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Dev was secured to the rotating chair and flanked on either side by bald goons wearing a tight t-shirt and flamboyantly colored scarf. The man standing behind the vast desk was wearing a silver Nehru jacket accented with ribbons and golden cords of a vaguely military style. Behind the desk was a Plexiglass window looking out into the deep blue of an aquarium filled with sharks, and on the desk was the oval shaped viewscreen the fiend sometimes used to randomly call up and taunt officials in Mumbai. Dev's own lime green shirt with a playfully clashing tie that seemed to contain more colors than exist in the known universe was a splash of sharp contrast amid the austere modern decor of the room. The man behind the desk smiled at his captive.
"I have been waiting a long time to kill you," he said as he opened a desk drawer and withdrew from it a Walther PPK pistol and a half-full bottle of VAT 69. "But before that, may I offer you a drink?"
India drinks more whiskey per year than anywhere else in the world. True, having roughly 1/6 of the world's population helps tip the scales a little. But that's neither here nor there. Sales are sales. The popularity of whiskey int he sub-continent is a reflection of several things: the growing prosperity of India and the emergence of a middle class with disposable income, over half the population being under the age of 25, the slow move away from a very conservative and traditional society to a more open and liberal one, and savvy professionals with an eye toward the West and European and American trends. It also has to do with the influence of generations of Indians who have become Canadians, Americans, Brits — to say nothing of whiskey itself being a familiar member of the community since it was first imported during the days of the British Raj.
Some people describe it as a market with a huge potential. But that's not right — there is nothing potential about it It's already there, thriving and growing. If it's still regarded as "potential," it's because of the tens of millions of cases of whiskey India drinks each year, less than 2% comes from anywhere other than India. An ongoing war between India and Scotland (and to a lesser degree, the United States) over tariffs and terms has kept many Scottish and American whiskies from denting the Indian market, just as it has kept Indian whiskies out of US and European markets. The potential, then, isn't to get Indians drinking whiskey. It's to get Indians drinking Scotch or bourbon. And for Indian distillers, the potential is to get their whiskies consumed somewhere other than India.
Previously, imported blends were the go-to whiskey for Indians who could afford them. Vat 69 was the standard for years, and it was common to see the hero or villain of a popular Bollywood film reclining in a den with a prominently displayed bottle. Eventually, VAT 69 was replaced by Johnny Walker. So popular did that brand prove, that one of India's most famous comedic actors took the name as his own. Even in its glamorous heyday, though, whiskey remained the domain of the wealthy. It was a status symbol. Those who couldn't afford it were left to drink vicariously through the stars on screen. And that's where the Indian distillers stepped in. With rise of a whiskey drinking population, it made sense that India would seek to develop a domestic Indian market. here had been one in the country for over a 160 years, dating back to the era of British colonialism. As interest in whiskey grew, the market became ripe for the Indian distillers to make cheaper, local products available for a wider audience. Eventually, the consumption of domestic whiskey overtook imports, partially because of a steep tax on imported spirits. In an effort to promote the home-grown market, India levied some of the most exorbitant taxes in the world on imported spirits, often resorting in a mark up of over 500%. Scottish and American whiskey makers cried foul and took the matter up with the World Trade Organization. India countered by flaunting international trademark agreements regarding the use of certain words protected by the Scottish Whisky Association. The war was on.
Scotland claims that Indian whiskey can't be called whiskey, as it is not a grain alcohol. Homegrown Indian whiskey is distilled mainly from molasses. Scottish single malts are purchased and blended with the Indian product, similar to the way Canadians are blended neutral spirits. According to many, this makes Indian "whiskey" something more akin to rum. This is part of the reason so few Indian whiskies can be found in the United States and Britain. If it's not grain-based it can't be imported and sold as a whiskey. India, in turn, claims that Scotland has created an atmosphere aimed at suppressing the burgeoning Indian whiskey market by making up laws about what can be called whiskey and by claiming ownership of certain words (the Thai "whiskey" Mekhong successfully circumnavigated this thorny issue by dropping the word "whiskey" from their label and being perfectly at home shelved among the liqueurs and cordials).
As a counter, Indian whiskey makers started flirting with more and more "taboo words," either in an effort to make the domestic product seem more "Scottish" or as a way to thumb their nose at the SWA. This erupted into a battle over the use of certain words — most notably "Scotch," "Scots," and "Glen," all of which the SWA considers no-fly territory for whiskey produced anywhere other than Scotland (even Canada's Glenora distillery has to call its whiskey Cape Breton after feeling the sting of the SWA's covetous protection of the word "Glen"). The battle over the word "Scotch" was a foregone conclusion. But when India decided to sidestep regulations over use of the word "Scotch" by calling certain domestic products "Scot Whisky," the matter became hazier and more heated.
Exasperating trademark disputes is the tax issue. European and American whiskey makers argue that the tax on imported spirits is protectionist and a flagrant violation of international trade agreements. Scottish and American products can have a tax of 212 to 525% levied against them, pricing them well outside the range of the average Indian consumer. This not only promotes the growth of domestically produced whiskey, it also result is a huge counterfeit whiskey market. India consumes more Johnny black than is actually made. "India makes 55m cases of whisky every year and half of that is counterfeit," claimed SWA spokesperson David Williamson.
In 2007, the WTO ruled in favor of the SWA. Curbing of the import tariffs went into effect in 2008, though there have been further complaints regarding the alleged lackadaisical rate at which the change is being phased in. It remains to be seen how this will change the drinking landscape in India. Obviously, international spirits conglomerates are eyeing the Indian market. But they are also finding someone in India, staring back at them.
Vijay Mallya is the head of United Breweries — sort of an Indian version of Diageo mixed with Virgin (since UB also has it's own airline, named after their flagship beer, Kingfisher). Charismatic, controversial, and confrontational, Mallya and his UB juggernaut have been at the forefront of the dust-up between India and Scotland. Many of the most popular Indian brands are under the umbrella of United Breweries. If anyone stands to lose something by having imported spirits become affordable, it's Mallya. But if anyone stands to gain by prying open markets outside of India, it's also Mallya, and if nothing, he's proven himself not shy about taking on a challenge.
Most Indian whiskey is virtually unknown in the other whiskey markets. If India represents a huge opportunity for European and American whiskey makers, then the US and Europe could be the same for UB. The reputation of Indian whiskey outside of India is not high, where it has any sort of reputation at all, but this isn't an unsolvable problem. For years, Japanese whiskies were regarded as an amusing novelty, and among the casual drinking community, they still are. Within the community of whiskey enthusiasts, however, Japanese whiskey has become recognized as some of the best in the world (even though only a tiny fraction of what's made is available in the United States). The quality of the Indian product may not be substantial enough to make it a potential "next Japan," but it could certainly punch at the weight of the once-great Canadian whiskey market. Indian whisky has taken its lumps in the global market, drawing the ire of the Scotch Whisky Association over shady marketing techniques and naming conventions, as well as drawing ridicule from sophisticated whisky nerds for not actually being whisky (it's made from molasses, which means it's technically much more a rum than it is a whisky). That hasn't stopped Indian whisky from becoming some of the most popular whisky in the world — thanks largely to the fact that non-Indian brands are heavily taxed in India, meaning that all but the richer Indians tend to stick with the local brands. And when you have a population that tops a billion, you don't really need your product to succeed with the rest of the global market in order to become one of the most popular brands in the world.
And regardless of tussles over deceptive names or ingredients, a lot of India's molasses based "whisky" is imminently drinkable, especially if you have a taste for rum or sweeter Speyside whiskies. Pour me a dram of Bagpipers, and I will be perfectly content. But someone who wasn't content with the state and reputation of Indian whisky is Neelakanta Rao Jagdale, current chairman of Amrut Distilleries. He took over the business after the death of his father, Radhakrishna Jagdale, who founded Amrut as a blending and bottling business in 1948. In 2004, Amrut introduced the world — well, Europe — to something it had never had before: an Indian-made single malt whisky, made to the strict specifications that govern the production of scotch whisky. Amrut can't call itself scotch, of course; the use of that term is protected by international trade agreements and has been a source of much contention in the past between the SWA and Indian whisky makers — but it is a true single malt whisky, unique among its Indian brethren. So unique, in fact, that's it not yet available on the Indian market.
Although Amrut has an uphill battle to wage for its reputation — people outside of the sub-continent who know of Indian whisky automatically associate it with lower quality blends — it didn't need to wage that battle with me. I'm always happy to try something out of the ordinary, and I rarely go in with any sort of preconceptions regarding quality or my level of enjoyment. Plus, by the time I had my bottle open, more and more writers and tasters were singing the praises of this Indian phenom. It lived up to the lofty praise it was receiving. We did our best to spread the word after that, hoping that eventually a deal would be hammered out by which Amrut would find its way onto American shelves. Deals and dates were announced, then passed without Amrut appearing at the local whisky shop. At Whisky Fest 2009, Amrut announced a January 2010 arrival date in the United States.
January became March, and March became April, but then the word finally went out: Amrut had arrived. Five of their six expressions — the regular single malt, the cask strength, the peated single malt, peated cask strength, and Fusion — were officially for sale. Forget what you know or think you know about Indian whisky — like I said, this one bears no resemblance at all to that (admittedly enjoyable) lot of rabble. Like Japanese whisky years ago, Amrut has to overcome the misconception that it's a novelty act. Today no one who knows whisky thinks of Japanese contributions as novel, and they have earned the respect and admiration of whisky drinkers around the world. With the baggage of India's larger, more suspect whisky market hanging around its neck like a dead albatross, Amrut has an even harder row to hoe. But it also has the stuff to succeed in that endeavor.
Amrut Single Malt
This is where you should begin. It's distilled from barley grown in Punjab and Rajasthan, put into American oak barrels, and aged in the tropical climate of Bangalore (which makes for a quicker aging process). The nose is intense and very pleasant — lots of grain, cereal, a very pronounced floral aspect. Oak and apricot. A little nuttiness. The taste lets you know immediately that Amrut is ready to match the best and brightest from Scotland, the United States, and Japan punch for punch. Light and fruity, honey sweetness, cereal, chocolate, maybe even a little rye spiciness. Very complex, with a whole host of flavors working in perfect harmony with one another. The finish is a wonderful combination of fruit and malt, with a hint of rising rye-like spiciness. An absolutely wonderful dram.
Amrut Peated Single Malt
So take the whisky above, and malt it over peat you've imported from Scotland. I can't see any way that could go wrong. If the regular single malt is a very Speyside sort of whisky, then this one is…well, not quite as in-your-face as the boldest Islay has to offer, but it's certainly something of a decidedly more muscular nature than the regular Amrut. The nose is wood and vanilla, with definite peat and smoke on hand. The citrus fruity aspect of the unpeated version is present as well, as is a little bit of BBQ. In the taste, peat makes itself well known, but it's not overpowering. Less Ardbeg, more Ardmore. It quickly fades, leaving room for spice, apricot, honey, and rich chewy malt. The finish introduces a bit of saltiness to the equation, maybe similar to what you'd get from Highland Park, and something to do with nuts.
Amrut Fusion
And then we come to Fusion. Unpeated barley from the Himalayas mixed with peated barley imported from Scotland. Fusion really is a combination in it's way of the peated and unpeated Amrut expressions, with a little bit higher proof adding some fire. Nose is flowery, with lots of vanilla, pears, and a faint whiff of peat. Coffee with almond syrup added to it. And yet that sweetness is never thick or cloying. It's a very fresh, spring day sort of thing. The taste is a great mix of pepper spiciness and tropical fruit — coconut, banana, and something that gives it a slightly bitter edge. Orange rind, maybe. The peat lurks very quietly in the background, adding a much welcome note but never becoming a defining characteristic. A little chocolate, maybe a hint of the bacon wrapped figs. The finish highlights that bitter orange flavor, with some oaky dryness. A near perfect balance of sweet, spicy, and smokey that seems to have been crafted to appeal specifically to my palate.


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anyone invited to the christmas party? I heard one or two of my friends were, I think howrey's, but wasnt sure if this was unusual or not...
I was invited but also could not attend due to finals. Any benefit to going?
I received a book and a bag w/ the firm's logo. I was also invited to the firm ofice x-mas party but I could not attend due to finals.
I think it would have been awkward being at the x-mas party. The majority of the people I met were older partners. I wouldn't want to be socializing with them all night at a x-mas party. Based on my experiences at office x-mas party, it's not the best place to meet your co-workers, since it's generally one of the few times for them to let loose and get trashed.
I just think that going to firm parties before you have starting working can be a little dangerous, first thing is you really do not know anyone yet and as a result meeting them in a social enviroment with liquour involved might not be the best thing, I think it is a preasure that you should just avoid, once you get there enjoy the social evenings and events.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
vewcapital needed a new logo design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 244 designs submitted by 65 freelance designers.
Need a simple and traditional (i.e. not trendy) logo for a finance company. Needs to print well in color and black-and-white onto letterhead and business cards.
VEW Capital
Logo reading "VEW Capital". Want "VEW" text to be stacked on top of "Capital" text, as opposed to all horizontal text.
- Letters must be simple, traditional, most importantly, easy to read. Examples we consider "simple and traditional":
- AIG (http://roddzblog.files.wordpress.co…-logo2.jpg)
- TPG Capital (http://www.tpg.com)
- Colors we would be open to: red and white, or royal blue and gold
- Graphic icon that consists of 5 lines, arranged any way you think is appropriate. One idea we like is to arrange them to resemble a wave.
- Hard to read or cluttered text
- Trendy designs
- Too many graphics
- No boxes or borders around the whole logo
- No graphic icons in the logo that resemble "V"
- Nothing resembling architecture or buildings
Find out how a design contest works or learn more about our logo design services.


text:
Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC)
Index of articles from Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC)
Who We Are
GMHC is the world's first and leading provider of HIV/AIDS prevention, care and advocacy. Building on decades of dedication and expertise, we understand the reality of HIV/AIDS and empower a healthy life for all.
Our Mission: GMHC fights to end the AIDS epidemic and uplift the lives of all affected.
What We Believe
How We Make a Difference
Why It Matters
AIDS is not over. In fact, awareness is down as new infections are up -- including among women, people of color and men who have sex with men. The roots of the epidemic are wide and deep, from stigma and misinformation to the increasing cost of care. At GMHC, we believe we can end the epidemic by addressing the underlying causes, shifting cultural beliefs and promoting smart behaviors that empower a healthy life for all of us.
In 1981, six gay men united against fear and death from a mysterious disease then referred to as a "gay cancer." They began collecting money from friends for research into this new disease. As the group grew and came to grips with the fact that it was such a crisis for gay men, the name of the organization was created -- Gay Men's Health Crisis.
Fight AIDS. Love Life.
Since before AIDS had a name and until the epidemic is over, GMHC will continue to fight AIDS and love life. To learn more about GMHC or how you can donate, volunteer, tour the agency, or become a client, visit www.gmhc.org, contact us by email, or call 212.367.1000.
How to Reach GMHCGay Men's Health Crisis
446 West 33rd Street, New York, NY 10001
Phone: 212.367.1000, 1.800.AIDS.NYC


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Cooking For Engineers
Analytical cooking discussed.
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how to "bake" without an oven
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good food
Posted: Thu Oct 21, 2010 10:33 am
Post subject: how to "bake" without an oven
I really like this site.
my question is i have only a two burner stove top. a skillet, a 8 liter pot, a 3 liter pot, and a 1 liter pot only. no toaster oven. no grill. no nothing. is there anywhere to "bake" bread or cookeies?
thanks a lot.
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Joined: 29 Dec 2005
Posts: 63
Location: on the boat, Annapolis, MD
Posted: Fri Oct 22, 2010 11:13 pm
Post subject:
Bread is pretty easy - use a pressure cooker with the gasket removed or a dutch oven on top of the burner.
Cookies are interesting. I haven't made cookies in an alternative oven. It should work as for bread, but the surface area means half-a-dozen cookies per batch. Not efficient. Maybe layers with some sort of metal plates to separate the layers? Not sure.
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good food
Posted: Sat Oct 23, 2010 9:19 pm
Post subject:
the problem is i have no dutch oven or pressure cooker. i only have one pot with a lid that has a hole in it the other pots don't have lids.
maybe i can line it with foil paper?
thanks for any suggestions
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Joined: 23 Sep 2010
Posts: 120
Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2011 5:13 am
Post subject:
Now thats interesting......
Can a stove,etc get as hot as you need to make cookies??
Im not sure about that........ But wrapping tin foil ALWAYS HELPS contain the heat and make things hotter.......
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Joined: 18 Mar 2011
Posts: 47
Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2011 11:31 pm
Post subject:
Dude111 wrote:
Can a stove,etc get as hot as you need to make cookies??
This isn't the main issue. The big problem is that it's the wrong type of heat. Baking in an oven transfers heat by convection; sauteing or boiling on a cook top transfers heat by conduction. I'm no scientist, but I don't see how you could achieve even remotely similar results using conduction.
Perhaps the engineers here can help good food turn his 8 liter pot into a stove-top convection chamber?
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Joined: 19 Oct 2007
Posts: 1209
Location: central PA
Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2011 12:03 pm
Post subject:
>>remotely similar results using conduction.
so why do cookies brown on the bottom?
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Joined: 18 Mar 2011
Posts: 47
Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2011 12:32 pm
Post subject:
Because when your oven is on Bake, the heat is coming from the elements at the bottom of the oven.
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Joined: 19 Oct 2007
Posts: 1209
Location: central PA
Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2011 1:45 pm
Post subject:
>>the heat is coming from the elements at the bottom of the oven.
so it convects through the cookie sheet?
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Joined: 18 Mar 2011
Posts: 47
Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2011 3:31 pm
Post subject:
Dilbert wrote:
>>the heat is coming from the elements at the bottom of the oven.
so it convects through the cookie sheet?
I don't think so. My understanding is that convection is the transfer of heat through fluids, and conduction is the transfer of heat through solids. So obviously there is some conduction involved when you bake.
Like I said, I'm no scientist, so I don't know thermodynamics. I only have a practical understanding of what's going on when an oven is set on Bake. The heat comes only from the bottom elements. It moves upwards and hits the top of the oven chamber, which reflects it back down. You can see how it works if you put two pans of cookies in the oven and don't rotate them. The cookies on the top pan will be very brown on top, and the cookies on the bottom pan will be very brown on the bottom.
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Joined: 19 Oct 2007
Posts: 1209
Location: central PA
Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2011 4:28 pm
Post subject:
well, here's what happens when you bake....
whether the heat comes from the bottom or top&bottom or convection fan stream depends on the make & model & modes of the oven. blanket statements do not apply.
ovens involve convection, conduction and radiant heat.
the air does the convection part
the air makes thing inside the oven get hot and if they are in contact with the food object that provides conduction.
hot surfaces radiate heat - not to mention an "exposed" element - not all ovens have their heating elements "hidden" - radiant heat impinges on either the food object and cooks it, of if the food is inside an opaque container, the container heats up and that results in conduction&convection inside a (closed) container.
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Joined: 25 Aug 2009
Posts: 8
Posted: Fri Jul 01, 2011 10:55 am
Post subject:
Fill the 8 litre pot with several inches of coarse salt. Stir the salt and heat it till very hot. You can bake bread but it won't brown( just blondish ), cookies are fine as well as thin sponges. In fact the sponges turn out really moist.
A tip - place aluminium foil, folded 2 - 3 layers over the pot before covering. This helps to retain heat. The heat source, of course, is kept on throughout.
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Joined: 26 Sep 2011
Posts: 3
Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2011 12:05 pm
Post subject:
in the summer you can make cookies inside your car. set it up before work and come back to warm cookies afterwards. amazing
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Joined: 06 Oct 2011
Posts: 1
Posted: Thu Oct 06, 2011 4:56 am
Post subject:
in olden days there were no oven but they baked breads so there must be a way to bake without ovens in a more practical way.
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Joined: 23 Sep 2010
Posts: 120
Posted: Thu Oct 06, 2011 7:41 am
Post subject:
Indeed there must be!!!!! (Stuff was more advanced then most are aware of way back)
Here are 13 ways
Welcome to the site
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Joined: 18 Oct 2011
Posts: 17
Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 11:26 am
Post subject: no oven
Maybe you should just buy a broiler it's much cheaper than real oven.
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Tunnel View Yosemite
Tuesday, September 08, 2015
Day 65: Sunday 6 September
Posted by Anna Lawson at 06:36
Labels: California
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This blog lets people know about updates to Anna and Dan's website, which are usually photo-related. So, why the title Anna's PALS? Originally the PALS blog was designed to let people know more about the process of what went into writing the PALS newsletter, a newsletter aimed at reaching people who love writing letters. This blog was created in January 2006, and suffered a two-year hiatus when PALS ceased to be produced. It began to be updated again in June 2014.


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Trailer drops for what could be the last 'Pitch Perfect' film
Fans of the Barden Bellas might have just one more chance to see their favorite acapella group take the stage.
'Pitch Perfect 3' will continue following the adventures of the Bellas as they graduate from college and enter the real world. Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Brittany Snow, Anna Camp and Elizabeth Banks will all reprise the roles they originated in the 2012 film.
Banks has produced all three films and directed the 2015 sequel. The film's poster is titled 'Last Call,' leading many fans to believe this may be the final chapter for the franchise.
The first Pitch Perfect was a sleeper hit and went on to become the third most successful musical comedy film, only surpassed by its sequel, 'Pitch Perfect 2,' and 2003's 'School of Rock.'
Take a look at the trailer above.


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Checking in on… the Ivy LeaguePosted by nvr1983 on March 12th, 2010
Dave Zeitlin is the RTC correspondent for the Ivy League.
This season saw an unprecedented three teams reach the 20-win plateau in the Ivy League — a dominant Cornell team headed to the NCAA Tournament (expected); a young, but extremely talented Harvard team (disappointing); and a resurgent Princeton team (surprising). Hopefully the latter two have earned an invite to one of the myriad of lesser post-season tournaments. Here's a look at the final standings:
- Cornell (13-1, 27-4): The final go-around for 10 seniors proved to be the best. Now the goal for Louis Dale, Jeff Foote, Ryan Wittman et al is to win a game or two in the tournament. A preview of their chances can be found below.
- Princeton (11-3, 20-8): Two tough losses to Cornell sealed their fate, but they earned runner-up honors with a couple of victories over Harvard. A bright future with their top five scorers returning.
- Harvard (10-4, 21-7): Beat everyone except the top two. Jeremy Lin's loss via graduation will be felt, but in freshmen Brandyn Curry and Christian Webster, the Crimson boast a backcourt that can compete with the best nationally. Next year's preseason choice.
- Yale (6-8, 12-19): An up and down Ivy season for the Elis. The lone bright spot was All-Ivy senior guard Alex Zampier. He leaves New Haven as the school's all-time assist leader while scoring over 1000 points.
- Columbia (5-9, 11-17): The Lions earn the fifth spot over co 5-9ers Brown and Penn by virtue of their head-to-head sweep of both teams. Next year's team will be built around sophomore Noruwa Agho, their only double digit scorer.
- Brown (5-9, 11-20): Little to separate the Bears from the Quakers other than a slightly better overall record, so they get the nod here. Stat machine Matt Mullery (team leader in points, rebounds, and assists) leaves after a fine career.
- Penn (5-9, 6-22): The record was something that Palestra fans (those that showed up) were not used to. Nor were early-season injuries and a mid-season coaching change. Sophomore point guard and Player of the Year candidate Zack Rosen is already a star.
- Dartmouth (1-13, 5-23): Not much to cheer about in Hanover. Hopefully Mark Graupe can breathe some enthusiasm into a program that has pretty much been the league doormat for a while. Most of the top players return.
Postseason Awards
Without fanfare we present you with the best of the 2009-2010 Ivy League basketball season:
All-Conference Team
- Ryan Wittman 6-7 Sr F—Cornell
- Matt Mullery 6-8 Sr. F–Brown
- Jeff Foote 7-0 Sr. C–Cornell
- Jeremy Lin 6-3 Sr. G–Harvard
- Zack Rosen 6-1 So. G–Penn
- Alex Zampier 6-3 Sr, G—Yale
- Louis Dale 5-11 Sr. G—Cornell
All-Freshman Team
- Kyle Casey 6-7 F–Harvard
- Tucker Halpern 6-8 F–Brown
- Andrew McCarthy 6-8 F–Brown
- Ian Hummer 6-7 F–Princeton
- Brandyn Curry 6-1 G–Harvard
- Christian Webster 6-5 G—Harvard
Statistical Leaders
- Points per game: Zack Rosen (Penn)–17.7
- FG %: Jeff Foote (Cornell)—62.3%
- FT %: Zack Rosen (Penn)—86.2%
- 3-point FG %: Jon Jaques (Cornell)—48.8%
- Rebounds per game: Jeff Foote (Cornell)—8.2
- Assists per game: Louis Dale (Cornell)—4.8
- Steals per game: Jeremy Lin (Harvard)—2.5
- Blocks per game: Greg Mangano (Yale)—2.0


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Design an info-graphic Powerpoint template
Προϋπολογισμός $10-30 USD
I have data in Numbers and percentage, I need to convert them to an Infographic style powerpoint. It is all about staff info, performance of office, leave and absence, customer trends and so on.
35 freelancers κάνουν προσφορές κατά μέσο όρο $58 για αυτή τη δουλειά
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HANG TIME HEADQUARTERS — It takes a village, they say.
Well, sometimes what it takes is experience and a junkyard collection of useful parts.
Every championship team needs one or more superstars to be the foundation and Dirk Nowitzki has proven to be that throughout his 13-year NBA career.
But the reason that Dirk has been able to battle his way to a 2-2 tie in The Finals and get to the threshold of his first title is because he finally has an assembled supporting cast that has come together to maybe be greater than the sum of the individual parts.
It takes talent to win the Larry O'Brien Trophy, but quite often it also takes years and plenty of battle scars.
In an excellent Q and A with Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News, Mavs GM and president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson says it's drive – not age – that matters and he's quite happy with his team of so-called cast-offs:
Were you concerned when you were putting this team together that you have so many 30-somethings?
"I'll tell you what, what people call 30-somethings or old, we call experienced. Just give me guys that have heart. I don't care how tall they are, they could be 4-foot-1 like JJ, they could be 40-year-old like our point guard…give me a guy with heart, and you'll win most games."
What about (DeShawn) Stevenson's performance so far?
"I joke about this a lot, but you look at our team and we're like the movie, Castoffs. Our superstar is a "superstar…but." Then you go right down the list. JJ (Barea) is too small, Jason Kidd is too old. Jason Terry in the Stevie Nash booby prize. Tyson Chandler and (Peja) Stojakovic are damaged goods, y'know. All of our guys are like this. D-Steve was a throw-in on the Caron Butler deal. They saw a long-term contract that they wanted to get that off of their books, and we saw a guy that was 6-5 and tough as nails and just needed to get dusted off a little bit. And I really think that's the story. We don't have a superman who is going to have from the free throw line and slam over people. We've got to do it the good old fashioned way with team defense. As they say, the sum of the parts, that's what we're all about."
There was a time when the Mavs had their Big Three lineup of Nowitzki, Nash and Michael Finley and couldn't ever make the long climb up. Now here they are with a glimpse of the mountaintop.
Sometimes what it takes is the hunger of empty bellies.


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Definitions of pen
n. - A feather. 2
n. - A wing. 2
n. - An instrument used for writing with ink, formerly made of a reed, or of the quill of a goose or other bird, but now also of other materials, as of steel, gold, etc. Also, originally, a stylus or other instrument for scratching or graving. 2
n. - Fig.: A writer, or his style; as, he has a sharp pen. 2
n. - The internal shell of a squid. 2
n. - A female swan. 2
v. t. - To write; to compose and commit to paper; to indite; to compose; as, to pen a sonnet. 2
n. & v. - To shut up, as in a pen or cage; to confine in a small inclosure or narrow space; to coop up, or shut in; to inclose. 2
n. - A small inclosure; as, a pen for sheep or for pigs. 2
The word "pen" uses 3 letters: E N P.
No direct anagrams for pen found in this word list.
Words formed by adding one letter before or after pen (in bold), or to enp in any order:
a - nape neap pane pean d - pend e - neep peen i - pein pine o - nope open peon pone s - pens t - pent
Shorter words found within pen:
en ne pe
Words formed from any letters in pen, plus an optional blank or existing letter
List all words starting with pen, words containing pen or words ending with pen
All words formed from pen by changing one letter
Other words with the same letter pairs: pe en
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Previous word in list: pemphixes
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Some random words: sforzandi ebb editor netop ngultrum kea ptisan
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I'm a little pressed for time, so I can't get out a full post; which is a shame, because today was quite a busy day — the Giants held a press conference in which Bruce Bochy and Brian Sabean discussed many important news items relating to the organization. In any event, there's no need for me to really write much about it…BASG and McC have it covered.
Giants/NL West
Matt Cain, Destroyer of DIPS | FanGraphs Baseball
Owner of a career .265 BABIP in over 1300 career innings, Matt Cain breaks this rule.
San Francisco Giants 2011-12 Offseason | MLB Depth Charts
A useful preview of the Giants' offseason — including organizational depth chart.
15 takeaways from the Brian Sabean (and Bruce Bochy) press conference » Bay Area Sports Guy
BASG with a recap of today's press conference.
On the season-end press conference … – McCovey Chronicles
Grant looks at what Sabean and Bochy said about the Giants today.
Rod Barajas Is Here to Help | NotGraphs Baseball
Must-see GIF: Rod Barajas…cradling Dee Gordon.
Jarrod Parker's MLB Debut – Baseball Analytics Blog – MLB Baseball Analytics
Jarrod Parker might not pitch in October for the D-Backs, but he showed why he's a strong Rookie of the Year candidate in 2012 against the Dodgers on Tuesday.
Joe Blogs: Baseball Night in America
Joe Posnanski on the most amazing night of regular-season baseball in…the history of the game?
THT's top 100 prospects, part 1
The Hardball Times' top 100 prospects. Giants prospects on the list include Joe Panik, Tommy Joseph, and Gary Brown. Here's part two, three, and four.
Who Should You Root for in the Playoffs? – Beyond the Box Score
Did your favorite MLB team miss the playoffs? Use this formula to figure out who you should root for this October.


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Daryl Swanstrom
Class of 1969
A graduate of the Georgia Institute of Technology with a degree in Industrial Management, and of Emory University with a M.B.A., Ms. Swanstrom is President, CEO, and owner of Spyraflo, Inc., a manufacturer of specialty miniature bearings. The firm is headquartered in the Atlanta, Georgia area with national and international clients including Diebold, NCR, Xerox, and Pitney Bowes. Ms. Swanstrom has been a member of several public company boards and is currently a member of a couple non-profit boards. Mrs. Swanstrom is a member of the 1782 Society at the Alonzo G. Decker Society level.


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Tech Exec - Indy 'Dodged a Bullet' on HQ2Posted: Updated:
Regional Investment Proposal Could be a Game Changer for Quality of Place Initiatives in Indiana
While quality of place may be defined differently by people, a growing number of Hoosiers recognize the importance of this issue. In particular, the impact of quality of place on talent attraction and retention in a geographic area cannot be ignored. The future of every community is dependent on quality of place. Like many Midwestern states, Indiana is not growing at the same pace as areas in the southern and western regions of the United States.
Most Popular Stories
Tech Vets Purchase Popular Indy Nightclub
A group of Indianapolis tech entrepreneurs has bought a popular nightclub in the city's Broad Ripple neighborhood. High Alpha co-founder Eric Tobias and former MOBI executives Scott Kraege and Andrew Davis say they will retain the Vogue's current staff to manage the venue's day-to-day operations. The new owners say they will detail plans to reinvigorate the Vogue through enhanced fan experience and engagement in the coming months. Tobias, Kraege and Davis purchased the Vogue...
Colts Announce 2019 Regular Season Schedule
The 2019 NFL schedule is out and the Indianapolis Colts will play in several high-profile games. All three of the Colts' 2019 primetime games will be on the road against defending division champions.
FirstPerson Execs Launch Performance Lab
A new firm founded by executives from Indianapolis-based FirstPerson says it wants to help companies strengthen performance. Performance Lab uses a field test known as the Performance Climate Survey, which provides insights into a company's performance culture. Founding Partner Bryan Brenner, who is also the CEO of FirstPerson, says the firm has already landed a number of early customers, including Goodwill Industries, the Indy Chamber and the Central Indiana Community Foundation.
Skilled Nursing Facility Proposed for Merrillville
A new $7 million skilled nursing facility is being proposed in Merrillville. Our partners at The Times of Northwest Indiana report the development would include five residential buildings outfitted with 12 beds, a dining area, beauty salon and spa.
2019 'Stellar' Finalists Announced
Lieutenant Governor Suzanne Crouch has unveiled the finalists for the 2019 Stellar Communities Program. The four regions selected will receive a planning grant and work with the Indiana Communities Institute at Ball State University on project alignment and continued planning efforts. Stellar Communities, launched in 2011, is led by the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs and aims to boost community and economic development and promote local and regional partnerships.


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Lisa - Sinner by fate. Scarred by choice. Saved by grace. Growing by faith. Stunned by mercy.
Be like a steam kettle; though up to it's neck in hot water, it continues to sing.
Just pooped into board & all these changes & so many old faces.
Looking forward to reading what your FIAR grads are up to.
Love Leanne Nz
Married for 25 years, dd 19, ds16. Into our 15th year of our home schooling journey.
"My spelling is Wobbly. It's good spelling but it Wobbles, and the letters get in the wrong places."Winnie The Pooh
So way !! This is great! Steve and Jane, ya'll are the best!!!
~mom of 4, ages 16-27--Homeschooling since 1998~
"Life was meant to be lived, and curiosity must be kept alive."~Eleanor Roosevelt


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When 140 Hope players began preparations for the 2012 season they signaled the beginning of a new era in the 103-year history of Flying Dutchmen football.
Coach Dean Kreps and his staff greeted the team on the new artificial turf of Holland Municipal Stadium which will in the coming months become the Hope College Football Stadium. Already emblazoned with the word HOPE across each end zone and by a huge orange letter "H" at mid-field, the college is in the process of acquiring the facility from the City of Holland.
Hope and Holland High School will share the stadium for their home football games, something they've done every season dating back to 1932 when the teams began playing at old Riverview Park. They've shared Holland Municipal Stadium since the 1979 season.
Holland High will have the first chance to play at the stadium when the Dutch host Forest Hills Central on Thursday, Aug. 30. Two days later on Labor Day weekend Saturday (Sept. 1) the Flying Dutchmen will launch their season with the traditional Community Day game against North Park, Ill.
Hope football fans will get an early opportunity to see the field when the team hosts it annual Orange and Blue intra-squad scrimmage on Saturday, Aug. 25, under the stadium's new lights at 7 p.m.


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Rosberg nursing injured toe in Bahrain
Pain may be holding championship leader Nico Rosberg back this weekend in Bahrain.
Although clearly ahead of the rest of the field, Mercedes' German driver seemed a few tenths off teammate Lewis Hamilton's pace in Friday practice.
The German publications Bild and Sport Bild might have discovered the reason.
In the Bahrain paddock, correspondents Bianca Garloff, Ralf Bach and Nicola Pohl noticed that when wearing casual clothes, Rosberg is sliding his left foot only partially into his shoe.
"I hurt my toe while jogging on the beach," he told Bild. Sport Bild reports that the injury was sustained last week, when the 28-year-old was holidaying in Dubai.
Rosberg confirmed that he brakes with his left foot but played down the impact of the injury on his driving.


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Tidewater Physicians Multispecialty Group
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Mexico's Secret Coast
Explore Nayarit state. Read more
Tacos Take Flight
Punch up your next Taco Tuesday with global recipes and textures. Read more
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Furniture handcrafted by Richmond-based McKinnon & Harris is designed to go the distance. Read more


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The ability to make and maintain connections between different devices has never been possible in so many different ways. We are now able to surround ourselves with technology to assist our everyday lives.
This section is dedicated to the cabling and solutions needed to enable these connections.
From cables that connect with traditional PC interfaces such as parallel and serial to modern high speed USB options that attach peripherals in your workspace or devices on the go. And with clever solutions to connect between interfaces that don't match there need never be a reason why you're left feel disconnected.
Connect more, see more, do more…
Technology always offers exciting new opportunities to improve our learning and working experiences as well as enhancing our enjoyment of the digital age where we have instant access to information, media and digital content.
Being able to run different applications simultaneously can allow users to learn more productively and work with greater efficiency but switching between windows on a single display can be clumsy and stunt creativity. Unlocking the broader potential of their multi-media devices, more and more users are breaking free of being constrained to using a single screen by adding additional displays to their computers.
Thanks to the versatility of USB this is possible even where there is only a single graphics output on an existing computer by simply adding a USB Display Adaptor. With options that support VGA, DVI, HDMI and DisplayPort screens it is possible to add up to a further 6 displays to your existing installation. All with full HD support and plug and play in design, new displays can be configured to either Primary Display, Mirrored Desktop or Extended Desktop mode.
In a learning environment this might enable a teacher or lecturer to present to a projector or class facing display whilst keeping their own lesson notes to a separate screen. In a similar way it offers an effective means through which presentations can be made in a corporate setting or as a vehicle for unlocking productivity within our own personal workspace by allowing us to view multiple windows at the same time on separate screens.
Or to solve a simple problem, USB Display Adaptors can provide a method to add a compatible display output where there may not already be one that matches the screen.


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Drive with confidence
You deserve to be able to go wherever the opportunity is. Get there with support on the road and technology that helps protect you and those around you.
Designing a safer experience
Features to help keep you safe
The app is built with technology to help you stay connected to your loved ones, our team, and emergency authorities, so you can go even further.
Help if you need it
Specially trained incident response teams are available anytime right from the app.
An inclusive community
Through our joint efforts with cities and safety experts and by working together, we're helping to create safe journeys for everyone.
More about safety
*Certain requirements and features vary by region and may be unavailable.


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3 Comments »
Very Cool, reminds me of all the Dark knight mash up trailers that we saw last year.
Wow, that's really well done! Very well timed, too.
Just awesome! Hollywood studios should look new talent in the You Tube ranks (Like the guy who did the Thundercats live action trailer). Just think about the really good things that people like Selutron (The dude that wanted to recreate "Superman II") can do with more money, instead of the crappy films that some studios have done in the past years (Yes 20Th Century Fox, I'm talking about you!)


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A piece of a fossilized reptilian horn that sat in an Ottawa museum for decades has led to the discovery of a new dinosaur species the size of a rhinoceros that roamed Alberta 80 million years ago.
Pieces of skulls from the recently named Xenoceratops were originally dug up from rocky sediments in southern Alberta in 1958.
However, a pair of paleontologists rediscovered the bones a decade ago and gradually pieced together the sweeping neck plate of the four-footed, horn-headed giants.
Their work has been published in the October issue of the Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences.
The 3,000-kilogram creatures used their beak-like mouths to munch on plants and had a fearsome appearance due to a sweeping neck shield topped by two protruding spikes.
Canadian paleontologists Michael Ryan and David Evans say in their paper that the fossils were first discovered at a dig near Foremost, Alta., by American paleontologist Jann Langston Jr., who was working in Canada at the time.
They said Langston, now a professor emeritus at the University of Texas at Austin, left the bone fragments wrapped up and shelved in the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa.
Evans said he and Ryan started to wonder in 2003 about two pieces of the neck shield, known as the frill, stored loosely in metal cabinets at the Ottawa museum. One was a spike and the other was an unusually large socket, he recalled.
He said the pieces aroused his curiosity in part because they came from rock formations that contained some of the oldest dinosaur fossils in Alberta.
That led them to investigate further in 2009, when they found Langston's bone fragments from at least three animals, wrapped in a plaster and burlap casing. They were helped by Kieran Shepherd, curator of paleobiology for the Canadian Museum of Nature.
"Sure enough there was much more material and that was the key to identifying the new species," Evans said in an interview.
The paleontologists took the fragments to the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, where they pieced together the metre-long piece of neck bone and then returned it to Ottawa.
They named the animal with the Greek words meaning "alien-horned face," due in part to its unusual appearance.
Ryan, curator of vertebrate paleontology at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, said he gradually learned that they had come upon the oldest known big-horned dinosaurs known as ceratopsids.
The herbivores are part of a family that later diversified, featuring a remarkable array of varying horn and frill configurations, said Ryan.


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|Arbor Size:
|5/8 in. - 11
|4 in.
|Material Type:
|Stainless Steel
|Max. RPM:
|Wire Size:
|0.020 in.
|Wire Type:
|Stringer Bead
DEWALT offers a 30-day money back guarantee on all DEWALT accessories, except for pressure washer accessories. DEWALT accessories are fully guaranteed against defects in material and workmanship. The warranty does not cover misuse of product or normal wear and tear.


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Monasticism, an institutionalized religious practice or movement whose members attempt to live by a rule that requires works that go beyond those of either the laity or the ordinary spiritual leaders of their religions. Commonly celibate and universally ascetic, the monastic individual separates himself or herself from society either by living as a hermit or anchorite (religious recluse) or by joining a community (coenobium) of others who profess similar intentions. First applied to Christian groups in antiquity, the term monasticism is now used to denote similar, though not identical, practices in religions such as Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, and Daoism.
The word monasticism is derived from the Greek monachos ("living alone"), but this etymology highlights only one of the elements of monasticism and is somewhat misleading, because a large proportion of the world's monastics live in cenobitic (common life) communities. The term monasticism implies celibacy, or living alone in the sense of lacking a spouse, which became a socially and historically crucial feature of the monastic life.
Even this aspect of monasticism does not extend beyond the cultures and languages that perpetuate the religious terminology of the so-called Abrahamic (tracing their origin to the biblical figure Abraham) or prophetic religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In the Islamic world, Arabic and Persian terms that can be translated as monk or monastic do not mean "solitary," as in the Greek. Instead, they are etymologically derived from other terms associated with monastic life in Islam (e.g., zuhd, "asceticism"). None of the many Indic terms for monk (e.g., the Sanskrit apabhramsha or the Pali prakrit) mean "single" or "living alone," though monastics in those traditions—most notably Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism—live alone or in groups that are set off from the rest of society. The etymologies of the Indian and some of the Arabic and Persian terminology connote poverty, ecstatic states of mind, dress conventions, and so on, while other terms imply single, celibate living.
Nature and significance
Monastics have been instrumental in creating, preserving, and enhancing institutions of religious and secular learning and in transmitting cultural goods, artifacts, and intellectual skills down through the generations. Monastic institutions have also fulfilled medical, political, and military functions, though since 1500 the latter two have become completely secularized in most societies.
A definition of monasticism that covers all its forms would be so broad that particulars would have to be relegated to the analysis of specific monastic systems. Such a definition might be: religiously mandated behaviour (orthopraxy), together with its institutions, ritual, and belief systems, whose agents, members, or participants undertake voluntarily (often through a vow) religious works that go beyond those required by the religious teachings of the society at large. Such behaviour derives from the example of religious and spiritual founders who interpreted more radically the tenets that apply to all believers or to the whole society. Beyond such a statement, one can speak only of the principal characteristics of the monastic life and its institutions, since none of them is universal. Celibacy is fundamental to the majority of the world's monastic orders but is by no means universal, as shown by the case of Buddhism in modern Japan.
Another characteristic, asceticism, is universal, provided the term is defined widely enough so as to include all supererogatory (voluntarily undertaken rather than wholly prescribed) religious practices. The truly universal characteristic of monasticism follows from its definition: the monastic separates from society, either to abide alone as a religious recluse (hermit or anchorite) or to join a community of those who have separated themselves from their surroundings with similar intentions—i.e., the full-time pursuit of the religious life in its most radical and often in its most demanding guise.
Monasticism does not exist in societies that lack a written transmitted lore. Nonliterate societies cannot have monastic institutions, because the monastic responds to an established written body of religious doctrine, which has undergone criticism and then generated countercriticism in a dialectic process that presupposes a literate, codified manipulation of the doctrine. The monastic founders and their successors may either support or oppose the official religious tradition, but the presence of such a tradition is indispensable as the matrix of all monastic endeavour.
Purposes of monasticism
Discovery of the true self
Overcoming imperfections
All monasticism has its mainstay in theological convictions that life in society cannot generate the spiritual consummation stipulated by the religion's founder. In some traditions, especially in those of South Asian provenance, the true "self" is held to be clogged and concealed by imperfections—by sin, ignorance, or other theologically suggested impediments. The ego with which the layperson and the seeking neophyte identifies is not the true self, which must be discovered or uncovered. Barriers—differently conceived as matter, individuated mind, or a soul-mind aggregate defiled by sin, ignorance, and perversion—must be broken through, or a veil lifted, so that the true self, the primordial spirit, may shine forth. In most traditions this breakthrough is held to be unattainable through a conventionally good life in society, and thus a new approach must be sought. The body and the mind, which are part or all of the impediment, have to be controlled, disciplined, and chastised; hence, monastics advocate either asceticism or a set of psychophysical practices that differ radically from the normal routines of life.
Spiritual perfection
The quest for spiritual intensification is elitist—even when, as within Christian monastic orders, humility is required. Withdrawal from society is necessary because the instrumentalities of perfection cannot normally be acquired and activated in the surroundings of everyday life. The basis of monastic life is a set of spiritual precepts that either articulate the supreme value or provide support for the body and the mind on their journey toward whatever supreme consummation may be envisioned. Intense contemplation, often accompanied by physical rigours, constitutes ascetic practice—i.e., prayer, worship, incantation, propitiation, and various forms of self-abasement or self-inflation. Monastics pursue all these forms of orthopraxy in enormously varied forms and degrees.
Emancipation of the self
The ultimate purpose of the monastic endeavour is to attain a state of freedom from bondage, where both bondage and freedom are defined in theological terms. The languages of most cultures with monastic traditions possess special terms to denote bondage and freedom; a few languages adapt terms of common parlance that are then understood by members of society to refer to theologically adumbrated types of bondage and freedom. For example, the term salvation in the Christian context means deliverance from the powers of evil that arise from original sin and that beset a person's body, mind, and soul. Notions of salvation, liberation, and emancipation are generated by, or closely related to, the way in which a society conceives of the individual's status within the larger universe.
These concepts presuppose a specific cosmological view against which to frame the answers to the question—formulated or unformulated—"What is it that is bound and that can, should, or must be freed to achieve the most desirable state within or vis-à-vis the totality of things—e.g., the cosmos, God, and other absolutes?" The question implies spatial and temporal parameters that need to be articulated. In some of the indigenous South Asian religions, salvation can be achieved during one's lifetime, but whether this actually happens or is delayed is irrelevant to Indian notions of liberation (Sanskrit: moksha). In Christianity and Islam, but not in Rabbinic Judaism, salvation cannot be fully achieved as long as the body exists. Thus, salvation and its semantic equivalents in other languages refer to both the present and the future in the South Asian religions but to the future above all in two of the Abrahamic ones. The life of the monastic consists of full-time seeking of salvation, in contrast to that of the "part-time" quest of the general believer.
The concept of redemption as deliverance from the spiritual effect of past transgressions may or may not be identical with salvation, though the terms are synonymous in many contexts, notably within Christianity. As part of a vocation, the monastic seeks redemption from his or her sins and usually intercedes for others to advance their redemption. This is accomplished through personal sacrifice and may involve forms of self-mortification. The practice of self-mortification, which intensifies or stabilizes the austerities required of the monastic, is found in all monastic traditions. Whether the autocentric or the vicarious aspect of the quest is emphasized depends entirely on the doctrinal framework within which the monastic functions. In either case, however, monastics improve their chances of redemption because, in mortifying their own bodies and minds for the benefit of others, they also help their own advancement along the spiritual path. When a Jain monk volunteers to lie upon a bed infested with vermin that suck his blood, he may do so to diminish a client's or patron's burden of bad karma (the notion that every deed, good or bad, receives due reward or retribution), but at the same time he practices the monastic virtues prescribed for him as a monk. When a Franciscan friar (a follower of Francis of Assisi, the 12th–13th-century Italian mendicant leader) serves the poor and the sick, he also exercises his own virtues of service and humility, all of which are signs or instruments of his own redemption.
When liberation (moksha) from cycles of birth and death constitutes the foundation of a belief system, as in the basic Indian pattern of samsara (the ineluctable process of death and rebirth that can be broken only through supererogatory efforts of asceticism), monastics become disseminators of methods of liberation. In India, Tibet, and Southeast Asia the monk stood at the centre of religious life, whereas in the Western Christian world he was and is marginal to the main liturgical and ideological thrust, albeit not always deprived of high social status. In principle, the importance of the monastic life in a religious system (if not always in the social system) is related to its eschatology (doctrine of last things). Thus, if the state of existence after salvation is continuous with the present life, as in the Abrahamic religions, then the monastic will have less prominence than would be had in belief systems, such as those of South Asia, in which salvation implies a different state that cancels finitude and eradicates all traces of separate individual existence.
Social and institutional purposes
Conquest of the spiritual forces of evil
In most monastic traditions, social goals interact with spiritual ones, and emphasis alternates between one or the other depending on the founders' interpretation of the theological framework. The earliest Christian hermits of the Egyptian desert (c. 250–500 ce), known as the "Desert Fathers"—Anthony of Egypt, Paul of Thebes, Pachomius of the Thebaid, and others—presaged later monastic institutions. Although the early hermits, mostly native Egyptian peasants, were inspired by the example of famous recluses and by biblical exemplars such as Elijah and Jesus (during his 40 days in the wilderness), their rigorous asceticism generated an impulse (first formalized by Pachomius) toward cenobitism (literally "lying [i.e., eating, sleeping, living] together") and a life based on military models, which appear in virtually all monastic traditions. The community was viewed as composed of soldiers of the spirit, who were combatting the forces of evil by facing the temptations of the Devil in the desert. Early Christian monasticism spread beyond Egypt and assumed different forms, most famously in the example of the Syrian ascetic Simeon Stylites (c. 390–459), who dwelt nearly 40 years atop a pillar one metre across.
Much of the zeal of early Christian monastics may have been anticipated by the Jewish Qumrān community, made famous in the 20th century by the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls. The community is usually identified with the Essenes, a religious group that flourished in the Judaean desert between 150 bce and 70 ce and was the chief exemplar of Jewish monasticism. The Qumrān ascetics considered themselves to be the true, unpolluted carriers of orthodox Judaism and denounced the Jerusalem priesthood, which they characterized as defiled, spurious, and unclean, sullied by Hellenism, and potentially heretical (contrary to orthodoxy). This may have been the first conflict between a proto-monastic elite and an urban sacerdotal establishment in which the interpretation of the canonical teachings was under dispute. Rigorous asceticism, communal prayer, and common work were the rule, though celibacy may not as yet have been expected of members of the community.
Improvement of society
By and large, monastic institutions may have aided the progress of civilization, even though they often have been blamed for obstructing and retarding it. As an instrument for the creation, preservation, and transmission of secular and religious traditions, monasticism played an important role in society, especially in those cultures that favoured cenobite institutions. Monasticism's function as a propagating or proselytizing agent of the religious tradition, however, is by no means universal nor even regionally uniform. The role of monks and mendicant friars and their orders in the arts, sciences, and letters, as well as in the pedagogical and the therapeutic social services, is thus discussed under the headings of the diverse monastic systems (see below Varieties of monasticism in the religions of the world).
Institutional centres for religious leadership
In some religions, monasteries serve as training centres for institutional religious leaders. There is, however, a clear dichotomy between training secular clergy (e.g., bishops and priests) and training regular clergy (e.g., abbots and brothers). Even though the distinction may seem to be blurred in the Roman Catholic and Eastern (both Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox) traditions, most Christian monastics, both men and women, continue to be laypersons (i.e., "brothers" and "sisters" who take vows but are not ordained). Indeed, the Christian tradition is unique in that its monastic training produces priests as well as monastics. In all Indian religions, by contrast, there is an unbridgeable gulf between the priestly and the monastic careers and their concomitant institutions. The common denominator lies in the supererogatory status of the monastic life. If churches and seminaries prepare ecclesiastical leaders, teachers, and intellectuals, monasteries may train people to whom the same terms apply but with a difference: at least into the 20th century, the monk or nun was usually thought to be more radical and less compromising than the ecclesiastic or church functionary.
Other purposes
Apart from the redemptive, spiritual, and social goals of monastic systems, most of them tolerate peripheral goals that may be rather mundane. A Tibetan Vajrayana (Tantric or Esoteric) Buddhist lamasery (monastic religious centre), for example, may serve not only as a dispenser of spiritual counsel but also as a bank, a judicial court, a school, and a social centre for the laity. Some unusual nonreligious functions for which monasteries have been used include coaching in wrestling (in some Hindu orders) and the preparation of perfumes (in the Muslim Sanūsiyyah order).
Types of monasticism
Organizational or institutional types
There have been a variety of types of monastic institutions. Arising first was the eremitic type, including the early Christian hermits or anchorites; the actual or legendary rishis ("seers") of Vedic India (pre-800 bce); some of the earliest Jain shramanas ("ascetics"), particularly Mahavira and Parshvanatha, the semi-historical founders of Jainism; the Daoist recluses of early southwestern China; and sporadic hermits in the various areas of the modern world—such as Gauribala in Sri Lanka, the Mother in Puducherry, India, and Western converts to Asian belief systems without organized monastic trappings. Some European and American neo-mystics also should be included in this class.
Common to all true hermits and eremitical institutions is an emphasis on living alone, on pursuing a highly regularized contemplative life (with individually generated, often experimental spiritual disciplines), and on frequently idiosyncratic and sometimes heretical interpretations of scriptural or disciplinary codes. Self-mortification and individual austerities can be detected, but these are incidental to the eremitical style.
The lauras (communities of anchorites) of early Christianity in Egypt, Palestine, Syria, Greece, and Cyrenaica—perpetuated today in the Mount Athos (a monastic complex founded in Greece in the 10th century) tradition—as well as the small-scale ashrams (religious retreats) of monastic Hinduism since at least 300 bce are best called quasi-eremitic. Similar in function were the semiformal congregations of the early Buddhist monks and nuns, which preceded the establishment of the sangha (monastic order or community). Common elements of quasi-eremitic monasticism include a loose organizational structure with no administrative links to mother institutions and no external hierarchies. This type of monasticism marks a transition between the eremitic and the cenobitic; in many cases, certain groups displayed eremitic and cenobitic features alternately, either during different annual seasons or on the occasion of special gatherings. For example, in early 4th-century Egypt and Syria, hermits attached to the Christian lauras lived alone during the week but gathered on Sunday (sometimes also on Saturday) for worship and fellowship. In the 20th century some Nepalese followers of Gorakhnath (8th century ce) lived as recluses most of the time but formed a quasi-military association on certain occasions—such as the Kumbh Mela, or all-Indian monastic assemblies, held every sixth year at certain pilgrimage centres. During these periods they were organizationally indistinguishable from the most highly structured cenobitic units at the conventions.
It is probably not wrong to equate proper "monasticism" with cenobitism. There seems to be a correlation between a formulated rule, or set of rules (known as regula in the Christian orders and as vinaya and shila in the Buddhist canon), and cenobitic institutions; eremitic and quasi-eremitic settings lack or diverge from formulated rules and give more scope to the individual's self-imposed disciplines. In fact, the first Christian cenobitical communities were based on a rule prepared by Pachomius (c. 290–346) of the Thebaid, the traditional founder of organized cenobitism in the Western world, who is said to have built nine monasteries for men and two for women that were said to have had more than 7,000 residents. Smaller monasteries for men and women emerged in Cappadocia under the influence of the Greek theologian St. Basil the Great (c. 330–379), who composed the first widely authoritative monastic rule in Eastern Orthodox Christianity. The basis for all subsequent Eastern Christian (Greek) monastic institutions, it was simpler than some of the regulae of the orders founded in later centuries in western Europe. Avoiding the extreme austerities of the Desert Fathers, St. Basil's rule was strict but not severe. Its asceticism was dedicated to the service of God, which was to be pursued through community life and obedience. Liturgical prayer and manual and mental work were obligatory. The Rule of St. Basil also enjoined or implied chastity and poverty, though these were far less explicitly stated than in the later regulae. Basil's sister St. Macrina (c. 327–380) initiated monastic communities for women and "double houses" for both women and men.
What Basil's rule was for Eastern monachism, St. Benedict's was for early Western monasticism. Benedict of Nursia (c. 480–547) was a practical Roman whose rule, which was based on an earlier monastic rule known as the Rule of the Master, is often recognized for its humanity and moderation. His regula, which enjoined poverty, chastity, obedience, and stability, was followed until the 13th century by diverse orders, including the Knights Templars and most other paramilitary aristocratic orders, and it remains the rule of the Benedictine order today. It is notable for providing an effective model of monastic government and for its requirement, adopted by all subsequent Roman Catholic monastic orders, that the individual monk not own property.
The core of canonical literature in the southern Buddhist Theravada (Pali: "Way of the Elders") tradition is vinaya (regulations concerning comportment), which is said to be the Buddha's own formulation of more than 200 rules for his monks. These regulations constitute the distinguishing feature of Buddhist (particularly Theravada) monasticism; strictly speaking, there is no Buddhist monasticism apart from the life lived according to the vinaya. The vinaya has always exacted more intense asceticism from women than from men because, according to tradition, the historical Buddha did not at first desire women monastics and laid extra obligations on them when he conceded their existence.
The number of requirements in the rules of the monastic traditions of South Asia varies greatly. The later Brahmanic orders—such as the order founded by the Hindu reformer Shankara (8th century ce)—contain hardly any "rules" except an implicit renunciation of worldly desires, a detachment from society, and an indifference toward the "opposites," such as pleasure and pain. The 6th-century-bce Jain reformer Mahavira, who probably flourished at least half a century before the Buddha, established the core Jain order, giving it a very elaborate rule that goes into minute regulations for monastic residence, restricting the itinerant monk's sojourn to one week at a time in a village and one month in a town and requiring that he not sleep more than three hours and that he spend the day and the rest of the night in expiation, meditation, studying Jain scripture, and begging for alms. Some scholars believe that the Jain rule provided the model for all monastic rules in India and thus indirectly for the monastic traditions in all the Asian countries that came under India's religious tutelage.
The Essenes, regardless of whether they were identical with the Qumrān settlement, probably had a written rule. They were highly formalistic, emphasizing ritualistic purity, with ablutions prescribed for the members, and they maintained a rigorous adherence to the letter of the Jewish ritualistic and legal books Leviticus and the Deuteronomy.
At the opposite pole of rigour, certain hippie communes of the 1960s and later, insofar as they sought religious experience, can be classified as cenobitic organizations. In their case, growing food, preparing and consuming it jointly, and sharing common dormitory facilities were essential elements of the cenobitic structure, though they failed to take a vow of chastity or indeed any formal vow.
Paramilitary, or quasi-monastic, associations are another type of monastic group. Whereas most Christian orders of this sort also fulfilled medical or healing commitments, non-Christian monastic orders of this type did not cater to the sick. The Knights Templars, a Crusading order founded in the Holy Land in the early 12th century, became the most prestigious and later the most defamed aristocratic organization in medieval Europe. Identifying themselves as "poor knights of Christ and the Temple of Solomon," the Templars took vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience; the foundational commitment was the protection and the guidance of pilgrims en route to and in the Holy Land. The military model was evident in their hierarchical structure—there were chaplains, knights, and sergeants under a grand master—and their numbers grew rapidly, in part because of the support of St. Bernard of Clairvaux, who wrote their rule. The fall of the last Crusader stronghold, Acre, in 1291 and highly sensationalized rumours that the knights denied Jesus Christ, spat on the cross, and were kissed on the mouth, the navel, and the base of the spine at their initiation into the order enabled the French king Philip IV the Fair, who coveted the Templars' immense wealth, to bring about their destruction in the early 14th century.
The Templars were inspired by the Knights Hospitallers (or Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem), founded at the end of the 11th century. The classic nursing order, the Hospitallers were probably the first to provide genuine medical and hospital services, initially for pilgrims to Jerusalem. Their first foundation was the Hospital Saint-Antoine-de-Viennois (c. 1100), which was followed by foundations in southern France, Germany, and Italy. Their chief officers were ordained priests, but the majority of members were nonsacerdotal "hospitallers," or lay brothers and sisters. They followed the Benedictine rule until 1231, meeting under an elected master and at an annually rotating chapter-general of "commanders"; the order switched to the "modern" rule of St. Augustine in 1247. Changing conditions in the eastern Mediterranean forced the Hospitallers to move their headquarters from Jerusalem to Acre and then to Cyprus and Rhodes. After moving to Malta in 1530, they became known as the Knights of Malta.
The Teutonic Order (German: Deutscher Ritterorden), founded in Jerusalem in 1189/90, enjoyed an independent relationship with Rome and with the papal administrative bureaucracy, the Curia. This arrangement was specially defined by more than 100 papal bulls. The grand master, who enjoyed the same rights as a prince of the Holy Roman Empire, was assisted by five "grand commanders." The organization was composed of knights (usually noblemen), priests, and serving brothers and was established to do hospital service, later focusing more on military service. After the fall of Acre, the order moved its headquarters to various places in Europe. But the order revived its military function starting in the early 13th century, when European rulers, including the Holy Roman emperor Frederick II, authorized it to do battle against the Altaic and the Prussian pagan peoples. The order went into decline during the Reformation and was completely dissolved by Napoleon in the early 19th century, though it was revived by the Austrian emperor in 1834. It survives today in Germany and Austria as a service organization.
The popular but mistaken identification of Tibetan monks as lamas has obscured the highly segmented structure of the Buddhist clergy in that country. Among the Khamba (khams pa) of eastern Tibet, for example, men with minimal monastic initiation (lung) organized themselves as a military or police force to protect monastic territory and the unarmed higher-initiated clergy. They were conspicuous during Tibet's confrontation with the Chinese communists from 1959 to 1965.
In the Islamic world, the mystical orders (Sufi) and the partially overlapping dervish (darwīsh) assemblies constituted a living critique of formalistic, rigorous orthopraxy oriented toward the Qurʾān (the Islamic holy book). The Sufis sought to experience divinity through meditative or ecstatic practices such as the dhikr (the chanting of the names of God). These practices were accompanied by various physical routines such as dances and songs and reportedly sometimes by the ingesting of drugs, usually cannabis (e.g., hashish). The Turkish Bektashi (Bektaşi) excelled in poetry and in humorous repartee. In Libya and other northeastern African countries, the Sanūsiyyah (Senussi) order of Sufis not only antagonized the Wahhābiyyah (a generic name for orthopraxy in Islam rather than a term denoting the specific group that emerged in what is now Saudi Arabia in the 18th century) but also achieved impressive stature during the early 20th century by opposing Italian colonial forces in Libya. Rather than seeking salvation through adherence to orthopraxy, as most Muslims do, these orders cultivated communion with God through mystical practices. "Not I and God but only God" was one of their mottoes.
At the time of its foundation, Sikhism did not encourage monasticism; Guru Nanak (1469–1539), the founder of the religion, was a married man, and so were most of the subsequent nine Gurus. In the late 17th century, however, the Nirmal-akhada was created in imitation of the celibate monastic orders of Hinduism and organized on the same principles. Underlying this development was the Hindu tendency to create monastic corollaries to lay teachings; the process was repeated in India in later times, as exemplified by the Arya Samaj, a Hindu reform society founded by Dayananda Sarasvati in 1875. Although Dayananda was a monk in the order of the Dashnami Sannyasi ("Holy Men of the Ten Names"), he discouraged monasticism. In response to Hindu cultural pressure, monks have been ordained in his organization since the early decades of the 20th century.
An older quasi-monastic and basically military organization among the Sikhs is the Nihang Sahibs, created to fight Muslim incursions into the Sikh communities of the Punjab. The Nihang Sahibs wear military uniforms of blue and yellow robes whose design has remained unchanged since the 17th century. The Nihang Sahibs are married, but during their temporary active service as nihangs (from Persian, "crocodile") they abstain from sexual intercourse and live in a cenobitic manner.
Mendicant friars and orders
Although mendicancy would seem to preclude cenobitism, many orders are mendicant and cenobitic at different times. The Hindu and Buddhist official orders are really both. Buddhist monastics in Sri Lanka, Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, and Cambodia can be termed non-wandering mendicants, for the monks fan out in the early morning to collect food in their alms bowls but return to their houses to eat in a cenobitic fashion.
The Sanskrit term parivrajaka ("walking around") connotes mendicant status and as a title is carried by a large number of Hindu monastic organizations. It has canonical sanction: the Hindu scriptural definition of a monk is "[one who] having renounced the desire for sons, for wealth, the fear of social opprobrium and the craving for social approval, he sallies forth, begging for food." During his training the neophyte lives in a strictly cenobitic setting; on subsequent peregrinations he begs for food, which is part of his advanced discipline, and he eats alone. Here also there is a blend between the contemplative and the preaching life; the different Hindu orders place varying emphases on the one or the other, a distribution of functions that is similar to that within some Christian orders. The vow of chastity is spelled out for Hindu mendicants, but poverty and obedience are implied rather than enjoined. Hindu monastic organization is much looser than either the Buddhist or the Christian, and in this sense it resembles the earliest eremitic and quasi-eremitic types in Judaism and Christianity.
Mendicants developed also in the Christian world. They should be referred to as friars rather than monks, because in Christianity the term monk implies fixity of residence and friars are by definition peripatetic. The Franciscan friars (Greyfriars), founded by St. Francis of Assisi (1181/82–1226), with their numerous subdivisions (e.g., Conventuals, Observants, and Capuchins), and the Dominicans, founded by St. Dominic (c. 1170–1221), were and continue to be the most powerful statutory mendicant orders. St. Francis founded his order with the aim of living in evangelical poverty in imitation of Jesus and the Apostles. The Dominicans, while also taking vows of poverty, emerged to combat the Cathars, a religious movement in southwestern France that was deemed heretical; they were thus primarily a preaching and teaching order. The synthesis of contemplation and the apostolic ministry is prominent in these orders; the Dominican motto "To contemplate and to give the fruits of contemplation to others" is significant.
Other organizational or institutional types
Whether membership is permanent or temporary distinguishes different monastic institutional types but has little bearing on organizational structure. In the Theravada Buddhist order (sangha) of Thailand, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka, men join a monastery for an unspecified period of time. The Dhammayut, the smaller and more highly ascetic of the two sections of the Thai sangha, prescribes minimum periods of three months to a year; the Mahasanghikas, who form the monastic majority, do not specify any duration. Lifelong monastic vows are, in those regions, a matter of individual choice, and the order does not take any official stance on them. This differs radically from Roman Catholic orders, as well as from the Hindu organizations that initiate members by the viraja-homa (i.e., the Vedic rite of renunciation); since the initiate is declared dead by this ceremony, he cannot return to the world of the living (i.e., to society). Dispensations, on the other hand, are given—though reluctantly—to Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox monks and nuns who want to leave their orders. In the Hindu monastic code, there can be no such dispensation—monks who return to society are highly stigmatized.
Hierarchical and status types
In addition to organizational and institutional forms, a typology is needed to classify monastic status and hierarchy. The first and most important such division is between sacerdotal and nonsacerdotal full-time supererogatory specialists. Most of the canon-based, or scriptural, religions of the world distinguish between priests and nonpriestly practitioners. In the case of Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic Christianity, the distinction is crucial at the sacerdotal end but incidental at the monastic end. Monks who are ordained as priests are full priests and full monks; monks and nuns who are not ordained are nevertheless full monastic members, sharing the same vows and the same discipline. Islam does not officially recognize monastic status, nor does it have priests—the imam is the leader in prayer, but he takes no special vows or ordinations. The dichotomy is also inapplicable to Rabbinic Judaism, which has neither priests nor monastics.
The situation is markedly different in the religions of India. In Hinduism only a male person born into a Brahman (priestly) caste is entitled to perform sacerdotal Vedic ritual; this requires no further initiation than that given to all high-caste boys. A monk, however, cannot perform any sacerdotal service, even if he was born into a Brahman family—monastic ordination cancels his sacerdotal status. Hindu monastic organizations ordain monks in various ways, and the types of ordination are numerous; but monastic and priestly ordinations are mutually exclusive and totally distinctive in type, scope, and intent. The Brahman priest supports and enhances the mundane well-being of his client and the worldly estate of society through Vedic and other rituals. The monk, on the other hand, withdraws totally from the mundane in a radical sense by rejecting sacerdotal commitments, and he recommends such withdrawal to any of his clients who seek a long-term perspective.
Secondary and tertiary orders
The notion of secondary and tertiary orders was developed in the Roman Catholic world, though by analogy it could be extended to non-Christian cultures. The triple division within the Franciscans and the Dominicans epitomizes the following hierarchy: the first order consists of ordained priests and brothers who are not priests; the second consists of contemplative nuns; and the third consists of laymen and laywomen— "tertiaries"—who live under abridged, or "minor," vows that may include celibacy. In the Theravada Buddhist world, such tertiaries have parallels in the sangha, which is similar to the first orders of Dominicans and Franciscans. Whereas the full-fledged Buddhist monk takes more than 200 vows, part-time monks (shramanas) take fewer than one-third that number. In Myanmar, quasi-monastic but unordained practitioners (upasakas) may stay at monasteries and participate in the meditative and congregational activities of the monks for a limited period upon payment of a nominal fee to the bursar of the cloister.
In all monastic traditions of the world, the status of nuns is considerably lower than that of monks. The only possible exception is that of certain famous saintly women in Hindu India, today and in the past, who were known for their extreme piety or, more importantly, for their physical-mental (yogic) and mesmeric (hypnotic) powers. These women gained high charismatic (spiritually influential) status that placed them, as individuals, above male monastics. Yet, with the possible exception of the double monasteries of medieval Europe, there is no truly hierarchical superiority whereby a nun, be she ever so exalted, could have disciplinary powers over a monk or even over a male novice. Though the Roman Catholic tradition has refused equal status to nuns because women cannot obtain sacerdotal ordination, the Indian attitude concerning the inferiority of female monastics rests on notions of ritual impurity—women, being innately defiled, polluted through the menstrual cycle, never gain access to the ritual complex; hence, their status is much lower—even though some noncanonical texts (e.g., the Bhagavadgita) assert spiritual, though not ritualistic, equality of women and men.
The Buddha apparently at first refused to allow women postulants (potential monks) admission to monastic orders; it is said that when his disciples and sponsors had succeeded in establishing women's communities, he declared that this augured the decline of the orders. This did not discourage women either then or later. Buddhist nunneries are not numerous, and their ratio to male convents does not exceed 1:20 in any Buddhist country. The Buddhist monastic attitude toward nuns is one of embarrassed silence except in Japan, where the general loosening of monastic rules has worked in women's favour.
Tertiary orders in the Christian world were established above all by noblewomen who combined piety with pioneering medical knowledge. These women promoted religious pursuits that approached the monastic in intensity of dedication. The term tertiary did not originally evoke gender, but by the 13th century it usually referred to women, often of aristocratic background, who led a saintly life in a cenobitic setting but were inspired by humanitarian ideals rather than by a longing for sheer contemplation. Women belonging to such groups were the first nurses, and their tradition has been continued in all Christian nursing orders and is emulated by some non-Christian orders, such as the Hindu Ramakrishna Mission. The humanitarian vocation also dominates branches of male tertiaries such as those of the Dominican and Carmelite orders.
Although the hierarchical arrangements in the Christian West must be viewed as serving organizational or managerial purposes, there is much greater variation in Asian orders. Among religions derived from the teachings and practices of India, a true hierarchy comparable to that of the Christian orders is found only in the Tibetan ecclesiastic setting. Contrary to popular belief, the lamas are not simply high-ranking monks but are viewed as incarnations of one aspect of the Buddha or of a teacher who in turn was such an incarnation. Although Tibetan monasteries have prided themselves on the presence of one or more lamas, they really stood above and outside the operational hierarchy, and their function was and is advisory rather than executive.
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Conservatory Theatre Company presented Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson at the Pittsburgh Playhouse. View photos.
Conservatory of Performing Arts students gained hands-on experience creating the complex set of Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson at the Pittsburgh Playhouse. The musical, staged during the spring semester, reinvents America's seventh president as a contemporary rock star.
"To complement the raucous nature of the show, the set needed to display the time period in a fun and historical manner," said Michael Thomas Essad, scenic designer and adjunct instructor.
"When director Michael McKelvey and I spoke about this particular set, he said he wanted it to be like a rock-and-roll nightclub. I spent the better half of my 20s and 30s in rock-and-roll nightclubs like Country, Bluegrass and Blues in New York. After listening to the soundtrack of this show, I really felt that CBGB's was a perfect model for this set," said Essad.
The large and intricate set was also a moving set.
"I wanted the band stage on the set to be prominent in the first act and less in the second act, so we built it so that it could be moved back at intermission to open up the center of the stage," said Essad.
Several Point Park students worked with Essad to build pieces of the set.
John Forton, a senior majoring in technical theatre and design, said he takes advantage of all of the hands-on opportunities as a student.
"When beginning to technically design a show, the first thing I need to do is get the designs from the designer, and then I decide the best way to construct it," Forton said. "I get to bring the designer's vision to the stage to make their art become a reality."
Both Essad and Forton agreed that seeing the show when it's done makes all of their work worthwhile.
"It's sometimes terribly frustrating just like any career, but it's also a very exciting and rewarding thing to do," said Essad.
Click on photo to view gallery.
Text by Annie Tomak, a freshman public relations and advertising student.
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