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Friday, October 3, 2003
As the Neila service (ultimate prayer of Yom Kippur) draws to its conclusion,
we engage in a group ritual simultaneously thought-provoking and inspiring.We proclaim in unison the Shema (once), Boruch
Shem (thrice) and then, as the dramatic finale, we cry out seven times Hashem Hu HoElokim Hashem, G-d who created all existence,
is the L-rd who rules and watches over us.As we pronounce these sentences we are asserting our readiness and willingness
to lay down our lives for G-d and His Torah. Yom Kippur a few years ago I caught myself wondering how ready am
I really? Untold millions of martyrs for Judaism have graced our bloodstained history. Where did they find that supreme dedication
which persuaded them to sacrifice all for an undefined and unprovable ideal? The only possible source for such
awe-shattering faith must be instinctive and not developed. I dont believe that sacrifice can be practiced. Within every
Jew wells a font of belief, which is drawn on only when the only available choice left is between commitment to Judaism or
rejection of G-d (G-d forbid). With a choice so stark and the stakes so manifest, the innate nature of a Jew is truly revealed.Perhaps
our making this proclamation; at the conclusion of Yom Kippur, after a long day spent fasting and reaffirming our connection
to Hashem, is the closest we get to exhibiting this faith out a choice and not necessity. One final point; The
town miser was dying. A blood disorder had left him with a dangerously high fever. The doctors diagnosis was that his
last slim hope of survival would be if he could somehow manage to perspire and thus lower his temperature.Hed tried steam
baths, eating jalapeno peppers, nothing worked. He was condemned to die.He called in the Rabbi and gasped, Rabbi,
all these years when youve approached me to contribute to various charitable causes, Ive always answered No. Today,
Rabbi, I say Yes.Rabbi, take a pen and record my last will and testament.To the town orphanage, I leave 25,000 rubles.
To the free-loan fund, I leave fifty thousand rubles. To the yeshiva. to the yeshivaRABBI, GIVE ME BACK THAT PAPER,
IM SHVITZING. It may be true that everyone desires to die like a Jew, but what are we prepared to sacrifice in
order to live as a Jew?
Friday, October 17, 2003
Shmini Atzeret Friday Oct 17: 6 pm (Simultaneous Children's Service)
Saturday Oct 18 9:15 am (YIZKOR 10:30 A.M.)
Simchas Torah Saturday 18th October: 7pm (Simultaneous Children's Service) Followed
by drinkin', dancin' and lolly-baggin' for EVERONE - invite your Friends.
Sunday 19th October 9:15 am. FOLLOWED BY CATERED LUNCH SPONSORED BY AND HONOURING CHASAN
OUR ALL WEATHER GUARANTEE: come enjoy the new split-cycle heating/cooling we have just
installed in the Shule hall...
My maternal grandfather arrived in Australia on board the infamous ship the Dunera. The brutal
treatment by British sailors of this group of (mostly Jewish) German and Austrian refugees has been exhaustively studied and
justly condemned. How ironic that people fleeing persecution and Hitler should be suspected of spying for the Nazis, shipped
in a slave-galley to the colonies and incarcerated for years.When the mini-series, THE DUNERA BOYS, was being
filmed, the actor playing the young yeshiva student (no matter that the long ear locks and black cassock he sported were wildly
atypical of German-Jewish dress style) spent a while in Yeshiva Gedola, observing and character-studying for his role.He
blew it. On screen he spoke with a gemoro-style intonation, he looked suitably serious, but in the shot of him studying.
hes sitting ramrod straight, without a sway in sight. Swaying as one learns, or shuckling, to use the Yiddish,
is probably the best known and least understood characteristic of Torah learning. The students of Rabbi Akiva, the great talmudic
sage, once tried to prank his class by introducing an interloper, an educated non-Jew, and passing him off as a new student.
Later, they asked the Rabbis opinion of the new guy; Extraordinarily knowledgeable for a gentile! How did you realise?
He knew the subject matter, but he didnt shuckle as he learnedI love watching a newcomer to my Shiurim sit
down at a gemoro or other sefer (holy book) and within minutes we have him rocking with the rest. Its clearly not put-on;
its instinctive. Natural rather than choreographed.
In Kabalistic terminology the soul is compared to a dancing flame. The downward pull of the
wick and candle mimic the resistance of our body, inhibiting the souls desire to abandon its mortal constraints and soar once
again to reunite with Hashem. The flickering flame of our soul engaged in an endless waltz of resistance/surrender, impulse
towards G-d/retreat to physicality also plays out in the phenomena of swaying while learning. Torah study is no ivory-towered
doctrine of intellectual posturing, nor some musty ritual of archaic cramming. When a Jew learns Torah, the soul dances; preening
in delight with the connection to G-dliness. This interplay of spiritual satisfaction expresses itself in instinctive movement.
Similar phenomena are observed over the Succos and Simchat Torah festivals. We bless the
Lulav and Esrog, hold them close to the heart and then wave them in all directions. This shaking, known as naanuim,
expresses the interplay of soul with G-dliness. Likewise on Simchat Torah we hold the Torah scroll close and intuitively break
into dance. Mitzvot, Divine Commandment, are not empty rituals performed in conscientious but empty gestures.
Fulfilling a Mitzvah demonstrates a living, joyful Judaism, ecstatic beyond words to be able to connect with Hashem,
and leaving us instinctively dancing in tune to the music of our souls
Friday, October 24, 2003
History is bunk. Let bygones be bygones. If it didnt happen to me, why should I study about it?Is
it really true that those who dont learn from the past may be condemned to repeat it? Maybe so when discussing recent history;
if the Pollies had learnt the follies of appeasement from Chamberlain 39 and Sinai 79 perhaps we wouldnt now be staring down
at the wreckage of the Oslo disaster of 91-03. Ancient history, however, seemingly has no such similar insights to impart.
When you study Genesis, (the first book of the Torah, - opens this week in a Synagogue near you) what life-lessons will you
walk away with? Do you really think that youll be called on anytime soon to create a universe from scratch? If the Torah
is an operating manual to building a Jewish life, what is the Creation story; advertising filler till we get to the practical
bits?Rashi (greatest of commentators) posits this question (though in a slightly less irreverent style) and answers
that without the preamble wed have no response to the never-ending accusations of the anti-Semites of history. When dragged
before the U.N of the day and indicted for the crime of Occupation having dispossessed the peaceful prior inhabitants of the
Land of Israel, we can defend ourselves (as indeed David Ben-Gurion did in 47) by flourishing a Bible and opening to Act 1,
Scene 1 (or at least chapter 1, Verse 1):We didnt create the world, G-d did. We didnt draw the borders, Hashem did. We
didnt decide who lives where, He did that too, and He created Israel for the Jews, decided the borders and picked the time
when the Canaanites were to leave and the Jews to arrive.End of case, vindicated, (exit stage left)My real question
is why is the world so worked up. What exactly is their complaint? Rightly or wrongly, as violent invaders or benevolent liberators,
countries change rulers all the time. (England: the Picts, Romans, Saxons, and Normans just to name a few in the wrong order.
America: The Red Indians, Spanish, French, English, Hollywood to chart their cultural degeneration. France: why anyone else
wanted to rule the French I will never understand.)Why is this fight different from all other conquests?The answer
is in the attitude. Everyone accepts and expects countries to change hands. You ruled it today; well beat you up tomorrow
and take adverse possession. Only the Jews have the Chutzpah to maintain that the land belongs to us even when NOT in physical
control. Our ties to Eretz Yisrael are permanent. It was gifted to us by Hashem, and, by our creeds and deeds since then,
we have changed the physical and spiritual fabric of the territory, forged a constant connection and rendered it ours eternally.
On the micro level we achieve the same. Whatever we take possession of, whoever we come in
contact with, if we imbue spirituality into the encounter, well have effected permanent change. The transformation wrought
will live and flourish beyond us, even after weve moved on, and be a constant substantiation of our existence. Eretz Yisrael
is ours, indivisible and eternally, by virtue of G-ds desire and our actions. We too can affect our surroundings permanently,
rendering them holy, by bringing G-dliness into the mundane fabric of earthly everyday existence.
Friday, October 30, 2003
Post flood. The survivors: Noach (Noah), wife, sons, daughters-in-law
and lots and lots of animals.They left the ark and offered thanksgiving sacrifices. Noach plants a vineyard, gets sloshed
and collapses in a heap inside his tent.The reaction of his sons differ; Cham ... saw the nakedness of his father
and told his brothers. Shem and Yefes walked backwards and covered their father their faces were turned away and they didnt
see their fathers nakedness
One of the foundations of Chassidic philosophy is the belief that nothing happens by chance.
Every act we may observe holds a lesson to be integrated. What lesson is there from seeing evil, observing another sin? Answer;
you arent seeing him, youre watching yourself. When presented with the specter of another doing wrong, search the dark crevasses
of your past conduct and youll find the same transgression lurking.The way you react, the verdict you pass when commenting
on the behaviour of others, will be dredged up and used against you on your personal day of judgment.
Is this always true? Must I believe that all evil I observe is a self-commentary? What then the
value of rebuke, surely sometimes we observe the peccadilloes of others for no other reason than to help them correct themselves.
The varied reactions of his sons to Noachs disgrace demonstrate the difference: Of course the
opportunity to help another may present itself, and of course we must be on the lookout to guide miscreants back onto the
straight and narrow, but to do so demands awareness, not self-righteousness. Weve all met moral crusaders who enjoy nothing
better than discovering fresh sins of their neighbours. Cham was confronted with the exact same situation as his brothers,
but whereas their reaction was to fix the problem but resolutely keep their backs turned, he saw his fathers disgrace and
reveled in it.
When confronted with the failings of others, do we look to help or to gloat? Just remember, whichever
way we react is to pass judgment on nobody but ourselves
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I'll just start by putting it out there.
I have a YouTube Channel now.
I feel a little bit weird about it. Eventually that awkwardness will stop conveying itself in the videos I'm posting, right?
Just nod and agree so I can feel better!
It's been a bit of an odd week on the book front. The first week back from the holidays is always a bit off for people. Two weeks off result in new projects, new directives, mountains of unread emails, and a burning desire to accomplish some meaningful work (which is held up by the mountains of emails and the housekeeping of returning to the desk).
I started the week with the hope that we would hear back from a publisher on the partial manuscript that went out before the break. I wasn't necessarily expecting to hear:
"Oh my gosh, everyone at Super-Smart Publishing House, Inc. just adored it and we're ready to snap it up right away!"
That kind of thing almost never happens in the book world, and I'd be delusional to expect it. But hearing nothing got me down a little--which was also delusional because of the aforementioned awkwardness of the first work week of the year, which is pretty much a universal thing.
Realizing my unrealistic expectations didn't ease my anxiety the way I'd hoped, so I leapt into planning my birthday (except I really didn't, just ended up having friends over Birthday Week Kickoff bubbly, instead) and working on the strange business of promoting oneself as an author. I'm lucky enough to have a wonderful agent who has proven herself to be adept at talking me down off of the anxiety ledge (which reminds me, I need to put her Christmas gift in the mail when I'm done here!). Between her sedative words and my husband's insistence that I attend last night's University of SC basketball game with his company, I woke up today feeling mellowed out once again.
Until I saw the email from half of #TeamCatherine informing me that the YouTube Channel was up and running.
Ack! Whatever happened to being a writer who, you know, just writes stuff?!
Oh yeah, I have to convince people to go buy the stuff I'm writing! So here's the first video, and I promise these will improve. It's really more of a test run with the nifty new microphone that came in the mail, anyway.
...and don't worry. I actually wrote this week, as well. A whole half of a chapter. And the week isn't even over yet!

subset: commoncrawl


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Gwen Stefani is teasing a possible wedding with her boyfriend of more than two years, Blake Shelton. Entertainment Tonight reports the star gushed about her man in a pretty major way during a recent appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on April 10, where the singer was grilled by the host about potentially getting married again.
Ellen began by asking the No Doubt singer about her relationship with the country star – who she first met when they were both coaches on The Voice – before she then teased Gwen by urging her to marry him.
"I love being married," Ellen told the star. "I think you should get married."
But Stefani wasn't about to give away a definite answer when it came to whether she and Blake will be heading down the aisle anytime soon. However, she did tease that she's thought about tying the knot again.
ET reports that the mom of three then coyly responded, "You know what? I love weddings, the kids love him. We love him. Everybody loves him. He's lovable. I think about [marriage] all the time."
Both have been married before. Gwen was married to ex-husband Gavin Rossdale for 14 years until they divorced in 2016, while Blake was married to fellow country star Miranda Lambert for four years between 2011 and 2015. Prior to that, he was previously married to Kaynette Williams from 2003 until 2006.
Stefani also referred to Shelton's recent Sexiest Man Alive honor from People in November of 2017, telling the host and comedian that she thinks her boyfriend has actually "got sexier" since he was given the title.
"It just keeps getting better and cuter and more country," she continued of her life with Shelton.
While Stefani seemed happy to gush about her man on the show as well as across her various social media accounts, she joked that she actually gets pretty nervous when it comes to discussing her boyfriend in public.
"It's weird because, I get nervous when you talk to me about him," Stefani said on the daytime talk show. "I don't know why, but for some reason, the cameras are rolling and I shouldn't say something. So, if I say, 'We are [getting married],' then we are, and if I say, 'No, we're not,' then that would be sad, too."
Gwen may have been a little nervous to chat about Blake, but she hasn't exactly been showing it on social media.
As the Inquisitr previously reported, the star gave fans an inside look at the sweet gifts the "God Gave Me You" singer bought her for Valentine's Day this year, filming a flower delivery from the multiple ACM Award winner on Instagram Stories.
Shortly after, Stefani shared a number of photos and videos while backstage at a show during Shelton's latest tour.
But while Gwen was pretty reluctant to confirm if a wedding is in the works this week, Blake has already made it clear that they're not expecting any babies right now.
Amid much speculation suggesting Stefani was pregnant, Shelton joked about the barrage of rumors in February when he invited his girlfriend on stage to perform with him during a show at his bar in Oklahoma by joking that she'd given birth to their twins just the day before.
As Gossip Cop reported, Blake told the crowd at the time that they were "very lucky" to have Gwen with them that night as he playfully joked that she "actually gave birth to twins yesterday."


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How much do you worry about the effects of cell phone use?
I didn't mean to imply cancer of the cell phone. My bad. According to NBC News, the US government's National Toxicology Program released its report on the effects of cell phone-like radiation on tumor development. According to one rat participant "it's not a tumor" (but really it was). Exposure to radiation of the types from 2G and 3G phones led to "cancerous heart tumors" in male mice. "…the totality of the available scientific evidence continues to not support adverse health effects in humans caused by exposures at or under the current radiofrequency energy exposure limits," said a very dull-sounding Dr. Jeffrey Shuren from the FDA. Ok, but what about that heart tumor thingy? If that's not confusing enough, the irradiated male rats also lived longer than the non-radiated rats. Must be a Spider Man thing. These results were about as clear as the reception from Straight Talk mobile service. Here's a list of the best and worst mobile carriers in the US. Spoiler…Straight Talk suuuuuuuuks.


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Whether you are new to athletics or just hearing about creatine monohydrate, it is one of the most efficient and useful supplements for improving strength, muscle mass, and generally improving physical attributes. Most people fail to realize that creatine monohydrate requires other features in order to work properly within the human skeletal … [Read more...]
The Paleo Diet – 5 Benefits To Going Paleo
Zone, Atkins, South Beach, Vegetarian, Vegan, Plant based, High Carb, Sunshine Diet, intermittent fasting, and don't forget my (least) favorite - "If It Fits Your Macros." It seems like there's a new diet coming out every couple minutes. So how are we to know what to choose? Years ago I was fortunate enough to read some of the earlier … [Read more...]
"Everything in Moderation" 3 Reasons Why You Need To Rid Yourself of Moderation
My problem with moderation. You have heard it before. The saying: "Everything in moderation." I have a big problem with that phrase. And I believe that you should too. I believe moderation is a weakness in our character that we should work to purge. 1. Moderation Or Validation Moderation is avoiding the extremes of a situation. So when … [Read more...]
The Benefits of Red Meat & Why It Is Good For You
Riddle for you: What's red, full of antioxidants, has CLA to help fight off cancer, protein to build strength and muscle, and has been totally vilified by the anti-meat campaigners? If you guessed red meat, good job. Have a cookie... I mean a steak! But as always, the answer isn't so simple. Let's find out! Poor Red Meat Have you ever … [Read more...]
Gluten: 4 Reasons Why Its Bad For You
According to mainstream nutrition advice we need to be eating a lot of whole grains. Things like cereals, breads, and pastas make a killing off this. But are you the victim here? If you have been keeping up with the news, nutrition, or health, you know that gluten is a big topic right now. It's being called a fad diet or a holy grail of lasting … [Read more...]
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It's time again for our competition and this month we have a real fun competition.
All you have to do, is come up with your geekiest slogan / saying and put it on your status with the #geekworldsa #geekyslogangiveaway and you can win a gift hamper to the value of R500.
We will use them every day on the board outside our store and by the end of the month we will choose the best one.


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Leesburg, Virginia 20175 USA
I'm a front-end web developer and designer with over 15 years experience building accessible, standards compliant web sites. Between my passion for design and background in engineering, I specialize in bridging the gap between design and engineering.
Here are a few examples of some of the projects I've worked on. For additional samples or code samples, please contact me at email@example.com
Tee Shirt Design for Q Coach
Skills Used: Photoshop, Illustrator
2016, Jun– Present
Updated the design of the PTA content on the website (no control overall look and feel). Switched calendar to use a google calendar and wrote scripts to pull calendar events in and display on the website. Creating various banners and graphics to be used for promotional events both on the website and Facebook.
Skills Used: CSS, HTML, Javascript, Photoshop, Illustrator
2012, Jun– Present
Full Stack Development in PHP of online registration system that processes 10+ registrations per second. Integration with MailChimp (including newsletter design and development, and api integration) and Mandrill, then Mailgun.
Skills Used: CSS, HTML, Javascript, jQuery, PHP, MySQL, perl, git (bitbucket)Visit Site
2009, Jun–
Custom CMS created with Expression Engine. Responsible for design and coding.
Skills Used: Illustrator, Photoshop, CSS, HTML, Javascript, jQuery, Expression EngineVisit Site
2009, Jun–
Responsible for wireframing, cutting art, and front-end development.
Skills Used: Wireframing, Illustrator, Photoshop, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, jQuery, Ruby on Rails
2009, Jun–
Responsible for wireframing, site and logo design, and front-end development and Facebook integration.
Skills Used: Wireframing, Illustrator, Photoshop, HTML, CSS, FBML, FBJS, Ruby on RailsVisit Site
2009, Jun–
Worked on the front end of the AIM Chat web product. Responsible for the initial development of the media player and people/chat finder. Worked on other enhancements as needed.
Skills Used: JavaScript, dojo, dijits, CSS, HTMLVisit Site
2009, Jun–
Worked on front- and back-end development of AIM Photos -- a photos product to compliment AIM Profiles.
Skills Used: Ruby on Rails, CSS, HTML, JavaScript, jQuery, AJAX, Photoshop
2009, Jun–
AIM Buddies was part of AIM Profiles. Version one I did a lot of the work for front to back. Version 2, my main concentration was on the front-end.
Skills Used: Java, JSP, HTML, CSS, JavaScript
2009, Jun–
An interactive timeline app that allows users to plot photos and video detailing an event, a trip, etc. I was responsible for some of the front-end development.
Skills Used: Ruby on Rails, CSS, HTML, JavaScript, jQuery, AJAX
2009, Jun–
Created an online web presence for psychologist, columnist, and professor Andrea Bonior. Responsible for design and coding.
Skills Used: Photoshop, Ruby on Rails, HTML, CSSVisit Site
2009, Jun–
Custom two color letterpress wedding invite.
Skills Used: Illustrator
2009, Jun–
Custom WordPress theme for the property owners association for Deerfield Village in Shepherdstown, WV. Responsible for design implementation and coding.
Skills Used: Photoshop, HTML, CSS, WordPressVisit Site
2009, Jun–
Magazine ad for Bella Notte Wedding Planning and Coordination
Skills Used: Photoshop, Illustrator
2009, Jun–
Black and white printed brochure for photography studio.
Skills Used: Photoshop, InDesign
2009, Jun–
Assisted with the re-design of the fly.faa.gov website. Main responsibility was the map graphics and a little html clean-up.
Skills Used: Illustrator, Photoshop, HTML, CSSVisit Site


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"Lucky Man" and The Science of Happiness/
In my emotional intelligence work with PeopleSmarts.biz I conduct a fun and informative seminar called "The Science of Happiness" where we explore the fascinating research on happiness.
Happiness is more than just an emotion or experience that only a lucky few experience. The research on positive psychology, neurobiology, resiliency, and learned optimism, as well as my experience with thousands of clients, clearly demonstrate that happiness is (fortunately!) an actual skill that can be taught and can be learned. This is great, great news.
So the other day I was watching the movie "Marley and Me" and I heard part of the song "Lucky Man" by The Verve which I hadn't heard before. I purchased the song and immediately fell in love with it as I think it well captures the essence of the science of happiness.
In the lyrics below —[I've added my annotations within brackets like this]— to share some perspectives on happiness. I'll highlight some of the mindsets and awarenesses that connect with The Science of Happiness. I'll save the neurobiology of happiness for another discussion. But bear in mind that how we think and what we choose has a direct impact on our biochemisty.
Lucky Man
The Verve
More or less
It's just a change in me
Something in my liberty
—["It's just a change in me" highlights that happiness ultimately comes from within. It is not based in externals. True happiness is an internal experience that can be shared with others in the external world, but cannot be obtained fully in the external world.]—
—["Something in my liberty." Happiness is not only freeing in and of itself, but is also, and most importantly, the outcome of making an internal change in how we choose to see things. That is what creates that very sense of freedom. This is akin to Bob Marley's admonition in Redemption Song, "Emancipate yourself from mental slavery." It is our mind that traps us way more than our circumstances. Again internals vs. externals.]—
Oh, my, my
Coming and going
I watch you look at me
Watch my fever growing
I know just where I am
—["I know just where I am." Knowing where one is is essential to knowing who one is. It's a sense of connection, awareness and presence. Many people get so confused by the seductives worries and regrets of the future and the past that they are unable to fully live "just where I am."]—
But how many corners do I have to turn?
How many times do I have to learn
All the love I have is in my mind?
—["How many times do I have to learn..." Buddhists inform us that enlightenment comes in a flash after years and years and years and years of meditation; e.g., after much learning. Many of my clients are initially frustrated with the steep learning curve of creating a Great Relationship. I remind them that while the principles and skills we learn (and then practice, practice, practice) are simple that they are not easy. I never confuse simple with easy. Simple is hard at first to learn—the results are just easier to live with. The Complexity Mess of hypocrisy, despair and disintegrity most live in is actually easy to keep doing (because of mindsets, habits, patterns and perpetual reinforcement)—the results are just hard to live with. Thus it (life in general and/or the Great Relationship work) is going to be both hard and easy. The question is where do we want the "hard" and where do we want the "easy." My clients, to their credit, continually choose to do the hard work up front so they can experience the joyful ease of living in a Great Relationship. Thus, "many corners to turn, and many times to learn", and to fully integrate that learning, is just part of the process. But once we get there we learn the Great Secret:
—["All the love I have is in my mind." Jesus taught, "The kingdom of God is within you." In other words, it's not somewhere else, it's here within us. All the love we need is within us. It's not elsewhere, it's not external. This usually requires many, many wrong turns to discover this as we live in a culture where the model is that happiness is to be found in the externals.]—
But I'm a lucky man
With fire in my hands
—["I'm a lucky man." Lucky in what way? Oprah Winfrey said that, "Luck is when preparation meets opportunity." I agree with that statement. Instead of "luck" being something that happens to you, luck is something that you create and or invite in to you which then manifests. This type of luck is much more active than the passive type of luck most people think of.]—
—["With fire in my hands." Fire is symbolic of power, life, passion, energy. Thus, my power, my life, my passion, my energy, my "luck" are all in my control. Being a "lucky man" is more than finding $20 on the sidewalk. Lucky because of this core, essential awareness that I have the power in my life to experience life on my terms, that I'm not victim to the ups/downs of life, not victim to fair/unfair, not victim to what others do/don't do. Instead, I'm fully conscious and I feel so lucky to know that. Just like when man learned to use fire. To have that kind of power, freedom, control and responsibility in one's own hands is awesome.]—
Something in my own place
I'm stood here naked
Smiling, I feel no disgrace
With who I am
—[Happiness brings a sense of innocence and acceptance. Several years ago I had the profound pleasure of seeing the Dalai Lama here in Utah. I witnessed his ability to at one moment to talk with deep seriousness and insight of the need for peace in this war-torn world and in the next moment laugh with the simple abandon of a five-year-old. His Holiness had left the Eden state, the state of innocence, of growing up sheltered and protected in peaceful environment as a child and sadly he and his people have been exposed to every atrocity known to man. Yet through his practice and devotion he lives in a child-like state of innocence. An innocence not based in naivete but an innocence consciously claimed in the face of full awareness.
An innocence that arguably can be said was lost because of what he and his people have suffered, but that he has willingly and with skill and practice regained.]—
—["Smiling, I feel no disgrace with who I am." In the Genesis story we are told that Adam and Eve in their innocence in the Garden of Eden were naked, "And they were not ashamed." To choose self-acceptance after we've been exposed in this life (after leaving the Eden state of innocence), when we don't "match up" to how the magazines say we should look is to choose true happiness.]—
All of these comments are representative of a "change in me...something in my liberty." To be happy in the midst of life as it is, vs. how it "should" be, is not denial or being naive, it is a powerful choice that alters our biochemical and neurological states. Cool. Definitely a "lucky" place to be. So be.
Those are my thoughts. They are by no means the only interpretations of this song or these concepts. How does this song touch you? What are your thoughts on creating and manifesting happiness in your life?
Liked it? Want more? Get the Great Relationships eBook.


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Dolls house exhibition with a difference
There are a few perks to my day job and the best by far this year was meeting dolls' house doyennes Jane Fiddick and Caroline Hamilton.
The two friends are fantastic characters and have spent the last 40 years collecting and making houses, room boxes, shops and the miniature treasures that go inside them. Luckily for us, the London-based pair have just gifted them all to Newby Hall, near Ripon. The 65 properties will be on permanent display in the former potting sheds next to the garden restaurant and there is no doubt that it will be a major attraction when it opens on July 11.
I defy anyone not to utter "wow" when they see it. There are, of course, lots of traditional little abodes but best of all, in my opinion, are the unconventional, thought-provoking and the hilarious. These are dolls' houses but not as you know them and every one of them tells a story. This one, below, is labelled "Millenium Dome" and shows Nick Loadsa Money, a city banker, in his flash London apartment, complete with can in hand, a pizza box at his side and a cannabis plant on the terrace outside. "Well he would, wouldn't he?" says Caroline.
There's also the blingtastic Abu Dhabi hotel foyer.
And this amazing recreation of Charles Rennie Mackintosh's house is by Jane. Charles is at the drawing board and his furniture and paintings have been faithfully reproduced.
Caroline and Jane are sticklers for authenticity and their attention to detail is legendary. If it doesn't exist in miniature, they will find a way of making it. "Our mantra is, 'It's not beyond the wit of woman,'" they say. They can tackle everything from electrification and upholstery to furniture making and wallpapering, though they also commission pieces from miniaturists.
Gift wrap with small print makes good wallpaper and silk ties are the perfect upholstery fabric. Fimo is ideal for fashioning food, while a fountain can be conjured up with nylon thread and resin. Another trick is making cobwebs from old tights and dust from the contents of a vacuum cleaner – which is sprayed wth lacquer to make it stick. There's quite a bit of both in Steptoe and Son's gaff , below, which comes complete with rooftop bar.
I know I have had a sneak preview but I can't wait to go and see the little people again.This not just a day out you'll see history, sociology, architecture and observe all human life played out in 1:12 scale.
*Pictures by Bay Hippisley


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Create Your Holiday
Art in Ferrara - topProgram 3 days
Price Starting from 220.00€
An unique occasion for to visit Ferrara and the beautiful temporay exhibition in Diamanti Palace "Boldini and fashion".
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Random Beta Observations
Posted by Sylvestris
It is Wednesday and I hate Wednesday. Not dislike. Not "sigh and drag my feet" tolerate. Hate. It's too long and not interesting enough to justify being so long and 5 hours of research psychology makes me insanely grumpy and tired.
Now that that confession is out of the way, I came home to find my Cataclysm beta client, which has been downloading an update most of today while I slogged through school, was done. Yippee!
I was reading the beta notes on the launcher and was startled to see that you are now required to purchase "Azerothian Navigation" to fly in Azeroth. WHAT IS THIS CRAP I bellowed to myself (inside my head of course. Boyfriend is sitting close by). I logged in in Dalaran and immediately popped through a portal into Stormwind to see if this was indeed true. I was able to mount up my Argent Dawn Hippo(gryph) and rejoiced! Obviously I could still fly! Hooray! But no. Your flying mounts now adjust their behavior according to your riding skill and what is permissable in a given area, it seems. Pressing the space bar did not yield flight. Instead, my hippo reared and tossed himself about regally or hopped, flapped his wings once, and then touched back down. Blast! I ran to the flight trainer (currently located near the flight master in Stormwind) and prepared to be sickened. I wasn't. While I am thoroughly annoyed that you must pay to fly in Azeroth – because obviously the flight conditions in Outland and Northrend are so wildly different as to warrant more training! – the cost is a meager 200 gold. If you are any kind of competent, you can afford this. It's stupid and annoying and all other forms of blah, but it isn't insurmountable.
Now, I already have 310% flying on the live realms. I have the violet proto drake from the holiday achievements. It is my understanding, and every bit of Blizzard quotable evidence corroborates this, that if you already have 310% flying then you will retain that once Cataclysm launches. In addition, all of your flying mounts will then scale to this 310% benchmark without any effort required on your part. That is to say, you do not need to pay extra for a skill you already earned. However, upon poking the flight master to buy my Azerothian Navigation (grumble grumble) I noticed that "Master Riding" was listed, with a hefty cost of 4,000 gold (I am exalted with Stormwind which may or may not account for the cost). No doubt this is the upgrade to 310% flying that everyone was promised – but why am I seeing it? I already have 310% flying. What's more, apparently purchasing this awards an achievement, "Breaking the Sound Barrier", which I do not have. I cannot tell if my 280% mounts have scaled to 310% yet. It's a hard thing to judge just by eyeballing. I'm a little confused. I am hoping this is clarified before launch, because if I still have to pay for a riding speed I already (painstakingly) earned there will be bitching.
Harrison Jones makes his comeback from Grizzly Hills to train students of Archaeology in Stormwind. He is seriously the most epic win of all WoW NPCs. I love Indiana Jones. I giggled aloud when I saw him. And of course I bought Archaeology training from him. I just wish I could sit in on one of his lectures and bat my eyes at him…
Anyway. I am getting the hang of Archaeology. Slowly. Supposedly there are only a few "dig sites" up on a continent at a time, and once you exhaust them new ones pop up. You set down a survey kit and it tells you which direction to go next and how far away the treasure is. It's kinda neat, really, but I had a heck of a time figuring out what I was supposed to do to hunt down my fossils. You then dig up the fossil or whatever once you're close enough and it is added into a little field journal thing which keeps track of your progress on yours finds. I can see this being very addicting.
On an ending note, I noticed my frame rate died in Cataclysm. I get 75 on the live realm running at close to max video settings. On the beta, I am lucky to get 25. It's hovering around 20-ish right now. If this is just how it's going to be once Cataclysm hits, I am going to be very upset. I just upgraded my system majorly and I cannot accept that Catacylsm is so graphically advanced that it is going to cut my FPS by almost half. However, I can't seem to actually adjust my video settings on the beta. I attempt to, and then they reset themselves almost immediately. Still, it looks like I'd have to reduce them drastically to get a good frame rate. I'm already frustrated. Here's hoping it's just a beta thing, and will not persist after the live launch. Trading 75 FPS for 20 is unacceptable in my opinion.
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About SylvestrisGamer, nerd, book worm, baker.
Posted on September 16, 2010, in Chatter and tagged archaeology, Azerothian Navigation, beta, cataclysm, world of warcraft beta, WoW beta. Bookmark the permalink. Leave a comment.


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Yes, that's right, coopetition. It's a phrase used by SEO expert Eric Blackwell when describing how agents here at TREG work together to educate both themselves and each other.
Archives for April 2012
The Power of Coopetition
Right Price Analysis Class Benefits
So I thought I would say a little something about last week's Right Price Analysis class held in our Virginia Beach office. First and foremost, thanks to everyone who attended the class and benefited from the depth of instruction provided in the class (check out what TREG agent Lisa Burrow had to say about it on Facebook). More than that, though, I'd like to say how proud I am of my colleagues who took the time to invest in their business and learn how to become masters at pricing property. I'm excited for the growth they'll experience on the listing side of their trade, and I'm also excited for our seller clients. Not only will they be able to more effectively represent our sellers at the highest level possible with this new knowledge, but they will also bring that know-how to our buyer clients to help them find a house that is priced fairly.
In short, these agents dedicated their time to equip themselves at the highest possible level, and by doing so, our clients will be able to rely on them as trusted advisors for life. It doesn't get better than that.


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Films / Jonathan Patrick Moore
Nouvelle Vie (New Life)
Nouvelle Vie Film Description: Nouvelle Vie – (pronounced Noo-vel Vee) is a film about hope. Benjamin Morton found the love of a lifetime at...
Christian Mingle
Christian Mingle Film Description: Christian Mingle is about a young, modern, single woman. She's trying to achieve it all – a successful career, amazing...


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Go forth into this world. Don't be afraid. Don't be ashamed to be people of love. And go forth into this world and help us to change it from the nightmare it often is into the dream that God intends.
New to the Church? Here's what we value.
We Episcopalians believe in a loving, liberating, and life-giving God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Building Bridges Beyond Ourselves
Ministry Beyond the Church
The Church in Motion
2019 Easter Message
Meet Jerusalem Greer
LGBTQ in the Church


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|TEXT review
review by Jeanine Leane
Gularabulu is a collection of nine stories told by Nyigina Elder, Paddy Roe, from Broome and transcribed, as spoken to settler academic, Professor Stephen Muecke, in the late 1970s. Its publication in 1983 was groundbreaking as it invited the settler, as a respectful listener into the rich history and stories of the Country of the West Kimberley.
This is an invitation for the settler reader to step outside their socio-cultural moorings and enter into the Country of Aboriginal storytelling that is the living history of a place and people with an unbroken connection to the land, the elements and natural features through the telling and retelling of story. Paddy Roe's invitation to readers, spoken with the authority of a senior law-man, is a living testimony to the resilience of Aboriginal culture though stories of memory, place, people and all life forms that inhabit the space of Gularabulu. Stories cannot be stolen and stories are the life-blood, the un-severed umbilical cord that continues to connect Aboriginal Australians to Country and people despite ongoing colonial theft of land and oppression. Because Aboriginal knowledge and experience was not distilled and put into books and placed on shelves, storytelling is education and cultural transmission, that as Paddy's movements will show, was combined with work such as gathering for women, or, in this case, the making of tools, hence the rasping sounds that Muecke records while Paddy is working and talking. Such background noise and movements are not just important but essential to the context of the stories.
Between the first publication of Gularabulu in 1983 and its re-release in 2016, influential Torres Strait Islander academic Martin Nakata coined the term the 'Cultural Interface' (Nakata 2002: 281). The Cultural Interface is the space that settlers and Indigenous people inhabit in a colonial situation that is neither an entirely 'Aboriginal world' or an entirely 'Settler world' and, a place of tension that requires constant negotiation. It is within this post-invasion space requiring constant negotiation that Gularabulu originates. Muecke is invited into unfamiliar territory as a representative of the settler world. The same privilege is extended to the reader.
Central to Gularabulu is the locale – the West Kimberley – Paddy Roe's Country. Gularabulu is an area along the northwest coast of Western Australia from La Grange in the south, stretching through Broome and Dampier Land in the north. But its vastness and vibrancy, brought to life through Paddy's stories overwrites the more recent colonial nomenclature.
Gularabulu occurs in the space of many complex interfaces and involves a series of negotiations between Aboriginal and settler cultures. The beginning premise of the negotiation that became Gularabulu is that Muecke is privileged. As a respected storyteller Paddy has a responsibility to a community of listeners, as do all Aboriginal storytellers.
Gularabulu is a series of negotiations where the Aboriginal negotiator decides what will be shared and how. It begins with the most generous negotiation of all – Aboriginal English – not just within the pages of Gularabulu but also within Australia itself. Its invention and continued use as a mode of communication between Aboriginal peoples of different nations brought into contact through colonial dispersion and dispossession and between Aboriginal people and settlers is a testimony to its importance as the language that subtends the space between two very different cultures. Without it this space would be an unbridgeable chasm.
In Gularabulu Aboriginal English comes alive with the Country as the living language it is and Paddy Roe's use of it brings to the fore the innovative and pivotal role it plays in the sharing of Aboriginal stories of Country, history and experience. When Muecke is invited into the Country of Gularabulu through story his role is that of the respectful listener, a visitor who is welcomed to Paddy Roe's Country through its stories.
As Stephen listens he is taken across a cultural border, one of many, into what western rationalists label the supernatural, but for Paddy Roe and his people it is reality – the beings that inhabit the Country of his stories are as real as the teeming meat-ants trekking endlessly across the red dirt or the shifting winds that rattle through the acacias or the rolling swirling horizons. We meet a form-shifting maban who undergoes animal transformations; a devil with the head of a donkey and the tail of a dog and the Wurrawurra spirit woman who can turn herself into natural elements such as grass – beings that are beyond the visual field of western reason, categorisations and linear time – but past and present are continuous and all times are alive in the Country of Gularabulu. Paddy Roe assures us Wurrawurra Women 'still lives today' (64); or in relation to the sightings of a mysterious Donkey-Devil by women and children, 'Something live in this country you know' (93). Beings require no further explanation and move across the Country of Gularbulu as easily as Paddy Roe and his people do. The reader is also aware that there are many presences on Paddy Roe's Country that are still beyond our visual field – only Paddy Roe and his kinsfolk can read them.
This is the space of forgoing and unlearning western modes of history and knowledge transmission. Paddy distinguishes between three different types of story. There is trustori – stories that can be located in time and space and within the memory of the storyteller; Bugarrigarri – stories from the Dreaming and devilstori – stories of demons, spirits and ghosts. As the stories unfold to reveal the rich and complex story of the Country and people western history is erased and Muecke listens without questions, comments or interruptions because stories told in this space are not to be questioned or judged. They are told because they are. Nothing is retrospective. All times are.
The reader becomes aware through Paddy's narrative that there are other listeners present too, besides Stephen Muecke. For example when Paddy is telling of the Wurrawurra Woman he pauses mid narration to ask Stephen if he is comfortable with another listener, Joe Butcher smoking. Stephen responds; 'Oh that's OK' and Paddy continues; or, during the devilstori 'Donkey Devil' Paddy defers to a young girl:
Beyond this, all listeners are silent unless spoken to because as Stephen and other listeners demonstrate this is an important protocol in Aboriginal storytelling.
The form of Gularabulu also moves beyond the limits of western academic convention that tends to distance the listener from the speaker as interviewer and interviewee. This is first established through the first name basis that is deployed throughout the work to distinguish between different speakers, in particular, Paddy and Stephen. Beyond this, the visual appearance of the text on the page blurs the lines between western literary and historical categorisations of fiction / nonfiction, or poetry or extended prose and song. Paddy's stories combine all such forms and he alternates between them as adeptly as he moves across Country. Stephen's transcription is faithful to the flow, the pauses the hesitations and the long extended sounds such as growls that are integral to the stories being told.
Paddy expressed to Stephen that his reason for extending these stories of his Country to a settler audience was that 'they might see us better than before' (5). Indeed, readers of Gularabulu will see, hear and feel many things that they had not experienced before. Thirty-three years after its original release Gularabulu should be read as a seminal intra-cultural exchange that subverted or at least suspended the existing colonial power structure of the conventional western academy. In its place a shared space of inter-subjectivity between black and white emerged from which a deeper, layered and more nuanced history of the West Kimberley could be heard. Conventional western historical methods and theories are erased from these living stories of place.
Works cited
Jeanine Leane is a Wiradjuri writer, poet, teacher and academic from the Murrumbidgee River. She teaches Creative Writing and Aboriginal Literature at the University of Melbourne. Walk Back Over, her second volume of poetry, will be released in 2017 (Cordite Books).
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Vol 21 No 1 April 2017
General Editor: Nigel Krauth. Editors: Kevin Brophy, Enza Gandolfo & Julienne van Loon
Reviews Editor: Linda Weste


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Beth Rom-Rymer, PhD
Dr. Beth Rom-Rymer is a forensic and clinical psychologist, president of Rom-Rymer and Associates, a private consulting and clinical practice, with offices located in Chicago.
Also view more biographical information here.
Articles by Beth N. Rom-Rymer, Ph.D. (Note: It may take a moment to load each article):
Rom-Rymer, B. N. (2001). Demonstrating trauma: Effects of sexual abuse on the elderly. In R. J. Krisztal (Ed.), Nursing home litigation: Pretrial practice and trials (pp. 37 – 53). Arizona: Lawyers & Judges Publishing Co.
Rom-Rymer, B. N. (2007). Evaluating the psychological sequelae of elder abuse. In A. M. Goldstein (Ed.), Forensic Psychology: Emerging Topics and Expanding Roles (pp. 633 – 660). New York: John Wiley and Sons.Learn more about me on my website: www.drbethromrymer.com/
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Biopsychosocial Model of Recovery
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