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Making School Website Navigation More Accessible for Screen Readers
Navigation is one of the most critical components of website accessibility. Just as thoughtful architectural design can help to make the physical environment easier for people with diverse abilities to navigate, effective web design strategies can make it easier for visitors using screen readers to navigate through your school website. Here are some easy tips you can implement right now.
Start with Good Navigation Principles
Whether visitors are using a mouse, keyboard shortcuts, or a screen reader, everyone appreciates a website with simple, easy-to-understand navigation. They should be able to find what they are looking for in as few clicks as possible.
Start by developing your menus for easy navigation.
- Think MECE: Mutually Exclusive and Collectively Exhaustive. "Mutually Exclusive" means that each piece of information is found under just one menu item, with no overlap. "Collectively Exhaustive" means that all of the information people will look for can be found somewhere within the menu.
- Keep menu labels simple and obvious—don't try to get clever. "Enrollment Forms" tells everyone exactly what they will find when they click. "Welcome Wagon" will leave most visitors guessing.
- Limit the number of menu items in each tier, and limit the number of tiers. For maximum accessibility, don't use more than ten main menu items (fewer is even better). The second tier underneath each main menu may have up to 15-20 items. Avoid adding a third tier. Instead of adding a third menu tier under "Academic DepartmentsàEnglish/Language Arts", consider using quick links on the English/Language Arts landing page to help people navigate to further information.
- Make sure menus are easily navigable using keyboard shortcuts.
Use ARIA Landmarks to Identify Menus and Page Elements
ARIA (for "Accessible Rich Internet Applications") is a W3C specification for markup that can be added to HTML to communicate information about various user interface elements on a webpage. ARIA landmarks are used to identify elements on a webpage by role. There are eight basic ARIA landmark roles:
- Banner
- Navigation (e.g., menu)
- Main (the main content of the page)
- Complementary (e.g., a sidebar)
- Contentinfo (meta data about the page, such as copyright)
- Search
- Form
- Application (a separate web application with its own keyboard interface)
ARIA landmarks allow users using screen readers to quickly jump to the portion of the page they are interested in. Instead of going sequentially through all of the menu items and all of the content areas until they stumble upon what they are looking for, users can quickly skip through the ARIA landmarks to find the content they are interested in right now, whether it is the main content or the search bar. This saves visitors using screen readers a lot of time and lets them skip over repetitive content (such as menus and static sidebars) they are already familiar with.
When there is more than one area on the page with the same role, an aria-label attribute can be added to distinguish between them. For example, different areas of a school website navigation may be labeled as follows:

Similar labels can be added to main and complementary content blocks such as the Principal's Message, Announcements, Events, and Quick Links. Name them with simple, descriptive names so that visitors using screen readers will know what to expect in each block. Using ARIA tags and labels will allow vision-impaired visitors to skim over the content they don't need and skip to what they are looking for, just like sighted visitors.
Use Headings and Subheadings Appropriately
"H1" and "H2" tags aren't just a shortcut for what font you should use—they convey important information about the structure of your content to screen readers and search engines. Some school website CMS programs, like eChalk, will take care of this automatically for you. If your CMS does not, you will want to make sure these tags get added to the headings and subheadings on the page.
Sometimes, web authors will simply use formatting tags to make text LOOK like a heading—for example, increasing the font size, making it bold, and changing the color. But these visual cues do not help visitors using screen readers. It's important to actually use the "H1", "H2", H3", etc. tags so that screen readers and search engines understand how different sections of text relate to each other.
Remember that there should only be ONE H1 tag on the page—your main title. Everything else is a subhead.
Label, Label, Label
Don't leave vision impaired visitors guessing about the content they will find in each content block on your website. Label everything, using simple, descriptive language. This includes:
- Adding Alt-text to images
- Adding descriptions to video content
Make Your Link Language Descriptive
Screen reader users often navigate by skipping directly to the links on a page. If the language for every link is a variation of "click here," they'll be lost. All links, whether they are part of a Quick Links section of the page or embedded in a paragraph of content, should have enough descriptive language to tell screen reader users exactly what they will find after the click.
These are just a few tips for accessible school website navigation. For more, check out the World Wide Web Consortium's (W3C's) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines.
For Further Reading:


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@tarbe Aaron use to work for me/ with me for 3 years right after he graduated. I knew early on that I was to steward him towards going out on his own. He was way to talented and worth more than I...
I had 2 sets made, but they painted both. Once the mold is made,,, ;)
Like those tusk racks, now only if I can find a warthog or 3 worthy of shooting, my nemesis!
@ActionBob I like your train of thought. I should have had them make two sets, one they painted and a second pair "in the white"! My daughter is a fantastic artist and probably could have...
@Edge they did mine as well and I'm pleased with them. One big regret I have is that I should have tried to buy the molds. My MN taxidermist is a real artist and could possibly have even improved...

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text: Welcome back to Season 1, Episode 5 of the Convene Podcast. This week, Greg Leith sat down with Brad Dacus from the Pacific Justice Institute. PJI's mission is to defend religious freedom...without charge, and they've been doing so since 1997. In this episode, they discuss questions like: How do you boldly stand for Christ in the center of the workplace? What is legal and what is off-limits in terms of evangelism? What are the laws regarding how a Christian CEO leads his or her company?


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2,300 m2 panelling in false ceilings and vertical panels made with phenolic resins by TRESPA, model A0823, colour salmon, 8mm thick. The panels measure 180 x 58.5 cm and were mechanically installed using stainless steel bolts of Ø12mm. All the bolts were lacquered in the same RAL colour as the Trespa panel.
The panels were bolted to a structure of laths of autoclaved Flanders wood in 12x4.5 cm sections and painted black so that green coloured pine cannot be seen from below. The laths were bolted to a structure of iron in 6x6 cm sections that were hung from the 50-80cm concrete structure to allow for passage of installations for water, lights, wiring…
Some of the panels also acted as hinged registers to permit access to the installations. They had 5 highly padded hinges and three spring locks.
Lights, ventilation grates and built-in loudspeakers were installed.
Pergolas of IPE in 12x5 cm sections bolted to each end with a metric bolt of galvanised steel on each side of the jardinieres.
Handrails in sections of IPE 11x5cm with rounded upper edges. Finish in water-base varnish from Becker-Acroma at 400 micras/m2.


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College of Education and Professional Studies
Dr. Gabriel Rupp
Email: email@example.com
Phone: (405) 974-5444
Office: OLN 102C
Box: 85
- B.A., 1983 Pittsburg State University (Psychology and English)
- M.A., 1986 Pittsburg State University (English)
- M.A., 1994 University of Central Oklahoma(Psychology: Experimental)
- Ph.D., 2005 University of Oklahoma (English: Rhetoric, Composition, and Literacy)
- Certification, 1990 University of Kansas (Native American Gerontology)
General Information
I have worked for eight different colleges, at multiple levels, and in different disciplines. The only constant across my intellectual journey has been a twin interest in both language and psychology, and the relationship between the two. Recently, I have become interested in the history, philosophy, and rhetoric of science, with increasing focus on disciplinary formations and trans-disciplinary inquiry.
- Doctor of Philosophy, Composition/Rhetoric/Literacy, University of Oklahoma
Dissertation Title: The Police in Different Voices: Isaac Newton and the Programme of Purification
- Master of Arts, Honors, Experimental Psychology. University of Central Oklahoma
Thesis Title: Tracing the Footprints of Sentience: Investigating Cognitive Mechanisms Using Q-Methodology
- Master of Arts, English. Pittsburg State University,
- Bachelor of Arts, double major: Psychology/ English. Pittsburg State University
History of Psychology, History and Systems, History of Women in Psychology, Biosocial Psychology, Social Psychology, Advanced Social Psychology, General Psychology
- Rupp, G and Doan, R. (2011) Sophistic rhetoric and narrative psychology: Fielding the differences. Paper accepted to Second international conference for academic disciplines at Harvard (an International Journal of Arts and Sciences[IJAS] conference). Boston, Mass.
- Winston, L., Rupp, G., & Knight, A. (2008, October). Pedagogy of grief: Putting new life into thanatological education. Poster presentation and the annual meeting of the Rocky Mountain Educational Research Association, Edmond, OK.
- McKinney, J and Rupp, G. (2009). The Union of the three towers: The Re-discovering of middle-earth. Poster presented at the Association for Psychological Science, 21st Annual Convention. San Francisco, CA.Re-
- Limke, A., Rupp, G. and Knight, A. (2009). MySpace as a transformative learning technique. SPSP Teaching Conference, Tampa, FL.
- Rupp, G. , Knight, A. & Winston, L. (2008). Storying grief: Externalizing the problem via cyberspace. Second Annual Meeting of the Oklahoma Network for Teaching of Psychology. Oklahoma City, OK.
- Knight, A. ,Rupp, G. & Winston, L. Lawton, W., and Gibbons, J. (2009). The manifestations of transformational learning through social networking. Poster presented Oklahoma Research Day. Lawton, OK.
- Hawkins,K. McKaig, M. and Rupp, G. English and Spanish language errors of bilingual. children. (2007). Texas Speech-Language-Hearing Association Annual Conference. Houston, TX.
- Knight, A., Stafford., J., Hultmas, J., and Rupp, G. (2007, September). Technologizing Transformational Bereavement Education: Making a (My) Space for Student Learning. Poster presented at the First Annual Meeting of the Oklahoma Network for the Teaching of Psychology, Oklahoma City, OK.
- Rupp, G. (2007). The minting of a theologian and the theologian at the mint; alchemical Christ, scientific prophesy and the rule of gold. Paper presented at the Social History Society's 32nd annual conference in Exeter, EN.
- Rupp, G. (2005). Constellation, Uncertainty, and Incompleteness: Notes towards a Human(e) Science. Presentation at Oklahoma Psychological Society, Edmond, OK.
Scholarly Publications
- Rupp, G. and Green, B. (in press). Positive leadership qualities that facilitate civic engagement components. In Civic Engagement Pedagogy. New York: Stylus Publishing.
- Knight, A., Limke, A., & Rupp, G. V. (2009). MySpace as a transformative learning technique. Manuscript submitted for publication.
- Rupp, G. (2010). Self Enlightenment in Woolf, Joyce, and Nietzsche. Comparative literature and culture, September, 12 (3).
- Rupp, G. and Goudge, J. (2010). An eloquent life: Sandra Scarr and playing on the line between pure and applied science. PsycCRITIQUES-Contemporary Psychology, 55(2).
- Rupp, G. V. and Atkison, J.(2010). A prophet: A study in the dialogics of the social and the psychological. PsycCRITIQUES-Contemporary Psychology, 55(33).
- Rupp, G. and Kubier, P. (2009). Depathologizing Sexuality: Changing Times, Changing Psychoanalysis. PsycCRITIQUES-Contemporary Psychology, 54,(36), 6.
- Rupp, G. and Thomas, H. (2009). His-story, power, and women: The themes of a psychoanalytic fiction. PsycCRITIQUES-Contemporary Psychology , 54 (4).
- Rupp, G. and Jenkins, H. (2008). A love story. PsycCRITIQUES-Contemporary Psychology, 53(12).
- Knight, M. & Rupp, G. (2007). The natural history of madness. PsycCRITIQUES- Contemporary Psychology, 52(34), 11.
- Knight, M. & Rupp, G. (2007). De rerum natura. PsycCRITIQUES-Contemporary Psychology. 52(33), 128.
- Rupp, G. & Vaughn-Blount, K. (2007). Where there is much light, there is also much shadow. PsycCRITIQUES-Contemporary Psychology. 52(40).
- Rupp, G. & Jenkins, H. (2007). That's (K)not Funny: Linguistics, Laughter, and the Science of Humor. PsycCRITIQUES-Contemporary Psychology, 54(45).
- Rupp, G. (2007). Selfless and Selfish Reflections on the Self: Gazing at the Mirror of Roman History. PsycCRITIQUES-Contemporary Psychology, 52(16).
- Rupp, G. (2007). Unpacking Foucault's Library: Sexuality, Identity, and Human Agency. PsycCRITIQUES-Contemporary Psychology, 52(10).
- Rupp, G. (2007). Constellation, uncertainty, and incompleteness: Towards a human(e) science. Journal of Scientific Psychology, October, 32-46.
- Vaughn-Blount, K. & Rupp, G. (Ed.). (2007) Article compilation (course text): A brief overview of the history of women in psychology, 1850 to 1950. (Available from the University of Central Oklahoma Psychology Department), 100 North University Drive, Edmond, OK 73034)
- Rupp, G.and Vaughn, J. (2006). Out of the closet and into practice. PsycCRITIQUES-Contemporary Psychology, 51 (31).
- Rupp, G. and Vaughn-Blount, K. (2006). A Body of logic. PsycCRITIQUES-Contemporary Psychology, 51(24).
- Rupp, G. and R. Schleifer. (2005). Ferdinand de Saussure. In Groden (Ed.). The Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory and Criticism. The Johns Hopkins University Press.
- Schleifer, R. and Rupp, G. (2005). Structuralism. In Groden (Ed.), The Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory and Criticism. The Johns Hopkins University Press.
- Knight, M. & Rupp, G. (2005). A Place to stand. PsycCRITIQUES-Contemporary Psychology, 50(44).
- Knight, M. & Rupp, G. (2005). A Place in time. PsycCRITIQUES-Contemporary Psychology, 50(8).
- Knight, M. & Rupp, G. (2005). It's Alive, Alive!. PsycCRITIQUES-Contemporary Psychology, 50(10).
- Knight, M. & Rupp, G. (2005). "Put out the light." PsycCRITIQUES-Contemporary Psychology, 50(32).
- Rupp, G. (2004). From Mother's Lap to the Shoulders of Giants: Isaac Newton's Fine and Private Book of the Self. Presented at South Central Society for 18th Century Studies.
- --.--. (2002).On The Edge of The Enlightenment: The Shattered Self in Woolf, Joyce, and Nietzsche. Presented at SLS (Science and Literature Society) International Conference, University of Aarhus, Aarhus, Denmark.
- --.--. (2000).John Locke as Reluctant Rhetorician and Surly Structuralist. Presented at Mephisto Conference (History and Philosophy of Science), University. of Oklahoma.
- --.--. (1999). Reading Foucault while Eating a Big Mac. Presented at Hybridity
- Conference (Cultural studies), Univ. of Oklahoma.
- --.--. (1999). Newton after Bohr: The Dialogics of Complementarily. Presented at Science and Literature Conference. (Cultural Studies). Univ. of Oklahoma.
- --.--. (1999). Probability, Uncertainty, and Complementarily: A Quantum Case for Sophistic Rhetoric. Presented at CCCC's conference. (Composition studies).
- --.--. (1999). Workshop on Longitudinal Assessment in Composition Research. Presented with J Green and M. Flanigan at CCCC's conference. (Composition studies).
- Knight, J. M. & Rupp, G. (1999). Two Sciences, Part I: The epistemology of object-subject inter-dependence. Operant Subjectivity, 22 (3), 2-11.
- --.--. (1999). Two Sciences, Part II: Mental life and the language of science. Operant Subjectivity. 23 (3).
- --.--. (1999). Two Sciences, Part III: Stephenson's a quantum psychology. Operant Subjectivity. 24 (3).


text:
The Nokia Lumia 925 may be getting a new upgrade with the Lumia 1020 next month, but T-Mobile is still prepared to launch the phone as the new Windows Phone 8 flagship sometime next month.
T-Mobile has an exclusive deal with Nokia and they will be the only US carrier to have the Lumia 925 on board. This means AT&T and Sprint will miss out on Nokia's top products, although they may be candidates for the Nokia Lumia 1020 launch.
The tipster has said dummy models will turn up next week, followed by actual shipments the week after for T-Mobile. No word on how many Nokia is sending to T-Mobile, there has not been a huge amount of advertising done in the US.
This is the first Nokia flagship to come with a metal body with polycarbonate, it weighs sufficiently less than the Lumia 920 and comes with a certain premium look and feel.
Source: WMPowerUser


text:
Mr. Dan Flanigan
Chair of the Department of Real Estate & Financial Services at Polsinelli and new Board member of World Childhood Foundation USA
World Childhood Foundation USA welcomes Mr. Dan Flanigan, Chair of the Department of Real Estate & Financial Services at Polsinelli, as a new member of our Board of Directors. Mr Flanigan brings great legal experience and expertise as well as a strong commitment to the work on child protection. We look forward to working closely with Mr. Flanigan and the rest of our distinguished Board to give children a healthy and happy childhood free from violence, sexual abuse and exploitation.
To read the full press release please click here


text:
GAME To Host EA FIFA Lock-In
UK retailer GAME have decided to partner with EA Sports to help fans get their hands on the upcoming FIFA 14 title early. Well over 50 of the company's stores will host lock-ins, where gamers can try out the football/soccer simulator and also get their hands on a bonus goody bag too.
The event will take place between the 8th and 22nd of September and EA will also be offering attendees some half-time refreshments completely free as well. You'll have to be over the age of 16 or alternatively be accompanied by an appropriate adult. You'll also have to register before hand, which is easily done either in person, or by simply tweeting to the official GAME store Twitter page showing your interest in the event.
To get all the vital information, just go to the official Game website and the details for the Twitter profile, exact dates and all events are on there.


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Memphis has always been a city chock full of great, spirited artists, and in the 1970s, the local heroes to beat were Larry Raspberry & the Highsteppers. After leaving his post as leader/lead singer/guitarist of his original band the Gentrys (of "Keep on Dancing" fame), Raspberry went solo for a while, later forming the Highsteppers with his wife Carol Ferrante, herself a local celebrity as a former Miss Tennessee entry in the Miss America pageant. Once a top-notch rhythm section, two-piece horn section, and Greg "Fingers" Taylor on harmonica were in place, the Highsteppers were born. Raspberry (one of rock & roll's true and few hands-on stars) worked the group incessantly, booking them into every venue large and small that would have them. Although various bandmembers grumbled about some of the dives they would occasionally work, the grueling (and often low-paying) road schedule produced the desired results, and by the time offers from bigger venues came their way, they were ready. On-stage, Larry Raspberry was a true dynamo, going back and forth between funky lead guitar and Jerry Lee Lewis-style piano pounding, all the while working the crowd like an evangelist full of spiritualistic fervor, his on-stage patter heavily influenced by his childhood hero, Memphis disc jockey Dewey Phillips. Fueled with great songs and an act spit-and-polished to compete with anything that came up against them, the Highsteppers quickly became Memphis' most popular band of the '70s. The band was signed to Enterprise, a division of Stax Records, and started work on their debut album, Highsteppin' and Fancy Dancin,' with Raspberry working the dials with Memphis producing legend Don Nix. The album perfectly captured the band's controlled but raw, rockin' spirit, but it died in the marketplace as the group had the star-crossed luck to be one of the first white acts signed to Stax just as the label was about to go bankrupt. Raspberry bought back his masters at a court bankruptcy hearing and managed to get a second album (In the Pink) out on his own label before the original group went their separate ways. Raspberry went on to do various acting assignments (he played Dewey Phillips in the TV movie This Is Elvis and appeared in the cult classic I Was a Zombie for the F.B.I.), re-forming the Highsteppers with varied personnel for isolated dates through the '80s and up to the present time. Still quite active in music as a songwriter (Carly Simon's "Tired of Being Blonde," the Everly Brothers' "Always Drive a Cadillac," Jimmy Buffett's "Dixie Diner," and Carl Perkins' "Let's Get Upset" all emanate from his pen) and bandleader, Larry Raspberry remains an American music treasure. ~ Cub Koda
Composer, Lyricist
Composer, Lyricist
Producer, Composer, Lyricist


text:
2013, April 18th
Sustainable diets: the Mediterranean diet as a case study
ABSTRACT Mediterranean diet, Sustainable diets and Mediterranean food cultures heritage
SEED SPEAKER: Prof. Sandro Dernini (Coordinator of the Forum on Mediterranean Food Cultures- FAO Consultant) Short bio
received his Doctor's degree in Biology from the University of Cagliari (Italy) and his Ph.D. from the New York University (USA). Since 2002, he is the coordinator of the Forum on Mediterranean Food Cultures. Since 2009, he is a FAO consultant on sustainable diets and sustainable food systems. From 2006 to 2012, he was the scientific coordinator of the International Interuniversity Centre for Mediterranean Food Cultures Studies (CIISCAM), and, from 2007 to 2010, he was the head of the technical office of the president of the Italian National Research Institute on Food and Nutrition. Dr. Dernini is a member of the international committee of the Foundation for the Advancement of the Mediterranean Diet, of the International Society for the Advancement of Living Traditions in Art, of the ONG Nutrition without Borders (Nutricion sins Fronteras).


text:
IJust saw the new Apple ads for Greenest Family of Notebooks
Here is the Apple url http://www.apple.com/mac/green-notebooks/
The highly recyclable, even more energy efficient MacBook family has been designed with the environment in mind.
When we redesigned the new Macbook, our designers and engineers set a goal of making not only the greenest notebook Apple ever produced, but the greenest family of notebooks. So every new Macbook has been built using materials that are highly recyclable and free of many harmful substances present in other computers. Apple engineers also designed the software and hardware to work together, in order to maximize energy efficiency and minimize the carbon footprint of the MacBook. Even the packaging was reconsidered and reduced, so there would be smaller boxes to ship and less material to recycle. The result is exactly what we hoped for: the greenest family of notebooks ever made.
Google says it has the most efficient data centers.
Apple says it has the greenest family of notebooks.
Who is next?
Who has the Greenest Software? I bet you Apple will claim their OS while Microsoft spends on its Vista ads.


text:
Prata - Spacious backpack
A structured cork backpack, gorgeously inlaid with silver coloured patterning and featuring a secure fold-over closure. This spacious bag is sure to become a daily favourite for work or study.
100% Vegan and vegetarian. Lovingly grown and handmade in Portugal.
- Height: 30cm
- Width: 24cm


text:
It is difficult to make a film about the single most horrendous thing humans have done to other humans, and leave an audience untouched. The Birth of a Nation, with its nod to the 1915 racist film of the same name, cannot but force you into questioning how white men were ever capable of such despicable acts, and it's effective in its delivery, although at times not the most imaginative.
The film follows the true story of Nat Turner, an enslaved preacher who becomes enraged by the acts of the slave owners and organises a brief insurrection in Virginia. Writer-director Nate Parker also acts in the film, as this is his passion project which he started back in 2009. Interestingly, William Styron (of Sophie's Choice fame) had infamously written a book about Nat Turner, for which he was largely chastised by the civil rights movement. Nate Parker more than once mentioned he was here to rewrite what the white man could not: a story of black rebellion against injustice.
It is hard to look at The Birth of a Nation objectively. For one, the legal case brought to the limelight recently, in which Turner had allegedly raped his college girlfriend, left many feeling dubious about Turner's character (does that matter? Should it? But what about Woody Allen and Polanski?). It opens a sexually deviant can of worms that one doesn't quite know what to do with. Secondly, the reactions to the film have been so utterly polarised (and published, which is why I remind myself never to read anything about a film until way after I've seen it and my opinion has crystallised) that I can't but feel torn about where my own judgment sits.
I have to say, however, that throughout the two hours I sat in that cinema, I was transfixed by the tale. Even though I can see how the film went somewhat through the narrative motions and fell into one too many film school clichés, it still transported me somewhere, it still touched me. Tears fell. I cannot for the life of me attack a film that brings tears to my cold eyes.
And yet! It is clear that the obvious comparison (12 Years A Slave) isn't a fair one, and that next to Steve McQueen's studied, angrily subdued gaze, this film pales, if not to oblivion. But even though it may lack in the surprising elements brought out so brilliantly by McQueen, Turner still made a solid film that stands.


text:
Investigation Discovery is a particularly lurid precinct on the cable television grid, home of shows like "Nothing Personal: Murder for Hire," "Facing Evil With Candice DeLong," "Nightmare Next Door" and "Deadly Sins," which uses a religious theme to explore "the depths of depravity."
It's both disconcerting and entirely appropriate that the channel's newest show, the mini-series "On Death Row," beginning Friday night, features the sober voice and calm eye of the German filmmaker Werner Herzog.
The four-episode series, which Mr. Herzog wrote and directed, is an island of restraint in Investigation Discovery's tabloid sea. But given its reflection of his career-long interests in last things and the rational roots of irrational behavior, it fits right in.
"On Death Row" is a companion piece to the feature-length documentary "Into the Abyss," an examination of a Texas murder case in which a young man was sentenced to death. (He was executed shortly after Mr. Herzog interviewed him.)
The hourlong episodes of the series look at four more cases, and five condemned prisoners; compared with the film it feels as if relatively more time is being given to the jailhouse interviews and relatively less to the details of the crimes.Continue reading the main story
Mr. Herzog's stately technique and Teutonic diction, applied to what was essentially a straightforward true-crime tale, gave "Into the Abyss" an appearance of profundity it didn't entirely deserve. This isn't really an issue in the more modest environs of "On Death Row," and a surprising element of the series — making it both compelling and perversely enjoyable — is that Mr. Herzog loosens up, getting more argumentative in the interviews and presenting moments of mordant humor.
Joseph Garcia, on death row for his involvement in a prison escape that led to the killing of a police officer, argues that because he did not pull the trigger he should not be condemned. "I wasn't even on the back dock when that happened," he says. "I was still in the store tying up hostages." Mr. Herzog's prompt and dry response: "Which was bad enough, let's face it."
The inmates, in Texas and Florida, seem to have been selected partly for their diverse reactions to their situations. Several insist on their innocence; others admit their guilt and await their fates with startling equanimity.
Mr. Herzog doesn't linger on the larger questions, being more interested in the details of bad choices, last meals and family visits. (When he asks an inmate's twin sister, who lives in another state, why she hasn't visited him, she winces and says, "I think I might have a warrant down there.")
An exchange with a Texas prosecutor about the case of Linda Carty, who maintains her innocence in the 2002 abduction and murder that put her on death row, seems designed to answer not just the prosecutor but anyone who would object to Mr. Herzog's re-examining of these cases. "I do not humanize her," he says, his voice rising to something like indignation. "I do not make an attempt to humanize her. She is simply a human being, period."Continue reading the main story


text:
The Drifting Starfish 2
Next edition no. 26 out of 30
€ 485
About the artwork
The Drifting Starfish 2 by Maria Bajt
Superb paper quality
Our paper comes from centuries-old maker Hahnemühle FineArt, whose products have been used by countless artists throughout historyRead More
Signed limited edition
These aren't posters; they're the same unique small-batch artworks that you'd find at a galleryRead More
Our frames
With our UV proof magnetic frames you can switch artworks in a matter of minutesRead More
About Maria Bajt
Maria and mixing of materials
"I see a world and then I see another and another."
Maria lives and works in Berlin and Stockholm. She collects materials from various sources and then lets them create a world of their own. She's a magic maker of the unconventional, pulling together diverse references from the comicMore about Maria Bajt


text:
(CNSNews.com) – GOP presidential candidate Paul Ryan was booed Friday while speaking at an AARP event when he suggested repealing Obamacare.
"The first step to a stronger Medicare is to repeal Obamacare, because it represents the worst of both worlds," he said, followed by boos from the crowd.
"Seniors are threatened by Obamacare – a law that would force steep cuts to real benefits in real time for real people. Meanwhile, younger Americans are burdened by an ever growing national debt and a diminished future," the Wisconsin congressman said.
"Here's the good news: by embracing commonsense reforms now, we can get ahead of the problem and keep promises people have organized their lives around. You see if we reform Medicare for my generation, we can protect it for those in or near retirement today," he said, speaking at the AARP Life @ 50 + Conference.
After the crowd booed Ryan for calling for the repeal of Obamacare, he said that the new health care law "weakens Medicare for today's seniors and puts it at risk for the next generation."
"First it funnels $716 billion out of Medicare to pay for a new entitlement we didn't even ask for. Second, it puts 15 unelected bureaucrats in charge of Medicare's future," Ryan said.
Ryan disputed President Barack Obama's claim that raiding Medicare would actually strengthen the program and improve its solvency.
"Ladies and gentlemen, that's just not true. The money wasn't walled off to stay in Medicare. Instead, the law turned Medicare into a piggy bank for Obamacare," Ryan said to more boos from the crowd.
"You don't have to take my word for it. Ask the chief actuary at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. He works for the Obama administration, and his job is to look after your Medicare," Ryan said.
"Last year we invited him to Congress to answer a simple question: If President Obama's Medicare cuts were used to pay for news spending in Obamacare, how can they also improve Medicare's solvency? His answer: They can't," Ryan said. "It's simple: you can't spend the same dollar twice.
"His exact words were, 'It takes two sets of money to make it happen.' President Obama spent one set on a government takeover of health care, and he never provided the other to strengthen Medicare. So, there it is from the guy whose job it is to know," he said.
"If anybody tries to tell you that Obamacare strengthened Medicare, just ask them: Where is the other $716 billion?" Ryan added.


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Ringing in the New Year doesn't necessarily mean vacation is dunzo for notables taking time off in Miami. Thursday, January 3 had Miami hotspot Karu & Y blowing up with a handful of stars and ballers continuing the celebration of '08. Last season's Nip/Tuck seductress Sanaa Lathan was on hand with beau Wale Ogunleye of the Chicago Bears, who could be chillin', seeing as how he won't be called back to duty until training camp. Props to Lathan for dating an ex-Dolphin. The couple was accompanied by Stomp The Yard's Meagan Good and N.Y. Jets running back Thomas Jones for some after-hours fun. The foursome requested a table together where they sipped champagne and Patron while Tony Rock, Rayzor and 99 Jamz's Benji Brown mustered a few snickers from the crowd. To top it all off, White Boy from season one of I Love New York was on hand sketching out the single ladies, as usual. -- Tracy Block


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Medical Transportation Services
Many people, including the elderly and physically disabled, worry about how to get to their medical, dental, and W.I.C appointments.
Assistance with meeting appointments is made available through UHSC to residents who receive Medicaid. Appointments utilizing the UHSC wheelchair-accessible van are made at least twenty-four hours in advance by clients. This includes services to and from the individual's home.


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After a month of being back on the "I've just adopted" circuit, I'm getting a refresher course in all the things people say that I don't like. Actually, I have long long lists of things people say that bug me in all different categories such as Having a Special Needs Kids, Minorities, African Americans in general, Christianity, etc. I'm actually not easily offended because I get that people are coming from all over and may not be as educated (feel free to insert opinionated in here – I don't mind) as I am.
BUT, as much as I want to throw in my top favs for all categories, I won't. I'll stick to the topic of adoption. (Well, how about I just throw in "What's wrong with her?" for the handicap kid. Nothing is wrong with her you fool. What you mean is "What is her disability?" Or "Why is she using a walker?" I mean, if you're so nosey and have to ask in the first place. (Unless you're a kid. Then you get to ask because it's age appropriate.) Sorry…..couldn't help myself.
Please note this is not to complain, but to rather help those of you that haven't adopted deal with those of us that have. And all my wonderful reading this that actually did say one of the following, ignore me. I love you.
Helpful, educational tips to assist you in changing are provided free of charge.
So here we go….
Coming in at #4
Is She Yours?
Yes, she's mine. They're all mine. Jon is my husband even though I didn't give birth to him. Happy about that….
No helpful tips here. That's just rude, unless you actually asking if I'm babysitting someone else's kids. Then that's ok. But when I tell you she's adopted and that I have 5 kids in all, "Are the other 4 yours?" does not fall under the babysitting category.
I Don't Know How You Do It.
This one actually leaves me speechless. And that's a rare occurence. I want to say "I cope with alcohol" but I think that's probably unacceptable. Although among my friends I do brag about the healing powers contained in a glass of red wine.
I'm speechless because I have NO IDEA what you are referring to. How do I have five kids? I might ask you how you don't. Two is so boring. How do I adopt? Um, are you making a general statement about your inability to love a child that wasn't created in your womb or do you really want to unravel the notion of unconditional love for a stranger? Maybe you are complimenting me by implying that I have it all together, but I don't, so I can't imagine you are saying that. Does my life look miserable to you so what is really being said is "I don't know how you do it because I would be suicidal."
People, I got nothing here. I'm actually not offended by this comment at all, just always confused. So next time be more specific by telling me what you actually can't do that you think I can. And then I'll be sure to mention how unspectacular I am at said thing. (see #2)
You Must Be a Saint (or something just as stupid)
I actually recently got, "The gates of Heaven are going to open right up when you get there." Friends, I hope they do open up, but it will be only because of my love for Jesus. I'm not saved by the things I do, only by the nature of grace.
Also, I'm nowhere near a saint. And when people say that I sort of start to feel insecure. I begin to think, Maybe only saints should be adopting. These poor kids…stuck with an impatient, irritated mother who has the spiritual gift of losing her temper.
I am full of imperfections, regrets, and mistakes….all under the category of motherhood alone. Don't get me started on everything else. Adoption is messy, difficult. I do wrong by these children so many times. I break hearts and hurt self-esteems. I act ugly. I am mean. I am human. That I rise above somehow just because my heart aches for the orphan isn't true. I am a work in progress…try not to put too much pressure on me please.
Also, I am the one who benefits here. I love that my children will never spend another day without a mother and father, that they will know family. But I did this for ME. ME. I wanted to be a mother to an orphan. It was a song in my heart 25 years ago. God has allowed me to partner beside him in giving family to someone who was alone. He answered that song in my heart, and in doing so, there is one less orphan. But they are a gift to me, not the other way around.
You are So Lucky (to my kids)
I've discussed this before, but you may not tell my children they are lucky to be in my family. They deserve the right to resent me, and complain about me, and think I'm the worst mother on earth if they want. Just like my bio. kids.
I've seen a grief in my son Mesfin for his biological mother that hurts me so deeply. You can't tell a kid who's gone through pain of that magnitude that he's lucky.
Also, I expect that a certain amount of "survivor's guilt" will manifest itself within my kids some day. There is NO rhyme or reason as to why they were chosen and others were left behind. I am overwhelmed with those thoughts sometimes, I can't imagine what sort of emotions they will have to deal with some day.
I intend no snarkyness in this blog. Everyone that has ever said to me any the above things has said it with love and interest in my adoptions. And if you say it to me again, I will smile and answer your question. Because even if I dislike what you have to say, I love you for noticing and caring that adoption is real, and intriguing, and amazing, and mysterious. Because it is.


text: Many of you are well aware that overalls are making a comeback in a big way. Part of me absolutely hates the idea of ever wearing a pair of overalls again. Yes, I wore them before. All the time. But another part of me loves anything related to the 90s. These street style photos don't hurt either. I also managed to find some cute options:


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Glossary of Terms T to Z
List of Terms contained in this Section
Thoth, the Record Keeper of Earth
Throne of Undifferentiated Source
Trinity; Father, Mother Child Energies
Universal Laws of Karma and Divine Love
Yahoweh-EL; Angelic Forces of Yahoweh-EL
Yoga Meditation
Template: What is a Template? The Template is the container. To contain something you need a container. If you want to gather water, you need to find a suitable jar. To contain Earth, you need a vase or pot. To contain fire, you need to find an urn. If you want to bring specific Qualities to your Reality, you need to find a Template, to contain that Quality. Sometimes, the abuse of a Template turns that Template on its flip side. When you have health, you have a healthy Template. When the body is abused it becomes unhealthy. Gradually, when the abuse continues, that healthy Template turns on the flip side and becomes a cancerous Template, it becomes an unhealthy Template, a deadly Template.
The Pure Template, comes out from the Realms of Light, completely pure and innocent, enters into Realms of Density, gathers dross, begins to show resistance, gets scratched over and over, to a point where that Template turns on its flip side. Then Light becomes dark, good becomes bad, pure becomes impure, innocence becomes corrupt, truth become untruth, health becomes disease, and eventually life becomes death.
Sometimes the cycle of life and death are necessary components of rebirthing. For rebirthing to happen, life has to come to fruition, and maturation, and death, so that it can lead to rebirthing. The Template of Purity and Innocence that I so deeply insist on, brings forth rebirthing.
When a Template turns on its flipside then there will be a phase of disharmony. If you go back in time, you can see examples of this. There was a phase when there was cholera, as a killer disease, another phase where typhoid was a killer disease, and another phase where malaria was a killer disease. Imagine that the Template of Health turns on its flip side and the grooves on that Template etching in a certain way, and the etchings, the nicks and scrapes and scratches and tears formulating an environment that would welcome Typhoid. It had a beginning, middle and an end which is the good news.
When the Template is abused, it still goes through its phase of birth, death and rebirth. This is why I keep insisting that you carry the seed of Purity and Innocence in your heart. This is why I keep giving you Angelic beings, great Cosmic Beings, various modalities of protection and empowerment with tools to empower and protect yourselves. I want you to reach to a state where you are vibrating at such a high frequency that you flip the corrupt Template back to its original pure divine state.
Significance of Templates. Templates form to encapsulate the Life Force. How the Life Force acts, how the Life Force unfolds, how the Life Force behaves in each environment depends upon the Template upon which it is encapsulated. The grooves and the etchings, sometimes the scrapes and scratches, the nicks and tears in the Template cause karma or should I say karma and karmic entanglements, negative behaviors. Low qualities and energies cause grooves, scrapes, and scratches, nicks and tears within the Template. The Template encapsulates various qualities.
Template of Purity and Innocence. Right now I am putting a lot of energy into anchoring the Template of Purity and Innocence. Why is the Template of purity and innocence so important? This Template is of upmost importance right now because your world is impure. Your world is polluted in every sense of the word. The Five Elements are polluted. The waters are poisoned, the air is poisoned, the Earth is poisoned, and fire can get rampant because it is one way to cleanse the pollution. The Mental, Emotional Bodies of all souls are polluted. People hoard and greed after material wealth, and believe they are smart. People hide and waste material resources, rather than share and they believe it is their right. Self serving, self centered, self involved behavior, impure behavior, deceiving behavior, corrupt behavior, and greedy behavior have become the norm.
The pollution in the Template of Purity and Innocence has become so rampant that it is no longer a Template of Purity and Innocence, with a few grooves and nicks, it has actually become the Template of Greed, Deception and Corruption with a few instances of purity and innocence. Sometimes the flip side of the Template becomes the norm. Right now the Template that is the norm is the Template of Corruption, Deception and Greed.
Thoth, the Record Keeper of Earth: Thoth, also known as Tahuti, was an Atlantean Master and is the record keeper of Earth's history for the past 25,000 years. Thoth is also known as the God Mercury, the Guardian of the planet Mercury, and Hermes, God of Magic. Hermetica, the teachings of Hermes and The Emerald Tablets, the teachings of Thoth the Atlantean, are documents portraying the teachings of this powerful Master. More can be found on Master Thoth in Gifts from the Masters of Light: Journeys Into the Inner Realms of Consciousness- Gifts III. Pp. 167-187 and The Hermetica: The Lost Wisdom of the Pharaohs and The Emerald Tablets of Thoth the Atlantean. Read more.
Thrones of God: Thrones are the abode or seat of that Universal Consciousness we call God, Great Spirit, or other names. The Throne of the I Am That I Am and the I Am Presence is an aspect of that Universal Consciousness which is most immersed in these realms of matter and Form. It is therefore the one which is closest to us. We know it as God in Form. The individual self, separate and isolated from Oneness, will need to know this aspect of God and merge into its energies in order to find solace and union.
Imagine moving through a spectrum of Light and a hierarchy of existence with one hundred and forty-four layers. These one hundred and forty-four layers are also called Dimensions of Reality. Whether there are an exact number of dimensions related to each of these is beyond my comprehension. What helps me understand the process is to envision them as realms of reality. Manifest Form evolves from solid matter Form to Ethereal Form, to Semi-Form, to Non-Form, to Pure Energy, to Pure Light, to Pure Creation and finally to Pure Silence.
In the third dimension of reality, we experience the densest and most solid aspect of this spectrum and at the top, in the one hundred forty-fourth dimension of reality, we are told by the Masters that there is no matter. There are landmark points along the levels, where we are brought before Thrones upon which an aspect of God is the presiding deity. It has taken me the course of over two decades to be brought before each individual Throne which I have been invited to. It is my understanding that, as we grow in the course of our spiritual evolution, we attain the merit to be brought before a greater aspect of God, residing at a higher Throne. This is most generally the case although there have been times when I have been brought to a Throne and its residing deity which fits somewhere between two I had visited before. The exact sequence of the Hierarchy of Thrones was not given to me all at once; nor was I aware that these Thrones were indeed related to aspects of God. The suggestion that God would have many aspects, who are residing upon various Thrones, seemed redundant until I understood that one can only earn the merit to be brought to the next higher Throne when one's Quotient of Light increases to a certain appointed level.
In Path to Enlightenment, Books III and IV, we will explore these Thrones more extensively as many of the Chapters merit such excursions.
Throne of Absolute: Divine Mother resides upon the Throne of Absolute, at the hundred and twenty-second Realm of Reality. Even though this Throne is in the deep core of non-manifest realms, I do have impressions of form when I am brought to this Throne. I see Divine Mother seated at her Throne upon a raised platform. The seats of the Seven Lords of Light and the Maha Lord of Light are arranged in a crescent moon shape in front of her Throne, on a lower platform. There are other realms of reality which stretch beyond this Throne, over which Divine Mother also has dominion. One is the Throne of Creation, the abode of the Pool of Creation. Another is the Throne of Feminine Principle, the abode of the Pure Energy vibration of the Feminine Creative Force, which is the Mother Force for Creation in all realms.
Throne of Paramatman Light: This is a Throne of God which resides in the 111th Realm of Reality. Paramatman denotes the state beyond individualization. Paramatman is a Sanskrit word which denotes Para and Atman. Where Atman is the Self, Paramatman is the Supreme Self. Imagine the ocean of Oneness as Paramatman. Atman is a drop from that ocean of Oneness; a drop who remembers its true origin. We forget that our own Individualized Self, is Atman and our Supreme Self is Para-matman, when we live in this density. The knowledge of the Self as a united essence forever in Oneness with All, is lost. The harshness of this dense world and the immense energetic pollution are the cause of our inability to connect to our Self and our Supreme Self. The Throne of Paramatman resides above the Throne of Undifferentiated Source. The Paramatman Light is the Light which illuminates the Throne of Undifferentiated Source.
Throne of Undifferentiated Source: The Source, in non-form or non-manifest, is Undifferentiated Source. This is the Source of the Universal Consciousness wherein resides all creation in non-manifest or undifferentiated form. The Throne of Undifferentiated Source resides in the one hundred and eighth Realm of Reality. This Throne is filled with Pure White Light. When I go to this abode, I see myself enter a space filled with Light. While there, I am filled with this Light and experience lightness within me. You can say my body too, becomes Pure Light or that I was conscious of having a body. Then I start ascending upward, moving into a dense but Pure White Light Energy. I am at this point filled with complete bliss.
Technically, from here on, the concept of form is only an idea; a mental precept which the mind is reluctant to fully conceive of, or embrace. I hear direction and guidance issued to me, with enormous love from the Throne. I must add that it took me more than a year from the time when I was introduced to the concept of Undifferentiated Source to when I was allowed to enter into this realm and to the time when I could actually hear guidance. In the last few years of working with this Throne, I now have the understanding that Lord Melchizedek, our Universal Logos, and his consort, Lady Malak, have agreed to become the residing deities of this Throne and guard the Ascension Flame, which is now aflame upon the altar at this Throne. There exists a Throne above this one whose Light illumines the Undifferentiated Source. For more on this and the dimensional layers, read Brian Grattan's The Mahatma I and II.
Time; Linear Time and Space: In the third dimensional realms of reality, time slows down due to extreme density. You will therefore experience all events in a linear manner. Time slows down to spread itself into past, present and future. Beyond linear time, time and space are superimposed on top of each other as one continuum. Events are dynamic and not static as movement from one event to another is not registered as past, present or future but simply as events in space. Therefore it is possible to simultaneously experience sending an aspect of the self into every single one of the Seven Rays and coming out at the other end as a complete soul. The experience is seven times more intense. The experience is much like a comet or meteorite. It moves fast through the time-space continuum and it ends up burning itself out. Yet it leaves its memorable and distinct mark in the fabric of time and space.
Time Space Continuum: There was a point in our history where time and space were one. They were not two separate events on the Time-Space Continuum. Both time and space sat together in Oneness on a continuum of Light. At that time, matter too was Light. Light became energy and energy gained density to shape itself into matter. The dictates of Physical Laws are such that the denser the reality, the more polarized the matter becomes. Consequently, for Light to sustain itself in lower dimensional densities, it would need to accept the dictates of Polarization. When Light reaches into the density of this third dimensional realm of duality, it is at its most polarized point.
Trinity: Father, Mother, Child Energies. The Sun, represents the Father Energies, the Moon, the Mother Energies and the Earth represents the Child Energies while Human Souls represent the Consciousness that resides and reigns on Earth.
Twin Flames: The subject of Twin Flames and soul mates is touched upon by many, understood by few. It is fraught, therefore, with controversy, yet a subject worthy to be addressed as an entire volume unto itself. A brief perusal of the teachings of the Masters will suffice.
The journey begins at the beginning of time, or should I say even before time existed. There was a point in our history where time and space were one. They were not two separate events on the Time-Space Continuum. Both time and space sat together in Oneness on a continuum of Light. At that time, matter too was Light. Light became energy and energy gained density to shape itself into matter. The dictates of Physical Laws are such that the denser the reality, the more polarized the matter becomes. Consequently, for Light to sustain itself in lower dimensional densities, it would need to accept the dictates of Polarization. When Light reaches into the density of this third dimensional realm of duality, it is at its most polarized point.
This law also applies to all beings who would wish to incarnate on Earth. A being of Pure Light living in complete Oneness, unaware of any duality or polarity, would experience this change when brought to the density of these lower dimensions. Such a soul, in moving through density, accepts to become polarized. An original soul would, therefore, have to split itself into two equal and exact halves, with each half the twin essence of the other. One half would become the Feminine Polarity and the other, the Masculine Polarity. This is necessary only when a soul comes down to realms of greater density. In Higher Realms, where polarity is not as pronounced, both male and female components are held within one soul. The soul in its original form, or rather non-form, holds both polarities in total Oneness and as such, is androgynous. In the third dimensional realms, because of the pull of gravity and the forces of polarity, an energy encapsulated in matter either has electrical charge and is therefore Masculine or magnetic charge and is Feminine. This applies to human beings and almost all species of animals and plants. Even places and things emit electrical or magnetic charges. For example, Metatron tells us that the East Coast of the United States holds the electrical force and is Masculine by nature and the West Coast holds the magnetic force and is Feminine. The polarity present at these two ends balances the country and the entire North American Continent.
The concept of Twin Flames has its roots in the splitting of the one soul into two halves. The halves known as Twin Flames are bound to find each other, in order to unite and return to Oneness. The Flame of God-Unity is the original Flame of Oneness which has always been illuminated in the heart of the original soul. This Flame also splits into two, with each half as the exact replica or twin of the other. Each half of the Flame takes residence in the heart of the two polarized halves. When the two original souls are united and their Flames are re-ignited together, their journey of separation is over. At the point of their union, the journey back to Oneness can begin.
The Twin Flames on their journey through time and space split further. Each splitting of the soul at these levels is known as soul fragmentation. This does not pertain to the gender of each fragment. Members of both polarities can be incarnated in male or female bodies at any given time. All the soul fragments which are created from further polarization of the electronic polarity are soul mates and all the fragments created from the magnetic polarity are soul mates to each other.
This is how soul mates and Twin Flames are different. Soul mates are alike because they are created or fragmented from the same half, whereas the Twin Flames are created from opposite halves. Therefore, there is a distinct difference between soul mates and Twin Flames. However, in most available literature the two terms are used interchangeably without a distinction.
The Ascended Masters have a special interest in bringing the Twin Flames together because the evolution of each soul depends upon the union of the two split halves or the original Twin Flames. When destiny and the Free Will choices of both halves provide an opportunity for uniting the Twin Flames, the Masters work hard to bring such an event to a successful conclusion.
In essence, a soul would not truly know wholeness unless it finds its Twin Flame, experiences union and breaks the chasm of polarity and duality to return to Unity. However, sometimes the circumstances may only allow a fleeting experience of Oneness. In other cases the meeting of the Twin Flames may not even lead to a romantic relationship. Furthermore, many a romantic or social relationship between Twin Flames has been known to breakdown due to the emotional and mental depth and intensity of the relationship.
Perhaps the most obvious reason is the great degree of polarity which exists between the forces of the magnetic and the electric, or the female and the male, of the species. Men and women are evolving at different rates and through different means on their path of spiritual growth and evolution. In extreme cases, some Twin Flames have fallen so far apart energetically, physically and spiritually, that even if they were to find one another, they would have little or no common ground to form a relationship. In other cases the force of attraction which pulls the Twin Flames together may become overwhelmingly intense; intensely magnetic and intensely electric. It can even lead to near meltdown experiences. In many a case, the two may feel as though they cannot get enough of each other sometimes and at other times they cannot run away from each other fast enough. It is easy to understand that there is a much greater burn-out effect from the coming together of Twin Flames than there is of soul mates. Soul mates, being of the same polarity, walk on common ground and easily see eye to eye. Yet the completion of any soul's journey can be accomplished from the coming together of the Twin Flames and not the soul mates.
The Masters, therefore view any and all possible connections preferable to none, and do everything in their power to help both parties overcome all obstacles and accelerate to a favorable conclusion. Failing that, the Masters have formulated alternate means to assist us on our path in reaching the goal of Enlightenment. One of these alternate means provides us with a shortcut to do away with, or bypass the necessity of the physical presence of a Twin Flame for the evolution of soul fragments. To create this shortcut, the Masters sought and have been granted the dispensation to call forth the Blueprint for the Original Flame, before it was split into two flames. Consequently, the original flame is called from the Heart of the original soul and placed into the Heart Chakra of each individual soul fragment by the Masters during the meditational exercises given specifically in this book. The Original Flame of Oneness, sometimes called the Flame of God-Unity, and at other times the Eternal Flame, is the Spark of Oneness which illumines the Heart of the Undifferentiated Source. It is undifferentiated because it knows no polarity. There is no differentiation of Light and Dark, male and female, electric and magnetic. The Flame of God-Unity in its perfect original form was placed into the Heart of the original soul as that soul came to manifest form and before it split. The Ascended Masters can retrieve that flame either by going to the original soul or by directly retrieving a Spark from the Flame of God-Unity in the Heart of the Undifferentiated Source.
Once the Flame is reinstated in our hearts, we may be accelerated on our path of evolution to Enlightenment without the delay or distraction of finding our Twin Flame. The concept of such a reunion, however, still holds great attraction for each Twin Flame, in spite of its inherent difficulties. It is therefore stipulated in the plan of the Masters that bringing forth the Original Flame to each of the twins, can become, in and of itself, a force for the attraction of the Twin Flames to each other. 050523jifoSAKU
Twin Flames: Lady Nada, Chohan of the 6th Ray and her special Mission. Call upon Lady Nada, Chohan of the 6th Ray, the Ray of Service, but also she has a very specific endeavor that she has taken upon herself given the situation with the Twin Flames and the scarcity of the coming together of the Twin Flames and the success of the coming together.
Lady Nada has taken it upon herself to be the patron of the Twin Flames. So when you go into the energy of the Twin Flames, call upon Lady Nada. Say, "In the name of the I Am That I am, I ask Lady Nada to bring this situation to the next level, to proceed to accelerate, to bring it to a togetherness as it is willed in the light-as it is to the highest benefit and interest of both of us, as it is to the highest service of the light." Ask Lady Nada to focus on this project. Offer this project to her and say, "I surrender this project to you. I surrender the outcome of the events to you and I ask you to bring us together in the most productive, most illumined way, whatever that may be. And if you have a specific interest, then I want it to be THIS way," then specifically state that interest, specifically state that situation, that procedure and just to cover all your bases, simply in case there is a better situation that you haven't even thought of, "this or better be given to be, this opportunity or better be presented to me in the name of the I Am That I Am."
There are times when you don't know what the best solution is, so you simply offer it to the Masters and say "the best solution to this situation be brought."
Go to Lady and Master Nada and say, "Lady Nada, I ask of you to focus your attention on this. You have offered to humankind that you would focus on specific projects that humanity needs to accomplish in service and is incapable of because of lack of support." You see, this is one of the services that Lady Nada has offered; that she would hold her focus on a project that your soul desires to accomplish and because the other side of this coin is that she has offered to bring together and hold her focus on the Twin Flames. This is a two-fold service that Lady Nada has offered and on both aspects of it, you will benefit from asking her. So focus on this energy and "You have offered yourself in service of the Twin Flames so I ask of you to proceed with bringing my Twin Flame-I surrender this situation to you. I offer you the control of this situation. I offer you the management of this situation. I ask you attention to be given to this situation, and I ask that your focus be fully placed on this event and not my will but THY will be done. I surrender it to you."
Twin Flames: Do the souls begin on the same ray together? At the point where they split they choose they practically opposite ends of the spectrum. So if one soul starts at the beginning of the spectrum, they will be choosing 1, 2, or 3 and the soul on the other side would be choosing 6, 5 and 4. The reason why hardly anybody chooses 7 is that 7 is the new souls, the souls of the 7th Ray, which, although of much greater spiritual evolution on one aspect, they are really not or Earth, nor do they belong to Earth nor do they have long life spans coming to Earth. So the 7th Rays don't really come into this calculation. So if you are working with the beginning end of the spectrum it would be the first three rays and at the point of split then the partner would be working with the end of the spectrum which is the 2nd bunch, the 2nd Ray, the 2nd lot of the three Rays, so 1, 2, and 3 which would be one aspect, and then 4, 5, 6, except all the souls that come on the 7th Ray are usually Twin Flames with one another. They make an agreement to come on the 7th Ray. They have fewer "coming togethers" at this present moment in this level of evolution of Earth. META 050525.
Twin Flames, Importance of: Sanat Kumara states: there is a need, especially in the case of the male of the species, for the chakras to be widened through the magnetic force of the bringing together of twin Flames. This action can be attained with the force of attraction between a male and female, whether they are twin Flames or not. However, the magnetic force field that is created through the coming together of twin Flames is of such heightened energies above and beyond that of simple coming together of a male and female that are attracted to each other that the pendulum can swing all the way from one end of the spectrum (which is magnetic force) to the other end of the spectrum (which is the electrical force). Therefore, when the magnetic force pulls as a result of the coming together of the twin Flames, their chakras begin to vibrate to that feminine force field – the magnetic force of the universe, nature, the Earth, and your own body – that enables those same force fields from nature, the Earth, the universe, and your own body to then pull to itself the electronic force fields – the force of electrical nature – at electron level, sub-atomic level to be anchored. This will then bring a balancing of the electromagnetic forces, whether it is the forces in your body, the forces illuminated through your body or the cosmic forces. As above, so below; as within, so without; the microcosm which you are becomes the replica, the mirror image of the macrocosm which is reflected around you. SAKU 050517.
Universal Laws of Karma and Divine Love: Divine Mother states, there are Universal Laws that are ruled by Divine Love. The Universal Laws that you are ruled by in your Dimension of Reality are the laws of cause and effect, karma. There comes a point when you're not affected by karma anymore because you live in Divine Love. You live your life in service to Light. You live your life in service to love. Love is the glue that binds this entire universe together. You've heard this and it's become a cliché and your mind says, yah, yah, I've heard this before. But think about it. Love is the substance that holds this entire cosmos together. When you move beyond the Universal Laws of cause and effect, you are ruled by the laws of Divine Love. DiMo090819.
Wave-Pulse: The pulse is like when you throw a pebble into water. The wave is like the rings that are created as the reaction of water to the pebble. It begins to make circles that keep spreading outwards. Then it reaches the edges, it gains a momentum and it folds on itself to come back.
So imagine, you send one wave out, as beams of Light in every direction. It expands to its maximum reach and folds back on itself with a pulse creating a wave and gaining momentum as they return to the center to implode and pulse again becoming a wave that come to the surface – expanding in every direction to a new greater maximum reach before folding back. So this wave-pulse; pulse-wave, continues back and forth ad infinitum. This then represents the concept of actions and reactions which keep feeding off each other. The pulse from the center becomes a wave, at the edges becoming a pulse again; the pulse makes a wave to come to the center to create another pulse to gain momentum and repeat again.
Imagine the amount of Light you receive with every return of the wave-pulse. When you have wave-pulse in place you don't need to implode explode, you simply have to focus on the wave-pulse. Because the outcome of the implosion explosion – when fully established – is the wave-pulse. You have the wave-pulse in place you don't need to exert yourself any further. The wave-pulse is the outcome; the wave-pulse is the final experience, the purna huti.
Violet Flame: One of the most beneficial and accelerated ways to remove and release dross is by calling upon the Violet Flame of Transmutation. The negative impact of karma and karmic entanglements can be freed from your body and from the environment around you as well as from Earth plane through the Transmutational qualities of the violet flame.
At this present moment we are entering into the Age of Aquarius and begin the Seventh Golden Age which is the time for the reign of the Violet Ray and Flame. Quan Yin the Goddess of Compassion has been the Guardian of the Violet Ray and Flame for 14,000 years. She passed on the torch to Ascended Master St. Germain in the 1950's, according to the teachings of members of the St. Germain Foundation and Elizabeth Clare and Mark Prophet. St. Germain describes the way to invoke the Violet Flame in the following manner.
"Visualize a spiral of Violet Flame spiraling around you and me. The spiraling Light expands and we stand together inside an enormous tongue of Violet Flame which spirals upward from your feet, spinning counter-clockwise.
The Violet Flame must always be called to form from Earth to the Heavens above and it must always be spun counter-clockwise. The counter-clockwise spin helps to transmute the dross from your own energy bodies. All dross accumulated from eons of lifetimes of struggle, as well as daily dross picked up from people, places and things can be transmuted through the Violet Flame. Always wrap yourself in the Violet Flame before you embark on the events of each day. Before you get out of bed in the morning visualize yourself standing in front of St. Germain. Imagine that St. Germain's left hand is on your heart beaming you the Light of the Violet Flame. Visualize spirals of Purple Light spinning counter-clockwise all around you. Always start and end your day by this visualization. If you are tired and know that you will put your head upon your pillow and be asleep, just intend it. Intend to have the Violet Flame wrapped around you and ask St. Germain to take you to the retreats. I will take you through these levels every time that you ask for it." St. Germain 080115.
Yahoweh-EL: Archangel Yahoweh-EL, who holds the Creative Feminine Force for Divine Mother on Earth, approaches you. She holds the vibrational frequencies of the Feminine Principle which most closely beats in rhythm with the heartbeat of Mother Earth. As the Emissary of Light of Divine Mother, Yahoweh-EL resides at the Throne of YHWH. From this Throne she showers the Light of the Feminine Creative Force to Earth and all souls.
Yahoweh-EL; Angelic Forces of Yahoweh-EL: Yahoweh-El is a Great Angelic Being who resides at the Throne of YHWH. Yahoweh-EL is the embodiment of a fragment from the essence of YHWH who has taken form to serve the Light. Yahoweh-El does not have a dense Physical Body but an Etheric Body of Pure Light. When you stand before the Presence of Yahoweh-El you cannot expect to see a human body. You can experience peace and calm, loving compassion that comes with Pure Light and the Spirit of Light in its Feminine Creative Nature. Divine Mother has called the Angelic Forces of Yahoweh-El to be the emissaries to carry the vibration of the Platinum Ray of Feminine Creative Force to Earth at this present time on her behalf.


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CAIRO - Egypt's presidential election on Monday turned into a nationalist celebration at many polls with voters singing and dancing for the almost certain winner - former military chief Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, who last year ousted the first freely elected president.
But the first day of voting in the two-day election also illustrated the bitter divisions that have riven Egypt since the military's removal of Islamist leader Mohammed Morsi. In towns where Islamists dominate, voting was often thin or non-existent.
The 59-year-old retired Field Marshal el-Sissi is looking for more than a landslide victory from the election. He's hoping for a strong turnout to show international critics that his July 3 ouster of Morsi reflected the will of the people - and to claim popular support as he tries to tackle Egypt's daunting economic woes.
For 10 months, el-Sissi has had the institutions of state and nearly all of Egypt's media behind him, whipping up a pro-military jingoism and depicting him as the sole figure who can rescue the country. After polls closed Monday, the prime minister declared today a holiday for government employees to allow them go to the polls, in a push for greater numbers.
El-Sissi's only rival in the race is left-wing politician Hamdeen Sabahi, who finished third in the 2012 presidential vote.
To accommodate the adulation surrounding el-Sissi, election commission spokesman Abdel-Aziz Salman said that if voters write "l love you" or draw hearts next to their choice on their ballots, it would count as a valid vote - unlike in the past when in which anything but a check would spoil the vote.
At some polling stations in Cairo, lines of el-Sissi supporters waved Egyptian flags and wore clothes in the national red-white-and-black colors. Men and women, including ones wearing the conservative Muslim veil, danced to pro-military pop songs, "Bless the Hands" and "A Good Omen," which have played constantly on the radio for months.
"He is a strict military man. He will get a grip on the country and bring security to the street," said Olfat Sayed Hasanein, a university professor who voted for el-Sissi. "We cannot afford any more failures."
Many voters are desperate for stability after three years of violence and economic decline since autocrat Hosni Mubarak was ousted by the 2011 popular uprising led by activists seeking democratic change and economic equality.
So they have embraced el-Sissi, who promises to end turmoil and has shown a hard-handed intolerance for dissent. Security forces have waged a bloody crackdown on Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamists, killing hundreds and jailing more than 16,000 - and have also arrested secular activists critical of the military.
Hoda Takla, a 65-year-old Coptic Christian from Cairo's upper-class Maadi suburb had a message for those who oppose el-Sissi. Christians are among el-Sissi's strongest supporters for his fight against Islamists whose power they feared.
"They are not thinking straight," she said. "I feel we are the majority now and I feel that circumstances have brought us Muslims and Christians again closer together. I am very optimistic."
El-Sissi's supporters say he saved Egypt from Islamists. Morsi's loyalists accuse him of crushing democracy with a coup. His secular critics, many of whom supported Morsi's removal, now fear el-Sissi will enshrine a Mubarak-style autocracy.
The Brotherhood and its Islamist allies - who dominated all other votes since Mubarak's ouster - have called for a boycott of the election. That will likely reduce turnout by a sizeable chunk of the nearly 54 million registered voters.
The question will be whether non-Islamist voters also stay away, whether out of disenchantment with el-Sissi or apathy over a foregone conclusion. Some revolutionary activists involved in the 2011 uprising have also called for a boycott, though many have pushed for a vote for Sabahi to reduce el-Sissi's victory and build up a future opposition movement.
In parts of rural Egypt where Islamists are strong, shops were closed, streets deserted and polling centers had only a handful of voters.
In the village of Zaydiya, south of Cairo, most of the closed stores' shutters bore pro-Muslim Brotherhood slogans, proclaiming "Morsi is my president, not al-Sissi" and "CC is a traitor," using English letters for the candidate's name. Morsi posters are plastered on walls around town.
Hesham Mahmoud, a 21-year-old Islamic Law student who runs a small shop, called the election a "farce." He had a beard and wore a short galabiya robe - hallmarks of Islamists.
"We have voted before and where did our votes go?" he said. "All this was swept away as if it never even happened."
In a few towns in southern Egypt, Christians - a strong constituency for el-Sissi - stayed at home, fearing reprisals from powerful Islamist hardliners in their areas.
Some 500,000 soldiers and police deployed to protect the polls amid fears of attack by Islamic militants who have waged a campaign of violence since Morsi's removal. Posters of the security forces were plastered across Cairo, proclaiming, "Come out and we will protect you."
Security forces in body armor, some of them masked, were in sandbagged positions outside polling stations. Army and police helicopters hovered over Cairo.
There were only a few reported incidents of election-related violence. The most serious was the killing of a youth activist who had campaigned for el-Sissi, shot by gunmen as he drove home in the Islamist stronghold of Kirdassa on Cairo's western outskirts.
The election is a powerful contrast to 2012 presidential elections. In that race, there were 13 candidates and a rollicking campaign that saw lively debate over how to achieve the ideals of the "revolution," reflecting the short-lived euphoria that followed Mubarak's ouster.
Morsi, a veteran figure from the powerful Muslim Brotherhood, won in part because even many who distrusted the Islamists preferred him to his opponent - Mubarak's last prime minister Ahmed Shafiq - seen as a throwback to the former state.
This time, a sense of resignation - and worry over the future - hung over many.
Mohammed Heiba, a 37-year-old tailor in Cairo's impoverished Matariya district, reflected the conflicted opinions swirling in Egypt since last July.
He supports Morsi's ouster but doesn't like the crackdown on Islamists because of the bloodshed. He's not an admirer of el-Sissi, but wants the stability the career military man promises to bring.
On Monday, he watched TV coverage of the voting, with a split screen showing scenes from a dozen places around the country at once. "There are no real elections," he mused.
"This is just a bad movie. The days of Mubarak are coming back."


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Renters Insurance: Landlord & Tenant - Who Is Responsible For What?
Throughout the entire world, there are many people who rent a home from a landlord. The cost of purchasing a home of your own is quite high, and for many people, the cost is simply too much. There are people who could afford to own a home, but they don`t want the extra responsibilities and costs associated with one, so they rent instead. Despite the reasons for renting your home, as a renter you have a variety of responsibilities that are quite different than those of your landlord, especially when it comes to insurance. So who is responsible to cover each of the areas of the home? Let`s take a look.
Renter's insurance responsibilities
As the renter, you are responsible for covering the contents of the home - known as HO-4 insurance, or renters insurance. This insurance covers the inside of the home, all the things you own that you brought into the house. However, unless you own the appliances in the home, your renters insurance does not cover them. This also covers furnishings if those are owned by the landlord. Your renters insurance covers all your possessions, from your jewellery right down to your socks, in the event of a peril that causes damage or loss of your items, such as fire or theft. Some renters insurance comes with liability insurance, as discussed more below, you should talk to your landlord about who is responsible for liability coverage.
Landlord's insurance responsibilities
The landlord is responsible to have insurance for the structure of the building and any of the contents that he or she owns, such as the appliances and furniture if the home was furnished when you rented it. Essentially, the landlord needs to have dwelling insurance - insurance that covers the building only and none of the contents, except those owned by the landlord. Some dwelling insurance comes with liability insurance as well - but it is important for you and the landlord to discuss responsibility for liabilities that happen inside and outside the dwelling.
Liability insurance - who is responsible for coverage?
You need to talk to your landlord about liability insurance and who is responsible to have it. What liability should you have insurance for? You should also ask if the landlord will cover liability that happens outside of your home. You will likely be told that you are responsible for liability coverage that happens within the walls of your home, but usually, you will also be responsible for liability outside the home too. Most renters are responsible to clear the walkways in front of your home and keep them clear of snow, ice and debris. If your landlord holds responsibility for liability insurance outside, and someone falls because you failed to keep the walks clear, the liability was caused by your own inaction, not the landlords. However, on the flip side of that coin, if your landlord is responsible for the walkways, they should hold the liability for the outside as well.
Double check with your landlord about your insurance requirements - some landlords have minimum levels of insurance that they require you to hold. It`s best to find out before hand what those are than risk eviction or to not know before you agree to take an apartment.


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The Red V Blue Kickstarter Campaign is live. It's official. "The Rivalry: Red V. Blue" is the FIRST movie to document the Louisville-Kentucky basketball feud, college basketball's most heated rivalry!
The documentary has been in production for over two and a half years and has been funded entirely out-of-pocket by the filmmakers. Now we need your help to finish "The Rivalry: Red V. Blue"!
We have completed 80 percent of the production, but there are a few more players, coaches, and personalities who need to be interviewed. Your Kickstarter dollars will cover the completion of principal photography as well as the post-production and distribution expenses of Red V. Blue. These costs include but are not limited to:
- Equipment rental
- Crew stipends
- Editing stipends
- Archival footage
- Animation / graphics
- Sound editing
- Sound design
- Licensing agreements
- Merchandise manufacturing
Below is the official video for the Red V Blue kickstarter campaign. If you like what we are doing and want to see Kentucky recognized for its excellence in college basketball, share "The Rivalry: Red V. Blue" with your family, friends, teammates and rivals alike!


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A comedy fundraiser – all proceeds help Imagine LA's mission of empowering families to transition from homelessness to self-sufficiency.
Imagine LA's Change Agents are a group of young professionals and other enthusiasts who are engaged in ending the cycle of family homelessness and poverty in LA. For more info, email us at email@example.com.


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Country Club Plaza will sell for $660 million
Plaza Lighting Ceremony
Highwoods Properties on Monday announced an agreement to sell one of Kansas City's most famous assets, the Country Club Plaza, for $660 million.
Glenn Stephenson, vice president and division manager of Highwoods Properties in Kansas City, said the company "received tremendous interest from an eclectic group of credible prospective buyers." In the end, it accepted the offer from a joint venture between Taubman Centers and the Macerich Co.
The sale to two experienced shopping center owners will mark only the second time the Plaza, opened in 1923 by Kansas City real estate magnate J.C. Nichols, has changed ownership. The sale is expected to be completed Feb. 1.
Taubman and Macerich will be 50-50 owners of the Plaza and will jointly manage it. The joint-venture buyers, operating as Country Club Plaza KC Partners LLC, intend to acquire "substantially all" of the famous shopping district, including 18 properties with 804,000 square feet of retail space and 468,000 square feet of office space.
Robert Taubman, chief executive of Taubman Centers, said the Plaza purchase is "consistent with our strategy to own high quality, dominant assets in great markets."
The Taubman company, based in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, specializes in owning and managing 23 shopping centers in the United States and Asia. Taubman's properties nearest to Kansas City are Taubman Prestige Outlets Chesterfield in a St. Louis suburb, the Cherry Creek Shopping Center in Denver and The Mall at Green Hills in Nashville, Tenn.
Arthur Coppola, chief executive of Macerich, said the Plaza acquisition is "the latest example of Macerich's continuing strategy of recycling capital out of slower-growth assets."
Macerich is a real estate investment trust with interests in 50 shopping centers and malls throughout the United States. The company, founded in 1994, has retail properties in New York, Virginia, California, Arizona, Illinois and Colorado, among other states. A notable expansion announced in 2014 was its co-development of Fashion Outlets of San Francisco on the site of the former Candlestick Park.
"We are confident that this partnership between two heralded companies will carry the torch for the Country Club Plaza, and will continue to serve this great community wholeheartedly as stewards of our city's crown jewel," Stephenson said.
"It is a mind-blowing price, but if there is a property in Kansas City that could achieve this level of price this was the one," said Michael Berenbom, vice president of investments for Lane4 Property Group. "Macerich operates some of the best retail properties in the United States."
Berenbom said Macerich has "unparallelled" relationships in the retail industry and could bring some first-to-market tenants to the Plaza. Still, he said shopping centers need a balance between national and local retailers, and some of the Plaza's locally owned tenants — like Gram & Dun, Tivol and Baldwin — are among the center's most popular.
Highwoods said the buyers have posted earnest money deposits of $25 million "that are non-refundable except in limited circumstances."
The companies' announcement said that "concurrent with or shortly after closing, a long-term, fixed-rate loan for 50-60 percent of the purchase price is expected to be placed on the asset."
The contract gives Highwoods the option to extend the sale closing date up to 30 days beyond Feb. 1.
The center, known for its architecture reminiscent of Seville, Spain, and its annual Christmas light display, lays claim to being the nation's first "suburban" shopping center designed for shoppers arriving by car.
The sale announcement came just as the Kansas City Council prepares to vote Thursday on building height and use restrictions intended to preserve the ambiance and vibrancy of the Plaza.
Building heights generally would be limited to what they are now, with a maximum of three stories along 47th Street from Pennsylvania Avenue to J.C. Nichols Parkway, and between three and 10 stories north of 46th Terrace and west of Jefferson Street.
The release said the 55-acre shopping district, which Highwoods said is "95 percent leased in the aggregate," generated cash and net operating income of $31 million in 2015.
Highwoods has been in talks with several retailers to fill its few empty spaces.
Frank Westermajer, an area franchisee for Corner Bakery Cafe, said he was in negotiations to take over the 4,000-square-foot former California Pizza Kitchen space at 4743 Pennsylvania Ave.
"We are putting our plans on hold until the new ownership group settles in," he said.
Meanwhile, the former Halls Plaza department store building is being converted to Plaza 211, which could have six to eight retailers — mostly upscale, exclusive tenants to the Plaza — as well as one or two restaurants.
Real estate sources said Highwoods has been in talks with such possible tenants as Nike and Apple, a current Plaza tenant that could relocate to a larger space.
Highwoods declined to comment, and Apple has not returned phone calls seeking comment on a possible relocation. Nike officials couldn't be reached for comment on Monday.
Ralph Liebetrau, co-owner of Decori, a locally owned home accents, gifts and holiday decor store, said he would like the new owners to sign more mom-and-pop operations.
"Unique shops, something that is not in every shopping center," he said. "If you have something at the mall down the street, why come to the Plaza? But I know the money is in the big-box retailers."
Highwoods, a real estate investment trust based in Raleigh, N.C., said last year that it put the Plaza on the block to help finance its acquisitions of office towers in Georgia and Florida, properties that were more consistent with its overall business plan.
It has owned the Plaza since 1998, when the shopping district was acquired as part of a merger of Highwoods and the J.C. Nichols Co. The merger, then valued at $544 million, included Highwoods' assumption of $231 million in Nichols Co. debt.
According to Jackson County property tax records in 2015, the appraised market value of Highwoods properties in Kansas City was about $166 million. That in itself was no indication of the market-rate value of the Plaza.
Highwoods said it intends to close its Kansas City division office upon completion of the sale.
Highwoods will continue to own two office buildings in Kansas City totaling 149,000 square feet, plus a 50 percent interest in Plaza Colonnade LLC, owner of a 292,000-square-foot office building; a 12.5 percent interest in 4600 Madison Associates LP, a 262,000-square-foot office building; and a 26.5 percent interest in Kessinger/Hunter LLC, a brokerage services firm.
In a statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Highwoods said the companies reached the Plaza sale agreements on Dec. 21.


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By Gram Krause-Lyons Today is an easy day for Dale Kleinschmidt since it's only going to be a 10-hour day. His more difficult days start as early as 4:30 a.m. and end at 5 p.m. Although many jobs require long days, the job that requires Kleinschmidt to be in at such an hour may be surprising.
Kleinschmidt is the head brewer at Lake Superior Brewing Company, a local Duluth brewery that is still relatively unknown in the area. Despite this, Kleinschmidt and the rest of his team at the brewery work hard to make a quality product and it shows. Every non-seasonal beer they've brewed has won an award at the World Beer Championship, an international beer competition. This year, their seasonal Oktoberfest beer won gold.
"The awards feel good," Kleinschmidt said. "It just helps to validate the work I put into it."
This day is easier because Kleinschmidt is making only one batch of beer, the early days come when he has to make a double batch. Today he is working on one of their lighter beers called Kayak Kolsch. The beer was the highest-ranked Kolsch at the 2002 World Beer Championship, according to the brewery's Web site.
Kleinschmidt puts his heart and soul into the beer he makes. In fact, he hasn't had a day off since March 1 of this year.
Kleinschmidt loves his job. He made his first batch of home brewed beer in 1971, and discovered a passion for brewing beer.
More than twenty years after brewing his first draft, Kleinschmidt heard through his homebrew club of a company that was going to start brewing beer in the Duluth area--the Lake Superior Brewing Company. In 1995 he began as a volunteer at the start-up company. By his third week he was offered an apprenticeship at the brewery, working 20 to 30 hours a week.
Three years later, when the brewery moved from a small room in the Fitger's Brewery Complex to its current location in West Duluth, Dale was offered the company's first paid position as an assistant brewer.
Kleinschmidt's years of hard work were recognized in 2000 when he was made the head brewer. He's created many of Lake Superior's award-winning beers, but the awards aren't what motivate him. "I would still make a quality product even if no one bought it." he said.
It isn't so far from the truth. Despite the many awards, few have heard of the small brewery in Duluth. In fact, they sold exactly zero kegs of their gold-medal winning Oktoberfest beer in the Duluth area, said Kleinschmidt.
Kleinschmidt said he doesn't let being unknown get him down. "We are the only real brewery in Duluth, not a brew pub," he said.
Kleinschmidt is looking to increase awareness of the company. Many days he starts a batch and hands the reins to his assistant brewer, then he hits the streets conducting beer tastings and other events
In the mean time, loyal Lake Superior Brewing fans will continue to enjoy the beer that Kleinschmidt and his team produce. As for the future, Kleinschmidt said he hopes that the word will spread. That might mean more early mornings, filling orders and perfecting recipes, but he wouldn't have it any other way.
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About McDougal Eye Center
At McDougal Eye Center, we are committed to providing the very best in high-quality eye care in a professional, caring environment. We offer a wide array of general and specialized services, as well as the eyeglasses or contacts that you need.
We are dedicated to helping you see everything clearly while looking your personal best. We want to be your eye doctor and optician of choice.
McDougal Eye Center specializes in eye exams, contact lens fittings, the diagnosis and treatment of medical conditions and preoperative and postoperative care for surgeries such as cataract and LASIK. Call us also if you need quick help with an emergency eye situation.
Our Optical Boutique features a wide variety of exclusive eyeglass and sunglass frames by quality designers. Our experienced opticians will help you select the lenses and frames that are best suited to your prescription, lifestyle and optical needs. They will also customize your prescription lenses and make any necessary frame adjustments so your eyewear is perfect for you. View our selection of featured eyewear brands here.
– Dr. Guy McDougal, Dr. Lars Carlson, and Dr. Kevin Pugh – are known and respected throughout the Mesa area. Dr. McDougal has over 30 years of experience, practicing optometry in the East Valley since 1990.
We have two convenient locations within Mesa to better serve our patients. We offer extended service hours, convenient curbside parking and a vast selection of stylish eyewear, as well as a variety of contact lens brands.
Schedule an appointment for your eye exam today.
Gilbert / Southern Location
1121 S. Gilbert Rd.
Suite 103
Mesa, AZ 85204
Located at the northeast corner of Gilbert and Southern in Santa Fe Square
Fax: 480-854-1157
Main / Sossaman Location
7435 E. Main Street
Suite 101
Mesa, AZ 85207
Located on the south side of Main Street, west of Sossaman
Fax: 480-832-2771
Mailing Address
Dr. Guy T. McDougal and Associates, P.C.
P.O. Box 30084
Mesa, AZ 85275-0084
Gilbert / Southern Location
Office Hours:
Monday – Friday 8am - 6pm
Extended Hours:
Wednesday until 7pm
Saturday 8am - 2pm
Closed Sundays and Major Holidays
Main / Sossaman Location
Office Hours:
Tuesday - Friday 8am - 5pm
(closed lunch 1-2pm)
Saturday 8am to 1pm
Closed Sundays, Mondays and Major Holidays


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Corporate Travel today is broken. There exist number of unnecessary, duplicable steps for travel approval and booking to expense reporting and reconciliation. And across various companies these issues vary.
Corporate Travel today Is Broken
Also, as companies grow in size, we have witnessed that their primary needs and consideration for business travel arrangements are different
Companies at various stages have Different Requirements
Tripeur team have personally experienced some of these issues set out to fix them, and being technologist at heart, looked at tech to solve these issues. Our research, design and architecture of potential solution excited us and gave birth to the 3rd Generation Tripeur Platform.


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Designing Tapered Members
Tips & Tricks
In RF‑/STEEL EC3, members are designed using the Equivalent Member Method by default. If, however, there is a tapered member, the General Method is used automatically. Because this might be confusing at first, it is helpful to look at the background of these methods.
In the prestandards of the Eurocode 3, there were already rules for the design of tapered members by means of the Equivalent Member Method. These rules, however, were highly simplified and in some cases inaccurate. Therefore, Eurocode 3 prescribes using the General Method for such structural elements. First, the critical buckling load is determined considering the support conditions and imperfections. From these, the slenderness and the reduction factor are determined.
In RFEM 4 and RSTAB 7, you have to consider that tapered members are not detected automatically, and thus are designed by using the conservative Equivalent Member Method. In the settings of the National Annex, however, you can set the overall application of the General Method.
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Design of steel members according to Eurocode 3