text:
Enterprise Architecture
A Pragmatic Approach Using PEAF
Which of these bricks of misconception exist in your Enterprise?
What are the top 5?
What will you do to address them?
FREE EA Training at www.PEAF.com/Training
FREE EA Books at www.PEAF.com/Books
#PEAF #PragmaticEA #EntArch #enterprisearchitecture #BizArch #Change #Innovation #BusinessModel #CEO #Strategy #TOGAF #ITgovernance #agileculture #agile #agileleadership #agilemethodology #itstrategy #ceos
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Because the field of Enterprise Architecture is very
immature (we cannot call it a profession) and there is no way to know who is
and is not a "real" Enterprise Architect, almost anyone can call themselves an
Enterprise Architect and begin telling others about it. Negativity around EA is
widespread but it is not a surprise. Most people and Enterprises have just
enough knowledge to be dangerous!
A lot of people have heard of EA. Unfortunately, most of
them have only heard parts of the story and from sources of varying quality and
completeness. Also those parts of the story may have been heard or told at
different points in time. Myths, inaccuracies and untruths abound. With this in
mind it's hardly surprising that a lot of people's understanding of EA is inaccurate,
incomplete, erroneous and inconsistent.
Over the years this has caused a massive amount of
disinformation to build up and percolate around the business and IT communities
which has lead people to have very negative views about what EA is and what it
means for their Enterprise.
There are many misconceptions associated with bringing
Enterprise Architecture to an Enterprise. But more than misconception, they are
real risks.
Each risk defined, documents the impact and general
mitigation strategies to deal with them and they are all fundamentally
perception problems.
We don't have an EA
EA is perceived as not existing in an Enterprise and
therefore "we don't need it"
EA is not viewed as a serious issue that management need
to address and hence nothing is done to mature it.
Every Enterprise already has an
EA. The word Architecture just means structure and so an Enterprise
Architecture is really just the structure of the Enterprise. Every Enterprise
definitely has structure and therefore definitely has an Enterprise
Architecture. It may be good or bad. It may be documented or not. It may be
understood or not. It may be what is required or not. An Enterprise may not
have an Enterprise Architecture model (something documented in some way) but
every Enterprise definitely already has an Enterprise Architecture.
Every Enterprise already "does"
EA. "Doing EA" is a bit of a misnomer. "Doing EA" is actually the work
that happens in the Strategising and Roadmapping phases of the Transformation
cascade (as defined by POET) including high level project Governance. This
work is already happening in every Enterprise. It may be good or bad. It may
be documented or not. It may be understood or not. It may be what is required
or not but every Enterprise is definitely already "doing" Enterprise
Every Enterprise already employs
EAs. The people who currently work in the Strategising and Roadmapping phases
and perform high level project Governance are EA's. They may not have that
title, they may not know what EA is, but they are most definitely EAs.
"Having" EA or "doing" EA is therefore not a question of
existence or not, it's more a question of maturity - the effectiveness and
efficiency by which those things exist and are done. It's a question of
Likelihood / Impact
We don't do EA
Yes you do - Strategy formulation and high level
Transformation Planning is "doing" Enterprise Architecture
We don't have any EAs
Yes you do - The Senior Management Team and Transformation
planners are the Architects of the Enterprise The question is, are the
Methods, Artefacts, Culture and Environment they use, mature enough.
Ivory tower and
Many people may think that EA is all a bit hypothetical
and ivory tower. This is not surprising as there is no shortage of people who
will wax lyrical for hours on end about EA. In fact an entire industry has
built up that does just this. Seminars are frequent but never seem to offer
much Pragmatic advice or things people can
actually use. Consultancies will come and talk to you (for a large fee) about
EA but getting them to actually deliver something of value, that's a
different story. With all this posturing, style over substance and sound
bites, it's hardly surprising that people can think EA is hypothetical and
ivory tower.
Senior management does not engage, meaning EA tries to
move forward by driving from the bottom up and is viewed as something to be
placated to "just get them off my back so I can do something more useful
The business and IT remain unconnected. Initiatives
continue to operate in silos with short term goals.
It is precisely because we don't live in a perfect world
that we need EA.
Many failures
Many people think EA is of little practical value because
they have heard (and continue to hear) stories about how people have failed
at "doing" EA.
It is true that many attempts at EA fail. This is largely
due to EA not being well defined in the first place and then because many
people do the wrong things to the wrong things at the wrong time. Bad
implementation is the cause for most failures. The baby should not be thrown
out with the bathwater.
Benefits are never achieved
The benefits that EA is supposed to deliver are generally
well known and yet most implementations tend not to deliver them.
Apart from bad implementation another reason is that
either no metrics are used or bad metrics are used. How can you know if
something is successful if you do not measure it or measure it in the wrong
Invented by consultants
The Head of Strategy and Architecture of a large UK
Government department I worked for once said "EA - it's just something
invented by consultants to get them paid more money". To be honest that view
is hardly surprising considering all we have mentioned so far.
In reality it is largely true that many consultancies view
EA as means to more work, however EA existed long before consultants realised
they could make a lot of money by exploiting it. Correlation does not mean
causality. The key problem there though is a lack of understanding about what
EA is actually about and how to actually do it rather than the important
people in expensive suits waxing lyrical whilst charging you an arm and a
leg. When the Head of Strategy and Architecture thinks that EA is useless we
have really big problems. This is why education and exposing Pragmatic information about EA and how to do it in
a Pragmatic way is so important.
A large expensive team?
Do I need to employ a large team of highly paid Enterprise
Architects and have a whole new set of processes, job titles and departments?
Funding is not provided.
No. EA is a cultural shift.
Adopting EA is to increase an Enterprise's maturity in its use of The Architecture Paradigm™ to support Strategy
Development (Strategising), Transformation Planning (Roadmapping) and Project
EA is therefore an adjustment to the way
people do work they are currently doing, not bolting on a whole new chunk.
There are some people/groups that would love you to "employ a large team of highly paid Enterprise Architects".
A large expensive project?
If I do utilise EA in my business, do I need to have a big
EA project spanning years and costing millions of dollars?
No. It's about maturity.
Adopting EA is to increase an Enterprise's maturity in its
use of The Architecture Paradigm™ at the scope of the Enterprise to support
Strategy Development and Transformation Planning.
One step at a time.
An EA project is one step and can be a large or as small
as you like and is driven by understanding how mature you are, how mature you
want to be, what the benefits are of moving to that level of maturity and
then making the necessary adjustments.
EA is a journey not a destination.
Losing Strategic Control
If I do utilise EA in my business, will Enterprise
Architects be making strategic decisions?
No. The business will.
EA provides the context and visibility for the business to
make even better business decisions.
Enterprise Architecture and Enterprise Architects are much
more about exposing pertinent information for decisions to be made. Of
course, if the Enterprise wishes to delegate some decision making powers to
an Enterprise Architect to carry out on their behalf that's perfectly fine,
but those decisions are made on behalf of the Business Management.
It's another silver bullet
EA is perceived as a perfect fix for all of an Enterprise's
problems, with little or no work or cost.
Other associated and related activities are overlooked and
stagnate while the Nirvana that EA is supposed to provide, but will not, is created.
EA is one tool in toolbox that an Enterprise uses to run
efficiently. It is linked to and cooperates with other processes in the Enterprise.
Nothing to do with me, mate!
EA is perceived as an IT or technology level thing.
The Business does not engage with IT. The board does not
see EA as something that it should discuss. It's for the IT Director to do if
he wants.
IT builds models and diagrams for its own purposes but
does not connect them to the business level adequately thereby propagating
the myth.
EA is placed under the control of the IT Director or CIO.
It loses visibility at the board level and descends into being seen as a cost
rather than an asset.
EA is a tool to expose the relationships between the
Business and IT. It is ultimately a business tool to enable the board and
senior management to see and therefore understand the components of the Enterprise
and the relationships between them.
How much!!!
EA is perceived as large, costly and slow.
EA is perceived as a huge Initiative to immediately move
the Enterprise from Current to Target with associated huge costs and
Similar to large EAI Initiatives in the past large sums of
money are spent and time invested until the bubble bursts and someone asks
"what are we getting for all this money we are spending".
The initial setup of EA should take no longer than 6 months
so long as it is driven in the right way.
The planning part of EA (as an integral part of the annual
business planning cycle) should take no longer than 3 months.
The initiatives that come out of the business planning
exercise do not try to solve all problems in the first year. There is always
a mixture of strategic, tactical, and temporary work in any initiative.
Are we there yet?
EA is perceived as a destination rather than a journey,
and/or as a deliverable rather than a process with deliverables.
Once the principles and models are done they slowly get
more and more out of date leading to distrust of them and finally resulting
in Shelfware and just another set of diagrams and lists we never use.
The setup phase of EA is a destination but that is only to
provide the environment to be able to perform the repetitive processes of
governance and business planning.
I have important
firefighting to do...
EA is perceived as a roadblock to more important and immediate
problems such as "getting the car out of the river".
EA is perceived as purely long term & strategic and
not capable of adding value in a tactical world.
EA never gets a look in with senior management as they are
solely concentrating today's, this week's, or this month's crisis.
EA never says yes or no. It provides the environment for
senior management to see and understand the implications and effects of their
decisions BEFORE they make them.
EA does not preclude short term, tactical or even
"throwaway" work. Having EA means that however much tactical or "throwaway"
work needs to be done, it is done in the context of a wider and more
strategic context.
Oh what pretty pictures
EA is perceived as creating static "pretty" pictures that
hang on people's walls but not used by anyone.
"Pictures" or models, have some value to certain people
but they are mostly viewed as things to point at when saying "we have an
architecture" rather than living things which aid understanding and decision
Models are powerful things that convey understanding and
therefore then provide the basis for understanding the impacts of change).
Whilst sometimes it is more beneficial to deal with lists and spreadsheets
there are times where pictures show problems and inconsistencies much more
EA allows access to dynamic Models.
EA models should be online and navigable.
EA models should consist of different and appropriate
views and viewpoints targeted at specific audiences.
EA Models should be actively used in business planning and
projects to assess impact & risk and perform what-if analyses.
I can't afford a modelling
EA modelling tools are perceived as expensive and "nice to
have" but not mandatory.
Pictures and discrete spreadsheets are mostly produced in
silos with little reuse value, with a huge information gaps and with the most
important relationships missing. These pictures are, or soon become, out of
date as the pictures and spreadsheets are not maintained,
Compared to the cost of paying people to manually maintain
the linkages between pictures and spreadsheets, the cost of a tool is very
Some things are not possible without a tool, e.g. managing
relationships, building different views, Version control, security.
federation of maintenance rights., etc.
Evaluate and source a tool
Expend the necessary time to understand, configure and use
the tool
I don't want another
maintenance nightmare
EA models are perceived as being owned and updated by IT.
IT does not have the bandwidth to maintain all of the
information and therefore parts of the model become out of date, unconnected
and subsequently unused.
Maintenance of the information within an EA model
repository is performed by those most suitable and able to maintain it. E.g. IT
people maintain application, Database and hardware information, Business
people maintain objectives, products and business activities information.
EA Models are owned by the stakeholders/users of the
The different entities and relationships are owned and
maintained as part of existing business and IT processes by the people most
appropriate for that entity/relationship
How many paperclips?
EA is perceived as producing Models with huge amounts of
detail and will descend into analysis paralysis.
The high level strategic view is lost.
A huge amount of work is done for little benefit to the
EA is all primarily about breadth rather than depth (although
deep dives may be necessary occasionally).
EA is interested in the entire breadth of an Enterprise
but only as much depth as required for the strategic planning and governance
of initiatives.
Stay at the right level of granularity
You can't define the future
EA is perceived as not being able to define a Future state
because no one knows what that is and it's always changing anyway.
The long term direction is not known and therefore work
operates in a "today" silo timeframe resulting in people not even knowing if
the decisions they are taking are good or bad in the long term.
All Enterprises have some idea of a future state, The fact
that their view may not be complete and is probably prone to change does not
detract away from this long term general vision, and it is this vision that
guides the ship.
Make sure the "Target" Model is defined at the correct
level of granularity and well understood by the Business and IT
Don't tell the business what to do
The perception is that IT is dictating to the Business.
IT tells the Business how wrong it is, how stupid it has
been in the past and how IT knows what to do to solve all their problems.
The business stops listening to IT.
EA is all about the Business and IT working in a true
partnership, where each understands the other enough to be able to
co-operatively work together to achieve shared goals.
Don't tell IT Experts what
to do
The perception is that EA will start dictating and restricting
other work downstream. This can happen primarily with Solution Architects (as
this is the primary interface between EA and Projects) but can also happen
with other roles where people's autonomy and expertise can feel threatened.
People who work on projects can be resistant to the setup
and/or operation of an EA capability, which can derail its effectiveness.
EA is all about the Business and IT working in a true
partnership, where each understands the other enough to be able to
co-operatively work together to achieve shared goals. Solution Architects
should not look on the EA function as constraining or restricting them, but
as an enabler that acts more in a guiding role rather than a perceived
policing role.
Let's model everything
Feverish modelling of various things without a plan for
how to gather the data, how to QA it, and who will benefit from it once it is
A large amount of work is done gathering data and
producing diagrams for little or no benefit.
Models are not connected to the sources of the information
and so people continue to use the diagrams and spreadsheets they always have
used or they start creating new one duplicating effort.
EA is all about being of value to the Enterprise. Models
should not be created without a firm idea of who will use the information, in
what way, and for what benefit.
Clearly Define the Version 0.1 Meta-model
Clearly define the benefits to what stakeholders the model
will bring
Shhh! Don't mention the
words EA
EA is driven in a largely covert manner, It is only known
of within IT and even then only to a very select few.
EA is only used for managing IT and usually largely from
an infrastructure point of view. The business and IT remain largely
EA is all about connecting things.
EA is a cultural shift and therefore needs to be
communicated, understood and bought into by the entire Enterprise.
My bonus is based on today's
share price
Executive incentives reward short term investments and
reduced acquisition costs.
These incentives are in direct conflict with the stated
vision, objectives and principles that EA aims to achieve.
EA is all about investment for future benefit.
Executives should be incentivized to produce long terms
Executives should be de-incentivized from producing short
term benefits at the expense of long term strategic goals.
Change the Executive incentive scheme. Reward strategic
and long term thinking
Questions to ponder...
Which of these bricks of misconception exist in your Enterprise?
What are the top 5?
What will you do to address them?
◄◄◄ Previous Page
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2008-2019 Pragmatic EA Ltd


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EL SALVADOR'S war has already claimed 40,000 lives. But our government has taken the stance that Salvadoran "illegals" are economic, not political, refugees, and therefore have no right to be here. Despite stories and statistics to the contrary, our government doesn't believe they have a "well-founded fear of persecution" that would entitle them to political asylum here. Meanwhile refugees keep coming with the same story of their government's organized killing and repression. Where are our ears to hear and to respond? ...
It's an upside-down world these days. But a right-side-up world happens when I lay down my life, risk myself out of love for my brothers and sisters. I am not to close my heart to them, or to anyone. This earth is a sacred place—it and all the life it contains. We have created refuges to protect the life that we in our blindness destroy: bird refuges, endangered species lists, houses for battered women, places safe from violence. At one time this country was a refuge for people fleeing persecution. Where now is the refuge for those people?
"You shall treat the alien who resides with you no differently than the natives born among you; have the same love for them as for yourself; for you too were once aliens in the land of Egypt" (Leviticus 19:33-34).
Stacey Merkt was a lay worker at Casa Romero, a halfway house for refugees in San Benito, Texas, when this article appeared.
Image: refugee word cloud, Mattz90 [4] / Shutterstock

subset: commoncrawl


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November 21, 2011
Inez's Odyssey
A journey to find the perfect condo ends in The Odyssey
"I like all the light, even in the bedroom in the morning!" says Inez, a very active septuagenarian. "It is another reason why we bought this condo!" Fourteen huge floor to ceiling windows take in the 210-degree view. "I can see partly downtown, from the Stampede Grounds to my sister's building on Horton Road and as far east as the eye can see." From the eleventh floor suite, Inez looks west to Cochrane and the houses at GlenEagles, Tuscany, Rocky Ridge and Royal Oak, as well as Varsity to the north. "I never tire of the view."
That said, Inez admits, "I don't have a lot of time to look at the neighbourhoods below. It can get a little lonely, so I stay busy, volunteering as a starter at City of Calgary golf courses and with the United Way. I am a rep for the retirees group, the Elder Star with Imperial Oil, plus I love to play bridge a few times a week. I go away in the winter to our mobile in Mesa (Arizona) for five months, plus spend quite a few days in the summer in Fairmont. I also visit one of my sons and his family in Regina."
The Odyssey is comprised of three stunning circular buildings that have become prominent landmarks in Calgary for the past three decades, with light glinting off the windows at sunrise and sunset. "And since they put the copper spandrels on about four years ago, it really brightens them up. Almost $1,000,000 was spent doing this," Inez adds. "It wasn't just cosmetic, either. Resealing was done, too. When we were looking for a new home, our realtor told us The Odyssey was one of the better managed towers because it had a large contingency fund in place."
When Inez and her beloved late husband, Bill, purchased their unit in The Odyssey, located in the quiet southwest neighbourhood of Coach Hill in August 2005, there were conditions that had to be met.
"We had to have no long hallways, it had to be handicapped accessible because my mother and Bill's sister were having trouble walking, the unit had to be over 1,000 square-feet and we had to be comfortable in it, too." The Odyssey met all her requirements and she also been found it to be very quiet, which has been a bonus. "This unit, too, had been recently redone, so we didn't have to do anything to it." The hardwood floors in the living spaces, the slate floors in the kitchen plus the marble floors in the bathrooms appealed to the seniors.
They discovered The Odyssey a year earlier when they were invited for dinner by friends who already lived there. "I told Bill, 'We need to look at this', as we had decided we could no longer live in our Altadore home of 50 years", due to health concerns. They also looked at other condominium towers, some still on the drawing board, but it was The Odyssey that won their hearts. "The mountain view and the price, as well as the large number of visitor parking stalls" helped make their decision easier. "I've had people tell me that the closer one gets to downtown, the fewer visitor parking stalls are available." Inez entertains groups from "six to 26" in her 1,675 square-foot-home and needs the visitor parking. "There are also three guest suites, one in each building."
Their two sons and one daughter were thrilled for their parents to make the move. "When one of my sons comes for a visit, he cannot get enough of the mountain view. He still brings me pictures of the peaks of the Rockies with their names on them!" Inez laughs. "The only thing I miss a little is the garden…not the work mind you, just the fresh vegetables!"
The two bedroom plus den suite includes two bathrooms. "The only thing Bill and I changed since moving in was the cabinetry in the bathrooms. They were modern and open and I told Bill, 'I cannot have these!'" They were replaced with tasteful traditional furniture styled vanities, with "doors and drawers" where there had been none in the originals.
A variety of art graces the walls in the foyer, hallways, bedrooms, and spacious open concept living and dining room. Friends and family members have contributed to the eclectic collection of paintings. "Our son painted this one," she says, "of my childhood home in northern Saskatchewan and our son-in-law's brother painted another one. Bill's grandmother's painting is above her antique china cabinet and two paintings my parents had are in the guest room." Several pieces of art have come from many of the trips she and Bill took together.
"I will stay here as long as I am able!" As far as Inez is concerned, her odyssey ends in The Odyssey.


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"I formulate my hand & body lotion as a sensuous & super effective all-over moisturizer, with an aroma blend that's therapeutic, not 'perfumey' & that smoothes away dryness for truly velvety skin" - know your beauty – Suki
ingredients: rosa centifolia (provence rose) concentrate†, alcohol (from sugar cane denatured with lavender oil)†, vitis vinifera (grape) seed oil†, helianthus annuus (sunflower) seed oil†, cera alba (beeswax)†, cetearyl alcohol, acacia senegal gum, prunus armeniaca (apricot) kernel oil†, camellia sinensis (green tea) leaf extract, chamomilla recutita (matricaria) flower extract, calendula officinalis (calendula) flower extract, rosa canina (rose hip) fruit extract, lavandula angustifolia (lavender) flower extract, butyrospermum parkii (shea) butter, symphytum officinale (comfrey) leaf extract, theobroma cacao (cocoa) seed butter†, avena sativa (colloidal oat) kernel flour, olea europaea (olive) fruit oil, xanthan gum, glycerin, lecithin, sodium borate, fragrance (parfum)*, linalool*, limonene*, citronellol*, geraniol*, citral*, farnesol*.
*components of 100% pure natural fragrance and/or steam-distilled/cold-pressed essential oils.
†certified organic
total organic content: 30%
contains botanicals which make up our SSS technology™, ceramide lipid complex™, ultra-protect moisturizing complex™ & calming complexion complex™
Posted by Carole Quine on 7th Nov 2016
I love this lotion. It leaves my hands and body soft without being greasy. Great stuff!


text:
A customer left red-faced when a prostitute refused to have sex with him has complained to trading standards.
Harrow Borough Council's consumer protection team received a complaint that the customer, who had travelled to a brothel Harrow, had had a wasted trip.
Trading standards officers said they could not investigate his complaint because it was not covered under Harrow's policy.
Instead he was advised to pursue more "wholesome pursuits".
"The gentleman seemed very aggrieved. He told us he believed he had been refused and was angry about the fact," a council source said.
Councillor Susan Hall, leader of Harrow Council, said: "Prostitution may be the oldest profession in the world, but a complaint of this sort is a new one on us; the trading standards manual doesn't really cover it.
"I would like the gentleman involved to visit Harrow again, but perhaps this time he could enjoy some of our more wholesome pursuits – like our wonderful open parks, leisure centres and historic churches."
The council said the brothel the disappointed punter attended had been closed down.


text:
from $0
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With 10 and 4 people sharing dorms, you are spoilt for choice. We even have a 4 women-only dorm. All but one are ensuite (shower and toilet) for maximum comfort during your stay. Every bunk is equipped with a mosquito net, secure storage locker and individual power source. All rooms have fans and are cleaned on a daily basis to ensure that every guest gets the same quality whether they are staying for one night or one year.
Tulia House was created to offer travelers a different type of accommodation from the usual Hotel and apartments on the beautiful coast of Mombasa. An establishment that is more pocket friendly, social, memorable and a place where Kenya can be enjoyed to the fullest.
At Tulia House we always try to make special events such as All you can eat BBQ where guests can eat for several hours for an affordable price. We also have Movie nights where guests can relax and watch their favorite movies while enjoying popcorn and pizza under the stars, on our outdoor pallet lounger. There are also Volleyball and Beer Pong competitions regularly where everyone is encouraged to participate and show off their talents.
from $0
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Flexible: Full refund up until 48 hours prior to check-in, except fees.
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c) In the event of a premature departure or cancellation, the nights not spent 24 hours thereafter are not charged.


text:
What to cook right now: Kale Caesar salad, Super Bowl wings, Oscar-night snacks.
What to cook right now: Kale Caesar salad, Super Bowl wings, Oscar-night snacks.
The Big Dish: In this riff on pot-au-feu, sautéed kimchi is a delicious change from the traditional horseradish.
Short Rib Stew Leftover One: On Bread
Using leftover beef stew with vegetables to make these Vietnamese-inspired sandwiches is clever and tasty.
Short Rib Stew Leftover Two: In Puff Pastry
These buttery, flaky, beef-filled mini pies make a quick and impressive leftover dish.
Combining miso paste with lime, ginger, fish sauce and sugar creates a terrific sweet-sour glaze for crispy baked chicken wings.
The secret to this lush, deeply flavored romesco sauce is miso, which adds superb savoriness to the mix of almonds, tomatoes, peppers and bread.
These "BLT" hot dogs are topped with crispy bacon, fresh tomatoes and crunchy lettuce dressed with a creamy caraway-pickle mayonnaise.
These ice cream pops are fantastic party food; just roll ice cream in chopped candy, poke sticks in the balls and freeze.
This reimagined Caesar salad substitutes kale for romaine, rye bread for the croutons and tofu for raw egg in the garlicky dressing.
7-Minute Main Course: A tangy, caper-studded couscous with butter beans and lemon juice makes a delicious base for quickly sautéed spicy shrimp. Leave out the shrimp for a stellar vegetarian main course.
It's hard to eat just one of these cupcakes, which combine moist, light chocolate cake with rich, chocolate-caramel frosting and flaky coconut.


text:
Indoor/Outdoor Cookout – Bison and Ribs!
Well, we had friends over last night and our usual fare is chicken on the grill. For a change of pace, I suggested to the hubby that we grill up the buffalo patties we've had in the freezer, and I saw a delectable recipe for baby back ribs on Pinterest (and I'm not usually that interested in ribs but these looked pretty darn good) that I wanted to try. So, bison and ribs it was.
The hubby took the patties and remade them into his own concoction. Since I wasn't looking over his shoulder I don't know the exact amounts, but these very yummy bison burgers were made with:
1 1/2 lbs of ground bison
chopped onion
1 egg
2 egg whites
bread crumbs
a few dashes of worchestershire sauce
Basically he created the recipe with his hands, using texture to determine the necessary amounts until he felt it was the right consistency. He then grilled these babies up and they were very good! Moist! They stayed nice and thick since buffalo is so lean. And the worchestershire sauce gave them a great flavor.
My contribution to the meal was the slow cooked ribs. Very easy to make, and they turned out great. I followed the recipe exactly. I used about 4 1/2 lbs of ribs and slow cooked them for about 6 1/2 hours. The BBQ sauce I used was Famous Daves' Rich and Sassy. I tried to be careful with them for the 2nd step which was to put them in the broiler, but as with all meat in the slow cooker, these really were falling right off the bone. So as you can see I had them in quite a few pieces. But it didn't matter…they still tasted very good!
And yes, I set off the alarms.
Here are my ribs, and here is the recipe from the Mmm is for Mommy blog.


text:
Alvin Kamara RB TENN
Coming out of High School in 2013, Kamara was a 4 star recruit who originally committed to Alabama before transferring over to Tennessee. He signed at Bama and played his freshman season there but was suspended twice and did not travel with the team during the Sugar Bowl. He didn't see any time on the field as a freshman on a team that had Derrick Henry, TJ Yeldon, Kenyon Drake, and recruited Altee Tenpenny the same season. After his freshman season at Bama he transferred to Hutchinson Community College in Kansas and played his 2014 there before his move to Tennessee.
Kamara was ranked by ESPN as the #4 RB of the class and was their 32ND Overall prospect coming out of Norcross High School in Georgia. He was listed at 5'10" and 192pounds. His HS SPARQ test results list his at a 4.55 40 – Yard dash, a 4.28 20 – Yard shuttle, 39.1 inch Vertical and a 116.13 SPARQ Score. A pretty phenomenal athlete coming out of High School. You know where in his senior season he posted 2,264 yards and 26 touchdowns while winning the Mr Football Award.
In that freshman season at Bama during training camp Kamara suffered a knee injury that required arthroscopic surgery. One of those suspensions that Kamara was punished with while recovering from injury was for a "behavior reason" according to Coach Saban. The second was during the Sugar Bowl but no reasons seem to have been given for that. On Feb 16TH 2014, while he was in his hometown, Kamara was arrested for driving on a suspended license and spent a short time in jail. Checking through the internet it appears that after Hutchinson, Kamara kept himself out of trouble and seems to have turned himself around.
Kamara played 9 games for Hutchinson Community College where on 172 carries he put up 1253 total rushing yards and 18 rushing touchdowns. He put up a 7.3 Yards Per Carry average with a longest run of 71 yards. He also caught 18 passes for a total of 224 yards and 3 TDs. In 2015 Kamara carried 107 times for 698 yards and 7 TDs with a 6.5YPC average. He also caught 34 passes for 291 yards and put in another 3 TDs through the air. His 2016 season at Tennessee he carried 103 times for 596 yards and 9 TDs while catching another 40 passes for 392 yards and 4 more scores. Kamara did have an injured left knee which was reported to have been a sprain involving the LCL and meniscus during the 2016 season. Two knee injuries in his college isn't anything major but keep an eye on draft capital and how it might impact where he is selected during the NFL draft.
Combine info – Kamara showed up at the combine and measured in at 5'10" and 214 lbs. He has massive arm length at the RB position with 32 ¾inch arms which are in the 94 percentile at the position. In the 40 Yard Dash he ran a 4.56s which while not great isn't terrible. In the vertical jump he posted a very strong 39.5 inches while also leaping to a 131 inch broad jump. It's impressive that Kamara put on a solid 20 lbs to his frame coming out of HS and maintained his speed and explosive profile. He hit a solid 15 reps on his bench press. A number you'd like to see a little higher but nothing that should impact his draft stock. When you take a look at his measureables on Player Profiler you see a 99 speed score which is 55TH percentile and a monster 132.7 burst score; which measures a player's explosiveness with the vertical and broad jump. That score put Kamara in the 94TH percentile for burst.
Things to like – Kamara has that size and speed you would like to see in a NFL RB. He's a competitive runner who rarely wastes energy needlessly stretching out plays looking for the homerun TD. Takes the yards that are available without stretching out the play horizontally. Kamara shows great flexibility and superior lower body balance. With his talent as a pass catcher he can play on all three downs. Shows an ability to be on the field on third down in pass protection and can square up on blitzers. Flexed out at a WR and caught passes from different levels. Is able to create yards by changing his speed and uses that flexibility to get defenders off balance and the power to take advantage of it. That powerful lower body is on display as he can flip to top speed quickly when the lane develops.
Cons – Coming out of Tennessee in the 6 clips that I was able to watch of him everything is out of shotgun. I don't think I once saw him line up in a traditional NFL formation, however, this isn't truly a con as many NFL teams are running more shotgun. His game against Virginia Tech was a bit of a poor showing. He does bring a nice receiving TD during this game but that is more of the defender losing track as he collided with another defender leaving Kamara the check down wide open. Kamara did make a nice move into the end zone on that play. On the 2ND and 3RD level at times for as good as he looks at setting up blocks he will needlessly run into the tackle or takes a poor angle. Again the two knee injuries could be a red flag but not overly worried as he had a low number of carries. He also had two phenomenal games against Kentucky and Vanderbilt with the knee brace on after the sprain.
Buzz on Kamara has been building and I even heard mention that he could be the first running back off the board during the NFL Draft. I still think that Fournette or Cook are going 1-2 off the board but after watching Kamara I think he has the ability and talent to step up. His vision and elusiveness combined with lower body flexibility and power make him one of the better backs this year. Kamara has the chance to make a huge difference on your fantasy roster this year and you need to be plugged in to where he goes and how the summer plays out for him.


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Mark Mandarano, Lecturer
A gifted communicator, conductor Mark Mandarano is a charismatic leader with an engaging stage presence. Last season, he continued his tenure as Principal Guest Conductor of the Moscow Chamber Orchestra, leading a concert of works by J. S. Bach in the historic hall of the Moscow Conservatory. In 2007, he performed a gala concert with the orchestra in Carnegie Hall featuring soloists from the Bolshoi and Kirov opera houses. He is the Founder and Artistic Director of the Sinfonietta of Riverdale, which performed its inaugural concert in New York in January of 2009.
Mandarano has worked with such orchestras as the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Houston Symphony, New Jersey Symphony, Rochester Philharmonic, the Long Beach Symphony, the Nürnberger Symphoniker and the Ural Philharmonic. In 2005, he was mentored by Leonard Slatkin, conducting the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. He has assisted and/or prepared orchestras for such conductors as Esa-Pekka Salonen, Christoph von Dohnanyi, Mstislav Rostropovich, Sir Roger Norrington & Valery Gergiev. He has held staff conducting positions with the Pacific Symphony Orchestra, the American Symphony Orchestra and the Bard Festival.
In 1998, Mark Mandarano conducted the world premiere performances of the work that won the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1999: Melinda Wagner's Concerto for Flute, Strings and Percussion.
He has studied conducting with Karel Husa, Frederik Prausnitz and Harold Farberman. He has been in masterclasses and workshops with Kurt Masur, Zdenek Macal, Jorma Panula and Gustav Meier.


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While recently I've been travelling so often like a sales person in a global company (that I'm not at all), I realized I could often appreciate if I had an access to ros web pages especially wiki and api docs even while I'm offline, and as a new mirroring method was just announced in a timely fashion for me, I built local ros.org mirror server. And also because I use multiple machines for development depending on my situation, it'd be even nicer if the data is synchronized, and I put it on dropbox folder. One down for new year's resolutions already.
Since I got stuck a little at a general web server setting, I thought I post how I did for docs.ros.org/hydro and wiki.ros.org.
1. If you have no problem in storing all the data under /var/www, you just follow these ros wiki to sync the data from ros.org to your computer. For wiki.ros.org, for docs.ros.org. Then as long as your web server (assuming apache2 on Ubuntu) is running, you can access them via http://localhost/wiki.ros.org etc.
Since I wanted to store the data under dropbox folder, I needed the following tweaks:
2. Create a folder under your user directory, OUTSIDE of dropbox folder, where you're okay to share with OS' user or group www-data that apache2 is run by. Store all the wiki data there. What I do is to create `ros.org` folder first, then placed 2 directories into it, namely the structure looks like:
ros.org3. Change the owner or group of the folders wiki.ros.org and docs.ros.org to www-data (only doing so for the group should do the trick).
|- docs.ros.org
|- wiki.ros.org
4. Create a symbolic %YOUR_DROPBOX_DIR%/ros.org to the one created above, so that dropbox synchronizes the data (AFAIK, dropbox on Ubuntu does trace up the symbolic links and sync data there. I'm not entirely sure yet -- now it's still being syncing).
5. Create a symbolic /var/www/ros.org to the one created in 2.
6. Add following to /etc/apache2/mods-available/alias.conf
# 1/2/2014 For ros.org local mirror.
Alias /ros.org "/home/freshpastacooker/data/ros.org"
<Directory "/var/www/ros.org">
Options FollowSymlinks
7. Restart apache2 and now you can access those html pages by http://localhost/ros.org/docs.ros.org, http://localhost/ros.org/wiki.ros.org, respectively.
This may seem a bit tricky -- the key is apache2 CANNOT refer to the symbolic link where ALL OF THE PARENT FOLDERS of the target is visible to its user, `www-data`.
Ok, now the boarding has begun for another flight. I'd appreciate any feedback!


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The prints that launched 93 posts. These are among the ones that got away.
These two items were my primary inspiration for this blog. I wish I had documented who was selling them, but alas I did not. I saw them both over a year ago when I began to think more and more seriously about vintage novelty prints.
The suit is, if I remember correctly, and Yves Saint Laurent 70s mimicking 40s. It was too small for me and totally out of my price range. But I am still in love with it. I imagined a future with us together, going to cocktail parties and art openings. Brief separations when it went to the Dry Cleaners and joyous reunions for opening nights at the theater, or standing room only at the Met for The Magic Flute. I imagined all the conversations we'd start, that musical suit and I. Dreamy sigh. I know, I know, enough already. Is it yours? If so, please send me a picture of the two of you together somewhere fabulous. I'd love to post it here. I just hope this suit is happy, even if it's not with me.
The shirt is utterly thrilling men's wear and I wish I had gotten it for Rudolpho or Spartacus. It made me desperate for a chess print dress or skirt. (If you see one, would you let me know? The closest I've seen is a remnant with the Queen, Jack and King cards printed on it. Not half as classy as chess though.) I love the small chess boards and the large knights and rooks. If this is your shirt, I'd love to see a photo of you out on the town in it.
Happy New Year, goslings! I'm cooking up draconian New Years Resolutions that all involve novelty prints. Could 2007 be the year I find the ultimate novelty print? Can I finally conquer the scarcity mentality (also known as poco-loco) that keeps me buying $15 dresses but in mortal terror of an investment purchase? Can I once and for all overcome my compulsive shopping problem, and like the archetypal French woman, only buy 2-3 gorgeous dresses per year? Can I get it together to get a better job, implement Operation Snooze, and finally sell all the vintage stuff I've got that's too small? Maybe I'll learn to play the ukulele, perhaps take Arabic or Japanese classes? Stay tuned goslings!
Last year I decided to take a photo of my outfit everyday. I can't believe I've been doing this for a year already. I gotten better as a photographer, and it was interesting and meditative to do something everyday come hell or high water. But now I don't know what to do with the photos. They feel kinda personal to put up on a blog, but I must do something with them, no?
For New Years Eve, I like to listen to Die Fledermaus. I can't make it to the Kaiserball in Vienna, but a little Strauss and champagne might ease the pain. I'm sure you've got some fabulous plans, so have fun and be careful out there. My father, who was a bartender for decades, always called this holiday Amateur Night. I'll be back after the New Year.


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Is Homeschooling The Right Option For You? Check This Out!
Homeschooling is a great way to be sure your kids are properly educated. You will have full control over what your children learn. If homeschooling is attractive to you, then this article has tips that you can use.
Make everything a learning activity. You can teach your child more out of life skills than a textbook can. Pay attention to the way they are using their words and make necessary corrections. Let them help prepare dinner or make measurements. Your children will quickly learn this diverse education.
One benefit of homeschooling is that you can create lessons that mesh with your lessons to your child's strengths. This will end up helping your child to be more successful in their full potential.
Think about what part of your home will use to teach. This location should be somewhere where your kids are comfortable for everyone. It must have an open area for activities and also smooth surfaces for writing and test-taking. It is important that you can watch over all of your child is in full view constantly.
Designate housework to your kids or get help from outside. You can't manage everything all by yourself! You will quickly become exhausted if you attempt to keep up with all household duties in addition to your homeschooling work. Accept help if you get it and feel bad about it.
Use your family trips as learning resources. It is simple to add lessons to every day of your trip. This will give your entire family to have fun with learning.
It can be very helpful to plan meals in advance when you take on homeschooling. You can cook your meals. Cooking your meals in advance is a good way to eliminate stress when you are very busy or tired. Try some different meal plans to see what works best.
Make sure you're qualified to do homeschooling before attempting to homeschool your children. Think about any problem areas between you and your children as well when it comes to homeschooling.
Keep the crafting supplies on hand for your children need them. You can have one child the opportunity to independently create art while you focus on other children. Encourage them to be creative with whatever they decide to make.This lets them a great way to learn and express themselves.
Find a network of other families near you. Homeschooling is challenging; you may need advice and having a strong support from other parents who are involved in it. You are also able to give advice and this can lead to a friendly bond. This also create a social circle for your children opportunities to make new friends. It can be hard for homeschooled children to make friends since they aren't in a classroom with other children. Meeting other homeschooling families combats this.
If you are married but are the sole homeschooling teacher, make sure that your spouse takes care of other household duties. Your spouse could take your kids to their sporting events. It is imperative that you and your partner to make time to relax with the other part of the team as well.
Research homeschool rules and regulations. Homeschooling gives you are free to teach them anything you want. Some districts will give you to sign a paper saying you are homeschooling. You might find that your children are required to take a test dictated by the state to pass. It is important to follow these rules if you know about them before you get started.
Math and reading must form the two most important foundations of any homeschool program. These subjects are crucial because they are the backbone to every other subject. Children who are illiterate or understand daily math won't succeed in any other subject. This means you should spend more time and effort on those two subjects most of all.
These are tools that can be incredibly helpful but should not controls. Make sure to get the best available tools and put them to work as you are investing in high quality tools. This uniqueness is really the fun and magic of homeschooling.
You need to ensure your children are getting a quality education. When you homeschool your children, you can customize your teaching to their learning style. Use these tips to help you be the best teacher you can be.


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- The crowds this year at NYCC (which began in 2006) surpassed those of San Diego Comic Con for the first time. What used to be the second largest pop culture convention now vies with San Diego as largest. In 2013, over 130,000 people attended NYCC, about the same number as San Diego Comic Con. This year over 150,000 people attended NYCC.
- It cost an estimated $20 million to put on the 2014 show.
- This year 14,000 new jobs were created at the Javits Center where NYCC was held.
- The estimated economic impact of NYCC on New York City is an estimated $70-80 million.
- The average ticket price for NYCC was $50 (there were day passes, weekend passes, VIP, Press and Professional passes - all at different prices).
- NYCC 2014 had 900 exhibitors contained within 200,000 square feet of showroom.
- NYCC 2014 hosted 2000 speakers and presenters.
- NYCC had 27 major film and television studios exhibiting this year.
- The Business of New York Comic Con 2014 at http://www.nbcnews.com/watch/cnbc/the-business-of-new-york-comic-con-2014-340308035863
- Comic Con By the Numbers at http://www.nbcnews.com/video/nowthis-news/56212568#56212568
|Mister Freeze and Poison Ivy (Image found at Business Insider)
|Alyssa King poses as Harlequin. Photo by Neilson Barnard/Getty Images (Image found at Business Insider)
|(Image found at Business Insider)
|(Image found at Business Insider)
|(Image found at Business Insider)
|(Image found at Business Insider)
|(Image found at Business Insider)
|Doctor Who favorites (Image found at Business Insider)
|Briana Torres as Venom from "Spider-Man" (Image from mtv.com
|(Image found at Business Insider)
|Our favorite Power Rangers (Image found at Business Insider)
|Spaceballs 'Heroes" (Image found at Business Insider)
|(Image found at Business Insider)
|(Image found at Business Insider)
|Julio Atehortua as Frank from "Donnie Darko" (Image from mtv.com)
|Superman vs Lex Luthor (Image from mtv.com)
|Meet McThor, winner of the most creative Friday cosplay (Image found at Business Insider)
|"Super Saiyan Deadpool - a Dragon Ball Z and Spider-Man comics hybrid (Image found at Business Insider)
- http://www.businessinsider.com/new-york-comic-con-cosplay-best-costumes-nycc-2014-10#need-some-saving-super-mario-sunshines-mario-and-luigi-may-be-able-to-help-you-out-43
- http://www.mtv.com/news/1960770/new-york-comic-con-cosplay-photos/
- http://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/the-people-of-new-york-comiccon-2014/2/
- http://abcnews.go.com/US/photos/2014-york-comic-con-convention-26078540/image-26143493
|Transformer meets Chevy's Camaro....(Image found at Business Insider)
|Robotics startup Megabots Inc. brought the beginnings of a 15-foot tall, 15,000-pound humanoid robot capable of firing paint-filled projectiles at speeds of 120 mph or more. (Found at Business Insider)
|The dragon, Smaug from "The Hobbit" franchise - with eyes that glowed and blinked. (Found at Business Insider)
|Artist C J Draden (and others) started with a plain piece of glass, painted it white, and then used an X-Acto knife to etch out a portrait of Groot. (Found at Business Insider)
|Special-effects company, Smooth-On, exhibited its foam movie props. (Found at Business Insider)
|While I find this image somewhat frightening, Skylanders booth invited young (and not so young) gamers to try their fourth installment of "Trap Team" which hit the shelves October 2nd. (Found at Business Insider)
|Dreamworks and Oculus Rift offered users an opportunity to strap on an Oculus virtual reality headset and enter the world of "How to Train Your Dragon 2" and fly Toothless through the clouds. (Found at Business Insider)
|The Geico booth offered the lucky ones karaoke, virtual pinball and this 3-D imaging photo studio, using technology from PictureU. Eight cameras took simultaneous shots to produce a panoramic image of the subjects as superheros fighting against a New York City backdrop. (Found at Business Insider)
|Here's an example. The images were then emailed to the subjects along with Geico advertisements. (Found at Business Insider)
For even more exhibit images please go to http://www.businessinsider.com/best-exhibits-at-new-york-comic-con-2014-10
And, in case you missed my panel...
"Super Girls: Using Comics to Engage Female Students in the Classroom" with Josh Elder, Eric Kallenborn, Michael Gianfrancesco, and Ronnell Whitaker - HERE'S A SYNOPSIS:http://www.bleedingcool.com/2014/10/10/nycc-super-girls-using-comics-to-engage-female-students-in-the-classroom/
And if THAT isn't educational enough for you, here's a blog post on 150 Things We Learned at New York Comic Con 2014 posted on October 13, 2014 by Rich Johnston.
For those thinking of next year, another comic con or even Halloween, here are some infographics on which superhero is "you."
|Infographic created by Lemon.ly and found at http://blog.visual.ly/20-super-infographics-about-superheroes/
|"Superheroes and Superpowers" published by Content Gladiator and found at http://visual.ly/superheroes-and-superpowers?utm_source=visually_embed
And, if you still want more, here's a link to 20 "Super Infographics About Superheroes" Finally, for those thinking of next year, another comic con or even Halloween, here are some infographics on which superhero is "you."


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A full list of all the Zone books available from Dr. Sears and the Zone Diet.
Book Bibliographies
A list of bibliographies for our books: The Anti-Aging Zone, The Anti-Inflammation Zone, The OmegaRx Zone, The Soy Zone, The Zone and Toxic Fat.
Cellular Inflammation Testing
The AA/EPA ratio in the blood is the best marker of that elusive goal because it measures the level of cellular inflammation in the body.
Food Blocks for the Zone Diet
Our guide on Zone Food Blocks to help you choose the right amount of foods to keep you in the Zone. The list contains portioned amounts of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats.
Dr. Sears on the Web
From article contributions to recipes, a directory of online resources related to Dr. Sears.


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Remember this picture?
First off this piece is Embroidered Filet, nays left me a comment and is absolutely correct. I have always wondered what type of lace the background table cloth piece to my blog was called. No one has been able to tell me until now. What it is in French, I have no idea. Thanks nays!
Remember this picture?
For the picture I pulled out all of the things from my stash I thought I might be able to use to make a bag.
The only damaged part to the filet block was that one of the threads had broken near the center. It was an easy repair.
Here is what I made with that block. Here is the front of the bag:
After completing the bag, It was missing something. It needed Bling! The little metal studs adds a nice subtle bling to the bag.
The back was left simple and uses on of the pockets off of the back of the jeans. The vintage lace, out of my stash, just felt like it did all the talking and did not want anything else competing with it.
Honestly, I tried out so many things out of the box in the top right of the second picture. Nothing worked and I kept going back to leaving it plain. Of course, not quite plain, a tiny bit of bling was added on the pocket corners.
For the inside, a zipper was added to the top, about 1 inch down to hold everything in the bag.Unzipping the top zipper, inside is a linen blend fabric lining with a pocket and pen holder on one side and a zippered compartment on the other.
For the handle, the waist band was used, stabilized on the inside using the blue webbing shown in the second picture above. Lastly, a belt loop was used to hold the hardware
It's a fun bag.
This week I am linking up with Shabby Art Boutique for Shabbilicious Friday Link Party
This week I am linking up with Shabby Art Boutique for Shabbilicious Friday Link Party


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Then Partnership chairman Sir Stuart Hampson, and London 2012 Chairman Sebastian Coe hold between them a 'Back the Bid' banner, a physical embodiment of the Partnership's commitment to the London 2012 bid.
A map locating John Lewis Stratford, which also shows the absolute proximity of the Olympic park
Sport and the Partnership have been inexorably linked since the creation of the latter. In its many guises, sport has been actively encouraged throughout the Partnership. Upon the announcement in 2005 that London would bid to host the 2012 Olympic games, the Partnership wasted no time in becoming the only retailer to back the bid, offering 'champion level' support, therefore becoming an official backer.
When London was confirmed as the host city of the Olympic Games for the first time in 64 years, the Partnership pledged its support once more. In 2006, the Partnership was confirmed as the first retailer to invest in a multi-million pound investment in Stratford City, the heart of East London. A full John Lewis department store and a Waitrose Food Hall were confirmed as the anchors of the proposed Westfield's Stratford City retail project, a development that would be constructed exactly adjacent from the scheduled Olympic Park.
John Lewis Memory Store > http://www.johnlewismemorystore.org.uk/
Designed and built by Community Sites


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Picture Time
When I first got into college, I remember all the higher-ups deemed it mandatory for every incoming student to go to an "enlightening" workshop on what our college futures held in store for us. As it turned out, all they really did was cram a bunch of psychobabble into our virgin, unscathed, MTV-soaked minds about endless possibilities, hard work, and being ready for some of the best times of your life. All I got out of it was the fact that when my college career was all said and done, my bank account was going to be hurtin'!
Actually, looking back at it now, maybe it wasn't such psychobabble-that dude up there spitting the gospel was on his game. One thing I do remember was a quote he read to us from Vincent van Gogh about our college lives that went a little something like this, "If you hear a voice within you say 'You cannot paint,' then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced." That quote could be taken in several contexts, but his message was this: if there is something this college offers and you doubt your abilities, then by all means face the fear and do it. Life's too short to play it safe, and on top of that, just because you try it doesn't mean you're stuck with it. Basically, everything came full circle about expanding your mind and trying new things.
Being an advocate of "I'll try anything once" (but when it comes to food, I'll be the first to admit I said I'd try it, not necessarily swallow it), I remember thinking, "Finally, some type of administrator is begging us to try new things and experience all that life has to offer, instead of playing by the rules to get good grades and get into college." It was…amazing, really. I get to go to school doing what I do best, trying new things! And that is exactly what I did, for better or worse. Note to self: If you come across a class dubbed Leisure and Recreation, it's not so cool; in fact, it sucked, but that's what it's all about, right?
Like I said before, my whole life I have grown up trying anything and everything in all walks of life. Through ridicule, broken bones, the doubt of others, trips to the E.R., utter and total failure, and even success, I can honestly say one thing I will never stop trying is broadening my horizons and attempting new things. Even in the world of custom classic trucks, I continue to seek new adventures.
My latest comes in the form of leading. One thing I have never done, or even seen done, up until a few weeks ago was leading. However, that didn't stop me from ordering a kit and giving it a go. Now I will say this: Just days before my scheduled launch, my mom informed me my grandpa was coming into town; therefore, I did get a quick tutorial. But still, it would have been go time either way. This leads me to my next point.
In this month's issue there are several stories regarding bodywork, a subject most cringe at. The words "bolt on" are the most reassuring pats on the back to many hot rodders. However, mention bodywork and the mindset isn't that of Rosie the Riveter's "We Can Do It!" But I'm here to pass on the message my college counselor announced to thousands upon thousands of incoming freshman: Don't be afraid to try new things. Grab an old fender, door, tailgate…whatever, and put some of these skills and methods between the pages of CCT to the test. Who knows, you might even like it, or furthermore, be good at it! But as for now, who really knows, especially if you're even too hesitant to get your feet wet. As for now, that's enough of my psychobabble-get out there and paint your own picture. -Dakota Wentz


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Through his writing, Bob aims to take big ideas and distill them into desirable calls to action. He inspires leaders to care for the people in their companies and to implement new technologies and adopt new ways of leading, organizing, and working. He writes about how good companies foster positive workplace cultures, use smarter business practices, and unlock the power of community. He's been published in Inc, The Huffington Post, Pando, Container13, Simple Programmer, The Good Men Project, and more.
This suppression of one thought or feeling in favor of another results in a rather predictable reduction in creativity, problem solving, and even self-control.
As we recruit cognitive resources to the task of quelling our bad thoughts, we have less mental power available for the knowledge work or creative labor that most modern workers are engaged in.
Agile Business: A Leader's Guide to Harnessing Complexity is an engaging introduction to Agile Development from a business perspective. It contains practical real-world advice from over 30 coaches, executives, developers and managers who are actively using Agile in their organizations and helping others achieve Agility.
BOB GOWER | Clarity from Complexity


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Indulge me a little a bit, okay. Today I want to wander off topic a bit.
While Googling to find some cool boutique hotels that double as design destinations for my most recent issue of DESIGN REFRESH, my bi-weekly newsletter that's dedicated to all kinds of great interior design features, advice, ideas, and inspiration (click here to subscribe! ;-), I found an interesting design feature in hotel design:
Luggage used as walls/counters.
Okay, so I don't travel like I used to. And when I do, I typically try to rent homes to stay in. So maybe I've missed this cool feature that seems to be trending in the world of boutique hotels. But regardless of of how behind I may be on this particular trend, I still must say…
I love it. ;-)
And if you, like me, haven't yet discovered it, I'm certain you'll love it, too. Here, take a look:


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Workplace "Rights" That You Don't Have
These include:
- I know I have the right to see my file.
- I demand my break right now.
- I exercised my First Amendment rights.
- My boss invaded my privacy.
Other workplace rights that non-union people think they have and don't (In most states) include
- The right to take vacation time whenever
- The right to refuse overtime
- The right to an interview
- Protections due to seniority
- Special protections because of race or gender
Oh no. Tell me you didn't write a long letter complaining about your boss being unprofessional or incompetent. There is no law prohibiting an employer from retaliating against you for reporting or objecting to policy violations, ethical violations, bullying, or the fact that your boss is a jerk. If you do something that puts you in a legally protected category, you may be protected from retaliation. Examples would be objecting to discrimination, making a worker's comp claim, or taking Family and Medical Leave.Most of what governs employment law is state law, and the employee handbook. (Yes, that handbook can be binding, so don't let the intern write it.) Before you claim your rights have been violated, do your research. If you don't like it, write your state legislator.
For further reading:
- Why You Should Be Fired for that Facebook Post
- Why Workplace Bullying Should Be Legal
- Are Some Women Just Too Delicate for the Workplace?
Hat Tip, Ask A Manager


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The kitten is still here, I think he has moved in for good but it is not too bad. I have my housemate all night, we sleep together whilst he is in the living room with most of the toys.
My housemate stayed out on Saturday and for the first time in my life I had a night by myself. She did not tell me she was staying out so I did not have time to plan a party but I did get plenty of rest.
She must have had a busy weekend because it was difficult to wake her up at 4am on Monday morning. Usually licking her face is enough but on Monday I had to sit on her head and hit her nose.
On Tuesday morning I helped my housemate to open her birthday presents and I took the wrapping paper and the string for a tumble around the kitchen floor. although it was her birthday I was given a new bed today so I spent some time on it in the living room window.
The kitten thinks that he is quick and clever but I have now realised that rather than wait for him to jump on me I growl and run towards him and then I don't even need to get my claws out.
On Thursday morning when my housemate was in the shower I decided to try a trick I saw her niece do- I Rapunzelled the toilet roll, you know the one? Rapunzel, Rapunzel let down your hair. My housemate had just covered her hair with shampoo so I knew she could do nothing until I had finished.
We then went outside and cut the grass, my housemate knows that I do not like walking on the grass when it is long and wet. The lawn mower was not very good at picking up the grass so I rolled around in it to show her where the grass was still lying. I do all these things with such a cute look that I get away with it. I noticed the manic kitten watching us from the bedroom window so I went over to my housemate for a cuddle, I thought I would show him that if he slowed down a bit he might be allowed outside as well.


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© GQ Images
The first semi-final fixture kicks off later tonight; here's what you need to know on Brazil vs. Uruguay
This month has been a sports enthusiast's delight! Between India winning the ICC Champions Trophy, Nadal going down to Darcis and the surprisingly exciting Confederations Cup, we're wallowing in late nights and a serious case of hangovers. Nevertheless, the Confederations Cup has entered the semi-final round and we can't help but get excited by the fixtures.
Brazil At the start of the tournament, defending champions Brazil were expected to retain the cup and so far they have lived up to the hype, winning all three group games comfortably. At the heart of Brazil's success is none other than Neymar. The Barcelona man stepped up, scoring three goals in three games for his country while display a mesmerizing array of skills that would not be out of place during Brazil's samba days. Manager Luis Feilpe Scolari's second coming has been very fruitful so far and he'll be hoping that the Selecao can continue their amazing run of form. The biggest asset: Sure Neymar is the biggest asset, but Chelsea's Oscar has been pretty amazing too. His vision, power, positioning and his passing abilities will be imperative to Brazil's success in the fixture. The biggest liability: Although Neymar and Marcelo have proved to be a perfect combination on the left flank in Brazil's attacking play, Marcelo's defending leaves a lot to be desired. His penchant for getting caught up could lead to a quick - and devastating - counter attack. With Luis Suarez, Edison Cavani and Diego Forlan leading the Uruguayan attack, Marcelo had better get his act together.
Uruguay Uruguay entered the tournament with a miserable 4 goals in 5 matches while conceding 6. Much of the blame goes down to the manager Oscar Tabarez and the inability of his two most sought after strikers - Luis Suarez and Edison Cavani - to gel together. Moreover, this tournament is an all or nothing situation for Le Celeste: they currently sit 5th in the South America qualifying group risking disqualification from the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The tie against Brazil is sure to test them and should they win, it could be a great momentum shift in their favour. Biggest asset: He may not be as dominant as he was at the 2010 World Cup (that saw him win the Golden Ball), but Diego Forlan is still one of the most deadly finishers in the game. Brazil's defence is not as good as it looks on paper and the veteran is sure to get a run in at them. Biggest liability: The blame doesn't go to just one aspect. Tabarez showed his faulty reading of the game against Spain, so his tactics have to go down as a liability, along with Uruguay's lackluster midfield.
Key Battle: Luis Suarez vs. David Luiz This is not because one of them is a striker while the other is a defender. This is also not because they both play in the Premier League where Suarez plays for Liverpool and Luiz for Chelsea. This is specifically because both these men are always up to their antics. While both men diving in ridiculous situations is expected, we hope Suarez doesn't resort to his cannibalistic attributes by biting Luiz.
Prediction: Brazil 3 - 1 Uruguay
See Also: All England curse Team India: A bright future beckons Japan go down fighting


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WAYNE, NJ -- In honor of Presidents Day, TAPintoTV visited the Dey Mansion, one of several locations in New Jersey which served as General George Washington's Headquarters during the Revolutionary War.
The Dey Mansion was the home of Theunis and Hester Dey, and was built around 1770. Ten years later, Theunis, who was the Colonel of the Bergen County Militia during the Revolutionary War, received word that Washington wanted to convert the family home into his headquarters.
"When you're told Washington is going to come to use your home as his headquarters, you don't necessarily say no to him," said Jessica Bush, Assistant Director at the Passaic County Department of Cultural and Historic Affairs at Dey Mansion. "For a lot of families, this was a big decision to make. Do you stay in your home alongside Washington and all of the people that are coming with him? Or, do you go somewhere else?"
The Deys, being a wealthy family with the largest home in the area, were able to continue to live there and share the space with Washington and his entourage. When Washington arrived in July of 1780, he brought five Aide-de-camps, 40-50 of his Life Guard (like bodyguards, similar to today's Secret Service), and two to three thousand troops who camped out on the 600 acres of farmland the family owned.
One of those five Aide-de-camps was Alexander Hamilton, who lived at the house alongside Washington. In November of 1780, he left the Dey Mansion to head north to Albany to marry the love of his life, Eliza Schuyler.
The Dey Mansion was acquired by the County of Passaic in 1929, and has been renovated to reflect the time period of 1780. The Mansion regularly hosts events, educational programs, and is open to the public for tours.
The Dey Mansion will be hosting a Washington's Birthday celebration on Saturday, February 23rd, which Bush says, will be "a full day living history event." For more information about the Dey Mansion and their upcoming events, including Washington's Birthday, visit www.deymansion.org.


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There were 10 managers who joined us for an exercise I call "The CEO's bunch of 5's". It is a simple process of:
- Asking each individuals for the 5 things they would do to achieve the desired outcome. In this case the desired outcome was to "grow profitable sales". At this stage each person writes their 5 actions without discussing their action list with any of the other participants
- I then created groups of two. It depends on how large the total group is i.e. you may choose to have groups of 3 or 4 etc. The groups were to discuss each of their 5 actions (10 in total assuming no crossover) and then come back to the main group with only 5 from the list. The purpose of this is to force the participants into prioritising what is important for the business.
- Each group then presents their 5 actions
- As the moderator for the activity it is important to listen to the key themes. In every session I do this the outcome is always the same
- There are a number of common themes
- The answers are general and lack detail
- Congratulate everyone for their work but then I say something to the effect "it is not good enough. As a CEO you can't make general recommendations. We want to hear the detail behind your recommendation."
- The groups go back to their 5 key action list and re-write the list with specific detail
- Moderator summarises the action list and charges the client for the privilege.
This specific exercise is something I came up with myself (I am sure there are similar ones out there) but the technique was learnt by watching all the big consulting firms come in, interview the staff, slice the numbers and charge a fortune for the recommendations. I always found it unbelievable how many times I saw, verbatim, the recommendations from my colleagues make their way on to the smart guy paper.
However, there is significant merit in the consultants methodology. The fact remains that most good employees can see the issues in a company and have probably thought about potential solutions to the issues. The consultants are smart enough to know that listening to these employees will inevitably lead to a probable outcome that is palatable to management.
As managers, business owners or CEOs, you are faced with challenges every day. Whether you chose to outsource the solution finder or look internally is entirely up to you. However before you decide, phrase your two options as such:
a) Employee, we value your opinion and will listen to what you have to say
b) Consultants, we value your opinion and will listen to what our employees have told you
You may have just saved yourself a lot of money, potentially made even more and all by listening to the real experts ... in your business!


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It is the next flying uppercut that will boost Toronto's indie gaming scene.
Drinkbox Studios' recently launched Guacamelee, a Mexican wrestling-themed game for the PS3 and PlayStation Vita, is being hailed as one of the best games on the Vita as well as a standout on the PlayStation Network. The first reviews are out, and although it's being slightly knocked for being short, its current Metacritic (a site that compiles an aggregate review score from many others) score is 89 out of 100 which is excellent.
Guacamelee now join the ranks of other recent indie standouts Sound Shapes, Swords & Sworcery and Dyad made by Toronto developers. Just like Toronto's music scene was bolstered in the late '90s and early 2000s by Broken Social Scene and their many offshoots or tangentially related bands, this city's gaming industry is very close and supportive of one another, building a reputation that is becoming even more well regarded with each successive release.
"The scene is totally tight, and I do see there's a bunch of rising stars happening in the city, still. There is so much talent in the city. And you can see that it's still continuing to rise," said Graham Smith, Drinkbox co-founder and producer on Guacamelee. "I'm really excited for Capy's (Capybara Games) upcoming game Super T.I.M.E. Force, it looks amazing. We did a show recently with the guys making Lovers in a Dangerous Space Time, and that also looks really cool."
Drinkbox, a 12-person development studio whose last two games, Tales from Space: About a Blob and Mutant Blobs Attack, were both well received platformers, was inspired by one of its homesick artist's to create Guacamelee.
"When we finished making our first game, Mutant Blobs Attack, we opened it up to the whole studio to do one-page pitches, and there were a bunch of ideas there. This one came from our animator, Gusto. He's from Mexico, and he says he was going through a period of homesickness, and he was kind of missing home and the cool stuff in Mexico he grew up with, so that was kind of the inspiration for the story of the game, and the characters," said Graham Smith, a Drinkbox co-founder and producer on the game.
The actual gameplay, he said, was inspired by many of the classic games from their youth, such as Super Metroid and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.
Guacamelee is the story of Jaun Aguacate, a simple agave farmer who must rescue El Presidente's daughter after she is kidnapped by the evil spirit Carlos Calaca. He takes up the traditional Luchador mask, which is worn by Mexican wresters, while travelling in the worlds of the living and the dead.
It is a side-scrolling platformer with a deep fighting system, with special moves like flying uppercuts and other abilities, that opens up as the game goes along, like being able to transform into a chicken and swap between dimensions. In gamer parlance, it is known as a Metroidvania style of game — based on classic Super Metroid and Castlevania. One of the hallmarks of that style of game is the player often backtracks to previously played levels, as there are usually hidden areas that are only accessible by abilities you receive later in the game.
Guacamelee has a unique art style, with a fun mariachi-themed soundtrack. Also impressive is the game's story, which has many humourous in-jokes and homages and shout-outs to many classic video games.
The dimension-swapping component takes the game to another level. There are some platforms and some areas with enemies that require you to switch dimensions to complete.
"There was a lot of internal discussion about how early that feature would be available because our very first demo had it. We immediately realized that players love doing it, and once you get that power it makes both the combat and the platforming that much more interesting," said Smith. "All of sudden you can do enemy set-ups where some are in one world or the other."


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Ferrari 458 Speciale
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byShawn Morgan
Wheel Specs: ADV05 M.V2 CS Hidden Hardware Finish: Matte Black 21x9.5 | 21x12.5
Vehicle Info: Ferrari 458 Italia
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Junior Square Planter Table
The Junior Square Planter table is a perfect child's play area. It can either be used for teaching children how to grow plants or it can be used as a sand pit. It is fully EN71 Certified and is constructed from heat treated timber.
Dimensions (cm):
Height - 50cm
Width - 75cm
Depth - 75cm
* This manufacturer may charge extra for delivery to Scotland, Wales, offshore islands, Cornwall, Devon and Somerset. Please enquire before ordering if you think this might apply to you. Your delivery maybe delayed if not checked
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When you hire movers, you're putting a huge portion of your life in somebody else's hands. In order to make sure that you seek the services of the best movers, you want to first conduct research. Because of this many individuals are considering consulting reliable movers for aid. When it has to do with interstate movers, you have to be careful of legalities. If you intend to employ interstate furniture movers you may plan everything with them. Interstate furniture movers make the whole process much less difficult for you.
The movers can manage all aspects associated with the moving procedure to help you relax. One of the greatest ways to make certain that you handle the perfect industrial movers is by getting references. As there is so much based on having good movers, understanding how to pick a moving company is critical. All licensed movers are needed to offer liability insurance. It's strongly suggested that you allow the skilled movers to pack all of your household belongings. For the most affordable, most effective play, you ought to hire expert office movers, whose sole job is to earn office moving an effortless experience for you.
Your movers appear punctually. Movers always have another thought if this car has become the most convenient to use. It is helpful to work with movers who will assist you to develop a thorough action program that will work to cut back your organization downtime. You don't just await the movers and cram all of your furniture inside. Often international movers will provide cheap prices with hidden rates so that you will need to ask just what the whole cost will be. Long distance movers are there to make certain you are able to hold on to whatever you want, and it's much cheaper to move the things which you already have than to obtain all new ones. Hiring professional long distance movers seems to be the simplest option, although it will cost you more.
Long distance moving can be quite stressful, not simply because you have started a new life elsewhere, but also because you've got to have a good deal of your life elsewhere with you, and it normally contains a fairly large sum of furniture and even appliances that for whatever reason may not be left behind. An individual might argue you could easily drive all of the distance and probably even delight in a superior road trip. It is all dependent on the number of things you've got and the distance that separates one particular property from the other.
Moving may be one of the most stressful moments in life. Moving to another place is never simple. It is never easy, but that doesn't mean that it has to be expensive. It is a stressful event one has to experience when relocating from one place to another. Thus, moving without the assistance of professionals could also result in neck and back sprains. Moving with the assistance of professional companies is always affordable.
Moving is a really stressful moment. Moving to a different home isn't an effortless procedure. With the aid of these moving tips, you locate your move significantly easier to handle, and much more affordable than predicted. In cases like this, the move can be very complicated so it would be most appropriate for you to examine the expert services of professional moving companies for aid. Finally, after your move is truly beginning, you will require the usage of packing supplies. If you're making a very long distance move consider whether you truly will need to pay to get each merchandise moved.
Dreamer who loves tee shirts, travelling and meeting new people.


text: This week our DT worked with layers and creating adorable cards what a great job The color choice and themes were anything goes. Looks like chipboard and fabrics were added to put that finishing touch on their designs. Don't forget to visit each of the blogs to get the recipes from our designers


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Maui judge tosses charges tied to alleged pot trafficking
By Lila Fujimoto
Maui News
WAILUKU Saying there was a flaw in the procedure used to obtain a grand jury indictment, 2nd Circuit Judge Joseph Cardoza on Thursday dismissed charges against six defendants in an alleged marijuana trafficking operation tied to a Paia-based medical marijuana advocacy group.
"This ruling is not an attempt by the court to rewrite the medical marijuana laws in the state of Hawaii," Cardoza said. "This is not a ruling on the merits of anyone's case.
"The court concludes that the procedure followed before the grand jury was flawed. Dismissal without prejudice is warranted."
Because the dismissal was without prejudice, the prosecution could again seek an indictment in the case.
Deputy Prosecutor Timothy Tate said that will be done.
The defendants were among seven people arrested in November 2008 as part of "Operation Weedkiller." Police reported seizing hundreds of marijuana plants and clones, processed and unprocessed marijuana, drug paraphernalia, cash and a vehicle during a two-year investigation.
The probe centered on the medical marijuana advocacy group Patients Without Time, which police said exploited medical marijuana laws to sell the drug to hundreds of people.
Those arrested included Brian Murphy, 53, who founded and heads the group; Brian Igersheim, 31, of Makawao; Stuart Hirotsu, 48, of Wailuku; William "Bill" Cox, 48, of Haiku; John Cooper, 40, of Kihei; and Robert "Bobby" Armitage, 58, of Wailuku. All had pleaded not guilty to criminal conspiracy, with some of the defendants facing additional drug charges as well.
Wailuku attorney Ben Lowenthal, representing Igersheim, filed the motion seeking the dismissal of charges, with the other defendants joining in.
At issue was the grand jury testimony of Keith Kamita, chief of the state Narcotics Enforcement Division, who administers Hawaii's medical marijuana law. Lowenthal said Kamita provided a "misleading" legal opinion.
In addition to explaining how the medical marijuana program works, Kamita testified about some of the defendants' participation in the program.
"This is a very fair proceeding," Tate said. "Due process was not violated at all."
He said the only error was Kamita's testimony that Murphy did not have a valid medical marijuana card at the time.
Because of that testimony, attorney Chris Dunn said his client Murphy was prejudiced by being "portrayed as a complete scofflaw."
Murphy did have an active card, Tate said. But he said that in two raids, police found Murphy with "pounds of marijuana, well in excess of the statutes" limiting the amount of marijuana that a patient can have.
Cardoza said transcripts of the grand jury hearing indicate that Kamita was asked "30 or more questions" that might be considered questions of law.
After Tate asked Kamita questions, including requirements for obtaining a medical marijuana permit and limits on amounts, grand jurors also began asking Kamita questions relating to the law, Cardoza said.
"We have a witness uniquely qualified to talk about how the medical marijuana laws work in this state," Cardoza said. "There are a number of questions that are purely questions of law that could have and should have been answered by the grand jury counsel."
He said grand jurors' legal questions should be directed to the grand jury counsel, who under Hawaii law is assigned to receive such questions, conduct legal research and provide appropriate answers.
"This court can't put a stamp of approval on using a witness to fulfill that role," Cardoza said.
On the Net:
Read the complete story in The Maui News: http://www.mauinews.com/page/content.detail/id/530806.html?nav=10


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Thursday, February 16, 2017
Dance Like The Irish
I'm sure I'm not the only person who suddenly discovered Irish dance through the magical show Riverdance. I'd never seen anything like it: the thundering rhythmns, the swiftly moving feet, the immobility of their arms and shoulders. It was amazing.
I've come to learn that Irish dancing has been around for a long time. Nobody really knows when it started, but it's said that the first music in Ireland was brought by the Tuatha De Danann (the skilled workers) who came to Ireland from the River Elbe area in Germany around about 1600 BC. Dance is usually thought to start before music, so Irish dance is probably older than that. What it was like no one can say.
The Celts (or Keltoi) came much later, in BC 500, bringing their dances and ritual with them, later to be labeled pagan at the time of St. Patrick (ca. AD 431) and general Christianization, but the basic pagan movements remained a part of the developing Irish dance. Then there were the Vikings (1169) and the Anglo-Normans (1169-1172), the Normans introducing round dances. Little by little the stew that became Irish dance was assembled.
What exactly those elements looked like we don't know. How Irish dancing came to have its distinct character of intricate steps and stillness of the head and shoulders, with the clatter of sound from the feet is a matter for discussion. Some say the contrast between the body and feet of the dancers was a result of the British prohibition of Irish traditional dancing because it interfered with the British goal of forcing the Irish to become English (and Protestant) as swiftly as possible. So the Irish, the story goes, did their dancing behind curtains that came halfway up the window. Thus passing British soldiers saw only people moving around the room, never guessing that feet were tapping and skipping behind the curtain.
A more likely explanation is that when the dancing masters who were traveling all over Ireland in the 18th century (before that, most of the dance was in the northern half of the island), they had to teach wherever space was available, and between British and church disapproval, there wasn't much space for them. The Catholic Church did not approve of dancing, least of all when both sexes took part. They taught that women, in particular, who participated in dance gatherings were evil and enemies of the Lord. So dancing was hidden away. Sometimes the only space the dancing masters had to demonstrate was a table top. Given that space, intricate footwork became the focus, with arms held at the side. Dancing across the room was clearly impossible until later when, in large part thanks to those dancing masters, dance gained enough importance to take more space and Irish dance was able to reach the height of its perfection in the solo or step dances.
Partly thanks to Riverdance and Lord of the Dance Irish dancing which had already made its way to the United States with the flood of Irish immigrants in the mid-19th century, Irish dancing is now danced internationally, often competitively. Next month I'll talk about some of the kinds of dance—the shoes the dancer wears often shows which dances will be performed—and the music and costumes.
1 comment:
- Kathy Crouch said...
Loved seeing dancers on TV doing the River Dance things. I never knew that the Irish or if I did, I forgot that they did. Great and interesting post, Beppie.
- February 16, 2017 at 8:40 PM
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Back in 2010, we were all witnesses to the rapid rise of vinyl wrapping and rubber based sprayable coatings in the automotive industry. As a group of grassroot car guys, we loved the concept of temporarily changing the color of your car, wheels and accessories. We tried all the different products. That's when we knew there had to be a better way.
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text: May is the first month in well over a decade when the Eyes on the Dollar household hasn't had to make a student loan payment. While we certainly took our eyes off the dollar in paying those loans back, I wanted to share some final thoughts on student loans and why I think it's important to consider all of your options before you do something big like consolidating or even paying them off. We've made our share of financial mistakes, but a huge one was losing $6000 because we consolidated the wrong loans. Hopefully you can use our mistakes to save yourself some serious money. Student Loan Forgiveness If you work full time in certain occupations, you could be eligible for loan forgiveness. Keep in mind, this is for the US only, and I don't have enough room to include all the details. You'll need to research them if one seems like it could work for you. Public Service Loan Forgiveness– This is the newest loan forgiveness program that was put into place in 2007. Basically if you work for the federal, state, or local government or for a tax exempt non-profit organization, you could be eligible for this program. ...Read More »