text:
Modern moral philosophy has followed in Aristotle's footsteps not Plato's. Aristotle highlights 'the virtues'. By highlighting love and the good, Iris Murdoch once again brought Platonic ideas alive, making them accessible in a contemporary idiom.
This bent of her philosophy is, I am sure, one reason it has so engaged people, but perhaps it is also why so few of the philosophers who have expressed their indebtedness to Murdoch's moral philosophy have written directly about it. Contemporary analytic philosophy still resists, or perhaps just has not been able to find its own words for, what Murdoch had to say as a philosopher.
Megan Laverty describes her book as not aiming 'to replicate Murdoch's ideas' (12), but as 'an exercise in methodological mimesis or iteration' (12). What she writes will be 'a way of "going on" with Murdoch's concepts or terms' (12) rather than an analysis of them. Laverty situates Murdoch within the tradition of what (following Nikolas Kompridis) she calls 'philosophical romanticism' (2). She says that the 'authority of Murdoch's philosophy … is given by its location in, and its ability to comment on, a larger philosophical tradition, in this case romantic' (2). This is a bold move, given Murdoch's criticisms of romanticism, which Laverty brings out. But Laverty also reminds us that for Murdoch Plato was one of 'the great romantics' (7).
Laverty sees philosophical romanticism as a response to Kant, a response seeking what Laverty (taking up a phrase of Murdoch's) calls a 'third way' (19) between Kant's locating of noumenal reality beyond consciousness and a lapsing into subjectivism. She writes: 'Murdoch and the romantics comprehend, without bridging, the gap between human subjectivity and reality, by bringing the noumenal within the sweep of human experience' (9). Thus Laverty locates Murdoch's work in concerns that have been and continue to be central to philosophy; and she speaks to these concerns in ways that should engage thinkers both within and without analytical philosophy.
Laverty's sketch of the bent of philosophical romanticism is widely shared. What is novel in her book is first of all locating Murdoch directly in this tradition, and secondly, the changes she sees Murdoch making to romanticism's attempt to comprehend that 'gap'. Laverty argues that the changes are both of philosophical content and of philosophical form. The main difference of content (I'll come back to it below) is what Laverty describes as Murdoch's 'feminising' of romanticism; while the difference of form, or philosophical style, lies in
the philosophical significance of the literary dimensions of Murdoch's philosophical writings -- the ironical juxtaposition of imagery, the contrastive play of assertive unequivocal generalisation with self-deprecating, doubtful questioning and the coincidence of ordinary language with that of religious and philosophical discourse. (13)
And these two kinds of difference are themselves interdependent -- the difference in style is itself an element of a feminised romanticism.
Rather than just surveying the many illuminating elements of Laverty's discussion, I want to engage at greater length with several variations on one main theme of Laverty's book. But first I would like to note that what is most impressive and striking in the book is, in my view, Laverty's account of Murdoch's 'feminising' of romanticism. This one theme subsumes several others. Murdoch's distinction between romanticism and 'the great Romantics', Laverty's account of the sublime as 'any experience which induces learning' (5), her comparison of romantic irony and Murdochian humility, and her exploration of the 'literary dimensions' of Murdoch's philosophical writing (including her discussion of the stylistic differences between the earlier and later philosophy): each of these sub-themes (and there are more) is developed perceptively and subtly in its own right, but they all also elaborate the larger theme of the feminising of romanticism. And Laverty is very persuasive in arguing that this theme gives Murdoch's philosophising of the true and the good its distinctive cast. Let me illustrate.
Laverty agrees with Murdoch that no philosophical 'vision' can be complete, and that philosophers have to work against their own natural tendency to 'wrap things up neatly'. She very nicely brings out Murdoch's emphasis (more in Metaphysics as a Guide to Morals than in the earlier writings) on our human disposition to make sense of ourselves and our world by telling stories. Perhaps the activity of making sense just is that of telling stories. But stories impose form on experience which of itself lacks form, so the very telling of them immediately carries the risk -- no, not just the risk, the inevitability -- of also falsifying what it discloses. Humility is the quality shown in acknowledging this perpetual 'incompleteness' of vision, and in being correspondingly always open to learning. The quality of humble openness to the ever-present possibility of learning is part of Murdoch's 'feminising' of the sublime, historically given a 'masculine' emphasis on our heroic power to transcend the world of experience. Humility replaces heroism in the feminised sublime, which is also specifically imaged, indeed enacted, in the increasingly tentative, exploratory, open-ended, creatively ambiguous character of Murdoch's later philosophical writing. In these ways, but also in others, Murdoch's feminising of romanticism aims to provide the substance of her philosophical 'third way'.
Some readers may feel that Laverty quotes too much from Murdoch. But the reason for so much quotation, I take it, is to break up as much as possible any false unity that her narrative of Murdoch's philosophy might otherwise insinuate, by letting the reader hear the 'particular eloquence' of Murdoch's philosophical voice. The accompanying risk is that either Murdoch's philosophy or Laverty's account of it will sometimes appear simply fragmentary or inchoate or confused rather than rich and multi-faceted. On the whole I think Laverty negotiates this risk very nicely.
I turn to my main reservation, or complex of reservations, focusing on related aspects of Murdoch's 'third way'. I have reservations about Murdoch as well as about Laverty's presentation of some of Murdoch's views, and first, a reservation that applies to both. Laverty quotes Garrett Green favourably as saying that 'philosophy is engaged with the question of life as a whole, reality in its entirety or "the world as such"' (30). Italicising 'as such' does not clarify that last phrase, and 'the question of life as a whole' and 'reality in its entirety' are just as opaque. But whatever one thinks of those phrases, Laverty has earlier several times represented Murdoch as emphasising the 'formlessness' of reality (on the face of it a strange emphasis in one who through her philosophical life wrote 'under the banner' of Plato, for whom the Forms were at the heart of reality). And in spelling out how Murdoch's philosophy is 'premised on a version of Kant's Copernican Revolution' (4), Laverty writes that
Murdoch concludes that noumenal reality, constituted as the absence of consciousness, must be, by definition at least, formlessness; devoid of meaning and unity, reality is sheer nothingness. This nothingness … is the reality that transcends consciousness and is so very difficult for us to acknowledge. (4)
But, at least as Kant has it, noumenal reality is no more 'formless' than formed, no more 'devoid of meaning and unity' than possessed of them, no more 'nothingness' than something; and so noumenal reality is not 'something' which can be 'difficult for us to acknowledge'. Perhaps human beings somehow find themselves 'representing' noumenal reality in these ways, and then they (so to speak) manufacture something to be frightened of, something that is indeed 'difficult to acknowledge', but this is no longer what Kant meant by noumenal reality. Put simply, Murdoch's 'void' is not Kant's noumenal reality. Here I think Laverty's presentation is mostly true to Murdoch, but does not reflect awareness of the problem with her view.
This may seem like a small point, even a finicky, technical one, but it ramifies. Later Laverty writes: 'although our descriptions of reality are ultimately illusory they keep the dream of reality alive and in so doing provide understanding and insight'. This is hard to follow. Our descriptions articulate 'meaning' for us, and the understanding and insight they afford is surely linked to that meaning. But reality 'as such', we have been told, is devoid of meaning. It is then not at all clear how the dream of (meaningless, 'void') reality enables our meaning-constituting descriptions to provide 'understanding and insight'. Laverty also at one point tells us (rightly enough) that 'Murdoch and the Romantics comprehend, without bridging, the gap between human subjectivity and reality, by bringing the noumenal within the sweep of human experience' (9). Well, that can be read as a post-Kantian attempt to overcome the noumenal-phenomenal divide, but the problem, in relation to the passages I've just been quoting, is that Murdoch's dialectic depends on her having set the divide up in the tendentious way I sketched: human beings have constantly failed to recognise that all of their 'descriptions' project meaning onto a meaningless world, a 'void'; 'the void' is the noumenal, how things really are, and we can't improve until we acknowledge that. If, against this, it be said that the idea of the void is not functioning at that (so to speak) transcendent level because the noumenal has now been brought within the sweep of experience, the problem shifts. For then it is no longer a 'noumenal' truth that reality is meaningless, void, etc.; instead this becomes just one more description, with no claim to reflect 'reality as such' more deeply or truly than any other. But then the problematic with which Murdoch (and Laverty) begin cannot be stated in the terms we've been considering.
Here is a related tension in Laverty's formulations. On the one hand we are told that Murdoch 'thinks that romanticism, properly understood, entails … a recognition of one's self as relational and required to be attentive to others' (86). This idea -- of the self as relational -- seems integral to Laverty's account of the Murdochian 'third way'. No doubt the idea can be developed in various ways, but common to them would be the thought that the 'meanings' articulated in my relationships (my 'descriptions') are not a merely illusory projection onto a 'really' void and meaningless reality, for if they are such a projection the self that projects them is not fundamentally relational. The metaphysical assumptions behind that 'projection' picture of reality surely drop away if the relational character of the self is taken seriously. If 'the good individual recognises that it is others … who are most real' and that the most important thing for her is 'to involve herself with what is other -- … other individuals, language, academic studies, good art and literature' (87), then it can scarcely also be that the real challenge is for us to confront the 'nothingness that transcends consciousness and is so very difficult for us to acknowledge' (4). If 'it is others who are most real', then reality as 'so difficult for us to acknowledge' because it is void and meaningless is not what is 'most real'. We are also told that '[u]nselfing entails that consciousness becomes less determined by the self and more available to reality. This reality that consciousness becomes determined by is principally made up of other individual selves who are also centres of meaning' (108). On the face of it, to say that the reality that transcends consciousness is 'nothingness -- death, chance, void' is very different indeed from saying that this reality is 'principally made up of other individual selves who are also centres of meaning'. The second passage allows for consciousness as 'relational'; the earlier quotation does not.
In place of the 'prototypically masculine romantic protagonist, independent, isolated, intensely dedicated to his art, in possession of a muse, and an explorer of new and dangerous territories', Murdoch offers us her 'mother and daughter-in-law example and daily domestic chores (such as sweeping the floor, paying the bills and potting plants)' (85). And later Laverty also mentions the person facing a decision whether 'to keep the retarded child at home, ask the elderly relation to go away, leave the family in order to do political work' (109). The way in which such a person made these decisions might indeed show her consciousness as determined by the reality of the 'individual selves' around her. And the rhetoric of her having to confront the 'nothingness that transcends consciousness and is so very difficult for us to acknowledge' then seems out of place. Indeed that rhetoric is perhaps itself a vestige of the 'prototypically masculine romantic' perspective -- with its 'independent, isolated' non-relational self -- that Murdoch is opposing. Perhaps some of Murdoch's insights have to be rescued from her own formulations.
Laverty quotes this from Murdoch: 'Goodness is connected with the acceptance of real death and real chance and real transience' (96). The phrase 'connected with' implies a link between two distinguishable things: goodness is not the same as 'acceptance of real death and real chance and real transience', even if it requires that acceptance. What more does goodness involve? According to Murdoch, it involves love (or, since love can have better and worse forms, 'loving attention'). Laverty herself, though, comes very close indeed to equating goodness (or at least love) with something like this 'acceptance'. She says: 'To accept the determination of consciousness by an undetermined reality is love' (87). But even if the word 'accept' is allowed to bear a great weight in this 'definition' of love, I do not think it is true. Think again of those examples - 'the mother loving the retarded child or loving the tiresome elderly relation' -- that Murdoch speaks of in connection with the questions:
Should [the] retarded child be kept at home or sent to an institution? Should [the] elderly relation who is a trouble-maker be cared for or asked to go away? Should an unhappy marriage be continued for the sake of the children? The love which brings the right answer is an exercise of justice and realism and really looking. (44)
Surely the love spoken of here is not simply or essentially 'accept[ing] the determination of consciousness by an undetermined reality'. When John Donne wrote: 'Gentle love deeds, as blossoms on a bough / From Love's awakened root, do bud out now', he was celebrating a generative power that surely is not contained within Laverty's formulation, and Murdoch's examples suggest something similar.
I think a similar reductionist tendency (as it seems to me to be) can be found in some (not all) of what Laverty says about the sublime. She writes: 'Sublime experiences involve an encounter with death, chance, and the reality of other individuals' (96). In 'a confrontation with the limits of representative consciousness -- death, chance, banality, the void or meaninglessness', Laverty continues, 'the individual experiences the sublime as an educational sacrament or source of good energy' (97). Let us agree that when confrontation with those things is indeed experienced as 'an educational sacrament or source of good energy', we have the sublime. But such a confrontation need not be so experienced. Svidrigaylov and Stavrogin, powerfully drawn characters in two of Dostoevsky's novels, are men whose recognition of 'the void or meaninglessness' is expressed in their sheer despair. They are driven right up against their own incapacity to love. The point is that so far as confrontation with death, chance, meaninglessness, etc. is experienced as a source of good energy, that experience is already drawing on (though it may also nourish) a capacity for love in the subject. That capacity does not have its origin in the confrontation with those things.
Laverty might seek to defend the 'definition' of love I quoted from her, by invoking the distinction she draws in her final chapter between 'two senses of love' in Murdoch, one from her meta-ethics and the other from her philosophical psychology. Of the 'psychological' sense Laverty says: 'It typically describes a form of attachment: either between parent and child, as in the case of filial love; or between friends, as in the case of Platonic love; or between sexually intimate individuals, as in the case of romantic love' (104). Laverty then says that 'Murdoch has romantic love in mind when she is describing psychological love', and Laverty confines herself to romantic love in discussing the first sense. She says that the second sense of the term is 'modelled on the first, but refers, meta-ethically, to the relationship of consciousness to its imaginative unifying pictures and the embodiment of those unifying pictures in the variegated surface of art, literature and life' (105). Perhaps it is this second sense of love that Laverty has in mind when she says that 'accept[ing] the determination of consciousness by an undetermined reality is love'. Something else she says might confirm this: 'Love, in this second sense, directs consciousness to seek reality that is outside its own limit' (106). But this does not distinguish the second sense of love. All of the loves Laverty mentions as exemplifying the first sense of love can be realised in better or worse ways. Any parent can come to see that she has not loved her child as well as she should have, and in seeing this she is not imposing a standard on her love from outside it. The point is that anyone who thinks of herself as loving her child or friend or spouse thereby recognises herself as answerable to the requirement to love well, however much or often she may fail to do so. (This is also an aspect of Plato's ascent of love in the Symposium.) But that answerability is already an orientation to a 'reality that is outside the limit' of her present actual loving. To divide this up into two 'senses' of love, as Laverty does, seems to me to multiply difficulties rather than to resolve them, and also not to be true to Murdoch's idea of love.
I'm sure Laverty would have responses to many of my comments. I'd guess, for example, that she might think closer attention to what she calls the 'carefully situated ambiguity' of many of Murdoch's formulations would resolve at least some of my concerns. Be that as it may, I do not want my critical comments on Laverty's argument to leave a distorted impression of my opinion of her book. Laverty has taken philosophical discussion of Murdoch a good deal further for us all, even in those places where we may disagree with her. And beyond disagreement, Laverty's book offers a wealth of insight and illumination, both about Murdoch and about the broader issues of continuing philosophical importance to which she links Murdoch's work. Anyone interested in Murdoch's philosophy, but also others with an interest in the wider context in which Laverty locates Murdoch, will find Laverty's book stimulating and fruitful. And it will certainly become an indispensable text for further philosophical work inspired by Murdoch's writings.


text:
Split Oak Log Kit for ALTITUDE X 36 Models - OLKAX36
Split Oak Log Kit for ALTITUDE X 36 Models. provides a high quality fireplace media alternative for your perfect living space. Napoleon's Kit is sure to enhance your fire feature and bring a traditional, natural aesthetic to your gas appliance. This decorative fireplace media has been designed specifically for use with the Napoleon Altitude X Series X36 fireplace. These realistic Split Oak gas logs help give your fireplace an elegant appearance by complementing the already impressive look of the Napoleon fireplace unit. Give your room a cozy, personalized look with help from Napoleon.
WARNING: Carcinogens: This product can expose you to chemicals including Lead, which is [are] known to the State of California to cause cancer. For more information go to www.P65Warnings.ca.gov.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
|Search by Category
|C. Woermann supplier automotive machinery steel Bosch Stihl Michelin Federal Mogul Mahle workshop eq
|150 Watt Soldering Iron
|+49 (0)40 328 111-0, +234 1 -773 0904, +233 21 -225141, 221777, +233 51 -37597, +244 923 659936
|ICP License
|Issued by the Chinese Ministry
C. Woermann supplier automotive machinery steel Bosch Stihl Michelin Federal Mogul Mahle workshop eq
Leading suppliers such as Bosch, Stihl, Michelin, Federal Mogul and Mahle have selected C.Woermann as their agent and partner in Africa, where we market and distribute their international brands.
As leading importer of construction steel and automobile components in Nigeria and tyres in Ghana, we are one of the most extensive single sources for automotive parts, workshop machinery, steel and generators.
C.Woermann has in total over 13,000 sqm warehousing facilities in Germany, Nigeria and Ghana where thousands of products are stocked. Our logistics teams collaborate closely with manufacturers and customers to ensure constant product availability and optimised order-to-delivery cycles.


text:
IDEO founder David Kelley sat down with 60 Minutes this week to discuss the philosophy behind "design thinking" — an innovative approach that melds product design with human behavior. It's a principle that has underpinned Kelley's entire career, and one that left an indelible mark on Apple CEO Steve Jobs, one of Kelley's closest friends and collaborators. Kelley, in fact, was part of a team that helped design Apple's very first computer mouse, though his career has ranged well beyond the realm of technology, pioneering new designs in airport lavatory signs and even toothpaste tubes.
"Eventually he pulls the 'I'm Steve Jobs' card."
The central tenet of design thinking, according to Kelley, isn't one of aesthetic or utility, but of empathy and human observation. "Be empathetic," Kelley explained to CBS' Charlie Rose. "Try to understand what people really value." Doing that, he says, will lay the foundation for more intuitive designs.
Kelley spent the majority of the interview discussing his relationship with Jobs, whom he first met after studying product design at Stanford. Their friendship spanned some 30 years, and played a pivotal role in both mens' lives. It was Jobs, after all, who introduced Kelley to his wife.
Jobs also provided Kelley with invaluable consolation and advice after the designer was diagnosed with seemingly terminable throat cancer, urging him to vigorously pursue Western treatment, and to focus on spending time with his family. It was against this grim backdrop, in 2007, that Jobs shared a priceless moment of levity with his friend, as Kelley recounted to CBS.
With Kelley home and undergoing treatment, Jobs surprised him with a brand new iPhone, and personally called AT&T to help him set it up. This proved more difficult than expected, however, leading to humorous frustration. "Eventually he pulls the 'I'm Steve Jobs' card," Kelley recalled with a laugh. "And I'm sure the guy on the other end said, 'Yeah buddy, and I'm Napoleon.'"
It's moment like these, Kelley says, that are all too often overlooked in Jobs retrospectives, which tend to focus on Jobs' exacting and combative professional persona. "I think the misconception is that he was malicious, that he was trying to be mean to people," Kelley said. "He wasn't. He was just trying to get things done."


text:
Look around you, right now. You may be sat at your desk, slouched on the couch, or en-route to somewhere special but the chances are you're probably 'consuming content' on your smart phone, tablet or some such device. And those around you are probably at it as well. On my own daily grind I very rarely see anyone struggling with a broadsheet or flicking through a red-top any longer as the only papers commuters appear to read are Metro in the morning and The Standard in the evening. The common denominator is they're both free.
So, it'll come as no great Usain Bolt outta the blue, that newspaper circulation is plummeting. I'm sure we're all aware of the sad demise of The Independent earlier this year and even Dear Rupert's managing to only flog just over a million and a half daily copies of the builders' favourite, The Sun, from a 2010 figure of double this. The Torygraph a similar 500k from almost 700k, and The Grauniad an astronomically worrying 166,500. Astronomically worrying as I've always taken The Guardian. And Private Eye. Obviously.
An ol' print 'father' of the Fleet Street Chapels once elegantly explained to me that the cover price of the newspaper covered the cost of the PIP (paper, ink and printing press) but that advertising paid for everything else, including everyone's salaries. But 'cover price & advertising' no longer equates to either turning presses or buzzing newsrooms. Rumour has it The Guardian is losing a hundred grand week. I suspect most guardians of the independent, quality press are astronomically worried.
With the onset of t'internet, where news is more than likely to be published for free, sales have fallen and advertising revenue is on the move. Ask yourself where you'd go to buy your next motor, a des-res, meet a lonely-heart or eye-spy a spell in the sun? Once upon a time it'd be the classifieds and the displays, now it's online at the specialist sites of Auto Trader, Zoopla and Match. Today, online advertising contributes in the region of as little as 10% of the publisher's overall revenue. Factor in the modern day phenomena of adblocking, which is decimating click-through & impression revenues on what little advertising remains, and it ain't rosy in the publishing garden.
The press has always faced challenges from innovation and changing social trends – radio & TV in their day and now the internet – and they've been adept at continuing to make money in the brave new worlds. 'Rivers of Gold' as Murdoch oft referred. Several titles (The Times, The FT and the Wall Street Journal) have placed their premium content out of reach of the great-unwashed behind non-negotiable paywalls and tightly controlled subscription demands. However, the key in there is 'premium' and for the majority of news providers, it just doesn't work at scale. The Sun recently demolished its paywall when a paltry number of only 250,000 subscribers signed-up, and in reality, none of us want more than a couple of on-going subscriptions coming out of our hard-earned every month.
The manner in which we read the news has changed forever: online readership is sporadic, irregular, often spontaneous and impulsive, and the way we wish to pay for it needs to replicate this. Micropayments have never (yet) worked and over $1bn has been wasted establishing precious little, but are events now conspiring to change this? Analysing the commercial & academic research of Shirky, Szabo & Isaacson over the last twenty years, we now realise the decision to purchase news needs to be binary: yea/nay. Too many questions and you're gone. Furthermore, the consumer should be trusted to set the payment amount at a level both sides are happy with. Three seconds, one-click and people will do the decent thing. Ask Radiohead. Reade…er, sorry, consumers want to reward great content they genuinely enjoy and benefit from, it's just they've never had the mechanism to do so. Go check out Tibit and you'll see what I mean. A very innovative, novel take on what has gone before.
Think we don't need high quality, investigative journalism? Cast your mind back to the silver screening of All The Presidents Men (Nixon/Watergate brought to you by The Washington Post), Spotlight (The Boston Globe uncovering worldwide systematic abuse by the catholic church) and our very own phone-hacking & WikiLeaks scandals. Journalism's not broken, but the model that pays for it, is. If this isn't changed, all future generations will have on their small silver screens will be ad-swamp, click-bait & churnalism and our 'daily rag' will be no more than a quaint, poignant anomaly of the 20th century.


text:
Mayor Ron Nirenberg announced Friday the formation of a task force to develop a "comprehensive, compassionate" housing strategy for the city to deal with growth and rising median home prices.
"This is developing a new framework of policy that will deal with affordability issues, and directly address gentrification and displacement as a priority," Nirenberg said following his speech at the North San Antonio Chamber of Commerce's 2017 Mayor's Vision for San Antonio event downtown.
The Mayor's Housing Policy Task Force will be led by former U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Lourdes Castro-Ramirez. Other members include former City Councilwoman María Berriozábal; Gene Dawson Jr., owner of Pape-Dawson Engineering; Jim Bailey, Alamo Architects associate principal; and Noah Garcia, Vantage Bank senior vice president.
"They will be charged with assuring that San Antonio maintains its competitive advantage in housing affordability while we grow in a sustainable way," Nirenberg said to a room filled with some of the city's business and government leaders. "It is a diverse group of experts."
Nirenberg said the task force is necessary to help ensure that the city gets the 500,000 new housing units needed to accommodate expected growth over the next 20 years, and to make sure that people aren't priced out of the neighborhoods in which they grew up.
The mayor also noted that the city is facing an affordable housing shortage and needs 142,000 new affordable housing units. Meanwhile, the median sales price for homes rose in 2016 to exceed $200,000 for the first time.
"We have to face up to the fact that the housing paradigm in San Antonio must change," Nirenberg said. "Currently … the kind of sustainable urban-core growth that is healthier, more affordable, and attractive, is only happening because it is subsidized. And to add insult to injury, while we use more of our public resources to build those units, more and more San Antonians are finding it unaffordable to live in the neighborhoods where they grew up.
"We need to protect and connect neighborhoods and make incredible growth, and expand housing choices for our residents, no matter what their income."
The task force will work with City and housing agencies in order to develop policy recommendations, including helping neighbors address short-term hardships, creating incentives for private and public affordable housing development, making sure long-term quality and maintenance are a part of housing developments, changing parts of the City's Unified Development Code, and examining city policies related to State tax-credit support for affordable housing target areas.
"The committee looks forward to creating tangible and actionable strategies to expand affordable housing opportunities, strengthen neighborhoods and enable families to thrive," stated Castro-Ramirez in a press release.
The statement also said that Nirenberg was pleased by the broad agreement expressed by City Council to take immediate action on housing.
Speaking to reporters following the announcement, Nirenberg said this housing policy will go beyond previous intiatives undertaken by the City.
"The [housing] commission that was created by Mayor [Ivy] Taylor was essentially vetting status quo," he said.
Nirenberg believes that tangible evidence from the task force's work will be seen soon.
"They're going to begin working very soon," Nirenberg said. "That work will be fed through technical groups that will really develop actual policy initiatives that will then have to be vetted and approved by council. It's a big lift, but once we have the framework, all the day-to-day activity that you see in the housing space can be guided by better framework."
The mayor had discussed some of his plans for a comprehensive housing policy earlier in the month during a luncheon hosted by the Rivard Report and the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and during his campaign.
"The campaign itself was a referendum on this vision for San Antonio," Nirenberg said. "A better future in a lot of different areas: transportation, housing, equity, education, and I really wanted to lay that out [in the speech]."
Along with announcing the housing task force, Nirenberg said San Antonio had to do more to implement modern transportation systems, including mass transit such as light rail.
"In the [fiscal year 2018] budget, we will improve VIA bus routes and frequency with an additional $4.3 million," Nirenberg said. "But these forms of multimodal transportation will only take us so far. We know the future that is in store with us if we do nothing to build a transit system here in San Antonio."


text:
Whenever I go to Sayulita, I always make sure to leave extra room in my luggage for the goods I get while there. This past trip, I was on a budget and I was doing oh so well (although Evoke's new ceramics made it painfully difficult) but in an extremely girly stereotype I did some retail therapy; after circling Pachamama and Calle Delfin twice, relented and bought a bag and a baby surfer sweatshirt for Little Reef. "Haha, such a woman, we argue and you leave for 20 minutes and come back with a handbag." If I could shop in just one store for the rest of my life, it would be probably Sayulita's Pachamama — and it's always my first stop when I'm in town. Jessica Alba even stopped by there this year! From being featured in Julia Chapin's Gypset Life, to the owners, the Mignot sisters, also called Les Gazelles, grazing the pages of international magazines, this boutique has a pretty strong cult following. From one-of-a-kind leather and pearl pieces to caftan style, hand-embroidered Mexican wedding dresses, you'll stock up on exotic gifts for friends and then some. Be sure to stop by the art gallery next door, a gorgeous space alone highlighting the beautiful work of local artists. 4B Calle Delfin
Check out some of my favorite finds I've accumulated over the years from Sayulita and here's a list of my favorite shopping destinations in town.
Loveera bikinis. I was pumped to see one of my favorite local surf bikini makers, Jade Lovera, now had a stand right in town on the main strip of Calle Delfin. Each piece is one of a kind which is killer for my buyers' remorse!
Ula Boutique. The owner's sweet smile that lights up even the sunniest of Sayu sidewalks draws me into this boutique every time and Ula reminds me of my ideal beach bedroom, bikinis, bright colors, great decor and accessories abound. One of my favorite features of this store though is the enamel, candy colored chandelier! Calle Marlin and corner of Ave Del Palmer Norte
Evoke. There is something so beautiful and serene in the way in which American, Brittney Borjeson, approaches local Huichol culture and curates her store, Evoke. No wonder this spot is fast becoming a Sayulita must-stop. You'll find beautiful locally made clothing, textiles and jewelry, many of which are made by the Huichol tribe. What set's Evoke's textiles apart from what you might see being sold in the town square are the soft beautiful colours. This is because Borjeson encourages her artisans to use natural dyes and traditional ways of making these pieces. A favorite is the Thousand Prayers beaded jewelry from Evoke; handcrafted by the women of the Huichol tribe of Nayarit, each bead is infused with a prayer. I was blown away by one of the latest installations to the store, a wall of bullheads yarn paintings! Check these out from Evoke's instagram EvokeTheSpirit below. 12a Jose Mariscal
Révolucion del Sueño. I heard this was Sayulita's first boutique. It's a really fun pop-art Mexican crafts experience. So quirky and colorful and it's the place in town where you can load up on well-priced but unique tchotchkes for friends back home. Calle Navarrete 55
Sayulita Market or the Mercado del Pueblo. This was once at the Casa de Cultura, but they changed locations this year, and in the typical Sayulita way of not using addresses, I can tell you it's near the Oxxo. Ask around and you'll find it as well as the days of operation. From the freshest produce of local farmers in the Nayarit area to handmade Huichol textiles to local chefs fixing their finest, the Mercado del Pueblo has you covered.
Galería Liz y Curiel. Full disclosure I stumbled on this gallery after falling in love with an adorable baby (check her out below) while walking past this gallery. I am a huge fan of surrealism; my favorite artist is easily, Salvador Dalí and some of Curiel's work definitely reminded me of this. The husband and wife, local to Sayulita (although they have galleries throughout Mexico), are a dynamic force to behold. It was extremely hard to walk out of there empty handed. You couldn't take photos in the gallery, but isn't she cute?! frente a la plaza principal
Sayulita, Mexico. 2015


text:
I was never a big fan of football, even when I was studying in primary school in London, I couldn't really feel the enthusiasm of football among my classmates. Maybe we were too young at that time. There was only one classmate who was seriously into football and his all-time favourite team was Westham United. That was the good old times.
I remember that I only played football a couple of times, generally trying to help my classmate Farack to show off his charm by tackling the ball from me. Even if it wasn't for the sake of flossing ("to show off" in US slang), I was not that fond of it and I always took up the most unwanted position of the game, the goalkeeper......I picked up this sport unbelieveably in Singapore, when I first got to know my scholarship-mates John and Preston, who later became my best friends in life. I was engulfed , (surrounded and covered by sth or sb completely) by their love in football, and thus I started to learn a little by little.
It all began with a game against Vietnamese Trio, Nam, Binh and Traom. Binh was the best one but I didn't know their level or mine, so my possession was taken in my first run and ...... and I realised that I knew zero about playing football.Well, enough of the reminiscene /ˌremɪˈnɪsənts/, let's go back to our topic. Apart from the games we played in ACS(I) Boarding School, I also learnt English words from a very dull-looking yet exciting PC game once called Championship Manager, developed by Eidos, now Football Manager, developed by SI Games.
The classic game showed nothing much during gameplay than plain word commentary flashing over the screen. You don't see players, you don't see graphics, you don't see the ball, just words. It was exciting enough for us at that time, and John and Preston could play the game overnight.
The gameplay was not the most crucial in terms of my learning, although the commentary was quite interesting and creative at times. It was the profiles and attribute page that provided rich vocabulary for me.
Right above is the screen capture of the Football Manager 2009 player's profile page of talented Lionel Messi. It does not only provide you with the position he is able to play, but also technical, mental and physical attributes of the player, with 20 being the full mark.
When I play football with the students in the secondary school now after work on Tuesday, they also spoke some English to me, but they had very little idea of the terms we use in football. Here I will provide some explanations of the terms that may have different meaning from those in the dictionary, and I hope that you can learn them too even if you don't have strong interest in football.
Corners -- the ability to take a good corners, part of the set-pieces.
Crossing -- the ability to "bend it like Beckham", to kick a ball that will curve in the flight, a kind of long pass.
Dribbling -- the ability to move the ball forward while running, players like Messi, C.Ronaldo and J.Zanetti can dribble the ball past many players.
Finishing -- the ability to score goals, the final touch, Brazillian Ronaldo was my favourite player in terms of finishing skills
First Touch -- the ability to control the ball well when the player first touches the ball. It is very crucial to any player who wants to speed up their attack with shorter time and better control of the ball.
Free Kick Taking -- the ability to score goals or perform nice passes at the chance of free kick, a fix spot kicking opportunity. Players such as Sinisa Mihajlovic, Beckham and Roberto Carlos are experts of freekicks.
Marking -- the ability to guard the opponent player, who else other than Fabio Cannavaro at his peak?
Passing -- the ability to pass the ball to your teammates, players like Zidane, J.Riquelme and Beckham can pass the ball to their teammates from over 30 yards with pin-pointing accuracy.
Penalty Taking -- the ability to score from the 12-yard point after a player is fouled by the opponent inside the penalty box of the opponent side, my call is Paolo Di Canio.
Tackling -- the ability to kick the ball away from the opponent player, it takes accurate timing to avoid a foul when tackling, mostly a job of the defenders.
Technique -- the ability to play the ball with the feet in a clever way. Many players have the ability to do magic with the ball, as you can see from the TV commercials. So far, the best technique player in my opinion is Cristiano Ronaldo of Manchester United because he can use both feet and he shows his techniques even when he is playing in big matches. Not ever player will dare to do such thing as the opponent defenders will most likely give them a hard kick to stop them from showing off too much.
Anticipation -- the ability to wait for the ball to arrive at the right spot at the right time. It has to do with the ability to read the game.
Composure -- the ability to stay calm in big matches and be in control of the player's temper, usually the captain will have their composure at a higher level, but not all the time.
Creativity -- the ability to do the unexpected yet great things on the field. Zidane and J.Riquleme once again, but Messi and Iniesta is the new era.
Decisions -- the ability to make the correct move in the game, that will include the timings, the angle of pass, etc.
Flair -- the tendency to attempt shots on goal. Eto'o of Barcelona!.
Influence -- the charm of the player, refers to the leadership, mostly high for captains. My pick is of course, Roberto Baggio, the magician.
Off the ball -- the ability to know where to go and what to do when a player doesn't have the ball on feet. Again, it is how well he reads the game.
Positioning -- the ability to know where to stand and foresee where the ball will go. Game-reading.
Work rate -- how hard a player runs and moves on the field.
Acceleration -- the ability to increase the running speed.
Agility -- the ability to move body quickly and easily while playing. It is how smooth is their movements.
Balance -- how well does a player balance his left and right body movement, his tendency to remain on his feet even when being tackled.
Natural fitness -- how fit the body is even when they are severe lacking in match practice.
Pace -- the speed of running, do not mix up with acceleration.
Stamina -- the ability to last long with the movements and work rate they put in the game. Edgar Davids was called the pit-bull because he never seemed to get tired.
Strength -- the strength of a player when kicking the ball, tackling someone, bumping the opponent players, etc. Legendary players such as Roberto Carlos, Gabriel Batistuta were famous of their kicking strength.
Hope you enjoy the movie clips I linked up and the learning of some football terms!
Picture sources:


text:
Customize your JAMA Network experience by selecting one or more topics from the list below.
Grace S.RozyckiMD
Answer: Giant Multicystic Lymphangioma
Frozen section analysis of biopsy material could not clearly distinguish between lymphangioma, lymphangiosarcoma, teratoma, or the possibility of an inflammatory pseudotumor; a small blue-cell tumor, however, was excluded. Contents of the cysts appeared chylous. The final pathology analysis was consistent with a benign giant multicystic lymphangioma (or cystic hygroma). Mucin stains were negative; trichrome staining confirmed the presence of smooth muscle strands within the cyst walls.
Giant multicystic lymphangiomas are rare congenital malformations of the lymphatic system. These lesions result from a proliferation of dilated lymphatic spaces lined by thin endothelial layers.1 They are thought to develop when primary lymphatic sacs fail to join the lymphatic system during embryologic development.2,3 Lymphangiomas rarely present as intra-abdominal tumors; the majority of those that do are found in younger children. Lymphangiomas most commonly occur within the soft tissues of the head and neck, and they are also called cystic hygromas.4 Within the abdomen, the most common site is the small-bowel mesentery, followed by omentum, mesocolon, and retroperitoneum.5 Spontaneous regression of lymphangiomas appears to be rare, and the usual course is continued expansion. Rapid enlargement might also occur in association with infection, trauma, or erosion into a vessel and hemorrhage.2 Complete resection with negative microscopic margins might be impossible and might account for the overall 10% postoperative recurrence rate.6
Intestinal duplications are uncommon congenital abnormalities. Usually observed early in life, a small number of cases might remain undiagnosed until adulthood. Intestinal duplications share a common wall and blood supply with native bowel; some cysts carry ectopic gastric or pancreatic epithelium. The clinical presentation can vary depending on the location; possible complications include bleeding, abdominal pain, intussusception, or malignant degeneration. Computed tomography is useful in delineating surrounding structures. After the diagnosis is established, surgical correction is the treatment of choice, preferably with complete removal.7,8 A giant chylous duplication cyst has been described as well.9
Desmoplastic small round cell tumors are rare, highly aggressive malignant tumors found in adolescent males. The histologic appearance is that of a small blue-cell tumor; the cells carry a characteristic translocation, t(11;22)(p13;q12), resulting in a fusion between the Ewing sarcoma gene and the Wilms tumor gene. Most patients present with large masses in the abdomen or pelvis, which can be partly cystic. The overall survival rate is low, even after extensive resections; patients treated with aggressive chemotherapy followed by operative cytoreduction tend to have better outcomes.10 For this reason, the presence of a small blue-cell tumor should be excluded prior to committing to a resection of a large abdominal tumor in an adolescent.
Cysticercosis results from the larval infection with the pork tapeworm, Taenia solium. It is a potentially dangerous infection that usually manifests itself within the central nervous system or eye, but involvement of muscle or soft tissue, including extrahepatic intra-abdominal sites, have been reported.11,12 The multiloculated cysts might be calcified. Treatment with albendazole or praziquantel is preferred; operative therapy might be necessary to control specific, localized complications.
The Editor welcomes contributions to the "Image of the Month." Send manuscripts to Archives of Surgery, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, 720 Rutland Ave, Ross 759, Baltimore, MD 21205; (443) 287-0026; e-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com. Articles and photographs accepted will bear the contributor's name. Manuscript criteria and information are per the "Instructions for Authors" for Archives of Surgery. No abstract is needed, and the manuscript should be no more than 3 typewritten pages. There should be a brief introduction, 1 multiple-choice question with 4 possible answers, and the main text. No more than 2 photographs should be submitted. There is no charge for reproduction and printing of color illustrations.
Correspondence: Roderich E. Schwarz, MD, PhD, Cancer Institute of New Jersey, Department of Surgery, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, 195 Little Albany St, New Brunswick, NJ 08903-2681 (email@example.com).
Accepted for Publication: June 15, 2003.
Image of the Month—Diagnosis. Arch Surg. 2005;140(4):412. doi:10.1001/archsurg.140.4.412
© 2023
Artificial Intelligence Resource Center


text:
If your looking for the ultimate book to help you learn and master softball's essential skills, then look no further.
This is the the guide that has helped develop the game's top players and most successful teams.
Now, Softball Skills & Drills has been completely updated with more skills, more drills and strategies and more of the stellar instruction that have made it the top-selling title on the sport.
With step-by-step instruction, full-colour photo sequences, technique tips and unique insight into the game, you'll learn every fundamental skill.
Price: £14.99 I €18.00
Find out more


text:
Another Place To Try Something Else
For my upcoming excursion I think I am going to go somewhere I have not gone to based entirely on what I think I would experience. Depending on what I decide, however, I might not actually be able to know what it's going to be like ahead of time. I have been trying to get more information about some places that I can go. Mostly, I just want to go skiing. So the thing is, I enjoy skiing and I think that there are some good places which would be exciting if I were to go there. Basically though, I am trying to find a place that I think would work well at the scene that I would like to participate. So what this means is I am looking at some of the more common places to see where I could go. Of course, this means that I am looking at some of the ones most people have heard of. The thing is, I am probably going to be going to Breckenridge because that seems to be a place that is good. When I get there however there needs to be a place where I can get my skis because I actually don't have any and I am going to want to purchase a utility. I' am sure they sell them, though. There is a place that will take me from where I am to the location called mountain shuttle and I am thinking that I am going to use them because that will mean that I don't have to get myself there. It seems like everything should be set. When I am skiing I think that I will be awesome because even though I have not gone on any courses like what they have there I know how to do it and I think it's just a case where I need to get back into it. There are a few other things I want to try but I want to make sure I can do the normal stuff first. Skiing is definitely fun and there are a few other things that I enjoy but mostly if I can I like to go skiing. And then of course there are some tricks and other activities you can do but for me usually just regular skiing is enough. That doesn't mean that I wouldn't want to try something else but you know its' mostly just like I want to go out there and have the type of situation where I am running the course and everything is smooth and I don't have to think about if I'm going to be trying any stunts or having to encounter that kind of decision.


text:
BEREA, Ohio -- The NFL is demanding that Steelers linebacker James Harrison and others stop using their helmets as weapons.
And although he was the victim of Harrison's viciousness, Browns wide receiver Joshua Cribbs had a softer message for Pittsburgh's enforcer: "Don't change you."
"You're a player, so play," Cribbs said he told Harrison, his former Kent State teammate and close friend. "Let refs ref. Let the NFL administration, let everyone do their jobs. If you get fined, just try to tailor yourself, but play the game. Don't try to change who you are."
Cribbs returned to practice Friday for the first time since suffering a concussion when he was knocked out last Sunday by Harrison, who moments later flattened Browns wide receiver Mohamed Massaquoi with a blow that earned him a $75,000 fine.
Massaquoi has not yet been cleared by Cleveland's medical staff and is unlikely to play Sunday at New Orleans.
Cribbs, who said he hasn't experienced any concussion-related symptoms since Monday, believes he will be ready to face the Saints.
This weekend, the league will be watching closely for head-high hits following a rash of nasty shots last weekend that resulted in commissioner Roger Goodell promising to impose tougher penalties against players who lead with their helmets on tackles.
Harrison, one of the primary offenders cited by the league, was so upset by the crackdown that he considered retirement. While some of his Pittsburgh teammates didn't take Harrison seriously, Cribbs did and urged him to stay in the game.
Cribbs knows that Harrison lowered his helmet to deliver a knockout blow.
It comes with the territory.
"In the game, you're not saying, 'Oh, I'm not going to hurt this guy or I'm not going to hit him like this'," Cribbs said. "He's like a heat-seeking missile. I have the football and he's targeting on me. He's not like, 'I've got to hit him properly, let me aim at his legs.' He's just trying to get me down any means possible. And I would do the same. I came at people like that as well, heat-seeking missiles."
Cribbs believes he had an impact on Harrison's decision to return to the field after a one-day absence to consider his future.
"I think it meant a lot for him to hear me tell him, 'Hey man, go out there and play and ball out.' And I told him as well, 'Remember, we play ya'll again, so don't think I forgot. We're boys off the field, but when we step on that field, I don't know you, dog'."
Cribbs said he didn't suffer any memory loss from the Harrison hit, which came after the Browns' Pro Bowler took off on a running play out of the wildcat formation. As he neared the line of scrimmage, Cribbs was being wrapped up by Pittsburgh's LaMarr Woodley when Harrison came flying in from the side.
The league said the shot was legal -- a claim the Browns dispute -- and Cribbs found it within reasonable limits as well.
"I had the ball and was going down and he came in to clean me up," Cribbs said. "It's his job to try to put me out of the game. If I was a linebacker, you try to knock guys out. That's what linebackers try to do for the most part. You have to follow the rules, but that's their job."
Harrison was branded a villain by Cleveland fans, and he became the poster child this week for the league's attempt to reduce head injuries.
Browns center Alex Mack said Harrison was using his helmet the entire game -- and not just on the publicized hits that rocked Cribbs and Massaquoi.
"If you watch the game film, [Harrison] was doing that to everyone on every play," Mack told The Associated Press. "People would be on the ground and he would try to spear them. There's a play on film where [running back] Peyton Hillis is tackled and he comes up and spears him. It's like you're being cheap, you're being dirty."
Cribbs said he respects Mack's opinion, but that if Harrison wore an orange helmet and not the Steelers' black and gold, the perception would be different.
"If [Harrison] played for our team we'd be applauding his efforts," Cribbs said. "I'm just trying to be honest. If he were on our team we'd be rallying behind him, just like his team is doing for him. He plays to knock people out. Wouldn't you want a linebacker like that on your team?"
Cribbs won't change his game because of the league's stricter stance on helmet hits. He believes last weekend's rash of hard knocks around the league was "a fluke."
He appreciates what's being done to protect players' safety, but wonders if the league hasn't gone too far, too quickly.
"They're making the right strides in trying to protect players but at the same time, the NFL's walking a fine line between just changing the game and changing players' abilities," he said. "This is the NFL. Everybody can't play and everybody's not able to play. You have to be able to take these hits and get up. That's why we get paid the way we do. It's a tough sport."


text:
Next Step 4
Chapter 4: Stuck
I was about to sit down on the chair when I saw Tyng leaving the cafe. Trisha stopped Caleb in his tracks. "I'll talk to her and see what's wrong," Trisha said. Caleb turned and said something to Edmund. Both of them came over and sat down.
"Write down your orders on this piece of paper," Melissa said. She whipped out her notebook and a shiny silver pen. We took turns to look at the menu and wrote down our orders. Caleb passed when it was his turn and kept looking outside. He drummed his fingers on the table. The vampires were telling their stories to my friends and me but I was thinking of something else at the same time.
"Sorry to cut your happiness short but the way back to your world," Carlisle suddenly spoke up. "It's gone."
"What do you mean it's gone?" I asked quickly. "You mean that there's a way home for them?" Caleb asked suddenly. "Yes, but it's gone. There isn't any portal for years already," Damien answered while putting down a tray of drinks on the table. We passed out the drinks quietly.
"There's nothing we can do?" Esme asked when she saw our sad faces. She sprinkled a clear liquid into her drink before passing the small vial to Rosalie. Carlisle shook his head. I was still thinking about the portal when my food came.
"How did the other maidens go back to their world?" I asked. "Well, no maidens came to Inkspell for years actually," Legolas said before taking another bite of his hamburger. I always thought he was a vegetarian. Before Legolas could continue with his story, Caleb got up and went towards the counter.
I didn't listen to Legolas because I somehow had to see what Caleb planned to do. Edmund craned his neck and stood up abruptly. Edmund then followed Caleb outside. Turns out that both Trisha and Tyng were walking back towards the cafe. Trisha and Edmund came into the cafe while Tyng and Caleb were left outside.
"What did you order?" Trisha asked while looking at the menu. "I ordered their clam chowder and fries. Pretty tasty. I need help to finish the fries anyway," I replied while offering my fries to Amalina, Teva and Ling. "I'll have the clam chowder," Edmund said. He peered over Trisha's shoulder while she wrote on the paper.
The bell rang. Tyng and Caleb came in looking like a couple. Tyng ordered fish and chips, so did Caleb. All of us went outside to play with the snow while both Tyng and Caleb ate. Trisha and Edmund finished their food quickly and joined us outside.
Emmett got us all to ambush Rosalie with snowballs. Rosalie was angry at first and hit us back with more snowballs. Emmett didn't tell us that Rosalie has a strong arm. Tyng and Caleb joined us when Alice recruited both of them into her snowball team. We were split into two groups and battled with snowballs. It's almost like playing dodgeball. Some of the diners joined us too.
Arwen flung another snowball at Melissa. "I've been planning to take our new friends to see the twilight," Edmund spoke up as he helped Melissa brush off the snow. "That's a good idea," Damien said and checked his watch. "Let's head back," he added. "Caleb will sing a song for us," Melissa piped up and wrapped an arm around her son. Caleb cleared his throat in embarrassment. "He did promise us you know, when he comes back from his trip. Besides, we didn't hear him croon for some time," Pogue said slowly and thoughtfully.
"I'll take over the drums," Emmett quickly said. "I'll play the piano," Edward said brightly. "No, the piano is mine," snarled Rosalie.
Rosalie and Edward ran into the house when we reached home. Edward quickly positioned himself at the grand piano, leaving a fuming Rosalie standing in the living room. Emmett was banging away on the drums happily.
We helped to turn the sofas around to face the mini stage Tim and Pogue set up. "What did I get myself into?" Caleb said while tuning his guitar. Jasper brought him a stool. Pogue dimmed the lights in the living room and left a few spotlights on Caleb.
Caleb gave a nervous laugh when his younger brother, Tim, cheered for him. "What do you want me to sing?" Caleb asked. "It's a family tradition. Sing anything you like," Melissa said. "After Tonight!" his brothers yelled. "That's a good song! Sing that song, Caleb," Edward said. "I'll play anything," Emmett said.
"Alright. No laughing," Caleb said and began to strum his guitar. He was good. We were all mesmerized. It might be Jasper's crowd control. We sang along with him and clapped when he finished his song. Caleb grinned when Esme gave him a hug. "I want to perform," Alice said. "If it's ok."
Caleb stayed on as the guitarist. "I need a duo," Alice said and Jasper appeared immediately beside her. "We'll be singing a duet to the song At The Beginning," Alice announced and was greeted with cheers. The chemistry between the two of them was very strong. According to Rosalie, Alice and Jasper can relate to the song due to their past and how they came to meet.
All of us sang together again. After Alice was Carlisle's turn because his family urged him to sing. He chose to sing a song entitled Invisible Life. The mini concert ended when no one wanted to sing anymore. Rosalie, Pogue, and Edward head to the garage to tune and repair cars.
Carlisle announced that he'll be going to the local library with Legolas. "Can I hitch a ride with you?" Ling asked. "Sure," Carlisle said. "I'm coming too," Teva said. The four of them left immediately.
Tim, Caleb, Jasper and Emmett were given shovels. "Shovel the driveway," Mr. Baile said and winked at the four guys while they head out. Emmett and Jasper looked hyper. "What will you be doing?" Arwen asked when Mr. Baile pulled out a cookbook form the shelf. "I'm going to prepare lunch later," Mr. Baile said. "That's very sweet of you," Melissa said. The women disappeared into the kitchen with Mr. Baile.
"Well," Teva said and looked at us. The rest of us could not think of anything. Carlisle retired to Damien's study. Alice busied herself by arranging flowers. We spent our time watching television and read books and magazines in Damien's study. Damien's study is big with walls and walls of reading materials. It's very cozy too. I wouldn't mind spending a night in there.
"Who is Caleb talking to?" Alice suddenly said. We were all sprawled in the living room. I was lying on the carpet on my stomach. Alice was looking through the glass. "The neighbour's daughter?" Trisha said and shrugged. Tyng got up and peeked over Alice's shoulder.
"Probably," I heard her say before she continued reading the book she was holding. "So Carlisle, can you tell us more about the Volturi?" I asked. Edward and Bella told us previously that they met the Volturi before but never explained much about them. The Volturi is kind of like a self-proclaimed royal family of vampires living in Volterra, Italy. Carlisle explained that the Volturi hire talented and gifted vampires to put order to existing vampire communities. We were all awed when he told us Edward's story. He told us how Bella saved Edward at the Palazzo dei Priori, the clock tower.
From what I gathered, the Volturi is headed by three vampires namely Aro, Caius and Marcus. Their guards are Jane, Demetri, Heidi and some names that I couldn't catch. They wanted the Cullens to join them but the Cullens rejected the offers. They kept pressuring the Cullens.
"They came here a few months ago," Melissa said. "What did they want?" Esme asked. Both of them came out with plates of piping hot food which smelled so mouthwatering. "They wanted us to join them," Damien said. "We rejected of course. We had to sent Caleb to you because Aro wanted him, Esme. He wants Caleb for his ability to paint the future," Melissa said. She frowned.
"What about Pogue and Tim?" Mr. Baile asked. He emerged with a few more plates of food. We dug in almost immediately. Mr. Baile cooked delicious waffles. "The Volturi only wanted Caleb. Pogue and Tim stayed back to make sure the Volturi do not go overboard," Melissa added. "Will they come back?" Esme asked urgently. "No. They will not make an appearance because we have humans with us. They don't want to be known," Damien said.
"Hey, hey! I smell something delicious!" Rosalie's voice rang from the living room. She seated herself beside Trisha. The mechanics followed right behind her. "No. Goodbye!" Caleb shouted and slammed the door shut.
"That girl is pushy," Melissa said and rolled her eyes. "Waffles?" Alice asked and held up a plate. "Yes, please," Caleb replied and sat on the chair beside Tyng. Caleb looked irritated. "Are you alright?" Tyng asked him when he kept silent for some time.
"What should we do if they reappear at your doorstep?" Tim asked. "Get Bella and the humans out," Edward said without a second thought. "I don't see the use to get them out. How do we outrun them? They have Demetri, the tracker," Emmett spoke up.
"Leave the escape part to me," Arwen said. "I got a few tricks up my sleeves."
"What did I miss?" Carlisle asked. The group returned form the library. "The Volturi came here a few months ago," Damien said. "Wait, who's the Volturi?" Legolas asked.
Carlisle explained the Volturi to Legolas. "The last time we met them, it was pretty ugly," Esme commented. "I don't understand," Mr. Baile said as he sat down. "What happened the last time?"
"They waged a war on us. They wanted Bella to be turned in immediately," Edward growled. "Enough about the Volturi. It's almost time for you guys to get ready to catch twilight," Carlisle quipped. "It's still afternoon!" Teva said. I looked out of the window. It was getting dark.
"I forgot that we're in Alaska," Teva said when she realized the time difference. Melissa, Esme and Arwen packed light picnic food for us. "Something to nibble while enjoying the scenery," Arwen said as she ushered us out of the door.
"Whoa," Teva breathed when we entered the garage. Pogue was sitting in the driver's seat of a long, black Hummer. "I figured we could all travel together. Save gas," he said. "Not really. Hummer's not environmentally friendly," Alice said as she climbed into the car.
The car was very spacey and there was plenty of room for everyone. Pogue drove us uphill and we stopped at the peak. We were just in time to see the twilight. It was so beautiful and haunting as well. All of us excited or stood on top of the car to watch the sunset.
"Let's take a group picture," Pogue called out and held up a digital camera. All of us posed beside the car. We ate a bit of our packed food. Melissa, Esme and Arwen packed sandwiches for everyone. We sat in the car and chatted. We left the doors open.
As I nibbled on the sandwiches, I looked at the sky. I wonder whether there is a hidden city behind the twilight, like in Northern Lights. I found out why the twilight we saw was eerie. It was giving out a green glow.
"Does the twilight glow green?" I asked Pogue who was sitting beside me. "The twilight here does. It's not an aurora if you're wondering," Pogue said as he looked up at the sky. "It's quite eerie. It's greenish blue now," Tyng said. She was outside, leaning against the Hummer. Emmett and Edward sat on the roof of the car. "Can we reach the twilight?" Emmett asked.
"We haven't tried. Do you want to try?" Caleb asked. He was a few feet away from the car looking up to the sky with his hand shielding his eyes. It was almost as if he could see the galaxy. "Vampire eyes. Our eyes can work like telescopes. Much better than telescopes in fact," Alice explained and smiled.
"Not today. What about tomorrow?" Jasper said. "Let's have a vote," Bella suggested when all of us began to voice our own opinions at the same time. After a lot of noise, all of us agreed that we go tomorrow if it's ok with the adults. We chatted for a few more minutes before deciding to return home. I slept the whole way.


text:
- Blog
- Articles by
Migration Agents
- Visitor
Visa Articles
- Working Holiday
Visa Articles
- Work (Skilled)
Visa Articles
- Employer Sponsored
Visa Articles
- Student
Visa Articles
- Partner
Visa Articles
- Australian
Travel Guide
- Latest
- More +
In this article, I discuss some of the key points about how to present your resume for Australian Visa applications to help make the process smooth and maximise your chances of Visa success.
The first thing to note is that applying for a visa is not the same as applying for a job!
When you are applying for a job your CV should be tailored to the specific position and highlight all of the skills and attributes you have that demonstrates to a potential employer that you are the right person to fill the position.
Applying for a Visa is different. The focus of your CV for your Visa application should be on quantifiable, verifiable, cold hard facts, which are used to determine (and prove) that you meet eligibility criteria for the Visa you apply for.
Exact dates:
For Australian Visas, all dates provided must be in complete date format (DD/MM/YYYY).
This is the most common problem we encounter. The reason we need the dates so precise is that when we enter the information into the government's various systems, we have to select exact dates from drop down menus. We cannot guess this information, it must be accurate.
Exact dates are also important in calculating whether you may be eligible for different things such as points for work experience and possibly eligibility based on a particular amount of years of relevant work.
Employment History:
As noted above, exact employment history is critical to determining eligibility for many skill based visas. When listing our employment history you must provide:
Education History:
Like with the employment history exact dates are critical to determining eligibility for many skill based visas. As an example, in some countries a 'Diploma' is a 2 year qualification that is not as high as a Bachelor Degree, but in others a Diploma is a 3 year qualification that is equivalent to a Bachelor Degree. This can mean the difference between meeting Visa requirements or not so it is very important to be precise.
Your education history should include:
Skills Assessment Outcomes:
If you have a skills assessment for migration purposes list all details:
Licenses or registration:
If you have any licenses or registration you should list all details. Again, keep in mind that exact details are required such as:
English Test Outcomes:
English test results are critical for many Australian Visas. If you have any English test results list them in details:
Speaking: 6.0
Reading: 6.5
Writing: 7.0
Listening: 3.0
Personal statements or career objectives:
The Department of Immigration does not care about your goals, aside from your goal of obtaining your Visa!
There is no need to include your career objectives, personal statements, hobbies, photos of yourself etc. You do not need to include referees either.
Vague dates are unacceptable:
As stated above, you need to be precise with your start and finish dates for everything (DD/MM/YYYY). Vague dates such as 'December 2011 to February 2013 are unacceptable.
Your CV is a professional document. Make sure you format it properly. Be consistent. If you present a sloppy CV you will just draw attention to yourself as possibly non-genuine.
Remember – cold hard verifiable and provable facts are required. Your career aspiration is not the issue with your visa. Whether you can prove that you meet Visa requirements is the issue. Your CV should be an easy to understand summary of all the facts that determine your eligibility.
You will be required to provide evidence of everything you claim on your CV, so make sure it is 100% accurate and that you have the supporting documents to back up your claims. Making false or misleading statements to the Department of Immigration can result in Visa refusal and a three year ban.
We have example CVs for you to review and use as your template if you choose.
I look forward to being able to help you with your visa situation in future. Finding reliable, professional visa help can be very challenging. If you have found this article helpful, please take a moment to 'share' it using the icon visible on the left hand side of this page.
John Bell
General Manager and Senior Migration Agent
TweetSharebar TweetAustralia, one of the top five best countries to study in the world, offers sought-after quality education on top of exciting cultural diversity. Proof of delivery on this promise is the fact that five Australian universities have made it to the top 100 of the 400-plus higher education institutions worldwide ranked by Times Higher [...]


text:
First we will take a fresh look and learn how to diagnose each of the 5 main roots of our human tree:
We will look at Shen from the perspective of the 5 elements and recognize how mental emotional disturbances and the
physical symptoms associated with them arise.
We will learn to recognize Yin and Yang imbalances and their symptoms, in the 5 elements and in each organ system.
We will identify the major acupuncture points and herbal medicine for each of our main systems and establish treatment
strategies to regulate Qi through the 5 elements.
Soma studied a special course on the 5 elements with Dr. Truong Thin in Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam, in 1995. She
integrated into her practice his unique approach and material, with her personal understanding and in-depth
studies of the 5 elements from many other sources.
194 Marine Parade, Mt Maunganui, New Zealand
Early bird, before Aug. 13th: Registered Acupuncturists $380, non registered $420, students $280
Full fee, after Aug. 13th: Registered Acupuncturists $440, non registered $480, students $320
For more information and for registration please contact: Debbie Karl, Telephone: 07 574 4978,
email: firstname.lastname@example.com


text:
April 30, 2018 By: Steven Anderson
We've seen that one of the great advantages of cryptocurrency is the ability to serve as a placeholder currency of sorts between nations. Someone in the Netherlands can pay for something in the United States with bitcoin, for example, and the seller can convert the bitcoin to dollars later, instead of either taking payment in euros or forcing the buyer to convert to dollars first. SWAPX, meanwhile, sent word our way recently about its plan to bring some of that same functionality to its prepaid card mobile payments solution.
SWAPX's new payment card, known as the travel money card, allows users to load the card with funds in euros or British pounds sterling, and then when they arrive in a new country, swap the currency into the local version at either an ATM, or when they spend while traveling. It offers some excellent rates, with reports suggesting that the High Street rate is beat by four percent, while airport kiosks take a real drubbing at eight percent.
The SWAPX card itself is accepted anywhere Mastercard debit cards are accepted, which is a lot of places, and the accompanying mobile app allows for easy, real-time spending tracking. Security is a top priority here, and at last report, boasts the same level of security commonly used in protecting bank accounts online. There are even options to control a card directly if it's lost or stolen, allowing the user to immediately shut down the card in question.
The SWAPX card system is providing a pretty sound function here, though it might be more so if we had more currencies available. While it's certainly worthwhile to have an easy way to jump between pounds sterling and euros—especially now that the whole Brexit thing looks like it's happening—it probably would have been better if it did its transfer magic among more currencies. SWAPX is great if I'm a Brit heading to the French Riviera, or a Berliner heading for London, but beyond that its impact looks rather limited.
Still, it's not a bad idea, even if it's likely to be one that's wiped out when cryptocurrencies go mainstream. SWAPX has a smart plan, but one that doesn't go as far as it should and may well be cannibalized by new technologies soon anyway.
Source Link:- https://paymentweek.com/2018-4-30-swapx-mobile-payments-tool-makes-cross-border-travel-easier/


text: Welcome to your new moon in Gemini…where words are an aphrodisiac. Breathe deeply as today is the start of a new cycle. Gemini is known as the twins and for very good reason. You see, Gemini is about more than one. More than one idea….more than one solution…more than one feeling…more than one expression. You […]Read More


text: Summary and Analysis Part 2: Chapters 13-16 Summary We return to the fate of Monsieur Bonacieux, who has been taken to prison and questioned by the authorities about his wife. As it turns out, Bonacieux is much more concerned about his own avarice and safety than he is about his wife. He explains that his only interest in d'Artagnan was that he needed someone who could help him find his wife. When Athos is brought in, Bonacieux tells them that this man is not d'Artagnan. Bonacieux is then taken from the prison, placed in a carriage, and taken for a trip which he assumes is a ride to the gallows. Later, Bonacieux is questioned by someone whom he discovers to be the powerful and imminent Cardinal Richelieu. While interrogating Bonacieux, the cardinal discovers that the houses which Bonacieux visited with his wife — houses which Constance Bonacieux had said were merchants' houses — are, in reality, the two houses where the duke of Buckingham and the queen's trusted friend, Madame de Chevreuse, have been hiding. When the cardinal calls in Count de Rochefort, Bonacieux immediately cries out that Rochefort is the man who abducted Constance. Rochefort reports that the cardinal's spy in the queen's inner circle, Madame de Lannoy, has reported that the queen left her ladies-in-waiting and was gone for awhile. When she returned, she was carrying a rosewood box containing the diamond tags which the king gave her. She went into the antechamber and when she returned, she was empty-handed. The cardinal is certain that the duke of Buckingham has the coveted box and the diamond tags. When Bonacieux is recalled and questioned further by the cardinal, the old man becomes putty in the hands of the honey-tongued cardinal; Bonacieux pledges everlasting loyalty to him. The cardinal then sends one of his men with a letter to be delivered to a woman in England, a certain Milady, who is to dance with Buckingham and secretly snip off two of the diamond tags that he will be wearing. The next day, d'Artagnan tells Treville about Athos's mistaken arrest. Treville goes to see the king about Athos's arrest and discovers that the cardinal is already there; after much discussion, during which Treville vouches for the whereabouts of both Athos and d'Artagnan during the fracas with Bonacieux, the king and the cardinal both agree to let the matter rest. Immediately after Treville leaves, the cardinal informs the king that Buckingham is in Paris. The king is certain that with the help of Madame de Chevreuse, the queen and the duke are seeing one another. When he hears that the queen has been writing letters that very morning, he is determined to have her searched and have the letters brought to him. He goes to see the queen and informs her that his chancellor, Sequier, will visit her soon and, at his command, will make a request of her. When Chancellor Seguier appears and searches the queen's room and desk and finds nothing, he prepares to search her person. The queen indignantly refuses, and he is about to use force when she reaches into her bosom and gives him a letter. When the king opens the letter, he discovers that it is not a love letter to Buckingham; it is a political letter. The queen is asking her brother in Spain and her brother, the Emperor of Austria, to demand the dismissal of Cardinal Richelieu. The cardinal, upon reading the letter, cleverly offers to resign, but the king knows that he cannot manage France without the cardinal's powerful influence. To make peace with the queen, the cardinal suggests that since the queen loves to dance, the king should give a big ball, and he tells the king that he should insist that the queen wear the diamond tags that he gave her as a present. On returning home, the cardinal hears from Milady that she has secured two diamond tags; she needs money to get to Paris, and as soon as she gets the money, she will be in Paris in four or five days. The cardinal then plots the date of the ball so that he might trap the queen. Analysis In Chapter 13, we find out that Constance Bonacieux is only twenty-three years old; since she is married to a fifty-one-year-old stingy, selfish husband, she would naturally make a likely candidate for a love affair with d'Artagnan, especially since we also learn that her husband thinks of his love for his wife as being secondary to his love for money and influence. Bonacieux is thus an easy prey for the powerful cardinal, and he quickly becomes the cardinal's dupe. Later, when Constance asks him to do a service for the queen, he will not consent to it; thus, she turns to our hero, d'Artagnan, and asks him to perform this crucial deed for the queen. In his questioning of Monsieur Bonacieux, the cardinal is seen to have an acute sense of the intrigues of the court. He knows that the duke of Buckingham is in Paris, and he is able to discover where both the duke and Madame de Chevreuse are staying — that is, in the houses that Constance Bonacieux often visited, pretending to her husband that she was visiting "tradesmen." Through his spies, the cardinal is able to deduce that the queen gave Buckingham the rosewood box containing the diamond tags. Knowing this, he requests the king to give a ball and demand that the queen wear the diamond tags. This demand, as we soon will see, will require d'Artagnan to go on his first adventure. He will have to get the diamond tags and return them to the queen before the date of the ball, a date which the cardinal sets as soon has he hears that his spy, Milady, has stolen two of the diamond tags — snipped them off while she was dancing with Buckingham. In an earlier chapter, when d'Artagnan helped get a message to Monsieur de La Porte, the gentleman told d'Artagnan to find someone with a slow clock who could provide him with an alibi. D'Artagnan went to see Treville and reset his clock; now, when Treville has to give his word of honor that d'Artagnan was with him at a precise hour, he can do so — fully believing that he is telling the truth. Consequently, d'Artagnan is freed from all accusations by the cardinal. Until Chapter 16, the reader might have wondered why the queen is such an enemy of the cardinal. It has been suggested that there are two reasons: (1) she is Spanish and Spain is France's enemy, and (2) she loves Buckingham, an Englishman, and England is an enemy of France. However, in Chapter 16, the real reason appears: ". . . the queen [Anne of Austria] was persecuted by the cardinal because he could not forgive her for having rejected his amorous advances." Because of the cardinal's accusations about Anne's affair with Buckingham, the king is certain that his wife is untrue. He orders that her person be searched, and in those days, a gentleman's having his wife searched for a love letter was a dastardly thing, but a king having the queen searched was beyond comprehension. Thus, the cardinal, whose rumors cleverly prompt the search, now urges the king to be reconciled with the queen. Cunningly, he suggests a festive ball so that the queen will have to wear the diamond tags, which he feels sure are in the possession of the duke of Buckingham. Now the trap for the queen is set, and to counteract this trap, d'Artagnan will have to undertake the journey to recover the diamond tags and return them to the queen.


text:
Create a Website Account - Manage notification subscriptions, save form progress and more.
Please visit Citation Processing Center.
Payments can be made by personal check, cashier's check or money order. Payable to: City of El Monte. Please include the citation number on your check or money order. Do not send cash.
Mail to:City of El MonteC/O Citation Processing CenterP.O. Box 7275Newport Beach, CA 92658-7275
Call 800-969-6158.


text:
Earlier this year, we found out that 2011 cult-favorite El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron is heading to PC. After a couple of false alarms regarding its release date, we know that the game comes to Steam on September 2. A new trailer also revealed pricing as well as extra goodies such as additional story content and more.
If you missed El Shaddai during its launch, the beautiful and bizarre game is best described as a third-person action platformer with a wacky story inspired by the apocryphal Book of Enoch. You play as the book's namesake, Enoch, and you're searching for seven angels to prevent a catastrophic flood. The game was released for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 but was never ported to PC (or anywhere else, for that matter). That's been unfortunate because while it's a weird game, it's also quite good, which makes its move to Steam exciting for both fans and curious newcomers.
Click here to watch embedded media
The Steam version will include a post-game digital novel called Lucifer's Fall. Publisher Crim is also releasing a digital artbook with over 90 pages of illustrations and a 61-song soundtrack.
El Shaddai's standard version will cost you $39.99, though the game will be discounted to $32.39 during the first two weeks of sale. You can also grab the art book for $13.99 and the soundtrack for $24.99. If you'd rather have everything in one package, a $78.97 Deluxe Pack includes the game, art book, and soundtrack and will also be discounted to $39.25 in the first couple of weeks.
If comments are still showing as disabled, a site update is happening on our side that has caused a temporary takedown. We hope to have them back up and running soon so our community can go back to sharing their thoughts with us about everything gaming-related!


text:
Product Details:
|Place of Origin:
|Brand Name:
|CE RoHS
|Model Number:
Payment & Shipping Terms:
|Minimum Order Quantity:
|USD38-USD50 for 1-500 pcs
|Delivery Time:
|1-10 days
|Payment Terms:
|L/C, D/A, D/P, Western Union, MoneyGram, T/T
|Supply Ability:
|1000 pcs per day
Detail Information
|Product Name:
|AL-5117 Indian Rupee Currency Counting Machien With Fake Money Detector
|Hopper Capacity:
|200-300 Notes
|High Light:
usd multi currency counting machine,
multi currency counting machine 180mm note,
1000 pcs/min money counting machine
Product Description
AL-6000 Counterfeit Bill Machine Money Counting Machine
Automatic start, stop and clear.
With Batch, Add and Self-checking functions.
UV, MG counterfeit detection.
Automatic half-note, chained note detecting.
Double-note detecting with IR.
Software updata from RS-232 port
Display change when detect suspicous note
Suitable for most currencies in the world
Counting speed: ≥1000pcs/ min
Hopper capacity: 200-300 notes
Stacher capacity: 200-300 notes
Size of countable note: 50*110-90*180mm
Power Supply: AC220V±10% 50Hz
AC110V±10% 60Hz
Power Consumption: ≤80W
Multiple powerful detection methods to easily detect suspect counterfeit notes, ripped or damaged bills and eliminate any doubt in the correctness of the count.
UV - ultraviolet, MG - magnetic and IR - infrared detection - Paper thisckness detection systems.
All 4can be used together or separately assuring the most accurate outcome.
Auto, Manual, Count, Batch, Add and Manual value for a wide variety of money counting needs which saves time and makes counting simple.
In Add mode, the machine can add multiple batches together and provide the total number of bills.
In Batch mode allows to count bills in a set batch of user's choice.
In Manual value mode, machine can calculate total value for single selected denomination
Business Grade technology money counter combined with counterfeit detection for an all-in-one cash processing solution!
Counts up to1000 bills a minute to make quick work of any cash amount.
Enter Your Message


text:
Khalid – SkylinePublished By Kez On 10th Dec 2023 at 4:03 pm
Khalid – Skyline MP3 Download
Multi talented hip hop artist "Khalid" dropped a new song titled "Skyline", stream this song on Naijafindmp3.
Skyline is a song released by Khalid; an artist, rapper, singer and song writer. This is a hip hop music and when we say hip hop we meant the backing music for rap, the musical style incorporating rhythmic and/or rhyming speech that became the movement's most lasting and influential art form.
Sometimes, fans of other countries choose to call it foreign music instead of hip hop, this is because it's not peculiar to their locality, our top 100 songs are mainly songs of this nature.
However, you can find this song on google and this style of music is popular among United States blacks & Hispanic origin. You can find mp3 songs and stream our previous song to update your media playlist. See the song details below;
Song Details
Review: Khalid – Skyline
It's a good music with a kick beat, bent in hip hop and rap vocals and it's currently trending. Click here to download "latest foreign music".
Stream & Listen To Audio Below, Share And Enjoy.
« Omawumi Ft. Ric Hassani – Coast To Coast | Jack Black – Peaches »
TOP SONGS RIGHT NOWDoja Cat – Wet Vagina Doja Cat – Ouchies Doja Cat – Love Life Drake – Slime You Out Adele – Easy On Me Ez Mil – Realest Travis Scott – MELTDOWN Doja Cat – Demons Chris Brown – Under the Influence DJ Khaled – SUPPOSED TO BE LOVED


text:
Eastern Washington, you've been asking Seattle Tiny Homes to visit a show east of the Cascades, so here we come! You can see a Magnolia model tiny home this coming weekend, May 10-11, at the Walla Walla Balloon Stampede. We are excited to showcase our craftsmanship and quality in this model that has a bedroom on the main floor.
Festival Hours:
Friday: 12pm – 10pm
Saturday: 8am – 11pm
Walla Walla County Fairgrounds
9th Ave & Orchard St, Walla Walla, WA
For more information, go to: http://www.wwvchamber.com/pages/WallaWallaBalloonStampede