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Importance of Yoga for Cancer Patients
The Importance of Yoga for Cancer Patients [embed]https://youtu.be/84t_JLf-5J8[/embed] "Cancer patients who practice yoga as therapy during their treatment often refer to their yoga practice as a life-saver. No matter how sick from treatments and no matter how little energy, many find that the one thing that would bring relief were a gentle set of therapeutic yoga poses geared for cancer patients. When battling cancer, the worst part is not just the symptoms of the disease itself, but often the discomfort and debilitating fatigue brought on from cancer treatments. Whether faced with the scar-tissue of surgery or ongoing nausea and weakness from chemotherapy or radiation, cancer patients endure a long road of physical trials…" Read more at Yoga U.
Collin County Clubhouse: Chair Yoga with Judith on Thursdays Dallas County Clubhouse: Yoga with Jennifer (above) on Tuesdays Tarrant County Clubhouse: Yoga with Douglas on Wednesdays To learn more about CSCNT's wellness classes, including yoga, please click here.


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When it's time for you look for local businesses to help you with your wedding, take a look at our advertisements below. Most will have links to their own websites. These advertisements are updated regularly so please revisit often and mention Your South Wales Wedding when making any enquiries.
Recent years have seen a rise in the social media engagement ring selfie, with over 3.5 million #engagementring hashtags used on Instagram, so nationwide high street jewellers Beaverbrooks have revealed the top four most Instagrammable styles and Lorna Haddon, head of diamond rings and jewellery comments on the findings:
1 - #solitairering (78.8k posts) "Solitaire engagement rings are the ultimate statement of tradition and elegance, so it's no surprise to see it's the most hashtagged ring style on Instagram, with over 74,000 posts. A classic solitaire setting is simple, timeless and showcases the diamond without any distraction."
2 - #haloring (63k posts) "Halo engagement rings are perfect for anyone looking to make a bold statement, as they draw attention to a central larger diamond, so it's no surprise to see it's the second most hashtagged ring style on Instagram, with over 61,000 posts. Whether it's a more traditional round cut, or unique pear cut diamond, Halo engagement rings are a firm favourite."
3 - #clusterring (17.6k posts) "Cluster engagement rings continue to be a popular choice for brides-to-be who want to make a statement, with the ring style hashtagged over 17,000 times on Instagram. Cluster designs are the perfect way to incorporate vibrant coloured gemstones with diamonds, with this vintage style remaining a firm favourite thanks to rings worn by Kate Middleton and more recently, Princess Eugenie."
4 - #threestonering (15.2k posts) "Three stone diamond rings have increased in popularity over the last 18 months, with the ring style hashtagged over 14,500 times on Instagram. There's no doubt that the regal setting has become popular again thanks to Meghan Markle, whose engagement ring has become a must-have design for brides-to-be. With a larger central diamond nestled between two smaller diamonds, three stone engagement rings sit perfectly with a traditional wedding band and eternity band, and show off a brilliant cut diamond to its full extent."
To see the variety of engagement rings on offer at Beaverbrooks, visit www.beaverbrooks.co.uk and follow them on Instagram @beaverbrooksthejewellers
We talk dresses and upcoming trends with the talented bridal designer Elbeth Gillis
Following the launch of her new collection GRACE earlier this...
Wedding guest fashion tips and tricks by celebrity stylist Joey Bevan
Celebrity fashion stylist Joey Bevan shares his wedding guest fashion tips and...
Ronald Joyce unveils new collection of flowergirl dresses
Award-winning designer Veni Infantino at Ronald Joyce has created a collection of three...
Lola Rose thank the NHS with new rainbow gemstone HOPE bracelet
Jewellery brand Lola Rose London has unveiled their latest launch, a rainbow gemstone...
Unlike a national magazine, Your South Wales Wedding is packed with area specific features, venues in your area, inspirational real weddings and regular features on bridal fashion, beauty,
hair & beauty, etc.
So when you decide to look for local suppliers, wedding retailers and service providers, our magazines can really help you plan your wedding.
We also have regular exciting competitions and giveaways, expert question & answer pages and lots more. Quite simply, all the information you will ever need to get married in your area.
We have 19 wedding titles covering counties and regions throughout most of England and Wales. Your South Wales Wedding is available to download for free as a high quality eMagazine. Titles covering other areas are available here.

subset: commoncrawl


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I'm back from Hawaii and crafting up a storm! I'm so glad you all stopped by today. As you know Mondays @ My Cricut Craft Room is either a letter or showing projects with the Cricut Craft Room (CCR) images or the Imagine carts. This week I used Lori's Garden.
This round image can be found on page 20 and I cut it @ 4.25". Since I am a floral designer, this is perfect with the flowers and butterflies. I wanted a subtle look to go with the solid card so I printed on cream card stock rather than the white. This is a wonderful option so you can get different effects depending on the color of card stock you use. Then you can add stickles, glitter, rhinestones, ribbon, etc. The skies the limit to enhance these images. I printed out 3 flowers and 1 extra large butterfly so I could add a touch of bling. (When don't I, lol). I also used some Smooch to add dots to the center of my flowers. Now a few pop dots and it's done.
Finally I have to share with you that I found out why these cards were on sale. The envelopes are smudged! Since I will be delivering this card in person I found a way to still use the envelope: add more butterflies!
That's it for my project. Please be sure to stop back @ http://mycricutcraftroom.blogspot.com/ to see what the rest of the Design Team has to show you.
Also, if you are looking for some great Cricut products, be sure to check out Ericas Store for some great prices http://www.shop.ericascraftroom.com/. Hope you have a great week, Hugs~Mary


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Angelico spoke with Metro on a number of wrestling topics. Here are some of the highlights:
Being remembered for his dives on Lucha Underground:
"Lucha Underground is one of the best companies you can work for in terms of how they treat the staff and wrestlers. How they manage the TV tapings is second to none. Out of that show came those two dives and they have defined me because that's what everyone knows me for, that's what stands out in people's minds when they think of me. I'm completely happy about it because I did two of them, I won't do them again, so I'm glad people like and remember them."
Getting an offer from WWE before signing with Lucha Underground:
"I can't really talk about the details but there was contact made by WWE before we signed with Lucha Underground in 2014 to both me and Jack. We talked it over and decided at that time that Lucha Underground were going to take the risk with it because we really believed in the project.
We also had the mentality that if WWE were interested in us in 2014 and if every year we're still getting better as individuals and as a tag-team, why wouldn't they still want us a few years later a few years on. With a few years to play with we went with the Lucha Underground project which was fun and new. I can't speak for Jack, but we don't regret not going, I think he's happy with the decision he made as am I. Who's to say we won't turn up there one day, but with how wrestling is in this day and age it's great to be a free agent and travel the world."
Being a well-traveled wrestler:
"It's definitely made me the wrestler I am. It's always what I wanted to base myself on, when I became a fan of wrestling my idols were people like Eddie Guerrero, Rey Mysterio and Chris Jericho, the well-traveled wrestlers before they settled into WWE. You could always see the difference between a well rounded wrestler and one who was just dominant in one style. To be well rounded means you have to travel around the world learning all of the styles, whether it's European, Mexican, Japanese or American. If I'm bias towards one of the styles it'd be Lucha-libre Mexican style because that's what I like the most with the high-flying. The combination of working and living in different countries has given me a hybrid Lucha-libre style."
You can read the full interview by clicking here.
Source: Metro


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Spine Plus Clinic Harley Street
SpinePlus Clinic Harley Street can offer you world class expert care at our Central London Specialist treatment centre. We are based In one of the most famous roads in the world renowned for high quality expert health care, we can offer you a full range of Musculoskeletal Diagnostics, and treatment that includes Osteopathy , Medical Acupuncture Therapy along with Shock Wave Therapy.
We can help you with specialist care for Back Pain Treatment, Neck Pain Treatment, Sciatica Treatment, Shoulder Injuries, Sports Injuries, and Rehabilitation.
We are also one of the few specialist Central London based specialist centres for IDD Disc Therapy, this is a latest highly successful and trusted non-surgical treatments for chronic back and neck pain sufferers to regain a normal active life without surgery. So if you are suffering from the pain and discomfort of Back Pain, Neck Pain, Sciatica, Arm and Leg Pain and you are looking for a non invasive long term treatment option IDD Disc Therapy may be perfect for you..
Please remember you really don't have to suffer, call us today, get assessed by our specialists and get on the road to recovery with UK's Finest Treatment Team at SpinePlus.
Our Harley Street Clinic
Situated in Harley Street, quite possibly the Most Famous and prestigious Street in the World for Quality Healthcare. We look forward to welcoming you to our SpinePlus Clinic in Harley Street in W1 Central London. Our classically styled treatment centre in the perfect positioned and equipped to treat your particular issue or condition. This clinic offers our patients a welcoming environment in which to be treated by our highly trained, qualified, dedicated team of consummate professionals.
What We Do?
At SpinePlus Harley Street, we pride ourselves in providing expert back and spinal care and specialist treatments that include:
SpinePlus Osteopaths are highly trained in detecting, preventing & treating health problems by moving, stretching, manipulating and massaging a person's joints & muscles to help them to function better together. This can help with:
Shock Wave Therapy
SpinePlus Clinic In Harley Street is one of the few accredited central London based Shock Wave Therapy treatment Centres. Shock Wave can aid with the treatment of:
Call Us Today On For Expert Care
Who We Are?
SpinePlus Clinic Harley Street is headed up by SpinePlus Partner and Clinical Director Darren Chandler, & was established in 2006.
Darren's is a highly renowned qualified and skilled Osteopath, his wider knowledge of the spine, skeletal system and then their pain management has far exceeded the normal sphere of the osteopathic practitioner, preferring the title "Back Pain Specialist", which better describes his exceptional knowledge of the symptomatic causes including the effects of back pain.
Darrens Knowledge places him in a unique position, offering bespoke therapy for various musculoskeletal conditions whilst advising on Spinal Surgery, Injections and treatments based on an individual's pathology.
Darren Lectures on spinal pathology, runs courses on interpreting MRI scans of the spine in correlation with clinical findings. He is also a regular contributor with in the press, Men's Health Magazine and appears on TV in an advisory context.
Our SpinePlus Harley Street Team
Our Opening Hours
Monday – 9am – 8pm
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Call Us Today On 020 3369 8747
How To Find Us
We are located a in possibly the most famous medical street in the world, the famous Harley Street. Just a stone's throw away from Regent's Park tube station just off of Marylebone Road.. So we are perfectly located for anyone for anyone in Central London
Coming by Tube, we are within an easy 5 mins walk from The closest train station to our clinic is Regent's Park and just down the road is Great Portland Street station and also Baker Street.
Coming by Taxi, we are only 15 minutes from the city of London.
By Bus Disembark at Regents Park station, Harley Street station or Great Portland Street and locate Harley Street.
By Car, parking is usually easily available in the local streets with online payment meters. But we are within the congestion zone, so please refer to the Transport For London Website for details – CLICK HERE
Please see the map for full details.
Our Full Address Is – 144 Harley Street, Marylebone, London, W1G 7LD
Call Us Today On For Expert Care
Specialist Treatment Areas Include
To Find Out More About Spine Plus Clinic Harley Street – CLICK HERE.
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Posts Tagged 'protecting your site from hackers'
How Your SEO Consultant Can Protect Your Site From Hackers
When it comes to website design, there are many factors to take into account – such as the color scheme and user-friendliness. You want your website to be one that will be appealing to your clients and will deliver the information that potential new clients are seeking. Of all the factors that have to be considered when designing a website, security should be your top priority. This way, you are less likely to be targeted by hackers. Click through to learn more on what you can do to protect your site.Read More


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This sequel to the 2014 animated film The Nut Job follows the further adventures of a larcenous squirrel named Surly. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi
All The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature cast + crew photos
Movies.com, the ultimate source for everything movies, is your destination for new movie trailers, reviews, photos, times, tickets + more! Stay in the know with the latest movie news and cast interviews at Movies.com.
Copyright © 2019 FANDANGO MOVIES.


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With our extensive expertise and decades of experience, we provide our clients with value added consultation and advice to support their operational and strategic goals. We ensure that we fully understand our client's needs to deliver bespoke services that truly meet those needs.
Our expertise includes
- Residential mortgages
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- Strategy
- Structured Finance/Securitisation
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- Debt structuring


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Walmart Black Friday 2012: iPad Deal - $75 Gift Card to Fight Amazon Sales
Black Friday 2012 and Cyber Monday are approaching, and Walmart has revealed a number of new deals for customers to try and help fight off competition from online retailers such as Amazon.
With Black Friday being the busiest shopping day of the year, customers would be prudent to check out deals and plan ahead where and what to shop for in advance.
Many customers this year are wondering whether to avoid the chaos of going to stores to stay at home and order deals online. Walmart has recognized the online threat and acknowledged that many shoppers will be having that thought.
In order to fight off online competition it has now released an extensive list of deals that will be available in its stores are various times, guaranteeing they will be in stock for certain time periods. It is hoping that the top savings being featured will help it fight off competition from other prominent online stores such as Amazon.
Online shopping experts, Amazon has already posted up offers of daily deals in the countdown to Black Friday. It appears as though the entire week of shopping around Black Friday and Cyber Monday will be packed with deals at the online retailer.
However, Walmart is attempting to muscle in on the competition and has recently announced that it will be offering numerous low-priced electronics goods to get shoppers into their stores.
Walmart sent out an email ad recently detailing many of its deals, and describing that its Black Friday 2012 sales drive would begin as early as 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving night.
Traditionally major stores have opened up for Black Friday days on midnight after Thanksgiving and have attracted lines of shoppers fresh from their Thanksgiving dinners. However, Walmart is not allowing shoppers to digest their food this year and is starting its sales early.
At 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving night Walmart will start a two hour sales event in its stores. As soon as those sales end they will launch a separate two hour event starting at 10 p.m.
According to the store's ads the 10 p.m. event will feature low-priced Blu-Ray players from LG at just $38. In addition iPads will go for $399 but will include $75 gift cards with the purchase. In another special deal Walmart will be selling 32 inch LCD TVs for just $148.
All three of those items are "guaranteed" by Walmart to be in stock in its stores for at least the first hour that the sale starts. That no doubt will spark thousands of shoppers to fight it out to get their hands on those deals before the shelves are empty.
The Walmart flyer is extensive and is a massive 45 pages long. It includes goods from video games to toys, and other high end electrical equipment.


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Big adventure knocks on the doors of KidZania Manila, as moms, dads, siblings, and grandparents embrace the fun and learning with "Weekends are for Families."
Starting this September, Saturdays and Sundays hit a new level of excitement with everyone trying roles at select establishment in the play city. Side-by-side, family members can unleash their inner dreamers and enjoy the various activities scheduled for every week of the month.
Misters and misses have to decide which way they're going, with fun set out in all directions. They can assist grandpa and grandma in exploring the establishments in the play city. Visiting on September 24, they can enjoy a special preview of Repertory Philippines' Hansel & Gretel. The entire family can even enjoy a meet and greet with the stars of the play right after.
KidZania Manila give a special preview of Hansel and Gretel at the play city.
The music and laughter pick up from the one-of-a-kind run in the play city that took place during early weeks of September. These acts included a vibrant mix of performers from the G-Force, Halili-Cruz School of Ballet, UP Street Dance Club, 9 Works Theatrical actors George Schulze, Becca Coates, and Mitzie Lao, and great talents of The Voice Kids (Season 3).
Teacher Georcelle Dapat of G-Force teach KidZania kids how to dance.
Dancers from the Halili-Cruz School of Ballet stun with their sophisticated moves.
Mitzie Lao, George Schulze, and Becca Coates of 9 Works Theatrical showcase their singing prowess at the play city.
The Voice Kids get their KidZania Manila passports.
While the future artists at KidZania Manila busied themselves with their fellow creatives, the up-and-coming scientists tested their theories last September 11. Working with Mad Science Philippines, the curious misters and misses used the Main Square as an open laboratory to cook up their next experiment. This bunch will surely get the chills in the coming months when the play city unveils a new space for the sciences. Watch for more weekend fun activities for the whole family!
Kids discover the magic of dry ice with Mad Science.
The Approaching Train of Treats
KidZania Manila has packed even more exciting activities for families and friends for the last months of the year.
Fun will take another turn come October, as adults get to be kids again during Halloween with the first Big Kids' Night on October 21, 2016.
The excitement doesn't stop there! Starting October 16 until December 18, families will get to experience Super Sundays. KidZania Manila will have one shift on Sundays, from 9AM to 5PM–that's 8 hours of playtime!
KidZania Manila is truly the best place for families can have their fill of non-stop fun. They can choose to go during the morning shift (9 AM to 2PM) or the afternoon session (3 to 8PM) on Saturdays and Sundays. Don't forget that Sundays, from October 16 to December 18, will now be one shift (9AM to 5PM).
Bring the whole family and rediscover a world of learning at KidZania Manila. The play city is also open on weekdays, from 9AM to 4PM.
For tickets and more information, including planning your holiday schedule in advance, visit manila.kidzania.com.


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Animals: We've been in cities, so C.H.U.D.'S maybe?
Quotes: I'll be honest. I've pretty much had my headphones in. It's as close to alone time as I can get. That said, if you say Hotlanta unironically, we are not going to be friends. I think we'll both be fine with that. Not everyone has to be friends with everyone.
SIARPC: Steve Glutenberg*
I woke up early because it would be a crime to come all this way and not get a beignet and some hot chocolate. All great cultures throughout history have produced some version of fried dough and chocolate. Of course this being Saturday I stood in line for well over a half hour. It was like a mini epic journey - the doubt, the sacrifice, the boredom, the rage against all those who would stand in your way. But much like the moment when Liv Tyler shakes down her hair in slow motion, removes her elf ears, and smiles at you in a gentle knowing way before closing the curtains, or the long wait before someone finally made a T-2/Golem** mash-up of them melting in molten stuff, it was totally worth it. And then back in the van for a seven-hour ride to Atlanta. Driving over Lake Pontchartrain is one of my favorite things. The bridge goes on forever. We looked it up and the average depth is only 12-14 feet, which is useful information if you're planning on practicing your cliff diving or planning to dump a body. (you shouldn't – there are better places for both)
I wrote the whole time because I really want to wrap up the blog before I get home. As soon as I can I have to switch gears and get ready for the school year. I'm so far behind in my lesson planning it's been giving me nightmares almost nightly. Out of Louisiana, quickly across just the tip of Mississippi, up through Alabama, and into Georgia. Pretty much the whole band's nursing their stomachs. I swear I wouldn't be surprised if we actually had some small bug going through the van. I've felt good so rarely this tour I'm quite looking forward to the tour amnesia that will wipe away all the inconveniences both large and small. It'll be a miracle if we even break even on this leg of the tour. If we do it'll be almost exclusively credited to the Baltimore house show. It's a learning process, and everywhere we've gone there's been at least somebody excited to see us. It might not be sustainable but it is amazing to me that in some small way we've reached into the corners of this huge country. And even though everyone has given up earnings or time with loved ones, for me to know that I can say to myself that I have toured the U.S. in a rock band is very meaningful for me. There are not that many unbroken threads one can trace back to 10th grade but this is one. As with every time we've gone out my experience is that the vast majority of people we come in contact with are kind and accommodating. I think people like to help others out for the most part. John has the admirable ability to quickly circumvent the little social walls that people just naturally have up in public places. They tend to look startled at first but his goofy-ass smile almost always assures them they are in on the joke and not the butt of it. I mean sometimes they are but it is a good smile. The point is people are a hell of a lot funnier and open if you can somehow step out of the roles assigned by work or station. Especially if the fear of, I don't know, something bad happening I guess, is quickly allayed. It's one of the joys of talking to people after shows. You've shared something communal and for a minute that is enough.
I want to reiterate that the New Orleans show ended up lovely, but we have an ego. We like to play on stages with monitors and lights, and we like to have people show up. The club we were playing in Atlanta had a reputation as being a place where the cops were called regularly in the '90s, but it has different owners now and is more of an NPR looking venue with chairs and Brie on the menu. The baked Pimento rounds were actually better. It had a nice red stage that was about one person too small, but there was a good-sized crowd, the sound guy was awesome, and we got to finish the tour on a high note. The staff was great and they blasted Prince the whole time we were breaking down (non-specific on purpose). Prince should be played after, and possibly during, every show.
Chuck, Lisa and I were to be interviewed on camera by a guy named Vic who has a video blog. So chairs were set up onstage after we tore down, and a guy swung a boom mic back and forth. I love this kind of shit because it's like improv night. You get to think on your feet. Anyway we sat up there like lumps, Chuck looking glum because that's how they taught him to do it in the '90's, Lisa looking glum until she felt a little more comfortable and loosened up, and me lying like a rug.
We then went back to our hotel which should be it's own TV show. It was a madhouse. There were people making out in the business center, gender confusion, prostitute/not prostitute confusion on our part, vomit in the hallway and pubes in every corner of the bathroom. (not ours – bald eagles all 'round for this band)
And that was that. Eight hours back to Ohio. We can't wait to get away from each other but we don't hate each other either. I think we're playing better than ever and it is a joy. We'll see what happens next. Speculating doesn't mean shit so I'm not going to worry about it.
*Or the Glutenberg Free Bible
** They have haven't they?


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Just musing about careers, employability and skills development in higher education (and some other stuff)
Friday, 29 November 2013
A very fine evening at #THEawards 2013
Well we didn't win Outstanding Support for Students this year (congratulations to Essex who did) but we did have a very fine evening. The University of Leicester did win Research Project of the Year though, for the discovery of the remains of Richard III (so I've no hat to eat).
Sandy Toksvig was an excellent host and @timeshighered did a great job with the tweets :)
Posted by Stu at 10:19 No comments:
Thursday, 28 November 2013
#THEawards 2013 short list - Outstanding Support for Students
Tonight is the Times Higher Education Awards and the University of Leicester is short listed for 2:
- Outstanding Support for Students (that's for us in the Career Development Service)
- Research Project of the Year (for the fantastic and extremely collaborative discovery of the remains of Richard III)
I don't know how we'll do in the former (we're up against Derby, Essex, Plymouth, Stirling and Sunderland) but I'm pleased to get short listed. I'll have some hat eating to do if we don't win the latter though.
It should be a good night (apart from the minibus ride home in the early hours of Friday morning).
Posted by Stu at 09:00 No comments:
Monday, 18 November 2013
The First 90 Days
The First 90 Days by Michael Watkins. So that's firmly on my reading list. Any other recommendations?
Posted by Stu at 13:34 No comments:
Labels: book, bristol, first90days, move
Thursday, 7 November 2013
LinkedIn Alumni search
Posted by Stu at 09:57 No comments:
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For my previous layout, I used styrene sheets for the 'sidewalks/city blocks' (see here), which was adequate. However, styrene sheets are somewhat expensive for this role and are a little difficult to cut. This time I am using card stock. I paint it with a 'Dark Aircraft Grey', and then using a pencil add gridlines and then some weathering powder to 'dirty it up' and then finish up with a matte coat of spray paint:
I say all that to point out that my next blog post with any visible updates may take a while! So in the meantime, thanks for reading and check back soon!
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Learning Goals
Funded by the Department of Education and produced by Sesame Workshop in 2009 to engage 5 – 9 year olds, The Electric Company offers an opportunity for you to extend your child's learning at home by focusing on important areas of their literacy development. These areas include the ability to figure out letter sounds, how those sounds blend into making words, mapping those words in print, expanding vocabulary, and understanding what your child is reading. The Electric Company also brings your child a love of reading.
The wildly popular adventure game, The Adventures of The Electric Company on Prankster Planet, targets math concepts like probability, coin value, measurement and graphing. Each two-minute animation ends in a cliffhanger that invites your child to go online and use their math skills to help their heroes save the day.


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"I Am Your Little Ram": An Interview with Mark Wunderlich
Interview conducted by Caitlin Cowan
Poet Mark Wunderlich's third book, The Earth Avails, has won the 2015 University of North Texas' Rilke Prize, an award designed to recognize exceptional artistry and vision in the work of a midcareer poet. Also the author of The Anchorage (1999) and Voluntary Servitude (2004), Mark Wunderlich currently teaches at Bennington College in Vermont. He lives in the Hudson River Valley.
I had the pleasure of spending some time with Mark during his stay in Denton, Texas, where he read from his latest collection, ate migas for the first time, and may or may not have purchased a bit of Western-wear at Weldon's Saddle Shop. We later corresponded for this interview.
CC: The Earth Avails is your first book in ten years. You noted at your Q&A at the UNT Gallery on the Square that you're "not terribly prolific," sometimes drafting just five poems a year. I myself tend not to write every day and draft fewer poems per year than many of my friends and colleagues, and admissions such as yours often fill me with hope and camaraderie (like the time I heard Mary Gaitskill say that she once went eight months without writing when she spoke at The New School some years back). How do you know when it's time to write? What kinds of events, feelings, desires, observations, etc. finally drive you to sit down and put pen to paper (or fingers to keys)?
MW: First, I'm very happy to be answering these questions—thanks for this opportunity. Your question, which is about the ways in which a poet finds himself or herself sitting down at the desk and getting to work is, of course, at the center of what it is to be a poet. Is being a poet an identity? A speech act? An action? I don't really know, but I do know that I don't write many poems. I write every day—emails, memos, reports, comments on student work—but for me the occasions for making poems need to be created. I have described the state of mind necessary for writing poems as being a combination of boredom and anxiety—sorry Wordsworth! As a person who is typically preoccupied and over-employed, I need to plan times when I can work on poems. I now write mostly during summers and during winter breaks, when I can clear the decks and sit at my desk for extended periods of time. I have also found time away from home to be productive. Days of reading, returning to my desk, making a meal, reading more, going back to my desk—that will get me to write a poem. I don't worry about it much. I'm not going to be one of those poets who publish twenty books. I just want the books I'm lucky enough to publish to be distinctive and rigorously made.
CC: Sorry Wordsworth, indeed! I agree that modern life affords us much less time to recollect at all, let alone recollect in tranquility. Speaking of books that are "rigorously made," The Earth Avails has a remarkable cohesion. Do you tend to conceive of books early on and write toward them, or do you tend to write poems and then try to discover what ideas you seem to be interested in later? Is it a combination of both?
MW: I think it is a mistake—at least for me—to predetermine the arc of a book before I knew what I had in front of me. To paraphrase the poet CAConrad, we are not poetry factories! It's not our job to turn out a product, but to make complex, individual works of art. That's what I think poems are—much like a painting, or a dance, or an installation, or a scene from a film, etc. I am interested in writing poems, not poetry, and though I understand that there is resonance among a group of similarly composed poems, for this book I did want each piece to stand independently. In order to do that, I needed to not worry so much about how things fit together, but to write the poems, one by one, as they came. After I had a group of them, I began to see how they might belong together and cohere, but I it wasn't until I had thirty poems or more that I began to think of how I would compose the collection. I think it is important to remain open to possibilities, accidents, new ways of seeing and thinking about poems. When one is working on a project with an idea at its center, the work can become a bit rigid, the decisions already partly made. I write poems to find out what I don't know; they are vehicles of discovery. I need room in the process of composition to move freely and to press toward unknowing, to unmake something (the ego, the will, the conceptual intellect) while I make room for association, for emotion, for music to rise up and be rendered into language. Making a book is about having perspective. One needs to stand back and see what one really has—and then begin to put the book together in a way that creates a wholly composed piece of literature that is made of multiple parts. It is a much different way of thinking and reading and seeing than what is required when writing a poem. I'm tempted to say there is more artistry involved, somehow.
CC: I've been thinking a great deal about the word "avail" in this collection. In a very rough sense, the intransitive verb "avail" means "to serve"; the transitive verb "avail" means "to gain." These definitions seem to be at odds with one another. Was that of interest to you as you considered the translation of the Anglo-Saxon Bee Charm that forms the book's epigraph (which in turn gives you the collection's title)? Which sense of the verb do you feel fits the content of the poems contained in this collection? Both?
MW: The word is strange, and of course in this case, it is a translation from an archaic language. In the original text, the verb phrase is complex. I have seen the phrase translated as "prevails over," or "conquers," but the translation I was most drawn to used the much more ambiguous "avails." As a title, it leaves the reader hanging—avails itself of what, exactly? I had trouble wrapping my mind around the phrase, and yet I kept being drawn back to it. For me, the title of the book indicates that the earth is indifferent to us, to our actions, our desires. In the history of the planet, we are neither interesting nor important. Our actions have wreaked havoc on the climate, and we are in the middle of one of the most massive extinctions of species, ever. Our use of fossil fuels is resulting in everything from the melting of glaciers in Greenland and in the Alps and at the Polar regions, to massive storms, the re-routing of the Gulf Stream, the death of coral reefs, the warming of the oceans, the California drought—the grim list goes on. Our own cupidity is the culprit, and the damage is massive. These problems are so large that they thwart our human imagination. The earth itself doesn't care, it seems; the earth just changes in response to the movement of carbon. We are the ones who need to care. The earth avails, of whatever is set before it.
CC: It's clear that science is important to you, as it perhaps ought to be for all denizens of the planet, especially in an age where it seems like science is regrettably once again "just a theory" when it comes to vaccination, global warming, and evolution, that last of which you mentioned was "more spiritually compelling [to you] than Genesis." In the book, you write that you glimpse the divine in a coworker's severed thumb: "at the pearly bone flush with crimson, / beautiful and fragile and lit with the pain / of our kind." You later write of the thumb's reattachment, which comes about through the surgeon's "arrogant work." Can you speak more about this moment? What role do you assume when confronting science and medicine in your work, particularly in a book that meditates on and enacts prayer so often?
MW: I have done many forms of work in my life as I am someone who has needed to support himself, and the poem you cite is one in which I remember and speak to experiences I have had while working. I have had good jobs, and I have worked for people whom I loved and found inspiring. I have also worked for people who were cruel and who tried to maintain their authority by bullying and humiliating their employees. When I was in high school and trying to save money for college, I got a job at a garment factory in Winona, Minnesota. The place was called Teammates, and we manufactured cheerleading uniforms. The factory was small, though the entire garment was made on site. The fabric was knit there on big knitting machines, the patterns were laid out and cut, pieces sewn and pressed, and the finished uniform (mostly sweaters) were then shipped out. The job paid minimum wage, which at the time was $3.50. I was hired as a cutter, which meant I picked up the orders, pulled the fabric, laid out the patterns, and cut out the pieces. The pieces were stacked in bins with the orders clipped to them and they were sent down in a dumb waiter to the sewing room downstairs. I worked in the big upstairs room—usually with one other cutter, though often alone, with a view of the knitting machines clattering away, and the men who tended them walking back and forth with their ear-protectors around their necks (not on their ears) so they could hear the machines "spool down" and catch them before they ran out of yarn. The factory was hot and loud, and at the end of my shift (and overtime), I was sweaty and covered with acrylic fuzz in team colors.
I didn't mind the work, which involved numerous skills, and I have always been good with my hands. At some point, a new cutter was hired and I was asked to train her. The young woman's name was Misti, and she was very quiet, painfully shy and nervous about the work. I tried to draw her out, but she remained unknown to me and removed in her own privacy. It was soon evident she was terrible at the job. She was incredibly slow. Her hands were clumsy. She made mistakes—shearing off corners and making ragged lines. Her pieces were sent back with unhappy notes from the sewing room. One day I was sent to help ship out orders, and when I had finished I returned to the cutting tables to see how Misti was doing, and she was crying—quietly—and holding her left hand which she had wrapped in a big wodge of acrylic sweater fabric. The fabric was soaked with blood. I got her to sit down and got the first aid kit, and unwrapped the fabric. She had hit her thumb with the cutter. The cutters we used looked like an electric pizza cutter—there was a round spinning blade on a handle, and though they had a safety guard, if you put your hand in the way, you could easily cut yourself. Her thumb was about half off below the first joint, and I remember seeing the bone, which was also cut into. I quickly wrapped it up tight, had her squeeze it with her other hand, and ran to the office to tell them there had been an accident and they needed to get Misti to the hospital. The thumb was put back together and she was sewn up, and in a couple weeks she was back at work, only now she was at a pressing table. It turns out she was left-handed, and the cutters were made to fit the right hand. She had tried to cut with her right hand which explains her awkwardness, but had been afraid to tell anyone because she really needed the job. (We actually had a left-handed cutter—which she could have used). I wrote the poem because I was thinking of some of the shitty things that have happened to me at various jobs I've had. Part of the poem is—in the rather toothless ways poems can—exacting a kind of revenge.
As for science or medicine, they are present in small ways in the book, but not thematically as far as I can see. I love the devotion with which scientists look at and study the world, but my own forays into the world of science have been wholly practical—animal husbandry, botany, some plant breeding, beekeeping, forestry, etc.
CC: I think the beauty of the practicality of these "scientific" pursuits also registers in your language. Though I don't write formal poetry very often, I'm nonetheless quite invested in the sonic quality of language in my own work, so one thing that strikes me about your poetry is the richness of your diction and the beautiful aural quality that your poems have. I'm thinking of delicious lines like these, from "Lent":
…Cold tamps sap
back down the taproot.
The titmouse pips a seed hull.
The cherry swells a node
of red and the hive stokes
the chip of sun that is their queen.
You've spent time studying German and other languages, and I'd be interested to know if you feel that having studied other languages has heightened your enjoyment of English vocabulary or invigorated your interest in the rhythm and melody of poetry.
MW: I was educated at Columbia University in the early 1990's when there were a number of poets teaching there who emphasized formal prosody in their own work and encouraged it in the work of their students. I studied with J. D. McClatchy, Molly Peacock, Alfred Corn, William Matthews—all of whom were or are skilled formalists. The study of prosody was required by the program, and I loved it. But poetry is really a version of music, and any time you begin to shape a line you are beginning some kind of proposition about sound and musicality. The shape of a line is the shape of a series of sounds. In a similar vein, when you write a line of poetry you are invoking the history of English prosody—entering into a conversation with all the poems that have been written before you. You can either understand the tradition of the art and engage with it meaningfully, or you can ignore it and have the tradition echo through your work while remaining naïve to the effects. The former is the richer path.
As for the study of other languages, I have studied a number of them at different times—German, Dutch, Swedish, Spanish, French, Italian, Czech, Anglo-Saxon. The only language other than English I speak with fluency is German, though I can read Dutch (I actually had a conversation with a Dutch toddler on the plane back from Dallas, which was right about my level of proficiency). By studying other languages, I learned more about English—its roots and cognates, what it has borrowed from other languages. There is no better education for an American poet than to study another language, even if reaching proficiency is not probable. Just having to think about syntax will make your poems better.
CC: In "Driftless Elegy," you write, "who wants to be bound to anything / that won't love you back?" While in this moment the line makes reference to agriculture and an old way of life, what does this line have to do, perhaps, with one's relationship to a silent, divine being? Do you think this feeling might be part of the reason why some people move away from religion in the end?
MW: Until you asked me this question, I had no understanding about the resonance and multiple meanings that line might contain. I hope that doesn't sound like a faux-naïve stance on my part; I really wrote it while thinking about cows! This just goes to reinforce the truth that the writer is probably not the best authority on his or her own work. I just wrote it; as the reader, you're the one to decide what it means, or how it resonates. As for the second part of your question, I think there are plenty of reasons to move away from organized religion, not the least of which is being in communion with a group of people you ultimately don't choose. I have my own notions about why people either do or don't move away from religion, but I'm only equipped to speak about my own experience. The church I was part of for the first part of my life—while full of people who were generous and kind to me—also seemed to have no place for my evolving adult self. To say St. John's United Church of Christ was hetero-normative would be an understatement. This was not a church in which anyone preached against the sins of homosexuality (or the sins of the flesh in general) it also did nothing to include people who might not fit into the most rigid modes of familial relation.
CC:The Earth Avails contains prayers and heaven-letters, but perhaps most importantly, it also holds poems which consider the sovereign sanctity of flora and fauna and poems that also offer tender glimpses of an ostensibly male speaker's love for other men. In short, what inspired you—a gay, "nonbelieving" poet—to write a collection that uses prayer and supplication as catalysts?
MW: Despite the answer I've just given above, there is no ostensible reason my identity as a queer would exclude me from writing toward (or away from, or askance of) an imagined God, no matter what my own beliefs might be. That notion—that the sexual deviants will be excluded from the Kingdom of Heaven—represents the most decadent and least compassionate brand of Christianity one can imagine. I have always thought that if you're worried about your neighbor mowing his lawn on a Sunday (or by extension, where he is putting his dick), you've missed the entire point of the New Testament. I may not be a believer in a God as He is described in traditional Christian theology, but I do believe in the world of the spirit and the overwhelming beauty and complexity of our natural world. As someone who was raised in the Christian tradition, the language of the bible, the stories it contains, the lessons it aims to teach and to some extent, the values it seeks to instill in its adherents, has formed a central part of my world view. I don't feel that I need to throw that all out just because I am no longer a practicing Christian. I still read the bible, and many of the poets who have taken a devotional stance in their work rank among the elite in my personal pantheon of writers. When I began writing poems that were in direct imitation of prayers, it felt very natural to me, though I will confess I found them slightly embarrassing. There was something simultaneously performed and genuine about adopting and adapting the rhetorical stance of supplication and petition and it took me a while to just relax and engage in the process of making the poems.
CC: Nevertheless, some reviews have (foolishly, I think) referred to this book as a volume of "Christian poetry." How do you feel about such a designation?
MW: If that's how someone sees it—it is a book that contains prayers addressed to a version of a Christian God after all—I can't really argue with the designation. I do recoil from the label, but being labeled one thing or another is a way of imposing limitations, and poetry has always been an arena in which I have tried to achieve a brand of artistic and intellectual freedom. In poems we can imagine ourselves to be anything we can render into language, while simultaneously being freed from the physical constraints of being in a body. Poems are like artificial bodies we make—ideal selves—which we send as metaphysical representatives into the world. I can speak to you, yet I don't need to be in the room with you. That always feels like a sort of miracle to me—a magic trick I never tire of.
CC: Conceiving of poems as a metaphysical representatives of our ideal selves strikes me as a glorious, and generous, paradigm. I'm thinking now of Robert Lowell's oft-quoted (and often misunderstood) query in "Epilogue," wherein the speaker wonders, "Why not say what happened?" This dare, as it were, is one I meditate on quite frequently. At your Q & A in Denton, you said that "poems are always about the poet." Can you say any more about the role that lived experience plays in your work?
MW: Our poems are us—they originate in our bodies, our hands write or type them with tools we have, they are possessed by us. Like any object originating in one's mind and made by one's hands, they are an extension of our own subjectivity. I'm glad you ask this question, because there are several parts my notion of the poem being "about the poet." I would say too that the "poet" is different from the person who writes the poems, and while the poem is about the poet, we also have to acknowledge that poems are not us, but objects made of language which we know to be fallible, and which cannot fully represent any experience. One of the pleasures of reading a book of poems is that we get to construct an image of the poet speaking through their poems. That character differs from the person who goes to the grocery store to buy Dr. Pepper, has a poor sense of direction, likes Law & Order: SVU marathons, etc. (or not, actually!), but the character of the poet constructed by the reader is a character—it's not the person. Dickinson nails it when she says, "When I state myself as representative of the verse, I do not mean me, but a supposed person." So, our poems are us, and they are not us at all.
As for autobiographical material as a subject for poems, as a reader, I am most interested in poems that have an urgency of intent. I want to sense that the poem I am reading mattered to the writer—that there was some uprising of feeling that rendered itself into language, and that this process was a process of discovery for the person who wrote it. Our lived experiences can make compelling occasions for poems, but they can also be pretty deadly. There are poems that address the lived life that I just love because they take the writer's lived experience and make it into art in ways that enrich our understanding of lived experience, and there are others that don't make much of the material at hand. I'm unwilling to make much more of a declaration that that!
CC: To return to the bestiary that populates the collection, I wonder if you might speak about something wonderful you said on your tour here in Denton: namely, that theses poems try to get at what animals are or mean rather than merely what animals are or mean to human beings. I glimpse that sincerity even in the moments of closest human/animal identification, such as in closing lines of the poem "Prayer for a Journey by Sea":
I am your little ram,
burying his muzzle in thick grass of your pasture,
folded by you at night, herded by day,
a dedicated dog nipping at my hocks.
The day will come for you to draw
the bright sickle of the moon
across my wooly throat.
Do it with love, without regret.
How did you get "inside" the ram in this poem, for example? Or to go a step further, how does one write responsibly about animals, about the earth?
MW: I have always been interested in and loved animals. I grew up with them, and have lived with animals for many years, and am often dismayed by the ways in which I see animals described or portrayed. Most of us in the West have very little direct experience with animals that are not companions—dogs and cats, mostly. Dogs and cats are great, but we have evolved together for thousands of years and those relationships are unique in the story of human evolution. There are thousands of other kinds of domesticated animals, and the ways in which we interact with those creatures is very different, but no less significant. When we describe animals, we have no choice but to see them through human eyes. It is common for us to project our own ways of seeing and experiencing our lives onto other creatures, when we have absolutely no idea what it's like to be a goat, or a snake, or a chicken. How do they actually see things? How do things taste in their mouths? Do they get anxious? Do they experience love? Who knows? Projecting our own sentimental notions of their consciousness and feelings onto these other beings disturbs me. Somehow, our projections rob them of their inherent "animal-ness"—the integrity of their states of being—and this brand of thinking can lead the well-meaning to make terrible decisions about their welfare and treatment. I can think of countless examples of this, but one that comes to mind is of a morbidly obese hog I once saw at a "farm animal sanctuary" which could barely move on its stressed, deformed legs. Its keepers believed that they were doing a kindness by prolonging this animal's life, offering it Reiki to heal what I imagine were stress fractures and arthritis—but really they were prolonging its suffering in the most soft-headed and sentimental way. I think it is important to try to see animals for what they are, not what we imagine them to be, and while we have an obligation to work for their welfare, we shouldn't kid ourselves into believing we understand what they desire or feel, except in the most basic terms. I have known vegans who have tried to rid their lives of all animal products, but in order to do that, one has to imagine one's own body as being impenetrable, discrete, when in fact, we are permeable. Animal life, plant life, fungal life, bacteria—it is living in and around us. What we contain isn't just about what we eat or put on our bodies. Animal bodies are in the soil and air and plants. They are in plastics and cosmetics and medical equipment. It's not just your leather shoes that were once part of a living being that had a face, could experience pain or pleasure, but a good deal of what we see and touch. Everything that is eaten was once alive. We eat the world, and in turn, the world eats us.
The poem you quote was my attempt to mine the Christian metaphor of the Good Shepherd, which has always moved me. The relationship between sheep and shepherd is symbiotic and benefits both species. In the end, the shepherd will take his sheep to slaughter, but this too is intimate and somehow, generous; something is dying so that something else may live.
CC: Animal sanctuary keepers offering Reiki to a pig… that has to be a poem. Have you written about that moment? Do you conceive of poetry like yours, or poetry in general, as an antidote to this kind of soft-headedness?
MW: That poor hog receiving Reiki is not an occasion for a poem because I already know what I think of it and how I feel about it. A poem that is written to prove a point is already a poem headed toward failure. If a poem were to begin with that animal, the poet's work would be to derail the predetermined trajectory of thinking, and that too is a predetermination. Poems enact an interplay of freedom and restraint—both are necessary.I want my poems to interrogate feeling by use of rigorous thinking, to contain feeling while rooting out sentimentality.
CC: Thank you so much for talking with me, Mark. It's been an immense pleasure. And congratulations again on your well-deserved Rilke Prize.
MW: Thank you. It's been a pleasure.


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The brushes look dirty in this next picture but they're actually clean. The fibres just tend to stain. They still work great though!
As you can see, the F82 is slightly smaller than the F80 in diameter and the length of the fibres is also slightly shorter. They're both synthetic brushes made with what Sigma calls 'Synthetic Sigmax HD filament'. I don't know what that is but I can't believe how soft the fibres on this brush are. They're even softer than alot of my natural haired brushes and they don't eat up product the way natural hairs can. The F82 is an extremely dense brush and I mean super dense! I already thought that the F80 was a dense brush but this one is more tightly packed and chubbier than the F80 as you can tell by the next two pictures.
The density of this brush means it's perfect for cream foundation. I've started wearing the Dermablend Cover Creme foundation and this brush blends it out so nicely that it looks really natural and not at all cakey. I could still use my Sigma F80 to blend out the cream foundation but I've found that it doesn't blend as well or as quickly as the F82 so I've pretty much only been using the F82 for the last few months.
I tried to show the difference in the application of both brushes but it's hard to capture but hopefully you can see the difference. In the picture below I applied all three swatches heavily with my finger and for the last two swatches I used each brush and swiped the foundation twice using minimal pressure. The swatch blended with the F82 is already very blended and that's just with two little swipes so imagine what you can do with the rest of your face!
|From Bitten by the Beauty Bug
I know that it probably sounds like I'm advocating the Sigma F82 brush over the F80 brush but I really love both brushes. If I had to recommend one brush to start with it would definitely be the F80 because I think it's more versatile. It can work well with creams with a little more time and it is amazing with liquid foundations. The F82 is awesome if you exclusively use heavy coverage liquid foundations like the MAC Studio Fix Fluid or if you use cream foundations. I don't really like it for lighter coverage liquid foundations though because its density means that it sheers the product out too much.
Both these brushes also perform really well with concealer when you apply it using a patting motion on to your skin. I prefer the F80 for my liquid concealers such as my MAC select cover up but the F82 works much better with cream concealers such as the MAC Studio Finish Concealer. Sigma also recommend these brushes for powder application and maybe they work well if you use powder foundation but for setting makeup with powder these aren't very good. I prefer to use a natural haired fluffy brush like the MAC 138 brush to get a light application of powder.
Either way I don't think you can go wrong regardless of which brush you purchase and if you're a big makeup person then definitely go for both! They're $16 each which is a great price or you can buy a set with these two brushes and the angled synthetic kabuki for $42.They're a bit of a pain to clean and dry because of how dense they are and they always stay kind of stained. They usually take me about a day to dry properly which is why it's handy having both because you can use one while the other one's drying.
This isn't meant to be a 'Sigma are so great' post because I've actually found a lot of their other brushes to be sub-par at best but this synthetic range is phenomenal and definitely worth the money. Trust me, you won't be disappointed!


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enjoys providing counselling for adults, youth, and couples,
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B.A, BSW, finishing Masters degree), certification for Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, A member of the College of Social workers and Social Service Workers and the Ontario Association of Social Workers, Sabrina specializes in most issues, including depression, anxiety, panic, and postpartum depression and anxiety. She also has experience with those who have experienced trauma, or any other stressor. Provides counselling for individuals in our Burlington office.
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M. Div, M.T.S. Concentration in Counselling and CCEF trained. Provides counselling in our Lambeth and Burlington offices, as well as providing services in our satellite office in Fergus. . He is presently working toward certification with the Association of Biblical Counsellors. Brian provides counselling individual and couple counselling to adults and teens; Brian counsels in the areas of marriage, depression, anxiety, anger, grief/loss, stress, pornography, and some experience assisting people who experience the trials of OCD and Schizophrenia.
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Monday, October 29, 2007
IRS update
Casdorph Family Performances
Check out my family's website for more info: www.cheesevillagefamily.com.
Sick of Sickness
Fortunately, little Alex -- who is on round two of this cold -- has a well-baby visit today and can be seen by the doctor, since I think he still has an ear infection, and his breathing has gotten wheezy again. Arg. The poor kid is 2 months behind on his shots, because every time I try to take him in, he is sick.
Hopefully this time we can all get better and stop the germ cycle. I'll cross my fingers.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Updated Alex Pictures
Monday, October 22, 2007
For my grammatically correct friends
If you actually understand the appropriate use of quotation marks, or if you enjoy the "air quotes" episode of Friends, check out this blog dedicated to misused quotation marks. It made me "smile."
Sunny Should Mean Warm
The weather should not be so deceptive. If it is sunny, it should be warm.
Friday, October 19, 2007
Check out this product review site
Well, after their regular teacher arrived, a bundle of letters appeared in my box. These letters said things like:
Since I received these notes, the aliens have returned to their spaceship, and I was graced with the presence of respectful 4th graders today. Yeah!
Monday was a very bad day. ** We didn't pay attention to you when you tried to keep on teaching us our dance. ** We should've been more respectful to you. ** We promise to listen because we want to do the best program and know our songs. ** I promise that I won't do that again and I will change my attitude. ** I will pay attention in class and will also be rational when we do new steps to our music. ** Some other things I could do is stop talking in class. ** I'll listen, pay attention, and sing my heart out for the rest of the year. ** I am very sorry for wasting your time to teach us and sorry for speaking when you were teaching us. ** I now understand the problem, and it will never happen again. ** If we don't pay attention, we really won't have a program. ** I will respect you and my classmates. ** I will never ever do this again.
The Political Compass
I have long been frustrated by not "belonging" to a party. I mean, it seems like pretty much everyone knows where they stand, except me. The problem, though, isn't really that I don't know where I stand. It is simply that there are very few individuals standing in my same location.
Well, today I made a little progress toward understanding why. There is this cool website (http://www.politicalcompass.org/) that has you answer a bunch of questions, and it pus you in a quadrant based on your answers. You can favor the economic left or right, and you can favor the social libertarian or authoritarian perspectives. It turns out that most of the strong political leaders for the upcoming Presidential elections fall into the "Right/Authoritarian" quadrant, while I reside in "Left/Libertarian."
I guess that at least helps explain why I never truly agree with any politician or party. Apparently my views are just too... weird. I dunno. Fortunately, with all that Kirk and I disagree on (and trust me, that's a lot) we're pretty similar in the political quadrant. I guess that's why we get along so well.
The first graph is mine, the second is Kirk's.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Referendum Number 1
I attended private school from preschool through 8th grade, I currently teach at a private school, and I plan for my kids to attend private school for as long as it is financially possible. I feel the public school system is lacking in certain areas, and I agree that it is not the ideal for solution for all kids. I think the ideal situation is one in which parents can choose the educational enviroment that is best for each of their students. It sure sounds like I support Ref. #1, right?
But I don't.
Referendum #1 is set up to provide scholarships even to families who make an excess of $100,000 annually. I do not understand why tax money should be used to fund the education of students from families who are clearly not managing their money in the most effective way. At that income level, the parents could afford private school if they chose to make that a priority. As my handy pamphlet states, "If we have extra taxpayer money, it would be better spent reducing class sizes and improving Utah's public schools." If not spent for that, I'd love to see the tax dollars used on other worthy projects like "health care, public safety, and roads."
Referendum #1 does not set high enough standards for the qualifying private schools. I am concerned that individuals will start private schools with the intent of luring voucher-carrying students with an interest only in acquiring their money. Private schools should be founded on principles of education and on the ideals of improved methods. Obviously, private schools make money in the process; however, Ref #1 could "encourage emergence of new subsidized private schools without adequate assurance of quality or accountability."
Referendum #1 takes accountability away from an already floundering public school system. Although Ref #1 still puts money into the public schools for students who are transferring to private schools, the real issues of public schooling are ignored. If class size is an issue, use the scholarship money to hire more teachers. Build more diverse charter schools. Attract and retain quality teachers with higher salaries.
Not all private schools plan to accept vouchers. Parents in support of vouchers may have a specific school in mind and may be disappointed to find out that many of the quality private schools have no intention of accepting vouchers, because this makes them subject to certain state regulations and could potentially decrease the private school's quality.
Now, none of this is to say I disagree with a voucher system. I simply disagree with THIS voucher system. Part of me feels terrible for planning to vote against Referendum #1, because I know it could benefit many families whose children are currently floundering in the public school system. However, I am unwilling to vote for a sort of okay solution. I feel there are too many problems with this referendum, and that if it is passed in its current state, these problems may never be addressed. Lets petition our government to come up with a better voucher system that will address the real issues by providing funds only to those families who really need them. Then lets put the rest of the public funds where they belong -- into the public school system.
Should parents have a choice? Yes. But should taxpayers have to fund every option? No. Let's use the money to improve our schools and increase charter schools. Maybe then there wouldn't be a need for private schools.
Monday, October 15, 2007
Never take 5 kids and 5 vehicles to the park
And then your 2 year old might just say, "Can you hold me, Mommy?"
And when you patiently tell him, "Mommy's hands are a little busy right now, can't you see?" he might use his advanced reasoning skills to ask, "Well, can you give me a piggy ride, pweeeeease?"
Next time, I'll either take more adults or less bikes! Or I could always leave a kid or two at the park.
A Month of Halloween
As I said, the night was also a talent show. I got a group of women together and we did "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy." We had a lot of fun. I think it was a first to have a doctor, Olive Oil, and Velma all singing together.
We still have a couple Halloween parties to attend, so we'll get to reprise our roles as the M&M family.
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Digital Scrapbooking
Andrea's take on blogging and Blogger.com
As for Blogger as a site, I'm pretty sure I'm about to be pretty excited, because the photo program I use (Picassa -- FYI, its free and I can't live without it) links directly with it. I haven't played with that function yet, but I bet within minutes there will be some pictures up here. It seems easy enough to use, and it looks nice, so I'm happy. Good choice, Kirk.
My thoughts on marriage and family.
Time to get up to speed.
So I guess some stuff has happened to me worth blogging about. My mind is all over the place so bear with me. I finished the MBA portion of my degree in September and yesterday, October 8th, I started the first of five classes to get my emphasis in accounting. I felt so good to be actually taking a class I cared about. I can't believe I have actually made it this far in my schooling. Truth be told if it wasn't for Andrea I probably would have never finished my BS. The class I am in is auditing which I seem to really enjoy. I am currently in the hiring process for an IRS agent position, it would be a January hire, and if things don't work out with that I think I will pursue an auditor position with my work or another company. Let me tell you this IRS process is ridiculous. To make a long story short, and I mean short, I applied back in September of 2006. I'm currently waiting to see when I will interview for the January positions that are open. The only bad thing is that if I do get the job there is a very good chance the job will be in Las Vegas. It would suck to leave family but it would be a fun adventure. The only problem is I don't think they would offer enough pay for me to move so I don't think I would take even if they did offer it. Heck I don't even know if the pay would be enough to take an in state job. That sums it up for the Kirk update.
Andrea is busy as can be. She is working as the music specialist at Challenger, piano teacher, and book keeper for her dad's business. That is pretty much all I can put for her so I will it up to her to come in and blog about stuff she wants in here.
Adam is now 2 and 3/4 and getting so big. He has started going to preschool at Challenger on Tuesday and Thursday. He is on a waiting list for the Monday, Wednesday, and Friday preschool. He seems to really enjoy school. He will randomly tell people "I go to school on Tuesday." His vocabulary is pretty big and makes his mommy and daddy proud. Andrea and I are trying to sell our Saturn Vue and just have one vehicle, plus the lease is up in May. So Andrea takes me to work and Adam will not let her go through the gate until the gate has opened up completely. Which is fine but that gate move so slowly (side note, there is a sign on the gate that says moving gate may cause serious injury or death. I just can't help but think of the scene in Austin Powers and the steam roller when I see the gate moving and the sign). The other big event in Adam's life is he has mastered the art of potty training. Now that he has conquered that I can't wait until the other one is out of diapers. I forgot how nice it is not having to change someone else's bum.
What can you say about little Alex. He is 7 months now and getting bigger. He is trying to crawl, he does what I like to call a caterpillar crawl. He will get up on all fours and then put his arms out so he is laying down, then up on all fours again. He gets around pretty quick. He is quite determined too, when he sets his mind to something he will keep going back to it even if you move him across the room. We had to take him in to the doctors recently because we noticed his breathing was labored and he was wheezing. It turns out he has a virus that entered into his lungs and we need to give him a breathing treatment every 4 to 6 hours. Which sucks cause most of the time he fights you and cries when try to give him the treatment. Other than that he is just being a happy baby boy.


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Even though there are many different sex addiction behavior types, all sex addicts share similarities. Typically, sex addicts are disconnected to their feelings, confuse or substitute sexual acting out with emotional intimacy and have poorly developed personal relationships. Typically men in our society are not connected to a social group in which they can explore their feelings. The problem is compounded for male sex addicts. Therefore, group therapy for male sex addicts is the most sensible and effective treatment approach.
Typically, recovery from sex addiction begins with a thorough assessment. From the assessment, treatment options are recommended. The most restrictive treatment approach is residential treatment. Less restrictive approaches include intensive outpatient treatment. For sex addicts who are not in need of intensive and structured treatment, individual, family, relationship and/or group therapy are often recommended.
Group therapy is known as an effective treatment modality for sex addiction. Also, group therapy may be provided in conjunction with other therapies. For many sex addicts, group therapy can serve as the primary outpatient therapy modality. Group therapy is not the same as a 12-Step group.
The 12-Step group, although an important and at times vital component of sexual addiction recovery, approaches sex addiction differently than individual and group therapy. For more information about 12-Step groups click this link: http://www.help4sexualaddiction.com/12-step-groups.html
Research has shown that group therapy for sex addicts (and other type of addictions) is among the most powerful and effective therapy / counseling approach for this debilitating addiction.
CCC is offering group therapy for men who are struggling with Sexual Addiction or Sexual Compulsivity. This includes cybersex/internet porn addiction and romance addiction. Ross Rosenberg, M.Ed., LCPC, CADC, and other CCC qualified staff will be facilitating this important treatment option for male sex addicts. This therapy provides a safe and effective place for men to address the multi-layered aspects of their addiction: relationships, family, work, friends, self-esteem, finances, etc.
Ross is considered an expert in the field of sex addictions. He provides comprehensive treatment and assessment services for sex and internet addicts and their partners as well as professional consultation and training services.
Because of the demand for this group, there will be two separate sessions scheduled. The first group will be on Wednesday nights at 5:30. The second group will be scheduled in mid-April. The group sessions will last 90 minutes and cost $60. Many clients have a group therapy benefit with their mental health insurance coverage. Each group will meet once a week.
All referred clients must agree to an initial interview/diagnostic session during which Ross will evaluate the appropriateness of group therapy, as well as the level of sexual addiction. Group therapy is not recommended for sex addicts who are in the beginning stages of recovery and is not appropriate for sex offenders who are mistakenly diagnosed as sex addicts.
If you have any questions about the group, please call Clinical Care Consultants for more information.http://rossr61.snappages.com/mens-group.htm