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"The decision to triumph is yours. Paint your future as you wish. Choose the colors, and don't allow anyone else to choose them for you."
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Though I had interacted with Maria del Pilar Garcia at language and culture education conferences and events over the years, the transformational day for me was when I was in her school in New York City, providing a staff training. Afterwards, we two sat in her classroom for a few more hours, talking about the challenge and satisfaction of teaching students language and culture so that they could find their own voices and learn to hear and appreciate those of others.
Maria's energy and compassion struck me: she's invested in her students' lives and success, not just for their courses, but for their lives. Maria, I found, came to this focus and dedication from the perspective of her own dramatic challenges: beginning in her home country of Colombia, through her journey to the United States, to her decision to not become a nurse but rather an educator. As we note in our conversation, she decided to be a healer of hearts and futures, instead. She continued to share about her book she had written to encourage others and the Foundation she had established to take action on her commitments. I knew then that her stories were ones I wanted to share.
As those of you who have listened to my previous podcasts know, at the end I ask my guest to provide one last insight. The quote in blue, above, is Maria's response. It is one of three favorite quotes, she tells us, from her books. I turn to you now: what will be your response, when I ask YOU to share the impact of your own history, your dreams, your journey and your goal? As you listen to Episode 20, reflect on how your personal story connects you to others.
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Norah Jones (00:00): It's my great pleasure today to welcome my friend colleague and a wonderful educator. Maria del Pilar Garcia. Hi Maria.
Maria del Pilar Garcia (00:10): Hola. Hello. How are you, Norah?
Norah Jones (00:12): I'm well, thank you. Thank you so much for being my guest today. And I would like to make sure that all of our listeners know that you are a high school teacher of Spanish AP. That is to say Advanced Placement, and Languages Other Than English classes at the board of education for New York city. And you work in conjunction with St. John's university, the College Advantage Program. You've been doing this for 22 years, my friend, and you have been promoting the language, promoting the culture, and promoting the passion for that time. And you've been awarded Spanish Teacher of the Year 2014 from the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese, the AATSP. Congratulations, Maria, on all your excellence, but especially on all your passion. Where does that passion come from, my friend?
Maria del Pilar Garcia (01:07): First of all, thank you for inviting me to your podcast. It's wonderful. That way I can spread my ideas and thoughts about this passion that I have for teaching, especially showing: what is culture, what is identity and what is this beautiful language of Spanish? It comes from my grandma, my childhood, where I grew up. I'm an older, I'm the oldest daughter of eight. So from there, you can tell that I was thinking to either be a teacher or a nurse. And I started to study nursing for over two years here in New York. And then I switched to education because I thought there was more need really in education for me to get more students successful and to help them more in their family problems, including my teaching, so I can work both ways.
Norah Jones (02:08): Tell me about…. Interesting that you would come in about their problems. What are some of the things that you saw that captured your heart and made you realize it was its own kind of nursing, if you will, this educational choice?
Maria del Pilar Garcia (02:22): Well, when you are the teacher, I think I have a special sense also that I see who needs help, like to communicate better. Who needs love, who needs more compassion, in a way of giving motivation. Students who have problems at home, not only I mean, like with themselves to find out who they really are problems that arise with a family. But to love, they, they need love, they need attention. And I found out that many parents didn't have time for them for these students that I spoke [to] eventually few times. And I, since then when I was, you know doing my lessons, and I asked them to write, for example, how many times a week do you meet with your parents? You talk, you discuss any topic, anything that worries you. And they said… The majority said, very few times; some of them said none.
Maria del Pilar Garcia (03:33): So that really calls, you know, rang my bell. And I said, well, they need, they need something here. And they were like, no, I don't want my parents near me. I don't want this. They don't understand me. They don't… They don't know how to talk. They don't know how to really not even to have… Not a discussion, just a small talk about something about themselves. What do you like? I found out that many parents don't know their own kid. I think we teachers, we learn how to know better the children. That's, that's one of the keys that I found out and I'm, I'm a mom. And I, I can tell that my experience as being the oldest sister and a mother helped me really a lot to sense this from my students.
Norah Jones (04:26): Now you, Maria relate to the folks that are feeling disassociated from their parents. Not because you yourself have experienced that per se, but because of your family stresses, strains and your coming to the United States. Can you express to the listeners what it is that you have done in your past that make you sensitive to these things?
Maria del Pilar Garcia (04:54): Yes, of course. I, I sense this very easily because when I was a child also I have to go through a hard time with my parents. They had also some, you know hard situations within themselves. Especially, you know, the Hispanic culture used to have this ego, the macho into the men and the women were supposed to be home and the men outside working, but not only working on doing, you know playing different roles of Don Juan, if you know, what is Don Juan? Yes, yes. So that's something that unfortunately that's how men used to be raised. And they grew up in this environment, the majority of men. So it's not, it's not their guilt that, you know, that it is their fault, but it's the whole culture that used to be like that. So I grew up with some of this and I, I was always thinking of my brothers, I try to be there for them and I have a great supporter.
Maria del Pilar Garcia (06:08): It, that was my grandma and also my, my grandpa, but mostly my grandma, my grandma, my mom's mom. She was always with us. She was always trying to pacify us, to tell us, don't worry, let them have the argument, come, come with me. She used to distract us, to take away us aside from my parents' arguments or I will say in, in a grosser word, like fights. So I see that and I, I sense it. And I said, I'm not going to do that. If I'm a mother one day and if I have a family that's the last, the least thing that I'm going to do. I'm going to do the opposite. I was always thinking not to take the things that are not right, just to take the best from my parents and from the adults that surround me and bring that with me and use it with my own family.
Maria del Pilar Garcia (07:10): And if in my profession, in this case as an educator. So I felt that with my students too, and many times, and they, at the end, they told me their, their situation, how their, their guardians were fighting. The father was hitting their mom or the opposite, or the brother to sister or somebody else. And many other problems like drugs, you know, many situations, many problems that arise. And they don't know how to find a solution. They don't know how to do it. They don't know how to really handle it. So they count on me. And also what you asked me before, about the way that I came and what moves me to come to this country. It is the needs that I had to really encounter when I was between 14 and 15 years old. I had to think and realize the reality of my position as oldest sister and take a decision that will change not only my path, but my family's path.
Maria del Pilar Garcia (08:24): I was really desiring to come to the USA. To the North, that we all used to call it. El Norte. And just do whatever I have to do in a good way. Okay. Like to work hard, to get myself educated just continue ahead and support my family to, you know, put my family on my shoulders and change their life, the new path that they were going to really continue living. My dad went bankrupt, and he lost mostly everything when I was 15, almost 16 years old, and I had to find a job. Thank God I was studying in a school where you can graduate early. I graduated early and I was studying as a secretary… a lot of extracurricular activities that I did that helped me to work and study. And I continued studying at night.
Maria del Pilar Garcia (09:31): It was a tough schedule for me because I went from six to mostly 11, 12:00 PM every day, including Saturdays. But I needed to do something. I couldn't leave my parents or my brothers and sisters alone, especially that we were a big family. And so we were really, really in a bad position here. So then my aunt who was here in New York, she wrote me and I said, I think I'm going to ask her if she will help me to go, and just lend me some money, and I can just go there. And I thought it was easier. I thought it was just to take an airplane and just go, you know, but then this whole trip was not that easy. It was full of obstacles. But I came through and I finally ended up in New York. So I don't know if you want me to tell the whole story, but it's pretty hard and it's not easy.
Norah Jones (10:43): I can tell that it's not easy. And yet you overcame, and this has got to have an impact on the way that you look at and work with the students in your class. And again, we're talking about your being a Spanish teacher. You're working with students that are learning a language or reinforcing their language. How does this…how do your experiences — and you're welcome to tell more of them, of course — how do they work with the language and the culture that you are bringing in through your position as a teacher?
Maria del Pilar Garcia (11:21): Well at the beginning…I will tell you, from my point of view. I see the students and they say they don't know who really I am, and they don't know what I have to encounter in my, you know, in the past, just to stand right there in front of them. But I… That helped me. And that gave me the power, the skills to really show them that learning a language, a new language, is going to bring them more power, more opportunities for their future. And especially now that we see the changes not only because, you know, through this pandemic, but before we were already seeing the languages world is really becoming a great opportunity for everyone. So that's the first thing I do. I show them the importance of learning a new language, the importance of knowing another culture to see what they have similar, what they can compare and see, Oh, I do this the same. Incredible.
Maria del Pilar Garcia (12:30): So, and also to have more opportunities, to be more places. Your learning never ends. That's one point that I always emphasize in my students, you never stop learning. And if you learn through your career and also experience a new culture, a new way of different aspects of that you can learn from others, then you can use that as a power for your knowledge, for your future, for your career, for your even… It may be, you can start your own company and you can learn about your workers. And if they are from different cultures, then it's much better for you to know this language. For you to know, not only one, not only two, as many languages that you can. But in this case, Spanish. I find that telling them that is what gives them the really the opportunity to move on.
Norah Jones (13:32): You keep using, with good reason, the word opportunity. In so many cases in world language classes, around the United States, even for Spanish, which is so widely used in the United States by many populations, that students don't necessarily see the opportunities. And you have students with all sorts of backgrounds and needs in New York City. And your emphasizing opportunity comes with your own life story, your own journey, your own dream. That impact on students: How do you make sure that they understand that this can be their lives, too?
Maria del Pilar Garcia (14:16): I explain to them the opportunity that I had coming to this country, taking English as my second language, which I didn't, I mean, I knew the grammar, how to write it. But to speak it, it's totally different when you are in an overseas country, especially a Hispanic country. I have the opportunity to learn it. Yes. But when you come to the reality and you try to speak, it's totally different. It's not that easy. So I told them, if I didn't know, if I didn't have the desire to really begin my life here, with a new language, new culture, then I wouldn't be who I am today. And I tell them, you need to have the decision, the desire to move on, to think: what is good for me, what I can do to improve my opportunities.
Maria del Pilar Garcia (15:12): What can I do to have a better future with everything that I can take that is around me? So that's one of the things that I mentioned to my students. And I also tell them, look at the doctors, look at the engineers, architects, everyone. If you become a doctor and you need to travel to any country that the language unknown for you, and if you know it, then you will have an in advantage. But if you do not, then you have to find someone to talk, you know, to help you to translate. What is much better to have a translator there next to you, or to speak the language, to understand what the people feel is what the people is saying. So this is what the, you know, ideas or that I pursue my, my students, and I motivate them to really continue with the language. And also through music, music is so beautiful. Art. So we have, so we have so much of this. We have different kinds of richness in our culture that we can bring a lot.
Norah Jones (16:25): There's so many pathways and it strikes me that you'd spoken now twice with great joy of your grandmother and her identity is in the midst of you, her life, her culture, your culture by background. How does that inform how you approach what you're doing in your life?
Maria del Pilar Garcia (16:51): Well, my grandma was a very powerful woman. She used to be a writer. She used to be a very easily spoken person. She used to write to presidents. She used to create poems. She was a business woman. She was very, very desir[ing] to be somebody important in the country. Unfortunately, and I will say this because back then 60, 70 years ago, woman, it, it was totally nothing, I will say, in our culture, you know, it was not easy really to express your feelings and say, Oh, I am this. I want to do this. No, the woman was just born to be a mom, to be at home and not to do anything else. So she told me, she said, if I'm not able to accomplish what I want — she wanted to become a woman with power, with opportunities to be able to speak for others, an activist, or maybe a president. If she [would] be in at this time in, in here in this era, oh my God.
Maria del Pilar Garcia (18:02): I know she would have been somebody really, really important for the Hispanic culture. But she emphasized that into me. And I took that as a big message. And she said, the day that you—she used to tell me a lot—you're not going to stay here. You're going to go away. You're going to grow as an important person. You're going to make a difference for women. And you're going to bring a big message to others. And that's what I have been doing. And I'm writing my books on her name because this is her passion. This is what you wanted to do. She, she really, I had a lot from her into me. So I think I'm making her dream come true.
Norah Jones (18:50): You definitely are. And I know you're making her very, very proud, indeed. Talk about your books, the books you've been offering, what they're doing, why you've been writing them
Maria del Pilar Garcia (19:02): Well, I'm writing them. First of all, the first one, Camino a un sueño in Spanish and Journey to a Dream in English, it is the expression of my own experience coming. Since, you know, I was in my early childhood up to now, actually 30 years of my life, more or less. It is a, my biography, but in a special way, it is a third person a story where, as in, I will say, a new immigrant in this country, I have to express until and give others hope that what you want, you can accomplish what you desire to do. If you put that dream ahead of you and keep dreaming and putting a lot of effort into your path daily, you will end up being successful with your dreams. So this is something that I always wanted that I, I, that I'm desiring to do in my life to all the goals that I set in my life I have been accomplishing them.
Maria del Pilar Garcia (20:25): I'm very positive that if someone has a lot of struggles, have a lot of obstacles because it's not easy to move on. But if you, with your feet really standing and is strong and thinking that you're going to be to do it, to move on, it's the best vitamin, the best motivation that you can have. And never stop dreaming. I think when you stop dreaming, you stop your future. And I don't think that's right. So my grandma was really the one who pushed me to do this. I had this award that I received from the AATSP in Panama. That was where I received the award. And then I went to Colombia to Cartagena with my husband. And I was in a small town, very, very poor town near the indigenous groups. I went, I always, when I visit places, I go to schools where, you know, I want to see the school system.
Maria del Pilar Garcia (21:33): I want to see a schools in other cities. And I went to this tiny, it's like a classroom, the size of a classroom. This is a school where like 10, 12 children. No shoes. Their clothes were really like, you know, dirty. And I mean, it was really sad to see them using books that were not even books. They were covered with newspaper, old newspaper. Their pencils were, their pencils that they were using were like half way to one of their fingers, more in the place, I will say in size, like really small. And I said, Oh my God, this is what my grandma wanted me to see. This is the message that she sent me. I'm here for something. And if I got this award is because I need to do something, something for them, something. I have been doing so many things for my own students in New York and all over in the USA. Why not to do something for these children that really need me. So that's when I started thinking about my book coming back from in the airplane, I started writing my book. My first one, Camino a un sueño, Journey to a Dream.
Norah Jones (22:47): Wow. And you're using the proceeds from that book for an organization that you founded or co-founded. Tell me about that.
Maria del Pilar Garcia (22:59): Yes, sure. I co-founded in organization, Pillar of Dreams or Pilar de sueños, with my son. I started alone at the beginning, just I was going to use the proceeds from the books, just for me to bring support. And then my son came to me and said, mom, why we don't start a beginning of an organization where we can bring more support. And we had to think on names. And then I started thinking my name, Maria del Pilar. Pilar. I'm the oldest of a family, it's a pillar. My grandma and my mom and my dad decided my name because the pillar of the family is the oldest, suppose to be the oldest child, the oldest sibling thing. And then I was a girl in all this. And I think the pillar of everyone. And the strongest pillar to be successful is education, education at home and education in school.
Maria del Pilar Garcia (23:57): So those pillars are the ones that I need always to put ahead in anyone's ideas. So when my son said, we can call it Pillar of Dreams. Pilar de sueños. So this is how we started. I met someone… after my second trip to Columbia, after I wrote my book, I went and I met a few people and I went to a place where they needed…they need so much. They don't even have a school. So this is why we work in towers now to help them build a good school, we develop a good computer lab for the students, for the children. And we brought educational supplies for over a year. So now we expanded, we are in Bogotá, in the capital, helping a small school, up to the hill, where the community is very poor and… Instituto Cerro del Sur is the name. And then in Ciudad Bolívar.
Maria del Pilar Garcia (24:59): And then we were in Cartagena. We help in Tierra Bomba, which is very important. They don't even have water. So we're trying to get support for that. And also in Cali, we help children with cancer. So it's a lot of work. It's been really hard, but I'm not going to stop. This is what I'm going to do in my next page, what I say, I'm moving on, my new era. So this is it.
Norah Jones (25:35): That's fantastic. You have a new book coming out, correct?
Maria del Pilar Garcia (25:38): Yes, yes. It is called Educándonos educamos, which is… Why educándonos because I, we come back to the same part, what I was telling you, the problems of the students. We have new… the new generation getting themselves educated better, right into how to form a family. But just to start a family, it's not like that. You need first to find out who you are.
Maria del Pilar Garcia (26:10): If you're ready to have a family, if you're ready to give to your family the best of you, what the family deserves. It's not just, oh I found it, my, my, my partner, my couple, my husband, my wife, whatever the unit you want to call it, and I'm going to get married. I'm going to do this. And do you really notice the person that you're…that you're going to be happy, that you're going to create or begin the family that you have been dreaming? So my book is in ten chapters. Talks about all of this, how to get ready, how to just not to give up in the first argument that you have. That's what I noticed. Also, the young people is getting married and they're just, oh, no, I don't understand you. You don't understand me because I have this, we have this argument.
Maria del Pilar Garcia (27:01): No, you need to talk. You need to learn how to really manage to every, every one, give your point and then get into a middle and just move on. You don't need to really break up. What if, what you really breaking up is a good relation in the future? And also their relations — when you fight a lot, when you have a lot of disappointments that you don't get each other. I don't think it will also give you an idea, okay, you're not for me, I'm not for you, so let's leave it here. It's better to leave it before the children come than after. Because when you… when many parents have children and they bring all these situations into the family, into these children's shoulder, they don't know how to take it. They don't know how to really handle it.
Maria del Pilar Garcia (27:57): And they learn this. And they get, oh, the normal life is to be always fighting, is to be always against the other person. And it's the opposite. So I think it was necessary to have a book like this. I have already five colleagues of mine who read it and they love it. I think it's going to be a good, good … I will say instrument for not only Hispanics, but everyone in general to follow these steps and just to put their own ideas, feelings in what is a family, and how we need to really take that family ahead in the best way.
Norah Jones (28:40): Absolutely phenomenal. And it is related to the idea of the journey and keeping your eye on the prize and assuming that there are various pathways, correct?
Maria del Pilar Garcia (28:51): Yes, correct? Yes. You are right.
Norah Jones (28:53): You're writing these materials in, well, at least the first book, the Journey to a Dream was in both English and Spanish and they're both for sale in those versions. How was it, how does the experience potentially of these materials vary in the two languages? Or does it… do you feel that there are certain flavors in the two languages that vary?
Maria del Pilar Garcia (29:24): You know, Spanish. And you know English. Spanish, you can say one thing in so many ways. For example, if you want to say in the room, the bedroom, la habitación, el cuarto, la pieza, los aposentos, you know, so I will find that I express, and that was the first one that I wrote, originally, the one that has a flavor of what a Spanish is. But the English, the editor who did the English book, who translated, she's a lady who is married to a Colombian person. She's a lawyer. And I talked to her a lot and she said, I'm going to try to keep the same sense of the first book, the Spanish, the original through the English. And she did a great, great job with this. She really… reads it in Spanish or English finds all the details in a good way that they sense… and they feel that they are seeing Genesis, which is their main character, really in front of them.
Maria del Pilar Garcia (30:40): Because the book is, is developed, is written in a special way where the character interacts with the third person that is there. And also she comes also sometimes talking in the book. So it goes on and off and all the other characters they can, they talk, too. So it has that magic realism that Gabriel Garcia Marquez taught us. So I included something like that because I thought I have to call the attention from people to see that writing is not only just to write, it's to call their attention and keep the people inside of the writing, to feel the words, to feel this experience that the writer and the characters had. And also something that I want to point out is that this point is more power: People that are, Oh, you are a newcomer. You are a… you are an immigrant or undocumented. However you want to call it.
Maria del Pilar Garcia (31:50): You are an outsider. This book is a proof for those that don't have hope, that think, oh, no, I'm not going to be able to make it. I'm not going to be able to accomplish what I want because in this country, blah, blah, blah, I can't, people don't know. It's not what people want— it's what you want. And I can say that all the experiences, all these obstacles gave me the strength to really write a book and show my story. And I was one day undocumented. I was one day… I came, I will say it freely now because I feel very proud of what I did, even though it was not easy. I came through the border and I suffered lot. I went through a lot. You will find it in the book. But you know what? Nowadays, I think, and I said, I've been standing in front of so many students throughout almost 25 years, almost 27 years. And how many I have been the teacher, their language teacher? And how many are motivated to continue with their profession? How many are doctors, lawyers, teachers, engineers? Mention it, anything. And I was that person, when I was 19 years old, that I came to this country. I never thought I was really going to really be in front of so many youngsters and be a motivator and be there, the best for them in that moment to talk to them.
Norah Jones (33:34): Your passion is motivating and your work is motivating. And I have to point out that the message that you give of immigration, of coming in, of taking a chance, of being undocumented to get started, to any number of layers that are going to be found in that book are for lots of different lots of different people in their different lives. Not just obviously for kids of Hispanic background.
Maria del Pilar Garcia (34:09): Yeah. It's not only for Hispanics, it's everyone. I mean, the history says it, this country was made from zero to what it is today. I mean, it was only the indigenous groups that were here. So when I talk about USA, los Estados Unidos, I said, this is the country of all… This is the country, we're the second one in the world that is where Spanish is spoken, after Mexico. USA is the second country that we speak the most of Spanish. So if they want to have all the people from there that speak Spanish out, they can make a new country of over 50, 60 something, 65 million. So, you know, and, and it's not only that, Hispanics. Everyone from everywhere. How many cultures we have in this country, how many people from different backgrounds? New York is an example. We have 135 different languages. We have 165 different, more or less, different backgrounds. So USA is the country of all. So I always said, if I can make it here, if I can really succeed here, if I can do it, everyone can do it.
Norah Jones (35:38): That ferocity that you just brought was the same that brought my father as an immigrant from Croatia, in this case, to this country. And that is a very strong message that I just wanted to make sure everybody hears. And indeed, make sure that people realize that I have on my website information about your writings, places to find where they can buy your writings and get in contact with you, right?
Maria del Pilar Garcia (36:02): Yes, yes, yes. Amazon is there the best place to get my books. And of course, you're going to put in your podcast information what I have of the Pillar of Dreams store, where if people want to donate, people want to be a volunteer, if people want to come with me to Colombia and see, and really be a volunteer. We need to become… Also that's another part. I'm sorry to expand a little bit here, that people need to be, to realize that their children need to sense and see the needs of others and become global citizens to support. Nowadays, you're not only helping. You can help your community. But if you move a little bit out, too, you can learn more about others, as I said before, but learn how much need others have. It's not only us here.
Maria del Pilar Garcia (37:00): The USA, I say, it's a rich country. It's a country where you can…you have everything. I mean, you use the tools that you are given, but these other places, they don't have those tools. They need support. And if we bring this attention and we teach our children, "appreciate what you have," it's not only by telling them, it's to show them. So, this is a great way to really come and see what we do in Pillar of Dreams or Pilar de sueños, and how you can give one little piece of your time. A small time or a small portion or what you can donate, and we can make a difference in a child that didn't even think that he was going to change his path. Right now, I have three students that are in college. We are supporting these three students. They never thought they were going to be able to go to college.
Norah Jones (38:00): That's great. That's phenomenal. Yes. In fact, indeed, on the website and here vocally in the podcast to take a look and how folks can understand more about the Foundation and to support the Pillar of Dreams foundation. And Pilar, I'm… speaking Pilar. Maria. I just feel like it's, it's definitely a part of your identity. No question.
Maria del Pilar Garcia (38:26): That's all right. Yes, of course, the pillar! That's it exactly.
Norah Jones (38:28): Right. Take one more moment. You have provided many wonderful invitations and exhortations, as well as information here today on this podcast. What's the last word that you'd like to make sure that listeners hear from you today?
Maria del Pilar Garcia (38:46): Okay. I'm going to say one of my phrases that I have in my book that I created. I have three wonderful phrases, but I'm going to tell you one. "The decision to triumph is yours. Paint your future as you wish. Choose the colors, and don't allow anyone else to choose them for you."
Norah Jones (39:11): Thank you. Thank you for sharing that. Thank you for sharing everything today of your passion, of your experience, of your history, and of, especially, that what you've been able to open up in the lives of young people and their families around the world. Appreciate you being here today, Maria.
Maria del Pilar Garcia (39:31): Thank you for your invitation and time, and thank you for all your support.
Norah Jones (39:36): It's a great pleasure. And I do encourage all, again, to take a look at your books and the foundation and best wishes to you and your continuing journey and writing for the success.
Maria del Pilar Garcia (39:50): Thank you.Become a Sponsor


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One of the biggest video games of 2017, Quantum Break, has had its price reduced by $24 for casual Xbox One users and by $30 for Xbox Live Gold subscribers. The discount will last for around five more days and appears to only include the Xbox One version, not the Windows 10 version which is available separately and is also currently discounted. Here's the official game description:
In the aftermath of a split second of destruction that fractures time itself, two people find they have changed and gained extraordinary abilities. One of them travels through time and becomes hell-bent on controlling this power. The other uses these new abilities to attempt to defeat him – and fix time before it tears itself irreparably apart. Both face overwhelming odds and make dramatic choices that will determine the shape of the future. Quantum Break is a unique experience; one part hard-hitting video game, one part thrilling live action show, featuring a stellar cast, including Shawn Ashmore as the hero Jack Joyce, Aidan Gillen as his nemesis Paul Serene and Dominic Monaghan as Jack's genius brother William. Quantum Break is full of the vivid storytelling, rich characters and dramatic twists Remedy Entertainment are renowned for. Your choices in-game will affect the outcome of this fast-paced fusion between game and show giving the player a completely unique entertainment experience.
Buy Quantum Break on Xbox One / Windows 10
Quantum Break is a blend of storytelling and action and stars Shaun Ashmore (from X-Men) in the main role. The game was received extremely well by gamers and media and this is a pretty good chance to grab it for a much cheaper price than it originally sold for.
Have you bought any discounted games this week? Let us know in the comments below.

subset: commoncrawl


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These taco pizza rolls are easy to make and taste amazing! Homemade pizza dough wrapped around taco meat, cheese and veggies – perfect for lunch or dinner!
Disclaimer: This post has been sponsored by Bothwell Cheese and I have been provided with product and compensated monetarily. All opinions are, as always, my own.
These taco pizza rolls are amazing. I've made them three times in the last month I think, and they were gobbled up insanely fast each time.
I barely managed to hide some in the fridge for lunch the next day before they were completely polished off at dinner.
This recipe makes 12 fairly large taco pizza rolls. I have a family of five. It's crazy that we didn't easily have leftovers for lunch. They're just that good.
Not too surprising though – combine pizza dough with taco meat and the incredible Habanero with Cracked Black Pepper Monterey Jack from Bothwell Cheese, and there's really no way these pizza rolls could be anything but amazing.
We love spicy food, and we were still surprised at how spicy this Monterey Jack cheese is. It recently won a silver medal at the World Championship of Cheese Contest in Wisconsin in the high heat category. It has a high heat flavour with a creamy Monterey Jack base, so if you like spicy food, you will love this cheese.
It's so tasty, and spicy enough that I had to use it for just half the cheese in this recipe so that the pizza rolls wouldn't be too spicy! If you really enjoy your food spicy you could use only the Monterey Jack though – you just might want some sour cream alongside!
Bothwell Cheese is made with quality 100% Canadian milk, and is produced right in Manitoba with fresh milk from local farms. Find some of their award winning Monterey Jack at one of these stores to try out these amazing taco pizza rolls – or just to slice and enjoy by itself.
I know I'll be picking up some more to make these taco pizza rolls again. Considering how much my family enjoyed them, there would be some disappointed people if they didn't make an appearance at the dinner table again soon!
Tips for perfect Taco Pizza Rolls:
- I used half Habanero with Cracked Black Pepper Monterey Jack and half cheddar cheese in my pizza rolls and that was perfect for us – decide how much of the spicy cheese you want to use after tasting it and base it on how much you like spicy food!
- The taco meat here uses just 1/2 cup of tomato sauce – you can freeze the rest of the can of tomato sauce to use in a future recipe, or replace it with salsa if you like – just keep in mind that the salsa will up the heat factor even more in the pizza rolls.
- Some of the filling will spill out of the rolls when you slice them and place them on the baking sheet – don't worry about it, just toss it on top of the rolls!
- Here are a few more great pizza recipes for you: Pull Apart Pizza Muffins, Buffalo Chicken Pizza, and Homemade Pizza Pockets.
This post contains affiliate links, meaning that if you make a purchase through these links, I may receive a small commission. I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.


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- Real Estate
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Exporting Artisan Woodwork Industry – ONLY $250,000 – for sale. Due to retirement, a famous artisan sells his woodwork industry, at face value. Highly regarded as one of the best woodworking artist galleries in Costa Rica by TripAdvisor, 10Best, and Lonely Planet. The well-known brand name of the products can be negotiated.
The property where the business is located is also offered for sale.
Famous for the incredible quality of the joinery and finish of the products. Are you already involved in the tourism industry? Then you can purchase this business and have amazing export potential and grow your existing business.
Simplicity and elegance, in addition to the grain and texture of the wood, top-quality joinery, smooth, rounded edges, and hours of polishing all contribute to the inspired craftsmanship. Their creations are a delight to look upon. Some are true objets d'art, while others are sensuous to the touch and invite handling and use.
This incredible business is located on an Escazu property that is also offered for sale. But it can be taken anywhere in the country if the 6 employees are willing to move elsewhere.
The sale of the business includes all necessary industrial machinery, as well as a huge inventory of the most incredible Costa Rican woods (see images).
The finished products can be found in high-end souvenir stores in Costa Rican territory and exports to US galleries. These products include for example:
1. Turned vessels,
2. Humidors,
3. jewelry boxes,
4. business card boxes,
5. boxes to put engagement and wedding rings in,
6. cigarette boxes,
7. boxes to put lipstick in,
8. bowls,
9. boxes to put the junk that accumulates by your nightstand in,
10. boxes for the Burton-Taylor diamond,
11. and especially boxes to put other boxes in
Contact us now to view this Exporting Artisan Woodwork Industry – ONLY $250,000 for sale
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Princeton Review, a Massachusetts-based educational services company, for its new book, "The Best 376 Colleges: 2012 edition." interviewed 122,000 students at 376 top colleges to rate their schools and describe their campus experiences. Some of the categories included: Top colleges for "Most Conservative/Most Liberal Students," "Best Professors," and "Great Financial Aid."
According to a survey, the best professors are at Wellesley College (MA). Florida Southern College (FL) has the most beautiful campus while Wheaton College (IL) serves the best campus food, and Bryn Mawr College (PA) has the best dorms.
"Each of our 376 best colleges offers outstanding academics," says Robert Franek, the book's author and Princeton Review Senior VP / Publishing. "We don't rank them hierarchically, 1 to 376, because they differ widely – and importantly – in their program offerings and campus culture, and that is their strength. Instead, we tally lists of the top 20 schools in 62 categories based entirely on what students at these schools tell us about their campus experiences. Our goal is not to crown one college 'best' overall, but to help applicants find and get in to the college best for them."
Other ranking lists in the book and #1 colleges on them are:
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Check out other nearby locations for online order and in-store pickup.
No one will want to be caught alone with you in a cornfield this Halloween when you're wearing this Wicked Scarecrow Full Mask. This wicked scarecrow is exactly what you need to spook all your friends at the costume party and is sure to leave them with nightmares.


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February 23, 2011
SUGAR COOKIE: Groovy Deb♥
This pic is of my husband's mother and niece before his mom passed away. I know this young lady was very special to her and so I created this layout and plan to give it to her as a gift. I left the big area empty in case she would like to add another pic or write something in ")
Don't forget to email a layout with at least one heart on it for your chance to win some of the fab line of paper!!!
6 comments:
Very nice LO, what a treasure.ReplyDelete
I am passing along the Stylish Blogger Award to you! Visit http://marcisscrappingspot.blogspot.com/2011/02/am-i-stylish-blogger.html to grab your award. Save and place on your blog. List 8 things about you and pick 8 stylish blogs to pass the award on just like I passed to you! Enjoy!ReplyDelete
The colors on your layout are so much fun! Thanks so much for becoming a follower of my blog - I'm happy to return the favor!ReplyDelete
Love this layout Deb! I'm sure your DH's niece will love this. How very special.ReplyDelete
Very pretty and such a great gift! I just love the negative space, not only does it look great on the layout but, as you said, it allows her to add something if she wants to!ReplyDelete
Loveeeeeeeeeeeee this!! Loving that design! :):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):)ReplyDelete


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If you read my blog regularly, the MVVM topic will be nothing new to you.
But please take your time and fill out my new survey, thanks for that, of course, even if you visit my blog for the first time. I would love it if you can also be part of this survey.
If you are a first-time-reader... Welcome to my blog. Please read the other posts about my #D.MVVM implementation. As you can see, this subject is not new to me and my knowledge has, of course, improved over the years. (I hope, I'm right with this statement)
- 2021
- 2020
- Workflow and multi - binding with #D.MVVM - The Delphi MVVM Framework!
- #D.MVVM - At what point is a framework ready for release?
- Live Youtube, Chat, FDK & MVVM...
- MVVM is just a concept.
- 2019
- How long does it take to develop a "complete" MVVM framework for Delphi?
- MVVM for legacy Apps?
- MVVM PropertyChanged is not Component related!
- MVVM and Mobil app development.
- MVVM Survey results and feedback!
- Is there a sharp border between MVVM and MVC/MVP?
- 2018
- 2016
- 2015
There was a blogpost from Oct. 2019 with the question: How long does it take to develop a "complete MVVM framework for Delphi. (Link above) the answer is: Not long if you take shortcuts or too long if you are a single developer with no help. But I won't cry, because my goal was not to do it the easy way.
If you do not make it down to the end:
If you do not make it down to the end:
Here is the link to my new survey!
But perhaps you want to know why I've created a new one? ;-)
Let's collect - one more time - my goals:
- The framework must be as fast as possible. (My goal is - it is supposed to be the fastest MVVM framework available for Delphi.)
- The development time should not be significantly longer than using the RAD-Approach. At best, the development time should be shorter, comparing to a non MVVM, but not "everything in the Form unit" - development.
- Everything that could be done in a background thread should be done in a background thread.
- Support for FMX and VCL. Including the "special needs" for the FMX UI.
- It must definitely run on ALL platforms.
- 100% Unit-Test-able of your Application. (Switch for disabling the background thread to do a better Unit-Testing).
- Mockup's for View-Components to test the Binding of your App.
- A nice Wizard should be installed into the IDE to create a new VCL or FMX-MVVM Application. This Wizard should be changeable over an Ini-File to make a User-Configuration without recompiling the Wizard-DLL.
- One central binding point (Composition.Root)
- If you are an FDK-User (My Firemonkey-Development-Kit) the framework should work streamless as a plugin, with all the benefits of my ORM-Lite, threading, or Client-Server units.
- No need for special components. (Components must work without an extension)
- Open to User-Implementation for non-standard components.
- The View (Form) should not have a single line of code. Or should not need any code-behind...
- Visual Livebindings must not be used.
- A developer who has NEVER dealt with MVVM has to get along with my framework IMMEDIATELY.
- A good developer who has already used MVVM should find his way around immediately. (Except for some things that I have implemented differently than MS).
- We are Delphi-Developer - If we are doing MVVM differently than our C# friends - that's fine!
- Views must be able to be composed of any number of sub-Views (frames) without writing a single line of code for them. (Sub-Views must be interchangeable for special requirements)
- It must also be possible for a sub-View to be a ViewPort3D (FMX-Only). Full support of 3D objects from the ViewModel will be another thing for further investigation. This could be very interesting for Game-Development, but that is completely another topic.
- User-Level and flagged Menu-System with auto Action-Binding.
- Multiple View for a ViewModel, also with sub-View/ViewModel Binding.
- Conventions over definitions.
- This is especially true for automatic binding by naming convention. Example: Name: TEdit should auto bind to the fName: TProperty<String> or to a normal property Name: String. The Binding is connected to the Text-Property of the TEdit Component and the OnChange and OnChangeTracking (FMX Only) event should update the ViewModel.
- User-defined naming convention... Bind Name:TEdit to fEdNameField : TProperty<String>
- Global naming rules and also naming rules by TypeInfo.
- Overwrite any predefined rule with an attribute.
- Multi-Binding to different properties.
- Example: Save: TButton.OnClick -> Procedure DoSave
- Save :TButton.Enabled -> fCanSave : TProperty<boolean> or Property CanSave : boolean
- Fone : TCombobox.Items -> fFoneItems : TListProperty<String>.
- Also user-defined naming: "Can"+Save;"Do"+Save could be changed to: e.G.: -> "CheckFor"+Save;"Execute"+Save.
- Optimal performance on ".Strings";".Items";".Lines" - never ever send the complete list on a single change. A virtual created adapter must take care of the updates. (e.G. for a single changed line in a Memo of 10.000 lines it is a nogo to update the Text-Property of the Memo.)
- Data-Verification on Property-Level to check the fields inside the ViewModel.
- Listview and Listbox special treatment for FMX.
- A data model for VCL Grids - The FMX Grid already has a data model.
- A not so easy implementation of an MVVM-Treeview. (Perhaps not in the Beta)
- Complete logging of all internal functions should be possible. (Only for the Plugin Version)
- Error messages that are normally written in English must be able to be translated by an external language file.
The MVVM-Pattern has the Model included in the Pattern-Naming, but actually, the Model is not really a part of the Pattern. But in my case:
- Only if the Framework supports the transfer of all the collected data from the ViewModel to the Model, my goal of: "As fast as RAD Development" is possible.
- The Framework must have a Datacontext that can make the transfer from the ViewModel to the Model, and back.
- The Datacontext should be able to convert, combine and separate fields as they are transferred back and forth.
- The Model should directly work as an ORM or REST-full Web interface.
- As an FDK-Plugin it should also work with my Client-Server-REST-Units.
So far so good...
There is light at the end of the development tunnel! I'm really happy with the actual implementation. I think I have done all the necessary improvements for the first version. and - as always - I would have programmed the framework even if I wasn't planning to offer it commercially. Of course, programming is a bit different when the source code is handed over to other developers. Certainly, I could have made a lot of things more static or simpler.
And now?
There will be a Beta-Version and an Early-Bird-Order! But maybe this time I should do an Alpha -Version too - if I can find developers interested in helping me finish the release version.
But how and why?
After years of development - only in my spare time, of course - perhaps I've done something wrong, perhaps I should rename a method or change params of a function. Whatever... I don't want to make breaking changes from Beta to Release.
I know - some of you - are waiting for the release of my Framework, but besides the old survey, I don't know how many Developers would still like to be part of the Alpha or Beta-Team. (or even would like to buy my #D.MVVM-Framework). (Old survey filled by 177 Users).
I've talked to some of these developers and they can't wait to get started with my framework. (I'm super happy to hear that, of course).
A comment in advance from René Höger:
"Is a lot of information! Those who have dealt with this, I think will be hot on it! I don't know what your feedback is so far, but I think this could be a milestone. When I think of all my old applications! But maybe I am biased because I have already received an introduction into your framework!"
A comment in advance from René Höger:
"Is a lot of information! Those who have dealt with this, I think will be hot on it! I don't know what your feedback is so far, but I think this could be a milestone. When I think of all my old applications! But maybe I am biased because I have already received an introduction into your framework!"
💖 Thanx René!
Perhaps I need to write some kind of NDA contract (never done before). One thing I want to avoid, after all these hours, is to find my Source-Code as a zip on a hacker site.
Before I could start the Alpha-Phase, I have to:
- Open up a ticket system or some kind of bulletin board?
- Perhaps a discord server?
- Perhaps a slack group?
- Think about how to collect User-contributions...
- Think about contribution benefits?
- Late or discount payment for Alpha & Beta users?
How do I distinguish between a developer who "just" wants to see cool source code and a developer who wants to actively contribute to the framework? Maybe I should just assume the best and trust that Delphi developers are all super nice people who are interested in using this technology. I think I'll stick with that idea or a very little "fee" just to check if the developer really wants it? Perhaps some kind of reward system?
If you've made it down here - Thanx for reading and please be so kind and fill out my survey!


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They are called a girl's best friend. But diamonds are also some of the most exclusive, expensive and sought-after stones in the whole world. In terms of looks alone, these rocks go with almost every metal and outshine most of them too.
Read more: best engagement rings
They are also a popular choice when it comes to telling someone that you are ready to make a lifelong commitment. But shopping for the best diamond engagement rings can be tricky. There are a few things to consider before you jump into the market.
Best Diamond Engagement Rings Compared
These are the top sources for the best diamond engagement rings on the market, thoroughly compared for you.
Top 3 Best Diamond Engagement Rings
Diamond shopping 101 popularly starts with understanding the 4Cs: color, cut, clarity and carat weight. Now, these are things to watch for very closely.
But when you are dealing with professionals that might be the least of your worries. And doesn't that sound great? So, let's show you what we have got in terms of the best engagement rings diamond.
Angara Rings
When you are dealing with a well-established jeweler, you will have to face the reality that they will spoil you with choices. Your job doesn't get easier with finding a jeweler but extends to narrowing down specific rings.
Angara Rings has a collection of over 300 diamond engagement rings to choose from. These diamond rings come in different colors, shapes, styles and arrangements.
The shipping is free for all purchases and every item over $500, gets you a 10 percent discount. Each ring shows you the different versions of diamonds along with a description of their quality. Shopping for diamonds has never been easier.
Kobelli Rings
If you wanted something more exquisite and have a little wiggle room in your budget, check out the Kobelli Rings diamond engagement ring collection. Color, clarity, weight, shape—you name it. They have the best of the best and a discount on most items. Because everyone deserves to get a diamond engagement ring.
You can also pay for it in multiple installments and get insurance for a little extra. The designs are endless, the shipping is free and you can return it within 60 days of purchase if you change your mind. You might want to take it because it's a pretty good deal.
Super Jeweler Rings
Not to blow our own horn but this one is a great collection too. You might have a Sophie's Choice situation here. They have natural, earth-mined diamonds and equally dazzling ones made in the lab. We'd say you won't even be able to tell the difference but you should be able to.
So, you will find the information in the specifications. Their collection is so versatile, you will be able to find any number of diamonds in a given design. And if you can't, the good folks at Super Jeweler Rings are happy to custom make a diamond engagement ring for you.
In Conclusion
One of the best things about knowing the gemstone you want is that you can now find a jeweler and get started on the design, shape and cut.
The above three choices are your best bet at finding something elegant and sophisticated or wild and trendy, whichever way you swing. It's just a matter of browsing through the collection and picking the perfect one.


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I find it easier to concentrate on phone conversations with my eyes closed. I find it easier to read road signs (when I really need to, in order to find a new place) with the music turned off.
Apparently, for most people care labels simply contain laundry instructions. For me, they contain endless amounts of irritation. The funny thing is that I can actually stand the ones at the back of the neck pretty well (my theory is that I've grown a tough hide back there because it's been exposed to these labels […]
Why do so many hairdressers brush your hair so bloody violently? Ow ow, ow. I get that they want to work efficiently and work through the tangles quickly, but for Pete's sake, that hair is connected to my scalp. Do I tell them this? Of course not. They're the ones holding the scissors. They […]
Happy Friday, folks!
Being oblivious to your surroundings because the show going on inside your head is so darn engaging. Possible and probable consequences: 1) Bumping into things because-of. Enduring consequences thereof (physical bruising, embarrassment, mortification). 2) Failing to greet people you know because-of. Enduring consequences thereof (mental bruising, embarrassment, mortification).
This labeling This pointing this sensitive's unraveling This sting I've been ignoring I feel it way down way down
Parades. Wonderful medleys of colour, music and cheerful people, best enjoyed via television.


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Boy or Girl (Gender Sex) Selection
At The British Clinic, access to the latest techniques in infertility management is provided in a friendly atmosphere. Questions and suggestions are always welcomed to improve the care. We pride ourselves on our personal approach to the problem of infertility. Our team is constantly updating knowledge on infertility management to provide the expected successful outcome. This is the reason for steady improvement in our success.
Our centre collaborates with other centres locally, national and international.
More and more requests for choosing a boy or a girl is being demanded all over the world for varieties of reasons. Some medically indicated but others are only for social and family needs and preferences.
This gender (sex) selection is done using PGD , and the spin and swim up separation techniques when it is indicated.
PGD (Pre Genetic Diagnosis)
In this technique a cell is aspirated from the embryos which are obtained using IVF or ICSI. This is then tested for the gender being male or female. Furthermore other inherited detectable disease can be checked.The appropriate embryos can then be selected for embryo transfer, and the others to be discarded.
Spin & Swim Up
In this method , the semen sample is proccesed , using culture media . The specimen is spun and washed, the debris, other cells and dead and inactive sperms are separated from the active potent lot. The sample of the good active sperm is then used in the swim up technique to allow the female to be segregated from the male chromosome harbouring ones! The desired gender sex containing ones are now used to inseminate ( IUI ) the woman with.
Disclaimer The British Clinic does not accept any liability to any person for the information or advice (or use of such information or advice) which is provided in this website or incorporated into it by reference. We provide this information on the understanding that all persons accessing it take responsibility for assessing its relevance and accuracy. Healthcare seekers are encouraged to discuss their health needs with their carers.


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7 Summer Camps it would be a mistake to miss!
It's May, and you still haven't signed your precious offspring up for the summer of their lives. Things have just been too crazy, we know. But that's ok, these seven amazing camps still have a few spots left and by signing up now, you can still guarantee your kids have an amazing summer – and you pull off a parenting win!
Arden Cahill Academy's Camp Corral
3101 Wall Blvd., Gretna, LA 70056
There is still time to have a "whale" of a summer on the 12-acre campus of Camp Corral. Camp runs for 10 weeks from May 28 through August 2, and registrations are accepted all summer long. Join them for horseback riding, swimming, art, theater, sports, game room, petting farm, laptop lounge, academic enrichment, dances, fishing, water slide, camp "in", archery, riflery, STEAM lab, and more!
Kidcam Camps
With over 45 years running summer camps and 27 locations to attend, including New Orleans City Park, Manhattan Athletic Club, Bissonet Country Club, Baby Cakes Field & 10 more just in south Louisiana, Kidcam knows how to make summers rock! Parents can build their summer in a way that works for them! Choose only the weeks you need summer camp, attend multiple locations that work for you, and pay in advance to save or pay weekly throughout the summer. It's that easy!
Kidcam's engaging weekly themes are action-packed with activities that promote fun, fitness, friendship, and creativity.
Lolo's Mind + Body Boot Camp for Girls + Boys.
6107 Magazine St., New Orleans, LA 70118
This summer let your kids celebrate their personal star power at Lolo's, New Orleans' youth-centered studio for fun fitness, yoga and art. Discover how they combine to build a strong body, a focused mind, and a calm flexible outlook. Kids will have a blast while increasing physical strength and flexibility, building their mind-body connection and creating fun art.
Painting with a Twist – Mandeville
2121 N. Causeway Blvd., Mandeville, LA 70471
Painting with a Twist Camp is not your typical art camp. Along with painting on canvas every day, campers will play games, win prizes, listen to upbeat music and learn some art history! At the end of the week, we will have a professional art show to showcase to friends and family the work we have done. If your child loves art, karaoke, and crafting, this is the camp for them!
Academy of the Sacred Heart
4301 St. Charles Ave., New Orleans, LA, 70115
Make it a shiny summer at Sacred Heart. For girls and boys, there's something for everyone…arts, sports, swimming, water fun, cheer, dance, theater, coaching clinics and lots more. Variety is their specialty with sessions from June 10 – July 26 and ages 1-13.
7508 Burthe St., New Orleans, LA, 70118
Travel the world this summer at UMS! Explore the cultures of Mexico, China, and France through hands-on creation of art, music and food. Play outdoors with water, block-building, bike-riding and more. At UMS, they nurture the child's sense of curiosity and independence within a community of friendship, learning, and fun!
¡Vamonos Nola!
5818 Perrier St., New Orleans, LA, 70115
Parents know the benefits of bilingualism: academic advantage, cultural and social Awareness. Educators know the benefits of play-based learning: collaboration, creativity, and problem solving. Campers just want to have FUN! THIS IS THEIR JAM! Bilingual or ZERO Spanish, all campers leave proudly displaying their language skills and begging to come back!


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Supporters of former Mayor Rudy Giuliani have started discussions with relatives of 9/11 victims about backing him if he runs for president in 2008, some family members told The Post.
The conversations have taken place in recent weeks, according to some victims' families, who described the talks as "casual."
Marian Fontana, who lost her firefighter husband on 9/11, said she got an invitation to go to a Giuliani exploratory committee dinner last week from a former firefighter working with Giuliani's committee. She described the invite as "last-minute."
Fontana said she was appreciative of what Giuliani did after 9/11, but would want to know a lot more about any candidate's stand on a variety of issues.
"I feel like I'm not ready to endorse," said Fontana, who added, "I could see why [Giuliani supporters] would want to reach out to family members."
Lee Ielpi, a former firefighter who lost his son in the attacks, said he discussed backing the former mayor with Larry Levy.
Levy, a former Giuliani administration official, ran the Twin Towers Fund and now works at the ex-mayor's consulting firm.
"I approached him. I said I'd like to offer my support to the mayor," said Ielpi.
"I've been following the mayor from before 9/11. I admire what he accomplished in the city, I admire the way he took on crime . . . and then 9/11 just brought that out to the world to see how strong a man he is, and I'm more than confident that he is capable to run this country."
It is unclear exactly what role the families would play.
But some relatives who are anti-Giuliani are already planning "Swiftboat"-type attacks against the ex-mayor – modeled on the negative campaign against John Kerry in 2004 by his fellow Vietnam vets. It seems likely that 9/11 kin could help Giuliani counter that criticism.
Some 9/11 family members have been deeply critical of Giuliani, blaming him for communications failures the day of the attacks.
Others have faulted his administration for allegedly not doing enough to protect rescue and recovery workers from polluted air at Ground Zero.
For the most part, those family members who have spoken with Giuliani supporters are family members who have maintained a relationship with Giuliani in the years since the attacks and were already fans of his.
A Giuliani spokeswoman declined comment.
Giuliani became known as "America's mayor" after 9/11, and his performance on that day both made him a national GOP star and prompted several social conservatives to say they could overlook his moderate stand on social issues.
(p. 5 in metro and sports extra)


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|Non attributed, Pazyryk carpet, 5th century BC.
Light, coulour and significance do not exist in isolation. They modify, or are manifested by, objects. Are there any special classes of objects common to most visionary experiences? The answer is: Yes, there are. Under mescalin and hypnosis, as well as in spontaneous visions, certain classes of perceptual experiences turn up again and again.
The typical mescalin or lysergic acid experience begins with perceptions of coloured, moving, living geometrical forms. In time, pure geometry becomes concrete, and the visionary perceives, not patterns, but patterned things, such as carpets, carvings, mosaics. These give place to vast and complicated buildings, in the midst of landscapes, which change continuously, passing from richness to more intensely coloured richness, from grandeur to deepening grandeur. Heroic figures, of the kind that Blake called "The Seraphim", may make their appearance, alone or in multitudes. Fabulous animals move across the scene. Everything is novel and amazing. Almost never does the visionary see anything that reminds him of his own past. He is not remembering scenes, persons or objects, and he is not inventing them; he is looking on at a new creation.
The raw material for this creation is provided by the visual experiences of ordinary life; but the moulding of this material into forms is the work of someone who is most certainly not the self; who originally had the experiences, or who later recalled and reflected upon them. They are (to quote the words used by Dr J.R. Smythies in a recent paper in the American Journal of Psychiatry) "the work of a highly differentiated mental compartment, without any apparent connection, emotional or volitional, with the aims, interests, or feelings of the person concerned".
Here, in quotation or condensed paraphrase, is Weir Mitchell's account of the visionary world to which he was transported by peyote, the cactus which is the natural source of mescalin.
At his entry into that world he saw a host of "star points" and what looked like "fragments of stained glass". Then came "delicate floating films of colour". These were displaced by an "abrupt rush of countless points of white light", sweeping across the field of vision. Next there were zigzag lines of very bright colours, which somehow turned into swelling clouds of still more brilliant hues. Buildings now made their appearance, and then landscapes. There was a Gothic tower of elaborate design with worn statues in the doorways or on stone brackets. "As I gazed, every projecting angle, cornice and even the faces of the stones at their joinings were by degrees covered or hung with clusters of what seemed to be huge precious stones, but uncut stones, some being more like masses of transparent fruit. (...) All seemed to possess an interior light". The gothic tower gave place to a mountain, a cliff of inconceivable height, a colossal birdclaw carved in stone and projecting over the abyss, an endless unfurling of coloured draperies, and an efllorescence of more precious stones. Finally there was a view of green and purple waves breaking on a beach "with myriads of lights of the same tint as the waves".
Every mescalin experience, every vision arising under hypnosis, is unique; but all recognizably belong to the same species. The landscapes, the architectures, the clustering gems, the brilliant and intricate patterns - these, in their atmosphere of praeternatural light, praeternatural colour and praeternatural significance, are the stuff of which the mind's antipodes are made. Why this should be so, we have no idea. It is brute fact of experience which, whether we like it or not, we have to accept - just as we have to accept the fact of kangaroos.
Aldous Huxley, Heaven and Hell in The Doors of Perception, Vintage classics, 1954 (2004), p.62-63.


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Benny Lande: Delivering Friendship and Combating Loneliness
April 14, 2021
Since he was a kid, Benny Lande and his family would hop on a plane every three months to visit their grandparents in Philadelphia. This year, things changed. The pandemic hit, and he and his family weren't able to fly out to visit their grandparents. So, Benny started to call his grandparents every single day. But, as they spoke, he thought about "people who don't have people, who are living alone," people with no one to call.
After doing some research into the effects of loneliness, Benny started Friendship Delivered, a new service project combating loneliness during the pandemic. Benny pairs teens with seniors based on their hobbies and interests to create more fulfilling discussions. Then, the volunteer teens are able to call the seniors for weekly 30-minute phone calls, just like Benny and his grandparents.
Benny got into contact with the Los Angeles Department of Aging through a contact at Milken, who referred him to some seniors who wanted to work with the organization. In addition, various synagogues, schools, and other organizations have reached out to Benny with more seniors and teen volunteers. Benny has also been working with Shalhevet and USY, the United Synagogue Youth, to find Jewish teens to work with the program, but all teens are welcome. He currently has 20 total volunteer teens and seniors calling weekly, but the program is growing exponentially. "These calls have just been a refreshment and rejuvenation in my life," Rosetta, a senior working with Friendship Delivered, said. "Every day that I talk to a young person is so meaningful."
Benny recently won the Julie Beren Platt Teen Innovation Grant from the Jewish Federation of Los Angeles. The program awards $1,500 to "empower you to play an active role in turning your idea into reality." They also pair teens with mentors who offer guidance, and create workshops to help teens innovate.
Some of the grant money has been used to produce the organization's new logo and advertising. However, he plans to use the remainder of the money to send gifts to the seniors who participate in the program. These gifts could include boxes of chocolate, masks, and more. He says these gifts will not only brighten the seniors' days, but also offer fun conversation topics for their 30-minute phone calls.
Looking into the future, Benny doesn't doesn't plan on stopping past the pandemic. As Benny said, the pandemic has exasperated loneliness, but the issue persists past COVID. Post-pandemic, Benny hopes that the seniors and teens can start to meet in real life. He's also looking forward to creating themed calls or events, where the seniors and teens can discuss certain topics and play fun games.


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I. Introduction
Please read these Artist Terms and Conditions ("Conditions") carefully – by establishing an account with, or providing an artwork for sale by, CODAME, Inc. ("CODAME") you are agreeing to the Conditions.
You also agree to the Privacy Policy, which sets out how we deal with CODAME's users' personal information and privacy.
This is a legal document which sets out your rights and obligations, and those of CODAME ("we" or "us"), in relation to artworks (each a "Work") which you provide to us for sale through websites operated by any of us (each a "Site") and any other services offered by us through our Sites.
You must take the time to read and understand these Conditions before providing us with a Work for Sale. You accept that you are entering into a contract with us under these Conditions.
II. Mission Statement
CODAME sparks visionaries by celebrating the value of playful creativity. Our inspiring experiences encourage the use of technology for artistic expression. Since 2010 we have run inclusive workshops, art sales, and a signature ART+TECH Festival.
III. Scope of our services
CODAME is a platform for artists and their representatives and agents (individually and collectively, the "Artists"), which enables them to promote and sell their artwork(s) (the "Artwork") in public spaces. Here is a description of the process of our services:
The Artists upload the Artwork to CODAME Shop (The Platform); in addition, they complete a profile and provide information about The Artwork.
CODAME is not responsible for any violation by you or any User or other third party of any CODAME terms of service, privacy policy or any applicable law by any individual or company who has, does or will work for, on behalf of, or with CODAME for the purpose of displaying the Artwork as provided for in this Agreement, or for the purpose of fulfilling any Artwork order, including in relation to the Artwork. CODAME is not responsible for any unauthorized and/or unlawful, copying, distribution, transmission, or sale of Artwork.
You hereby unconditionally and irrevocably release CODAME, its agents, directors, officers, shareholders, and employees from all liability arising out of or in connection with any CODAME Partners' actions or omissions.
IV. Our Pledge
It is absolutely free to use our service for CODAME Artists.
We display your name and all necessary information for people to buy your Artwork.
We sell your Artwork(s), but, except for any CODAME Fulfilled Orders (as defined in these Conditions below), we do not print or install it for the Users who ordered it. With respect to any orders to be printed and fulfilled by Artists, Artists have full control over the final version of their Artwork.
The Artwork is available to all The Partners. It is the sole decision of the Partners to display your Artwork in their space. We cannot guarantee that The Partners will choose to display your Artwork, nor can we guarantee that the User will buy them.
V. Your CODAME Artist Profile
In order to become one of CODAME's Artists, first, you need to fill out this form providing all requested details. You also must agree to make all representations and warranties stated in these Conditions in favor of us.
You agree that you shall not include in your artist profile appearing on CODAME ("Profile") anything that could potentially infringe upon another's rights, confuse, or which is offensive, hurtful, or otherwise inappropriate. CODAME reserves the right to change any online Profile in the event we determine, at our sole discretion, that violates these Conditions.
You represent that all the information provided, such as your name or surname is yours and legally available for use.
VII. Representations, Warranties & Covenants of Artists
As a condition of becoming a CODAME Artist, you hereby represent, warrant, and covenant to CODAME:
- You are the sole owner of and have full power to enter into these Conditions and to grant all rights granted or purported to be granted under them, including the grant of any license to use of the Artwork granted herein;
- You are the sole author of any Artwork submitted to CODAME and all Artwork(s) are your own original artwork and are not made from copyrighted material or patterns.;
- You unconditionally and irrevocably hold 100% exclusive right to all right, title, and interest in and to the Artwork, including copyright;
- Your Artwork does not contain any illegal material and/or in itself constitutes illegal material.
- You will not post or transmit any content that infringes any copyright or other right of any person;
- Your Artwork does not contain anything that may constitute a violation of the personal integrity and privacy of an individual;
- Your Artwork does not contain anything that may offend, slander, defame or discriminate any individual, entity or group of people, and that you will not abuse, harass, threaten, impersonate or intimidate any person;
- You shall indemnify and hold the CODAME harmless from and against any loss, expense, or damage occasioned by any claim, demand, suit or recovery against Your Artwork, arising out of any alleged use of the image which violates or breaches a third party's property rights, or resulting from breach of your obligations under these Conditions including breach of any representation, warranty or covenant contained herein.
- You guarantee to be able to process and sell The Artwork displayed by CODAME medium and ordered by CODAME's Users in accordance with CODAME's standard practices and quality control standards.
- You agree to maintain inventory of the merchandise uploaded according to the availability disclaimed by you on CODAME's Platform.
- Except for any CODAME FulFilled Orders, you are responsible for the creation and shipping of the Artwork.
VIII. Grant of License
In consideration of our agreement to pay you the Royalty payments stated in these Conditions, by submitting the Artwork to CODAME, you grant to us a worldwide, non-exclusive, unlimited license in and to each Artwork to display, transmit, publish, post online, and to use, sell, and to the extent elected by the Artist in Paragraph XI below of these Terms, print, and ship to a User, on your behalf, the Artwork for purposes as we see fit related to CODAME's business, by any electronic or digital means, method, device, process or medium (now known or hereafter developed) (collectively, the "Rights"). For the avoidance of doubt, the Rights include the rights (a) to conduct sales of any Artwork including CODAME Fulfilled Orders, (and to grant sub-licensees of the right to conduct sales and fulfillment of any orders), (b) to grant sub-licenses to Users to view, display, purchase and use the Artwork for personal, non-commercial use, and (c) to do and authorize third parties to do anything expressly or impliedly referred to in these Conditions.
This license will exist for the period of time during which the Artwork remains on the Platform, and will terminate 30 days after the removal of the Artwork from The Platform. You represent that the Artwork uploaded is yours, duly licensed by you hereby grant to CODAME the right to store your Artwork on its own servers and backups for the duration of the license, including the 30 days, as applicable after removal from the Platform.
At any time you may notify us that you wish to terminate this license with respect to a particular Artwork by emailing us as team_at_CODAME_dot_com (a "termination notice"); any termination notice must clearly identify the Artwork in question. We will withdraw that Artwork from the Website within 30 days of our receipt of the termination notice.
You agree that you shall not grant any license or make any agreements in respect of any Artwork (or any part of it or any character therefrom), or allow any such license or agreement to exist, that would in any way conflict with or derogate from the grant of the Rights hereunder.
Upon your breach of these Conditions, CODAME shall be entitled to immediately and without notice to you to cease any payments to you relating to the relevant Artwork in any format, and (b) to recover from you all payments paid to date in relation to that Artwork, in addition to any other legal or equitable rights available to CODAME.
You will remain the owner of your Artwork's copyright or of any intellectual property rights or other proprietary rights associated with your Artwork.
You assert to us, our assignees, licensees, and successors in the title your moral right to be identified as the author of each Artwork, including under the Visual Artists Rights Act. We agree to include your name on the pages of CODAME where your Artwork is displayed.
You acknowledge and agree that we may (a) use copies of the Artwork, (b) aggregate copies of one or more of your Artworks with one another or with the works of other artists, and (c) overlay text on copies of your Works online and for offline printed materials, in each case for promotional purposes and without being required to name you as the Artist.
The grant of this license includes a grant to display your Artwork on CODAME's website, Platform, or other digital or physical mediums, included in the scope of our services, with the intention, but no obligation, to display and sell your Artwork as announced in the conditions of the agreement.
CODAME is free to use the Artwork provided, as described in the scope of services, without permission or license from any third party. CODAME is granted a non-exclusive, non-transferable, fully paid, worldwide license to use, distribute, modify, adapt, and publicly display such content in connection with the Services as defined in the scope.
By uploading your Artwork to the CODAME website, you retain full rights to those works that you had prior to uploading.
CODAME decides exclusively and in its sole discretion what to publish and display on The Platform.
CODAME can not restrict the ability of users and visitors on The Platform to make a low resolution (maximum of 800x800) or "thumbnail" (maximum of 200x200) copies of the Artwork posted on The Platform and you hereby expressly authorize CODAME to permit users and visitors of The Platform to make such low-resolution copies of your Content.
CODAME can not restrict the ability of The Users to take pictures of The Artwork displayed on other digital or physical mediums and you hereby expressly authorize The Users, or other digital or physical medium spectators to take photos of your content.
The license granted to CODAME includes the rights to use, modify, adapt, distribute and publicly display The Artwork fully or partially for promotional reasons. The license also includes the use to redistribute The Artwork to a third party for CODAME's promotional reasons.
X. Sales of Your Artwork – General Process and Procedures
Any User watching at your Artwork on a Display (other digital or physical mediums) in our Partners' location can see your name, your Artwork, and a link that invites them to CODAME's website.
From CODAME's website, Users can order and buy a printed or physical version of your Artwork, in a limited or unlimited edition, in any of the available Formats (such order, an "Order").
You shall have previously defined the Formats of the Artwork available for purchase at the time of the upload of the Artwork.
Formats of an Artwork available for sale may include ("Formats"):
Original Artwork sales:
Hard copy printed versions of the Artwork in giclee fine art prints with archival ink, neither mounted nor framed, except for any custom order where the User agrees in writing to pay for the shipping of the framed Artwork and in such case, you must notify CODAME in writing before shipping, so that CODAME can charge the appropriate party for shipping.
Unless you elect to have an order fulfilled as a CODAME Fulfilled Orders (as defined below), you are responsible for (i) maintaining inventory of the formats listed (for originals and limited editions), (ii) creating and shipping the Artwork that is subject of the Order, (iii) if necessary, to install, the Artwork ordered, and (iv) forward proof of shipment as well as the tracking number of the shipment, the day of the shipment at the email address provided to you during the order.
For each order, you will be paid Royalty payments for the sale of the Artwork in accordance with the schedule that appears in Paragraph XII below, which are subject to change by CODAME, from time to time to the extent provided in these Conditions. We will notify you of changes to the Royalty schedules by sending you an email; however, Royalty payment rates shall be locked in on a per-order basis upon submission of any particular sale.
Completion of a sale transaction of your Artwork will be deemed to be completed forty-five (45) days after payment is received by CODAME from the Customer. Royalty payments shall not be paid in respect of any Artwork that is returned by the Customer for exchange or refund. In this case, the Artwork will be returned to you, at your cost.
Payment will be processed via Intersections for the Arts by check mailed to your address.
Shipping Costs. For custom Artwork (mounted, framed, laminated, etc.), Artists should advise CODAME prior to the shipment, so CODAME can bill the shipping charge directly to the purchasing User.
XI. Sales Process - CODAME Fulfilled Orders
At your option, by checking the applicable box upon upload of any Artwork, you can elect to have CODAME fulfill any sales orders on your behalf, and you shall be deemed to unconditionally and irrevocably grant to CODAME full rights and authority to print, ship to any User, process payment for, and communicate with such User on your behalf with respect to any order of any Artwork (each such order, a "CODAME Fulfilled Order"). Fulfillment of all Digital Edition orders shall be fulfilled by CODAME and shall be deemed a "CODAME Fulfilled Order". Your option to elect a CODAME Fulfilled Order is subject to, at all times and in all respects, CODAME's current capabilities, and in all cases, CODAME reserves the right to use any third-party vendors, suppliers, delivery agent(s) and other fulfillment partners it chooses in its sole discretion to fulfill any CODAME FulFilled Orders.
Royalty Payments payable to you with respect to any CODAME Fulfilled Orders shall be in accordance with the standard costs and fees stated in Paragraph XII below, subject to CODAME's reserved rights to change such rates to the extent stated in these Conditions.
XII. Your Royalty Payments; Costs and Fees
For each sale of an Artwork, CODAME will split 70% of the Net Revenues sale of any Artwork (the "Royalty") payment with the Artist.
The relevant Royalty will be specified at or before the time when the sale of your Artwork commences.
Note that we may change the Royalty that applies to the various types of sales from time to time. However, any such change will not affect the Royalty you earn on sale which has already occurred, or to the sales of any edition which is already on sale at the time when the change is made: to avoid doubt, the changed Royalty will apply only to the Edition of the next Artwork to go on sale, not to the edition currently on sale at the time when we notify you of the changed sale Royalty rate.
For the purposes of calculating the Royalty, "Net Revenues" are amounts actually received by CODAME for sums paid to us for sale of the Artwork, net of all relevant deductions including (without limitation):
Any and all tax, tariffs, and fees (including any VAT taxes); transaction costs; chargebacks and returns; any sums paid or repaid to Users in connection with the relevant sale, any revenue share or commission paid or payable to distributors, licensees or others involved in the sale of an Artwork, and any sums paid, payable, deductible or creditable to third parties in connection with the relevant sale of an Artwork.
Royalties shall be calculated in the national currency in which we are paid, and shall be paid to you in US Dollars using the spot rate of exchange of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., for the purchase of which the relevant currency prevailing on the date on which we are paid by the User. For the avoidance of doubt, no Royalty is payable in respect of copies of the Artwork included in CODAME's publicity and marketing efforts.
For CODAME Fulfillment Orders, we will credit Royalty to you quarterly within the time periods set forth in these Artist Terms and Conditions, or as otherwise mutually agreed to in writing between you and CODAME.
XIII. Right to Terminate at Any Time
At any time you can remove your Artwork from the Platform. This action will terminate the license you granted to CODAME within 30 days ("Thirty")
In all cases, copies of your Artwork posted on any third-party sites and used for promotional purposes will be removed within 30 days ("thirty") following your removal request, however, submitted.
XIV. Reserved Rights of CODAME
CODAME reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to modify or replace these Conditions at any time. If the alterations constitute a material change to these Conditions, CODAME will notify you by posting an announcement on The Platform and by sending you an email.
Using any service or viewing any content following notification of a material change to the Conditions shall constitute your acceptance thereof, as modified.
CODAME is not responsible for all the content uploaded. All the content uploaded is the sole responsibility of the account holder from which such content originates and you acknowledge and agree that you are entirely responsible for all content that you post, or download to The Platform.
Your access, and use of, the Platform may be interrupted from time to time as a result of equipment malfunction, updating, maintenance, or repair of The Platform or any other reason within or outside the control of CODAME. The Platform should not be used or relied upon for the storage of your photographs and images and you are directed to retain your own copies of all content posted on The Platform.
In addition, CODAME may remove any Artwork that it believes to be in breach of the Conditions.
XV. General Conditions
- CODAME shall not be liable for any failure to perform its obligations where such failure results from any cause beyond CODAME's reasonable control.
- If any part of these Conditions is held to be invalid or unenforceable, the remainder shall remain valid and enforceable.
- Our failure to act with respect to a breach of these Conditions by you or others does not waive our right to act with respect to subsequent or similar breaches.
- The headings to the Clauses are for ease of reference only and do not affect the interpretation or construction of these Conditions.
- Each party shall execute or cause to be executed all such other documents and do or cause to be done all such further acts and things consistent with the terms of these Conditions as the other party may from time to time reasonably require for the purpose of giving the latter party the full benefit of the provisions of these Conditions.
- The validity, construction, and performance of these Conditions shall be governed by the laws of the State of California.


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Discover more from Paths to Preparedness
Which Training Program Is Right For Me?
One of the questions we often get asked at The CP Journal from people thinking about purchasing the Tactical Analysis online program is whether there is a difference between all of the courses that are available. The short answer to this question is that, for each level of the program, the different, market-specific courses are both similar and different. Allow me to explain.
When the Tactical Analysis program was first adapted to an online format, we only had one version available for all of our clients. Based on the feedback from those early students we realized that, because they were coming from a variety of different professions (private security, law enforcement, the military, universities), there were a few areas we needed to tailor to the individual student.
A common question we would get would be something like this.
"In 'Module X' of the Level One class, the example you provided showed how a police officer could apply the clusters to their job. The explanation made a lot of sense, but can you help me understand how that same concept applies to my job in private security?"
We continued to receive similar questions, and when we opened our Online Academy in February of 2015 and re-released our Level 1/Basic Program, we decided to offer four versions of the class for the four different types of professionals that we typically serve. We now have one program designed for members of the military, one for police officers, one for security providers and one for people concerned about school safety. Today, we have found that people who are interested in the program want to see if there are advantages and tradeoffs to taking the course tailored to one market versus another.
In our Tactical Analysis Level 1/Basic Course, there are a total of 27 modules, six quizzes and a performance exam, all grouped into six total lessons. The structure and sequence of the course is the exact same for each different professional focus, meaning that regardless of which course you choose, the end-state for the Level 1 program is exactly the same. Of those 27 modules, many are the same from one course to the next. For instance, in the "Principles of Reading Body Language" module in the "Assessing Individuals" lesson, the video is the same for each program because the principles of reading body language are universal and don't change based on your job. What does change based on a student's job are the modules that provide either a case study or an application of the topic being taught.
Case Study-Based Modules
Case study-based modules provide context to the student about how behavioral analysis and informed situational awareness apply specifically to them. As an example, the "Threat To" module at the beginning of the Basic Program is tailored to each individual market. For the military, we look at the risk of Americans being targeted overseas simply for being Americans. We do this because, as our military transitions out of the Middle East, the types of threats they are exposed to change and begin to include kidnapping, carjacking and other criminal acts. In the law enforcement-specific program, we use examples of officer ambushes that have occurred in recent history to put the course lessons into that context, as this is a significant and timely risk that our nation's police officers face. Examples for security providers include looking at active shooter incidents, assassination attempts and workplace violence instances, since these are the threats that security providers are often trying to reduce. For the education program, the context of the active shooter scenario is focused more specifically on school and university attacks from recent history.
We made market specific changes in the "Threat To" module (which you can sample for free) so that the student doesn't have to make mental leaps during the course or have to figure out how a topic taught in one context applies to them. Our goal for that specific module is to have the student think about different solutions to the problem of violence that must be solved. If someone is instead thinking about whether officer ambushes even relate to the task of ensuring school safety, we risk not accomplishing that goal because we are discussing an issue that doesn't relate to that particular student. Our focused case study-based modules help to limit those situations.
Application-Based Modules
The second way that we tailor our courses to each target market is in the modules that provide specific instruction about how the content being taught can be applied on the job. As an example to show why this is important, we can use the module titled "The Decision Principle," which is taught towards the end of the Level 1/Basic program. This module shows the decisions that a person has available to them once they have identified an anomaly.
For the Tactical Analysis military program, the decisions that a Marine, soldier, airman or sailor can make are put into the context of the standing Rules of Engagement. We do this because this is the legal standard that this audience has to meet when taking action. For law enforcement, the decision has to be considered against the standards established through constitutional law. The options a police officer has available to them are discussed in this module using concepts of probable cause and reasonable articulable suspicion. The security and education classes assume that the person who recognizes the threat has no legal authority to take action, but is going to be judged against the standard of justifiable force and the "reasonable person" standard. Even though the nature of the decisions that each group of professionals can make are based on almost identical principles, we are once again trying to relate the material as closely as possible to the student's profession to facilitate the transition of the information from the classroom to real life most effectively.
An Ongoing Pursuit
At the end of the day, we recommend that students take the version of the Tactical Analysis program that is going to be most relevant to them at this point in their life. Even if a professional plans on changing jobs in the future, being able to immediately see the improvement in their situational awareness in their current role is a critical step in learning. We want our students to be able to apply the lessons in our courses immediately and begin building their file folders for the different behavioral assessments right away. The end-state for the student is exactly the same regardless of which program they select. The only question is which program is going to make accomplishing that goal the most likely, be the most relevant, and be the most effective.
Making each course as focused as possible to the specific needs of each group of professionals is an on-going pursuit. With the support of students who have completed the program, the number of modules we can tailor continues to rise through their submission of case studies, videos and pictures. Because the courses are never considered to be "done" and are constantly being updated with current events is one of the reasons why our students who purchase our programs as individuals get lifetime access to the course. By checking in with us from time to time, students can see what changes and updates that have been made and benefit from these improvements long after they originally complete the course.