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XOJet CEO looks for change, opportunity
Meet the Boss: Blair LaCorte
Blair LaCorte grew up the oldest of eight siblings in a blended family that ran a small regional airline outside of Boston.
"I always make the joke that (the TV show) 'Wings' was slightly based off of us," he said in an interview last week in his San Carlos office. "They made the people a lot better looking, but I don't think they were actually that much funnier than my experience."
From washing pots in a hospital cafeteria as a high schooler, to working with then-CEO Jack Welch at General Electric after college, to co-inventing the "smart tags" used by the Department of Defense to track shipments around the world, LaCorte always has looked for opportunities sparked by change.
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"My dad taught me when I was very young that the biggest skill you have is to be self-aware," LaCorte said. "If you're self-aware, you look for opportunities that fit you. I love change. What I looked for is places where change was going on, whether it was collapsing or taking off."
About six months ago, LaCorte became chief executive of XOJet, after joining the private aviation firm as president last year.
Previously, he was a partner in TPG, the investment firm that owns XOJet.
Fittingly, he counts XOJet in the "taking off" category.
The Chronicle sat down with him to ask about his company and career.
Q:How is XOJet's business model different from fractional jet ownership?
A: In a fractional jet program, you own your jet. XOJet owns all our jets. So you get the quality and consistency as if you owned your jet, with none of the upfront costs or long-term risk.
Q:How is the corporate jet industry performing in this economy?
A: Last year, business aviation dropped 30 to 40 percent. This year, business aviation has picked back up. Overall, business aviation was up 7 percent in January, and it was up 11 percent in February. The financial crisis last year actually accelerated people evaluating new models, and it's been a great thing for us. In January, we were up 31 percent. In fact, as far as we know, we're the only people buying new planes this year.
Q:Tell us a little bit about your fleet.
A: We specialize in what is called the super mid jet, so they're eight-nine person jets. We service 25,000 airports across the world. We have over $400 million in planes, over 100 pilots and fly over 9 million miles a year. We actually float our fleet, so there's no home. Whenever you call, we have a jet flying somewhere, and we can divert that jet to where you are.
Q:What makes a successful company?
A: You must have vision - strategy can adapt. Passion - it has to be an emotional commitment as well as logical. Fact-based decision making and bias to action - you have to take risks. Fail fast and small if you have to, but keep moving.
Q:You've worked in a variety of careers. What's the common thread?
A: My stepfather had an airline and my father was a recruiter, so they were both entrepreneurs. The effect of that experience for me was I never wanted to be an entrepreneur because I never wanted to worry about paying rent. So when I went to college, I got a degree in business and I went to work for the largest company I could get a job with, which was General Electric.
I was fortunate that Jack Welch had instituted a new program, which allowed new trainees to rotate through businesses. So I rotated through six different businesses in three different years and found out you don't cure being entrepreneurial. I'm very entrepreneurial, and I like to fix things.
(In 1991) I got a job with Sun Microsystems, and they gave me a title of head of strategy. My boss at Sun, Carol Bartz, went to Autodesk, and she said, it's software young man, go for software. And so I went up to Autodesk and found we had the most dogs that ever went to work. When I took over my first division, I had four birds, a boa constrictor and six dogs, and it kind of broke down my New England conservatism and allowed me to start to take more risks and start inventing things.
If you look at my career, it's always about solving problems and trying new things and leveraging what I've learned from the last experience into the new experience.
Q:You refer to your dad as your best friend. Can you share one of your memories growing up?
A: My dad was a recruiter, so he got people jobs. On Fridays, we'd carry all of his suit jackets out and he would take homeless men and he would give them the suit jackets and teach them how to interview for jobs. That's what we did on our Fridays. And then we would go get pizza. I never ever forgot that Fridays were for helping people, and then we would go out and get pizza.
Q:Is there any other person you credit with your success?
A: There was a guy named Eric Herr who was one of the top people at Sun, and (later) president of Autodesk, and I met Eric when I was in graduate school. I was the social chairman and I had committed to my class that we would win the ice sculpture contest at Dartmouth - winter carnival at Dartmouth is the biggest thing.
We had made a bet with the local brewery that if we won the ice sculpture contest, they would give us free beer for a year. So we stayed up all night long building this cat that jumped out of a keg.
I had to do an interview the next day. That was with Eric Herr. At that time, he was running a consulting firm called the Michael Allen Co., and I came in to the interview and I looked terrible. And he looked at me and he said, "You just look terrible." And there was a moment where I had to decide whether to tell the truth or not. So I told him the truth, why I did it, and how I organized it, and at that point he said, "You know what? You are a true entrepreneurial spirit. I want to mentor you." And he did. I worked for him three times in my career.
He connected with the fact that it wasn't just about the beer; it was about trying to figure out how you win the beer that makes you an entrepreneur.
For me, it's about learning and it's about teaching and it's about finding something bigger than yourself that you believe in. We'd all like to believe it's about planning, but I think it's about making the right decision at the right time, knowing in your heart that this is the right thing to do. If you follow your heart, you find exciting things to do.
Blair LaCorte, 47
CEO, XOJet, San Carlos
Family: Wife Jill; sons Connor, 10, Kincaid, 8, and Aidan, 5
Residence: Belvedere
Board member: XOJet, Apprion Inc. (Mountain View), Starcite Inc. (Philadelphia), Graduate Business Foundation and MBA board at Dartmouth College
Quote: "I love change."
Can't live without: Pizza


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subset: commoncrawl


text: The Board of Trustees' main purpose is to ensure healthy and sound governance for Mountaintop with a focus on its long-term strength. It serves in a strategic capacity, working in concert with the Head of School for the benefit of all Mountaintop children, families, and the generations to come. The trustees are dedicated volunteers drawn broadly from our community, including parents of current and former students, former administrators, alumni and others who bring fresh and independent perspectives to board discussions.


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Some Arab states are happy to see President Obama go given the importance of the Iran threat to them:
Gulf Arab states are quietly applauding the arrival in the White House of a hawkish leader opposed to their adversary Iran, even if they suspect Donald Trump's short temper and abrasive Tweets may at times heighten tensions in the combustible Middle East.
The article says that a possible move of America's embassy to Jerusalem could put off Arab states eager for help against Iran.
This issue, after all, was not even mentioned in this assessment of Saudi hopes and concerns for the Trump administration.
We shall see how much those Arab states want help against Iran more than they want to support Palestinians who seem happy to take help from Iran.
As an aside, Moslem anger at the Crusades is meaningless to me given that the Crusades tried to liberate Christian lands that had been conquered by Islamic armies. This is not an early version of Western colonialism as so many liberals with little sense of history claim. If it is colonialism, it was successful Islamic conquest, colonialism, and ethnic cleansing. So deny the attempted guilt trip about that,
Anyway, we shall see what kind of deal there is when the Israeli prime minister comes to America. Will Israel offer enough to Gulf Arab states to get their silence on an embassy move?
Maybe Trump can build a hotel in Jersualem and then rent space to the American embassy! (I'm joking, of course.)
UPDATE: The Saudis are on board pressuring Iran through the flawed deal that unwisely front-loaded benefits to Iran:
President Donald Trump and Saudi King Salman want to "rigorously" enforce the Iran nuclear deal, the White House said Sunday, despite the US leader's long opposition to the agreement.
The pair, in a phone conversation, also spoke of the need to address Iran's "destabilizing regional activities," fight the spread of "radical Islamic terrorism" and establish safe zones in war-ravaged Syria and Yemen, the White House statement read.
I'm willing to see if Trump can make Iran howl through the deal.
If this doesn't work, the deal should be canceled.
UPDATE: One of the reasons I'm willing to see if we can enforce the deal to death is that I believe the Obama administration worked to set up a deal where it would be easy not to notice problems if they didn't want to see them.


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The coast of the Gulf of Porto is one of Corsica's most famous landscapes, and rightly so – with its dramatic sculpted red rock and sweeping bays it has to be seen to be believed.
The nature reserve, which is part of the Regional Natural Park of Corsica, occupies the Scandola peninsula, an impressive, porphyritic rock mass. The vegetation is an outstanding example of scrubland. Seagulls, cormorants and sea eagles can be found there. The clear waters, with their islets and inaccessible caves, host a rich marine life.
The site lies on the central western coast of the island of Corsica. The natural reserve, which is part of the Regional Natural Park of Corsica, occupies the Scandola peninsula, an impressive, porphyritic rock mass. The site includes a coastline of astonishing beauty studded with offshore islets and sea pillars rising out of translucent waters. On the shore itself there are hidden coves and long beeches of fine sand, sea grottos and high cliffs of blood-red porphyry. The vegetation is an outstanding example of scrubland. Seagulls, cormorants and sea eagles can be found there. The clear waters, with their islets and inaccessible caves, host a rich marine life.
The reserve is divided into two sectors: the Elpa Nera inlet (between Pointe Bianca and Pointe Validori) and the Scandola peninsula. This area, which includes the massif of Cinto and the valley of Fango, is part of a large geological complex that appears to have undergone two distinct cycles of volcanic activity in the Permian. Since then, the area has been subject to alternating cycles of erosion and rejuvenation. Geologically comprises porphyry, rhyoliths and basaltic pillars, which have all been considerably eroded by wave action. The jagged and sheer cliffs contain many grottos and are flanked by numerous stacks and almost inaccessible islets and coves, such as Tuara. The coastline is also noted for its red cliffs, some 900 m high, sand beaches, and headlands such as Cape Osani and the peninsula of Elbo.
On the more gentle slopes, typical Mediterranean maquis vegetation occurs. This is replaced by arborescent plants at an altitude of 200 m and oaks succeed this in certain areas. All species of marine algae for this part of the Mediterranean are found within the littoral zone, including a number of species, such as red algae, which are not recorded anywhere else in France. Because of the highly transparent nature of the waters the sublittoral algae is found over quite a large area. Scandola Nature Reserve contains a rich sedentary and migrant fauna including the peregrine falcon, osprey and Eleonora falcon, with Cory's shearwater and Audouin's gull occurring in the littoral zone.
The marine environment contains considerable numbers of spiny lobster and a wide range of littoral and sublittoral invertebrates and fish.
This area conserves traditional agriculture and grazing activities, and contains complete systems of architecturally interesting fortifications, which are important elements of Corsican culture. There are also some Roman sites.
Scandola Nature Reserve established under decree of 9 December 1975. Parc naturel regional de Corse established under decree of 12 May 1972. Since a law of 2 May 1930, updated by decree of 14 December 1976, no destruction or modification can be carried out in the area without authorisation from the Minister of the Environment. Girolata and Porto were classified as nature reserves in 1975 and 1976. Inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1983 and Scandola Nature Reserve was awarded the European Diploma in 1986.
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Filed under: Assembly of Experts, Ayatollahs, iran, iran election, Iran News, Iranian protests, Rafsanjani, revolution, ایران, رفسنجانی, Rafsanjani
February 19, 2011 • 11:24p02 0
Cleric Ahmad Reza Hajati calls for dismissing Rafsanjani from head of Assembly of Experts( Khobregan)
January 10, 2011 • 11:24p01 0
آیت الله هاشمی رفسنجانی:توهین و تهمت، شیوه کسانی است که پایههای قدرت خویش را بر تارهای عنکبوتی بنا نهادهاند / Ayatollah Rafsanjani condemns recent attacks on senior religious figures
Ayatollah Hashemi-Rafsanjani – chairman of the Assembly of Experts and Expediency Discernment Council – in a statement strongly condemned the recent attacks by hardliners and their propaganda machine on senior religious figures that met with the families of political prisoners and comforted them.
It should also be mentioned that Rafsanjani's daughter, Faezeh, recently met met with the family of Feizollah Arabsorkhi – imprisoned senior reformist figure – and comforted them. In this visit Faezeh Hashemi-Rafsanjani by expressing sorrow for the imprisonment of Feizollah Arabsorkhi and the arrest of his daughter – Fatemeh – who was unjustly imprisoned for couple of weeks, said: "These days we are witnessing events that are unbelievable. Who would have thought in the past that in the Islamic Republic system a mother who has a two-year old child (referring to Fatemeh Arabsorkhi) and is not in good shape physically would be arrested to put pressure on her imprisoned father and her family?" Faezeh Hashemi-Rafsanjani added: "Slightest fairness and thought would have been enough to make it clear in interrogations that those who are acting against national security and are trying to destroy the establishment are not the pure-hearted youth who are imprisoned these days with these charges and are resisting in prisons and under [harsh] interrogations and psychological and physical pressure."
Filed under: Assembly of Experts, Ayatollahs, faezeh hashemi, iran election, Iran News, Iranian protests, Rafsanjani, revolution, ایران iran, Rafsanjani
October 1, 2010 • 11:24p10 0
مهدی کروبی در مصاحبه اختصاصی با تغییر: بعد از رحلت امام، سرنوشت خبرگان زیر ساطور شورای نگهبان قرار گرفت / Karroubi responds to the harsh reactions over his letter to Rafsanjani in Tagheer interview
Following the harsh reactions of hardliners regarding Mehdi Karroubi's letter to Ayatollah Hashemi-Rafsanjani (Chairman of the Assembly of Experts) and reminding him and the assembly of their true responsibilities to oversight the supreme leader in an interview with Tagheer website once again strongly criticized the lack of oversight on circles of power and government organizations.
Mehdi Karroubi in his letter to the chairman of the Assembly of Experts before the beginning of its session pointed out the responsibilities of the Assembly of Experts and stated: 'The Assembly of Experts has been formed to choose, have oversight and also dismiss the supreme leader. But they (the ruling powers) are saying "don't mention the clarity of the constitution; don't even have minor reference to it'! While Imam [Khomeini] had advised the clerics of the Assembly of Experts: 'Your responsibility is on top of all responsibilities; because the highest corruption which leads to the corruption of all organizations is the corruption of the supreme leader.'"
Mehdi Karroubi in this interview by pointing to the reasons of harsh reactions to his letter said: "The reason on why there have been such harsh reactions to a fully legal and rational letter should be found in the chaotic situation of country's affairs. If the country had the necessary stability, all these heavy political and economical pressure would have not be imposed on the people and instead of creating tension on the international stage, professional diplomatic approach would have been used."
Mehdi Karroubi added: "Such reactions happen in unusual societies under dictatorship as well as in restricted, silenced, self-censored and totalitarian environments not in a stable and firm society."
The speaker of the third and sixth terms of the parliament by asking fundamental questions such as 'Can the parliament which is elected by the people and has legislative and oversight roles, raise the issue of the president's political incompetence?' , stated: " If the parliament attempts to start an independent matter and tries to launch an investigation, they (ruling powers) so harshly confront the parliament and say that no way 'the parliament is on top of all affairs' and Imam [Khomeini] said something (this quote) for his time."
Mehdi Karroubi in an interview with Tagheer website said: "The Assembly of Experts is formed to chose a supreme leader and oversight his performance. It has been clearly stated in the law that in some cases the Assembly of Experts has the right to dismiss the supreme leader. For example if the supreme leader lacks the required qualifications, or because of old age say suffers from memory loss loses the qualifications for being the supreme leader, or the members of the Assembly of Experts find out that their choice was wrong from the beginning, in these cases the members of the Assembly of Experts have the right to dismiss and discharge the supreme leader [from his post].All these cases I mentioned are the clearly stated articles of the constitution. But they (hardliner ruling powers) say 'don't even mention the clearly stated laws of the constitution, don't point out! Don't even pronounce them!' if this is the case then why the constitution was written at the first place?"
Mehdi Karroubi in answer to the question why the Assembly of Experts does not perform based on its responsibilities said: "Apparently the meanings and values have changed. Today we have reached a point that we don't have any election but instead we have pseudo-elections! … Bravery has become crime and lies have become truth"
Mehdi Karroubi in his letter to the chairman of the Assembly of Experts, Ayatollah Hashemi-Rafsanjani, by stating the characteristics of the government which one of them was "its accountability toward the people" by referring to the constitution reminded the Assembly of Experts of its responsibilities.
Mehdi Karroubi in his letter and in describing the current Assembly of Experts stated that this Assembly hold meetings twice a year and their activities is mainly limited to "parsing" , "visiting late Ayatollah Khomeini's tomb", "meeting with the supreme leader to praise him" and issuing "cliché statements".
This reformist figure also bluntly stated the issue of violation of people's rights by the organizations under the supreme leader and urged the chairman of the Assembly of Experts to think of a "solution".
Filed under: Assembly of Experts, iran election, Iran News, Iranian protests, Karroubi, Khomeini, Rafsanjani, revolution, ایران iran, Karroubi, Khamenei, Khomeini, Rafsanjani
September 30, 2010 • 11:24p09 0
حضرت آیت الله العظمی دستغیب :خبرگان فعلی از ماهیت خود بیرون رفته است / Ayatollah Dastgheib Criticizes Khamenei for Overstepping Powers as Supreme Leader
InsideIRAN.org – Ayatollah Ali-Mohammad Dastgheib, member of the Assembly of Experts and an outspoken critic of the government, issued a new theological verdict about Velayat Faqih, or rule of Islamic jurist, and stated that the current implications of this theory are contradictory to what the Iranian constitution had intended.
Ayatollah Dastgheib, in response to a question asked by one of his followers on his official website regarding Velayat Faqih, argues in five pages that the current theory of Absolute Velayat Faqih does not correspond to the interpretation of the concept, as it was determined by Ayatollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic and the most prominent intellectual father of the theory.
Dastgheib begins his long jurisprudential and technical response by first mentioning that he was one of Ayatollah Khomeini's students and a number of other prominent seminaries of the time, thus establishing both his commitment to the theory of Velayat and his religious credentials as a legitimate source of opinion on this matter.
According to his website, Dastgheib.com, this senior cleric argues that "Absolute Velayat Faqih and Vali Faqih [the actual person who carries out the duties of Velayat] appointed by the Assembly of Experts are two different things that can at times take place and be observed in one person, such as Imam Khomeini", implying that the current Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei lacks one of those properties. He then argues that the only duties of someone selected by the Assembly of Experts are "…to coordinate the efforts of the three branches of government and to prevent the violation of citizens' rights by the three branches." This bold claim means that the Supreme Leader's powers are much more limited than is currently the case.
Dastgheib asserts, "This person of Vali Faqih has no right to interfere in the affairs of the people." After the death of Ayatollah Khomeini, the Supreme Leader was no longer required to be a Source of Emulation, which, according to Dastgheib, means that he no longer holds the legitimacy to become an Absolute Vali Faqih.
Ayatollah Dastgheib then criticizes the Assembly of Experts, which is responsible for the selection, termination, and supervision of the Supreme Leader, and says, "These gentlemen's only duty is not to appoint or to approve of a leader; they are also responsible for solving the problems of their constituents." He asserted, "It should not be the case that we [the Assembly] select a leader and must now be obedient [to the Leader]."
Ayatollah Dastgheib's remarks against Velayat Faqih and Supreme Leader Khamenei are the harshest since the late Grand Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri publicly questioned the legitimacy of Khamenei's leadership two decades ago. As a member of the Assembly of Experts and a prominent cleric in Iran, Dastgheib's remarks could encourage other dissatisfied senior clerics to come forward and express their grievances. It is expected that in the next few days Dastgheib's office, mosque or both will be attacked by government supporters in a show of support for Khamenei.
Filed under: Assembly of Experts, iran election, Iran News, Iranian protests, Khomeini, revolution, ایران iran, Dastgheib, Khamenei, Khomeini
September 19, 2010 • 11:24p09 0
نامه کروبی به هاشمی رفسنجانی در مورد نظارت بر رهبری / Karroubi sends letter to Rafsanjani reminding him of the Assembly of Experts responsibilities and duties
On the eve of the bi-annual meeting of the Assembly of Experts in Iran, headed by Ayatollah Rafsanjani, opposition leader Mehdi Karroubi has written a letter to Rafsanjani reminding the Assembly of it's responsibilities to monitor not only the Supreme Leaders performance, but also the institutions and functions under the Supreme Leader.
In the letter he points out the increasing role of the Revolutionary Guard and Basij in political affairs, as well as their expansive role in economic matters. Karroubi also states "a lack of independence of the judiciary and courts."
In a bold move, Karroubi points to the Assembly's power to remove the rahbar (Supreme Leader) if he is incapable of carrying out his duties in a supervisory role, as written in the Constitution.
In the letter, dated September 13th, 2010, Mehdi Karroubi reiterated the responsibilities of the Supreme Leader under the Constitution, stating that the Assembly of Experts must prevent the destabilization of the Velayat-E-Faqih [Rule of the Jurisprudent] and the position and role of the Supreme Leader that have resulted from negligence in the performance of duties and the abuse of authority.
Karroubi's letter states that "dozens of questions can be raised, including the lack of attention to people's rights, inefficiency by the executive and judiciary branches of the government, and in particular the abuse of the general rights of citizens by the institutions under the auspices of the Supreme Leader."
Mehdi Karroubi, a supporter of the founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Khomeini and two times head of the Parliament when Khomeini was Supreme Leader, became an opposition candidate and joined the apposition movement after the controversial presidential elections last year. In this recent letter to the Head of the Assembly of Experts, Hashemi Rafsanjani, he repeatedly points to the responsibilities and powers of the Assembly of Experts, including the right to remove the Supreme Leader from his position. Karroubi also reiterated that in his opinion, the Assembly of Experts has not properly utilized the legal authorities afforded under Articles 107, 108 and 111 of the Constitution.
Article 107 of the Constitution describes the "responsibilities" of the Supreme Leader and others in accordance to the law. Article 108 describes the duties and powers of the Assembly of Experts, while Article 111 covers the rules related to the dismissal of the Supreme Leader. Article 111 states: "Whenever the Leader becomes incapable of fulfilling his constitutional duties, or loses one of the qualifications mentioned in Articles 5 and 109, or it becomes known that he did not possess some of the qualifications initially, he will be dismissed. The authority of determination in this matter is vested with the experts specified in Article 108."
In his letter to Hashemi Rafsanjani Head of the Assembly of Experts, Mehdi Karroubi makes references to the "complete lack of independence of the judiciary, the show trials that were politically motivated and paraded in all government supporting media outlets, the complete and unconditional interference by the IRGC [Sepah] and Basiji in all political matters and their dominance and monopolization of all economic matters" as examples of the results of the activities of the institutions under the auspices of the Leadership."
Karroubi also writes that the IRGC and Basiji played a role in the rigged elections and oppressing the rights of the nation of Iran, reiterating that the transfer of large economic projects to the IRGC and "eliminating public tenders" further strengthened the conditions for the existence of a monopoly and the military's ability to personal monetary profits.
While reiterating his criticism of the performance by the existing government, Karroubi stated: "If the Assembly of Experts continues to neglect its responsibilities, ignoring the incompetence, imprudence, exaggerations, irreverence and impertinence of the current government, even if they eventually become aware of their mistake, it may unfortunately be too late."
It is worth mentioning that reports published covering the last session of the Assembly of Experts in Iran do not make any references to the letter by Mr. Karroubi.
These meetings took place in Tehran on September 14th & 15th, 2010.
with special thanks to Banooye Sabz for English translation
Filed under: Assembly of Experts, Ayatollahs, Basij, iran election, Iran News, Iranian protests, Karroubi, Rafsanjani, revolution, Revolutionary Guards, ایران iran, Karroubi, Khamenei, Rafsanjani
September 17, 2010 • 11:24p09 0
Rafsanjani warns of dictatorship and urges all to abide by the law to prevent discord among the nation
Below is a summary of the opening remarks by the head of the Assembly of Experts Council in Iran, Ayatollah Rafsanjani as he opened the session on Tuesday. The Experts Council is a deliberative body of 86 Mujtahids (Islamic scholars) that is charged with electing and removing the Supreme Leader of Iran and supervising his activities. In his remarks, he warns of a current toward dictatorship and appeals to all leaders to abide by the law and prevent discord and disenfranchisement of the people.
The ratifications of the Majlis, the Guardian Council and the Expediency Council must be implemented, said Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani at the opening session of the Assembly of Experts on Tuesday.
Rafsanjani also said the Supreme Leader's remarks about the implementation of Article 44 and the 20-Year Outlook Plan – which have been drawn up by the Expediency Council and endorsed by the Supreme Leader – must be regarded "above law".
Elsewhere in his remarks, Rafsanjani said disrespect to law will lead to "dictatorship".
"Disregard to law, means dictatorship," said Rafsanjani who is both the chairman of the Expediency Council and the Assembly of Experts.
The former president went on to say that the current headstrong movements in the country are like a "poison", urging all to abide by the law to prevent discord among the nation.
Rafsanjani also warned that some persons seek to deal a blow to the core of the Islamic system.
He said some misinterpret the Leader's slogan of "maximum attraction and minimum alienation", a reference to the stated policy of the Islamic Republic system to win the hearts and minds of people as much as possible and avoiding disenfranchise them to the extent possible.
Moreover, Rafsanjani cited Velayat-e-Faqih (rule of supreme jurisprudence) and clerics as main assets to the country that have to be highly valued.
Rafsanjani also warned officials not to consider sanctions against the country as a "joke".
"During the years after the revolution, we have never had so many sanctions and I urge all officials to take them seriously and not as jokes," he stated.
Ayatollah Rafsanjani expressed hope that Iran will "weather the storm of crisis" if it utilizes its potential in a proper way.
Source: ICANA
Filed under: Assembly of Experts, Ayatollahs, Expediency Council, Guardian Council, iran election, Iran News, Iranian protests, Rafsanjani, revolution, ایران iran, Khamenei, Rafsanjani
September 15, 2010 • 11:24p09 0
آیت الله دستغیب در اعتراض به روند حاکم بر مجلس خبرگان در این اجلاسیه حاضر نشد / Ayatollah Dastgheib does not attend Experts Assembly in protest
Grand Ayatollah Dastgheib, senior religious figure and representative of the people of Shiraz in the Assembly of Experts and critic of the government, in protest to the current trend and the performance of the Assembly of Experts did not attend the latest session of the assembly.
According to the constitution the Assembly of Experts is responsible for overseeing the performance of the supreme leader, dismissing the supreme leader at anytime if he does not meet the qualifications and choosing a new supreme leader.
During the holy month of Ramadan, Grand Ayatollah Dastgheib in his sermons which he delivered in the Ghoba mosque in the city of Shiraz repeatedly warned the authorities to come back to the people and stop the oppression and this intrigued the hardliners including the representative of the supreme leader in the Shiraz branch of the Revolutionary Guards to organize attacks by Basij militias and plain-clothes thugs on Qoba mosque.
In these attacks many worshippers were brutally injured and many have been arrested by the security forces while the attackers disgraced the sanctity of the mosque in the holy month of Ramadan in full safety.
Few days prior to the beginning of the latest session of the Assembly of Experts, Grand Ayatollah Dastgheib in an open letter to the fellow members of the assembly urged them to commit to their true responsibility and do their job properly and defend the rightful demands of the people as he was certain that just like the previous session of the assembly most of the members who themselves are the representatives of the supreme leader would prevent Grand Ayatollah Dastgheib to deliver his speech in the session and continue a campaign against him trying to question his qualifications and dismiss him from the membership of the assembly which he earned through people's votes!
Filed under: Assembly of Experts, Ayatollahs, Ghoba Mosque, iran election, Iran News, Iranian protests, revolution, ایران iran, Dastgheib, Shiraz
June 24, 2010 • 11:24p06 0
Parliament Again Becomes Battleground for Ahmadinejad-Rafsanjani Split
insideIran – The Iranian parliament passed a bill June 21 in which any changes to the constitution of Azad University, a network of private universities in Iran, must be approved by the so-called "Board of Founders," and cannot be changed by the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution, which is chaired by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
This bill is significant because it prevents President Ahmadinejad and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei from taking over Iran's most profitable educational system estimated by Kayhan, a hardline newspaper close to Khamenei, to possess assets worth up to 250 billion dollars.
Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani is the chairman of the Board of Founders and was the person behind the creation of private universities in Iran some 29 years ago. The current head of Azad University, Ahmad Jasbi, is considered a close ally of Rafsanjani. Jasbi is the longest serving executive in Iran for heading Azad University since its founding. Rafsanjani's son, Mehdi Hashemi, is also a high-ranking executive of Azad University. The Iranian judiciary has issued an arrest warrant for Mehdi Hashemi, but he left Iran last summer before the warrant was issued in order to avoid prosecution.
The Supreme Council on the Cultural Revolution and President Ahmadinejad's allies pursued a number of goals by seeking to take over Azad University. First, pro-government forces would have assumed control over a significant amount of money currently in the hands of Rafsanjani's allies.
Second, by eliminating a major source of funding and removing Jasbi from his post, the hardliners would have moved one step closer to making Rafsanjani less relevant.
Third, Azad University operates campuses in the most remote corners of Iran, where public universities have traditionally failed to reach. Controlling this network of universities would have allowed hardliners to tighten their hold on Iran's university campuses from where they have received stiff resistance and disobedience.
The parliamentary vote against the Supreme Council on Cultural Revolution and in favor of the Board of Founders is a victory for Rafsanjani. But this victory may not last long.
The parliament has come under enormous pressure by hardliners inside the government. In reaction to this bill, President Ahmadinejad canceled his meeting with Ali Larijani, the speaker of parliament, and Sadegh Larijani, Iran's chief justice, Monday June 22. Supreme Leader Khamenei is also believed to be on the side of the government. Pro-government protestors have been demonstrating outside the parliament demanding the bill to be overturned.
The bill, if not overturned by the parliament in another vote, will go to the Guardian Council. The Guardians will most likely reject the bill, which will then go to the Expediency Council chaired by Rafsanjani.
Filed under: Ahmedinejad, Assembly of Experts, Ayatollahs, Expediency Council, Guardian Council, iran election, Iran News, Iranian protests, Majlis, Rafsanjani, revolution, ایران iran, Ahmedinejad, azad university, Khamenei, Rafsanjani
May 17, 2010 • 11:24p05 0
Karroubi says the Constitution is not some Holy word and can be changed
Mehdi Karroubi met with groups of teachers, physicians, nurses and families of martyrs. At the beginning of this meeting representatives of different classes of society while criticizing and expressing concern over the current situation of the country raised some questions. Mehdi karroubi in response to these questions made some important remarks.
In this meeting Mehdi Karroub: "The great people of Iran fully supported the revolution in all aspects and have gone through many hardships and sufferings during these times. The great nation of Iran courageously resisted and made many sacrifices during the 8-year Iran-Iraq war and before Saddam Hossein's dictatorship as well as in face of different sanctions and numerous terrorist attacks including the bombing of the office of the Prime Minister [in the early days of the revolution]; and the reason for all these sacrifices and braveries has been the love for their country and Islam and the two words of Islamic and Republic which was established by the very same people"
Mehdi Karroubi said: "Our system is based on people's vote such that people elect their representatives to the Assembly of Experts to oversee the performance of the supreme leader; also people elect their representatives to the parliament to legislate laws and also have permanent oversight on the performance of their elected administration. So this is how people play an important role through direct and indirect elections and overseeing the performance of the officials in different ranks; and this is how the body of the Islamic Republic comes to life and become meaningful with the spirit of the people and their votes. However unfortunately today we witness the derailment of the train of Islamic Republic because some individuals are trying to eliminate the Republic and people's role to stay in power."
Karroubi said: "Unfortunately, we are witnessing a trend in pushing the pure religion of the prophet Mohammad and his descendants towards superstitions. Lies and deceptions were not enough for them that they are adding superstitions and fictions to the religion too … Unfortunately our system has reached a point that some thoughtless people, ignorant about this world and after-live, recklessly accuse others of being an enemy with God! We have just recently witnessed that in a strange and thoughtless act, a member of the Guardian Council (Gholam-Hossein Elham) called Mir Hossein Mousavi and his wife (Zahra Rahnavard) enemy with God!"
Karroubi then added: "They themselves know that we don't want to over through the system and of course did not choose the path of reform just recently. You and I both have realized this correctly that the true democracy is not being implemented in the system! When the result of the election was already known on the morning of the Election Day and they started congratulating each other right then, for sure shows that they don't respect and honour people's vote."
He said: "We say that the system must return to its main path (Both being an Islamic and Republic state), free and healthy elections must be held, there must be independent media and freedom of speech, different parties and groups must have the right to be active, various classes and groups of the people must be recognized and their rights must be respected and the constitution must be implemented correctly. Of course every law has flaws and shortcomings expect for the holy books, so the constitution is not some holy word and has some flaws too. Therefore the constitution, if necessary, must be changed according to present needs and to fulfill public benefit and national interest."
Mehdi Karroubi in response to one of the questions about the situation of victims of the post-election events said: "I sincerely thank you for visiting and comforting the families of the victims. I also in my capacity have done and do whatever I can and I do consider following up on the situation of the prisoners and the families of the victims one of my duties."
Mehdi Karroubi continued: "In order to follow up on the situation of the families of the victims and to comfort them, soon after the post-election events I had a meeting with Mir Hossein Mousavi to create a committee for follow-ups and he appointed the son of Martyr Beheshti and Mr. Rohollah Moghadam from the Assembly of Combatant Clergymen and I appointed Mr. Alviri and Dr. Amini and the committee was formed for this purpose, which unfortunately from this group of four, three were arrested. After that I did all I could and have been meeting with the families of the victims and prisoners of the recent events and I have also asked my representatives in other provinces to meet with the families of the victims in those provinces and see how they are doing."
In continuation, one of the guests said to Karroubi that people are worried for his well-being and safety and added: "They issue heavy sentences, the social networks are also being more and more restricted every day, the independent press and those critical of the government have been shut down and not everyone has access to Internet, with all these, what is your plan for better informing and educating the people?"
Mehdi Karroubi responded: "Unfortunately, the issues you mentioned do exist. The pressure is extreme. My family and I are also under pressure like the rest of people and you know of what has happened to my family, like other families. To break people's spirits the government had even started rumours that I have got a fatal disease but didn't have any gain for them. These pressures intensify the situation but the nation is aware and is standing vigilantly in front of this suspicious movement. Some seek an opportunity to spread more violence in the society to survive; therefore we should pay more attention because we also have share in this revolution and the system. In this situation that they have taken all means of communication from us, have closed down parties, and have shut down newspapers, we must benefit from the cyberspace and also we should increase public awareness by face to face interactions."
Mousavi facebook
Filed under: Assembly of Experts, iran election, Iran News, Iranian protests, Karroubi, Majlis, revolution, ایران iran, Karroubi, Reformists
May 9, 2010 • 11:24p05 0
Six Guardian Council members terms end in July
The terms of office for six members of the 12-member Guardian Council, including council chairman, Ayatollah Jannati and Gholam-Hossein Elham (two of the extreme hardliners), along with four other members will come to an end this July.
The Guardian Council is composed of six Islamic jurists who are directly appointed by the Supreme leader. It also consists of six lawyers who are elected by the parliament from among those nominated by the Judiciary chief, and ultimately approved by the Supreme Leader.
The Guardian Council is in charge of vetting election candidates for presidency, Parliament and the Assembly of Experts. Ensuring the compatibility of the legislation passed by Parliament with the criteria of Islam and the Constitution is among other duties of the council.
There is no meaningful change expected, especially in the leadership, as Ayatollah Jannati was appointed by Khomeini and is an extreme hardliner. He is a supporter of Ahmadinejad and is one of the main players in the planned purge of the reformers and their parties over the last decade.
Filed under: Ahmedinejad, Assembly of Experts, Ayatollahs, Guardian Council, iran election, Iran News, Iranian protests, Majlis, revolution, ایران iran, Ahmedinejad, Janati, Khamenei, Reformists


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Screen Captures From The CW Arrow Promo Trailer!
ImagesNewsSpoilers May 30, 2012 Craig Byrne
Anyone familiar with KryptonSite would probably remember the weekly Smallville trailer screen captures that would come from Mr. Video for the site. Now, Mr. Video has come through again with a different CW hero, with screen captures from a promotional trailer for the Arrow pilot.
The pilot has Stephen Amell as Green Arrow/Oliver Queen, but other cast members, including Katie Cassidy and Paul Blackthorne, can be seen within. Look closely and you'll see what looks like face paint which serves as Green Arrow's "mask."
Enjoy the screen captures. It appears that the caps came from a trailer which can be found here on GreenArrowTV.
Please do not take these screen captures to post on another site/Tumblr page/etc. Instead, just link to GreenArrowTV! Thank you.


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CARGO International Make-up Artist, Renee Ryan, gives up her 5 key products and the application tip necessary for maintaining beach-chic beauty all summer long!
Tinted Moisturizer ($34)
Take the first step toward glowing, summer skin with CARGO'S new Tinted Moisturizer. This sheer, lightweight formula is the ultimate tinted moisturizer, containing energizing minerals and botanicals that actively work to restore and nourish skin – while light-diffusing pigments camouflage imperfections and even out your complexion. Think of it as a personal facialist in a tube. Tinted Moisturizer also features a chemical-free, SPF 20 sunscreen base that helps protect skin from the sun day-in and day-out.
Renee's Application Tip: Your fingertips are your best make-up tool, so use them to quickly and easily blend Tinted Moisturizer on your whole face. Better still, by using your finger tips you won't waste any product as you typically would using a sponge.
Multi-mix Bronzer ($28)
This fantastic product allows you to integrate your winter beauty favs into a beach-worthy regimen. Use alone or add a few drops of this liquid bronzer mixed to your foundation or moisturizer for a gorgeous golden glow that looks completely natural. The silky and easy-to-blend formula is also paraben-free and contains nourishing ingredients like Vitamin E that help care for your skin.
Renee's Application Tip: What makes Multi-mix Bronzer so perfect for summer is that it makes your natural-looking bronze really last! Unlike powder formulas, which can "slide" off in heat and humidity, Multi-mix Bronzer stays put. To add a bronze highlight to the face, apply a hint to cheeks, forehead, nose – wherever the sun naturally hits you.
Better-than Waterproof™ Mascara ($20)
Don't sweat it! You can have beautiful lashes despite summer heat and humidity. Better than any waterproof mascara, this formula won't smudge or run but still comes off easily with warm water and gentle pressure. Use it daily without irritation.
Renee's Application Tip: Wiggle Better-than Waterproof™'s wand from root to tip to ensure that you've coated each and every lash. You'll have beautiful, smudge-proof lashes in a single stroke!
blu_ray™ Mattifier ($28)
Summer heat often causes skin to appear shiny and oily. Yet, you also want to avoid the opposite – the dry, cakey effect that some finishing powders create. blu_ray™ Mattifier is the solution! Created for high-definition filming to provide flawless results while looking completely natural, this innovative product refines pores, minimizes lines and reduces shine. The ultimate multi-tasker, you can use this product in place of a traditional powder for a polished look or underneath make-up as a primer.
Renee's Application Tip: A surprisingly easy way to set your make-up with blu_ray™ Mattifier is with a big, fluffy brush! Put a drop onto your hand and dip your brush into it. Buff in light, circular motions over the complexion and you'll have even, beautiful coverage, in an instant.
Classic Gloss with TimeStrip™ Technology ($22)
The perfect finish to your glowing, summer skin: sheer, glossy lips! This lightweight, non-sticky formula is perfect for hot summer days and nights, when you don't want to feel like you're wearing a heavy coating of lip color. The paraben-free formula contains rosemary extract and vitamin E to nourish lips, while providing a gorgeous, high shine finish.
Renee's Application Tip: To add highlight and fullness to the lips, apply a deeper shade of Classic Gloss to the entire lip, and then dab a lighter, more iridescent shade to the center of the bottom lip.


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As the public sector cuts begin to bite we may find ourselves in wholly new territory, as a largely Conservative (+ associate rag tag Lib Dems hangers on) seriously considers cutting Police (both uniformed and civilian support staff) numbers whilst we are dealing with the effects of the recession – this is something even Mrs Thatcher (in her more lucid moments well before she went mad towards the end of her tenure as PM) never even considered doing for a moment.
Mr's T in the early days of her premiership raise Police pay (and improved conditions) – something which won her a combination of tacit approval, tacit support or a degree of active passivity from the Police service, which had been neglected under the previous struggling Labour Government – during who's tenure in office there had been an erosion of police pay and working conditions.Faced with paying for New Labour's reckless spending, the ongoing financial legacy of Blair's wars, bailing out the banks, replacing Trident (an essential prop of Britain is to stride the world stage clinging on to the pretensions of being a World power), etc - the new Government finds itself skint. David ("Call me Dave") Cameron's Con Dem Government may well have reached its budgetary Rubicon moment - To cut or not to cut and how deep? Are we seriously talking about reducing Police numbers and cutting back on operational policing and the myriad of police support workers who fulfil a hundred routine (and not so routine) tasks behind the front line?
Perhaps, certainly it is quite likely that the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) conference in Manchester will (BBC and Daily Telegraph) have been told by the President of the Association of Chief Police Officers Sir Hugh Orde will (by the time this blog is published) that current police numbers are unsustainable in the face of cuts and that it is "misleading in the extreme" to claim anything otherwise. Only last week the Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson went so far as to suggest that his force would "shrink" as a result of budget cuts and has talked about growing the number of special constables to make up the numbers.
So where exactly does that leave Policing in Wales, which is substantially somewhat down the Ministry of Justice / Home Office food chain of funding priorities, of late Police Services in Wales have been 'publicly making the best out of a potentially bad situation. In the wake of the proposed 'savage' public service funding cuts the real question is where exactly does that leave front line policing within our more vulnerable and not so vulnerable communities.
Within the Gwent Police Service area, Plaid Cymru's Steffan Lewis (the then Islwyn Westminster Parliamentary candidate) expertly exposed Gwent Police's proposals to close local Police stations (many of whom have pretty reduced operating hours to start with) rattled more than a few bars locally across Gwent gaining coverage in both the South Wales Argus and the Western Mail. Quite understandably local residents were less than chuffed when they foresaw the consequences of the loss of local police stations.
So, anyway as no doubt we will be faced by broad and deep cuts in public expenditure the question is where do we or at least our Police Services go from here? A cut is a cut, no matter how you spin it, and for sure Cameron's Tories (and their hangers on) have inherited former spin master Blair's well oiled machine – so be prepared for lots of it - to distract the eye and the wallet with slight of hand as our public services get cut to the bone (so much for 'New Tories').
The bottom line is that decision making when it comes to Criminal Justice and Policing (for they are two sides of the same coin), how its funded and how the money is spent should be made locally in Cardiff rather than in Westminster and Whitehall where any understanding of policing needed on the ground locally and local problems will be somewhat understandably dim and distant from any consequences on the streets of our communities.


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As mentioned before, I am a devoted Irma Stern art fan and have a copy on board Dayo 1 of Marion Arnold's book, "Feast for the Eye", a beautiful commemorative publication printed to honour Irma's creativity, filled with quality colour prints of a large range of her paintings.
As a mostly self-taught artist I am only now starting to understand how important it is to know why I am painting a picture and there is much, much more to a painting than "prettiness" and "sameness" and there is much, much more to being an artist than painting the occasional painting. Being an artist is a full time occupation – something Irma Stern embodied strongly and is evident in her more than 100 solo art exhibitions she held in her lifetime.
It is in this freshly inspired frame of mind I found myself grabbing brushes, tubes of gouache and sketch book this morning. Early morning fishing boats hugged the Komati estuary beach of Macaneta, on the coast of Mozambique where we're anchored, and there was a fair bit of preparation and reparation in progress.
The boats and their occupants suggested industry as well as engagement with life. On a deeper level, the one was unraveling his fishing net, which from here looked fairly knotted and the other was scooping water out of the boat – getting rid of the unwanted, both of these activities I work with a lot in my own life as I identify and unravel programming that doesn't work for me and do my best to get rid of it.
On the beach looking on is a spectator. There are always those around. Unengaged and absent this figure represents those who would rather look than do. The distant fishing boat is no longer near the water and also represents inactivity – suspended life.
All three figures seem oblivious and separated from the distant backdrop of intense and vivid plant life – or just Life. This is how I feel – so engrossed by the work or "Work" on hand that life is forgotten.


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U.S. Army Corps of Engineer's Hearings on Proposal to Suspend
Nationwide Permit 21
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is holding a series of public hearings on Oct. 13 and Oct. 15 regarding the Corps' proposal to eliminate the use of the nationwide permit for coal mining (NWP 21) in the Appalachian region.
We should use the hearings as an opportunity to comment on the importance of NWP 21 to the mining industry, and on the importance of coal mining to the region and to the United States as a source of reliable, affordable and secure energy.
Coal mining operations rely on the ability to obtain NWP 21 permits in order to produce affordable coal-based electricity and to maintain and create thousands of high paying jobs throughout the eastern United States. The Corps relies on the ability to issue nationwide permits as a means for managing its workload. The Corps now proposes to eliminate use of these important permits having provided no scientific reason for why such a drastic step is necessary and without giving the public any information about how the Corps will absorb the increased burden on a regulatory program that is already backlogged by more than 250 coal related permits. The economic consequences will be significant on the industry and those communities that rely on the jobs and economic activity that flow from these projects.
Talking Points Provided by Friends of Coal:
More than 80,000 jobs depend on surface coal mining in Appalachia.
Coal mining is the economic engine of communities throughout Appalachia.
Jobs and communities that depend on coal mining rely on a permitting system that works—without unnecessary delay or complications.
With more than 250 coal permits backlogged at the Corps, some for two years, the Corps proposes to eliminate one regulatory tool explicitly designed to avoid regulatory duplication and unnecessary delays. The Corps has failed to provide a plan for how the agency will handle the increased regulatory burden. The Corps is simply not equipped to handle the increased workload that will result should NWP 21 be abandoned.
The Corps has provided no scientific or environmental justification for eliminating the use of NWP 21. The Corps has provided us with no evidence of environmental damage or other public interest reason for expiring the permit within these six states, therefore, it appears the decision is driven by politics and not based on any tangible concern with environmental protection.
The proposal to end NWP 21 is just one more roadblock or barrier the federal government is putting in the path of coal mining in Appalachia. It's one more contributor to the regulatory black hole coal mining is in today.
This new assault on Appalachian coal mining makes the region less attractive to investment—further threatening the long-term economic future of the region.
NWP 21 is the only nationwide permit, designed with another fully developed federal regulatory program under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA), to ensure mining impacts are minimized.
Federal courts have upheld NWP 21 as legally sound and consistent with Congress' directive that the regulatory agencies should work together to avoid duplication in regulation.
The Corps has long recognized that "the purpose of the NWP program is to reduce regulatory delays and burdens on the public, to place greater reliance on state and local controls, and to free our limited resources for more effective regulation of other activities with greater potential to adversely impact the aquatic environment." 56 Fed. Reg. 14, 598—14, 605 (Apr. 10, 1991).


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This Valeria V neck gown with open back bodice, fully hand beaded in crystals and rose gold floral design and a straight fitted skirt with a short back train. Skirt features a unique chevron pattern made of chiffon fringe in an ombré effect of ivory to mauve. Dress comes with a full satin faced organza train attachment with hidden hook and eyes. Dress also available in full ivory to cream ombré.
Product Details
Every piece is carefully made to order. Please allow 8-10 weeks for delivery. Please let us know if a rush order is required and we will try our best to accommodate.
Returns not accepted on Bridal or international orders.


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Lisa joined Tenaya Capital in 2012 as an Executive Assistant. Prior to that, she worked for several years as a legal assistant, working for law firms in Boston, MA and Providence, RI.
She has extensive experience supporting busy executives, and is responsible for managing the Wellesley Office.
She graduated from Burdett College in Boston.
Lisa enjoys spending time with her family and her two little rescue dogs, a feisty dachshund and a very-entertaining Chihuahua!
"Teamwork makes the dream work!"


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Internet access is required for all students at Michigan Online School. Our goal is to ensure that such access is used in a way that is responsible, safe, ethical and legal. While websites hosting inappropriate content do exist, we believe that with responsible use, the benefits of the Internet as an educational tool outweigh the drawbacks. We especially advocate partnering with parents to teach responsible Internet use.
Michigan Online School administrators will cooperate fully with local, state, or federal officials in any investigation related to any illegal activities conducted through Internet access. In the event of a suspected violation of this policy, the student will be provided with notice of the suspected violation and have an opportunity to present an explanation. Any violations may result in removal from MOS course(s), as well as other disciplinary or legal action.


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|The glories of Rome- peeking out through the columns of the BSR.
Instead, I loved the storm. I loved the grumpy moany house. I loved the streams of water rushing through our garden to reach the muddy torrent preventing me from leaving to get to the shops or elsewhere (honestly, there was half a telegraph pole stuck in the bridge, it was MAD). I dashed to the woodshed to replenish our fuel, made an enormous chilli con carne and basked in the satisfaction of being in a place which makes me so simply and utterly happy.
THEN I got thinking about homes in the past. This was not entirely unconnected to a lecture I gave to first-year students this week on place and space. It's a lecture I relish- two fantastically interesting anthropological case studies*, and a chance to really challenge some of the top-down viewpoints you can get in archaeology. What makes a space a place? The same thing that makes a house a home- the individual people who live there, go there, use the space, mark it out, stamp around, love it, hate it, sleep in it, get drunk in it, have sex in it, go to the toilet in it, cook in it, meet people in it, and feel in it. It's easy for us as archaeologists to provide a functional explanation for space- this was a house, this was a grain store. Sometimes it's more difficult- a problem most obvious in interpretations of big flashy monuments that get gently categorised as "ritual" spaces alone. But I think we should challenge ourselves to do more, push further- what are the things that people actually do in a space, and how can we reconstruct their relationships with a building or a landscape?
The work of Penelope Allison on Roman houses is inspirational in this sense- using small finds to really interrogate how people used buildings**. She is, of course, not the only archaeologist to think about space on a human, personal scale- while there's a certain Marmite effect, phenomenological philosophy has really opened up new ways of considering the experience of place in the past. Chris Tilley's "A Phenomenology of Landscape" was a book I read as an undergraduate and marvelled at- I still think it's bold and brilliant. For me, the key message of this book is the realisation of just how patronising it is to treat people in the past as automata, to refuse to see them as complex, feeling, living humans just like us. It's an almost post-colonial message: the past may be "a foreign country" where people do things differently, but that's no reason to reduce the inhabitants of this foreign space to dehumanised natives, living in a land which is totally alien to the civilised country we ourselves inhabit.
|Stockland Great Castle bank'n'ditch
So, as I revel in the beautiful view, the sturdy walls and the feelings that my new home gives me, I wonder about the people who lived here before. Not just in my house, but in the whole valley. There are two Iron Age hillforts just across the river from me- I can see one from the bathroom window (it makes cleaning your teeth much more interesting) and one, which still has a lovely bank and ditch preserved, just out of sight. I can never know how the people who lived there felt about their landscape, about their homes, about their place in the world, or whether they would even characterise these things as important. But in the remnants of the hours of work they put in to defining their world, marking out their space and making a presence for themselves here, I suspect that the connections between this place and its inhabitants were forged as strongly as those I've built over my short time here, even if I can never know exactly what those links were.
What do you think? What do you feel when you go home, or away?
|Sunshine and sheep after the storm...
**Have a look at her "The Archaeology of Household Activities" or see her online work on Pompeii at http://www.stoa.org/projects/ph/home


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Reading A-Z resources organized into weekly content-based units and differentiated instruction options.
Fantasy (fiction), 1,727 words, Level S (Grade 3), Fiction Series, Lexile 870L
Morty is back in another episode of tomfoolery. When Morty's sister makes him mad, he decides to play a trick on her. But when the trick results in an embarrassing moment for his sister, Morty is filled with remorse.
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1. One who is strange, foreign, or unknown. Specifically:
One who comes from a foreign land; a foreigner. I am a most poor woman and a stranger, born out of your dominions. (Shak)
One whose home is at a distance from the place where he is, but in the same country.
One who is unknown or unacquainted; as, the gentleman is a stranger to me; hence, one not admitted to communication, fellowship, or acquaintance. Melons on beds of ice are taught to bear, And strangers to the sun yet ripen here. (Granville) My child is yet a stranger in the world. (Shak) I was no stranger to the original. (Dryden)
2. One not belonging to the family or household; a guest; a visitor. To honor and receive Our heavenly stranger. (milton)
3. One not privy or party an act, contract, or title; a mere intruder or intermeddler; one who interferes without right; as, actual possession of land gives a good title against a stranger having no title; as to strangers, a mortgage is considered merely as a pledge; a mere stranger to the levy.
Origin: OF. Estrangier, F. Etranger. See Strange.


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In life, if you are like most people, you want to improve. You want to be healthier, happier, more active, a better parent … the list is endless. But have you ever stopped to investigate what or who is prompting the desire to improve? More often than not, our drive to do better, change and grow can come from a place inside that is "not OK" with ourselves. We don't like who we are or where we are, so we want to change—and we want to change fast!
As a result, we put pressure on ourselves. In evaluating our progress, we may find ourselves thinking, "not good enough" or "not fast enough". Like most, you might also compare yourself with others to see how your change is going. Next time, try a different approach. Don't jump into action. Don't analyze. Don't even try to "force" acceptance.
Instead, try stopping and asking yourself:
What "self" are you wanting to grow or improve?
Who is the "you" that wants to do the changing?
How will you know when you are moving towards your "best self"? What will you feel? What will your thoughts say?
What are you already doing that is moving you toward your goals?
How will you know when you have reached your "best self"?
If you find yourself struggling, don't worry. Just sit with the questions; contemplate them. As you do, you might uncover some conclusions you have made about yourself. You may also uncover a piece of self-understanding and self-compassion.
As you open up space for more patience and permission, you might even find that you are going toward your "best self" with more energy and passion than ever before!
The Center for Inner Knowing
6255 Barfield Road, NE
Suite 110
Atlanta, GA 30328
(404) 257-1257


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Telephone: 49 228 72690
The Hilton Bonn hotel, situated overlooking the River Rhine, is a perfectly located hotel in Bonn city center. Just 5 minutes� walk from Bonn�s attractions and businesses, guests can relax knowing they are never far from the action. With a choice of bright and airy Guest Rooms, Suites, and Deluxe Rooms there are comfortable accommodations to suit all. Some rooms have a river view and all rooms come with both wireless and wired high-speed internet access. The large work desk and ergonomic chair let guests work or plan the day with ease and as an extra level of comfort, guests are supplied with bathrobes and mineral water. For business guests, this Bonn hotel has 14 meeting rooms, and a fully serviced business center to keep up to date with the office, family and friends. Start or end the day with a vigorous workout in the fitness center. Enjoy a relaxing swim and sauna in the indoor pool area. Take advantage of Hilton Bonn�s bicycle hire and walking paths to exercise outdoors. Enjoy spa treatments in the comfort of your room or the treatment areas. The Hilton Bonn hotel has a wide array of dining options. Pre or post dining, guests are welcome in the contemporary Kennedy Bar, for relaxed coffee, snacks and delicious cocktails. Enjoy a peaceful breakfast or brunch on the terrace with beautiful views of the River Rhine.
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Indy Eleven announced today that West Fork Whiskey Co. will become the official American whiskey partner of the USL franchise. Indiana's Team is proud to partner with West Fork Whiskey Co., an Indianapolis based distillery that exclusively uses Hoosier-made products from grain to glass.
"Becoming the official American whiskey of Indy Eleven is a great opportunity for our distillery," said Blake Jones, West Fork Whiskey Co. Co-Founder and President. "The partnership between Indy Eleven and West Fork Whiskey brings together two organizations passionate about the state of Indiana. The Boys in Blue strive to play the best soccer they can while we strive to create the best whiskey we can right here in Indianapolis. It is for these reasons, we are excited for our partnership as we look forward to celebrating the many wins that are sure to come over a glass of our whiskey."
"West Fork Whiskey adds to our stable of fine spirits and brings an exceptional local product to our passionate fan base," said Jeff Belskus, President of the Indy Eleven. "We're pleased to be a part of the continued growth of West Fork Whiskey Co. Whether it's in-stadium or at their tasting room, we look forward to raising a glass with West Fork Whiskey Co."
About West Fork Whiskey:
Founded in 2015, West Fork Whiskey Co. has sought to craft the best tasting whiskey from Hoosier sourced ingredients in an effort to pay respect to Indiana's agricultural history. West Fork Whiskey Co.'s spirits are 100% Indiana from grain to glass. The team of three owners work tirelessly to create an interpretation of extortionary whiskey that is uniquely theirs and Indiana's.
Tag(s): News


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STAND in front of the Hotel Modern, on the dusty New Orleans roundabout known as Lee Circle, and your thirst has a choice. Walk into Tamarind, to the right, and you'll find a selection of contemporary cocktails laced with Asian flavors to complement the restaurant's French-Vietnamese cuisine. Take a left into Bellocq and you'll have your pick of cobblers, an ice-laden, fruit-crested breed of cocktail that was all the rage back in the mid-1800s and is this inventive new bar's calling card.
The Modern, which reopened last fall after a renovation, captures a sudden advancement in New Orleans's cocktail culture in which this always happily bibulous city has added newer, fresher ways to drink, while still holding on to tradition. In the process, the city has become a magnet for bartenders and their fans from around the country, particularly New York.
During the cocktail doldrums of the 1970s and '80s, when vodka swamped the American bar scene and sloppy disco drinks all but obliterated sophisticated tippling, New Orleans held down the fort. The city's tavernkeepers made certain that a place where one could order classics like the Sazerac and the Ramos gin fizz would not perish from the contiguous 48.
But as the craft cocktail movement began to shake up urban centers from New York to San Francisco, the Crescent City seemed mired in the past, its liquid culture still led, on the one hand, by standard-bearing saloons like the Napoleon House and Tujague's, and, on the other (seriously shaky) hand, the boozy debauchery of Bourbon Street.
Then, in 2003, came the Swizzle Stick Bar, a modern bastion of mixology attached to Café Adelaide. Cure, which opened in 2009, raised the bar further, giving residents of the Freret neighborhood creative potions employing salt, Italian bitters and other unlikely ingredients. Today, the city is experiencing a boomlet of cocktail spots, including Bellocq, the second effort from the Cure team, and SoBou; and Maurepas Foods, two restaurants where the bar programs stand equal to the kitchen's.
A number of these programs are headed up or assisted by bartenders who have moved here after successful careers in New York, attracted by the easygoing atmosphere, the rich drinking history and a cocktail scene that affords more opportunities to stand out.
Abigail Gullo, who left Fort Defiance in Brooklyn to collaborate with Lu Brow of Swizzle Stick on SoBou's cocktail program (both places are owned by the same people who own the Commander's Palace Restaurant), thinks the trend "says as much about New Orleans as it does about New York."
"New Orleans is a very exciting place right now," she said last week while catering to attendees of Tales of the Cocktail, the city's annual convention of drinks enthusiasts and professionals. "I see it as going back to the roots, finding another city like New York that loves to eat, loves to drink and never lost that idea of that magical place between home and work where people socialize."
Other recent New York expatriates include Ryan Gannon, a veteran of the Spotted Pig, in Manhattan, who now tends bar at Bellocq and Cure; Nick Jarrett, who bartended at Dram and Clover Club, in Brooklyn, and currently pulls down shifts at Cure and the Saint, a popular Lower Garden District dive bar; and Kimberly Patton-Bragg, who put in years behind the bar at Danny Meyer's Blue Smoke, before moving to New Orleans in 2008 and eventually devising the drinks list at Tamarind. Jeff Berry, arguably the country's leading authority on tiki drinks, this spring realized a longstanding dream to move here from Asheville, N.C. He plans to open a tiki bar in a year's time.
"The scene is growing immensely," said Ms. Patton-Bragg, who says she appreciates this city's lack of pretense.
New York mixologists have been known to misplace their sense of humor regarding their craft. That is not a problem here. At Maurepas Foods — the hot Bywater restaurant where the Minneapolis refugee Brad Smith has created a cocktail program that makes abundant use of seasonal produce — there is a drink whose semi-profane name would seem to indicate it's a variation on the Cosmopolitan. It is, in fact, a shot of Old Grand-Dad bourbon.
At Twelve-Mile Limit — a dive bar in the Mid-City neighborhood that was taken over by the bartender T. Cole Newton in 2010 and given a stealth quality cocktail program and impressive back bar — customers are regularly invited to "Name This Cocktail." The ingredients of a new creation are written on a chalkboard and stay there until someone creates an appropriate label.
Sometimes the christened drink earns a permanent spot on the menu, as with the Mantis: rum, the Italian bitter Branca Menta, almond syrup and lime juice that tastes like a delicious alcoholic mouthwash. (Twelve-Mile Limit cocktails are not just good, they are dive-bar cheap, from $6 to $8.)
Both SoBou and Bellocq, which opened in July and December respectively, take care to honor New Orleans's drinking past. "We're a modern Creole saloon," Ms. Gullo said. "We wanted fun, approachable drinks and classics with a little historical bent." Hence the Taylor Bird Sazerac, which uses two of New Orleans longtime alcohol passions — rye and Cognac — along with Steen's, a local cane syrup.
The long list of cobblers at Bellocq (the drinks were created by Kirk Estopinal and Neal Bodenheimer) is topped by the sherry cobbler, the classic version of the drink. But also available are cobblers anchored by yellow Chartreuse (spiced up with raw jalapeño), Madeira, the French aperitif Bonal (brightened by a twist of grapefruit) or Sauternes, nearly all of them served in frosty silver Indian water cups. In fact, the bartenders will draft any liquor in the back bar into cobblerdom.
"Now when I look at everything," said Nick Detrich, the bar manager, "I think of making it a cobbler."
A Jägermeister cobbler? It could happen. In New Orleans drinking culture, everything is sacred, and nothing is.


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This stunning book was made for me by Kendall Fegley.
It has my favorite theme of all time...AUTUMN! Each page is masterfully composed and I am so thankful to all the artists who took the time to shower me with leaves of all sort.
Sandy Hampson sent Jack Frost to paint the leaves.
A shimmery confection from Susan Peterson.
Jan Post did a sugar maple collection over sweet UTEE glaze. A perfect combo!
Bobbi Nessly's leaves are twice stamped over confetti velum.
Nancy Young added beautiful golden oak leaves over a rustic background paper.
Barbara Simpson stamped and punched a forest of leaves over hand painted paper.
Now that spring is almost here, I long for Autumn already as I look over this nice sketchbook.


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Mc Andrews Psychologists - Kentucky
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CAPE TOWN, South Africa – A leading South African research group said one in four male South Africans it surveyed admitted to committing rape — a finding that cast a harsh light on a culture of sexual violence that victims groups say is deeply embedded in society. … Chief researcher Rachel Jewkes said Friday that the findings were "shocking" but "not unexpected." Opposition political parties said they were horrified, but victim support groups said they were not surprised. … The research council survey said that nearly 20 percent of those [men] who admitted sexual abuse had the AIDS virus — only slightly higher than the 18 percent infection rate among men not involved in rape. It said that 17 percent of the men surveyed admitted to attempted rape, and 9 percent said they had taken part in gang rapes. In all, 42 percent of men surveyed said they had been physically violent to an intimate partner (current or ex-girlfriend or wife), including 14 percent in the past year. … Many victim support groups complain that rape cases are repeatedly postponed and little is done to protect the woman from the trauma of facing her tormentor. Most cases don't even reach court. … "Rape is one of the most brutal human rights violations in the world," said Maria Jose Alcala, who heads the U.N. development fund's effort to curtail violence against women. "It is a stark manifestation of just how little value our societies place on the lives and dignity of women and girls."
But back to political Islam, which is where this post started. Before you buy the misguided multi-culti notion that who wears what on her or his head is merely about "culture" and not rooted in political Islam's misogyny, remember a fallen hero, a woman who was in fact silenced by a man murdering her for her "sin" of not wearing the correct shroud.
"[February 20, 2007] Female Pakistani minister shot dead for 'breaking Islamic dress code' [Reported by Devika Bhat and Zahid Hussain in Islamabad, timesonline.co.uk; photo credit (Rahat Dar/EPA)]"
Zilla Huma Usman was an ally of President Pervez Musharraf and promoted rights for women in Pakistan — an Islamic man murdered her because of her clothing and his interpretation of her "sin." She had been the minister for social welfare in Punjab province, Pakistan — where another dangerous, male-led government has nukes and might try to kill us all.


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I really love this story that Roseanne Barr tells to author Judd Apatow in his book Sick In The Head.
I love the balls she had and her revenge. She wasn't going to put up with anyone treating her like shit!
On her show, Roseanne, there were many staff members she wanted to fire but the executives told her these employees had to stay through episode thirteen.


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4ALL: Talk to Lawyers In Real Time, For Free
The North Carolina Bar Foundation's 4ALL Statewide Service Day, scheduled for March 2, gives North Carolinians the opportunity to ask law-related questions of attorney volunteers at no cost. Hundreds of N.C. attorney volunteers answer calls throughout the day, an annual tradition since 2008.
By Nicolette Fulton
The first Friday in March is blocked on my calendar. I am a 4ALL Statewide Service Day volunteer. Across the state, hundreds of attorney volunteers like me staff seven call centers where they will to respond to about 10,000 callers from across the state. It's a full day!
Callers can find the phone numbers for call centers near them on the NC Bar Foundation's website at www.4ALLnc.org on March 2. Call centers are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. (except in Wilmington, where they will be open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.) Call centers are located around the state in Asheville, Charlotte, Fayetteville, Greensboro, Greenville, Raleigh and Wilmington.
For volunteer attorneys, the hours roll by on 4ALL Day as call volume ebbs and flows. While each call is supposed to be a relatively quick question-and-answer exchange, I would be lying if I said I followed that rule all of the time. On the other end of the phone is a person, a human being, seeking help or an answer to an important legal question affecting their lives. One of the hardest calls I ever answered during 4ALL was from a woman trying to make a new way for her and her children by escaping an abusive spouse. She had to make the call to 4ALL while her husband was at work. Another memorable call I took was from an elderly lady who had recently lost her husband, and did not know what to do to get her legal affairs in order. The phone calls run the gamut. There may be tears, there may be laughs, and there will most definitely be a "thank you." Sometimes, all the caller needs is somebody to listen.
4ALL is an opportunity for attorneys to help someone on an individual basis, which is often missing when an attorney's day-to-day work is to represent the government or large organizations. With short three-hour shifts, a volunteer has a chance to help someone by answering a question, providing information or referring them to the NCBA Lawyer Referral Service. For me, 4ALL feels like the opportunity to help 10,000 people in one day.
At 7 p.m. when 4ALL ends, I look forward to the next year, when I can again be there for some of those 10,000 callers who are seeking answers, information, somebody … help.
Associate Raleigh City Attorney Nicolette Fulton is a member of the North Carolina Bar Association and a faithful 4ALL volunteer.


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Since my last post, I have gone to a semester of graduate school. Did you miss me? Did you replace me with something else (the news?:/ )? I hope not. I hope you're not reading the news.
"Editor?" I call, leaning back in my seat. "Who is our number one competitor?"
"Our number one competitor?" he calls from his office.
"Yeah. Who takes away the most of our readers?"
"I'd say our biggest competitor is most likely you and your unmitigated ability to take a good thing and–"
I slam my door shut and turn up Hybrid Theory.
[Flashback Ends]
I've decided that graduate literary study is not for me.
I sit in my last class. It's a class about Toni Morrison. It's a survey course, so we have covered all of her books. Today, on this final day of class, we will be discussing our final, seminar-length (15 pg) papers with the class. None of these people care what any of these other people have to say about Toni Morrison. We all just want to go back to our one bedroom apartments, get under the covers, and try to remember a time when crying made us feel better.
We sit facing one another at a large, square table. We are a melting pot of people. We come from all walks of life–white men with glasses (me), white men without glasses, a Mexican guy who looks like a well-tanned Jeff Goldblum, one black girl, who must really get a kick out of watching whitey talk about oppression, a mother or two, some MFA women who appear to have gotten their wardrobes from the dumpster behind their grandmother's (whom they never visit) retirement home.
Our instructor is a diminutive black gentleman who always dresses extremely well.
"Who would like to go first?" he asks.
"No one," I think to myself, and they say to everyone, loudly.
"Excuse me?" the professor asks.
"I didn't say anything. I'm putting my head down."
"Part of your grade is contingent on your participation in these presentations."
"My grade in my Master's level Literature course?"
"Will you also decrease the amount of stardust in my moonbox?" I ask, then give a thumbs up. My professor smiles. I quickly turn the thumb down and make a fart noise with my mouth. My professor at first seems shocked and then quickly his expression becomes one of heartbreak.
"All right class, it appears I have been given a thumbs down and a fart from Mr. Irion. I don't see any way to smoothly transition into our presentations, so let's not even try. Who wants to go first?"
A mother with a young soul raises her hand. The professor nods approvingly. I slump in my seat, pull my shirt to the level of my nipples, and beginning playing in my belly hair.
"Mr. Irion, please," my professor pleads. "Can you lower your shirt? We can see your abdomen."
"You can?" I ask. "As a white male in a Toni Morrison class, I've always felt pretty invisible." I sit up and pull my shirt down. "Go ahead, Ms. Simpson," I say.
"Go ahead Ms. Simpson," my professor says.
"Uh, is there an echo in here?" I ask, bringing my cupped hand to my ear, surveying my classmates' faces in an "Am I right?" fashion.
"No, there is not an echo in here Mr. Irion," my professor says.
"Sounds like it."
"Yes, but there isn't."
"I know, but it sounds like there's an echo in here."
"Can I start my paper, please?" Ms. Simpson asks.
"Go ahead," the professor and I both say at the same time. I give him a cutting look. I am going scorched earth.
"So can I go?" Ms. Simpson asks.
"Yes, I said. Who's the professor here?" She's struck dumb by my question. There are murmurs of confusion in the room. The MFA's all lean back further in their chairs, trying to seem more even more blase about the class as a way to combat their fear. One shabbily-dressed man slips from his chair to the floor. They're mortified. I can see it in their eyes.
"Do you have a syllabus?" one young lady, her lip trembling, asks me.
"Whose name should I put on my thesis board form?" Mexican Jeff Goldblum asks.
"Excuse me!" The professor shouts. "You are all graduate Literature students. Is it really that easy to pull the wool over your eyes?"
"It appears so," I say softly, looking out at the confused, frightened faces, suddenly terrified by my own power. "I will now relinquish the class to this man here."
"Who?" a fearful, portly gentleman in a sweatervest asks.
"My god," the professor whispers, rolling his eyes.
"Everybody, this nice man will be your professor from here on out. I had a great time being your instructor this semester. Dr. Sherman–" I turn and gesture toward the professor, Dr. Sherman.
"Yes," Dr. Sherman begins, the words coming slowly as if they pain him. "I am now your professor." He winces. "Mrs. Simpson, will you please give your presentation?"
Mrs. Simpson gives her presentation. Then someone else does and someone else does and so on and so forth until it gets to me.
"Okay," I start. I like to start this way. "I'm Kyle Irion. My paper is about–" I look out onto and into and out of the faces of my peers. I think of how much work some of the second year students have put in. I think of how hard it will be for them to find work any better than the work they had before they got here and how much worse that will be with $40k in debt. I think of how academic literature study's sole focus seems to be sustaining academic literature study. I think about my own life, and how I thought this would fill the hole in my heart that the lonely drift of post-graduate life dealt me. Then I remind myself that I don't need this.
"Honestly," I say, "this isn't very good." I toss my paper onto the table. "It's a lot of horse shit. At some point I talk about Morgan Freeman. That's the high point. It all sucks other than that."
I get up and walk out. And as the doors shut behind me, it feels like the building was, for a moment, more than just a building. I turn back and look before getting on the bus. It's just a building again.


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Awhile back, The Fiscal Times sparked a controversy by publishing an article arguing that a family with an income of $250,000 per year is not really rich.
When taxes, housing costs, college costs for children and so on are accounted for, even those with an income five times the median family income are just barely getting by, it said.
RELATED: Down and Out on $250,000 a Year
Subsequently, The New York Times published an article sympathizing with the plight of those making only $250,000. They are certainly not poor, but neither are they rich in any meaningful sense of the term, it said.
In December, the Times reported that many rich people have seen a sharp drop in their income during the recession. Since then, there has been a steady stream of reports that financial institutions based in New York City have significantly reduced bonuses for their top executives – a major portion of their yearly compensation. New York City government officials have even expressed concern about the economic impact.
RELATED: The Elusive Middle Class: A Hodgepodge of Values
Last week, Bloomberg News reported that one Andrew Schiff, who makes $350,000 a year working for his brother's investment firm, lamented that he can't afford to upgrade his family's Brooklyn duplex and may have to give up his summer rental in Kent, Connecticut.
And this week, The Fiscal Times reported that a WSL/Strategic Retail study recently found that a middle class family needs at least $150,000 of income just to cover the basics.
Lastly, Ann Romney, wife of Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, whose net worth is estimated to be in the range of $250 million, told Fox News this week that she does not consider herself to be wealthy. I bring all this up to show that there is no generally accepted definition of who is rich in this country today, at least among those that most people would consider to be rich. There are many reasons why this is the case.
Those that are seriously rich by any standard don't seem to be as different from the rest of us as they used to be.
One is that inflation and real economic growth are constantly moving the goal posts. For example, according to the Economic History Association, it only took somewhere between $23,400 and $119,000 to be as wealthy the year
I was born as $1 million would today. Conversely, it would take between $8.4 million and $42.8 million to be as wealthy as a millionaire was in 1951.
On the other hand, even the richest person on earth wouldn't have access to computers, the Internet, cell phones or all of the life-saving drugs that have been invented over the last 60 years. In short, even for poor people the standard of living has increased enormously. Meanwhile, those that are seriously rich by any standard don't seem to be as different from the rest of us as they used to be.
Read the rest of the story on The Fiscal Times >
This story was originally published by The Fiscal Times.


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Please download and fill out this form for your first appointment:
Patient Registration and Health History Forms
Please download the Post-Operative Instructions here:
Post-Operative Instructions
Before any appointment (consultation or procedure appointment):
- Minors (below age 18) MUST be accompanied by a parent, legal guardian, or healthcare power of attorney.
- If you are expecting that a referring doctor has sent us x-rays or any other materials, please call us prior to your appointment to be sure that we have received them.
- Please be aware that even if you have scheduled a procedure appointment (such as a dental extraction) this appointment may become an evaluation appointment at the discretion of Dr. Shaker (if there are medical issues of concern, or if the extent or difficulty of the procedure warrants this).
Before Intravenous Anesthesia:
- Absolutely nothing to eat or drink for six hours prior to the appointment, clear liquids (such as water or apple juice) may be consumed up until three hours prior to the appointment. Your usual medications can be taken with a sip of water at least one hour prior to the appointment.
- You must be accompanied by a responsible adult, 18 years or older. The person should be prepared to stay in the office for your entire appointment, as well as during your recovery at home for the remainder of that day.
- Please wear loose fitting clothing with sleeves which can be easily rolled up past the elbow, and low heeled shoes.
- Please remove any finger nail polish from left index finger.