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24 comments:
- Katie @ minivan diva, August 15, 2011 at 10:20 AM
I love every single one of these!
- Anonymous, August 15, 2011 at 10:50 AM
The wine rack is a stunning idea!! Also loved the pull drawer type storage.. We decided to keep this area empty.. simply coz the more storage space I have.. the more junk I tend to collect.. so we've kept a Buddha fountain below our stairs.. Its not the best.. but will do for now.. :-)
- A room with a view, August 15, 2011 at 3:13 PM
Amazing pics-all such inspiring ideas - really there are so many options for this space!
- Stephanie, August 16, 2011 at 9:03 AM
Hi there!
I'm stopping by from the hop and am your newest follower! I'm so glad I dropped by - your posts are exactly what the design/creativity addict in my desires! :) I look forward to following you! :)
I LOVE storage staircases. I have a few pics very similar to this on one of my Pinterest boards. I'd LOVE to be able to do this to our stairs one day.
If you'd like to stop by, I'd love to have you at http://gumdroppass.blogspot.com
- kristie@thedecorologist, August 16, 2011 at 1:41 PM
Great ideas! I've never seen a bed under the stairs, but I like it!!!
- notyet100, August 16, 2011 at 5:00 PM
Awesome idea,luved the bed pic
- Studio Mommy, August 16, 2011 at 7:19 PM
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- Sanghamitra Bhattacherjee(Mukherjee), August 16, 2011 at 9:20 PM
I always enjoy my time on your lovely space. Awesome idea! Thanks for sharing.
Hope to see you on my blog:)
- Upscale Downhome, August 18, 2011 at 3:56 PM
Fun post--makes me think of Harry Potter and his room under the stairs. I adore so many of the pictures. The drawers and storage are great but I think the bed would be so fun to sleep in. Love it!
- Unknown, August 21, 2011 at 11:03 PM
my God this is wonderful...
- cheap flapper dresses, March 14, 2013 at 1:41 AM
utilize the space under the staircase, that is amzing idea.
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First I'd like to thank Christie for inviting me to come in today. I'm glad to be here and happy to share my thoughts on overcoming doubt and how I keep moving forward.
The very biggest, largest, hugest, oh-my-gosh-keep-this-in-mind thing that keeps me going is…DON'T LET OTHER PEOPLE'S OPINION GET TO YOU! I can't say that enough and can't even possibly begin to convey how important that is and how much I live by that saying.
I never want to find out what it's like to sit at the computer and question every sentence I put down. I figured out long ago that no matter how much I tinker, it will never, ever be perfect to everyone. What I write, I write for myself, to make myself happy. What I hope to happen is to find somebody else (mainly somebody who can send my book to the shelves) who loves my story just as much as me. I've never chased trends or tried to write something I don't enjoy reading. Writing what I love keeps me happy about what I'm doing. It pushes me to reach publication to find those readers who will fall in love with my story.
It's not easy sometimes. Especially when you get that honest to god contest feedback. I've been told not once, but twice by contest judges that they don't think English is my first language. I've also been told I string sentences together awkwardly and I've got my *insert grammar word that I don't understand* in the wrong place and mixed with *insert another grammar word that I don't understand*. I've been told I should invest in a grammar book (think there might be some truth to that suggestion?). Apparently I use my words wrong and no editor or agent would read past the first couple pages until I start using words properly.
I don't let those things—those opinions, bother me. You shouldn't either. Look at your critiques for they are—suggestions to help your story. If the suggestion rings with me and makes me want to slap my forehead, then I make the change. Every critique you get should come with some positive feedback. If it doesn't, ignore that critique. If they didn't have anything nice to say, then they just didn't like your story. And that's okay, because that just happens sometimes. Do you like every story you've came up against? Heck no, so why put that demand on yourself? Want an example? I entered the same story (with no changes made to the entry) in two different contests. Contest A I completely and utterly bombed in. When I say bombed, I was in the bottom of half of 40 or so entrants. Contest B, I'm a finalist and my entry is sitting with Berkley right now.
This is why you can't let other's opinions get to you. Because it's just an opinion. And that's it. It all goes back to that one person's trash is another's treasure. Doubting is one slippery slope. Don't look at that road. Don't think about that road. I wouldn't touch that road with a 100 foot pole. You get on that road and it's one heck of a climb to come off. It's full of rocks, thorns, deadly snakes, and the nastiest, creepiest bugs you could ever imagine. Like I said, I wouldn't go near that road.
Publishing is hard enough as it is right now, don't make it worse by becoming a Doubter. Before you even think about sending your work out, go grab you an extra suit of skin (don't forget those big girl panties!), put it on, and then get busy with your writing career. Just sitting at the computer and typing won't get you anywhere but a drawer full of manuscripts. Put yourself out there. Submit your work. Be prepared to learn. I write fairly fast, and I typically write two stories at once, so it seems like I'm always involved with the query process. I send out five or so queries, wait for what comes back and then send out another five or so. I have specific agents I target first and after I've exhausted that list, I start looking at publishers.
If you want to get somewhere in this business (and I do), you got to bust your backside. You got to want it and you got to want it bad, buddy. When one rejection rolls in, start looking at where you want the next submission to go. After that, get on that next chapter of that next story. Don't stop. Don't give yourself a moment to eat a gallon of ice cream and have yourself thinking, maybe this isn't the place for me.
Publishing if full of rejection. As an unpublished writer, I face that rejection every day and I know that it will never end even after I'm published. If it's not an agent or editor rejecting my work, then it's going to be a reader crapping all over my book. Be prepared to take whatever might come back. If you don't think you can handle someone calling your baby ugly just yet, then you might want to hold off on sending that work out.
Don't let someone's comment crush your dream. NOBODY has that the right to do that. I've always carried the thought that if you reach for the stars, you just might land on the moon. And getting on the moon would pretty freaking cool to me.
Keri Ford has been actively chasing her publishing dream for 3 ½ years. She maintains a website (www.keriford.com) and you can catch her at her new blog, www.EverybodyNeedsALittleRomance.com –be sure to stop by in December for prizes!! She also participates with RomanticInks (www.romanticinks.com/blog) on Sunday.
Sunday, November 09, 2008
Keep On Keeping On
First I'd like to thank Christie for inviting me to come in today. I'm glad to be here and happy to share my thoughts on overcoming doubt and how I keep moving forward.
Posted by Christie Craig at 5:45 AM
11 comments:
- Christie Craig said...
Hi Keri,
Thanks so much for guest blogging. You know, one of the comments I always add to my notes when judging a contests is to remember this is just one person's opinion.
We have to remember that.
Thanks again.
- November 9, 2008 at 7:34 AM
- Keri Ford said...
Thanks for letting me be here! I know what you mean about that, it's just one person's opinion thing. That's so good of you to leave that comment!
There really are some great contest judges out there. Even when I've gotten some terrible to hear news, some seem to deliever it in the nicest way. After all, they're only trying to help. It's up to the writer to take those comments to their keyboard and keep them FAR FAR AWAY from their heart!
- November 9, 2008 at 7:39 AM
Howdy Keri! I can attest to your determination to succeed in this profession...as well as your improvement in your writing! :)
As far as critiques and comments on your writing, I KNOW you take all my comments as gospel, right? LOL
- November 9, 2008 at 9:34 AM
- Keri Ford said...
Hey, Cyndi. Think I could win an Best Imporver of the year award? THAT should be added to the RITA list.
And yeah, of course I take all your suggestions. Then I have someone to blame when I get those rejections. :O)
Thanks for coming by.
- November 9, 2008 at 10:23 AM
Your comments about perserverance are so true. Even published authors get rejections. Continue to send out queries and keep on...keeping on... I'm one of your fans!
- November 9, 2008 at 11:27 AM
- Keri Ford said...
Hey, jj. Don't worry about me! They'll have to pull my submission letters out of my cold dead hands before I give up!
Thanks for stopping!
- November 9, 2008 at 2:14 PM
Hi, Keri,
Great post, and it's so true. Perservance is key when it comes to the publishing business. Best of luck to you. I'm sure we'll be seeing your name on the bookshelves soon!
- November 9, 2008 at 2:56 PM
- Keri Ford said...
Hi, Faye, I hope you're right! thanks for stopping in.
- November 9, 2008 at 4:04 PM
- Gemma Halliday said...
Great post, Keri!! I totally agree - perseverances is so important. Just like the best way to get over a guy is to go out on a date with someone new, the best way to get over a rejection is to send out a submission. :)
- November 10, 2008 at 1:46 PM
- Keri Ford said...
And Gemma, if you've been a very good girl, while you're out with a very new hot guy with you looking totaly Fab, just maybe you'll see that ex with a drunk on his arm!
- November 10, 2008 at 3:05 PM
- Donnell Ann Bell said...
Keri, you're my hero. What awesome advice. You know why you'll make it because you're fearless. I'm forwarding this link. Talk about inspirational. Good luck with Berkley!
- December 7, 2008 at 9:42 PM

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Summer Reading: Time to Play Catch Up
on August 2, 2016
What is it about summer that makes us feel like we finally have the time to catch up on all the good books we didn't get to over the past year? Is it the sun showing up a tad after 6 a.m.? Or, the sun not setting until almost 9? Is it having almost 14… Read More


text:
Conservation and Environment in Mexico: Monthly Updates
Conservation in Mexico - Monthly Update March 2009
Entering in a boat into a lagoon that is infested of crocodiles in the middle of the night sounds a lot like what the regular folk would call their "worst nightmare", but once or twice a year, just before the crocodile mating season start by the dark given by a new moon, we take the duty of monitoring the local population that inhabits the lagoon that surrounds the crocodile farm.
Armed only with paddles a notebook and our torches, we entered the lagoon just as the sun goes down, the whole idea is kind of surreal as you enter and start spotting the bright eyes from the crocodiles reflecting your own light. We take this task to estimate the population, this time the crocodiles were not really cooperative and we could only count around 18, in statistics, you take this number and you multiply it per 10 according to a table, this gives you an approximate of the number of specimens that live in the area, we also could collect three 1 year old crocodiles that were living on their own in the lagoon, it is quite complicated to remove them from the lagoon. As we know, one of the main goals of the project itself is to reintroduce crocodiles into the wild, but since the area where this little ones are is rather small and the local population is way more developed than them, their chances of survival get reduced dramatically, it was imperative to take them to a controlled area where once surpassing a quarantine, will be introduced to a population of their same size where they will be fed regularly increasing their chances for development and survival exponentially.
The infrastructure development in the project is reaching the final stages, and is due to be on total operation by the beginning of April; the area is due to become one of the most important eco tourist developments in the state and we are really proud of the work we engage there and to be a part of it.
The Turtle Camp at the moment is in constant movement, as we have to have everything ready before the rains come giving the mark for the beginning of the high season, the patrols are still constant, and the quantity of nests we collect is significant one, if you take notice that this kind of data is not "officially" collected anywhere else, the 120 nests we collected in January create a data that is of high importance. Nevertheless the work in camp is still hard and repairing nets, giving maintenance to our incubation areas, painting and fixing is as important as the work we engage at night, this type of tasks are the ones that will definitely make a difference when the high numbers of turtles start to come out.
Oliver Garcia
Conservation Director
March 2009
Projects Abroad


text:
This is Part 3 in a three-part series. To read Part 1, click here. To read Part 2, click here.
Which has greater value: 18 ponchos or more hours of time with the people we love? To a woman living in a poor South American village, it was the time. It isn't clear which held greater value to the group of Peace Corps workers. It would be poetically beautiful if they walked away with a revolutionary new understanding of work and the reasons we do it. Of course, they just as easily could have left the woman's house thinking, "How stupid was she?"
The world has lost perspective. We've devoted ourselves to the pursuit of greater efficiency and increased production apparently without giving thought to why such a pursuit serves our own interests. We're quite literally asking the wrong questions, each based on a faulty assumption.
We ask everyday variations of the question, "Where can we find the resources to maintain our current rate of consumption?"
1. "Where can we find the food to allow us to continue eating the same amount?"
2. "Where can we find the gas so all our cars can stay on the road?"
3. "Where can we find the wood and stone so we can build bigger houses?"
We ask these things without first verifying that they're even necessary. In effect, we seek more food without ever asking ourselves if we're hungry. Corporations have been built, self-help books written, and an army of young workers raised to continue the wanton growth we've come to believe is necessary for civilization to flourish. We've done so in vain and the results will be far different than expected.
Manfred Max-Neef, the Chilean economist who recounted the story of the woman who made ponchos to support her family, spoke on this topic in his interview with Amy Goodman, drawing a distinction between growth and development:
"Growth is a quantitative accumulation. Development is the liberation of creative possibilities. Every living system in nature grows up to a certain point and stops growing. You are not growing anymore, nor he nor me. But we continue developing ourselves. Otherwise we wouldn't be dialoguing here now. So development has no limits. Growth has limits. And that is a very big thing, you know, that economists and politicians don't understand. They are obsessed with the fetish of economic growth."
Humanity has given itself over to greed, a greed which neither satisfies its seminal cause nor accomplishes its declared end. What's more, the First World stands poised to repeat the mistakes of empires past by allowing its greed to create an unsustainable reality which will lead to inevitable decline.
Max-Neef sees this possibility as well:
"I'm the author of a famous hypothesis, the threshold hypothesis, which says that in every society there is a period in which economic growth, conventionally understood or no, brings about an improvement of the quality of life. But only up to a point, the threshold point, beyond which, if there is more growth, quality of life begins to decline….
"I mean, your country is the most dramatic example that you can find. I have gone as far as saying — and this is a chapter of a book of mine that is published next month in England, the title of which is Economics Unmasked. There is a chapter called 'The United States, an Underdeveloping Nation,' which is a new category. We have developed, underdeveloped and developing. Now you have underdeveloping. And your country is an example, in which the one percent of the Americans, you know, are doing better and better and better, and the 99 percent is going down, in all sorts of manifestations."
There will come a point when humanity will be forced to ask itself where it has been going. It's a simple question, really: Where are you going? Yet, in a wide-spectrum view of all people, it's impossible to answer. The mistake that so many have made is to believe that work is a journey to a particular destination. The reckless rat race for boundless efficiency and productivity will lead only to ruin, which is why we must, as a civilization, reexamine the reasons we work and pursue wealth.
Resources are not limitless and the day will come when all Men will be forced to acknowledge that our current model of civilization will not last forever. Unless we come to that realization now and make the necessary changes to ensure that we have sustainable prosperity, we will be taking a plunge into the unknown, one from which we may not return.
Human beings were not created to be cogs in some vast economic machine. The mere notion of regarding humans as "capital" is offensive to their divine nature and a flagrant disregard of the underlying reasons people live and work. We do not live to work; we work to live. Once we've planted that realization in our hearts, it might just begin to make sense to us why a little woman in a remote village saw greater value in more time spent with those she loved than in 18 extra ponchos.


text:
Over the weekend, we had over a foot of freshly fallen snow covering everything outside in a soft white blanket. Cold and snowy outside, a warm kitchen inside with slow-baked ribs, beer and bourbon bbq sauce, cast-iron skillet cornbread for dinner, a cozy evening playing Monopoly with Jamie... it was a perfect evening. Aside from the fact that I lost all my money and all my properties, and the financial losses of the game started to feel just a little too real. Yes, it was just a game, thank goodness. Silly of me to feel stressed over it.
The next morning, the sun peeked through the clouds, illuminating all the snow. Since the coffee table was covered with Monopoly stuff and the kitchen table covered with recipes and ingredients for Super Bowl party food the next day, we had a little breakfast picnic on the carpet.
Before I started learning how to cook, a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios with a sliced banana (or peach, when they were in season), was one of my cheap and easy go-to dinners. Not very exciting, but it was what I could afford at the time, along with endless bowls of Ramen noodles. We don't often buy cereal, and I was thinking about those cheerios with bananas when I decided to come up with a muffin that incorporated all those flavors.
Bananas, roasted in their peels until soft and the flavor deepened. Chopped almonds. Honey to sweeten them up. These really were some of the best banana muffins I've ever had. Totally delicious on their own, and even better with a little Nutella.
What could be better than a breakfast picnic with these muffins the morning after a blizzard?
Roasted Banana Honey Nut Muffins
printable recipe
- 2 ripe bananas
- 1/2 cup honey or agave nectar
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil (I use "Smart Balance")
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup all-purpose flour (or whole wheat)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 cup chopped (toasted, optional) almonds
- 1/4 cup sliced almonds
Preheat the oven to 400. Place the bananas, in their peels, on a baking sheet. Roast for 20 minutes, turning once (the peels will turn black, and the insides will be very soft). Set aside to cool slightly and reduce the oven temperature to 350.
When the bananas are cool enough to handle, remove the peel and mash the flesh. Whisk together the mashed bananas with the honey, oil, egg and vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir just until moistened. Stir in the chopped almonds.
Fill six muffin cups (greased or lined with muffin papers) - they will be full almost to the top. Sprinkle the top of the batter with the sliced almonds.
Bake for 21-23 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then remove and cool on a wire rack. Serve warm, plain or with honey or nutella.
Yields 6 muffins.
(Weight Watchers Points Plus Value: 9 points per muffin)
Recipe from Curly Girl Kitchen.


text:
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text:
Beauty Is Truth (and Science)
Podcast Transcription
Steve: Welcome to Science Talk, the weekly Podcast of Scientific American posted on May 11th, 2009. I'm Steve Mirsky. This week we'll talk about the science of beauty, which in the case at hand is mostly the science of skin. We'll talk with a couple of researchers from Procter & Gamble who work on skin issues. Plus, we'll test your knowledge about some recent science in the news.
ScientificAmerican.com this week features an In-Depth Report on the science of beauty. A group of SciAm staffers recently met with Procter & Gamble scientists Greg Hildebrandt and Jay Tiesman, who work with dermatologists on skin care products. You know, we mostly talk to academic researchers on the podcast, so in addition to the immediate subject of beauty, this is an opportunity to hear what life is like for the many scientists who work in industry. We wound up talking for more than 90 minutes, and I've edited that down to about 15 minutes of the most compelling material. In addition to me, you'll hear questions from Scientific American's Ivan Oransky, Peter Brown and Lisa Stein. The first voice you hear is Procter & Gamble's Greg Hillebrand.
Hillebrand: I'm a biochemist and I've been working in the skin aging area for most of my career, 22 years at P&G. We have had a very good understanding of the changes in the skin with age from a visible standpoint. Of course, we get lines and wrinkles and spots and that stuff, and we've got very sophisticated ways of measuring those changes and understanding how things happen over the course of a lifetime. But now more recently, we've got the tools to understand at the molecular level what's going [on] in the skin, and these expression genomics or transcriptomics are the, kind of, the way in which we're doing that; and that's Jay's forte here. So I think, you know, my particular expertise is more in the clinical side of aging and beauty and then Jay brings more the molecular aspects and so...
Steve: ... So, [in a nutshell] you're looking at expression levels of mRNA in different skin conditions of aging.
Hillebrand: Exactly.
Tiesman: Exactly, that's correct.
Hillebrand: Young skin versus old skin and photo-damaged skin versus sun-protected skin and looking at the expression of various metabolic pathways in the two different skin types.
Tiesman: The whole point of it is that [it's] now [it's], whenever we talk to people or not—we know obviously you're familiar with the gene expression profiling. We've worked with beauty organizations since the late '90s and doing some gene expression
or been[and] trying to understand skin biology and all that. But actually brining it around to having it come out as, you know, information that went into that early investment coming out as a product kind of rounds that story [out].
Oransky: And is this something that has either gotten started since or accelerated since human genome project or is this something that has been around?
Tiesman: It started relatively early; it has accelerated drastically obviously since the human genome project. You know, we were some early adopters of microarray technologies. We've been using the Affy technology since about '98 or '99
Oransky: Is [that] the Affymetrix?
Tiesman: Affymetrix, yeah. The Affymetrix GeneChip and so we've working with them for a number of years; and we've actually done tens of thousands of GeneChips. You know, there is a lot of pharma groups that have done quite a bit, but we actually have a little bit of a different slant than what a lot of [the] pharma organizations have.
Oransky: And you're mostly interested, this probably varies by what you're looking at, but you're mostly interested in what gene expressions [is] happening in the human cells you're looking at or are there things growing on us that?
Tiesman: Actually, yeah there is both. We're interested in both. Obviously the Malassezia globosa study gave you a great example [of] our interest in dandruff. Yeah. You know, we're using the GeneChip technology; one of the things that we used here is to understand you know skin aging process. So we're looking at clinical populations of young skin versus old skin, photo-damaged, young and old skin versus non-sun-exposed young and old skin and trying to gain a molecular understanding of the pathways
than[and] the mechanisms involved in those. [And] we also are involved in understanding, you know, the host pathogen interaction and a good example of that is the dandruff work that we're doing. We've also done a lot of work, you know, uncovering the molecular basis of the fungus, and we've also done a lot of work trying to understand how the human scalp responds when it is infected with the fungus. And you know, host path—there is a couple things that are fundamental to our experimental programs. Number one is we have a lot of expertise in epithelial biology. If you think of a lot of P&G products, they impact the skin; you know, even our laundry care can impact your skin, but you know, we have our beauty group, our hair group, our feminine care group; even, you know, it's the skin on the inside and the outside gastrointestinal [and] respiratory and oral care. So we have a pretty deep epithelial biology expertise. [But] we also have a great interest in the host microbial interactions, as well.
Brown: Do you guys publish in the dermatological journals as well as all trade secret type of work or do you...?
Hillebrand: ...We publish in the derm journals and present at the derm meetings and, you know, as an industrial scientist that's always kind of a frustration for us because we have our academic roots; and so, yeah, we do publish...
Tiesman: Yeah
Hillebrand: ... and present at the major meetings.
Tiesman: Right, and we've just recently had our respiratory care study [was] published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care. We just have our oral care study looking [at] experiments o[n] gingivitis was just submitted to the journal Periodontology, and so there are a lot of other journals that we do as well; and then obviously [the] Malassezia was in PNAS.
Stein: So what did you find out? I guess, you got all these creams; you got a million creams on the market; you slather them on, okay, [but] they're not really doing anything. So what is different about this?
Hillebrand: I want to tell you...
Tiesman: That's a good thing you said [that].
Hillebrand: When we leave today, I'm going to remove the doubt in your mind that these don't do anything.
Stein: What are you going to [give]
do me a face[lift]?
Stein: Okay. Yeah, tell me how, so it is in the genes,—you know, you got the good genes, so you know, your grandma looks good; God help you [if] she looks like she was run over by a [Mack] truck. What are all these creams going to do? And what's better, you know, if you're just putting it on the skin, sort of burning off a layer of skin and getting what's underneath, you know.
Tiesman: Right, obviously there was a combination right, so there is the genetics and then there is where, if you have the good genes, you're gonna [have] good skin. There's the environment, where obviously UV is a major aspect of that, but there is a lot in between as well, and there is a lot of room to understand the mechanisms, how the environment and the genes interact and trying to understand pathways that can lead to skin wrinkling or that can lead to areas like that.
Hillebrand: I think I'll give one example. In the epidermis stratum corneum, you know—and that's the protective barrier that prevents water from escaping, otherwise we'd all dehydrate in about 10 minutes—also prevents the nasty bugs from entering and anything else from getting into our body. Well that barrier is composed of bricks-and-mortar types of structures with proteinaceous squamous and the lipid cement and one of the aspects that came out of the old skin-young skin study was that the enzymes involved in cholesterol biosynthesis were coordinately down-regulated in the old skin versus the young skin. That was very interesting. It wasn't like some were down-regulated and some were up-regulated; there was a coordinate down-regulation of cholesterol biosynthesis.
Steve: So it means there's not enough cholesterol.
Tiesman: That's exactly it, yeah.
Hillebrand: And that makes up about 25 percent of the mortar that builds the brick-and-mortar stratum corneum. You know, then a screening study program was done to try to identify agents that could help to take the lipid biosynthetic pathway of older skin care tenor sites to make them produce more cholesterol. And one of the actives that came out of that was hexamidine; and then that was put into one of the products, the hydrafirming cream here and its ability to repair the barrier function was proven in a clinical study. So, the cycle goes, like: genomics, identify the targets, identify actives that are aimed at those targets, formulate them in the products, prove their clinical efficacy and then, you know, publish and then we see this as a cycle.
Tiesman: Right.
Steve: Clinical efficacy based on cholesterol levels or based on objective views of the skin.
Hillebrand: Well, both visual assessments, a bit dependent on what we're looking for, okay, and we have recently completed a study where we focused on fine lines and wrinkles, but simultaneously we also measured the barrier function using what's called transepidermal water loss, which is the escape of water through the skin; and after six months, [it was a] six-month study, there was a significant improvement of the barrier function after six months.
Steve: Do we know that the cholesterol was what's actually involved in the improvement though? [Have] you measured the actual cholesterol levels?
Hillebrand: We have not. We have taken, though—and this work is in progress—tape strips of the subject's stratum corneum from the face, where they were treated and those are going through the genomics expression profiling. So that work closes the loop on that cycle, and that's work that's in progress, [and]...Oransky: Where is that by the way?
Tiesman: The RNA is about half isolated. It's a lot of clinical samples and its tape strips on faces, and so it's difficult to get, but the RNA is about half isolated.
Steve: You want to know that the mechanism you think you are working with is actually the one that's happening, right?
Tiesman: Oh absolutely sure! You bet, and obviously with the tape strips, we're just getting some superficial epithelial layers, we did not do biopsies; and so we'll get some information about what's going on at that top layer.
Oransky: You probably work with academic medical centers to do these or do you, you know, do them in-house?
Hillebrand: It's a combination.
Oransky: This is something where I go to clinical trials or go over something, and I say what do you say, you say free face cream or what do you say that...?
Tiesman: To get people to come?
Oransky: Ugly people?
Hillebrand: Do you mean for the registered trials?
Oransky: How do you approve?
Hillebrand: That's a good point. This you mean, how do you find out more about this study or?
Oransky: I mean, where somebody...
Tiesman: How do you recruit people?
Oransky: How do you recruit people?
Hillebrand: Ah! Recruiting.
Oransky: You know, age your skin.
Steve: You know, you ride the New York City subways and you
can see these ads, you know.
Tiesman: We have multiple ads in our local newspapers. I've seen them, and I said, I know that's a for a P&G study.
Hillebrand: Yeah, radio...
Tiesman: So, there is a lot of recruiting like that radio, TV.
Hillebrand: And then they come in and they go through our clinical grading to see if they meet certain you know inclusion and exclusion criteria in the questionnaire.
Oransky: And you are dealing mostly with healthy people in those trials once they get to phase III or not; you know, phase I trial, it should be healthy people, but those are very small; but you are actually you know testing some of the unhealthy people so that's a basic question of you know, I'm just curious about how that differs from trials that people are you know, really kind of desperate to get into and if you have a terminal cancer where there is no treatment and you want to be in a trial, how do you...
Tiesman: We pay them; paid clinical subjects, correct?
Steve: Anyone who caught last week's episode of 30 Rock knows that members of different racial groups may appear to age at different rates because of the different properties of the skin. Our diverse staff brought that subject up with the P&G researchers.
Hillebrand: For fine lines and wrinkles, there probably is not any difference between whites and blacks and Asians. Only the onset time, you know, when they start to see the appearance of these problems. They were delayed because they have been afforded the protection of about an SPF between 2 and 4.
Steve: Right.
Hillebrand: From their inherent melanin concentration, perceptibility of some of these problems like wrinkles and fine lines might be more difficult to see because of the dark background, basically. Because you are looking at shadows, so shadows on a dark background are harder to see and, you know, we do a three dimensional analysis too. You know, I've done quite a bit of studies on the epidemiology of aging in different ethnicities around the world and looked at big, wide age ranges and the African-Americans are delayed significantly versus Caucasians and then the Asians also, you know, had really, really good skin too for any given age. They're fortunate, they get about a decade or so of time before, you know, their wrinkles start to show up.
Brown: So SPF 2 to 4 is worth a decade.
Hillebrand: Well, I think, it's hard to estimate exactly how much that's worth.
Tiesman: Yeah, there may be other factors as well. SPF might help.
Brown: You mean like heart disease or something?
Steve: No, no, I mean there might be other factors within the skin itself that might be inherently higher cholesterol level, and I mean I'm just [throwing stuff out there] but there could be multiple factors.
Hillebrand: [A] genetics-based [study] comparing the aging of [a] population of women who lived in northern than Japan versus a population that lived in southern Japan—and what I love about Japan is that there is this homogeneity of the population—the differences in the UV beam reaching the earth in northern Japan versus southern Japan was 1.5 difference; and you can equate that directly into a SPF of 1.5. And there was significantly less wrinkling in the northern group, and it was visibly less, than in the southern group. And I could tell you that the number of years difference for 1.5, I think in wrinkles was, like about eight; now that's a published paper. [It's] about eight years.
Steve: Some of the skin studies wind up leading to more internal research.
Tiesman: There is the respiratory study that we've done, where we infected college students who volunteered to be infected with rhinovirus and we did a nasal scraping.
Stein: How much did you pay them for that?
Tiesman: I don't recall how much it was. Enough [for] beer money for awhile, right.
Stein: Right, that's all that they care [about].
Tiesman: It was at the University of Virginia, actually. I was down there when they were conducting those studies, and so we did nasal scrapings, and we were checking how the nasal epithelium was responding to be infected with the rhinovirus identified.
Stein: Did you come up with something that would actually work?
Tiesman: Well, actually, yeah. We found, really, there was this overresponse that the rhinovirus has been really, you know, its relatively mundane virus, but your body doesn't seem to know that. It's just attacking it's like [it's] HIV.
Stein: So it overreacts like an autoimmune [response]?
Tiesman: It does.
Hillebrand: These viruses are closely related to some pretty nasty things.
Tiesman: Exactly, exactly. So your body can't tell. So what's really happening is you're getting this big overreaction. So if there is ways that we can either pre-prime your body so that it doesn't overreact in such a way, or somehow alleviate those symptoms of that over-reaction then we think that it might lead to new stuff for a fix. We see a lot of changes in the immune-specific markers either because of recruitment of immune progenitors—you know, you could have, you know, macrophage recruitment or something along those lines; or we could actually see some changes in, for instance, interleukins, specifically when the epithelial cells are changing. So it depends on which study we perform, but you can actually see, you are either sending our signals to recruit immune components or your gene expression is changed because you actually recruit in the immune components. [We're] trying to dissect that part out; [we're] trying to figure our what's the SOS signals and what's the response of those signals. We were really not studying the rhinovirus itself, but we were studying the host effect, the host response of the rhinoviral infection; and so we're hoping that will alleviate symptoms of the infection as opposed to fighting the actual virus.
Steve: For more about the kinds of scientific research going on at Procter & Gamble, just go to www.pg.com/science.
Now its time to play TOTALL....... Y BOGUS. Here are four science stories; only three are true. See if you know which story is TOTALL....... Y BOGUS.
Story number 1: Moderate alcohol intake can make your mind wander, while at the same time making you unaware that your mind is wandering.
Story number 2: Researchers have found a gene strongly associated with narcolepsy, where you just, kind of, fall asleep at any time.
Story number 3: Rather than increase the trafficking of precious archaeological finds as some feared, the advent of eBay has actually lowered high-end antiquities trafficking.
And story number 4: An analysis of the foot bones of the extinct tiny hobbit people of [the] island Flores shows that they could have probably outrun all but the most accomplished modern human marathoners.
Time is up.
Story number 1 is true. A study published in the journal Psychological Science finds that a moderate dose of alcohol can make your mind wander and reduce the likelihood that you'll realize that your mind is wandering. Technically, this is called impairment of meta consciousness also known as smashed, bombed or wasted. The study had men who had who had consumed alcohol reading passages from War and Peace seriously. And then something happened and then I was working on this podcast and anyway....
Story number 2 is true. A gene strongly associated with narcolepsy was identified by researchers at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, who published in the journal Nature Genetics. The gene has a known role in the immune system, which suggests that narcolepsy may have an autoimmunity component.
[And] story number 3 is true. eBay has lowered high-end antiquity's trafficking because it has encouraged a booming fake antiquities market at low prices. For more check out the May 6th episode of the daily SciAm podcast, 60-Second Science.
All of which means that story number 4 about the Flores hobbits being great long distance runners is TOTALL....... Y BOGUS, because an analysis of the foot bones shows that parts of them are more similar to other great apes than to Homo sapiens which means they would have been lousy marathoners. That's according to
a research published in the journal Nature, which features the hobbit's skeleton on its latest cover. Hobbits would also have had trouble officially finishing marathons because they would have had to jump way up in the air to break the tape as they cross the finish line.
Well, that's it for this edition of Scientific American's Science Talk. Check out www.SciAm.com for the latest science news, the In-Depth Report on the science of beauty and our In-Depth Report on the science of Star Trek. I saw the new movie on Sunday, and it's awesome. For Science Talk, I'm Steve Mirsky. Thanks for clicking on us.
Procter & Gamble scientists Greg Hillebrand and Jay Tiesman talk about scientific research related to beauty products and cosmetics. Plus, we'll test your knowledge of some recent science in the news. Web sites related to this episode include www.pg.com/science


text:
Closing The Opportunity Gap
Thank you for that generous introduction, Dennis [Van Roekel].
One of the most extraordinary opportunities in my job is that I get to visit hallowed ground. I get to stand in the footsteps of giants who fought and won battles for equal educational opportunity. And so it is today.
We are at the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site, the very school that Linda Brown attended as a ten-year oldmy own daughter's agein 1953 and that helped launch a civil rights revolution.
Since President Obama took office, I've had the opportunity to speak at the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta where Dr. King preached.
I had the opportunity to speak at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, where state troopers infamously beat peaceful protesters on Bloody Sunday with clubs and bullwhips as they tried to walk across the bridge, all because African Americans wanted to secure the basic right to vote.
And I spoke at Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. The legendary Little Rock Ninenine teenagersbravely dared to integrate that high school in 1957, as an angry white mob of a 1,000 people hurled racial epithets at them.
Whenever I have the opportunity to help recognize and honor our nation's civil rights heroes, I am struck by two truths.
The first is the paradox of progress. As a nation, America has made enormous strides in race relations since Brown v. Board of Education. And yet we know we still have so far to go to live up to the American dream of providing equal educational opportunity for all.
So many of us dedicate our lives to this work because of our passion for achieving that dream. It is what drives us, what gets us out of bed every morning, and what sometimes keeps us awake at night.
Today, the need to fulfill that dream is still urgent. The Supreme Court affirmed the value of integration in Brown, but not even a Supreme Court decision can make equal opportunity a reality on the groundin schools, in classrooms, and in hearts and minds. So, Brown v. Board of Education is not just part of our history. It is part of our future, too.
The second truth that stands out at these historic landmarks is that our civil rights heroes were often ordinary men, women, and children. They remind us that ordinary people can accomplish extraordinary things. From unexceptional circumstances, comes exceptional courageand transformational change.
Oliver Brown, Linda Brown's father and the named plaintiff in Brown v. Board of Education, was not a legislator or a fancy lawyer. He was a shop welder for the railroad. Other plaintiffs who sued to end school segregation in the Brown case were secretaries, teachers, and students.
Mr. Brown wasn't trained in the intricacies of the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. He was a quiet manand not a militant voice in the vanguard of the civil rights movement.
But Oliver Brown knew right from wrong. He knew that America was built on the promise that your origins should not dictate your destination in life.
He knew he didn't want his daughter to have to walk to a distant bus stop, or walk 21 blocks through a railway switchyard in the midst of a Topeka winter to attend the all-black Monroe Elementary Schoolnot when Sumner Elementary was just seven blocks from their house.
So, in the fall of 1950, he walked with his daughter to the Sumner Elementary School. He tried to enroll her. And Linda Brown, even though she was only eight at the time, never forgot overhearing the raised voices in the principal's office. The principal told her father that a black child could not attend his school.
But Oliver Brown didn't quit. He didn't give up hope. He understood that change would take time. He understood, as Chief Justice Warren would famously write in the Brown case, that separate but equal was "inherently unequal."
Now, we know that Oliver Brown was not the only unexpected hero to emerge from the Brown caseeven right here in Topeka. Dozens of black parents in districts across the South were plaintiffs in the Brown case.
But if Oliver Brown was only one of many unexpected heroes, let me tell you about one more young man from Topeka who stood up to say that "separate but equal" was inherently wrong.
In 1948, Topeka High School was integrated in the classroom and on the playing fieldbut not on the basketball court. For nearly two decades, Topeka High School had two basketball teamsthe Trojans, an all-white team, and the Ramblers, an all-black team.
Mayor Bunten was a senior on the 1948 Trojansand he has told this story before.
He befriended one of the most talented juniors on his team, and would later room with him at college. But the next year, after Bill Bunten graduated from high school, his friend, now a senior, went to the principal at Topeka High to protest the policy of having two, segregated basketball teams.
Some of you may know how this story turns outthe young man who went to talk to the principal was named Dean Smith.
Now, Dean Smith obviously wasn't famous then. He hadn't become one of the most respected basketball coaches in the history of the game.
He wasn't renowned yet for leading the integration of big-time college basketball in the Deep South, or for integrating segregated restaurants in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
He was just an 18-year old kid who knew in 1949 that segregation was wrong. The school's policy, Dean Smith later said, "was embarrassing. I was taught that we're all human."
The principal turned down Dean Smith's request to integrate the two teams. But guess what? The next year, the two teams did merge to form one Trojans' hoops squad.
America has made enormous strides since then. You heard earlier from Dr. Beryl New. She attended Monroe Elementary School as a child. And when she went to Highland Park Junior High School in the late 1960s, and later Topeka High School, the schools were rife with racial tensions.
Today, she is the outstanding principal at Highland Park High School. And that once-unimaginable racial progress has continuednot just in Topeka, but all the way to the Oval Office, where our nation has elected its first African-American president.
And yet for all the progress that Dr. New and President Obama can testify to, as a nation we are still far from truly achieving equal educational opportunity.
In America, in 2012, children of color not only confront an achievement gap, they confront an opportunity gap that, too often, is unacceptably wide.
After the Brown decision, school segregation declined dramatically in the South. But nationwide, our schools today are as segregated as they have been at any time since after the death of Martin Luther King. Nearly 40 percent of black and Hispanic students now attend schools where more than 90 percent of students are nonwhite.
Think about that for a moment. The data are clear: A decrease in diversity and an upswing in racial isolation are one reason the opportunity gap isn't closing.
In a knowledge-based economy, academic rigor also matters more than ever in preparing students for college and careers. But today, a student in a school with high minority enrollment is much less likely to go to a school that offers calculus and physics than a student in a high school with low minority enrollment.
Less than eight percent of students taking AP mathematics or AP science courses today are African American. And here in Topeka, white students are about four times as likely to participate in a gifted and talented education program as their African-American or Hispanic peers.
What sense does that make? How do unequal opportunities help close the achievement gap? They don'tinstead they perpetuate the gap.
Closing the opportunity gap will require that school resources, talent, and spending be targeted to the kids who need help the most.
Simply put, today they are not. In fact, we are one of the few advanced nations that has this backwards, providing students in better-off schools with access to more teachers and more experienced teachers.
State and local leaders should be doing far more than they are doing today to get the best teachers and principals to where they are needed most, to offer rigorous classes for all students, to enforce discipline with equity, and to direct resources to underfunded districts.
Tragically, the opportunity gap starts before kindergarten and continues into the college years. Even more troubling, new studies find that the opportunity gap has grown significantly in the last generation between students from better-off families and working-class families.
The persistence, and even the recent expansion of the opportunity gap, should be an urgent wake-up call that America is still not a color-blind society that provides equal educational opportunity.
That painful recognition is deeply at odds with the American creedthat if you study hard and play by the rules, you get a fair shot at the future, regardless of your zip code, skin color, or the size of your bank account.
The American dream was never about guaranteeing equality of results. But it has always been about ensuring equality of opportunity. Today, our nation is failing to live up to that core American ideal.
I agree with former governor Jeb Bush on this point, who said recently that "the sad truth is that equality of opportunity doesn't exist in many of our schools . . . That failure is the great moral and economic issue of our time and it is hurting all of America."
I've repeatedly called education the civil rights issue of our generation. Why do I say that? Because in America, education has always been the great equalizerit is the one force that can overcome differences in race, privilege, background, and national origin.
A world-class education has become a prerequisite for achieving individual success and national prosperity in our globally-competitive economy. The United States simply cannot afford the enormous waste of human capital, talent, and the economic costs of the opportunity gap.
Yet today, perhaps for the first time in decades, a growing opportunity gap threatens to decrease social mobility and solidify the transmission of privilege from one generation to the next.
Now, some national leaders like Republican congressman Paul Ryan, have taken the position that in tight economic times it's necessary to disinvest in education.
I absolutely disagree.
I don't see how the answer to the opportunity gap can be to cut early childhood education and slash Pell Grant scholarships for low-income students, many of whom are first-generation college-goers.
Public officials should always scrutinize education programs carefully for effectiveness. But all levels of governmentlocal, state, and nationalneed to invest wisely to help close the opportunity gap. Education is not an expense on a budget lineit's an investment in the future.
President Obama and I believe there is no better investment in children's future than high-quality early childhood learning.
Once children have started school, all levels of government should be rigorously enforcing laws that require schools to provide equal educational opportunities. Federal, state, and local governments should be providing more on-ramps for students who are off track to get back on the road to successlike a rich and rigorous curriculum, top-notch community-based programs, and enhanced access to universities and community colleges.
That's the administration's positionand we've made historic investments to boost achievement and attainment.
But let me close by mentioning one final investment in closing the opportunity gap.
For too long, educators and members of the public often shrugged their shoulders in the face of persistently poor performance in the nation's lowest-achieving schools. Too many school leaders wrote off poor children, treating poverty as if it was somehow destiny.
President Obama and I refuse to accept that fatalism. So the administration created a $5 billion School Improvement Grant program to drive dramatic improvement in our lowest-performing schools.
This is some of the toughest work that educators will ever take on. But that's exactly what Dr. New is doing at Highland Park High Schoolwith the help of a three-year, $5.8 million School Improvement Grant.
She, and other courageous leaders and educators across the country, are part of a new national movement to dramatically change the life chances of hundreds of thousands of students. This work is difficult and controversial. But it is also some of the most important work in education today.
When Dr. New became principal of Highland Park two years ago, the school was struggling. Achievement was low and discipline was a problem.
The school lacked a system for identifying kids who were falling through the cracks, or for tracking migrant students. Rigorous instruction was often in short supply. Administrators reported that students played with their cell phones in class and teachers sometimes showed movies, instead of engaging their students in learning.
Under Dr. New's leadership, and with the hard work and support of teachers at Highland Park, the high school has started to turn around.
The school now has an early warning system, based on a model adopted from Johns Hopkins University, to identify students at risk for dropping out. The AVID program has been expanded to get students in the academic 'middle' prepared to attend a four-year college.
The school culture has been transformed. Many new teachers have joined the school, and teachers have more time to collaborate and improve instruction.
Last year, the school's theatre students had the honor of presenting a student-written play at the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, Scotlandand raised the money to make the trip.
At the same time, money from the federal turnaround grant was used to fund an innovative, first-of-its-kind robotics class with Yaskawa Motoman Robotics. Students in the class will earn operator, technician, and programmer certificates that lead to real jobs.
The hard work is far from finished at Highland Park. But the progress under Dr. New's leadership during the first two years of the federal grant is real and it is exciting.
Major discipline incidents have decreased by 80 percent. Eighty percent!
Math proficiency is up, by a double-digit gain of 14 percentage points. Reading proficiency is also up significantly. Even more encouraging, the huge achievement gaps that existed between white and black students in 2010 almost vanished by June 2012. I can't wait to see the results from this school year!
The federal grant at Highland Park, new funding for early childhood learning, and the unprecedented expansion of Pell Grant scholarships and aid for community colleges are all part of the administration's effort to transform educational opportunity.
All of these efforts share a common goal: To create a level education playing field.
As ambitious as that may sound, I am confident that Topeka and our nation can make dramatic progress toward true equal educational opportunity.
Why am I so confident that Topeka and Kansas can help lead the nation where we need to go? Because you have done it before.
A century ago, America's education system faced challenges that parallel many of those today. It was a period of massive immigration and sharply growing inequality.
The idea that every youth should go to high school was considered radical.
Many adolescents worked long hours in factories. And high schools were reserved for a small number of affluent students to prepare them for college. In 1910, only nine percent of American youths earned a high school diploma.
But out of the progressive movement, the high school movement was born.
The idea that all children in a community should go to high school did not originate in big cities. Small towns and rural hamlets in places like Kansas and Iowa fostered the high school movement.
It was here in Kansas that communities rejected the argument that universal secondary school education was somehow just too expensive to afford.
It was here in Kansas that counties passed free tuition laws that all youths had the right to attend high school free of chargeeven if their district did not have a high school.
It was here in Kansas that the state enacted early laws mandating compulsory education and banning child labor.
And what was the result of that moral leadership? The high school movement fueled America's rise to an economic superpower. As much as any single transformation in America, it made the 20th century the American Century.
Between 1910 and 1940, the percent of students graduating from high school nationwide increased more than five-foldfrom one in 11 young adults to just over half of all young adults.
So, Kansas, I know you can lead the nation again to where we need to go educationally.
Today, the globally competitive economy places new and urgent demands on our schools and universities. They must not only dramatically accelerate achievement and attainment but do so while creating a level playing field.
So as I stand here today, I am reminded that transformational change never comes easy or fast. But it cannot ultimately be stopped.
As Dr. Martin Luther King said, "the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice." In the long run, in the long game, knowledge and moral force will trump ignorance and injustice.
The story of America, as First Lady Michelle Obama has said, is "the story of unwavering hope grounded in unyielding struggle."
America's story is not the story of the triumph of the status quo. It cannot be the story of the preservation of privilege.
When it comes to closing the opportunity gap, there is no "us" and "them." As Dean Smith said simply "we're all human."
So, here, in the shadow of a once-segregated school, let us redouble our efforts to close the opportunity gap.
Here, let us remember that ordinary men and women accomplish extraordinary things on behalf of children against the greatest of odds.
And finally, here, of all places, let us affirm again that in America, education is and always must be the great equalizer.


text:
'The iPhone SE is a great smartphone that brings plenty of power in a small package. '
'Easy to recommend.'
'It's a mighty mini phone. '
'The iPhone SE is great, but there's plenty of room for improvement.'
'iPhone 6S Plus is a lovely smartphone, but it's also a big and heavy one. '
'This year's iPhone 6s Plus is a terrific phone in virtually every respect. '
'gorgeous phone'
'From its sturdy and new 7000 Series aluminum, all the way to its incredibly svelte construction, it's indicative of a meticulously made smartphone. '
'Every part of the iPhone 6s is brand new, other than its timeless good-looks.'
'It's easy to say that these are the best iPhones Apple has ever made, but that's true every year.'
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'perfect phone'
'Easiest smartphone OS.'
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'latest Apple mobile operating system'
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'Apple is looking to reach a previously untapped audience of smartphone users - those who demand a large screen, with 'productivity' the main buzzword being thrown around.'
'very fine smartphone'
'screen rotation is slick and fast and the overall experience is very satisfying.'
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M - Large - Acrylic Mirror Disney Letters
Regular price
Personalise your home, bedroom doors and walls with these Disney mirrored letters.
The letters are made from a lightweight quality mirror acrylic which is shatter resistant and family friendly. Each letter is supplied with an adhesive pad which means they can displayed easily and anywhere around your home.
Suitable for any room in the home including children's bedrooms or doors as name plaques.
Please select the size and letters or numbers you require from the drop down boxes and add to your basket. Letters are only available in capitals.


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The fear of getting older ruins even more than the fact of getting older naturally.
About Getting Older. Don't be Afraid of It!
Published by Pierre-Henry de Soria ✍
😊 Enthusiastic Software Engineer, Vegan, and Passionate Writer! ✍ • Eager to learn & undertake new exciting things at all times, and thrilling challenges. • Extremely passionate & motivated in what I'm doing. • Love traveling and learning new cultures. • Everyday-learning, coding, eating fruits & doing sport are my fuel! 🚀 • More info ➡ https://ph7.me 😊 I'm also the founder of "Lifyzer, Healthy Food" 🥕 A food-tech startup helping people to live longer thanks to a handy, easy-to-use app 🚀 https://get.lifyzer.com 🍍 View all posts by Pierre-Henry de Soria ✍


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Shrii Shrii Anandamurti is a survivor. Even his enemies concede this. And enemies he does have-though not as many today as 20 years ago. The years have made him a little older and lot wiser. Ananda Marga, the organization that he founded in 1955, means "path of bliss." But for Anandamurti, the path of events through these last 34 years-seven of them spent in prison-has been anything but blissful. The early stages of his organization's development were characterized by a zealous, high-profile and outspoken social/political posture which eventually churned a backlash of highly publicized conflict and controversy that has been very difficult to overcome. Only through arduous, unrelenting social service coupled with a carefully restructured public image, sustained over a number of years, has the Calcutta-based Guru quelled earlier animosities. Good will toward the six-million-strong movement is growing steadily as they overcome bad press with good works. Twenty years ago the conventional wisdom was that Ananda Marga was a strange, secret, politically motivated cult. Today, a common understanding is that "the aspirations and ideals of the group appear to be noble and worthy."
Ananda Marga is primarily a spiritual organization. Yet, its agenda features far more than meditation.
Fiercely dedicated to certain political and social objectives in addition to their more contemplative endeavors, Ananda Margiis have fascinated and attracted a wide variety of people through the years. From quiet humanitarians and aspiring mediators in pursuit of the ultimate enlightenment to fiery radicals and political activists out to change the world, the ranks of Ananda Marga have swelled with a colorful kaleidoscope of individuals. While the Ananda Margiis of India were completely engulfed in a chain of political scandles that led to Shrii Shrii Anandamurti's 1971 arrest for murder, many students of Ananda Marga centers in the USA were lost in the Tandava Dance of Siva, singing kirtan and seeking absorption in Nirvikalpa Samadhi during hours of daily meditation.
Ananda Marga is established in 182 countries. Its international headquarters is registered in Calcutta as Ananda Marga Pracharak Sangh with Shrii Shrii Anandamurti as president. Outside India it is divided into nine world sectors headquartered in Berlin, New York, Hong Kong, Manila, Delhi, Nairobi (Kenya), Cairo, Georgetown (Guyana) and Suva (Fiji). Each sector is further divided into regions, dioceses, districts, towns and, finally, villages.
HINDUISM TODAY conducted an in-depth written interview via fax with Dhruva (Clark Forden), an Ananda Marga public relations associate for North and Central America. He explained that the sadhana of the Ananda Margiis is based in tantra. By tantra he means a set of "spiritual practices" which he contends were "never regarded as part of Hinduism," yet are "based on the teachings of Siva"-not to be confused with Saivism, which he agrees is a sect of Hinduism. Dhruva says that Ananda Marga "does not recognize, nor does it practice deity worship." However, they do study the Sanskrit language and place strong emphasis on the use of mantras. Like many other present-day spiritual organizations with a similar genesis in Hindu thought, Ananda Marga has carefully selected certain teachings of Hindu origin to form their philosophy, yet claim no affiliation to Hinduism-even as a source for such basic Hindu concepts as karma, reincarnation and the practices of yoga. Ananda Marga once sought to establish itself as a separate religion, but on October 21, 1983, the Supreme Court of India determined that Ananda Marga was not a separate religion, but simply a "religious denomination of Hinduism." Dhruva summarizes the aspiration of Ananda Marga as "liberation of self and service to all living beings."
The Social Vision
Shrii Anandamurti is considered brilliant. Many of his perceptions are highly organized though spiced to his disadvantage by a sometimes vociferous manner. They frequently reveal an intriguingly farsighted vision. Unlike many mystics he is supportive of scientific progress and makes extravagant speculations for its future.
"A day will come when man will be able to 'procreate' human bodies right in the scientist's laboratories," he proclaims in his 1973 book, The Great Universe. "Not only this, even spermatozoa and egg cells will be created in those laboratories. Slowly the human progeny will lose their procreative power; but this energy will be expressed as the creative impulses of the mind and will not be lost."
Baba, as Shrii Shrii Anandamurti is affectionately called by his devotees, frequently mentions science in connection with social progress-but with a qualification: "Civilization has an intimate relationship with science. They progress together, but when scientific progress surpasses civilization, the latter meets its end. Take, for instance, the history of Egypt and Greece."
Baba laments that through the years spiritual and religious leaders have done well in teaching the highest wisdom to a chosen few but have failed to bring such knowledge into the more mundane spheres of government, politics and economics. His view is that "this physical, material world is neither an illusion nor a great temptation, but the starting point of a spiritual journey" and should be developed with great effort. Upon this premise, he throws himself and his organization to the task of social work and politics-with a clear analysis of the problem:
"It is true that in the materialistic world a mighty attempt has been launched to conquer time, place and person," asserts Baba. "This attempt drags man forcibly forward. Whether any good is accomplished or not, speed is the main criterion. As a result, different social trends are unable to keep pace with one another. Some advance far ahead, some lag far behind, and the whole social structure crumbles."
Anandamurti wants to solve the problem. He speaks of a new kind of leader, a sadvipra or "true spiritual leader." This sadvipra will guide a new society of men who, unlike "the scientist who only worships creation and the hermit who contemplates destruction," will move judiciously toward "salvation," respecting all aspects of life equally.
The Federation
Baba seeks to mobilize these sadvipras to organize all of humanity into a one world federation, extinguishing all "provincial or national organizations" in the process. This concept has not been generally well accepted. Driven by a utopian vision and seeing himself and his organization at the center of a communist-like society, Anandamurti contends that "nationalism is fast becoming outdated" and that the problem is simply 'local leaders' fear of losing their control." He adds that with the passage of time "the necessity of a world federation will be felt in the heart of every human being" since it will become increasingly obvious that basic physical problems would have to be solved on "a collective humanitarian basis." Baba's world federation will satisfy the fundamental needs of society by providing: 1. A common philosophy of life; 2. A common constitutional structure; 3. A common criminal code; 4. Availability of life's essentials.
"Human society is a singular entity," says Baba. "It is one and indivisible. Mankind has the same origin and the same destination-the same goal. All are coming from God and going to God. You come from the abode of peace and go to the abode of peace, but life is a struggle."
His perception of this destiny for mankind is the source of his idealism. His recognition of the fact that getting there is a struggle and requires effort is the source of his gut-level pragmatism. The differences between these two dramatic extremes in thought form a riddle for which, according to Baba, there is only one answer: Love.
"Building anything on humanistic lines requires a foundation of real love and affection for humanity," he asserts. "Where love is paramount, the question of personal loss or gain does not arise."
Baba stresses the importance of education, starting none too soon in a child's life. But he doesn't believe in coerced learning.
"The thirst for knowledge must be awakened in students," he declares. "To satisfy that thirst adequate and proper education must be imparted. Then alone will education contribute to the well-being of the student's mind and spirit. No real good will come to human society if, instead of awakening the thirst for knowledge in the students' minds, the teachers make them swallow knowledge like quinine pills."
Baba' stresses morality, too. He speaks to parents, a student's first teachers: "The most important thing is that the child be infused with a strong idealism. To impart this, the parents require self-restraint and good judgment."
Baba's students find "morality" to be a repeated lesson of growing importance. His teachings hold that, not only does a contented society rest balanced on the firm foundation of morality, but the end of yoga is achieved only from within the safety and security of this most crucial quality.
"Morality is the foundation of sadhana. Morality is the base, intuition is the way and Life Divine is the goal," he propounds.
Anandamurti also says that man educates himself naturally because of his "inherent tendency to evolve." He sees this human inclination as the mechanism by which his perfect society will eventually manifest.
As he puts it: "The moment man sees the possibility of a defeat in the conflicts of this crude physical world, he undertakes to evolve new weapons to meet the challenge. Had there been no physical conflicts, the evolution of the human mind would not have been possible. The subtle human intellect would not have developed."
Shrii Shrii Anandamurti was born in Jamulpur Bihar, on Vaisakhi Purnima in 1921 to Shrii Lakshmi Narayan Sarkar and Shrimati Abharani Sarkar as Prabhat Rainjan Sarkar. As a young man, he worked as a railway clerk. Today, at 67 years of age, he lives in seclusion in Calcutta. He is actively discharging his duties as President of Ananda Marga Pracaraka Samgha and as spiritual guide for millions. Devotees say he requires only a few hours of sleep each night, which they regard as a sign of his excellent health.
There are many intriguing stories conveying the ethereal nature of Shrii Shrii Anandamurti's early mystical training. One of them goes like this: Night after night, a strong wind would blow in Jamalpur and the child (Anandamurti) would be carried away by the winds. He would not awake till the storm landed him on a far bank of the Ganga, all alone in the dead of night. As the storm subsided, a sadhu with saffron robes, a long flowing beard and a trisula in one hand would appear from nowhere before the little child. He would recite the Sivamantras and urge the child to repeat them. Then, with the reappearance of the storm, the sadhu would vanish, and the child would be carried back home to his bed. This happened night after night, allowing the child to learn many ancient Sanskrit slokas. One night the child snatched away the sadhu's trisula. The sadhu cast away his guise and stood before the little child as Lord Siva Himself.
Conflict and Controversy
Perusing Ananda Marga's overly sensational media coverage of the past, one might be lead to believe that the history of Ananda Marga is an avalanche of corruption and disgrace. Australia, Ethiopia (where Ananda Margiis were expelled in July, 1985), New Zealand and the Philippines have all refused visas to Anandamurti. Following the imprisonment of three Ananda Margiis on charges of attempting to murder Australian government officials in 1978, members have been banned from even visiting Australia.
In the past 20 years three major events stand out significantly: 1. Anandamurti's 1971 arrest for murder. 2. The 1971 exit of Anandamurti's wife from the organization following a sexual scandal. 3. The Calcutta massacre of 17 Ananda Margiis in 1982.
The Arrest: Anandamurti and four of his followers were arrested on December 29, 1971. They were charged with the murder of six ex-Margiis. The trial attracted international attention, especially when some disciples reportedly immolated themselves in protest against the arrest. The five were originally sentenced to life imprisonment but were later acquitted. They Spent seven years in prison.
"The 1971 arrest of Anandamurti was one event in a history of persecution against Ananda Marga," Dhruva shared with HINDUISM TODAY. "That whole period [of imprisonment] was especially painful for all Ananda Margiis, as they were separated for years from their Guru. Those in India could not do their normal duties in their respective social service programs, and they could not even engage in open satsang.
"These events did not hamper the determination of Shrii Shrii Anandamurti nor of the members of Ananda Marga. Finally, justice prevailed in the false case against Anandamurti."
Uma Sarkar: Uma Sarkar was Anandamurti's wife. At one time she enjoyed a special place in the Ananda Marga hierarchy as "Marga Mata." On October 1, 1971, she left the organization with her son, Gautam, and a few Margiis after accusing her husband of sexual misconduct. Some say this event had more detrimental effect within the organization than even Anandamurti's arrest for murder.
Dhruva shares Ananda Marga's sentiments: "It is not completely clear what actually happened with Baba and Uma Sarkar. The personal issues between them are just that, personal. No one can fully assume anything about the dynamics that developed in their marriage, and we do not wish to do so here. I will say this though. Baba has acted and always will act with complete moral integrity. He is ethical in his behavior and his words.
"With respect to the sexual scandal specifically, it is completely an allegation based on false statements and someone's intended design to discredit Baba and the organization. It is also common that famous people are the brunt of malicious intent."
The Massacre: In Calcutta on April 30, 1982, 17 Ananda Margiis were brutally murdered in broad daylight before hundreds of witnesses.
Dhruva explains Ananda Marga's perception of the event: "The massacre of 17 Ananda Margiis was a tragic affair. It was a clear example of the persecution of Ananda Marga in its crudest form. Prior to this incident there were many threats against Ananda Marga in Calcutta. [It is suspected that] this act was carried out by the Communist Party of India (Marxist). Sixty-seven people were arrested. The case is currently proceeding. These people were acting as a vigilante group in response to completely false rumors that Ananda Marga was kidnapping children. In truth, Ananda Marga is running thousands of schools. It adopts homeless children into registered children's homes."
Tandava Dance
One fundamental sadhana performed by all Ananda Margiis is the Tandava Dance. Of all their spiritual practices, this is the one most misunderstood and criticized. A 1985 Illustrated Weekly (India) article referred to it as a "bizarre ritual" that used knives, snakes and skulls. It is, in fact, a powerful dance lasting for hours and culminating in quiet meditation.
At one time Ananda Marga tried to get permission to perform the dance publicly in India, but the Supreme Court declared that it "was not an essential rite of the Ananda Marga." Dhruva asserts that the Tandava Dance was introduced 7,000 years ago by Lord Siva, Himself.
"Tandava is the fundamental step, 'primordial pace,' of all oriental dance," says Dhruva. "It is derived from the Sanskrit word tandu, which means 'jumping' (supposedly based upon the behavior of rice grains as they bounced off the threshing floor). Tandava represents the struggle between the forces of life and death. Accordingly, the extended arms hold symbols traditionally associated with each. In the absence of any or all of these objects the process of imagination will suffice to do the dance properly (this is most commonly the practice for Ananda Margiis). This vigorous dance, performed individually as well as collectively, is intended for men only, since it has a masculinizing effect. It also has numerous health benefits."
Through the years Ananda Marga has often been accused of being overly secretive in its activities, thus leaving in some an impression of sinister intent. Dhruva explains that such covert methods of working are common in large organizations and even corporations that need to carefully maintain discretion in order to protect their profit margin. Dhruva adds that Ananda Marga has also become secretive due to years of unnecessary media harassment. Says Dhruva: "There is a secret to success that says secrecy guarantees success. The motives of Ananda Marga remain based on morality and spiritual dharma."
Strong spiritual leaders and institutions invariably attract strong opposition. Ananda Marga is no exception. Courage and faith have sustained them thus far. Now, it seems, they may be poised for a "kinder, more gentle" future.
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Research Topic physical therapy involves human health of the body, movement and interaction as a basis.
Physiotherapy is characterized by the view of humans as physical, mental, social and existential entirety from a health perspective. Central concepts are the human body, motion, function and interaction in relation to health from a biopsykosocialt perspective.
At the core of knowledge is an understanding that it is within man's healing powers and resources for change. These can be activated by movement in a therapeutic interaction, and that man himself can affect their health through awareness of the body and proper motion. Movement seen as a basis for man's entire operation and as a means to achieve their goals in relation to the surroundings.
Luleå University of Technology is the science of physical therapy concentrated in the areas of:
- Movement, activity and health in older people and people down severe disability
- Health promotion and the operating conditions for learning, work and leisure
- E-health and physical therapy at a distance
Much of the research carried out in national and international cooperation and in collaboration with healthcare providers and businesses.
To get a better insight into our research, please see the presentation of ongoing and completed research projects.
We also conduct research in physiotherapy at the department. To be admitted to this one must have a master's degree in physical therapy.


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It's that time of year again. It will be on Saturday 27th October From 10am to 7pm at Queen Mary's, University of London on the Mile End Road. Here are two Poumista recommendations.
The Path Not Taken – welfare history and the libertarian perspective 11am – 12 noon Room 3.22
To know where you're going, you need to know where you came from. One piece of hidden history is the way working class people, in face of the most ruthless capitalism ever, erected a system of welfare services, based on mutual aid "friendly societies". Health, education, housing, benefits, etc, were all included as the new book tells. We can't resurrect the friendly societies but we can work for modern collective libertarian welfare services, as well as defending the compromise welfare state. Books available. Organised by: Socialist Libertarian Group [Whoy are they?]
1839: The Chartist Insurrection 12 noon – 1pm Room 3.18
The Chartists were the original political movement of the working class, and 1839 was the year a National Convention assembled in London, and revolution seemed a real possibility. The year ended with an armed uprising in London, followed by the trial of its leaders for treason. Our speaker, David Black, is co-author (with Chris Ford) of a new book on the events of 1839. Organised by: Hobgoblin


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Here is some information from his bio, for those who wish to know, [Source: Wikipedia]
Clarke was born in Minehead, Somerset, England. As a boy he enjoyed stargazing and reading old American science fiction pulp magazines. After secondary school and studying at Huish's Grammar School, Taunton, he was unable to afford a university education and got a job as an auditor in the pensions section of the Board of Education.
During the Second World War he served in the Royal Air Force as a radar specialist and was involved in the early warning radar defence system, which contributed to the RAF's success during the Battle of Britain. Clarke spent most of his wartime service working on Ground Controlled Approach (GCA) radar as documented in the semi-autobiographical Glide Path, his only non-science-fiction novel. Although GCA did not see much practical use in the war, it proved vital to the Berlin Airlift of 1948–1949 after several years of development. Clarke initially served in the ranks, and was a Corporal instructor on radar at No 9 Radio School, RAF Yatesbury in Wiltshire. He was commissioned as a Pilot Officer (Technical Branch) on 27 May 1943. He was promoted Flying Officer on 27 November 1943. He was appointed chief training instructor at RAF Honiley in Warwickshire and was demobilised with the rank of Flight Lieutenant. After the war he earned a first-class degree in mathematics and physics at King's College London.
In the postwar years, Clarke became the Chairman of the British Interplanetary Society from 1946-1947 And again from 1951-1953 although he was not the originator of the concept of geostationary satellites, one of his most important contributions may be his idea that they would be ideal telecommunications relays. He advanced this idea in a paper privately circulated among the core technical members of the BIS in 1945. The concept was published in Wireless World in October of that year. Clarke also wrote a number of non-fiction books describing the technical details and societal implications of rocketry and space flight. The most notable of these may be The Exploration of Space (1951) and The Promise of Space (1968). In recognition of these contributions the geostationary orbit 36,000 kilometres (22,000 mi) above the equator is officially recognized by the International Astronomical Union as a Clarke Orbit.
On a trip to Florida in 1953 Clarke met and quickly married Marilyn Mayfield, a 22-year-old American divorcee with a young son. They separated permanently after six months, although the divorce was not finalised until 1964."The marriage was incompatible from the beginning", says Clarke. Clarke never remarried but was close to a Sri Lankan man, Leslie Ekanayake, whom the author called his "only perfect friend of a lifetime" in his dedication to The Fountains of Paradise. Clarke is buried with Ekanayake, who predeceased him by three decades in 1977, in the Colombo central cemetery. In his biography of Stanley Kubrick, John Baxter cites Clarke's homosexuality as a reason why he relocated, due to more tolerant laws with regard to homosexuality in Sri Lanka. Journalists who inquired of Clarke whether he was gay were told, "No, merely mildly cheerful." However, Michael Moorcock has written:
Everyone knew he was gay. In the 1950s I'd go out drinking with his boyfriend. We met his proteges, western and eastern, and their families, people who had only the most generous praise for his kindness. Self-absorbed he might be, and a teetotaller, but an impeccable gent through and through.
Moorcock's assertion is not supported by other reports, although in an interview in the July 1986 issue of Playboy magazine, Clarke stated "Of course. Who hasn't?" when asked if he had had bisexual experiences.
Clarke also maintained a vast collection of manuscripts and personal memoirs, maintained by his brother Fred Clarke in Taunton, Somerset, England, and referred to as the "Clarkives." Clarke has said that some of his private diaries will not be published until 30 years after his death. When asked why they were sealed up, he answered "'Well, there might be all sorts of embarrassing things in them"


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[International: Commentary On Fighting HIV/Aids]
On 24th April 2008, a man dressed in casual civilian wear walked into our Justice and Peace Commission of Gulu Archdiocese office and asked us for help.
He introduced himself as a Uganda People's Defense Forces (UPDF) soldier of the 5th Division based in Acol - Pi, Pader District, and a client of the 'A- Clinic' of St. Joseph's Hospital, Kitgum. 'A-Clinic' is a department where HIV AIDS victims are attended to. He wanted help on a pressing human rights issue that we so often tend to overlook.
This man is one of the many UPDF soldiers on ARVs drugs. Their status requires strict adherence to the drug and regular test schedules to ensure that their CD4 counts are monitored by the doctors appropriately.
The ARVs are given to them to last a 30 day period, and every client is required to report back for more stock on particular dates. The doctors emphasize to the clients that there should be no break in the dosage, lest the overall effectiveness of the ARVs to prolong their lives shall be greatly reduced. Missing the exact time for taking the pills for even just a few hours is discouraged.
The UPDF man is always on duty like any other soldier. However, it has always occurred to him and many other service men that whenever they request for leave to enable them travel for medical examination and to get more drugs, their commanders decline to grant such permission. They are forced to miss their appointment by up to 7 days.
They are often forced to sneak out of their units without leave to attend to the 'A – Clinic'. To make matters worse, whenever they skip their schedule for that long, the doctors will require more comprehensive tests that will make them stay around for two or more days. On return, they are punished heavily, sometimes tortured for being absent without official leave.
That particular Thursday, up to three of them under similar circumstances had traveled to get treatment after missing their schedule by 3 days. When they arrived at the hospital, their doctor told them they needed tests that would be carried out the next week on Tuesday, a whole five days away!
Their choices were limited. It was important for their health to wait for the tests and collect their dosage for the next 30 days. At the same time a whole five days away from duty without leave would be grave. They also knew that if they went back to their units without completing their tests and getting their drugs, they wouldn't be granted permission to come back on the appointed date. By then they would probably still be reeling from their punishments.
Doctors who attend to these patients contend that this delay increases the virus load and breeds resistance to the drugs. It also exposes them to greater risks of opportunistic infections. Missing the drugs for days like in this case will render the drugs regiment of the patient ineffective.
This may mean the drug regiment should be changed. But if the patients continue skipping the drugs, their virus may become resistant to all available ARV's and there will be no alternative. This simply means they will have to die.
The life of an HIV-positive person dependant on ARVs is very delicate. They should not be subjected to very strenuous work. But the soldiers say at the moment they are involved in clearing land that is compulsory. They have asked to be given less strenuous work but their commanders have persistently ignored their request.
This further exacerbates their already precarious situation. They are now torn between self and duty. They cannot quit without being officially retired. They would otherwise be charged with desertion. Besides, they need to work to support their families.
The UPDF on their side contend that they have the drugs in their own hospital, at the Division Headquarter in Acol – Pi. That they have a policy in place that caters for the interests of People Living With HIV AIDS. What is not clear is whether this policy is applied in practice.
Whereas we appreciate that the Army may take seriously the issue of HIV / AIDS at the policy level, the case may be different in the various units.
The soldier who came to us has treatment notes indicating that he has been receiving treatment and nutrition supplements from St. Joseph's Hospital since 2006. The same documents indicate that for five months in a row he has been missing his appointments.
He and his colleagues claim that even those who get treatment from the Military Hospital undergo the same ordeal. The Army should not only think that having a policy in place is good enough. They should be certain that this policy is working in all their units.
Adherence to ARV's is a matter of life.
This is, no doubt, a serious human rights issue that we all need to ponder.
Oweka James writes for The Black Star News from Gulu, Uganda
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