text:
Western Tandoori
April 13, 2017 § 5 Comments
When I was a little girl, about eight or nine years old, my parents bought me the computer game Where In the World Is Carmen Sandiego? The game, seemingly rudimentary now, but enthralling to a child in the 90s, was educational, meant to teach rapt children like myself basic geography through the virtual hunt across the virtual globe for the notorious, glamorous criminal in the sweeping red hat.
Oddly, nine times out of ten, Carmen seemed to wind up in Kathmandu, a glitch in the game, perhaps, or maybe an intentional set up by the designers to teach young Western gamers the locations of seemingly exotic, distant countries like Nepal. Certainly Kathmandu seemed excessively foreign to me. Even the name, "Kathmandu", sounded rather like "Timbuktu", and I conflated the two far off cities in my mind, my only context for either the cliche phrase I'd heard on occasion, "That's as far as Timbuktu!" Like many others (adults and children alike), I didn't realize Timbuktu was a real place, and so Kathmandu was equally mysterious and inaccessible to me.
Apparently, interactive educational computer games are an ineffective method for teaching geography, because I remained ignorant of the location of Kathmandu, as well as the location of Nepal itself, until I was an adult. Neither the city nor the country crossed my mind much again. That is, until a friend from college invited me to join her in Nepal for six weeks, flying, of course, into Kathmandu.
My mind flickered back to the vague memories from my childhood of Carmen in her striking red coat, glossy wavy hair, and bright smirking lips, standing on the dirt streets of that remote city, and my wistful imagination began to stir. Was there anywhere more remote than Kathmandu? Anywhere more different than where I was then, living in the middle class suburbs of Dallas? I booked my flight in less than a week; a few months later, I was on my way to Kathmandu.
In the beginning, Kathmandu felt as exotic as I'd imagined it would.
My friend and I stayed for the first few nights at The Hotel Ganesh Himal, a quiet spot with a pleasant garden just a few minutes walk from the tourist district, Thamel. That first night, we went out into the cacophony of motorcycles, small white taxis, faded maroon and gold rickshaws, and torrents of masked pedestrians, in search of a cheap spot for dinner. We found one on the roof above the shops (and the dust and the smog), and ate our first meal of curried vegetables and plain white rice, raving about it beneath the soft flutter of prayer flags and the brilliant white stars.
In our excitement to see the city (and partake of its delectable foods), however, we'd failed to pay much attention to where we were going. When we left that rooftop restaurant, our bellies satiated and our hearts full of the satisfaction that comes from a good conversation with a good friend, we found ourselves utterly, horrifyingly lost. My friend, who'd been traveling across Southeast Asia for the last two months, had a bolder willingness to weave across the narrow streets, dodging motorcycles and taxis and rickshaws that have no ability to discern the difference between hitting a bump in the road and running over a pedestrian's foot, so she took the lead. I was happy to let her.
But no amount of courage and experience was a match for the labyrinth of dusty alleyways and tangled power lines and neon lights that make up the confused streets of Thamel. We walked and walked and walked, down this street, then that, then back down the same street as before because we'd walked in a circle. Vendors rolled shut their metal doors, closing their friendly shops from us. Tourists in flowing elephant print pants and stiff hemp shirts faded into the intricate maze of rooms in the crumbling stone buildings above. Block by block, the lights of the city shut off, leaving us in complete darkness.
When a taxi rumbled past, its headlights shone like an eerie kaleidoscope through the thick dust onto the rickety wheels of a rickshaw cycling away. Nepali men hung about the street corners, smoking and muttering to one another in the dark. I felt disoriented, afraid. I felt like I was in a film noire, and possibly the pretty but silly girl in the opening scene of suspense who doesn't make it past five minutes.
We flagged a taxi, but the driver didn't know The Hotel Ganesh Himal. We stopped a skinny rickshaw driver who pointed in the direction we'd come from and said the hotel was that way. We found a faded brown sign that actually said Hotel Ganesh Himal, but the arrow underneath it could have been pointing down three different side streets, and we didn't find our hotel on any.
In a final state of fear, me thinking we'd have to curl up on the dirty doorstep of a shop with the mangy stray dogs for company, we stopped a last rickshaw driver on his way home. Yes, he knew the hotel. Yes, he would take us, for 200 rupees. I would have given him a thousand just to get us off the street, but my friend's cool head prevailed. It's so close, she said. How about 100?
It was close; less than two minutes later, he dropped us off in front of the small blue statue of the Hindu god Ganesh, a pudgy elephant with a decorous crown, and we tumbled inside the safe, softly lit lobby. I laughed because it was better than crying. Where are we, I asked my friend?
We were pretty much exactly on the other side of the world.
In my mind, the other side of the world ought to be unusual, uncomfortable, perhaps a bit bizarre, and at first, Kathmandu lived up to those expectations.
My friend and I walked around Thamel, where young Nepali men called out from the front of their stores, which overflowed onto the dusty streets with gold singing bowls, turquoise teapots from Tibet, plastic wrapped packets of prayer flags, and lots and lots of hippie pants. "Hello, sister!" "How are you?" "Where are you from?" Catch the eye of one of these vendors and next you would hear, "You like? More colors inside." Or, "Welcome, madam," along with a gesture into the musty shop. Or perhaps a simple, courteous, "yes, please," as if buying that 100 percent yak wool scarf would be a favor, not a transaction.
Meanwhile, the chants of Tibetan Buddhists streamed through speakers at a nearby music shop, incense stuck between crumbling bricks burnt steadily and sweetly, triangular tinfoil streamers strung across the streets rattled and sparkled in the hot sun, and tangled power lines spilled like masses of writhing black snakes off wooden poles into our faces. It didn't take long before we came upon yak butter candles burning beside women selling bright yellow marigold flowers on plastic tarps and white Buddhist stupas painted with the sleepy blue eyes of the Buddha himself. Thamel was ancient wooden lattices and tin vats of steaming slippery momos and barefoot children crying, "Namaste! Chocolate?"
In other words, it was living up to its exotic reputation.
And perhaps Kathmandu would have retained this exotic veneer if we hadn't then moved into the Alobar1000 Hostel on the other side of Thamel.
This hostel, one of the most popular in the city, was a four story maze of dorm rooms with hard bunk beds, balconies laden with crumbling terra cotta pots, and a breezy open rooftop where young Western travelers laid about on lumpy cushions smoking, drinking Everest beers, and eating fried momos. Most of these travelers were in their twenties, and almost all were on monthlong trips across Asia. Most had a number of fabulously intricate tattoos, quite a few purchased right there in Thamel. Most wore flowing hippie pants, long beaded skirts, or floral scarfs they'd also bought in Thamel. Almost all were either coming from or heading to one of the treks in the Himalayas, attending a 10-day Vipassana meditation retreat, or volunteering at an orphanage, organic farm, or village struck by the 2015 earthquake.
Staying at Alobar1000 popped Kathmandu's bubble of exoticism in my mind. All of a sudden, Kathmandu, and Thamel especially, was easy to navigate with these experienced Western travelers by my side, and traveling the world wasn't a wild, spontaneous, slightly dangerous adventure; it was natural, expected. Unlike well-to-do Americans, who go straight from high school to college to the workforce, these trendy Europeans and Aussies and Indians took gap years or monthslong vacations or simply hit the road vagabonding it until their spare cash ran out. I would be in Nepal for six weeks. When I told this to a young Westerner over plastic baskets of naan and spicy curry served in greasy metal bowls, he said, "that's nothing." I worried that a small scrape on my ankle might lead to tetanus; these travelers spent a few thousand rupees on sacred geometry tattoos in gritty Nepali tattoo parlors. For them, Kathmandu wasn't the craziest place to go; crazier still was Dehli during Holi Festival or the Thai Islands any time of the year or Istanbul despite the terrorism
And through their eyes Kathmandu began to look familiar. Western style restaurants, like OR2K, where you could order Mediterranean food served by hipster Nepalis underneath trendy neon lights, were recommended as the best spots to eat. Spending the evening drinking rum and coke at a hazy bar where an 80s soft rock band played was an evening well spent. Drinking to-go Americanos bought from the clean and bright Himalayan Java might have felt like drinking a taste of the real Nepal — except the shop was secretly owned by Starbucks.
Seeing Kathmandu through the eyes of these free spirited millennials, the remarkable suddenly became commonplace, and Kathmandu felt little different than a Westerner's playground.
Oddly, I began to feel as if I connected more with the Nepalis I met on the streets of Kathmandu than the Westerners in this hip hostel.
I was wary of what appeared to be their somewhat empty approach to travel: the sense that each city, each country, each trip was another check mark off a list of cool places to go, an adventurous story to collect, perhaps, but nothing more.
Don't get me wrong, the urge to travel took root in me as well, and soon I too was dreaming of visiting ever far off lands — Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Bali. In fact, I wondered if my dislike for this approach to travel was because it was awfully close to my own. Traveling is addictive, and my list of places to visit began to grow. But this list also felt frivolous, and a little sad. Missing was a sense of commitment to other people, to a physical place, to a mission unique to one's own.
The Nepali people, on the other hand, though culturally quite different from myself and my compatriots, made more sense to me. While I didn't know (and likely never will) what it's like to sell bananas and pomegranates and apples from a large basket on the back of a bicycle, I understood the motive and intention of the Nepali vendors who called out to me, "Fresh fruit. Bananas. Apples. Fruit juice." The vendors may have slyly snookered me into buying twice as many bananas as I wanted, but I understood and respected their goal: this was business plain and fair, and the result was money in the pocket and another hard day's work done. I found myself having more respect for these hard-working Nepalis than myself or any of the beautiful, free and easy Westerners I met on the road.
And yet, just when I thought I was connecting with the Nepali people, I walked past a child on the street, a little girl maybe three or four, dirty and begging on a tattered purple blanket; I saw whole families washing their hair from a hose sticking out of the ground; I saw an elderly woman, her back as crooked as a hanger's hook, ringing a bell beside a shrine to Ganesh. And I remembered: this culture, and by extension, these people, are foreign to me. As my friend aptly put it, we don't want to be tourists when we travel, we want to be connected to the Nepali people, to live like they live, but at the end of the day, we will always be Westerners, we will always be tourists. We might as well embrace it.
So embrace it I did. I bought two pairs of hippie pants, one blue with white elephants, another pin-striped. I swapped trekking stories with a traveler from Germany over black tea and yogurt while sitting cross legged on the hostel floor. I frequented the hostel's popular watering hole: Western Tandoori, where Nepalis churn out dirt cheap roti and Chana masala so spicy it will make your nose run. I opened myself up to the gentle vulnerability of the roommates in my 12 bed hostel dorm, and found myself warmed inside and out by their compassion toward others and their zeal for life.
And late at night, though the hostel played Justin Timberlake and Eminem like a proper Western radio, I could also hear the mad dogs barking and smell the sweet incense burning on the street, and I remembered that I was here in a city so far away from my familiar world that the notorious criminal Carmen always went to hide.
§ 5 Responses to Western Tandoori
Read and enjoyed every word, glad you are back!
> Begin forwarded message: > > From: elizabeth email@example.com>milton Subject: [New post] Western Tandoori > Date: April 13, 2017 at 9:59:44 AM CDT > To: firstname.lastname@example.com > Reply-To: >
Found your blog looking up Western Tandoori, a place I also went to many times during my time in Nepal in 2013. Extremely well written! It's nice to read that someone experienced something similar to my travels. Feeling disconnected and cheap in being a passing tourist but also unable to truly relate to the Nepali experience (particularly in a few short weeks!), but also loving the experience and enjoying it all the same. Thank you!


text:
In the midst of all the recent negativity in the news and airwaves of radio, Denver based RnB sensation Mawule contributes to his thoughts on all the unrest.
'Black is Beautiful' is a social piece that features a chorus beautifully sang by Bianca Mikahn and a rap breakdown by Denver's Ill Se7en.
The song matches the video as a sad set of clips in black and white match Mawule's visual somber presence as he sings his thoughts for all to enjoy. Bianca and Ill are also featured in the video contributing their presence in much the same matter to drive home the point that his is a serious topic.
An important fact to keep in mind that Mawule wanted all to keep in mind is that this song is about positive self image and looking at all lives as important. So what to take away? This song is about self love and love for others no matter their skin color.
'Black is Beautiful' is out on now on Mawule's new album 'Chosen' which you can find below in the following links. Contrast CTRL would like to thank Mawule for offering us the opportunity to share his insightful message with all of you.
If you are interested in more Mawule, check out Contrast CTRL's features!
- Mawule interview with CC: http://www.contrastcontrol.net/mawule-working-hard-to-make-good-music/
- Review of Chosen: http://www.contrastcontrol.net/mawule-chosen-review/
- First ever feature of Mawule: http://www.contrastcontrol.net/mawule-its-only-the-beginning/
This is not a normal Contrast CTRL article as you can tell. But on the flipside, this is all about focusing on a positive singer and a positive video of insight and motivation to love life. I think we all can get behind messages like this.
For more information on Mawule, please visit the following links:

subset: commoncrawl


text:
There's a lot of talk about Broward County Commissioner Stacy Ritter going to work in Washington for the Barack Obama administration. I know this is simple politics, a payback, and I have a plea for the president-elect:
Take her. Please.
Let's face it, Ritter can't do nearly as much damage in Washington, where's she'll be a tiny little fish, as she can here in Broward. She has, after all, been an absolute disaster as a county commissioner. Ritter has steered county dollars to former and current clients of her lobbyist-husband Russ Klenet, prompting criminal corruption investigations that were squashed by State Attorney Michael Satz. But it's not just that. Ritter is an intemperate princess with an outsized ego and an undersized record of accomplishments. I remember being up in Tallahassee during the Bush-Gore recount in 2000. It was exciting times and dedicated reps, like Dan Gelber and (yes, I'll say it) Lois Frankel, were working their tails off. And Ritter? Walking around with a smirk on her face, complaining about trivial matters, acting like a spoiled brat. She's a fit-thrower. I once saw videotape where she made a fool of herself in a black church.
A lot of that attitude may have to do with her her father, longtime Tamarac politico Ed Portner, a substanceless public servant whose deepest loyalty has always seemed to lie with developers.
Ritter is in many ways the antithesis of what the Obama revolution is all about. But gossip is intensifying that she's on her way to D.C. And that's good news for Broward.


text:
I am celebrating twenty-four years married to the same amazing human. The 'Huz' is all the H's…handsome, humble, honest, helpful and hot as heck…phoaaarr! By today's standards we married 'young' but it didn't feel like it, I was twenty-three and he turned twenty six the week before we said 'I do'. Fun fact, my wedding was the first wedding I ever attended. Another fun fact, we spent a whopping two thousand dollars for the big day.
Yup, we designed the invites ourselves, had one attendee each, hired a celebrant, had a chocolate mud cake made by the girls in our favourite coffee shop and we enjoyed a lunchtime reception… which as it turns out pretty much no drank alcohol. Sounds so tight-arse but we knew no different, we just did it our way and it was perfect.
Recently I was back in Hervey Bay (where we were married ) and on a girls trip for a spot of whale watching and relaxation. On an afternoon drive we found ourselves back at the exact spot the Huz and I said 'I do' This was the photo snapped on the day that I texted to the Huz with the message, 'look at me back at the spot we were married, wearing white!'. He responded 'and not pregnant'! Funny bugger!
Wedding memories
I gotta tell you, walking around the spot we were married while watching the sun set, it brought back all the feels! From the giddy excitement in the pit of my gut to the pride I felt standing by my man, I found myself reliving it all. The laughter as the new Zealand celebrant kept calling me 'Jinny', the rice and petals I was fishing outa my dress, the way he squeezed my hand tight as I struggled to get the vows out through tears of joy…it really was a perfect day.
There was no fanfare, just 'Enya' playing on the CD player in the car we borrowed from his cousins. To be fair they had pr etty fancy wheels, a white Cadillac and red Pontiac! I didn't have a cascading bouquet of flowers, instead I carried a few bunches of chrysanthemum daisies tied together with a trailing green ribbon that I whipped up on the morning of my actual wedding. I did my own hair and makeup which was ruined by wind (hello convertibles) and tears before the reception had even started. Oh dear, that hair! Pics snapped on my phone from photos in our album…
I didn't have a hens show or a bridal registry, in fact in so many ways our wedding was far from traditional. I didn't even wear a wedding dress! Instead I had a local lady whip up a simple frock in the colours of our wedding, forest green and white. Looking back now I slap my forehead we I chose green as my husband is actually red/green colour blind. I know, what was I thinking??
To be fair I blame preggo brain as I was up the duff with our first beautiful boy. Yup, preggers on my wedding day and not giving a flying fuck about that little detail, in fact no one did. We had been engaged for more than a year and a wedding date set and clearly not giving a hoot about falling pregnant, so when the stick showed two pink lines we brought our wedding date forward six months and pulled a wedding together in just six weeks! Awww look at my belly!
Locals suggested the spot we were married, a patch of park by the ocean in Point Vernon Hervey Bay. Our reception was at Gatakers Bay restaurant again by the sea, although a lunchtime wedding reception meant the tide was out, Looks more like we are in the outback. Again…pics taken on my phone of photos in an album
Over the years I have thought about what a fancier wedding day would look like but have never regretted a detail of our own special day…well except my hair, that was a bit of a situation that future non preggo me would have sorted in a flash.
The little trip down memory lane a few weeks ago made me realise just how special our little day was because it was us winging it, sharing our love and joy with those who mattered and it was the beginning of a marriage that has stood the test of time…just like we knew it would. I loved that trip down memory lane and I love my Huz, twenty four years, bring on more of that good shit I say!
Til next time.


text:
Paul McCartney's Live Kisses Comes to Great Performances Friday, September 7th at 9 p.m. on PBS
Rare Concert Features McCartney with Diana Krall and Other Top-Flight Musicians Performing Standards from McCartney's Acclaimed Album Kisses on the Bottom and Exclusive Behind-The-Scenes Interviews
Paul McCartney's Live Kisses captures the magical night of February 9 in the City of Angels – coincidentally, the 48th anniversary of The Beatles' U.S. TV debut on The Ed Sullivan Show no less –when Paul McCartney decided to bring Kisses On The Bottom, his newly released collection of pop standards and two originals, to life at the very same Capitol Studios where much of the album was created.
The very special event will air on Great Performances, Friday, September 7 at 9 p.m. on PBS. (Check local listings.)
A few hours after the long awaited addition of McCartney's star to the Hollywood Walk of Fame drew a traffic-stopping throng to pack the stretch of Vine Street in front of the famed Capitol Records building, McCartney took his place behind the same microphone that had captured so many of the most magical voices of the past several decades, while the core team that backed McCartney on his debut turn on Kisses, prepared to reprise their roles in this one-time-only concert event. McCartney and the assembled musicians had never performed this material live adding to the evening's electricity.
The reunited all-star entourage included Grammy-winning producer Tommy LiPuma and Al Schmitt in the control room, musical director Diana Krall at the piano, and Kisses players John Clayton, Karriem Riggins, John Pizzarelli, Anthony Wilson, Mike Mainieri and conductor Alan Broadbent.
McCartney eschewed his usual tools of bass, guitar and piano to focus solely on his vocal interpretations of this material. In exclusive interview segments with Paul and Kisses On The Bottom collaborators Eric Clapton, Stevie Wonder, Krall and LiPuma, among others, Live Kisses offers new insight into the conception and creation of the Kisses… album, the McCartney family gatherings that introduced a young Paul to much of the material, the Fats Waller line from Live Kisses opener "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down And Write Myself A Letter" that gave Kisses On The Bottom its title, and more.
Live Kisses' highlights include "Home," "More I Cannot Wish You," "Always," "Bye Bye Blackbird" and McCartney harmonizing with his longtime live drummer Abe Laboriel Jr. on "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter," "The Glory of Love" and "Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate The Positive." There are spontaneous moments such as a flubbed first take on "My Very Good Friend the Milkman." Paul's rendition of his new composition "My Valentine" receives acoustic guitar punctuation courtesy of Joe Walsh (who contributes another outstanding turn in a completely different mood on "Get Yourself Another Fool").
For 50 years, THIRTEEN has been making the most of the rich resources and passionate people of New York and the world, reaching millions of people with on-air and online programming that celebrates arts and culture, offers insightful commentary on the news of the day, explores the worlds of science and nature, and invites students of all ages to have fun while learning.
Paul McCartney's Live Kisses is directed by Jonas Åkerlund, and Paul McCartney is executive producer. For Great Performances, Bill O'Donnell is series producer, and David Horn is executive producer.
Major funding for the Great Performances telecast is provided by the Irene Diamond Fund; Vivian Milstein; the LuEsther T. Mertz Charitable Trust; The Agnes Varis Trust – supporting affordable access to the arts, education and healthcare; the Starr Foundation; the Philip and Janice Levin Foundation; and public television viewers. Visit Great Performances Online at www.pbs.org/gperf for additional information about this and other programs.
Photos and other material can be accessed at the THIRTEEN Online Pressroom.
Visit Great Performances Online at www.pbs.org/gperf for additional information about this and other programs.
About WNET
In 2012, WNET is celebrating the 50th Anniversary of THIRTEEN, New York's flagship public media provider. As the parent company of THIRTEEN and WLIW21 and operator of NJTV, WNET brings quality arts, education and public affairs programming to over 5 million viewers each week. WNET produces and presents such acclaimed PBS series as Nature, Great Performances, American Masters, Need to Know, Charlie Rose and a range of documentaries, children's programs, and local news and cultural offerings available on air and online. Pioneers in educational programming, WNET has created such groundbreaking series as Get the Math, Oh Noah! and Cyberchase and provides tools for educators that bring compelling content to life in the classroom and at home. WNET highlights the tri-state's unique culture and diverse communities through NYC-ARTS, Reel 13, NJ Today and the new online newsmagazine MetroFocus.
PhotosSorry, photography is no longer in rights for the web. Please contact Thirteen's Communications Department at 212.560.3022.


text:
It's a Date! | Bainbridge Island Day Trip
While there are so many fun things to do on a date in Seattle, getting out of the city can be just as fun. Tim and I love hopping on a ferry and taking a ride across the bay to Bainbridge Island. The view of the Seattle skyline, the fresh air, the tasty food and exciting adventures make a Bainbridge Island day trip a great date. That's why it's our latest installment of It's a Date! The great part about Bainbridge Island is that it feels far away, but it's so close! It's only a 30 minute ferry ride from Seattle. Ferries depart from the Seattle waterfront several times a day. Departure times change depending on the season, so we suggest checking the schedule online before you leave. You can either drive or walk onto the ferry. Tim and I have done both. There are plenty of great things to do on a Bainbridge Island day trip whether you take your car or go by foot. When you're on the...Read More


text:
The Doctor Is In: Why Antibiotics Are Wonderful, Until They Are Not
"Should I take an antibiotic for this?" is the question almost all of us have uttered at one point or another in our lives. It's no doubt that antibiotics save lives—but are they always necessary? And if you take them, are they doing more harm than good?
The CDC recently released information about antibiotic use. It even started a Twitter campaign recently with its #BeAntibioticAware hashtag. But the concern is not new. In fact, Alexander Fleming, who first discovered penicillin, even mentioned it when he received the Nobel prize in 1946 during his acceptance speech. There are reasons to be concerned, pros and cons of antibiotic use, and definitely the right way and the wrong way to use them.
Real Cause for Concern
So why is the CDC concerned? The increase in antibiotic-resistant bacteria (MRSA, etc.) due to its misuse could cause concern especially in the instance of a potentially wide outbreak of illness, although luckily, antibiotic resistance is not considered to be an epidemic yet. This is thanks in part to a presidential executive order in 2014 that created a task force to combat antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
Studies say that half of all antibiotics prescribed to children and adults are for upper-respiratory symptoms from the common cold—a virus that antibiotics have no effect upon. So, many times, physicians are at fault. Vincent M. PedreIII, MD, FMCP, author of Happy Gut, says that unfortunately, most patients believe that antibiotics will help their illness and many doctors feel pressure to please their patients.
Sachin Gupta MD, FCCP an Intensive Care Unit physician and Pulmonary specialist at Kaiser Permanente in San Francisco notes the mistakes that physicians can make, including "over prescription, selection of the wrong antibiotic due to missing history of prior infections, [and] not appreciating the severity of the infection or understanding patient-specific risk factors." Much is being done, though, to educate doctors around the world about antibiotic use, which should not be taken lightly for a variety of reasons.
Antibiotic Use Sadly Has a Price
Antibiotics save lives, but they do have side-effects and potentially serious consequences. "As doctors, we need to realize that with any medication (including antibiotics) we prescribe, unintended side-effects can result," says Perelli.
Antibiotics don't discriminate—they kill bacteria throughout your entire body. Dr. Christian Whitney, DO, a board-certified Anesthesiologist and Pain Management Consultant points out that antibiotics can also destroy the "good bacteria" in your gastrointestinal tract, creating a host of stomach issues, including one of the worst offenders, Clostridium Difficile, or c.Diff. "With antibiotics, studies have shown they can wipe out the microbiome in the gut for up to 12 months. We are seeing a rise of patients with digestive disorders and related health conditions (like asthma, allergies, and autoimmune disease), which are influenced by this wipe out of the microbiome," warns Pedrelli.
Another dangerous side of antibiotic overuse is the creation of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which is cause alone to be overly cautious about its use.
What does antibiotic resistance mean?
Simply put, taking antibiotics for the wrong reason or not as prescribed, can create an antibiotic-resistant bug. "Bacteria are always looking for ways to resist the antibiotics we prescribe. In fact, simply using antibiotics creates resistance, which is why antibiotics should only be used to treat bacterial infections.," says Whitney.
Pedrelli warns that they are seeing the rise of antibiotic superbugs, not only in the hospital, but also in many community settings. But how do these bugs become resistant?
Gupta explains that bacteria become resistant through mutation. When a patient does not complete a course of antibiotic, and thus the bacteria is not killed completely, the remaining bacteria can mutate and become resistant. When the bacteria comes back to make the patient sick again, it is suddenly resistant to the same antibiotic which was used previously to treat the infection.
When should I use antibiotics, and how?
The CDC released a helpful and easy-to-read guide that will tell you if antibiotics may be appropriate. If you do need antibiotics for a genuine infection, there are some rules to follow.
- Be sure to tell your physician if you are pregnant or breastfeeding. Whitney says that "antibiotics may be transmitted to the fetus and cause harm."
- Finish the entire course as prescribed. Gupta says it's crucial that you take the medication as prescribed, including the timing and dosage as it reads on the label.
- Never use leftover antibiotics for a new illness. "The use of antibiotics in this fashion can select for resistant bacteria and may not even cover the infection as different antibiotics are needed for different pathogens," says Whitney .
- Follow label warnings. Gupta says it is important to note whether you should be taking the medication on an empty stomach, with food, or without dairy, for instance. Effectiveness of the antibiotic and also gut health are at stake.
Antibiotics are wonderful things—when you take them the right way and for the right reasons. If you have a virus, the best advice these doctors give is to drink plenty of fluids, treat the symptoms, and get rest. It is always best to consult with your doctor if you have any questions about whether antibiotics are necessary for your situation.


text:
RUFORUM places emphasis on improving its ability to capture lessons from implementation and providing information for evidence-based decision making both for the Secretariat but also in support of building M&E capacity of African universities. Monitoring & Evalution plays two roles: 1) keeping RUFORUM on track by providing the means of taking corrective action in a timely fashion, and 2) providing the evidence of impact that justifies future investments and feeds back into the learning and messages. M&E is critical to the production of relevant and evidence-based public good messages as well facilitating timely correction of RUFORUM's activities.
M&E framework can be further divided into four components:
- Design of an objectives-based, results oriented framework, including benchmarks and performance indicators for M&E of RUFORUM's programmes, and the design of an M&E component for incorporation in all research projects;
- Establishment and utilization of mechanisms for collecting and storing data needed to track the execution of all areas of activity;
- Establishment and implementation of processes for monitoring progress in achieving planned outputs, short-term and long-term oucomes, and intended end results;
- External evaluation of all outcomes and impact of RUFORUM programmes and activities relative to its overall programme objectives
RUFORUM places a strong accent on the monitoring and evaluation as well as innovative use of ICTs as an underpinning of the programme.
>> M&E Capacity >> M&E Findings/Lessons >>Resource Center >> Take the Current Survey


text:
Kristin Sawyer, President
Kris Sawyer is not your average general contractor. She has an unrestricted Construction Supervisor License, a Home Improvement Contractor Registration and over 30 years of experience in the construction industry. However, she credits her background in art with her ability to bring creative ideas to the home remodeling process.
The granddaughter of a cabinetmaker and daughter of a structural engineer, Kris remembers tinkering alongside her grandfather in his workshop and, later, working on projects with her father who built her childhood home in Marblehead. Kris attended the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston where she studied sculpture, design, painting and drawing, and several years living in Henley-On-Thames, England, studying sculpture and design.
Kris began her own construction firm in 1998 after many years working in construction and related fields. She has worked in both the commercial and residential side of construction. Kris also worked in the contract furniture field and then the commercial window field as a sales representative. In 1995, Kris was the Vice President for Contract Furniture Systems of Boston. Her responsibilities included support and education for architects and designers so they could specify their manufacturers' products in the project planning and design phase. Kris also worked with construction project managers to educate them in the installation of products to meet the manufacturers' warranty requirements.
Combining her practical experience in the construction field with her strong sense of design, Kris creates a true collaboration with her clients and trade partners. Her creative, collaborative process and strong project management are essential to her success in bringing her clients' visions to reality.
Let's discuss my project
Basement Remodel
Review Us!
We've found that customer reviews are very helpful in keeping our business thriving. We would truly appreciate a review from you!
Select your preferred site to leave a review or comment. Options are listed below with direct links to our listing.


text:
Brianna Mantz is currently an undergraduate student studying Civil Engineering. She is an intern at the Rutgers Energy Institute for the summer of 2017, working with Professor Richard Riman.
1: Please briefly describe your research. A recent advancement in the cement industry, carbonate cement, uses less energy than traditional cement to be created. This is the result of the materials it uses and the lower temperatures needed for creation. The research I worked on over this summer focused on making carbonate cement using a new method, hydrothermal vapor synthesis (HVS), that uses even lower temperatures, resulting in even more energy savings. After varying raw materials, time, and pressure used, I compared the size and shape of particles after applying HVS to see how the different factors affected the product.
2: How did you come to be involved in this research? In the spring semester 2015, I signed up to be part of a STEM semester long research program through Douglass. The person in charge of the program paired students with professors that were looking for dedicated students that wanted to get involved in research. Professor Riman kindly accepted me into his group to work with cement because he felt I would be a good fit as a civil engineering major. Through the REI Internship last summer and this summer, and working with the group during the school year, I have been involved with the Riman Research Group for almost 2 years.
3: Where do you see your research fitting into our energy future? The REI summer internship project I worked on with the group contributes to their current goal of creating better materials and methods of cement creation to be used for a more energy efficient industry. The cement industry currently uses around 6% of the world's energy. In order to reduce the amount of energy used, a better method of creating cement must be implemented. The group hopes to have HVS implemented in industry, leading to a decrease in the use of the world's energy. Hopefully my research will help the group obtain the best yield for HVS to make the method more marketable.


text:
A new study by a team of international researchers has for the first time "explicitly revealed" uranium and other radioactive materials in the surrounding environment of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactors following the nuclear accident at the site in 2011.
In a study published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology last month based on research conducted by an international team of scientists, explicit evidence of uranium and other radioactive materials — such as caesium and technetium — have been found in the surrounding environment of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactors after being released from the damaged reactor.
We have to turn our attention all the way back to March of 2011 when the magnitude 9 Tōhoku earthquake unleashed a tsunami on the east coast of Japan which, unfortunately, caused an accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. A cascade of issues resulted in three nuclear meltdowns, hydrogen-air explosions, and the release of radioactive materials from Units 1, 2, and 3.
Ever since, scientists have been keenly observing the site and its surrounding environment for signs of nuclear radiation, and it was almost a year ago that we received our first direct images of the damaged nuclear fuel rods.
The new study published last month, however, focuses further afield from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in the search for nuclear materials. While there have been various discoveries in the immediate vicinity of the nuclear meltdown, this is the first time that nuclear reactor fuel debris has been "explicitly revealed" in the surrounding environment, which means that the impact from the fallout might last much longer than had previously been expected.
Among the international team of scientists were experts from The University of Manchester, who explained their research late last month:
"The scientists have been looking at extremely small pieces of debris, known as micro-particles, which were released into the environment during the initial disaster in 2011. The researchers discovered uranium from nuclear fuel embedded in or associated with caesium-rich micro particles that were emitted from the plant's reactors during the meltdowns. The particles found measure just five micrometres or less; approximately 20 times smaller than the width of a human hair. The size of the particles means humans could inhale them."
"Our research strongly suggests there is a need for further detailed investigation on Fukushima fuel debris, inside, and potentially outside the nuclear exclusion zone," further explained Dr Gareth Law, Senior Lecturer in Analytical Radiochemistry at The University of Manchester, and an author on the paper. "Whilst it is extremely difficult to get samples from such an inhospitable environment, further work will enhance our understanding of the long-term behaviour of the fuel debris nano-particles and their impact."
Prior to this most recent research, it had been assumed that only volatile, gaseous radionuclides such as caesium and iodine were released from the damaged reactors. However, the new research is clarifying that small, solid particles were also emitted from the fallout and that some of these particles contain long-lived radionuclides.
How long lived is "long lived"? Uranium, for example, has a half-life of billions of years.
That doesn't bode well.
Don't want to miss a cleantech story? Sign up for daily news updates from CleanTechnica on email. Or follow us on Google News!
Have a tip for CleanTechnica, want to advertise, or want to suggest a guest for our CleanTech Talk podcast? Contact us here.


text:
Introducing the New AdWords Experience
Google have recently announced that the new AdWords experience is now available to all advertisers. The new AdWords experience claims to be faster, more intuitive, and focused on helping advertisers reach their goals.
What's changed in AdWords?
The first thing you will notice is the complete redesign of the AdWords user interface. According to Google, the new version has been designed to load 20% faster to allow advertisers to quickly access the data they need. They've also streamlined the navigation so that you can do more in less time and have introduced a new overview dashboard that provide instant insights into campaign performance.
New Features
Overview Page
The overview page allows you to view multiple insights into your campaign performance at a first glance. You are able to customise this page to show the metrics that are valuable to you, and include data on campaign performance, most-shown ads, best performing search terms, device performance, and performance by day and hour.
Promotion Extensions
Promotion extensions have previously only been available to advertises with beta access in the old interface, they are now available to all users in the new UI. The Promotion extension adds another line of information to your text ad and allows you to link to a specific offer or discount.
Promotion extensions can be added on an account, campaign, or ad group level. You are able to choose to display an occasion in your extension, such as Valentine's day or Back to School, and select a promotion type, e.g. percent or monetary discount. You are also able to include promotion details, e.g. only on order over £100, or provide a promotional code.
Demographic Targeting
Targeting by household income and parental status have been introduced to the demographic targeting options available in the new AdWords, alongside the standard age and gender targeting options that have been previously been available in the old AdWords.
These two new targeting options can be particularly powerful in helping you cater your ads to audiences that will have a higher interest in your product or service, for example, targeting parents if your brand sells children's clothing or you are running a Back to School campaign.
Landing Pages
The new Landing Pages section is designed to help advertisers understand how their landing pages are performing, specifically on mobile devices. On this page you will be able to view the 'Mobile-Friendly Click Rate' for the landing pages in your account, which is the percentage of clicks coming from mobile devices that land on a mobile-friendly page. You will also be able see standard metrics, such as conversions, clicks, and impressions.
Currently, Landing Pages shows data for Search, Display and Video campaigns, however the 'Mobile-friendly Click Rate' is only available for Search campaign. Google plan to expand on this data in coming months.
Downsides of the new AdWords
Although there are several new features in the new AdWords, it doesn't yet include all the features that are available in the old version. But don't worry, if you can't find what you are looking for then you can still access the old version for now.
Some of the primary features that are not yet available in the new AdWords are:
- Price and message extensions
- Advanced editing, such as automated editing, bulk uploads, copy and paste
- Remarketing, audience, and topic targeting and mobile app install for Display ads
- Bid adjustments for targeting methods
The new AdWords is going to take some time to get used to and you are going to need to spend some time learning where everything is, and you might even be tempted to continue to use the old version instead. But, we would encourage you to explore the new AdWords, as the old version won't be around forever!


text:
For a healthy and nutritious breakfast! Combine the high nutritional value of chia seeds with all the benefits of moringa! We had it for breakfast, but it can also be a great snack during the day, of even a dessert (well, maybe not after a large meal, chia seeds are quite filling!) You will need … Continue reading Moringa chia pudding
Category: Sweet sweets
Pomegranate chutney with moringa
Here's an easy recipe that goes well with curries or even to be eaten just like that, with a spoon! Ingredients : 1 pomegranate 1 apple 3 tbsp of sugar 4 slices of fresh ginger 1 cm of a cinnamon stick 1 dash of apple vinegar 1 tsp of tamarind concentrate 1 tsp of moringa … Continue reading Pomegranate chutney with moringa
Moringa energy balls with dates, ginger and coconut
Healthy, nutritious, easy to take away with you as a snack when you don't have much time to eat, and it can be stored in the fridge for days... It's also delicious and easy to make! We hope you will try them at home and that you will love them! Comments are welcome! Boules d'énergie … Continue reading Moringa energy balls with dates, ginger and coconut
Fruity vegan pudding
You are looking for a vegan, refreshing desert, full of healthy nutrients? We tried to make one just like this and we all liked it... It's easy to do, you can try it and let us know what you think! You can vary the choice of fruits according to your own tastes ; small tip … Continue reading Fruity vegan pudding


text:
Most of us see hitchhiking as a great danger that will surely lead to terrible horror movie-like scenarios. However, in reality, it is not that bad at all. You are more likely to be attacked or robbed on a train or a plane than be murdered by a sociopath driver hiding an axe under his car seat. Travelling by public transport just doesn't have the same exciting tone to it. The prospect of staring drearily out of the window while the scenery passes you by lacks inspiration. However, when hitchhiking, you are testing your limits at every turn and placing yourself well out of your comfort zone. What if the driver doesn't speak your language? What if your route changes unexpectedly and you arrive at an unfamiliar town with no prearranged place to stay? The driver could be anybody in the world, a university professor, a famous politician, a student or a single mum. These are just some examples. Normally, what results in these 'unique encounters' is a cultural exchange of authentic stories that rear themselves in your subconscious to be relived in future blissful reminiscences. Most drivers will be surprised and ask: 'Why? Why?' during such fearful times, terrorists attacks, thieves and high crime rate. Well… for some, the call for travel and adventure is far too great to ignore. But for the hitchhikers this article will centre around, they would not limit their travel to land; instead, they would attempt to hitch a ride on a boat. The mission: to cross the Atlantic Ocean on a vessel from Gibraltar to the Caribbean.
Brothers in arms
A large community of hitchhikers from all over Europe have made their way down to Gibraltar over the last few months. You may have noticed some of these turtle-backed backpackers prowling around the marina with quirky signs forecasting their destination, 'Caribbean anyone?' Brothers in arms Piotr and Pawel revealed their adventure to me from the more comforting surroundings of their campsite at the Pincesa Sofia Park just across the border in La Linea. The Polish brothers, who both have degrees in mechanical engineering, form part of a hitchhiking community in their country with a membership matching Gibraltar's population. They decided to quit their jobs in May last year to embark on a spontaneous and daring adventure, "We walked to the edge of our town and put our thumbs up," said Piotr reflecting on his and his brother's 4000km journey from Poland to the Rock. "It didn't take long before we were picked up and taken over 500km to the border with Germany." The brothers met an old woman who seemed to pass them at first, but before they hung their heads in despair, she pulled over, popped her head out of the window and called to them, "At the end of the journey she insisted that we take some money. We said no but she said she would be very upset if we didn't take it. She was a lovely and charming old lady and we'll never forget her kindness," said Pawel who kept giving examples of the help they received like their next driver who, this time, turned out to be Polish, "he was driving a minibus and we even fixed his laptop during the 36-hour drive with him. It was a fine arrangement. If someone offers you their kindness, it is only natural to reciprocate those feelings. He took us all the way to a small town in Spain." At this point, the brothers' progress came to a halt as they struggled for two days watching car after car pass by ignoring their signs with mocking grins. They eventually gave in and decided to take a bus to Algeciras. As the Rock came into view, the brothers jumped with joy and celebrated with a can of beer on the coach, "A feeling of relief went through us. We were finally here and it was great to see the majestic Rock. Once we stepped off the bus, we crossed the border into Gibraltar and went straight to Ocean Village Marina to get a feel for the area ahead of our 'boat hunt' the following day," said Piotr.
Despite their positivity, the brothers were welcomed to Gibraltar with a barrage of rain, so their only option was to wait it out. Their refuge, and that of many other hitchhikers during the wet period, became the John Mackintosh Hall Library, which served as the perfect place to gather info on the internet and contact loved ones thousands of kilometres away, "Locals reacted well to our story and we heard about a Gibraltarian who helped some hitchhikers become crew members on one ship belonging to an acquaintance of his," said Pawel before Piotr felt it necessary to pay tribute to one particular kind lady, "One of the librarians, Kimberly Pecino, assisted me with my English grammar when writing one of the signs that I would use in the marina. She wished me good luck and those moments are really uplifting. It gives you faith in humanity to see people help you just because they are kind. My brother and I were quite shocked at just how helpful Gibraltarians were. They were super nice and very interested in us. We gained quite a reputation around the marina as the famous 'brothers from Poland', which was favourable." Indeed, both of them succeeded in finding a vessel just a few weeks later and departed in mid-December with the Rock imprinting itself within the fondest corners of their memories.
Mass migration
The flow of boat hitchhikers to the Rock and surrounding ports along the coast was in preparation for one of the largest cross-ocean boat migrations in the world. The Atlantic Rally for Cruises is a 'must do' for many sailors, and attracts over 200 boats and 1,200 people every year to sail 2,700 nautical miles across the Atlantic from Gran Canarias to Saint Lucia. The boats will typically start to head over to the Caribbean from September onwards with many attending the Fort Lauderdale boat show in Florida at the end of October, or the Antigua and show in December. However, there are those who stick around a little longer, but not too long with the distance becoming perilous in later months due to seasonal change.
As two seasoned hitchhiking veterans with an impressive list of countries under their belts, Antonio and Anna, from Italy and Poland respectively, arrived in Gibraltar some months ago to convince a captain to accept them on this roughly six-week journey. The couple felt initially dismayed at the competition they saw around them – there were scores of hitchhikers flooding the marinas in Gibraltar and La Linea on a daily basis – but soon found their spirit as they were made aware of the success stories emerging within the small but connected hitchhiking community. After a tiresome day full of setbacks, they returned to the campsite to scenes of elation from a going away party held for a successful boat-catcher. The community had established a tradition whereby any successful boat-catcher would pose in a mural painting at the park that symbolised taking the next step in their journey. The triumphant individual would step onto an edge that extended from a life-sized painting of a large cactus and grab one of the painted balloons that would fly them to their next destination, figuratively speaking. Antonio and Anna would have their turn yet. Seeing the positive energy in the air inspired them and in the following weeks, persisting with a relentless energy, they secured their own ticket to the Caribbean. Anna made a pledge to cut her hair and donate it to a charity that creates wigs for cancer patients should they achieve their dream and she bore an ear to ear smile as she listened to the humming of the approaching electric shaver.
Enduring rough seas, encounters with wildlife and experiencing the beautiful endless expanse of the deep wide blue, Antonio and Anna arrived to the Caribbean in mid-December, "It's great to finally inhale the tropical atmospheres and see albatrosses in the sky as well as huge sea turtles," said Antonio on finally arriving to his destination. "Now, we will explore the islands and see where it takes us next."
Playing with fire
Thumb-pointing your way to your next stop is one thing, but when you have some fire sticks to grab people's attention, it just gives you that little extra edge. Aneta, also from Poland, was taken aback by a fire and acrobatics workshop she attended in Poland and made conquering the art of fire juggling one of her life's ambitions. She quickly realised that they were a useful tool in her 5000 kilometre hitchhiking journey to Gibraltar and put them into action in the marina as soon as she arrived. After being told of the largescale onslaught of hitchhikers, she was not discouraged, instead, she relied on her fire sticks. With a sign simply stating 'Caribbean?', Aneta set herself up at the entrance to the marina in La Linea and began playing with fire. Just as she was about to pack up at the end of the day, following numerous smiles and compliments, but no firm offers, Andrea, a boat captain from Italy but based in Canarias, stopped and questioned her intentions. An excited and eager Aneta tried to contain herself, but knew this was a great opportunity and hurriedly began explaining her mission. Andrea was impressed by the energy and sheer will that was shown by his soon to be crewmate and, without promising anything, agreed provisionally that she could join him. The following day her dream came true and she got the call from the captain to invite her on-board. It had taken merely three days for her to secure passage to Canarias and from there, she would attempt to find another boat to cross the Atlantic.
But it was not all plain sailing for Aneta as she left Gibraltar in stormy conditions and an overheated engine caused even more trouble, "We were out of oil around 50 miles from Lanzarote, one of the islands in Canarias, and there was no wind. We could not use the engine any more as it had overheated, so we were waiting for around 36 hours with little to no movement," she recounted over skype safe and sound on land. "Happily, Andrea had a satellite phone and used it to call Salvamento Maritimo – the Spanish maritime rescue service- before it ran out of battery." Andrea just managed to relay their position to the rescue operation before the battery died and Aneta felt a sinking feeling at the pit of her stomach. 'Did they catch that?' she asked herself. 'The radio was a little fuzzy, so maybe they didn't hear the coordinates'… "I was extremely relieved when I saw a rescue plane emerge from the clouds. It was like an action movie. It hovered around us until the rescue boat arrived, which then towed us into the port at Lanzarote. It was quite an experience for my first sailing expedition, I must admit."
Job for life
Slovenian couple Karmen and Bostjan's story is a little different. Their hitchhiking efforts would be solely put towards securing a boat, having arrived to Spain on a flight from their home country. Their goal was to experience life at sea before landing in South America and exploring the continent. However, with unpredictability surrounding this form of travel, they found a different opportunity aboard a luxury yacht that would host tourists in cross-ocean excursions. Following Aneta's lead, the couple attempted to catch a boat from the marina in La Linea after several days of defeat asking around Gibraltar. Ironically, their motivation was not at its highest when they tried something different and half-heartedly approached one of the more fancy vessels in the area. But to their surprise, the captain took a liking to them and asked if they could cook, which they could, and traditional Slovenian cuisine as well as others to boot. Karmen and Bostjan found a job for life on this boat as high-end chefs for rich clientele and would be paid a considerable amount while sailing across the seas, "Our dream is fulfilled. I cannot believe how this has turned out and we now have a secure future and open waters ahead of us," said Karmen before she departed with her love aboard a new life.


text:
Beautiful Crete
Five lovely nights exploring western Crete.
I was so thankful to have the last week of our Greek journey with my fourteen year old daughter. She had just completed middle school and we really needed some one-on-one time to reconnect and relax. Crete was the perfect place to do this!
We spent our first night in Heraklion, the largest city on Crete. Our hotel was nice (Kastro Hotel) and we had a delicious and very late dinner in the main pedestrian area. People were out having a great time even after 11pm when we finished dinner. Now that I am back in the US, this is truly what I miss the most about Europe. I love how every town has pedestrianized areas that the people actually use! You see folks of all ages out enjoying their city. It really is special.
On our first morning, we walked a very long distance to rent our little Kia Picante. Thank goodness it was a small car. I was relieved to still remember how to drive a stick!
Our first stop was the ancient Minoan Palace of Knossos. This place is seriously old. The first inhabitants were there around 7,000 BC. I cannot even comprehend 7,000 BC! The first palace was built around 2,000 BC. Some people call this palace Europe's first city. The excavations are still happening and while some of the recreations have been a little controversial, we were still awed by the age of this place. I also had to promise DD#1 that this was our last ancient site of the trip!
We drove on to the pleasant port city of Rethymon where we shopped in another pedestrian-only area and had a delicious lunch. The tuna salad was particularly yummy. Why don't I make this at home? I am inspired to add several Greek dishes to my cooking repertoire.
We drove on to our final destination, Chania. This would be our home base for the next four nights. We were very happy with our spacious room at Casa Veneta. It was just inside the old walled town and a great spot for exploring. I even successfully found parking! We were immediately charmed by the narrow lanes and adorable streets.
Funny sign in our hotel bathroom.
We bought a few groceries and had to snap a picture of this vast section in the freezer department. All flaky pastries. Yum!
I gave the teenager some chill out time while I found the best place in Chania for a beer. If you like good beer, great jazz music, and cats, go to Rudi's Bierhouse. I had a local beer with Cascade hops. Wow! I went here twice during our stay and met this nicest people, including Rudi.
Mostly, I was just happy to have a nice dinner with this girl.
Falassarna and Elafonisi Beaches
Today was all about seeing some of western Crete. The driving was relatively easy and extremely scenic. Falassarna Beach was our first stop. The waves were pretty intense and a lot of fun! We both were taken out by a few waves. It was a good workout!
We stopped in a small mountain village for a traditional lunch. It was great and so affordable.
The last stop was a long curvy drive to the famous and popular Elafonisi Beach. This is the pink sand beach in all of Crete's brochures. After the wave excitement at Falassarna, this one was quite tame. The water was still and so blue. It was almost difficult to find a section that was above our waists. It was hot and we knew we had a long drive back so we didn't stay for very long.
The drive was tiring so once we made it back to Chania, we parked the car, did some shopping, and had another yummy dinner. Here are a few more scenes around Chania. I especially like how the Greek man is feeding the neighborhood pets.
Limnoupolis Waterpark!
Like everyday, we started with a yummy breakfast. Yogurt, cappuccino, and some flaky pie goodness.
DD#1 convinced me to check out the waterpark on the outskirts of Chania. I had hoped to see some other beaches and sites but she was convincing. It turned out that she was on to something. We had a great time zipping down some mighty fast slides. I went on every single one of them!
We googled a tasty taverna for lunch. It was a family run place with very friendly people. I absolutely loved my dakos lunch - Greek bruschetta. Anya had a gyros plate.
We returned the Picante car and took the bus back to Chania for a repeat of more shopping and wandering. DD#1 scored some cute back to school clothes that no one is going have back in Oregon! I considered buying this cat along with the jewelry.
We had an easy pizza dinner while walking around the old town.
Last day in Chania
On our last day, we booked a three hour tour on a glass bottomed boat that included snorkeling! We really enjoyed Nick's boat tour and his hospitality. DD#1 had not snorkeled before and she did a great job. We also toured around a protected island known for its wild goats, caves, and decaying fortress. The boat ride was rough and several passengers were turning green. Luckily, we didn't get seasick.
The highlight was holding an octopus!
We finished our time in Chania with even more shopping. We bought our final souvenirs and I found a great reversible skirt. We had a last dinner along the city's Nea Chora beach. I know I will return to Crete someday.
Back in Athens
We took a very short flight back to Athens. The short 30-40 minute flight made me realize just how long the ferries were! We used the subway to get into the main part of Athens where we checked into Hotel Attalos. The best part of the hotel was the rooftop with its view of the Acropolis. Wow! We had a snack both in the afternoon and after our dinner. The only disturbing thing were these manikins on the street selling Athenian-style dresses. Creepy!
After our short sleep, we got back on the metro, hopped on a giant airplane bound for Istanbul, boarded another giant plane to San Francisco, and finally took the last short leg to our hometown. It is always wonderful to be home after a long journey. Still, I couldn't help but visit the public library the very next day to start planning Europe 2020. Let the adventure continue!
Posted by familyineurope 16:26 Comments (0)


text:
First look at Super Sons DC Icons figures
I'm a huge fan of DC's Super Sons. The book debuted today and it already looks like it will be one of my new favorites.
DC Entertainment has high hopes for this one for good reason. DC spotlighted the new release as well as providing an exclusive on the Super Sons figures from the DC Icons line.
Jon's face is all bright and hopeful, but I love the arrogant smirk on Damian's headsculpt. I was cautiously optimistic about these figures, but I'm definitely looking forward to adding them to my collection. DC Collectibles is killing it right now with the Icons line and these will be two great additions.
I'm hoping we see a lot more Icons figures this weekend at Toy Fair.
Photo Credit: DC Entertainment


text:
The East End Collection was designed for a hospitality environment, and inspired by the Andaz Hotel, Liverpool Street, London. With an extensive history, it is a clash of contemporary and traditional features and this collection was designed to bring continuity to the eclectic space.
Inspired by the multicultural history of the surrounding area, the collection of concrete pieces are laser etched with architectural line drawings. The neutral raw concrete can be used across multiple spaces in a hotel setting while accents of copper off-cuts, teal pigment and glazed porcelain shards add texture and colour variation.
The pieces are designed as wall tiles, tabletops, or coasters that tie together separate spaces in a hotel with a common aesthetic thread.


text:
I always liked to look at graphs and trying to figure out what conclusions one can draw from them. A glimpse behind the scenes. So the first post for 2019 will be a look at the numbers of the past. Surely this is not interesting for everyone, but I consider it as a service post… Continue reading The Blog in Numbers – 2018
Tag: Blog
One Year "the greybill" – Past & Future of an EVE-Blog
On the 31st October 2016 I created this blog.
Honestly? I didn't expect it to grow that "big". In this recap I take a look at the stats the past has produced and make some plans for the future.
Read more...
Link Collection Updated
Dealt With It.
Well. Real Life happened, nearly done dealing with it.
Edit: Err... just realized you can interpret that sentence in a rather morbid way. It's not meant like that. ^^
If you have any suggestions what I should try in EVE next, leave a comment!
On the Move
I left my former NullSec corporation to join a bunch of wormhole dwellers focused on PvP.
And I have to move irl too.
Read more...
Well, this is a post about the glorious and un-mature humor of the EVE Online community.
It produces unbelievable silly posts on reddit every now an then. I try to bring some light into the background of this occasion.
Read more...
My personal assets
I am very into a having a sorted and organized hangar. That's why I use a lot of containers. I just hate having a mess. When that itch is getting to strong I rally up and challenge myself to spend an evening or two unmessing my personal assets. Sadly it doesn't seem to work very… Continue reading My personal assets
He's got the look!
I switched from Twenty Sixteen to Libre 2. The layout of the blogroll is much better, I think. Somewhat cleaner - and I can put stuff in the footer. But Libre 2 still offers a sidebar on pages, which is nice.


text:
Steel Plate Rolling
Steel Plate Rolling
In 2015 our industrial division purchased a new heavy plate roller that allows rolling up to 3/4" x 10' wide plate (69" ID) and up to 1-1/2" x 1' wide (69" ID) plate. As one of only a few companies that offers this level of metal service in the southeast, we are excited to be able to provide our current and future customers with this type fabrication capabilities in-house. We are now able to perform practically unlimited services while cutting production and delivery time as well as contract pricing.
"We've more than doubled our plate rolling capabilities with the purchase of our Faccin Plate Roller with the capacity of 3/4" plate up to 10' in width," says M-Shop Vice President Mike Beacom.
Upgrades like this are at the forefront of McDougall's goals, aiming to provide our customers with unlimited and unparalleled service.


text:
CASA Celebration of Children Gala Goes "Back In Time"
Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Orange County, held their annual Celebration of Children: Black & White Ball, which took place on Saturday, March 10, 2018, at the Pasea Hotel & Spa in Huntington Beach. 402 guests were in attendance to support CASA's mission of serving abused, abandoned, and neglected children in Orange County with a trained and supported volunteer advocate. This year's Gala had a net of over $1,157,000 and serves as the fourth year in a row that CASA has exceeded in breaking the previous year's net and surpassing the million dollar threshold. This beautiful and elegant evening was planned by nine of the past gala chairs: Dana Chou, Nancy Eaton, Cathy Morrison, Lourdes Nark, Kay Patel, Urvashi Patel, Brenda St. Hilaire, Wendy Tenebaum and Lauren Wong. Evening festivities were themed "Back in Time" and guests arrived dressed in their roaring 20's inspired attire and entered a cocktail reception featuring a silent auction with 102 tempting items to bid on and casino games to play in the hopes of winning a Pasea Hotel Weekend Getaway.
The Satin Dollz Band and dancers helped kick off the program festivities as guests made their way into the ballroom that sparkled with gold accents added to the black & white décor and amazing floral centerpieces courtesy of Paul Fenner Floral Design. James Previti and Bobbie Howe were honored as this year's Children's Champions for their commitment and support of CASA's organization and mission (Bobbie Howe has served as a CASA volunteer herself since 2015). Regan Phillips, CASA CEO, presented the award for Outstanding Corporation to John Hohener, Executive Vice President (and CASA Board Member), of Microsemi for their commitment to ensuring growth and achievement for the CASA organization and helping to make our community a better place through their generous donations to many nonprofits in Orange County.
Dana Point resident, David Nusz, was honored as "Advocate of the Year" for his outstanding work as a CASA volunteer since 2009. David shared a heartfelt and humorous speech with the audience detailing how he benefitted from having a mentor in his life as a child, "When I was starting to head into a troubled path, he would lock me in a room in his office with my school books and sit outside making sure I was studying. He took me on the Boy Scout father/son campout and it was not until years later that I learned he hates camping. Why? Because he knew I would have been heartbroken to miss that campout because I didn't have a dad to take me. He gave me the only job I ever had until I moved to CA to go to law school which he paid for. My 15 year old son is named Ben and my 19 year old daughter Morgan would have been named Ben if it were completely up to me. Bottom line is that I owe Ben my life, including what I have now, where I live now, my education and most importantly my desire and approach to being a CASA. It is my hope that one or more of the men I have had the pleasure of working with as a CASA or Big Brother decide to do the same. In that way, Ben's legacy of positive influence continues. The young boys and girls served by CASA frequently come out of a long pattern of generational dysfunction that continues to proceed unabated until something, or someone, steps in and begins a new chain that shifts the despair and hopelessness in a new direction for the future. I am lucky tonight because I was provided with the opportunity to become a strong advocate for the youth to others, but more importantly, I am lucky tonight because I have been taught how creating a sense of self-worth in a young life can alter the course of their story, which is why I am a CASA".
Auctioneer, Rick Werner, revved up the crowd for the annual Fund the Mission which hauled in over $500,000 with donations from the guests ranging from $100,000 to $500. The live auction included a Dream Vacation Home Experience at the Villa Verai in Phuket, Thailand, donated by Twila True, which fetched a $50,000 donation and then to the surprise of everyone in the ballroom – was offered again to another guest at the gala for an additional $50,000 donation going to CASA! One lucky $20,000 bidder was able to choose from one of five jewelry pieces offered by Twila True, a Diamond Sponsor and exclusive Jewelry Sponsor for this year's gala. Following the live auction guests headed to the dance floor to continue the party and celebrate the evening's success!


text:
115.93Mb (71871 downloads)
FS2004 Tupolev TU-144 Complete Package 2.0. Soviet supersonic passenger aircraft. First flight in 1968, two months before the western Concorde. Also known as "Concordski" or "Charger". Four versions included: standard, improved and NASA version plus a never completed modernized version. New fully functional virtual cockpit, new 2D panel with INS, autoland and many other features. Many new customized XML animations. Sound files recorded on two different types of real running TU144 engines. By Thomas Ruth, Claudio Mussner.
Posted Aug 25, 2008 16:43 by Thomas Ruth
9.06Mb (2385 downloads)
FS2004 Tinmouse II Boeing 737-201 Air North 'Yukon' Textures only, registration C-GNAU. I am proud to present this realistic, detailed repaint of Air North's Boeing 737-201, registration C-GNAU, in the newer "Yukon livery". This aircraft has a distinct orange tail bearing the name of the territory which gives this airline its name; Yukon. Air North is based in WhiteHorse, Yukon. They operate the Hawker Siddeley 748, Beech 99 as well as several Boeing 737-200s. This project has been fun for a significant reason; the people of Air North. I contacted them with a request for their logos to use in this repaint, and they were gracious and professional in granting my request. So I dedicate this repaint to Air North and their kind personnel; especially Josh Clark. This is a "textures only" package; you must have the Tinmouse 737-200adv v2 base package and all patches installed. All textures very detailed, 32-bit with no mips. Repaint by Jeffrey S. Bryner. Air North Logos provided by Josh Clark of Air North and are copyrighted property of Air North. Model by the TinMouse II project.
Required files:required file
Posted Aug 25, 2008 04:36 by Jeffrey Bryner
12.23Mb (5180 downloads)
FS2004 FS2002-FS2004 AI Hawker First modern Technology with classic and modern panel virtual joystick with autopilot includes a fighter HUD Atomic Nuclear Bomb. Originally developed by manufactured RAYTHEON twin engine re instrumented flight dynamics tuned by ING Alex Hassey
Posted Aug 24, 2008 21:36 by Alex Hassey
1.21Mb (5792 downloads)
Aserca Airlines McDonnell-Douglas DC-9-15, registration YV-703C, showing the 1998-2003 livery, and being the unique Dc-9-15 used by this airline. Textures only for SGA's latest Douglas DC-9 series release,(sga910.zip) By Antonio Sierra and Juan Ernesto Oropeza
Posted Aug 23, 2008 19:59 by Juan Ernesto Oropeza
0.79Mb (11777 downloads)
Spanair 'Star Alliance' EC-HPF McDonnell Douglas MD-82, In Memory of all the families involved in the tragic events involving this aircraft at Madrid Barajas Airport, 20th August 2008, RIP, Model by Mike Stone, Texture by Alan Herkes
Posted Aug 23, 2008 16:56 by Alan Herkes
2.64Mb (20189 downloads)
FS2004 McDonnell-Douglas/Boeing MD-11(F) Fedex Express Cargo version. Long range cargo transport. Full package for FS2004. All new FSDS design with 2D panel, dynamic VC, sound, full moving parts, dynamic shine, operating crew & cargo doors, new FD, HTML check/ref lists and more. By Jean-Pierre Brisard, Barry Blaisdell & Bob May ¦ Premier Aircraft Design.
Posted Aug 23, 2008 06:06 by firstname.lastname@example.com
2.64Mb (19845 downloads)
FS2004 McDonnell-Douglas/Boeing MD-11(P) KLM Royal Dutch Airlines Long range widebody airliner, full package for FS2004. All new FSDS design with 2D panel, dynamic VC, sound, full moving parts, dynamic shine, operating passenger, crew & cargo doors, new FD, HTML check/ref lists and more. By Jean-Pierre Brisard, Barry Blaisdell & Bob May ¦ Premier Aircraft Design.
Posted Aug 23, 2008 06:00 by firstname.lastname@example.com
6.59Mb (8096 downloads)
FS2004 Boeing 747 SP United. This aircraft is made by Project OpenSky Model, Hiroshi Igami Flight Dynamics, Warren C. Daniel 747SP Masters,Corey Ford Painted, Joe Shimmel
Posted Aug 23, 2008 05:56 by Joe Shimmel
8.53Mb (2586 downloads)
Repaint of the Project Airbus A-319 in US Airways/Piedmont colors. Simply unzip and drop in your aircraft folder. Sounds and panel are aliased to the default 737-400.
Posted Aug 23, 2008 05:52 by S McBee
14.15Mb (4032 downloads)
Repaint of the Project Airbus A-319 in Mexicana Old and New colors. Simply unzip and drop in your aircraft folder. Sounds and panel are aliased to the default 737-400.
Posted Aug 23, 2008 05:51 by Steve McBee


text:
Diapharm's Global Audit Solutions ensures that suppliers of APIs, starting materials and excipients are audited in a cost-efficient manner. Through Europe's first type A accredited inspection body for active pharmaceutical ingredients, we are able to conduct independent, high-quality audits of API suppliers anywhere in the world.
Our accredited third-party API audits meet the highest standards and are performed by an independent ISO 17020 (type A) accredited auditing company to ensure the highest quality, independence and acceptance by authorities worldwide. This auditing company is Blue Inspection Body. They are accredited by the German accreditation body (Deutsche Akkreditierungsstelle). Diapharm coordinates the audits to be performed in a 4-way system in which the auditors are commercially independent of both the API supplier and the client. They will deliver the audit report regardless of the audit result.


text:
- Ann Duchene
It's A Long Story
I'm no different than anyone else who has lived around here for a long time. Our stories are filled with laughter and tears and weddings and funerals, rooted in this place we call home. I know I'm not alone when I say that I have always felt Grand Ledge is just what a small town should be.
A few of you already know that I bought a little old church in downtown Grand Ledge with plans to turn it into a hotel. Part of my inspiration is that I love our town, and I want to share its specialness with people who come to visit - as well as to help create more happy memories for other folks who call the Grand Ledge area home.
As a little girl, I remember standing along flag-lined Bridge Street one humid June afternoon, wearing a plaid cotton dress, and feeling a sense of pride while twirling dancers and a stiff brass band marched by. This was my town.
I remember family and friends crowding around as my new husband and I dashed from the Opera House, rolled back the top of our borrowed convertible, and watched as white balloons filled the night sky. It felt like the whole world was celebrating with us.
I remember beginning married life in an apartment along Grand River in the old chair factory. We celebrated the first perfect snowfall of winter by taking a long walk along Jefferson at midnight, hand in hand, gazing up at the fluffy, perfect flakes drifting lazily down into our faces.
I remember strapping our tiny new daughter into a baby carrier, and working at a colossal yard sale in the Scout Building to help cover medical expenses for my brother. Donations literally poured in, and it seemed like the whole town wanted to help out.
I remember teachers laboring tirelessly to figure out what made my kids tick, and doing everything they could to feed the fire of discovery. Some of them going above and beyond what any teacher could be expected to do.
I could go on, but you get the point. So how do all these memories feed into my wanting to open a hotel?
As an interior designer, I've been trained to use indoor spaces to communicate a story and to help people build more good stories into their lives. For years I wondered, "Why can't I stay in my own great town when I want a local get away?" And when family and friends come into town for a wedding, and love the Grand Ledge vibe I've often thought, "It's a shame they have to go to Lansing if they want to stay in a hotel." And then the pieces fell together in my head.
We could create something special for anyone who finds themselves tired of unremarkable stays at a stereotypical hotel. We could renovate one of these old beautiful buildings into place that celebrates who we in Grand Ledge are, where we've been, and where we're going. I could join the host of other citizens already working together to create meaningful experiences that offer more "togetherness" as a community.
So I spent a year or more looking at various locations, talking to people at the city hall, seeking advice from experts, and ended up with a real building and an doable plan. I have to say that support for this concept is even more enthusiastic than I'd imagined it would be.
Now that we're getting closer to starting renovations, I invite you to come along for the ride because this is not just my story. It's all of ours somehow mashed up together along with the stories of those who came before us.


text:
The Office of the Dean for Faculty Development and the Office of Information Technology are proud to sponsor the annual Digital IS Contest. Supported by a grant from the Mellon Foundation, the contest is for Senior IS students presenting work at the Senior Research Symposium in April. To participate, senior IS students must create a digital composition about their IS topic or their IS experience. Winners will be chosen from among categories of entries by a panel of judges. Example categories are:
- I.S. "trailers"
- Films
- Websites
- I-Books
- Apps
- Digital Posters (Prezi, etc.)
We hope to encourage participants to be creative, present their research or their experience in exciting new ways and to share the unique experience of The College of Wooster Independent Study program with the Wooster community and others. Information on rules, tools and examples and awards can be found below. Information sessions will be held in March.


text:
Where: Impact Hub,, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Admission: MYR 70
Info: Attend | Venue
iGEN provides visual analytic workshops and training, to give organisations the edge in making informed decisions. iGEN Analytics Bootcamp is targeted at analytical professionals and will feature talks by leading data analytics practitioners and providers. [Experian logo is for illustration only.]
Topics: Updated
- Big Data Analytics Investment - Justin Randal Davis, CTO, iGEN
- Insights from GPS & Fleet Management - Syed Ahmad Fuqaha, CEO, Katsana
- Measuring the New Multi Screen - Canny Lam, Digital Analytics, Maxis
- Industrial Analytics - Dr Yap Poh Hean, Manager, Accenture
- Google Tag Manager - Derek Ooi, Analytics Specialist, Mindvalley
- Analytics for Retailers & eCommerce - Lim Chee How, Founder, Tapway
- Data Analytics for Marketing - Salim Khubchandani, CEO, OnTarget
- API led Connectivity - Dominic Wee, Regional Manager, Mulesoft
- Data Preparation using Weka - Nuhaa Bakry, Experian [top image]
- Data Visualization using Tableau - Sandra Hanchard, DataViz
- Data Collection and Scraping - Chan Yee Hui, DataViz
- Predictive Analytics with R - Shak Hassan, CodeCubical
- Machine Learning Fundamentals - Fartash Haghani, PyCademy
- Elastic search with Kibana - Fartash Haghani, PyCademy


text:
StatsCan Halts Controversial Plan to Collect Financial Data from 500,000 Canadians
Statistics Canada has halted its plan to get banking details of half a million Canadian households as well as temporarily halted collecting credit records from TransUnion.
A new report from The Globe and Mail explains that the government agency has made the decision amidst a controversy surrounding its plan to launch the project, which would gather sensitive financial information from 500,000 Canadians. The agency is now under investigation by the federal Privacy Commissioner.
"Statistics Canada has put this project on pause, and informed TransUnion to that effect," Statistics Canada spokesperson Peter Frayne said. "We take the privacy and confidentiality of Canadians' information very seriously."
When Statistics Canada announced it planned the pilot project, which was to launch next month, the outrage was widespread, as many felt the national statistics agency was overreaching its mandate and threatening the privacy of regular citizens.
The agency's plan was to collect personal financial data from nine Canadian banks and financial institutions, including credit card payment history and account balances.
TransUnion spokesperson, David Blumberg, confirmed to Global News that government agency has indeed stopped requesting information "at this time."
"We provided Statistics Canada with select credit information on consumers to help them efficiently collect information for demographic and economic research," Blumberg said in a statement. "Statistics Canada's access to and use of the data is for statistical purposes only and has no impact on any individual's credit score. Statistics Canada has determined not to request further information from TransUnion at this time."
"Statistics Canada had portrayed the desire for banking records as part of a broader shift away from traditional phone- and paper-based surveys in favour of using private and public sector databases as a source of public interest statistics," reads the Globe and Mail report.


text:
There is very little under the sun one can tell a Moroccan about sex if, as is likely, he or she has been exposed to an uncensored edition of The Thousand Nights and One Night. The fabled collection is full of forced coupling and pimps, swords used for erotic purposes, "kisses, bitings, huggings, twistings, great strokes of the zabb, variations, first, second, and third positions, and the rest." It's not just a carnal cornucopia; sex is the great nexus for jealousy, longing, and love. Sex, in these tales, is about power.
For the past thirty years, Tahar Ben Jelloun has managed to bring such a literary presentation of sex into a complicated, twenty-first-century context. Just as John Updike reminded Americans of the guilt and vertigo they sort out between the sheets, Ben Jelloun has chronicled the shame and secrecy surrounding sex in a Morocco of creeping fundamentalism and diminishing opportunity. The explicitness of the sex in his work is powerful and often beautifully erotic; it's what it signifies, however, that unsettles.
It is precisely this point—where sex amplifies the degradations of postcolonial economic reality—that Leaving Tangier lands like a hammer blow. The main character is a straight, well-educated Moroccan named Azel, who has begun to drift. "I'm twenty-four," he tells girls who are interested in him, "I have a diploma but no money, job or car. . . . [I'm] ready to do anything to get the hell out of here, leave this whole country behind except for some memories and a few postcards." One of Azel's best friends drowned while being smuggled to Spain. Azel knows there's a faster way. So he tumbles into an affair with a much older, wealthy Spaniard named Miguel, who has a penchant for fallen young Moroccan men and "the olive sheen of their skin."
Ben Jelloun is a direct and Orwellian writer when it comes to sex: "He loved their availability," he writes of the Moroccan men Miguel takes under his wing, "which marked the inequality in which the relationship was formed, for the lover by night was thus the servant by day, casually dressed to do the daily shopping, wearing fine clothing in the evening to stimulate sexual desire. The old concierge in an apartment building where an American writer and his wife lived had said it best. . . . 'A package deal, and between two pokes, tokes on a nicely packaged pipe of kif to help the American write! Tell me your story, he says to them, I'll make a novel out of it, you'll even have your name on the cover: you won't be able to read it but no matter, you're a writer like me, except that you're an illiterate writer, that's exotic—what I mean is, unusual my friend!'"
Ben Jelloun is here responding to Paul Bowles, a connection made clear in interviews where the Moroccan expresses a distaste for the American's erotizing of poverty: "I didn't like Bowles, the man or the writer. He loved young Moroccan boys and preferred them illiterate. He'd write books in their words; it was an ambiguous relationship."
Leaving Tangier would read like a blunt political instrument for such sentiments were Ben Jelloun not such a wonderfully specific writer. Many scenes of agonizing depravity convey the desperation of poverty. Azel gives in to Miguel's beneficence after being rounded up by Moroccan police, who hold him down on the interrogation-room floor and take turns violating him. The trauma takes a heavy psychological toll. When Miguel brings Azel to Spain, the young man begins sneaking off to couple with his girlfriend, who has been hired to take care of a disabled child. Eventually, he becomes impotent and falls in with a druggy crowd of petty criminals.
From such bracing particulars, Ben Jelloun fashions political fiction of great urgency. As Dos Passos did in the USA trilogy, the Moroccan author fans outward to tangential characters whose lives illustrate the economic web that ensnares them all. A young girl's father yanks her out of school so she can work shifts at a shrimp factory even though she is ill. A quiet young man of devout bent obtains a visa and emigrates to Belgium, where a chance encounter propels him to the front lines of jihad in Pakistan. And finally there's Kenza, Azel's sister, who follows her brother to Spain—also under Miguel's steam—and does well, until she meets a handsome young Turkish immigrant who's been chased to the same country by a past he hides from everyone.
Leaving Tangier was originally published in France, where Ben Jelloun lives most of the year, as Partir, or "To Leave"—a far more accurate title for this disturbing, elliptical little novel, which has been elegantly translated from the French by Linda Coverdale. Ben Jelloun has long written in the language and is aware, as many exiles are, of the possible duplicity in this act. "Arabic is my wife," he has said, "and French is my mistress; and I have been unfaithful to both."
Cultural negotiations also animate the lives of his emigrant characters, in the grisly day jobs soldiered through by young men and women who would be overqualified were it not for their being Moroccan. It is indeed a book about departures—leave-takings made under pressure so strong it steamrolls willpower. The lucky return and survive; others are unlucky. By pointing up the limited paths for Morocco's sojourners, Ben Jelloun might redeem a promise of a better life at home.
John Freeman is the American editor of Granta


text:
European Union Releases Data on Controversial Monsanto GMO Corn Strain
With concerns growing over genetically modified foods stirred up by a recent French study, the European Food Safety Authority, the European Union's risk assessment body for food safety, has announced its release of all data on a strain of genetically modified corn engineered by Monsanto on its website.
NK603 is the corn strain that was the focus of a report from Gilles-Eric Seralini of the University of Caen. Seralini's research found the genetically modified corn variety to be more likely to cause tumors in rats than the control group. But Seralini's study was highly criticized, even by the EFSA, which said his work failed to meet "acceptable scientific standards."
Still, despite the criticism, after Seralini's study was published, public concern grew throughout Europe where genetically modified foods are strictly regulated. While France wouldn't outright ban the crop from the country because of issues with the study, concerns were heightened when Russia banned the crop—and all Monsanto corn.
From the Organic Authority Files
Environmental groups have criticized the EFSA about its lack of testing on GMO foods, but embraced the decision to go public with the data on the controversial corn. The EFSA said the release of the data is part of the Union's "continuing commitment to openness," and that "any member of the public or scientific community will now be able to examine and utilize the full data sets used in this risk assessment."
Despite bans and strict labeling regulations on genetically modified foods throughout Europe, the EU has authorized nearly 40 genetically modified products, many of which are used in livestock animals feed. Only two strains of GMO seeds are approved for cultivation in the EU: Monsanto's MON810 corn variety an a potato developed by Germany's BASF SE, the Amflora.
Keep in touch with Jill on Twitter @jillettinger
Image: Alternative Heat


text:
Told by one armed man: Our entrance to Mosul was a revenge mission for Al-Belawi [head of extremists who was captured by the Iraqi Army]; we prepared explosives in Tamouz Street to secure our withdrawal; the collapse of the Iraqi Army was not expected at all; we were planning to stay in Mosul for two days maximum but the road was open right in front of us, so we did not stop. "It was a liberation like the liberation of Mecca", he said. Finished talking.
The few ISIS fighters were not planning to take over Mosul- happened by concidence
I can only imagine how difficult the situation in Mosul is right now. So I just hope you are fine and this email finds you well.
My name is Florian, and I am writing from the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ), a major daily newspaper in Germany. The FAZ's Sunday magazine section is preparing a special feature that compiles perspectives on the current situation in Iraq, from individuals who are based there. I stumbled upon your blog and wanted to inquire about the possibility of having you contribute to our feature. We'd love to hear your perspective. Making your voice being heard, is very important to us!
I would like to ask you for a brief report (1000 words or less) following these three questions:
1. What's the situation like in Mossul right now? Can you tell us what is happening in the streets today?
2. How do the people react in your area, is there growing support or growing fear?
3. What do you expect the authorities to do? And what do you think will happen in Iraq over the next weeks/month?
In addition, it would be helpful to get a brief description of your background, i.e., your name, age, profession. A fake name would be ok, if this is necessary for your safety.
Your answers do not have to be long and they can be written in either english or arabic, we have a good translator, who will translate your answers to german. Unfortunately, we need your answer by today in the afternoon. Is that possible for you?
Please let me know if you are interested in participating. Thanks very much for your attention during what must be a very chaotic time, and I look forward to hearing back!
Yes, I'd be happy to. Thank you very much for this opportunity. I really want the international community to understand what's happening. I am working on it now. When do you need it in Germany timing?
Please send your answers to my email adress: email@example.com. Like I said, deadline is around 5 pm. It would be so great hearing from you!
Just read your respond right now. Thank you so much! Deadline is 4 pm German time, so 5 pm Iraq time. I can not wait to hear from you! Best, Florian
And please do noot hesitate to use your work on this blog, for example what you wrote in this entry about the ISIS conquering Mosul by concidence. Please try to write down as much impressions of what you witness in the streets and what you experience and your personal opinion. Remember: We are blind over here. You are our eyes and ears!
I just talked to my boss and he would appreciate to get your answers between 3 and 4 pm Iraq time, so we have a enough time to translate. We want to make sure to do a good job on that!
Dear mosuleye, we are close to the deadline now. Please send us your answers as soon as possible. Thank you!


text:
ANNOYING THINGS BETTAS LOVE TO DO A list of things bettas do to drive their owners crazy.
(Click on Bettas to return to the main betta page or on main site to browse 70 topics ranging from exotic kaleidoscope designs to the strange world of lucid dreaming.)
NEW!!! Katie, see her site in my links page, sent me a new annoying betta habit: A spawning pair will display and flirt with each other while kept apart, then when released to spawn decide they really only want to be "good friends." (Thanks Katie!)
1. Cluster around the end of the siphoning tube when you're trying to clean the fry tank.
2. Turn their backs to you every time you take a photograph.
3. Flare perfectly while you're looking the other way or when your camera jams.
4. Refuse to eat the food you paid top dollar for and that you know is good for them.
5. Refuse to eat brine shrimp once in a while just on principle, to remind you who's boss.
6. Give you dirty looks when you try to feed them a new food.
7. Hide in the front edge of the spawning aquarium where you can't see them.
8. Change from brilliantly beautiful in the store to flat and colorless when you get them home.
9. Decide to become celibate when you want them to spawn like crazy.
10. Decide they like the taste of betta eggs.
11. Ditto for betta fry.
12. Swim around excitedly, flare, and show off for you then turn listless and dull as soon as you invite someone over to look at them.
Got any others you'd like to share? I'd love to add them to the list so please send them to me. Thank you.
Return to betta page