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Christmas is nearly upon us so my decoration making has started in earnest. I always like to have a few new homemade cuties to add to my tree this year and for 2017 it's going to be a couple of … Continue reading
Halloween: Zombie Skulls decorating Tutorial
Halloween 2017 is fast approaching and as per usual, I'm busy making new decorations to decorate our Halloween tree.
This year it's been pumpkins (both crocheted and fabric), eyeballs, severed fingers and these delightful little zombie skulls.
The best thing about these skulls is how super simple they are to make and how little time they take. Minus taking in the ends, I could make a blank skull in less than 5 minutes.
So here's how to do it…
- Yarn – Double Knit (cotton is my preference)
- Hook – 3.5 but use whatever you need to get a tight crochet
- Extras – Black yarn or embroidery floss for the mouth, a second colour for the eyes and some small buttons of various colours.
Instead of designing a pattern myself this time I found a super one by Heather Jarmusz on Ravelry so I used that to make the blanks. You can find them here:
Ravelry – https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/spooktacular-sugar-skull-applique
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/hamandeggscrochet
As I wanted to make a hanging decoration that looked good on both sides I made two of every colour with a view to crocheting them together.
Then I set about decorating them with a mouth and button eyes.
The decorating
Using black double knit cotton or embroidery floss, do a straight line across between round 2 and row 1. Then, do a series of straight lines down, crossing the line as above in the finished skull. I am going to try out one with fangs and blood so if it works, I'll post that as an alternative to this traditional skull mouth.
The eyes are next and this is where you get to have fun and decide what type you want to do. Two of my nieces and nephews were with me when I was decorating these so I let them loose with the designs and did what they asked.
To do the hanging eyeball take two buttons, one slightly smaller than the other. Thread them both onto some double knit cotton.
When you've done, pull the cotton through the font of the skull, making sure you keep the loose thread between the two buttons. Normally, at this point I'd be encouraging you to keep the back of your work as neat as possible. Thankfully, as you won't be able to see the back you don't have to worry here. I'd place a knot at the back to secure the larger button and make sure there is still loose thread between the two. Once it's secure, pass the needle back through the empty two holes in the button to ensure it's not going anywhere. At this point, I'd like to caveat that these are decorative items and not suitable for young children due to the buttons.
For the second eye you could the same the again, do a cross or add just one button.
Now go ahead and do the second one. You could do it to match the front or have both sides different.
When you've got both sides done it's time to crochet them together. Hold them, wrong sides together and put your hook through the 1 ch at the end of the last row.
Do 1 chain then slip stitch in every stitch around making sure you go through both the front and the back skulls.
When finished, take in the ends and add a loop to the top for hanging.
And you're done!
I'd love to see any that you've made.
It's BRAINZZZZ for dinner
Halloween again! Or at least it was a couple of weeks ago and yet again, we had loads of activities planned. There was a party at a softplay, a horror walk, pumpkin carving, a Halloween breakfast, Halloween movies and of course, trick or treating.
I know that in the US any costume goes but for me, Halloween should be scary. After all, it's when ghouls and goblins walk the earth so we're supposed to dress as scary as possible to blend in! Luckily, my big two share my feelings on the matter so Roux and Hurricane want blood and gore when it comes to their costumes.
Last year, I went on a zombie walk so attempted some zombie face paint (which I was really chuffed with at the time) and Monster came along for the ride. It was a great baby wearing costume but this year, I didn't need one.
I asked Roux and Hurricane what they wanted to do this year and they decided we'd be a family of zombies. Obviously my love of all things zombie has come shining through! I was really pleased as I'd seen an amazing tutorial on YouTube by Bonnie Corban and desperately wanted to try it out.
As Halloween fell on a Saturday a very good friend and drinking partner had agreed that we'd go out around the local pubs and clubs in fancy dress. It was brilliant! I was ever so chuffed with how my costume turned out although I kept getting grabbed for photos. I do wonder how many people woke up on Sunday morning to find a picture of my face on their 'phone.
Starting with the children, they wanted lots of blood so I got 3 plain white t shirts (2 for £2.50 in Asda) and tore them up then covered them in blood. The blood was very red so looked a bit too fresh. A quick google told me that if you mix the shop bought blood with gravy it'll darken it up nicely. Unfortunately, none of the google searches said that you would reek of roast beef! It was quite something, we absolutely STANK.
I bought myself a dress from a charity shop for the grand total of £1! Then I ripped the top, shredded the hem at the bottom and covered it in gravy smelling fake blood. The smell really was horrific, it permeated the house so next time, I'll use black food colouring m'kay.
For the soft play party they both wanted lots of blood. It stains. Thankfully they were dressing up again the next day so face paint covered it all. Unfortunately, Monster wasn't keen on being a zombie at all, I couldn't help but laugh when he saw himself in the mirror and cried (bad mother). He was massively over tired and quite hungry when I attempted to do this so perhaps that wasn't the best but never mind – at least I hadn't spent a fortune on his costume. A quick change of clothes and a swoosh with a baby wipe and he was happy again.
The next day, we were doing the horror experience and some trick or treating so we went same costume but different face paint.
They were really getting into the swing of it and constantly walked like zombies whilst trying to bite their cousins.
Now to me… following the tutorial upthread and wearing the dress I first put on some latex and tissue…
Then I matted my hair with copious amounts of dry shampoo, texture powder and a lot of back combing, finished my face paint…
Added some white zombie contacts…
And then started to bite everyone…
Nativity life lesson.
This week I learnt an important life lesson about ASSUMPTIONS and hopefully if you hear my woeful tale you'll be saved from the same curse of the Assumption.
Let's start at the very beginning, it's a very good place to start…
A few weeks ago Hurricane's (reception age) teacher took me to one side and gave me the good news that she's been picked to take the lead in the Christmas Play. I was handed her lines and ASSUMED that also meant I had to provide a costume. ASSUMED.
Miss wasn't pleased as the main part was a figure called The Sleepy Shepherd. She didn't want to be a shepherd, she wanted to be an angel. Little madam. I laughed about this in school and said I'd make her something bright and the teacher didn't flinch.
Costume made and I took it in this week. School were over the moon and then dropped the bombshell – they are providing all the costumes! Gah! Apparently though they're all very tatty and just cobbled together as none of the staff sew. Due to this, she's going to find me this time next year and ask me to make/remodel them! I'm practicing saying "no" now. Do you think it'll work?
Anyway, here she is. I'm writing up a 'how to guide' so I'll put that up when I get a second.
Holding out for a Superhero
Gosh, it's taken me a long time to get around to doing this post, I'm very much a victim of Life, it gets in the way. On the 14th November it was Children In Need day and as such, school children around the country attended their lessons in a variety of costumes from pyjamas to fancy dress.
Our school decided to dress as a Superhero so for the boys this opened up opportunities to attend as all manner of their favourite comic book heroes, for girls however, I just knew the classes would be full of Princesses. I've got nothing against Princesses at all but I do get a bee in my bonnet over them NOT being superheroes in just the same way I dislike boys going in on World Book Day as Spiderman.
Anyhow, Roux has quite a few superhero costumes to choose from in his wardrobe so I thought I'd start with the easiest, he could wear one of his – Ben10, Spiderman, Superman, Batman and the SuperRoux outfit that I made him last year. Did he want any of these? No, that would be too easy. He wanted to be The Green Lantern. *Sigh* That's me making a Green Lantern Costume too but how! How would I do that? I had a quick google search and all the ones I found were skin-tight and full of padding, my skills aren't up to that and he didn't have any green clothing whatsoever that I could mangle into a costume. Bummer.
His Godfather is superhero daft and loves all things DC/Marvel so I asked for his help, what Green Lantern image did he think of when the name sprang to mind?
Well this gave me an epiphany! See that green bit? Well wouldn't it work as a bib? Felt on a roll turned into a tabard with the logo on the front, some long gloves, black clothes underneath and some boot covers and I'd be done.
Using felt on the roll, I cut out the tabard and put elastic on the sides to hold it together. I also used the same felt to make boot covers that slipped onto the leg using elastic. The symbol on the front is made from felt and glued on using PVA. Next up was the gloves, they're knitted white gloves (2 pairs for £1) with white felt sewn on. The lamp is made from green metallic card with a battery operated tea light and the ring is made from loom bands with a bead in the centre and I painted his face. He adored it which is all that counts.
Then it came to Hurricane, as I said up there I wanted to do everything in my power to stop her going as a Princess. We love Princesses here in this house and for about 6 months, she refused to be called anything other than Princess but they have their place and that place isn't as a superhero. She accepted the news that she couldn't go as Elsa pretty quickly so I ran through a few options with her (Batwoman, SuperGirl, She Ra etc) or perhaps a real life one like a doctor, firewoman, (me ha!) she declared very vehemently that she wanted to be Poison Ivy. Ok, that's a super villain but who cares, it's better than Belle.
On doing a few GIS they're all very, umm, sexy costumes and totally unsuitable for a 4 year old! There was no way that I could allow that much flesh on show so I needed to get my thinking cap on. In the end I settled for a pair of her green school tights, a black leotard, some green netting to make a half skirt with lots and lots (98 at last count) green leaves hand stitched on with a red wig we already had thrown in for good measure. I found the net green gloves and thought they'd be perfect and also made her some loom band bracelets as she wanted a super power so I convinced her that she could shoot branches out of her bracelets that wrapped people up.
I'm pretty self depreciating normally but even I'm happy to say that this is pretty damn good. I love it and so does she.
Lest we Forget
This week in Britain we're commemorating Remembrance Day which means that the country have all been sporting those little paper poppies since the middle of November. My Father was in the army and for a decade, I was a forces … Continue reading
Grrrr Arrrgghhh *insert other zombie noises here*
Well this weekend has been an absolute blast and allowed me to indulge in a bit of an obsession of mine…Zombies! Long have I wanted to do one of the experiences where you're chased by zombies but I've never had the opportunity so when a very good friend of mine told me about a local Zombie Walk I jumped at the chance.
The idea is a basic one, you dress as a zombie then join a group of other zombie fans and shuffle through the town centre of a few hours scaring all the locals whilst shaking a few buckets for charity. Sounds easy? Well I'll admit, the slow, limping drag of the undead is actually quite hard to keep up for that length of time but it's fun!
Roux and Hurricane were at their Dads this weekend so sadly couldn't join me (now they've seen the pictures, they're quite gutted – next year children!) so it was left to the Monster and I to do our bit. I'd seen a picture on Pinterest ages ago of a woman wearing a baby facing out under a t shirt and I'd been desperate to give it a go so I was killing two
zombies birds with one stone so to speak.
The actual costume part was super simple – a very large t shirt (I got xxl and it was only £2.99) and some fake blood from the pound shop. Obviously you also need a baby carrier, in this instance I used my Melkaj Mai Tai, a baby helps and I also bought a couple of fake limbs that Monster was supposed to play with while we were wandering around.
I cut small notches in the t shirt where the head and arms needed to go, once I'd done that I tore the holes larger so it looked like he'd burst out a bit more. Then I was quite liberal with the fake blood and gave the openings and the front of the t shirt a good dousing with the stuff. I'll warn you, it took days to dry and in the end I took a hair dryer to it. Despite that, it still rubbed off on anything it touched and as of yet, I've not yet got it out of the top Monster wore underneath. It also stained my fingers pretty badly as you can see here, it took 4 days or so for that to wear off.
The make up was a littler harder but no where near as difficult as I'd envisaged. It probably helps that as I do only get 4 hours sleep a night I do a good impression of a zombie most mornings but in reality, I followed a very good tutorial by Natalia Issa and it pretty much used items I already had in my make up.
This is old, cheap make up that I'd been bought approximately 10 years ago (*cough* hoarder) and had never used. It was absolutely perfect for this.
I'd had my hair cut the previous day and it was looking beautiful but I took the comb to it and backcombed it like crazy so after just 20 minutes I looked like this…
It goes to say that you know you've done a good job when even your own Mum doesn't recognise you! I sent the picture to my sister as well and she had to be told it was me. I was very chuffed with the result but when I got to my friends house she had latex which I'd never played with so I slapped some on my cheek bones and turned to this.
Monster didn't escape either, he'd fallen asleep so I didn't get chance to change him into his dark coloured clothing but I did take advantage and did my best and gently attacking him with facepaint.
See that fake blood around his mouth? Well I'd put that on top of white face paint hoping it would stop it staining his skin. It didn't. *hollow laugh*
Once I got there, I strapped him onto my front, whacked the t shirt over us both and made our way to the pub that we were meeting at.
See him there playing with the hands? Well that's the ONLY time he deigned to play with his two fake limbs. I had images of him chewing on those limbs looking even more like a scary zombie baby than he already did but would he play ball? No. Not one bit!
Once we got there one of the fellow zombie enthusiasts let me into a secret – Black Jack sweets. Give them a good old chew then push them into your gums and they give you blackened teeth.
Quite disgusting isn't it! The costume went down a storm and Monster got a lot of attention from bystanders that weren't running away from us. I've never worn him facing out before so it was quite an odd sensation but he loved it and even joined in making zombie noises for part of it. It's such a shame he was a bit too big for the outfit really as his feet stuck out the bottom of the t shirt which did spoil the look. He's 14 months now so I suppose this would have been better with a 6 month old but Halloween happens in October not February and I can't shrink him so we just went with the flow.
I absolutely loved this and I'm so glad I took part. I'm already counting down to next years and wondering what I can do for our next costume.
Photos enclosed are by me (obviously!), the wonderful Tom McGuire and Ken McDonald.
Mermaid Crown
Hello and here's to my first tutorial on my new shiny blog! I've been using another popular platform for blogging but I didn't find it too user friendly so thought I'd have a bit of a change, now all I've got to do is work out how to transfer everything from that one to this. Not today though!
So, to Mermaids… my life has been taken over by these fishy ladies recently. Niece #2 and Hurricane are mad about them and set me to making mermaid tails for their numerous dolls, this led to watching mermaid cartoons on YouTube and before I knew it Niece #2 was battering down the bathroom door whilst I was using the facilities as she was so desperate to show me Brooke and Bailey of CuteGirlsHairstyles swimming about in their Mermaid tails.
The challenge was set, could I make a Mermaid tail, nay, a Mermaid OUTFIT! With two very eager faces staring at me how could I say no? I'm halfway through the tails but my sewing machine has developed an issue or two (I think it's fed up of purple lycra and has demanded a rest) so in order to have a break I made a start on some crowns/headdresses/headpieces/something pretty to wear in their hair. Here is how you can do it too.
You will need:
- A strip of hessian fabric approximately 75 inches by 2.5 inches (I'd advise wearing an apron as this gets everywhere)
- Ribbon approximately 40 inches
- Wire (you can use strong thread instead)
- Shells
- A selection of pearls, beads, buttons and shiny things
- Some fake tropical flowers
- Thin elastic
- Scissors
- Wire cutters
I had most of this in my craft stash luckily so my only outlays were:
- Hessian was £6.25 a metre in Boyes so 63p for a strip
- Ribbon cost 45p
- Large diamantés were £1.99 for 6 but I only used 3 per headdress so cost was £1
- A few extra buttons that I couldn't say no too cost me another £2 per crown
- Lucky spot of the shells was £2.99 but this gave me enough for two with some left over so I'm going to say £1
- Fake flowers were £1.99 with again, enough for 2 so cost for 1 is £1
That gives an extra cost of £6.08 which I didn't think was too bad. I didn't have to purchase the extra buttons or the large diamantés so could have made a saving there. The shells were a lucky find, I live right near to the beach so my original plan was to collect some and glue them on using my gun but these had a hole so could dangle which was something I thought I'd prefer, well, it'll be easier!
So to start….
Cut a strip of hessian that's approximately 2.5″ wide and 75″ long, if you can crochet or make chains by hand then chain this along it's length. If not, divide this strip into 3 smaller strips 25″ long, knot them together with a strip of ribbon and plait it, securing it at both ends.
Your finished length of chains or plait should be approximately 18″ long. This won't fit around your head, we're going to use elastic eventually to close it and make it fit on your head.
Now get your ribbon, I've obviously chosen purple to match the beads and shizzle that I've already selected.
Attach it to one end of your chain/braid. You see those little loose threads in the picture below? Well I tucked the ribbon under the chain then tied it together using those threads.
Once it was secure, I wrapped it round and through and round and through before securing it at the other end in the same way. I wrapped another shade of purple ribbon through as well.
Now for the fun bit, all those lovely beads, buttons, shells and sparkly gubbins needed to be added on with the help of some wire. Don't worry if you haven't got wire, this would work if you used some strong sewing cotton. I'd recommend you use at least two length of threads held together for extra strength.
As you can see, what I've done here is push the wire through the hessian and then knotted it on itself to secure.
At this point you need to randomly add beads and buttons using the same method as the ribbon, wrap it around and push it through the hessian.
I got these fantastic buttons from my local yarn shop, I love the pattern of the wheel type ones.
I know this is slightly teaching you how to suck eggs to attach the buttons you thread through one hole, push down to the chain/braid and then loop the wire through the second hole and pull tight.
At some point you're going to want to add at least one flower. I purchased these flowers from a local shop called Chiltern Mills but you find them all over. I wanted a tropical flower but didn't find the ones I wanted at a price I was willing to pay so I settled for these purple orchards.
As I said before, these orchards were super cheap but good quality so I settled on these rather than continue looking for something more tropical. You can get fake flowers everywhere from terribly expensive ones that look incredibly real to the almost transparent ones in poundshops and the like.
They've often got thin wire going through the centre of the plastic but a large pair of scissors should be sufficient to cut through. Separate the flowers from the stem and decide how many you want to use. To attach to the headdress you can wrap wire around them tightly but I found a pony bead fitted the short stems perfectly.
See look, it's a perfect fit! Now, I hope I can explain this clearly enough as I think it's a bit difficult to see in the photographs. Thread the pony bead onto the wire then push the short stem through the bead. Make sure you hide the stem in one of the folds of hessian. Now wrap the wire around the stem above and below the bead. That should make it pretty secure.At this point I was joined by my eldest, Le Roux, who wanted part of the table for his modelling clay! It was also discovered that some of the pearly buttons made fantastic shields for lego figures.The shells, luckily for me already had holes in so I just threaded them on like beads.
Once you've threaded as many buttons, beads, diamantes, shells and flowers as you think it needs secure the wire to the end of the chain/braid and you've nearly finished!
Lastly, take the elastic (this is about 1/4″) and tie in the same way you attached the ribbon. Test it on a head, I'm using my daughter, Hurricane, here with the 4 braid plait that she asked for this morning looking quite messy now after a day at school and just see how big you need to make it. Knot it to the other side, trim the excess and you've done!
I would absolutely love to see ones that you've made so please comment to let me know how you get on.
Skylanders, a whole new language.
Last September Roux started school and came home talking about Skylanders. I don't have a clue and as we have no games console roundly ignored it all.
Incy Wincy Spider
Hallowe'en has been rapidly approaching (in my mind) as I had lots of crafting things that I'd been pinning with a view to trying and I'd been giving a lot of thought to costumes…
Roux and Hurricane were simple, he was desperate to go as a Werewolf and Hurricane swung between a Princess (roll eyes) and a Princess. She definitely wanted to be a Princess. In the end I managed to talk her into being a Vampire Bride which is at least slightly scary. I don't know if it's a British thing but when I look at Hallowe'en costumes from over the pond they seem to just be general fancy dress and anything goes but over here, in Britain we like our costumes to frighten so a Princess just would. Not. Do.
Those sorted I looked to mine and Elf's, he's recently been christened that moniker as he often resembles a very grumpy Elf when he's not getting his own way. In other words if I'm not feeding him, gazing into his eyes, entertaining him or if I dare to commit the sin of actually putting him down I'm frowned at and quite often cried at. Anyway, due to his dislike of being out of my arms I needed to be able to incorporate him into my outfit and me into his. 99% of the time he's either worn in a sling/Mai Tei/Close carrier/ring sling or in my arms so whatever I put him in wouldn't really be seen. I started googling and scanning Pinterest but most of the (frankly amazing) outfits were for back carries, facing out or weren't scary. We've already covered that it had to be a 'scary' outfit so dressing as a cute ladybird just wouldn't do.
I came across this image from the ergobaby blog a few times but couldn't find anything about it so I set about making my own. It's not exactly scary but it's a spider and they're vaguely frightening aren't they? I used to be terrified of them until I had mad moment and stuck a tarantula on my bonce and solved my fear in one foul swoop, sorry, I digress… Unfortunately for me, the internet went down for quite a bit of the night I started making it and I couldn't get pinterest to load meaning that I had no image to reference to. If I had my time again I'd have done quite a few things differently and when I eventually managed to see the photo (after I'd finished) I realised where I'd made a few mistakes and there is lots I'd do differently but that's what this blogs for – I've made the mistakes for you and I encourage you to make it again correctly.
Shopping list
- Fake Fur (around half a metre will do with left over)
- Pipe Cleaners
- Buttons for the eyes or black felt
- Elastic or ribbon
- String or thick cotton
- Knitting needle, piece of dowel or just something long and thin to help with turning of the legs
- Scissors, needle, thread, sticky tape


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It's hard to watch these stories about people who are struggling in the economy. And I get the impression that even people who are doing OK are very cautious about spending. That's a problem for the advertising industry. When people can't buy what we sell, we're in trouble:
We don't need Socialism with a capital S, but we do need the balance that maintains a vibrant middle class. A little spreadin' the wealth helps the ad industry–not so we can sucker people into buying what they can't afford, but to ensure the means to buy little slices of a life well lived–a nice dinner out, a new outfit, a vacation here and there, a new garage door on the home, a trip to the ballpark. It's no coincidence they set "Mad Men" in the post-war boom years of the Fifties and early Sixties. That was a golden age of consumerism and upward mobility for a lot of people. But that era, for better or worse, is long gone.
Our clients today–the brands we've surrounded ourselves with in modern living–won't survive for long if current economic conditions continue. Big brands are particularly vulnerable. When cost is a factor, shoppers will opt for generic brands or less premium brands. And when cost isn't a factor, there's still a growing movement among some people to avoid big brands. I'm sure you know folks who insist on supporting local businesses or small brands even if it's more expensive to do it.
Are there any solutions? I explore this in my new column on Talent Zoo, which will be on the home page tomorrow.

subset: commoncrawl


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Ken Dryden
Ken Dryden is a best-selling author, politician, member of the NHL Hall of Fame and officer of the Order of Canada. In the 1970s, Dryden was a goalie for the Montreal Canadiens, and helped them take home six Stanley Cups. He has been named one of the 100 Greatest NHL Players and has written many powerful books on hockey including The Game. His latest work, Game Change, follows the tragic story of player Steve Montador who died at the age of 35 from chronic traumatic encephalopathy a condition often found in athletes who have suffered multiple concussions.


text:
I always have wanted a long velvet skirt. It's very seventies, isn't it?
There are 3 main kinds of velvet; The matt curtain-like velvet, mostly made of natural fibers. The thin, stretchy and cheaply shiny velvet what picks up cat hairs like a professional vacuum cleaner. And … the right velvet with a satin shine, comfortable stretchy, hair-resistant and woven to a mid-weight for a perfect flow. A perfect flow for MY skirt. And I found it in the perfect color.
However … I suppose I need another 9 colors, at some point in this life.
On my new skirt I'm wearing a 4 years old cardigan. That causes I need to delete that earlier post (a weird self-imposed rule because I have a phobia of loading the internet too much. Is there a name for it?).
So, the second image is from 2012. Most of the work was crocheting the trims and the edges for the buttons.
[supsystic-gallery id=27]


text:
UNU Geothermal Training Program offering UNU fellows MSc and PhD fellowships
The Iceland-based UNU Geothermal Training Program offers former UNU fellows the opportunity for fellowships for MSc and PhD studies in Iceland.
The United Nations University Geothermal Training Programme (UNU GTP) offers former UNU Fellows the opportunity to apply for an MSc or PhD Fellowship. The Fellowship enables successful applicants to study at the University of Iceland or Reykjavík University and covers the full tuition fees and living allowance. This is published on the UNU GTP website.
The Fellowships are exclusively awarded to Fellows that have completed the Six Month Training Programme at the UNU-GTP.
Applicants that wish to be considered for an MSc or PhD Fellowship may apply to the UNU-GTP by completing the relevant sections of the application form. Applications will be valid for 2 years unless requested otherwise.
Please send the application form to Ludvik S. Georgsson: firstname.lastname@example.com and cc: firstname.lastname@example.com.
Please note:
- Fellows applying for an MSc Fellowship have to provide a clear outline of the research topics or projects they intend to pursue with their application.
- Fellows applying for PhD Fellowships have to provide a clear and detailed project proposal with their application.
To be considered for a Fellowship, all applicants must:
- Hold a university degree from a certified university.
- Ensure that all data regarding the application, i.e. certificates, grade results, etc., have arrived at the UNU-GTP before the deadline (however, reference can be made to certified data sent in association with an application for a UNU Fellowship for the 6 Month Training Programme).
The deadline for applications is November 30 each year.
All applications will be judged based on the academic records of the applicants and their overall performance during the 6 Month Training in Iceland.
The results will be announced on the UNU-GTP website at the end of January the following year.
Source: UNU GTP


text:
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Top 5 Mask Snorkel Combos
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GoPro Hero 7
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text: Quinton Zondervan is a tech entrepreneur, non-profit leader and community activist currently serving his first term on the Cambridge City Council. An environmentalist since his undergraduate days, Quinton is passionate about protecting our natural environment and increasing our sustainability through systemic transformation. His main priorities on the Council are affordable housing, sustainable transportation and taking action on climate change. Over the years, Quinton has put his passion to work for the community, serving on various committees, task forces and non-profit boards. For nearly a decade, Quinton served as a member of the Climate Protection Action Committee (CPAC), including three years as chair (2012-14). CPAC is a City Manager appointed advisory committee of stakeholders advising the city on climate change action, including mitigation and adaptation responses. In 2013, he co-authored the Net Zero zoning petition that lead to the city's groundbreaking Net Zero Action Plan adopted in 2015 to get Cambridge's climate change causing emissions from buildings down to zero. From 2011 through 2017, Quinton served as president and board chair of Green Cambridge, Inc. a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation dedicated to taking action on climate change and enhancing Cambridge's sustainability. He remains on the board of Green Cambridge. In 2013, he co-founded the Climate Action Business Association in Boston and currently serves as its president and board chair. Before joining the council, Quinton worked professionally as a software engineer and later as an entrepreneur. He has helped start several companies in software, biotech and cleantech, and most recently co-founded a healthcare IT company, eCareVault, which helps families and professionals coordinate care for special needs children. Quinton came to Cambridge in 1992 when he moved here to study computer science at MIT, where he met his wife, Radhika Nagpal, who is now a professor at Harvard University. They are raising two children in Cambridge, both attending Cambridge Rindge and Latin. Quinton holds a master's degree in electrical engineering and computer science from MIT and two bachelor's degrees in the fields of mathematics and computer science from Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida. Quinton is originally from Suriname in South America, which is culturally part of the Caribbean. He immigrated to St. Petersburg, Florida as a teenager, and became a U.S. Citizen in 1996. Quinton is glad to hear from you! Please email firstname.lastname@example.com or call 617-901-2006. You can also connect with him via Twitter: @qzondervan, or Facebook. Contact Quinton Zondervan firstname.lastname@example.com 235 Cardinal Medeiros Avenue Cambridge, MA 02141 617-901-2006 (cell) 617-349-4280 (work) Photos Download Headshot Download Portrait Photo Credit: Kyle Klein Photography


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On Friday night, the Humboldt Broncos of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) were involved in a serious bus accident on Highway 35 just outside of Nipawin, SK, leaving 15 people dead, and another 14 injured.
Today, less than 24 hours after their final games, Calgary Flames head coach Glen Gulutzan and Edmonton Oilers head coach Todd McLellan traveled to Humboldt to offer gifts and support for the injured players and for the families who lost their loved ones.
The support continues. @EdmontonOilers Todd McLellan and @NHLFlames Glen Gulutzan have arrived bearing gifts to visit injured kids from #HumboldtBroncos bus crash. pic.twitter.com/48eyc5eKXa— Gene Principe (@GenePrincipe) April 8, 2018
This show of support is a classy move by two coaches on the hot seat for their teams' failed seasons.


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The Grainger Museum will participate in Nite Art 2017 on Thursday 27th July (6-10pm) with a series of performances of experimental music with audio-visual installations, guest-curated by Liquid Architecture. This event is free and open to the public, and visitors are invited to come to the Grainger Museum and explore at any time throughout the evening.
The program takes as its point of departure the music and ideas of autodidactic Australian composer and polymath Percy Grainger, specifically his sense of 'freedom' expressed in the works and experiments that he called free music. In a series of specially commissioned performances utilising Grainger's recently rebuilt free music 'machines', a group of artists and musicians offer their own multifaceted readings of Grainger's 'freedom', including new sound sculpture installation work by Anthony Lyons and Paul Fletcher.


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Indo kratom is one of the most common strains of kratom. It is grown in Indonesia and is able to grow freely in the wild. Kratom has been grown for thousands of years and has been used for a number of medical purposes.
There are some effects that a person can expect to feel from the Indo kratom. While these effects may vary based on the strain, the season, and the color there are some common characteristics that a person can expect. This includes relief from pain, relaxation, sedation, mood enhancement, and can even help a person that is going through opiate withdrawals. The higher the quality of the indo kratom the less likely a person is to experience any side effects. If a person takes too high of a dose they may experience a feeling of nausea. When a person use kratom properly they will often have a nice experience with it.
One of the most common reasons that people use Indo kratom is for the pain reliving effect. Indo strains will help reduce the feeling of pain in the body for a longer period of time than other strains. This can be due to the potency or the arrange of the cell structures that are found in the leaf. In addition to pain relief this strain can allow a person to have a feeling of sedation and they will be able to relax. Some strains can give a person an energized feeling as well.
People that use Indo kratom use it to help reduce the feeling of anxiety. This will help a person relax in certain situations and will be able to handle the feeling of stress in their life. In addition to reducing anxiety the Indo kratom can help a person by boosting their mood. They will be put in an overall happy feeling.
While research is still being conducted Indo kratom is said to contain many alkaloids which can be responsible for the mood boosting properties. This form of kratom has a high level of 7 OH mitragynite and other strains of this alkaloids which is highly effective at helping the body relax.
Indo kratom like other strains comes in a powdered or a capsule form. This makes it easy to use and will allow a person to control their dosage. This way if a person feels they are taking too much they can decrease their dosage so they can get the desired effect and feel good.
These are some of the benefits to a person that uses Indo Kratom. This strain of kratom is used to help improve mood and many people have reported that this strain of kratom can help them with their pain management.


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Grace Alone (The Five Solas)(Paperback)Carl R Trueman & Matthew Barrett
Historians and theologians have long recognized that at the heart of the sixteenth-century Protestant Reformation were five declarations, often referred to as the 'solas': sola scriptura, solus Christus, sola gratia, sola fide, and soli Deo gloria. These five statements summarize much of what the Reformation was about, and they distinguish Protestantism from other expressions of the Christian faith. Protestants place ultimate and final authority in the Scriptures, acknowledge the work of Christ alone as sufficient for redemption, recognize that salvation is by grace alone through faith alone, and seek to do all things for God's glory.
In Grace Alone-Salvation as a Gift of God, scholar and pastor Carl Trueman looks at the historical and biblical roots of the doctrine that salvation is by grace alone, a free gift unmerited by human effort or works. He examines the development of this theme in the early church through the Reformation to the Protestant confessions that still shape the church in the present day. Trueman also explores the biblical means of receiving God's grace through the fellowship of believers, the sacraments, and through the Word of God and how we need to recover this doctrine in the face of today's challenges.
About the Authors
Carl Trueman is professor of Historical Theology and Church History at Westminster Theological Seminary. He is the author of numerous books, including The Creedal imperative: Histories and Fallacies; Goods Rush in Where Monkeys Fear to Tread; Republocat: Confessions of a Liberal Conservative; Reformation Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow; John Owen: Reformed, Catholic, Renaissance Man, Minority Report; and The Wages of Spin. Trueman is also a contributor to Reformation21 where he writes from a Reformed vantage point.
Matthew Barrett is Tutor of Systematic Theology and Church History at Oak Hill Theological College in London. He is the executive editor of Credo Magazine, as well as the author and editor of several books, including Salvation by Grace, Four Views on the Historical Adam, and Owen on the Christian Life.
ByCarl R Trueman & Matthew Barrett
CategoryTheology Doctrine
Size140 x 213 mm
Number of Pages240 pp
Weight (kg)0.2490
PublisherHarper Collins Christian Publishing


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Well, the title says it all, and this video shows it all, but if you are clamoring for more detail, check out Japanator.com
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: Handhelds and Cellphones, nintendo 3ds, Visible Markers | 2 Comments »
Well, the title says it all, and this video shows it all, but if you are clamoring for more detail, check out Japanator.com
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: Handhelds and Cellphones, nintendo 3ds, Visible Markers | 2 Comments »
The HMDs are here!
The HMDs are here!
Okay, maybe it's not that exciting, especially when you realize that the Mirage from Arcane Technologies is not a stylish pair of glasses or even some retro steampunk goggles outfitted with AR HMD gear. The unit looks so bulky and bland that not even Lady Gaga could make it trendy.
But it IS an AR HMD.
But really it's made for industrial usage and not everyday street wear. Though I suppose, a truly hardcore AR enthusiast could augment their home and wear them safety inside without worrying about losing a chance to ever have another date. Again. Ever.
The system comes with authoring software so you can customize your markers. I'd be curious if you could also use third party software like the Kinect to make it even groovier. The Mirage + Kinect could become quite an indie hardcore hit. However, since they don't list the price on their website, I assume the cost is greater than even the most hardcore could afford.
Still, it IS another AR HMD on the market and to me we're another step closer to stylish low-cost AR HMDs. I'm still predicting 2015 as my arrival date for said glasses, but hopefully someone will surprise me and deliver a product sooner.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: AR HMD, Arcane Technologies, augmented reality, HMD, Kinect, Mirage, Visible Markers | 2 Comments »
warning – this is another one of my nasty posts. Reader discretion is advised.
Is there such a thing as pregnancy induced stupidity? If you examine Simubaby's premise you might reach such a conclusion. How else would you justify its business model? Simubaby, the brain child of the Spanish Atlantis Virtual Reality is a commercial product harnessing the power of augmented reality to help pregnant mothers-to-be visualize how their fetus looks like. Unlike a similar solution from Talking Dog Studios, this one comes with a belt.
Nothing to get mad about you say? Well, you haven't heard the price yet.
It's 60 euros (77 US dollars). And that's after a price cut from 80€. But, don't think of it as 60€ for an ugly belt just so you have somewhere to put the AR marker. No, you also get access to some amazing AI:
With the advice of experts, we have recreated the most important stages of your baby's growth and with the aid of an artificial intelligence system.
In case you still think that's a product worth paying for, then I've got news for you! I've recently secured access to some magic beans, guaranteed to increase your baby's intelligence using the aid of quantum entanglement system. Only 59.99€ for a bag of 10 beans, and shipping is free.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: Visible Markers | 2 Comments »
This post can be summarized by three magic terms:
Yes, it seems that the Japanese branch of Yahoo is much cooler than its American counter part. They have recently announced the coming release of a free iPhone application set to display a virual Zaku II mecha from the animated series Gundam (and sorry if I get this wrong, I've never seen it).
Interestingly enough the application is both image-recognition based and GPS/compass based. It will show the mecha when the iPhone camera will be directed at the (real) 18-meter tall Gundam statue in Shizuoka, Japan, and when the camera is pointed at a special marker.
For more details check out Anime News Network. Via Development Memo for Ourselves.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: GPS and Compass, Handhelds and Cellphones, Visible Markers, Yahoo | Leave a comment »
Addicted to Farmville? Have a green thumb but no garden? Envy real farmers but got allergies?
The guys from TU Munich have the perfect solution for you:
Augmented Farmville could be one heck of a layer for Layar/Junaio/Wikitude once better positioning is available. Think of the gold rush to get a virtual plot in major cities, imagine Times Square as a flower bed! Using real meteorological data to those virtual farms would add another interesting and educational twist. It may be the most stupid idea I have ever featured in this blog, but then again, nobody would guess that a farm simulator will be one of the most successful games in 2010.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: head up display, Research, TU Munich, Visible Markers | 2 Comments »
If you happen to be in Amsterdam this Saturday (either because you live there or can't get back home because your flight is canceled), you may want to check out the first AR flash mob. It turns out that in an augmented flash mob, the mob consists of virtual characters bounded to markers:
Sander Veenhof who is behind this interesting event hopes that tourists will opt to take pictures with the virtual characters rather then with the usual "live sculptures". I personally doubt it, but if you want to take part in this experiment, the precise location and timing can be found here.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: Tourism and Outdoors, Visible Markers | 2 Comments »
Very short post following my prediction that 2010 will be the inaugural year for augmented reality porn. A couple of days ago, AppScout reported about the latest venture in this area, Pink Visual's AR Porn (NSFW link).
Well, it's porn all-right, but the AR is gimmicky at best. Here's Pink Visual's Amanda Cory explaining the potential of such application –
And here's a close-up video of the application itself, showing how much the potential is left unfulfilled at the moment (sorry, you'll have to follow the link due to some mild nudity). Not to mention the intrinsic problem of flash-based AR porn – porn websites can record everything that is visible by your webcam while using the application. Isn't that exciting?
via AppScout.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: artoolkit, Visible Markers, web camera | Leave a comment »


text: This is a great entry level electronic grinder for any budding home brewer/barista. With 60 unique grind settings, finding the right grind for your brew has never been easier. This programmable conical burr grinder is the epitome of easy-to-use. Choose between 'cups' for French Press or Filter and 'shots' for Espresso to get the right dose for the coffee you're brewing. The Smart Grinder Pro allows you to grind directly into your portafilter or air-tight container. It comes with a 250-300gm bean hopper and a nifty pause function which allows you to stop mid-grind cycle to even out your portafilter and continue from where you left off.


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Addison Park District Club Fitness
Beauty and Wellness / Fitness Centers
Call (630) 889-2150Directions
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District mission statement: To provide the highest quality recreational opportunities and open space for everyone.


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3328 Shelburne Rd.
Shelburne, VT 05482
Everybody knows that a battery is responsible for generating power to an electronic device, whether it's your phone, your child's favorite toy, or your BMW. Your car's battery powers everything from the ignition itself to the radio, windows, and those exciting BMW safety features that you've come to love. Being stuck with a dead battery unexpectedly is no picnic, but luckily, it's easy to avoid. The key is to have your vehicle's battery inspected on a regular basis, and replaced after a set period of time.
If you begin to spot signs that your BMW car is potentially in need of a new battery, we encourage you to take it to us for a service. With experienced technicians and genuine BMW parts aplenty, you'll find the best care for your car and its battery right here in greater Burlington at the Automaster BMW.
The older your battery gets the less reliable it is, and you could risk ending up stuck on the site of Route 7 or, even worse, on I-89 in traffic. Whether you're headed up to Stowe for the weekend or heading into Williston to run some errands, a dead battery is frustrating disruption to your day.
To avoid this frustrating circumstance, we recommend having your BMW model's battery checked at least twice per year, and replaced about every three years. However, remember that every battery and vehicle is different, plus your own driving habits and the harsh New England winters could affect your battery's lifespan.
Can't recall the last time you checked or replaced your battery? We recommend bringing your BMW in to the Automaster so that our experts can take a look. If your vehicle is slow to turn over, if the lights dim when you turn on the air conditioner or heat, or if your electrical components are acting strange, you should schedule a service with us promptly. These could be indicators of a failing battery.
BMW batteries are created specifically for your vehicle and its exact model year, ensuring a perfect fit. These batteries are designed to withstand the sort of high-performance driving that BMW vehicles are known for, so they'll last longer on your vehicle than the everyday aftermarket battery.
When you use a BMW-approved battery you can count on it to provide the best performance for your car - because it was designed to do exactly that.
There are a lot of factors that go into your battery's lifespan but, typically, a battery will last anywhere between two and five years depending on a number of factors.
Absolutely; hotter climates tend to result in shorter battery lives. Since the weather is colder more often here in Vermont, it's more likely that your battery will last, on average, about 4 to 5 years.
There are a lot of things you can do to maximize your battery life! Some of these are:
There are a lot of telltale signs that your battery might be on the outs (the most obvious being that your engine won't start, of course), so take a look below and keep these in mind:
An original BMW-brand battery will always be the best choice, as they've been created specifically for the BMW model lineup and provide optimal performance and reliability. If you're unsure of which one is right for your particular model, contact us and we'll help you choose the right one for your ride and driving habits.
The Automaster BMW
3328 Shelburne Rd.
Directions Shelburne, VT 05482
When it comes to giving your BMW car the best care, our team has received the training to give you the attention that you deserve. Just ask some of our many happy customers from Essex, Winooski, South Burlington, and beyond! Plus, we only use BMW-approved parts for the best fit and performance every time.
Contact us today or schedule an appointment through our online form, and we'll be happy to service your battery, or do anything else your vehicle might require, at our convenient Shelburne location.


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Blowing bubbles with Peppa and George is fun! Transitioning to a regular, open cup can be tough for kids, and the spills can be quite messy. With the new Playtex® Stage 2 Spoutless 360 Peppa Pig™ Cup, it's now easier than ever! It has the look and feel of an open cup, but with only two pieces! It's leak-proof* and spill proof, which moms will love, and comes in kids' favorite characters, which kids will love!
Playtex® Stage 2 Spoutless 360 Cups at a Glance
*If not completely satisfied, return for full refund of purchase price or replacement
**Dentists recommend an open cup design with no valve beneath the spout
Step 1: Clean all parts of the cup before use.
All parts are top rack dishwasher safe, or can be hand-washed. Fully disassemble parts before washing. Clean nooks and crannies thoroughly. Do not use abrasive cleaners. After washing, allow cup parts to dry thoroughly between uses. Before assembling, check parts to ensure they were fully cleaned.
Step 2: Assemble the cup.
Place lid on top of cup. Twist lid clockwise.
Step 3: Disassemble the cup
Twist lid counter clockwise.
Playtex® Sipsters® Stage 3 Straw Cup is designed for children ages 12M+ and is insulated to ensure drinks remain cool......
Curve 2pk spoons: Faces child for easy feeding....
Teletubbies are back, and more fun than ever! Eh oh!...


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Richard WAGNER (1813-1883)
Rienzi: Overture (1838-1840) [13:19]
Richard STRAUSS (1864-1949)
Salome, Op. 54: Dance of the Seven Veils (1909) [11:54]
Dmitri SHOSTAKOVICH (1906-1975)
Symphony No. 8 in C minor, Op. 65 (1943) [67:39]
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra/Andris Nelsons
Video director: Ute Feudel
Picture: 16:9, 1080i HD
Sound: PCM stereo, dts-HD Master Audio 5.1
Region: A, B, C (worldwide)
rec. live, 4 September 2011, Concert Hall, KKL Luzern, Switzerland
C-MAJOR UNITEL 710004 Blu-ray [100:00]
Its good to see more Shostakovich appearing on DVD and Blu-Ray. The recent Fifths from Leonard Bernstein and the LSO review and Yutaka Sado and the Berliner Philharmoniker review are both superb. Coincidentally it was with the BP that I first heard Andris Nelsons conduct the Eighth, a taut, hard-hitting performance accessed online via The Digital Concert Hall. Now in charge of the CBSO, Simon Rattles old band, Nelsons has had good reviews in both the concert hall and opera house, conducting Lohengrin on the opening night at Bayreuth in 2010. Given his passion for Wagner attributed to a performance of Tannha(user he attended as a youngster it seems fitting that this Lucerne Festival concert should kick off with the overture to Wagners early opus, Rienzi.
And goodness, what a fine performance it is, from that glorious trumpet solo at the start through to those dance-like episodes and imposing climax. Theres plenty of bite and amplitude here, although in PCM stereo at least the bass lacks solidity and the brass has a bright edge at times. Thats hardly a deal-breaker when Nelsons shapes the music so naturally and builds tension so well; besides, its clear from his endearingly goofy grin that hes enjoying every minute of this effervescent score. Im much less persuaded by his reading of the Strauss though, as it lacks the febrile, slightly crazed intensity of, say, Solti or Bernstein. That said, those strange string curlicues and sinuous rhythms emerge with telling clarity.
Given these minor reservations, how does the Shostakovich fare? The start of the first movement has seldom sounded so inward, its pulse so faint; as for those upward, string-driven spirals theyre superbly done. Immediately one senses Nelsons has this music at his expressive fingertips, the manic energy and big, rolling tuttis of the movements second half dispatched with terrific weight and splendour. Its the inner landscape that impresses most, the drained, bloodless ending both miraculous and moving. True, the sound isnt quite as expansive or as three-dimensional as that on Sados Shostakovich 5, but it hardly matters when the Concertgebouw play with such sophistication and subtlety, or when the performance is so gripping.
The twitching Allegretto is equally arresting, rhythms drum tight and articulation pin sharp. Nelsons tempi are perfectly judged too, the minutes passing swiftly and with oodles of ear-caressing detail. This is shaping up to be a remarkable performance, the Allegro non troppo blessed with a transported trumpet solo thats every bit as thrilling nay, intoxicating as that on Mravinskys live Amsterdam CD (Philips). And if that werent enough the timps, side-drum and tam-tam are a knock-out, the long, singing lines of the Largo a masterclass in sustained loveliness. The start of the Allegretto is perkier and more playful than most, that pivotal peroration simply seismic; as for the distilled beauty of the lingering finale, Ive never been so profoundly moved by it as I was here.
Its quite some time before the deep spell is broken, Nelsons lowering his baton and clasping his hands in silent gratitude, perhaps as much to the composer for this masterpiece as to the orchestra for their peerless playing. Im simply awe-struck by the level of insight and understanding that Nelsons brings to this score, making it a worthy companion for the likes of Mravinsky and Wigglesworth on CD and SACD respectively. Indeed, Id go so far as to say this is the finest version of the Eighth Ive heard, irrespective of format. Normally the mildly disappointing Strauss would preclude me from making this a Recording of the Month, but in the presence of such a paradigm-shifting symphony nothing else will do.
Fine Wagner, good Strauss, inspired Shostakovich.
Dan Morgan
Fine Wagner, good Strauss, inspired Shostakovich.


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Hats are a perfect way to top off your look in the summer. Not only do they protect you from the summer heat, the right hat for your outfit can dramatically enhance your appearance. Choose a boater, paired with a lightweight white or floral print top, with some cut up jeans for an airy, without a care outfit. Adorn your head with a beret, matched with a graphic print skirt, with a suit jacket over a button down shirt to produce a sophisticated, independent, academic Paris feel. When selecting a hat, make sure that it correlates to the color-way of your look and improves your appearance. Try to pick one that is different than the norm. You never know what a trilby, panama, or schoolboy will do for a dress or a suit. Whichever type of hat you choose to crown your head, it will be a seamless transition from ordinary to astonishing for your ensemble this season.
-Shakitah Howard


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Pure, White and Deadly – John Yudkin
WOW – what can I say about this book?! For one thing, it was way ahead of its time when it was first published in 1972 and I had been wanting to read it for ages…but the only copy I could find was over £200…that was until it was recently reprinted! The blurb says… Sugar.


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Tiến sĩ Eben Alexander, Đại học Harvard : Proof of Heaven.
Bác sĩ hàng đầu Mỹ tin vào 'thế giới bên kia'
|Bác sĩ Eben Alexander tin con người vẫn có khả năng tư duy sau khi chết. Ảnh:thedailybeast.com.
Tiến sĩ Eben Alexander, một bác sĩ phẫu thuật não từng tốt nghiệp Đại học Harvard danh tiếng tại Mỹ và hành nghề trong 25 năm, rơi vào trạng thái hôn mê 7 ngày trong năm 2008 sau khi nhiễm bệnh viêm màng não, Telegraph đưa tin.
Alexander kể rằng, trong quá trình hôn mê, vùng não điều khiển suy nghĩ và cảm xúc của ông ngừng hoạt động. Sau đó ông trải qua cảm giác cận kề cái chết và gặp một phụ nữ đẹp với đôi mắt xanh dương to tại một nơi đầy những đám mây trắng. Một chuỗi âm thanh giống như bản nhạc có âm lượng lớn và âm hưởng hoành tráng vang lên. Bác sĩ Alexander nghe rõ từng âm thanh và cảm thấy chúng giống như những giọt mưa rơi vào làn da nhưng lại không gây cảm giác ướt, lạnh.
"Cảm giác sâu sắc ấy mang đến cho tôi một lý do khoa học để tin vào sự tồn tại của ý thức của con người sau khi chết", ông nói.
Trước đây nhiều bệnh nhân từng kể với Alexander rằng họ đã trải qua trạng thái cận kề cái chết, nhưng ông đều cho rằng đó chỉ là sản phẩm của trí tưởng tượng hoặc ảo giác. Nhưng giờ đây ông đã thay đổi suy nghĩ sau khi trải qua cảm giác ấy. Thậm chí ông còn xuất bản cuốn sách "Proof of Heaven" (tạm dịch là "Bằng chứng về thiên đường" để mô tả trải nghiệm của bản thân.
"Mọi người đều nói sự tồn tại của ý thức sau khi chết là điều dị thường, khó tin. Nhưng trạng thái mà tôi trải qua không phải là ảo giác. Tôi cảm nhận nó rõ ràng như những sự kiện thực sự từng xảy ra trong đời tôi. Trong nhiều thập niên qua, tôi hành nghề bác sĩ phẫu thuật não tại một trong những cơ sở y khoa danh tiếng nhất tại Mỹ. Giống như mọi đồng nghiệp, tôi hiểu rõ lý thuyết về não. Nhưng niềm tin cũ đã sụp đổ bởi sự kiện mà tôi trải qua", Alexander bình luận.
In an article for Newsweek, neurosurgeon Eben Alexander recounts his near death experience during a coma from bacterial meningitis. This is sure to become a staple of the NDE/afterlife community, as Alexander recounts in articulate and breathless terms his profound experience. His book is called, Proof of Heaven – a bold claim for someone who insists he is and remains a scientist.
Alexander claims:
There is no scientific explanation for the fact that while my body lay in coma, my mind—my conscious, inner self—was alive and well. While the neurons of my cortex were stunned to complete inactivity by the bacteria that had attacked them, my brain-free consciousness journeyed to another, larger dimension of the universe: a dimension I'd never dreamed existed and which the old, pre-coma me would have been more than happy to explain was a simple impossibility.
While his experience is certainly interesting, his entire premise is flimsily based on a single word in the above paragraph – "while." He assumes that the experiences he remembers after waking from the coma occurred while his cortex was completely inactive. He does not even seem aware of the fact that he is making that assumption or that it is the central premise of his claim, as he does not address it in his article.
Of course his brain did not go instantly from completely inactive to normal or near normal waking consciousness. That transition must have taken at least hours, if not a day or more. During that time his neurological exam would not have changed significantly, if at all. The coma exam looks mainly at basic brainstem function and reflexes, and can only dimly examine cortical function (through response to pain) and cannot examine higher cortical functions at all. His recovery would have become apparent, then, when his brain recovered sufficiently for him to show signs of consciousness.
Alexander claims there is no scientific explanation for his experiences, but I just gave one. They occurred while his brain function was either on the way down or on the way back up, or both, not while there was little to no brain activity. During this time he would have been in an altered state of consciousness, with different parts of his cortex functioning to different degrees. This state is analogous to certain drug-induced mental states, or those induced by hypoxia and well documented, and there is even some overlap with the normal dream state. All of these are states in which the brain's construction of reality is significantly different from the normal waking state.
Documented features of these altered states (and features commonly experienced by everyone during dreams) include a sense of oneness with the universe, a sense of the profound, of being in the presence of a godlike figure, and of automatic knowledge with absolute certainty. The latter is not uncommon during dreams – you just know things in your dreams that were not communicated or directly observed, and you have no doubt about that knowledge.
Alexander writes:
According to current medical understanding of the brain and mind, there is absolutely no way that I could have experienced even a dim and limited consciousness during my time in the coma, much less the hyper-vivid and completely coherent odyssey I underwent.It took me months to come to terms with what happened to me. Not just the medical impossibility that I had been conscious during my coma, but—more importantly—the things that happened during that time. Toward the beginning of my adventure, I was in a place of clouds. Big, puffy, pink-white ones that showed up sharply against the deep blue-black sky.
The "hyper-vivid" description is also common of altered brain states. It is naive to assume that such experiences must be hazy or "dreamlike." By inhibiting certain parts of the brain extremely vivid and hyper-real seeming experiences can result.
Further, he recounts that it took him months to come to terms with his experiences. This brings up another important aspect of such experiences – that we must remember them with our waking brains. Most people have probably had the experience of having a vivid and bizarre dream that makes perfect sense to your dreaming self, and then when your waking self tries to recount the dream major aspects of it no longer make sense, and you marvel at how your dreaming self did not question the fantastical aspects of the dream.
The story that Alexander now tells is the attempt by his waking brain to make sense of experiences that occurred in an altered mental state. We therefore don't know what he really experienced, only what his waking brain interprets and remembers about what his partially functioning brain experienced.
In addition to fluffy clouds, Alexander experienced beautiful angels and an overwhelming feeling of love. Even though he says he was not a devout Christian before the experience, his experience is strangely consistent with the cultural norms of his background. This is also typical – hallucinations and delusions often take the form of cultural and personal beliefs.
I understand that what Alexander experienced was strange, powerful, and profound and is coupled with the fact that he experienced a brush with death and survived. I will not presume to know how such an experience would affect me. This does not mean, however, that we can take his interpretation at face value.
Alexander, in my opinion, has failed to be true to the scientist he claims that he is. He did not step back from his powerful experience and ask dispassionate questions. Instead he concluded that his experience was unique, that it is proof of heaven, and that it defies any possible scientific explanation. He then goes on to give a hand-waving quantum mechanics, the universe is all unity, explanation for the supernatural. This is a failure of scientific and critical thinking.
Addressing his one major unstated premise, that the experienced occurred while his cortex was inactive, demolishes his claims and his interpretation of his experience.
As a neuroscientist I admit to a fascination with such experiences. I would love to experience something similar, to see what it is like (although I am not willing to damage my brain or take mild-altering drugs to do it). I would think that a neuroscientist would see such an experience as a powerful window into how the brain works (as Susan Blackmore did), how it constructs reality, and how the subjective experience that results from that construction can be altered, not as a window into a mystical and supernatural world.
Steven Novella in Neurologica:
In an article for Newsweek, neurosurgeon Eben Alexander recounts his near death experience during a coma from bacterial meningitis. This is sure to become a staple of the NDE/afterlife community, as Alexander recounts in articulate and breathless terms his profound experience. His book is called, Proof of Heaven – a bold claim for someone who insists he is and remains a scientist.
Alexander claims:
There is no scientific explanation for the fact that while my body lay in coma, my mind—my conscious, inner self—was alive and well. While the neurons of my cortex were stunned to complete inactivity by the bacteria that had attacked them, my brain-free consciousness journeyed to another, larger dimension of the universe: a dimension I'd never dreamed existed and which the old, pre-coma me would have been more than happy to explain was a simple impossibility.
While his experience is certainly interesting, his entire premise is flimsily based on a single word in the above paragraph – "while." He assumes that the experiences he remembers after waking from the coma occurred while his cortex was completely inactive. He does not even seem aware of the fact that he is making that assumption or that it is the central premise of his claim, as he does not address it in his article.
Harvard neurosurgeon Eben Alexander 'sees heaven' in near-death experience
Conversion: Dr Ebon Alexander, a Harvard-based neurosurgeon, has claimed in a new book that he had an out-of-body experience in a coma
A skeptical scientist who had spent his career studying the mechanics of the brain and dismissing patient tales of journeys to heavenly realms has revealed his extraordinary conversion after his own encounter with the afterlife during a near-death experience.
Dr Eben Alexander spent 15 years as an academic neurosurgeon at Harvard but he was struck with a nearly fatal bout of bacterial meningitis in 2008 and had no brain activity when he lay comatose for seven days at a Virginia hospital.
Though he was unconscious and unresponsive during that period, he is now describing a 'hyper-vivid and completely coherent odyssey' to a place beyond, filled with butterflies and resounding music that has shaken his scientific viewpoint on human consciousness.
He says he entered a place filled with clouds and the sound of chanting, and was met by a beautiful blue-eyed woman.
Dr Alexander describes his paradigm shift from focusing solely on the scientific make up of the brain to considering the spiritual realm of the mind, in a deeply reflective essay in Newsweek in advance of the release of his book, Proof of Heaven.
'As a neurosurgeon, I did not believe in the phenomenon of near-death experiences,' he writes in his article, explaining how he had previously relied on 'good scientific explanations for the heavenly out-of-body journeys described by those who narrowly escaped death.'
Though he considered himself a nominal Christian he said he lacked the faith to believe in eternal life.
When his patients would tell tales of going to heaven during near death experiences, he relied on 'current medical understanding of the brain and mind' and disregarded them as wishful thinking.
Skeptic: Dr Eben Alexander was dismissive when patients would describe journeys to heaven after near death experiences ... until the scientist experienced the pinked-tinted world of heaven for himself
But after he became the patient, he says he 'experienced something so profound that it gave me a scientific reason to believe in consciousness after death.'
The 58-year-old has an impressive pedigree. His ancestors were well regarded politicians and prominent fixtures in society in Tennessee. His father was Chief of Neurosurgery at Wake Forest University from 1948 to 1978.
The younger Alexander graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy and received his bachelor's degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1975. He earned his medical degree from Duke in 1980.
He spent 15 years teaching neurology at Harvard Medical School and the University of Virginia - lecturing on and researching brain mapping, the treatment of brain tumors and trying to understand cognition.
In 2008, the father-of-two was in 'good health and good shape,' preparing to embark on a hike with his son of a volcano in South America, he said in a July interview about the ordeal with Skeptiko.
Little did he know that he would soon become a patient at the very hospital where he taught.
Vivid: Alexander details his experience in his book, Proof of Heaven. An excerpt also features in Newsweek
The doctor's life was nearly cut short on November 10, 2008, when he awoke at 4:30am to get ready to go to work at the Lynchburg General Hospital in Virginia, where he worked as a neurosurgeon.
All of a sudden, he developed a severe pain in his back and within 15 minutes he was paralyzed in anguish and could barely even move.
His wife, Holley, rushed in to assist him and began to rub his back to relieve the tension but his condition worsened.
Before he began convulsing in a seizure, his last words to his wife were, 'Don't call 911,' and he lost consciousness and has no memory of what happened for an entire week.
Fortunately for him, his wife disregarded his advice and he was rushed to an area hospital and was diagnosed with bacterial meningitis.
'My entire cortex - the part of the brain that controls thought and emotion and that in essence makes us human - had shut down,' he writes in his essay.
'Doctors determined that I had somehow contracted a very rare bacterial meningitis that mostly attacks newborns. E. coli bacteria had penetrated my cerebrospinal fluid and were eating my brain,' he added.
He was placed on a ventilator at the intensive care unit and for six days he was treated with triple antibiotics to fight the bacteria but his brain had little functionality and he was unresponsive, leaving doctors to believe he would not recover.
As his family prepared for the worst, on the seventh day he suddenly opened his eyes.
His breathing tube was removed and he miraculously told doctors, 'Thank you.'
He suffered from amnesia and could not remember his life at all prior to his illness and remained in a haze for the first few days after he came out of the coma.
As he recovered though, he began to recall vivid memories of a magical mental experience during his time in the coma.
Illness: Dr Alexander, pictured with a scan of his infected brain, was in a coma for seven days and doctors did not believe he would emerge. A month later he had almost fully recovered
'There is no scientific explanation for the fact that while my body lay in coma, my mind - my conscious, inner self - was alive and well.
'While the neurons of my cortex were stunned to complete inactivity by the bacteria that had attacked them, my brain-free consciousness journeyed to another, larger dimension of the universe: a dimension I'd never dreamed existed and which the old, pre-coma me would have been more than happy to explain was a simple impossibility,' he writes.
He says he entered a 'place of clouds - big, puffy and pink-white,' filled with butterflies and angel-like creatures that were 'simply different from anything I have known on this planet. They were more advanced. Higher forms.'
In this heavenly realm, he says he heard 'a sound, huge and booming like a glorious chant, came down from above,' providing him with a sense of joy and awe.
A beautiful young woman accompanied him during his stay, 'she was young, and I remember what she looked like in complete detail. She had high cheekbones and deep-blue eyes. Golden brown tresses framed her lovely face.'
Heaven: The doctor says the place he visited was filled with butterflies, music and angel-like creatures more glorious than humans could ever imagine
Alexander admits his description might sound like something straight out of Hollywood, but to skeptics he says he has a clear sense that is was indeed real and 'not some fantasy, passing and insubstantial.'
After his remarkable experience in 2008, Alexander says the impact has been both on the professional and the spiritual.
Now the scientist has committed his energy to 'investigating the true nature of consciousness and making the fact that we are more, much more, than our physical brains as clear as I can, both to my fellow scientists and to people at large.'
But the self-described Christian-in-name-only, now says his experience with heaven has deepened his understanding of God and strengthened his faith .
'At the very heart of my journey [is this], that we are loved and accepted unconditionally by a God even more grand and unfathomably glorious than the one I'd learned,' he concludes.
SOURCE: dailymail.co.uk
Proof of Heaven - $9.49 | Christianbook.comwww.christianbook.com/christianbook.com is rated 24,193 reviewsSave on Proof of Heaven by Alexander Eben today!
Life After Death? | MormonTopics.orgwww.mormontopics.org/heaven
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text:
Rockbox mail archiveSubject: Re: My first MSG and some ideas
Re: My first MSG and some ideas
From: Frank Gevaerts <frank_at_gevaerts.be>
Date: Tue, 3 Apr 2012 21:34:33 +0200
On Tue, Apr 03, 2012 at 02:20:15PM -0500, Lic. Oleymis Yosvel Valdés Franco wrote:
The skin engine can actually do that, although no theme on the theme
> 2. The possibility to enable/disable thumbnail of the pictures.
You can use a theme that doesn't show album art if you like.
-- "Debugging is twice as hard as writing the code in the first place. Therefore, if you write the code as cleverly as possible, you are, by definition, not smart enough to debug it." - Brian W. Kernighan ------------------------------------------------------------------- Unsubscribe: http://cool.haxx.se/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/rockbox FAQ: http://www.rockbox.org/twiki/bin/view/Main/GeneralFAQ Etiquette: http://www.rockbox.org/mail/etiquette.htmlReceived on 2012-04-03
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