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Thursday, November 13
Philip Neri, Fool for Christ
"How, in cold words, can we capture the spirit of Philip or explain the charm this hunter of souls exercised over his prey? There can be no doubt that what first attracted people to Philip was the manifest presence of the Holy Spirit in his soul. Not everyone experienced it in the same way, but no one who spend any length of time in his company was in any doubt about it. The manifestations of this presence were sometimes extraordinary.
"His extravagant behavior cannot be passed over without some explanation. Why, for example, when certain Polish noblemen came to visit him at the Vallicella [the church adjoining the present-day Roman Oratory], seeking edification, did he have read aloud the most ridiculous passages from Pastor Arlotto saying that it was his spiritual reading? Why, when invited to the house of one of his penitents, a rich Roman lady who had invited him to meet her worldly relatives, did he arrive with half his beard shaved off? Why, when some scholarly Bishop, little given to jesting, attended his Mass, did he commit every possible error in pronunciation? Why did he sometimes wear a red jersey or a fur coat over his cassock? Why did he walk through the streets carrying a bouquet of flowers in his hand, or perform a burlesque dance before an audience of Cardinals chanting comic verses which he made up as he went along?
"Was it merely to make a fool of himself and cause others to think little of him? His buffonery cannot be so simply explained, for we must take into consideration the pranks he was constantly playing on others. These pranks took many forms; some were merely unexpected and ludicrous, as when he pulled the impressive beard of a Swiss Guard, others were more elaborate, as when he sent Baronius to a wineshop to sample all the wines before buying half a bottle; to make it all the worse he had to offer a gold piece in payment and ask for change. Then there was the somewhat scandalous prank he used to play on people who came to him for miraculous cures. He would give them a small sachet which they were to place on the affected part, with the proviso that they must on no account open it. As soon as he died the recipients could restrain their curiosity no longer. On opening up their sachets they found that they contained nothing more than a cheap holy medal!
"Certainly, Philip acted in this way to lower himself in the eyes of the world yet there are many saints who would have found it difficult even to understand anyone using such strange methods of doing so. Philip engaged in these jests because he had a natural tendency that way and saw it as no part of his duty to resist a tendency that was not fundamentally evil. Philip did not exaggerate his eccentricities simply in order to pass as an addle-pate; his unbounded humour was the spontaneous expression of that freedom which to him was inseparable from being in a state of grace, the freedom of the children of God.
"He knew that the devil is ever striving to make us take grace for granted, claim it as a right or place ourselves on an equality with God and that is why he continually prevented those about him from taking themselves too seriously. The only antidote to deadly seriousness into which pride can lead us is, when all is said and done, the joyful simplicity of the children of God. Why should children in their Father's arms be other than joyful? They alone in the world have the secret of true freedom and happiness, and even if those who cannot fathom the reason for their joy, judge it madness, they can, with a clear conscience, make their own the words of Wisdom: 'I was at His side... my delight increasing with every day, as I made play before Him all the while, made play in this world of dust, with the sons of Adam for my play-fellows.' (Proverbs viii. 31.)"
--Louis Bouyer
For more from Bouyer on St. Philip, excerpted from his The Roman Socrates, click here.
(Cappa hood tip to Fra J.M.B.)


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Secrets to a Successful Strawberry Patch {Part 1}
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I spent this week catching up in my garden! I am so behind on my Spring Cleanup!
The strawberry patches were in need, so they got my attention first!
I clipped off the old runners that I had conveniently neglected last fall so these little plants could have room to grow. Look how much better they look! {So Proud} Keeping the runners clipped helps to increase the berry production and you will get bigger berries!
Clipping off the runners and dead leaves is really pretty simple. Just take a pair of pruners (like the red ones in the picture above) and cut off all the brown foilage close to the base of the plant. The strawberries send off shoots (or runners) which look like really long stems that connect the original plant to the new plant. This is the way the strawberries replenish themselves, but if you do not cut them off all the energy will go into the runner and the new plant, instead of producing larger berries and a more plentiful crop.
There were even a few blossoms, hooray! Maybe that means we will get strawberries soon! This is the patch of Albion Everbearing Strawberries that we planted last spring . I am so impressed with how well they are doing! They produced all summer long and they make my mouth water just thinking about how yummy they are!
Tune in next week when we will be planting a new bed of strawberries and sharing farmer Kurt's berry planting secrets! In the meantime here are a few things to consider when planting berries:
1. Find a sunny location. It could be a spot with enough room for a planter like this:
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You could use them like ground cover in a flower bed! This method will yield berries but they might not be as big (because it is harder to keep up on the runners). Strawberries also do well in pots, if you don't have much room.
2. Prepare your soil. Well drained sandy soil, high in organic matter.
3. Don't plant where tomatoes, potatoes, peppers or eggplant have been grown recently it will cause your plants to get Verticillium Rot. Verticillium wilt is a soil-borne fungal disease that results in the yellowing, and eventual browning and death of foliage, particularly in branches closest to the soil.
In case you missed it… Successful Strawberry Patch PART 2
There is still time to get strawberry starts.
Grow the Best Strawberries: Storey's Country Wisdom Bulletin
I had no idea about not planting near tomatoes. Interesting.
I have read that about clipping off the runners. But I also read that you just let those runners grow too so that you get even more berries. They have their own root system. Good to know about tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, etc. though. I had not heard about that.
It should be mentioned that the original plants will someday stop producing (after maybe 4-5 yrs) so you need to let some of the runners grow so you will always have berries. Garden boxes are a good solution; they keep the runners contained but still able to grow, and it is easier to reach the berries without stepping on them. (Some strawberry farms use only last year's runners for this year's crop. ). Personally, I don't discourage runners. 🙂
Oh and, don't buy plants! Find a friend who has a patch already. They will probably have some plants they can share (since they reproduce on their own).
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subset: commoncrawl


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Let's hope it will be a really good one, and especially have lots of time and money to spend on our Crafty bits and pieces.
I have had a good time and the last 2 days I have had a relaxing time I had a couple of the Spellbound books for Christmas. I have just made my first bauble with beads, and am really quite chuffed with it.
I altered one of the spellbound patterns to suit as I have used beads from my stash. I know I will now be buying beads to suit the patterns It is a lovely relaxing thing to do and makes a nice change from the usual bits things.
Thanks for dropping by to have a look, any comments will be most welcome.


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Ryan Seacrest has held a number of different titles in his career and soon he will be adding 'film producer' to his busy schedules.
Ryan Seacrest will partner with Reese Witherspoon in producing this untitled romantic comedy film. Also according to THR, it will be written by Krista Vernoff (Grey's Anatomy).
It seems Seacrest is getting the best of both worlds --- both career and personal life.
[Photos courtesy by Michael Buckner/Getty Images - Bauer Griffin]


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All guns and politics, from the best gun rights-and-liberty bloggers on the Internet!
David Codrea wonders if the next terrorists who attack the U.S. will enter the country through the porous southern border with Mexico.
Vanderboegh reports explosive information on the frontal assault on the 2nd Amendment by the ATF under Barack Obama.
WRSA says of the coming catastrophe, 'The few who will stand will not have time for anything but the show itself. Be ready.'
Kurt Hofmann provides the roundup of all of the Gun Rights Examiners.
Brigid has a highly informative post on holsters and all of the practical implications of the various types.
Way Up North presents 'the Alaska Digest' for a Monday...always interesting.
Tam sends out an alert concerning ongoing 2nd Amendment litigation, and the help of ALL gun owners is needed.
Around O-Town blogs on the latest trends he has noted in gun stores around the country.
Behind the Parapet comments on all of the bottom-feeders who have been in the news of late.
Days of our Trailers has a video from the Oklahoma Full Auto Shoot and Trade Show.
Every Blade of Grass remembers the Challenger disaster and its deep impact on all of America.
Standing By says 'we are all fascists now.' Take a look at the reason why.
Nicki provides hard-hitting commentary 'about those porous borders.'
The Stiletto presents 'the Daily Blade' in which she comments on a variety of items in the news, including why the electric car will be a 'non-starter.' Take a look.
Gabby Hoffman has an excellent read on the latest successful attempt by the Left to silence conservative speech--re: Bristol Palin who was scheduled to speak on a college campus.
Screed of Momus posts the 'big dumb government week in review.'
Breda writes on 'the art of the gun.'
Monday, January 31, 2011
Second Amendment News Roundup for 1/31/2011
Posted by Welshman at 1:25 PM
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Already said in 2011, this new creation of the world, through economic, shown through the first step, which were dirty Mortgage USA, and now in Europe, this disaster, you are eating to Greece, Spain, Italy and the new Europe after the split of the USSR, which are neither more nor less than countries without the resources that Europeans big and powerful. We also witness to many other third world are making these adjustments claimed to Greece, on their own. With higher taxes, adjustments in education and health, and ultimately, they will pay, citizens of every nation, large or small, without being consumed and single cent of this debt and reckless spending, of which no one warned. On the other hand, since China and Japan, are beginning to treaties, to market their coins, leaving the dollar. In this small world that we know we are few and far, we know that this strategy does not affect the great powers, for example, although this setting that everyone should do their military spending continues without any nerve, threatening anyone who put him ahead. This rule the world from a few, not born recently. It is ancient, for the west and east, just enough to see some good books of reliable history. U.S., Europe is not separate from, but very close to it, even in its origins. The guidelines remain the same, upgraded with new international conventions, China, Russia, Japan. The dismissed except for some who call rebels are under the control, directly or indirectly by all the great, now this dominance is economic colonization. At some point there was talk of the New World Order (conspiracy), of whom many do not bother to deny it. Ejemplo:
The New World Order, was called NOM. The New World Order is a conspiracy theory that asserts the existence of a plan designed to impose a single government - collectivist ,bureaucratic and controlled sectors elitist and plutocratic , etc. - at world. 1 This theory argues that both events are perceived as significant, as the groups that cause, would be under the control of a central all-powerful, a conspiracy - group small, secretive and very powerful - malevolent purposes for the vast majority of the population.
Today, this conspiracy theory New World Order has higher expression in the U.S.. States
Later (1903) the Secret Service of the Russian period he published the famous pamphlet The Protocols of the Elders of Zion as a work of propaganda anti-revolutionary, a work that incorporated almost verbatim arguments found in the Dialogue in Hell between Machiavelli and Montesquieu , an attack - in 1864 - from loyalist militant Maurice Joly against Napoleon III. 14
The central thesis of "The Protocols" is that if you remove successive layers that cover or conceal the causes of various problems affecting the world is a core group that promotes and organizes in order, first, to destroy governments and established social order, with the ultimate goal of achieving mastery.That conspiracy is a group of central Jews , it is alleged, controls both the financial sectors as different social forces which, in turn, are those who, from this point of view, causing disorder and social conflict : theFreemasons , the Communists , the anarchists , and so on. 15
Nora Levin states that the Protocols enjoyed great popularity and huge sales in the twenties and thirties.Were translated into all European languages and sold widely in Arab countries, USA and England. But it was in Germany after the World War , where they had their greatest success.They were used to explain all the disasters that occurred in the country: the armistice in the war, hunger, inflation, etc..
Today All Great Rulers, protected by his dyslexia, do not let us go, only more and more we are oppressed, and turn a blind eye to the NEW WORLD ORDER CONSPIRACY (NOM), in one way or another continues.
In the meantime, millions and millions are still waiting when I drop a bomb, or the more hungry will have tomorrow.
IN ANY CASE, THAT MATTER, THESE FEW LARGE AND THOUSANDS of sepoys, LIVING WELL. AND THE OTHERS WILL KEEP YOUR BEING CHEAP LABOR AND SLAVE.


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text: Elmer W. Fick, age 86, loving husband of Dolores; beloved father of Douglas; cherished grandfather of Alison and Douglas; uncle to many. Funeral service will be 11 a.m. Saturday at Yurs Funeral Home, 405 E. Main St. (corner of Rte 64 and Rte 25), St. Charles. Entombment Bronswood Cemetery, Oak Brook. Visitation Friday 2 to 9 p.m. at the funeral home. For info: 630-584-0060.


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When my oldest sister went to her prom she wore a white organza dress with enough crinoline petticoats to make Annette Funnicello jealous. My second oldest sister wore an empire style dress with her hair piled so high that Marie Antoinette may have thought she had stolen her wig. A few years later my other sister donned a simple peasant style dress with her long hair falling past her shoulders, no makeup and daisies for her corsage. By the time I went to the prom, I was wearing a little yellow number that all of my sisters protested as "way too sexy" for a high school prom dress. Times change and with it so do styles and social norms. A great article in the Little Addictions talks about the new etiquette for technology. Full article here. Excerpt:
But all of these mobile, technological gadgets that are so prevalent now -- somehow [people] just get sucked into their own little world of their cell phones, iPods, wireless computers. They're not existing in a society and realizing that their actions affect anyone else."
A poll last year by Pew Research, The Associated Press and AOL (which, like CNN, is owned by Time Warner) found that 81 percent of the people they surveyed were irritated at least occasionally by loud and annoying cell phones in public places. About one in 10 admitted they were the object of criticism or stares because of their own cell phone use. The poll also revealed about a quarter of respondents felt the need to answer their phone even if it interrupts a meal or a meeting.
And it's not just cell phones. A 2006 ABC News poll found that nearly three-quarters of those surveyed had observed someone using a phone or e-mailing and text messaging in midconversation. Another survey of 150 senior business executives revealed that about 86 percent check and reply to e-mails on PDAs such as BlackBerries during meetings, but 31 percent said that it was "never OK" to do so, according to Robert Half Management Resources, a specialized staffing business."I don't know if it's intentional or not, but I think [personal technology] is a way that makes it easier for people to be rude," Ervin says. "If you go to a Broadway show and paid $150 a ticket, you don't want someone talking on their cell phone right behind you."
This rudeness has deteriorated public spaces, according to Lew Friedland, a communications professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He calls the lack of manners a kind of unconscious rudeness, as many people are not aware of what they're doing or the others around them.
Friedland describes the growing use of personal technology in public spaces as a chain reaction. At first, a few people violate the social norms, but as more and more people violate them, the actions become the new norm.
"That's what we're really starting to see now," he says. "It's not that people are just being rude in public and ignoring others, but that the norms themselves are starting to tip."
Libraries are often a great barometer for social norms and we have been struggling with these behaviors for what seems to be ages. While many libraries have looked to create spaces that allow for noises and are actually filled with sounds beyond silence, the perception that libraries are quiet places is still prevalent. Even that new car commercial uses the phrase "library quiet". When I read articles like these I begin to wonder if we shouldn't be utilizing that perception to our advantage to attract adults. "Library Quiet.... a place to get away from it all, even for a half hour while the kids play" Visual- mom reading while the kids are in storytime. Better yet, make it a business person - who couldn't relate to that? Your library... the vacation you don't have time to take. In other words, the idea is to go with the flow and ride the perceptions. I would love to hear about your ideas where you took advantage of exisiting perceptions.


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I think it is safe to say that I am starting to get into the Christmas project mood. I haven't turned on the Christmas music yet, or gotten out any decorations, but I did take the girls to the fabric store on Sunday afternoon to pick out the material for their new Christmas dresses. The project that day might have been learning to let go, as every piece of fabric that I suggested met with a crinkled nose and a "No, I don't think so" refusal. In the end, however, we found fabric that satisfied each girl and their mom AND after a side trip into the Christmas department we found the makings of a St. Lucia costume, which will occupy a great deal of our attention at a later date.
Still, the mundane stuff of everyday life goes on, even if Christmas is only about five weeks away. For instance, a few days ago I took care of a little storage problem I had. With four kids who each have snow pants, ski jackets, and at least one other coat (that is twelve items at a minimum), our little coat rack corner was exploding outward. Every time one jacket was pulled off the rack, several other jackets would cascade onto the floor, resulting in the sort of continuously repeated mess that was rapidly giving me an ulcer.
So, I used some old hooks (they had been lying at the bottom of a drawer for about seven years, since I removed them from bizarre positions in the bedroom closets shortly after we moved in) and created a new snow suit rack going down the basement steps. Problem
solved minimized.
Of course, the children have to cooperate with this new system, so I may have only changed the cause of my ulcer without removing the root cause, but hope springs eternal.
Happy counting down to Christmas, everyone!


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If, like me, you always cook too much rice, don't throw it out. Make a cold rice salad to eat as a side dish in this steamy, hot, stormy weather.
Take three cups of leftover basmati rice, one can lentils (drained), half a red onion (diced), juice of one lemon. Combine. Chill.
Simple but good.
In the garden, the cos lettuce (plural) have their hands up. "Pick me!" they could be saying. I'll pick them but we might retire the cos next season. Caesar salad must have been invented to use up cos lettuce, because it doesn't seem good for much else. Perhaps I've just had too much, like Peter (or was it Benjamin?) who had to be given chamomile.
Any recipes for cos that don't dress it up in bacon and egg?
I came home to find Tracy smashing the crockery. Beautiful old plates, all in shards.
"What are you doing?" I asked, redundantly.
She grasped the redundancy adroitly and returned: "What does it look like I'm doing, playing tennis?" There's an art to sarcasm or biting irony or whatever it is called.
"What I meant was 'why are you smashing the old plates?'" I clarified with a straight bat.
"Because you can't use new ones that are dishwasher proof. Or bone china ones, for that matter. Or vitrified." I stared. That was unexpected. We still hadn't gotten to the point of addressing why the household crockery was being decimated, or far worse than that. She had smashed ten, and we hadn't anywhere near a hundred to begin with.
Later, she showed me the result: an occasional table with a mosaiced pattern made from shards of crockery. It looked like a photograph of the diggings at an ancient Roman ruin. Really quite pretty. And I'll know where to place my glass. Now I regret throwing out all those plates the children have broken over the years. They could have been immortalised. Or at least grouted.


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Samuel Beckett did not see his breakthrough as a writer until he was 47; but with the performance of his play Waiting for Godot in 1953, Beckett placed his indelible stamp on the shape of 20th century drama.
He was born on this day 100 years ago, in 1906 in Foxrock, Ireland. A shy young man, Beckett was an accomplished cricket player and boxer who thought he was destined for a career in chartered accountancy until he found he had a facility with modern languages while at Trinity College in Dublin. From Trinity he went to the Ecole Normale Superieure in Paris, where he met James Joyce and became one of his assistants. Joyce exemplified for Beckett an extraordinary dedication to one's craft and encouraged Beckett with his own writing. Their friendship ended, however, over Joyce's daughter, Lucia, a schizophrenic who fell obsessively in love with the disinterested Beckett; to avoid the uncomfortable situation, Joyce simply refused to see Beckett any more about the time Beckett was supposed to return to Dublin to finish his Trinity College thesis in 1930.
In Dublin, Beckett became seriously depressed, and was sent to live with his aunt's family in Kassel, Germany for a change of scenery. From there Beckett returned to Paris to make a living at writing, but was turned away following the assassination of French president Paul Doumer in a police crackdown on foreigners, and eventually ended up in London to write and seek psychoanalysis.
In 1934 he published his first collection of short stories, More Pricks Than Kicks, which received critical praise but did not sell well. Continuing to suffer from clinical depression, he nonetheless worked away at a novel, Murphy, which was published in 1937. Shortly thereafter, he had a brief affair with Peggy Guggenheim before being brutally stabbed in the chest in a random attack in Paris; while recovering he met Suzanne Deschevaux-Dumesnil, a pianist who became his life-companion (they married in 1961). Murphy did not bring Beckett his exepected recognition, but he continued to write as World War II approached, and in 1940 he became a member of one of the first French resistance groups. When the Nazis infiltrated his group, Beckett and Deschevaux-Dumesnil escaped to non-occupied southern France. After the War he received the Croix de Guerre and the Medaille de la Resistance for his resistance efforts, and wrote two more novels while shuttling back and forth between Dublin and Paris.
Beckett turned to writing drama to relieve himself from writer's blocks while trying to write prose. He wrote Waiting for Godot (in French) in a little over three months at the end of 1948, a spare piece about two down-and-out nonentities, Vladimir and Estragon, who are waiting for someone named Godot with whom they apparently have an appointment; as Godot continually fails to show, they consider suicide, but then acknowledge that they have done their best in waiting, and end the play in resignation, silently facing the audience. The original "show about nothing" (a la Seinfeld), Beckett's play departed from the exalted language of French theater of the time, instead using an ordinary conversational tone, and it combines accents of broad music hall comedy (showcasing the comic skills of vaudevillian and Wizard of Oz "Cowardly Lion" Bert Lahr in the American premiere) with a moral bleakness to define a new genre of absurdist tragi-comedy.
Encouraged by the success of Godot, Beckett became a more confident and prolific playwright, and all but gave up novels. In his plays Endgame (1958) and Krapp's Last Tape (1960), Beckett continued to explore the desolate spirit of humankind -- mournful yet at the same time beautiful, wryly commenting on the brutalities of time, memory, longing and familiarity. Happy Days (1961), the story of a woman buried in sand up to her waist, amusing herself with various objects while her husband reads the newspaper behind the sandpile, carried through similar themes in an even more broadly absurd setting. In the late 1960s, his work became known for its almost outlandish brevity, stretching the boundaries of theatrical expression with Breath (1970), a play of 120 words that lasts 35 seconds, and Not I (1973), a 16-minute play. He flirted with cinema on his only trip to the U.S., making Film (1965) with Buster Keaton.
He received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1969 for "a body of work that, in new forms of fiction and the theatre, has transmuted the destitution of modern man into his exaltation." Beckett died on December 22, 1989 in France.
Labels: Literature, Psychoanalysis, Theater


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To me, google is a verb. It is something I "do" very often. Anytime anyone asks me something I don't know, I tell them to google it. Anytime I start a project, I google what I am about to do. In a way, it feels like asking the elders what I should do. I don't always get the perfect response, but I ALWAYS get a response. Google is there for me (ooop- I guess it is a noun too).
I have a little obsession with finding out what I can about things. Thus the blog. I google and then blog (most of) the things I obsess about. I'm pretty sure this started when I was in debate in HS... Yes- I was in debate. You had to prove what you were saying with research. Now I have a hard time believing a "fact" unless I like the source it came from (and there is a little research behind it). My idea of research may not be purely scientific (i.e. tons of opinions from the mass public) but to me it is worth something, and it helps me form what I want to think about a topic.
I know there are other search engines out there, but google is like the Cub Foods frosted shredded wheat I grew up on- I like THAT taste and none other. The others are similar but really just does not taste the same. Of course when I wanted to blog, I went to google. I am thinking of making a real website (not a fake one!!) and I will be doing that through google. I just love the way it makes me feel when I use it. Whhhoa- is there such thing as a google high?? I think I'm hooked on it.
So, raise your mouse and salute google! Or whatever site you love.
Do you have a particular site that you LOVE? Please share- I always like to try something new.


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When drawing I use human portraits with a profile view, as the shading is easier (to me at least). I love the profile view of somebody, it's unique and shows a variety of features. My particular picture happens to look like a mugshot, but I accept that.
It's great that we have so much technology to collect pictures for memories. On the contrary, there's nothing like a disposable camera. Perfect size pictures for albums, usually have at least one "OMG who took that!?" photo in the collection. They're easy to preserve and won't get erased from technical crashes. Keep it classy this holiday, invest in a disposable camera and bring it to a holiday event. You won't regret it.


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Archive for August, 2010|Monthly archive page
Big companies can reinvent themselves.
When it comes to large companies changing and adapting to new conditions, conventional wisdom especially around Disruptive Innovation theory, is not optimistic:
- Due to a number of factors including size, reward systems and culture, it is extremely difficult for large companies to reinvent themselves.
- For change to be successful, companies need to bring in outsiders untainted by functioning in the culture.
- Since change has a low probability of success, firms should concentrate on their key competencies and customers and be cautious about moves beyond their core.
A recent study out of Stanford's Graduate School of Business on IBM's successful transformation from hardware to solutions provider challenges the above thinking and suggests that large companies are well-suited to reinventing themselves.
Back in 1999, IBM was a large company facing significant financial and market pressure and an uncertain future. Internal analysis revealed that the company had failed to capture value from 29 separate technologies and businesses that where internally incubated. Examples included the first commercial router (Cisco later dominated that market), new technologies to accelerate web performance (Akamai captured this market) and desktop PCs (Dell and Compaq took over this business). The Stanford authors summed up IBM's issues this way: "The maniacal focus on short-term results, careful attention to major customers and markets, and an emphasis on improving profitability all contributed to the firm's ability to exploit mature markets — and made it difficult to explore into new spaces. The alignment that made the company a 'disciplined machine' when competing in mature businesses was directly opposite to that needed to be successful in emerging markets and technologies." Not surprisingly, this assessment may sound familiar to other executives.
IBM understood that their traditional business model was unsuited to capitalize on emerging technologies and market opportunities. So, what did they do to change? Use their global size, client & channel intimacy, and substantial resources & talent to their advantage while ignoring the cliché that large companies can't be agile.
To focus sufficient management attention and resources, IBM situated its new technologies and products in a new, measurable line of business called the Emerging Business Organization (EBO). In the past, high potential technologies and products were lost in the shuffle when they were sprinkled across traditional business units. In addition, IBM put internal, experienced managers at the top of the new business units, a sharp departure from past practice. These managers had some key advantages that were crucial to success. They knew their way around the company, they had internal credibility and they were proven leaders. The logic of the earlier strategy was that younger leaders would be less imbued with the "IBM way" and more likely to try new approaches. More often than not, those leaders failed. As well, IBM cycled top managers through the EBO, helping cross-pollinate new products, technologies and processes throughout the entire company. This built internal awareness of EBO products, drove cross-selling and triggered new innovation. Finally, IBM's used its strong cash flows to put its money where its mouth was. They properly invested in the EBO and its initiatives from R&D through to product commercialization.
These innovations have generated impressive results. Between 2000 and 2005, EBO projects added $15.2B to IBM's top line. When compared to IBM's M&A strategy at the time, EBOs added 19% to IBM's top-line while M&A delivered 9%.
As the IBM case shows, scale and pedigree can be significant weapons to enabling change. Indeed, other companies such as P&G, J&J and Corning have successfully followed a similar approach to reinventing their business model or shifting product focus. When it comes to change, size does matter.
For more information on our services and work please visit the Quanta Consulting Inc. web site.
Yes, you can raise prices in a recession
During recessionary times, most companies focus on maintaining market share and margins by slashing prices and cutting costs to the bone. However, this is a shortsighted strategy for all but a few firms. For one thing, only a small number of categories can support more than one low cost "value" brand. Moreover, it is extremely difficult for any firm – outside of those with the largest scale economies – to achieve and sustain a leadership cost position. As a result, competing on price turns into a Faustian bargain: battle it out with other price cutters (who usually have the same access to technology and supply chain) to keep market share while watching your profitability erode.
Harvard Business School researchers Frank Cespedes, Benson P. Shapiro, and Elliot Ross suggest another approach, Performance Pricing, which offers companies a way to increase profits and maintain if not grow share. Traditionally, most managers set prices according to simple but crude cost-plus or average pricing policies or merely follow competitive moves. PP is a different strategy. It sets price levels based on the functional and intangible value delivered by the products. PP uses premium pricing as a signal to the consumer of superior product performance, image and value. As such, PP seeks to maximize both the customer benefit and the selling company's profitability.
According to the researchers, PP seeks to create the largest possible gap between the total basket of benefits provided to customers and the unit cost, as a function of the product's benefits, brand image and ability to exploit favorable pricing situations (e.g., time sensitive delivery). Larger value gaps allow the firm to raise prices without compromising their value equation based on the premise that consumers will gladly pay higher prices for receiving more relevant and compelling benefits.
Fundamental to the notion of providing differential value is "framing" the price appropriately by customer need, purchase moment and type of buyer. Specifically, a product can and usually does have different value depending on the context, thereby supporting different prices for specific transactions. In other words, the product is what the product does at the moment the customer purchases it, not what the industry or organizational culture thinks it is. PP also has important implications for investment spending. Capital and marketing investments would flow only into product and service initiatives that consumers value highly and that they are willing to pay higher prices for.
PP makes no assumptions about standard pricing levels or industry returns on capital. Performance-priced brands can deliver price premiums across the business cycle even in unattractive or declining markets. A number of industries have benefited from this approach – also called value-based pricing – including logistics (Fed Ex), cement (Cemex) and truck manufacturing (PACCAR)
The following are key success factors in deploying a PP strategy:
- Dispense with the notion of "fair" prices or industry-driven pricing. Companies don't determine what is fair, customers do and their assessment is based on the total value you bring.
- PP requires work. It is not a simple exercise to understand your product's value or what, how, when and why consumers buy.
- Firms must relentlessly communicate and monitor their delivered value to justify premium pricing.
- Don't ignore costs. Lower costs enable higher profits and help fund value-building activities.
- PP is an organization-wide process. Bring together the "cost counters" like finance and the "value generators" like marketing so they can truly understand both sides of the equation and what the levers are.
For more information on our services and work, please visit the Quanta Consulting Inc. web site.
Word of Mouth Marketing: Showing me the money
Word-of-mouth (WOM) marketing, also known as referral marketing, is growing in popularity as a customer acquisition strategy. Basically, referral programs use financial incentives to encourage existing customers to solicit their friends or family to purchase a new product. While such programs have been used for decades, WOM marketing is now being adopted in a wide range of industries including financial services, newspapers, hotels and automobiles. Although many managers intuitively understand the power of referral marketing, they have had little third-party research to validate the ROI. Thanks to a first-of-its-kind study, "Referral Programs and Customer Value" (to be published in the Journal of Marketing), companies can now understand how customer referral programs turn social capital into financial capital. These findings are timely given the rapid growth of community-building social media and viral tools and the increasing cost of traditional media. And, this research is helpful in providing many marketers with a methodology to study WOM effects that can work with their existing data and tools.
The study analyzed information from a database of 10,000 customers acquired by a German bank in 2006. Approximately, half of the customers came through the firm's referral program and the other half came through traditional marketing efforts such as direct mail and advertising. There were some important conclusions:
Referred customers are more profitable in the short term
Referred customers generated higher margins than other customers. This difference was quite sizable at first, but eroded over time and came down to zero after about 1,000 days. The differences traced to the lower marketing spend per referred customer – even with a referral bounty – versus customers acquired via traditional marketing efforts.
Referred customers are more loyal
Referred customers were about 18% more likely to stay with the bank than other customers, and that gap did not fade over time. This occurs because individuals tend to have a stronger attachment to a company or brand if their friends or acquaintances also share a bond to the same organization. Moreover, referrer behavior is a good example of the superior-match theory: An existing customer knows both the company and the prospect, and so has superior information to assess to what extent there is a good fit between the two. In other words, people only refer prospects who they feel will match well with their own brand.
Referred customers have higher lifetime value to the firm
The margin advantage combined with higher customer retention creates a significant net gain in long-term customer value of 16% to 25% (read: the net present value of all the profits a customer generates over his or her entire association with the firm). This higher value traces to the presence of the "superior match" phenomenon as well as the fact that referred customers are less expensive to acquire.
Despite these findings, some marketers may not completely buy into all WOM programs. For example, there are concerns over cheating whereby opportunistic customers bring in unprofitable or problematic new customers just to earn a referral fee. (The research, however, indicates that the financial benefits of a customer referral program will still outweigh these negatives.) Secondly, referral programs will likely remain a B2C practice since paying referral fees to B2B customers' employees could be conceived as a bribe. Of course, the absence of financial pay-outs does not mean that customer referrals are any less important in B2B markets. Companies just have to be more creative in finding proper incentives enabling them to capitalize on their existing customers' networks.
Given their compelling benefits, marketers should look to deploy WOM marketing programs – where it makes strategic and brand sense – to grow their business.
For more information on our services and work, please visit the Quanta Consulting Inc. web site.


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While I was off on my hols. , Summer seems to have vanished and winter's looming again . Since I only live a five minute bike ride from a well-stocked supermarket , I don't really need to line the cave with strings of berries and salted haunches of wild boar but somehow the prospect of a Fresian winter does turn one's mind to the laying in of plentiful supplies .
Besides which , I've just watched Les dèlices du petit
monde , a documentary about Erminio and Attilia who live in the Val d 'Aoste and have been married for over fifty years .
They share a passion for the traditional mountain cooking and the film follows them through the year gathering wild oregano , filling bins in their barn with potatoes and chestnuts , picking juniper berries and making huge mounds of polenta or risotto with the tips of young nettles and rabbit slowly stewed with mustard .
Given that I don't live in the Alps with a huge wood oven , I made Harira instead
with lots of chickpeas , lentils , paprika and cinnamon and settled down this afternoon to knit a tension square for my "apprentice piece" . Not the Mad Men cardi but one from a much simpler Emu pattern using a second big bag of passed-on mohair , thicker than the peacock
greeny-blue and a slightly brighter shade
( The '80s are back with a vengeance , have you noticed ? It makes one feel rather old watching all the young girls at vintage fairs leaping on garments one has worn quite recently ! ) . The wool feels beautifully warm and even I should be able to knit it up fairly quickly . Should this go well , who knows ? I can see retirement transforming me ...


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I'm back from a wonderful time in Tahiti! I think I will blog up the trip and its pictures separately for family and friends, but meanwhile, here are a couple of knittish bits that only you will appreciate.
First thing:
Second thing:
The real deal was done by a guy with much prior experience who makes elaborate arrangements of holes drilled in thin sheets of wood in advance of the event:
See all those bazillions of tiny crescents? (Click on the photo to embiggen & truly appreciate.) Maybe next time I will knit a specially themed lace pattern to do the same thing? Probably not.
But none of this is very colorful, is it? And bright color in the bright sunshine is the hallmark of the tropics, n'est ce pas? So here's a colorful Tahitian fiberwork for you, a tifaifai, the beautiful applique Tahitian quilt:


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CHROMATIN AND CLOCKProject ID: 501400
Detalles del proyecto
Coste total:EUR 158 786
Aportación de la UE:EUR 158 786
Coordinado en:France
Convocatoria de propuestas:FP6-2002-MOBILITY-5See other projects for this call
Régimen de financiación:EIF - Marie Curie actions-Intra-European Fellowships
The major goal of this proposal is the improvement of the scientific understanding of the molecular mechanisms that control the mammalian circadian clock. The circadian clock has an impact on several aspects of mammalian physiology of and work in this field has additional implication at the social level. Workers with night shifts, travellers experiencing jet lag, sleep disorders and finally the more and more evident role that circadian time has for an effective cancer therapy, indicate that this proposal has an added value for the community. This project will be realized through the three following objectives, which will explore novel and original aspects of the clock field:
1) To investigate, if circadian control occurs at the chromatin level;
2) Identification of chromatin remodelling factors involved in activation and repression of clock genes;
3) Study of the role of metabolite intermediates in the activation of clock gene transcription. These objectives will be achieved by using well-established methods spanning from molecular biology and biochemistry to the use of animal models. The scientific relevance and quality of the objectives is remarkable: they will open new perspectives not only towards the understanding of the mechanisms by which the molecular clock operates, but also towards potential therapeutic approaches for sleep disorders, seasonal depression, and cancertherapy. The second goal of the proposal is to offer to the applicant top-level post-doctoral research training and introduce him to the circadian clock field. The host institution, the IGBMC, provides a superb training environment in molecular, cellular and developmental biology for young researchers. The host laboratory of Dr. Sassone-Corsi has an international prominent position in the field of circadian biology. The applicant will benefit tremendously from this training: he will complement his competences and his interpersonal skills at the professional level.
See on map
Tel.: +33-388-653394
Fax: +33-388-653203


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Sandy has gone, (if she would have looked like this I'd be a lot more upset about the brief time we had together) the power is on, and the Internet connection is working! Damage is limited to trees that were snapped off, a shingle here or there, and some flashing around one chimney.
My office is closed, I'm not sure if it has water in it or not – the only thing between our building and the East River is the FDR and a helipad. And since there is no mass transit running between CT and Manhattan I have some time on my hands.
I was actually feeling motivated to paint some Russian's again and had planned on finishing up my Russian Guard Jagers, when disaster struck! In my earlier rush to paint these I forgot that the Russian Guard Jagers had Orange facings, not Red like the 'normal' Jagers. O.K., no problem, I can paint over the red… except I can't find my orange paint. Given the number of trees that are still down and stores that are closed I really don't feel like making a run to the hobby store.
Maybe next weekend I'll some photos of completed figures to post.
So much lead, so little time.


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Reebok x Emporio Armani – Fall/Winter 2010 Collection
As a platform of all that is footwear, we see a collaborations come and go. Some help evolve the industry, while most are simply gratuitous in hopes to cause some buzz. However, Reebok has teamed up with Emporio Armani for a collection that not only exemplifies a true concept behind a collaborative project, but also redefines the concept of lifestyle footwear. Hybrids sound like an old concept for our viewers; Jordans and Nikes fusions are derivative of athletic footwear to become a new look of another athletic shoe. But never have we seen cross-breeds like this.
The super luxury and high fashion aesthetic of Emporio Armani is applied with some of Reebok's most signature technologies. Classic Italian laced shoes become equipped with DMX technology in the heel for extra support to create the Mega Chic. While the Pump Mega calls upon a traditional gusseted slip-on, featuring DMX heel units but also integrating Pump technology for extra customized fitting for the upper. The Pump Vintage and Vintage Runner provide for more casual sneakers, embossing a giant Emporio Armani logo on the medial panel of these casual tennis shoes. Staying conservative in colorway, the tonal white, cream and black provide for that authentic dress look rather than becoming too novelty or low-brow. A remarkable project this collection stands for that which is both modern and timeless in fashion ideology. Be on the lookout in a few months when these drop for the Fall and Winter seasons. via Freshness


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By the gods I am tired. Bone tired. Nodding off at my desk tired. Crazily, insanely, wonderfully tired. PPWC 2012 is over…and what a PPWC it was.
Let me preface this by saying I realized a week or so ago that I always capitalize the word conference when I use it in reference to PPWC. "Are you going to Conference this year?" "Remember that crazy thing we did at Conference, in, oh, 2010?" That is because for me, PPWC is THE conference against which all others are measured, and in comparison to which many others pale. Some only slightly, because there are a lot of really amazing conferences for writers in the world. But for me, this is The One. MY Conference.
Why? Because it is friendly. The faculty (of which I was a member this year) is approachable and knowledgeable. Because it is packed with sessions which really are designed to help further a writer's career. Because repeatedly, as a conference, it actually DOES further people's writing careers. I am going to do a little research, so that there are numbers involved with this assertion, but a great many people I have met over the years have made the transition from writer to author BECAUSE of this conference (and of course their talent and unrelenting commitment to making the transition).
It's also fun. Big silly memorable fun. More on that in another post.
Let's talk a bit about the business part. The career furthering part for a bit. Faculty: Jeffery Deaver. Yes, of Lincoln Rhyme fame. Robert Crais. Yes, of Elvis Cole fame. Joe Lansdale. Of (OMG fangirl sqee) Bubba HoTep fame. May I just interject that I have now shaken hands with a man who has shaken hands with Bruce Campbell. One degree baby. Donald Mass, top New York literary agent and vanguard of the traditional publishing industry. And Mark Coker, CEO of Smashwords, from the full other end of the publishing spectrum and vanguard of the new model in publishing upon which my own business rests. (Mark freaking Coker, in front of whom I dropped quite possibly several F-bombs. In my defense, there was wine and excitement involved).
Given my new business endeavors, I am pleased to have been taken seriously by folks such as these, as well as all the seekers who are looking to make the transition from writer to author. But more importantly is how inspiring all these folks were. How accessible, and how willing to dispense advice and coaching, and personal inspiration. How much they care about what people do with words, and about books in any form and about the people who write and want to write books. No snarky condescension. No elitism. No running away after dinner to avoid the hoi polloi. These folks yukked it up in the bar with the hoi polloi. And beer. Or martinis. And were real and available and just plain awesome.
And here's the coolest part – they love PPWC. Across the board at Conference after Conference the feedback is that authors, agents and editors, big ones, prominent ones, LOVE the atmosphere of PPWC. For all the reasons I just listed, plus one more very important one: the parent organization of Conference, Pikes Peak Writers, does a bang-up job of preparing writers to approach the publishing industry in a professional manner, with attention not only to good ideas which are well written, but also to the business side of publishing, from pitching technique, to synopsis writing, to being able to discuss a marketing plan in broad strokes on short notice. These things matter. A lot.
I keep thinking I should diversify – go to other conferences more than I do. But frankly I'm not all that certain I need to. I love MY Conference, and while I am sort of happy that it is done for the year and I can get some sleep now, I am also sad because I will not get this same feeling of exhausted exhilaration again for another year. Happysad. But I have come away validated in my choices and charged up for the next phase in my own writing and in my small company.
So, much love for PPW and PPWC and all the volunteers and faculty who make this Conference what it is. My happysad self is off to sleep, in preparation for putting it all into action.
In which a writer comments on stuff seen and overheard, and other things which seem to be of note.
Monday, April 23, 2012
PPWC 2012 Roundup. Part 1 of N
Posted by Deb at 11:29 AM
2 comments:
Great post! And I agree across the board! I hope you slept well and did not have to fend off any thugs resulting in night time cardio of a 45 degrees in the air foot pummeling! Thanks for everything!ReplyDelete
The thugs apparently decided to stay at the hotel...none of them made it to my house or my dreams last night :)ReplyDelete
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All Seeds of Doubt cast + crew photos
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Truly breathtaking!
Even when it's gray and rainy.
(How do you like my hair after four days of camping and not showering?! It was starting to resemble a silver helmet...)
These last photos are from Shenandoah National Park - a very different landscape. It felt much more arid to us there.
The Big Meadow was a great place to walk around in. It was covered with blueberry plants, but none of them ready to pick yet.
And here are a couple of pictures of the beautiful Shenandoah Valley.
Photos somehow don't do the grandeur of these places justice, but I hope you liked them anyway. Tomorrow - Part 2: Flora!


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Susan also updated us on our Blessing Bags collection we are doing this year for homeless men in our area. We no longer need bandaids, Qtips, toothbrushes, toothpaste or denim for the bags. We are hoping to have all the supplies gathered by October this year so we can make the bags and get them ready to give away.
Here's the show and tell:
Rachel made this windmill quilt and used black minky on the back.
Rachel used Hello Darling fabric to make this star quilt. She used a jelly roll and got the pattern from the book Scrap Basket Sensations by Kim Brackett. The pattern is called Nova. She added a flying geese border.
Sherry decided to re-do and update all the Christmas stockings for her family. She embroidered the names by hand and intends to make extra for future family too.
Jeri made this Vintage Baby Quilt pattern quilt. She used a disappearing marker to mark the grid on the background fabric. She said that worked well but sometimes tended to disappear earlier than she wanted. It was recommended to use Frixion pens on the white fabric from now on.
Corrie made this crocheted bear rattle.
Kelly made this scrappy 1/2 triangle tulips table runner
Corrie designed and made this iron cozy for her small travel iron. She said "this is is big deal" and obviously very badly needed. It is lined with heat resistant material, teflon and also used insulbrite for more protection against the heat. She used Little Red Riding Hood fabric.
Kelly made this wool tulips in a bowl.
Kelly also made this scrappy 1/2 triangle quilt.
Julia made this star quilt using a tutorial from Missouri Star Company. She used bandana floral fabrics.
Lynette made this stained glass quilt to give away for a humanitarian/charity.
Caren hand quilted this Lone Star quilt. It is a wedding quilt.
Evelyn made this star quilt using 1/2 square triangles. She bought her fabric from Westwood Fabrics online.
Robyn made this cute tent using a pattern from http://thediymommy.com/sew-a-diy-teepee-play-tent/
Farmer's Market Tacos
Cheesy Potato Casserole
Artisan Bread with Honey Butter
Here's the link for the recipe for the Farmer's Market Tacos http://www.layersofhappiness.com/farmers-market-breakfast-tacos/
Corrie said she really likes using Bertolli Balsamic Glaze on top of the tacos if you don't want to take the time to make it yourself.
Artisan Bread
3 cups flour
1/2 tsp yeast (I would do 1 just to be safe)
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 3/4 cup water or enough to incorporate all the flour.
Mix till flour is incorporated. Let sit on counter covered all day. Put Dutch oven in the oven and heat to 450 degrees. Then put bread in Dutch oven and bake for 30 minutes or until Loaf feels set.
Rachel added craisens, orange zest from one orange per loaf and pecans.


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One interesting(*) feature of the Statement of Solidarity with the people of Greece (which you can sign online - http://www.coalitionofresistance.org.uk/2012/02/sign-the-appeal-for-solidarity-with-the-people-of-greece/?gf_search=unison) is that you can search the online list of signatories to determine which trade union they have declared their membership of.
This shows that (as I write) 77 UNISON members have signed up. This is more than any other union, including those whose General Secretaries are among the initial signatories. (UCU come in second at 67, with UNITE on 43 and the NUT on 35. No other union currently has more than a dozen declared members among the 2,126 signatories who have signed up online in the few days since the statement was launched.)
International solidarity with those resisting austerity must be one of our priorities in the coming year, so as well as signing up to the statement, UNISON members need to consider how to get this subject prioritised for debate at our Conference in June.
(*) regular readers, Sid and Doris Blogger, will appreciate that this use of the word "interesting" means "interesting to a slightly obsessive blogger who has a long daily commute".
Sent using BlackBerry® from Orange
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Support grows in UNISON for solidarity with the people of Greece
Posted by Jon Rogers at 8:53 am
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Present Face
The Hubby's little brother turned eight two days before my birthday. For the first time, he requested The Hubby send him "an Army shirt" as a gift.
We sent him one of The Hubby's old ACU shirts with all of the badges and pins, including his Ranger tab. Also included in the package was a dirty cap, tattered ACU shirt and a spicy penne pasta MRE (Meal Ready to Eat). The birthday card was addressed to "Lt. Schmidt".
The Hubby was extremely excited for Dylan to open his present, but we were afraid that he would react indifferently. You know the response that you make when you receive a gift that you don't really like and answer with "Aw, you shouldn't have." Watch the following video and you'll understand.
But, thankfully, Dylan really seemed to love his gift and it got a great response from all the guests at his birthday party (most noticeably his proud dad). Check out this little Ranger!
He'll need a few years to grow into it, but it sure looks good!They were thoughtful enough to send us a video of him opening the gift. Click here to view. Dylan doesn't tear open the USPS box until about 0:55. Watching this video made us miss home so much, especially with the kids growing up so quickly.
Happy birthday, little bro. I can't believe I've known you since you were a biting and spitting two year old.


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For more than 9 decades, Ottobock's mission has been to restore and improve independence for people with mobility challenges. Most people know us as a company that manufactures products like prostheses, braces and orthoses, children's wheelchairs, cushions and accessories.
ttobock was founded in Germany in 1919 by Otto Bock, a prosthetist. His vision of restoring mobility lives on today, growing to serve the world with more than 46 locations reaching more than 100 countries. The company is headquartered in Duderstadt, Germany, and has more than 5,000 employees.
In the early 20th century, Otto Bock transformed the way prosthetic limbs were made. Instead of carving wood to fit a patient, he applied manufacturing techniques and created separate components (like knees and feet) that could be combined, altered or customized to create a limb that was still unique to each patient – but wasn't built from scratch.
Because of his pioneering work, Prosthetists were able to meet the demand generated by World War I and help veterans stay as active as possible.


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I am currently in Italy! In honor of this, check out Gladiator: Back From the Dead. This program done by the same group as the previous post on the Royal British Navy. The tales of six gladiators are told, using osteological remains as inspiration for the stories. From the skeletons of six men excavated in York, England, they are able to learn more about the life of the gladiator and discuss six potential occupations they may have engaged in based on their wounds and their bones.
One of the first skeletons excavated was a possible Bestiarii, a beast fighter who was not prepared for battle but rather was a slave or criminal who was set against wild animals like tigers. The evidence for this comes from a bite wound of large feline on the man's scapula, the larger muscular attachments, and the young age at death (the twenties). A second individual was a potential Retiarii. This was a net fighter who would have been known for his physical prowess and showmanship. The evidence for this comes from the muscular attachments on the body, and it was likely he survived these battles for at least twenty years, living into his forties.
Movies originally from Channel 4, Back from the Dead Series


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New Muslim from Canada, Jennah Heydari: says religion rejuvenated her Feminism is but a tool to mislead women, created by the Western ideology
SHAFAQNA- Jennah Heydari lives in Ontario, Canada with her husband, Nafe Heydari and her youngest son. She has two sons; the older son is already away in college. She is a book illustrator and is currently working on a children's book that she wrote and has been illustrating about a little girl who wears hijab for the first time "Dhoha's first hijab".
She helps run an online support group called the Revert Muslims Association, currently organized and maintained by some very devoted Muslims. She started this group back in 2005 as a way to keep new Muslims connected, supported and networked with those, more knowledgeable.
Talking about the path she passed by to Islam Ms Heydari said "my path to Islam started back in 2000 after the birth of my second son. There was a miscalculation of spinal anaesthetic used during the operation. As I was in the middle of a caesarean section I began to feel everything, the anaesthetic stopped working. I started to panic and struggle and call out to the Doctors. I looked over at my new born son, as the nurses cleaned him up and I started to cry. I realized I may not get to know him and that I also may not ever see my first born son again. As I laid there I noticed that the pain was no longer my primary focus, there was something else happening. I felt my soul falling away from my body, as if it was being pulled from me. At that moment I thought I was going to die. Before my soul had completely left my body the Doctors finished the operation. After this point my life had changed dramatically. I began to find books and go on the Internet to research anything I could find about the soul. Eventually I started reading about various religions, like Christianity, Judaism, Islam and even a little Buddhism. I had no real direction, but I knew I wanted answers. I did not grow up in a religious home, yet, as a child I believed in God. When I was really young, I always felt compelled to pray but I kept it private. Looking back, I believe this was fitrah and that even without parental or environmental guidance I innately knew that God existed. After my near-death experience it was a kind of relief to acknowledge my belief in God again. In 2005, my life was in shambles as my difficult marriage fell apart. I moved out on my own and was suddenly a single Mother. During this upsetting time I had met a Muslim man on the Internet. It was all a strange coincidence. I started playing a game with my sons online. The man, online, on this game, was so kind and polite. Little did I knew, one day, he would be my husband. We talked about the game, at first but then when I found out he was Muslim we talked mostly about Islam. I also found out he was Iraqi but was born in Iran, growing up in Qom. That he was Shi'a and that he was a Sayyid. He was very open-minded and believed that anyone could be Muslim, that it's not exclusive to any one group of people. He never showed prejudice that I was who I was, older and with children and a Western woman with no religion. Later coming to Canada to marry me in 2007, he never allowed his culture to get in the way of his deen(faith). The fact that I was older, divorced with children, was not going to stop him from marrying me. He believed in me and we met on a pious level before any other connection was ever made. But before all that, early 2005 I became more and more interested in Islam and he was very helpful with sending Islamic material for me to read. He sent me not only information on Shi'a Islam but on all the various sects. He thought it was a good idea that I understand the path I chose and that he did not want to alter my perception of Islam or show a bias view. He said whatever path I choose will be my path. I kept an open mind and read everything I could, on different sects of Islam and the history of Islam and certainly about the Ahlulbayt (as). Soon I was spending my entire day researching Islam and Islam was all I could think about.
About prophet of Islam Jannah told Mehr News that when she read about the Prophet of Islam, learning he had the highest moral conduct for all mankind, her love for the Prophet (pbuh) and his family began to grow very quickly. "I was so taken in by his story, that he was an orphan, with little education and that he overcame so much, as a true believer. I picked up as many books as I could, on biographies of the Prophet. As I knew more and more of the Prophet and his sublime behavior, I could relate to Islam more and more. When I learned about his love, the respect and honour that he had for his older devoted wife, Khadija (as), I soon saw Muslims in a different light. My connection, to Islam, grew closer as my love for the Prophet of Islam and his family lit up inside me."
She added that when she grew up in Islam she recognized Muslims in the news, on TV who were portrayed as angry, always yelling or screaming and certainly having no regard for women. Sadly the news coverage was only of Muslims in a state of alarm and shaped as negatively as possible. "I never saw anything else. I had no good reference to go on when it came to Muslims. As I got older, I never really paid attention to Islam, until the birth of my second son. At that time, I remember wondering a little more about who Muslims were, who was the Prophet of Islam and what were their beliefs.
To answer a question about the elements effecting his faith Ms Heydari said that she was researching Islamc day and night and her life was changing and there were certain moments where she realized that what she was reading seemed so familiar to her, "Islam gave me this feeling I was coming home. I would cry, at night, as the beauty of Islam was incredibly overwhelming at times. I began to learn prayer and how to read in Arabic, through audio recordings. I would recite Al-Fatiha over and over and it made me feel calm and at peace, it was how I rejuvenated myself. At other points, I remembered, parts of my life, in childhood, that when looking back, were signs that Allah(Swt) was always in my life. The more I read the more my experience, when giving birth to my second son, began to make sense to me. I knew life was no longer going to look and feel the same ever again."
She went on saying that she searched about different religions and became interested to have Quran.
One particular day, when I went to the local book store found an English paperback copy of the Qur'an. I was delighted to see it there, it was not like the Qur'an's I had seen pictures of, on the Internet, but it was all I could find and so I purchased it. Alhamdulillah at that moment I knew I was Muslim. Shortly after this point, I took my shahada. As a western citizen what does the western civilization lack which made you towards a new system like Islam? I think that question is answered, for me, by the concept of hijab. As a western girl, growing up in Montreal, Quebec, I was, of course, influenced by the media, by my peers. Although I was stubborn and so I was inclined to do things my own way. Wearing baggy clothes was something that appealed to me, even though not everyone appreciated my sense of style. It was all very ironic, as I began to read about hijab, I pondered the idea of feminism and women's rights.
"Feminism is but a tool to mislead women, created by the Western ideology. Western society want the woman to first show of her appearance than her personality; then all behave in that way in order to be welcomed to society. These are beliefs that feminism inculcates to women, misleading them in fact."
As a woman in the west you're told that one way to freedom is to dress provocatively and to even be a little promiscuous. It's ok, everyone does it, (you think to yourself) it's normal; it's a way to show you're a strong woman, secure and in charge. Growing up, adults will say such things as "You shouldn't hide what God gave you" or "Let the world see how pretty you are." These kinds of statements are a means to push you towards exposing yourself through decorative tight-fitting clothing. You learn that in fact, it's shameful to hide your body. Our society wants us to find recognition in our appearance, we don't want to be the anomaly, we must fit in, dress and act like everyone else, we want acceptance. Looking back I was very brainwashed by this idea that society ruled and they were who I worshipped, I sought their approval. Even with my stubborn mentality I still wanted the world to see me like everyone else. Looking at women who covered-up, with abaya, I assumed they must be oppressed. Without exposing yourself through your clothing, how can you know if you'll be accepted? I foolishly thought.
When I began to wear hijab, at first, it was difficult. I was in a very white, Christian town. There was no other Muslim woman or hijabi for miles and miles. My family would not be easy with hijab. On the other side I wasn't acquainted with the concept either. The influence of the media was not something to be overlooked. But as I converted to Islam I had to observe the dressing code," she continued.
I was letting the world know I was Muslim and I soon dealt with a lot of adversity. Having a stubborn personality fit well as I convinced myself that nobody was going to stop me from doing what I felt right. Wearing hijab was what was taking me closer to Allah(Swt) and even though I was going to face terrible name-calling and angry glares from people, I was not going to let it change the path I was on. As mentioned it was all very ironic because hijab, covering up, became my freedom. I no longer felt as though men looked at me as an item on a shelf, women no longer saw me as someone they had to compete with, to consider my choice in designer-wear. I finally felt comfortable.
I believe people now saw me for who I was, no longer basing their opinions of me by my appearance. Although, hijab can be off-putting once people get to know me, they look past my hijab. As the years went by and I became strong in my iman [faith], my hijab became a part of me, it was an extension of me. Allah(Swt) blesses us with incredible strength when we wear hijab. People cursed me in the streets but I kept on walking, my hijab became my shield. In a time when the dominance systems and media giants have waged attempts to move the world in the path to atheism, what would you propose as the reasons why some people find Islam favorable? It's an interesting question; in fact Atheism was a big part of my life, before finding Islam. As I mentioned I grew up in a non-religious home. My mother was a non-practicing Protestant and my father was Agnostic, maybe even Atheist at times. Religion and God was never brought up. I had two brothers, of whom proclaimed themselves Atheist in one form or another. Most of my friends had no religious connection.
I honestly believe, Atheist or not, that everyone is searching; we're all on a quest for answers at some point in our life. We're eager to belong to a belief system, a way to try to figure it all out. Atheism is just another answer for someone. To me, it's a cold and darkened journey to nothing. The path of an Atheist leads to uncomfortable answers, not because the answers are based in science, science helps us to understand facts; it is because many of their answers have no real substance. In Islam the answers we receive are received on many different levels, we have our faith, our emotions, that which is lacking for an Atheist man. I find it interesting that an Atheist will call himself open-minded. I realized after becoming Muslim, how close-minded I had been as an Agnostic. An open mind is found when you let your mind speaks but you also allow your heart to speak. An open-mind is when you discover your soul and when you step back and see life from an entirely different perspective. Islam can answer so many questions, but you must be committed to truly wanting the answers. Islam will give you the answers but only if you're truly seeking them out.
Making points to intellectual needs Ms Heydari mentioned that those who do come from an Atheist path, to Islam, recognize the immediate comfort that's found in the answers that Islam gives you. It's not only the comfort in discovering that death is not the end and that life continues in a different realm. It's that an Atheist who considers himself/herself an intellectual can quench that thirst through Islam, because the answers are always solid. Islam, differs from other religions, it truly is grounded in facts and in science and the answers found in the Qur'an, in hadith are driven with so much sense and without contradiction. "The Qur'an lays out how we live our lives as Muslims and Allah(swt) gives us the ability to research and gain the knowledge to become a stronger Muslim. If something doesn't sound right, to me, I continue my research and I am always satisfied with the final answers." Islam can draw in the strongest Atheist because it's so factual, so relevant and so riveted in science and in answers that can meet you on many different levels.
"Allah(Swt) wishes us to seek knowledge, it is the path of worship that will only lead us to paradise. My husband has always said being a skeptic is an important part of being a Muslim. Atheists do not own the word 'skeptic'. Allah (Swt) does not want us to be sheep; we are encouraged to think critically and logically. The more we know the stronger our faith. Doubt is not the enemy; it is part of the process to becoming a better Muslim. Every rewarding answer takes you closer to Him."
She also mentioned that Islamic propaganda is a constant battle in the west. It's not something that's going to stop any time soon. The battle to squash Islam is ever rising because Islam is a threat to the way people think, act and feel. The ignorant perpetuate the problem because thinking too hard about something is not easy for them. It's much easier to just go with the flow.
"If society tells us to like something, we like it, if society tells us to hate something, we hate it. Ignorance is a dark and heavy door that is difficult to open. I believe the best method or approach towards such mentalities propagating against Islam is through actions rather than through words. Although you must learn when to walk away, sometimes the battle is not worth it, some doors will never open. I have found my best results are through a gentle dawah. If you set good examples, for the ignorant, you show kindness to all people, smile, be patient and extend yourself even when it's not comfortable for you, people will ask who you are and what you believe. It's always so heart-warming when someone with closed eyes begins to finally open them."
At the end MS Jennah Heydari mentioned there is nothing greater than inspiration to her. When people discover Islam, they all do it very differently and some stories are difficult journeys and others are not so difficult. What they all share in common is that they are an awakening of a Muslim and that's a beautiful thing. I would recommend those curious about Islam, to read reversion stories and consider their own journeys, their own beliefs. The Revert Muslims Association, website, has quite a large collection of these stories. We must remember that we only have this one life, the lessons will come quickly and before we know it, we will be at the end, without the answers. Inshallah that won't happen."
Source: Rahyafte.com


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Halloween is almost here! For fun I decided to put a Halloween themed note and a Halloween treat in my kids' lunchboxes today. I found two great links with free printable Halloween notes great for stashing in a lunchbox. Print them for your kids and add a little personal note to bring a smile to your child's face.
- Halloween Lunchbox Notes from Creative Bubbles
- Halloween Lunchbox Jokes from Decoration Ideas Online


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The School Note is a memo found in Silent Hill. Harry Mason can locate it at the end of Bachman Road's alley next to some rubble. It was left behind by Harry's daughter, Cheryl Mason. It simply directs to him locate her by instructing him to go to school.
to school


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Heysham Obs
An adventurous Great Tit has seemingly managed to get away with an 'open-top' nestbox. Lets hope the young don't get too wet in the next few days. Thanks for the pics, Janet.
(I've been monitoring this nest and the young look pretty healthy and strong so far. Both parents feeding at full tilt this morning. They are close to fledging and hopefully will be successful (ajd).)
Not a lot of coverage today other than a 'routine' CES & moth catch
Blackcap - 2 unringed males caught amongst the small number of other breeding species and juveniles.
Fox - 1 crossing the Reserve entrance road early this morning. Fairly regular sighting - probably on a food gathering run for young.


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So, I'm currently working on a project (still in it's planning faze), and I've made a second Instagram account to keep record of all the big events, so if you wanna check it out, here's the link: https://www.instagram.com/bmbc_2017/
Too High Remix – SoundCloud
Listen to Too High Remix by Trash Record Production #np on #SoundCloud
My Poetry Book
I think you'd like this story: "Ninise's Book Of Poems" by CephiniseJeanLouis on Wattpad http://my.w.tt/UiNb/fMLitrEkeE
Lately (for like two and a half days now), I've been thinking about daily Vlogging. Now I could make up some bullshit excuse as to why I wanna do it like "I wanna remember EVERYTHING" or "I wanna challenge myself" but really it's just smart. Think about it. You live your life everyday, so daily vlogging is the same shit. You live your life, and just record it. In theory it sounds that simple but it's not. First off you gotta edit that shit, and GOD FORBID, but if your internet's shit, that ten to twenty something video is still gonna be uploading tomorrow when you go to make the next one, and I've never done it, but I can only imagine what naming and coming up with a thumb nail for that shit will be like. Hours of footage and then you cut that down to a reasonable time, and then you have to NAME IT? Like what, you gonna be like "I woke up went to Disney Land with my friends and then….." Like YouTube would be like…..uuummm bish no. So, I'm calling it quits for today, but trust and believe that sometime this year I will upload a vlog to YouTube and put it on this blog to. So, keep your eyes peeled for that.
The Unwanted Guess
Keep Coming Back
In life I get bored of things easily. I get all excited about something and then in a matter of anywhere from a few seconds to a few months I'm over it. I wanted to learn how to play the piano once so I hopped on the internet and watched a bunch of YouTube videos and then in a matter of days I was over it. This also happened with the guitar, and I'm sure many other things that I've forgotten about. However, one thing that I keep coming back to is this, this blog. Life As Ninise is my third blog. I can't really remember the first two, but I deleted them because I felt like I didn't know what I was doing, and truthfully I still don't know. However, despite this, here I am with yet another blog. This time I created it with the purpose of promoting my YouTube videos, but every now and again I get this guilty feel. Almost like my blog is my kid and I'm being a shitty parent or something. So, what do I do when I feel like that? I start writing again, and start up the cycle again. I really wish I knew why I keep feeling this way and coming back, but I guess it's just one of those things that's just in me.


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Via Secondtino, this rather cool video of an attempt (by Dutch designer Piet Schreuders) to digitally recreate Laurel-and-Hardy-era downtown Culver City.
The setting in the clip is minutes from where we lived during our last four years in southern California. We meandered down those very streets many times. And from our current vantage point, all the way up the coast, the filmic history / mythology that suffuses not only Culver City, but all of LA, is indeed compelling. So I get why a European would be fascinated enough to want to undertake this project.
Of course, when that history / mythology was right in front of me all the time I found it irritating beyond belief.
I considered myself an avid film buff before moving to LA. My last job before heading off to grad school (back in 1995) was working in the AV department of a local library -- and one of the perks of that job was that I had direct access to a pretty extensive collection of the very flicks that are usually included in the typical "canon." I watched most of them -- hundreds of movies -- during the year I had that job. (I had to geek it up, of course, by forcing myself to take notes on most of what I saw.)
And I brought that enthusiasm with me to USC. I took every film class I could. I took advantage of the school's impressive film library (which was, needless to say, much more extensive than my old job's), back when doing so as a non-cinema major was pretty hassle-free. And I'll admit it: I naively thought it was the coolest thing in the world that there was a building on campus named after George Lucas.
And then, at some point, I slowly but ineluctably became impatient with the whole culture. I grew tired of getting stuck in traffic at random because some film production had decided to take over an entire city block (or more). I grew tired of randomly but repeatedly meeting people who were "in the business," each of whom was driven by that "special idea" that would be the "next big thing." (I grew tired, in other words, of dodging pitches.) I grew tired of the way Hollywood -- a concept more complex than the stereotype, but certainly rooted in it -- put its style-over-substance stamp on everything. (I'm sure the academic star system is a national phenomenon, but to me it made perfect sense that such a thing would thrive at a place like USC.)
And because I found less and less to like about the way movies are made, or the people who make them, I (unfairly, I admit) found myself generally unable to enjoy the art form at all anymore.
Crazy, huh?
In a weird way, maybe it was a good phase for me to go through -- it ultimately (and radically) helped me affirm my commitment to the ear (not the eye) as the superior human sense organ.
And all is not lost: now that I've escaped from LA, I'm happy to report that I'm slowly learning to dig film again. Of course, now I'm getting off on stupid shit like War of the Colossal Beast and The Crawling Eye. But it's a start, right?
Anyway, context is everything.
BTW, this is awesome:


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In our university, 3rd grade students are studying game development using Unity3D in the lecture called "Animation Study". Students are required to plan and create their original 3D/2D game with Unity3D. For most students, game development is a first trial (some of them did not even make any 3D models before). They studied Blender and Unity3D, that I introduced in the lecture. Also, some students studied Metasequoia or Google Sketchup to emphasize their work. Finally, their works are forming into a game.
The evaluation of their games is done by public voting on the Web. If they get many votes, they will get a good mark!
I am building the voting system with Slim3 and AppEngine/J. They are really powerful!
You will be able to vote with Google and Mixi OpenID. Also you can use Twitter authentication.
Something like "Like" from Facebook will be supported as well.
It will start on 26th of January, if there is no problem. We hope that many people get interested in the trial. We will post the link for our voting system on the blog later.
Please vote for their games!
Head to "Sojo University Unity3D Competition"
Posted by Shinobu IZUMI at 21:27 0 comments
Labels: Google Apps Engine, Slim3, Unity3D
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1. What did you do in 2009 that you'd never done before?
Celebrating that William graduated from the University of Alabama! It was one of the most amazing days. I don't think I have ever been so proud of him! A finance degree wasn't easy for him and finding a job still proves to be a challenge. I know one day the hard work will pay off.
2. Did you keep your New Year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
YES! Last year I made the choice after about 4 years of smoking to quit! I haven't smoked since last New Year's Eve and I am SO proud of myself. This year, I hope to feel better about myself all around by cleaning my house regularly, making better grades and doing what I enjoy.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Well, that fabulous cousin I mentioned earlier, has a fabulous friend Anne Anne welcomed a lovely little man this year. I cannot wait to meet him!
4. Did anyone close to you die?
Well, technically my GMa died in 2008, but it was the beginning of December. I missed her every day of 2009.
5. What places did you visit?
- Orlando, FL--DISNEYWORLD!!
- Memphis, TN
- Puerta Plata, Dominican Republic
- Santa Rosa Beach, FL
- Gatlinburg, TN
Be more on top of everything I do! Feel less stressed out by taking on less! DO MY LAUNDRY! You have no idea how difficult it can be to go to a Laundromat. Do what I can for the dogs of the world that need love!
7. What date from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory and why?
February 6th, 2009--the day I brought Grace Kelly into my little apartment with Mallory. It was a scary day, and a day filled with excitement!
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
It would be a tie between 2 things:
- Being selected to be a 2009 Sigma Rho Chi. For the non-Greeks, I was selected to help guide the incoming freshman going through sorority recruitment. I was able to bond with the girls and make an impact on their first week at Alabama. I dealt with all kinds of drama and was able to really see what great things sorority life can bring! Bid Day, the day the girls find out which house they would call home, was one of the proudest of my life! I know I sound super corny but it was a great feeling knowing that I did my part to bring their bid cards to them!
- Not killing Grace Kelly. When I first brought her home she was very skiddish and had a lot of health problems. I spent A LOT of time worrying about her, and I am so amazed by her everyday! She is such a blessing I am glad to see what the next year with her will bring.
Late 2009 brought some serious heartburn and some tummy troubles. Icky.
10. What was the best thing you bought?
I first bought it in 2008, but late 2009 required a new iPhone! Obsessed with the 3G and cannot wait to see what Apple does next....I'm already drooling over the iPad.
11. Where did most of your money go?
A lot of my money went to my graduation present to William, a wonderful and magical trip to Walt Disney World for 4 days in the summer. The rest of my fortune, I say that with laughter in my voice, went to my closet and summer school. ohh, and my finance grad significant other made me put some in savings, how boring!
12. What song will always remind you of 2009?
I'm like Pandora radio, I'm so random it hurts. I loved Taylor Swift this year along with the rest of the free world. But I also was shaking my boo-tay quite a few times to "Right Round" and everything by Three 6 Mafia.
13. Compared to this time last year are you:
Happier? Ehh, I'd say I'm a happy girl every year.
Thinner? I don't want to brag but... :)
Richer? HAHAHAHAHAHA, I'm a college student with a traveling and shopping bug.
14. What do you wish you'd done more of?
My school work for Fall 2009, but hey it was a great semester to be a student at Alabama! So I like everyone else that got "distracted" blame the BCS National Championship season :) ROLL TIDE!!!
15. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Worry and then shut myself down. I'm a classic get nothing down when I'm worried or nervous. I wish I could channel that energy to something positive.
16. How did you spend Christmas?
The lovely city of Atlanta with my amazing family.
17. How did you spend New Year's?
Drunk as a skunk with William, Daddy, Susan and their friends at the annual Saint Ives Gala.
18. Did you fall in love in 2009?
With Grace Kelly its a constant thing. I fall in love with her every moment of every day.
19. What was your favorite TV program?
My TiVo is quite busy. I'm religious about: Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice, Project Runway, Chopped, Two and a Half Men, Greek, Secret Life, Teen Mom and Jersey Shore. A new favorite: American Pickers. We watch a lot of TV in my house!
20. What was the best book you read?
As an English major reading is my thing. I fell in love with a few old favorites and discovered some great new ones.
Here's my list I suggest you look into this year:
The Great Gatsby (I know you read it a hundred years ago, but look at it again as an adult, its almost a different book)
The "Almost" Series by Julie Ortolon (great for the Caribbean beaches)
Queen Takes the King by Gigi Levangie Grazer (my MUST read)
Jane Eyre (absolute classic)
2010 I hope will be another great year for my reading. I'm half-way into Married Lovers by Jackie Collins and just finished Shakespeare's Twelfth Night again. Spring and Summer are always big reading seasons for me, so stay tuned! And I absolutely cannot wait until Candace Bushnell releases "Carrie Diaries".
21. Best musical discovery?
LOVED Colbie Calliat's sophomore CD, "Breakthrough". You MUST listen to "Droplets". My other little gem is the rediscovery of Reddi's "Perfect". I've taken it to be a motto for my life now! You might recognize it from "Lipstick Jungle".
22. What lessons did you learn?
You don't study; you don't do well in school. You let other people take advantage of you, you get hurt.
23. Most exciting moment?
I watched the Alabama Crimson Tide win the SEC Championship. I watched Mark Ingram bring home Alabama's FIRST Heisman Trophy. And although it was technically 2010, it was based off the 2009 season--I watched the Alabama Crimson Tide bring home the BCS National Championship!!
24. What was your favorite film of this year?
My answer never changes--The American President. Although I loved The Blind Side and The Proposal--it was Sandra's year. And HATED Inglorious Basterds.
25. What did you do on your birthday?
I saw Bride Wars and had dinner with William and our close couple friends, Stephen and Hilary. William and I then enjoyed some nice vodka and a dance night sponsored by the late 90's including the old classic "Vega Bus". It was a silly night but a lot of fun. This year I turn the big 2-1 so I cannot wait to celebrate my birthday!!
Hard to believe I fit 2009 in such a nutshell. I look forward to everything that twenty-ten will bring. I wish nothing but the best for everyone! I feel so blessed to have the chance to share my thoughts and ramblings on my blog. Happy New Year!


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Such a lovely photo from Yvette Inufio, I think this palette could be an inspiration for both a wedding and some coastal interior decor. I like that the difference between the green and the blue shades is subtle, but they are so complimentary.
Quick Palette: Pale Green and Blue
Posted by Darci on Friday, August 06, 2010
Labels: Blue, Color Palettes, Green, Quick Palette, White
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