text:
1. South Korea's largest Exchange Bithumb starts global expansion plan with Japan and Thailand.
2. EOS Developer block.one has closed investments from billionaire Paypal co-founder Peter Thiel and Bitmain billionaire Jihan Wu.
3. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority is poised to launch a live blockchain trade finance platform within two months.
4. As yet another sign that Crypto is coming to Wall Street, the chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) institute has added topics on blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies to the 2019 CFA Level 1 and 2 exam curriculums.
5. Crypto Exchange Fcoin is to buy back 100 million of it's own tokens (Which is worth $24 Million) to provide capital for a new fund of funds.
6. Crypto to expand mobile payments to rural networks without state control.
7. Bitcoin has reclaimed that $6,600 price point, total market cap up $12 billion today — rally likely triggered by news that the $6.3 trillion asset management giant Blackrock is eyeing crypto.
8. Dash has reportedly partnered up with CoinFlipATM that will increase Dash Supported ATMs by 85% within North America, fueling its mass adoption. With growing partnerships and adoption, Dash might as well be for a proce spike.
9. A self-regulatory organization in Thailand is planning to create a custom token aimed to speed up corporate bond settlement in the country.
10. Highly-respected Bitcoin Developer Dr. Peiter Wuille recently posted a proposed Schonrr signatures upgrade to Github repositories. If accepted by the Bitcoin community, the Schnorr upgrade could become the biggest change to Bitcoin's existing code base since SegWit and could help resolve its current scalability and privacy issues.
11. Credit card giant American Express may be looking into developing a new proof-of-payment (PoP) system based on blockchain technology.
12. Ethos (ETHOS), a mobile cryptocurrency storage and monitoring platform built on the blockchain, announced this week that this has partnered with Payroc, a merchant payment processing service, to integrate merchant cryptocurrency payment capabilities to its mobile Universal Wallet. Today, Ethos is excited to announce our partnership with Payroc. Together, we'll create a consumer-to-merchant crypto payments service.
13. Robinhood, the popular commission-free trading app, announced today that is now supports the buying and selling of Dogecoin (DOGE), a Cryptocurrency based on a popular online meme that boasts low-fee transactions and a scalable network. Dogecoin is now available on Robinhood Crypto, Commission free.
14. Deputy director of China's IT Ministry has called for industrial-scale blockchain adoption for the new digital.
15. Coinbase Alleged for Manipulating Prices, XRP Users urge FINRA to probe recent Coinbase listing update.
16. BitPay, a blockchain payment processor that supports Bitcoin and Bitcoincash announced today that it has been granted the eighth "BitLicense" from the New York State Department of Financial Services. Bitpay is the first blockchain payment processor to secure a virtual currency license from the New York Department of Financial Services.
17. Ripple hires Dan Morgan from UK Govt. as head of it's European Regulatory Relations.
18. It's time, US Govt. To Examine Future of Cryptocurrencies as money in a hearing on July 18th.
19. Change.org creates the mining screensaver to benefit the foundation.
20. Global consultancy firm Accenture plans to give aerospace supply chains the blockchain treatment in forthcoming Unveiling at the UK's Farmborough Airshow.
21. The Singapore based CyClean.io has purchased a little known but innovative Hong Kong shared bicycle company. The Aquisition would have been unremarkable but for the fact that the transaction was completed entirely in crypto.
22. In a legal tug-of-war between France, Russia and the US., Greek courts have ruled in France's favor to take over custody of Alexander Vinnik.
For more such Interesting news and updates you can follow us on our Telegram Channel: Cryptoabhi


text:
Andrew Holybee
活动概览Latest activity by Andrew Holybee
Andrew Holybee 进行了评论,
I have a Garmin 25 and really like the hardware nothing fancy but hits all my point I can't use any of the other work around so I am excited that it is coming this summer and know lots of people wh...
Andrew Holybee 进行了评论,
I would like annual achievements to be plugged into at least the club portion where it seems like there is some work being done there. I am putting awards together for our club members in my tuesda...
Andrew Holybee 进行了评论,
I do wan't to stay focused here so it doesn't hurt our cause I love my Garmin however we all know the battle now is over user data. There are things Garmin does well and there are things Strava doe...
Andrew Holybee 进行了评论,
I love my Garmin devices and I love Strava wanted to get a update on this as well. I route lead Tuesdays and Thursdays at night when mapping is especially important. We have riders in 3 distinct gr...

subset: commoncrawl


text:
The previous 4 posts covered sites in the Sacred and Southern Valleys, now we will move to the West of Cusco where you will find the Anta Province, aside from those that traveling through and those staying with us here at GringoWasi, the Anta Province in general does not see many tourists, so it is still relatively untouched by tourism.
The Andenes Zurite are located a little more than 42 km to the West of Cusco and the largest continuous terraces in the Cusco Region if not in all of Peru, with the larger terraces being about 1 km in length, 30 meters deep and 3 meters in height.
Before being taken over by the government, the terraces were farmed and controlled by a wealthy family, the old colonial home is still on one of the upper terraces and is one of many building the Ministry of Agriculture occupies. The Ministry of Agriculture now manages the archaeological site and operates it as a large laboratory, here they test different growing methods and through cross pollination try to develop new varieties of crops, for instance they introduced a new variety of quinoa back in 2012.
Aside from the terraces and colonial home, there are also ruins on the hill above the terraces that we have been told are referred to as Qenqo, like to site above Cusco. While the ruins above are accessible, it would be a difficult hike and according to some of the workers at the site, one would need a machete to blaze a path, as there is no established trail to get you there.
If considering a trip to the Andenes Zurite and you like pork, I would recommend stopping in our town of Huarocondo for lunch, Huarocondo is regionally known as the "tierra de lechon" or land of lechon. Lechon is pork that has been slow roasted, and while lechon is available in Cusco and many towns in the region, it is usually a piece of adult pig, here in Huarocondo the pig must be 10kg or under and is roasted whole for 4 to 6 hours depending on size.
Up next will be my last installment in this series, a site dedicated to the moon and where you can experience an amazing local celebration virtually free of other tourists.


text: I'm still waiting for delivery of my MS, but have seen several threads recommending the use of alternate/supplemental nav info due to the general suckiness of Tesla's maps. Recent news reports are that Tesla has been uploading trip data for months to aid in AP function, especially useful in streets with poor lane markings, street construction, etc. Is the nav any better? Or is the info only being used for AP? Will I still need Waze/google maps along side? BTW, I didn't order the AP, it wasn't really "out" when I placed my order, thought I'd get familiar with the car first, let bugs get worked out of AP & read the reviews. From what I'm seeing so far on these forums, glad I'm waiting/not getting it. I wouldn't want to pee in terror on the seats of my new car! ;-)


text:
Books that surprised me in one way or another.
random thoughts
TTT: Favorite Quotes from 2017 Reads.
A look back at some of my favorite book quotes I read in 2017.
Music Monday. The Hamilton Polka.
Trying something new this week - Music Monday! And what better way to kick it off than with The Hamilton Polka, Tonight Show style.
TTT: Read. Sleep. Repeat.
Books worth rereading. At least, for me.
TTT: I've Lost that Lovin' Feeling. Or, it's not you, it's me.
For various reasons, I'm sure I'll never read these books still sitting in my TBR.


text:
DDW edition
Do you have a really cool idea or dilemma that you want to share? Perhaps you're looking for a solution to a challenging technology problem? Now is your chance. Join Drinks, Pitches & Demos, an informal gathering with drinks and demo's for start-ups, innovators and inspired professionals.
We encourage start-ups, scale-ups, mentors, investors and partners to join us and contribute. The event is scheduled on october 24th from 17:00 to 18:00.
Would you like to pitch or receive more information? Please send an e-mail to email@example.com. Reserve your spot on time!


text:
"But, every twenty seconds he comes to life. His LED eyes turn on, his jaw slowly opens, and then SNAPS shut– and he goes back into stealth mode."
With a (much) bigger servo and a bit of creative pumpkin engineering you can take the concept to extremes. I'm wondering if there's some way to trigger the thing with a sensor of some sort, especially if after the holiday is over and the squash has gone bad we wanted to do something like this with it. I rather like the idea of a book that peeks up at you with glowing eyes, but I'd like it better if it reacted to, say, someone sitting down in a designated chair, reacting to either a motion or a pressure sensor. (Ditto for the pumpkin gimmick, for that matter.)
The project is definitely within Ty's soldering/technical skills, but the use of an actual squash means we must do it relatively soon before Thanksgiving - perhaps the weekend before, at the earliest - to keep it from becoming fly infested. Using the same apparatus for the peek-a-boo book has more long-term potential, but making it sensor driven would boost the fun. Will report back if I figure out how.
UPDATE (12/16): I hope it's true we learn more from our failures than our successes because this was our first failure together, and more mine than hers. This was her most complicated soldering project to date. Because we'd gotten this from her children's museum class, I only had one and didn't put one together myself before she tried to do it. I wish I had. Every moment of indecisiveness before figuring out where to put a piece made her more frustrated (and at eight her reading comprehension wasn't quite up to the instructions, which we were reading off a lap top at the dining room table/work station, so much of it was inevitably on me). Finally, jerking away to conceal what she was doing in some ill-conceived expression of a privacy demand, Ty splattered solder just about everywhere including across more than a dozen connections on the circuit board and in and around all the chip connections. I attributed this behavior to my own unpreparedness and lack of pedagogical skills, regrettably; I understand why she was frustrated. The front end of a learning curve isn't always fun. And if my own skills were better, I'd be a better teacher. Regardless, no amount of solder sucking and wicking was able to salvage it, though I did save the motor and large orange leds for another day.
Contemplating my abysmal pedagogical failure, I came to this head slapping realization: We only took to soldering this kit because it was handed to her at her Spark Club class at the Thinkery, Austin's big children museum. But if I'd given it two thoughts, this project would be easy to put together with little or no soldering by using an Arduino, a breadboard and jumper wires. I'm going to try it first without her over the Christmas holiday. Perhaps I can get her interested in a less fussy project involving less soldering, against which she's started to push back once we reached these slightly more complicated projects.


text:
I just posted a new video on YouTube. Check it out.
"Naphtali is a doe let loose that bears lovely fawns," Gen 49.21
I just posted a new video on YouTube. Check it out.
I just published a video on YouTube to go with my last post about Jesus and a fig tree.
I have two fig trees in my back yard, so I've been learning all I can about them. Last year, the trees produced enough fruit to share with bugs, butterflies, and birds and still have way more than I could eat,
so I did what my grandmother did – made preserves.
Here is part of one peck I picked. No picture of preserves available yet.
Early in the summer, I could see the figs forming, but they were green. I started looking around the middle of June for ripe figs, maybe even earlier. I couldn't remember when the season started. Day after day, the figs were still green.
It would never occur to me – or anyone I could imagine – to curse a tree for not bearing fruit out of season. Yet the Gospels preserve a story of Jesus doing just that (Cf. Matthew 21:18-22).
The season is about over now. The leaves are starting to fall. That's what fig trees do. They go through the same seasons each year. Jesus knows this.
"From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near" (Mark 13:28, ESV).
The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear (Mark 4:28).
He knows the cycles grain and trees go through. He knows about seed time and harvest. You can't pick fresh figs any time of year. It happens in its own time and in its own season. So how can he get mad at a fig tree when it's not the season for figs (Mark 11:13)? It's idiotic to get mad at a tree for any reason, and especially for following the same seasons it does every year. If I got mad at my trees because it's September and the leaves are starting to fall, you'd think I was insane. And you'd be right.
Maybe a little disappointment is understandable. Maybe he just had a hankering for figs at the moment, saw the leaves on the tree, and thought he'd check just in case a few ripened a little early. No figs. Oh well. He should keep moving before anyone sees he doesn't know the season of figs in this territory like every other Jew who has ever been to Jerusalem for the three major festivals, right?
No, he curses the fig tree so that it withers and dies, dried up at the root (Mark 11:14, 20). It looks not only stupid but mean-spirited in narcissistic fashion. I don't care what season it is. You're a fig tree, and I want figs now.
This is another example of why you can't read everything in the Bible literally. It is a story that is obviously meant to be read symbolically.
It's a very common theme in the Old Testament. A gardener plants a tree (or vine) in a garden, cares for it, removes weeds, protects it from wild animals, basically does everything you can to keep the tree healthy so that it will bear fruit. When it's time for the harvest, there is either no fruit or the fruit is rotten. This is a metaphor the Bible uses repeatedly to say the religious and national institutions have become corrupt, and God is about to pass judgment on them .
Mark connects this story with another in one of his "sandwiches." This is when he starts one story, interrupts it with another narrative, and then finishes the first story. The story that interrupts this one is The Cleansing of the Temple (11:15-19), when Jesus overturns the tables of the moneychangers and calls out the corruption of the priests. Matthew presents these stories as separate events (21:12-13, 18-22), but Mark deliberately links them together to show the meaning of both these actions is one and the same.
Jesus sees a tree with no fruit and causes it to wither and die from the inside out, indicating God's judgment on the Temple as an institution. Even though this is not the explanation Jesus gives (11:21-26), no Jew in Jerusalem could have missed the symbolism. Here are a few more examples.
The axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire (Matthew 3:10).
Beware of the false prophets…Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire (Matthew 7:15a, 18-19).
In these two passages, both Jesus and John the Baptist draw upon on Old Testament symbol of good figs representing the good people and bad figs representing the bad people (Jeremiah 24:1-8; Hosea 9:10).
Figs were often named with other crops, especially grapes, as a symbol of security and abundance, of the entire promised land being blessed and no one lacking anything. When the fig tree and the grapevine bore good fruit, all the people lived in shalom.
And He will judge between many peoples and render decisions for mighty, distant nations. Then they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; Nation will not lift up sword against nation, and never again will they train for war. Each of them will sit under his vine and under his fig tree, with no one to make them afraid, for the mouth of the LORD of hosts has spoken (Micah 4:3-4).
So Judah and Israel lived in safety, every man under his vine and his fig tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon (1 Kings 4:25).
For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing forth in valleys and hills; a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey (Deuteronomy 8:7-8)
So when fig tree and the vine bore no fruit, or the figs fell because the tree was shaken, troubled times were ahead.
…thus says the LORD of hosts, "Behold, I am sending upon them the sword, famine and pestilence, and I will make them like split-open figs that cannot be eaten due to rottenness" (Jeremiah 29:17).
The vine dries up and the fig tree fails; The pomegranate, the palm also, and the apple tree, all the trees of the field dry up indeed, rejoicing dries up from the sons of men (Joel 1:12).
"I will surely snatch them away," declares the LORD; "There will be no grapes on the vine and no figs on the fig tree, and the leaf will wither; And what I have given them will pass away" (Jeremiah 8:13)
They will devour your harvest and your food; They will devour your sons and your daughters; They will devour your flocks and your herds; They will devour your vines and your fig trees; They will demolish with the sword your fortified cities in which you trust (Jeremiah 5:17).
All your fortifications are fig trees ripe with ripe fruit – When [the trees are] shaken, the [figs] fall into the eater's mouth (Nahum 3:12).
The author of Revelation draws upon this as well.
And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind (Revelation 6:13, KJV).
So this is not about vindictiveness toward a tree. Just as he did when he overturned the tables of the moneychangers, Jesus is taking on the role of a prophet pronouncing God's judgment on the religious institutions. And troubled times were coming. They are within a generation of a rebellion against Rome that would end with the complete destruction of the Temple. The rebels were not yet born, but the social and political forces were already at work, the same forces exposed in the trial of Jesus. And this fact was uncovered recently: The Emperor Vespasian used the gold, silver, and bronze from the Temple to pay for the construction of the Colosseum.
What was happening in the Temple, in the priesthood, and in the religious life of Judea that made Jesus so angry? Usually when the prophets pronounce God's judgment in the most dire terms, they are condemning some kind of systemic injustice. Corruption has become so entrenched in the system that the only remedy left is to destroy the institution completely and hope that in the ashes the institutions can be recreated. Hopefully this time, if we start again from scratch, these institutions that are supposed to uphold justice and righteousness for everyone will get it right.
As I write this, I feel afraid. When some people read in the Bible about God's harshest judgments, they feel justified in dehumanizing certain people. They think God hates all the same people they hate. I know because I used to be one of them. Still a recovering Fundamentalist. I don't want to stir up those kind of misguided feelings, but in order to get at the meaning of this passage, we need to understand this kind of prophetic tradition Jesus was part of. I have a few ideas that I will discuss in a later post.
I started this series called "Roots of Depression" to track some of my experiences working in the yard and seeing some of the work as a metaphor for recovery, particularly removing weeds and other undesirable plants so that the good plants can recover and thrive. Gardening, it turns out, is a great metaphor for recovery, happy living, and the human condition in general. No wonder the Bible uses it so much.
In a more recent post, I spoke more directly about my experience of depression and recovery up to this point. It looks like those two series are going to intertwine like vines around an azalea bush but in a healthy way. See? Another metaphor! So as a writer in search of metaphors (really more interesting than it sounds), I want to try to connect the dots between gardening and recovery.
This was a tough root, so I pulled out the hand spade to remove it.
You'll notice there's a bulb at the end. I didn't think vines had bulbs at their roots, but as I was removing it, I felt a resistance, as if the bulb were attached to something bigger. I used the spade to continue digging around it and encountered something harder than the soil, bulb-like but much bigger.
Soon the thing was revealed to me. It was much bigger than a bulb. In fact, it almost looked like an alien pod. I used a toothbrush to remove more dirt from the top and took a picture to show the scale.
If this is a bulb, I have never seen any other bulb like it. What is this thing? What is it doing in my flowerbed? Is it connected to the Azaleas or the vines that keep popping up underneath them like Kudzu? What will it do to the flowers if I remove it? So I'm leaving it for now. But if anyone can tell me what kind of bulb this is, please tell me in the comments below.
In relation to recovery, as you dig up and remove the weeds and their roots beneath, you may find things that you have no idea what they are or where they came from. That's okay. If you're not sure what it is or what will happen to the other plants in your garden if you remove it, leave it for now (Mat. 13:24-30). Learn more about it. See what tools are available for you, then put together a plan of action. The video below shows what's involved when you start removing a root or vine. I looked at the pile of roots that were connected directly or indirectly to one vine and thought, "Wow! This is a mess. And it's what recovery looks like."
Now I want to list some of the tools you can use to remove the "weeds of depression" from the garden of your soul. Each of these requires more in-depth discussion than I can give right now. Like any list, this is about breadth, not depth. I want to name as many tools as I can for you, because like weeds in a garden, you will need many tools to remove them all. Real life gardening and yardwork has been good not only in living out metaphors for recovery. It gives me two forms of therapy at once: Exercise and sunlight.
Medication – If you have some form of Clinical Depression, your brain needs help producing "happy chemicals." Medication is the most direct way to do that, but using it raises issues for some people, and particularly for people of faith. This will be the subject of a future post.
Counseling – It was very disorienting when I had a neuropsychologist tell me I tested high for depression in every possible way. If you've been diagnosed, you will most likely need professional counseling to help get re-oriented. If incorporating faith in your recovery is important to you, there are counselors who specialize in that.
Tell that voice in your head to shut up! – You know the one I'm talking about. We all have a voice in our head. If you're depressed, that voice is the opposite of a motivational speaker. It tells you you're a loser and gives you all the reasons why. It is quick-tempered and brings back old anger, even for things you and the other person have already made up for. What I finally realize is that voice is not real. It is the product of a chemically imbalanced brain. So drown it out with something positive and uplifting, like…Music.
Music – Does it have to be happy music? Not necessarily. Any music that makes you feel better will help.
Diet & Exercise – I don't want to be like a certain actor who suggested that all you need to cure Depression (Post-Partum in that case) is diet and exercise. However, you should pay attention to it. Certain nutritional deficiencies can exacerbate depression. And you've heard of the "runner's high"? That's your brain producing happy chemicals in response to exercise.
Laughter – You've heard the saying "Laughter is the best medicine." It's hard to be sad or angry while you're laughing. So watching a funny movie is more than entertainment. It's therapy.
Sunlight – Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a type of depression specifically linked to lack of exposure to sunlight. Even if you don't have SAD, a little more sunshine (with sunscreen) might help lift your mood.
Meditation – Many studies have shown meditation affects the brain in very healthy ways. It promotes calmness, reduces stress and anxiety, and increases your sense of well-being.
Prayer – This doesn't necessarily make me feel better, but it has been absolutely crucial for coping with stress and with life in general. People of faith, however, tend to think prayer should be the only thing you need to cure depression. I've learned the hard way prayer is a great tool – but not the only tool – for recovery.
Favorite activities – This might be the best advice I ever got for coping with Depression: Find something you love to do, and do it (from Kevin Gates, rapper).
Forgiveness – You cannot recover if you are weighed down with anger, grudges, and resentment. If the wounds are fresh, it may take time. But make the choice to forgive, even if it doesn't look possible right now.
Gratitude – The Law of Attraction says whatever you feel, the Universe will give you more of. If you walk around feeling angry and bitter all the time, the Universe will give you more to feel angry and bitter about. If you walk around feeling happy and grateful, the Universe will give you more to feel happy and grateful about. I don't hold it as an absolute. I do think there is something to it, though. It's not the full equation, but it is part of it. Maybe this is why Paul said to the Philippians,
Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Philip. 4:6-7).
Set the timer – This is a trick I read in an interview with Christopher Reeve. If you remember, he had a horse riding accident that left him quadriplegic. In public, though, it looked like he never let it get him down. One of his tricks was each morning, he would set the timer for twenty minutes. During that time he could cry, rant and rave about how unfair this is, how much it sucks, and when the timer went off, stop right there! Time to stop feeling sorry for yourself and get back to living.
Posture – Will changing your posture really change your mood? There is a mind-body connection. If you are hunched over, arms crossed, looking down, you look depressed and most likely feel depressed too. Straighten your back. Lift your head. Look forward. Open your arms. You'll not only look confident but most likely feel more confident as well.
Recovery programs like Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) – I'm not an alcoholic, but I have found the AA model of recovery very helpful in a number of ways. Its compassionate approach is conducive to healing. It teaches you to take responsibility without beating yourself up. You never say you are "recovered," but you are recovering. It teaches you to recognize the triggers of addiction, so you can avoid them. It gives you tools to choose happiness over addiction. It invokes the help of a higher power, but what that means is left open to you. And it incorporates the power of a supportive community, which is my next tool.
Community – I believe we were made to live in loving community, at home, at work, in public life. The more places you have it, the better. I remember hearing of a news article with the title, "Loneliness: The Number One Disease in America." I didn't read the article, but the title alone is enough to get the point. Depression, especially, is exacerbated by loneliness.
The cure for loneliness is loving, supportive community. I experience that in my family – including oodles of extended family – and in my church. I have said before, even if I did not believe the tenets of the church, I would still go because of the relationships I have there. Whatever a loving community means to you, seek it out. It is the one place where I have always found this scripture to be true:
"Give, and it will be given unto you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back" (Luke 6:38).
Human touch – Studies have proven what I think most of us know in our hearts. Affectionate touching, from holding hands, to an arm around the shoulder, to snuggling, to hugging, to sex (when it is a genuine expression of love) reduces stress and anxiety and increases feelings of connection and well-being, all of which go a long way to alleviating depression.
But keep in mind, this is only true if the touching is desired by both people. Some people don't like to be touched (so they say). And not all forms of touching are appropriate in all situations. If you want to incorporate touching to help your recovery, be appropriate and make sure the person on the receiving end welcomes it.
These are some of my tools for weeding out depression. If you don't mind, tell me in the comments below if any of these have worked for you, or if you use any "tools" that aren't listed here.
Guys. I'll admit: I'm pretty "basic." Granted, I don't drink Starbucks, and Uggs are not my footwear of choice, but I definitely can relate to the stereotype, probably…
Source: Find Me in the Garden
In an earlier post, I talked about some of my gardening experience and how it relates to recovery from depression. I think some of the lessons can be applied to recovery in general. I thought I was done with that topic for a while, but I see some more possible application. Before I continue, I'd like to tell you a little background for how I ended up being the caretaker for this yard.
My grandparents passed away last year. I moved into their house, where they lived for over 30 years. The last three to four years of their lives, they were not in good health. They needed round the clock care. So of course, they weren't able to take care of the yard the way they wanted to. Now that it's my home, I feel a responsibility to take care of this land where I live now. And I hope this doesn't sound new age-y or "Woo-oo-oo-oo-oo," but I feel like by reclaiming their yard, I am in some way keeping their presence alive here.
Ok, so there's a little bit of my sentimentality. Now here are my gardening/recovery tips.
Across the yard I don't do much work to remove weeds. Just spread some type of Weed-and-Feed. Grass and weeds sometimes pop up in the sidewalk or driveway. A shot of Roundup is good enough for that. I'm not going to use it on the whole yard, which I think is way too destructive. Just a few weeds here or there away from the yard or other plants.
But when you get around the trees or into the flower beds, you don't want any kind of chemicals there. They might kill or damage the flowers and trees you want. Weeds in those areas require a more hands on approach, which means you need the right tools: Gloves, hand spade, Garden Weasel(R) Cultivator and Weed Popper, hedge clippers, and pruner.
I wear gloves for all yard work because some of these weeds growing up have thorns. I need some protection to get a good grip and pull them out. Also, even though I've remembered the "Leaves of three, Leave it be" rule, sometimes I still get these welts like insect bites or poison ivy, so I'm wearing long sleeves to work anywhere in the yard.
This little hand spade gets me into the root networks deeper than I can with just my hands.
Some weeds are too entrenched to just pull out. You can get the weed, but too much of the root is left behind. This Weed Popper comes in handy.
You place it so the little blades go into the ground on both sides of the weed, twist it around a full 360 degrees, and it pulls up the weed and root with it. It can even get ordinary dandelions pretty well. But I've seen these bigger weeds that are like dandelions crossbred with thistle. My friend called them dandelions on steroids.
For this, I need another standing weed remover but bigger. This Cultivator I've found works well on them. You can get the whole plant out, and it pulls up the root as well.
It's made for cultivating ground, but it's okay to repurpose your tools. It works similar to the Weed Popper. You get these spikes into the ground, twist, and pull up the weed.
When you pull up a big weed like this, it leaves a hole, and that brings me to my next lesson.
Since weeds grow faster than anything else, they will fill any emptiness if left unattended. Not to mention this Garden Weasel leaves a hole big enough for someone's foot to slip in and twist and sprain and sue you. I try to leave as much of the original dirt as I can, not just after these big weeds but even the smaller ones, while leaving as little of the root behind as I can.
It will grow almost anything you plant if it has the right nutrient content and is in the right climate. You can't blame the soil for your weeds, so it's up to you to keep the soil cleared of undesirables and plant and tend the right seeds.
I want nice healthy green grass in the yard, but not in the flower beds. I've probably pulled up more grass than weeds in the flower beds. And the type of grass in my yard has a very extensive, intricate, intertwining root system, which is good for crowding out weeds in the yard, but you don't want it getting mixed with the flower's roots.
It requires some pulling, digging, and breaking up grassroots along with the weeds and their roots. It's a lot more involved than I expected, but I think flowers and trees need a clearly delineated space.
The bushes around the front are mostly azaleas. And there's a big rose bush on the east end of the yard. They had looked a little sickly the last few years. My grandparents were living here, and they weren't in any shape to take care of the yard or flowers. As I examined the bushes, it was easy to see why. Some vines grew up and wrapped around the branches and twigs, choking the life out of them. And there were other plants, like budding acorns, growing right underneath, sometimes they to the point that they looked like something had been grafted in to the azaleas and roses. I cleared them out a few months ago and removed most of the dead branches. This spring, those bushes produced more flowers than they had in years.
Some bushes had grown so much, though, that they were crowding out their neighbors. For example, I had pink azaleas growing into and blending in with white azaleas. The pink was threatening to take over the white. So I decided it was time to trim the hedges. I pulled out the hedge clippers and pruners and went to work. It sounds a little backwards. I had done all this work to remove weeds and thorns so the azaleas and roses could thrive, and they thrived so much I'm actually cutting back on their growth. But gardening isn't about letting the desirable plants grow indiscriminately. It's about setting parameters so all the desirable plants are free to grow and thrive and contribute to the variety of the garden as a whole.
I worked in the flowerbeds most of the morning and had lunch. I knew I had made progress, but there was more to be done. My body was telling me not to go back out, but I didn't listen. I was just going to work on this one patch of weeds, but I continued to work through most of the afternoon. Two days later, I'm still sore.
When my grandfather was still strong enough to work in the yard, we used to joke about how he was "addicted to weed," because once he got started pulling weeds, he could be out all day if someone didn't call him in. Let me tell you, that condition is hereditary. You may intend to work on one very specific patch of ground this time, but then there are a few more weeds here, a few more there. Now the flowerbed looks unbalanced. If you just take care of that patch, it will look better. Ok, another patch and I'll almost be through. Just one more patch… You get the idea.
Like reclaiming a yard, garden, or flowerbed after years of neglect, recovery is not going to happen all in one day. If you've made progress and are encouraged to continue, but it was draining – physically or emotionally – or you have other responsibilities to attend to, you have a life, leave the yard for now. It will still be there tomorrow. Give yourself permission to say, "That's enough for today," and then for the rest of the day, take care of anything else that needs your attention.
I was hoping these two posts could present gardening as a metaphor for recovery. I may not have made those parallels clear all the way through, and I apologize for that. Maybe you will see some application to your life that I don't. That's the nature of parables: They leave room for you to interpret them out of your own experience.
In general, I see the work of recovery as three things: 1) planting the seeds of your best self and best life, 2) promoting the growth of those seeds in healthy ways, and 3) removing the weeds and roots that crowd out and even choke to death the good seeds in the garden of your life – metaphorically speaking, of course.
So like gardening, I have found the following true in recovery:
If you have any ideas of how gardening and recovery might be related, I would love for you to leave a comment below.
Grace and Peace to you.
If you want to read Part 3, click here.
I was working in the yard, which always seems to involve more than I think it will at the beginning. There have been these vines interweaving in the links of the chain link fence. I decided to un-interweave them. Of course it's not enough to free the vines from the fence. I had to pull the vines up out of the ground so they couldn't wrap around the fence again. As I did, some roots came up. I had a chance to pull the roots out so they wouldn't grow back, so of course I took it.
Pulling up those roots revealed more roots, and then more roots and more roots. There were long roots, short roots, thin roots, thicker roots. The long thicker roots did not go down vertically but rather horizontally, so I could grab one in the middle and start pulling up, and it was like pulling up a cable wire. It would come out of the ground, and you could follow it to the right and the left. The ground above it gave way easily, and other roots snapped and broke as I disrupted the interweaving, intertwining network of roots beneath that foot of ground between the driveway and the chain link fence. I show some of the results in this video.
Why am I telling you this? I have an affiliate page now. One of the products I'm promoting is called Destroy Depression™. I chose it because I have struggled with depression my entire life, and this looked like a product that could help others with the same issue. It's part of how I'm hoping to do well by doing good.
As I was working on these roots, I realized getting rid of these weeds and vines and the roots beneath them is similar to recovery. You start off with something easily visible: sadness, moodiness, a quick temper, or whatever. You pull on that, but those visible weeds are connected to roots underground. You go after those roots, and you find there is a whole lot more going on beneath the surface than you ever imagined. So as I pondered this, here's what I noticed:
It took maybe twenty minutes to remove the vines, at most – Although some of them had deeper roots than I expected. I found few weeds and pulled them up in a few minutes. But I was probably three or four hours pulling up roots. Just when I thought I was close to finishing with them, I'd pull one little root and it would reveal a whole new network.
Whatever the roots of your depression, once you start digging them up, you will find they are far deeper and more extensive than you expected.
Small roots lead to big roots, and big roots are joined with a lot of small roots. Along the branches of the roots are these tiny tendrils that make it stick to the ground and other nearby roots. When you pull up one, it's bound to break up some of the ties to another. So each one you remove makes it easier to remove another, especially with those big ones. You remove one of those long cable-like roots, and you have disrupted many smaller ones. With their connections snapped, they come out easier.
As you make progress in your recovery, you will find that improvement in one area spills over into other areas.
Every root I pulled made earthworms, tiny centipedes, termites, and scores of other tiny bugs scramble for safety. I imagine if somehow they knew this was coming and could communicate with me, they'd try to convince me or trick me into letting those roots stay where they are. They were just minding their own business, doing what worms and bugs do, and here I come uprooting their entire neighborhood – literally.
This is how depression takes on a life of its own. You may have noticed that in your recovery, you are often your own worst enemy. You want to be well. You want to be happy. You want to do something with your life that feels worthwhile. But something inside you keeps wanting to sabotage that. That's the bugs and worms that have made their homes around the roots and don't want you disturbing them. You will hear voices saying those roots are fine where they are. Don't bother working on your recovery. You'll only make things worse. It won't do any good anyway. Tell those voices this is your recovery. The roots are coming up, and they can either adjust to it or move to someone else's yard.
Some roots I could see I had removed completely. Some broke off before I could get it all out. There are still roots under there, most of them shorter and damaged, but they tend to grow back if they're not removed completely.
If you've been working on recovery and made progress, remember not to get complacent. That yard may look clear now, and even beneath the surface you may find it clear of roots. But new weeds can always come in. Some of them may lie dormant, waiting for the right time to reappear. Some of those roots that broke off will grow back. Life won't completely let you off the hook. But you have developed skills and strategies to stop them from taking over your yard. Be ready for them. Be ready to remove those same roots again, or maybe new roots that have found their way into that clearing you created. Recovery is a lifelong process, and your mental health and pursuit of happiness are worth it.
Grace and Peace to you.
If you would like to read Part 2, click here.


text:
Saturday, May 31, 2008
20 years too late...
Barack Obama and his wife Michelle have resigned their membership at the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, after controversies stemming from the church created a persistent distraction for Obama's campaign.
Obama said Saturday that he made the decision with "some sadness," but that he had been discussing it with his family for "quite some time" and that he did not want to be a continuing burden on the congregation. [Emphasis added]
Who does he think he's fooling?
Pick and click to read the whole story:
Click here: Obama Quits Church After Controversy - AOL News
8 comments:
- a thorn in the pew said...
We found a lot of crazy stuff on him on the internet. Hard to see what is truth between all the hype. I don't trust him. That I know for certain. He's crazy with a capitol K.
- June 1, 2008 at 4:39 PM
- gemoftheocean said...
I always giggle when Ann Coulter calls him B. Hussein Obama.
- June 2, 2008 at 1:14 AM
"The furor began with anti-American and racially charged comments by the Rev. Jeremiah Wright."
Seems to me that a man who has been attending the same church for twenty years would share some of same opinions as his pastor, i.e. anti-American, and racially charged.
- June 2, 2008 at 6:35 PM
- Kit said...
Exactly. "He doesn't want to be a continuing burden on the church" my a**!
"The church" is the burden that's dragging him down, but only because it has exposed him as the leftist radical and perhaps even racist he is (I am reserving opinion on the racist part for now, because it's an awful thing to accuse someone of, but he sure hangs out with some highly suspect individuals).
I know a lot of conservatives have big problems with McCain, but I gotta believe he'd be better for the country than Barack Hussein Obama.
(That was just for you, Karen!) ;-)
- June 2, 2008 at 6:54 PM
- WhiteStoneNameSeeker said...
What with Tony Blair starting his One World Religion and his wife Cherie advertising her anti-Catholic credential the thought of Obama getting to 'rule the world' just creeps me out!!!
- June 3, 2008 at 11:32 AM
- Kasia said...
I know a lot of conservatives have big problems with McCain, but I gotta believe he'd be better for the country than Barack Hussein Obama.
Why, but Susan Sarandon says it'll be very dangerous if McCain gets elected...And I ALWAYS base my votes on celebrity opinions. ;-)
My mom loves Obama. She's also a flaming leftist. Go figure.
- June 4, 2008 at 6:00 PM
- Kit said...
Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins promised to leave the country when Bush was reelected.
Still waiting.
- June 4, 2008 at 10:02 PM
- swissmiss said...
Didn't a bunch of celebrities "threaten" to leave. Don't let the door hit ya on the arse on the way out!
B. Hussein Obama even makes Hillary (or Hildebeast, for Karen) look like a better "choice."
- June 6, 2008 at 5:41 PM


text:
Hollywood has long wanted to tackle the life of legendary Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar. In recent years, Oliver Stone led the effort with a biopic titled Escobar, while Joe Carnahan was attached to direct an adaptation of the Mark Bowden book Killing Pablo. Both those projects are now on hold, but yet another Escobar project is moving forward at Stone Village Pictures. Brad Furman (The Lincoln Lawyer) is in negotiations to direct the untitled feature from a script by Matt Aldrich (Cleaner). Scott Steindorf, who collaborated with Furman on The Lincoln Lawyer, will produce with his Stone Village teammates Dylan Russell and Scott LaStaiti.
Hit the jump for quotes from the filmmakers, including Steindorff's claim, "This is the Latino Godfather."
Here's that full quote:
"This is the Latino Godfather. We're showing the story of his family, the structure of his enterprise, his rise—the man had the largest criminal organization in the world. In the end, it was a war between Colombia and one man."
This is the latest in the series of projects based in Latin America for Steindorff, Russell, and LaStaiti, following Turistas, Love in the Time of Cholera, and the recently announced Carnaval.
Furman explained his fascination with the man to THR:
"It's been an elusive journey to bring his story to the screen but the key is to not look at the hoopla around him but focus on the man. He was intriguing in many ways. It's a dark story but it's also a human interest story. I'm most excited about working with the talented Vincent Chase!"
Glad he made that joke so I don't have to… Oh, fine! Here:


text:
New Volvo S60
New Volvo S60
Discover the road ahead with poise and precision with the Volvo S60. This sophisticated saloon combines luxury with a powerful, uncompromising drive.S60 Offers >
Discover the road ahead with poise and precision with the Volvo S60. This sophisticated saloon combines luxury with a powerful, uncompromising drive.
S60 Variants
£ Please enquire today.
- Full-LED headlights
- Highly responsive centre display with touch screen
- Interior defined by high-quality materials such as Iron Ore décor panels.
£ Please enquire today.
- Chrome trim
- Driftwood décor or optional Metal Mesh Aluminium.
- Rich leather trim
£ 370 per month
- Glossy black inserts for the front, lower and outer grilles
- Metal Mesh Aluminium décor inlays
- Charcoal headlining and Contour seats upholstered in Leather
The interior of the S60 is also inspiring, and has been designed around the Scandinavian principles of uncluttered spaces, natural light and features which indulge the senses. The interior houses five luxurious seats which are comfortable and supportive, making every journey enjoyable. The S60 also boasts a 442-litre load compartment for those weekend trips.
By choosing a brand new Volvo S60, you will be in safe hands. Containing state-of-the-art passive and active safety features, the S60 is the result of decades of innovation. At the core is a rigid safety cell that protects all the car's occupants. Plus, to help you avoid a potential collision, City Safety spots potential danger and helps you avoid it. In the new S60, City Safety also includes Steering Support, which helps you to steer away from danger as effectively and safely as possible.
If you'd like to find out more about the Volvo S60, or take it for a test drive so you can discover all of its amazing features for yourself, please get in touch with our knowledgeable Volvo team today!


text:
This site is not optimized for Internet Explorer 8 (or older).
Please upgrade to a newer version of Internet Explorer or use an alternate browser such as Chrome or Firefox.
Osman Al-Radi
Osman O. Al-Radi, MD, MSc, FRCSC
King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah Saudi Arabia (MBBS, '95)
King Abdulaziz University Hospital (Internship, '96)
King Khalid National Gaurd Hospital, Jeddah (Gen. surg., '97)
University of Toronto Cardiac Surgery (Resident '98 - present)
Master of Science, University of Toronto (Clinical Epidemiology, '02)
Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons of Canada (2005)
The Hospital for Sick Children, Congenital Heart Surgery Fellowship (2006 - 2007)
The Hospital for Sick Children, Staff Surgeon (2007 to present)
Other Interests
Aortic Surgery and Marfan's disease
Performance scores in Congenital Heart Surgery
Congenital Mitral Valve Disease
Congenital Heart Surgery
Practice Areas
- Congenital
- Cardiac


text:
It's taken a while but our new gluten free minced beef pies are now available to buy. For now, just the minced beef variety will be made, which is perfect for some traditional pie mash and liquor. Pie shop liquor would normally be made with flour which, of course, contains gluten. However, our new and exclusiveContinue reading »
Monthly Archives: "April 2017"
New & exclusive instant liquor
New, unique, exclusive and so easy to make! Made exclusively for us to our family recipe and with over 6 months taken in development. This item has been widely anticipated for some time. Packed in a convenient 800g resealable pouch that will make approximately 40 portions of Goddard's liquor, just add boiling water and stir.Continue reading »


text:
Main Page
Welcome to the NCF Help Wiki
The Help Wiki contains information about setting up, troubleshooting and optimizing your experience with NCF services. The Help Wiki consists of pages which are group into categories. This page organises the the top articles for various Categories and topics.
The Help wiki is managed by NCF office staff and our celebrated volunteer team. However, we are grateful to members who have contributed fully or partly to the creation and improvement of many pages. We rely on member feedback to determine how to create and improve these articles in a way that works for most of our membership. You can send your questions and suggestions about the wiki to email@example.com.
My Support Options
- Consult the relevant Help Wiki Pages
- Ask a Discussion Group
- Create a support ticket with the Help Desk:
- Send an Office Message; or
- Email firstname.lastname@example.com; or
- Call 613-721-1773 x0
- Visit the NCF Office
Computer Help
My Account & Membership
- Get my NCF WebMail - Zimbra
- Change My Account Preferences
- Change My NCF Password
- Renew My Account
- Make a Donation or Payment
- Check My Open Tickets
- View My Notification Log
DSL Account Links
Policy & Procedure
Privacy and Security


text:
The Pilbara Ports Authority will be delivering a second major port project in line with the Integrated Marine Operations Centre (IMOC) - Port Heldand's $120 million Channel Risk and Optimisation Project (CROP).
The main goal of this project is to reduce the risk of obstructions in the Port Hedland shipping channel, as well as enable port users to enhance the tonnages on their vessels.
The CROP is a two-year project and will be delivering the following:
- Creation of a new emergency passing lane
- Extension of a deep water refuge zone and use of existing deeper depths along the tidally constrained 42-kilometre channel
CROP will also be optimising the utilisation of the channel for the benefit of the port users because of the following:
- Sailing windows will be extended
- The creation of wider separations between departing vessels in a convoy
- Potentially allowing additional vessels to depart on the tidal window
The CROP is one of three projects which is funded by the Port Improvement Rate - a temporary levy for vessels entering and exiting the harbour - and it funds the capital improvements which will sustain long-term operations and development of Port Hedland's port.
The Pilbara Port Authority is working closely with State and Federal agencies so that appropriate environmental approvals will be obtained for the Channel Risk Optimisation Project.
Invitation for EOIs are expected in 2017.
Watch this space for more updates on this project.
Meanwhile, start preparing for your next tender bid by downloading the free eBook below - Top 10 tips to successful tendering - which highlights tips on how to win your next bid.


text:
Senate Deputy Minority Leader Jeff Klein thinks Democrats should throw a bone to ousted Republicans if his party takes over the Senate this fall, but a bone is about all he's willing to give up. Liz Benjamin at the Daily Politics reports that while he would advocate generally fairer treatment of a new Republican minority, "Klein rejected the idea of 50/50 power sharing with minority members heading committees and receiving exactly the same in lu-lus and resources as the majority, saying he is loathe to completely do away with the 'to the victor goes the spoils' mentality at the Capitol."
We would agree that the majority in a legislative chamber should have the power to set the agenda, and fair allocation of committee resources demands that the majority receive a larger share. But we've seen both parties in the Legislature step way over the line when it comes to hoarding staff and resources for their side. Members of the minority are forced to try to represent the same number of New Yorkers with far fewer resources than their majority counterparts.
As we've implored the Republicans to do during their tenure in the Senate majority, we urge the Democrats, if they take over the chamber in November, to completely equalize the staff and resources available to individual members and allocate committee resources to the parties proportionally.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Legislators Should Receive Equal Base Allocations of Staff and Resources
No comments:
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


text:
Lorenzo Adamson, San Francisco police officer, accuses colleagues of racial profiling, report says
(CBS) SAN FRANCISCO - A veteran officer of the San Francisco Police Department has accused three other officers of racial profiling, following a traffic stop in the Bayview neighborhood of San Francisco Thursday night, CBS San Francisco reports.
Officer Lorenzo Adamson, who was off-duty at the time, was pulled over around 8:30 p.m. Thursday. According to the station, police say Adamson's car had no front or rear license plates and tinted windows.
Adamson, who is black, contends he was the victim of racial profiling because of how the three white officers conducted the stop, according to San Francisco NAACP president The Rev. Amos Brown.
"It was a profiling because immediately this off-duty veteran officer was asked, 'Are you on parole?'" Brown said, adding that the question plays into commonly held stereotypes of African Americans.
"The officer had no business raising the question immediately, are you on parole? He should have been asking for his identification, his insurance, his registration," Brown said, according to the station.
Brown called for an independent investigation at a news conference Friday sponsored by the San Francisco chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
The incident is being investigated by the police department's Internal Affairs unit, according to Commander Charlie Orkes. He defended the officers' conduct in light of the circumstances.
"The officer was armed but did not identify himself," he said, referring to Adamson.
Orkes said the traffic stop "deteriorated into a physical confrontation" which led to the 43-year-old Adamson being taken to a police station, where he was cited and later released.
Adamson has been a San Francisco police officer for 15 years, CBS San Francisco reports.
Orkes said it is not unusual for officers to ask about the parole or probation status of people they stop, refuting Brown's assertion that the officers violated a San Francisco Police Department policy against such questioning.
According to the station, the three officers remain on the job as the investigation continues.


text:
A break from politics, sort of
I say sort of because Hanisch, nearly forty years ago now, cogently made the case that the personal is political.
Though it may not readily appear so, what I set out to write about is entangled in a thicket of weighty concerns, including first and foremost the 2008 Presidential Election, the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac bailouts, the mortgage crisis, the credit crunch, Sarah Palin's nomination as VP candidate, the necessity for women to remain economically self-sufficient…
Yesterday, as I was taking a break at my favorite…
Well, actually nevermind yesterday. Literally just this moment, at 2:32am, I received a call from a restricted number. I didn't think it could be a telemarketing solicitation, although I would not put it past them these days. But it wasn't a telemarketing firm. It could, nonetheless, be construed as a kind of a solicitation.
Well-Intentioned But Misguided
When I returned from my first year at Bryn Mawr College, I was a bit of a firebrand. Full of zeal, passionately committed to righting wrongs, to disabusing grossly mistaken notions less enlightened folks held, and so on. (Yes, cringe all you'd like… It's totally deserved.)
One of the issues of note for me was the politics of naming. Of ensuring that we did not continue to perpetrate violence by denying people their right to self-definition. So, holier than thou I was, thumping on my soapbox (yep, this tendency is obviously not new) that it's not merely about being politically correct (which to me meant wanting pat, easy answers so that those who were so hung up on being pc would not have to really reflect upon their own complicity in the perpetration of violence) but about putting an end to violence psychically, socioeconomically, culturally, that it was about radical change, and so on.
So, here I was, a zealous eighteen year old telling my very kind thirtysomething neighbor (who was trying to raise her son on her own after a divorce all the whilst trying to pursue a meaningful career that'd utilize the top knotch education she'd received at William and Mary) how horrible it was that people continued to say "indians" to refer to Native Americans, that this name reiterates the violence of Euro-American hegemony. At that moment, my good neighbor tried to get me to step back and question whether I might be shooting myself in the foot by being so aggressively dogmatic in "enlightening" and "raising the consciousness" of my neighbors. And to question whether I was not in my own way doing violence to Native Americans by reducing them to being nothing but dignified victims of Western hegemony, by allowing myself to regard them primarily in terms of their victimization. And to ask myself if every single person who was of indigenous descent would choose to self-identify as Native American, that might it not be that Native American was yet another externally imposed label, one that says more about those other Americans who are not Native? If I remember correctly, I think she tried to tell me that, if anything, it was a more common practice amongst those I was calling Native American to identify themselves by their tribal affiliations.
I didn't catch it then. In fact, (more…)
Eat, Pray, Love: A Companion Piece
Today I finished reading Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search For Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia.
My sister had lent me her copy many months ago now because she thought I might find it helpful in my search for bearing, for I had been raging at the world, thoroughly grief-stricken, unmoored and topsy-turvy, unsure if I would ever reengage with this world with its treacherous minefields, precarious precipices, and sometimes unforeseeable and almost always disregarded quicksands.
I read Gilbert's account of her journeys in such a way that the first two stages of my own life of late coincided almost perfectly with the stages Gilbert experienced and described. When she indulged in Italian pastries in order to reacquaint herself with the basic pleasures that life and humanity had to offer, I was just emerging from a period of giving myself over to music and dance because, frankly, I needed a beat other than that of my own heart to sustain me, a rhythm by which to ensure there would be a tomorrow, and the electric charge of the dancing and the fêting to jolt me repeatedly into the world of the living. When she turned herself over to the austere discipline of an Indian ashram in search of the divine within, I dove headlong into eight, nearly backbreaking months of trying, as if my life depended on it, to motivate and teach the hyphenated youth of America as a part of my own move toward order, discipline, and the divine, if you can see teaching as life-giving and life-affirming as it has been for me.


text:
MARTÍNEZ, NARCISO (1911–1992). Narciso Martínez, the "father" of the Texas-Mexican conjunto, was born on October 29, 1911, in Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico. His parents immigrated to the United States the year of Narciso's birth and settled in La Paloma, near Brownsville, Texas. The family often migrated from one town to another doing farmwork, and Martínez received little formal education. As a child he often listened to orquestas típicas, regional musical groups made up of violin, flute, bass, and guitar, but he preferred the accordionists who also played in the Rio Grande valley. In 1928 he was married; he and his wife, Edwina, had four daughters.
Martínez took up the accordion in 1928 and became proficient enough to play at dances. Around the same time he moved to Bishop and absorbed the accordion-playing traditions of the local Czechs and Germans during a three-year stay. He purchased his first new accordion, a Hohner, in 1930. In 1935 he switched from the one-row button accordion to the more versatile two-row button version and also began his productive association with Santiago Almeida, a talented bajo sexto (twelve-stringed bass guitar) player. Working together, the two established the accordion and bajo sexto as the basic instruments of the conjunto and became well-regarded as a team. Their pairing led to Martínez's major innovation in the development of the conjunto. He emphasized the right-side melody and treble notes of the accordion, leaving the left-side bass notes to the bajo sexto player. Most other conjunto accordionists soon adopted this change.
Listen to this artist
In 1936 Martínez and Almeida started recording for Bluebird Records, a subsidiary of RCA. Their first record, "La Chicharronera" ("The Crackling"), became a big hit. After 1936 Martínez became the most prolific of the conjunto stylists, capable of recording up to twenty pieces in one session. He continued to record instrumental polkas, which were his most popular compositions, and other traditional forms such as huapangos and Bohemian redowas for the Bluebird label until 1940. Some of his early pieces were "La Parrita" ("The Little Grapevine"), "La Polvadera" ("The Dustcloud"), and "Los Coyotes," all of which reflected his close ties to his rural background.In 1946 he began to record for Ideal. As the house accordionist for this company, he accompanied some of its artists, notably the duet Carmen y Laura. Martínez remained a popular performer throughout the 1940s and was nicknamed "El Huracán del Valle" ("The Hurricane of the Valley") for his fast-paced accordion-playing. His Bluebird and RCA recordings were also well-received outside of Texas. In San Francisco, for instance, Basques relished his sound and eagerly bought his records. In the Bluebird Cajun series, Martínez was billed as "Louisiana Pete." In the label's Polish series, Martínez and his band were marketed as "Polski Kwartet."
Despite his artistic ability, however, Martínez, like many other conjunto pioneers, never earned much money as a musician, although his recording career during the Great Depression brought him some financial rewards. Because Mexican Americans, his principal audience, could not afford to pay much, he had to take other jobs to support himself throughout his life, including work as a truck driver, field hand, and caretaker at the Brownsville Zoo. To support himself in the 1930s he often played at outdoor public dances throughout the Valley. He also entertained at bailes de negocio, public "for-pay" dances where women earned money for their families by selling dances to men. In the 1950s, with his popularity still growing, Martínez joined other Mexican-American performers on the Tejano dance-hall circuit. He also toured New Mexico, Arizona, and California, and even played in Chicago. A new generation of conjunto musicians emerged in the mid-1960s, and Martínez returned to work as a field hand in Florida. In 1968 he recorded for ORO Records, a Tejano label in McAllen.
Despite the subsequent emergence of other accordionists, Martínez maintained his importance as a conjunto innovator and received accolades for his work. In 1976, for instance, he was featured in Chulas Fronteras ("Beautiful Borders"), a documentary film about Texas-Mexican music. He was inducted into the Conjunto Music Hall of Fame in 1982 and was honored the following year with a National Heritage Award from the National Endowment for the Arts for his contributions to the nation's cultural heritage. The 1985 publication of Manuel Peña's The Texas-Mexican Conjunto, History of a Working-Class Music brought Martínez critical attention. In 1989 Arhoolie Records reissued some of his work; the new record earned him a nomination for the Grammy Award for best Mexican-American recording of the year. In 1991 the San Benito Cultural Arts Center was dedicated to him.
In January 1992 Martínez released 16 Éxitos de Narciso Martínez ("16 Hits of Narciso Martínez"), his last recording, on the R y R Record label in Monterrey, Nuevo León. After he retired from his job at the Brownsville Zoo in 1977, he continued to play on weekends, traveling to engagements from his home in La Paloma. The annual Tejano Conjunto Festival in San Antonio also brought him before a new and larger audience. He was scheduled to appear at the event in May 1992 when illness forced him instead to enter the hospital. He died in San Benito on June 5, 1992. A funeral Mass was offered for him at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in La Paloma, and he was buried at the Mont Meta Memorial Park in San Benito. Martínez was an inaugural inductee into the Tejano R.O.O.T.S. Hall of Fame in 2000. The Texas Conjunto Music Hall of Fame in San Benito honored him with induction in 2002. He is also an inductee in the Houston Institute for Culture's Texas Music Hall of Fame. In 2014 the Narciso Martínez Cultural Arts Center in San Benito held its twenty-third annual Narciso Martínez Cultural Arts Center Conjunto Festival.
Arhoolie Records: Narciso Martínez (http://www.lib.utexas.edu/benson/border/arhoolie2/narciso.html), accessed April 24, 2011. Manuel Peña, Música Tejana: The Cultural Economy of Artistic Transformation (College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 1999). Manuel Peña, The Texas-Mexican Conjunto: History of a Working-Class Music (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1985).
Image Use Disclaimer
All copyrighted materials included within the Handbook of Texas Online are in accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107 related to Copyright and "Fair Use" for Non-Profit educational institutions, which permits the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA), to utilize copyrighted materials to further scholarship, education, and inform the public. The TSHA makes every effort to conform to the principles of fair use and to comply with copyright law.
For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml
If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
The following, adapted from the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, is the preferred citation for this article.Handbook of Texas Online, Teresa Palomo Acosta, "MARTINEZ, NARCISO," accessed August 10, 2020, http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fmadk.
Uploaded on June 15, 2010. Modified on August 3, 2016. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
View these posts and more when you register your free MyTSHA account.
Call for Papers: Texas Center for Working-Class Studies
Events, Symposia, and Workshops
Hi all! You may be interested in this call for papers I received from the Texas Center for Working-Class Studies at Collin College...
Katy Jennings' Ride
Scholarly Research Request
I'm doing research on Catherine Jennings Lockwood, specifically the incident known as "Katy Jennings' Ride." Her father was Gordon C. Jennings, the oldest man to die at the Alamo...
Texas Constitution of 1836 Co-Author- Elisha Pease?
Ask a Historian
The TSHA profile of Elisha Marshall Pease states that he wrote part of the Texas Constitution although he was only a 24 year-old assistant secretary (not elected). I cannot find any other mention of this authorship work by Pease in other credible research about the credited Constution authors...


text:
FEAR(less): How to Turn Fear Into Creative Fuel (4 Big Lessons)
Have you ever been afraid to talk about the things you're afraid of? Have you ever worried you are the only one struggling with an issue or the only one feeling like an imposter? No matter what your biggest professional fears are, I've got some good news: You are not alone. Not now and not ever. Everyone, everywhere and at every stage of business is afraid of something or muddling through a project, hope or dream that didn't go as planned.
And because I feel that these fears and "failures" are actually the most powerful tools for motivation and learning, we dedicated the entire second issue of our new print magazine, Good Company, to this theme.
One of the hardest parts of getting through those times is feeling alone and finding the courage to talk openly about things that are scary, daunting, and that could be perceived as failures. So in our newest issue, dubbed the Fear(less) Issue, we are walking you through how to turn fear into creative failure, push past sophomore slumps and creative blocks, how to work with friends and handle financial hardships, and how to build a support system that will get you through even the toughest spots. It is 180 pages of inspiration AND practical advice for learning how to turn fear into the most effective tool in your professional toolbox.
Today the new issue is on stands everywhere (click here to order a copy online, find a store near you or grab tickets to our fall tour) so I am celebrating by sharing the 4 biggest lessons I learned from working on this issue and giving you a little peek behind the issue and how it came together.
The Four Biggest Lessons I Learned From This Issue:
- Talk to your fellow creatives and build support systems. When we connect around things we're all struggling with, we get stronger. Keeping secrets from each other may give the impression that everything is "fine" on the outside, but real strength comes from acknowledging difficulties and connecting with others to learn from those moments.
- Don't be afraid to share what feel like weaknesses publicly. We cannot find our people, our teachers, our mentors or our friends if we don't talk about what we need and struggle with openly. The people in this issue found some of their best support systems in unlikely places just by openly discussing hurdles they were dealing with.
- Failure doesn't mean your idea isn't valid or worth pursuing — it just means you need to course correct and adjust. All businesses have to do that all the time, it's part of creative life. So many wonderful projects in this issue almost didn't come to fruition because of early setbacks. But if we plan for and expect these as a natural part of life and work, we can quickly learn to see them as guide posts, rather than road blocks, along our path, pointing us in a better direction.
- Write down what you learned from something that didn't work out. There will always be a life lesson hidden inside something tough. Remember it, grow from it and move forward. When you look back at all the things you've survived and how they taught you something valuable or made you stronger, you will start to feel less vulnerable when tough times roll around.
What's inside The Fear(less) issue?
This issue is 180 pages of group interviews, one-on-ones, cartoons, visual storytelling, stellar photography, and more, including:
- Identifying as Me: Activist and writer Jacob Tobia talks to comic, actor, and producer Rhea Butcher about how gender and gender identity connect to life on and off stage.
- Resistance Revival Chorus: Meet the women turning fear into joy through the power of song.
- Creative Block—One Illustrator's Biggest Fear by Sally Nixon.
- Even Africans Fall in Love: A feature on the Kenyan film director Wanuri Kahiu whose groundbreaking film took Cannes by storm but is outlawed in her own country.
- The Rise & Bloom of Bethany Yellowtail: A story about fashion designer Bethany Yellowtail, who discusses why her mission always involves supporting the voices and work of her community.
- Tools and Resources for Facing Your Fears: Alicia Kennedy sits down with Annie Selke, Rae Tutera, Aris Mejias, Sara Eve Rivera, Rooney Elmi & Shannon Mustipher for a conversation on the toughest moments.
- Kayla Whaley talks with YouTube star Annie Segarra, the artist and activist, to discuss the future of accessibility and the importance of fostering community.
- Unapologetically HER: Grace Bonney sits down for a one-on-one conversation with author, activist, and founder of Equality for HER Blair Imani, who talks about life at the intersection of Black, Queer, and Muslim identity—and how she's found the strength to persevere through harrowing situations.
- Fariha Roísín talks with director, producer, and actress Desiree Akhavan on the importance of telling stories that haven't been told before.
- How to Collaborate on Creative Projects with Friends Without Making Things Weird by Lora DiFranco and illustrated by Katie Daughtery.
- A Fear of Starting Over: Novelist TANAÏS returns to give her own reflections on the sophomore slump.
- Sharing Space for Dream-Chasing: Kelli Hart Kehler investigates how co-working spaces can offer women and non-binary creatives a place to be fearless in pursuit of their goals.
Behind the Scenes with our cover feature, "Professional Troublemaker," Luvvie Ajayi:
Luvvie being photographed by photographer Deun Ivory in Chicago, Illinois.
Listening to Maleek Berry during the shoot…
The cover team together: makeup artist Andrea Samuels, Luvvie Ajayi, me (Grace), and Deun Ivory.
Laying out the second issue and getting our edits in place…
Taking the first print copies out on the road!
The back cover.


text:
Two simple takeaways
1. Change your Apple account password now (Before April 7th, 2017)
2. Consider activating two-step authentication.
The Turkish Crime Family
A group of hackers calling themselves The Turkish Crime Family has recently announced and presented evidence that they have obtained account credentials for 800 Million accounts. They claim that if Apple doesn't pay the ransom by April 7, they will begin deleting and wiping the accounts.
Apple has come out and said that they had not detected any security breaches. The Turkish Crime Family responded by providing ZDnet and others with account credential that these outlets went and confirmed to be accurate.
The takeaway is simple, change your password before April 7, 2017 and consider two-step authentication.
Source: Tech Republic


text:
Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus, Medical, Wikipedia.
endothermic, endothermal
(of a chemical reaction or compound) occurring or formed with the absorption of heat
(nuclear physics)
Petaining to a nuclear or particle reaction in which some of the kinetic energy of the initial particles is converted to mass energy.
(physical chemistry)
Pertaining to a chemical reaction which absorbs heat. Also known as endoergic.
Said of a reaction which occurs with the absorption of heat.


text:
Splice module ETSI/19 inch
Splice module for splicing fiber optic cables in ETSI or 19 inch frames.
StandardsInternational : Nexans specification
National : Factory standard
Splice module for ETSI/19 inch is used for splicing fibre optic cables in ETSI or 19 inch frames. Splice module can be purchased as an eight-, four- or two-cassette solution.
If splice module for eight cassettes is to be used can up to 768 fibres be spliced (ribbon cable). In single-fibre design 384 fibres can be spliced.
The Splice module is designed to either be attached in the frame as left- or right hung.
Splice cassettes is of the swivelling type in order to optimize accessibility. Cassettes is delivered separately and sold as left or right.


text:
I had a Monday off work, due to the Harvest Festival here. It's one of the two biggest holidays on the South Korean calendar–the other is the Lunar New Year–and one of the few times I can rely on my friends also getting a day off. The weather's starting to turn a bit nippy here, especially at night, and for some reason, holidays among our crew of ex-pats seem to invariably mean Tex-Mex food makes an appearance. Chili was the logical conclusion. And before anyone starts, I know that "real Texas chili" doesn't include beans. However, I'm not Texan, and the way I grew up eating chili, it never lacked them. To me, a pot of chili without beans seems more like sloppy joe topping than a filling meal in its own right.
Preconceptions about beans aside, this hasn't stopped me from experimenting with different spices and blends to find the perfect combination of spicy-sweet-rich for a bowl of chili. Monday's, I think, was a success I'll keep on permanent file.


text:
North Carolina Legal Poker
Online Poker
Like many other southern states, North Carolina has no laws directly on point with online poker or online gambling. The confused nature of how the state treats live poker only muddies the waters. For state law purposes, however, the game of poker is decidedly illegal and North Carolina is one of a handful of states that has criminal laws on its books that target players.
The likelihood of such a prosecution is impossible to predict, as is the argument that the online poker play doesn't take place in the state but rather in the jurisdiction in which the computer servers are located. North Carolina's relatively conservative anti-gambling faction may fight hard against such an interpretation of the law.
Live Poker
You'll be hard-pressed to find legal live poker in North Carolina, but it's there if you look for it.
North Carolina General Statutes Section 14-292 provides that "any person or organization that operates any game of chance, or any person who plays at or bets on any game of chance" shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
You're probably asking whether poker qualifies as a "game of chance" under North Carolina law. Although the statute does not define "game of chance", in 2007, the North Carolina Court of Appeals decided that poker is indeed game of chance.
In the case Joker Club v. Hardin, a businessman wanted to open a poker club and sought approval from the district attorney that such a business did not violate North Carolina's gambling law. When the district attorney refused to provide that assurance and, in fact, said such a business did violate the law, the business owner sought a declaratory judgment from the courts.
On appeal from a judgment finding the business would violate the law, the North Carolina Court of Appeals held that because "the instrumentality for victory is not entirely in the player's hand", and because the deal of the cards means "there must be unavoidable uncertainty as to the results", "chance predominates over skill in the game of poker".
Therefore poker is a game of chance in North Carolina. Because of that determination, the game is illegal under North Carolina law.
However, there is one tribe of Native Americans that has a casino on the far west side of the state. The Cherokee Tribe has partnered with Harrah's to operate their Harrah's Cherokee property in Cherokee, NC. The compact that the tribe signed with the state only permits the tribes to offer games that have an element of skill.
Guess what has an element of skill, for purposes of this tribal-state compact? Poker, of course. It's a weird quirk that under state common law, poker is a game of chance, but under the state's compact with the Cherokees, it has enough element of skill to be permissible. The tribe offers ten tables in a non-smoking section of the casino.
Home games, on the other hand, appear to be illegal under North Carolina law. There is no "social game" exception in the North Carolina General Statutes that deal with gambling.


text:
DALLAS, Texas (Ivanhoe Newswire) — Men have had the reputation of being better salary negotiators than women, but a 'language' coach is trying to turn that trend around. And the language being taught has nothing to do with words.
When it comes to getting what you want in business, the secret to success may start before the first word is ever spoken. A corporate workshop leader says it's all about body language … for men and women.
"I'm showing people how 3 things overlay, and that's psychology, what's been tested and proven to move the needle from a no to a maybe to a yes. It's body language, facial expressions and vocal patterns, how your speech sounds that give you the non-verbal signals and it's messaging." Melinda Marcus, an Influence Consultant for Influence Advisors in Dallas, Texas explained to Ivanhoe.
Even before a meeting begins, Harvard professor Amy Cuddy says women should assume assertive power poses.
These non-verbal tips aren't cheap. Rising stars pay Marcus up to $5,000 for her coaching.
27 year old Andrea Moran-Sendra, a Mexican immigrant with an MBA from SMU, is training for international management with Bimbo Bakeries.
"So Melinda's training makes it… it gives you a good basis for when you should be a little more pushy, when you should push back, when you should kind of let the subject go." Sendra told Ivanhoe.
"So everything I do is about how do you better relate to people in an ethical way," said Marcus.
Remember first impressions count. Melinda says employers will decide if they like you, if they trust you, and if you have credibility, even before you open your mouth, so dress in a professional manner and keep an eye out for visual cues.
Contributors to this news report include: Don Wall, Producer; Pete Cuellar Jr., Videographer; Roque Correa, Editor; Gabriella Battistiol, News Assistant.


text:
- Font:
- +
- -
Republicans are proud to call themselves "the party of Lincoln" in matters of race relations, but inclusion has been a sore point for the party in modern times. A lot's happened since Lincoln's day.
Other political news of note
Animated Boehner: 'There's nothing complex about the Keystone Pipeline!'
House Speaker John Boehner became animated Tuesday over the proposed Keystone Pipeline, castigating the Obama administration for not having approved the project yet.
- Budget deficits shrinking but set to grow after 2015
- Senate readies another volley on unemployment aid
- Obama faces Syria standstill
- Fluke files to run in California
- Animated Boehner: 'There's nothing complex about the Keystone Pipeline!'
To fully make sense of the often fractious relationship between blacks and the Republican Party, one needs to see how different, ironically, that relationship was not so long ago.
Previously, African Americans flocked to the Republican party, which led the way to Congressional passage of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution — the one outlawing slavery. Republican efforts were also central to passage, in 1866, of a civil rights act that extended full rights to black Americans.
The relationship was generally amicable well into the 20th century, until the administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Under FDR's New Deal in 1936, blacks changed course, voting overwhelmingly for Roosevelt, in part because of a wealth of government spending initiatives, such as work relief programs that benefited blacks during the depths of the Great Depression.
© 2013 msnbc.com Reprints


text:
Jessica Baker, LAc, RH (AHG), founder of Jade Dragon, began studying herbal medicine in 1999. In 2001, she completed a Community Herbalist Certification Program, which is where she was introduced to Traditional Chinese Medicine diagnostic techniques, theories and herbs. Her interest prompted her to earn a Masters Degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Baker continued to further her education and now holds a Diplomate in Oriental Medicine. She is a licensed Acupuncturist in California and Colorado and a certified Medical Qi Gong Practitioner. She has studied Medical Aromatherapy, is the co-founder of Humboldt Veterans Acupuncture Project and is a certified Acudetox Specialist (ADS) working extensively with Veterans and others with PTSD. She practices in Denver, Colorado and Arcata, California, teaches classes and workshops on Chinese Medicine, Herbalism and Aromatherapy and holds retreats around the world.
Through Jade Dragon Acupuncture, Baker provides a variety of services including Acupuncture, Facial Rejuvenation Acupuncture (Cosmetic Acupuncture). She also provides Western & Chinese Herbal Consultations, Clinical Aromatherapy Consultations, Medical Qi Gong Therapy, CranioSacral Therapy and more.


text:
Thursday, May 04, 2006
Surfing Through "American Idol"
Well, apparently we WON'T always have Paris. She rather predictably got booted off last night. (Paris has been in the bottom two a couple of times and she's always at or near the bottom in polls.) This is the best thing for her as an artist. She can woodshed herself and get a lot more experience before rushing into recordings (hopefully, an album of standards). Katharine rightly looked surprised when Elliott was in the bottom two with Paris rather than herself. But I'd expect Elliott to go next week, Katharine the week after and Chris and Taylor in the finale with Chris winning.
Posted by Michael in New York at 12:14 PM
No comments:
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


text:
Monday, December 23, 2013
Snow Friends Gift Tag
I made a bunch of these cute snowmen to use for gifttags. Of course the pink version is for the girls, and a blue version will be for boys. This snow-girl is made with the Snow Friends cartridge. Go on over to BBTB2 to see the other gift tags made by the creative team. Merry Christmas to all, now let's go have a snowball fight!!
Posted by moknowsall at 3:00 AM 9 comments:
Labels: cricut, snow friends
Monday, December 16, 2013
BBTB2 - Christmas Tag You're It
BBTB2 is a Christmas tag - our hostess is calling this "Tag You're It".
I made this using the Cricut Artiste cartridge, cutting the ornament at 5", using white cardstock as the base and gold glitter paper for the detail. The poinsetta was cut at 4 different sizes, creased and layered to give it a 3D effect. Gold gemstones were added in the middle. The name tag was also cut from Artiste, and the white name is cut using Don Juan, that cut can be done at 1/2" very easily, so I use it a lot. The beads and ribbon were from my stash, I know I wanted to add a spring or a bow at the top, and this just jumped out at me.
Hop on over to to see all the Christmas tags the team has created. TAG - YOU ARE IT!
Posted by moknowsall at 3:00 AM 12 comments:
Sunday, December 8, 2013
Ready for Winter - Snow Layout
Bitten by the Bug is Winter. It doesn't snow in my area of Northern California, but lately it's sure cold enough that we feel like we live in the Sierras. Here is a layout I did of a few of the portraits I had purchased of my granddaughter all dressed up for Winter. Head on over to BBTB2 to see what else our great designers have to share this week.
The word "SNOW" was done with Speaking of Winter cartridge and the cute little penguin is from the Christmas Cheer Cricut Cartridge. Stay warm everyone!
The word "SNOW" was done with Speaking of Winter cartridge and the cute little penguin is from the Christmas Cheer Cricut Cartridge. Stay warm everyone!
Posted by moknowsall at 9:21 PM 13 comments:
Labels: Christmas Cheer, cricut, Speaking of Winter
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)


text:
Kids' program fail proof, director says
A sea of color lit up Holy Family church in St. Louis Park June 25, as more than 300 children and adults wearing bright tie-dyed shirts gathered around the altar for eucharistic adoration.
The assembly was the culmination of the parish's five-day Catholic vacation Bible school that featured the standard games, crafts and music, but centered on meeting Christ in the Blessed Sacrament, which was the program's final event.
This, however, was not adoration in the classic sense. Rather than quiet reflection, the 250 kids engaged in songs and movements practiced all week during their CVBS curriculum. The idea wasn't so much to look at Jesus, but to experience him in song and prayer.
At the center of it all was Jean Prather, director of the camp who also serves as the director of religious education for Holy Family. She believes that by centering the annual program on the Eucharist, it cannot fail.
Growing participation
The numbers back her up. When she took over the program 10 years ago, about 50 kids attended, mostly from the parish. This year, it drew 250 youth from age 4 through sixth grade from 20 different parishes.
The growth has caused the program to move from the church basement to Holy Family Academy across the street, which offers two floors of classrooms and a basement cafeteria. In addition to the kids, 83 volunteers helped out, 47 of whom were teens.
And, there could have been more kids at the CVBS.
"I could have taken another 100," Prather said. "But I had no more space and supplies. Comfortably, this facility holds 225 — 250 is max. It's a good problem to have because it shows the interest and hunger for authentic Catholic curriculum."
Amazingly, the school had more kids that week than it did during the school year, when 231 kids from preschool to eighth grade were enrolled.
10 tips for a successful vacation Bible school
Many Catholic school buildings are quiet during the summer, but not this one.
School principal Ann Coone stopped by briefly and marveled at the sight of hundreds of people filling the classrooms and hallways wearing their camp T-shirts featuring the letters IHS (a shortened form of Jesus in Greek). There were plenty of repeat attendees, including teens who once came as campers and have returned as helpers.
One of them was Laine Phillips, a parishioner who will be a junior at Holy Family High School in Victoria this fall. She has been coming since the second grade and was joined this year by her five siblings — Cassie, 15, Madison, 13, Grace, 11, Dominic, 10, and Pearl, 7. Cassie and Madison were helpers.
"I just like being around the kids, and I like the way Mrs. Prather teaches," Laine said. "It's not the normal vacation Bible school. There is an emphasis on the Catholic faith. I like that."
So does Father Thomas Dufner, pastor of Holy Family, who led the eucharistic adoration.
"It's something I believe in and it works," he said. "It's an awesome experience to see kids who love Jesus and love the church."
Source and summit
There is a theme for each year, and this year's was "Our Lady of the Rosary." Every child received a booklet with lessons for each day, beginning with the story of the apparition of Mary to three children in Fatima, Portugal, in 1916. On successive days, they learned more of the story, and they also learned about the Eucharist as they prepared for the chance to participate in adoration on the last day.
As the children filled the sanctuary, their parents and grandparents filled the pews. Tim Heeren knelt down in the front pew with his son, Andrew, while two of his older children prayed with the other kids in the sanctuary. Nearby, his wife held their newborn child.
"Jesus said, 'Bring the little children,'" Tim said. "I think it [adoration] is an important part of vacation Bible school. We all know it [Eucharist] is the source and summit of our faith."
Naturally, a priest such as Father Dufner might wonder if one of the boys in the crowd will end up consecrating the Eucharist some day. For him, however, it's already a reality. He noted that five priests ordained in the last seven years have come from Holy Family, along with three current seminarians.
One of the priests, Father Patrick Barnes, was just ordained in May.
Parents aren't necessarily thinking this far ahead. They are merely enjoying the fruits of Prather's hard work in writing a curriculum that she's now sharing with parishes in the archdiocese and beyond.
"We love how Jean does everything; it's so beautiful," said Cathie Baier of Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Bloomington, who sent four of her kids to the program this year. "My children want to attend any program she offers because, not only is it beautifully and faithfully Catholic, it speaks to the children. Jean has a way of conveying the Catholic faith to children like no other person I've met."
Several years ago, Baier told Susan Mielke from the Diocese of New Ulm about the program. Mielke and three other volunteers got it up and running at their parish, St. Pius X in Glencoe. Like Baier, she now sings the program's praises.
I can't even begin to describe how incredible the curriculum is," Mielke said. "Many graces come for me, all the teachers and our students each year. I watched my 11-year-old son go through a mini conversion this year during our CVBS. I just know that this curriculum comes to us from the Holy Spirit via Jean."
Though people like Baier and Mielke are eager to give praise to Prather, she, herself, prefers to credit God and his grace for the program's success.
"God just pours out his grace," she said. "It's a blessed week. We strive to form the kids in the beauty and fullness of the Catholic teachings. We try to make it beautiful."
Category: What Works