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P&S Journal: Spring 1994, Vol.14, No.2
Students Find Learning Beyond the Classroom
Individual Initiatives
Many students are active in the community on their own initiative. Last year, Lisa Furmanski'96 spoke to local junior high school students about sexuality and health issues as part of a community-based adolescent substance abuse program.
"While participating in programs sponsored by the American Medical Women's Association, I was troubled by a lingering deterrence of women in medicine and lack of encouragement for girls to excel in math and science," recalls Ms. Furmanski.
The Ms. Foundation for Women's daughters at work day provided a forum for her concern. "I wanted to address a compelling community problem-getting girls in this neighborhood to view medicine as a viable career option," says Ms. Furmanski. When bringing a group of girls to CPMC for the day proved logistically impossible, she turned to an idea that helped shape her own career pursuit.
At age 13, she was captivated by a PBS program that featured a neonatologist. From that day on, she wanted to be a doctor. With the help of her brother, who has a degree from NYU's film school, she produced a 14-minute videotape on a day in the life of a female physician. The physician, Dr. Susan Morales'86, participated in the community service program as a student and is now a general internist in the community-based internal medicine practice at CPMC. She speaks at colleges and medical schools to encourage women and minorities to consider careers in medicine. Several other female physicians offered commentary about their paths to medicine. Sherise Rivera, a 12-year-old student at PS/IS 187 in Washington Heights, narrated the video to provide MTV-style appeal.
"Lisa came to me with a finished product to get help in distributing the tape to schools," says Dr. Armstrong. "Otherwise, I would not have learned about Lisa's initiative." Dr. Armstrong offered to train medical students to lead discussions about goals and careers as a follow-up to the videotape. A screening of the videotape was on the program for this year's Take Our Daughters to Work Day in April.
Two other students started a program on their own. Mike Vitale, an M.D./MPH student, and Amory Fiore'95 became intrigued by a JAMA article on the REMEDY Program, which was started by Dr. William Rosenblatt, an anesthesiologist at Yale.
"The idea is to collect unused and otherwise disposed of surgical supplies, such as sutures, gloves, catheters, implants, and the like, to be forwarded to international relief organizations," says Mr. Vitale. They have initiated a REMEDY Program at CPMC, which promises to be one of the biggest volume producers among the 15 programs in operation throughout the country.
'We project a collection of up to $250,000 worth of supplies a year. This should save the hospital thousands of dollars by salvaging nearly three tons of red bag waste and reducing disposal hassles," says Mr. Vitale. "We believe that this effort could generate $30 to $40 million a year in donated supplies if it were implemented nationally."
These ambitious students collect unsterile, discarded supplies from the OR twice a week. Since the sterilization trays are often half empty, the students simply fill the extra space with their materials at no cost to the hospital. The supplies are sorted and sent to one of three agencies that receive and distribute medical supplies.
Though still in the process of working through the legal and administrative issues at Columbia, Mr. Vitale and Mr. Fiore plan to help other New York City hospitals establish medical collection programs. Mr. Vitale also plans to travel to South America with Direct Relief International to look at the type of health care provided, including manpower, supplies, and surgical practices. A follow-up study will be conducted to measure the impact of the donated supplies on health care.


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West Haven's 2-year-old 'miracle child' keeps fighting
WEST HAVEN >> Eva Grace Kelly lays in a miniature recliner just the perfect size for a 2-year-old, surrounded by Minnie and Mickey Mouse stuffed animals.
As always, she's the star of the show, while visitors shower her with balloons and gifts in her living room.
But this Tuesday afternoon get-together was unique for the Kelly family and Eva Grace, who has the most severe form of a genetic disease called spinal muscular atrophy. She and her family finally got to meet some of the people sending them to Florida for an all-expenses-paid vacation at the end of this month.
The Kelly family is the first group benefitting from the recently launched New York nonprofit Baking Memories 4 Kids, a group founded by Frank Squeo to send kids with life-threatening diseases and terminal illnesses on vacation to Florida.
"I was in shock ... It's so touching they took such an interest in Eva," mother, Melissa Kelly said Tuesday after meeting Squeo.
Relatives, family friends and Mayor John M. Picard, who also stopped by the Kelly home to celebrate the upcoming trip, marveled at how much the toddler has grown, while Eva Grace, used to such fanfare, soon fell asleep for a nap.
Squeo plans to raise money for the trips by selling his special homemade cookies. Though he will start offering them in November, his nonprofit has already collected donations, which will allow the Kellys and one other family to go to Florida this year.
Squeo started the organization after beating cancer and will send kids and their families to Disney World, Sea World and Universal Studios, while also paying for them to stay at a special resort for children with life-threatening diseases. His goal is to bake 500,000 cookies next fall, sell 10,000 containers and send a deserving family every week next year to Florida.
Squeo's cousin, Cynthia Raffa, happened upon Eva Grace's story a few months ago while eating breakfast at Guilford's Sunny Side Up, which is owned by a relative of the Kellys. She noticed a can collecting donations for the toddler, who requires round-the-clock nursing care, is on a ventilator 24/7, and spent several months in her first year of life at the hospital.
Raffa told Squeo about Eva Grace, and both thought the Kelly family was a perfect fit for the foundation's mission.
"When you see this family, it's a no-brainer, Squeo said.
Eva Grace will take the trip with Melissa Kelly, her father, John Kelly, her brother Noah, 7, two nurses, and her grandparents. Though the vacation will be a chance for the family to get away and have fun, Eva Grace will also get to meet Disney characters she loves, her parents say.
Raffa and Richard Penna, of Richard Penna Salon in Hamden, plan to give the family a make-over in September, as Penna and Raffa used to work on Sally Jessy Raphael's talk show.
"I'm a fashion person, so I wanted to give back in some way," Raffa said.
Eva Grace's illness affects her ability to cough, breathe and swallow, which requires her to use a tracheostomy tube connected to a ventilator. She will never sit, stand, crawl or walk, and doctors didn't expect her to make it to her second birthday or ever be able to go home. But she has brain development typical of a 27-month-old and understands when others are talking to her, Melissa Kelly said.
"She's our little miracle child," she added. "She's a fighter."

subset: commoncrawl


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2006 – The year of the common man
The year 2006 has been a mixed one for our country with many lessons learnt and many mistakes committed due to a sense of wanton negligence and oversight. At the end of it, it would not be incredulous if I venture to say that 2006 was when the Indian public realized its true potential, stood up and got counted.
The absolute freedom that a democracy in itself provides was felt like never before and the collective conscience of the public was shaken by some incidents that tested the credibility of the judiciary. Celebrities and media joined hands to bring to public attention events which would have otherwise remained under covers. They were helped by films like 'RANG DE BASANTI' which heralded a new age in Hindi cinema – the age of experimentation leading to some meaningful socially relevant movies.
Thanks to the increasingly watchful media and the press, the politicians and the judiciary had a lot to answer for. Here, I have taken some incidents that have caused the common man to rise to the occasion and challenge the authorities.
- When the
Narmadacontrol authority (NCA) gave the green signal for the dam height to be increased from 110 to 122 meters, NBA activists under Medha Patkar gathered in the capital to voice their protest. They were supported by bollywood actor Aamir Khan and finally the centre was pushed to act. A review committee found that most of the resettlement work in MP was only on paper.
- In what is even now regarded as the phase II of Mandal, widespread protests against reservations were witnessed this year, throughout the country when the Human resources minister Arjun Singh proposed that 27 percent of seats be reserved for OBC students in higher educational institutions. While the media was one-sided in lending voice to the anti-reservation forum, the government for its part held on to its position and refused to give a lending ear to the protestors for a long time. Finally, in response to mounting pressure, it was agreed that the seats for the general category would not be affected and a parliamentary standing committee was established to propose a solution for implementing the quota regime. The protests were primarily because of the manner in which the centre sought to introduce the system with least regard for the students who would be at the receiving end.
- In what can be regarded as the ultimate triumph of the common man and Justice, the Jessica Lal and the Priyadarshini matoo cases saw Justice done. When the media drew public attention to the shoddy investigation of the
police in the Jessica Lal case, celebrities and the middle class joined hands and forced the reopening of the investigation. Though some sections believe that the media are guilty of carrying out a trial before the judges have their final say, a visibly relieved Sabrina Lal (sister of the deceased Jessica Lal) thanked the media without which, she believes that Justice would have been impossible. Delhi
- This year also had some reasons for the Indian womenfolk to be happy about. By passing the prevention of women from domestic violence act 2005, the Government has attempted to empower our womenfolk to stand up for their rights. This forward looking law will go a long way in encouraging suffering women to file complaints of harassment.
- 2006 has also seen a refreshing change in the way films are perceived by the public. Apart from RDB, 'Lage raho Munnabhai' has also contributed immensely in changing the way films can be made so that they are socially relevant instead of being mere entertainers. For once, the average film buff was treated to a dose of Gandhigiri, a term to which no Indian is a stranger now.
As the year ends, one feels that the common man has reinvented his role in the Indian democracy – from that of a mere spectator to one of an active decision maker watching every move of the authorities and ever ready to question their motives and actions when situations warrant. While this augurs well for the Indian democracy, the political class has disappointed once again – the centre could have been a little more responsive to the concerns raised by the public and the opposition could have been a lot more responsible.
It would be fitting to end this article with an extract from Nobel laureate Jose Saramago's 'The Double': "According to popular wisdom, you can't have everything, and there's a good deal of truth in that, the balance of human lives is constantly swinging back and forth between what is gained and what is lost, the problem lies in the equally human impossibility of coming to an agreement on the relative merits of what should be lost and what should be gained which is why the world is in the state it is in."
One can only hope that in the coming year, the people in positions of power are willing to acknowledge their mistakes and try to rectify them.


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from my media specialist :)
2 C. Milk
½ C. Butter
¾ C. Sugar
1 ½ tsp. Vanilla
½ C. Bisquick
1 C. Coconut
4 eggs
Combine milk, sugar, bisquick, eggs, butter and vanilla for 5 minutes.
Pour into greased 10 in. pie pan.
Let stand about 5 minutes….sprinkle with coconut
Bake 350 45 minutes
I used a pie crust and I think this pie is too wet for it. I wouldn't use a crust again. Also refrigerate your pie


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Know how to get Best Meat Grinder for Deer
The best meat grinder for deer will give you the ability to quickly get your meat ready to cook. There are many different products available in the market with different features, which even makes your choice more difficult. Some of the options that user would prefer to look for before buying any product are like More user friendly, low maintenance, options to control the thickness of the grind according to your personal taste, products definitely the user would like to go with that kind of product. Some of the other factors what people would look for before buying any product is like easy to clean, power, flexibility, compact, and inexpensive. Sometimes the preference would also depend on what should be the power of the product if the large amount of meat quickly, so users would definitely look for grinder at an affordable price which is more reliable product. So, here is an introduction of the best meet grinders found in the market today. Click here for more info about meat grinders on the guuder.com blog.
Parameters to consider for best meet grinder:
In additional to above all, meat grinders are currently produced in a number of materials including stainless steel, aluminum, and plastic. Of these, stainless steel is the strongest and longest lasting. When it comes to the choice, there is other factors one need to consider what type of grinders. There are three types of grinder's manual, standalone grinders. Manual grinders are great for those who may not do as much grinding as others. Using them is labor intensive so this type may not be suitable for everyone. However the other type standalone would be versatile and it can also work for large quantities of meat fresh and quality meat. Another quality that you will want to look for in the best meat grinder for deer is how easy it is to take care of it. Some meat grinders can be hard to rinse and sanitize due to all the nooks and crannies, or they can be a little complicated in their operation. Try to find a meat grinder that is easy to tidy which utilizes standard procedure when grinding the meat so you can easily use and preserve it.Try to find a meat grinder that is easy to tidy which utilizes standard procedure when grinding the meat so you can easily use and preserve it.Another important factor one must also need to consider is the size and weight of the product, as it consumes some space in the house and also should be easy to move around for storing it after usage and washing. Overall, the product should be value for your money and quality of food one is going to enjoy. One another factor what is the service if something goes wrong as it is related to mechanical and electrical. One must consider this parameter as well while buying best product to enjoy the food. The blog guuder.com is an informative blog that talks about meat grinders and is the perfect guide for every individual who desires for more info.
It is a good idea to read the blog to understand the requirements clearly before looking for best product which meets the requirements and value for money and also its usage as thousands of products available to process it with great options.


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TeleGeography concludes in a new report that "international Internet capacity growth fell to the lowest pace in five years, decreasing from 68 percent in 2008 to 40 percent in 2012. While the pace of growth is slowing, international Internet bandwidth continues to grow rapidly, more than doubling between 2010 and 2012, to 77 Tbps".
"..International Internet traffic and capacity growth rates are declining due to a combination of factors, including slowing broadband subscriber growth in mature markets, and the expansion of content delivery networks (CDNs) and local caching technologies, which reduce the need for new long-haul capacity by storing popular content closer to the end-users. Nevertheless, the underlying drivers of bandwidth demand remain strong".
|Source: TeleGeography
|Source: TeleGeography


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Editing, enhancing or having fun with photos in your iPhone is not a dream anymore as the latest 3Gs iPhone is now furnished with an auto-focus mechanism taking 3 megapixel images. A look around the internet will show you rather decent photos taken by iPhone as people quit printing photos – who will when with a few taps, they can share theirs instantly.
Plenty of photography apps are available for that cause, be it subtle enhancements or quirky modifications – It's time to put your new iPhone on play and show off to your friends! In this article, we put together 20 Free Photography Apps and recommendation of some good paid apps. On top of that, we've also included 10 best Free Video Applications. Free apps after jump.
Photography Apps
Free Photo Filters
Free photo filters app provides filters include Lomography Filter, Poloarizing Filter, Black and White Filter, Retro Effect Filter and more.
You can fix your photo (brightness, contrast, sharpness, hue, saturation) before sending it by email directly on your iPhone.
PhotoBox is the all in one solution for the weekend warrior photographer, giving you a large range of photo filters and effects.
[via Web Burning]
Get a Free iPhone 3GS! Yes, that is correct! Stay away from the trouble of earning enough to pay for it for you can get it the simple way .... straight to your doorstep! Free! Interested? Then find out how to get a Free iPhone 3GS!


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March 4th - Date With The Neurosurgeon
This is why I have been a bit AWOL from here and will be down the road. This is long overdue and I actually ran out of options well over a year ago but gave it what for just in case I could avoid surgery, sigh.....no such luck.
My last slip on our stairs has resulted in such a dramatic increase in my back, leg pain, numbness, weakness and other 'fun' symptoms that an MRI was approved in less than 12 hours. The MRI had to wait a week until I could get things in order, mostly at work. I had the MRI this past Monday, saw my neurosurgeon Tuesday morning and by late today, spinal fusion surgery had been approved. The doctor wanted to do surgery the 25th but I begged and groveled for one more week and this will now be done March 4th. This is the third spinal fusion for me. There is a peace and calm about it this time that all will be all right. Not easy mind you but the Lord never told our lives would be easy. We just know everything will somehow be OK. These are not pleasant to undergo in any way shape or form.
AJ, bless his awesome love, kind, caring nature, knows something big is up. He has been a true buddy and he is doing well. His latest blood work came back with 'normal' thyroid levels and functions which is really good news but still leaves us in the dark as to what caused his seizure. A bit disconcerting to say the least but all we can do is watch him closely and let him be AJ. He is a really fine 'nurse' and I am 100% sure he will be with me at all times through my next 'adventure'. I would take him to the hospital me if I could.
I was also FINALLY given adequate pain medication after the surgeon finally understood how badly my 'pain' doctor had treated me not to mention the other doctors involved with my care. What a blessing to get a bit of pain relief, not totally, as that will never happen, but enough to make a difference. My neurosurgeon felt quite bad about it all and had tears in her eyes as we talked. This is a surgery to give me back some stability and perhaps a bit of pain relief. I am not expecting much there as the MRI revealed drastic changes in my entire spine, pretty severe degenerative arthritis with several other vertebrae badly damaged. There is permanent nerve damage and to what extent is anyone's guess. Only time will tell if this will get better, if it does at all. My last day of work is March 1st and I will be off for at least 12 weeks. I may not have a job to return to as I am a temporary state employee with no rights or benefits. As the union is the SEIU, which I loathe, I am all right with this and the Lord will open other doors as this one is probably closing. My wife's job is also coming to an end right about when I get sliced and diced as she is also a temporary employee for the state. Things will be extremely tough on us financially but I am pretty sure the Lord set it up this way, so she can be home with me the first few weeks and kick my a$$ when needed. Historically speaking, I am not a model patient after any surgery.
I will be in the hospital for at least three days, probably four and will be house bound for at least six weeks. One of our very good friends is selling me an older laptop so I will be able to keep on writing, posting, emails etc. He has agreed to let me pay whatever we can swing and he does not need the money. It is a very nice laptop. I will not be allowed to sit for very long for probably six to eight weeks and I have to be REALLY a good patient this time around. Too much is at stake and I am no good to anyone, for anything if I do not take care of me first. This is something I have a 'slight' problem with, and always have struggled with, putting me first. I have received quite a few 'threats' from friends, family if I misbehave.
So here it is and prayers always are appreciated. I really dislike writing about 'me' but it is very humbling to me and I am honored to know so many folks care.
As always, I am your most obedient and humble servant. PatriotUSA
Tags: Date With The Neurosurgeon, Patriot USA To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the Patriot's Corner. Thanks!
4 Comments - Share Yours!:
- Nick said...
I hope the surgery will have a significant beneficial effect, and you'll gain some stability so you won't have any more spills.
It's good to know that AJ's tests came back negative, and I'm sure he'll look after you as you recuperate from your op.
All you have to do is try & a) be good and b) do as you're told!
- February 22, 2013
- John said...
I will be praying that God shall grant you healing because I know that it is His Will that you prosper and be in health. God Bless You and keep you and e-mail me when you can and tell me how you are getting along. I am glad to hear that A.J. is doing better.
- February 22, 2013
- PatriotUSA said...
Thank you both for your comments, AJ
IS DOING VERY WELL AND i WILL POST AN UPDATE ABOUT ME AND aJ AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
- February 23, 2013
- Zenster said...
His latest blood work came back with 'normal' thyroid levels and functions which is really good news but still leaves us in the dark as to what caused his seizure. A bit disconcerting to say the least but all we can do is watch him closely and let him be AJ.
As I mentioned in my email to you, AJ's episode may have had its roots in coping with the obvious stress that abounds at maison PatriotUSA. The best thing to do is let AJ's love keep flowing into you. He'll know that he's doing some good and you'll be on the receiving end of some unconditional love, never a bad thing.
Historically speaking, I am not a model patient after any surgery.
You will be this time! I declare, or the lot of us will troop up there and lash you to the boxsprings, if that's what it takes. There's too much at stake this time around for you to have the luxury of being your usual crusty, cantankerous, curmudgeonly self. Waaaaay too much.
Working on a couple of different essays that should start popping up before the weekend's over.
- February 23, 2013


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South Korean soldiers shovel mud near an apartment complex in Seoul after flooding caused by heavy rains. Tens of thousands of troops joined a massive cleanup effort after record-breaking rainfall killed at least 39 people, flooded hundreds of homes and turned main roads into muddy rivers.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: PARK JI-HWAN / AFP/Getty ImagesLink
South Korean soldiers and rescue workers remove debris at a damaged apartment building after a landslide.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: Bae Jung-hyun / Associated PressLink
Abandoned vehicles are submerged in floodwater after heavy rain in the South Korean capital. Thousands of rescuers used heavy machinery and shovels to clear mud and search for survivors after landslides and flooding killed scores of people.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: Ahn Young-joon / Associated PressLink
People paying their respects wade into the water to lay flowers and tributes at a makeshift memorial for the victims of gunman Anders Behring Breivik on Utoya island, visible in the background.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: Lefteris Pitarakis / Associated PressLink
A severely malnourished Somali refugee child rests in a ward at the Doctors Without Borders hospital at the Dagahale refugee camp near the Kenya-Somalia border. About 3.7 million Somalis risk starvation in two regions of southern Somalia controlled by Islamist Shabab militants, with aid groups struggling to reach millions in the affected areas.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: THOMAS MUKOYA / REUTERSLink
An uprooted Afghan man stays in a refugee camp in Kabul.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: OMAR SOBHANI / REUTERSLink
A Mexican army paratrooper hauls in her parachute after landing at the Santa Lucia Air Base. Twenty-two years after the last generation of female paratroopers graduated, 71 female soldiers are making their first jump.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: ALFREDO ESTRELLA / AFP/Getty ImagesLink
Michael Phelps competes in the men's 200-meter individual medley final at the 14th FINA World Championships in Shanghai.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: CHRISTINNE MUSCHI / REUTERSLink
Israelis take part in the ancient city's annual gay pride parade.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: GALI TIBBON / AFP/Getty ImagesLink
Palestinian children take part in a kite festival organized by the the U.N. Relief and Works Agency. It was an attempt to break the world record for the largest number of kites flown simultaneously.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: MOHAMMED ABED / AFP/Getty ImagesLink
Visitors attend the "Love Lace" exhibition of contemporary lacework by artists and designers from around the world at the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney. The exhibit in the foreground by Australia's Tania Spencer is titled "Intersect 2011" and is made from knitted galvanized wire.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: GREG WOOD / AFP/Getty ImagesLink
Models smile as they present creations by Colombian design house Leonisa during the Colombiamoda fashion show in Medellín.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: RAUL ARBOLEDA / AFP/Getty ImagesLink
Nayana, a 5-week-old Sri Lankan leopard cub, receives a medical examination by veterinary surgeons at Bratislava Zoo. Nanyana and her sister, Nimali, were presented to the media for the first time.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: RADOVAN STOKLASA / REUTERSLink
A tourist with an umbrella walks through the Holocaust Memorial in a rainy Berlin. The memorial, designed by U.S. architect Peter Eisenman and inaugurated in 2005, is made up of more than 2,700 concrete steles forming a curved landscape in the heart of the city.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: PATRIK STOLLARZ / AFP/Getty ImagesLink
Equipment is carried onto the field for Jacksonville Jaguar training at the Florida Blue Health and Wellness practice fields.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: Sam Greenwood / Getty ImagesLink
Colorful holiday ornaments are displayed at Selfridges on London's busy Oxford Street. The department store opened its Christmas shop today, with 149 shopping days to go.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: Dan Kitwood / Getty ImagesLink
Raindrops bead on the sidewall of a race car tire at the Hungaroring circuit ahead of the Hungarian Formula 1 Grand Prix.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: MAX ROSSI / REUTERSLink
A fish farm hugs the coast near Epidaurus in the southern Peloponnese region of Corfos. Greece is home to one of Europe's largest fish farming industries, employing some 10,000 people and contributing significantly to the country's exports.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: Dimitri Messinis / Associated PressLink
Railway workers mop the floor in the high-speed train section of Beijing's south railway station. China's rail minister has ordered a two-month safety check on railway operations, following a high-speed train crash in Zhejiang province that left 39 people dead.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: DIEGO AZUBEL / European Pressphoto AgencyLink
A visitor enjoys riding a slide at a water park built inside the National Aquatics Center, better known as the Water Cube. Asia's largest water park within the grounds of the Beijing 2008 Olympics swimming venue enjoys over 5,000 visitors daily, even during rainy or smoggy days.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: DIEGO AZUBEL / European Pressphoto AgencyLink
Hot air balloons prepare to lift off at Chambley-Bussieres in eastern France, attempting to set a world record for a collective taking-off during the Lorraine Mondial Air Ballons international hot-air balloon meeting.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: Alexandre Marchi / Associated PressLink
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Pictures in the News | Feb. 26, 2013
In Tuesday's Pictures in the news: A pedestrian walks on a snow-covered street in Kansas City, Mo., after the second major snowstorm in a week; a Bahraini anti-government... View Post»
Darwin, Calif., seeks to evolve from dial-up Internet
Darwin is a former mining town cloistered in the high desert mountains between Death Valley National Park and the China Lake naval weapons testing center. Finding it isn't... View Post»
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Chartered Accountant (registered with Malaysia Institute of Accountants), MIPA AFA, BA (Accountancy)
LLB - London of University (UK)
Certified Professional Trainer with IPMA (UK), PSMB Certified Trainer
Competent Communicator with Toastmaster International.
James Oh comes to you as a financial, wealth and mindset specialist. He is an avid thinker, mind-explorer, leader and intensive researcher with more than 30 years of professional working experience in various industries such as trading, construction, aviation, movies investment and distribution. He is richly exposed to both local and international business, particularly in negotiating with the world leading aviation financiers, insurance and reinsurance brokers.
In the course of his practice, James had held senior specialist, supervisory, managerial and leadership positions by providing success oriented strategic and operational plans to nurture the companies that he had served. His track record includes nurturing a growing company with its founder and got the company listed on the stock market. He also turned the company around when it was badly hit by the Asian Financial Crisis in 1996-1997.
James has been featured in numerous media several times. The media include top investment magazine i.e. Smart Investor Magazine, Financial First, Money Compass, FlyMe360, Property Insight, Corporate Voice Journal (MAICSA), Malaysian Institute of Insurance, Journal of Wealth Planning and Management and. As a writer and researcher, he has also published eight books, specializes in value creation and sold his books internationally through Amazon.com, Smashwords, and Lulu.com.
Aside from his substantial work experience, he was also an Associate Trainer with Kaplan Institute, Singapore conducting trainings and talks on finance, business, value creating and lean finance management.
James is a leading authority in the area of business strategy, sustainable growth and innovation.


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Brookside housing
To be fair, I was very harsh.
From Huntsville Times
I am writing this letter in response to the article "Housing Authority shows plans for Lowe Mill area" published Oct. 28.
I am concerned about the impression this article gives when linking Lowe Mill - the artist community - with the Huntsville Housing Authority's plans to tear down the Brookside neighborhood.
I have worked at Lowe Mill for over three years and have driven my car or ridden my bike down Brookside Avenue hundreds of times on my way to work.
I have been greeted with waves and smiles by neighbors who are peaceful, quiet and longtime residents. I feel these lovely people are becoming the victims of injustice and gentrification.
I, myself (a white woman), have been asked if I would move to a house in the Lowe Mill neighborhood. In the past, I would have answered in the affirmative. It would be great to live close by and I enjoy working in the neighborhood.
However, as to whether I would move into a house in a newly developed Brookside - even if it meant convenience and being closer to my community - "NO!" I don't want to be a part of a "development" that will cause the exact opposite to occur to the majority of the former residents - inconvenience and loss of community and their homes.
Please note that there are those in the Lowe Mill community that seriously object to the plans for the Brookside community.
Grace E. Billiter
Huntsville, 35801


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Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump sold his Cessna jet to himself to get around a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) registration issue...
"Donald Trump" is revealed to be an elaborate performance art piece by Joaquin Phoenix. - Beerdharma tweet
The World Is A Safer Place Without Saddam
- U.S. to eye 'other' options if North Korea continues nuclear activity: State Department
- Papua New Guinea: Australian Refugee Detention Center is illegal
- Saudi reform plans flirt with social change
- Religious push sparks secularism row in Turkey
Donald Trump said, "If I lose, I don't think you'll ever see me again." So finally, a Trump campaign promise we can all get behind.- Conan O'Brien
Trump Inspires All Kinds Of People
An armed man in Ohio caused a standoff with police after neighbors reported that he was waiving a gun and shouting, "Trump is Lucifer."
Republican Shenanigans
- Kristol Goes Bold: Cruz May Name Fiorina As VP This Week -- Or He May Not!
- Trump Supporter Grills 'Establishment Candidate' Cruz On Delegate Process
- Ted Cruz thinks trans people shouldn't have the right to pee — unless they're at home
- Fox & Friends host suggests voting by prayer: 'God will pick the right candidate'
- Creationist Ken Ham faces wrath of Twitter over rant about 'secularists' making fun of his 'stupid' ark
- Battle over North Carolina transgender law intensifies as lawmakers reconvene
In order to block Donald Trump's path to the Republican nomination, John Kasich is pulling his campaign out of Indiana. Indiana should notice sometime in 2018. - Conan O'Brien
McCrory took time out from his gymnastics defending North Carolina's bathroom bill in order to issue an official statement on voting rights.
A woman who looks exactly like a female Ted Cruz has been asked to star in a porn movie. So finally, a cure for your porn addiction- Conan O'Brien
1st Amendment Protects Professor So He Can Make A Fool Of Himself
A former Florida college professor who was fired after he suggested the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre was a hoax has sued the school for violation of his right to free speech, his attorney said on Tuesday. James Tracy was dismissed in January by Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, where he had taught since 2002. The civil lawsuit, filed in federal court on Monday, claims that the firing violated his rights, including free speech protections under the U.S. Constitution.
Sexism is Lee Majors getting the hearing aid commercial when it was Lindsay Wagner who had the Bionic Ear.- John Fugelsang
Rock The Voter News
- Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump poised to sweep 'Acela primary'
- Jane Sanders: We'll Release Tax Returns When Clinton Releases Transcripts
- DC Quickly Enacts New Rule To Allow Dancing 107-Year-Old To Get Photo ID
Donald Trump did an impression of Hillary Clinton at a rally this weekend accusing Clinton of needing a teleprompter, speaking in a robotic manner and being boring. And then Hillary did an impression of Donald Trump by crushing a poor person's dreams.- Seth Myers
Biz/Tech News
- Oil futures settle higher, continue to 'defy gravity'
- New 'Microscope' satellite to test Einstein's theory of relativity in orbit
- Amazon Is Now Offering Restaurant Delivery in San Francisco
- Hershey's is going to start selling meat bars
What's worse: the media trying to convince you a Kardashian is interesting, or the media trying to convince you a Kasich is interesting?- John Fugelsang
The French Military Industrial Complex Seems To Be Thriving
France on Tuesday beat off competition from Germany and Japan to win a Aus$50 billion (US$39 billion) contract to design and build Australia's next generation of submarines, a decision Tokyo called "deeply regrettable".
I missed you all so much!
I am relocated and 75% unpacked and settled. AND I HAVE INTERNET!
No donations for weeks! I know, I was out of circulation for a week.


text: In honor of reaching 3,000 fans, Saving Common Cents is holding a huge giveaway celebration, where 10 lucky fans will win 1 of 10 different prizes. Rock'n With Rite is a sponsor, so I encourage you to jump on board and enter for a chance to win. Enter for your chance to win below or by clicking here. Good luck!!!!!


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Thank You For Smoking
February 25, 2008 1 Comment
I watched "Thank You For Smoking" last night and was quite impressed. It's basically the story of a divorced father of a 12-ish yr old boy who happens to be a very successful spokesperson for Big Tobacco. You want to hate the guy, but you end up loving him because he's so damn good at it, and you are able to believe (just barely) that he's a decent guy and a good father under all that smooth talking. The movie has at least 3 things going for it:
- Great writing. The dialogue was crisp, funny, and kept the film moving at a good pace.
- Great cast. Every character is superbly played, with just the right amount of tongue-in-cheek. Aaron Eckhart is a genius. I can't see Katie Holmes these days without thinking "crazy woman" (mostly because of Tom Cruise) but she was also pretty good.
- Great cinematography. I don't even know if that's the right word for it, but the editing, the little flourishes and stylizations, the asides and willingness to play around made the movie a lot of fun to watch. It just had this great, quirky personality, kind of like Scrubs mixed with The Daily Show with a splash of Will Ferrell.
In short, I highly recommend it.


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It happens. You are angry with your partner and out of the clear blue your children do something that upsets you and before long you are emotional with all. The children are punished more than usual and your spouse is the last person you want to talk to. But what started the madness? Was it the tone of voice from you or a partner that morning? A bit too much silent treatment could have aided in the emotional swing. Sometimes repeated rejections from a partner who just doesn't want to have sex. All this and more can affect one's interaction or lack thereof with children.
A spouse or partner doesn't always see how he or she is impacting the household due to any number of reasons: stubborn ways, mood swings, irritability with others outside the home and more. We don't always have the mind capacity, energy, or time to deal with our partner's woes. So when the rain starts to pour, it won't be long before yet another storm.
Consider the following if you are having your share of the blues at home:
1. Take a break and be alone for as long as you can. If this means you have to sneak away, then do so for a time. Leave a note if you are going out of the home explaining why you really need some time to yourself. Think about how you can make things better at home and with children.
2. Don't always assume that a partner understands what you are going through. Write yourself a note airing out everything that is bothering you, pray, and then throw your cares away. This way you feel a little lighter and ready to face the world again and your family. Talk to a trusted friend or professional if need be.
3. Children will misbehave and you will not always be equipped to handle whatever they throw your way, so forgive yourself if you are a bit callous at times with them. Come up with a system to handle some of those household issues.
4. If you feel like you are obsessing about leaving the relationship, chances are you just might need to distance yourself from a partner. Seek the counsel of an attorney before you say anything about a divorce to anyone.
5. Keep in mind, you were once a child, would you want to walk on eggshells everyday around the family home? Make children feel safe even if you don't feel secure sometimes.
6. Note how you have been feeling since changing your diet, routine, a medicine, or something else. You might be going through a myriad of emotions because your body is fighting up against change.
7. If you feel you are losing your mind with a partner due to things he or she may be going through, communicate your concerns, but also take necessary action if there is no compromising.
May peace be restored within you and with those you love!
Nicholl McGuire
Welcome to a parenting advice blog which provides only the significant and simple tips to help mixed aged group families.
Stressed with Partner, Taking Out Issues on Children
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There is a new Swag code out worth $1. It expires 12/24.
You need to go to the main page of Swagbucks.com.
Click on Ways to Earn.
Select special offers.
Click on the No Obligation Offers box.
Notice it says this at the top of that page:Welcome to Swag Bucks Special Offers.
Sign up for the free money-saving offers you like, feel free to skip the rest, and find a special swag code reward at the end.
Skip all the offers by clicking the skip button beneath the advertisement.
After about 7 pages, there will be a Swag code worth $1.
Enter it on swagbucks.com in the Enter a Swag Code box.
Good luck!
What is Swagbucks?
Swagbucks is a search engine that awards you in the form of Swagbucks (points that can be traded in for prizes.) You can chose from a variety of prizes including gift cards. My favorite is a $5 Amazon.com gift card. It costs 45 Swagbucks. You get 3 Swagbucks for joining and can win anywhere from 2 - 5 a day if you search until you win in the morning and in the evening. I usually win within my first 5 searches. They also have Swagcodes out at least 5 times a week that can be worth 1 - 3 Swagbucks.


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The natural history of our species is dominated by one very significant natural event over the last fifteen thousand years. This is the end of the last Ice Age. The end of the Ice Age radically changed climates worldwide, submerged extensive coastal regions and caused extensive migrations of people. Its effects on India and Greater India were particularly important, devastating and transforming to the entire environment. These events form the basis of any real examination of the history of the region or of the history of humanity as a whole.
India's links with Greater India were even closer ten thousand years ago and earlier during the Ice Age period when the whole region – from peninsular India to Indonesia – formed at various times either a single landmass or a massive archipelago of islands and peninsulas separated by relatively shallow, easy to cross sea-lanes. This created a vast landmass known as 'Sunda Land'. Large areas of Sunda Land along with substantial strip of the Indian coast were submerged by rising sea levels when the last Ice Age ended. This has to be the natural background from which to begin any study of the history and culture of the Indian people. Their history cannot be set apart from these natural connections with Greater India and its populations. Nor can we ignore the impact of the cataclysms on the inhabitants of the region.
Sunda Land and South India, especially the coastal regions, were the most favorable places for populations. Since they both had abundant heat and moisture, throughout the Ice Age period, when much of the northern hemisphere was cold, arid and inhospitable. This may be reflected in South Indian recollections of Kanya Kumari, a larger Pacific continent to the South, and to Vedic references to the sea and early maritime cultures. It is also why the peoples of India and regions referred to as Greater India are genetically older and more diverse than those of Europe and West Asia. This is because these regions constitute a single natural zone united by geography, climate and natural history. In view of this unity which is of untold antiquity and is also reflected in the history and culture of the region, it is properly called Greater India. Modern terms like Indo-China and Indonesia are no more than recognitions of this historical fact.
When sea levels rose, it was these best habitable lands that were lost, triggering migrations to the interior and the north. This was probably the greatest and most consequential migration in human history that set in motion most of the cultures and changes to civilization that came later. It holds one of the keys to understanding the region's prehistory along with its chronology.


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Stephen and I flew to Georgia last Sunday and we had such a wonderful time! We wish we could have stayed another week but we had to get back to Utah! It was So fun to be with family and spend time with one another! We did so many fun things like ice skating, going to Atlantic Station to see the lights and the big Christmas tree, spending time with cousins, doing lots of Christmas shopping, buying puppies, and playing all sorts of games. I feel so blessed to have two wonderful families in Georgia (mine and Stephen's)!!
Christmas morning... one of the ties I made Stephen!
At atlantic station... since it never snows in Georgia they make fake snow with bubbles. haha
This picture makes me laugh.
This picture makes me laugh.
We are now back to real life in Utah. We are busy getting ready for school and enjoying the last few days of our break. I don't know how I feel about starting school again. A part of me is excited to start at BYU but I know I will miss BYU-Idaho. The sad part is Stephen works Mon., Wed., Fri. and goes to school on Tuesday and Thursday. I go to school Mon., Wed., Fri. and work on Tuesdays and Thursdays so we won't even be at BYU together. :( o well... maybe we will be able to work it out next semester. I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and a happy new year!!!!


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SCEE might just find themselves back in European PS3 owners' good books after next week. PlayStation Day, a press-only event in London, takes place on the 6th of May. The press conference at the event will be hosted by Kaz Hirai and David Reeves (President of SCEE) and will no doubt include some interesting announcements. We'll be there to give you up to the minute news as it happens.
To celebrate PlayStation Day, the European PSN Store will be updated twice next week. Once on Tuesday and once on Thursday. Those of you who have become disheartened with the European PSN updates might want to take special note to this line-up. In total you can expect to see four demos, three full games and five add-on packs spread across the two updates. Plus a nice collection of videos, including the PlayStation Day press conference itself, hosted by Kaz Hirai.
Check out the full list of content for Tuesday's update below. Thursday's list can be seen after the break.
Playable content
- Condemned 2 demo
- Haze demo
- Blast Factor Advanced full game
- High Velocity Bowling full game
- Street Skater PS1 game
Add-on content
- Blast Factor Advanced Research
- High Velocity Bowling Character - Mike
- Buzz! Quiz TV
- Secret Agent Clank
- Siren Blood Curse
Thursday's PSN update will look a little something like this:
Playable content
- Bourne Conspiracy demo
- Race Driver: GRID demo
Add-on content
- Army of Two
- Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock - Def Leppard Track Pack
- Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock - Muse Track Pack
- Echochrome Apple trailer
- Play Compilation
- Press Conference


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Delicate texture mild steel galvanized square rectangular tube hollow sections
Q1.Where is your factory?Our factory is located in Jinghai, Tianjin just 40 kilometers from Xingang port, which is the biggest port in the north of China.
Q2.What material do you have?
Q3.Can you provide sample for us?
Yes, free sample is available
Q4. How do you ensure quality control?we ensure the quality control by 2 steps:
1)after finish, our workers will check it one by one.
2)our package department will check before they pack.
Q5.Which country is your main market now?Mid-East, North Africa, West Africa, South-east Asia, South America and Northern Europe district. Especially, a firm customer base in Saudi, Morocco, Nigeria, India, Bangladesh, and Russia etc.
Q6. How about your delivery time ?15-30 days for Pipe.
Q7.how about your payment terms? T/T,L/C,D/P.
Q8.What's the package for the fittings?1PC/PP BAG .50PCS/ HARD CTN.


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Tuesday, April 18, 2017
1981 Donruss, Dave Lopes
#416 Dave Lopes
Here is the Davey Lopes card that I got signed through the mail 2014. Davey was coaching for the Dodgers at the time and I got the card signed care of the team. It took just over two weeks to get this card back.
Davey played for the Dodgers for ten seasons and he had a great run with the team. Over that time, he made four straight All Star teams, played in four World Series, stole over 400 bases, hit double digit home runs five times, scored 100+ runs twice, and won a Gold Glove. Along the way, he hit .262 with 99 home runs, 384 RBI, and 759 runs scored.
And, if all of that was not good enough, Davey went to college just down the road from my hometown at Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas.
Dusty does not work for the Dodgers any more. He is currently the first base coach for the Washington Nationals.
'81 Donruss Tracker: #214
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Beaverton Baha'i Center
Independent Investigation
Baha'is believe that the individual must determine what is true for one's self rather than relying on traditional authorities.
In this new era of human development, people are able to read the holy scriptures for themselves and make their own decisions about the truth of religious claims.
Among these teachings was the independent investigation of reality so that the world of humanity may be saved from the darkness of imitation and attain to the truth; may humanity tear off and cast away this ragged and outgrown garment of a thousand years ago and may put on the robe woven in the utmost purity and holiness in the loom of reality. As reality is one and cannot admit of multiplicity, therefore different opinions must ultimately become fused into one. (Page 298 Selections from_the_Writings_of_Abdul-Baha)
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Anti social media
Last week I went to a conference call The Digital Tipping Point.
I learnt about the conference on Twitter. Clicked on the link in a tweet and signed up.
Can't complain, because the conference was free, but...
Billed as 'The future of branding and social media' I expected it to be about that very topic. It wasn't.
The first couple of presenters focussed mainly on advertising and advertising units.
They showed vox pop videos of idiots talking about how much they loved the ads that appeared on their Facebook. Ads like these.
So I decided to share my displeasure with my friends and followers on Twitter.
Minutes later I recieved a tweet from one of the conference speakers asking me where I was!
When she got up to speak she acknowledged me by name and stated that she wouldn't be talking about advertising.
Had I inadvertantly invented virtual heckling?
Probably not, but I did prove my theory that social media has to feature voices of dissent as well as support.
Labels: digital, facebook, social media, twitter


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Welcome to Spirit Catholic Radio's online event calendar. Here you'll find a mix of Spirit Catholic Radio events as well as Catholic events from YOUR community. To add your event to the calendar, please click here. For questions regarding the online calendar, please call 855-571-0200 or email email@example.com.
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Run Alpha Training
April 21 @ 9:00 am - 3:00 pm$30.00
Run Alpha – Omaha, NE April 21, 2018
Gather with other churches across the region for an interactive training to experience
what it's like to run an Alpha.
• What is Alpha and Why does it work?
• 7 Best Practices of Alpha
• How to Lead an Alpha Small Group
• Prayer Ministry
Individual Registration: $30.00
Early Bird Registration: $25.00 (Register by March 30)
Group Registration (4+): $25.00/ea
Walk-in Registration: $35.00


text:
|01 Sep 2010
Windows 7 Ultimate 32Bit | Windows Server 2008 | Windows XP
Program check IP & computer description
Dear Everyone
This is my first post at this board, Nice to meet everyone.
Today I like to present my program for check IP & computer description.
I learn and try to encode this program from Autoit for my convenience when remote user computer at my work site.
Sometime, User is real novoice for IT . I try to tell them to enter cmd >> ipconfig. This is take my time and it is better than to use program check
Now user only click shortcut on there desktop, Program will show ip and etc to me for easy remote.
You can press on picture to download my program.
Thank your for your attention on my program.
PS. Sorry for my poor English.
|My System Specs
|01 Sep 2010
Hi MbellTH, Nice little script. Have you tried using Winbatch from WinBatch®, the batch language for Windows, your scripting solution.. It is a very powerful scripting system for windows that allows you to control computers, ftp, http, telnet or carry out whatever action you want really. Try and give it a go!!:)
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Explorer issues (no description in description column)
Description isn't populated for applications (exe's) in Windows Explorer (like Artist isn't populated for .m4a, where AudioShell is a workaround) http://i.imgur.com/6IRRpuD.png Any workaround?
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Check your description
Which one do you think you fit best: It Takes a Village Idiot: The Jerks of Online Forums - PCWorld
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Computer Description - Change
How to Change Your "Computer Description" in Windows 7 and Windows 8 The computer description is a short explanation of the computer. This tutorial will show you how to change your computer description to what you want in Windows 7 and Windows 8. You must be logged in as an...
Does any anti virus program fits this description???
hi, i just installed CLEAN install of Windows 7 Upgrade (OEM) and it takes 45 seconds to boot up YAY but ever since i installed norto n360...LOL 2 minutes? wtf? i hate resource hogging programs. I am looking for an anti virus that is super great that barely affects your pc boot up (or no...
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I can't change computer description
Hello all, I have one problem. I can't change computer description here. :( I am running Windows 7 (7600) with administrator account. http://img505.imageshack.us/img505/4372/10641540.png I cant write there, it it doesn't allow me, and not showing Text Select mouse only shows me Normal...
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KENILWORTH — Union County Freeholder Bette Jane Kowalski (right) speaks with Shirley Boyden Maxwell, president of the Kenilworth Historical Society, outside the newly restored historic Oswald J. Nitschke House (c. 1880) at 49 South 21 Street in Kenilworth. The Kenilworth Historical Society hosted an "Open House" on June 15 in celebration of the Flag Day weekend. A major portion of the interior restoration work was carried out with the help of "Preserve Union County" grant funds. (Photo by Jim Lowney/County of Union)
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A brouhaha over exactly what land the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe is eyeing in Taunton has prompted an amendment to the deal reached between the tribe and the city.
A brouhaha over exactly what land the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe is eyeing in Taunton has prompted an amendment to the deal reached between the tribe and the city.
City officials were surprised to find the tribe, which is pursuing a $500 million casino at the Liberty and Union Industrial Park, had included 100 acres where Silver City Galleria mall is located in its compact with Gov. Deval Patrick.
The Taunton city council voted Tuesday to amend its host agreement with the tribe so that if the Wampanoag seek to build a casino outside the industrial park's 146 acres, it must agree to compensate the city more than the $8 million per year outlined in the agreement.
The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Council will take up the same amendment at its meeting tonight.
"I can comfortably say the council and the mayor were caught by surprise to find out that some of the property (in the compact) had changed," city councilor David Pottier said Wednesday. "In our hearings last year, we continually asked about the mall property and were told it wasn't in play."
Mayor Thomas Hoye Jr. said having the mall land in the compact was initially a surprise.
"Once we discovered that language was contained in the compact, we contacted the governor's office and the tribe and came to this amenable solution," he said.
Cedric Cromwell, chairman of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Council, said Wednesday the tribe is not in negotiations with the mall's owner, nor does it have any ownership interest in the property at this time. It's included in the compact in case that changes in the future.
"The mall is definitely a piece that fits into our overall destination resort community, the destination resort experience for the customer," he said.
The tribe's architectural design plans and its environmental-impact process are focused on the land in the industrial park, Cromwell said. "That's where our investment is and that's where we are moving forward," he said.
The mall property is not included in the application to have land taken into trust in Taunton for the casino, Cromwell said.
If the tribe did ever shift its attention to the mall, Hoye said he wouldn't mind as long as the city is fairly compensated.
"I think from a strategic standpoint and a traffic standpoint it would be better suited at the mall," he said. "You have the water/sewer infrastructure already in place."
Along with approving the amendment, the city council is also requesting a copy of the tribe's application to have land taken into trust by the U.S. Department of the Interior and has asked Cromwell to attend a meeting with the council by the end of April to discuss progress on the casino project, Pottier said.
Despite the hiccup over the mall property, Cromwell and Hoye said the tribe and city remain strong partners.
Meanwhile, the tribe and potential commercial developers in Region C are still waiting for a decision by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission on whether it will open Southeastern Massachusetts to commercial bidders.
The commission held a meeting at Bristol Community College last Thursday where it heard conflicting testimony from the tribe, potential developers and area legislators about the likelihood of the BIA approving the tribe's land application.
Though the commission has a meeting scheduled for today, discussion of Region C is not on the agenda.


text:
Playing Dolphin Pose into Forearm Balance, Yoga with Esther Ekhart
http://www.EkhartYoga.com Play the dolphin pose until you get light enough to move into a Forearm balance / Pincha Mayurasana effortlessly..
Playing Dolphin Pose into Fore Arm Balance, Yoga with Esther Ekhart
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A Simple But Effective Way To Lose Fat After 40, 50 and Above
Often times, failure is the result of a lack of proper motivation. If you know the proper techniques, exercising can be fun. In this article, you will find all the tips you need.
Music is a great addition to any workout. Your body will not be able to resist the rhythm of the music. This is a natural response that everyone shares. You can make your workout more rewarding and fun if you pick music that will make you feel like you are dancing. In fact, you may get so caught up in the sound of the music that you don't even realize how tired you are and end up having a longer, more enjoyable workout. When you need to push yourself just a little bit more while exercising, using music can help you keep going while having fun.
Working out with a friend is ideal. Your attention will be diverted from the effort of the exercise to the conversation at hand, and your workout will go by much quicker. Following a fitness routine with a friend will be great motivation and a lot of fun.
You can incorporate fun into your workout routine by purchasing a workout game for your gaming console Each gaming system has video games available that are fitness orientated by encouraging you to use your body as the controller and move about. Make exercising fun and you will be able to workout longer more easily.
Buy clothing that flatters your figure. This is a great way to motivate yourself. Workout apparel and gear come in every style, color, and pattern imaginable, so you can express yourself and have a unique fitness wardrobe. Since there are so many options available, you can put together a variety of different kinds of outfits. Workout clothing that suits your style is going to be a great motivating factor.
If you are focusing on just one type of workout every day, it will soon become boring. You will not stick with exercise over the long haul if you do not enjoy it. Changing around the exercises that you do will keep you interested and give you the motivation that you need. In order to continue exercising over the long term, you need to stay interested and motivated. Taking a short break may make it hard to start up again.
In order to make sure you stay motivated, you should treat yourself on occasion. Your reward should be a thing that you really want to do so that it can help you stay on track. You do not have to spend lots of money or go overboard in any way. It will remind you of how well you are doing and at the same time will keep you motivated.
People groan when they think about working out, but there's no reason why working out can't be fun. In fact, exercising can eventually become an activity you look forward to every single day. The tips in this article can help you have fun.
Read More About Gluten-Free Recipes At NaturallyCurvy.com


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Solving Channibalism: Embrace It, Then Trace It
Coping with customers who refuse to be confined to one channel to research, browse, and buy.
Coping with customers who refuse to be confined to one channel to research, browse, and buy.
Happy New Year, everyone! I have hopes for 2007. Maybe this year we'll finally solve the channibalism problem.
Channibalism is the fear one channel will steal the customers of another. In some areas of the industry this problem has been solved, but in others it's still a persistent fear. Moreover, some parts of the supply chain (such as manufacturers) want to find ways to have an online presence but can't sell directly to consumers without endangering their current distributors. Today, we'll look at various scenarios in which channibalism rears its ugly head and how the problem is being, or should be, solved.
The main way to solve channibalism (or any other customer behavior we fear) is to "embrace it, then trace it" (one of my mantras). Instead of fearing this customer behavior, find ways to enable it. Once you enable it, you're able to trace it and give credit where credit's due, thereby eliminating the fears of losing customers or missing sales credit.
Brick and Mortar vs. Online
This was the biggest challenge for most retailers, and it's fair to say the problem has been solved by larger retailers. Smaller ones are still dealing with the issue, but there's a well-worn path for them to follow.
Sites such as Best Buy, Staples, and Home Depot allow you shop online, then pick up in the store. This not only encourages customers to defray shipping costs by picking items up but also to browse the store in addition browsing online, hopefully increasing the size of their purchase once they get into a physical store.
There's another way to connect the in-store and online experience. Although the transition from online to offline seems straightforward, the reverse doesn't. What's the way to embrace users who browse in a store, then buy online? The example I used was a furniture store. Quite often, customers spend a lot of time looking at furniture — sitting on it, laying it, feeling the fabric. They talk with a salesperson (who's on commission) and make a list of what they want and the options they need. Then they go home to discuss it with their families. Quite possibly, they then go online and find the cheapest prices or even go online to the store's Web site and buy the products. In either scenario, the store and the salesperson are left in the dust.
But by embracing this behavior and tracking it, the problem's solved. If the salesperson had the ability to create an online wish list for the customer, complete with all the products he looked at (and with all the options he chose), the salesperson makes the transition to online shopping easy. Once the customer goes home, he can see all the products online and buy them if he wants. Because the salesperson created the list, it's relatively simple to track the sale and where it originated and give each party the credit and commission deserved.
Manufacturers Enter the Ring
Though this works for multichannel retailers, the issues are completely different elsewhere in the distribution chain. Manufacturers, for instance, can't start selling online, though they'd love to. Traditionally, these companies don't deal with consumers directly. They aren't set up for it and most likely can't sell directly for legal or political reasons, as they'd be competing with the distributors and retail channels that sell their products to the public.
However, increasingly more people search online for manufacturers' Web sites to research products. When I wanted to buy a new digital SLR camera, I knew I wanted to buy a Nikon because all of my lenses are Nikon. I could have gone directly to a retailer's Web site, but I went instead to Nikon's site to see its new cameras.
But Nikon doesn't sell to consumers. It has a "where to buy" site section. Once you enter your Zip Code, you're directed to a physical store. That's the end of the shopping experience on its Web site. Companies like Nikon (I imagine) would love to be able sell directly to consumers. But it most likely can't compete with its distribution channels. Yet someone has to pay for the Nikon consumer Web site, and it's impossible to know how the site affects sales.
As a consumer, I'd love to have been able to buy the camera right then and there, either via an online sales partner or at a local store. By embracing this behavior, manufacturer could do better then simply give me a list of nearby stores. For this to happen, a few important pieces must come together. On the front end, the manufacturer's site must have a shopping cart, mirroring a traditional retail site. But instead of directly concluding a sale, the checkout path must integrate sales through a local retail partner.
One company that's doing this currently is Sligh Furniture. Sligh is a manufacturer that doesn't sell directly to consumers, but its site has a shopping cart. At the point of purchase, the customer is prompted for a Zip Code, then asked to select a local retailer from which to make the purchase. The transaction is handled online, but the actual purchase is made through the retailer.
This is a great way for manufacturers to make their sites more transactional. It's also a great way for them to understand their Web sites' value. Yet the problem exists not only on the front end. Back-end accounting systems must specifically understand this purchase behavior and be able to give credit to all parties involved. For instance, Sligh might have a different contract with store X than it does with store Y, so the accounting behind this sale is potentially complicated.
Luckily, this problem is also being solved. Companies like Reshare exist solely to solve it. Its back-end system allows manufacturers to set up all these types of business rules, track multichannel purchases, and keep accurate accounting of where sales were made, what percentage of sales go to various levels of the distribution chain, and so forth. Using a service like Reshare on the back end and creating a more retail-like experience on the front end solve the channibalism problem from the manufacturer's perspective.
Embrace It, Then Trace It
We have to stop fearing our customers and the way they behave. The more we accept their behavior, the better we'll be. They'll go online to research and buy in a store. They'll go in a store for research and buy online. They'll go to a manufacturer's Web site, then buy either online or at a store. They'll look at a catalog, then buy online. All these behaviors have traditionally been nightmares for companies. Who gets credit for the sale? Whose P and L sheet is affected?
Although some forward-thinking retailers have decided to forego separate P and L sheets for these channels, others can't (or won't) restructure themselves internally to be less channel-centric (and siloed). For these companies, it's essential to create pathways that easily allow all this cross-channel behavior to occur.
Once companies do that, they can trace it, understand it, and figure out what percentage of the sales credit goes to what channels. More important, they can better understand their customers and create new services based on user needs, a win-win for all parties involved.
Questions, thoughts, comments? Let me know.
Until next time…


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About my life. Hi guyssss how are you doing? Yesterday I had a day off and went to a festival with some friends. Although the weather could have been better (there was A LOT of wind, which made it pretty cold), I had a lovely day! There was festival food, good music and good vibes; nothing more I need. After such a fun day, going back to school feels even more boring than normal, but luckily I had the night to look forward to. My besties came over for dinner to check out my new room. It was actually the first time for me as well to have dinner there, and it's still so strange to think that in a few days I'll be eating and sleeping there almost every day. Strange, but in a very exciting, good way!
About the outfit. This outfit kind of reminds me of the witch squad in American Horror Story; black and feminine. Just the way I like it. The only thing missing is a huge black hat haha.


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The glass-like cavern I walked into took my breath away. Wow! For a moment, I had forgotten why we had come.
While partially passing through the walls, light reflected off of them. A low hum hung in the air and made me want to take a nap. Though, the burning gas smell brought me back to the situation at hand. At the center of the room, a golden pedestal stood alone. A pink field surrounded the pedestal and the toy that sat atop it. Shaped like a Tanuki, the toy was almost the same size as me.
It called out to me. The Ancient Tanuki whispered in my ears. It wanted me to take it. To love it. To use its destructive power and rip the world in two.
I shook off the invasive thoughts. "We have to be careful ... that toy ... ."
With drool running down his chin, Ren licked his lips. "Imagine what we could accomplish with a toy like that." He stepped forward.
Cody barked. "Imagine what I could do to that toy."
With Cody's help, I restrained Ren. "No, Ren. We can't take that toy to use it."
Ren hissed. After shaking his head, he seemed to find himself. "But ... ."
"We have to use that toy to free Mom, and then destroy it before Maru has a chance to destroy it." I gathered my courage and walked towards the toy.
I blinked.
A squealing noise ripped through the distance. Dust filled the room. Click. Click. Clang. Crack. Vroom!
I leaped backwards and reached out to my bag of toys. My back itched, and the smell of burning fish entered my nose. "... The Monster ... ."
When the dust settled, The Monster spun its tires again. It growled.
With my heart pounding in my ears, I found it hard to concentrate.
The Monster was far scarier in person. How could it be so ... large?
I burned the fish in my stomach.
Next: Part 25


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The iPad 2 came out and the world, other than Apple Fanboyz, let out a collective yawn. Apparently it's thinner and now has two crappy cameras instead of one. So go out and buy one and sell me your "old" iPad for $50. Everybody wins.
A Next-Gen Car Stereo
Most car stereos I see are pretty much the same. Little LCD panel, bunch of poorly named knobs and buttons, etc. Some have nifty features, but nothing tremendously different than it was 10 years ago. Couldn't Apple come up with something that looked better and did more? Maybe with 4G built in?
A Brilliant Clock Radio
I have a pretty awesome clock radio (it's this one here). I can set two different wake times (one for me and one for my wife) each day and they can be different depending on the day. It works great but it's a real pain in the ass to set up and work with. Plus, it's nicer-looking than most clock radios, but I wouldn't consider it stylish. I would think Apple could design a brilliant clock radio. Something like the Sony Dash but cooler.
A Watch I Don't Mind Wearing
I stopped wearing watches many years back. Mostly because I don't like the feel of a watch, but also because it really doesn't offer much. I think most people just use their phones to tell time these days, unless they just like to wear watches. I suspect Apple could give people a reason to wear watches again. Something that looked slick and did things other than telling time. Maybe reading your vital signs or generating power kinetically for your other devices.
A New Instrument
When was the last time someone created a new, game-changing instrument? Something you could grab as easily as a guitar to take on stage and make sounds never heard before? Sure, you could hook up a laptop to some speakers, but a laptop is inelegant and difficult to play. Imagine some white glowing tube with a few mysterious buttons or panels that sounded like whale songs or an underwater banjo.
An Amazing Educational Toy
Leapfrog makes some cool educational toys, as do other toy makers. But I haven't seen anything game changing in kids toys in a while. What if Apple put its brains behind a simple, effective educational toy that first and second grade kids could use at home and at school? Something that wasn't a computer I mean. Something devoid of a computer's distractions but rich in interactivity and education. Something that could be wirelessly updated by the teacher at the end of the day for homework. I don't know what it is, but it would be a great legacy for Steve Jobs.


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Cars 2 Games Review
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Birthday Gift Idea!!
Unless you have been living under a rock, I am sure you have noticed that Cars is back with a whole new movie. To celebrate, there is a large line of toys and games available. I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to review two of these games: Cars Monopoly and Cars Memory!
Cars 2 Monopoly
Like the original Monopoly, the goal of this Cars 2 game is to earn the most money. Instead of the classic Monopoly characters, you play with characters from the Cars 2 movie. Rather than rolling dice, you spin a Lightening McQueen car around the race track and move the number indicated on the race track. Every property and all money is set in $1M increments, so your children only need elementary math skills to play.
Includes 1 racetrack (in 4 pieces), 1 Lightning McQueen racecar, 1 gameboard, 16 Cars cards, 16 tires, 8 Pitties, 4 character movers, 16 Chance cards, money pack and instructions.
For 2 to 4 players.
Ages 5 and up.
Review:The game is really adorable. Every single facet of the game is Cars-themed. For example, rather than building houses, you use tires. My daughter is 5 and absolutely loves playing it. My son, who is 8, said the game was too babyish; however, he saw Bella and I having so much fun that he finally agreed to play and he liked it a lot too. It is much simpler than original Monopoly and has a much quicker play time. I truly enjoyed playing it as well!
Cars 2 Memory
Memory is a classic game for children, and now your little one can try to match up their favorite Cars 2 characters. Like the original version, you turn over a picture card and try to match it with another card. To add to the fun, the game comes with a "spectator grandstand" that allows you to display your matches and a "speedway game board". When you get a match, your car moves one space on the game board. The first person to reach the finish line wins!
Review: My son was definitely too old to enjoy this game, but Bella still enjoyed it. The spectator grandstand and game board were clever additions that added to the fun. The only complaint that I had was that many of the cars looked very similar to us and it would have been nice to also include their names on the cards. Other than that, this is an enjoyable game for children ages 3 and up.
Source URL: http://zinarala.blogspot.com/2011/07/cars-2-games-review.html
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Free Flower and Fruit Graphic: Vintage Strawberry Illustration with Flowers
This is a beautifully colored vintage illustration of a strawberry plant with both the flowers and fruit. Wouldn't this make a wonderful element on a label or gift tag for some strawberry jam?! I've given you both the .jpg and .png files of this image. I hope you enjoy!
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Warning: The following is likely to be controversial, and also discusses elements of at least two recently released major films that should definately by considered major spoiler material.
As we're all aware when it comes to movies, especially "mainstream" Hollywood releases, there are certain things that while not against any of the MPAA rules you're just "not supposed to do." For the last five years, the #1 top entry on that list has certainly been using 9/11 imagery as any kind of referential counterpoint. Exceptions exist, of course, for serious or topical films and even then ONLY in the most tasteful and sombre way.
Above all else, a certain "universal understanding" has prevailed: You're "not supposed to" use the visual touchstones of 9/11 as an element of emotional manipulation for a fictional onscreen event. Or, in plain english: It's been understood as "wrong" or "too soon" to deliberately render something in your movie in resemblance to 9/11 iconography in order to stir the audience's collective emotional memory to help the onscreen goings-on achieve a desired emotional effect. It would be "callous, too soon and grossly innapropriate," right? This is where we've, for the most part, been for a long time now.
But now, here we have "War of The Worlds," which BLUNTLY evokes the key iconography of 9/11 in tremendously powerful ways. There's been no official yes or no from Spielberg, of course, but LOTS of people are picking up on this and in my opinion there's simply no way most of this could be an accident: "WOTW" seems very obviously to base the "look and feel" of it's Alien attacks on the "look and feel" of 9/11 and it's aftermath, and it does so to (I think) striking dramatic effect.
Consider, first, the obvious parts: Unlike most big action spectacles where the visual keynote of mass-destruction is fiery explosions, WOTW is all about ash (from death ray blasted humans) and gray concrete dust. Amid the initial Alien attack, Cruise's Ray Ferrier is shown not so much as fleeing the Tripod itself, but fleeing the massive cloud of dust and ash it causes. I can't see how it can be overlooked or explained away, that the results serve to deftly mirror the ash-strewn streets and the crashing "wave of dust" we all remember from the captured footage of the day. Later, scenes showing hastily-assembled camps for refugee humans covered with colorful, hand-made signs seeking missing loved ones extremely reminiscient of the same purpose signs that covered much of NY post-attack. Finally, the film twice returns to the surreal image of empty human clothing drifting down from the sky in a manner that recalls the slow showers of office paper that continued long after the towers fell.
And then the more subtle possible inferences: The film never leaves the geography of a largely straight line between the New York and Boston areas... the destination and origin of the hijacked 9/11 planes. When the Ferrier family bunks down for the night in a basement, they awake to find huge sections of the neighborhood crushed by planes that have fallen from the sky. The big "this is bigger than we thought" reveal is that the Tripod war machines have been waiting buried underneath Earth's soil for a long time... "sleeper cells," perhaps?
I don't mean any of this as criticism, just observation. This is Speilberg's stock in trade after all, no? His ability to understand and use the visual and thematic touchstones of his audience's collective minds to increase emotional investment in his films. This is why "Schindler's List" looks like the b&w photographs by which most people already "know" the holocaust, and why "Saving Private Ryan's" battle scenes mirror the hand-held look of WWII-era archival footage. It's my arithmetic that "War of The Worlds" looks like 9/11 because 9/11 is now our #1 go-to mental picture of what we "know" mass-scale tragic devastation looks like.
What I'm asking is, since WOTW has now come out and seems well on the way to being a boxoffice success using this formula... does this mean that "thou shalt reference 9/11 for dramatic effect" commandment has now been retired? Will WOTW and Summer 2005 be remembered, then, as the movie and the year wherein in finally became "okay" to deal with the memory of 9/11 in abstract or even allegorical ways? If so, what does that mean? Will ash-clouds and softly-drifting debris now replace fireballs and clashing steel as the action-movie "ka-boom" effects of choice? Does it mean we're that much closer to films set around or in relation to the attacks or, even a 911 movie?
Come to think of it, we may have already crossed this line earlier this summer. What about some of the subtle post-911 era concepts at work in "Batman Begins?" Amid the main thrust of Batman's origin is a big villian plot with an eerily familiar ring to it: A shadow army of moralistic terrorists seek to destroy a "corrupt and decadent" Western city by instilling widescale panic among the citizens, a key element of which involves driving a hijacked mass-transport vehicle into a massive corporate tower that dominates the skyline. The terrorist mastermind behind the plot, it must be noted, hides out in a remote mountain range and even has an Arabic name: Ra's Al Ghul ("The Demon's Head.")
Anyway, thats what I think. I'd like to hear what some of you think: Am I seeing things that aren't there or am I onto something? And, if so, is this a good development? A bad one?


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A selection of writings, speeches, photographs and events as well as some of my favourite literary passages.
Wednesday, 30 July 2008
The Poison of Bonuses
I worked in the financial services sector of the City for nearly 40 years, and from the 1980s onwards was increasingly astonished at the offering of US-style bonuses for doing an honest day's work. Such bonuses serve to skew individuals' performance towards a particular easily identified course of action - usually involving more risk - but more importantly are likely to erode people's personal values. Our work is performed as our duty to ourselves, our families and our colleagues and we should discharge it to the best of our ability at all times. We should not need the carrot of more money to do a difficult job; we do it because it is our job. Sometimes one just happens to be in the hot seat at the relevant time; if we weren't any good, we wouldn't be there. The chap at Barclays said to be getting additional compensation for finding outside capital is also just doing his job, and should need no more of shareholders' funds than his normal pay for doing it. To offer people large bonuses is to insult peoples' characters.
Posted by Herry Lawford at 3:08 pm
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Sunday, 20 July 2008
Saturday, 19 July 2008
Favourite Writings - The Lycian Shore
Photo by Kei Lawford. Click to enlarge
As I came down from the causeway through the theatre, a black snake like a shy god slid into the laurel thicket; I stepped over the stones rattled by earthquakes on their foundations, and climbed from terrace to terrace of corn where peasants built shallow walls round the pockets of ancient houses. The full ears, ready for harvest, beat their slight weight against my passing hand, as if they to would spend their weak resistance for the headland's warm and living peace. So remote, so undisturbed was the great hollow, that its own particular divinity seemed to fill it - complete in being as a cup is filled to the brim. There was no judgement here but only the consequence of actions; the good corn filled itself out in deeper places and the bad dwindled among stones, and all things were a part of each other in a soil that someone's building two thousand or more years ago had flattened or spoiled. A fair-haired woman, still beautiful, with green eyes, was reaping. I asked if I might photograph, and she called her husband, who came climbing up and stood beside her, and glanced at her and smiled when I said that she was like the English to look at: they were both pleased by her fairness, and there was a happy friendliness between them. He had the oval face of the Mediterranean, and she the straight northern brows: and the history of the world had washed over Cnidus to produce them both, from the days when their ancestors, in the oldest city of the peninsular, joined in building the Hellenium in Egypt, or sent the first caryatid to Delphi.
Freya Stark-- The Lycian Shore
(I make no excuse for resuing one of my favourite writings, as no one reads back to when this was first posted, least of all me)
Tuesday, 8 July 2008
The National Gardens Scheme
I don't know if The National Gardens Scheme is replicated in other coutries, but I do know that nothing epitomises the spirit of the British Isles so well.
The piece below by Paul Johnson in the Spectator says most of what there is to say about gardening in England, though he properly concentrates on the relatively modest gardens that are on show for only a day or two while only alluding to the grander ones - which at the end of the day are equally the expression of one mind's love of nature, but are even more extraordinary in their compass - like the great garden at Athelhampton which we visited last week.
One of the best ways to appreciate gardens is through the eyes of a good photographer - and my personal favourite is Nigel Birkett, who kindly puts his photos on Flick for all to see.
'A gardener must be a philosopher but never an atheist'
There is no more English activity than gardening, and it has been so for over a thousand years. Indeed, there were Anglo-Saxon gardens before: traces remain. Gardens grew under castle walls, and were tended by the wives of men who wore chain mail. They took the place of water lilies when the moats were peaceably drained. The first great English essay, written by Francis Bacon early in the 17th century, is 'Of Gardens'. I have just reread it. It is long, elegant but detailed and full of ripe knowledge, about nature and our intimate relationship with her.
Bacon is particularly good on the scents and smells of a garden which, stirred by faint breezes, he compares, in its coming and going, to the warbling of music. Thus he gives advice on planting accordingly, to create varying odours all the year round. He distinguishes between passive smells, and those you can arouse. Thus: 'Those which perfume the air most delightfully, not passed by as the rest, but being trodden upon and crushed, are three: that is, burnet, wild-thyme and watermints. Therefore you are to set whole alleys of them, to have the pleasure when you walk or tread.' Of course, you say, flowers had much stronger scents in that golden age. Not necessarily so: Bacon complains that some flowers which ought to smell gloriously do not, and instances bays, rosemary and sweet marjoram; and he complains that some flowers, once in bloom, expend their scent quickly: 'Roses, damask and red, are fast flowers of their smell, so that you may walk by a whole row of them, and find nothing of their sweetness; yea, though it be in a morning's dew.' The flower, he says, that 'yields the sweetest smell in the air, is the violet, especially the white double violet'. As true today as when he wrote.
I was thinking of Bacon the other weekend when I went to an open garden day at one of our finest Somerset villages, Stogumber. There were 15 gardens on display, all within easy walking distance so each could be visited without undue fatigue. It is a noble place, crowded with old houses, kept beautifully painted, and with a pleasing mediaeval church, whose collection of silver vessels was likewise on show. Walking its sleepy lanes, and popping in every few paces to inspect a garden behind its proud cottage, was a rare delight. One sometimes thinks that Old England is gone for good, and looking around parts of London nowadays with its atmosphere of a degraded Levantine bazaar crowded with embittered people, it is hard to deny the malign change. But in West Somerset, on such an occasion, Old England is very much alive: gentle, personal, courteous, smiling, welcoming, anxious to show you what has been created, and explain it.
These small gardens on show at their best time of year are more fun and interesting than the grander affairs. To begin with, each is totally individual, made by one devoted person, or a couple. Then, the creators are there, on the spot, to answer your questions and tell of the experiments, surprises, disappointments and glories of their craft. What is so remarkable is the ingenuity with which each square foot of garden is put to use, to create intensity, variety and contrasts, an air of spaciousness and generosity in an acre or less. I saw nothing repetitive, no horticultural clichés, but on the contrary, originality and imagination, especially in the juxtaposition of colour, shape, size and texture of leaf, as though the gardener was a painter, composing carefully not only for the telling detail but the general effect. And they are quick to tell you of the happy accident, the surprise emergence in due season of an unusual bloom, unexpected but refreshing, and welcome. 'That was a surprise,' they say. 'But then you never know exactly what is going to come up, or what precisely is happening in the winter under the soil.' Gardening is like raising children, in a way: full of unexpected changes, even shocks; requiring a great deal of patience and love, and willingness to go with nature instead of trying to bend it to your will.
Gardens, especially small ones tended by one person, reflect character, and express aesthetic temperament, even a philosophy of life. I was particularly taken by one delicately composed of pale shades, which put me in mind of Milton's Lycidas:
Bring the rathe primrose that forsaken dies,
The tufted crow-toe, and pale jessamine,
The white pink, and the pansy freaked with jet,
The glowing violet,
The musk-rose, and the well-attired woodbine,
With cowslips wan that hang the pensive head,
And every flower that sad embroidery wears.
By contrast, there was the blazing border based upon what Bacon calls the 'French marigold', but composed of many other fierce orange and yellow blooms, and a few furnace-reds. It sounds a horror but was actually, in its own bold way, a masterpiece of taste and vivacity, as though van Gogh, wisely advised by Fantin-Latour, had designed it in an inspired moment. But as the lady who created it said: 'Oh, a lot of it was sheer luck, you know. Never happen again, most likely. But then, you don't want too many repeats in gardening do you? I'm all for changing each year.'
I admired, too, the lady who had created a neat, spruce, serpentine path leading into the heart of her garden, with variegated mosses and plants of many shades of green, punctuating the granite squares — a miniature work of grand art, worthy of Vermeer. Gardens display tidy minds and tempestuous ones, the energies of the adventurous spirit and the cosy conservation of the virtuous one. Odd that Freud took no interest in the gardener's mind; but then he was a city Herr, all parterres and privets. As well as all kinds of primitive instincts and irrational skills, there is a strong intellectual and spiritual element in raising plants, which both reflects personality and helps to shape it. All gardeners are economists, but of various kinds: expansionists and gradualists, exuberant or cautious. As Keynes said, gardeners can be bulls and bears, too. There is the kind, for instance, who can make perfectionist use of the daisy, recognising the truth of Chaucer's point in the Prologue to The Legend of Good Women:
That wel by reson men it calle may
The 'dayesye' or elles the 'ye of day',
The emperice and flour of floures alle.
There is also the kind that makes superb use of contrasting light and dark leaves in shrubs, and multiple shades of green, signs of a subtle, highly observant temperament — what you might call a Dorothy Wordsworth mind.
The Old Testament is full of references to flowers, especially their fragility, their evanescence. Samuel warns: 'All the increase of thy house shall die in the flower of their age,' and the Voice in Isaiah says: 'All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field: The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass.' Gardeners know this. They perceive that dying is inherent in nature, and so is rebirth and renewal. Gardeners come close to the spirit of life and its creator. They are not wild enthusiasts, but gentle philosophers, and we may be sure that no great gardener is an atheist.'
Paul Johnson - The Spectator
Monday, 7 July 2008
Great Houses
Corfe Castle, Dorset (National Trust) Click here for rather too many photos of the castle
One of the beauties of our countryside are the many great houses which survive, often in glorious grounds, by allowing people to visit them. The Historic Houses Association lists 1500 such places and The National Trust a further 300.
Athelhampton, Dorset (Historic Houses Association) Click here for some photos of Athelhampton and its garden taken on a rainy day in July
Added to which the late Sir John Smith's Landmark Trust now lets out over 180 restored old buildings for short periods so that you can experience what it's like to actually live in such places.
The East Banqueting House, Chipping Campden (The Landmark Trust)
Many of the larger houses have cafes which, like the pubs, have undergone a huge improvement in quality and can give you a decent lunch or tea.
Apart from their beauty, they are important for the history that surrounds each of them. Click on the names of these houses for a brief summary - except the site of the East Banqueting House which, like Corfe Castle, fell in the Civil War. The Landmark Trust site records that 'In 1613, the newly enriched Sir Baptist Hicks began work on a house in Chipping Campden. It was a noble house in the latest fashion, with elaborate gardens. Thirty-two years later it was destroyed, wantonly, by the Royalists, as they withdraw from the town. Only a shell was left, now shrunk to a single fragment, but other buildings escaped the fire and are still there, together with the raised walks of the garden'.
Click on each photo for a better view
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Friday, November 28, 2008
The Labour Police State
It has now arrived. What will be next.
They are trying to intimidate the population to keep quiet about what the government gets up to.
Its a bleak day for freedom.
Labour is taking away bit by bit everything that is good about Britain.
"Britain never never never will be slaves"
3 comments:
It has the sneaky labour goverments finger prints all over it. Labour sacked the last DG of the BBC because of the truth he had told about Blair, and the BBC has been afraid of Labour ever since. Labour are now trying to intimidate people for passing information that we should know about.
If Labour think they can pull the wool over our eyes they should think again.
It is government by fear and intimidation.
Labour have passed laws that have allowed this to happen. I knew what was comming when that old man was frog marched from the Labour conference for shouting rubbish.
Labour will do anything to stop the truth comming out.
It is a outrage against the people.
- November 28, 2008 at 11:29 PM
- Mrs Smallprint said...
Hi Mr N.
They have also signed up to an EU scheme to share data and integrate ID card systems.
See my blog for more details.
Mrs S.
- December 3, 2008 at 5:51 AM
They are going to sell us out to the EU.
They have sunk the pound and will frighten us that the only way out is to join the Euro.
Our fathers and Grandfathers that died in 2 world wars to keep us free should be respected and we should say NO.
- December 3, 2008 at 6:40 AM