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We have always been interested in Tamil rites of passages, and have written about them many times. (See this page for a listing of these articles.) This ceremony, where the girl becomes a woman, known as Manjal Neerattu Vizha in Tamil, was different, though; it was for the daughter of close friends, Vennila and her sister, Lakshmi. These two strong women run their household without any men, just the two of them and their mother. Lakshmi never married; Vennila married a worthless man and divorced him (divorce is unusual in India). Without a man of the house, the women do everything, even the worship at the family altar. Again, in India a woman doing the family pooja is rare, but these women perform them all. There are two daughters in this household, both strong, smart girls.
We had been waiting for the oldest, Sushmita, to have her first menstrual cycle, so she would become a woman in the eyes of Tamil society. Then, one day recently, we got the call: Sushmita just had her period! This starts a cycle of more than one week where she is removed from her normal life. At the end of this cycle, she is officially a new woman of the family. We have written about this before in these articles: Tamil Coming of Age – Manjal Neerattu Vizha which shows a public function for the girl, and Age Attained Ceremony: a Girl becomes a Woman, Tiruvannamalai, show the many days of a private function in the family home.
In this posting we will shjow the celebrations on the first and last days of this rite of passage.
The First Day
Here is the family house, in a village adjacent to Tiruvannamalai.
Already gifts have been set out. These include food, as well as jewelry and sarees appropriate for a woman to wear. Sushmita could not wear sarees before this since she was "just a child."
Sushmita's younger sister, Sweta, being greeted by an auntie.
Sushmita before getting dressed for the day's celebration. She is dressed in her school clothes.
Woman are lined up at the door, waiting to participate in the ritual bath. With these ceremonial rituals, all the relatives, and all the people present, participate in some part of them.
The ritual bath: Each woman pours water into the metal pan. It has holes so the water gives Sushmita a shower. There are special objects in the pan, like flowers and herbs.
One of the kids in attendance. We cannot take enough photos of these sweet, bright children.
Now the women of the family are getting Sushmita dressed and decorated for the day's event.
Here she is, all decked out. What a wonderful array of flowers in her hair, cascading over her shoulders!
After she is all dressed up, Sushmita sits while each woman blesses her with a series of gestures, such as placing kumkum on her forehead, swirling of water in a ritual bowl, sprinkling with holy water, grains of rice tossed to each side of her, etc. Below, her grandmother, Alamelu, rubs a paste on her face and arms. Sandalwood? (Does a reader know?) Alamelu is the senior member of the household and family.
Afterward, everyone is served a meal. We eat on the roof, the only space large enough for all the people. There were many people at this function, most of her relatives, and almost every woman for the village. This is a big event!
Here is Sushmita after the ceremony. She is wearing her first saree, the mark of the transition to a woman. The sandalwood paste is still on her cheeks.
The Final Day
Eight days after the first event, the second celebration occurs, the "Turmeric Washing Ceremony." It marks the end of Sushmita's transition. After this, she is officially a woman.
We arrive at the house and Carol is greeted by Sweta.
Preparing vadas for the breakfast after the end of the ceremony.
In another room, women work, making ropes of flowers.
The are dressing Sushmita now. She stands in the midst of a crowd of women. They already have put the special headdress on her.
A woman sits with special jewelry that will be put on Sushmita today.
The Brahmin (from Ramanashramam), Dandapani, will perform today's ceremony. He sits and waits for Sushmita. The pooja is all laid out, with a low bench for Sushmita to sit on. .
Underneath the bench is a spread of rice, betel leaves, and bananas.
Jewelry is being put onto Sushmita's hair.
Here she is, ready for the pooja. How beautiful she looks.
She comes in to sit on the low bench. One of the aunties is still adjusting the flowers in her hair.
The pooja begins. You can see the headdress in this photo. It is typical of the one used both in these rites and in a marriage. It weighs a lot and looks a bit uncomfortable.
Sushmita sits for the pooja. She did not have enough flowers; now they have added an enormous flower mala around her neck.
Sushmita sits with a flower in her cupped hands. Auntie is giving her something, I can't tell what. Does a reader know?
She pranams.
The priest has her knock her head. This is a part of the Ganesh pooja. This act helps to activate her nadis, channels of spiritual energy.
Flowers are in her hand.
To offer to the gods.
Her cousin's brother's wife, Smudi, adjusts her hair.
She offers a camphor flame to the gods.
And then takes the light into herself.
Now the priest is building a fire pit of bricks for the coming fire sacrifice, the homa.
Here is Sushmita's mother, Vennila.
The priest is decorating the bricks.
Now three women, senior women of her family, take a camphor flame and put it into the fire pit. This is to start the homa fire.
Sushmita puts sacred wood into the fire, offering it to God (and building up the fire).
Her mother's sister, almost her co-mother, Lakshmi, looks on.
Now the priest starts adding ghee to the fire. This will make it burn brightly.
The room is full of people, mainly women and children, looking on.
The fire is pretty big now. Sushmita has to be uncomfortable from the heat.
The room is full of onlookers.
Then the priest starts adding sacred grass to the fire. Boy, does it smoke!
The fire is still large, and now the room is filling with the smoke. This is hard on the poor girl at the center of everyone's attention. And those of us watching.
Full of smoke now.
Towards the end of the ceremony, the priest takes a leaf, rubs ghee on it, and mixes in black ash from the homa fire.
An auntie dots Sushmita's forehead and each of her feet with the black ash.
You can barely see what is going on for all the smoke!
At the end of the ceremony her mother, Vennila, will offer her a pooja plate.
She gives the plate to her daughter, who is now a woman, a young girl no longer.
She takes the pooja plate, accompanied by women of the family.
They then offer this pooja plate to the family altar. This is the first time Sushmita worships at the altar as a woman. She has been prohibited from the family altar for the last eight days.
Sushmita stands.
Then pays respect to her family. First is her mother's brother and wife, the senior family members here today.
Then to her cousin's brother's wife, and cousin's sister, Meenakshi.
The family members honor Sushmita with holy water dropped on her head. Today Carol is a member of her family.
Finally comes the turmeric washing ceremony. Each woman who is here can participate. They each go through a ritual with several offerings, chief among them is rubbing her cheeks and arms with turmeric paste. It is the same ritual that was done on the first day of Sushmita's celebration, but with turmeric rather than sandalwood. .
Carol participates too. Here she swirls holy water in front of her "daughter."
And rubs turmeric on her face and arms.
Here comes grandma, to take her place in this ceremony.
Outside a boy sits on his bike, looking into the house, watching the activities.
Then it is time to eat. A meal is always offered to all who come.
Richard eats. Vennila stands in the doorway. The old lady sitting to Richard's left is a homeless woman from the village. The family is happy to be able to offer her food to eat.
These ceremonies always touch my heart. You can see how they tie the members of the family to one another, and tie the family to the village. These Tamil families are extraordinarily strong. These rituals, rites of passage, are glue that binds the families together. We have lost much of this in the West. This is a deep loss.
If you support this work, donations would be appreciated. Click this link: paypal.me/Infinitepiebooks
Tags: coming of age, Manjal Neerattu Vizha, rite of passage, tamil celebration


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A Fun, casual Italian experience for the family at Buca di Beppo - Yas Mall, Abu Dhabi
One can spot Bupa di Beppo, the American chain of Italian restaurants, from quite a distance a sone enters the Cascade dining part of Yas mall. There is a quirky village feel to the lighting as one approaches. At a time when restaurants are trying to lure customers to its table, it certainly is eye catching. This continues once inside, with pop art posters and images of people getting stuck into their Italian dishes on the walls. Buca di Beppo, with its family style and sharing approach to dining has a lively atmosphere, with twenty something year old waiters and waitresses generally ensuring guests' orders are taken quickly and food served accordingly.
It is not small, with the restaurant able to accommodate around 300 diners, if you include the terrace seating area. My guest and I are here on a Thursday night and there is a real family feel to the place with children typing away on their ipads. As a father of an 11 year old, I could see her enjoying this atmosphere. I usually avoid mall eateries because they tend to get busy and noisy, but an 11 year old would choose this 9/10 times over the more mature atmosphere typical hotel Italian restaurants.
My guest and I start off with a few appetisers. We have the Mozarella sticks or triangles. They are big and more than good enough for two people. We also have the Caprese salad, which would have benefitted from tomatoes a bit riper. Lovers of basil will appreciate the basil infused olive oil! Again though, relative to the price, this is a value for money way to start the evening. curious about the Apple gorgonzola salad - the promise of these contrasting flavours enough to lure me to it. It does not disappoint. An innovative approach to the dishes is the variety of sizes, emphasising the sharing ethos of the restaurant. The large salad comes in at 155 AED, but is actually a huge saving opportunity if all 6-8 guests, for example are happy to share this salad.
What do you do when you do not serve alcohol but want to offers diners a fun drinking experience? Create an open bar area where you can watch mocktails and signature Buca drinks being made. They seem to have the right staff behind the 'bar' - you want people who are fun, energetic and happy to engage with curious guests.
The menu is varied. You may need time to see what you want. What I do know immediately is that I want to have my main course in the kitchen area - there is a table specially created for a small group of about 4-6 people who can eat there and watch the operations going on. Cool!
The kitchen dining experience is something I would recommend for couples and friends. it gives you a perspective of a restaurant you would not otherwise have and it allows you to see so many other dishes on the menu as they are prepared and sent out to tables. This gives Buca di Beppo something over rival family restaurants - it is the value added experience that people are looking for nowadays.
On our visit the restaurant ran a Risotto promotion - again, big hearty portions underline the value for money aspect of the restaurant. When you are taking your family for a night out in a mall, this is very important. If on your visit they still have the Seafood risotto, I do recommend it.
For dessert, you must have the utterly decadent and over the top Colossal Brownie Sundae which includes 12 chunks of brownies and 6 scoops of vanilla ice cream. This dessert has that 'conversation piece' quality about it, something you will tell your friends about. I reckon it is good for 4 people, or after a bad week, you might indulge yourself?
Buca Di Beppo is a fun filled night out with some nice dishes served in big portions. At a time when we are all feeling the pinch in Abu Dhabi, this restaurant has that added value that we are all looking for. It has a genuine sharing menu with different sizes of many dishes. Add to this the extra things like dining in the kitchen, checking out your drinks mixed you have a decent night out for the family.
Buca Di Beppo
Cascades Dining at Yas Mall,
Buca Di Beppo
+971 665 6247
Our Menu
Sample Menu
Mozzarella Caprese 50/85
Mozzarella sticks 40/70
Pepperoni pizza 55/95
Colossal brownie sundae 65

subset: commoncrawl


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Arsenal manager Unai Emery has reportedly told Mesut Ozil that he will need to increase his work-rate if he is to be a regular fixture in his starting lineup this season.
Emery is understood to want to improve the fitness levels of Arsenal's players to suit his high-intensity style, and is unwilling to tolerate those who do not put in enough work.
Questions over Ozil's work-rate have been raised previously in his Gunners career, but The Mirror reports that Emery has made it clear to the playmaker that he must buy into the new philosophy at the club.
Ozil signed a new £350,000-a-week contract at the Emirates Stadium in January to make him the highest earner in the club's history, but the report claims that Emery would not hesitate to leave him out of his side if he does not meet his demands.
The 29-year-old was absent for Arsenal's first win of the season against West Ham United on Saturday, sparking reports of a fallout which Emery was quick to deny.
The official reason behind the midfielder's absence was illness, which is believed to be the seventh time that Ozil has called in sick already this year.


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Seed Multiplication
OsGro Seed Services offers multiplication and production of forage, cereals and vegetable seeds to national and international seed companies, in the Marlborough region.
OsGro Seed Services specialize in offering national and international seed companies small scale seed productions / multiplications, from 10 square metres to 5 + hectares.
Marlborough has a strong history and reputation of seed production especially onions, dating back to the start of the century.
Location and Climate
Marlborough is situated in the top eastern corner of the South Island of New Zealand. Marlboroughs latitude is 41.5 degrees south, where the climate is conducive to high quality seed.
The winter months from June through to August are cool, with over night frosts as low as -3°C and cool days of 10 – 14°C.
The summer months from December through to March are warm and dry, with temperatures averaging 27°C. Extreme days can reach as high as 35°C and overnight temperatures between 12°C and 15°C.
For more weather data:
We have produced a range of forage/vegetable seeds including
- RyeGrass
- Red Clover
- Lucerne
- Chicory
- Peas
- Beans
- Onions (Hybrids and OPs)
- Beet
- Canola (Hybrid and OPs)
- Pumpkins
- Tomatoes
- Sweetcorn (Hybrids and OPs)
- Brassica (Cabbage, Cauliflower)


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Native Land, the leading London residential and mixed-use development company, has announced the first major step in the redevelopment of St Botolph's, the residential component of the Hammerson development in Bishop's Square, Spitalfields, as the contractor is appointed.
Native Land have appointed Crispin & Borst, a subsidiary of VINCI PLC, to undertake the development. Crispin & Borst are also refurbishing the existing listed Grade II St Botolph's Hall. Work will commence on site in September this year. The building contract is worth £2.3 million.
The new apartment building will provide 14 apartments designed over four floors, finished to a very high specification and offering accommodation in studios and 1 and 2 bedroom apartments. The development will be covered by a grass sedum roof and the scheme will qualify for a "Very Good" Eco Homes rating.
The property is located immediately adjacent to St Botolph's Hall and stands opposite Allen & Overy's office building, designed by Foster & Partners.
Commenting on the development, James Henderson, senior development executive of Native Land said, "We look forward to working with Crispin & Borst to deliver 14 superb quality apartments within minutes' walk of the heart of the City.
The development will be completed by Summer 2008. The overall value of the development will be £6.5 million.


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Six Little Words
Ok, so I haven't been officially tagged by this birding meme, or any birding meme for that matter. My heart, she hurts a bit. But, I shall persevere…
411 as follows:
1. Write your own six word memoir
2. Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you'd like
3. Link to the person that tagged you in your post and to this original post if possible so we can track it as it travels across the blogosphere
4. Tag five more blogs with links
5. And don't forget to leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play!
I'm to sum up my birding life in a six-word phrase. After some serious thinking I think I got it and I present to you my birding mantra:
Yup, I didn't call this endeavor "The Drinking Bird" just because I like tchotchke. My passion for birds is only barely ceded by my passion for a great brew.
But if I may get serious here for just a sec, these six words do in fact hit the high points of why I love so this pastime pretty well. Because, for me, it's not just about the birds, not that I mean to lessen them in any way cause they're fantastic and love of nature can't be discounted. It's about the challenge to find and ID them, the sport of it that every listing birder feels even if it's just competition with oneself (and when it comes down to it, that's all it is), and most especially, the celebration, the camaraderie, the holding court with other birders sharing a beer and a laugh after a super day in the field. Birding is a great time, but that time is no doubt enhanced by the people that share it with us. And the best day's birding doesn't just end when the sun goes down.
So after I'm out and if find something really cool, when that sudsy comestible hits the glass in the evening I stop and reflect a bit on the day, relive the birds I saw. It's almost as good as seeing it the first time.
Of course, some guidelines need apply. Every life bird gets a beer only works if you have a handful of new birds on any given day. Some caution should be taken when in an especially birdy place. Otherwise I would've never made it out of Costa Rica…
The best part of not getting tagged is there's no obligation to pass it on… so, do it if you like, eh?
Mike permalinkMarch 28, 2008 7:40 am
I'll drink to that!
Greg permalinkMarch 29, 2008 12:13 am
I'm just glad you developed your birding mantra AFTER your teen birding years!
Jochen permalinkMarch 31, 2008 4:29 am
The first thought after reading your six words was:
Really? Ever birded Peru?
(Just for the record, I haven't, but I'd like to and have read a few reports).
Cheers, mate! You know … that beer I owe you… May is a good month for birding the North-East of Germany.
Comments are closed.


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Trane Furnaces
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Urszula Clark talks about 'English, speech and society' and draws upon recent, Economic and Social Science Research Council (ESRC) funded research into the relationship between English and social, regional and national identities. April 2014, London.
Video 1 - How written English has changed over time
This seminar draws upon recent, Economic and Social Science Research Council (ESRC) funded research into the relationship between English and social, regional and national identities. This research contributes to a shift in conceptual thinking about language(s) and varieties from being perceived as static, totalised and immobile to being more dynamic, fragmented and mobile. Such research has implications for language and education policies not only within the UK, but also the teaching of English worldwide.
Increasingly, variation of English is coming to mark an identity linked with physical and imagined places and spaces in ways that cut across other factors such as age, gender, social class and ethnicity that also mark a shift in thinking from language 'deficit' to language 'difference.' In line with this change, there has been a corresponding 'weakening' of the role of traditional gatekeepers of a single, monolithic variety of English such as the BBC, certain aspects of the media and corpus approaches to the compilation of dictionaries and grammars of English. In addition, one of the paradoxes of the use of English across the world for the purposes of communication in the global media, trade, travel, medicine and so on has been that the majority of the world's population today is largely bilingual, if not multilingual, both within and beyond nations where English is the mother tongue.
This seminar then, explores such issues in relation to the teaching of English worldwide, and particularly the debate of the local teacher of English as native speaker versus multilingual local teachers who are expert users of English.


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STOICISM presented in the 6th Aachen International Mining Symposium (AIMS 2014)
AIMS is a highly recognised platform of exchanges and promotes the transfer of information from technology developers, universities, applied research and issues related to the overall operations within the mining industry. During the last AIMS2014 event 11-12 of June 2014, delicated to High Performance mining, STOICISM project was introduced as a platform presentation in the session "Sustainability issues in Mining". Dr. Aurela Shtiza, on behalf of STOICISM presented the contribution entitled: "Is high performance mining sufficient to meet sustainability goals along the value chain? Case study of STOICISM, the holistic approach".
More than 350 participants from universities, technology developers, mining companies and policy makers, with around 75 platform presentations meant that the event was focused on presenting best available techniques/practices as well as the implementation within the mining sector to achieve sustainability.
Event Weblink: http://www.aims.rwth-aachen.de/downloads/Abstractvolume.pdf


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What if you could greatly reduce the risk of disease … even before a child is born? That's a science still in its infancy. And while it's making remarkable progress, it's not without some very real ethical questions, all of which makes this a topic of great interest to Sunday Morning correspondent (and mother-to-be) Tracy Smith.
Thoreau said that every child begins the world again.
Thoreau was right, of course. But he never had children of his own. He never spent nine months in the dark, wondering if his baby would be born whole, healthy, or at all.
But what was once a final verdict at childbirth has been transformed, in many cases, by a series of medical choices that can be made long before the first labor pains.
New York University's Dr. Jamie Grifo helped pioneer a technique that can prevent some childhood disorders before a child is born.
"I'm the luckiest guy in the world," Grifo told Smith. "This is the most incredible job. But it's incredibly difficult, too."
It's an offshoot of in-vitro fertilization called preimplantation genetic diagnosis, PGD.
"The idea behind PGD is, we know that certain couples carry genetic diseases. And for a couple who carries a genetic disease - mom and dad both have a bad gene, but they're healthy, a so-called recessive gene - 25 percent of their babies will have that terrible disease, for instance cystic fibrosis."
And so a couple undergoing PGD would have their embryos screened, with only the disease-free allowed to grow into a baby.
PGD can also flag disorders like Downs syndrome, muscular dystrophy, and many others.
So, can we build a better baby?
"Well, I don't think we really build babies," Grifo said. "But we can create an environment where we can get a healthier baby. And I think that's really our intent. That's what we try to do. We want couples to have healthy babies that don't have genetic problems, who have healthy, happy lives."
Americans have a long history in pursuit of more perfect progeny: Hospitals would hold beautiful baby competitions, and before World War I, state fairs would offer prizes for people who had what was thought to be the right stuff to make beautiful babies: A so-called "fitter family" contest.
"The idea was, in the words of the woman who started it, if we have people judging our cattle, why not have people judge our families as well?" said Wendy Kline, who teaches history at the University of Cincinnati.
Were they examined just like livestock?
"Yup - height, weight, ear size," said Kline.
"Why would people subject themselves to that?" Smith asked.
"Because what an honor! Wouldn't you want to be a model of what the future of America should look like?"
As proof of their genetic fitness, winners would get a medal, complete with a golden baby, proclaiming their "goodly heritage." The contests fell out of favor here during the 1930s, when a much more disturbing program of genetic screening began … in Nazi Germany.
Another offshoot of PGD: the embryos can also be screened for gender.
"Now we can choose the sex of the child with nearly 100 percent certainty," said Dr. Jeffrey Steinberg, who specializes in gender selection, a procedure that can cost up to $20,000.
His pitch is simple: If you're physically (and financially) qualified, you can choose the sex of your next baby. Steinberg's practice, with offices in Los Angeles and Las Vegas, is thriving.
"Is demand outweighing your ability to perform these procedures?" Smith asked.
"Demand, right now, outweighs supply," Steinberg said. "We're backed up about seven months to get in to be evaluated, to see if they qualify for the procedure. So there's a waiting list."
His ability to screen by sex does freak him out a little.
"We're not designing babies," Steinberg said. "What we're doing is we're letting nature do what she does normally, which is make boys and make girls. The only thing that we're doing is we're stepping in, and we're saying, 'Of the boys and of the girls, if this couple wants a girl, they're going to get only the girls.'"
"So you're helping Mother Nature along a bit?"
"Which is what all of medicine is. You know, if we left Mother Nature up to her own devices, everyone would die of appendicitis. And people don't die of appendicitis. So this is helping couples the same way that you would help someone if they walked into an emergency room with a bad appendix."


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Unsane is Steven Soderbergh's first foray into the horror genre. After his supposed retirement a few years ago, he has returned to the big screen with vengeance. Logan Lucky was a great heist flick drawing a lot of influence from his previous film Ocean's 11. And now he has managed to make a very tense thriller using nothing more than an iPhone.
Claire Foy plays a young woman who has relocated after an experience with a stalker. When she begins to see her stalker's face everywhere, she goes to a therapist and is involuntary admitted to a mental hospital. Foy's character doesn't believe she belongs there, and when she begins to see her stalker again it only further complicates things.
It is amazing to see what Soderbergh has done here with just an iPhone and some good lighting. It never really feels like a gimmick, as the look of the iphone footage really adds to the paranoia of the movie. People are going to watch Unsane and have zero idea that it was shot with a phone instead of a giant camera. A lot of what elevates this movie has to do with the performances. Claire Foy is outstanding as the lead, as she is able to brilliantly walk the line making the audience wonder if she is actually crazy or not. Joshua Leonard has some great scenes towards the end of the film, and Jay Pharoah is really good as well. I hope we can start seeing him in more serious movies, and even more comedies which his career has been based in up to this point. He's definitely more than just an impressionist, and shows it in this movie.
The main thing that this movie has going for it is posing the question of whether or not Foy's character is insane or not. This makes the audience question who and what they believe. The problem is that Unsane gives us the answer to this question rather early on. It doesn't really fully commit to its answer till later, but most of the deliberating you do as the viewer is over fairly early on. It also drags on at the end, and becomes a little over the top compared to the grounded approach it'd had taken so far. The film also has this tendency to set up characters, and then just kind of toss them aside when it isn't quite sure what direction to take them in in. The very end of the film also felt incredibly cheesy and cheap to me, and was completely un-needed.
While I have only said negative things so far, there is plenty to like about Unsane as well. This is an incredibly tense thriller, and does a good job of not settling throughout. There are lot different instances where it could have taken the easy way out, but instead it constantly is trying to find a way to surprise you and subvert expectations. There are some also some fantastic patches of dialogue in a few end scenes that are very well written. Soderbergh's direction is also never a bad thing, and what he does here with just an iphone, and $1 million really showcases just how talented he is. Unsane probably isn't blow you away, but it is a pretty enjoyable thriller.


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This article will be rather short in comparison with the others in the mini-series about various Ethernet/IP testing methods but it is one that is necessary as Bit Error Tests have a long tradition in telco environment (circuit based networks) but are still quite valid even in nowadays packet networks – at least for some specific cases. So without further delay let start with some theory behind the testing and some practical use followed by some use cases and best practices.
Using vconfig to set vlan tagged interface with 802.1p CoS priority bits set
This is just quick how-to on setting up vlan interface on a Linux system. As this is in lengths described elsewhere I will stick just to the commands and brief explanations.


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Report: GM to Introduce More Diesel Models in the U.S.
General Motors dipped its toes in the water of diesel passenger cars with the introduction of the Chevrolet Cruze Turbodiesel (pictured) last year, and there will be more to come from the American automaker. According to Automotive News, GM announced at the recent 2014 Management Briefing Seminars that it plans to introduce more diesel passenger cars and light trucks within the coming years.
Apparently sales of the Chevrolet Cruze Turbodiesel have met expectations, and with many analysts predicting that diesel passenger cars will grow in market share by 2020, GM clearly sees an opportunity there. Other than the Cruze, GM's only other diesel engine currently offered in the U.S. is the Duramax turbodiesel in the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra heavy-duty pickup trucks.
Our bet is that GM's full-size light-duty pickup trucks will be the first to receive one of these diesel powertrains slated for the U.S. At a GM event a few months ago, chief engineer for full-size and midsize trucks Jeff Luke told us that a diesel engine for the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups was under consideration. This doesn't come as a surprise, as a turbodiesel V-6 or V-8 would help these GM trucks compete with the efficient Ram 1500 EcoDiesel that has surpassed sales expectations so far. If these pickups receive a diesel, then GM's full-size SUVs including the Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon may be destined for more efficient diesel powertrains as well.
Beyond these truck applications, we are less clear about GM's future diesel plans for passenger cars. Given that the Cruze's 2.0-liter turbodiesel four-cylinder is already certified for the U.S. market, we might expect to see that engine go into smaller GM models, possibly in compact crossovers like the Chevrolet Trax and the next-generation Chevrolet Equinox. Otherwise, GM may be planning to bring some diesel powertrains from its European Opel products for use in larger midsize cars like the Chevrolet Malibu and Buick Regal.
Stay tuned for more news about GM's future plans concerning diesel powertrains.


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Fascinating rare footage of Liverpool and the city's early 90s music scene captured in French documentary.
In amongst all the nonsense, Youtube does offer up a few gems.
And thanks to The Tea Street Band's Nic Otaegui for pointing this one out – a French documentary called You'll Never Walk Alone documenting Liverpool's music scene circa 1992.
In an era which seems so fresh in the memory, yet pre-dates the age of the internet, this documentary serves to highlight the access and blissfully detached musings of some of Liverpool's music greats. It also offers a stark reality check into post-Thatcher era Liverpool and it's desolate, crumbling landscapes – starkly contrasted by a mood of optimism, hope and longing.
The film-makers followed the likes of Echo and the Bunnymen's Ian McCulloch, Pale Fountains' and Shack Michael Head, Edgar Jones (The Stairs), Pete Wylie, Jayne Casey and several other Liverpool figures.
Here's the documentary, spliced up into six parts.


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Goa, the beach capital of India, is the most-talked about holiday destination in the country. With lush wet beaches swarmed by water sports & trees, the place is a blissful paradise for any tourist. There are over 40 beaches flanked in various corners of the state. But an ideal tourist should not limit himself to the beaches, even though their fascination can make one rooted! Goa tourism has scaled unsurpassable heights of popularity for quite a few other things. Those who dare to travel beyond the beaches inevitably come across the state's heritage sites and serendipitously bump into the history & culture which the place silently holds on to its cusps.
Here are a few attractions (outside the beaches) offered by Goa packages:
i. Churches: Se Cathedral, Basilica of Bom Jesus, Church of Immaculate Conception, Church of Our Lady of the Rosary and many more- Goa is a trove of a huge galore of cathedrals most of which are a few centuries old.
ii. Wildlife sanctuaries: Goa tourism has also climbed the popularity charts amongst the wildlife lovers, thanks to its slew of sanctuaries including the Salem Ali Bird Sanctuary and the Bondla Wildlife Sanctuary! If you have a fetish for birds & beasts, then the state has the perfect ingredients to keep you going!
iii. Historic sites: Other than the churches, Goa packages also establish your rendezvous with forts (like the Aguada Fort), mansions (like the Braganza House) and old cemeteries and museums.
iv. Nightlife: Though, the beaches too are known for their exciting party-life, Goa brews up a delicious concoction of bars, restaurants, casinos and clubs to leave you shaken & stirred!
Waterfalls, seafood, luxurious resorts, spa parlors, swamps, aquariums, malls, markets and the Portugal-Indian culture- the real 'Goa' lies outside the turf of the beaches!


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Welcome from Group CEO David Marock"At Charles Taylor, we provide professional services to make the business of insurance work efficiently."
Core Values Our approach to business is underpinned by our core values.
Charles Taylor is a leading international provider of professional services to clients in the global insurance market."
We have around 2,900 staff in 100 locations spread across 30 countries in the UK, the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe and the Middle East."
Welcome to Charles Taylor Insurance ServicesCharles Taylor Insurance Services Limited is an independent provider of outsourced managed claims services, broking and underwriting services, financial accounting services, and MGA services to the Lloyd's, London and global insurance markets.
Welcome to Life Insurance Services We provide a complete range of outsourced insurance management services to international life insurance companies. Our services enable our clients to operate and manage their businesses more effectively as well as reducing their costs.
We have a genuine pride in delivering high quality work. We live by our reputation in professional services and it is this focus on quality which underpins our offering to clients."
Welcome to Charles Taylor Adjusting Charles Taylor Adjusting is an international loss adjusting business. We focus on commercial losses and claims in the aviation, energy, marine, property, casualty and special risks markets.
Welcome to Richards Hogg Lindley RHL is a leading global average adjuster, able to handle complex hull and machinery cases, shipyard losses, loss of hire claims and the largest general average losses.
Our services are usually highly technical and specialist in nature. We differentiate ourselves through the quality of our people, their professional expertise, and their commitment to service excellence."
Welcome to Charles Taylor Management Services Charles Taylor provides end-to-end management of insurance companies. We deliver a complete outsourced management service covering every aspect of the companies' operations.
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Charles Taylor has a partnership mind-set. We work closely with our clients to deliver mutually beneficial outcomes."
A major marine incident requires the urgent attendance of surveyors and consultant engineers to assist in ensuring safety, assessing damage and providing advice to involved parties quickly. A major casualty at sea stretches the resources of the most prepared of owners, managers and insurers both technically and operationally and thus high quality advice is an essential part of mitigating a loss.
At Charles Taylor we offer technical and survey services with the additional benefit of direct access to our team of insurance professionals. We are able to offer technical advice with regard to loss mitigation, repairs and the requirements of the insurer in preparation for a claim. Our surveyors and consultants have experience of many vessel and damage types and are able to provide advice that can help in achieving the minimum out of service time following a casualty.
Charles Taylor Adjusting has a network of surveyors and consultant engineers based around the world able to respond quickly to your requirements and have the added benefit of direct contact with insurance professionals based in our 50 offices worldwide.
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Public Relations
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It is important for any company with a service or product range to sell, to raise its brand awareness. Getting in front of your target market is paramount and can be achieved by placing educating and interesting news articles across a broad range of online and offline media outlets. Talk to Media is a PR agency in Doncaster with a network of media contacts and can help you place the news that matters to you!
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From time to time, companies can come up against a barrage of journalists, reporters and editors that are wanting to cover a less than positive story about you. Our public relations experts have years of experience in the media industry and a vast knowledge of working alongside such contacts on local, regional and national publications, so we can advise you on the best way forward to protect your organisations name.
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T5 Fat Burners – 4 Primary Benefits Fast Weight Loss Pills Offer
The Benefits of T5 Fat Burners When it comes to finding a product that helps you burn fat and keep it off it can be a minefield. There are a plethora of products advertised that make vast claims about helping you change your body. Often there have been no clinical studies into the results of these products. That is where T5 Fat Burners are different. Proven by clinical studies T5 Fat Burners have...Read More


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I have a great example of the damage a reading log can do. We have a set of twins in fifth grade. One twin has me…personal conferences to set reading goals/ talk about books 3x a week. The other twin has different teacher with a log and a 20 minute a night requirement. The mom came to me to ask for help because the girls are of equal ability and yet they are performing very differently. The twin that has me has finished 8 books already and reads nightly for long periods of time on her own. The other twin has finished one book. She asks her mom to time her and stops at exactly 20 minutes. Its sad! How can that possibly improve her reading. And it's not just the amount of reading completed, its the attitude about reading. Some teachers on here are saying the log promotes responsibility, but I believe it hinders it. Give students the power and trust them, they just may surprise you!
Kid-Friendly schools are schools that put kids and their needs first.
Monday, January 2, 2012
Reading Logs Discourage Reading
I wanted to highlight a terrific comment from a teacher on the "I Hate Reading Logs" post, before it got lost in the tsunami of comments:
Posted by FedUpMom at 3:13 PM
Labels: reading logs
3 comments:
"Promotes responsibility"? What does someone like that think that "responsibility" means?ReplyDelete
Chris- I think I can answer your question. In a school context, "responsibility" means that you'd better knuckle down and do what your teacher says, or your teacher will knuckle you.ReplyDelete
Chris, when teachers say "responsibility", they mean "complieance".ReplyDelete
That reminds me of a table I was planning to make, about what teachers say and what they mean ...
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This event occurred in November 2019. If you're looking for a upcoming event, try the links below:
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Reading Farmers' Market on Friday 15th November 2019
Reading Farmers' Market is a friendly, twice-a-month event, showcasing fantastic local food and drink.
Everything is sold directly by local producers, including bakers, brewers and fudge-makers as well as farmers. Come and have a chat and discover the stories behind the products.
Every market features local fruit and vegetables, high welfare meat, fish and eggs, fresh baked goods and more. In addition to the regulars there are several seasonal and ad hoc sellers. For a full list of who will be at each market, follow us on Facebook or Twitter or sign up to the mailing list on the Reading 1 or Reading 2 page of our website at www.tvfm.org.uk.
The market is held under cover at the old cattle market on Great Knollys Street. It's a short walk from the station or the town centre. There is free parking in the street outside for an hour and the nearby Cattle Market NCP car park is just 50p for an hour.
Please note: The event information above has been added by the organiser. Whilst we try to ensure all details are up-to-date we do not make any warranty or representation as to the accuracy or completeness of the information shown.


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I received the Pinnacle Thermal Lunch Box for review. It is cute and easy to open. The materials are durable. It is leak proof. Unfortunately, that is where my praise must end.
My kids get packed lunches every day. Whether it's a sandwich or leftovers they always have something healthy and yummy. . I tried the Thermal Lunch Box several times and it didn't once keep my food warm enough to consume without re-heating. Since this model is lined with steel it is not microwave safe and as you can see is also not dishwasher safe either.
I could rave about how great it is, but it did not live up to my expectations. Even following the instructions to keep items warm – tempering the container with hot water (even used almost boiling) before adding anything warm – it was not able to keep the contents above 95 Degrees Fahrenheit. I used my digital thermometer to test the temperature before doing a taste test and it always tested too low to register which I know for a fact the threshold on the thermometer is 95 Degrees F. This proved problematic because between the time I typically pack my girls' lunches and they get to eat lunch is at least 4 if not 5 hours. If at 4 hours it couldn't stand up to the 100 Degree mark like it mentioned in the instructions I could not rely on it to keep their food even a little warm for longer. For cold items it did better. It totally defeated the purpose of having it for me since I use ice packs in their lunches anyway. I'll keep trying with pastas and soups since they mentioned liquid fared better, but it didn't work with the thicker, saucier things I tried to keep warm. One claim it did live up to is it is leak proof and easy to open once you locate the little notch in the lid.
Unfortunately, I was let down by the failure of this lunch box to keep things warm as I already have plenty of tried and true options to keep things cold. It did however live up to being leak proof and easy to open.


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My Experience During The Japan Earthquake One Year Ago
It struck around 2:45 in the afternoon on what had been a beautiful spring day. I was nearing the end of my contract as an English teacher at a middle school about an hour outside Tokyo. I'd been in good spirits due to the winding down of the workday and the promise of the weekend. My current ease wasn't to last much longer.
The 9.0 earthquake and following tsunami was a massive disaster for the people of Japan. Thousands had been killed and in one village alone 10,000 people were feared missing. Luckily for me, my town was pretty far way from all the devastation.
This is my experience of the quake.
I was in the teachers' office with three other sensei, deeply engrossed in writing something for my blog. The wind outside had been fairly strong all day, shaking the windows of the paper-thin walls and blowing documents all about the office, so we didn't notice the tremor at first. A teacher murmured "Jishin" (earthquake in Japanese), which brought me out of my transfixed state and raised my head from the screen. I felt my desk and the floor underneath me jolting slightly.
I'm ashamed to say now that a smirk began to form on my stupid face. I remember saying to a few friends that "I don't want to have lived in Japan a whole year and not felt a single earthquake," which was the case up till then. I take that back now. "Is this finally it?" I thought. What are they so worried about, it's not that bad?
The shake gathered in intensity over the next 10 seconds. Soon the whole school was beginning to sway and the earth was showing no signs of resting. The seriousness of the situation began to take hold. "This'll do now," I thought, but the Pacific Rim had other ideas. I stood up from my desk and tried not to show the unease I was feeling. The teachers attuned to the seriousness of the situation, sprang into action. They put on helmets, switched on the TV and made an announcement to the students to remain calm. All the while I stood still, useless and frightful, not knowing what to do. It became apparent that this wasn't going to stop anytime soon, no matter how much I wished.
The waves of the quake would gather in intensity for a few moments, shaking everything wildly and rocking the whole school. They would weaken but only for a few seconds before returning to full strength. Above me, I wondered if the roof would cave in, bringing down two floors of desks, chairs and screaming children. The rattle of the office walls grew in intensity as the earthquake did. I looked towards the open door; there was an escape route. "Get out, Get out!" my brain screamed at me. I tried to fight these thoughts and looked at the faces of my co-teachers. They weren't panicking, so neither should I. I stared at the TV (not understanding a word) and tried to compose myself.
Meanwhile the Pacific Rim continued to force itself under Japan, causing mayhem and destruction on the surface and brewing up massive waves in the sea. Perhaps the worst part was when I felt the tectonic plate I was standing on begin to roll. The ground felt like a boat swaying on high seas or a plane shuddering in turbulence. I had never felt a fear like this. As the floor bobbed up and down like ice cubes floating in a glass, I felt very insignificant and not in control of my own destiny. No wonder people used to blame earthquakes on the gods. Unsure of what to do I copied my co-teachers and tucked myself under my desk, preparing for carnage.
I must give complete respect for the Japanese people. In a country divided by three plates of the Earth's crust, they are prepared for and have experienced many earthquakes. Everything is built with earthquakes in mind and must pass strict requirements. This quake was extraordinarily strong. I'm in awe that the level of destruction caused by the earthquake itself wasn't that high.
I think the quake lasted for two minutes in total. As the earth came to rest again, I slowly pulled myself up from under the desk and sat in my chair. I was shaking uncontrollably. The teachers came running back into the staff room for an emergency meeting to decide if the students should go home.
The school caretaker came in and continued to clean around us. She looked at me and quickly said something. By the time I registered what she said ("Scary wasn't it"), she'd already gone to clean something else. Good job too, because I was still shaking and wouldn't have been able to speak anyways. I held my hand out in front of me and watched it shake. "If she can continue to work, then I can get over this," I thought. I sat there and tried to decipher what the teachers were talking about.
The din of the teachers' chatter was abruptly stopped as a strong aftershock hit us. Everyone went silent and sat still for just a moment, bracing themselves. Collectively, the teachers shouted, "The students!" and rushed out of the room to evacuate the kids. By the time most of them were out the door, the aftershock had finished.
A minute later, the students quietly filtered out of the school and onto the playground. I was surprised at how calm and quiet they were. All of them wearing yellow cushions on their heads. Months before I asked one of my co-teachers why all the students have cushions on their seats. She told me they were in case of earthquakes. I didn't see the connection right away. "What good is a cushion in an earthquake?" I ignorantly thought aloud. The hairs on my skin rose as I realized the grim reality. Yellow is bright and easier to see in rubble.
On the playground, the students were counted and sorted into groups. In around 10 minutes, the older students led the younger ones back home. I felt safe on the playground, as there wasn't much to fall on our heads or bury us alive. The earth had finally come to a rest again. We went back into the teachers' room and on the TV were images of a tsunami washing away cars, bridges and buildings as if they were nothing but toys. Not being able to read the Kanji on screen, I blurted out, "Where the fuck is that?" to a co-teacher. "Miyagi-Ken," he replied, "It's miles away. Northern Japan."
When I got home I called my panicky parents and reassured them that all was okay. I went to the supermarket expecting it to be mayhem with people buying up stocks preparing for the end of Japan. But, life carried on as normal. I tried to gauge the faces of everyone. Were they scared? Apparently not. As I walked home I saw workers continuing to build a new house, unperturbed by the day's events. I went home and tried to get back to my usual Friday-night routine. Sleeping was hard, frequent aftershocks, a feeling of seasickness and fear mongered by the media kept me awake for much of the night.
By Ben Cowles
About the Author
Ben Cowles has been living, working, traveling and teaching in East Asia for the past six years. Having grown tired of monkeying around in the class room, he has decided to turn his hairy opposable thumbs to freelance writing. Ben is currently the alpha male at MonkeyBoyGoes.com.


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Storify is a creator of stories through Social Media. You can pick the best photos, video, tweets and more and turn them into stories that can be embedded anywhere.
The more popular your topic is, the better. Like, "Police brutality at Occupy".
If I were a journalist I'd use it all the time.
Moreover, Storify is now a WordPress plugin! Now you can embed your stories into WordPress with a couple of clicks.


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I am proud to support A Better Balance by donating a portion of every sale of my book, The Working Dad's Survival Guide, to this amazing legal advocacy organization that is leading the charge for more family-supportive workplace and social policy.
I asked Dina Bakst and Phoebe Taubman of A Better Balance to write a short summary of their work and have posted it here. Please consider joining me in supporting their important work.


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Eleven Great Things About Rum
Rum is a wonderful spirit, whether mixed in cocktails or slowly sipped. Unfortunately, many people are only familiar with it as a rum and coke, overly sweet girly cocktails or as the dangerous rum punches found at summer parties. In order to increase drinkers' awareness of this delightful dram, The LGA presents a list of Eleven Great Things About Rum!


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|The Noodle Forest, Phoenix Children's Museum
Years ago, I went to a party to celebrate a friend's retirement. I remember nothing of the dinner, but I will never forget the dessert. It was a spectacular mound of fresh grapes on a huge, 2-foot diameter brass platter. That dessert has stayed with me and framed a guiding idea.
One thing in great abundance
Cooks, artists, gardeners, makers, designers, builders, and teachers are attuned to and inspired by the possibilities of materials and objects in vast quantities. Like my well-remembered great grape dessert, many of the experiences, encounters, and places we recall and reflect on, admire and experiment with in museums, gardens, and studios are inspired by and accomplished through the potential of one thing in great abundance.
This is not about extravagance or being wasteful with materials. In fact, often the objects are simple, humble, or discarded. Toothpicks, sticks and LEGO bricks; blocks, socks, and sticker dots; seeds, sand, and rubber bands; plastic caps and bubble wrap; paper clips and Styrofoam bits.
When we are used to seeing objects in pairs or by the dozen, a marvelous quantity of one thing captures our attention. A migration of Monarch butterflies is awe-inspiring. Thousands of frogs hovering on lily pads in the picture book, Tuesday open our minds to absurd possibilities on an ordinary day. Dozens of Dale Chihuly glass anemones on the 140-foot Mendota Wall at the University of Wisconsin's Kohl Center make us pause. One hundred thousand sticky notes covering a wall in Vanderbilt Hall in New York's Grand Central Station dramatically shifts our sense of what a 3'x3' square of paper with a sticky edge is and can be used for.
Recently I walked into Tom's Toys on Market Street in Charleston after seeing sets and sets and sets of KAPLA blocks through the window. More gallery-like than store, Tom's displayed blocks built into marvelous structures along the walls. Many more were spread out across a big blue rug. Building projects at different stages of construction, showed traces of others' building experiments, imaginations, and memories of structures. The block sets being bought and taken home looked incomplete compared to the active building site in the store.
Besides the jolt of seeing magnificent quantities, interacting with them engages us in new ways, for longer, and often at a deeper level. The City Museum in St Louis (MO) is fascinating in part because it brings together a great array of objects–wooden rollers, bowling balls, terra cotta tiles, doorknobs–in impressive quantities. It uses their functional, and design qualities in inventive ways to create a remarkable and memorable environment that engages visitors in extensive exploration and discover.
Multiplying Possibilities
Messing about with an unusually large quantity is a whole lot richer than making do with modest portions. Several years ago I saw a video of a small group of toddlers exploring three 25-pound blocks of clay introduced one block at a time. For more than 45 minutes, the toddlers intently explored the clay and its properties using no tools except their bodies. With very little toddler talk among them, they pushed up against, patted, poked, and pinched the block of clay that stood about as tall as they were and much more solid. The addition of the second and third block of clay extended the toddler's curiosity, exploration, and testing the material and what it might do in response to their actions. No hand-sized hunk of clay could have come close to the holding power of the clay mass for these toddlers or for most adults.
Assembled quantities of one object or material can reveal its properties and afford new possibilities and experiences that often are very different. Sitting on one small plastic ball is downright uncomfortable. Sitting among thousands of plastic balls, however, we are immersed; we sink, we slip, we slide over, and swim through the balls. Balls roll over and under one another, shifting under our weight. A paper cup becomes a plane when massed and connected as Aphidoidea–a collaborative think tank of designers based in Los Angeles–does. Suspended from the ceiling it becomes an undulating wave.
|Scott Weaver's Rolling through the Bay
The slim proportions of a single toothpick are not impressive as a building material. Yet, one hundred thousand toothpicks when bundled, joined, arranged, and glued create Rolling Through the Bay, a 9' tall, 7 ' long and 30" wide kinetic sculpture. Artist Scott Weaver's ingenuity and 3,000 hours of dedicated work manipulated the toothpick's structural and sculptural possibilities to shape familiar San Francisco landmarks and pathways that also allow ping-pong balls to roll across the Golden Gate Bridge and down Lombard Street.
Our perceptions of an object and its context change when experienced in enormous quantities. Even the simple sticker dot is transformed. The artist Yayoi Kusama invited children to "obliterate" a completely white environment with colorful sticker dots in her installation at the Queensland Gallery of Modern Art. With dot after dot and layer upon layer, the figure ground relationship of the room reverses; a pointillist effect emerges. One testimony to the power of abundance is the countless times this fascinating installation has shown up and been noted on FaceBook. One image appears on the cover of the Spring 2012 Journal of Museum Education.
|Photo: This is Colossal
Vast quantities of something seem to confer permission to explore freely, take risks, and make mistakes. A generous supply of cardboard and duct tape allows us to follow our ideas and show our thinking to ourselves and others. We can fiddle with and keep active alternative ideas about spanning distances. We can test and compare two designs for reaching great heights. We can try out this hunch for correcting a tilt, and then that one. We can move ahead with one idea while thinking about how to reduce the wobble. We can incorporate the results of our small experiments into one structure or the other. We enjoy the luxury of backing up and starting over because the materials are there and are plentiful.
A kind of social space forms around impressive quantities of materials. Eager to explore the materials, we work solo, parallel, in pairs, and in groups. We connect with others, letting the imaginations, traces of previous experiences, and quick experiments of others rub off on us. Ideas spread. The lively building activity at the National Building Museum LEGO room provides a glimpse into this dynamic fed by abundance. In Building blocks: What LEGOs can teach us about rebuilding our cities Alex Gilliam notes the thousands upon thousands of LEGOs and the consistently diverse groups of people that engage in building. He also observes and describes a collective building pattern. Visitor-created structures inspire other visitors' building, apparently a much more robust force than the museum-provided images, challenges, and cues.
The Possibilities of Abundance
Young children find big numbers fascinating. Five and six year olds search eagerly for the biggest number in the world. They delight in tossing around words for unimaginable quantities: a gadzillion, a bjillion. They feel clever in saying infinity plus one. Vast quantities invite children to follow this interest and experience large numbers directly and pleasurably in relation to their bodies. Wrapping their arms around bundles of suspended swimming noodles, standing up against towers of blocks, and laying down in pools of balls, all these complement direct instruction in counting, sorting, dividing, measuring, and estimating.
The power of quantity can express what words alone cannot. 6 Million + Every Person Counts, an art installation of 6 million buttons at Ripon Cathedral (UK) each representing someone killed in the Holocaust, makes conceiving of the massive loss of life slightly more possible.
|Photo: TwoForOneBlog
Abundance pushes and pulls us out of our usual mindsets. It may carry a solemn reminder, convey a challenging concept, bring people together, or deliver a joyful surprise. The great potential that marvelous quantities of everyday and novel materials have to attract us, hold our attention, and extend our exploration works naturally with goals and outcomes of countless exhibits and programs for audience groups across the life span, in museums around the world. Abundance can come from anywhere. It can be as easy as clearing out the local grocery store's shelves of toothpick boxes and mini-marshmallows. It can 100 boxes or what's inside 100 boxes. It can be folding a thousand paper cranes, the buttons and what the buttons mean.


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Matthew 25.35
Matthew 25 Verse 35 "For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink…" (NIV)
Taken in Gloucester, England by Scottish Camera.
All images can be used for non commercial purposes if the use and intention is made known by using the comment box below and the following acknowledgement is made on the publication, be it printed or electronic. "Courtesy of
thebuk.co.uk". For any other purpose please use the comment box below and wait to be contacted. Thank you.


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When we were staying at the shelter, as Hurricane Irma came across Florida, is was nice to know that the Sogrand Outdoor Solar Lights were protecting our property. I know that they were, because the night of our return, they lit up.
Solar lights are amazing, and these are no exception. They come complete in the box. The 4 bulbs with the solar panels on the top, the center poles, and the stakes.
I put these along the patio a couple of days before the hurricane hit, so they had received plenty of sunshine to charge the solar panels. All I had to do was turn the switch under the panel, to the On position.
These are a warm LED white, which gives an almost yellow glow to them.
The bulb area is plastic, and I can tell you that they withheld hurricane winds, so when they say that they are:
- 'ALL WEATHER DURABILITY :These heavy duty solar pathway lights can withstand a wide range of weather conditions, including rain,
snow, wind, and hot or cold temperatures.'
I can honestly say that they do.
I did receive mine for free, and as said above, these have really been put to the test, and passed with glowing colors.
Sogrand Solar Post Lights,Super Bright 10 Lumen Outdoor Lamp Post, Fence Lighting Black Vinyl For Yard, Pathway, Deck, Dock, Path, Walkway ,Pack of 2
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Sogrand Solar Square Bollard Pathway Decoration Garden Stake Light With White Led, Set of 3


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Heather Saul & Andrew Buncombe (The Independent)
Published: April 28, 2015
This piece originally appeared on The Independent.
"A riot is the language of the unheard."
The words of Martin Luther King, first made in 1966 during an interview with Mike Wallace of CBS, echoed around the streets of Baltimore today as people sought an explanation for the violence that wrecked part of the city and stunned the nation.
Community leaders, to a person, said the rioting and looting could not be condoned and many drew a sharp distinction between those who had for many days engaged in peaceful protests in the aftermath of the death of Freddie Gray and the violence that erupted on Monday afternoon.
Martin Luther King Jr (Rex)
At the same time, commentators pointed to a divided city, a community where not everybody felt included and did not feel they were part of so-called Charm City.
They pointed to figures that revealed a police force that had paid out more almost $6m since 2011 to suspects against whom they had used unnecessary force, of unemployment rates among some sections of the community that reached 70 per cent.
Some young black people, they suggested, feel as disenfranchised and disengaged as their counterparts did in April 1968 when riots broke out in the city - and in more than 100 cities across the country - in the aftermath of the assassination of Dr King.
Dan Rodericks, a columnist for the Baltimore Sun, reminded his readers that back in the 1980s, Billy Murphy, a man who now serves as the lawyer for the family of Freddie Gray, ran for mayor, raising the issue of "the other Baltimore - the one you can't see from the Inner Harbor — the poor and broken Baltimore that never seemed to get the attention it needed".
Mr Murphy again raised the issue himself, telling a CNN anchor that she needed to get past the "blame game".
Freddie Gray
When it was put to him that some of those who had been hurling stones at the police on Monday were aged no more than 13 or 14, he replied: "That shows the level of alienation that exists. That does not justify it, but it explains it."
He added: "I think it is more important to ask 'why' in these circumstances."
Who was Freddie Gray, and where was he from?
Gray was arrested on 12 April and died a week later of a spinal injury he allegedly sustained either while being arrested or while being transported in the police van. The 25-year-old's funeral on Monday was followed by violent riots and looting, leading the mayor to announce a week-long curfew and public schools to shut their doors on Tuesday.
The rioters set police cars and buildings on fire in several neighbourhoods, looted a mall and alcohol stores, set fire to shops and buildings, and threw rocks at police with riot gear.
Freddie Gray's mother, Gloria Darden, and lawyer Billy Murphy, appealed for calm
Gray was raised in Sandtown-Winchester, a poverty-stricken area of west Baltimore where almost 50 per cent of residents are unemployed. A third of properties in the neighbourhood are abandoned and a quarter of families receive Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), statistics from the Justice Policy Institute (JPI) show.
He was living off a pay-out from a lead-paint lawsuit filed on his behalf and on behalf of his two sisters against the owner of their child-hood home, according to the Washington Post.
It quotes court-papers citing walls and windowsills containing enough lead to "poison the children and leave them incapable of leading functional lives". Over seven per cent of children living in this area aged six and under have elevated blood-lead levels, the JPI's statistics show.
The median household income for this area is substantially lower than the national average of America, with each home surviving on just $24,000 (£15, 700) yearly.
The escalating situation has been compared to unrest in Ferguson after the death of black teenager Michael Brown at the hands of a white police officer. Ferguson is another area blighted by poverty, with data showing one in four families living below the federal poverty line in 2012.
This piece originally appeared in The Independent.
Follow Heather Saul on Twitter at @HeatherAnne9, Andrew Buncombe at @AndrewBuncombe, and The Independent at @Independent.
Posted in JPI in the News, Criminal Justice News
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Ashford University has named 2013 graduate Janice Dy its Outstanding Alum of the Week. Dy graduated from Ashford last year, earning a bachelor of arts degree in Public Relations and Marketing with a specialization in International Management. Even before she graduated, Dy began utilizing the public relations and marketing skills she was learning at Ashford to launch a fitness magazine called Asian Bodi.
"My final paper at Ashford was about the globalization of Asian Bodi," Dy said. "Because of the research I did at school, I was able to give that information to someone else, and they were so impressed about some of my marketing findings, I was given a great career opportunity. I'm really excited."
With her Ashford degree and strong knowledge of the Asian fitness industry, Dy caught the attention of Flex, one of the world's most popular bodybuilding magazines. She was asked to help Flex expand their reach in the Asian market and was recently put in charge of marketing for Flex Southeast Asia.
"This is just the beginning," Dy said. "It's really great to be able to take my coursework from Ashford University and use it professionally."
The Ashford University Outstanding Alum of the Week recognition was created to spotlight Ashford graduates who have used their Ashford education as a springboard to personal and professional success.
About Ashford University
Achievement belongs to all of us at Ashford University. By offering a traditional college campus as well as online degree programs, Ashford meets the diverse needs of individuals pursuing integrity in their lives and in their communities. Students may earn an associates, bachelor's, or master's degree online, while campus students in Clinton, Iowa may earn a bachelor's degree. Whether on campus or online, Ashford students enjoy the same supportive community. For more information, please visit http://www.ashford.edu, www.facebook.com/ashforduniversity, www.twitter.com/AshfordU, or call Shari Winet, Vice President of Public Relations, at 858.513.9240 x2513.
Video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNV6YQxU3oc&list=PL7THdAwmjsLh8vOhzs0N-Qd6bfNdzUBnx&feature=share
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130228/LA68969LOGO


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Friday, October 14, 2016
National Anxiety
My daughter called me for the third day in a row. She wanted to talk while she was driving. She felt on the edge of an anxiety attack. She couldn't understand why they were happening; she hadn't experienced them for awhile.
Then she stopped. "I think it was the tape that came out on Friday," she said, making a connection with her anxiousness and the bragging of a powerful man that he can force himself on women any time he wants.
That kick started the nausea that she feels, the racing of her heart, that feeling of metal in her mouth.
I don't think she and I are alone in this kick-in-the-gut feeling.
Women have known men like this all our lives. Sometimes we're strong enough to fight back, sometimes we wonder did we do something to lead them on, and sometimes we swallow the uncomfortableness and never tell anyone.
When I was a girl, 11 or so, I went with my cousin to visit her grandparents on her father's side. They were a lovely old couple. I sat on the porch swing with the grandfather while my cousin went with her grandmother to the garden. The man's arm resting on the back swing reached over and snapped my bra strap.
Thwack. I felt the elastic and heard the twang.
I was shocked. I sat still, wondering what I should do. I let a minute go by before I slid off the swing, saying I was going to find my cousin. He laughed.
I never told anyone that happened. I felt ashamed that a nice old man would have done that to me. He obviously didn't see me as a little girl but as a sexual object, even at that age. I never went with my cousin to her grandparents' house again.
Of course, it's different when it was boys my age who would pull my bra strap. The power makes a huge disparity in how women feel -- like we have no way out. We only have to grit our teeth and take it.
So as we both dealt with uncomfortable sensations this week, I suggested to my daughter that she might tamp down the anxiety if she stopped listening to political news and if she went to the early polling place to vote.
"Once you vote, maybe you'll feel some sense of resolution, knowing you've done what you can to prevent him from winning," I said.
She hasn't gone to vote yet and she called today after retching over the toilet at work. I don't think she'll be able to make it to early voting during the week since the polls are open 8-6 and she works 9-5. So she'll have to wait until Oct. 29 when the polls stay open on the weekends.
I hope both of us can turn our attention away from the ugliness that has invaded our society, until we can put it to rest on November 8.
7 comments:
When I was at one of my first jobs after college, I was warned on the first day by other women colleagues that one of our co-workers was dangerous. He had roving hands and made inappropriate comments. When they found out I lived near him, I was told to NEVER give him a ride home (he didn't drive--lost his license) or to be alone with him. He once had an "episode" where he locked himself in the glass-walled lunch room and stripped naked. Yet he wasn't fired. When he did harass me, I complained and was told that they couldn't fire him because he had a family to support. And my boss told me that I was what was wrong with America--a white, educated, married woman who refused to have kids and stay home.
That was possibly the most egregious case in my personal experience of the institution backing the guy. I'd been harassed before. My music teacher groped me and my mom wouldn't hear of it--what would people say!--so I got my brother to go with me to lessons and the teacher behaved, though he complained about my brother. There were cases after. When is it going to stop?
And have you seen the new thing about rescinding the 19th amendment?
- our life in france said...
Poor Paulita, no one should have to go through anything like that especially when you are so young and impressionable, I have never experienced anything like it myself but I know there is so much of it going on, I am not American but I know if that vile man gets in there will be serious reprecussions all over the world, I am very fearful, our own political house isnt in good order at the moment, but it seems to be a global thing
- Brenda in Texas said...
THANK YOU for this post. I saw the article about rescinding the 19th amendment. It is just an awful thought of taking women's voting rights away. It was started by Trump supporters after polling showed Trump would lose with women voters.
- Paulita said...
Francetaste, Awful but unfortunately typical examples.
- Paulita said...
Roz, Thanks. I agree that our politics hang in the balance
- Paulita said...
Brenda, thanks. I'd love to see them try
I am asked so often here in The Netherlands " How in the world could a man as Donald Trump get so close to the office of President of the United States. The people here just cannot understand it at all. I listened to the 1st debate (0300 am CET). After that I decided these debates were just a shouting match between two old people for custody of the nation. Just depressing to watch.
For a change...I watched and listened to the French debates (le Droit: Sarkozy, Juppé, (front runners)Le Maire, Fillon and one lady Mme Kosciocko-Morizet. It was civilized, polite and a welcome change from the USA Las Vegas'boxing match'.
I can read French easily...but audio? That takes a lot of effort. I heard "..et que donc (therefore) and 'baisse des charges' (reduce costs) the most!
Just a few more weeks.....then it will be over....and probably the first woman President!
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Fact: A woman's primary purpose in life is not to have an "ideal" body.
A woman's primary purpose is likely not primary at all, but an amalgamation of the myriad things that make her unique and valuable—but her body, and how the world views and judges it, is not at the forefront.
Or at least, it shouldn't be.
I know that given the media we consume and the societal pressures we endure, this fact seems hard to believe or embrace, but it's true. We've gotten lost in the unattainable perfection of it all, stymied by diet culture and fitness magazines, and led astray from not only our inherent worthiness, but all the pursuits we can invest in that don't involve our physical appearance.
We live in a culture where little boys are praised for their intellect and ingenuity, and little girls are praised for their beauty. We've been bred, from our inception, to be more preoccupied with our aesthetics than any other aspect of our otherwise multidimensional existence.
I think we, as a collective group, are coming to the understanding that we can love our bodies—to the acceptance that self-love is of the utmost importance. But, at the root of this body positive movement is something we aren't always willing to discuss:
Why is my body so important in the first place?
Who is benefiting from sending me these messages? How can I stop receiving them and recreate my own narrative?
Caring for our bodies is extremely important. Fitness and nutrition are valuable pursuits that can improve our lives. In a similar vein, makeup and fashion are both fun and self-expressive. The point isn't to lambast any and all aesthetic pursuits, rather to demonstrate that we are MORE than that, to remind us that we are powerful, talented, purposeful beings—and that purpose stems far beyond the external image we present.
I don't know about you, but I'm sick of this. I'm done playing small, done devoting all of my resources-both tangible and energetic-to the pursuit of and obsession with fat loss. I'm done stressing out over my appearance and ignoring my myriad other talents and virtues. I'm done unsuccessfully living up to someone else's arbitrary and unrealistic standards.
Won't you join me?


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Latest on the Fire
July 20, 2013 by Yugen
Apple Canyon late Monday afternoon Just in case there was any doubt... the Sunday schedule will not be going ahead tomorrow!
Yesterday afternoon fire crews continued to defend Yokoji with some of the previously unburned areas catching fire. There is an article here about the Yucca fire crews who are defending the center. The main picture of the firefighter is at our gate. If you look to the left, you can see the edge of our GMC snow plow, and to the right, the edge of the front gate.
Tracy Rothwell:
20 Jul 2013 17:25:07
Thanks for your update!! It's hard to know what's happening there all the way in Indiana. Thanks so much to the firefighters for defending the center!!
Donald McCulloch:
21 Jul 2013 22:24:34
Our prayers are with you. An avid hiker, I have parked and hiked through the center a couple of times. The center has been very gracious in allowing hikers access through the property. Thank you very much. I hope there hasn't been too much damage to your structures. Please take care.
Lilith Marie Haas:
22 Jul 2013 10:09:53
I have been thinking and praying for your beautiful center and everyone there each day in my practice with a full and concerned heart since I first saw the smoke rising from the mountain last Monday driving to Hemet. I wish you all the best in the challenges of the days to come and are so grateful that the center was saved by our brave firefighters. Namaste to all
Richard Tuttle:
22 Jul 2013 10:34:51
Thinking about you and hoping the fires fade out. I have many happy memories of sitting at ZMC.


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July 6, 2012
A group of LPGA teaching professionals will be on hand for a demonstration and hands on golf skill building clinic on Friday, July 13 from 4:00 to 5:30 p.m. at Lake Merced Golf Club in Daly City. Several of the championship participants are expected to participate in the demonstration. This complimentary clinic is for girls between the ages of 7-17.
Participants must arrive by 3:30 p.m. to register and the clinic will begin promptly at 4:00 p.m. on the driving range and practice facilities at one of the Bay Area's premier private golf clubs.
The event is limited to the first 100 girls that sign up and it is on a first come first served basis. All levels of golfers are welcome. Click here for registration information:
City Hall - 333 90th Street, Daly City, CA 94015
General: (650) 991-8000


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Pi, as most of us vaguely know, is a number that math people inexcusably named after a letter of the Greek alphabet. There's a very simple equation that generates pi, which we have trouble remembering, and it has something do with circles. And no matter how big the circle is, it always has a pi. Pie, on the other hand, is best understood as apple, pumpkin, or lemon meringue, and almost always comes in circles too.
Today is March 14, or 3/14. The number pi comes out to 3.14-on-and-on-and-on, so mathematicians found the date pun unavoidable and hilarious.
I was mildly interested in Pi Day, being a homeschool mom and all, and also because we're studying Ancient Greece at the moment. I had hoped that pi was discovered by Pythagoras (PY-thagoras?), because that would have made sense of why he named it Pi, but sadly, no. He is instead probably responsible for the Pythagorean Theorem, which is the length of sides on right triangles. (A squared plus B squared equals a C squared, which is memorable and can be sung like a Feist song.) I still have no idea why it's pi and not, say, upsilon.
Pi, for the record, is the relationship between the CIRCUMFERENCE, the "circ" around, and the DIAMETER, the "dia-", or across. Pi = C/d. Meg and I considered this equation for a while.
So at this point, I went educational on the girls.
We got out little bowls and plates and traced them onto paper. (Tracing is easier than using flimsy compasses.) They colored their circles different colors and then made a column of the colors on the side, so we could measure each one. We talked about different ways to measure circles: from the center to the edge is called the "radius" ("Oh! Like Radius in the Sir Cumference books," said Meg); across is the diameter, like Lady Di of Ameter; and around the edge is the circumference. So far, so good.
Then we measured each circle's circumference and diameter. This turned into practice writing numbers the right way around and a lesson on the fine art of measuring with fractions, because the tiresome circles didn't come in whole inches. Then we had a lesson on converting fractions into decimals on the calculator, because calculators don't speak fraction. Then we had a lesson on rounding to two decimal points. Then we had a lesson on using calculators, because apparently it's not an inborn skill. Kate, by this time, was long gone playing ponies.
We had a lesson on plugging numbers into equations: what number did we measure for the orange circle's CIRCUMFERENCE? Okay, write that here. What number did we measure for the orange circle's DIAMETER? Remember, dia- means "across." Write that here. So type them into the calculator… nope, that's the "multiply" button, you want the "divide" button… write that down…
It was a process.
Much to everyone's credit, once the numbers were in, all of our pi calculations were between 3.0 and 3.3. I talked about how pi is a constant, which means no matter what circle you look at, anywhere, ever, if you measure it exactly, the relationship between its circumference and its diameter will always come out to about 3.14. Smile and nod.
Upon which, Meg went and painted a picture of a sailboat and I drank a medicinal Dr. Pepper.
Happy Pi Day, everyone. Please celebrate by not calculating pi five times with your kindergartener. I think there's .57 of a lemon pie in the fridge waiting for me.
Photo Credit: iStock. Second, third, and fourth images by Carolyn Bales.


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Pimkie vest, H&M jeans, vintage sunglasses & shirt, Meg Erickson bag, Vans shoes, Target bracelets and necklace, Swatch watch, Modcloth & Itsybitsy rings
I arrived yesterday afternoon in Paris. We walked around to stretch our legs and energize ourselves to not fall asleep. We're only staying about two weeks which means I absolutely need to plan out everything I want to do. There are so many exhibits on fashion and other things that I want to see. I better start early especially since I'll be gone this weekend visiting friends in Monts, near Tours. xoxo
(photos: PAUL)
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