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Contemporary space, Varna: Choose Training
Contemporary space
Varna, 23 Marko Balabanov Str.
Kalin Serapionov
Choose Training
9 May – 8 June, 2014
The work of Kalin Serapionov is the second one from the Videocave project curated by Maria Vassileva which gives opportunity for showing video installations – a specific part of contemporary art. The work is created especially for Contemporary Space, Varna Bulgaria and it is conformed to its architectural characteristics and distinctiveness.
Kalin Serapionov loans the title from the high tech fitness devices with predefined training presets. To the almost robotized daily grind of contemporary man that consists of constant choices, the artist gives new opportunities – to look intently at the world that passes by and remains unnoticed.
The video installation is composed of three synchronized projections that use live footage taken from the big city streets. Illuminated colour signs are alternating with shots of static buildings. The chaos of elements, lights and contrasts is gradually arranged and forms a total image. Video shots of contemporary ways of entertainment and time spending are sneaking through, which exalts the feeling of the routine way of life.
The sound is created by Angel Simitchiev and is especially designed to enhance the artificialness of the environment but also to build a general rhythm in which all these different images can live together.
In this project Kalin Serapionov continues his searches started in the video 'As Far Away as Near' (ICA – Sofia, 2013) where the lunar eclipse is compared to the illuminated signs symbolizing the consumerism. Today's professional interests of the artist are far from the popular documentary-like approach and are directed to the creation of a powerful and strongly captivating vision which at the same time uses the achievements of contemporary advertisement but is also critical to the created clichés.
The Author thanks to Maria Vassileva, Vladiya Mihaylova, Dimitar Dilkov, Spiro Petrov, Temelko Temelkov, Eva Stoilova, Vasil Atanasov, 'Playground', 'Slavia – Sportes' Fitness, Ilinka Chergarova, Teodora Spasova, Yoan Galabov, Dimi Solakov, Irena Solakova, Georgi Nikolov, Angel Simitchiev, Dimitar Apostolov for their support during the realization of the artwork.


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"A hospital bed is a parked taxi with the meter running." — Groucho Marx
Metaphors help us compare a concept from one domain by placing it into another context. They help us explain the essential character of an object or a relationship that is a bit outside of our mental grasp by tying it something more familiar.
We use metaphors automatically in our everyday language. Metaphors are not merely for poetry or to capture the subtle, obscure, or humorous parts of human life.
In fact, we use them so frequently, we often don't even realize we're doing it. I didn't consciously decide to compare myself to an animal, yet I recently called myself an 'early bird' and a colleague a 'night owl.'
We use physical or structural metaphors in our conversations too. We have metaphors in English/Western thought that higher is better and the opposite down is worse. We use natural metaphors like the metaphor ideas are plants (for example, "we need to let this idea germinate"). We use cultural metaphors like common metaphor to associate arguments with battles. Arguments are war and our language examples include "pick your battles" and "why are you so defensive?". For more on this fascinating exploration, I recommend Lakoff and Johnson's Metaphors We Live By, which has hundreds of these metaphors and the implications of our metaphorical thinking.
One area that's been of interest to me lately: all the historical analogies that scientists, doctors and scholars have used to describe the brain and the mind.
Let me give you four examples.
Metaphors for the mind date back to the ancient Greeks, who believed that our life essence was centered around fluids. Any imbalance in the brain or the body was a result of improper bodily fluid levels. So, understandably, we find the Greek literature comparing the mind to a hydraulic system of pumps and tubes.
Fast forward to the 1600's. This era was focused on mechanics, tools and inventions like the clock. We find writings from this era comparing our brain's inner workings to gears. Interesting that we still find the phrase "what makes her tick" common in modern conversation.
Let's keep moving!
Have you ever thought about that stereotypical cartoon where the light bulb appears over someone's head when they have a great idea? That started in the 1910s. The analogy of comparing the brain to a network of electric signals and impulses was used in the 1900s because it reflected the technology of they day. The electrical metaphor is still popular in phrases like, "well, he's just wired that way."
These mind metaphors aren't just flat words on a page. They shape our contextual understanding of the thing we're comparing. They impact our beliefs and can even shape our behaviors. Through this combination of technological understanding and helpful linguistic comparisons, we construct the way that we move about this world.
So here we are today, deeply entrenched in the age of computers. Many of us carry powerful supercomputers in our pockets and on our wrists … with computers surrounding us at work and at home (up to and including the ol' "internet enabled refrigerator" which comes out every year!).
And the metaphor describing the mind and brain as a computer is completely pervasive.
The first metaphorical reference connecting a computer's operations and the mind's operations dates back to 1943 but is especially popular today.
The metaphor shapes how technologists and designers explore the concept of artificial intelligence. Pop culture has latched onto this metaphorical concept of the human mind as a computer.
But, given the history of metaphors of mental phenomena, I think it's probably short-sighted to assume that the human mind IS a computer. Based on today's knowledge of neurology, the human mind doesn't work like a digital computer in basically any way. They don't work the same way, they do not use the same inputs to produce similar outputs, nor do the two domains actually talk the same way about concepts like "understanding," "recognizing," "reasoning," and "planning."
When people confuse the mind-as-computer metaphor for the reality of happens in the human mind, they can become very worried that computers are going start acting like people, that AI systems might "take over" a lot of work and life. They start to fear we might end up in a world like Sci-fi films like Ex Machina, Her, or Terminator II.
Do you think that the mind-as-computer metaphor is accurate?
What does thinking about our brains as a computer do to our experience in the world?
Do you think there might be anything limiting to comparing ourselves, or at least our minds, to microchips and lines of code?
I think humans are talented in ways computers aren't, and that the metaphors about computers make rational thought, precise calculation, and speed primary. But humans have mental talents which are not highlighted by the metaphor, including intention, creativity, empathy, and collaboration.
Let me know your thoughts and reactions to this idea. I'm curious if this argument resonates with you. And your deeply and uniquely human mind.

subset: commoncrawl


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Northridge Church, along with Grace Road Church and Browncroft Community Church, hosted a special event featuring Matthew Soerens, the director of church mobilization for World Relief, an organization engaging with refugees worldwide and one of the handful of organizations tasked with resettling refugees in the US.
Below you can hear the audio from the event. (When you press play, you might have to wait a minute for the audio to load before it will begin playing.)


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When I saw that issue two hit this week I scratched my head and wondered why I hadn't read issue one yet. Then I remembered that it was a FCBD issue and instantly downloaded it from Comixology's store. It was a good issue and really reset the world of Aphrodite IX. I know she's had some involvement in the Top Cow universe over the past few years, but none that I was particularly fond of. I enjoyed the futuristic setting of the first volume as it was a key element in what made it special and charming. This second volume returns the story to the future, but now it's surpassed the original time line. It's very cool and works perfectly with the universe. The story actually jumps ahead some from the first issue which was nice. Aphrodite has already been given her first kill and they went straight to the top of the genetically enhanced tribe with Marcus' father being the target. While Aphrodite's handler Mr. Burch talks with Helen the second in command of the cybernetic enhanced tribe about finding the tracking module, Aphrodite actually walks right by. She's there to free the dead dragon that Marcus was forced to leave. It's a funny sequence as Burch finds the module and just as he realizes she's there a bomb goes off.
During all of the hub-bub she points a gun at Burch only to discover that her programming won't allow her to shoot him. This is yet another mystery for her to solve as she also wants to discover the twenty-minute gap in her memory from the night before. The twenty minutes that we know were used to kill Marcus' father.
This was a good issue and the shit has definitely hit the fan for Aphrodite. Really I'm not even sure how long this story can last with the way it's structured. The world has basically been reduced to just an island with the two warring factions and now it seems that only one of them will survive. Aphrodite has betrayed the genetically enhanced tribe that she sided with and will likely have nowhere to go after all is said and done. The pacing of the story was decent, but I find that the story always moves strangely with Sejic on the art. At times the story is fast paced like the opening, but then when there's a conversation it slows down almost too much. It doesn't make it bad by any means, but it does draw attention to the conversation which I don't think is necessarily a good thing when some are just there to set up the plot for later.
Aphrodite is like a brand new character this time around and doesn't come across as having a ton of baggage from the previous series. She's fresh to the world so in a lot of ways, she is the reader. We experience everything for the first time the same way she does. Personally, I like this Aphrodite a lot more than previously. She's more approachable and comes across as cutesy rather than a sex addict on a murdering spree.
Sejic's art is of course beautiful and though I don't feel that it's at its strongest for the conversations, there is no denying that it's fantastic for the massive battles and beautiful landscapes. His style has improved since working on Witchblade and Artifacts. His design for Aphrodite is gorgeous plain and simple. He was the perfect choice for the art as both sides of the story fit his style.
I dug the issue and I'm definitely enjoying the new series. Top Cow has slowly but surely begun to show that they are no longer the company they were a few years back. They're shipping books on time and consistently and taking chances on new directions like this. Aphrodite may work in the Witchblade and Darkness universe, but she's always worked better outside of it. This is a great return for her and I can't wait to see what twists and turns the series has in store for us.
Score: 4/5
Writer: Matt Hawkins
Artist: Stjepan Sejic
Publisher: Top Cow and Image Comics
Price: $2.99
Release Date: 6/12/13


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By Deane Barker on July 2, 2003
BitPass: This is a new micropayment service, allowing you to charge as little as one-cent for your content or whatever you're selling. You "buy" a BitPass card via PayPal or credit card. You can store as little as $3, making it within reach of kids and their allowances.
Jakob Nielsen has been swearing that micropayments are the Web's future since 1998.


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Komag to Lay Off 480 Workers And Close Two California Plants
SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Disk-drive supplier Komag Inc. announced it will close two manufacturing plants here and lay off 480 employees as it shifts production to low-cost operations in Malaysia.
The closings and reductions are expected to be completed by the fourth quarter. Komag plans to record a one-time charge in its third quarter ending Oct. 3 to cover severance pay and the write-down of various assets.


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Overnight parking
The Walt Disney World Resort now charges a fee to park your vehicle overnight at one of its resort hotels.
Disney Value Resorts: $15 per night
Disney Moderate Resorts: $20 per night
Disney Deluxe and Deluxe Villa Resorts: $25 per night
Parking fees at Walt Disney World Resort hotels will be calculated and added to your bill upon check out. If you do not have a car on property for all nights of your stay, be sure to notify the front desk.
There is no charge to park for day guests who are visiting you at the resort. The fee only applies if they park overnight.
Theme Park Parking fees
Parking Rates for Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney's Hollywood Studios, and Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park:
Standard parking: car or motorcycle – $25 per day
Preferred parking: car or motorcycle – $50 per day
Oversized Vehicle Parking: Shuttle, Limo, Camper Trailer, RV, Bus or Tractor Trailer - $30 per day
Parking passes are valid for the entire day, at multiple theme parks. So for example, if you park hop between Magic Kingdom and Epcot, you won't have to pay for parking at each park.
Theme Park parking is free to guests staying at a Walt Disney World Resort hotel and Annual Passholders. Preferred parking is available as an upgrade to resort guests and Passholders by paying the difference in price.
There is no charge to park at Disney Springs, Disney's Typhoon Lagoon Water Park and Disney's Blizzard Beach Water Park.
Disney Vacation CLub Parking
Disney Vacation Club Members will not pay a parking fee when staying at a Deluxe Villa Resort, whether staying on points or not.
Disney Vacation Club Members staying on points at regular Walt Disney World Resort hotel (non-villa resort) will not have to pay for overnight parking.
Updated July 20, 2019 by Darren W


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Clear Quartz Bodychain
Clear Quartz Bodychain
Clear quartz crystal wrapped in silver plated copper wire, hanging on a silver plated body chain.
Waist chain length can be adjusted with a clasp, finished with a silver anchor charm so it hangs down the back.
Chain length can be adjusted to your measurements upon purchase, please contact us if you wish to make any amendments before posting to you.
All our jewellery is cleansed with reiki and lovingly handmade with materials sourced in the UK (unless otherwise specified)
Avoid contact with water or cosmetics to reduce the likelihood of tarnish to the wire/chain.


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All-You-Can-Eat Manchu WOK
Jan 06, 2019 @ 11:00AM
Event Details
All-You-Can-Eat Manchu WOK
Every Sunday in January, take advantage of your chance to chow down on as much Manchu WOK as you can in one hour! Stop by the food court between 11am and 4pm for All-You-Can-Eat Manchu WOK for only $10.
Disclaimer: Offer valid only at Manchu WOK. Dine-in only. Includes all menu items. Offer not to be shared with any other person. Must be consumed in one sitting within one hour. Not valid in conjunction with any other offer, except the standard Player's Club member discount. Must be a Player's Club member and be at least 18 years of age. Management reserves all rights.


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Tuesday 26th February, 18.30-20.30
Tech Incubator
Oxford Road
Manchester M1 7ED.
OpenStreetMap is a free and editable map of the world, created and maintained by a huge international community. It's used in numerous projects by local communities, governments, software developers and more, with nearly 5 million registered users and 1 million contributors from all over the world.
It includes data about roads, buildings, addresses, shops and businesses, points of interest, railways, trails, transit, land use and natural features, and much more.
We'll explore the fundamentals of mapping with OpenStreetMap, some tools and apps, best practice, and some re-use by 3rd part projects.
Whether you're completely new to OpenStreetMap, or whether you've used it before and wish to dive a bit deeper, then this is for you.


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Nathan Mathis, a 74-year old peanut farmer from Alabama who recently found internet fame for protesting against former Senate candidate Roy Moore in honor of his daughter, visited The Ellen DeGeneres Show last week to discuss his late daughter and what drove him to protest.
Mathis said his daughter Patti Sue was gay and come out to him as a senior in high school. She later committed suicide in 1995.
Matthis claims at the time he was against her lifestyle choice, but has since become an advocate for gay rights.
"I was once anti-gay myself. I said bad things to my daughter, which I regret," he told NBC News as he protested Monday night.
During Alabama's recent U.S. Senate election between Republican Moore and his Democratic opponent Doug Jones, Mathis now famously held a sign claiming Moore called his child a "pervert" and denounced Moore's stance against homosexuality.
In an emotional interview on Friday's episode of "Ellen," Mathis explained he didn't accept his daughter for being gay until doctors explained there was nothing wrong with her.
"We took her to other doctors, psychiatrists, every one told my daughter, 'Patti, you can't help the way you are. That's what made me change," Mathis told Ellen.
"The last thing we needed was Roy Moore in Washington," Mathis continued. "Roy Moore needs to be somewhere gettin' psychiatric help, that's where he needs to be."
In honor of Patti Sue, Ellen donated $25,000 courtesy of Shutterfly to "The Trevor Project," a charity that provides crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to gay youth.
Watch the interview below:


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Find an Expert
Search for an Expert
Search results for 'Media' (12)
Philippa Carr
Philippa is a Lecturer on Social Psychology and Qualitative Research Methods modules in the School of Social Sciences.
Dr Barbara Henderson
Senior journalism lecturer. Former BBC and newspaper journalist and published writer; holding PhD in Creative Writing.
Annisa Suliman
Annisa has over 20 years' experience as a media professional and teaches public relations and journalism at an undergraduate and postgraduate level. She is currently studying for her PhD focusing on readers' letters and participation in the production of 19th century magazines.
Neil Kelley
Neil Kelley is a Senior Lecturer and Course Leader for the Marketing Subject Group at Leeds Business School. Neil is responsible for both undergraduate marketing degrees, Marketing Management and Marketing with Advertising Management.
Dr Martina Topić
Dr Martina Topic is a Senior Lectuer in Public Relations in Leeds Business School.
Dr Renan Petersen-Wagner
Renan is a Senior Lecturer in Sport Business and Marketing at Leeds Beckett University, and Course Level Leader for BA(Hons) Sport Marketing
Dr Alison Wilde
Alison works in the School of Education and Childhood and has taught and researched at the Universities of Leeds and York, UCD, Bangor, and Bradford College. She is an active researcher, in the RICHES University Research Centre, and an Inclusivity Champion for the School.
Dr Dan Laughey
Dr Dan Laughey BA (Hons), PGCE, MA, PhD
Senior Lecturer and Course Leader for BA (Hons) Media, Communication, Cultures
Dr Marc Fabri
Marc is a Senior Lecturer in Creative Technology and an experienced researcher and innovator. He leads the Enabling Technologies Research Group which brings together researchers from digital health & well-being, participatory design, computing and user experience design.
Karl Hodge
Karl Hodge is a former journalist, currently Course Leader for BA Journalism, with research interests in narrative VR construction.
Laura Taylor
Laura is currently Head of Sound and Course Director at the Northern Film School in the Leeds School of Arts, Leeds Beckett University and has been a University Teacher Fellow since 2010.
Dr James McGrath
James lectures in English, History and Media. His specialist areas are popular music (particularly The Beatles / 1960s) and the crossing of Cultural Studies into disability theory / medical humanities (especially concerning autism). James is also a widely published poet.


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Please keep up with our website. We will be using the site to inform everyone of any important information regarding the big day. This could include time & place information so it will be important for everyone to know! Updates will be listed here as they come.
March 4th 2018
- We have updated our registry page to include our Registry at Hudson's Bay Company
- We have decided on and announced our ceremony location!
- New accommodation options added
May 25th 2018
- We updated the event information to give guests a better idea of the day's details.
- We changed our ceremony location.
- Updated transportation options, information on the event page.


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Finding a Law Firm to Help You Understand DWI Defense Law in Syracuse, NY
If a person is going to drive an automobile or a truck, they know the risks that occur with drinking and driving. In addition to drinking and driving, there are other conditions under which a person can be charged with a DWI or DUI, and that is the use of drugs (even prescription medications) that will impair the person's mental faculties. If a person is charged with drunk driving in New York, there is a law firm that will help them understand the DWI defense law in Syracuse, NY. These are some of the things a client charged with a DWI should know.
New York's Laws on Drunk Driving
Like most states, New York treats drunk drivers harshly and the penalties range from suspended license to heavy fines to time in jail or prison. The blood alcohol content (BAC) level is about the same as in other states, that is, .08% for drivers 21 or older, .02% for drivers under the age of 21, and .04% for commercial drivers. New York also imposes other charges related to DWI's such as a DWI, which is alcohol-specific, one that is other drug-specific, and one that is a combination of both.
Other Information About New York Drunk Driving Laws
Drunk drivers in New York also have to worry about getting charged with an aggravated DWI, which is a BAC of .18% or greater. If a driver refuses to submit to a chemical blood test, the State of New York will automatically suspend the driver's license for a minimum of 12 months with a possible $500 fine. In addition to that fee, a driver who refuses the test will also be fined $250 a year for three years as part of the state's drivers' responsibility program.
Getting Help from a Law Firm in Syracuse
Cardinale & Delvecchio Law Firm offers to provide legal solutions for clients who have been charged with drunk driving in the Syracuse, New York area. For anyone who has been charged with drunk driving in need of understanding DWI defense law in Syracuse, NY, this law firm is available. Contact us at www.cardinaledelvecchiolaw.com.


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These posts are summaries of the messages on Sunday and are put here mainly for the benefit of our regulars who either missed the service, or would appreciate the chance to review the big ideas.
"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
(Matthew 13:44-46 ESV)
At the heart of these parables is the idea of making a trade. We've all made trades in life, beginning on the playground at primary school; it's just part of getting along in life. Some of the biggest decisions we ever make are transactional. When you get married you're trading in your singleness and your options in preference for 'the one'.
What makes the trade at the heart of these parables so challenging is the absolute nature of it. Jesus is talking about the kingdom of God as something that is all-encompassing and demands your all. There's no room for straddling the fence. You can't have a bit of Christ whilst hanging on to your autonomy in other areas of life. This is a confrontation: what will you do when you're faced with the opportunity of acquiring the treasure or the pearl? What does Jesus want you to do?
Jesus wants you to give everything. Both of the parables make that clear: "sells all he has… sold all he had…" It's like going 'all-in' on the poker table. It's the very definition of putting all your eggs in one basket.
This is meant to capture the fact that every aspect of your life is meant to come under the rule of Christ. Conversion is a death experience; you're buried with Jesus (Romans 6.3–4). The Bible talks about executing your old life and your sinful nature (Romans 8.13); it talks about presenting yourself as a sacrificial offering (Romans 12.1–2).
One of the most vivid pictures in the Bible of what it means to give everything is the story of Abraham being commanded to sacrifice his precious son, Isaac, on mount Moriah in Genesis 22. That is the test: can you give to God that which you count most precious in life?
For many, the reason they don't want to follow Christ is that the bar is simply too high. Jesus encountered such people now and again. Men approached him wanting to be his followers but when they realised the cost (homelessness, saying goodbye to family) they weren't prepared to go through with it. Others were directly invited by Jesus, but couldn't let go of their present commitments (Luke 9.57–60). One man was simply too rich and couldn't bear the thought of parting with his cash (Mark 10.21–22).
But decide you must. It's both a one-off decision at the commencement of your life in Christ, and an ongoing decision as you resolve every day to pick up the instrument of your execution and die again and again (Luke 14.26–33).
Jesus tells us you get one thing. You give everything, and you get just one thing. Both of these men give all for the treasure or the pearl. Their discovery becomes their obsession.
This singular obsession in the men of the parables is a mark of true faith in the Bible. The person who has truly seen Christ is a person who becomes obsessed by him. All of life fades into black and white as Christ alone is there before your eyes in full colour. You can see this singleness of focus in the Psalms:
One thing have I asked of the LORD,
that will I seek after:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD
and to inquire in his temple.
(Psalm 27:4 ESV)
Teach me your way, O LORD,
that I may walk in your truth;
unite my heart [give me an undivided heart] to fear your name.
(Psalm 86:11 ESV)
How is it possible to make such a choice? How can we give everything to gain one thing, and do so willingly?
You're motivated by joy. There's the promise of reward, the recognition that you've found something much, much better in Christ than everything you gave up.
So long as we think of repentance and dying to ourselves as something entirely negative then we're in trouble. If you can only picture a life of self-denial and barren emptiness then nothing on earth could convince you to give everything.
But the Bible puts before us the promise of joy as the motivator. Both of the men in the parables can quite easily sell all they have because they realise they've found something far superior in their respective treasures.
Admittedly Christians don't always portray the fact that Christ is better. They can appear miserable and anti-everything. But Biblical Christianity is full of joy and appeal. And the motivation the Bible puts before the world is that you can have rewards in Christ and his kingdom that far outstrip anything you might have had in this life.
In fact, we're commanded to pursue rewards, to pursue joy. Look again at this well-known verse in Hebrews:
And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
(Hebrews 11:6 ESV)
We usually focus on the first part of the verse (faith) and ignore the latter part (rewards). But the meaning is clear. As John Piper has put it, "You cannot please God unless you come to him in search of a reward." That is shocking, but that is surely the meaning of the verse. You cannot please God unless you come to him (by faith) for rewards!
That is what it means to embrace the treasure and the pearl. You do it because you realise it's far better than all you sold. So we're not talking here about gritty, cold, grim, world-hating, pleasure-renouncing, self-denial. Whatever denial there is is in order to gain far more.
And this is what we see in the lives of the saints in the Bible. Moses gave up the unimaginable wealth of Egypt precisely because he'd found something better (Hebrews 11.24–26).
Therefore, in being confronted with the choice to give everything and embrace Christ and his kingdom, there is definitely a cost, but the logic is clear: you will gain far more than you lose.
Abraham discovered that when he stood on the mountain and pulled his hand back ready to strike Isaac with the knife. At that moment the angel stopped him and the ram was provided in place of Isaac. It's a picture of what it means to follow Christ. You discover that, while God may require you to make sacrifices, he has already given you far more than you could imagine when he provided the sacrificial ram in Jesus himself, and he will never stop being our provider.


text: CheapCruises.com via Dunhill Travel discounts select Carnival Cruises 3- to 7-night cruises with prices starting from $189 per person. Plus, bag up to $1,500 onboard credit, up to a $1,500 Amazon Gift Card, and pre-paid gratuities for free on select cruises. That yields low starting prices for Carnival cruises. Additional fees and blackout dates apply. Save on a range of itineraries, including Mexico, Caribbean, and the Bahamas. Book this travel deal by March 8 for cruises throughout 2019 and 2020.


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The apartment is located in central Paris, on the second floor of a typically Parisian building. Its four large windows overlook a lovely inner courtyard. It is a quiet and comfortable flat of 50 sq. m., with one large bedroom (queen-size bed), a double living room with a sofa (convertible into a double bed), an open-plan study area with a big desk, a fully equipped kitchen, and a bathroom with bathtub. The place was recently renovated and decorated to our own lovely and impeccable taste ;)
The equipment in the flat includes a brand-new HD 50-inch TV, WiFi access, a washing/drying machine, a large fridge, an oven and a microwave, a dishwasher, a Nespresso coffee-maker, and all the essential amenities (do not hesitate to ask for particulars if necessary). There is also ample storage space, including a very large wardrobe.
Although the flat itself is very quiet, it is actually at the heart of the Left Bank and you will be spoiled for choice. It is within walking distance of a number of famous Parisian landmarks, such as the Pantheon, the Sorbonne, Notre-Dame, the beautiful Luxembourg gardens, and the promenade along the Seine.
It is extremely well-connected to public transport: the entrance to the Metro station of Denfert-Rochereau is located exactly in front of the building, while at least four other Metro stations are within easy walking distance. A large number of buses also run exactly in front of the building, along the Avenue du General Leclerc and the immediate neighbourhood. There is direct transport to/from both Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports (40 min train ride and 20 min bus ride respectively).
The neighbourhood itself is a safe and charming Parisian one, with many bars, restaurants, stores and cinemas close-by. A pedestrian street (Rue Daguerre) with a daily market as well as shops and eateries runs alongside the building. Furthermore, at the ground level of the building there is a large super-market, so that you are always a couple of minutes away from any necessary groceries.


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Lyra Health, a digital health startup co-founded by former Genentech and Facebook CFO Dave Ebersman to improve the patient referral process and care coordination for mental health, has raised a $35 million Series A round, according to a company statement.
Greylock Partners and existing investor Venrock led the round designed to boost its clinical and technical staff and support clinical studies of its technology with strategic partners.
Among he conditions it seeks to address are depression, anxiety and substance abuse.
One of them is employer-facing health IT company Castlight Health, which is also a financial backer. In a phone interview with Chief Medical Officer Dena Bravata, formerly CMO and Head of Products at Castlight, she talked about the importance of the company's mission.
"In the recent past, the delivery of mental health services has been separate from other medical care and has created a number of barriers. We believe we cannot have total health without mental health."
Other new investors include Providence Health & Services, Breyer Capital and Origin Capital Management. Its targeted customer base includes employers, health plans, and health care providers.
Its platform includes a few different components to evaluate people who may need mental health support. It provides digital diagnostic tests for primary care providers. They are used to screen and assess patients identified as potentially in need behavioral health care. There's also an analytical model to identify people deemed most at risk and refer them easily.
"Data driven technology with services sparks the imagination and there is a lot of hope that it can provide a material difference," Bravata said.
One thing it hopes to do with the new funding is evaluate improvements in productivity with employer plans. "That's the next outcome of greatest interest especially with employer partners… at that point we will be able to demonstrate a material difference in costs," Bravata said.
She added that Lyra expects to announce its first set of commercial partners in 2017.


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view all 6 songs
Monique Hinson is a song writer currently working to attain recognition. She attended performing arts school as a child and teenager which helped to cultivate a love of performing. Although she has not pursued a music career in the past, she has won local talent shows and appeared in a few local events. Her talents not only include a soulful and rich voice, but she writes her own music as well. She hopes to be thought provoking with her words and infectious with her voice. Her new songs "All that I Am" as well as "Screaming Out" written and recorded by her is hoped to be a success as it is introduced one step at a time to the world.
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Paint and Play
Wednesday, July 1010:00 AM—12:00 PMChildren's Program RoomMorrill Memorial Library33 Walpole St., Norwood, MA, 02062
This is NOT a regular craft program! Joins Miss Nicole and our library volunteers for this fun exploration of different art concepts. We want kids to be creative and get messy. We do it so you don't have to!
No Registration Required


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MILAN — "La femme bleu," "the blue lady," "la donna blu." Anyway you translate it, starting with Armani's French title, blue is the operative word for his latest collection, which wrapped up the week of womenswear preview showings for the Spring-Summer 2011.
After six days of glaring color — Armani himself featured watermelon red in his Emporio collection shown earlier in the week — it was a real surprise to see a show where the brightest shade was midnight blue.
Front row guests George Clooney and his companion, Italian actress Elisabetta Canalis, had apparently been clued in before the show: Clooney wore a blue suit with an open-necked black shirt, while Canalis was all in black. Black mixed with blue was the only other color in the collection.
In his fashion notes, Armani said he drew inspiration for the collection from the Tuareg, the blue nomads of the desert, so called for the dark face covers worn by the men.
The designer probably has desert on his mind since the opening of his luxury hotel in Dubai earlier this year. A dunned version was projected at the end of the runway.
There were no veils on the runway, but throughout the show the models wore a blue knotted turban stolen directly from one of the Tuareg menfolk. Long shawls, like a nomad's cape, were also prominent.
The basic silhouette is fitted, with tunic tops over long skirts and trousers. At times the look is layered with small vests over jackets over a blouse, much like desert attire.
The Armani magic comes in transposing these men' s styles in ultra-feminine outfits best seen in his evening wear.
Gorgeous strapless gowns decorated with big blue bows, shine in the midnight sky, lit up by a myriad of glittering crystals and sequins. Footwear for these dramatic dresses is a totally flat cloth slipper.
Cavalli issues call of the jungle at Milan show
For spring-summer 2011, Roberto Cavalli hangs it all out, from fringes, beading and intricate lacing, to sex up the look of his already super-sexy styles.
Lover of the body-grabbing effect of snakeskin, Cavalli placed his latest collection in a make-believe jungle with huge plastic plants set up under a glass tent Monday behind the Arco della Pace, a Milan monument.
"Me, Cavalli, she, Jane" the designer seemed to be saying as model after model walked through the jungle in skin tight gowns and trousers to the thumping beat of a soundtrack.
Many of the outfits were barebacked, but that came as no surprise. The sex-appeal of Cavalli's latest collection comes in the intricate workmanship.
Almost every outfit is dripping with fringes, which carried over to the reptile skin shoulder bag. But if at times the fringes served as chastity curtains, the lacing did little to cover up the body. Instead, it was used for a peek-a-boo effect on the open seams of a flared pant or the bare midriff of a gown.
On the runway, the fabrics looked like a combination of prints and beading, with a dash of real snakeskin. But a closer look showed that the patterns were not printed but were the result of intricate embroidery matching tiny silk leaves with pearls, sequins and fringes. Of course there was the staple snakeskin, which got its best use in the ethnic-inspired fringed shoulder bags that accompanied every outfit.
Rather than spoiling the untamed effect of the collection by weighing it down with the currently popular ethnic-inspired jewelry, Cavalli preferred simple oversized gold loop earrings.
Missoni wows crowd with fashion shapes
Missoni sees next summer's fashionable styles through a kaleidoscope of squares, circles, rectangles and other geometric forms in can't miss 'em colors.
The fashion house known for its distinctly patterned fabrics wowed those watching the models Sunday in a multicolored bonanza of zigzags, stripes, circles and other shapes, along with funky printed phrases.
The shapes of the collection shown in the Renaissance courtyard of Milan University were as voluminous as outfits were numerous. More than 50 models paraded under the arches of the courtyard, wearing multicolored knit sandals with fun, rounded heels and a square-brimmed sombrero with the zigzag print.
The new Missoni look means ankle-length dresses, maxi skirts, cropped tops and log waistcoats, all thought out geometrically.
The favorite colors are psychedelic yellow, orange, blue and green, which stand out even more on the black background of most of the prints.
Dolce & Gabbana design in all white
For spring-summer 2011, Dolce & Gabbana did what they do best, perfectly.
Going against the current of colorful casual styles that are all over the Milan runway, they came up with a sexy collection in pure white.
On hand to applaud their efforts were front row guests singer Kylie Minogue, actress Jada Pinkett Smith and top model Naomi Campbell.
Doing what earned them fashion fame several decades ago, Dolce & Gabbana turned underwear into outerwear, in a collection inspired by the wedding trousseau of a Sicilian bride.
Like spirits coming out of a yesteryear trunk, the models walked down the runway in lacy gowns, bloomers and corsets reminiscent of turn of the century fashion.
The floor length linen dresses are stitched together with lace inserts, and cut outs to create a demure, romantic look. By evening the same style becomes an elegant gown when sparkling rhinestone beading is added.
The corset and bloomer look has always been a Dolce & Gabbana favorite, but this round romance wins over raunch, making the look almost maiden-like.
For their grande finale the designing duo sent out a bevy of models all dressed in identical white corset outfits, like a line up in a beauty pageant.
The message was brilliantly clear: white is beautiful.
Armani 'got the blues' for next summer
MILAN — "La femme bleu," "the blue lady," "la donna blu." Anyway you translate it, starting with Armani's French title, blue is the operative word for his latest collection, which wrapped up the week of womenswear preview showings for the Spring-Summer 2011.


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Corporate Wellness
Even the most fulfilling careers come with stress. On-site wellness classes with me can help employees reduce stress and promote overall well-being. By offering your employees opportunities for varied movement, mindfulness, and breath awareness throughout the day, you'll invest in the health of your business.
group yoga classes
If you have an available conference room, a spare office, or a wellness center, then you have a yoga studio! Employees bring their own mats and I bring my props (blankets, blocks, straps, and therapy balls) to make my classes accessible to yogis of all levels. Lunch hour classes are a great way for employees to break up their day and return to work feeling refreshed.
guided meditation sessions
A perfect thirty to forty-five minute mid-morning or afternoon break for your employees. I use mindfulness techniques and breath awareness to help employees feel grounded in the present moment.
thai massage
Unlike traditional table massage, employees remain clothed during a Thai session, receiving work on a comfortable mat on the floor. A ten to fifteen minute massage can help employees feel more relaxed and ready to focus on their work with renewed energy.


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Scalp micro pigmentation, is a non-surgical highly specialised process whereby micro dots of organic pigment are positioned into the dermal layer of the skin. The pigments are placed in a way to exactly replicate the appearance of hair follicles thus giving the illusion of shortly cut hair.
The SMP specialist at Skin Deep is fully trained and certificated in scalp micro pigmentaion. All insurances are in place.
Due to the natural look of the treatment the beauty of this procedure is you can pick exactly how you want your hairline and the density of the hair to look. Working with our SMP specialist together you will design a new hairline and agree on the overall look you desire, from sharp and angular to a soft and natural look.
Initially your enquiry email will be answered and an arrangement made for suitable times to video call you.
Via video we can establish the extent and location of hair loss, what you are looking for in your treatment and to book you in for a consultation/first session.
On arrival at your consultation you will be required to fill out a medical questionnaire. We will discuss how you would like your hair to look and if you require a new hairline creating this will be drawn on for you to assess.
A patch test with soak time will be applied in preparation for the initial session. The patch test will achieve the correct colour match for your hair and assess how your body reacts to the treatment.
The initial session involves creating the overall effect of the treatment. Density will be added to the area in a more reserved way and if a hairline has been created this will be approached in a reserved manor also.
Allow plenty of time for the consultation and initial session.
At least a week later the second session can begin, starting with an assessment of the previous sessions work. Further density will be added, any adjustments can be made to both colour and design of the treatment to suit your needs.
One month after the second session, the final session can begin. Your treatment will be the finished article at the end of this session, in line with the initial vision discussed and agreed during the consultation between yourself and the SMP specialist. This session allows for any finer details or density increase to make the treatment perfect.
SMP treatment uses a very fine needle ensuring the pain is minimal.
The total treatment time will vary for every client but allow six hours for consultation and the initial session following sessions allow four hours.
Absolutely, the treatment can be used for women with any degree of hair loss or hair thinning.
NO! The treatment looks incredibly natural and no one will notice it being any different to your own hair follicles.
This will be dependent on lifestyle and environmental factors. Occupation or hobbies which require long durations spent outdoors in direct sunlight will require the treatment topping up more regularly then someone who works indoors . Top up sessions will be required every few years dependent on the factors mentioned above. Top up sessions are priced at a reduced set rate for existing Skin Deep customers; you are our walking adverts we want you to look and feel great.
Different types of hair loss require different types of treatment; SMP is excellent for the following
The Introduction of Vein Away
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BRUNSWICK - College of Coastal Georgia's May 5 graduation will be the first public event at the new Jekyll Island Convention Center, the college announced Thursday.
And former Brunswick resident Pete Correll, former chairman of the Georgia-Pacific Corp., will deliver the commencement address.
"A Brunswick native who has reached the highest levels in international business and civic leadership, Pete has never forgotten his community and his life experiences,'' college President Valerie Hepburn said. "He serves as a role model for all of us, particularly our graduates who are just beginning an exciting next phase of their lives."
She also said the college would confer an honorary doctorate of public service on Correll to recognize his "unparalleled civic and business accomplishments.''
Last month the state Board of Regents approved the naming of The Correll Center for Teacher Education and Learning in recognition of Correll and his wife, Ada Lee Correll.
The 35,000-square-foot complex, which will be the campus's signature building, is under construction and will house the School of Education and Teacher Preparation, the Center for Service-Learning and Community Engagement, the Center for Teaching and Learning and the new writing center. It is scheduled to open in January.
Correll is now chairman of Atlanta Equity and chairs the Grady Memorial Hospital Corp. board.
Regents Vice Chairman William H. "Dink" NeSmith Jr. and Regent Rutledge A. "Rusty'' Griffin Jr. will assist Hepburn in conferring more than 300 degrees.
The $50 million, 128,000-square-foot convention center has 200 meetings and other events booked through 2016, the Jekyll Island Authority has said.
Later in May, the Georgia Rural Water Association's spring conference will be the center's first convention.
"We are pleased to host the College of Coastal Georgia's commencement," said Jones Hooks, executive director of the Jekyll Island Authority. "We designed the ballroom at 45,000 square feet to meet the needs of community events such as this."
firstname.lastname@example.com, (912) 264-0405


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TransferWise co-founder Kristo live on Bloomberg
Kristo Kaarmann, TransferWise co-founder and CEO, talks live with Bloomberg's Cory Johnson on how banking is being revolutionised.
Kristo explains how TransferWise has been able to disrupt the international money transfer market:
"The banks are behind on the technology curve, startups are figuring out how to do this much better. There's a lot of legacy in banking that goes back to the business models.
That's how we came to TransferWise, realising that there's a lot of hidden costs when you move money around. Whenever you move money from one country to another, about 5% goes missing!
People have moved about $4.5 billion dollars across the TransferWise platform, and saved about $200 million in bank fees. We're putting money from banks fees back into people's pockets."
Watch the full interview here.


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Lead User Experience Expert (m/f)
- Vollzeit
- Manager/in ohne Personalverantwortung
In close collaboration with our client we are building a state-of-the-art competence center for E-Commerce and Digitalisation. As the industry leading firm in car repairs, trading of automotive equipment and spare parts our partner is pursuing an omni-channel strategy. More than 10.000 employees in 600 different locations are working on client satisfaction and further development of their offered services and products currently including more than 100.000 different articles. To drive further digitalisation and to profit from the vibrant, international E-Commerce scene of Berlin, we are establishing a spearheading unit of digital experts to work on the most challenging and innovative projects the firm is facing. You will benefit from corporate resources and back office structures while being provided with everything that is fueling your executional excellence and speed with a startup-like approach to lean processes and projects. To join at the earliest time, we are looking for an exceptional hands-on, creative, innovation driven and "user first" minded Lead UX Designer (m/f).
- You ensure an exceptional user experience on all digital channels - your ultimate goal is to set the industry standard
- You create and improve digital services and processes and deliver engaging and inventive solutions for complex challenges across digital and mobile channels
- The day-to-day work will demand an expert knowledge of E-Commerce platforms and related processes as well as user-communities
- Taking over the responsibility for everything that is UX related means starting with gathering and defining business and user requirements up until development, all the while ensuring that quality of the product and that the user-first approach is followed throughout the process
- Main areas of work will defining information architecture, process flows, wireframing and presenting and discussing your work with relevant stakeholders from marketing, operations and IT
- You should be familiar with the e-commerce key metrics, such as conversation rates, average revenue and cart abortions
- Regularly assisting in updating the company's design guidelines in collaboration with the external lead agency
- Managing team of (external) UX and UI specialists is as much required as a very hands-on approach
- University degree (Digital Media, Interactive Systems Design or related studies)
- Several years of experience in designing holistic, innovative and brand-orientated user interfaces and user experiences in technical and complex environments
- Routine in leading design projects from research over prototyping to execution with a HCD approach while loving to work hands-on
- Expert knowledge of leading tools such as Balsamiq, Axure, Adobe CS, … in order to create awesome and flawless responsive designs. Also, some knowledge in modern web technologies will be of help! HTML5, CSS3, PHP, …
- Strong communicational skills and drive to express your creative, yet execution-oriented ideas and plans
- Full proficiency in English. German language skills would be beneficial
- 30 vacation days
- Trust-based working hours (40)
- Spacious office in Berlin-Mitte
- Whatever you need to be happy and productive


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Stills from around Seattle
We recently were in the upper north-west and stopped by Seattle. We brought our Sony a7Sii and a vintage Pentax 50mm Super-Takumar lens. This lens is amazing for still photos combined with the Sony AS7ii. We will definately be spending more time with it! Enjoy!
Photos and Editing: William Greenawalt
Gear: Sony A7Sii with a Pentax M42 Super-Takumar 50mm lens


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Pacific Standard Time
Restaurant Review
Pacific Standard Time
Pacific Standard Time a sunny Californian esque laid back vibe in the heart of River North. Just don't forget to make a reservation. Does that make it a manufactured laid back vibe? I don't know, just good luck walking in and getting a table. If it's a laid back Saturday and you want a spontaneous delicious dinner, don't go here unless you have planned your spontaneity well in advance, but that's not to say anything bad about the restaurant. In fact what most likely started as a chill establishment only caught on so quickly because of how damn good it is. It's also damn pricey, and I also need to stop typing damn. Overall this has been a unconstructive intro paragraph, kind of how I feel about the menu. Good food, but what's happening, so much is happening, and it's small portions, and I get it you do that in California, small little bites for everyone, but here in Chicago we like big portions and run on sentences, but by all means go and try the food its really good. Let me summarize my mostly incoherent intro rant, nice atmosphere, for the most part great food, pricey, and still somehow chill. Now, on to the food!
Pita and Ahi Tuna
The pita, oh mama, the pita! This place has no shortage of brick wood burning ovens that churns out some of the most unique and interesting pita I have ever had. It bubbles up to a doughy consistency then it is put directly on the plate, piping hot. It's delicious! The hummus and ahi tuna, pretty good, but I just wanted to eat more of it so I can dip that fantastic pita into something. You know what I'm sayin!
Chicken Wings
Pretty spot on for asian style chicken wings, but $14 for 7, who do you think we all are Robert Downey Jr? I don't know why RDJ is the epitome of wealth to me at this moment but the Iron Man franchises did make him pretty rich. Overall really good wings, but too pricey, and I hate when appetizers come in odd numbers, who is making reservations for 7? Not me!
Red Snapper
The fish was perfectly cooked and well seasoned. The sides and acutremet were divine. Savory, quality fish, overall I liked this one. I think it may have been a special menu item. Also I might be biased Red Snapper is my second favorite fish,.
Ah, the crowd favorite, meat! This steak was so very average. It was a steak, it was pretty alright, but it was $79! Get the Fu*k outta here. It says it feeds two to three too. I don't know about you but when I order a steak I eat the steak. I actually ate this whole steak. Maybe it feeds two to three vegans in California, but here in Chicago it was a decent app. Look if you want to spend $79 on a steak there are literally endless options I would recommend above this. Get it if your sharing plates and everyone will have a piece (say it like my jewish grandma when you read that line), but otherwise GTFO here! Google the acronym if your over 50.


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New Zealand – The Low Down Adventure
New Zealand has three kiwis – the bird, the fruit, and the people. I knew that headin' into our sourcing trip, along with their national rugby team All Blacks, and of course, Lord of the Rings. But even so – I arrived in Auckland with no real idea of what to expect… except magic.
Ever since the 2nd grade when I first tasted it, kiwifruit has always been a living form of magic for me. And to this day, every time I eat a piece of kiwi it takes me back to a moment where life was one big luau. (Read more about this bit of magic!)
I expected to eat a ton of kiwifruit in New Zealand. Daily. With every meal. I envisioned eating so much kiwi that I'd be overwhelmed by all the magic. I envisioned walkin' around in their winter weather being drowned by kiwi raining down on me. Delusional? Maybe. But I live life with high expectations. I go head first into taking on too much responsibility – not blind, just accepting that I'm walking into a shitstorm I created and I'm gonna M'THR F'IN survive. More than survive – I'm gonna kill it. I'm gonna walk out alive, breathing magic.
Kiwis didn't rain down on me. Cold, wet, bone-chillin' rain did. The Seattle in me isn't afraid of rain but what I didn't expect? Wind. Wind that slices through you. I walked around umbrella-less in pouring rain, iPhone in hand, frantically requesting an Uber to get my cold ass out of the all-too-frequent mess. One time a dude in a car yelled at me because I was walking around in the torrential rain without an umbrella. Dude – trust me, I wish I was sitting in a warm cafe sippin' tasty coffee! No umbrella was gonna protect me from that windy rain storm.
But as fast as the rain appeared, it disappeared. The clouds would open and sunshine made everything all okay. I would get back on the road and walk from shop to shop, hunting down goods.
Life isn't one endless stream of magic moments. It doesn't have to be. It can be moments of magic – a little bit of magic here, a little bit of magic there. Pull them all together and you realize you got a heaping pile of awesome. That was our New Zealand sourcing trip. It was super special – and to date, our most expensive sourcing trip.
Eating super-tasty gluten-free food all over New Zealand? Magic.
Visiting Hobbiton? Magic. But the biggest HELLZ YES MAGIC MOMENT? Receiving a super-amazing pack of vintage notebooks from a vendor!
The vendor recently closed its production factory in New Zealand and is now producing goods abroad. They didn't have enough of the vintage notebooks to include in STMT X New Zealand – but lucky for us we did score notebooks and more from the LAST BATCH produced in New Zealand! Like the kiwi bird and golden kiwi fruit, locally manufactured office supplies may be a disappearing act… but our hunt was still a major success. Like discovering a M'THR F'IN GOLDEN KIWI kind of magic!
oxxo, Hen


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Sometimes a movie starts off in black and white and suddenly the screen turns into full color and we see it with new eyes. That is what arriving in Mishima after visiting other areas of Japan was like.
We were greeted on our arrival in City Hall and introduced to all the officials that made our presence their priority. All the formality that we are told in America that exists in Japan is true. We met Mayor Toyooka and were shown City Hall. There were roses and commemorative plaques exchanged between the two city's officials.
I met a gentleman, Kos, who greeted us in American English, complete with slang. That got my attention, not something I had heard in Japan. He had a handful of printed papers and I realized that it was the pages of my website. He was going to be translating for me and he had done his homework. Our presentation was to be in a formal setting on our first night in Mishima. It began with school girls playing music for us.
Ms Sumiko Yamamoto dressed elegantly in a Japanese kimono for the special event.
My art had arrived by carrier to the presentation and I asked to open it myself (I figured if something had gone wrong in shipping I would see it right away and if there was something wrong only I would know what to do to fix it) I opened the well sealed box and everything was perfect!
I am not comfortable speaking publicly, but I was so fortunate that Kos was translating each sentence I spoke which gave me room to breathe and look around the room and enjoy the moment. I had asked Rhoda Stone to take a photo with my phone but she captured the entire presentation on video and I will be forever grateful.
The moments stretched out and shrunk in time as those very special moments in our lives always will. I will forever remember every moment vividly as if the colors and sounds are more intense than all others.
I had made gifts for both Mayor Tornek and Mayor Toyooka to commemorate the event. Each had a rose and a copy of the poem as on the original piece, as well as the kanji "Sisters".
I had made framed steel hearts that had been hand felted, each one uniquely different. Each of the delegation members from Pasadena had carried with them a wrapped heart that they personally presented to a delegation member from Mishima.
We have arrived for the annual flower festival and we attend a tree planting and each of us are asked to plant flowers around the tree that the Mayors have jointly planted. Each event was attended by the endearing little mascots of Mishima, who delighted the crowds, old and young.
We visited the Mishima Skywalk, the longest suspension bridge in Japan (400 meters) which was built to showcase the phenomenal view of Mt Fugi. Unfortunately the weather never cooperated for us to experience the view of the mountain, although just being on a suspended bridge at that height was remarkable.
We attended a Disney parade which we watched from the second floor of the City Hall building. The Japanese people were crowded onto the sidewalks but everyone was so kind and full of cheer. The enthusiasm was contagious.
Our last night concluded with a dinner in which both delegations got together to celebrate one last time.
After the dinner I was asked to come forward and to my surprise and delight I was presented with a commemorative woven tapestry from the City of Pasadena. These weaving's are rarely presented and I will treasure mine forever. Thank you.
Our delightful visit to Mishima has drawn to a close but I leave with new friendships and memories to last a lifetime.
Sometimes a movie starts off in black and white and suddenly the screen turns into full color and we see it with new eyes. That is what arriving in Mishima after visiting other areas of Japan was like.


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Hi all! I'm new here and so glad I found this forum for support. I'm in the beginning stages of egg freezing.
I do not live near any clinics who freeze eggs electively on a regular basis (that I know of). Most of the freezing that takes place around here is in the form of embryos. I've went for consults at 2 different offices; both places did not do much elective egg freezing but were very experienced with egg retrievals for traditional IVF.
The clinic I think I will go with was recommended by several friends who have had successful IVF there. The doctor and staff are great and super organized. They do collect donor eggs but those are fresh transfer from donor to recipient. Most of their freezing is in the form of embryos, but they do offer the vitrification method for oocytes. As a bonus they are in-network with my insurance so I will have partial coverage on monitoring/bloodwork/ultrasounds.
Am I doing myself a disservice by going here? I know the process of egg retrieval is the same as an IVF cycle, except I will stop after the egg retrieval portion instead of going forward and making an embryo. My main concern should be to get as many good eggs as possible right? And this doctor would be doing that with a normal IVF patient. So do success rates mean anything in my case? I have not been able to find success rates for egg retrieval and freezing, only for embryo transfers but does not apply to me at this time.
My thinking is that I can get these eggs frozen, and if and when I turn to IVF and use them, the clinic I choose at that time (the time of baby making lol) should be the one I look for with the high pregnancy success rates, right? Because that is who will thaw and inseminate the eggs. The egg retrieval portion is the "easy" part, correct?
Make sense? lol
Thanks for any help!
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Can a "regular" IVF clinic be successful at freezing eggs?
02-05-2015, 09:13 AM #2agr72Registered UserWants to get this show on the road!
Can a "regular" IVF clinic be successful at freezing eggs?
I personally would not go to a clinic that did not have a lot of experience with egg freezing. It's a lot harder/more delicate process than embryo freezing. You're spending a lot of money on this, not to mention betting your future fertility and children on the fact that they know what they are doing. And you won't even know if it really worked until you go to use the eggs. I'd really hate to have that 'oops' moment when the RE tells you they didn't thaw properly or fertilize.
In my opinion, and I'm certainly not an RE, egg freezing is still something of an art. If they don't do it a lot, it's a crap shoot on whether it will work. I did a frozen donor egg cycle last year with my local RE. They had a great lab but not a lot of experience with frozen eggs. They were sent the eggs by My Egg Bank (who has been doing frozen DE for years and is an expert) and just needed to thaw and fertilize them. Well, of the 6 eggs only 3 thawed properly and only 2 fertilized. Ended with a BFN. In contrast, someone I 'met' on a forum who was using eggs from the same donor batch had her eggs thawed and fertilized by My Egg Bank. She had all thaw and fertilize and got pregnant with twins.
So, my lesson from this was, if you're doing frozen eggs, make sure they know what they are doing. I didn't ask questions till afterwards and turns out my RE had only been working with frozen eggs for a year.
Good luck with what you decide. Would it be possible to do the egg banking at a place further away, but do monitoring appointments at the local RE? A lot of people do that when they want to see a specific RE who is too far away for daily travel.
Last edited by agr72; 02-05-2015 at 09:23 AM.Me: 42, AMH = 0.32
DS - born 7/12 from IUI No. 2
Trying for No. 2
IVF 1 - May 2013
6 eggs, 3 fertilized and made to day 5 blast
Transfer 1 Grade A - BFP - missed m/c at 8 weeks
FET - 11/27/13 - 2 frosties - BFN
Frozen DE cycle - April 2014 - BFN
One last shot...Fresh DE at Shady Grove
Transfer 1 EBCC embryo 11/28/14 - BFP!
I appreciate your input, thank you! The clinic I want to use is actually a technology affiliate through My Egg Bank. So that is good, right?
When you said My EGG Bank unfroze your friend's eggs, do you mean an affiliate fertility center through them did? Maybe I need to re-clarify with the office on how much of this they actually do. Perhaps I misunderstood them. I know the doctor does a lot of donor egg cycles because my friend who became pregnant used a donor egg through this doctor. I want to say the egg was fresh not frozen though.
I think the elective egg freezing process is just starting to become mainstream, especially after Apple and Facebook announced they would pay for their employees to do it. I think it will be hard to find a clinic that has much experience with it, especially where I live (Michigan). I don't really think it would be feasible for me to drive to Ohio even if I did local monitoring, and I don't know if I would be able to find a doc that would do that (allow local monitoring, or who would do just the local monitoring).
Lilone2, that is exactly what I was hoping: that vitrification is vitrification and as long as we retrieve the eggs, I can deal with the thawing expertise later. I wonder if the vitrification process is very much different btwn eggs vs embryos. As it stands, I turn 32 in a month and am completely single, so I"m assuming those eggs are going to be frozen for a while! Hopefully in those years my eggs are frozen, new technologies are developed that make the thawing process even more successful.
Good luck with your stimming and freezing process! Please keep us posted with your progress
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In case you are wondering whether you should visit the city of Fes or not, stop wondering because the city is worth the visit for many reasons. If you long for a historical city that made it through a quickly changing world and climate, you are more likely to spend your holidays in a uniquely preserved Moroccan city of Fes.
The three parts of Fes
The city of Fes is made up of three major sections since it has been constructed by many dynasties that ruled the city. These three parts of the city still continue to exist, each one showing how its past used to be and who lived there. In addition to Muslims, The city of Fes used to be home also to the Jews who once fled the hard times of Europe. As a result, the Jews used to live in the city as full citizens; thus, they built their own neighborhoods leaving the city sparkled with their beautiful architecture.
Old Medina
The acclaimed historical Old Medina or Fes El-Bali, is considered one of the oldest cities in the Arab world, it was constructed by the first Muslim Dynasty to rule Morocco, the Idrissids in 789 and 808 A.D. This part stays the most fascinating and captivating one in the far history of Fes until this present moment for its oldness and uniqueness.
Fes Jadid
The less ancient part or what is known for 'Fes Jadid' was founded in the 13th century to the west of the ancient one under the Merinids. Fes Jadid includes a Royal Palce, an army base, and a residential area. Just south of the Royal Palace is the Jewish neighborhood or Mellah that shows the greatness of the Jewish architecture. The synagogue Ibn Danan, one of the oldest synagogues in North Africa, built in the 17 century, standing as a symbol left behind to testify the history of peoples who lived in a country urging tolerance and co-existence.
The two entities of the Medina of Fes evolve in advantageous interaction shaping one of the biggest Islamic metropolises marking a great variety of architectural forms and urban landscapes. They incorporate an extensive number of religious, common and military landmarks that achieved a multi-social society. The magic that the Old Medina offers to the world nowadays is the result of 12 centuries.


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Virtual Aquascapes
Revealing the tenuous nature between the present and the imaginary.
Water is part of all life on Earth. Looking at a morning fog rolling in over the Lower New York Bay, I realized that much of previous work was trying to understand what the world would if it were only water. These studies examine visual and haptic elements of aquascapes created through the real and the imaginary. Coincidentally, water was used to create both.
Translation of landscape through printmaking.
These three collagraphs use hyperbolically crocheted textiles and layering to translate the landscape into a water-based print.
Reimagining the landscape with color and texture.
Using those features of the aquascape, I overlayed images of dripping and running tap water onto the previous color composition. Again, using Photoshop, the image was manipulated so as not to resemble what it initially looked like.


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Free time can be a bit of a luxury when you're a mother but when you do get a few spare moments to yourself, it feels so good to use those moments to do something you love.
I've been guilty of having no hobbies or real interests beyond work and going to the pub for years. Since my kids were born I've been way more motivated to find things to do for me.
I think it makes you a way better parent if you have pursuits that engage your brain on a grown-up level. Anything that makes you happy, will make you more enthusiastic when you're around your children.
Here are a few ideas for hobbies to take up and projects to try out to make the most of your free time:
1. Crochet mood blanket
I absolutely LOVE this idea from my friend Caroline, who I met while working on my first paper a few years ago.
She's a super talented crafter and has made many things that I've admired on her Insta profile over the years, however this really caught my eye as a lovely project to get stuck into.
This beautiful mood blanket is filled with a square for every day of an entire year, and shows how she was feeling on each day, whether it was happy or sad.
View this post on Instagram
It's finished!! My 2017 mood blanket – ta dah!! One square a day for every day of the year. 😊 And these are the stats: – Happy (yellow) 140 – Tired (light blue) 55 – Stressed (dark pink) 44 – Content (mint green) 41 – Anxious (dark purple) 40 – Gleeful (light pink) 17 – Excited (orange) 14 – Heartwarmed (royal blue) 6 – Overjoyed (lilac) 5 – Sad (grey) 3 And time spent? Roughly amounts to 5 ENTIRE days of the year (including sleeping time). A mammoth & slightly bonkers project but super proud. 😊 Also a day late for @molliemakes 'fave make' for #molliemakersweek but this is definitely the best thing I've ever made. 😄 And massive thank you to @bellacococrochet @bellacoco_ whose YouTube videos taught me how to crochet!
2. Knitting
A relaxing activity! I haven't done this in years but I keep meaning to attempt a scarf for my toddler.
I love how you can get creative with colours and items of clothing, plus there's so many free templates to print on the internet these days. It doesn't cost a fortune!
3. Write a book
I firmly believe that everyone has a book in them, whether it's fiction or non-fiction, or maybe even a bit of both.
The brilliant thing about writing a book today is that you don't have to rely on traditional publishers and agents to get your work seen. Self-publishing online has led to huge success for many authors.
Start by jotting some ideas for stories or topics and see where it goes. Write down every idea in your head and then take stock, see what idea stands out and try to develop it into a full narrative. How will it start, what will evolve and how will it end?
4. Scrapbooking
Hobbycraft has some gorgeous books, stickers and accessories to make a beautiful scrapbook.
This is something I really want to do with the girls when they are a bit older. I would love to do a scrapbook for every year where we stick down our favourite pictures and collect ticket stubs, maps and other things that remind us of happy days.
5. Colouring
No, it's not just for your kids! Grown-up colouring books have made a real impact recently. There are all kinds of different themed colouring books on the market, so have a shop around and see what takes your fancy. It's extremely relaxing.
6. Photography
You don't have to spend hundreds of pounds on a fancy DSLR camera to be into photography.
The creativity people are showing with smartphone photography these days is incredible. Check out this site for inspiration and tips.
7. Listen to podcasts
I am absolutely loving podcasts at the moment.
My faves are Not Another Mummy Blog, which sees Alison Perry sit down for a cuppa with fellow mummies and talk life, babies, overcoming adversity and much more. It's just like having a relaxing chat with pals, except you just sit back and listen.
Mother Pukka is absolutely hilarious and has me in stitches every time I listen to her.
My Daily Mirror friend Steve Myall has a podcast all about his experience as a father, called First Time Dads. They interview celebs, parenting experts and shed light on the dad's perspective on parenting. Fascinating, funny and informative.
Pick a project that you've been wanting to do to improve your house, research and plan how to get it done and give it a go. I'm not talking re-wiring your house, but why not try laying a new laminate bathroom floor? Or painting a room, or adding wallpaper?
9. Learn a language
I would absolutely love to learn a new language, any new language! There are some brilliant apps out there for download that mean you can learn at your own pace, even if you only get five minutes here or there.
I think learning a second language is also really important for kids, it would be great if we could bring them up bilingual! My friend the lovely Kristie at Mamma Prada writes all about raising her bilingual family, check out her blog!
10. Start a blog
Do what I did and launch your own blog! Think of a particular topic that really interests you or simply write an online journal all about you. It's amazing where a blog can take you, but it's also a very rewarding hobby.
You will also learn a LOT of new skills about web design, photography and social media.
Did any of these ideas give you inspiration? Do you have any to add? I would love to hear from you.


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The Ticker: U.S. Property Company CMCT Draws 860m Shekels in Orders for Stock Offering
Energy shares fall after Egypt dashes hopes for Israeli gas exports ■ Discount Bank quarterly net jumps 66% from a year ago ■ First Int'l Bank posts 59% rise in third-quarter profit ■ Tel Aviv shares post decline as energy industry takes a hit
U.S. property company CMCT draws 860m shekels in orders for stock offering
CIM Commercial Trust Corporation, a U.S. real estate investment trust formed by Israelis Shaul Kuba and Avi Shemesh, drew 860 million shekels ($243 million) in orders in the institutional tranche of an offering of preferred shares. The sale, the first of preferred shares by a U.S. real estate company on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, was expected to raise as much as 800 million shekels from institutional investors an effective dividend rate of 6.3%. CMCT, which trades on the Nasdaq at a market value of $950 million, owns and operates office buildings across the U.S. Unlike other North American property companies to raise capital on the TASE, CMCT opted to issue preferred stock over debt even though its leveraging is a low 30-35%. It may decide to issue common stock later. Proceeds from the sale will be used to pay down a $200 million bank loan and buy additional real estate, the company said. (Michael Rochvarger)
Energy shares fall after Egypt dashes hopes for Israeli gas exports
Israeli energy shares dropped on Wednesday after Bloomberg news reported that Egypt will stop importing liquefied natural gas in the next year and may eventually export gas after the giant Eni-operated Zohr field begins production. Oil Minister Tarek al-Molla said in an interview that Zohr would mostly supply the domestic market but that any surplus could be turned into LNG by the country's two gas liquefaction facilities starting in 2019. Molla's remarks dashed hopes that Israel could become a supplier of natural gas to the two facilities, which have been idle since Cairo barred LNG exports in 2011. Israel energy companies had been encouraged by the approval in August of a law that would open Egypt's gas market to competition. The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange's Oil and Gas index ended down 1.8% at 922.24 points, led by a 3.2% decline for Tamar Petroleum to 21.20 shekels ($5.99) and a 3.1% drop to 9.55 for Delek Drilling. (Eran Azran)
Discount Bank quarterly net jumps 66% from a year ago
Israel Discount Bank on Wednesday reported a 66% year-on-year rise in its third-quarter net profit, boosted by bond sales, higher commissions and lower expenses. Israel's fourth-largest bank by assets said net grew to 313 million shekels, up from 188 million shekels a year earlier. It had been forecast to earn 251 million shekels, by analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Net interest income rose 1.7% to 1.207 billion shekels, while operating expenses dipped 4.1%. The bank had credit loss expenses of 187 million shekels, compared with 141 million shekels a year earlier, boosted by a 50 million shekels provision to Shaul Elovitch's Eurocom Group. In the first nine months Discount set aside 180 million shekels against 600 million shekels in loans to Eurocom. The bank's tier 1 capital adequacy ratio, which measures equity capital as a percentage of total risk-weighted assets, was unchanged at 9.8%. Discount shares ended down 0.3% at 9.55 shekels. (Michael Rochvarger)
First Int'l Bank posts 59% rise in third-quarter profit
First International Bank of Israel, the country's fifth-largest bank by assets, reported on Wednesday a 59% rise in quarterly profit on higher interest income and lower credit loss expenses. FIBI posted net profit of 203 million shekels ($57 million) in the third quarter, up from 128 million shekels a year earlier, giving it a return on equity of 11.1%. Net interest income rose to 565 million shekels from 553 million shekels in the same period of 2016. Expenses from credit losses slipped to 9 million shekels from 21 million shekels. FIBI also benefited from 32 million shekels of tax credits from previous years as well as a 3.3% drop in operating expenses for the quarter, to 640 million shekels, as part of a cost-cutting drive. The bank's tier 1 equity ratio rose to 10.32% from 10.09% at the end of 2016. FIBI shares finished down 0.2% at 68.50 shekels. (Michael Rochvarger)
Tel Aviv shares post decline as energy industry takes a hit
Energy shares led the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange lower on Wednesday amid concerns about the prospects of energy exports to Egypt. The benchmark TA-35 index lost 0.8% to close at 1,400.05 points, while the broader TA-125 index dropped 0.7% to 1,283.60 points, on turnover of 1.21 billion shekels ($340 million). Outside of energy shares, losses on the TA-125 index were led by El Al Airlines, which dropped 5.4% to 1.56 shekels, and by Frutarom, whose shares marked their seventh decline in the last eight sessions, falling 2.4% to 268.30. Aeronautics, whose shares were slammed a day earlier by news of a police investigation against the drone maker, rebounded 1.8% to finish at 11.19. Mirland climbed 4.2% to a 2.19 close after it reported a third-quarter profit of $1.6 million, turning around from a $34.4 million loss a year ago. In foreign currency trading, the euro gained 0.5% to a Bank of Israel rate of 4.1824 shekels. The dollar weakened 0.3% to 3.5320 shekels.
(Shelly Appelberg)
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The director of the FBI said today that nearly every FBI office in the country, large and small, is concerned about the infiltration of American academic circles by Chinese intelligence "collectors" whether they're students, professors, scientists or other scholars.
Director Christopher Wray said that "non-traditional collectors" are exploiting a "level of naivety" in academia and creating a "whole of society threat."
"It's across basically every discipline," Wray told lawmakers in a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on worldwide threats. "They're exploiting the very open research and development environment that we have, which we all revere. But they're taking advantage of it. So one of the things we're trying to do is to view the China threat not just as a whole government threat, but as a whole society threat on their end. And I think it's going to take a whole of society response by us. It's not just the intelligence community, but it's raising awareness within our academic sector, our private sector, as part of the defense."
Related: The Spy Who Come in From the Cornfields (ABC News)
Wray said the FBI specifically "has concerns" about and is "watching warily" Beijing-sponsored Confucius Institutes, cultural and education programs that have popped up the world over, including across the U.S.
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fl.), who today asked Wray about Chinese influence in academia and the Confucius Institutes specifically, earlier this month called on Maimi Dade College and other local universities to disassociate themselves with the program, which he called part of "China's aggressive campaign to 'infiltrate' American classrooms, stifle free inquiry, and subvert free expression both at home and abroad."
Read More: American Universities Are Welcoming China's Trojan Horse (Foreign Policy)
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Wednesday, August 31, 2011
**Days 242 & 243**
I gained 3 pounds this month, so I'm, definitely, not going in the right direction. It's so hard to come on here, and have to report a gain. I feel ashamed that somewhere over the last couple months I lost my motivation to continue on this weight loss journey. Why can't I get it the motivation back? As I mentioned before, I can talk about it all until I'm blue in the face, but that's not going to get it done. I need to regroup, and get myself back in the game. I can't continue to gain. I've worked too hard to let it all go to crap.
I'll be posting progress pics that will show no progress, but I skipped posting pics last month, and I don't want to skip again.
Anyway, don't give up on me because I'm not giving up on myself.
7 comments:
I'm never giving up on you. *HUGS*ReplyDelete
You promise not to give up on me and I promise not to give up on you, yeah?ReplyDelete
Tomorrow starts a new month. Let's be determined to be the best we can be at this weight loss business this month. That doesn't mean "perfect" that just means lots and lots of effort.
You game?
So glad you have the attitude of I'm not giving up". That's inspring to see.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousAugust 31, 2011 at 12:07 PM
Write down some concrete goals for the month of September. Then.... stick to 'em! :)ReplyDelete
Dont give up!! and dont stop posting!! I know it can be so very very frustrating! And I dont have an answer as to how to get your mojo back. Other than Just Do It. I dont feel like doing it sometimes, but once im finished, I feel so much better!!ReplyDelete
Shannon.. no giving up on you! I am searching for that motivation myself, and we will find it.ReplyDelete
And, going back a few posts.. yay on your latest 5k!! Awesome!
Now, to get back on the horse. :)
- AnonymousAugust 31, 2011 at 6:20 PM
You have changed in many ways, not just in your physical appearance. You have changed your attitude, motivation,commitment,stamina,goal oriented,tenasity,etc. I could go on. It's like I have a new daughter. Don't get hung up a numbers but be patient and stay focused to live healthy and time will be on your side. Your are great inside and out. I belive in you and love you, DadReplyDelete


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Let's spread the word and tell your friends and family of this event as it will help the youth raise funds for their summer camp tuition. We look forward seeing you their in support of our youth and we truly thank you in advance!
Grace Harvest Church
14224 Nordoff Street,
Panorama City, CA, 91402
Office: (818) 894-3280
Sunday Morning Schedule
Grace Grounds @ 10:00 AM | Service Begins @ 10:30 AM
Wednesday Family Night & Edge Youth Group


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Actress Kirsten Dunst's short film Bastard is playing the Critic's Week at Cannes this month and at Tribeca after that. There's not much revealed about the six-minute short except what she's said:
"This film explores what makes the unbelievable believable. When we hear a story that seems mysterious or far-fetched, we put more trust in its accuracy the longer ago it took place. As the centuries pass, the truth becomes more malleable. We grow less skeptical of what we might otherwise dismiss as incredible. Our perspective changes. This film addresses the eerie transformation of a familiar myth when displaced to the present."
Dunst has also been quoted as taking inspiration for her film from Wim Wenders' Paris, Texas. Now, Paris, Texas is one of my favorite movies, and if it's anything like that, I'll be shocked. If she meant that it's stylistically inspired by Wenders, that's another thing altogether (Wenders' style is pretty austere and hugely cinematic), but from the initial stills that have come out for the film, it looks more like she was inspired stylistically by Lars von Trier.
Is the blurred red dot present throughout the entire length of the film? What's the deal? Is it blood on the lens? Is it a sniper has a scope on the girl. If so, von Trier already pulled this cinematic tool of visual permanence on audiences with his film Epidemic, but at least that was just a red slogan embedded in each frame of the film. This is a fucking huge, red blob.
Now, in all fairness, I love anything artistic and thought-provoking — and especially in my movies (Begotten is on my top ten list!), but this just looks bloody annoying.


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Black Boy
Product Details
|HarperCollins Publishers
|Publication date:
|P.S. Series
|Edition description:
|Sales rank:
|Product dimensions:
|5.31(w) x 8.00(h) x 1.01(d)
|950L (what's this?)
|Age Range:
|14 - 18 Years
About the Author
Richard Wright won international renown for his powerful and visceral depiction of the black experience. He stands today alongside such African-American luminaries as Zora Neale Hurston, James Baldwin, and Toni Morrison, and two of his novels, Native Son and Black Boy, are required reading in high schools and colleges across the nation. He died in 1960.
Date of Birth:September 4, 1908
Date of Death:November 28, 1960
Place of Birth:Near Natchez, Mississippi
Place of Death:Paris, France
Education:Smith-Robertson Junior High in Jackson, Mississippi (1925)
Read an Excerpt
Black Boy
Chapter One
One winter morning in the long-ago, four-year-old days of my life I found myself standing before a fireplace, warming my hands over a mound of glowing coals, listening to the wind whistle past the house outside. All morning my mother had been scolding me, telling me to keep still, warning me that I must make no noise. And I was angry, fretful, and impatient. In the next room Granny lay ill and under the day and night care of a doctor and I knew that I would be punished if I did not obey. I crossed restlessly to the window and pushed back the long fluffy white curtains-which I had been forbidden to touch-and looked yearningly out into the empty street. I was dreaming of running and playing and shouting, but the vivid image of Granny's old, white, wrinkled, grim face, framed by a halo of tumbling black hair, lying upon a huge feather pillow, made me afraid.
The house was quiet. Behind me my brother-a year younger than I-was playing placidly upon the floor with a toy. A bird wheeled past the window and I greeted it with a glad shout.
"You better hush," my brother said.
"You shut up," I said.
My mother stepped briskly into the room and closed the door behind her. She came to me and shook her finger in my face.
"You stop that yelling, you hear?" she whispered. "You know Granny's sick and you better keep quiet!"
I hung my head and sulked. She left and I ached with boredom.
"I told you so," my brother gloated.
"You shut up," I told him again.
I wandered listlessly about the room, trying to think of something to do, dreading the return of my mother, resentful of being neglected. The room heldnothing of interest except the fire and finally I stood before the shimmering embers, fascinated by the quivering coals. An idea of a new kind of game grew and took root in my mind. Why not throw something into the fire and watch it burn? I looked about. There was only my picture book and MY mother would beat me if I burned that. Then what? I hunted around until I saw the broom leaning in a closet. That's it ... Who would bother about a few straws if I burned them? I pulled out the broom and tore out a batch of straws and tossed them into the fire and watched them smoke, turn black, blaze, and finally become white wisps of ghosts that vanished. Burning straws was a teasing kind of fun and I took more of them from the broom and cast them into the fire. My brother came to my side, his eyes drawn by the blazing straws.
"Don't do that," he said.
"How come?" I asked.
"You'll burn the whole broom," he said.
"You hush," I said.
"I'll tell," he said.
"And I'll hit you," I said.
My idea was growing, blooming. Now I was wondering just how the long fluffy white curtains would look if I lit a bunch of straws and held it under them. Would I try it? Sure. I pulled several straws from the broom and held them to the fire until they blazed; I rushed to the window and brought the flame in touch with the hems of the curtains. My brother shook his head.
"Naw," he said.
He spoke too late. Red circles were eating into the white cloth: then a flare of flames shot out. Startled, I backed away. The fire soared to the ceiling and I trembled with fright. Soon a sheet of saw her taut face peering under the edge of the house. She had found me! I held my breath and waited to hear her command me to come to her. Her face went away; no, she had not seen me huddled in the dark nook of the chimney. I tucked my head into my arms and my teeth chattered.
The distress I sensed in her voice was as sharp and painful as the lash of a whip on my flesh.
"Richard! The house is on fire. Oh, find my child!"
Yes, the house was afire, but I was determined not to leave my place of safety. Finally I saw another face peering under the edge of the house; it was my father's. His eyes must have become accustomed to the shadows, for he was now pointing at me.
"There he is!"
"Naw!" I screamed.
"Come here, boy!"
"The house is on fire!"
"Leave me 'lone!"
He crawled to me and caught hold of one of my legs. I hugged the edge of the brick chimney with all of my strength. My father yanked my leg and I clawed at the chimney harder.
"Come outta there, you little fool!"
"Turn me loose!"
I could not withstand the tugging at my leg and my fingers relaxed. It was over. I would be beaten. I did not care any more. I knew what was coming. He dragged me into the back yard and the instant his hand left me I jumped to my feet and broke into a wild run, trying to elude the people who surrounded me, heading for the street. I was caught before I had gone ten paces.
From that moment on things became tangled for me. Out of the weeping and the shouting and the wild talk, I learned that no one had died in the fire. My brother, it seemed, had finally overcome enough of his panic to warn my mother, but not before more than half the house had been destroyed. Using the mattress as a stretcher, Grandpa and an uncle had lifted Granny from her bed and had rushed her to the safety of a neighbor's house. My long absence and silence had made everyone think, for a while, that I had perished in the blaze.Black Boy. Copyright (c) by Richard Wright . Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Available now wherever books are sold.
Reading Group Guide
Plot Summary
Black Boy is Richard Wright's memoir of his life from early childhood to the launching of his career as a writer. His father abandoned the family soon after they moved to Memphis, leaving Wright, his mother and brother in dire straits. Schooling throughout his childhood was erratic and often interrupted; he eventually completed the ninth grade. Domestic violence, neglect and hunger plagued him throughout his youth.
Wright's first prolonged contact with white people came when he began working odd jobs to earn enough money for food. The discrimination and violence he experienced in the Jim Crow South came as a terrible shock to him. Time and again, Richard was the target of white hatred because he failed to hide his true thoughts and feelings behind a mask of servility and humility. Finally, resolved to leave the South forever, Richard scraped together enough money to move north to Chicago.
Wright vividly describes the intellectual awakening he experienced in Chicago as he immersed himself in the works of Dreiser, Mencken, Faulkner and Sherwood Anderson and began his first serious efforts at writing. Black Boy ends with an image of Wright sitting poised with pencil in hand, determined to "hurl words into this darkness and wait for an echo." He had arrived at the threshold of his professional literary career.Discussion Topics
1. In one of his first contacts with whites, Wright feels himself tensing up with confusion and suspicion over how to act. Discuss the various forms that tension takes in the course of Black Boy. Does Wright glimpse any relief from this tension?
2. Personal narratives like Zora NealeHurston's "How It Feels to Be Colored Me," and James Baldwin's Notes of a Native Son have been among the most enduring and powerful modes of expression among African-American writers. What is it about the African-American experience that makes so many gifted writers tell their own stories? What influence has Black Boy had on this genre?
3. Wright writes: "I used to mull over the strange absence of real kindness in Negroes, how unstable was our tenderness, how lacking in genuine passion we were, how void of great hope, how timid our joy, how bare our traditions, how hollow our memories, how lacking we were in those intangible sentiments that bind man to man, and how shallow was even our despair." Taken out of context, this reads like a terrible damnation of the African-American soul. How does the meaning of these words change when read in the context of the book - and the context of Wright's own youth? Do you feel the book justifies this criticism of African-Americans - or is this passage a sign of Wright's self-hatred, his lack of sympathy with the essence of black culture?
4. When it was published in 1945, Black Boy was read primarily as an attack on the violence and oppression of the Jim Crow South; during the 1960s, critics began to focus on the sensibility of the narrator - how his experiences shaped him, how he found his voice and satisfied his yearning for expression. Which view of the novel feels most on target to you?
5. Several years before he died, Wright wrote, "I declare unabashedly that I like and even cherish the state of abandonment and aloneness...it seems the natural, inevitable condition of man, and I welcome it..." Discuss this statement in the light of Black Boy.
6. Compare the male and female characters as they are presented in Black Boy. To what extent is Richard rebelling against the powerful role of women in African-American families? Do you think Wright is a misogynist, as some critics have written? Are there any men in the book to whom Richard feels close or to whom he turns for guidance or mentoring?
About the Author: Richard Wright won international renown for his powerful and visceral depiction of the black experience. He stands today alongside such African-American luminaries as Zora Neale Hurston, James Baldwin, and Toni Morrison, and two of his novels, Native Son and Black Boy, are required reading in high schools and colleges across the nation. He died in 1960.