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Dennis Brown: new and improved
UConn held its Media Day on Friday at the Runway. Getting there was an adventure for me, as I experienced the new airport regulations first hand on Thursday and Friday (more on that later). Here's a few thoughts from Friday's session...
Don't count Dennis Brown out of the quarterback race just yet. He may not unseat D.J. Hernandez for the starting job, but he's making the decision tougher for the UConn coaches.
Brown is noticably bigger, and posed his new, chisled physique for our photographer.
He's gained 35 pounds of rip since arriving at UConn last summer, and now weighs in at 205. He also told me he's increased his bench press from 185 to 315 and added 100 pounds to his squat while still managing to run the 40 in around 4.4 seconds.
"He's doing very well," Randy Edsall said. "He didn't play as well in our (intrasquad) scrimmage (Thursday) as he's done in practice. He's throwing with good accuracy. You can see he's thicker and stronger. The weight program has done him a world of good."
Brown has been pleased with his play so far this summer, and doesn't consider himself an underdog in the competition to start the Aug. 31 season opener against Rhode Island.
"It's going to come down to the wire," Brown said. "I'm making the coaches push their pens to the end. I think I still have a real good chance. The coaches like what I'm doing, and I feel I'm jelling with the offense a lot."
Though neither Edsall nor Brown would say it, Brown's emergence at the position may have also played a part in the departure of redshirt freshman Billy Cundiff, a promising quarterback who told Edsall he is transferring to a Division II program near his home in Ohio on Thursday because he is homesick.
Cundiff's departure is disappointing, but in the long run will have little impact on the program. Some UConn fans thought Cundiff would be the second coming of Dan Orlovsky, but the reality was that Cundiff was still the fourth-string quarterback after a full season in the program. It seems unlikely he had much of a future with sophomores D.J. Hernandez and Brown in front of him and Pennsylvania high school prospect Cody Endres set to enter the program next season.
The Rentschler Field turf looked magnificent Friday. Hopefully, it will stay that way. It should. There are no rock concerts booked at the Runway.
As for me, I'm still bushed from a brief vacation to Chicago. I spent 8 hours at O'Hare Airport on Thursday before my flight was finally cancelled and rebooked for Friday at 6 a.m. My wife and I decided to check all our baggage (all of which were carried on to get to Chicago) because of the new flight regulations implemented earlier in the day. The airline told us they couldn't retrieve our bags, so we had nothing but our wallets and a cell phone when we checked into a hotel at O'Hare Thursday night. However, they did hand us a couple of baggies full of toiletries for our trouble. We awoke at 4:15 a.m. Friday and, wearing the same clothes from the day before, headed back over to O'Hare and wait in more security lines. Fortunately, everything went smoothly and we got into LaGuardia on time. Then came the fun part: getting to Rentschler in time for Media Day. With my wife driving like Ted Kennedy five minutes before the package store closes, I got back to my house in Orange a little before noon, jumped in the shower, changed clothes and drove the 45 minutes to the Runway to arrive on time.


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SUZANNE PASSALACQUA is a Managing Director at 5Lights. She is responsible for portfolio performance and lends hands-on support to developing management teams, executing the vision, and promoting continuous improvement. Suzanne leads strategic and business model development, creates business infrastructure and deep dives into discrete projects to bridge resource gaps.
In both later-stage and start-up environments, Suzanne has executed sell-side and buy-side transactions, including buy-outs, corporate restructurings, execution of growth plans, sourcing deals, directing diligence teams, and leading transaction negotiations and execution. She has also led an array of corporate finance and strategic advisory initiatives, including debt and equity financings in public and private markets, the development and execution of business plans and strategic alliances, assessing valuations, and delivering fairness opinions. She is responsible for having advised clients in transactions totaling over $1.5 billion in value and has served several portfolio companies through hands-on involvement and Board representation.
Suzanne earned bachelor's degrees in economics and Italian from the University of California at Davis, and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of San Francisco School of Law. She is a member of the California State Bar and her accomplishments include having won a favorable decision from the California Supreme Court.

subset: commoncrawl


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Azumanga Daioh: Collected Edition
No reviews yet. Be the first to review this. | See similar products
The classic returns!
- More Below…
Product Description
- Artist
- Kiyohiko Azuma
- Author
- Kiyohiko Azuma
- Binding
- Paperback
- Cat No.
- 1989120
- 9780316077385
- Genre
- Anime & Manga
- 9780316077385
- Publisher
- Yen Press
- Type
- Graphic Novel
The classic returns!
The first four-panel manga to hit the States, Azumanga Daioh follows the hilarious adventures of six high school students. Meet the child prodigy Chiyo, the animal-loving Sakai, the spacey out-of-towner Osaka, the straight laced Yomi, her best friend Tomo, and the sports loving Kagura. With its strong cast of characters and punchy dialogue, Azumanga Daioh has become one of the most widely recognized books in the market.
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2016 Toyota Corolla S Plus 4dr Sedan Specifications & Features -Standard Electronic Stability System .
2016 Toyota Corolla S Plus 4dr Sedan Specifications
2016 Toyota Corolla S Plus 4dr Sedan Specifications
Length and tallness of the 2016 Toyota Corolla S Plus 4dr Sedan, which has width and wheelbase as 69.9″ and 106.3″, are mentioned as 183.1″ and 57.3″. Curb weight of this motorcar which has ground clearance as 5.6″ is given as 2,845 lbs.
2016 Toyota Corolla S Plus 4dr Sedan has 132 horsepower and 6000 horsepower rpm along with 1.8 liters type of base engine having size of I-4.
6-spd man w/OD transmission and 4.21 axle ratio are present in this 2016 Toyota Corolla S Plus 4dr Sedan having 1.8L I-4 engine. This motorcar has DOHC valve train, 4 wheel disc brakes, strut rear suspension and strut front suspension.
2016 Toyota Corolla S Plus 4dr Sedan is having fuel tank capacity as 13.2 gal. and EPA mileage approximation as 28 in city and 37 in Highway.
Turning radius of this motorcar having front wheel drive is 17.8", but its torque and torque rpm are 128 lb-ft. and 4400 respectively.
2016 Toyota Corolla S Plus 4dr Sedan Features
2016 Toyota Corolla S Plus 4dr Sedan has the exteriors of auto off exterior light control, front fog/driving lights, dual power remote mirrors, trunk rear cargo door, light tinted windows, integrated roof antenna, standard heated door mirrors and fixed rear window type.
2016 Toyota Corolla S Plus 4dr Sedan has front head room while 38″ but the corresponding head room in the rear side is minded while 37″. Front shoulder room and rear shoulder room are as 55″ and 55″. When front leg room is 42.3″, the corresponding rear leg room is 41.4″.
Seating capacity of this car which has luggage capacity as 13.0 cu.ft. and maximal cargo as 13.0 cu.ft. is granted as 5.
Steering wheel material made of leather are present in this motorcar which has 2 seat back storage pockets.
Fully Galvanized Steel body material is granted on this car which has got black w/chrome surround surround grille trim. It has clearcoat monotone paint and body-colored side moldings. 17″ silver aluminum type wheels are granted on this car that has P215/45HR17.0 BSW AS tires.
Warranty of 36/36,000 (months/miles) on basic mode, 60/unlimited (months/miles) on corrosion perforation, 60/60,000 (months/miles) on power train and 24/25,000 on roadside assistance is provided on this motorcar.
Standard Electronic Stability System, standard front anti-roll bar, coil front springs, standard brake assist, front-wheel drive type, gas-pressurized rear shocks, stainless steel exhaust, regular suspension tuning, gas-pressurized front shocks, rack and pinion steering, ABS and driveline traction control, standard rear anti-roll bar, 4-wheel anti-lock braking system and coil rear springs are present in 2016 Toyota Corolla S Plus 4dr Sedan.
Standard Bluetooth Compatibility, 6 speakers, SiriusXM AM/FM/HD/Satellite, seek-scan radio, in-dash mounted single cd player, standard mp3 capability and yes with voice activation navigation system are the entertainment features in 2016 Toyota Corolla S Plus 4dr Sedan.
It has power rear windows, power front windows, driver 1-touch window down, driver 1-touch window up.
Clock In-Dash, urethane gear shift knob trim, front and rear cupholders, rubber front and rear floor mats, day-night rear view mirror, full floor console, analog instrumentation, standard tilt-wheel adjustable steering column and automatic air conditioning can also be seen in this 2016 Toyota Corolla S Plus 4dr Sedan.
4-way front passenger direction controls as well as 6-way front driver seat direction controls are provided on this 2016 Toyota Corolla S Plus 4dr Sedan which has also 5 passengers standard seating position, bucket type front seat and cloth/leatherette form seat trim.


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Amrita TV showcases Dazzle Nite for Christmas
BENGALURU: As the red-robed Santa Claus sledges down from the North Pole with a jingle of bells to fill stockings to the brim with gaily wrapped gifts and the Xmas trees festooned with garlands, ribbons and glass sparkles brighter than the stars, Amrita TV tinsels the day with a bounty of programmes that celebrate the spirit of sharing and giving.
Back home after attending the special Xmas mass, viewers can tune in to 3 G Movie at 2 PM
3 G Third Generation' is set against the backdrop of youth and modern technology. The movie moves forward through the three police officers - Manu, Suresh, and John - who try to bring about justice and peace with the aid of modern technologies like 3G.
John, Mehul, and Arun are cast in the key roles. Vidya Unni is the heroine. Saikumar, Devan, Ramu, Irshad, Kalinga Sasi, Sukumari, Archana, Krishnaprabha include the supporting cast.
Mohan Sithara composes music for the lines by Rafeeq Ahmed, Murukan Kattakkada, and Engandiyoor Chandrasekharan. K P Anilkumar produces the movie under the banner of Tarakarupini Creations.
Amrita TV is hosting a wonderful music and dance Christmas event Dazzle Nite which will be telecast on Dec 25 from 7 pm onwards.
Dazzle Nite features spectacular playback singers like Sayonara,Franco, Job, Mridula- each one having a distinct performance style.
The highlight of Dazzle Nite will be dazzling dance performances by noted actors like Shamna Kasim and Mahalekshmi.
To energize the Xmas spirit will be a rocking 8-member band,who will perform using Keyboard, Drums,Bass,Guitars,Flute and other percussion instruments.
Dazzle Nite representing a scintillating display of talents and performances will be staged for an invited audience on Dec 21 at the magnificent Durbar Hall Ground,Kochi.


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Tontine Financial Partners Urges Directors of United Community Financial Corp. to Restructure Financing
Feb 14, 2013, 09:15 EST
GREENWICH, Conn., Feb. 14, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Tontine Financial Partners, L.P. ("Tontine") submitted a letter on February 6, 2013, to the Board of Directors of United Community Financial Corp., the parent company of The Home Savings and Loan Company of Youngstown, Ohio, ("United Community Financial"), to express Tontine's concern that the $47 million capital raising transaction announced by United Community Financial in January is unfair to its existing stockholders. Tontine, a current United Community Financial stockholder, urged the Board of Directors to restructure the transaction to reduce the total amount of capital raised, including the amount raised in a private transaction with outside investors, and to increase the portion of capital raised through the proposed rights offering to existing stockholders.
Tontine requested a response from the United Community Financial Board by February 11, 2013. On February 12, 2013, United Community Financial informed Tontine that the Board will respond after its next meeting scheduled for February 26, 2013. Given the timing of this response, Tontine is concerned that the Board may not be giving adequate consideration to the issues presented in Tontine's letter or the interests of United Community Financial's existing stockholders.
The full text of Tontine's February 6, 2013 letter follows.
February 6, 2013
Via Facsimile and Overnight Delivery
Board of Directors
United Community Financial Corp.
275 West Federal Street
Youngstown, Ohio 44503-1203
Dear Members of the Board of Directors:
As you may know, Tontine Financial Partners, L.P. beneficially owns approximately 3% of the common stock of United Community Financial Corp. (UCFC). We are writing this letter to express our concerns with the $47 million capital raising transaction announced by UCFC on January 15, 2013. Primarily for the reasons discussed in this letter, we believe the transaction is unfair to existing UCFC stockholders. We request that you restructure the transaction to significantly decrease the overall amount of capital being raised, as well as the size of the private placement to outside investors, and to increase the amount offered to stockholders in the rights offering.
We have a number of concerns with the capital raising transaction as currently structured:
- Total Capital Raised is Troubling. UCFC is raising an excessive amount of capital beyond what is necessary to meet the company's regulatory capital requirements and reasonable and prudent future business planning needs. Based on our review of the company's financial condition, we understand that UCFC would have needed less than $15 million in capital to increase its Tier 1 Leverage Capital Ratio comfortably above the 9.0% level by March 31, 2013 as previously required under the March 2012 consent order with its regulators, while little or no capital will be needed to reach the 8.5% Tier 1 Ratio now required by the recently announced understanding with its regulators. As such, we believe UCFC should only be raising an amount of capital to provide a reasonable cushion over the newly established target, plus the amount reasonably required to meet future capital needs as part of the prudent execution of the company's business plan.As evidenced by the company's significant reported losses, questionable lending decisions and regulatory issues during the past five years, we are not convinced that UCFC's management is prepared to manage this excess capital effectively. We fear that this capital will simply be put at unacceptable risk. In addition, as discussed further below, raising capital in excess of what is actually required in the private placement to outside investors, without approval from UCFC's existing stockholders, is unfair to existing stockholders because it unnecessarily dilutes the existing stockholders' ownership interests in UCFC.
- Total Capital Raised in Private Placement is Unfair to Existing Stockholders. Approximately $40 million of the total $47 million of capital that UCFC expects to raise in the transaction – or over 85% – is being raised through a private placement to select outside investors. These outside investors are expected to hold approximately 29% of UCFC's outstanding stock following the transaction. Only $5 million of the total capital in the transaction – or just 10% – will be offered to existing stockholders in the rights offering. This will result in significant dilution to UCFC's existing stockholders, who will end up owning, at most, 69% of the post-transaction shares, significantly altering the control of the company. We are also curious to know how it was determined which outside investors would be selectively contacted and offered the opportunity to participate in the private placement, as well as why other existing and potential investors were not contacted.We have been informed that the board decided to raise capital through a private placement because it afforded UCFC more certainty that capital would be raised prior to the previous March 31, 2013 regulatory "deadline". However, we can see no justifiable basis for raising such a significant portion of the capital in this transaction through a private placement to the detriment of the existing stockholders. As a longtime investor in community and regional bank stocks, we also believe it is unlikely that there would have been any regulatory consequences for missing the "deadline" if a plan was in place to timely raise capital.There are alternative transaction structures that provide the company and its regulators with the certainty they desire without harming existing stockholders. For example, the company could pursue a larger rights offering with existing stockholders, with the outside investors in a smaller private placement also acting as standby purchasers of any shares not acquired in the rights offering.
- Structure of Private Placement is Coercive. UCFC has structured the private placement with a mix of common stock and mandatorily convertible preferred stock, to avoid having to obtain stockholder approval of the transaction. NASDAQ rules require a NASDAQ-listed company to obtain stockholder approval of the issuance of common stock representing more than 20% of the outstanding stock of the company. Using mandatorily convertible preferred stock for a portion of the transaction allows UCFC's sales of common stock to stay below this 20% threshold. Not only has the company structured the transaction in a manner that avoids a stockholder vote, but in doing so, it has employed a coercive form of security. In a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" conundrum, stockholders will be asked to approve the conversion of the preferred stock, resulting in further dilution of the existing stockholder base. However, if the conversion is not approved and completed prior to June 30, 2013, cash dividends on the preferred stock will take effect at an annual rate of 12%, burdening the company with an annual cash flow requirement of nearly $5 million. It is surprising that the board would put its existing stockholders in this uncomfortable position, since many of them have held the stock and watched its value decline under current management's watch.
- Cost to Raise Capital is Excessive. In addition to significantly diluting existing stockholders, raising such a large portion of the capital through a private placement will result in a significant and unnecessary expense to the company. In the private placement, UCFC is expected to pay its New York-based investment bank approximately $2 million in placement fees, an expense that would not be incurred in a rights offering. Further, as noted above, to avoid stockholder approval of the issuance of common stock in the private placement, the company has structured the private placement through the use of the mandatorily convertible preferred stock. The use of the preferred stock, however, means that UCFC must seek stockholder approval of the conversion, which will result in additional cost to the company in connection with the solicitation of this vote, including costs associated with the preparation and distribution of proxy materials.
- Participation of Insiders. The ability of corporate insiders, affiliates and unnamed "consultants" to participate in the offering for over $2 million is also unfair to existing stockholders. As a result, corporate insiders are being given the opportunity to purchase amounts totaling over 40% of the amount being offered to existing stockholders in the rights offering. This will further dilute existing stockholders in order to benefit UCFC's officers, directors, affiliates and consultants, many of whom managed the company's decline over the past few years. In general, we are in favor of key leadership holding a meaningful stake in a company, particularly if they acquire their shares using their own funds. We would feel more comfortable with the executive and board portion of this $2 million if it were balanced against a larger rights offering to existing stockholders and if it were clear who was participating. Frankly, as it relates to the unnamed consultants, we are at a loss as to why they would be offered the opportunity to participate along with insiders. In addition, we would be concerned if we were to learn that UCFC had made loans to the management, board, consultants and affiliates to fund their share purchases.
We urge you to restructure this transaction to more fairly balance the capital raised through the rights offering and the capital raised through the private placement. This would allow existing stockholders the opportunity for greater participation in the capital raising transaction and would result in substantial cost savings to the company. Further, the board should reconsider the total amount of capital raised in this transaction to better align with identified needs. In the alternative, we request that you provide the stockholders with a detailed explanation of the proposed use of the funds being raised.
We would be happy to further discuss our concerns directly with you. In any event, we are requesting that you respond to this letter no later than February 11, 2013. I can be reached at the address above or by phone at (203) 769-2000. In the meantime, we continue to evaluate our options, including public disclosure of our concerns.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Jeffrey L. Gendell
Managing Member of Tontine Management, L.L.C.,
General Partner of Tontine Financial Partners, L.P.
About Tontine
Tontine Financial Partners, L.P is an investment partnership specializing in the financial services sector.
SOURCE Tontine Financial Partners, L.P.


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|NITAAI-Veda.nyf > Compiled and Imp Scriptures > Nityananda Charitamrita > Nityananda Characteristics > Associates of Lord Nityananda
Descriptions Of The Associates Of Lord Nityananda
O brothers, please worship Lord Nityananda. By His mercy, one can achieve the lotus feet of Lord Gaurachandra. The associates of Nityananda Svarupa constantly swam in the ocean of transcendental bliss. They had no other activity except nama-sankirtana. Always absorbed in the mood of cowherd boys, they were decorated with bangles, ankle-bells, and garlands of gunja beads. They carried sticks, flutes, horns, and ropes in their hands.
Symptoms of krishna-prema such as tears, shivering and standing of the hair on ends were constantly visible on their bodies. Their beauty defeated the beauty of the Cupid. They always did nama-sankirtana. Having received their fearless Lord Nityananda, all the devotees remained happy forever. I am unable to describe the glories of the servants of Nityananda Svarupa even in a hundred years. Still I will try to mention their names. I know that remembering their names will deliver me from this material world. All the associates of Lord Nityananda with whom He enjoyed His pastimes were incarnations of gopas and gopis of Vraja. Being forbidden by Nityananda Svarupa, I am not mentioning their previous names and activities in detail.
The foremost among Lord Nityananda's associates was Ramadasa who always spoke in the mood of the Supreme Lord. Nobody could understand his words easily. Lord Nityananda always resided in his heart. Ramadasa* was fully absorbed in love of God. Lord Krishna lived in his body for three months.
Chaitanya dasa* was a famous associate of Nityananda. Murari Pandita* was an associate of Nityananda who sported with a serpent and tiger.
The most magnanimous Raghunatha Vaidya was an associate of Nityananda by whose plan one's mind becomes attached to Krishna.
Gadadhara dasa* was full of devotional mellows. His very sight destroyed all one's sins.
Shri Sundarananda* was an ocean of devotional mellows and one of the principle associates of Nityananda.
The most enthusiastic associate of Nityananda was Pandita Kamalakanta*. Nityananda gave him the village Saptagrama to rule.
Gauridasa Pandita* was the most fortunate devotee of the Lord. He assisted in the pastimes of Nityananda with his body, mind, and speech.
The pious Krishnadasa of Badagachi* was one of the associates of Nityananda who enjoyed various pastimes at his house.
Purandara Pandita* was the most peaceful, humble, and intimate associate of Nityananda Svarupa.
Another associate of Nityananda was Paramesvara dasa* whose life and soul was Nityananda. Through his body, Lord Nityananda enjoyed His pastimes.
Dhananjaya Pandita* in whose heart the Lord constantly resided, was a great devotee of Lord Nityananda .
Balarama dasa, who was intoxicated with bhakti-rasa, was a follower of Nityananda Prabhu. If the breeze that touches Balarama dasa touches one, it will eradicate all sins. Balarama dasa lived in the village Dogachiya. His contribution to Vaishnava song is unlimited.
Yadunatha Kavicandra* was full of love of God. Lord Nityananda was always merciful to him.
The most effulgent Jagadisa Pandita* was a devotee of Nityananda. Lord Nityananda was his, and his family's, very life and wealth.
Pandita Purusottama was born in Navadvipa. He was a great devotee of Nityananda Svarupa. Lord Nityananda had lived at his house previously. By his mercy, one's mind becomes fixed at the lotus feet of Nityananda. Dvija Krishnadasa who was born at Radha-desa was counted among the associates of Nityananda.
Kaliya Krishnadasa* was a famous devotee in the three worlds by whose remembrance one attains the lotus feet of Gaurachandra.
The most fortunate Sadasiva Kaviraja* was an associate of Nityananda. The name of his son was Purusottama dasa*. Due to love of God, Purusottama dasa was fully absorbed in ecstasy. Lord Nityananda constantly remains within his heart.
Uddharana Datta was a magnanimous Vaishnava. He had full authority in the service of Lord Nityananda.
Mahesa Pandita* was a great devotee of Nityananda and Paramananda Upadhyaya was an unalloyed Vaishnava.
Caturbhuja Pandita* and Nandana Gangadasa were both devotees of Lord Nityananda. The Lord had previously enjoyed His pastimes in their houses.
Acarya Vaishnavananda* was a magnanimous devotee. He was previously known as Raghunatha Puri.
Krishna dasa and Devananda were both staunch followers of Lord Nityananda. Mahanta Acarya Candra's only goal was the lotus feet of Nityananda.
The singer Madhavananda Ghosha* and Vasudeva Ghosha were full of love of God.
Jiva Pandita* was the most fortunate devotee. Lord Nityananda enjoyed various pastimes at his house. Shri Manohara, Shri Narayana, Shri Krishnadasa, and Shri Devananda were also associates of Lord Nityananda.
I am unable to disclose the names of the innumerable servants of Lord Nityananda even in one hundred years. Each of Lord Nityananda's servants had innumerable followers and, by the mercy of Lord Nityananda, they were equal to their spiritual master. All of them were fully intoxicated by the transcendental mellows of Shri Gauranga. Shri Gauranga and Nityananda were their life and only treasure. I have only described the few associates I knew. More will be disclosed later by Vedavyasa.
The last servant of Lord Nityananda was Vrindavana dasa Thakura who was the son of Narayani, the final recipient of Lord Gauranga's mercy. Even today, Narayani is accepted as the final recipient of Gauranga's mercy among the Vaishnavas. Take shelter of those devotees of the Lord, O brothers, and worship the most merciful Nityananda and Shri Gauranga.
Accepting the lotus feet of Shri Gauranga and Nityananda Prabhu as my life and soul, I, Vrindavana dasa, sing the glories of Their lotus feet.
A song by Shrila Vrindavana dasa Thakura
mana nityananda bali daka
emana dayala prabhu ara na paibe kabhu
hridaya kamale kari rakha
kiba se madura lila natana kirtana kala
atiba ganbhira avatara
apanara gupudhane ani martte kari dane
trana kaila e tina samsara
parasa manira gune tuccha lage mora mane
lei parasile hema kare
nitai chaitanya gune gana kare katajane
ratana haila ghare ghare
amode baliya hari nama sankirtana kari
premabese pade lotaiya
kahe vrindavana dasa emata karila asa
banchita rahinu abhagiya
O my mind, please chant the Name of Nityananda.
You'll never get such a merciful Lord again.
Keep Him within the lotus of your heart.
His sweet pastimes of chanting and dancing are wonderful.
He's the most merciful avatara.
He distributed His hidden treasure to everyone.
He thus delivered the three worlds.
The touchstone's quality of turning iron into gold seems insignificant to me.
But many persons glorify the qualities of Nitai-Gauranga.
They made jewels in every house.
I happily do hari-nama-sankirtana
I roll on the ground in ecstatic prema.
Vrindavana dasa says I desire Their lotus feet since I'm the most unfortunate.


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Thanks to everyone who completed our wreck diving survey, which received a good response. As the majority stated that it would be helpful to receive a reminder each year to submit their licence applications and wreck diving reports, it will be included as part of the Scientific Officers brief to forward this reminder to all clubs. cftarchaeology@gmail.
com can be used at any stage to send any images or reports of sites dived and such reports will be forwarded onto the Underwater Archaeology Unit (UAU) to update their files. Members can also contact the UAU or CFT office directly with wreck status reports.
CFT Archaeology are conducting a survey to assess diver knowledge and experience around maritime heritage and your input would be appreciated. Follow the link below to start the survey. Thank you for your participation.


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Discover the best of Nevada and Las Vegas when staying at Courtyard Las Vegas Summerlin. Our modern hotel rooms and suites feature complimentary high-speed Wi-Fi, ergonomic workspaces and plush bedding to make you feel right at home. Wake up rested and enjoy a delightful breakfast with your favorite specialty Starbucks® beverage at The Bistro - Eat. Drink. Connect.® At night, we offer dinner and a wide selection of cocktails and craft beers in a relaxing atmosphere. When downtime arises, break a sweat in our gym, equipped with cardio machines featuring built-in TVs, stretching balls and free weights, then lay down under the sun by our outdoor pool. In Las Vegas, the possibilities for entertainment are endless. Enjoy the renowned Las Vegas Strip, home to casinos, restaurants and bars, or indulge your adventurous side while hiking through breathtaking scenery at Red Rock Canyon. Bet on comfort, convenience and relaxation when you book a stay at Courtyard Las Vegas Summerlin today.Show More
Discover over 50 golf courses around Las Vegas when you stay at Courtyard Las Vegas Summerlin. We are located just 6 miles from TPC Las Vegas.Learn more
Check our Summerlin hotel's special deals and packages to make your stay in Nevada even more memorable.Learn more
The Bistro offers healthy choices, a variety of breakfast and dinner options, an evening bar, and specialty beverages made with Starbucks® coffee.Learn more
Experience Las Vegas from our hotel in Summerlin


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Hetalia: Axis Powers (Japanese: ヘタリア Axis Powers Hepburn: Hetaria Akushisu Pawāzu?) is a Japanese webcomic, later adapted as a manga and an anime series, by Hidekaz Himaruya. The series' main presentation is as an often over-the-top allegory of political and historic events as well as more general cultural comparisons. Characters are personifications of countries, regions such as Hong Kong, and micronations such as the Principality of Sealand,[citation needed] with little reference to other national personifications. Both positive and negative cultural stereotypes form part of each character's personality.
1, Wrong size, defective, missing items, or items significantly different from our store description.
Customer should contact us within 7 days of delivery of items and email us photos to support claims for replacement or refund. For costumes that are made to the wrong size, ECcosplay.com will make a new costume for free – if it is determined that we made the error.
However, ECcosplay.com is NOT responsible for sizing errors in custom-made costume if the customer has provided incorrect measurements. In this situation, the customer has the option to keep the original costume and receive a new item at 20% off the list price, or ship the costume back to us for revision ( at customer expense ); you will then be charged for revision cost only.
If you are not 100% satisfied with the items for any other reason, you may request a refund. Please note that only the list price for returned items will be refunded. Shipping costs are non-refundable.
The customer is responsible for returning items in their original condition within 2 weeks of delivery. Returns must be made through registered mail at the customer's expense. Please provide an online delivery tracking number.
The following items Are Excluded from Return or Exchange Policy:
Costumes that have been used or washed
Costumes that smell of cigarette smoke or perfume
Costumes with stains
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Please check your order for custom-made costumes carefully before submitting. In the event that a mistake has been made on order that has already been processed, please email us within 48 hours after submitting, the order Cancellations or changes to the order will not be accepted after this time.
For other ready-to-ship items, we usually ship the same day of your purchase. We will make every effort to locate the package and make any necessary changes before it ships. If the order has already shipped, ECcosplay.com will not be responsible for any additional cost to correct the order.
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ECcosplay.com ships all orders to the address provided by the customer. Customers are responsible for submitting all required address information. In the event that shipping information was incorrect or incomplete during the checkout process, ECcosplay.com will not be responsible for any additional charges to reship or retrieve a package.
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With Winemaker Geoff Whitman and Executive Sous Chef Lee Michael
Reception at 6:00pm; 4-course dinner begins at 7pm
John Anthony Truchard was raised in the vineyards as his parents Tony and JoAnn were developing Truchard Vineyards in the 1970's. He learned from some of the most notable names in the industry: Andre Tchelistcheff, Mike Grgich, Joe Heitz, Larry Hyde, Dan Duckhorn, John Williams, Larry Turley, Herb Lamb, and of course his father, all influencing the vintner he would become. Along with John Anthony Vineyards, he has 2 other labels: JaM Cellars and FARM Napa Valley. All of John's brands express his philosophy that great wines start in the field.
Winemaker Geoff Whitman is a Dover, NH native. His passion for wine was born in Boston while paying his way through college working in some of the city's most exciting restaurants. His desire to learn wine making and gain firsthand experience working in vineyards brought him to California. From working harvests to sales, distribution and cellar work Geoff has done it all in the wine industry. Come give him a warm welcome home.
- Click here to learn more about the Grand Vintner's Dinners
- Tickets are $104.95 per person plus service charge and tax


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Chapter One
September 1997
Marseille was a fine place to die and had been for centuries. The legendary seaport retained a reputation as a lair for pirates, smugglers, and cutthroats, a status enjoyed since the Romans wrestled it from the Greeks in the days before Christ.
By the end of the twentieth century, the French government's efforts at whitewash finally made it safe to enjoy bouillabaisse without the fear of getting mugged. Still, crime held no shock value for the locals. Mayhem was ingrained in their history and genetics. The leathered fishermen didn't blink when their nets yielded a catch that would prove unsuitable for inclusion in the local fish stew.
Roger-Bernard Gélis was not a native of Marseille. He was born and raised in the foothills of the Pyrenees, in a community that existed proudly as a living anachronism. The twentieth century had not infringed on his culture, an ancient one that revered the powers of love and peace over all earthly matters. Still, he was a man of middle age who was not entirely unworldly; he was, after all, the leader of his people. And while his community dwelled together in a deeply spiritual peace, they had their share of enemies.
Roger-Bernard was fond of saying that the greatest light attracts the deepest darkness.
He was a giant of a man, an imposing figure to strangers. Those who did not know the gentleness that permeated Roger-Bernard's spirit might have mistaken him for someone to be feared. Later, it would be assumed that his attackers were not unknown to him.
He should have seen it coming, should have anticipated that he would not be left to carry such a priceless object in absolute freedom. Hadn't almost a million of his ancestors died for the sake of this same treasure? But the shot came from behind, splintering his skull before he even knew the enemy was near.
Forensic evidence from the bullet would prove useless to the police, as the killers did not end their attack on a note of simplicity. There must have been several of them as the sheer size and weight of the victim required a certain amount of manpower to accomplish what came next.
It was a mercy that Roger-Bernard was dead before the ritual began. He was spared the gloating of his killers as they set about their gruesome task. The leader was particularly filled with zeal for what came next, chanting his ancient mantra of hate as he worked.
"Neca eos omnes. Neca eos omnes."
To sever a human head from its resting place on the body is a messy and difficult business. It requires strength, determination, and a very sharp instrument. Those who murdered Roger-Bernard Gélis had all of these things, and used them with the utmost efficiency.
The body had been at sea for a long time, battered by the tide and chewed by hungry inhabitants of the deep. The investigators were so disheartened by the ragged condition of the corpse that they assigned little significance to the missing digit on one hand. An autopsy, buried later by bureaucracy -- and perhaps something more -- simply noted that the right index finger had been severed.
September 1997
The ancient and bustling Old City of Jerusalem was filled with the frenetic activity of a Friday afternoon. History hung heavy in the rarified and holy air as the faithful hurried to houses of worship in preparation for their respective sabbaths. Christians wandered the Via Dolorosa, the Way of Sorrow, a series of winding and cobbled streets that marked the path of the crucifixion. It was here that a battered and bleeding Jesus Christ shouldered a heavy burden, making his way to a divine fate atop the hill of Golgotha.
On this autumn afternoon American author Maureen Paschal appeared no different from the other pilgrims who made their way from distant and varied corners of the earth. The heady September breeze blended the aroma of sizzling shwarma with the scent of exotic oils that wafted from the ancient markets. Maureen drifted through the sensory overload that is Israel, clutching a guidebook purchased from a Christian organization on the Internet. The guide detailed the Way of the Cross, complete with maps and directions to the fourteen stations of Christ's path.
"Lady, you want rosary? Wood from Mount of Olives."
"Lady, you want tour guide? You never get lost. I show you everything."
Like most Western women, she was forced to fend off the unwanted advances of Jerusalem street merchants. Some were relentless in their efforts to hawk their wares or services. Others were merely attracted to the petite woman with long red hair and fair coloring, an exotic combination in this part of the world. Maureen rebuffed her pursuers with a polite but firm "No, thank you." Then she broke eye contact and walked away. Her cousin Peter, an expert in Middle Eastern studies, had prepped her for the culture of the Old City. Maureen was painstaking about even the tiniest details in her work and had studied the evolving culture of Jerusalem carefully. So far it was paying off, and Maureen was able to keep the distractions to a minimum as she focused on her research, scribbling details and observations in her Moleskine notebook.
She had been moved to tears by the intensity and beauty of the 800-year-old Franciscan Chapel of the Flagellation, where Jesus had suffered his scourging. It was a deeply unexpected emotional reaction as Maureen did not come to Jerusalem as a pilgrim. Instead, she came as an investigative observer, as a writer in search of an accurate historical backdrop for her work. While Maureen sought a deeper understanding of the events of Good Friday, she approached this research from her head rather than her heart.
She visited the Convent of the Sisters of Sion, before moving to the neighboring Chapel of Condemnation, the legendary location where Jesus was given his cross after the sentence of crucifixion had been passed by Pontius Pilate. Again, the unexpected lump in her throat was accompanied by an overwhelming sense of grief as she walked through the building. Life-size bas-relief sculptures illustrated the events of a terrible morning 2,000 years earlier. Maureen stood, riveted, by a vivid scene of haunting humanity: a male disciple as he tried to shield Mary, the mother of Jesus, to spare her the sight of her son carrying His cross. Tears stung at the back of her eyes as she stood before the image. It was the first time in her life she had thought of these larger-than-life historical figures as real people, flesh-and-blood humans suffering through an event of nearly unimaginable anguish.
Feeling momentarily dizzy, Maureen steadied herself with a hand against the cool stones of an ancient wall. She paused to refocus before taking more notes on the artwork and sculpture.
She continued on her path, but the labyrinthine streets of the Old City proved deceiving, even with a carefully drawn map. The landmarks were often ancient, weathered, and easily missed by those unfamiliar with their whereabouts. Maureen cursed silently as she realized she was lost again. She stopped in the shelter of a shop doorway, shielding herself from the direct sunlight. The intensity of the heat, even with the slight breeze, belied the lateness of the season. Shielding the guidebook from the glare, she looked around, attempting to get her bearings.
"The Eighth Station of the Cross. It has to be around here somewhere," she muttered to herself. This location was of specific interest to Maureen, for her work centered on this history as it pertained to women. Referring back to the guidebook, she continued to read a passage from the Gospels that pertained to Station Eight.
"A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for him. Jesus said, 'Weep not for me, daughters of Jerusalem, weep for yourselves and for your children.' "
Maureen was startled by a sharp knock on the window behind her. She looked up, expecting to see an angry proprietor glaring at her for blocking his doorway. But the face that looked back at her was beaming. An immaculately dressed, middle-aged Palestinian man opened the door to the antiquities shop, beckoning Maureen in. When he spoke it was in beautiful, if accented, English.
"Come in, please. Welcome, I am Mahmoud. You are lost?"
Maureen waved the guidebook lamely. "I'm looking for the Eighth Station. The map shows . . ."
Mahmoud waved the book away with a laugh. "Yes, yes. Station Eight. Jesus Meets the Holy Women of Jerusalem. It is just out here and around the corner," he gestured. "A cross above the stone wall marks it, but you have to look very carefully."
Mahmoud looked at Maureen intently for a moment before continuing. "It is like everything else in Jerusalem. You have to look very carefully to see it for what it is."
Maureen watched his gestures, satisfied that she understood the directions. Smiling, she thanked him and turned to leave, but stopped as something on a nearby shelf caught her eye. Mahmoud's shop was one of the more upscale establishments in Jerusalem, selling authenticated antiquities -- oil lamps from the time of Christ, coins with the emblem of Pontius Pilate. An exquisite shimmer of color coming through the window attracted Maureen.
"That's jewelry made from shards of Roman glass," Mahmoud explained as Maureen approached an artful display rack of silver and gold jewelry embedded with jeweled mosaics.
"It's gorgeous," Maureen replied, picking up a silver pendant. Prisms of color darted through the shop as she held the jewelry up to the light, illuminating her writer's imagination. "I wonder what story this glass could tell?"
"Who knows what it once was?" Mahmoud shrugged. "A perfume bottle? A spice jar? A vase for roses or lilies?"
"It's amazing to think that two thousand years ago this was an everyday object in someone's home. Fascinating."
Giving the shop and its contents closer inspection, Maureen was struck by the quality of the items and the beauty of the displays. She reached out to run a finger lightly over a ceramic oil lamp. "Is this really two thousand years old?"
"Of course. Some of my items are older still."
Maureen shook her head. "Don't antiquities like this belong in a museum?"
Mahmoud laughed, a rich and hearty sound. "My dear, all of Jerusalem is a museum. You cannot dig in your garden without unearthing something of great antiquity. Most of the truly valuable go into important collections. But not everything."
Maureen moved to a glass case, filled with ancient jewelry of hammered, oxidized copper. She stopped, her attention grabbed by a ring that supported a disc the size of a small coin. Following her gaze, Mahmoud removed the ring from the case, holding it out to her. A sunbeam from the front window caught the ring, illuminating its round base and showing off a pattern of nine hammered dots surrounding a central circle.
"Very interesting choice," Mahmoud said. His jovial manner had changed. He was now intense and serious, watching Maureen closely as she questioned him about the ring.
"How old is this?"
"It's hard to say. My experts said it was Byzantine, probably sixth or seventh century, but possibly older."
Maureen looked closely at the pattern made by the circles.
"This pattern seems . . . familiar. I feel like I've seen it before. Do you know if it symbolizes anything?"
Mahmoud's intensity relaxed. "I cannot say for certain what an artisan meant to create fifteen hundred years ago. But I have been told that it was the ring of a cosmologist."
"A cosmologist?"
"Someone who understands the relation between the earth and the cosmos. As above, so below. And I must say that the first time I saw it, it reminded me of the planets, dancing around the sun."
Maureen counted the dots aloud. "Seven, eight, nine. But they wouldn't have known there were nine planets back then, or that the sun was the center of the solar system. It couldn't be that, could it?"
"We cannot assume to know what the ancients understood." Mahmoud shrugged. "Try it on."
Maureen, suddenly sensing a sales pitch, handed the ring back to Mahmoud. "Oh, no, thank you. It's really beautiful, but I was just curious. And I promised myself I wouldn't spend money today."
"That's fine," said Mahmoud, pointedly refusing to take the ring from her. "Because it's not for sale anyway."
"It's not?"
"No. Many people have offered to buy that ring. I refuse to sell it. So you may feel free to try it on. Just for fun."
Maybe it was because the playfulness had returned to his tone and she felt less pressured, or maybe it was the attraction of the unexplained, ancient pattern. But something caused Maureen to slip the copper disc onto her right ring finger. It fit perfectly.
Mahmoud nodded, serious again, almost whispering to himself, "As if it had been made for you."
Maureen held the ring up to the light, looking at it on her hand. "I can't take my eyes off of it."
"That's because you're supposed to have it."
Maureen looked up suspiciously, sensing the approaching sales pitch. Mahmoud was more elegant than the street vendors, but he was a merchant all the same. "I thought you said it wasn't for sale."
She began to take the ring off, to which the shopkeeper objected vehemently, holding up his hands in protest.
"No. Please."
"Okay, okay. This is where we haggle, right? How much is it?"
Mahmoud looked seriously offended for a moment before replying. "You misunderstand. That ring was entrusted to me, until I found the right hand for it. The hand it was made for. I see now that it was your hand. I cannot sell it to you because it is already yours."
Maureen looked down at the ring, and then back up at Mahmoud, puzzled. "I don't understand."
Mahmoud smiled sagely, and moved toward the front door of the shop. "No, you don't. But one day you will. For now, just keep the ring. A gift."
"I couldn't possibly . . ."
"You can and you will. You must. If you do not, I will have failed. You would not want that on your conscience, of course."
Maureen shook her head in bewilderment as she followed him to the front door, pausing. "I really don't know what to say, or how to thank you."
"No need, no need. But now you must go. The mysteries of Jerusalem are waiting for you."
Mahmoud held the door for her as Maureen stepped through it, thanking him again.
"Good-bye, Magdalena," he whispered as she walked out. Maureen stopped, turning quickly back to him.
"I'm sorry?"
Mahmoud smiled his sage, enigmatic smile. "I said good-bye, my lady." And he waved at Maureen as she returned the gesture, stepping out again into the harsh Middle Eastern sun.
Maureen returned to the Via Dolorosa, where she found the Eighth Station just as Mahmoud had directed her. But she was disquieted and unable to concentrate, feeling strange after the encounter with the shopkeeper. Continuing on her path, the earlier sense of dizziness returned, stronger this time, to the point of disorientation. It was her first day in Jerusalem, and she was undoubtedly suffering jet lag. The flight from Los Angeles had been long and arduous, and she hadn't slept much the night before. Whether it was a combination of heat, exhaustion, and hunger, or something more unexplainable, what happened next was outside Maureen's realm of experience.
Finding a stone bench, Maureen eased herself down to rest. She swayed with another wave of unexpected vertigo as a blinding flash emanated from the relentless sun, transporting her thoughts.
She was thrown abruptly into the middle of a mob. All around her was chaos -- there was much shouting and shoving, great commotion on all sides. Maureen had enough of her modern wits about her to notice that the swarming figures were robed in coarse, homespun garments. Those who had shoes wore a crude version of a sandal; she noticed as one stepped down hard on her foot. Most were men, bearded and grimy. The omnipresent sun of early afternoon beat down upon them, mixing sweat with dirt on the angry and distressed faces around her. She was at the edge of a narrow road, and the crowd just ahead began to jostle emphatically. A natural gap was evolving, and a small group moved slowly along the path. The mob appeared to be following this huddle. As the moving mass came closer, Maureen saw the woman for the first time.
A solitary and still island in the center of the chaos, she was one of the few women in the crowd -- but that was not what made her different. It was her bearing, a regal demeanor that marked her as a queen despite the layer of dirt covering her hands and feet. She was slightly disheveled, lustrous auburn hair tucked partially beneath a crimson veil that covered the lower half of her face. Maureen knew instinctively that she had to reach this woman, needed to connect with her, touch her, speak to her. But the writhing crowd held her back, and she was moving in the slow-motion thickness of a dream state.
As she continued to struggle in the direction of the woman, the aching beauty of the face that was just out of her reach struck Maureen. She was fine-boned, with exquisite, delicate features. But it was her eyes that would haunt Maureen long after the vision was over. The woman's eyes, huge and bright with unshed tears, fell somewhere in the color spectrum between amber and sage, an extraordinary light hazel that reflected infinite wisdom and unbearable sadness in one heart-searing blend. The woman's soul-swallowing gaze met Maureen in a brief and interminable moment, conveying through those improbable eyes a plea of complete and utter desperation.
You must help me.
Maureen knew that the plea was directed at her. She was entranced, frozen, as her eyes locked with the woman. The moment was broken when the woman looked down suddenly at a young girl who tugged urgently at her hand.
The child looked up with huge hazel eyes that echoed her mother's. Behind her stood a boy, older and with darker eyes than the little girl, but clearly the son of this woman. Maureen knew in that inexplicable instant that she was the only person who could help this strange, suffering queen and her children. A swell of intense confusion, and something that felt far too much like grief, moved through her at this realization.
Then the mob surged again, drowning Maureen in a sea of sweat and despair.
Maureen blinked hard, holding her eyes shut tight for a few seconds. She shook her head briskly to clear her vision, not certain at first where she was. A glance down at her jeans, microfiber backpack, and Nike walking shoes provided reassurance from the twentieth century. Around her the bustle of the Old City continued, but the people were dressed in contemporary fashions and the sounds were different now: Radio Jordan blasted an American pop song -- was that R.E.M.'s "Losing My Religion?" -- from a shop across the way. A teenage Palestinian boy kept time, drumming on the countertop. He smiled at her without missing a beat.
Rising from the bench, Maureen attempted to shake off the vision, if that's what it had been. She wasn't sure what it was, nor could she allow herself to dwell on it. Her time in Jerusalem was limited and she had 2,000 years of sights to see. Summoning her journalist's discipline and a lifetime's experience of suppressing her emotions, she filed the vision under "research for later analysis" and pushed herself to keep moving.
Maureen found herself merging with a swarm of British tourists as they rounded the corner, led by a guide wearing the collar of an Anglican priest. He announced to his group of pilgrims that they were approaching the most sacred site in Christendom, the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher.
Maureen knew from her research that the remaining Stations of the Cross were contained within that revered building. Spanning several blocks, the basilica covered the site of the crucifixion and had done so since the Empress Helena vowed to protect this sacred ground in the fourth century. Helena, who was also the mother of the Holy Roman Emperor Constantine, was later canonized for her efforts.
Maureen approached the enormous entrance doors slowly and with some hesitation. She realized as she stood on the threshold that she had not been inside a real church in many years, nor did she relish the thought of changing that status now. She reminded herself firmly that the research that had brought her to Israel was scholarly rather than spiritual. As long as she remained focused, with that perspective, she could do it. She could walk through those doors.
Despite her reluctance, there was something unmistakably awe-inspiring and magnetic about this colossal shrine. As she stepped through the mammoth doorway, she heard the British priest's words ring out:
"Within these walls, you will see where Our Lord made the ultimate sacrifice. Where He was stripped of His robes, where He was nailed to the cross. You will enter the holy tomb where His body was laid. My brothers and sisters in Christ, once you enter this place, your lives will never be the same."
The heavy and unmistakable smell of frankincense swirled past Maureen as she entered. Pilgrims from all walks of Christendom surrounded this place and filled the mammoth spaces inside the basilica. She passed a group of Coptic priests huddled in hushed, reverent discussion and watched a Greek Orthodox cleric light a candle in one of the small chapels. A male choir sang in an Eastern dialect, an exotic sound to Western ears, the hymn rising up from some secret space within the church.
Maureen was taking in the overwhelming sights and sounds of this place, and was feeling aimless from the sensory overload. She did not see the wiry little man who eased up beside her until he tapped her on the shoulder, causing her to jump.
"Sorry, Miss. Sorry, Miss Mo-ree." He spoke English, but unlike the enigmatic shopkeeper Mahmoud, his accent was very heavy. His skills with Maureen's language were rudimentary at best, and as a result she didn't understand at first that he was calling her by her first name. He repeated himself.
"Mo-ree. Your name. It is Mo-ree, yes?"
Maureen was puzzled, trying to determine if this strange little man was actually calling her by name and, if so, how he knew it. She had been in Jerusalem for fewer than twenty-four hours, and no one save the front desk clerk at the King David Hotel knew her name. But this man was impatient, asking again.
"Mo-ree. You are Mo-ree. Writer. You write, yes? Mo-ree?"
Nodding slowly, Maureen answered. "Yes. My name is Maureen. But how -- how did you know?"
The little man ignored the question, grabbing her hand and pulling her across the church floor. "No time, no time. Come. We wait a long time for you. Come, come."
For such a small man -- he was shorter than Maureen, who was herself uncommonly petite -- he moved very quickly. Short legs propelled him through the belly of the basilica, past the line where pilgrims waited to be admitted to the Tomb of Christ. He kept moving until they reached a small altar near the rear of the building, and stopped suddenly. The area was dominated by a life-size bronze sculpture of a woman holding outstretched arms to a man in a beseeching pose.
"Chapel of Mary Magdalene. Magdalena. You come for her, yes? Yes?"
Maureen nodded cautiously, looking at the sculpture and down at the plaque that read:
She read aloud the quotation from another plaque beneath the bronze:
"Woman, why weepest thou? Who is it you are looking for?"
Maureen had little time to contemplate the question as the odd little man was pulling at her again, hurrying at his unlikely pace to another, darker corner of the basilica.
"Come, come."
They rounded a corner and stopped in front of a painting, a large and aged portrait of a woman. Time, incense, and centuries of oily candle residue had taken their toll on the artwork, causing Maureen to move close to the dark portrait, squinting. The little man narrated in a voice grown deeply serious.
"Painting very old. Greek. You understand? Greek. Most important of Our Lady. She needs you to tell her story. This is why you come here, Mo-ree. We have waited a long time for you. She has waited. For you. Yes?"
Maureen looked carefully at the painting, a dark, ancient portrait of a woman wearing a red cloak. She turned to the little man, intensely curious now as to where this was taking her. But he was gone -- he had vanished as quickly as he had appeared.
"Wait!" Maureen's cry rang out in the echo chamber of the massive church, but it remained unanswered. She returned her attention to the painting.
As she leaned closer to the portrait, she observed that the woman wore a ring on her right hand: a round copper disk, with a pattern depicting nine circles surrounding a central sphere.
Maureen lifted her right hand, the one with her newly acquired ring, to compare it to the painting.
The rings were identical.
. . . Much will be said and written in time to come of Simon, the Fisher of Men. Of how he was called the rock, Peter, by Easa and myself while the others called him Cephas, which was natural in their own tongue. And if history is just, it will tell of how he loved Easa with unmatched power and loyalty.
And much has already been said, or so I am told, about my own relationship with Simon-Peter. There are those who called us adversaries, enemies. They would have it be believed that Peter despised me and we fought for the attention of Easa at every turn. And there are those who would call Peter a hater of women -- but this is an accusation that can be applied to no one who followed Easa. Let it be known that no man who followed Easa did ever belittle a woman or underestimate her value in God's plan. Any man who does so and claims Easa as teacher speaks a lie.
It is untrue, these accusations against Peter. Those who witnessed Peter's criticism of me do not know of our history or from what source come his outbursts. But I understand and will not judge him, ever. This, above all else, is what Easa has taught me -- and I hope he taught it as well to the others. Judge not.
The Arques Gospel of Mary Magdalene,
The Book of Disciples
Copyright ©2006 by Kathleen McGowan
Excerpted from The Expected One by Kathleen McGowan
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.


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various notations in red crayon at lower left; in graphite, lower right: working proof with crayon additions / J Johns '72
Marks and Labels
blind stamp: [chop of Universal Limited Art Editions]
Acquired by NGA in 2008 directly from the artist.
- 1994
- Field, Richard. The Prints of Jasper Johns 1960-1993. New York: Universal Limited Art Editions: 1994.


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Physical Fitness Tips That Will Modification How You View WorkoutWhether you just want to lose a few pounds, increase your level of health and feel better, or completely make over your body and be in the best shape of your life, the same basic principles apply. This article will shed some light on those principals and give you tips for reaching your goals.
If you want to build muscle mass, you must do resistance training. It's as simple as that. Cardio exercise will not build muscle bulk, though it is healthy. If you wish to build visible muscles, you will need to do resistance exercises, preferably with free weights, not exercise machines.
Keeping your body fit is about making choices on a daily or even hourly basis. A fundamental rule of thumb to remain fit is to keep a glass of water with you wherever you go and drink plenty of it. Water flushes your digestive tract of unwanted toxins as well as keeping the body from feeling hungry.
While most people don't have swimming pools in their back yards, swimming is one of the best forms of exercise. http://blogs.rediff.com/edmundo297cesar/2017/07/12/the-best-ways-to-consume-right-for-optimum-heart-health/ 's far more effective than walking and is on par with jogging or running, depending on your rate. Joining collagen production bone or YMCA is the best way to gain access to a pool.
If collagen production on face is to become more physically fit, but don't know where to start, try meeting with a personal trainer. Good trainers know how to get you started on activities you will enjoy, how to keep you motivated, and get you to the next fitness level, injury free.
Keep track of your walking throughout the day. You would be surprised at how many steps you take or don't take. Set a daily goal, and stick to it. Ideally, you should take about 10,000 steps each day. At the end of the day, write down the number of steps you took. If you didn't achieve your goal, write down why.
Eggs are a great way to start your morning and they provide you with the essential protein that is necessary to extend your workout. Also, eggs are a great type of food to consume if you want to feel full during the course of the day, which can prevent you from resorting to junk food.
A great fitness tip is to perform good mornings. Good mornings are a great exercise that focuses on your lower back and your hamstrings. You simply put a barbell on your shoulders, then slowly bend forward. It's important that you don't arch your back or else you could get a hernia.
Make exercising a game. See if you can do a couple more reps every cycle. By increasing the intensity of the workout, you will lose more weight. By making weight loss a game for yourself, you will take the pressure and stress out of losing weight. Take your exercise seriously, but don't take yourself too seriously.
If you are trying to flatten your stomach, a great tip is to be sure you work out your invisible abdominal muscles. These are the trasversus abdominis muscles, which are beneath your rectus abdominis. They flatten your waist when you suck in your stomach. In order to work this muscle out, try to pull in your belly button towards your spine. While breathing normally, hold this position for ten seconds.
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You might zombie-walk to the coffee pot and pour yourself a heaping cup with your eyes half closed, wondering how you're going to find enough energy to make it through the day. The next time you wake up feeling drained, there's a natural remedy you can try that will give you the energy boost you need! Lemon Juice And Olive Oil Lemon (or lime) juice mixed with olive oil has been used for may years as a natural remedy for different health issues. Mix These 3 Ingredients To Relieve Joint Pain, Fight Constipation & Detox Your Body - David Avocado Wolfe
Even though you may want to strengthen your abs there is a such things as working them too much, and you should be careful about that. You should work on your abs no more than two or three days a week. You can do some damage if you overwork them so be careful.
Try improving your fitness by walking your dog. You dog will love to go on these walks and he won't get tired of it no matter how frequent they are. Take it slow. You can start by walking as little as one block, and build on that over time. This is one benefit of owning a dog.
If you are an avid runner, a great tip is to try to run faster over shorter distances. The reason for this is because it will help to improve your running form. This will not only help you perform better, but also, you will not be as likely to injure yourself.
If you have a weak spot on your body, it is beneficial to work on this area first when developing a fitness routine. If you feel like you are weak in the legs, go to the gym and run on the treadmill. Improving your weakest link will enhance your overall fitness results.
To recover faster from heavy exercise, do a light work out the next day, that covers the same muscle group. On this second day, concentrate on very low weights, which are about twenty percent of your lifting capacity and two quick sets of twenty-five repetitions. Your muscles will heal faster because they will receive more blood and nutrients flowing through them.
As you can see, feeling fit is not as hard as you thought, now that you have the right tips to get started on your path to personal fitness. They will give you a good foundation that will get you closer to your personal fitness goals and feel great each and every day.


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Holly Willoughby has gushed about her husband on his birthday [Getty]
The couple appeared to be celebrating her husband Dan Baldwin's birthday in Italy.
Holly shared a loved-up selfie of herself and Dan for his special day, as she gushed about him in her caption.
With the backdrop of a mountain and colourful houses, Holly and her husband posed with beaming smiles as he wrapped his arm around her.
The blonde beauty captioned her post, writing: "Happy birthday to the man that is my [world emoji] … love you baby".
She wished Dan Baldwin happy birthday and said he was her world [Holly Willoughby/Instagram]
The pair have been married for 10 years [Holly Willoughby/Instagram]
Fans rushed to send well wishes to the couple and Dan on his birthday.
One said: "Happy birthday Dan the man great photo of you both".
Another wrote: "Happy birthday, Dan!!! I'm sure@hollywilloughby and the kids will make it extra special!".
While a third commented: "What a gorgeous couple. 🙂 happy birthday to your other half".
She recently shared a snap of the couple on their 10th anniversary [Instagram ]
The stunning star admitted she and her husband 'still fancied the pants of each other' [Holly Willoughby/Instagram]
She recently opened up about how strong her relationship with her husband is after 10 years of marriage.
The couple, who recently celebrated their 10th anniversary, are clearly still smitten with each other after Holly revealed how she felt about her husband.
Speaking to OK! Magazine, the blonde beauty said: "We still fancy the pants off each other".
And though the pair already have three children, Harry, eight, Belle, six and Chester, two, Holly has not ruled out becoming a mum for the fourth time.
Source: http://www.ok.co.uk/celebrity-news/1192191/this-morning-holly-willoughby-posts-heartwarming-tribute-to-husband-birthday-dan-baldwin-selfie


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$12M Settlement In RI Waste Suit Could Fall Apart
The plaintiffs, 120 residents of Tiverton, R.I., whose property was allegedly contaminated with coal gasification waste by Southern Union subsidiary New England Gas Co., have filed a motion with the U.S. District Court for the District of...
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Can we design Experience?
The deeper you dive into theories and practicalities to quench your thrust about knowledge of WHAT and WHY of anything the more complicated it becomes..:-)
It's more to do with learning about people, WHY they do it WHAT they do it.
You can't design experience.
While going through "Sander's Experience Model" (From User-Centered to Participatory Design Approaches paper) which states that we can never really "design experience." Experiencing is a constructive activity. That is, a user's experience (with communication, for example) is constructed of two equal parts: what the communicator provides, and what the communicatee brings to the interaction. Where the two parts overlap is where the actual communication occurs. Knowing about users' experiences, then, becomes vital to the process of designing the communication. If we have access to both what is being communicated and what experiences are influencing the receipt of communication, then we can design for experiencing.


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Instead of seeking the unicorn of ultimate differentiation, organizations need to be agile and nimble to continually evolve new competitive advantages. One of the examples that continue to strike us is Netflix, who evolved from a mail-order movie service, to a digital streaming service, to a content creator. Achieving this incredible capacity to not only adapt to change, but create entire new industries while doing so, requires a consumer-centric strategy and integrated approach to people, process, and technology across an enterprise.
We'd like to provide a few considerations on how to organize this type of strategy based on our experience and research.
In the manufacturing era we worked mostly with simple and complex problems focusing on productivity and efficiency to gain competitive advantage. However, we believe the new paradigm will define differentiation by an organization's ability to discover and realize new value.
We have found that leading with a consumer experience (CX) strategy is an effective way to help refocus your organization on value discovery and capture. By using a CX strategy the main focal point is on the pains and needs of a consumer, providing your organization a north star that encourages value exploration. In 2016, 89% of companies planned to compete primarily by CX differentiation (Gartner). The benefits are backed up by numbers: When companies invest in CX, they experience a 60% higher satisfaction score (Strativity, 2009). In addition, companies with very good CX ratings have an average Net Promoter Score that is 22 points higher than the scores of companies with poor CX (Temkin Experience Ratings, 2016).
In many companies today, we see a disconnect between 'the business,' 'IT' and 'the consumer.' IT is often brought into projects too late in the process, and is seen as an order taker, not a thought partner who has great insight into what technology can make possible. Business owners are confused by detailed technical conversations, and IT gets frustrated that business owners don't understand scale and system limitations, and the consumer isn't even at the table. Depending on the challenge, this might mean involving end customers, employees, or B2B partners in your strategy development or projects.
And don't forget to involve IT from the beginning to get better efficiency, better scale, and less translation loss as you look to develop new business models.
Whether you believe we are on the cusp of a 4th Industrial Revolution like Klaus Schwab or not, you might agree that the velocity of change has rendered both organizations, and the problems they face, increasingly complex. This additional complexity might mean that the challenges your organization faces have some of the following qualities:
• Ambiguous and chaotic
• Involve multiple stakeholders with conflicting perspectives
• Are fed by unknown inputs and outputs
• Require changes in belief/behavior/identity
• Lack a 'right' solution
• Can't be quantified
• Lack precedent
If some of these feel familiar to your challenges, you may be dealing with one or more 'wicked' problems. This term was coined by Design Theorist Horst Rittel and Systems Scientist C.W. Churchman in the 1960's and is more applicable today than ever before.
When developing organizational strategies, we have found that problems generally fall into one of three categories: Wicked Problems as defined above, Complex Problems with hidden causes but understandable processes for navigating the elements, and Simple Problems. Each requires different treatment strategies when defining your strategic choices.
These three types of problems can't be solved in the same ways and thus shouldn't be treated in the same ways during your strategy development process. Wicked problems, and some complex problems, resist even being defined, which makes it nearly impossible to prescribe solutions from the boardroom. We believe that wicked problems are so dynamic and confused that the only way we can solve them is to begin trying.
We suggest companies explore the creation of small cross-functional teams that own different parts or stages of the consumer experience, and work together to stitch it into a cohesive experience.
These teams develop a deep and personal understanding of the consumer at their part of the experience, and advocate for their needs. As 'full-stack' teams, ranging from content creators and developers to UX designers and product managers, they have most of the skills required to create and maintain the experiences. It might make sense for some people or teams (like architects) to be shared across teams. Once these shared services become a bottleneck (they will) and hit a point of scale, they should be divided and integrated into the individual teams.
Consumer-focused teams must maintain a view of the entire experience, and communicate with one another (and other key stakeholders) to translate consumer needs, as well as maintain focus and consistency. It's also important that SME's from different agile teams have opportunities or forums to connect with one another to grow skills, and share function-specific experiences and knowledge.
As they have been involved in every part of creating and maintaining the experience, these teams should be held accountable to measures representing customer satisfaction at their part of the consumer journey. This will eventually shift the mindset to be less about the team and more about the task (Read: consumer need to be solved).
Too often teams are hamstrung by rigid hierarchy and structures that impact their ability to quickly make decisions or pivot.
As they explore and improve the consumer experience, teams should be governed by values or guidelines, not hard rules. This means that they should be empowered to make decisions on their own including tool selection, approaches to work, and funding allocation.
While ultimately teams should be held accountable to results, it's imperative to honor and account for the ambiguity that surrounds them at the outset of an effort. This means providing the freedom (if not the expectation) that failure will be part of the discovery process.
Netflix allows teams to use the tools and code of their choice, even when it goes against the company recommendations for languages. However, the teams then take on the responsibility of maintaining these tools.
Nothing kills nimbleness faster than waiting for funding. Whether paying a vendor, setting up an emergency feedback session with users, buying new technology, or bringing on contract support, you don't want to leave your teams waiting on a funding approval to make progress. These teams know better than anyone how to best use their spend, so a meaningful amount of unrestricted funds that comes with little to no approval processes is an important part of remaining nimble.
Take for example Google's move to Alphabet. Each group now has responsibility for their own budget, as well as accountability to deliver great experiences and services for the broader brand.
Moore's Law is characterized by changes in technology, and this swift evolution leads to ever-increasing consumer expectations. By starting from the consumer experience, focusing on value discovery and capture, developing teams and processes to react to changing context, you may realize small slivers of differentiation potential before the rest of the market.
How will your company continue to adapt? Contact Taylor Larson at firstname.lastname@example.com.


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The suit was filed on Monday November 6 in the San Jose office of the California Northern District Court. Corephotonics alleges Apple has included dual camera technology that infringes Corephotonics patents in the iPhone 7 Plus and iPhone 8 Plus and without its authorization, according to reports. Apple has its own patents after acquiring Israeli startup LinX Computational Imaging Ltd., for about $20 million in 2015.
David Mendlovic, Corephotonics CEO, approached Apple about a partnership but Apple declined to license the startup's technology and suggested it could infringe Corephotonics' patents with little consequence, according to a Reuters report of the filing.
"Apple's lead negotiator expressed contempt for Corephotonics' patents, telling Dr. Mendlovic and others that even if Apple infringed, it would take years and millions of dollars in litigation before Apple might have to pay something," Reuters quotes the complaint as saying.
See also, Apple's possible target beyond phones
Corephotonics, founded in 2012, has pioneered the use of dual image sensors for smartphones with digital processing the results to produce superior pictures. Corephotonics Hawkeye camera uses prisms to fold the light path parallel with the surface of the smartphone allowing thinner mobile phones in line with the dictates of fashion. It also enables stills photography with optical zoom of up to 3x and up to 8x zoom in video, even in low light conditions.
See also, Apple snaps up TI-based modular wireless charging designer
Corephotonics raised $15 million in a Series D round of financing in January 2017 that included Samsung Ventures, MediaTek and FoxConn as investors. The round brought the total raised by Corephotonics to more than $50 million.


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We love riding Jet Skis here at Sydney Boat Licence.
At our office, I love riding on my Sea-Doo whilst my colleagues prefer Yamaha's.
Nothing competes with the thrill of riding a Jet Ski with a few mates.
In NSW, you'll need a PWC licence to ride a Jet Ski. This licence is an upgrade on a NSW boat licence. We can help you with that as well if you don't have that already. See here or call for details
PWC licence sessions are done alongside the boat licence theory in a single easy & short session so there's no need to come back and do another course later on.


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David B. Shanies has represented clients in a wide range of cases and investigations involving criminal and regulatory authorities, as well as corporate internal investigations.
David has experience handling cases and investigations relating to securities, commodities, accounting, insider trading, bribery and corruption, money laundering, conspiracy, fraud, marketing and pricing practices, and antitrust. David is equally experienced with White Collar-related matters, including civil and criminal forfeiture, parallel civil litigation, professional discipline and licensing proceedings, and post-resolution compliance. His work has regularly involved the U.S. Department of Justice, Securities and Exchange Commission, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and other federal, state, and foreign law enforcement and regulatory authorities.
David's White Collar experience includes:
- Representation of the former CFO of global law firm Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP in criminal and SEC enforcement proceedings
- Representation of numerous individuals in the global criminal and regulatory investigations involving Libor, Forex, and ISDAfix, including executives of financial institutions that include Barclays, BNP Paribas, Citibank, and JPMorgan Chase & Co.
- Representation of the former COO of Westar Energy Inc. in the so-called "Enron of Kansas" criminal case and related civil matters
- Representation of Marubeni Corporation in DOJ Foreign Corrupt Practices Act investigation and enforcement proceedings
- Confidential internal investigations of leading financial, banking, and educational institutions
- Representation of construction company CFO in state court prosecution
- Representation of medical services company CEO in DOJ prosecution
- Representation of JPMorgan Chase & Co. executive in Federal Energy Regulatory Commission proceedings
- Representation of securities investment companies and principals in SEC enforcement litigation
- Representation of international non-profit in state fraud and money laundering investigation
- Confidential investigations conducted on behalf of the SIPA Trustee for Lehman Brothers Inc. and MF Global Inc.
- Representation of a defendant in a federal cybercrime prosecution
- Representation of a global banking company in Massachusetts Securities Division insider trading investigation
- Representation of current and former employees of a national non-profit organization in criminal investigation and prosecution


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Hotels in Bunteikha, Russia
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Best hotels in Bunteikha
Bunteikha overviewHead to Ivanteyevka Museum of History and Local Lore and Lobnya History Museum to make some memories. Bunteikha is an inviting destination that has something for everyone.
Where to stay in BunteikhaWhether you're planning to stay for a night or for the week, the area around Bunteikha has accommodations to fit every need. Search for hotels in Bunteikha with Hotels.com by checking our online map. Our maps display the areas and neighborhoods around all Bunteikha hotels so you can see how close you are from landmarks and attractions, and then refine your search within the larger area. The best Bunteikha hotel deals are here with our lowest price guarantee.
How to get to BunteikhaFly in to Moscow (SVO-Sheremetyevo), 10.5 mi (16.9 km) from downtown Bunteikha.
What to see around BunteikhaSome highlights of the area include:
- • Ivanteyevka Museum of History and Local Lore
- • Lobnya History Museum
- • Chamber Stage, Lobnya Drama Theater
- • Shatury Museum of Local Lore
- • Chayka Culture Palace
When to visit BunteikhaCurious about when's the best time to visit? Here are the seasonal norms to help with your planning:
Seasonal temperature averages
- January-March: 41°F day, 4°F night
- April-June: 72°F day, 28°F night
- July-September: 74°F day, 43°F night
- October-December: 55°F day, 13°F night
- January-March: 0.12 inches
- April-June: 0.20 inches
- July-September: 0.28 inches
- October-December: 0.16 inches


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The President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov arrived on October 11 with a working visit to Sochi (Russian Federation) for participation in the regular meeting of Council of heads of states of the CIS.
In the Congress center of the luxurious hotel "Radisson Blu Resort & Congress Centre" located on the picturesque coast of the Black Sea the meeting of Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov with the Russian President Vladimir Putin took place.
The head of the Russian Federation thanked the Turkmen colleague for the accepted invitation to participate in the Summit of the CIS and also for the hearty and warm welcome extended to the Russian delegation during the recent official visit to Turkmenistan.
Having noted that during the meeting in Ashgabat the fundamental documents aimed at further development of the interstate relations in all their range were signed, Vladimir Putin expressed to Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov sincere gratitude for fruitful joint operation.
Having thanked for kind words, the President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov warmly congratulated the Russian leader on the birthday celebrated recently. Having wished Vladimir Putin good health, great success in his responsible state activities and all benefits, the Turkmen leader gave it as a gift a puppy alabay by name Vepaly (Faithful).
As Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov emphasized, "alabays long since are faithful companions and friends of the Turkmen people. And not accidentally alabay Vepaly was chosen the symbol of the V Asian Indoor and Martial Arts games. This gift to Vladimir Putin symbolizes fidelity to traditions of centuries-old Turkmen-Russian friendship and the trusting personal relationships of heads of two states."
In the second half of day in the Congress center "of Radisson Blu Resort & Congress Centre" hotel the meeting of Council of heads of states of the CIS was opened, in which the President of Turkmenistan participated.
Being an associated member of the CIS, Turkmenistan actively participates in affairs of the Commonwealth, supporting development of fruitful interaction in a wide range of the directions, as in a bilateral, and multilateral format. Considering a cooperation in the area of the Commonwealth as one of important vectors of a foreign policy, neutral Turkmenistan builds the relations with the states of the CIS on the basis of good will, traditions of friendship, respect of interests of each other, the principles of equal dialogue and mutually advantageous long-term partnership.
Participation of the President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov in the regular meeting of Council of heads of states of the CIS becomes confirmation of consecutive implementation of the foreign policy strategy of Turkmenistan as which major priority development of a constructive cooperation – both at the interstate level, and in a format of the authoritative regional and international organizations and structures acts.


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Unless you have ready-made flashcard sets simply use 3×5 index cards or make them using a free or modestly-priced flashcard program.
Here is a simple way: "Suppose you have 3 groups called Group 1, Group 2 and Group 3. The cards in Group 1 are the ones that you often make mistakes with, and Group 3 contains the cards that you know very well. You might choose to study the Group 1 cards once a day, Group 2 every 3 days, and the Group 3 cards every 5 days. If you look at a Group 1 card and get the correct answer, you "promote" it to Group 2. A correct answer with a Group 2 card "promotes" that card to Group 3. If you make a mistake with a Group 2 or Group 3 card, it gets "demoted" to the first level, which forces you to study that card more often.
The advantage of this method is that you can focus on the most difficult flashcards, which remain in the first few groups. The result is, ideally, a reduction in the amount of study time needed."
Another better automated way to mastery: Use a Pool (cards not yet presented) and 5+ boxes (compartments) with the following max sizes Box 1 -10 cards; Box 2 -20 cards; Box 3 – 50 cards; Box 4- 100 cards; Box 5 – 250. When a card is asked and answered correctly it gets promoted to the next higher box at the end of any cards there; if answered incorrectly from any box it gets demoted to Box 1. Mastery of a card set involves at answering correctly without missing of any cards – all cards are in Box 5. Use no more than 30 cards for a each learning sub-objective. If the material is very difficult – or you have over a 100 cards – or little time use Box Sizes: 5,5,5,10,20,30,60,120,240
An algorithm that spaces repetition of material learned to mastery for long term recall: Use as "session mastery criterion" answering all cards correctly without missing through one repetition. (All cards in Group 3 – or in Box 2 or one that accommodates the whole set) Use the following study spaced repetition intervals in days: 0 (the same day as class); 1; 2; 3; 4 (ACHIEVE) – now to MAINTAIN for a year – the next time in a school spiral curriculum) continue 7; 12; 20; 30; 60; 90; 150; 270.
To study for an examination without cramming on the last day before: back off 5 repetition day intervals – so D-5; D-4; D-3: D-2; D-1. STOP – watch a movie, take along walk, try to get lots of sleep. All repetitions are to "mastery."
If you must cram the day before: try to start early & do 3-5 repetitions at intervals, each with about 30 cards spaced throughout the day using Box Sizes: 5,5,5,10,20,30,60,120,240 – then try for sleep!
It is always best for you to create the cards to help your memory – if you have time. Only you know what you still need to learn. This, however, is difficult for students to do.
That is why we use Q&A Notes to offer online virtual math laboratory support for mastery practice.


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Gouffon Moving & Storage Co. understands that moving and the need for short or long-term storage often go hand in hand. We offer secure, climate-controlled units, available to rent by the day, the week, the month or long term.
Want to free up some space in the attic or basement? We have many storage units of different sizes to accommodate your boxes, trunks and other items that you want to keep, but need to have out of the way. We are secure, affordable and conveniently located near I-40 and I75.
Of course we also have a complete line of moving supplies for your convenience and the best box prices in town! Call or visit us today at our Knoxville location – we look forward to meeting you and assisting you with any of your storage needs!


text: Yasna Voices finally goes to Bulgaria this Summer!!! We received a big grant to take us all there this summer to learn and study with the masters. We are trying to raise the last bits and pieces we need to fully fund our trip. Please mark your calendars for June 20th. We are having our benefit this night at Kush Lounge in the Lower East Side. Lot's of Balkan music, belly dancing, vodka, kissing booths, pinatas, a Zagnut or two and more. More info and details to come in the upcoming weeks.


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Golden Gate Bridge, Lombard St, and Cable Cars
Touring San Francisco with the STEP 1 group was a fun adventure. We hopped off the cable car at the top of Lombard Street, the crookedest street in the city. In the distance you can see Coit Tower on Telegraph Hill. Here we are at the foot of Lombard Street, off on foot to explore.
Naia, Eukene, Maitane, and our wonderful chaperone Ainara hold on tight as we ride up and down the hills of San Francisco on a cable car ride to Fisherman's Wharf.
All of the students were together for our Friday bus tour, which culminated in the Golden Gate Bridge hike. Nick and Lacey, host family siblings joined us that day too. The weather can change quickly in San Francisco. When we began our journey across the bridge, the fog obscured the tops of the towers, and the wind blew coldly. Jakes and Edu resting after the hike. Maitane and Itziar take in the grandeur of the bay. By the time we reached the south end of the bridge, the fog had cleared and the sun shone warmly.
San Francisco Japanese Tea Garden
Friday morning began with a stroll through the beautifully manicured gardens of the Japanese Tea Garden. A visit to the de Young Art Museum included an incredible view from their observation tower. Marta notices the various neighborhoods and land features of this beautiful region.
Dancing in the Pacific Ocean
Our Friday tour continued along the coast of the Pacific Ocean, where we rolled up our trousers and tip-toed into the frigid surf. The chilly water temperature and grand vastness of the ocean inspire Maitane and Itziar to dance.
– Gerry Weiner, Local Leader, STEP 1 2012


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Disintegrating spirals
The dynamics of hurricanes is fairly well understood and sheds light on galaxy formation:
Plumes of air warmed by the ground or sea rise and are spun into vortices by the Coriolis effect (result of earth's rotation).
So for the comparison to hold up, galaxies and other spirals in space must have at least two features in common with hurricanes:
- Initial fluid jets/plumes.
- A spatial counterpart to the Coriolis effect to spin the jets into spirals.
Evidence for both is presented here, with the further observation that galaxies share with their terrestrial counterparts, a tendency to shed portions of themselves, including spiral arms. The formation of clusters and chains at all size levels can thus be explained by analogy.


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In Guingamp, on the other hand, the opinion of the players is not asked. "They discover the jersey the day before or the morning of their presentation to the press.The materials and cuts are studied and tested upstream to meet the requirements of professional players, " says Gael Garcia Lachat, manager at the equipment manufacturer Patrick for France. It operates in a small committee. " I work with a designer who will make visuals from the ideas of the club," he continues. Generally, smaller clubs have the last word. For older children, it's the opposite. "The more it is renowned and the greater the commercial strength, the more the equipment manufacturer has the power of negotiations," said sociologist Ludovic Lestrelin.
Color schemes, stripes, scapulars (the V-shape on the front of the jersey), clubs try to find a balance between traditional codes and innovation. " There is a tension between modernity and the history of the club," says Ludovic Lestrelin. For the equipment manufacturers, most of the work is the first jersey, the one used by home players. " They play on the design or an element of detail" to make it evolve slightly, says the sociologist. The trend this year is the collar. The new jerseys of AS Saint-Etienne are wearing a polo shirt, while those of Guingamp and Rennes wear a button-down collar.
For outer jerseys and third jerseys (cup matches), the place to originality. The equipment manufacturers do not hesitate to play with colors or patterns. But if the club goes too far, the fans react to the quarter turn. " There can be forms of tension and major resistance, even boycotts, stresses Ludovic Lestrelin because the jersey is an object of identification, it is part of the heritage of the club." The Girondins de Bordeaux caused a media uproar in May. In question? Their third jersey: a patchwork of monuments of the city on a blue, pink and purple background. " Surprising," according to the Team, " awful" for RMC Sport, or " scandalous" according to the tabloid The Daily Mirror. But yet, people buy it. 48% of third jerseys were sold by Bordeaux last season against 32% of home jerseys.