text:
Lady of Milkweed Manor
- Julie Klassen Author
- 2008 31 Jan
EDITOR'S NOTE: The following is an excerpt from Julie Klassen's Lady of Milkweed Manor (Bethany House Publishers).
When first I knew her, I thought her an amusing scrap of girl, silly and a bit grubby from her mornings spent in the gardens. When not pottering about out of doors, she seemed always to be reading some poetic nonsense or other and loved nothing more than to pose the most disturbing questions. Still, I liked her even then and, I think, she admired me. But her father took notice and pronounced me unsuitable, effectively pruning our young friendship before it could grow into anything. I soon forgot about Miss Charlotte Lamb. Or so I convinced myself.
Years passed, and when I saw her again she was altogether changed. Not only her situation, which had changed from privileged to piteous, but also her very substance. At least it seemed so to me.
Others would look at her with much different eyes. They would see, perhaps, a fallen woman at the deepest point of humiliation. A woman to be flicked off one's sleeve like a disgusting worm. Or an insect to be tormented. Cruel, overgrown schoolchildren that many are, they seem to delight in ripping off one wing, then another, watching in morbid glee as she falls helpless to the ground.
To the gentler observer, she is a creature to be scorned at worst, ignored at best, but certainly not one to watch in hopeful anticipation. Day by day to witness her transformation amid the grime and cloying weight of her surroundings, not to wither nor shrink, but to unfurl, to become all that is sun and wind and flower and grace.
I, of course, can only watch from a safe distance—safe for us both. For me, now a married man, a physician of some note, a man of standing in town. And for her, whose reputation I am determined will suffer no more—not if it is in my power to prevent it.
Yet, as I watch her there among the milkweeds, I confess all these thoughts fade away. I think only of her.
How lovely she looks. Not abstractly beautiful, but perfectly fitted to the landscape, etched into a painting of purest golden glow above, and mad, overgrown garden below—gold, green, purple—heaven and earth. And there at the center, her still figure, looking not at me but at the distant horizon, where the sun is spilling its first fingers over the milkweed, over her milky skin, her hair, her gown.
The light moves toward me and I am stilled, speechless. A sharp barb of waiting fills my chest and I can barely breathe. If I don't move, the light will touch me, the painting encompass me. If I step away, retreat into the shadows, I will be safe, but I won't be there to see her when she finally flies away....
Dear God. Please guard my steps. And somehow bless Miss Charlotte Lamb.
Part I
That exquisite thing, the seed of milkweed,
furnished abundant playthings.
The plant was sternly exterminated in our garden,
but sallies into a neighboring field provided supplies
for fairy cradles with tiny pillows of silvery silk.
—Alice Morse Earle, Old-Time Gardens
Alas! And did my Saviour bleed,
And did my Sovereign die?
Would he devote that sacred head
For such a worm as I?
—Isaac Watts
Chapter 1
The common milkweed needs no introduction. Its pretty pods are familiar to every child, who treasures them until the time comes when the place in which they are stowed away is one mass of bewildering, unmanageable fluff.
—19th century naturalist, F. Schuyler Mathews
Twenty-year-old Charlotte Lamb laid her finest gowns into the trunk, pausing to feel the silken weight of the sky blue ball gown, her favorite—a gift from dear Aunt Tilney. With one last caress, she packed it carefully atop the others. Then came her promenade dresses, evening dresses, and gayer day dresses. Next were the coordinating capes, hats, and hair ornaments. Finally the long gloves, petticoats, and the new boned corset. Definitely the corset.
Turning back to her rapidly thinning wardrobe, her hand fell upon a plain muslin in dove grey. It showed wear in the elbows and cuffs. She tossed it on the bed. Then a thought came to her and she stopped her packing and left her room, stepping quietly down the corridor to her mother's room. Looking about her and seeing no one yet awake, she pushed the door open as silently as she could. She stepped into the room and, finding the shutters closed, walked to the windows and folded them back, allowing the grey dawn to illuminate the chamber. Then she returned to the door and closed it. Leaning back against the wood panels, she closed her eyes, savoring the stillness and peace she always felt in this room. It had been too long since she'd been in here.
From somewhere in the vicarage she heard a noise, a clang, and she jumped. Though why she should fear being caught in here she had no idea. Most likely it was only Tibbets lighting the fires. Her father would probably not be awake for hours. Still, the thought of someone up and about reminded her that she needed to hurry if she wanted to depart with as little to-do as possible. She stepped purposefully to the wardrobe and opened its doors. Yes, her mother's clothes were still here. She raked her fingers through the fabric, the lace and velvet and silks, but did not find what she was looking for. Had her father or Beatrice discarded it? She pushed the gowns aside and looked at the bottom of the wardrobe, at the slippers lined up neatly in a row. Then a flash of brown caught her eye, and she reached down and pulled out a crumpled wad of clay-colored material that had fallen to the bottom of the cabinet. She shook out the simple, full-cut dress—her mother's gardening dress.
Tucking it under her arm, she ran her fingers across the books on the bedside table. She didn't dare take the Bible her mother had used, knowing it was from the vicarage library. Instead she chose the Lady's Pocket-Sized New Testament and Psalms, as it was smaller and lighter. It was a lovely edition with a canvas cover embroidered with birds and flowers worked in silk and metallic thread. It had been a gift from her mother's sister, and Charlotte didn't think her father would object to her taking it.
With one last look at her mother's things—hairbrush and combs, cameo necklace and butterfly brooch—she left the room and walked quickly back to her own. She rolled her mother's dress as tightly as she could and stuffed it into a leather valise. Then she shoved in the worn grey gown, shifts, stockings, slippers, drawers, and a pair of short stays. Into a carpetbag she placed a shawl, dressing gown, gloves, and the New Testament. Two of her most serviceable bonnets went into her bandbox. Handkerchiefs and what little money she had were secured in a reticule which would hang from her wrist.
She looked at the trunk, filled with her beautiful years, her happy vain youth, and firmly shut the lid. Pausing to secure a traveling hat over her pinned-up brown curls, she left her room with only her valise, carpetbag, reticule, and bandbox—all she could carry. She quietly made her way down the stairs and glanced at the silver tray resting on the hall table. Yesterday's letter lay there still, unanswered. Their cousin had written to tell them of her "blessed news" and how she looked forward to the "great event to come this autumn." Beatrice had curled her pretty lip and said it sickened her to read of such private matters, especially from a woman of Katherine's advanced age. Charlotte had said not a word.
Now Charlotte paused only long enough to run her fingers over Katherine's elaborate script and the smeared London Duty date stamp. She took a deep breath and walked on. She was nearly to the door when she heard her father's voice from the drawing room.
"You're off, then." It was not a question.
She turned and, through the open doors, saw him slumped in the settee by the fire. His greying hair was uncharacteristically disarrayed and he still wore his dressing gown. She felt her throat tighten. She could only nod. She wondered if he would soften at this final moment. Would he hold out some offer of assistance, some parting words of conciliation or at least regret?
In a voice rough with the early hour and disdain, he said, "My only consolation is that your mother, God rest her soul, did not live to see this day."
The pain of it lanced her, but it should not have. He had said the like before, worse even. Willing tears to remain at bay, Charlotte stepped out of the vicarage, quietly shutting the door behind her. She walked through the garden, committing it to memory. There were the neatly trimmed hedges that Buxley still coaxed into the shape her mother preferred. There, the exquisite flower beds with their cleverly mixed color palettes, graduating heights and varying textures—delphinium, astilbe, cornflower, Canterbury bells, lemon lilies—all of which Charlotte had tried to maintain in her mother's honor, at least until now. She took a long deep breath, then another, savoring the dew-heavy fragrances of sweet violets and purple pincushions. She had no intention of picking a flower to take with her, a flower that would wither before she reached her destination, but then she saw it. A vile milkweed in the border of sciatic cress, which Buxley called Billy-come-home-soon. How had she missed it before? She strode to the weed and pulled at it with her free hand, but the stalk would not give. She set her bags and box down and pulled with both hands until the whole stubborn thing was unearthed, roots and all. She would leave her mother's garden in perfect order. But for how long? Who will tend your gardens, Mother? Buxley will try, I suppose. Though he is not getting any younger. With the horses and all the heavy work falling to him, the garden suffers. And Beatrice has no use for a garden, as you well know.
On nostalgic impulse, Charlotte snapped off a cluster of small purplish flowers from the milkweed plant and held it briefly to her nose—it smelled surprisingly sweet—then slipped it into her reticule. She tossed the stalk onto the rubbish heap on her way down Church Hill. Glancing over her shoulder at the chalky white vicarage, a face in an upstairs window caught her eye. Beatrice. Her sister wore a stony expression and made no move to wave. When Beatrice turned from the window, Charlotte turned as well, wishing for a moment that she had turned away first. Two minutes later, just as she knew it would, the post wagon approached.
"Hallo there, Miss Lamb," the driver said as he halted his horses.
"Good morning, Mr. Jones."
"Care for a ride into the village?"
"Yes, thank you."
He took her bags from her and helped her up. "Off to visit your aunt again, are we?" He settled her carpetbag beside her.
She did not wish to lie any more than necessary. "I am always so happy in their company."
"And why not. Such fine people your aunt and uncle are. Never knew the better."
"You are very kind."
She clutched her carpetbag as the wagon started off again, her generous pelisse shielding her from the damp morning wind, from curious onlookers—and even from the full brunt of her father's farewell, such as it was. She would not cry—not now, not here, where villagers she knew might see her and guess she was leaving not on another holiday but rather on a much darker journey.
When the driver helped her alight at Chequers Inn, she took not the coach headed for Hertfordshire and Aunt Tilney, but rather a coach bound for London.
The black enclosed coach bumped and jostled its way to the west side of London. When the driver called his "whoa" to tired horses, Charlotte arose from her seat, clutched her belongings, and pushed her way out of the conveyance before the coachman might help her alight.
She stepped down and made haste up Oxford Street, past the stationer and paper hanger, china and glassman, and linen drapers. Walking north on busy Tottenham Court Road, she passed silversmiths, chemists, and dwelling houses that were clearly less than fashionable. Then she stepped off the cobbles and crossed the damp and narrow Gower Mews. At the alley's end, she paused between market wagons and rubbish carts to look over her shoulder, assuring herself that no one was watching. Then she slipped in through the rear door of the Old Towne Tea Shoppe and, with an apologetic nod toward the proprietress, stepped out the front door onto Gower Street, opening her black umbrella against the slight mist and any prying eyes. Head lowered, she stepped over a refuse-filled gutter, then walked crisply on. Coming upon a sign bearing the name Store Street, Charlotte checked the directions her aunt had written down for her. This was it.
Charlotte glanced up and immediately saw an old manor house looming against a border of shadow and trees. It was a grey hulk of a building with two dark wings at right angles to each other, a boxy garret at their apex, standing guard over a formidable, arched door below. Perhaps a great house a hundred years ago, the structure looked sound but bleak—mottled stone, severe lines, the absence of adornment save a hedgerow lining the edge of a mossy stone walkway. She saw no sign, no plaque naming the manor, and somehow that made her all the more sure she was in the right place.
It was only then that she allowed the tears to come. Here, the street behind her streaming with people who knew her not and cared less, she felt the sting of her father's rejection and the loss of her home. But she could not agree with his assessment. He might be glad that her mother was not here to witness this day, but Charlotte was not.
She thought of her dear mother, the well-loved Lillian Lamb, who had brought warmth and moderation, cheer and steady calm to the vicarage, and especially to Reverend Gareth Lamb himself.
Charlotte hoped her memories of her mother, gone these five years, would not fade in this absence from all that was familiar—her mother's room, her portrait, the far-off look in Father's eyes that meant he was thinking of her. His parting words echoed again through Charlotte's mind, and she flinched—envisioning the disappointment that would certainly have clouded her mother's face—but yet she wished her mother were here with her, walking this rutted path, consoling her as she always had that all would work out in the end.
I wish I had your faith, Mother. I wish I were half the fine lady you were—or half as proper a clergyman's daughter. Would you have forgiven me, even if Father will not?
As Charlotte drew closer to the looming grey edifice that was to become her temporary home, she could not help but notice the secretive shuttered windows of the ground floor.
Then she noticed the milkweeds.
No formal gardens here, or if there once were, they had long since given way to islands of tall grasses and unchecked patches of milkweeds running the length of the wall facing Charlotte.
Her father would be horrified, and even her mother would not have approved of the tangled mess. Charlotte sighed. She supposed that for the women within these grey walls, the gardens outside were the least of their problems. And the same is true of me.
But milkweeds? What a bane they were to gardeners, their stubborn roots sending out crafty runners, the offspring only slightly easier to pull than the mother plant herself. And they spread not only by runners, but by their prolific seeds that filled the air every autumn. Apparently that was what had happened here—milkweed had been introduced and, left unchecked, had taken over most of the lawn.
Couldn't they at least hire some boy with a scythe to come and cut the pests down? Charlotte wondered. Milkweeds were pretty enough when the flowers bloomed, but when the grey-green pods aged to a dull silver, the reedy stalks held little aesthetic value at all.
Perhaps that solicitor friend of Uncle's had given false information about this place. Or Aunt Tilney had gotten it wrong somehow. Her aunt had confided in hushed tones that this place was of better quality and more discreet than others like it. Charlotte gathered their London solicitor had procured the recommendation for her. Her father knew nothing of the arrangements, other than to exact Charlotte's promise of secrecy and anonymity for as long as possible. Otherwise he seemed to care little of where Charlotte was to go or how she was to provide for herself. It was clear he could barely wait to get her out of his sight.
Charlotte wondered if her mother would recognize the man she had been married to for so many years. Not that Gareth Lamb had changed so much physically, except to grow a bit grey in his sideburns and a bit paunchier around the middle, but his demeanor was markedly changed. He had been stern—self-righteous even—before this happened, and now was all the more. The whole of his concern revolved around two points: how such a thing would likely ruin his career and how it would ruin Bea's chance at a suitable marriage.
I am dreadfully sorry for it. I am. I suppose Father's anger is right and just. But it does not feel like it. If only you were here to soften him. To accompany me.
But her mother was dead. So Charlotte walked alone.
* * *
A single knock brought to the door a thin, plain-faced woman a few years Charlotte's senior who quickly led her from the entry hall, through a large dining room, and into a small study with the words, "The matron shall be in directly." And, indeed, not two minutes later, a severe but attractive woman in her forties wearing a dark dress and tightly bound hair walked in, her officious air proclaiming her title. The woman's stern appearance brought Charlotte some disquiet, but when she settled her gaze on Charlotte, there was grim kindness in her expression.
"I am Mrs. Moorling, matron of the Manor Home. May I be of assistance?"
Charlotte arose on shaky legs and pressed a letter from the London solicitor and a bank note into the woman's hand. This was her only reply.
Mrs. Moorling slipped the money into her desk drawer without comment or expression, then glanced briefly at the letter the solicitor had written at her uncle's request. "I see. I'm afraid we haven't a private room available at the moment, but you shall have one as soon as possible. In the meantime, you will need to share."
"I understand."
"Your name is—" the woman scanned the letter—"Miss ... Smith?"
"Yes, Smith. Charlotte Smith."
Mrs. Moorling paused only a moment before continuing, again with no change in her expression, though Charlotte had the distinct impression the woman knew she was lying about her name. "Before I can admit you, there are a few questions I need to ask."
Charlotte swallowed.
"Is this your first occasion availing yourself upon such an institution?"
"Yes, of course."
"Not 'of course,' Miss Smith. There are many who do not learn from experience. I must tell you that the Manor Home for Unwed Mothers is a place for deserving unmarried women with their first child. Our goal is to rehabilitate our patients for a morally upright life."
Charlotte looked down, feeling the heat of embarrassment snake up her neck and pulse in her ears. She heard the sound of paper rustling and knew the matron was again reading the letter.
"This letter attests to your character and background, though I haven't the time to verify it at the moment."
"Mrs. Moorling. I assure you. I have never been in such a predicament before ... never conceived myself in such a predicament."
Poor choice of words, Charlotte thought grimly.
She forced herself to meet the older woman's eyes. Mrs. Moorling looked directly at her for a moment, then nodded.
"Gibbs will find a place for you to sleep."
* * *
Gibbs, the plain, painfully thin young woman, led her back through the entry hall and to the right, to the street-facing wing of the L-shaped building. Hurrying to keep up, Charlotte followed her through the long corridor to a door midway down its length. Charlotte looked into the dim room—once a portion of a fine drawing room, perhaps—with a high ceiling and broad hearth. The bedchamber held only one narrow bed, the width less than Charlotte's height. A small table with a brass candlestick sat on either side of the bed, and one chair stood against the nearest wall. Three simple wooden chests lined the opposite wall, no doubt used to store the belongings of the room's temporary lodgers.
"You'll be sharing with Mae and Becky. Both slight girls—you're a fortunate one. They must be off visiting in one of the other rooms. They'll be in by and by. We have a water closet below stairs. But there's usually a wait for it. Chamber pots under the bed for late-night emergencies. We know how you lying-in girls get toward the end. You're responsible for emptying your own, at least until your ninth month or so. Our physicians believe activity is healthy. All the girls have duties, long as you're able. You'll get your assignment at breakfast tomorrow. Eight o'clock. Any questions?"
Charlotte's mind was whirling with them, but she only shook her head.
"Good night, then." Gibbs let herself from the room.
Excerpted from: Lady of Milkweed Manor by Julie Klassen. Copyright © 2008; ISBN 9780764204791 Published by Bethany House Publishers. Used by permission. Unauthorized duplication prohibited.


text:
Global G.Fast Chipset Market 2019 report provides by Mrs Research Group is the representation of the Global G.Fast Chipset Market area through research, development and analysis of information from multiple sources. The Global G.Fast Chipset report bifurcates the Global G.Fast Chipset Market based on various parameters, including the nature of products and services, technology development and end-user applications for a better understanding of analytical data.
In the Global G.Fast Chipset research report professionals describe the different facets of the industry with a specific goal after assessing the key factors that could manipulate the development of the Global G.Fast Chipset market sector.
The global market 2019 report Global G.Fast Chipset includes identifying and comparing major competitors Qualcomm , Broadcom , Marvell Technology Group , Mediatek , Sckipio Technologies Si , Metanoia Communications , Chunghwa Telecom Co , Centurylink , BT Group PLC , Swisscom AG , , who compete for the success of the business expansion and determine the global and regional market.
Download Sample Copy Of Report : www.mrsresearchgroup.com/report/154387#request-sample
Scope Of The Global G.Fast Chipset market 2019 Report
Based on the analysis, the Global G.Fast Chipset report provides an assessment of future trends and future changes in the market 2019. Researchers analyze data using different formulas and analytical tools and prepare the surveyed data and predictions of key participants with such as diagrams, graphs and statistics for a better and faster understanding.
Various methodological techniques, such as the SWOT analysis, investment return analysis are used to obtain correct informative data for the analysis of impending financial fluctuations in relation to the current trends of Global G.Fast Chipset market development.
The Global G.Fast Chipset report provides survey data based on the regional market 2019 –
Do Inquiry For More Details : www.mrsresearchgroup.com/report/154387#inquiry-for-buying
Chapters Covered In Global G.Fast Chipset market 2019 :
Chapter 1: Introduction, Definition, Specifications, Classification and Scope the Global G.Fast Chipset market 2019
Chapter 2: Exclusive Summery like Industry chain structure, Manufacturer cost structure, suppliers, etc
Chapter 3: Displays Trends, Drivers and Challenges of the Global G.Fast Chipset market
Chapter 4: By the study of SWOT analysis it displays sales analysis, investment analysis, market analysis, etc
Chapter 5: It evaluate the market by segments, by countries and by manufacturers with revenue, share and sales by key countries in these various regions.
Chapter 6: Evaluate the leading manufacturers of the Global G.Fast Chipset market which consists of its Competitive Landscape, Peer Group Analysis, BCG Matrix & Company Profile
Chapter 7: Global G.Fast Chipset Research Findings and Conclusion, Appendix, system and information source
The report provides inclusive information to identify key market 2019 segments that help improve the quality of business decision-making based on sales, demand and production based on application-level analysis, and regional level. The report provides data analyzed graphically for a better explanation. Our experts have crafted the full study of Global G.Fast Chipset market in a structured format for better interpretation.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
You need to do some more shopping! Your shopping cart is currently empty.
Music Lessons in Richland, WA
It doesn't matter how old or what skill level you are, your musical journey starts here! Reach out to one of our private music teachers and get started today.
Ted Brown Music offers a wide variety of one on one coaching from highly qualified local teachers. Private lessons in our Richland store are conducted in comfortable private studios so students of all ages will feel safe in a non-judgmental environment. All private teachers at Ted Brown Music have years of experience in both teaching and play and are looking forward to helping you reach the next level of your music journey.
Let us help you find the right music teacher!
Tell us a little about yourself and what you'd like to learn, and we'll put you in touch with the right teacher for you.


text:
Cease-Fire Holding in Gaza Between Israel, Hamas
JERUSALEM — Israel says a new cease-fire with the militant Hamas group is holding in the Gaza Strip, a day after the two sides agreed to resume talks in Cairo.
The military says no rockets were fired Monday at Israel and that the military hasn't targeted any locations in the densely populated territory since the cease-fire went into effect on midnight Sunday.
See also: Inside the 'Terror Tunnels' in Gaza
The quiet allows for the resumption of talks on a long-term truce to end a month of heavy fighting in Gaza that has killed More than 1,900 Palestinians. On the Israeli side, 67 people have died, all but three of them soldiers.
Palestinian negotiators are pressing for an end to the crippling Gaza blockade imposed by Egypt and Israel, while Israel wants all Gaza militants to be disarmed.


text:
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday described the recent communal riots in Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar as a "big tragedy" and promised "strictest punishment" to the perpetrators of the conflagration.
"I am here to share your pain," a grim-faced Singh told people displaced by the violence, during his visit to a refugee camp in Bassi Kalan village, 30 km from here.
Singh, who reached Muzaffarnagar along with Congress president Sonia Gandhi and party vice-president Rahul Gandhi, spent around half-an-hour in the camp in which members from the Muslim community have taken shelter.
related story
BJP calls PM's visit to Muzaffarnagar secular tourism
Azam Khan takes dig at PM for visiting Muzaffarnagar
Ruckus in UP Assembly over Muzaffarnagar riots
Akhilesh calls upon elders to help in bringing back peace
Uttar Pradesh: black flags shown to Akhilesh during visit to riot-hit Muzaffarnagar
Angry with Mulayam, Muslims may side with BSP, Congress
Will riots impact east UP?
The Bharatiya Janata Party described the visit of Congress leaders to Muzaffarnagar district as nothing but "secular tourism on communal riots".
"The wounds of the people cannot be healed by doing this. It is completely secular tourism on communal riots and nothing else," BJP national vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi told reporters here.
He said whatever the prime minister has said is of no use, as people want action and not words.
As many as 48 people were killed, over 100 injured and more than 43,000 rendered homeless in the communal clashes that singed the area since September 7. The army had to be called in to contain the situation.
Talking to reporters after listening to the views of the people living in the camp, Singh termed last week's riots as a "major incident".
Before heading for another camp in Tawli village, the Prime Minister said that the "perpetrators of the riots will be given strictest punishment".
"Our priority and efforts would be to send the displaced people to their homes," he said while assuring all help to the Uttar Pradesh government in restoring normalcy in the area.
VIDEO: PM, Sonia's Muzaffarnagar visit not political, says Congress
The Prime Minister told reporters that he expected the security scenario to improve in the area so that the displaced people can return home as soon as possible.
While Manmohan Singh spoke to divisional commissioner Bhuvnesh Kumar and district magistrate Kaushal Raj Sharma, Sonia Gandhi mingled with women and sought to know the sequence of events that led to the rioting.
Gandhi was seen talking to women, who expressed their concerns about the violence which has claimed over 40 lives. She consoled the women, who looked quite satisfied with the gesture shown by her.
Rahul Gandhi spoke to the youth and assured them the Congress and the union government was with them.
He also asked the union minister of state for home affairs RPN Singh to take petitions from the people and address them.
Minister of State for Home RPN Singh, who had earlier said the Centre is closely monitoring the situation in riot-hit Muzaffarnagar, is also accompanying the three leaders.
Later, the Prime Minister met family-members of journalist Rajesh Verma, who was killed during the in Muzaffarnagar riots, and assured ex-gratia of Rs. 10 lakh and educational aid for his children.
The Prime Minister had earlier talked to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and condemned the violence.
Expressing his grief and shock over the loss of innocent lives, Singh had assured Yadav that the Centre will extend all required assistance to the state government in tackling the situation.
VIDEO: PM, Sonia, Rahul Gandhi visit Muzaffarnagar riot victims
Akhilesh, who visited the violence affected areas on Sunday, assured people that strict action will be taken against those responsible for the disturbances.
Meanwhile, the situation in the affected areas of the state is limping back to normal. No incident of violence was reported Sunday when the day curfew was relaxed.
Scores of senior officials, including Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Arun Kumar and others, are constantly camping in trouble-hit Muzaffarnagar.
The Uttar Pradesh Government has constituted a one-member judicial commission to probe the Muzaffarnagar violence.
The commission, which would mainly look into administrative lapses, if any, in controlling the violence, would submit its report to the government within two months.


text:
Debate over cursive writing began in 2009 with Common Core
Indianapolis, Ind. — The debate over the value of teaching cursive writing in schools has escalated since the nation's governors and state education commissioners launched the Common Core State Standards Initiative in 2009.
Forty-five states and the District of Columbia have since adopted the national standards, beginning next year. Only Alaska, Minnesota, Nebraska, Texas, and Virginia have not.
The goal of the standards is to develop uniform education standards that spell out what students in kindergarten through 12th grade are taught so they can be competitive in the global economy. States can supplement the national rules with state standards.
The national standards don't require children to learn how to read and write in cursive. They do, however, require that by the end of fourth grade, students demonstrate sufficient command of keyboarding skills to complete a one-page writing assignment.
The requirement is found in the literacy standards for English Language Arts for fourth-graders in a section that spells out standards for writing: "With some guidance and support from adults, use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing as well as to interact and collaborate with others; demonstrate sufficient command of keyboarding skills to type a minimum of one page in a single sitting."
The common core standards don't preclude teaching cursive writing. But as more time is devoted to mastering skills mandated by the standards, penmanship is dropped or less time is spent on it.
There are mixed responses in the states. Many are simply leaving it up to local school districts to decide whether cursive writing is taught in their schools.
The state boards of education in Alabama and Georgia, for example, voted in July 2012 to include cursive in their supplemental state standards. The Massachusetts Department of Education requires that fourth graders should be able to "write legibly by hand, using either printing or cursive handwriting."
To find out more about your state, go the Common Core State Standards Initiative website: www.corestandards.org.
via Debate over cursive writing began in 2009 with Common Core » State News » The Picayune Item.


text:
By Kathy Barks Hoffman
Associated Press
LANSING, Mich. (AP) -- Criticism of a Senate campaign ad featuring a young Asian woman talking in broken English about China taking away American jobs grew Monday as some warned it could revive discrimination against Asian-Americans.
Michigan has seen its share of Asia bashing, especially in the 1980s, when images of sledgehammers smashing imported cars were common. Chinese-American Vincent Chin died after being beaten to death in 1982 by two unemployed autoworkers angry about competition from Japan.
Republican Senate hopeful Pete Hoekstra began taking heat after his ad targeting Democratic incumbent Debbie Stabenow ran statewide Sunday before the Super Bowl.
"Mr. Hoekstra may believe that his ad is just a way to express his political goals. But it does so in a manner that points the finger at Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders for our nation's problems," said Thomas Costello, president and CEO of the Michigan Roundtable for Diversity and Inclusion, a 70-year-old civil rights organization in Detroit. "All of us need to be vigilant in the words we use and images we portray to avoid giving tacit permission for racist behavior."
The ad was created by media strategist Fred Davis of California-based Strategic Perception Inc., known for both Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder's successful "one tough nerd" ads and for the 2010 "demon sheep" web ad attacking Tom Campbell in California's Republican Senate primary.
Hoekstra told reporters Monday that his ad's "insensitive" only to the spending philosophy of Stabenow and Democratic President Barack Obama.
"We knew we were taking an aggressive approach on this. But this is a time where the people in Michigan and across the country are fed up with the spending, and we wanted to capture that frustration that they had with Washington, D.C.," he said. "This ad ... hits Debbie smack dab between the eyes on the issue where she is vulnerable with the voters of Michigan, and that is spending."
Glenn Clark, the former Republican chairman in Michigan's 9th District and a Hoekstra supporter, called it a "great ad." But most comments weren't so positive.
National GOP consultant Mike Murphy tweeted that it was "really, really dumb," and Foreign Policy magazine managing editor Blake Hounshell called it "despicable."
Stabenow criticized the ad's "divisiveness" and said Hoekstra should be "embarrassed."
Two of Hoekstra's rivals in the Republican primary, Clark Durant and Gary Glenn, issued statements questioning whether the current front-runner is the candidate their party should support.
California Sen. Leland Yee, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Asian Pacific Islander Affairs, said Hoekstra should apologize.
"I would hope that in this day in age, especially from a California company, we were beyond the use of caricatures in political advertisements," Yee said in a statement. "Regardless of the role of China in our economic situation, making fun of one's language and culture is completely baseless and unnecessary."
Several Detroit pastors called for Hoekstra to pull the ad, as did the Michigan Roundtable and the Michigan Asian Pacific American Affairs Commission.
"The Asian woman speaking in this video would be no different than him having a black person speaking in slave dialect," said the Rev. Charles Williams II of Detroit's King Solomon Baptist Church, where civil rights leader Malcolm X spoke in the 1960s. He added that Hoekstra's "using the whole politics of fear, and the whole politics of division, and he knows it."
The 30-second ad opens with the sound of a gong and shows the Asian woman riding a bike on a narrow path lined by rice paddies.
Stopping her bike, the woman smiles into the camera and says, "Thank you, Michigan Senator Debbie Spenditnow. Debbie spends so much American money. You borrow more and more from us. Your economy get very weak. Ours get very good. We take your jobs. Thank you, Debbie Spenditnow."
The scene shifts to Hoekstra, who says, "I think this race is between Debbie Spenditnow and Pete Spenditnot."
Hoekstra told reporters in a conference call that the ad has "jumpstarted the debate" over deficit spending in Washington and a federal debt of more than $1 trillion. Asked about the woman in the ad, Hoekstra said that "her parents are 100 percent Chinese."
His campaign plans to continue running the ad statewide for the next two weeks on cable shows aimed at Republican voters.
Stabenow raised her own concerns about China on Monday with a conference call that included the general manager of R&B Electronics in Sault Ste. Marie. Wayne Olsen told reporters Chinese distributors had repeatedly tried to get him to hand over sensitive information about how products at his and other U.S. aeronautical companies were made. Stabenow said too many U.S. companies are being told they must turn over intellectual property and give away their technology if they want to do business in China.
"We can't continue to sit back and let China's policies cost us jobs," she said.
Published: Wed, Feb 8, 2012


text:
Lindsay Lohan is a free woman. Well, almost.
After serving 35 days for a probation violation, the tracking device that was placed on the infamous actress was removed and she was released from house arrest at 10:20 a.m. PT, according to jail records.
More: Lohan Talks About Life Under House Arrest
But she's not out of the woods just yet. She still has 480 hours of community service and an anti-shoplifting class to complete. Plus she has to comply with the other terms of her release.
The "Mean Girls" actress was sentenced to four months in jail in May for violating her probation in a 2007 drunken driving case by taking a necklace from a jewelry store without permission earlier this year.
Her confinement in her home in the beachside community of Venice was not without drama. A judge chided her last week for hosting parties at her house but determined the 24-year-old hadn't violated any conditions of her probation.


text:
Course summary
Our Visio Advanced course will push your Visio skills to a new level.
This intensive, hands-on one-day training course has been designed for existing users of Visio 2010, 2013 or 2016 who want to increase their knowledge and productivity with the application. Delegates will learn how to create custom elements and a custom template, represent external data as a drawing, and share work with others.
When you organise your training, you need a partner who is able to deliver the skills improvements you need, and Activia have grown into a major UK provider on the strength of excellence in key areas. Whether it's competitive prices,...


text:
If you're looking to spice up your lunch or dinner you should head over to Masala Indian Restaurant at 39-26 61st Street in Woodside. The only downside to this restaurant is trying to find parking, but that is an insignificant hiccup in your dining experience.
The service is quick and friendly, you are seated immediately and your water glass is filled and refilled. You are engulfed in comfort with the dim lighting, Indian music being played low, and the scent of intoxicating curry floating gently through the air.
There is a great menu with decent prices, a variety of red and white wines, and great lunch specials. The floor plan is open which allows you to see the bar and further back their wine selections. The kitchen is separated from view by two deep red curtains. The colorful art on the walls adds to the beautifully relaxing feel of the restaurant. The romantic feel is great for dining with friends or that special someone.
When you order a lunch special, which is a curry of your choice, you have the option of a soup or salad, and a plate of rice pilaf accompanies each special. The soup is very flavorful, if not a bit cilantro heavy, it is rich and has a slice of lime. Remember to stir your soup before enjoying it, because at the bottom is a great humus that adds texture and great flavor to it.
The salad has a great yogurt dressing that emphasizes the freshness of the vegetables. This salad is what spring is all about. This is not your boring everyday salad, there is, of course – lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers but you'll find chickpeas scattered to add a great texture.
Both the chicken and the beef curry, are amazingly flavorful and are most importantly, fork tender. The chicken curry has a potent cilantro flavor, whereas the beef is a richer curry that has a bit more heat. Not to fret – the heat is not something you will need milk or bread to squelch.
The long grain pilaf is a great pairing, it really holds the curry sauce perfectly. The portions of the food were great for lunch; they were filling but not to the point of unbuttoning your pants. This food will satisfy even the pickiest eater.
Craving dessert? Taking the more familiar path you can choose the mango ice cream. It is smooth and satisfying and you almost feel like you are eating the fruit. This ice cream must be homemade, but if you are big on ice cream this is definitely something you need to try.
If you're feeling more adventurous you should try the Gulab Jamun. This popular dessert is homemade fried cheese balls soaked in honey with a splash of rosewater. This dessert is a warming, heavenly bite. If no one told you they were cheese balls you would not have guessed it. They are sweet and amazingly soft and even if you haven't had them before it transports you back to childhood. The sweet satisfying flavor is given freshness from the rosewater.
Two lunch specials, and two desserts cost about $24. Now tell me that is not a great deal. Great food at a great price what more can you ask for?
Is there a restaurant you have been looking at but you're not sure if to give it a try? Let me know and I will go and review it. Contact me at firstname.lastname@example.com.


text:
Meet the experts
What now for the engineering consultancy industry? What challenges does it face? Is low carbon the answer? And how do things look for commercial buildings? To get some answers to these questions, Grundfos got the views of two people with their finger on the pulse. First we hear from Dr. Dorte Rich Jørgensen, Senior Sustainability Manager at Atkins; and then we get the views of John Deasy, Commercial Director UK at Hilson Moran.
Dr. Dorte Rich Jørgensen
Dr. Jørgensen has most recently worked on as Sustainability Manager for Atkins on the London 2012 Olympic Park. Dr. Jørgensen has 23 years experience of successfully embedding sustainability into the built environment and infrastructure projects on a range of cutting edge and award winning projects. She is a Visiting Professor in Innovation at Heriot-Watt University and a member of the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE).
Atkins is a leading engineering and design consultancy with offices across the UK, North America, Middle East, Asia Pacific and Europe. The company has its headquarters in London and has been involved in some of the world's leading design and engineering projects – both at home and abroad.
John Deasy
From Hilson Moran we talk to John Deasy, Commercial Director UK. John Deasy combines experience from the Boardroom with project work. He shares some insights about the future of the industry based on his experience at all levels.
Hilson Moran is a leading independent multidisciplinary consultancy company. The company has a network of offices in the UK, Europe and the Middle East, with its headquarters in London. Hilson Moran provides a full range of engineering services.
A view from Atkins
Overcoming challenges: teamwork throughout the supply chain
Atkins at a glance:
Employees: 17,400 worldwide
Revenue: GBP: 1.72 billion
Established: 1938
14th largest global design firm in world
Largest multidisciplinary consultancy in Europe
Dr. Dorte Rich Jørgensen, Principal Sustainability Engineer, Design and Engineering, Atkins
(Photography by Adrian Houston)
What do you see as the major challenges facing the industry?
DRJ: It will be a tremendous task for the industry to keep expanding its skill set to adapt to the changing demands towards a more sustainable approach to solve global warming whilst going through times of transition in the economy. However, the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games project with Atkins' involvement has demonstrated that it is possible for thousands of engineering and construction professionals to deliver a flagship project with sustainability at its heart within budget and on time. With more projects like this, clients and the industry teams will be able to address these major challenges.
In my experience, the best designs are usually created by teams that work in close collaboration throughout the supply chain, influencing each other with the ability to deliver excellence.
Dr. Dorte Rich Jørgensen
Can you give us an example of how the industry is working towards achieving sustainability objectives?
DRJ: I have been embedded in the Atkins' infrastructure design team for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games project. As Atkins' Sustainability Manager I worked with the client to ensure that the sustainability objectives were met. For example, the Wetland Bridges achieved the highest score to date (98.3%) on the CEEQUAL sustainability rating (widely-used evidence-based Sustainability Assessment and Awards Scheme).
This result includes many cross cutting design initiatives, including: using reclaimed materials, low carbon concrete and recycled materials, replacing toxic materials with environmentally friendly alternatives, ensuring responsible sourcing of e.g. timber and minimizing waste. All of this while also ensuring the design is people friendly.
What about 'low carbon ready' buildings – what is special about these kinds of building?
DRJ: For these buildings the designers ensure that the energy consumption required by the building during operation is lowered. This is achieved by optimising basic parameters such as the building orientation, the glazing/shading ratio to optimise daylight, the insulation fabric etc. Then the energy requirement during operation needs to be met in an energy efficient way, e.g. using natural ventilation, heat recovery, effective controls of lighting and energy efficient equipment selection.
Before the building is handed over to the client it needs to be commissioned effectively with re-commissioning during the year to adjust the operation to adapt to changes during the seasons.
There also needs to be clear and effective guidance for the operator of the completed building following the hand-over to ensure the building is operated and maintained the way it is designed.
Interview with John Deasy
Promoting innovation and new solutions
Hilson Moran at a glance:
Employees: 200 plus
HQ: London
One of the largest independent engineering consultancies in the UK
We think the role of engineers will become more important in mitigating climate change and energy costs, guiding clients through the ever increasing regulatory and legislative environment.
John Deasy
John Deasy, Commercial Director UK, Hilson Moran
What major challenges is the industry facing?
JD: There are many challenges, but as we see it there are two prevalent ones. First politics. All governments pursue policy that positively impacts on environmental sustainability, but limited terms in office and regular changes to building regulations and legislation mean there is a need to balance short and long-term goals and ambitions. As engineers, we need to help our clients to comply with current regulation, but we also have a duty to encourage them to adopt viable and cost effective solutions that will help to deliver real carbon savings and efficiencies over the life of the building.
The second major challenge we see enhancing the perception of engineers. Engineering, particularly building services such as Mechanical, Engineering, Plumbing (MEP), is hidden out of plain sight and when it's working as it should, it's unnoticeable. The profession needs to find a way to showcase its important role in the design of buildings – by actively promoting innovation and new solutions.
As a leading multi-disciplinary engineering consultancy firm, we need to be at the cutting edge of the industry and so we've developed specialisms in low carbon infrastructure, refurbishment and retrofit.
John Deasy
Where do you think Hilson Moran will generate revenue and growth in the future?
JD: Growth areas mostly relate to promoting and achieving sustainability. We have created mechanisms to show our clients how different approaches can benefit them, in terms of cost savings, efficiencies and a reduced impact on climate change. Also, we expect to see more innovative ways to fund projects by working with clients, developers and funders to create funding mechanisms which encourage capital expenditure by offering greater longer term financial returns.
What about commercial buildings – what should we expect to see in the near future?
JD: Buildings need to become more flexible and adaptable, to accommodate new ways of working and change of configuration or even use as demands change during the life of the building. This in turn requires innovation, allowing buildings to be more intelligent and technologies to be simpler but smarter. The new mantra will be 'less is more'.
We might also see a number of technologies not commonly associated with commercial buildings in future solutions too: photobioreactors, hydrogen fuel cells and smart glass to name a few.
When it comes to the supply chain, envisioning a project through technologies such as BIM will provide a "one project, one team, one delivery" motto where risk and reward is shared and everyone is working towards a common goal. We welcome this with open arms.
Maintenance and aftercare will also become much more important in the supply chain, both in informing the designs at the start and delivering sustainability in the long term.
John Deasy
Are there particular areas that you expect Hilson Moran to focus on in the next 5-10 years?
JD: A key focus for us over the next 5-10 years is passive design and zero carbon development in line with the European Union's 2020 distinction - to benefit both our European and international clients. Hilson Moran has also invested in experts in infrastructure because this will become the basis of successful, sustainable development and ensure strong performance over a scheme's lifecycle. It will also ensure we create intelligent buildings that allow us to adapt.


text:
|About Us News Resources Login Become a member Help Search
|Story Favorites Author Favorites Links
|Conquistadora was previously known as Coriel. Much of her posted work was written while finishing high school and attending college. Several years have passed during which she sadly has had little time to update her tattered masterpieces, but recently her muse seems to have recovered himself enough to press on. She is available for beta-reading.


text:
Comment Nothing affects the outcome of a US presidential election more than the state of the economy, and if Barack Obama heard the comments made by Intel and AMD execs when they announced their company's earnings this week, he may very well have broken into a flop sweat.
"As we look ahead to the second half of this year, consumer market growth in Western Europe and North America is not forecasted to recover as fast as we had anticipated." Intel CEO Paul Otellini told analysts and reporters when announcing his company's second-quarter financial results on Tuesday.
AMD CEO Rory Read agreed during his conference call with the same crowd, when announcing his company's disappointing results. "It is clear that global economic activity is slowing," he told his listeners.
As the wily politico Bill Clinton so aptly explained, when it comes to defining a presidential campaign's message, "It's the economy, stupid." And across the globe, said economy is in increasingly sorry shape, and neither Otellini nor Read sees it improving before Tuesday, November 6.
The two CEOs, of course, see the world through the lens of their own businesses. But the microprocessor market, it can be argued, is a useful bellwether for the health of the global economy as a whole.
If that's the case, the rest of 2012 doesn't look all that hot.
From Read's point of view, times are tough and they're going to get tougher. "For the first time since 2001, client PC shipments have declined sequentially for three consecutive quarters, and have been below historical averages for the last seven quarters," he said, then added in a fine bit of CEOese, "We expect macro headwinds will continue for the third quarter.
Those macro headwinds are creating a macro headache for Obama and his Democratic party.
Conditions for a continued incumbency were better earlier in the year. Recalling those relatively halcyon days, Otellini said that he then expected the market "softness" that he had seen for several previous fiscal quarters be in recovery mode by now. But as he told the reporters and moneymen, "We don't see PC sales to be as robust as we first thought."
Read has also tempered his expectations. "We believe that the expectation in the PC market across 2012 at the beginning of the year was to be expanding each quarter," he said, "and as you can see, in 2Q the macroeconomic headwinds have obviously slowed that PC growth. We believe that will continue in the second half."
The two companies' CFOs also chimed in with phrases guaranteed to furrow the brows of donkey devotees. Intel's Stacy Smith talked about "continued weakness in mature markets," and AMD's Thomas Seifert bemoaned the "choppy macroeconomic environment."
When Obama took office in January 2009, the US economy was – not to put too fine a point on it – in the toilet. That very month, 839,000 jobs were lost. This January, by contrast, the US economy added 277,000 jobs.
But that was then, and now is now. In June, job growth sank to a mere 84,000 – and if Otellini, Read, and many others are correct, the combination of what the Intel CEO refers to as the "abatement of GDP growth" in China, the EU's ongoing fiscal follies, and a dip in stateside consumer confidence spells growing trouble for the man of the house at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
After all, American voters have as their motto, "What have you done for me lately?" And with the electorate's famously short attention span, the accent is most definitely on the last word of that question.
The man whose name is consistently prefixed with "presumptive Republican presidential nominee", Willard Mitt Romney, must be viewing the saggy, soggy global economy with mixed feelings. If it remains sluggish, his road to the White House will be easier. But if it tanks completely, he'll inherit as big a mess as Obama did when he took office.
But Romney does have one ace in the hole. With a personal net worth hovering in the $250m range, even if the economy takes a nosedive as screamingly steep and frightfully deep as it did in the waning months of the Bush era, it's not likely that the "pRpn" will find himself tossed into the fraying federal safety net.
In fact, if Romney wanted to pour a little honey onto the struggling PC market, we suggest that he might buy Intel-equipped ultrabooks or AMD-equipped ultrathins for Tagg, Matt, Josh, Ben, Craig, and Ann.
Hey, every little bit helps when the US economy is being buffeted by what AMD's Read identifies as "macroeconomic headwinds". ®


text:
Academic Courses
Course offerings that a student may select from alternatives.
This list shows Elective courses that this school offers.
Students can cultivate interests, strengths, and special talents through elective courses. This allows students to explore an academic experience that is well rounded and targeted for college admissions that reach beyond the core requirements.


text:
Super-rich, peanut-buttery, chocolate cheesecake filling topped with a layer of chocolate crunch!?! Yup... Ingredients:1 packet Swiss Miss Sensible Sweets 25-calorie diet hot cocoa mixOne 8-oz. tub fat-free cream cheese, room temperature 2 Jell-O Sugar Free Chocolate Pudding Snacks1/3 cup Splenda No Calorie Sweetener (granulated) 2 tsp. vanilla extract2 cups Cool Whip Free, thawed, divided 3 tbsp. reduced-fat peanut butter, room temperatureTwo 100 Calorie Packs Oreo Thin Crisps or 3 sheets (12 crackers) chocolate graham crackersOptional: Fat Free Reddi-wip
Directions:Dissolve cocoa mix in 2 tbsp. hot water. In a medium bowl, combine cocoa mixture with cream cheese, pudding, Splenda, and vanilla extract. Using a handheld electric mixer, whisk until smooth. Fold in 1/2 cup Cool Whip.
Transfer mixture to a large pie pan and set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine remaining 1 1/2 cups Cool Whip with peanut butter. Whisk until smooth and uniform in color. Spread over the "pie."
Cover and refrigerate until chilled and slightly firm, about 2 hours. Meanwhile, crush Oreo Thin Crisps or chocolate graham crackers into fine crumbs, and set aside.
Once ready to serve, top pie with crushed cookies/graham crackers. If you like, top each serving with a squirt of Reddi-wip. Enjoy with a spoon!
8. HG Style Hot Fudge 'n Brownie Sundae - If you're a chocolate fan, this should be on YOUR list, too!
7. Super-Duper Strawberry Shortcake - The only way you'll believe this is low in calories is if you stare at the stats while you eat it. (But don't do that. It's no fun.)
6. Chilly Chocolate Mousse Crepes - Pre-made dessert wraps make this treat SO easy to prepare...
5. Top Banana Split - Make this when you're all by yourself, or someone will make you share. And that ain't gonna happen.
4. Apple iCobbler - Kicks an iCraving for iPie to the iCurb.
3. Mini Microwave Triple Chocolate Cake - Easy-peasy nukeable cake!
2. Upside-Down Pineapple Crush - Meet your new crush, in more ways than one...
1. Best of My Lava Chocolate Cake - Hands down, the OOIEST, GOOIEST guilt-free cake on the planet Earth. (We can't speak for Mars.)


text:
Afghanistan Experts Stumped By Simple Questions
Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R., Calif.) had a simple question Wednesday for three of the Obama administration's top Afghanistan specialists: How many American troops have been killed in Afghanistan this year? None of the witnesses at the House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on Afghanistan had an answer.
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.
I ... in your ... how much are we spending annually in Afghanistan now ... which it cost American taxpayers ... in Reno ... a night ... the the the each of the steps have somewhat different budgets there the whole bunch of my ... ago would be the nobody knows the total budget of over spending ... in Afghanistan ... Turin on Afghanistan ... they have an estimate ... I'm I'm sorry Congressman ... I don't I'll just have to say it is disheartening to ... data ... briefings from ... our government people who were involved in a project ... and they can tell you what how much we're spending ... annually and is in a memo to calculate ... how many killed and wounded ... we suffered in the last twelve months ... she's doing in which you know that ... Sir I'd you know and I'll get back with you on that one also we don't know what the cost is that we don't even know how many killed and wounded are ... and were supposed to believe you fellows ... have plans can ... could ... end up on a positive way in Afghanistan holding ... out all week


text:
- About PSB
- Book Recommendations
- For Kids & Teens
- Online
- Book Fairs
- My Account
Have you ever read some blurb in the newspaper like: "fire ants discovered to teach their young" or some such headline, and wondered how the heck these scientists figured that out? This book is a perfect, succinct compendium of all the most recent studies of animal behavior, thought and emotion, the scientific conclusions, and most importantly--how exactly they arrived at these conclusions. So fascinating! If, like me, you find much more in common with animals than other humans, but you're not a trained scientist and thus shy away from the more academic ethology books, you'll just eat this up.
Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist
ALA 2014 Notable Book
A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2013
"Touching and provocative... well-told and often heart-wrenching." –Washington Post
"A fascinating, accessible look at animal cognition." –People
"This enthralling book might change the way we perceive other species who share the planet with us….A compelling read." – Bark magazine
"This charming book about animal intelligence….has a nice arc to its structure—working from generally more basic (although still remarkable) cognitive abilities of creatures like adventurous ants to the complex thinking of chimps—and it is threaded through with philosophical questions that are as thought-provoking as the creatures and experiments she chronicles." – Smithsonian magazine
"For most of the 20th Century, animals weren't allowed to have emotions…But Virginia Morell's new book, Animal Wise, tells a new story. After six years of reporting in 11 different countries, the longtime science journalist is pretty certain: Animals feel. And strongly, as it turns out." —Wired
"Each chapter takes readers on an adventure alongside researchers as they probe the minds of such disparate creatures as ants, trout, dolphins, elephants and chimpanzees." —Scientific American
"Virginia Morell sheds light on the many surprises of cognitive awareness of animals." – San Francisco Chronicle
"Animal Wise presents the latest research on the cognitive processes and emotional expressions manifested in animal behavior [and] reveals a dazzling, amazing world of animal behaviors."—Portland Oregonian
"For page after exciting page, [Morell] shows [animals] making decisions, remembering the past, planning the future, and helping others in distress….She resists the urge to close her fine book with musings on what makes humans special. Bravo. It's humbler, wiser, and more instructive to stop looking down at animals from an imaginary evolutionary pinnacle and, instead, to try to see them as fellow thinking, feeling beings with minds as worthy of understanding as our own." – Sy Montgomery, American Scholar
"Heart- and brain-stirring...An unprecedented tour....about what goes on in the hearts and minds of our fellow beings, from the laughter of rats to the intellectual curiosity of dolphins." – Maria Popova, Brain Pickings
"Moving and entertaining….[Morell] takes a journalist's approach to the question of animal minds, but shows a deep compassion and empathy for her subjects, which include species separated by some 100 million years of evolution….[She] obliterates the lines that might separate us from the rest of the animal kingdom by relating trailblazing discoveries of the emotional and intellectual lives of animals. In the process, she challenges us to rethink our ethical obligations to the creatures who share our world." – KQED.org
"There aren't enough words in the English language to do justice to Animal Wise... This remarkable book by Virginia Morell is transcendent... Readers will be dazzled by the profound insights being gained through scientific study." – Examiner.com
"Each chapter presents some fascinating and surprising observations…. [Animal Wise] is a good read; it is entertaining and thought-provoking." – Tucson Citizen
"Thank goodness for sensitive and compassionate writers like Virginia Morell….She has written a stunning volume charting the latest research on wild and domestic animal cognition and emotions." – Spirituality and Practice
"Animal Wise brings up a lot of important questions. I would recommend [it] for anyone who cares about animals, not only for the wonders it reveals but for the chance it offers to make a difference in their lives."– EcoLit Books
"Morell passionately and consistently proves her point in this frequently fascinating study of animal behavior…. [She] is a gifted writer with a deep knowledge base that never talks down to the reader or the academic community—no small feat."
– Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"[A] delightful exploration of how animals think….Morell makes a fascinating, convincing case that even primitive animals give some thought to their actions."
– Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"After you read this book, you will be convinced that many different animal species have true thoughts and emotions. You will take a journey to the center of the animal mind." – Temple Grandin, author of Animals in Translation and Animals Make Us Human
"From real-estate appraising ants and wife-beating parrots to laughing rats, grieving elephants, and dogs that play Simon Says, Virginia Morell's Animal Wise is a fascinating and intellectually sweeping overview of the new science of animal cognition. With Morell's unusual ability to capture the passion and humanity of these scientists, this extraordinary book is an impressive treatment of animal minds and a must read for anyone who has ever wondered what is going on in the heads of the creatures we share our world with." – Hal Herzog, author of Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat
"Why is it that until very recently, many scientists claimed that animals can't think? Every pet owner knows better, and Virginia Morell is our champion. But she's not going on guesswork and opinion – Animal Wise is thoroughly and meticulously researched. And it's a page-turner – a window to the natural world that will change the way we view other species. We place ourselves at the top of the evolutionary ladder. Of course we do. We invented the ladder. In her marvelous book, Morell displays the folly of this viewpoint. Animal Wise is fabulous!" – Elizabeth Marshall Thomas, author of The Hidden Life of Dogs
"Morell's Animal Wise is science writing at its best. Here she not only translates scientists' jargon and data into enviable prose, but transmits her love of the field to her audience. Novice readers will be enthralled to learn about the intelligence of the creatures in this book, and experts will be extremely pleased to see how she makes their work and that of their colleagues accessible to everyone." – Irene Pepperberg, author of Alex & Me
"From chimpanzees playing computer games to amorous dolphins, Virginia Morell takes us on a lively tour of what we have learned about the emotions and intelligence of animals. By inviting scientists to tell their personal side of the story, she not only brings the animals closer but also the thrill of discovery." – Frans de Waal, author of The Age of Empathy
"These animals have incredible minds. Now thanks to Morell they have a voice. I love this book. It makes me even prouder to share this Earth with our non-human kin." – Jennifer S. Holland, author of Unlikely Friendships
"Anyone who reads this book will be changed forever in their view of life on earth." – Richard E. Leakey, FRS, Stony Brook Professor of Anthropology and author of The Sixth Extinction
"The scientific expertise Virginia Morell provides to this very important subject, and the way she ties this in with the researchers who know their animals – because knowing them is their life work – make this an important book and a great read."
– Bernd Heinrich, author of Life Everlasting
"Animal Wise brings the reader into the lab and field to learn firsthand from the scientists that marvel over the minds of other animals. Using the sharp pen of an investigative reporter, Morell exposes the expected brilliance of apes, dolphins, and parrots, but also surprises us with simple discoveries of genius among fishes and ants, and even laughter among rats. Each page allows you to anticipate, sweat, grieve, and celebrate with dedicated scientists as you discover and experience their worlds, and those within the minds of the astounding animals that they study. Your journey causes reflection; a consideration of how we treat other species and what they think about us." – John Marzluff, Professor of Wildlife Science, University of Washington and author of Dog Days, Raven Nights and Gifts of the Crow
"Animal Wise is a thought-provoking and highly engaging set of essays that captures the changing views of scientists toward the minds and emotional lives of animals. It is sure to have broad impact on attitudes towards other species and our treatment of them. Thank you, Virginia Morell, for adding legitimacy to what we have so painstakingly observed." – Joyce Poole, PhD, Co-Director of ElephantVoices, member of the Amboseli Elephant Research Project, and author of Coming of Age With Elephants
"In sprightly and clear prose Virginia Morell enters the world of animals with respect and insight and with the compelling argument that our lives differ only in degree. The recognition that we are bound in mind to many other creatures, all of them dependent on us for survival, will, I hope, arouse our compassion and assure them a future. This is a fascinating, timely, and important book." – George B. Schaller, Panthera and Wildlife Conservation Society
"From ants to apes, Animal Wise covers wide-ranging scientific research on the cognitive and emotional capacities of many different non-human animals. Noted author Virginia Morell writes clearly and concisely, and this easy read will surely be good for animals because we must use what we know about them to make their lives better in an increasingly human dominated world." – Marc Bekoff, author of The Emotional Lives of Animals and The Animal Manifesto and editor of Ignoring Nature No More
"It is nice to see a science writer of Virginia Morell's distinction take on this increasingly important topic, and it is good to have her calm and careful voice added to the conversation. She has a great deal to teach us about the latest research on the frontiers of this fascinating new world. Animal Wise is a fine book." – Jeffrey Masson, author of When Elephants Weep


text:
Promote your beer to thirsty patrons looking for it.Learn More
Heads up! O'Connor R & R may not be available near you. Follow this beer to get notified when it's available nearby, try searching in a different area, or discover some similar beer.
German Pils4.5% ABV30 IBU
Karbach Brewing Co.Houston, TX
American Lager5.0% ABV10 IBU
Anheuser-Busch, Inc.St. Louis, MO
Budweiser is a medium-bodied, flavorful, and crisp with blended layers of premium American and European hop aromas.
American Light Lager4.2% ABV12 IBU
Miller Brewing CompanyMilwaukee, WI
Miller Lite is a pilsner-style beer brewed with choice hops, the finest blend of American-grown barley malts and pure, soft water.


text:
Gispen Dukdalf Furniture line - Gispen - Arper
Dukdalf is a sturdy multipurpose table programme which features a characteristic frame. While designing Dukdalf, Peter de Boer took inspiration from the wooden mooring dolphins (dukdalfs in Dutch) where boats berth. The eye-catching legs are sturdy and rugged-looking and contrast well with the slender look of the tabletop. The Dukdalf table comes in many shapes and sizes, which makes it a comprehensive table programme.


text:
On the Symfony blog today, Fabien Potencier has posted the an announcement about the Symfony Live 2010 event and a Call for Papers & Sponsors.
As announced in June, the Symfony Live 2010 conference will take place in February. As many companies from around the world asked us how they can sponsor the event, we have worked on a sponsor guide, which is now available for download. If you have any question, don't hesitate to send us an email.
The deadline for the Call for Papers is September 15th (coming up soon!) and the Early Bird pricing only lasts until September 30th!


text:
2/18/09: Sam Roberts Band w/Mother Mother @ Bowery Ballroom (27/100)February 19th, 2009
This was a big day for the 100 Bands project.
Had my first bit of real press, "Seeing 100 Bands in 100 Days" by Foster Kamer, on Blackbook mag online (thanks again, Foster). Which resulted in the biggest day of traffic for the site. Blitzen Trapper is now following my Twitter (I added them, they added me). I talked to some people about starting to do a weekly radio show about the project for WK Radio (radio.wk.com). And the Sam Roberts Band and Mother Mother blew the roof off Bowery Ballroom.
Day 27 = a good day
My friend Dan shot me an email a few weeks ago after checking out the site. He saw the Mother Mother and Sam Roberts Band show in the Upcoming Shows section and wanted in. So he pulled the trigger, got the tickets, and tonight was the show. But first, I headed over to the design shop Dan started with his friend Andre - Dress code - to check out their office digs.We hung there for a bit and he showed me some of the work they've done. Really happy for these guys since opening their doors a couple years ago. Big ups.
We quickly hit up a sandwich shop called Tiny's for some pre-show grinders, and then made our way to the Bowery. Mother Mother (not to be confused with Mother/Father) was already on when we got there, so we quickly headed upstairs. I have to say, Mother Mother was a surprise. I thought they'd be some typical-looking indie rock band, but instead, I got some combo of that and the B-52s. Ryan, the lead singer, was sporting some pompadour/mohawk combo. Molly and Jasmin (keys/vox) were in matching black dresses. And Jeremy and Ali (rhythm section) looked like indie rock guys. I am not trying to make it a practice to comment on the "look" of bands. But when it's part of their thing, it's hard not to. Listen, I come from the Replacements mentality where a pair of jeans and a t-shirt are good enough…but whatever. Mother Mother looked great, and sounded better.
We caught most of their set, which was tight, solid and fun. But then it was time for the Sam Roberts band to hit the stage. And man did they hit it, with authority. I remember someone (a read of this blog I think) telling me that I was in for a treat with this show. Whoever you are, you were right. Sam Roberts brings it and brings it hard. The lights, the energy, the constant barrage of hard rocking songs. Man, what a show these guys put on. Neither Dan or I really knew what to expect from this show, and we were both pretty blown away. And the Bowery wasn't even sold out that night.
Well, your loss if you weren't at this show. But next time Sam Roberts rolls through town, grab a ticket and get ready for a great one.


text:
Cloud Email Hosting
The cloud business email hosting plan, is run off load balanced, cluttered servers that offers greater reliability than a standalone email server. This plan comes with FREE domain name manager, 5 Gig disk space, unlimited data allowance per month, 50 email accounts and 1 Gigabyte email boxes. Ideal for a business looking for greater perfomance and reliability in an email hosting service.
Cloud Email
$79 a year
Domain Manager
Storage & Bandwidth
Disk Space
Monthly Data Limit
Email Features
Number of Email accounts
Mailbox Size
Auto responder
Catchall address
Anti-spam / Anti-virus
Online control panel
DNS zone management
How do I order email hosting accounts
What next?
After your email account is activated, we will send you an email to let you know. Usually, your account will be set up the same business day but allow up to 24 hours. As soon as your account has been set up, you will be able to access it to use it .
See Setting up Email Accounts for the instructions on how to create mail boxes and configure your computer to download mail.
How do I redirect my domain name to another URL?
To redirect your domain name to another URL, see Web Forwarding Instructions . Most customers find the instructions fairly easy, if you get stuck, send an email firstname.lastname@example.com and we'll get it done for you.
Transferring Your Domain
Email Accounts are only available to customers that register or transfer domain names to us (if you are unable to transfer your domain name because of the 60 day waiting period for global domain names, then contact us to organize alternative arrangements).Why do I need to transfer in my domain name? To keep our prices down and to easily solve any problems customers have, it is simply easier to manage both the domain name and hosting in one place. It is often quite a lot of hassle to get a global domain name transferred to us because some registrars are quite troublesome in letting domains go, but by having both domain name registration and email hosting in one place, any problems can easily be solved without having to work with other registrars' systems. One common problem that customers have hosting in one place and registering a domain name in another, is that their website and email stops working because they failed to renew their domain name. This does not happen with us, because we manage both hosting and domain name renewals.
What about redirecting my email to a free email accounts? Hotmail, GMail and Yahoo accounts although free, serve up advertising and you have limited control over what happens to your emails - your private emails may end up being databased without your knowledge. Free email services must make money somehow and usually this is via advertising both to you when you login to your account. Google says on its websites "In a completely automated process, computers process the text in a message and match it to ads or related information in Google's extensive database." or they serve up advertising to your email recipients. It may not be desirable to have online dating ads accompany your business email, so we recommend that you buy a business email hosting account to use for personal or business email and use it by sending email to and from your business email account, rather than redirecting your email to a free email account.
Completely transportable
An email address using a domain name that you have registered is completely transportable. You can change registrars or hosting companies and still keep your email address provided that you continue to pay domain registration and hosting fees. Unlike email accounts that are provided by your ISP, an email account associated with your domain name is controlled by you, so long as you renew your domain and hosting service, regardless of provider, you keep your email address.
Grandfathered Email Hosting plans
Business Email Hosting
Advanced Email Hosting
Premium Email Hosting
|This is the most popular plan for those who require email accounts but do not need web hosting.
For users that need more email accounts, larger mail boxes and do not require web hosting account.
This plan is great for businesses that require an unlimited number of email accounts and also require a larger mail box size per user.
$49 per year
(works out to be $4.08 per month paid annually)
You are also able to login and upgrade to any Business, Advanced or Premium hosting plan and the system will calculate the credit for any unused portion of your email hosting service. See Web Hosting for plans.
$99 per year
(works out to be 8.25 per month paid annually)
You are also able to login and upgrade to any Business, Advanced or Premium hosting and the system will calculate the credit for any unused portion of your email hosting service.See Web Hosting for plans.
$69 per year
(works out to be $5.75 per month paid annually)
You are also able to login and upgrade to any Business, Advanced or Premium hosting and the system will calculate the credit for any unused portion of your email hosting service. See Web Hosting for plans.


text:
Deutsche Telekom's colorfully named Developer Garden platform has opened a new M2M Developer Community for machine-to-machine (M2M) communication solutions developers.
The community offers developers access to APIs, discussion forums, programming guidelines, and SDKs to develop and sell applications for the M2M space, or — as it is increasingly being referred to — the Internet of Things.
NOTE: M2M as a definition for machine-to-machine (M2M) communications generally covers both wired or wireless technologies. Examples might include telemetry for remotely monitoring environmental conditions, remote control data collection from sensors, road traffic controls, and any number of "emerging" household applications.
A smoke detector alarm can be monitored online utilizing the appropriate M2M API, then by meshing-up with Deutsche Telekom's SMS API, it can be further enhanced with SMS alarm notification. The finished M2M application can then be directly marketed and sold via Deutsche Telekom's M2M Marketplace.
"According to information from the OECD, around 5 billion M2M devices exist worldwide and 10 times as many are expected by 2020," says Rainer Deutschmann, senior vice president core telco products at Deutsche Telekom. "Following the foundation of Deutsche Telekom's M2M Competence Center and the launches of the Global M2M Association, our Partner Program, and the M2M Marketplace, the M2M Developer Community is now a further stepping stone in executing our global M2M strategy."
Going forward, the M2M Developer Community will be further expanded by the creation of a dedicated development and test-programming environment. There will also be the possibility for mesh-ups (and subsequently, one imagines, mash-ups) with an ever-growing number of telecommunication and partner APIs and software components.


text:
WBUR News
Support the news
Man Allegedly Shot By Aaron Hernandez Shot Again
Hartford police say a man who alleges he was shot in the face by former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez was shot again in a dispute over money.
Police Lt. Brian Foley said that Alexander Bradley was part of a nightclub disturbance Sunday that spilled outside where he was shot. He says the 31-year-old got a gun from his car and tried to enter the nightclub.
He says detectives recovered 11 shell casings and that the gun was reported stolen from Springfield, Mass.
Alexander was charged with criminal possession of a firearm, criminal use of a firearm and other crimes. His attorney declined to comment.
Bradley alleges in a Florida lawsuit that he lost his right eye when Hernandez shot him as they argued outside a club in February.
This article was originally published on February 03, 2014.
Support the news


text:
PHILADELPHIA — Neurosurgeons can visualize important pathways in the brain using an imaging technique called diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), to better adapt brain tumor surgeries and preserve language, visual and motor function while removing cancerous tissue. In the latest issue of Neurosurgical Focus, researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania review research showing that this ability to visualize relevant white matter tracts during glioma resection surgeries can improve accuracy and, in some groups, significantly extend survival (median survival of 21.2 months) compared to cases where DTI was not used (median survival of 14 months).
"We can view the brain from the inside out now, with 3D images detailing connectivity within the brain, making a virtual intraoperative map," said senior author Steven Brem, MD, professor of Neurosurgery, chief of the Division of Neurosurgical Oncology and co-director of the Penn Brain Tumor Center. "Penn is at the forefront of a major shift in the field – we now have such detail about each individual's brain tumor – combining diffusion tensor imaging and advanced imaging with the entire personalized diagnostics analysis available for all brain tumor patients at Penn Medicine."
Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) provides a rendering of axon pathways, by tracking water molecules in the brain as they travel in a direction parallel to axonal fibers, in a 3D model known as "the diffusion tensor." The diffusion tensor directly represents the direction of water and indirectly represents the orientation of white matter fibers. The colorful images, captured as part of an 8 minute sequence during an MRI, show representations of clusters of axon fibers, where each color indicates a direction of travel, and offer a glimpse of the interwoven communication superhighways of the brain.
"The DTI images can be overlaid with structural and functional MRI images, providing a hybrid map showing topography layered with a road map," said Neurosurgery resident Kalil Abdullah, MD, lead author of the paper. "This rendering gives us increased clarity to visualize important white matter tracts in the brain and adapt our surgical approaches to each person's case. Rather than focusing on solely taking the tumor out, we can avoid damage to healthy tissue and preserve important pathways responsible for speech, vision and motor function. "
Relying heavily on the expertise of radiologists who process and analyze the DTI images, including Ronald L. Wolf, MD, PhD, associate professor of Radiology at Penn, the research on DTI is being translated into clinical practice to guide surgical procedures. Further research efforts are targeted at defining language deficits before surgery and following-up post-operatively to determine any changes or improvements following treatment based on the use of DTI.
Working collaboratively with colleagues in Penn's departments of Neurosurgery, Neurology, Radiology, Radiation Oncology, Nursing, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and the Abramson Cancer Center, the Penn Brain Tumor Center combines the latest imaging, biomarker and genetic tumor testing to provide a personalized treatment plan for all types of brain cancers. Brain tumors are among the first areas of interest for Penn's Center for Personalized Diagnostics (CPD), a joint initiative by Penn Medicine's Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and the Abramson Cancer Center, which integrates Molecular Genetics, Pathology Informatics, and Genomic Pathology for individualized patient diagnoses and to elucidate cancer treatment options for physicians.
Additional co-authors on the Neurosurgical Focus article include Paolo Nucifora, MD, PhD, from Penn's Department of Radiology and Daniel Lubelski, BA, with the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine. The study was funded by the Departments of Neurosurgery and Radiology at the University of Pennsylvania.
Penn Medicine is one of the world's leading academic medical centers, dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, and excellence in patient care. Penn Medicine consists of the Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania (founded in 1765 as the nation's first medical school) and the University of Pennsylvania Health System, which together form a $4.3 billion enterprise.
The Perelman School of Medicine has been ranked among the top five medical schools in the United States for the past 16 years, according to U.S. News & World Report's survey of research-oriented medical schools. The School is consistently among the nation's top recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health, with $398 million awarded in the 2012 fiscal year.
The University of Pennsylvania Health System's patient care facilities include: The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania — recognized as one of the nation's top "Honor Roll" hospitals by U.S. News & World Report; Penn Presbyterian Medical Center; and Pennsylvania Hospital — the nation's first hospital, founded in 1751. Penn Medicine also includes additional patient care facilities and services throughout the Philadelphia region.
Penn Medicine is committed to improving lives and health through a variety of community-based programs and activities. In fiscal year 2012, Penn Medicine provided $827 million to benefit our community.


text:
If you are training regularly, following how you feel after each session is an important indicator of your overall physical condition. A coach or personal trainer can also use your feeling trend to track your progress over time.
There are five degrees of feeling to choose from:
What these options mean exactly are up to you (and your coach) to decide. The important thing is that you use them consistently.
For each training session, you can record how you felt in the watch directly after stopping the recording by answering the 'How was it?' question.
You can skip answering the question by pressing the middle button and instead add how you felt later by editing the Move in Suunto Movescount.
Once you start regularly using the feeling metric, you can quickly check your 7-day and 30-day trend from you timeline overview in Movescount.
For longer-term trend analysis, go to your Moves page. Select the time period you want to see from the calendar and scroll down to the Rest & Recovery section to see the feeling trend graph.