text:
I have now written over four hundred articles on Tai Chi (Taiji) and Qigong. A common question from friends and fans is when I am going to publish a book. I have contemplated this for a long time. One of the challenges is that many valuable books have already been published, what can I possibly write to contribute to this collective wisdom?
Tai Chi Quan (boxing), a form of Qigong, is recognized as the Chinese treasure to the world. It is a product of five thousand years of Chinese culture and embodies the essences of Chinese philosophy, medicine, and martial arts. The creation and evolvement of Tai Chi boxing consequently reflects Chinese history. Tai Chi is recognized as a healing art as well as a martial art. Serious practitioners attest that Tai Chi Quan changes their perspectives toward spirituality, life, nature, and relationships. Tai Chi transforms their attitude and value system. There are books discussing all these topics. But why and exactly how the antique Yin/Yang theory, Baqua (Eight Trigrams), Wu Xing (Five Elements), Taoism, Confucianism, Zen, theory of the meridian system, and war strategy (best represented by Sun Zi's the Art of War) worked into Tai Chi Quan and make it "Ultimate Grand Boxing"? How has modern Tai Chi survived the regime changes, industrial revolution, and technological breakthrough in the last four hundred years? Why are there many Tai Chi styles and how do they relate to each other? What is the secret of Tai Chi or what makes this cotton soft boxing powerful? I have a pile of books stacked up taller than me that will provide clues to these answers. Some are written in a language more than 2,000 years old. As I am digesting these books, I continue to acquire more books and references. I read Book of Changes (I Ching or Yi Jing that was estimated originated in the 2nd millennium BCE and written in an antiquated language) a few times but still have problems to comprehend it totally; therefore, I seek interpretations by current philosophers. It will be a lifetime journey of learning before I am equipped with the knowledge sufficient to write the book that I want to present to the global Tai Chi community.
Born in Malaysia, Master C. P. Ong of Maryland was educated in Australia and earned his Ph. D in mathematics from University of California, Berkeley. While in graduate school, he began studying Guang Ping Yang Style Tai Chi from Master Yun Chung Chiang. He is also a student of vipassana (insight) meditation and has attended several intensive meditation retreats in Buddhist monasteries in Yangon, Myanmar. Ong's devotion to Tai Chi has spanned over four decades. Chen Style Tai Chi Grandmaster Chen Zhenglei, first came to the U.S. in 1996 and started teaching workshops in 1997. Master Ong participated in the first workshop. Fascinated by Chen Style Tai Chi and Chen Zhenglei's skill, Ong helped Chen expand the workshop circuit, and traveled with him to multiple cities promoting Tai Chi. Grandmaster Chen Xiaowang visited the U.S. later in 1997, and Ong attended his workshop. Ong aided Grandmaster Chen Xiaowang with workshops and accompanied him a few times. The following year, another 11th Generation Chen Style Lineage Holder Grandmaster Zhu Tiancai arrived from China. Ong assisted Zhu with workshops and also journeyed with him extensively for years.
Due to his advanced Tai Chi skill and knowledge, Ong was inducted as the first American disciple of Grandmaster Chen Zhenglei in 2000. Master Ong is eager to learn; he continues to pursue his understanding of Tai Chi by visiting Tai Chi birthplace Chen Village a few times and working with other Chen Style Tai Chi masters like Chen Yu and Zhang Zijun. In the martial arts circle, a discipleship has been regarded as a sacred relationship between a teacher and a student. Disciples have only one master just like they have one birth father. Ong is an exception. Due to his close relationships with the masters, he later became a disciple of Grandmaster Chen Xiaowang with the blessing of other masters.
Master Ong used to be a college professor of mathematics. He is always meticulous about teaching. A couple of years ago I visited him in D.C. while he was teaching Silk-Reeling (Chansi). He divided a single-hand-reeling movement into four parts and went through each part in great detail and clarity. His new book Taijiquan: Cultivating Inner Strength was written with the same rigor. He writes about the cultural background of Tai Chi Quan and leads the readers through the thousand years of Chinese history in a story-telling fashion. Readers can vividly witness how philosophers, generals, emperors, thinkers, monks, warriors, and doctors influenced and shaped the characteristics of the Chinese. People who have no desire to learn Tai Chi will also find his book interesting, especially if they want to understand Chinese philosophy and history. But it is not Ong's intent to teach people Tai Chi by educating them about Chinese philosophy as asserts that Tai Chi Quan is an participatory art. He continues to talk about how and when Tai Chi Quan was created. He reveals the secret of Tai Chi or Neijin (internal strength or energy) by closely examining the Tai Chi principles from Tai Chi classics and body kinetics.
Master Ong does an exceptional job in explaining Tai Chi principles: "Bu Diu Bu Ding" (neither lax nor resisting), "Fang Song" (relax), "Han Xiong Ta Yao" (tuck the chest and settle the waist), "Jie Jie Guan Chuan" (energy threading through all the joints), "Ling Kong Jin" (empty-space force), "Nei San He" (internal three unities), "Wai San He" (external three unities), "Qi Chen Dan Tian" (sink Qi to the Dan Tian), "Song Yao Yuan Dang" (relax the waist and round the crotch), "She Ji Cong Ren" (give up self to follow the opponent), "Shisan Shi" (thirteen postures), "Xiong Yao Zhe Die" (folding motion of the chest and waist), "Zhan Nian Lian Sui" (stick, connect, adhere, and follow), "Yin Jin Luo Kong" (leading force to emptiness), "Yi Rou Ke Gang" (the soft to overcome the hard), and other fundamentals. He expounds the methods of how to as well as why they work from a kinetic viewpoint. Ingeniously, he is able to tie Tai Chi principles back to Chinese philosophy of Yin/Yang, Bagua, Wu Xing, and other elements.
According to Master Ong, Chansi or Silk-Reeling is the foundation of Chen Style Tai Chi. He elucidates its orientations, versatility, relationship with "Dang Yao Jin" (waist-groin energy), "Fa Jin" (release the internal explosive power), "Dong Jin" (comprehension of the hard and soft energy), "Dan Tian nei zhuan" (Dan Tian rotation), and other major Tai Chi principles. Through the practice of Chansi, one can cultivate Neijin. It does not matter which Tai Chi style you practice, adding Chansi to your regular practice can enhance the internal strength or build up true Tai Chi skill. In the last chapter of the book, Master Ong shares two sets (fixed step and moving step) of Chansi exercises that he learned from three Grandmasters with readers.
Even though Master Ong published the book that I dream about writing, I am extremely pleased to be a reader and/or student of his teachings.
Subscribe to this column to get reviews, recaps, and latest news regarding Tai Chi, Qigong, health and martial arts sent directly to your inbox. If you enjoyed this article please click the social media links above and to the left to share it with your friends. You can also subscribe to my page on Facebook here. You can also follow me on Twitter or my own website www.violetli.com.


text:
The PDT Rule
The Pattern Day Trader Rule
In short, this is an NASD & SEC rule that tries to limit the day trading activity of small traders.
Although you may not plan to day trade, be sure to read this, as the PDT rule imposes some restrictions to the small trader, even if you don't day trade.
It applies to traders that buys and sells a particular security in the same trading day (day trades), and does this four or more times in any five consecutive business day period. If your broker detects that you did such trading activity, it will require that you maintain an equity balance of at least $25,000 in a margin account. If you can't, your account is frozen for 90 days.
It is important to have clear what is a day trade. Our friends of Interactive Brokers show you some examples of what is considered day trades, and what not. Be sure to review what is not considered a day trade. Example: Buy 100 ABC shares on Monday, sell 100 ABC shares on Tuesday, and later the same Tuesday buy again 100 ABC. This is not a day trade.
Day trading rule applies for stock and options, but not for futures. In fact, futures and future options are not limited by the Pattern Day Trade rule. If you plan to day trade and don't have the capital required as per the PDT rule, you may try to do that using Single Stock Futures (SSF). However, we advice not to do that, as SSF has the problem of having a wide spread (difference between ask and bid price), which can a big handicap when day trading.
Interactive Brokers has an interesting approach to avoid their customers to broke inadvertently the PDT rule: They provide you the information on how many day-trade you can do in the next 5 days, within the PDT rule. They even don't allow you to execute the offending 4th day-trade. Once you acumulate up to 3 day-trades, they limit your account and don't allow you to open a new position until time passes and the 5-day period have past. In fact, they apply like a soften pre-PDT rule, which blocks you for at most 5-days, in order to avoid applying the stronger official PDT rule, which blocks you for 90-days.
Ok, if you don't plan to day trade… why is this important for you, as a small trader? Because the PDT rule have some practical effects related to the the way you set the stop offs.
Breaking the PDT rule
Although the PDT rule is though for preventing small traders to day-trade, a small trader may break the PDT rule during the normal trading. Look at the following example:
At 10:00 AM, you enter two trades for the volatile stock YYY and ZZZ, buying 20 shares of each at US$30 and US$31, respectively. As a disciplinated trader, you set their stop offs at US$28 and US$29. This is a bad day, and unfortunately, by 11:00, both stocks pull down and their stop offs are hit, and you automatically sold them. You are happy because the stop offs protected your capital: both stocks are trading now around US$25. However, as you bought and you sold two stocks the same day, they count as two day-trades, even when you were not actually day-trading.
The next day, as you never heard about the PDT rule, you try again with two stocks MMM and NNN, set your stop offs, and again, before noon both stop offs were triggered. These also count like two additional day-trades, so you now have accumulated 4 day-trades in two days, and by the PDT rule, you have to have US$ 25,000 in your account or you are prevented to trade by 90 days. And you were not day trading in the strict sense of the term.
Even more, IB pre-PDT rule will not help in this case. When the fourth stop off is triggered, IB trade execution validation rules will block the execution of the stop off. This is even worst, the stock may continue to go down, your stop off was not activated, and you cannot execute an exit from the position until the next trading day. Scary, uh?
The morale is that even if you don't plan to day-trade, as a small trader you should be very aware of the PDT rule, as it limits your trading strategy.
Small Trader strategies
In the example above, you see how easily you can break the PDT rule and get in trouble. In the next parragraphs we provide some practical advise to avoid problems with the PDT rule.
|As a general rule, enter the trade (both the open position and the stop loss) as late on the day possible, preferable near the time of market close. If the trade is going to fail and the stop off is marked to be triggered, it is preferable this happening the next day, so the operation is not deemed as a day-trade.Some traders think that this is a bad policy as you are taking the risk of carrying a position overnight, and a gap up or down may happen, making the stop off activated in the worst possible conditions, and in this case the loss would be bigger than having the stop off activated the same day. The answer is that if that worries you too much, you should be day-trading. Day traders, by principle, never carry a position overnight, to avoid an adverse gap up/down.Gap up or downs tipically occurs due to unexpected news or intense rumors. You will never be free of that, if you carry a position overnight.
Nevertheless, you can do certain things to minimize that. For example, if you trade a post on an earnings anouncement day, there are bigger odds for a gap up or down the next day. Another sign of something unusual is happening is to see big volatility or untypical volume increasing by the end of the day. In those cases, this may mean that some information has been disclosed, but is not of public domain. A gap up or down is more likely to happen the next day.
|When trading options, entering the trade by the end of the day has the inconvenience that for the next day, the option price will be immediately decreased with one theta. As we recommend to trade options with theta near to zero, this should not be a problem. But, if you are playing near-to-expire options, this is a fact to have in mind before entering a trade near the end of the day.
|Never open more than three positions on a single day. If you open 4 positions and all of them are stopped off, you will be punished by the PDT rule. No exceptions. Although thus guideline is necessary, it is not sufficient to avoid the PDT rule.Actually, this situation can happen frequently to the undisciplinated trader. Some beginner traders jump immediately into another trade as soon as they are stopped out of a position, frequently with less analysis that the previous trade. They feel they need to have the money on some move. If this happens frequently and compulsively, then there may be a gambling problem.But even if a trader do his homework in advance and have like 4 candidates to invest in, jumping in one after other due to being stopped out will activate the PDT rule. This leads us to the next, very important rule.
|Have a track of the day-trades available for the day, and for the next 4 days. That is the maximum number of trades you may open every successive day. Have in mind that if you exhaust your 3 day-trades in a single day, you will not be able to trade the next 4 days.Interactive Brokers help on this, as they provide a counting on how many day-trades you have available for a 5-day horizon. But you can do this yourself by hand.
|Plan your trades to be done spaced evenly along a week. This the better policy. If you plan to do one trade at most every other day, you will never be catched by the PDT rule.In fact, this works perfect with the healthy advice of do not overtrade and allow you time to do your research, identify opportunities, plan your trades and finally, trade your plan. This every-other-day trade policy will force you to devote time to the pre-trade activities.Of course, you may need to adapt this rule to the conditions of the market, or the event days of the stocks you are following. For example, you may need to advance or postpone the day you intend to trade due to an earnings announcement.
|Have in mind that the reentries are not day-trades.For example, you buy a stock on Monday, and the stop off is triggered on Tuesday morning. However, some hours later the chart shows that the pullback was a momentary reaction and the price is clearly resuming the trend you initially anticipated. You want to reenter the trade, but don't want to "use a day-trade" for that.This shouldn't stop you. You can reenter and it is not considered a day trade. Of course, if the stop off for the reenter trade is hit on Tuesday, it does count as a day trade.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Since Windows 2000 NTLM has been replaced with Kerberos. Thus Kerberos uses UPNs to identify the users. UPN is also the preferred usernaming format.
Now, why does Windows 7 still display a logged in AD user by default as
DOMAIN\USER instead of
USER@REALM? This happens only when I explicitly log in with the UPN. Same happens in SharePoint, file properties dialog and so forth. I presume that this is done by SSPI automatically.
I know that AD internally works with SIDs but Kerberos does not. At least my GSS-API does not provide access to the PAC, I solely rely on the implicit UPN which is of course not findable through LDAP. (Note the attribute
userPrincipalName can be reset to any arbitrary value like the explicit UPN (enterprise principal).
Edit: here is another good reason why this crap is still around. Hopefully, this legacy will be gone with Windows 9. Windows NT 4 is dead, fortunately. And another one finally deprecated. So, someday Windows should show Kerberos realms in the domain logon dropdown box instead of NetBIOS names.


text:
At the end of a TLP2008-3 mission, this Turkisch Air Force F-4E-2020 is about to drop its brake-chute, before returning to the ramp at Florennes AFB. This reg. new to the database.
Elite 2007 member!
Close-cropped view of RAAF F-4E Phantom A69-7213 (USAF Serial 69-7213, Cn 3871) on static display, with weapons, at Laverton on 18Apr1971. The occasion was the RAAF 50th Anniversary Air Display, w... (more)
F-4E-2020 from 132 Filo of Turkish Air Force, returning to the apron at Florennes AFB after a TLP2008-3 mission.
New in database! Parking in Tel-Nof airbase during show for Israel's 60 Independence day
F-4E of the 334th TFS/4TFW after its return from participating in Gunsmoke '85 at Nellis AFB.
Exiting RWY36 with the chute still deployed.
New is Database! Parking in Hatzerim airbase during cloudy morning few days before flight Acadamy course gradiuation.


text:
MTV has given an early ten-episode back order for the fourth season of the comedy series "Awkward".
Chris Alberghini and Mike Chessler are taking over as the new showrunners starting with season four. The pickup brings the total order to twenty episodes, the same as the currently airing season three.
The news wasn't so good for USA's sports-themed drama "Necessary Roughness" which has been cancelled after three seasons.
Callie Thorne starred as a therapist for a pro football team who begins working for high profile athletes, musicians and politicians.
Debuting in 2011, the show pulled in 4.5 million viewers on launch. That number dropped to around half that amount by the end of the third season.
Source: Variety


text:
ICYMI Amelia Taylor-Hochberg published a 3 part interview with Coy Howard, by students in John Southern's "Architectural Media and Publishing" Cultural Studies seminar at SCI-Arc. Ewa Lenart was impressed "Great Work and greatly inspiring teacher!" Plus, Nicholas Korody explored... View full entry »
We are told that the "architecture of tomorrow" needs to be networked, collaborative and inclusive, drawing its inspiration from crowdsourcing, open access and mass customisation. But to do this "architecture must be put into the hands of people themselves" and the architect possibly "guillotined". [...]
This is inflammatory stuff [...]. — bdonline.co.uk
How do you build a civilization from scratch? According to Open Source Ecology (OSE), the first step is building the right machines.Started by Marcin Jakubowski in 2003, OSE is a network of farmers, architects, and engineers based in rural Missouri with branches in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York... View full entry »
What exactly are [UNStudio] going to share? Will it be more than just some sketches they have laying around? Could it be a big database of materials and tools? Or maybe a bucketload of failed competition entries? Unfortunately, the platform features none of this. At his very moment there are only 27 articles available (they've been online for 6 months now), 26 of which were written by UNStudio, and most of them are as vague and imprecise as their view on open source. — failedarchitecture.com
Previously on Archinect: UNStudio launches open source knowledge sharing View full entry »
Smart city infrastructure can augment the ability of managers, planners, designers and engineers to define and implement a fundamentally better next generation of buildings, cities, regions — right? Maybe. For that to be a serious proposition, it's going to have to be normal for planners and designers not only to collaborate productively with engineers, but to do so with the full and competent participation of the only people they mistrust more than each other ... customers. — Places Journal
"A city is not a BMW," writes Carl Skelton. "You can't drive it without knowing how it works." In a weighty think-piece on Places, he argues that the public needs new tools of citizenship to thrive in a "new soft world" increasingly shaped by smart meters, surveillance cameras, urban informatics... View full entry »
In June this year UNStudio will launch the new organisation of its practice as an open-source knowledge-based practice operating projects around four specialised Knowledge Platforms.
As part of the reorganisation of the studio a new interactive online knowledge platform will be launched, aimed at facilitating the open exchange of knowledge, with the ultimate goal of introducing and encouraging the expansion from a collaborative to a co-creative working model for architecture. — unstudio.com
Current tag:
SUBMIT NEWS: submit in 60 seconds!


text:
REACH FOR THE SKYopens in a new windowopens in a new window
No matter your destination, Sky Magazine's engaging stories about travel, lifestyle and business help you make the most of your time in the air and on the ground.
Nashville International Airport (BNA)
Nashville has a song for you, whether you're a little bit country or a little bit rock 'n' roll. Why else would the Tennessee town be known as "Music City, USA"? If you stick around long enough, you'll have your toe tapping to a new beat just walking around town.
Bring Your Appetite for Life
There are some givens: This is meat-eating country, which means you should ready your steak knives and bring along a bib for all the barbecue you can eat. Grits and homemade biscuits are a staple on many a Nashville menu. And we think with one taste of a grits soufflé, you'll move to the South yourself. Luckily, Nashville is home to beautiful parks and green areas that are the perfect place to run off some of these indulgences.
History permeates this middle of Tennessee town's bucolic surroundings, from Civil War landmarks to antebellum mansions to a former president's grand estate. When you're finished wandering through the past, Nashville's quirky collection of high end department stores and local boutiques will net special mementos and a few items you can't live without. Visit the 12 South District to stroll the vintage stores and check out the works in the Art House gallery. Or carry a little of that country vibe back home with a hat, a pair of boots or a gift that simply sings to you.
Why fight it? Fill your eyes and ears with the country music that has made this town the pantheon of nitty-gritty bands. The Country Music Hall of Fame houses collections and oral history artifacts that tell the tall tales of country music from some of the finest people who ever worked in the genre. You'll strike just the right chord with a visit to the Grand Ole Opry, which belts notes to the heavens every week.
Nashville is at the heart of country music lovers. Throw your guitar over your shoulder and strum along to the rhythm of this charming city.
Flights to Nashville
Nashville Area Hotels
Car Rental, Nashville Airport (BNA)
REACH FOR THE SKYopens in a new windowopens in a new window
No matter your destination, Sky Magazine's engaging stories about travel, lifestyle and business help you make the most of your time in the air and on the ground.


text:
Liam McNulty
Date of Birth: 27/02/1942
Skydiving since: 1980
Number of Jumps: 4,000 +
Brief personal history of your skydiving, positions held, competitions attended etc., achievements : I started as a Static Line (round main and front-mounted reserve) student in 1979. Loved the feeling, stuck with it and am still jumping.
I still instruct first jumpers and progressing students and hope to for a while yet.
Was Safety Officer in National Association (in Ireland) and have been involved on the IPC's Technical & Safety Committee for over 20 years.
I have attended a number of competitions in the capacity of FAI Controller and Jury Member.
When asked what he felt was his greatest achievement; what had given him the most pleasure, he answered « Jumping into Arnhem in 2002, along with 80-year-old veterans of the 1944 jump. Fond memories, and thanks to Bob Card who arranged it». Meeting and working with good people has been a great pleasure.


text:
Sheriff: 70-Year-Old Uses Rifle Butt To Stop Attack On Disabled, Senior RoommatesOfficials said the suspect in the attack, 36-year-old John Tutson, was knocked unconscious.
Double Homicide Investigation Underway After Bodies Of Elderly Couple Found In Glendale HomeA spokesperson for the Glendale Police Department told CBS2/KCAL9 they received a call around 9:30 a.m. from a concerned family member who had not heard from residents in the 600 block of Alexander Street.
Long Beach Man Charged With Sexual Assault Against Elderly WomanProsecutors say a man who allegedly broke into a Harbor City home and sexually assaulted an 88-year-old woman has been charged with multiple felonies.
Man Killed, Woman Injured In Redondo Beach Bus AccidentA couple in their 70s was struck by a bus in Redondo Beach on Wednesday evening, killing the man and seriously injuring the woman.
Public's Help Sought Locating Man Wanted In Killings Of Elderly CoupleShirley Isom and her husband Armie "Troy" Isom were discovered December 26, 2014 at their home, located in the 300 block of Roughrider Road, in the unincorporated La Verne area of Los Angeles County.
Neighbor Rescues Elderly Residents From Burning HomeThe blaze ignited in a large trash can just after 3 p.m. in the 2800 block of East Dutch Avenue, Anaheim police Lt. Bob Dunn said.
Public's Help Sought In Search For Robbery Suspect Targeting Seniors At BanksA LAPD spokesperson says the suspect was captured on video loitering around a bank near Jefferson and Crenshaw boulevards around 10:45 a.m. October 1.
Elderly Identify Theft: Why Older Americans Are Becoming A Growing TargetIn 2013, there were 16,993 reported instances of identity theft crimes that were committed against people 70 years and older.
Woman Arrested In Fatal Shooting Of Mother, 96, In RossmoorAn elderly woman Friday was being held on $1 million bail in the fatal shooting for her 96-year-old mother.
'I Still Wanted To Believe He Was My Grandson': Pacific Palisades Woman Recounts Bizarre Crime SpreeAn elderly Pacific Palisades woman who was a victim in a bizarre crime spree earlier this week says she initially thought a transient who allegedly held her at knife-point was her grandson.
Riverside County Announces Opening Of Cooling Centers Drivers also are urged to never leave children, the elderly or pets in a parked vehicle even for a short period of time.
Elderly Pasadena Woman, Dog, Neighbors Recovering After Attack By Swarm Of BeesAn elderly Pasadena woman, her dog, and three neighbors were recovering Friday after they were attacked by hundreds of bees, according to reports.


text:
Strapless sweetheart neckline. Fit to Flare all lace ivory wedding gown. Beading and bling from head to toe, very fairytale like.
- Alterations: taken in at the waist. Bra cups sewn in and clips on the inside of the bust to attach a modesty panel to cover the see through portion for church
- Preservation Method: dry cleaned, comes from smoke-free home.
- Terms of Sale: Other
- Original Owner: Yes
- Has Original Receipt:
- Location: saskatoon, SK
- Will Ship to: Anywhere at Buyer Expense
- Payment Methods Accepted: Other
Please read our BUYER'S GUIDE before purchasing a dress online.


text:
Ledford Middle, Pilot Elementary awarded for improving academics, behavior
Published: Tuesday, December 4, 2012 at 9:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Tuesday, December 4, 2012 at 9:30 a.m.
Two Davidson County Schools have received recognition for improving student academic and behavior outcomes.
Pilot Elementary School was awarded as a Positive Behavior Intervention and Support Green Ribbon School, and Ledford Middle School was named a model school in PBIS. A Green Ribbon School uses a systematic approach that establishes and creates environments that are more predictable and effective for achieving academic and social goals. The goal is to make sure all students have access to the most effective and accurately implemented instruction and behavioral practices and interventions possible.
Green Ribbon Schools earned at least 80 percent in teaching behavioral expectations to students and staff and achieved that same percentage on a schoolwide evaluation tool. They also have completed Module I team training and have attained at least a Level I on the implementation inventory. Pilot received the same recognition last year.
A model school has completed all requirements for Green Ribbon schools and completed Module 2 training. The school has also achieved a Level 2 on the implementation inventory and 90 percent total on a schoolwide evaluation tool.
Rob McQuat, exceptional children's director for Davidson County Schools, reported that since 2002, 26 of 34 Davidson County Schools have received one or more modules of PBIS training.
"Thank you to the faculty and staff at Ledford Middle and Pilot Elementary for being leaders in this important initiative," he said.
Reader comments posted to this article may be published in our print edition. All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be re-published without permission. Links are encouraged.


text:
Sign up to leave a comment
Please sign up to flag this comic.
1 comment
This particular strip has been republished to remove the original title, because my blog host received a take-down notice. It seems that the original title, which was taken from a quote in this story: http://wonkr
/ is a trademarked name. Go figure. Buncha lawyers got all threatening n sh#t... They ought to go bother the guy I'm satirizing, not some lowly cartoonist that simply uses a quote from a news story because it strikes her as funny! :PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!
March 19th


text:
Part 2 of our year end summary. These are a few unique and special moments that we experienced last year.
1. Boy meets girl. For all of our wedding video packages, we include a segment where we'll ask the best man to ask the groom a few questions about how he met his fiancée, what their first date was like, and how did he know she was the one. It really gets the conversations going between the others in the room. We've heard some wild ways that couples meet. One couple met online. They were on opposite sides of the US. He in Georgia; her in California. They fell in love and decided to marry in live in Georgia. There was another couple that met through friends and at first, really didn't like each other. She said "he was too short" and he complained that she was too "quiet". It seems they were a good fit after all. Three years later I'm producing their wedding DVD and photos. Now one of my favorites is the couple that met on interstate. He was a Georgia state patrolman. She was a speeding motorist. While on interstate 75 one day (in the middle Georgia area), he pulled her over for driving a little too fast. He only gave her a warning. While not love at first sight, they did meet again a few weeks later at an elementary school function. As luck would have it, they each had children attending the same middle school. And there "the spark" ignited.
2. Special wedding moments I love to produce videos and photos of different types of weddings either it be from different religions or backgrounds. This particular wedding was very casual, definitely not pretentious. It was a pretty outside morning wedding. However I was surprised to see this one. The groom walked down the aisle nicely attired with his pale yellow shirt, dress pants and bare feet. Yes, he felt it would mean more to him to be natural in his bare feet. He had shoes but that was for the reception. He did do a lot of dancing during the reception and wearing shoes on a crowded dance floor just made sense. He was a laid back kind of guy. She was more of a conservative that definitely loved his wild crazy side. In another couple's reception, there was a sweet moment between the groom and his mother. It was the third dance of the evening preceded by the bride's dance with her father. Both mother and son had a great sense of humor. She had decided to do something a little special for her son during their mother-son dance. She knew her son would get emotional so to lighten things up she had the DJ play a fun song about halfway into their dance. Most of the time the mother and son dance to a very sweet song with lyrics about how much he loves his mom. I've seen so many grooms and their mothers get a little emotional during their dance. And in this situation she he knew her son well. He wiped a few tears away as he slow danced with her. About halfway through the song the music stopped and the DJ began to play a faster song, one of her favorites from the '80's. She starts doing this "robot" dance and the groom began laughing along with the entire roomful of guests. What a great mom. You could see how close they were. It was a really touching and funny moment.
There's always that fun time during the reception where the DJ has the groomsmen put on the different outfits and sing YMCA. You know the attire: the cop outfit, the Indian, the construction worker and such. If the guy is embarrassed about his dancing, he won't be any more with all his buddies dressed up like that. It's fun for them and it looks great on video. You can see them having a great time. And sometimes the guys need a little extra push to get out on the dance floor.
Last spring we had a wedding ceremony where the bride's father was also the minister. The bride was choked up and at first could hardly speak her vows. The words were so touching. From the start, her father was emotional as well. Seeing his only daughter getting married to the man she loves. It was so heartwarming. I could see it moved their guests too. That's a sight I don't see a lot of… men showing their emotions. But when they do, it really moves everyone. Another heartwarmer, the groom's father (also the best man) got choked up during our pre-ceremony interview with them. We ask the father to give his son a few words of advice. Now when we do this with the bride and her mom, it's so sweet and usually invokes a few tears between mother and daughter. Now when the father gets choked up, it's tough for me as a videographer to see something so sweet and not be moved by it. Their special moments, preserved on DVD forever, that's the best part. A special moment for the family to cherish for years to come even the kids and grandkids will get to experience some of the joy.


text:
Are you worried about the apparent drive of the educational establishment which focuses on uniformity, testing, standardization, or as Tom Peter's so aptly puts it "schooling kids into submission"?
Yes , there are great schools, both public and privately funded, and even more inspired teachers, but unfortunately they fail to influence the system as a whole.
Children should be taught in an active way by doing things and playing games. It's very different than what is taught in schools, which involves sitting back and absorbing information- Edward de Bono, psychologist
Excitement and enthusiasm create purpose. Without enthusiasm a child lacks commitment and motivation. Schools celebrate order and raising hands over passionate outbursts. Teachers are encouraged to rely on curriculum and painstakingly formal outlines to teach under the "education is best" attitude of learning.
The paradox is that children learn easily when they want to. If it's interesting, fun, exciting and relevant children will develop a desperate need to know. If it's not exciting, no matter what the consequences, learning is hard.
"Formal education has become such a complicated, self conscious and over regulated activity that learning is widely regarded as something difficult that the brain would rather not do..." - Howard Gardner, The Unschooled Mind
As a parent, there is little you can do to rebel against the institutional limitation of formal education- unless you are willing to undertake homeschooling- but there are plenty of things you can do to breath life into learning.
In his book A Different Kind of Teacher, John Taylor Gatto suggest infusing your child's learning with passion, stimulation and extraordinary experience. Try one or all three of these approaches:
- Independent study. Go on an adventure of your child's choosing. Take a few hours, one day a week to chase a "big idea" with your child. Make it a field trip of discovery.
- Apprenticeship. Find out what your child is learning and what peaks their interest. Then find somebody somewhere they can shadow for a few hours, a few days or at regular intervals.
- Community service. Once a week or once a month, give your children a taste for life. Giving is receiving, even in education.
Making a child accountable for their learning is the best education you can give them says Dennis Littky of the Met School in Providence, Rhode Island. The Met school operates by two key principals: Education by Interest (EBI), and Learning through Internship (LTI).
Littky's approach is simple. Make your kids explain what they are doing, why they are doing it, and what they are learning from it. Accountability makes a child engaged, articulate, self assured and bound for success.
As parents, you may not be able to change the current widespread educational paradigm, but you can change your response to it!
Tom Peter's says it best:
Don't teach-to-test, teach to quest!
Don't devour facts, develop talent
Instead of multiple choice, think individual choice
Classroom vs studio
Rather than encourage obedience, encourage and applaud initiative
Don't get preoccupied with the "norm", aim for excellence.


text:
Price: $25.00
The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum draws more visitors than any other museum in the worldup to 90,000 a dayand the exhibit of air travel posters featured in this unique companion volume combines arresting, colorful art, rare archival material, and a unique approach to aeronautical history. The postersmost of them never before publishedfeature barnstormers, gliders, and flying boats, the earliest passenger flights, the first luxury-liners, mail carriers, jets, and much more. Spanning a century and a half, they combine the popular art and the commerce of their eras, with both explored in the entertaining, informative text by a longstanding National Air and Space Museum curator.
From 19th-century circus impresarios offering rides in gaudy hot-air balloons to the sleek 21st-century airliners, the posters provide a fascinating illustrated history of flight as it evolved from an exotic realm inhabited only by visionaries and daredevils into our modern world of speedy jets and frequent flyersno longer extraordinary, perhaps, but still echoing with the exhilarating thrill and glamorous excitement captured here.
spectacular, engrossing, and at times almost overwhelming in its power. But its real achievement, and one that's much rarer for a large-format filmis the way it uses its gigantic images to educate, engage, and draw connections between natural disasters and human lives.''The Boston Globe
''An intermittently spectacular science lesson, National Geographic's Forces of Nature delivers a trio of natural disastersvolcanoes, earthquakes and tornadoesinterwoven with well-meaning educational soundbites from a trio of scientists.''Variety Magazine


text:
I picked up this nail polish while randomly walking through a drugstore last fall. I was aware that it wasn't exactly a fall colour but I bought it anyway because I was sure my collection was lacking a colour like this. In real life it is a bit more orange than it appears here and it is an excellent summer colour. I have in fact been wearing it over and over which is something I NEVER do with my 100+ collection of nail polish (which is no longer growing by the way).
What do you think?


text:
Our Publications
- Aspen
- Atlanta
- Chicago
- Dallas
- The Hamptons
- Hawai'i
- Houston
- Los Angeles
- Miami
- New York
- Orange County
- San Diego
- San Francisco
- Scottsdale
- Washington, D.C.
The handmade pasta
Phoenix Risingby Jamie Gwen | Photo: Andrea Bricco | Modern Luxury Orange County magazine | April 2, 2013
O.C.'s much-loved Prego Ristorante is back from the ashes—quite literally. The landmark Italian eatery for two decades welcomed the business-lunch and neighborhood-dinner crowds to experience authentic Roman-style pizza from a wood-burning oven, handmade pastas, spit-roasted meats and entirely homemade desserts—until a roof fire temporarily closed it down. Five months later, it's reopened, and it's once again landed a spot on my restaurant radar. And with very few great Italian dining establishments in our backyard, my palate was delightfully pleased during my recent visits to the Irvine spot. Yes, the food is still deliciously handcrafted, but the ambience has now risen to meet it. It's had a bit of a makeover and features a splash of soft-hued color, a glassed-in patio and copper accents. And the exhibition kitchen is my favorite part. I suggest walking slowly past the chefs as you are escorted to your table… you might learn something.
On both my lunch and dinner outings, the service is attentive and the food is a beautiful balance of authentic and innovative. Partner and Executive Chef Ugo Allesina was born and raised in Piedmont, Italy, and his cuisine has a German influence from his time spent working in fine hotels around the world. His dedication to fresh, full-flavored food is evident in the menu, and the wine list highlights the best of Italy and California—the perfect pairing to his honest, thoughtfully prepared dishes.
The first item to arrive at the table when I dine with friends for lunch (and dinner) is a basket of focaccia, laden with the aroma and essence of garlic. It's paired with a bright arrabiata sauce, and it's the perfect foil for the rich bread. (Quick, take it away, or I'll eat the whole basket!) A glass of 2009 ripasso from the Veneto region appears while I peruse the menu, and I'm almost transported to the little trattoria in Venice that I remember so fondly.
I order the burrata (I never turn down good cheese), and I love a chopped salad, so I select that, as well. The ricotta-filled buffalo mozzarella known as burrata—or food from the gods—is so fresh, creamy and properly dried of its soaking liquid that a hush comes over the table as we dig in. Fresh oregano adorns the plate, and thinly sliced, well-seasoned tomatoes are a flavorful complement to the ball of cheese—as is the vibrant pesto. There's not much of it, but it's so good that I ask for more. You should, too. You'll find that the burrata is delicious with the herbaceous spread, and the focaccia will be happy to bathe in the residual sauce. The salad also is scrumptious, with finely chopped romaine, carrots, bell peppers, celery and mushrooms, all combined and tossed in a lemony vinaigrette. The only ingredient lacking is a sprinkling of the 24-month aged Parmigiano-Reggiano that the chef prides himself on using. Once added, I'm in heaven.
We move on to the calamari fritti. These golden, tender tentacles are fried in clean oil, and they're crave-worthy. And then there's the bruschetta. It has that Old World charm and New World flavor that make it hard to resist. Toasted Tuscan bread with tomatoes, mozzarella and prosciutto di Parma. (Have I made you hungry yet?)
Don't miss the Napoli-style thin-crust pizzas, aromatic from the wood-burning oven and bubbling with goodness. We devour a pizza quattro formaggi, with fontina, Parmesan and mozzarella, and a hint of Gorgonzola. The crust's underside is blistered and brown, like any good Italian chef will say it should be, and the mix of cheeses is pizza-pie perfection. Another glass of Italian red wine, and I would've been happy to stop here.
But no, I eat for you! So we select a couple of bowls of handmade pasta. My favorite is the gnocchi cibreo, pillowy potato dumplings drenched in a creamy roasted garlic cheese sauce with chicken, pancetta and shredded radicchio. The sauce is outrageously bold with flavor, the pancetta adds a salty hue, and the radicchio cuts through it all with a pleasantly bitter bite. My only critique: The chicken could have been cut slightly smaller to blend better into the sauce and bathe the gnocchi. I love the scaloppine al marsala. It's a traditional Italian dish you cook for a crowd (or a date) because it's sure to impress—and Allesina's does. It's rustic, Roman-style comfort food with class, and it puts me over the top.
Then the dessert cart rolls by. Now, I seldom turn down a dessert, and I can't resist tiramisu or cheesecake, particularly when I'm told they're housemade. Impressive. The tiramisu is honorably prepared in the Italian style, slightly soaked but not too wet or sweet. A must-have. So is the raspberry white chocolate cheesecake—which I finish—paired with a robust yet smooth espresso macchiato. The food coma sets in, but it's worth it.
With its attention to quality fare and traditions, and its new look—along with a wonderful happy hour menu and private dining areas for your next festa—it's safe to say this iconic Italian restaurant is flying high once again. Welcome home, Prego. Welcome home.
Prego Ristorante
18420 Von Karman Ave.
Mon.-Sat.: 11am-10pm
Sun.: 11am-9pm
Appetizers: $7-$15
Pasta: $14-$21
Mains: $25-$32
Desserts: $7
Who Goes There
The biz crowd and Italian food aficionados
You Must Order…
The pizzas, the burrata and the gnocchi
You Simply Must Beg for…
The pesto
Best Table in the House
In a corner booth or the glassed-in patio


text:
Cornelius Davis Washington
Position: DE
Height: 6-4 Weight: 265 lbs.
Born: September 10, 1989 in Hephzibah, GA
High School: Burke County
College: Georgia (school history) (Washington college stats)
Drafted by the Chicago Bears in the 6th round (188th overall) of the 2013 NFL Draft.
Weighted Career AV (100-95-...): 1 (13070th overall since 1950)
Sponsor this page for $5 and help Pro-Football-Reference.com provide this service. Your message will replace this ad.


text:
How to Log into TimeForce
You can log into TimeForce by clicking on the graphic below and typing your User Name, Password, and Company Code, which are provided by the Facilities Management H.R. Coordinator.
TimeForce Usage for Employees
Employees can log into TimeForce to verify their timecards, to submit a time off request, and to view existing time off requests. Please consult with the Facilities Management H.R. Coordinator or the TimeForce Employee Guide if you need more information than what's provided in the previous instructional guides.
TimeForce Usage for Supervisors
Supervisors can log into TimeForce for all of the employee tasks as well as to approve/deny existing time off requests for their employees, to approve or correct timecards, to adjust punches with errors, to enter absences, and to generate reports. Please refer to the TimeForce Usage for Employees section for assistance with completing employee tasks. Instructions for supervisory tasks in TimeForce can be found in the TimeForce Supervisor Guide.


text:
The Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games are less than two days away and everyone is gearing up for Olympic parties and mass gatherings to watch and cheer on their favorite athletes in a number of different sport events, or if you're one of the lucky ones, you get to watch them in person. With a number of different events and eight new ones, we all have our favorites that raise that anticipation of who will walk away with the gold. Here are some events that the Action Sports Examiner is excited for and a bit of information of what the event is. Which disciplines are you most excited for?
Visit http://www.sochi2014.com/en to see the schedule of the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games.
Men's and Women's Super-G
The Super-G (Super-Giant) is an alpine skiing event that incorporates aspects of both the downhill and the giant slalom. Athletes achieve speeds just as high as in the downhill (120 km/h), but the course trajectory is similar to the course trajectory in the slalom. Gates are placed on the course about the same distance apart as in the giant slalom, and each skier only gets one attempt at the course.
Freestyle skiing – aerials
The aerials in the freestyle skiing event are absolutely insane and many find themselves holding their breath as the athlete makes an attempt to flawlessly land a special ski jump. The flips and tricks that they perform are jaw-dropping and absolutely incredible to watch. Each athlete complete two special ski jumps where they are judged on their technique for jump takeoff, jump form and landing.
The Skeleton involves a descent on a special track with artificially frozen ice in a sled. Competition for the Olympic Skeleton lasts two days where each athlete completes a total of four runs. The sled on which the athletes race on has steel runners and a weighted frame without steering. The athlete lays face down and head first in direction, controlling the sled using special spikes on their shoes. There are only two sets of medals to be won in the skeleton.
Ski jumping – individual large hill competition
The individual large hill competition for ski jumping involves an athlete jumping from a HS 140 (hill size). The length of the jump can be up to 140 meters or more. Only the athletes with the best results in the first jump make the second jump. The athlete with the highest total score is declared the winner.
Suggested Links
- Outdoor Retailer Winter Market 2014 gear highlights
- Winter outdoor recreation and adventure ideas for a date or the family
- Extreme sports film gift ideas for the holidays
- Darren Berrecloth: One of the ultimate masters of freeride mountain biking
- Learn to Ski and Snowboard Month program in January 2014


text:
In Europe, Dyed Foods Get Warning Label
Related Links
Products with Yellow 5, Red 40, Other Dyes May Have an Adverse Effect on Activity and Attention in Children
July 20, 2010
WASHINGTONStarting today in the European Union, most foods that contain artificial food dyes must bear warning labels stating that the food may have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children. As a practical matter, its unclear exactly how many foods will have to use that language on labels, since dyes were never as widely used in Europe as in the United States. Also, the British government asked companies to remove most dyes by last December 31st. The Center for Science in the Public Interest says it hopes the European labeling rule gets the attention of officials at the Food and Drug Administration, which to date has not shown interest in protecting American consumers from the controversial dyes, as well as American companiesincluding those that are not using dyes in Europe.
Photo Credit: Michael Jacobson
Companies should replace Red 40, Yellow 5 and other synthetic dyes with natural colorings like these. British consumers enjoy food products free of most food dyes, but the same can't be said for Americans.
Synthetic food dyes have been suspected of triggering behavior problems in children since the 1970s, when Dr. Ben Feingold, a San Francisco allergist, reported that his patients improved when their diets were changed. Numerous controlled studies conducted over the next three decades proved that some childrens behavior is worsened by artificial dyes. A 2004 meta-analysis concluded that artificial dyes affect childrens behavior, and two recent studies funded by the British government found that mixtures of dyes (as well as the preservative sodium benzoate) adversely affect kids behavior.
In 2008, CSPI filed a regulatory petition that called on the FDA to ban dyes because of the problems documented in children.
At this point, American food manufacturers and regulators alike should be embarrassed that were feeding kids foods with chemicals that have such a powerfully disruptive impact on childrens behavior, said CSPI executive director Michael F. Jacobson. European officials are taking the issue much more seriously, and are moving toward a safer food supply as a result.
Because the FDA hasnt encouraged food manufacturers to switch to safer natural colorings, many American food companies use the chemicals in the United States products but not in the U.K. equivalents. For example, the topping for a McDonalds Strawberry Sundae sold in the United States contains Red 40.
In the U.K., the toppings color comes from strawberries. Representative Louise Slaughter, Chairman of the House Rules Committee and the only microbiologist serving in Congress, has written the FDA twice expressing concern about the widespread use of artificial dyes in food.
This is a sensible policy and a smart move to help protect the health and well being of children in Europe, Slaughter said. For too long, studies have raised questions about the impact food dyes are having on the development of children and the possible link between dyes and behavior. I have been troubled by the lack of solid data on this issue for more than a decade. Its my hope that the Food and Drug Administration reviews the abundance of science on this issue and considers implementing a similar restriction or outright ban.
Besides being linked to behavior problems in children, food dyes are also inadequately tested and may pose cancer risks as well, according to a CSPI reportFood Dyes: Rainbow of Riskspublished last month.


text:
You may have reached this page due to new security upgrades that have been implemented regarding multiple user logins. For security reasons, only one user is able to be signed in to an account per session. If multiple users at a single site need online access, please contact firstname.lastname@example.com for firm access reduced pricing. If, however, you believe your login information has been compromised, please call customer service at 1-800-451-9998 to determine how to reset your password. Already a paid subscriber but not registered for online access yet? For instructions on how to get premium web access, click here.
Property owners in limbo over Rock Hill-Fort Mill connector route
4 options under consideration
The Rock Hill-Fort Mill Area Transportation Study, an intergovernmental transportation planning organization for eastern York County, has suggested four possible routes for the connector, which would include a bridge over the Catawba River.


text:
1 Aug 05:01 2008
Re: [PHP-DEV] [RFC] Zend Signal Handling
Lucas Nealan <lnealan <at> facebook.com>
> On 7/30/08 6:11 AM, "Lukas Kahwe Smith" <mls <at> pooteeweet.org> wrote: > Not so happy that it was not possible to get this committed over the > weekend. Johannes did a quick review and it seems like it has enough > support from people and is low risk enough to get committed now. Lets > hope no extension stumbled over this one .. > <at> Dmitry: Can you get this applied today? >> On 7/30/08 9:37 AM, "Dmitry Stogov" <dmitry <at> zend.com> wrote: >> I think it's not a good idea to commit it in this state. >> Correct me, if I'm wrong. I've done just a very quick review. >> Thanks. Dmitry. Sorry about the delay getting some of these things worked on over the weekend. I had to recover from OSCON and didn't get a chance to look at things until back in the office. Seems as though I've been given a stay and can land in Alpha 2 once some more work is done. Thanks for this. In response to Dmitry's feedback and some others: > On 7/30/08 9:37 AM, "Dmitry Stogov" <dmitry <at> zend.com> wrote: > I see several issues with the patch > 1) It assumes that web server (and webserver extensions) won't setup any > signal handlers after PHP startup. This assumption may be wrong. >> On 7/30/08 9:50 AM, "Rasmus Lerdorf" <rasmus <at> lerdorf.com> wrote: >> It may be. But there is really no way around that. That's why we >> talked about having an optional request shutdown check that would tell >> you if something hi-jacked one of the signals so at least you know that >> this is happening. I have to go with what Rasmus said here, theres not much we can do. It seems pretty unlikely since the new signal handler would have to be installed via(Continue reading)


text:
Sexualized Anchors, Uninformed Male Viewers
Could it be that news producers who showcase attractive female anchors have goals beyond simply relating information? Let's hope so, for their sake, because a new study finds that men remember less of the news when it's read by an "anchorette"* wearing tight clothes and red lipstick than when its presented by the same woman in a shapeless jacket, without lip color.
Three hundred ninety men and women watched a real-life, attractive 24-year old news anchor present items about such subjects as the United Way, interest rates, and bird watching. She was made up in either a purposely "sexualized" or "unsexualized" way.
Unshockingly, men and women differed in their judgment of these personas. Men gave the unsexualized anchor a higher score for professionalism, for example, while women gave them the same ratings on that score. (On the other hand, men rated the unsexualized anchor higher as a potential war correspondent, or political reporter.)
The subjects were also asked multiple-choice questions about the news they'd heard, as well as about details about the newsreader's appearance. Men got significantly more current-events questions right when they'd watched the non-sexy anchor, as opposed to the sexualized one (6.51, out of 10, versus 5.43). But they could recall more details about the sexy one.
The anchor's grooming didn't affect how much information female viewers absorbed, whether about interest rates, the United Way, or the anchor's hair color.
*"Anchorette" isn't my term, but rather the researchers': "Sexual Cues Emanating From the Anchorette Chair: Implications for Perceived Professionalism, Fitness for Beat, and Memory for News" will appear in Communication Research
P.S. This item originally described the de-sexed anchor as wearing a shapeless "dress"; it was a shapeless jacket. And there was some evidence, oddly, that women recalled more information when it was presented by the sexualized anchor. That finding, however, was not statistically significant.
[Via Miller-McCune]


text:
Home | Advertise | Classifieds | About | Contact
Sign In
By CVN Staff
May 13, 2010
Chances are a child or adolescent you know has a serious mental health need. In fact, mental health problems affect one in five young people. Mental health problems are painful, especially for children and adolescents. Words that make fun of men...
For access to this article please sign in or subscribe.
Chilkat Valley News | P.O. Box 630, Haines AK 99827
Ph: (907) 766-2688 | email@example.com | www.chilkatvalleynews.com Content and information copyright 2015 Chilkat Valley News
Powered by ROAR Online Publication Software
© Copyright 2015 Lions Light Corp.
— Software for newspapers & magazines


text:
Did I Vandalize My Church?
This article submitted by a Member of the ChristWire Community. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of ChristWire or any of its moral associates and journalists.
Now that it's done; I can't keep it secret. Not something this big.
Perhaps it was even a crime. Or maybe just a sin. I'm just not sure.
Only thing I'm sure of is that I suck at keeping secrets. I can keep a confidence. Tell me not to tell, and I won't. But secrets? They've always been trouble.
So I'll just tuck the story away here where no one will see it.
It's the story of how I vandalized my church. Or at least that's how some might see it.
Luckily, they won't find the story here. So maybe here my big secret will be safe.
Maybe if I write it here, no one will know what I did to the church across the span of one entire night. What I did will be noticed. But maybe no one will know it was me.
It started yesterday when I went back alone to the church we used to attend faithfully. The place that took us in one Easter morning and kept us going every Sunday for years up until 2 or 3 months ago. . Showered us with the love of a diverse, open affirming, and vibrant community, baptized my wife, married us one golden October day when I was unemployed and had no business getting married, except of course for love.
Gave us the chance to give back, to bicker through the squabbles of a family, to be shocked at the currents of evil that run beneath the waves of every family and to provide the grace of knowing we belong to something much bigger than ourselves.
A place that challenged us in the way we thought.
But all that changed when the worship services became like empty airless wanderings on the dusty red fields of Mars. All the air and energy just sucked right out into the burning red sky Martian night. As if we were chanting corporate mission statements, singing hymns and praise in languages no one had ever heard.
And there were attempts made to pump a life that was even remotely relatable back into the church. Big Jake told me he tried. Told me others did too.
At the Church Street Fair table in the street, me trying to talk books with meager waves of neighbors who didn't really care. Big Jake brought over a couple of cold ones and said, "This is me, trying to tell you to come back."
I had been where he was.
Moon Man, the guy who brought the good tequila to our pot luck wedding reception in the basement of the church, he left awhile ago. And I tried to bring him back just like Big Jake was hoping I'd come back.
Funny thing about the Christian story. How it keeps repeating itself.
Moon Man told me that the place wasn't gonna make it. It was different now. It was the old pastor leaving that made the difference. And I argued. Even found another hurting soul who needed both of us—thinking that a project to reach out and help someone would bring the Moon Man back.
Moon Man was the face of the church. He would greet you in the entryway. And everybody said this, and they said it al lot: I am here because of how welcome the Moon Man made me feel. That's why I am here. Lighting up the peeled white plaster of the entryway with a welcome that was special because it was one that no living breathing human being could ever believe was anything but real.
Moon Man is a Barryral contractor. He builds stuff. And following him to that grander holy light we all sought; he brought us in, the pastor challenged us with his radical, joyful illumination of the Holy Spirit and we stayed.
And all that passed.
So we stopped going. Nice excuse that my wife's foot injury happened right around that time. And there was no one there anymore who remembered that five years ago she broke her foot and we never missed a Sunday.
We stopped going because the lights were turned out in the worship services.
But is that something that would lead to actually vandalizing the place?
That has GOT to be a sin. Right?
When I pulled up my car and started unloading the books, I heard what would lead me to my despicable act immediately.
It came from the few of the church elders who were both still alive or who hadn't scampered off to other churches or, like us, just made the place a Christmas and Easter stop on the trail.
"Roger, they'd whisper me over, have you seen the paint job? Have you been inside? Did you see what they did to the entryway of the church? If I was a stranger and I walked inside, I'd turn right away and start running. As fast as I could."
It is painted a color that looks like death."
But of course I had books to sell, and how bad could it be? I had been on the committees that had decided things like this. And I knew the hard part was getting something done. If somebody didn't like the color—well, then you go on the committee and make the decision.
Stop complaining!
That worked till the end of the day. When most of the books had not been sold. Till the grins, waves and handshakes from the few stragglers from the family still left had been sweet and kind.
Till the one remaining elder man told me "Come back to church."
At the end of the day I did the yeoman's work of carrying most of the big tables from the street inside. My partner carrying tables saying not a word.
And I thought, one more visit. I want to see the real church one more time before I go.
Back up to the sanctuary. That place where the breath of God had just washed us all clean so many times. One more time to say goodbye.
And I saw that all the elders were right. Walking up the stairs in a coffin colored purple reeking of somber fear. That was the new color of the church. And I wondered how this happened. How could this message of unwelcome be splashed all over the walls of this place of love and inclusion?
It was really that bad. And in that somber symphony of death-like purple. That's when I got it. Big Jake and I had been talking about it throughout the day. It was complacency. A new and different kind of evil I had never recognized before. The easiest kinds of evil are the obvious evils. Call up central casting for the face of the devil. But yesterday I met a new and deeper evil.
Every single solitary person who touched that decision to paint the front of that church in the somber tones of the dying meant no harm. All of them are good people. But they were complacent. Somewhere in that decision, someone screamed only to themselves, "NO! This is wrong! The 3 of you 12 who want the purple are wrong!"
But that scream was never heard.
Instead all 12 people heard, "It'll be OK. Let's not fight. What's a color anyway? Right? Let's just go along."
And it's the complacency that led me to the vandalism.
By 1:00 am all the lights of the street were out and I used my old key to the church to tip toe in. Paint cans. Brushes, Scaffolding and drop clothes. Paint cans bursting with a warm and welcoming golden earth tone bright like the sunrise smile in Moon Man's voice when he used to say to strangers: "Welcome!. Here's a program. In case no one has told you yet, Welcome! We're glad you're here."
That's the color I painted that entryway. The golden sunrise color of welcome. And by 6:00 am I was done. Long before they'd start their services.
I looked at the rows of name tags on the wooden rack hung at the bank of the sanctuary. Pocketed ours. We probably wouldn't be coming back here again till Christmas so I might as well take these as I cleared out my drop clothes, brushes and clanging empty paint cans. Started to walk outside into the sparkling clear Chicago morning.
And that's when I remembered something that happened yesterday. At the end of the street fair when we were packing it all in.
Kid comes out of the church with a giant bunch of helium filled balloons.
And just as he steps outside, his hand springs open and the balloons start to rise. Thinking them gone, from the corner of my eye—I saw it. Out of nowhere, Carrie, one of the women of the church leaps up into the air, I swear she jumped five straight feet into the air. Reaches her arm up into the blue and endless sky and catches that entire bunch of balloons. Not one of them was lost.
That woman's jump was impossible. But I saw it. And I remembered it just that second. As I was about to go away forever.
So I opened up the old varnished wooden door, trundled up the stairs, and put back our name tags. Hiding them on top of the rack. Out of sight.
Because I'm still not sure. But I couldn't say goodbye. Not after a leap of balloon faith like the one I just saw.
And my painting looked good. Bright and alive. Like the morning.
Is what I did a crime?
Did I vandalize the church? I don't know.
I learned something about complacency. An evil that can capture the very best of people.
But I also I saw that woman catch those balloons, before they hit the endless sky. I also saw the impossible. Like seeing faith.
Even if I might have vandalized that church.
Good thing my secret will be safe if I tell the story here.
- Excited
- Fascinated
- Amused
- Shocked
- Sad
- Angry


text:
Negotiations are the backbone behind every house hunting project from the second you step foot over the threshold to the moment you get the keys in your hand. For those fortunate souls who choose to use a buyer's advocate in Melbourne to move the process forward simply and soundly you can cut down on the amount of negotiations you will be forced to do. The buyer's advocate in Melbourne will take the lead when it comes to getting you the right price and the best deal on the home you want to buy, leaving you little to do other than pick up the phone to hear the news.
However you will need to dabble in negotiations when it comes to the start of the journey, especially when it comes to picking your buyer's advocate in Melbourne who will be the one to represent you. The first part is always the hardest but by asking plenty of questions, agreeing on the commission fee and spelling out exactly what you want you are taking those first steps to success. You want to ensure the buyer's advocate has no hidden agenda and isn't connected to any sellers at all. Dual interests are the first thing you need to cut out of the equation as you don't want a conflict of interests arising when it comes to finding a house. You may also want to negotiate when it comes to the end of the contract as you want to avoid being locked in to something that simply isn't working.
The bottom line when it comes to negotiating with your buyer's advocate in Melbourne from Property mavens buyers advocates is that you need to feel confident in their abilities, you need to understand exactly what they are offering and for what price and you need to be comfortable with their approach to you and finding somewhere you want to invest in. if you are dissatisfied with any of the above then you simply find someone new and willing to pull out all the stops to give you what you need.


text:
More New and Used
from Private Sellers
Note: Supplemental materials are not guaranteed with Rental or Used book purchases.
Yoga Anatomy
ISBN13:by Kaminoff, Leslie
Questions About This Book?
Why should I rent this book?
Renting is easy, fast, and cheap! Renting from eCampus.com can save you hundreds of dollars compared to the cost of new or used books each semester. At the end of the semester, simply ship the book back to us with a free UPS shipping label! No need to worry about selling it back.
How do rental returns work?
Returning books is as easy as possible. As your rental due date approaches, we will email you several courtesy reminders. When you are ready to return, you can print a free UPS shipping label from our website at any time. Then, just return the book to your UPS driver or any staffed UPS location. You can even use the same box we shipped it in!
What version or edition is this?
This is the 2nd edition with a publication date of 11/1/2011.
What is included with this book?
- The New copy of this book will include any supplemental materials advertised. Please check the title of the book to determine if it should include any CDs, lab manuals, study guides, etc.
- The Used copy of this book is not guaranteed to include any supplemental materials. Typically, only the book itself is included.
- The Rental copy of this book is not guaranteed to include any supplemental materials. You may receive a brand new copy, but typically, only the book itself.
The best-selling anatomy guide for yoga is now updated, expanded, and better than ever!
Table of Contents
|p. vi
|p. viii
|p. x
|Dynamics Of breathing
|p. 1
|Yoga And The Spine
|p. 23
|Skeletal System
|p. 45
|Muscular System
|p. 55
|Inside The Asanas
|p. 65
|Standing Poses
|p. 71
|Standing Poses
|p. 125
|Kneeling Poses
|p. 163
|Supine Poses
|p. 181
|Prone Poses
|p. 211
|Arm Support Poses
|p. 223
|Bibliography and Resources
|p. 261
|Asana Indexes
|p. 262
|Joint Index
|p. 267
|Muscle Index
|p. 270
|About the Authors
|p. 275
|About the Illustrator
|p. 276
|Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.


text:
A blind Afghan man was beaten with a metal rod in front of his wife and children at their home in Clondalkin in south Dublin on the night of June 30th in what he has described as a racially motivated attack. Video: Kathleen Harris
President Michael D Higgins joins dignitaries from France and Britain at a commemoration event to mark the 100th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme. Video: Reuters
British MP Boris Johnson says little about the fall of his political ambitions following a last minute snub by his biggest ally Michael Gove, who decided to run for the leadership of the party himself. Video: Reuters
49 celebrities share the stories of the 49 people killed in a recent attack on an LGBTQ nightclub in Orlando, USA. Video: Human Rights Campaign
A Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge ordered a new trial on the grounds that Adnan Syed, accused of murdering his girlfriend in 1999 and serving a life sentence, didn't receive adequate legal help. Video: Reuters
On the shores of Blackpool in the northwest of England, the shockwaves from the Brexit referendum result felt in London are just a distant and faint tremor. This tired, typically English seaside resort voted 67.5 percent in favour of leaving the EU.
Mosha, a ten-year-old amputee elephant in Thailand's northern province of Lampang has received a new artificial leg to cope with her recent physical growth and weight. Video: Reuters
Former London Mayor Boris Johnson, a leading Brexit campaigner who had been considered one of the favourites to replace David Cameron as British Prime Minister, says he will not be standing. Video: Reuters
The GRA which represents 10,000 gardaí gathered at Leinster House to call on the Government to honour the terms of the Haddington Road Agreement which allowed for a review of Garda pay and conditions that remains outstanding. Video: Bryan O'Brien
For over 1,000 days Irish citizen Ibrahim Halawa has been held in an Egyptian prison - no evidence has been heard, no trial has taken place.
Emergency crews in Oklahoma rescued nearly a dozen people from a roller coaster after it stalled 100 feet (30.5 meters) in the air midway through their ride on Wednesday (June 29). Video: Reuters
British Prime Minister, David Cameron, does not hold back as he tells Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, to resign from his position during leader's questions in the House of Commons. Video: Parliament TV
'They were all telling me to go away' - a social experiment conducted in Tbilisi, using a child actor (6) dressed in her regular clothes and then dressed as an impoverished child, highlights social attitudes towards the needy. Video: Unicef
The leader of Britain's opposition Labour Party refuses to quit as his party turns on him, while in the Conservative contest for leadership, contenders are set to declare their intentions. Video: Reuters
CCTV footage captures the moment a suspected Islamic State militant opens fire and detonates a bomb in Istanbul's Ataturk airport.
An Taoiseach Enda Kenny confirms that he is looking to make a case for 'Ireland's national interest' at the post-Brexit EU summit. Video: EU Council
Amateur videos show scenes of panic after a suicide bomb attack in Istanbul's main international airport in Turkey. Video: Reuters
The creators of a glass-bottom bridge over a canyon in China invite a brave few visitors to test structural safety using sledgehammers before it opens to the public. Video: Reuters
Invalid email or password.


text:
The 19th Annual Setauket Chamber of Commerce Electric Holiday Parade will be held on Sunday, December 15th this year. The annual Setauket Electric Holiday Parade has been a local favorite for the Three Village towns for the past several years.
The parade route begins at Emma S. Clark Library and proceeds down Main Street heading East at the Setauket Fire Dept and the festivities continue at Setauket Bridge Pond Park. Your family will enjoy watching the procession of lights pass down Main Street and visit with Santa Claus, who will be waiting in the Gazebo at the Bridge Pond Park, and the end of the parade. Refreshments are also provided at the park.
To register your group, call Cheryl Davey at 631.941.6245 or visit the website www.3villageholidayparade.com.


text:
LOS ANGELES (LALATE) – Dr Scott Broadwell, Paula Broadwell's husband, has not been spotted at his home in Charlotte, North Carolina since his wife's mistress affair broke. But are Scott Broadwell and Paula Broadwell still together? And have they split, broke up or separated since Broadwell's revelations hit news last Friday?
Pushup partners Scott Broadwell and Paula Broadwell have not been back to the couple's Charlotte, North Carolina residence since the mistress affair scandal broke last Friday. But Paula Broadwell did surface last night in Washington DC. She was reportedly not with her husband.
Jill Kelley Pictures Set 1
Jill Kelley Photo 1
Jill Kelley Photo 2
Jill Kelley Photo 3
Jill Kelley Photo 4
News pictures obtained by the New York Daily News overnight shows Broadwell dressed up with her makeup done, in a tight fitting pink top, enjoying a glass of red wine last night. She appeared, ironically, next to a lit window insider her brother's residence. News photographers have yet to indicate how easy the pictures were able to be obtained.
Paula Broadwell Pictures Set 1
Scott, Paula Broadwell Photo 1
Scott, Paula Broadwell Photo 2
Scott, Paula Broadwell Photo 3
Scott, Paula Broadwell Photo 4
Meantime, Charlotte news is confirming that the Broadwells have not been spotted together since they split on the eve of her birthday party. Dr. Scott Broadwell's residence, however, was searched extensively Monday night by Federal agents. Agents emerged with dozens of boxes. Details of that search warrant have not been released to news. Neither Broadwell was in town during the time of the apparent search of the residence.
Dr Scott Broadwell had scheduled his wife's 40th birthday for last Saturday. Reportedly invited was even General David Petraeus and wife Holly Petraeus. But on Friday evening, he emailed guests and told them that the party was off.
Paula Broadwell Pictures Set 2
Paula Broadwell Photo 1
Paula Broadwell Photo 2
Paula Broadwell Photo 3
Paula Broadwell Photo 4
The couple had been vacationing in a bed of roses inside a Virginia hotel, the Middleton Inn, when the scandal broke. But the couple reportedly checked out earlier than booked on Saturday. At the time, the couple reportedly not speaking to each other with Paula being seen extensively texting to a third party.
Paula Broadwell Pictures Set 3
Paula Broadwell Photo 5
Paula Broadwell Photo 6
Paula Broadwell Photo 7
Paula Broadwell Photo 8
During an appearance on Jon Stewart during pushups, Paula was asked "How about this, your husband and I do pushups?" She replied "He is pretty good." "What is your name?" She added "Scott!"
Stewart later questioned "Is this how arguments are settled in your house [with pushups]?" Scott Broadwell replied "Every time. I don't win much. "


text:
President Obama recently signed an executive order "instructing the Department of Labor to update and expand overtime regulations to cover more employees." While the president is attempting to thin the gap between those at the top and bottom of the income ladder, some right-wing talkers are not too happy about it.
During a recent episode of "The O'Reilly Factor," Fox News host Bill O'Reilly noted that while he does support an increase in the minimum wage, with exceptions of course, increasing overtime pay is actually bad for the economy and hurts workers.
"So while in theory the President's helping workers he may be actually hurting them. Talking Points does support a rise in the minimum wage if we want to get people off welfare, we should pay them $10 bucks an hour. That's an incentive. It's good policy. Of course there would be exceptions for teenagers and restaurant workers who get tips.
But on the overtime the President is once again trying to manage the private economy. As everybody knows, that effort has failed for the past five years. The economy is stuck. Many corporations are not hiring. Companies are hoarding money overseas to avoid taxes. And the social justice taxation system in general means consumers have less money to spend.
But President Obama is a theoretician, a man who looks at the world through the lens of what should be. And so the unintended consequences of his economic policies have held the American economy back big time."
Bill O'Reilly and other right-wing talking heads continue to push the narrative that mandating businesses to pay workers more will only hurt the economy, but the economic reality is far different. There needs to be a balance between labor and businesses and getting a little money into the hands of those who work hard, will only benefit and stimulate the economy, not hurt it.
Suggested Links
- Looking back: How Republicans fell off an economic cliff over the last century
- REX 84: Ronald Reagan's plan to declare martial law and imprison Americans
- Obama's approval still higher than Bush's was at this point during his 2nd term
- Could an independent presidential candidate actually make an impact in 2016?
- How 'Reaganomics' led to income inequality breaking the American middle class


text:
Price: $11.95
National Geographic's Trails Illustrated map of Chugach State Park near Anchorage, Alaska is designed to meet the needs of outdoor enthusiasts with unmatched durability and detail. Expertly researched and created in partnership with local land management agencies, this map features key points of interest including the Eklutna Lake and Campbell Tract recreation areas, Eagle River Nature Center, the Seward Highway Scenic Byway, and a section of the Iditarod National Historic Trail. Also included is the Tour of Anchorage Trail along with an elevation profile of the Crow Pass Trail. Trail use designations and mileages are clearly marked.
Our Trails Illustrated topographic maps are the most detailed and up-to-date recreation maps available for the national parks, national forests, and popular outdoor recreation areas. A necessity for exploring in the outdoors, each map is printed on waterproof, tear-resistant paper.
With more than 250 titles available, Trails Illustrated maps are expertly researched, frequently, updated, and provide exacting detail of premier outdoor recreation areas in the United States and Canada.


text:
The Advantages of the Small Investor
Original post by Geri Terzo of Demand Media
There are some advantages reserved for the small investor, even though this individual has less money to invest than large institutions. The trading activity of all small investors combined can direct large sums of money into or out of the markets. Also, the small investor has access to live stock market information, which could help an individual to make informed decisions and earn potential profits.
Small investors have the ability to impact the financial markets. Many small investors choose to invest in mutual funds, which are professionally-managed investment funds that grant investors exposure to a number of stocks or bonds. According to an August 2010 article in "The New York Times," investors pulled more than $33 billion from domestic stock mutual funds through just beyond the first half of 2010. Doug Cliggott, an analyst with Credit Suisse who was cited in the article, suggested that small investors were shunning risk.
According to a July 2010 article on the Charles Schwab website entitled "Can the Little Guy Beat the Pros?," small investors have the potential to outperform expert money managers. One reason is that individual investors have access to the same or similar resources used by the professionals due to the proliferation of financial tools, such as charting, graphs and historical price comparisons. These resources may be made available to investors by stock brokerage firms and other service providers. Some brokers even make independent research available to small investors, which is what many professionals use to make trading decisions.
Small investors can typically respond to opportunities in the stock market more quickly than large trading firms are able to do for pure logistics. Institutional investors trade extremely large blocks of shares due to the size of investment portfolios and requirements. Subsequently, large trades cannot occur too quickly without having a notable influence on a stock, according to the Charles Schwab article. By trading fewer shares, small investors can execute orders more quickly and without going through some of the compliance channels that are required for large institutions.
A small investor can take on as much risk as he is comfortable with. According to the Charles Schwab article, institutional investors are exposed to different risks, such as needing to perform inline with some benchmark investment. The article suggests that institutional investors might actually bypass potential opportunities to pursue a proven path for investing and protect performance statistics. Individual investors might benefit from investing in sectors where large investors do not frequently tread, such as small stocks.
- Brokerage Review: Wells Fargo Brokerage / WellsTrade Review 2011
- Early To Rise; How Small Investors Gain Such A Big Advantage Over Wall Street; Guy Cohen; May 2009
- "The New York Times"; In Striking Shift, Small Investors Flee Stock Market; Graham Bowley; August 2010
- Charles Schwab; Can The Little Guys Beat The Pros?; Greg Forsythe; July 2010
About the Author
Geri Terzo is a business writer with over 15 years experience reporting on Wall Street. Her coverage ranges from institutional investing, including hedge funds and investment banking, to family topics and her career experience includes work for Fox Business, CNBC and "IDD Magazine." Terzo is a graduate of Campbell University, where she earned a B.A. in mass communication.