text:
U.S. Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission
EEOC Charges United Parcel Service with Religious Bias due to 'No Beard' Policy
NEWARK, N.J. - Global shipping giant United Parcel Service (UPS) committed religious discrimination at its Secaucus, N.J., facilities, by refusing to hire a Rastafarian as a driver helper because of his beard, which he wore for religious purposes, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charges in a lawsuit.
EEOC says that UPS required Ronnis Mason to shave his beard if he were to be hired for that position helping with customer deliveries and requiring customer contact. Mason wears his beard as part of his observance of Rastafarianism, a Jamaican-born religion with around one million adherents in the world. Mason explained to UPS that he could not shave his beard, and UPS told him that he could then only apply for an "inside," lower paying position that would not have contact with the public.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 requires employers to make reasonable accommodations to employees' and applicants' sincerely held religious beliefs as long as this does not pose an undue hardship. The EEOC alleges that by refusing to accommodate Mason's religion and by not permitting him to work as a driver helper, UPS interfered with Mason's employment opportunities and ability to make a better living in the higher-paid position he sought. The EEOC filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey in Newark after first attempting to reach a voluntary settlement.
"Employers are not permitted to deny an individual equal opportunities because of that person's religion, and the EEOC will seek full relief against employers who discriminate," said Elizabeth Grossman, the EEOC's New York District regional attorney.
Spencer H. Lewis, Jr, director for the EEOC's New York District Office, added, "Employees are entitled to an accommodation of their sincerely held religious beliefs and practices they should not be hidden from the public in the back room or paid inferior wages simply because they are practicing their religion."
According to its web site, Atlanta-based UPS had $42.6 billion in revenues in 2005 and has 407,200 employees worldwide (348,400 in the United States).
The EEOC is responsible for enforcing the nation's laws prohibiting discrimination in employment based on race, color, sex (including sexual harassment and pregnancy), religion, national origin, age, disability, and retaliation. Further information about the Commission is available on its web site at www.eeoc.gov.


text:
Cottagehills necesitaba un nuevo diseño de logotipo y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 41 diseños de 16 diseñadores freelance.
Cottage Hills Preschool
We are two dedicated Mothers and established child care providers who have had a dream to open an eco-friendly preschool and childcare center. We are dedicated to nurturing the minds, bodies and souls of every child by providing an organic menu, large outdoor activity space and wonderful music and art based curriculum! We are excited to be the first preschool to offer organic food and an eco-friendly environment. We want to incorporate our name as well as letting people know that we are a green company all in our logo!
We will be targeting families in our area this logo will be on our sign and we want people to be drawn to the image. Our audience is a health and planet friendly group who want the best for their children. Our logo needs to be clean and fresh, not the typical daycare signage. Our parents want more out of childcare then they are being offered we are different and we want our logo to be too!
We want our design to incorporate the idea of a cottage as well as a tree. We love greens with maybe a pop of bright color. We want our logo in include "Cottage Hills Preschool" I will include a few logos that we liked to get an idea of where we are wanting to go with this! A tag line can also be included if it makes sense in the design "Nurturing the next generation"
We like more of a mod style and we want a universal font that we can also use throughout the center for signage and pamphlets.
Descubre cómo funciona un concurso de diseño u obtén más información sobre nuestros servicios de diseño de logo.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
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Welcome to Bollards.co.uk
Bollards.co.uk offer a standard carriage service for all products, this usually takes between 3-28 days as lead times vary on specific products and quantities. Standard delivery charges are set out on the website and will be confirmed when your order has been accepted.
Excludes mechanical off loading unless stated otherwise


text:
Jennifer Royle, a sportscaster at 105.7 The Fan, confirmed Monday that she has dropped her defamation lawsuit against Nestor Aparicio and two of his colleagues at radio station WNST.
"All I wanted was for the harassment to stop," Royle said. "Nestor wrote on his blog that he will never speak my name again. It looks like I won."
But Aparicio doesn't see it that way.
"If she wants to go around proclaiming victory,' she's wrong," he said in a telephone interview Monday. "She got publicity out of it. If that's what her goal was, to get publicity, to get herself on the front page of the paper, I guess she accomplished that... If that was her goal, then great. But she didn't get anything from me, that's for sure. WNST didn't give her a nickel."
The $800,000 suit against station owner Aparicio and two of his on-air hosts claimed that they diminished Royle's reputation by calling her "trashy" and incompetent on-air and online.
Royle, who has been covering the Orioles and the Ravens for WJZ-FM for about 17 months, had filed the suit March 10 in Baltimore Circuit Court. Royle now reports only for radio station 105.7 The Fan.
The suit alleges that during her time at the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network, Aparicio, Glenn Clark and Drew Forrester made repeated statements about Royle on WNST 1570-AM, on blogs and on Twitter. According to the suit, the statements included saying Royle was incompetent, involved in sexual relationships with multiple professional athletes and resembled a stripper.
In telephone interviews Monday, Royle characterized the outcome of her suit as a victory even though she received no money from Aparicio, Clark or Forrester, because she believes she has brought an end to what she characterized as harassment.
"I initially wanted to sue for an apology," Royle said. "But apparently, according to my attorney, I needed to put a dollar figure on it or something. I never wanted a penny. All I wanted was for the harassment to stop... "
Royle added that "no female reporter should have to go through what" she did in terms of what she alleges was harrassment from Aparicio, Clark and Forrester.
"I was doing this for the next girl [female sportscaster] who came in after me," she said Monday.
"I am just glad it's over," Clark said Monday morning in a telephone interview. "I've never done any of the things I was accused of in that lawsuit."
Aparacio said that while he had to "invest 20 years in building a brand" for his various media platforms, "she built a brand by suing me."
He added, "To say that I feel victimized would be an understatement."
Here is a small part of a post put up today by Aparicio at his website:
Her lawsuit against me, WNST and my employees Drew Forrester and Glenn Clark, was completely without merit.
This costly and damaging witch hunt and blatant attempt to injure my company and a reputation that I've spent 27 years of my life erecting here in my hometown of Baltimore as a "tell it like it is" journalist in the style of my heroes John Steadman and Howard Cosell – is now complete.
Time and facts have proven that WNST never did anything inappropriate.
Ms. Royle dropped the case after our lawyers filed a motion asking a judge to order her to answer a series of questions that she didn't want to answer.
Instead of responding to our motions, she took her marbles and went home.
As we stated all along, we did nothing wrong at WNST.net. Her allegations were a public affront to me, and an attack on my personal integrity and the value of everything we've built this 21st century local media company to stand for publicly over the past two decades.
My company and my personal reputation have been greatly damaged over the last six months with this black cloud of nonsense, gossip and bogus lawsuit, and I'm glad to publicly tell you today that we prevailed, but what we've received lacks justice for me, my employees, and our families.
Despite all of the havoc she's wreaked inside of my company and the damage to my reputation in the community with her allegations, in the end Jennifer Royle got nothing, zero, zilch – not one penny of WNST money, which was her motivation from the outset. So, I suppose she "lost" this battle although I'm not sure it cost her any money at all to create this media firestorm so perhaps she's a winner.
Read Aparicio's full (and much longer) post here.
Since March, Royle has been co-hosting a Baltimore Orioles pre-game show on the station, but that show ended last week. She will now be involved full time in Baltimore Ravens football shows, according to Dave Labrozzi, programming vice president for CBS Radio in Baltimore.
Royle, who came to Baltimore from Boston, said stations in that town have expressed interest in her as a job candidate. She said that she felt being characterized in the terms she alleges the WNST staffers using hurt her employment opportunities.
Jennifer Royle drops suit against Nestor Aparicio, claims victory in ending 'harassment'
Jennifer Royle, a sportscaster at 105.7 The Fan, confirmed Monday that she has dropped her defamation lawsuit against Nestor Aparicio and two of his colleagues at radio station WNST.


text: Let's clear this up - the creatures in Left 4 Dead are NOT after your brains. They aren't zombies, they are the infected. Valve Software though? They totally want to have a root around inside your gray cells. In piece written for Edge magazine, Valve's Gabe Newell spoke about how Left 4 Dead's AI Director analyses a player's actions to gauge how well they are faring and adjusts the game to suit. The kind of user input data that can be captured from a mouse or gamepad doesn't give the level of detail that Newell would like to see, though, so Valve are researching ways of using biometrics and even EEG's to examine a gamer's inner state. "There are new technologies where we can wire players up with EEGs and actually have direct exposure to their physical reactions to the games," writes Newell."We can know for sure of something is actually frightening the player - their heart rate is going up, their respiration stats are peaking, appropriate parts of their brains are being activated. Direct measurement of players' arousal states and responses to the things we're doing is super exciting. It just will allow us to be much more analytical about the decisions that we're making and the roller coaster ride we're trying to create for the player." What kind of kit this will require you to buy remains a mystery, of course. I can just about stomach having a fake drum kit in my living room - having a brain scanner lurking next to the sofa might be a gadget too far. Gabe Newell Writes for Edge [Edge]


text:
Hello Everyone, I'm having a page php have function list content of directory in computer such as c:/folder after that I can open, write and save any file I want in list file. Now I have complete to list content of directory, now I want to click any file in list file of derectory to open in a textarea, we can view and edit file, then I have a button submit to save it. But I don't know how to when I click to file name in list content of directory, it content have show in textarea, what event click to to it ?. Please help me. Thank very much.
Here is my code:


text:
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text:
Actuators, Pneumatic
Air/Oil Intensifiers
Brakes, Caliper Disc
Wind Turbine Brakes
Gearboxes, Right Angle
DoorTec Door Operators
Custom Products
New Products
View Open Quote
Insert-A-Shaft® Series 20 Right Angle Gearbox, 1:1 Ratio, Right Hand Rotation, 'A' Bore .750 in. x 'B' Bore .750 in.
You must be logged in to add this product to a quote.
Electro Nickel Plating; Stainless Fasteners; Shaft Seals; Stainless Gearcase, Caps and Bearings; Metric Bore Sizes and Metric Threads Available.


text: LOS ANGELES--Because Richard Simmons wants to see America's children grow healthier, he is making it his personal crusade to bring physical fitness back to schools. Simmons has created a national survey that will help identify what's happening in schools today and what can be changed to make it better. Then he plans to compile the information and take it to Washington DC to share his results, according to his Web site. To take the survey go to http://www.richardsimmons.com/askamerica.php.


text:
Manage the entire employee experience from one application
With Talent Acquisition, it's easy to find, hire and onboard the best candidates quickly. And because the entire process is automated, you, your team and your candidates will never have to wonder whose turn it is to keep the ball rolling. You'll save time and money, too.
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Your employees trust and expect to be paid accurately and on time. You should expect the same. At Paycom, we can help ensure that your payrolls are processed quickly and perfectly.
Automate and easily manage core HR tasks, like compliance and benefits. The time you save can go toward finding, hiring, developing and retaining great employees. And because every tool works from the same database, you can manage it all from one application.
- Documents and Checklists
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- Direct Data Exchange
Help employees maintain a stellar work-life balance, while keeping costs in line and protecting your labor budget. Using our Time and Labor Management tools, employees can manage their time and you can manage your labor needs.


text:
About Myself (Chris Haigh), lessons, and the bands I work with
Welcome to Fiddlingaround.co.uk
The fiddle is among the most versatile of instruments, occuring in many different forms throughout the world. The modern violin has been around since the 16th Century, but before that, folk fiddles had already spread though most of Asia, Africa and Europe. In this site I have assembled detailed information about fiddle styles throughout the world; repertoire, background, history, technique and ornamentation, the most significant players past and present, along with some reviews of related books and albums .
Most of the significant fiddle styles are covered; from the best known such as Irish, Scottish, Bluegrass and Old time, along with many of the less well known, such as Canadian, Welsh, Balkan, Chinese and so on.
With over a million hits a year, this site has become one of the most significant sources of fiddle information on the net, and it is still growing


text:
As the Cybernetic God Baldur, players are thrust into the midst of an ongoing battle that threatens the existence of mankind. An ancient machine presence has forced the God's hand. In the first of a three part trilogy, Baldur is charged with defending mankind from an onslaught of monstrous war machines bent on eradication of human life. Players are treated to a nonstop barrage of action powered by the seamless integration of melee and ranged firearms combat. Battles unfold in awesome scale as players engage in spectacular battles with vast numbers of enemies.
The guide for gods in need.
In an effort to transition St. Catharines, Ontario from a predominantly blue collar town into a high-tech hub, Too Human developer Silicon Knights will receive $4 million from the Canadian government's Community Adjustment Fund to create a new videogame. Read More »
Silicon Knights, one of the world's largest independent developers, has announced that the "Too Human" soundtrack is now available for purchase. This haunting musical CD, which was nominated for "Best Original Video Game Score" by the Hollywood Music Awards, features tracks from the game, such as "Relic", "Path to Attrition", "The World Tree" and "Gods and Chaos", along with 16 other harmonic tracks. All the music was originally scored by Silicon Knights' award-winning composer, Steve Henifin, and performed by the FILMharmonic Orchestra and Choir Prague. This hour-long soundtrack is mixed in a continuous format with special extras and remixes to deliver a one-of-a-kind listening experience. Selling for $15.98, the "Too Human" soundtrack can be ordered at Amazon.com, BestBuy.com, iTunes and the CD label's own site Sumthing Distribution. Read More »
Despite a cool critical reception, Dyack's ode to Norse mythology trots off shelves at a fair pace. Read More »
Gamers get their chance to mold the cybernetic god Baldur into a hero for the ages. Read More »
Playing a videogame shouldn't feel like being a factory robot assembling cars. Read More »
Also known as: Too Human: Part 1
For more info on these technical requirements and features, please view GameSpy's Specs FAQ.
Too Human at IGN
Too Human Guide at IGN
Too Human at GameSpy
Too Human at TeamXbox
Too Human at GameStats


text:
by Seth Godin
They're shutting down Jimmy Wang's store. Shutting down a successful little business.
Walgreen's is moving into town, my town, a town with three or four small drugstores and plenty of places to buy stale cookies, thank you very much.
I've written about Brother's market before, an anchor in my little town. The only place to get hand-picked fresh food, pretty much, and the sort of market you could imagine moving to town just to be near. Remember those little markets where they actually care about the produce they sell? In a world filled with bitter cash register jockeys, Brother's was different. A smiling face, a family member mentioned, a don't-worry-about-the-pennies sort of interaction.
I've probably shopped there a thousand times, and every single time it brought a smile to my face.
The problem is that while Brother's was in a race to the top, a race to create more and better interactions, Walgreen's is in a race to the bottom. They exist to extract the last penny from every bit of real estate they can control. That's the deal they made with their shareholders.
The landlord who owns this land lives in another state. He doesn't care. He can ignore the protests and the petitions.
And Walgreen's won't even notice the community outrage. We can write letters or call or boycott the new store (or all their stores) and the local manager, the local region manager, the state-level manager, the head of store operations–none of them care, of course, because it's just a job to them.
Real estate is the soul killer here. You can't have a beloved local market and a public drugstore chain occupying the very same spot. Pundits like me can talk all we want about being remarkable, about leading and about making connections, but when a public company wants your spot, when it can extract a few extra pennies per square foot, you lose.
The internet has opened the door for millions of businesses to do things differently, because there are other assets now, assets that can transcend location. Your permission to talk to customers, your reputation, your unique products–you can build a business around them online. But that doesn't work so well if you depend on local (and leased) real estate, if you're selling watercress or radishes, apparently.
One by one, store by store, the chains expand, earning a few more dollars a share and further insulating themselves from the communities they used to serve. No, my neighbors and I don't need another drugstore, we have plenty. That's not going to change Walgreen's mind, and it's not going to help Jimmy and his team, either. My heart goes out to them. Thanks for everything you did for our community, guys.
The race to the top continues. It's just a lot harder if you have a landlord.


text:
During a pit stop, Vitor Meira got the OK to pull away before the fuel probe was totally withdrawn, resulting in a full-car fireball! The pit crew quickly put out the fire and Meira went back into the race and remained on the lead lap! Cajones? Yep.
Photo via Indy500.com


text:
CORE is London's leading independent commercial and mixed use developer. Over 25 years, the team has collectively delivered over 6 million sq ft of high quality accommodation across London working in partnership with institutional and private investors. With a focus on the occupier, CORE projects have attracted major companies such as M&G Investments at 10 Fenchurch Avenue EC3; Hearst Media, the NFL and LEGO at LSQ London, Leicester Square; and Nomura at One Angel Lane EC4.
- More
- CORE Website


text:
Just imagine: You, on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives, about to give a bold, brilliant speech about… What? We want to know what major problem you'd most want to solve if elected to Congress (alongside the record number of women serving this term! We named some of the biggies below — tell us what's on your agenda!
What do you think?


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Christmas season
For Roman Catholics, the Christmas season lasts from Christmas Day until the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. Other traditions end the Christmas season on the Feast of the Epiphany (Twelfth Day of Christmas) or, in earlier times, on the Feast of the Purification (Candlemas) on 2 February, 40 days after the birth of Jesus.
|December 25
|Christmas Day
|January 1
|Octave of Christmas; Solemnity of Mary Mother of God
|December 25 - January 5
|Twelve Days of Christmas
|Sunday between January 2 to January 8
|Sunday or Monday after Epiphany
|Baptism of the Lord
|February 2
Feast of Presentation (Candlemas)
- 1 The Twelve Days of Christmas
- 2 Christ's Mass
- 3 The Candle Mass (Candelmas)
- 4 Xmas
- 5 Historical roots
- 6 Gift-giving traditions
- 7 Banned in England
- 8 Modern controversies
- 9 References
- 10 Links
The Twelve Days of Christmas
The Catholic liturgy begins counting the 12 days on Christmas itself.
|25 December
|Feast of Steven
|Feast of John the Apostle
|Feast of the Holy Innocents
|Thomas Becket, bishop and martyr
|1 January
|Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God
Formerly the "Feast of the Circumcision of Jesus" and the Octave of Christmas.
|Sts. Basil and Gregory, Bishops and Doctors
|St. Elizabeth Ann Seton
|St. John Neumann, Bishop
Some people may start the count on December 26 and see January 6 as the Twelfth Day.
- Snopes: "The Twelve Days of Christmas." Snopes says that the legend of encoding the catechism in the song is false. Others disagree. Such is life! The first English version of the song, possibly derived from a French original, appeared in 1780. The allegation that it was a Jesuit code intended to confound English persecutors dates to the 1990s.
|A Partridge in a Pear Tree
|Jesus Himself.
|2 Turtle doves
|Old and New Testaments
|3 French hens
|Trinity, Three Supernatural Virtues (faith, hope, and love)
|4 Colly birds
|The four evangelists
|5 Gold rings
|6 Geese-a-laying
|Six days of Creation
|7 Swans-a-swimming
|Seven gifts of the Holy Spirit
|8 Maids-a-milking
|Beatitudes (Matthew's version)
|9 Ladies dancing
|Nine fruits of the Holy Spirit
|10 Lords-a-leaping
|Ten Commandments
|11 Pipers piping
|Eleven faithful apostles.
|12 Drummers drumming
|Twelve articles in the Apostles' Creed.
- A delightful treatment of what life would be like with all these odd presents. The text introduction to the recording wrongly identifies it as "The Twelve Days to Christmas. The Twelve Days, of course, either start with Christmas Day or come after Christmas day. Advent is the season that comes before Christmas.
Days of the Catholic Christmas Season
The number of days in the Christmas Season in the United States varies because the Feast of the Epiphany has been moved to the Sunday between January 2 and January 8. When the solemnity of the Epiphany is transferred to the Sunday that occurs on January 7 or 8, the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord is celebrated on the following Monday; otherwise, it falls on the next Sunday after the Feast of the Epiphany.
By my count, that gives us a range of 15 to 20 Days of Christmas.
|Sun = 25
|Mon = 25
|Tue = 25
|Wed = 25
|Thu = 25
|Fri = 25
|Sat = 25
|25: day #1
|26: day #2
|25: day #1
|27: day #3
|26: day #2
|25: day #1
|28: day #4
|27: day #3
|26: day #2
|25: day #1
|29: day #5
|28: day #4
|27: day #3
|26: day #2
|25: day #1
|30: day #6
Holy Family
|29: day #5
|28: day #4
|27: day #3
|26: day #2
|25: day #1
|31: day #7
|30: day #6
|29: day #5
|28: day #4
|27: day #3
|26: day #2
|25: day #1
|1: day #8 Theotokos
|31: day #7
Holy Family
|30: day #6
Holy Family
|29: day #5
Holy Family
|28: day #4
Holy Family
|27: day #3
Holy Family
|26: day #2
Holy Family
|2: day #9
|1: day #8 Theotokos
|31: day #7
|30: day #6
|29: day #5
|28: day #4
|27: day #3
|3: day #10
|2: day #9
|1: day #8 Theotokos
|31: day #7
|30: day #6
|29: day #5
|28: day #4
|4: day #11
|3: day #10
|2: day #9
|1: day #8 Theotokos
|31: day #7
|30: day #6
|29: day #5
|5: day #12
|4: day #11
|3: day #10
|2: day #9
|1: day #8 Theotokos
|31: day #7
|30: day #6
|6: day #13
|5: day #12
|4: day #11
|3: day #10
|2: day #9
|1: day #8 Theotokos
|31: day #7
|7: day #14
|6: day #13
|5: day #12
|4: day #11
|3: day #10
|2: day #9
|1: day #8 Theotokos
|8: day #15 Epiphany
|7: day #14 Epipany
|6: day #13 Epiphany
|5: day #12 Epiphany
|4: day #11 Epiphany
|3: day #10 Epiphany
|2: day #9 Epiphany
|9: day #16 Baptism
|8: day #15 Baptism
|7: day #14
|6: day #13
|5: day #12
|4: day #11
|3: day #10
|8: day #15
|7: day #14
|6: day #13
|5: day #12
|4: day #11
|9: day #16
|8: day #15
|7: day #14
|6: day #13
|5: day #12
|10: day #17
|9: day #16
|8: day #15
|7: day #14
|6: day #13
|11: day #18
|10: day #17
|9: day #16
|8: day #15
|7: day #14
|12: day #19
|11: day #18
|10: day #17
|9: day #16
|8: day #15
|13: day #20 Baptism
|12: day #19 Baptism
|11: day #18 Baptism
|10: day #17 Baptism
|9: day #16 Baptism
Christ's Mass
- The word for Christmas in late Old English is Cristes Maesse, the Mass of Christ, first found in 1038, and Cristes-messe, in 1131. In Dutch it is Kerstmis, in Latin Dies Natalis, whence comes the French Noël, and Italian Il natale; in German Weihnachtsfest, from the preceeding sacred vigil. The term Yule is of disputed origin. It is unconnected with any word meaning "wheel". The name in Anglo-Saxon was geol, feast: geola, the name of a month (cf. Icelandic iol a feast in December).
- Other English words formed the same way:
date name feast 2 Feb Candlemas Presentation (40 days after Christmas) 25 Mar Ladymass or Lady Mass? Annunciation and Incarnation (9 months before Christmas) 3 May Roodmas
Cross Mass
"Rood" is an Old English word for "cross."
Finding of the True Cross by St. Helena.
Now celebrated on 14 September as Triumph of the Cross.
29 Sep Michelmas: Michael the Archangel 1 Aug Lammas Loaf-Mass Day--festival of the wheat harvest. 4 Aug Brendanmas A local celebration in the Buffalo, NY, area. Since Brendan is not yet deceased and therefore has not yet been canonized, his feast day has not yet been entered definitively into the Roman calendar. 15 Aug Marymas Assumption 1 Nov Hallowmas All Saints ("Hallows"). 11 Nov Martinmas
Martin of Tours; end of autumn wheat seeding.
Beginning of 40-day fast in preparation for Christmas.
St. Martin's Eve was a festival like Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday.
28 Dec Childermas Holy Innocents
Atheists have coined the word "Newtonmas" to celebrate the birth of Isaac Newton on 25 December (old Julian calendar); in the new Gregorian calendar, his birthday is 4 January.
"Christmas" is a uniquely English word for the celebration of the Nativity of Our Lord. Other languages refer to the feast differently:
"How to Say 'Happy Christmas' in Twenty Languages
French Noël Spanish Navidad German Weihnachten Italian Natale Greek Christougena Czech Vánoce Polish Narodzenia Swedish Jul
The Candle Mass (Candelmas)
- Feast of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple.
- 40th day of Christmas, counting December 25 as day 1, brings us to February 2nd on the Roman calendar.
- There may be a candlelit procession into Church, followed by the blessing of candles. The candles, made of beeswax in olden days, symbolize Christ, the light of the world, entering His Temple in Jerusalem for the first time.
- Fourth Joyful Mystery of the Rosary.
- One of Twelve Great Feasts in the Eastern liturgical calendar. Some may celebrate it 40 days after Epiphany.
- Day of Consecrated Life.
Christmas Day is Day 1 and February 2 is Day 40 in this tradition.
25 26 27 28 29 30 31 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 1 2
The first letter of this ancient abbreviation is not the English character "X" but the Greek character Chi. It is the first letter of "Christos" in Greek: Χριστος. People who use this abbreviation (as I did in the pie chart of the liturgical year) are not "Xing" Christ out of Christmas; they are going back to the original language of the New Testament and to the earliest days of Christianity to find a convenient symbol for Christ.
This is an example of the problems associated with transliteration.
Historical roots
Many Nativity Dates in the Early Church
- Christmas was not among the earliest festivals of the Church. Irenaeus and Tertullian omit it from their lists of feasts; Origen, glancing perhaps at the discreditable imperial Natalitia, asserts (in Lev. Hom. viii in Migne, P.G., XII, 495) that in the Scriptures sinners alone, not saints, celebrate their birthday; Arnobius (VII, 32 in P.L., V, 1264) can still ridicule the "birthdays" of the gods.
- The article goes on to describe the multitude of dates used by the early Church in various places to celebrate the birth of Jesus. It seems clear from the bewildering variety of seasons, dates, and explanations that there was no strong apostolic tradition about when to celebrate the Nativity.
Roman solar connection
- It seems that the birth of Jesus was not celebrated as a separate feast until the 4th century or so. The East has preserved an earlier tradition linking the birthday of Jesus with the Baptism of the Lord (Theophany, January 6--see Epiphany).
- Dies Natalis Solis Invicti: Roman feast of Sol Invictus, "The Unconquerable Sun." The pun on "Sun/Son" does not exist in Latin, where the two words are "filius" and "sol."
- Saturnalia.
- March 25-->December 25.
- " December 25 was the date of the winter solstice in ancient times (before subsequent drift due to chronological errors in the Julian calendar eventually left the solstice on its present date of December 21.) As such, many pagan winter holidays occurred on this date, which marks the shortest day of the year and the point where the days become longer again. Many customs from these holidays, particularly from the pagan Scandinavian and Germanic celebration of Yule in northern Europe, are transparently present in later Christmas customs, suggesting that the date was appropriated directly from pagan customs and given a Christian veneer rather than being the true birthday of Jesus."[1]
- "Dec 25: The Biblical Argument of the Birth of Christ in Late December (Answering Common Objections):
- Date of Saturnalia: December 17 to 23
- Saturnalia commemorated the winter solstice. Yet the winter solstice falls on December 22! It is true that Saturnalia celebrations began as early as December 17 and extended till December 23. Still, the dates don't match up.
- The Emperor Aurelian introduced the cult of the Sol Invictus ("Unconquered Sun") to Rome in AD 274. Aurelian found political traction with this cult, because his own name "Aurelian" derives from the Latin word aurora denoting "sunrise." Coins reveal that Emperor Aurelian called himself the Pontifex Solis or "Pontiff of the Son." Thus, Aurelian simply accommodated a generic solar cult and identified his name with it at the end of the third century.
- Sol Invictus: a late celebration
- Most importantly, there is no historical record for a celebration Sol Invictus on December 25 prior to AD 354. [MXM: The fact that there is no record prior to AD 354 does not mean that 354 AD is the time when Sol Invictus was invented.] Even in AD 354, the date is simply designated as "Invictus" without mention of a birthday. The date only explicitly became the "Birthday of the Unconquered Son" under (drumroll please) the Emperor Julian the Apostate who had been a Christian but who had apostatized and returned to Roman paganism. History reveals that it was a former Christian Emperor (who hated Christ) that erected a pagan holiday on December 25.
- [MXM: Julian's action shows that celebrating the Nativity on December 25 had become an established practice in Rome in Rome by the time of the reign of Julian the Apostate, (331/332-363 AD). This is good, if indirect, evidence of when December 25 became established as the date to celebrate the Nativity in the West.]
- Reasoning from the birth of John the Baptist (end of June)
- Saint Luke reports that Zacharias served in the "course of Abias" (Lk 1:5) which Scripture records as the eighth course among the twenty-four priestly courses (see Neh 12:17). Each course served one week in the temple for two times each year. The course of Abias served during the tenth week and the thirty-fourth week after the Passover.*
- The thirty-fourth week after Passover would place Zacharias at the temple during the Day of Atonement (dated to the end of September). This entails that Saint John the Baptist would have been conceived toward the end of September, placing John's birth at the end of June, confirming the Catholic Church's celebration of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist on June 24.
- We read that just after the Immaculate Virgin Mary conceived Christ, she went to visit her cousin Elizabeth who was six months pregnant with John the Baptist. This means that John the Baptist was six months older that our Lord Jesus Christ (Lk 1:24-27, 36). Add six months to June 24 and it reveals December 24-25 as the birthday of Christ. Subtract nine months from December 25 and it reveals that the annunciation was March 25. All the dates match up perfectly.
Coincidence with Date of Creation
- Earlier, Ratzinger shows that the African ecclesiastical author Tertullian (c. 150 – c. 207) discussed a well-known tradition that Christ suffered death on March 25, a day that was cosmically associated with the creation of the world. March 25 was taken as the spring equinox (which we now know to be off by a few days), and hence the date after which light definitively conquers darkness. March 25 would be fully appropriate for not only the day of Creation, but also the day of the New Creation (the Incarnation or Annunciation) as well as Christ's Passion. It is by this historical development, and not that of the Mithras myth, that "the feast of Christ's birth on December 25 – nine months after March 25 – developed in the West in the course of the third century" (Ratzinger, The Spirit of the Liturgy, 107).
- Finally, the Cardinal discusses another important cosmic event, the summer solstice. "Between the two dates of March 25 and December 25 comes the feast of the Forerunner, St. John the Baptist, on June 24, at the time of the summer solstice. The link between the dates can now be seen as a liturgical and cosmic expression of the Baptist's words: 'He [Christ] must increase, but I must decrease' (Jn 3:30). The birthday of St. John the Baptist takes place on the date when the days begin to shorten, just as the birthday of Christ takes place when they begin to lengthen" (Ratzinger, 109).
- Note the unavoidable bias in favor of the Northern Hemisphere. At the time when the coincidence between the birth of John the Baptist with the summer solstice and the coincidence between the birth of Jesus at the winter solstice was noted, the authors were (apparently) unaware that these solstices are opposite in effect in the Southern Hemisphere. For the South, the birth of John the Baptist takes place at their winter solstice and the birth of Jesus takes place at their summer solstice. This, I suppose, is all part of the scandal of the Incarnation: God the Son takes on a complete and perfect human nature in a particular place and time in history, not everywhere all at once. The traditional meditations on the cosmic significance of the time of His Incarnation and birth have to be done from the standpoint of His location; others who experience the cosmos differently must make allowances for the differences introduced in their experience by the difference in their location in time and space.
Eastern vs. Western calendars
Some data
- "The Revised Julian calendar or, less formally, New Calendar, is a calendar, originated in 1923, which effectively discontinued the 340 years of divergence between the naming of dates sanctioned by those Eastern Orthodox churches adopting it and the Gregorian calendar that has come to predominate worldwide. In 2800 the two calendars will diverge again, though more slowly than the Julian and Gregorian do. This calendar replaced the Ecclesiastical Calendar based on the Julian Calendar in use by the Eastern Orthodox Church since the first Ecumenical Council of Nicea in 325 AD.[1] The Revised Julian Calendar aligned its dates with the Gregorian Calendar proclaimed in 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII for adoption by the Roman Catholic Church."
"Because of the differences in calendars in use at that time, the Eastern Church celebrated the Incarnation on what is January 6 on our western calendars (although on their calendars this corresponded to December 24), also as an alternative to pagan solstice festivals. Today, most of the Eastern churches (with the exception of Russian Orthodox) follow the Western practice of celebrating Christmas on December 25. However the Western churches also adopted the January 6 date and used it to observe what is now called Epiphany. In effect, the Eastern churches adopted December 25th from the West and the western churches adopted January 6 from the East, and now both are observed in both traditions, although with different emphases."[1]
"Eastern Orthodox national churches, including those of Russia, Georgia, Ukraine, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and the Greek Patriarchate of Jerusalem mark feasts using the older Julian Calendar. December 25 on that calendar currently corresponds to January 7 on the more widely used Gregorian calendar. However, other Orthodox Christians, such as the churches of Greece, Antioch, Alexandria, Albania, Finland and the Orthodox Church in America, among others, began using the Revised Julian Calendar in the early 20th century, which corresponds exactly to the Gregorian Calendar. These Orthodox Churches celebrate Christmas on the same day as Western Christianity. Oriental Orthodox churches also use their own calendars, which are generally similar to the Julian calendar. The Armenian Apostolic Church celebrates the nativity in combination with the Feast of the Epiphany on January 6. Armenian churches customarily use the Gregorian calendar, but some use the Julian calendar and thus celebrate Christmas Day on January 19, and Christmas Eve on January 18 (according to the Gregorian calendar)."[2]
"The term Old Calendarist refers to any Orthodox Christian or any Orthodox Church body which uses the historic Julian calendar (called "Old Style Calendar" or "Church calendar" or "Old Calendar"), and whose Church body is not in communion with the Orthodox Churches that use the New Calendar. The "Old Calendarists" (who are also sometimes styled "Old Calendar") are to be distinguished from Orthodox Christians or Orthodox Church bodies which are on the Old Calendar. The latter use the historic Julian calendar cited above, but are in communion with the Orthodox Churches that use the New Calendar (the Revised Julian calendar). Thus, to be "Old Calendarist" or "Old Calendar" is not the same thing as being "on the Old Calendar"; and the Russian Orthodox Church, for instance, is not Old Calendarist (or Old Calendar), but it is on the Old Calendar. There are a great many Orthodox Christians who are (or who belong to Churches that are) on the Old Calendar, but far fewer in number are the Orthodox Christians who are Old Calendar or Old Calendarist."[3]
"Eastern Orthodox Liturgics" (Wikipedia) says that three feasts are celebrated on December 25:
- The Nativity, according to the Flesh, of our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ.
- The Adoration of the Magi: Melchior, Gaspar, and Balthasar.
- Commemoration of the shepherds in Bethlehem who were watching their flocks and came to see the Lord.
For Old Calendarists, that works out to a Gregorian date of January 7.
January 6, the Eastern Feast of Theophany on the old calendar would then correspond to January 19 on the Gregorian calendar.
Appalachian Old-Calendarists
- As a Russian Orthodox monastery which observes the Julian, or "old", calendar, we were surprised to learn about Appalachian "Old Christmas", which is a most solemn and reverent time for families living in the mountains. The initial change-over from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar by the British Empire and the American colonies in 1752 caused a difference of eleven days. Thus, the date of "new" Christmas on December 25th was eleven days ahead of "old" Christmas, which fell (at that time) on January 5th. Some Protestants refused to honor the new calendar because it was decreed by the Pope, so their celebration of Christmas remained on the Julian calendar – which now falls on January 7. In the Appalachian Mountains, the celebration of Old Christmas remained until about World War I. Though they might also observe 'new' Christmas on December 25th, the festivities were very different. December 25th was marked with revelry and parties and visiting, but January 6th was primarily a reverent family observance.
In tabular form
|In this table, I attempt to sort out the data given above. I am not a calendrist and would be happy to revise this as needed to make it more accurate. The purpose of this table is to attempt show on what GREGORIAN date the Orthodox churches celebrate these feasts. All dates here are expressed in GREGORIAN terms.
|Revised Julian Calendar
|Nativity of Our Lord
|December 25
|January 7
|December 25
|Epiphany--Visit of the Magi
|January 6
|(Combined with Nativity)
|(Combined with Nativity)
|Theophany--Baptism of the Lord
|January 6
|January 19
|January 6
Some reflections
The development of different liturgical and calendric traditions seems to me to stem, in part, from the difficulties of communication in the early Church. Local customs took root without being compared to or coordinated with other regional customs and traditions.
The Christmas tradition is rooted in the conviction that Jesus was a true human being and therefore that He was born on a particular date, as we all are. The ancient world did not share our mania for exact dates, times, and places. The early Christian bodies wanted to celebrate the Feast of the Nativity of Our Lord, but did not have any reliable historical information about what it was. The choice of the winter solstice (December 24 or December 25 on the Julian calendar) was arbitrary but not meaningless. Once the date for celebrating the birth of Jesus was fixed, it was natural to count back nine months to the day and assign March 25 as the date of His conception ("The Feast of the Annunciation" in the Western tradition).
Picking a date to honor the Baptism of the Lord is equally arbitrary, but not meaningless. It is the first revelation of the mystery of the Trinity and the first act in Jesus' public ministry in the synoptic gospels. In the Western tradition, the Baptism of the Lord marks the end of the Christmas season and the beginning of Ordinary Time, when we meditate on everything Jesus said and did before entering into His Passion, Death, and Resurrection.
The feasts are meaningful because they are part of the reality of Jesus' incarnate life and are hugely important for understanding Who He is and what He did for us in becoming human and beginning the formation of His first disciples. The arbitrariness of the dates cannot be overcome, but they provide a beautiful rhythm for the Liturgical year.
The solstice is a natural event noted by all the great civilizations in history. In the Northern hemisphere, it is the time of deepest natural darkness and is a turning-point toward spring. I'm very grateful to the unknown religious geniuses who worked out these liturgical dates on our behalf.
The difference in the calendars does not trouble me and I trust that it does not trouble God, either. Calendars are "the work of human hands." Variations in them are perfectly intelligible in principle. Although Christians may be separated by the calendars they use, we share a common instinct to mark these holy days in our hearts and minds and to use them to give greater glory to God.
Gift-giving traditions
- December 6: Feast of St. Nicholas, who gave generously to the poor, especially to some young women in need of a dowry.
- December 25
- January 6: Epiphany in the West, imitating the magi of Matthew's gospel. In the East, this seems to have been the original date for celebrating the birth of Jesus.
Banned in England
The celebration of Christmas was banned by the Puritans in England 1647: "The book, The Vindication of Christmas (London, 1652), argued against the Puritans, and makes note of Old English Christmas traditions, dinner, roast apples on the fire, card playing, dances with "plow-boys" and "maidservants", and carol singing. ... In Colonial America, the Puritans of New England disapproved of Christmas, and celebration was outlawed in Boston from 1659 to 1681."
The objection to Christmas celebrations was that they were all extra-Biblical traditions.
Once the monarchy was restored in 1660, Christmas made an official comeback in England.
Modern controversies
Christmas Spectators
Christmas and Easter are traditional feasts when lapsed Catholics make a guest appearance at Mass. We hope and pray that they will "come to Church for a change" (quoted from a photo of a signboard on a Protestant church).
Secular Christmas vs. the Christmas Season
- Secular Christmas
- From Halloween until Christmas Day, ""it's Christmas time in the city."
- Stars Santa Claus, elves, angels, and "magic" that are disconnected from theological roots.
- Conditions us to give and receive gifts, to wish each other well, and to socialize with friends and family. This is not all bad, nor are any of these customs intrinsically evil.
- Secular decorations and "holiday" music.
- Christmastide
- A single day is not enough; Christmas time keeps the celebration going.
- From Christmas to the Epiphany at least; for Catholics, from Christmas to the Baptism of the Lord.
- The star is Jesus, the newborn King, surrounded by angels and saints in their full theological character.
- A great time for mystagogy: meditation on the mystery of the Incarnation as God's astonishing, unexpected, and undeserved answer to sin.
The reason for the season
The "reason for the season" is sin and suffering.
When we feel all cranky and frustrated and discouraged, we know we are fully qualified for the visit of the Christ child. He came for the sick and for sinners, not for the healthy and self-righteous.
Hating those who make their living in retail is not a good way to prepare for the coming of the Savior. If we really love Jesus, we must really love our enemies. That includes retailers!
They're talking our language
- "Xmas" is the classical abbreviation for "Christmas." The X is a Greek chi and stands for "Xristos."
- "-mas" means "Mass."
- - Therefore, "Xmas" means "Christ's Mass"--for those who have eyes to see!
- "Holiday" is derived from "holy day."
- "Season's Greetings" is shorthand for "I wish you all of the greetings proper to this season." While it is open to many different seasons and festivities (Hannakuh, Ramadan, when it is in December or January, Kwanzaa, New Year's), at the very least it must contain the sense of "Merry Christmas" along with all the others.
Christmas blues
"'Tis the season to be moody?"
Unvoiced expectations.
Unresolved conflicts.
Symbolic colors
- Green: spring is coming; "ever-greens" represent Jesus' resurrection from the dead in the springtime and His victory over all evil.
- Red: the color of holly berries; apples on a "Paradise Tree" in morality plays remind us of the fall of Adam and the need for a Savior; the color of the episcopal robes of Saint Nicholas; the blood Jesus shed on the Cross to save the world from sin; a joyful season.
- White: the purity of Christ; gift of the Eucharist.
- Gold: gift of the magi; divinity of Jesus.
- Silver: Star of Bethlehem; Redemption in Christ (Jesus sold for silver pieces?).
"The traditional colours of Christmas are pine green (evergreen), snow white, and heart red. Blue and white are often used to represent winter, or sometimes Hanukkah, which occurs around the same time. Gold and silver are also very common, as are just about any other metallic colour."[2]
- [Early Christian calendars mark Christmas Eve as templa exornatur, meaning "churches are decked," though supposedly Saturnalia celebrators didn't allow some Christians to hang boughs in honor of Christmas. Christians adopted the holly tradition from Druid, Celtic and Roman traditions, and its symbolism changed to reflect Christian beliefs.
- Today, Christians consider holly symbolic of Jesus Christ in two ways. The red berries represent the blood that Jesus shed on the cross on the day he was crucified. Legend states that holly berries were originally white, but that the blood Christ shed for the sins of humankind stained the berries forever red. A holly's pointed leaves symbolize the crown of thorns placed on Jesus' head before he died on the cross.
- Holly is known as christdorn in German, meaning "Christ thorn." Both of these symbols are meant to serve as a reminder to Christians of Jesus' suffering, but they aren't the only stories tying holly to Jesus. One claims that the cross on which Jesus was crucified was constructed of holly. Another says that holly sprang up from his footsteps. Less common symbolism includes the holly's white blossoms representing purity, and the idea that if the holly used to decorate a home for Christmas is prickly, the man will rule the house for the coming year; but if the holly used is smooth, the woman will rule.
- Holly berries ... ripen in early winter.
- The Paradise Play, which was presented on December 24th, related the story of Adam and Eve, and their plight in the Garden of Eden. Of course, props were needed and, since there was no way to provide an apple tree in the middle of winter, it was decided that a pine tree with apples tied to its branches would have to serve as the Tree of Good and Evil, in the center of the garden.
- Since this idea worked so well, it became a popular prop for local churches, and the idea spread, until this version of the Tree of Good and Evil was the commonly accepted prop whenever the play was performed. Soon, churches everywhere had adopted this tradition and included it in their celebration each year.
- The Paradise Tree was so popular in Germany, that private citizens began to erect pine trees in their homes during the holiday, decorating them with red apples, as the church folks had done for their Miracle Play. Before long, the tradition was so widespread, that the modern-day Christmas tree tradition was born, and the official colors of the Christmas season became green and red – green for the pine tree and red for the apples – the combination of which represented the Paradise Tree, which made its debut in the 14th century.
- Eventually, the Paradise Tree was also decorated with small white wafers – symbolizing the Holy Eucharist – to remind people that, while Adam and Eve were responsible for the fall of mankind, the birth of the Christ Child would – in effect – reverse the final result of the fall through the eventual suffering and death of Jesus.


text:
I was watching my 13.04 VM update, and I noticed that it wanted to update the
geoip-database package.
I have verified that it is present on my 12.10 computer as well - what does Ubuntu desktop use this for?
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I was watching my 13.04 VM update, and I noticed that it wanted to update the
geoip-database package.
I have verified that it is present on my 12.10 computer as well - what does Ubuntu desktop use this for?
ubuntu-desktop requires a torrent client (probably
transmission-gtk), which in turn requires
geoip-database for peer identification as mentioned in Rick Green's answer.
– Jase
Jan 2 '13 at 10:23
Used for locating peers in applications like bittorrent.
GeoIP databases will help enable you to identify the location, organization, connection speed, and user type of your Internet visitors. (for servers)
Can be used for Region, Country, City, Organisation, IP ISP and Netspeed.
Used for gathering user/client habits and traffic control.
It's also used for criminal investigation and fraud detection.
See WIKI.
Edit: I thought this was a general question. As indicated it is not, so for more specifics lets move on.
Geoip-database is the database used by a software framework which can be used to enable geospatial awareness in applications.
GPS: Position information from a Global Positioning System receiver (via gpsd and gypsy)
GSM: Position information from cellular network connection
Plazes: Position information from the Plazes Wi-Fi location service
Hostip: Position information based on IP address
Manual: User-provided position information such as:An online locator service (also known as location finder, store finder, or store locator, or similar) is a feature found on websites of businesses with multiple locations that allows visitors to the site to find locations of the business within proximity of an address or postal code or within a selected region.
Services such as Google Maps, MapQuest or Bing Maps allowing the user to see on a map where the particular location is found on a map.
The database is also used by GeoClue which is a modular geoinformation service built on top of the D-Bus messaging system. The goal of the Geoclue project is to make creating location-aware applications as simple as possible.
Just a little more info:
GeoIP is a C library that enables the user to find the country that any IP address or hostname originates from. It uses a file based database.
This database simply contains IP blocks as keys, and countries as values and it should be more complete and accurate than using reverse DNS lookups.
This package contains the free GeoLiteCountry database.
Installation within Ubuntu:


text:
Residential and Commercial Electrical Services
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At Golden Touch Electric, we have the experience you can trust in both Residential and Commercial Electrical Services from attic fan installation to new commercial construction, remodeling building retrofit and electrical maintenance services.
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text:
Browsing Ph.D. theses by Author "Christoffersen, Jeppe"
Now showing items 1-1 of 1
Christoffersen, Jeppe (Frederiksberg, 2011)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: In recent years, we have witnessed multinational enterprises (MNEs) changing strategies to exploit opportunities for division of labor on a global scale (Hansen et al. 2009). In consequence these have received growing interest among researchers and governments as 'agents of host country economic development' (Scott-Kennel and Enderwick 2005, p.105). A general consensus of this research is that 'FDI [Foreign Direct Investment] offers an additional channel for introduction of technology, innovation, new ideas, different organizational practices and new skills to a host country' (Scott-Kennel and Enderwick 2005, p.112). Another consensus is that these knowledge resources were introduced into the host country through linkages between the MNEs and a local firm and would in the longer term diffuse to other firms through e.g. demonstration effects and labor turnover (Giroud and Scott-Kennel 2009).... URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/8332
Files in this item: 1Jeppe Christoffersen_SUMMARY.pdf (1.138Mb)
Now showing items 1-1 of 1


text:
That a yoga memoir can be a totally absorbing, wild-ride of a book says something about the kind of yoga covered, and even more about its author. Bejamin Lorr's new book, "Hell-Bent: Obsession, Pain and the Search for Something Like Transcendence in Competitive Yoga" was, to this sometimes-yogini, the most interesting book I have read on the subject, hands down. That's because Lorr captures something of what I have always found incredibly offputting about yoga (and which finally drove me away from regular practice): the cultlike mentality that seems to invade what, to me, is simply an excellent way to exercise and challenge the body and mind. Lorr dives right into the scariest and most bizarre of the common forms of Western yoga, Bikram, and subjects himself to all those things I have always been afraid of — the very aspects of yoga that put me off after two years of conscientious practice — are what he absolutely reveled in.
In short, that includes rooms heated to the 110-degree temps that Bikram yoga requires (and even hotter in some cases), some extremely disordered and just plain weird eating, people looking for transcendence every which way, narcissistic cult leaders (Bikram Choudhoury, the founder of this type of yoga) and pushing the body beyond all sensible limits. For this cool-temperature loving, never-miss-a-meal atheist with a problem with authority, I loved this book first and foremost because it is beautifully written, but second because Lorr does so many things I never would, but of course am curious about. He did it all, so I don't have to.
Lorr gets into all the behind-the-scenes stuff that makes tell-all memoirs so much fun, from the amusing (Bikram Choudhoury's crazy rants and comical clothes), to the gross (how yoga can modify the body short- and long-term), to the revealing (the history of yoga is not what many of us think we know), to the disturbing (the kind of people who are yoga leaders — and their followers — range from good-hearted human beings to deranged narcissists). All of which leads us back to what yoga is — a totally human expression. There are good guys and bad ones, lucky folks and those who fail despite best intentions. It is, like any good story about anything, universal and very human, which was a surprise to me, what with yoga's supposed connection to the divine, or universal intentions, or to the mysterious past.
At the end of the day, it's Lorr's honesty (and lack of spiritual talk, which yoga is so rife with, and which makes it so unpalatable at time) that brings his road-to-competitive-yoga narrative together with all the other fascinating subjects that an inquiry into the origins and practice of Bikram yoga reveals. He doesn't make yoga anyting more or less than what it is: an exercise practiced by human beings, who attach all sorts of meaning to it. Lorr writes, "There is a long, hearty history where lone individuals have appointed themselves all-knowing gurus and deliberately twisted facts to their own satisfaction and cosmology. So throw your ideas of authenticity out the window, and when I bring up practices like the competition, backbending and hallucinations, try to do something yogic (wink) for a change: Let people claim yoga as they always will but this time, detach, observe, and make no judgements."
If you are into yoga, the book is an honest look inside a part of the culture that you are part of. But even if you are athletic in other ways, you will see yourself here, in this story about how we relate to our bodies and the other crazy humans around us.
Related storis on MNN:
- Exploring yoga styles: What is Bikram yoga?
- What is Vinyasa?
- Outdoor yoga: How to enjoy al fresco practice


text:
Design-savvy developer Cathedral has become the latest name to take up arms in the 'Second Battle of Smithfield'
The company has pledged its support for rival plans to John McAslan + Partners' contentious £160million proposals for the London market. The developer confirmed it will be 'submitting detailed evidence' for a scheme to retain the existing buildings at the public inquiry into McAslan's proposed office-led revamp of the decaying landmark which starts tomorrow (11 February).
An alternative scheme to McAslan's 'destructive' plans for the Victorian market, drawn up by Burrell Foley Fischer, has been put forward by anti-demolition campaigners SAVE Britain's Heritage and the Victorian Society. Cathedral said it had looked at the financial viability of keeping the existing fabric - and whether it could be be turned into a mixed-use scheme - rather than the specifics of the SAVE scheme.
Richard Upton, chief executive of Cathedral said: 'At the request of SAVE, Cathedral Group and its team of professional advisers has undertaken a full viability assessment to establish a clear economic argument for a retention scheme which will enable the spirit and fabric of the historic Smithfield Market buildings to be preserved.
'We are confident enough of this assessment to have requested an opportunity to present our detailed evidence to the inspector during the forthcoming public inquiry.'
However the move has been condemned by Henderson Global Investors, the developer behind McAslan's 'official' scheme saying that the evidence offered by Cathedral should be disregarded.
Geoff Harris, development director of Henderson said: 'We will be vigorously objecting to this blatant breach by SAVE of the Procedural Rules which govern public inquiries.
'SAVE is showing contempt for the timetable for the submission of evidence set and agreed by all parties at the pre-inquiry meeting with the inspector last year.
He concluded: 'There are no grounds for the submission of detailed evidence on the opening day of the public inquiry by the Cathedral Group on behalf of SAVE and this latest stunt by SAVE should be thrown out by the inspector.'
The inquiry is expected to last three weeks.
Previous story (AJ 03.02.14)
Labour comes out against McAslan's Smithfield plans
The Labour Party has waded into the 'Second Battle of Smithfield' after coming out against John McAslan + Partners' contentious £160 million plans for the London market
The party's Parliamentary Candidate for the Cities of London and Westminster, Nik Slingsby, said he supported an alternative plan to 'sensitively' repair and reopen the famous Victorian market proposed by SAVE - the lead campaigner against McAslan's 'destructive' designs.
His comments come just days before the public inquiry (11 February) into McAslan's plans - drawn up for Henderson Global Investors - which would see the General Market and Annex converted into 5,700m² of shops and 21,220m² of office space.
Slingsby said: 'Having worked and studied close to the beautiful Smithfield Market, I fully support SAVE's and the Victorian Society's [rival] planning application.
'Their scheme would preserve the Victorian heritage of the market while creating an urban centre of food markets, restaurants and cafes [run by Eric Reynold's Urban Space Management]. This is an exciting and historically sensitive alternative to Henderson's radical redevelopment of the market into office blocks.'
McAslan's proposals were called in by communities secretary Eric Pickles last September (see below) after winning planning from the City of London in July 2013.
It is the second time a major scheme for the decaying central London market site has been scrutinised at public inquiry.
Six years ago KPF's controversial proposal to flatten the buildings and replace them with a huge office scheme was thrown out by communities secretary Hazel Blears.
Defending his scheme last month, John McAslan said the proposed development would give 'the old and the new a living and enduring future.'
Previous story (AJ 04.09.13)
McAslan's Smithfield revamp called in
John McAslan + Partners' contentious £160 million Smithfield Market overhaul has been called in by the secretary of state
Communities secretary Eric Pickles will decide the future of the scheme after deeming the redevelopment to concern 'matters of substantial regional and national controversy.'
The inquiry is expected to focus on the mixed-use scheme's compliance with the local plan and NPPF policies on good design and conserving the historic environment.
McAslan's scheme – involving partial demolition of Victorian buildings to create 5,700m² of shops and 21,220m² of office space – won planning from the City of London in July.
Almost a dozen bodies objected to the Henderson Global Investors-backed project, including the Twentieth Century Society, SPAB, Islington Council and SAVE Britain's Heritage which submitted a petition with the names of almost 2,700 people opposed to the redevelopment.
A previous scheme for the site by KPF, which would have obliterated the existing buildings, was also approved (see AJ 06.05.2006) at planning committee before being famously thrown out by communities secretary Hazel Blears in 2008.
A spokesperson for developer Henderson said: 'Henderson's conservation led planning application for the largely disused buildings in West Smithfield is the only realistic, viable and funded scheme which can bring these historic buildings back into use and deliver a proper long term sustainable balance of redevelopment, restoration and retention.
'This balanced approach has been supported by the City of London, English Heritage, the GLA and CABE as it retains the vast majority of the existing Victorian market buildings and brings them back into viable use.'
Clem Cecil of SAVE said: 'We're delighted, it shows the significance of the buildings that the secretary of state has decided to call it in a second time. We are delighted there will be a fair forum for the discussion.'
Cecil claimed the latest twist proved the buildings – which failed to win statutory protection from demolition because they were bombed damaged – should now be listed.
The SAVE director called on the inquiry to consider claims the City of London had overlooked the planning inspector's 2008 recommendations in approving the McAslan scheme.
She said: 'The inspector [in 2008] concluded the buildings could be preserved and become a new Spitalfields or Covent Garden and that they should be put on the open market to allow conservation-led scheme to come forward.
She continued: 'The City of London never put it on the open market. [Therefore] it is unfounded to say this is the only viable scheme because no other scheme has come forward. This is why we need this fair forum.'
Previous story (16.07.13)
Contentious Smithfield market plans approved
Controversial plans to overhaul London's Smithfield Market by John McAslan + Partners have been approved, despite a raft of objections
The scheme to regenerate and partially demolish the Victorian market block and create 5,700m² of shops and 21,220m² of office space was given the green light by the City of London's planning committee earlier today (16 July).
Almost a dozen bodies objected to the Henderson Global Investors-backed project, including the Twentieth Century Society, SPAB, Islington Council and SAVE Britain's Heritage which submitted a petition with the names of almost 2,700 people opposed to the redevelopment.
There were also objections from the Smithfield Trust and the Council for British Archaeology. The Greater London Authority added that it was unconvinced the scheme complied with the London Plan.
However the City's committee agreed with its planning officers' recommendations, voted 19-2 in favour of the plans.
Geoff Harris, director of property development at Henderson, said: '[We have] spent more than two and a half years working and consulting with English Heritage, City of London planners and local residents and stakeholders to design a scheme that meets the needs of a growing City, while at the same time appreciating the heritage that has shaped it.
'The scheme will bring active and vibrant uses back to Smithfield and provide a valuable retail and restaurant offer to local residents and workers.
'Horace Jones' Smithfield was a City landmark in the 1800s and the Henderson plans approved today will help restore it to the destination that it once was. This vision for Smithfield preserves its past while guaranteeing its future.'
The application was passed on the condition that McAslan would revise the scheme around Hart's Corner. Committee member the Reverend Martin Dudley, who voted for the scheme, suggested rebuilding the original turret that had been destroyed by a bomb in 1945.
A previous scheme for the site by KPF, which would have obliterated the existing buildings, was also approved (see AJ 06.05.2006) at planning committee before being famously thrown out by communities secretary Hazel Blears in 2008.
Clem Cecil of SAVE said she was not surprised by the decision: 'We were never going to win today - it would have been a miracle. The City is on a mission to be the financial centre of the universe and it fears losing its place if it doesn't [allow every office scheme] - even though it has an 8 per cent surplus.
'But there is a long way to go and we feel there is a strong case for a public enquiry.
'Hopefully we will get a call-in. The secretary of state has already said that he wanted to see all the documentation if it won planning. So Whitehall is interested.'
Enabling works on the McAslan proposal are set to begin next year, with full construction starting in 2015.
Previous story (AJ 08.07.2013)
Contentious Smithfield market plans touted for approval
Controversial plans to overhaul London's Smithfield Market by John McAslan + Partners are set to be approved, despite a raft of objections from leading industry voices
The scheme to regenerate and partially demolish the Victorian market block,creating 5,700m² of shops and 21,220m² of office space, has been recommended for approval by the City of London ahead of a planning committee meeting next Tuesday (16 July 2013).
The authority's planning officers said that while 'some harm' would result should the scheme for Henderson Global Investors was given the green light, this would be outweighed by the public benefit and felt the proposals would safeguard the future of 'the most significant elements' of the historic buildings.
However almost a dozen bodies have objected including the Twentieth Century Society, SPAB, Islington Council and SAVE Britain's Heritage which submitted a petition with the names of almost 2,700 people opposed to the project.
As well as the Victorian Society, which complained that the plans were contrary to the NPPF and would cause 'significant harm' to the surrounding Smithfield Conservation Area, there were also objections from the Smithfield Trust, Council for British Archaeology.
Crossrail was also concerned that the scheme would 'seriously prejudice the use of the basement' of the site which is being used as part of the construction of the nearby Farringdon station.
English Heritage said it would not be objecting to the scheme - a stance which outraged both the Victorian Society and SAVE earlier this year (see below).
Previous story (AJ 15.04.2013)
English Heritage hits back at Smithfield market 'u-turn' claims
English Heritage (EH) has dismissed allegations that it has 'failed in its duty' by backing controversial plans to overhaul London's Smithfield Market
Last week SAVE Britain's Heritage condemned EH for throwing its weight behind John McAslan + Partners' contentious scheme which would see parts of the Victorian market block flattened (see full SAVE statement attached).
Five years ago EH, alongside SAVE vigorously objected to proposals by KPF for the plot alongside SAVE, prompting the campaign group to accuse the quango of 'a volte face' (see below).
However a spokesman for EH has hit back, maintaining that the new plan for Henderson Global Investors marked 'a fundamentally different approach' to the proposals by KPF which was thrown out by the secretary of state Hazel Blears in 2008.
The statement reads: 'It should be remembered that EH and SAVE were opposing a very different scheme at the 2008 public inquiry. That scheme proposed the total demolition of the General Market Building and the interior of the Annex Market and replacement with a new building that was entirely out of character with the area. It was a substantially larger scheme than the current one and would have resulted in a much more substantial loss of historic buildings at this site.
'The current proposal….unites long-term sustainable restoration with the re-use of the Smithfield Western Market Buildings. We have emphasised that an appropriate balance between restoration and new development must be found to ensure the long-term, economically viable regeneration of [these buildings].
'Reaching this balance will always be a contentious issue, but the suggestion that English Heritage has failed in its duty is wrong. It would have been a failure on our part not to recognise the increasingly urgent need for a realistic viable scheme that optimised the conservation of this site.'
It continues: 'The condition of the General Market Building means that long-term viable re-use requires additional subsidy. One way of producing this subsidy is through new development. Alongside some new development, the proposals put forward by Henderson propose the retention and repair of the most significant elements of the historic market buildings.
'After decades of neglect, much work is needed to restore these significant historic structures: these proposals represent a realistic long term plan to bring the redundant Victorian buildings back into viable use. While it is true that the scale and height of the new office floors will result in moderate harm to the conservation area in certain views, these proposals have the potential to deliver economic, social and heritage benefits and it is these elements which the City of London Corporation must now balance.'
An official decision by the City of London Corporation is not expected until the summer (2013).
Previous story (AJ 11.04.2013)
McAslan's Smithfield plans win English Heritage backing
English Heritage has thrown its weight behind John McAslan + Partners' contentious proposals to redevelop Smithfield Market
The conservation body said it supported the planning application for project backers Henderson Global Investors which would see elements of the historic market pulled down and replaced with a retail and office-led scheme.
In a letter to the City of London's planning department, English Heritage (see attached) said the plans represented a 'realistic long-term proposal' to bring the Victorian buildings back into a viable use.
The letter reads: 'We are persuaded that an amout of new development on the site is required. [The] repair costs associated with the large size and very poor condition of the buildings, added to the need to repair the tunnel structures beneath part of the site, mean that long term viability is unlikely to be achieved without additional subsidy.'
Letter writer, Michael Dunn, English Heritage's principal inspector of historic buildings said: 'Although the new development at the centre of the General Market Building will result in the loss of elements of moderate interest (the 1960s concrete dome, the timber roof and parts of the of the interiror of the market hall), this needs to be balanced against the benefits through the proposed repair and restoration of most of the richly decorated red brick perimeter buildings, which are the most significant elements on the site.'
However SAVE Britain's Heritage, which has been campaigning to keep the threat of bulldozers away from the market for a second time (see below), said English Heritage's letter marked 'a shocking volte face'.
According to the conservation lobby group, English Heritage had been 'one of the chief bodies opposing demolition' when the previous plans to flatten and replace the market by KPF had been lodged six years ago.
David Cooper, the solicitor who acted for SAVE in the subsequent 2008 public inquiry, said: 'At the public inquiry English Heritage were totally opposed to any scheme that didn't retain the buildings particularly their magnificent glass roofs. Their response to the Henderson proposals doesn't fulfil the inspector's conclusions in any shape manner or form.
'Their position is a complete volte face without any justification at all.'
Previous story (AJ 14.11.2013)
Battle for Smithfield: developer hits back at SAVE criticism
The developer behind the contentious proposals to redevelop Smithfield Market has said he is 'baffled and saddened' by SAVE Britain's Heritage's response
Last month SAVE's Clem Cecil slammed the all-new proposals for the historic market drawn up by John McAslan + Partners, claiming they 'merely nodded towards conservation' and retained only elements of the 'facade while sacrificing the roof structure' (read SAVE's full critique of the plans here).
However Geoff Harris, director of property development at Henderson Global Investors, has hit back at SAVE which today revealed its own rival plans (14 November) for the central London site. He said: 'It seems that the facts about our proposals are being misrepresented. We've adopted a balanced and pragmatic attitude to finding a solution to these buildings and it would appear that SAVE are not willing to consider our proposal with the same degree of pragmatism.
SAVE are not willing to consider our proposal with the same degree of pragmatism
'Henderson's custodianship of these buildings, and the proposals that have been made by our team, have been created with care and in a collaborative approach with English Heritage and with the City of London planning authority over the last two and a half years.
He added: 'Our proposals are a thorough and legitimate response to the challenges of putting these buildings back into long-term sustainable use, both in terms of heritage and in terms of the very real issue of commercial sense. It is not credible to imagine that a viable solution can be found by simply leaving the buildings as they are and without adding density.'
Henderson's took over the scheme following the demise of developer Thornfield which had failed with an earlier, highly controversial office-led proposal drawn up by KPF. Before its collapse Thornfield hired John McAslan to look at a more sensitive plan in a bid to appease heritage groups which had objected to the wide-scale demolition proposed in the KPF plans (pictured below).
Harris added: 'The key to our proposal is adding enough density without being excessive, and in a way that is sympathetic to retaining as much of the Victorian fabric as possible. We are proposing less than half the density of the scheme proposed in the previous [KPF] application that was submitted before our involvement in the buildings and no wholesale demolition of the Victorian buildings.
We are proposing less than half the density of the KPF scheme
'I fear that a failure to recognise this reality, seemingly based upon a lack of understanding of what investment is needed to restore the existing buildings will condemn the buildings to remain as they are. A sustainable long term future that can be enjoyed by the surrounding community is not possible without significant investment.
He concluded: 'It is alarmist and incorrect to suggest that our proposals put doubt into the safety of the famous meat market buildings to the Eastern side of Smithfield. They do not. The actual buildings in our proposal sit on the Western end of Smithfield and have not had a proper use for over a decade, one has remained unused for much longer.'
Henderson's Global Investors rebuttal in full (and see attached)
1. We are apparently "destroying the grandest parade of market buildings in Europe" according to SAVE. Two of the buildings do not feature in the "parade" of buildings moving West to East. For the third, the General Market building, it remains in place and the additions to the existing building have been designed to recognise the view from Holborn Viaduct. To suggest that these original buildings are unimportant to us is not accurate.
The buildings that we are dealing with are not used by the meat trading activity of the area. The actual buildings in question, those to which our proposals relate, have not had a proper use for in excess of a decade, one has remained unused for much longer Our proposals do not put doubt into the safety of the famous meat market buildings to the Eastern side of Smithfield. It is alarmist and incorrect to suggest otherwise.
2. SAVE apparently say about the General Market Building that our proposals "yet again propose its destruction, bar a token nod towards conservation". Our proposals do not put forward wholesale demolition. The proposal is for a mixed use scheme of which a significant part provides retail space configured to provide critical mass and a range of retail unit sizes that will offer space appropriate for independent retailers as well as multiples. The addition of office space delivers the sustainability that mixed use development brings as well as the financial viability that is necessary to fund the renovation of the retained parts of the existing buildings.
3. New space in the General Market Building is arranged in 3 "blocks of space" that range between 2 and 4 storeys above ground floor. The highest point of the design proposed for the General Market Building is within 1 metre of the adjacent poultry market roof. SAVE's suggestion that 20m is extreme, appears disingenuous. Modern insertions are one of a number of recognised ways to ensure the viable restoration of old buildings in need of significant investment and being able to see them should not be assumed to be detrimental. The task is to respect the contribution the buildings make to the conservation area.
4. "It's another scoop-out job," says Clem Cecil of Save Britain's Heritage, referring to the common strategy of retaining the façade of an existing building and "mining out everything behind." Our proposals are not based upon façade retention, the intention is to retain and renovate the entirety of the Old Fish Market and the old Engine House, to renovate and put into proper use the vast majority of the perimeter buildings of the general market and to retain street facades to the Red House, a building that has no modern use available to it. We keep the most important parts of the Red House facades and integrate them into the remodelled space. We remove an entirely underwhelming 1960's corrugated metal warehouse element that sits between the Red House and the Old Fish Market and replace it with new commercial office space that works with the new retail uses that can then be delivered to the Old Fish Market and the ground floor space created within the Red House principal facades. For the General Market Building we remove the roof to what is currently an open internal space and reuse the original Victorian columns as well as reclaiming and reusing as much of the historic materials that we can. The open market is replaced by two new public piazzas that are activated by the retail space and by public flows into this new civic space. For the internal piazza natural light is introduced by atria that offer a modern interpretation of the original roof lights.
5. A lot of public perception of these Smithfield building is felt at pavement and street level, where pedestrian and traffic flows occur. For the General Market Building alone we retain and renovate entire swathes of the perimeter buildings, in the order of 300 metres of Victorian buildings along three streets in just this one building of the four that will be regenerated as part of the proposed scheme. The street frontages to all buildings will deliver interest and activity through retail use and create interconnection with the internal spaces of the remodelled buildings.
6. In the Guardian blog of 16 October Oliver Wainwright reports that "it is also knee-capping the existing buildings: the entire ground floor will be replaced with glass, front and back, leaving the first floor floating in a strange parody: "a token nod towards conservation", says Cecil." One can only assume that this comment refers to the General Market Building and in relation to indicative shop front design that is shown on our visualisation. This appears to show a lack of understanding of the design. For the parts of the General Market Building that front Farringdon Road, West Smithfield Street and Charterhouse Street, the columns that support the Victorian buildings are expressed at ground floor level of the principal elevations and are clearly visible right now should one walk the surrounding pavements. These columns are currently "in filled" with an assortment of shop fronts, some that reflect a traditional style of shop front, some much more underwhelming and that are later additions. The heights of these existing shop fronts currently vary as they are determined by the changing levels of the pavements (some quite considerably). The shop fronts that exist are non-structural and will probably historically have been chosen to suit the business of the retail unit occupier, hence their partially eclectic styling. We are retaining the columns exactly as they exist at the moment and so there is no change in height of the ground floor treatment nor in spacing of the columns. We are yet to agree with the statutory consultative bodies how the shop fronts will be treated and it could be a range of styles though we expect them to be mainly traditional, and they will be installed as part of the renovation works in order to allow the approving bodies control of the final appearance of the ground floor shop fronts. We think that the introduction of awnings that are in keeping with the history of the area will add more tradition though for now our visualisations are intended to demonstrate intent not final detailing. Our renders show a mixture of shop front types and are for indicative purposes right now.
7. SAVE says that "the rendered image of the remodelled interior by McAslan is beguiling but plays fast and loose with the building's historic elements and fittings". We really do not understand this comment as the Fish Market will be renovated to its original style, including the roof structure, and that is what the imagery shows. For the General Market Building the visualisation of the internal space represents our current design and our intent to reuse as much of the historic elements as possible in a way that actually has a use that the public can enjoy within the two new piazza's.
8. "It's all very pretty, but it's just throwing sparkly dust in our eyes," says Cecil. "Look closely and it's just hashed-together conservation detailing." One can only assume that SAVE is looking at different design details to us, the historic parts that are retained are returned to their former detail and in significant portions.
9. "SAVE believes that the site lends itself perfectly to re-use as it is. At present the late 19th-century market building has a beautiful roof structure of iron, wood and glass that lets natural light in and would serve as an elegant canopy for small shops and cafés as in Covent Garden." We wonder if SAVE has a proper understanding of the repairs that are necessary to the buildings in order for them to function properly and safely as these buildings require significant repair. In the previous Public Inquiry, the Inspector acknowledged that the cost of repair alone made a full retention proposal unviable.
10. SAVE says "The scheme retains only elements of the facade while sacrificing the roof structure". Actually, the scheme retains the majority of the perimeter buildings that form the curtilage of the General Market, the entirety of the Fish Market and the toilet block and the principal elevations of the Red House. It is accurate that the roof structure to the existing general market central area is removed but not the roof structure to the Fish Market. The majority of the chimneys are retained and put into use.
11. "The opportunity to create a fantastic public space at Smithfield has been overlooked by the City Corporation that appears happy to see the market sold off piecemeal." according to SAVE. It is for the City to speak for itself but in our experience their intellectual rigour has been of the highest order throughout our work with them over the last few years. We are concerned with only the western buildings that make up Smithfield; the others that form the meat trading market are in active use and are unaffected. Our proposals do offer fantastic public space that is not currently available in any case.
12. We remain committed to the preservation of as much of the historic content as we believe feasible.
'Public supports McAslan's Smithfield plans', claim backers
Developer Cathedral throws weight behind SAVE's alternative Smithfield plans
Smithfield Inquiry: last-ditch bid to list market submitted
'Public supports McAslan's Smithfield plans', claim backers
Developer Cathedral throws weight behind SAVE's alternative Smithfield plans
Smithfield Inquiry: last-ditch bid to list market submitted
'Public supports McAslan's Smithfield plans', claim backers
Developer Cathedral throws weight behind SAVE's alternative Smithfield plans
City rebuked over Smithfield stance
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Whenever I'm starting a new design project, one of the first things I'll do is search for good examples of what I'm trying to design (whether that's interfaces, logos, typography, etc). However, if you search for 'logos' on Google Images you'll get a lot of trash returned, so instead I find myself trawling the same few sites—Dribbble, Designspiration, Behance—looking for ideas and inspiration (and ending up with about six dozen browser tabs open).
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