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This weird little film has been on my to-watch list for quite awhile, and tonight I finally crossed it off. I have mixed feelings about it, which I think is appropriate. It would concern me a bit if I watched a movie like this without any discomfort.
There's a lot of violence. A lot. And while much of that violence is portrayed through sound and not actually shown, it's really not much less disturbing that way. (Or at least, I was still plenty disturbed. But I can't really compare it because anything more graphic than this I'll turn off immediately.)
It was advertised as a dark comedy about a schizophrenic man whose delusions drive him to kill. Not exactly fun times, but I was expecting more comedy and less horror. Certainly I wasn't expecting a sad film that raises serious concerns about mental health (and the ways we respond to mental illness) and makes me feel sympathy for a stalker and killer. But the latter is what I got, with small bits of comedy popping up just when it would otherwise get a little hopeless.
There's a lot I could say about this film, many things that concern me and are worth critiquing. But one thing that really sticks out in my memory is the world he sees without his medication. Throughout the movie, protagonist Jerry says that he wants to be a good person and that he knows he's doing wrong. He moves towards the realization that the voices telling him to do these things (or to fight the urges) come from himself and in one fairly early scene he takes medication to stop. That should be the end of it, right? If someone wants to be good and realizes they have a treatable illness that gets in the way of this (and the treatment works instantly in this case), why not just take the medication all the time?
Jerry tells his therapist that his condition isn't all bad, that he has moments of beauty and he misses them when he takes the medication. But we see that it goes beyond that. From his perspective, he lives a fairly normal life most of the time. He goes to work, he socializes with his neighbors, he talks to his pets (ok, it's weird that they talk back, but otherwise I think that's a common experience), he has a nice brightly-lit little home. But the reality is that his home is a (literally) bloody mess, his pets are miserable and unresponsive to him (the dog that's always happy to see him in his mind keeps trying to escape in reality), and everything seems dim and gray.
The pets were particularly heart-wrenching for me. When he wakes up on his medication and begs them to say something but they just lie there and ignore him, I could feel his loneliness and so also felt his relief when he tossed his pills in the sink. I'm very pro-medication. In the real world, I understand how important they are. Even here, I want Jerry to get better so of course I want him to keep taking them. Theoretically. But it hurts. The world he's left in when the delusions fade hurts and there's no real understanding of that from his therapist.
When confronting a problem we don't actually face ourselves, we tend to think "ok well, this is the thing that seems most troubling to me, so if I fix it everything's fine." But often it's not fine. And it may be that we've removed a coping mechanism without offering a healthy alternative. In Jerry's case, the medication offers an end to the hallucinations that the world recognizes as aberrant, but there is no treatment for his invisible struggles. There's no consideration for the possibility that his reality may be unbearable, that he may have no idea how to start taking care of himself. That even if he knows what he needs to do, he doesn't on his own have the strength to do it.
I have extreme difficulty keeping my house clean. I never really learned how to clean, my executive functioning skills are very low, and I have severe anxiety about contamination that makes it hard for me to actually confront a cleaning task. Other people who see my home tend to want to help by cleaning for me. But that doesn't help, it just highlights my failures in my mind. I still don't understand the process, don't know how to get myself to a point where I can do that on my own.
In my case, I think medication might be the key I've been missing. After an incident at Thanksgiving that left me unable to use my fridge thanks to juice from the raw turkey leaking onto the shelf, I realized I needed help as soon as possible. I talked to a doctor and started getting treatment for the anxiety that's been gnawing away at me for most of my life. It's only been a couple of weeks, but I feel better. It was a step forward and I have hope that if I can lower the anxiety I can actually face my life and take care of myself and my environment more effectively. I have strong supports in my life and that's the one thing that I feel is at the root of most of my difficulties.
But that's not the case for everyone. We can't just throw a catch-all solution at any problem and assume that a lack of visible symptoms means everything's fine. There's a reason someone gets stuck in unhealthy habits in the first place, and it takes work both understanding the hidden struggles at the core and finding better ways of dealing with them. It's probably not something most people can do on their own, or they'd have figured it out in the first place.
How can we more effectively help people face their invisible monsters? How do we ensure that we're not leaving them alone in a worse situation than when we started? I'm sure it involves empathy and empowering people to choose their own steps forward, but those are not easy tasks either.
What I like most about this film is the way it lets us see most of the movie through Jerry's eyes. We're not just watching his life, we're seeing his home and job the way he does. We don't know how far from reality this perspective is until he takes the medication and sees it for himself. That level of empathy isn't available to us in the real world, but maybe what we can take from this is to remember how little we know of someone else's perception and experience. Without a handy POV camera, we're left with the hard work of asking and listening, of offering our presence and help without assigning our own thoughts and needs to others. Anything else is just an illusion.


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Before I went to Bhutan I had never noticed a water powered prayer wheel before. Perhaps my awareness was low, I didn't know what I was looking at or the places I have been visiting hadn't had the right mix of Buddhism and free-flowing streams. Whatever it was in Bhutan water powered prayer wheels seemed to be at almost every little ravine and valley.
At its most basic — and nothing in Buddhism is ever basic — a prayer wheel is a cylinder on a spindle that is inscribed with and filled with prayers, or mantras (Om Mani Padme Hum). Some Buddhist, mainly from Tibetan sects, believe that the spinning of the wheels helps followers build good karma and cleanses them of negativities (bad karma). Prayer wheels come in all sizes: From tiny ones that can fit onto a keychain to one huge one, which weighs over 200 tons, in Heyin Town, China.
A water powered prayer wheel is exactly what it sounds like; a prayer wheel that uses the power of water to make it spin (always clockwise). It is believed that in addition to the good karma brought on by the spinning of the wheel that water touched by it becomes blessed and helps purify all life forms in the streams, oceans, and lakes it feeds into.
See also:
As we passed the first water-powered prayer wheel that I noticed upon arrival in Bhutan I asked my driver Nitu to stop so we could have a look. It was a large wheel in a small white building tucked away in a shady glade near the road. One problem; it wasn't turning. A little investigation around back revealed that the pipe that feeds the little turbine had become clogged with silt from upstream.
Not wanting all that good karma to go to waste — and how often do you get a chance to fix a prayer wheel — we set out to clear the obstruction. All told it probably only took about 20 minutes to get the wheel spinning again but it felt good. It was only a small gesture but good Buddhists believed that life is about merit accumulated over a lifetime and this little wheel, meant to spread good into the world, was going again. I like that!

subset: commoncrawl


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TTS #21- Piazza and The Kid Are Headed to Cooperstown
Danny and Arthur are once again joined by fellow Tailgate Talk Show host Jon to discuss the biggest news of the weekend: the MLB Hall Of Fame Induction. The guys reminisce on the careers of Mike Piazza and Ken Griffey Jr. They also discuss their views on who should get the nod in 2017 as well as the possibility of some current players getting in down the road. Finally, the week's discussion is wrapped up with the Russian Olympic Doping scandal, the upcoming PGA Championship, their hot takes and W2W4.
email@example.com for any questions or topic suggestions. … More TTS #21- Piazza and The Kid Are Headed to Cooperstown


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Add to favorites
Photo : Tourisme Gaspésie
Phare Cap Madeleine and salmon fish-passInterpretation centres
- 4, route du Phare (Madeleine-Centre)
Sainte-Madeleine-de-la-Rivière-Madeleine, Québec G0E 1P0
- email@example.com
- site web
Contact Us
- 418 393-2114
From the top of the lighthouse, enjoy a naturally beautiful panoramic site. At the museum, a interpretive guide retells the legend of the village, the lighthouse, the salmon and the paper mill. Visit the lighthouse assistant-keeper's house, converted into a boutique-café-resto, to taste local products in a regionally unique atmosphere.
On-site: Gaspésie handicrafts, picnic area, campground, playground areas accessible to recreational vehicles and to travellers with chartered transportation.
- Schedule: early June to mid-October, daily.
- Special activities: August 6 to 14, 2019.


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Almost Lover - Fine Frenzy Cover
Been receiving requests from Twitter and Instagram that I should do a cover of Fine Frenzy's Almost Lover. It's a very sad song about loving someone you can't have and I feel like I'm in somewhat gloomy vibe lately and I decided to cover this song. Here it is! :)


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"…no more messages. Beep."
The answer machine clicked back to standby and Adam pressed the back button.
"Oh. Er, ah, yes, h-hello Addy, its Grandma, jees you know I hate these machines, I just called to say, um, oh, well, nothing to worry about, just called for a chat, you know, see how you are doing. Nothing to worry about. Take care. Bye..umm, yes lots of love Bye…click..
…no more messages. Beep."
Isa was Adam's favourite grandmother, on his mother's side of the family. Since he was young he had visited her regularly, and he still had fond memories of Friday cakes and Tuesday evening cribbage when he was small and lived a little closer.
She had always been a good ear, and she seemed to always have the right answers. He couldn't imagine how his mother had been born of such a balanced and wise person.
She often phoned for a chat, to catch up, find out the gossip, ask how work was going on. In the absence of a girlfriend, she had provided the womans perspective, and of course she always made him feel good about himself.
"Well, sounds like she was no good anyway, Addy" she would say after an unceremonial dumping, "she'll probably wake up screaming, here, have some coffee.."
This message, though, was different, something was not quite right about it…she was always so confident and had an astutely positive perspective on life. A hangover from the war all that positivity, Adam always thought. "Be happy with what you've got, Addy, you never know when it'll be taken away." she'd say at times of perceived adversity. And deep down he knew she was right, even if things did seem damned awful, at least no one was actually trying to kill him.
He picked up the handset to call her back, and then replaced it again without dialling; maybe it would be better to see her face to face, pretend he hadn't got the message, allow her time to recompose the story from a fresh perspective. Yes, that would be better.
But what was up? She'd been in for tests, just routine, she had said, maybe…only one good way to find out.
He fixed his hair and slipped on his best brogues and a fresh shirt, good impressions never hurt and if this was serious he wanted to be appropriately dressed.
It was an hour's drive to Manatu where Isa lived. He worried about her out there all alone, but she wouldn't budge. Adam had offered to look for a little place in the city for her, a ground floor flat perhaps with a little garden, but one swift look had him back peddling almost before the suggestion had finished forming in his head, let alone by the end of the sentence. She confirmed that idea was about as dumb as it gets with "Addy, I've lived here for forty years, me and your grandpa built this place with our own hands, and if you think that I'm gonna let that all go just so you don't have so far to drive, you got another think coming."
That wasn't his point, but it was hers, and he took it as it was intended.
So he drove the hour, occasionally browsing to her number in his mobile and hovering over the green call button, then putting it down again. He could warn her that he was popping over. "The door's always open Addy" he could hear her say, "there's no need to warn me of your every motion, I got by before you were around, and I can get by now."
Her interminable independence sometimes irritated Adam. He was just trying to help, she was getting old and needed him a little more each day, or so he thought, but every time he'd try he'd meet that old mule head on. Maybe he really needed her more than she needed him, and maybe that's what irritated him.
She was fiercely independent even when Frank was around, even though they were a traditional old-fashioned couple, there was no denying who was the head of the Friar household. Isa would let Frank warm the throne occasionally in the right circumstances, but it was her seat and that was that. But now the time was catching up with her body, and despite her mind, that independence couldn't go on much longer.
By the time he reached the gate at the end of the long drive, his mind was racing, what on earth could the problem be? She sounded OK, but there was definitely something wrong. She wouldn't be so vague if there was nothing wrong.
He pulled up in front of the green wooden porch. The garden needed a bit of a tidy up, the lawn needed cutting, some of the shrubs were bordering bushville. Isa had heard his car come up the gravel drive and was standing in the doorway, her favourite checkered apron dusted with flour, hands on her hips and a smile on her face.
"Hey Addy, good to see you!" She called as he stepped out of his SUV, his polished brogues crunching on the gravel as he walked towards her. He did his best to hide his concern, but he knew that it would just end up with a twisted indeterminate expression which she's see though in an instant."Hey, nanna, how you doin? I was just, you know, passing, and well.."
As he got closer she reached out her arms and kissed him on his cheek, "I tried to get a hold of you earlier," she said, "been having a little difficulty with rabbits, I need you to shinny up to the loft and grab me the shotgun."


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Riding the Santa Fe Trail
The Heritage of the Wild West
Six days / five nights or seven days / six nights
An immersion into the settling of the American West! There is no better way to understand what it was like to travel west in wagon trains, across hundreds of miles of unmarked prairie, fighting the elements, bandits and Indians along the way.
In the middle 1800s, hundreds of thousands of travelers braved the Santa Fe Trail from Missouri to New Mexico to trade with the new territories out West. These pioneers moved by covered wagon but you will travel by luxury motor coach in the company of one of Texas' leading storytellers. Rose-Mary Rumbley is enthralled by history and has the ability to retell it to her audience in a thoroughly entertaining, often humorous and always listenable style. On Rose-Mary's trip on the Santa Fe Trail you will learn all about the trail's history and the way of life of these sturdy and adventurous pioneers, all the while enjoying comforts they could only dream about. See the homesteads, the forts, the stores and towns, the scenery - the plains and the mountains - just as the pioneers did! See and touch the ruts still present in the soil left by the wagon trains as they inched westward over the newly opened vast western spaces.
Tour begins in Kansas City, Missouri and ends in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Tour Highlights
You will travel the complete length of the Santa Fe Trail just as the traders did in the 1800s! Your route along the Trail will take you through:
Highlights along the Trail include:
Plus a great bonus: THE TRUMAN PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY & MUSEUM!
Rose-Mary Rumbley
About Your Guide
Reputed to be Dallas' most sought after speaker, Dr. ROSE-MARY RUMBLEY has authored four books, A Century of Class; The Unauthorized History of Dallas; Dallas, Too, all humorous books about Dallas; and What, No Chili?, a children's book about Texas festivals. Rose-Mary is also an accomplished actress, having appeared in the movie Paper Moon with Tatum and Ryan O'Neal, and in several TV productions. She has acted with John Davidson, Ginger Rogers, Van Johnson and Ruta Lee. She was the Chair of the Drama Department at Dallas Baptist University for twelve years and served for seven years on the staff of First Baptist Church of Dallas. Her husband whom she married the day after her college graduation is a percussionist formerly with the Fort Worth Symphony and now playing in ensembles of all kinds all over North Texas. They have raised two children and are now proud grandparents who love to spoil their grandkids.
Rose-Mary earned a PhD. in History and with her training as an actress, she possesses both the knowledge and the presentation skills to keep you enthralled.
Please Note
Due to Rose-Mary's popularity, her schedule gets booked far in advance. Long term planning is necessary to reserve her for this tour, so plan ahead!
Heritage Tours LLC
Tel: 214.265.7782 • 6320 Lyndon B. Johnson Freeway, Suite 129 • Dallas, Texas 75240 • Contact Heritage Tours


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St Stephano, Corfu, Greece
Our view
In a wonderful waterside setting, with a pool that feels like the prow of a ship, and rock bathing to the left, this is an unpretentious family villa in Corfu, an easy walk from a choice of beaches.
In brief
- Magnificent sea views
- Direct access to the sea
- Walk to beach and village
About the villa
With stunning seascapes framed by rolling headlands and backed by the mountains of the mainland, Gallini basks on low slopes, enviably close to the water, its swimming pool jutting out to enjoy the coastal views from three sides. Behind it, a big gazebo houses a built-in barbecue and al fresco sitting and dining areas, and stone paved terraces are punctuated with raised flower beds and colourful shrubs. And overseeing it all, the villa nestles between mature trees, enjoying the views from its furnished veranda and upper floor balcony.Comfortably furnished in country style, the house is relaxed and relaxing. It has an open-plan living/dining room with double doors to the veranda, and each of the four bedrooms open on to outdoor space. A stroll down through the grounds leads to flat-rock bathing and a platform at the water's edge, and from here it's a short swim to a beach. On foot, Kerasia beach is about fifteen minutes away, and St Stephano's harbour restaurants are even nearer.
Villa details
Ground Floor
- Kitchen
- Sitting/dining room
- Shower room
- Double bedroom with small balcony
First Floor
- Twin bedroom with bathroom en suite opening to balcony
- Twin bedroom with shower room en suite opening to balcony
Lower Ground Floor Annexe (REACHED BY OUTSIDE STEPS)
- Twin bedroom with shower room en suite
- Small terrace
- Built-in barbecue
- iPod dock
- WiFi
- Satellite TV (limited English speaking channels)
- DVD Player
- Air conditioning in all bedrooms
- Fridge/freezer
- Dishwasher
- Microwave
- Hob
- Oven
- 8.2m x 6m
- 0.8m x 1.82m deep
- Built-in steps
- Ladder Access
- Pool towels
- Washing machine
- Safe
- Telephone
Important Information
Boats for Gallini can be delivered to the villa, but can only be moored there at the guests' own risk
Please refer to the Health & Safety pages on this website.
Book your seats on our CV charter flight from Gatwick. CV Villas is also delighted to offer our own allocation of scheduled seats on British Airways from London Heathrow to Corfu and on Easyjet from London Gatwick to Corfu. We can also organise charter flights from most regional airports to Corfu to suit your requirements. Please see the Flights page or contact us for more details.
Car hire can be pre-booked through CV Villas with collection at the airport or port of arrival, and in some cases the hire car can be delivered to the villa for an additional charge. Please ask for details.
Additional services
CV Villas offers a wide variety of additional services, to make your villa holiday even more special. You should be able to find all the information you need here, otherwise you can check out our frequently asked questions page
There is no better way to explore the coastline and discover deserted bays and coves with their translucent water to add to the overall enjoyment of your holiday. Small boats and speedboats can be pre-booked with our UK office prior to departure and we recommend early reservations, especially in July and August, as availability is limited.
- Shops, restaurants and bars St Stephano 400m
- Café & taverna Kerasia 1.2km
- Tavernas and water sports Avlaki 3.6km
- Tennis 5.3km
- Restaurants, bars, supermarkets and nightlife Kassiopi 6km
- Golf Ropa Valley 43km
- Corfu Airport 39km
St Stephano
Average weather
As you navigate the winding hill dotted with olive trees and beehives, St Stephano glimpsed far below looks every bit the archetypal Greek fishing village. Lining a horseshoe-shaped bay facing the Albanian mountains, it is a scattering of houses, a succession of tavernas, and a series of jetties, all set in a wooded amphitheatre dotted with elegant villas and cypress trees. It is striking, yet still has working fishing boats; a St Stephano holiday is a retreat of simple pleasures.
Find out more about St Stephano.


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The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned the period roughly from the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. Though availability of paper and the invention of metal movable type sped the dissemination of ideas from the later 15th century, the changes of the Renaissance were not uniformly experienced across Europe.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer of the 18th century. His political philosophy influenced the French Revolution as well as the overall development of modern political, sociological, and educational thought.
Rousseau's novel Émile, or On Education is a treatise on the education of the whole person for citizenship. His sentimental novel Julie, or the New Heloise was of importance to the development of pre-romanticism and romanticism in fiction. Rousseau's autobiographical writings — his Confessions, which initiated the modern autobiography, and his Reveries of a Solitary Walker — exemplified the late 18th-century movement known as the Age of Sensibility, and featured an increased focus on subjectivity and introspection that later characterized modern writing. His Discourse on the Origin of Inequality and his On the Social Contract are cornerstones in modern political and social thought. He argued that private property was conventional and the beginning of true civil society.
During the period of the French Revolution, Rousseau was the most popular of the philosophes among members of the Jacobin Club. Rousseau was interred as a national hero in the Panthéon in Paris, in 1794, 16 years after his death.
In common with other philosophers of the day, Rousseau looked to a hypothetical State of Nature as a normative guide.
Rousseau criticized Hobbes for asserting that since man in the "state of nature . . . has no idea of goodness he must be naturally wicked; that he is vicious because he does not know virtue". On the contrary, Rousseau holds that "uncorrupted morals" prevail in the "state of nature" and he especially praised the admirable moderation of the Caribbeans in expressing the sexual urge[20] despite the fact that they live in a hot climate, which "always seems to inflame the passions".
Rousseau asserted that the stage of human development associated with what he called "savages" was the best or optimal in human development, between the less-than-optimal extreme of brute animals on the one hand and the extreme of decadent civilization on the other. "…[N]othing is so gentle as man in his primitive state, when placed by nature at an equal distance from the stupidity of brutes and the fatal enlightenment of civil man."[22] Referring to the stage of human development which Rousseau associates with savages, Rousseau writes:
"Hence although men had become less forebearing, and although natural pity had already undergone some alteration, this period of the development of human faculties, maintaining a middle position between the indolence of our primitive state and the petulant activity of our egocentrism, must have been the happiest and most durable epoch. The more one reflects on it, the more one finds that this state was the least subject to upheavals and the best for man, and that he must have left it only by virtue of some fatal chance happening that, for the common good, ought never to have happened. The example of savages, almost all of whom have been found in this state, seems to confirm that the human race had been made to remain in it always; that this state is the veritable youth of the world; and that all the subsequent progress has been in appearance so many steps toward the perfection of the individual, and in fact toward the decay of the species."
Rousseau believed that the savage stage was not the first stage of human development, but the third stage. Rousseau held that this third savage stage of human societal development was an optimum, between the extreme of the state of brute animals and animal-like "ape-men" on the one hand, and the extreme of decadent civilized life on the other. This has led some critics to attribute to Rousseau the invention of the idea of the noble savage, which Arthur Lovejoy conclusively showed misrepresents Rousseau's thought.
The expression, "the noble savage" was first used in 1672 by British poet John Dryden in his play The Conquest of Granada. Rousseau wrote that morality was not a societal construct, but rather "natural" in the sense of "innate", an outgrowth from man's instinctive disinclination to witness suffering, from which arise the emotions of compassion or empathy. These were sentiments shared with animals, and whose existence even Hobbes acknowledged.
Contrary to what his many detractors have claimed, Rousseau never suggests that humans in the state of nature act morally; in fact, terms such as "justice" or "wickedness" are inapplicable to prepolitical society as Rousseau understands it. Morality proper, i.e., self-restraint, can only develop through careful education in a civil state. Humans "in a state of Nature" may act with all of the ferocity of an animal. They are good only in a negative sense, insofar as they are self-sufficient and thus not subject to the vices of political society.
As a cultural movement, it encompassed innovative flowering of Latin and vernacular literatures, beginning with the 14th-century resurgence of learning based on classical sources, which contemporaries credited to Petrarch, the development of linear perspective and other techniques of rendering a more natural reality in painting, and gradual but widespread educational reform.
In politics, the Renaissance contributed the development of the conventions of diplomacy, and in science an increased reliance on observation. Historians often argue this intellectual transformation was a bridge between the Middle Ages and Modern history. Although the Renaissance saw revolutions in many intellectual pursuits, as well as social and political upheaval, it is perhaps best known for its artistic developments and the contributions of such polymaths as Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, who inspired the term "Renaissance man".
The "Renaissance philosophy" is used by scholars of intellectual history to refer to the thought of the period running in Europe roughly between 1350 and 1650 (the dates shift forward for central and northern Europe and for areas such as Spanish America, India, Japan, and China under European influence). It therefore overlaps both with late medieval philosophy, which in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries was influenced by notable figures such as Albert the Great, Thomas Aquinas, William of Ockham, and Marsilius of Padua, and early modern philosophy, which conventionally starts with René Descartes and his publication of the Discourse on Method in 1637. Philosophers usually divide the period less finely, jumping from medieval to early modern philosophy, on the assumption that no radical shifts in perspective took place in the centuries immediately before Descartes. Intellectual historians, however, take into considerations factors such as sources, approaches, audience, language, and literary genres in addition to ideas.
The Renaissance, that is, the period that extends roughly from the middle of the fourteenth century to the beginning of the seventeen century, was a time of intense, all-encompassing, and, in many ways, distinctive philosophical activity. A fundamental assumption of the Renaissance movement was that the remains of classical antiquity constituted an invaluable source of excellence to which debased and decadent modern times could turn in order to repair the damage brought about since the fall of the Roman Empire. It was often assumed that God had given a single unified truth to humanity and that the works of ancient philosophers had preserved part of this original deposit of divine wisdom. This idea not only laid the foundation for a scholarly culture that was centered on ancient texts and their interpretation, but also fostered an approach to textual interpretation that strove to harmonize and reconcile divergent philosophical accounts. Stimulated by newly available texts, one of the most important hallmarks of Renaissance philosophy is the increased interest in primary sources of Greek and Roman thought, which were previously unknown or little read. The renewed study of Neoplatonism, Stoicism, Epicureanism, and Skepticism eroded faith in the universal truth of Aristotelian philosophy and widened the philosophical horizon, providing a rich seedbed from which modern science and modern philosophy gradually emerged.
1. Aristotelianism
Improved access to a great deal of previously unknown literature from ancient Greece and Rome was an important aspect of Renaissance philosophy. The renewed study of Aristotle, however, was not so much because of the rediscovery of unknown texts, but because of a renewed interest in texts long translated into Latin but little studied, such as the Poetics, and especially because of novel approaches to well-known texts. From the early fifteenth century onwards, humanists devoted considerable time and energy to making Aristotelian texts clearer and more precise. In order to rediscover the meaning of Aristotle's thought, they updated the Scholastic translations of his works, read them in the original Greek, and analyzed them with philological techniques. Many Renaissance Aristotelians read Aristotle for scientific or secular reasons, with no direct interest in religious or theological questions. Pietro Pomponazzi (1462–1525), one of the most important and influential Aristotelian philosophers of the Renaissance, developed his views entirely within the framework of natural philosophy.
2. Humanism
The humanist movement did not eliminate older approaches to philosophy, but contributed to change them in important ways, providing new information and new methods to the field. Humanists called for a radical change of philosophy and uncovered older texts that multiplied and hardened current philosophical discord. Some of the most salient features of humanist reform are the accurate study of texts in the original languages, the preference for ancient authors and commentators over medieval ones, and the avoidance of technical language in the interest of moral suasion and accessibility.
3. Platonism
During the Renaissance, it gradually became possible to take a broader view of philosophy than the traditional Peripatetic framework permitted. No ancient revival had more impact on the history of philosophy than the recovery of Platonism. The rich doctrinal content and formal elegance of Platonism made it a plausible competitor of the Peripatetic tradition. Renaissance Platonism was a product of humanism and marked a sharper break with medieval philosophy. Many Christians found Platonic philosophy safer and more attractive than Aristotelianism. The Neoplatonic conception of philosophy as a way toward union with God supplied many Renaissance Platonists with some of their richest inspiration. The Platonic dialogues were not seen as profane texts to be understood literally, but as sacred mysteries to be deciphered.
4. Hellenistic Philosophies
Stoicism, Epicureanism, and Skepticism underwent a revival over the course of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries as part of the ongoing recovery of ancient literature and thought. The revival of Stoicism began with Petrarca, whose renewal of Stoicism moved along two paths. The first one was inspired by Seneca and consisted in the presentation, in works such as De vita solitaria (The Life of Solitude) and De otio religioso (On Religious Leisure), of a way of life in which the cultivation of the scholarly work and ethical perfection are one. The second was his elaboration of Stoic therapy against emotional distress in De secreto conflictu curarum mearum (On the Secret Conflict of My Worries), an inner dialogue of the sort prescribed by Cicero and Seneca, and in De remediis utriusque fortunae (Remedies for Good and Bad Fortune, 1366), a huge compendium based on a short apocryphal tract attributed at the time to Seneca.
5. New Philosophies of Nature
In 1543, Nicolaus Copernicus (1473–1543) published De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres), which proposed a new calculus of planetary motion based on several new hypotheses, such as heliocentrism and the motion of the earth. The first generation of readers underestimated the revolutionary character of the work and regarded the hypotheses of the work only as useful mathematical fictions. The result was that astronomers appreciated and adopted some of Copernicus's mathematical models but rejected his cosmology. Yet, the Aristotelian representation of the universe did not remain unchallenged and new visions of nature, its principles, and its mode of operation started to emerge.
Renaissance, literally means "rebirth," can be said to be the period in European civilization immediately following the Middle Ages and conventionally held to have been characterized by a surge of interest in Classical learning and values. The Renaissance also witnessed the discovery and exploration of new continents, the substitution of the Copernican for the Ptolemaic system of astronomy, the decline of the feudal system and the growth of commerce, and the invention or application of such potentially powerful innovations as paper, printing, the mariner's compass, and gunpowder. To the scholars and thinkers of the day, however, it was primarily a time of the revival of Classical learning and wisdom after a long period of cultural decline and stagnation.
• "Online Etymology Dictionary: "Renaissance"". Etymonline.com. Retrieved 2009-07-31.
• BBC Science and Nature, Leonardo da Vinci Retrieved May 12, 2007
• BBC History, Michelangelo Retrieved May 12, 2007
• Burke, P., The European Renaissance: Centre and Peripheries 1998)
• Strathern, Paul The Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance (2003)
• Peter Barenboim, Sergey Shiyan, Michelangelo: Mysteries of Medici Chapel, SLOVO, Moscow, 2006. ISBN 5-85050-825-2
• Encyclopædia Britannica, Renaissance, 2008, O.Ed.
• Har, Michael H. History of Libraries in the Western World, Scarecrow Press Incorporate, 1999, ISBN 0-8108-3724-2
• Norwich, John Julius, A Short History of Byzantium, 1997, Knopf, ISBN 0-679-45088-2
• Brotton, J., The Renaissance: A Very Short Introduction, OUP, 2006 ISBN 0-19-280163-5.
• Panofsky, Renaissance and Renascences in Western Art 1969:38; Panofsky's chapter "'Renaissance— self-definition or self-deception?" succinctly introduces the historiographical debate, with copious footnotes to the literature.


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gkaefer wrote:sometimes its inpossible to get the pano alligned on horizon very well.
taf wrote:sorry for the French text, but i can't explain in english :
Je profite de ce post pour préciser une petit chose sur l'horizon... car j'ai eu recemment des panos à faire avec pas mal de ces pb.
Sur le cas de panos fait sans pied, et donc sans tete pano, il faut que les photos soient recollées avec des points de contrôles qui ne soient pas sur le premier plan, sinon, c'est l'horizon KO assuré !!! Plus les points de contrôle sont situés sur des objets loin sur l'horizon, plus celui ci sera parfait lors de l'assemblage final (au risque bien sur d'avoir des gros pb de parallax au premier plan, mais bon, on peut pas tout avoir non plus... forcement, à main levé !!!)
autopano a tendance à placer des série de points de contrôle en vertical, alors que le mieux, pour les pb d'horizon, c'est de les placer en horizontale, et forcement le plus près de l'horizon (donc pas en bas de la photo en général)...
Une petit option, dans les regles de détection, du genre "améliorer l'horizon", qui forcerait les points de controle sur le haut de la photo, et en horizontale, plutôt qu'en vertical, ferait que cela améliorerait pas mal la construction du pano...
I take this post to clarify one small thing on the horizon ... because I recently had to make panos with a lot of these points.
The case of panos done without foot, and therefore no pano head, must be glued together with photos of control points that are not in the foreground, otherwise it is the horizon KO guaranteed! More control points are located on far objects on the horizon, the more perfect will be in the final assembly (at the risk of having very large parallax bp in the foreground, but hey, we can not just have not ... necessarily, hand raised!)
autopano tends to place the set of control points in vertical, while the better for the horizon bp is to be placed horizontally, and obviously the more close to the horizon (not the bottom of the general picture) ...
A small option in the detection rules, such as "improve the horizon," which would force checkpoints on top of the photo, and horizontal, rather than vertical, it would improve a lot construction the pano ...
Artisan S. wrote:Naah, George....Mars has Olympus Mons.....about 26 Km high if memory serves....and the Netherlands has in fact not one but two highest points, Mount Scenery wich is 877 meters high (and located on the Caraïbian island of Saba which is has the same legal status as any town in Holland now) and the Vaalser Berg which is 323 meters high and on mainland the Netherlands....in fact about 70 km south of where I'm living.
Have you tried the multiple vertical technique btw.....?
Greets, Ed.
Artisan S. wrote:And Klaus is (as sometimes is verry much the case) right.....I haven't had problems I could not solve.....but NASA should send Klaus to Mars (and back again) instead of a robot with the intelligence of a dungbeatle....this is what Nasa made of it:
So maybe they could send their next probe to Klaus in order for him to teach it, patiently the fine art of panorama shooting.....
Greets, Ed.
klausesser wrote:Using the vertical-lines tool for horizontal correction resulted in this: http://360impressions.de/Tower/
So don´t tell me there´s no horizontal correction in AP . . . :cool:
I can look for more examples if you like . . .
best, Klaus
klausesser wrote:really - i don´t understand that demand for a "automatic horizon"! An "automatic horizon" is impossible - there are too many ways to do a faulty shooting.
My suggestion: just use your camera/head levelled and you for sure get a straight horizon. Period.
Beside of that: there already is a fine working horizon-tool in Autopano for years . . . . .
IF this tool doesn´t get you a straight horizon there´s something basically wrong in the shoot - and that´s not the stitcher . . .
In more than 6 years of using Autopano now i !never! had any problem to get a horizon straight. When there was something not correctly levelled it was MY fault.
best, Klaus
Artisan S. wrote:I admit that is a problem indeed.....no CP's is no guidance.....and for those cases a horizon tool would be nice.....but I wonder, wouldn't there be controlpoints in the coulds and since these tend to move couldn't they be the culprit?
Greets, Ed.
gkaefer wrote:This horizontal tool exists but not for spherical projection.
leifs wrote:In this type of horizon (inland, hills and mountains, buildings close to the horizon) there is no problem. Need no more examples.
The problem is for example when there is a line-horizon and there are water below and sky above: no CP's
It always result in a banana-shape horizon, and never a bump upwards.
(and yes: I use the XML's from the VRdrive2)
klausesser wrote:there must be something incorrect in your shooting, sorry.
klausesser wrote:The stitcher only comes in when you optimize the stitch.
a a gruntpuddock wrote:Have you tried adjusting the center point of the image?
I sometimes get this on long panos, even using a tripod but a bit of adjustment usually gets ridof mostt of the curvature.
leifs wrote:klausesser wrote:The stitcher only comes in when you optimize the stitch.
Have you shot a 90 images sphere, placed the images according to the XML and rendered it without optimizing ?
I've tried it, using "correct shooting" technique, and the XML from the VRdrive2.
leifs wrote:Verdict: the result is ugly. the pano has to be optimized.
leifs wrote:that's when the horizon-problem appears. I correct it, optimize and the problem just appear another place on the horizon. Like chasing rabbits.
leifs wrote:For the past seven years there has been a continuous, humble request for a new tool/better tool to manually help APG to produce a straight horizon (without steps). The automatic horizon tool is no option for theese cases, it just don't work.
There is a horizontal line tool in APG, but it's only available in planar projection! No help for cylinders and spheres.
klausesser wrote:There already is a vertical/horizontal tool which does fine with spheres indeed . . . . :cool:
leifs wrote:It solves a problem one place and create steps another place on the horizon.
Bmachine wrote:Klaus,
Read this post for what this horizon tool would look like.
Alexandre himself said that it would be easy to do. This was 3 or 4 years ago... and nothing ever happened.
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Franz Ferdinand, Elbow, Maximo Park and 2manydjs were among the acts who got the musical action at Benicassim festival going again last night (July 18) following an earlier site shut-down due to weather conditions.
On Friday night (July 17) Kings Of Leon were among the bands to have their set at the Spanish festival cancelled as strong winds cut across the site. Officials cordoned off stages as the wind grew dangerous and evacuated some camp sites where festival-goers were staying.
Things were back to normal yesterday, with Maximo Park – one of the bands who had their Friday set cancelled – finally taking to the Escenario Verde stage, playing at 9:30pm (CEST). Watch a video interview with the band by clicking below.
Paul Smith and co were playing a slot which Lily Allen had previously been set to play until the London singer cancelled due to illness.
"Ola! We are not Lily Allen!" Smith yelled as he led the band on stage. They went on to play a set largely comprised of cuts from their recent album 'Quicken The Heart' plus older fan favourites 'Apply Some Pressure' and set-opener 'Graffiti'.
Elbow played next on the stage – the largest at the festival – with frontman Guy Garvey greeting the crowd by reading out a welcome message in Spanish.
The band, backed by a three-piece string section for much of the set, drew a huge crowd, opening with 'Starlings' then playing songs including 'Grounds For Divorce', 'Ribcage' and epic set-closer 'One Day Like This'.
The band celebrated by downing shots mid-way through the set – inducing cheers from the audience.
Into the earlier hours, Franz Ferdinand played a hugely energetic show which saw front-man Alex Kapranos leap into the front row near the death of the set.
The Scottish four-some opened their show with 'No You Girls', taken from recent third album 'Tonight: Franz Ferdinand'.
They went on to play hits including 'Take Me Out', 'The Dark Of The Matinee', an extended dance version of 'Lucid Dreams' and 'Outsiders', which saw the whole band playing percussion frenetically.
The main stage action was ended later by 2manydjs, who played an emphatically-received set from 2:30am. They ended their show by unleashing with a spectacular burst of ticker tape that wowed the crowd, sending tape flying over most of the site, over the adjacent road and into nearby fields.
Photo Gallery – Highlights of Benicassim 2009
Blog – Chaos at Benicassim – the view from backstage
Witness the winds at Benicassim:
See Benicassim engulfed in flames:


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Lucidchart is a tool for creating flowcharts, organizational maps, wireframes, mindmaps, graphic organizers, Venn diagrams, and other diagrams. It recently added the option of including interactive tables and notations to charts. Right-click on any shape in your mind map to write and add a note about it. The new tables option allows the addition of spreadsheets to Lucidchart flowcharts.
It's a simple drag and drop interface for creating flow charts, organizational charts, mind maps, and other types of diagrams. Just select elements from the menus and drag them to the canvas. You can re-size any element and type text within elements. Arrows and connecting lines can be re-sized, repositioned, and labeled to add clarity.
There are two versions: an iOS app and Web browser-based. It's supported in all modern Web browsers, but Google Chrome users can use Lucidchart offline through the Lucidchart Chrome app.
Lucidchart charges business customers, but makes all of their tools free for teachers and students. Lucidchart is a good tool for instructors (and students) to create charts that explain processes in science or to simply show the connections between key concepts in a course.


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News Archive - December 2013
Albert C. Kobayashi was born in Honolulu in 1920. When Albert was 12 years old, his father passed away, and to help his family survive, he worked with his older brother and sister on their parents' farm in Manoa. He also did odd jobs like selling newspapers and chauffeuring to add to the family's income. After graduating from McKinleyHigh School in 1937, he attended business college classes while working at nights […]
On November 5, 2013, more than 30 people attended presentation by Andrew Stewart at Manoa Grand Ballroom. This was a follow up seminar of "Japanese Business Customs Every Gaijin Should Know" held in April.
Chairman of the Board Gordon Kagawa announced that we are planning a Japan Trip the week of May 25 – May 31, 2014. The tentative plan is to fly direct to Fukuoka (spend a few days), Matsuyama (EhimePrefecture) and Hiroshima. Possible side trips the following few days thereafter could be to Fukui, Tokyo and Shizuoka.


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Apparently I just don't have the inspiration to do my own Whiteboards anymore, so here's one from yet another guest artist Erin.
Clearly the theme here is our various Canada day activities and discussions. Of note, the "No Potty Mouth" is actually part of a larger manners-oriented national anthem that should be followed on Canada Day.
Also, the "This space was blank" should likely read "this space intentionally left blank," to avoid confusion.
Good work Erin!


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This one was fun. Except for the two consultants! I just could not take them seriously especially as they were bookish, nerdy looking women trying to tell the group of drunk ladies how to find their g-spot!
It was all clinical, like I was in junior high school sex ed class! Hell it is called a Passion Party, yet these consultants looked like they didn't know the meaning of the word passion.
I guess this is one of those jobs where you need to look like your having fun and actually make people believe you are an expert on dildos and vibrators. I might try to do this one day. I mean you can never have enough adult toys, right?


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Doors: 7:00 PM
Show: 7:30 PM
Flying Solo - Superstars Who Left Their Successful Groups And Made A Career On Their Own
For one reason or another, artists sometimes find themselves breaking apart from the group that catapulted them to fame and venturing out on their own. Sometimes these artists find even greater fame after leaving their group and carving out a new career. The list is long of hit songs and artists to cover…from all four of the Beatles, to Sting, Paul Simon, Micheal Jackson, Phil Collins, Peter Gabriel, Stevie Nicks, Diana Ross, Glenn Frey, Neil Young, Rod Stewart, George Michael, Lionel Richie, Steve Winwood and many more. See if you can guess the artists we will highlight from these musicians who made it big, both with their original group and FLYING SOLO!
Please do not leave single seats when purchasing.
Event has ended.


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Technical Paper
"Taguchi Customer Loss Function" Based Functional Requirements
Understanding customer expectations is critical to satisfying customers. Holding customer clinics is one approach to set winning targets for the engineering functional measures to drive customer satisfaction. In these clinics, customers are asked to operate and interact with vehicle systems or subsystems such as doors, lift gates, shifters, and seat adjusters, and then rate their experience. From this customer evaluation data, engineers can create customer loss or preference functions. These functions let engineers set appropriate targets by balancing risks and benefits. Statistical methods such as cumulative customer loss function are regularly applied for such analyses. In this paper, a new approach based on the Taguchi method is proposed and developed. It is referred to as Taguchi Customer Loss Function (TCLF).


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Saturday, December 30, 2006
You are the One....1/2缘份
I've always liked Singaporean dramas given their emphasis on family, their similar culture to Malaysians, something which strikes a chord with me and their cute guys and girls...and this one was simply superb:)
It had the perfect formula: Three guys, Three Girls whom are sisters....with the focus on the girls and their romances with each guy....each sister represents a type of modern woman....the eldest Meiman is the modern career woman, someone who aims high in her career, won't take shit from men, dresses stylishly and enjoys the good life. The youngest is Meide, someone is young and vivacious, doesn't think too much about men, sexy and very strong willed, thoroughly representative of the young Singapore girl...and also just as stubborn and selfish as some of her singaporean sisters in real life are....the middle one is Meili whom is a plain jane, flat chested and thin, dark skinned, talks like a guy and shakes her legs constantly, she is traditional at heart and wants to get married as soon as possible and become a 'virtuous' mother.
I grew to like Meili alot as she is the plain jane in everyone of us....someone whom is unattractive and been on over 30 blind dates but with no success....she is the most kind-hearted and nicest of the 3 sisters but is often treated poorly by men because of her looks....in the end, she ends up with Christopher Lee, the hunkiest of the guys...thats y i love this drama, for once the ugly girl gets the cute guy and not the ugly aging man getting the pretty young girl as is so often the case.....haha...
I also fell in love with actor Chor Chew Meng, playing Raymond, the arch rival of Meiman, and i just loved their bickering....he is soooooo handsome and manly and boyish...i am actually abit ashamed i could be attracted to him....cos when i went to research on him thru the net, i found out he has been in the industry for over 10 yrs now and is over 35 pushing 40...how can i like and find a guy cute MORE THAN 10 YEARS OLDER THAN ME?!!!! Gosh.....and i look with distaste at women who go out with elderly men...but he does look only like in his late 20s or early 30s....
Also, in showing how popular the Korean wave is, one of the main male characters is a Korean who speaks Mandarin living with his mum in Singapore as the executive managing director of a big multinational firm....they live in a huge bungalow and it is obvious that the drama was playing to the korean drama craze with the perfect korean guy, rich, handsome, and gentlemanly......
I loved the scenes b/w Lu Hui and Mei Li as they were just hilarious!! Another reason i love this drama is because they portray not only romance but also friendship...in the form of Lu Hui and Mei Li....the scene where Lu Hui is smitten with the 'Korean ginseng' (they call Zheng Xi that in the show!!) is soooo funny esp when she mistakenly calls out his mother as her 'omma' her pronunciation is so funny lar...haha...and they were very detailed in their script even managing to find out the word 'shagua' in korean for apple is similar to the chinese word 'shagua' for dumb and using it in the drama...for those who get the chance to either review or see for the first time, be sure to look out for Episode 10 where Lu Hui is totally embarassed when her 'padding' to enhance her bust peeks out from her breast and Zheng Xi sees it....i laughed SO HARD WHEN I SAW THIS.....ahhahah.....
This drama had all the elements i liked...firstly it was about romance, which is by far my fav genre (y i like korean dramas) , it had feminist ideas and themes which anyone would know can satisfy a truly feminist person like me....it had some gay( and in gay i mean GAY not happy la...duh..) parts too which is another of my interest...and further it showed friendship and brotherhood and family....and also the importance of the Chinese language and Mandarin....
Now, to explain why i said it had all of the above....the romance bit is obvious and central given that this drama was timed for Valentine's Day 2005...feminist theme is the fact that the female characters were central in the storyline and not the male ones....further the elder sister Meiman and youngest sister Meili are very career minded and independent which is what i like...Meiman also repeats a couple of times that women no longer are satisfied with a 'long-term rice ticket' or a man whom can support merely their material needs such as clothing, housing, food,etc but want a spiritual and understanding partner too...Further, the story shows Raymond changing from an utter chauvinistic pig to someone whom actually respects women...he doesn't mind Meiman becoming his superior and will try to adjust his mentality and will also do the housework, take care of the children so that Meiman can have her private space if she has his children....this is a good role model for the guys i would say:)
It has included homosexuality in it too...i was abit taken abck that the 'gay part' went on for a couple of episodes and was not a passing thing...basically Raymond and his brother Simon were mistaken by Meiman and Meide to be 'gay partners'....it was so funny...there were scenes of Simon searching for keys in Raymonds pocket and Raymond asking him to be careful not to touch...err....( u know what) Meiman bumps into them and thinks its disgusting....there were really alot of scenes like that, one was funny cos Meide saw a Men's Health mag on Raymond's desk and thinks why that kind of mag is on his desk when its for girls cos it had a hunky upper bare-bodied guy on its cover...and i was like HUH>??! its a guys health mag, not a gay porn mag? Then there was the time when Simon tells Meide, whom he likes, that he is Ximen and Raymond is Reimen in Chinese, Raymond is the 'qian men' and he is the 'hou men' ...now, in Chinese 'men' means door...so his name is 'xi door' whilst raymond's name is 'lei door' and when he is refering to qian men(front door) he really means raymond is the elder brother and he is the hou men (back door) younger one...but when Meide hears it, she laughs out loud...i was like omg....this was so obviously a BIG GAY HINT that Meide takes it to mean that Raymond is....well.....errrr.....the front door and Simon is the back door....u know WHAT I MEAN...hehe
The drama was very homophobic though in that despite the irony of Meiman and Meide both working in the advertising industry (which is supposed to have many a gay man and supposed to hold a liberal atmosphere) they react very adversely to the fact the Raymond and Simon are gay ( in their eyes)...though this is compensated somewhat when Meiman later says they dun mind and are very open-minded about gay issues when she and Raymond's relationship take a turn for the better....
The importance of Mandarin and knowing Chinese was reinforced throughout with Simon being ur typical younger generation westernised Singaporean whom can't speak Mandarin properly and can hardly read Chinese....the drama uses quite a fair bit of difficult Chinese words which is good learning...and also, he doesn't get Meide also bcos she thinks his Mandarin is appalling...thus encouraging viewers to realise the importance of Mandarin and improve their Chinese level.
This drama made me like Singaporean Dramas even more. Frankly, i've been watching HK dramas and their quality has dropped significantly. Singaporean dramas are just much more appealing and higher in quality as compared to HK ones...i mean HK ones are so popular in Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, China, Taiwan and a host of countries but i dun understand y....i find singaporean dramas even better than taiwanese ones despite the fact that Taiwanese dramas again are more popular...and the drama has also definitely improved my image of Singaporean men...i find them attractive now...hehe....i simply like Raymond....he is just so down to earth, ur quissential boy next door..someone whom likes family, treats older ppl with respect, very boyish, invests money, not good at romance but very practical and thinks practically...very thrifty....my kind of guy.....haha....i like family and conservative type of guys more i must admit...prefer them more to the metrosexual, stylish hip guy type....more stable, gives me more security....
Further, the lyrics of the Chinese theme song and the English ending title by Redwan Ali is great (esp the English one by Redwan Ali)
【1/2缘分】 插曲-You make me feel brand new
I am but a foolish man with only love in his heart
The rain may come, the sun may set, but I'll never let you go
All I need is your love, to hear you say that I am your man
So tell me now and show me how I could be your better man*
And I'll surrender everything just to be with you
There is no one in the world like you You make me real*
And I'll cross every ocean just to be with you
Baby you're my dream and you're my soul
You make me real
副歌:Just like a flame You're burning in my soul
You wake me from the cold You make me real
And like a flame You brighten up my world
Every corner bears a print of you
You really make me feel brand new
Like a flame You glow within my heart forever more
You make me feel brand new (重复 *, 紧接 '副歌'部分)
主唱:Redwan Ali作词:Ken Chong作曲:Redwan Ali
Official Chinese Site including cast, pics, storyline,etc:
Official English Site including cast, pics, storyline:
Please do try to watch this drama if u are able to obtain it....its well worth ur time given that its one of my all-time favourite Chinese dramas now:)
Monday, December 25, 2006
Merry Christmas!!.......... 圣诞快乐!!...........メーリークリスマス!!
Sydney is pretty cold which is great as it gives Christmas a more festive feel...hehe...took some photos which i will upload later...
Merry Christmas 2006 Everybody!!!
Friday, December 22, 2006
Japanese Film + Korean Film Recommendations Again...日韓電影推介....日韓映画のお勧め
Japanese Films 日電影推介 日本の映画お勧め:
I attended the 10th Japanese Film Festival in Sydney about some weeks back and saw 3 films: The Face of Jizo, Forget me Not, and The Stars Converge....They were all pretty good...
The Face of Jizo (2005): 父と暮らせば (I actually really like the Japanese film title which translates as 'If I were living with my father' . Jizo referred to in the English version of the title is the buddha that consoles parents who have lost their children. In the film, its the exact opposite with the child having lost a parent.)
This film details the post-atomic bombing effect on survivors of the Hiroshima Atomic Bombing. The film starts in 1948, three years after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, and the female character miraculously sees her father again. (He died in the atomic bombing three yrs back) The film chronicles the one week of conversations she has with him and her guilt with being the only one alive amongst her family and friends. Quite a haunting film about the Atomic Bombing.
Official Website in Japanese: http://www.pal-ep.com/father/
Note: I didn't realise the actress Miyazawa Rie was so pretty and elegant until i saw this film...wow she looked stunning....she's extremely famous in Japan..
The Stars Converge/Chilsok Summer (2003): チルソクの夏
A Japanese-Korean love story set in 1977 which chronicles the love relationship between a Korean highschool boy and a Japanese highschool girl during the friendship games held between Shimonoseki and Pusan every year. The story is relating to the Chinese/Japanese/Korean 'Valentine's Day' (七夕)called Qixi in Chinese, Tanabata in Japanese and Chilsok in Korean whereby the two lovers can meet only once a year on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month when the stars are said to converge. Very nice and romantic as well as dealing with the deep rooted prejudices between the two sides back then (and to an extent even now)
Official Website in Japanese: http://www.chirusoku.jp/
Note: The Japanese name is 'Chilsok Summer' and the use of the Korean pronunciation instead of the Japanese one is again an indication of the growing trend in Japan of goodwill feelings towards Korea and the use of korean words for japanese films (remember my earlier film recomm. called Pacchigi? That's a korean word too) I initially was attempting to work out what 'Chilsok' meant in Japanese and was glad that it wasn't my lack of understanding of Japanese..
Korean Films 韓電影推介 韓国映画お薦め:
If You Were Me 2 (2006) :
This is an omnibus film consisting of 5 short films all revolving around the theme of discrimination and the less priviledged in Korea. Its directed by famous korean directors, and produced by the National Korean Human Rights Commission. It is the second instalment of If You Were Me, which was a critical success and was screened at film festivals, like the current instalment, worldwide ( i actually saw the first instalment at the Melbourne International Film Festival). It is very unique and you get to see the various social issues faced by modern day South Korea.
In this instalment, there is one short each about a down syndrome girl, the life of contract workers, chinese-koreans and their plight in South Korea (note there are around 1.3 million koreans living in China, mainly in north-eastern China, whom have chinese citizenship and are chinese for all purposes except their ethnicity. They however retain their cultural traditions and language like the Chinese of Singapore and Malaysia), illegal North Korean defectors in South Korea and korean masculinity and its suffocating and negative impact on society and human relationships at large.
I personally liked the Chinese-Korean, contract workers, and korean masculinity sections better....especially the korean masculinity one as it dealt with a host of perceived problems inherent in some korean men, namely, sexism (this occurs at the very beginning when the main character bumps into a group of girls drinking at the table and curses them to his friends asking 'why the bitches are out so late at night?), racism (the main person bumps into a foreign worker and again curses them for taking away korean jobs), homophobia (i was very surprised at the inclusion of this cos they made quite a fair bit of emphasis on the issue of gay discrimination in korea cos one of the main character's best friend turns out to be gay, and the friend's also the most masculine one too...the guy then starts saying they've been friends for over 20 yrs...how he could have caught a disease from the other guy...blah..blah..blah...i laughed out when he said the disease part...at first i thought he was a closeted gay too and had sex with the other guy thats y he was worried about getting a disease, but then i realise it was just pure ignorance on his part....thinking that having a homosexual friend would give someone AIDS or something...)....watching this film will definitely provide audiences with an insight into the issues of discrimination affecting South Korea now....highly recommended.
My Crazy Girlfriend (2006) :
This is one of the best and most innovative film i've ever seen. It blends a commercial film with an independent art house film and produces something uniquely spectacular! It has a low budget and only so-so stars cast but managed to break into the top 10 grossing Korean films of the yr 2006 (last time i checked was in August) Recommended....GO WATCH IT.
The story is about a guy who has been hard on luck with love...he has a monotanous and boring life everyday repeating the same routine a zillion times all the time, is suffering from depression and watches porn and wanks when he feels horny...then he meets what seems to be the perfect girl...they start a passionate relationship and he throws out all his porn collection,etc...they seem like your average loving couple....but what he doesn't realise is that his average looking girlfriend is actually a killer! The film is really well worth your time...i highly recommend this!!
Over the Border (2006):
A film about a North Korean man and how he escapes to South Korea with his family. The film focuses on how they resettle and get accustomed to their new life in South Korea as well as his love relationship with a North Korean girl whom later escapes to South Korea as well. I especially liked the beginning where they show you what life is like in the closeted North Korea, in Pyongyang, at least from the eyes of S. Koreans. I also like the actor Cha Seong Won alot cos he is really cute and manly and i watch alot of his films...AND there is a scene where he is in a white brief so you get to see his 'package' also....hehe.....you get to see alot of male nudity in Korean films...i've seen Yu ji-tae and Cho Seung Woo's butt in films before....they seem to have no problems at all....overall a nice film:)
I'm Hurting....心痛的感觉....つらかった...
frankly, the past 3 months has been difficult for me...extremely....alot of incidences have occurred which have thoroughly crippled and broken my spirit, my hopes, my self-worth....
I am recovering...... I lost hope, the most precious thing in life....but i will find it back...somehow.
Don't treat me like i am worthless cos i am not. Being treated like i am worthless doesn't mean treating me like i am worth nothing but instead, being worth LESS than other people which is where the word got its origins. Cos i am worth something. Or at least that's what i keep telling myself...I have no idea at all how in the world people can justify their unfair and heartless treatment, where is there conscience?? Perhaps they do not realise it, but thats no excuse. Cos if they were to truly care and treat me like other people, they would have realised.....
I've had to bear the unbearable and accept the unacceptable....but i will survive...:(
别令我觉得我是二等的。 因为我也会难过也会痛嘚。
我一向问心无愧. 可为何有人能如此的绝情. 我真的很痛嘚:(
Saturday, December 16, 2006
Moved to the City....搬家了.......引越しました.....
Anyways, BEST THING is its so cheap my rent...the cheapest i've lived in since coming to Oz....And i am moving to a bigger room with a view of the city on Jan 1st 2007 in the same apartment cos my housemate is moving out and i like her room better...its more expensive but the rent will be the same as the one i paid in the suburb so its ok...which means my current room rent is even CHEAPER than my suburban room in Artarmon!! Great deal heh?!! hahaha...
Anyways, my very 1st day of working life in a law firm starts next week Monday....it will last 3.5 mths in satisfaction of my legal work requirements for admission to practice on the bar but hope i get retained or am able to obtain another permanent job on completion. Going to court to present my plea for a client next week as part of my criminal law assessment...looking forward to the experience:):)
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Nanking Remembers: The 69th Anniv. of the Rape of Nanking.......南京、記得.....南京が覚えている
List of Nanking Massacre Victim Names
PLA Soldiers present wreaths of flowers in memory of the massacre victims at a ceremony in front of the Nanking Massacre Memorial Hall.
Today marks the 69th anniversary of the 'Rape of Nanking'. This refers to the Dec 1937 to Jan 1938 massacre of chinese civilians and soldiers in the former capital of China, Nanjing. About 300,000 Chinese and around 20,000-80,000 Chinese women were raped by invading Japanese forces. This massacre continues to remain a thorny issue between China and Japan, with the Chinese emphasizing it whenever the issue of Japanese invasion of China comes along and the Japanese seeking to downplay or some right-wing Japanese elements even seeking to deny it.
Below are some websites and articles related to the massacre. There are currently plans on a documentary and films commemorating the 'Rape' in time for the 70th Anniversary next year in 2007.
http://email@example.com (Nanking Massacre 69th anniversary)
http://nanking-bearing-witness.blogspot.com/ (nanking massacre blog) http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200612/14/eng20061214_332363.html (69th Nanking Massacre Anniversary)
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200612/13/eng20061213_332172.html (Nanking Massacre) http://www.nj1937.org/english/
http://www.nj1937.org/ (Official Nanking Massacre Memorial Hall website in English and Chinese)
http://www.nankingthefilm.com/ (AOL Vice-President-funded Documentary accepted for Sundance Film festival screening in Jan 2007)
Pic projects revisit Nanking massacre
Produce Green's $50 mil pic based on Chang's tome
By CLIFFORD COONAN
NANJING -- The 1937 invasion by Japanese troops of the city that was then China's capital was dubbed "The Rape of Nanking," with memories of that massacre still causing anguish to many Chinese. Now a slew of films will revisit the trauma.
The most high-profile is a $50 million-$60 million project being put together by producer Gerald Green's Viridian Entertainment and by the Jiangsu provincial government.
Based on Iris Chang's bestselling book "The Rape of Nanking," the pic is being penned by William Macdonald, creator of the epic HBO skein "Rome."
"Rape of Nanking" will look at the experiences of a Chinese family during the massacre. Green says preproduction is due to start in November, shooting in March and the planned release date is December 2007, the 70th anniversary of the invasion.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong director Stanley Tong, best known for his work on action movies with Jackie Chan, is working on "The Diary," which would also be released by the Dec. 13 anniversary of the invasion. Tong says the $40 million project, by his China Intl. Media Group, has received approval from Chinese film authorities and adds that coin would come from Germany, the U.S., Japan and China.
A documentary is also in the works. AOL vice prexy Ted Leonsis is reportedly taking more of a backseat role at his company to concentrate on "Nanking." The docu has already sold Chinese TV rights, and although he has yet to find a distributor in the U.S., Leonsis is getting it ready for Sundance.
Two other projects are in early planning stages. Transworld Pictures in London has been working on a project for three years, and executive producer Chris Stewart says it would be filmed in China with post-production in London, using a British writer.
Another project based on the novel "Nanking" by Kevin Kent is being developed.
Local media is buzzing with rumors about who will star in Gerald Green's version. Though everyone from Ziyi Zhang and Michelle Yeoh to Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep are being mentioned, Green insists that casting (either in China or the United States) has not started yet.
Tong told local media he has been gearing up for his project for five years and he wants Chow Yun-Fat, Maggie Cheung, Andy Lau and Norika Fujiwara to star.
The massacre remains a major obstacle to healthy relations with Japan. China says 300,000 Chinese people were slaughtered by invading Japanese soldiers in Nanjing; the 1948 Tokyo war crimes tribunal found Japanese troops killed 155,000 people. Beijing believes Japan has not done enough to atone for the invasion, while the Japanese are increasingly tired of being harangued over their wartime past.
With political relations between China and Japan still tense, the Chinese government is not averse to exploiting the propaganda value of the incident. One of the top films in China this year is "Tokyo Trials," about the post-war tribunals investigating Japanese war crimes.
Monkey Peaches Exclusive 14 Dec 2006:
Yesterday is the 69th anniversary of the fall of Nanking/Nanjing, then capital of China and the beginning of a weeks long massacre carried out by the Japanese force, which took the life of hundreds thousands of civilians and prisons of war. A ceremony was hold outside the city to mark the beginning of the set construction for The Rape of Nanking, based on the same title book by late author Iris Chang..The near US$40 million project is jointly produced by China's Jiangsu Cultural Industry Group and US-based Viridian Entertainment, with partial funding from the UK. The film will focus on how a group of foreign nationals helped protecting thousands of civilians during the massacre. The script is written by William J. MacDonald (Rome the TV series), who also serves as one of the project?s producers. The project is helmed by Simon West (Con Air, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, When a Stranger Calls). The cast list has not been finalized but the producers have hope Clint Eastwood, Meryl Streep, Michelle Yeoh and Zhang Ziyi to sign on. The set, which will occupy an area equal to about 7 and a half football fields, will include replicated buildings of the Nanjing City from the 1930s, including a city gate, a harbor, an embassy district, a women's school, residential houses and several major intersections. Shooting will start in spring next year and wrap by July. The release is aimed at December 2007.
Chinese director Lu Chuan (Kekexili: The Mountain Patrol, The Missing Gun), works as a consultant of The Rape of Nanking, is also planning his own Nanjing Massacre project, titled Nanjing! Nanjing!, which is also in serious pre-production. It is budgeted to cost about US$26 millions, which will be shared by China Film Group Corp., Beijing-based Stellar MegaMedia and Hong Kong-based Emperor Motion Pictures. The story will follow a Chinese soldier and a Japanese soldier?s stories during the massacre. A set, occupying an area equal to almost 28 football fields, will be constructed in Sichuan Province, near 800 miles west of Nanjing. Shooting is scheduled to begin next Spring and the release is also planned for December.
The third project, titled The Diary, is pushed by Hong Kong director Stanley Tong (The Myth, First Strike, Rumble in Bronx.). The story will begin in 1937, when Japan launched the full scale invasion against China and will end by 1946, the year dozens of Japanese war criminals were trialed in Tokyo. The investment, almost US$40 millions, will come from China, the US, Germany and Japan. Shooting is set to start by next March.
Issues remnant of World War 2 in Asia.....世界第二次大戦戦後問題....二戦残りの問題
The Manila Massacres:
I didn't know about this horrendous massacre until very recently and was horrified to know about it. It is a pity that not more publicity is given to this horrendous episode in Phillipine history and that many people including a Japan and Ww2 historian like myself didn't know about it until recently.
The Manila Massacre refers to the 100,000 filipino civilians killed by retreating Japanese troops as the Americans sought to recapture the capital in Feb 1945. The month long massacre by Japanese troops of filipino civilians was as a result of venting out demoralised attitudes and feelings as well as an attempt to use the filipinos as a human shield against the Americans.
Below is a Wikipedia page giving more detail on the massacre:
The Singapore 'Sook Ching' (Purge thru Purification):
This is a reference to the Feb- March 1942 massacre of around 50,000 Chinese men in Singapore when the Japanese occupying forces conducted a whole island screening when they took over Singapore officially on 15 feb 1942 to root out anti-japanese elements. Many men were simply driven off and shot at the beaches on mere suspicion of being anti-japanese with no concrete evidence whatsoever. The ex-PM of Singapore Lee Kuan Yew also records in his memoirs how he narrowly escaped them. The massacre was uncovered only after the war when war memoirs of many people corresponded and mass grave sites were uncovered revealing the horrible incident.
Below is a Wikipedia site giving more detail on the massacre:
Japanese War Orphans Left in China:
At the end of WW2, 1 million Japanese people were residing in Northeast China (previously known as Manchuria) as part of the then Japanese government's plan of populating the area with their own nationals so as to consolidate their control over it. At the end of the war in August 1945, when the Soviet troops invaded and occupied Manchuria, many Japanese were stranded and chaos reigned. About more than 500,000 Japanese soldiers were taken to Siberia to work in labour camps by the Soviets and Japanese civilians tried to make their way back home to Japan in the chaos. However, at that time, about 10,000 or so children and infants were abandoned by their japanese parents or were separated in the ensuing chaotic period or were simply handed over to Chinese adoptive parents by their Japanese parents whom thought that they would have a better chance of surviving if they were left with Chinese people. Their parents didn't even know if they could survive themselves even less so if their children would be able to and thus left them to Chinese adoptive parents. Thus, when China closed to the outside world with the Communist takeover in 1949, all hopes of recovering their children was lost. In the 80s, these parents and their children left behind in China made attempts to reestablish contact and many were successful. Many of these 'war orphans' were able to reunite with their biological parents. However, they have been experiencing difficulties with fitting in Japanese society given that they did not speak any Japanese and were brought up Chinese.
Below is an article on the 'Japanese War Orphan' issue.
EDITORIAL/ War-displaced Japanese 12/04/2006 (Asahi Shimbun)
Japanese abandoned as children in China at the end of World War II had long yearned to live in their home country with dignity. However, foot-dragging by the Japanese government delayed their return home. Not only that, the government was deficient in providing assistance so that these war-displaced Japanese could live independently since they settled here. The Kobe District Court recognized these facts in a group lawsuit filed by war-displaced Japanese and ordered the central government to pay more than 460 million yen in total compensation. This is the first victory for the plaintiffs among suits filed in 15 areas across the country. The plaintiffs are all advanced in years and anxious about their futures. We urge the government to accept the ruling and not appeal it. The lawsuit in question concerns Japanese who were left behind in Northeast China (former Manchuria) and raised by Chinese. The Japanese government finally began inviting them back to Japan in 1981 for identity verification, opening the path for them to return home. In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs slammed the government for not fulfilling its responsibility to protect its citizens. The Kobe District Court ruling squarely addressed that issue. The court said that Japanese who journeyed to the former Manchuria as farmers were not properly apprised of the war situation and were left unprotected in the postwar chaos. Thus, the court ruled, the postwar government had a political responsibility to provide relief to those war-displaced citizens. The court also pointed out that the government could have offered assistance by taking advantage of the normalization of diplomatic ties between Japan and China in 1972. However, the Japanese government did not acknowledge the war-displaced Japanese as its own citizens, treating them as non-Japanese and even requiring their relatives in Japan to act as guarantors if they wished to return to Japan. This caused the extensive delays in allowing them to permanently resettle here. The Kobe District Court determined that it was illegal to place restrictions on their return to Japan, and ordered the government to pay compensation of 100,000 yen for each month of delay. In addition, the court said the plaintiffs should be paid 6 million yen per person based on the fact that governmental financial support was less than the program for citizens abducted by North Korea. Of approximately 2,500 people who have returned to Japan, about 2,200 joined in the series of group lawsuits. Most cannot speak Japanese fluently due to a lack of government assistance, which has limited their job opportunities. The fact that more than 80 percent of those who returned have resorted to legal suits reflects how impoverished they are. Nearly 70 percent of all war-displaced Japanese who returned to Japan are living on welfare. They are eligible for a part of national pension payments, yet the amount they receive is only slightly more than 20,000 yen each month. The sum is deducted from their livelihood subsidies. The court ruling says the government must establish separate benefit and pension systems from the subsidy system so that these people have a means of support. We wholeheartedly agree with this decision. Diet members in the ruling coalition have set up a project team to study a benefit plan, but it has not made much progress. New legislation is needed to set up a program quickly. For those orphans who feel they were abandoned by their country twice--when Japan lost the war and then again after they returned home--the lawsuit has been a battle to regain their dignity as human beings. They are now happy to say that they have finally become Japanese again, and the government must not trample upon their sentiments. --The Asahi Shimbun, Dec. 2(IHT/Asahi: December 4,2006)


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A man was hospitalized after he was shot in the face in northwest Miami-Dade Thursday morning, police said.
The shooting happened shortly before 4 a.m. in the 500 block of Northwest 118th Street.
Authorities said the shooting happened during a confrontation between at least two men. The victim was rushed to Jackson Memorial Hospital where he was in an induced coma but was expected to survive, police said.
Witnesses said they saw a black Chevy Impala fleeing the scene. Several officers were at the scene early Thursday investigating the incident.
No other information was immediately known.
The shooting comes just a day after a man was shot in the face while riding a bicycle in Lauderdale Lakes. Authorities are still investigating that shooting.
Check back with NBC 6 South Florida and NBC6.com for updates.
Weird Stories:


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Is your business in need of a new HVAC unit or a repair on your air conditioning system? Ark A/C and Electrical emphasizes energy efficiency and longevity in all our services, and we are happy to help your business by performing any maintenance, installations, or repairs you need.
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When you call us, you can expect the best brands and prices, as well as our superior knowledge of choosing the best unit for your residential and commercial building. We work with each customer to come up with a customized solution for their heating and cooling installation needs. We help you choose best brands.
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Quality repair and maintenance is crucial to maintaining energy efficiency, low utility bills, and a long life for your HVAC system. We are trained to provide excellent services and repairs that keep your systems running at their best for years to come.
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Welcome to LSVE Services
As professional electrical contractors i offer a completely comprehensive service, specialising in the design, maintenance and repair of all your property's electrical installations. With years of experience, i have worked on many varied and diverse projects, catering my service for a host of clients throughout Oxfordshire, and i am highly skilled in domestic and commercial work.
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Ecosphere Closed Aquatic Ecosystem
[$50] / [£89]
If you ever wanted to build your own fishy version of North Korea, then the Ecosphere Enclosed Aquatic Ecosystem is the answer. This sphere contains a self-sustaining ecosystem of small shrimp, algae and bacteria who all eat each other's cack until they die in about two or three years. That's actually more like the Human Centipede, but anyway. All these creatures need are reasonable temperatures and light, job done. Just make sure you don't come home drunk one day and down an entire ecosystem when you're thirsty. This orb of marine-life wouldn't work nearly as well if there was like a cat inside, or a bit of a shark. But no, with these tiny creatures you can pretend you're whichever God you believe in. I named the leader of my shrimp colony Pilchard E Grant, with his sworn enemy the fearless Salmon Rushdie.


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Is the drug problem in America a criminal justice issue or a public health crisis? The answer to that question depends on who you ask. But more importantly, the answer to that question has huge implications for how Wisconsin and the federal government should be responding to drug abuse and drug offenses.
Reframing the conversation about what it means to be a criminal
Most of us consider ourselves to be law-abiding citizens. Indeed, very few of us would think of ourselves as "criminals," much less accept being labeled as one. But criminality is kind of a fluid concept, particularly in a country where so many behaviors are considered crimes.
Case raises issues of sexual consent among dementia patients
There's little debate about the fact that sex crimes are among the most reviled and taboo offenses a person can be accused of. In the court of public opinion, particular sex crimes are sometimes regarded as more heinous than murder. Unfortunately, this public hysteria too often makes it difficult to have the tough-but-necessary conversations about sex crimes - especially cases where the accused individual's guilt isn't necessarily clear.
Why solitary confinement for juvenile offenders needs to end
What duty do we owe to the men and women we incarcerate in the United States - or just here in Wisconsin? Most people might say that as law-abiding citizens, we owe no duty and bear no responsibility. An oft-repeated mantra says "don't do the crime if you can't do the time."
President Obama's federal drug reform efforts showing progress
The problems with state and federal drug laws and sentencing guidelines are well-documented. In the majority of states, including Wisconsin, African Americans are many times more likely to be arrested, prosecuted and imprisoned for non-violent drug crimes than whites are. Yet statistics show that the rate of drug use among African Americans is comparable to the rate among whites.


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By Bertil Hjert
It is important to examine that which you fear.
For so many of us, the fear creeps up and takes a hold. Suddenly, we feel our heart rate accelerate and our breathing become quicker.
We feel uncomfortable sensations coursing through our body and become even more frightened. We are so consumed by the physical manifestations of our anxiety or panic attack that we don't take the time to analyze what this sudden surge is all about.
Why are we feeling this way, what are we concerned about, and most importantly are our fears based on probabilities or remote possibilities?
We don´t take the time to analyze our attacks because who could possibly think about anything other than whether our body can survive this latest and greatest assault by our anxiety demon.
While it may seem impossible to analyze our fears away, you need to try to take the time to do it. Doing so begins with reminding yourself that your body and your mind can survive the physical manifestations of your anxiety symptoms.
You are not going to go into cardiac arrest.
You are not going to stop breathing.
You are not going to lose all sensations and feeling in your body.
If you've had more than one panic attack, this may be easier for you to tell yourself. You have already survived multiple panic attacks and while the episode may have been scary, you are none the worse for wear physically.
Your body was designed to have this happen; having an adrenaline surge is a natural response and one that your body can spring back from without difficulty.
Since you aren't going to die, you can actually take the time to analyze the basis of your panic attack or anxiety symptoms.
Usually, the trigger was building up over a course of hours, days or weeks.
In these times of economic turmoil, many of the panic attack triggers revolve around financial uncertainty.
A fear that you might lose your job, that you won't get hired somewhere else, that you won't have as many things, or that your family will be poor.
All of these worries are genuine but if you think about them more thoroughly you will realize the answer to all these potential pitfalls is SO WHAT!
If you are worried about losing your job or have already lost your job, this isn't a new found status. At some point in your earlier life you were unemployed.
You somehow managed to find a job once and you will do so again. So what if you don't have as many things or make as much money? Life and happiness are not based on possessions.
Some of the unhappiest people I know are also the richest. Money is not a guaranteed route to happiness and you shouldn't let it determine your self worth.
Having a high self worth or high self esteem is central to dealing with your anxiety problems.
People with high self confidence and a high regard for themselves and their abilities tend to have less problems with anxiety and panic. This makes intuitive sense but you can´t just conjure self esteem out of nowhere.
People with low self esteem tend to think of life in terms of what they don't have, rather than what they do have.
They aren't rich enough, smart enough, and pretty enough.
Building up your self esteem is a process but it is something that can certainly be accomplished and it will help you deal with your anxiety.
How do you enhance your self esteem? Here are some steps to boost your feelings of self worth and give your more confidence about your life.
1. Accept what bring to the table as well as your own limitations
This seems simple enough but so many people have a hard time doing it.
If you are 5'5″, you are not the next Lebron James, no matter how much you wish it were so.
If you can't carry a tune, you are not going to star in a musical on Broadway.
Accept your limitations and appreciate what you can do.
You may not be able to carry a tune but you may be a whiz in math or be an eloquent speaker, or have a sympathetic and understanding heart.
These are important abilities or traits that can be built upon to find your own niche in life.
2. Find Your Value
Appreciating what you bring to the table and your own abilities will help you find your value in this world.
You may not be indispensable on the basketball court, but you may be in the science lab or in the operating room, or educating children.
There are so many places where you can find pride and a feeling of self worth.
You don't have to have your name in lights to experience the appreciation of others and feel good about yourself and what you do.
3. Be Realistic About Your Goals
It´s important to dream big and set your sights high but you don´t want to set yourself up for disappointment.
You are not going to become a CEO of a Fortune 500 company in one year.
However, you might be able to get a job at one and work your way up.
4. Work Hard and Feel Good about Your Accomplishments
Working hard reaps rewards. Its just the simple truth, you get places and get noticed when you put the extra effort in.
When you do get recognition, appreciate it and celebrate it.
Celebrating your accomplishments is a great way to build up self esteem.
Recognizing that you earned that promotion, that raise or that congratulatory pat on the back is an important part of feeling good about yourself and reducing any anxiety you might be experiencing as you work towards your goals.
5. Remember You Are Special
This isn´t just some hokey line, it´s the truth. Each of us brings something special and unique to this world.
If you have children, all you have to do is look into their eyes to realize how special you are.
Let your whole life, not just your job, determine how you feel about yourself.
Believe in your ability to accomplish what you desire and beat back that anxiety and panicky feeling that threatens to undermine your happiness.
See more articles by Bertil Hjert.
Bertil Hjert is author of the Panic Goodbye program.
This program includes 7 eBooks about relieving Panic and Anxiety Attacks, Agoraphobia, OCD, and Social Phobia; using Abdominal Breathing & Meditation, Body & Mind relaxation, Yoga & Progressive Muscle Relaxation.
building self confidence, celebrity and personal growth, self esteem confidence, anxiety relief programs


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