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What is Hibernate? In common man’s language
Hibernate is an object-relational mapping (ORM) library for the Java language, providing a framework for mapping an object-oriented domain model to a traditional relational database. Hibernate solves object-relational impedance mismatch problems by replacing direct persistence-related database accesses with high-level object handling functions.
What you can do with it is, you can map every table to a representative class. So to read the table, you just invoke an object of the class and to update it with some fresh data, you just pass the data to the object and Hibernate will take care of storing it into the corresponding table. That is why it is referred to as “Object Relational Mapping”. And with Hibernate, you can do anything and everything that you do otherwise with a normal database.
Since Hibernate is all about hiding the tables and dealing purely with objects, it has evolved a query language that is suited to the “object”ive way of looking at things. This language is the HQL(hibernate query language).
Lets say you have a table “mobilephones” with the fields “modelno”,”modelname”,”companyname”,”price”.
Then while using Hibernate, you would have to create a class named MobilePhone. The class would look somewhat like this:-
class MobilePhone{
String modelNo;
String modelName;
String companyName;
Double price;
//all the get.. and set.. methods for the above variables.
//(these methods are a must, and they also make life simpler)
You would map this to the table “mobilephones” by giving the values in a Hibernate configuration file.(About that in another post).
Ok, table is setup, it contains data. We have also mapped it to a class whose object we can use. Now how do we fetch data?? In normal SQL console, we would type “select * from mobilephones” and hit enter. Hibernate Query Language(HQL) specifies a similar way of doing this. In Hibernate we use a “from” statement to achieve this. So I just have to say “from MobilePhone” in my query and pass it on to the Entity Manager, and it will execute “select * from mobilephones”.
About vatsalad
Hi, I'm Vatsala
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Cyber-bullying: The Power of Anonymity
by Rachel Hall, Brisbane, Australia
Definition of Cyber-Bully (Troll)
The prospect of cyber-bullying is becoming an ingrained part of the Generation Y online experience. But it is not something confined to children and teenagers, anyone can be targeted – whether it be a high school student, public figure, online blogger, businesses, professionals or any member of a community or society. It can range from a snide comment on a Facebook page, private video footage released online without consent, to hate speak, threats and defamation of character.
However, if you research cyber-bullying online the majority of the information about its implications and effects is aimed at children and schools, and does not address the wider scope of this heinous issue.
The internet allows people to hide behind a veil of anonymity or a false persona which appears to allow them the scope to publish unsubstantiated, false and misleading information and lies.
There are laws in place that supposedly control what can be published on the worldwide web. For example, you can be convicted of ‘trolling’ in the UK – labelled under ‘offensive communications’ – and this can apply to anyone who can then end up in court facing charges of internet slander and libel.
However, these laws are not clear; the victim is left wondering where they turn to for help. Are we doing enough to limit the damage of cyber-bullying, and to educate people about it, as well as how to cope and deal with it? There needs to be a larger effort made to help ensure no one, no matter their age, gender or race is made to be a victim of a cyber-bully or a cyber-stalker.
The consequences of online abuse can be severe. From knocking a teenager’s self-confidence to professional reputations being damaged, it can have terrible after-effects. It is difficult enough to bring a cyber-bully to justice, but almost impossible when they hide behind fake names and pseudonyms. How do you legally challenge someone when you are unable to prove their identity? On the internet there is no true level of anonymity, unless you delve into systems and circumventors that most of the general public don’t pursue. But because the internet makes it so easy to create a fake profile online and disguise yourself – an exploit used by both children and adults alike, most people feel they are helpless to act.
Lets call cyber-bullying for what it is – it is cowardice! Bullying is bullying whether it is in person or on line: bullying people under the cloak of anonymity is the ultimate form of cowardice. I was raised along the lines of “if you have something to say about me you should have the decency to say it to my face and not behind my back”. There seems to be this complacent attitude that because it is going on in cyberspace that it’s not as significant, harmful or damaging: “after all, it’s only online. I’m not abusing that person to their face”, when actually it is just as poisonous, vitriolic and perhaps more harming as it is out there for many people to see.
Social networking sites do attempt to regulate and stem this tide of abuse, from groups and image captions to wall posts. But it’s not enough. Further legislation needs to be put in place to both protect individuals online, especially when it comes to defamation, and to make it clear that this type of behaviour is reprehensible and will not be tolerated.
When it comes to defamatory comments it is exceedingly challenging to try to have the posts and information removed, for example Blogger Content Policy states: “Here are some examples of content we will not remove unless provided with a court order; personal attacks or alleged defamation”. Allowing this type of policy fuels the power of the cyber-bully. Being able to remain anonymous makes them even more untouchable; how do you get a court order against a pseudonym? The policy makers need to see that this attitude is deeply flawed and it is time to take cyber-bullying seriously. If this behaviour were happening in a school or workplace it simply would not be tolerated… why should it be any different online?
Cyber-bullying and trolling are a growing problem in today’s “connected” world, and does not just happen inside our schools and among our youth. There is an entire new breed of bullies being born every day in the online world, and they are just as harmful as those in our schools; they cause just as much pain and suffering and are just as mean-spirited.
The repercussions of cyber-bullying are far reaching, and the time has come for us to say no to this, it isn’t right. The law needs to change to answer the call of the common man; to protect the innocent, and not the anonymous bullies who think they have the power because no-one knows who they are. But it is up to the common man to speak up and say this will no longer be tolerated in order for policy makers to sit up and take notice. Just because it is not directly happening to you does not mean it is not happening. By saying nothing, could it be that we are being complicit and condoning bullying on a worldwide scale?
454 thoughts on “Cyber-bullying: The Power of Anonymity
1. The secrecy behind online bullying has been partly already diminished simply by this blog – that expresses what it is about and the harm of it. It is that simply that talking about it from truth, saying that it is not right and acting on it, helps us to diminish the evil that lies within. The evil only gets its fuel by those who let it sit and grow.
2. There is so much cyber bullying that is occurring in our society today, as you say Rachel it is the “use of information and communication technologies to support deliberate, repeated and hostile behaviour by an individual or group, that is intended to harm others.”. But why is it that people are choosing this, are they feeling disconnected? unheard? so in the so called comfort of their homes they feel they have the power to grow more confident in themselves and feel it is ok to hurl abuse via the keyboard. When is the tide going to turn, that exemplifies this behaviour is abuse and not ok?
3. It is indeed cowardice Rachel; on reading your blog I am astounded at the lack of accountability and any form of responsibility. Why is it that we have not found a means, and the desire to follow through, to call trolls to account. I find it staggering that it is so widely accepted. Thank you for exposing this abhorrent practice.
4. Cyber abuse is so unbelievably toxic, and the fact that you can’t easily find the person abusing you is just crazy, and that there is no way to stop it is even more out of this world. The government will eventually catch up, but why on earth does our focus not get pulled to this topic quicker than some of the other far less damaging but more popular topics.
5. Our attitude is the basis of why our system is deeply flawed and not in line with how we all deserve to be treated with decency and respect. Until we claim this as a truth and stand up for it, the system will reflect our apathy.
6. You could say that cyber abuse is a new phenomenom in this age of the net. But what is clear to me in reading your words Rachel, is that there is a age-old part of us that likes to think that no-one knows the things that we do ‘behind closed doors’, that likes to believe that no one can tell when we indulge and that we ‘get away’ with the occasional white lie. In short we consider we are anonymous, untraceable in this world. But the reality is the complete opposite of this – every choice that we make is registered and is what we take along with us, wherever we go. No amounts of fake ids or aliases will ever make it not so.
7. Why would someone not put their name to what they say? What are they hiding…and what happens when anonymity is chosen? It is clear that it takes some perceived responsibility away, but this is not true, we are all forever responsible for what we say, do and choose.
8. Cyber-bullies develop an addiction to the habit. In the same way that a heroin addict knows what they are using is poison they find it almost impossible to kick the addictive habit and become impervious to the harm they are inflicting on others just so long as they get their next hit.
9. Cyber abuse is still abuse. But the thing is the bully can hide behind a computer. It is awful to see that people express this way to another – the question every bully should ask themselves is ‘what am I reacting too?’
10. There must be a deep hurt that would have someone troll a RIP Facebook page for what seems like kicks. It’s almost like I’m hurting so I am going to lash out and hurt another, and if that means sending abusive messages to the parents and friends of suicide and murder victims, then so be it. It makes me wonder if it is just another means to not feel their own pain, no different from taking drugs or alcohol to numb.
11. The power to remain hidden is a false power that we all know breeds the appetite for many to hurl abuse and make accusations about others that are based on ill truths and lies. In a world that marvels itself of advancements in science and space travel how is it that we still remain in the dark or choose to ignore the basic fundamental principles of harmony and equality of ALL?
12. “The truth of a few hundred, maybe 2,000 people worldwide choosing to live a more loving and healthy lifestyle is not news!” This is such an enormous news story that there are those who chose to undermine and denigrate the truth.
13. So much is written these days about ‘cyber abuse’ – it’s great that people like you Rachel are calling it out. But reading your words I am feeling that actually this abuse is not new in any way, but just a different flavour of an age old way of being. For every day when we go about our lives, don’t we receive and have thoughts that are mean, unclear and unloving? It might not be nice to admit this, but isn’t it the reality? These thoughts are like our own internal bully. It’s our job to makes sure they don’t go unadressed – for this is where all the abuse that we see starts, inside you and me with these ‘small’ things we let slide.
14. When I was at school, the bullies were simply the biggest… Usually with huge chips on the shoulder, and they made everyone suffer, until they were stood up to. Now, interestingly, things have changed so much due to the worldwide creepy Crawley web that allows anyone of any size to spread the poison… That still comes of course with the enormous chip on the shoulder.
15. The right to free speech does not give someone the right to abuse. It’s a little crazy that we accept this behaviour online when we don’t accept it anywhere else. If someone sat outside my house abusing me, I could call the cops. If someone made rude comments to passers by in a mall, security would have them removed. If someone in the workplace made sexual comments to another, they could be done for sexual harassment. We know how wrong it is, yet somehow we have accepted it online.
16. Thank you Rachel for your sharing. I would like to see those who write these detrimental comments on Social Media to put their name to the words and not hide behind anonymity, nor be allowed to do so!. Its time we called as halt to this cowardice!
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A modern Formula One car is a technical masterpiece. But considering the development effort invested in aerodynamics, composite construction and engines it is easy to forget that tyres are still a race car’s biggest single performance variable and the only point of contact between car and track.
Traditionally, an average car with good tyres could do well, but with bad tyres even the very best car did not stand a chance. Things aren’t quite as clear cut in the current era - since 2007 every team receives tyres from a single supplier - but tyres are still a huge performance differentiator with newer, fresher tyres usually offering a significant advantage over worn rubber. As a result teams and drivers will carefully manage tyre usage over a race weekend to ensure they have enough sets of fresh tyres left for the race.
Despite some genuine technical crossover, race tyres and road tyres are at best distant cousins. An ordinary car tyre is made with heavy steel-belted radial plies and designed for durability - typically a life of 16,000 kilometres or more (10,000 miles). The current Formula One tyres are designed to last for anything between 60 and 120 kilometres depending on the compound - and like everything else on an F1 car, are lightweight and strong in construction. They have an underlying nylon and polyester structure in a complicated weave pattern designed to withstand far larger forces than road car tyres. In Formula One racing that means anything up to a tonne of downforce, 4g lateral loadings and 5g longitudinal loadings.
The development of the racing tyre came of age with the appearance of 'slick' untreaded tyres in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Teams and tyre makers realised that by omitting a tread pattern on dry weather tyres, the surface area of rubber in contact with the road could be maximised. Formula One cars ran with slicks until the 1998 when ‘grooved’ tyres were introduced to curb cornering speeds. The regulations specified that all tyres had to have four continuous longitudinal grooves at least 2.5 mm deep and spaced 50mm apart. These changes created several new challenges for the tyre manufacturers - most notably ensuring the grooves' integrity, which in turn limited the softness of rubber compounds that could be used.
The rubber compounds used at each race are determined by the tyre supplier (currently Pirelli) according to the known characteristics of the track. Two different compounds of dry tyre are available to each team at every Grand Prix weekend - one harder 'prime' tyre and one softer 'option' tyre. Every driver must make use of both specifications during the race. The actual softness of the tyre rubber is varied by changes in the proportions of ingredients added to the rubber, of which the three main ones are carbon, sulphur and oil. Generally speaking, the more oil in a tyre, the softer it will be. However, whilst softer tyres generally tend to be quicker than harder ones, they’re also less durable.
Current F1 tyre suppliers Pirelli have a range of five dry-weather compounds: ultrasoft (purple sidewall markings), super soft (red markings), soft (yellow markings), medium (white) and hard (orange).
Intermediate (green) and wet-weather (blue) tyres have full tread patterns, necessary to expel standing water when racing in the wet. However, sometimes conditions are too wet for even the full wet tyres to cope with. One of the worst possible situations for a race driver remains 'aquaplaning' - the condition when there is so much moisture on the surface of the track that a film of water builds up between the tyre and the road, meaning that the car is effectively floating. This leads to vastly reduced levels of grip. The tread patterns of modern racing tyres are mathematically designed to scrub the maximum amount of water possible from the track surface to ensure the best possible contact between the rubber and the track. At full speed the Pirelli intermediate tyre can disperse up to 25 litres of water per second, while the full wet tyre can disperse 65 litres per second.
Formula One tyres are normally filled with a special, nitrogen-rich air mixture, designed to minimise variations in tyre pressure with temperature. The mixture also retains the pressure longer than normal air would.
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Monday, December 19, 2016
The Symbols of Christmas
[A much longer version of this article is available as a booklet, “Whose Child is This?,” from the Store at]
Is it true that the modern Christmas day commemorates the birth of Yeshua ben Yosef, a Jewish rabbi? Yes, of course, Yeshua (who the world knows simply as “Jesus”) did not create Christianity, nor did he create the “Christmas season.” The winter solstice celebrations were already well established during his time. Jesus, however, might have commemorated Hannukah, an event which took place some 150+ years before his birth, and Passover.
So where do all the symbols of the Christmas season come from, if not from Jesus?
Some pre-1000 B.C. historical records indicate that Nimrod, a great warrior who lived in ancient Babylon two centuries after The Great Flood, married Semiramis. When Nimrod died, Semiramis claimed that Nimrod was resurrected out of a tree stump in the form of an evergreen tree. She stated that Nimrod would visit his tree every year on his birthday -- which was December 25 -- and leave gifts upon the tree. This ancient celebration was complete with mistletoe, holly wreaths, and yule logs!
The Nimrod celebration, in those pre-1000 B.C. days, was closely associated with the fluctuations of the solar year. The midwinter fires of ancient Europe were to celebrate the increased length of each day, which eventually became the "Festival of Lights" as celebrated in Europe.
During the time of the Roman Empire, the people believed in and worshipped Mithra, born on December 25 by Astarte, his virgin mother. Mithra, who was called "The Unconquered Sun," was regularly identified by the worshippers of the sun, since his nativity fell on the same day as the sun festivals.
Numerous cultures had similar religious beliefs, from the Egyptians to the Mayans, and many other cultures. Osiris, Quetzalcoatl, and others, all follow similar patterns with a resurrected savior whose birthday was the winter solstice (or a few days before or after the solstice).Keep in mind that all those celebrations of the solstice had been going on for at least 2000 years prior to the historical birth of Jesus.
Some historical records suggest that Jesus was born sometime in September of the year 4 or 6 B.C. No one knows for certain. However, Christians of the first few centuries A.D. did not celebrate the birthday of Jesus. Although the currently adopted versions of the Bible provide no means of precisely determining the birthdate of Jesus, historians know with certainty, using several points of reference, that it was not on the winter solstice.
When the Christian emperor Constantine I came to power in the 4th Century, he Christianized the “pagan” (followers of Mithra) Romans to adopt the newly-"popular" religion of Christianity. And to make this change easier, Constantine established December 25 as the day to celebrate the coming of the "Son of God" instead of the "sun." Many Old Religion customs were carried over from the "birthday-of-the-sun" celebrations, and blended into the "Son-of-God" (that is, Christmas) celebration.
In the 5th Century, an addition was made to the Christmas celebration. Nikolaos of Myra was an historical 4th century Bishop in the Catholic church of Asia Minor (modern Turkey). He became known as Saint Nicholas, and was well known for the gifts that he gave to newly married couples during the already established Christmas season. Soon, whenever someone received a mysterious gift, it was attributed to Saint Nicholas. St. Nicholas' name -- by the usual changes that occur in all spoken languages -- eventually degenerated into "Santa Claus."
Here are the meanings of some of the other common Christmas symbols.
The Sun. The star of our solar system -- which we call "sun" -- has been used by humankind for many purposes: measuring time, a source of warmth, and a venerated "god." Without the sun's light, there'd be no crops, and thus no animal life, no transpiration, no evaporation, no photosynthesis, no chlorophyll, etc. etc. In sum: no light, no "life" (as we know it). By analogy, then, the sun epitomizes light. Specifically, it represents the Eternal Consciousness, or what most people call "God".
The Solstice. During the winter solstice (usually December 21), the Earth's northern latitudes receive the least amount of sunlight of the year. The "esoteric meaning" of Jesus' birth at this least-hospitable time of the year is that The Christ comes to reaffirm to Mankind that there is a way out of the darkness, there is a way to the light again, there is a path back, out, up. It is only after about 4 days after the solstice that the sun begin to move northward again from a point on the horizon. That is the origin of the “birth” on December 25 in so many cultures.
Birth in a Stable: Jesus' birth in the ignominy of an animal stable symbolizes that each of us IS born into an "animal" existence here on Earthsurface. Another correspondence to the manger is that the pituitary body is situated in a "manger"-like bony depression in the skull, called The Turkish Saddle. According to some metaphysical authors, the pituitary is the seat of our Divinity, (dormant in nearly all of us). Thus, the allegory of the birth in the stable also represents the awakening of our own Divinity.
Wreath: The Wreath symbolizes the circle, an ancient symbol. One level of meaning is the cycle of the seasons, with the winter solstice being the end of a cycle as another begins, over and over again. In fact, the various meanings of the circle are vast.
Evergreens: Evergreens represent eternal life. That is, enduring the "death" of this dark season, the evergreen trees remain alive.
Giving gifts: The gift-giving aspect of Christmas has interesting roots. I've already mentioned the origin of Santa Claus. Many people believe that the roots of the Christmas gift-exchange lie in the three royal astrologers (Magi) who brought gifts to the child in the manger. They didn't exchange gifts among themselves, but they gave unique gifts to the Christ child. One way that we can practice this Real Gifting is to thoughtfully make (or purchase) gifts with the spiritual nature of a specific person in mind. Then, personally hand the gift to that person and tell them why you are giving that to him or her. Though this may seem awkward at first, it will elevate all your gifting (AND your gift-receiving).
Hanukkah: Hanukkah has come to be associated with the Christmas holiday season, even though it commemorates an entirely different event. Yet Hanukkah may have more in common with Christmas than at first meets the eye.
Hanukkah is an eight-day commemoration, recalling the recapture in 165 B.C. of the sacred Temple in Jerusalem by a small tribe of Jewish warriors. The Temple had been taken over by Syrian Greeks, who were using it for their own rituals. When the Jews recaptured it, they found that the Temple had been desecrated and there was only a one-day supply of the sacred oil for the eternal light, which is supposed to burn continuously. Miraculously, the small bit of oil burned for eight days until a new supply of oil could be obtained (which was found in the rubble of the Temple). The eight-branched Menorah symbolizes these eight days. In essence, Hanukkah commemorates the triumph of Light over the Darkness, which is exactly what Christmas and ALL the winter solstice events are intended to commemorate.
Again, Hanukkah commemorates the triumph of the Light over the Dark. The 5 sons of Mattathias represent the 5 physical senses, that is, the "sons" of our body-mind. The desecrated temple symbolizes our bodies desecrated by our envies, our angers, our hates, our lusts, and our baser desires. The esoteric meaning is that we must drive out the sense-illusoriness of material "reality" if we are to retake control -- to rededicate -- our own Temple and allow the eternal Light to triumph within us. And the "sacred oil" for that Light is found -- Phoenix-like -- in the rubble of our own desecrated Temples, if we only Seek it.
These have been but a few examples of the enrichments I've discovered as I've sincerely looked for the esoteric meanings of each exoteric symbol. With such searching, we can trace the entire cycle of the life of Jesus, and see each event as a practical symbol.
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Improve Sleeping on Shift Work Hours
What is shift work? A shift worker is someone who works outside of the ‘traditional’ 9-5 business day. Due to increased global demands, more and more people are on ‘shift work’ in our society to be available 24 hrs. Millions of Americans are considered shift workers from Doctors & nurses, pilots, bridge workers, fire fighters, drivers, manufacturers, police officers and many many more.
Many shift workers suffer from frequent sleep disturbance and excess fatigue due to interrupted sleep patterns. This can lead to poor concentration, accidents, errors, and injuries.
Tips during shift work hours
1. Avoid long commutes and extended hours.
2. Take short nap breaks throughout the shift
3. Work with others to help keep you alert
4. Be active during breaks. Talk short walks.
5. Do your most tedious tasks first. Studies show shift workers are most tired between 4 and 5am.
6. Stay hydrated
Tips for day sleeping
1. Wear dark sunglasses on the commute home (if driving back in the early morning) so the sun does not disturb your eyes
2. Try to keep the same sleep routine. Go to bed at the same time and wake up at the same time.
3. Utilize eye masks and ear plugs.
4. Avoid caffeine
5. Avoid alcohol
For more information, visit The National Sleep Foundation.
Posted 2015-09-16 08:57:00 by admin
[62 Total Posts]
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Dvorak in America
Final Project
Students will create a 2-3 minute presentation video or slideshow based on a piece of music studied during this unit.
Students will work in groups of 3-4, and will self-assign the following roles:
Researcher (compiles answers to presentation questions, from research already conducted)
Photo/Music Editor (finds appropriate photos/music clips and edits them to fit the presentation)
Movie Maker (compiles written research information, photos, and music into the presentation)
Final Project Editor (checks final presentation for errors and to make sure sources are cited)
All students will participate in the creation of the presentation and can comment on how each aspect is being put together. In other words, each student has a say in all aspects of the production, but also has individual responsibility to make sure a specific section is completed.
Each project will include the following:
Dvorak in America Presentation Checklist
Check off here when task is completed
Choose one piece of music to present.
(you will only use a clip of it, not the full piece)
It may be an African American Spiritual mentioned in Dvorak in America, a movement or section from the New World Symphony, or a piece of Native American Music we listened to.
Include the title of the music you chose, in your presentation.
Circle which is true below, for the piece of music you are presenting:
This music was something that influenced the music Dvorak wrote while in America.
This music was was influenced by Native American music Dvorak heard while in America.
This music was influenced by African American music Dvorak heard while in America.
Include the above information in your presentation.
Using your WHAT DO YOU HEAR worksheet, include information on what you hear or heard in this music.
Examples can include:
How the music makes you feel
Instruments you hear
What images come up in your mind when listening
Give background information on this type of music, and include in your presentation, such as:
Who composed it?
Where it was composed
Who performed it?
Where was it performed?
What was the public reaction to this piece of music?
Include your answer in your presentation.
Your presentation must make clear the connection between your piece of music and Dvorak's compositions while in America.
Ask for help if you are confused about this.
Each presentation must contain music.
Each presentation must contain images that reflect the music, history, or Dvorak and people he knew. You can use art you find or create.
You must CITE THE SOURCES where you obtained your information, images, and music.
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DNA fingerprinting
(redirected from DNA profiling)
Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus, Medical.
Related to DNA profiling: DNA fingerprinting
DNA fingerprinting
DNA profiling,
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In criminal investigations, the DNA fingerprint of a suspect's blood or other body material is compared to that of the evidence from the crime scene to see how closely they match. The technique can also be used to establish paternity. First developed in 1984 by Alec Jeffreys, a British professor of genetics at the Univ. of Leicester, DNA fingerprinting has been accepted in most courts in the United States, and has in several notable instances been used to exonerate or free persons convicted of crimes, but the Supreme Court has ruled (2009) that convicted criminals do not have a constitutional right to DNA testing. All states have established DNA fingerprint databases and require the collection of DNA from convicted felons, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation has instituted a national DNA fingerprint database linking those of the states and including DNA collected in connection with federal offenses. DNA fingerprinting is generally regarded as a reliable forensic tool when properly done, but some scientists have called for wider sampling of human DNA to insure that the segments analyzed are indeed highly variable for all ethnic and racial groups. It is possible to create false genetic samples and use them to misdirect forensic investigators, but if those samples have been produced using gene amplification techniques they can be distinguished from normal DNA evidence.
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DNA fingerprinting
[‚dē‚en′ā ′fiŋ·gər‚print·iŋ]
References in periodicals archive ?
42) The war was over--the "FBI wanted a document that courts could point to as evidence that no controversy existed over DNA profiling, and this was largely what they got.
In DNA profiling, scientists analyze specific regions of the DNA molecule from two or more samples.
Dr Rob Ogden, at Wildlife DNA Services, said: 'At present the human DNA profiling system used to help criminal forensic investigations makes use of large databases.
The three-month pilot scheme will offer a 24-hour turnaround time on DNA profiling and could be adopted by police forces nationwide.
But it was his department's early work in DNA profiling that led to that first crucial court case in Mold.
Various types of DNA fingerprinting have been developed since the mid-1980s, but state-of-the-art DNA profiling depends on what are called "short tandem repeat" polymorphisms (STRs).
Forensic DNA Profiling Protocols is an extensive overview of various methodologies currently used in the forensic-testing community.
While DNA profiling often is used to incriminate suspects, it also has liberated those who are innocent.
Current DNA profiling methods check a few such "polymorphic" sites and if they all match exactly to the suspect's DNA, one can establish with extremely high certainty that the DNA found in the crime scene belongs to the suspect.
It is also certified from the DNA profiling results that the following eleven unidentified bodies remains are not related to any of the 34 claimant relatives whose blood samples were used for analysis and comparisons," said Singh.
M URDER accused Guang Cao was linked to the brutal killing of a Chinese betting fraudster by DNA profiling on items found both at the scene of the crime and at his home, a jury heard yesterday.
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CATHSSETA Accredited training
IMG_4252 cropped-IMG_4630.jpg
A SETA’s main reason for existence is to contribute to the increasing of skills – to bring skills to the employed, or those seeking employment in their special sector. They have to do this by ensuring that people learn skills that are mandatory by employers and communities. There is no value in training people if they cannot utilise the skills they have learnt. Training and skills development is not restricted to the young adults starting their first jobs though they are an important consideration. The skills of people already in jobs must also be enhanced, as we live in a forever evolving world where many contributing factors in a business, such as technology, do change.
Training however is limited by standards, within a national framework wherever possible. It is a waste of time and money if someone were to train in one province if their qualifications are not recognised in another. It is not ideal for one employer to increase the skills of his or her staff if another employer does not recognise them. All training, wherever it is provided, should be subject to quality control and where appropriate be compared to the best international standards.
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Neck Injuries & Pinched Nerves
neck pain
What Is A Neck Injury and Pinched Nerve?
Even more important than scar tissue in the neck is the alignment of the neck vertebra. Misalignment of a vertebra in the neck will cause serious damage to joints, muscles and nerves. Usually both VERTEBRAL MISALIGNMENT and SCAR TISSUE are present in neck injuries.
Neck injuries can create pain throughout the entire upper extremity depending on the type of injury.
What's Going Wrong In Neck Injuries And Pinched Nerves?
1. Adhesion. Adhesions in the neck can do three things. First, adhesions in the scalene muscles (along the side of the neck) can directly pinch the nerves that go to the shoulder causing pain, discomfort, and even weakness. Second, the adhesions in the muscles of the back of the neck and top of the shoulder blade can "refer pain" into the shoulder. This means that while the injury is in the neck, the brain PERCEIVES the pain as being in the shoulder. Third, adhesions can create an abnormal pull on the neck and create misalignments in the vertebra leading to poor biomechanics and subsequent shoulder injury.
2. Strength and Flexibility Imbalances. The most common imbalance in the neck is poor posture. Vertebral misalignment and weak muscles in the neck create improper pulling forces on the shoulder, leading to poor biomechanics and subsequent shoulder problems. Examples include the head coming forward or tilting off to the side.
3. Structural Damage or Alteration. There are two areas of the neck that if damaged, can create pain in the shoulder. First, the joints of the neck play a large role in forming the hole (Intervertebral Foramen 'IVF') in which the nerves travel through to go to the shoulder. When the joints are damaged, spurs can grow into the hole and pinch the nerves creating problems all down the neck and shoulder and into the arms. Second, when the discs of the neck are damaged and inflamed (because of their close proximity to the nerve) they also can pinch the nerves going to the shoulder. Other symptoms associated with this type of injury is numbness, tingling, and sometimes weakness in various parts of the shoulder, elbow, or hand.
How Can ART Help Neck Injuries And Pinched Nerves?
Active Release can help remove scar tissue in each of these situations depending on which area of the neck is involved. However, corrections to the alignment of the vertebra may also be necessary if vertebra misalignment is involved. After adhesions and alignment are taken care of, a proper exercise and stretching program for the neck is essential to keep the neck stable.
In cases with severe spurring that creates numbness, tingling and weakness in the hands, surgical intervention may be required.
Success Stories Of Those With Neck Injuries And Pinched Nerves
• JD Penn - Fight Manager for BJ Penn, Family Business Owner
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Hippo lanes are avenues through the Flood Plains that are made by hippopotamuses after rainstorms. They allow Pride Landers to cross the Flood Plains safely and without getting lost.
During the rainy season, the Flood Plains can flood. If this happens, it is the duty of the hippopotamuses to crush trails through the reeds from one side of the water to the other. According to Basi, a good hippo lane is "straight and true," not windy and curvy. This is to prevent animals from getting lost in the reeds or being led in the wrong direction.
1. Hippo lanes must be "straight and true."
2. After a rainstorm, animals crossing the Flood Plains are not allowed to be attacked.
3. Animals are not to enter the Flood Plains until the hippo lanes are finished.
The Lion Guard
"Beshte and the Hippo Lanes"
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Beshte and Basi making the hippo lanes
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Basi is injured after helping a young rhino
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The Lion Guard lead an injured Basi out of the Flood Plains
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Beshte sings "Making Hippo Lanes", in which he explains the importance of the hippo lanes
Beshte continues to make hippo lanes and carry passengers from one side of the Flood Plains to the other. Along the way, Chura the frog praises Beshte for his efforts and defends him in the face of critiques from another Pride Lander. Beshte happily concedes to his passengers' requests, then sings "Making Hippo Lanes", in which he explains the importance and process of creating trails through the Flood Plains.
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A horrified Beshte surveys his twisty hippo lanes
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Boboka and her son enter the hippo lanes
On the other side of the Flood Plains, the Lion Guard leads the antelope to the edge of the water, where Boboka and her son enter one of Beshte's hippo lanes. No sooner have they started to cross the Flood Plains when Ono arrives, forbidding the herd to enter the hippo lanes. Bunga tells Ono that Boboka and her son have already entered the Flood Plains, and Ono panics that they will get lost in the reeds. Kion quickly takes charge of the situation, entering the hippo lanes with Ono, while Bunga and Fuli stay behind with the rest of the herd.
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Basi agrees to help Beshte make a new hippo lane
At the same moment, Ono leads Kion to Boboka's son, who is struggling to stay afloat in the rising water. Kion pushes the calf to safety and questions him on the location of his mother. No sooner has he spoken when the three hear Boboka call for help, and Kion sets off to rescue her, leaving Ono to lead the calf to safety.
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Makuu plots against Beshte and Basi
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Makuu and his float surround the two hippos
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Basi and the Guard survey a working hippo lane
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Physics Forest Area
(Physics FA)
Physics is a college preparatory class designed for students interested in science or engineering fields. The aim of the course is to increase students’ understanding of the physical interactions in the world around them. Topics of study include mechanics, heat, light, and wave motion. Students will collect data and present results in oral and written form.
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Home Science Scientists use Lasers to Trigger Zombie Mice
Scientists use Lasers to Trigger Zombie Mice
Researchers may be one step closer to creating zombies, at least in mice.
Using lasers, and studying brain circuitry behind the predatory instinct to kill, research has found different sets of neuron triggers do different things in mice.
By stimulating one set of neurons triggered the mice to pursue prey. Another set of neurons caused the animal to attack it, biting and killing. The technique used is called optogenetics, which artificially activates neurons using light. Scientists discovered they could use this to turn instincts on and off as they pleased.
Curiously, when the laser was off the animals behaved normally. When it was on they assumed “zombie” like qualities.
The lead author of the study, psychiatry researcher at the Yale University School of Medicine, Ivan de Araujo said, “We’d turn the laser on and they’d jump on an object, hold it with their paws and intensively bite it as if they were trying to capture and kill it.”
It was noted that the mice would only attack something that they could grab. He said, “It had to be something that could be grabbed and contained, something they want to capture and subdue. It’s not that they got out of control and tried to kill everything. It had to be something that looks like food to them.”
The study published in the journal Cell, detailed how they took control of instincts that involved predation. The mice used in the study were genetically engineered so that certain neurons were light sensitive enabling the experiment to work.
The scientists managed to identify two separate clusters of neurons. These are situated in the amygdale part of the brain which controls emotion and motivation. They discovered a link exists between this area and neurons in motor areas one of which links to the animal running and changing speed.
According to scientists, in a real life scenario prey would trigger the amygdale part of the brain inspiring the mice to the chase and kill.
It should be noted that the mice were alive during the experiment.
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Monday, June 26, 2017
Murder and Vengeance Among the Gods
John Lindow’s 1997 book Murder and Vengeance Among the Gods is another attempt at interpreting the meaning and background of the Baldr myth. The book has been split up into 6 main chapters, with 5 of them outlining the entire process of Baldr’s life, death, funeral, attempted retrieval, vengeance and reconciliation respectively. The first chapter deals with the general mythological world of ancient Scandinavia, Baldr as a character within this mythology, and a number of prominent interpretations made by previous scholars. Lindow makes the interesting observation that Scandinavian mythology vary only very slightly despite the number of genres and time periods in which it was written down (Saxo being the only major deviator) (Lindow, 1997, p. 13). Lindow also notes that Baldr in large is a “one-story god” (ibid, p. 20), even though he is briefly mentioned in many different sources. One of the earliest accounts of his death is in Húsdrápa, and Lindow then accounts the entire process of events as accounted in Völuspá, Baldrs Draumar, and the brief mentions in Skírnismál and Lokasenna, as well as the outline of Gylfaginning and Saxo Grammaticus’ way of explaining things. These stories, according to Lindow, agree on a couple of points, the most important one being that Baldr’s fate has been pre-determined, and that there is no way in which fate can be stopped (ibid, p. 22).
In his summarization of important earlier interpretations, he mentions i.e. Kaarle Krohn’s suggestion of the Baldr myth being an adaption of the sacrifice of the Son of God in Christianity into Nordic belief. He also mentions Gustav Neckel’s argument that Baldr as a figure is borrowed from the Orient, and draws upon earlier traditions of innately “good” beings dying, and the fact that these beings appear to share a name meaning “lord” (ibid, p. 30). He also mentions Jan de Vries who used a fertility argument in interpreting the Baldr myth, saying that Baldr is a fertility god that (uniquely) does not belong to the Vanir, and who dies permanently, only to return at the beginning of a new “life cycle”, supposedly symbolizing a new year for crops (ibid, p. 31). Another argument that the death of Baldr symbolizes the “beginning of permanent death”, as he appears to be the first “real” death within the mythology (after Ymir, and ignoring Gullveig who is reborn). There is also the argument used by de Vries that the Baldr myth is a myth of initiation, but Lindow himself rejects this argument and claims that there is no support for the idea of Baldr being a “hero” in any way, rather than simply being the son of Óðinn and Frigg. Lindow settles the discussion by arguing that perhaps the Baldr myth simply cannot be interpreted with any unified theory that explains its entire existence and sole meaning, but instead “should be scaled back to a series of attempts to interpret various texts or traditions” (ibid, p. 38). He stresses that the problematic aspect in the Baldr myth is the complicated relationship between the jötnar and the æsir, and a killing within a family.
In the first analytical chapter, Lindow discusses, among other things, the nature of dreams within the Baldr myth and within the mythology itself. He concludes that dreams are a frequent phenomenon within Norse mythology itself, and that this detail with regard to Baldr is consistent throughout several sources. Dreams were often seen as prophetic, and this is no different in terms of Baldr. The prophetic forebodings in Baldr’s dreams will come to pass, despite the attempts of the æsir to prevent them. Here, Lindow lists a number of examples of other prophetic dreams in which the thing that is “meant to be” must take place, and where the protagonist (and his wife) takes steps to prevent their destiny from coming true, but fails (for example, in Draumar Þorsteins Síðu-Hallssonar) (Lindow, 1997, pp. 38-40). Lindow continues to talk about the measures taken by the æsir to prevent Baldr’s death. He makes the interesting observation that among the things Baldr should be protected from, there is a curious lack of “beings with human form, the æsir and jötnar” (ibid, p. 48), and he makes the assumption that Frigg (who heads the prevention effort according to Snorri) cannot conceive that Baldr is in danger from any such figure, being loved by all. Lindow also argues that the choice of Frigg as leading the oath-taking effort is curious, because this was normally not a task suitable to women, but he also makes the argument that Frigg is indeed an old and integral part of the story, as the Frigg deity herself is a significantly old one. Lindow argues that Frigg’s role in this story derives from her over-all role within the mythology, as the consort and lover of Óðinn (ibid, p. 50). Lindow continues to exhaust Loki’s role within the myth, his origin and characteristics (ibid, pp. 52-55), and whether or not Loki is actually an original part of the myth, since he is lacking in the Saxo account. Lindow argues that Loki was introduced when the story had reached somewhere between the Near-East and Iceland, where it was finally written down (ibid, p. 68). He also mentions the mistletoe used as a weapon by Snorri (ibid, p. 63), and whether or not the sword or the mistletoe should be considered the original weapon. He proposes that the view in Iceland of the mistletoe (which did not grow there) was largely mythical, and that it was, wrongly, considered a plant useable as a weapon. As regards Höðr, Lindow suggests he is an “outsider” amongst the gods, just as Loki, and that he might have been more willing than previously thought in doing the deed (ibid, p. 65).
The next chapter continues the storyline, and discusses Óðinn and Hyrrokkin, and the funeral of Baldr. The chapter is strictly titled “Odin and Hyrrokkin: Baldr’s funeral”, but the chapter somewhat strays away from its topic. Lindow claims that the only pagan source of the Baldr myth is Húsdrápa by Úlfr Uggason, which therefore deserves special attention. In talking about the arrival of guests to the funeral, Lindow notes the order and way in which things are presented. He observes that the deities all ride in on mounts, with Óðinn being the leader of the æsir, Freyr representing the vanir, and Heimdallr being a “boundary figure” (not in the least by protecting Bifröst). Lindow makes the argument that the most important aspects of the funerary ritual, based upon an analysis he makes of the language in the stanzas from Húsdrápa, are the assembly of the different gods, the funeral pyre (which is mentioned with three different synonyms) and Óðinn’s son as the one being burned (Lindow, 1997, p. 73). Lindow also discusses the possible meaning of the giantess who lights the funeral pyre, known as Hyrrokkin, or Hildr in Úlfr Uggason’s text. Lindow makes a comparison to the Ragnarsdrápa poem, especially with the name Hildr being used in both stories and the father’s loss of a child that he unsuccessfully attempts to regain. He makes the argument that Úlfr “drew echoes of the entire Baldr story into the climactic scene of the funeral” (ibid, p. 75) by using the Hildr name and the modifier “fjalla” (i.e “Fjalla-Hildr”) to symbolize something as distant from the coast and the scene of the funeral as possible. Lindow writes:
She is an out of place, hierarchically inferior being, doing the work of the æsir (as Snorri tells us) and thus helping them to conduct the ritual properly. The inappropriateness of her presence at such a solemn moment is brought forth by the nature of her mount, here specifically identified as a wolf reined in with poisonous snakes, both symbols of the unsettled wilderness whence Hyrrokkin and her ilk come […] (ibid, pp 88-89).
Lindow also makes an interesting analysis of Þórr’s kicking of the dwarf Litr into the funeral pyre, especially in regards to his name. The word “litr” plainly means “appearance” or “color”, but Lindow cites Franz Rolf Schröder’s suggestion that it might be related to “lítill”, meaning small. But at the same time, Lindow claims that “smallness” is not a characteristic generally attributed to dwarfs through their names in the mythology. Lindow acknowledges that Litr may be an indicator of a change in tradition, but in terms of his suggestions of the meaning of the killing of the dwarf (and not only that), I sometimes believe that the application of Ockham’s razor is appropriate (ibid, pp. 94-95), not in the least to avoid becoming a myth-maker oneself.
The next chapter deals with the attempted retrieval of Baldr from the dead. Lindow notes that the retrieval story does not appear in Saxo’s account of the Baldr myth. He continues by making the argument that the implications of Baldr being a “hostage” in the world of the dead, who can somehow be retrieved through some sort of negotiating process, might imply that the myth should be read as a group-conflict between the æsir and the jötnar. He notes the curious case of the two “generals” (Lindow’s word of choice) being women, Frigg and Hel, but also mentions the strong implications of hostages and hostage exchange in the mythology, the other important case taking place after the æsir-vanir war and having profound impact on the mythology (Lindow, 1997, pp. 101-102). Lindow continues his chapter by making the argument that Hermóðr – attempting to retrieve Baldr – was unknown outside of Iceland, thus being either an Icelandic invention, or Hermóðr might have been included in the story when that name became equated with heroism; Lindow even goes as far as to claim that Hermóðr might at one point have been Óðinn himself (ibid, p. 106 & p. 112). Here, Lindow claims that he has made an argument about a “rule” in the mythology: he says that males always triumph over females. I don’t understand this argument at all, as it seems highly inaccurate, perhaps even in regard to the Baldr myth. In any case, I find it very practical to suggest, as Lindow here does, that Þökk “might have been no more than a cranky old ogress who was having a bad day” (ibid, p. 129). Lindow finishes the chapter by suggesting that Loki is the one responsible for the death and unsuccessful retrieval of Baldr, with a reference to Lokasenna; plainly, Þökk could be Loki. The message of the Baldr myth, Lindow here claims, is that grief never can be universal, and that “life will always go on despite it” (ibid, p. 130).
Chapter five continues the story, talking about “Váli and Höðr, the æsir and Loki: Vengeance”. Lindow begins the chapter by discussing at length the noun “griðastaðr” and its implications on the story. The word is used to explain the lack of immediate response from the gods to Baldr’s death. He explores whether or not the word could reflect any sort of legal obligation for the gods not to intervene in such a “sanctuary” (Lindow, 1997, p. 134), but also suggests that they might have been inhibited by a rule of blood-feud forcing Höður’s blood-kin to enact vengeance, but the complicated family relationship made it impossible for Óðinn himself (the father of Höðr) to enact this vengeance. Had Óðinn himself done the deed, he would have become the principal of that killing as well, and thus would have needed to enact vengeance upon himself (ibid, p. 135). Lindow uses a couple of references to poetry to support his claim that murder within the family was always wrong, quoting for example a stanza from Heimskringla – or as Lindow puts it: “All of them are caught between irreconcilable duties: to extract vengeance on the one hand and to honor the bonds of kinship on the other hand” (ibid, p. 139). The author then continues to explore potential relationships between Váli and Viðarr and Magni and Móði, based on their survival after Ragnarök. He suggests that one connection might be that they are both pairs of second-generation deities who engage in vengeance of some sort, and “whose special status was in part obtained through an exogamous union of their father, Odin, with a female from among the jötnar” (ibid, p. 157). The “breaker of the pattern” is, according to Lindow, Váli, who avenges by killing a family member, an act that was both appropriate and inappropriate at the same time. He proceeds to discuss the events of Loki in the story, but does not present any groundbreaking information.
The last chapter of the book deals with Ragnarök and reconciliation. Lindow suggests that the only way of solving the ill family relations that has befallen the æsir, and Baldr and Höðr in specific, is for the old Odinic world order to end. In the new world, Baldr and Höðr are apparently joined again, reconciled (Lindow, 1997, p. 166). Lindow argues that with Ragnarök, the whole strata of the “old generation” will be replaced by their offspring (with the exception of Hænir) (ibid, p. 169). Lindow explains that blood-feud is central to the Baldr myth, but that the myth itself reveals a fundamental flaw in feud, which, according to Lindow, “could be imagined to be fatal”. He argues that the flaw might be explained in that the myth only expresses the feud-system in theory, whereas texts like the Íslendingasögur explain its praxis (ibid, p. 178), and when it comes down to it, what might invalidate the idea of blood-feud in theory might not be relevant to real people in their everyday lives.
Lindow finishes his book on the very valid point that Baldr is dead because when “Asa-Loke” is charged with choosing between his companionship with the gods and that with the jötnar, he chooses the jötnar, his natural genealogy. “The killing is devastating because it was done by a brother, and it could not be undone” (Lindow, 1997, p. 181).
All in all, Lindow offers a worthwhile – although rather short, with its ca. 200 pages – insight into a new theoretical analysis of the Baldr myth. His firm stance on the historical development and evolution of the myth is refreshing and convincing, and might help bridge some of the gaps observed between different sources.
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Tool use by rook
Use of a hooked tool by a rook.
The use of tools is widespread across the animal kingdom. Tools are used for many different purposes, including: grooming, defence, recreation or construction.[1] Bentley-Condit & Smith reviewed the evidence for tool use across the animal kingdom, that has been published in the scientific literature. They found that although tool use was fairly widespread, there were only few examples of tool use in molluscs (1 genera) and gastropods (2 genera) [2]. The researchers found the most published examples of tool use in passerine birds and primates, although this may partly caused by a larger focus of research in these taxa.
It is often assumed that tool use is a marker of animal intelligence, although this not need be the case. Tool use is widely studied by comparative psychologists aiming to uncover potentially complex cognitive mechanisms that underlie it, but it may also be the case that tool use can be achieved with rather simple behavioural mechanisms.
Tool construction was originally thought to be a skill possessed only by humans. When Jane Goodall first observed chimpanzees manipulating a stick for termite fishing, her supervisor Louis Leakey gave the now famous reply: "Now we must redefine tool, redefine Man, or accept chimpanzees as humans." [3] Some birds also construct tools; the new caledonian crow is known for cutting a section of a pandanus leaf into a stepped-cut tool, probably used for food extraction. [4]
Definitions and terminology Edit
In 1980, Beck published a widely used definition of tool use.[5] More recently, this has been modified to -
Other, briefer definitions have been proposed -
"An object carried or maintained for future use"
Finn, Tregenza, and Norman, 2009.[7]
"The use of physical objects other than the animal's own body or appendages as a means to extend the physical influence realized by the animal"
Jones and Kamil, 1973[8]
Hauser, 2000[9]
Others, for example Lawick-Goodall,[10] distinguish between "tool use" and "object use".
When an animal uses a tool that acts on another tool, this has been termed use of a "meta-tool". For example, New Caledonian Crows will spontaneously use a short tool to obtain an otherwise inaccessible longer tool that then allows them to extract food from a hole.[11] Similarly, bearded capuchin monkeys will use smaller stones to loosen bigger quartz pebbles embedded in conglomerate rock, which they subsequently use as tools.[12]
Rarely, animals may use one tool followed by another, for example, bearded capuchins use stones and sticks, or two stones.[12] This is called "associative", "secondary" or "sequential" tool use.[13]
Borderline examplesEdit
Play: Play has been defined as “activity having no immediate benefits and structurally including repetitive or exaggerated actions that may be out of sequence or disordered”.[15] When play is discussed in relation to manipulating objects, it is often used in association with the word "tool".[16] Some birds, notably crows, parrots and birds of prey "play" with objects, many of them playing in flight with such items as stones, sticks, leaves, by letting them go and catching them again before they reach the ground. A few species repeatedly drop stones, apparently for the enjoyment of the sound effects.[17] Many other species of animals, both avian and non-avian, play with objects in a similar manner and this appears to be consistent with the definition of tool use by Shumaker et al. given above.[6] However, if this is the case, there appears no logical reason to exclude play behaviour and object manipulation by domestic pets such as cats, dogs and horses, making them potentially, tool-users.[original research?]
Fixed "devices:" The impaling of prey on thorns by many of the Shrikes (Laniidae) is well known.[18] Several other birds may use spines or forked sticks to anchor a carcass while they flay it with the bill. It has been concluded that "This is an example of a fixed device which serves as an extension of the body, in this case, talons" and is thus a true form of tool use. On the other hand, the use of fixed skewers may not be true tool-use because the thorn (or whatever) is not manipulated by the bird.[17] Leopards perform a similar behaviour by dragging carcasses up trees and caching them in the forks of branches.
Use of baits: Several species of herons such as the Striated Heron (Butorides striatus) will place bread in the water to attract fish.[17][19] Whether this is tool use is disputed because the bread is not manipulated or held by the bird.
Learning and cognition Edit
In mammalsEdit
A chimpanzee using a stick to "fish" for termites.
Tool use
Tool manufacture is much rarer than simple tool use and probably represents higher cognitive functioning. Soon after her initial discovery of tool use, Goodall observed other chimpanzees picking up leafy twigs, stripping off the leaves and using the stems to fish for insects. This change of a leafy twig into a tool was a major discovery. Prior to this, scientists thought that only humans manufactured and used tools, and that this ability was what separated humans from other animals.[20] In 1990, it was claimed the only primate to manufacture tools in the wild was the chimpanzee.[21] However, since then, several primates have been reported as tool makers in the wild.[22]
Both bonobos and chimpanzees have been observed making "sponges" out of leaves and moss that suck up water and using these for grooming. Sumatran orangutans will take a live branch, remove twigs and leaves and sometimes the bark, before fraying or flattening the tip for use on ant or bees.[23] In the wild, mandrills have been observed to clean their ears with modified tools. Scientists filmed a large male mandrill at Chester Zoo (UK) stripping down a twig, apparently to make it narrower, and then using the modified stick to scrape dirt from underneath its toenails.[24] Captive gorillas have made a variety of tools.[25]
Common chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) are sophisticated tool users with behaviors including cracking nuts with stone tools and fishing for ants or termites with sticks. There are more limited reports of the closely related bonobo (Pan paniscus) using tools in the wild; it has been claimed they rarely use tools in the wild although they use tools as readily as chimpanzees when in captivity,[26] It has been reported that both female chimpanzees and bonobos use tools more avidly than males.[27] Wild chimpanzees predominantly use tools in the context of food acquisition while wild bonobos appear to use tools mainly for personal care (cleaning, protection from rain) and social purposes.
Orangutans (genus Pongo) were first observed using tools in the wild in 1994 in the northwest corner of Sumatra.[28] As with the chimpanzees, orangutans use tools made from branches and leaves to scratch, scrape, wipe, sponge, swat, fan, hook, probe, scoop, pry, chisel, hammer, cover, cushion and amplify. They will break off a tree branch that is about 30 cm long, snap off the twigs, fray one end and then use the stick to dig in tree holes for termites.[23][29] Sumatran orangutans use a variety of tools - up to 54 types for extracting insects or honey, and as many as 20 types for opening or preparing fruits such as the hard to access Neesia Malayana.[30] They also use an 'autoerotic tool' - a stick which they use to stimulate the genitals and masturbate (both male and female).[31][32] In parts of Borneo, orangutans use handfuls of leaves as napkins to wipe their chins while orangutans in parts of Sumatra use leaves as gloves, helping them handle spiny fruits and branches, or as seat cushions in spiny trees.[33] There have been reports that individuals in both captivity and in the wild use tools held between the lips or teeth, rather than in the hands.[34] In captivity, orangutans have been taught to chip stone handaxes.[35]
There are few reports of gorillas using tools in the wild.[36] An adult female Western lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) used a branch as a walking stick apparently to test water depth and to aid her crossing a pool of water. Another adult female used a detached trunk from a small shrub as a stabilizer during food gathering, and another used a log as a bridge. One possible explanation for the absence of observed tool use in wild gorillas is that they are less dependent on foraging techniques that require the use of tools, since they exploit food resources differently from chimpanzees. Whereas chimpanzees and orangutans feeding involves tools such as hammers to crack open nuts and sticks to fish for termites, gorillas access these foods by breaking nuts with their teeth and smashing termite mounds with their hands.[37]
Capuchin monkeysEdit
The black-striped capuchin (Sapajus libidinosus) was the first non-ape primate for which tool use was documented in the wild; individuals were observed cracking nuts by placing them on a stone anvil and hitting them with another large stone.[38] Robust capuchin monkeys (genus Sapajus) use stone tools in the wild.[38][39][40][41][42] It may take a capuchin up to 8 years to master this skill.[43] These are used to pound open hard shelled fruits, seeds and even oysters. They have also been known to use tools for digging and probing in the dirt. Robust capuchins are also known at times to rub defensive secretions from arthropods over their bodies before eating them;[39] such secretions are believed to act as natural insecticides.
Tool use by baboons in the wild was mentioned by Charles Darwin in his book The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex.[44]
Darwin continued:
Crab-eating macaquesEdit
Hunting mammalsEdit
Research in 2007 showed that common chimpanzees sharpen sticks to use as weapons when hunting mammals. This is considered the first evidence of systematic use of weapons in a species other than humans. Researchers documented 22 occasions where wild chimpanzees on a savanna in Senegal fashioned sticks into "spears" to hunt lesser bush babies (Galago senegalensis).[48] In each case, a chimpanzee modified a branch by breaking off one or two ends and, frequently using its teeth, sharpened the stick. The tools, on average, were about 60 cm (24 in) long and 1.1 cm (0.4 in) in circumference. The chimpanzee then jabbed the spear into hollows in tree trunks where bush babies sleep.[49] There was a single case in which a chimpanzee successfully extracted a bush baby with the tool. The tools are referred to as "spears", however, they differ from throwing spears in the sense that they are jabbed into tree trunks and branches, not thrown. It has been suggested the word "spear" is an overstatement that makes the chimpanzees seem too much like early humans and the term "bludgeon" is more accurate.[50] Females, particularly adolescent females, and young chimps in general were seen exhibiting this behaviour more frequently than adult males.[51]
Chimpanzees regularly eat the marrow of long bones of colobus monkeys with the help of small sticks, after opening the ends of the bones with their teeth.[52] A juvenile female was observed to eat small parts of the brain of an intact skull that she could not break open by inserting a small stick through the foramen magnum. On another occasion, an adult female used three sticks to clean the orbits of a colobus monkey skull after she had just eaten the eyes.[21]
Hunting invertebratesEdit
More recent studies of the Gombe chimps show that young females and males learn to fish for termites differently. Female chimps learn to fish for termites earlier and better than the young males.[53] Females also spend more time fishing while at the mounds with their mothers - males spend more time playing. When they are adults, females need more termite protein because with young to care for, they can't hunt the way males can.[54]
Wild bearded capuchins use sticks to flush prey from inside rock crevices.[12]
Hunting fishEdit
Orangutans living in Borneo scavenge fish that wash up along the shore and scoop catfish out of small ponds for fresh meals. Over two years, anthropologist Anne Russon saw several animals on these forested islands learn on their own to jab at catfish with sticks, so that the panicked prey would flop out of ponds and into the orangutan's waiting hands.[55] Although orangutans usually fished alone, Russon observed pairs of apes catching catfish on a few occasions.[56] On the island of Kaja in Borneo, a male orangutan was observed using a pole apparently trying to spear or bludgeon fish. This individual had seen humans fishing with spears. Although not successful, he was later able to improvise by using the pole to catch fish already trapped in the locals' fishing lines.[57]
Collecting honeyEdit
Sumatran orangutans will use a stick to poke a bees' nest wall, move it around and catch the honey.[29]
Processing nuts, fruits, vegetables and seedsEdit
File:Chimpanzee and stick.jpg
Tai chimpanzees crack open nuts with rocks while there is no record of Gombe chimpanzees using rocks in this manner.[20] After opening nuts by pounding with a hammer, parts of the kernels may be too difficult to be reached with the teeth or fingernails and some individuals use sticks to remove these remains, instead of pounding the nut further with the hammer as other individuals do;[21] a relatively rare combination of using two different tools. Hammers for opening nuts may be either wood or stone.
Wild capuchin monkeys in many areas use stone hammers and anvils to crack nuts and encased seeds.[60][61] They transport stones and nuts to an anvil for this purpose.[62] Capuchins also use stones to excavate tubers.[12]
Collecting waterEdit
Other usesEdit
Gorrila tool use-Efi
Western lowland gorillas have been observed using sticks to apparently measure the depth of water and as "walking sticks" to support their posture when crossing deeper water.[64] Orangutans have also been observed using sticks to apparently measure the depth of water.
It has been reported that orangutans use tools for a wide range of purposes including using leaves as protective gloves or napkins, using leafy branches to swat insects or gather water, and building sun or rain covers above the nests used for resting.[65] It has been reported that a Sumatran orangutan used a large leaf as an umbrella in a tropical rainstorm.[29]
A troop of wild macaques which regularly interact with humans have learnt to remove hairs from the human's heads, and use the hair to floss their teeth.[67]
Captive western lowland gorillas have been observed to threaten each other with sticks and larger pieces of wood, while others use sticks for hygienic purposes. Some females have attempted to use logs as ladders.[68] In another group of captive gorillas, several individuals were observed throwing sticks and branches into a tree, apparently to knock down leaves and seeds.[69] Gorillas at Prague zoo have used tools in several ways, including using wood wool as "slippers" when walking on the snow or to cross a wet section of the floor.[25]
In March 2009, it was reported that "Santino", a male chimpanzee in Furuvik zoo (Sweden), had planned hundreds of stone-throwing attacks on visitors to the zoo. He cached hundreds of stones in areas facing the public when he was in a calm state, prior to the zoo opening in the morning. The launching of the stones occurred hours later during dominance displays to zoo visitors, with Santino in an "agitated" state. Further, the chimpanzee learned to recognise how and when parts of his concrete enclosure could be pulled apart to fashion further projectiles.[70][71] Tool use has been observed in capuchin monkeys both in captivity and in their natural environments. In a captive environment, capuchins readily insert a stick into a tube containing viscous food that clings to the stick, which they then extract and lick.[72] Capuchins also use a stick to push food from the center of a tube retrieving the food when it reaches the far end,[73] and as a rake to sweep objects or food toward themselves.[74]
Elephants have also been known to drop large rocks onto an electric fence to either ruin the fence or cut off the electricity.[79]
In 2011, researchers at the Dingo Discovery and Research Centre in Melbourne, Australia, filmed a dingo manipulating a table and using this to get food.[80]
Moulting Brown bears in Alaska have been observed using rocks to exfoliate.[81]
At least some wild bottlenose dolphins use tools.[82] In Shark Bay, dolphins place a marine sponge on their rostrum, presumably to protect it when searching for food on the sandy sea bottom. This has only been observed in this bay (first in 1997), and predominantly by females.[83][84] Bottlenose dolphins have also been observed using conch shells to trap small fish, then lifting the shells out of the water causing the fish to fall into the dolphin's mouth.[85]
Cetaceans, such as beluga whales and dolphins, blow bubble rings.[86] Dolphins sometimes engage in complex play behaviours, creating bubble rings on purpose, seemingly for amusement.[87] There are two main methods of bubble ring production: rapid puffing of a burst of air into the water and allowing it to rise to the surface, forming a ring; or swimming repeatedly in a circle and then stopping to inject air into the helical vortex currents thus formed. The dolphin will often then examine its creation visually and with sonar. They also appear to enjoy biting the vortex-rings they've created, so that they burst into many separate normal bubbles and then rise quickly to the surface.[88]
Humpback whales use a method of hunting know as "bubble net feeding"; a group of whales swims in a shrinking circle blowing bubbles below a school of prey. The shrinking ring of bubbles encircles the school and confines it in an ever-smaller cylinder. This ring can begin at up to 30 metres (Template:Convert/ft)Template:Convert/test/A in diameter and involve the cooperation of a dozen animals.[89] Some whales blow the bubbles, some dive deeper to drive fish toward the surface, and others herd prey into the net by vocalizing. The whales then suddenly swim upward through the "net", mouths agape, swallowing thousands of fish in one gulp.[90] Another form of bubble-net feeding is "lobtail feeding". This technique involves the whale slapping the surface of the ocean with its tail between one and four times before creating the bubble net.[91] Dolphins also use bubble net feeding.[92]
Sea ottersEdit
File:Sea Otteruses a rock to break a shell open 2.jpg
American badgersEdit
In birdsEdit
Tool use is found in at least thirty-three different families of birds.[11]
Bird nests show a great diversity in complexity
Intricate nests of Weaver Birds[98]
Emperor Penguins do not build a nest[99]
Woodpecker FinchesEdit
There have been reported cases of Woodpecker Finches brandishing a twig as a weapon.[17]
In the wildEdit
An American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) has been observed to modify and use a piece of wood as a probe.[101] Green Jays (Cyanocorax yncas) have been observed using sticks as tools to extract insects from tree bark,[102] a behavior which has also been observed and filmed in New Caledonian Crows (Corvus moneduloides)[7][103] The birds poke the insects or larvae until they bite the stick in defence and can be drawn out. This "larva fishing" is very similar to the "termite fishing" practised by chimpanzees. In the wild, stick tools are made from twigs, grass stems or similar plant structures whereas captive individuals have been observed to use a variety of materials, including feathers and garden wire. Stick tools can either be non-hooked - being more or less straight and requiring only little modification - or hooked. Construction of the more complex hooked tools typically involves choosing a forked twig from which parts are removed and the remaining end is sculpted and sharpened. New Caledonian Crows also use pandanus tools, made from barbed leaf edges of screw pines (Pandanus spp.) by precise ripping and cutting although the function of the pandanus tools is not understood.[104]
Crows in urban Japan have been filmed[8] using an innovative technique to crack hard-shelled nuts by dropping them onto cross walks (pedestrian crossings) and letting them be run over and cracked by cars. They then retrieve the cracked nuts when the cars are stopped at the red light.[105] In some towns in America, crows drop walnuts onto busy streets so that the cars will crack the nuts.[106]Template:Better source
Hooded Crows (Corvus cornix) use bait to catch fish.[107] Individuals (who may have observed fish being fed bread by humans) will place the bread in the water to attract fish.[17]
In captivityEdit
While not confirmed to have used tools in the wild, captive Blue Jays (Cyanocitta cristata) have been observed using strips of newspaper as tools to obtain food.[109][110]
Common ravens (Corvus corax) are one of only a few species who make their own toys. They have been observed breaking off twigs to play with socially.[111] At least one corvid has been filmed repeatedly sliding down a snowy roof while balancing on a coffee lid[112] and another playing with a table tennis ball in partnership with a dog.[113]- potentially both rare examples of tool use for the purposes of play. Blue Jays, like other corvids, are highly curious and are considered intelligent birds. Young Blue Jays playfully snatch brightly coloured or reflective objects, such as bottle caps or pieces of aluminium foil, and carry them around until they lose interest.
File:Common Tailorbird (Orthotomus sutorius) Nest in Hyderabad, AP W IMG 7248.jpg
The Tailorbird (genus Orthotomus) takes a large growing leaf (or two or more small ones) and with its sharp bill pierces holes into opposite edges. It then grasps spider silk, silk from cocoons, or plant fibres with its bill, pulls this "thread" through the two holes, and knots it to prevent it from pulling through (although the use of knots is disputed[114]). This process is repeated several times until the leaf or leaves forms a pouch or cup in which the bird then builds its nest.[17][115] The leaves are sewn together in such a way that the upper surfaces are outwards making the structure difficult to see. The punctures made on the edge of the leaves are minute and do not cause browning of the leaves, further aiding camouflage. The processes used by the Tailorbird have been classified as sewing, rivetting, lacing and matting. Once the stitch is made, the fibres fluff out on the outside and in effect they are more like rivets. Sometimes the fibres from one rivet are extended into an adjoining puncture and appear more like sewing. There are many variations in the nest and some may altogether lack the cradle of leaves.It is believed that only the female performs this sewing behaviour.[114] The Latin binomial name of the Common Tailorbird, Orthotomus sutorius, means "straight-edged" "cobbler" rather than tailor.[116]
Some birds of the genus Prinia also practice this sewing and stitching behaviour.[117]
A captive Tanimbar Corella (Cacatua goffiniana) was observed spontaneously breaking off and "shaping" splinters of wood and small sticks to create rakes that were then used to retrieve otherwise unavailable food items on the other side of the aviary mesh - a rare example of tool-making.[118][119] This behaviour has been filmed.[10]
Egyptian VulturesEdit
When an Egyptian Vulture (Neophron percnopterus) encounters a large egg, it takes a stone into its beak and forcefully throws it at the egg until the shell is broken, usually taking a few minutes. This behaviour, first reported in 1966,[120] seems to be largely innate and is displayed by naïve individuals. Its origin could be related to the throwing of eggs and, interestingly, rounded (egg-like) stones are preferred to jagged ones.[121]
Brown-headed NuthatchesEdit
Brown-headed Nuthatches have also used a bark flake for concealing a seed cache.[11]
Burrowing Owls (Athene cunicularia) frequently collect mammalian dung, which they use as a bait to attract dung beetles, a major item of prey.[124]
In reptilesEdit
Tool use by American alligators and Mugger crocodiles has been documented. During the breeding season, birds such as herons and egrets look for sticks to build their nests. Alligators and crocodiles collect sticks to use as bait to catch birds. The crocodilian positions itself near a rookery, partially submerges with the sticks balanced on its head, and when a bird approaches to take the stick, it springs its trap. This stick displaying strategy is the first known case of a predator not only using an object as a lure, but also taking into account the seasonal behavior of its prey.[125][126]
In cephalopodsEdit
File:Octopus shell.jpg
In fishEdit
Triggerfish (Pseudobalistes fuscus) blow water to turn sea urchins over and expose their more vulnerable ventral side.[133]
In insectsEdit
See also Edit
References Edit
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Further readingEdit
• (2011) Animal Tool Behavior: The Use and Manufacture of Tools by Animals, The Johns Hopkins University Press.
External linksEdit
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Abraham Lincoln on the Iraq, err, Mexican-American War
More great anecdotes from Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln:
The following week, on January 12, 1848, Lincoln defended his spot resolutions and his vote on the Ashmun resolution in a major speech. He claimed that he would happily reverse his vote if the president could prove that first blood was shed on American soil; but since he “can not, or will not do this,” he suspected that the entire matter was, “from beginning to end, the sheerest deception.” Having provoked both countries into war, Lincoln charged, the president had hoped “to escape scrutiny, by fixing the public gaze upon the exceeding brightness of military glory … that serpent’s eye, that charms to destroy.”
The Democratic Illinois State Register charged that Lincoln had disgraced his district with his “treasonable assault upon President Polk,” claimed that “henceforth” he would be known as “Benedict Arnold,” and predicted that he would enjoy only a single term. Lincoln sought to clarify his position, arguing that although he had challenged the instigation of the war, he had never voted against supplies for the soldiers. To accept Polk’s position without question, he claimed, was to “allow the President to invade a neighboring nation … whenever he may choose to say he deems it necessary.”
Sounds an awful lot like Paul Krugman and others who spoke out against President Bush during the first few year of the Iraq War. History really does repeat itself.
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Superior Book Productions
June 9, 2009
Living on Sisu:
The 1913 Union Copper Strike Tragedy
Deborah K. Frontiera
The ABC’s Press (2009)
ISBN: 9780982027851
***** 5 stars – Twelve-year old Girl’s Diary Makes 1913 Copper Strike Live Again
The story is well known. During a children’s Christmas party at the Italian Hall in Calumet, Michigan in 1913, someone shouted “Fire!” A panic ensued, and approximately 58 children and 15 adults were crushed to death in a staircase while trying to escape. The tragedy has been told over and over, and it is generally retold in the context of the copper strike in the region at that time. Rumors spread that the mining companies intentionally caused the disaster. Others believe it was a mistake, or a practical joke that led to tragedy. In any case, the disaster was so unbelievable that it still lives in the minds of Upper Michigan residents, but few have told it so successfully as Deborah Frontiera in her new novel “Living on Sisu.”
Frontiera successfully recaptures the events of the 1913-1914 copper strike by members of the Western Federation of Miners to get better working conditions and wages for the miners of the Calumet & Hecla Mining Company. A stroke of genius led Frontiera to tell the story from twelve-year old Emma Niemi’s perspective. I say genius because children ultimately were the victims of the strike, yet they themselves were confused about the causes, political implications, and general right or wrong of the situation. The main character, Emma Niemi, is the U.S. born daughter of Finnish immigrant parents. Her father does not like socialists and resists joining the Union so he will not be thought a “Red Finn,” but ultimately when a friend dies in the mine and he has not earned enough money to purchase his own land after ten years, Mr. Niemi decides to join the strike. Emma continually tries to understand the reasons for the strike and both the miners and union’s viewpoint and the mining company’s position by reading papers that present both sides. The novel’s back cover states that Frontiera, “like her character Emma, found it difficult to “sort out” the multiple sides of the 1913 strike.” It is this difficulty and Frontiera’s willingness to depict both sides of the conflict that makes “Living on Sisu” a successful story and likely to become an Upper Michigan classic. Frontiera explores the confusion, beliefs, fears, and dreams of the people of Calumet in that fatal year. Her historical research is impeccable, but her storytelling gift is always at the forefront of the book.
While Frontiera never lets politics or history get in the way of the story or its characters, she provides many historical and political sources outside of Emma’s diary. She inserts numerous historical photographs throughout the book to help readers envision life in 1913-1914 in Calumet and Laurium. She also includes a dictionary of Finnish words used in the novel, a list of the principal historical characters in the book, a list of books about the strike, and an essay about the history of the Copper Country from the beginning of mining until the closing of the Calumet & Hecla mines in 1968. Without taking sides, she mentions the pluses and negatives of the mining companies and what the people wanted. She tells us “C&H was like a good parent, but the time comes when children want to stand on their own.” Socialist ideas were becoming more popular, mines opening in Montana and Arizona were competing with the Michigan mining companies, and labor unions arose. Amid all this chaotic and changing world, Emma Niemi grows up and tries to help her family.
Because the story is told from Emma’s viewpoint, it would probably be classified as a children’s book, suitable for ages ten and older. It reminds me of the classic historical children’s novels I loved as a child—books like “Johnny Tremain”—where a child is growing up, trying to understand the political events and adult world, and often trapped within the conflicts. As an adult, I was just as involved in the story as if I had been twelve when I read it. I especially admired Emma’s character; she is not perfect, but she is a good girl, a good daughter. She never questions her parents or the need to help them. When her parents’ income drops because of her father being on strike, he remarks that they will be “living on sisu.” Sisu is a Finnish word with no English equivalent that roughly means determination, guts, or perseverance in the face of adversity. As a twelve-year old girl, Emma has more sisu than most children today. When her father goes on strike, she helps her family by finding work in a store; later she ends up working full-time as a maid while taking evening classes to keep up with her schooling. She will serve as a good example to children today of hard work, loyalty to family, and the dream to get ahead in life. In our own current harsh economy, Emma Niemi reminds us of what our immigrant ancestors underwent to improve their lives when they came to this country, and she inspires us also to have common sense, to listen to people and try to understand their viewpoints, to look for the truth, and never to give up.
By retelling the Copper Union Strike and the Italian Hall Disaster from the view of Emma, Frontiera has made the period and people come alive again. We march down the streets waving the American flag with Big Annie, we know what it is like to work as a maid in a wealthy home, we feel the pain of a miner dying and the toll it takes on his wife and children, we recall the dream our ancestors had of a better life in America, and in the end, we find our own Sisu.
— Tyler R. Tichelaar, Ph.D., author of the award-winning Narrow Lives
© 2008-2016 Superior Book Productions
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Δευτέρα, 6 Αυγούστου 2012
Going Vertical/ Φυτεύοντας Κάθετα
Green walls: Function or fad? As cities and their buildings all around the world are being covered in green, we take a look the phenomenon of Green Walls.
The first example of green walls may be found in the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, even if they may have been more roof gardens than green walls. Later, from Scandinavia to Japan, numerous civilizations used climbing plants to cover buildings, making what is now called ‘green façades’. Green façades were very important in the Art and Crafts and Modern style movements in Europe. For instance, in the beginning of the 20th century, the ‘Jugendstil‘ movement used climbing plants (Parthenocissus tricuspidata) on the buildings to make a changeover between the house and the garden. In England, Garden Cities showed great examples of green façades. William Robinson and Gertrude Jekyll designed outdoor vegetated rock walls used for screening & boundaries in gardens. You can still see such examples in Griftpark (Ultrecht, Netherlands). The use of climbing plants declined in the 30′s, due to new building techniques and people’s concern about possible consequences on wall stability.
Vegetated Stone Structure, Groenkapel Griftpark, Utrecht
Green façades have always been less common in North America, but what we nowadays call ‘vertical gardens’ seems to have first been theorized in the U.S. in 1937 by Stanley Hart White. His theories are now being used once again by Illinois University Urbania Champaign students.
EcoCathédrale by LeRoy, in Mildrann, Netherlands, 1970s
Green walls became famous decades after Stanley Hart White’s first experiments. Patrick LeBlanc, a French botanist, is pictured as the first one to design the ‘modern’ pattern of green walls, with a full hydroponic system, an inert medium and numerous exotic species (see his first green wall, at the Museum of Science and Industry).
Paris Mur Vegetal by Patrick LeBlanc at Musee Branly Jean Nouvel
What is a green wall?
Let’s focus on living walls, also called ‘biowalls’, ‘vertical gardens’ or ‘Vertical Vegetated Complex Walls’ (VCW). You can picture it as a cliff: the synthetic medium is the interface to which the cliff growing plant species can hang onto. The hydroponic system is often used to create a succession of dry periods and humid ones.
One of the more important moments in the design process of a green wall is the choosing of species: you must choose plants which will grow straight and will have beautiful lower foliage, as they will be seen from underneath. The first living walls used tropical plants but the choice is now much larger. As more recent green walls are often showing beautiful patterns, it is becoming a new urban art.
Van-Gogh's "Wheat Field with Cypresses" as a living painting at the National-Gallery Trafalgar Sq
Why green walls?
They have multiple impacts on cities and citizens: they protect buildings from the effects of the natural elements, they are introducing more gardens in urban areas and they can even be used to grow vegetables!
Patrick Blanc’s Vertical Garden in Madrid
The Tokyo Institute of Technology proved that green walls lower the energetic loss of buildings. They also prevent the creation of urban dust (partly due to the effect of wind over buildings) and absorb heavy metal particulates from the atmosphere.
However, the first consequence of making living walls is the creation of new green spaces in cities, where available spaces are scarce. Green walls are still newcomers in landscape architecture, and innovation is fast in this sector. They are invading new places every day. On bridges and roads, they can cover ugly or decaying concrete structures, such as in Mexico City.
VerdMX, Mexico City Vertical Garden
Every country invents new solutions to answer its own particular problems. In Canada, where winters are very long, many green walls are placed inside buildings to help offset SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) syndrome.
We need gardens to be happier, even scientists have proven as much (biophilia hypothesis) Let’s build some green walls to achieve this goal! One must not forget that, as with every green space, green walls have advantages and drawbacks (non-biodegradable medium and often huge water needs) and must be thought only as a part of the solution to make our concrete jungle greener cities
Article written by Marie-Laure Séguin
πηγη :landarchs.com
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Genetically modified foods
In an effort to find a means of saving humanity from hunger invented genetically modified foods.The increasing population of the planet is no longer poses a threat due to the unique discovery.The man first took control of the important function of nature - the process of evolution by means of GMO, enabling the increasing demand for food.But the phenomenon that at times increases the volume of manufactured products, there is a downside.About her technology creators prefer to remain silent, and such food producers count fabulous profits.
What are genetically modified foods and how they are prepared?
food ingredients from genetically upgraded spread rapidly around the world.Growing analogues costs three to four times cheaper than natural products, with no risk of total or partial loss of the crop.From the US and Canada to China - that the geography of the spread of transgenic crops are seeded on an area equal to 170 million acres..What lies at the heart of the fantastic development of genetic engineerin
Genetically modified products are the result of the technology, which helps to change the hereditary characteristics in animals or plants.The resulting new type contains an altered DNA code combining a biological memory of several organisms.Nature does not have such mechanisms, and humanity has found a way to add fragments of DNA from one organism to another.
benefits of genetically modified foods
Opening unique technology (GMOs) carried an incredible perspective.Come true rainbow of human hope to defeat hunger, and few of us know about the risks.Products marked with GMOs at first did not cause concern because the unique technology has helped to significantly improve productivity.New properties, grafted animal organisms and to plants, genetically modified products have provided resistance to diseases, low temperatures, insecticides.
New products with GMOs were divided into two camps, academic environment, and then the whole world.The debate about the benefits or harm of transgenes does not stop, the study carried out one after the other.But what impact and what consequences brings with it growing, the use of genetically modified products is with complete confidence to prove no one is capable of.Caution in the amount of consumable products labeled GMO - that is the average consumer, which monitors the quality of the food and is committed to health.
food products containing GM ingredients
research path in search of the truth about the dangers or benefits of genetically modified foods is limited timeframe.Since the introduction of the unique technology has been only two decades, but it is not enough to draw conclusions with precision.The emergence of the development of genetic engineering (GMO) can solve the global problem of humanity, covering the needs for food, but at the same time causing doubts about the health safety.
Among the most common concerns - the risk of cancer, food allergies, low immunity, mutation of the use of products.Therefore, there are no official studies proving or disproving these statements, is attentive to the choice of products labeled GMO.They are on the shelves is not so little, since many contain soy, and half of it is genetically modified to yield.
More often than others in the list of food products that contain GM ingredients, these products appear:
• rice,
• peas,
• potatoes,
• corn,
• meat,
• dairy products,
• honey,
• tomatoes,
• rape,
• vegetable oil,
• soybeans,
• chicory.
Chocolate Kit-Kat, Mars, Milky Way, Twix, Snickers, the candy M & amp; M, flakes Corn Fleyks, Nesquik drink teas conversation and Lipton, chips Leis and Pringles, soda 7-up closeup, Coca-Cola - allcommercially distributed foods genetically modified ingredients which are to be marked abbreviation GMOs.For an extensive list of adjacent Calve mayonnaise and Delmi, Heyntts ketchup, seasonings Knorr, Maggi, margarines Delmi, Doughnut - products perenasyschschennye harmful GMOs.
Recognize the origin of products on display in stores, the average consumer is not easy.In appearance of genetically modified foods (GMO products) is almost indistinguishable from the genuine, but there is a secret: if vegetables or cereals look perfect, flawless, then with high probability in front of you are the same products with GMOs.Optionally, the manufacturers or sellers by marking them appropriately labeled, but vegetables, fruits and odorless - it is an occasion guard.
dyes, sweeteners, structuring agents (soy, corn) are found in the compositions of the different food groups, including confectionery with GMOs.Therefore treats - cakes, cookies, rolls - is to cook at home, or to reduce the purchase completely abandon the semis.Try not to buy cheap products, as they may contain genetically modified ingredients, restrict the number of visits to fast food restaurants.
Video: the GMOs are dangerous to human health?
While some scientists say that GMO products are not dangerous to human health, the other - are conducting research in an attempt to prove otherwise.It is believed that the first results of eating transgenic foods humanity learns through two generations.Dates considerable, as the level of concern, because the technology is a unique development of genetic engineering, threatens humanity extinction.The danger of GMO foods and how they affect people's health, you will learn from the video below:
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Tapeworm DNA contains drug weak spots
For the first time, researchers have mapped the genomes of tapeworms to reveal potential drug targets on which existing drugs could act. The genomes provide a new resource that offers faster ways to develop urgently needed and effective treatments for these debilitating diseases.
Tapeworms cause two of the World Health Organization's 17 neglected tropical diseases; echinococcosis and cysticercosis. The team sequenced the genomes of four species of tapeworm to explore the genetics and underlying biology of this unusual parasite. As an adult it can live relatively harmlessly in the gut, but its larvae can spread through the body with devastating effects. The larvae form cysts in the internal organs or tissues of humans and other animals. These cysts proliferate or grow in the body, much like cancer. In some species this can cause complications such as blindness and epilepsy, with others it may lead to death.
"Tapeworm infections are prevalent across the world and their devastating burden is comparable to that of multiple sclerosis or malignant melanoma," says Dr Matthew Berriman, senior author from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute. "These genome sequences are helping us to immediately identify new targets for much-needed drug treatment. In addition, exploring the parasites' full DNA sequences is driving our understanding of its complex biology, helping the research community to focus on the most effective drug candidates."
Normally, researchers identify new targets for drugs to combat diseases by comparing a pathogen's genome sequence with the human host's DNA to find differences between them. This time, however, the team deliberately looked for similarities between humans and the parasite because both are multicellular and the tapeworm is evolutionarily similar to humans. By finding similarities, the scientists found targets that exploit the activities of existing drugs. Identifying treatments already on pharmacy shelves and approved for other uses should save time and money.
Many of the processes of these diseases parallel those of cancer tumours, suggesting that tapeworms could be susceptible to cancer treatments, such as suppressing cell division and preventing DNA replication. When the team compiled a list of most likely targets for drug treatment, many of them were the same targets as pre-existing cancer chemotherapies.
Combining biological knowledge with the full genome also revealed other promising targets for existing drugs. Over time, tapeworms have lost the ability to synthesise the necessary fats and cholesterol that are crucial for larvae development. Instead, they scavenge and modify them from their hosts. The most active genes in the tapeworm are central to this important scavenging process because they produce the proteins that bind fats or are the precursors of fatty acid binding proteins. Disrupting these proteins with current drugs may prove an effective treatment.
"We have developed new method to grow tapeworm cells in the laboratory and we're screening these cells against many of the potential drug treatments identified from the genomes," says Professor Klaus Brehm, co-author from the University of Wrzburg, Germany. "Given that so few successful treatment options are currently available, we hope that we will be able to identify and validate existing drug candidates, relieving the burden of this debilitating, overlooked disease."
As well as identifying targets that existing drugs could act on, the team discovered why other treatments have been unsuccessful. For example, targeting the acetylcholinesterases (enzymes present in the central nervous system) has been successful in treating malaria and fluke worms, but was ineffective against tapeworms.
Analysing gene activity showed that the production of acetylcholinesterases is surprisingly low in tapeworm cysts, explaining why their disruption had no effect.
For one tapeworm species, the team managed to assemble essentially complete chromosomes. Surprisingly, this revealed a similar chromosomal organisation with the distantly related flukes. The quality and high level of genomic sequence in this study also enabled the team to examine the evolutionary genetic losses and gains of tapeworms, providing them with hundreds of potential drug targets and eliminating those targets that are unlikely to work against tapeworm infection.
"We need to take advantage of this genetic sequence data to find new and improved ways of coping with this problem that devastates much of the developed and developing world," says Professor Peter Hotez, Dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine and Editor-in-Chief of PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases. "Open access to these complete genomes will accelerate the pace in which we find alternative tools and treatments to combat tapeworm infections."
Contact: Aileen Sheehy
Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute
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The Ass, the Table, and the Stick
the magic tableIn this story a boy works for a year and is given a magic donkey. A man tricks him out of it, so he works for another year and is given a magic table. The same man tricks him out of this. For his next job, the boy gets a magic stick. This helps him get his ass and table back, as well as to marry his true love… but not in a very nice way.
Elementary Vocabulary Help / Exercises
The words and expressions in our Simplified English story which are not in our Elementary level 800 word list are: , , , , , , , and .
General Comments on the Story
As is often the case, there are several folktales from other countries with similar stories to The Ass, the Table, and the Stick, including one from as far away as the Philippines. For interest, we have also included a translated of the Philippine story, called The Adventures of Juan, as well as a folktale from Germany recorded by the Brothers Grimm titled Table Be Set, Gold Donkey, and out of the , better known today as The Table, the Ass, and the Stick.
english fairy talesOur source for the story was a children’s book called “English Fairy Stories” by Australian collector Joseph Jacobs, first published in 1890. The book can be downloaded in various forms from Project Gutenberg here. An is available from Librivox here.
If you enjoyed this story, please share:
ass(n: ass pl asses) An old fashioned word for a donkey; an animal that is like a small horse with large ears, commonly used for carrying things. 5000
beat someonebeat drum(v: beat, beats, beaten or beat, beating) 1. To hit a person or animal repeatedly to cause pain. 2. To hit something (such as a drum) repeatedly. 3. To make the regular movements needed to do something. 1000
bray(n: bray pl brays) The loud sound that a donkey makes; hee-haw. 8000
carpenter(n: carpenter pl carpenters) A person whose job is to make or fix wooden objects or wooden parts of buildings. (ช่างไม้) 4000
coin(n: coin pl coins) A small, flat, and usually round piece of metal issued by a government as money. (เหรียญกษาปณ์) 3000
delicious(adj: delicious) Having a very nice taste or smell. (อร่อย) 6000
servant(n: servant pl servants) Someone who is hired to do household or personal duties [such as cleaning and cooking]. (คนรับใช้) 1000
silver(n: silver, noncount) A valuable, soft, grayish-white metal that is used to make jewelry, coins, knives, forks, etc. (ธาตุเงิน) 3000
version(n: version pl versions) 1. A story or description that is different in some way from another person's story or description. The boy gave his version of what had happened. (เรื่องราว) 2. A form of something (such as a product) that is different in some way from other forms. A new version of the software should be available soon. (รุ่น) 2000
cudgel(n: cudgel pl cudgels) A short heavy stick or club, used as a weapon. (ไม้กระบอง) 14000
sack(n: sack pl sacks) A large bag of strong cloth, paper or plastic. (กระสอบ) 2000
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biology textLast year was our first year doing a more rigorous high school science course. As mentioned before we used a college text for non-majors and I think it worked out pretty well. I thought it was a pretty readable textbook. We used the second to most recent edition of Biology: Life on Earth with Physiology (9th Edition) to save some money.
popbeadsOne of the activities we did last year was to make stop motion movies of meiosis and mitosis using pop beads. The kids had fun doing this and I think acting it out helped them understand the process. I bought the Neo Sci DNA Pop Bead Assorted Kit, 1500 pieces on Amazon. magnetic centromereThere are smaller sets available but I was using it for my class so I bought a big set. You will also need to buy some Neo Sci Plastic magnetic centromeres for DNA Pop Beads to hold together the chromosomes. Make sure you buy MAGNETIC centromeres. The kids made the movies on a white board so the magnets helped hold everything in place and it was easy to just redraw the other cell components for each frame. We did this activity in both the high school class and the middle school class, which was using Real Science Odyssey Biology Level 2 as their text. As you can see in the movie on meiosis you can even model the crossing over of genes (swapping of yellow/red segments) which helps increase genetic diversity in the four daughter cells (none of which are the identical).
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Diabetes Information
This is a diabetes blog. It introduces diabetes information such as the symptoms of diabetes; the types of diabetes; diabetes supply; diabetes diet; diabetes care; diabetes treatment; diabetes diagnosis; diabetes mellitus and diabetes tests etc. The diabetes knowledge on this site comes from the medical books, medical research papers, American Diabetes Association and other reliable sources. Wish you all have a good health!
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Diabetes mellitus
Diabetes mellitus is a disease characterized by persistent hyperglycemia (high blood sugar levels), resulting either from inadequate secretion of the insulin, an inadequate response of target cells to insulin, or a combination of these factors. Diabetes is a metabolic disease that requires medical diagnosis, treatment and lifestyle changes.
There are many causes and forms of diabetes known. The three most common patterns of diabetes have been recognized over the last thirty years as type 1, type 2 and gestational diabetes. There are some patients whose diabetes cannot be easily fit into one of these types, and some who display characteristics of more than one type at the same time.
Monday, September 11, 2006
Medications for Diabetes
Many people with type 2 diabetes, especially those in the early stages, manage their blood sugar effectively through diet, weight loss, and physical activity. If this does not provide effective control for you, however, there are many medications that can help manage your condition.
If your weight is normal and your blood glucose is not manageable by diet and exercise alone, your doctor may prescribe oral diabetes medications to lower your blood glucose levels. There are five classes of medications available. Each works a bit differently and has its own side effects. If one medication is not enough, your doctor may suggest combining two of these diabetes treatment medications.
Sulfonylureas, such as Glucotrol® and Micronase®, are commonly prescribed medications for diabetes treatment. Sulfonylureas work by helping your body make insulin. They can be used alone or with other medications. They have few side effects, but cannot be used by people allergic to sulfa medications.
Biguanides, such as Metformin (Glucophage®), help the body use insulin more effectively. It is often used by people who are overweight, since it also helps with weight control. It can be taken alone or with another medication, but it may cause side effects, which include nausea or diarrhea.
Alpha-glucosidase inhibitors
Alpha-glucosidase inhibitors, such as Precose® and Glyset®, work by slowing down the absorption of sugar in your digestive tract. They are often used in combination with another diabetes treatment medication, such as a sulfonylurea. This type of medication can cause stomach or bowel problems in some people.
Repaglinide (Prandin®) works by controlling blood sugar after meals. It is taken with meals and adjusted according to the number of meals you eat. It can be taken alone or with other medications, and has few side effects.
The overall action of thiozolidinediones (TZDs) is to make cells more sensitive to insulin. Medications include Avandia® and Actos®. Rezulin® was the first thiazolidinedione, but it was recently withdrawn from the market after it was determined it causes liver toxicity. The other medications in this class are considered safe and effective.
*Note: If you still use Rezulin®, contact your primary healthcare professional immediately to get it replaced with an equally effective diabetes treatment medication that does not have Rezulin®'s side effects. Rezulin® was withdrawn from the market in March 2000, after recent test data showed that the drug was more toxic to the liver than two other similar drugs, Avandia® and Actos®.
If oral medications do not control your blood sugar levels, insulin may be used for diabetes treatment. A person with type 2 diabetes needs insulin injections if his or her pancreas has stopped producing insulin altogether.
Friday, September 08, 2006
How to delay or prevent type 2 diabetes?
A major research study, the Diabetes Prevention Program, confirmed that the following approaches can greatly reduced the chances of developing diabetes:
1. Keep a low-fat, low-calorie diet.
2. Lost a modest amount of weight.
3. Engaging in regular physical activity (walking briskly for 30 minutes, five times a week, for example).
These strategies worked well for both men and women and were especially effective for participants aged 60 and older.
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Wednesday, January 06, 2010
Hopeless Language Games
Hopeless in French is désespoir, a hint more desperate than hopeless. The English word connotes some hope left behind, the French means hope taken, as one denudes a forest of trees. The former is a tad gentler than the latter. Hope-less does not mean hope-none. I suspect the English word despair comes from désespoir.
Hopeless is a noun and an adjective. The French is désesperé, very close to the English desperate. They say that French is more abstract, the romantic lacking the precision and rationality of the germanic. In French, one says things in a roundabout manner, it takes a little longer to arrive at a point. It is true that when one translates something to or from either language, the English version is almost always shorter. But what can be more blunt than despair and desperate?
Filipino does not have a direct equivalent of hopeless, so we append the negative ‘wala.’ Because the verb and the adjective is the same phrase – walang pag-asa – it feels as though the expression is more complete, a conclusion. Hopeless and désespoir are conditions, that is, conditional on something else. Walang pag-asa, in contrast, does not connote conditionality, at least not to the same degree as the other two. Not a condition but a decision.
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Online Google Dictionary
common 中文解釋 wordnet sense Collocation Usage
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commoner, comparative; commonest, superlative;
1. Occurring, found, or done often; prevalent
• - salt and pepper are the two most common seasonings
• - it's common for a woman to be depressed after giving birth
2. (of an animal or plant) Found or living in relatively large numbers; not rare
3. Ordinary; of ordinary qualities; without special rank or position
• - the dwellings of common people
• - a common soldier
4. (of a quality) Of a sort or level to be generally expected
• - common decency
5. Of the most familiar type
• - the common or vernacular name
6. Denoting the most widespread or typical species of an animal or plant
• - the common blue spruce
7. Showing a lack of taste and refinement; vulgar
8. Shared by, coming from, or done by more than one
• - the two republics' common border
• - problems common to both communities
9. Belonging to, open to, or affecting the whole of a community or the public
• - common land
10. Belonging to two or more quantities
11. (in Latin and certain other languages) Of or denoting a gender of nouns that are conventionally regarded as masculine or feminine, contrasting with neuter
12. (in English) Denoting a noun that refers to individuals of either sex (e.g., teacher)
13. (of a syllable) Able to be either short or long
14. (of a crime) Of relatively minor importance
• - common assault
1. A piece of open land for public use, esp. in a village or town
2. (in the Christian Church) A form of service used for each of a group of occasions
1. park: a piece of open land for recreational use in an urban area; "they went for a walk in the park"
5. commonly encountered; "a common (or familiar) complaint"; "the usual greeting"
7. COMMON is the largest association of users of IBM midrange computers and IBM-compatible technology in the world. ...
8. Lonnie Rashied Lynn, Jr. (born March 13, 1972), better known by his stage name Common (previously Common Sense), is an American Hip Hop Artist and actor.
9. A lingua franca (originally Italian for "Frankish language" - see etymology below) is a language systematically used to communicate between persons not sharing a mother tongue, in particular when it is a third language, distinct from both persons' mother tongues.
11. (The commons) The commons is terminology referring to resources that are collectively owned or shared between or among populations. These resources are said to be "held in common" and can include everything from natural resources and land to software. ...
12. Mutual good, shared by more than one; A tract of land in common ownership; common land; To communicate (something); To converse, talk; To have sex; Mutual; shared by more than one; Occurring or happening regularly or frequently; usual; Found in large numbers or in a large quantity; Simple, ...
13. (commonly) as a rule; frequently; usually
14. (commons) A dining hall, usually at a college or university; A central section of (usually an older) town, designated as a shared area, a common; The mutual good of all; the abstract concept of resources shared by more than one, for example air, water, information
16. ((GLOBAL) COMMONS) In general, any resource owned collectively ("held in common") and whose use is shared by a group of individuals; form the practice of some medieval English villages to hold pasturage in common. ...
17. "The global commons": Those resources we all have to use to survive but which we do not have to pay for. The term is based on the idea of the village commons: a plot of land owned by no one where all had the right to graze their stock. ...
18. (Commons) Any asset which is available for less than its real cost.
19. (Commons) If Bennington College had a town square, then the Commons building would be it. Meals and mailboxes make it a hub, as the dining malls and post office are both located here.
20. (Commons) Opening in 2003, this will be the main entrance and student gathering area for the upper school.
21. (Commons) Ownership is important when working to empower communities and individuals, and web 2.0 folks in particular get touchy about who owns the content created by users. ...
22. (Commons) The dining hall, located on the first floor of the CUB.
23. (Commons) These are common prayers that may be used for celebrations of that do not have proper prayers. These include prayers for celebrations in honor of Mary, the saints, and the dedication of a church.
24. (Commons) Traditional usage referred to traditional rights such as animal grazing. More recently, it refers to common rights for other resources and public goods for a community such as water, oil, medicinal plants and intellectual knowledge. ...
25. (Commons) a place, real or virtual, that is not privately owned. Natural commons include the oceans and the atmosphere. Information commons hold the shared history of our cultures—myths, folksongs, works of art. ...
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Vijayraghav temple at Ayodhya
Vijayraghav temple at Ayodhya
Ayodhya is located in India
Ayodhya is located in Uttar Pradesh
Country India
State Uttar Pradesh
District Faizabad
• Type Mayor–Council
• Body Ayodhya Municipal Corporation
• Total 110 km2 (40 sq mi)
Elevation 93 m (305 ft)
Population (2011)
• Total 505,375
• Density 4,600/km2 (12,000/sq mi)
• Official Hindi, Awadhi, English
Time zone IST (UTC+5:30)
PIN 224123
Telephone code 05278
Vehicle registration UP-42
Ayodhya (About this sound listen ; IAST Ayodhyā), also known as Saketa,[1] is an ancient city of India, believed to be the birthplace of Rama[2] and setting of the epic Ramayana. It is adjacent to Faizabad city in the central region of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Ayodhya used to be the capital of the ancient Kosala Kingdom. It has an average elevation of 93 meters (305 feet).
Etymology and names
The word "Ayodhya" is of Sanskrit origin, and means "the one on which no attack is possible". Thus, it can be interpreted as "unconquerable" or "invincible".[3] This meaning is attested by the Atharvaveda, which uses it to refer to the unconquerable city of gods.[4] The 9th century Jain poem Adi Purana also states that Ayodhya "does not exist by name alone but by the merit" of being unconquerable by enemies. Satyopakhyana interprets the word slightly differently, stating that it means "that which cannot be conquered by sins" (instead of enemies).[5]
"Saketa" is the older name for the city, attested in Buddhist, Jain, Sanskrit, Greek and Chinese sources.[6] According to Vaman Shivram Apte, the word "Saketa" is derived from the Sanskrit words Saha (with) and Aketen (houses or buildings). According to Hans T. Bakker, the word may be derived from the roots sa and ketu ("with banner"). The Adi Purana states that Ayodhya is called Saketa "because of its magnificient buildings which had significant banners as their arms". [7]
Ram Paidi ghat on Sarayu river, Ayodhya.
According to ancient legends mentioned in Puranas, Manu, the progenitor of mankind, founded the city of Ayodhya and gave it to Ikshvaku to rule.[8] Atharvaveda used the term to refer to the mythical city of gods with eight circles and nine entrances.[9]
Valmiki's Ramayana, based on traditions dated to the fifth century BCE, centres its tale in a city called Ayodhya, the capital of Kosala. It was ruled by king Dasaratha, who is said to have been a descendant of Ikshvaku.[8][10] Rama, his son, exiled to forests, returns to the city after several travails, and establishes an ideal rule in the kingdom. According to Uttara Kanda, a later addition to the Ramayana, Rama divides the kingdom into North and South Kosala at the end of his reign, with respective capitals at Shravasti and Kusavati, and installs his two sons (Lava and Kusa) to rule them..[8] Rama himself enters the waters of the Sarayu river, along with all the inhabitants of the city, and ascends to heaven. The location of this mass suicide was the Gopratara Tirtha, according to the Mahabharata.[11] A persistent local tradition states that Ayodhya became desolate after Rama's ascent to heaven and a "King Vikramaditya" of Ujjain revived it around 50 BCE. (In Raghuvamsa, Kalidasa narrates that Rama's son Kusa revived it.)[12][13]
A verse in the Brahmanda Purana names Ayodhya among "the most sacred and foremost cities", the others being Mathura, Haridvara, Kashi, Kanchi and Avantika. This verse is also found in the other Puranas with sligh variations.[3] In Garuda Purana, Ayodhya is said to be one of seven holiest places for Hindus in India, with Varanasi being the most sacrosanct.[14]
Several other literary works based on the story of Rama also mention Ayodhyua. These include the Abhisheka and Pratimanataka by the poet Bhāsa (dated 2nd century CE or earlier), and the Raghuvamsha of Kalidasa (c. 5th century CE).[15] The name "Ayodhya" appears as "Ayojjha" in Samyutta Nikaya and Ghata Jataka, where it is mentioned as the capital of King Kalasena. Buddhaghosha also refers to the construction of a vihara (monastery) in "Ayujjha-pura".[16]
According to the Jain tradition, five tirthankaras were born at Ayodhya, including Rishabhanatha (first Tirthankara),[17] Ajitanatha (second Tirthankara),[18]Abhinandananatha (fourth Tirthankara),[19] Sumatinatha (fifth Tirthankara),[20] and Anantanatha (fourteenth Tirthankara).[21]
Identification of ancient Ayodhya
Most scholars tend to identify the Ayodhya mentioned in the ancient texts with the present-day Ayodhya town, but this is theory is not universally accepted.[22] In the 19th century, Alexander Cunningham of Archaeological Survey of India concluded that the two cities were same based on a purported verse from Ramayana, but this verse was fabricated by a Brahmin of Lucknow.[23]
In 1990, in context of the Ayodhya dispute, a group of 25 historians from the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) argued that the ancient Ayodhya mentioned in the Ramayana was a fictional city, and was not same as the present-day Ayodhya. Their arguments include the following:[24]
• According to the archaeological evidence, the earliest possible settlements at Ayodhya can be dated to c. 8th century BCE, while the Ramayana is set much earlier.
• The Ramayana depicts suggests that the Ayodhya was an urban centre with palaces and buildings, while the excavations at present-day Ayodhya indicate a primitive life.
• Early Buddhist and Jain texts mention Shravasti and Saketa, not Ayodhya, as the major cities of the Kosala region. These texts do mention Ayodhya, but it is said to be located on the banks of Ganges (unlike modern Ayodhya, which is located on the banks of Sarayu). The later texts such as the Puranas, which mention Ayodhya as the capital of Kosala, simply follow the legendary Ramayana.
• The rise of the modern Ayodhya town as a centre of Rama worship is relatively recent, dating back to the 13th century, when the Ramanandi sect started gaining prominence. Several inscriptions dated between 5th and 8th centuries mention the town, but do not mention its association with Rama. The writings of Xuanzang (c. 602–664 CE) associate the town with Buddhism. It has also been a important Jain pilgrimage centre, and an ancient Jain figure (dated 4th-3rd century BCE) has been found here. The 11th century texts refer to Gopataru tirtha in Ayodhya, but do not refer to the birthplace of Rama.
• Contemporary sources such as Baburnama, Ain-i-Akbari and the writings of Tulsidas do not mention that the Muslim emperor Babur demolished the Rama temple at Ayodhya to constructed the Babri mosque there. This story appears to have been promoted by the colonial British scholars.
The JNU historians further theorized that Saketa was the ancient name of the city that is now known as Ayodhya: the 5th century emperor Skandagupta (who adopted the title Vikramditya) moved his residence to this city, and renamed it to Ayodhya, probably to associate himself with the legendary solar dynasty. This theory is based on a local legend, which claims that Ayodhya was lost after the Treta Yuga; several centuries later, the emperor Vikramaditya embarked upon a search for this lost city. On the advice of a sage, Vikramaditya determined that the site of ancient Ayodhya as the place where the milk would flow from the udder of a calf. According to the JNU historians, this myth of "re-discovery" seems to recognize that modern Ayodhya is not same as the ancient Ayodhya, and appears to be an attempt to impart the modern town a religious sanctity that it originally lacked.[24]
The JNU historians agree that an ancient historical city called "Ayodhya" existed, but argue that it was not same as the modern Ayodhya. This theory is based on the fact that according to the ancient Buddhist texts, the ancient Ayodhya town was located on the banks of the river Ganga (Ganges), not Sarayu. For example, the Samyutta Nikaya (3.95) states "Once Lord Buddha was walking in Ayodhya on the bank of the Ganga river". However, Kishore Kunal rejects this theory, arguing that the word "Ganga" is also used as common noun for a holy river in Sanskrit.[25] In his support, he presents another verse from Samyutta-nikaya (, which states "Once Lord Buddha was walking in Kaushambi on the bank of the Ganga river". The ancient city of Kaushambi was actually located on the banks of the river Yamuna, not Ganga.[26]
Kishore Kunal also rejects the theory that "Saketa" is an ancient name of the city, while "Ayodhya" is a later name. He points out that Kalidasa's Raghuvamsha (c. 5th century CE) clearly refers to the same city by the names "Saketa" and "Ayodhya", while narrating the legend of Rama.[27] He further argues that there is no historical evidence to support the theory that Saketa was renamed as "Ayodhya" by Skandagupta.[27] Gyanendra Pandey argues that Kalidasa's mention of "Saketa" and "Ayodhya" do not prove any connection between the present-day Ayodhya and the more ancient Ayodhya, since he lived in the Gupta period, presumably after the Guptas had changed the name of Saketa to "Ayodhya".[28]
Ancient history
Historically, Saketa is known to have been an important city of Ancient India by the 6th century B.C.E. During the Buddha's time it was ruled by Pasenadi (Sanskrit: Prasenajit), whose capital was at Sravasti. Saketa continued its prominence during the Maurya rule and suffered an attack around 190 BCE by a Bactrian Greek expedition allied to Panchala and Mathura. After the fall of the Maurya and Shunga dynasties, the city came under the rule of Deva and Datta kings. An inscription found at Ayodhya refers to a king Dhanadeva, who claimed to be the sixth descendant of Pushyamitra Shunga.[29]
Śāketa or 沙奇 (Pinyin: Shāqí) was conquered by the Kushan/Yuezhi Emperor Kanishka c. 127 CE, who made it administrative center of his eastern territories.[30][31]
Under the Gupta rulers, Ayodhya reached its highest political importance. The Chinese pilgrim Fa-Hsien visited the city in the 5th century CE, referring to it as "Sha-chi" (沙祗, Pinyin: Shāzhī). During the reign of Kumaragupta or Skandagupta, the capital of the empire was moved from Pataliputra to Ayodhya. The old name "Saketa" was replaced by "Ayodhya," and firmly identified as Rama's capital city.[29] By the time of the visit of the Chinese pilgrim monk, Xuanzang, c. 636 CE, the city was known as Ayodhya.
After the Gupta empire was ravaged by the Huns, the political centre of North India shifted to Kanauj in the 6th century, and Ayodhya fell into relative oblivion.[29] According to Indologist Hans T. Bakker, the only religious significance of Ayodhya in the first millennium CE was related to the Gopratara tirtha (now called Guptar Ghat).[32][33] The legendary epic Mahabharata, which mentions Ayodhya as the capital of Ikshavaku kings, states that Rama and his followers ascended to heaven by entering the Sarayu river at the Goparatara.[32][34]
Early medieval period
Mughal and British period
In the 1850s, a group of Hindus attacked the Babri mosque, on the grounds that it was built over the birthplace of the Hindu deity Rama.[39] To prevent further disputes, the British administators divided the mosque premises between Hindus and Muslims.[40]
Independent India
Ayodhya dispute
Archaeology of Ayodhya
Babri Masjid
Demolition of the Babri Masjid
Ram Janmabhoomi
2005 Ram Janmabhoomi attack
Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha
Vishva Hindu Parishad
Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas
Bharatiya Janata Party
Liberhan Commission
Nirmohi Akhara
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh
Sunni Waqf Board
Ashok Singhal
Atal Bihari Vajpayee
L. K. Advani
Kalyan Singh
Murli Manohar Joshi
Uma Bharti
A movement was launched in 1984 by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad party to reclaim the Babri mosque site for a Rama temple. In 1992, a right wing Hindu nationalist rally progressed into a riot, leading to the emolition of the Babri mosque. Now, there is a makeshift mandir at Ram Janmabhoomi with a Ram Lalla, representing Rama as a child, smiling over a blooming lotus.[41] Under Indian government no one was permitted near the site for 200 yards, and the gate was locked to the outside. Hindu pilgrims, however, began entering through a side door to offer puja.
In 2003, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) carried out an excavation at the mosque site to determine if it was built over the ruins of a temple. The excavation uncovered a variety of objects, including a 12-foot (3.7 m) statue of Lord Hanuman and coins dating to early historic times and other historic objects. The ASI concluded that an ancient temple had been demolished or modified to create the Babri Mosque under Babur.[42][43] Besides Hindus, the Buddhist and Jain representatives claimed that the their temples existed at the excavated site.[44]
Geography and climate
Climate chart (explanation)
Average max. and min. temperatures in °C
Precipitation totals in mm
Source: IMD
Places of interest
Nageshwarnath Temple
Chakravarti Mahraj Dashrath Mahal
Chakravarti Mahraj Dashrath Mahal, known as Bada Asthan and Badi Jagah, is at Ramkot Ayodhya Faizabad Uttar Pradesh. It open for public from 8 am to 12 noon and 4 pm to 10 pm. every day. Ram Vivah, Deepawali, Shravan Mela, Chaitra Ramnavami and Kartik Mela are special occasions when number of devotees increases manifold. Dotted with so many religious places and shrines, in Ayodhya is a venerated place that has been revered by all, fraction of Hindu religious. This holy place is associated with Lord Ram, the hero of the great epic Ramayana. All the places in Ayodhya is some how related to this legendary ruler who is regarded as an icon of virtue, truth and devotion.
Chakravarti Maharaja Dasrath Mahal is not an exception to this common phenomenon. It where Maharaja Dasharatha is believed to reside with his kith and kin. Now the place houses a temple, which depicts Ram, Sita and Lakshmana Bharat Shatrughan as the chief deities. Though the shrine is not much bigger in size, its environment provide such serene and tranquil feeling that the devotee would be able to sense the presence of the Lord Ram.
• Angad Tila
• Shri Rama Janaki Birla Temple
• Tulsi Smarak Bhawan
• Ram ki Paidi
• Kaleramji ka Mandir
• Datuvan Kund
• Janki Mahal
• Gurudwara Brahma Kund
• Rishabhadeo Jain Temple
• Brahma Kund
• Amawan Temple
• Tulsi Chaura
• Laxman Quila
• Ram Katha Museum
• Valmiki Ramayan Bhawan
• Mandir Sunder Sadan (in front of controversial site)
See also
1. ^ Cunningham, Alexander (1871). The Ancient Geography of India, I. The Buddhist Period, including the Campaigns of Alexander, and the Travels of Hwen-Thsang. Trubner and Company. pp. 405–406.
2. ^ Vishnu's Crowded Temple: India Since the Great Rebellion
8. ^ a b c Jain, Rama and Ayodhya 2013, p. 91.
9. ^ Chatterjee, Ratnabali (1996), "The Rulers and the Ruled in Medieval India and VHP's Myth", in Madhusree Dutta; Flavia Agnes; Neera Adarkar, The Nation, the State, and Indian Identity, Popular Prakashan, p. 31, ISBN 978-81-85604-09-1
10. ^ Lutgendorf, Imagining Ayodhya 1997, p. 21.
11. ^ Bakker, The rise of Ayodhya as a place of pilgrimage 1982, p. 103–104.
12. ^ Jain, Rama and Ayodhya 2013, pp. 94–95.
13. ^ Sohoni, S. V. (1983), "From Kuśāvati to Ayodhyā", Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, 64 (1/4): 89–107, JSTOR 41693043
15. ^ Kunal, Ayodhya Revisited 2016, pp. 8-9.
16. ^ Kunal, Ayodhya Revisited 2016, p. 8.
17. ^ "Birth of Adinath in Ayodhya". Retrieved 3 April 2012.
18. ^ "Birth of Ajitnath in Ayodhya". Retrieved 3 April 2012.
19. ^ "Birth of Abhinandanath in Ayodhya". Retrieved 3 April 2012.
20. ^ "Birth of Sumatinath in Ayodhya". Retrieved 3 April 2012.
21. ^ "Birth of Anantnath in Ayodhya". Retrieved 3 April 2012.
22. ^ Herman Paul 2015, pp. 113-114.
23. ^ Kunal, Ayodhya Revisited 2016, pp. 9-10.
25. ^ Kunal, Ayodhya Revisited 2016, p. 6.
26. ^ Kunal, Ayodhya Revisited 2016, pp. 5-6.
27. ^ a b Kunal, Ayodhya Revisited 2016, p. 9.
28. ^ Gyanendra Pandey 2006, p. 97.
29. ^ a b c Bakker, The rise of Ayodhya as a place of pilgrimage 1982.
30. ^ Hill, Through the Jade Gate to Rome 2009, p. 33, 368–371.
31. ^ Hill, John E. 2004. The Peoples of the West from the Weilüe 魏略 by Yu Huan 魚豢: Third Century Chinese Account Composed between 239 and 265 CE. Draft annotated English translation. [1]
32. ^ a b Bakker, The rise of Ayodhya as a place of pilgrimage 1982, p. 105.
33. ^ a b Paramasivan, Vasudha (2009). "Yah Ayodhya Vah Ayodhya: Earthly and Cosmic Journeys in the Anand-lahari". In Heidi R. M. Pauwels. Patronage and Popularisation, Pilgrimage and Procession. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. pp. 101–116. ISBN 3447057238.
34. ^ Kunal, Ayodhya Revisited 2016, p. 12.
35. ^ a b c Bakker, Ayodhya: A Hindu Jerusalem 1991.
41. ^ "The Hindu: Ram Lalla deity to be taken to Ayodhya". Hinduonnet.com. 19 January 2002. Retrieved 30 September 2010.
42. ^ "Proof of temple found at Ayodhya: ASI report". Rediff.com. 25 August 2003. Archived from the original on 26 September 2010. Retrieved 30 September 2010.
43. ^ "Evidence of temple found: ASI". 25 August 2003.
45. ^ "Ayodhya verdict: Allahabad High Court says divide land in 3 ways". Ndtv.com. Archived from the original on 2 October 2010. Retrieved 30 September 2010.
46. ^ "ram janmbhoomi babri masjid judgement". Rjbm.nic.in. Archived from the original on 2 October 2010. Retrieved 30 September 2010.
Further reading
• Bakker, Hans (1986). Ayodhya, Part 1: The History of Ayodhya from the 7th century BC to the middle of the 18th century. Groningen: Egbert Forsten. ISBN 9069800071.
• Dhavalikar, M. K. (1988), "Reviewed Work(s): AYODHYĀ Part I (Pts. I-III) by Hans Bakker", Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, 69 (1/4): 319–320, JSTOR 41693795
• Thomas, F. W. (1944): "Sandanes, Nahapāna, Caṣṭana and Kaniṣka: Tung-li P'an-ch'i and Chinese Turkestan." New Indian Antiquary VII. 1944, p. 90.
• Watters, Thomas (1904–1905): On Yuan Chwang's Travels in India. Thomas Watters. London. Royal Asiatic Society. Reprint: Delhi. Mushiram Manoharlal. 1973.
• Archaeological Findings of Ayodhya Ruins
• Ayodhya and the Research on the Temple of Lord Ram
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IONWays Athena Alkaline Water Ionizer
Water Quality and Ionizers
Most people think water is just plain old H2O and is the same regardless of where it comes from, whether from a bottle, tap, or well. The truth is water quality varies widely throughout the US. The variation depends on many factors. There are two basic causes of variation:
1. Natural environmental factors.
2. Contaminants caused by man.
The majority of contaminants today are man-made, but in some cases we must deal with naturally occurring contaminants. A main influence on the type and concentration of contaminants is how close the water source is to population centers, industry, livestock, and/or agricultural operations, etc.
Natural changes in water quality are mainly due to the source of the water supply. Some examples of natural water sources are aquifers, rivers, lakes, and springs. Mainly supplied by natural run off of melting snow and rain, man-made changes are caused by contamination of reservoirs, drainage run-off, sewers, overuse of insecticides and pesticides, and chemicals, etc. These variations in the source water contribute to the difference in the mineral content as well. These variables cause water to have very different properties, such as taste and smell or to "behave" or perform differently around the house, especially in an ionizing unit.
In general terms we have "hard" or "soft" waters. Hard water has a high concentration of minerals. Soft water is low in mineral content.
The Scaling Effect of Hard and Soft Water
If you live in a hard water area you know it is more difficult to form lather with soap while bathing or performing ordinary household washing chores. Perhaps you have on occasion noticed mineral deposits on your cooking utensils and dishes, or rings of undissolved soap scum in your bathtub. These are signs of hard water.
Hard water is water that contains calcium, iron, or magnesium mineral ions. These minerals will vary from place to place depending on the source water. Hard water mineral deposits or scaling is what occurs naturally when minerals are present in water. Scale can decrease the life of toilets, hot water heaters, washing machines, dishwashers, etc. It will also clog water pipes which will eventually need to be replaced, and of course do the same thing to your ionizer.
Very soft water (which is often acidic) can erode the metal pipes in which it is carried and as a result the water may contain elevated levels of cadmium, copper, lead, and zinc.
Hard And Soft Water And Ionizer Performance
Hard water contains calcium, potassium, magnesium, etc. These minerals occur naturally in most water sources, they are called the "alkalizing minerals". It is important to note that all water found in nature, except pure clean rain water, has dissolved mineral content. Water without minerals is difficult to find.
An ionizer requires mineral content to operate; the minerals carry the electrical charge. The more mineral content your water has, the more easily your ionizer will alter the water, and you will experience better performance. The less mineral content, the harder it is for your ionizer to create ionization in your water, and you will experience a weaker performance from your machine.
Water that has no minerals such as distilled water, or water that has low minerals such as reverse osmosis, do not produce pathways for the electrolysis or "ionization" to occur. However, using the above mentioned water sources with a remineralization filter, gives you a pure, clean water source. This clean source, combined with a remineralizing filter, allows you to control which minerals you introduce to allow for the ionization. Our bodies need clean water, water free of bacteria, chemicals, drugs, and harmful minerals, to function properly.
It is not recommended to use an ionizer without pretreatment in areas with water that has the following measurements: hardness over 316ppm (18.5 grains); and/or TDS over 600ppm; and/or Calcium above 50ppm.
If HARDNESS AND TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) ARE HIGH, then a pretreatment system is recommended.
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Peru country profile
Map of Peru
Peru's rich and varied heritage includes the ancient Incan capital of Cuzco and the lost city of Machu Picchu. The country boasts spectacular scenery, including Lake Titicaca, the world's highest navigable lake.
It is rich in copper, silver, lead, zinc, oil and gold.
The country experienced an economic boom in the 2000s, and in 2011 Peru was said to have one of the world's fastest-growing economies.
Market in Cuzco, Peru
Politics: Ollanta Humala took over as president in mid-2011
Economy: Peru has seen growth, but the lot of the rural poor is little improved; the US and Peru have agreed a free trade deal
International: Peru is seen as world's top producer of coca, used to make cocaine; Peru and Chile dispute their maritime border
Foreign investors, attracted by the government and encouraged by favourable conditions, have been keen to get involved in exploiting the country's mineral wealth, but the authorities have faced opposition in rural areas to the extractive projects that local residents say will cause pollution, use up scarce water supplies and fail to lift them from poverty.
The country is still trying to come to terms with the trauma of a two-decade conflict - roughly from 1980 to 2000 - between the state and the leftist guerrilla groups, the Shining Path and the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement.
The warfare is thought to have claimed nearly 70,000 lives, most of them Andean peasants. It's ruthlessness was in large part due to the fanatical following of the leader of the Shining Path, Abimael Guzman, whose capture in 1992 in effect disbanded the guerrilla movement.
However, the Shining Path continues to have a small political following.
And offshoots of the group are said to be involved in the cocaine trade.
The United Nations believes that Peru has become the world's biggest producer of coca leaf, and now rivals Colombia for cocaine production.
Critics of the war on drugs argue that squeezing production in one country - such as Colombia - just makes the traffickers transfer their operations elsewhere, such as Peru.
While drug trafficking has made a major contribution to the economy - almost 17% of the country's gross domestic product in 2009, according to the Peruvian government - environmentalists are concerned about the impact coca growing and cocaine production is having on the rainforests, both because of deforestation and the dumping of the chemicals involved in the drug's manufacture.
• Full name: Republic of Peru
• Population: 29.4 million (UN, 2011)
• Capital: Lima
• Area: 1.28 million sq km (496,225 sq miles)
• Major languages: Spanish, Quechua, Aymara
• Major religion: Christianity
• Monetary unit: 1 nuevo sol = 100 centimos
• Main exports: Fish and fish products, copper, zinc, gold, crude petroleum and by-products, lead, coffee, sugar, cotton
• GNI per capita: US $5,500 (World Bank, 2011)
• Internet domain: .pe
• International dialling code: +51
President: Ollanta Humala
Ollanta Humala, a career army officer, won the June 2011 presidential election after promising to respect democracy and spread the benefits of a decade-long economic boom to the poor.
Peruvian president-elect Ollanta Humala
Ollanta Humala
He narrowly beat Keiko Fujimori, the daughter of jailed former President Alberto Fujimori.
As Mr Humala emerged as victor in the polls, financial markets plunged on fears that he would ruin the economy.
Mr Humala, 48 at the time of his election, burst onto the political scene in 2000 when he led a short-lived bloodless revolt to demand that former President Fujimori resign after 10 years in power. In the 1990s, he fought in the jungle against Shining Path guerrillas.
He comes from a family of prominent radicals. His brother, Antauro Humala, led a failed uprising in 2005 against former President Alejandro Toledo's government and was jailed for the violent protest that killed four police officers.
His father, Isaac Humala, is a central figure in an ethnic movement that seeks to reclaim Peru's Incan glory by spurning foreign interests.
In 2006, Humala narrowly lost the presidential election to Alan Garcia. He campaigned in a red polo shirt and called for a dramatic transformation in the style of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's declared "socialist revolution".
Since then he has recast himself as a family man. He has softened his radical image and disavowed his affinity for Mr Chavez.
He promises Peru's poor a greater share of the country's considerable mineral wealth and pledged to honour the free market but put Peruvians first.
Prime Minister: Juan Jimenez Mayor
Juan Jimenez Mayor
Mr Jimenez' critics fear he lacks the political experience for leadership
Peru is unusual among South American countries in having the post of prime minister. President Humala appointed Juan Jimenez Mayor as his new premier in July 2012 after the resignation of Oscar Valdes over a crackdown on Conga mining project protesters that left five people dead.
Mr Jimenez is a lawyer with extensive experience of work on major legal projects at home and elsewhere in Latin America, and served as deputy justice minister in the interim government that followed the fall of President Alberto Fujimori in 2001.
He returned to the same post in August 2011 and was promoted minister of justice and human rights three months later.
He has a reputation as a committed opponent of corruption, but critics fear he lacks the political experience to lead the government.
Nearly 10 million Peruvians were online by December 2011 - a penetration rate of more than 34% (Internetworldstats).
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Buddhism | Chapter 2
Page Contents
Buddhism In A Nutshell
Buddhism In A Nutshell
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Buddhism In A Nutshell - Chapter 2
The Dhamma
Is it a philosophy?
Although the Master has left no written records of his Teachings, his distinguished disciples preserved them by committing to memory and transmitting them orally from generation to generation.
Immediately after his demise 500 chief Arahats (Literally, the Worthy Ones. They are the enlightened disciples who have destroyed all passions.) versed in the Dhamma (The Teaching) and the Vinaya (The Discipline), held a convocation to rehearse the Doctrine as was originally taught by the Buddha. Venerable Ananda Thera, who enjoyed the special privilege of hearing all the discourses, recited the Dhamma, while the Venerable Upali recited the Vinaya. The Tipitaka was compiled and arranged in its present form by those Arahats of old.
During the reign of the pious Sinhala King Vattagamani Abhaya, about 83 BC, the Tipitaka was, for the first time in the history of Buddhism, committed to writing on palm leaves (ola) in Ceylon.
The Vinaya Pitaka which is regarded as the sheet anchor of the oldest historic celibate order - the Sangha - mainly deals with rules and regulations which the Buddha promulgated, as occasion arose, for the future discipline of the Order of monks (Bhikkhus) and nuns (Bhikkhunis). It describes in detail the gradual development of the Sasana (Dispensation). An account of the life and ministry of the Buddha is also given. Indirectly, it reveals some important and interesting information about ancient history, Indian customs, arts, science, etc.
The Vinaya Pitaka consists of the following five books:
1. Pãrãjika Pali - Major Offences
2. Pãcittiya Pali - Minor Offences
1. Mahãvagga Pali - Greater Section
2. Cullavagga Pali - Shorter Section
3. Parivãra Pali - Epitome of the Vinaya
The Sutta Pitaka consists chiefly of discourses delivered by the Buddha himself on various occasions. There are also a few discourses delivered by some of his distinguished disciples such as the Venerables Sariputta, Ananda, Moggallana, etc, included in it. It is like a book of prescriptions, as the sermons embodied therein were expounded to suit the different occasions and the temperaments of various persons. There may be seemingly contradictory statements, but they should not be misconstrued as they were opportunely uttered by the Buddha to suit a particular purpose: for instance, to the self-same question he would maintain silence (when the inquirer is merely foolishly inquisitive), or give a detailed reply when he knew the inquirer to be an earnest seeker. Most of the sermons were intended for the benefit of bhikkhus and they deal with the Holy Life and with the exposition of the doctrine. There are also several other discourses which deal with both the material and moral progress of his lay followers.
This Pitaka is divided into five Nikayas or collections, viz:
1. Dïgha Nikãya (Collection of Long Discourses)
2. Majjhima Nikãya (Collection of Middle-Length Discourses)
3. Samyutta Nikãya (Collection of Kindred Sayings)
4. Anguttara Nikãya (Collection of Discourses arranged in accordance with numbers)
5. Khuddaka Nikãya (Smaller Collection)
The fifth is subdivided into fifteen books:
1. Khuddaka Pãtha (Shorter texts)
2. Dhammapada (Way of Truth)
3. Udãna (Paens of Joy)
4. Iti Vuttaka ("Thus said" Discourses)
5. Sutta Nipãta (Collected Discourses)
6. Vimana Vatthu (Stories of Celestial Mansions)
7. Peta Vatthu (Stories of Petas)
8. Theragãthã (Psalms of the Brethren)
9. Therïgãthã (Psalms of the Sisters)
10. Jãtaka (Birth Stories)
11. Niddesa (Expositions)
12. Patisambhidã Magga (Analytical Knowledges)
13. Apadãna (Lives of Arahats)
14. Buddhavamsa (The History of the Buddha)
15. Cariyã Pitaka (Modes of Conduct)
In the Sutta Pitaka is found the conventional teaching (vohãra desanã) while in the Abhidhamma Pitaka is found the ulyimate teaching (paramattha-desanã).
To the wise, Abhidhamma is an indispensable guide; to the spiritually evolved, an intellectual retreat; and to research scholars, food for thought. Consciousness is defined. Thoughts are analysed and classified chiefly from an ethical standpoint. Mental states are enumerated. The composition of each type of consciousness is set forth in detail. How thoughts arise, is minutely described. Irrelevant problems that interest mankind but having no relation to one's purification, are deliberately set aside.
Matter is summarily discussed; fundamental unites of matter, properties of matter, relationship between mind and matter, are explained.
The Abhidhamma Pitaka consists of seven books:
1. Dhammasanganï (Classification of Dhammas)
2. Vibhanga (The Book of Divisions)
3. Kathã-Vathu (Points of Controversy)
4. Puggala-Paññatti (Description of Individuals)
5. Dhãtu-Khatã (Discussion with reference to elements)
6. Yamaka (The Book of Pairs)
7. Patthãna (The Book of Relations)
In the Tipitaka, one finds milk for the babe and meat for the strong, for the Buddha taught his doctrine both to the masses and to the intelligentsia. The sublime Dhamma enshrined in these sacred texts, deals with truth and facts, and is not concerned with theories and philosophies which may be accepted as profound truths today only to be thrown overboard tomorrow. The Buddha has presented us with no new astounding philosophical theories, nor did he venture to create any new material science. He explained to us what is within and without, so far as it concerns our emancipation, and ultimately exponded a path of deliverance, which is unique. Incidentally, he has, however, forestalled many a modern scientist and philosopher.
Schopenhauer in his World as Will and Idea has presented the truth of suffering and its cause in a Western garb. Spinoza, though he denies not the existence of a permanent reality, asserts that all phenomenal existence is transitory. In his opinion sorrow is conquered "by finding and object of knowledge which is not transient, not ephemeral, but is immuta le, permanent, everlasting. Berkeley proved that the so-called indivisible atom is a metaphysical fiction. Hume, after a relentless analysis of the mind, concluded that consciousness consists of fleeting mental states. Bergson advocates the doctrine of change. Professor James refers to a stream of consciousness.
The Buddha expounded these doctrines of Transiency (Anicca), Sorrow (Dukkha), and No-Soul (Anattã) some 2500 years ago while he was sojourning in the valley of the Ganges.
It should be understood that the Buddha did not preach all that he knew. On one occasion while the Buddha was passing through a forest, he took a handful of leaves and said: "O Bhikkus, what I have taught is comparable to the leaves in my mind. What I have not taught is comparable to the amount of leaves in the forest."
The Dhamma he taught is not merely to be preserved in books, nor is it a subject to be studied from an historical or literary standpoint. On the contrary, it is to be learnt and put into practice in the course of one's daily life, for without practice one cannot appreciate the truth. The Dhamma is to be studied, and more to be practised, and above all to be realised: immediate realisation is its ultimate goal. As such, the Dhamma is compared to a raft which is meant for the sole purpose of escaping from the ocean of birth and death (samsãra).
Buddism, therefore, cannot strictly be called a mere philosophy because it is not merely the "love of, inducing the search after, wisdom." Buddism may approximate a philosophy, but it is very much more comprehensive.
Philosophy deals mainly with knowledge and is not concerned with practice, whereas Buddhism lays special emphasis on practice and realisation.
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The WebDriver subsystem is designed around the concept that the content of a request or response should be abstracted from the method of transmission. In practice, this means that web applications and services written on top of Serenity will be able to seamlessly respond to a request that is delivered using almost any protocol. The architecture is designed around the HTTP protocol, but will be expanded to include features that HTTP lacks but other protocols support.
The three components of the WebDriver subsystem are:
1. Drivers - These are classes which inherit the Serenity.Web.Drivers.WebDriver abstract class. A Driver handles the actual communication with the client and is in charge of sending and receiving the request/response bytes.
2. Adapters - These are classes which inherit the Serenity.Web.Drivers.WebAdapter abstract class. An Adapter processes the bytes received through a Driver, and creates a CommonContext object (a CommonRequest/CommonResponse pair) from the processed data. The Adapter is also responsible for converting a responded-to CommonContext back to an array of bytes so that the response may be delivered to the client.
3. CommonContext - The CommonContext class represents a CommonRequest/CommonResponse pair which are responsible for containing the data of the client's request and the server's response to that request. The CommonContext object is consumed by the web application.
Last edited Dec 13, 2006 at 4:32 AM by WShelley, version 1
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An Multimedia Assignment for IST
By, Jeevika Lalchandani
A meaningful string of characters - letters, numbers, symbols or punctuation. Text is used in many ways: for headings, content, labels, captions, menus and navigation.
Digital sound consisting of waves that represent change in air pressure. Enhances a presentation by giving it greater reality.
Digitalised pictures, used to aid visualisation and to communicate information.
The illusion of movement achieved by displaying a series of static images, called frames, in a rapid sequence.
Continuous stream of data (graphics and sound) first cereated and then broken down into seperate frames.
The extent to which a computer program and human being may have a dialog.
Interactive Multimedia allows the user to control, combine and manipulate different types of media such as text, sound, video, graphics and animation.
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Any computer that connects to a network wirelessly needs special Wi-Fi hardware. Most recent notebooks have it built in. If yours doesn't, you can get a USB or PC Card wireless adapter for cheap. The buzzwords nowadays are Wi-Fi, 802.11g (or the older and a bit slower 802.11b), and, in the Apple world, AirPort.
Once your computers have what they need, you'll need to get what's sometimes called a "gateway," but is most often known as a router. Some are purely wired, and some are mostly wireless, but we'd recommend a combo that's known as a 4-port wireless router. Each of those four ports has that fat ethernet (RJ-45) connector, so you can connect up to four devices directly--a couple of computers, maybe a printer and a hard drive. The wireless part can talk with even more Wi-Fi devices. Plug the router into your cable modem and plug your computer into the router.
And for a moment, now, things get complicated. If you're lucky, the router will come with great instructions to take you the rest of the way. And, again if you're lucky, all your computers run either Windows XP or a recent version of Mac OS. (If not, please seriously ask yourself if this is a must-do project for your home. There be dragons.) Windows XP comes with a couple of setup wizards that can help you configure your network. With Macs, it's a matter of a few clicks. And it's possible to have a network with both Macs and Windows PCs on it.
When all this works, it's great. But when it comes to networking, it's easy to run into trouble, and it's tricky to figure out what's wrong. It's probably best to check first whether every machine on the network can get to the Web. Setting up file and printer sharing between machines can be trickier. And there's plenty to run amok: Is it the hardware or the software that's causing problems? Is it the router, the wireless signal, or the firewall? Lots of things can go wrong. So if you can, try to get somebody who knows this stuff to help you set things up.
So what's all this going to cost you? Let's assume your desktop machine already has an ethernet port. A 4-port wireless router will set you back maybe $60. If your notebook needs that adapter Steve and Angela mentioned, a USB adapter goes for less than $40. That leaves an ethernet cable for any machine that's near the router, and a 10-footer will cost you maybe $10. Shopping around can score excellent bargains on this project--and once you've got a home net working, you'll wonder how you ever got along without it.
At a Glance
• Apple AirPort Extreme Base Station (Power over Ethernet)
• Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition w/ SP2 (Full Product)
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Mental health tips
Griffin Silver
Insanity, depression, stress: no one has perfect mental health all of the time. Mental problems are usually brought on by a busy and stressful lifestyle, making college students some of the most vulnerable people in America to be plagued by mental problems. Stress and anger can also cause heart disease, digestive problems, depression, sleep problems and other diseases or discomforts.
Organization is key to any stress free environment and can help with the top two causes of stress. If a student sticks to a schedule and says “no” to over scheduling, a student can reduce stress exponentially.
If a student is overstressed, they should find and use a relaxation technique. One relaxation technique that I suggest is meditation. Meditation is a process in which you silence the mind and go into a mental state of peace.
Meditation started more than 5,000 years ago and has been linked to all major religions. If a person can’t seem to achieve an enlightened state if mind (meditation) trying to meditate is supposed to increase happiness.
This being said, there are many other things that relax people like exercise, tea, bubble baths, naps, walking, reading and watching television.
If a student is depressed, it may be because of stress, but if it isn’t stress induced, then I would suggest joining an activity like volunteering. The warm feeling from helping people and their usually appreciative reaction is guaranteed to put you in an elevated mental state.
A student could also become more involved in their religion. Being involved in your religion can make you feel more spiritual and make you feel like a part of a community that is focused on good.
Being a part of a community in general can increase happiness. A community can give someone a sense of purpose as well as provide a group of people to confide in and relate to in times of need.
Throughout my life I’ve found these to be some of the most successful tips to improve my mental health, but you might find that other things work best for you. So try out several things to figure what puts you in the best mental state.
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Mental health tips
by admin time to read: 1 min
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Question: A recent study examined sidewalk rage in an attempt to
A recent study examined “sidewalk rage” in an attempt to find insight into anger’s origins and offer suggestions for anger-management treatments (The Wall Street Journal, February 15, 2011). “Sidewalk ragers” tend to believe that pedestrians should behave in a certain way. For instance, slower pedestrians should keep to the right or should step aside to take a picture. If pedestrians violate these “norms,” then ragers feel that the “violators” are breaking the rules of civility. Since anger is associated with a host of negative health consequences, psychologists suggest developing strategies to quell the rage. One possible strategy is to avoid slow walkers. A portion of the study looked at the average speed of walkers (feet per second) in Lower Manhattan and found that average speeds differ when the pedestrian is distracted by other activities (smoking, talking on a cell phone, tourism, etc.) or exhibits other traits (elderly, obese, etc.). Sample data were obtained from 50 pedestrians in Lower Manhattan. Each pedestrian’s speed was calculated (feet per second). In addition, it was noted if the pedestrian was smoking (equaled 1 if smoking, 0 otherwise), was a tourist (equaled 1 if tourist, 0 otherwise), was elderly (equaled 1 if over
65 years old, 0 otherwise), or was obese (equaled 1 if obese, 0 otherwise). Each pedestrian is associated with no more than one of these four characteristics/traits. The accompanying table shows a portion of the data; the entire data set, labeled Pedestrian_Speeds, can be found on the text website.
In a report, use the sample information to:
1. Estimate Speed = β0 + β1Smoking + β2Tourist + β3Elderly + β4Obese + .
2. Interpret the slope coefficient of Tourist. Interpret the intercept. Predict the speed of an elderly pedestrian. Predict the speed of an obese pedestrian.
3. Are the explanatory variables jointly significant in explaining speed at the 5% significance level? Are all explanatory variables individually significant at the 5% level? What type of pedestrian should a “sidewalk ragger”avoid?
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Monica Morrison has a passion. She wants to help people with diabetes.
She knows the struggles individuals with diabetes face because she has juvenile diabetes herself. Morrison has founded Sugar Sniffers, an organization that provides service animals known as diabetic alert dogs. These dogs alert a person with diabetes when their blood sugar gets too low or too high. The dogs are trained to paw the person if they notice a blood sugar problem. They will nudge your belly or jump on you.
“I have a service dog named Copper and my dog helps me,” said Morrison. “My family is not around much and Copper will alert me if my blood sugar gets too low. He is actually a rescue dog.”
Morrison did a lot of research and worked with a trainer so that Copper would become and effective diabetic alert dog. During her work, Morrison discovered that a typical service dog costs as much as $30,000. Most people don’t have that kind of money. “I want to provide these dogs at a lower cost, about $2,000,” she said. “I would help a person find the proper dog from a shelter. I would then start training the dog to respond when a person’s blood sugar is too high or too low.”
After Morrison goes with the individual and pick up the service dog and help with basic training. She will teach the dog scent training. “If you are diabetic , you would have to use your saliva with low blood sugar so the dog has a sample to work with. We put the saliva on a cotton ball and let the dog learn to sense the smell of the saliva from the person the dog will help. Once the dog learns the scent, we teach the dog how to alert the person who is having a problem.”
The dog can be trained to do whatever alert type is effective. A dog can be trained to paw you or nudge you with their nose. “I want to help others purchase a service dog so it will help save a life. If there is nobody around that understands diabetes, the dog is there to help you before you get into a bad situation. I want to have cost effective service dogs,” she said.
Now Morrison is working with friends. She has received some support from people she knows. She wants to educate more people about the importance and value of diabetic alert dogs and is working all over Florida.
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MDN’s new design is in Beta! A sneak peek:
The get method is used to retrieve a read-only file from a given storage area.
If the request is successful, the request's result is a File object containing the data of the original file on the device.
var instanceOfDOMRequest = instanceOfDeviceStorage.get(fileName);
A string representing the full name (path + file name) of the file to retrieve.
It returns a DOMRequest object to handle the success or error of the operation.
var sdcard = navigator.getDeviceStorage("sdcard");
var request = sdcard.get("myFile.txt");
request.onsuccess = function () {
var name =;
console.log('File "' + name + '" successfully retrieved from the sdcard storage area');
request.onerror = function () {
console.warn('Unable to get the file: ' + this.error);
Not part of any specification.
See also
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How to tell if a confession is real or false in a crime investigation
Updated on April 18, 2012
Why give a false confession in a police investigation?
Why give a false confession in a police investigation?
10 ways for you to tell if a person who confessed really is telling the truth in a crime investigation.
1st False confessions are viewed only in serious crimes or crimes that are organized by a criminal gang. It is so to speak, no idea to give a false confession for minor crimes such as shoplifting. One sees only false confessions in crimes that give thougher punishment.
2nd The false confessions always comes at a bad time. For example, the day of arrest to happen or even worse an hour or half hour before the arrest warrant will be filed. This is because the prosecutor will not have time to go through the structured recognition and to weigh the personal stories to each other.
3rd False confessions will be when a person sits firmly with the fingers in the cookie jar. There should be much evidence against the person who is already charged. No idea that false confessions will come when there is already a reasonable doubt and the accused therefore can escape punishment.
4th There is a likely a criminal that confess. It is more likely that criminals have made the crime than for example the pastor's unpunished son.
5th The recognition creates a likely reasonable doubt. The purpose of the false recognition is to throw in the spanner in the works. Sometimes it is not intended that the person with the new recognition will go there for the crime, but only to create doubt.
6th The person who gives the false testimonial gives a vague narrative or a story that disclose details.This is only logical. Since the person has been in place and experienced the events themselves (but only such as he had it told to him) so the person has a vague story, tell the person about the details and you can almost count on some details somewhere will go wrong.
How to tell if a confession is real during a police investigation
How to tell if a confession is real during a police investigation
7th Is there an explanation on how the person learned the details. This can for example be a person who is suspected but were released and therefore could talk about details to a third person (as for example, he learned of the interrogation), can also be as simple that the person is detained was calling an outsider.
8th It is always a younger person who recognizes. Are the people in an organized criminal organization, it's always a person of lower rank that comes with the false recognition. This point is also the most difficult for police to prove as they rarely have such good insight into the organizations.
9th The person who confess the crime has less to lose. The person who is charged is perhaps likely to be extradited to his homeland, the person who recognizes is a minor or is unpunished and therefore can get a lighter penalty.
10th There are clues of mistakes. Why does the person confess when there is another trial? Why does the person confessright now? What good is he to confess? These are examples of issues that third person often has trouble answering.
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Super Starts Here.
Adding Calcium To Your Child’s Diet
on July 30, 2012
Earlier this month, Fox News ran an article discussing the decline of children consuming milk in favor of sweetened beverages such as sodas and juices, however one major part of their research demonstrated that those children who were given milk on a daily basis at a younger age were more likely to continue drinking healthier liquids as they got older.
We all know how vital calcium is for the body. It is vital for bone growth and development, brain function, strong teeth, and children who consume adequate amounts of calcium are also less likely to break bones. Below are the RDA for calcium in children.
-Age 1 to 3 years: 500 mg
-Age 4 to 8 years: 800 mg
-Age 9 to 18 years: 1,300 mg
While milk is the most popular choice due to it’s high calcium content, here are some other alternatives that can help you child get the calcium they need if milk is something they are not fond of.
-Dairy products such as cheese and yogurt (especially low fat or skim options)
-Green, leafy vegetables such as kale, spinach, bok choy, and broccoli
-Fortified juices
-Fortified cereals and breads
-Tofu with added calcium sulfate
-Frozen yogurt
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The Unofficial guide for those who are COMPLETELY Lost...
1) Intro to SketchyPhysics
2) Basics
3) Shape Physics
4) Jointing Basics
5) Using the UI for Advanced Jointing
6) More on Advanced Jointing
Advanced SketchyPhysics...Using the UI Part 2
Now we have some knowledge of the UI, let's use it to finish up our original car model and add both steering and forward/ reverse capabilities.
Starting with our original model... if we wanted to make the car move, we could replace the original rear hinges with motors. This would spin the wheels, but only in one direction. In our case we want both forward AND reverse, so we'll set up our two rear hinges as custom motors using the UI.
(You can download this model HERE to follow along with the tutorial.
We'll start by selecting one of the rear wheel hinges and setting the accel value in the UI to one. This will allow it to spin on it's own. Next we'll set the controller value to "drive".
Repeat the same steps for the other rear wheel. Be sure to set the controller name exactly the same as the other, so they will work together when controlled with one slider.
Test the model now. Use the "drive" slider and be sure the wheels are spinning in the same direction.
If one wheel spins in the opposite direction as the other, edit your model and use the move tool to rotate one hinge completely around.
NOTE: DO NOT use the "Flip" command shortcut! Using the flip command on parts of models to be used with Sketchyphysics usually will not work! Many models are completely messed up when you start "flipping" things. Always rotate a hinge using the move tool!
Rotating a hinge using the MOVE tool to make it spin the same direction as the wheel on the other side:
Test the model again and make sure your rear wheels are spinning in the same direction. Move the slider left and right. You should now have forward and reverse on your car! If the car is out of control, or the wheels don't spin evenly, play around with the damp settings or lower the accel setting. I have found an accel setting of 1.0 and a damp setting of 1.0 seems to work well in this model. Next comes the steering.
This is a little more complex than the drive because we'll need to add some more geometry to our model and also a few more joints.
The basic concept is to place an object between the wheels and the body that will rotate horizontally.
The easiest way I have found is to add a pair of blocks to the front of the car.
NOTE: These blocks are SEPERATE groups. They are NOT part of the body or wheel groups, and they are NOT grouped to each-other!
Next we'll add a servo for each block. Group each servo and it's block, then joint-connect each servo to the body.
Now we'll need to use the UI to set the steering servos to behave as needed. Set each servo's min and max to -45 and 45 to limit their swing. Also set their controller name the same (I'm using "steering") so they'll work together.
The next step is to make the wheels move with the steering blocks. So using the joint connector tool, break the original connection of each wheels hinge to the body (using SHIFT) and make a new connection to their steering block. (Using CTRL.)
The final thing we need to do is to modify the body so the wheels have some room to turn. (Wheel-wells.) Here's one way of doing this:
Notice that the body is now made of two grouped objects grouped together. The main body and the nose of the body. If I simply push-pulled the original body and left it as one shape, the geometry would still reflect a rectangle and the wheels would hit the "invisible" body left over, unable to turn.
Be sure to use the "show collision" option in the UI to shape your body until it works right.
One downside of changing the original body to two groups grouped together, is that by re-grouping the original group, it broke any joint-connections that were associated with it originally. We'll look at some troubleshooting below.
This is usually the point where people get frustrated with the model because things bind up and parts fall off. So let's look at some possible reasons for failure.
When things go wrong...
Stay calm, debug everything, and check your joint connections.
When I changed the body from one group to two (grouped) groups, it broke the original joint connections. So I had to re-joint connect the rear hinges to the "new" body and also re-joint connect the servos to the body as well. Follow these next few steps when troubleshooting a stubborn model:
Anytime you explode a group, or group a group with another object (even a joint) the original joints connected to it will be broken!!!
If things don't move like they should, or it looks like joints are "stretching", they're probably binding against something. (Maybe something invisible...so DEBUG your geometry.)
If jointed parts fall off your model, remake the joint connections.
When all else fails, there is NO SHAME in deleting a joint completely and replacing it with a new one.
The above example was only one way to make the geometry work. I'm sure there are many more ways to make it better. A steering arm comes to mind instead of my "magic" floating steering blocks! But either way, we now have a car that can roll forward and reverse, and also steer.
If you want to reference the finished model, it can be found HERE
Here's a tip when testing your car:
After you press RUN, and before you start moving it around, Right-click the body and set the camera to "FOLLOW". This will keep the car from running off your screen. So you can dedicate more time to troubleshooting, and less time zooming and panning to follow the car around.
Also note that this car is far from being complete, as all the joints need their accel and damp settings tweaked. So there is still a lot of work to be done, but now you should have the tools to make it through!
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Feminism attempts to create a perception that Climate Change in South Asia affects women more than men.
Some time ago, feminists had called climate change sexist. They opined that climate and nature takes a course such that it differentiates women and men in its treatment.
Reading that if you thought feminism can’t get more stupid in its objectivity, you will be in for a surprise.
In a similar attempt in South Asia, feminists are creating a theory that severe acute climate change in South Asia – precisely India and Bangladesh – which includes continuous periods of lack of rains and draught is being unfair to women.
As men from the sub-continent, who used to be solely dependent on agriculture for their livelihood, were forced to venture out to cities & towns for better prospect of livelihood and who in the process had encouraged their wives and women-family members to be on their own and give themselves as well as agriculture a chance, are being blamed for thrusting responsibility on women.
As per this news report from ‘The NEWS Minute’, men are being unfair and ignorant of their family members.
The reporter has conveniently failed to highlight the facts or outcomes of the process:
1. Women have been presented a situation where they can be on their own and be independent on their spouses for livelihood.
2. Women have been given a chance to be decision-makers when it comes to decisions related to their work and agriculture.
3. Needless to say they have become more empowered overall in the long run.
4. Boys, who had to dropout of their schools in villages in an attempt to earn along with their fathers, are forced to live an entire life of uncertainty as they will not be able to complete their education, most will stay uneducated forever.
5. Lack of education amongst boys will contribute less or will be counter-productive to the success and happiness quotient of themselves and the family in the long run, including their mothers and sisters they have left education for.
6. In their efforts to move out of the comforts of the village home, men are also taking up more challenges thrusted upon them, taking more responsibility for the sake of their families, which includes the women the report seems to be complaining about.
Below are a few reactions the news post has got from twitteraties which sumup the entire situation.
1. #FeminismIsRetarded Gets What It Wants
2. It seems Patriarchy has transformed into clueless Matriarchy
3. Boys dropping out of school for lowwage jobs, lifelong uncertainty is unimportant. #FeminismIsCruel, stupid, idiotic.
Leaving you with the original news which is being referred to in this post.
Title: Climate change affects all, but women are facing new, more severe challenges, reports ‘The NEWS minute’.
Sub-Title: On the positive side, women are discovering new roles as decision-makers.
IANS| Monday, January 30, 2017 – 11:
By: Azera Parveen Rahman
But what about women?
One read the news post here.
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Introduction to Accounting
Unit 10 : Bad debts, provision for doubtful debts, provision for discount on debtors
y y y y y y
After you have studied this chapter, you should: Understand the difference between bad debts and provision for bad debts How bad debts can be written off Make provision for bad and doubtful debts Calculate and make provision for discount on debtors Record accounting for bad debts¶ recovery
In search for a profit some may become blind.
y y y
Businesses usually sell goods for cash or on credit. When they sell goods on credit, their customers become their debtors. Companies open personal accounts for those customers who owe them money for the products purchased.
What ar account r cei ables? recei
Amounts owed by other companies or persons for goods, or services provided.
They are reported in the Balance Sheet
as current assets
Issues associated with Accounts Receivables
Granting credits entails both costs and benefits. y When a company extends credit, it experiences boost in sales. y However, the cost of Accounts Receivables is the delay in receiving payment.
Will my debtors on Accounts Receivables pay me back or not? When will they pay?
Bad Debts
Some debtors of the company may not be able to always honor their commitments. The most significant cost of Accounts Receivables is uncollectible accounts or bad debts.
When the business cannot collect back the money from the debtors, the debt is said to be 'bad'. When the debt becomes bad, it has to be written off.
What makes companies not pay?
A) goods delivered were damaged; y B) the customer claims that he has not received all items on the invoice; y C) the debtor¶s business has failed and the company has been closed; y D) the debtor may be in short of money; y ««..
Measurement of uncollectible Accounts
ABC company has credit sales of $100,000 during 2006. y Collections during 2006 were $60,000. y On December 31, 2006 AR are $40,000. y During 2006 there were not bad debts. y However, 40% of the year¶s sale are still unpaid, and some may never be paid.
Company¶s challenges
How should ABC account for their Accounts Receivables? y Will it collect all Accounts Receivables? y If they think that some of the accounts will not be collected, which accounts are they?
Determining the true value of Accounts Receivables
Two methods are used in accounting for uncollectible accounts: y 1) the direct write-off method (specific write-off method); y 2) the allowance method;
Direct write-off method writeUsed by companies that rarely experience problems with collecting debts; y If uncollectibles are small and infrequent, this practice does not misstate the economic situation in a material way;
Direct write-off method in writepractice
With our previous example, let¶s assume that only two customers were not able to pay (Mr. James Bond and Mr. Bill Brown). y The company uses the direct write-off method for uncollectible debts on AR. y So, they write-off $2,000 in 2007. (the year after)
Direct write- Assets off method 2006 Sales +$100,000 (increase AR)
+$100,000 (increase sales) -$2,000 (increase Bad Debts expense)
2007 Writeoff
-$2,000 (decrease AR)
Accounting treatment of Bad Debts
When a bad debt is to be written off, the entry is: a) Dr Bad Debt $2,000 Cr Debtor¶s account $2,000
Income statement (extract) for the ending 31 December 2008
Gross Profit Less Expenses: Bad debts
xxx ($2,000)
Direct write-off method writeCBB company writes off M.E. Doran¶s $200 balance as uncollectible. y Dr. Bad debts expense 200
Cr AR ± M.E. Doran AR are recorded at its gross amount.
What are the drawbacks of the DirectDirect-off method?
It fails to apply the matching principle of accrual accounting; y Matching requires recognition of the bad debts expense at the same time as the related revenue; y So, when using this method, we overstate our income of 2006 year; y We understate our income of 2007 year;
Matching principle
Our Expenses must follow our Revenues. y Our efforts should be matched with our accomplishments.
Direct write-off method: Matching violated
Sales Revenue Bad debts expense 2006 $100,000 0 2007 0 $2,000
Matching applied correctly
2006 $100,000 $2,000 2007 0 0
Allowance method
As Direct-off method violates the matching principle and bad debts are neither small nor similar from year to year, accountants use the method of allowances.
Doubtful Debts
Financial Statements - Trading a/c, P/L a/c and Balance Sheet, are prepared at the end of the year to ascertain the Net profit and the value of the assets and liabilities at the end of the year.
As companies do not know which of the debtors will not pay, they try to estimate the amount of future non payments in advance. y So, these predicted debts are called as doubtful debts. y Businesses are to make provisions (also named as allowances) for doubtful debts.
Specific features of the allowance method
It is an estimate of the accounts that will become uncollectible; y It is a contra account, which contains the estimated uncollectible amount; y This amount is deducted from the total accounts receivables;
The other names of this method are as follows:
Allowance for doubtful accounts y Allowance for bad debts y Reserve for doubtful accounts
Benefits of the allowance method
We recognize bad debts in general during the proper period, before we identify specific uncollectible accounts from specific individuals in the following year.
Suppose, ABC company from its past experience knows that it will not collect 2% of sales. y $100,000x2%=$2000; y Now is uses Allowance method;
Allowance method
Assets =
2006 Sales
+100,000 (increase AR) -$2,000 (Increase allowance for uncollectible accounts) +$2,000 (Decrease in allowances for uncollectible accounts) -$2,000 (Decrease Accounts Receivables)
+100,000 (increase sales) -2,000 (increase Bad debts expense)
2006 Allowance
2007 Write-off
No effect
Accounting Entries for Doubtful Debts
1) 2006 Dr AR $100,000 Cr Sales $100,000 2) 2006 Dr Bad debts expense $2,000 Cr Provision for doubtful debts $2,000 3) 2007 Dr Provision for doubtful debts $2,000 Cr. Account Receivable $2,000
Balance sheet as at December, 31,2006 (extract)
Accounts Receivables Less: Provision for doubtful debts Net Accounts Receivable $40,000 $2,000 $38,000
Methods of Estimating Bad Debts
Percentage of Credit Sales Method (it provides better matching of expenses with revenues ± an income statement viewpoint) y Aging of Accounts Receivable Method (it produces the better estimate of cash realizable value ± a balance sheet viewpoint)
Methods of Estimating Bad Debts
Applying the allowance method using a percentage of Accounts Receivables. Companies use their historical experience but estimates are based on year-to-year uncollectible debts.
AR at end of Year 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 Six-year total 100,000 80,000 90,000 110,000 120,000 112,000 612,000 ======
Bad debts deemed uncollectible and written off in subsequent year 3,500 2,450 2,550 4,100 5,600 2,200 20,400 ===== 3,400 =====
Average 102,000 (divide by 6) ======
Average percentage not collected = 3,400/102,000=3,33%
Aging of Accounts Receivable Method
We age each customer¶s account by separating the total amount owed by each customer into aging categories. y These aging categories are based on the number of days that have passed since uncollected amounts were first recorded in the account.
Applying the allowance method using the percentage of sales
We express the amount of bad debts as a percentage of total sales. This method relies on historical relationships between credit sales and uncollectible debts.
Next, based on past experience, the business estimates the percentage of uncollectible accounts in each time category. y Then multiply these percentages by the appropriate column totals. y The column totals are then added to arrive at the total estimate of uncollectible accounts y Record the year-end adjusting entry
Number of days unpaid 0-30 32-60 61-90 over 91
ABS company KG company Delta Company TB company Zeta company KLM company Total % Uncollectible Estimated uncollectible amount
700 1,900 2,200 6,000 1,800 600 13,200 2% 938 38 4% 124 8% 176 10% 600 1800 600 1900 2,200 6,000
Whatever method the company uses to estimate the value of bad debts, the recording is the same: Dr. Provision for doubtful debts Cr. Accounts Receivable (individual debtor¶s account) (both accounts are decreased)
Bad debts recoveries
Bad debts are recovered, when a customer pays an account that a company has previously written off.
Recording bad debt recovery
1) Dr. AR $600 Cr. Sales $600 (we record the sales of $600 to Monterro, our specific customer ) 2) Feb, 2002 Dr. Allowance for doubtful debts $600 Cr. Accounts Receivable $600 (to write-off uncollectible account of Monterro)
3) Oct. 2002 Dr. Accounts receivable $600 Cr. Bad debt recovery account $600 (to reverse February 2002 write-off of account of Monterro) 4) Dr. Cash $600 Cr. Account Receivable $600 (to record the collection on account)
Accounting Entries for Recovery of Bad Debts
y y
Mr. A, whose account was written off previously pays his debt of $2,000. 1) Cash a/c Dr 2,000 Mr. A's a/c 2,000 2) Mr. A's a/c Dr 2,000 Bad debt recovery a/c 2,000 3) Bad debt recovery a/c 2,000 P/L a/c 2,000
At the end of the financial year, the credit balance in the bad debts recovered account is transferred either to the bad debts account or direct to the credit side of the profit and loss account.
Increase or Decrease in Provision for Doubtful Debts
y y y
Year 2006 provision for doubtful debts is $200 Year 2007 provision for doubtful debts is $500 Year 2008 provision for doubtful debts is $400
y y y y y y y y y y y y
2006 Dr. P/L a/c 200 Provision for doubtful debts 200 2007 (There is an increase in provision) Dr. P/L a/c 300 Provision for doubtful debts 300 2008 (There is a decrease in provision) Provision for doubtful debts 100 Cr. P/L a/c 100 After the initial provision is made, any increase or decrease is made to this figure year after year, depending on the amount required at that year-end.
Thank you
The En
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Climate Hustle
What evidence is there for the hockey stick?
What the science says...
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Hockey stick is broken
Intermediate rebuttal written by John Cook
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Comments 151 to 159 out of 159:
1. Jim Milks compiled a list of three dozen replications of the hockey stick, and that's only up through 2013.
Hat tip to Jack Dale via David Appell.
2. David Appell is updating a list of all the hockey sticks anybody can find. He's asking for additions from anybody. It's over three dozen now.
3. This comment will start a bit off-topic and then quickly make its way back, I promise.
As an introduction, I posted a response to Dr. Richard Muller's response to the following question on Quora:
It may interest people to know that Dr. Muller basically rules that forum when it comes to questions about climate change impacts, and IMHO, he's running amok. I don't think it comes from the usual ideological motivators; rather, I think it's the hubris that physicists tend to get that leads them to distrust the work of any scientists other than physicists. That and maybe some misunderstanding with regard to philosophy of science. In any case, here's where I get back on topic.
In my response to Dr. Muller, I quoted Wikipedia to him, pointing out that he'd been wrong in his opinion piece about Dr. Mann's Hockey Stick.
The quote stated that subsequent analyses had refuted McIntyre and McKitrick and upheld Mann's paper; further, that the Hockey Stick has been replicated numerous times using other methods.
It's a bit lengthy, but I'd like to post his last response to this exchange in full, as I found it very interesting and troubling:
First, let me say some words about the IPCC report.
To be considered a scientific conclusion, the rule of thumb amount scientists is that the probability of being wrong should be 5% or less. In particle physics, the standard is even higher, generally a fraction of 1%.
The IPCC defines something as "likely" if the probability of it being wrong is 33%. That is very far from a scientific standard. Sometimes politicians need to make decisions and they base them on less than scientific evidence, but 33% chance of being wrong would never be accepted as a scientific conclusion in any major scientific journal. When scientists say that their result is statistically consistent to 1 standard deviation (that's about the same as "likely") the conclusion in their paper is stated as follows: "No statistically significant effect was seen." I can show you one of my papers in which, for a 2-standard-deviation effect, that is a "2-sigma" effect, with only a 5%b chance of being wrong, I and my coauthors said that the effect was "statistically insignificant." Those are the standards of science.
The IPCC is also very clear that their assessments were never intended to be considered a scientific report.
Your quote about the NAS report, despite the usual reliability of Wikipedia, is mistaken. As I mentioned, I was a named scientific referee on the NAS report, and the report said clearly that there was no evidence that the current temperature is the warmest in 1,000 years.
Don't get me wrong. Global warming is real, about 1.5C over the past 250 years, and it is caused by humans. But the work of Michael Mann on the hockey stick was incorrect, and the errors were correctly pointed out by Macintyre and McKitrick, and the NAS concluded that the evidence could not be used to conclude on a scientific basis that we are now experiencing the highest temperature in the last 1000 years.
I'm curious what y'all's take on this is. It strikes me as, well, quite odd. I feel like, about the question of the use of the IPCC's uncertainty terminology, there's a deep misunderstanding here. Without having read much, I'm quite sure that climate research uses the same Frequentist standards that Dr. Muller is used to and that, if the IPCC is assessing likelihood based on a large number of such pieces of research, all of which purport to be showing statistically significant results, then in fact the IPCC is being even more conservative with its use of such terminology and not less.
4. I'm surpised he refers to M&M. Perhaps it is a different paper, but the one in which they intended to demonstrate that Mann's statistical methods generated hockey sticks was a fraud. They designed their algorithm to sort curves in such a way that the hockey stick shaped ones would come first, and then they showed only the top sample, which obviously happened to be hockey sticks. I believe there are links in this thread from a couple of years ago.
5. dvaytw @153.
Just reading Muller's comment @153, I feel Muller is being insincere. The NAS report (assuming this is the report in question) does echo IPCC AR5 Chapter 5 when it says:-
The only issue here is that Mann et al (1998) provided a 1,000 year proxy record not an 800 year record. To ignore this 800 year finding shows somebody playing with Ockkhams broom. But he is less than adept at sweeping things under carpets with such a broom because when he says "there was no evidence that the current temperature is the warmest in 1,000 years," he is plain wrong. There is evidence but it is not strong enough. The relevant part of IPCC AR5 is which says:-
Based on multiple lines of evidence (...), published reconstructions and their uncertainty estimates indicate, with high confidence, that the mean NH temperature of the last 30 or 50 years very likely exceeded any previous 30- or 50-year mean during the past 800 years (...). The timing of warm and cold periods is mostly consistent across reconstructions (in some cases this is because they use similar proxy compilations) but the magnitude of the changes is clearly sensitive to the statistical method and to the target domain (land or land and sea; the full hemisphere or only the extra-tropics;). Even accounting for these uncertainties, almost all reconstructions agree that each 30-year (50-year) period from 1200 to 1899 was very likely colder in the NH than the 1983–2012 (1963–2012) instrumental temperature.
NH reconstructions covering part or all of the first millennium suggest that some earlier 50-year periods might have been as warm as the 1963–2012 mean instrumental temperature, but the higher temperature of the last 30 years appear to be at least likely the warmest 30-year period in all reconstructions (...). However, the confidence in this finding is lower prior to 1200(AD), because the evidence is less reliable and there are fewer independent lines of evidence. There are fewer proxy records, thus yielding less independence among the reconstructions while making them more susceptible to errors in individual proxy records. The published uncertainty ranges do not include all sources of error (...), and some proxy records and uncertainty estimates do not fully represent variations on time scales as short as the 30 years considered ... . Considering these caveats, there is medium confidence that the last 30 years were likely the warmest 30-year period of the last 1400 years. (My bold.)
Thus all Muller's blather about 33% applies to hockey sticks longer than 800 years. He conveniently forgets to mention the "very likely" status of the 800 year hockey stick which in IPCC-speak means a greater than 90% liklihood but less than 99% (which would be classed "virtually certain" ). For longer 1,000 year hockey sticks there is evidence, it does point to recent temperatures being warmer but the evidence is not reliable enough to strongly support it.
6. MA Roger, I realize it's off-topic, but can you comment about my statement above that,
With his big diatribe about statistical significance, Muller was ripping on my comment that if he's going to point out weak evidence for climate impacts on tornadoes and hurricanes, he should also point out the IPCC describes impacts on extreme drought, extreme precipitation and coastal flooding as "likely" and heat waves as "very likely". He equates the percentages for those terms as basically equalling "no evidence at all".
7. PS MA Rodger: the NAS report in question was actually this one:
8. dvaytw - Dr. Muller seens to have the view that if he has not personally done the work, personally checked the evidence, then it is in doubt. And he will thus blithely dismiss solid work, take as gospel tripe like M&M, etc. So I would take his pronouncements with large blocks of salt.
The 2006 NAS report states in its conclusions:
So the work he signed off on indicates high confidence in the last 400 years, less confidence in the previous 600, and reasonable uncertainty about 1000 years and greater ago, based on the evidence available at that time.
In the intervening decade additional proxies have been located, producing work up to and including Marcott et al 2013, which concludes that recent temperatures represent a reversal of a cooling trend that started 5000 years ago, with current temps warmer than the mean temperatures over 82% of the Holocene (going back 11,500 years).
Muller's statements regarding paleotemperature reconstructions were reasonable a decade ago, but are now sadly out of date. And his assertions about MBH/M&M simply indicate that he hasn't looked into the M&M work - it's nonsense, multiply debunked, most notably by Wahl and Ammann 2007. M&M's failure to apply PCA selection rules alone invalidates the work, let alone their many other errors and misstatements. Muller is (once more) talking through his hat.
9. Also => List of large-scale temperature reconstructions of the last 2,000 years
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Today in History – The Midnight Ride of Who?
by William “Doc” Halliday
Listen, my children, and you shall hear
Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere
These are the first two lines of “Paul Revere’s Ride.” The poem was written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and first published in the January 1861 edition of the Atlantic Monthly. The poem transformed the silversmith into a Revolutionary War hero 43 years after his death. When I was a child in Massachusetts I was taught that Paul Revere was a hero. But it’s not true; or at least not entirely accurate. Instead of lauding Mr. Revere, I want to compare him to another individual.
Around dawn, 239 years ago today, on April 27, 1777 Sebal Ludington completed a forty mile ride on horseback warning colonists that the British were coming. She was the only rider on that mission, where Mr. Revere was one of three riders. Sebal’s 40-mile ride was three times the length of that of Mr. Revere’s, and was completed in the rain compared to Mr. Revere’s dry weather.
Sebal’s ride was unplanned, whereas Mr. Revere was a cog in an elaborate plan by the Sons of Liberty who had known the British were coming but lacked their timing and route. Mr. Revere was forty years old at the time of his ride. He was an experienced member of the Committee of Public Safety, having served terms of guard duty and had completed at least 18 similar rides. He was also a ringleader of the Boston Tea Party. Sebal was barely 16-years-old. She had no military, courier or seditious experience. During the ride Sebal used a stick to fend off a highwayman.
Sebal’s father, Henry Ludington, had fought in the French and Indian War. He had been loyal to the British until 1773 when he joined the rebel cause. He was rapidly promoted to Colonel and became the leader of the 7th Regiment of the Duchess County Militia. Colonel Ludington’s area of command was along an unprotected route that the British could take between Connecticut and the coast of Long Island Sound.
When a 2000 man British force commanded by General Tryon and British loyalists attacked the nearby town of Danbury, Connecticut, a rider came to the Ludington household in Duchess County, New York to warn them and ask for the local regiment’s help. For safety reasons, the Continental Army had recently relocated its supplies from Peekskill to Danbury, where they were thought to be safe, and were consequently only lightly guarded. At that time, the Colonel’s regiment was disbanded because it was planting season, and all of the men were miles apart at their individual farms. The rider was exhausted and unfamiliar with the area. Colonel Ludington had to prepare for battle, so his young daughter Sebal volunteered to ride through the night, alerting his men of the looming danger and urging them to assemble to fight the British. Beginning about 9 p.m., Sebal rode all night through the dark woods, covering a significantly longer distance than Mr. Revere rode. At Carmel a man offered to accompany her on the remainder of her task, but she declined the offer. Sebal sent him eastward instead to warn the people in Brewster. Because of her brave undertaking, almost the entire regiment of four-hundred men was gathered by daybreak to fight the British, when the soaked and exhausted girl completed her journey.
Sebal was barely 16-years-old. She had no military, courier or seditious experience….she used a stick to fend off a highwayman.”
Sebal never gained the fame that Paul Revere did, but the future President of the United States George Washington went to the Ludington home after the conflict at Danbury to personally thank Sebal for her assistance.
After the war, in October of 1785, Sebal married Edward Ogden. They owned a tavern in Catskills, New York that Sebal operated alone after Edward’s death. In later years, she lived with her son Edward in Unadilla, New York.
She died in 1839. In 1976, the United States Post Office issued a stamp commemorating Sebal’s ride. There are numerous spellings of her name, most predominately Sybil. Since she signed her Revolutionary War pension application as “Sebal” it is apparently the spelling she preferred and thus the one I have used.
William “Doc” Halliday is an historian and writer. He can be contacted at
William "Doc" Halliday
Historian, Political Commentator
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Vote Now Vote Green I'm going green you coming
Thursday, August 2, 2007
"Pollination- The Foremost ecological discipline "
Why pollination is an ecological discipline??
Breeding systems in plants refer to the variety of ways plants answer the general question of "Who mates with whom" by answering specific questions such as whether flowers mature at the same time, whether a plant has more than one kind of flower or differs from other plants in types of flowers, and whether there are chemicals that keep certain plants from mating with each other.
Most vertebrate species consist of separate male and female individuals. In contrast, the majority of flowering plants are hermaphroditic, with both pollen and ovules produced by the same plant. As a consequence, many flowering plants are capable of self-fertilization (selfing), with seeds resulting from pollen and eggs produced by the same plant. The self pollen that fertilizes the egg may be produced by the same flower (called autogamy) or by different flowers on the same plant (geitonogamy). Selfing or mating among close relatives (inbreeding) often results in offspring that have reduced vigor and produce fewer offspring compared to offspring from matings between unrelated plants (outcrossing). This reduction in fitness of selfed offspring relative to outcrossed offspring is referred to as inbreeding depression. If both selfing levels and levels of inbreeding depression are high, natural selection may favor mechanisms that promote outcrossing. High levels of inbreeding depression are likely to be found in populations that have been outcrossing for a long time. In contrast, in populations that have been inbreeding (high selfing rates) for many generations, inbreeding depression levels may now be low because harmful genes have already been eliminated from the population by natural selection.
Selfing may also have direct advantages. Selfing plants may have an automatic selection advantage and contribute more genes to the next generation because they contribute both maternal genes (through the egg) and paternal genes (through pollen) to selfed seeds, and they also contribute pollen (and thus paternal genes) to other plants, spreading their genes further. In contrast, outcrossing plants contribute pollen to other plants, but only maternal genes to their own seeds. This automatic selection advantage will lead to selection for selfing if selfing does not decrease outcrossing (thereby limiting the spread of genes), and if inbreeding depression is not too severe. In addition, selfing tends to produce offspring more similar to the parent plant than outcrossing. If seeds are dispersed locally into habitat similar to that of the parent, these selfed offspring may do better than outcrossed offspring. In habitats where pollen is limited because of low population density or because there are few pollinators, selfing may also provide reproductive assurance with a guaranteed source of pollen. Some plants, such as touch-me-not (Impatiens) and some violet species (Viola) have evolved flowers that are pollinated autogamously and never open (called cleistogamy), as well as the more showy open flowers (chasmogamy).
Pollination is a process involving flowers (the pollen source and stigma receiver) and a pollination vector (an agent carrying pollen to the stigma). The study of pollination is an interdisciplinary field involving botany (the plant side) and some other field (the vector side). In some ways, then, it is an ecological discipline.
Rescue Rangers-wild animals rescued
life of flowers
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Sunday, February 19, 2012
Worth repeating. Notice handle bar positions. No rider 40' in front of the group.
Basic skills
Hold your line -- If you have watched a professional cycling race, you know that every rider needs to "hold a line." This means that cyclists need to be capable of riding a line parallel with the edge of the road.
The slipstream -- Some group rides practice staying together as one large mass—more or less—with little movement among the group.
Other group rides incorporate pace lines—or some version thereof—into their sessions. In its most basic form, a pace line occurs when one rider pulls a line of other riders behind them. Each person follows the rider in front of them by staying within a few inches to a few feet of their leader's rear wheel. This area of least wind resistance is known as a slipstream.
Staying in the lead rider's slipstream is called drafting. Riders that are in the draft position save upwards of 30 percent of energy compared to the lead rider. If you've ever had a chance to draft, you know that riding 20 miles per hour is significantly easier when you're following rather than leading. The difference is even more pronounced in a head wind.
Control your speed -- The lead rider in a pace line can stay at the front for just a few seconds or for several minutes. When you join a group that is rotating the lead position and it is time for you to lead, resist pouring on the gas to show everyone how strong you are. A pace line is happiest when the pace is steady. Fast accelerations or jerky braking motions disrupt the line and can cause a crash.
Anticipate problems -- If you are riding in windy conditions or it is a hilly course, anticipate changes in the group or peloton. When the peloton changes directions, sometimes the weaker riders are no longer sheltered from the wind and they fall off the pace. The same is true for a hilly course. Riders that can usually stay with the group on flat roads can fall off the pace on a hill.
Get accustomed to watching for signs that a rider is struggling. This includes having difficulty finding the right gear, breathing like a steam engine or constantly looking over their shoulder.
You don't want to be stuck behind a struggling rider if you are feeling strong. Pay attention to the signals so you can maneuver yourself into a good position.
Another good article:
1. Before anyone takes this as a personal attack please just read the two articles. This is in no way meant to be mean spirited, but more in the spirit of helping people understand what is considered good form. I know some feel left out at times and by developing these basic understandings of group riding techniques hopefully that can be avoided in the future. Thanks.
2. I'm very offended. Who is this Shim guy? Is he mean?
3. Short answer: yes. Actually, that's the long answer, too.
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[The Marian Tragedies]
From first to last, Tragedy is the note of the reign of England's first Queen regnant: the human interest is so intense that the political and religious issues seem, great as they were, to sink into the background of the picture, mere accessories of the stage on which are presented the immortal figures of Doom. First is the tragedy of the sweet-souled and most innocent child, Lady Jane Grey, sacrificed to the self-seeking ambition of shameless intriguers. Then the tragedy of the Martyrs - of Rowland Taylor, of Ridley and Latimer, of Ferrar and Hooper, of many another of less note, who died for the Glory of God, giving joyful testimony to the faith that was in them; the tragedy of Cranmer, the gentle soul of wavering courage, the man born to pass peaceful days in cloistered shades, torn from them to be the unwilling pilot of revolution, who at the tenth hour fell as Peter fell, yet at the last rose to the noblest height. Last, and greatest, the tragedy of the royal-hearted woman whose passionate human love was answered only with cold scorn; who won her throne by the loyalty of her people only to bring upon her name such hate as attaches to but two or three other English monarchs; who, for the wrongs done to her personally, showed almost unexampled clemency, yet, shrinking not to shed blood like water in what she deemed a sacred cause, is popularly branded for ever amongst the tyrants of the earth; who, sacrificing her own heart in that cause, died in the awakening knowledge that by her own deeds it was irreparably ruined. No monarch has ever more utterly subordinated personal interests, personal affections, all that makes life desirable, to a passionate sense of duty; none ever failed more utterly to work anything but unmixed woe.
[1553 (July) Proclamation of Queen Jane]
Northumberland's plans had been carefully laid. The military forces were at the service of the Government. The whole Council - with varying degrees of sincerity and reluctance - had endorsed his scheme; the persons of its members were apparently at his mercy; he meant also to have Mary safely bestowed in the Tower before any opposition could be organised. The foreign ambassadors, and their masters, hardly dreamed that there was any alternative course to submission. Neither they nor Northumberland realised the intensity of the general feeling in Mary's favour, or its practical force; nor did they appreciate the capacity of Henry Tudor's daughters for rising to an emergency. On the day of Edward's death, Mary was on her way to London, when she was met with the secret warning that all was over. She turned and rode hard for safer country, just escaping the party who had been sent out to secure her. Jane Grey, the sixteen-year-old bride of a few days, was summoned to the throne by the Council; every person about her implored her to claim what they called her right and fulfil her duty in accepting the crown: what else could she do? Yet, child as she was, they found to their indignant astonishment that she would not move a hair's-breadth from the path her conscience approved. She knew enough to refuse point blank the notion that her young husband should be crowned King. The men of affairs, of religion, of law, having unanimously affirmed that the heritage of royalty was hers, she could not dispute it; but no one could pretend that the heritage was his. Her refusal was of ill omen for Northumberland's ascendancy, and the ill omens multiplied.
[Sidenote 1: The people support Mary] [Sidenote 2: Collapse of the Plot]
The refusal was given on the evening following the proclamation of Lady Jane as Queen: even at the proclamation, a 'prentice was bold enough to remark aloud that the Lady Mary's title was the better. That same night, a letter arrived from Mary herself, claiming the allegiance of the Council in true queenly style. They were not yet prepared to defy Northumberland, and a reply was penned the next day affirming Lady Jane's title. Two of the Duke's sons were already in pursuit of Mary, and a general impression prevailed that they had captured her and were on their way to London. They had indeed reached her, but their whole force promptly acclaimed her as queen, and the Dudleys had to fly for their lives. The Eastern midlands and the home counties were gathering in arms to her support. It was necessary to take the field without delay, but of those members of the Council who were fit to command there was none on whom Northumberland could rely, when once out of his reach. The Duke must go himself. On the eighth day after Edward's death, the fourth after the proclamation of Lady Jane, he rode gloomily from London at the head of a force which he mistrusted, without a plaudit from the populace which, for all its Protestantism, listened with apathy two days later to the declamations of Ridley at St. Paul's Cross. Northumberland was hardly on his way before news came that the crews of the fleet had compelled their captains to declare for Mary. He had not advanced far before his own followers in effect followed suit. In the meantime, the Council reinstated Paget; who had always been in ill odour with Dudley as being a friend of Somerset, and had been recently dismissed from office and relegated to the Tower. On the 19th came news of further reinforcements for Mary. On that day several members of the Council, who had hitherto been practically under guard in the Tower, escaped, and, headed by Pembroke, declared for Mary. One party returned in arms, to demand surrender; another marched to Paul's Cross and proclaimed Mary amid enthusiastic acclamations. That night they dispatched a message to Northumberland at Cambridge ordering him to lay down his arms. Before it reached him, he had thrown up the struggle. The messengers arrived to arrest a cringing traitor. The stream of his repentant supporters was already hastening to sue for pardon.
[The Queen's leniency]
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Welcome to my Kindermusik space...
Sunday, November 25
The many benefits of early childhood music
Each week I prepare classes for your child to enjoy! There is a plan. There is fun! But beyond the fun aspect, have you ever wondered to yourself, "what is my child getting out of Kindermusik?"
That is a question I could explore at length, but here are a few of the most foundational benefits of Kindermusik - and in particular, staying in Kindermusik over the long term:
Children exposed to GREAT music learn to appreciate the finer aspects of complex sounds, engaging both the analytical mind and creative areas of the brain.
One of the strongest pulls of music is towards the universal connectedness it gives us. People all around the world make music, love music, and bond over engaging in it together. Some dance to it, some sing along with it, some listen to it, and some pick up an instrument and make music. It can be enjoyed individually or as a group, but ultimately it is a gift of self-expression from one person to another. Music gives people a voice for things sometimes too difficult to say.
Kindermusik classes help your child develop a sense of self control. Our "Stop hands", are an excellent way of empowering our children to do something different "right now". Being in control of our physical movements is self-rewarding to young children.
Learning to be reflective on the needs of those around us is a social skill that serves not only the individual, but our sense of community and belongingness. Taking turns, watching that we are "being kind to our neighbours" are concepts best learned in context with other people. For example, sometimes it is our turn to play an instrument, sometimes we need to let others have a turn. Experiencing the rewards of turn taking is a great benefit of group classes. In more advanced classes, children learn how when they listen to the parts other children are playing and blend their own voicing with others' , wonderful harmonies happen!
Finger plays are an excellent way of strengthening fine motor skills. Fine motor skills are necessary for learning to use a pencil to write, typing out essays for school work, buttoning up shirts, and tying shoe laces.
Moving our bodies throughout the space in the room provides vestibular stimulation. Not only do we crave movement, our bodies use movement to help our brains sort through the other stimulation that comes to our brain every moment of the day. Moving in a rocking, swaying, expressive way provides visual stimulation, a creative outlet, comfort, and relaxation. And the pretend play of rocking our stuffies engages their sense of nurturing, too!
Kindermusik classes are not only fun, but they are also age-appropriate in their approach to laying a STRONG foundation of musical literacy. Keeping a steady beat to an external sound source, feeling the difference between short and long sounds, being responsive in various degrees of volume, and eventually being able to read not only rhythm patterns, but pitch as well are all elements of music making that are necessary for the more complex aspects of playing in bands or ensembles later in life. Even if your child does not grow up to be a professional musician, he or she will have enough skills to enhance their life experience through a deeper appreciation of how music is made and it's relevance to celebrations and self-expression.
With all these benefits (and so many more that reasonable space does not allow) music lessons have always been an essential part of my children's education. I hope yours, too! There is not a single activity out there that provides as much for your child's overall development as a person as music does - a bold statement, but true!
Sunday, November 18
Who are you?
When I brought my first-born home from the hospital it was a warm May morning. I remember the sense of joy and fear mixed together, thinking, "what on earth am I doing? I don't know what to do with a baby? What if he is crying and I don't know what to do? How do I find out what he needs?"
Living through a few months of colic and trying to figure out how to calm an evening-fussy boy was a challenge - but we learned a little of who he was and what would bring him relief. But there were pleasant surprises, too. In the days of trying to baby-proof the house, if we told him ONCE not to touch something - that was all he needed. Never touched it again!! Challenges and gifts wrapped up together in one little boy
Then baby number two came and I wondered how I would manage with 2 young ones. What if they are both needing me at the same time? What if I don't ever get to sleep again? What if son number two doesn't listen like son number one? (And he didn't.)
In time, we figured that out, too. I figured that our second son was an early morning person, while our first son was geared to more evening time activity and sleeping in til much later. We also found out that our second son was much more naturally outgoing. Each child completely different.
Our daughter came a couple of years later, and we discovered her personality was (not shockingly) different from her brothers. She loved to talk. She loved fashion. She loved to play in the toilet (she is completely horrified at that now, by the way)! Parenting our little girl was both a joy and a new learning experience.
Even though my husband and I are the same people we always are, we have developed a different relationship with each of our children. Each person brings a set of attributes to the developing relationship, and all those factors merge together to create a unique personal connection - a connection that changes over time, depending on the growth of each person. All that to say, as we parent our children, we can expect that our best relationship will come with each child as we ackowledge that they are growing and maturing, and need something different from us over the years. And they need us to lead the way to better connection by carefully watching to see what and where their hearts are headed.
The same is true with teaching. Finding a child's natural curiosity and learning style and teaching to that will bring out learning moments that are unique.
Some children are very tentative and having the familiar security of having a parent there is a constant source of strength and reassurance.
Other children like to explore and have freedom to move out on their own, knowing that Mom and Dad will be there when they need them.
Some children like to learn while on the move.
Some like to stay focussed with quiet, organized activities.
Each style is fine. Just different and important to that child.
When you are in the classroom, or in your home, or out in the bigger world of your community, make it your mission to find out who your child is. Your relationship with your child will be greatly enhanced not only by finding out who they are and what is important to them, but also how your natural style can be adapted to create a stronger connection with them. Is that a tall order? Sometimes. But being connected with your child is worth the leadership effort that it is!
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The Tale Of Pelops
Pelops was the king of Pisa, a city located in the Elis region of the Peloponnese Peninsula. According to the ancient texts, Pelops named the region after himself following his successful triumph over its former ruler Oenomaus.
Because he was a direct descendant of Tantalus , the life of Pelops was filled with a turbulent mixture of ups and downs. Below is a small peek inside of the uncertain world of this many-sided individual.
The Tale of Pelops and Tantalus
Dione and PelopsPelops was the son of the Lydian king Tantalus and the sea nymph Dione. When he was just a boy, his impetuous father invited the gods of Mount Olympus to a lavish banquet that he was hosting at his home on Mount Sipylus.
In order to test the wisdom of his divine guests, Tantalus ordered that his young son be butchered and his body parts be mercilessly added into the evening meal.
Unaware of the cruel joke that was being played on them, the Olympians took their places at the banquet table and anxiously waited for dinner to be served.
But when their plates were set out before them, the stunned deities recoiled in horror, for they immediately recognized the meat inside of their bowls to be bite sized pieces of human flesh!
Only Demeter, who was so distraught over the loss of her precious daughter Persephone unwittingly ate a mouthful of the unclean concoction and so consumed a portion of the poor boy's shoulder.
As punishment for his wicked deed, Zeus cast Tantalus into the deepest part of Tartarus. He then ordered Hermes to collect the uneaten limbs from the banquet table and return them to the original cooking pot.
As they boiled rapidly over the intense flames of the kitchen hearth, Zeus cast a magic spell as Clotho, the youngest of the three Fates carefully put Pelops back together.
Because Demeter had mistakenly ingested part of Pelop's left shoulder, Hephaestus fashioned a replacement piece from a bit of fine ivory and graciously attached it to his body.
Rhea then administered the breath of life and in that instant Pelops stood before the gods looking bright-eyed and the picture of health.
It is said that when the lad stepped out of the cauldron, his newly acquired radiance was so inviting that Poseidon found himself to be instantly smitten with love.
The impulsive god loaded Pelops in a chariot drawn by a set of gilded horses and swiftly whisked him off to Mount Olympus. The young man assumed the role of Poseidon's cup bearer until Zeus, in retaliation for the crimes of Tantalus chose to hurl the youth briskly off of the mountain top.
According to Robert Graves, Pelops did not learn of his ivory shoulder until he was compelled to bare his breast while mourning the death of his sister Niobe. After his passing, the relic was entombed in Pisa until it was eventually carried away during the height of the Trojan War.
Pelops and Hippodamia
Pelops and OenomausAfter the fall of his father Tantalus, Pelops became ruler over the Anatolian regions of Paphlagonia, Lydia and Phrygia.
It came to be that a horde of barbarian tribes invaded the town of Paphlagonia and forced Pelops to return back to his ancestral home near Mount Sipylus.
However, his return to Lydia would prove to be anything but peaceful for the young man, for shortly after entering his homeland, the region was fiercely attacked by King Ilus of Troy.
Fearing the impending assault of the approaching army, Pelops gathered up his riches and took flight across the Aegean Sea into the city of Pisa. Wanting to start a new life for himself, Pelops decided to take the beautiful Princess Hippodamia as his bride.
But unfortunately this would prove to be no easy task, for years before it had been prophesied to her father King Oenomaus, that one day he would lose his life at the hands of his future son-in-law.
In order to escape this most unpleasant fate, Oenomaus declared that Hippodamia would only be given in marriage to the first suitor who could successfully beat him in a chariot race.
Any participant that took part in the contest and failed to defeat the king would be immediately decapitated. Their heads would then be firmly placed atop of the many wooden columns that lined the front of the palace.
To guarantee a victory for himself, Pelops sought the help of Myrtilus, a son of Hermes and the trusted charioteer of the king. For his cooperation, Pelops promised to reward Myrtilus with half of Oenomaus' kingdom along with the priviledge of being the first man to make entrance into Hippodamia's bedchamber.
Finding the offer to tempting to resist, Myrtilus agreed, and on the night before the great race slyly replaced one of Oenomaus' bronze linchpins with one made of beeswax.
The competition began as normal, but just as the two men approached the finish line the faulty pin caused the wheels to break away from the axletree and Oenomaus' chariot was destroyed. Though Pelops was not hurt in the accident, the unlucky king was tragically dragged to death by his powerful team of horses.
When Myrtilus came forward to collect Hippodamia as his reward, Pelops took hold of the charioteer and threw him off of a high cliff and into the sea below. As Myrtilus fell to his death, he called out and placed an evil curse upon Pelops and all of his descendants.
One can say that this curse of Myrtilus had quite a bit of merit, as death and destruction did indeed fill the lives of many of Pelop's children and grandchildren.
Please see my pages on Atreus and Thyestes, Agamemnon, and Orestes, to see more examples of the hardships that plagued the future generations of Pelops.
Pelops and The Trojan War
AchillesDuring the time of the Trojan War it was prophesied to the Greeks that Troy would continue to thrive until both the Bow of Heracles and a fragment from the remains of Pelops were secretly brought into the city.
In order to comply with the advice of the oracle, the ivory shoulder was removed from its resting place in Pisa and placed upon a ship bound for Troy. During the course of the journey, the travelers encountered a pounding storm near the coast of Euboea and both the relic and vessel were lost at sea.
Many years after the fall of Troy, the shoulder was dredged out of the water by a fisherman named Damarmenus. Not knowing what to do with his find, Damarmenus kept the mysterious piece hidden away until one day he decided to bring it before the oracle at Delphi.
As fate may have it, he was joined by an embassy from Elis who desperately needed help in removing the terrible plague that was currently infecting their land. The Pythia proclaimed that the curse would be removed once the divine piece of ivory was gifted to the delegation.
To show their appreciation, the people of Elis proclaimed that from that time forward, the shoulder of Pelops would be preserved at Olympia and faithfully watched over by Damarmenus and all his future generations.
I must add that there is a difference of opinion as to whether the bones of Pelops actually played any part in the original account of the fall of Troy.
It is thought that the shoulder of Pelops is a later addition to Homer's earlier writings which indicate the fall of Troy was dependant upon three things; acquiring the Bow of Heracles, stealing the Palladium, and securing Neoptolemus, the son of Achilles as an ally.
Another interesting fact was recorded by the Greek traveler Pausanius in his work titled Description of Greece. According to the ancient text, the fisherman Damarmenus was truly taken back by the immense size of the ivory shoulder, indicating that Pelops must have been a man of great stature and quite giant-like in appearance.
Index of Myths
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Think bout your favorite books or movies, and there’s likely a character that sticks with you or even makes the story one you want to come back to again and again. Why do some literary characters become iconic, vivid parts of our imagination? There are lots of reasons some characters resonate with us and others seem to fade into the background. Here are a few thoughts
1. Complexity. We can easily make characters cliché when we leave them as two-dimensional caricatures rather than developing them further. Think about how complex human beings are. Even your favorite person in the world isn’t cheerful all the time, nor is your least favorite person always grouchy. Or if that’s the only side you see, the reasons why are likely complex, layered and numerous. What’s the story there? Often a character has conflicting characteristics, and in these we sometimes find a story’s central conflict or motion.
2. Counterintuitive situations. Think of the archetypal “hero” and the hero’s journey – an example might be Frodo Baggins in JRR Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings series. He’s the “chosen one” to destroy the One Ring in the fires of Mount Doom, yet he’s an unlikely hero – small, peaceful and compassionate – considering the seemingly insurmountable challenges and physically imposing foes he will face. How will he ever succeed?
3. Evolution based on environment. We want to see characters evolve over time and watch how their environment or situation changes them. Think of the Walter White character in the TV series “Breaking Bad” – how does a mild-mannered high school chemistry teacher become a ruthless methamphetamine kingpin? How much is his evolution is truly based on the exterior environment and how much is based on his internal landscape?
4. Interesting characteristics. The tiny interesting details about a person can sometimes endear you to or interest you in a person immediately. Think of the party game “Two Truths and a Lie,” in which you offer to guests two true facts and one untrue fact about yourself. You might choose to share unlikely places you’ve visited or unusual hobbies you enjoy. Maybe you won a pole-vaulting contest in high school or you like to collect ceramic owls. The quirks of a character or a historical figure can add a layer that makes them particularly intriguing. (I once purchased a biography of Alice Roosevelt simply because I learned that she once owned a pet snake named Emily Spinach.)
Capturing an essence of a character—within fiction as well as nonfiction—is a skill that can help bring authenticity to your work. On Saturday from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Appleton Public Library, I’ll lead a two-hour workshop during which we’ll explore what it means to develop a character, as well as who—or what—a character can be (Hint: A place or a setting can be a character as well). We’ll also do some writing exercises to create, build or enhance character in your work.
The class is free, but registration is required. Hope to see you there!
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Benito Mussolini (1883-1945)
Benito Mussolini was born on July 29th, 1883 in the town of Varnano dei Costa near the village of Predappio. His mother, Rosa Maltoni, was married to a blacksmith named Alessandro Mussolini. Alessandro, being an admirer of the Mexican revolutionary Benito Juarez, named his son after the patriot and hero. Benito Mussolini was a devoted writer and after he finished his schooling, he became an editor for the Milan socialist paper "Avanti". He became well known among the Italian socialists, but soon started promoting his views for war against Germany in World War I.
This infuriated the Socialists who were against Italy's entry into the war. In 1915 he formed his own paper, Il Popolo d'Italia, and continued his promotion for war. When Italy finally joined the Allies to fight Germany, Mussolini enlisted into the "Esercito" (Army). Mussolini achieved the rank of Corporal, the same rank as Adolf Hitler, but was discharged in 1917 due to shrapnel wounds from a grenade.
He returned to his career in journalism in which he began to develop his ideas that would soon become known as Fascism. After the war, Italy was in turmoil. The economy was shattered and there were strikes and protests everywhere. On March 23, 1919, Mussolini and several other veterans formed the National Fascist Party. This party grew in popularity among the people of Italy, who were disappointed with the chaos surrounding them. Mussolini seemed to have the answers to bring their country into order. During this time, he adopted the Roman salute and the Black Shirt militia, which Hitler later copied from him as the Brown Shirts. On March 15th 1921, Mussolini along with 35 other Fascists were elected to the Italian Chamber of Deputies.
On October 29, 1922, King Vittorio Emmanuele III (1869-1947) phoned Mussolini to come to Rome and form a government. Mussolini boarded a train to Rome and was greeted by thousands of Fascist Blackshirts awaiting his arrival. His first act was to send the strikers back home to their families and their jobs. Mussolini managed to assume the powers of all the government offices in order to regain control of the economy. In a short period of time, he was successful in stabilizing the economy and taking his country out of economic turmoil. He became known as "Il Duce" (the leader)
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Mussolini ordered the Italian navy to bombard Corfu (Kerkyra) off the Greek coast. The landing of Italian marines then followed the shelling. After the League of Nations (International diplomatic and peace organization created in the Treaty of Versailles that ended World War I) condemned the act, Mussolini threatened to pull Italy out of the League.
Mussolini insisted that the Conference of Ambassadors, who formed the original mission in the first place, must settle the dispute. France, wanting Italy's support over the mineral rich Ruhr Valley, sided with Italy. As a result, the Conference of Ambassadors endorsed most of Italy's position. The Greek government gave in and agreed to Il Duce's demands. Mussolini sending elements of the Italian Army into the city of Fiume and seizing it from Yugoslavia immediately followed this victory. Mussolini was eventually made a British Knight of the Bath, but that was cancelled in August of 1940.
Although Mussolini satisfied his thirst for power, he was still enraged by the treatment Italy received for their part in defeating the Germans and Austrians in World War I. He had visions of a new Roman Empire and he could see the day when the Mediterranean Sea became the "Mare Nostrum"(Our Sea). The invasion of Ethiopia, commanded by Field Marshal Pietro Badoglio, was many ways revenge against the Italian defeat at Adwa in 1896, and the Italian military assistance in Spanish Civil War, reflected his dreams coming to life. But Mussolini found his country became blacklisted' (chucked onto the naughty list) by the League of Nations and it forced Italy's relationship closer to Nazi Germany, which was also isolated for their actions. Mussolini soon realized that the League of Nations did not have the backbone to stop Hitler or himself in gaining new colonies, so he pressed forward. On the April 7, 1939, Mussolini invaded Albania and on May 22,1939, Italy and Germany cemented their alliance with the Pact of Steel.
Italy would find limited success in the war; Mussolini's invasions in Africa, Greece and Yugoslavia slowly vanished due to poor leadership in the military, and lack of fuel to power their forces. By 1943, Italy was losing the war. In July 1943, Mussolini was overthrown by a revolt within his own Fascist Grand Council, and Vittorio Emmanuelle III, the King of Italy, reduced to a figurehead (meaning he was given a position of nominal leadership but had no actual authority) by Mussolini, appointed Field Marshal Pietro Badoglio to be the new Prime Minister of Italy. Mussolini was arrested but later rescued by German paratroopers in a mountain top resort where he was imprisoned. After his rescue, he set up the Italian Socialist Republic in German-held northern Italy, with himself as its leader.
On April 28, 1945, Italian supporters by Lake Como arrested Mussolini and his mistress Clara Petacci, again. Walter Audisio (1909-1973), who was once pardoned by Mussolini for a jail term in 1934, took custody of Mussolini and Petacci. Mussolini, realizing he was going to killed, opened up his shirt and asked to be shot in the chest. Audisio complied and attempted to shoot the pair with an Italian submachine gun, but it would not fire. He then pulled out an Italian pistol and again it would not fire. In desperation he grabbed a French weapon, a MAS 7.65, from a fellow partisan (Italian supporter) and killed them both. Their bodies were strung upside down the next day for all to see.
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Gardening > Grow Your Own... Sweetcorn
Grow Your Own... Sweetcorn
Boil it whole and eat it drenched in butter, cut it up into smaller slices or take the kernels off the cob and eat them as an accompaniment to any meal. Whichever way you eat it, fresh sweetcorn is a real treat especially if it has just been picked from your garden.
Choose a warm site in full sun for your sweetcorn where there is plenty of shelter from the wind. Finding a suitable place to grow sweetcorn is very important.
Dig the bed over during the winter before sowing, incorporating plenty of well-rotted, organic matter into the soil. For sweetcorn this is essential as the soil must be well-drained but also able to hold moisture.
Sweetcorn does well in a slightly acid soil.
Sow sweetcorn indoors in peat pots in April or in early May under cloches outside. In mild areas sweetcorn can be sown outside without cloches in late May.
To aid pollination sow the seeds or plant out the seedlings (when hardened off) in blocks, not in a single row. Leave 18 inches between rows.
If using cloches remove them as soon as the plants begin to touch the top. As the sweetcorn grows cover any exposed roots with soil or well-rotted compost.
Water the sweetcorn regularly if the weather is dry especially when the plants are in flower. If there is a lot of wind stake the plants.
Sweetcorn cobs are usually ready for picking in mid-August to mid-September. Each plant should yield up to 2 cobs. The cob is ready when the silks are a dark, rich brown in colour and when the kernels are juicy and give off a creamy juice when squeezed. It is importqant to use sweetcorn immediately after picking.
Fruit Fly
The maggots of the fruit fly burrow into the plants.
Symptoms: Stunted growth, twisted ragged leaves and small cobs.
Remedy: Try fine mesh netting to stop fruit fly getting to cobs.
Ugly wart-like growths appear on the plant. If left they will burst and black spores will be released.
Symptoms: Wart-like growths on plants.
Remedy: Cut the warts off and burn them as soon as they appear on the plant. Burn the plants after harvesting. Do not grow sweetcorn on the same plot for at least 3 years.
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Metacarpal Fracture
What is a metacarpal fracture?
Metacarpal fractures are common hand injuries. They can occur from a variety of injuries such as a fall, a motor vehicle collision, or striking the fist against a hard surface. There are five metacarpals, one for each finger and the thumb. The metacarpals contribute to the bony architecture of the hand. Satisfactory healing of this fracture is important to restoring hand function. A fracture of the metacarpal neck of the small finger is sometimes called a “boxer’s fracture,” as they can be seen in punching injuries.
What are the treatment options?
The treatment plan will depend on the severity of the fracture and the patient’s medical condition and activity level. Most people have fractures which are well-aligned, and, therefore, do not require surgery and are treated in a splint or cast. Follow-up x-rays are obtained to evaluate how the fracture is healing. Hand therapy is sometimes necessary to improve strength and range of motion.
Some patients with displaced fractures can be treated with manual realignment of the fracture. This is performed in the office or emergency room with local anesthesia (numbing medicine). Once the bones are “set,” a splint is placed to maintain the alignment.
Surgery may be recommended to patients with more severe fractures, such as those with unsatisfactory alignment.
What is involved with surgery?
The surgery is performed as an outpatient using either regional anesthesia or general anesthesia. During surgery, the bones are realigned and stabilized. In some cases, a low-profile plate and/or screws are used to fix the bones internally. This is called “open reduction and internal fixation” and requires an incision on the back of the hand. In other cases, temporary pins are placed through the skin to stabilize the bones while they heal. This is called “closed reduction and percutaneous pinning.” The pins can be removed in clinic after a few weeks. Other options which are less commonly used include intramedullary nail fixation and external fixation. Which technique is used depends on the fracture pattern and is often determined in the operating room. The bone healing process takes about 6 weeks, but full recovery can take a few months.
What can I expect after surgery?
Rest and elevation of the hand above the level of the heart is very import for the first few days after surgery to reduce swelling. Shoulder and elbow range of motion exercises are important to help prevent stiffness in these joints. The first few days after surgery can be painful, and medications will be prescribed to help. These medications should be weaned as the pain subsides.
Your wrist and fingers will be protected in a plaster splint after the surgery. The splint will be removed in clinic after a few days and a removable splint will be provided. At that point, most patients can begin gentle wrist and finger range of motion with the oversight of a hand therapist. However, some patients need an additional few weeks of splinting to protect the repair, depending on the severity of the fracture. Avoid heavy lifting or use of the hand until the fracture heals.
Pain, swelling, and stiffness gradually improve over time. Most patients can return to more normal function at about 2 months post-operatively, but maximum improvement can take 3-6 months. Recovery time varies among patients.
What are the complications from surgery?
Possible complications include pain, bleeding, infection, stiffness, nonunion, malunion, hardware failure, and damage to the surrounding nerves and blood vessels. A fracture which fails to unite is known as a nonunion. A fracture which heals with deformity is known as a malunion. Other complications are also possible but are uncommon.
What can I do to improve my results?
Adequate nutrition is important during the healing and recovery process. If you smoke, reducing or eliminating tobacco use will decrease your risk of complications. Complying with the therapist’s recommendations is very important to maximize your result. The natural tendency of the hand after trauma is to become “stiff” and swollen. Dedication to a hand therapy program can be valuable in reducing the chance of complications and restoring function.
If you have an injury to your finger, hand, wrist or arm, please call the Raleigh Hand Center promptly at 919-872-3171 to be evaluated by an orthopaedic hand specialist.
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Callisto - Mythology
Did you know the constellation "Great bear" (Ursur Major) was Callisto? Maybe not the same warrior we've come to know and love, but Callisto all the same.
Artemis, the goddess of the hunt and the moon, was always accompanied on her adventures by a band of nymphs. One day the nymph Callisto asked to join her. After taking the oath of chastity required by Artemis of all her followers, Callisto was allowed to join her.
One day Zeus, the king of the gods, came across Callisto as she lay asleep. He fell in love with her, overpowered her, and gave her a son Arcas.
Both Hera and Artemis were furious with Callisto. Hera because of Zeus's adultery, and Artemis because she had violated her oath of chastity. To protect Callisto, Zeus concealed her by changing her into a bear. For many miserable years she wandered the forest, pursued by the very huntresses who had once been her companions.
One day Arcas, who had grown up to be a great hunter, saw his mother, without recognizing her in her bear shape. He drew an arrow to slay her, but at the last moment Zeus turned him also into a bear, and transported them both into the sky as the constellations Great (Callisto) and Little (Arcas) Bears.
Hera was angered by the honor paid to her rival, and persuaded Poseidon to not let her bathe in the ocean's waters. That is why the Great Bear is always in the sky. However, this injunction was relaxed, and the Great Bear in fact dips slightly below the horizon.
There in the sky Callisto and Arcas will live forever.
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Generalized linear array model
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In statistics, the generalized linear array model (GLAM) is used for analyzing data sets with array structures. It based on the generalized linear model with the design matrix written as a Kronecker product.
The generalized linear array model or GLAM was introduced in 2006.[1] Such models provide a structure and a computational procedure for fitting generalized linear models or GLMs whose model matrix can be written as a Kronecker product and whose data can be written as an array. In a large GLM, the GLAM approach gives very substantial savings in both storage and computational time over the usual GLM algorithm.
Suppose that the data is arranged in a -dimensional array with size ; thus,the corresponding data vector has size . Suppose also that the design matrix is of the form
The standard analysis of a GLM with data vector and design matrix proceeds by repeated evaluation of the scoring algorithm
where represents the approximate solution of , and is the improved value of it; is the diagonal weight matrix with elements
is the working variable.
Computationally, GLAM provides array algorithms to calculate the linear predictor,
and the weighted inner product
without evaluation of the model matrix
In 2 dimensions, let then the linear predictor is written where is the matrix of coefficients; the weighted inner product is obtained from and is the matrix of weights; here is the row tensor function of the matrix given by
where means element by element multiplication and is a vector of 1's of length .
These low storage high speed formulae extend to -dimensions.
GLAM is designed to be used in -dimensional smoothing problems where the data are arranged in an array and the smoothing matrix is constructed as a Kronecker product of one-dimensional smoothing matrices.
1. ^ Currie, I. D.; Durban, M.; Eilers, P. H. C. (2006). "Generalized linear array models with applications to multidimensional smoothing". Journal of the Royal Statistical Society. 68 (2): 259–280.
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Pardon Me, Is That An Asteroid On Your Finger?
The oldest rocks on Earth are zircon crystals. These highly refractive gemstones are often used to imitate diamonds or cubic zirconias in jewelry. Geologists have now announced the results of a study that has determined that zircons are quite possibly remnants of an ancient asteroid collision with Earth.
Other than simply having the pleasure of knowing you may have a bit of outer space asteroid glittering on your finger or about your ears, neck or wrist, what good is this information? Well, for one thing it dispels the previous theory that zircons were created by tectonic plate upheavals. But, more importantly, it helps scientists understand climate change. Yes, you heard the gringa right, climate change. A rock’s origins can often indicate what was going on with water on the planet at the time the rock was formed. Since zircon’s are produced by asteroids, Earthlings can also learn about the part of the cosmos that it originated from.
Researchers from Trinity College Dublin (Ireland) collected crystals from an impact crater that is considered “young”. Scientists wanted to compare the “young” crystals with older crystals from the Sudbury crater in Ontario, Canada. Sudbury is the best preserved impact crater on Earth and is about two billion years old.
The samples were taken to Stockholm’s “Swedish Museum of Natural History”. Comparisons concluded that the older crystals were the same as the younger ones. This then disproved the argument that the ancient zircon crystals could not have formed at the time the impact occurred. So, now we know that they could and probably did, making zircons the oldest rocks on Earth, as old as four billion years old which is the age of the oldest impact crater on our planet. The researchers also believe this supports the narrative that early Earth saw many more asteroid impacts than in its later life.
So, what this new determination tells mankind is that about four billion years ago an asteroid slammed into Earth. The crystals were able to form because water was present. Best estimates place the Earth’s age at four and a half billion years old so logic would assume then that it has always been a watery planet. And what’s the big deal about an old, watery Earth?
Well, for one thing, water was required for life as we know it today to have evolved. But, the new discoveries about the crystals still does not solve the mystery of how life originated on planet Earth in the first place. And there are many theories on this subject that argue their own merits. Here are a few:
Electrified Primordial Soup – This school of thought believes that in the beginning of Earth’s life as a planet there was a life-giving electrical shock to the planet, such as lightning, that interacted with the ammonia, hydrogen and water on the planet. Lightning would deliver more than just a jolting electrical shock. The atmosphere, being filled with ammonia, hydrogen and water, would react with the electricity and create amino acids and sugars. These are the building blocks of microbial life.
Clay – A Scottish chemist has offered the theory that mineral crystals in clay is where all life began. He believes it is possible that clay, possibly at the bottom of the sea, was the perfect surface for molecules to organize themselves into patterns of amino acids and proteins which would later become DNA. Once the DNA evolved independently it no longer needed the clay medium but could organize itself on its own.
Hydrothermal Vents – Even now ocean biologists discover ecosystems surrounding hydrothermal vents deep within the Earth’s oceans that are teeming with life. Concentrations of molecules and minerals exist with the rocks surrounding these vents interacting with the hydrogen rich molecules provided by the vents action.
Panspermia – The hitchhiking life surviving the impact of an asteroid with Earth is yet one more possibility. If this theory is true, then the puzzle of the origins of life is not really to be worked out here on Earth, but to be solved by traveling the cosmos to find where it came from out there.
Although the many theories of how life originate on Earth are quite varied in their ideas, they all have one common thread… water. That would mean if the original microbes that evolved into humans over billions of years originally came from somewhere in outer space, to discover or “home planet”, Earthlings have to study planets that either have water now or had it at some time in their own history. By understanding this, a person then can understand the inspiration behind every space mission and why the space agencies of the world want to travel ever farther. They are not looking for little green men. They are looking for little molecules of water or ice. And one day, we may all call home a rock that exists in another galaxy or solar system.
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6 thoughts on “Pardon Me, Is That An Asteroid On Your Finger?”
1. Fascinating post! Am going to look at the zircon rystal I have in a whole new light. Although the other theories of how life formed on earth are interesting, the panspermia theory has always caught my imagination. Would love to travel the cosmos to find out (:
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2. Your posts are great! I never know where your inquisitive mind will take us next. Wouldn’t mind the polished zircon on my finger, though the raw one is far more mysterious. With all that history, ironic it’s considered a cheap substitute for diamonds 🙂 . On a more (slightly) serious note, I prefer the panspermia theory by far – born of stars, not of clay!
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3. Thank you; this day has only just begun and already I’ve learned something new. I’ll never look at zircon the same way again! (Hmm… not quite right: I don’t recall ever really looking at it ever before, but now I will.)
PS Typo alert:
“Since zircon’szircons are produced by asteroids…”
(plural, not possessive)
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Duke Ellington - Essay Example
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Author : aiyanasteuber
Duke Ellington Name: Course: College: Tutor: Date: Duke Ellington Duke Ellington was born in 1899 in Washington dc to a middle class family. He was enrolled to piano classes at the age of seven and was always artistic during his early days. His family encouraged him to follow his heart, and he continued practicing to play piano like great pianists of those days…
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Duke Ellington
He was influenced my piano players such as, James Johnson and Willie smith. He later gained respect of the same people who influenced him with his piano playing styles. Duke’s ability to modernize his playing over the years kept him to be relevant in the music industry, (Gayford, 1999). This musician had a style that was not associated with blacks back then. He did music that was beyond definition back then, and defied stereotypes. He considered his orchestra as one crucial instrument of his singing. He always sang with them, and his orchestra was one of the big hits from 1927. It had eight soloists, and before 1931, it used to perform in Cotton club. Later, it became a road band; touring all the states in US as well as Europe and Sweden in the 1930s. Ellington as a person had a sense of dignity, and dressed immaculately something that was not associated with black people. He was also extremely serious at his work, and many said he was too quiet. Most of his time was spent in his studio composing songs for his band. His songs were specifically written for his band; making it hard for others to sing them. During this period, he also succeeded in the film industry. Duke Ellington had various records throughout his career life. ...
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What are the characteristics of a pregnant bearded dragon?
Quick Answer
The first characteristic sign that suggests a bearded dragon is pregnant is an increase in appetite. About two to three weeks later, the developing eggs become visible in the female’s belly. Roughly marble-sized, these eggs grow slightly over the course of the pregnancy. The final sign occurs when the female begins scratching or digging in the substrate, which occurs in the final week.
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Full Answer
Once the female begins digging to find a suitable place to deposit her eggs, it is crucial to provide her with a place to do so. Provide her with a small plastic container, half-filled with slightly damp vermiculite or potting soil. When it is time to deposit the eggs, the female digs a hole, deposits the eggs and then covers the hole with soil. Most keepers dig the eggs up and incubate them in an artificial egg chamber.
Be sure to feed a gravid female well to help reduce the chances that she becomes egg bound. Additionally, it is important to use a calcium supplement while her body is producing calcium-rich eggshells. If a bearded dragon appears unable to deposit all of her eggs, she must be taken to a veterinarian immediately to prevent complications.
The term “gravid” is often used to describe a bearded dragon that contains developing eggs, rather than "pregnant."
Learn more about Lizards
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Two-Phase Treatment
Two-phase orthodontic treatment refers to “Interceptive treatment” (Phase 1) followed by “Comprehensive treatment” (Phase II). Interceptive treatment “intercepts” a problem. It is a specialized process that takes advantage of a critical period of jaw growth to maximize the potential for successful tooth alignment in the future. In some cases, correcting tooth and jaw positioning early on encourages more satisfactory dental and facial development during the teen and pre-teen years. The patient will be evaluated for comprehensive treatment (Phase II) once most of the permanent teeth have erupted. Comprehensive orthodontic treatment addresses bite concerns and overall smile aesthetics.
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Resting Period
In between the first and second phases, a rest period is observed during which we wait for the remaining permanent teeth to erupt. We will see patients during the resting period, usually once every 3-6 months, to monitor growth and progress.
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Hockney: Painting is Just Better
Karen Wright: So what are the differences between painting and photography?
David Hockney: I recently watched a television programme about Goya's painting The Third of May, 1808, which I had just been looking at in Madrid. It was only after the programme that I realized something rather important that they failed to point out, which is that the image Goya made could not be made by a television camera or by any camera at all, because the camera man would have had to have been on the side of the soldiers, otherwise he would have been shot. People in television like to claim that they can show you everything, but they can't and neither can cameras. When the Church stopped commissioning paintings, in approximately 1840, it coincided with the beginning of the manufacture of lenses, because photography had just started. As the Church stopped commissioning pictures, its power began to decline and its social control became weaker. Now social control lies almost entirely with the media. The continuity and power is the mirror and lenses! That's quite disturbing.
KW: Do you think that photography still has an important role in terms of social documentary?
DH: Photography is very good at documentation if what is being documented is two-dimensional, ie. a painting or a drawing. But if the subject is three dimensional, photography is far less successful. Of course all old photographs become interesting from the point of view assuming that in a particular picture those people stood there at that time and looked like that. Now with digital photography you have no need ever to believe that. It has also always been pointed out that photographs need captions – without captions you don't know which side you are on, who's doing what to whom. They're essential and if you change the caption then you change the meaning. My point about the Goya painting is that if a photograph was being taken of the same incident the camera person would have had to be on one side. There is no neutral position he could be in. The truth is photography is a bore. ...
KW: Do you find the camera useful for taking reference pictures for your own work?
DH: I stopped using photographs for reference a long time ago. I never look through the camera any more. That's what made me see they weren't good enough, even if you take them yourself. There is something there but not enough. Lucian Freud told me that he tried using photographs for reference but he said there wasn't enough there. I was in Andalucia recently and realized that the way you see flowers, walls – pattern – doesn't come across in a photograph. They don't photograph the way you see them.
KW: So you use sketchbooks instead?
DH: I like fluidity between the heart, the eye, the hand, right down to, and through, the brush. I believe in the Chinese saying – for a work of art you need three things: the hand, the eye and the heart. It is marvelous and profoundly true. You can have all the skill with the hand, skill with the eye but with no heart what will it be? If you've got the heart and the eye but no hand what could you do? Rembrandt is a very good example of this. In every Rembrandt drawing it seems to me you see the hand, the eye and the heart at work. Which you don't in a photograph. No photographic portrait has ever been like a Rembrandt face.
KW: But surely a photograph must be the truest portrait? What does a Rembrandt show us that is different?
DH: Humans! ...
KW: So you think that what is being taught at art colleges is the problem?
DH: The Royal College of Art in London has a course called 'Fine Art Photography'. It is mind-boggling that they would do that and not have any interest in drawing. They got rid of the painting and drawing school, thinking that we've got new mediums which are more important. I think it has been a disaster, because drawing is a discipline and to be good at it you have to keep practicing in the same way any musician has to.
Edvard Munch made a very profound comment: 'Photography cannot compete with painting because it cannot deal with heaven or hell.' And it might account for the secular twentieth century that we are moving out of now. In fact many people thought hell didn't exist in the twentieth century; maybe they will in the twenty-first.
– Modern Painters Magazine, Spring 2004
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Glass tiles
Glass tiles are pieces of glass formed into consistent shapes.
Glass was used in mosaics as early as 2500 BC, but it took until the 3rd century BC before innovative artisans in Greece, Persia and India created glass tiles.
Whereas clay tiles are dated as early as 8000 BC, there were significant barriers to the development of glass tiles, included the high temperatures required to melt glass, and the complexities of mastering various annealing curves for glass.
Glass tile introduces complexities to the installer. Since glass is more rigid than ceramic or porcelain tile, glass tiles break more readily under the duress of substrate shifts.
Smalti tiles
Since the 1990s a variety of modern glass tile technologies, including methods to take used glass and recreate it as ‘green’ tiles, has resulted in a resurgence of interest in glass tile as a floor and wall cladding. It is now most commonly used in pools, kitchens, spas, and bathrooms. Small and large format glass products are now commonly formed using cast and fused glass methods. The plasticity of these methods has resulted in a wide variety of looks and applications, including floor tiles.
We can help with your glass tile installation. License #914470, Bond # SC6080959, insurance policy #U15AC87582-00. Browse past project photos. Contact for a free estimate. References available upon request!
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Monday, January 28, 2008
The Decembrists
The Decembrists obviously understand and adhere to the metrical lyricism of poetry, as one can see when mapping out their metrical feet in the song, "The Island Come & See." It is interesting to hear the forcefulness of the singer as he sings the stressed syllables, and the quieter way in which he sings the unstressed syllables. The song is broken up into three succinct parts. Besides the actual musical changes within the song, one is able to notice a more subtle change when looking at the song's lyrics. The first portion of the song is written in iambs, with a masculine ending in each line. The second portion of the song is written using trochaics, with a feminine ending. The third portion of the song is written using both iambs and trochaics, with a mixture of masculine and feminine endings. The song-writer obviously paid attention to the sound and musicality of metrical feet and the changes that metrical feet can create within music, as well as poetry.
Toomer in "Fern"
Toomer writes himself into “Fern,” and after reading some of his biographical information, one is able to notice the aspects of his own life that is mirrored in the narrator’s movements. The shifting from place to place in his own musings and contemplations reflect the travels that Toomer made when he was younger, and even in young adulthood. It is interesting to see that his story takes place within Georgia, the place that Toomer finally decided to live and where he “found in him the belief that he had located his ancestral roots” (Williams 3). For it is here that one is able to see Toomer arrive and begin to make acquaintances with the people there. It is also interesting to notice that Toomer, within the story, decides to take a train back to the North. In this sense, Toomer is leaving his ancestral roots, leaving Georgia where he feels the most connected with his roots. Toomer traveled between white culture and black culture when he was young, and perhaps this story is a metaphor expressing that. Toomer also relied heavily upon the coming of the age of the African-American woman in post-Civil War society. The Fern character represents this change and idealization of that African-American woman, an “Esther” character to use the metaphor within the story. Toomer deals with identity a lot within his writings, and perhaps this mirrors his own thoughts and contemplations of his own identity, going back and forth from white and black culture during a time when there was a wall between the two.I would like to reference the quote that I used in the above blog, A Jean Toomer Biography. Scott W. Williams. 24 January 2008
The Wind that Shakes the Barley
"The Wind that Shakes the Barley" was a gripping tale of how violence can create even more violence. It reminded me much of what the American revolution underwent, also against British rule. The struggles of the revolutionaries are vast, and in most cases, the revolutionaries seem not to have a choice in the matter. Damien even says that he wished to stay out of the war, and couldn't, and now he wishes to get out of the war, and can't. This is a great summation of what happens to people within a country that is undergoing a revolution. The British are horrid in their acts towards the Irish, and I believe that it is justified that the Irish revolutionaries be horrid back in their actions towards the British. One act causes another act of equal, or more, intensity. I think it is interesting the way in which the movie portrays some of the psychological effects of revolutions, especially at an individual level, as seen in Damien's monologues. The revolution seems to almost be a "trap" that the people of Ireland cannot escape, especially because the fighting is occurring within their own back yards. War seems to suck people in and creating a violent people. All in all, an absolute great film!
The Wind, the Barley, etc.
As with everyone else, I thought this movie--wha wha--would seem to be a bit...dreary for my tastes. But, nonetheless...well, we'll move on.
I feel that this movie, as with the Decembrists song, seems also to be about perspective. Here we have two brothers Damien and the guy Teddy, both fighting for what they believe in. There isn't just an apparent parallel here, there's an absolute one. When Damien killed Chris O'Reilly, he knew he didn't want to but had to for the sake of his cause--his version of fighting for a free Ireland. Then Chris's mother said I don't wanna see you again man, and so we fast-forward to the end. And Teddy kills his brother Damien, even though he didn't want to (or did he?) but had to for the sake of his cause. And Damien's girl is like, I don't wanna see you again, you bastard. Similar. But exact. The movie doesn't continue beyond that point, and it's hard to see from this what the good side was and what the bad side was. When they were having the argument in the independent justice courts, I tended to see both aspects of the fight: we need money or we need to establish rules/legality/credibility. It's a tough situation. And the movie was able to (or the director/writer/whatever) to realistically remove itself from natural commentary on which side is best. Almost unbiased. There was no want at the end who won? or anything like that. It was pretty clear that the fight was between the two brothers, with each having their own "vision". And that's that. Sympathy was shown to both, and there was no actual bad guy. Kudos to that aspect of the movie.
The Wind That Shakes the Barley
I want to start out by saying that this movie was very powerful and emotionally gripping. It was well shot and the director certainly knew what he/she was doing throughout the entire film. An aspect of the movie all the people that watched it with me were talking about was the soldiers in the beginning of the film. It was interesting to us that despite the fact that the soldiers were both English and Irish, they still treated the Irish so terribly. The scene where the red-haired soldier helped the Irish out of jail was one that caused some cheers from all of us watching. The fact that the soldier could not be a part of the men being killed was a thought that I hoped more characters in the movie would echo. Unfortunately that was not the case, as we continued to see more brutal acts being carried out throughout the film. The scene in which Sinead has her hair (and some scalp) cut off is one that sticks out in my mind as being particularly brutal and nearly impossible to watch. The second half of the movie is interesting as it pits the Irish against themselves and, more importantly for the purpose of the film, O' Donovan versus O' Donovan. This sets up a similar dichotomy as we saw in the earlier parts of the film, although on a much smaller scope. This portion of the film is particularly emotionally gripping because of the family feuding that occurs.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
The Wind that Shakes the Barley
Wow. This movie was definitely an experience. It really gave a new and more personal insight into the history of the Irish. The plot that it built around its story was very engaging.
I think what I liked most about the movie was how it showed the internal conflict of the Irish as they worked for political freedom. From the beginning there are differences in which actions should be taken and how they should be carried out within the group of Irish. This element is enhanced by the detail given to the relationship between Damien and his brother. Through these two, we see the constantly shifting desires of the Irish.
In the beginning, Damien believes in a more political route, using his intelligence rather than anger to fight for Irish freedom. This is in complete contrast with his brother, who is the "action-taker" and more militant of the group. As the story goes on, however, we see Damien take more of the militant role, resisting British occupation at all costs.
This especially reaches a pivotal point in the movie at the court case scene. The war has forced the men (Damien's brother's) to adapt their ethics, siding with the banker (or loaner) out of necessity for arms. Damien takes the opposite side. From this point on, the conflict between the two grows until they are basically at civil war with each other. This all culminates in Damien's execution.
There were several quotes that stuck out to me, but here are a couple that I think are most relevant to this post:
"I hope this Ireland we're fighting for is worth it" - Damien says this before he executes Reilly for treason, and this foreshadows his own death.
"You just killed a fellow Irishman" - after the political split over the treaty, the men find themselves at war with each other. This scene brought about questioning what the treaty accomplished, if anything, and who it was good for.
The Wind.
Comments on the Wind that Shakes the Barley
This film was one of the most depressing yet thought provoking and important movie going experiences I have ever had. The film delivers in great detail, the pain and sorrow that Ireland felt during the British occupation. It was clearly easy to side with the Irish during the first half of the film on account of the unacceptable and horrific British brutality. What I saw in the film would have made me want to join the IRA and fight back. But what really hit me the most was the fact that after the long hard struggle to gain independence, the Irish only got a very watered down version of true freedom. It through into my head a quote from Frank Herbert’s Dune Messiah, “Every revolution carries within it the seeds of its own destruction.” One time allies fighting each other, and more importantly the two principle brothers on opposing sides, it was difficult to watch relationships and achievements built up to that point suddenly take a sharp decline. In the end, this is definitely a film that everyone should see at least once in their lives, an important piece of history that most history classes fail to look at. Watching it a second time…well that is something I can’t do unless forced. It was heart wrenching enough to see again. (good movie though don’t get me wrong).
The Brothers in "The Wind that Shakes the Barley"
What I enjoy about movies like "The Wind that Shakes the Barley" is that it takes an issue as intense as war, a matter that is so far removed from most people that the idea of such a struggle does not make much of an impact, and makes it so vivid that one cannot ignore it. Like other war films, it does this by showing us first hand the people fighting and the gruesome way in which they are treated. And though I am usually upset by them, as I was in the case of this film, I find they help affect emotions that sometimes text alone cannot evoke.
But enough rambling about films in general. I thought "The Wind that Shakes the Barley" did a great job of introducing us to the Irish War of Independence through the relationship between the two brothers; what was particularly successful in my mind was how radically different the brothers' views were from one another and, at the same time, how similar the two could be. For example, both are extremely dedicated to their cause; just as Damien unwillingly kills the young soldier for betraying them, so too is Teddy so firm in his beliefs that he executes his own brother despite the fact that he does not want to. In both of these situations, both deny a request from another so that they do not have to do the act themselves and both receive the same general reaction when delivering their victims letters (both the young boy's mother and Damien's wife state they never want to see the person delivering the letters again). So the relationship as a metaphor for the entire country of Ireland is very strong and successful for creating emotion in the viewer.
Loach's Use of Irony in The Wind That Shakes the Barley
The Wind That Shakes the Barley is a 2006 independent film by English director Ken Loach set in twentieth century Ireland. The film depicts the fictional account of two brothers in the Irish Republican Army during the Irish War of Independence and the Irish Civil War. European criticism tend to emphasize Loach's depiction of Irish history and colonial tensions between England and Ireland. However, I will instead offer a brief analysis Loach's use of role reversal and parallels in his expression of cosmic irony in the movie.
In The Wind That Shakes the Barley, cosmic irony is manifested in identical intentions, yet opposite fates of the brothers Damien and Teddy O'Donovan. Loach achieves this effect by effectively switching the roles of older O'Donovan brother, Teddy, and that of the British occupational forces, which both brothers and the Irish Republican Army, has been opposed to since the beginning of the movie. Accordingly, Damien and Teddy are forced into conflict with one another because of their opposing political beliefs: Teddy believes that Ireland cannot achieve complete independence from Britain and therefore supports the Anglo-Irish Treaty; Damien refuses to submit to the terms of the treaty and swear an oath of loyalty to the English government, and instead does not support the treaty and believes the Irish Republican party should continue to fight for independence. Teddy effectively transforms into the original oppressor, and even adopts the green uniform and equipment of the British soldier, and yet both brothers are still fighting for a better future for their country.
This opposition between the O'Donovans climaxes when Teddy orders the death of his brother and effectively dissolves his relationship with his family for the sake of his politics. It becomes apparent at this point that Loach reinforces his irony by using parallels: where once his brother Damien was spurned and rejected by the family of a man he had slain, so does his brother Teddy face the same rejection at the hands of his brother's lover at the end of the movie. The same building in which Teddy was tortured for information and confessions from the British army becomes the location of Damien's imprisonment, and where he too must be emotionally tormented by the pleas of his brother for submission. By the end of the movie, Damien is forced to use guerrilla tactics once reserved for the British army against the new Irish army and his brother; An identical raid against a barracks that was the beginning of the Irish Republican Party's success when the two brothers were united becomes the end of another, when a raid against an Irish army barracks is the fatal maneuver of Damien and results in his subsequent capture.
The above is only a brief admiration of Loach's storytelling techniques in The Wind That Shakes the Barley. The use of parallel enhances the cathartic effects of Damien's death at the movie's end. Future analysis might invite comparisons between this movie and Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather series, which operated using similar techniques.
The Wind That Shakes the Barley
This film was an extremely poignant portrayal of the Irish struggle against the British. Before viewing this film I was aware of the struggles between the British and Irish but not on a knowledgeable basis. The treatment of the Irish people by the British was reprehensible and this movie can be seen to sum up in many ways the colonial domination of the British on not just the Irish but any of their colonized peoples. The air of flagrant superiority of the British soldiers and their treatment of the Irish people like subhuman animals was not unique to Ireland and occurred in the African and Indian colonies. The movie as a whole shows that it was not just the first hand British domination that created conflict in the Irish peoples lives but it was the upheaval of the native way of life that caused the subjugated peoples to have even greater conflict amongst themselves. This movie could be analyzed very superbly through a historical lens and with a greater knowledge of the Irish struggle for independence comes a greater depth to the events that occur in the movie.
Wind That Shakes The Barley
This film brilliantly portrays a little-known historical subject. Many know of the brutality of British colonialists in India (thanks to Gandhi) or Africa, but they were just as harsh towards the neighboring Irish as well. Thanks to the film, more viewers are able to see that the British Empire's brutality was experienced by their closest neighbors.
Ultimately, what the movie shows is that, in many ways, the British come out on top in the end following the signing of the treaty. What the English couldn't successfully do before the treaty (destroy the pride and independent spirit/desire of the Irish people) was what they were largely able to achieve following the document's ratification. The Irish were now fighting their fellow Irish, and the British no longer had to waste any of their soldiers to do so.
Plot-wise, what especially struck me was the scene where Damien checks on the sick little boy in bed. Despite abandoning his medical career to join the IRA and a life of violence, Damien demonstrates here that he still has love and compassion deep down, and that the doctor within him, while suppressed, is not extinguished.
The Wind That Shakes the Barley
I thought the film "The Wind that Shakes the Barley" was an insightful, albeit depressing, look into the British control over Ireland and the violence that characterized it. I thought it was interesting how there was no clear-cut sense of good vs. bad that would usually be in movies of this nature. Obviously, the British soldiers were dispicable in their treatment of Irish people, but the violence that Irishmen like Damien turned to actually made it harder to distinguish the Irish from the British. I think this is best illustrated in the speech after the gunfight on the hill, which says "If they bring their savagery over here, we will meet it with a savagery of our own!”. Here, it is clear that the Irish have become the type of violent monsters the British soldiers are, even though they are violent for a different cause.
I also thought the end was very depressing, but it was also very fitting. As the screen fades out to the sobs and wails of Sinead, the movie ends without any resolution. The only difference is that the violence is now Irish vs. Irish rather than British vs. Irish. This ending shows how all the violence led to no real changes, and symbolized unending fighting and struggle that would plague the island for years.
"The Wind That Shakes the Barley"
With any movie that is connected with actual historical events it is always interesting to analyze the movie in a way that allows the audience to connect with the writer and director. That is to say that quite often when writers and directors are dealing with polarizing events like the Irish civil war, their own personal beliefs on the situation tend to dictate the attitude of the movie. Oliver Stone's movie "Platoon" is an excellent example of this, after watching the movie one feels as if they have just had a conversation with Oliver Stone about the Vietnam War, and now know that he was against the war but nonetheless has respect for those that fought in it and the brotherhood of the bush. "The Wind That Shakes the Barley" is interesting in that after watching the movie one has absolutely no idea who the writer and director side with, Damien or Teddy. While one must feel sorry for both brothers at the end of the film, the writer and director do an excellent job in creating a somewhat objective look at the Irish Civil war and their struggle for independence. This objective portrayal of an event like the Irish Civil war is particularly interesting and useful in that it makes for an interesting and somewhat educational film. While the storyline engages the audience enough to keep their attention for the duration of the two hour movie, the constant question of which brother to side with allows the watcher to critically think about the movie and about really feel as though he or she got something out of it. Overall the engaging nature and objective protrayla of the Irish Civil war makes for a greatly entertaining film.
The Wind That Shakes the Barley
This was a very good film. It was made beautifully and majority of it was historically correct. Yet, my focus of this movie was the imagery that was used to show the torture of the British on the Irish through small glimpse of atrocities of the people and others of Ireland. The first we see the death of the young boy in the chicken coop. Then we also see the three-legged dog at the cottage in the hills. Then we finally see the young boy sick of starvation. These could all be seen as the effects of the British upon and are used to show the hardships of the people of Ireland. We see these small pictures as plots in the movie but need to understand that they have meanings greater then the movies lets on.
"The Wind that Shakes the Barley", War, and "Red Dawn"
The first thing that struck me about Loach’s “The Wind that Shakes the Barley” is the overall tone of the Irish revolutionaries. What made it seem so familiar was the connection between the fleeting militia in this movie, as well as (pretty much) the same characters in one of my favorite cult classics, “Red Dawn”. These two movies illustrated a great point for me. It seems as if anytime there is a foreign invader, the safest thing to do would be to leave civilization and go into the wild. Both of these movies have men that want to fight, but first must flee into the wild to establish themselves as soldiers.
However, what makes “The Wind” different is the fact they the Irish revolutionaries get caught by the British army. From there, everything begins to spiral in a different direction. It was difficult to watch the movie after they killed Chris for ratting on the men. It is hard to think it was truly necessary to kill a kid (who could not have been older than fifteen) who was practically forced into giving away his friends’ location. Nevertheless, this scene gives you a better understanding of what war can do to men. After Damien kills Chris, Finbar says, “We've just sent a message to the British cabinet that will echo and reverberate around the world! If they bring their savagery over here, we will meet it with a savagery of our own!”. Savagery should not be an answer, but these boys almost feel that it is the only way to send a message to their British colonizers. Because of this, war changes the boys to become animals, as seen in the final scene between Damien and Teddy. Teddy knows what he is doing is wrong, but the war has changed him to believe that there is nothing worse than British control of Ireland. The war also changes Damien as his gives his life to his goal of a free Ireland.
The Wind That Shakes The Barley: Depressing Much?
Repeating what the other students have said on here, I will write as best I can. First off, I really enjoy all of Cillian Murphy’s (he played Damien) films because his acting always brings me into all of his films, so that already started the movie off on a positive note for me. The Wind That Shakes The Barley was quite depressing and really gave me a feel for the times that Yeats and Toomer were experiencing. The brutish force of the British Military guys that were in Ireland was astounding. How they could just murder a teenage boy, I do not know. The way the main characters took the situation into their hands by training teens and themselves was very interesting to watch. In a way, they were sort of becoming what they hated most – murderers – but they had a different and valid agenda for their actions.
The ending of the film was so depressing. I did not expect it to just end on the somber note of Damien dying and Sinead left to deal with this. I found this extremely tragic, but at the same time an extremely important scene and metaphor for the times in Ireland. No one was safe against the British, and this was the travesty that the Irish had to deal with. This ending scene gives us insight to content and context of Yeats and Toomer and their works (and probably upcoming works).
The Wind That Shakes the Barley: A Reflection
Ken Loach's The Wind That Shakes the Barley (2006) is a tragic, violent masterpiece. Like Thomas says, below, it is an incredible, historical portrayal of the violence associated with the Irish quest for Independence from Britain. Before watching this movie, I did not know much about the situation in Ireland. Now that I have seen the film, I have a newfound respect for the Irish and a hatred for the British soldiers involved in at least THIS particular series of battles (the battles in the film); just to clarify, I do not intend to generalize and say that all British soldiers (or British in general) are/were terrible, because I cannot rightly say that. In fact, I have some good friends in England.
Although I have always been interested in Ireland (i.e. I would love to visit) and other countries/cultures/languages in general, The Wind That Shakes the Barley pulls that interest to the surface. For instance, at Wabash's Celebration of Student Research, last Friday, I was excited when I realized that there was going to be a presentation on Irish music, and I promptly attended it. The presenter spoke about Irish independence as a major theme in Irish music, and this was captivating to me. The song "Zombie," by The Cranberries, was particularly interesting, focusing on the beating of an Irishman (a teenager, I think) by British men; I learned that the song brought a moment of peace to Britain and Ireland and that everyone seems to want the war to be over. I admit that the first time I ever heard this song on the radio, I immediately changed the station. I did not understand the song or its context, and the characteristic ornamentation of Irish music was peculiar and uninteresting to me (also, I was quite young at the time). Lastly, I did not even realize that the song was performed by an Irish band! Thus, not only did The Wind That Shakes the Barley convince me to attend a presentation on Irish music, it also convinced me to rethink a song that had been erased from my memory, an indictment of British violence toward the Irish. What a powerful and informative film! It definitely goes in my "must buy" list.
The Wind that Shakes the Barley
Like Jeremy just said, I am not quite sure how to go about this blog so I will just comment on a few things. The first thing I would like to say about this movie is how terribly sad it is, which in effect makes it much more touching and realistic. While doing my research on the British occupation of Ireland, I came across numerous stories and accounts of the atrocities committed by both sides. This movie depicted some of those atrocities, whether it was Teddy’s torture and the subsequent punishment or the way that Damien and his followers killed the child traitor who had turned them in. The movie was filled with stark portrayals of the violence and chaos that were part of everyday life in Ireland in the early 20th century.
From the very beginning of the movie, I felt compelled to watch and see the story of these two brothers. This seems like a simple and basic statement but what I mean is that all too often war movies are not compelling and realistic. I often find myself terribly bothered by my lack of caring for the characters in war movies. Maybe it is because I cannot relate to the characters or because I do not feel like I am watching a realistic movie. But more often than not, I find myself bored and unmoved by war movies. This movie, on the other hand, was the complete opposite. From the on set of the movie, I felt like I was there, in Ireland. The sweeping scenery and breathtaking backgrounds made me feel as though I had been to Ireland. I have never been to Ireland but I can at least say I can imagine what it looks like. I cared about Teddy and Damien. I cared about their struggle and plight. I was moved by their speeches inside the court room and I suffered along with them in their fights. And I understood both of their opinions and decisions before the deeply disturbing end to the movie.
The ending to this movie was so profound and disheartening that it is difficult to describe. I felt like I was watching a real piece of art. The dialogue in the scene was so moving and touching I honestly thought that Teddy would retract his decision to kill his brother. It is difficult to express the scene in words because of the nature of the scene. Trying to express the pain and anguish that is visible in Damien and Teddy’s face is next to impossible. These two brothers love each other and their country and it appears as though the love of their country out weighs the love they have for each other. History is rife with occurrences of brothers fighting or believing in different things. This was one of the most powerful endings to any movie I had ever seen.
"The Wind that Shakes the Barley"
I must say, I am not quite sure in how to approach this particular blog, but I will do my best. The film was, for what it was, engaging and even enjoyable at times, if in a morbid sort of way. The film succeeded in attracting my attention toward the plight of the Irish almost a century ago, and I can certainly understand important parallels at work in the world today. The saddening, gloomy overcast of the entire movie truly hits you early on, with the tortured death of the characters' friend. This short scene truly sets up the presentation of the British throughout the movie, as I found them to be comically loud and annoying when they weren't bashing in someone's teeth with the butt of an Enfield. It certainly made me despise the British for a short while, which, I imagine, was part of the purpose. The ideas of split loyalties over minor discrepancies in treaties and over family (and many other things of this sort, etc., etc.) certainly play upon the emotions throughout the story. I found one of the most powerful scenes in the first half of the film to be Teddy's stand before the British landowner, only days after having his fingernails ripped out. He stood with nobility and spoke with power and conviction, even in his threats. I respected this, and the entirety of the movie's presentation. "The Wind That Shakes the Barley" is a powerful, sad movie about human prejudices, terrible mistakes, and wasted lives.
Friday, January 25, 2008
"Karintha" and "Fern", or The Living Dead of the Post-Bellum South
The short pieces by Jean Toomer concerning the young black women named Karintha and Fern share many similarities with a great deal of southern literature from this period. Being perhaps the only southerner in the class, as a Mississippian by birth, I feel I need to direct some attention toward this. Anyone who has read Faulkner might already be somewhat familiar with what I am going to propose. Either way, the southern states, following the Civil War, were effectively recolonized by the north in a process called Reconstruction. The basic US history lesson ends here. This process, though successful by northern standards, reduced southerners of every race and social class to what is seen in the characters of the featured stories, particularly Fern. Fern does not care, or feel. She barely lives, subsisting within her own mind, allowing the men around her to take advantage of her without complaint, though many of these men do, as is mentioned, feel a sort of obligation to her afterward. I would hazard to say this is in the commonality of events in these peoples' lives, that of abuse and redemption, being as that is the sad precedent set by both north and south in the handling of events following the war. Therefore, my title referencing the living dead is for these people--the broken ones who were forced to live in the Reconstruction Hell that persisted over decades and several generations. Even into the 1950s and 60s, one could see these same events. This is not to say that old stereotypes regarding the south hold true. This is, in fact, far from the truth. Prior to its military defeat in the Civil War, the south could easily equal the north culturally, if not industrially. To make this long, rambling story shorter, it is my point to say that these things are not unique to any single ethnic group or class in the south at the time. They were all the living dead.
Toomer's Reapers
In Reapers, Jean Toomer executes the theme of the poem through his splitting of it into two four line stanzas. In the first he describes the mindless work of the "Black reapers" as they go about their tasks. In the second he describes the equally mindless work of "Black horses" who continue mowing despite killing a rat. By splitting the poem in this way each half seems to mirror the other. The black workers who are being forced to work mindlessly in the fields for survival are paralleled with animals. This parallel seems to emphasize Toomer's struggle with his own racial identity.
Identity in Cane
Probably the most constantly mentioned aspect of Toomer's life is the process through which he would identify with race. Being of mixed blood and able to pass for either white or black as resources have mentioned, finding one culture/race to identify with made a lasting impression on his work. I see this in the material that we have read thus far.
In "Reapers," from the beginning we are given a definite color. The reapers are black and the horses are black. But this color also "paints" the setting and gives the mood. The work here is non-stop, and we are aware of who is doing this work.
In "Karintha," however, we are only told that this woman's skin "is like dusk[...] when the sun goes down." The color here is not definite; when the sun sets, there are varieties of shades and when I think of dusk I don't think of distinct colors other than gray-ish. So in the story, her actual color (and thus race) does not seem to matter as much as what becomes of her.
While it seems that this could be a way of Toomer inserting himself symbolically into the story, one line that catches my attention is "she was as innocently lovely as a November cotton flower."Using associations, when most think of the early South, we come to think of slavery, and when one thinks of slavery, there is usually an association with cotton crops. I found the sentence to be full of irony in that light, since it is being said that the cotton is innocently lovely, which would definitely not be the case under those associations. And with those associations, we realize that we are being told Karintha's race after all, even with the use of ambiguous dusk.
Like many other people have mentioned here, Jean Toomer's mixed racial background made it difficult for him to identify with either the black or white communitites, preferring instead to be called an "American". But after witnessing the segreagation in Georgia as a school principal, Toomer identified himself with the African American communites. I think this strong association with this community comes through in his poems Karintha and Fern.
In these poems, Toomer is celebrating the beauty of two black women. The description of Karintha's beauty is tied directly to her color, "Her skin is like dusk on the eastern horizon". Toomer repeats this simile comparing Karintha to dusk multiple times throughout the poem, and shows how he finds incredible beauty in her dark skin color.
In Fern, another poem about a beautiful black woman, there seems to be more of a distinction between black and white people. He points out that the white men left Fern alone. Also, the speaker of the poem shows concern that somehow Fern will end up a concubine to a white man, and that he has to do something for her to ensure nothing like this will happen. This again shows a connection and identification with the black community, fighting against the white men who were taking opportunities and other things away from them. This, along with his description of beautiful black women, shows his identification with the black community during his time in Sparta, Georgia.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Toomer's "Karintha" & Southern Feminism
Compared to "Fern" and "Georgia Dusk," Jean Toomer's extended poem, "Karintha," may appear to resist an analyst's attempts to connect the poem with its author's biography. However, consideration for the poem's historical context and a feminist reading compliments this particular example of Harlem Renaissance poetry.
Like Thomas Mann, Toomer's mixed heritage is an obvious subject for an analysis of his work, but racial tensions appear to be absent in "Karintha"; only African American culture is represented. Karintha herself has skin "like dusk, when the sun goes down." Of Karintha's many admirers, no indication of race is given. However, given the controversy that would likely arise among residents of the South concerning interracial marriage, it can perhaps be safely assumed that Karintha's admirers are blacks as well.
Moving on, "Karintha" appears to avoid interracial themes by virtue of its heterogeny. Instead, the poem depicts one black Southern woman's attempts at self-expression, and her subsequent conformity to social and moral attitudes in the African American community. Karintha is compared to "a growing thing ripened too soon." She is an object of affection for men, old and young. Toomer writes, "The young fellows counted the time to pass before she would be old enough to mate with them." Even the dusk to which Karintha is constantly compared alludes to the movements of the sun and moon, which symbolized the passing of time to the ancient Greeks. Therefore, "Karintha" is, more than anything, a coming of age story for a women who has lost her innocence and subsists by sexually satisfying the men around her while remaining herself unsatisfied. Hence the meaning in the ending lines, "Karintha is a woman. Men do not know that the soul of her was a growing thing ripened too soon. They will bring their money; they will die not having found out..."
What we find in "Karintha" is Toomer's compassion account of the gender issues and social barriers that prevented the Twentieth-century black woman from fully participating in Southern society. In the first half of the poem, Karintha is compared to a free spirit, "even the preacher, who caught her at mischief, told himself that she was as innocently lovely as a November cotton flower." However, by the poem's end Karintha has been forced to participate in her society's expectation of her largely static and reproductive role, and her life amounts to a vicarious existence through the men who court her; this is why Toomer surrounds Karintha with metaphors to demonstrate the passage of time, to highlight her tragic plight. In this way Toomer anticipates the values of Second-Wave feminists, who were concerned with the unequal social treatment of women. This is why I thought "Karintha" was particularly profound.
A Jean Toomer Biography by Scott Williams's%20father1
Harlem Renaissance Women
Toomer & "Karintha"
As many have already pointed out here in this blog, Toomer had the ability to pass as white or black. As an obvious consequence, he did not identify or define himself by race, and, at least early in his adult life, he strove to live as a member of what he called the "American" race.
Even though there are clear differences between Toomer and Karintha (i.e. their gender, location, etc), I nonetheless see a possible allusion to his own life which comes out of the refrain: "Her skin is like dusk,/O cant you see it,/ Her skin is like dusk,/ When the sun goes down." (4) Like dusk, Toomer's race was unclear and hazy. One couldn't just "see" Toomer and immediately deduce whether he was white or black. Perhaps this is all a stretch, but I do feel there is some connection between the lack of clarity and haziness which accompanies a dusky early evening and the inability to accurately categorize Toomer by race.
"Reapers" - Irony and Race
Reading over Toomer’s biography, the most interesting thing to me (and probably everyone else), was that he was half-black and half-white. I found that this could be read in "Reapers" because of the obvious tensions between whites and blacks at the time, which was quite a weird position for Toomer to be in because he was both. This could be one of the reasons for the irony in "Reapers."
"Black reapers with the sound of steel on stones
Are sharpening scythes. I see them place the hones"
What I find interesting about these two lines is that the reapers are black (usually the ones who are oppressed) and they are the ones sharpening the scythes. This kind of irony already sets up for the poem to have a deeper contextual meaning. This contrast is only the beginning for Toomer’s poem.
"In their hip-pockets as a thing that's done,
And start their silent swinging, one by one.
Black horses drive a mower through the weeds,
And there, a field rat, startled, squealing bleeds,"
This section of the poem furthers the racial tension theme, once again using the color black as the only description (i.e., the horses). As the horses drive a mower through the field, a rat is caught in the path of the mower and is cut open due to the sharp blades. The rat represents the blacks and the hardships they face.
"His belly close to ground. I see the blade,
Blood-stained, continue cutting weeds and shade."
This section of the poem finishes the tension between the author and his two sides. As the blade cuts open the rat, the horse and machine continue to move past, as if nothing has happened at all. This is a corellation between the anamosity some whites had against blacks - no matter what travesties were brought upon the blacks, some whites just did not care and kept moving on with their lives as if nothing had ever happened.
"Fern" and 1920s Georgia
From a historical standpoint, “Fern” best illustrates Toomer’s reflections on his Georgia life. “Fern” shows a man confused by racial relations as he pursues the black woman, Fern. There is a contradiction within Toomer, as he is of both white and black descent. Because of this, his narrator notices hostility from white people (“A white man had to flick him with his whip…” (17), “people started to stare at us” (19)) and black people (“there was talk they were going to make me leave town” (19)), similar to what Toomer, himself, probably experienced in his time in Georgia. The narrator begins to break away from his mixed race as he attempts to identify more with Fern. This is where Toomer begins to identify himself, as well as his narrator, as a man with strictly black ties. Toomer experienced many racist moments in his time in Georgia. There were many lynchings and mob killings by the Klan from the 1900s to the 1920s. Governor of Georgia, Clifford Walker, also had strong ties with the Klan during this time period. During this difficult time for the black society of Georgia, Toomer broke his mix race and began to identify himself only as black. This is why at the end of “Fern”, Toomer writes, “Something I would do for her” (19). He writes this to show that although both races resent Toomer, he still tries to help the black people with their struggles in 1920s Georgia.
Jean Toomer's "Fern"
As Thomas said, Jean Toomer had a unique heritage that allowed him to be both White and Black and pass as either whenever he wanted. Also what's interesting is that his trip to Georgia (also mentioned by Thomas) sparked his identification with his African American heritage. As I was reading "Fern," I was struck by the fact that Fern, like Toomer, had a conflicting mixed heritage being half-Jewish (racially speaking, she has the "Semitic" nose), half-Christian. What's surprising is that Fern is obviously very accepted in this world that Toomer has created, but she's clearly not satisfied with something in her life, maybe it is even her cultural makeup. Biographically speaking, I think it's pretty evident that there is a connection between the two's mixed heritages, but I was unable to find a whole lot on Toomer's feelings about his own mix... perhaps someone else had more luck with it.
Georgia Dusk
As far as analyzing this particular poem from a biographical aspect Thomas has certainly done an excellent job in addressing Toomer's identification with the African-American community in the south and the possible explanations for Toomer's repeated use of sound-oriented diction. But one thing that I was particularly interested in upon reading not only Georgia Dusk, but also Karintha and Fern, is Toomer's obsession with the sunset and dusk. Before I had learned anything about Toomer's life I speculated that perhaps Toomer grew up in an environment where it was unsafe for him to venture outside at dusk to watch the sunset, or something of that nature. But after learning about his extensive travels as a college student and his constant change of scenery I am just as confused now as I was prior to reading Toomer's biographical information, and it seems that, biographically speaking, that there is no explanation for Toomer's desire to have many of his poems and short stories take place at dusk. This is perhaps just as useful of an observation as finding a biographical explanation for the sunset would have been in that it shows that analyzing an aspect of an author's works cannot always be done through a biographical lens. Just as Dr. Herzog spoke to in his lecture, biographically analyzing a text is only one of many ways to think about a poem, and does not always lead to a neat and tidy explanation for how and what an author writes.
Jean Toomer: "Reapers"
Jean Toomer grew up in the aftermath of the Civil War (1860s), as he lived from 1894 to 1967. We know that, in this time period, racism against African-Americans abounded, and indeed it is present even today. We know all about slavery and the social/economic/etc. conditions it perpetuated. What some of us might not have known is that Toomer was the offspring of parents who themselves had interracial bloodlines; thus, he was part black, and he had the advantage of being able to pass for either white or black, at will (academic source). Putting the poem "Reapers" into this context, rather than reading it a face value as a product of the now, the present, we can begin to see a cause, a reason, for Toomer's writing the poem. Since it is so short, I will go ahead and post it:
"Black reapers with the sound of steel on stones
Are sharpening scythes. I see them place the homes
In their hip-pockets as a thing that's done,
And start their silent swinging, one by one.
Black horses drive a mower through the weeds,
And there, a field rat, startled, squealing bleeds.
His belly close to ground. I see the blade,
Blood-stained, continue cutting weeds and shade."
This poem has the themes of sharpness/cutting/violence, blood/stains, darkness (black/shade), and hard labor. Throughout the poem, we see the blade as something that is very sharp and quite dangerous; we see violence (intentional or not). Next, we see two instances of blood (the RESULT of violence), one when the rat is bleeding, the other when Toomer describes the blade that has not stopped inflicting its violence, its cutting. Then, there is darkness: the word "black" comes up twice, and "shade" is the closing word. These words, while providing essential information such as the fact that the reaper and horse are black, create a running theme of darkness/somberness/melancholy in the poem. Finally, the theme of hard labour is evident throughout the poem, as it begins with work being done, and the work never stops. As we might notice, all these themes are representative of slavery in America.
While this may seem like a simple poem about slavery to us, since we learn about slavery in history class and can recognize its themes and conditions, there is more to be noticed in "Reapers." The title itself, and the word reaper (and concept of the reaper) has multiple meanings. Oxford defines "reaper" as a machine used in harvesting, a person who reaps (cuts), and, of course, the Grim Reaper (Death personified) himself/herself (OED). If we look up "reap," however, we notice that there are other definitions that we can apply: to receive as the consequence of one's own or others' actions, to take away by force, and to gain (OED). While the former set of definitions seems to apply to the slaves themselves, the latter set references/describes mostly slave-drivers, with the exception of the first definition. It is clear that all of these definitions can be used to describe both slavery itself and what is happening in the poem, which seems to be a short clip of slavery at work, or at least its institutions (hard/continuous work, blood spilling, etc.). Thus, which definition of "reapers" we use does not really matter that much; they all lead to the same place. The black workers are reapers in that they are machines, drones who continue to work no matter what; they are reapers in that they are people who do cutting; they probably reap the consequences of their actions (don't stop, or else...), though we don't really see this in the poem; and the final two definitions can even be referenced if we notice/remember that the slaves are working for slave-drivers who are trying to gain something, who will take away privileges if they don't get what they want.
Finally, I would like to point out the symbolism of the Grim Reaper definition, which I have saved for last. If we apply this definition—which, one will notice, by looking at OED, had been used by Longfellow well before Toomer started writing—the entire poem changes into a metaphor for the trials/issues that slavery presented, the darkness and violence. The Grim Reaper is the corporeal form of Death itself, and his/her appearance in a poem that mimics the institution of slavery is startling. It says that we can think of slavery itself as the reason for many deaths (of slaves), which is true. The idea of killing a mere rat, a tiny, insignificant thing, should remind us of the violence and ruthlessness with which slaves were treated in the time of slavery. Thus, with this definition, the slave-driver takes the place of the slave in the field; the slave-driver becomes the Grim Reaper, and then he/she reaps the rat, the slave. Now, we might notice a cycle: the slave reaps the weeds (re: the slave does the work), the master reaps the slaves (re: drives, punishes, and perhaps kills them), and finally the ACTUAL Grim Reaper is the one who takes all the souls away, white or black, to be judged or begin eternal life (an afterlife that will, one hopes, transcend slavery).
As we can see, the poem presents many parallels between death and slavery, and it also references some key issues that were, no doubt, close to Toomer's heart. Toomer seemed to be both speaking out against and referencing slavery (the importance of remembering it and making conditions better). That he was both "white" and "black" adds a deeper level of meaning to the poem, as he can be seen as being "on the fence" on the issues of slavery; he is on both sides, the white and the black (and North and South, if one wants to look at it that way). As a black man, he can identify with the plight of African-Americans, and as both a white and a black man, he has the authority and REASON to speak out against racism, to challenge it.
"Georgia Dusk" by Jean Toomer
Sunday, January 20, 2008
The Decembrists
Similar to both Thomas and Campbell I found this song to be not only quite pleasing as far as music goes, but also quite difficult to analyze. Besides for the sheer length of this song, the three very distinct portions make it difficult to scan and analyze as a whole. I find that one of the most interesting aspects of the song is the way in which the singer accents certain words over others. Thomas made an excellent point in noting that in the verse “Come and see” one can barely pick out the “and,” which in actuality is more of an “n” than anything. But it is also interesting to note that in “The Landlord’s Daughter” section of the song that the singer accents the verses “I’ll take no gold miss, I’ll take no silver: I’ll take those sweet lips, and I’ll deliver.” Clearly marking an emotional part of the song, the singer expresses this to the listener by making it stand out from the rest of the song by accenting the entire verse.
In the “You’ll Not Feel the Drowning” section the singer once again brings attention to certain words by irregularly accenting and emphasizing certain parts of them and not the others. For example, in the repeated chorus “You’ll not feel the drowning” conventional methods of speaking would place the accent mark on the latter part of the word “drowning,” but the singer accentuates the “drown” part and trails off in the end. This stands out to the listener in that it seemingly denotes a shift from the aggressive, faster tempo of the aforementioned verses in “The Landlord’s Daughter” section to a more remorseful attitude once the girl is dead. The shift in accentuation is prevalent throughout the song and matches up not only with the beat, but also with the emotions of the story within the song, making for an aesthetically pleasing song and powerful story telling.
B. Meyer's Amazing Analysis of "The Island/Come & See"
Of course, I cannot begin this analysis without stating whether I liked this song or not. So I won't.
Moving on, I feel that there are definitely three layers to this song (obviously), from the three different aspects, or points of view given by the three parts. Having also looked up exactly what Sycorax is (on Wikipedia), I discovered an interesting fact that postcolonialists view Sycorax, unseen mother of Prospero, to be the voice of women recovering from the effects of colonization. The Patagonians, next, are figment peoples famed to be very tall, living on some Island. Sycorax also lives on an island. Parallax is perhaps the most interesting aspect of that verse, and the song in general, because it speaks upon the different effects an object has once the perceiver is in motion, or, rather, it's all based upon the perspective of the observer.
So who's the observer?
But after all this back-story, we come to my aforementioned guess at three perspectives, rather than two from what we see. The first part of the song is told in the supposed third person. But, rather, when inspected closer, we see the use of the word "we", which places it first-person. The second and third parts are first-person as well, and so the perspectives are based upon the emotional or mental state of the observer. And the motion we see in the song, or tale, is based upon parallax, or the change in motion of the observer, the single observer we have.
In the first part, we have the Observer giving background information, sans human beings, but rather bones of "cormorants" or animals, boats, and plants/flowers in general, i.e., the setting. And it serves to set the mood, and of course the setting. The first part is removed from immediate action. The second part is direct action, live action, and the Observer incorporates the Landlord's daughter, in a very dark manner, sinisterly. But sinister only as far as telling a simple tale of innocent girl, bad thief/murderer. Not much emotional depth on the Observer's part.
The third section is where we see a darker, even more sinister and bleak aspect of the Observer, as we begin to see his (or her) mental state. It's almost the lament of an insane serial killer, with some deep emotional, repressed issues. Even after killing the landlord's daughter, the Observer wants to remain with the body to "dress" the eyelids with "dimes," etc.
But the second stanza of that section, "forget you once had sweethearts..." etc., almost reflects upon the Observer's past. Now on the island, forget all your memories, all the good aspects of your life, and die like I've died. (Physically or mentally/emotionally.)
The island to me represents something like hell. Not physical, but definite. An existence on some plane of this world or the next, a mythical place of Sycoraxes and Patagonians, but a dark, doomed place for the unlucky, brokenhearted, dying, dead, etc.
The Decemberists: The Island
The Decembrists "The Island" Reply
Stylistically, this song seems to resemble a long ballad in the tradition of “Dark Side of the Moon,” several different songs all woven by one overlapping topic. “The Island” comes off as a somber and violent tale of an oppressive power “producing pistol and saber” and taking what they wish, be it land, or in this case women. What was probably a proud and prosperous land becomes a land of death and despair, similar to that of British Colonialism (i.e. India and Ireland). The imagery in the last stanza caught my eye the most. The aftermath of the soldier’s rape on the landlord’s daughter results in her death. As she falls deeper and deeper into the water, the sick man committing the crime gives her two coins on her eyes as payment for the boatman down the River Styx, if one believed in such a thing. It puts a haunting image into my head when the main chorus is sung.
“Go to sleep now little ugly
Go to sleep now you little fool
You’ll not feel the drowning
You’ll not feel the drowning.”
It reminded me of scenes like the one in “Saving Private Ryan” where an American soldier gets into a knife fight with a German soldier. The American loses and his blade is slowly pressed into his chest. All the while, the German is telling the American silently to hush, like he’s putting him to sleep. It sends a chill down my spine.
The Decembrists- "The Island/Come and See"
To begin my look into this song (or these three songs), I want to point out just how well done the song is. It seems that when bands try to be as ambitious as The Decembrists are in this song it does not turn out well. Luckily for us, listeneing to the song seems less a chore and more a privelege. Musically, the song is interesting for a couple of reasons. First of all, the contrast in the sound of the three parts stands out to me. The first part, "The Island," seems a song that we could hear on the radio, despite it's difficult lyrics. "The Landlords Daughter" though, sounds more like a song that would have been made in the mid to late 70's mixed with a pirate's drinking song. The third part, "You'll Not Feel the Drowning," seems like a strange, morbid lullaby. The fact that the three parts blend so well has much to do with the lyrics used in the song.
The lyrics in "The Island" tell a story of a great adventure, but are also mysterious and make the listener pay close attention. The repeated use of the words "come and see" become a bit of a mantra in the song. In lines like "There's an island hidden in the sound" and "In the lowlands, nestled in the heat" made me as a listener feel as though I was being given the coordinates of some treasure guarded by "Sycorax," who is a mysterious character in herself, which plays into the theme of the song. The song seems not to follow any conventional rhyme scheme. In it's written form, it seems to have a certain pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables, but when sung, that also all but goes out the window, as it is sung in a manner which suggests the singer sings the song in whichever way he pleases, not to fit convention. This may add to the whimsical nature of the song, or it may be there just to drive us crazy as we try to mark the sentences, it could work both ways.
In "The Landlord's Daughter," is very interesting to me as it seems a natural progression from the directions seemingly given in "The Island." As I said earlier, it sounds a bit like a pirates drinking song. The lyrics are very traditionally masculine, as they speak of things such as spying and producing pistols and sabers, then kidnapping the beautiful young girl. Once again, the rhyming and stress of syllables seems to be irregular. The singer does the same things he does in the first song, stressing whichever notes he sees fit to be stressed.
In "You'll Not Feel the Drowning," there seems to be a tone of finality (obviously), as the topic of death is prevalent. To me this could symbolize the end of the journey in the form of death. I see this as the death of whoever the protagonist of the story is. In certain cultures, it is a tradition to place dimes over the eyes of dead. This part of the song has the same sort of irregular rhyme and stress, but the lyrics of it convey a completely different tone than the other two parts. It is much more somber than the other two parts. The biggest reason for that is the repeated line "You'll not feel the drowning." This is a line that really catches the ear of the listener, and is not ambiguous at all in terms of how it is to make us feel as a listener.
The Decemberists
The first part of the song, The Island, had a very haunting feel to it. The guitar is the only instrument that plays from 2:00 to 2:50 and that was one of my favorite parts of that section of the song (this guitar riff plays throughout the song, but the beginning was my favorite part). As I was listening to the song, every time the chorus came up, the lyrics made me think of Ulysses in the Odyssey – “And all we know for sure/Amidst this fading light/We'll not go home again/Come and see.”
The second part of the song, The Landlord’s Daughter, like Nick, also made me think of a pirate. Not only because of the way the song sounded (similar to the music in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies), but because the lyrics also fueled this – “Produced my pistol, then my saber/Said, ‘Make no whistle or thou will be murdered!’” This is definitely something I could hear ol’ Blackbeard say. I actually replayed to this part of the song to see if I could get a different perspective on it and the first thing that came to mind was a pirate, so that image was forever ingrained in my head.
The third part of the song, You’ll Not Feel The Drowning, was very serene and gave me a sense of loss and death. The opening line alluded to death, “I will dress your eyelids/With dimes upon your eyes.” This reminded me of when soldiers died in the Roman times. They would place coins over their eyes to make sure they got to the afterlife safe because they had to pay Hades or something. I don’t really remember the exact meaning, but that image instantly came to me. This part of the song also had the most emotion and evoked a true sense of anger and sadness. The chorus had my favorite lyrics – “Go to sleep now, little ugly/Go to sleep now, you little fool/Forty winking in the belfry/You’ll not feel the drowning.” It kept making me think of when someone loses a loved one they feel anger (“Go to sleep now, little ugly/Go to sleep now, you little fool”), but they know that their loved one is in a better place where pain can no longer be felt (“You’ll not feel the drowning”).
Overall, the song’s length and fluentness made me think of an epic, like Beowulf. Even though all of the songs were different, they still were wound together with some sort of togetherness that made them feel like they were all one song. That really made me want to listen to the entire song, and created the sense of a story, just from different views, like in the Bible. Even though we get similar stories (the songs), we get different perspectives on them (the different musical styles in each song), yet they all still relate to one another (the Gospels).
The Decemberists
The entirety of the song has a somber and vaguely Celtic sound to it, even though the three portions sound fairly different from one another. At times, the music even seems to have a rather out-of-place electronic quality to it. In all, it's pretty catchy.
I noticed that all three songs have a common theme of being on, near, or in water, much like M. Night Shyamalan's movies. The first song portion uses water-based imagery in a depiction of war and loss, and its very subtitle of "Come and See" seems to beseech attention for what it contains. As mentioned in class, this portion also includes a reference to Sycorax, and the phrase "patagon in paralax" would almost seem to mean a change in perspective when viewing a giant.
The second portion seems almost to be a story of rape made romantic in the scope of old seagoing pirates. As aforementioned, this is set near water, the thread that connects all the portions of the song. The third portion is either an example of (possibly unwelcomed) euthanasia or a suicide. The words "ugly" and "fool" can either be insults or self-deprecating remarks, this is not entirely clear. This adds mystery and sense of gloom to the ending of the song, therefore tying the ending and beginning together. The captain mentioned in the third portion could easily be some sort of ferryman, ushering the dead to the underworld, given the nature of the final portion.
The Island
The song “The Island” is divided into three separate pieces: “Come and See”, “The Landlord’s Daughter”, and “You’ll Not Feel the Drowning”. I tried to analyze each separate piece to understand the story of the song. It refers to the initial reaction the shipmen have interacting with the island. This is most noticeable in the third line, where the lyrics say “affix your barb and bayonet”. The men ready their weapons when they prepare for the unknown ahead of them. This leads to the sounds that guide “Come and See”. The first line says, “there’s an island hidden in the sound”, while the fifth line says, “and sorrow fills the silence all around” followed by “come and see”. Here, sorrow encompasses the crew of the ship as their time on the water runs out. The men almost do not notice the island because of their dreariness and depression. However, some notice and tell the others to open their eyes to the island before them. Once they open their eyes, they begin to notice the land around them. They do not say anything while they peer at the land, for their sorrow is still deafening. The men know this is their final travel for the men know “will not go home again” (line 19). The island is beautiful, but the men are still sorrowful.
“The Landlord’s Daughter” is completely different. The meter and tempo shift, allowing the song to flow a lot faster. The music becomes louder and more out of control symbolizing the madness of the rapist. The man says he will not take gold, but only the maiden’s lips. I can only assume that this takes story takes part chronologically, and this is where things begin to go wrong on the island. “The Landlord’s Daughter” tells a story of a man who is confused and out of his mind. As discussed in “Come and See”, the men are sorrowful and lost on an island where they will never reach their home. This appears to dive into the human psyche, as basic human reason does not apply in this case. The lyrics tend to give way to the music, as the lyrics are spread thin through this portion of the song.
“You’ll Not Feel the Drowning” tends to rip the song apart, and back into the sorrowful tone that started with “Come and See”. The guitar slows down from “The Landlord’s Daughter”. Since the song says “little sweetheart, little darling”, I think this ties into killing the Landlord’s daughter. This seems like the complete transformation from a man on the ship, to an animal of the island. The sorrow the island has given him has changed his character to a point of murder. In the last verse, the stresses on the syllables break the fourth wall by speaking directly to the audience. When the captain “heaves his sorrow cry” it leads the audience to believe that the captain is the man that has committed the murder and the rape. However, at the end of the song, he steps out of his ruthlessness, and reenters the civilized, as he lays the coins on the dead’s eyes, which relates back to the Greeks belief in their dead paying the boatman of the river of Styx.
The Decembrists
First of all this song and genre are very foreign to me. I have never heard of this group or of any group like it. So all in all this was a very intriguing process I went through listening and analyzing this song. This song has a format that is not seen every day. They are three different songs all combined into one. They all have different music to accompany them. The music was something that I found important in analyzing the entire piece. The first part of the song “The Island come & see” had a slow start to it. There was just a guitar playing along with the vocals, then the whole entire band came it to accompany and the song was off to a start. I felt that this part of the song was a type of exploration for the song. They were exploring the ocean and the tide. The next part of the song “The Landlord’s Daughter” had the most up beat tempo of all three, which is ironic because it has the most controversial lyrics. This section of the song is about raping the Landlord’s Daughter. This came as a surprise to me because the music is so up tempo and in a sense overshadows the reality of the lyrics. One would think that lyrics like these would have a slow and low tone to it along with a evil feel to it. The third and final part of the song is “You’ll Not Feel the Drowning” which had a very slow and steady beat to it. This music should have been for the previous section and it would have fit perfectly. But along with the last section, this section is talking about death. The idea that there is no one left and no one care and you won’t fell the drowning because that is the least of your pains.
I also believe that in the last section of the song “You’ll Not Feel The Drowning” is more than what one can see. One might say that it is about the Landlords Daughter and her death while she is with her captor. But I see it as one persons struggle with there own life and there family. Yes family. You can see the references to family and parents all through out the song. “We will not come home again”, “A briar cradle rocks it’s babe to sleep”, and “Think you not on parents” are some examples. This part of the song is a reminder to someone that they have nothing. Don’t think about your parents because they will not be here to save you. “Go to sleep now little ugly”, and “Go to sleep now you little fool”. They are reminding them of what they have been called through out their life and not letting them fell anything different at this very point. They are continuing the process that this individual has gone through their whole life.
The Decembrists & Narration
"The Island" is a track which appears on The Decemberists' fourth album, The Crane Wife. "The Island" is divided into three parts: "Come & See," "The Landlord's Daughter," and "You'll Not Feel the Drowning." I am not interested in reader-response or the author's intention. My criticism is reserved for the poetic form and structure of the lyrics in each section of the song. I will attempt to shed light on the narrator of the following stanzas and the intentions behind his actions by this essay's end.
The first section, "Come & See," is composed of five stanzas. The rhyme scheme of this section follows an unusual pattern: In the first stanza rhythm is AABBA; In the second stanza the rhythm is CCDDE; The third stanza does not rhyme at all; In the fourth stanza the rhythm is FGHHG; and the fifth stanza is identical to the third. Each stanza ends with the words, 'Come and See;' the line is repeated twice at the end of every stanza except for the first, in which it only appears once. For this reason I did not include these lines in the rhyme scheme. This section is the account of a party's arrival on and exploration of an island. In the first stanza, we can assume that the company arrived on this island "hidden in the sound" by ship, hence the lines "Lapping currents lay your boat to ground." We might also assume that this company is armed ("Affix your barb and bayonet") or possessed of hostile intent. The description of the island in the second stanza renders this island void of humanity but not civilization, for the company finds a "harbor lost within the reeds" and "a jetty caught in over-hanging trees" but "no boot mark here nor finger prints." "Among the bones of cormorants," implies that the island was previously discovered by adventurers in the past, but none lived long enough to tell the tale. Finally, we are reminded twice in the third and fifth stanzas that the company of men will not "go home again." Accordingly, the structural transition from traditional and structured schema into an abnormal and chaotic free verse reinforces the idea that this company is departing from everyday reality and entering a chaotic and spontaneous state of mind; Perhaps they visit the ruins of a utopia swallowed by nature that has caused the downfall of many an idle traveler in search for it.
"The Landlord's Daughter" is the second section of the "Island," and only composed of three stanzas. The rhyme scheme follows the pattern ABCBBD in the first stanza, then DEE in the second stanza, and finally BB in the last stanza. In "The Landlord's Daughter," the narration switches from what one would presume to be the account of one company of several adventurers to the words of a single narrator. We are uncertain whether or not the situation described in this section occurs on the same island in the first stanza, or if the narrator is of the company which arrived on the island previously. We are made aware that he or she is armed as the previous adventurers were implied to be ("Produced my pistol, then my saber") and abducts "the landlord's daugter" who is "spied in sable" "down by the water." That the woman is a "landlord's daughter" implies the presence of civilization ("land" and "lord," one would expect him to have subjects to lord over) and given the fact that the island in the first stanza appeared to be barren and void of life discourages cohesive attempts at narration. I am inclined to consider the narrator a pirate, though not in the traditional sense; we can see from the final stanza that the narrator does not intend to use the woman to obtain wealth, but rather they claim, "I'll take those sweet lips, and I'll deliver." The deteriorating structure of the poem suggests that the narrator is departing from the realm of rational thought and is letting himself be guided by his passions; each subsequent stanza is smaller than the last, and for that reason more ambiguous. Where once we were given the narrator's account of his actions in the first stanza, in the last we are left with only his words. Perhaps he has been possessed by the greed and madness of the island, which destroyed the cormorants whose remains were visible in the first stanza. Does he possess a woman at all? Is she merely an illusion? Did the land not seem to lack any inhabitants when the company arrived? And where is the rest of his company? What was once an organized and united enterprise has fallen apart and each member may have become delusional and gone off on his own into oblivion.
Finally, "You'll Not Feel the Drowning" consists of four stanzas. The first stanza follows a ABCBDEDFF rhyme scheme; the second stanza follows a GHIHDEDFF rhyme scheme; the third stanza follows a DEDFF rhyme scheme, and the final stanza does not rhyme at all. This section appears in the form of an ode, for the narrator is clearly addressing another person. We can assume that the narrator intends or is currently in the process of killing the other person with the following evidence: "I will dress your eyelids, With dimes upon your eyes"; "Laying close to water, Green your grave will rise"; "Go to sleep little ugly, Go to sleep you little fool"; and of course, "You'll not feel the drowning." It is possible that the narrator is the raider from the second stanza, and is now in the process of killing his captive, the landlord's daughter. The narrator would appear to resort to the senseless destruction of an innocent with repeated accusations of her naivety; she is often called a "little fool" and reminded to forget everyone else, because "they've forgotten you." Furthermore, the narrator comforts his victim with the promise of a humane and painless death with "You'll not feel the drowning." It is revealed in the last stanza that the narrator himself was once addressed thus by his captain: "Weight upon your eyelids, As dimes laid on your eyes." This is the same address used by the narrator at the beginning of his speech, and suggests that the narrator himself was once put to death at sea, and now he drags an innocent into the deep with him. It therefore stands to reason that all of the remarks directed at the narrator's victim can be directed at the narrator himself as well; in fact, it is he who is forgotten by his lovers and parents. Likewise, he seeks to give his victim the same fate: She will be forever innocent and forgotten; she will belong to the narrator alone and united with him in an ignominous death. The narrator believes he is removing the woman from a world of pain and into a state of perpetual passion and dream, stranded on an "island hidden in the sound": death.
The Decembrists - The Island (Come and See)
Even though this song is visually divided up into three mini-songs, a general overlapping story seems to pop-out pretty clearly to me. My interpretation of this is that the story is about a pirate landing on a hidden island, finding and raping a woman, and then killing her. Where did I come up with a pirate? While the term "pirate" is not mentioned anywhere in the song, the fact that the main character carries a saber and a pistol and the manner in which he addresses the landlord's daughter, "I'll take no gold miss, I'll take no silver / I'll take those sweet lips, and I'll deliver" just absolutely screams pirate to me. The raping and the killing of her seem fairly obvious beyond that just by looking at the lyrics.
On the topic of formatting, the unusual rhyme scheme jumped out at me. At the beginning of the song, we have a rhyme scheme in the first, second, and forth stanzas, each however having a different pattern (AABBAC, DDEECCC, LMNNMCC, respectively). Also interesting to note is that the chorus (stanza three and five) make absolutely no use of rhyming. Then, in the second mini-song, there is rhyming with water and daughter and silver and deliver, but that's it. And lastly, in the third mini-song, rhyming seems to disappear save for the second and forth lines of stanzas one and two ( I won't consider repeating lines to be part of a rhyming pattern here). What this means in relation to the story of the poem, I'm not quite sure, unless the gradual loss of rhyme is supposed to go along with the poem becoming darker in meaning.
Since the allusion to Sycorax was mentioned in class, I should probably address that. Obviously as discussed in class, it is a reference to a witch in Shakespeare's Tempest (actually, I don't think she was a character in the play, I think she was only referenced). Sycorax's son was Caliban, a deformed creature, and he had tried to rape Miranda, Prospero's daughter. This rape obviously could be tied to the rape in the song. And the landlord could be a reference to Prospero. However, I hesitate to say that the song is entirely about that because I don't see a connection to the opening and closing mini-songs.
The Decemberists "The Island/Come and See"
The first thing I would like to say about this song is that I was pleasantly surprised with how the song sounded. For some reason, I assumed that I would not like it or that it would not meet my taste in music but I was wrong. The song possessed more than a few choruses and refrains which reminded me of other songs that are longer in length. Even though they are drastically different and probably not as thought provoking as this song by the Decembrists, I could not help thinking of Boston’s “Foreplay/Longtime” or Jethro Tull’s “Thick as a Brick.” Both of these songs are similar to the Decembrists’ song not only in length but in a desire to combine more than one sound into one song. While we were listening to this song in class, I could not help but think about this similarity.
What I found to be the most interesting part of this song occurred while I was attempting to scan the lyrics. What should have been a relatively easy task became rather daunting as I was trying to simultaneously listen to the lyrics and stress the proper syllables as well. I found this very difficult to do. More often than not, I found myself working ahead of the singer and trying to stress syllables that he had not yet sung. But when the singer arrived at those lines, he often seemed to be putting stress on the syllables I had marked as unstressed. I don’t really know why this occurred. My best guess is that while I was scanning the lyrics, I was saying them quietly rather than singing them. And unlike a poem where more often than not, no one is reading it aloud, a song needs to be sung to be fully appreciated. I think scanning songs is more difficult than scanning poetry for this simple reason. If the song is not heard aloud, the person scanning the lyrics could potentially scan the lyrics improperly.
What I noticed, specifically during “The Island/Come and See” part was that the lead singer would stress and unstress whole words. The word ‘and’ is almost always an unstressed word but just because a word is unstressed does not mean that the word needs to be said quietly. The lead singer, specifically in the line “Come and see,” would barely utter the word ‘and.’ The words ‘come’ and ‘see’ were vocalized very loudly and a lot of emphasis was put on those words but the word ‘and’ was said in a much softer tone. It is much easier in song form to stress and unstress the right syllables. Take the third line of the song for example. The word ‘bayonet’ is a three syllable word with the accent on the second syllable. It is a relatively easy word to sound out and determine which syllable is stressed. But in song form, the lead singer over exaggerates the stressed syllable, almost to the point where the syllable ‘yon’ almost sounds like it is a separate word.
The Decembrists- The Island Come and See
The song itself seems to subliminally echo different aspects of colonialism. In part one there are images of colonial domination and the beginning of colonization in almost every stanza which are then contrasted by images of the natural. The barb and bayonet in stanza one, the cormorants in stanza two, and the reference to Shakespeare's The Tempest in stanza four, all echo clear images attached to British colonialism. Part one displays the adventurousness and purity that was believed to be in the new lands which were being conquered and subjugated. "No boot mark here or finger prints," shows the disregard for the native people as equally human. The consistent imagery of water, earth, and their natural elements contrasts with the colonial images to further outline the conflicts. This natural imagery especially the symbol of water changes throughout part one. It begins with lush overgrown nature, with an abundance of water, and by stanza four has degraded to "lowlands," "heat," and "briar."
In part two, The Landlord's Daughter, it seems that a gap in time has passed and that the song skips forward to a more postcolonial context. The conflict with and hatred for the landlord seems to be the overwhelming reason for the rape of the landlord's daughter. When offered gold and silver the rapist mocks the daughter and refuses to even consider taking the monetary payment. This shows that the reason for the rape is for a punishment to the landlord, personal satisfaction, or both. The symbol of water is also brought back into this section of the song, as the rape occurs "down by the water." This aspect will become more significant as it leads into the next part of the song.
In part three, You'll Not Feel the Drowning, it would appear that the landlord's daughter who was raped in part two has been murdered. The rapist and murderer takes great care in his actions by placing dimes upon the eyes of the young woman. This action was believed to be a classical practice upon the death of someone, so that they might have the payment required to pay the ferryman to cross the river Styx into the underworld. Through the repetition in this section of the song and the focus on sleep and peace, it appears that the man may feel some remorse for his actions and be attempting to rationalize the situation. Yet, the overarching theme would suggest that although he may feel remorse, the fact that he refers to her as "ugly" and a "little fool" shows that he did not commit the rape for personal satisfaction and more likely committed the rape and murder as a punishment to the landlord for his likely misdeeds to the rapist. The symbol of water comes full circle in this section of the poem as it no longer represents nature and life but death in the "drowning" of the young woman's corpse.
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Friday, September 3, 2010
Science: Matter Matters!
The first science unit of the the year will focus on matter.
Matter can be found in 3 states:
solid, liquid, and gas.
We learned that all matter has physical properties.
We observed the physical properties of our basketball speed ball!
We posted adjectives that described
(Click on picture to enlarge.)
Next, it was time to investigate a liquid,
grape juice, to be exact!
Mrs. Ranney gathered the following materials:
a jug of grape juice, 22 one-ounce cups, 22 popsicle sticks, and an eye dropper.
We studied the physical properties of the liquid.
For example, we observed that the color was purple,
it took the shape of the container, and it was room temperature.
Mrs. Ranney used the dropper to
give each student a 1 mL taste.
Most of us determined that the flavor was sweet and tasted like grapes.
The cups were filled and moved to the freezer.
What do YOU think happened?
Because the temperature in the freezer was 32˚F, the liquid changed form!
The juice was now a delicious solid!
We observed some physical properties had changed.
For example, the texture was first slippery and smooth,
but quickly changed to rough and crunchy!
The temperature was definitely not room temperature anymore!
Science can be deliciously fun!
Science Extra Credit:
At home, find one liquid or one solid to observe.
Please describe as many physical properties as you can.
Remember: physical properties are anything that can be observed
about an object using your five senses.
(Hint - you can copy and paste the list below to add to your comment!)
For fun ~ Click here to fill in the crossword puzzle!
1. Ella's Science
I tested milk as my liquid and a baseball as my solid.
COLOR: White
SHAPE: It takes the shape of its jug
SIZE/MASS:Large / Heavy
TEXTURE: Wet
HARDNESS: Soft
FLAVOR: Tasty
COLOR: White with red stripes
SHAPE: Sphere
SIZE/MASS: Small / Light
TEXTURE: Hard; Smooth with rough stripes
TEMPERATURE: Room temperature
HARDNESS: Hard
FLAVOR: None
Science is fun!
2. Aidan's test:
I tested gatorade for my liquid and ice for my solid.
COLOR: Orange
SHAPE: It takes the shape of the container holding it.
SIZE/MASS: Large/ Heavy
TEXTURE: Wet
HARDNESS: None
FLAVOR: Tropical Orange
COLOR: White
SHAPE: Cube
SIZE/MASS: Small/ Light
TEXTURE: Slippery
TEMPERATURE: Freezing cold
HARDNESS: Hard
FLAVOR: None
I love science.
Your student,
3. Dear Mrs Ranney and class,
Great post about your science lesson! :P
I am in 2KM at Leopold Primary School in Victoria, Australia.
Miss McGeady [our teacher] got out our thermometer as soon as we read your post.
Was it yum? I wish I could of been there to do it with you! Was it fun?
Science is fun! :)
Your new friend,
4. I am glad to see you in the Blog Challenge10 because your blog is going to be one that we follow. Please visit our blog and look around. There is a lot to find. Please add us to your blogroll and we will add you.
5. Dear Mrs Ranney and class,
Hi my name is Jazmin in 2KJ from Leopold Primary School!
The class that I'm next to is 2KM, and they're friends with Mrs. Yollis's class. They've been friends with her class for a while.
Some of our science activities were the Mentos and Coke experiment the Sherbet experiment, which was my favourite, and the Oobleck. That was really fun!!
Can you please tell me some of your students' names?
From your new blogging buddy,
6. Dear Mrs. Ranney and class,
Hi, My name is Olivia, and I am in
2KJ at Leopold Primary School Victoria, Australia.
The class I'm in is next to 2KM.
Your science activity sounds really fun. We also do science in our class. Some of the science activities we have done are making sherbet, a coke and mentos experience and dancing currants.
In Australia grape juice is not very popular.
7. @ Mrs Ranney and class,
What a great post you did Mrs Ranney!
My name is Brooke, and I am in 2KM at Leopold Primary School in Victoria,Australia.
Miss McGeady(my teacher)got out our thermometer.
We had a look at it.
What was the best thing about it?
Did it taste good?
Your new friend,
8. @Ella and Aidan,
I see you two have been busy scientists this weekend! You made great observations, and I really like the way you used the physical properties list in your comments! Good for you!
@Mrs. Cranford,
I've added your blog to our list of blogs that we follow. We look forward to blogging with you!
@Sophie, Jazmin, Olivia, and Brooke,
I was so excited to read your comments. My class is on holiday right now, and I know they will all be so happy to see that they have new blogging buddies in Australia!
I would love to hear more about your science experiments. Can you tell us, for example, what you did with the Mentos and Coke? What did you observe?
Your new blogging pal,
Mrs. Ranney
9. Emily test,
I tested Peruvian Olive as my solid and Apple juice as my liquid.
Peruvian Olive
SHAPE: Circle
TEMPERATURE:Freezing cold
FLAVOR:Sweet Apples
Science is awesome!
Your student,
Emily Rose
10. Hello everyone,
I would like to hear more about your experiments.
Please give us some more details.
Your friend,
11. Dear Mrs. Ranney,
Thankyou for a reply to my comment.
We made some sherbet in science and I thought it was really fun. We mixed 2 tea spoons of citric acid, a small tea spoon of bi-carb soda and then we mixed them all together and it made sherbet. Do you have any other questions about our science?
From Olivia (in 2KJ) :-)
12. Dear Mrs Ranney and class,
It's me Jazmin again!! :-D
In my last comment I didn't tell you about our Mentos and coke experiment.
Well, our student teacher (Miss Brasier) dropped the Mentos into the coke. Since the Mentos had tiny holes in them that you couldn't see, when the mentos got to the bottom of the Coke bottle they started to come out of the bottle of coke! :-) :-D
When we made sherbet. The ingredients were citric acid, icing sugar and bi carb soda.
The equipment we needed was a bowl and a spoon to stir the mixture.
The last experiment so far was Oobleck. Now this was a really fun one!!
How to make oobleck: First you need a bowl and some water, but don't put too much water in the bowl. Pour some of the water into the bowl. After that get some corn flour. Then when you've done that, gently stir with your spoon. After it's dried and it's a bit of a solid and still a bit soggy, you can play with it with your hands or a spoon!!
From Jazmin,
in 2KJ! :-) :-D
13. Dear Mrs. Ranney,
I didn't freeze a drink. Instead I used yogurt. The yogurt was frozen. It was so cold on my teeth. It was still really yummy even though it was super duper cold. The yogurt was white, kind of sweet, and hard. Its texture was smooth.
Your Student,
14. Dear Mrs.Ranney,
I tested raspberry juice as my liquid
Raspberry juice
COLOR - Red
SHAPE - It takes the shape of its cup.
SIZE/MASS - Small/Light
TEXTURE -Wet
HARDNESS - Soft
FLAVOR - Tasty
Science is fun!
15. Dear Mrs. Ranney,
I remember you started the blog with our class. It has grown so much. Keep up the good work.
Ryan Ofman
16. Dear Mrs. Ranney, :)
My Object is a Puffer Ball
Shape - a sphere with points
Size/Mass - 4 inches, and it's light
Color - neon orange
Texture - smooth
Hardness - squishy
Flavor - none
Temperature - room temperature
Your new student,
17. Dear Mrs. Ranney,
I tested Berry Blast juice as my liquid and frozen Berry Blast juice as my solid.
Liquid-Berry Blast Juice:
COLOR: brownish
SHAPE: rectangle (like the juice box)
SIZE/MASS: small/light
TEXTURE: wet and smooth
HARDNESS: soft
FLAVOR: berry
Solid--Frozen Juice
COLOR: brown
SHAPE: cylinder
SIZE/MASS: small/light
TEXTURE: rough
HARDNESS: hard
FLAVOR: berry
From, ♥
18. @Justin,
I was very impressed with your scientific comment! Can you explain why the frozen juice was in a cylinder shape instead of the rectangle shape that it was in when it was liquid in a juice box?
Great job!
Have a nice weekend.
Mrs. Ranney
19. Dear Mrs.Ranney,
I remember when we worked on matter, but we didn't get to make popsicles. Are they going to watch the ice melt? I hope they have fun with things like alpha smarts.
20. Hi Liam,
It is great to hear from you. I hope that you are enjoying fourth grade and that you will come back and comment often!
My class will do many activities that you did last year and some new ones too!
Mrs. Ranney
21. Dear Mrs. Ranney,
I tested a large marshmallow.
COLOR: white
SHAPE: cylinder
SIZE/MASS: small/light
TEXTURE: smooth
TEMPERATURE:room temperature
HARDNESS: squishy
FLAVOR: sweet
Then I heated it in the microwave to see if it melt/turn into a liquid. It puffed up but was only liquid on the inside.
COLOR: white
SHAPE: sphere
SIZE/MASS: big/light
TEXTURE: smooth
HARDNESS: mushy
FLAVOR: sweet
Your Student,
22. @Leah,
What an interesting experiment you performed! Using a marshmallow was a great idea. Did you know that by heating it in the microwave, you caused a chemical change? We'll be learning more about that next week when we continue our matter lessons!
I don't think that I ever commented back to you! I love the fact that you chose a non - food item for your solid. You described it very well.
How about choosing a liquid to describe as well?
Keep the great work!
Mrs. Ranney
23. Dear Mrs. Ranney, :)
My Solid Object is a piece of paper
Shape - Square
Size/Mass - 8-1/2" x 11"/very light
Color - White
Texture - Smooth
Hardness - Soft
Flavor - None
Temperature - Room temperature
Your new student,
24. Dear Mrs.Ranney,
I tried freezing milk. When it was all frozen, it looked very,very hard. When I was eating the milk, it was very cold. The color was white and the shape was the shape of its jug. The size of the milk was small, the texture was smooth, the temperature was cold, the hardness was hard, and the flavor was yummy.
Your Student,
25. Dear Mrs.Ranney,
Guess what? I tried freezing grapes. The flavor was juicy. The color was purple. The shape was an oval.The size was small. The texture was wet. The temperature was cold. Also, the hardness was soft. I have some questions for you. What is your favorite thing to freeze? I have one more question. What is your favorite food?
26. Philip's and Nate's Science
SIZE/MASS:small light
TEMPERATURE: Room temperature
Science is great!
27. Dear Mrs.Ranney,
I tried freezing chocolate. The flavor was delicious! The color was brown. The shape was a little triangle. The size/mass was small. The texture was dry. The temperature was cold. The hardness was hard. I really like chocolate that's why I tried freezing chocolate. My mom loves chocolate a lot too!
Your Student,
28. Dear Class,
I tested our pumpkin bread that we made!
pumpkin bread
COLOR: brown
SHAPE: rectangle
SIZE/MASS:small and light
TEXTURE: smooth
TEMPERATURE: room temperature
HARDNESS: soft
FLAVOR: pumpkin
I am also testing a playing card.
playing card
COLOR: any color
SHAPE: rectangle
SIZE/MASS: very light and about 3 inches
TEXTURE: smooth
TEMPERATURE: room temperature
HARDNESS: soft
FLAVOR: none
Now you have seen all of my science.
Yours Sincerely,
Steps to comment:
2. Sign your post using your first name only.
Important: All comments MUST be approved by me.
:) Mrs. Ranney
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Thursday, December 16, 2010
Reflection Post on something from the book
At the beginning of Chapter 6 the book talks about the first 36 months in a child's life and how important it is. I've had older teachers tell me that a good kindergarten teacher can tell you how successful a child will be w/a very high accuracy rate. (No scientific data to back it up though!) However, we've all had (or have) kids in school and we are not the least bit shocked when we see their name in the police blotter. Or when they graduate at the top of their high school or college class.
The book speaks of a "groundswell" among politicians and policy makers for universal prekindergarten as a means to boost chances of children who would otherwise be unprepared for school. It mentions three areas to target: the creating an intellectual capacity, cultivating a strong positive self-esteem, and stimulating intellectual curiosity. When 98% of our educational dollars are spent after the all-important early years when basic intellectual capacities have been determined, it seems we could allocate at least some funds to this segment of our population. In the long run I think it would benefit us as teachers because if students do well early in school, they are more likely to do well when they get to us.
We have always had "Head Start" and similar programs, but maybe we need to direct even more dollars at this "problem." As more and more parents go to work earlier and earlier in their child's developmental years and therefore have less and less to do w/their kids, how can we not afford this? To me it is just another unfortunate step away from the family as the core of our society, but we need to address this issue. As I'm sure all of you will agree, I see more and more students less prepared to succeed in my classroom. Whatever we can do to stem this pattern would be money well-spent in my opinion!
Monday, November 29, 2010
Get a Voki now!
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Chapter 4 -- Disruptively Deploying Computers
In Chapter four, Christensen introduces ideas on how computer use will change what we do in public education. His first idea is one of “student-centric technology” implemented online will allow educators to create individualized learning for their students. This has been a goal for educators for decades and is one that due to class size and curriculum load is usually unattainable. Christensen’s story of Maria and the online opportunities that are available to her through Randall University demonstrates the ease of taking an online course and the availability of a wide range of curricular opportunities that are available to students. Maria is given the opportunity to take an Arabic Language course not offered at her high school. Maria tells her guidance counselor “Wow, that simple?” In my experience with NDIS and OdysseyWare, there are limitations and in some cases road blocks that make it not that simple. We have to make sure that the provider is approved by the department of education, the course(s) offered are approved and for what kind of credit.
Christensen claims that enrollment in online courses in our public schools has increased from 45,000 in 2000 to over a million today. He cites the increase is caused by online offerings in the areas of AP courses, credit recovery, specialized courses, home schooling, and students in rural and urban schools how aren’t offered a wide range of curricular choices. Credit Recovery is certainly front and center in South Dakota after the Activities Association made it a possibility for athletes to become eligible after failing a course.
Christensen states (p. 93) “Computer based learning is a welcome solution when the alternative is to forgo learning the subject altogether.” This is true when declining enrollment or a dwindling budget requires a school to cut electives.
The chapter focuses on a two part proposition in the first part, computer based learning, and growth is dependent by software cost and software’s inability to adapt to a student’s intelligence type and learning style. The second part, student centric technology, is where software is created that creates individualized learning for each student. Software would take into account how a student learns and their level of intelligence. This sounds great but I’m somewhat skeptical that it can take the place of the teacher or personal tutor.
On page 105, Christensen describes the future of the classroom. He takes us to a Chemistry classroom in the future where students complete their lab assignment in a virtual chemlab with 150,000 students seated at computer terminals across the country. Again, he cites that this may not be optimal, but it is better than the alternative of having nothing at all.
The chapter concludes with a discussion on the future of assessment. He compared the assembly lines found at Chrysler and Toyota production plants. The point of this was to show that at Toyota, you were not allowed be trained on step two until you had mastered step one. This was not true of Chrysler. The purpose of this was to show the similarities found in education’s traditional form of assessment which allowed students to move on to the next chapter after failing the current one. Online courses commonly will not allow the student to move on without having mastered what they are currently working on. Again, I believe most teachers would choose to use the kind of assessment but due to class size and required standards it may not be possible.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Section Two Summary
Chapter Two starts out with the assertion that schools actually ARE improving, moving up the vertical axis of their industry. However, schools have endure significant disruptive events—the Nation at Risk report and NCLB—that have changed the way they are judged, and has made them look less than stellar.
Then the book starts getting into its main thrust of expertise: disruptive innovation theory. While somewhat complex, here’s a quick summary of the key points:
· Companies are constantly innovating, but most of these changes can be described as sustaining innovations because they sustain performance improvements in established markets (faster computers, more fuel-efficient airplanes, longer lasting batteries, etc.). While there are dramatic breakthroughs, most are routine.
· Disruptive innovations are different because they disrupt the “established plane of competition” by reaching a new market which previously held “non-consumers”.
· Disruptive innovations are actually inferior in quality—at least at first—but it doesn’t matter because they satisfy the need of the new market. One prominent example is the personal computer, which was originally marketed as a toy (remember the early Apples?) to children.
· Eventually, the product or service improves to a point where it eventually replaces the established ones, the way microcomputers displaced mainframe minicomputers.
· Established companies and products are usually unable to stop this because they have too much invested in the way they do things.
They attempt to apply this theory to schools, again reiterating that schools have been improving over the years despite various hardships. Schools have been asked to do the equivalent of rebuilding an aircraft in mid-flight: to adjust to changing metrics, then to improve on each new measure. These essentially became “new” jobs to do, tasks that the public school system in its existing paradigm was never designed to undertake. The authors outlined, as a means of providing historical context, the jobs that schools have been assigned over the years.
· Job 1: Preserve Democracy and Inculcate Democratic Values—from the inception of our country to the mid-late 1800s
· Job 2: Provide Something Different for Every Student—disruptive events such as industrialization, promotion of high school, the cold war and the space race—through 1960’s
· Job 3: Keeping America Competitive—a shift began, underscored by the belief (for the first time) that our schools weren’t doing well enough.
· Job 4: Eliminate Poverty—NCLB and ensuring that every child in every demographic improves his or her scores.
Clearly the job of education has become harder to do. But based on this history, the authors assert that schools have been consistently improving and are motivated to improve their outcomes.
Chapter three outlines the reasons why our attempts at employing technology in education have largely met with little improvement in achievement. The authors utilized examples from several different private industries to show that “unless top managers actively manage this (innovative) process, their organization will shape every disruptive innovation into a sustaining innovation—one that fits the processes, values, and economic model of the existing business…” In other words, we shape change to our existing purposes because we naturally choose to not disrupt ourselves.
Schools invested heavily in computers because they saw industry do it. We crammed our classrooms with them. Many students, however, report using them infrequently. Even when they are used a lot, are used as a tool, rather than as a primary instructional mechanism that helps them learn in ways that are customized to their type of intelligence. (Ref. Gardner, ch1) Traditional practices have not evolved despite the presence of computers.
At the end of the chapter, the authors make a strong case that successful disruptive innovation can only take place when it competes against “non-consumption.” Take, for example, if the earliest recorded music (victrola, phonograph records) had competed against actual live music. It never would have thrived or developed. In the same way, simply “cramming” computers into classrooms to be utilized in the same way as traditional instruction doesn’t fly.
If deployed “disruptively”, computers could “bit by bit change the way learning takes place in schools” and can transform the classroom into places where “all students can learn in the ways their individual minds are wired to learn.”
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Book Cover Image
I chose this picture because some of those that actually do disrupt class end up in the same situation as the young man in this picture.
Everyone Loves Jello! book cover image
The brick and mortar school, as represented by the stapler, is in a state of flux. It is The Basics, the select sum of everything we've learned and have been doing. Of late it finds itself in upheaval, a nebulous cloud of tangentially related "improvement" efforts having arrived on the scene. Lots of people like Jello--it tastes good, it changes the way the stapler works, and it's different. Others don't; well-meaning but tradition-bound teachers find it suffocating. The Jello is not interested in fixing the stapler; it only mandates that the stapler define a new agenda.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Super Summary - Section 1
The book begins with a statement that the US is trying to accomplish something no other nation has attempted - to educate EVERY child. The book touts itself as a study of why, in spite of talent and energy brought by many admins and teachers, that our school improve begrudgingly at best.
In the introduction, the book lays out 4 aspirations of education:
1) Maximize human potential
2) Facilitate a vibrant, participative democracy
3) Hone the skills, capabilities, and attitudes that will help our economy
4) Nurture a philosophy that differences merit respect (not persecution)
The author then goes on to discuss various popular theories on why our schools are struggling (among them: lack of funding, not enough computers, poor student/parent support, etc.) but also serves up some examples and/or statistics that offer proof that counters each excuse. There are always exceptions to the rule, therefore each excuse is only part of the problem. In the end, the author summarizes that to improve education in America, we must look for the fundamental root causes of the struggles in our educational system. To do so, they choose to stand outside and look within to foster innovative change.
The book then discusses the two forms of motivation - extrinsic and intrinsic. Christensen talks about the lack of much extrinsic motivation in modern US society. He compares this to the pattern observed in Japan. After World War II, Japan was "in the ashes". Students studied math and engineering as a means to escape the poverty all around them (extrinsic motivation). As Japan passed the US in manufacturing they settled into good paying jobs and families became comfortable. Their children studied more "noble" causes (intrinsic motivation) and now the Chinese are moving past as they strive to climb their economic ladders. The point he illustrates here is that schools should be an intrinsically motivating experience and it is currently NOT this way. The stated purpose of his book is to look at resolving this problem.
In the Chapter 1 preview, Christensen poses the theory that each student learns best in different ways. Therefore, we must customize education to match the way each child learns. He states that we must use a modular, student-centric approach using software as an important delivery method of education. To accomplish this, schools must move away from the monolithic methods of today.
Just prior to Chapter 1, Christensen develops a few characters that will flow in and out of the remainder of the book. The setting is "Randall Circle High School" and the main character is Robert "Rob" James. He is a soccer star that doesn't want to go to chemistry class. Mr. Alvera, his chemistry teacher is what we would call "old school" - has taught it this way for 25 years and it works. Mrs. Alston is the newly hired principle charged with "fixing" the school. Maria Solomon is the Academics Bowl champ and Rob's neighbor and sometimes tutor.
Chapter 1 begins with Rob's struggles in chemistry. Despite pouring over it the night before, he still struggles with the formula for thermodynamic gases. Mr. Alvera has begun the process to report Rob for his academic struggles - something Rob fears - but rationalizes it anyway. Rob has come in for help but just doesn't get it. From Rob's perspective the help is the same as in class - except slower and louder. This vignette ends with Rob's dad arriving home as Rob sits alone and frustrated at the table with his chemistry book. Dad looks at the book, sends Rob to the store for some helium balloons, and demonstrates the formula in action. Rob begins to understand about gases. The father customized the lesson to fit Rob's learning style.
Christensen then introduces us to Howard Gardner's work on multiple intelligences. He begins by comparing the old IQ method to Gardner's view of intelligence. Gardner breaks intelligence into three areas:
1) the ability to solve problems one finds in real life
2) the ability to generate new problems to solve
3) the ability to make something or offer a service values in one's own culture
Gardner defines eight intelligences (with an example of someone who exemplifies each):
Linguist - uses language/words to express complex meaning (Walt Whitman)
Logical-mathematical - calculate, quantify, solve complex math operations (Albert Einstein)
Spatial - 3D thinking, imagery, navigate in space, produce/decode geography information (Frank Lloyd Wright)
Bodily - kinesthetic, manipulate objects and fine-tune physical skills (Michael Jordan)
Musical - distinguish/create using pitch, melody, rhythm, tune (Mozart)
Interpersonal - understand and interact effectively w/other (Mother Teresa)
Intrapersonal - construct accurate self-perception and use this in planning and directing one's life (Sigmund Freud)
Naturalist - observe patterns in nature, ID and classify objects, understand natural and human systems (Rachel Carlson)
Gardner points out that when the educational approach is aligned with one's stronger intelligences, learning becomes intrinsically motivated. For example, Rob and the helium balloon.
The section on Gardner's multiple intelligences ends with the caveat that although we learn best in our preferred areas of strength, there are also other factors that come into play. First, we all have learning preferences that may vary in our 2-3 main intelligence strong areas. Second, we all learn at a different pace. Despite these challenges, the book still points out our current system - we all sit in class for the duration - whether we understand right away or never get it.
Christensen then goes on to discuss interdependence and modularity. This section in very mush rooted in the business world with the intent of applying it to our schools. He begins by stating that all products and services have an architecture or design. This includes what the parts are and how the parts interact. All products or services have an "interface" where the parts or people must fit together. There are two possible designs: interdependent and modular. The author gives the Model-T Ford factory as an example of an interdependent design. The steel that Henry Ford received varied and cause problems with the production of the car. He could not control the steel he bought, so he build his own steel plant so that the quality of the steel would work in his factory. This was an expensive fix. A modular design would be a lamp. Within this product a module is the light bulb. Although the bulb fits into a standard socket size, the light bulb itself can be improved upon and still work within the system.
In an example that better related to education, Christensen looks at the early Apple and Dell computers. Apple computers was a proprietary company that had all interdependent parts. This was an expensive choice because you had to buy the whole ball of wax, so to speak, and the computer did not have many options. On the other hand, Dell simply used components that it bought from various manufacturers and installed them in whatever configuration the customer wanted - all at a cheaper price!
Chapter 1 concludes with applying the lessons of multiple intelligence and interdependent versus modular systems to the world of education. In the section "Standardized Teaching versus Customized Learning" he points out that our school are highly interdependent systems. In our schools teacher training, curriculum design, student grouping, and building lay-out are all interdependent variables. Customization within this system in EXPENSIVE. For example, special education laws have dictated customization (IEP's) and this is costly. To educate a special education student, a Rhode Island school district averaged $22,893 per special education student. Regular educations students averaged $9,269 to educate for one year. Christensen argues that as these customized areas eat up disproportionate pieces of budgets, schools are forced to standardize even more to best educate everyone else.
Christensen looks to the past to offer a ray of hope. He reminds us that in the early 1800's our one-room schools were highly customized places of learning. The teacher would offer individualized instruction plans that were modified to meet the students needs throughout the year. However, in the late 1800's we began educating larger numbers of students and we standardized to meet this rapid growth. Christensen puts forth that today education has evolved into "educational cliques" where curriculum developers pair with teachers that favor that book's intelligence strength and they attract students that learn best in that intelligence mode. All to the exclusion of others that learn better in another area of intelligence.
The chapter ends on a point of hope. At one end of the spectrum is our current monolithic batch system and on the other end is the student-centric model. Christensen again brings up computer-based learning as a disruptive force and promising opportunity to customize the education we offer in our schools. With this tool, we can better match intelligence types in the places and paces students prefer by using technology to combine content in customizable sequences. Christensen concludes by pointing out that schools have met the public's demands in the past and that we must take the right steps forward to meet this new demand to reform education.
New Book Cover
I chose this image because it reminds me of how the book initially portrays our schools - old and archaic - like a dinosaur. The book talks about how our schools are rutted in this old-fashioned cookie-cutter way of educating students. But I also see our schools as powerful - like the T-Rex - capable of exerting much influence and power.
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Welcome to Literature Circle Twenty-five!
Your Super Summarizer schedule is as follows:
Section One--Due October 28, John Britt
Section Two--Due November 4, Bryon Christian
Section Three--Due November 11, Todd Satter
Section Four--Due November 18, TBA
Section Five--Due December 2, Shawn Krush
Section Six--Due December 9, TBA
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What Is Consumer Buying Power?
Everything you buy in a given year from a gallon of milk to a new car is tracked and added to a list that determines consumer buying power. This list helps companies understand where the marketplace is heading and what consumers are actually spending money on versus what a company believes consumers want to purchase.
Definition of Consumer Buying Power
• Consumer buying power is the behavior of a consumer in regards to how he spends money on goods or services. For example, an individual might have $1,000 per month to spend on goods after he pays taxes. This sum of money is known as his consumer buying power because it is the amount he is able to contribute to the economy through purchases. This amount is then divided among actual purchases to find out how buying power divides up among different industries such as entertainment, food, housing and clothing.
Effects on Consumer Buying Power
• Consumer buying power does not remain static year after year. Changes in the value of the currency, inflation of product prices and average wages all factor into the buying power figures. Higher prices might mean that buying power shifts to necessities such as clothing and housing and away from entertainment. Conversely, if it is found that average wages are increasing and the prices are remaining low, then buying power can shift toward industries that fulfill the wants of consumers as well as their needs.
Collecting Data on Consumer Buying Power
• The data available on consumer buying power is collected by The Nielsen Company and delivered in an annual report. This information is used by companies to track consumer behavior in their industry and may determine how they proceed in the next year. For example, a jewelry company finding that consumers are shying away from expensive diamonds might opt for less-expensive alternatives to offer consumers. Clothing manufacturers might find that higher consumer buying power can mean clothing can be made at a higher expense and sold at a higher price.
Buying Power Vs. Purchasing Power
• Consumer buying power should not be confused with consumer purchasing power. Purchasing power dictates how much of a good can be purchased with a specific amount of money. This changes over time. According to Consumer Price Index figures, for example, the average cost of a pound of ground roast coffee in January 2004 was just under $3. By January 2014, the average cost rose to just over $5.
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Find Orthodontists Near You
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What is Orthodontics?
Orthodontics is a branch of dentistry which involves the prevention and correction of irregularities in the teeth. Doctors who specialize in this field are called orthodontists. An orthodontist has specialized and in-depth knowledge about the human teeth and jaws. Providing treatment for people who have alignment problems associated with their teeth and jaws is their goal. The treatment provided will vary from person to person depending on their specific problem. Orthodontists can help make sure that our teeth and jaws remain in good condition.
An orthodontist’s job is to identify the underlying problem of the teeth, identify the cause and proceed with the treatment based on his identifications. There are certain steps that are being carried out before the orthodontist would start the treatment. These steps are carried out as a part of diagnosis. The diagnosis method involves assessing the dental and medical history of the patient, examining the patient clinically, examining the X ray reports, etc. In the process, the orthodontist closely examines the conditions of the teeth and severity of the problem from all the results he obtains from the diagnosis steps. Once the orthodontist arrives at a conclusion after the diagnosis, he will decide on the way he or she can treat his patient.
What Is Involved in Orthodontics Treatment?
The treatment includes appliances that are used to correct the improper positioning of the teeth and correct the growth of the jaw muscles. The appliances used for the treatment can be either fixed or removable. The orthodontist’s decision of which type of appliance will be used, varies from patient to patient and the severity of the problems associated with the teeth and jaws of the patients. When the problem is severe, the appliance chosen for treatment is usually fixed. In the case of more minor problems, removable appliances are generally preferred.
One of the most popular orthodontic treatments is braces. Braces are special equipment for maintaining space between two teeth when the in-between tooth has fallen down. One of the most popular products on the market is Invisalign, which are clear braces. Many people feel self-conscious about having metal braces on their teeth, whereas most people don’t even notice when someone is wearing Invisalign.
There are also special appliances to avoid the thrush of tongue. For removable appliances, there is the aligner, which can be a replacement for braces. People use aligner for cosmetic purposes. Other devices include headgear, lip and cheek bumpers, palatal expanders, removable retainers and splints.
To be brief about each of the methods, headgear is associated to correct the jaws position. Next is lip and cheek bumpers, which are used for relieving pressure from the lips and cheeks to the teeth. Palatal expander is for palatal bones that needs to be expanded for the proper alignment of the teeth. Removable retainers are associated with preventing the teeth from going back to their original position and to avoid sucking of thumb, while splints are used for healing purposes. Patients are sometimes allowed to select their mode of treatment based on cost, intensity of problems, and comfort zone. But cases where the conditions are severe, the orthodontist generally decides upon the treatment. Most of the treatments are temporary, while certain treatments can last up to three years based on the condition of the teeth.
What Causes Orthodontic Problems?
Almost everyone has some problems associated with their teeth, although not everyone will need to see an orthodontist. One can rarely point out very few who have problem-free teeth. While some reasons for this are due to hereditary, that is, genetically transmitted due to family reasons, other reasons include sucking of the thumb in early age, some unusual accidents, or losing a tooth prematurely. In any case, many people do not care about their teeth until they reach some critical emergency.
It is also very common nowadays to have a tooth that has not developed in a correct position, that is, there is some irregularity in the position of the teeth. When such symptoms are seen, it is very important and necessary to make a visit to the orthodontist as soon as possible. It is always better to visit an orthodontist when the symptoms are seen, because the earlier intervention can always help in treating the conditions of the teeth and jaw easier and quicker. Many orthodontists recommend that parents bring their children in for a checkup appointment when they turn seven. By taking the children at his very young age for examination, one can avoid problems related to their teeth and jaw as they grow up. Problems like improper tooth position, problems due to sucking of the thumb (which is prevalent among babies), improper placement of jaws, can be identified and treated easily when it is identified at an earlier age.
It is also equally important to take great care in how the correct orthodontist is chosen. This is a very important step to be followed, as the wrong choice can make things worse than ever. The first and foremost thing is to get a reference from your family dentist. Normally you can trust the words of your dentist in identifying the best orthodontist suiting your needs. The next best thing would be the valuable suggestions from friends and relatives. Definitely, there would be people from the surrounding places who might have undergone similar treatments for their dental problems, and they may have valuable feedback about specific orthodontists.
When choosing your orthodontist, be sure to inquire about the number of years of experience they have in their field. It is also very important to familiarize yourself with the treatments they currently provide and the cost of the treatments. In rare cases of emergency, it is good to know beforehand what facilities are available and what your orthodontist plans to do. If you want to find orthodontists but save money, you could always choose a dental school, as they often offer treatments at lower cost. However, orthodontists at these facilities may not have as much experience. It all depends on your individual needs and it is for you to choose the right method applicable to you or your loved ones.
In conclusion, it is worthwhile to note that orthodontists have been playing a very vital role in protecting our teeth and jaws and helping them stay healthy and strong. After you’ve chosen an orthodontist that you’re comfortable with and he or she has performed the necessary procedure, it’s very likely that you’ll be a satisfied patient. It is always the intention of the orthodontist to keep your smile healthy.
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At the top of this page, please click on your state to find a local orthodontist. Please keep in mind that we at ListOrtho are not medical professionals ourselves, so nothing here should be construed as medical advice. Everything on this website is just our opinion. Please consult an orthodontist, dentist, or doctor for your medical questions.
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What is a Dissertation?
If you have attended higher education then for sure you have had to write a dissertation before you were able to graduate. What exactly is a dissertation?
A dissertation is a paper works or a document submitted in support of candidature for a certain academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author’s research and findings. In many countries it is popularly known as the thesis, where students always demand that writing a thesis is just the number one of the brain cracking activity to be done in the school. A dissertation writing help or tips will surely be alleviating the pain on those minds that stresses you all day long.
Although writing a dissertation makes everybody cramming when it’s not yet finish or accomplished. Internet provides some successful thesis written by many scholars. Some of them offer you some nifty secrets and techniques on how to have a thesis just as accomplished like theirs. And it’s a really good thing that internet also offers everybody with free tips on how to easily make a thesis in APA research paper format, which is the most common paper format.
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Ultrasound is a typically painless medical test that helps your doctor to diagnose and treat certain medical conditions. Unlike X-rays which use radiation, ultrasound exams use reflected sound waves to examine areas of the body. Because there is no radiation exposure, ultrasound is the preferred imaging technique for pregnant mothers and their unborn infants.
Ultrasound is excellent for evaluating many specific areas of the body and is especially effective for examining interior body cavities like the abdomen. The ultrasound scanner consists of a console which contains a computer, video display screen and a small hand-held device called a transducer that is used to scan your body. The transducer sends out a sound wave and then listens for the echo or return wave. Images are immediately visible on the video display screen.
Our imaging centers offer several types of ultrasound exams including: echocardiography, abdominal, pelvic, transvaginal, scrotum, thyroid and musculoskeletal. Vascular ultrasound exams include abdominal and peripheral venous and arterial studies.
No known risks or harmful side effects are posed to humans from ultrasound examinations.
Preparation for your ultrasound exam is determined by the part of your body to be examined.
The scanner does not confine, enclose, surround or rotate around your body and the exam requires no contrast medium or dye.
You will be asked to remove all clothing and jewelry from the area of your body being examined prior to the exam as these objects interfere with the quality of the images.
For abdominal, aorta, kidneys, liver, gallbladder, spleen and pancreas ultrasound exams - Do not eat or drink for at least 8 hours prior to your exam. This includes mints and chewing gum. During this 8 hour period you may continue to take regular medications but only with small sips of water.
For pediatric ultrasound exams - Fasting time is dependent upon the child's age. Consult your doctor for additional information.
For pelvic ultrasound exams - Empty your bladder approximately 1 to 1 ½ hours prior to your exam, and then drink 32 ounces of liquid of your choice. Your bladder should be full for the exam. Do not empty your bladder again until the exam has been completed. You may continue to take regular medications.
The exam is usually completed within 30 to 60 minutes.
Our technologist will prepare and guide you by explaining the procedure, and positioning you to ensure the highest quality images are obtained from your exam.
After being positioned on a comfortable table, the sonographer will apply some warm gel to your skin. The gel creates a secure contact to eliminate air pockets between your body and the transducer.
The sonographer then presses the transducer against your body moving it back and forth over the area of interest until the desired images have been captured.
Once your exam is complete, the gel will be wiped off your skin and the sonographer will guide you out of the examination room.
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Riparian water rights
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
General principle[edit]
England and Wales[edit]
The Environment Agency lists the riparian rights and duties in England and Wales:[2] The rights include ownership of the land up to the centre of the watercourse unless it is known to be owned by someone else, the right for water to flow onto land in its natural quantity and quality, the right to protect property from flooding and land from erosion but subject to approval by the agency), the right to fish in the watercourse unless the right is sold or leased if an angler has a valid Environment Agency rod licence. They also include the right to acquire accretion and the right to boomage (a fee charge for securing a boom, generally for the retention of logs).
Duties arising from the model include these:
United States[edit]
The United States recognizes two types of water rights. Although use and overlap varies over time and by state, the western arid states generally follow the doctrine of prior appropriation, but water rights for the eastern states follow riparian law.
Riparian rights[edit]
In determining the contours of riparian rights, there is a clear distinction between navigable (public) waters and non-navigable waters. The land below navigable waters is the property of state,[3] and subject to all the public land laws and in most states public trust rights. Navigable waters are treated as public highways with any exclusive riparian right ending at the ordinary high water mark. Like a road, any riparian right is subordinate to the public's right to travel on the river, but any public right is subject to nuisance laws and the police power of the state. It is not an individual right or liberty interest. Because a finding of navigability establishes state versus federal property, navigability for purposes of riverbed title is a federal question determined under federal law; the states retain residual power to define navigability for the purposes of defining the public trust over water within their borders.[4] A non-navigable stream is synonymous with private property, or jointly-owned property if it serves as a boundary.
The state could choose to divest themselves of title to the streambed, but the waters and use of the waters remains subject to the "Commerce Clause" of the US Constitution which holds an easement or servitude, benefiting the federal government for the purpose of regulating commerce on navigable bodies of water.[5]
The reasonable use of the water by a riparian owner is subject to the downstream riparian owners 'riparian right' to receive waters undiminished in flow and quality. Since all surface waters eventually flow to the public ocean, federal regulatory authority under the Clean Waters Act, like the Clean Air Act, extends beyond only public (navigable) waters to prevent downstream pollution.
States' involvement[edit]
Federal courts have long recognized that state laws establish the extent of the riparian and public right. In the case of navigable waters, title goes to the average low water mark. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court defined it as the "ordinary low water mark, unaffected by drought; that is, the height of the water at ordinary stages."[6] Land beyond the low water mark belongs to the state government in the case of the 13 original states.
Lands between the high and low water marks are subject to the police powers of the states.[7] In the case of the original 13 states, upon ratification of the US Constitution, title to these lands remained vested in the several states.
As new lands were acquired by the United States, either by purchase or treaty, title to the highways and the beds of all navigable or tidal lakes, or rivers became vested in the United States unless they had been validly conveyed into private ownership by the former sovereign.[8] During the territorial period, the United States held these title "in trust" for the benefit of the future states that would be carved out of the territory.[9] Each of the states were to come into the Union on an "equal footing" with the original 13 states.
Under the equal footing doctrine, territorial states are vested with the same sovereign title rights to navigable wetlands as the original 13 states.[10] However, during the territorial period, the United States could convey certain of these lands under the limited circumstances of promoting commerce.[11]
Ownership of the submerged lands was resolved by Congress passing the Submerged Lands Act,[12] which confirmed state title to the beds of all tidal and navigable bodies of water. While the act conveyed title to lands below tidal and navigable waters to the states, non-navigable stream beds are treated like dry lands and are part of the adjoining estates. Waters subject to the ebb and flow of the tides, even if non-navigable, also passed to the states, but the continued ownership and public use of these tidal/marsh lands are based on state laws.
See also[edit]
2. ^ Living on the Edge – Environment Agency website, retrieved 10 December 2008
3. ^ 43 USC § 1311(A)
4. ^ PPL Montana v Montana 132 S.Ct. 1215 (2012)
8. ^ McKnight v. Brodell, 212 F.Supp 45
9. ^ Hymes v. Grimes Company, 165 F. 2d 323
12. ^ 43 U.S.C.A. 1301
External links[edit]
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Septal nectary)
Jump to: navigation, search
Nectar of camellia
An Australian painted lady feeding on a flower's nectar
Gymnadenia conopsea Flowers with Nectar-filled Spur
Nectar is derived from Greek nektar, the favored drink of the gods. The current meaning, "sweet liquid in flowers," is first recorded in AD 1600.[2]
Floral nectaries[edit]
Floral nectaries are generally located at the base of the perianth, so pollinators are made to brush the flower's reproductive structures, the stamen and pistil, while accessing the nectar.
Septal nectaries[edit]
A septal nectary is nectar-producing tissue that is found in the wall of a plant ovary.[3] Septal nectaries function as a way of attracting pollinators.[4] Plants that rely on insects, birds, or bats for pollination often have septal nectaries. Aside from attracting pollinators, septal nectaries have also been known to attract "plant protectors." Some plants, like Ruellia radicans, have nectaries that continue to secrete nectar even after the petals have been shed. This attracts ants which will in turn protect the developing fruits of the plant from seed predators and herbivores in exchange for nectar.[5]
Extrafloral nectaries[edit]
Extrafloral nectaries on a red stinkwood (Prunus africana) leaf
In contrast to floral nectaries, nectar produced outside the flower generally have a defensive function. The nectar attracts predatory insects which will eat both the nectar and any plant-eating insects around, thus functioning as 'bodyguards'.[8] Foraging predatory insects show a preference for plants with extrafloral nectaries, particularly some species of ants and wasps, which have been observed to directly defend the plants.[6] Among passion flowers, for example, extrafloral nectaries prevent herbivores by attracting ants and deterring two species of butterflies from laying eggs.[9] In many carnivorous plants, extrafloral nectaries are also used to attract insect prey.[10]
Foliar nectaries have also been observed in 39 species of ferns belonging to seven genera and four families of Cyatheales and Polypodiales.[7] They are absent, however, in bryophytes, gymnosperms, early angiosperms, magnoliids, and members of Apiales among the eudicots.[7] Phylogenetic studies and the wide distribution of extrafloral nectaries among vascular plants point to multiple independent evolutionary origins of extrafloral nectaries in at least 457 independent lineages.[7]
Natural components[edit]
Although its main ingredient is natural sugar in a proportion of approximately 55% sucrose, 24% glucose and 21% fructose,[12] nectar is a brew of many chemicals.[13] For example, the Nicotiana attenuata, a tobacco plant native to the US state of Utah, uses several volatile aromas to attract pollinating birds and moths. The strongest such aroma is benzylacetone, but the plant also adds bitter nicotine, which is less aromatic, so may not be detected by the bird until after taking a drink. Researchers speculate the purpose of this addition is to discourage the forager after only a sip, motivating it to visit other plants, therefore maximizing the pollination efficiency gained by the plant for a minimum nectar output.[13][14] Neurotoxins such as aesculin are present in some nectars such as that of the California buckeye.[15] Nectar contains water, carbohydrates, amino acids, ions and numerous other compounds.[1][13]
See also[edit]
3. ^ Judd, Walter S., Christopher S. Campbell, Elizabeth L. Kellog, Peter F. Stevens, and Michael J. Donoghue. Plant systematics a phylogenetic approach. 3rd ed. Sunderland, MA: Sinauer Associates, Inc., 2007.
4. ^ Sajo, M. G.; Rudall, P. J.; Prychid, C. J. (2004). "Floral anatomy of Bromeliaceae, with particular reference to the evolution of epigyny and septal nectaries in commelinid monocots". Plant Systematics and Evolution. 247 (3–4). doi:10.1007/s00606-002-0143-0.
5. ^ Gracie, C. (The New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, NY 10458-5126). Observation of dual function of nectaries in Ruellia radicans (Nees) Lindau (Acanthaceae). Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 118: 188-190. 1991.
8. ^ Plant-Provided Food for Carnivorous Insects - Cambridge University Press
12. ^ Stahl, J. M.; Nepi, M; Galetto, L; Guimarães, E; Machado, S. R. (2012). "Functional aspects of floral nectar secretion of Ananas ananassoides, an ornithophilous bromeliad from the Brazilian savanna". Annals of Botany. 109 (7): 1243–52. PMC 3359915Freely accessible. PMID 22455992. doi:10.1093/aob/mcs053.
13. ^ a b c Nicolson, Susan W.; Nepi, Massimo (2007). Pacini, Ettore, ed. "Nectaries and Nectar; Nectar Components". Springer Publications. pp. 8–9. ISBN 9781402059377.
15. ^ C.Michael Hogan (2008) Aesculus californica,, ed. N. Stromberg
External links[edit]
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trade association
Alternative Title: gild
Types and functions
Early history
There is no direct evidence for the existence of permanent associations of traders or craftsmen in ancient Mesopotamia or Egypt, and little more evidence exists about such societies in pre-Hellenistic Greece. Such associations are known to have existed in ancient Rome, however, where they were called collegia. These craft guilds seem to have emerged in the later years of the Roman Republic. They were sanctioned by the central government and were subject to the authority of the magistrates. From the reign of the emperor Diocletian onward, the imperial government deliberately exploited these guilds in the interests of public authority and social order. The government tried to restrict the membership of the guilds to a hereditary caste of skilled artisans, but the increasing financial demands made upon the guilds by the government in the waning days of the Roman Empire had reduced most guilds to a precarious position by the 4th century ce. With the fall of the Western Roman Empire, guilds disappeared from European society for more than six centuries. The collegia did survive in the Byzantine Empire, however, and particularly in the city of Byzantium (Constantinople, now Istanbul). The famous Book of the Prefect, a manual of government probably drawn up by the Byzantine emperor Leo VI in the year 900, provides a picture of an elaborate guild organization whose primary function was the imposition of rigid controls, especially for financial and tax-raising purposes, on every craft and trade in the city.
Some historians have contended that the guilds of medieval Europe derived from the collegia of the Byzantine Empire, but no direct connections have been established between these different institutions, and the origins of the medieval guilds can be found in the changing economies of western and northern Europe as they emerged from the Dark Ages.
Flowering in Europe
Guilds became possible in Europe only with the appearance and growth of towns in the 10th and 11th centuries following the chronic dislocation and agrarian backwardness of the Dark Ages. Until this time, merchants had been merely itinerant peddlers who executed all of their own trading transactions, personally traveling from market to market and from town to town. Such merchants tended to band together in order to protect themselves from bandits or predatory feudal lords as they made their business rounds. Gradually, merchants expanded their activities and delegated such tasks as the transportation of goods to others, while the merchants based themselves and their operations in a particular town. The merchants’ associations soon became more tightly organized and were legalized and recognized by town governments. These merchant associations, or guilds, became intimately involved in regulating and protecting their members’ commerce, both in long-distance trade and in those activities which catered to the needs of the town’s inhabitants. Guilds came to control the distribution and sale of food, cloth, and other staple goods and thereby achieved a monopoly over the local commerce. Such guilds compelled foreign merchants or traders to pay a fee if they wanted to participate in the local trade, and some outside merchants were prohibited altogether from participating in that trade.
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Structure and social role
The internal structures of medieval craft guilds are well known from documents and were generally alike throughout Europe. Assemblies of the guild’s members enjoyed some legislative powers, but the control of guild policy lay in the hands of a few officials and a council of advisers or assistants. The guild tended to be an extremely hierarchical body structured on the basis of the apprenticeship system. (See apprenticeship.) In this structure, the members of a guild were divided into a hierarchy of masters, journeymen, and apprentices. The master was an established craftsman of recognized abilities who took on apprentices; these were boys in late childhood or adolescence who boarded with the master’s family and were trained by him in the elements of his trade. The apprentices were provided with food, clothing, shelter, and an education by the master, and in return they worked for him without payment. After completing a fixed term of service of from five to nine years, an apprentice became a journeyman, i.e., a craftsman who could work for one or another master and was paid with wages for his labour. A journeyman who could provide proof of his technical competence (the “masterpiece”) might rise in the guild to the status of a master, whereupon he could set up his own workshop and hire and train apprentices. The masters in any particular craft guild tended to be a select inner circle who possessed not only technical competence but also proof of their wealth and social position.
Apprenticeship was the basic element in the craft guild, since it secured the continuity of practice, tradition, and personnel on which the welfare of the guild depended. Apprenticeships in some trades came to be highly valued, and a family would have to pay a master a large sum of money for him to enroll their son as an apprentice. Often apprenticeships came to be restricted to the sons or other relatives of masters.
The craft guild policed its own members’ professional practices, and guild courts and officials investigated complaints of poor workmanship, unfair competition, and other problems, levying fines on those found in violation of the guild’s rules and standards.
Friction often arose between the wealthier members of the merchant guilds and the less prosperous but far more numerous members of the craft guilds in a particular city. Conflict between these two groups became especially intense when they competed for control of the city government, as happened in a number of cities in Italy, Germany, and the Low Countries.
In their heyday from the 12th to the 15th century, the medieval merchant and craft guilds gave their cities and towns good government and stable economic bases and supported charities and built schools, roads, and churches. Guilds helped build up the economic organization of Europe, enlarging the base of traders, craftsmen, merchants, artisans, and bankers that Europe needed to make the transition from feudalism to embryonic capitalism. Yet the guilds’ exclusivity, conservatism, monopolistic practices, and selective entrance policies eventually began to erode their economic utility. Apprenticeships became almost entirely hereditable, and masters set ridiculously high standards for apprentices to become journeymen and for journeymen to become masters. The guilds worked exclusively for their own interests and sought to monopolize trade in their own locality. They were frequently hostile to technological innovations that threatened their members’ interests, and they sometimes sought to extinguish commercial activities that they were not able to bring under their own control. The merchant guilds became parties of aristocrats who dominated the town and city governments, sometimes over the opposition of the craft guilds.
It is perhaps a sign of the general insignificance of the surviving guilds that they evoked surprisingly little serious criticism until the Enlightenment of the 18th century. By the time decrees abolishing craft associations were enacted in France (1791), Spain (1840), Austria and Germany (1859–60), and Italy (1864), the guilds’ authority had long been on the wane. Craft guilds continued to flourish in India, China, Japan, and the Islamic world into the 20th century, but they too proved unable to withstand the impact of modern Western industrial organization.
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A very rare, but potentially fatal condition, botulism is caused by a bacterium called Clostridium botulinum. The bacteria produce potentially fatal toxins in the body that are the most powerful ones known to the world of science. These toxins can cause severe and serious illness that can be extremely dangerous. Many people confuse botulism between some sort of poisoning or some kind of an infection. The fact is that, botulism can be both.
Consumption of honey, dust and soil containing the Clostridium botulinum bacteria is the most common cause of infant botulism.
The Clostridium botulinum bacteria is found worldwide and can be found in soils, rivers, guts of animals, uncooked, canned and preserved foods. It usually gets into the body through cuts or it can also get into the body through consumption of infected food. Even a small amount of bacteria can cause severe infection and poisoning. The toxins that this bacterium releases, usually affects the nervous system and makes the muscles weak.
Can Honey Cause Botulism in Infants?
Food borne botulism is caused when home preserved foods are taste-tested. Usually, foods that are improperly canned and preserved at home are infected with this bacterium. Foods that have a very less acid content can make the bacteria contamination easy. Home canned vegetables, smoked or craw fish, cured ham and pork in the house, can also be infected with this bacterium. If you are eating vegetables that have been cultivated in a field, where the soil was infected with these bacteria and you do not clean the vegetables properly, these foods can cause food borne botulism.
Can Honey Cause Botulism in Infants
Honey is yet another very common food ingredient that is highly contaminated with the Clostridium botulinum bacteria. Since these bacteria spores are found everywhere, even the nectar from the flowers is also contaminated. Consuming these foods that are contaminated or have a high tendency of contamination will increase the risk of the infant getting infected with botulism.
The Clostridium botulinum bacteria are found almost everywhere, in the soil, in air as well as even in the nectar that is collected from the flowers and petals. When the bees collect this nectar and the honey is produced, the spores of the bacteria contaminate the honey. When this honey is fed to an infant, the spores get into the body, rather the digestive tract of the infant. It is there, inside the digestive tract of the infant that the spores start to produce the neurotoxin and also reproduce themselves. Although the amount of the spores present in the honey is very negligible, it can attack the digestive system of the infant as it is immature at the age of less than a year. The spores germinate in the absence of oxygen and since there is no oxygen inside the intestine, the spores reproduce and also release the toxin. It is this toxin that blocks the neuro-transmission of impulses and paralyses the muscles.
According to The American Academy of Paediatrics, honey is one of those things that can cause infant botulism. Since honey is added to a lot of other foods, all those foods can potentially cause botulism in infant. Hence, it is very important that no food that contains honey is given to the infant. As per the recommendations of the National Honey Board (NHB), honey must not be given to infants in any form, either raw or in compilation with other foods, water and formula.
Is Honey Safe for Adults?
Whereas, the contaminated honey can cause infant botulism, the spores of Clostridium botulinum bacteria cannot usually survive in the matured digestive system of an adult or even a healthy child, above the age of 12 months. Since the adult digestive system is extremely acidic, the spores of the bacteria get destroyed within the digestive tract. Moreover, the spores are in little amounts in the honey and consumption of that little amount of infected or contaminated honey is not life-threatening for the adults.
Mothers, who are breastfeeding their infants, also can be relaxed as the spores of the bacteria cannot be transmitted through breast milk. The spores are too large to pass into the breast milk, through the mother's body. If the mother eats honey regularly, yet she will not pass the disease (botulism ) to her baby. Even if the mother is infected with the disease and she has to breast feed her infant baby, there is no chance for the infection to be transmitted through breast milk.
Can Honey be given to Infants and Adults with Baked Food?
The Clostridium botulinum bacteria as well as the toxin are destroyed only when the food that contains the bacteria is boiled, that is heated to 100 degree Celsius, for more than 10 minutes. Hence, baked foods like bread and cakes and other food items that contain honey in it, is not suitable for the infant baby.
If honey is contaminated with the spores of this bacterium, it is potential that it will cause botulism. Foods that contain honey should be either boiled, properly cooked over high heat for long hours, so that the toxin is destroyed.
If your infant shows signs and symptoms of botulism, take him or her to the emergency care of the hospital immediately. It is however, a very positive aspect that the extent of infant botulism is quite under control and can be treated well, provided the diagnosis is early.
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Hornblower and the Atropos Book Summary and Study Guide
Detailed plot synopsis reviews of Hornblower and the Atropos
Hornblower and the Atropos details the adventures of Horatio Hornblower in his first assignment as a post-captain in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars.
Click here to see the rest of this review
Prior to assuming command of his ship, HMS Atropos, Hornblower is first entrusted with a highly unusual job: organising the funeral of Admiral Horatio Nelson. The barge bearing the coffin springs a leak and nearly sinks in the River Thames, but other than that, the procession proceeds without trouble.
Afterward, he is presented to the King and introduced to his new midshipman: the Prince of Seitz-Bunau, the King's great-nephew, and in exile after Napoleon had conquered his small German principality.
Hornblower's mission is also rather out of the ordinary. He is to pick up three Sinhalese divers and their crusty interpreter and employ them to secretly salvage the cargo of a ship that sank in Turkish waters. The ship was carrying the payroll for the British Army when it foundered. After recovering most of the treasure, Hornblower discovers that the operation wasn't so secret after all when a much more powerful Turkish ship appears. However, by skillful (and highly dangerous) maneuvering, Hornblower manages to escape the trap.
After a sharp, but ultimately victorious, encounter with a Spanish ship, Hornblower has to make repairs in the Two Sicilies. There, the ship catches the eye of the King of the Two Sicilies, and the British ambassador decides to give the Atropos to him to keep his support in the fight against Napoleon. Hornblower returns home to England, where he finds that his two children are dying of smallpox.
Best part of story, including ending: It contains more unusual adventures than the average Hornblower story (and that takes some doing).
Best scene in story: "Mr. Prince" (as Hornblower calls his midshipman) falls into the sea while skylarking as they are being pursued by an enemy ship. Hornblower has to turn about and bluff the enemy into retreating by signalling to non-existent reinforcements just over the horizon in order to rescue the boy. Afterward, Hornblower sees to it that the boy can't sit on his royal posterior without some pain.
Opinion about the main character: Hornblower is ever resourceful and quick-witted.
Chapter Analysis of Hornblower and the Atropos
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The easiest thing in the world to do Is explaining hyperbole's meaning to you
Hyperbole is a figure of speech which uses exaggeration or a wildly extravagant statement for effect.
Can you spot the hyperbole in the poetic statement above?
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Global Competence as a Matter of Equity
What does global competence look like? (wwworks/Flickr)
What does global competence look like? (wwworks/Flickr)
By Dr. Tony Jackson
"Equity" is frequently defined in terms of the "achievement gap" when it comes to education—the persistent inability to promote high achievement among all students, especially poor students and students of color. Although some states and school districts have made progress in closing this gap, recent data from the Smarter Balanced and Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers tests of student achievement show that equity in education remains a daunting problem.
In California, for example, only 14 percent of African American, 18 percent of Latino, and 14 percent of economically disadvantaged 11th graders were at or above proficiency in math. These data are especially troubling since these new Common Core-related assessments are designed to measure students' complex thinking and reasoning skills, both key aspects of global competence, along with the capacity to recognize and weigh perspectives, communicate across cultures, and take action to improve conditions.
What would it mean to achieve equity in achievement and global competence? It would certainly mean more low-income students and students of color equipped to go on to postsecondary education and to thrive within a global economy. It would mean legions of young people from all backgrounds able and eager to take on the world's intractable problems, from climate change to violent extremism.
But what does equity in global competence mean on a personal level? What does it feel like, against the odds, to become globally competent? To that question I offer a personal reflection on my journey to global competence, in so far as I've actually achieved it, as one person's journey to equity in a global context.
My journey began with an amazing voyage at the time I began middle school, not across the ocean but across town. I was a participant in a voluntary busing program in the late 1960s. So one September morning, I found myself with a handful of other African American students boarding the proverbial yellow school bus to travel from our working-to-middle class, highly diverse neighborhood to the wealthy, predominantly white Westside.
At our new school, my bus mates and I were the diversity, along with a handful of Latino and Asian American students. For me, it wasn't so much culture shock as cultural wonderment, admittedly with an overlay of angst. When we were asked to say what elementary school we were from, cheers rose up at the names of local schools, but dead silence when it came to mine. Awkward! I remember thinking the full metal jacket of braces so many of the students had must really hurt! How was I going to fit in with these kids that seemed so foreign?
As so often happened in situations like these, we students of color could have been siloed into less demanding academic tracks that would have labeled us as less able and psychologically segregated us from the mainstream of students. That didn't happen.
Unintentionally or by design, the educators at that school had one set of standards for all, and true to the California ethos of the 1960s created a safe haven for students to explore their commonalities and differences as a foundation for authentic relationships.
It was not utopia. We had some very tough conversations, from black rage to white privilege. Through it all shined the courage of teachers to not shy away from encouraging us to communicate across boundaries, but to include it as part of the curriculum.
Unlike in junior high, I could only go to the high school on the Westside if I took a course not offered in my neighborhood school. The course was Russian, which to my amazement I enjoyed and excelled in. I can only wonder what visitors to the school must have thought when they saw virtually the entire African American population of the school in one classroom, animatedly discussing the adventures of Cossack Yermack, the Daniel Boone of Russia, under the stern but caring tutelage of our no-nonsense, straight-outta-Moscow teacher, Mrs. Rostovich. I've lost my Russian language skills since high school. I've never lost the spark of wonder about the world ignited by that experience, and the realization that, with effort and good teaching, cultures and languages that first seemed impenetrable can come to feel like home.
These are the beginnings of my global competence, locally rooted, and honed over succeeding years through travel, study, and a consuming curiosity about world and how it works. Not where I thought I was headed on the bus that September morning. What does it feel like now?
It feels like the dual consciousness W.E.B. Dubois described over a hundred years ago that black people develop in predominantly white America—the ability, in fact, the necessity to see the world simultaneously from one's own and another's perspective. Today, we might call it a global mindset, but the core competency is the same—the capacity to put yourself in another's shoes and see the world from multiple perspectives. With globalization, it is now a capacity needed by every human on the planet.
And what does global competence feel like? It feels like the absence of fear when encountering someone who is not from my tribe, however that might be defined. The absence of the unconscious classification of someone different as a threat. It feels like a flight or fight response deeply ingrained over millions of years of evolution reined in if not replaced by learning. It feels like the kind of learning schools must be about in the 21st century.
Perhaps, most of all, global competence as a matter of equity feels like global confidence. The deeply embedded sense that no matter where I started, I have learned what it takes to not only know about the world but to make a difference in the world. Equity in a global context is knowing that you belong in the global conversation, be it in the board rooms of New York or the classrooms of Mumbai, not because of who you are, but because of what you know and can do. This is the greatest gift global education can give.
A version of this article was originally published on Education Week's Global Learning blog.
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What Is the Purpose of Parsley?
Parsley is a nutrient-dense vegetable that's typically used as an herb.
Along with carrots, parsnips, fennel and celery, parsley is a member of the Umbelliferae family, a group of fragrant, hollow-stemmed plants, many of which have edible roots. Parsley is a flavorful, nutrient-rich vegetable that was first cultivated by the ancient Romans and Greeks for use as a medicinal food, according to the “Encyclopedia of Healing Foods.” It’s a rich source of vitamins A, C and K, folate, potassium, iron, fiber and antioxidant compounds. Today, fresh parsley is most commonly used as an herb or garnish. Like other highly nutritious leafy greens, however, parsley can also be consumed as a vegetable.
Types of Parsley
Although there are many types of parsley, the most widely available varieties are curly parsley and Italian, or flat-leaf, parsley. The curly variety has compact, bright green leaves that furl inward along the edges, while flat-leaf parsley is characterized by smooth, darker leaves that closely resemble cilantro leaves in both shape and size. Italian parsley is more aromatic and flavorful than curly parsley, which is slightly more bitter tasting. While the curly and Italian varieties are cultivated for their leaves, the less common root parsley is grown for its edible root, which looks just like a parsnip. Whereas parsnips taste sweetly spicy, however, root parsley has a more herbal, earthy flavor reminiscent of flat-leaf parsley.
Traditional Uses
In restaurants, fresh curly parsley is often placed alongside the main dish to help fill the plate. Used this way, it’s a garnish that many restaurant patrons opt not to eat, but chewing on a sprig of parsley after finishing a meal can help cleanse your palate and freshen your breath — a practice discovered by the ancient Romans. Fresh flat-leaf parsley is considered to have a wider range of culinary uses because its flavor holds up better in warm dishes. Chopped flat-leaf parsley is often scattered over grilled fish or chicken, stirred into sauces and soups and incorporated into fresh salads. Like parsnips, root parsley is typically served roasted or in soups and stews.
Serving Suggestions
In the Middle East where it originated, parsley is the main ingredient in tabbouleh, a traditional cold minced salad that also contains bulgur wheat, garlic, fresh mint, lemon juice and olive oil. Serve tabbouleh as a refreshing, warm-weather side dish, mix it into salsa or use it as a sandwich spread. Fresh parsley is ideal for juicing, enhancing the nutritional value of a glass of vegetable juice while contributing very few calories. For a fresh take on salad, toss a cup of whole flat-leaf parsley leaves with an equal amount of tender, milder-tasting leaf lettuce and top the mixture with your favorite salad vegetables. Alternatively, use parsley as the main green in a fresh salad, combining it with thinly sliced fennel, orange segments, grape tomatoes and toasted pumpkin seeds.
While the flavor of parsley is relatively pleasing to the majority of palates, it’s also strong enough to mask the odor and taste of other aromatic and flavorful foods, including garlic and onions. Its distinct taste is largely the result of its high chlorophyll content, a property that helps give parsley its status as a health food. Comparatively, parsley is a significantly richer source of betacarotene, vitamin C, folate, iron and potassium than basil, chives, dill and cilantro, according to the book “Wellness Foods A to Z.” Mint provides similar betacarotene and folate levels, but supplies far less vitamin C — and far more iron and potassium — than parsley. As such, the combination of parsley and mint makes tabbouleh a highly nutritious salad.
References (5)
• USDA Nutrient Data Laboratory: Parsley, Fresh
• The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth; Jonny Bowden, Ph.D., C.N.S.
• Superfoods; Tonia Reinhard
About the Author
Photo Credits
• parsley in the winter image by ewa kubicka from Fotolia.com
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Marele Romaniei National Legionar Imperiul/Great Romanian National-Legionary Empire
Chisinau (formerly Bucharest)
Head of State
His Majesty, Rege Carol II of Romania (1930-1953), His Imperial Majesty, Imparat Mihai I of Romania (from 1953)
Ruling Party
Frontul Renasterii Nationale (1938-1940), Partidul Natiunei (1940-1947), Partidul National Crestine Fascista (1947-1958), Garda de Fier (from 1958)
Head of Government
Guta Tatarescu (1939-1941), Ion Antonescu (1941-1958), Horia Sima (1958-1987), Eugen Barbu (from 1987)
Like neighbouring Bulgaria, Romania’s relations with Germany were not strong. In particular, King Carol II distrusted the Germans due to their inaction during the early days of the war against Russia, their support for Hungarian irredentism and for the Iron Guard movement in his country. Carol also knew he was deeply unpopular with the German regime due to his former Jewish mistress, Magda Lupescu. Faced with hostility from virtually all Romania’s neighbours (Hungary, Bulgaria, the USSR), Carol tried to appease the Axis powers by making his regime more overtly fascist. In 1938 he suspended the constitution and created the Party of the Nation as an umbrella fascist movement, incorporating parts of the Iron Guard under Horia Sima (who became Culture Minister, a junior cabinet position he aggrandised during his tenure), but balancing them with other fascist parties, most importantly the pro-Italian National Fascist Movement of Titus Vifor, and the Crusade of Romanianism of General Nicolae Radescu, and with conservative politicians and military men.
This reformed regime oversaw the defence of Bessarabia (in June to July 1940, out of which Ion Antonescu emerged as a national figure) and the conquest of Transnistria (from July 1941), and moves toward Italian-Romanian union, including co-sovereignty over the Principality of Aromanian Macedonia.
Italian-Romanian relations declined almost immediately after Carol’s death. Power within the Party of the Nation shifted from the ‘Roman faction’ around the former National Fascist Movement and toward the ‘Berlin faction’ around Horia Sima.
With strengthened relations between Italy and Hungary after the suppression of the 1957 Arrow Cross Uprising, moves toward Italian-Romanian union were shelved, symbolised by Mihai’s proclamation of the Romanian Empire and a shift to a more narrowly nationalist, rather than pan-Roman, identity in official ideology (known as Protocronism or Dacianism). The issue of Italo-Romanian co-sovereignty over Macedonia has yet to be resolved.
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Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Space Aliens
It's true, there are aliens floating around the center of our very own galaxy. They're called amino acetonitriles.
Phil Plait, the Bad Astronomer, has a writeup about this little guy, which is a precursor to amino acids and thus a precursor to what we call life. Researchers in Germany have apparently found this stuff in space, which is apparently an awesome thing.
And as a sidenote, his fancy picture of an amino acetonitrile looks nothing like the one I've got here, which was the result of a quick google image search. I don't really know how to read these things anymore, but who am I to question the all-knowing google? No one, that's who.
And as another sidenote, why does the picture look so goofy? Why can't I align it properly to begin at the same height as the text? Silly Blogger.
Chris said...
Wow! How did organic molecules form so far from the Earth, which we all know is the centre of the universe? (only kidding)
I think one of the most amazing things about this story is that we squabbling, insignifigant humans can detect a MOLECULE at LIGHT YEARS distant! I'm still trying to reason through the math used to detect them in a laboratory!
Rachael said...
Are you guys already familiar with the Miller and Urey experiments which simulate suspected early Earth conditions, and which generate organic mollecules? (If not, maybe I'll post about that!)
Daniel said...
What!? No! Post about it soon!
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Monday, 19 May 2008
Peak Oil and Malthus
If you really want to understand the way Peak Oil will impact on our society then read this article and go to this link -
Be Afraid - be very, very afraid
Was Malthus just off a few decades?
May 18, 2008
In 1798, Robert Malthus, in his "Essay on the Principle of Population," concluded that as population grows, "the price of labor must tend toward a decrease, while the price of provisions would at the same time tend to rise."
In 1968, Paul Ehrlich in the book "The Population Bomb," predicted disaster for humanity owing to the "population explosion." Ehrlich was also one of the first to talk about rising carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere and introduced the Impact Formula: I=PAT (where I=Environmental Impact, P=Population, A=Affluence and T=Technology).
In 1969, the Rockefeller Commission Report on the U.S. population concluded "that our country can no longer afford the uncritical acceptance of the population growth ethic that 'more is better.' And beyond that, after two years of concentrated effort, we have concluded that no substantial benefits would result from continued growth of the nation's population."
President Nixon, who appointed the commission but never released the report, nevertheless said, "One of the most serious challenges to human destiny in the last third of this century will be the growth of the population. Whether man's response to that challenge will be a cause for pride or for despair in the year 2000 will depend very much on what we do today."
In 1972, The Club of Rome, an independent think tank, in its book "The Limits to Growth," suggested that a growing population can approach carrying capacity and adjust to it before it is reached, can over-shoot the carrying capacity and then die back in either a smooth or oscillatory way, or can overshoot the limits and in the process decrease the ultimate carrying capacity by consuming some necessary nonrenewable resource.
All of these writers were much maligned as cheap fossil fuels made possible chemical fertilizers, pesticides and irrigation, and new technologies such as genetically engineered crops enabled industrial agriculture to keep food production up with population growth.
In the last few years a new group of environmental scholars has also concluded that our population size and growth is a major problem. One of the most notable is Richard Heinberg, who recently spoke in Vermont. In his book, "Peak Everything: Waking up to the Century of Declines," he states, "If we want peace, democracy and human rights, we must work to create the ecological conditions for these things to exist: i.e., a stable human population at — or below — the environment's long term carrying capacity." Do Heinberg and the other current authors have it right this time or are they also to be maligned?
Once again the world's food situation is bleak. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the price of wheat is more than 80 percent higher than a year ago, and corn prices are up by 25 percent. Global cereal stocks have fallen to their lowest level since 1982. Prices have gone so high that the United Nations World Food Program, which aims to feed 73 million people this year, reported it might have to reduce rations or the number of people it will help. Food riots are happening in many countries and threaten to bring down some countries as starving people demand better from their government.
However, this time the problem will not be so easy to solve. There are some 75 million more people to feed each year! Consumption of meat and other high-quality foods — mainly in China and India — has boosted demand for grain for animal feed. Poor harvests due to bad weather in this country and elsewhere have contributed. High energy prices are adding to the pressures as some arable land is converted from growing food crops to biofuel crops and making it more expensive to ship the food that is produced.
The cheap fossil fuels that permitted industrial agriculture, and thus our burgeoning population, are beginning to run out. Although neither the media nor our politicians ever mention it, production of oil in the United States peaked in 1970. Now, worldwide production of oil has peaked or is about to peak in the next few years, and then will begin a decline each year. Even Jeroen van der Veer, CEO of Royal Dutch Shell, admits it. Without using the term "peak oil," he said, "After 2015, easily accessible supplies of oil and gas probably will no longer keep up with demand." Others say it will be sooner. In the meantime, oil-producing nations will be increasingly likely to save those reserves for their own use. There are no easy fixes for the problem. Alternative energy sources such as solar, wind or even nuclear will not be able to support our current population size, never mind the much larger population size that we are currently headed toward.
Maybe Malthus and the earlier authors were off by a couple of centuries or a few decades (a relatively insignificant amount of time in the course of human history). However, now we are at a stage of having not just approached, but having overwhelmed the carrying capacity of our environment given the standard of living that we demand. A growing number of the world's major marine and terrestrial biomes or ecosystems are being ever more severely degraded, some of them now on the verge of collapse. Some have predicted that global warming and the resulting droughts and rising sea levels will force 1 billion people to move in the next 100 years, compounding our problems.
In the absence of extremely harsh environmental regulation and economic restriction, human reproduction can no longer be seen as a right, but as a privilege that must be exercised responsibly.
George Plumb is a longtime environmental activist in Vermont. He may be reached through the Vermonters for a Sustainable Population Web site at
Anonymous said...
This is an excellent essay Lee thanks for posting it.
As for global warming causing mass migration, well that isn't going to happen. We now know that for the last ten years, the planet has been cooling and this could signal a far greater nightmare:
Gloabl cooling.
Climate scientists are concerned that decreasing solar activity on the surface of the sun will lead to a sustained period of colder and colder temperatures. In the last little ice age, the Thames froze.
If another period of global cooling happens the impact along with over-population will be devastating. We know warmer temperatures are far better for life on this planet. Should the earth be entering a cold period it will make the scenario outlined at the end of this essay seem like a picnic.
Anonymous said...
Fundamental reading, yet, alas, the only people that seem to be of concerned & informed minds to this scenario (especially peak oil and the carrying capacity of land and sea) are already converted to this prophecy!
Because the majority of people, I include most humanity here BUT especially those in the western countries (most particular), oil rich sheiks and the burgeoning middleclasses of India, China etc are so cossetted and protected through their own petty lifestyle choices that they are oblivious to all forboding. They seem content not to remove their heads out of their pinktasticplastic gadget and moon-on-the-stick, sun-in-a-bun demand for everything that globalisation offers them for such shortlived and consumptive ways.
At least peak oil for those whose eyes are firmly closed and minds ignorant will act as an alarm bell as things really start to pinch. It cannot come too soon, it will be a blessing for those who proactively wish to obliterate the falseness, corruption and greed of globalised capitalism that too many people see as being thoroughly natural and predestined.
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word type: verb
1. The last aspect of a complete shuffling procedure, wherein the dealer will separate the deck into two parts before recombining the cards in order to deal.
2. In a more casual context, "to cut the deck" is to split it into two parts at random for a purpose such as drawing a high card.
Buy the Cards, Cut the Cards...
The opaque card-sized peace of plastic used to protect the bottom card on the deck is know as the "cut card."
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Tuesday, February 08, 2011
Putting Audio in PowerPoint (part 2)
Now that you've weeded out the 99% of the times that you should not use audio in a PowerPoint presentation. You can take your 1% and plug it into your slide show . . . but before we get there, another word on using media in your presentation.
Be prepared for it to not work. No matter how much you work and practice and test there will come a time when your clip doesn't play. Maybe the speakers aren't hooked up or the file doesn't get transferred or gremlins eat the audio file. Something will happen to make the media not play. You have to be ready for this to happen and to move on. Keep a printed copy of the quote you were going to play so you can just read it aloud. Don't wait for the sound guy more than about 10 seconds. Don't fret and say to the audience that you're having technical difficulties. Pause for your audio clip and look at the audience with a confident smile. If the clip doesn't play, then smoothly move on with your sermon.
If the clip starts playing after you've started talking again, then just stop and wait for the clip to finish. If the topic warrants you might make a small joke: "No one ever accused ______ of being punctual." Then move on again. Don't apologize. Don't derail. Keep your point moving forward.
Are you scared of putting audio in your sermon yet? Good. It's a lot of hassle and a lot of risk, so it has better be worth it.
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Wednesday, 25 July 2012
To ADD (or SUM) in SPSS
Well, in SPSS you can add a series of variables in two different ways. First is you add two variables i.e., boys and girls and get the total children. Or, you want to create an Index based on a series of scores but want to ignore the respondent who missed out on any of the variables in the series (i.e., there is a MISSING value in 1 or more variables for them).
compute t_child=sons+daughters.
compute t_child=sum (sons, daughters).
"The difference between the two procedures above is that in the first procedure, the case on total would be missing if any one of the four variables had missing values on a case; in the second procedure, the total would be computed while ignoring missing values on the four variables." No cases will be dropped due to a missing value in any of the variables. "Essentially SPSS treats the missing value as ZERO."
In the SUM argument the variables must be separated by comma but if there are multiple variables you can use the option of TO to provide a range. For example, if you want to construct a happiness index based on 12 indicators/variables hap1 thru hap12, you can use the following syntax:
compute happiness=sum (hap1 thru hap12).
Source: Indiana University IT Services and others.
Another point to note is that "the SUM() function is evidently flexible enough to respect more complex statements like SUM(Var1+Var2, Var3-Var4, Var5*Var6). Hence, do not use the addition symbol when you use SUM unless that is part of the list of arguments. Source: SPSSX Discussion group
While talking about the flexibility and greatness of SUM, there is another neat function that you can take note of. So, in case you want to limit the CASE DROPPING based on any MISSING values, you can provide a number to TELL the computer to keep a CASE/RESPONDENT if at least X # of variables are answered. So,
"The .2 appended to the end of the SUM function in the above example can be any integer. Use it to indicate the minimum number of valid cases necessary to perform a given calculation." Source: Indiana University IT Services
Also remember Listwise and pairwise deletion a concept SPSS uses while using addition function. According to a discussion group they are defined as:
Listwise - then if the respondent has any missing value for any variable then the respondent is omitted from all your data analysis.
Pairwise - not as harsh as listwise in that the respondent is dropped only on analyses involving variables that have missing values.
Also check the IBM site and Psychwiki for more on list and pairwise deletion.
Tuesday, 24 July 2012
Factor Analysis in short (not my writing)
What is Factor Analysis?*
SPSS syntax:
/variables read write math science socst
/criteria factors(2)
/extraction pc
/rotation varimax
/plot eigen.
Here is the syntax in SPSS from ANU course notes:
/VARIABLES q34_1 to q34_12
Crate SCALE using FA
/VARIABLES q34_1 to q34_12
*Introduction to SAS. UCLA: Academic Technology Services, Statistical Consulting Group. from (accessed November 24, 2007).
Measuring unmet need for family planning.
“Millions of women would prefer to avoid becoming pregnant either right away or ever, but are not using contraception. These women have an unmet need for family planning. Programs can serve many of these women by developing strategies that respond directly to their concern.” Ref: Population Reports, Sept 1996.
Unmet need is defined on the basis of women’s responses to survey questions and following are some of the definitions that have been used since 1970’s.
The KAP-Gap
Definition one: Women who wanted to have no more children but were not using contraception. (Ignored spacers, exposure to risk of pregnancy)
The world fertility survey (WFS 1972-1984)
Definition two: Same as above but excluded pregnant and amenorrheic women, because they did not currently need contraception. (Ignored spacers)
In 1981, John Anderson and Leo Morris measured the percentage of women of reproductive age who are “exposed to the risk of unintended pregnancy and are not using contraceptive”. (Included spacers). Next year Nortman and Gary developed a model by including pregnant, breast feeding, or amenorrheic in the definition of unmet need.
After ICPD 1994, Sinding and Fathalla have suggested to measure unmet need more broadly including unmet need among people who are using contraception but may be dissatisfied with their method. By using both qualitative and quantitative data, they suggest experience with sideeffects, discontinuation and other problems of contraception could help extend the focus of unmet need from use of any method to the quality of care.
Arguments over who is at risk, should we include inappropriate method use and method failure. DHS started asking questions on intentions about current pregnancy, therefore, including pregnant women. Recently included category is unmarried women. In short, include all women who are “at risk” of an unintended or mistimed pregnancy.
Considering the importance of measurement of unmet need, now all DHS and FP/RH Survey questionnaire ask about extended definition of unmet need.
Casterline (1997) pointed out that there can be inaccuracies in the reporting of contraceptive use and in the reporting of fertility preferences, and both pieces of information are required for estimating unmet need. Furthermore, his work shows that unmet need is subject to different definitions, and its measurement is not straightforward. Therefore, any survey undertaken for the measurement of unmet need must consider issues of definition in advance.
Following chart shows the standard formulation of unmet need.
Naming multiple variables at the same time, with syntax
Of course, it has to be with SYNTAX... I like to do everything with Syntax because of so many reasons but mostly to keep a log of what I am doing and secondly to reduce the key strokes I have to make for repeated jobs!!!
So, in case you have some variables for which you have to assign VALUE AND VARIABLE LABELS wouldn't it be handy to if you are able to do them with one command.I know it is a small thing and most people who use SPSS would laugh at me for even writing a blog entry on this, but believe me it is easy to forget little things especially if you go out of touch for a year or two. So, here is the command:
q29a '(RHC)Number of hours facility open for consultantion'
/q29b 'Number of hours facility open for consultantion BHU'
/q29c 'Number of hours facility open for consultantion MCH center'
/q29d 'Number of hours facility open for consultantion Dispensary'
/q29e 'Number of hours facility open for consultantion govt hospital'
/q29f 'Number of hours facility open for consultantion Pvt hospital'
/q29g 'Number of hours facility open for consultantion Dispensary/Compoder'
/q29h 'Number of hours facility open for consultantion Nurse/LHV'
/q29i 'Number of hours facility open for consultantion Hakeem/ Homeopath'
/q29j 'Number of hours facility open for consultantion FWC'
/q29k 'Number of hours facility open for consultantion 'RHS-A'
/q29l '(Others)Number of hours facility open for consultantion'.
Please note in the above syntax, After VAR LAB the first variable name is written as is, but the rest precede with a backslash "/".
Data transfer (migration) from Access to SPSS
Your data has been entered in MS Access, where all the variables (fields) have been defined names, width, type etc. and there are look up arrays/tables linked with each of the fields to describe the Response Values. But then you need to run some stats in SPSS. So, you basically EXPORT the file to some data analysis software like SPSS. One way to do it is export to MS Excel format and open/Import the Excel sheet into SPSS, which is pretty straightforward and simple. But then you examine the file and you will notice that in this transition, all the nifty labels of fields and values are gone and you will have to either make guesses or look at your data collection instruments to make sense of the numbers.
So, the choice you have is either to keep doing that or manually assign all the labels in SPSS. It is fine if you have only a handful of variables, but if you have a long list it is a lot of work!!!
What do you do? I have been trying to get around this problem for months now with no success. There is a Script on my favorite SPSS site:
which should do the needful but I am certainly not doing it right. Need help. All the google search and various discussion groups have proven to be of no use also. Apparently I can create a link through ODBC but I am too lame to figure that out...
Any help?
Update 1: No luck with VB or Python or ODBC etc. because I am too dumb to learn them on my own! However, I learnt that if you have to do that a lot, there is a handy program that can do it for you. It is called Stat/Transfer. One caveat is that it is not FREE. The student version costs $59. In future I would buy it if I am stuck with multiple transfers between various databases. In the past they also used to have DBMS copy for such things but it does not exist anymore. I have tried to search for a Open Source version for Stat/Transfer but no luck yet!!
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An analgesic (colloquially known as a painkiller) is any member of the diverse group of drugs used to relieve pain (achieve analgesia). Analgesic drugs act in various ways on the peripheral and central nervous systems; they include paracetamol (acetaminophen), the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as the salicylates, narcotic drugs such as morphine, synthetic drugs with narcotic properties such as tramadol, and various others. Some other classes of drugs not normally considered analgesics are used to treat neuropathic pain syndromes; these include tricyclic antidepressants and anticonvulsants.
Advancements in terran medical technology have greatly decreased the time needed for an analgesic to take effect, namely almost immediately. Analgesics are part of the equipment of at least some wranglers, a simple touch of a button delivering doses of analgesics into their bloodstream, thus removing any discomfort when near an individual with psionic powers, or in an area with the residue of such energies.
This page uses content from the English Wikipedia. The original content was at Analgesic
The list of authors can be seen in the page history of Analgesic.
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Take a look at Environment Canada's enforcement page and a pattern emerges: many companies, a handful of individuals, a lot of fines, very little jail time.
But in a week when an Edmonton dry-cleaner was imprisoned for improper storage of a toxic chemical, within days of a B.C. provincial court judge fining mining giant Teck $3.4 million for discharging heavy metals into the Columbia River, you have to wonder which punishment will have greater lasting effect.
It's easier to put an individual businessman in handcuffs than to pinpoint the people in a multinational corporation who should face justice.
But as Canada's premiers meet this week in Vancouver to discuss ways to combat climate change, they are also going to have to consider more effective ways of holding polluters accountable for their crimes.
first class cleaners
The owner of Edmonton's First Class Cleaners became the first person in Canada to face jail time because of improper storage of a toxic chemical used in the industry.
To that end, British Columbia has already been experimenting with the use of an unorthodox — if ancient — solution: restorative justice. Advocates believe it's the way forward.
"By design, the court-based process is about determining guilt or innocence," says Brenda Morrison, director of Simon Fraser University's Centre for Restorative Justice.
"But if you want to address the underlying concerns of the community, then we're better able to address it when we have the courage to sit down with each other and work it out."
'Bitter' vs. 'better'
Restorative justice dates back thousands of years and is often associated with aboriginal tradition.
The practice took root in the modern Canadian justice system in 1974 after a probation officer in Elmira, Ont., asked a judge to consider forcing a pair of vandals to meet their victims and own up to their crimes.
According to the B.C. Ministry of Environment's violations database, the province has sent seven environmental cases to restorative justice since 2010.
The issues range from an outfitting company's accidental shooting of a grizzly bear to Encana's uncontrolled release of sour gas near Pouce Coupe in 2009 — an incident that resulted in the evacuation of local residents from their homes.
Teck was involved in one case stemming from the discharge of mercury into the Columbia River and a leachate overflow into Stoney Creek in September 2012.
B.C. mining giant Teck took part in a restorative justice community forum in relation to the discharge of mercury into the Columbia River.
In basic terms, restorative justice involves offenders facing victims in one way or another. The ministry has set out guidelines for offenders to qualify for "community environmental justice forums."
Those include situations where an offence resulted from an accident or where offenders have demonstrated a sincere desire to fix the damage caused by their actions. You have to admit guilt.
The ministry says the forums are not considered appropriate for offenders who deliberately commit acts with the potential for environmental or human harm.
"Punishment makes people bitter, whereas restorative solutions make people better," says Trevor Chandler, a facilitator with the Lillooet Restorative Justice Program.
"You have to admit that you goofed. And part of the discussion and part of the process you work through is what was the effect of my goof on the community and therefore on the environment? And what can I do to make sure we don't do that again. Not how can I make sure I don't get caught again."
Bad event turned good
The primary goals of any Canadian criminal sentence procedure are supposed to be denunciation of crime and deterrence. To that end, Morrison says, empirical evidence shows that accused who go through restorative justice are less likely to reoffend.
At the very least, supporters say, the fines agreed on as part of restorative justice go to community organizations as opposed to government coffers.
In the hunting case, the outfitter contributed $3,500 toward DNA analysis of the region's grizzly bear population. And as part of $250,000 in fines, Encana contributed to an upgrade of the Pouce Coupe volunteer fire department.
The community forum involving Teck resulted in a fine of $325,000. At the time, Adam Monteith was president of the LeRoi Community Foundation, one of the recipients of the money.
Monteith, who now lives in Winnipeg, says the restorative justice process recognizes the symbiotic relationship that often exists between industry and the small towns most often affected by pollution.
"The company pulls a pool of labour from the community. And the community's economic development is based on the success of that smelter continuing to exist," he says.
Monteith didn't take part in the forum itself, but says he spoke about it with a city councillor who did. "He felt that through their efforts, they could turn around a bad event into something positive for the community."
Too touchy-feely?
Perhaps that sounds a little too much like a made-for-TV movie-style intervention for you: "Dad — your addiction to chemicals is killing this family!"
And even Chandler, a fan of restorative justice, questions an approach that sees a ministry of environment employee, as opposed to a neutral facilitator, pick the so-called "victims" to represent the community.
And from a public perspective, how does government determine genuine remorse on the part of a company? When does "lack of due diligence" amount to a crime in and of itself?
Tim Ewert was one of the Pouce Coupe farmers affected by the 2009 sour gas leak that led to a community forum with Encana. He says local politicians attended, but many of those actually affected, like him, did not.
To his mind, that threatens to turn the whole process into a public relations exercise.
"A good part of restorative justice should start with prevention," Ewert says.
"We shouldn't have industry the government fosters just go whole hog at the exploitation of a resource before we understand the inherent risks involved in it."
Unique approaches to justice are only part of the equation.
Neither courts nor community environmental justice forums will work if governments don't enforce their own environmental laws.
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The So-Called Equality of Women in Combat
Comedian Robin Williams once argued, "If women ran the world, we wouldn't have wars…just intense negotiations every 28 days." Apparently that's no longer true since Defense Secretary Leon Panetta made the decision that women should be allowed to participate in war in the same way as men. Women had previously been denied combat positions, but not anymore.
It is indeed a different day. Nevertheless, while the PC crowd is jubilant about this change, Americans, especially men should be outraged.
Is gallantry now completely dead? When General Douglas MacArthur delivered his powerful speech, "Duty, Honor, Country" at West Point, he told cadets: "Your mission remains fixed, determined, inviolable: it is to win our wars. Everything else in your professional career is but corollary to this vital dedication. All other public purposes, all other public projects, all other public needs, great or small, will find others for their accomplishment. But you are the ones who are trained to fight. Yours is the profession of arms, the will to win, the sure knowledge that in war there is no substitute for victory; that if you lose, the nation will be destroyed." MacArthur also noted the soldiers experience is "the filth of murky foxholes, the stench of ghostly trenches, the slime of dripping dugouts; those boiling suns of relentless heat, those torrential rains of devastating storms; the loneliness and utter desolation of jungle trails… the deadly pestilence of tropical disease." [1] Have men become so spineless they're not angered that their government wants to put their girlfriends, their wives, and their daughters in the middle of such hell?
Let the radical feminists opine and rail, but the fact is nature's God made women different than men. In her 1992 testimony before the Presidential Commission on the Assignment of Women in the Armed Services, Phyllis Schafly rightly argued, "We hear the constant refrain that 'times have changed,' but there is no change whatsoever in obvious facts of human nature, such as that men and women differ in so many important ways, that healthy young women are apt to get pregnant, and that there is a profound difference between male-to-male bonding and male-to-female bonding – a factor that can make the difference between life and death on the battlefield. No matter what social changes are alleged to have taken place, the policies of our U.S. Armed Forces should respect the dignity and value of marriage and motherhood." Granted, women are equal in human dignity as men, but to make them equal in every role is the highest of follies. [2]
Bryan Fischer in an op-ed piece titled, "Women in Combat a Really, Really Bad Idea," references researcher and writer Brian Mitchell who reports the average female Army recruit, "is 4.8 inches shorter, 31.7 pounds lighter, and has 37.4 fewer pounds of muscle than her male counterpart. She has 55% of the upper body strength of the average male recruit, and only 72% of his lower body strength. On the bench press, men demonstrate 270% more power and perform 473% more work than women." Fischer adds, "Female soldiers are twice as likely to suffer leg injuries and nearly five times as likely to suffer fractures as males. The Army gives women an extra three minutes to complete a two mile run, which, of course, should be no problem. I'm sure the enemy will simply wait for them to catch up." [3]
Furthermore, what does lifting the ban on women in combat mean for the draft? The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Rostker v. Goldberg (1981) that women could constitutionally be exempted from the draft because draft registration, conscription, and military combat are all one continuum. But is that going to be the end of the matter? Not likely when one considers that during the presidential campaign of 2004, former Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, former Vermont Governor Howard Dean, and retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark, all contended that draft registration was needed to set the nation on the right path toward true equality for all women. Look out ladies, it appears liberals and social experimenters may not have pulled the trigger, but they have their high-powered sights on drafting you – young single women, young women planning for college and a career, young women planning for marriage and a family, young married women and even young mothers. One might contend that it's no greater loss for a man when he's drafted. But please, it's nothing less than barbarism that would coerce a woman to fight like a man or to fight for a man.
But even dismissing the prospect of the draft, what women are most likely to end up in combat? "Make no mistake," says Lee Siegel, "It won't be the elite female pundits, as well-intentioned as their joy over the Pentagon's decision no doubt is, who bear the anguish of death and maiming in war. It will be women from society's lower strata who, like their male counterparts, will find themselves on the battlefield, especially single mothers and especially from states where entitlement programs are in shreds." [4]
No, this is wrong on every level. The late great Presbyterian minister Peter Marshall once wrote, "No nation has ever made any progress in a downward direction. No people ever became great by lowering their standards…It is not progress when womanhood has lost its fragrance. Whatever else it is, it is not progress!" [5]
Yes, it appears a new level of equality has now been achieved for women. The sweetness, the tenderness unique to their gender, their unmatched beauty that is the crown of creation, their ability to give life, their motherly skills, can just like men now all be shot to pieces or blown to smithereens.
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What's the difference between physiology and psychology?
Physiology is the process of anatomy.
Psychology is the study of the psyche.
What is the definition of Biological Psychology?
The study of the physiological, evolutionary, and developmental mechanisms of behavior and experience.
What are the four methods of description for Biological Psychology?
1. Physiological - behavior related to the brain.
2. Ontogenetic - development (genes, nutrition, etc).
3. Evolutionary - past history to present.
4. Functional - current advantage of a behavior.
What is Big Issue 1, the Mind-Brain (Body) Problem?
What is the relation between the mind and the brain? How and why are we conscious? Philosophical question.
Describe Dualism
Dualism was the dominant theory through the 19th century. Descartes is credited with this theory. Basic premise is that the brain is physical, the mind is not, but the two are linked and can influence each other.
What is the fundamental problem with dualism?
The physical sciences.
1. Matter and energy can transform from one to the other under certain conditions.
2. Motion between the two is how any substance in existence affects any other.
3. If the mind has no physical existence, it cannot influence the brain.
*To the diehard, the lack of any phsyical component denies the very existence of "mind."
What is monism and what are the 4 parts?
Monism is the belief that the universe consists of only one kind of existence.
1. Materialism
2. Mentalism
3. Identity Position
4. Solipsism
What is materialism?
Form of monism. Everything in the universe is material, or phsyical. Mental events don't exist at all. All psychological experiences can be explained in purely physical terms.
What is mentalism?
Form of monism. The view that only the mind really exists and that the physical world only exists because we think of it.
What is solipsism?
Form of monism. Extreme mentalism, this is the belief that only I exist, and everything else is a product of my mind.
What is identity position?
Form of monism. Mental processes are just brain processes. Ex. You see a beautiful sunset, but it's because of physiological experiences that create a mental experience.
What are the leading questions and problems with monism?
1. Consciousness can't be observed. This makes it hard to study. Even if you accept your own consciousness, how do you know there are other consciousnesses?
2. How do we define and identify consciousness? Wakefulness vs. sleep, focusing attetion. "Easy Problem"
3. Why and how are brain activity associated with consciousness? "Hard problem"
What is Big Issue 2?
Nature vs. Nurture
Who was Gregor Mendel?
Monk who pioneered genetics through pea plants.
What are genes?
Units of heredity that maintain their identity from one generation to the next.
Genes generally come in pairs. They can be matched (homozygous) or unmatched (heterozygous).
Genes can also be dominant (will express whehter or not the other gene matches) or recessive (requires homozygous pair).
What is the basis of carbon life forms?
Genes are parts of chromosomes, made up o f DNA, which is the template for RNA, a single-strand chemical that serves as the basis for proteins. Proteins are the building blocks of structures in the body. Protein enzymes regulate chemical reactions in the body.
What's the problem with Mendel's ideas?
For Mendel's plants, the genese express perfectly. This is also true for simpler animals. In humans, this is much less true. Human chromosomes are generally multi-functional. Several genes are usually expressing in combination for a single biological development.
What are some of the things that happen to human genes that Mendelian schemata doesn't explain?
Crossing over, mutation, sex-linked, and sex-limited genes.
What is crossing over?
Chromosome pairs sometimes break apart and recombine for no apparent reason. Novel combinations of chromosomes develop.
What is a mutation?
A random change in a single gene. Usually, but not always, produces a recessive.
What are sex-linked genes?
Found usually on the x-chromosome. Y is not strong enough to counterract this problem.
What are sex-limited genes?
Genes activated by sex hormones, like secondary sex characteristics.
What is heritability?
An estimate of how much of hte variance in some characteristic is due to heredity. Ranges from 0 (all environment) to 1 (all heredity).
What are the two ways to study heritability?
1. Mono vs di-zygotic twins.
2. Adopted children compared to their biological parents.
What are the three ways that heritability is often over-estimated?
1. Humans share similar environments, driving up the relative contribution of heredity.
2. Lack of differentiation - genese reuglate development through enzymes. Enzymes also come from the prenatal environment.
3. Multiplier effects - being good at something tends to increase our interest, which makes us modify our environment to do it more. Practice therefore makes us even better at it.
Describe PKU in terms of heretability pitfalls.
Genetic does not mean unchangeable. PKU is a genetically caused form of mental retardation that can be avoided with a strict diet that avoids phenalanine.
Thus, environment can prevent or accelerate the production and release of enzymes that activate certain genetic predispositions.
May be linked to the theory of penetrance.
Describe the theory of penetrance.
Penetrance is the frequency of expression of an allele when it is present in the genotype of an organism.
For example, monozygotic twins: If one is homosexual, there's a 60% chance that the other will be. The homosexual trait is 60% penetrant.
What is big issue #3?
Evolution. Survival of the fittest is false!!!
Define evolution
Change over generations in the frequencies of various genes in population.
What is the logic of evolution?
1. Offspring generally resemble their parents (genetics)
2. Mutations/recombinations introduce new heritabilities.
3. Some survive/produce more than others.
4. More reproduction = more genes passed on.
What is artificial selection?
Breeding animals/plants specifically for desirable characteristics.
This is how most modern dog breeds came about.
What is natural selection?
Those with the most advantageous characteristics will tend to survive, and therefore pass on more of those genes to the next generation.
What are the major downfalls of natural selection?
Evolution is a summary of past genetic dominance; survival is often a case of characteristics compared to current/new dangers.
Thus, what looks strong today could be weak (and extinct) tomorrow.
What is sociobiology?
Evolutionary psychology.
It is the study of the relation between social behavior and evolutionary theory.
What are the basic premises of sociobiology?
1. Thrives on functional explanations, since these ideas can't be proven.
2. Describes how a particular behavior is useful, and why natural selection may have favored it.
3. Assumes tht any structure or behavior arose through natural selection.
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clever queen from Ancient Carthage
Rhea Sylvia
mother of Romulus and Remus
A man from Troy who escaped with his family and searched for a new
land in which to settle.
won over his brother, “Rome” from his name/ built Rome. Also killed his brother
Roman traitor who was killed when she " sold" Rome to the Sabines for gold trinkets
Numa Pompilius
a Sabine, king of Rome when Romulus was gone, Good king
Father of Aeneas
god of the beginning and the end
This kingdom was Rome's enemy until the cries of thier wives and daughters caused them to unite
The oldest and wisest men whom Romulus appointed to advise him and later made rules for the people
Horatius Horatii
The victor of the battle against the Curiatii. He killed his
sister when she greeted him with tears after he was victorious in killing
her lover.
Tullus Hostilius
a patrician, third king of Rome, formed assembly of senators, unhealthful conditions in Rome resulted in plague which killed him
Ancus Martius
Elected king, grandson of Numa Pompillius-wise and good-built long lasting prison-built harbor at Osita and a straight road leading to it. Many people came to settle in Rome at this time including a Greek named Tarquin, who became “friend” and advisor to this king
Tarquin (Lucius Tarquinius Priscus)
-started out as guardian of Ancus Marius’ sons but grabbed rule for himself
-although got crown wrongfully did much to improve city-built a great sewer very carefully + well
-improved the Forum(marketplace near city center with platform for speeches
-built a huge open-air circus
-used Lictors with Fasces (where our term Fascist comes from)
-female slave had son, this king's wife saw flame over her slave's son's head, adopted him +named him Servius Tullius, grew up in household
-sons of Ancus Martius concerned so hired assassins to kill this King
-this King’s wife propped up dead king so that Servius Tullius could get to the throne
Servius Tullius
-wise ruler, helped lower classes of Rome-instituted taking a census every 5 years
-divided army into groups of 100 men (Centuries)
-gradually the Centuries became the Comita Curiata assembly
-made peace treaty with the Latins and built temple to Diania on the Aventine to honor the treaty, Latins now acknowledged Rome as head of Latium
-his evil daughter married Tarquin’s son, an evil man also named Tarquin who was later called Tarquin the Proud
Tarquin the Proud(Taquinius Superbus)
-obtained throne through murder of Servius Tulllius-ruled without any authority from people or senate, tyrant
-last king of Rome
Cumaean Sibyl
a prophetess that sold 3 volumes for the price of 9 that prophesied what was going to happen to Rome
town at the mouth of the Tiber
men who walked with Tarquin carring an ax in the middle of a bundle of rods
to remind the people that they would be punished for wrong doings
Taquinius' nephew who pretends to be stupid only so that can avenge the death of his brother's wife. Later becomes counsel and has to order the execution of his own sons for their involvement in a plot to restore Tarquin.
Castor and Pollux
2 twin gods that were believed to have helped in the war of the Romans against Tarquin’s army, the Romans then built a temple for the 2 gods.
Roman Triumph
a parade given to a victorious general when he returned to Rome, people/generals who had over taken a province or won a war were set in great honor. Given a great procession,wore very fancy clothes and were said to be equal to the gods on that day.
a one eyed soldier who kept the entire Clusium army at
bay while the Romans were cutting apart the bridge and so became a hero
a brave Roman who burned his own hand by sticking it in the fire when he was sentenced to die because he had tried to kill Porsena but was released because of his
brave act
A Roman who was exiled after not giving wheat to the Plebians. He then charged back with an army to conquer Rome, though he was stopped by his mother saying “ My son, thou shalt enter Rome only over my dead body."
a retired soldier, who was content as a farmer. Romans needed a good leader for their army to resist the AEquians. He agreed to be dictator for as long as they needed. he won the battle for them, gladly received a triumph, Then went back to farming.
wrongfully exiled Roman who returned to save Rome from the Gauls
A brave Greek general who fought against Rome and wanted to be like Alexander the Great. He brought his elephants to fight and won some battles, but lost a lot of his army. Admired the Romans and said, "Ah, how easily I could conquer the world , had I the Romans for soldiers, or if they had me for king!"
The Gauls
The city of Rome was burned and ransacked when this group invaded. Unfortunately, many of the early records of Rome were burnt.
Awarded the first naval Roman triumph for his defeat of the Carthagian fleet. Rome had quickly built the ships he used based on a Carthaginian galley that had wrecked on their shores.
First Punic War
The 15 year war between Rome and Carthage which was fought in Africa and on the sea. Carthage won a victory under the Greek Xanthippus, but his thank you was a drowning. Carthaginian Regulus was cruelly murdered when his negotiations didn't result in the end of the war.
A Carthaginian general skilled in strategy and leadership who hated Rome even more than he loved his country. Led his
army into Italy over the Alps and almost brought about the destruction of Rome
A Roman general whose strategy was to fight Hannibal indirectly through skirmishes and cutting off his supply lines and avoided open battle. For his strategy he was dismissed, and then when open battle failed miserably against Hanibal, Fabius was recalled.
A great inventor from Syracuse who was accidently killed by the Romans. "Give me a long enough lever and a spot wheron to rest it, and I will lift the world."
Defeated Hannibal at Zama, ending the 2nd Punic War. Had a triumph procession and then was accused of taking possession of gold. He choose to withdrawn from the ungrateful Romans for the rest of his life.
Third Punic War
A lengthy seige of Carthage that resulted in the city being completly destroyed, never to rise again
a Roman official elected to speak for the needs of the poor
Tiberius Gracchus
tribune who was murdered in the senate for his attempt at land reform to help the poor
Caius Gracchus
brother of Tiberius who attempted to continue his brother's reforms to help the poor and was also killed, ushering in a period of Roman lawlessness
a cruel king of Numidia who killed his relatives to gain land and bribed Roman senators. He feigned repentence and then declared war against Rome but was defeated and died in prison.
-son of poor parents who worked his way up to position of consul
-conqueror of Jugurtha
-defeated the Teutons and the Cimbri in a battle
-became haughty, Sulla's enemy
-with Cinna tried to kill his enemies as soon as he was consul and died soon after
-rival of Marius
-killed enemies including 8,000 soldiers serving Rome under Marius
-the power wars between this man in Marius resulted in the deaths of 150,000 Romans
-friend of Marius who took refuge in Spain after Marius/Sulla wars
-supported by Spaniards in part due to presence of white doe
-raised sons of Spanish nobles in Roman style
-paranoid, killed Spanish charges when Roman army sent out to conquer him
-murdered by Perperna, one of his own men
led 100,000 gladiators/slaves to brink of freedom, defeated by Crassus and Pompey, when against his wishes, his army turned back to Rome for vengence and booty
-brilliant general with knack of arriving just in time to snatch up the victory
-defeated pirates and subdued Syria, Phoenicia, and Judea and also entered Jerusalem, defiling Holy of Holies
-part of 1st triumvirate
-opposed Caesar and lost at the battle of Pharsalia
-killed in Egypt when fleeing for protection
-headed conspiracy to murder consuls + loot Rome
-his plot discovered and he and his conspirators were killed
-famous orator
-discovered plot of Cataline + gave famous speech
-formed powerful triumvirate with Julius Caesar and Crassus, then banished under old law, then recalled
Julius Caesar
-subdued the country of Gaul
-invaded Britain
-under orders of Pompey, called back to Rome as private citizen, but disobeyed order and came back across with the Rubicon with arms and army
-easily conquered Spain
-headed to Greece to meet Pompey(joined by Cicero+Brutus+troops) in battle, victorious
-made Cleopatra queen of Egypt
-dictator of Rome 10 years, made better laws
-murdered in senate by Brutus, Cassius +others who feared for the Republic
-patriotic + severe
-assassinated Julius Caesar
-defeated by forces of Antony + Octavius at Phillipi
2nd Triumvurate
-made up of Mark Antony, Lepidus, + Octavius
-killed 2,000 Romans via proscription lists, including Cicero
Mark Antony
-good general, bad morals
-fell for Cleopatra, and did not honor his wife and his duty to Rome
-defeated by Octavius at Battle of Actium
-committed suicide
-nephew and heir of Julius Caesar
-Roman Empire begins with his rule as Imperator(Emperor)
-period of peace and building during his reign
-also called Caesar Augustus
Mark Antony
-good general, bad morals
-defeated by Octavius at Battle of Actium
-committed suicide
-nephew and heir of Julius Caesar
-Roman Empire begins with his rule as Imperator(Emperor)
-period of peace and building during his reign
-also called Caesar Augustus
-German leader who killed the general(Varus) along with the trrops that Augustus sent to quell the Germanic uprising
-Stepson and successor to Augustus
-Wicked and cruel
-Orders the deaths of many: Germanicus, Sejanus(a cruel man who he allowed to rule in his stead), and a multitude of people he thought or imagined to be against him
-Smothered to death
-nephew of Augustus, whom Augustus had Tiberius adopt
-sent to dangerous German posts by Tiberius, who wished him dead
-avenged the deaths of Varus and his army
-then sent to fight the Parthians where he was poinsoned on orders from Tiberius
-son of Germanicus, but unfortunately, was not like him morally
-curel, vain, mentally
-murdered by guards after a reign as emperor for 3 years
-his name means "little boots"
-uncle of Caligula who was made emperor when found hiding behind curtains when Caligula was murdered
-tried to govern fairly but was not mentally strong
-Messalina was his 1st evil wife, Agrippina his 2nd
-Agrippina positioned her son, Nero, ahead of the rightful heir to the throne and had Claudius poisoned
-early act of reign was to send his mother(Agrippina) away from the court
-poisoned his stepbrother, Britannicus, who was son of Claudius and rightful heir to the throne
-after a failed attempt with a ship built to fall apart, had his mother murdered
-then his reign became unspeakably evil, and many, including Christians, were cruelly killed
-took his own life as Galba,the general elected by Roman forces in Spain, advanced to take over
Chritian Martyrs
faithful to their Lord Jesus, they were tortured and killed by Nero
Siege of Jerusalem
-began by Vespasian, finished by his son, Titus
-sadly, 1,000,000 Jewish people were killed and 100,000 taken as captives of war; the city was completely destroyed
- army General who returned from the siege of Rome to defeat the gluttonous Vitellius and replace him as emperor.
-began the building of the famous Roman Coliseum
-reigned ten years and was beloved by his subjects
-son of Vespasian, who took over destroying Jerusalem when his father returned to Rome
-ruled with integrity, tried to help others
-Pompeii was destroyed by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius during his 2 year reign
-brother of Titus
-a cruel, vain emperor who recalled his best general due to jealously
-gave many circuses and games for the entertainment of the people
-Christians were persecuted during his reign and John was exiled to Patmos where he wrote Revelation
-appointed by Emperor Nerva, who proceeded him, but had a short reign due to age
-provided for storage of wheat with sale at reasonable prices
-ruled with integrity, remember as “Father of his Country”
-a skilled general: had subdued Germans prior to reign, defeated Dacians and Parthians during his reign
-persecuted Christians severely, but otherwise had a very honorable reign
-cousin of Trajan, who had fought with him in many campaigns
-concentrated on good government, rather than enlarging empire
-noted for building: “Hadrian’s Wall” in Great Britain, Carthage rebuild, considered rebuilding Jerusalem but instead a war erupted killing many including 500,000 Jews
-Initially was against Christians, but later wanted to have Christ placed among the Roman gods, and then reversed himself again with another wave a persecution following
Antonius Pius
-ruled with kindness and gentleness
-although not a Christian, looked favorably upon Christians and ended the persecution
Marcus Aurelius
-followed the philosophy of the Stoics
-valued a virtuous life although not a Christian
-much unrest during reign: Britain, Germany, Parthia
-made the unworthy Verus(fought Parthians) his associate ruler
-plague came with soldiers returning from Parthians, Christians blamed resulting in persecution which was later terminated after troops led by Arcus Aurelius were saved by a thunderstorm in battle
-son of Marcus Aurelius, cruel and vain, did nothing helpful for empire
-in a replay like Domitian, kept list of future victims on tablet, discovered by wife who saw her own name got help with murdering him
-divided the Roman Empire into four parts
-severe persecution of Christians during his reign
-retired to life of solitude growing vegetables and the empire was then divided into two parts
-son of the ruler of the Eastern Roman Empire
-claim to throne disputed, came to Rome with army, saw cross in sky, became Christian
-1st Christian Emperor; ended crucifixions and gladiator games
-seat of government changed to Byzantium, which was renamed Constaninople
-cousin of Constantine who was put in charge of Gaul
-gave up Christianity and followed Greek philosophy, paganism, and alchemy
-became emperor after the son of Constantine died
-closed Christian churches +schools, ordered soldiers to give up Christianity, encouraged worship of pagan gods
Valens and Valentintinian
-the empire was divided again under this pair of brother emperors -Bible was translated into the language of the Goths, converting some of the Goths who had been allowed to settle in Thrace
- Emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire, who was so successful as a general and just that he made peace with the Goths
-Empire was united and “the Great” was added after his name
-induced his subjects to give up all pagan gods except for Victory
-reproved by St. Ambrose for his murder of all inhabitants of hessalonica
-King of the Goths
-led the Goths into Greece
-eventually led the Goths to the gates of Rome and began a siege, promised a bribe if he would leave, when money not paid came back again and plundered the city of Rome
-continued to plunder throughout southern Italy and died as he was crossing to Sicily
-brother of Alaric, married sister of the Roman Emperor Honorius, and made a treaty with Rome
-led the Goth out of Italy and into Spain where he founded the Kingdom of the Visigoths
-his son, Valentinian became Western Roman Emperor
Atittla the Hun
- king of the group which seized the lands once occupied by the Goths
-Rome paid them to keep out of the empire
-Ravaged the land and peoples all the way to France and headed to Italy
-Pope Leo met him and persuaded him to spare Rome
-died on his wedding night, possibly at the hand of his new wife, a Gothic princess
Romulus Augustulus
-last Roman Emperor
-taken from the throne by a German tribe leader named Odoacer
-Roman Empire ends = 476 A.D.
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Data Protetion Act
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The effect of the Data Protection Act on e-marketing
This guide is based on UK law. It was last updated in March 2008. Topics
• Advertising and marketing
• Commercial
The law relating to data protection is designed to regulate organisations known as data controllers who collect and process information relating to living and identifiable individuals and to provide those individuals with rights in relation to such data. In the UK the position is currently governed by the Data Protection Act 1998 ("the Act"), which is designed to comply with a European Union Directive on Data Protection to harmonise the different data protection laws within different Member States. Personal data are information about a living individual who can be identified from that information and other information which is in, or likely to come into, the data controller's possession and can be minimal such as a name, address, e-mail or even a phone number. Certain data (e.g. political opinions, religious beliefs, ethnic origin, health information, sexual life, criminal convictions or membership of a trade union) are classified as sensitive personal data. To process this type of data a data controller must have special reasons for doing so. The Act applies whenever personal data are processed. Processing covers anything done to personal data, for example when it is used, disclosed, stored, collected, amended or deleted. Once personal data have been irretrievably deleted they can no longer be processed and the Act ceases to apply. The Act applies to data processed automatically by computers and manually, where data are stored in a structured set by reference to an individual which enables specific information about that individual to be readily accessible.
The Data Protection principles
For personal data to be lawfully processed in the UK, a data controller has to ensure that all processing activities with respect to personal data comply with the eight Data Protection Principles. The Principles comprise a broad code of good processing practice which balances the legitimate need for organisations to process personal data in order to deliver goods and services, but which at the same time protects the privacy of the individuals to whom such data relates. Schedule 1 of the Act sets out eight Data Protection Principles which require personal data to be: 1. processed fairly and lawfully, and to be processed only under certain specified conditions; 2. processed only for specified lawful purposes and not processed in any way incompatible with those purposes; 3. adequate, relevant and not excessive in relation to the purpose (or purposes) for which personal data are processed; 4. accurate and where necessary kept up-to-date;
5. processed no longer than is necessary for the purpose or purposes; 6. processed in accordance with the rights of the data subject, e.g. so that a copy can be made available to the individual concerned; 7. protected by appropriate technical and organisational measures; and 8. not be transferred to any country outside the European Economic Area unless that country ensures in relation to processing of personal data an "adequate level of protection" for rights and freedoms of data subjects acceptable to the EU.
Security and Data Processors
The seventh principle requires that all data controllers put in place appropriate technical and organisational measures to safeguard personal data against unauthorised or unlawful processing or accidental loss, destruction or damage. The interpretation section to this principle takes this requirement one step further by imposing upon all data controllers who use data processors certain additional obligations. Data processors are defined in the Act as any person (other than an employee of the data controller) who processes personal data on behalf of the data controller. This is a very broad definition made more so by the wide meaning of "processing" which covers...
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English Paper
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• Published : April 24, 2013
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Adriana Cortez
April 24, 2013
It was not until my first paper written in my sophomore English class when I realized that my writing was not at the same level of other student’s. The first task we wrote in my sophomore English class was a summary of the book we had read the whole month. It seemed a really easy task since I did read the book and was pretty confident in how to summarize it. I wrote my summary with a lot confidence and was careful about grammatical errors I could have. I turned it in and was pretty confident that I would get a good grade on it. The next day the summary grades were available and my teacher gave it back. I got a C on my summary. In the article “Re- Viewing and Teaching Revision” by Lulu C.H. Sun, the author is questioning why some students are unwilling to revise while others revise eagerly. Sun then suggests how teachers can encourage students to revise. The first reason to why students are not willing to revise is because they don’t know what revision is. Students do not understand revision as the process to modify and develop their ideas because they are confident enough in their writing and therefor think there is no reason for making revision. The second cause is that students confuse revision with proofreading. Poor writers perceive that revision is just rewording phrases, in contrast to experienced writers who seek to make their writing meaningful and congruent in revision. The third reason is that students end their essays too soon instead to revising it through. The fourth reason why students are not willing to revise their essay is because “revision requires critical reading and editing skills abilities that many students do not possess.” Writers need to be able to identify problems in the text and also need to know how to deal with the problem. Sun then comes up with suggestions to encourage revision among students. The first suggestion is to allow students to share their drafts to receive...
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Just Lather, That's All
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A Comparison Of Characters From Opposing Groups in “Just Lather, That’s All”
“Just Lather, That’s All” by Hernando Telléz is a story that reveals the values of a government official and a rebel through an in depth illustration of their thoughts and actions. The barber (rebel) and Captain Torres (government official) are similar because they both value human life whereas they are different because the barber values his occupation and innocence and Captain Torres values the government and his reputation. The barber and Captain Torres show that they both value human life as they both show a dislike for murder. The barber shows that he values innocence when he says that no one deserves the sacrifice of becoming a murderer and he shows that he values his occupation because he constantly talks about his pride in his job. Captain Torres shows that he values the government as he does anything the government instructs him to do no matter what his opinion may be on it and he also shows that he values his reputation because he goes the extra mile so that people think he’s a cold blooded killer.
In the dramatic story “Just Lather, That’s All” the two main characters (Captain Torres and the barber) show that they both value human life. Captain Torres shows that he values human life by his sorrowful statement at the end of the story “They told me that you’d kill me. I came to find out. But killing isn’t easy. You can take my word for it.” (Tellez 51). This statement reveals that although Captain Torres appears to be a cold blooded murderer to many people in the village, he in fact does not enjoy killing and he goes on to say that it is very hard for people (including himself) to take lives. Similarly the barber shows that he values human life during his mental argument over whether or not to kill Captain Torres. “What do you gain by it? Nothing. Other come along and still others, and the first ones kill the second ones, and they the next ones – and it goes on like this...
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Translate English into English.
Now 1 of 1 [page]
No. word(s) description
1 at prep. in or near
2 because prep. for the reason that
3 before prep. earlier
4 except prep. but for
5 for prep. because of
6 from prep. having a person, place or thing as a beginning or cause
7 in prep. inside; held by;contained by; surrounded by; during
8 of prep. made from; belonging to; about; connected to; included among
9 on prep. above and held up by; touching the upper surface of
10 since prep. from a time in the past until now
13 toward prep. in the direction of; leading to
15 with prep. along or by the side of; together; using
16 without prep. with no; not having or using; free from; not doing
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Tess & Ravi
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Task 1
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Leave a comment below!
Yes, Being polite is a very pleasant quality that anyone should possess, and I have heard most people in Britian are polite and people from our country are much polite as well, some impolite like everywhere in the world. But you can find people in big cities are actually polite with their helping mind to others but in country side people would seem to be more polite only in words in some places.
Hi there
I think Politeness is very important to anyone, it should be irrespective of age,job and etc,. that would highlight people and draw many towards them. I have never been to Britian but have heard about British polite and it's nice. So, Politeness in my country is great, our civilization is the oldest one in the world, Our language is one of the greatest language of all times and has numerous pleasant words to express politeness, However there are some people like everywhere both polite and impolite with their behavior.
Hello British Council Team.
I have a question when Ravi says: "I'm very polite, aren't I?"
I know tag questions are in the way:
"Do you..? Don't you?"
"Is he.. ? isn't he?"
Is it possible to say: "I'm very polite, am not I?"
Why is it "aren't"? It's a little confuse to me.
Thank you in advance.
Hello ejossue,
The reason we use 'aren't I' is simply that it is not possible to easily pronounce 'amn't I'! The language has evolved this way as an easier to say alternative.
It is possible to say 'am I not', but it is very formal and even archaic in modern English.
Best wishes,
The LearnEnglish Team
Oh! I got it now! Thank you so much Peter M.!!
Thank you very much ideed, Peter M.
Dear British Council.
Would you like tell a page where I have more explanation about polite language, please?
Hello anaisavecas,
I don't think we have any pages on politeness as a topic, but it is addressed in many places. For example, there is a discussion of politeness here. You can also use the search function to find pages which reference politeness.
Best wishes,
The LearnEnglish Team
In my country, people always say "thank you" when the others help them and "please" when they want the others to help them.
Excume, I have a question: why Ravi says: < I’m very polite aren’t I?>
and why not
Would you mind explaining me, please.
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Wednesday, June 28, 2006
There are two kinds of tolerance. You can tolerate because you see value in many things, or at least value the creativity and effort that went into making those things. Or you can tolerate because you see value in nothing.
Unfortunately, too many of the people who talk about tolerance these days are in the latter category.
Cf. R' Kook (Ein Aya Brachot 58, Letter 384)
Where were the biblical Sedom and Amora located? South of the Dead Sea? Or north of it? I'll try to present arguments for both sides and to find a resolution. Keep in mind that I know nothing of archaeological finds or other such information which would affect the conclusions. In fact, my only resources are Tanach, a single journal article, and my geographic knowledge. But even within those sources, there's plenty to work with.
Arguments for the North
1. The initial description of Sedom (13:10) indicates very strongly that it is in the north. At this point, Abraham seems to be in the Beit El region. When he has to split up from Lot, Lot scans the horizon, notices Sedom, and decides to go east to there instead of north or south as Abraham suggested. From Beit El, the north end of the Dead Sea is easily visible and is directly to the east. In contrast, the south end of the sea is much further away to the southeast, and probably impossible to see from Beit El. Thus, the northern end seems a much better fit.
2. Even more convincingly, Lot's vision of the area can only correspond to the north end. The phrases "kulo mashkeh" and "kegan Hashem keeretz mitzrayim" bring up images of a lush forested area. Scientifically, it's hard to believe that the Dead Sea area ever looked nice and forested, or that a single rain-down of fire could permanently change the climate. Of course, if you read the verse carefully, you realize that that's not what it says. Egypt would be an uninhabitable desert if not for the river which flows through it. The Dead Sea area is also uninhabitable desert, but it too has a river flowing through it - the Jordan. The north end of the Dead Sea is "keeretz mitzrayim" - a desert with a life-sustaining river flowing through it, and "kulo mashkeh" - entirely irrigated from this river. This fits Lot's description perfectly, while the south end has no river, could never have been fertile, and thus is very hard to imagine as a setting for the story.
3. Not only that, but Lot specifically sets out for "kikar hayarden" - the plain of the Jordan river, which of course is in the north. Later on, "the kikar" is mentioned repeatedly as the site of Sedom, and presumably we are still talking about "kikar hayarden" in the north.
4. Biblical cross-references are ambiguous, with one exception. Breishit 19:22 tells us that Tzoar is a city close to Sedom. Devarim 34:3 seems to indicate that Tzoar is close to Jericho. If so, Tzoar and Sedom would be at the north end.
Arguments for the South
While the modern-day Sedom is south of the Dead Sea and most people assume that the ancient Sedom was there too, I'll ignore this widespread perception and try to focus on textual and geographic clues. Some are more conclusive, some less so.
1. The war between Chedarlaomer and Sedom was preceded (14:5-7) with a military campaign which took Chedarlaomer to a series of places. Several of these - Seir, Paran, Kadesh - seem to be south of the Dead Sea, while others are hard to locate. Nevertheless, if Sedom and its neighbors are north of the Dead Sea, this campaign seems rather out of the way and unrelated. If Sedom and company are to the south, then Sedom was located right in the middle of the campaign. The Sedom war and the previous campaign would then seem to fit together as parts of one larger conflict, which would explain why the Torah bothers to mention the campaign.
2. When Chedarlaomer finally battles Sedom, the king of Sedom is forced to flee, soon encountering the "be'erot chemar". Based on likely meanings of "chemar" and the geography of the Dead Sea area, it seems clear that the king of Sedom ran across and fell into a sinkhole created where the Dead Sea retreated and left behind salty terrain, unstable and prone to collapse. Many such sinkholes are common now at the south end of the Dead Sea, where due to human water use, the whole bottom third of the sea has dried up. Presumably such was also the case in Abraham's time (later on I'll present strong evidence for this). It thus makes sense to say the king of Sedom was fleeing near the southern end of the sea, when he fell into a sinkhole, and was later rescued.
3. Lot's wife was turned into a pillar of salt, and nowadays pillars and whole mountains of salt can be found south of the sea. This seems to indicate that she was "pilloried" in the south; though miracles by definition don't have to conform to nature.
4. The strongest argument for a southern Sedom may come from an article published in the Al Atar periodical, issue 12 (2003). The authors (Yoel Elitzur and Amos Frumkin) used geological data to calculate what the water level of the Dead Sea has been at each point over the last 4000 or so years. It turns out that there have been extensive variations in the water level. Most interestingly, in roughly 1200 B.C.E. the sea was at an unusual high peak of about 385 meters below sea level, while in 1600 B.C.E. the water level was much lower - perhaps 400 meters below, or comparable to the level today. As noted above, in the last century a similar change in water level has caused the bottom third of the sea to dry up entirely. Since the terrain was the same then as now, it's very probably that between 1600 and 1200 the southern third of the sea re-flooded as the water level rose.
This allows us to nicely explain a phrase which otherwise seems redundant and problematic. The battle takes place (14:3) in "the valley of Shidim, which is the salt sea". Why give both names? It seems that in Abraham's time (~1600 B.C.E.), the sea level was low and the area was a dry valley - "the valley of Shidim". By the time the Torah was given (~1200), the area had flooded. What was once a valley now became part of the Dead Sea. After giving the valley's original name, the Torah provides the "modern" name of the now flooded area, "the salt sea", so that readers in Moshe's time would know what is being referred to.
(Bible critics should note that the valley was once again dry from roughly 1000 to 100 B.C.E. :) )
In order for this re-flooding explanation to work, we must assume that the entire valley in question will flood and dry up again based on normal changes in the Dead Sea's level. This phenomenon has, of course, been observed in recent times at the southern area of the Dead Sea. But on the north, east, and west sides of the Dead Sea, the marine slopes are much steeper and only a sliver of land has been exposed as the water level has dropped. It's hard to imagine an entire valley with cities and agriculture fitting into this sliver. Thus, according to this theory, "emek hashidim" must be located at the southern end of the Dead Sea.
Possible Reconciliation
1. Most of the reasons I gave for placing Sedom (or at least the battle) in the south - the salty terrain, sinkholes, and the repeated flooding and drying of large areas of land - imply a southern location because similar phenomena are observed today only in the south. Nevertheless, if in ancient times a similar process had occurred at the northern end of the sea, then a northern location would be just as plausible. In fact, according to the Al Atar article previously quoted, if the Dead Sea were to rise to 380 meters below see level (an elevation not seen in modern times), then a substantial sliver of the Jordan river valley - roughly 6 by 3 kilometers - would become flooded. Were the water level to drop again, presumably the sliver would become salty and develop sinkholes. This area would then become an reasonable setting for the battle. Then it would be logical to say that both the city and the battle were located in the north.
2. All the reasons favoring the north relate to the city of Sedom, while all the reasons favoring the south (except one) relate to the battle with Chedarlaomer. If we assume that the battle took place some distance away from the city, then nearly all the of the arguments would be reconciled perfectly. I can think of no reason why the battle would have to be next to the city; the military action both immediately before and after our battle took place over a quite wide area and there is no reason to assume this battle must have been an exception. Thus, the city of Sedom would be at the north end of the Dead Sea, and the battle with Chedarlaomer would have taken place at the south end. Overall this seems like the best solution. Lot's wife, the only dissenting piece of evidence, can be explained by the obvious argument that miracles take place in whatever manner God desires.
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
The Draft
There has been much discussion in Israel about modifying the draft. The main problem is a surplus in manpower. With the country's population approaching seven million, there simply are more young people than the army needs to carry out all its responsibilities cost-effectively. Unofficially, you can already avoid military service rather easily. In a sense, nobody should protest the charedi refusal to serve, because the army doesn't need them. What motivates anti-charedi protest, as well as the broad opposition to switching to a volunteer army, is the justified feeling that the army must include everyone for fairness and for socialization.
An obvious suggestion is to decrease the length of service. But for every problem this would solve, another would be created. Soldiers who serve a shorter period spend more of their service in training and thus are more expensive. And while there are too many soldiers overall, there is still a shortage in combat and professional positions. These training-intensive positions, as well as leadership positions, would still require an extended period of service. Shortening the basic period of service would further discourage people from choosing positions which the army really needs.
If the draft cannot be made voluntary and service cannot be shortened, the only option is to categorically exclude certain groups. There are two main concerns in such exclusion: fairness and efficacy. A lottery system would be fair, but not efficacious, because many of the best candidates would not be selected. Excluding the charedim is unfair, but efficacious - due to the political and social difficulty of including them, and because they might not make good soldiers anyway. Perhaps any system which preferences certain groups for practical reasons will necessarily be unfair. What is left is to aim for a system which maximizes gain and minimizes unfairness.
I think the best selection method is to draft all men for a full three years, but to excuse women from the draft. This implies discrimination on an individual level. But unlike all other possible selection methods, on a broad level it is perfectly equitable. Since every family on average contains an equal number of men and women, all social, economic, and ethnic groups would be treated equally. Furthermore, because families normally share resources among their members, the time and money burden would in fact be spread among every member of society. Men already serve longer than women and dominate combat units, so the areas of current shortage would not lose out. But the overall pool of manpower would be much smaller, and the army would no longer have to find work for many soldiers it does not need.
This approach also has several incidental but significant benefits for Israeli society. With women marrying and entering the workforce two years earlier, the country would gain economically, women would come closer to professional equality with men, and the birthrate in population groups loyal to the state would rise. Removing women from the army is desirable from a religious perspective (or from the perspective of appeasing the religious), both intrinsically and due to the freedom of behavior common in the current, mixed army. Such a removal could be paired with a large-scale induction of charedi men, resulting in perhaps an acceptable trade-off from the charedi perspective, along with the equal sharing of the defense burden among the entire Jewish population.
Weaknesses of the plan include the large gap in time commitment between men and women, and the loss by women of the socialization obtained in the army. These concerns could be addressed by requiring a year of national service from women, which might conceivably be extended to Arabs as well. Also, while women would presumably still be able to volunteer for military service, those few who do would probably have a harder time than at present. But this seems a small price to pay, when all other women would be entirely released from their current obligations.
There are currently demands in Israel to reduce the army's size, to privatize non-essential army services, to draft all populations on an equal basis, to crack down on draft and miluim evaders, to make the army environment more friendly to the religious, to increase enlistment in elite units, to decrease the economic burden caused by extended service, and so on. Unfortunately, many of these demands work at cross-purposes and might seem to be mutually exclusive. But almost all of them could be be reconciled by drafting all Jewish men, but only men. No other plan would come close to helping the areas we would like the army to improve in. Such a plan would indeed have novel side effects, but the probably scope of gain certainly makes them worth bearing.
Thursday, June 08, 2006
Perspectives on Shavuot
R' Yehuda Amital:
The Magen Avraham questions why we celebrate Shavuot on the fiftieth day of the Omer, while in fact the Torah was given on Shabbat – which was the 51st day. The Maharal answers that what we are in fact celebrating is God's desire to give us the Torah, and to obligate us to receive it, even though perhaps Bnei Yisrael may have hesitated and faltered a little when they saw the great fire. When Bnei Yisrael were exposed to the great power of the Torah, it frightened them and caused them to have second thoughts about their commitment. Yet God nevertheless desired to give them the Torah, and even to force it upon them. It is God's readiness to give, and not Bnei Yisrael's readiness to receive, that we celebrate on Shavuot.
R' Aharon Lichtenstein:
What this teaches us is that after the sin [of the Golden Calf], the significance of matan Torah was greatly and seriously diminished. The nation had taken a step backwards, in a negative direction. We may compare the situation to that of a bride who was unfaithful under the very chuppa - it would have been better had she never entered the chuppa at all.
We originally posed the question of why the Torah hides the festival of matan Torah from us. Now the significance of the textual 'gap' is clear. Even Chazal refer to Shavuot as "zeman matan torateinu" (the time of the giving of the Torah) rather than as "zeman kabalat torateinu" (the time of the receiving of the Torah), because there was a giving of the Torah at the time, but not a proper receiving.
In summary: The Torah was given on what would have been the 50th day of the Omer, i.e. our holiday of Shavuot. It was only received by the Jewish people the next day, the day after Shavuot. This receiving was nullified (at least in our memories) by the sin of the Golden Calf. In its place, we try anew to receive and accept the Torah on each anniversary of the giving, which is to say each year on Shavuot.
Stupid Name Department
I saw a charedi yeshiva advertising for a "Yom Shekulo Torah" with shiurim from various rabbis. Is that meant to imply that every other day in that yeshiva is NOT full of torah? I mean, even at Gush we learn torah all day long. When we want to study one subject in-depth on an exceptional basis, we call it a "Yom Iyun". As it should be called. Not "A day which is all Torah just like every other day in this yeshiva." Of course, we ask for a "yom shekulo shabbat" on a day which is itself completely Shabbat. I guess I never was sure how to read that one literally either.
Thursday, June 01, 2006
A Quick Shiur Komah
Thoughts after reading Scholem's "Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism".
The basic chakira (set of possible conceptual frameworks) for (Jewish) mysticism is as follows:
The point of mysticism is to experience God's presence. There are two philosophies which allow this presence to be approached.
1) You can believe that God is already present in the world
2) You can believe God is about to enter the world, through the coming of the Messiah
The problem with #1 is that it is almost inherently pantheistic, and very quickly brings you close to heresy. Perhaps the Zohar itself has already crossed the line in this regard.
The problem with #2 is that messianic movements very easily get out of control in both the social and religious senses. Thus the Ari's messianic philosophy became the basis for that of Shabbetai Tzvi.
The restrictions on learning kabbalah (be over age 40, be married, etc.) are attempts to avoid these inherent problems. Often, it seems, these restrictions haven't been enough.
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Tuesday, January 12, 2016
Revival of FINE ARTS, with Nature as theme
Revival of FINE ARTS, with Nature as theme
Fine Arts reached its peak in the ancient world with "the glory that was Greece" and "the grandeur that was Rome." As a movement, it underwent a stormy history. How can it weather the present environmental upheaval, and become a agent of reform?
Dr Abe V Rotor
Living with Nature School on Blog [avrotor.blogspot.com]
Paaralng Bayan sa Himpapawid with Ms Mely C Tenorio, 738 DZRB AM, 8 to 9 Evening Class, Monday to Friday (Phase II 2006 to present)
• Fine arts reached its peak with "the glory that was Greece" and flourished in the "grandeur that was Rome." This was in the known world then, the Greco-Roman Empire which lasted for a millennium.
• Then the world plunged into the "Dark Ages."Whatever happened to mankind remained in limbo for more than five hundred years. Black Death decimated Europe's population by one-third. Religious conflicts gave rise to fanaticism and ruthlessness, with victims surpassing the number of those killed in the two world wars combined. The sense of nationhood was far fetched, more so of a united world. What with the warring fiefs and kingdoms?
• Then in the fifteenth century dawned the Age of Renaissance which adopted the Greco-Roman model and the rise of Christianity shifting from mythological themes. Many of the great works depicted renewal of faith in God such as the works of Michelangelo, Da Vinci, Raphael, and later Shakespeare in literature. The later part of the Renaissance saw the rise of science (Galileo), exploration (Columbus), and politics (Machiavelli).
• The Renaissance followed on the heels of the Middle Ages, and was spawned by the birth of the philosophy of humanism, which emphasized the importance of individual achievement in a wide range of fields. The early humanists, such as writer Francesco Petrarch, studied the works of the ancient Greeks and Romans for inspiration and ideology, mixing the philosophies of Plato and other ancient thinkers with the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. Under the influence of the humanists, literature and the arts climbed to new levels of importance.
• The environmental movement has its roots in the 19th century with American Philosopher Henry David Thoreau (Walden Pond), John Muir (creation of Yosemite National Park). As industrialization grew the preservation of the environment became the leading movement in the early twentieth century, becoming the basis of modern environmental movement which began in the mid-to-late 1960s. Rachel Carson (Silent Spring ). "Modern" art became associated with the Hippie movement and Counterculture, post-impressionism, surrealism, among other recent schools of abstract art. Towards the end of the 20th century the need for green technology was realized - now the subject on world summits, the latest being that of the 2015 Paris Summit on Global Warming. The conservative Roman Catholic Church led by Pope Francis issued an encyclical letter Laudato Si - a universal call for universal brotherhood in saving Mother Earth.
Author's Note: Five students taking up Fine Arts as a course at the University of Santo Tomas visited me for an interview at home in Lagro, QC. It is at home where I could show my works as a nature-artist, principally a 90 feet long by 7 feet (average) tall wall mural which I painted around the periphery of my residence. (As shown in the photographs below.)
For quite a time I pondered on the real theme of the interview. I maybe bias to the scientific aspect of nature which is closely associated with ecology, in which case art would be subservient to equations and formula, defining in colors and lines such terms as dynamic balance and biological diversity. On the other hand, if emphasis is on the side of art, the tendency of art is to sacrifice ecology if favor of subjective interpretations.
Indeed, the occasion opened to mind a relatively recent movement - eco-art - a contraction of art depicting nature. It is broad and general though. But it is this vastness that many will agree with me in proposing The theme, Return to Fine Arts with Nature.
Applying the ancient world of fine art, not only on to the perfection of art for art sake, but on Mother Nature as subject, maybe what we need to create a movement with two objectives: revival of the fine art which has dovetailed into various abstract forms; and the elevation of awareness of Nature's beauty and significance in our present campaign to preserve the environment.
I would like to invite our pageviewers, readers, and radio listeners on Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid to tune in simultaneously with viewing this blog, Living with Nature. I also invite them to search and red the related articles in this Blog, albeit other references, to enrich our consciousness on the unity and harmony of Fine Arts and Nature.
Giant heart-shape frame for Mother Orangutan and Child , a gamely triangulation, exudes joy and exuberance to these city-bred ladies. Deep in our mind is the universal instinct of motherhood which challenges man's rationality and values. To what extent is primal instinct genetically ingrained and spread in the living world? To what advantage (or otherwise) has this relationship evolved in guaranteeing the survival of species. Through fine arts, reach out for the wondering mind.
The biggest animal creature that ever lived - the blue whale, larger than any of the dinosaurs - brings down-to-earth knowledge and understanding about this enigmatic creature. Why it has survived through millions of years, how it became adapted to ocean life when its ancestors were originally land dwellers, how it keeps its huge body warm as a mammal in the cold seas - are not just imagination and fantasy, but real.
Meditation with Nature by the seaside, at the inter tidal zone with rare creatures, where peace and solace reign. It is not any lesser to religious meditation. In fact, it is an experience real and true with all our senses, psyche and spirit notwithstanding.
Art takes us closer to nature, it defines our role, humbles us, makes us realize that Paradise is not forever lost, and that it is only in heaven that true joy is found. Nature offers us so many opportunities to rebuild that lost Garden by our own hands in whatever capacity - even just to discover a flowering weed and make others share this experience for a moment.
Knock, knock! The door closes after us, as Nature opens. When we leave our home we open the gate to meet Nature. She's just a step away. In fact she is with and in us.
The air we breathe, water and food we take, things we wear, light to see her wonders, creatures around us, ad infinitum. How do we greet Nature in the morning? Bid goodbye at the end of the day, say our Thanksgiving? Express the fine art of awareness in painting, music, literature, and other creative ways.
Sun in the depth of the sea - an illusion? Is the deep beyond the lighted zone a world of darkness. To us humans our senses are designed for terrestrial life, we cannot perceive what the bottom dwellers can. What is human superiority, what is scientific breakthrough? Humility rises where and when we submit ourselves to the mystery of creation, and cease to question, to doubt. Fine arts is submission to such humility.
Talk to the hornbill (kalaw). Ask where it has been for so long a time. Is he and his mate survivors of a biological upheaval? Has this bird lost its own species, that it is no longer a part of a population but just an endangered flock? There is a song, Where have all the flowers gone? - allegorically applicable to other living things. How can this explain the cause of extinction of species. Fine arts may yet save today's threatened and endangered species.
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There is an old Buddhist saying, “First learn the rules, then break them”. The typical Hungry Academy cadet is a young, intelligent, and highly motivated person who loves to create. A prerequisite of that love is a desire to know and understand how things work. Once you have grasped the essence of something, you can bend and shape it to your will.
This mentality has served us well, but it is not without its downsides. The web is vast, and the sheer amount of information produced and distributed through it is both overwhelming and awe-inspiring. It is the ultimate playground for builders like us, and it can be as overwhelming as when a seven year old kid walks into the world’s biggest candy store.
The availability and sheer volume of information can, ironically, stunt our capacity and the speed at which we learn. The information overload is like quicksand, sucking us into a morass of possibilities and options. There are so many new technologies, tools, and languages in the development world that a narrow focus is needed when you begin - otherwise it is easy to feel overwhelmed, or worse, paralyzed by all the options.
One example: Hungry Academy. The aim is to teach “Web Development”. We’ve already been exposed to Ruby, Rails, HTML, CSS, JQuery, HAML, SASS/LESS, RSpec, Capybara, and Git. It’s a lot to learn - especially for those of us new to the field, but it represents a tiny fraction of the available frameworks and languages for web development.
Let’s be clear for a moment - the diversity of information and options in web development is a strength, not a weakness. However, when learning it is important to keep a narrow focus on the objectives. Otherwise it is incredibly easy to be sidetracked.
So how to stay focused while learning? Here’s one way.
Create a breakable toy - a small app that you can constantly tinker with and implement new technologies you are exploring. You’ll learn things that are hard to get out of tutorials or books, and doing more of what you got into web development to begin with: creating things.
Now get learning!
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Maha Ratcha Ana-chak Tai/Great Tai Empire
25,000,000 (Thais, Laotians, Malays)
Krung Thep Maha Nakhon
Head of State
His Imperial Majesty, the Emperor Rama
Ruling Party
Khana Ratsadon (from 1932)
Head of Government
Field Marshal Plaek Phibun Songkhram (1938-1964), Field Marshal Thanom Kittikachor (1964-1975), Prince Souphanouvong (from 1975)
Thai Kingdom becomes Tai Empire after annexing ethnic Tai regions from virtually all surrounding countries, beginning with the conquest of Laos and parts of Cambodia from France in 1940. By the end of the war, Thailand had annexed the three principalities of French Laos (Luang Phrabang, Muang Phuan, Champasak), four British-protected Malay sultanates (Perlis, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu), the various Shan States of the British Raj, and a substantial part of the Chinese provinces of Guangxi, Guizhou and Hunan.
Of the states of Japan's Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, Thailand is regarded as being closest to equality with Japan. Thailand, like Japan, was never occupied by a Western power, and entered into alliance with Japan freely in pursuit of territorial expansion. The Thai Emperor is regarded as a monarch in his own right, owing no allegiance to Japan save that of fraternity.
Thailand borders the Japanese-backed states of Indochina (formerly Viet Nam or Tonkin, plus the states of the former French Indochina: Cambodia, Annam and Cochinchina), China and Tibet and the British-backed Dominion of Hindustan (India) and protected Malay Trucial States.
Thai forces regularly clashed with the forces of the French in French Indochina, especially in Cambodia. This culminated in 1979 in a full-scale war with Cambodia after it had been abandoned by the French. After the close of the conflict and the formation of the unified Empire of Indochina (1981), all outstanding border disputes in the region were resolved.
Problems along the southern border however continued, and indeed worsened after 1979. Some of the population of the Malay Sultanates had never accepted their annexation by Thailand, and armed resistance, supported by the British in the remaining Malay Trucial States, had continued virtually uninterrupted since their incorporation.
From the late 1960s and especially after the late 1970s, the conflict continued to escalate, with the rebels being supported by the British and their Malay allies, as well as by the Netherlands and their local proxy, the Prince Jusice Legion or Angkatan Perang Ratu Adil based in the Netherlands East Indies. This was part of a broader strategy, whereby Great Britain and the Netherlands also supported the Moro Rebellion in the southern Philippines and a very minor Cham-Malay Rebellion in Indochina (mainly in Cambodia) and in Japan (specifically in Hainan).
Subdivisions of the Tai EmpireEdit
Kingdom of Thailand: the core of the Tai Empire, populated by the core of the Thai nation.
Principality of Laos: essentially the territory of Laos as constituted during the period of French Indochina, annexed 1940-1941 through negotiation with Japan and France. Gained some formerly Thai territory, and lost some territory to Viet Nam (later the Empire of Indochina) in 1976.
Malay Sultanates: four formerly British-protected sultanates, annexed 1941, plus some formerly Thai territory in the extreme south of the country.
Shan Principalities: formerly part of the British Raj, annexed 1941.
Khmer Province: ethnic Khmer territory in the east of Thailand, including some parts of French Cambodia annexed 1940-1941.
Rau Province: formerly part of China, handed to Thailand in 1949.
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You clever little beasts
From tool-making to language, new research shows that animals share many of the attributes once believed to be uniquely human By Windsor Chorlton
Hob knobbing with the intellectuals:Hob has a keen brain as well as eyes
Not just a dumb bird... Hob the falcon "called his owner to help catch a pheasant
Hob, a male falcon, is an excellent aerial hunter trained by Paul Gillott, a police inspector based in Dorset. Hob is also smart. For starters, he can recognise Paul's Lada car: one day, after becoming lost in flight, he managed to spot Paul's vehicle on the A303. He followed it, regardless of the heavy traffic, until Paul turned off onto a quiet road.
Another time, after chasing a pheasant into a hedgerow, Hob emerged on foot and ran up to his trainer, vocalising in frustration. Ignoring the food he was offered, he ran back into the hedge, still calling. He did this twice, "Lassie-style", before Paul realised that Hob was actually demanding help, and decided to follow him - across a ditch,over a fallen tree, and through thick undergrowth, where he found the bird staring fiercely down a rabbit hole at the tip of the pheasant's tail-feathers.
No monkeying around:The rhesus tackles a tube of yoghurt
Rhesus monkeys These animals can work out how to use sticks to retrieve "unreachable" yoghurt from the bottom of the tubes. In intelligence tests,rhesus monkeys tend to be more successful than squirrel monkeys,marmosets,cats,rats and squirrels
Comparative psychologists never attribute "intelligence" to an animal if its actions can be explained by some simpler mental process. Applying this rule, they would say Hob's keen eyesight was what enabled him to pick out Paul's car. But acute sensory perception does not explain the incident with the pheasant. Hob hasn't been trained to solicit help to catch prey, nor is such behaviour innate in wild falcons.
The only reasonable interpretation is that Hob was demonstrating what we would call intelligence - that is, using innovative behaviour to solve a problem. Many scientists shudder at the suggestion of animal intelligence. Despite our evolutionary link with other species, they still believe that we stand on one side of an intellectual divide, while on the other, animals blunder about like some kind of automata, driven only by blind instinct or environmental conditioning.
Bit by bit, though, this gulf is being bridged as researchers discover that animals display many "human" attributes. One measure of intelligence is speed of learning, and despite the difficulties of devising a test applicable to animals with different sensory equipment, psychologists have made valid distinctions between the learning speed of different species.
In one test involving six different species, rhesus monkeys came out top followed by squirrel monkeys, marmosets, cats, rats and then squirrels. This order tends to confirm the theory that brain power increases the higher the animal's ranking on the phylogenetic scale - which places primates and monkeys above the other mammals, which in turn are higher on the scale than birds, reptiles and fish.In fact millions of years of parallel evolution have given certain carnivores larger brains than some monkeys, whereas there is considerable overlap in the brain - size of birds and small mammals.
Who are you calling a bird brain?
Among birds, crows have especially large forebrains and display impressive resourcefulness Faced with the problem of how to transport scattered biscuits, ravens, unlike other birds, don't carry them off one-by- one. They stack them into one neat pile, and then carry them all off .
The woodpecker finch of the Galapagos Islands uses a cactus spine to prise insects out of crevices, while the Egyptian vulture smashes open ostrich eggs with stone.
Getting stoned,and having a smashing time:the otter
Sea otters use stones to open tasty shell fish. A hungry otter is capable of cracking 50 mussels in 90 minutes - delivering more than 2,000 blows in the process
Surprisingly, the only non-primate mammal known to use stone tools is the sea otter. It used to be thought that animals used tools for immediate tasks only, and then discarded them; but sea otters retain favourite stones, tucking them into their armpits when they dive for food.
In what is now Ghana, colonial forestry official W B Collins witnessed the extraordinary way in which driver ants harnessed a simple tool to break through the defences of a horde of snails. Driver ants can reduce a python to bones in an hour, but these snails initially repelled the ant army by secreting a foam-like mucus into the entrances of their shells for protection.
The ants deposited crumbs of dry soil in the mucus. As the liquid was absorbed, the snails responded by secreting yet more mucus, and in turn, the ants deposited more soil around the snails. This relentless attack technique was repeated until the snails had exhausted their mucus reserves and lay defenceless.
Tools of the trade
Tool-making by animals was first recorded in the 1960s by primatologist Jane Goodall, who observed chimpanzees stripping leaves off branches to fashion probes for fishing termites out of their nests In captivity,chimps display even greater ingenuity, wielding sticks to rake in food from outside their enclosure and stacking boxes in order to reach bananas hung high in their cage.
Impressed by feats like these, American psychologist Sue Savage-Rumbaugh and archaeologist Nick Toth mounted a project to see whether a chimpanzee could use one tool to make another - the breakthrough that launched early man's technological leap forward. As their apprentice, they chose a chimp called Kanzi.
First, they showed Kanzi how to produce stone chips by striking one cobble against another, then they demonstrated how the flake could be used as a tool to cut the string securing the lid of a food box. After that, Kanzi was left to his own devices. His efforts weren't particularly impressive, and, after a four-month period, he decided to try a new technique - hurling the stone at the concrete floor and smashing it to fragments.
Mission Impossible:Tom Cruises along the wire Not left carrying the can : Super squirrel
After three weeks of trial and error,this squirrel figured out how to open a "squirrel proof" bird feeder. Intelligence coupled with daring acrobatics got the results
Reluctantly deciding that this wasn't the method used by early man, the researchers covered the floor with carpet, but within minutes Kanzi pulled back the carpet and again threw the stone against the concrete. Finally, he was turned out into an earth enclosure and this time he placed a rock on the ground, took aim with the hammer-stone and let fly. His handiwork may not have been up to the standards achieved by early man but he certainly learnt how to break rocks.
Those Machiavellian manoeuvres
Since chimpanzees are our closest animal relatives, sharing 99 per cent of our genes, it's not surprising that much of their behaviour resembles our own. The Greek philosopher Aristotle claimed that man was the only political animal, but at Arnhem Zoo in Holland, Frans de Waal found that his male chimpanzees were positively Machiavellian, forming shifting alliances in a struggle to gain access to females.
These group power struggles sometimes ended in death, and it was not always the strongest that triumphed. As de Waal explains: "The weakest of the three competing parties gain more by joining forces and sharing the spoils than by joining the strongest party, who then end up monopolising the pay-offs"
Animal philosophy through the ages
Soulful creatures
13th century Italian philosopher St Thomas Aquinas believed that all creatures and plants possess souls.
Deus ex machina
17th century French philosopher mathematician and devout Catholic René Descartes believed humans to be set apart from the rest of creation.He viewed animals as unthinking machines, lacking conscious perception, but with God-given instinct.
Abstract Limits
17th century English philosopher and scientist John Locke held the opinion that animals have perception, memory and reason but not the ability for abstract thought.
A sliding scale of reason
In the Descent of Man, he argued that "animals possess some power of reasoning" and that "the difference in mind between man and higher animals, great as it is, certainly is one of degree and not kind" Darwin's concept of instinct was similar to Descartes', with evolution replacing the work of God.
Definite George
George Romanes, a disciple of Darwin, wrote Animal Intelligence in 1882, the first attempt at scientific analysis of animal intelligence. He defined intelligence as "the capacity to adjust behaviour in accordance with changing conditions".
Reflex action
20th century Russian biologist Pavlov was the first scientist to make a scientific study of learning. He performed experiments in which dogs learnt to associate the sound of a bell with food. Pavlov termed this response as "conditioned reflex".
Winged wonders:Super pigeons BF Skinner devised aptitude experiments for pigeons in order to show their learning capacity
Skinner's rewards
BF Skinner, one of most influential figures in learning theory and author of The Behaviour of Organisms, conducted experiments in trial-and- error learning used "Skinner boxes" which yield a food reward if the animal pushes the correct sequence of buttons.
Songs to learn
Biologist WHO Thorpe reared chaffinches in isolation to prove that their song development is not instinctual. They learn song from older birds.
The mental map
Twentieth century American psychologist Edward Tolman noted that the behaviour of most animals suggests sophisticated navigation. He argued that all animals have a "cognitive map" and some sense of direction.
The beginnings of Ethology
Niko Tinbergen and Konrad Lorenz are regarded as the founders of modern ethology (the science of animal behaviour). Their scientific system is still used by ethologists today. Researched instinct, learning and imprinting and won a Nobel prize in 1973.
Tool use
Primatologist Jane Goodall made ground-breaking discoveries in the 1960s with her studies of wild chimpanzees. She was the first to observe the chimpanzee's ingenious use of tools.
Dancing Bees
Zoologist Karl von Frish's discovered the bee language system, whereby the scout bees perform a sophisticated "dance" routine to communicate information to the rest of the hive about the exact location of new food sources. He shared the Nobel prize with Tinbergen and Lorenz in 1973.
No larynx? No problem,use sign language
A chimp and human communicate by touching symbols on a keyboard
Termite Society
Biologist Edward Wilson studied social organisation in animal groups - particularly highly complex termite societies. He wrote the influential book, Sociobiology.
Animal suffering
Oxford zoologist Marian Dawkins wrote Animal Suffering. Her controversial work with hens showed that they prefer outdoor conditions to living in battery cages - and on release ,hens exhibit some of the same emotional responses as humans released from prison.
Definite William
William Hodos studied animal intelligence in relation to neuroanatomy. He said: "We must accept a more general definition of intelligence than one closely tied to human needs and values."
Do animals have consciousness?
Harvard biologist Donald Griffin is one of the leading scientists to advocate animal consciousness. In his book, Animal Thinking, he argues that "it is difficult to accept that mind and consciousness in humans have just arisen without any precursors in animals that were ancestral to us and probably very similar to the non-human primates that we observe now."
Deception seems to be a conscious strategy of apes, as Keith Lloyd, a primate expert at London Zoo, discovered when he was duped by a gorilla - a dominant silverback in a group where one of the females had given birth to a baby fathered by another male. Because infanticide by jealous male primates is not unusual, Lloyd carefully monitored the body language of the silverback to see whether he was hostile to the new arrival. All his gestures indicated he wasn't, so Lloyd left the group alone for a time and returned to find that the old silverback had killed the baby. "I'm sure he intended to lull me into sense of false security," says Lloyd, "fully intending to kill the baby as soon as I left."
To Harvard biologist Donald Griffin, the capacity of animals to deceive suggests that they have consciousness;they think out the best strategy and communication to produce the intended response.
When Robert Gross was photographing a kingfisher, he noticed a robin always turned up, seemingly to observe the kingfisher's technique. The robin soon attempted fishing for itself - gradually refining its fishing technique over several months
Holy mackerel! Robin goes fishing
Animals say hello
Evidence of intentional communication comes from research on wild vervet monkeys in Kenya. These monkeys utter three distinct alarm calls in response to different predators, and the other troop members respond appropriately: climbing into treetops at the leopard alarm; diving into undergrowth at the eagle call; and standing upright in a search posture for the snake warning. Slight variations in the signals among different vervet troops suggest that the calls are culturally transmitted.
In a comprehension test of 660 sentences, chimp Kanzi scored better than a two and a half year-old child
This looks uncannily like a proper language, mankind's crowning glory - the gift many scientists are most reluctant to admit that we share with other species. Linguists such as the influential Noam Chomsky assert that human language has no discernible evolutionary connection with any other form of animal communication. For one thing, animals can't communicate abstract concepts. Or can they?
8 legs but only one brain,but it still works
They may not have a backbone, but they do have brains The octopus is the most intelligent invertebrate. In this sequence, an octopus quickly figures out how the cork in the bottle has to be removed in order to retrieve the shrimp inside
Try telling that to Alex,an African grey parrot trained by Irene Pepperberg of the North-western University in Illinois. Alex can discriminate between 80 different objects arid classify them according to shape, colour or material.
Mere mimicry and robotic conditioning, scoff the sceptics, who insist that the essential ingredient of rational language is syntax - the structural system to order words in meaningful ways. Yet the songs of whales contain syntax-like elements, and dolphins studied by Louis Herman in Hawaii understand commands made up of the same words ordered differently. For example, they know the difference between "Bring frisbee to surfboard" and "Bring surfboard to frisbee".
Most animal language studies have concentrated on chimpanzees which, as our nearest relatives, might be expected to possess some of the elements of true language. Cognitive scientist Steven Pinker disagrees, arguing that primate language is controlled by a part of the brain that in humans produces emotional utterances such as laughter, and the kind of involuntary oaths we utter when we suffer pain.
It's true that primates can't speak, but that's because they lack the vocal and neurological apparatus, says Sue Savage-Rumbaugh, who has taught chimpanzees to communicate through lexigrams - geometrical symbols arranged on a keyboard. Kanzi, the apprentice tool-maker chimp, spontaneously learned the meanings of some lexigrams and by the age of seven he could comprehend about 200.
His understanding of spoken language is so good that, in a comprehension test of 660 sentences, he scored better than a two and a half year-old human child. Findings like these may force us to reconsider the way we treat "dumb" animals. It seems that the more we delve into their minds, the more we find that we are different only in degree, not kind.
Sep96 p92
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Measure the effectiveness of JavaScript tests.
What is mutation testing?
Bugs, or mutants, are automatically inserted into your production code. Your tests are run for each mutant. If your tests fail then the mutant is killed. If your tests passed, the mutant survived. The higher the percentage of mutants killed, the more effective your tests are.
It's really that simple.
But wait, what about code coverage?
Well... code coverage doesn't really tell you anything about the effectiveness of your tests. Think about it, when was the last time you saw a test without an assertion, purely to increase the code coverage.
Imagine a sandwich covered with paste. Code coverage would tell you the bread is 80% covered with paste. Mutation testing, on the other hand, would tell you it is actually chocolate paste and not... well... something else.
Meet: Stryker
With Stryker, mutation testing finally arrives at the JavaScript world. It takes the best practices of existing mutation testing frameworks like PIT and Humbug, but with the open mentality of nodejs and the web. This is why Stryker is not a test runner or test framework. Indeed, why would it? There are already awesome test runners and test frameworks out there. Instead, Stryker empowers you to use what you like and focusses on being the best Mutation testing framework it can be.
An example
Say you're building an online casino, users can only enter the casino when they're over 18. So you write the following piece of code to check if someone is allowed to use the website:
function isUserOldEnough(user) {
return user.age >= 18;
Stryker will find the return statement and decide to change it in a number of ways:
/* 1 */ return user.age > 18;
/* 2 */ return user.age < 18;
/* 3 */ return false;
/* 4 */ return true;
We call those modifications mutants. After the mutants have been found, they are applied one by one and your tests will be executed against them. If at least one of your tests fail, we say the mutant is killed. That's what we want! If no tests fail, it survived. The better your tests, the less mutants survive.
Stryker will output the results in various different formats. One of the easiest to read is the clear text reporter which output. You can activate it by adding 'clear-text' to the reporter list in stryker.conf.js.
Mutant killed!
/yourPath/yourFile.js: line 10:27
Mutator: BinaryOperator
- return user.age >= 18;
+ return user.age > 18;
Mutant survived!
/yourPath/yourFile.js: line 10:27
Mutator: RemoveConditionals
- return user.age >= 18;
+ return true;
The clear text reporter will output how exactly your code was modified and which mutator was used. It will then tell us if a mutant was killed, meaning that at least one test failed, or if it survived. The second mutation in this example is marked as a survivor. This means there is probably a test missing that explicitly tests for an age lower than 18.
Control more than 30 supported mutations, or write your own.
Use code analysis and parallel test runner processes to speed things up.
Test runner agnostic
Run tests with Karma, Mocha, or write a simple plugin for any test runner you like.
Open source
Free as in Speech. Maintained by the open source community at GitHub.
Create your own plugins to mutate, report or run tests using the Stryker API.
Clever reports
Use clever reports to sniff out surviving mutants and improve test effectiveness.
Professor X
William Stryker
Free swag
Contribute and get a free t-shirt or sticker. As long as stock lasts.
Stryker T-shirt
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The Cavalry
The Artillery
Organisation &Tactics
Arms & Equipment
Flags & Standards
Bibliography & Sources
The Army
The Infantry: 1806 (Cont'd)
Prussian tactics were not so outdated in 1806 as was once thought. The line regiments were trained to deliver volleys, platoon firing against cavalry, and 'battle-fire' (by which the third rank held its fire, while the first two delivered volleys in turn before switching to fire-at-will)__ particularly useful in defensive engagements. In the attack , they often adopted the famous 'oblique order' formation. But, unlike the French, the co-ordination in action of light infantry with line formations left much to be desired at this time.
The Battle of Jena 1806
The Infantry: The Reconstruction of 1807
By a Cabinet Order dated November 20th, 1807, the strength of an infantry regiment was set at two grenadier companies, two musketeer battalions and a light battalion. The light battalion was redesignated as a garrison company on the following December 1st. The battalions each contained four companies and the established strength of a company was five officers, fifteen NCOs, three or four musicians and 170 men.
On December 1st, 1808, a regiment's strength was finally regulated at three battalions, two masketeer and one fusilier, each of four companies. The grenadiers, although still part of the regiment , were detached and were grouped into seperate Grenadier Battalions, one of which was attached to each of the army's six brigades.
On the following day , the strength of a Grenadier, Musketeer or Fusilier company was changed to five officers, 1 Feldwebel, 1 Portepeefahnrich, 3 Sergeanten, 7 Unteroffiziere, 20 Gefreite, 115 privates, 3 musicians and a company medical orderly. The Jager and Schutzen companies had a similar complement of officers, senior NCOs and medical orderlies but in place of the Unteroffiziere there were 5 Oberjager, no equivalent to a Gefreite existed, and the unit was completed with 88 privates and 2 buglers. These figures provided the battalions with a total strength of 632 men, NCOs and officers or in the case of the Jager or Schutzen Battalions, 429. These strengths were the official peacetime establishments, but the War establishment was larger in that each company added some 50 privates to its ranks upon mobilization. Thus the full strength of a battalion during the 1813-15 period was either some 630 or 830 men. In 1813, some units tended to exceed this authorized establishment and , without exception, this was done by Jager and Schutzen units who were deployed as half battalions, each fielding some 400 men. One or two line battalions emulated this practice of expansion and in August 1813, the largest battalion was the 1st/Drittes Ostpreussisches Infanterie Regiment which fielded a total of 940 men. as a generalization, however, the establishments were fairly well maintained and the average strength of a battalion on active service was somewhere between 750 and 850 men, NCOs and officers.
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This story shows what is wrong with schools today. We should be encouraging children and supporting them when they take steps of courage and support for others. Instead, Caprock Academy in Grand Junction, CO, is telling a student, Kamryn, that she cannot return to school because she is in violation of the school dress code. What did she do? She shaved her head in support of her friend 11 year old Delaney who was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a child hood cancer. Delaney recently started chemotherapy and Kamryn wanted to support her.
English: Grand Junction, Colorado skyline
English: Grand Junction, Colorado skyline (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Should school officials not be supporting and encouraging this act of kindness and caring? Talk about draconian enforcement of a code for the wrong reason.
Schools are not only failing our children academically, but are failing to teach lessons when the opportunities arise. If Colorado focused more on education and less on pot, maybe things would be different.
I say, “Way to go, Kamryn!!” You showed compassion and courage.
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Money Supply In The Time Of Gold
If I can simplify things a bit, the basic argument of the gold standard types (I don’t want to say “goldbugs” because that sounds like a slur) is that things were better when nations adhered to the gold standard and the money supply wouldn’t drastically change. Increasing the money supply made a mess of things and didn’t really spur growth – growth in the past century has been a fiat currency illusion. But there has already been a huge increase in the money supply under the gold standard once in the past that seems to have been a very helpful economic event.
When the Spanish and other Europeans conquered North America, smallpox and so on conveniently wiped out all the natives, leaving lots of gold and silver essentially for the taking. This would have been the equivalent of the Spanish king printing more money. Yes the Spanish had to go to the trouble of transporting the gold, but they had to exchange nothing for it. Ronald Wright lays it out in A Short History of Progress:
“The Aztec and Inca treasures were only a down payment on all the gold and silver that would flow across the Atlantic for centuries. Karl Marx was among the first economists to see that, financially, the Industrial Revolution begins with Atahuallpa’s gold. ‘An indispensable condition for the establishment of a manufacturing industry,’ he said in 1847, ‘was the accumulation of capital facilitated by the discovery of America and the importation of its precious metals.’ The Genoese and German bankers who underwrote Spain’s empire were awash in bullion looking for something to do. Much found its way to northern Europe, financing shipbuilding, gun foundries, and other imperial ventures. Much also went to European wars – and wars between peers are mothers of invention.”
Maybe I’m missing something, but this huge influx of capital looks a lot like just printing more money, and it appears to have worked very well in spurring economic and technological growth.
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Registering As Blind or Partially Sighted
If you have poor sight, it's a good idea to think about registering as blind or partially sighted. This information can help you get the practical support you need.
What is the register?
Each local authority keeps a register of blind and partially sighted people living in its area. The register is held by the social services department, or by the local voluntary society for visually impaired people, acting as agents for the local authority. The register is confidential.
What is it for?
The aim of the register is to help local authorities provide the best service they can for people with a visual impairment. To do this, they need a record of all the people with a visual impairment in their area, and what kind of services they need.
Should I register?
Some people worry that registration is a backward step. They fear that it will lead to them losing their independence, or that family, friends or officials will become interfering or over-protective. No-one can make you register if you don't want to, but it has been shown to be helpful in getting extra support. Obviously if your local authority knows about your needs, then they are more able to help you. A bit of support can make all the difference in keeping your independence. Registering is also essential for claiming some financial benefits and concessions, and for getting help from some local voluntary groups.
What do I have to do?
If you are already attending an eye hospital, you should discuss the possibility of registration with your eye specialist. Or you might prefer to talk it over with a hospital social worker first. Alternatively, you can discuss it with your GP and ask to be referred to a consultant ophthalmologist (eye specialist). The consultant will check your sight, and if appropriate will then certify you as blind or partially sighted by completing the certification form BD8 (BP1 in Scotland, A655 in Northern Ireland).
What does the examination mean?
The consultant will measure your distance vision, using the Snellen eye test chart. The chart has nine lines of letters, decreasing in size from the top line. If you can read only the top line, from 6 metres distance, you are described as having visual acuity of 6/60. This means that you can see at 6 metres distance what a normally sighted person would see at 60 metres. You would wear your usual spectacles or lenses (if any) for the examination.
How poor does my sight have to be?
If you are registered as blind this does not necessarily mean that you are, or will be, totally without sight. As a rough guide, you may be registered as blind if your visual acuity is 3/60 or worse, or 6/60 if your field of vision is very restricted because you do not have a full range of sight. For instance, you may have severely reduced side vision. You may be registered as partially sighted if your visual acuity is between 3/60 and 6/60 with a full field of vision, or up to 6/18 (18 is the number of the fourth line down the chart) if your field of vision is very restricted. Loss of sight in one eye only does not necessarily qualify you for registration, unless you have very poor sight in the remaining eye.
What is the legal definition of blindness?
According to the National Assistance Act 1948, a person can be registered as blind if they are 'so blind that they cannot do any work for which eyesight is essential'. A person may be registered as partially sighted if they are 'substantially and permanently handicapped by defective vision, caused by congenital defect or illness or injury'.
What happens to the certification form?
If the consultant agrees that you may be registered, he/she will complete the certification form, giving details of the assessment of your vision, and the certification that you are blind or partially sighted. You will be asked to sign the form as agreement to this information being sent to your local authority social services department. You will be given a copy for yourself.
What if I disagree with the consultant's decision?
If you are unhappy with the outcome of the examination you can ask your GP to refer you to a second specialist.
What Happens Next?
When social services receive your certification form, a worker should arrange to visit you to see if you want to be added to the register. They should also ask you if there are any services you feel you need. If you agree to be registered, then the date the consultant signed your certification form is the date of registration. There can be delays between certification and registration, so it is important to remember that as a disabled person you are entitled to an assessment of your needs by your local social services department, whether you are registered or not. This is called a full needs assessment.
Help from Social Services
If you are having difficulties because of your poor sight, you should not hesitate to get in touch with your local social services department. Your town hall, library or Directory Enquiries will be able to give you the address and phone number. Services for blind and partially sighted people vary from area to area. In some places there are rehabilitation workers who can teach a range of skills to blind and partially sighted people. These include indoor and outdoor mobility, communication and other skills for daily living. The rehabilitation workers may be part of a team that specialises in working with people with a sight or hearing loss, or they may work in a team that covers a particular geographical area. Sometimes, specialist workers are based in the local voluntary agency for blind and partially sighted people. However, it is still the responsibility of the social services department to arrange for your needs to be assessed. Not every local authority employs specialist workers.
However, it should be possible for social services to 'buy in' any services that were agreed following your needs assessment. If you later move to a different area, you should let the new local authority social services know that you are a registered blind or partially sighted person. Arrangements can then be made for details of your registration to be transferred to your new local authority. We hope you have found this leaflet helpful. If you would like further information, please contact:
RNIB Welfare Rights and Community Care
The Community Care Advocacy Officer
Advocacy Service
RNIB (Royal National Institute of Blind People)
105 Judd Street
Website: www.rnib.org.uk
Helpline tel: 0303 123 9999
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