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Baddiley Lecture
The Baddiley Lecture
The Baddiley Lecture is a prestigious biennial event organised by the Institute. It is a high point in the academic year. The series was set up in recognition of Professor Sir James Baddiley's major contribution to Newcastle University.
The subject area of the Lecture is broad, but where possible reflects Jim Baddiley's interests. For example, the biological chemistry of small molecules or the structure and function of microbes.
Previous Lectures
Energy conversion in biology
Delivered by Professor Sir John Walker, FRS, Nobel Laureate , Inaugural Baddiley Lecture in 2008.
Splitting the nucleus
Delivered by Professor Kim Nasmyth FRS, Whitley Professor of Biochemistry, Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, 2009.
Control of the cell cycle
Delivered by Sir Paul Nurse, Nobel Laureate and president of the Royal Society, 2011.
Small silencing RNA: the dark matter of epigenetics and evolution
Delivered by Professor Sir David Baulcombe, FRS Royal Society research Professor and Regius Professor of Botany at the University of Cambridge, 2013.
The use of recent advances in electron microscopy to study the mitochondrial ribosome
Delivered by Professor Sir Venki Ramakrishnan, Nobel Larueate, President of the Royal Society, Deputy Director of the MRC Laboratory for Molecular Biology, Cambride University and a Fellow of Trinity College.
Membrane proteins - the lipid connection
Delivered by Professor Dame Carol Robinson, the Doctor Lee's Professor of Chemistry at the University of Oxford and is a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire. She is the first female Professor of Chemistry at the University of Oxford and was previously the first female Professor of Chemistry at the University of Cambridge. Professor Robinson is renowned for pioneering the use of mass spectrometry as an analytical tool and for her ground-breaking research into the 3D structure of proteins.


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Bonnie Mckee Story by Melissa Rodwell for Icon Magazine
I was born and raised in Los Angeles. My father was an architect that designed custom homes for "the famous people" living here. I hung out with famous people's kids when I was a kid. I got heavily involved in the music scene as a teenager, so the Sunset Strip was my second home. Rubbing elbows with celebs was just something I took for granted. It was just part of growing up here in the city of Angels. Starting out my career in Los Angeles, it was almost a "given" that any photographer based in LA would most assuredly want to shoot celebrities. But that just wasn't the case with me. I loved shooting musicians, but other celebrities just weren't my cup of tea.
Every once in awhile, though, a gig will come up where I'm asked to shoot a celeb and I'll take it. Last year I shot Nicole Murphy for VH1's Hollywood Exes' Reality TV show. Six months ago, I got the dream job of my career when I shot Perry Farrell from Jane's Addiction. And just this last November my agent asked me if I'd like to shoot Bonnie McKee for Icon Magazine. Best known for her songwriting collaborations with Katy Perry, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, amongst others, Bonnie is also a singer, songwriter and actress in her own right. Her second album is set to be released this Spring and she's quickly rising to pop stardom! I liked what I read about her and decided it would be a fun shoot. My agent also thought that Icon Magazine's editor in Chief, Casey Geren and myself would really love working together. So I decided to accept the assignment.
Bonnie is as personable as she is pretty. Her flaming red hair with the Pretty in Pink tips and her lovely spirit made the shoot just simply, fun! She loves the camera, and of course, the camera loves her!
When I am in LA, I live on the East side, in the hills of Silverlake/Echo Park. So we took advantage of my colorful neighborhood and shot on location just down the street from my house. Utilizing the amazing graffiti art that dominates my hood, Bonnie worked the artful backdrops like the pro that she is.
I had one of my LA assistants, Chris Evan, come out to assist me on this shoot. We used an external flash to bounce some light onto Bonnie. We put a soft box on a Speedlight and used it as a soft fill light with available light. I like shooting this way, letting the available light be the key light source and filling in the shadows with some flash fill.
Everything was shot on my Nikon D800 with either my 24mm or 85mm lens.
Enjoy! xoxo


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Red Sea Aggressor
With awesome visibility and breath-taking soft corals, the Red Sea is one of the most popular dive destinations in the world. There are over one thousand species of fish in the Red Sea, 20 percent of which can be found nowhere else in the world. It is hard to believe that where the Egyptian desert sands end, a marine paradise begins. Ironically, the desert climate has created an ideal setting for divers.
The Red Sea Aggressor is a spacious 120 ft. yacht with a 26 ft. beam, built and powered for comfort, safety and stability. She is diesel powered, cruises at 10-12 knots and has 220-volt power onboard (with attached plug in).
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The Red Sea Aggressor has 3 Master staterooms, each with a queen bed and 7 deluxe staterooms, each with two twin beds. The yacht has a beautiful spacious salon, large sun deck with shading, Jacuzzi, chaise lounges and deck chairs, bar and a complete photo/video center. The onboard video format is both NTSC and PAL.
It is one of the sunniest places on the planet; therefore, corals and their tiny guests thrive on an overabundance of solar energy. The Red Sea is the resting place of many intriguing wrecks including several WWII ships that house countless artifacts.
The majority of dives are made from the Red Sea Aggressor skiffs which are capable of carrying up to 10 guests for quick access to even the most remote dive sites. The boarding ladders were designed for convenience to allow divers easy exits and entries. Guests will still be in close proximity to Egypt's Red Sea finest diving. Skiff diving has proven itself in this location. In between dives, you may snorkel, explore secluded beaches, or just relax with a cold drink and mid-morning snack. Guests may dive up to 4-5 dives per day including night diving when possible.


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AELEX Law Firm, one of Nigeria's largest and successful commercial law firms, has marked its 10th Anniversary. In this interview with Legal Editor John Austin Unachukwu, one of the firm's founding partners Mr. Soji Awogbade, speaks on the challenges of sustaining a large practice, legal education, arbitration and sundry issues.
What are some of the challenges in forming and sustaining a large law firm, such as yours, in Nigeria?
Sustaining a practice of this size and at this level, particularly with your touted strengths, means that you have to keep adding to your skill sets, because you have to meet the needs of your clients.
What we say to the clients as the basis of our initial decision to merge, was that we thought that the legal market required more skills sets than was resident in any of the existing firms. And if we were not going to fall into the trap of just growing by numbers and not skills set, then we had to do some integration along those lines, specifically.
Coming along now, I think that we have made a difference to how the business of law is done. We probably are the only firm that still practises specialisms. Partners stick with what they are known for, and that seems to be the way to go.
Does that really count for an industry that has become so diverse with practitioners expanding their skills and specialisations to embrace emerging markets and trends?
Well, it is going to count more and more, because the size of the market that we service is expanding, the kind of investors coming into our market now are not doing so in briefcases or suitcases. They are coming with global establishments, wanting to take advantage of what the economy offers. To that extent, they are going to require not just legal services, but all sorts of services to back them up. Because whether it is legal or physical constraints, they have to do some shopping here, which is in consonance with that development.
What is difficult, is actually finding the skills.
What do you mean?
Our system has not completely escaped the concept of "My empire," "Your empire". The prevailing circumstances around here shows that by the time skill sets begin to mature in law firms with a need to up the antics, associates pack up and leave to set up shop else where.
What is the place of one man practice in this scheme of things?
Without disrespect to their readiness to take on tasks out there and face the world, I'd say most of them are unprepared for the level you and I are describing now. The level where a client says I need 20 people on a transaction. If you are a 'one man' firm, short of taking a holiday from other clients, how would you meet this demand? How are you going to get 20 people? This is the kind of Push and Pull that exist here.
There is always going to be a market for boutique-sized type firms, who are smart enough to confine themselves to their areas of specialisation and strengths and sell out other parts in which they do not have the required skills or expertise to other suppliers of labour or services. The fact remains however, that for you to be a full service law firm, you must possess the complementary qualities that make you one.
How effective are our laws as tools for economic developmet?
Let's face it, this is the subject of a dissertation because first and foremost, you must ask yourself, is Nigeria constituted as an environment? Are the standards the same across board? What you may not get away with in Ogun State, you may likely get away with it in Imo State and this goes all the way across the country.
Secondly, what is the process of law making in Nigeria? How reflective of our thinking are the laws? How dynamic are they to cater to realities around us? I agree that we are still young as a nation, but the same basic elements that other countries have used as touchstones for development are the same settings that we have right now.
It is bound to be a collective decision to do things differently and to change things around here; at least to the best of our abilities, better than not trying at all. Many of us have given up trying while others don't even bother trying.
Have you ever heard one public official give you a coherent reason why the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) has not been passed into law? Not one! Instead of telling us what the problem is, they continue making one promise after another. In other countries, a decent office holder would simply say "you know what, I can't do this anymore, please appoint someone else to do it." This is because, where he/she fails to do this, someone will ask for his head and before this machete-man comes, they'll simply say, "I'm sorry I cannot deliver, here's the job."
When you get to a society where no one asks you to account, no one audits what you do? you simply carry on with business as usual. This is the society we live in today and even the law isn't sufficient to grapple with the challenges we face today.
There have been concerns that despite some admissions into the partnership of the firm from within, no woman has been considered for such an elevation. Are the women falling short of the firm's high standards?
I assure you, that this would happen very soon. As a matter of fact, I can tell you for nothing that it nearly happened not too long ago, but the candidate left just about that time.
That is the nature of the industry. Chances are, if I think I am good enough to stand on both legs, I'd simply 'WALK'. We are used to these patterns in the professional services sector. We don't expect anyone to plant themselves like a tree. However, at AELEX if you are very good, you may not be let off and that's how you become a partner. This is the ordinary method by which this happens.
When you are very good, you are spotted early and given responsibilities. If you are passionate and in love with the work you do and the achievements you're making, you don't just leave and walk away. You aspire higher and make better progress until you get to the top. So it is simply a coincidence of right time, right choice!
What reforms would you suggest for legal education in the country to enable law firms compete favourably in the global legal market?
The curriculum needs to be more streamlined. We must ensure that people are not studying law for the sheer heck of it. In the UK, even as we speak, you don't need a law degree to be a lawyer. There are other channels. And though these other channels mean harder and longer work, it is a choice that one has to make. By the time all of this hard work is done, the finished product would have been tried and tested either way.
Here in Nigeria, students possess an examination mentality. We memorise, reproduce, and get a first class. You should come in here when I conduct interviews for first-class graduates for employment and you'd have a field day. Some of these graduates were forced to study law and as far as they are concerned, this obligation has been fulfilled. They have no passion for the law. During quantitative aptitude tests, first-class graduates fall flat on their faces. How would such a person solve problems? I have liabilities if I give wrong advice and I cannot take that risk.
We must streamline our curriculum and teaching methods, to steer us away from rote learning. We need a country and a leadership that knows what it really wants to achieve.
Despite the introduction of fast- track procedures in our courts, the judiciary is overburdened and cases are still being delayed. The impact of this on foreign investments cannot be overemphasised. Is there any solution to this setback to justice delivery?
The answer is supply and demand. I don't go to court any more for these reasons. I haven't been in a law court for the past 28 years. In any society where there are no consequences for anything, there will be trouble. The reasons that cases are adjourned are scandalous. The number of times they are adjourned is unearthly, usually at the drop of the heart. But guess why? We have so many lazy lawyers. Corruption is not the only issue plaguing our judicial system today. More often than not, it is the combination of one lazy lawyer and one lazy judge. A judge should be able to say, "No adjournment, I'm going on," so that cases are resolved expeditiously, rather than give in to the whims and caprices of lazy and mischievous lawyers.
Are you saying judges don't do this?
Only a few actually put their foot down against this indolent and ill-intended act. This is because there are quite a handful of lazy ones in the bunch. Every professional in Nigeria has five other engagements or businesses other than what they are paid to do; and judges are not exempted from this act. They are always in a hurry to leave the courts to go take care of other businesses – workshops, lectures, luncheons, meetings, and several other activities.
Some of those appointed to the bench lose sight of the fact that when you accept to become a judge, you have made the decision to take yourself away from social scenes. You become dead to social activities. Most of them don't realise what they set themselves up for and so they carry on with business as usual and this has its effect on our justice delivery system.
With regards to corruption in the system, some judges go to the bench with set plans. They work to be posted to the right courts and would do anything to be posted to the right courts, and then they work to be assigned the right cases. A lot goes on; on this altar of justice as we call it. However, if you must resolve your disputes by litigation, then by all means go to court.
Looking back to 2004, when the firm AELEX launched out, how does it feel to be marking the 10th anniversary?
It sure feels good. The expression is that one couldn't foresee what the nature of the journey would be, or forecast some of the obstacles we met along the way.
Whether the vision was bold or brave, brash or rash, we couldn't really say at the time. I have led a practice that was big, but it was never an integrated partnership, it just happened to be big in numbers. The difference with the Aelex partnership was the fact that we combined our strengths. Ten years later, we are still trying to acquire more skill set and that I think, is the nature of the development itself.
Employees are known to work harder and give more in organisations where they consider themselves stakeholders of the business. What sort of structure does Aelex have to instil such confidence in its employees?
When we started AELEX, it was very clear in our minds what we wanted to do, who we wanted to be and where we wanted to go. Starting with the name of the firm, Aelex, it is not the true name of any of the partners, though we all came from backgrounds where we had our names in the firm's logo, etc.
We were clear in our minds that it was not going to be, "my firm" or "your firm". Rather, it would be a firm where you would come, prove yourself and grow up. This is the way we have kept it. We have made partners as we moved along. It is one place, where no one partner can sack an employee. By the time you are ripe for sacking everyone would have seen it.
If you look at the way we appraise our people, it is almost a 360-degree thing. You cannot be that good and I would think that you are not good at all. I may not think that you are as good as my partner thinks you are, but that you are not good at all should not be the case. All of these kinds of elements we have eliminated at Aelex and so, it is not a firm where you can leverage on relationships with partners or anyone for that matter to rise to the top. It is also not a place where you can leverage on your gender. You have to roll up your sleeves and dig in the trenches with everyone else. This is one thing I think we have succeeded in establishing.
How do you develop skills to cope the ever-changing legal environment?
Truly, this is one thing we have been successful at, speaking of formal training and development. We are probably the leaders in what you may call, development spending. We invest massive alot of money on training and developing our team. Unfortunately, having regard to what I said before, there is no guarantee that these skills would remain with you, as they make their way out into the market and away from you, after these trainings. I think in this country, if you talk about a community called the 'Aelex Alumni', it is a substantial pool of very sharp minds; who have given themselves a brand in the market. That kind of value addition to the industry and market, is one of the significant achievements we can point to in the last 10 years.
Do you think this will pave the way for a successful Arbitration practice in Nigeria?
Arbitration is getting more and more grounded in Nigeria. First, the selection process is prolonged. It is much slower than the selection process of the courts, and it can set you back some huge sums. We are in a large arbitration at the moment; a process we kicked started one year ago, and we still haven't moved. Beyond that, someone can still go to court to halt the entire process and there is little you can do about that at the moment, because access to justice must always be guaranteed. But if you do this in a few other jurisdictions, you will pay dearly for it.
What I'm saying is that it is not always going to be the most appropriate solution, because if you are talking about judicial enforcement as a pronouncement, this is infinitely more powerful than an arbitral decision. Also, the simplification of an arbitral process, sometimes turns out to be an oversimplified process. Arbitration used to entirely time- efficient but today, the time is not that superior over litigation. Still, as with litigation, people make their choices with regards to these processes.


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LINEUP Spotlight: Gold Hand Girls
Musicians can all relate to the struggle of getting started in the music industry. It's just tough out there, and unfortunately, it can be especially tough for female artists. Recently, we heard about the creation of Gold Hand Girls–an Oklahoma based management start up with the purpose of helping to empower women who are getting started in the music industry. We immediately saw the potential value that this could add to all genres in the fabric of the OKC music scene. With that in mind, we reached out and asked them to tell our followers a little bit about themselves, their company, and their female music business hosts.
Alexa: "Ten months ago, Courtney Lashar and I properly met again for the first time in years. Sometime in late spring, binging on miso soup and tea, we discussed our future endeavors. It was exhilarating- speaking to another young woman who was also preparing to leave for a music business internship. I'd like to think music is what brought us to that moment, and to this moment now. Spontaneously, that same day Courtney and I founded a company together called Gold Hand Girls. We realized a lack of woman within this industry, and knew that together we could make a change. Our first impression lasted hours.
Gold Hand Girls focuses on empowering women in the music business. We find women across the US, and UK to partner with in hosting a small concert within her city. Hosting a show can be difficult, especially on your own, so Gold Hand works as your backbone. We help the host to find a venue, local artists, and to build a team of likeminded individuals within her area. This not only builds the hosts interpersonal professional relationships, but strengthens her skills in all areas boss related. The value behind the show is based off the female host feeling successful in her career path without working under a man- there's nothing better than filling a room of people for the purpose of music. We're lucky to already have women all across the United States hosting shows with us. In fact, we have two confirmed within our home state just in the first months of 2017!
Courtney and I both have been born and raised in Norman, Oklahoma. And although Court now lives in Arkansas, this will always be our home. When I tell people about Gold Hand Girls, they instantly question where I'm from. People aren't quite aware of the gems that lie beneath this scruffy college town. I mean, Norman has a small town feel, but by the time night shines the diversity amongst college students has no end. I think we're all quietly making music behind closed doors; spineless creatives, nonetheless.
It's remarkable to me to see the congregation this company has called for just within the first month. Like previously mentioned, some of our first shows are in our home town. Meaning, everyone and their mom has offered to support us! It's amazing beyond words. We might be from a college town, but our friends are just as important as our football games. Support, and party. Party, and support. "
Gold Hand was also kind enough to provide us with some Q / A with a few of their artists. And while these first few are international examples, it certainly gives context to the potential they have to benefit female artists here in OKC.
Megan La Lau: London
Alexa: How old are you, and where do you live?
Megan: I am 20, I live in Guildford, Surrey.
Alexa: Who inspires you?
Megan: I get inspired by a lot of artists from Janis Joplin to lady Gaga. But my main inspiration has to be my mother, she is the strongest women I have ever met, she is the most hard working and she doesn't give up on anything, I definitely look up to her.
Alexa: How do you one day hope to impact the music business?
Megan: I hope to impact the music business by "normalizing" the fact that women aren't sexual objects that are used on an album cover or a music video. Women are strong, creative people and the industry needs us more than ever.
Alexa: How has Gold Hand Girls helped you to interact with your future career?
Megan: Gold hand girls has given me an amazing platform to be able to start booking shows and discovering new acts which I love. Also I am a singer myself so maybe performing at one of the shows.
Sydney Christenson: Salt Lake City
Alexa: How old are you, and where do you live?
Sydney: I'm 19, I feel like I'm 50, and live in Ogden, Utah.
Alexa: Who inspires you?
Sydney: I constantly feel waves of inspiration, so pinpointing that to just one person is pretty tricky. musically, I'm really inspired by Mr Gnome and Bon Iver. there are so many other artists that inspire me, but those two have such a significant way of creating new, fresh sound that's unmatched. the thoughts and visions I have running through my head all the time come from really everything I witness, whether it's a book I read or a song I heard or painting I stared at. the world is pretty inspiring.
Alexa: How do you one day hope to impact the music business?
Sydney: I wish to provide an authenticity and genuine feel to whatever branch I'm working with in music, whether it's live shows or more in the recording setting. I want positivity and inspiration to constantly flow from what I'm working with, and I think that's exactly how I'll impact the music business.
Alexa: How has Gold Hand Girls helped you to interact with your future career?
Sydney: Gold Hand Girls has given me a platform to work from. It's motivated me to get going and express myself as I've started this path. It's so empowering to be backed by other women with goals and dreams similar to mine. It's the most perfect group to be apart of, considering that my goals with music business involve genuine and


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In elementary school, we learned the old adage, "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all." Unfortunately, this basic credo of kindness doesn't quite hold up in the virtual world. While online comments and reviews are crucial to reinforcing your capability and credibility as a healthcare provider, it's nearly impossible to elicit positive feedback 100% of the time. Depending on your tolerance for criticism, your reaction to reading a negative message about yourself or your practice might range from mild embarrassment to total devastation. But before you reach for that box of tissues, remember that one bad apple doesn't necessarily spoil the entire bunch—at least not in the social media realm. In fact, if you play your cards right (i.e., respond appropriately), you can actually use negative feedback to humanize your company and demonstrate your unwavering commitment to client satisfaction. With that in mind, here's some guidance—inspired by this American Express Open Forum article—on how to navigate the murky waters of negative interactions, broken down by type:
Type of Feedback: The Statement of Fact
With this interaction, the commenter simply states what happened—no trash-talking, no finger-wagging, no unsavory language. It's just a straight description of this person's experience with you or your practice—an experience that just happens to be negative.
"I received a bill from ABC Physical Therapy almost six months after the appointment for which they were charging me."
How to Respond:
When people bring valid complaints to your attention—in this case, the complaint isn't explicit, but you can pretty safely assume that the customer is unhappy with his or her experience—you definitely need to address them. This is not the time to get defensive, as that will only invite more negativity—especially if you've received multiple comments about the same issue (angry mob, anyone?). Instead, offer a sincere apology to the commenter and assure him or her that you're aware of the problem and that you're taking steps to fix it—which should be the truth. In the example above, for instance, an appropriate response might be: "Thank you for bringing this to our attention; we're so sorry for the delay. We've been working to improve our billing processes to get claims out the door faster so bills arrive in your mailbox in a more timely fashion."
Type of Feedback: The Polite Critique
Even with the cloak of anonymity the Internet provides, there are people out there who will refrain from full-on attacking a business online in favor of a more well-mannered approach. But although their words may not be mean-spirited or over-the-top aggressive, they're still decidedly critical—and clearly indicative of dissatisfaction.
"ABC Physical Therapy really needs to reassess its billing practices. It's just not acceptable for me to get a bill for services I received more than six months ago."
How to Respond:
Again, you can't really ignore this type of complaint, especially if you know it's probably true. And even if it's not—maybe the person exaggerated the billing lag time, for example—you can't afford to let his or her call-out go unanswered. That only invites others who have experienced similar issues to piggyback on the post—and if they see that you never offered an answer, it sure doesn't make you look very attentive. So, craft a positive response similar to the one suggested in the section above.
Type of Feedback: The Reasonable Attack
By "reasonable," I really mean "with reason"—in other words, it's not an out-of-the blue, completely random complaint. The commenter has a leg to stand on because his or her opinion is not without merit, but the comment itself is probably peppered with some pretty subjective—and, most likely, harsh—language.
"Does ABC Physical Therapy even HAVE a billing department? Because I, for one, do not enjoy paying for services I received HALF A YEAR AGO!"
How to Respond:
Ah, yes, the dreaded all-caps—the cardinal sin of Internet commenting. Unfortunately, angry people tend to throw all respect for basic Internet etiquette out the window. The number-one thing to keep in mind here is that you do not want to fight fire with fire. Responding to a disgruntled customer's yelling with even more yelling will only exacerbate the situation; before you know it, your conversation could turn into a full-on Internet shouting match for all to see. Instead, address the commenter's issue in a calm, pleasant, positive tone—and make sure you acknowledge his or her pain point and explain your plans for eliminating similar problems in the future. For example: "We're so sorry for the delay, and we completely understand your frustration. We know such belated bills are unacceptable, and we're currently in the process of fixing our billing processes to avoid this issue in the future." As a side note, remember that in some cases, you may receive comments from multiple users regarding the same issue. In such instances, avoid responding to each comment with a generic, "canned" answer. Instead, craft a new message for each response. This humanizes your business and shows that you care about each commenter as an individual.
Type of Feedback: The Follow-Up Attack
You screwed up. You admitted it. You offered a sincere apology. And to top it all off, you vowed to correct the issue that prompted the attack. But for some commenters, that's simply not enough—and they'll let you know it.
"Well, it's great that you're fixing your billing processes for future customers, but that doesn't make the surprise $300 bill that showed up in my mailbox this week any less unacceptable. If you really cared about keeping my business, you'd do something more to remedy the situation."
How to Respond:
If an attack-spurred conversation escalates past the initial apology, you want to move the transcript off of your clinic's public-facing page—stat! As this Savvy Panda article advises, "If a customer posts a negative review and you take the time to respond with a sincere apology and a clear solution, don't continue to engage in any sort of 'That's not good enough!' banter. The unfortunate fact is that some people will never be happy—so don't spend all afternoon throwing water in a bottomless bucket of appeals to reason." However, the article goes on to offer a compromise for those wishing to respond to follow-up complaints or demands: Rather than addressing the customer's comment publicly, invite him or her to send you a direct message so you can continue the dialogue in private.
Type of Feedback: The Barrage
It's one thing for a social media user to leave a single comment expressing a single issue, complaint, or concern; it's another for that user to start throwing hate all over your business's online platforms with reckless abandon. But if you have an especially disgruntled customer, he or she is liable to come at your social feeds like a wrecking ball (or pug).
"Hey, ABC Therapy, can someone explain the huge, random bill I got in the mail today—six months after my last appointment at your clinic!?!"
"Apparently, ABC Therapy's idea of good customer service is a surprise $300 bill six months after the fact."
"Unbelieveable. My last PT appointment was half a year ago, and today I found a $300 bill from ABC Therapy in my mailbox."
How to Respond:
If the commenter has a legit reason to be upset—and a belated bill would probably fall into that category—then you should respond in a calm, apologetic manner and then attempt to get into direct contact with him or her as soon as possible to mitigate the situation and (hopefully) negotiate a ceasefire. However, if a user unleashes a firestorm of negative comments that are in no way rooted in fact, you may be tempted to argue with that user—or perhaps simply block him or her so you can be done with it. Do not fall into this trap! Keep your cool and do your best to turn the negative into a positive. However, as this article explains, if the tone and content of the comments push the envelope on appropriateness—or if the words come off as threatening or obscene—then you absolutely can (and in some cases probably should) delete them, mark them as spam (if possible), and perhaps even block the offending user from your page.
Type of Feedback: The Straight-Up Spam
Unlike reasonable attacks, pure spam isn't rooted in validity. Many times, spammers—or, as they're not-so-affectionately known in the social media world, trolls—aren't even customers or prospects. Some are just random social media users who enjoy stirring the pot in any way possible just to get a rise out of people. In other cases, they may be trying to taint your fans' and followers' opinions of your business so they'll move to a competitor.
"Nobody at ABC Therapy has any idea what they're doing. Everyone I know says that clinic is a total joke."
How to Respond:
You might be tempted to engage this person and argue against his or her outrageous, totally unfounded claims, but in this case, you're better off holding your tongue. Why? Because when you respond, you're giving the troll exactly what he or she wants. You're taking the bait. But in this situation, you're better off taking the high road, and that means ignoring the spam or—if it is inappropriate, explicit, or potentially libelous—removing it.
Facing negative online feedback can be uncomfortable—and maybe even a little scary—but if you develop a plan ahead of time, it will be much easier to take action when the time comes. Has your practice dealt with negative comments on social? What response strategies have worked best for you? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.


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Blue Sparks
Divisions of Life and Death
The Deep Blue, See
Propelled (Herb Robert)
Spin A Little
Imagined Butterfly
Tinged"the fatal metaphor or progress, which means leaving things behind us, has utterly obscured the real idea of growth, which means leaving things inside us." Gilbert K. Chesterton
Blue SparksField Scabious i do believeious. An amazing level of developement. By amazing, I mean amazing, not added for effect.
Divisions of Life and DeathFound beauty in a strangers garden. I guess they will never know.
The Deep Blue, SeeFound Bellflower
Propelled (Herb Robert)"On and on we go, always with the ghosts of us in tow"
DaubBlue stamped from the motion of the wind throught the golden grass.
ElucidateBalue flames amongst the golden fields.
Spin A LittleI never intended to be blue
Imagined ButterflyGrowing from the woodland floor around Langsett Reservoir.
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NAMM is almost upon us and Avid, along with every other audio brand on the planet, hopes to woo you with their latest offering. You know the drill by now "more", "faster", and "cheaper" or at least we hope that will be the case.
That hasn't gone, but the days of a pullback of the curtain and a 'tada!' are fast disappearing for a number of reasons.
I was talking with someone a few days ago and recalling that the first version of Xpand (not Xpand2) was available for free at a London music show as a DVD. I went to that show just to get the first free Pro Tools virtual instrument and also to see all the other new stuff Digidesign (which I still think is a better name) were showing.
You see there was a time when the only way to see new stuff was to go to a trade show like NAMM or Messe. Before the web, email, YouTube and social media, there were no forums, no websites, no emails and no online videos of products. The first time most of us saw and hopefully touched a new product was at one of these shows, and then we would wait what felt like months for the magazines to print reviews filled with glossy pictures one would dribble over. The fact that a magazine like Sound on Sound survives in this modern era of instant news and reviews is a testament to the quality of their writing and the content they produce.
Now most of us will see the revelation of a product and know it in intimate detail without having to leave the comfort of our sofa - which means that for product announcements trade shows are largely irrelevant - when I go to one; it's to hang out with industry friends and to connect with new people. My last few trade shows have been spent either sitting in hotel lobbies, bars or over meals talking about business. Anyone who has was at Musikmesse 2017 would have seen this played out in depressing reality, with many large brands abandoning the show and those who did bother did so with a significantly reduced presence. This lack of interest was partly to do with some changes in policy at Musikmesse as well as the changes mentioned above.
Now a new product announcement is planned with military precision with a video, or two, or three. There's a web page with information written to give you more detail than an average human can be expected to take in, in many cases, there is even a download of software so you can try it yourself. Then there's the email to tell you about the announcement which is timed to the second to hit inboxes the moment the brand is ready to tell you about it.
Secondly, software distribution models are changing; some software is still 'sold' but much of it, especially software with of a perpetual nature, now uses a subscription model.
For example, if you are a user of an Adobe product like Photoshop CC then you will be mostly unaware of updates and changes to the software. I use Photoshop every day, and I use it a lot, but I could not tell you what version number I have. Now and again I discover a few new features installed with a new update. There's no grand announcement. Perhaps if I was bothered, I could visit the website and see all this new stuff, but I just need to get work done, so I don't take much notice as long as it keeps doing what I need.
This kind of transparent software evolution is only possible because of the software delivery over the internet and a subscription pricing model - it would not have been possible when I had to go to a store to buy a disc with the software on. When I look in detail at my Adobe CC account I can see there have been a lot of small incremental software updates over a year. This update strategy was not possible in the 'good-old-days' so a company would save it all up into one big software release and make a new version. Of course, that new version would have a new number, often the next one along with Windows 7 or Pro Tools 8. Of course, there have been times when brands have gone off-piste and used different version numbers like Windows 95, but this was less likely.
Avid is taking the Adobe approach and moving to the incremental model of software changes, mitigating the need for the 'next big release.'
One could say that this new numbering system is just a rose by any other name, perhaps so, but it is a response to a world where software development, sales and distribution are a far cry from the days of boxed software and grand announcements at trade shows. As I've already outlined the world has changed, and whilst the internet has brought us instant gratification from the moment the product is announced to the day we actually get it, I have to say I do miss the excitement of a trade show, the magazine dropping through my letterbox so I could get my hands on it and then, at last, visiting the store to buy the boxed software.
It is highly likely I'm looking back with rose-tinted spectacles, the vast majority never get the chance to visit trade shows. But even sitting on the toilet scouring the pages of Sound On Sound or Keyboard and visiting the stores brings back memories that fill me with nostalgic warmth and make me smile. I used to have a bookcase with all my software boxes lined up like the works of Shakespeare; I even dusted them!
I don't think the lack of a Pro Tools 13 is anything to do with Avid being superstitious; they are merely facing the fact that the days I've already spoken of are gone. Yes, I miss them, but at the same time, it's nice to open your software to find bugs fixed and new features without any grand announcement.
And let's be honest who wouldn't rather have that, instead of the marketing froth that often accompanied new product announcements only to be left with a feeling that the product never quite lived up to the promises made?


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We're proud to announced that Consultorio Veterinario Dr. Francisco E. Melendez, a new clinic based in Puerto Rico, selected Vetter Software's cloud practice management solution to help grow its practice.
"We started researching online for software for our new clinic because the price of Avimark, which is the system we had experience using, made it impossible for us to buy," said Dr. Francisco Melendez, owner of Consultorio Veterinario Dr. Francisco E. Melendez. "We evaluated most online software and chose Vetter Software for several reasons. First, the option to start for free allowed us to test the software for a few days, and we absolutely loved it. Second, the software is very well made and professional compared to other options available. However, it was the excellent customer service that made our final decision. They answered all our questions quickly and it was always a pleasure speaking with them."
"Our company was founded on the principle of delivering an outstanding customer experience," added Sagi Solomon, CEO and Founder of Vetter Software. "Every interaction that our customers have with us – from the design of our software to our free 24x7 phone and email support and training – is an opportunity for us to prove that we are committed to our customers' success. We are proud to have the opportunity to partner with Dr. Melendez and his team to help them grow their new practice."
About Consultorio Veterinario Dr. Francisco Melendez Ramirez
Consultorio Veterinario Dr. Francisco Melendez Ramirez is a small veterinary clinic based in Puerto Rico that opened in September 2015. We provide mainly low cost services for people who can't normally afford veterinary services for their pets. We believe that all pets deserve to get the best care possible no matter what. Dr. Francisco Melendez has been working in the field of veterinary medicine for years now, working for many veterinary hospitals around the island and now finally in his own small clinic.


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Nonlinear Water Waves
Cetraro, Italy 2013
- Editors
- (view affiliations)
Part of the Lecture Notes in Mathematics book series (LNM, volume 2158)
Also part of the C.I.M.E. Foundation Subseries book sub series (LNMCIME, volume 2158)
Part of the Lecture Notes in Mathematics book series (LNM, volume 2158)
Also part of the C.I.M.E. Foundation Subseries book sub series (LNMCIME, volume 2158)
This volume brings together four lecture courses on modern aspects of water waves. The intention, through the lectures, is to present quite a range of mathematical ideas, primarily to show what is possible and what, currently, is of particular interest.
Water waves of large amplitude can only be fully understood in terms of nonlinear effects, linear theory being not adequate for their description. Taking advantage of insights from physical observation, experimental evidence and numerical simulations, classical and modern mathematical approaches can be used to gain insight into their dynamics. The book presents several avenues and offers a wide range of material of current interest. Due to the interdisciplinary nature of the subject, the book should be of interest to mathematicians (pure and applied), physicists and engineers.
The lectures provide a useful source for those who want to begin to investigate how mathematics can be used to improve our understanding of water wave phenomena. In addition, some of the material can be used by those who are already familiar with one branch of the study of water waves, to learn more about other areas. The lectures cover background material as well as aspects that represent the state-of-the-art. We therefore commend this collection of lectures to both the novice and the expert.


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This lovely apartment is situated in one of Reigate's most sought-after locations. As you drive up the road you can't help but be impressed, the road is lined with large family homes as well as apartments with well-manicured GARDENS and hedges. Pulling onto the communal driveway, this once detached period house has been converted into apartments.
A large communal entrance leads the way to this ground floor apartment and once inside, the stylish and neutral décor runs throughout the apartment. A bright hallway invites you in and to your left you walk into a glorious, light filled living room, dominated by the views outside of trees and bushes providing privacy through the large bay window. Graceful proportions associated with the era with picture railings, a fireplace and new carpets beneath your feet.
The separate kitchen has white cupboards providing plenty of storage and black worktops with space for free standing appliances.
There is one double bedroom and a bathroom which has a white three-piece suite with a shower head over the bath.
Outside, there is a lovely communal garden for everyone to share, where you can enjoy summer BBQ's with the neighbours or quietly read a book in the sunshine.
Reigate is well known for its variety of fancy eateries and entertaining pubs with live music. At the weekend the Everyman cinema is a great place to watch the latest Hollywood movie. The Priory Park is just beautiful with its flower gardens, children's play area and lake, fantastic for taking a stroll and enjoying the great outdoors all year. Reigate train station is a short walk down the road so you can jump on the train and be in London in under 40 minutes. The local co-operative shop on the corner of Somers Road will be very handy when you've run out of milk and Reigate and Redhill have a great variety of retail shops to browse through.
"As first time buyers commuting into London, we loved living in this flat for a number of years. The location is ideal for both the train station and for walking to Reigate High St, and we've got lots of fond memories of entertaining and socialising with our friends in the large living room!"


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Chelsea Sproul
After attending her first yoga class in 2010, Chelsea was hooked. In 2017 she registered for her 200 hour teacher training with Hotbox Yoga and started an incredible new journey.
One of the (many) things she loves about yoga is that it's for everyone, regardless of age, gender, size, how much your leggings cost, etc. Finding a yoga practice and community transformed Chelsea's life, and now she wants to share that with others. Her classes are simple yet challenging and emphasize connecting movement to breath.


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Create an Account - Increase your productivity, customize your experience, and engage in information you care about.
View All Calendars is the default. Choose Select a Calendar to view a specific calendar. Subscribe to calendar notifications by clicking on the Notify Me® button, and you will automatically be alerted about the latest events in our community.
October 24, 2019, 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM
October 31, 2019, 4:30 PM - 6:30 PM @ Lovell Park
Held in a safe community environment, the Parks and Recreation Department's annual Halloween Bash is free to all children and their families. Kids outdoor activity games, front door giveaways, goodies, toys, and a costume contest.
October 30, 2019, All Day
Payments must be received in our office by 8 am to avoid disruption of service. Once your account is disconnected for non-payment, the entire balance plus a $100 reconnection fee must be paid in cash, certified funds or with a debit or credit card. No checks will be accepted. Service technicians are not allowed to accept payment in the field.


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January 31, 2018
First, you hear: "Ride Jackie Ride!" Followed by the sounds of a rodeo announcer over the loudspeakers and the thunder of hooves. These are the sounds of barrel racer Jackie Ganter, who was recently featured in a Red Bull video project. The series is titled "Sound of Sport" and is described as an immersive video experience produced in "collaboration with DTS Audio, who used cutting-edge sound technology to let you hear the action as if you were right in the middle of it."
The video stands out from other visual takes on the sport and is heavily focused on nat sound in lieu of traditional interview elements.
"It was an amazing experience, especially seeing how it all came together. There were many things during filming, such as cameras on my head and microphones attached to my shirt, that — at the time of production — didn't make sense to me or I didn't know exactly what sounds they would capture," said Ganter. "Once the video was finished it all made sense — these are truly the sounds of my sport."
Red Bull has long been known for their amazing video pieces that showcase the world of sports in new and interesting ways.
Watch the Video: "Sound of Sport" by © RED BULL
Ganter originally grew up as an English rider, but transitioned to barrel racing when she was 12-years-old. Her mother trains barrel racing horses, so it was a smooth transition for Ganter. Her career is just beginning to take off, and at a young age, success looks promising for this rising rodeo star. Ganter qualified for 2014's RFD-TV's THE AMERICAN after winning the world championship at the Better Barrel Races World Finals. Ganter also received an invite to the 2016 American rodeo.
Barrel racer Jackie Ganter recently qualified for the 2018 RFD-TV's The American Semi-Finals.
The Semi-Finals kick off Sunday, February 18th in Fort Worth, TX. RFD-TV's THE AMERICAN returns to AT&T Stadium on Sunday, February 25, 2018. The road to the finals is already underway with qualifiers in each of the rodeo events. Click here to get the latest list of Barrel Racing Qualifiers.
Read the full story on Red Bull's website here.
Photos from the "Sound of Sport" photoshoot. © RED BULL
Meet Jackie Ganter, Barrel Racing's rising star. © RED BULL
Jackie Ganter rounds a barrel. © ROBERT SNOW/RED BULL CONTENT POOL
Jackie Ganter and her horse running barrels. © ROBERT SNOW/RED BULL CONTENT POOL


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Lost Bay Charters-No Catch No Pay!!
Capt. Bill Willis has grown a reputation for providing productive fishing trips with high catch rates aboard top quality vessels. His fishing charter's goal is to exceed clients' expectations and provide them with a trip they will remember for years to come.
Lost Bay Guide Service's boats are furnished with the best and most up to date tools for the job. The 24ft Skeeter's smooth, dry ride is particularly appreciated by charter guests, and its upper station controls allow guests to experience the ultimate thrill of sight fishing for their target fish. The boat is powered by a reliable 300 HP Yamaha 4-Stroke engine that can get you to the fishing grounds fast whether you are heading inshore or offshore, while an i-Pilot trolling motor by MinnKota will serve you well when targeting spooky inshore fish. Fitted with the latest in side imaging electronics, this superb vessel will provide everything you need for a productive fishing trip.
Capt. Bill will guide you around the inshore areas from Pensacola to Mobile Bay or up to 9 miles offshore in the same area. If you decide to fish inshore you can target Redfish, Trout, Snapper, Flounder, Sheepshead, Sharks, Mackerel and Grouper, depending on the season and conditions. Offshore charters usually target Snapper, Grouper, Triggerfish, Sharks, Cobia, Mackerel and Grouper. All fishing equipment is provided, Star and Key Largo custom spinning rods with Shimano Stradic reels and Skeet Reese casting rods with Johnny Morris Signature series reels.
Capt. Bill is an IGFA certified captain who is a member of the Coastal Conservation Association and the Orange Beach Fishing Association. With over 25 years experience fishing the waters surrounding Pensacola, Perdido Key, Orange Beach and Gulf Shores, Capt Bill and his team of Captains have the confidence to offer the area's only "Catch Fish Guarantee".
Fishing License
Live Bait
You Keep Catch
Catch cleaning & filleting
Child Friendly
Ice Box
Rods, reels & tackle
About the Captain
|Angler's Choice
|13 Fishing Reports
|287 Customer Reviews
|Response time 3 hours
|Member since December 2015
About this listing
Targeted Species
Boat Specs
Skeeter (Center console) originally built in 2018. Powered by a 300HP Yamaha 4 Stroke engine.
Types of Fishing
Fishing Techniques
Trip Includes
When paying the remaining balance with a credit card, there is a 4% fee.


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T. J. Clark's Life Source Weight Loss System Package™
Weight Loss System Package -
8 Oz. Liquid Weight Loss System Formula™
4 Oz. Liquid Co-Q 10 Formula Advanced Formula™
8 Oz. Liquid Chromium Picolinate Formula™
T. J. Clark's Life Source Weight Loss System package is designed to help give your body a jump start in your weight reduction program. Taken in combination with our Health Complete Daily Nutrition Package, (which contains all the essential elements necessary to guarantee your body has the crucial building blocks to function properly), together these packages will not only help you shed those pounds and inches, but help you maintain optimum health and vitality while you do it! These packages help you feed your BODY, not your stomach! Real weight loss, less hunger, greater health, and more energy and vitality is all within your reach!
In our Weight Loss System package we have combined three formulas to help maximize the effectiveness of your diet and exercise program.
Of course, everything is assembled using the exclusive phytogenic compounds that your body needs and our exclusive catalyst that makes it all work together to create a "Team Effect". This package helps provides the jump start your body needs on the road back to that "perfect body" that lurks inside you.*
Visit our Weight Loss Information Section.
Directions for Weight Loss Package use.
Note: You should always consult with your health care provider before stating any diet or exercise program.


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Phillip Lopate/
How did you become a writer?
Slowly. I always liked to write when I was a kid. I was the one who was made to write the Thanksgiving poems, and the George Washington Day poem, and all that kind of stuff. But I didn't think I'd be able to be a writer because I thought they were geniuses. So I decided to be pre-law when I entered college. But then I hung around the students who wanted to be writers and they didn't seem any smarter than I was, so I decided to give it a try.
I began writing fiction and later switched to poetry and eventually to nonfiction. Since I didn't have much money—I was working class—it seemed a very risky thing to do. But I made some money as a ghost writer for a while.
You really can't get a certificate saying "You're a Writer Now." The way that I became a writer is by reading a great deal and wanting to enter into the conversation with other authors, many of whom were dead, and imitating their style, however unconsciously.
Name your writing influences.
I guess the first influence was my father, who liked to write poetry. He'd started out as a newspaper reporter, but then, during the Depression, the newspapers that he worked for went bankrupt so he had to take a factory job. But I watched him write. He had a very concise way of writing. He was always trying to take out extra words. I have a more maximalist way of writing, which I suppose was something of a rebellion against his style. But he certainly was somebody who read a lot even when he was working in factories. He introduced me to Dostoevsky and to Kafka and to Faulkner. He brought a lot of cheap classics into the house—Pocket Books and the like. These were the days when the Modern Library and Pocket Books were all geared toward the self-taught worker.
Then in high school I began reading a lot of those New Directions books like Sartre's Nausea and No Exit, Garcia Lorca's poems—I suppose I became a good little Modernist. It was all rather bleak and despairing, you know? Even before I went to college I was reading contemporaries like Norman Mailer, Philip Roth, Bernard Malamud, Saul Bellow. In a way, precisely because I was a next generation of American Jewish writer, I felt that they had taken up a lot of the territory. And given my natural perversity and impulse to fall in love with the old, in college I was much more interested in older writers like Fielding and Laurence Sterne and Diderot. I read a lot of Nietzsche, a lot of Flaubert. I had a friends who were much hipper than I, like Ron Padgett, who was a poet in the New York School. He'd say, "Why don't you read Gertrude Stein and William Burroughs and Raymond Roussel and get with the program?" So I'd read them for a while, but then I'd go back to Stendhal and Flaubert and Balzac and George Eliot. I was very comfortable in the 18th and 19th centuries. I was drawn to ironic fiction. Italo Svevo and Machado de Assis influenced me the most, two writers who are ironic, who are playful. I suppose they came out of the tradition of Laurence Sterne and Tristram Shandy. I like that mischievous tone. Some of that was rooted in Dostoevsky, like Notes from Underground, you know? It was the heretic or marginal tradition that I connected with very strongly.
Are there any teachers that stand out?
At Columbia I studied with some great thinkers: Lionel Trilling, Eric Bentley, and Meyer Schapiro. They were all rather remote, and in some ways I preferred the remote, withdrawn teachers to the ones who tried to be our friends. I was intimidated by the ones who wanted to go out drinking with us. I didn't want to do that at all. I think because I had come up from the ghetto in Brooklyn, I had a kind of class mistrust of mixing with teachers. Somehow they were the enemy. I liked teachers I could watch but they weren't necessarily watching me. That was certainly true of Lionel Trilling. He was a great mind but not a particularly good teacher, not a particularly good lecturer. There was something very poignant about the way he struggled to bring the interior swirl of his mind into the public space.
Again, I was separating myself from modernism and trying to find an older tradition and thinking that when I wrote it would matter even though I wasn't taking the next step in Hegelian progression of Art. For instance, at one point I liked Heinrich von Kleist a lot and started imitating him. I think when a writer begins there's a lot of imitation.
When and where do you write?
I write at home, in my office on the third floor of a brownstone in Brooklyn that we own. It's fairly tiny now because of the piles and piles of manuscripts and books around. I've only gone to one writer's colony in my life, and that was last May when I went to Civitella Ranieri in Italy. That was because they said, "Would you like to spend a month in an Italian castle?" Essentially, I feel comfortable writing at home and I don't feel like leaving it to write. I'm not a night owl. I generally write during the morning hours and sometimes in the afternoon. You can't get much intelligent writing out of me after 5 PM. You might say I keep banker's hours.
What are you working on now?
At the moment I'm finishing two books: One is a collection of personal essays, which is my fourth collection after the trilogy of Bachelorhood, Against Joie de Vivre and Portrait of My Body. The second book is a collection of teaching essays about the craft of nonfiction that I've been writing for several years. I often have a column in a magazine called Creative Nonfiction. It's kind of my pedagogy of nonfiction. In a way the two books are Theory and Practice and I hope they'll be perceived that way.
Have you ever suffered from writer's block?
Only once, when I was running away from my first marriage. I lived in California for a year in 1968. California was strange to me and I think I felt a lot of inner emptiness in the face of all that beauty. I was used to New York City. I've never had writer's block since. I write nonfiction, fiction, and poetry. If I get stuck I switch genres. Plus at this point in my career I'm often asked to write book reviews, articles, responses, and so on, so a lot of what I write is really initiated outside myself and I'm on deadline and have to do something. I do the best I can.
What's your advice to new writers?
My advice is to read a ton and don't be afraid of being influenced. Allow your brain to be reconfigured by thousands of pages. Don't be in a hurry to get published, but try to amass a backlog. I think it's a good idea to try to get published in small magazines, magazines that friends edit—don't necessarily aim for The New Yorker or Harper's right off. Get your work out there. I participated in a lot of open meetings when I was a poet and published in a lot of mimeographed magazines. It's important to start to communicate with readers on however modest a level.
Phillip Lopate was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1943, and received a BA from Columbia in 1964, and a doctorate from the Union Graduate School in 1979. He has written three personal essay collections -- Bachelorhood (Little, Brown, 1981), Against Joie de Vivre (Poseidon-Simon & Schuster, 1989), and Portrait of My Body (Doubleday-Anchor, 1996); two novels, Confessions of Summer (Doubleday, 1979) and The Rug Merchant (Viking, 1987); two poetry collections, The Eyes Don't Always Want to Stay Open (Sun Press, 1972) and The Daily Round (Sun Press, 1976); a memoir of his teaching experiences, Being With Children (Doubleday, 1975); a collection of his movie criticism, Totally Tenderly Tragically (Doubleday-Anchor); an urbanist meditation, Waterfront: A Journey Around Manhattan (Crown, 2004); and a biographical monograph, Rudy Burckhardt: Photographer and Filmmaker (Harry N. Abrams, 2004.) In addition, there is a Phillip Lopate reader, Getting Personal: Selected Writings (Basic Books, 2003).
He has edited the following anthologies: The Art of the Personal Essay (Doubleday-Anchor, 1994); Writing New York (Library of America, 1998), Journey of a Living Experiment (Virgil Press, 1979), a best essays of the year series, The Anchor Essay Annual (1997-99), and the forthcoming American Movie Critics (Library of America, 2006). His essays, fiction, poetry, film and architectural criticism have appeared in The Best American Short Stories (1974), The Best American Essays (1987), several Pushcart Prize annuals, The Paris Review, Harper's, Vogue, Esquire, Film Comment, Threepenny Review, Double Take, New York Times, Harvard Educational Review, Preservation, Cite, 7 Days, Metropolis, Conde Nast Traveler, and many other periodicals and anthologies.
He has been awarded a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship, a New York Public Library Center for Scholars and Writers Fellowship, two National Endowment for the Arts grants, and two New York Foundation for the Arts grants. He received a Christopher medal for Being With Children, a Texas Institute of Letters award in the best non-fiction book of the year category for Bachelorhood, and was a finalist for the PEN best essay book of the year award for Portrait of My Body. His anthology, Writing New York, received a citation from the New York Society Library and honorable mention from the Municipal Art Society's Brendan Gill Award.
After working with children for twelve years as a writer in the schools, he taught creative writing and literature at Fordham, Cooper Union, University of Houston, New York University, and Hofstra University. He is currently the Director of the Nonfiction MFA Concentration at Columbia University.


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When we practice yoga we learn to recognize that things may not be how we thought, but they may be even better! Haily is thrilled to embark on this yoga and dharma talk adventure with you! As yogis, we learn to pay attention and remain present, this helps us to uncover gems that may be hidden under stories or expectations. In this workshop you will:
- be led through a juicy chest and hip opening flow, closing with restorative postures
- reflect on how receptivity to change can guide you in the right direction, through journaling
- discuss how yoga and awareness can bring you into a happier, more empowered life
Come find more space in your hips and heart, and explore opening into grace and freedom! All levels welcome.
When: Friday, August 17, 7:00 - 9:00pm
Fee: $25, members receive 10% off
click here to sign up
Haily Cryan, RYT500, & YACEP, will help you flourish in your physical practice using alignment based direction, movement and laughter. She uses her creativity to plan fun, fresh classes that will challenge, inspire, nourish and spark your own creative flame. Haily offers an experience in class that will resonate beyond the edges of your mat and into your world, encouraging you to find your own balance, be your best self, and follow your dreams.


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The narrative is our default attentional mode. There is nothing wrong with living your life as the main character in a story, but there is something liberating about also feeling at home in the direct experience of living regardless of the circumstances.
Here's an exercise you can experiment with throughout the day in order to travel more freely between both worlds:
Pause to notice some aspect
of your current experience.
It's simple, but not easy. Let's break it down.
Just take a few seconds in the middle of any activity or thought. This is the trickiest part: remembering to do it.
You could be walking or standing in line or waiting for a red light to change or sitting in a meeting. Anything you do standing, sitting, or lying down will work. Nobody needs to know. In fact, plan on keeping it to yourself until you've done it a few hundred (or thousand) times.
...to notice...
Drop whatever story you find yourself in. Not forever. Just for the next few seconds. Even if you have a few minutes to practice, work with units of a few seconds at a time and string them together. Each brief unit of noticing constitutes one repetition.
You can stop or slow down or keep doing what you're doing. You can even keep thinking what you're thinking. The difference will be that you're deciding to devote at least a few seconds to closely observing some part of it directly.
...some aspect of your current experience.
This can be any sensory experience: seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, or feeling. What makes this part challenging is that we tend to skip right to the evaluation of whatever we notice: do I like it or not like it, is it beautiful or ugly, good or bad. We're disrupting this default mode by trying to get more acquainted with the process of noticing itself.
It's as if you were exploring these questions:
- What is it like to see?
What is it like to hear?
What is it like to smell?
What is it like to taste?
What is it like to touch or feel?
But instead of trying to answer these questions using words, try to experience the answer directly through your senses.
You're literally attempting to sense the answer without any obligation to describe it.
It's fun. Kids do it all the time. Adults forget.
This exercise might seem too simple to be meaningful. We're much more familiar with the story-problem mode of attention. See if you can develop the habit of simply remembering to pause to notice aspects of as many ordinary experiences as possible.
Even though each individual repetition only takes a few seconds, the impact accumulates over time to support feeling more at home in your life just as it is right now.
Try to avoid the suppression of thoughts and feelings. Every instance of noticing develops the attentional skills required to transform your relationship to thinking and feeling.
Try to listen to your own verbal thinking as sound or seeing the visual side of your imagination at play.
Try to avoid limiting your exploration to relaxation and pleasant feelings.
Try to stay open to sampling a wide variety of physical and emotional sensations.
Fatigue is like this...
Smiling feels like this...
Feeling rushed (anxious, irritated, bored, disgusted, etc.) is like this...
Laughing is like this...
Crying is like this...
Interest (joy, wonder, gratitude, hope, etc.) is like this…
Embarrassment is like this...
If there's not a precise name to describe a particular sensation, just let it be vague. The labeling step just helps you aim your awareness.
- This moment is like this...
Try to avoid making sense of any experience when you're paying attention differently in this way. You'll know when this is happening because a story or question will be forming in your mind. This is totally natural and to be expected. Gently return to getting acquainted with the aspect of experience you are investigating. You can return to the narrative form of attention when you are done exercising. Think of this as reading magazines at the gym. There is no penalty for doing it, but it doesn't count as working out.


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tess adams
meet tess
Kathleen "Tess" Adams, a licensed cosmetologist, has worked in New York City's beauty industry for the past 10 years. She specializes in skin care, and is a founding member of the Take Care NYC team. Her passion for wellness and esthetics complement her attentive, loving touch and lighthearted presence. Clients happily call her a friend, and report feeling supported and inspired in her care.
whAT MEMBERS SAY ABOUT tess
Microcurrent Facial
Our Microcurrent Facial helps the skin heal itself using a soft electrical current that regenerates & strengthens the skin. It's particularly helpful for countering the effects of sun damage, aging and acne-prone skin without any pain or discomfort.
The facial applications are sub-sensory while the gentle rhythmic patterns of microcurrent can be applied to the body to organize, strengthen and clarify the fluid membrane balance, tonifying tissue.
Microcurrent Facial with Energy Healing
Nourish your body on every level. Tess uses energy healing throughout the session to helps relax the client's nervous system and help fully integrate the facial technique.


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Changes related to "Session:FSaaS: Challenges for 'Free Software as a Service' in business"
This is a list of changes made recently to pages linked from a specified page (or to members of a specified category). Pages on your watchlist are bold.
No changes during the given period matching these criteria.


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Description:My lips felt the closely trimmed ecstasy of her red fluff landing strip and I nearly exploded on the spot. Her hands and nails ran across the skin of my back as she pushed herself against me. By noon, there had been no Angie sighting and I was getting overheated by the sun and my raunchy, racing thoughts of what I wanted to do to her lithe body. As I clicked through various fuck films and sucked down a couple of beers, my mind continued to see Angie and I on the screen. Our tongues engaged in a battle. And, yes, I was a sucker for red hair and raspy voices that said "do me" no matter what other words came out.


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Eye Candy – not just for men 🙂
Your daily eye rescue.
Target ageing around the eyes with Eye Candy Concentrate. The delicate skin around your eyes craves moisture and is an important area to treat daily.
Did you know that the skin around your eyes is one of the thinnest and most delicate? This means we must care for it differently than the rest of our skin. Acti-Labs Eye Candy is a quickly absorbed intensive and ideal eye treatment that delivers anti-ageing benefits with advanced Neuropeptide technology.
This high potency concentrate soothes and renews eye contours marked with wrinkles, puffiness and dark circles, restoring a smoother, calmer, more even and well-rested appearance.
Application Tips:
• Step un: Apply a light layer morning and night to the entire eye contour area.
• Step deux: Use your ring finger to apply gentle pressure in a light tapping action.
Eye Candy Real Results
Eye Candy Active Ingredients:
Helps to stabilize collagen fibers and prevent a some degradation thus helping to avoid premature aging of the skin. Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein shows a significant moisturizing profile and penetrates the stratum corneum.
A neuropeptide which is often used as a muscle relaxer, blocks signals from the nerves to the muscles. The affected muscle can no longer contract, which causes the wrinkles to relax and soften. Acetyl hexapeptide-3 must be used on expression lines, or wrinkles like forehead lines, crow's feet (lines around the eye) and frown lines. Wrinkles caused by sun damage and gravity will not respond to muscle relaxers.
Argireline study showed it reduces wrinkles by 30% over a 30-day period.
Is a known humectant or hydroscopic moisturizer which helps reduce eye puffiness, fights water retention, improve skin elasticity and overall smoothness.
A plant chemical that is classified as a "bioflavonoid." Hesperidin may help blood vessels function better. It may also reduce inflammation and dark circles under eyes.
Has calming and anti-bacterial properties. It fights against inflammation of the skin, including inflammation of sunburns and minor scrapes and cuts. Chamomile is often used to treat skin irritations, such as pimples or other acne problems, and reduces the swelling and redness. Is capable of removing toxins from the skin and cleaning the sebaceous and eccrine (sweat) glands and regulate blood flow. Chamomile has the ability to support the skin's nutrition levels and help saturate the skin from within. full of calcium, magnesium, and potassium and is a great nourishing aid not only for the skin but also for the bones, muscles, and blood in our bodies.
Is a class of plant hormone that promotes cell division. It has been shown to reduce wrinkles, inhibits glycation, fine lines and other signs of skin aging without causing skin irritation. Has been studied to treat Rosacea effectively.
Improves lymphatic circulation. The anti-inflammatory properties help minimize eye puffiness and fluid retention under the eyes. It inhibits the enzyme ACE that causes fluid retention and interferes with lymphatic drainage. Its structure resembles lipids found in the epidermis of the skin that help skin retain moisture. Enzyme ACE (Acetylcholinesterase) primary function is to catalyze and promote the breakdown of a neurotransmitter called acetylcholine. It helps facilitate communications between nerve cells and muscle cells. Acetylcholine is a chemical that is found between the nerve synapses, or gaps, between nerve cells. When activated, it causes the contraction of skeletal muscles and activates glandular functions in the endocrine system.
Most skin care products contain only a few peptides or none at all due to their high prices. While others will put in as many peptides to boost sales but may not necessarily provide the effect required. Using the combination of the right Peptides will provide better results. Applying peptides topically to your skin helps to signal the production of collagen. Peptides are crucial elements in skincare products to ensure healthy skin especially as we get older.


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Cat.Chat Season 1 - Episode 7: Let It Flow
Learning About the Holy Spirit
The Cat.Chat Family teaches your children the most important lessons on the Catholic Faith with catchy songs, jokes, and even juggling and unicycling adventures. Moses the Family Cat will entertain viewers to no end in the midst of learning about their exciting Catholic Faith. In Season 1, the Cat.Chat Family explores some of the basic elements of the Catholic Faith including Jesus, our Blessed Mother, prayer, and the saints.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and….Who is the Holy Spirit? Join Moses the Cat and the Cat.Chat Family as they teach about the third Person of God: the Holy Spirit. Learn about the ways the Holy Spirit flows through our lives and helps us to make difficult decisions.
For rentals, you have 30 days to complete the video and 7 days to finish once you start.


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After our sold-out debut at Opera@TheEmerald in April, Opera On The Vine is heading into Washington Wine Country to HIGHTOWER CELLARS on Red Mountain for an evening of opera arias and duets, featuring professional singers JEREMY IRLAND, JILL MADISON, KARL HEDLUND, and EMILY BROWN with pianist BEN WALLEY. Hightower's award-winning wines will be available to purchase by the glass or bottle while you enjoy a beautiful night of music and a sunset view of Red Mountain. Gourmet Asian Fusion small plates from Kindra's Wok & Roll food truck will also be available, starting at 5pm. Arrive early for a perfect date night! Join us for "opera in unexpected places!" Tri-Cities professional pop-up opera company. Operaonthevine.org
Tickets available online at Universe.com $15 ($12 Hightower Gravity Wine Club Members)
FB reviews of our debut concert 4/23: " An instant hit!" "Fabulous singing and so entertaining." "So much fun!" "When is the next concert? Count me in!"


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Israel PM Netanyahu questioned again in corruption probe
Israeli police have questioned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for a second time as part of an inquiry into corruption allegations.
The five-hour questioning at his Jerusalem home followed a slightly shorter session on Monday.
The PM is being investigated for allegedly accepting "improper gifts" worth thousands of dollars from businessmen, media say.
Mr Netanyahu has continually and strongly denied any wrongdoing.
Police said Thursday's questioning had also included a separate matter but gave no details and Mr Netanyahu's office has not commented.
Ahead of the first questioning on Monday, Mr Netanyahu had restated he was innocent and warned the media and political rivals that they should "hold off partying", adding: "Nothing will happen, because there is nothing."
Mr Netanyahu told his Likud party legislators earlier on Monday: "We hear all the media reports. We see and hear the festive spirit and atmosphere in television studios and in the corridors of the opposition.
"I want to tell them to wait for the celebrations. Do not rush... You will continue to inflate hot air balloons and we will continue to lead the state of Israel."
Opponents of Mr Netanyahu have called for an investigation into his affairs following a series of scandals in recent months - none of which has resulted in charges.
Allegations against Benjamin Netanyahu
- Nov 2016: Investigation opens into the purchase of new submarines from Germany, after it was claimed that Mr Netanyahu's lawyer represented the company during negotiations
- June 2016: Attorney General orders probe after French fraudster Arnaud Mimran claims he donated hundreds of thousands of euros to Mr Netanyahu's 2009 campaign - something the prime minister denies
- July 2015: Mr Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, are accused of charging the government for the services of a contractor who did private work for them; charges are later dropped
- May 2013: Mr Netanyahu is accused of wasting public money after it emerges $127,000 (£102,000) was spent on a customised private bedroom for a single flight to the UK
- After Mr Netanyahu's first term as prime minister two decades ago, police recommended that he and Sara face criminal charges for keeping official gifts that should have been handed over to the state; charges are later dropped
Netanyahu denies wrongdoing ahead of investigation


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Illustrator Andrea Ucini creates conceptual images that are inspired by everyday life. The self-taught Italian illustrator draws scenes which reveal hidden plot lines, adding a conceptual twist to his minimalistic imagery.
Born in Italy, Andrea Ucini is a conceptual freelance illustrator who lives and works in Denmark. Before he has started his career as a professional illustrator, he has graduated in classical piano and composition from the Music Academy of Florence. Until today, music is still a great form of expression along with drawing, which helps him to explore different ideas of how concepts and emotions can be decoded.
Ucini's wish is to present any critical topic with a humorous tone primarily illustrative. To simplify a story of a few lines or a thousand pages in a single illustration. He finds this a magnificent creative challenge to work with.
Currently represented by the Anna Goodson Illustration Agency, he has been commissioned by Wired, Scientific American and John Hopkins University among others. "The thing I enjoy most is the challenge proposed when I receive the article to illustrate. The creative part and when the idea takes shape is almost like a drug," explains Andrea. "Thinking and processing the perfect visual version, in which all these words can be melted in an image is priceless!" Check out his Instagram for more.


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You are here
Transformation & Volunteering Abroad
Nigeria, the cost of transformation
"For apart from inquiry, apart from the praxis, individuals cannot be truly human. Knowledge emerges only through invention and re-invention, through the restless, impatient, continuing, hopeful inquiry human beings pursue in the world, with the world, and with each other." Paulo Friere
March 2006 - I was invited by two non-profit Nigerian NGO's, Youth for Technology and Teen World, to work on media literacy projects with children and teens in several urban and rural schools in Nigeria. Of all the locations I have visited overseas, Nigeria has had the most lasting impact. My experience in the most populated and poverty stricken country in Africa left me wondering how I understand what we in the West recognize as a school and teaching. I do not believe that my colleagues back home would recognize the environments I worked in as a school understand schooling in Nigeria, it is important to have a sense of the larger setting in which the schools are situated.
Nigeria is the most populated country in Africa. It is also one of the poorest. Most people live on less than $2 a day. I visited at least half a dozen schools, some in large cities such as Lagos and others in small villages like Owerri. Driving from one location to another, sometimes on the same day, took hours through streets that were either paved and pot holed or hardened red mud. Vehicles of all sorts, from large trucks to whole families seated on one scooter, clogged the streets. Obedience to traffic regulations are for the most part ignored.
On one eight-hour drive to a school traffic was not the most exasperating but rather what occurred along the way. We were stopped numerous times by several policemen in black uniforms, each carrying a large baton and an AK-47 weapon. While I had similar experiences in Palestine the image of the policeman and the crude roadblocks, which was really nothing more than scrap metal and wood arranged like a small maze, made for a more ominous experience. Being in a hurry to get to the next school before dark, which we did not accomplish, my traveling companions decided that they would not stop at each roadblock but rather merely slow down, wave their identity cards at the policeman and step on the accelerator. Of course I had no such card. At each roadblock policeman yelled at us to stop, often raising their batons and sometimes their AK-47's. Sitting in the back seat I looked back to see on more than one occasion watching the police raise their weapons, though luckily I assume it was more of intended to frighten than actually fire. Regardless, I was frightened. But somehow we made it to the next school without any real incidents. I was later told that I probably was the reason they thought better about actually firing since fatal incidents with 'internationals' such as myself would require a lot of explanation on their part with the Nigerian authorities. Truth is police in Nigeria as in other parts of Africa I have visited stop cars and buses in order to receive bribes
The school I was taken to was really not much more than large rough stone blocks covered by tin roofs. Literally hundreds of children sat huddled three to a desk, made in most cases from scrap wooden boards. Few of the children had paper or pencils. For the most part the only light came from the glassless openings in the wall, which served as 'windows'. Dust poured in through the windows. Instruction was nothing more that 'chalk and talk', repetition and rote learning, what Freire (2005) called "banking education" (p. 72) in which the teachers is the depositor and the students are the depositories (p. 72).
Formal discussions with Nigerian teachers and other educators demonstrated their dedication and their belief in the value of youth and education. But I could not help that they also expressed feelings of being overwhelmed. Perhaps I am being too harsh but I cannot help but think of Nigerian schools as places of struggle.
Nigeria for a month, a rather short period of time that seemed much longer. By the end of my stay in Nigeria I found myself both emotionally and physically exhausted and felt a sense of relief when I boarded the plane home. In fact, during my first week home I declined to describe or speak of my experiences in Nigeria, even to family. I learned a lot about myself in Nigeria. I learned that I was naive. I was naïve in that I felt my previous experiences in Palestine and other parts of the Middle East had prepared me for what I would encounter in Nigeria. I had yet to learn that I was not as experienced as I assumed. Nigeria taught me that not only was I naïve, but also that I if I am to continue working in places of extreme poverty and despair, I will have to find ways of controlling the emotional impact such scenes have upon me.
I learned in Nigeria that my personal transformation personally and professionally comes at a cost, which if I am to continue volunteering in settings dominated by inequality and despair, will require that I find the currency within myself. On the one hand Nigeria made me conscious of the fact that my volunteerism is exciting and at the same time can be exhausting.