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July 23rd, 2011
21 Tammuz, 5771
This week's edition of Sparks of Torah is dedicated by Mark Brooks and Terry Samuels in memory of Mark Levy's mother Yocheved Levy, ob"m, who passed away two weeks ago. May her neshama have an aliyah in Heaven.
The Truth, the Whole Truth and Nothing But the Truth
By Rabbi Raphael Leban
Sarah and Rebecca were playing together quite nicely on the family room floor. So nicely, in fact, that Sarah, who was currently in the challenging process of "potty training," couldn't quite tear herself from playing when 'the time' came. When her mother returned, she found Sarah's pants wet.
"Did you wet your pants, dear?" her mother asked her.
Sarah looked around, paused, and responded a little too confidently.
"I didn't do it. Rebecca did it."
What do you expect from a two-year-old? The truth?
If I asked you what's the most common verse in the Five Books of Moses, you shouldn't have to think too long. "And God spoke to Moshe, to say." Hardly a parsha goes by without a few of them.
And it's not surprising. God taught Moshe the Torah, mitzvah by mitzvah, so that he should teach it to the Jewish People. Almost every mitzvah is introduced that way. Here's what God said to Moshe to say to us.
This week's parsha stands out in stark contrast. As Parshas Matos begins, the first mitzvah the parsha teaches us starts out as follows:
And Moshe spoke to the heads of the tribes of Israel, saying, 'This is the thing which God has commanded.'
Why the change? Why should this mitzvah be introduced initially by Moshe as God's command, and not recorded first as a communication from God to Moshe?
The beginning of this week's parsha teaches us the laws of making vows, the obligation to fulfill what one has committed oneself explicitly to do. About someone who has undertaken to do something, it says "lo yacheil devaro," literally 'he should not profane his words.' Not keeping your word is called 'profaning' your word – profane being the ultimate opposite of holiness.
Why should this mitzvah be introduced by Moshe and not by God?
Answered Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, the value of one's word is so great and the imperative not to violate it so important, that it should be innately understood. A human being should know not to break their word. It's almost as if Moshe himself knew to inculcate the principle in the Jewish People even before God commanded him to do so.
Think about it. Humans are the only creatures in the universe given the gift of speech. (We're not talking about bird chirps and dolphin squeaks. Anyone who doesn't recognize the difference between animal communication and human language has never read Tehillim (Psalms).)
With a word, you can bring a smile to a tearful face. With a promise, you can allay the worst of fears. And with a lie, you can destroy the deepest bond of trust.
The potential for sanctity inherent in speech and the obligation not to desecrate our speech should be readily apparent to all of us. Even before the Torah commands us to uphold its sanctity.
Almost even to a child of two.
How Different is Different?
By Rabbi Dovid Nussbaum
In the battle against Midianites, the Jewish nation took many spoils of war. Amongst the booty were utensils that were usable for food preparation. The Torah explains what to do when one acquires cooking utensils that were used by non-Jews. The way they were used by their previous owners determines the kashering process necessary to allow us to use them. These processes remove the non-kosher food absorbed into the vessels thereby rendering them acceptable for our use.
Sometimes when one purchases such a utensil from non-Jewish ownership, the utensil has never been used. The process of purging it from absorbed foods is therefore not necessary. However, there is an additional requirement of tevilah – immersing the utensil in a mikvah, a specially prepared pool of rain water – which is also obligatory before using the utensil. The explanation of this mitzvah is that there is a certain state of impurity to the utensil by virtue of its prior owner which is fixed by immersion in the mikvah. Only then can that utensil be used in a kosher kitchen.
What is the value and power of a mikvah? Does it alter the molecular structure of the fork or this is just a symbolic gesture that impresses upon us the need to distance ourselves from the non-Jewish world that surrounds us?
We must first examine the nature of the mikvah and what it is all about. What can ordinary rain water accomplish? Besides conferring purity to a new vessel, a mikvah is used in all cases of impurity contracted by a person or a utensil. When the person or the utensil is submerged in the mikvah, the impurity is eliminated. How does this happen?
The procedure by which a mikvah is constructed is to collect rain water with materials that are incapable of becoming impure. In essence, this creates an environment that is distinct and separate from this world's infectious corruption. When an item that is defiled is submerged into that realm of purity, it is as if that affected item is recreated and transformed into a new object distinct from its predecessor. Any 'imperfection' that was present in the former item is eliminated in the newly created item. In this same manner, the contamination present even in an unused object owned by a non-Jew is removed and the item made ready for Jewish use.
This concept is additionally relevant to us in that we are infused with impure thoughts and inappropriate actions which adversely affect us and the world around us. We must immerse ourselves in the rich legacy that awaits us when we delve into the insights and wisdom of the Torah. Its wellsprings are refreshing and inspiring and we need only expose our minds to its eternal truths and deeper realities.
Byte for Shabbos
The Torah refers to the daily sacrifice that was brought at Mt. Sinai. It was also offered every day, 365 days a year, for hundreds of years after that, wherever the Tabernacle traveled and later in Jerusalem. Why does the Torah specifically refer to it in association with Mt. Sinai? All prophecies that we received during the era of the prophets emanated from Mt. Sinai. All the Torah that was ever studied and will ever be studied also originates from Mt. Sinai. Everything that we do stems from our encounter with G-d at Mt. Sinai.


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The question of how long China's "dynamic zero-Covid" policy will last has thrown Chinese netizens into a state of panic.
Recently, a statement claiming that officials will maintain the country's dynamic zero-Covid policy as a long-term basic national policy has made rounds on Chinese social media. Chinese netizens became alarmed when some local media and healthcare industry we-media outlets, including local health commissions and disease control and prevention centres, reposted the statement.
To dispel the rumours, on 14 September, Fengwen (风闻), a website managed by leftist online media Guancha Syndicate (观察者网) published an article which was reposted by state media such as Xinhua News Agency, China News Service and China Daily. The article refuted the statement and criticised the "malicious" rumour-mongers spreading the misinformation.
Not a first to cause panic
What happens when China's dynamic zero-Covid policy is turned into a "basic national policy"? Why must state media collectively dispel the rumour?
If the dynamic zero-Covid policy becomes a basic national policy, it is expected to be in place for at least a few decades.
Basic national policies refer to the country's major policies that are indisputable and implemented over a long period of time. For example, reform and opening up, as well as rejuvenating the nation by relying on science and education, are basic national policies that China has adhered to for decades. If the dynamic zero-Covid policy becomes a basic national policy, it is expected to be in place for at least a few decades.
The misunderstanding reminds me of another erroneous report made in June this year when Beijing Daily quoted Beijing party secretary Cai Qi's statement at the Beijing party congress, saying that the capital would resolutely and unremittingly commit itself to the normalising of pandemic prevention controls over "the next five years". The remark raised concerns about a possible long-term implementation of the zero-Covid policy in Beijing, sparking uproar on the Chinese internet.
Beijing Daily's chief Zhao Jingyun clarified that the words "the next five years" were not in the party congress report and were mistakenly included by a reporter.
At a time when people are already under immense pressure and on the verge of breaking down, one can only imagine the repercussions of this rumour.
Censored discussion on future of pandemic
The rumour that China's dynamic zero-Covid policy would become a basic national policy is more serious than the erroneous report made in June — the former implies that the country's strict anti-Covid policy would not be relaxed and would extend far beyond "the next five years".
The Covid-19 pandemic has already dealt a big blow to China's economy and people's livelihoods, convenience, and employment over the past two years. At a time when people are already under immense pressure and on the verge of breaking down, one can only imagine the repercussions of this rumour.
By jumping in to put out the fire, Chinese media platforms are sending the message that the dynamic zero-Covid policy is an anti-Covid measure taken under the unique circumstances of a pandemic; it is neither a long-term national policy nor an unchanging major policy direction. This allows some manoeuvring space for China to adjust its anti-epidemic measures in the future.
Then would this mean that the pandemic policy can be relaxed? It may not be as straightforward.
And even as the Chinese media was quelling rumours about the basic national policy, at a regular press briefing on 14 September, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated that the end of the pandemic "is in sight".
"... now, the Chinese are the only ones in the world still seriously fighting the virus..." — Chinese netizen
The news was circulated on Chinese social media the following day, and figures from the data platform Enlightent show that "WHO says pandemic end in sight" became a trending topic on Weibo on the morning of 15 September, with over 70,000 searches.
However, by evening, the search term was blocked on Weibo. When I searched on 16 September, the links for this term were disabled — the only searchable term related to the news was "WHO calls on countries to continue fighting the pandemic".
Tedros's comment drew polarised reactions online. Optimistic netizens felt a glimmer of light; others took the opportunity to express dissatisfaction with China's pandemic policy, sarcastically commenting that Tedros was speaking directly to China and that "now, the Chinese are the only ones in the world still seriously fighting the virus". And with the censorship of the WHO news on Weibo, Chinese netizens surmised, "Now we know the government's real intentions."
... the authorities' focus is not on paving the way for policy adjustment, but on preventing the issue from becoming a hot topic during the session.
New narrative on pandemic
Notably, Tedros's comments were mostly spread on we-media. Even after the term was blocked on Weibo, on 16 September several we-media continued to share this news, with most headlines still about the end being in sight or the pandemic ending soon, which indirectly reflects social trends and the people's longing for an end to the strict pandemic measures. On the other hand, the search term being censored on Weibo shows that the authorities are wary about the people's call to relax the pandemic policy.
With a month to go before the Chinese Communist Party's 20th Party Congress, whether quelling rumours or censoring searches, the authorities' focus is not on paving the way for policy adjustment, but on preventing the issue from becoming a hot topic during the session.
Right now, all eyes are on whether the 20th Party Congress will put forth a new narrative on the pandemic and create an opening for China to ease its pandemic policy. Most analyses reveal that the earliest China might do so is next spring. Whether this hope will be fulfilled amid the authorities' unclear signals, one can only say that the end is in sight for now, but we still need to keep fighting the pandemic.
Related: China's exorbitant cost of zero-Covid | Singapore health experts: China the best positioned country to aim for zero-Covid | Japanese researcher: China's zero-Covid policy and prospects for the Chinese economy | Lessons from Xi'an: Why there is no one-size-fits-all solution to Covid-19

subset: commoncrawl


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Simple tips to invest a date that is romantic Turkey
When we discuss Turkey, there may a lot of activities to do and places to go to. In the event your fan is Turkish, or perhaps you want to check out Turkey you can do in its most famous city, Istanbul with him, here come lists of things. Let's check them down!
1. Spend the date by the water
Just what is the most thing that is romantic the planet apart from viewing the sun's rays establishing along with your fan? (mehr …)


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Make your own DIY scrim/silk frame for huge diffused lighting modifier
Aug 20, 2020
Jake Hicks
Make your own DIY scrim/silk frame for huge diffused lighting modifier
So before the film school nerds explode, let me just explain what a 'scrim' actually is and what the term colloquially means to us photographers.
Technically scrims are large sheets of black woven fabric that reduce the brightness of a light when placed in front of them (these are usually constant HMI lights that don't have individual brightness adjusters).
There are alternative large sheets of fabric that are placed in front of lights called 'silks' and these are actually white in colour. When 'silks' are placed in front of the lights, they diffuse the light and spread it over a far wider area resulting in very soft lighting. You could consider that a softbox is actually just a small silk as it has a large sheet of diffusion material in front of the light that softens it as it passes through it.
So what's the confusion between silks and scrims?
Like I said, colloquially we photographers tend to use the term 'scrim' when referring to large sheets of diffusion. Theatres actually use the same wording for similar semitransparent sheets of white fabric and it may be where the confusion comes from. But rightly or wrongly, if you ask for a scrim on a photoshoot, someone is gonna grab you a large sheet of diffusion.
But regardless of whether you call your huge sheets of light diffusing fabric scrims or silks, let's get on with article.
What does a scrim actually do?
Like I said, think of these scrims as HUGE softboxes. You place your light on one side of them and when you shine that light through them, they essentially enlarge the relative size of the light source and as a result you get extremely soft light.
Take a look at my quick example below. The top row of images is a strobe with an open reflector dish attached. The bottom row has that same open reflector dish, only this time I've placed the white scrim (it's actually the diffusion that sits inside those 5-in-1 reflectors) and you can see it in the shot on the bottom left. See how the shadows and contrast of light changes dramatically between the two setups? This is what placing a simple large sheet of diffusion material in front of your light can do to your image.
Why should I use a scrim?
This is personal preference of course, but many people like the extremely soft lighting effect a huge scrim provides. This type of lighting is also used a lot in cinema and TV as the resulting light bathes an entire scene or room in a soft light that can cover the subject as well as large areas of the set at the same time. This lighting effect looks far more natural to us when viewed on screen compared to strong directional lighting that can cause harsh highlights and deep shadows.
Below, I found a great example of a scrim being used in sunlight to diffuse the incredibly harsh sunlight. In the image we see photographer Terry White using the Westcott Scrim Jim (a professional solution to scrims) to entirely cover the model and thereby softening the light of his entire frame. I'm sure you can imagine how harsh the sunlight would be in this shot without it.
What will I use as my scrim?
Remember, we're actually more concerned with making the frame for our scrim in this article. The scrim is actually the fabric that goes on the frame and you can practically use any white fabric you want as a scrim. Sure, you need to be mindful that the fabric is white and slightly translucent, but I've used bedsheets and even old curtains on locations as makeshift scrims in the past.
For this article, I bought some professional diffusion fabric and it's actually far cheaper than you might expect. Here's what I purchased below…
Use whatever fabric you like, but just be mindful of the size you purchase in relation to the frame you're making.
Here is an Amazon affiliate link to everything I purchased for this frame and the diffusion material is included in there too.
Mistakes were made…
It's worth bearing in mind that there's already scores of film students who've made their own scrim frames. Sadly, I didn't look at those examples and I made all my own mistakes which hopefully means you won't have to.
Don't believe I made mistakes? Take a look at the image included here…
I've already made this damn article twice as the first time I made the frame I was dumb enough to make it out of plastic pipe!!!
….it didn't go well and the damn thing fell apart almost instantly!!!
So yeah, don't do that. But what should you make your frame out of? In the end, I decided to make my frame from 15mm copper piping. Yes you can make it from other piping and sizes, but I wanted to use quick release connectors so I could easily assemble and reassemble my frame multiple times. More on those connects later, but that's ultimately why I went with the 15mm copper pipe.
How big shall I make it?
This question is highly dependant on a couple of things. Firstly, how big is the space you're planning on using it in? And how many of these panels do you want to make?
I only ended up making this scrim modifier as I was bored being stuck indoors during the great apocalypse of 2020. As a result, I made mine with the limits of my home ceiling in mind and I recommend you do the same. Secondly, I wanted to make two panels or frames, so that they could be connected together and then stand unaided like an open book would do.
Here are the measurements I used…
Each frame panel requires:
- 3x 150cm sections
- 4 x 100cm sections
Multiply that by 2 for both panels and I need 17 metres of copper pipe.
Copper pipe is pretty easy to purchase and you can pick it up from many DIY stores…. although they tend to be a lot more expensive than buying it from specialists like plumbers. 18m of copper pipe cost me less than £40.
How shall I hold all the pipes together?
Do you remember me mentioning that I screwed up and bought all this in plastic pipe first? Well as a result of that wasted order, I did actually purchase a whole bunch of plastic connectors. I bought these specific connectors as they are designed to be easy to use and simply connect the pipes to them via screwing them up by hand and you're done. I liked this option as it also means I could unscrew them and disassemble my frame and reassemble it as often I liked.
These plastic connectors are called John Guest Speedfit connectors and are definitely worth a look if you're after a simple way to connect it all together.
How many connectors will I need?
For my frames I decided to brace the longer side sections with a central piece too (I highly recommend doing the same). As a result I not only needed 4x corner sections, but 2x T-joint connectors too. Here's the outline…
Do I need anything else?
There are a couple of extra things you can pick up to complete the design and they will make your life easier too.
Copper pipe cutter
There is a bunch of ways to cut copper pipe and you could even use a hacksaw. But I will say that this little tool is ingenious, incredibly quick and easy to use, but more importantly, it actually leaves the ends of your pipes curled in slightly. This not only makes it safer with no sharp edges, but the pipes are now far easier to use with the Speedfit connectors. I highly recommend you use this cutter or one similar.
This one is up to you, but they cost next to nothing so I recommend getting it. All it does is sand down the edges of your pipe where you cut it via metal bristles. You are cutting metal after all so any stray edges and splinters of metal will hurt if you catch yourself on them. Simply use this tool (that is specific to the size pipe you have) on every cut section you make and you're done.
Frame Connectors
Granted, frame connectors isn't the name of these, but it's what I use them for. Clip these to one edge of one frame and then clip the other side of this to the other frame and you now have yourself an open book style scrim that will stand on its own.
Frame clips
These little individual 15mm clips are super cheap and it's what we'll be using to actually clip our diffusion fabric to our frame. Like I said, they're really cheap so just buy a bunch of them to hold your diffusion fabric in place.
Okay so we have all our parts, now it's time to put it all together…
Measure and Cut
First things first, we want to lay out our pipes and measure them into the sections you need cutting.
Next you'll simply need to cut them and if you're using that cutting tool I recommended, a few twists around the pipe with it and you're done.
Deburr and Sand
Next up we just want to take off any stray splinters or rough and sharp edges. Use that deburring tool on all the ends to ensure they're free of rough edges. Then I just used the other end of that tool to clean up the ends on the outside too.
Lastly, and this is a purely cosmetic addition, but I just took a sheet of sandpaper and rubbed the whole pipe down to take the shine off. Like I said, this entirely optional and copper is very soft so it only takes a few seconds to rub each pipe down.
With all our separate pipes cut and laid out, it's now time to connect everything together.
If you've chosen the JG Speedfit connectors like I have, then here's a few important things to remember when assembling and dissembling your frame with them.
Important: To insert the pipe into the connector, it needs to be fully unscrewed. You should notice that if this is the case then the collar at the base of the connector is snug against it. Once the pipe is inserted and the collar tightened, the collar should now be separated from the main connector housing.
The reason I mention this, is because when it comes to decouple these, sometimes the collar remains separated and the pipe will not come out. If that is the case, make sure you push that collar back into place if needed and the pipe can be removed with ease.
You are pretty much done, but there was one last thing that I did for convenience and that was to mark up the different pipe lengths with electrical tape. Two white strips for the side sections and one white strip for the horizontals. This just makes life that much easier when pulling 14 similar looking copper pipes out of a bag!
Are we done yet?
Yes we are finally all done and ready to shoot. Let's take a quick look at the final frame constructed and with the diffusion in place.
What can I do with my scrim now?
So big congratulations are in order, you've finally finished your own DIY scrim frame. But what now? What can we use this jumbo diffusion panel for? Well this article is already big enough so I'll leave it here this week, but next week I'll share an article on how I shot the images below with my scrim….
Featured model: Ryo Love
In the above shots you should be able to see some beautifully soft light as well as some harder light in there too. Next week I'll explain how this was setup and shot because with such an incredibly soft light source thanks to this jumbo scrim, we can also seamlessly add hard light into the shot as well to create some very unique looks.
PLUS! This is actually shot in my living room! I made the DIY scrim during lockdown and I shot this before we reopened the studio, so you can even create unbelievably soft light like this in small spaces like a home studio too!
I'll speak to you all again next week. Until then, stay safe.
For reference, here's that link to all the products you need on Amazon.
Thank You
Thanks for checking out this article and spending a little bit of your day with me here. I hope you found it useful and that you left here with a little more knowledge than when you arrived. If you did, then this was worth it. As always, if you have any questions or comments about the scrim, then by all means fire-away in the comments below and I'll do my best to answer what I can. Thanks again and I'll see you in the next one.
Don't forget to sign up for my newsletter to be sent all of these photo tips and techniques articles every month in case you miss one.
About the Author
Jake Hicks is an editorial and fashion photographer who specializes in keeping the skill in the camera, not just on the screen. Jake currently has a workshop available on colour and exposure. For more of his work and tutorials, check out his website. Don't forget to like his Facebook page and follow him on Instagram, too.
You can also sign up to the Jake Hicks Photography newsletter to receive Jake's free Top Ten Studio Lighting Tips and Techniques PDF, and be sure to download his brand new, free 50 page studio lighting book. This article was also published here and shared with permission.
We love it when our readers get in touch with us to share their stories. This article was contributed to DIYP by a member of our community. If you would like to contribute an article, please contact us here.
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Ciara Opens Up About Finding True Love & Going Through Pregnancy In Lockdown
By the time a woman is pregnant with her third child, she can normally expect to know what she's in for – the doctors' appointments, the helter-skelter hormones, the steady stream of visitors immediately before and after the birth. But we are not living in normal times, and once-predictable milestones of pregnancy and birth have been thrown into flux, along with countless other elements of everyday life that we previously took for granted.
To be pregnant in the era of coronavirus, explains Ciara when we chat on Zoom six weeks into lockdown, is to live with a whole new set of anxieties. "You don't hear a lot about us expectant mothers during this time," she says in her soothing Southern lilt. She's sitting in the bedroom of the palatial Californian home where she's isolating with her husband and two children, sun streaming through the French windows behind her. "Can babies get Covid-19 through the uterus? It's a big mystery, and we're some of the most vulnerable beings. Our immune systems are compromised because we can't take medicine if we get sick in case it affects the baby. If I get ill, I have to let it pass through my body."
She politely declines to say when she's due – "I don't like to put it out there in public. I just pray I make it to that magic 38-week mark" – but judging by the bump bursting beneath her Nike T-shirt, she can't have many weeks to go. Her hair is curly and pulled back into a loose ponytail; her face without a trace of make-up. It's strangely reassuring to see a Grammy Award-winning global superstar known for her daring, flawless fashion sense in low-key quarantine attire. "I've been living in my husband's sweatpants," she laughs, pulling at her waistband. "I've outgrown a lot of my clothes so I've resorted to going into Russ's closet every day; thank God he has those XL sizes."
For someone who is so phenomenally successful (she's sold more than 23 million albums, has more than 25 million Instagram followers and now owns her own record label), Ciara, 34, is open, warm and just plain good fun. A self-described "goofy girl", one minute she's shrieking with laughter and throwing her arms about for emphasis, the next she's serene, thoughtful and seemingly down to earth. She attributes this to a childhood that "really humanised" her. Her father was in the military, meaning that the family never stayed in one place for long. An only child, she was born in Texas but also lived in Germany, Utah, Arizona, New York and California before her 14th birthday. "We didn't have a lot and I'll never forget that," she says firmly. "I know that my lifestyle now isn't normal, so I go back in my mind to the experience that I had with my parents."
She signed her first record deal at 16, and three years later, her debut album, Goodies, went triple platinum. The title track, with its crunk beat, breathy vocals and lyrics celebrating female sexual empowerment, stayed at number one in the Billboard Hot 100 for seven weeks, establishing Ciara as R&B royalty. Although reviews – and sales – of her six subsequent albums have been mixed, she has, over the years, created a string of thumpingly catchy anthems ("1, 2 Step", "Love Sex Magic", "Body Party", "Thinkin Bout You", "Level Up"), all accompanied by high-octane videos showcasing the mesmerisingly athletic choreography for which she has become renowned. "I know there's nothing I can't get through," she says calmly. "I've had some very hard days, but they've always prepared me for what is to come."
The following year, she married Russell Wilson, a celebrated NFL quarterback. The pair divide their time between Seattle – where Wilson's team is based – and California, and they have a daughter, Sienna, three, as well as their unborn baby, a boy. Wilson, 31, is a devoted father and step-father (Ciara's face scrunches up with joy whenever she talks about him), but social distancing restrictions have prevented him from playing as active a role as he would like in this latest pregnancy. For the most recent ultrasound, Wilson drove his wife to the clinic and then waited in the car. "I wanted to be really cautious," she says. "I had a little ziplock bag of gloves for the appointment and then I had my mask. When I went from one room to the other, I switched to a new pair of gloves. When the image of the baby came on the screen, I FaceTimed Russ in the car so that he could see. We women carry the baby, but for my husband, being in the room and listening to the heartbeat in real time is one of his ways of connecting. For him not to be part of that was a symbol of this time that we're living through."
However tricky Ciara has found these past few weeks, she is not one to dwell. On the rare occasions that her comments verge on the melancholy, she quickly checks herself and delivers a motivational sound bite to re-route the conversation: "I always ask, 'How do I make the best of this moment?' That's always been my attitude when you go through adversity." While her pregnancies have happily always been very easy – "it's why I keep getting pregnant!" – the deliveries are a different story. "My body goes through this process where it shakes and I have to throw up," she says, clenching her fists at the memory. "It's a traumatic thing, but then I see the baby and forget all about it."
If the world weren't on pause, she'd be using these final weeks before the birth to rest up and psychologically prepare. Instead, she finds herself sitting through hours of Zoom lessons with her son. "I'm definitely having to be more active on the mommy front," she says, laughing wearily. "That break in the day when you send your kids to school is a luxury. We're trying all kinds of stuff to keep them both occupied. The other day I got in the car with Sienna and drove her past some horses for a change of scenery."
We speak the day after Sienna's third birthday, which, according to Instagram, was celebrated with a Frozen-themed family party so extravagant it could have been a Disneyland installation. Given the normality of her own upbringing, does she ever worry about her children losing touch with reality? "The simplest things in a child's life can have the biggest impact on who they become, and we take a lot of pride in that," she replies. "Future has a chore checklist and has been sweeping up around the house. Russ is all about structure – for boys especially."
"The male presence is very important for both boys and girls," she says, stroking her bump. "Your son gets to see how his dad treats a woman, and your daughter gets to see how you are loved. I'm a daddy's girl, and my dad's love is what saved me in situations in my life when I could have taken a left turn." She pauses, reflecting on the times she chose to leave past relationships. "I would think, 'My dad wouldn't love like this.' I think about my dad's love, and that's how my husband loves me."
We circle back to the pandemic and the fact that Ciara's 2018 hit "Level Up" has become the soundtrack to a viral dance challenge performed on social media by, among others, teams of healthcare workers looking for a bit of light relief between shifts. "Oh, my God," she exclaims, her hand on her chest, "watching them has brought me so much joy. I'm hormonal so I just cry. I always wanted it to be an uplifting song, so to see doctors and nurses having a moment of joy in the midst of the storm is so beautiful." I ask what her message would be to other pregnant women navigating these uncertain times, and she answers without a beat: "Hang in there. God never gives you more than you can bear." She smiles, "If there is one thing I know, it's that the strength of a woman is very real."


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This is where the magic happens! With all the collected data and experience we brainstorm with absolutely anyone, about absolutely anything! Creating something pleasant and surprising is our fuel.
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Ensuring maximum result with respect to client's expectation to reach the utmost satisfaction.


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Lack of sexual desire can be caused by several different factors. Physical health problems, mental health problems, and substance abuse are some of the most common reasons people lack sexual sexual desire. Lack of sexual desire can be very damaging to a marriage so it is important to explore what the causes may be.
Some physical health issues that decrease a person's sexual desire include hormonal problems and many chronic illnesses. Sometimes the side effects of medications can decrease a person's libido. Many anti-depressants have this side effect. Sleep problems can also impact a person's overall functioning, including sexual desire. Fatigue is another barrier to a healthy sex life.
Mental health problems can include factors such as depression. Depression causes people to lose interest in many things, including sexual activity. Anxiety can also interfere with sexual desire. Chronic stress and feeling overwhelmed with life can be another factor. When people are feeling like they have too much to do, too little time, or not enough money, sex can move to a lower spot on the priority list.
Substance abuse issues also impact sexual desire. Chronic and excessive use of alcohol can make it impossible for people to maintain sexual desire. Depending on the substance, some of them impact sexual desire in the short-term while others impact it in the long term.
Lack of sexual desire can be related to relationship problems as well. If you are angry and feel resentful toward your partner, sex may be one of the last things you want to do. However, lack of sexual contact is likely to cause more damage to the relationship.
If you are experiencing a lack of sexual desire it is important to see your doctor for a complete physical. It can be a warning sign that your body's chemistry or major systems is having some problems. It may be an easy fix. If you receive a clean bill of health, consider therapy.
Therapy can help determine if there are any underlying mental or emotional issues impacting your sexual desire. Couples therapy can also be helpful to assist both partners in dealing with sexual issues. It is important not to wait, as lack of sexual contact can negatively impact your relationship in the long-term.


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A merger between state-owned lenders DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale and Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen Girozentrale is seen as an important step toward greater consolidation in the German public bank sector but doubts about the success of the deal are growing, Handelsblatt reported.
DekaBank, which handles the securities trading and asset management business of the savings banks sector, and Helaba, the central institution for the savings banks in the states of Hesse and Thuringia, initiated talks on a potential tie-up earlier in January. However, some of the owners of DekaBank are skeptical about the deal, the newspaper said, citing two sources familiar with the matter. Other people involved in the process also see the transaction as rather unlikely given the misgivings of some of DekaBank's owners, the newspaper said.
Another key barrier for a successful merger is its complexity. While DekaBank is owned entirely by savings banks associations in various German states, the states of Hesse and Thuringia are both shareholders of Helaba, with stakes of 8.1% and 4.05%, respectively.
In case of a merger between the two institutions, the future role, especially of the state of Hesse, needs to be determined, according to the Jan. 16 report. Currently, the two banks are talking about options for a closer cooperation, the German savings banks association DSGV told Handelsblatt.
The DSGV and chiefly the association's president, Helmut Schleweis, has been pushing for the merger as he sees it as a first step toward merging all remaining central institutions for the savings banks into one large bank, similar to the merger of all central cooperative bank institutions into the DZ Bank AG group.
Having one central bank for all savings banks will help improve efficiency and strengthen the whole sector, according to Schleweis. He has been advocating for a mega-state bank in Germany in the wake of the privatization of Hamburg Commercial Bank AG, formerly HSH Nordbank, and the difficult recapitalization process of Norddeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale, dubbed NordLB.
Schleweis was initially calling for a merger between NordLB and one of the other central institutions, so-called landesbanken, such as Helaba or Landesbank Baden-Württemberg, as he was worried that the troubled NordLB group could follow Hamburg Commercial Bank and leave the public banks sector.
There were private investors bidding for NordLB in late 2018 before the bank's owners ultimately agreed on a state-backed rescue package with the support of the DSGV. NordLB is majority-owned by the state of Lower Saxony.


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With the nominations now closed for the 2018-19 season Australian Wingless Sprint Championship, which is set to take place in a fortnight (February 21, 22 and 23) at Warrnambool's Premier Speedway in the south-west of Victoria, a record number of 113 drivers have locked themselves in to participate in what is gearing up to be a colossal battle.
It's no surprise that the majority of nominations have come from the host state, with a 69-strong contingent of Victorians in attendance. Hoping to utilise whatever home track advantage they may have, these Victorians will no doubt stop at nothing to prevent any interstate invaders from stealing the Australian Championship crown.
The largest interstate field will travel from South Australia, with the 18-car troupe being led by current and two-time Australian Champion Joel Chadwick, who won't give up his mantle easily as he attempts to claim a record third Australian Championship win in a row. Chadwick will be looking to assert his dominance when he takes to the renowned Premier Speedway track, while his fellow drivers will be looking to continue the trend of South Australian victors.
Not far behind South Australia in terms of competitor numbers, NSW are going to be represented strongly with 17 drivers, and with last season's Australian Championship being held in their home state at Sydney's Valvoline Raceway, they will each have something to prove as they attempt to clinch the first-place trophy that escaped them last time around.
A handful of Tasmanians, including current Tasmanian Champion Luke Redpath, will be making their way across the Bass Strait to the mainland, where they'll be looking to make an impression when they go up against the formidable line-up of 108 mainlanders.
Just one driver will be travelling south from the Sunshine State of Queensland to try their luck in the Australian Championship, while a pair of Northern Territorians aiming to do the same. Making the long 35-hour trek across the Nullarbor from Western Australia, Pittard Racing teammates Chad Pittard and Ash Hounsfield will be the sole representatives for their state.
"The amount of nominations for the Australian Championship is a fantastic result and a real testament to our class as a whole," commented Australian Wingless Sprint Racing President Mick Parry.
"The level of competition throughout the entire country is going to be very fierce, so the Australian Championship is no doubt going to be a sensational spectacle which includes a new and exciting format."
With a new and exciting format, the horde of drivers will have plenty of laps to hopefully secure themselves a spot in Saturday night's Australian Championship deciding feature race.
Getting underway with scrutineering, practice and the calcutta on Thursday, the last of the scrutineering will be completed on Friday morning before Friday night will see drivers contest two rounds of heat races, with the top-40 drivers in the point standings going on to complete two odds and evens preliminary feature races.
The first four finishers in these preliminary feature races will qualify directly into Saturday night's feature race and will compete in the Champions A-Scramble to determine their starting positions.
Following the opening night of competition, the top 96 cars in points, excluding the eight drivers who have already qualified for the feature race, will return to the track on night two when they will contest a final round of heat races. The top 8 in points will then qualify directly into the feature race and will compete in the Mid-Pack B-Scramble to determine their starting positions.
The next 32 drivers in the point standings will qualify directly into two B mains, while other competitors will contest one of four non-qualifier events to determined qualifications into the D main and two C mains, with the top four in each main progressing through to the back of the next main.
Once these mains are complete and the final feature-race transferees are confirmed, 24 drivers will take to the track for the 40-lap Australian Championship feature race.
The 2018-19 season running of the Australian Championship will be fought out on the Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights of February 21, 22 and 23.
For more information about the AWSR, visit their website at www.awsr.com.au or LIKE them on Facebook or Follow them on Instagram and Twitter by searching Australian Wingless Sprint Racing.


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Located in an old building with many years of History and Stories, CAIS Urban Lodge is located between Cais do Sodré and Chiado.
With one foot on Rua Rosa (the most famous street in Lisbon's nightlife) and the other on Chiado (the favorite shopping and theater hub), we guarantee that you won't feel like a tourist.
The rehabilitation was completed in 2022, creating a perfect symbiosis between modern comfort and built heritage.
Built from the neighborhood spirit, our cozy spaces offer the perfect escape from the hustle and bustle of the city.
And because "one size doesn't fit all", we have three different typologies. Suites, Studios and Apartments from 1 up to 6 people, with flexibility to accommodate couples, families and friends with comfort, design and entertainment.
Property Name: CAIS Urban Lodge
Street Address: Rua do Ferragial 31 A
City : Lisboa - Lisboa
Postal Code : 1200-182
Contact Name: CAIS Urban Lodge Lisbon
Phone: 961554364
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Check-in/Check-out Policies
This property has the following check-in and check-out times and policies:
Check-In: 3:00 PM
Check-Out: 12:00 PM
Property and Cancelation Policies :
The cancellation is free of charge until 7 days prior to the date of arrival, after this time we charge you the room rate, and cancel your reservation.
Non Refundable Rates:
For the non refundable bookings there are no cancellation or changes possible. In case of a cancellation, 100% of the total amount will be charged as a cancellation fee.
Important information :
- No parties are allowed at the premises.
- Guests are required to show a photo identification and credit card upon check-in. Please note that all Special Requests are subject to availability and additional charges may apply.
- Please inform us in advance of your expected arrival time.


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Denver, Colorado, United States
Denver weddings, colorado weddings, High school po
Denver weddings, colorado weddings, High school po
Would you like to take better photos?
Your first session include 1/2 hour free consultation .You can do a one on one @ $80.00 for the first hour additional time is $30.00 per half hour.
We can start from the basic.
Bring a friend and save.
Add a footnote if this applies to your business
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CALGARY -- Two girls have drowned and emergency crews are searching for a third in the St. Mary River in southern Alberta.
Police said one victim was 16 years old and the other was 17 years old. No age was given for the girl who remains missing. All three were members of the Spring Valley Hutterite Colony in southern Alberta.
RCMP were called to the Spring Coulee area — south of Lethbridge — about 10:30 p.m. on Wednesday after a group of around 10 people had gone swimming and canoeing earlier in the day.
Police said the three girls had trouble getting out of the water about 7:30 p.m.
"One female youth was located and pronounced deceased at the scene. Two other females were swept away and not immediately located," police said in a release.
Lethbridge Search and Rescue was called out and a second female was found deceased about 6:30 a.m. Thursday, the release added.
"Possibly local residents would use the area to drift down the river, however my understanding at this time is the river was swollen and engorged," said Cpl. Tammy Keibel.
"It is a tragic circumstance and our thoughts are with the family and community regarding all the youths that are involved."
RCMP Air Services, along with members from the Cardston RCMP detachment, are now assisting with search efforts for the third girl.


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Georgia is holding on to Buk anti-aircraft missile systems, provided earlier by Ukraine, a senior diplomat has claimed
Georgia is refusing to hand back Kiev-supplied weaponry amid the conflict with Russia, the Ukrainian chargé d'affaires has claimed. Andrey Kasyanov raised the issue in a piece written for the Yevropeyskaya Pravda (European Truth) newspaper, published on Monday.
"The Ukrainian side is consistent in its requests to all its international partners, including Georgia, for the provision of weapons, military equipment and ammunition," Kasyanov wrote. "Namely, Kiev has asked to hand back the Buk [anti-aircraft] systems, which were transferred by Ukraine to Georgia during the 2008 war."
According to Kasyanov, aside from the Buk systems, Ukraine also asked Georgia to provide US-made Javelin anti-tank launchers. The potential transfer was not only "approved by the US," but Tbilisi has also received an offer from Washington to replace its Javelin stock "with newer systems," the diplomat claimed.
Read more
"Despite the fact that the Georgian government categorically refused to provide military aid, Ukraine opposes the use of this issue in internal political disputes and rejects any accusations of attempts to draw Georgia into a war with Russia," Kasyanov added, dismissing repeated calls on Tbilisi to open a "second front" against Moscow, voiced by top Ukrainian officials.
One such call was made early in the Russia-Ukraine conflict by the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, Alexey Danilov, who accused Georgia of "behaving not very appropriately," and said a potential new conflict over South Ossetia and Abkhazia, which broke away from Tbilisi in the 1990s and were recognized as independent by Russia in the aftermath of the 2008 war, "would definitely help us."
Georgia has taken a neutral stance in the hostilities between Russia and Ukraine, refraining from joining Western sanctions as well as dismissing Kiev's calls to open a new front against Moscow in the South Caucasus. Georgian Prime Minister Irakly Garibashvili, as well as other top officials, have said such a move would only harm the country and run counter to Georgia's national interests.
January 09, 2023 at 08:27PM


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It's back! The 8th Annual War Blogle Pick 'em brought to you by Hover Helmets has returned. It's going to be a weird one. Some football has already been played, but ESPN is smart. Their pick 'em doesn't start until SEC football begins the weekend of September 26th. So that's when you need to be entered.
It's a simple pick 'em. ESPN picks ten games for the week, you pick the winners, order them by confidence level, enter a tiebreaker score for one of the games at the bottom, and that's all there is. I don't want any excuses.
Right now, there is a WarBlogle.com group over at ESPN.com waiting for you to join. To make it easy, here are all the steps you will need to take.
- Click this link.
- Click the big, red GET STARTED button in the group info.
- Login to your ESPN.com account or sign-up if you do not have one. If you were in last year's pick 'em, you may just need to click REJOIN GROUP.
- Give your entry a name.
- If you are asked for a password, enter this: warblogle.
- Skip the step about joining other groups because no groups are better than this one.
- Invite more people if you know what's good for you.
- Make your picks.
- Set the confidence level (1 will give you the most points for a correct pick).
- Set your tiebreaker.
- Submit.
- Watch me win.
- Do it again the next week.
Weekly winners will receive some Blogle stickers/buttons/hugs, and the overall winner will get an Auburn Hover Helmet. If you miss a week, that's fine, just make it up during the other weeks.
Have fun. Tell your friends. Pick responsibly.


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Archive for June 18th, 2008
SAPP bombshell – a second political tsunami in next few days?
Posted by Kit in Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Parliament, Sabah on Wednesday, 18 June 2008
Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) has dropped a bombshell when its president Yong Teck Lee announced that its two MPs, Dr. Chua Soon Bui (Tawau) and Eric Majimbun (Sepanggar) would move a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi when Parliament resumes on Monday.
But will the bombshell land in Parliament on Monday?
With the ruling coalition commanding unbroken two-thirds parliamentary majority in the 11 general elections since Merdeka in 1957 until the recent political tsunami of the March 2008 general election, there had never been any no confidence motion against the Prime Minister in Malaysian parliamentary history. Read the rest of this entry »


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Château de la Côte
'Château de la Côte' is one of the outbuildings of 'Château Menier' which in reality was called 'Tournebride'. The French castle was built in 1913 for George Menier, a famous chocolate industrialist. It was designed by architect Charles Léon Stephen Sauvestre.
The Menier estate included two main buildings that are still in use today. Near the old entrance porch are the abandoned keeper's house, Château de la Côte and the old stables.
During the Second World War, Nazi Germany occupied the castle. They started the only Lebensborn in France, here in the castle. It was inaugurated in February 1944 by Heinrich Himmler. This Lebensborn was a maternity hospital that housed French, Dutch, Belgian, or Norwegian women that were pregnant from SS officers. The goal was to create Aryan children with persons classified as 'racially pure' and 'healthy'. A few months after their birth, their baby was sent to Germany for adoption.
'Château de la Côte' is where the members of the Schutzpolizei lived, they were responsible for surveillance and security of the site. The mothers and newborns lived in 'Château Menier'.
Since 1955 the castle is a rehabilitation center for children. It is managed by the Red Cross, which became the owner of the premises in 1967. I visited the abandoned château in 2017.


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The unfortunate reality
December 3, 2015
Yet in Paterson, Jennifer Lindo's story is an anomaly.
"College is not part of their conversation. It's not part of their thinking. It's the opposite almost, it's not cool for you to want to succeed here," Jennifer Brady said. "Going to college is not presented to them."
For many Glen Rock High School students, it is routine for college to be discussed at the dinner table.
"It's normal for the word 'college' to come up at least five times during the day. It is nearly impossible to avoid the topic both in and outside of school," said Emily Rabens, a senior at Glen Rock.
However, just a town away in Paterson, a discussion of an academic future is incredibly unlikely.
"These kids have the same dreams as the kids in Glen Rock. They want to be doctors and lawyers and engineers and build buildings, but they don't have the opportunity here," Walsh said. "If you went into the Public School system and saw how decrypted and dysfunctional it is… when the kids in Paterson take the SATs, 3% of them are deemed 'college ready'. 3% based on their scores.
And then they have a fear of testing. Big fear… because of failure. You know when you hear 'Oh, you failed the test,' well not really. You took a test and you didn't get enough points. It's a completely different world. The system is working against them. They have to really be self-starters and self-motivated or have Oasis to get out."
According to College Board, approximately 43 percent of students who take the SATs attain the college ready mark. To be deemed "college ready," students must receive a combined score of 1,550 on the test. In 2013, the average score for students in Paterson was 1,120.
The company who administers the test, College Board, states that students who have reached a score of 1,550 and have therefore been deemed "college ready" have a 65-percent chance of getting a B- or higher in their first year of college. The company also says that 54 percent of the students who receive a score higher than 1,550 are likely to get a bachelor's degree within four years of college.
For Brady, she straddles the enormity of two very different worlds.
"My kids go to Northern Highlands, they have a full engineering program. You could take engineering for four years. That doesn't exist for this population, so they're not getting that. So when they get to the SAT or the ACT and half of it is math, there's no way that they could do it," Brady said. "They're also not being exposed to those career opportunities. If you never experience it, it's not going to happen."
Oasis offers tutoring and educational workshops to compensate for the absence of instruction at school. The faculty of Oasis and IBM are currently working to introduce STEM to the organization, a science, technology, engineering, and math course that would enforce subject areas that Paterson children are experiencing difficulty with. The project, however, will not be launched until the non-profit receives the funding to effectively execute the program.
Despite forward-looking programs like STEM, the aspirations of Paterson students are often restricted due to finances.
"Two days ago, I was sitting up here just like this and a little ten year old girl came into my office. Her name is Claudia, and she was just helping me clean up a little bit and I said 'Claudia, what do you want to be when you grow up?' and she said, 'I want to be a doctor, but I don't know if my mom is gonna let me go to college,'" Brady said. "These stories are why we do what we do, but to experience it every day is just amazing."
The lack of opportunity in Paterson encourages the cycle of poverty that the city is struggling with. As a child in Paterson, experiences are restricted to the 8.7 square miles of paucity.
"If you don't experience it, you don't dream it," Walsh explained.


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because if you are not moving forward you are being left behind in this modern world the rules have changed.
Below is a great video I would like to share with you if you dont have time to read the full article
SELF HELP PERSONAL GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES FOR SELF MOTIVATION, PROSPERITY, AND SUCCESS. (by Christopher Babson)
1. Healthier Relationships
Relationships– with your family members, youngsters, associates, lovers as well as also that primary partnership with yourself– are the foundation of life. You can not prevent them (even when you may desire to).
When your relationships are low-grade, your life is low quality. Conversely, when your connections are healthy and also vibrant, you will reap the benefits in extensive means.
Discovering and also building excellent partnership skills is an essential part of any type of personal growth strategy. People that knowingly as well as intentionally construct interpersonal skills experience higher fulfillment in partnerships of all kinds.
2. Lower Stress
Stress is the killer that anxiety has actually ended up being, as well as how rapidly it adversely impacts our total lifestyle, anything that minimizes stress would deserve seeking, don't you agree?
By making individual advancement a behavior, particularly when it comes to stress-reduction methods such as mindfulness practices, you will be much better able to recognize, handle and even eliminate crucial resources of stress and anxiety in your life.
3. Better Health
This one follows very nicely from our first two advantages above.
The link between stress and health is undeniable; more stress equals more disease. Happier and healthier relationships equals less stress, and the more equipped we are to manage and reduce stress, the better our overall health becomes.
The tools and teachings of personal development and self-improvement give us a better understanding of ourselves and of the world around us. The more you understand, the more equipped you become to handle whatever life throws at you.
People who have learned to manage the challenges and stressors of life have fewer lifestyle-related diseases and may enjoy a prolonged lifespan as a result.
4. Become More Productive
The leading opponent of performance is laziness. And procrastination is usually driven by deeper emotions. Some people who took part in individual development as a lifestyle make a habit of digging deeper right into these concerns, thereby raising the likelihood become more Productive
The 2nd largest opponent of performance is, you presumed it, stress and anxiety. Our significantly frantic lives are frequently driven by the expectations of excellence and efficiency, and when stress gets in the mix, our performance decreases. We invest a lot of our time fretting and attempting to multitask that our ability to concentrate and also accomplish what we set out to do diminishes.
Self-development strategies enhance your capability to concentrate and manage tension, aid you access concealed emotions as well as incentives, as well as enable efficiency to sore.
Simply visualize what life would resemble if nothing stood in the way of your highest efficiency. How much more would certainly be possible for you?
5. Better Self-Control
Self-control is the capability to control your emotions, ideas, and also behavior in order to complete detailed objectives, is a cognitive ability that can be exercised as well as reinforced equally as you would your muscles.
When establishing as well as working towards goals for your life, it's easy to come to be hindered by temptations, habits as well as impulses, especially those driven by subconscious ideas and also underlying emotions.
By making self-development a regular as well as a fundamental part of your life, you reveal those underlying beliefs as well as feelings. You strengthen your self-control 'muscular tissues', making it simpler to construct new routines and also attain short and long-term objectives.
6. MoreSuccess
By success, we're talking about the ability to reach those that produce it, for him or herself, as opposed to the conventional, but more personal 'success' as offered by media (i.e. riches, popularity, fame, or power). Though, actually, if that's what you truly want, you're more likely to accomplish it if self-development is a regular part of your way of living.
When we look back over the benefits as detailed above, it's easier to see why this holds true; healthy as well as encouraging relationships, minimized anxiety, and also the linked improvements in wellness, boosted productivity, and improved self-constraint all develop the required environment for success to take place.
7. Improved Peace of Mind
Aside from the peace of mind that generally follows as a result of such factors as lower stress levels, experiencing better overall health, and being successful, regular self-awareness and improvement practices can generate their own feelings of greater contentment and tranquility.
Mindfulness, meditation, and mind-body techniques such as yoga and qi-gong, when practiced regularly can improve focus and self-awareness, which in turn helps generate peace of mind.
Personal development practices also tend to increase your understanding of self and others, which contributes to a greater sense of peace and acceptance overall.
8. Becoming a Better Parenting and Role Model
Since young children and babies find out by affecting their parents and caretakers, it's vital that parents primarily deal with establishing and improving themselves.
To be a better moms and dad, one that can function as a great very first good example for children and children, you require to be happy to take a long, hard, truthful look at yourself.
When you spend the time on personal development and self-awareness, you are less most likely to unsuspectingly pass along negative patterns and habits to your children. You're likewise far less likely to fall under common parenting pitfalls such as negative reinforcement, anger, bullying, allowing, micromanaging, and the like.
9. More Resilience
According to the dictionary definition, resilience is the capability to recuperate rapidly from life's difficulties, tragedies and difficulties. It's the mental ability to emerge from these experience and return to a healthy psychological and emotional state. It's basically a kind of emotional versatility.
Personal development permits you to face and overcome barriers from the within and out. Time invested establishing your psychological intelligence, self-awareness, and coping techniques will have a direct and positive impact on your level of durability.
Life will constantly throw us captain hook in the type of obstacles and obstacles when we least expect them. Having durability implies having the ability to rebound rapidly, returning to your natural balance, growing and gaining from the experiences rather of snapping or breaking.
In reality, establishing greater strength might well be the most essential thing anyone can do to enhance their overall life fulfillment.
10. Greater Happiness & Personal Growth
And we finally arrive at the grand finale of advantages — happiness and Personal Growth
If happiness truly is the journey rather than the destination, then spending the time in your daily life to develop yourself will make that journey a heck of a lot more pleasant.
Imagine a life in which you enjoy good health and better relationships; a life in which you feel in control of yourself and your ability to cope well with whatever challenges come your way; a life in which you feel generally confident in your ability to succeed in your endeavors.
By taking the time to work on your personal development, you are decreasing the negative impacts of stress and ill-health, and you are increasing your ability to handle your life and relationships.
Through Personal Growth, self-improvement efforts, you learn to identify, heal and transform underlying beliefs, traumas and self-sabotaging behaviors and habits.
All of which contributes to removing the layers of obstacles that smother our ability to experience real joy and happiness.
To Summarise Personal Growth
So next time you're feeling bad about your life or something in it, and feel lured to invest cash on makeup, clothing or that most current computer game, possibly you'll reconsider and browse a while in the self-improvement area.
The former may change your state of mind for the moment, but the latter may well change your life for good.


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Article by Henry Ergas and Jonathan Pincus courtesy of The Australian.
If there is one thing we have learned it is that if a conclusion doesn't make much sense, it is wise to treat it with caution, no matter how carefully it has been derived.
The Treasury paper, released with the Intergenerational Report, which argues that there is less competition today in virtually every sector of Australia's economy than there was a decade ago, is a case in point.
At the heart of Treasury's analysis is an increase in profit margins, which it puts down to a weakening in competitive pressures – that is, to an increase in firms' market power. But it would be surprising if Treasury could find many consumers who believe they face less choice across the board. On the contrary, every study with which we are familiar suggests that consumers have access to a greater range of products, in most cases offered by more competing suppliers, than ever before. At the same time, consumers know (or, at least, can know) far more about their options, and firms about their customers, helping them navigate a fast-changing environment.
Indeed, it is that improved information that has made the spectacular increase in product variety possible. Nowadays, producers can target products at market niches so narrow that they would previously have been unviable; and they can "monetise" those niches more efficiently than ever, tapping latent pools of willingness to pay. Moreover, that happens not just in digital markets but in the far broader range of industries that use information technology to track every aspect of consumer behaviour.
It would be astonishing if so vast a transformation did not yield gains to producers as well as consumers. Economists have long known that increases in product variety that meet unserved needs generally give rise to larger benefits in consumer welfare than do reductions in prices for existing products – put in economic terms, they unlock "gains from trade" that are shared between consumers and the producers who have seized the opportunities.
That process is hardly a symptom of the dead hand of monopoly. Yet it escapes the Treasury analysis, which seems to view competition as entirely centred on prices, overlooking quality, availability and variety.
However, it is unlikely that the technological transformation entirely explains the increases in profit margins Treasury's data highlights. But nor are those increases, which are relatively widespread, likely to reflect the emergence of new monopolies.
After all, changes in competitive conditions are not like tides that sweep in and out across the entire shoreline; rather, left to their own devices, they typically vary greatly, as does their change over time, industry by industry, firm by firm.
It is therefore implausible that those changes could explain an increase in profit margins across the economy as a whole.
Rather, what one should be looking for are explanatory factors which are themselves economy-wide. In reality, one doesn't need to look far, for the past decade has seen a tsunami of regulation – from climate change to directors' liability – that has increased the risk involved in investing and pushed up required profit margins and rates of return. And by the way, those regulations also make it harder for new firms to enter and expand, giving some substance to Treasury's story.
We are, in other words, in the midst of a battle between an innovation process that is yielding enormous consumer benefits and a regulatory explosion that threatens those benefits. Once upon a time, Treasury would have been more alert to that clash and its dangers than anyone. Its analysis might have been technically less sophisticated than this paper is, but it would have focused on the real problems – and provided better guidance to policymakers.


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Capitron Bank of Mongolia
Our distribution network consists of 31 branch units in the most economically developed regions: Capital city Ulaanbaatar, Darkhan and Erdenet cities, and Selenge, Bayan-Ulgii, Dornogobi and Umnugobi aimags.
The Internet Banking services of the Bank allows to reach the Bank from anywhere at anytime. Also, the Mobile Phone Banking services of the Capitron Bank covers all four mobile phone service providers of Mongolia.
Capitron Bank is a member of the Mongolian National Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Mongolian Saving Insurance Corporation. We are a founding partner to the Mongolian Bank Association, Credit Guarantee Fund, Credit Information Bureau, and Mongolian Hypothec Corporation.
Headquarter | Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia |
Key People | Mr. Khurelbaatar O. (CEO), Mr. Enkbat Ch. (CFO), Mr. Duuren T. (COO) |
Head Office | Capitronbank building Usny gudamj - 4, Sukhbaatar district, Ulaanbaatar - 14253, Mongolia |
Phone | +976-11-328373 |
Fax | +976-11-328372 |
Website | www.capitronbank.mn |
SWIFT Code | CPITMNUB |
Founded | 2001 |
Disclaimer: The information contained on this website is not meant to substitute qualified legal advice given by a specialist knowing your particular situation. We do not warrant or guarantee that the site will be up-to-date accurate, complete or continuous at all times. The Bank Directory is published solely as a courtesy. We assume no responsibility or liability for any errors or omissions in the directory.


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Greek PM announces new emergency response service
A National Emergency Response Service is to be established to replace the General Secretariat for Civil Protection, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras announced on Thursday, in the wake of last month's deadly Attica wildfires that claimed the lives of 93 people.
The new agency, which will be under the direct authority of the Interior Ministry, will integrate all the services, research institutes and voluntary teams involved in the management of emergencies.
It will be run by a candidate of proven experience, operational ability and scientific competence, he said.
A scientific council, comprising the research institutes and other agencies involved in the field of natural disasters, will advise the new organisation.
In addition, representatives of the fire service, ambulance service, police, Hellenic Red Cross, coast guard, military, Forestry Service and relevant ministries, as well as research institutes and voluntary bodies, will be invited to join the new body.
The new service will have a budget of 500 million, which will be made up of funds from the European Investment Bank, the EU-subsidized National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF) and the National Investment Program.
Tsipras invited the public and all political parties to support the new agency.
Tsipras described the wildfires in eastern Attica as "an unspeakable tragedy" that "has left the country and all of us deeply traumatized."


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My Christmas Tree
I love Christmas!!! Haven't I mentioned that a time or two?! There is just such a happy feeling around Christmas time. Except when I decide to pick up a couple last minute gifts the week of Christmas! Haha it's crazy out there! 😉 I wanted to share my Christmas tree this year with y'all. I chose a Snowflake Winter Wonderland theme. I think it came together pretty well.
I used a lot of White, Blue, and Turquoise. I have always wanted a flocked tree maybe next year I'll buy one. This was in the beginning I put on my large turquoise balls first. These ornaments are so big and pretty.
I have small, and medium turquoise ornaments that are matching. They brought my tree together so well.
I am obsessed with cameo's! Have been my entire life. I buy one every time I see one. Even if it is on an ornament.
I made this tree topper. I hot glued on some pearls in the middle and beads around the outside. I think it turned out adorable.
Here's on where you can see the entire tree.
Merry Christmas friends! I hope you all having an amazing holiday with your loved ones! Thanks for stopping by.


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First time visiting us? Here are some helpful hints to help you prepare for your appointment!
- Fill out the New Client information sheet which can be found under the New Client tab. You can download a copy to print and bring with you to your appointment.
- Bring all veterinary medical records. You can also request records to be sent to us in advance from your previous veterinarian. This gives us the best biography of your pet's health.
- Bring any medications or supplements you are giving to your pet, including flea medication, vitamins, and treats.
- If your pet is having a medical issue that is difficult to explain then try capturing it on video! Many symptoms, such as limping, can be difficult to observe while in the veterinary office.
- Lastly, bring a list of questions to ask your veterinarian. It's easy to forget all the things you wanted to discuss when you're here in the exam room.
- Cats, and small critters like ferrets and rabbits, should be in carriers when you bring them in. Dogs should at least be on a leash, although small ones may do better in a carrier.
- If your pet doesn't get along well with other animals, let the office staff know. It might be easier for it to wait in your car with you until the vet is ready for the appointment. We may opt to bring you and your pet in a side door to avoid other pets that may be in the lobby.


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Should we try yawning in unison?
The Big Bang is widely accepted as being the beginning of everything we see around us, but other theories that are gathering support among scientists are suggesting otherwise…
But what if the Big Bang wasn't actually the start of it all?
Perhaps the Big Bang was more of a "Big Bounce", a turning point in an ongoing cycle of contraction and expansion. Or, it could be more like a point of reflection, with a mirror image of our universe expanding out the "other side", where antimatter replaces matter, and time itself flows backwards. (There might even be a "mirror you" pondering what life looks like on this side.)
Perhaps the Big Bang was more of a "Big Bounce", a turning point in an ongoing cycle of contraction and expansion
Or, the Big Bang might be a transition point in a universe that has always been – and always will be – expanding. All of these theories sit outside mainstream cosmology, but all are supported by influential scientists.
The growing number of these competing theories suggests that it might now be time to let go of the idea that the Big Bang marked the beginning of space and time. And, indeed, that it may even have an end.
Patchen Barss, "What if the Universe has no end?" at BBC News
Don't tell us, let us guess. To judge from the persons quoted contra the Big Bang, the big bitch is that it doesn't support one or another aspect of multiverse cosmology.
Look at it like this: If the multiverse prevails instead, science can be opened up to a vast variety of viewpoints and interests. Because facts really won't matter any more.
See also: The Big Bang: Put simply, the facts are wrong.
The multiverse is science's assisted suicide
Follow UD News at Twitter!


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"I never should have climbed Katahdin in the first place. We had other plans."
But in spite of Donn Fendler's other plans, he DID climb mile-high Mt. Katahdin with his family and friends. But in a sudden July sleet storm, Donn got lost on the mountain. He was lost for nine days alone in the dense Maine wilderness, facing bugs, bears, and despair. But something inside Donn wouldn't let him give up. He prayed, he fought, and he endured to become one of New England's greatest survival stories.


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English actress Gabrielle Anwar got her start when she made her debut on the TV series Hideaway in 1986. Her first movie appearance was in 1988's A Night of Love. She went on to appear on the TV shows First Born and Summer's Lease. In the '90s, she played Sam Black on the British series Press Gang, followed by the miniseries The Mystery of the Black Jungle and the feature film If Looks Could Kill. She went on to become known for her notable performances in the films Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken, Scent of a Woman, Body Snatchers, and The Three Musketeers.
She continued acting in the movies with roles in Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead, Innocent Lies, The Grave, and Nevada. She later starred in the 1999 movie The Manor. In the 2000s, she mostly starred in TV films and some features, including The Guilty, North Beach, Flying Virus, Save It for Later, The Marsh, and 9/Tenths, among others. She went on to play Princess Margaret in the Showtime series The Tudors. She gained wider recognition on television courtesy of her role as Fiona Glenanne in the USA Network series Burn Notice. More recently, she played Lady Rapunzel Tremaine/Victoria Belfrey on the ABC series Once Upon a Time.
In an interview, the actress got candid about her fitness routine. She said: "I love yoga because every muscle is being toned from the moment one spreads their toes on that mat. My goal is not to target the area that might be less toned than another, my goal is to feel that during each pose, I bring awareness into each muscle, each space around each muscle, each joint, each space around each joint, and so on and so on, so that I do not neglect a single part of my whole. I am less concerned about an area of 'imperfection,' because I am not a professional bodybuilder, model nor trainer. What I am is imperfect. Gleefully so."


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In Song: V'Zot HaBeracha
Each week The Arty Semite connects the Torah reading — however tenuously — to a classic work of rock 'n' roll.
In this week's parsha, the last in the Torah, Moses takes his farewell from his people by blessing them as a nation and also on a tribal basis, as Jacob did, many years earlier.
Moses dies and is laid to rest by God himself in an unknown location.
The final verses attest to the wonders performed by his hand and to his unique relationship with God. Only one song is equal to the finale of Israel's greatest leader:


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8 August 2011
The 8th Sunday After Pentecost
When I signed up to preach for today, it was with the intention to talk about what I had learned since my cancer diagnosis last summer, and to celebrate a full year of living cancer-free. In this time of mourning Kate's sudden passing, such celebration seems out of place, an unseemly self-congratulation that is out of step with the pain and grief that still permeate our life together. Nonetheless, what I am bringing this morning does grow out of the heightened awareness of mortality that I have been living with for this past year, which has been made even more poignant by the events of the last two weeks. I offer these reflections on the Word in deep gratitude and humility for the grace and love of God that is offered through this community.
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O God, our rock and our redeemer. Amen.
We seem to be in the season of old, familiar Bible stories. Last week, we heard about Jacob wrestling with the angel and Jesus and the disciples feeding 5000 families with five loaves of bread and two fish. This week, Jacob's older sons are selling the youngest, Joseph, off to some passing traders, and Jesus and Peter are walking on water.
As you recall, before that memorable picnic, Jesus had been preaching to the crowds. Afterwards, he needed some time alone to pray.
So Jesus sends the disciples off on a boat, and goes up a nearby mountain. But in the morning, when he arrives back at the beach, Jesus sees that the wind is up, the waves are whipping wildly, and the little boat filled with disciples is far off shore.
Then, the gospel-writer tells us in a perfectly matter-of-fact tone of voice, Jesus walks across the water towards his friends. Understandably, the disciples are terrified and think they are seeing a ghost. But Jesus calms them so effectively that Peter jumps out of the boat and starts walking on top of the water, too. Then – and I imagine this a little like Wily Coyote running off a cliff, and only starting to fall when he looks down – all of a sudden Peter gets distracted by the wind, and starts to sink into the waves.
Jesus, of course, catches him, and asks him why he doubted. Then, the text tells us, Jesus and Peter get in the boat with the disciples, the wind stops, and everyone worships Jesus as the Child of God.
This is one of those miracle stories that upset a lot of people. Some look for scientific explanations of how Jesus could have walked on the water – maybe the water was only ankle deep and he only looked like he was walking on top of it; maybe some rare combination of currents and cold atmospheric temperatures allowed him to walk on ice; maybe he was so in tune with every bit of creation that he could re-arrange his molecules to line up with the molecules in the water. Others suggest that this story is out of sequence, and really belongs among the post-Resurrection appearances of Jesus. Still others simply dismiss it out of hand as a legend, ascribing impossible feats to person remembered as particularly holy.
But I am less interested in the literal, factual level of this story than in what we can learn from it about our own lives. In particular, I want to focus on the moment when Peter is doing fine, walking on top of the waves, then suddenly notices that the wind is howling around him. Suddenly, Peter becomes distracted and frightened, and begins to sink.
Don't we all do that? Don't we all go along with our daily lives, doing what needs to be done in the moment, hugging our friends and loved ones, enjoying the flowers in our neighbor's garden, eating dinner, giving a dollar or a care pack to the guy who asks us for money on the street? Then, suddenly, we remember that Congress has just barely averted a major crisis and now the stock market has just lost 500 points; or we've heard that more people are being attacked in the Metro lately; or yet another tropical storm is threatening Haiti; or some other catastrophe is looming on the horizon. Losing our focus on this present moment, we start to worry. Our blood pressure goes up; our bodies secrete stress hormones; we find ourselves unable to focus on the task at hand, fearful that at some indeterminate future something terrible will happen. We'll get cancer; we'll be mugged; we'll have to choose between going to the doctor and buying food; the world as we know it will come to an end. Like Peter, we begin to sink beneath the waves of fear.
Of course, disasters do happen. Right now, that awareness is all too real, as we continue to live in the grief and shock of Kate's sudden passing. We know in our bodies and in our hearts that pain is an unavoidable part of being human. Indeed, it is that common sense, everyday knowledge that fuels our fears. Peter knew that people really do drown; that storms sometimes sweep people overboard; that loved ones and we, ourselves, could vanish beneath the waves in an instant. Peter also knew that walking on top of the water was absurd, impossible, so far beyond his abilities that he had never even imagined it.
Yet, there he was, walking on water, trusting that, since Jesus had called him, he would be all right. And, in that moment, he was.
How can we learn to live with that kind of trust? How can we live fully in each moment, when everything around us tells us to live in fear because disasters are lurking around every corner? And what does living fully in each moment have to do with our call to be the Body of Christ, broken and poured out for the healing of the world?
One way to answer these questions is to do something that seems – like walking on water – to be impossible. One impossible journey gave me some clues in that direction, a momentary experience of living in the realm of God.
Some of you may remember that a number of years ago, Carolyn Shields started the Seekers bike team by inviting some folks to join her on the AIDS Ride. For three successive summers, a shifting group of Seekers and their friends raised over $2000 each to benefit the Whitman-Walker Clinic, Food and Friends, and medical research to combat the HIV/AIDS virus. Each year Team Seekers joined about two thousand other people on their bicycles, starting out from Raleigh, North Carolina and covering the 330 miles to Washington, DC over the course of four days.
Cyclists trained together and separately for many weeks, riding hundreds of miles up and down the hills around Poolesville, out the W&OD trail to Purcellville, and anyplace else they could think of to make 50, 60, 70-mile and longer rides interesting. Towards the end of June in each of those years, Team Seekers rode together triumphantly onto the Mall in the blazing sun, having learned important lessons about perseverance, about caring for one another, and about the astonishing spirit of generosity and compassion that permeated that event.
One of the most important lessons I learned was to stay in the moment. I especially remember one rider saying that what gave her courage to continue when she would begin to get tired, to become afraid, to lose heart at the seemingly endless, lonely miles ahead. Whatever may happen in the next mile or two or twenty, she would say to herself, is in the future. In this present moment, I am ok. And she would go on.
In this present moment, I am ok.
Too often, though, I forget where I am, as I rush to get to whatever comes next.
When I was seven or eight years old, my parents insisted that I take piano lessons. My sister, who is four years older than I, had begun her studies much earlier. She was a gifted student, and by the time I started, she was already playing quite complex pieces. Every day after school, I would do my homework while my sister practiced. Chopin waltzes, the Liszt Transcendentals, and Mendelssohn piano concertos were the background music of my schoolgirl afternoons.
When my sister was finished, it was my turn to sit at the keyboard of our beautiful, oiled walnut baby grand. Often, as I struggled to master the simple beginner pieces I had been set, my father would get home from work. From time to time, he would stop me and have me repeat a phrase over and over until I could play it without a mistake. As an impatient child who did not quite get the purpose of practice, I just wanted to escape. Sometimes, I got to do just that – sometimes my dad would get out his violin to show me how to phrase a passage, and then, carried away by the music, go on to play the whole piece, and another, and another, until it was time for dinner and my practice schedule long forgotten.
But more often, as I rushed through yet another boring repetition of scales and arpeggios, or that simplified version of Für Elise, I would hear my father admonish, "Don't anticipate."
Don't anticipate. As a child, I don't think that I quite understood what he meant by that. Mostly, I thought he was saying that I was playing too fast. What I realize, now, is that he was telling me to stay in rhythm, to attend to the beat, and, most especially, to give every note AND every rest its full measure. Do not play the next note until you have fully played this one. Do not start up again until the rest is really over. Stay in the present moment.
In this present moment, I am ok.
As the Gospel lesson suggests, staying in the moment, like long-distance bike riding, playing the piano or walking on water, is not something that we can master all at once, but rather is a matter of training and practice. In a momentary burst of enthusiasm, Peter was able to set aside his everyday, common sense knowledge and walk on the waves like Jesus just for a moment or two. But soon, he reverted to his habitual understanding of the way the world works, and began to sink. So Jesus calmly reached out his hand, caught him, and took him safely back to the boat, only teasing him a little for his loss of faith. I like to imagine that Peter tried again later, and was able to take a few more steps before he started to sink.
All of us are like that – we learn by fits and starts, seeing a new truth and vowing to live by it, only to forget what we have learned and go back to our familiar habits over and over again.
In her book To Pray and to Love, the noted church historian and author of books on spiritual life, Roberta Bondi, recounts a story in which one of the fourth century Desert Fathers is asked for help by a disciple. Bondi suggests that the student was probably discouraged by the small amount of progress he was making. So Abba Ammonas said "I have spent fourteen years . . . asking God night and day to grant me the victory over anger."
Bondi tells us that the Abba's followers would have understood this confession of their teacher's ongoing struggle
as encouragement as they struggled with their own anger or anything else in themselves with which they persistently struggled, for discouragement over the slowness of Christian growth was a major problem for disciples then as it is for us today. So the disciple heard, "If the abba is still struggling after all these years, why should I be discouraged? This is no more than I should expect in the life I have chosen." [Roberta C. Bondi. To Pray and to Love (Kindle Locations 295-301). Kindle Edition]
In this present moment, I am ok.
I'm ok, but what about the rest of the world? What right have I to be ok when there is so much pain and suffering all around me?
A few weeks ago, I went to hear the Dalai Lama talk about world peace. Actually, he didn't talk exactly about world peace, even though the big sign said "World Peace Talk." What he actually talked about was inner peace, because, as he said, only through inner peace will we ever have peace in the world. And inner peace is found through staying in the present moment. Worry, fear in anticipation of bad things to come, he told the gathered throngs, was pointless. "If you have fear of some pain or suffering," he said, "you should examine whether there is anything you can do about it. If you can, there is no need to worry about it; if you cannot do anything, then there is also no need to worry."
In this present moment, I am ok.
But what about those moments when I am definitely not ok? What about those moments when I am in physical pain, in grief, in sorrow? What about the catastrophes that have already happened, not just to me, but those whom I love? What about all the broken places in the world? How dare I have inner peace when there is so much pain and suffering all around me?
Like a lot of things the Dalai Lama says, his advice about worry sounds a little like cheap grace. If it were that easy to have inner peace, we'd all be blissed out all of the time.
But, as was said of Jesus, the Dalai Lama speaks with both authority and compassion. He knows that many who hear him must work every day at unfulfilling jobs to feed, or deal with the reality of having no job at all, struggling to clothe their families, to pay for medical care and housing, to just get by in situations that lack any sense of beauty, grace, or comfort. In full knowledge of the great pain and loss he has suffered in his own life, as well as the very real suffering of others, the Dalai Lama's teachings are a reminder that, no matter how dire the circumstances, we can choose how we respond. We can flail in fear against the rising waves, or – following the example of Jesus – we can walk on the water and reach out our hand to those who are sinking.
And that, of course, is the crucial connection between our own inner peace and the healing of the world. We cannot bring about world peace when we, ourselves, are angry and anxious. We cannot save anyone else from drowning when we, ourselves, are sinking with fear.
So, listen. Do you hear Jesus calling to us over the waves? Let us practice walking on water together, now, in this present moment.