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An Ecovillage Retrofit for Los Angeles: Healing an Inner-City Neighborhood
Lois Arkin offers a snapshot of the ecovillage movement, another example of a community-based initiative to develop working models of sustainability. Lois describes in depth the evolution of her ecovillage in downtown Los Angeles. It is one way community can happen — even where the situation seems beyond repair.
Sowing Seeds for the Los Angeles Eco-Village
On Christmas Eve, I was on my nightly schmoozing walk around the block. My neighbor Jem was standing outside leaning over his old Cadillac having a smoke. I paused to chat. Then a car sped by, to my expletive.
"You know, yesterday," Jem offered, "183 cars went by in an hour, and about 75 percent of them were doing over 40!"
"How do you know that?" I queried, astonished.
"I stood here and counted them, "Jem replied, going on to describe the traffic patterns throughout our central-city neighborhood. I was delighted — we have to begin collecting traffic statistics to prepare for major changes on the two streets that compri se our neighborhood.
"What we really need help with is getting some of those speed bumps in here," he concluded, asking if I knew the people in local government who could help us do that.
I was elated at discovering this interest of Jem's. In urban neighborhoods techniques for traffic calming — slowing down auto traffic — are a major component of urban ecovillage and eco-city development. Jem's interest in this issue meant that others wi ll get involved. He manages the 40-unit apartment building across the street from the four-plex where CRSP and the Eco-Village Center are headquartered, and he's a major energy on the block. Jem knows just about everyone and has a great sense of fair pla y. We're lucky. We can feel confident about the traffic-calming projects with people like Jem involved. He'll talk with most everyone on the block and help people get to public hearings when needed.
Earlier in the day, I was talking with Esfandiar, the garden coordinator for our block, about recycling the four-foot stack of cardboard from the boxes of produce clippings for our compost pile. He told me the city had started picking up cardboard for rec ycling — but we had to bind it up first.
I've been collecting twine for years, convinced that some day there would be a use for it. This was it! Out came my box of one- to two-foot strips of nylon twine. Soon, Ming Gook and Dai Han, Johnny and James were gathered around Esfandiar and me, curious and wanting to help. These neighbor children, aged four to 12, made a game of tying the strings together. Esfandiar talked with the children about gardening, composting, art, sports, Christmas, his native Iran, and listened to their thoughts and concerns as we tied. In an hour, the string was stretched around poles across the street, down the block, maybe 1,500 feet of it. Four-year-old James insisted on rolling it all up on a stick when we were through, and a fine job he did of it, too.
After the job was done, they all went out on the street to play touch football, except for ten-year-old Johnny who practiced tennis on the sidewalk with me. Then Mary, one of our organic gardeners, came by to share a box of her wonderful ginger cookies wi th us. We are finding more and more occasions for such spontaneous gatherings here in our neighborhood. The night before Christmas Eve, 1992, several members of our Eco-Village Working Group joined together for Christmas carolling. I'd lived on the block for 12 years. Never before had there been any carolling. As the five of us carolled down the street, we met many new folks in our two-block neighborhood and gathered information on their skills for the local barter system we're helping to organize.
Some Basic Ingredients for Inner-City Retrofits
These seemingly unrelated events are typical of the seeds needed to grow a sustainable neighborhood or ecovillage. Spontaneous encounters and working together build trust and a sense of community. In fact, we are a neighborhood in the process of becoming an intentional community by virtue of our prior residential choices.
Being on the streets helps reclaim them as important community space, apart from automobiles and crime. When neighbors see people of good will having fun on the streets, they are more likely to join in, expanding a healthy sense of play and neighborliness . People who are multiskilled and public spirited can create a healthy neighborhood presence which, in turn, can motivate other residents to recapture hope and move into cycles of empowerment. This is whole-systems or cyclic thinking, recognizing that every thing is related to everything else — spotting the unrelatedness or holes in our community systems, and closing the loops.
There can be many reasons for taking a walk. For example, I wait for Dianne so we can walk down the block together. We can chat with each other, get our exercise, share the synergy of our joyous togetherness with anyone we meet during our walk, look for r ecyclable "trash" for the garden and other projects, and more easily include neighbors in spontaneous conversations that one of us alone might be somewhat shy about.
A whole-systems approach to sustainable neighborhood planning and development is interactive and collaborative. A systems approach to planning works at transfering information to people living and working in the neighborhood. This kind of planning recogni zes the value of spontaneity and chaos as essential to innovation and creativity. Whole-systems thinking promotes sensitivity and respect for the pace at which people can learn, plan, own, and incorporate changes.
An urban neighborhood on the path to sustainability is not isolationist within the city! Nor will it be when it has achieved significant self-reliance. The Eco-Village processes set a tone for participation. We engage adjacent neighborhoods and the city a t large in our processes or share resources as appropriate.
For example, the Los Angeles Eco-Village Working Group concentrates on our two-block area for organizing the local barter system (local-exchange trading system or LETS). But we enthusiastically include others nearby who hear about the Eco-Village and want to be included. We participate in tree-planting projects in adjacent neighborhoods. We provide technical assistance to any neighborhood that seeks it. We invite others who live outside our neighborhood to participate in our working groups and neighborhoo d gatherings.
A neighborhood is sustainable when its economic, social, and physical systems are sustainable. The emphasis is always on the people and how they can take care of themselves and their environment in healthy ways — ways that do not jeopardize the ability o f future generations to do the same.
Among those who are planning and advocating for sustainable neighborhoods, there is an emphasis on cooperative relationships, cyclic thinking, and quality of life. In addition to our basic need for a decent standard of living — that is, material sustenan ce and comforts, "quality of life" recognizes people's basic need for good relationships with other people and the environment — the place, the community around them, and especially life-support systems of air, water, and soil.
At first, sustainable thinking has to be consciously practiced. For example, going shopping becomes a challenge, since one is constantly questioning how a product is made, transported, marketed, where packaging goes when we're through with it, what the na ture of its by-products are and what happens to all of it! Retraining ourselves to think this way — in cycles rather than in linear isolation — automatically cuts down on nonessential purchases. Much of the time previously spent on shopping, and driving to shop, is available for community activities such as gardening, composting, dialogue, community-based learning conversations, renovations, eco-businesses, and mutual aid. This is how ecovillages are created — by gathering a critical mass of people who regularly think and act in a whole-systems context. Interactions based on good will and a sense of mutual aid build trust and attract action-oriented energy. Opportunities for building healthy relationships and trust should receive priority — the more t rust there is, the less bureaucracy will be necessary, leaving more time and energy for community development and socializing.
Automobiles and Whole-Systems Thinking: An Exercise
As in nature, everything is constantly changing in an ecovillage. Being designed for sustainability, the social, physical, and economic systems of an ecovillage are all under constant readjustment — because they are understood to be interactive. For exam ple, if we are in inner-city Los Angeles, and we want to breathe cleaner air (inner-city children here have the lowest lung capacity in the nation), we have to rethink our relationship to our private automobiles. When we do that as a community, there will be a number of options and actions emerging, all with social and economic impacts.
Some car owners will give up their autos altogether. This will save, on average, $5,000 to $8,000 per year for other uses, or simply provide freedom from having to earn so much. Lives will change substantially as work and social activities become more nei ghborhood based. In turn, the neighborhood economy will be strengthened. Other car owners will organize vehicle cooperatives, reducing the overall number of autos, pooling their auto-related expenses. Still others will simply reduce miles driven by rearra nging their lives a little. Some will trade their fossil-fueled autos for electrics or other less polluting vehicles, and some will switch to bicycles and local mass transit options. All of these choices have positive social and economic effects.
As community members learn more and more about the car's role in the degradation of life in our city, some will become activists in organizations such as the Alliance for a Paving Moritorium and the Eco-Cities Council. They will help others to understand why changes are necessary and how to make changes in ways that enhance the quality of life for all species living in and around this and other cities.
When neighborhood people begin to think through, plan, and act in other areas of their lives, more and more of them will learn how to be involved in rebuilding our community. Child care, for example, is primarily a social system, but with obvious relation s to the economic and physical systems of a neighborhood.
Learning to think and act in whole systems is fun. It's like a puzzle, challenging and full of surprises. Once there is a common vision, commitment, and action among even a small group of three or four people, then the pieces always start to fall into pla ce. There's a certain magic to it. For instance, the Eco-Village wanted to acquire a building to establish a process for nonprofit community ownership. Just at that time, one of the four-plexes on our street came onto the market at an affordable price.
Then we made a longer-term decision to explore restoring the Bimini Baths, the hot mineral springs 2,000 feet below the surface of our neighborhood. We assumed it would take five to ten years to acquire the industrial building we had targeted for restorat ion as a bath house. Now the building is likely to become available this year! As our community awareness emerges, more opportunities for community building will appear — as if by magic!
Techniques for Developing Eco-Village Systems
We have experimented with a variety of techniques for planning and developing Eco-Village systems. For example, at one point we began holding monthly community gatherings. Project descriptions and sign-up sheets were brought to each meeting. We took these lists with us on daily strolls down the street to encourage more folks to get into a project group. We held group meetings in highly visible places like the sidewalk at the intersection of our two blocks, or in one of the building lobbies, or on the fron t lawn of an apartment building. At each meeting, we had a big sign that indicated what group was at work. This established an expanding presence for change in the neighborhood, and kept our processes open and accessible to all.
People are becoming friendlier on our two blocks as more and more of us actually get to know one another and share a friendly spirit with others on the block who haven't yet begun to participate. Current work groups are based on personal interests and con sensus. The groups change regularly depending on the energy of neighbors and volunteers. At least one Working Group member familiar with Eco-Village systems participates with neighbors and other volunteers on each project group. This way Eco-Village cultu re can expand among residents more consistently.
A sampling of project groups during the first year of the L.A. Eco-Village included earthquake preparedness, children and youth activities, composting and organic vegetable gardening, fruit-tree planting and stewardship, local exchange trading system (LET S — a local currency), traffic calming, neighborhood eco-business development, and monthly potluck gatherings and dialogue groups.
Students from a local church-based urban planning school worked with us on various surveys. Graduate students in urban planning, ecosystem design, and architecture from several local universities have developed Eco-Village plans for their academic project s. We have also been working closely with the White House Place Primary Cen-ter, a public school (K-2) located next to our CRSP/Eco-Village Center. Here youngsters in the Eco-Village and adjacent neighborhoods are learning whole-systems thinking in a comm unity context with two of our city's prominent mentor-teachers. There is beginning to be real continuity between school and neighborhood.
We have facilitated workshops and brought resource people into the neighborhood on a variety of issues, including earthquake preparedness, traffic calming, water flow forms, eco-cities, composting, organic fruit trees and gardening, organic pest control, intentional communities, limited-equity co-op housing, and conflict resolution.
Many fruit trees have been planted and are being stewarded by youngsters who, in turn, engage other children to work with them for ongoing care of the trees. As these other children become ready to steward a tree of their own, they select the type of tree , locate a site, plant it, and name it. The trees then become part of the children's "circle of friends." Involvement of young inner-city children with fruit-tree care and nurturing is the vision of one of our earliest project team members, Maria Davalos. It is so heartening to see her vision become real.
Factoring in Physical Size, Population, and Other Basics
In our two-block area, there are four apartment buildings with 184 households, seven four-plexes, two single-family dwellings, and a drug and alcohol recovery home — about 500 people all together. We have spoken with others in the city striving to create more livable neighborhoods. Some have sought to include much larger geographical areas. Los Angeles, even our inner city, often sprawls way beyond practical considerations. We encourage neighborhood development groups to narrow it down, starting with a s et geographical boundary of one to three blocks and a population of no more than 500.
Our population is ethnically diverse and stable in its proportions of Asians, African Americans, Latinos, and whites. We are multigenerational with a wide spread of incomes from very low to moderate, although proportionately residents are primarily at the lower income levels. Our land uses are already substantially mixed with four strip malls within one block of the community, other commercial and industrial areas within a few more blocks. We are one block away from the best mass transit in Los Angeles, a nd will be within walking distance of two stops for the new underground subway — scheduled to open in 1996.
The hot mineral springs beneath our neighborhood were the base for an international resort here until the early Œ50s. We plan to participate in the restoration of these hot springs to public use. Bimini Baths, as they were known, attracted people from all over the world. Bimini means "sacred site of healing," a perfect match for the Eco-Village vision.
Anthropological studies indicate that 500 is about the limit for an ecovillage-type community. It is about the maximum size group for those involved to be able to know and be known to one another, by name and face, and still give individuals the feeling t hat they can have some influence in the community's direction. Five hundred people in agreement on common issues and concentrated in a single geographic location can also be a powerful economic and political force.
The Eco-Village Planning and Advisory Group
There are about 25 members of the L.A. Eco-Village Planning and Advisory Group, and another 100 or so that have participated in some way during the past several years. After the April 1992 Los Angeles riots, the Planning Group decided to select the inner -city neighborhood around the CRSP center as the L.A. Eco-Village site.
A few members of the core group live in the Eco-Village neighborhood; some are considering moving in; others simply want to be part of the process of helping to make it happen. Some in the group who already live close by have committed to a regular prese nce in the neighborhood. They may eventually begin similar activities in their own and other neighborhoods — this is a learning laboratory for them. The Planning and Advisory Group meets in a variety of ways. There are biweekly dinner and dialogue gather ings, sometimes with special speakers. We have an electronic bulletin board in which we share information and dialogue, seek advice, and build community. For additional information sharing and community building, some of us participate in wider telecommun ications networks — like those operated by the Institute for Global Communications, the Foundation for Intentional Community, and other groups. We have Saturday morning potluck brunches, Friday night front-porch hang-outs with neighbors, and unstructured Monday night gatherings. A seven-member core group is in almost daily contact with each other.
The Planning and Advisory Group includes community organizers, professionals, graduate, and undergraduate students in a variety of disciplines: ecosystem designers, architects, planners, environmentalists, educators, social change activists, waste managem ent specialists, artists, writers, and others with a variety of eclectic interests.
A Brief History of L.A. Eco-Village
Prior to December 1992, the energy of Eco-Village was focused on a vacant 11-acre landfill site owned by the city, and on the surrounding neighborhoods in northeast Los Angeles. That site is about seven miles away from the current location. The vacant lan dfill has a rural feel to it, though it is only about five miles from downtown. The volunteer Planning and Advisory Group used the landfill site to focus its energies for over five years. There have been four exploratory design studies and some significan t public-policy work, including the establishment of ecovillage concepts in the City of Los Angeles Housing Policies.
The Eco-Village Planning Group learned a lot about landfills; but when it came right down to it, no one in the group felt right about moving there. The Group had tried, over the years, to establish a presence in the neighborhoods surrounding the landfill. Although many of the existing neighbors expressed an interest, none assumed an active involvement, and some actively opposed our proposals.
After the violent uprisings of April 1992, many of us began to seriously reevaluate our priorities for inner-city Los Angeles. How could we help heal our city? How could we most effectively introduce whole systems planning into "rebuilding" neighborhoods? At the same time, how could we rethink our positions concerning urban development and open space issues? How could we protect, restore, and preserve our remaining open space? After much thought, those of us in the Planning Group realized that our hearts were no longer into the idea of creating yet another new development. The landfill should remain as open space.
It all added up! In mid-December 1992, 25 of us came together and enthusiastically consensed on changing the focus from the landfill site to this neighborhood. At that time, we had a 12-year presence here, and there were four major fires within two blocks of our community during the riots. We realized that the Eco-Village could have greatest impact where it was needed most — in our own built-out neighborhood.
An ecovillage is not a standard concept that can be designed and plunked down anywhere. Whether new development or retrofit of an existing neighborhood (urban, suburban, or rural), an ecovillage is a complex set of interactive processes. These processes a re inextricably linked to a core group of people working to integrate the public interest with their individual needs, desires, resources, and networks.
Nothing has been lost in refocusing L.A. Eco-Village energy to the new site. In fact, progress is accelerating now because of the learning curve established in the process of working with the old site.
Eureka: Eco-Village Is a State of Mind! Share It!
Now others are moving here because energy is starting to concentrate on our Eco-Village retrofit. Those who begin similar processes in other neighborhoods will begin to share transformative energy here as well. There are so many people with large reserves of knowledge and skills, people isolated in their efforts to create change, and frustrated at not having an appropriate place or community in which their talents and energies can be utilized and validated. Hopefully, this is the decade in which more and more of us will find one another and create the synergies for accelerating planetary transformation.
New alignments are taking place for many of us as we realize our transformations must begin where we are. The skills and knowledge are present within to heal ourselves, our neighborhoods, our cities, our planet — and we have the public responsibility to do it. There is no more time for waiting and searching for "the place where I can live happily ever after."
Ecovillage is the form of community we have chosen to transform or retrofit our neighborhood. Recently, Dianne Herring, an L.A. Eco-Village core group member and ecosystem designer, enthusiastically commented to one of our dialogue groups,
"Eco-Village is a state of mind. You think; you play around; you talk about and work on all these interactive systems; then other people join with you. And soon, it just jumps out at you — you start thinking in Eco-Village systems about everything."
We believe our city, our bioregion, and the world at large desperately need inner-city models of sustainable neighborhoods. Those of us in the Planning Group have a longing for community and meaningful work in response to the pain of our city, and the pai n that Los Angeles has brought to the planet through its giant media machine. We are elated to be doing something about it.
About the Author
Lois Arkin is the founder and Executive Director of CRSP, Cooperative Resources and Services Project, a 14-year-old nonprofit organization committed to small cooperative ecological communities. CRSP is the coordinating organization for L.A. Eco-Village. She was coeditor of Sustainable Cities: Concepts and Strategies for Eco-City Development (Eco-Home Media, 1992) and Cooperative Housing Compendium: Resources for Collaborative Living (U.C. Davis, Center for Cooperatives, 1993) (both available from CRSP). Lois serves as a board member with the Foundation for Intentional Community. She can be reached at 3551 White House Place, Los Angeles CA 90004, 213-738-1254.
For ongoing news of the ecovillage movement, see the regular "Ecovillage" column in Communities Journal of Cooperative Living.


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Kroger coupon policy can be found here.
My Kroger 101 shopping guide can be found here.
NO Free Friday Download that I can see in the ad :(
Strawberries (16 oz) $0.99
Limit 4 with $10 additional purchase
Pineapple $0.97 each
Personal Size Watermelon $2
Sweet Potatoes $0.57/lb
Eggplant $0.99
Ocean Spray Craisins (5 oz) buy 1 get 1 free @ $2.99
Strip Steaks USDA Select, bone in beef loin $4.99/lb
Limit 2 with $10 additional purchase
Cooks Shank Portion Ham, bone in $1.49/lb
Limit 2 with $10 additional purchase
Jimmy Dean Breakfast Sausage (16 oz) $3.50
Use $1 printable
$2.50 after coupon
Simply Orange Juice (59 oz) $2.99
Use $1 tearpad
$1.99 each after coupon
Hot Wheels $0.79
Buy 10 Save $5 Mix and Match Mega Sale
*with this sale you must purchase items in groups of 10 to save $.50 off each item. Items listed below in bold are part of mega but will only be at prices posted IF you buy in GROUPS of 10
*coupons listed are NOT all exclusive and are just the best value I saw posted in the popular coupon databases I check
Philadelphia Cream Cheese (8 oz) $0.99
Use $0.50/2 coupon from 3/15 SS insert
$0.74 each after coupon wyb 2
Land-O-Lakes Butter (15-16 oz) $1.99
Challenge Butter (15-16 oz) $1.99 (not in this weeks ad for price match)
Use $0.75 printable
$1.24 each after coupon
Kroger Sour Cream or Dip or Cottage Cheese (16 oz) $0.79
Kroger Orange Juice (half gal) $0.88
Pepperidge Farm Goldfish (6.6 - 8 oz) $0.88 (not in this weeks ad for price match)
Cheetos or Fritos (8-9.75 oz) $1.49
Kettle Brand Chips (8-8.5 oz) $1.49
Use $1/2 printable
$0.99 each after coupon
Sara Lee Honey Wheat Bread or Whole Grain White (20-24 oz) $1.49 (not in this weeks ad for price match)
Use $0.55 coupon from 3/1 SS insert
$0.94 each after coupon
Barilla Pasta (12-16 oz) $0.68
Use $0.55/2 coupon from 3/22 RP insert
$0.41 each after coupon wyb 2
Gerber Graduates Lil' Meals (6 oz) $1.09 (not in this weeks ad for price match)
Use $1/3 printable
$0.76 each after coupon wyb 3
*These are the advertised items, I will try to update with the unadvertised when I can walk the store for tags

subset: commoncrawl


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Our trinity of goals for our school begins with love and progresses, in middle school, to mastery. Our third goal — reaching its apex in the high school curriculum, but present at all grades — is wisdom.
If, by the time our students are entering ninth grade, a majority of them (1) love science and history and literature and math and everything, and (2) are accustomed to pursuing mastery, then we have to ask ourselves: where the hell can we take them next?
One common answer (popular at both public and private schools) is "college prep."
I think this answer, though definitely well-intentioned, is positively daft. At best, this answer kicks the question down the road: what is it about college, specifically, that's worthy of prepping for? Job success? Social status? Philosophical insight? Happiness?
However we answer that, it makes more sense to pursue that goal in high school. (Why wait?)
At worst, though, the "college prep" approach runs the danger of degrading high school — turning the four years that could be a marvelous capstone to a rich K-8 education into a bureaucratic checking of boxes, in which the highest goal becomes obtaining a good GPA and amassing college credits.
Ack: anti-human nonsense.
Tutoring college entrance tests, I see this attitude all the time, from students and families at even some of the best schools. It's disheartening. Which isn't to say that a lot of good learning doesn't happen along the way, just that the goal itself doesn't help ensure the good learning (and can even get in the way of it).
So what's our answer?
What should we do when working with these crazy-wonderful students, who love knowledge and pursue mastery?
I think the answer is easy: explore deeply how to increase human flourishing, both for themselves and for the world as a whole. I'll use the word wisdom to encapsulate this goal. Pursuing wisdom in this fashion will take us more fully into a vividly intellectual curriculum than any "college prep" ever could.
"Wisdom" has, historically, at least two divergent meanings, which are captured by two Greek words: sophia and phronesis (fro-NEE-sis). We want them both.
Sophia… is the ability to think well about the nature of the world, to discern why the world is the way it is (this is sometimes equated with science); sophia involves reason concerning universal truths.
Phronesis is the capability to consider the mode of action in order to deliver change, especially to enhance the quality of life.
To re-state:
Sophia is book smarts, intellectual knowledge, an understanding of what the world really is and how it all hangs together. Phronesis is street smarts, practical knowledge, an understanding of how to achieve the good life.
We need both of these. The question about how to live well in the world (phronesis) requires understanding what the world is like (sophia).
Delving into both of these will take us into a full liberal arts curriculum in which divergent ideas on how society can work and on how life can be lived will take center stage. Our school can be an invitation — for teachers as well as students — to engage the most diverse, most exciting ideas of humanity: anarcho-Communism and Christian pietism and Theravada Buddhism and GOD KNOWS WHAT ELSE. Ours can be a vividly intellectual school, bringing in more cultural and philosophical perspectives than, perhaps, a single school ever has.
It will also take us into a full science and math curriculum in which the substrata and superstrata of human life are explored — what's "below" and "above" us. To understand human happiness, for example, necessitates comprehending psychology, biology, chemistry, and physics. To understand meaning requires apprehending the shape and history of the universe.
Chasing wisdom is thus an excuse to take part in the Big Questions that the brilliant minds in the humanities and sciences have been exploring for ages.
Some of these Big Questions are civilizational, and even cosmic: "Are we just conglomerations of atoms bumping around an empty void? And if so, what are the implications of that?" "What is evil (and is there evil)?" "Do all peoples share a common human nature?" "How do cultures shape people?" "Where is history going?" "Why is there inequality?" and so on.
Other Big Questions are personal: an invitation to puzzle over our own selves, our own struggles and potentials. They include questions like, "What is this thing called happiness, and how might one find it?" "How deeply should one sacrifice for friends and strangers?" "What does it mean to be 'deep,' and what does it mean to be 'shallow,' and is one really better than the other?" "How is my culture shaping me?" and so on.
There's a stereotype I need to war against here — that thinking about these Big Questions is unserious, the sort of thing 19-year-olds talk about in their dorm hallways late at night. The stereotype that these Big Questions are unserious, unacademic.
Well, yes: some college freshmen do have those conversations. But these are also the some of the academy's most serious questions. Significant work has been done on each of these topics. Pursuing wisdom means more than intellectual self-pleasuring: it means advancing our own answers even as we master the previously-formulated ones.
In sum, then, our high school curriculum will be rigorously academic — but the rigor should flow from the meaning and excitement of the questions we're investigating, and not from some sort of superficial severity.
In pursuing wisdom, we can acculturate students into the life of the mind as we pursue together wisdom.
Oh, a note on the photo — it's of the fictional character Wilson, from the 90's sitcom Home Improvement. I struggled to find an image that denoted "wisdom" without falling into the silly trope of the old man with a long white beard — or Yoda. I think those images actually connote fake wisdom: the sort expressed in statements that no one truly understands or which, when taken literally, are stupid. "Do or do not: there is no try." (Sorry, Yoda!)
The character Wilson (full name: Wilson Wilson, Jr.) is the opposite of that: someone who knows a jaw-dropping wealth of knowledge about the world, and who easily brings it to bear on the problems of daily life. Wilson has both sophia and phronesis. When I was growing up, he was my first vision of the sort of useful intellectual that I wanted to become.
Which is all to say: that's why this post doesn't have a picture of Gandalf!


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Healthy to the Core
Sam came to us with a previously designed logo and website that needed cleaning up. We worked with her to define her brand's aesthetic and how that visually related to her audience. From there we developed a three-logo identity system, shot fresh new images with our gal Sidney Bensimon, and streamlined these assets into a concise and mouth-watering website.
"I LOVE LOVE LOVE it!!!! It looks a million times better and the flow is just great. I'm thrilled. Everything honestly looks so so good. I love your creative vision, insight and intuition on all of it!" - Samantha Rigoli, HTTC


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This week, Pittsburgh remembered that it is in fact January and is killing me with icy sidewalks, snow that sticks to your face, and awful temperatures.Yeah, I know that this isn't that bad. I mean, look at what I'm used to from back home in Vermont. And those lows are not accounting for the windchill - and trust me, that windchill cuts another 15 or so degrees off. I used to stand out at the end of my driveway waiting for the bus for up to half an hour a day for 7 years in this stuff.
So today when I was extreeeemely bored in my Nature of Language class (at first I thought it was interesting, but then the professor decided to spend the whole time going over phonetics charts from the book), I cheered myself up by looking at what I'll be experiencing in just 5 weeks when Spring Break rolls around and saves me.
There may be rain showers in there, but honestly, what's better than a hot day at the beach, a nice dinner with a big glass of wine, and then watching a thunder storm on the ocean? Absolutely nothing.
Basically, all that's keeping me from getting utterly depressed about the current lack of sunlight and having my fingers frozen numb several times a day is knowing that pretty soon I'll be out of here, working on my tan.
What's keeping you optimistic through this awful part of winter?


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Miami Gardens - Opa-locka
City, county near a deal on stadium development area
Miami Gardens and Miami-Dade County have moved closer to agreeing on who will control building and zoning at Sun Life Stadium and the surrounding area.
It's an area in which the city hopes to encourage development of a hotel, restaurants and other businesses that might encourage football fans to stay in Miami Gardens before or after the big game.
The Miami-Dade County Commission agreed in principle on Sept.3 to allow Miami Gardens to control building and zoning in the stadium area — with the possible exception of the stadium itself.
The compromise was reached after a long discussion at the meeting and following input from representatives from the stadium's marquee tenant — the Miami Dolphins.
The sides decided to wait to determine who will ultimately control the building and zoning permits for the stadium property; currently the county is poised to maintain control.
Attorneys from both sides will finalize an agreement to bring back for the City Council and County Commission's approval.
Miami Gardens Mayor Oliver Gilbert said that the city does not intend to interfere with the stadium modernization plan that the County Commission agreed to in June. He said the city wants the right to develop and bring in businesses that impact the city more directly.
"The residents feel its elected officials have made enough concessions at this point," Gilbert said. "We will compromise but it has to be something that benefits the city and its residents."
The discussion began when the city sued the county in July, seeking the rights for building and zoning and in an attempt to reach an agreement, have a section of the city's charter removed.
Section 9.6 of the city's charter states that the stadium properties and the Dolphin Center Development of Regional Impact and all zoning and building approvals, street maintenance and other regulations would all fall under the county's jurisdiction and includes the date Dec. 31, 2012.
That is also part of the division between the groups as they have different opinions on what that date means.
County Commissioner Barbara Jordan, whose district includes Miami Gardens, said that the city is asking for similar rights to Homestead, which has the Homestead-Miami Speedway that hosts NASCAR events, and Miami, which has both Marlins Park and the AmericanAirlines Arena.
County Commission Chairwoman Rebecca Sosa, who eventually supported the item, pointed out that those cities were already incorporated when those facilities were built.
Sun Life Stadium was built in unincorporated Miami-Dade decades before Miami Gardens was incorporated in 2003.
"It was unincorporated Dade before the city was created. The residents of unincorporated Dade own that piece of land," Sosa said at the commission meeting.
The city said it plans to work on the agreement, but, Gilbert said, the city will proceed with the lawsuit if the negotiations don't work out.
"We are willing to compromise and work things out, and if we can't work things out, then a judge will have to tell us that," Gilbert said.
City Attorney Sonja Dickens also said that a potential charter amendment for the city's November special election has been taken off the table.
The resolution, which was passed by the City Council in July, would have asked Miami Gardens residents to vote on removing Section 9.6 of the charter to grant the city authority over the property.
The Dolphin Center DRI contains the area surrounding the stadium on Northwest 199th Street and Northwest 27th Avenue, and farther east toward the Florida's Turnpike.


text: Hi, my name is Laali Berthelsen Born and raised in Nuuk. Educated service economist with tourism as a speciality, from Kold College in Odense, Denmark. I have worked in the tourism industry for 11 years, in Greenland during summer and abroad during the winter. I work primarily as a guide/tourleader. In addition, I have certificates as a fitness instructor, personal trainer, and dietician. I love to show my amazing country to visitors and love to travel myself. Thank you for seeing my blog.


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Don't let the towering skyscrapers fool you. Hong Kong has mountains, sandy beaches, trekking trails, waterfalls and practically everything you expect to find in any other Southeast asian country that is known for its wild, unspoilt landscape. With 40% of Hong Kong reserved as parkland and 80% of its total area green, it is one of the greenest places on our planet, and is home to a diverse landscape that offers nature lovers endless opportunities to enjoy the outdoors.
For families, Hong Kong is an ideal destination to enjoy nature in one of its large and perfectly preserved country parks, or spend your day soaking up the sun at the beach, while at night you can still return to the top notch food, shopping and entertainment options that the city offers. It is a city that has it all, so why not enjoy it all on your holidays?
Read on to discover the top outdoor activities in Hong Kong for families and for those who are looking for easy, enjoyable hikes through the countryside's most scenic parts.
Take a Trail or a enjoy a relaxed stroll in Nature: With Dragon's Back named as Asia's Best Urban Hiking Trail by TIME magazine and the MacLehose Trail as one of the world's best hikes by National Geographic, hiking is one of the top activities to enjoy in Hong Kong. Even though the famous mountain peaks are often considered tough treks, there are great alternatives that do not require too much physical strain. And the best part is that you don't need to travel far to discover emerald hills, shady trails and secret waterfalls.
The Victoria Peak Circle Trail, that runs around the Peak, Hong Kong's number one attraction, is a gentle 3.5 km hike that allows you to enjoy jaw-dropping ,panoramic views of one of the world's most jaw-beautiful harbours. To take the trail, simply hop on the Victoria Peak Tram to the Peak, and take the Lugard Road near the Peak Tower.
To completely escape the cityscape, The Hong Kong Wetland Ecotourism Park in Northwest New Territories is a fantastic place to watch Hong Kong's native flora and fauna, including birds, butterflies and dragonflies. The park is designed as a hands-on interactive experience in the ecosystem and includes themed exhibition areas, indoor play areas and a cafe. It is ideal for families with small kids.
For a more fearless adventure, the Monkey Mountain in ShaTin's Kam Shan Country Park will bring you close to 70% of Hong Kong's Rhesus Macaques population, most of which are descendants of a few pets that were released the 1920s. When close to the animals, pay attention to the signs and do not feed the monkeys or carry food with you, as these sweet creatures can become aggressive. The Kam Shan Country Park facilities include a morning walkers's area, jogging trails, as well as special barbecue and picnic areas. If on that day you are feeling particularly brave and feel like having an intensive hike with a historic twist, you can head for the Smugglers Pass Trail in Kam Shan, a 6km long trail along steep hills and slopes which is found between two major hiking trails, Wilson and MacLehose. The Smugglers Pass served as an important defence position during the Second World War and thus there are some major wartime ruins such as British military bunkers and trenches still standing among the ridge.
Visit the gorgeous isles: Hong Kong Island's's dense urbanisation often makes visitors forget they are on an island ,but a short ride towards the south reveals a completely different landscape. The gorgeous Big Wave Bay Beach at Shek O is small oasis that is popular with windsurfers as well as hikers that finish the scenic Dragon's Back trail. There are easier ways to get there too via MTR and bus, and of course by taxi.
Less than 30 minutes away from Central, the tranquil Lamma Island is one of Hong Kong's most laid back, picturesque destinations. Being free of cars and public transport and relatively empty makes it ideal for family walks, bike trips and day adventures. The Lamma Island Family Trail is an easy hike in nature that traverses the island and walks you along its beautiful coast past white sand beaches, Buddhist temples and breezy pavilions as well as interesting historic landmarks, such as the Kamikazee Cave, a spot of strategic importance for the Japanese during the Second World War. The trail starts at the ferry pier of Yung Shue Wan village at the northwest part of the island and finishes at the quiet traditional fishing village of Sok Kwu Wan, with its quaint junk boats and array of waterfront seafood restaurants. Do not leave Lamma without tasting its famous fresh and delicious seafood in one of its well known restaurants, such as Lamma Rainbow. If you are in Hong Kong this November do not miss the Lamma Fun Day beach music festival, a fun charity event that has run for sixteen years, and is very popular with music lovers and families.
Another great island destination for a relaxed day trip is Cheung Chau. This island may be tiny and more "modernised" than Lamma, but it offers interesting attractions, such as the colourful 1783 Pak Tai Temple, which is also famous for its April Bun Festival, as well as the Cheung Po Tsai "Pirate" Cave. Cheung Chau is certainly the best way to slow down and have a lazy day outdoors and away from the hustle and bustle of the Hong Kong city. With fresh seafood in every corner, make sure to go there hungry!
I originally wrote this travel guide for Mavel, a blog that is no longer available


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I'm excited to announce that for a third year in a row, Lisa Boggs Photography has won a WeddingWire Bride's Choice Award.™ Yay! Here's the press release below: "Great Falls, Virginia, January 9, 2012
WeddingWire is thrilled to announce Lisa Boggs Photography has been selected to receive the prestigious annual WeddingWire Bride's Choice Award 2012 for wedding photography in the Northern Virginia, DC and Maryland area! This is the third year Lisa Boggs Photography has won this award!
Lisa Boggs Photography stands among the top five percent of wedding professionals in the WeddingWire community, representing quality and service excellence within the wedding industry. Awards were given to the top wedding professionals across 20 service categories, from wedding venues to wedding photographers, and were based on the overall professional achievements throughout the past year.
'WeddingWire is honored to celebrate the success of the top-rated wedding professionals within the WeddingWire community,' said Timothy Chi, WeddingWire's Chief Executive Officer. 'With the annual Bride's Choice Awards program, WeddingWire has the unique opportunity to recognize the best wedding professionals across the US and Canada. We applaud Lisa Boggs Photography for their professionalism and dedication to enhancing the wedding planning experience last year.'"
Yippee! This means that Lisa Boggs Photography is among the very best of wedding photographers in the Northern Virginia, DC and Maryland area. This is within the WeddingWire Network, which includes leading wedding planning sites WeddingWire, Martha Stewart Weddings, Project Wedding and Weddingbee. Thanks to all of my wonderful clients who have given me 50 5-Star reviews and counting. To see these reviews, visit the top left corner of this page, and click on the teal-colored reviews tab.
And here's my fancy certificate:


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Featured Artist: Carole Bondaroff, BFA, ASA Biography Carole Bondaroff was born and raised in Montreal, Quebec. She attended Sir George Williams University in Montreal and the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in Halifax where she received her BFA in Printmaking and Art Education. Carole lives in Calgary whereRead more →
Featured Artist: Cindy Barratt, ASA Biography Cindy was born and resided in Spruce Grove, Alberta until 2009, at which time she moved nearby to Stony Plain. She is a self-taught, professional artist, who was interested in art since childhood and in 1991 decided to pursue it asRead more →
Featured Artist: Pam Weber, ASA Biography Pam Weber, the eldest of four, was born in 1955 and raised in Kitchener Waterloo, Ontario. As a wee girl she spent hours hovering over her colouring books with an open box of perfectly arranged Crayola crayons close by. Her parents,Read more →
Featured Artist: Melanie Morstad, BFA, ASA Biography One can hardly grow up under the canvas of Saskatchewan's "Living Skies" without feeling an intimate connection to the vast landscapes that often inspire the paintings of Melanie Morstad. As an active outdoor enthusiast, Melanie's passion for nature is boldlyRead more →
Featured Artist: Joan X Wieser, ASA Biography JOAN XAUEN WIESER was born in Tangier, Morocco, North Africa in 1934 to British parents. She came to Calgary in 1961, Married Sig in 1962, has two sons and five grandchildren. Joan is a Canadian citizen. Originally working on aRead more →
Featured Artist: Jean K. Blackall, ASA Biography Jean Katherine Blackall began her fine arts studies following Grade 12 graduation. She attended Beal Art at H.B. Beal Technical School in London, Ontario for two years. This was the early school of Jack Chambers, Greg Curnoe, Murray Favro andRead more →
Featured Artist: Jean Pilch, ASA Biography Jean Pilch is known for her finely detailed representational artworks in various media. Working in acrylic on canvas and pastel pencil on paper, she combines technical precision with strong design elements to present an edited but convincing realism. The paintings andRead more →
Featured Artist: Carney Oudendag, ASA Biography Born and raised in the small prairie town of Three Hills, Alberta, Carney's artistic mother was her first enabler! Enrichment was not abundant. There were no art galleries, virtually no visual artist role models & little money. In the early 70's,Read more →
Featured Artist: Harry Kiyooka, MFA, RCA, ASA Biography Now in his eighties, Harry Kiyooka. remains as passionate and as committed to his art as he ever was. Although his paintings may be read as abstracted landscapes, they are far more complex in terms of meaning, linked moreRead more →
Featured Artist: Kathy Hildebrandt, ASA Biography Kathy Hildebrandt is an international award winning artist who specializes in contemporary realism. Although primarily a pastellist, she also works in acrylic and oil. In addition to numerous regional and national awards, Kathy received the First Place award in the StillRead more →


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LG has finally officially unveiled its stunning upcoming 55-inch OLED TV, and given an indication of how much it will cost and when it will be available too.
The stunning new display, which we first clapped our eyes on back at CES at the start of the year, looks set to be the best TV in the world when it comes to image quality so to say we're looking forward to its arrival is something of an understatement.
As well as sporting amazing image quality, the new set is also a mere 4mm thick across much of its surface and thanks to its carbon-fibre reinforced chassis it weighs only 10kg.
All this can be yours for just £9,000 when products hit shop shelves in July. Well, actually, you probably won't get yours until much later on in the year as the initial run will be in a limited number of stores only and will largely be for display purposes.
While that price is certainly high, it's actually surprisingly reasonable considering how expensive OLED TVs of the past have been, and how large this panel is. Then again, the old rule of never buying the first version of a new technology could certainly apply here.
This 55in telly is being billed as the biggest OLED panel ever and, along with Samsung's competing model, is the first wave of truly commercial TVs to bring this technology to market. OLED is the future of telly but it'll be a while before it filters down to a point where we can all afford it.
Will you be grabbing one of these come winter time or is it a little too rich for your tastes? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.


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After having three babies, I can inform you that this description of labor pain is not precisely accurate. They're mainly heat-up contractions where your uterus tightens, but they do not dilate your cervix or cause you to go into labor. Labor contractions get stronger and extra painful over time, while false contractions are usually weak. Depend the time between contractions from the beginning of one to the start of the following.
Varied dialects of Japanese additionally use their very own specific contractions which are often unintelligible to speakers of other dialects. Early labor may be stopped in some circumstances with drugs that hold the baby rising contained in the uterus till the time for labor is right.
At 38 or 39 weeks you are in all probability searching for any signal of labor and paying attention to even the slightest aches and pains. When you're having regular, painful contractions that really feel stronger and final greater than 30 seconds, labour could have began.
Active labor: Contractions become more and more extra intense, frequent and longer, lasting round 40 to 60 seconds every. As labor progresses many ladies report the identical sensations from early labor, simply stronger, longer and closer together. Contractions are extremely frequent in English, notably in the spoken language.
Several sets of demonstrative pronouns originated as contractions of aquí (here) + pronoun, or pronoun + otro/a (different): aqueste, aqueso, estotro and so forth. Opposite to popular films, labor seldom begins with a sudden sturdy contraction that makes the mother double over.


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Selection of 3 products from
Estimated dispatch within 1 working day.
Estimated dispatch within 2 working days.
Estimated dispatch within 2 working days.
The Beval Loose Ring Snaffle from Korsteel is also known as a 'wilkie' or 'loop ring' snaffle. The cheekpieces are attached to one set of the loops, and the reins are attached to the lower loops. This gives the bit a little more leverage and poll pressure than a normal snaffle, without being as strong as a Dutch Gag. The Beval bit is commonly used on ponies who tend to get a little onward bound and low in their head carriage.
When rein pressure is applied to this bit, the mouthpiece is lifted in the horse's mouth which encourages them to lift their heads. The mouthpiece of this Beval snaffle is a single joint, which produces a nutcracker action and creates pressure on the tongue, the roof and the bars of the mouth. The mouthpiece is slim so is suitable for horses and ponies with large, fleshy tongues and low paletes.
This bit is not dressage legal.
All prices include VAT where applicable.
Under almost all products on our website is an Estimated dispatch time, check this for a delivery prediction specific to the item you are looking to purchase. These badges are updated live based on the stock levels we have and also those of our suppliers - so are usually very accurate, but cannot be guaranteed. In more general terms, we aim to dispatch all orders within 1 working day of receiving payment (and a prescription if required). If we cannot do so within 3 working days we will contact you by email.
For UK delivery, we charge the following:
|Order Total
|Under 2kg
|Under 2kg
|Under 2kg
Prices quoted are for delivery to all parts of mainland UK except certain Scottish postcodes (where the price is higher for items sent by courier. Delivery of food abroad (including Channel Islands, N. Ireland and other islands around the UK) is charged at a higher price and free delivery is not available. Temperature controlled products, such as Insulin, are also not always subject to the standard and/or free delivery options.
For full information on our delivery charges, including prices on heavy deliveries to Scotland and abroad, see our delivery information page.
We can deliver most items to all around the world, but prices do vary. The majority of light weight orders (less than 1.5kg) can be delivered for a flat rate of £10. For an accurate estimate of the delivery charge, please put the items you require in your basket and use the "Estimate Delivery" system on the shopping basket page (you only need to enter your country and postal/zip code) for a quick quote. For deliveries to the USA you may need to go to the checkout page and enter your full address to get a quote (as some services need your state in order to quote too). For more information on international deliveries, please see our delivery information page.
Due to restrictions aerosols can't be sent by Royal Mail. We appreciate your understanding.
Some products, such as insulin and frozen food, need to be delivered in insulated packaging to prevent them from getting too warm (or too cold) during transit from us to you. Purchasing any of these items in your order will result in a £1.99 charge being added to the total to cover the high cost of the insulated packaging materials. You only pay the £1.99 once per order, regardless of how many temperature controlled items you purchase in that order.
Please call us as soon as possible if you need to amend or cancel an order on 01582 842096. If your order has been processed for dispatch we will be unable to cancel or amend the order. You will however be able to return your product for a full refund*.
To return an item, you must contact us by phone or email to arrange this BEFORE posting any product back to us. We will explain the process at this stage for you.
*For full details on returns, see our terms and conditions page.
There are currently no questions for Korsteel Beval Loose Ring Snaffle - be the first to ask one!


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"Play energizes us and enlivens us. It eases our burdens. It renews our natural sense of optimism and opens us up to new possibilities." - Stuart Brown, MD
Professionals highly recommend that potential employees spend time simulating an interview before they encounter the real situation. This is a method of preparation shown to reduce anxiety and may increase the chances of employment. Adopt role-playing as a positive habit to prepare for social situations by learning different methods which pertain to your child's specific needs.
A normal component of a child's playtime is role-playing, due to this, they begin reaping rewards from this style of play on their own from an early age. When you notice your child pretending to be a doctor, a parent, or a teacher, they are learning and developing proper responses. As the parent, initiate role-playing scenarios by creating characters and situations that your child may not have thought of.
This practice reinforces and encourages positive interactions with types of people they feel comfortable around, however, you can begin to involve new situations that may cause them stress when encountered outside of play. Talk to your child in order to understand the types of situations that concern them. Your child may feel nervous starting school, which means that role-playing the first day of school can potentially alleviate the stress they feel. Allow them to act out multiple roles, including the teacher dealing with a nervous child or fellow students who are looking forward to the first day of school.
Alternatively, you can utilize role-playing to address negative behavior your child or other children demonstrate. If your child is an aggressive player, suggest they pretend to be the timid child on the playground feeling nervous. This method of play can teach empathy and tolerance regarding the different types of children they may encounter while also allowing them to glimpse how their behavior truly affects others.
There is a power in play that allows for inspiration, creativity, development, and imagination. While your child will grow through independent play, your interaction may be the catalyst which transforms them into a well-adjusted individual capable of confronting various situations, including those which induce stress. Providing your guidance will stimulate the type of personal growth which will positively impact their future success.


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Central Idaho's endangered salmon—as well as Idaho Rivers United—landed in the national spotlight this spring in an April 2012 issue of Men's Journal magazine.
In a 1,500-word article titled "Last Chance to Save the Salmon," writer Kevin Gray dives into the biology, politics, culture and economics of salmon recovery in the Pacific Northwest.
With vignettes featuring Riggins, Boise and the headwaters of the Salmon River, the article is an encapsulation of the issues threatening the Endangered Species Act-listed salmon and steelhead of the upper Snake River Basin.
In an interview last fall IRU board member and avid central Idaho fisherman Tom Stuart told Gray that the crux issue to recovering Idaho's salmon and steelhead centers on four dams on the lower Snake River.
"The government is trying hard to convince people that the dams are not a problem," Stuart told Gray. "Of course, common sense and the best available science tell us it's a huge problem.
Gray also features prominent Idaho personalities like retired Idaho Department of Fish and Game fisheries biologist Bert Bowler, Riggins tackle shop owner Rexann Zimmerman and Riggins fishing outfitter Kerry Brennan.
To read the full article, click here.


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So my Ebay rug came. When I unrolled it, I started to get the itchy eye... darker than I expected, condition not as evenly worn, and just generally less awesome than my fantasy porn projection of the real rug. Surprise surprise. My new rug has saggy boobs and stretch marks. But, maybe it's still good? Or maybe not? Karly votes a solid yes, Ben votes a solid no, and as always I cannot make any decisions about my own home (but I'm happy to tell you what to do with yours -- funny how that works). So, my tasteful friends, I ask you: should it stay or should it go? I have two days to decide whether to send it back so your comments are desperately needed.
Sorry about the AWFUL pictures -- it's pitch dark in here right now and the long exposures are throwing off the color and lighting. Anyway, there it is. I'll probably get a new end table, but for now everything else stays (although I want to burn that chair... maybe I will send it over to the in laws' new house?).
Another view with even more terrible lighting. So, the rug -- too dark? Too burgundy? Just right?
A reminder of what things did look like -- with much better lighting, a closer angle and some different furniture.
I'm at the point where I'm shopping for couches, rugs, pillows and end tables. In other words, I'm overwhelmed and I have too much stuff. I just need to decide about the rug because I don't have enough money to buy all that other stuff.
Help me pleez!


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For the seriously ill and their caregivers
Explanation of Benefits
Every health insurer, including HMOs, is required to provide the insured or subscriber with an Explanation of Benefits (EOB) form in response to the filing of a claim. EOBs are not required when the service is provided by a participating provider who receives full reimbursement directly from the insurer. However, EOBs will be provided upon request.
The EOB must include at least the following:
- Name of the provider of service.
- Date of service.
- Identifcation of the service.
- Provider"s charge.
- The amount or percentage payable after deductibles, co-payment and any other reduction of the amount claimed.
- An explanation of any denial, reduction, or any other reason for not providing full reimbursement for the amount claimed.
- Telephone number or address where an insured may obtain clarification.
- Information on how to file an appeal of a denial of benefits including the applicable timeframes to file.


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Shares of Merck, which have lost more than a third of their value so far this year, are under continued pressure this morning. They were at 60 bucks in early January.
Today they're trading around $37. Big pharma analyst Rupesh Patel at UBS is downgrading the Dow component from Buy to Neutral because he thinks it's gonna be "range-bound near-term" and he's cutting his price target from $43 to $40.
On the one hand, Patel writes that MRK "is among the most innovative and best managed companies in the sector." But on the other hand, he wants to see evidence of long-term revenue growth prospects, does not see near-term earnings upside and believes that sales of the company's cervical cancer vaccine Gardasil could be "roughly flat" between the first quarter and the second quarter. Merck reports earnings on July 21st.
Specifically, Patel is slashing his second-quarter Gardasil sales estimate from $380 million to $300 million. "We're nervous on this front," he wrote in the research note to clients. Merck sold $293 million worth of the the vaccine in the first quarter. Patel's basing his forecast on data from IMS Health which monitors prescription trends for the industry and Wall Street. Patel points out that MRK has cautioned analysts in the past from relying on IMS' numbers for Gardasil to build their models, but he adds that over the past year the IMS data has been pretty darn close to the actual reported sales number.
On the plus side, though, Patel says his Q2 Gardasil sales projection assumes the product will have had its best sales month ever in June. Maybe that's due to pre-back-to-school buying or stockpiling of the shots. He also notes that Merck's new diabetes drugs Januvia and Janumet remain solid growth drivers and that sales of the embattled cholesterol drugs Vytorin and Zetia, which MRK shares with Schering-Plough, have stabilized over the past two-and-a-half months. But in addition to Gardasil, Patel--and many other analysts, for that matter--is also concerned about falling prescriptions for MRK's top-selling drug, Singulair, for asthma/allergies in the wake of reports about a potential suicide risk.
Merck recently suffered a regulatory setback when the FDA delayed a decision on whether to approve Gardasil for older women. But it got a competitive boost when GlaxoSmithKlineannounced last month that it's pushing out the timeline for potential approval of its similar vaccine, Cervarix. Merck is also moving ahead with plans to file for the FDA OK to sell Gardasil for young men and boys who can carry the sexually-transmitted virus that's the leading cause of cervical cancer.
UBS has done investment banking for MRK and makes a market in the stock.


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As a dedicated parent, selecting the right dentist for your children is certainly something you take very seriously. Besides finding the highest quality care available, you may want to find a dental practice that promotes a positive experience in a fun and comforting atmosphere.
If you're searching for a children's dental office near Naples that meets both of these important criteria, then we are happy to invite you to visit our kid-friendly practice at Treehouse Children's Dentistry. We are conveniently located for residents of Collier County.
Built around a lighthearted and colorful jungle theme, our office is sure to capture the imagination of your children. With plenty of activities and games to keep young patients entertained, their next dental visit is sure to be an adventure they will remember. With our help, you can create a lasting and memorable foundation for your family's future oral health.
It's Not Just Fun and Games
Even though we offer a fun and whimsical atmosphere for kids at our Lee County practice, we also want you to be assured that Treehouse Children's Dentistry is dedicated first and foremost to your children's oral health. As part of our focus on children's dentistry, we want to provide an environment that helps them feel comfortable, but our main goal is to provide gentle, effective treatments. Our modern day services include options like:
- Careful and thorough cleanings, examinations, digital X-rays, and preventative dental care
- Painless and stress-free tooth extractions using sedative options
- Natural, tooth-colored fillings
- Conventional braces or Invisalign orthodontic options to create a beautiful, straightened, and aligned smile
- Tooth restorations with crowns or pulpotomy/root canal treatments for teeth with deep cavities
Family Fun in Naples
As entertaining as a trip to our dental office may be, there are plenty of other great family activities to be found around Naples. If you'd like to try a game of mini-golf with your kids, you could swing by Coral Cay Adventure Golf for an exciting afternoon excursion. With two courses to choose from, you and your kids can test out your putting skills in a lively competition for bragging rights.
Families who love to wade in the surf and stick their feet in the warm sand will love a trip to Lowdermilk Beach. Featuring soft sand and plenty of amenities to ensure a comfortable visit, you can plan an ideal day at the beach for your whole family.
For children that love exotic animals, there is no better place to visit than the Naples Zoo at Caribbean Gardens. While you wander through the beautiful botanical gardens, you can also experience a close (but not too close!) encounter with a wide variety of animals such as lions, monkeys, and bears. Your little one can even feed the giraffes!
Does Your Child Need Emergency Dental Care?
While you are out enjoying all the fun activities Naples has to offer, keep us in mind in case the unexpected should happen. Since nothing is worse than seeing your child in pain, Treehouse Children's Dentistry offers quick emergency care for all those unfortunate dental accidents. For families living in and around Naples, contact us today to receive urgent care for your child's dental needs.


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Sunday, March 10, 2013
Photo album of the Lot
Found a nice photo collection of the Lot on Flickr : of cultural places, nature views, in all seasons. Very nice.
To see the photos in slideshow click here.
Posted by Houvande at 10:47 AM No comments:
Labels: agriturismo, bed and breakfast, chambres et table d'hôtes, france, gastenkamers, Gästezimmer, mas houvande, prayssac, vandenheede - houbrechts
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Wow! We're Recognized As Best of Houzz for 2013!/
@designREMODEL of Mashpee Receives Houzz's 2013 'Best Of Houzz' Award
Annual Survey and Analysis of 11 Million Monthly Users
Reveals Top-Rated U.S. Professionals
January 31, 2013 – @designREMODEL of Mashpee MA has been awarded "Best Of Houzz" 2013 by Houzz, the leading online platform for residential remodeling and design. The Cape Cod based bath and kitchen remodeling firm was chosen by the more than 11 million monthly users that comprise the Houzz community.
The Houzz "Best Of Houzz" award for 2013 is given in two categories: Customer Satisfaction and Design.Customer Satisfaction award winners are based on homeowner members who rated their experience working with remodeling professionals in 12 categories ranging from architects, and interior designers to contractorsand other residential remodeling professionals. Design award winners' work was the most popular among the community of 11 million monthly users, also known as "Houzzers," who saved more than 124 million professional images of home interiors and exteriors to their personal ideabooks via the Houzz site,iPad/iPhone app and Android app.
"@designREMODEL is honored to be in the top 3% of Remodeling professionals chosen on Houzz for their commitment to provide an exceptional remodeling experience.
"Houzz provides homeowners with an in-depth, 360-degree view of building, remodeling and design professionals through images of their work, reviews and an opportunity to interact with them directly in the Houzz community," said Liza Hausman, vice president of community. "We're delighted to recognize@designREMODEL among our "Best Of" professionals for exceptional customer service as judged by our community of homeowners and design enthusiasts who are actively remodeling and decorating their homes.
With Houzz, homeowners can identify not only the top-rated professionals like @designREMODEL but also those whose work matches their own aspirations for their home. Homeowners can also evaluate professionals by contacting them directly on the Houzz platform, asking questions about their work and evaluating their responses to questions from others in the Houzz community.
About @designREMODEL
Located on beautiful Cape Cod, @designREMODEL specializes in baths, kitchens and whole house remodels while providing our clients with an exceptional experience by Doing Remodeling Right.
About Houzz
Houzz (www.houzz.com) is a leading online platform for home remodeling, providing inspiration, information, 'advice and support for homeowners and home improvement professionals through its website and mobile applications. Houzz features the largest residential design database in the world, articles written by design experts, product recommendations, a vibrant community powered by social tools, and information on more than 1.5 million remodeling and design professionals worldwide who can help turn ideas into reality. @houzz_inc


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Gray Line provides the best in sightseeing around town and to Multnomah Falls and the Columbia River Gorge. Its Big Pink Sightseeing Hop-On Hop-Off Trolley Tour of Portland shows you the best of Portland. With deluxe daily motor coach tours to Multnomah Falls and the Columbia River Gorge, Gray Line also provides a wonderful way to experience some of the region's top attractions. Gray Line will also charter its trolleys and coaches to groups.
Tours run from late May to early October; most start at Pioneer Courthouse Square. Visit the Gray Line website or the Visitor Center in Pioneer Courthouse Square for tour schedules and more information.


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Add to wishlist
Amelanchiar arborea (Serviceberry) 15-25ft; one of the first spring bloomers in the south; striking pink flowers bloom before leaves appear; birds prefer the fruit; beautiful yellow-light orange fall color.
Zone 4-8
SIZE: 1gallon
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Shipping Cost: Calculated at Checkout
Customer Reviews Write a Review
Large healthy plant
Arrived in great shape and is thriving after transplanting! Highly recommend Mailorder Natives.


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The action potential of a neuron as a music composition on tension and release/
- Jayeeta Basu (Neuroscientist)
- Kevin Serra (Musician)
Serra "loosely sketched all the pieces and movements to showcase a variety of sounds developed from the same note and brought these loose ideas into Mozart Street studios in Greenpoint, Brooklyn to improvise with jazz drummer Liev Golowasch from Hunter College. I used improvisation and juxtaposed areas of tension and release. The song includes audio samples of prior experiments from the lab."
The resulting piece, "Action Potential", is dedicated to the memory of PUai-32.
Jayeeta Basu
Jayeeta is a Neuroscientist investigating the molecular, synaptic and cellular events that underlie changes in the flow of information in neural circuits. Her goal is to understand how sensory experiences trigger activity in functionally linked neurons to generate learned behaviors and encode salient features of the environment. The focus or her lab is on describing how the logic of inherent circuit design, diversity of neuron types and spatio-temporal dynamics of synaptic activity amalgamate in the cortico-hippocampal network to organize and store information as memories. She utilizes electrophysiology, imaging and genetic manipulations in brain slices and awake behaving mice to explore links between mnemonic and plastic circuits, associational learning and adaptive behaviors.
Kevin Serra
Guitarist and member of the band, This Ascension, Lot 49. This Ascension is a gothic ethereal band from Southern California, which formed in 1988 and released four albums. This Ascension toured the United States three times and the west coast prolifically, sharing the stage with bands including The Jesus and Mary Chain, Chris Issak, The Wolfgang Press and the Pixies. Kevin records music for a singles project with guest vocalists under the name, Cloud Seeding, conceived as a space for collaboration to showcase vocalists he admires. There is no one-signature sound, no fixed or preconceived notions, just a space for improvisation that is free to change.


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If that is what you need them, you need to verify some of the silk travel blankets and cashmere journey blankets available. If you determine to remain the evening, there are 12 motel rooms, 6 yurts, 3 teepees, RV hookups and tenting websites accessible. Thus, journey units shall be safer, extra sturdy, higher built and designed, and more snug than they are now. Some people see the need for change to really feel alive and see Travel Nursing as an opportunity to do this. And as if things couldn't get any better, we finished the night with gelato at Giolitti and all 5 New Yorkers boarded our personal vintage Bici & Baci vespas to tour Rome by evening. And yet one more characteristic that makes this reminiscence foam journey pillow so particular is that the included water repellent storage bag compacts the pillow right down to 1/4 its dimension! Here are a couple of ideas we have gathered via private experience and the recommendation of different travel consultants.
So, ultimately they didn't fully resolve the laboriousness of online travel booking, but somewhat made it more tedious – particularly around the lodge/accommodation house. I suppose its wonderful how you make a lens concerning the place that you just travel to, locking in the recollections as you share your great tales. By bringing collectively the factors you need to take note, you should have a better, extra educated alternative from the wide selection of travel blankets obtainable.
Solo travel is an enriching experience and I love the liberty of it. One of the principle considerations is that I can do what I need to after I want to which is an excellent feeling. Wesman, I would like to dwell in a Dutchman Sport Travel Trailer – in a type of trailer parks on a seaside in Southern California. A paper ticket is a conventional ticket that has a paper coupon for each journey section, and this manner remains to be used in the journey industry. This help is not only for chopping fruits in lodge rooms but cooking dinners for families and friends, fixing tables, chairs and other workplace home equipment at international assignments and repairing travel gadgets.
I'll wager a favorite man in your life will love this travel bar set for Father's Day or, heck, make it an awesome Christmas! This set is pure knit cashmere travel blanket set that comes with a generously sized blanket, pillow case, and sleeping masks. Crystal Travel a journey agent in London UK the place you may e-book low cost airline tickets and evaluate. By the time I lastly made it to Cozumel and Cancun in Mexico, and Negril in Jamaica, for instance, what had as soon as been exotic and new, was a nicely-established (and nicely-worn) travel base.


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Release date: July 26, 2011
Composers: Choe, Uzong; Kang, Sukhi; Kim, Chung-gil; Pagh-Paan, Younghi; Yun, Isang
Label: Naxos
Catalogue No: 8.572406
Award-winning pianist Klara Min has been recognized for her "excellent technique, exuberance and vitality" (New York Concert review). Here she brings the unique synthesis of traditional sources and contemporary compositional techniques of five leading Korean composers. Their works range from descriptive serenity in Younghi Pagh-Paan's Pa-mun, childhood simplicity in Chung Gil Kim's Go Poong ('Memory of Childhood') and rhythmic and dynamic extremes in Sukhi Kang's Piano Sketches. Pioneering figurehead Isang Yun is represented by his early expressionist Fünf Stücke and the much later improvisatory Interludium. Read the Press Release
"Min plays with the most ravishing piano tone I've heard in the last 50 discs I've listened to, at least! Her dynamic control is out of this world—anyone who can make silk out of dissonance this strong is a top-notch artist in my book. She has a patience that most of these pieces require, and a love for intentional silences…. Anybody's music would be served well by Min's touch."
– Stephen Estep, American Record Guide
"…Klara Min's sensitive, colorful, polished, and well recorded performances make a most compelling case for these works."
– Jed Distler, Classics Today
"Klara Min has done a worthy job of tackling challenging music by the leading composers of her homeland."
– V. Vasan, allmusic.com, September, 2011
"Klara Min conveys that sense with beautiful phrasing, a deceptively facile way of handling the difficult pages and a dynamic sense so important to the successful performance of this music."
– Grego Applegate Edwards, Classical-Modern Music Review
"There is tone poetry and twelve-tone abstraction and expressionist experimentation, and all of it is played both expertly and sympathetically by pianist Klara Min…Recommended."
– Rick Anderson, Baker & Taylor CD Hotlist, September 2011
"..Klara Min's piano playing is demonstrably intelligent, technically assured and, where necessary, delicate or muscly."
– Music Web International


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Thousands of fish will be removed from the Rochdale Canal when they drain it to carry out £345,000 worth of repairs.
Extensive work is now underway to repair the canal bank between Sowerby Bridge and Luddendenfoot and a specialist 'fish rescue' is working to re-home thousands of fish living close to the leak.
The canal has been closed at High Royd since before Christmas, after a leak was discovered.
The rescue team are using a humane technique called electro fishing, which will temporarily stun the fish with an electric current before removing them to safety and placing them in an unaffected stretch of the canal.
Richard Spencer, Canal & River Trust senior project manager, said: "The leak was spotted just before Christmas and we immediately lowered the canal water level to prevent further damage.
"We now need to drain more water from the canal to start work, but first we have to move the fish in this stretch to safety.
"The Canal & River Trust manages the biggest freshwater fishery in the country and people are often amazed at the size and diversity of the fish that come out of our waterways.
"Fish are among our most important residents and we take their safety very seriously."
The work will involve building a new concrete wall in front of the leaking section of the bank.
The canal and the tow-path are temporarily closed to boats but is expected to re-open around Easter. A sign posted diversion is in place.


text: This spring I was asked to be a presenter at the MORSA's annual conference. Yes, there really is a Michigan One Room Schoolhouse Association! The theme was Adaptive Uses of One-Room Schoolhouses.This was the first time I sat down with my photo archive and pulled together a slide presentation of the entire history of the schoolhouse from my earliest 1880's photo through to the present. I learned at the conference that there are 19 schoolhouses in Michigan still in operation.


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Who You Take Criticism From and the Heart Behind It Matters
Part of being in the military is learning to take orders. You also get a barrage of feedback, and because,in a lot of cases, time may be short, nothing is sugar-coated. Over the course of my 34 years spent in combat boots and my rise through the ranks from enlisted infantryman to Lieutenant Colonel, I experienced a lot of different leaders. Some were full of encouragement and helped you find your best self. Others could be harsh in their critiques, and you left your review feeling deflated. A few years ago, when I started thinking about my future once I left the U.S. Army, I recognized a hard truth: I had slipped into the habit of focusing on the negative. Growing up poor with a single mom as one of six kids and dealing with constant criticism from teachers who labeled me "stupid" early on didn't help. When I took a long, hard look at myself, I realized I'd become my own worst critic. I beat myself up over past mistakes and every little misstep every single day. My negative thinking was magnified by constantly replaying the cruel words of my worst critics whenever I messed up. When you are transitioning to civilian life, you must reconnect with yourself and others and figure out who you are now and who you want to be moving forward. That's one of the 7 Steps to Remarkable Resilience and Triumphant Transition in my forthcoming book WARRIOR'S CODE 001. Transition is always tough. You are moving into unfamiliar territory. What I figured out was that to make progress toward the next stage in life, I needed to reconsider whose criticism I listened to – including my own inner critic. That's not a very good idea. You've likely heard that statement whenever you've expressed a plan at many points in your life. But what's interesting about that statement is that it has a fluid meaning. What I am saying is that whenever you hear that statement, you have to consider who is telling you that and what the intention behind that statement is. A good way to determine that intention is to imagine how it would sound If they finished that statement out loud. Example A) That's not a very good idea, because I tried to do that and failed. Example B) That's not a very good idea, because that's illegal, and you could get arrested. Example A is criticism motivated by fear or doubt. Maybe you say that those words to yourself whenever you come up with a dream or plan that seems a little too big. Or maybe somebody close to you – a family member or a friend – is quick to shoot down any goal or idea that is outside their realm of experience or that makes them uncomfortable. What someone else couldn't do has nothing to do with you. Of course, you should always ask more questions and learn from the failures of others. But doubt is infectious, so don't let it infiltrate your thinking. Example B is a critique that comes from a place of love and concern. Although this example is extreme, it shows the behavior and advice that comes from someone who genuinely has your wellbeing at heart. Those are the people, who deserve to be your battle buddies and mentors as you create your new life. Which brings us to the core issue this post helps you examine: When should you listen and who you should listen to? The stakes are high. When you transition out of the service, you can fall into the trap of isolating yourself. If your own inner critic is the only voice you hear, that's dangerous. It's equally bad if you surround yourself with naysayers, who don't share your vision or your goals for you and your loved ones. What are the intentions of those whose company you keep? Do they genuinely support you and your decision-making when it comes to what's best for you and your family? Intentions matter. They are predictors of whether your battle buddies will help you rise to a challenge or leave you stranded. Recognize when someone doesn't want you to succeed. Fear and doubt-based criticism might not be malicious. In fact, sometimes people aren't even aware of the motives behind the critical things they say. However, to guard your mind from the dream-killer of negativity, you must consider the heart behind their words. Are they saying you shouldn't try because your dream exceeds the limits of their imagination? Is it because they've never seen or heard of anyone doing it — therefore, how could you? If that's the case, take it personally and prove them wrong. My ex-wife told me that I'd never amount to anything and had no hope of getting a college degree and becoming an officer. I used her putdowns as fuel. I graduated college, got my master's degree and a law degree and achieved the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and served twice as an Inspector General. Are they stomping on your dreams, because they were never able to succeed at your stated goal themselves? Egocentric doubt is cancerous. Limit your exposure to these folks – even if they are family. These are the people who will leave you stranded in no man's land. On your journey, if there is a goal, an opportunity, a seemingly improbable dream — something that keeps you up at night with a fire burning in your gut — don't let anyone tell you it's impossible. Your fire is sacred. Guard it vigilantly. If a thousand people have failed before you, it's irrelevant. Learn why they did, and do it better. There are too many variables in play to let their failure serve as proof that you can't do it. Any great victory that is remembered through the ages looked unlikely with the odds stacked against the eventual winner. You'll never regret trying. Faith and belief is oxygen. Fear and doubt snuffs your fire out. But it's still a balancing act. While trying to keep doubt and fear away, it's easy to miss those kernels of truth that can help guide you. Even your worst enemies might give you a clue. Perhaps something you're great at makes them insecure or uncomfortable. Maybe they truly have seen a weakness or something you could improve at and are gleefully pointing it out. Only you can learn to identify your allies, your enemies, or those who are apathetic towards you, and figure out the intent behind their words. The flipside of the equation is that we don't always want to hear the truth. We can be our own worst enemy. For example, you tell your friend you want to compete in an ironman competition — but you don't exercise and your fitness isn't where it needs to be. He tells you that you should start exercising more and focusing on swimming, biking, and running. That's a simple statement of fact, a love-based critique. Your ego might not want to let that information sink in and take action on what your buddy said, but you'll never reach your stated goal unless you let your guard down. Your allies and battle buddies can be just as useful at gathering recon for your strategy as you step forward as you are. But assessing their reports is up to you. Now let's say that same friend tells you, you can't compete in a triathlon, that you're never going to be able to make it. That person is not helping you rise to the challenge. Limit their influence. That's exactly what I did after I had to have a hip replacement and learn to walk again after injuring my hip during my last month of deployment in Afghanistan. My doctor told me I'd likely never run again and certainly never practice taekwondo. Within the year I completed a triathalon and last month I earned my third-degree black belt. Be humble, adjust course, and at the end of the day, ask yourself one question:


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Espora Productos are hand-made in Mexico City, using a few simple ingredients to produce small-batch, flavorful marmalades. They create gourmet, Mexican-made products, "resurrecting" them from generation-old recipes. LOOT carries Guyaba (Guava), Ciruela (Plum) and Kumquat marmalades, as well as Jalapeños or Chipotle chilies pickled with pilloncio. Espora Productos are dedicated to sustainable practices, a component of any business that we admire and support, and believe in "promoting mindful eating." A gift for friends who love to cook, or for yourself to provide a little reminder of Zihuatanejo each time you open the pantry.


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Srimad Bhagavatam 1.16.1
Sūta said:
Then, guided by the best of the twice-born, Parīkṣit governed the earth as a great devotee. Indeed, he developed all the great qualities foreseen by the astrologers when he was born.
"Twice-born" refers to a person with excellent education. The first birth is for the body, the second is for the mind. The word for "great devotee" is mahā-bhāgavata. This could be more elaborately translated as, "Great All-Attracted." The word for "astrologers" is abhijāta-kovida, which could be more elaborately translated as, "experts in extrapolating the birth."
He married Uttara's daughter, Irāvatī. They had four children: Janamejaya, etc.
He held three horse sacrifices [aśvamedhā] by the Ganges. At these he gave abundant charity. He made Śaradvan's son [Kṛpā] the master. There, the gods could came within the range of the senses.
Once, while victoriously travelling the world, he heroically used his power to arrest Kali, a low class man in the form of a king who was destroying the legs of a cow-couple.
Here, Kali refers to the personified kali-yuga. Pretention and fakery is his primary character trait. The cow-couple refers to the cow of Mother Earth and the bull of dharma. Dharma has four "legs" – pillars that hold up morality: truthfulness, simplicity, compassion, and cleanliness. In each age another leg is broken. The only leg that remains in Kali Yuga is truthfulness. The age itself pummels away at this leg so that it crumbles and is completely destroyed as the age progresses.
Śaunaka said:
During this victory travels, why did he arrest Kali, a low class man in a king's costume beating the leg of a cow? O blessed one, please tell us about this if it is a part of what you wish to tell us about Kṛṣṇa.
Śaunaka is surprised that Parīkṣit merely arrested and did not kill such a dangerous person. But this verse is very special because it clearly shows the standard by which the Bhāgavatam was composed, and by which we must also present it. There are all sorts of topics covered in Bhāgavatam, but all of them have explicit and direct relevance to devotional discussion of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, Vasudeva's son.
Those who drink the real nectar from his lotus-like feet have no interest in wasting their life on unreal jabbering.
My boy, short-lived human mortals who desire immortality should befriend the lord of death, who suspends his activities when invited to devotional discussions.
No one dies so long as the death-lord is present. That is why the great sages invited him here. Ho! Let us humans now drink the immortal nectar of words about the activities of Hari!
Śaunaka tells Sūta he would like to hear more details about Parīkṣit's arrest of Kali, if and only insofar as such discussion involves Kṛṣṇa. He wants to drink the delicious nectar from the lotus-like feet of Kṛṣṇa, so he has no interest at all in wasting his life by jibber jabbering about illusions and unreal details. When one discusses Kṛṣṇa the lord of death, Yāma, himself comes to hear the delightful narrations suspending his normal activities. Thus one who submerges himself in Kṛṣṇa-kathā never dies, but goes on and on relishing the ever-new deliciousness of the All-Attractive. This is the poetic metaphor Śaunaka spontaneously composed.
Small, small-minded, and certainly with small lifespan; the people of this age sleep away their nights and work away their days for nothing.
Without the immortal nectar of Hari-kathā our short lives are wasted on nothing of importance; we become stunted in every way.


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p>Available in a large assortment of vivid colors, these Parts of Passion headset spacers are an excellent way to add some style to your ride. CNC machined from Al 6060, these spacers are not only eye catching, but also light and durable.
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