symphony for the Millennium, accompanied New Year's celebrations worldwide, 1999; composer for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon film soundtrack, 2000.
Awards: Weber Prize, Dresden, Germany, 1983; Sun-tory Prize Commission, 1992; Marco Polo named Opera of the Year by German opera magazine Oper, 1996; Grawemeyer Prize for Marco Polo, 1996; elected by Toru Takemitsu for City of Toronto-Glenn Gould Prize in Music and Communication, 1996; Classical Musician of the Year, New York Times, 1997; Academy Award for Best Original Soundtrack for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, 2001.
Addresses: Record company —Sony Classical, 550 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10022-3211, (212) 833-8000. Website— Tan Dun at Sony Classical: http://www.tandun.com/index.html.
innovative flair became apparent in Eight Colors for string quartet in 1988, and the next year in 9 Songs, which employed the sounds of 50 newly created ceramic instruments. In 1992, Tan became the youngest composer to win the Suntory Prize Commission, and in 1996, was the youngest to be awarded the Grawemeyer Prize for his opera Marco Polo.
Tan's first taste of mainstream Western success came with his Ghost Opera, which he wrote for the avant-garde Kronos Quartet in 1994. Tan wove a Bach prelude, a Chinese folk song, chanting monks, and the words of Shakespeare into the work. Marco Polo, which was commissioned by the Edinburgh Festival and debuted at the Munich Biennale in 1996, was also voted Opera of the Year by the German magazine Oper. Among the composer's 14 film scores for American and Chinese films is a jazz-edged score for 1998's Fallen starring Denzel Washington. His score for director Ang Lee's 2000 film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon featured famed cellist Yo-Yo Ma and Asian pop star CoCo Lee. For the work, which was a blend of ethnic and symphonic music, Tan won an Academy Award for Best Original Score. To the delight of the audience, Tan's Oscar acceptance speech was fast-paced and spoken mostly in Chinese.
Tan has been called on to score music for some of the major events of his time. To celebrate the reunification of China and Hong Kong, Tan composed the 72-minute Symphony 1997 (Heaven Earth Mankind), which featured a bianzhong—a set of 65 ceremonial bronze chimes from China's Hubei province from 433 B.C. that had been unearthed by archaeologists. Tan conducted the Hong Kong Philharmonic orchestra in the key of D major—the same as Beethoven's Ode to Joy—to an African beat. Time critic Terry Teachout called the piece "both frankly romantic and immediately accessible— Beethoven's Ninth boldly recast for postmoderns," and a "seductively savory multi-cultural stew," which featured Ma on cello. Tan composed the symphony in 13 short movements instead of fewer, longer ones. Despite the cultural and political importance of the July 1 changeover ceremony, Teachout declared it "the classical-music event of the summer" of 1997. The minute the musicians had set down their instruments, a recording of the event was rushed into print by Tan's record company, Sony Classical, and debuted at number five on the Billboard classical chart.
2000 Today: A World Symphony for the Millennium, was commissioned by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Public Broadcasting System (PBS) Television, and Sony Classical to debut New Year's Day 2000. A "mosaic" symphony, 2000 Today was a sampling of Tan's ideas for music in the new millennium. The symphony was heard on 27 hours of New Year's coverage by more than 55 television networks worldwide as midnight reached each successive time zone.
Though his embrace of many cultures is reflected clearly in his work, Tan cringes whenever he is likened to a musical ambassador bringing together the East and the West. "No East anymore, no West anymore," he told Time. "My purpose is to be flexible and freely flying around among all kinds of experience. Not to be driven by the wave of culture—fashion, trends, isms, schools—but to create my own unity."
Selected compositions
Five Pieces in Human Accent, piano, 1978.
Li Sao, symphony, 1979-80.
Feng Ya Song, string quartet, 1982.
Fu, for sopranos, bass, and ensemble, 1982.
On Taoism, orchestral work, 1985.
In Distance, for piccolo, harp, and bass drum, 1987.
Out of Beijing, opera for violin and orchestra, 1987.
Eight Colours, for string quartet, 1989.
9 Songs, ritual opera for 20 singers/performers, 1989.
Silk Road, for soprano and percussion, 1989.
Elegy: Snow in June, concerto for cello and four percussionists, 1992.
Death and Fire: Dialogue with Paul Klee, for orchestra, 1993.
Lament: Autumn Wind, for any six instruments, any voice, and conductor, 1993.
CAGE, piano, 1993.
Marco Polo, opera, 1994.
Yi, cello concerto, 1994.
Ghost Opera (written for Kronos Quartet), 1994.
Symphony 1997 (Heaven Earth Mankind), 1997.
2000 Today: A World Symphony for the Millennium, 1999.
Selected discography
Snow in June, Composers Recordings Inc., 1993.
Ghost Opera, Wea/Atlantic/Nonesuch, 1997.
Marco Polo, Sony Classical, 1997.
Symphony 1997 (Heaven Earth Mankind), Sony Classical, 1997.
Death and Fire, Ondine, 1998.
Bitter Love, Sony Classical, 1999.
2000 Today: A World Symphony for the Millennium, Sony Classical, 1999.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (soundtrack), Sony Classical, 2000.
Slonimsky, Nicolas, Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Twentieth-Century Classical Musicians, Schirmer Books, 1997.
Time, August 11, 1997, p. 76.
"Tan Dun," All Classical Guide, http://www.allclassical.com (March 30, 2001).
"Tan Dun," G. Schirmer, Inc. and Associated Music Publishers, http://www.schirmer.com/composers/tan_bio.html (March 30, 2001).
—Brenna Sanchez
Dun, Tan
Tan Dun
Academy-award winning composer Tan Dun (born 1957) grew up in Communist China during the peak years of Premier Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolution. Although he never had formal music training as a young child, when Dun first heard the music of such Western legends as Bach, Beethoven, and Mozart at the age of 19 his life suddenly gained direction and he began his successful career in the symphony.
Dun was born on August 18, 1957, in Simao, Hunan Province, the son of Tan Xiang Qiu and Fang Qun Ying. When Dun was a teenager he was sent to a commune to work in the rice paddies. Chairman Mao, who now led the country in a communist-inspired cultural reawakening since taking over the government in 1949, determined that all China's educated young people must be given the experience of peasants to better understanding their way of life. While living two years in the peasant village to which he was assigned Dun played the violin, began to collect peasant folk songs and music, and became the village's musical conductor. Recalling that period, Dun explained to Martin Steinberg in Asian Week: "For a long time, I would play the violin and have only three strings. That's because I didn't have a violin teacher. During the Cultural Revolution, first of all, it was not allowed to teach Western music. Secondly, I didn't have money to buy the extra string."
Due to a tragic accident that resulted in the death of many musicians affiliated with the Peking opera troupe, Dun was summoned to join the troupe, remaining in Peking for nearly a year and a half. That opportunity gave way to an even greater challenge in 1978 when he was one of 30 students chosen from thousands of applicants to attend the recently reopened Central Conservatory. Mao had died in September of 1976, and life in China was gradually beginning to change as many old-school communists fell from power. Western culture—including music and other arts—was slowly revealed to the Chinese people, and at the conservatory where Dun studied with Zhao Xindao and Li Yinghai, he was finally introduced to the classical music of Europe.
Emerged as a Serious Composer
A visit to China by the Philadelphia Orchestra during the relaxation of cultural barriers in the late 1970s was Dun's first Western-music experience. Exposed to the works of composers such as Bela Bartok, Dun studied with several guest conductors who visited Peking, including Goehr, Crumb, Henze, Takemitsu, and Yun. Tun told Steinberg that, once he started listening to Western music, he "suddenly realized that kind of music should be my future." His talent and passion evident in his 1980 symphony Li Sao, Dun stood out from the other students in his class. Unfortunately, he also became embroiled in controversy when his music spawned debates among the government and public officials, who determined in 1983 that it was "spiritual pollution." That same year he won second place in the international Weber prize competition for his "String Quartet: Fen Ya Song." Dun was the first Chinese musician to win that honor since 1949. His 1985 work, "On Taoism," caused even more political controversy, despite being hailed as one of the most significant classical works ever created by a Chinese composer.
In 1986 Dun moved to New York City to complete his studies in music at Columbia University. Studying alongside classmates Chou Wen-chung, Mario Davidovsky, and George Edwards, Dun also often played his violin on the streets of Greenwich Village to help pay for tuition and rent. He received his doctorate in musical arts from Columbia in 1993. By the time he finished his studies Dun had won several awards, and in 1988 his music had been featured on a British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)-sponsored Chinese music festival in Glasgow, Scotland. Other honors included an orchestral piece commissioned by the Institute for Development of Intercultural Relations through the Arts in 1988 and Japan's prestigious Suntory Prize in 1992.
Nature Inspired Work
According to Joanna C. Lee in the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Dun once described himself as a composer "swinging and swimming freely among different cultures." From his childhood making music with found objects and his solid grounding in Chinese philosophy, Lee noted that, in addition to those critical pieces of his genius, it has been the inspiration of nature that has joined forces with Dun's cultural legacy to add the qualities of "timelessness, spirituality, and mysticism" to his musical compositions.
Several of Dun's compositions serve as tributes to the simplicity of nature, among them his 2002 work, "Water Passion after St. Matthew," the fourth and final sequence in a major musical commemoration of the 250th anniversary of Bach's death. Barry Kilpatrick, reviewing the composition in the American Record Guide, noted that "Water permeates the work's instrumentation and is a striking visible element of its staging." In performance, a total of 17 lit bowls of water form a cross. A mixed chorus, soprano and bass soloists, violin and cello soloists, and three percussionists are positioned around the cross. The percussionists each play various water instruments, including shakers, tubes, phones, and gongs. Choir members carry Tibetan finger cymbals and smooth stones specified by the composer as coming "preferably from the sea or river." The vocal soloists, according to Kilpatrick, had to master non-Western techniques that included overtone singing, with the bass holding a low C for a significant period of time. The string soloists perform with pitch bending, microtones, and altered tuning systems heard in traditional Chinese orchestras. Dun's two-part "Water Passion," Kilpatrick concluded, is one of the most amazing works of art the critic had ever experienced. On the Sony Classical Music Web site a contributor indicated that the composer uses water as a "metaphor for the unity of the eternal and the external, as well as a symbol of baptism, renewal, re-creation and resurrection."
Hollywood Came Calling
Dun's first film score was composed for the 1997 film Fallen, starring Denzel Washington. On his second film project, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Dun worked closely with director Ang Lee to capture the traditional 19th-century Ching dynasty elements that reflect the martial-arts film's themes of love and violence. Following rave reviews at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival, the movie thrilled audiences in cities throughout the world. Lee commented that he created his film as a musical in which Dun's composition is interwoven with the story. In addition to a Academy Award in the United States, the film score won Dun other awards, including a Grammy award and the Anthony Asquith Award of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.
Dun was also asked to create the film score for director Zhang Yimou's historical action film The Heroes, after the two worked together on a project for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. For his efforts with Yimou, Dun won an award for best original film score when the 22nd Hong Kong Film Awards were present on April 6, 2003.
Nurtured by Symphonic Music
Although Dun has enjoyed his work for film, symphonic music remains his true love. On July 1, 1997, when Great Britain relinquished control of Hong Kong to mainland China, Dun's commissioned symphony, "Heaven Earth Mankind" joined Eastern and Western traditions. The work featured bianzhong bronze chime bells, an important musical instrument in ancient China. According to a contributor to China Radio International Online, the symphony represents a "dramatic montage" that embodies the "panorama of human history and envisages a new global community."
Dun has focused his musical talent in countless ways, and has created a legacy that represents his boundless energy and creativity. Among his original operas are "Nine Songs," 1989; "Marco Polo," 1993–94; "Peony Pavilion," 1998; and "Tea," 2002. His orchestral works include "Feng Ya Song," 1983; "Eight Colors for String Quartet," 1986–88; "Silk Road," 1989; "Soundshape," 1990; "The Pin," 1992; "Death and Fire: Dialogue with Paul Klee (German artist, 1879–1940)," 1992; and the experimental performance work "The Map: Concerto for Cello, Video and Orchestra," 2003.
Chinese Roots Remained Strong
In late November of 2003, Dun made a special trip to his home province in central China for a performance of "The Map: Saving Disappearing Music Traditions." Having premiered the piece earlier that year with the Boston Symphony, the Shanghai Orchestra performed in Hunan for an audience of 3,000, composed mostly of ethnic Miao and Tujia people. Some had never heard an orchestra perform, although they were familiar with the strains of traditional Chinese music that weave throughout the work. The piece itself was inspired by Dun's 1999 tour of Hunan, which is home to many of China's ethnic minorities.
According to Lee, Dun's "Orchestral Theatre" sequence provided "perhaps the best summary" of the composer's concerns in the 1990s. As quoted by Lee, Dun maintained that the cycle aims to "restore music's place 'as an integral part of spiritual life, as ritual as shared participation' through the 'dramatic medium' of the orchestra." In this work, as in other compositions by Dun, the composer reflects on his Chinese roots with the enhanced perspective he has acquired while living in the United States. In an interview for China Daily online, in July 2001, Dun said that, "As a Chinese-born musician, I am always willing to cooperate with any outstanding and ambitious Chinese artist to promote Chinese culture. I will surely get my part done best in this mission."
World Travels Continued
In 1994 Dun married Jane Huang, and the couple had one son. While he made his home in New York City and traveled frequently to China, Dun also continued to appear around the United States and throughout the world at music festivals, including the Tanglewood Contemporary Music Festival in Massachusetts, where he served as artistic director; the 2000 Barbican Centre's Fire Crossing Water Festival in London, England; and the 2002 Oregon Bach Festival, where he was composer-in-residence. Xinhua News Agency writer Xiao Hong commented that the composer was "born with an enterprising spirit," that had taken him from Hunan to Beijing to Manhattan, "learning to transcend the musical genres of Hunan Drum Opera, Peking Opera and western music." Dun's response to all of this was to note that, "If there is a conservatory on the Moon, I will definitely apply to go there and learn Moon melodies."
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Grawemeyer Awards Web site,http://www.grawemeyer.org/music/previous/98.htm (December 13, 2003).
"Tan Dun," G. Schirmer Web site,http://www.schirmer.com/composers/tan-bio.html (December 13, 2003).
"Tan Dun: Profile," British Broadcasting Corporation Web site,http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/music/features/tan-dun.shtml (December 13, 2003).
Dun, Tan
Born: Si Mao, Hunan Province, China, 18 August 1957
Genre: Classical, Soundtrack
Tan Dun, a much-commissioned and much-honored composer originally trained in the Peking Opera, won the 2001 Academy Award for Best Score for his soundtrack to Ang Lee's film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, which received the most nominations for a foreign film in Academy history. During the ceremony at which the award was announced, CoCo Lee sang "A Love Before Time," nominated from the score as Best Song; it was co-composed by Dun and Jorge Calandrelli, with lyrics by James Schamus.
Dun conducted the performance of his score by the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, the Shanghai National Orchestra, and the Shanghai Percussion Ensemble; soloists on Chinese instruments such as the erhu, bawu, dizi, rawap, and the cellist Yo-Yo Ma. The Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Original Motion Picture Soundtrack was also nominated for honors in the 2001 Golden Globe Awards competition. It won the 2002 Classical Brit Contemporary Music Award and the 2001 Grammy for Best Score Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media. "A Love Before Time" was nominated for a 2001 Grammy as Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media, and one movement, "The Eternal Vow," was nominated for the Grammy as Best Instrumental Composition. Dun won the Anthony Asquith Award for Achievement in Film Music at the Orange British Academy Film Awards in 2001.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Drago n was the first film score by Dun, who emigrated to the United States from his native China in 1986. However, his musical accomplishments include 2000 Today: A World Symphony for the Millennium (1999), commissioned by the BBC, Public Broadcast System Television, and Sony Classical. The piece was heard on fifty-five major television networks during the BBC's live twenty-seven-hour telecast of millennium celebrations around the world on January 1, 2000. Arias from Dun's opera Peony Pavilion were recorded by soprano Ying Huang and released on the album Bitter Love (1999). His Ghost Opera (1994) for string quartet and pipa, with water, stones, paper, and metal, was commissioned by the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the National Endowment for the Arts, and Hancher Auditorium/University of Iowa for the Kronos Quartet, and Wu Man, who recorded it in 1996 for a 1997 release. Dun won the prestigious Grawemeyer Award for his opera Marco Polo (libretto by Paul Griffiths), commissioned by the Edinburgh Festival and performed in Munich, Rome, Paris, London, New York, Tokyo, and Hong Kong, among other cities; it was named Opera of the Year in 1996 by the German magazine Oper. He has won Japan's Suntory Prize (1992) and the City of Toronto-Glenn Gould Protege Prize in Music and Communication (1996). He also maintains an extraordinary career as a conductor.
Dun is a graduate of Beijing's Central Conservatory and holds a doctoral degree in Music Arts from Columbia University. Raised by his grandmother and exposed as a child to China's rural, shamanistic culture, he was sent during Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolution to a Huangjin commune to harvest rice. Pursuing inherent musical impulses, he began studying local folk music and conducting villagers in musical celebrations and rituals at age seventeen, encouraging them to play whatever sound sources were at hand. When several Beijing Opera musicians on tour drowned in a boating accident, he was inducted as a substitute string-player and in 1978 was one of thirty selected from among thousands of applicants to attend the Central Conservatory. Dun became a leading composer of China's cultural "New Wave" of the 1980s, won recognition at home and abroad for his compositions, but suffered political backlash. He achieved creative breakthroughs in combining the natural sounds of his heritage and personal background with Western symphonic and chamber-music forms. Dun's atonalism is tempered by his command of a vast timbral palette, a sensitivity to dynamics, and a deft use of space and silence, making his music accessible to a wide audience.
Ghost Dance (Nonesuch, 1997); Heaven Earth Mankind: Symphony 1997 (Sony Classical, 1997); Marco Polo (Sony Classical, 1997); Bitter Love (Sony Classical, 1999); Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Sony Classical, 2000); Silk Road Journeys: When Strangers Meet (Sony Classical, 2002); Passion After St. Matthew (Sony Classical, 2002).
howard mandel
Tan Dun
Tan Dun
Tan Dun, significant Chinese composer; b. Si Mao, central Hunan Province, Aug. 18, 1957. While working among peasants during the Chinese Cultural Revolution, he began collecting folk songs. After playing viola in the Beijing Opera orch. (1976-77), he entered the recently reopened Central Cons, in Beijing in 1978 to study composition (B.A.; M.A.). In the 1980s he attended guest lectures given by Goehr, Henze, Crumb et al. In 1983 his String Quartet won a prize in Dresden, the first international music prize won by a Chinese composer since 1949. His Western compositional leanings led to a 6-month ban on performances or broadcasts of his music soon thereafter. In 1986 he settled in N.Y., where he accepted a fellowship at Columbia Univ. and studied with Chou Wen-Chung, Mario Davidovsky, and George Edwards. His early works are romantic and florid; after 1982, they reveal a progressing advancement of dissonance and sophistication, while retaining Chinese contexts. Many of his compositions require instrumentalists to vocalize in performance.
dramatic: 9 Songs, ritual opera for 20 Singers/Performers (N.Y., May 12, 1989); Marco Polo, opera (1993-94). ORCH.: Li Sao, sym. (1979-80); Piano Concerto (1983); Symphony in 2 Movements (1985); On Taoism (1985; Hong Kong, June 28, 1986); Out of Beijing Opera for Violin and Orch. (1987); Orchestral Theatre I: Xun (1990), II: Re (1992), and III: Red (1994); Death and Fire: Dialogue with Paul Klee (1991-92; Glasgow, March 27, 1993); Yi, cello concerto (1993-94). CHAMBER: Feng Ya Song, string quartet (1982); 8 Colors for String Quartet (1986-88); In Distance for Piccolo, Harp, and Bass Drum (1987); Elegy: Snow in June, concerto for Cello and 4 Percussionists (1991); Circle with 4 Trios, Conductor, and Audience (1992); Lament: Autumn Wind for Any 6 Instruments, Any Voice, and Conductor (1993). Piano : 5 Pieces in Human Accent (1978); Traces (1989; rev. 1992); R;Beatles (1990); CAGE (1993). VOCAL: Fu for 2 Sopranos, Bass, and Ensemble (1982); Silk Road for Soprano and Percussion (1989).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire