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Master Website Designer – We Create Web Designs That:
- Are Visually Stunning
- Create Trust In Your Business
- Convert More Visitors Into Customers
- Make Search Engines Purr
- Secure Lasting Impressions
- Promote Great Reputations
If you're thinking about jumping aboard the digital train then you're probably thinking about a website. You're considering chatting to a website designer about layout, colours, and fonts. How will your logo look on mobile? Exciting stuff!
It's at this point that you need to stop and ask yourself, "What's the point?"
Not in a dramatic, teenager sort of way, accompanied by eye-rolling and a dejected shrug. But in more of an analytical way.
You see, your website is a little like your mother. An ardent fan of yours, says a lot about you and speaks for you when you're not around.
Which can be a great thing…depending on your mother.
Let's clarify something though.
A website designer incorporates fonts, colours and images into a defined style. The process includes the layout and structure of the website, the user flow, and the placement of various features.
Web development, however, relates to the building of this site. The coding, the architecture, and the functionality.
But back to the matter at hand.
Asking yourself what the point of your website is – before you get involved with the whole colours and fonts malarkey – will put you on the right path.
For example, is your website a brochure site, designed to highlight your products or services, and perhaps a nice place for people to land if they see your business card. Or, is your website going to generate leads? Perhaps you need an online shop. Or are you in the digital space to communicate and share information, thoughts, and feelings?
Whatever the point, you need to bear this in mind when you consider the design of your website, and you need to know what results you want from your investment.
Our friends over at Kissmetrics define your website as a tour guide. A great analogy, don't you think?
If the purpose of your website is to present your product or service to your online audience, then you want this virtual tour guide to know their stuff. They need to tell your story quickly and concisely, point to the important bits, and offer a solution to the customer. And you don't want them to do any of this in a furry hat, a hoodie, and a fake Australian accent!
Your branding is your company personality. If it was a person, that's what it would look like. And it stands to reason that this should dominate your website design, and speak the language that your customers expect.
A good deal of research has been done by some very clever people relating to the psychology of colours, images and text styles – and we should listen to them. Yes, your website should be beautiful. But it should firstly, be functional and influence the right consumers in the right way.
A well-designed website will be easy to navigate, not jar the senses, and communicate your message clearly.
So many business owners dive into the exciting pond of design with the sole purpose of not looking like everyone else. They want unique, special, different, memorable. "I want to stand out online!"
While our research has thrown up a variety of numbers, it looks like we are knocking on the door of just over 1 billion websites at the moment.
That's so, so many. And it also means that the chances of you (or us) designing a website that's never been seen before are as remote as your better half putting the toothpaste lid on.
But that's okay. The point here is that people get used to seeing things in the same place, and following certain internationally accepted standards on a web page. Confuse your audience and they'll scarper like a stabbed rat. So, let your website designer call the page "Contact Us", and not "Enter the Rabbit Hole."
While we're beating the user experience drum, consider the "Why". Why did that user land on your page, and what do they hope to achieve? The flow and overall experience of your site should be designed around the purpose of your site. For example, if you want to sell a widget, then they need to see what the widget looks like, what it does, and be able to buy it very easily. Click, click – done. More than two clicks and you're on dangerous ground.
If you've visited a couple of websites in your life you will definitely have experienced boring, pointless content. It sucks – a lot.
Again, looking at the point of this whole procedure, what is it vitally important to tell your customers? What do they need to know in order to do the thing that you want them to do?
If you close this window now and go back to your football, please take away this one thing.
Your customers don't care about you.
So you're a 3rd generation electrician? Started in Grandfather's garage in 1947? You've just moved offices? You've hired a new receptionist? Don't care!
What they care about is finding the information that they need and then going to meet Mary for lunch.
But what about Google, you may ask? Surely I need more content? Indeed you do, However, your web content should consist of information (for those asking what is, and how to), tactical information (the practical application of your product or service), and then conversion information (how long, how wide, what colour, how much). A great website designer will find this balance and execute it, perfectly.


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Let's be honest, there's really not much I can say about Neil Gaiman that hasn't already been said by someone else, somewhere else. So instead of wasting time heaping praise upon the literary world's first iconic "rock star," I'll simply recount my two encounters with the widely read author and then I'll let Gaiman speak for himself.
The first time I met Gaiman was in a little comic shop I used to frequent in Sherman Oaks, California, called Forbidden Planet (sadly, it's no longer there). The Sandman had been in print less than a year and Gaiman was several years off from becoming the superstar he is today. Thus, I found him seated alone at the back of the store, making his rounds, promoting the book from store to store, city to city and God knows where else. There he sat as the rush of comic collectors wound their way around the store pawing through the week's comics deciding which ones to buy and which they were just going to just read off the rack.
Being an avid comic book reader, I had stumbled across The Sandman when it first hit the stands earlier that year so I knew how prolific that guy in the dark sunglasses and leather jacket was. I headed home and retrieved my back issues, and then made my way back to the back of Forbidden Planet. Gaiman and I spoke for several minutes, then he signed my books. On my way out I picked up a copy of Sandman # 8 that DC had sent along with Gaiman as a giveaway. Apparently there was a misprint in the run and they were earmarked to be destroyed. Rather than waste them, DC decided to give them away for free. I'm told its quiet rare. Only 800 were printed. I got one.
My other cool Gaiman story took place several years later. My wife at the time, (which is code for my now "ex-wife") knew I was a fan of The Sandman books so she wrote to Gaiman and asked if he would draw a sketch for me as an anniversary gift. Needless to say, he did.
I'm guessing it's probably rare too.
Gaiman was kind enough to take a few minutes out of his busy schedule to answer some questions for The Write Blog. If you don't know who he is, you've led a very sheltered existence. Back when he first created The Sandman he was simply know as an English comic book writer. These days he is referred to as an author of science fiction and fantasy short stories and novels, graphic novels, comics, audio theatre, and films. He has won numerous awards, including the Hugo, Nebula, and Bram Stoker, as well as the 2009 Newbery Medal and is the author of Stardust, American Gods, Coraline, and The Graveyard Book. And of course, his most notable work to date remains The Sandman series.
Neil Gaiman: These days most storytellers are writers; not all writers can (or do) tell stories. I think what I was trying to get at there was that for me the story is the most important thing. The medium for the story is less important, except as far as it makes the story shine, like a setting for a jewel.
JB: In what way does your writing differ now from earlier on in your career?
NG: It's less exciting and less scary. When I started out there were a lot of things I knew I couldn't do, and a lot of things I only found out I couldn't do by going and doing it. And no-one was watching and nobody cared. These days there are a lot of things I know I can do (but I don't want to repeat myself) and too many people watching.
JB: Myths play such a big part in your work. What is it about the "old stories" that appeals so much to you? What is their importance to you as a writer?
NG: I don't know why I love them (do we ever know why we love?) but I do, and they make me happy, and I try to pass on that happiness.
JB: You spent ten years crafting the mythology that went into the Sandman. What kind of research did you do before you began writing it and how much more was required on your decade long journey with Morpheus? Did you always know where the story would end or was it something you came upon as you were writing it?
NG: I knew where it would end. The research was a combination of 26-36 years of reading everything I could, combined with mad cramming whenever I had any story that demanded historical accuracy.
NG: They're all challenging. It's just a different set of challenges each time. I tend to pick based on gut feeling and what I would like to see. Sometimes I'm wrong. I kept starting ANANSI BOYS as a movie and stopping, and eventually wrote the novel and was happy.
JB: Can you share any writing tips or techniques that you use or have developed? For instance, I've read that music is a big part of your writing ritual.
NG: Anything that keeps you happy and writing is part of my writing ritual: I like music, so I tend to have it playing in the background. But if I'm interested I can write in an airport waiting areas. The biggest tip is just to do it. Put one word after the other until you've made something that didn't exist before.
JB: How do you know when something you've written is finished or at least good enough to let go?
NG: I start thinking about the next thing. That's how I know the last thing is approaching the end.
If you'd like to know about what Neil Gaiman is up to you can follow him on his weblog at http://journal.neilgaiman.com/

subset: commoncrawl


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Quality Care
Take 2 - Think, Do
Take 2 - Think, Do is a framework to support accurate diagnostic decision-making in complex clinical environments. The framework assists clinicians to recognise when there may be a high risk for diagnostic error to occur and provides a structured process that facilitates a more detailed case review at key times in the patients' journey.
The framework consists of the following components:
- Take 2 minutes to deliberate the diagnosis - promotes a quick reflection that ensures the critical elements of diagnosis have been captured for each clinical presentation.
- Think about when to take a closer look - provides clinicians with insight into high risk clinical situations in which it may be appropriate to take a closer look or re-evaluate the diagnosis.
- Do something in these high risk situations - provides clinicians with the strategies to take a closer look by outlining approaches that aid decision making. This includes individual and team based strategies to critically appraise the decision making process.
This framework promotes reflective safe diagnostic process by increasing clinician knowledge and awareness of the cognitive risks associated with decision making during diagnosis. The strategies outlined provide support, structure and guidance to decision making. This ensures all the key factors have been considered for each clinical presentation and the worst case scenario is flagged and ruled out.
View Take 2 Think Do Framework ~416KB
The following resources have been developed to support facilities and clinicians with the Take 2 – Think, Do framework;
The Red Team / Blue Team Challenge
The Red Team / Blue Team Challenge provides tools and a structure for clinicians to safely question and challenge the diagnostic decision making process within a team environment. The strategy is developed and adapted from the military red team blue team exercises used for testing force readiness.
In the clinical environment, blue team members undertake history taking, clinical assessment and synthesis in the traditional manner, while red team members are tasked with questioning the decision making, identifying 'red flag' symptoms and symptoms that don't fit and then suggesting possible alternative diagnoses.
The strategy outlines:
- Guidelines for establishing the Red Team / Blue Team Challenge within clinical teams
- A series of prompts that the red team member may consider when critically analysing the clinical scenario
- Ground rules for establishing a safe environment
- Identified opportunities for challenge
The following resources have been developed to support facilities and clinicians with the Red Team / Blue Team Challenge:
- Red Team / Blue Team Challenge Information for clinicians ~245KB
- Red Team Blue Team sample prompt card ~293KB
Two video resources for Red Team / Blue Team Challenge have been developed. One video provides an overview of the Red Team / Blue Team Challenge in progress highlighting the key focus points of the challenge. The other video highlights triggers for commencing a Red Team / Blue Team Challenge in the clinical environment.


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Gateway to Health Communication
Welcome to CDC's Health Communication Gateway. This is a one-stop shop for health communicators. Whether you work in public health at a federal level, a state or local level, or in the healthcare arena, we will ensure you have the best we have to offer. Subscribe to our listserv to receive new ideas shared by thought leaders.
Are you writing a TV health or medical script? Get your facts — from anthrax to Zika from the experts here.
Public Health Communicators, Get Your Community Ready for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
The health communication and social marketing practices at CDC draw on the work of scholars and practitioners in a wide range of sciences and disciplines. Take a look at this review of health communication basics.
To receive weekly email updates about Gateway to Health Communication & Social Marketing Practice, enter your email address:


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United's FA Youth Cup dream is over for another season, despite a creditable display against Everton at Bramall Lane on Monday night.
The Premiership outfit dominated much of the first-half, but a spirited second-half showing from the Blades saw the youngsters bow out of the competition with their heads held high after a tremendous run to date.
A penalty early in the second-half after goalkeeper Jake Eastwood was adjudged to have fouled first-half goalscorer Courtney Duffus put the tie beyond the hosts, despite Dominic Calvert-Lewin hitting the post.
The first sight of goal fell to the visitors in the 9th minute, Dyson was denied by Eastwood at the near post after Tyrone Duffus had capitalised on a missed place pass from Banton.
Everton's number seven again came close to open the scoring when heading inches wide at the back post following Thornily's deep cross from the left.
Eastwood again had to be alert to save a shot that bobbled off the surface from Courtney Duffus, before Charsley missed a guilt-edged opportunity for the Toffees, firing wide in front of the Kop with the goal at his mercy.
The Blades improved as the first-half progressed and after Ledson was booked for a nasty lunge on Dimaio, Scarisbrick inswinging cross was narrowly missed by the onrushing Paling.
Six minutes before the break, Everton took the lead. Thornily and Calvert-Lewin challenged for a ball inside the visitors half and as the ball ricocheted forward Courtney DUFFUS outpaced Banton before cutting inside and slotting the ball left-footed over the advancing Eastwood.
United had a further scare on the stroke of half-time when the goalscorer charged down an attempted clearance from Eastwood, but thankfully the ball went wide of the unguarded goal.
The visitors were quickly out of the traps from the restart and doubled their lead in the 52nd minute. Goalscorer Duffus raced through and clattered into the advancing Eastwood, with referee Evans electing to point to the penalty spot. Toffees skipper JONES duly converted from twelve yards.
United almost hit straight back though as Calvert-Lewin outpaced and fought off the attentions of Thornily before seeing his shot it the outside of the far post with goalkeeper Griffiths beaten.
Reed and Coustrain replaced Whiteman and Eyre and both substitutes had a positive impact on proceedings, with the latter coming close after neat footwork in the box.
At the other end, Everton were a live threat on the break and Eastwood had to be at his best to make a fine double save to deny Courtney Duffus.
It was United who finished strongest and arguably deserved a goal for their efforts, Cockerline came closet, but Griffiths managed to tip his powerful long-range effort over the ball, before Calvert-Lewin just failed to convert at the back post with the last action of the contest.
In front of crowd of 1,488 and the on looking Nigel Clough, United's youngsters did themselves proud against their top-flight opponents.
Blades: Eastwood, Paling, Scarisbrick (Cockerline 73), Whiteman (Reed 58), Evans, Banton, Dimaio, Calvert-Lewin, Eyre (Coustrain 58), De Girolamo, Khan.
Unused: Cheeseman, Owen.


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Here's the takeaway: Britons now like spicier Indian food.
According to a recent survey by the British Curry Club's Chaat! magazine, jalfrezi curry — a blend of hot green chilies, peppers, tomatoes and onions — is the number one curry in Britain. It usurped the top spot from the longtime favorite, chicken tikka masala, a far milder dish, usually made with a creamy tomato sauce, which fell to number eight on the list.
There was little karma for korma, also less spicy. It came in at tenth place.
Britain has some 10,000 Indian restaurants, culinary vestiges of its imperial history. Chaat! estimates that, each day, six million people eat at the country's curry houses, as they are often called, but many food writers decry the general quality of England's version of the sub-continental cuisine.
The Telegraph described a typical meal in a traditional British Indian restaurant: "First, an oval dish of quivering shiny stuff that looks like a biohazard, then one of dayglo rice grains, and a big floppy thing resembling an oven glove."
Aloo-ng Time Cumin, Say Foodies
Approving of the shift in taste, the paper writes: "In terms of national advancement, this could be a turning point, one that ranks with the wine drinkers of the 1970s prying themselves free from the death grip of Blue Nun, or the toppling of the Nescafé tyranny by the Milanese-style coffee shops that arrived in the Nineties."
Many of the British papers noted the disputed origins of tikka masala. There are those who claim it was invented in Glasgow, by a chef who improvised the sauce when a customer said that his chicken was too dry. There was even a serious suggestion a few years back to get the European Union to officially designate chicken tikka masala as a Scottish dish – a proposal that was met with widespread derision from chefs who said it was clearly a product of northern India.
Chicken Tikka Masala Meets its Vindaloo
The Observer, clearly accepting the argument for Scottish provenance and questioning the methodology of the survey itself, had words of equivocal support for chicken tikka masala: "People who love curry so much that they join clubs are unlikely to pick the bastardised dish, invented in Glasgow, which entailed adding Campbell's correct tomato soup to placate the weedy UK palate."
The "mighty TM" played an important role in British cuisine, argues the Observer, because most Britons couldn't cope straight off with authentic Indian food. "Mock its sticky, sickly inauthenticity all you like but for many over the years it has acted as a gateway dish for the wide-ranging delights of Indian cuisine," the paper wrote. "This is an achievement in itself."
Oh, You Beautiful Dal!
As far as I'm concerned, it's all good. I'll freely admit I've always loved chicken tikka masala, wherever it comes from (and there are chefs who make spicier versions of it), but I also love jalfrezi, madras (#2 on the list), dhansak (#6), vindaloo (for some reason not on the list at all), and a whole host of others, spicy or not.
The only thing I'm a little upset about is that there were a few Indian food-related puns I missed the opportunity to exploit. Recognition in this area of achievement must go to The Sun. "Oh my gosht!" its headline exclaimed, the British public is "fahl-ing" for jalfrezi; as for the bland tikka masala, they'll have "naan of it."
Do you need your curry in a hurry? Want your info without condiments? Here's the top ten curries list, from Chaat! magazine:
1. Jalfrezi
2. Madras
3. Rogan josh
4. Bhuna
5. Balti
6. Dhansak
7. Pasanda
8. Tikka masala
9. Aloo gobi
10. Korma
So, spicy or not? And do you have any Indian dish wordplay, or, in this case, shall we say, a pun-jab?
———————————Read More


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2012 saw the tremendous growth in our Facebook page Sikh Discover Inspire – The GT1588 Initiative from a few thousand to nearly 10,000 followers. As well as highlighting Sikh heritage, history and traditions we've also kept abreast of topical news to create an enticing mix of stories over the past 12 months.
Here's a rundown of our Top 10 of 2012 (based on number of 'Likes').
Which one is your favourite? Or was another post your personal favourite? Let us know by adding your comments at the end of this blog.
10. 25/25 Christmas Special Offer
Our special pre-Christmas offer was your tenth most popular post of 2012. The whopping discount of 25% for orders received before 25th December was warmly received and proved a great way of showing support for heritage.
Like the post said 'Not only do our books and art prints make for perfect gifts – any recipient will immediately appreciate their superior quality and exquisite beauty – you will also be supporting heritage: as a not-for-profit enterprise, all proceeds go to supporting more high quality projects in the future.'
9. Amritsar's Incredible Twins
The remarkable story of Amritsar's nine-year-old twin brothers who share the same torso and, according to medical experts, should have died at birth. Their home, Pingalwara, is a refuge for the most vulnerable in society and the central orphanage in Amritsar. It was founded by the late Bhagat Puran Singh (1904-1992) whose enduring legacy remains an inspiration for millions.
8. Sacrifices Remembered
British officers leading Indian troops in both World Wars had close, often first-hand, experiences of fighting alongside Sikhs soldiers. The Sikhs' loyalty, bravery and sense of honour were summed up in the words of General Sir Frank Messervy: 'In the last two world wars 83,005 turban wearing Sikh soldiers were killed and 109,045 were wounded. They all died or were wounded for the freedom of Britain and the world and during shell fire, with no other protection but the turban, the symbol of their faith.'
This post used an iconic image from the classic text Warrior Saints (new edition coming soon) of Sikhs marching in Mesopotamia during World War I with their holy scripture, the Guru Granth Sahib, being held aloft at the front of the men.
7. Stylish Sikh – Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala
Part of our popular series on Stylish Sikhs, this archive image of a man famed for his opulent lifestyle caused quite a stir with the style conscious amongst you!
Photographed in London in 1928, the towering Maharaja is immaculately dressed in a Savile Row suit. He enjoyed a wealth that afforded him 28 Rolls Royce cars and the entire fifth floor of London's Savoy Hotel when he stayed in England! Whilst in the UK, Bhupinder Singh would rarely miss the opportunity to visit his favourite London tailors to add to his collection of 200 bespoke suits.
6. Changing the Guard
Guardsman Jatinderpal Singh Bhullar's appearance outside Buckingham Palace as part of the Changing of the Guard led to a Daily Telegraph correspondent to ask the question 'Where would the British Army be without the Sikhs?' Clearly plenty of you agreed.
5. Queen's Guard – Sikh Turban
Look, no bearskin! Pictured in his uniform for the first time, the announcement that Sikh Guardsman Jatinderpal Singh Bhullar would be allowed to wear his turban outside Buckingham Palace caused over 1,000 of you to click the 'Like' button in approval of this progressive military move.
4. In Remembrance – the Khanda Poppy
'They fought and died for us, in their turbans' stated Winston Churchill. The Khanda Poppy initiative sought to mark the Sikh contribution by raising awareness of the estimated 83,000 Sikh volunteers who died in the two World Wars. Over 1,100 of you supported this worthwhile endeavour.
3. Harry Potter author says Sikhism is 'an amazing religion'
Bestselling author JK Rowling's comments on BBC TV were made during an interview about her new adult novel The Casual Vacancy. In the book, Rowling includes a Sikh family, the Jawandas, whose faith acts partly as a moral force through the story. Her interest was sparked when she learnt about Sikhism's egalitarian principles from a Sikh work colleague when she was in her twenties. Nearly 1,500 of you made this one our third most popular post of the year.
2. GT1588 Wishing You a Happy Diwali
Nearly 1,500 shared in our celebratory post upon the occasion of Bandi Chhor Diwas as our Golden Temple book launched in India. Included amongst the 70 rare eyewitness accounts in the book was a wonderful description of Diwali from 1882 – exactly 130 years ago prior – which described how Darbar Sahib was best viewed at Diwali when the shrine is 'brilliantly illuminated with thousands upon thousands of those little terracotta lamps, known in India as cheraghs…placed on different parts of the temple, around the boundaries of the tank and on the adjacent buildings… Silently and rapidly line after line of fire flashed into existence, revealing to our admiring eyes the gemmed outlines of a veritable fairy city.' Magical and Illuminating, then and now, the shrine continues to shine like a beacon.
1. Making History
And at Number one is the story with over 2,500 'Likes' of British Sikh soldier, Jatinderpal Singh Bhullar, making history when he became the first guardsman to wear a turban rather than a bearskin at Buckingham Palace. Congratulations to him for his remarkable and historical achievement. A worthy winner of our first Top 10 Poll.
Like what you see? Don't forget to 'Like' and 'Share' the most happening Sikh social media site out there: Sikh Discover Inspire – The GT1588 Initiative.
Join us in 2013 for another year of inspirational culture & heritage.


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Commenter: Paul Kasianchuk
We all know that you call an incompetent medical professional a "quack." This epithet derives, according to Wikipedia, from the word "quacksalver," which itself comes from a Dutch word, kwakzalver, meaning "boaster who applies salve." In the medieval markets, the sellers of patent medicines would shout, or "quack," to get attention for their wares.
The same kind of phenomenon has developed with the rise of the social media field. As opportunities for communications practitioners to "quack" their salves have dwindled in other, more traditional markets like advertising, public relations, or marketing collateral materials, a coterie of counselors and consultants with reasonable skills in these areas have found it necessary to reinvent themselves to respond to the demand from clients for these new communications skill sets.
Some have taken the time to learn and understand this very different communications channel in order to help brands engage in conversations with social media participants. Unfortunately, others still think of social media tools as the newest megaphone through which they can shout out a one-way advertising message.
Because so many social media consultants come with impressive credentials in other communications arenas, how can you tell whether your consultant is social media savvy or just a quack?
Here are five things to consider when you are choosing a social media consultant.
Experience counts
Forget the wisdom that prevails among some senior executives -- that social media is only understood by 20-something interns. You need to look for consultants whose experience in communications and online technology extends well beyond the last business cycle.
Yes, older people actually might add some value to the discussion. I have blogged on this topic before, with some degree of passion. Here's why.
People who have long exposure to organizations and their management teams can help shape a social media initiative in a way that will be more palatable -- and consequently, more saleable -- to the C-suite.
Moreover, they frequently are not the dinosaurs we think they are. They are often people who have been early adopters/embracers of new technologies throughout their careers. They've just been at it a lot longer.
They also can help manage (not crush) the enthusiasm of younger team members for social media initiatives like contests on Facebook or street theater, while adding appropriate context that will convince senior management to greenlight the projects. Senior managements, as your consultants should know, give projects the go-ahead because they expect them to add to revenue in some way, not because someone with a pierced eyebrow or a sleeve tattoo says it's "awesome."
Experience in social media also counts
Your social media consultant needs to have some kind of track record in, well, social media. It's important that they are active users of the social media channels that they are trying to convince you to pay them to use for you. They also should be able to show you actual social media initiatives implemented for other clients. You don't want to be the alpha or beta test for the consultant's practice.
Don't pay too much attention to how many Twitter followers the consultant has. Pay more attention to the level of engagement the consultant has with followers and friends in these social networks.
Plenty of people are accumulating followers with automated tweeting tools or gimmicks on Facebook, but they really don't make a connection with those followers by having real conversations. Look at their Twitter and Facebook newsfeeds to see what kind of interaction is taking place. If there is none, your consultant is wielding a megaphone, not starting a conversation.
Does your consultant play well with others?
Long before the internet, the ethos of the computer hobbyist world was mutual aid. If you went to a computer show, you found someone who was a specialist in the programming language you used and told them about the problem you were having. They helped you fix it, for the sheer joy of fixing it (and the street cred they earned from you telling other people they fixed it).
So ask your consultant about how much of their expertise they share freely with their social networks, either online or in volunteer networking offline. Do they participate in the "unconference" movement by presenting workshops at BarCamps, PodCamps, or other -Camps?
Is your consultant a lemming, or do they occasionally take the road less traveled?
Does your consultant give you predictable counsel that just mimics the social media advice of others, or does he or she raise provocative, counter-intuitive questions about the social media strategies you are thinking about using? Sometimes the value a consultant adds is through the inappropriate costs or embarrassing social media gaffes they help you avoid.
For example, one particular pocket video camera has captured widespread enthusiasm (and purchasing dollars) from many social media people. There are even seminars and webinars you can pay to attend, where social media people will teach you about how to use this camera in corporate communications social media initiatives.
Wonderful! But look for a consultant who has actually considered the camera's limitations -- it has no removable storage, and you can't plug in an external microphone.
That might be OK for many people, but what if it's not right for you?
You want a consultant to be a devil's advocate and challenge assumptions about social media. If the way you want to use your Twitter feed isn't appropriate, or if you shouldn't be engaging on Facebook or YouTube, will your consultant tell you so, or will they encourage you to use these tools anyway?
Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.
Social media tools are not magic. It's not Oz, and your consultants are not wizards. You are still in Kansas, no matter what dazzling images the consultants are showing you on their iPads.
These tools allow you to engage in what is, for most companies, a new and different form of communications -- one in which you actually talk to customers. And these are customers who frequently care passionately about your company and your product or service. They have strong opinions about your product and are very anxious to tell you those opinions.
For many companies, it's a real challenge to create a culture willing to listen to what customers say, but it really just requires common sense, and that's probably the best attribute your consultant can bring to your social media initiative, along with courage, a heart, and a brain.
Steve Lubetkin is managing partner of Lubetkin Communications LLC and its subsidiary, Professional Podcasts LLC.
On Twitter? Follow Steve at @PodcastSteve and iMedia Connection at @iMediaTweet.
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Challenging concepts, behavior, and the norm. It's where we see thought process (and character). Half of what I do is educate so that my clients and colleagues will be informed consumers so the "quacks" won't get them.
Well said.
"Social Media" is more than just Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, etc... It's whenever a User generates content and shares it. So, it's all about content and conversations. Marketers should be looking for opportunities to get their brand in the middle of those conversations with long-form content so they can influence brand preference. Brands should be seeking not only ways to monitor their long-form content but actionable-data as a result. That is, turning earned media into paid media. Just make sure you buy the paid media portion from an exclusive source so that you avoid media duplication and low-value inventory. I recommend Dlvr.it as a content marketing platform.
Thanks for sharing. I think I know a number of social media "quacks."
Relationship is the key word. If someone has practiced relationship marketing they see social media as a logical extension of the work they have been doing. If someone has abandoned what they were doing and started fresh as a social media consultant that would be the red flag to me.
Social media is not the silver bullet, but it does provide new platforms and new tools for those who understand their customers and clients and genuinely want to listen and respond.
Looks like a duck. Smells like a duck. Quacks like a duck.
Great article to look behind the curtain of most agencies...
Think next time.
Think Cannon
Your headlines continually promise bullets, yet you do not deliver.
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On the face of the hexagon you can find three splits.
Pinch two triangles together so one of the splits makes a 'mountain' fold. As opposed to a 'valley' fold, a 'mountain' fold rises up.
Opposite the mountain fold you have pinched up, push in to make a valley fold.
Now there is a three pointed figure.
Open it up from the top point.
Watch this cool video about hexaflexagons –enjoy!
Origami is so much easier to learn now that we have youtube videos to show how to do it! I remember it being quite difficult to follow written instructions before this wonderful tool was available. I really want to learn to make this:


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If you can't see the video and only hear the sound, please switch to Firefox/Chrome/Safari for better performance.
Don't Let the Night End
MIA is a movie starring Galia Barkol, Nate Washburn, and Lucas Rainey. After an injury upends her ambitious career as a dancer, Mia escapes her life in Tel Aviv for a temporary stay in Brooklyn. Looking for meaning and a new lease...
Genres: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Actor: Galia Barkol, Nate Washburn, Lucas Rainey, Dan Toren
Director: Galia Barkol


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Faculty Feature – Dr. Julie Furrow
Faculty Feature – Julie Furrow, Ph.D., APRN, FNP-BC Nurses International is pleased to welcome Dr. Julie Furrow to the faculty. Nurses International is blessed to have another excellent clinician and educator on the team! Dr. Furrow supervises the following courses: Pathophysiology Advanced Physiology and Pathophysiology Health Promotion and Education Professor Furrow hails from Clarksburg, West Virginia, and enjoys integrating her Christian faith with her work with students and patients. She began her nursing career when she enrolled in a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing at Alderson-Broaddus College in the small town of Philippi, West Virginia. After graduation from Alderson-Broaddus, Professor Furrow began caring for patients at Fairmont General Hospital in Fairmont, WV. She soon moved back to her hometown of Beckley, West Virginia, where she began taking care of patients in an oncology/medical-surgical nursing unit. After three years of oncology and medical-surgical nursing, Dr. Furrow worked for a hospice and provided care to terminally ill patients in their homes. During her hospice years, Professor Furrow enrolled in a Master of Science in Nursing program and studied nursing administration and education. After graduation, Professor Furrow became a hospice manager and managed a hospital-owned hospice for six years. During the years of hospice administration, Dr. Furrow began to miss direct patient care and decided to return to school for a Post-Master's Certificate from the Family Nurse Practitioner program at West Virginia University. While in school, Dr. Furrow was offered a teaching position at her alma mater, Alderson Broaddus University. Dr. Furrow enjoyed nursing education so much that she enrolled in a doctoral program for Nursing Education after she graduated from the Family Nurse Practitioner program, and she now teaches in the online RN-BSN program at Fairmont State University in Fairmont, West Virginia. Dr. Furrow completed her Doctor of Philosophy degree in education with an emphasis in nursing education from Capella University. She also works as a registered nurse in a rehabilitation unit at a local hospital and is pursuing part-time work as a family nurse practitioner. Professor Furrow's commitment to her faith, her students, and her patients make her an amazing addition to the faculty. The Nurses International team joyfully anticipates Professor Furrow's contributions to the organization as a whole and particularly to her work within her courses. Welcome, Professor Furrow!


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Hello Lovelies,
I have the date and place of my latest group exhibition that will be held in London!! :)
Beyond words how excited I am for this showing and am so very thankful for Draper House and Sylvie Cho for getting me on board. Hope to see you there. xo
Gallery 27


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In this bohemian coloring page, a pretty girl with dreadlocks turns her head of lovingly decorated dreadlocks away from a resonant setting sun.
"Dreadlocks" is one of the ten pages in the "Hippie Kitsch" coloring book.
Product Details for this bohemian coloring page:
Upon purchase, you'll be able to instantly download this single coloring page as a watermark-free PDF and print to color it as many times as you please. The PDF is sized for an 8.5×11-inch page with half-inch margins. It can also be printed on A4 paper without issue.
This coloring page was hand drawn in pencil and ink by Candy Hippie, then scanned and digitally retouched to create a perfectly clean and professional image with no smudges, sketch lines or other unwanted marks.
Printing Tips for this bohemian coloring page:
Print using a laser printer to prevent smudging when coloring, especially if you'll be using ink, paint or markers rather than colored pencils or crayons. Consider printing on card stock rather than plain paper to prevent your pigments warping or bleeding through your page.
Do not sell the PDF file and do not sell printed copies, or use the image for any commercial use. Feel free to give printed copies of this image unaltered as gifts, but the artist requires that you please do not give away copies of the file itself.
Bohemian Quotes:
"The thing that will never go away is that connection you make with a band or a song where you're moved by the fact that it's real people making music. You make that human connection with a song like 'Let It Be' or 'Long and Winding Road' or a song like 'Bohemian Rhapsody' or 'Roxanne,' any of those songs. They sound like people making music." – Dave Grohl
"We are all a little bit hippy, a little bohemian. We take that from the culture we knew, from the '70s and the '80s."
– Nicolas Maduro
You can also find this Dreadlocks bohemian coloring page in the Candy Hippie Etsy shop.


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Real-world experiments and the Facebook controversy over mood manipulation
Manipulating somebody else's mood is fairly easy to do. Just show them something they like, and watch them smile. Or do something you just know will tick them off, and watch the sparks fly.
Mood manipulation is something that whole industries, such as media and entertainment, specialize in. That's why the big stink over the ethics of Facebook's attempts to influence moods through tweaks to its newsfeed algorithms is so deliciously absurd. Facebook's very business model depends on people liking the experience enough to return again and again. More than that, Facebook's revenue model depends greatly on:
- People clicking "like" on content they groove to
- Sponsored ads
- Continued user polls and requests for members to declare their favorite this and that
- Third-parties distilling the sentiments, the likes and don't-likes expressed in the never-ending stream of chatter emanating from that world-crushing community.
Facebook has been a big "happy-happy-joy-joy" machine from day one. The ongoing brouhaha has simply exposed world culture's queasiness over its reliance on this one community to make or break their day. You want to know how powerful an influence Zuckerberg's baby has on the world's mental climate? Just consider all the real-world family and friend relationships that have broken up or been severely strained by something said (or not said) on Facebook.
What exactly did Facebook do to spark this recent controversy? Here's one of many recent articles analyzing the controversy from many perspectives. Essentially, Facebook data scientists conducted one of many real-world experiments that are standard operating procedure with them and with most online businesses these days. More specifically, they did A/B testing on newsfeed-optimization models to gauge whether exposure to more positive words caused users to post more positive (and less negative) sentiment, and conversely whether being exposed to negative words had the opposite impact. In fact, the test, which took place more than two years ago, confirmed that hypothesis.
Was this hypothesis as controversial as some people have made it out to be, or has it been sensationalized and distorted beyond recognition? My feeling is the latter: it was just a routine real-world experiment in big-data-driven sentiment analysis, content optimization and customer experience management. Let's parse these practices into their respective spheres and examine whether any of them are unseemly:
Sentiment analysis: Nobody doubts that Facebook, or any other business, has every right to gauge whether customers feel positively or poorly about the value they're receiving. Facebook customers express those feelings in various ways, such as "likes" on individual content postings, as well as the tenor and substance of comments inline to their wall posts. And if a user has published his or her feelings (explicitly or implicitly) in any of those ways, Facebook can certainly leverage that content to infer what their sentiment (their mood) might be at any point in time. No one's questioning the ethics of them doing so.
Content optimization: Above all, Facebook is in the content-delivery business. The core content under its control is the news feed: personalized renderings of the consolidated content items posted 24x7 by each member's "friends," and by other sources to which they subscribe. To boost the value provided by news feeds, Facebook continues to tweak the machine learning, predictive and other models and artifacts that determine the arrangement, sequencing and rendering of subscribed-to content on browsers, mobiles and other platforms. No one questions the value of Facebook continuing to conduct real-world experiments designed to incrementally improve its content-optimization models. Customer sentiment, whether positive, neutral or negative, is a valid metric of whether one experiment is more successful than another.
- Customer experience management: Like any business in today's hypercompetitive world, Facebook knows that it must improve overall customer experience to hold onto its members and to deepen their engagement with the service. Experience improvements are the chief outcomes that Facebook and other modern businesses attempt to realize, incrementally, from real-world experiments such as the Facebook initiative. Facebook, like many organizations, employs or engages with psychologists and other scientists to work with data scientists on the nitty-gritty of building and testing analytic models that describe what might be going in customers' minds as they interact on the service. If the real-world experiments in 2012 had shown, counter-intuitively, that viewing more negative content had actually, among some customer segments, boosted time on site and ad clickthrough rates, this intelligence could have been useful in optimizing those specific customers' experiences. If nothing else, even if nothing operationally useful had come from such experiments, Facebook should have at least been lauded for exploring counterintuitive scenarios. After all, "disruptive" business insights often come from bold thinking such as that. And if no customers were harmed in the process of conducting the experiments (moods being the very definition of ephemeral) Facebook's experiment could at least have been chalked up as a nice try.
Come to think of it, Facebook's attempt at mood manipulation was far wimpier than practices that are standard operating procedure in most industries: marketing, advertising and customer service.
- Marketing exists to put customers in a buying mood, with mood manipulation tactics ranging from subtlety to sledgehammer
- Advertising and promotions use every creative trick in the book to foster of warm glow of brand love in the customer's heart
- Proactive customer service is all about keeping customers feeling loved, cared for and pampered to the nth degree
None of the practices outlined above are unethical, when conducted within the bounds of the law, privacy sensitivity and established ethical norms. And none "controls" the customers' moods to the extent that they lose the will to resist.
But every one of those practices is designed to make a modern brand practically irresistible to its target market.


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Feeling tired, stressed, worn out from lack of sleep? What modern day woman isn't? I can't give you back those precious few hours of sleep but I CAN tell you about a new product from bareMinerals that can! bareMinerals Stroke of Light Eye Brightener ($22) immediately perks up your eye area diffusing dark circles and giving the look of 8 hours of glorious sleep.
The formula is powered by a blend of peptides, yeast extract and rich luxurious minerals–we're talking amethyst, tourmaline, jade, sapphire and pearl! When these are crushed together, they impart a luminosity that brightens the look of tired, fatigued skin by diffusing light. bareMinerals says that over time these ingredients also help to diminish fine lines, wrinkles and dark circles. Stroke of Light has a very thin, almost watery consistency–do not mistake it for a concealer. It is NOT meant to be used as a concealer. It is specifically designed to brighten and used in conjunction with your concealer. I've used powder brighteners before, but I like the creamy, dewy texture of this much better–especially for us over 40 women. You'll be pleased to know that this brightener does not have any sparkle or glitter in it, so no worries about disco eyes.
Stroke of Light is housed in a mascara-like tube with a doe-foot applicator–the "foot" is really more like a paddle–it a bit wider and flatter allowing you to cover more area. Apply to the inside corner of the eye and the under eye area for a refreshed look. I apply then pat in with my finger. I found this to be great for those with a drier under eye area because it doesn't settle into fine lines or wrinkles.
Stroke of Light comes in four shades:
Luminous 3
Luminous 4
Overall: If you are need of some under eye brightening (and who isn't) this is a good option. Use over your concealer, you only need a tiny bit. For just $22, you'll fool everyone into believing you're a superwoman who gets a decent night's sleep every night and still manages to juggle work, family and a busy life!
You Might Also LOVE
Hello I'm Cindy, editor of Prime Beauty, a beauty blog for women 40 & over and in the prime of their lives! Women over 40 have unique issues and Prime Beauty addresses those issues with information and products geared specifically for them. Prime Beauty is packed with articles on skincare, makeup, product reviews, new product launches, makeup tips and tricks, and giveaways! In addition to looking good on the outside, I hope to encourage, inspire and celebrate women over 40!


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Detecting Cancer with Silica Nanoparticles
Tumor necrosis factor-alpha is a widely accepted biomarker for cancer, but the minute amounts of this protein circulating in blood makes detecting the molecule and measuring its concentration accurately a technological challenge.
Using silica nanoparticles labeled with the molecule guanine, researchers at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have now created a simple and inexpensive electrochemical method that detects tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-æ) at clinically useful levels. Moreover, this assay is amenable to miniaturization, suggesting that it could be easily incorporated into a microfluidics-based assay system.
Reporting its work in the journal Analytical Chemistry, a research team headed by Yuehe Lin, Ph.D., loaded guanine molecules onto the surface of silica nanobeads that also contained a chemical anchor known as avidin. They also attached biotin, which binds with extraordinary strength to avidin, to an antibody that binds to the TNF-æ protein. The researchers attached a second antibody, one that binds to a different part of the TNF-æ protein, to a carbon electrode, which functions as the electrochemical sensor.
When TNF-æ is present in a solution added to the antibody-labeled electrode, it binds to the antibody. Adding the second antibody produces a sandwich around the TNF-æ molecule. At this point, the researchers then added their labeled silica nanoparticle, which binds to the antibody-TNF-æ sandwich. In a final step, the investigators added a molecule that reacts with the guanines on the nanoparticle, creating an electrical current that the electrode senses. The current flowing into the electrode is proportional to the amount of TNF-æ bound to the first antibody. Experiments with this system showed that the limit of detection for the device is approximately 2 picomolar, well within the range needed to detect physiological levels of TNF-æ.
This work is detailed in a paper titled, "Sensitive immunoassay of a biomarker tumor necrosis factor-æ based on poly(guanine)-functionalized silica nanoparticle label." This paper was published online in advance of print publication. An abstract of this paper is available at the journal's website.
Source: National Cancer Institute


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I'll be brief for now because it's late, other than to say that Apple have just this month placed a ban on Spam Gourmet domains. I've used a Spam Gourmet to correspond with Apple for since I started using Apple products (to sign up as my Apple ID, for which the process requires email contact) but a week or so back, I found that I was unable to purchase any more items through the iTunes store (the "Apps" icon). Sending in a ticket resulted in Apple asking me to prove my email address was valid.
Oddly, I can purchase "free" apps just fine. It's only paid purchases which have stopped working. I thought there might be an issue with my credit card.
I have proven (to Apple) that my Spam Gourmet address is legitimate email by pointing out that I could read any of the receipts they have ever sent me.
I also played their game and replied to an email they sent me, double-proving that my email Is valid and fully working.
Nevertheless, I have since received a reply stating that Apple have simply ruled out the Spam Gourmain domain as invalid, with no explanation as to their reasoning.
Here is the actual reply back from them:
Thanks for choosing Apple.
Hello Lance,
I have been informed that this email domain is currently not being allowed for use with our iTunes Store. You will have to change the Apple ID and it will resolve the issue with not being able to make a purchase.
I am real sorry about this. I was not given a reason for this decision either, but this is Apple's answer.
If needed, here is a link to assist you with changing your Apple ID:
Thank you,
iTunes Store Senior Support
A sad day. Something tells me I'm not at all getting the extra support I paid for with my $100 "Apple Care" subscription.


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Securing A Place For Your Living
Everyone needs a place where they can call home and be comfortable in. it is very difficult to find a living space in this world now. Because of the rising population rates and immigrants that move in to live there are less space in the country to find a decent place for living. But that doesn't mean you don't have any option left. There are many companies who still keep providing a space that you need and with your style and taste. All you have to do is keep looking for the available options that are suitable for you and you will find the best place to settle for. A lot in the population tend to choose more convenient places in the city or the somewhere close so that they can get everything around them in ease. No one is willing to rent a place in the country side, but when they do it's only for vacation purposes. Everything revolves in the city and most of the people who live in the countryside started to move into the city making it more crowded than before. Due to the high demand and crowd that is increasing in the city region there are many companies upcoming with new projects to satisfy the living space that the people wish to have.
According to your needs
There are many companies that are coming up with different styles and options of rental apartment for the people who are looking for it. Whether you are looking for a fully furnished one or a moderate living space, which ever choice you make there will always be an option available for you to look into. If you are looking for some well-known places around you or a busy environment so that you can have better social life then you can choose your living space according to your taste and choice. There are many styles to choose from and much different comfortability.
According to your choice
Many among us choose to live in apartments for rent so that they can keep travelling more often and keep in track with their schedule. When they have no maintenance costs and no need to give time for that they can easily stay in a rented living space and do their schedules. Securing a place for even a temporary period of time until your work is done can be convenient for you in many ways. You don't have to worry a lot about the other aspects of living till you get stable enough to own your own place.
Make it a good investment.
By associating a good company to get your own place set up you can actually make your money worth it.


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Products that are designed to work together with absolute parity mean that you never have to waste time trying to get things to work together.
Discounted Bundle Packages bring greatly enhanced discount with the reassurance that all the products will work together correctly.
5 year Warranty on most products and excellent After Sales Support makes the Bundle Packages very attractive.
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The Egyptian temples have a long and well-documented history, covering a time span of nearly five thousand years. An attempt has been made (in earlier work by the author) to regard the Egyptian cultural history as a unity in time and place. If such a unity exists – as an assumption – it is possible to relate to and communicate with this historic entity in a quadralectic way. The theoretical approach of this method is given in Chapter 7. For the moment, it will be sufficient to know that two boundaries (visibility dates) are necessary to draw a communication graph (CF-graph). This CF-graph is the general expression of every interaction between the observer and the observed that takes place in a communication ruled by the four-division. The communication factor (CF) is a measure of the shift between the four-divisions of the communication partners and subsequently, a valuation of visibility. Certain points of recognition (POR), which are established in a process of analogy, determine the position in the communication.
The 'beginning' of empirical 'visibility' (from the Western perspective) was placed around 3100 BC and the 'end' at 500 BC. These dates do not mean that before or after these boundaries Egypt did not exist, but only that its cultural existence was less prominent and widespread from the present point of view. With these two markers, it is possible to draw the CF-graph for the Egyptian cultural history (fig. 58).
Fig. 58 – The Egyptian cultural period is given here as a CF-graph. The abbreviation CF (the communication factor) indicates a mental distance between the observer and the observed. The (visible) visibility period (X) is situated between 3100 and 500 BC. The whole cycle (V) runs from 4400 BC to 240 BC. The division in seven time units (1 – 7) point to the main characterizations of the Egyptian history as given in the existing literature: 1. Archaic Period; 2. Old Kingdom; 3. First Intermediary Period; 4. Middle Kingdom; 5. Second Intermediary Period; 6. New Kingdom; 7. Third Intermediary Period and/or Late Period.
The architectural narrative of temples is a reflection of the different types of worships, which run through time and place. Several major beliefs can be noted in the long Egyptian history. The temples of the various faiths have their own characteristics, which reflect their division background. The major currents will be honored here and a brief reference to a possible four-fold connection will be given.
1. The Ogdade of Hermopolis is concentrated around the city of Hermopolis (Shmun or Khmunu) in Middle Egypt. The old Egyptian name of Shmun is a reference to the number eight. The main deity is the god Thoth, figured as an ibis or as a baboon. Thoth was the inventor of writing, teacher of man, mediator and the messenger of the god. The Greek drew, for this very reason, a comparison with their own god Hermes and hence the name of the place as Hermopolis (the city of Hermes).
The ruins close to Hermopolis were dated from the Middle and New Kingdom. Ramses II built a temple here with materials from the abandoned city of Akhetaten. The Corinthian capitals and columns, which are still standing at Hermopolis Magna, are from a Christian basilica constructed on the site of a third century Ptolemaic temple. There are also statues of two large baboons, which probably guarded the entrance to the Temple of Thoth.
A quadralectic interpretation would place Thoth (Hermes) – being the wisest god associated with speech, literature, arts, learning and the measurement of time (calendar) – in the Fourth Quadrant. 'The Reckoner of Times and of Seasons' and the one who balances is a 'God of the Equilibrium'. This 'Master of the Balance' is, in turn, associated with the four-division.
Originally, Thoth was a god of creation. The act of creation consisted of four gods and four goddesses forming pairs and symbolizing respectively:
The male gods were depicted with frog heads, while the goddesses were shown with the heads of serpents. The Ogdoad ruled the world during a Golden Age, then they died and went to the Duat or Underworld. They became responsible for the rising of the sun everyday and brought forth the lotus that held the sun god.
The city of Hermopolis is associated with four different stories of the Creation. The acknowledgement of the importance of a 'beginning' is typical in a process of growing awareness of existence. The number of creation stories might not be a pure coincidence, but could reflect genuine higher division thinking.
The first presumption made a reference to a cosmic egg that was laid by a celestial goose on the primeval mound. The egg contained Re, the bird of light, who then created the world. Remains of the great egg were shown to pilgrims to Hermopolis. The second creation story told of an egg laid by an ibis, the bird of Thoth. This version might be created by the priests of Thoth to merge the mythologies of the Eight and of Thoth. The third account says that a lotus flower emerged from the waters of a lake called 'the Sea of the Two Knives'. When the lotus' petals opened the divine child Re was revealed. Finally, the last story is similar to the third account, but now a scarab beetle, as a symbol of the rising sun, leaves the lotus. The scarab is transformed into a crying boy and his tears became mankind. The lotus was sometimes identified with the Eye of Re.
It is possible, that these four creation stories were – in themselves – part of a tetradic world outlook (although this interpretation has never, as far as I know, been suggested). The four stories represent in that situation an equal number of viewpoints (comparable to the modern four 'quadrants'). The cosmic egg is a reminder of the unity of the First Quadrant (the primeval mound where the sun was born). The introduction of the ibis, as the bird of Thoth, brought a connection with the mythology of the Eight (Ogdoad) and is, at the same time, a reference to the (double) four-division. This type of partition-consciousness in general is characteristic of the definition of a 'first division' in the (quadralectic) Second Quadrant.
The third creation story, with the lotus emerging from the 'Sea of the Two Knives' and the dedication to Re (the god of the day in contrast to the dog-headed baboon as an animal of the night) can be interpreted as a Third Quadrant setting. The emphasis on oppositional entities (like good and evil (the two knives) or night and day will lead to a clear view of the present. Problems start when the consciousness of visible visibility becomes overwhelming. The use of a knife as a symbol of protection and retribution will not be sufficient to survive the world of the material existence.
The final story referred to the scarab beetle (kheper). This particular species of beetle (Scarabaeus sacer) has the habit of rolling balls of dung in which the female would lay her eggs. Amulets and stamp seals were often depicted with the scarab beetle, in particular from the New Kingdom onwards. During that time, the scarab amulets were placed over the heart of the mummified deceased in order to assist in the final judgement. Its symbolic value was derived from nature (young beetles emerging from a hole) and related to the scarab-beetle god Khepera, meaning 'he was coming forth'. Khepera is a form of the sun god Re and specifically the god of the rising sun. Khepera would roll the sun along the sky in the same way as the dung beetle rolls the ball of dung.
A modern interpretation (of the fourth creation story) could be stated as follows. The visible visibility (of the Third Quadrant) – including the dung! – is pushed into the visible invisibility (of the Fourth Quadrant) or even further into the invisible invisibility (of the First Quadrant). This transfer brings brightness into the communication and can be weighted against the feather of truth during the final judgement. Self-generation and self-renewal are the hallmarks in this particular stage of the communication.
The possibility that the different creation stories represent various aspects of the same 'beginning' only placed in a different mental division-environment is, to say the least, a challenging prospect. To 'prove' the historical setting of these four stories and their internal coherence in a scientific context is a different matter. Could it ever be done? The first stipulation for modern science will be to leave the rigid bounds of oppositional thinking and place its findings in a wider field of visibility.
2. The Enneade of Heliopolis is the name for the nine gods making up the cosmogony (creation story) of the city of Heliopolis. The city is situated north of Cairo in the Nile delta. The world started, in the view of the Heliopolians, as chaos from the primeval water ('Nun'). Atum (Re) was the first, single god to rise from this water and formed a hill (which was the founding place of Heliopolis, symbolized by the stone Benben. Atum created from his shadow his children Sjoe (Schu) and Tefnoet (Tefnut), respectively the god of the air and humidity/water.
This first pair of 'conceptual' gods brought into being another pair named Noet (Nut) and Geb, representing heaven and earth. The four children of Noet and Geb were called Nephtys, Seth, Isis and Osiris. This four-some became, in later times, the inspiration for a number of legends, with Osiris, Horus, Hathor and Anubis as major players. One singularity, two pairs and four children completed the nine-some (ennead) of Heliopolis. The general impression of the creation story is a preference for the number nine, which is outside practical division thinking. However, they can also be arranged in a particular sequence, following the (quadralectic) quadrants (fig. 59).
Fig. 59 – The Enneade of Heliopolis is placed here in a quadralectic setting according to the prominence in their creation history.
The god Atum embodied the All, the Supreme Being or the sun god as a monad. It gave the energy to start life. His position fits in the First Quadrant. Everything is in everything in this locality of invisible invisibility.
The first pair (Sjoe and Tefnoet) represented the first division in a state of invisible visibility. They represent the forces of life and the need for order. Their co-operation is placed here in the Second Quadrant.
The second pair (Noet and Geb) is a true duality. Geb is a god of the earth, personified the land of Egypt. His wife Noet, after giving four children to Geb, was separated from Noet by Sjoe – on the orders of Atoem – to become the god of heavens. The division between heaven and earth (god and human) – interpreted here as the genesis of oppositional thinking – has its place in the Third Quadrant.
Finally, the four children of Geb and Noet represent the multiplicity of the Fourth Quadrant. Nephthys was the wife of Seth. Seth was a reminder of the chaos. Isis was the wife of Osiris, who gave birth to Horus, god of the heavens. Osiris was the king of the afterworld.
3. The gods of Memphis were worshiped in the city with the same name, located on the western side of the Nile, south of the modern city of Cairo. The Memphis cosmogony was probably more than the other previous beliefs, based on the rational and human aspects of the gods and creation. Although the essential characteristics of the gods were as old as the Early Dynastic Period its full appreciation only came in the Nineteenth Dynasty (1307 – 1196 BC), when the creativity and internationalization of the New Kingdom urged for a realistic theology.
The major god was Ptah, the craft god and protector of artisans and artists. He was a worker in metal and sculptor of the gods. Ptah used his heart and tongue to create the universe. The theology of Ptah aimed at a synthesis of the mind and the material world. Sekhmet, the lioness goddess of war and battle, consorted with the god Ptah. The couple had a son called Nefertum, meaning 'Tem (Atum) the Younger'. He was often portrayed as a man holding the khepesh (curved sabre) or the ankh (symbol of life). Nefertum was replaced, in later times, by Imhotep, a godly human and builder of the first step pyramid of Zoser (2630 BC) and 'inventor of building in stone'. The act of building became an object of worship (of the visible) in the later stages of the Egyptian cultural history.
The Shabaka Stone was presented to the British Museum in 1805, after it was used for many years as a millstone by farmers. It was named after the black Nubian pharaoh Shabaka, who lived in the XXVth Dynasty (716 – 702 BC). The inscriptions proved a great source of information about the political situation and theological priorities from a l perspective in Egyptian history. The source claimed to be a copy of an ancient document and could have been an adaptation from older texts.
A quadralectic context for the Memphite cosmogony is more difficult to establish since a four-fold narrative is missing. Therefore, fig. 60 gives a tentative view of the Memphite pantheon. Horus remained in the background and is situated in the First Quadrant. The four sons of Horus occupy the Second Quadrant, as a four-division. The couple Ptah and Sechmet claimed the Third Quadrant. The god Thoth (with a dedication to learning and wisdom), Ma'at (cosmic harmony), Imhotep (building) and Sia (feeling) give a 'quadralectic' division of the Fourth Quadrant.
Fig. 60 – A diagram of the gods of Memphis situated in a proposed quadralectic framework. The emphasis of worship (in the New Kingdom) is focused on the god Ptah.
The development of a pyramid complex in the Old Kingdom followed an architectural plan in which four phases can be distinguished:
1. A valley temple
2. A covered and decorated causeway leading to
3. The pyramid (mortuary) temple and
4. The pyramid itself
This four-division reflected the stages in an act of worship and can be interpreted as different positions in relation to the godhead or pharaoh and, ultimately, to a reflection of life-itself (fig. 61).
Fig. 61 – A well developed pyramid complex of the Old Kingdom consisted of four main architectural components. These separate structures had a symbolic meaning as a representation of life (and death): 1. The valley temple; 2. The causeway; 3. The mortuary or pyramid temple; 5. The pyramid containing the body of the king-pharaoh (after MARTIN, 1991).
The temples of the Old Kingdom (2686 – 2160 BC) came into being when the Egyptians activated a higher division scheme and used its richness of possibilities. No history writing took place in the first part of this stage. Tombs contained biographical texts from the later part of the Old Kingdom and gave the achievements of the deceased. Egyptians counted the years of each king's reign, but started again with counting when a new king came to the throne. The Pyramid texts, written inside the pyramids, only started from the reign of King Unas around 2350 BC, at the end of the Fifth Dynasty.
The Old Kingdom, with a special significance from the Fourth to the end of the Sixth Dynasty, provided the style and canon of Egyptian art and architecture. The first true pyramids appeared in the Fourth Dynasty (2613 – 2494 BC), evolving from the step pyramids of the Third Dynasty (2686 – 2613 BC). The most famous pyramid complex at Gizeh was built by the kings Khufu (Cheops), Khafre (or Chefren to the ancient Greeks) and Menkaure (Mycerinos).
The architectural program found its inspiration in a funerary culture, in which the afterlife was of equal importance as the present day life. The consciousness of the presence as a continuous observation through time and the importance of a tension between the various stages of visibility are very much akin to the quadralectic outlook.
The four-fold scheme of the various architectural components is clearly visible in most pyramid complexes. A good example is the pyramid of Pepi II, a pharaoh of the Sixth Dynasty and the last significant ruler of the Old Kingdom (fig. 62). He must have reigned for nearly a century (94 years) after he came to the throne at the age of six (2278 – 2184 BC).
Fig. 62 – The pyramid complex of Pepi II in South Saqqara shows the main four-fold division, with a special prominence of the pyramid temple. One part of the funerary temple (the offering hall) is inside the pyramid enclosure, while the other part (with open courtyard) is outside the perimeter. Originally, the courtyard had eighteen pillars of reddish quartzite. The queen's pyramids surround the main pyramid.
Most famous of all pyramid and temple complexes is the necropolis of Gizeh, just outside Cairo (fig. 63). The four construction elements, con-sisting of a pyramid of the king with a mortuary temple in front, followed by a causeway leading towards a valley temple (along the river Nile), are repeated here in three-fold. The pyramid, as the most visible element of the quaternary, is also the most secretive place. The pharaoh was buried deep in the pyramid and nobody was allowed to enter the chambers after the burial. A large wall was intended to keep the common people out.
Fig. 63 – A map of the necropolis of Gizeh (Cairo, Egypt) with the three major pyramids of the Old Kingdom (1): Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure. The mortuary temples (4) are connected by causeways (5) to the valley temples (6).
This four-fold scheme of building elements was established at the earliest beginning of pyramid building and might have been a reference to a tetradic way of thinking. The pyramid represents – in a quadralectic reconstruction – the First Quadrant, the mortuary temple the Second Quadrant, the causeway, the Third Quadrant and the valley temple the Fourth Quadrant.
Fig. 64 gives a plan of the mortuary temple of the pyramid of Khufu (the Great Pyramid). The temple is situated on the east side of the pyramid and a limestone pavement separates the two architectural elements. Three boat pits flank the temple to the north, east and south side. The temple has a distinct bilateral symmetry along an east-west axis. Thirty-eight pillars (a rectangle of 7 x 14 pillars) line the inner court, with an additional twelve are added on the western side. No obvious numerological four-fold reference can be found here.
Fig. 64 – A plan of the Mortuary Temple of the Pyramid of Khufu (or the Great Pyramid) in Gizeh indicate a symmetry (in plan) along an east-west axis of the main structural feature. The number of pillars (fifty) or its distribution (7 x 14) do not have a reference to a tetradic context.
All the options are still open for this (second) stage of the communication, but there is a hind towards the necessity of a (two-fold) division in order to translate the presence of the invisible invisibility (the godhead/pharaoh) into the realm of the (human) visible. The mortuary temple and the holy and sacred sacraments performed therein in ancient times might hold the key to that visibility.
The valley (lower) temple of the Khafre (or Chephren) pyramid complex in Gizeh (fig. 65 left) belonged to the people. It might have been more accessible than the holy structures further up the causeway, including the mortuary temple and the pyramid. Four colossal sphinxes flank the entrances of the valley temple. The sphinx is a creature with a human head and a lion's body. It acts as a protective deity. There were twenty-three almost life-size statues of the king in the temple.
In the Sphinx temple, next to the valley temple, there were ten larger statues of Khafre. The largest statue of his reign is the Great Sphinx, a feature, which still impresses and puzzles the modern visitors. The Great Sphinx faces the rising sun, its body is sixty meters long and twenty meters high. The face is four meters wide and its eyes are two meters high. Later (smaller) sphinxes were often installed as pairs to guard the entrances of temples and holy places.
Fig. 65 – A plan of the Valley Temple (left) and Mortuary Temple (right) of the Second Pyramid in Gizeh showed the symmetrical outlay of the buildings. Pharaoh Khafre, son of Khufu, built the pyramid and temples.
The mortuary temple (fig. 65 right) lacks the relative 'openness' of the valley temple and is a more 'secret' affair, at least from the point of view of the masses. The building has a bilateral symmetry along an east-west axis and is even more enclosed than the mortuary temple of Khufu. Six pillars in a north-south direction and two rows of five pillars in an east-west direction do not indicate any preference for the number four (or it must be the total of sixteen, but that seems to be far fetched).
Menkaure (Mycerinos) was the successor of Khafre. He also had his pyramid complex filled with his statutes, often in the company with the goddess Hathor and a nome-deity. These triads could also be interpreted as Horus (the king), Hathor (daughter and wife of Re) and the sun god Re. The valley temple of Menkaure (fig. 66) followed the general plan of the lower temples with a bilateral symmetry long an east-west axis and a relative large inner court.
Fig. 66 – A plan of the valley temple of the pyramid of Menkaure (Mycerinos), the Third of the large pyramids at Gizeh. The compact plan has an (irregular) east-west symmetry axis, but has hardly any tetradic features.
The conclusion of this small overview of early mortuary and valley temples points to a bilateral symmetrical axis – and therefore to a two-fold division. The compartments nor the number of pillars or other features do have a tetradic reference. It seemed, that the architects of temples of the Old Kingdom were not primary concerned to express the same kind of 'four-foldness' in their temples as they did in the building of the funeray pyramid-buildings themselves.
The distribution of the various courts and buildings along the central axis offers a number element to the temple complex. The sequence of elements did not play an important role in the older temples, as can be noted in the previous examples. It gained importance as the character of (mortuary) temples changed over the long period of the Egyptian cultural prominence. The fore court (IV), the inner court or pronaos (III), the inner temple or naos (II) and the holy place I (adyton) represented a new 'four-foldness'.
Mentuhotep II Nebhepetre (c. 2040 – 2010) was a pharaoh of the Eleventh Dynasty (Middle Kingdom), who established a centralized monarchy. He ruled Egypt for about thirty-nine years and became known as the 'Uniter of the Two Lands'. The emphasis on the two-fold aspect and the material might be typical for this period in the Egyptian cultural period. Peace and prosperity settled over Egypt and the architectural achievement of his mortuary complex pointed to a new phase in building (fig. 67).
Fig. 67 – A reconstruction of the temple-pyramid of pharaoh Nebhepetre-Mentuhotep in Deir el Bahari. Mentuhotep II was an important ruler of the 11th Dynasty (Middle Kingdom). He could unite Egypt and his reign was a time of stability and renewal.
The precision (of the Old Kingdom) was gone, but a realistic dedication to worship and building came in its place. The temple-pyramid at Deir el-Bahari was a combination of a cult structure and a tomb. The temple is smaller and not so well preserved as the nearby temple of Hatshepsut, but acted as a source of inspiration. The magnificent diorite statue of King Mentuhotep II Nebhepetre was found by Howard Carter and is now in the museum in Cairo.
The Middle Kingdom experienced brisk economic activity, with an emphasis on the reality of day-to-day life (GRAJETZKI, 2006). A relative short time consciousness, which is typical for lower division thinking, was reflected in the classical literature and poetry. The spirit of 'carpe diem' filled the air. The Twelfth Dynasty, with rulers such as Amenemhet I and Seostris I, had an expansive character and foreigners mingled with the original population. Movements of people started in the Middle East towards 1800 BC. Egypt was confronted with the expansionism of other people (Hyksos) and found itself threatened in its identity in the Second Intermediate Period.
The New Kingdom, lasting from about 1500 to 1000 BC, was the apogee of the Egyptian culture in terms of visibility (from the present point of view). The temple complex at Karnak (Luxor) is probably the biggest temple complex in the world, but is only a small part of the remains of that period.
Pharaoh Thutmozes I followed an aggressive foreign policy, leading to further prosperity at home. Hatsjepsoet, the widow of Thutmoses II, became the regentess of Thutmozes III. Further riches were found in the gold of Nubia and Egypt grew to the most powerful nation of the eastern Mediterranean. The reign of Toetanchamon, although of short duration (1347 – 1337 BC) was important for the modern, 'Western' visibility with regards to the Egyptian cultural period. The finding of his burial place and the accompanying treasures sparked a renewed interest in the Egyptian culture in the first quarter of the twentieth century.
An increased self-consciousness of the Egyptians of the New Kingdom was part of an increased (material) visibility, as symbolized by the ruling of the Ramsesses, successful rulers of the thirteenth and twelfth century BC. The attention to numbers (and division-in-general) was part of this process. The architectural scheme of the temple might reflect that interest.
The 'old' four-fold division in architectural elements was now brought together in the temple itself. For instance, the temple of Chon (Khonsu) at Thebe (Luxor) expresses a tetradic division (fig. 68).
Fig. 68 – The temple of Chon at Thebe (Luxor) is part of an enormous temple complex consisting of the Temple of Amun, the Temple of Ptah and the Sacred Lake. The old four-fold approach to the godhead (pharaoh) in four types of buildings (temples) is now incorporated in one building.
The prominence and the perfection of the pyramids waned (mainly after the New Kingdom) and the building of temples grew in importance. The shift towards a greater division of architectural elements within the temple complexes seemed to continue in time.
Antoine-Chrysotome Quatremère de Quincy, an influential French architectural theorist (1755 – 1849), gave a plan of various temples with multi-partitioning along the central axis (fig. 69). His examples seem to date from the later part of the Egyptian cultural period. It is known that a succession of pharaohs in the New Kingdom was involved in the building of a complex like Karnak (Luxor). The original scheme lost its significance if various extensions were added, like in the mighty Temple of Amun. It might well be that the Temple of Chon (Khonsu) was 'arrested' in its present tetradic state and would have lost this character if time of building had continued. The further division of segments along the symmetry axis, with special emphasis on the addition of pylons as the symbols of dualism, pushed the four-fold scheme to the background.
Fig. 69 – These lateral views and plans of two Egyptian temples exhibit the multiple division of architectural elements along a central axis. The bilateral symmetry and division of pylons, pillars and halls was noted by the French architect Antoine-Chrysotome Quatremère de Quincy (1755 – 1849) and published by Pococke in 1803. The attention of these early pioneers to ' aspects in the Egyptian temple buildings fitted in the spirit of the times. The cultural entity of Europe was ready, around 1800, to absorb the tetradic spirit again.
The idea of the four units along the central axis was exerted in the Horus (Hathor) temple of Edfu, hundred kilometers south of Luxor. This temple, in excellent condition, is dated from the Ptolemean times. During this period, which lasted from 305 – 30 BC, Egypt had lost its independence. The temples are therefore situated outside the visibility period (X) of the Egyptian cultural era sensu stricto (see also p. 87).
The sub-division of the holy segments of the Edfu temple can be described in quadralectic terms (fig. 70). The fore court remained the largest area (Fourth Quadrant), followed by the hypostyle hall (Third Quadrant) and the Hall of Emanation (Second Quadrant). The First Quadrant is divided in an offer hall, hall of the Enneade and the holy place (adyton).
Fig. 70 – A plan of the temple at Edfu. The temple was built towards the end of the Egyptian visibility period and reflects a strong devotion towards symmetry and the primary geometrical form.
Two pylons (P) shape the entrance to the large fore court (H) with a symmetrical pattern of (12 + 4) x 2 = 32 pillars lining the area. The pronaos or hypostyle hall (1) has a morning house (a) and a library (b). 6 x 2 = 12 pillars support the roof. The hall of manifestation (2) also has 6 x 2 = 12 pillars. The offering hall (3) has no pillars and is fairly small. The hall of the Enneade or middle hall (4) is lined with chapels (4 x 2 + 3). The holy place or adyton (5) with naos (inner temple) contained the holy boat.
The temple in Edfu started under the reign of Ptolemy III Euergetes I (246 – 221 BC) and was inaugurated by Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II in 142 BC. Later additions, like the Pronaos (140 – 124 BC), the pillars' hall and the pylon (116 – 71 BC) took place after the inauguration (ARNOLD, 2000).
Some fifty kilometers north of Aswan is the temple of Kom Ombo on the east bank of the Nile, also dating from Ptolemean times (although a temple built in the times of Thutmoses III (1479 – 1425 BC) might have occupied the place earlier). The temple is dedicated to the crocodile god Sobek and the falcon god Haroeris (Horus the Elder). The building actually consists of two temples with the individual elements duplicated along the main central axis (fig. 71).
Fig. 71 – The temple of Sobek at Kom Ombo (Upper Egypt) was con-structed in the period between 180 and 30 BC and shows an extended four-division of the basic elements and a double setting along a central symmetry axis. 1. The forecourt; 2. Facade of the pronaos; 3. Pronaos and first hall of hypostyles; 4. Second hall of hypostyles; 5 – 7 vestibules; 8. Sanctuary of the Triad of Horus; 9. Sanctuary of the Triad of Sobek (by Francesco L. Nera).
The Temple of Kom Ombol had two entrances, two courts, two colonnades, two hypostyles and two sanctuaries. The hypostyle hall featured papyrus capitals on the columns, which are well preserved. The Four Winds are pictured as godheads on a wall decoration (GUTBUG, 1977), pointing to a continuation of the tetradic tradition.
The prominence of the four-fold seemed to gain momentum at the end of the visibility period of the Egyptian culture. It is hard to prove an actual increase of prominence since little or no research is done in this field. The cult of the four-headed ram, which had already figured in the New Kingdom (1554 – 1092 BC), was reintroduced in the Late and Ptolemaic times.
Adolphe GUTBUG (1977, p. 241) noted that 'the concept of the four winds and its rulers in Egypt is very old, it is only in the latest period from the second century BC until the second century AD that the four winds are depicted as theriomorph or mix beings. Until now eighteen occurrences are known'. He gave a picture of the sun god with four ram heads in the sanctuary of Amenophis III at Luxor, created in the New Kingdom (1554 – 1092 BC) and a Phoenician amulet from the eighth century BC.
A striking illustration of the god Amun-Re with four ram-heads can be seen in the temple at Esnah (Iunyt; Upper Egypt). The temple is of Ptolemean age. The spirit of the four directions became widely known, because it was depicted by Jean-François Champollion (1790 – 1832) in his 'Pantheon egyptien' (1823 – 1831). The four winds as an animal with lion heads are also given in a temple in Dendera, dating from the times of Ptomemy XII Neos Dionysos (80 – 51 BC) (fig. 72).
Fig. 72 – The Four Winds are expressed as an animal with lion heads. This wall decoration in Dendera marks the beast as part of a quartet of four symbolizations, which might also have a reference to the four-fold. The illustration dates from the Ptolemaic period. The Ptolemaic kings had come to power after the conquest of Egypt by Alexander the Great in 332 BC.
The holy cities of Heliopolis, Mendes, Sais and Buto (Boeto) became part of a geographical four-fold symbolism in the closing stages of the Egyptian cultural history (the Late Period, 713 – 323 BC). These demographic centres had a long history of religious pilgrimages (and probably four-fold symbolism), because the pharaoh had to make – after his departure of life – a journey along the four holy cities of the delta. The principal halts on the way to eternal rest corresponded with the cardinal points. These directional stations were, in turn, related to the four elements (fig. 73).
Fig. 73 – The four holy cities in Northern Egypt were instrumental in the funerary practices of the Egyptian cultural history. Their symbolism can be seen as a tribute to a form of division thinking. The elements fire (Heliopolis), air (Mendes), earth (Sais) and water (Buto) are, in that view, stages in a four-fold visibility (adapted after Tunnicliffe; DESROCHES-NOBLECOURT, 1963).
1.The city of Heliopolis, just north of Cairo, was known as a place of sun worship. The place acted as a religious centre for a long time with the god Atum (created by itself, the hidden unity) and an entourage of eight gods as a centre point. A modern comparison of this 'unity' and a subsequent follow-up would make a comparison with the First Quadrant appropriate.
The Enneade of Heliopolis points to nine gods, but there is a distinct distribution, following the numbers 1 – 2 – 2 and 4. The primary godhead (Atum/Ra) gives life to Shu and Tefnut (related to the wind/air). This duo fostered the oppositional pair of Geb (earth) and Nut (heaven). The gods of heaven (mother) and earth (father), in turn, raise four children: Nephthys, Seth, Isis and Osiris.
At present, there is only the obelisk of Sesostris I (1972 – 1928 BC) left in Heliopolis as a monument. Another obelisk is transported to the Thames embankment in London and a third to the Central Park in New York.
2. The city of Mendes (Tell el-Rub'a), in the east, was characterized by the two pillars of Osiris, the djed pillars, evoking the concept of air (see also p. 460/461, fig. 377). The god Shu was a ruler over the open sky and the four winds. A modern (quadralectic) interpretation would place this airy element in the Second Quadrant, the place of the first mental (four) division.
The remains of the ancient sixteenth nome capital Djedet, which was also called Per-banebdjadet, meaning 'House of the Ram Lord of Djedet', became a royal residence and capital in the 29th Dynasty. Its history goes back to the Old Kingdom and even artefacts from the pre-dynastic era were found. The worship of a ram god (Amun-Re) was ancient and found its origin in Khnum, a ram god of the Nile, bringing fertility and a potter god of creation. The ram god was later associated with other gods and grew in strength. The four divine generations, brought together in the four headed ram god – consisting of Re, Shu, Geb and Osiris – were known as Sheft-hat. They were worshiped in a temple of the Late Period, restored by Ptolemy II Philadelphus.
3. Sais (Sa el-Hagar), as the western most city of the quartet, is located on the Bolbitine (Rosetta) Branch of the Nile and the chief city of the fifth Nome of Lower Kemet. Sais, to the west, represented the necropolis where the body was buried and therefore, associated with the element of the earth. A modern interpretation would place this stage of the journey in the Third Quadrant, the most visible in terms of material and its opposite.
The city was dedicated in the old days to the creation goddess Neith (Net or Nit), the queen of Lower Egypt. She was represented by a woman carrying bow and arrow and was the mother of the crocodile god Sobek. Neith was addressed as the 'Opener of the Ways' and therefore, associated with Anubis. The city reached its heydays when powerful kings from Sais reunified Kemet and started the Saite (26th) Dynasty. Psamtek I (Psammetichus I) became the first king of the reunified country (664 – 610 BC).
The cultural achievements of the 26th (Saite) Dynasty are sometimes characterized as a 'Late Renaissance', because many of the old styles and customs were reintroduced, but on a more cerebral and intellectual level. It might well be that the four-fold spirit and consciousness were an important element in this late revival of the Egyptian cultural history. That would explain – in hindsight – why so much of this Great Finale of Visibility is lost or dispersed. In this stage of history the knowledge had dawn that the visible visibility (the material track record) was only part of the story of human life.
4. Buto (Tell el-Farien), as the most northern city of the quartet, is situated in a watery environment and renowned for its canal. Buto is also known as the 'Place of the Throne'. The transformation took place in the aquatic world of the primordial abyss, evoking the water surrounding the unborn child. A modern (quadralectic) interpretation would define this stage as the Fourth Quadrant, being a place in the communication where a (new) insight in the multitude takes place pursuant to a wider form of division thinking.
In the old days, the city was home to a cult of the cobra goddess Wadjet (Uatchet or Ouadjyt), who was the partner of Horus. She was also known as 'Uarchet, Lady of Heaven, mistress of all the gods'. The Greek historian Herodotus mentioned the place as being famous during Persian times for its oracles. The latter custom could be a reference to the four-fold way of thinking, which leaves ample place for a prediction of the future (as also can be seen by the famous oracle of Delphi, enjoying its heydays in the eighth and seventh century BC).
The architecture of temples was part of the long and well-documented history of the Egyptian cultural development in which the mental tetradic setting played a role in its own, unpretentious way. The modern, quadralectic interpretation distinguishes a cycle of visibility, starting with the unconscious presence to a realization, followed by a search and ending with a conscious acceptance and appreciation (leading to a new cycle of visibility). This meaningful elucidation of an old way of thinking provides a compliant way of looking at the Egyptian history. The point of view of an early twenty-first-century observer/historian in Western Europe can be put in perspective.
It is important to realize that this (subjective) observer is not only watching another culture, but is also part of his or her own cultural development and goes through the same motions as the subject of interest. Recognition is only possible when types of division thinking are in concordance. A 'simple mind', rooted in lower division thinking, cannot comprehend and understand the field of insight of a higher division thinker. The certain truth is that only a tetradic mind can fully grasp the tetradic features within the Egyptian cultural history.
The various 'waves' of interest in other cultures within the European history are marker points for a specific way of understanding. The 'discoveries' of the Greek philosophical knowledge in the 'Twelve Century Renaissance' and the admiration for the Roman artistic achievements in the Italian Renaissance are 'moments of truth' within the cultural history of Europe. The beginning of the Egyptian Revival around the year 1800 has to be added to these important historical data.
The Greek revival is the moment when an active, but often latent, four-fold consciousness became visible to the year 1200. This visibility (in particular in the translation of the works of Aristotle) was the demise of four-fold thinking as it existed in the four Scholastic senses or interpretation of the Scriptures. The emphasis was moved towards lower division thinking, offering the rewards of power and material wealth. And, last but not least, a cultural identity.
The 'Italian' Renaissance (or Roman revival) was the deliberate search for greatness in the material world. The architects and builders in Italy, and gradually in the greater parts of Europe, looked for their inspiration to the spirit of their predecessors at the time of the Pivotal Point in the Roman cultural history (125 BC, see p. 126, fig. 88). And probably they were right: the Roman Empire was at this stage of its development in a similar position as the European cultural period towards 1500 AD: both entities searched for the limits of (visible) visibility and creation.
The 'Egyptian' cultural interest, finally, started as a 'third wave' in the early eighteenth century, most likely with a French book called 'Sethos', which was anonymously published in Amsterdam in 1731. Mozart's masterpiece of the 'Zauberflöte' (The Magic Flute), written in 1791, had all the weird zeal for the Egyptian culture transferred into music (VAN DER BERK, 1995).
The Egyptian Revival reached its climax after 1800 and gripped the imagination of the creative people in Europe (CARROTT, 1978). The newly found mysticism, fed by (illustrated) descriptions after Napoleon's campaign in Egypt (1798 – 1801), was easily absorbed into the Romantic movement. Howard Carter's discovery of the grave of Tutachamon in 1922 sparked a renewed interest in Egypt and its historic meaning. It might well be, that Europe's entrance in its Fourth Quadrant (1800) provided the under-standing of the old Egyptian wisdom of (tetradic) thinking.