text:
Positive Promotions offers a wide variety of books and merchandise to help you on your journey of living a more positive life. Areas of interest in the store include Abraham Hicks, Gratitude, Meditation and the Law of Attraction.
Come back to the Positive Promotions frequently as our merchandise is constantly being updated.
As always be well,


text:
If you could have dinner with 1 person who you regard as a leader, who would it be and why?
I would love to have dinner with Bernie Sanders! I have never come across a politician with more inclusive policies!
What motivates you to create social impact?
I believe that if you can then you should! If you have the privilege that you can do something then it's your responsibility to do it!
Host Site Overview
Through research, education and advocacy, SPUR promotes good planning and good government in the San Francisco Bay Area. A member-supported nonprofit organization, we bring people together from across the political spectrum to develop solutions to the big problems our cities face.
Host Site Project
The New Sector Senior Summer Fellow will work directly with SPUR?s Oakland Director, President, Deputy Director, other senior staff and members of the Board of Directors to organize and staff a study series for SPUR to become knowledgeable about the structures and functions of Oakland government. The project focus areas include senior staff capacity development and board development and will put the senior staff of the organization in a position to make strategic recommendations to the board and begin to implement those recommendations.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
We have developed a number of infographics for business. Infographics are a great tool for online exposure as they are shared amongst users of social media.
This example is an infographic we created recently for a tents and events company. It combines a number of facts and figures important to the culture of the business along with quality design to enhance the message. Full graphic is available to view here


text:
The Brier Report: Day 2
SASKATOON – Here's what I have learned after the opening weekend at the Tim Hortons Brier – it's a lot different that the Scotties Tournament of Hearts.
I know, you're hoping for more insights than this. If you're reading this blog, you already know that one championship is for men and the other is for women. That is the foundation of the difference between the two events. You also know that I spent time in Red Deer covering the Scotties, so the differences in the events seem even more pronounced.
The similarity is the events are designed to determine a national curling champion, but there is a different feeling to them. There is a more personal side at the Scotties. The women's teams are often referred to by the first names of the skips. There is a softer side, even though the competition is just as fierce.
The men's teams are always called by their last names. There is a formality and the intensity is often still visible after the games. For the most part, the players are polite and accommodating. They answer our questions, but they just don't seem as unguarded as the women can get.
Then there are the crowds. The Credit Union Centre is approximately twice the size of the Enmax Centrium in Red Deer. That simply means more noise and buzz in a larger building. The Alberta supporters were amazing in Red Deer and helped carry Heather Nedohin to a national title.
Saskatchewan's Scott Manners has a similar level of support here. The crowd has been into each of his three games and chants like "Mind you Manners'' have taken place on a regular basis.
I'm not saying any championship is better than another. They both have their strengths and traditions that make then unique. That may be a better word than different – they are both uniquely Canadian events that celebrate a uniquely Canadian sport.
I also learned that Kevin Koe is good enough to win this championship even if he's not playing at his best. The Alberta skip has had some uneven games, but was still 3-0. He doesn't make every shot, but enough to keep on winning.
Manners has been impressive. We all know that he one of the easiest opening schedules in many years for a Saskatchewan team at the Brier. He reminded us that Manners is a rookie by losing to Jim Cotter on Sunday afternoon. Manners bounced back on Sunday night with a 6-5 win over Quebec. I think Manners may surprise us down the stretch. The key is Manners looks comfortable on the ice. Coach Kay Montgomery is a huge contributor to that through her calm demeanour and experience I knew she would play a big role at the Brier.
We're all going to get a chance to see Manners in the morning because his match with Jamie Koe of the Northwest Territories-Yukon is the featured match on TSN. The game is to be played at 8:30 a.m. Sounds like a good morning for room service.
The featured pic is of Manitoba lead Derek Samagalski releasing a stone. The tattoo part is kind of neat.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @murraylp. I only have 140 characters, so I tend to ramble less than I do here.


text:
This is a satellite image of the property as it is now. It has a power line easement along the top edge which is filled with berry bushes and shrubs. The rest is pretty tightly packed with native trees, shrubs, ferns, plus generous helpings of both native salmonberry and various kinds of blackberry – the bulk of which seems to be the invasive Himalayan Blackberry, which we hope to control in at least some areas using goats.
There is an old, decrepit mobile home on the main road that will be taken out eventually, and a newer, rather large garage and workshop which will remain. The whole property has been vandalized by copper thieves since the previous owner went bankrupt and surrendered it back to the bank, so a lot of rewiring will have to be undertaken before the workshop and the well can be used. We are hoping that by living on the property full time we will discourage vandalism in the future. If not, we will put some security measures into place around the homestead area – we figure the vicious Himalayan Blackberry vines will keep unwelcome people out of the rest of it!
The property is about a half-mile on the longest sides, and about a quarter mile on the western edge. It slopes gently, for the most part, towards the south and east, going from an elevation of around 200 feet above sea level to a bit over 400 feet just before it hits the foothills behind it. It is high enough to not be in the floodplain of any of the three local rivers. There are a few rural properties nearby – mostly homes and pastures on 5-10 acre or larger lots (and at least one apple orchard just down the street!) but for the most part the area is not terribly developed. Miles and miles of tree farms and state park land are our northern and northeastern boundaries.
Our forest is located in the Puget Sound Lowlands, near Sultan, Washington. It is a mixed deciduous and evergreen woods that can best be described as a temperate rainforest. The area in general gets about half the annual rainfall that the true coastal rainforest does (for example, on the Olympic Peninsula the Hoh Rainforest racks up about 120″ annually) but it is more than enough to feed the small streams and cedars, ferns and moss growing within our forest. We even have "nurse logs" growing huge second growth trees in spots, which is a very typical thing for this area.
We have only seen the place in the winter at the time of this post, but we will be making several trips out there this spring and early summer to supervise clearing and construction on the new home-site, so we are looking forward to seeing the trees and shrubs leaf out and learning more about the plants and animals we will be living among. After we settle in a bit, we'll be taking a formal plant and animal "census." This is something that will probably take a few years to finish. Even in the depths of winter, however, the forest can be astonishingly beautiful. On our most recent trip the temperatures most of the day were hovering right around freezing, and a moderately thick fog blanketed the whole river valley. This resulted in a beautiful coating of "rime" frost on many of the trees.
Jim was fascinated by the crystals that covered everything and took a lot of pictures of the frosted trees. One of the nicest photos taken that way was the "Fractal Frosted Fir" photograph to the left. Because the temperatures were just perfect for frost formation and the fog so gently and slowly deposited its moisture on the growing ice, the frost was able to form in a much more intricate pattern than you usually see. It made the whole forest seem surreal – all mist and magic.
The climate in the forest is, as near as we can tell, USDA Zone 8a. It might even tip a bit into Zone 7b, but it is difficult to say for certain right now. We have been watching the weather on the weather sites, as well as "stalking" our new place using some of the web cams placed along Highway 2, but so far we haven't seen it dip any lower than the upper teens. This means we should be able to grow a lot more there than we have been able to grow here – our fig tree, now in a large planter, will be able to grow outside, for example. And, we should be able to grow a garden outside year round with just a little protection from the colder nights and supply most of our own salad and stir fry greens even in the depths of winter. At least one greenhouse is also planned, because we will need the extra space for starting new plants and cuttings over the next few years to fill out our planned Food Forest.


text:
Interview with Lisa Hasegawa, National CAPACD
SpotlightSpotlight interviews advocates, community leaders and policymakers who have dedicated their careers to improving our communities, our nation and the world.
Lisa Hasegawa, one of four 2015 Asset Builder Champion Awards recipients, discusses her efforts to great a more fair and inclusive society for Asian American and Pacific Islanders.
Your long tenure at National CAPACD is filled with tremendous achievements, but what are some you are most proud of? What was a success of yours that may not have received much attention but meant a lot to you?
We have an amazing network of coalition members who I have been honored to represent here in DC. I'm proud of our efforts to keep community organizing at the heart of community development work and the strong focus on a racial justice lens in our new strategic plan – a culmination of decades of solidarity building with other communities of color on the ground by our members, years before National CAPACD was even founded. I'm very proud of the work we have done with our amazing partners to launch a national network of API lending circles, building on our accomplishments as the nation's first HUD housing counseling intermediary.
What was it like to work as a community liaison at the White House? Do you feel that the federal government has transformed in the 63 years since Executive Order 9066? What are some ways we're still lacking in bridging the divide between minority communities and the government?
I was lucky to have been part of the team in the early days of the first White House Initiative on AAPIs. There was a sense of tremendous responsibility and opportunity. No one had ever tried to do what we did – connect with and mobilize Native Hawaiian, Asian American and Pacific Islander leaders in all states and Pacific Island jurisdictions to engage with over 30 federal agencies. On many fronts we have made great strides for AAPIs and for people of color. Yet, so many things happening today are horribly reminiscent of what happened to Japanese Americans during World War II – the heightened levels of suspicion and overzealous law enforcement that so clearly targets and impacts people of color is heartbreaking. Since Barack Obama became president, brilliant and experienced people of color and progressives joined the ranks of federal government with high hopes and aspirations, only to come face to face with the realities of bureaucracy and resistance from within federal agencies, congress and conservative backlash. I believe that much was observed and learned about the ways in which institutional racism manifests itself, and I believe that these insights and knowledge will lead to the creative building of more bridges between communities of color and government.
Tell us about yourself. What do you do with your free time? What is something not many people know about you?
I'm moving to Southern California in the fall! I have a new found love of yoga after spending a month in Bali during my sabbatical.
What are some common misconceptions about the economic standing of the AAPI community?
Many people think that all AAPIs are wealthy, or that secretly, we have really wealthy relatives! Of course this is not true. Take my family. My grandmothers were a garment and domestic worker. My grandfathers were an agricultural worker and a TV repairman. They all lost property and were incarcerated for years during World War II in internment camps in Arkansas and Wyoming. Today, my parents are on a fixed income and their access to Medicare, as well as Medicaid coverage for my 91 year old grandmother is what allows me to sleep at night! My brother holds down 2 part time jobs at libraries which he is grateful to have since he is hard of hearing and has had trouble finding employment. But his part time status at both make him ineligible for employer based health insurance, so the ACA was a huge help since he is now eligible for expanded Medi-Cal. Furthermore, my family has always identified or felt like they were "middle class" and they are certainly MUCH better off than so many AAPI families who came as refugees, who do not speak English, who do not understand how systems in the US work.
Not only are there misconceptions about the economic standing of the AAPI community, but there are misconceptions about the values and beliefs of AAPIs. For example, did you know that 71% favored increasing taxes to reduce the deficit? Nearly 70% support expanding a federal program to build or rehab existing homes that low-income people can afford to rent. Over 72% favor increasing the minimum wage.
Often, lumping together large swaths of minority groups into a single category causes smaller groups to be overlooked despite hurting the most. Do you see this happening in the Asian American and Pacific Islander category?
Yes! Disaggregation of data and oversampling of Asian and Pacific Islander subpopulations is critical to have better and more accurate information to ensure that the needs of low income AAPIs are understood by policy makers and community leaders. We are working closely with the White House Initiative on AAPIs on strengthening federal agencies' ability to collect, analyze and disseminate better data on the needs of AAPIs. The Departments of Labor and Education are shining examples of innovative data analysis to illuminate dynamics that were previously invisible because of data being suppressed due to small sample size or masked because data was only presented in the aggregate "Asian" or "Asian/Other" category.
Department of Labor Report: The Economic Status of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the Wake of the Great Recession
Department of Education Report: ICount: A Data Quality Movement for AAPIs in Higher Education
We are hoping to work with the Department of Housing and Urban Development on a report about AAPI communities' housing needs and access to government housing programs.
Do you believe there's room for change in how we address economic issues relating to minorities?
Yes! There is more public dialogue about wealth inequality than ever before in my adult life. I think there is an opportunity for economists, researchers and advocates of color to lead the conversation and dialogue about wealth inequality and be at the forefront of forging public policy solutions that take racial wealth inequalities into consideration as a central matter, not as an afterthought.
Why is advocacy and civic engagement particularly important in the AAPI community?
Not only is it important, but it is important to do in a broader frame of racial, social and economic justice. Asian Americans are so often used by the right as a wedge community. Professor David Shih wrote a very on point article recently about the indictment of officer Peter Liang in the shooting of Akai Gurley. He aptly stated, "Like negative stereotypes, the model minority stereotype is also a tool of white supremacy. The model minority stereotype has always been less about praising Asian people than it has been about shaming black people." Advocacy and civic engagement of AAPI communities around key racial and social justice issues prevents us from being used as a wedge and strengthens movements.
Interview by Simona Combi and Alex Bannon
- Published in Culture Race/Ethnicity
- Tagged under


text:
Western Conference Final
Anaheim Ducks v. Chicago Blackhawks
I will be the first to tell you that I did not expect the Anaheim Ducks to get this far. Coming into the postseason the Ducks went 6-4 in their last ten and finished 28th overall in power play percentage at just over 15%. Once the playoffs started they certainly flipped the switch. The Ducks have a post-season best powerplay clicking at 31% and goaltender Frederik Andersen has been spectacular posting a .925 save percentage thus far. Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf have been outstanding. Perry leads the playoffs in points thus far with 15 (9G 7 A). The Ducks are returning to the conference final for the first time since 2007, when they went on the win the cup. However, facing the Blackhawks is very unfamiliar territory for Anaheim; the two have never faced each other in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Perhaps they have history on their side.
The Blackhawks on the other hand have become the gold standard of the Western Conference Final appearing in 5 of the last 7. They certainly belong here. Since his return Pat Kane has been marvelous, posting 7 goals and 6 assists for 13 points over the first two rounds. Patrick Sharp and Jonathan Toews have also been good (9 and 11 points respectively). However I notice the Marian Hossa seems to have run dry in the goal department having only cashed in once over the first two rounds. After struggling a bit in the first round with the Predators, Corey Crawford seems to have stabilized getting his save percentage back up to .916.
Verdict: As much as I don't like to cheer for the Blackhawks, I'm going to take them in 7 here because I would love to see Kimmo Timonen get a shot at the cup in likely his last season.
Eastern Conference Final
Tampa Bay Lighting v New York Rangers
The Tampa Bay Lightning had a VERY scary first round. The Detroit Red Wings took the Bolts the distance in a well fought seven game series. The Lightning didn't begin to look like themselves until about game 5. Since then however, they seem to have found their legs. The Bolts took the first three games from the Habs before ultimately defeating them in six games. Surprisingly, it hasn't been Steven Stamkos providing the offensive spark but rather Tyler Johnson. He leads all players in the playoffs with 8 goals (12 points total good for 3rd). Stamkos has woken up in the second round and now sits with 10 points. Nikita Kurcherov and Alex Killorn have been outstanding supporting players, and Ben Bishop has provided solid goaltending (1.81 GAA). The Lightning's strength lies in their speed. Every player on the team can explode through the neutral zone and get behind the defenders rather easily. Insert opponent will have to watch out for the stretch passes and be strong at the blue line. I picked the Bolts to win the cup in my opening round preview.
The New York Rangers return to the Eastern Conference Final after being here just one year ago. They finished off the Washington Capitals in a thrilling Game 7 victory. The Rags are a solid team. On paper they have a ton of offense from, Rick Nash to Marty St. Louis to Carl Hagelin but they haven't been able to find the back of the net that often. They have a solid D-Core headed up by captain Ryan McDonagh and Keith Yandle and of course they have the King, Henrik Lundqvist in goal. Most people expected the Rangers to be here, but most people didn't expect it would take them this long. New York is another team that has been AWFUL on the powerplay clicking at just 14%. I would argue that the Rangers only got this far because of Henrik Lundqvist. The Rangers are like the Habs, with better defense and penalty killing. If they can't find ways to put more pucks to the back of the net, they may not make it another round.
Verdict: I'm sticking with the Bolts, 6 games to the Cup.


text:
Full gallery all the way at the bottom of the page
I have been sitting in front of my computer for about 15 minutes and don't know where to start with this post. I also don't know where to end it. I suppose this is very symbolic, as all these images were taken at an event that means to destroy borders. Borders represent just that: beginnings and endings.
And so I find myself doing what I do best, and probably what got me to where I currently am (emotionally and professionally). I am simply sitting here and letting my soul's sweat pour straight into the keyboard.
It was a normal day and the weight of my daily routines was starting to slip off my back when I got a message from my beloved friend Manuel Lopez. He asked if I could come photograph a yearly event jaraneros from all over travel to Tijuana for. It's the Fandango Fronterizo.
For those who may not be familiar with Tijuana or the Fandango Fronterizo, it is an event that literally takes place in both sides of the border. There's a fence separating the USA from Mexico, but there is one area where that fence becomes much more real, as your loved ones right through it. They call it Friendship Park in the USA, but to us Mexicans it's simply part of the malecon. It's a meeting point… a clash of two countries… the eye in the middle of the storm. People come there to have a good time with their loved ones, all while the world arround them crumbles down. Some are stuck in Mexico, some in the USA, but there they can talk to each other and touch each other's pinkies through a fence that can barely let a cigarette through.
I haven't shot events in a while and love fandangos, so I thought "let's fucking do this!". There was never a doubt in my mind, regardless of how many hours I had worked all week and how much I really wanted to just drawn myself in the Sexta bars that very night.
So I get there just in time – 30 minutes after I was told I should arrive. No one had arrived on the USA side, but more than a few jaraneros were already practicing on the Tijuana side, where I was. By the fence one could observe little groups of people having a picnic, with a metallic fence as the center piece.
I guess those of us who live in the border can get so used to what this fence represents. Well, it's just a thing that separates one country from the other, right? No – it does much more than that. It breaks families, friendships and even ends lives. Then it makes fun of you by only allowing you to touch someone's pinky while you cry, endlessly hoping you could break through that fucking metal for just a single hug.
You can take a look at the fence anywhere else in TJ and it will mostly look like a simple wall. But here… here the bars turn to life and can almost talk. It's hard not to shed a tear, and I must accept I let a couple or few pass by. Then I stopped and turned around to face the crowd as the musicians started to arrive on the San Diego side.
The party began, I touched some pinkies and started to shoot. There were kids, adults and people from all walks of life here. It was a party, it has always been one. Every fandango I come to, it feels as though it can cheer up a funeral. And so the music starts.
It's an orgasm of music in there. It's hard to explain how it feels when you step in the middle of dozens of musicians, all following the same rhythm and pumping to the same heart beat. It's strong. So much that at some points I couldn't shoot. I simply had to stop and let it all in. Let my soul touch the musicians, so to speak.
I am that kind of photographer. I become part of what's going on, only then can I really take care of my job. I see a lot of people taking shot after shot after shot, looking for the right one, trying to orchestrate dozens of people to get the right composition.
You must remember, guys. This is not a studio, where one can control light, objects, shadows, environments, colors and all. This is life. You are out in the world, at an event that flows like a sea with multiple currents. Stuff moves and there's more than enough minds… each its own world. You can't find the right picture; you have to let it find you. So stop taking millions of shots, wait for the moment to come and make every shutter count.
The event went on for a couple or few hours. Really, I lost track of time. I took a break, had some brews and went to have fun with Cristina Molina, another dear friend. We came back and the border was like a funeral. There were lit candles in the floor, food in the tables and an army of musicians carrying the only weapons they know – their instruments. I wish I could have shown you more images of that night, but by then I was already too deep into the trance.
I often speak about the importance of a photographer knowing when to stop. How can you capture life if you don't know how to take its very essence in? After all, photography is about capturing life, whether it's in a direct or indirect way. In order to capture life, you need to understand it, and to understand it you need to live. It was time to put my camera down and live.
I do hope you like the moments time allowed me to capture, though. I had a good hand shake with those who have gone through this border, those who visit this wall, those who come and lighten up the atmosphere at the fence, and most importantly, those who's dreams and souls linger around it until the end of time. After all, it's thanks to them these events exist.


text:
The walls are getting thicker.
I was down among them. Awash in a sea of humanity. But apart. Like an island fortress. The crowds broke on the walls I've built. Never even getting close.
And me? Not reaching out. Digging deeper. Fortifying myself. Stone and mortar against the onslaught. Receding farther and farther from the masses. Never seeking solitude, but finding it anyway.
I've asked before. I ask again. How can it be? Surrounded by people. All alone. Behind the walls.


text:
I decided to go to Canterbury on a whim. I woke up itching for an adventure but unsure whether I should spend the money. I had already been to Canterbury in 2011 with Kendall — was it worth returning? Silly question since I've returned to Bath over 5 times (including, most recently last Saturday; however, Bath is my favourite place in England).
I kept changing my mind. I got as far as the online checkout, but, right before purchasing the ticket, I negotiated with myself to eat breakfast then decide. I'm prone to impulse decisions, and often suffer from buyer's remorse. But is there an equivalent related to travel? Does remorse exist for buying a chance at an adventure?
While eating my toast and marmalade (fancy and British, I know) I decided that, no, there was no such thing as traveller's remorse. I needed to make the most of my remaining time in England. I resolved to purchase the tickets before I second-guessed myself.
I quickly selected the tickets and pressed "purchase" before I could change my mind. And that's when it happened.
Normally, I review an online purchase multiple times, triple checking the details. But no. This time, in my haste to thwart my misgivings I instead hastened a mishap.
I bought two train tickets to Canterbury!
Every mistake can be corrected, right? Once I bought the wrong ticket back to Norwich and received a full refund because it was cancelled within an hour. However, luck was against me. They charged me £10 to refund my mistake. I would receive a measly £7.50 credit. Yet, in order to claim that money, I would first need to collect the ticket from a station, print out the claim, and mail both to Edinburgh.
This mishap put me in a sour mood and on edge. It's bad luck to start a journey with a mistake.
However, I had to go to Canterbury now — I had 2 tickets!
I took the train into Waterloo and then had to transfer to Waterloo East. During my wait for the train to Canterbury, I Decided to sit on the bench and resume reading Daphne du Maurier's Jamaica Inn.
While engrossed in the novel, I noticed something drip, drop, and splat near my person.
I surveyed the overhead beam and, sure enough, a grey-feathered poo machine was stationed above me. The pigeon moved about, obviously agitated to miss its mark. I didn't want to wait for the bird to resume its target practice; I moved to stand at the platform.
I knew it. My earlier mistake would continue to haunt me and colour my journey. Everyone knows unlucky things happen in threes. After the first two, what would be next?
I arrived at Canterbury West. The weather was lovely for late September. I was feeling positive and, dare I say, optimistic. Maybe my luck would change.
It was lunch time. I was feeling a bit peckish, but my failed attempt to secure a table at a pub in Winchester still weighed on my mind. I'm not really good at eating alone. I mean I can physically do it. Eating is a solitary activity. But I prefer having fellow humans seated with me if I dine at an establishment.
Solo travel? Sure. Relocating to another country and continent? Why not. Dining solo? No. I do not enjoy this.
However, Eleanore Roosevelt said "do something every day which scares you" (just one of the many brilliant quotes of hers — except the teabag one. Not for me).
During my visit to Canterbury I would tackle my discomfort of eating alone. Thanks Eleanore.
I resolved to avoid someplace too crowded to minimise my anxiety. Walking down St Dunstan's Street, a cute bistro caught my eye. Through the window the interior looked welcoming and rustic. And bonus: 3 women sat at 3 different tables. Solo ladies. One was even so cool she was reading a book and casually picking at her food as though the meal were an afterthought and possibly an inconvenience.
This was my place.
When I entered the Refectory Kitchen a girl approached me saying "table for one?" My secret was out. She didn't even politely ask if I had anyone joining me. She knew I didn't. I played it cool, smiled, and nodded.
And that's when things went horribly wrong.
To my horror she didn't seat me with my fellow kick a$s solo females! Nope. A second seating area existed, tucked behind an antiquated brick fireplace that divided the space.
The second space was packed with patrons. And there I sat, solo.
I pretended my feathers were unruffled. I pretended I was someone cool and important.
The menu was incredible. The Refectory Kitchen offers several appealing vegetarian options. Usually places only offer a veggie burger or some cheese-laden dish. I love cheese but try to limit how much I have. Thus, I was pleasantly surprised by the choices they offered.
In the end, i decided to treat myself in this moment of stress, and to reward my bravery with cheese. As you do. I ordered the halloumi aubergine burger and a mint tea.
While waiting for my meal I pulled out my phone and tweeted about my distress.
The bistro wasn't that large. There were two couples sitting at tables on either side of me; a party of five sat opposite me. The interior was cozy with exposed beams and brick.
My food arrived and the generous portions reminded me of America. However, they're stingy with ketchup, which is extremely British. I'm one of those ketchup connoisseurs. The person who is particular about the taste of ketchup. That friend who needs a bottle of the stuff not some paltry packets or condiment cups.
Overall, I highly recommend lunch at the Refectory Kitchen. It was delicious and reasonably priced.
Once happily satiated, I felt reassured that my luck might be taking a positive turn.
But no. Disaster struck once again. This time with large, pointy…beauty-obscuring scaffolding.
Canterbury Cathedral was under renovation.
The sobbing emoji was invented for such a catastrophe as this.
Luckily, I do have some photos from 2011. However, my mission was to take new ones with my brand new Sony a6000 (cuz I think I'm fancy now with this blogging).
The exterior was not the only part under construction.
So was the nave. I was more disappointed about this. I especially love a cathedral's nave and seeing the vaulting.
Luckily, I have a photo from 2011 to show off what it's meant to look like.
The interior of the Cathedral is worth a visit, especially for anyone who loves medieval history or the Canterbury Tales.
At the end of the Nave is the Choir Screen, a common feature in late medieval church architecture. The ornate partition divides Canterbury's nave and chancel.
To the left of the Choir Screen is the Martyrdom: the spot in the cathedral where Archbishop Thomas Becket was slain by four knights of King Henry II on 29th December 1170.
On the other side of the Choir, alongside the Presbytery, is the location of an interesting tomb. The Archbishop Henry Chichele (d 1443), founder of All Souls College Oxford, has a cadaver tomb.
When I first saw it in 2011 I thought it was the tomb of two people. But when I asked a nearby docent, he explained the top level represents the body before death while the lower level is a reminder of fleeting earthly glory.
At the east end of the Cathedral is Trinity Chapel, completed in 1184 specifically built for a shrine to Thomas Becket. A candle marks the spot of the shrine prior to being demolished during the Reformation.
Also located in the chapel is the tomb of the Black Prince (d 1376). I vaguely remember the Black Prince from my medieval history studies — he was the first English Prince of Wales to not become King of England — however, I distinctly remembered his tomb from 2011 as something pretty impressive.
The photos on the right are from my visit in 2011 depicting the obscured effigy and missing 'achievements' shown on the left from my September visit.
Over the summer a team of scientists and art historians investigated the tomb. Their findings will be discussed in the upcoming Black Prince Conference on 17 November 2017.
If I was still in England, I would totally go to this.
There are plenty of things to see in the Cathedral. Here are just a few of them:
The Cathedral's website doesn't mention the restoration; however, the work will continue through 2021.
In the meantime, take a virtual tour of Canterbury Cathedral to see key features without the scaffolding.
After my quick solo tour of the Cathedral I walked around Canterbury a bit. Here are some of the photos I took:
Even though my day started out with some bad luck and disappointment regarding the restoration work, I enjoyed visiting Canterbury again.
Until next time 🙂
Thanks for checking out my blog! To get updates when I post sign up for email notifications below.


text:
Qualified Coaches
The club is proud of the number of qualified coaches it has. All coaches also have current First Aid and Safeguarding certificates.
CSA Level II (Cricket South Africa)
Riaz Richards
ECB Level II
Mark Lewarne
Larry Eaton
Seb Smith
Simon Roberts
Will Steed
Toby Phillips
Huw Barnett
Ross Todd
Simon Longbottom
Ethan MackieGareth Preedy
ECB Level I
Dave Chrispin
Josh Roberts
Jacob Lewarne
Nick Williams
Jonny Harvey
Ben Beard
Andy Blood
Joe Atkins


text:
M2 Machines are manufactured in Azusa, California. They specialize in miniature American muscle. These die cast cars come standard with movable part and display cases. Many different series are made for the die hard collector to the causal fan.
The inventory at Sportsamerica Sports Cards is stocked with the most recent M2 Machines die cast cars available. From classics like the 1955 Chevy Bel air to the 1970 Chevy's.
We buy direct to provide the best pricing on die cast.


text:
Love Note
Hi everyone I hope everyone had an amazing Christmas and New Years is just r giht around the corner. So to almost start off the New Year I want to share a mini album I made that I am giving a friend of mine to put some photos from 2014 in.
heart to make a journal spot then I stamped the Love Note sentiment on it from the set. I actually colored the heart with copics to match the page
Copics: E31, E33, R02
It is stamped with the Note sentiment and arrow heart which is also from the set
the backside of the tag has a envelope that I made some tiny note tags which is also from the stamp set. I made 3 tags that you could journal on
I hope everyone enjoyed my post for the day and be sure to check our challenge this month!!


text:
Jai Rawat spotted a big opportunity at the intersection of social networking and e-commerce. He observed how brands and retailers used social media and was not impressed. "Their approach is totally wrong. They follow the B-to-C (business to consumer) messaging paradigm. But social is not B-to-C but C-to-C (consumer to consumer)," he says.
He felt he could fill a void and started ShopSocially, a social commerce set up.
It was the fourth venture of this serial entrepreneur. He had begun with Obongo, which was acquired by AOL in 1999, and went on to create two more successful companies, Airtight Networks and Nanolane, before starting ShopSocially.
"Social media has democratized marketing," he says. "Every consumer is now a potential marketer. To tap into the true power of social media, companies need to get their customers to do the marketing for them. People trust the opinion of a friend more than any business messaging."
ShopSocially was co founded in October 2010 by Jai Rawat and Sameer Palnitkar as a destination site for consumers (a first stop for surfers, which has many links that take them to other relevant sites). But they soon found that growth, though reasonable, was not explosive enough to make it a successful business. In March last year, they turned it into a technology platform for retailers.
The start-up offers a suite of social apps that retailers can embed in their websites, within their marketing campaigns or on their social network pages to support functions. They include, for instance, one called share-a-purchase (or a product offer or promotion) a social shopping community view, where people leave comments on the purchases they have made. It is a live feed that can be seen on the subscribing retailer's site. Potential buyers get to see what others who have bought particular products feel about them. The platform allows businesses to control when and how these apps are shown using rule-based targeting, search engine optimization, analytics, reporting, and more.
"We are bringing the social network to commerce. Shopping is inherently social and with new technologies, social commerce is more scalable. We are not forcing a new behaviour on customers, but tapping into an existing behaviour and capitalizing on that ," adds Rawat.
Several hundred customers, including big brand names in the US such as Sears, The Children's Place, Sport Chalet, CafePress, Ritz, Zales and others have begun using this 'software-as-a-service' (SaaS) offering.
ShopSocially has raised a total of $1.7 million with an initial angel funding round of $550,000 through TiE Angels, which is in addition to $1.1 million in venture funding it got from October 2010.
"We are profitable and we are not proactively looking for funding. The lean operation has just three people in the US and 12 in Pune," says Rawat. "In my previous ventures, I raised a total of $70 million and we built very differently. For ShopSocially, the founders thought of building it more organically rather than going all out."
Examples of ShopSocially communities in action here on Burpee, on HBO's shop, and onH2o+.


text:
- A Capella Mennonite
- A Capella Praise & Worship
- A Capella Southern Gospel
- Bluegrass
- Contemporary
- Country Gospel
- Praise & Worship
- Contemporary Music
- Gospel Music
- Inspirational Music
- Instrumental Music
- Local Music
- Praise & Worship
- Southern Gospel
- Adult Resources
- Children's Resources
- Church Ware
- Communion Supplies
- Robes and Apparel
- Sanctuary Resources
- Youth Resources
- Bestsellers
- Feature Showcase
- Meet the Authors
- Read A Chapter
- Listen to Music Samples
- Accompaniment Samples
- Just Released
- Sale Bestsellers
- Bargains
- Bible Study & Small Group
- Bulk Discounts on Books & Bibles
- Christian Book Award Winners
- Dove Awards Winners
- New & Bestselling Fiction
- Gifts for Her
- Gifts for Him
- Lifeway Resources
- New Year's Resources
- Valentine's Resources
- VeggieTales
- Wedding & Marriage
Product Description
Oh, I've heard a thousand stories of what they think you re like . . . but I've heard the tender whisper of love . . . and you tell me that you're pleased . . . and that I'm never alone. You're a good, good Father.
Experience the truth of God s love for His children in refreshing, heartwarming ways through the children s board book Good Good Father for Little Ones, illustrated with stunning art by Lorna Hussey and penned by Grammy award-winning Christian music artist Chris Tomlin and Pat Barrett.
With sweet, rhyming text, Good Good Father for Little Ones explores many of the attributes that make God such a good, good Father: like a warrior, He protects you; like a teacher, He helps you learn and grow; like a doctor, He makes you feel better; like a farmer, He provides the food you need; like a musician, He brings you joy. Most of all, a good, good Father loves you
Based on the children s picture book Good Good Father, this precious rhyming adaptation will leave little ones with a greater assurance that God truly is a good, good Father and they are loved by Him."
More Product Information
- Publisher: Thomas Nelson
- Release Date: January 31, 2017
- Pages: 24
- Language: English
- Binding: Hardcover
- Height: 0.80 inches
- Width: 5.20 inches
- Length: 7.10 inches
- Weight: 0.66 pounds
- Recommended Age Range: 00 through 04 years
- Recommended Grade Range: Preschool through Preschool


text:
Jacob is a 6-2 junior forward for the Wildcats who shows good fundamentals and rock solid ball sniffing abilities. He's a scorer that doesn't shoot the ball, which means he's a total team player that can merge into any offensive set and make things happen as he knows and understands his role on the team. I would have to say he might be a little too unselfish but the time will come when he needs to step it up a bit and look for his shot more. Krantz also probably has his play making and passing abilities overlooked.
Defensively he, like a lot of "FORWARDS" in this undersized city, doesn't mind bruising underneath even with a bigger player due to his mental take on the game as he blocks out and slashes hard for loose balls and rebounds. That shows a lot of heart and promise moving ahead.
I like this kid's game!


text:
In preparation for your first visit, please visit our Patient Forms page, and download your paperwork. We suggest that you arrive...
Welcome to Medcare!
In preparation for your first visit, please visit our Patient Forms page, and download your paperwork.
We suggest that you arrive 5-10 minutes before the start of your first scheduled appointment to complete our registration process.
Be sure you:
- Bring your ID
- Bring your insurance card or case number
- Bring your therapy prescription, if you have one
- Bring any relevant diagnostic reports you may have (for example, x-ray or MRI)
- Wear comfortable clothes and shoes
Also be prepared to answer questions such as:
- What types of symptoms are you experiencing?
- How long have you been experiencing these symptoms?
- How did it start?
- What aggravates and eases these symptoms?
Please tell your Physical Therapist about any previous Therapy Treatment you may have had, as well as the results.
Since physical therapy deals with the way your body moves, we'll do a Physical Examination. We'll take a look at your flexibility, strength and balance in the office. This can include having you walk, run and stretch in certain ways. It will help us pinpoint where you're experiencing pain and where your movement is being inhibited.
After your Interview and Evaluation, your Physical Therapist will explain his or her assessment of your condition and explain the Individual Treatment Plan that has been designed for you.
If you have any questions regarding your Treatment Plan, be free to ask us anytime. Your understanding of Treatment Plan is essential to helping you achieve your goals, and is very important to a successful outcome.
Since you will only spend two to three hours a week receiving treatment at our office, you homework before and after treatment is very important. Execution your Home Exercise Program helps you attain your goals much faster.
Please remember to contact in with our Receptionist when you come out. She will coordinate follow-up treatment visits with you and your Therapist, and answer any questions you may have.
We look forward to helping you soon.


text:
What a difference 20 years can make. It was late Tuesday evening, April 11, 1995. 36 hours earlier I had arrived in Israel to be by the side of my daughter Alisa who had been mortally injured in a bus bombing. Now I was being ushered by Israeli protocol people into the VIP lounge at Ben Gurion Airport to await my El Al flight that would return me with Alisa's body to the States. I sat on a couch at one end of the room, next to a military chaplain who didn't speak a word of English. On the opposite side were members of the press who asked a few questions. Frankly, I don't remember what those questions were, or what I said in reply.
Read the full post here.


text:
David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants
Three thousand years ago on a battlefield in ancient Palestine, a shepherd boy felled a mighty warrior with nothing more than a pebble and a sling-and ever since, the names of David and Goliath have stood for battles between underdogs and giants. David's victory was improbable and miraculous. He shouldn't have won.
Or should he?
In DAVID AND GOLIATH, Malcolm Gladwell challenges how we think about obstacles and disadvantages, offering a new interpretation of what it means to be discriminated against, suffer from a disability, lose a parent, attend a mediocre school, or endure any number of other apparent setbacks.
In the tradition of Gladwell's previous bestsellers-The Tipping Point, Blink, Outliers and What the Dog Saw-DAVID AND GOLIATH draws upon history, psychology and powerful story-telling to reshape the way we think of the world around us.
Product Details
|Little, Brown and Company
|Publication date:
|Edition description:
|Sales rank:
|Product dimensions:
|5.40(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.20(d)
About the Author
Hometown:New York, NY
Date of Birth:September 3, 1963
Place of Birth:England, U.K.
Education:University of Toronto, History degree, 1984
Read an Excerpt
David and Goliath
Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants
By Malcolm Gladwell
Little, Brown and CompanyCopyright © 2013 Malcolm Gladwell
All rights reserved.
At the heart of ancient Palestine is the region known as the Shephelah, a series of ridges and valleys connecting the Judaean Mountains to the east with the wide, flat expanse of the Mediterranean plain. It is an area of breathtaking beauty, home to vineyards and wheat fields and forests of sycamore and terebinth. It is also of great strategic importance.
Over the centuries, numerous battles have been fought for control of the region because the valleys rising from the Mediterranean plain offer those on the coast a clear path to the cities of Hebron, Bethlehem, and Jerusalem in the Judaean highlands. The most important valley is Aijalon, in the north. But the most storied is the Elah. The Elah was where Saladin faced off against the Knights of the Crusades in the twelfth century. It played a central role in the Maccabean wars with Syria more than a thousand years before that, and, most famously, during the days of the Old Testament, it was where the fledgling Kingdom of Israel squared off against the armies of the Philistines.
The Philistines were from Crete. They were a seafaring people who had moved to Palestine and settled along the coast. The Israelites were clustered in the mountains, under the leadership of King Saul. In the second half of the eleventh century bce, the Philistines began moving east, winding their way upstream along the floor of the Elah Valley. Their goal was to capture the mountain ridge near Bethlehem and split Saul's kingdom in two. The Philistines were battle-tested and dangerous, and the sworn enemies of the Israelites. Alarmed, Saul gathered his men and hastened down from the mountains to confront them.
The Philistines set up camp along the southern ridge of the Elah. The Israelites pitched their tents on the other side, along the northern ridge, which left the two armies looking across the ravine at each other. Neither dared to move. To attack meant descending down the hill and then making a suicidal climb up the enemy's ridge on the other side. Finally, the Philistines had enough. They sent their greatest warrior down into the valley to resolve the deadlock one on one.
He was a giant, six foot nine at least, wearing a bronze helmet and full body armor. He carried a javelin, a spear, and a sword. An attendant preceded him, carrying a large shield. The giant faced the Israelites and shouted out: "Choose you a man and let him come down to me! If he prevail in battle against me and strike me down, we shall be slaves to you. But if I prevail and strike him down, you will be slaves to us and serve us."
In the Israelite camp, no one moved. Who could win against such a terrifying opponent? Then, a shepherd boy who had come down from Bethlehem to bring food to his brothers stepped forward and volunteered. Saul objected: "You cannot go against this Philistine to do battle with him, for you are a lad and he is a man of war from his youth." But the shepherd was adamant. He had faced more ferocious opponents than this, he argued. "When the lion or the bear would come and carry off a sheep from the herd," he told Saul, "I would go after him and strike him down and rescue it from his clutches." Saul had no other options. He relented, and the shepherd boy ran down the hill toward the giant standing in the valley. "Come to me, that I may give your flesh to the birds of the heavens and the beasts of the field," the giant cried out when he saw his opponent approach. Thus began one of history's most famous battles. The giant's name was Goliath. The shepherd boy's name was David.CHAPTER 2
David and Goliath is a book about what happens when ordinary people confront giants. By "giants," I mean powerful opponents of all kinds—from armies and mighty warriors to disability, misfortune, and oppression. Each chapter tells the story of a different person—famous or unknown, ordinary or brilliant—who has faced an outsize challenge and been forced to respond. Should I play by the rules or follow my own instincts? Shall I persevere or give up? Should I strike back or forgive?
Through these stories, I want to explore two ideas. The first is that much of what we consider valuable in our world arises out of these kinds of lopsided conflicts, because the act of facing overwhelming odds produces greatness and beauty. And second, that we consistently get these kinds of conflicts wrong. We misread them. We misinterpret them. Giants are not what we think they are. The same qualities that appear to give them strength are often the sources of great weakness. And the fact of being an underdog can change people in ways that we often fail to appreciate: it can open doors and create opportunities and educate and enlighten and make possible what might otherwise have seemed unthinkable. We need a better guide to facing giants—and there is no better place to start that journey than with the epic confrontation between David and Goliath three thousand years ago in the Valley of Elah.
When Goliath shouted out to the Israelites, he was asking for what was known as "single combat." This was a common practice in the ancient world. Two sides in a conflict would seek to avoid the heavy bloodshed of open battle by choosing one warrior to represent each in a duel. For example, the first-century bce Roman historian Quintus Claudius Quadrigarius tells of an epic battle in which a Gaul warrior began mocking his Roman opponents. "This immediately aroused the great indignation of one Titus Manlius, a youth of the highest birth," Quadrigarius writes. Titus challenged the Gaul to a duel:
He stepped forward, and would not suffer Roman valour to be shamefully tarnished by a Gaul. Armed with a legionary's shield and a Spanish sword, he confronted the Gaul. Their fight took place on the very bridge [over the Anio River] in the presence of both armies, amid great apprehension. Thus they confronted each other: the Gaul, according to his method of fighting, with shield advanced and awaiting an attack; Manlius, relying on courage rather than skill, struck shield against shield and threw the Gaul off balance. While the Gaul was trying to regain the same position, Manlius again struck shield against shield and again forced the man to change his ground. In this fashion he slipped under the Gaul's sword and stabbed him in the chest with his Spanish blade.... After he had slain him, Manlius cut off the Gaul's head, tore off his tongue and put it, covered as it was with blood, around his own neck.
This is what Goliath was expecting—a warrior like himself to come forward for hand-to-hand combat. It never occurred to him that the battle would be fought on anything other than those terms, and he prepared accordingly. To protect himself against blows to the body, he wore an elaborate tunic made up of hundreds of overlapping bronze fishlike scales. It covered his arms and reached to his knees and probably weighed more than a hundred pounds. He had bronze shin guards protecting his legs, with attached bronze plates covering his feet. He wore a heavy metal helmet. He had three separate weapons, all optimized for close combat. He held a thrusting javelin made entirely of bronze, which was capable of penetrating a shield or even armor. He had a sword on his hip. And as his primary option, he carried a special kind of short-range spear with a metal shaft as "thick as a weaver's beam." It had a cord attached to it and an elaborate set of weights that allowed it to be released with extraordinary force and accuracy. As the historian Moshe Garsiel writes, "To the Israelites, this extraordinary spear, with its heavy shaft plus long and heavy iron blade, when hurled by Goliath's strong arm, seemed capable of piercing any bronze shield and bronze armor together." Can you see why no Israelite would come forward to fight Goliath?
Then David appears. Saul tries to give him his own sword and armor so at least he'll have a fighting chance. David refuses. "I cannot walk in these," he says, "for I am unused to it." Instead he reaches down and picks up five smooth stones, and puts them in his shoulder bag. Then he descends into the valley, carrying his shepherd's staff. Goliath looks at the boy coming toward him and is insulted. He was expecting to do battle with a seasoned warrior. Instead he sees a shepherd—a boy from one of the lowliest of all professions—who seems to want to use his shepherd's staff as a cudgel against Goliath's sword. "Am I a dog," Goliath says, gesturing at the staff, "that you should come to me with sticks?"
What happens next is a matter of legend. David puts one of his stones into the leather pouch of a sling, and he fires at Goliath's exposed forehead. Goliath falls, stunned. David runs toward him, seizes the giant's sword, and cuts off his head. "The Philistines saw that their warrior was dead," the biblical account reads, "and they fled."
The battle is won miraculously by an underdog who, by all expectations, should not have won at all. This is the way we have told one another the story over the many centuries since. It is how the phrase "David and Goliath" has come to be embedded in our language—as a metaphor for improbable victory. And the problem with that version of the events is that almost everything about it is wrong.CHAPTER 3
Ancient armies had three kinds of warriors. The first was cavalry—armed men on horseback or in chariots. The second was infantry—foot soldiers wearing armor and carrying swords and shields. The third were projectile warriors, or what today would be called artillery: archers and, most important, slingers. Slingers had a leather pouch attached on two sides by a long strand of rope. They would put a rock or a lead ball into the pouch, swing it around in increasingly wider and faster circles, and then release one end of the rope, hurling the rock forward.
Slinging took an extraordinary amount of skill and practice. But in experienced hands, the sling was a devastating weapon. Paintings from medieval times show slingers hitting birds in midflight. Irish slingers were said to be able to hit a coin from as far away as they could see it, and in the Old Testament Book of Judges, slingers are described as being accurate within a "hair's breadth." An experienced slinger could kill or seriously injure a target at a distance of up to two hundred yards. [The modern world record for slinging a stone was set in 1981 by Larry Bray: 437 meters. Obviously, at that distance, accuracy suffers.] The Romans even had a special set of tongs made just to remove stones that had been embedded in some poor soldier's body by a sling. Imagine standing in front of a Major League Baseball pitcher as he aims a baseball at your head. That's what facing a slinger was like—only what was being thrown was not a ball of cork and leather but a solid rock.
The historian Baruch Halpern argues that the sling was of such importance in ancient warfare that the three kinds of warriors balanced one another, like each gesture in the game of rock, paper, scissors. With their long pikes and armor, infantry could stand up to cavalry. Cavalry could, in turn, defeat projectile warriors, because the horses moved too quickly for artillery to take proper aim. And projectile warriors were deadly against infantry, because a big lumbering soldier, weighed down with armor, was a sitting duck for a slinger who was launching projectiles from a hundred yards away. "This is why the Athenian expedition to Sicily failed in the Peloponnesian War," Halpern writes. "Thucydides describes at length how Athens's heavy infantry was decimated in the mountains by local light infantry, principally using the sling."
Goliath is heavy infantry. He thinks that he is going to be engaged in a duel with another heavy-infantryman, in the same manner as Titus Manlius's fight with the Gaul. When he says, "Come to me, that I may give your flesh to the birds of the heavens and the beasts of the field," the key phrase is "come to me." He means come right up to me so that we can fight at close quarters. When Saul tries to dress David in armor and give him a sword, he is operating under the same assumption. He assumes David is going to fight Goliath hand to hand.
David, however, has no intention of honoring the rituals of single combat. When he tells Saul that he has killed bears and lions as a shepherd, he does so not just as testimony to his courage but to make another point as well: that he intends to fight Goliath the same way he has learned to fight wild animals—as a projectile warrior.
He runs toward Goliath, because without armor he has speed and maneuverability. He puts a rock into his sling, and whips it around and around, faster and faster at six or seven revolutions per second, aiming his projectile at Goliath's forehead—the giant's only point of vulnerability. Eitan Hirsch, a ballistics expert with the Israeli Defense Forces, recently did a series of calculations showing that a typical-size stone hurled by an expert slinger at a distance of thirty-five meters would have hit Goliath's head with a velocity of thirty-four meters per second—more than enough to penetrate his skull and render him unconscious or dead. In terms of stopping power, that is equivalent to a fair-size modern handgun. "We find," Hirsch writes, "that David could have slung and hit Goliath in little more than one second—a time so brief that Goliath would not have been able to protect himself and during which he would be stationary for all practical purposes."
What could Goliath do? He was carrying over a hundred pounds of armor. He was prepared for a battle at close range, where he could stand, immobile, warding off blows with his armor and delivering a mighty thrust of his spear. He watched David approach, first with scorn, then with surprise, and then with what can only have been horror—as it dawned on him that the battle he was expecting had suddenly changed shape.
"You come against me with sword and spear and javelin," David said to Goliath, "but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I'll strike you down and cut off your head.... All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord, and he will give all of you into our hands."
Twice David mentions Goliath's sword and spear, as if to emphasize how profoundly different his intentions are. Then he reaches into his shepherd's bag for a stone, and at that point no one watching from the ridges on either side of the valley would have considered David's victory improbable. David was a slinger, and slingers beat infantry, hands down.
"Goliath had as much chance against David," the historian Robert Dohrenwend writes, "as any Bronze Age warrior with a sword would have had against an [opponent] armed with a .45 automatic pistol."CHAPTER 4
Why has there been so much misunderstanding around that day in the Valley of Elah? On one level, the duel reveals the folly of our assumptions about power. The reason King Saul is skeptical of David's chances is that David is small and Goliath is large. Saul thinks of power in terms of physical might. He doesn't appreciate that power can come in other forms as well—in breaking rules, in substituting speed and surprise for strength. Saul is not alone in making this mistake. In the pages that follow, I'm going to argue that we continue to make that error today, in ways that have consequences for everything from how we educate our children to how we fight crime and disorder.
But there's a second, deeper issue here. Saul and the Israelites think they know who Goliath is. They size him up and jump to conclusions about what they think he is capable of. But they do not really see him. The truth is that Goliath's behavior is puzzling. He is supposed to be a mighty warrior. But he's not acting like one. He comes down to the valley floor accompanied by an attendant—a servant walking before him, carrying a shield. Shield bearers in ancient times often accompanied archers into battle because a soldier using a bow and arrow had no free hand to carry any kind of protection on his own. But why does Goliath, a man calling for sword-on-sword single combat, need to be assisted by a third party carrying an archer's shield?
Excerpted from David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell. Copyright © 2013 Malcolm Gladwell. Excerpted by permission of Little, Brown and Company.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
Introduction Goliath
"Am I a dog that you should come to me with sticks?" 3
Part 1 The Advantages of Disadvantages (And the Disadvantages of Advantages)
1 "It was really random. I mean, my father had never played basketball before." Vivek Ranadivé 27
2 "My largest class was twenty-nine kids. Oh, it was fun." Teresa DeBrito 61
3 "If I'd gone to the University of Maryland, I'd still be in science." Caroline Sacks 102
Part 2 The Theory of Desirable Difficulty
4 You wouldn't wish dyslexia on your child. Or would you? David Boies 165
5 "How Jay did it, I don't know." Emil "Jay" Freireich 209
6 "De rabbit is de slickest o' all de animals de Lawd ever made." Wyatt Walker 281
Part 3 The Limits of Power
7 "I wasn't born that way. This was forced upon me." Rosemary Lawlor 335
8 "We have all done something dreadful in our lives, or have felt the urge to." Wilma Derksen 395
9 "We feel obliged to tell you that there are among us a certain number of Jews." André Trocmé 449
Acknowledgments 473
Notes 475
Customer Reviews
Average Review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Does having a disadvantage make you stronger in the long run? Malcolm Gladwell explores this and similar questions in his latest book. Like his previous works, Gladwell delves into the stories of many people (some famous, some not) to determine why some become wildly successful whereas others crash and burn. Are there key elements in their upbringing that push people to excel? Two interesting observations revolve around dyslexia and the loss of a parent. Some of the most prominent people in the world are, surprisingly, dyslexic. Richard Branson, Charles Schwab, and Brian Glazer are three. A shocking 12 of the 44 U.S. Presidents, including George Washington and Barack Obama, lost their fathers when they were young. Gladwell explores the possibility that people who are faced with a major disadvantage can use it to propel them to heights they otherwise would not have achieved. While this book is very thought-provoking, I must admit that I can't completely agree with all of it. I found some conclusions to be over-simplified. Even so, this an entertaining and worthwhile read. Gladwell fans will definitely appreciate it. Readers of this book should also consider two others with similar themes. Gladwell's stories reminded me of my favorite recent memoir, Dr. Anthony Youn's "In Stitches" which explores how a young underdog overcame his insecurities to eventually become a successful physician. The second book I recommend is Gladwell's "Outliers: The Story of Success" which examines what factors make some people succeed and others fail. A similar theme as "David and Goliath," this one looks at what intangibles contribute to one's success. It's a thought-provoking and fun read.
Malcolm Gladwell has such a clean, lyrical, just downright fun to read style, that it is only by degrees, over a series of his publications, I have slowly developed the opinion that his surgically clean, brick-by-brick arguments are often fairly thin, sometimes blatantly card-stacked and may lead to highly questionable conclusions. His latest publication David And Goliath, is, in my opinion, the most egregious in this regard. Just today, I read of a study in the journal Pediatrics that found children without fixed bedtimes were much more likely to develop behavioral problems by the age of seven. The conclusion pointed to restlessness, irritability and other issues related to the lack of sleep. Yet It occurred to me that was quite a leap. Isn't it possible that parents who don't enforce regular bedtimes don't enforce a lot of things? Isn't it possible that the children in the study developed behavioral problems due to a lack of discipline and not a lack of sleep? I don't know which is the right conclusion, but would not publish the former as science. This is my sense of Malcom Gladwell's work; certainly in his latest work under discussion here. A good example of what I'm talking about can be found in the opening chapter, where he attempts to provide a partial explanation for Goliath's behavior by suggesting that ( according to "many medical experts" ) he suffered from the medical condition acromegaly. Sorry, but Really? How is anyone, Doctor or not, to diagnose a complex medical condition from a few paragraphs reported by a third party in an arcane religious text that, for all it's beauty, is not always known for its' literal bent? It is like finding an ancient skull with a neatly bored hole in it and concluding the civilization was competent at brain surgery. Maybe an interesting thought. Maybe worth a bit more research. But not a fact to be employed in support of an argument. David and Goliath also lacks a focus. Though most chapters do pertain to an underdog them of some sort, some do not. In fact, the underdog theme seems designed to roll out the Inverted-U-shaped curve theory, which then dominates the rest of the book. The book is more about the idea that you CAN have too much of a good thing ( be too rich, have too small a class size…) than it is about the little-guy winning. Gladwell just doesn't put two and two together in this book. He features a lengthy chapter about California's three-strikes law as yet another example of the inverted-U-shaped curve, yet his statistics in support of the failure of the three-strikes-law are anything but conclusive. In fact, he as much states that nobody really agrees as to whether "three-strikes" works. He indicates the law was eventually significantly watered down and leaves you to deduce that his proposed cause and effect was the reasoning behind it. Lastly, and perhaps this is a bit shallow of me, but the subject matter of the book is often disturbing. There is a chapter that describes children suffering terribly from Leukemia. Another where a young girl is bound and tortured. It's selfish, I know. But I don't want to read that. I don't want to pay to read that. As Woody Allen's fictional author in Manhattan once intoned while searching for an opening chapter, "Let's face it, I want to sell a few books here". That is how I feel about David And Goliath. Gladwell was on the hook for a new Bestseller but lacked the inspiration that led to the more concise and "tighter" Outliers. What we got was a collection of often disturbing essays that he struggles to stuff beneath a single umbrella.
The biblical story of David and Goliath is a story of courage but also of overestimating strengths and misunderstanding the power of playing a different game to make the person who seems weakest be victorious. In the face improbable odds, finding themselves inferior in scale, ability or resources is what pushes certain people to try things out of the ordinary, re-think the rules and play a different strategy – which is a formula for winning. This book makes the point in the story of Bedouins, David and Goliath and the underdog basketball team that goes undefeated. Malcolm invites us to challenge the assumption that bigger is better. One of his key points is that when you are too big , too good, too strong – you advantage starts becoming a disadvantage. He challenges us to re-think our assumptions of what is good, what is bad, what is a strength, and what is an advantage. He points out that disadvantages can be advantages and that difficulties can produce resiliency and courage. The central line is about the power of being different, becoming the big fish in a small pond that you create rather than being a small fish in a large pond – like the impressionists, who created their own pond, went against the current, and converted their weakness into strength. Adversity has the potential to make us much stronger, more resilient and courageous – when it does not crush us. People who have gone through difficult times tend to think different, challenge the status quo, and take the bold chances that people who have had it easy have not had the need or the guts to do. Those who re-think the rules and take a new road are the people who change the world. The second part of the book is about the idea that if you are Goliath, if you are in a position of strength, trying to dominate the Davids by force can be counterproductive. Authority requires legitimacy. The book talks about stories from MLK to religious clashes in Ireland to make the point. As you expect from Malcom, the stories are very interesting, enjoyable and even captivating. Yet, at the end of the day the book does not leave you with a set of powerful ideas that you have not heard before. The story of David and Goliath is thousands of years old and has been told many times. I did not find this book as intellectually stimulating as some of his previous books that have left me with a new way of thinking and have provided a foundation for more ideas to be built upon, like the Tipping Point or Blink. I can recommend this as an enjoyable read but not a breakthrough.
I didn't think this book was nearly as good as his other two books, which I really enjoyed. This book didn't seem to contain any great discoveries or revelations.
My adult daughter terned me on to Malcolm's books a few years ago with his second book Blink. I have know read all his books. They are an excellant source of why and how people think and respond to everyday life. His latest David and Goliath explains how and why someone perceived to be an underdog can succeed.
Reviewed by Mary DeKok Blowers for Readers' Favorite David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell is a business psychology book, dealing with behaviors that contribute to success, either understandably or conversely. The name refers to the account in the Christian Bible of David, a young shepherd boy who was destined to become King of Israel. The reason it relates to the principles in this book is that one episode in David's life included battling Goliath, a Philistine giant who was challenging the Israelites. David was clearly an underdog, with no weapons, armor, or physical magnitude. What he did have was skill in killing wild beasts with a sling and stones, while protecting his sheep. He refused the current king's offer of armor and weapons as being too heavy and unfamiliar to him. Gladwell states, "He shouldn't have won — Or should he have?" What David also had was the favor of the omnipotent God. Gladwell's rationale, however, states in details of the Biblical account, Goliath could not see well and was mentally defective, merely a brute force to flatten the enemy. Whatever the factors, David did come through for the Israelites. Malcolm Gladwell goes on to give many examples of poor schools, handicapped people, and others, who maintain advantages that are unseen by others. Football teams that don't have the best players but have a goal merely to try harder than anyone else may well win the game. Richard Branson, who has dyslexia, is profiled. He went above and beyond his expectations to found Virgin, the multifaceted corporation of great success. The point is that no matter your disadvantages, you can rise above and accomplish great things.
Mr. Gladwell has a gift for research and connecting it to the common experience of life. In his present work, he takes what is universally held as plainly true and sheds light on that "common knowledge" causing the reader (me, at least) to see: the power in "weaker vessels," the abundance of strength being a liability, the genius of acting on what one knows, doing the "unthinkable" is often a move of the desperate but is often one that brings most possibilities and how revenge costs more than the offense it is intended to "balance." He does so in his typical clear, inviting prose so well written that this non-fiction book often reads as if it could be developed as a screenplay. The book opens with the familiar story of David and Goliath, but Mr. Gladwell "exposes" (actually he does a complete exegesis of the Biblical passage) the story to reveal that, while David was the smaller, less powerful member of that particular duo, everyone who witnessed his preparation for the battle knew that he would be victor. The power he held was in his using what he knew, doing what he did best and not acting according to "the script" before him. For the remainder of that section, this theme is repeated in various forms, from a father who did not know basketball leading his daughter's team to the championships, to teachers successfully teaching in impossible settings, to how being a small fish in a large pond (educationally speaking) allows for a better education. The next section speaks to the benefits of persevering through long periods of difficulty. The author speaks of how adversity brings about strengths that can only be "earned" through the exercise of living the pain of extreme hardship. He speaks of those who have overcome dyslexia, grinding poverty compounded by lack of parenting and slavery to "beat the odds" to became (respectively) leaders in finance, the discoverer of the cure for childhood leukemia and helped defeat the tyranny of dictators. The last section, "The Limits of Power," maybe the most enlightening part of a book full of "doors being opened." Living in a country that is the most powerful and wealthy ever to exist, it would benefit all of us to reflect upon just what that "wealth" and "power" actually means and how it needs to define each of us. When those blessings (power, etc.) are held with a sense of entitlement, according to Mr. Gladwell's research, they reveal themselves to be more liabilities than benefit. However, when one manages them with the attitude of being a custodian for the profit of everyone, those words go from nouns of oppression to verbs of freedom. To me, this underscores the truth of "to him (she) who much has been given, much is expected." This is a book that is rather lengthy but easily read. There is some violence described in the course of the book but it is short and only serves to highlight the point being discussed, likewise, the few "harsh" words used. As I have found to be true with all of Mr. Gladwell's books, this one must be read in its entirety to fully understand his message. It is a good book to be twice given – to receive and read or to read and give.
*A full executive summary of this book will be available at newbooksinbrief dot com, on or before Tuesday, October 22, 2013. This book is not about underdogs and giants in any conventional sense of these terms. Rather, the book is about the curious nature of advantages and disadvantages, and how each can (under certain circumstances) become its opposite. The first lesson to be learned is that the things we take to be advantages are often no such thing. Our greatest mistake here comes from the fact that we identify a certain quality or characteristic as being a benefit or advantage, and then assume that the more of it there is the better--when this is often not the case. Put another way, most of us recognize that it is possible to have too much of a good thing, and yet we fail to appreciate just how often and where this principle applies. For instance, we recognize that having a certain amount of money greatly facilitates raising children (it being very difficult to raise a family in a state of poverty), and yet we fail to recognize that beyond a certain point wealth also makes parenting increasingly difficult (for it becomes harder and harder to instill qualities of hard-work and self-control). Or we recognize that small class sizes are a good thing, and yet we fail to recognize that classes can actually begin to suffer once they become too small (since diversity and energy begin to disappear). The second lesson to be learned here is that certain disadvantages can sometimes drive people into positions of advantage. Take the disadvantage of being born with a disability, for example. Say dyslexia. In our modern world, where the ability to read is extremely important--and practically a requirement for success--having great difficulty with reading is a major disadvantage. And indeed the statistics indicate that the vast majority of those who are born dyslexic end up falling through the cracks and missing out on success. Still, though, many dyslexics have gone on to become highly successful people; and it has also been noted that in certain fields (such as entrepreneurship) an inordinate proportion of the most successful individuals do, in fact, have dyslexia. So how can we explain these success stories? What we find in these cases is that these individuals have managed to compensate for their disability by developing skills that make up for their flaws (such as an improved memory or debating prowess). Thus, in a way, the successful dyslexic has actually benefited from his disability, because it has forced him into a position where he has had to develop other skills that have led him directly to success. Gladwell has done well to make us rethink the nature of advantages and disadvantages across many fields. The only major flaw in the book, in my view, is the third and final part. The theme of the part is that power becomes less effective (or even counter-productive) when it is wielded illegitimately. The problem with this argument is that it's a classic case of the straw-man: Gladwell has set up an opposition that is very easy to defeat, and then smashed it to pieces. What's worse is that the examples Gladwell uses to prove his point here are quite weak. Still, there is much of value in the first 2 parts of the book. A full executive summary of the book will be available at newbooksinbrief dot com, on or before Tuesday, October 22; a podcast discussion of the book will be available shortly thereafter.
This book uses lots of analogies to make points about personal or social strengths and weaknesses. Several social upheavals were referenced, both from American history and in other parts of the world. So, there are opportunities to learn some history and to analyze it in new ways. However, some of the situations used as topics were terribly un-interesting to me. I ended up skipping over a couple of sections that seemed boring or redundant. In that way, I thought the book was too long.
This book was a recommended book of many peers of mine. I chose to read this book in my final year of high school. It could have not embodied much better what one feels when being in a graduating class of roughly 2,500 students. It was not the easiest book to read but a very interesting and amazing book for someone that can see both sides to something. I have never connected this much with a book because of the struggles and being a timid person, it always felt as an underdog as David was. The different stories and the diferent aspects of life and people of all different successes and at different levels of life, this book shows one really can be successful.
In the book, David and Goliath, I found many messages within this book that it helped me throughout my life. In the first chapter, the main message was to figure out your biggest weaknesses, then take those weaknesses and find your greatest advantages. The author, Malcolm Gladwell uses Vivek Ranadive and his daughter's junior basketball team as an example for this message. But how does Vivek Ranadive and the team relate to this central message? The girls junior team were the worst teams until Ranadive had noticed something wrong. He realized that their greatest weakness was the lack of experience. Ranadive then decided to institute a full court press which was rarely seen within the girls league which was why it was such an effective method. The reason why the underdogs won game after game was because what they did was so innovated in going outside the strategical norms
This was truly an eye-opening book. I learned the simple fact that being an underdog, meaning having few resources than the established powers to be, can be an advantage, so long as it's perceived that way. It's almost better to have your back against the wall than have the fusion of resources when confronting overwhelming odds in business, politics, and personal lives. I highly recommend this book. It'll be a fast read and quite rewarding.
I am a big fan of books like this one and others by Gladwell. I did not like this one as much as the others because I felt that it was too long for a book of its' nature.
Great book! Entertaining read. Profound and thought-provoking. Great insight into how we misperceive advantages and disadvantages and how too much power falls along a inverted U-curve, as do many things in life.
I deeply enjoyed reading this book. The structure was incredibly crafted with very smooth transitions from one idea to the next, always tying in ideas that had already been discussed previously, and explaining the connections clearly. This lead to a building effect where the points were even further driven-home as the book continued. The sentences flowed together seamlessly allowing for a quick, easy read. The actual content matter of the book provoked lots of personal reflection and in-depth thinking trying to decipher the merit of what was being said. Each topic was controversial in its own right, but upon reading could be shown to be the truth of reality. The themes were consistent throughout every section each posing a paradox that the author would spend the rest of the chapter proving correct. The proof was offered in the form of at least one anecdote, including quotes from the interview, conducted by the author, of the individuals involved in the scenario. The paradox was then further proven using scientific studies and factual research done on the topic, which adds in a increased level of credibility to the authors claims. Every claim came with a underlying truth; although the paradox can be true, the scenarios where the paradox is true are nearly always required more work and hardship from the individual affected. Overall I deeply enjoyed reading this book and found it thought-provoking and intellectual, giving a clarity to the reality of the world.
David and Goliath is the third Malcolm Gladwell book that I've read. In this book Gladwell explores the myth of battling giants. His point is that what makes a giant so large and intimidating can also be the giant's weakness. He starts the book with the Biblical story of David and Goliath, and then moves on to other interesting topics: classroom size, prestigious colleges, the cure for childhood leukemia, dyslexia, crime, etc. In every story, Gladwell reveals that what we believe to be true isn't necessarily the case. This book is so fascinating. It makes for a perfect audiobook (read by Gladwell himself). It's engaging, and I learned a lot. The first few chapters I believe are a must-read for all parents, especially those starting to think about where their children might attend college. http://opinionatedbooklover.com/review-david-and-goliath-by-malcolm-gladwell/
Easy to read, well written, and wonderfully documented
Its been four days since Erik and i met. Erik, Blizzard, and i have been scraping by, but we were in desperate need of food and a good washup. All three of us. Our stomachs were growling loudly, and we stink. We also needed a change of clothes. Oh, what luck it would be to find an abandoned department store with a river next to it. That would be heaven. - "What are you thinking about?", Erik asked, studying me with his beautiful emerald-colored eyes. I grinned and said, "Just wishing we could get some food and a nice cleanup." He nodded in agreement, his golden honey hair bobbing. It had gotten longer and shaggier over the last few days. Now it was an inch past his chin. - After hours of walking through a valley, we finally stumbled across a busy road, the first sign of life we had seen in days. I doubled back to hide behind some bushes out of sight like Erik taught me. But neither he nor Blizzard made any move to join me. I called to them, but Erik motioned me to come on out. I did so reluctantly. - "No one is going to recognize us.", he said. "We are in another state." I had not known this, so i stared at him in disbelief. - He laughed and said, "Come on. Let us cross the road." I just looked at the cars passing by, knowing if we tryed to cross, we would get hit. Erik shook his head, grinning. "Aria, i pity you. Let me demonstrate." He turned towards the road, studying it. Then he suddenly ran through a gap between two cars. The next second, he was on the other side, unharmed. He pumped a fist into the air. - "Show off", i muttered, rolling my eyes. Then i did what he did. I studied the cars passing by, then ran between the gap of two cars. Then i grinned proudly as i walked towards Erik. My grin faltered as i saw Erik looking at me with an amazed expression. - "What?", i asked. He shook his head, causing his hair to bob. He was dumbfounded. "What?", i repeated, louder this time. "Um, er, well....", he began. Then he blurted, "You ran faster and more gracefully than-" He covered his mouth before he could say more. - "Than what?", i asked, impatient. Erik smiled and hesitated, then said, "Than a cheetah. And thats impossible for a human." I gaped, not quite believing him. Was he saying i wasnt human? Erik interrupted my thoughts. "Are you one of the Gifted?", he asked. I looked at him and said, "I dont know what that is." - Erik sighed and motioned for me to sit down. I did, and he sat next to me. "There is a small amount of people in the world who each have a unique power. Those people are called the Gifted. They are born randomly, so you can have two nonGifted people give birth to a Gifted child. But that is rare. And usually the child's power is more special than Gifted kids with a Gifted parent. You have a better chance of getting a Gifted child if one or both of the parents are Gifted. But since both your parents seem to be nonGifted, you are a rarity. Same with me. Im Gifted, but neither of my parents were. My power is dangerous but useful. I can create fire. I can shoot it out of my hands, or if i just look at something and picture it in my mind on fire, it will catch." Erik paused at my look of horror. Then he continued. "And your power is that you can run very very fast. That is a power only you have, while im the only one who can control fire. And you need to use it wisely." - When he was finished,i noticed Blizzard on the other side. I motioned for him to cross, since the road was clear. Then i thought about my Gift.
Enjoyable, informative n thought provoking


text:
Understanding MOOCs as a pathway to employment for low-income populations
The overarching goal of this project was to investigate if Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) can help economically disadvantaged populations build the skills necessary to find employment and to achieve upward mobility.
Start date: 9/30/2013
End date: 4/30/2014
Read More
The overarching goal of this project was to investigate if Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) can help economically disadvantaged populations build the skills necessary to find employment and to achieve upward mobility.
Working with graduate students Bingxin Chen, Michelle Fiesta, Brian (Zengguang) Wang, Sandy Ng, and Pablo Quinones, UMSI Assistant Professor of Information Tawanna Dillahunt and Research Professor Stephanie Teasley assessed the activities and performances of U-M Coursera learners who stated that they were unable to afford to pursue a formal education based on a demographic survey submitted at the beginning of each course.
Researchers sought to understand how these students might use their experiences to either gain employment skills or better position themselves for place-based education by addressing the following questions:
- What do students who are unable to afford higher education struggle with most in U-M Coursera courses when compared to students taking these courses for non-financial reasons?
- How do performance and engagement activities of students unable to afford formal education compare or contrast to more affluent students?
- What types of courses are needed to increase student employment opportunities for these populations?
Initial qualitative findings suggest that the cost of education beyond a bachelor's degree can be prohibitive and that individuals may be taking advantage of MOOCs as a result. The study also revealed that learners 25 years and older with less than an associate's degree (primarily non-students) who reported an inability to afford formal education were significantly underrepresented in MOOCs, but completed more courses with distinction than other learners.
The project revealed that participants taking MOOCs based on affordability and enhanced employment opportunities presented very limited tangible evidence of employment mobility as a result of taking MOOCs.
Researchers identified four categories of learners: those leveraging MOOCs to transition to new fields, for promotion in current fields, for new positions in current fields, and as a refresher, or a way to stay current in their existing field.
Though these all represented indirect benefits to employment, none of the outcomes describe actual employment. Interview participants also expressed a desire to have more portfolio, or project-based courses and office hours to aid in networking with course instructors and other students.
Lastly, in order to achieve more tangible outcomes, the results of this research suggest a need for awareness of MOOCs to be increased among employers.
MOOCs Research Initiative grant, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation: $20,344
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is dedicated to discovering and disseminating innovative approaches to addressing extreme poverty and poor health in developing countries and improving the U.S. education system.


text: On Thu, Jan 14, 2010 at 9:40 AM, Alexandre Julliard <julliard at winehq.org> wrote: > Erich Hoover <ehoover at mines.edu> writes: >> ... >> ntoskrnl: Implement ExSystemTimeToLocalTime and ExLocalTimeToSystemTime. > > You most likely want to use RtlSystemTimeToLocalTime etc. > > -- > Alexandre Julliard > julliard at winehq.org > Yup, sorry about that. It's funny how there are convenient functions like that lying around. Is it acceptable to just forward the call in the DLL spec when the return value of the function is different (ExSystemTimeToLocalTime has no return where RtlSystemTimeToLocalTime returns NTSTATUS)? Erich Hoover ehoover at mines.edu


text:
+27 (0)72 145 8433
John Bauer
John Bauer is one of those individuals for whom ceramics is a mere vehicle for the kaleidoscope of ideas he exhales everyday. He is strangely focused on a bizarre and very secretive brand of technical skill in ceramics; although this focus on technical anomalies of clay, glass and heat, does not distract one iota from the heart of his pieces. His pieces exude emotion. They lug at your heartstrings with their whimsical honesty. He has evolved from sculpture to very thin translucent bowls: embellished, in both relief and scrafico, with an evolving series of archetypal mythological characters which will one day be the subject of ceramic theses and surpass many of his peers in collectabilty.
His experiments with glass and clay are notable in this brief window of this superb ceramic artist's evolution: glass filled bowls which, when held up to the light reveal their secrets.
He evolves quickly, only the most astute collectors will be able to catch on to his coat tails as he pioneers his trail through the ceramic world.


text:
Wallace to Restructure: Includes Plant Closings, 10% Staff Cut
Thursday, November 15, 2001
Press release from the issuing companyLisle, Ill.--Nov. 14, 2001--Wallace, the leading national provider of comprehensive total print management products and services, today announced a number of restructuring and cost reduction measures. Included in this initiative are the closing of six manufacturing facilities, one kitting and fulfillment center, one multi-use facility, workforce reductions in excess of 10% of total employees, the disposal of certain underutilized equipment, and other cost reduction projects. "Wallace has a long history of sales growth. However, our profitability recently has been declining,'' said David Jones, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "Profits in Integrated Graphics, which is composed of commercial print and targeted communications, have been the weaker of our two operating segments. Mike Duffield, President and Chief Operating Officer of Wallace, has taken direct control of commercial print.'' "We can no longer accept the under-performance of our commercial print division,'' said Duffield. "Commercial print continues to be an important part of our strategy. These moves will strengthen capabilities in our strategic locations and put greater focus on contract business. These actions are intended to reduce our cost structure and offset cost increases with efficiencies and cost reductions. Combined with emphasizing contract business, we intend to get our profits to the levels we know that we can achieve. We expect the economy to be weak for some time, making it even more important that we get on with our cost reduction work.'' Business in commercial print manufacturing plants in Charlotte, North Carolina and Silver Spring, Maryland will be merged with other commercial print facilities and the plants will be closed. Commercial print manufacturing plants in Austin, Texas, New Orleans, Louisiana and Rochester, New York will be sold. Sales not tied to the specific locations will be consolidated with other Wallace commercial print operations. Two facilities in Elk Grove Village, Illinois, one a kitting and fulfillment center and the other a targeted communications manufacturing operation, will be closed, and their operations consolidated within other facilities in Illinois. A multiple-use facility in Lodi, California will be phased out and closed over the next several months, with its production and distribution operations moved to other existing California locations. It is anticipated that this restructuring will result in annualized cost savings of approximately $13 million. Also, operating leaders have identified approximately $20 million in cost reduction opportunities in various areas. The company also believes that its first quarter results, to be released next month, will meet current street expectations. Details of the costs and financial impact of the restructuring program and cost reduction measures will be announced in conjunction with the release of first quarter earnings, which is scheduled for Tuesday, December 11, after the market closes.
Industry News
Copyright © 2020 WhatTheyThink. All Rights Reserved