text:
open aim will now support aim bots, which can automatically carry on instant messaging conversations with a maximum of 10,000 users. aim location services and pc-to-pc voice calls have also been added to open aim as well as multi-party voice chat.
the best addition for some developers is support for mac os x, linux, pocket pc, and java. to date, aol predicts some 45,000 developers are currently using the aim software development kit (sdk).
read more from the aol press release.
brian's opinion
aol made a great move when it decided to add support for mac os x, linux, pocket pc, and java. that move alone makes the open aim initiative truly open. by opening aim to multiple platforms, aol has really encouraged development to take place on the aim platform.
additional features such as the support for aim bots, aim location services, and aim talk's pc-to-pc voice functionality give developers even more reasons to look at the aim platform as a means of developing an open communications client. what better way for aol to encourage use of its aol global instant messaging network.
aol seems to truly be doing its part in trying to move from the dial-up client of old to an online services company. supporting an open platform is one way to do this; adding additional features to an open platform reaffirms this support.
user comments 1 comment(s)
|cool (10:33am est tue jun 13 2006)
i diss like aim i wish they never bought icq becasue icq is so much better. – by dude


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Bike Month is a great way to highlight the many ways cycling adds to the health and growth of our community. There are benefits to every sort of cyclists, and at the end of the day, we love seeing people pedal any way they enjoy.
We are very fortunate to have a number of cycling-friendly organizations in Traverse City, and NMMBA is just one of those groups that work to make our region more supportive, accessible, and enjoyable for enthusiasts in the region. Bike Month, for us, is an opportunity to invite cyclists of all ages and abilities to enjoy the trails and see if mountain biking is something they'd enjoy. We understand that there are so many ways ride, and would like to encourage everyone to try something new this month.
We find that the most accessible way to try mountain biking is to take a lap of a well-marked and well-maintained trail system, and that's something we work very hard to provide to locals and tourists in the region. We also understand that have guidance is important; riding with a friend, joining a club, or even contacting local groups like NMMBA or a local shop, are great ways to learn more about where to access trails and what to bring with you when you're out there.
Conversely, we'd like to challenge our members and die-hard mountain bikers to try something new themselves in celebration of Bike Month. Try a new commute, experiment with a new paved trail, or make an effort to bring a friend that has never ridden out into the woods with you in May. Bike Month is a time to support bike organizations and initiatives, but also to highlight the simple pleasure of pedaling with a friend.
Want to make sure we have trails to enjoy this Bike Month, and for a long time to come? You can donate to NMMBA and stay in touch on Facebook and Instagram for news on events, trail days, and more.
To learn more about National Bike Month, head over to our friends at The League of American Bicyclists.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
FOREIGN MARRIAGES ordinance
Arrangement of Sections
1. Short title.
2. Interpretation.
3. Notice of marriage under the Foreign Marriage Act.
4. Form of notice.
5. Publication of notice.
6. Issue of certificate by Registrar-General.
7. Applicability of provisions of the Marriage Registration Ordinance, with regard to certified copies and extracts.
12 of 1903.
AN ORDINANCE to give effect to an order of His Majesty in council, known as "the Foreign Marriages Order in Council, 1902",
[Date of Commencement: 9th December, 1903]
1. Short title.
This Ordinance may be cited as the Foreign Marriage Ordinance.
2. Interpretation.
In this Ordinance, unless the contrary intention appears, the expression "Registrar-General" means the Registrar-General of Marriages, appointed under the provisions of the Marriage Registration Ordinance, and includes the Assistant Registrar-General and any person for the time being lawfully discharging the duties of the Registrar-General or of the Assistant Registrar-General.
3. Notice of marriage under the Foreign Marriage Act.
Notice of a marriage intended to be solemnised under the Foreign Marriage Act, 1892, may be given to the Registrar-General by one of the parties intending such marriage who has had his or her usual place of abode for three consecutive weeks immediately preceding in some place in Ceylon, as is hereinafter provided.
4. Form of notice.
(1) Every such notice shall be substantially in the form A in the Schedule, and shall state the name in full, the profession, condition and residence of each of the parties intending marriage, the place where the marriage is intended to be solemnised, and whether each of the parties is or is not a minor, and shall also state that the party giving notice has had his or her usual place of abode for not less than three consecutive weeks then next preceding in some place in Ceylon.
(2) Every such notice shall be signed by the party giving or making the same in the presence of the Registrar-General or a Justice of the Peace or a Notary and of two credible witnesses, who shall attest the same by adding each his name, description, and place of abode, and of whom the Registrar-General, Justice of the Peace, notary, or both the witnesses shall be personally acquainted with the party giving notice.
(3) Every such notice shall bear a stamp of ten rupees, which shall be supplied by the party giving the notice.
5. Publication of notice.
(1) The Registrar-General, when notice of an intended marriage is duly given under this Ordinance, shall forthwith enter in the notice the date of its receipt and file and keep it with the records of his office, and shall forthwith enter particulars of the notice in a book to be called "The Foreign Marriage Notice Book", which shall be kept substantially in the form B in the Schedule.
This section of the article is only available for our subscribers. Please click here to subscribe to a subscription plan to view this part of the article.


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'Village idiots': NY Post shames women who took selfie at fatal building collapse
The group of women who posed for a selfie at the scene of a New York City building explosion last week have been skewered by one of the New York Post's more genius – and spot-on – headlines.
A photo of them mugging near the chaos in the East Villege made the rounds after it was posted to the Twitter feed of EventPhotosNYC.
Sadly, they weren't the only gawkers to pose for selfies at the scene, leading social media commentators to generally condemn those actions as "disgusting."
"Self-absorbed jerks are treating the East Village gas-explosion site like a tourist attraction, shooting grinning selfies of themselves even as rescuers search for life in the ruins where two bodies might still be buried," the New York Post wrote.
Christina Freundlich took a selfie there – while smiling and flashing a peace sign. The former communications director for the Iowa Democratic Party emailed a public apology to The Des Moines Register on Sunday, saying that she was "deeply sorry for my careless and distasteful post."
She wrote: "It was inconsiderate to those hurt in the crash and to the city of New York. What happened last week in the East Village is not to be taken lightly and I regret my course of action."
No word on the identity of the women in the group photo.
In the meantime, New York fire officials on Sunday night announced that the bodies of two people who were unaccounted for in the blast had been found.


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Ever since confessing I am being attracted to the dark side, I have hated the idea of having to give up the case sensitivity that I know and love from such languages as C#, Java, C++ and JavaScript.
But on Michael Kaplan's blog I found something that might puzzle even the most addicted VB fan. What does this code print when run?
Module Module1
Sub Main()
Call Pröcedure1()
End Sub
Sub Pröcedure1()
Console.WriteLine("Schrödinger's cat is not dead.")
End Sub
Sub PRÖCEDURE1()
Console.WriteLine("Schrödinger's cat is dead.")
End Sub
End Module
Nope, it doesn't produce a compiler error as you might expect. Give your guess here as a comment and then head over to Michael's blog for the answer. To try it out yourself in Visual Studio copy-and-paste the code in Module1.vb in a freshly created Visual Basic console application project.


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|Star Guardian Soraka [League of Legends] [Wallpaper Engine Free]
Star Guardian Soraka [League of Legends] is a Theme or Wallpaper from Wallpaper Engine that has a good animation effect.
Wallpaper Engine Star Guardian Soraka [League of Legends] Description :
Rating: Everyone
Wallpaper Type: Scene
Category/Genre: Game
Wallpaper Animator: Catalola
Wallpaper Engine: Steam Workshop URL
Original Wallpaper Name: "Star Guardian Soraka [League of Legends]"
How To Download & Install Wallpaper Engine Free :
- FREE Download Wallpaper Engine App: Wallpaper Engine Build 1.0.1424 !!! UPDATE 21 September 2018!!!
- Download the Archive/Wallpaper --> Click Here!
- Password: www.yuinime.net
- Extract the Archive/Wallpaper to "wallpaper_engine\projects\myprojects" (If the folder myprojects is not existing just create it.)
- Select "Wallpaper" in Wallpaper Engine App.
*Note : If there is a Bug / Error, read Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) : HERE
Any Problem? you can ask me in Discord https://discord.gg/EqCqqJt
How to Download ? Read Here!
i Need your Help! Please Read the Text inside Wallpaper File or Click Here to Read
- 7-Zip Google Drive | ZippyShare | SolidFiles | MegaUp | MegaNz | MediaFire | Mirror Creator
Star Guardian Soraka [League of Legends] [6 Mb]
Password : www.yuinime.net


text:
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In a recent interview with Fusion TV's Jorge Ramos, the former secretary of state said that one reason why Hamas choses to hide its stockpile of rockets and missiles in schools, and other civilian areas, is because apparently there's not enough room to house them in locations that aren't filled with children.
"I'm not a military planner," Hillary confesses, "but Hamas puts it's missiles, its rockets in civilian areas, part of it is because Gaza is pretty small and its densely populated."
In the same interview, Hillary also said Hamas "intended to provoke Israel" into starting a military campaign into Gaza.
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text:
added by Faizur
This Дораэмон фото might contain аниме, комиксы, манга, анимационные фильмы, комикс, мультфильм, and книга комиксов.
posted by medouri
Nobita's Dinosaur is the 1st installment of the Дораэмон featured films based on the Популярное Манга and Аниме series, Doraemon. It was released in 1980, one год after the premiere of the TV series (making it the first feature-length Дораэмон movie. The movie was released in Япония 1 March 1980. In 2006 the movie was remade.
Nobita protected a dinosaur from hunters from the future who wanted to kill it and sent it to the past. Because of an error, Nobita and his Друзья came back to the past by the time machine and moved the dinosaur from North America to Japan. They the met the hunters and ran away. However, the dinosaur with Nobita and his Друзья was caught. The Tyrannosaurus and universe-police helped them and gave the dinosaur freedom and let it roam in nature. Nobita and his Друзья come back to the 20th century.
posted by medouri
Shizuka's Mother
Voice actor(s): Keiko Yokozawa (1979~1981), Masako Matsubara (August 1981~March 2005), Ai Orikasa (April 2005~)
Shizuka's mother. She's kind, but can also be quite exigent on Shizuka sometimes.
Yoshio Minamoto (源 義雄 Minamoto Yoshio?)
Voice actor(s): Masayuki Katō (1979~1980), Masaru Ikeda (1981), Akira Kume (1999), Aruno Tahara (July 2005~)
Shizuka's father, a normal salaryman WHO often goes to movie with Shizuka. His best known appearance in Fujiko's story is the night before Shizuka's wedding. He's also the only parent with official full name besides Nobita's parents.
Peeko (ピー子?)
Shizuka's lovely pet canary. It is yellow in color and sings sweetly. Peeko escapes from the cage very often.


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Sharon began her piano studies at the age of 5 in Berkeley, California, with Isabel Magaña. She continued her piano training with professor and concert pianist Frank Wiens, while earning her Bachelor Of Music in Music Therapy from the University of the Pacific Conservatory. When she returned to the Conservatory to pursue her Master of Arts Degree in Music Therapy, she began teaching private piano lessons and has continued for 33 years. She also studied from concert pianist Audrey Andrist in Stockton, CA. Her interest in music has extended beyond learning piano to include choral singing and the study of other instruments, including voice, violin, handbells, guitar and recorder.
Sharon is enthusiastic about sharing her love for music-making, and hopes to instill this love into the hearts of all she teaches. She enjoys working with young children, school-aged children, teenagers, adults, and students with special needs. She's dedicated to helping all of her students experience success at whatever level they happen to be studying. She uses an upbeat, positive approach to teaching and believes in treating each student as a unique individual.
Lessons are taught in a relaxed and supportive atmosphere, customized for the personality and specific learning styles of each student. Depending upon their particular interests and talents, students are encouraged to explore a variety of musical styles while developing fundamental music skills such as note reading, technique, musical expression, music theory, and ear training. Sharon strives to guide her students to become confident, competent, expressive pianists and to help them uncover their own unique strengths as musicians.
Sharon is an active member of The Music Teachers' Association of California (M.T.A.C.) and offers motivated and qualified students extra evaluation and performance opportunities through the Certificate of Merit TM program, a 10- level evaluation and performance program administered by M.T.A.C.
She feels fortunate that her chosen profession allows the opportunity to lead her students to the discovery of music's power to enrich their quality of life. She is delighted to be a part of the talented team of instructors at B Sharp School of Music!


text:
Here is my sermon from Sunday. The text was James 1:19-27, 3:1-12, and 4:11-12:
Perhaps appropriately enough since today is the last Sunday
before school begins, but last week Gerry Lightwine who was our guest preacher
gave you all a homework assignment and that was to go and read the Letter of
James all the way through? Did everyone
do that? Well did you at least read
chapter 7 because that's probably the most important? That was a trick question because there are
only 5 chapters in James. It's one of
the shortest letters we have, but still very important with what it means to be
a Christian and more importantly how it is that we are to live a Christian
life. James is concerned about not what
we confess but about what we do, and that is very evident in today's passages
in which we hear about taming and controlling the tongue. Because he says that the same tongue that we
use to confess God, to bless God, is the same tongue that we then use to curse
others who are made in the image of God, indicating that our confession of God
or of Jesus doesn't really mean much because we are double-tongued and live out
something else other than that blessing.
But, I
don't think that James is just thinking here of school teachers, especially
since that wasn't part of his reality, but instead about others who take
positions of authority within the community, who are communicating the faith
and who are seen as the face of the religion.
This is something that weighs heavily on me as a preacher. Long before I had ever read James, I believed
that preachers would be held to a high standard by God when we came to meet God
face to face, as there are other passages that indicate this as well. So, as I have said before, I think carefully
about what it is that I say knowing that what I say influences people and that
I will be held accountable for both the bad and the good. But I think James' injunction for teachers is
really much, much broader, because in reality aren't all of us teachers in one
way or another. We are teachers in the
roles where we are directly teaching, but we are also teachers as parents, as grandparents,
as aunts and uncles, as friends, as acquaintances as total strangers, because
everything we do sends a message to someone else about who we are and how we
behave. Have you ever seen someone with
a Jesus fish on their car doing something rudely, and perhaps doing something
that is less than Christian in appearance?
What impact did that have on you, and what impact does it have on
others, especially those who are not part of the faith? And what does that actually say about their
faith? James says that a spring cannot
pour forth both fresh and brackish water, and by reference then if you see
brackishness coming out what type of spring is actually there?
But James
also recognizes that none of us live up to the standards we would like to have
for ourselves, or that God sets for us.
"Anyone who makes no mistakes in speaking is perfect," James says, but
he also says, "All of us make many mistakes."
James is really providing John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, with
some of the language he would later use that we are moving on to perfection. Perhaps James is even echoing Jesus when he
tells us to be perfect as God is perfect.
So we have the goal that we are aiming towards, and that God is calling
us to reach. But we also know that there
are times in which we are not going to reach that goal. That should give us both encouragement but
also give us pause. We should be
encouraged because it means that God knows we are going to fail in living up to
this standard and we know that God's grace will cover us. But it should give us pause because once we
know the rules, and we know that we will be held to a higher standard, that
means that we actually then have to start paying attention to what we say,
knowing the power that our words have not just one others but even on ourselves.
James has
already told us basically don't judge a book by its cover, don't show
partiality to anyone, that instead we are to follow the royal law, and who
remembers what James says the royal law is?
To love our neighbor as ourselves.
And that doesn't mean that if we don't find something particularly
hurtful ourselves that means that we get to use it. Someone once told me that he had grown up
using the N word, that it was just part of the culture, and of course this
person is white, that he didn't really think anything of it, but that he had
then found out that n-words didn't like being called the n-word and he didn't
understand what had happened, and didn't understand why he wasn't supposed to
use the word anymore. Of course his
response was that it was political correctness run wild. My response was that it had nothing to do
with political correctness, but everything to do with common decency. Next time you hear someone using the phrase
political correctness, or you want to use it yourself, try replacing it with
"common decency." So then we'll hear
people saying things like "that's just the madness of common decency."
Because the truth is that words matter. Jesus said that it's not what goes into the
mouth that defiles, but instead it's what comes out that defiles, and that is
because what comes out reveals the interior thoughts and ideas. They
don't just describe reality they in fact create reality. They tell us what we think and believe, and
they tell others what we think and believe about them. Gandhi said that "Your beliefs become your
thoughts, your thoughts become your words, your words become your
actions, your actions become your habits, your habits become your
values, and your values become your destiny." Our words matter and words create reality,
and for Christians they can be absolutely no debate about this.
If we do not believe that words matter then we might as well
shut the doors and go home. If words
don't matter, if words don't lead to action, if words have no import then there
is certainly no point for me to be standing up here speaking to you. If words don't matter than there is certainly
no reason for us to be reading scripture.
If words don't matter then there is absolutely no reason for us to be
offering up our prayers to God, they're just meaningless words. But we know that words do matter.
God said let there be light, and there was light. Words create, words challenge, words form,
words matter. John says "and the word
became flesh and dwelt amongst us." The
Word became flesh. Words matter. Words become flesh. Words create.
Words corrupt. Words make
realities. If all we ever hear are words
of hate, or fear, or rage or animosity or wrath, then we are swimming in a
toxic pool which can only corrupt us and fill us with the poisons which
surround us. In Christianity we talk
about having tongues of fire, but when we are saying that it's about the
Pentecost experience, of being filled with the Holy Spirit so that we cannot
control ourselves that we have to spread the gospel message to the world. The tongues of fire that James is talking
about though, are different, although with the same causes and the same
results. That the tongue can be a small
fire and it can set the world ablaze, and that can be for good and for
ill. Are we setting the world on fire with love and
kindness and generosity, or are we setting it on fire with hate and vitriol and
violence? Because words can be violent
and they can hurt. We say sticks and
stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me, but we know it's not
true. Words hurt. Words create.
Words tear down. Words create
realities. Words matter.
And James says that words we use, the tongue we say them
with, drive what we do. They are the bit
in the mouth and the rudder on the ship, even though they are small, they guide
and lead us, and they provide the direction, because they reveal what's
actually going on behind the scenes.
That's why James urges us to be quick to listen and slow to speak, and
slow to anger, because anger does not produce God's righteousness. One of the things that keeps me in check when
I'm in public and want to strike out against someone with my tongue is to say,
"What would I do if this person was to show up for church? How would I explain
my actions in that situation versus what I claim to believe?" You can do the same thing when you feel like
saying something you might regret. You
could ask yourself if you would be happy if a video of it showed up on Facebook
or YouTube? Or what about if someone
were to quote you, would this be something you would like to be remembered
for? You can also do the same thing to
someone else. If someone wants to share
some gossip with you, or say something negative about someone else, ask them if
you can quote them on it? More than
likely they are going to say no, which maybe will give them time to pause, or
time for you to say that you really don't want to hear what they want to say.
Words matter. Words
can set the world on fire, and James tells us that if anyone thinks themselves
to be religious, we might change that and say anyone who says they are a
Christian, and if they do not bridle their tongue, then they are deceiving
themselves and their religion is worthless.
Let me say that again, that if anyone thinks themselves to be a Christian,
and if they do not bridle their tongue, then they are deceiving themselves and
their religion is worthless. Bet you
won't see that on many bumper stickers, but perhaps we should, and we should
all take heed of what James is saying to us, especially if we all begin to see
ourselves as teachers and know that we will be held to a higher standard. Because what I sort of imagine, and I have no
proof for this, but I sort of imagine that God has God's own version of YouTube
and we are going to see these moments played back to us and we will have to
answer for ourselves about whether we were deceiving ourselves, that our
religion was worthless because instead of producing clean water, instead we put
forth brackish water.
And then there is the last caveat, and that is not to judge
others. That relates to the things we
say about others, which relates to treating our neighbors as ourselves, because
when we judge we choose to make hierarchical relationships, and put ourselves
above others, into the seat of judgement.
But even worse for James when we do that, not only do we put ourselves
above others, but we put ourselves into the seat occupied by God, who is the
ultimate judge. So in judging we judge
ourselves to be like God, and that's bound to get us into trouble. Instead we should focus on what we can
control, and that's really us. We can
control our own actions, we can control our own tongues, we can control our own
faith, we can control what the world sees and hears from us, and we can control
how God will approach and judge us.
One of the most famous songs from the musical Into the Woods
says "Careful the things you say, children will listen, careful the things you
do, children will see and learn, children may not obey, but children will
listen, children will look to you for which way to turn, to learn what to be, careful
before you say 'Listen to me', children will listen." The truth is we are all children and we are
all teachers. We are called to be quick
to listen and slow to speak, and when we speak to watch what it is that we say
because words matter, words count, words create and words destroy, so as
teachers we need to be aware of what the spark of our tongue will do to the
world. Will it release a fire of love or
a fire of destruction?
We need to ask ourselves if what we say is how we want to be
remembered, if we would like to see it replayed or if we want someone to quote
us using the same words. If not, then we
need to try and think of something to say, or better yet to say nothing at
all. As Mark Twain said, "it's better to
keep your mouth shut and have people think you're a fool, then to open it and
remove all doubt." What we say reveals
who and what we are, whether we are people of faith or whether our religion is
worthless, and what we say matters, because words matter. God said let there be light, and there was
light, and the Word became flesh and dwelt amongst us. We are all teachers and we are all students,
so we all need to be cognizant of what we say, and how we say it, and seek to
live into the royal law to love our neighbors as ourselves. I pray that it will be so my brothers and
sisters. Amen.


text:
I am a longtime Sandra Boynton fan, so I was pleased to hear a couple months ago that she had yet another kids music album coming out. Frog Trouble was released in book/CD form last month; the CD itself was released this week.
The new CD is country(-ish), and features some well-known country stars like Ben Folds, Mark Lanegan, Fountains of Wayne, and Linda Eder. Just kidding, they're on the disk but they're not country stars, Alison Krauss, Brad Paisley, Dwight Yoakam, Darius Rucker, and Kacey Musgraves? They are, in fact, country music stars, and they, too, make appearances here. You can download 3 tracks from Musgraves, Ryan Adams, and Folds for free (or make a tip with 80% going to St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital). I particularly like the Ryan Adams track. Worth the e-mail address and possibly your cash.
Go here to download the music.


text:
SLS Writers 14 articles
FA CUP: Notts County's road to Wembley
Notts County Ladies have made history by reaching their first ever FA Cup final. The Lady Pies will take on WSL 1 rivals Chelsea on Saturday at … Read More
FA CUP: Chelsea's Road to Wembley
Chelsea Ladies are seeking to win their first FA Cup title, three years after they suffered the heart ache of a penalty shootout defeat against … Read More
Faye White: Hall of Famer
This article has been provided to Read WSL by: The Set Pieces There are some legendary England captains in the National Football Museum's Hall of … Read More
Is it time for Manchester United to re-establish their women's team?
Going into the mid-season break, the Women's Super League is somewhat dominated by some of the prominent teams in both men's and women's … Read More
The rise and rise of Notts County
2015 has been a fantastic year for Notts County Ladies. The Lady Pies have made a strong start to the WSL season and go into the summer break 3rd in … Read More
The race to the Super League
There are only a handful of matches left in the Women's Premier League and with a place in the Women's Super League on offer, 4 teams will be … Read More


text:
I would like to share my experience at Inkaterra Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel in Peru since Responsible Travel week is happening from 2/11-2/17/13. Before I do that, I'll share some of my ideas about responsible travel:
1) It provides all involved a means of enjoying the place, giving back to the place visited in some way.
2) Travel organizations employ local workers, while providing competitive wages, training and mutual respect in a safe environment.
3) Travelers seek out experiences to commune with nature, learn about the local indigenous culture, and hopefully feel prompted to give back to those cultures, places or people that they learned about during their travels. The giving back doesn't always have to be money–it can also be time directed towards their newfound interests gained on a responsible travel trip.
With the above principles in mind, I picked Inkaterra Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel as an example of responsible travel. At a time when most hotels are the exact opposite of responsible travel, Inkaterra at least makes a steady effort in the areas of conservation and biodiversity as well as hiring local employees. I visited Inkaterra Hotel in 10/11 and was able to see these principles in action.
It is highly probable that the Inkaterra resort is so serene because of its proximity to Machu Picchu. However, I will say that by hotel and resort standards, Inkaterra has done an amazing job preserving the natural atmosphere of sacred beauty that is inherently found in Machu Picchu. Once inside the entrance, it's like stepping into another small room inside the 'house' of Machu Picchu. The local village, Aguas Calientes, seems miles away. The plants, trees and animals are lively and serene at the same time. The environment is truly a sanctuary with its beautiful stone walkways past the Vilcanota River. Here is a picture I took while inside the grounds looking up at the small mountains along the river:
While this is a luxury hotel with its spa, pools, sweat lodge, gift shop, etc., I don't know too many hotels where it is an absolute joy to wander the grounds feeling as if in another world.
For the responsible traveler, there are many activities which provide enjoyment of the local biodiversity. There is a fully staffed Eco Center with expertly guided tours through the orchid gardens, herb garden, tea plantation, to name a few. I was very impressed by the level of expertise and dedication of all of the staff whether they were in reservations, hospitality or in the Eco Center.
My enjoyment of this resort prompted me to search online for more information re: whether they hired local workers, conservation and other issues. I found that Inkaterra was awarded the first Green certification from the Peterson Control Union Green Choice Sustainable Tourism Standard. While this sounds like a distinguished honor, and perhaps it is, I am somewhat skeptical of certification standards in the business community regarding responsible travel. I did some more digging and was able to find the following:
1) According to http://www.sustainabletrip.org/profile/inkaterra-reserva-amazonica (Inkaterra's Amazon River location), 86% of the staff is local which supports my observations of what appeared to be mostly local staff at the Machu Picchu location. I did find a source that stated Inkaterra was "built and staffed by locals" who used local materials. Profits from other Inkaterra resorts, in both the Amazon and Cusco locations, are put back into conservation. Source: http://www.wtmwrtd.com/files/spotlight07_lr1.pdf (p.27)
2) According to another source, employee salaries are twice the local rate. I also sensed that employee morale and happiness was apparent in the way employees related to guests. Staff members seem to be very proud of their work and have a real commitment to this place. Source: http://tilz.tearfund.org/webdocs/Website/Campaigning/Policy%20and%20research/Policy%20-%20Tourism%20CSR%208%20Pager.pdf (p.4)
These independent online sources support my experience at Inkaterra–a business that knows that without its natural surroundings and local citizens, it would be nothing. Of course, there is the price tag, which is my biggest complaint simply because quality responsible travel should be accessible to all socio-economic groups. Perhaps in the near future, there will be more places such as Inkaterra all over the world, offering lower prices without compromising better responsible travel standards.
For more information on Responsible Tourism Week and how to participate, check out Ron Mader's website, Planeta.com. Another exciting way to participate is through Google Hangouts. Check out Responsible Travel Week on Twitter for real-time updates on what's happening this week. Facebook also has two wonderful groups, Responsible Tourism Networking and Planeta.com where you can participate and share global views on responsible travel.


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The Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA") clearly covers any entity that is a contractor with the state. In this case, the Colorado Department of Corrections and the Colorado Division of Criminal Justice contract with a private company known as Intervention Community Corrections Services ("Intervention"). The plaintiff, Nancy Marks, an individual with a disability, was incarcerated but approved for placement in a community corrections facility, a lower-security program designed to help inmates transition to life after prison. After sustaining a further injury to her disabling condition, she was returned back to prison and not allowed to return to the community corrections facility solely based on her disability. The United States District Court ruled that the state was not responsible for the program run by Intervention even though Intervention contracts with the state of Colorado to provide these services. The organizations joined as amici ("friends of the court") for the purpose of demonstrating our agreement with Ms. Marks that the state must be held responsible for the acts and decisions of its contractors that violate the ADA. The United States District Court decision is attached as well as the Brief of Amici Curiae. Amy Robertson Of the Civil Rights Education and Enforcement Center authored the brief.
2019-07-03 Marks[155] Order Granting Summary Judgment (Acrobat access check) v Colorado Department of Corrections Brief of Amici Curiae –
[155] Order Granting Summary Judgment (Acrobat access check)
Julie Reiskin is the executive director of the Colorado Cross-Disability Coalition (CCDC). In that role, Julie assists other organizations with assuring real and meaningful participation by "clients" at all levels. Through CCDC and the disability community, Julie has gained expertise on nonprofit accountability and best practices, publically funded long-term community based services, disability rights law, public benefits, and the intersectionality of systemic and individual advocacy. Julie has proposed and helped to implement many solutions to create a sustainable and client friendly Medicaid program, such as the consumer direction as a delivery model, acted as a respected advocate for individuals, and has trained many others in health advocacy and health policy. Prior to becoming the executive director for CCDC in 1996, Julie served as the organization's policy analyst.
In 2010, Julie was appointed by President Obama to serve on the board of directors of the Legal Services Corporation as the client representative.
Julie provides consulting with organizations seeking to improve, expand, or enhance their ability to effectively practice real and meaningful client/constituent engagement at all levels of the organization. She also helps organizations develop disability cultural competence.
Julie moved to Colorado from Connecticut in 1994. In Connecticut, she was a partner in a consulting firm, specializing in diversity issues throughout Southern New England. She also had a private psychotherapy practice. Previous work includes several positions working with "hard to serve" youth and positive youth development, AIDS/HIV education, and grassroots community organizing. Julie has taught extensively in the areas of disability rights, disability culture, and disability policy, along with other areas related to diversity in human services.
Julie received her master's in Social Work from the University of Connecticut, with a major in community organizing in 1989. She obtained a B.S. in Women's Studies from the University of Connecticut in 1985. She lives in Denver with her partner of more than 20 years and has two adult stepsons, who both make her very proud.
Kevin Williams is the director of the Legal Program for CCDC. In May of 1997, Kevin joined CCDC as counsel and, with the help of CCDC's members and a very small staff, began building the Legal Program. Kevin litigates in most areas of law, protecting the civil rights of people with disabilities, including the Americans with Disabilities Act; Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act; the Fair Housing Act; the Air Carriers Access Act; and Colorado law. Kevin has been active with Colorado and federal legislation impacting people with disabilities, presented at conferences and seminars and has published on the topic of disability rights. Kevin chaired the Colorado Bar Association Disability Law Forum Committee for three years and hosted the Denver Disability Rights Roundtable for several years. Kevin graduated with honors from the University of Denver College of Law in 1996.
Although considers the place where he great up, the eastern suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio, a great place to be from, he has made Colorado his home for many years. He would not have it any other way. He remains devoted to keeping Colorado one of the best places for people with disabilities to live. Kevin thanks the many champions of disability rights who came before him and proud to be a part of the community that will never let us turn the clock back on recognizing the humanity and equality of all people.
Oh yeah. He has a thing for sunsets.
On January 1, 2012, Andrew Montoya joined CCDC's Legal Program as a full-time associate. In 2005, Andrew began working as CCDC's Legal Program Assistant. He left CCDC for a time to get his law degree from the Florida Coastal School of Law in Jacksonville, Florida. He returned to Colorado, took and passed the bar exam, and now holds the title of Legal Program Attorney. Andrew works on CCDC's civil rights cases and has developed many presentations regarding the laws CCDC enforces.
CCDC is very proud to have Andrew. He has always been an asset to our Legal Program, but, beyond that, he is doing excellent work as a lawyer. We are all pleased to have Andrew on board now as a full-time attorney, even if he does choose to live on the Wyoming border. We are also pleased to see and spend time with Nikki, Audrey, Katrina, and the rest of the family.
Angela Nevin's career path can best be described as a unique and winding one – one that has brought her to a great home with CCDC as the new communications manager. She graduated from the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley in the early 1990's with a degree in English and a Special Education endorsement. She then accepted the position of special education teacher at West Middle School in the Cherry Creek School District. She founded their first inclusive program for middle-school students with severe and profound needs.
From there, Angela's career path wound around to her passion for sewing. She established her own business, Angela Nevin Designs, offering custom business wear for women who use wheelchairs, original wedding gowns, and one-of-a-kind clothing. She also spent three years as the costume designer for PHAMALY. In the summer of 2000, David's Bridal recruited her for their alterations department.
The next 15 years involved teaching David's Bridal's alterations managers basic business skills, customer service, and technical skills. In 2006, after years of travel for the company, Angela and her husband Mike relocated to David's Philadelphia home office.
In 2014, when the company downsized, Angela and her husband saw the opportunity to return to Colorado – long considered their home. Not wanting to work in the corporate world again, Angela returned to her roots with the disability community as a care partner in a residential home and eventually as an attendant in the Consumer Directed Attendant Support Services (CDASS) program.
It was through CDASS that Angela was introduced to CCDC and eventually offered the position as the new communications manager.
Chris is Managing Attorney of Probate Power, CCDC's probate and estate planning legal program. Prior to joining CCDC, Chris worked as a law clerk for the Honorable A. Bruce Jones in Denver District Court and as a Dean's Fellow at the University of Colorado Law School. He is admitted to the Colorado Bar and is a member of the Colorado and Denver Bar Associations, where he belongs to the Trust and Estate and Elder Law Sections. Chris focuses his practice in the areas of special needs planning, estate planning, and probate administration.
Chris graduated from the University of Colorado Law School in 2014. He clerked for several organizations during law school, including the Civil Litigation and Employment Law section of the Attorney General's Office and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and American studies from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.
Dawn has slight cerebral palsy. As community organizer for CCDC, she enjoys matching advocates/volunteer interests with opportunities to make systems work for people with disabilities. She has worked as a librarian, occupational therapist, advocate, and as an aide for Head Start classrooms. In her free time, Dawn writes poetry, spends time with her friends and family, and takes long walks.
Donna Sablan is a widow with three birth children and five stepchildren. She is CCDC's director of Individual Advocacy, where she supervises our advocacy program. She came to CCDC in 2000 because she was referred by another agency for help. Donna then started doing advocacy for CCDC in education with a mental health focus for children. She worked with behavioral health organizations, family advisory councils, and CCDC to help people in the community. When funding for the Family Advisory Councils was discontinued, Donna attempted to involve other agencies in children's mental health issues, but she was met with some resistance. According to Donna, "No one wanted to share and work with the kids as a whole. Kids with multiple disabilities were falling through the cracks because of funding streams." Donna was determined to help children and continued to work with CCDC and took educational advocacy training through Cerebral Palsy of Colorado, mental health training through Behavioral Healthcare Inc., and Project Bloom for younger children's mental health.
After training, Donna continued to work with CCDC specifically on education, with a focus on youth. In late 2006, Donna had a significant stroke and had to step back from helping others to take care of herself and do rehab. She still mentored new advocates and took a light caseload. In 2008, Donna had another big stroke and had to have major heart surgery. She came back to CCDC in 2010 where she resumed her caseload and began a job coaching internally within the organization. Since that time her giving back has grown. Due to a restructuring within the organization, Donna was needed to oversee individual advocacy. She accomplishes her job with assistance in the areas of writing and organization. Donna is able to contribute because of the community supports she receives so that she can help others to succeed. According to Donna, "You only should take help when you need it and you should always give back when you can."
Jose was born in Guatemala, Guatemala City during the Guatemalan Civil War. He was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy at six months old. At age twelve, he had his first encounter with the war when his older sister and nephew were forced to leave Guatemala for their safety. At age seventeen his father was killed and Jose, his mother and younger sister had to hide. He lost all aspects of his life at that time including his house and his girlfriend. He joined the opposition to the government at this time. Jose and his family eventually fled to the U.S. for their safety and he began to advocate for the civil rights of the disabled. He joined ADAPT (Americans Disabled for Accessible Public Transit) and CCDC and advocated for the civil rights of people with disabilities. According to Jose, "In these last years I have met true friends, people who fight with the same passion and love. Now I have a whole new world of opportunities, like being invited to be trained by and work for CCDC. The best has been to be able to work for and with the disability community."
Kara became the Legal Program Assistant at CCDC in February 2019. Before joining us, Kara spent many years practicing environmental law, with a brief stop teaching and tutoring in local public schools. She holds a B.A. in Classical Humanities from Georgetown University and a J.D. from Vermont Law School.
Jaime was a pioneer sportsman in the early 1980s. He completed and won a 62-mile ultra marathon before people recognized the new sport. Between 1998 – 2001 Jaime served as a city council person and mayor for the city of Salida, Colorado. Jaime is currently the vice president of Very Special Arts (VSA of Colorado), a nonprofit that promotes and displays art for disabled artists. Jaime recently was certified as a Lay Speaker for the United Methodist Church. He serves at churches in the Denver Metro area. Jaime gained notoriety by showing up to run a relay leg in the Colfax Marathon in the Summer of 2006. When his teammates did not show, Jaime ran the entire 26 miles himself!
Kristen Castor was born in Lakewood as a person with a disability and mainstreamed herself in Jefferson County schools simply because it never occurred to her family to do anything else. The price she paid was to ride a paratransit bus through Lakewood, Golden, and Wheatridge where she became friends with many of the original founders of the Atlantis Community on their way to Fletcher Miller, a school where children with disabilities were segregated from the general population. Determined to support herself, she obtained a bachelor's degree in the Classics from Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, and a master's degree in Linguistics from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. She speaks French, German, some Spanish, and some Hebrew.
In order to build up her work history, she joined the Peace Corps and taught English as a Second Language (ESL) in Liberia, West Africa, from 1978 to 1981. Upon her return, she settled in Houston, Texas, and began forging a career in ESL when romance called her to Mexico. When this partnership failed, she returned to Denver and started over, working three and four part-time jobs and eventually obtaining a teaching certificate. When it became clear that she did not have the stamina to continue in public education, she turned to Wade Blank, who recommended that she apply for a position with the Atlantis Community in Colorado Springs in 1989. That began a return to her roots in disability rights and a migration to Pueblo through a number of different jobs before joining CCDC in 1998. Her official training is in eligibility for disability benefits. She has also championed the Americans with Disabilities Act since it was passed. She now serves as a non-attorney advocate for people appealing Medicaid denials.
Marlene joined CCDC after working for more than two decades for the Archdiocese of Denver. She has extensive experience in working personally with people with all types of disabilities and has also been trained to work with families whose children have disabilities.
Michelle McHenry-Edrington joined the Individual Advocacy team as the Advocacy Coordinator at CCDC in July 2016. Michelle is a native of Texas and veteran of the United States Air Force USAFE. She was a researcher at the Burnes Institute on Poverty and Homelessness. She is an active member of C-PAWW (Canines Providing Assistance to Wounded Warriors) and Veterans Voices, which is a mental health advisory board for the Denver VA. Listed among her credits is being one of the authors of the book, "Ending Homelessness," edited by Donald W. Burnes and David L. DiLeo.
Ron Hutter joined the CCDC staff in 2016 after almost two decades of volunteer work with the organization. Ron has previous experience as a transportation assistant at the Cherry Creek School District where he accompanied children with disabilities on school busses, secured them in their seats, and when necessary secured mobility devices. He was then promoted and was an assistant at their options program and was responsible for checking, cleaning, and restocking books.
His retirement freed him up to increase his volunteer work with CCDC. He is a member of the board of directors of The Arc of Aurora. He is also very active in Special Olympics and has numerous medals from competitions in many different events. Ron lives in Aurora and helps care for other family members who also have disabilities.
Sheryle Hutter joins the CCDC staff as the advocacy support and training coordinator and has a long history of disability advocacy.
After 21 ½ years, she is retired from the Cherry Creek School District as the funded projects manager (program and fiscal manager for State and Federal grants) and is a public accountant by degree. She has many years of experience with small businesses and enjoys the world of antiques. She has previously served on the CCDC board of directors, is an advocate in many arenas, and most recently volunteered as the CCDC lead citizen lobbyist. Sheryle is also a member of the advocacy group PAD-CO (Parents of Adults with Disabilities in Colorado).
Sheryle is a strong advocate for cross disability philosophy. She has received awards for her dedication and determination from CCDC, the Colorado Developmental Disability Council, and through Cherry Creek Schools she received The Wendy DeBell Award for outstanding volunteerism.
Heather Morrow is a young woman with Cerebral Palsy. She came to CCDC after hearing about the advocacy training. In her past, she had worked as a special education aide at Edison Elementary in North Denver. She became interested in advocacy because she was interested in learning to help people with disabilities. She completed the advocacy training and was certified in 2012 and served as a volunteer assistant to our former advocacy coordinator. Because of her exceptional work, Heather was hired to recruit and train people with developmental disabilities under a national level grant from the Association for University Centers on Disabilities. Heather has stayed on part time even after the grant ended. Heather also works for Disability Benefits Supports (DBS) an organization that CCDC helped to create to provide assistance to people seeking help with Social Security Disability and SSI applications.
Tom is the receptionist for CCDC. Tom has been with CCDC since age 15 and graduated from the former CCDC Youth Program. Tom has a degree from PS 1 in Denver. Tom volunteered for many years before joining the staff as a paid employee. When not working at CCDC, Tom enjoys music, video games, spending time with his friends, and hanging out with his service dog Sam.
DDale was named as our part-time Community Organizer this past February to staff the CAT grant from Community Catalyst, which CCDC partners with the Colorado Center on Law & Policy (CCLP) and the Colorado Consumer Health Initiative (CCHI). He will help recruit, train and support Medicaid enrollees to represent themselves and other consumers on regional advisory councils individuals in Regional Area 4. Dale was born with normal hearing, as far as his parents knew. By the age of six, his parents noticed that once he turned his back and went down the hall, he would not respond to their calls. In spite of obstacles, Dale started out with the enthusiasm of youth to pursue his dreams of achieving greatness—or at least happiness. He took classes at Pueblo Community College, Pikes Peak Community College, and what is now the University of Colorado at Pueblo in the subject of his first love-computer technology.
Shannon was born in Wyoming, but began travelling the globe with her family at an early age. Their travels took her to North Africa for 4 years and to South America for 2 years. During her tenure abroad, she trekked extensively throughout 24 countries, being captivated by each unique people, culture, and language.
Shannon has 20+ years of Customer Service Management and Administration experience in the corporate world and recently graduated with honors in 2015 from CSU Global with a BS in Corporate Communications. She is also a single parent of two amazing kids and it's her son and his multiple diagnoses which brought her to the disability community.
She sits on numerous State committees, commissions and boards, and is an avid mentor, trainer, and advocate. Her current focus is Health Policy, specifically centering on Medicaid, State Waivers and Home Health Care issues. Her passion is systems advocacy surrounding health equity and social justice issues, and ensuring families have equal and appropriate access to services across all state systems.
Laura has more than 20 years of experience in the nonprofit field, with an extensive background in all aspects of resource development, as well as several years working as a program officer at two major national foundations. From 2009 to 2014, Laura was the executive director of Project WISE (a Women's Initiative for Service and Empowerment). Before her tenure with Project WISE, she was the director of development for Mi Casa Resource Center. There she was responsible for the organization's prospect and donor portfolio that generates annual private revenues of more than $850,000. Five years ago, she became one of the founding volunteer advisory board members of the Colorado Participation Project, an innovative non-partisan program supporting human service nonprofits to build their civic engagement and advocacy efforts. Laura's professional experience also includes positions with the Daniels Fund, Child Health Advocates/CHP+, Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center, and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation. Laura holds her B.A. in Communications from Indiana University-Bloomington and graduated from Columbia University in New York with her MBA. She is the proud single mother of two children under the age of sixteen. In 2015, she graduated from the prestigious community service project, the Colorado Family Leadership Training Institute, hosted by the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment. In 2012, she was named the volunteer chair of the Women and Family Action Network, a coalition established by the Women's Foundation of Colorado in 2005. In her free time, Laura enjoys writing poetry, yoga, and hiking with her kids in the mountains.
CCDC often hires contractors to carry out specific tasks, we have some regular ones who we hire time and time again, here is a short list of them:


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Parent Advocacy Training Part 1
Tailored toward the Portsmouth community, this workshop will help participants learn why their voices matter and how to best use their voices to advocate for children.
Educators, legislators, doctors, and policymakers want the best for you and your family. This training will explain the skills needed to advocate for your children at school, at doctor's appointments, and within your community.
Tuesday, September 26, 2017 - 18:00
Families First, 100 Campus Dr, Portsmouth NH


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I think the number one question I've had about my recent trip to Israel for birding has been, "Is it safe?" If you look at its location in the Middle East, it can seem a bit intimidating.
But I can honestly tell you, I felt incredibly safe--even when looking for Finsch's wheatear at the Valley of Tears outside a minefield on the Syrian border (that's what is going on in the above photo). Actually, I think that could be part of the appeal of visiting Israel for some people--how many times in your life will you be able to get horned larks on both your Israel and Syria bird list and how badass will it make you sound at parties?
You get a lot of bang for your birding buck in Israel because it is a HUGE migratory hotspot. You can get flashy Mediterrainian species like the above spur-winged lapwing.
You can also get some of the European and Asian species like white wagtail. For a North American birder, you are going to get a lot of different species jam packed into this tiny country.
Some areas are easy to check out on your own. If you flew into Tel Aviv and grabbed a rental car you could drive to the Agamon Hula and walk/bike/golf cart the trails and get some great species and be perfectly safe. Every place our guide Jonathan Meyrev took us can be accessed by the public, even those visiting from other countries.
Although, I think hiring a guide is the best way to go for most of these areas. Not for safety issues, but Israel is so full of history--even if you don't count the last 50 years, you still have all the Biblical history. It also helps to have a guide say, "That over there, is the Gaza Strip." In the above photo is the Hula Valley itself where did a majority of our birding. Jonathan had some extra time with us and took us here for quick stop for the view. I noticed the decaying building in front of us and asked Jonathan what that was a tomb about 300 years old. History and archaeology is everywhere and you don't want to miss out on that as well as the great birds.
Most speak English very well so even if you don't know any Hebrew beyond "shalom" you would be fine to visit and travel around the country.
More will be coming. I'm in the process of sorting my photos and story ideas for the blog and for publication (some publications get understandably irritated if you pitch them an article but then scoop them by blogging it).


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Poltergeist (Digital Download)
Poltergeist (Digital Download)
This album was a big deal for me. I had just moved into my first apartment on my own, was renting a crappy little hole in the wall studio near by, and was fully in my creative pocket. We had just put out "Almost famous" as Living legends, and I went in to create Poltergeist next. This album is the first album I took to be mixed in a big studio, by someone other than myself. I remember being in the studio when Robert Horry hit that game winning 3 in the playoffs that year, and almost losing my voice. I also remember beginning my fast decent into opiate addiction. It was a magical time, yet on the brink of a very dark time as well. The music captures these feelings. I spent a lot of money and time on this album. This is many peoples favorite albums of mine.
- They're Here (Intro)
- Worldwide By Word of Mouth
- Pattern Traps
- Born To Pay For The Past
- Ancient Grandfather
- The Mountain
- Funk (feat. Bicasso)
- Universe Will Provide
- Thought Process (feat. Murs)
- 3 Minute Rip Down
- Dreamscape 7 (Window To The Next Plane)
- The Lot
- Outhouse (Remember Back..) (feat. Bicasso, The Grouch, PSC, Sunspot Jonz)
- M.I.C.helle (feat. Basik)
- A Poet Sits... (Abstract Rude)
- To Angela (The Last Love Song)
- Meditation (feat. Jo Wilkinson)
- Bring It Down


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Handmade soap making lets you combine ingredients and then watch something entirely different form right before your ideas. Making soap is a great hobby enjoyed by many. Here are the basics for making soap yourself.
1 . The recipe.
Critical to soap making is the right blend of ingredients. Soap is a combination of fats, water an lye. In the right proportions you get very mild soap that's lathers well and feels like luxury. The wrong proportions and you get a real mess.
Choose a recipe from someone you trust to start. It need not have a whole list of ingredients. Coconut, palm and olive oils are the basic oils to use. Then you'll have lye, water and a scent.
2 . Tools.
Pans for mixing, molds for forming, spoons for stirring, thermometer for checking and scales for measuring, that's what you need. Then there are molds for forming and maybe cutters for... cutting. It can be simple and cheap. No fancy stuff necessary.
3. Ingredients.
Lye is caustic, but soap requires it. Order it, since it's probably not in a store near you. Oils make soap and it only takes a few. Coconut for lather, palm for hardness, olive for the feel. You can use all kinds of others including pig fat and emu oil, but coconut, palm and olive are the big three and you really need no others.
4. Mixing it up.
Careful measuring is critical. Get the proportions right and you're half done. It's a matter of combining the lye with water first. Then mix all the oils, melting if necessary. Then pour, slowly, the lye/water mix into the oils. Never the other way around. Always wear eye protection and chemical resistant gloves are a plus. Don't pour any of this mix down the drain either.
5. Molds, curing, cutting.
After stirring just to the point where the mix begins to thicken, in the molds it goes. Molds are everywhere. Buy individual bar molds, loaf molds or use what have you.
That means most plastic boxes work as molds. Think about cutting before you cut. Using knives on hard soap loaves isn't just hard, it's risky too. Simple soap cutters are often cheap and easy to use.
Handmade soapmaking happens step by step. It's just combining fats and lye in the right mix. Then it's getting the hardening bars in the right shape. It's part science but a whole lot art too.
Here by, Sabun Herbal for your enrichment of Soap.


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A work in progress, began during the Sura Medura Residency in Sri Lanka
A photographic project which explores lace making and its relationship to colonisation.
The residency was based on the fringe of a busy beach resort, a surfing paradise served by a traditional Sri Lankan community who had adopted tourism as their economy. I lived 'jungle side' in the depths of a quieter rural local life, for me this long and hectic road that ran along the coast was a confusing contradiction and clash of cultures. That somehow fascinated me.
Indra works in one of the maybe a hundred little shops along the dusty Galle road. In between the colourful textiles, bikini and board short stalls, carved coconut shells, straw hats, souvenirs and westernised versions of a Roti restaurant serving beer in t-pots. Indra makes lace. Hand-makes lace with bobbins and pins on her mother's wooden machine; a tiny drum partially covered in fabric wedged into a kind of box, the edges crumbling and popping apart after the Tsunami invaded her previous premise. For 12 hours a day she stitches the delicate lace trims into cotton, creating hybrids of clothing tailoring the Sri Lankan and western fashions into beautiful garments to sell to foreign visitors. Indra agreed that I could come for an hour a day and sit with her and learn to make lace.
The time we spent together started with an interest in how I might connect with this craft to create aninteractive or larger scale artwork with this as my subject but as the time unfolded and the hot midday hours talking, learning about one another's cultures passed by, this cultural exchange became the draw that brought me back, day after day. The birth of my first and slightly wonky line of lace became the mechanism through which we discussed at length the complexities and challenge of handi-crafts and also the connection to and similarities they have in both of our countries.
Lace making in not an indigenous craft for Sri Lanka, nor is handmade lace worn or used by local people, a colonial relic, the Portuguese rule brought this skill to the west coast of Sri Lanka and shared it with the local fisherwomen. These women then produced impeccable lace that found its way to the royal and rich garments and interior decors of the western world. The craft has remained today, practiced by a handful of women, passed on by mother to daughter, but like many handicrafts continues to decline.
Together we opened up many questions which reference wider topics, the sustainability and ethics of tourism, the retaining impacts of colonisation and cast an interesting prospective on the notion of how skills are exchanged globally (a skill passed from the Portugal to SriLanka then to me in Scotland.) Lace remains as it began in Srilanka as a commodity for the wealthy westerner, once for those we would consider rich or royalty and now, in Hikkaduwa for the holiday maker.
Lace back at home is no longer bound by its previous connotations as something elderly people put on dresser, it has re-invented its image, it is a summer dress, it is even considered sexy. Machines and many hands in third world countries make lace that is sewn onto low cost nighties we buy on the high street; we are completely disconnected from the possibility to imagine a woman weaving every one of those threads, hands tossing the bobbins in perfect choreography. Even in Srilanka, we are rarely interested in how the border of the skirt is made or how life is for the person who made it, the majority of the tourists enter Indra's shop gest towards one of her garments and ask immediately 'how much?' In this Sri Lankan context lace is still a status symbol, but we are no longer necessarily aware of it. The delicate and beautiful ribbons of lace became to me a marker of that extremely complex line which is so difficult to deal with between the 'first world' and the 'third world.'
I made about a metre of my own lace, I wrote at length about our conversations, I created my own drawing language to interpret the patterns and combination of movements that each bobbin needed to make. I made a conscious decision never to film the process or to document it in stages through photographs. As tourists we take great effort to snap at everything beautiful and out of the ordinary, but perhaps less time to simply look and understand the subject in front of us. I was also aware of this dividing 'line' I didn't want to draw attention to, the strange contrast between an expensive digital camera and the simple wooden instrument we worked with. I wasn't interested in creating a documentary about Indra's life, as artists and as travellers we can be obsessed with documenting everything, evidencing every part of a process or journey as some form of justification of the validity. For sure this has its place but here I wanted to be able to entirely internalise and engage with this quite special experience and encourage the freedom of conversation between us by removing as many cultural barriers and distractions as possible.
On my final day I took just three photographs, using my analogue camera. I was back in Scotland when I viewed them for the first time and in reflection of the whole experience, these three images work for me as a fitting conclusion to the first step in a wider project that I hope shall allow me to engage with this subject in other countries over the coming years. The images are not about telling a story, but rather reflect through the colours and content on the topics we discussed. They are not made through a transient encounter to capture the beauty of the textile themselves, but taken as a result of the relationship we built. Where the people, the instrument and the environment that together delivered our dialogue are the subjects.
This period in time became the start of a longer journey, which should expand on this conversation.


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Study highlights sleep pattern impact on learning
Study highlights sleep pattern impact on learning
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Children's capacity to learn may be affected by their sleeping patterns long before they have been taught by a primary school teacher, according to a new study.
Researchers at University College London utilised the UK Millennium Cohort Study of more than 11,000 children born between 2000 and 2002 to discern the relationship between bedtimes in early childhood and brain power.
Irregular bedtimes were found to be particularly common at the age of three, when approximately one in five children had no set time at which they went to sleep.
By contrast, by the time they reached seven years old, more than half of all children regularly went to bed at sometime between 19:30 and 20:30.
The researchers' findings, published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, illustrated that children who had irregular bedtimes at the age of three tended to attain lower scores in tests of reading, maths, and spatial awareness at the age of seven.
Children who did not have a regular bedtime at five, however, were not affected in this way, although girls who did not go sleep at a consistent time at seven tended to perform worse on tests, whereas boys did not.
In the authors' view, irregular sleeping patterns could disrupt natural body rhythms and cause sleep deprivation, detrimentally affecting the plasticity of the brain and thereby its ability to acquire and retain information.
Senior author Professor Amanda Sacker asserted: "Early child development has profound influences on health and wellbeing across the life course.
"Therefore, reduced or disrupted sleep, especially if it occurs at key times in development, could have important impacts on health throughout life."
Furthermore, the study revealed that girls who had irregular bedtimes at the ages of three, five and seven did significantly worse on the tests, while boys who did not have a consistent bedtime at any two of those ages also fared substantially less well than other boys.
Irregular bedtimes and going to bed after 21:00 were meanwhile found to be more common among children from socially deprived backgrounds.
Earlier this year, an international study was published by Boston College indicating that nearly two thirds of English nine and ten-year-old pupils taking maths and science tests were affected by sleep deprivation.
Posted by Tim Colman
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Venatore offers customized cloud solutions that provide our customers with greater agility, performance, efficiency and cost savings. Our Cloud solutions are also engineered to provide enhanced levels of security compliance, capable of protecting even the most sensitive data assets, whether in transit or at rest.
Cloud computing technologies can accelerate innovative IT servicedelivery and compliance, in ways that previous on-premise data centertechnologies could not.
Venatôre designed and engineered Cloud508 infrastructure that is a unique cloud-based service that automates the remediation of high-volume, widely used government documents such as tax, health and benefits communications and other notices and statements into standards-compliant accessible PDF, braille, audio and large print formats.
At Venatôre our Enterprise IT integration services combine the industry's best practice methodologies and best of breed tools to provide reliable, performance-driven solutions for our customers mission critical requirements.
In delivering Enterprise services to our customers, we seamlessly blend advanced IT components together to integrate and operate as a whole, in which governance-based computing services act as a harmonizing platform across a uniform information technology architecture.
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Venatôre was founded specifically to respond to both CONUS and OCONUS C4I operations and maintenance requirements for military and other agency counter terrorism missions. Venatôre excels at providing specialized support to warfighter communications requirements in Iraq, Afghanistan and other locations in the Southwest Asia (SWA) theater. We deploy where our customers deploy, to include support in austere and often hazardous locations.
Venatôre performs a broad array of telecommunications and IT maintenance, logistical, and system administration services including systems troubleshooting, maintenance, training, installation, LAN/workstation integration, testing, and over-the-shoulder training in support of our deployed customers. Venatôre's team of expert technicians, engineers, and operators provide our supported customers with dedicated or on-call support 24/7 both in garrisons and at field sites.
Our customer's dependence on global connectivity and information dominance makes in-depth security for the IT enterprise an absolute imperative. The domestic and international threat for network penetration, data theft, and system compromise is expanding at a rapid pace. The sources and identities of these asymmetric threats are often sophisticated, organized, transnational, and difficult to combat.
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The wood effect Capra tables are designed for use outdoors and are available in either round or square top sizes. The round top measures 70cm diameter made up of wood effect panels. The Capra tables have synthetic teak tops which are impervious to water and provide excellent resistance to staining and fading. This makes them perfect for outdoor dining or drinking and able to withstand all weathers (an essential for Great British summertime)!
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The Capra tables match the Wood Effect Monaco chairs but are also regularly selected with our other outdoor chairs such as the Natural Wicker Monaco or Aluminium Monaco. The Capra tables and Monaco chairs are a great choice of outdoor furniture for your pub garden or shop front street dining area as they offer attractive outdoor furniture with timeless appeal which will last for years to come.
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Detectives from the Montgomery County Police – Financial Crimes Section are investigating a series of incidents in which skimming devices have been placed on ATMs at banks located in the Bethesda and Chevy Chase areas.
Since mid-August, two bank locations, one in Bethesda and one in Chevy Chase, have been targeted by two suspects placing the devices. The skimming devices were placed on ATMs at each bank location multiple times during the month of August. The devices recorded the victims' account numbers, and the accounts numbers were later used fraudulently.
Today, detectives are releasing surveillance photos of the two suspects and asking for the public's assistance in identifying them.
Anyone with information regarding the suspects' identity is asked to contact the Financial Crimes Section at 240-773-6330. Those who wish to remain anonymous may call Crime Solvers of Montgomery County toll-free at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477) or leave a Crime Solvers tip here. Crime Solvers will pay a cash reward of up to $10,000 for information provided to them that leads to an arrest and/or indictment for this felony crime.
Due to these recent incidents involving ATM skimmers, detectives are offering the following tips to protect residents from becoming victimized when using an ATM or other credit card reader:
- Inspect the ATM, gas pump, or credit card reader before using it. Be suspicious if you notice that any parts are loose, crooked, or damaged or if you notice scratches or adhesive or tape residue on the device.
- When entering your pin, block the keypad with your other hand to prevent possible hidden cameras from recording your number.
- If possible, use an ATM that is located inside of the bank as these machines are less accessible to criminals to install skimmers.
- If the ATM is located inside the bank and your card is required to access the inside, check the card reader prior to swiping your card.
- Use caution when using ATMs in tourist areas. These machines are popular targets of skimmers.
- If your card is not returned after the transaction or after hitting "cancel", immediately contact the financial institution that issued the card.
- Beware of "shoulder surfers" – individuals behind you who may be looking over your shoulder to obtain your PIN number.
In all instances, if you are suspicious of a device, do not use it, and notify the financial institution of your concerns immediately or contact the Montgomery County Police non-emergency number, 301-279-8000.


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