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Welcome to Debbie Ballard's Transgender Information Site.
Deborah Ballard aka Debbie Lawrence is a transgender woman with nearly 40 years of IT experience, nearly 40 years of transformational programs including 12 step programs, leadership training programs, open source support groups, transgender support groups and websites. Debbie has written 6 books on transgender issues, so far.
Religious Liberty on Trial
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- Written by Debbie Lawrence
- Category: Transgender Information
- Hits: 987
This is an excerpt from my book "Religious Liberty: On Trial"
The Jury was smiling and giggling. The guys were even looking a bit envious. The defense had lost the jury.
That night, conservative talk radio hosts were trying to paint Tina and Alice as a couple of lesbian perverts who were trying to dishonor an Air Force Cadet to discredit the military. It seemed that the Senator was calling in some favors.
The next morning, the defense was supposed to start. There were hundreds of protesters outside the courtroom. They carried signs like "Die Faggots!", "Kill the Sissy", "Abominations should be put to death", "Queers must Die", and a hanging effigy of a girl with a huge penis with "Tina" on the chest.
As Tom and Betsy walked in, they were greeted with cheers. The mob chanted "Christians live, Faggots die"
Other signs saying "Religious Freedom", "God Hates Fags", and "Christianity Rules."
Tina's parents had taken her to the court. As soon as she got out of the car, people started throwing rocks and fruit. Four police officers formed a human shield to protect her as she went in. One man tried to hit her with a baseball bat, he was arrested by one of the officers who was following behind.
As Tina went to the top of the court-house steps, reporters tried to get her to turn around and face the crowd so they could interview her. She turned and saw that the crowd had grown to about 3,000. She looked at the reporters, and smiled.
A reporter from Fox stuck a microphone in her face "Is it true that you're a transsexual and baited Thomas into groping you?"
Tina smiled "I am transsexual, and Thomas didn't grope me. I told him I was transsexual and he got someone else to grope me. Just like he got someone else to beat me up."
Another reporter from the Christian Broadcasting Network asked "Isn't it true that you have been attacked like this before, and that many of your injuries are not new?"
Tina nodded "I've been attacked hundreds of times and have scars of many injuries from those attacks, which is why the doctor was able to identify the injuries caused by this attack!"
A reporter from ABC said "Is it true that you were pronounced dead at one point?"
Tina nodded "Yes, I was legally dead for about 2 minutes, after which I made a miraculous recovery. I'm very grateful to God for that little miracle."
The CBN reporter said "Are you a Christian?"
Tina nodded "Yes, I'm a Presbyterian, I am ordained as a deacon and an elder, and I sing in the choir."
"How can you consider yourself a Christian when you flagrantly violate God's laws?"
Tina smiled "Which laws do you think I'm violating?"
"A man should not wear a woman's clothing. A man should not lie with a man like a woman"
Tina smiled "I've read about 15 different translations of the Bible and found those verses to be concerning. To begin with, I'm not a man, I'm a Eunuch. The Bible has LOTS to say about Eunuchs, none of which is bad, other than we can't enter the Holy of Holies to offer sacrifices. A eunuch helped Esther win the heart of the king so she could save the Jews from genocide. A eunuch was the first gentile baptized as a Christian. Many wise ones were eunuchs, it's possible that some of the prophets, possibly Daniel, Shadrak, Mishak, and Abednego may have been eunuchs."
"But what about the laws against homosexuality?"
Tina raised a finger "Keep in mind that women were to be married within two years of their first period, so around 13 or 14 years old, and usually to an older man. The marriages were arranged through the families, and the girl had no choice in the matter."
"What does that have to do with the law against gays?"
Tina smiled "It's quite possible that the law was designed to prevent parents from selling their 10-12-year-old sons in arranged marriages. Leviticus is the directives to priests, and was based on actual disputes between the people. What was the dispute here? A man who had paid a bride price for his son to marry the first daughter of a fellow landowner? Did dad try to pass the son off as a girl? Did he offer his young son as a consignment to the other man, because he had no daughters and couldn't pay the man back?
The reporter countered "Paul condemns homosexuality in Romans."
Tina smiled, "yes there was a particular activity he found especially offensive. Tax collectors took the daughters of delinquent tax-payers and prostituted them to soldiers. The prostitutes were often forced to work in the temples of other gods. Was Paul offended by the Rapes? Was he offended by the idolatry? Was it some combination of the above?"
The reporter was frustrated "But it's a SIN, the Bible condemns it."
Tina smiled "How many verses in the Bible?"
The reporter admitted "I don't know"
Tina smiled "There are roughly 30,000 verses in the Bible. How many condemn homosexuality between men?"
The CBN guy was stuck "The bible has hundreds of references that condemn homosexuality."
Tina laughed "Actually, there only 8 verses, and most of those are in the same section that says we shouldn't eat pork, cheeseburgers, egg drop soup, and pie with whipped cream."
"But the Bible says that homosexuals are an abomination and should be put to death."
"Actually, it only mentions male-to-male sex, not female to female sex. How many verses condemn lesbian sex?"
The CBN reporter was getting upset. "I have no idea!"
Tina smiled "None that condemn." On the other hand, one possible translation of the role between Hagar and Sara was that Hagar was her lesbian lover. The King James Version translated it to "Handmaiden". You know what Jesus hated most don't you?"
CBN got smug "Sinners!"
Tina smiled "No, Jesus loved sinners, and even forgave tax collectors who continued to be tax collectors. No, Jesus had a special hatred for self-righteous religious fanatics who placed unrealistic expectations on people, to exploit their guilt. Matthew 23 and Matthew 25 are excellent examples."
The CBN reporter pulled back his microphone and tried to leave quietly. The reporter told the cameraman "Is there any way we can chop this up to get some damaging sound bites?"
The camera man shrugged, "I doubt it, not without it being obvious.
Meanwhile, the NBC affiliate reporter turned to her camera man "Did you get all of that?"
He nodded "Every single word!"
Finally, Tina turned and went into the courthouse.
The Defense - Freedom of Religion
The defense started. First they tried to discredit the forensic evidence, but on cross-examination the witnesses admitted that since the car had been wiped clean before the rental, and the rental agency had held the car and not detailed it, any prints on the car would be the occupants during that rental. Since Tom's prints were the only ones on the steering wheel, he was obviously driving and therefore part of the conspiracy.
Defense turned to the Judge "We would like to change our defense to Gay Defense Panic. We will show that my clients were so upset by the deception and immorality of Theodore Clark, and they were acting based on their strongly held religious beliefs, and simply exercising their Religious Freedom!
Prosecution objected "Your Honor, this last-minute Hail Mary pass seems to be an attempt to put Miss TINA Clark, the VICTIM on trial, and evade legal responsibility for the crimes committed."
The Judge pounded her gavel "Chambers Now!"
Once in the Judge's chambers, the Judge was livid.
"What kind of circus are you running here, it looks like a KKK rally, and as a black woman, I can tell you now, I do not like to see this kind of hate speech directed at anyone!"
Defense countered "Your honor, we intend to prove that Theodore's behavior at the time was incendiary and offended the morality of the defendants to such a degree that they felt compelled to act out of their religious duty!"
The prosecutor leaned forward "Your honor, we have proven that the act was committed, that it was planned, that it was organized, and that it was done with criminal intent. Religious freedom can't be used as an argument to grant carte Blanche immunity for any religious fanatic who goes on a killing spree. We'd have members of the KKK blowing up black churches based on their religious freedom."
The Defense attorney stood up "We can prove that the reactions and the violent attacks were not only justified, but were reflected in the actions of others involved in the case. We have revised our witness list. Here are our additional defense witnesses."
The judge looked at the list, then handed it to the prosecution.
The prosecutor huffed "Pastor Grey of Calvary Baptist church, Pastor Blair of Calvary Temple, Jim Dobson of Focus on the Family, and Pat Robertson of CBN? The defendants attended ALL of these churches and were directly influenced by these ministers?"
The defense nodded "We can prove that the Senator not only attended events for these organizations, but that he knew them personally, and that he helped raise funds for these organizations as well. Furthermore, we will have these religious leaders describe some of the teachings which motivated Thomas and Elizabeth to defend their religious liberties and to save their immortal souls by not allowing an abomination like Theodore to corrupt good God-fearing Christians."
The prosecutor folded his arms "Your honor, I would first like to ask that the defense desist from using inflammatory language and use ONLY Miss Clark's current legal name. It's obvious that he intends to try and smear Miss Clark by painting her as a pervert and religious heretic merely based on her masculine status at birth and her gender identity disorder."
The Judge nodded "This is beginning to look more and more like a witch hunt, and more and more like an attempt to smear the victim. You are on very shaky ground here counselor."
Defense countered "If you refuse to allow us this defense, you know that I will appeal on the basis that my client's first amendment rights were violated."
The Judge nodded "No doubt you would try to push this case all the way to the Supreme Court, and get your clients off on appeal. So, I'm going to allow this little circus, but I have a few conditions."
She leaned forward in her chair "I will sequester the Jury; they are not to be exposed to these mob scenes and they are not to be allowed contact with anyone and no media contact. Any further demonstrations and I will hold you personally in contempt of court. Understood?"
Defense nodded.
She turned to the prosecutor "I realize that you will need additional time to prepare your case, interview witnesses, and that you must call additional rebuttal witnesses. You have one additional week to prepare."
She turned back to Defense "I see you plan to call Miss Clark to the stand as a defense witness. At no time are you to refer to her by any pronoun other than she or her, and at no time are you to even mention her previous name! Furthermore, she will NOT be treated as a hostile witness. She has been honest and respectful to both prosecution and defense, and deserves to be treated as the victim of a crime, not a defendant on trial for her life."
Defense nodded. "Yes your honor."
She raised her finger "One more thing. At no time are you to make any statements regarding interpretation of the law, and especially the First Amendment. I will be the ONLY one giving direction on how to interpret the constitution."
Defense started to object but the Judge gave him a stern look.
"Yes your honor, we understand."
The judge smiled at the prosecutor. Both realized that the Defense was hoping this motion and strategy would be rejected so they could win on appeal, but now, Defense was going to have to convince a sequestered Jury to acquit based on a religious liberty argument that was shaky at best. Furthermore, if he lost, there would be no basis for appeal."
The defense attorney went into a local payphone booth and closed the door. He dialed "Senator, we have a problem."
The prosecutor had his team interview all the witnesses, including the celebrity preachers. He also had to meet with Tina and Alice.
"Tina, I need tell you that the defense wants to try and claim that the defendants were exercising religious freedom. They are going to try to paint you as the devil incarnate, and an abomination, that had to be killed or at least punished."
Tina laughed aloud "OK, I'll give you the name of my minister, and the names of some adults who have known me for years. I'm surprised he's going that route. Did you know that I was ordained as a deacon, an elder, and taught adult Sunday School? I wonder if they knew that?"
The prosecutor started to laugh loudly and slapped his knee. "This is going to be fun. You see, they will be admitting that they attempted to kill you, based on THEIR Religious beliefs, but they don't realize that you have some strong religious beliefs that are consistent with their own."
Tina nodded "I suspect that they will try to focus on their own religious teaching. We might have a few surprises. Will I be treated as a hostile witness?"
The prosecutor shook her head "No, in fact the Judge forbid the defense from doing so. Of course, you must be respectful and polite, and answer truthfully and directly. He will try to get you to refuse to answer or lie. If you do, he will go after you like I would go after the defendant."
Tina nodded "I understand. I can also help you with some approaches to help during your cross. They are trying to base their justification on only a few verses of the Bible, but if you ask the right questions, you can show that their selective enforcement of these few verses has been distorted to incite violence. They can preach that their own members should not do something, but when they tell their members to violently attack or even kill people who are not members of their conversation, what does that amount to?"
"Inciting a riot, mob rule, like yelling fire in a crowded theater. They could even be charged as co-conspirators."
"See how many people who are members of their churches have been actively engaging in violence against Gays and Sissies. See if you can get them to admit that they were doing it based on their religious teachings. I have some history and experience; I can give you names of some of my bullies in elementary school and middle school."
"Oh, that's good. They plan to call the pastors of several churches."
Tina smiled "I hope one of them is Calvary Baptist and another is Calvary Temple. There were lots of members who liked to bully. Some of the attacks were pretty brutal."
The prosecutor almost burst!
"I'll give you the names of about 30 people who actively engaged in violence against me and others. They even used the Bible language. I used to attend their youth group functions."
The prosecutor spoke with glee "Oh my God, I think you might be able to completely blow up their case."
"I'll also give you the names of my pastor and members of the session as well as members of the congregation. I can also give you the names of youth groups of other churches that I attended as a visiting deacon, learning how improve our youth program."
The prosecutor smiled "The defense has no idea what kind of shit-storm they have just kicked up. They just kicked a hornet's nest and they have no idea what they just did."
Tina smiled "By the way, shortly before the attack, I started medications that chemically castrated me. So, I was a Eunuch. Many of the biblical passages they want to use, don't apply."
Tina smiled "I'll sign a release to have my medical records from Children's hospital released as well. You will find interesting things there too.'
The prosecutor nodded "Could you also sign a statement stating that those medical records contain evidence that can be used in this case?"
Tina smiled "Of course, do you have the forms?"
The prosecutor picked up the phone "Could you bring Tina's forms in please?" He turned to Tina "I was hoping you would sign the releases, but I didn't expect you to volunteer them."
Tina smiled "Don't forget to talk to my parents. They have a little surprise that could be a shocker."
The prosecutor nodded "You do realize that I have to give the defense all of the evidence, including witness lists, medical records, and the defense will be interviewing these witnesses as well?"
Tina smiled "Yes, but will he know which questions to ask?"
The prosecutor smiled "I don't know how to thank you."
Tina smiled "Use the testimony of these hate preachers to hold them accountable. Let's see if we can make sure this never happens to other people like me, or people who are gay."
The prosecutor smiled "I think that's going to happen anyway."
Tina nodded "Then all of this witch trial will be worth it."
The prosecutor smiled "It's going to get ugly and rough."
Tina nodded "I'm taking on some big religious leaders and exposing their criminal activities. I'll be lucky if I live through the trial, but maybe we can make sure that they don't preach hate and violence and murder to their congregations anymore."
Stalking Transgender Girls to Bathrooms
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- Written by Debbie Lawrence
- Category: Transgender Information
- Hits: 941
Response to
Republican candidate films herself lashing out at transgender woman in bathroom
Republican candidate films herself lashing out at transgender woman in bathroom
From the article:
A Republican candidate has filmed herself confronting and lashing out at a transgender woman using the woman's toilet at a restaurant in Los Angeles.
Jazmina Saavedra, who is currently running for Congress in California, misgendered the trans woman and branded her a "stupid guy" in the Denny's diner.
Ms Saavedra, who is campaigning for a seat in California's 44th district, documented the incident in a Facebook Live on Tuesday.
"I'm trying to use the ladies' room and there is a man here claiming that he is a lady," Ms Saavedra said as she entered the bathroom.
My Response:
I was forced to use the men's room by a manager at Denny's when I was transitioning in 1991. I was blending in with the other women, nobody knew that I was anything other than a woman, except the women I was dining with. When I went to the bathroom, three boys followed me in, and confirmed the high heels while I was seated in the stall. I waited for them to leave, they waited outside the bathroom to see what I looked like and where I was sitting and what else I was wearing.
When we were finished eating, I walked out with the women, and got into my car. By the time I got it started, there were a dozen guys. several were pounding on the car windows, demanding that I open the door, and others were sitting on the hood and trunk, meanwhile, there were two other guys coming toward my car with tire irons to smash the windows.
I drove out of the parking lot with 8 of them on my car, and lost the four on my trunk with the first turn. I finally slammed on the brakes to get rid of the four on the hood, and revved my engine get them to move out of my way and drove off.
Two weeks later, another transgender woman was murdered a block away from the same Denny's.
Transgender women want to live as women 24/7 for the rest of their lives. The hormones they take make it impossible for them to have erections and give them real breasts that would have to be removed surgically to revert back.
Before transitioning, most transgender women were brutalized in bathrooms, locker rooms, and playgrounds by boys who beat them up for being too feminine, calling them "sissies", "queers", "fairies", or worse. Often these assaults include aggravated assault so severe they have to be hospitalized, sexual assaults ranging from being groped in the shower to being gang-raped. All of this BEFORE they are 18 years old.
Puberty Damage
Puberty causes severe damage that takes more to correct the longer it persists. Many transgender women get rid of facial hair using laser, electrolysis, and waxing. They have to take hormones that block their ability to get erections and give them breasts, and their voices drop requiring vocal training or surgical correction, all of which must be done at personal expense BEFORE becoming eligible for Gender Correction Surgery.
MOST of those who unable to afford what is necessary to transition to that stage - commit suicide. The suicide rate for those forced to accept their birth ASSIGNED gender is 80%, at one time, the suicide rate for those who were given "conversion therapy" was 95%. Most of those treated had to be lobotomized to keep them from killing themselves.
I have two cousins who killed themselves. Both before they were 15.
Please repost this ANYWHERE you see this harassment video or references to it.
Finding our True Selves
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- Written by Super User
- Category: Transgender Information
- Hits: 1399
Keep in mind that most transgender people know they are transgender at a very young age that they are transgender, that their REAL selves are not the gender they were ASSIGNED at birth.
Unfortunately, most of us had to keep the real person hidden. Transgender girls often experience a great deal of harassment and ridicule from parents, from adults, and from kids their own age.
By the time they are in first grade, forced segregation of boys and girls begins, and transgender kids hate being put in the wrong group. The tomboy wants to roughhouse and tumble and mix it up with the boys, and the sissy lives in fear of being severely physically assaulted, sometimes so badly they end up in the hospital. These are a DAILY experience, with the most dangerous places being bathrooms, playgrounds, and outside school.
By the time they reach high school, most transgender kids who haven't come out are terrified to do so. They are acutely and painfully aware of the "girl inside" or the "boy inside", but often they are terrified to let anyone know. They begin to develop the mask that lets them pass as the gender they were assigned at birth, but it's very unnatural for them.
Puberty has done a lot of damage, and they often struggle to SURVIVE those changes, hoping somehow that they will be able to find some way to live with those changes caused by puberty. Puberty through early twenties is often a time where they are at VERY high risk of suicide or self destruction.
Drugs, alcoholism, and suicide attempts are common. Transgender men often get into fights, street racing, and other ways to prove their man-hood by doing dangerous things. Transgender women often struggle to find themselves, trying to date women or men and having difficulty with both as the mask. Love is very elusive because their partners are aware that something is being hidden. Many end up being loners romantically, finding ways to fit in socially, within a niche crowd, but few real friends.
Coming out is incredibly difficult for both Transgender women and transgender men.
For transgender men, the most difficult is going from "toe in the water", wearing men's clothes and hair style, but still being perceived as a woman, learning that they have to conform to the same strict norms that men aren't even aware of, or settle for a more gender fluid identity with confusion of others.
For Transgender women, the biggest challenge is overcoming their own fear. The fear is based on some intense reality, lots of PTSD, living with nightmares fueled by real memories of real violence, verbal abuse, bullying, and ridicule. They have grown up knowing that their parents would reject them, throwing them out on the street if they were to come out, they have been unable to communicate with doctors or therapists who refuse to accept that they are transgender, and coaches and church leaders act like a boy who is a girl is the lowest form of life on earth, an abomination.
For the transgender woman, there is often a point where they try to "settle" for being a cross-dresser, dressing up in private, often keeping their secret from friends, family, even spouses and children for years or decades. The cross-dressing gives them minimal relief, enough so they don't just give up on life entirely.
At some point, many transgender women finally get the courage to get fully dressed, learn to put together a good presentation that will allow them to go "public", often dressing up to go to gay bars or other "safe" places, usually on Friday or Saturday night, but only 1 or 2 nights a week, sometimes on the road. If they haven't done so earlier, this is when they give "the girl inside" a name. This is necessary for social reasons, but also so that they can talk about their true selves with people who have met the girl, without drawing attention to themselves.
Initially, during the early public cross-dressing stage, there is often the perception that this new person, with the new name, is the costume, the mask, the identity. Often this is because during this early "transgender puberty", they tend to dress very sexy for clubs, with little or no wardrobe for normal activities like shopping on the week-end or going to the grocery store. In this "Cinderella" stage, they even enjoy being the center of attention, being admired by others, and a personality that had been so hidden and repressed for so long comes bursting out.
Soon, especially if they start seeing a therapist who knows ANYTHING about treating transgender people, the transgender person begins to realize that this other person they thought was an act, a mask, is who they REALLY ARE! They start to realize that the person they were assigned at birth is actually the mask. The boy is a mask they have learned to wear, no matter how painful or uncomfortable, because they have to wear the mask to survive.
This is when the therapist follows WPATH standards of care and recommends that they start spending more time as their true selves. The lucky ones have wives who love them enough to want their happiness, and will support them. Too many find that they have to confront the fact that their spouse fell in love with the mask, and will leave them rather than get to know the real person underneath. Others find that their wife becomes a friend, but the intimacy and romance they once shared has been gone for a long time, and won't be coming back.
The "Real Life Experience" phase is probably the hardest part of the entire transition. They have to learn how to BLEND in with other women, dressing appropriate to age, size, and situation. The club wear was great for the clubs, but now they have to learn to dress less sexy, more like most of the other women in the rooms they are in. Jeans or leggings instead of dresses or short skirts, a C-cup bra instead of a Double-D breast form, and bare legs with shorts or skirts rather than sheer energy panty hose. Fortunately this is a relatively short period, a few weeks to a couple months.
Then comes the transition process in earnest. Having a 5 o'clock shadow removed with laser or electrolysis, having arms, legs, and other body hair waxed off, having eyebrows shaped, and growing out hair. Many therapists want to see these processes started before recommending hormone therapy.
Hormone Therapy (HRT) is often a three phase process. First, the doctor needs to get natural blood levels of testosterone and estrogen before starting anything. Many transgender women already have low testosterone levels, either part of the same biology that made their brains feminine, or attempts at self-castration during early puberty.
Then the doctor will start the "Blockers", these are medications like Spirinolactone or Finistride, also used as diuretics and for prostate reduction. These blocker lower the amount of testosterone in the system. Doctors use blockers on younger trans-girls if they are near age of puberty, but often wait until 14 or 15 to start the estrogen.
One of the important things about blockers is that they also function as chemical castration. In fact, these same medications are given to sex offenders to prevent them from being able to be sexually active.
For adults, the doctor will start the estrogen within a month or two, as soon as he can determine how much the estrogen levels increase. Estrogen levels have to be very carefully monitored. Too much can cause blood clots, heart attacks, and strokes. Too little can result in stunted feminization. In most cases, the doctor will try to monitor testosterone, estrogen, and prolactin to make sure that they are the same levels as a muenstrating woman, often a girl going through puberty.
By this point, the trans-girl is living at least half-time as a woman, pretty much only living as a man during work hours. She has already planned her transition at work, often making sure she understands the companies diversity policy, especially their policies toward LGBT issues. Often, they have already contacted the LGBT community contact, as well as LGBT centers in their area.
Female coworkers are often the first to notice the subtle changes. The thinning eye-brows, improving complexion, and the budding breasts. This is a period when trying to continue as a man gets awkward, wearing compression shirts or binders to protect the breasts and keep them from showing at work.
Often, the transition at work and the name change process are closely coordinated. It's best to tell your employer LGBT contact that you are planning to transition so they can plan the transition with you. The legal name change requires that you publish your name change in the local paper, but it has to be a major paper. Many of us by this time have already established e-mail accounts and other accounts in our planned name, and when the name change is approved by a judge, we begin the process of getting our name and gender legally changed on all our documentation, including driver's license, passport, credit cards, bank accounts, and credit agencies.
The day we transition to full-time, is often a very happy day for us. We finally get to live authentically. We can finally stop pretending to be something we never wanted to be, and start being who we really are. We may have to learn new rules and codes of conduct, for example, when to start speaking in business meetings, how to guide a man to the right decision or action without direct confrontation, and so on. Ironically, for many of us, it actually comes quite naturally. In fact, it was a struggle to do it the "man's way" and we only did it because we would be perceived as "wimps" if we did it as men.
The final stage, which is often optional, is getting the Gender Confirmation Surgery (GCS). Keep in mind that GCS very expensive, as much as $30,000 including everything, and often it's a challenge to get it covered by insurance. Many insurance companies only cover half because it's "out of network".
GCS is not "chopping it off", it's actually turning the tip into a clitoris and turning the shaft inside out. Bringing up a second problem. Many transgender girls are not well endowed to begin with, so the simple surgery may involve grafts of skin, colon, or paratineal tissue that is used to provide functional depth. After the surgery, it is necessary to dilate regularly, at least once a day for the rest of our lives.
Other trans-girls opt for an orchiectomy. This is necessary because at some point, the blockers become less effective, and there is the risk of going through male puberty again. This is a MUCH less expensive procedure, costing about 10% of the cost of GCS. The orchiectomy essentially makes us eunuchs. The chemical castration has eliminated the ability to have erections or ejaculations, but not orgasms, in fact, the orgasms are more like female orgasms and possible in a number of different ways. The orchiectomy just makes this permanent.
Some transgender girls, a small minority, like to become she-males. They often get breast enlargement surgically and discontinue or reduce blockers and maintain lower doses of estrogen. They are often gay and enjoy being "tops". Even so, these women are very careful not to put their junk on display for anyone other than their lover. As a transgender woman, she wants to be accepted as a woman in her regular life.
This was probably more than you ever wanted to know, and it's long. I have written several books on the topic and my web site debbieballard.org has a bibliography of transgender fiction and non-fiction to give you a sense of what is involved and the thinking and feelings we experience as we are going through the various stages. I strongly suggest you look at a few of them.
Transgender kids' brains resemble their gender identity not their biological sex
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- Written by Debbie Lawrence
- Category: Transgender Information
- Hits: 1350
Response to article posted in LGBTQ Nation
Recent Studies
There has been more and more research that shows a similar trend. Transgender girls, even though ASSIGNED male at birth, have genetic and developmental characteristics of females. This includes such things as Index finger to ring finger length, size of hypothalamus, amount of white matter in the brain, even skeletal traits.
Testosterone Required
A common theory is that during the first two months of gestation, there isn't enough testosterone, there is too much estrogen, or there is androgen insensitivity that causes the fetus to masculinize. We all start out as female. During the first 8 to 12 weeks of gestation however, the male infant produces large amounts of testosterone which cause the formation of male traits. The hypothalamus gets larger, along with genitalia and even the skeletal structure. However, there are genetic traits that can cause the male to fail to produce enough testosterone, there are also genetic traits that disable the male body's ability to process the testosterone that is produced.
There are also things that can happen during this stage of pregnancy. The mother may have a history of miscarriage. From the 50s through the 80s, many women were given DES, which contains exceptionally high dosages of estrogen.
Transgender girls often have similar issues. Perhaps because of the nature of life on the frontier, homesteading, and need to be self-sufficient, many strong masculine women may have genetic markers that cause them to produce small amounts of testosterone which gives them a more masculine brain. There are also ways that the mother can end up with testosterone in their bloodstream, and there may be genetic traits that make transgender boys more sensitive to the small amount of testosterone they get.
The penis is the least reliable indicator because it takes the least amount of testosterone to produce soft tissue changes anytime during gestation. At one time, doctors would simply measure the penis and if it was too short, they would emasculate the baby (much like a cliterodectomy, and perform vaginoplasty. If there is too much clitorus, the vaginal canal would be routed into the bowel and the labia sewn shut. These surgeries, often performed at birth, under strict nondisclosure agreement, were followed by weekly injections of the appropriate hormones in hopes of making a "fixed" boy more masculine or a "fixed" girl more feminine, but this did not alter the nature of the brain.
Several studies have shown that transgender people of ALL ages tend to have brain characteristics that make them more like their gender identity than their anatomy between the legs. This is even more pronounced for children because they haven't yet produced the hormones associated with puberty.
This may also be part of evolution as a result of several factors. Urbanization and several wars fought with firearms would have caused more of the alpha males to be killed off during the wars, often before they had any children. In addition, urban culture made it easier for more feminine men to survive and thrive in professions such as accounting, investing, and crafts. Conversely, alpha males in an urban culture may have become too violent and aggressive to thrive in the tight social communities. The would end up in prisons or jails with criminal records.
Conversely, the death of so many men in these wars, meant that women had to support themselves through hard work and effort. Mothers who couldn't cut the hard physical labor and long hours would be unable to bear and raise children. This would have been especially true during the 19th century when women had to plow fields, chop wood, gather food, wrestle livestock, protect their farms from predators, and so on - all on their own.
In urban cultures, a feminine woman could survive for a while as a prostitute, but would quickly die of sexually transmitted diseases. In addition, common viruses would have killed more frail women, leaving the more tough and resiliant women to survive.
Transgender Dimensions
- Details
- Written by Debbie Lawrence
- Category: Transgender Information
- Hits: 1594
I originally posted this on Facebook Jan 13, 2018
There are many dimensions of transgender. I created the transgender matrix to help identify the different needs. Different people have different needs, and are at different places in terms of where they are currently, and where they want to be.
The cross-dresser still in hiding, the tom-boy fighting for acceptance, the drag queen who cries when she takes off her makeup, the girl taking hormones on the internet, and the transsexual getting her GRS all have one thing in common. The gender they were ASSIGNED AT BIRTH, based solely on what the doctor or midwife saw between the legs seconds after we were born, does NOT match the GENDER we actually are inside.
Many of us could prove that the doctor got it wrong. DNA tests, CT brain scans, and even body chemistry and internal MRI scans may show that the soft tissue between the legs doesn't match the brain or the genetics, or the overall biology.
In some cases, we were even surgically modified at birth, and all records destroyed. A "boy" whose penis was to short was turned into a girl, a girl with a penis had her vulva sewn shut because daddy wanted a boy. Often the surgery was followed by high doses of hormones, testosterone to masculinize the ovaries into testes, or estrogen to shrink the clitoris. About one in 100 births exhibit one of about 30 forms of "gender ambiguity", one in 50 people have gender ambiguity biologically. 1 in 15 exhibit gender ambiguity behaviorally before they are 7 years old.
In elementary school, there is often a "forced normalization", boys are kept together, and separated from the girls. Ambiguity results in teasing, verbal abuse, rejection, bullying, violent assaults, even group assaults by large groups of boys. Much harder to suspend, expel, or arrest 15 boys when only one sissy was attacked, even if they ended up in the hospital.
Often the bullies are encouraged by parents, preachers, Sunday school teachers, and athletic coaches, to even escalate the abuse. Since many principals and school administrators started out as coaches, they often side with the bullies, saying "boys will be boys".
Years of daily cruel and unusual punishment, without knowing anything other than that they called you a "sissy" while beating you, can lead to a LOT of emotional problems. PTSD, depression, isolation, distrust of others, and general anxiety are common.
Then comes puberty, slamming the door on any hopes of escape. Trapped in bodies we hate, terrified to let anyone know how upset we are, we act out. Many of us turn to booze, drugs, sex, and self mutilation to escape the pain, even if only for a few hours. For many of us, suicide seems like the only permanent solution to a permanent problem.
If we survive, we begin to build a mask. We create an image that is "accepted". We might be funny, or tough, a tom-boy might dress more sexy, whatever it takes to survive.
Our mask helps us win. We succeed at school, date, make friends, and even succeed at work.
The problem is that the more we win, the more uncomfortable the mask gets, each win is like another jagged edge, a spike, a nail. Meanwhile, others are perfecting the mask. Putting a pretty smile on it, decorating it with praise and awards, making it tighter, and worst of all, those close enough to see the real person underneath, add locks, to make sure we can't ever take it off. Children, property, house, career, all locks to make sure the painful mask can never come off without losing everything.
Only 1 on 10 transgender people are able to take the mask off. For the great majority of those still locked in their iron masks, seeing us transition, and blossom into our true selves, is just another nail in the mask.
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Wits Gold has appointed Turgis Consulting and MDM Engineering to complete the final feasibility study at the company's shallow De Bron-Merriespruit project in the southern Free State goldfield, South Africa. Turgis will be responsible for the detailed engineering and mine designs, while MDM will focus on the metallurgical plant and related design aspects. The study is slated for completion during the third quarter of 2013. Turgis recently completed the positive prefeasibility study (PFS) for the project, which confirmed that a mine at De Bron-Merriespruit was both technically and economically viable.
The PFS delineated a probable gold reserve of 23.5 million mt at a grade of 4.1 g/mt gold (3.1 million oz), which is contained within that portion of the resource that occurs at depths shallower than 1,000 m.
De Bron-Merriespruit will be a shallow underground mine comprising a planned twin-shaft system to 660 m depth, with gold production expected to average 200,000 oz/y over an 18-year life of mine. Production is expected to peak at 246,777oz at 5.5 g/mt during year nine, and first gold production is expected 47 months after shaft sinking begins.
The PFS estimates production cash costs of $628/oz, with peak capital funding of ZAR2.37 billion ($296 million at ZAR8/US$).
The feasibility study will further refine certain aspects identified in the PFS that will aim to improve mining efficiencies by introducing safer, semi-mechanized mining equipment and down-dip mining methodologies. Further upside also exists through investigation of the inclusion, through additional drilling, of the existing shallow inferred resources of 5.97 million mt at 5.7 g/mt gold (1.1 million oz) that are readily mineable from the current mine design.
On February 22, 2012, South Africa's Department of Mineral Resources accepted Wits Gold's application for a Mining Right for gold, silver, and uranium over its advanced Prospecting Rights areas in the southern Free State goldfield, which include the De Bron-Merriespruit, Bloemhoek, Robijn and Hakkies project areas. The granting of the Mining Right is expected in the second half of 2013, once the company complies with requirements in terms of the Minerals Act, such as obligations in terms of feasibility studies, environmental impact assessments, and Social and Labour Plan commitments. Once granted, a Mining Right is valid for a period of 30 years and renewable for a further period as required.

subset: commoncrawl


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A very tense topic currently is gender roles and expectations. With the emergence of two-income households, what are yours and your partner's ideas about who will work, who will do the housework, and which one of you will become the primary caretaker for your children?
These, and many other topics, should be openly discussed and decided on before your wedding day to avoid any potential blowouts in the future that could possibly end in the resolution of your marriage. Before deciding on your something old and something new, pause to reflect on whether premarital counseling could help you and your future spouse start your marriage on the right path.
This topic of the week was written by Danielle Adinolfi, MFT


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The support in small groups can nurture a woman in a unique way. They provide acceptance, affirmation and accountability, and they are founded on the principles of the Bible.
Living Free
Living Free is a small group strategy that helps people learn to face life's struggles and move toward freedom and wholeness in Christ.
It's a war zone out there. God calls men to lead their families so the enemy stops at nothing to attack them. Accountability and discipline are key, and our groups offer that and more.
Grief Share
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Prayer Team
All are welcome. No experience necessary! Team volunteers play a vital role at NJF as they pray for our community and congregation.
To form bonds of fellowship and accountability through regularly scheduled study of God's word and a variety of social and service activities.


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VIDEO: Highlights from @BelmontMBB 92-73 victory over Middle Tennessee #itsbruintime pic.twitter.com/PXt4wb8X8K— Belmont Basketball (@BelmontMBB) November 13, 2018
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - - Senior All-America candidate Dylan Windler (Indianapolis, Ind.) had 34 points and 11 rebounds as Belmont University men's basketball used a strong second half to defeat Middle Tennessee, 92-73, Monday night.
The Bruins limited the Blue Raiders to 6-for-29 shooting and forced 14 turnovers in the second half in outscoring the visitors 46-19 after halftime.
In a meeting of the two winningest programs in the state of Tennessee this decade, Middle Tennessee exhibited tremendous confidence early in its first road game of 2018-19.
Seven early points from Donovan Sims gave Middle Tennessee an 11-4 lead.
After baskets from Windler and freshman Nick Muszynski (Pickerington, Ohio) stabilized things for Belmont, Blue Raider forward Karl Gamble put on a jump-shooting display.
In a succession of long two-point baskets, Gamble scored 15 points during a five-minute stretch midway through the first half as Middle Tennessee led by as many as 11.
Efficient offensive production from Windler and Muszynski enabled Belmont to withstand Gamble's flurry.
A deep 3-pointer from freshman Grayson Murphy (Thompson's Station, Tenn.) got the Bruins with 36-33 at the 7:00 mark.
Yet when Belmont was able to force Blue Raider field goal misses, the visitors took advantage of several long rebounds for second chance points.
A putback basket from Anthony Crump stretched the Middle Tennessee lead back to 47-40 with 3:52 left in the half.
3-point makes from Windler and senior Kevin McClain (Jennings, Fla.) and a driving basket from junior Michael Benkert (Greenwood, Ind.) closed the margin to five.
Middle Tennessee led 54-46 at halftime.
Belmont shot 52 percent (17-for-33) from the field in the opening 20 minutes – including 5-for-14 from 3-point distance.
Middle Tennessee shot 57 percent in the first half, but interestingly only 16 of its 54 points were in the paint.
Windler led Belmont with 15 first half points.
The second 20 minutes were a completely different narrative; the Bruins were the aggressors and dictated the terms from the opening possession of the second half.
A Murphy steal and hit-ahead assist to Windler for a layin initiated an inspired stretch of play.
Belmont earned defensive stops on Middle Tennessee's first 11 possessions of the second half, and turned it into a 16-0 run.
Windler scored eight points during the spurt as the Bruins seized a 62-54 lead with 14:00 left.
And though the Blue Raiders thrice would close within seven points thereafter, Belmont's purposeful defense and rebounding set the tone for the remainder of the game.
Several hustle plays in transition defense thwarted seemingly easy Middle Tennessee scoring opportunities, including one acrobatic McClain blocked shot on an Antonio Green layin attempt.
Consecutive Murphy driving baskets pushed Belmont's lead to 73-62 with 8:29 remaining.
Windler would punctuate the 10-0 run on a twisting baseline basket off a timely McClain feed.
Belmont also worked into the bonus midway through the second half, with Windler's determined drives earning free throws.
All told, Belmont shot 54 percent (35-for-65) from the field – including 6-for-19 from 3-point distance.
Belmont handed out 21 assists on 35 made field goals, gathering 10 steals and blocking six Middle Tennessee shots.
Windler led four Bruins in double figures with 34 points. Muszynski added 18 points, while Murphy had another remarkable stat line of 15 points, seven rebounds, eight assists and five steals.
McClain added 10 points and six assists.
Gamble led Middle Tennessee (2-1) with 20 points.
Belmont (2-0) returns to game action Thursday, Nov. 15 at Lipscomb. Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m. CT. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+. The live play-by-play of Voice of the Bruins Kevin Ingram can be heard on the Bruin Sports Network. In-game updates will be available via Twitter @BelmontMBB.
NOTES: Belmont has won nine of the last 12 meetings vs. Middle Tennessee … Windler recorded his 19th career double-double … He came within four points of his career-high in points (38, vs. Morehead State, 2/17/18) … Junior Seth Adelsperger made two timely free throws during Belmont's second half run … Muszynski's 16 field goals in his first two collegiate games represent the most by any Belmont freshman in the NCAA Division I era … Freshman Derek Sabin scored his first two points as a Bruin on his birthday … Garrett Suedekum and Michael Mayernick made their first appearances in a Belmont uniform.


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Chat about College Hockey
Send your questions now and join INCH every Thursday at 2 p.m. ET.
INCH Archive: Chats
Joe Gladziszewski (1:59 PM)
Hello and welcome to Inside College Hockey's weekly chat here on SportsNation. We'll be taking your questions for the next 30 minutes.
Chris (Detroit, MI)
Michigan State rode goalie Jeff Lerg to a season-series victory over Michigan this season, the only team to do so. Will they be able to ride him into another deep tournament run, much like they did last year to win it all.
Joe Gladziszewski (2:02 PM)
Lerg's numbers are outstanding, and even though he doesn't have the gaudiest stats measured against other goalies this season, they're very strong. His reputation, which was earned last spring, is that he's a big-game goalie evidenced by last year's national title and wins against Michigan this year. The Spartans should feel confident throughout the CCHAs and NCAAs with Jeff Lerg starting in net.
Jeff: Hamden CT
With Quinnipiac slumpping at a bad time, is there only hope for the NCAA's now a conference tournament victory?
Joe Gladziszewski (2:04 PM)
They haven't done themselves any favors over the last few weeks, and the best chance for them to make the NCAAs is by winning the ECAC Hockey championship. If they were to win out this weekend, and get three more wins in the playoffs there would still be a chance for an at-large bid, but that largely depends on what happens around the rest of the country.
Landon, Littleton, CO
I was wondering if you had any insight into the success the Fighting Sioux have had finishing the regular season the past two seasons? Which include: Since Jan 1st in 2008: 12-1-1 with a 13 game unbeaten streak and counting. In 2007 after Jan 1st: 10-2-5 with an 11 game unbeaten streak! Their success has also come while playing in the toughest conference in the nation! Thanks for the thoughts.
Jess Myers (2:06 PM)
There are two ways to look at it: Either praise them for playing great after New Year's Day, or question why (with the same players) it takes the Sioux half the season to get things going. Last season there was a team meeting during which the players challenged each other to play better, and the result was a trip to the Frozen Four. This year, even in the midst of all those splits early in the season, coach Dave Hakstol knew they weren't far away from putting it all together, and when they did finally click, it was to be expected. In any case, they're better off with late-season surges than conference rivals like Denver and Alaska Anchorage, who have had late-season struggles in recent years.
Ric (Edison NJ)
Do you think Princeton can win the conference outright this weekend?
Joe Gladziszewski (2:09 PM)
Can they? Of course. It's going to take a win on Friday night and potentially another on Saturday night at Clarkson and St. Lawrence. It's one of the toughest road trips in the league, so getting four points won't be easy. This Princeton team takes things one day at a time and goes into the weekend with a "just another game" mentality, so they're not putting any outside pressure on themselves regarding the league title.
Ryan (Grand Forks, ND)
What role does the Fighting Sioux's schedule (toughest in the country according to KRACH) play in J.P.L.'s chance for the Hobey?
Joe Gladziszewski (2:13 PM)
Strength of schedule doesn't play a huge role in evaluating Hobey candidates, at least in my consideration. Of course North Dakota's second-half surge and Lamoureux's strong play have an impact. One of the most impressive stats to me with J-P was a string of 55 consecutive starts. That means he's reliable, consistent, and has earned the trust of his teammates and coaching staff.
Andrew: (Milwaukee, WI):
Minnesota's offense erupted for 8 goals this past weekend against Wisconsin. Do you think that this previously anemic (at best) offense has turned a corner? Also do you think the Gophers might be able to do some postseason damage playing like this?
Jess Myers (2:14 PM)
With the caveat that the Gophers will probably score a few more goals this weekend versus an Alaska Anchorage team that is struggling, I don't see the Gophers being sound enough offensively (or defensively) yet, and would be hard-pressed to predict postseason damage.
Jeff: Boston Ma
When will the NCAA tourney expand beyond 16 teams? I think there are enough good teams to make it larger now, your thoughts?
Joe Gladziszewski (2:17 PM)
It's not going to happen. Sixteen NCAA spots in a sport with a Diivision I membership of 58 or 59 teams is a generous allocation as it is. For the teams that are on the outside looking in, play better during the regular season. I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing that a third or fourth place team in a given league is on the wrong side of the tournament selection. It's an indication that the best teams are truly competing for the title.
Tim (St. Paul MN)
Do you think some of the higher profile teams in the nation will alter their recruiting strategy based on players leaving earlier and sometimes in season? Will they avoid some of the high draft picks to try and get solid players who will play four years?
Joe Gladziszewski (2:20 PM)
It's an interesting dilemma and one that I've thought about quite a bit. It's unlikely that coaches will change their philosophy because in essence they're admitting that they don't want the best players wearing their team's uniform. One or two years of a Jack Skille, Teddy Purcell, or Erik Johnson is definitely a good thing for your program, not a bad thing.
Mike Vittum (Boston, MA)
Does New Hampshire have what it takes to go all the way? Hockey East has been weak this year, will that hurt them when playing the tough WCHA and CCHA teams?
Jeff Howe (2:21 PM)
With some reservation, I say yes, they do have what it takes to win a title. Kevin Regan has been playing phenomenal in net and could be the most underrated goalie in the country, and they've got three very good scoring lines. But this isn't the first time anyone has said that about UNH.
Jack, Madison, WI
I saw the Badgers were out of your tournament bracket. How do you have the Gophers in and the Badgers out as of right now?
Mike Eidelbes (2:24 PM)
The weekly 4x4 projection is not based on how the computer rankings stand today, but how we think they'll look once the league tournaments are completed. And despite the Gophers' well-documented struggles, I like their chances of winning at least three of their last four games (at UAA, vs. UMD) and getting into the WCHA playoffs on a little bit of a roll. I'm not so high on Wisconsin's chances at St. Cloud State this weekend, however. The Badgers' goaltending has been muy sketchy, and the Huskies are finding the net.
Marty, Lansing, MI
What team seems to be under the radar this season as we get closer to the Tournament? Do you see a team that could do what Michigan State did last year?
Joe Gladziszewski (2:27 PM)
Strangely enough, three of those teams might end up as No. 1 seeds when it's time for the tournament. I don't get the sense that New Hampshire, Colorado College, or Miami is getting enough buzz nationally. UNH and CC have both been steady and consistent and have run out to strong regular seasons. Miami hasn't been its best lately, but is very dangerous. I don't think there are any teams interested in playing them.
Joe: Hamden Ct
HOw many ECAC teams go to the dance? Is the ECAC under rated?
Joe Gladziszewski (2:29 PM)
Depending on how things shake down in the league tournament, it's probably a two-team year for ECAC Hockey in the NCAAs. Clarkson will make it in as an at-large if they don't win the ECAC Hockey automatic qualifier. Princeton also has a shot, as does Quinnipiac. But there are as many as five teams that I think have a shot to win the ECAC Hockey tournament, so it will be exciting.
Mike (Detroit)
How much more do you think Michigan State needs to do to solidify their birth in the NCAA tournament? And realistically how far up the pairwise can they go?
Mike Eidelbes (2:31 PM)
I think they're in now regardless of what happens against Bowling Green this weekend or in the CCHA quarterfinal series the weekend of March 14, and the Spartans are looking at no better than a No. 2 seed. MSU could pass Denver, but the likelihood of moving past Miami and North Dakota is slim based on the head-to-head advantage those teams have over the Spartans.
Joe Gladziszewski (2:32 PM)
Thanks for the questions. That's all of the time we have for this afternoon. Enjoy the end of the regular season in two leagues, and the chase for trophies around the nation. We'll be back next Thursday.
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[Photo: Detail of bedroom floor. Unlike the living room and hallways, the mahogany border is only a veneer in the bedroom and you can see where it has worn away in the doorway on the lower right.]
The floors are finished! Woo Hoo!!!!!
Well, not so much in the kitchen, but that will be an entirely different post… I came home from work last night and Yoav and I got to finally get a good look at the results.
They really came out beautiful, and we are very relieved to be at this point. Bottom line…. The floors had to be done before we could move in because this is the only time the entire apartment would be empty, and trying to do the floors while living there would be a nightmare… We selected "Fruitwood" as our stain color (how appropriate, yes?) and then sealed the floors with Bona Traffic, a commercial grade floor finish (often used in retail stores). The chose a satin finish, the slight sheen enhances the look of the floors and gives them an appropriate feel for 100+ year old wood.
That said, it was a somewhat cumbersome process to get everything coordinated to make it happen (we expected them to be finished about 10 days ago). There were a lot of people involved, and delays outside of our control made it downright exhausting at times. This was also not exactly an inexpensive job, however it was important to have them done right, by a company that had a lot of experience with old floors. In the end… Worth every dollar.
Take a quick tour of the new floors shot last night only minutes after our first look.
I'll be back next week with my first new post from our Half Classic Six. Stay Tuned!


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[ Concerts General Students & Alumni ]
Yo-Yo Ma premieres cello concerto by Angel Lam '10AD
Cellist Yo-Yo Ma and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of music director Robert Spano, will present the New York premiere of Angel Lam's Awakening from a Disappearing Garden on Saturday, November 7, at Carnegie Hall. The piece, a concerto for cello and orchestra, was commissioned by Carnegie Hall and was first performed in Atlanta Symphony Hall on October 15 and 16, 2009. This is Lam's third commission from Carnegie Hall, which describes her as "a young composer whose work sounds both Chinese and Western, contemporary but also timeless." x
Tickets for the performance, which takes place in Stern Auditorium, are available through Carnegie Hall.
Angel Lam grew up in Hong Kong and Huntington Beach, California. Her compositions have been performed throughout the United States and in many major cities around the world. She is a two-time winner of the Carnegie Hall emerging composer commission and most recently a recipient of a new commission to write a work for solo cello and orchestra, dedicated to solo cellist Yo-Yo Ma. She first received the Carnegie Hall commission in 2005-06, where she worked with Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Project, and then again in 2006-07, where she worked with Grammy Award-winning composer Osvaldo Golijov and renowned soprano Dawn Upshaw. These two collaborations, together with the Weill Music Institute at Carnegie Hall, culminated in two Carnegie Hall premieres of her work in September 2006 and April 2007. Her composition Empty Mountain, Spirit Rain was selected to be on the touring repertoire of Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble throughout the United States, Britain, Canada, China, Japan, and Switzerland's Lucerne Festival in 2007-2009. This work was released by Sony/BMG on Silk Road Ensemble's CD New Impossibilities and will be released again in a brand new recording in their newest CD, Off the Map, in fall 2009.
Upcoming collaborations include commissions and performances by Yale Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, Minnesota Orchestra, Hong Kong Arts Festival 2010, the Yale Cellos, and Carnegie Hall. Recent performances include works for Colorado Symphony Orchestra, Greenwich Village Orchestra (New York), NYU Symphony Orchestra, Loyola High Men's Chorus and Orchestra (Los Angeles), Orange County Women's Chorus (Los Angeles), Hong Kong Sinfonietta and Grainger Quartet (Australia), Houston Chamber Choir, Symphony of Oak Park and River Forest (Chicago), and Peabody Dance (Baltimore) in a theater composition created under the guidance of renowned theater artist Martha Clarke. She is currently a doctoral candidate at the Peabody Conservatory and an artist diploma candidate at the Yale School of Music. Her mentors are Martin Bresnick, Aaron Jay Kernis and Christopher Theofanidis.


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China Liuhua International Fashion Festival Mui seven degrees. August 15 morning, the China Textile Industry Association and the Government of Yuexiu District, as a guide, the China Textile Industry Association Circulation Branch, 2014 China International Fashion Festival Organizing Committee Liuhua jointly organized Textile Design Center, Guangzhou White Horse Clothing Market, clothing networked host of "2014 China Liuhua international Fashion Festival" in the Yuexiu District of Guangzhou City grand opening.
The opening ceremony, issued a Guoneishoubu "green professional market evaluation criteria: professional clothing market." The "standard", Yuexiu District, Guangzhou Economic and Trade Bureau jointly compiled by the China Textile Industry Association branch in circulation is the common wisdom of the well-known clothing specialized market. Liuhua clothing district's first "green clothing market" concept driven by the domestic apparel industry will lead the transformation of the mode of development of enterprises, enhance the international competitiveness of industries and regions.
After fierce competition and rivalry, "2014 China Liuhua advantage of independent clothing brand" selection results announced at the opening ceremony, "Roach Eagle King", "thousands of beads million state" and 22 brand award. Then, "China Liuhua industry standard push Awards" are handed out the opening ceremony, China Textile Industry Association branch in circulation, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou Economic and Trade Bureau, Cotton Tree International Garment City to receive this award.
By the country's largest professional clothing wholesale business platform - "clothing Networking", China Textile Industry Association jointly organized branch circulation, "Guangzhou Liuhua district one hundred thousand Procurement Matchmaking Mission" was officially launched at the opening ceremony. The Matchmaking will be organized in 11 games during the Liuhua Fashion Festival series of activities, inviting hundreds of professional market north, northeast, southeast and other six areas, department stores, led more than a thousand dealers, agents participate. Organizers said this Fashion Festival for local business and local buyers erected convenient and efficient platform for exchanges and cooperation, but also will accelerate the promotion of the construction of commodity trading platform and a large trade exhibition market, enhance the influence of the professional market Liuhua area and driving force, to create a professional, international commodity procurement centers.
As part of the opening ceremony of the finale, this year's "2014 China Liuhua international trends conference" Fashion Festival in the past reserved Liuhua dazzling features, but also highlights the current Fashion Festival "Maritime Silk Road · build Zhen Kai Pinliu flower" theme.
Original title: 2014 China International Fashion Festival Opening Liuhua
Disclaimer: This article represents only the view of companies, regardless of the Phoenix Guangzhou station. Its originality, as well as in the statements and content without the site confirmed on this article and in which all or part of the contents, text authenticity, completeness, timeliness, without any guarantee or promise, the reader is for reference only, and please verify their own content.


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Our charity partner HopScotch Children's Charity provides free respite holidays for vulnerable children from all over Scotland.
Ardvullin, their beautiful holiday centre in the Scottish Highlands, first opened its doors for
children in need of a respite break in 1998. Since that time they have been working in partnership with many organisations around Scotland to enable them to bring children on residential breaks, which plays a key role in their ability to mentor and support the children they work with.
The children who visit Ardvullin often face significant challenges in their everyday life. Many are young carers, others live in extreme poverty, and some have to contend with a daily reality of parental drug/alcohol abuse, domestic violence, or sexual abuse. Many have behavioural or learning difficulties. For these children a respite break is their only opportunity to have a holiday and a meaningful reprieve from the very difficult circumstances they live with.
HopScotch holidays are free for the children who come on them, and therefore year on year they rely on funding from organisations like the Foundation to continue to provide this vital service.


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Choosing the Best Grinder for Gourmet Coffee Brewing
You've acquired premium coffee beans from far across the world, say a fine Kenya AA Coffee – known as the "world's brightest coffee" for its pleasant acidity, full body and strong, rich taste with a an aroma fragrant with floral tones and a winey finish with citrus and berry overtones- or perhaps a fragrant and spicy, wet processed Ethiopian Yirgacheffe Coffee with a sweet flavor and a complexity of floral notes in the aroma, maybe a hint of toasted coconut a vibrant aftertaste.
How To Buy A Coffee Grinder
Do you really want to let these fine coffee beans travel so far and processed and handled with such care, only to be desecrated by a cheap coffee grinder? Do you? Of course you don't! That's why you are reading this article to understand the importance of a proper coffee grinder in preparing and brewing premium gourmet coffee.
Burr Coffee Grinder vs. Blade Coffee Grinder
Your two main choices when it comes to coffee grinders are blade coffee grinders and burr coffee grinders.
The problem with a blade coffee grinder is that it generates to much heat and can essentially re-roast the coffee beans harming the fine nuanced flavors and aromas. Blade grinders utilize metal blades that work in a propeller-like fashion spinning at speeds from twenty to thirty thousand revolutions per minute.
The "propellers" of a blade grinder serve to smash or chop up the coffee beans producing grind sizes from coarse to fine which is determined by the length of time you keep the grinder on.
The problem with blade grinders, in addition to the excess heat, is that they create an uneven grind size (e.g., some larger and some smaller and larger particles) which creates inconsistent brewing. Blades also have the unfortunate quality of creating a fine coffee dust which can clog espresso machine and French Press sieves.
How To Buy A Coffee Grinder – Best Coffee Grinders continued:
The Superiority of the Burr Coffee Grinder
The burr coffee grinder is the best for gourmet coffee lovers brewing espresso or brewing gourmet coffee. This type of grinder utilizes a "burr" to crush up the coffee beans between a rotating grinding wheel (e.g., shredding disk; burr) and a stationary disk.
The burrs can be adjusted depending upon the grind size desired, and the result is that the beans are broken down into consistently sized particles.
Choosing the Best Burr Coffee Grinder
When it comes to burr grinders you have two main choices: the conical burr grinder and the wheel burr grinder. The conical burr grinder is typically more expensive and performs its job with a slower rotation speed, while the wheel burr grinder has a higher speed of rotation.
A conical burr grinder operates at about 500 rpm while a disk-type burr grinder (wheel burr grinder) typically operates at about ten to twenty thousand rpm (which has the result of causing a higher heat in the coffee).
Advantages of Burr Coffee Grinders
The advantage of a conical burr grinder is that the design of the steel burrs allows a greater gear reduction which slows the grinding speed imparting less heat to the coffee and producing the best consistency of all the types of grinders, which in turn allows the coffee's finest flavors and aromas to shine through.
The Conclusion – Coffee Connoisseurs Love Conical Coffee Grinders
A conical burr grinder is also quieter and doesn't create as much of a mess. Another advantage of a conical burr grinder is that it is less likely to get clogged by very oily coffees or flavored coffees. The only disadvantage is that it is a bit more expensive, but it's worth it!
Best Coffee Grinders
So there you have it! Next time you open that freshly-roasted batch of fine Tanzania Peaberry Coffee grown on Mt. Kilimanjaro and want to experience the fullness of its body and fruit-toned acidity with hints of black currant that soften to chocolate then merge into a sweet and lingering finish, or if you want to truly savor your Java Arabica Coffee, wet processed Arabica coffee from the Indonesian island of Java grown at 1,400 meters on the Ijen volcano complex, then take the time to grind it properly! You will be thankful you did, as it can make all of the difference in providing an aromatic and flavorful cup of coffee!
Premium Specialty Coffees – From Seed to Sip
Discover Earth's Most Amazing Premium Gourmet Coffees!
Explore the world of coffee harvesting, processing, grading and roasting as well as coffee grinding, packaging, storing and brewing. Also discover the wonderful world of Espresso!


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Gemma Morriss HBCE, DCH, AICH, Hyp.Adv, Fertility Consultant, GHR regi
About me
I am a fully qualified and registered Clinical Hypnotherapist, working within Wandsworth.
I specialise in helping clients to overcome stress, phobias, smoking cessation, public speaking, weight loss, fertility problems, pain management and many other problems… helping to improve their general health and wellbeing.
I am an expert in all things baby from fertility to birth. My speciality is Hypnobirthing - I run enjoyable and practical antenatal courses using the excellent 'The Wise Hippo' programme. You can meet some of the babies I've helped into this world on my website www.happybirthdaybaby.co.uk
I lecture at the prestigious Institute of Clinical Hypnosis, teaching hypnotherapists Hypnobirthing and Hypnofertility.
My practice is in Wandsworth, south west London. I also see clients in their own homes.
Sometimes my clients prefer to speak to me before embarking on therapy and I always offer free telephone consultations. This helps us get to know each other and helps to reassure everyone that hypnotherapy is an excellent way to overcome problems and is also a wonderful experience.
Training, qualifications & experience
Gemma Morriss HBCE, DCH, AICH, Hyp.Adv, Fertility Consultant, GHR registered.
I have been a fully trained hypnobirthing antenatal educator for 10 years and qualified as a Clinical hypnotherapist from The Institute of Clinical Hypnotherapy seven years ago.
I have continued to train with them adding many CPD's and strings to my bow!
Areas of hypnotherapy I deal with
- Alcohol abuse *
- Anger management
- Bruxism
- Chronic Fatigue Syndrome *
- Drug abuse *
- Exam stress
- Fear of flying
- Hypnobirthing
- Insomnia *
- Low self-confidence *
- Low self-esteem
- Pain management *
- Panic attacks *
- Phobias *
- Public speaking
- Quit smoking
- Relationship issues
- Relaxation
- Sports performance
- Stress *
- Weight loss
* If you have been diagnosed or suspect you may have one of the medical conditions starred above, you should consult your GP for advice, diagnosis and treatment and always inform your health professional before starting any alternative or additional therapies or treatments.
My hypnobirthing course fees are £299 for four sessions.
My individual clients are £80 per session.
Further information
Colm: Anxiety
I like to think I am good at my job, but a crippling anxiety at the thought of going to meetings or any sort of public speaking held me back. In desperation I went to see Gemma and from the moment I walked in to her practice I felt so much better. She was very welcoming and professional and really made me feel at ease. I'm not sure what techniques were used or how she did it, but afterwards I felt more confident and ready to put myself in situations I would never have put myself in beforehand. The whole experience with Gemma has been a revelation for me and I would urge anyone looking to make a change to go and see her.
Birthing It's a boy!! Arrived quickly last night at 18:30 in the pool at home. 3 hour labour!! No drugs or gas! Well I say that, I did have two paracetamol! He's 9lb 3. All went to plan so will bring him over to meet you soon and thank you so much for all your help - the images are of me just about to have him and seconds after in the pool x
Andrew: Smoking
I had a telephone conversation first then one long session with Gemma. I have smoked for years and really enjoyed the social aspect of it, but it was really time to stop, for my health and I didn't want my children to ever see me smoking.
I haven't smoked for 8 months now and as far as I'm concerned I'm a non smoker! Great feeling fresh every morning.
I highly recommend Gemma
Rosie: Phobias
Amazingly Rosie says that another session is unnecessary as she seems to be quite comfortable with our new puppy. It really has been an amazing turnaround for Rosie this week. She has gone from being petrified of dogs to sitting next to our lovely puppy in our sitting room watching T.V. Rosie has even commented that she really loves our new puppy. I'd like to thank you for all your work with Rosie and should we need help in the future I'll make an appointment straight away. Many Thanks, Fi and Rosie
Type of session
|Home visits:
Practical details
|Sign language:
|Other languages:
My hypnobirthing courses run on regular evenings and some weekends but I am very flexible with all clients and will always endeavour to fit you in!


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Topic: recipes
July 16, 2015
Stuffing with Chicken and Vegetables
Using a store-bought stuffing mix, I added chicken and vegetables to make a fully-rounded meal for backpacking.
July 15, 2015
Thai Red Curry Rice Noodles with Chicken
Coconut milk powder and dried red curry spices make it possible to have Thai food in the backcountry.
July 13, 2015
Garlic-basil linguine with chicken and sun-dried tomatoes
An Italian-style pasta dish is enhanced with sun-dried tomatoes and pine nuts. Good enough to eat at home!
May 6, 2015
Yellow curry chicken with rice & veggies
Use dehydrated Thai Jasmine rice and a good quality curry powder to make this Asian-style dish.


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I have used CSV and Excel for so long in my career but it so happened that I never faced a problem where I had to import multi-lingual csv with long text fields into Excel.
Yesterday, the time came. My colleague told me that the French and Spanish csv files were showing weird characters and our consultant reminded me using UTF-8 to import would be a good option to Excel use proper Spanish and French characters instead of those weird characters. Aha, and then the Excel started to misbehave while importing the data. It would show multi-line strings on separate lines in Excel as the next row of the data. How did I get the solution? Well, searching the Google for the keywords in title will only give me the standard answers - "use UTF-8 format while importing" Well, I know that already and IT IS NOT WORKING!!!.
Or somebody would even say, Excel doesn't recognise utf-8 on its own so, you can't do it. *sigh* (Forgive me, if this sigh doesn't sound that fancy. Google site: Do you provide a nice smiley icons for that?)
After two hours, I accidentally, hit into another keyword which is very important for CSVs - The BOM. Try searching for it alone and you will get all kind of results except for the real BOM. Well, the BOM is a special set of characters that you can give at start of csv so that Excel recognises it as UTF-8. But you can't type those characters directly *another sigh*.
So what do we do? Thanks to this inter-connected world, we can get support even if our privacy is not that much valued by the rulers.
There is a program called notepad++ (most of the times used by programmers but this serves our purpose very well here). You can download it for free at http://notepad-plus-plus.org/download/v6.3.3.html. This has a very beautiful option which adds those special BOM characters at start of any CSV and voila! Excel can recognise any csv now.
Home >


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Radio 4 invites you to tell them. Has Transition St Albans helped you change the way you live – in small ways – steps towards a more sustainable community?
Getting to know new people? Growing your own food? Recycling more? Insulating your house? Putting solar panels up or changing the lightbulbs? Walking more leaving the car at home? Helped create a community growing project @FoodSmilesStA ? Have you found out more about environmentally sustainable issues?
Radio 4 is inviting listeners to tell them what they would like to hear on the Radio for Listeners Week: Get Involved.
In Our Time with Melvyn Bragg and guests discusses the history of ideas; but is there a topic that it's missed? Let the programme team know about your big idea. Would you like to hear more about communities responding to climate change issues – through the Transition network and sustainable food initiatives?
Woman's Hour offers a female perspective on the world, but what's your perspective? Are you one of the many women in TSA who volunteer their time and effort in the community to help inspire others to make a difference towards living in a sustainable city.
Saturday Live is all about sharing listener's extraordinary stories. So if something unusual or amazing has happened to you get in touch. Has your garden transformed into an edible paradise? Did your involvement in Transition Streets help build lasting friendships with neighbours?
Do you have a fantastic idea for Radio 4 which you've always wanted to hear on air? What's the burning issue that is being overlooked? Listener Week is your chance to get involved. This November three programmes are giving you the chance to curate their content.


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The East Lothian Gents had a disastrous start to their Premier League campaign last Saturday when they suffered a heavy 65-87 home loss to Ardrossan.Read More
The rinks of Scott Kennedy and Billy Mellors were those who suffered most with Scott going down by 21 shots and Billy by 20. An excellent 19 shot win for Alex Marshall and a peel for Graham Robertson's rink at least reduced the damage but leaves the team requiring to bounce straight back at home to Aberdeen next week. Individual rink scores were as follows: G Robertson 18 v D Crawford 18 B Mellors 5 v D O'Rourke 25 S Kennedy 13 v S Wilson 34 A Marshall 29 v M Williamson 10
The following team has been selected to face Aberdeen at home with Scott Kennedy, Craig Mackintosh, Lewis Betts, Dean Riva and Stuart Thomson all unavailable. C Darling, R Thomson, D Berwick, A Marshall MBE (Skip) M Johnston, A Burt, W W Wood MBE, G Robertson (Skip) L Middler, M Osborne, J Mower, B Mellors (Skip) A Cormack, A Jeffrey, G Blair, J Higgins (Skip) Reserves: D Oliver, S Kennedy, C Mackintosh, L Betts, D Riva
The women return to Premier League action this week with a trip to Abbeyview and team selected is M Murray, J Russell, A Irvine, E Logan (Skip) P Turner, R Campbell, I Gray, Y Veitch (Skip) M Devine, M Hamilton, C Ward, L Baillie (Skip) A Barclay, A Berwick, M Thomson, J Fairnie (Skip) Reserves: B Riva, N McNeill, C Jones
The Gents and Ladies National two bowls pairs took place last Sunday with the gents pairing of Mark Johnston & Willie Wood falling at the last hurdle in their bid to emulate their previous success in this event. Mark and Willie recorded a 2-0 triumph over Dumbarton and a 1.5-0.5 win over Coatbridge before losing out in a 3-end shoot out to Blantyre in the quarter finals. The ladies pairing of Lauren & Leanne Baillie lost 2-0 to a strong West Lothian pair in their opening game.
The Senior brigade followed up their opening win with an excellent 14 shot victory away to West Lothian last Wednesday. Once again, all rinks recorded wins to leave them all unbeaten this season. B J Smith won by 7, Alistair Russell by 4, Tommy Young by 2
and W W Wood was 1 up. The seniors were due to face Balbardie at home on Wednesday 12th October and the team read as follows: Ross Maguire, David McGill, Billy Higgins, W W Wood (Skip) Lessel Middler, George Gray, Jock Brodie, B J Smith (Skip) Peter Fallen, Jim Robertson, Brian Bisset, Tom Young (Skip) J P Hamilton, Jim McLeod, Ronnie Douglas, Alastair Russell (Skip) Reserves: P Laidlaw, K Morgan, J James, T Taylor & A Davidson
The youths Friday sessions are up and running from 2-4 pm every week, while the Saturday sessions take place from 8-10am.
East Lothian has three youths taking part in the British Isles Under 18 Internationals this weekend as well as Scott Kennedy managing them. Craig Mackintosh and Megan Kivlin are part of the same Scotland side and play together in the Triples and Fours while Lewis Betts is part of a British Lions side and is involved in the Singles and Pairs.
All East Lothian Indoor Bowling Club members are reminded that all subscriptions should have been paid and anyone playing and having not paid their fees will automatically forfeit any game they take part in.


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David Beaumont & Associates0116 2421090
We offer a broad range of Building Surveying Services to the residential, commercial and industrial property markets in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.
These services include Valuations, RICS Homebuyer Reports and Building Survey Reports on residential properties of all ages and styles together with defect diagnosis reports on specific problems such as structural movement, dampness and timber decay or defective roof coverings amongst others.
We also carry out Schedules of Condition and Dilapidation on tenanted commercial properties as well as Structural Condition or Building Survey Reports for those taking long leases or purchasing business premises.
For those looking to alter or extend their existing property, or construct a new building, we undertake a range of Architectural Design services from an initial measured or land surveys through Local Authority consents to Contract Supervision and completion on site.
Our range of professional services include advise under the Party Wall etc Act 1996 together with Expert Witness reports for the courts on boundary and building disputes, Disabled Access Audits and Insurance Valuations.
Getting in contact with David Beaumont & Associates
Suite 29 & 30
2nd Floor, The Hollins
16 New Street, Leicester
Tel: 0116 2421090
David Beaumont & Associates Products & Services


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This photo features: 24″ Square Patioflame® Burner Kit View Product
The detached outdoor space
It's a sense of home, sense of family, sense of gathering that fireplaces initiate and inspire detached outdoor designed spaces. Historically, going back to the cave people, fire has been a source of sustenance for food, for warmth, for light, for protection. It's why human nature and fire are synonymous. How do you live without it?
Select to view:
Detached outdoor space design trends
- Center fireplace in the seating area creating a gathering area.
- Fireplaces are an economical way to add impact to a space.
- Landscaping and architectural walls help define the space.
Tips for designing detached outdoor spaces
- Place the grill according to rebelling wind.
- Use transitional path between patio to pool space.
- Fireplace is the anchor that creates detached room. Surround the anchor with furniture formation.
- Aenean euismod bibendum laoreet. Proin gravida dolor sit amet lacus accumsan et viverra justo commodo.


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|No. 414, Issue II, September 2017/September/2017
|Title of article:
|17. The research university and measures to develop College of Natural Science - Vietnam National University, Hanoi to rank in 500 world – leading research universities
| Abstract: A research university is a university that expects all its tenured and tenure-track faculty to continuously engage in research, as opposed to merely requiring it as a condition of an initial appointment or tenure. Such universities can be recognized by their strong focus on innovative research and the prestige of their brand names. With the strategy of developing a research university, Vietnam National University, Hanoi has issued a set of criteria for a research university with aim to promote member institutions to reach regional and global standards of research universities. In this article, author analyses situation of developing the research university at College of Natural Science - Vietnam National University, Hanoi and proposes some measures to develop the University to enter the list of 500 world-leading research universities.
Keywords: Research universities, measure, criteria.
|Nguyễn Thanh Xuân
|criteria, Research universities, measure
|Click here to buy the article.


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Indications and Disclaimer
This web site is designed for information purposes only and is not intended to render medical advice or promotion of the usage to Avicenna Laser Technology's laser product.
As a medical device, the AVI HP-7.5 is FDA classified as a Class II device for the indication to emit energy in the infrared spectrum to provide topical heating for use when heat is indicated in the temporary relief of minor muscle and joint pain, muscle spasm, pain and stiffness associated with arthritis, and promoting relaxation of the muscle tissue.
Any reference to laser procedures that are not consistent with the intended usage of Avicenna Laser Technology's AVI HP-7.5 laser should not be construed as an endorsement or recommendation by Avicenna Laser Technology.
The information contained in this site represents the current investigation of the medical application of laser technology. Avicenna Laser Technology does not guarantee the accuracy of any information presented; nor should the user interpret the presentation of information as an endorsement or recommendation of any process, product or service. The user assumes the entire risk as to the accuracy and the use of the information and the information contained in this site is not intended to be and shall not constitute an offer to sell nor solicitation of any offer to buy any product or service. Nor, is it an endorsement of Avicenna Laser Technology products. Any usage of Avicenna Laser Technology products except for the specific purpose outlined within this website is strictly prohibited and voids all manufacturer warranties and guarantees except those strictly expressed in the AVI HP-7.5 Manual.


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The next TedTalk to start making the rounds and already making a splash is Five Dangerous Things You Should Let Your Kids Do by Gever Tulley of The Tinkering School, a summer program to help kids ages seven to 17 learn to build things. The talk comes from Tulley's book in progress, Fifty Dangerous Things You Should Let Your Children Do; click the book link and you'll find some of Tulley's labels which should be familiar to Make fans; we here at Farm School are always keen on subversive labels and stickers. As I once quoted Charles Darwin,
"Doing what little one can to increase the general stock of knowledge is as respectable an object of life as one can, in any likelihood, pursue."Gever Tulley and Matt Hern, author of Watch Yourself: Why Safer Isn't Always Better (and whom I wrote about here) certainly seem to be on the same wavelength.
Oh -- those five (really six) things? Not including playing with power tools at age two, which Tulley mentions at the beginning of his talk (and one of these days I'll have to write about my daycare program for Laura when I was pregnant with Daniel; it consisted of sending Laura to work with Tom, her father the builder, six days a week to build a house for a client. Power tools, scaffolding, ladders, and openings to the basement without stairs, were a given. Needless to say, they're all whizzes with power tools by now.)
1. Play with fire
2. Own a pocket knife (better yet, two or three or four, one for each pair of pants)
3. Throw a spear (or a paper airplane, or a baseball)
4. Deconstruct appliances (Tulley suggests a dishwasher, but radios and toasters are great good fun, and if you don't have a dead one of your own, you can find them cheap and ailing at your local Goodwill or Salvation Army store)
5. Break the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (which we apparently do routinely)
6. Drive a car (or truck or tractor if you have no cars about)
Some helpful related links
Interview with Jean Liedloff, author of The Continuum Concept
Kitbashing in the homeschool with Willa at Every Waking Hour and Mama Squirrel at Dewey's Tree House
GeekDad, where I first read last week about Gever Tulley's TedTalk
Boing Boing
Make Magazine and Maker Faire (where the motto is "Build, Craft, Hack, Play, Make")
Make Blog
Craft Magazine
Craft Blog
And, of course, the usual Farm School ramblings about childhood fun, danger, acceptable risk, responsibility, and independence.