text:
Charlemagne (Carolus Magnus or Karolus Magnus, meaning Charles the Great) (747 – 28 January 814) was King of the Franks from 768 to his death. He expanded the Frankish kingdoms into a Frankish Empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned Imperator Augustus by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800 as a rival of the Byzantine Emperor in Constantinople. His rule is also associated with the Carolingian Renaissance, a revival of art, religion, and culture through the medium of the Catholic Church. Through his foreign conquests and internal reforms, Charlemagne helped define both Western Europe and the Middle Ages. He is numbered as Charles I in the regnal lists of France, Germany, and the Holy Roman Empire.
The son of King Pippin the Short and Bertrada of Laon, he succeeded his father and co-ruled with his brother Carloman I. The latter got on badly with Charlemagne, but war was prevented by the sudden death of Carloman in 771. Charlemagne continued the policy of his father towards the papacy and became its protector, removing the Lombards from power in Italy, and waging war on the Saracens, who menaced his realm from Spain. It was during one of these campaigns that Charlemagne experienced the worst defeat of his life, at Roncesvalles (778). He also campaigned against the peoples to his east, especially the Saxons, and after a protracted war subjected them to his rule. By forcibly converting them to Christianity, he integrated them into his realm and thus paved the way for the later Ottonian dynasty.
Today he is regarded not only as the founding father of both French and German monarchies, but also as the father of Europe: his empire united most of Western Europe for the first time since the Romans, and the Carolingian renaissance encouraged the formation of a common European identity. Pierre Riché reflects:
. . . he enjoyed an exceptional destiny, and by the length of his reign, by his conquests, legislation and legendary stature, he also profoundly marked the history of western Europe.
In 687, Pippin of Herstal, mayor of the palace of Austrasia, ended the strife between various kings and their mayors with his victory at Tertry and became the sole governor of the entire Frankish kingdom. Pippin himself was the grandson of two most important figures of the Austrasian Kingdom, Saint Arnulf of Metz and Pippin of Landen. Pippin the Middle was eventually succeeded by his illegitimate son Charles, later known as Charles Martel (the Hammer). After 737, Charles governed the Franks without a king on the throne but desisted from calling himself "king". Charles was succeeded by his sons Carloman and Pippin the Short, the father of Charlemagne. To curb separatism in the periphery of the realm, the brothers placed on the throne Childeric III, who was to be the last Merovingian king.
After Carloman resigned his office, Pippin had Childeric III deposed with Pope Zachary's approval. In 751, Pippin was elected and anointed King of the Franks and in 754, Pope Stephen II again anointed him and his young sons, now heirs to the great realm which already covered most of western and central Europe. Thus was the Merovingian dynasty replaced by the Carolingian dynasty, named after Pippin's father Charles Martel.
Under the new dynasty, the Frankish kingdom spread to encompass an area including most of Western Europe. The division of that kingdom formed France and Germany; and the religious, political, and artistic evolutions originating from a centrally-positioned Francia made a defining imprint on the whole of Western Europe.
Charlemagne's birth-name, "Charles" was derived from his grandfather, Charles Martel. The name derives from "karl", a Germanic stem meaning "man" or "free man", related to the English "churl". The earliest extant forms of Charlemagne's name are in the Latinate form, "Carolus" or "Karolus".
In many Slavic languages, the very word for "king" derives from Charles' Slavicised name.
The area of Charlemagne's birth does not make determination of his native language easier. Most historians agree he was born around Liège, like his father, but some say he was born in or around Aachen, some fifty kilometres away. At that time, this was an area of great linguistic diversity. If we take Liège (around 750) as the centre, we find Low Franconian in the north and northwest, Gallo-Romance (the ancestor of Old French) in the south and southwest and various Old High German dialects in the east. If Gallo-Romance is excluded, that means he either spoke Old Low Franconian or an Old High German dialect, probably with a strong Frankish influence.
Apart from his native language he also spoke Latin "as fluently as his own tongue" and understood a bit of Greek: Grecam vero melius intellegere quam pronuntiare poterat, "He understood Greek better than he could pronounce it.
Charles was large and strong, and of lofty stature, though not disproportionately tall (his height is well known to have been seven times the length of his foot); the upper part of his head was round, his eyes very large and animated, nose a little long, hair fair, and face laughing and merry. Thus his appearance was always stately and dignified, whether he was standing or sitting; although his neck was thick and somewhat short, and his belly rather prominent; but the symmetry of the rest of his body concealed these defects. His gait was firm, his whole carriage manly, and his voice clear, but not so strong as his size led one to expect.
Charles is well known to have been fair-haired, tall, and stately, with a disproportionately thick neck. The Roman tradition of realistic personal portraiture was in complete eclipse in his time, where individual traits were submerged in iconic typecastings. Charlemagne, as an ideal ruler, ought to be portrayed in the corresponding fashion, any contemporary would have assumed. The images of enthroned Charlemagne, God's representative on Earth, bear more connections to the icons of Christ in majesty than to modern (or antique) conceptions of portraiture. Charlemagne in later imagery (as in the Dürer portrait) is often portrayed with flowing blond hair, due to a misunderstanding of Einhard, who describes Charlemagne as having canitie pulchra, or "beautiful white hair", which has been rendered as blonde or fair in many translations.
Charlemagne wore the traditional, inconspicuous and distinctly non-aristocratic costume of the Frankish people, described by Einhard thus:
He used to wear the national, that is to say, the Frank dress: next to his skin a linen shirt and linen breeches, and above these a tunic fringed with silk; while hose fastened by bands covered his lower limbs, and shoes his feet, and he protected his shoulders and chest in winter by a close-fitting coat of otter or marten skins.
He wore a blue cloak and always carried a sword with him. The typical sword was of a golden or silver hilt. He wore fancy jewelled swords to banquets or ambassadorial receptions. Nevertheless:
He despised foreign costumes, however handsome, and never allowed himself to be robed in them, except twice in Rome, when he donned the Roman tunic, chlamys, and shoes; the first time at the request of Pope Hadrian, the second to gratify Leo, Hadrian's successor.
He could rise to the occasion when necessary. On great feast days, he wore embroidery and jewels on his clothing and shoes. He had a golden buckle for his cloak on such occasions and would appear with his great diadem, but he despised such apparel, according to Einhard, and usually dressed like the common people.
Much of what is known of Charlemagne's life comes from his biographer, Einhard, who wrote a Vita Caroli Magni (or Vita Karoli Magni), the Life of Charlemagne. Einhard says of the early life of Charles:
It would be folly, I think, to write a word concerning Charles' birth and infancy, or even his boyhood, for nothing has ever been written on the subject, and there is no one alive now who can give information on it. Accordingly, I determined to pass that by as unknown, and to proceed at once to treat of his character, his deed, and such other facts of his life as are worth telling and setting forth, and shall first give an account of his deed at home and abroad, then of his character and pursuits, and lastly of his administration and death, omitting nothing worth knowing or necessary to know.
On the death of Pippin, the kingdom of the Franks was divided—following tradition—between Charlemagne and Carloman. Charles took the outer parts of the kingdom, bordering on the sea, namely Neustria, western Aquitaine, and the northern parts of Austrasia, while Carloman retained the inner parts: southern Austrasia, Septimania, eastern Aquitaine, Burgundy, Provence, and Swabia, lands bordering on Italy.
The first event of the brothers' reign was the rising of the Aquitainians and Gascons, in 769, in that territory split between the two kings. Years before Pippin had suppressed the revolt of Waifer, Duke of Aquitaine. Now, one Hunald (seemingly other than Hunald the duke) led the Aquitainians as far north as Angoulême. Charlemagne met Carloman, but Carloman refused to participate and returned to Burgundy. Charlemagne went to war, leading an army to Bordeaux, where he set up a camp at Fronsac. Hunold was forced to flee to the court of Duke Lupus II of Gascony. Lupus, fearing Charlemagne, turned Hunold over in exchange for peace. He was put in a monastery. Aquitaine was finally fully subdued by the Franks.
The brothers maintained lukewarm relations with the assistance of their mother Bertrada, but in 770 Charlemagne signed a treaty with Duke Tassilo III of Bavaria and married a Lombard Princess (commonly known today as Desiderata), the daughter of King Desiderius, in order to surround Carloman with his own allies. Though Pope Stephen III first opposed the marriage with the Lombard princess, he would soon have little to fear from a Frankish-Lombard alliance.
Less than a year after his marriage, Charlemagne repudiated Desiderata, and quickly remarried to a 13-year-old Swabian named Hildegard. The repudiated Desiderata returned to her father's court at Pavia. The Lombard's wrath was now aroused and he would gladly have allied with Carloman to defeat Charles. But before war could break out, Carloman died on 5 December 771. Carloman's wife Gerberga fled to Desiderius' court with her sons for protection.
At the succession of Pope Hadrian I in 772, he demanded the return of certain cities in the former exarchate of Ravenna as in accordance with a promise of Desiderius' succession. Desiderius instead took over certain papal cities and invaded the Pentapolis, heading for Rome. Hadrian sent embassies to Charlemagne in autumn requesting he enforce the policies of his father, Pippin. Desiderius sent his own embassies denying the pope's charges. The embassies both met at Thionville and Charlemagne upheld the pope's side. Charlemagne promptly demanded what the pope had demanded and Desiderius promptly swore never to comply. Charlemagne and his uncle Bernard crossed the Alps in 773 and chased the Lombards back to Pavia, which they then besieged. Charlemagne temporarily left the siege to deal with Adelchis, son of Desiderius, who was raising an army at Verona. The young prince was chased to the Adriatic littoral and he fled to Constantinople to plead for assistance from Constantine V, who was waging war with Bulgaria.
The siege lasted until the spring of 774, when Charlemagne visited the pope in Rome. There he confirmed his father's grants of land, with some later chronicles claiming—falsely—that he also expanded them, granting Tuscany, Emilia, Venice, and Corsica. The pope granted him the title patrician. He then returned to Pavia, where the Lombards were on the verge of surrendering.
In return for their lives, the Lombards surrendered and opened the gates in early summer. Desiderius was sent to the abbey of Corbie and his son Adelchis died in Constantinople a patrician. Charles, unusually, had himself crowned with the Iron Crown and made the magnates of Lombardy do homage to him at Pavia. Only Duke Arechis II of Benevento refused to submit and proclaimed independence. Charlemagne was now master of Italy as king of the Lombards. He left Italy with a garrison in Pavia and few Frankish counts in place that very year.
There was still instability, however, in Italy. In 776, Dukes Hrodgaud of Friuli and Hildeprand of Spoleto rebelled. Charlemagne rushed back from Saxony and defeated the duke of Friuli in battle. The duke was slain. The duke of Spoleto signed a treaty. Their co-conspirator, Arechis, was not subdued and Adelchis, their candidate in Byzantium, never left that city. Northern Italy was now faithfully his.
The sons fought many wars on behalf of their father when they came of age. Charles was mostly preoccupied with the Bretons, whose border he shared and who insurrected on at least two occasions and were easily put down, but he was also sent against the Saxons on multiple occasions. In 805 and 806, he was sent into the Böhmerwald (modern Bohemia) to deal with the Slavs living there (Czechs). He subjected them to Frankish authority and devastated the valley of the Elbe, forcing a tribute on them. Pippin had to hold the Avar and Beneventan borders, but also fought the Slavs to his north. He was uniquely poised to fight the Byzantine Empire when finally that conflict arose after Charlemagne's imperial coronation and a Venetian rebellion. Finally, Louis was in charge of the Spanish March and also went to southern Italy to fight the duke of Benevento on at least one occasion. He took Barcelona in a great siege in the year 797 (see below).
Charlemagne's attitude toward his daughters has been the subject of much discussion. He kept them at home with him, and refused to allow them to contract sacramental marriages – possibly to prevent the creation of cadet branches of the family to challenge the main line, as had been the case with Tassilo of Bavaria – yet he tolerated their extramarital relationships, even rewarding their common-law husbands, and treasured the bastard grandchildren they produced for him. He also, apparently, refused to believe stories of their wild behaviour. After his death the surviving daughters were banished from the court by their brother, the pious Louis, to take up residence in the convents they had been bequeathed by their father. At least one of them, Bertha, had a recognised relationship, if not a marriage, with Angilbert, a member of Charlemagne's court circle.
According to the Muslim historian Ibn al-Athir, the Diet of Paderborn had received the representatives of the Muslim rulers of Zaragoza, Gerona, Barcelona, and Huesca. Their masters had been cornered in the Iberian peninsula by Abd ar-Rahman I, the Umayyad emir of Córdoba. These Moorish or "Saracen" rulers offered their homage to the great king of the Franks in return for military support. Seeing an opportunity to extend Christendom and his own power and believing the Saxons to be a fully conquered nation, he agreed to go to Spain.
In 778, he led the Neustrian army across the Western Pyrenees, while the Austrasians, Lombards, and Burgundians passed over the Eastern Pyrenees. The armies met at Zaragoza and received the homage of Sulayman al-Arabi and Kasmin ibn Yusuf, the foreign rulers. Zaragoza did not fall soon enough for Charlemagne, however. Indeed, Charlemagne was facing the toughest battle of his career and, in fear of losing, he decided to retreat and head home. He could not trust the Moors, nor the Basques, whom he had subdued by conquering Pamplona. He turned to leave Iberia, but as he was passing through the Pass of Roncesvalles one of the most famous events of his long reign occurred. The Basques fell on his rearguard and baggage train, utterly destroying it. The Battle of Roncevaux Pass, less a battle than a mere skirmish, left many famous dead: among which were the seneschal Eggihard, the count of the palace Anselm, and the warden of the Breton March, Roland, inspiring the subsequent creation of the Song of Roland (Chanson de Roland).
In Hispania, the struggle against the Moors continued unabated throughout the latter half of his reign. His son Louis was in charge of the Spanish border. In 785, his men captured Gerona permanently and extended Frankish control into the Catalan littoral for the duration of Charlemagne's reign (and much longer, it remained nominally Frankish until the Treaty of Corbeil in 1258). The Muslim chiefs in the northeast of Islamic Spain were constantly revolting against Córdoban authority and they often turned to the Franks for help. The Frankish border was slowly extended until 795, when Gerona, Cardona, Ausona, and Urgel were united into the new Spanish March, within the old duchy of Septimania.
In 797 Barcelona, the greatest city of the region, fell to the Franks when Zeid, its governor, rebelled against Córdoba and, failing, handed it to them. The Umayyad authority recaptured it in 799. However, Louis of Aquitaine marched the entire army of his kingdom over the Pyrenees and besieged it for two years, wintering there from 800 to 801, when it capitulated. The Franks continued to press forwards against the emir. They took Tarragona in 809 and Tortosa in 811. The last conquest brought them to the mouth of the Ebro and gave them raiding access to Valencia, prompting the Emir al-Hakam I to recognise their conquests in 812.
Charlemagne was engaged in almost constant battle throughout his reign, often at the head of his elite scara bodyguard squadrons, with his legendary sword Joyeuse in hand. After thirty years of war and eighteen battles—the Saxon Wars—he conquered Saxonia and proceeded to convert the conquered to Roman Catholicism, using force where necessary.
The Saxons were divided into four subgroups in four regions. Nearest to Austrasia was Westphalia and furthest away was Eastphalia. In between these two kingdoms was that of Engria and north of these three, at the base of the Jutland peninsula, was Nordalbingia.
In his first campaign, Charlemagne forced the Engrians in 773 to submit and cut down an Irminsul pillar near Paderborn. The campaign was cut short by his first expedition to Italy. He returned in the year 775, marching through Westphalia and conquering the Saxon fort of Sigiburg. He then crossed Engria, where he defeated the Saxons again. Finally, in Eastphalia, he defeated a Saxon force, and its leader Hessi converted to Christianity. He returned through Westphalia, leaving encampments at Sigiburg and Eresburg, which had, up until then, been important Saxon bastions. All Saxony but Nordalbingia was under his control, but Saxon resistance had not ended.
Following his campaign in Italy subjugating the dukes of Friuli and Spoleto, Charlemagne returned very rapidly to Saxony in 776, where a rebellion had destroyed his fortress at Eresburg. The Saxons were once again brought to heel, but their main leader, duke Widukind, managed to escape to Denmark, home of his wife. Charlemagne built a new camp at Karlstadt. In 777, he called a national diet at Paderborn to integrate Saxony fully into the Frankish kingdom. Many Saxons were baptised.
In the summer of 779, he again invaded Saxony and reconquered Eastphalia, Engria, and Westphalia. At a diet near Lippe, he divided the land into missionary districts and himself assisted in several mass baptisms (780). He then returned to Italy and, for the first time, there was no immediate Saxon revolt. In 780 Charlemagne decreed the death penalty for all Saxons who failed to be baptised, who failed to keep Christian festivals, and who cremated their dead. Saxony had peace from 780 to 782.
He returned in 782 to Saxony and instituted a code of law and appointed counts, both Saxon and Frank. The laws were draconian on religious issues, and the indigenous forms of Germanic polytheism were gravely threatened by Christianisation. This stirred a renewal of the old conflict. That year, in autumn, Widukind returned and led a new revolt, which resulted in several assaults on the church. In response, at Verden in Lower Saxony, Charlemagne allegedly ordered the beheading of 4,500 Saxons who had been caught practising their native paganism after conversion to Christianity, known as the Massacre of Verden. The massacre triggered three years of renewed bloody warfare (783-785). During this war the Frisians were also finally subdued and a large part of their fleet was burned. The war ended with Widukind accepting baptism.
Thereafter, the Saxons maintained the peace for seven years, but in 792 the Westphalians once again rose against their conquerors. The Eastphalians and Nordalbingians joined them in 793, but the insurrection did not catch on and was put down by 794. An Engrian rebellion followed in 796, but Charlemagne's personal presence and the presence of Christian Saxons and Slavs quickly crushed it. The last insurrection of the independence-minded people occurred in 804, more than thirty years after Charlemagne's first campaign against them. This time, the most unruly of them, the Nordalbingians, found themselves effectively disempowered from rebellion. According to Einhard:
The war that had lasted so many years was at length ended by their acceding to the terms offered by the King; which were renunciation of their national religious customs and the worship of devils, acceptance of the sacraments of the Christian faith and religion, and union with the Franks to form one people.
The heathen resistance in Saxony was at an end.
For the next two years, Charles was occupied with the Slavs against the Saxons. Pippin and Duke Eric of Friuli continued, however, to assault the Avars' ring-shaped strongholds. The great Ring of the Avars, their capital fortress, was taken twice. The booty was sent to Charlemagne at his capital, Aachen, and redistributed to all his followers and even to foreign rulers, including King Offa of Mercia. Soon the Avar tuduns had thrown in the towel and travelled to Aachen to subject themselves to Charlemagne as vassals and Christians. This Charlemagne accepted and sent one native chief, baptised Abraham, back to Avaria with the ancient title of khagan. Abraham kept his people in line, but in 800 the Bulgarians under Krum had swept the Avar state away. In the 10th century, the Magyars settled the Pannonian plain and presented a new threat to Charlemagne's descendants.
Charlemagne also directed his attention to the Slavs to the south of the Avar khaganate: the Carantanians and Slovenes. These people were subdued by the Lombards and Bavarii and made tributaries, but never incorporated into the Frankish state.
Matters of Charlemagne's reign came to a head in late 800. In 799, Pope Leo III had been mistreated by the Romans, who tried to put out his eyes and tear out his tongue. Leo escaped, and fled to Charlemagne at Paderborn, asking him to intervene in Rome and restore him. Charlemagne, advised by Alcuin of York, agreed to travel to Rome, doing so in November 800 and holding a council on December 1. On December 23 Leo swore an oath of innocence. At Mass, on Christmas Day (December 25), when Charlemagne knelt the altar to pray, the pope crowned him Imperator Romanorum ("Emperor of the Romans") in Saint Peter's Basilica. In so doing, the pope was effectively attempting to transfer the office from Constantinople to Charles. Einhard says that Charlemagne was ignorant of the pope's intent and did not want any such coronation:
[H]e at first had such an aversion that he declared that he would not have set foot in the Church the day that they [the imperial titles] were conferred, although it was a great feast-day, if he could have foreseen the design of the Pope.
Many modern scholars suggest that Charlemagne was indeed aware of the coronation; certainly he cannot have missed the bejeweled crown waiting on the altar when he came to pray. In any event, he would now use these circumstances to claim that he was the renewer of the Roman Empire, which had apparently fallen into degradation under the Byzantines. However, Charles would after 806 style himself, not Imperator Romanorum ("Emperor of the Romans", a title reserved for the Byzantine emperor), but rather Imperator Romanum gubernans Imperium ("Emperor ruling the Roman Empire").
The Iconoclasm of the Isaurian Dynasty and resulting religious conflicts with the Empress Irene, sitting on the throne in Constantinople in 800, were probably the chief causes of the pope's desire to formally acclaim Charles as Roman Emperor. He also most certainly desired to increase the influence of the papacy, honour his saviour Charlemagne, and solve the constitutional issues then most troubling to European jurists in an era when Rome was not in the hands of an emperor. Thus, Charlemagne's assumption of the imperial title was not an usurpation in the eyes of the Franks or Italians. It was, however, in Byzantium, where it was protested by Irene and her successor Nicephorus I — neither of whom had any great effect in enforcing their protests.
The Byzantines, however, still held several territories in Italy: Venice (what was left of the Exarchate of Ravenna), Reggio (in Calabria), Brindisi (in Apulia), and Naples (the Ducatus Neapolitanus). These regions remained outside of Frankish hands until 804, when the Venetians, torn by infighting, transferred their allegiance to the Iron Crown of Pippin, Charles' son. The Pax Nicephori ended. Nicephorus ravaged the coasts with a fleet and the only instance of war between the Byzantines and the Franks, as it was, began. It lasted until 810, when the pro-Byzantine party in Venice gave their city back to the Byzantine Emperor and the two emperors of Europe made peace: Charlemagne received the Istrian peninsula and in 812 Emperor Michael I Rhangabes recognised his status as Emperor.
In 808, the king of the Danes, Godfred, built the vast Danevirke across the isthmus of Schleswig. This defence, last employed in the Danish-Prussian War of 1864, was at its beginning a 30 km long earthenwork rampart. The Danevirke protected Danish land and gave Godfred the opportunity to harass Frisia and Flanders with pirate raids. He also subdued the Frank-allied Wiltzes and fought the Abotrites.
Godfred invaded Frisia and joked of visiting Aachen, but was murdered before he could do any more, either by a Frankish assassin or by one of his own men. Godfred was succeeded by his nephew Hemming and he concluded the Treaty of Heiligen with Charlemagne in late 811.
In 813, Charlemagne called Louis the Pious, king of Aquitaine, his only surviving legitimate son, to his court. There he crowned him with his own hands as co-emperor and sent him back to Aquitaine. He then spent the autumn hunting before returning to Aachen on 1 November. In January, he fell ill with pleurisy. He took to his bed on 21 January and as Einhard tells it:
He died January twenty-eighth, the seventh day from the time that he took to his bed, at nine o'clock in the morning, after partaking of the Holy Communion, in the seventy-second year of his age and the forty-seventh of his reign.
He was buried on the day of his death, in Aachen Cathedral, although the cold weather and the nature of his illness made such a hurried burial unnecessary. A later story, told by Otho of Lomello, Count of the Palace at Aachen in the time of Otto III, would claim that he and Emperor Otto had discovered Charlemagne's tomb: the emperor, they claimed, was seated upon a throne, wearing a crown and holding a sceptre, his flesh almost entirely incorrupt. In 1165, Frederick I re-opened the tomb again, and placed the emperor in a sarcophagus beneath the floor of the cathedral. In 1215 Frederick II would re-inter him in a casket made of gold and silver.
Charlemagne's death greatly affected many of his subjects, particularly those of the literary clique who had surrounded him at Aachen. An anonymous monk of Bobbio lamented:
From the lands where the sun rises to western shores, People are crying and wailing...the Franks, the Romans, all Christians, are stung with mourning and great worry...the young and old, glorious nobles, all lament the loss of their Caesar...the world laments the death of Charles...O Christ, you who govern the heavenly host, grant a peaceful place to Charles in your kingdom. Alas for miserable me.
He was succeeded by his surviving son, Louis, who had been crowned the previous year. His empire lasted only another generation in its entirety; its division, according to custom, between Louis's own sons after their father's death laid the foundation for the modern states of France and Germany.
Charlemagne had an important role in determining the immediate economic future of Europe. Pursuing his father's reforms, Charlemagne abolished the monetary system based on the gold sou, and he and the Anglo-Saxon King Offa of Mercia took up the system set in place by Pippin. There were strong pragmatic reasons for this abandonment of a gold standard, notably a shortage of gold itself, a direct consequence of the conclusion of peace with Byzantium and the ceding of Venice and Sicily, and the loss of their trade routes to Africa and to the east. This standardisation also had the effect of economically harmonising and unifying the complex array of currencies in use at the commencement of his reign, thus simplifying trade and commerce.
He established a new standard, the livre carolinienne (from the Latin libra, the modern pound), and based upon a pound of silver – a unit of both money and weight – which was worth 20 sous (from the Latin solidus (which was primarily an accounting device, and never actually minted), the modern shilling) or 240 deniers (from the Latin denarius, the modern penny). During this period, the livre and the sou were counting units, only the denier was a coin of the realm.
Charlemagne instituted principles for accounting practice by means of the Capitulare de villis of 802, which laid down strict rules for the way in which incomes and expenses were to be recorded.
The lending of money for interest was prohibited, strengthened in 814, when Charlemagne introduced the Capitulary for the Jews, a draconian prohibition on Jews engaging in money-lending.
In addition to this macro-management of the economy of his empire, Charlemagne also performed a significant number of acts of micro-management, such as direct control of prices and levies on certain goods and commodities.
Charlemagne applied the system to much of the European continent, and Offa's standard was voluntarily adopted by much of England. After Charlemagne's death, continental coinage degraded and most of Europe resorted to using the continued high quality English coin until about 1100.
Charlemagne took a serious interest in scholarship, promoting the liberal arts at the court, ordering that his children and grandchildren be well-educated, and even studying himself under the tutelage of Paul the Deacon, from whom he learned grammar, Alcuin, with whom he studied rhetoric, dialect and astronomy (he was particularly interested in the movements of the stars), and Einhard, who assisted him in his studies of arithmetic. His great scholarly failure, as Einhard relates, was his inability to write: when in his old age he began attempts to learn – practicing the formation of letters in his bed during his free time on books and wax tablets he hid under his pillow – "his effort came too late in life and achieved little success", and his ability to read – which Einhard is silent about, and which no contemporary source supports – has also been called into question.
During Charles' reign, the Roman half uncial script and its cursive version, which had given rise to various continental minuscule scripts, were combined with features from the insular scripts that were being used in Irish and English monasteries. Carolingian minuscule was created partly under the patronage of Charlemagne. Alcuin of York, who ran the palace school and scriptorium at Aachen, was probably a chief influence in this. The revolutionary character of the Carolingian reform, however, can be over-emphasised; efforts at taming the crabbed Merovingian and Germanic hands had been underway before Alcuin arrived at Aachen. The new minuscule was disseminated first from Aachen, and later from the influential scriptorium at Tours, where Alcuin retired as an abbot.
Historians have debated for centuries whether Charlemagne was aware of the Pope's intent to crown him Emperor prior to the coronation (Charlemagne declared that he would not have entered Saint Peter's had he known), but that debate has often obscured the more significant question of why the Pope granted the title and why Charlemagne chose to accept it once he did.
Roger Collins points out "That the motivation behind the acceptance of the imperial title was a romantic and antiquarian interest in reviving the Roman empire is highly unlikely." For one thing, such romance would not have appealed either to Franks or Roman Catholics at the turn of the ninth century, both of whom viewed the Classical heritage of the Roman Empire with distrust. The Franks took pride in having "fought against and thrown from their shoulders the heavy yoke of the Romans" and "from the knowledge gained in baptism, clothed in gold and precious stones the bodies of the holy martyrs whom the Romans had killed by fire, by the sword and by wild animals", as Pippin III described it in a law of 763 or 764 (Collins 151). Furthermore, the new title — carrying with it the risk that the new emperor would "make drastic changes to the traditional styles and procedures of government" or "concentrate his attentions on Italy or on Mediterranean concerns more generally"—risked alienating the Frankish leadership.
For both the Pope and Charlemagne, the Roman Empire remained a significant power in European politics at this time, and continued to hold a substantial portion of Italy, with borders not very far south of the city of Rome itself — this is the empire historiography has labelled the Byzantine Empire, for its capital was Constantinople (ancient Byzantium) and its people and rulers were Greek; it was a thoroughly Hellenic state. Indeed, Charlemagne was usurping the prerogatives of the Roman Emperor in Constantinople simply by sitting in judgement over the Pope in the first place:
For the Pope, then, there was "no living Emperor at the that time" (Norwich 379), though Henri Pirenne (Mohammed and Charlemagne, pg. 234n) disputes this saying that the coronation "was not in any sense explained by the fact that at this moment a woman was reigning in Constantinople." Nonetheless, the Pope took the extraordinary step of creating one. The papacy had since 727 been in conflict with Irene's predecessors in Constantinople over a number of issues, chiefly the continued Byzantine adherence to the doctrine of iconoclasm, the destruction of Christian images; while from 750, the secular power of the Byzantine Empire in central Italy had been nullified. By bestowing the Imperial crown upon Charlemagne, the Pope arrogated to himself "the right to appoint ... the Emperor of the Romans, ... establishing the imperial crown as his own personal gift but simultaneously granting himself implicit superiority over the Emperor whom he had created.". And "because the Byzantines had proved so unsatisfactory from every point of view—political, military and doctrinal—he would select a westerner: the one man who by his wisdom and statesmanship and the vastness of his dominions ... stood out head and shoulders above his contemporaries.".
With Charlemagne's coronation, therefore, "the Roman Empire remained, so far as either of them [Charlemagne and Leo] were concerned, one and indivisible, with Charles as its Emperor", though there can have been "little doubt that the coronation, with all that it implied, would be furiously contested in Constantinople." (Norwich, Byzantium: The Apogee, pg. 3) How realistic either Charlemagne or the Pope felt it to be that the people of Constantinople would ever accept the King of the Franks as their Emperor, we cannot know; Alcuin speaks hopefully in his letters of an Imperium Christianum ("Christian Empire"), wherein, "just as the inhabitants of the [Roman Empire] had been united by a common Roman citizenship", presumably this new empire would be united by a common Christian faith (Collins 151), certainly this is the view of Pirenne when he says "Charles was the Emperor of the ecclesia as the Pope conceived it, of the Roman Church, regarded as the universal Church" (Pirenne 233).
What we do know, from the Byzantine chronicler Theophanes (Collins 153), is that Charlemagne's reaction to his coronation was to take the initial steps toward securing the Constantinopolitan throne by sending envoys of marriage to Irene, and that Irene reacted somewhat favorably to them. Only when the people of Constantinople reacted to Irene's failure to immediately rebuff the proposal by deposing her and replacing her with one of her ministers, Nicephorus I, did Charlemagne drop any ambitions toward the Byzantine throne and begin minimising his new Imperial title, and instead return to describing himself primarily as rex Francorum et Langobardum.
The title of emperor remained in his family for years to come, however, as brothers fought over who had the supremacy in the Frankish state. The papacy itself never forgot the title nor abandoned the right to bestow it. When the family of Charles ceased to produce worthy heirs, the pope gladly crowned whichever Italian magnate could best protect him from his local enemies. This devolution led, as could have been expected, to the dormancy of the title for almost forty years (924-962). Finally, in 962, in a radically different Europe from Charlemagne's, a new Roman Emperor was crowned in Rome by a grateful pope. This emperor, Otto the Great, brought the title into the hands the kings of Germany for almost a millennium, for it was to become the Holy Roman Empire, a true imperial successor to Charles, if not Augustus.
This division may have worked, but it was never to be tested. Pippin died in 810 and Charles in 811. Charlemagne then reconsidered the matter, and in 813, crowned his youngest son, Louis, co-emperor and co-King of the Franks, granting him a half-share of the empire and the rest upon Charlemagne's own death. The only part of the Empire which Louis was not promised was Italy, which Charlemagne specifically bestowed upon Pippin's illegitimate son Bernard.
Charlemagne had an immediate afterlife. The author of the Visio Karoli Magni written around 865 uses facts gathered apparently from Einhard and his own observations on the decline of Charlemagne's family after the dissensions of civil war (840–43) as the basis for a visionary tale of Charles' meeting with a prophetic spectre in a dream.
Charlemagne, being a model knight as one of the Nine Worthies, enjoyed an important afterlife in European culture. One of the great medieval literary cycles, the Charlemagne cycle or the Matter of France, centres on the deeds of Charlemagne—the King with the Grizzly Beard of Roland fame—and his historical commander of the border with Brittany, Roland, and the paladins who are analogous to the knights of the Round Table or King Arthur's court. Their tales constitute the first chansons de geste.
Charlemagne himself was accorded sainthood inside the Holy Roman Empire after the twelfth century. His canonisation by Antipope Paschal III, to gain the favour of Frederick Barbarossa in 1165, was never recognised by the Holy See, which annulled all of Paschal's ordinances at the Third Lateran Council in 1179. However, he has been acknowledged as cultus confirmed.
Charlemagne is sometimes credited with supporting the insertion of the filioque into the Nicene Creed. The Franks had inherited a Visigothic tradition of referring to the Holy Spirit as deriving from God the Father and Son (Filioque), and under Charlemagne, the Franks challenged the 381 Council of Constantinople proclamation that the Holy Spirit proceeded from the Father alone. Pope Leo III rejected this notion, and had the Nicene Creed carved into the doors of Old St. Peter's Basilica without the offending phrase; the Frankish insistence lead to bad relations between Rome and Francia. Later, the Roman Catholic Church would adopt the phrase, leading to dispute between Rome and Constantinople. Some see this as one of many pre-cursors to the East-West Schism centuries later.
In the Divine Comedy the spirit of Charlemagne appears to Dante in the Heaven of Mars, among the other "warriors of the faith".
According to folk etymology, Charlemagne was commemorated in the old name Charles's Wain for the Big Dipper in the constellation of Ursa Major.
French volunteers in the Wehrmacht and later Waffen-SS during the World War II were organised in a unit called 33rd Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS Charlemagne (1st French). A German Waffen-SS unit used "Karl der Große" for some time in 1943, but then chose the name 10th SS Panzer Division Frundsberg instead.
The city of Aachen has, since 1949, awarded an international prize (called the Karlspreis der Stadt Aachen) in honour of Charlemagne. It is awarded annually to "personages of merit who have promoted the idea of western unity by their political, economic and literary endeavours. Winners of the prize include Count Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi, the founder of the pan-European movement, Alcide De Gasperi, and Winston Churchill.
Charlemagne is memorably quoted by Dr Henry Jones Sr. (played by Sean Connery) in the film, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Immediately after using his umbrella to induce a flock of seagulls to smash through the glass cockpit of a pursuing German fighter plane, Henry Jones remarks "I suddenly remembered my Charlemagne: 'Let my armies be the rocks and the trees and the birds in the sky'." Despite the quote's popularity since the movie, there is no evidence that Charlemagne actually said this.
The Economist, the weekly news and international affairs newspaper, features a one page article every week entitled "Charlemagne", focusing on European government.
|- |- |}


text:
Mark Coop talks tech
Style Week on Pocket-lint would, of course, be nothing at all if we didn't ask the opinions of those who really know what style is all about. So, as part of our five days of fun, we got hold of top UK-based designers to talk to us about what they see in their gadgets and what they're after when searching to buy some great looking technology.
So far, we've heard from Orla Kiely, Fred Butler, Eley Kishimoto, Roksanda Ilnicic and Stighlorgan but our final Q&A for Style Week is with Mark Coop. Mark is the man behind the phrase that's caused just as much of a stir on the shelves as it has in the courts and online, but has recently been granted a registered trademark to be the owner of the only legitimate company to sell a certain line of products branded with that slogan.
With everything from bags, cufflinks, mugs and books to plasters and postcards, you can find Keep Calm and Carry On goods in shops like John Lewis, Heals and Debenhams as well as the official online store.
We took a minute of Mark's time to find out his views on how gadgets ought to look and feel.
1.What, for you, makes a beautiful gadget or piece of consumer technology?
The design and the aesthetic do it; what Apple has brought to the table and stuck to right down to the packaging. You can now put an iMac or something similar in your lounge and it really doesn't look out of place. They're things of beauty but there's also a functional beauty. It's about when things just work. When they're straight forward and they do what they say on the tin. And when it's all complete right down to the packaging.
2. Are there any common errors that you see tech companies making when designing the look and feel of their products?
I've used Android and the older Windows phone software. Admittedly, I was new to it but I found it really complicated and I think that came down to the design and lay out of the interface. It was a good example, for me, of how things can get over-complicated sometimes in technology design. If manufacturers can make it as simple and straight forward as possible, I think your users can just get so much more done. The iPod was one of the things that kickstarted all of that. It was just click forward here and back there and you're playing music. Even your mum could do it.
3. Form or function? Both are important but which has the edge for you when choosing your phones, laptops, etc and why?
Function. Design plays a big part but it needs to work for you and that's the bottom line. You need to get done, what you need to get done and without getting wound up. I haven't tried out Siri yet on the iPhone 4S but, if it works, I think that's the kind of function that could make all the difference.
4. Phones, cameras and laptops have all got smaller, bigger, fatter and thinner over the years. What do you think the next trends in their style and design might be?
I liked the idea of a virtual keyboard in products projected onto any flat surface. We've seen things like this in the past but I think something like that could turn up in mobile phones for real and make text entry so much easier.
5. Name the five most beautiful pieces of consumer electronics of all time in your opinion?
The push button phone, iPod, Sony Bravia Monolithic TV, Roberts Revival Radio, Anglepoise lamp.
Head over to the Keep Calm and Carry On online store for a wealth of Christmas gift idea.
You can read more from Style Week on our Style Week homepage.
Ultra Responsive. Ultra Sleek. Ultrabook ™ - www.intel.co.uk/ultrabook
- Bang & Olufsen: Design that lasts

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Saddlebags for Triumph Bonneville Americaby Randy T - verified purchaser
In light of the inflated prices of some of the preminum bags out there, did not really have high expectations for these inexpensive units but wanted something that complimented the saddle on my Triumph Bonneville America. When received was very impressed and well pleased with both their looks and the quality of construction. Hardware and lack of installation instructions a little confusing but most bikers will soon figure it out, perhaps with a addition of a couple tie straps. Overall, a very good value.


text:
Eisenhower Bariatric Center
Board Certified Surgeon Bobby Bhasker-Rao, MD, FACS performs both gastric bypass surgery and gastric lap-banding procedures at Eisenhower Bariatric Center.
Bariatric surgery refers to a variety of surgical procedures performed to treat cases of morbid obesity. Board Certified Surgeon Bobby Bhasker-Rao, MD, FACS, who specializes in advanced laparoscopic and bariatric surgery, performs both gastric bypass surgery and gastric lap-banding procedures at Eisenhower Bariatric Center.
The National Institutes of Health considers bariatric surgery the gold standard of treatment for morbid obesity. The procedures are recommended only for individuals who are more than 100 pounds overweight and have a body mass index (BMI) of more than 40, or for those who have a BMI (a ratio determined by height and weight) of more than 35 with co-existing health problems, such as heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure.
Eisenhower Bariatric Center offers gastric lap banding, which limits food intake by using an adjustable band to decrease the size of the stomach, and Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB), which restricts food intake and bypasses a small portion of the digestive tract.
Both the gastric lap band and RYGB procedures are performed laparoscopically, using five small incisions through the patient's abdomen. This minimally invasive approach reduces a patient's length of stay in the hospital, usually to one or two nights depending on the procedure, and speeds recovery, allowing patients to return to -their daily routines in a matter of weeks.
For more information about the Eisenhower Bariatric Center, please call 760-778-5220.
Bariatric Support Group
The Bariatric Support Group meets on the second Monday of each month at the Eisenhower Renker Wellness Center from 6:30 to 8 p.m. The group is open to anyone who is considering the procedure or who has had bariatric surgery (at any time, at any facility).
Bariatric Surgery Seminars
Bariatric Surgery Information Seminars are held monthly at the Annenberg Center for Health Sciences at Eisenhower. The seminar provides information for those considering weight-loss surgery such as benefits, requirements prior to surgery and complications. A question and answer session follows. Reservations are required. All community members are invited to attend.
Contact Us
- For more information about the Eisenhower Bariatric Center, please call 760-778-5220.


text:
Booties are the perfect go-anywhere, do-anything shoes for every occasion in a girl's life. If you love them as much as we do here at GoJane, you'll love our totally on fleek collection of affordable booties for women. With the latest styles at the lowest prices, you can fill your closet with a pair of ankle boots for every day of the week.
GoJane carries lace booties for women that are the perfect combination of fierce and feminine, and they come in either flat versions or high-heeled options that are also super sexy. Ankle booties in combat styles add a grunge-inspired look to shorts or dresses, while fringe boots will give you that boho look that you love. We even offer heel and wedge booties that are ultra-flattering on your legs while still looking a bit more casual than knee-high options.


text:
Faces of America
Our American Stories (1 of 4) (#101)
Explores the dynamic and shifting relationship America had with new immigrants in the 20th century. [56 minutes]
This episode has not aired in the past few months on Iowa Public Television.
Faces of America | Our American Stories | PBS (#101)
Full Program: Explore the dynamic relationship America had with new immigrants in the 20th century. 54:40
Faces of America | Making America | PBS (#103)
Full Program: Learn how land came to define America's identity. 54:41
Faces of America | Know Thyself | PBS (#104)
Full Program: Take up the search for the guests' ancestries where the historical record leaves off. 54:40
Faces of America | Becoming American | PBS (#102)
Full Program: Explore the immigrants that transformed the United States into a booming industrial power. 55:11
FACES OF AMERICA | Trailer | PBS
What made America? What makes us? These two questions are at the heart of the new PBS series Faces of America with... 00:32
- Watch more video from this program »
Series Description: What made America? What makes us? These two questions are at the heart of this series. Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. turns to the latest tools of genealogy and genetics to explore the family histories of 11 renowned Americans. Looking beyond the black experience to the wider immigrant experience, Professor Gates unravels the American tapestry, following the threads of his guests' lives back to their earliest origins around the globe. Along the way, the many stories he uncovers -- of displacement and homecoming, of material success and dispossession, of assimilation and discrimination -- illuminate the American experience. Professor Gates' guests include poet Elizabeth Alexander, who composed and read the poem at President Barack Obama's inauguration, chef Mario Batali, comedian Stephen Colbert, novelist Louise Erdrich, writer Malcolm Gladwell, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, director Mike Nichols, Her Royal Highness Queen Noor, actresses Eva Longoria Parker and Meryl Streep, figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi and Martha's Vineyard fisherman William "Buddy" Vanderhoop, who will have his family history researched alongside the series' well-known guests.
All Upcoming Episodes
There are no broadcasts currently planned. Please check back for future broadcast dates.


text:
Can you plug in the MacBook Air Superdrive to one of the USB ports?
I would still like to use my SuperDrive if possible.
- Asked by Michael S from Franklin Lakes
QA Apple 27-inch LED Cinema Display
Product No Longer Available
7 Answers from the Community
Best Answer:
Yes it works fine. I just installed software packages just fine with it plugged into the USB port on the monitor
- Answered by Christopher V from Austin
The previous poster is wrong - the 24" LED Cinema Display (recently discontinued) DID work with the Air Superdrive. I don't see why the 27" version wouldn't also have that functionality.
- Answered by Ian W
While the above poster is right in that the USB port will fit, the superdrive will not work as a drive on your Macbook Air. If you do a google search for using the Air Superdrive on a USB hub (which is essentially what the ports on the back of the display are) you will find many reports of people finding that their drives do not function while on the USB hub. This means the Air Superdrive ONLY works when plugged into the USB port on the Macbook Air itself! This is a limitation of the Air Superdrive, which about 2 years ago was thought to be that the Air Drive required too much power for a normal USB port (500ma max current, when burning a DVD the Air Drive needs 950ma current), however, more recently it was found that the computer chip that converted the signal from the drive to a USB signal was doing a "handshake" with the Macbook Air, and that it would not do this handshake when plugged into another computer, or a USB hub, including the USB hub built into the display.
- Answered by Holger K from Belmont
It didn't work on the USB ports on my 30" Apple Cinema Display. It had to be plugged into the computer directly.
- Answered by Christopher D from Cicero
I have a Mac Mini 2011, and the drive 'works' with the 27" Thunderbolt display with one hiccup.
When I insert an Audio CD (both commercially purchased and burned) the system reports that it is a blank CD. I have to eject the disk, re-insert it, and then the system reads the CD fine. Its rather annoying and I hope it isn't a sign the drive is failing, I've only had it a couple of months and I haven't used it heavily.
- Answered by Paul R from Bozeman
Thanks for the responses so far. Has anyone actually tried the Air Superdrive with the new 27" model yet?
- Answered by Michael S from Franklin Lakes
Sure! You can plug pretty much everything into the USB ports at the back.
- Answered by Yotam T from Rehovot


text:
Marcia Cross in Beverly Hills on December 26, 2012.
Not only does Eva Longoria have a killer bod, but she wants to be exactly like George Clooney. …
She's ready for the summer!
Work it, girl.
Mariah Carey, her boobs and her new beau James Packer, aka the fourth richest man in Australia, took their love to Ibiza, Spain where they gallivanted on a yacht with her kids.


text:
Ed Chamberlin
Sky Sports Presenter & Columnist @skysports_ed
Backing Benzema
Ed Chamberlin explains why he's backing Karim Benzema to finish as Euro 2012's top scorer.
Last Updated: 14/06/12 4:05pm
Has there ever been a better summer of sport?
With the usual feast of Royal Ascot, Wimbledon and The Open on the horizon, we also have a fantastic Euro 2012 in progress, the Olympics in London just over 40 days away and potentially one of the great Test series between the world's top two teams, England and South Africa.
Euro 2012
What a brilliant first week it has been. Unlike many tournaments in the past, Euro 2012 has been full of attacking football and great goals. Let's hope it continues.
The two biggest market moves have seen Germany trade as Sky Bet's new 5/2 favourites and the Netherlands drift to 28/1.
Our bets got off to a flying too with Mario Mandzukic's double against Ireland, which saw his Golden Boot odds slashed by Sky Bet from 100/1 to 16/1. That bet may still be fanciful but we have a major runner on him to be Croatia's top scorer at 7/1.
The one worry is that I have a feeling Slaven Bilic may revert to 4-5-1 against Italy on Thursday evening and I hope he starts ahead of Nikica Jelavic. I said at the start of the tournament that I was amazed Jelavic was 28/1 and Mandzukic 100/1 as the latter has been first choice for a while now and is a livewire of a striker.
I want to add another bet in the same market as now looks a good time to back Karim Benzema at 12/1 to be the tournament's top goalscorer. He drew a blank against England but looked razor sharp with his limited opportunities.
I fancy France to beat Sweden and Ukraine and would be amazed if Benzema was not on the scoresheet. France didn't set the world alight against England but it was a solid start and I still fancy them to top the group and go a long way in the competition. France are down to 8/1 with Sky Bet to win the tournament.
England will be happy with their start too and I was particularly impressed with the work rate and defending on Monday. Roy Hodgson has clearly created a good atmosphere in the squad and got them very well organised.
More guile will be required to progress and to break down the well-drilled Swedes on Friday night. England's 1-0 win in November was their first in 13 internationals against Sweden and incredibly eight of those 13 matches have been draws.
Sky Bet have Sweden, who have to win the game, at 14/5, the draw 12/5 and England an even money chance. I can't resist a small bet on it finishing 1-1 between these two again at 5/1.
My Euro 2012 bets:
Karim Benzema for Golden Boot @ 12/1
England to draw 1-1 with Sweden @ 5/1
Already advised
Mario Mandzukic for Golden Boot (each-way) @ 100/1
Mario Mandzukic to be Croatia's top scorer @ 7/1
France (each-way) @ 12/1
France to top Group D @ 13/8
Croatia to qualify from Group C @ 6/4
Rugby Union
Like England's footballers, our rugby players were brilliantly spirited in Durban on Saturday but also lacked the guile to trouble the Springboks.
They have to pick themselves up for the daunting challenge of playing South Africa at altitude and though another brave performance is guaranteed, I fear the worst this time.
The Boks were miles off their best and totally underprepared last week and I expect them to launch a bombardment this weekend, both aerial and physical - live on Sky Sports 2 HD from 3.30pm.
I expect England to just about live with them for the first 40 minutes but in the key period up to the hour mark, I fear the floodgates will open.
South Africa look a great bet giving up a 9pt start at 10/11. I also fancy them to win by between 11-20I also fancy them to win by between 11-20 points at 5/2 points at 5/2 and the second half to have more points than the first at 4/5 looks a banker.
The gulf between Northern and Southern hemisphere rugby remains huge and I fear for Ireland and probably Wales too this weekend. All the matches are live on Sky Sports on Saturday.
Royal Ascot
Five brilliant days of racing get under way on Tuesday. The Royal one is not the only procession we will see on Day One as the mighty Frankel will win easily again. What a pity it is that he doesn't have a rival for the punters and media to get excited about.
My bet of the meeting is Valbchek in the Jersey Stakes on the Wednesday. He has won both his starts and I was particularly taken by his cosy success at the Craven Meeting after which Valbchek was put away and targeted at this race. The vibes from the yard are infectious.
One winner I'd love to see this weekend is my Sky Sports colleague David Craig in the charity race at York on Saturday (1.20pm). The intrepid north-east reporter is riding for Richard Fahey and raising money for Macmillan Cancer Support.
Having had cancer myself and now having to watch my mother go through chemotherapy for breast cancer, I'm hoping David wins the race and more importantly raises lots of money for a great cause.
For more details and if you'd like to contribute please go to - www.justgiving.com/David-Craig1
US Open
The second major of the year starts on Thursday evening live on Sky Sports. I always love the challenge the US Open throws up and the first six holes at the Olympic Club in San Francisco are particularly brutal.
My golf punting is hopeless but there is no more exciting bet than when your player is in contention on the final day. I've thrown a few quid at Matt Kuchar at 28/1 and am looking forward to following Sky Bet's in-running betting.
Test cricket
The damp appetiser of the Test series between England and the West Indies is over and the one-dayers begin on Saturday but soon we can focus on the main course of the summer - the South African tour.
Rarely have I looked forward to a Test series more than this. The top two ranked sides going head to head with two of the best bowling attacks of recent times.
There's no love lost between the two sides either in a series that has all the ingredients to be a thriller. Sky Bet have England as narrow favourites to win the series at 11/10, South Africa 7/4 and a drawn series is 3/1.
The weather may be terrible but what a summer of sport this is.


text:
New Year's Celebrations
New Year's Eve Grand BuffetDining begins at four o'clock on December 31st
Family and friends are invited to enjoy New Year's Eve Stroudsmoor-style by sipping cocktails in the lounge before dining on a holiday buffet befitting a prosperous New Year! Before saying good-bye to 2014 feast on . . .
Our Fisherman's & Antipasto StationsFeaturing . . . Garden greens with all the trimmings, Artisan Bread, our famous Tomato Zucchini Bisque and a classic, Italian Wedding Soup, prepared salads including our Seafood Insalata . . . Not to mention unlimited quantities of Chilled Shrimp to create the optimum pre-dinner experience and whet your appetite for
The Main Buffet . . .Tortellini Calabrese
Duck ala Orange
Italian Meatballs and Sweet Sausage
Chicken Champignon
Pork Tenderloin Picatta with a Peppercorn Demi-glaze
Salmon Crowns stuffed with Lump Crab Imperial
Just for luck . . . Kielbasa and Sauerkraut
These and more are enhanced by farm fresh vegetable and complementary entremets.
On the Carving Board . . .Tenderloin of Beef with sauce Bordelaise and
Baked Honey Glazed Ham with Raisin Sauce
Finally, enjoy a selection of our famous . . .
Stroudsmoor Confectionsfor DESSERT and traditional hot beverages to complete your feast.
The New Year's Eve Grand Buffet . . . $42.95 per personPlus Beverages, Tax & Gratuity
Children under 10 half-price
(The menus listed are a sample of what will be served during our New Year's Celebration. Selections may vary slightly based on product availability at the time of execution.)
Don't forget Stroudsmoor for the Winter Holidays . . .
Valentine's Day and Presidents Weekend
New Year's Day
New Year's Day Caviar Brunch at the InnOur Buffet Brunch will include . . .
Waffles with seasonal fresh Berries
Caviar and Lox Bar – complemented by Brooklyn Bagels with mountains of Cream Cheese, capers, onions and tomatoes, Succulent Shrimp, Smoked Whiting and Pickled Herring
SCI – Soup and Salad Bar featuring over 30 items
Sweet Breads, Breakfast Cakes and Muffins – Cranberry Baked Brie, New England Clam Chowder and Beef Mushroom Barley Soups
Eggs Benedict and Omelets made to order
Farm-fresh Quiche, Country-style Potatoes and Sausage
STROUDSMOOR Turkey Croquettes with homemade Gravy
Veal Cheshire with fresh pasta - Kielbasa and Sauerkraut
Baked Virginia Ham and Roast Sirloin of Beef on the carving board
Don't forget DESSERT and coffee!
The New Year's Day Brunch Buffet . . . $33.95 per personServed from ten to half-past one
New Year's Day Dinner
The one, the only STROUDSMOOR Grand Buffetserved in our Main Inn Dining Room since 1984.
Featuring our Fisherman's Station, an extensive soup and salad bar, the main buffet table offering eight outstanding entreé selections including
The Prime Rib of Beef and Hickory Smoked Ham on the carving boards . . . complementary starches, pastas and vegetables enhance each selection.
For the sweetest ending to the meal . . . a scrumptious selection of STROUDSMOOR Confections served with traditional hot beverages.
The New Year's Day Grand Buffet . . . $36.95 per personServed from three to nine. Tax and Gratuity are not included in the rates quoted.
Children under 10 are half-price
(Your meal may be cooked to desired temperature; however, consuming raw or undercooked meats, fish, poultry, shellfish or eggs may increase your risk of food-borne illness.)
Lodging at the Inn...Join us for the New Year's Celebration packages, including charming accommodations, spa, New Year's Eve Dinner and New Year's Day Brunch.
Reserve early . . . 800-955-8663 (570-421-6431 locally)
Don't forget . . .
The inn is located in the beautiful Pocono Mountains minutes from the Delaware Water Gap.
Travel Interstate 80 to Exit 307. Follow Rt. 191 South to Stroudsmoor Road.
P.O. Box 153, Stroudsburg, PA 18360
800-955-8663 (570-421-6431 Locally)
www.stroudsmoor.com ~ firstname.lastname@example.com
New Year's Celebration 2014-15
"Inn-viting you to celebrate the Holidays at the inn"May you enjoy your visit to the inn and remember the time fondly for years to come. We wish you happiness, prosperity and the good health to enjoy them in the year to come. Season's Greetings . . .
The Pirone Family
Downloadable Documents•New Year's Celebration Menus


text:
Harper Open Media Storage Wall
A timeless combination of open and concealed storage keeps both printed and digital media neatly and handsomely organized, with plenty of room for games and toys.
- Crafted of solid hardwood and premium veneers
- Features mortise-and-tenon joinery and crown molding trim
- Basalt grey finish is lightly distressed for warmth
- 3 linked bookcases turn any wall into a classically efficient storage space
- Center bookcase features a component shelf and accommodates a TV up to 42"
- Cord cutouts for wire management
- Shelves are perfectly proportioned to hold our baskets and bins
- Each piece attaches to the other for the perfect fit; includes tip kits for stability
- Bookcase shelves are adjustable
- Lower cabinets open to reveal a single adjustable shelf
- Adjustable nylon levelers on feet
- Finished with side molding and decorative keyholes
- Antique brass hardware
- Assembly will be provided upon delivery
- Wipe with a soft, dry cloth. Avoid direct sunlight and heat to protect the finish.
Harper Open Media Storage Wall
- Overall: 110"W x 19"D x 82"H
- Side Bookcase Top Interior without Shelves: 23¾"W x 14¾"D x 47¾"H
- Side Cabinet Interior without Shelves: 23¾"W x 14¾"D x 21"H
- Center Bookcase Top Interior for TV: 48¾"W x 14¾"D x 47¾"H
- Center Cabinet Interior without Shelves: 48¾"W x 14¾"D x 21"H
- Weight: 441 lbs.
Harper Open Media Storage Wall
Wood Swatch - Basalt Grey


text:
Autobiographical Image
Well I wasn't able to make it to class on Thursday so I'm not able to write
about our guess speaker that showed up. But what I heard from other student
was really interesting.
cheryl wilgren clyne
artist statement and resume
thesis exhibition
My first impression while watching this film was that it was really strange.
Continue reading ""Utopia" by Jenny Schmid and Patrick Holbrook" »
Visiting the "Document of China� at the Wiseman Museum was very interesting.
The animation titled "Utopia in Progress" was very engaging to me. Honestly, I still know very little about animation, much less animation in Final Cut Pro. It was really interesting to see some great examples of what you can do.
Continue reading ""Utopia In Progress" by Jenny Schmid + Patrick Holbrook Response" »
When I saw the exhibit, I was really excited to see that they were simply displayed, mostly large scale photographs. For me, this type of exhibit lets me absorb the content much more and the reality of China's growth and change.


text:
Support >
Save 20% on NucleoBond Xtra Midi/Maxi and Midi EF/Maxi EF (endotoxin-free) kits for purifying transfection-grade plasmid DNA, and get a free 10th Anniversary NucleBond Xtra Combi Rack with each order.
This offer is valid in the U.S. and Canada only through 6.30.15. Mention Discount Quote 20117 when ordering. The NucleoBond Xtra Combi Rack is only available while supplies last.


text:
Last edited by WBJ; 11-05-2012 at 11:36 PM.
Words Starting With Caps Is My Signature
Recently Played (out of ten):
Mario Kart 8 (Wii U)- 9.5
Wolfenstein: The New Order (PS4)- 8
Shovel Knight (Wii U)- 9
The Last Of Us: Remastered (PS4)- 10
Kirby: Triple Deluxe (3DS)- 8.5
I'd rather have nothing than have a lie.
Forum Rules
© 2011 eWrestlingNews, All Rights Reserved.


text:
30th Anniversary Francie® Doll
She's mod, she's cool, and best of all, she's back. It's the original wild child, Barbie® doll's MODern cousin Francie™. The set includes a reproduction of the original 1966 doll in her pink, green and white swimsuit, along with one of her most popular all time outfits — Gad-About™. You'll love her green skirt and cap along with her contrasting knit sweater and stockings. She even carries her mod go-go glasses. A miniature eyelash brush is included.
Production doll may vary from the photo shown above. Mattel reserves the right to modify the fashion/fabrics, sculpt, hair color/style, and accessories. Doll cannot stand alone as shown.


text:
Faviana Style 6711
Taylor Swift inspired Sequin with Mesh illusion straps Worn to the Country Music Awards More >
This celebrity inspired dress features head to toe sequins and a flattering mermaid silhouette! Since you'll already have so much sparkle skip a necklace and opt for simple tear drop earrings to complete the look!
Sizes: 0 - 14


text:
Umm, ya.... this is a disturbing picture.... Not the girls so much, but that "Lesbians get me off" is so clearly directed at these WELL underage girls (11ish maybe?) Ya... not cool.
You need to learn how to judge age better. Take a look at their facial structures; cheekbones, nose, eyes; those girls are easily around 18ish.


text:
If you have any feedback or suggestions for our Editorial Team, please contact us at Editorial
Posted by LouieD 1 year ago
Top Response
Posted by LouieD
1 year ago
"i GOTTA BELIEVE THE bLUE dEVIKS WILL BRING THEIR a GAME."
Play - Baltimore Orioles w/Gausman.
Edges - Orioles: Kevin Gausman 4-1 career team starts during the month of July, and 3-1 career team starts versus A. L. West opponents. Rangers: Yovani Gallardo 3-10 last thirteen overall away team starts, and 6-11 away career team starts during the month of July.
With the Birds 6-2 the last eight games as a host in this series, we recommend a 1* play on Baltimore. Thank you and good luck as always.
• Marc's Top Live Plays have been gold, especially in games in which he isolates an underdog that should be the favorite in a game. Best of all it's backed with a 100% winning angle inside the game. Hurry, get Thursday night's 5* MLB Top Live Dog Play now - don't miss out!
Copyright © 1995-


text:
Toriano Holloway did not expect to have "Dr." in front of his name when he was young.
Holloway, now known as assistant superintendent with the Starkville School District, said he, like many students, was held back not by what he thought he was, but by what he thought he was not. A volunteer mentor changed the course of his life, he said, so he knows from first-hand experience how important mentoring can be.
"You can look at me, and I'm supposed to be a statistic ... an African-American male (from) a single-parent (family)," Holloway said. "Luckily, someone took enough interest in me to make me what I am today. There are no self-made men."
Holloway was one of several local leaders participating in the Bulldog Mentors in Training Program Thursday at Mississippi State University's South Hall, training prospective student mentors and educating them about children's needs.
The SSD, the Boys and Girls Club, Sally Kate Winters Family Services, the T.K. Martin Center, the Maroon Volunteer Center, Volunteer Starkville and Mentor Me MSU all partnered for the program, and 50 students signed up. Lacy Jaudon, an MSU graduate student with Americorps' Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) program, said every VISTA aims to increase access to mentoring programs and improve those programs as part of their assignment. VISTAs work to alleviate poverty, she said, and the educational boost of mentoring serves that purpose.
Jaudon said she and fellow VISTA Stedmond Ware developed Bulldog Mentors in Training to fill a need for mentor training. Some mentoring organizations, such as the Boys and Girls Club and Sally Kate Winters, provide their own training, she said, but many organizations do not, particularly school districts where multiple age groups are mentored.
"It's kind of like a catch-all to see if people are interested," Jaudon said. "Some people are scared of tutoring because they feel they're not good at math or English, but it can also be character-building. (The guests are) experts in this field, because they've (worked with) mentors and tutors and worked for years in education and counseling. They're ... here to answer questions and talk about different topics ... especially (for) young college students, 18-20-year-olds who have never been in mentoring positions before."
The evening ended with a volunteer interest forum to let students speak with each of the mentoring organizations represented, Jaudon said, with the goal of matching student mentors to programs. Once students begin mentoring in earnest, she said, she will monitor the students' success.
"(I will be) sending them weekly or biweekly mentoring tips and asking them to do reflections to make sure their mentorships (are) going well, to make sure this session was actually effective," Jaudon said. "If so, we're going to keep doing it once or twice a semester."
Holloway said every child needs an adult in their lives who is consistently committed to his or her guidance, support and well-being, and children don't always find that adult in their families or schools.
In fact, he said, young adults can be more effective in this role than others, depending on the child's personality and circumstances.
"Who will a kid listen to before they listen to Dr. Holloway? I'm a square," Holloway said. "You have more influence on them than I can, than some of their parents do. Every one of you has a responsibility to help someone, because someone is helping you."
Hannah Hathorn, Miss Tupelo 2013 and founder of Mentor Me MSU, said it is also important for mentors to relate to children on a personal level. One child she mentored was having trouble with math and began to cry during one of his study sessions with her, she said, and what she initially thought was frustration with math turned out to actually be frustration with other facets of his life, like wanting to see his grandfather more often or having to take more baths than he wanted to. Once he had finished crying and talking about his issues, she said, he did his math homework with no problems.
"He couldn't concentrate because he had all this other stuff going on in his mind, because of what's going on at home," Hathorn said. "A mentor is a person that sits down and listens to a child ... because they let it all out to us. The other thing is to open yourself up, because you might learn something too."
[1] mailto:firstname.lastname@example.com
[2] http://www.starkvilledailynews.com/sites/default/files/DSCN3313.JPG


text:
SEALs grab spotlight in Hollywood
"Act of Valor" has red-carpet premiere
Midnight shows
There are midnight showings of "Act of Valor" on Feb. 23, the night before the film's release, at the AMC Mission Valley, La Jolla Village, Palm Promenade and Otay Ranch theaters, along with the Edwards Mira Mesa.
HOLLYWOOD Sunset Boulevard was shut down for an hour Monday night, but it wasn't marquee-name movie stars creating the hoopla.
It was Navy SEALs who appear in the new action film "Act of Valor," a first-of-its-kind movie that uses real U.S. military service members in a Hollywood-style plot, all sanctioned by the Navy in the name of recruiting.
The movie, opening in theaters nationwide Feb. 24, celebrated its Hollywood premiere Monday.
There was a red carpet-style entrance for the SEALs and a splashy after party with former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, film star Josh Duhamel and NFL quarterback Tim Tebow on the guest list.
Even the seen-everything Hollywood press corps seemed wowed when a handful of Navy Leap Frogs jumpers appeared in the night sky, then dropped onto Sunset with a whoosh of blue and gold parachutes. They earned applause from the assembled media, who snapped personal photos with their iPhones.
Inside the Arclight Theater, the audience gave a standing ovation to the eight active-duty SEALs who performed in the film.
Director Scott Waugh made jokes about how long the movie took to make. He got married and had two children in the four-year span. The delay, according to people close to the film, came because they needed to film the SEALs when real-life training situations arose. And, apparently, Navy submarines are hard to schedule.
"This is in memory of everyone who has served," Waugh told the audience. "Hopefully this will make you proud."
The mother of one fallen SEAL from Coronado attended the premiere. Her son, Marc Alan Lee, was the first SEAL killed in Iraq. His mom, Debbie Lee, said one of the movie scenes is loosely based on the Ramadi mission that took his life.
"These guys are heroes, and America needs to hear their stories," Lee said.
The movie got a flashbulb-popping premiere in Hollywood, but its heart is really in San Diego.
Scenes were filmed in Coronado, Imperial Beach and on the San Diego-based warship Bonhomme Richard. The SEAL command is headquartered at Coronado Naval Amphibious Base, and that's where all SEAL hopefuls go through the 21 weeks of brutal training that turns them into elite sea-air-land warriors.
According to insiders, the Coronado-based SEALs pictured in the movie had to be nudged into becoming screen "stars."
They play themselves, but in a fictional scenario that shows off signature SEAL skills. There's a nighttime hostage rescue, parachuting out of airplanes, sniper work, use of a mini-submarine and good old-fashioned gunfights.
Putting their faces in front of a camera goes against the long-held "no comment" policy of America's special forces military community. Even when an East Coast-based SEAL team conducted the May mission that killed Osama bin Laden, the SEAL command wouldn't really acknowledge the victory.
The SEALs who walked the red carpet Monday smiled broadly for photos but didn't stop long enough for interviews. In the movie, only first names are used in dialogue.


text:
New York, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - The National Football League has suspended Indianapolis Colts wide receiver LaVon Brazill for at least one year without pay for violating the league's policy and program for substances of abuse.
NFL.com is reporting the lengthy ban, and it would be the second suspension of Brazill's brief career, as he was handed a four-game suspension last summer for a violation of the drug policy.
A sixth-round draft pick in 2012, he has totaled 23 catches for 347 yards and three touchdowns over 25 games in two seasons.


text:
Wallpapers: TG award winners
Want a fresh desktop background for the New Year? We've got you covered…
Posted: 03 Jan 2014
At the end of last year, the TG team rounded up all the cars from 2013, split them into categories, then, with much fighting, debating, and a little bit of biting, crowned a winner for each category.
We published the winners online, and apart from some light bickering about our decisions, you jumped head-first into the comments box and demanded wallpapers.
Well, today is your lucky day.
Over the festive period, we left our super-sophisticated wallpaper-maker working overtime. It's managed to shrink all our gong-worthy cars into desktop-friendly form, and, as you'll see from the gallery above, there's an eclectic mix; from McLaren's P1 to Hyundai's i10, a plethora of Porsches to Peugeot's Pikes Peak racer - they're all there.
So what are you waiting for? Click through, choose the size that takes your fancy, and add it to your desktop background.
Click here to download at 1920x1080
Click here to download at 1280x1024
Photography: Justin Leighton


text:
Little Miss Fox II seems to have picked up a few tricks from her big sister!
Little Miss Fox II seems to have picked up a few tricks from her big sister!
Brilliant fun!! I've just seen the one of Holly and curtains too that's hilarious!!
Mine just try to pull them down by running their faces on them when they are wet or after dinner
Nicki and the Cavalier Clan Our photos www.scotlandimagery.com
Supporting www.rupertsfund.com and www.cavaliermatters.org
Sins, I can't see the video. Did you post it?
I have to find one of those. I thnk my Oz would love it!
Oliver (blenheim, born 3/2001), Riley (black & tan, born 8/2002,), Madison (ruby, born 9/2003), and Oz (tri-color, born 7/2007)
Ha! That is too funny! I want one of those in our backyard...Brooklyn loves chasing things in circles
That looked like she was having fun. I cannot always see videos that's the only thing I don't like about the iPad. So I have to go and look on the computer.


text:
There's something to be said for simplicity. It makes life easier, cuts down on distractions, and in the case of building a car, can mean less of a hit to your wallet.
Rodger Lee wanted to learn the fine art of autocross and road racing. As owner of Ironworks Speed and Custom, he'd worked on enough killer street machines that now he wanted to experience what it was like to go corner carving in one. For this, Rodger set out to build a dedicated autocross/open track car that hovered right on the edge of street legality. Unfortunately, when we got our hands on it, the Camaro was registered for street use, but not yet legal. It had no sideview mirrors or no turn signals, and a host of other infractions that kept us from performing the requisite street drive portion of our testing for our Suspension Challenge. Still, we thought it would be interesting to put the hardcore F-car through our battery of timed tests.
Rodger started with a bare-bones, rolling '67 Camaro. A GM Performance LS7 crate engine with Vintage Air Front Runner system would propel the Camaro through slaloms and short chutes, with a Tremec T56 for gear jamming. The next step was to throw the Chris Alston's Chassisworks (CAC) catalog at the F-body.
For the front, the CAC G-Machine front clip was installed. Designed from the ground up, the G-Machine system is an interconnecting group of suspension components built to fit seamlessly together, making installation easy for even a DIY'er at home. It starts with the hydroformed G-Machine front subframe that includes all the mounting provisions for all the major vehicle components. The subframe also provides a significant increase in structural rigidity over the stock front subframe, improving handling further. From there are CAC's G-Machine double A-arms that feature screw-in ball joints, adjustable-length upper arms, and self-lubricating polymer pivot bearings. The lower arms are fixed length, with the same self-lubricating polymer bushings as the uppers and rigidity similar to armor plate. For steering, a power rack-and-pinion unit directs the wheels (a manual rack is available too). Based on customer order, the subframe is built with motor mounts for either small- or big-block Chevy, including LS-based engines.
The rear suspension is CAC's G-Bar system. Utilizing a triangulated, canted bar four-link design, it centers around a weld-in piece that is easily installed by anyone with simple welding skills and requires no measurement outside of adjustments desired by the end user. Both the upper and lower arms are fully adjustable length-wise, and the lower arms feature adjustment points to tune vehicle ride height. The system can be used with a stock rear (CAC sells a kit for properly welding on the mounting tabs) or you can go with a made-to-fit CAC Fab9 housing. The mounting brace/frame for the G-bar system also bolsters the rigidity of the rear subframe, improving handling in conjunction with the triangulated four-link system.
Both front and rear systems use CAC's own VariShock double-adjustable gas shocks. Made in America with all aluminum construction, the VariShock features 16-step adjustments for both rebound and bump. Together this means the VariShock has 256 different adjustments, providing the capability to handle just about anything. And if you'd rather have air instead of gas, CAC also has VariShocks in an airbag design.
For more info on the full Chris Alston's Chassisworks product line, check out the compay website at www.cachassisworks.com.
Driving Impression—On the Autocross
There was so much potential in this car, and it took some trial and error and lots of adjustments, but we found it. The Chassisworks crew worked hard getting the suspension as close as possible to where we needed it to be on our Monday Test 'n' Tune sessions, very hard in fact. Softer and softer we went before the Camaro's handling started coming to our party.


text:
News & Public Affairs
Veterans for Peace and Occupy Tampa remember Armistice Day listen11/11/11 Josh Holton
WMNF Drive-Time News Friday Listen to this entire show:
Itâs Veterans Day in the US and Europe celebrates Armistice Day marking the official end of hostilities in World War I. Veterans for Peace gathered at the Iraq and Afghanistan war memorials in downtown Tampa this morning at 11:11 on the eleventh day of the eleventh month.
A small group of about a dozen people marked the historic time in sile...Be the first to comment
The legacy of FDR's programs like WPA and CCC on Florida with historian Gary Mormino09/06/11 Robert Lorei
Radioactivity: Live Call-In (Tuesday) Listen to this entire show:
This Thursday President Obama makes an important speech outlining how he plans to reduce the nation's high unemployment rate. Almost 80 years ago President Franklin Roosevelt began several jobs programs (including the Works Progress Administration and the Civilian Conservation Corps) that began to turn around The Depression's staggering 25% unemployment rate. The legacy of those WPA and CCC projects can easily be seen here in Florida. Here to talk about the legacy of FDR's jobs programs is Dr...Be the first to comment
- 2015
- 2014
- 2013
- 2012
- 2011
- 2010
- 2009
- 2008
- 2007
- 2006


text:
16 Feb 2015
In an article for the BBC website, Professor Dame Ann Dowling, stresses the need for girls to be inspired to become engineers.
11 Feb 2015
Professor Steve Young's pioneering speech technology work recognised.
10 Feb 2015
New methods of gathering quantitative data from video may change the way that sport is experienced, for athletes and fans alike.
09 Feb 2015
Dr Shaun Fitzgerald has been named a Royal Academy of Engineering Visiting Professor in Sustainable Buildings at the Department of Engineering.
06 Feb 2015
Professor Al-Tabbaa and Dr Lees secure EPSRC/NSFC funding for UK/China research project on Sustainable Materials for Infrastructure.
02 Feb 2015
Phil Sorrell set up FE-Mobile the world's first highly secure downloadable mobile banking platform and his latest venture Fintech-labs creating more innovations in the mobile arena.
30 Jan 2015
The University of Cambridge has been announced as one of five key partners in the new national Alan Turing Institute.
29 Jan 2015
A group of 33 third year undergraduate Engineering students were involved in the residential construction week of the Constructionarium module.
28 Jan 2015
The International Myorobotics Winter School and Workshop on "Future of Robotics Based on Biological Principles" was held here at the Department of Engineering
23 Jan 2015
A benefactor of the University of Cambridge, Leonard Blavatnik, has made a multi-million pound pledge to provide funding for Israeli scientists of outstanding ability to study in Cambridge.


text:
My father is 77, has COPD, AFIB, and type 2 diabetes. The doctors have given him an extensive list of foods he can't have, including all meat except for Salmon. Neither can he have potatoes, white or sweet, or most green vegetables. The only lettuce he can have is iceburg. He also has little appetite and says it's hard for him to swallow most solid food. I've suggested to Mom that she make him a smoothie in a blender but says she doesn't have one. I'll get her a blender, no problem, but Dad can't live off smoothies alone. Any suggestions besides smoothies, tomato soup, broth, applesauce, etc.? His salt is limited to none, and herbs are restricted so their meals are bland by neccesity.
dodink58 wrote:
Curious as to the whys of it - I can understand if he's on blood thinners that leafy greens are out (although they can calibrate the medication to include one serving of leafies per day if he wants them - my mom's been on blood thinners for years).
As long as there's a good range of nutrients (protein, fat, fiber, etc.) yes, he could live off smoothies - there are folks who live on thick liquids and nothing more due to medical issues. Maybe check with the doctor regarding something akin to Glucerna shakes - they are designed specifically to assist with these types of situations.
Why are herbs restricted? All herbs or is it only spices, not actually herbs, or only the green leafy type things?
If he can have applesauce, what about other mashed type foods like cauliflower or squashes?
Also, treading gently here, you might want to see if depression is an issue because that can really rob a person of appetite in general, and even moreso if the food is blah.
Dad is taking coumadin blood thinner, as well as a slew of other medicines (I don't know which ones, Mom hasn't told me specifically). Mom didn't say if there are specific seasonings which are restricted except "herbs, garlic and salt". I wish they would let me go with my Dad to his doctor appointments so that I could get more answers!
I went with my mother to her oncology appointments as an "extra" ear to help them remember everything, take notes to give info to friends and family and it enabled me to ask questions. My step father resented it but my mom felt relief that I would be there to help her understand all that was going on as I was a medical transcriptionist at the time so I understood the medical talk. Perhaps you could ask for your parents to give the okay to the doctor so you can call for information or ask to go with them the next time. The worst that happens is they say no.
Best wishes!!!!
Always offer kindness and a soft word to the beings around you; You do not know their journey. Your words can be the hug they need or the shove that breaks them.
Thank you! I'm a CNA and I've tried to convince my parents to let me go with them to doctor appointments, but so far they haven't. Mom asks me to explain somethings to her after the appointment but since she didn't understand what the doctor said in the first place, she doesn't give me much to go on.
"herbs, garlic, and salt" leaves a lot of other seasonings on the table (so to speak) - paprika, chili powder (get the individual kinds - like ancho or chipotle - that are just the ground chilies, no salt), curries (again, check for sodium), mustard, pepper, cinnamon (which can sometimes help glucose levels), nutmeg, ginger, and so on.
Would your parents be okay authorizing you as an additional contact person, someone who can check with the doctor about the situation even if you don't go to the appointments with them? When my FIL was very ill, all the medical stuff, plus the financial stuff and all, was too much for my MIL. So, she authorized them to contact me with information and then I'd relay information to her in a manner she could manage it. It was really helpful to her because I didn't have the overwhelming emotional aspects of a seriously ill spouse, so I could take notes, ask questions, and really clarify things.
FWIW my mom has been on Coumadin for decades and most spices are fine. For that matter, it is possible to titrate the Coumadin dosage to allow for a small consistent amount of greens and herbs every day - my mom has it calibrated for the equivalent of a small tossed salad each day; it can be an actual salad, or it can be some cooked spinach, or whatever she chooses, as long as it's consistent.
There are 190 active user sessions right now.
home | contact
us | about us | support us | full disclaimer | privacy policy
PCRM Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
5100 Wisconsin Ave., N.W., Ste. 400, Washington, DC 20016
Phone: 202-686-2210 | E-mail: email@example.com


text:
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — It was the biggest beehive that that Ogden beekeeper Vic Bachman has ever removed — a dozen feet long, packed inside the eaves of a cabin in Ogden Valley.
"We figure we got 15 pounds of bees out of there," said Bachman, who said that converts to about 60,000 honeybees.
Bachman was called to the A-frame cabin last month in Eden, Utah. Taking apart a panel that hid roof rafters, he had no idea he would find honeycombs packed 12 feet long, 4 feet wide and 16 inches deep.
The honeybees had been making the enclosed cavity their home since 1996, hardly bothering the homeowners. The cabin was rarely used, but when the owners needed to occupy it while building another home nearby, they decided the beehive wasn't safe for their two children. A few bees had found their way inside the house, and the hive was just outside a window of a children's bedroom.
They didn't want to kill the honeybees, a species in decline that does yeoman's work pollinating flowers and crops.
So they called Bachman, owner of Deseret Hive Supply, a hobbyist store that can't keep up with demand for honeybees. Bachman used a vacuum cleaner to suck the bees into a cage.
"It doesn't hurt them," he said.
The job took six hours. At $100 an hour, the bill came to $600.
"The bees were expensive," said Paul Bertagnolli, the cabin owner. He was satisfied with the job.
Utah calls itself the Beehive state, a symbol of industriousness. Whether this was Utah's largest beehive is unknown, but Bachman said it would rank high.
"It's the biggest one I've ever seen," he said. "I've never seen one that big."


text:
Office of the Provost &
Vice President for Academic Affairs
West Chester University
Contact Info
Dr. Linda Lamwers
Philips Memorial Hall
Room 103
700 South High Street
West Chester, PA 19383
As Provost, I hope to continue and strengthen the tradition of excellence at West Chester University by fostering collaboration across and between programs, departments and divisions. We are privileged to be part of a campus community that offers outstanding programs taught by a diverse and exceptional faculty that span a full range of disciplines, and to have dedicated and outstanding leaders in other divisions of the university. We have much to learn from each other; such learning will make us stronger. Let us re-commit to excellence in serving our students---helping them to excel in the programs and activities that best match their interests, talents, and dreams.


text:
Only hotels in Oakridge are listed below. Search for the cheapest discounted hotel and motel rates in or near Oakridge, TN for your upcoming personal or group travel. We show the best Oakridge, Tennessee hotel and motel rooms. Browse the Oakridge area hotels to find the perfect lodging! Please use the provided map of the Oakridge hotels. Group booking? Search Oakridge Group Hotel DealsThe Oakridge center is around 12 miles from Montgomery County Museum and 13 miles from Smith Trahern Mansion.
Oakridge Hotels, Motels & Accommodations
Next 20 Oakridge Hotels > [1 - 20 of 50]
Next: See My Oakridge Hotels with Pricing >


text:
Top Searches:
Horoscopes |
Salaries |
Washam |
July 22, 2013
Links: Australian Glass and the Pacific Northwest at Museum of Glass
Wsu Master Gardeners of Pierce County at Master Gardener of Pierce County
The Shape of Things by Neil Labute at Dukesbay Theater
All events for today »
Submit an event | All events
Following a three-year suspension from filmmaking after his Le Corbeau (1943) was judged too critical of his native France, director Henri-Georges Clouzot returned with this thriller that's equal parts crime drama and character study. Suzy Delair stars as Jenny Lamour, an ambitious music hall singer who wants to be a star and is willing to befriend the lecherous old men who ogle her act, inspiring the jealousy of Jenny's husband Maurice Martineau (Bernard Blier). One particular fan of Jenny's is a wealthy financial backer who extends repeated invitations to the entertainer to join him at fine restaurants and his expansive mansion. Armed with a gun, Maurice goes to the estate to confront his rival one night but discovers that the master of the house is already dead, his wife having smashed a bottle of champagne over his head to stave off a sexual advance. Soon, a gruff but dedicated detective, Inspector Antoine (Louis Jouvet) is on the case, with Maurice taking the heat for Jenny.~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
Rated No Rating .
Visit the official site
Cast: Bernard Blier, Louis Jouvet, Jean Daurand, Simone Renant, Suzy Delair
Produced by:
Directed by: Henri-Georges Clouzot
Written by:
Running time: 1hr 42min


text:
SLU, Boeing Announce Boeing BOLD Scholarship Recipients
Saint Louis University and The Boeing Company are pleased to announce the 2011-2012 recipients of the Boeing BOLD Scholarship.
The Boeing BOLD (Boeing Opportunity for Leadership Development) Scholarship program offers a unique opportunity for Saint Louis University students to receive assistance and mentoring from Boeing to become the next leaders in the global workforce.
"Saint Louis University has a long history and good relationship with Boeing," said K. Ravindra, Ph.D., interim dean of Parks College of Engineering, Aviation and Technology. "This scholarship program helps to reinforce the collaborative efforts between Boeing and the University."
These scholarships are available to students, majoring in either business, engineering, mathematics or computer science; and have declared a secondary major, minor or certificate in another of the above four areas. Preference is given to students who have formally declared their major.
Recipients must also have the potential to make a significant contribution to the University's goal of providing a culturally, professionally and ethnically diverse learning environment.
"Leadership is critical to Boeing's continuing success as a global aerospace leader," said Matt Daniels, regional manager of University Relations for The Boeing Company. "Ensuring our future means we're always looking for the next generation of leaders to guide our company in the right direction."
The Spring 2012 recipients are:
College of Arts and Sciences:
Nicholas Brown
Michael Wagner
Wesley Gardner
Jonathan Pilla
Steven Neuenhahn
Jordan Wisch
Michael Schaddel
John Dulle
Beth Winkeler
Erin Kofron
Parks College of Engineering, Aviation and Technology:
Jonathan Steenbergen
Matthew Satcher
Gauri Nijsure
Gayatri Nijsure
Catherine Mollmann
Darion Mayhorn
Kevin Keadle
Christopher (Keegan) Faudree
Zlatomira Atanasova
Aaron Selsor
John Cook School of Business:
Rachel Campbell
Charles Chau
Kelsey Coleman
Daniel Farmer
Caryle Kliesner
Alexandra Pavlishin
Maurice Roper
Steve Shin
Thanh Truong
Tyler Vachio