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How do you treat your acne from the inside out? Chances are if you're seeing acne, you could feel like it is too late. Topical treatments only go so far, if you really want to target your problem, start INSIDE. You can up your intake of vitamins and minerals. Some of these nutrients have been shown to reduce acne issues. Vitamin A, Niacin, Zinc, and Vitamin E have been proven effective in curing acne.
Citrus is going to be your new best friend. Grab a plastic container; throw some orange peel and a bit of water in there. Pound that orange peel and apply the water right to your affected acne areas. Straight up lemon juice has also been beneficial. (If you are shopping for products, look for citrus agents. However, I have found there is nothing better than the real thing.)
Mint is good. Start with a clean face, and, before bed, mix up some mint juice and a pinch of turmeric powder. When the mixture is a paste-consistency, you are ready to apply like a mask. You can leave it on overnight and wash it off in the morning. This one is especially good for those blackheads. (Not great for your pillowcases…)
CUCUMBER! I cannot stress enough how great cucumber is for your face. Use it for puffy eyes, dark circles and acne. Grate some fresh cucumber for a mask, slap it on for fifteen minutes and you're ready to roll. It is mild as well, you can use it daily.
See. You can have gorgeous skin with one trip through your fridge and medicine cabinet.
Filed under: Uncategorized |


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It is once again bread day, so the sourdough is souring and doughing on its way to becoming tasty. Which is a very good thing, given that commercial bakeries are totally unconcerned about the fact that what they're selling doesn't qualify as bread and is usually poison. I've never even thought to use azodicarbonamide ("ADA") or Fix-A-Flat in my bread. Or diacetyl, which goes by many names in much the same way criminals use aliases and is what gives microwave popcorn its buttery flavor. All that I ever use in my everyday bread is flour, water, and salt. Oh, and usually olive oil brushed on for the final proof, but only because we're high (in elevation) and dry (in atmospheric humidity) and without something to prevent dehydration of the final proof the dough will skin over and become what is technically known as yucky.
There are some microorganisms in there, too, but only those that came already on the grain from the field and without which it would be just wet flour and not bread. Probably some diesel exhaust and a few random radionuclides that fell from the sky, too, but it's best not to think of such things. Just shut up and eat.
I've always been curious to know how factories can so consistently produce such pathetic corn tortillas so I conducted a little experiment recently. My goal was to determine how minimally I could change the recipe to create something with the commercial tortilla lack of yummy nixtamalized corn flavor. It was surprisingly easy and I nailed it on the first go: Add xanthan gum, which is used to make the commercial product stay soft and flexible after any decent tortilla would be stale and usable only for chilaquiles. The result was a tortilla warmer full of suck. I had to eat the mistakes — Amethyst refused to eat them. She got about halfway into one and then delivered it to the garbage pail where, truth be told, it rightfully belonged. So, friends and neighbors, now you know.
Amethyst and I are once again and hopefully permanently completely avoiding processed foods. The impetus this time around is the ADA (azodicarbonamide) debacle, coming right on the heels of our discovery that our local meat processor's sausage is doused with MSG. Whether MSG is perfectly safe or deadly poison I don't really even care. I don't want to eat anything that contains an ingredient I wouldn't put into it, and I don't use monosodium glutamate, soy protein isolate, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, or anything I'm so ashamed of that I'd hide it behind the label "natural flavors". In my kitchen, a natural flavor is what comes in the ingredient itself — you know, a chicken, or a bay leaf, or salt. Whatever. I've got so many herbs and spices that they occupy all of two shelves in my cupboard, and there are more in the pantry because I don't have cupboard space enough. I got yer natural flavors right here! 😀
I foolishly got to thinking I'd save some money by buying canola oil instead of my usual corn oil… Gawdamity but that shit is nasty! I made some mayonnaise with it and we ended up throwing it away. I've been using it a little bit here and there, but only in very limited quantities in dishes that I expect to have enough flavor to swamp out the canola. But I can still taste it. Though I have no way and never will have a way of knowing, I figure the flavor is what I'd expect from performing cunnilingus on a dolphin.
If we were supposed to eat rapeseed they wouldn't have named it after a violent fucking you didn't want.
It's now time for the third stage, so I'm going to go play with flour, water, salt, and tiny little life forms I'm going to burn to death later. Be well, friends and neighbors!

subset: commoncrawl


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This afternoon's core workout (Day 73) is set to more Jazz Boner, albeit the weirder Space Age kind, with the 'Cosmic Tones for Mental Therapy' album by Sun Ra.
This was another of our Orange Monkey purchases this past weekend.
Recorded in 1963, but not released until 1967 on Sun Ra's own Saturn label (originally released in a sleeve with only a Sun Ra doodle, this better known cover, designed by Richard Pedreguera who also designed 'The Nubians of Plutonia' cover , was in place by 1969), this particular record has become one of the most discussed of Ra's New York recordings.
Here's a pretty accurate synopsis of the album:
"'Cosmic Tones' functions as a kind of blueprint for the sort of large-scale jazz weirdness that would inform much of Sun-Ra's subsequent works, featuring the woozy reeds of 'And Otherness' and the afro-jazz experiments of 'Thither And Yon'. On 'Adventure Equation' a space echo treatment on the recording which is reprised for the sax flurries on 'Voice Of Space' making the whole experience even more disorientating than it already would be."
Ra plays "astro space organ," and the array of swirling tones, funky licks and smashing rhythms, aided and abetted by John Gilmore on bass clarinet, Marshall Allen on oboe, and arrangements that sometimes had multiple horns dueling in the upper register and other times pivoting off careening beats, outraged those in the jazz community who thought Eric Dolphy and John Coltrane had already taken things too far.
It's beyond fucked up and it's awesome.
I'm not likely going to be playing this with the girls around but while planking (my second successful 5-minute plank I might add) on my mat in my basement office, it's an ideal listening experience.


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Sundays are for dealing with the last day's trips. Can Ms; M & rejuvenate a weak human anatomy? Its attention transforms to the initial open world Escape from Targ. Used to do not understand or had forgotten this sport endured, helping to make like stumbling right into a similar dimension reading about it. http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2014/09/28/the-sunday-papers-331/
Yes, naturally you've. Wait: if you don't think after all back that abomination on smartphones a little while? No. Nooooo. Ack, between that the depressing material and terrible tiny matter Molyneux's up-to as of late, it's easy to forget /tactic activities that are exactly how good at supervision Bullfrog could be. http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2014/09/28/have-you-played-dungeon-keeper/
Have You Played… Star Wars: Republic Commando?
Have You Ever Enjoyed? Can be an endless flow of sport tips. One per day, every day of the entire year, probably forever. http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2014/09/27/have-you-played-star-wars-republic-commando/
Jennifer Hale Appointment: From Metal Gear To Mass Effect
This week, John's interview with speech actress Jennifer Hale. July 27, 2011, this post was originally published. Than you most likely realize, Jennifer Hale has appeared in a great many more games. The individual behind the style of the female Shepard in-all three Large Influence activities can also be accountable for Material Gear's Naomi Hunter, SOCOM's HQ, the spookily superior British highlight of KotOR's Bastilla, as well as the grunts and groans of Metroid Prime's Samus, among literally countless others in gaming, Television and film. http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2014/09/28/jennifer-hale-interview/


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12 Free Microsoft Teaching Tools | DigitalChalk Blog
At least it didn't take long for me to post again. 🙂
This really looks cool, I haven't tried the apps yet. But the Interactive Classroom looks very good and I know teachers at our school use PowerPoint and OneNote. Check them out. 12 Free Microsoft Teaching Tools | DigitalChalk Blog.
Thanks to Sarah Bright and her blog for this information Learn2Earn
Posted on December 7, 2014, in Class Ideas, Teacher Ideas, Web 2.0 Tool. Bookmark the permalink. Leave a comment.


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Sookie Takes a Trip…
"Eric Northman, you are NOT going to punish me just for wearing a sexy dress!"
Eric shrugged, "Alright. Alex, tell Mommy what you've been doing."
"Me an Peesha dantheen."
"He asked Felicia to dance and she twirled him around the floor. He loved it!"
"That's nice, Sweetie." Sookie stroked the baby's head. "So, you're not mad at me?"
"It doesn't matter."
"It doesn't? Since when?"
"Sookie, you are the one who requested training. You obviously aren't into it and you aren't doing well anyway, so let's forget it. Maybe when Alex is older…"
"Wait a minute – I never said I wasn't into it."
"Your actions say it, Sookie. It doesn't matter. I haven't been consistent with you, so we'll forget about it for a bit."
"I don't WANT to forget about it, Eric! And what do you mean I'm not doing very well?"
"Your reaction just now was the polar opposite of submissive. If you don't want to do it, we won't."
"But I DO want to do it…"
"Then you need to learn not to defend yourself from me. If I say you need to be punished you should accept that without a fuss."
"Can we talk about this for a minute?"
"We are talking, my Angel – what did you want to say?"
"I'm not doing well because of my reaction?"
"Among other things. You have a lot going on, Sookie, so let's just let things go for a while."
"NO! I don't want to give this up – it's something special between us. What aren't you doing consistently?"
"Punishing you enough to prevent events like this from happening. If I were doing my part, you'd never have considered trying to entice me to break your doctor's orders."
"Because I'd be afraid of you?"
"NO, because you'd know better, or you'd have matured beyond this behavior."
"I'm being immature?"
"Very, and in an area that brooks no compromise – your physical well-being and your ability to care for Alex. A mature woman, a well-trained submissive, and certainly a budding Goddess, would be responsible enough to do exactly as she's told by her doctor because her family and her kingdom depend on her being up to meeting her obligations."
"And instead, I'm…"
"Being a brat, and there's only one effective way to teach a brat to curb her childish impulses."
"But if I don't think I deserve punishment…"
"Questioning whether you do or not is not being submissive. We're either going to do it or not, and you aren't committed to it, so we'll forget it."
"OK, one more question?"
"You don't have to restrict it to one question, Sookie. What did you want to ask?"
"How does playing submissive fit in with being a Goddess?"
"That depends on you. You could consider them completely separate, since it's sex play and doesn't have to affect the rest of our lives, or you could embrace it and let it make you a better Goddess."
"Oh, so, you've got experience training Goddesses?" That came out a lot snottier than she intended it.
He looked her right in the eye, "yes, Sookie, I have."
Yikes! Sookie had to think about that for a minute. She had a sudden urge to talk to Freyja and tried to think of where she could do that. She realized the single bathroom by the back door of the club had a mirror on the wall and a lock on the door.
"I need to go to the ladies' room – can we continue this discussion in a bit?"
"Of course, Sookie," he assured her as he took the baby from her. Sookie gave them both a peck on the cheek and made her way quickly to the hallway, snagging a salt shaker from Felicia on the way. Two of the guards followed her and took posts outside the bathroom door.
Once in there, Sookie twisted the top off the shaker and poured the salt in her hand. She faced the direction she thought was east, then spread the salt around in a clockwise circle right in front of the mirror. She stood facing it, closed her eyes, and took a slow, deep breath in, then slowly let it out and got herself grounded. She opened her eyes and meditated on her reflection. The rest of the mirror had fog or mist rolling around it and the image of Sookie herself began to shimmer and flicker. Soon it was morphing from Sookie to Freyja and back again, and it was making her dizzy, but she knew not to look away.
"Freyja, my Goddess, this is making me dizzy," Sookie told the reflection.
"Touch the mirror with both hands, My Angel."
Sookie touched the mirror on each side of her reflection and the image stabilized, though it still looked as much like Sookie as it did Freyja.
"Thank you. I need your advice."
"Ask your question."
"It's about Eric – He likes to dominate, and I like to be dominated, but is that what You want from me? Is that appropriate for a Goddess?"
"A Witch bows to no man, but a woman can always make an exception to please her husband and her king. Don't move, Sookie – close your eyes and try to remember…"
Sookie closed her eyes and saw a barrage of images – thatched huts, caves, medieval fortresses and castles. All of these images showed Eric and a blonde woman in various sexual acts, some of which were very extreme, all of which were hot as hell and it took a minute for Sookie to realize that she was each of these women. There was a flash of orange light and heat and suddenly Sookie was in the images as they rushed by, feeling what those women – what SHE- was feeling in them, all at once – the intensity, the lust, the pleasure, the pain, and the ecstasy of both, the feeling of freedom, of having no limits but the ones She chose for Herself.
Eric was still talking to Alex and letting him suck on his bottle though he kept getting distracted and looking around. Eric smiled knowing that Alex was trying to take it all in, and he could feel that the baby was fascinated by it all. He could also clearly feel that Alex knew this was Daddy's world. Bjorn, Bobbie, Amelia and Jerry joined him on the stage and were all chatting about nothing in particular when Eric felt an overwhelming rush of heat and lust that he knew was emanating from Sookie. It was brief, then it was gone. Everything was gone – not just the feeling – he didn't feel Sookie there anymore, either.
Alex looked up at him, "ware di Mamee do?"
"That's a good question, Alex. Bjorn, can you come with me, please?" Eric quickly got up and walked to the bathroom across from his office, Bjorn trying to keep up with him and the baby. He could smell that Sookie had been here, but her scent wasn't as strong as it should be. He knocked on the door and called out to her. "Sookie? Sookie are you still in there?"
No answer.
"Are you sure she came here, Eric?"
"Yes, and she was here just a minute ago." He turned to the guards on either side of the door, "did the Queen come out of here yet?"
"No, your Majesty," they said in unison.
He tried the door, and found it locked. "I've got a key to unlock this door in case of emergencies. Hold Alex while I get it," he told Bjorn as he handed him the baby.
Bjorn could tell Eric was really on edge, but he wasn't sure why, but he took the baby from him and waited by the door. Eric was back instantly with the key and unlocked the door. No one was there, but Sookie's purse was sitting on the sink. Eric stepped into the room and noticed that the floor was grainy or sandy. Looking closely at the black tile, he could see the circle of salt.
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking…" Bjorn said cautiously.
"Yes – she cast a circle for some reason and she's gone. The question is where, why and when she'll be back."
"What do we do now?"
"I have no idea."
Alex, still in Bjorn's arms, pointed to Sookie's purse and said, "Mamee."
"Yes, my son," Eric said as he took him from Bjorn, "that is Mamee's bag."
"Daygid om!"
"Take it home?"
"Eeah, por Mamee."
"Alex, do you know where Mommy is?"
"Eh, Freyja."
"Mommy is with Freyja?"
"I'll get Amelia…"
"Thank you." As Bjorn moved quickly back toward the front of the club, Eric stepped into the bathroom, outside the circle, and before he could say anything, Alex pointed and said "thirco, Dadee!"
"Yes, Mommy drew a circle, didn't she?'
"Eeah, Daddee an me ina thirco!"
"You want us to be in the circle?"
Eric wasn't too sure about this, but he trusted Alex so he stepped into the circle as Alex requested. Alex held his hands out, palms up like a statue of an Indian deity, and said, "ware di Mommy do?"
Eric suddenly got a flash of Sookie being at home in bed. Bjorn knocked on the door and came back with Amelia as Eric was looking through his address book on his cell.
"Eric, what happened?" Amelia asked.
"Amelia, I don't have Octavia's cell number in my phone – do you have it?"
"She doesn't have a cell phone."
"I'll have to get her one. Let me see if Alicia is still awake." He pushed the number for Alicia, who answered very quickly.
"Mr. Northman?"
"Yes, Alicia, can you do me a favor? Can you look in my bedroom and see if Sookie is there by any chance?"
"Of course I can. Just a moment."
Eric could hear her set the phone down and pull on a robe, then pick up the phone and he heard her slippers on the steps as she quickly climbed the stairs.
"Mr. Northman?"
"She's asleep, but she still has her pretty dress and shoes on. Do you want me to wake her or undress her?"
"No, I'll be home in a few minutes. Thank you for checking."
"Of course." Alicia was wondering what the fuss was, but she also knew with the Northman's it could be almost anything so she wouldn't worry about it.
"Well?" Amelia was busting at the seams.
"She's there, fully dressed, and apparently asleep."
"How did that happen?" Amelia asked.
"I'm not sure, but this is a circle she cast in salt."
"Why are you standing in it?"
"Alex suggested it, then he asked where she was and I got a picture of her in our bed."
"OK, I have a suggestion – leave the circle intact until we can talk to Octavia. Lock this door and put an "Out of Order" sign on the door, and tell Pam no one is to come in here, including the cleaners." Amelia was talking fast because she was excited.
"Alright. I'm going to take Alex home, but the rest of you can stay if you want," he said anxiously.
"Hang on – are you taking the corvette?" Bjorn asked.
"Yes, I'll leave Sookie's car for you."
"You'll need a car seat for Alex, so I'll have someone move it from her car to yours. I'm going to send two cars of guards with you, too. I also need to make the guards at the house aware that the Queen is inside."
"Alright, Bjorn, Alex and I will be in my office. Let me know when we can leave. Amelia, thank you for your help."
At that point, Pam came back to see what was going on and Amelia explained about the salt on the floor and the sign that was needed, so Pam locked the door and found a sign in the office.
Eric lay down on the black leather couch in the office and sat Alex up on his stomach the way Sookie showed him. Now that he knew Sookie was safe in their bed, he relaxed a little and decided it was a good time to play with Alex. He held Alex up in the air, "whooshing" as he moved him around, and Pam, who was behind the desk, shook her head and wondered which one of them was having more fun. The baby was giggling wildly, but Pam could feel Eric was beside himself with love and joy. Eric did the drop-kiss move a few times, then he sat Alex up on his tummy and asked Pam "Do you know any songs, Pam?"
"Songs, Master?"
"Yes, songs. Sookie does this with Alex and has him dance as she sings but I can't think of any songs."
"Try this," Pam said as she turned on a monitor that let them hear the music from the front of the club.
"Mudik, Dadee!" Alex giggled and waved his arms, and Eric helped him "dance" as he'd seen Sookie do, which delighted Alex. "Dantheen, Dadee!"
"Yes, you are dancing to the music."
"Ah wyg dantheen!" He giggled and drooled a little and Eric beamed at him. "Mamee om?"
"Yes, Mamee is at home. Bjorn is putting your seat in Daddy's car and we'll go home and see Mommy, OK?"
"Oday! Mamee seepeen."
"Yes, she is. Maybe she'll wake up when we get there and give us kisses before we go to rest."
"Eh, kithesth?"
"You know – kisses. Mommy calls it something else… SUGAR. Mommy will give us sugar."
"This is a kiss," Eric pulled Alex toward him and kissed him on the mouth. "See, Alex? Kiss." And he kissed him again.
"Ah wyg kithesth!"
Eric laughed out loud. "Yes, I like kisses, too."
"Dadee wyg kithesth Mamee."
"Yes, Daddy likes to kiss Mommy. Mommy's kisses are the best."
"Eeah!" Alex giggled and bounced up and down as Eric moved his little arms in time to the music.
Eric sensed a familiar feeling from Alex and knew he needed a new diaper, so he laid him on the couch and reached for the diaper bag that was in the chair opposite them. Eric laughed to himself about the diaper bag being designed for daddies. He knew that this was a new cultural development, and a good one as far as he was concerned.
Eric kept talking to Alex as he changed his diaper, which was difficult because this was a bad one. Eric told himself this was a natural result of Alex eating so much food, but knowing that didn't make the task any more pleasant. Normally when Eric encountered human waste, there was blood along with it to make it less putrid, but in this case, there was nothing to distract from it.
Eric was kicking himself for not summoning Bobbie to do this, but he got through it and had Alex cleaned, powdered and diapered very quickly, then he wrapped the diaper in a plastic garbage bag and threw it out back in the dumpster as the guards stood by.
"You didn't?" Bjorn laughed as he came from the cars.
"I did. There is nothing in the world that makes a man more appreciative of women."
"Yeah, I can see that. We've got the car seat all ready for you."
"Alright, we'll be going then." Eric took Alex to the car and put him in his seat. "Look, Alex, this is your car seat. You'll get to ride in Daddy's car now! Just me and you – won't that be fun?"
"Dadeesth gar?"
"Yes, Daddy's car. You're used to riding in Mommy's car. This is the first time you and I will ride in my car alone."
Bjorn called the guards that would accompany them home and they were at their cars quickly. One of the black four wheel drives pulled out in front of Eric and Alex and the other followed behind. Eric turned on the radio and found a station playing Sookie's favorite band, which tickled Alex. "Mudik, Dadee!"
"Yes, that's good music, isn't it?"
"EEah!" Alex was waving his arms and kicking his feet almost in time to the music.
"Are you dancing, my son?"
"Eeah, Aweg dantheen."
"You got to dance with your first girl tonight, didn't you?"
"Yes, Felicia was very sweet to you. You've got good taste in women."
"Mamee tasth dood."
Eric laughed out loud. "Yes, Mommy tastes better than anybody. We are very lucky to have Mommy, aren't we?"
"We wuggy!"
"Yes, we're lucky." Eric drove with one hand, his other on Alex's tummy. He hoped he'd never forget this first drive alone with Alex. He was so cute at this stage and Eric was shocked at himself being able to love anyone or anything as much as he did Alex.
Alex was tired when they got home and he laid his head on Eric's shoulder as soon as he had him out of the car. Eric floated slowly and gently to the stairs and up to the bedroom. As he turned the light on, he saw Sookie lying there and it shocked him for a minute. She almost looked dead. She was lying on her back in the middle of their bed, her dress arranged perfectly, still in her Marc Jacobs shoes, every hair in place. He thought of Faerie tales – Show White in her glass coffin, Sleeping Beauty in her tower covered with roses and thorns. This was more than sleep.
He was standing there, stroking Alex's back, wondering what to do next when Doctor Ludwig popped into the room.
"Northman," she nodded.
"Doctor Ludwig – this is a surprise."
"Yes, well, I was studying on things and thought I'd check in on you and your little wife. I thought maybe it might put your mind at ease if I looked at her just to be sure she's alright."
"Yes, Doctor, it would. I know she's going through extreme changes…"
"The three of you are going through changes. Sookie's are the most extreme, though, and they might go on for quite a while. You'll have to take part in the process at some point in the future…"
"What do you mean?"
"When the time is right, you'll need to turn her."
"But I thought she was not going to be Vampire…"
"She's not, but the final transition is almost the same. To become immortal, one has to die. The process will be identical to what you would do to make her Vampire, but the end result will be different if she's properly prepared. I don't want her to know about this yet. I'm telling you to give you something to look forward to that will make this all seem worthwhile."
"Anything that benefits Sookie, especially if it extends her life with me, is worthwhile."
"Good, good. Tuck that little one in, and let me show you how to tell if she's alright when she is in this state."
Eric walked around the bed and put Alex gently into the co-sleeper, covering him with his blue blanket.
As he came back around, she said, "alright, now I want you to check her pulse in her throat in the little notch there. You'll pick up a pulse there when you can't get one in the extremities. I know you can hear her blood circulate, but the others will need to know to check this before they panic. Also, look at her fingernails and toenails. As long as they aren't blue, she's fine."
"Alright, so she's fine right now."
"Good. Now, get the bottle I left this morning. It's in that little refrigerator in the corner. There's a golden cup there with it."
Eric went back to the corner and retrieved the bottle and the cup. He looked at the obviously old and very ornate label, which did, indeed, say "Ambrosia" on it.
"So this is…"
"Yes. She's not all the way there yet, but she's close enough that she'll need regular doses of this to function. It will make the transition easier and it will make her feel better. It might make her sleepy for a few days, but when she has the right amount of it in her, she'll feel better than she's ever felt before."
"That's good!"
"Yes. Now, I want you to fill that cup as close to the top as you can without spilling it and hold her up and give it to her. She'll drink it even if she's asleep. Now, she's probably going to like it more than she should at first, so it's important that she not sneak into it during the day. I want her only to take a bit before she's going to sleep."
"What would happen if she drank it in the daytime?"
"There's no way to anticipate it, but it could cause energy… eruptions."
"Yes, little misfires of her powers or her magick – probably harmless, but potentially embarrassing or inconvenient, certainly unpredictable. It's just better for her to sleep right after she doses."
"Alright, that makes sense."
The doctor ran through everything she had told Bjorn that morning and added a few things as Eric filled the cup, sat it on his night stand and pulled Sookie up to drink. She never offered to wake but her eyes opened wide for a second when the liquid touched her tongue and she practically licked the inside of the cup and asked for more.
"No, no, my Angel, that's enough for tonight. More tomorrow," Eric told her as he kissed her forehead and let her settle back down.
"I told you – it tastes better than you can imagine and it IS addictive by its very nature, so follow the instructions strictly. It will have effects on you and the baby, too as you feed from her, but they should be generally pleasant. It could be harmful to a human, so don't let her share it with anyone. I know it looks like a standard wine bottle, but it will last much, much longer than you expect it to, and it's supposed to. Never skip a dose and only you must give it to her."
"When she changes, will she still consume food?"
"If she wants to, but she won't have to. You'll probably be able to as well. Bodily functions will be more about pleasure than necessity. She'll enjoy sleep and benefit from it but she won't need it. Same with food, sex, touch – as with many things, she'll have to unlearn her expectations."
"What do you mean?"
"If she expects to need to sleep, she will. If she doesn't expect it, it's up to her whether she sleeps or not."
"When will that begin?"
"We aren't sure yet. It could be weeks, months or years. For now, she needs sleep and it's still the priority for her other than feeding the baby. She'll likely sleep through tomorrow so tell your staff. I hope she expressed some milk?"
"Yes, she did."
"Good. Use that, leave her undisturbed and she'll awake on Friday fresh as a daisy."
"Doctor – will this affect the girl?"
"The girl child you're supposedly going to have?"
"Only in positive ways. It won't prevent it from happening. If anything, it makes it more likely. You may not even need Niall's intervention that time, but we'll have to see. As the process unfolds, it is surprising us all. I think we're doing well so far, though, don't you?"
"Yes, Doctor, we are. I'll be very glad when she no longer has physical vulnerabilities."
"Even the gods have a few of those, but you're right – your lives will be easier when hers are fewer. Now, one more thing…"
"What is that?"
"Keep the idea of the daughter as quiet as you can. If any of your staff knows of it, swear them to secrecy until the child is actually born."
"Do you know… the nature of that child?"
"You mean about Freyja becoming tripartite?"
"Exactly. There are those who will not be pleased about the prospect. It's a huge power play on Her part. She wants to be returned to Her former position as the head of the Pantheon and there are those who will violently oppose Her. No one has any idea where She's going with this yet. Even the idea of Sookie being elevated has some of the male gods worried. A third aspect will set them off, so we want to delay that as long as we can."
"Why now, after all these years?"
"She was finally able to get you all in place. She told you She'd find a way for the two of you to be together forever. This is how She worked it out."
"Was this the only way?"
"To be with you, no. To move back up in the Pantheon AND be with you, yes."
"What if Sookie doesn't want it?"
"It's too late for that."
"That's what I thought. Doctor – the other twin…"
"Is making remarkable strides now that she is feeding him. The Ambrosia will increase the benefit of that, too."
"Was this a part of the calculation?"
"Only Freyja could answer that. It has occurred to me that in order to make one twin ideal, the other had to take its weaknesses. If I were you, I wouldn't question Her."
"I won't but Sookie might at some point."
"You need to train her out of that tendency to challenge everything and everyone as quickly as you can. You're going to be interacting with beings more powerful than she can imagine right now. I worry that she might provoke the wrong power before her powers are fully formed."
"Yes, I see that, but how does one train a Goddess?"
"If the Goddess is smart, she'll want the training. It could save all your lives. Make her understand that, Northman. Her actions now can have far reaching consequences. She wouldn't just be endangering your little family – the repercussions could reach your staff, your guards, your subjects, even Niall and I could be at risk. Don't forget who performed your wedding, either. The Ancient Pythoness put Herself in your corner at your wedding and your reception. You owe it to Her not to put Her at risk."
"Yes, I see that. Thank you, doctor."
"One last thing – when you find yourself awake on rainy days, drink from Sookie right away. You'll perk right up now that she's on Ambrosia."
"Alright – thank you!"
"Have a good night, and don't forget to tell your staff that she's not to be disturbed tomorrow."
Once the doctor left, Eric decided the first thing to do was to get Sookie out of her clothing. He wondered how and why she wound up back here at home, and what possessed her to try to cast a circle at Fangtasia? He took the shoes off of her and put them in the empty box that was sitting on the floor next to the closet. He unzipped the lovely pink dress and put it on the hanger that was on the hook by the closet door and put it back in the bag it had with it. He pulled her thong off and threw it into the bathroom, then he turned the bed down and tucked her in.
He lay next to her for a while, looking at her face. Was it possible she was getting prettier? Her skin was flawless, and there was no sign of any kind of line – even the little laugh lines almost everyone has around their eyes were gone. Her lips were full and dark and her eyelashes so long, dark and thick that he checked to see if she was wearing false eyelashes, but she wasn't. In fact, she didn't even seem to be wearing mascara. She had on that smudged black eyeliner she had started to iwear that he loved, though he hadn't told her that yet. Her skin was creamy white but her cheeks were rosy and it occurred to him that she wouldn't be happy because her tan seemed to be completely gone. He pulled down the covers and noticed that her tan lines were no longer visible. Can a Goddess suntan?
Eric looked in her tote bag and found her journal and made notes of his observations and tried to approximate the time she must have cast her circle. He thought about their brief conversation earlier in the night. Was she so confused about the D/s concept that she ran to ask the Goddess what to do? If so, he thought, then he had to do a better job of explaining things to her. She was going through so many changes that it was only natural that she'd have a lot of questions and it was his responsibility to help her grow into her new roles. On one hand, it was great that she thought of using magick on the fly. On the other hand, he was going to take it as an indication that he needed to pay more attention to her feelings. Between managing his kingdom and focusing so much on Alex, maybe he was neglecting Sookie? It was far too easy for him to forget how young she was and how much was demanded of her. Just being his wife was a lot. Being Alex's mother was more than three women should have to do. Add in being Queen, and becoming a Goddess… the more he thought about it, the more he thought the sex should take a back seat to simply spending time talking to her. They had centuries to explore each other. There were other ways to teach discipline. It was time to get Sookie back into the gym and get her used to using a sword. The changes her body was going through might include changes to her musculature. This might be the best, or even only, possible time to build up her forearms and thighs.
It was still an hour and a half before sunrise, so Eric wrote a note to Bjorn, turned out the lights and headed to the basement with Sookie's journal. He went into Sookie's ritual room and lit a pink candle, then knelt in the circle.
"Freyja, min Vackra Gudinna, speak to me."
The shimmering image of the Goddess appeared before him, and he was shocked with how much she looked like Sookie tonight.
"My Lover – you have summoned me?"
"Yes, my Lady, I need to ask You – am I neglecting Sookie?"
"No, my Lover, but you might be underestimating her."
"How so?"
"She's much stronger than you think. She's stronger than she thinks she is, too. Wait and ask her where she went tonight. She's got a story to tell you when she wakes up."
"But she'll sleep through the day?"
"Yes, but she'll be wide awake on My Day, my Lover. Take her for a midnight swim, just the two of you," Freyja gave him a smoldering look and was gone.
Eric smiled, knowing that She was right – he was underestimating Sookie. Maybe they all were. When you come right down to it, Sookie always rises to the occasion, even if she has a little fit about things first.
Eric scribbled a few notes in Sookie's journal, then he got the sense that Alex was awake and zipped back up the stairs. Alex was lying there patiently, chewing on his little fingers, when Eric got to him. He pointed to his mouth and Eric realized his gums were hurting and got one of the teething rings and a bottle from the little fridge before they headed into the nursery. He grabbed the diaper bag as he passed by it, too.
"Ware di Freyja do, Dadee?"
"Freyja went… wherever She goes."
"Mamee seepeen?"
"Yes, Mommy is asleep. She sleeps a lot these days, doesn't she?" He chattered with the baby as he put the bottle in the warmer.
"You don't think so?"
"Nah nah, Mamee mo seepeen."
"Mommy needs to sleep more?"
"How do you know that?"
"Freyja!" Alex said, looking at Eric with surprise. Alex figured if he knew why, Eric should know, too.
"Mamee won't be awake to dance with you later, but she will tomorrow."
"Oday. Poo?"
"Pool? I don't know. If it's supposed to be sunny, I guess Bobbie and Amelia could take you in the pool. I'll leave Bjorn a note and tell him you want to swim, alright?"
"Eeah – sthimmeen ina poo!"
"Would you like to read a book?"
"Nah, baddow."
"You just want your bottle, tonight, eh?"
"Eeah, an appo!"
"Apples? Let's see…"
He set the diaper bag up on the changing table and rummaged through it, finding a jar of turkey with gravy and a jar of apples in a bag with a baby spoon. "Looks like the women anticipated your wants, my son. Which do you want first, apples or bottle?"
Eric sat in the glider with Alex and got him in a comfortable position, then he twisted the lid on the jar of apples and began to feed him. Alex fed voraciously, so much so that Eric took the turkey concoction out and fed that to him, too. Then Alex was ready for his bottle, which he drank with equal enthusiasm. When he was done, Eric put him up to his shoulder, putting a diaper under his chin in case he spit up, and Alex snuggled there, twining his fingers in Eric's hair the way he liked to. They sat quietly together, Eric holding Alex long after the baby had gone back to sleep, only tucking him in when the sun was actually coming up and he could put it off no longer.
Thursday was a quiet day. Eric had left Bjorn instructions that Sookie was to be left undisturbed and he left him a message on his phone that Alex had requested to play in the pool if the weather was good enough. Alicia checked on Sookie every hour and left the monitor in the room with her in case she woke up, but she never did.
Bjorn fed Alex a big breakfast of some kind of warm baby cereal, apples and pears at the kitchen table, then Bobbie, Amelia and Octavia took turns playing with the baby in the pool. He was in his glory being the center of everyone's attention. It was noisy out back from all the construction on the two little houses and at one point, Alex asked to see the "ewwo dwugs." The adults finally figured out what he wanted, so Bjorn wrapped him in a towel and took him to see the trucks, then fed him a bottle and put him down for a nap in the playpen. The women drifted in and out of the pool, and Octavia took a nap by the pool, too. Bobbie kept a close eye on Alex to see that he didn't get over heated and she made sure he was in the shade.
When Alex woke up, Bobbie had a little bottle of cold apple juice ready for him and he loved it. He sucked it down happily as she changed his diaper, then she took him back into the pool and pulled him around in his inflatable yellow ducky until dinner time. Alicia and Margaret had food on the grill for everyone, laborers included, so Bjorn stayed very close to Alex the whole time and was in the den playing on the floor with him when Eric got up.
"Having fun, you two?" Eric asked, laughing.
Bjorn looked up at him, "Yeah, we've had a blast today, haven't we, buddy?"
"OMBA! Sthimmeen ina poo an ewwo dwugs and ewwo duggy an Bosth!"
Eric sat down on the floor beside the big blue dinosaur. "How is Sookie today?"
"She hasn't been awake at all. Alicia checks on her at least every hour and the monitor is up there if she needs us."
"Alright. Alex, you have had a very busy day, I take it?"
"Eeah!" he patted the dino on the head, "Bosth!"
Eric looked at Bjorn. "He's telling you the dinosaur's name is Boss."
"Oh, I see. He loves playing in all these balls, doesn't he?"
"Yeah, I guess to a baby, this is a blast. He's been practicing his magick with it today, too."
"Throwing the balls and calling them back?"
"Yep. I didn't scold him for it, or anything."
"I think it's fine if he does that when it's just family here. Sookie gets a little nervous I realize, but I honestly think Alex would know not to do that in public."
"I do, too. He's always very well behaved when he's out – as long as women don't try to kiss Daddy," Bjorn laughed.
"Yes, that caught me by surprise, too. It never occurred to me that he would react that way."
"I'd seen him do that to Sookie when he was still in the womb. That guy Merlotte tried to hug her and he kicked her hard every time he touched her."
"Well, I don't want Sookie hurt, of course, but it's good to know my son is protective of his mother."
"Yeah, anyone that ever tried to mess with her was sorry for it."
"That's the way we want it, isn't it, Alex?"
"Eric, do you know what Sookie has planned for tomorrow?"
"Is that lunch and shopping with the girls?"
"Yes, they're meeting up with Sookie's cousin, I think?"
"Ah yes – the Faerie."
"She has a Fae cousin? Full Fae?"
"Oh, yes, in training to be an Angel, I think."
"I don't know how all of that works."
"Neither do I, but I know Sookie is brimming with questions for her. How much she will tell, or whether it can be believed, is another matter entirely."
Bjorn laughed. "You don't like Fae much, do you?"
"I take it you've never been around them?"
"No, not that I know of…"
"Never turn your back on one. Their values and motivations are very different from humans or even other Supes. They're sneaky and manipulative and there's always a subtext or another agenda, or something going on that comes back to bite everyone in the ass. They're greedy, scheming and vindictive as hell. They're deadly vicious warriors, too, and they're always at war with someone."
"I heard about some epic battle with the Vampires…"
"The carnage was beyond belief, even by Supe standards. They're long-lived and hard to kill. Vampires still have not replenished our numbers to where we were before it. Felipe de Castro damn near started it up again when he surrounded Sookie's house in his coup against Sophie Ann."
"He threatened Niall's granddaughter?"
"He didn't know who she was at that point. He only knew her then as a human in my retinue. Then Bill let him know there was a conflict between us over her by saying he'd die for her and challenging me to do the same."
"Shit! You can't tell a thing like that to a guy like de Castro!"
"Exactly. He risked all of our lives just to gain a few points with Sookie."
"Why would he do something like that?"
"She has that effect on Supes. We do stupid things for her. If I had been my normal self when I met her, I would have killed her on the spot – or at least once I realized I cared about her. But I couldn't do it. I love her too much, and I did the first time I saw her."
"Aren't you glad, though? Now you've not only got her, you've got Alex. You've got everything a man could dream of."
Eric smiled softly as he stroked Alex's hair. "Yes, I suppose I do. She's a miracle, and so is he."
"Ba, Dadee!" Alex threw a ball to Eric, and Eric gently tossed it back, Alex giggling as he tried to catch it, then picking up another and throwing it to him. Eric and Alex became engrossed in their game together and Bjorn quietly left the room to let them have some time alone.
Eric played with the baby a long time, and Alex finally asked for "tatosth" so they went into the kitchen where Margaret was cleaning the kitchen.
"I'm afraid he's hungry, Margaret. He's asking for potatoes again," Eric said almost apologetically.
"Not to worry, sir, I've made enough to last several days. All I have to do is warm them up for him."
"Good thinking," he laughed and sat at the table with Bjorn, Octavia, Bobbie and Amelia who were drinking coffee and chatting.
"So, Eric, is Sookie going to be able to go to lunch with Claudine tomorrow?" Amelia had her doubts.
"I was told she'll wake up fine. She just needed this rest now, I suppose. We should all be prepared that this might happen now and then. If she doesn't wake up, one of you will have to find Claudine's number and let her know that Sookie is indisposed, but the doctor didn't think it would be a problem." Eric had Alex in one arm and brought the high chair in with the other.
"The doctor? When did she see Sookie?" Bobbie asked.
"Last night when we got home, she popped in to set my mind at ease and clarify the instructions she'd given yesterday. I'm very glad she did – I was worried after Sookie disappeared from the club that way."
"I've been studying on your little problem there." Octavia said, "I think you need to take her back to Fangtasia to close that circle and you should do it as soon as possible."
"Why don't you go by there tomorrow afternoon before you go out to lunch? I'll leave you my key, though I'm sure some of the girls will be there," Eric suggested.
"We could do that," Amelia agreed.
"Good. I want that portal closed properly ASAP," Octavia said.
"It's not something someone else could do?" Eric asked as he settled Alex into his chair.
"Best not experiment with powers like hers. Too much can go wrong, and until SHE closes it, it's probably still there. I don't know what would happen if someone untrained happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time."
"You think it could send them somewhere else?" Eric wanted to be sure what she was concerned about. Margaret handed him a plastic container full of Cheerios so he could give a few to Alex.
"Maybe, depending on how she called it and why. You don't have any idea why she cast it at that particular moment?"
"We were having a conversation about something and I'm not sure, but I think she was asking Freyja something about me…" he danced around the subject as he sprinkled cereal on Alex's tray.
"That would make sense."
"Freyja tells me I've been underestimating her. At the very least, I've been confusing her or not explaining things clearly enough. I've always said she would be my first priority but I've let my focus on running the kingdom and paying attention to Alex cause me to lose sight of what she is going through."
"Don't beat yourself up, Eric," Amelia advised.
"Right – just consider it a wake-up call and get your priorities in line again. The best way to take care of Alex is to keep his Mama healthy and happy," Octavia advised.
"Of course, you are right. She's the key to his well-being. She's the center of his universe," Eric mused.
"And will be for a long time. That's as it should be," Octavia wanted to reinforce this with him.
"I suppose I've been worried…" Eric hesitated. Was he really going to say this out loud?
"I know you're worried about the other one," Octavia finished his thought, "Don't. She's a mother. Whether she has one, two or 22, she's got enough love to make each one of them think he's special."
"Do I?"
"Now you're underestimating yourself, Mr. You'll love them each in a special way, just like any parent."
"Alex…." Eric tried to distract Alex by playing with the cereal with him, and it seemed to work.
"Doesn't want any competition," Octavia finished that thought, too. "That's natural for a baby to want to be an only child, but most of them don't get that luxury and they do just fine. With all the advantages that little one has, you don't need to worry about him having to learn to share."
"But he's Fae…"
"Is he? Says who?" Octavia challenged him.
"What do you mean?"
"I never heard of a Fae baby being sensitive to sunlight, did you? Or silver?"
"But they said he couldn't leave the Faerie realm…"
"They said he didn't make it through when Alex did. Nobody has tried to bring him through now. My guess is, Dr. Ludwig is waiting for him to feed from Sookie for a while before they try."
"What are you basing this on?"
"I've been throwing the cards about your little family. Ludwig and Niall are giving you information on a need to know basis, and I think it's to cover Niall's ass. If you think about it, Alex and Freyja have been going around them to tell you things."
"You saw this in a Tarot reading?"
"Several over the past few days."
"Did they tell you why the baby didn't get through?"
"Are you sure you want to know?"
Everyone in the kitchen was barely breathing, waiting to hear.
"Alex wouldn't let him."
"Alex wouldn't let him come through."
"That's not possible is it?" Eric was horrified, not because of the other baby, but because of how Sookie might take it.
"It's not only possible, it's the only thing that makes sense. Alex," she addressed the baby, "want to visit Eric Auberon?"
"NAH NAH!" He slammed his hand down on his tray sending cereal flying.
"He's the reason that one's not here. Whether he was capable of preventing it himself, or it was part of his negotiation with Freyja, he's the reason," Octavia was convinced of this.
"So Freyja may or may not have agreed to it?"
"Yes, I'm not clear yet on Her involvement. You should ask Her."
"Niall said he did exactly what Freyja told him to do…" Eric recalled.
"Right, so either She gave him a ritual designed for that result, or someone or something was powerful enough to keep one spirit from crossing over."
"Dadee! Deeweeohsth!"
"Alright, Alex, just a second." Eric went to the cupboard to get the container again and put some on Alex's tray as Margaret was sweeping the others off the floor. Eric sat back down looking at Alex closely. "OK, Alex, happy now?"
"Eeah. Ma Dadee nah dat beebee," Alex said with a pout.
"You got that, right?" Octavia asked him.
"Yes – he said I'm his daddy, not that baby's."
"NAH NAH!" Alex yelled and burst out crying. Eric quickly took him out of the high chair and hugged him close, rubbing his back and whispering, "shhh, Daddy loves Alex," to him.
Margaret sat the bowl of warm potatoes in front of them and Eric said, "look Alex – 'tatoes" and fed him a spoonful. Alex quickly forgot that he was upset and focused on chowing down on his favorite food.
Eric's mind was spinning. He didn't know how to process this information. What Octavia said made sense, and Alex's behavior certainly fit her assessment. Freyja might agree to such an arrangement if She had to to coax Alex to cooperate. Alex would obviously make the demand or cause the failure if he could based on his reactions. What would Sookie think when she knew this? Eric wasn't even sure what he thought about it. He knew he'd have to tell Sookie – they were far past keeping secrets from each other. Even if he tried to conceal it, she'd hear his thoughts. He was barely conscious of speaking when he said, "how do I tell Sookie?"
"Don't underestimate her, Eric," Octavia was very serious. "She'll handle it better than you are."


text:
Sparkle: Movie Review pt. 2 by: @therealHNF
Perhaps I was a bit harsh in my critique of the movie yesterday. While the premise of the movie "Sparkle" (young girls persuing their musical dreams) is similar to the movie "Dream Girls", it does have a slightly unexpected twist towards the end which makes it Red Box-able. I admit that Whitney Houston's death is what made me go to the theater to see it, but once I saw her on-screen, she seemed like someone distant to me. Maybe it's because I haven't really seen her in a positive light since the late 90s or early 2000s, but she seemed like not only a star that has dimmed, but one that has completely blown its fuse. Although there were solid performances, the movie was a little too PG/Churchy for me, like I wouldn't have been surprised if the Disney symbol was at the beginning of the movie credits. I would recommend to go the theater to see it, only if you want to support Black films and see Whitney Houston's last performance.


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Wants to Meet Up
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About Me
Living alone in Diha
Why I'm on Couchsurfing
to meet people
golf. Siteseeng
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Music, Movies, and Books
eric clapton songs
One Amazing Thing I've Done
jumped with parachute


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The sampling properties of conditional independence graphs for structural vector autoregressions
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Cited by:
- Alethea Rea & William Rea & Marco Reale & Carl Scarrott, 2012. "A comparison of Spillover Effects before, during and after the 2008 Financial Crisis," Working Papers in Economics 12/03, University of Canterbury, Department of Economics and Finance.
- Carretta, Alessandro & Farina, Vincenzo & Graziano, Elvira Anna & Reale, Marco, 2011. "Does investor attention influence stock market activity? The case of spin-off deals," MPRA Paper 33545, University Library of Munich, Germany.
- Selva Demiralp & Kevin Hoover & Stephen Perez, 2014. "Still puzzling: evaluating the price puzzle in an empirically identified structural vector autoregression," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 46(2), pages 701-731, March.
- Granville Tunnicliffe Wilson & Marco Reale, 2008. "The sampling properties of conditional independence graphs for I(1) structural VAR models," Journal of Time Series Analysis, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(5), pages 802-810, September.
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text: Walking up to a Las Vegas casino table game can be intimidating even for those at Flamingo Las Vegas, offers quick and easy how-to for learning roulette. Roulette is easy to play and very exciting if you follow some simple rules To avoid disputes, each player receives a different color chip at roulette. and you must cash them in for regular casino chips when you are done. The only problem is that they have a limited period of time to do so and in land- based casinos, where many people play at the same table.


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(Part 2 will be an email dialogue between a principal and NZEI)
The real purpose of the Communities of Schools is to aggregate schools for ease of government control and propaganda.
Given there is still in place a non-accountable education review office; the exclusion of teachers from policy formation; the exclusion of teachers from the teachers council; national standards; a curriculum based on measurable objectives; a curriculum developed on a continuous basis in review and ministry offices; a curriculum based on there being one way of doing things; systemic bullying and fear-based control; professional development as an extension of the bureaucracies; academia controlled by contracts; and a vast and intrusive centralised propaganda machine – what else could be the purpose?
The government came to the discussions on Communities of Schools with their neoliberal changes to the education system non-negotiable; NZEI should have rejected that and insisted on genuine change before negotiation could begin. How can Communities of Schools work to the advantage of schools and children under the existing organisational strictures of exclusion, imposition, and fear? Fair dealing and trust must go together for fair dealing to be fair dealing. Without changes to the existing control, exclusion of teachers, and measurement policies – the Communities of Schools' policy, if acted on, will only intensify and serve to embed the harmful characteristics of the present system. How can schools work together in fair dealing if the government refuses to do so in the wider system?
The present education system is antithetical to any chance of children's learning and welfare being a priority; yes at the centre of attention, but not the priority. The priority is control, control by various groups of adults, through bewildering layers of bureaucracy. Boards of trustees interlinked with an increasingly hostile-to-teachers School Trustees Association; Communities of Schools to be the next layer, close up and personal and intertwined with all the other levels; the contracted universities and professional development contractors working as an extension of the ministry; and then there is a hyped up education review office; a ministry working at local and central level spreading its tentacles to control all the bureaucratic layers; and the newly developed EDUCANZ set to tighten even further controls over principals, and what the curriculum is and how it should be organised.
The teacher organisations have just stood by, helpless, bewildered, platitudinous, and lacking philosophical depth; as result, they have allowed themselves to be drawn in to become part of those bureaucratic layers; therefore part of the problem. They have not developed the subtlety to grasp the potency of the symbolic stance; for instance, just standing apart from the government and saying 'no' – we can't stop you, but we are not going to be part of it, and we will be telling the public and our members why. Such a policy takes moral strength, and it can be lonely, as the customary hobnobbing won't be on offer – teacher organisation leaders would have to generate their own power from their members and the public rather than doing favours for the government for increased access and crumbs in return. There is also some risk to vocational prospects; this government can make life difficult for those who speak out. It is playing the longer game but it is the principled one that keeps alive the possibility of a sane and honest education system to replace the present one of madness and pervasive propaganda.
The Communities of Schools is going to be a snitch paradise. I have documentary evidence that figures in Communities of Schools are already reporting details to the ministry about principals who don't want their school to be in a Community of Schools but the board does, and so on. Communities of Schools might elect their leaders but it is the snitches who will have the power.
Readers will have noted how Hekia Parata in an earlier posting was shown to have lied in the House, declaring that out-of-school influences on learning are 18% when the report she supposedly gleaned that 18% from, concluded it was 78%. (One reader commented that it might not have been a case of lying at all but of needing to go to Specsavers.) The lie was not accidental, it was crucial, crucial to the establishment of government's Communities of Schools' policy of putting primary schools under unrelenting high stakes pressure to 'encourage' them, by hook or by crook, to get to 85%. The education review office is buzzing at the prospect with plans well advanced to descend like a plague of locusts on schools. When most schools 'reach' that figure, as most will (you know what I mean); it will be exploited as a triumph for government policy and boon for propaganda. The message communicated will be that for school improvement, all that is needed is the government setting targets and demanding schools achieve them. The obverse message will be that schools do not need increased funding or efforts to improve the socio-economic circumstances of children. To reinforce that message, first there was Parata with a bad faith article in the Herald, in effect talking up the 18% concept; followed a week later by Barbara Ala'alatoa, chairperson for the teacher-demeaning EDUCANZ, with her own bad faith article, going on in mini-Hattie style about 'decile not being destiny'. (I would like to introduce an education version of Godwin's Law – Smythe's Law – in which any playing of the Hattie card means discussion comes to an end and the argument lost.) The two Herald articles in quick succession were pretty clearly a stunt organised by one of the minister's 26 strong media relations pack. There is something terribly wrong with education today: we ask little children (and all ages) to come unto schools but their welfare isn't a priority; oh yes in words, but not in actions, especially policy action.
There is already enough inflation in national standards figures in primary without having them descend to the horror level to be found in NCEA Level 2. If a secondary principal in your area is pontificating in support of a Community of Schools, remember that it can be guaranteed that he or she knows exactly what I mean. We don't want to go there Secondary School Principal even though you look as though butter wouldn't melt in your mouth. In fact, we want to get out of the high stakes destructiveness altogether to an honest and transparent way of proceeding.
The implementation of the Communities of Schools is not being done in good faith, has no prospect of being, and the policy should be returned to NZEI members for discussion.
The principal's initial email was to Graham Jones; then Stephanie Mills came into the picture: a senior NZEI staff member – experienced, high-minded, and intelligent – who can be observed doing a good job in a near indefensible situation. The principal proceeds to cogently demonstrate the NZEI policy on Communities of Schools as muddleheaded and seriously wrong.
From a principal to NZEI about CoS
To: Graham Jones <email@example.com>
Good afternoon, Graham
I see that the PPTA Collective Agreement has been signed including any variations agreed during the term of the last collective. That would mean to me the structure of CoS with the way roles are allocated. As far as that goes there is still a mismatch between what was agreed by the PPTA and that agreed by the NZEI in the CoL model. It's still the elephant in the room, or am I completely misreading it? Still two models?
To be continued in Part 2


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Black Round Fabric Comfy Cushion Bedroom Designs For Small Rooms Cream Varnished Wooden Bed White Shade Floor Lamp Wooden Shelf Cabinet Wooden Bed published at Monday, May 09th 2016 is part of 40 Small Bedroom Ideas to Make it Look More Large and categorized with Bedroom. Click to Back 40 Small Bedroom Ideas to Make it Look More Large
Creating the interiors of a little area are typical about making increased graphic space in addition adding enough safe‐keeping models.A clear also uncluttered seem is surely an total need to.From lighting to color also mirrors to extras, each small fine detail helps make a major difference.Below are a few present day inspirations that will get you commenced on your path.Most house owners often confuse among spaces that are airy with new additionally ones which are just big.Dimensions of the area has just about nothing at all concerning the vibe it exudes.Small sleeping rooms will look airy also pleasing when done right.
© 2005-2018 macSTRINGS. Your Daily Inspiration for Home Design and Decoration.


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Time marches on, you just don't realize it when you are young. I think the first time I realized that time waits for no one was when I was dealing with a tragedy. It felt as if my life stood still and time for me was like swimming through thick pudding. But the outside world carried on in normal time. For the record, I've never gone swimming in any type of pudding.
The strange thing about time marching on is that at some point time has you father forward than you thought you'd be. Beloved and one of his friends were out the other night and towards the end of their evening they encountered a few people in their early twenties. At some point one of the younger people made a comment that it was cool to see old guys hanging out and enjoying the place.
Beloved and his friend both automatically started to look for the old guys while their younger companions asked them what had brought them to the club in the first place. Beloved said that was when it hit him…he had become the old guy.
No warning, no training or easing into this new position in life. Hours earlier Beloved had no clue of what soon awaited him. He said he after he realized he was the old guy he felt like someone should have provided him with a hat, a smoking pipe and other such items. Just to ensure everyone recognizes that he is now an old guy.
How had time marched him to this point in his life without preparing him? Father Time, Beloved has decided, has a sick sense of humour. And it isn't even funny. Just ask the old guy! 😉


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|Brad Fitzpatrick
Brad Fitzpatrick
February 5, 1980
Iowa, United States
Bradley Joseph "Brad" Fitzpatrick (born February 5, 1980 in Iowa), is an American programmer. He is best known as the creator of LiveJournal and is the author of a variety of free software projects such as memcached, PubSubHubbub, OpenID and Perkeep.
Born in Iowa, Fitzpatrick grew up in Beaverton, Oregon and majored in computer science at the University of Washington in Seattle.
LiveJournal eventually became a full-time job and then a company, which he called Danga Interactive. In January 2005, Fitzpatrick sold Danga, which owned LiveJournal, to Six Apart, for an undisclosed sum of cash and stock.[1] He was named chief architect of Six Apart.[2] He left Six Apart in August 2007 and joined the LiveJournal Advisory Board in 2008. It disbanded in 2010, ending Fitzpatrick's association with the site.[3] He now works for Google[4] as Staff Engineer and is part of the Go programming language team.[5] In June 2014, the UW CSE in Seattle awarded Fitzpatrick for Early Career Achievement.[6]
Manage research, learning and skills at defaultLogic. Create an account using LinkedIn or facebook to manage and organize your Digital Marketing and Technology knowledge. defaultLogic works like a shopping cart for information -- helping you to save, discuss and share.Visit defaultLogic's partner sites below:


text: Volvox [official site] is a neat little pastel-shaded puzzle game about guiding triangles across a triangular grid. Let me assure you: it sounds a lot more straightforward when typed out like that than what plays out in practice. The triangles you maneuver, you see, are loaded with functional properties tacked onto certain sides that must be aligned with corresponding goals. Does that sound more complicated? Good, because that's the reality. It's often great, yet often: AAARRGGHHH!


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- Durham City Arts Festival
- IDLC Notification
- Renewal
- Visitors
- Businesses
- Investors
Our sales assistants play a key part in the success of both our Monsoon and Accessorize brands. We want to create an amazing shopping experience, combining an expert understanding of our products, and a friendly, welcoming environment for our customers.
We are always on the look-out for successful team players to represent our brands. We love working with people who share our passion for fashion and customer service. In return, we'll offer you lots of on-the-job training and coaching and a fantastic opportunity to develop your career with us.


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- 48mystic
- 6 years ago
- Wedding: June 2013
Hi ladies!
I am so incredibly un-artistic/un-creative! I've picked the girls dresses and flowers, and now I am trying to figure out what to do for table linens. The venue includes floor length white tablecloths and the flowers are going in vintage milk glass vases, so I'd like to add runners for some more color at each table. I love the look of pintuck runners, and would really like to do two colors. I did find a site that sells peach and coral (http://www.simplyelegantchaircovers.com/table-runners/pintuck-table-runners/) but that just seems too matchy with the girls dresses, being identical. What do you think about doing yellow and coral? I found a great yellow here: http://weddinglinensdirect.com/13pitataruca.html .
what do you think of alternating yellow and coral pintuck table runners? Or should I try another fabric, perhaps silk might be easier.
Thanks for any feedback or suggestions!
my girls are wearing Liz fields 360 in peach/coral (shown):
and this is my inspiration pic I discussed with my florist (almost identical, minus the blue stuff):


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tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23048359.post6791511100314143130..comments2014-05-25T11:37:55.660-04:00Comments on I Can't Get No Artifaction!: Vintage Men SwapKarenhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-23048359.post-62691703890711920782009-12-28T20:26:12.497-05:002009-12-28T20:26:12.497-05:00Hey, Karen! Couldn't find your email but was v...Hey, Karen! Couldn't find your email but was very happy to drop by and get lost in your blog anyway. :) Send me your address and I'll get one of these Road Rage necklaces out to you. :DFrancie Hortonhttps://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-23048359.post-68828518163128085032009-10-24T10:49:29.772-04:002009-10-24T10:49:29.772-04:00Karen,it's many months since my last visit and...Karen,it's many months since my last visit and i am so ashamed...you have the most fabulous ATC's to look at.

I am adding you to our blog so I dont forget to pop by.

these men ATC's and their backgrounds are masters...love em.

have a great rest of the weekend.
chriss xChriss Rollinshttps://firstname.lastname@example.com


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Geneva Motor Show: Audi A8 hybrid
March 2, 2010 § Leave a comment
At one end of the Audi range is the A1 e-tron, at the other, this A8 hybrid. It combines the familiar VW Group 2.0 TFSI engine (211bhp) with an electric motor to give a total 245bhp/480Nm, delivering performance on a par with a conventional V6 yet returning up to 45.6mpg and emitting 144g/km of carbon dioxide. Acceleration 0-62mph comes up in 7.6 seconds, to a top speed of 146mph; in electric-only mode it can do up to 40mph for over 2km. Eight-speed Tiptronic auto transmission is fitted, and this A8 remains front-wheel drive.
Audi describes this car as a 'concept', but it's a safe bet it's on its way to production soon. The same powertrain will feature in the Q5 hybrid, confirmed for launch later this year.


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CHANGING TIDES by Sarah Darlington
***NA Romance. This novel is the second book in the Kill Devil Hills series, however it can be read as a standalone. Recommended for 18+
I have to admit, reading Kill Devil Hills, Sarah's first book in the series, the story of Georgina and Noah didn't leave a lasting impression on me. Don't get me wrong, the authors writing was excellent, the story was just… simple, not leaving me wanting more. I was a little worried going in Changing Tides… but OMG am I glad I went in!!! It has been 4 days since I finished reading about Ellie and Nathaniel. I have not been able to stop thinking about it, not even to start a new book. Talk about having a major book hang over. Changing Tides just blew me away! I could not stop reading and it left me wanting so much more. The chemistry between Elli and Nathaniel was so intense, I am having goose bumps simply trying to describe it to you right now. So I will keep this review short and sweet… This is one sexy romantic story! A MUST READ! I
Noah is determined to escape his past and keep his life under control. Then he saves the life of his best friend's little sister, Georgina Turner — who is battling her own demons. He can't get her out of his head, even if Georgina tears down the emotional walls he so carefully built.
Author Bio:
Subscribe to Sarah Darlington's mailing list:


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For July 2015 – June 2016, the Loft Ridge HOA fees are $848 per year. The fee is collected by management four times a year ($212 each quarter), via a mailed assessment notice.
Payment options for your HOA fees include:
- personal check/money order made payable to Loft Ridge HOA
- online bill pay via your bank (for more details, inquire with your bank)
- automatic bank draft (No extra charge, contact management for details or see below for the form and instructions.)
- credit card ($10 processing fee, contact management for details.)
Management Address:
Sequoia Management Company
13998 Parkeast Circle
Chantilly, VA 20151-2283
Direct Debit
All Loft Ridge Residents are able to sign up for direct debit for their HOA dues, at no cost. Please fill out this form and return it to management.


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Around 40,000 Berlin households in the southwest of the city have to do without cable television and Internet after a major outage on Sunday.
Police have launched an inquiry into whether the incident is somehow related to an attempted bank robbery in the area.
The perpetrators reportedly tried to switch off an alarm system in order to rob the Berlin Sparkasse bank, according to the Berliner Morgenpost. However, they didn't manage to steal anything and disappeared when the bank's security alarm went off.
READ MORE: Internet Shutdowns: 'Nothing to Do With National Security, Always Political'
Most affected residents are Vodafone customers, while others are Telekom service users.
"In Wilmersdorf, a cable duct was opened and a fiber optic cable was severed," a Vodafone spokesperson was quoted by the newspaper as saying.
A Telekom representative stated that 16 fiber optic cables were damaged.
Repair works are underway. In some households, access to the network has already been restored.


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You don't need to fight over me;
Bound and blind, I belong to you all nevertheless.
None claimed me to be theirs;
Until you had blood of brothers to spill and rivals to fight against.
You wielded shrill, ill-speaking swords;
Cunning shields next, to shamelessly defend the sins of your swords and minds.
Kingship meant a blessing, to look after a nation and her subjects, with love;
Before the meaning was changed to betrayal in royal standards, as love turned into lust.
Kingdoms rose and fell;
And you never learned through time,
From those billions of chests that were wounded beyond repair in warfare.
While other beings flourished, 'harmony' strongly set as their evolution bond;
You brought doom upon yourself;
No, Upon me!
Swords gave way to ammo;
So did simple cruel kings to massive dictators;
But then, none saw what was to happen to you and to me.
Evil Leaders rose, colourful flags rose;
Shaking hands in the fore, crossing fingers in the back;
I endured all without speaking a word.
And when things seemed to be unacceptably beyond the limits;
I gave you warning;
I had to, even if they were harsh, but you never learned.
The sands of time is not all about the bad you;
Yes, there were good men and women who spoke from heart my concerns;
But failed to stand the might of the evil people and the fools that they made out of people.
Science and Technology, you said;
Injecting fluids, which mercilessly murdered trillions of lab rats;
Advancement of medical science, you said. Traitors!
None spoke of love for me;
All you wanted was lustrous gold and regal marble graves;
But now;
When you see that I am about to crumble into oblivion;
Which surely means the end of you too;
You speak of love for nature.
Enough! don't fight over me;
I have let the reigns of future to be in your hands for too long;
I take over now;
Even if you take me to be rude.
For, mother I am to you all;
I forgive you even today.


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Meeting Abstract
Friday, Jan. 6
Systematics and Phylogenetics of the Arks (Arcoida: Bivalvia): A combined analysis of morphology and molecular data.
CROWLEY, Louise M.; American Museum of Natural History, New York
The Arcoida is a large group of mostly marine bivalves, with a global distribution and includes arks, bittersweets and dog cockles. In this study, the phylogenetic relationship of the Arcoida is inferred from a systematic analysis based on both morphological and molecular data. This is the first analysis in which representatives of all seven nominal families are included. 141 morphological characters from the external shell and internal anatomy were coded for 131 taxa. The phylogenetic signal of both these character types was explored. Few non-homoplastic synapomorphies for the group were recovered; shell tubules are confirmed as the sole non-homoplastic synapomorphy for the order. Shell characters failed to recover the majority of the higher taxonomic ranks that they were initially used to describe. Little coherent signal was received from the analysis of anatomy alone. Four genes: 18S rRNA, 28S rRNA, H3 and COI were also investigated using direct optimization as implemented in POY (Varón et al., 2008). These data were analyzed individually as well as simultaneously with the morphological data. A Sensitivity Analysis (Wheeler, 1995) of the molecular data was also performed—this explores the effects of parameter costs (i.e. indels and transition/transversion ratios) on the phylogenetic results. The results of these phylogenetic analyses do not reflect the current classification of the group. In this study, the majority of the higher taxonomic groups of Newell (1969) were not recovered, including the two superfamilies Arcoidea and Limopsoidea, as well as five of the families; only the monophyly of the Glycymerididae and Noetiidae is supported. A major taxonomic review of the order is necessary. This analysis is the largest and most comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of the Arcoida to date.


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Reviews: Project Almanac
Funny, but lacking.
The comedy in Project Almanac is genuinely funny, and perfectly reflects what would happen if you gave a bunch of nerdy teenagers a time machine. Cheat at school, go to parties, draw on your past self with a sharpie while they sleep... Its a whole bunch of fun wish fulfillment. Where the movie mainly falls flat is the drama. Time Ripple Effects set off by the protagonists only ever lead to catastrophic consequences. Never do we see a positive outcome that wasnt intended, not even as a punch line.That isnt to say that morals about the consequences of actions are bad, as they could be used particularly effectively with a cast of teenagers. What really makes the whole dramatic plot line pointless is that in the end there is no lesson to be learned: everything is reset to square one, and despite the camera having Ripple Effect-Proof Memory, the protagonists do not. The movie contains other flaws as well. Despite being a bunch of nerds who discovered frickin time travel, characters often fail to think non-linearly. Common sense is ignored to accelerate the plot, which is mainly consumed by them getting the time machine to work in the first place. The amount of male gaze directing the camera is annoying and inexcusable as it is mainly operated by the main characters sister. And like many found footage films, it has no real need to be a found footage film. Overall there are simply better films that fit the genre out there, while supplying the comedy, drama or romance viewers may crave from Project Almanac.
Project Almanac
The movie is definitely worth a watch. High school movies are usually bad, but this one is very different. I love independent films. The sub plot of love is very enthralling and apropos for teenagers.
Not very original, but very well done
I saw the movie today, and while its not very original, it actially works very well and keep consistent, one thing that i liked about the movie is how any caracther do something stupid just without reason and actually have to think about what they are gonna do.


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Jaap H Abbring
() and Gerard J van den Berg
Additional contact information
Jaap H Abbring: Free University Amsterdam
Gerard J van den Berg: Free University Amsterdam, Tinbergen Institute, IFAU
Abstract: Often, a treatment and the outcome of interest are characterized by the moment they occur, and these moments are realizations of stochastic processes with dependent unobserved determinants. We develop a simple and intuitive method for inference on the treatment effect. The method can be implemented as a graphical procedure or as a straightforward parameter test in an auxiliary univariate single-spell duration model. The method exploits information on the timing of the treatment relative to the outcome that is discarded in binary treatment analyses.
Keywords: Duration analysis; hazard rate; selectivity bias; treatment effect; unobserved heterogeneity
43 pages, August 11, 2003
Full text files
Questions (including download problems) about the papers in this series should be directed to Ali Ghooloo ()
Report other problems with accessing this service to Sune Karlsson ().
This page generated on 2018-03-18 13:49:12.


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I hope I don't make me and my husband sick with all of these cookies lately! They are fun to make though. This batch used Milk Chocolate Chips that have Peanut Butter inside of them! I didn't even know they made that! The ones in the back have Oreos under them, notice the extra height? But after two trays of cookies I ran out of Oreos (so the front once don't have any!).
Hope I get to bake something new soon! That would be fun! But cookies are quick, easy, and yummy so I don't mind if that is the only thing I have time to bake! =)


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After two days of meetings and get acquainted sessions, the major investors in Sacramento's attempt to retain its NBA team was introduced to fans and the media.
The group took a brief tour of the Downtown Plaza Mall which would be home to a new sports and entertainment arena before a brief rally was held by Mayor Kevin Johnson.
The primary architect of the investor group Vivek Ranadive used his Silicon Valley software savvy to put together the group.
"You can get money from lots of places but what you want is smart money and I have really really smart people in this group," said Ranadive.
Among the newly revealed investors is former Facebook executive Chris Kelly.
"To Sacramento fans who have expressed themselves through social media and other channels, we're going to try to bring the Kings home for you," Kelly told the crowd that gathered in the shopping mall.
Former Apple executive and software guru Andy Miller also spoke.
"I can't wait until we start talking about – away from staying or going – and start talking about building an arena right here, building a championship organization," said Miller.
The Jacobs brothers, who run San Diego communications giant Qualcomm, are major money players.
"We grew up loving basketball. We're super happy to be part of an NBA franchise and one with a great history. My wife was actually born in Sacramento so this is a hometown team for my family," said Paul Jacobs.
Mark Mastrov, the owner of the 24 Hour Fitness chain also spoke saying he has a connection to Sacramento, where he spent much of his adult life.
Also in attendance was local developer and major investor Mark Friedman and Todd Chapman, President and CEO of JMA Enterprises which owns the mall and is part of the development team. Several smaller local investors were part of the group.
Mayor Kevin Johnson said they've done their best to put together a strong ownership group and he said it's now in the hands of the NBA Board of Governor's to decide whether the Kings stay in Sacramento or are allowed to move to Seattle.


text: At first I was pretty skeptical about having to attend a learning workshop. I honestly didn't know what I would get out of it if anything, but it turns out I learned a lot! Not necessarily about myself, but about how to help others. The idea of being able to identify the best way individual people learn is an effective tool that I can use to not only teach more effectively, but lead people more effectively. It's a great thing to keep in mind while trying to communicate with people, and I'm really glad I went. (:


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The other day I read an interesting article about a man who took 28 years to complete a section hike of the AT, and it encouraged me greatly. I've set a goal of completing my section hike in 10-12 years and I thought, given how many thru-hiking memoirs I've read, my target was a less-than-ambitious slog. Turns out it's not.
The thing I keep forgetting is the concept of "Hike your own hike!" or HYOH. That applies to all aspects of getting it done, including elapsed time. And given that the raging currents and swirling eddies of life often lay to waste the most honest and ambitious of plans, I can see how a section hike could go from my modest 10-12 year plan to a twenty-eight-year odyssey.
My goal is to tackle a 100-ish mile chunk once a year, then do another hundred or so over the course of a few long weekends. I'm hoping to save all of Virginia for weekend hikes, and travel once a year to knock out a century-mile section.
That's the plan. However, I'm sure the 28-year guy had a plan that ended up not dovetailing at all with reality. But he stayed focused and diligent, and I'm sure he's proudly claiming his "2,000-Miler" status from the Appalachian Trail Conservancy:
When I get there, whether it takes my expected 10-12 years or his 28, I'll happily claim mine too…


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Large Family Home, Panoramic Views!
This large home offers two distinct living zones. At one end you have the master bedroom with WIR, the parents bathroom with spa, a study, a storeroom and family room. Then we have a central kitchen with WIP, and dining area, and the northern end with a second family room, 3 bedrooms, family bathroom and laundry leading to the 4 car garage. The home is fully serviced by ducted heating and cooling, and 2 electric hot water units. Located on a 7500m2 block with magnificent views over the township of Bacchus Marsh and easy access for a quiet stroll along the Werribee river at the rear of the property. Ideal for the large or growing family in the prestigious Hopetoun Park Estate book your inspection today. On the market at $529,000....Read more


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This is a temple me and my Szer visited on a day trip in Vietnam. This is a must for every tourist to Ho Chi Minh City.
Well, Cao Dai (a.k.a. Dao Cao Dai or Caodaism) is a syncretist Vietnamese religious movement with a strongly nationalist political character. Cao Dai draws upon ethical precepts from Confucianism, occult practices from Taoism, theories of karma and rebirth from Buddhism, and a hierarchical organization (including a pope) from Roman Catholicism. Its pantheon of saints includes such diverse figures as the Buddha, Confucius, Jesus Christ, Muhammad, Pericles, Julius Caesar, Joan of Arc, Victor Hugo, and Sun Yat-sen. It was founded in Vietnam by Ngo Van Chieu in 1926.
It was a Saturday afternoon. Worshippers going to the templefor prayers.
In 1919 Ngo Van Chieu, an administrator for the French in Indochina, received a communication from the supreme deity during a table-moving séance. Chieu became the prophet of the new religion, which was formally established in 1926. Caodaists believe this ushered in Tam Ky Pho Do or the Third Period of Salvation, a period marked by direct revelation between heaven and earth. Caodaism is the Dai Dao or great religion of this period.
A Cao Dai army was established in 1943 during the Japanese occupation of Indochina. After the war the Cao Dai was an effective force in national politics; it first supported, then opposed, Premier Ngo Dinh Diem. In 1955–56 Diem disbanded the Cao Dai army and forced the sect's pope, Pham Cong Tac, into exile.
After the communist takeover in 1975, Cao Dai was reportedly repressed by the government. Centers of worship were established in Vietnamese refugee communities abroad, however, and by the early 1990s Cao Dai was reported to have some two million adherents in Vietnam, Cambodia, France, and the United States.
Today, Cao Dai adherents may number as high as 6 million, at least according to Cao Dai sources. 2 The headquarters of Cao Dai are at Tay Ninh, near Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon).
In its beliefs, Cao Dai draws upon ethical precepts from Confucianism and theories of karma and rebirth from Buddhism, with some influence from Catholicism. It is a very syncretistic faith, and proudly so. According to one Cao Dai follower and author:
"That's the reason God has founded Cao Dai, in order to bring harmony to different religions. And the principle of Cao Dai is that religions are not different and if we take enough time to study deep –deeply enough in each religion, we would see that they have one same principal, if not identical principal."
The noble effort of CaoDai is to unite all of humanity through a common vision of the Supreme Being, whatever our minor differences, in order to promote peace and understanding throughout the world. CaoDai does not seek to create a gray world, where all religions are exactly the same, only to create a more tolerant world, where all can see each other as sisters and brothers from a common divine source reaching out to a common divine destiny realizing peace within and without.
The supreme being is Cao Dai ("High Tower"), a Taoist epithet for the supreme god. Cao Dai is regarded as the same supreme being honored in all major world religions, but the term Cao Dai avoids gender, personality or other earthly attributes. God is represented as the Divine Eye, an eye in a triangle, which appears on the facades of the sect's temples and in followers' homes. It is a left eye, because God is Yang, and Yang is the left side.
Cao Dai's saints include such diverse figures as the Buddha, Confucius, Jesus Christ, Muhammad, Pericles, Julius Caesar, Joan of Arc, Victor Hugo, and Sun Yat-sen. These are honored at Cao Dai temples, along with ancestors.
In Cao Dai, the purpose of life is peace within each individual and harmony in the world. Cao Dai followers also seek to gain religious merit and avoid bad karma.
Cao Dai beliefs about the afterlife are derived from Buddhism. Those who have gathered too much bad karma during their lifetime will be reincarnated in negative circumstances, which may include rebirth on a darker, colder planet than this one. Good karma leads to rebirth to a better life on earth.
Salvation is freedom from rebirth and the attainment of nirvana or heaven. "The ultimate goal of CaoDaists is to be reunified with The All That Is, to return home."
Cao Dai draws upon occult practices from Taoism and includes communication with the dead in séances. This has been outlawed by the Vietnamese government, but Cao Dai leaders also say that it is no longer necessary.
"We don't see the necessity to have séance any more because we have direct communication from the Supreme Being to people by returning inside to our heart to see the Supreme Being in there."
Cao Dai encourages obedience to the three duties (between king and citizen, father and child, husband and wife), and five virtues (humanity, obligation, civility, knowledge, reliability) of Confucianism.
Cao Dai's organization is patterned after that of Roman Catholicism, with nine levels of hierarchy including a pope, cardinals, and archbishops.
Worship involves group prayer in the temple, elaborate rituals and festivals.
Similar to the division in Theravada Buddhism between lay Buddhists and monks, Cao Dai offers two ways of practice its adherents. 6 Esoterism focuses on meditation, with the goal "to progressively eradicate the inferior self and develop the divine element within the self, reaching toward oneness with the Supreme Being." These are priests of Cao Dai, which can be men and women. Exoterism is the form available to laypersons living a normal family life. These are expected to:
- cultivate the Confucian duties and virtues (see above)
- practice good and avoid evil
- observe five Precepts: do not kill, do not steal, do not commit adultery, do not get drunk, do not sin by word.
practice vegetarianism at least ten days per month, to purify one's body and spirit and to avoiding killing living beings
- participate in worship to the Supreme Being through four daily ceremonies, at 6:00 a.m., noon, 6:00 p.m., and midnight, with at least one ceremony per day at home
Asked a Vietnamese to take a picture for us and this is what he took. Despite the bright LCD screen where you can see what you'll get, he opted for the viewfinder and clicked the shutter button. The funny part is that before the shutter and flash open, he already started to pass the camera back to me and at the same time the flash just "chik chak" and this is the result. Arrrgghhh.
My lovely gf, Szer.
Coming next on my installment of my Ho Chi Minh trip is Cu Chi Tunnel. Stay tuned.
Bibliography: http://www.religionfacts.com/a-z-religion-index/cao_dai.htm


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SEPTEMBER 16: Muhammad's new deal with the Wolves includes a second-year player option, tweets Keith Smith of RealGM.com. That option will be worth the minimum salary, so it's likely to be declined, but it gives Muhammad some insurance in the event of a major injury or a poor showing in 2017/18.
Muhammad also got a 15% trade kicker on his contract, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN.
SEPTEMBER 15: The Timberwolves have issued a press release formally announcing that Muhammad's deal has been finalized.
SEPTEMBER 12: Veteran free agent Shabazz Muhammad is nearing a deal that will keep him in Minnesota, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. Muhammad will receive a veterans minimum salary of $1.6MM, and his Bird rights will remain in place for a potentially longer contract next summer (Twitter link).
The 24-year-old swingman has spent his first four NBA seasons with the Timberwolves. He entered the offseason as a restricted free agent, but became unrestricted when the Wolves renounced his rights to free up cap room.
Muhammad remained a free agent for so long because he has been unwilling to accept a minimum deal, but that's all Minnesota has left to offer. The Wolves spent big on free agents this summer, signing Taj Gibson and Jeff Teague and using their mid-level exception to acquire Jamal Crawford. Several teams reached out to Muhammad early in free agency, with the Hawks, Nets, Bucks and Knicks among the suitors.
Muhammad has developed into a reliable reserve for Minnesota over the past two seasons. He appeared in 78 games last year, starting just one, and averaged 9.9 points per night.
According to Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press (Twitter link), Muhammad turned down a higher offer from another team to return to the Wolves — that rival suitor may have been the Lakers, who were linked to the free agent swingman and have their full room exception available. Additionally, Muhammad's new deal will give him the ability to veto trades during the 2017/18 season.


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A Metal detector security gate erected outside the central hall of the state legislature Monday mal functioned immediately after the Governor NN Vohra left the state legislature complex.
The minor incident,inside the well fortified civil secretariat complex has once again exposed the security drill followed ahead of the start of the Budget session.
According to official sources, minutes after the departure of the Governor from the civil secretariat the security personnel called technicians to check the metel detector gate as they had detected it was not functioning properly.
While the legislators and senior ministers along with media personnel moved through the security gate before the start of the joint address of the Governor the security personnel manning the high security gate detected that the system was mal functioning and needed immediate repair.
The technician called on the spot also struggled to detect the fault and after he succeeded in detecting the fault he rectified the same in time. The security personnel also heaved a sigh of relief after the fault was rectified.


text:
United Electric Controls provides pressure, differential pressure, and temperature transmitters, switches, temperature sensors, and controls for critical safety, alarm and shutdown functions demanded by the heavy process industries.
With over 80 years of knowledge designed into our application specific products, manufactured with proven processes under the watchful eyes of 3rd party auditors, customers in the Chemical & Petrochemical, Oil & Gas, Power, Water & Wastewater, and the original equipment manufacturers (OEM) that serve them are assured out-of-the box performance.
Our reputation for dependable, reliable products is a result of innovative design, superior manufacturing techniques, and a corporate focus on uncompromising quality.
© 2018 United Electric Controls.
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LONDON, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- Xue Chen and Zhang Xi of China advanced into the knockout stage of the women's beach volleyball by beating Greek pair Vasiliki Arvaniti/MariaTsiartsiani 2-0 in the London Olympic Games on Wednesday.
The bronze medallists of Beijing Olympics Xue/Zhang beat the Greek women 21-17, 21-16 in their final preliminary match of Pool B in front of nearly 15,000 spectators at the Horse Guard Parade, center London.
With the victory, Xue and Zhang extended their winning trend to six-to-nil against Arvaniti and Tsiartsiani from 2010.
Losing the opener of the tournament, Xue and Zhang came back strongly to book a top 16 berth with a 2-1 win-loss record during the group stage.