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Sofft Cambria Luggage
Elevate your warm weather looks with the women's Sofft Cambria sandal. The wide crisscross straps across the vamp are pulled together with a buckled heel strap to secure the foot in place. The foam-cushioned cork footbed contours the foot to deliver superior, long-lasting comfort.Leather upper with an adjustable buckled heel strap for optimal fit.Breathable leather lining.Suede-covered, cushioned and contoured cork footbed for ultimate comfort.TPR outsole with a stacked heel for stability.Heel Height: 3½ inches with a 1 inch platform
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The Walking Company
3077 Howard Ave
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Grow Your Goddess is an interactive 5-week course expanding on the teachings from Get Your Goddess in Gear!
Dates: October 17, 24, 31, November 14 and 21, 2011
Time: 7:30-9:30pm
Location: Yaletown Roundhouse Community Centre
Cost: For the entire 5 weeks, $149.00. To register please email email@example.com. We have a drop in option (space permitting) @ $25 for first time participants and $40.00/session thereafter. All drop-ins require a pre-session confirmation via Kelsey, Adrienne or Megan 🙂
In this exploratory 5 week course we integrate the 5 elemental energies to support you in creating consistant actions aligned with your intentions for delicious manifestation. Here is a quick snap shot of what we will be exploring!
Week One: Earth (October 17th)
~Earth Element: Who are the Earth Goddesses? Activation and Stabilization of the root chakra, crystals to strengthen and bring balance to our work, home and relationships, organization and dedication, and to provide comfort and stability during times of change
~Planetary Energies of each day of the week and how to use them to enhance your personal power, freedom and self expression.
~The Power of our Words: calling on the Goddess to unveil our true strength to our word and personal integrity.
~Exercises and tools for the week ahead to practice honouring the self, honouring others and our connecting to the Earth Goddesses.
Week Two: Air (October 24th)
~Air Element: Who are the Air Goddesses? Activation and strengthening of the Third Eye Chakra, crystals to strengthen the intuition, psychic development, communication skills, learning, freedom of movement, thought and expression.
~Strengthening our objectivity and detachment to enhance our experience of high frequencies. Calling on the Goddess to support us in identifying our personal boundaries, communicating those boundaries and honouring the Goddess within.
~Intuition, the third eye and crown chakra balancing.
~Colour therapy to support the establishment and honouring of boundaries.
~The Goddess as the receiver. How to get back to our truest essence and learn to allow, receive and give in the most loving and constructive energies.
~Exercises and tools for creating your own boundaries, communication, and strengthening the intuition.
Week 3: Fire (October 31st)
~Fire Element: Who are the Fire Goddesses? Playing with the vital energies of the Sacral and Solar Plexus. Crystals to strengthen personal power, will, creativity, sexual expression and positive action.
~Acknowledging and Neutralizing Assumptions. Where do assumptions come from and how we bring ourselves as the embodiment of the Goddess to a place of loving neutrality.
~Visualization of your highest self and how to continuously strengthen your power to manifest though creative visualization and Goddess energies
~Dress up and playing in our creative self expression. How to playfully embody ancient Goddess Archetypes.
~Self blessing rituals and exploring being creative with your journey through self care and playful charm.
~Exercises and tools to being playful in your daily routines, plants and herbs to assist you in manifesting, honouring your sexual expression through Goddess energy.
Week 4: Water (November 14th)
~Water Element: Who are the Water Goddesses? The water element has us dive into our emotional selves and our throat and heart Chakra energies. Crystals to support expressing our true feelings, to maintain healthy emotional balance and enhanse love and compassion.
~ Always doing the best we can with where we are at. Drawing on the Goddess energy of self love and compassion we learn our best will change as frequently as our emotions do, and to accept and honour ourselves every step of the journey.
~ Self Care: Tools and gentle options for growing your self love and understanding your own bodies needs.
~ Sound Vibrational healing to integrate to assist you in releasing your emotions in a constructive mannor, and heal emotional baggage.
~ How to protect your energy and tools for clearing absorbed negative energies.
Week 5: Ether/Spirit (November 21st)
~ Spirit Element: Who are the Goddesses of Spirit? Activation of the crown chakra. Crystals for manifestation, connection to the higher rhelms, spiritual transformation and opening the space for great spiritual growth and cleansing.
~ Truth: What is truth, and how to create your own. Developing your critical thinking skills to support you in your spiritual Goddess journey, and in your manifestation practice.
~The Laws of Manifestation, building on the Laws of the Universe we will explore the specific laws to activate and come into harmony with for optimal manifestation.
~Creation of Goddess Mandalas to take with you for your journey ahead.
Unity in Goddess Energy
Only Love

subset: commoncrawl


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Quantitative easing explained
Even as a trained economist, I kind of keep wondering what the hell the Federal Reserve is doing in the States. Makes no sense though imagine they are trying to stave off a similar crisis that we're seeing in Ireland and that is threatening to spread to the rest of Europe. Anyhow, if you're confused by the whole thing, there's nothing like cute cartoon animals to explain it to you. Bit long, but great.
via ZeFrank


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Anchors in the Desertby Donald A. Bruce, (M.ASCE), Technical Director; Nicholson Construction of America, P.O. Box 308, Bridgeville, PA 15017,
William Fiedler, (M.ASCE), Civil Engineer; Bureau of Reclamation, P.O. Box 25007, Denver, CO 80225,
Ronald Triplett, Vice Pres.; Nicholson Construction, Inc., Atlanta, GA,
Serial Information: Civil Engineering—ASCE, 1991, Vol. 61, Issue 12, Pg. 40-43
Document Type: Feature article
The Southwest desert isn't usually thought of as a hotbed of seismic activity, but earthquakes have occurred there. And if Arizona's Stewart Mountain Dam, a double-curvature thin-arch concrete dam on the Salt River, were to fail in one, it would have catastrophic consequences for Phoenix, just 30 mi downstream. To stabilize the dam to withstand the maximum credible earthquake, the Bureau of Reclamation (BuRec) chose post-tensioning. Many concrete gravity dams have been post-tensioned to improve their stability, but this is the first time anchors have been installed on a multicurvature concrete arch dam. The $6.5 million project also featured several other innovations. These included an extensive anchor test program to verify bond lengths and load transfer mechanisms in each of the three major foundation zones, extremely tight drilling tolerances and frequent downhole surveys, use of epoxy-coated strands to provide primary corrosion protection for the tendons, and meticulous monitoring of the behavior of the potentially delicate structure during every phase of construction.
Subject Headings: Concrete dams | Gravity dams | Arch dams | Anchors | Arid lands | Earthquakes | Dam failures | Rivers and streams | Phoenix | Arizona | United States
Services: Buy this book/Buy this article
Return to search


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Express two-day shipping is included on this gift. Only standard shipping and processing charges will apply.
The Deluxe Pears, Apples, and Cheese Gift is among our most popular fresh fruit offerings and combines expertly grown, handpicked fruit with several gourmet cheeses, including Gouda, cheddar, and the artisanal TouVelle® cheese from our neighbors at the Rogue Creamery. An American original, the buttery TouVelle® cheese features flavor notes of sweet cream, roasted nuts, and vanilla. This gift is a delicious snack pairing made in heaven. Arrives with Harry & David™ Pinot Gris.
Click here for further details and restrictions relating to the purchase of wine, and a list of states to which Harry & David wine can be shipped. You must be 21 years of age or older to order, purchase or receive delivery of wine. A person who is 21 years of age or older must be present to sign for the delivery. Offer void where prohibited by law. Harry & David wine is sold and shipped by Harry and David, LLC, Medford, Oregon.
Promotions, Celebrations Passport®, coupons and special offers do not apply to products containing wine. Harry & David wine is sold and shipped by Harry and David, LLC, Medford, Oregon.
WARNING: Drinking distilled spirits, beer, coolers, wine, and other alcoholic beverages may increase cancer risk, and during pregnancy, can cause birth defects. For more information go to www.P65Warnings.ca.gov/alcohol.


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Digital Patterns
patterns by yarn
- Marie Wallin (14) Apply Marie Wallin filter
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- Martin Storey (4) Apply Martin Storey filter
- Erika Knight (3) Apply Erika Knight filter
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Textured and cosy, this loop-style cardigan was designed by Lisa Richardson in Cocoon.
This simple fairisle cardigan by Martin Storey is worked in our super soft Cocoon yarn.
This stylish ribbed scarf and beanie hat were designed by Martin Storey in cosy Cocoon.
This cable sweater features an optional cable snood and is worked in our soft Cocoon yarn.
Ideal for layering, this stylish, cropped sweater is worked in our super soft Cocoon yarn.
Our luxurious Cocoon yarn is used to make this snood, to be knitted to your desired length.
Designed with dolman sleeves, this loose-fitting sweater by Marie Wallin uses Cocoon.
This warm and cosy wrap features beautiful cabling and is worked in super soft Cocoon.
Knit Crisp, a ladies sweater with stand up collar from Rowan Knitting and Crochet Magazine 58, designed by Gemma Atkinson using the beautiful yarn Cocoon.
Knit this beautiful snood from Georgia Farrell in conjunction with her new book Inspired Knits, exclusively available here.
Knit Nippy, a ladies chunky roll neck sweater from Rowan Knitting and Crochet Magazine 58, designed by Amy Herzog using the beautiful yarn Cocoon.
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Come sit with us! Join InsightLA teachers in the San Gabriel Valley for a sitting group every Sunday.
Michael Stroud and other InsightLA teachers lead a practice group every Sunday in San Marino. The format includes periods of sitting and walking meditation, along with a dharma talk.
When: Sundays, 10:30 am – Noon pm
Where: Greenheart Yoga Studio – 2260 Huntington Dr, San Marino, CA, 91108 // Close to Los Feliz, Glendale, Pasadena and San Gabriel Valley!
Notes: There is plenty of free parking.
Cost: All sitting groups at InsightLA are donation-based offerings.


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A Whole New Mind: Why Right-brainers Will Rule the Future written by Daniel H. Pink A Whole New Mind posits that the future of global business belongs to the right-brainers.
It's not just about math and science.
A Whole New Mind: Why Right-brainers Will Rule the Future written by Daniel H. Pink A Whole New Mind posits that the future of global business belongs to the right-brainers.
It's not just about math and science.
This article appeared in the New Your Times on Sept 6, 2010. It offers a different perspective on what works when it comes to studying.
Definition: Advanced Placement or AP courses are college-level classes taught on high school campuses. They generally involve significantly more challenging curriculum and more rigorous homework than non-AP classes, and they culminate in a high stakes exam, administered by the College Board on high school campuses in early May.
The spring exam costs around $86 per class, runs two to three hours, and is graded on a scale of 1 to 5, with a 3 constituting a passing grade and a 4 or 5 being even more desirable. Many universities offer course credit for a high score, or allow students to skip the corresponding class in college. APs also give added heft to a college application, because they tell admissions officers that the applicant has taken – and succeeded at – college-level work, and the grades are "weighted," i.e., a B in an AP class is worth an A in a regular class.
Also Known As: Advanced Placement
Because Jane scored 5s on so many of her AP classes – calculus AB, German, European History and so on – she started college as a second semester freshman.
From the Lake Travis High School 2010-2011 Course Catalog:
Pre-Advanced Placement (Pre-AP) in High School
Students will receive high quality, rigorous instruction in all courses at LTHS. Students may choose to take advanced classes appropriate to their interests and academic strengths. Pre-AP courses are open enrollment and are designed to prepare students to be successful in AP classes. The number of Pre-AP courses varies with the students' motivation, self-discipline, and available time outside of class. Students are not expected to enroll in Pre-AP courses in all core subject areas.
Recommended Prerequisites include:
Characteristics of a Successful Pre-AP Student:
This excellent article was written by Jenny Ford and appears in Hub Pages.
Click here for the full article.
Some excerpts:
The pressure mounts, year by year, until they are doing several hours a night of assignments and study. Some of the curriculum content is of questionable value (and I am being generous when I say "some", here) – I doubt that they will find much of it useful for earning money, developing relationships, or remaining healthy throughout their lives, for example.
However, you have to do what the school system says you have to do, because that's the only way to get to college. And college is the only way to get a professional job or occupation. And a professional job or occupation is the only way to … what, exactly?
Paid employment is no longer a ticket to permanent health benefits, paid holidays and retirement benefits. Paid employment these days can only ever be regarded as a temporary stop-gap solution to the problem of establishing a secure income.
Instead of running our kids ragged on this treadmill to nowhere, we should be focusing on teaching them the life skills they really need.
To be healthy, wealthy and happy, all our kids really need to know is:
– how to take care of their physical, mental and emotional health
– how to make, save and invest money
– how to communicate and manage relationships
– how to go and look up information about everything else that might interest them
And the comments that follow the articles are just as interesting. Check these out:
The thing that has always bugged me about the traditional school system is the propaganda perpetuated by the school board that you need a University edcuation if you want to do anything good with your life. It's simply not true and adds horrible pressure to the kids who are not naturally academic.
I was gifted academically but could not stand the prison like metality of the school system and so I never pursued a College or University education. I educated myself and traveled the world and now am a Professional Photographer just about to teach my first instructional workshop.
There are so many opportunities for great jobs or to work for yourself that do not require conventional education. I think children need to be told this. You don't have to kill youself trying to obtain marks for a career you don't really want. This is not what success means in my book.
Many people love University, many people hate it. Both are okay and neither attitude will ensure success or failure in today's business world.
I agree completely. University enrollment is declining, especially for young men. If you want to be sure your kids have a well balanced education, do two things: 1. encourage them to read on a wide variety of topics and 2. show them how to find information they need. It is impossible to memorize everything – history changes, science changes, new advancements come and go…so rather than dealing with a lot of "facts" far better to be well versed in information research.
Education is designed on a mass scale, not an individual one. That is more efficient, if you can keep everyone doing the same thing – not ideal for any individual, but cheaper to run and easier to organise.
Personalised education requires personalised educators, and we have too much of our adult population tied up in earning their own incomes to allocate one adult per 3-6 kids for education.
I think that teachers are making the mistake of giving too many assignments, and they think that a high volume work load is going to help them intellectually. I believe you can challenge the minds of our youth WITHOUT giving them a ton of busy work.
I am reprinting an article I came across. The original is linked at the end of this post
Are we pushing our kids too hard?
It's a natural instinct to push our kids to succeed. We only want the best for them, after all. But are we damaging our children by teaching them that their choices are limited to either success or failure?
Our children grow up under the crushing weight of all our hopes and dreams for them. As they master crawling, walking and talking, we plan their futures. We imagine ourselves standing gracefully on the White House lawn, in the front row at the Academy Awards, waiting in the wings in Stockholm, courtside at the NBA finals. The child who absently bangs a few notes on the piano as he passes by is nurtured with lessons, his innate talent praised. The girl who twirls joyfully in the park is signed up for ballet and gymnastics lessons the next afternoon.
All over the world, parents push their children to succeed, to be the best, to excel. And that's fantastic, except that the reality is that most of our children will not be world-famous whatevers or the greatest fill-in-the-blanks of all time. Most of us, after all, are fairly ordinary. Oh, sure, we're really good at something or other, and we enjoy relative success in our chosen fields, but are we world-renowned? Are we turning down endorsement opportunities or juggling our schedules to give back-to-back keynotes at conferences on different continents or inspiring unauthorized autobiographies? Are we even writing unauthorized biographies? Most of us are not.
What's critical is that our kids understand that even though we want the best for them, "the best" is relative. We want them to try, to dream, to reach, but we also need to ensure that they understand that normal does not necessarily mean mediocre, and that mediocre does not define their character, even if they can't cure cancer or play in the NFL — or even make the JV team in high school.
People can be ordinary and still make a difference in the world. People can be average and still be extraordinary. And before you brush away that word disdainfully, before you discount average, consider this: Average is what you pray for during pregnancy. If you don't believe it, just ask any parent of a child with special needs.
Dreams matter. Of course they matter. Of course we want greatness for our children. But we don't want them to be so paralyzed by the thought of greatness that they fail to do anything meaningful with their lives. Life, in general, is not an all-or-nothing proposition. Our children deserve the chance to experiment, to dabble, to be free to aspire to normalcy. To do, without worrying about success or failure. To do. To be.
It's not, "I'll love you even if you can't be the best or no matter what you do." It's, "I love you." That intrinsic, essential, fundamental thing that makes your son your son is why you love him. Unconditional love means you don't put conditions on it. It sounds obvious, but it's something that's easy to forget.
Hopes and dreams are a good thing. They're an important part of parenting. But an equally important part is to remind yourself — and your child — that those hopes and dreams are there to inspire, not to crush. The only weight your child should feel on his shoulders is his head held high with pride in who he is now, at this moment.
Here is a link to the original article posted on SheKnows.com and written by Abbi Perets:
Are we pushing our kids too hard? Why Average Should Be The New Excellent.
My parents felt an obligation to pay for their 5 kids college education. Though I worked part time in college, and I'm sure my parents appreciated it, they never made me feel that I had to. I would guess most parents would want to pay for college, if they can afford it. This article that appeared in the Austin American Statesman suggests you make your kids take on part of the responsibility of paying for college, even if you can afford to pay for it. Click Here to go to the article.
This is a great article about homework over at the Great Schools site.
No two kids are a like and you might think the answer depends on how much they can handle, their motivation, and how much time they have. And isn't it true that the more practice they have the better? Well in a word NO. Everyone should read this article. Here are some excerpts:
"How many people take home an average of two hours or more of work that must be completed for the next day?" asks Tonya Noonan Herring, a New Mexico mother of three, an attorney and a former high school English teacher. "Most of us, even attorneys, do not do this. Bottom line: students have too much homework and most of it is not productive or necessary."
"Cooper sees the trend toward more homework as symptomatic of high-achieving parents who want the best for their children. "Part of it, I think, is pressure from the parents with regard to their desire to have their kids be competitive for the best universities in the country. The communities in which homework is being piled on are generally affluent communities."
Cooper points to "The 10-Minute Rule" formulated by the National PTA and the National Education Association, which suggests that kids should be doing about 10 minutes of homework per night per grade level. In other words, 10 minutes for first-graders, 20 for second-graders and so on.
Garfield has a very clear homework policy that she distributes to her parents at the beginning of each school year. "I give one subject a night. It's what we were studying in class or preparation for the next day. It should be done within half an hour at most. I believe that children have many outside activities now and they also need to live fully as children. To have them work for six hours a day at school and then go home and work for hours at night does not seem right. It doesn't allow them to have a childhood."
To be effective, homework must be used in a certain way, he says. "Let me give you an example. Most homework in the fourth grade in the U.S. is worksheets. Fill them out, turn them in, maybe the teacher will check them, maybe not. That is a very ineffective use of homework. An effective use of homework would be the teacher sitting down and thinking 'Elizabeth has trouble with number placement, so I'm going to give her seven problems on number placement.' Then the next day the teacher sits down with Elizabeth and she says, 'Was this hard for you? Where did you have difficulty?' Then she gives Elizabeth either more or less material. As you can imagine, that kind of homework rarely happens."
"What typically happens is people give what we call 'shotgun homework': blanket drills, questions and problems from the book. On a national level that's associated with less well-functioning school systems," he says. "In a sense, you could sort of think of it as a sign of weaker teachers or less well-prepared teachers. Over time, we see that in elementary and middle schools more and more homework is being given, and that countries around the world are doing this in an attempt to increase their test scores, and that is basically a failing strategy."
What do you think? Is the amount of homework your student receives too little? too much? or just about right? Leave a comment below!
In researching what web address to register for this site I came across the website Great Schools. There are some comments left by parents about Lake Travis High School. Most are a bit dated but still an interesting read. Click HERE for parent's review of our school district. I've copied them all as of today below:
school, Great Academics, Top Notch Sports
schools administration needs a complete makeover. It seems that the students are not the 'priority'
when it comes to our kids. We definitely have first hand experience. Instead of
correcting problems they would rather justify a coach's or teachers actions.
Hopefully, this year will be better.
come from the top rated school district in the Chicago suburbs I came to Austin with
guarded optomism. Lake Travis has exceeded our expectations. The AP classes,
arts and extra curricular oppertunities are great. My son does not play football
and contrary to some other responses, LT football does not over shadow or
diminish the excellence of LT's other sports (particularily girls volleyball,
soccer and basketball), arts or academic curriculums. At the football halftime 2
weeks ago all the National Merit finalists were honored, not sports players.
Best move we ever made and glad we are in Lake Travis with 2400 students than
Westlake with 5500 students.
a public school, they do a lot. It's big and diverse and the staff tends to have
a heavy hand with discipline.
school focuses on a variety of components that help students on their ways to a better
college career. True, a 98 average barely gets you into the top ten percent, but
the AP classes have great teachers and all other teachers are very motivating as
well. All sports teams have had a turn in the state playoffs– tennis won state
and the well known football team also won this last year. Students are very
involved in the community and full of school pride.
school for a highly motivated student and/or college prospect athlete. Not a good school for those
kids with any sort of difficulty. Expect little support if your kid gets in
trouble, they'd rather you leave than help the kid back on the right track.
Football is what this school is all about. Huge stadium, indoor football field
and a weight room bigger than our Gold's Gym. They will not build another HS.
They'd like to have 10 Middle Schools feeding this one mega-campus. Again great
school for a college prospect football player. But most kids are not able to
compete in any sports because of the size of the school.Tough to get in College
from this school an an 80% average puts you in the 4th quartile.
institutes of study focusing on arts, sciences, and other areas, while still new, are a great way
to get students focused on their futures. Fine Arts education, especially the
Cavalier Band and theater arts programs at LTHS, is exceptional, and Agriculture
studies are also growing strong. Sure, football gets a lot of emphasis, but the
Cavaliers generate great school pride. As for parental involvement, in addition
to a strong PTA, the district has an Education Foundation formed by volunteers
that funds hundreds of thousands of dollars to the schools each year, primarily
to programs in this high school.
have to laugh at the comment posted about the football team being great. It is not.
They can't get past bi-district level playoffs. $500,000 wweight room can't make
puny kids bigger. As for kids going to Div 1 colleges – it simply is not true
maybe one in the history of the school Reesing that is it! Football gets too
much $ and attention. Also whites and hispanics do not mix at the school or
socially. About 25% take AP classes, so large amount still not college driven.
AP and honors calssses are excellent and those teachers are really good and care
about their students. Competitive students hard to be in top 10%. 98 average
does not get you in top 10%.
a very good high school. The educators are generally very involved and focused on helping
the kids actually learn and not just pass tests. There is way too much focus on
the football program at the expense of other sports and extracurricular
activities. A helicopter to aerate the field? The largest weight room in the
state? Sad but true.
think that Lake Travis has a wonderful academic program that is opening up quickly to include
even more special benefits for our kids. They have exciting new electives and
tons of AP classes that help the kids prepare for high school. There are lots of
extracurricular activities, but the main one is football. Our kids have finally
gotten to the play offs and we have quite a few graduating seniors going to
Division 1 schools. The parents are highly involved; we have a thriving PTA.
Overall, a great school.


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Although you'll find the club's committee members taking part on our social media platforms, if you need to contact us about anything the most reliable way is by e-mail.
Just drop us a line at firstname.lastname@example.com and we'll respond as soon as we can.
Just remember that the club is run in our spare time it might take us a day or two!


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Holiday Gifts to Sip and Enjoy: Part 1
There are so many new flavors, reads, mixers, wines, spirits and liqueurs that have popped up this year that are perfect for gifting to your sweetheart, friends, siblings or in-laws that you want to make a good impression with. There are too many to include in just one post, so here is are a few spirits perfect for gifting. Some ideas were sent for editorial consideration, some I just love.
Deep Eddy Sweet Tea Vodka – I have written about this special vodka a few times since the Austin based product came out earlier this year. I still think it is one of the best flavored vodka's on the market, and spices up a good 'ole glass of iced tea, something any Southern girl will like.
Frozen Ghost Vodka – The Ghost of Christmas past, present or future won't haunt you when you are drinking Frozen Ghost Vodka. Inspired by Canadian farmer "Tobias" who haunted his murderer neighbor whopushed him into his profitable spring. The spring froze, Tobias died and subsequently haunted his murderer into confession. Good story, but mainly, great vodka. Clean vodka, distilled 5 times with equal parts Canadian rye and wheat grain. Mix it with Red Bull and enjoy a Poltergeist.
There are many kinds of tequilas on the market, but I tend to turn to Partida Anejo for sipping, though their Blanco is great in a margarita also. The Anejo is aged 18 months in former Jack Daniels barrels giving it a caramel, copper color, with citrus zest, dried fruit and nutty aromas and silky smooth mouthfeel and flavors of honey and butterscotch.
For your Entourage fans, you have to get them the Avion Silver Tequila. Small batch distillation, and slow filtration gives this tequila clean, mineral rich flavors pairing perfectly with your favorite mixer, or over ice with heaps of fresh squeezed lime.
The Macallan 18 – enough said.


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News 2017: (FR) Musicologie Article: "Bertolli Francesca ....-1767 [contralto]" (by Jean-Marc Warszawski, 09 Jan 2017)
"Contralto, she is in 1728, she is at the service of the great Duchess of Tuscany and sings in two operas in Bologna and two others in Livorno.
Georg Friedrich Händel hired her in September 1729 for the season at King's Theater in London. Until 1733 she sang ...
In fifteen of his operas, the role of Arbace in Cato, Tassile in Alessandro, Alessandro in Tolomeo, Medoro in Orlando, in Caio Marzio Coriolano of Attilio Ariosti, and two pasticcios, participates in concerts of oratorios organized by Händel, like Esther (creation 20 April 1732) Acis and Galatea, 17 March 1733, Deborah (in English). In July of the same year she was courted without success by the Prince de Galle." ...
Visit the Musicologie website to read the full article (in French). Google translate English pages here.
More articles in category News 2017
- (US) Texas Early Music Project (TEMP): "TEMP's First Annual Pop-up Silent Auction" (17 Sep 2017) (by admin on Sep 10, 2017)
- (US) Atlas Obscura Article: "How a 17th-Century Naval Engineer Revolutionized Set Design" (by Cara Giaimo, 05 Sep 2017) (by admin on Sep 09, 2017)
- (US) WIRED Magazine Article: "What Happens When Algorithms Design A Concert Hall? The Stunning Elbphiharmonie" (by Liz Stinson, 12 Jan 2017) (by admin on Jan 17, 2017)
- Early Music Month of March 2017 - European Early Music Day 2017 (March 21st) (by admin on Jan 17, 2017)
- (BE) Compact Disc Reviews: "Flanders Recorder Quartet (FRQ) - "The End of a Beautiful Chapter" (by Tom Bickley) (by admin on Jan 13, 2017)


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Yet another 2nd Amendment success!
"She had both hands on her .32-caliber pistol when the man knocked down her door."And just all of a sudden, with one kick, he knock the door completely in. The frame came flying down. Things came flying everywhere," she said. "And he saw that I had the gun, and he grabbed the door handle and pulled the door shut."


text: Lauterborn Electric was recently called to a property in Olde Kensington. The home owner was looking to have a TV mounted and some in wall surround sound speakers installed. The picture shows the finished TV mounted and two of the six speakers that were installed. All the wire used was rated for in wall use, the speakers and TV were wired to a receiver which then controls the speakers and what comes out of them. Six speakers were installed to give out the best possible sound. Four speakers were in wall and the other two were ceiling speakers. The customer also bought a y audio splitter cable which gave them the ability to play thier IPod and/or cell phone music through the speakers. Contact your licensed Philadelphia Electrician Lauterborn Electric for all your electrical needs.


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The two-year Research Master's in Religious Studies offers you excellent opportunities for pursuing your own research interests. In the first semesters, the core courses address the comparative study of concepts fundamental to human culture as well as theories and methodologies in the field of religious studies. Electives and tutorials enable you to tailor the programme to your own interests.
The Research Master's programme Religious Studies comprises 120 ECTS credits:
The backbone of the Research Master's in Religious Studies comprises three core courses, to be taken in the first three semesters of the programme.
The first core course, Theories and Methods in the Study of Religion, introduces you to important debates about the core concepts and methodologies in the field of religious studies with an emphasis on new paradigms and approaches in this field.
The second core course, Religious Experience, emphasises the specific debate about the analytical value of the concept of experience in religious scholarship and introduces various types of research concerning the topic of religion and experience.
The final core course, Nature and the Supernatural, addresses the notions of nature and the supernatural that have been fundamental to human culture since antiquity. The course introduces students to cosmogenesis, ideas of nature, myths of creation, accounts of the origin of the world and a diversity of ideas concerning intermediary beings from a variety of religious cultures in a comparative perspective.
You can tailor the Research Master's programme to your own interests by selecting electives from the one-year Master's programmes Islam in the Modern World, Religious Diversity in Europe and Western Esotericism. In addition, the Graduate School of Humanities offers a broad range of courses approved as electives for all Research Master's students.
In a tutorial setting, you will work closely with one of our staff members. Tutorial subjects are suggested by staff members and informed by their current research projects, but you can also propose your own tutorial. Alternatively, you can also participate in seminars at one of the national research schools, where you will meet Research Master's students, PhDs and researchers from other universities.
The Master's thesis reports on research carried out under the supervision of an academic staff member involved in the programme. The subject of the thesis must be mutually agreed upon by the student and the academic adviser.
For more information about available internships and the experiences of other student interns, visit the website for current students.
Visit the UvA Course Catalogue for detailed descriptions of the programme's courses.


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The village was nestled into the crook of a mountains' arm. It was a charming destination. It was filled with violet-covered wooden cottages and cobblestreet downtowns where people sold eggs and bread. The villagers loved each neighbor dearly. They provided for one another and never let anyone go hungry. Every one of them loved and laughed and sang.
Except one little boy. He was of fair, dark skin hair and raven's eyes. Other villagers seemed disinterested with the boy's blandness, and the feeling was mutual. He was a quiet child who rarely joined in on hopscotch or make-believe. But he was very good at pretending.
One day, the boy went for a walk in the woods. Now, the woods that surrounded the village were friendly enough. Trails that snaked throughout assist travelers in navigating the area. But in the uncharted forest, wild things prowled. Some of the village's dearest stories were prompted by the unusual noises that echoes from the dark emerald forest late at night. But as much as the village loved to imagine what filled the forest, but no one ever looked.
On the day in question, the boy wandered off these paths. He crossed a creek and climbed a few trees. His dark cheeks were flushed with exertion and his bones were happy. But it was getting late. Not that anyone would notice if he came back late; his parents rarely noticed when he was there. He was just deciding to turn back when he heard something from deeper inside the forest.
The boy stood, panting. He was conflicted. He had two options; turn back, and insure getting home before darkness fell, or; follow the noise.
A memory came to the boy: his grandmother, telling him the story of their village. His grandmother had been perhaps the only person to ever love him, but that was before she died. She was sitting cross legged in the meadow at twilight. Per tradition, it was she who taught him all the stories of their people. The story that night had been a strange one, a story of an element the boy had never heard of nor encountered. The story of the Midnight Sun.
It was fire, his grandmother said solemnly, that stole away the first village. On an midsummer midnight, when clouds misted over the stars, a stranger had slipped into town, matches clutched in his white fist. The details were cloudy, like the night. All the villagers remembered was suddenly the wooden cottages were swooped into the fire like fish into a net. It seemed to strong and so inevitable that those who made it out of their houses could only watch. It crackled like a forest simultaneously falling. It blazed with the strength of the sun.
The damage was devastating. The village was forced to rebuild completely, replacing wood with stone, banning all fire. Even candles were fed to the river to be washed away. No flame had entered the village since the Midnight Sun.
Telling it, a strange trance settled over his grandmother. Her voice became low and fluent. There was a strange light flickering in her eyes, their brown catching fire as easily as the village had, all those years ago.
The man who set it disappeared, she told him. Into the night.
Or into the fire.
A mischievous smile widened across the boy's face as he turned in the direction of the noise. He ran towards it, breaking sticks, pushing branches out of the way. The sun sank further. It was dangling precariously between day and night, turning the sky a dusty blue. The boy ran. Deeper. Deeper. Deeper. . .
He stopped in his tracks.
He had found the Midnight Sun.
It was grander than he imagined, much grander. At nearly five times the boy's size, it commanded everything from the center of a clearing. The sticks and leaves littered around it were all burned and twisted. What his grandmother had described made sense; it did sound like an entire forest falling to its knees, it did glower like the sun.
Yet there was a calling about it the boy could not have imagined. It tugged at him from the center of his small chest, overpowering any other urges.
It was so tangible. So close.
Like he could touch it.
He took one step. Then another. Then another, and another, he could feel the heat on his cheeks, taste the dryness of the air, eyes watering, nose stinging with smoke, just one more step-
He was in the fire.
Yes, in the fire. Warmness came first- surprisingly pleasant, like a wool blanket. Scratchy. Then a buzz. He felt it in his toes, his arms, his whole body. It filled his soul up like the element was inside him, not around. He needed to do something, he was sure of that. He needed to move, to scream, to satisfy the payment he knew he owed the fire.
He started to dance.
He let himself grow lighter until he was floating off the ground. While he felt effervescent, the fire and dance were filling parts of him that nothing ever had. Loneliness, perhaps. Wistfulness. The flames grew warmer. They hummed with pleasure, a melody so aberrant he wasn't sure it was even truly there. His moves matched the rhythm perfectly. Oblivion was a dance and he knew every move.
He didn't know for how long he danced, but one one moment he was there, the next, he was sitting on the forest floor. The burned twigs were still there, as was the looming forest. Stars had come out to watch his performance.
In the firelight, he checked his arms and legs. No burns, Nothing. Not even a scrape.
So he stood, brushed off his hands, and turned back to the woods. At the edge of the clearing, he turned. There was the fire, blazing strong as ever. It tugged at him from that inexplicable place deep inside him. But it was too late in the evening, and soon his parents would worry. But he made a promise there, caught between reality and bliss, whispered to darkness, fire, and the moon-
I'll be back.
And he slipped into the shadows.
The boy kept his promise. Every night, just before twilight, he'd escape to the forest. It took quite a bit of wandering to lose himself and find the Midnight Sun, but he did. Every night. And every night, he stepped into the flames and became host to a magical entity. He danced until the whole world was lost. Until if there was a world, it consisted only of the flames flickering on his fingertips.
The villagers took notice to his frequent absences. They began whispering about the boy with eyes of ash and clothes covered with leaves. They frowned when they caught a whiff of smoke lingering in his hair. Noses flew into the air when the boy did a move or two on the street. His mother yelled at the boy for wearing through his shoes. He grew quieter still. The other children downright ignored him. They played games to see if the could walk right through him, as if he were merely a wisp of smoke. Even his elders joined in, sneering at him when they passed on the street.
Dancing was his only respite. Once, he became so desperate for a constant companion that he cupped a flame in his hand and tried to steal away with it. For the first time, he learned the searing pain of a burn. He howled and dropped the fire immediately. But that did not stop him from trying.
One day, the boy did not go to the forest. He instead sat alone in his room, staring at a spot on the wall. He was making a decision.
He ate dinner and went to bed, but not sleep. He lay awake until he was sure everyone in the village was unconscious in their dreaming. Then he slipped out to the forest. A cold breeze tousled his dark locks. There was a stone in his stone and a tightness in his fist. He wandered slowly that night, each even, calculated step taking him nearer to his destination.
The Midnight Sun was stronger the usual. Taller. More demanding. Giving off enough light to cast shadows deep into the woods. He entered the flame at a sprint and a feeling so intense swelled into the boy he went blind. The blindness did not prevent him from his dance. It felt like a fight, that dance did. He savored it like a starving person would a king's feast. When every muscle in his body was exhausted beyond comprehension, he stumbled out of the flame. His sight returned gradually. When it did, his gaze his fixed on the heart of the fire. He knew what to do.
He knelt. Sure enough, there was the base of the fire. A tangled nest of twigs. He darted his hand out and snagged one. In the air, it continued to burn. The little sun gleamed furiously against the darkness. A mischievous smile widened across the boy's face. The boy cupped it in his palm and took off into the night.
Branches caught on the boy's hair and clothes as he tore through the forest. His legs burned as adamantly as the twig. His hitched breath filled the entire cold atmosphere. The only warmth in existence, it seemed, was the tiny flame he clutched with both hands.
Soon the village was in sight. He raced through the streets, passing framiler buildings that had never felt like home. The roads all lead to the center of town; that was his destination. Many carriages were parked along the cobblestone road. He scrambled to the top of the nearest one.
He stood, bones aching, breath broken, clothes tattered. The tiny flame trembled with his uncontrollably shaking hand.
He remembered the children's laughter. He remembered sitting alone for every activity, always watching, never living. He remembered the taunts about his vagueness and remoteness. And he remembered seeing the fire for the first time, feeling the fire. It was in his head. In his body, when he danced.
It was in his blood.
The boy drew back his arm. He aimed the twig at a chain of buildings that connected all over town. It would catch so easily. Then all the people who hated him would know the joy of the Midnight Sun. He was kind, really. They didn't deserve his fire.
He threw the stick.
It caught immediately. Like a cast of performers finally bursting out of the wings, filling the stage with vibrance and illumination, the fire leaped and twirled intricate patterns up and down the village's walls. The boy watched all this interestly. This was as grand as his own fire. Yes, this would do nicely.
There was a strange light flickering in his eyes, their brown catching fire as easily as the village was, just as it had all those years ago.
He walked slowly, deliberately, towards the fire
to dance
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Other junior members include Alan John (111), Patrick Gembis (102), William Moody (96), Adam John (93), Mario Saenz (81), Daniel Garcia-Leon (76), Aaron Saenz (72), Tom Roy (67), as well as ungraded Jaden Jermy (e100).
This wealth of young players has enabled the club, for the first time in its history, to field teams consisting entirely of juniors in both the Suffolk League and the Bury Area League.
In the Suffolk League, the Bury St Edmunds 'Juniors' compete in the Under 125 Cup, where all but William Sait are eligible to play. In the BACL Division 3, the Bury St Edmunds 'G' team is selected from a squad of eight juniors. Dedicated parents are willing to transport some of the children to away matches.
This season will be something of an experiment. Ensuring that youngsters keep playing chess as they reach their teenage years is a known problem, but it is reckoned that playing adult-level chess will maintain their interest in the game.
Several members are still very young: Adam John is only 9 and Jaden Jermy is 10. Both these players have enormous potential, and could easily follow the likes of Alan Merry to international titles as well as the opportunity of representing their country.
Bury's policy of developing young players is clearly working and other clubs in Suffolk may wish to consider a similar route in order to ensure their clubs' future.


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Earlsfield Woman
Are you angered by ever rising bills while the energy giants continue to report falling costs and eye watering profits? This, for me, just doesn't seem fair.
We're certainly not "all in this together" and the government is certainly not showing signs of doing anything about it.
Well now there is something that WE can do. Labour have launched a national campaign this week calling for the government to put a freeze on energy bills so that people can afford to heat their homes this winter.
If you would like a bill freeze, you can show your support by signing the petition here: www.labour.org.uk/energy. You can also access an energy calculator, which will tell you how much money you could save. I've just used it and discovered I could save £61 a year. So let's go and freeze those bills!


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Protein A resins market is witnessing an inflection point with the increasing research on biotechnological sector for novel drug development. Growing prevalence of chronic diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, cancer, etc., and the extensive use of monoclonal antibodies in these treatments, is growing at an appreciable pace.
In addition to this, recent revolution in protein separation and purification techniques which include chromatography, precipitation, and filtration, is also expected to drive protein A resins industry globally.
According to Global Market Insights, Inc., "Protein A resins market worth over USD 440 million in 2015, is projected to grow at a CAGR of 8.4% over the period of 2016-2024."
Request for a sample of this research report @ https://www.fractovia.org/request-sample/329
In depth analysis of the market based on applications, products, regions, and end users:
- Protein A resins industry mainly finds its application in two areas- antibody purification, and immunoprecipitation. Protein A resins market size in antibody purification is slated to witness a substantial growth in future, with an expected revenue share of USD 700 million by 2024, driven by the increasing diagnostic application of recombinant and monoclonal antibodies. In this regard, India has witnessed a remarkable growth owing to the surging rate of cancer patients in this region. Immunoprecipitation applications held a share of 20% of the protein A resins industry, and is anticipated to grow an annual rate of 8% over the period 2016- 2024.
- Based on the product trends, recombinant protein A resins market is forecast to outsell natural protein A resins industry with a projected annual growth rate of 8.3% of the former over 2016-2024.
- Geographically, U.S. protein A resins industry covered 85% of the total share in 2015 and is expected to continue its regional dominance due to the dynamically increasing healthcare infrastructure related to clinical practices. Asia Pacific market is also anticipated to show a striking annual growth rate of 8.5% over the coming seven years with a major contribution of Japan as it accounted for almost 40% of the total share in 2015, Japan protein A resin industry will exceed a revenue worth 78 million by 2024. Another niche region with a strong growth prospect is Spain, owing to the country's demand for biosimilar products.
- Biopharmaceutical farms and Contract research organizations are the two major end users of protein A resins industry. Biopharmaceutical industries accounted for a share of 75% of protein A resins market in 2015, and is expected to surpass USD 680 million by 2024.CROs accounted for the second highest revenue share in 2015 and is estimated to record USD 130 million with an annual growth rate of 8.1% over the coming seven years.
Make an inquiry for purchasing this report @ https://www.fractovia.org/request-purchase/329
Geographic expansion, strategic acquisitions, agreements, and continuous effort to enhance the product portfolio are the major strategies adopted by the market players to sustain the competitive market.
Prominent industry players include GE Healthcare, GenScript, Repligen, and Merck Millipore (EMD Millipore).
Browse Related Reports:
- Pharmacovigilance Market Size By Clinical Trial Phase (Preclinical, Phase I, Phase II, Phase III, Phase IV), By Service Provider (In-house, Contract outsourcing) Industry Analysis Report, Regional Outlook (U.S., Canada, UK, Germany, Spain, Italy, France, China, Japan, India, Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar), Application Potential, Price Trends, Competitive Market Share & Forecast, 2016 – 2024
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A couple years back I mentioned in a sermon that I was very disappointed that the Fig trees I planted were not producing as I felt they should. Did I plant them in the wrong area? Was the soil that poor? Were they not getting enough water? Well, that has changed now. They are thriving (or at least were until the extreme heat hit the area). I have had some great harvests from one of my fig trees almost every other day. I do argue with the squirrels and birds. The fake rubber snakes I placed out helped, I think for a while, but now nobody is fooled by them anymore.
I have always loved figs. Fig cookies, fig preserves and years ago I even had a unique fig flavored vodka from Germany that was rather good. The fig tree is the third tree mentioned in the Bible when Adam and Eve made their clothes from fig leaves. Between the word "Figs" and 'Fig Tree" they make an appearance in around 70 verses in Scripture. In all those verses there are good things spoken of as well as words of admonition and even curses made.
I recall from Luke 13:6-9 [Then he told this parable: "A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any. So, he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, 'For three years now I've been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven't found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?' "'Sir,' the man replied, 'leave it alone for one more year, and I'll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.'"]
The Law from this passage would help us saying, don't take up soil (life) and waste the nutrients (blessings, gifts, talents) that God presents to you. "Produce fruit in keeping with the repentance" (Matthew 3:8). The Gospel from this passage would remind us that God gives us second chances and as we know, a lot more than just a second chance. He gives us time to mature and produce as He has planted us.
God is certainly more generous with us than we are with others. If someone disappoints us in some way we might be swift to correct or condemn them. How often do we give them the opportunity to amend or self-correct their situation? Some folks are certainly better at this than others, still we all have our breaking point.
Thankfully God does not. He is there to forgive over and over again. The Lord God has us "FIG"ured out. He has taken time to allow us to grow and mature. We may get a little scraggly, or from one season to the next fail to produce as expected, but God still puts up with us. At least for now. There is a day coming when we're are told "Every knee will bow." Many fig tree branches have a good deal of "bend" in them. But they also have their breaking point. Better to give ourselves fully to God now. Better to honor Him with our lives today than wait for the day of judgment and wonder if we have produced as God desired us to do.
You've already been planted and nurtured for years. Get out there and bear fruit! Go! Be the child of God that you were called to be. Flourish under the SONshine. Live for the Lord. Don't wait another season to start doing what God made you to do. Bear fruit!
Pastor Bill


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Willing and Able
By Nupur Garg, MD
I hear an ambulance fast approaching. I'll be able to breathe soon, I think. Minutes later, I arrive at the Emergency Department with an IV drip, oxygen mask, and neck brace in place finally breathing again. Three months later, still wheelchair bound with my arm in a sling, a collection's bureau agent was explaining to me the intricacies of the Palo Alto 9-1-1 system. "The ambulance you took after your accident was not covered under your insurance, you see. You owe the city $798." "You realize, I didn't order that particular ambulance, right?" It didn't matter – I had to pay up. I was billing manager of a primary care physician's office for two years and in my experience, we never sent our patients bills unless we really believed they were in fact responsible for payment. I was just getting off the phone with the collection's bureau agent when my medical school Dean of Student Affairs was passing by. Speaking from her own recent hospitalization experience, she advised, "you have to fight for your insurance to cover what they're supposed to."
It would not surprise me if the number of phone calls I made to my insurance company three years ago combined with the ensuing collection's bureau calls that still come to this day gave me another medical condition… that I would then have to fight for coverage for. I am so paranoid about having to pay out of pocket for care that, two months ago, I called my insurance company to "confirm" that care for my dislocated and fractured ankle would be covered by my plan before I even reached the hospital. Even after taking this step, I still receive bills for the full amount of medical expenses, e.g. the family planning visit with my Gynecologist, the urgent care visit for days of abdominal pain, diarrhea, and dehydration after a camping trip, the dental x-rays before a root canal… the list continues. The real problem is that insurance companies do not get penalized for wrongly rejecting a claim, and we have no way of knowing before we receive care how much we're going to have to pay. Also, not to implicate mal-intention, but insurance companies have zero incentive to accurately pay for claims. That is, they have an incentive to err on the side of rejecting claims.
When I did medical billing, I would look at all the rejections, determine the reason it was rejected, and re-file the claim several times over before deciding whether it was fair to bill a patient. After a few cycles of doing this, the overall rejection rate of my claims dropped drastically. I learned that many, if not most, healthcare facilities do not do this for their patients. After one rejection, they often redirect the full amount to the patient and leave it unto them to fight their insurance companies. As it turns out, the insured patient is not actually insured, unless they are willing and able to fight for their benefits.
One friend's story serves as a prime example of a health insurance system gone wrong. He had inflamed knees that were warm, red, tender, and appeared fluid-filled. In addition, he had a fever and felt intense pain on mobilizing his knees or putting any pressure on them. In this situation, the only next rational step would be to seek immediate emergency medical care. However, he refused my pleas for him to go to the emergency department stating from experience that if his knee effusions turned out to be aseptic, his insurance company was likely to reject his claim.
As a physician now, I commit to educate and inform. I empathize with patients who are worried about the costs of their care. I remember that diagnosis codes matter. I know that I cannot be lazy about charting. If someone's chief complaint was diarrhea but a chest x-ray was ordered, I have to include a diagnosis to explain why. It seems simple, but unless I think about the consequences, it won't actually happen. This is yet another way I must advocate for my patients. It won't solve the real problem of misaligned incentives, but I can do my part to mitigate consequences.
Nupur Garg is an Emergency Medicine Resident, Medical Informatics Researcher, and Telemedicine Entrepreneur. She can be reached at: @NupurGargMD. She was also a contestant in the 2013 Costs of Care Essay Contest.


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Our policy
Jerusalem's ultimate status and Borders should be negotiated and resolved as part of an agreement between official Israeli and Palestinian authorities and endorsed by both peoples.
J Street believes that Israel's capital is in Jerusalem and will be internationally recognized as such in the context of an agreed two-state solution. We believe that the surest way to achieve that international recognition for the Israeli capital in Jerusalem is through a negotiated and viable two-state solution whereby– as outlined in the Clinton parameters and subsequent discussions between the parties– Jewish areas of Jerusalem are secured as the capital of Israel and Palestinian areas of East Jerusalem become the capital of the future Palestinian state.
Negotiations have produced creative ideas for resolving the hardest issues, including sovereignty and management arrangements for the Old City and the Holy Basin that guarantee all Jews freedom of access and worship at the Western Wall, as well as freedom of access and worship to for all peoples to their respective holy sites.
In advance of a negotiated resolution, all sides should refrain from unilateral actions – including new construction of Jewish housing in the Arab neighborhoods of East Jerusalem, evictions, demolitions and mass revocations of Palestinians' residency status– that will make the ultimate resolution of this issue even more difficult. J Street is therefore deeply concerned by ever-increasing tensions in Jerusalem and recent provocative actions being taken by the Israeli government and settler groups there, including approval of new Israeli housing construction in Arab neighborhoods of East Jerusalem, the eviction of Palestinian families from their homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, and reports that Israel has stripped record numbers of Palestinians of their Jerusalem residency status in recent years.
American elected officials should respect the need for the permanent status of Jerusalem to be determined in the context of a negotiated two-state solution, and refrain from steps, rhetorical or practical, that inflame an already tense situation – for instance, calling for the immediate relocation of the American Embassy to Jerusalem.


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Outlander is first and foremost a time-travel story. Claire Randall, a young married combat nurse in 1945, is whisked away,back in time to the Highlands of 1740's Scotland. She and her husband were visiting Inverness for their delayed honeymoon. The war had interrupted their new marriage and prior to this they had barely seen each other in five full years. The honeymoon was planned as a relaxing vacation and time away for Claire and her husband Frank to reconnect, but it became a place of almost complete disconnection instead, in ways that neither of them could ever have imagined.
During an outing alone, Claire is thrown into a time before cars and planes, before tanks and machine guns, before antibiotics. If women had little voice in the 1940's they had none in the 1740's! Within moments of arriving, breathless and confused, she faces imminent danger and she is whisked away from her arrival point, not knowing if she can or will ever find it again. We follow her life as she is forced to adapt to her new surroundings, and meet new people, making the best of her situation but making enemies as well as friends along the way; as she is a 'Sassenach' – an outsider with an English accent, who may never truly 'fit in' or be fully trusted by the born Scots.
When she meets James Fraser, an unlikely friendship begins, and the most unlikely (yet somehow believable) romance follows. The book synopsis states that: 'James Fraser shows her a love so absolute that Claire becomes a woman torn between fidelity and desire- and two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives' I have to agree and couldn't put it better myself!
Will Claire ever get home again? Will she still want to? These questions and more followed my path through the pages and kept me spellbound until the end. I thank goodness that it took me so long to discover this series, as I don't think I could cope with not knowing how the story would progress in future installments. Imagine reading the first book and having to wait a year before you could find out what happened next?
It took me several attempts to get into 'Outlander' I have to confess, but I've learned since then that quite a few readers also suffered teething problems with this first book. However, once I was 'in' I couldn't pull myself away from it, so I'm so pleased that I persevered. My problem was that these books demand your full attention. I couldn't read them whilst the T.V was competing in the background, or when people were distracting me. Usually this never bothers me and I can tune out background distractions easily, but with these books, I found that I needed total peace in order to fully immerse myself into them. Once I had, the rewards were great.
Gabaldon's writing is very detailed. She can take pages and pages to describe a scene that would be only short moments in 'real time'. Yet her talent lies in those details. In my opinion, her ability to describe every aspect of a scene is nothing short of alchemy itself. Perhaps that is why I needed total silence and zero distractions while reading her books. I needed to focus on the words completely and needed to be fully relaxed in order to sink into the story and permit myself to be fully captivated by it.
Be warned, these books are not for snacking on. Starting at 627 pages long, (Outlander Hardback) they are a full meal; in fact they are a veritable banquet. Outlander is packed full of meaty conflicts between clans, brawls between the British and the Scots, and the tenderest morsels of romance too. There is never a dull moment.
True, some critics complain that there is an overindulgence in sexual violence, and at times I think it can shock; as details are brandished about in all their Technicolor glory, (or perhaps that is my own imagination working overtime?) and we are never in any doubt about 'what exactly happened'; but then others have argued that this is only Gabaldon painting a very clear picture of those brutish times – and Gabaldon is nothing if not authentic in her details.
I felt the heartburn acutely by the last page. In fact I'd say that I suffered indigestion for the full two days that it took for Amazon to whip out the desert to me: Dragonfly in Amber- hardback at 743 pages.
In that day before delivery I was suffering from a severe book hangover, and I found myself manically scouring my bookshelves for something light and fluffy to cleanse my palette between courses. A quick sip of silly later, I was fortified once more and couldn't wait to crack open the next installment of this huge Scottish saga.
And so when I open the first page of Dragonfly in Ember and discover that I am back in Inverness, I gasp. When I note that it is now 1968, I am now shaking. What? When? How?…. Claire?
To find out, I strongly suggest you pick up this series soon.


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Great start to a joke, right? Well, the bar part isn't true, instead it was a Catholic high school in Waukegan, IL, but the rest describes my afternoon yesterday when I attended the Religious Founders Day event organized by my friend Tayyib Rashid, known on Twitter as @TheMuslimMarine. The event is to promote awareness, cooperation, friendship, love and respect among these groups with seemingly different religious viewpoints, but when you dig in a touch, instead have very very much in common.
The structure of the event was pretty straight forward – there were four primary speakers, all "clergy", each one from each tradition represented – Ty (Tayyid) was the "emcee". And the topic was racism – the speakers were challenged to speak on their faith's viewpoint of human equality and their viewpoint on how we can battle this awful scourge in our country and around the world.
The speakers were:
A rabbi – in this case from the Chicago Jewish High School in Deerfield
A Nun – she was a retired nun who used to head up the school in Waukegan IL where the event was being held
A Sikh leader – this interesting gent was from the Sikh Gurdwara in Palatine IL
An Imam – and he was from Seattle and was visiting the local Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Zion IL (where Ty is a leader) from Seattle
Each leader spoke for about 10 minutes, then there were 10 minutes for round table discussions (appropriate as we were seated at round tables) on what each leader said and how we could personalize it for our own use. After all spoke, the final 30 minutes was spent addressing questions from the fairly large group of people that came to the event.
There were a lot of wonderful points brought up. The Rabbi recalled the words of the Jewish sage Heschel when he said that racism is a disease of the eyes – it's what you see when you look out at the world with your particular viewpoint that you've learned. The Nun's viewpoint was that she felt that racism is a product of both defensiveness and a desire for more – and interestingly took on the subject of the Catholic crusades and imperialism head on and called it wrong and as a contributing factor to the racism that persists today. The Sikh leader – who was completely fascinating by the way – more on him in a minute – said that those that are racists aren't seeing the truth. The Imam talked about how Allah/God created diversity so that we could tell ourselves apart and as such diversity should be celebrated and not denigrated. He also spoke of how racism is the product of Godlessness – that those that are truly with God do not see/cannot see anything but beautiful diversity.
At our table, which consisted of our friends Gail and Chris along with two Muslim men (and one of the men's 9 year old daughter), we talked about how racism and it's cousin, religious persecution, is a result of a lack of knowledge – and that how while our diverse cultures must be preserved, for racism and fear to end, they also must converge.
Truly mind expanding.
The Sikh leader, a gent a bit younger than me named Parminder was an especially powerful speaker. Sikhs, because of their traditional turban headgear, their religious devotions that they commit to that keep them from cutting their hair, etc., are very visually notable – he joked that "they are more hardcore than the Muslims" and that they get blamed for every wrong in the world. He grew up in Chicago as the son of a gas station owner and his Dad and he were blamed for a) the war in Iraq and the price of gas; b) 911, c) the war in Afghanistan, d) every single terrorist attack anywhere, etc. etc. He joked that he wonders if the idiot racists will start calling Sikhs North Koreans next. His comments were especially prescient – counter racism with truth, and with understanding and as last resort, fight back.
We all talked about what we can do to personalize this and actions we can take to help the problem.
For my part, here's how I personalize it and how I'd encourage you to as well.
- Don't accept stereotypes of any type. It's bullshit that Muslims hate America and want to invoke whatever on American and want us all to die, that Sikhs are every type of terrorists, that Jews are money-hoarders who manipulate the world's finances and bake blood into their bread, that Christians want to convert the world and are responsible for racism in America. It's all bullshit. Stereotypes are made up viewpoints designed to create and foment fear. Only by refusing to accept them can they go away.
- When you encounter racism, instead of calling them out as racists, instead, seek to educate, inform and provide loving guidance. One overarching view was that "if you could just get to know someone who is a …" (fill in the blank), "you'll stop being prejudiced against them." It's totally true. But calling it out just generally serves to entrench the viewpoint.
- Now as a counterpoint to 2, however, don't tolerate it either. Never participate, and always never be afraid to point out that what's being said is a) incorrect; and b) abhorrent to you. It's amazing how racism turns from a "naughty joke" to "a turd in the punchbowl" and the person that's putting the racism out there goes from being the class clown to the asshole in the room in just the blink of an eye.
- Lead by example – get to know others from other traditions. I would especially encourage you to make Muslim friends. You'll be amazed at their religious devotion, their inner peace and love and their desire to learn about what you do and what you have to offer. But, that said, for example, we were fascinated by the Sikh speaker and we're planning to go to the Palatine Sikh Gurdwara to experience one of their worship services and learn more. And I made a new Muslim friend while at the event and we'll be inviting him and his family to join us at a B'Chavana service event sometime soon.
Only by love, respect, understanding, getting to know others of different traditions, and ending the propagation of stereotypes will we ever solve this awful problem in America.
Peace and love, friends.
As you were,


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Time for a change of government
Andrew Little became the first Labour Leader to speak at a Green Party conference when he addressed its AGM on Saturday.
As the Herald reported Andrew received a "rapturous response" and a standing ovation.
It's not an earthquake, it's the raucous applause from @NZGreens to welcome @nzlabour to #ChangeTheGovt pic.twitter.com/JGgLasRrQU— Dr Sea Rotmann (@DrSeaRotmann) June 4, 2016
TVNZ's Katie Bradford described it as a "warm welcome", albeit with hugs and kisses all around.
Here's Andrew and James Shaw on Q+A.
And here's Andrew's speech:
Labour's presence at the AGM followed the two parties signing a Memorandum of Understanding to work closer together to change the government.
The MoU, is not - as several pundits were want to call it - a coalition agreement but rather, as Rob Salmond noted on his blog, "a clear, formal signal to voters about the progressive left working together to deliver an alternative vision."
So, it's a commitment between Labour and the Greens to a coordinated approach in the lead-up to the 2017 election.
The 3 Amigos - caricature for the @nzherald front page today @nzlabour @NZGreens pic.twitter.com/yBsIh7wBVg— Rod Emmerson (@rodemmerson) May 31, 2016


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Give Lively was created for the sole purpose of giving away what we build. We believe that nonprofits should not have to sacrifice their means to fulfill their missions. That's why our founders cover the cost of running our business, so we don't have to charge nonprofit organizations for use of our services.
We are committed to serving the nonprofit community. Please read our Forever Free Pledge for more details about our free services.


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Guess what? Today marks the beginning of summer solstice, so cheers to the longest day of the year!
Hmm, if you could do anything this season what would it be? Balazs and I talked last night and we've decided to try our best to make this rather amazing season uniquely ours by spending tons of time getting utterly lost in the city, watching sunsets every chance we get, sneaking away for the weekends to dip our toes in the cool lake water and visit farmers' markets as much as we can - not to mention eat our weight in ice cream.
Now your turn, what do you want your summer to be like?
P.S: The winner of our necklace GIVEAWAY is Heidi. Congrats!
P.P.S: Plus, this lipstick tip and that sunburn trick.
(Photos by/via Makenna Alyse, The Year In Food, Hrystia Kaminska, Elizabeth Weinberg and Smith and Ratliff)


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In the summer of 2016, Curtis Dawkins, a felon who is serving a life sentence in Michigan for murdering a man during a botched robbery, got some unexpected good news. Scribner, one of the top literary publishing houses in the United States, wanted to publish his debut collection of short stories, and offered him $150,000.
Mr. Dawkins was stunned. He'd been incarcerated for nearly 12 years, and had been writing fiction as a form of escape, but never anticipated that a major publisher would take him on. When "The Graybar Hotel" came out last summer, he was praised as a gifted stylist whose stories illuminated the often overlooked lives of prisoners. The book was also a boon for his family: Mr. Dawkins directed the money into an education fund for his three children.
But his surprising literary debut also caught the attention of Michigan's attorney general, who now wants Mr. Dawkins, 49, to use his financial windfall to pay for his incarceration.
The Michigan Department of Treasury is seeking 90 percent of Mr. Dawkins's assets, including "proceeds from publications, future payments, royalties" and the money that his family puts in his prison account. The state's complaint, filed last October, tallied the cost of his imprisonment since 2005 at more than $372,000. A hearing is scheduled in Kalamazoo for Feb. 26.
The complaint, which also names Mr. Dawkins's parents and literary agent, states that Mr. Dawkins has no right to transfer the funds to his family.
Mr. Dawkins, who can't afford a lawyer and is representing himself, plans to counter that Michigan law contains a provision stating that the court must consider "any legal and moral obligation" that the defendant has to support children or a spouse.
In a telephone interview from Lakeland Correctional Facility in Coldwater, Mich., Mr. Dawkins said his family is being unfairly punished. "It hurts my kids," he said. "I did wrong, but those kids are completely innocent."
In the acknowledgments in his book, Mr. Dawkins described the guilt and sadness he has lived with after the murder, and referred to his writing as "a lifeboat." But his literary success was clouded by his dark past, and some questioned whether he deserved a book deal. In an interview with The New York Times for an article about Mr. Dawkins, Kenneth Bowman, the brother of the victim, said he thought Mr. Dawkins shouldn't be able to write and publish from prison, and that any money he receives should go to the victim's family or a charity.
Within a few months of The Times article, a headline in The Detroit News asked whether Mr. Dawkins should be allowed to profit from tragedy. Not long after that story appeared, Mr. Dawkins received the court summons, demanding partial "reimbursement to the state for Defendant's cost of care while incarcerated."
Michigan is one of more than 40 states where prisoners can be forced to pay for the cost of their incarceration, according to the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law. Laws that allow the government to charge prisoners "room and board" or "cost of care" fees have proliferated in recent decades, as states charge inmates and parolees for everything from medical care, clothing and meals to police transport, public defense fees, drug testing and electronic monitoring.
Since so many prisoners are impoverished to begin with, states typically don't raise much money by charging inmates room and board fees, and in some states, the enforcement of these laws is conditional on the prisoner's ability to pay. But as the cost of mass incarceration has soared, with more than 2.2 million adults in prisons and jails across the United States, some states have grown more aggressive in seeking money from prisoners and formerly incarcerated people.
During the last fiscal year, Michigan collected some $3.7 million from 294 prisoners, who account for just a fraction of the state's nearly 40,000 inmates. Around the country, some 10 million people owe $50 billion in fees stemming from their arrest or imprisonment, according to a 2015 Brennan Center report.
States often take a percentage of the earnings inmates receive through prison work programs. But some states have also sought money from prisoners who have received larger sums, through an inheritance or legal settlements or, as in Mr. Dawkins's case, money they acquire through their own initiative. After an Illinois inmate who was serving a 15-month sentence for a drug conviction received a $31,690 settlement for his mother's death, he was forced to pay the state nearly $20,000 for the cost of his imprisonment, leaving him nearly destitute when he was paroled in 2015.
In Florida, a convict named Jeremy Barrett who received a $150,000 settlement from the Department of Corrections for negligence, after he was attacked in 2011 by another inmate who gouged out his eye, was forced to pay the state nearly $55,000 from the settlement as reimbursement for his three years in prison.
When prisoners and former inmates fight such charges, courts often rule in the state's favor. In 2000, Connecticut's Supreme Court ruled that Eric Ham, who was serving a 50-year sentence for murder, had to pay nearly $900,000 toward the cost of his incarceration, after he won a settlement of around $1 million from the city of New Haven for falsely arresting him for another crime that he didn't commit.
Proponents of such laws argue that convicted criminals should pay for their own imprisonment when they have the financial means to do so. But some prisoners's rights advocates say saddling inmates and parolees with fees can hinder their rehabilitation by making it harder for them to support themselves and their families, and could violate the Eighth Amendment, which bars cruel and unusual punishment and excessive fines.
"To say, you're not only going to be deprived of your liberty, you're then going to have to pay for the separation from society, that raises cruel and unusual punishment issues," said Lauren-Brooke Eisen, senior counsel in the Brennan Center's justice program.
Other legal experts said that states should encourage prisoners like Mr. Dawkins, who has used his time in prison to do something he finds meaningful, rather than punish them.
"He's put his talents to productive use in a way that's making the world a better place," Sharon Dolovich, a law professor and the director of the prison law and policy program at U.C.L.A.'s School of Law. "It's something that we as a society should be 100 percent supportive of."
Mr. Dawkins started writing fiction in college, as an English major at Southern Illinois University. He later enrolled in a graduate writing program at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, where he met his partner, Kimberly Knutsen. They moved in together and he became a father to her 3-year-old son. They later had two more children, a son and a daughter.
But Mr. Dawkins, who has struggled with addiction and alcoholism since he was 12, slipped back into drug use, and took ketamine and heroin. One October night in 2004, he dressed up in a gangster costume, smoked crack and went on a rampage in Kalamazoo that culminated in a standoff with a six-member SWAT team. After terrorizing some party goers, he shot and killed Thomas Bowman and took Mr. Bowman's roommate hostage. He confessed and was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
After his arrest, he felt suicidal. Then, after about a year, he started writing fiction, which took his mind off his surroundings. His parents, Warren and Arllis Dawkins, sent him a typewriter, and he typed his stories and mailed them to his sister, who submitted them to small journals. Many of his stories unfold in jails or prisons, and some draw on his own experiences, while others are surreal and fantastical. Jarrett Haley, the founder of a small literary magazine, Bull, which published Mr. Dawkins, helped him assemble and edit a story collection and get a literary agent. His agent, Sandra Dijkstra, sold the collection to Scribner in 2016, and Mr. Dawkins split his portion of the advance with Mr. Haley, who was instrumental in getting him a book deal.
He had his literary agent send the remainder of the money, a little over $50,000, to a limited liability corporation set up by his parents. Ms. Knutsen, who teaches English at Concordia University in Portland, Ore., said the funds have been used to pay for college and high school tuition, text books, car payments and dental care for their children: Henry, 23; Elijah, 19; and Lily Rose, 17.
After the lawsuit against him was filed, Mr. Dawkins's agent suspended all payments from the publisher, on the state's orders. (Mr. Dawkins was due to receive the final payment from his advance when the paperback edition of "The Graybar Hotel" comes out this spring.)
The state also froze his prison account, leaving him with a stipend of $25 a month. Previously, his family had been sending about $200 to $300 a month to his account, which he uses to pay for phone calls, emails and snacks and to buy paper for his typewriter.
The attorney general's office declined to answer questions about Mr. Dawkin's case, and a press secretary said the office "cannot comment on pending litigation."
Prisoners who publish their writing are legally protected under the First Amendment. But some states have tried to limit inmates's ability to publish and get paid for their work. Malcolm Braly, one of the most famous fiction writers to emerge from prison, delayed publishing his 1967 novel, "On the Yard," until he was off parole, because officials from the department of corrections said publishing the novel would violate the terms of his parole.
In many states, prisoners have also been barred from receiving money for writing nonfiction accounts of their crimes, and money made from such books or film deals gets directed into a fund for victims or their families.
H. Bruce Franklin, author of "Prison Literature in America," said that if prisoners who publish books are forced to forfeit their advances and royalties to the state, it could dissuade aspiring writers who are incarcerated from seeking to publish at all.
"It's a tremendous discouragement to all the prisoners trying to write, to have a meaningful life when they are in prison," he said.
Mr. Dawkins plans to keep writing. He's currently working on a dystopian novel, set in a huge underground prison in Coldwater, Mich., where inmates are put into a state of hibernation. He's more than halfway done with it, and hopes to publish it one day.


text: I love helping people and when I retired last year I knew I had to do something. My dad had dementia and I help with monday singing for pleasure at langley as it reminds me of him as he was in a choir. I love helping people and talking to them, it gives me a lot of satisfaction. - 'ADS' volunteer


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Zepp Golf is a revolutionary training system (sensor + mobile app) that helps you analyse and improve your swing. Just attach the Zepp Sensor to any golf glove using the included golf glove mount and swing away to get instant feedback on your iPhone, iPad or Android device. Zepp Golf uses advanced motion capture technology to record thousands of data points per swing and helps you discover what you're doing well and what you need to work on. Stop guessing at how to improve and start empowering your game with data and insights that will make you a better and more consistent player. So Practice Smarter & Play Your Best
The Zepp Swing Golf Analyser is one of the best portable golf swing tracking products on the market today and allows you to capture realtime data about your swing and helps you discover what you are doing well and equally what you need to work on. It's simple design and ease to navigate App make it an ideal partner for when your at the range practicing or even out on course. Its packed full of great features too that make your training session more fun and beneficial. We guarantee that you'll see instant improvement from just using the app and the training advice on the App and website.
Zepp started life as a company of athletes. (Once an athlete, always an athlete, right?) But more specifically, we're athletes who are driven by science and innovation. We began our journey with a simple quest: to bring meaningful data to sports. That soon expanded into a broader mission of helping athletes improve their performance, boost their confidence and reach their maximum potential.
Because data alone is not enough. That's why, at Zepp, we are committed to developing the advanced 3D visuals, actionable insights and interactive training tools needed to truly transform your game. Welcome to the future of wearable sports technology.
Zepp Swing is used by a wide range of athletes across Baseball, Softball, Tennis and Golf. Keegan Bradley, Brendan Steele and Ryan Winther are all Pro's using the Golf Swing system and are seeing vast improvements even at their level.
See Your Swing Like Never Before – whether you're at the range, on the course or practicing at home, now you can replay and review your swing in 360° from any angle on your smartphone or tablet.
Visually compare the shape and angle of your backswing to your downswing to help identify common flaws like "coming over the top". Even overlay and compare two different swings or compare your swing to a growing database of PGA coaches and pros.
The Zepp Swing Sensor is made out of hardened plastic and feels quite tactile and robust, able to to take knocks without to much mark-age. It securely clips into the bracket provided and is easy to attach to your glove.
The App is intuitive and easy to navigate around, it has clear pictures, diagrams and data it takes a little time to set it up correctly, but once your done you don't really have change much, just follow the instructions and away you swing!
What's in the Box?
• Zepp Sensor
• Glove Mount
• USB Charger
• Free iOS & Android App
Zepp Golf paves the way for improvement by empowering players and coaches to measure some of the most important aspects of the golf swing: club head speed, club plane, hand path, hand speed, swing tempo, backswing club angle, hip rotation and more. It helps you understand your baseline metrics, analyse how effective and consistent your swing really is and work on mastering the repeatability of your ideal swing.
Zepp Golf is a powerful tool that shows you exactly what your club and hands are doing in 3D space during every swing. Spin around and analyse your club plane, club path and hand path in 360° from any angle. Then zoom in and compare how closely the shape of your backswing matches the shape of your downswing. Seeing your swing in 3D is one of the best ways to identify common flaws like "coming over the top" or a short backswing.
The Zepp Sensor and golf glove mount were designed to be featherlight and stay out of your way so that you can swing like you normally do without any adverse effects. The glove-based design eliminates the need to tamper with your clubs by adding weight and bulk and also eliminates the hassle of uninstalling and installing a club-based sensor every time you switch clubs. The Zepp Sensor features a rechargeable 8-hour battery and easily attaches to any golf glove (righty or lefty).
Zepp Golf measures some of the most important aspects of your swing and uses a colour-coded dashboard to help you easily identify what you're doing well and what you need to work on after every shot and hitting session. You can also focus your practice and work on one aspect of your swing at a time. Just set your phone or tablet on the ground or lean it against the stall and swing away to get instant feedback and data.
Have you ever wanted to overlay and compare two swings at the same time or compare your swing to a pro? Well now you can. Select any two swings and replay them simultaneously from any angle or compare the data for each swing side by side. You can also compare your swing to a growing database of PGA coaches and pros.
Zepp Golf was designed to be extremely easy to use. Just download the free Zepp Golf app on your smartphone or tablet, attach the Zepp Sensor to your golf glove using the included golf glove mount and wirelessly connect the sensor to your phone via Bluetooth. Whenever you swing, your swing data will automatically and instantly appear on your smartphone or tablet. There's no limit to how many swings you can store and analyse in the app.
Zepp may be high-tech, but setting it up is simple. You'll be swinging your club and viewing your results in a matter of minutes. Here's all you need to do to get started.
Zepp Golf was designed to be extremely easy to use. Just download the free Zepp Golf app on your smartphone or tablet, attach the Zepp Sensor to your golf glove using the included golf glove mount and wirelessly connect the sensor to your phone via Bluetooth. Whenever you swing, your swing data will automatically and instantly appear on your smartphone or tablet. There's no limit to how many swings you can store and analyse in the app.


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There's no better way to celebrate a new season of a popular television show than with a swanky cocktail inspired by said television show. I recently had the pleasure of checking out The Unofficial Girls Guide to New York by Judy Gelman and Peter Zheutlin, the authors of The Unofficial Mad Men Cookbook. Although it's not my absolute favorite show on television, I would definitely call myself a fan. Girls has made its mark in the industry, setting an example with its edgy look at the life of twenty-somethings in the Big Apple.
Although it's not a dedicated cookbook like The Unofficial Mad Men Cookbook, the Unofficial Girls Guide to New York takes a look at each New York City borough through the eyes/lens of HBO's Girls. It highlights some of the memorable spots visited by the girls on the show, from Cafe Grumpy in Greenpoint, Brooklyn where Hannah and Ray work to The Foundry in Long Island City, Queens where Jessa and Thomas-John celebrate their surprise wedding.
With approximately 30 recipes, it's certainly not a cookbook but rather a fun guide for any fan looking to discover the ins-and-outs of the New York City featured in Girls. As a former resident of the Big Apple, I always love learning more about my beloved city, and to see how it is featured in television and film, it's especially thrilling.
As a food blogger, I was equally excited to see what recipes are featured in the book to add to the full-on Girls experience. I was most anxious to recreate the famous Frozen Hot Chocolate from Serendipity, but it's been averaging about 10 degrees in New England so I thought it would be best to hold off for better weather. Instead, I thought a warming cocktail would be perfection, and also perfect timing for celebration of the the 3rd season of Girls, set to premiere on HBO on January 12th (less than a week away)!
The Weather Up Cocktail caught my attention. It hails from Weather Up in Brooklyn, NY. This signature cocktail features both fresh lemon juice and an orange peel garnish, which is perfect for winter since believe it or not it's actually citrus season. Aromatic Amaretto and cognac are the alcoholic components of the drink, giving it a decidedly warm orange hue.
I honestly loved this cocktail and will happily add it to my queue of cocktails for any night that requires them. The warm almond scent of Amaretto tinged with tart citrus is a refreshing mix that not only warms your throat but sets you up for a perfect evening enjoying award-winning television, perhaps this upcoming Sunday? A night watching Girls kick off its new season will not be the same without this cocktail in hand. Trust me.
Weather Up Cocktail
- 2 ounces Amaretto
- 1 1/2 ounces cognac
- 1 ounce fresh lemon juice
- Orange peel for garnish
- Chill wine glass in advance.
- Pour Amaretto, cognac, and lemon juice in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake well.
- Pour into chilled wine glass and garnish with an orange peel.
Notes & Nutrition
*Disclaimer* I received no compensation to write this review other than a free copy of the book. My opinions are always my own.


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We are so excited to announce that on April 17th we will start the study "Seamless" by Angie Smith. This was the first study we did in the fall of 2015 when God brought over 9,000 women in 4 weeks to this community.
We cannot wait to dive into the Word of God through this study. We will learn about the greatest Love story in History, our Savior who died for us and is ALIVE today.
This post includes Amazon.com affiliate links.
Order your copy of Seamless today so you will be ready for the new Bible Study beginning April 17, 2017.


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Canon 'Seconds / With'. A mini documentaries series that explores the fractions of seconds that make up a professional photographers career.
'Seconds/With' is a mini documentary series built around the insight that while a professional photographer spends decades behind the lens, the shots they value most add up to just fractions of a second. Season One launched with four online episodes, in which I sat down with four of the world's top professional photographers – Darren Jew, Simon Harsent, Craig Golding and Stephen Dupont. Each photographer compared the time spent over their entire career, to the most valued fraction of a second they have captured.
Season 1. Ep 1. Darren Jew.
Season 1. Ep 2. Craig Golding
Season 1. Ep 3. Simon Harsent
Season 1. Ep 4. Stephen Dupont
Series poster design