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Guerrilla Marketing for Free: Dozens of No-Cost Tactics to Promote Your Business and Energize Your Profits
by Jay Conrad Levinson
Editorial Reviews
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Being Aggressive and Confident as You Market for Free
You can be a high-energy marketer, and you can do it for free. Your
marketing can propel you to gloriously high profits, and you can do it for free.
You can become well known for your nonstop, clearly visible marketing, and
you can do it for free.
If you can produce a circular at the cost of a dime, that"s not free
and has no place in this book. If you can run a newspaper ad for only five
bucks, that"s not free either. So you won"t be reading about it in the
upcoming pages.
In fact, the only money you"ll have to spend is money you"ve
probably invested already. That means you"ll need a telephone, a computer,
a printer, a supply of plain paper, access to the Internet, and business cards.
If you have those, you can toss away your checks, file away your credit
cards, put your cash into a piggy bank, and still market like a tiger. Or rather,
a guerrilla.
You"re a guerrilla. That means you know what marketing can and
cannot do. It means you realize the importance of marketing to your bottom
line. It means you understand the vital need to maintain visibility and market
with all your might. But not with all your money. Not with any of your money.
Guerrilla marketing for free is powerfully effective even though it
costs you nary a cent. It can cause the competition to quake in their Nikes,
even if they"re spending advertising money as though it"s going to expire. It
wins customers, maintains their loyalty, builds a business, and increases—
never decreases —your bank account.
Too good to be true, right? But it is true. Even more remarkable is
the fact that the vast majority of your competitors haven"t a clue that they can
market so formidably without spending money. Even when they become
increasingly aware of your marketing and your success, they still won"t have
a clue that you"re doing it all for free. Unless you tell them or they discover
this book, they"ll remain clueless while you frolic about in clover. Well, not
exactly frolic, because you don"t really get good stuff without hard work. But
your entire opinion, degree of control, and satisfaction with the process of
marketing will be transformed once you discover—then cash in on— the
abundance of free marketing options in these pages and in your future.
You"re not going to learn any gimmicks or shady ways to attract
customers and prospects. You"re not going to be given a cornucopia of
complex tasks. You"re not going to be served up tactics that will make you
feel like a pioneer. We all know that pioneers get arrows in the back of the
neck, so your selection here of no-cost tactics is limited to those that have
proven themselves in battle and can"t hurt anyone except those who would
dare to compete with a guerrilla.
Because you can rely on tactics that have consistently earned
profits in the past, you can feel optimistic about how they"ll work for you.
Ideally, you"ll get into the habit of marketing, making it as much a part of your
daily routine as flossing.
Some of the one hundred free tactics you can use are things,
such as marketing plans and testimonials. Some are places, such as
Internet chat rooms and community bulletin boards. Others are concepts,
such as competitive advantages and sales training. Some are attitudes, like
aggressiveness and flexibility. Still others are people, such as fusion
marketing partners and satisfied customers. Many are hard to categorize,
such as viral marketing and speeches for community clubs.
But they all have five things in common:
They take your time.
They must be done right.
They require energy—mostly, but not exclusively,
They are deceptively simple.
They earn profits for guerrillas. Always have. Always
Instead of making money your prime marketing asset, this book is
devoted to using your marketing enlightenment, your intensity, your
assertiveness, and your resourcefulness. None of those attributes cost you
anything. But they give you marketing firepower that money can"t buy.
You can and should utilize many of these tactics at the same
time. But you never should feel as though you"ve got too much going on.
Guerrillas are rarely in a hurry and proceed at a pace that keeps them in total
control even with a lot going on. Because their marketing efforts all follow a
plan and a calendar, guerrilla marketing for free makes order out of chaos and
profits out of effort.
Guerrillas strive for conventional goals and attain them through
unconventional means. Guerrilla marketing sets profits as the goal and
provides a plethora of overlooked yet industrial- strength strategies to attain
them. You hold in your capitalistic hands an even more unconventional
method of marketing —going at it full bore without spending money.
Be assured, this is not your father"s marketing. This is marketing
that will enable you to make drastic reductions in your budget while
developing a fiery aura as a business owner. I sure hope that all my own fire
and enthusiasm is making you eager to get started. Getting started is half
the battle. Continuing with it is the other half.
But take a deep breath and hang back a bit before you begin. I"ve
devoted the entire next chapter to the tactics you must bring to life before
you start to market for free. I want you to know where you"re heading and
what you want to get for yourself. I want you to aim for both profits and
balance in your life. These tactics are not presented solely to fill your vault.
They are also designed to free up some of your time for things other than
business, other than profits, other than marketing. Life comes first. Business,
profits, and marketing are further down the list.
Now that we"re clear on priorities, let"s get back to what you must
do before you flex your marketing muscles. As I demonstrate in chapter 2,
knowing your destination is a crucial part of your marketing journey. Moving
at the right pace is another. You must be clear on key marketing insights to
be successful. Before taking one step into the fabled land of free marketing,
you must know certain characteristics of your prospects and customers and
of your business—beyond what it says on your card. Just as a wagon needs
four wheels to move forward, you"re going to need four wheels too. In guerrilla
marketing the four wheels are a name, a niche, a theme, and a meme.
Armed with the intellectual inventory you need to make before you launch
your free foray, you"re poised for action. But wait! There"s more.
Chapter 3 tells you what you must know while you market for free.
Besides the knowledge you need to acquire before you begin your marketing
assault, you"ve got to conduct that assault knowing your goals, your market,
and certainly some fundamental details about your customers.
As people are finding out, sometimes a bit too rudely, the age of
the lone-wolf business owner is over—gone with the wind and the innocence.
A vast number of potential allies are waiting to combine forces with you. But
where in the world will you find them? Look no further than chapter 4, whose
pages are loaded for bear with allies who can help you market, who want to
help you market, and who will help you market. Enlisting their aid is
paramount. Paying them is unnecessary. Think of all your customers and
you"ll begin to realize that there are allies all around you.
Once you"re armed to launch your program and know what to do
while it"s under way, you must decide where all of this no-cost, high-energy
marketing is going to take place. Chapter 5 is where you"ll survey the terrain,
get a fix on the geography, and zero in on the bull"s-eyes. It"s reassuring to
know there"s more than one. This chapter is chock-full of bull"s-eyes, along
with weapons to help you score them—zero-cost ways to market the right
way in the right places.
With the basics in place, you"ll be ready to get into the nitty-gritty
of marketing for free. Chapter 6 teems with fine points and details on just that
topic. It shines a bright light on your community, your target audiences, the
Internet, trade shows, and a whole lot more.
Just when you"re thinking it"s time to start engaging in serious
guerrilla marketing for free, chapter 7 counsels and encourages you to give
things away for free. Pretty astonishing that you can market for free while
giving things away. Don"t the things you give away cost money to buy? Nope.
This book is called Guerrilla Marketing for Free, so the tactics don"t cost you
a penny, not even the tactics that call for you to be as generous as the rich
uncle you wish you had. One of the most power-packed and effective tactics
is free consultations. How much money does that cost you? None. Better
question: How much money can that earn for you?
Chapter 8 is about you—and the personality characteristics I"m
hoping you already have that will help your marketing for free pay rich
dividends. Truth be told, if you lack these traits, you may need a personality
Chapter 9 is about actions you must take to capitalize on the time
you"ll spend reading this book. If you don"t take them, you probably shouldn"t
be reading this.
Okay, let"s stop talking about you and talk instead about the
people who will be your customers. This is the twenty-first century, and they
are a more demanding lot than their predecessors. But if you"re a guerrilla,
you can meet and exceed their demands by understanding what it is they
want. One of those things is quality.
There are two crucial lessons to learn about quality right from the
get-go. The first is that quality is the number-two reason people patronize a
business, ranking just behind confidence in the business and just ahead of
service. The second lesson is that quality is not what you put into your
product or service, but what your customers get out of it.
You should also be aware that quality is now the price of
succeeding at business. Without it, guerrilla marketing will just speed the
demise of your operation, because more people will learn of your shabby
quality faster and less expensively than ever. I hate to be the first one to tell
you this, but marketing is a waste of money if you offer poor-quality goods or
These days customers equate every aspect of your business with
not only the quality of your product but how well you treat people. So it"s a
good idea for you to do the same. Deep down, I"m hoping that you can skip
this part because you know it all already, but just in case . . . you"ve got to
remember that people assume you have a quality business and then are
quick to recognize any lack of it. In addition, your quality will help you
compare what you offer to what your competitors offer. It will juice up your
word-of-mouth marketing. It will nourish all your other marketing. If you have
the best quality in the universe, hardly anybody will know about it unless your
marketing informs them of it. If they already suspect it, your marketing will
reassure them that buying from you is the way to go.
Guerrilla marketing does sell products and services. But it sells
them only once. It"s the high quality you offer that brings in the repeat and
referral sales. That same quality makes life easier for those who sell what
you offer. The lowest prices on earth won"t rescue you from poor quality. The
speediest service and widest selection won"t protect you from the ravages of
poor quality.
Along with quality, you"ve got to be armed with a storehouse of
knowledge about your customers and prospects. "It is better to know
something about your spouse than everything about marriage." So goes the
old adage that has withstood the test of time because it contains such a core
truth. Here"s a newer adage: "The least expensive way to make more money
and grow faster is to be perceived as a service leader." A marketing truism is
that a small business that heavily emphasizes customer service is more
likely to survive and succeed than competitors that emphasize lower price,
convenience, speed of delivery, or product performance.
There are billions of people out there who don"t meet that buying
criterion. One of your tasks is to direct no marketing at them. If you go about
it right, all of your marketing will be directed only at people who meet those
lofty standards. Guerrillas focus their energies on establishing relationships
that lead to sales over a long period of time. One-time sales are worthless
unless you sell multimillion-dollar products and services.
Almost all business owners are aware that 80 percent of their
sales come from 20 percent of their customers. Guerrilla business owners
seek only customers who will be part of that lucrative 80 percent. Not a
simple task, but not impossible either. I promise you that it is worth the effort.
How does price fit into the guerrilla marketing equation? Let"s cut
right to the chase. Value is far more crucial than price. And perceived value is
far more crucial than actual value. People will pay higher prices for products
and services that deliver more quality for the buck. And they"ll pay higher
prices still for products and services that they believe to deliver more quality
for the buck. If this were not so, Rolls-Royce would be out of business and
Ferrari would be long gone.
I have a boatload of business books, many on the topic of
marketing. I"m floored at how few discuss the significance of value, especially
of perceived value. I think that these books are too wrapped up in the
concepts of quality and service, excellence and teamwork, statistics and
technology—so wrapped up that they"re taking their eye off the ball. The ball
is the value that the customer thinks he or she is getting. It doesn"t have
much to do with price. It has a lot to do with perception. Guerrillas are
cognizant that perception is reality.
Many experts believe that value is simply the difference between
anticipated price and the price asked. In this definition— a good one—there
is no difference between value and perceived value. That"s a bright
observation because it takes into account that perception reigns supreme.
The secret, then, is to control the anticipated price. You may not
have much to say about the actual price—production and materials are
somewhat out of your control. But anticipated price? That"s up to you. You
can raise the price anticipation with your reputation, the presentation of your
offering, even with your marketing copy and graphics. If your offering is
carried in expensive stores, people will expect your price to be higher. They"ll
also be influenced by your stationery, your address, your office décor, and
your attire.
A restaurant with soft candlelight and romantic music charges
more for meals than a harshly lit cafeteria with the sound of dishes clacking
in the background. The cost of the food ingredients, the cooking, and the
refrigeration is the same at both restaurants. But the perception of value is
raised by lighting, music, and décor. The world"s best marketing can
enhance your reputation and build your credibility, but it can"t do beans for
your lighting and décor. If you lack the trappings of obvious quality, your
perceived value can still be enhanced by virtue of the copy and visuals of
brilliant marketing.
A whopping one hundred tactics that enable you to market for free
represent a profusion of opportunities. You should be relatively blown away
when you learn how many methods you can use to put your name in the
forefront of your prospects" minds. You may be slightly embarrassed that you
haven"t yet employed these tactics. And try as you might to find hidden
costs, you"ll come up empty and realize that these no-cost methods truly are
effective ways to market.
In some of my past Guerrilla Marketing books, I"ve presented one
hundred different marketing weapons, then advised readers to be aware of all
one hundred, to try many of them, and to eliminate those that do not prove
their efficacy on the front lines.
In Guerrilla Marketing for Free, I"m presenting one hundred
different marketing tactics, advising you to be aware of all one hundred, and
then urging you to try every single one of them and keep trying them. They"re
all going to work for you, and we don"t even have to get into that silly
conversation about getting a bang for your buck. This book is about the bang
but not about the buck.
Although guerrilla marketing for free is fun if you do it right—and
this is the place to learn to do it right—it is not a game. It is a serious way to
help your business succeed. What does success look like? Your business is
prospering, all the sounds of the earth are like music, and you are not paying
the piper. Not with money. Not with stress. You now have my official
permission to be eager once again. Be eager to glean the information I"m
offering. Be eager to win the race without paying the entry fee. Be eager to
guerrilla-market for free.
Copyright © 2003 by Jay Conrad Levinson. Reprinted by permission of
Houghton Mifflin Company.
Product Description:
The guru of the Guerrilla Marketing series, with over a million copies in print, teaches entrepreneurs how to market aggressively without spending one cent.
Levinson, the authority on big-business marketing on a small-business budget, takes this concept one step further by offering scores of marketing ideas that are completely free. He proves that aggressive marketing doesn't have to be expensive if you use creative and unconventional means.
* Hold a giveaway contest. You'll attract customers and acquire names for your mailing list.
* Give free talks, consultations, and demonstrations. You'll establish yourself as an expert and publicize your business at the same time.
* Post on websites, bulletin boards, and other online communities. They offer countless opportunities for spreading your business message.
* Feed your clients. Sending cookies or offering free refreshments in your store can set you apart from the competition.
Levinson offers dozens of other tips -- some straightforward, many surprising -- in a unique, indispensable guide that proves you don't have to pay top dollar to improve your bottom line.
Product Description:
The guru of the Guerrilla Marketing series, with over a million copies in print, teaches entrepreneurs how to market aggressively without spending one cent.
Levinson, the authority on big-business marketing on a small-business budget, takes this concept one step further by offering scores of marketing ideas that are completely free. He proves that aggressive marketing doesn't have to be expensive if you use creative and unconventional means.
* Hold a giveaway contest. You'll attract customers and acquire names for your mailing list.
* Give free talks, consultations, and demonstrations. You'll establish yourself as an expert and publicize your business at the same time.
* Post on websites, bulletin boards, and other online communities. They offer countless opportunities for spreading your business message.
* Feed your clients. Sending cookies or offering free refreshments in your store can set you apart from the competition.
Levinson offers dozens of other tips -- some straightforward, many surprising -- in a unique, indispensable guide that proves you don't have to pay top dollar to improve your bottom line.
Copyright � 2005 Artrm
.com . All rights reserved. Best viewed with IE 4 + browsers
at 800 X 600 resolution
Copyright � 2005 Artrm .com . All rights reserved. Best viewed with IE 4 + browsers at 800 X 600 resolution


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Outdoor Recreation in AmericaBrought to you by the American Recreation Coalition
Outdoor Recreation in AmericaBrought to you by the American Recreation Coalition
Dedicated to the protection and enhancement of everyone's right
Past Stories
Partnership Announces Initiative to Connect New Americans to Public Lands
News | Volunteerism | Coalitions & Initiatives Posted on Thu, 07/10/2008 - 14:07.
Washington, D.C. (July 10, 2008) The White House Office of USA Freedom Corps, Department of Homeland Security's Task Force on New Americans, National Park Service and American Recreation Coalition announced the creation of a public-private partnership to connect new citizens to America's public lands. The initiative – named This Land Is Your Land – will coordinate public and private efforts to engage new Americans in volunteerism on public lands. The initiative also created the New Americans Outreach Task Force, which aims to draw newly naturalized citizens to National Parks and other public lands.
This Land Is Your Land was unveiled on July 7, 2008 at a special naturalization ceremony in Ellis Island's Great Hall where 20 new citizens from 15 countries took the Oath of Allegiance within sight of the Statue of Liberty. Cokie Roberts, broadcast journalist and member of the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation, led the event and encouraged the new Americans to vote and to volunteer on public lands. She specifically challenged them to volunteer 100 hours to earn the President's Volunteer Service Award during their first year of citizenship. Alison Young, Special Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of USA Freedom Corps (USAFC), asked the new citizens to answer the President's 2002 national Call to Service that created USAFC. "It is our hope that through this new partnership, USA Freedom Corps can create an eagerness among new Americans to engage in volunteer opportunities in the great outdoors and to enjoy the grandeur of our National Parks," said Young.
ARC Urges No Delays In America The Beautiful Volunteer Pass
Volunteerism | Policies & Issues Posted on Wed, 10/05/2005 - 11:09.
The American Recreation Coalition (ARC) urged federal officials to act quickly to implement provisions of the of the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act of 2004 directing federal agencies to issue a National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass to volunteers "in exchange for significant volunteer services." In a letter to the Interior Department, ARC commented that, "It appeared to us at a recent Listening Session that agency representatives working on the issue do not share our enthusiasm for prompt implementation of this Congressional directive. We strongly believe that a Volunteer Pass should be an integral part of the America the Beautiful Pass from its inception, not deferred for future consideration."
Take Pride In America's Health: Volunteering as a Gateway to Physical Activity
Take Pride in America | Volunteerism Posted on Thu, 03/03/2005 - 10:03.

subset: commoncrawl


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You can customize Delegated Administrator to support the following plug-ins:
By default, this plug-in is disabled. If no preferredmailhost is supplied when a business organization is created, an exception will be raised. If the plug-in is enabled, values from the flat file (described later in this section) will be used only if the corresponding attribute is absent.
Uses the domain value to return the desired DSN address. The default implementation is to return the string MAILER-DAEMON@<domain>.
Generates a unique id string. The default implementation generates a GUID to return to the caller.
To enable these plug-ins, edit the commcli servlet resource.properties file, located in the following directory:
da_base/data/WEB-INF/classes/sun/comm/cli/server/servlet/ resource.properties
(By default, da_base is /opt/SUNWcomm.)
The plug-ins are located in the resource.properties file in a section headed as follows:
######################## # Plugin Configuration # ##########################
Each has "plugin" as the suffix. The current list looks like:
jdapi-mailhoststoreplugin=disabled jdapi-mailhoststorepluginclass=sun.comm.cli.server.util.MailHostStorePlugin jdapi-mailhoststorepluginfile=/tmp/mailhostmailstore jdapi-maildomainreportaddressplugin=enabled jdapi-maildomainreportaddresspluginclass=sun.comm.cli.server. util.MailDomainReportAddressPlugin jdapi-uidautogenerationplugin=disabled jdapi-uidautogenerationpluginclass=sun.comm.cli.server.util.UidPlugin
Each plug-in has at least two lines, which take the following form:
jdapi-<name>plugin= "enabled" | "disabled"
jdapi-<name>pluginclass=sun.comm.cli.server.util/ <java class name>
To enable a plug-in, change "disabled" to "enabled".
Plug-in classes are supplied for all the plug-ins listed in this section. The classes are located in the following directory:
You do not need to do anything with these classes.
The MailHostStorePlugin requires a flat file, which is included in a third line for the plug-in. The plug-in reads the value in the flat file and uses it to set attribute values. If the plug-in is enabled, the file must be present, or an error will occur.
jdapi-mailhoststoreplugin o jdapi-mailhoststoreplugininf=<full file name> o file has one line o value is that for : o preferredmailhost attribute o preferredmailmessagestore attribute o form o <mailhost>:<mailpartition>


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It's the most wonderful time of the year... and I say that because I really, really love the holiday cards that come every day. Most people don't know this, but I actually keep them from year to year. Only the ones with pictures, of course - I'm not nuts. But almost everyone I know sends cards with pictures and I treasure each one. Sometimes it's the only glimpse I get of college friends and their children living on the opposite coast or family in distant lands. My first stop will be Shutterfly.
A dear friend takes a photograph of my children every year and I really don't know how she manages to capture them so well. My favorite had to be about 5 years ago. I have twin boys and a little girl and they were just "DONE" with the whole idea of having their picture taken. They were uncooperative, cranky and a little bit impish. She got them to dance, took a picture and.... Ta-Da... I had an adorable card with my children dancing and the caption read "Be Merry". It was my favorite!
Every year I create a calendar on Shutterfly with pictures from the last year... Halloween, summer vacation, first day of school.... great memories. And almost every year I create a photo book. That's the favorite gift among the grandparents. I know they show it to everyone! So now I need to choose a card for this year. So many to choose from at Shutterfly, but here are the top contenders:


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The Animal Kingdom > Cats > Toys > Plush > Products List
Showing 1 - 1 of 1
Kong Cat Cozie KickerooThe Cat Cozie Kickeroo is made of ultra-soft plush fabric that cats love to tackle and cuddle. Each toy is packed with North American catnip and has a crinkle or rattle sound to help attract cats and initiate play.
Showing 1 - 1 of 1


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Based in a shop house overlooking Sarawak River, IDC & DesignEast were established as a result of talented individuals's ambition to create a multidisciplinary firm encompassing architecture and interior design. We designed and developed the responsive website , created the auto filtering project page.
We were excited to be given a chance to do work with IDC & DesignEast on the redesign and wanted to make the site stand out. We added the categories filtering option on the Project page. We maintained the feel of the site light and minimal and incorporated the new logo throughout the site.
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My blog readers know who I am-a 47 year old Filipino physician who, after studying, training and running a successful medical practice for almost twenty years in the U.S. has now returned to his country. I am, and proud to be, a Balikbayan.
Friends have asked: Why?
"You have a wonderful life in America," they say. "You were featured on US national television as an outstanding Asian. You're at the top of your profession. Why become a Dr. Balikbayan?"
In my mind I have asked myself the same question. The answer is difficult to explain, and for some, more difficult to understand.
No Filipino in or out of the country is unaware of the stark reality that confronts all of us. At this time the Philippines has a higher poverty level than most countries on earth. Our government is considered to be more corrupt than even the most chaotic African nations.
But as a physician what pains me most deeply is the terrible fact that more and more Filipinos are dying for no other reason than that they lack medical care. By the thousands, mothers die at childbirth. Children die of curable infectious diseases. People are ill and they have no one to turn to.
I cannot accept this. I must do something. I owe it to myself, to my vocation as physician, and to my fellow Filipinos. This is why I left America and am now Dr. Balikbayan.
Recently I joined the brave and honorable cause of Noynoy Aquino and Mar Roxas whose aim is not only to reform but to transform the Philippines. To this I have committed myself.
I am not a politician nor do I intend ever to be one. I am an experienced physician trained to help and save lives. But rather than treat individual patients by the handful, I believe I can be more useful, do more good by extending medical care to millions of Filipinos who have neither the knowledge nor the means to fight disease and prolong life.
I realize I cannot do this alone. Neither can Noynoy Aquino and Mar Roxas. All our leaders from Lapulapu with his band of Cebuano warriors to Cory Aquino with her heroes at Edsa needed the full hearted, unsparing involvement of men and women willing to seek, struggle, and if necessary, sacrifice to attain the fulfillment of a common aspiration.
I shall do my part, play a role, perhaps a small one, in the sweeping movement that calls all Filipinos at home and abroad together, growing in strength and number, gaining momentum to turn itself into the transformative power that will change our country and generations of our countrymen.
So I move on, move forward, move toward a horizon bright with the promise of the good years to come for all Filipinos across space and time.
Dr. Balikbayan is home.


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Sago payasam / Chowari payasam / Javarisi payasam is an easy to make payasam / sweet. My mother doesnot like sago and hence it was not prepared at home. So semiya payasam was considered to be easiest payasam before marriage. But after marriage, I found my hubby doesn't like semiya payasam and so started making this sago payasam when ever I have some left over milk with me, this is one of the easiest option. It is also prepared during family functions, but most of the time, Kerala payasams with coconut milk like chakka pradhaman, cherupayar pradhaman etc. is preferred. Here, I have made use of saffron which gave a slight yellowish colour to the payasam but it is quite optional. Now to the recipe..
Ingredients required
|sago / chowari / javarisi
|1/2 cup
|1 litre
|3/4 cup
|cardamom powder / elakka podi
|1/4 teaspoon
|cashew nuts
|saffron (soaked in 2 tablespoon of milk)
|few strands
|1 tablespoon
1. Soak sago / chowari in water for 1 hour. After that you will find that it is fluffy and soft. Drain the water completely and keep it aside.
2. Soak saffron strands in 2 tablespoons of milk and keep it aside.
3. In a bowl, add 3 cups of water and bring it to boil. Now add the soaked sago pearls to it and let it cook until sago becomes soft and transparent.
4. Meanwhile, bring milk to boil in another pan. Once the milk starts boiling, simmer and let the milk reduce a little.
5. Then add sugar and mix well till the entire sugar gets dissolved. Keep the flame in low.
6. Then add the cooked sago, simmer and cook for a few more minutes around 2 -3 minutes. Do these process keeping the flame low.
7. Now add cardamom powder and mix. Give it a stir and cook for another 2 more minutes until sago gets completely blended with milk.
8. Now add the soaked saffron and milk. Mix it well. (This step is optional. ) Now add the roasted nuts. Mix well.
9. Chowari payasam is ready. This can be served either hot or cold.
If you find this post useful, I would be extremely happy, if you can share it with your friends in google+, facebook or twitter. All you have to do is click the corresponding button given below. This will keep me motivated.
Enjoy cooking and serving
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On the other side there is the cultural history, the implications for how we organise our lives and not least hygge's effects on social interaction and society In this sense Danish Hygge is quite different. On the surface, Hygge is just a nice thing that anyone can do with a few Home-baked cakes and candles, and nobody needs the Danes to teach them how to be cosy or create an ambience. Most European countries have that covered. The Anglo-Saxon society as it has developed across the isle of Britain surely does.
Much more at issue for the Danish is how Hygge is actually is incorporated in how we do it. How we prioritise family and friendships, because we can. How we use the outside (Hygge is not a seasonal thing, it's an everyday thing, all year round). Hygge influences how and what we cook, how we organise schools and learning; how architecture is described, how political and economic factors are measured in terms of sustainability, both fiscal (economic growth) and Socially (quality of life for the citizens of Denmark).
And happiness and sustainability are two major elements in the Danish welfare model. Both the official AND the informal. Whether you can actually justifiably link Hygge and welfare state, is a different discussion. Hygge existed before the welfare state as we know it, but the welfare state makes it almost a duty to participate. So we have ourselves a Chicken and egg situation. Did Denmark develop a welfare state because we already had the perfect basis or has the welfare state just made Hygge more evident?
I'm not making this up. If Bourdieu was alive he'd make a million dots on a matrix and call hygge cultural capital. Becher in his book: 'Academic Tribes and Territories' scratches the surface if this culturally embedded phenomenon, but really it's about much more.
Discourse analysis of news media (fake or not) will show a myriad of complex hegemonic discourses that determine what a Dane considers Hygge and not. But for me, the best approach is a proper carnivalistic polyphonic angle (go Mikhail Bakhtin ). Hygge has so many voices, rituals and traditions. They are all bound to and sometimes within, families, geographical areas, friendship groups, workplaces.
Every Dane thinks he is unique. News flash, we're not really. You will have to look far and wide to find a more homogeneous, coherent or conform country than Denmark. I challenge you (ok Iceland doesn't count, but other than that, it's open season). Danes are a good 5 million people. We can get from one end to the other in max 3,5 hours, if we go backwards in an UP. We don't do pubs, we eat at home. We dress for comfort more than style, even though we'd like to think our casual comfortable style is classy, even on the bicycle highways in the snow.
Obviously a lot of Copenhagen is exempt from this conversation. What happens in Copenhagen, stays in Copenhagen. Much like London is not representative for what goes on up here in the North. All the talk of Scandinavian minimalism, we love it! Do we live it, no. At least not the vast majority of us. The craze about Scandi-style that you can find on BBCs Interior Design Challenge or in the fancy lifestyle magazines…. Not representative.
I have friends who live like that, and it is majestic, but they too have studys, guest bedrooms that are like everyone else's, overfilled and overflowing.
The Hygge culture is about authentic, full on togetherness. No phones, no conflicts, and no bragging. It often entails excess. No silly Swedish Lagom here. We Danish eat chocolate and sweets to excess, more than most countries, we drink, people still smoke, and they like it too. Not me, but you know we all have our flaws. We have wild gardens, fifth generation cars and second hand prams for our babies. If our children are asleep in the pram, we leave it outside the café and if 'Solvej' starts crying, somebody sticks their head through the door and shouts:"Anyone got a screamer in a blue pram outside?". It's pretty naïve, very safe and very trusting. All Very Hyggeligt.
I have a read some incredible awesome Danish academic articles about the whole thing. And it is evident, that the omnipresence of Hygge in Danish culture is almost unfathomable. Even to Danes. They often don't think about it much, it's sort of... just like breathing. But it's not the point really I guess. It is however one of the reasons I had a total hissy fit when this craze started in England. I couldn't deal with the bastardisation of traditions and rituals that is so dear to me and everyone I know. It's how I survived losing mum and dad to Cancer within a month. It IS how I cope with loving someone with cancer. It is how friends and family interact and help and have fun with each other.
It's not without its drawbacks not at all. It socially exclusive and riddled with idiosyncratic rituals. But it is my 'home' and it is a form of happiness I recognise. That's why I've started doing the after dinner talks. So people can get a chance to hear about the impact Hygge has on a whole society and why the total Hygge experience is difficult to achieve in the UK.
Even if it meant that people would feel safe and all education was not just free, but you get paid a stipend to study from the age of 18, can you see people in the UK signing up to start paying between 38-62%tax on all earnings over 5.000 £? Or an argument that a 36.5 hour working week is MORE efficient that a 45 holding its ground?
In other words to be free, as the Danes repeatedly declare they feel, you have to trust, and sign over your money, your social security number and every single thing you do will be logged and kept. It is a project that involves working on the collective success more than the individual's? I'd love it if it were possible to get a similar level of welfare and trust in the UK. I just don't see it.
So it's the everyday life changes we can make that we must focus on here. Carving time out for each other, no phones, no big discussions, no host- or boasting. Being honest, Authentic and Loving. Not just to the people we know, but to ourselves and to strangers. It pays off, big time. And FYI no Dane wears those mega knitted socks and sweaters indoor… we insulate our houses.
SORRY, got on the soapbox again, it's a slippery thing.
Rant over. Promise
#hygge #hyggeisasuperpower #danesareweird #actionforhappiness
#hygge #hyggeisasuperpower #danesareweird #actionforhappiness


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Strategic Goal 1: Counterterrorism
Public Benefit
The events of 9/11 demonstrated the extent of the threat posed by international terrorism to the United States and U.S. citizens, both at home and abroad. Al-Qaeda is present in more than sixty countries; several hundred affiliates are suspected to be in the United States alone. The American people are painfully aware of the importance of USG efforts to combat international terrorism. In the wake of the events of 9/11, the United States has launched a campaign against terrorism. Although the war on terrorism began at home, the Department has taken the struggle worldwide. The Secretary and senior Department officials have traveled to every corner of the globe to develop and sustain a coalition to fight terrorism on all fronts - diplomatic, military, intelligence, law enforcement, and financial. The Department recognizes the need to combat terrorist networks where they exist and operate via the worldwide cooperation and coordination afforded by our coalition partners. Efforts thus far have resulted in assistance from more than 180 states and territories in identifying, disrupting, and destroying international terrorist organizations; the worldwide capture of over 3,000 terrorist suspects; and the blocking of $120 million of terrorists' assets by over 160 foreign governments. Through its proven ability to affect change and execute USG policy abroad, the Department is an important leader in the war on terrorism.
The Department engages with foreign governments to ensure that they have the political will to take strong, decisive action against terrorism. While governments may have the political will to combat terrorism, they often lack the capability to act effectively. The Department's training and assistance programs help other states build the capacity of their intelligence, law enforcement, and military communities to defeat terrorists operating on their soil. At home, the Department has taken unprecedented action to coordinate all training and assistance provided by USG agencies. As the lead federal agency to respond to terrorist-related incidents overseas, the Department has maintained its readiness to respond to international terrorist-related incidents affecting U.S. interests. The Department's efforts not only ensure the safety of Americans abroad, but bolster the security of the U.S. homeland by effectively making the borders of America's friends and allies the first line of defense against terrorists.
Performance Goal 1
Coalition Partners Identify, Deter, Apprehend and Prosecute Terrorists
Summary: Projected FY 2004 Performance
The United States relies on its foreign partners to protect U.S. citizens and interests overseas and prevent terrorists from reaching the U.S. homeland. The Department expects that its continued bilateral engagement with key partners will ensure that counterterrorism remains at the top of the international political agenda in 2004. Multilateral engagement with regional organizations such as the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum, the European Union (EU), the Organization of American States (OAS), the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and the Arab League will ensure that these organizations continue to press member states for action and coordination on counterterrorism.
Performance Trend: FY 2000 - FY 2004 --
The Department also expects that other states will have greater capacity to counter terrorism on their soil in 2004 due to Department-provided counterterrorism training and technical assistance. Training and technical assistance programs augment the capability of recipient states to take strong, decisive action against terrorism by providing valuable skills, relevant support equipment and technical advice. In 2004, the United States will serve as President of the G-8. The Department expects that its chairmanship of the Counterterrorism (Rome) Experts Group will improve counterterrorism coordination and influence foreign partners having advanced counterterrorism skills to participate more in the capacity building effort.
By 2004, Colombia will have a strengthened capacity to conduct counterterrorist operations against the three foreign terrorist organizations (FTO) operating in its territory. The Southern Cone of South America, through the "3+1" mechanism (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, plus the United States), will be increasingly able to counter financial flows to terrorists in the region and will be less attractive as a safe haven for such illicit activities. In addition, the Department expects the Inter-American Committee on Counterterrorism (CICTE) to strengthen its leadership in the region and that the organization be viewed as a model for regional counterterrorism efforts.
Through Department-coordinated technical assistance, the countries on the Arabian Peninsula will be better prepared to stop the financing of terrorism. The Department also expects that throughout the Middle East, the close operational coordination among U.S. embassies will result in the capture of terrorists.
In East Asia, a dedicated counterterrorism police unit will be operational in Indonesia, a regional counterterrorism center will be established in Malaysia, and assistance to the region, particularly Indonesia, will be coordinated among primary donors. The police and security forces of the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand will be able to conduct more effective counterterrorism operations, and nations throughout the region will have new or enhanced legislation to strengthen the legal basis for counterterrorist actions and related terrorist finance and money laundering investigations.
Example of an FY 2002 Achievement:
Due to the considerable amount of Department-sponsored training, the Caucasus and Central Asian states will have greater capacity to protect key sites (e.g., airports and government buildings), investigate terrorist incidents, and protect their borders from criminal and terrorist incursions. Moreover, the Georgia Train and Equip Program (GTEP) will bolster the Georgian Government's ability to go after terrorist elements in the Pankisi Gorge.
In South Asia, Pakistan, through its newly established National Counterterrorism Unit, will have a more thorough and coordinated approach to thwarting terrorist activities. Afghanistan will continue to be an active partner in fighting remnants of the Taliban and al-Qaeda on its territory. Through the Department's continued engagement with India, India will play a constructive role in resolving terrorist insurgencies in Nepal and Sri Lanka.
By 2004, the Department hopes to reduce the attractiveness of many African countries as potential terrorist transit points, safe havens, or targets. As recipients of Department-provided training courses, Kenya, Djibouti, and Ethiopia should exhibit higher levels of specialized skills to combat terrorism more effectively. Likewise, border security is expected to improve in Niger, Chad, Mali, and Mauritania.
In the multilateral arena, the Department expects to make significant progress in encouraging states to take action to implement UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1373, which imposes binding obligations on all states to suppress and prevent terrorist financing, improve border controls, enhance information sharing and law enforcement cooperation, suppress terrorist recruitment, and deny terrorists safe haven.
By 2004, it is anticipated that the UN Counterterrorism Committee (CTC) will have succeeded in motivating many, if not most, UN member states to establish the legislative and executive frameworks necessary for implementing their counterterrorism obligations under UNSCR 1373.
While basic capacity building will continue in many "less able, but willing" states, the CTC should be actively promoting the cooperation of member states on bilateral, regional, and international levels; judicial cooperation among states; and an attack on the links between terrorism and other threats to security in the form of arms and drug trafficking, organized crime, and money laundering.
Summary: Indicators, Results, and Targets
Indicator #1: Number of Bilateral and Multilateral CT Consultations Completed.
Indicator #2: Number of ATA Courses Provided to Priority States and the Number of Program Reviews that are Conducted 18 Months After the Training.
A total of 117 ATA courses provided to forty-two states.
A total of five program reviews conducted.
A total of 135 ATA courses provided to forty-nine states.
A total of fourteen program reviews conducted.
A total of 160 ATA courses provided to forty-one states.
A total of 160 program reviews conducted.
A total of 190 ATA courses provided to fifty states.
A total of 190 program reviews conducted.
A total of 210 ATA courses provided to sixty states.
A total of 210 program reviews conducted.
Indicator #3: Number of States That Have Reported to the UN Security Council on Their Efforts to Implement United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1373.
UN was not monitoring implementation of UNSCR 1373.
UN CTC established to monitor and assist members in implementing UNSCR 1373.
Means and Strategies by Target
Complete twenty-seven bilateral and multilateral CT consultations.
• Maintain close cooperation and coordination with the governments of key partners to ensure that bilateral and multilateral exchanges continue at which U.S. officials and their counterparts further specific counterterrorism goals and priorities, share concerns, and overcome challenges.
• Ensure that the counterterrorism engagement unit is adequately staffed.
• Obtain adequate funding.
Conduct 210 ATA courses and 210 program reviews among 60 states.
Obtain adequate funding and trainers.
Maintain mobile training units to provide emergency training to police units in-country when a CT-related situation exists.
Establish counterterrorism priority states through the Department-chaired, interagency Training and Assistance Sub-Group.
Have 174 states report to the UN Security Council on their efforts to implement UNSCR 1373.
• Work closely with the UN CTC.
• Use bilateral and multilateral consultations to encourage states to submit reports.
Performance Goal 2
U.S. And Foreign Governments Actively Combat Terrorist Financing
Summary: Projected FY 2004 Performance
In the wake of the events of 9/11, the President announced the start of an offensive against the financial foundation of the global terror network using every diplomatic, intelligence, law enforcement, and financial tool and channel available to influence to identify, disrupt, and dismantle terrorist financing networks. Publicly designating terrorists and their supporters, freezing terrorists' assets and strengthening the financial, regulatory, and judicial sectors of vulnerable coalition partners play a critical role in this effort.
Domestically, the Department will continue to coordinate with the Departments of the Treasury and Justice to designate individuals and entities as supporters of terrorism under Executive Order 13224 and to designate foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs) in order to freeze the assets, stigmatize and isolate terrorists and their supporters internationally, deter donations and contributions to and economic transactions with them, and heighten public awareness and knowledge of terrorists, terrorist organizations and those who support them. The Department will also work with the Department of Justice to designate groups under the Terrorism Exclusion List (TEL) so that individual aliens providing support to or associated with TEL-designated organizations may be found "inadmissible" to the United States or, if already in U.S. territory, may in certain circumstances be deported.
Internationally, the Department will continue to lead USG efforts to develop and sustain the bilateral and multilateral relationships, strategies and activities required to win international support for and cooperation with its efforts to combat terrorist financing. The Department will continue to work with countries around the world to ensure the effective implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1373, which calls, among other things, for the freezing of terrorist assets. The Department will also continue to actively encourage countries to submit names to the UN 1267 Sanctions Committee's consolidated list of individuals and entities with links to al-Qaeda whose assets UN member states are obligated to freeze. Those included in this list are also subject to arms bans and travel restrictions. The 1267 Sanctions Committee's work is the most focused multilateral effort to combat the funding of terrorists and their supporters.
Example of an FY 2002 Achievement:
In addition to designations, the Department will work bilaterally with nations whose financial systems are vulnerable to abuse by terrorists and their supporters to reinforce those national institutions responsible for combating terrorist financing. Such institutions include judicial, banking, regulatory, and law enforcement agencies. Through Department-provided training and technical assistance, these agencies will be better equipped to identify, investigate and prosecute terrorist financing and other financial crimes. This effort will impede terrorist financing from overseas before funds reach possible terrorist cells in the United States. Multilaterally, the Department expects to work increasingly with international organizations such as the UN CTC and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on money laundering, and regional bodies such as the OAS, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), ASEAN, the Pacific Islands Forum, and APEC to detect, dismantle, and deter terrorist financing networks that transcend national borders.
Summary: Indicators, Results, and Targets
Indicator #1: Number of Names Designated Under E.O 133224 for Terrorist Asset Freezing
A total of eighty-nine names were designated under E.O. 13224.
A total of eleven names were designated under E.O. 13224 between Jan. 1 and March 28. Several dozen more are under consideration for designation.
Designation of additional terrorist-related individuals and entities as appropriate.
Indicator #2: Number of Names Added to the UN 1267 Sanctions Committee's Consolidated List
A total of fifty-four al Qaeda names were added to the 1267 Committee's list.
A total of twelve
Addition of al Qaeda-related individuals and entities as appropriate.
Indicator #3: Number of Foreign Countries Submitting Names to the UN 1267 Sanctions Committee's Consolidated List
A total of 68 foreign countries submitted al Qaeda-related names to the 1267 Sanctions Committee.
A total of ten foreign countries submitted al Qaeda names to 1267 Sanctions Committee between Jan. 1 and March 28, 2003.
Submission of additional names by foreign governments as appropriate.
Indicator #4: Timeliness of the Review of Groups Designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) Pursuant to U.S. law.
A total of twenty-nine groups designated as FTOs pursuant to U.S. law. One new group designated.
A total of thirty-one groups designated as FTOs per U.S. law. Twenty-eight FTOs reviewed for redesignation, twenty-five groups redesignated (two groups consolidated into one) and two other groups dropped from the list. Two new groups designated.
Five more organizations designated as FTOs; one additional group was redesignated. Five groups were under review for possible FTO designation.
All FTO reviews completed; no new addition pending for more than four months.
All FTO reviews completed; no new addition pending for more than four months.
Indicator #5: Number of Countries That Have Instituted Measures to Combat the Financing of Terrorists Through U.S. Training and Assistance Programs. (New Indicator)
Assessment of these nineteen priority states takes place; the nineteen priority states accept recommendations and offers of training and assistance.
Five of the priority states institute measures to combat terrorist financing.
Means and Strategies by Target
Names of terrorist-related individuals and entities continue to be designated under E.O. 13224.
• Active coordination with other U.S. Government agencies involved in combating terrorist financing.
• Active bilateral and multilateral diplomacy to persuade other countries to also freeze the assets of those designated under E.O. 13224 and thereby increase the effectiveness and impact of U.S. action.
Names of al Qaeda-related targets continue to be added to the UN 1267 Sanctions Committee's consolidated list.
- Lead the interagency process through which the USG develops and sustains bilateral and multilateral relationships, strategies and activities to win international support for and cooperation with our efforts to combat terrorist financing.
Foreign countries continue to submit names to the 1267 Sanctions Committee either independently or together with the U.S.
- Actively pursue bilateral and multilateral diplomacy focused on combating terrorist financing.
All FTO reviews completed; no new addition pending for more than four months.
Hire and/or assign more staff to the designations unit that review FTOs.
Utilize new secure on-line connections to facilitate interagency communications by those who review designations.
Seek legislative changes to streamline dealing with new aliases of a designated FTO and eliminating the redesignation requirement.
Five states that receive assistance to combat the financing of terrorists institute such measures through U.S. training and assistance programs.
Lead interagency financial systems assessment teams to assess each state's domestic institutions responsible for combating terrorist financing.
Develop training and assistance programs based on assessments.
Administer delivery of assistance by selecting and funding appropriate training providers.
- Obtain adequate funding.
Performance Goal 3
Coordinated International Prevention And Response To Terrorism, Including Bioterrorism
Summary: Projected FY 2004 Performance
The Department will continue to be ready to respond to terrorist-related incidents against U.S. citizens or interests anywhere in the world during 2004. As the lead federal agency to respond to international terrorism-related crises, the Department heads the Foreign Emergency Support Team (FEST). The FEST provides U.S. ambassadors at affected posts with advice, assistance, and assessments concerning terrorism-related issues ranging from preemptive operations to post-incident and disaster response. The FEST serves as a coordination mechanism to handle the myriad interagency resources available to respond to acts of terrorism.
Effective FEST operations require regular training exercises. Exercises enhance the readiness of the FEST, USG agencies, U.S. embassies, and host governments to respond to an international counterterrorism-related crisis and provide a unique opportunity to develop and validate new operations-related counterterrorism policy. As a result, the Department and the FEST coordinate and will participate during 2004 in two Combatant Commanders' National- and International-level counterterrorism exercises and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS) sponsored a no-notice counterterrorism exercise.
Preventing and responding to terrorism also includes measures to develop technological solutions to specific counterterrorism problems and needs. Terrorist operations continue to grow in technical sophistication and lethality as terrorist groups exploit the Internet, acquire and utilize commercially available technology, and conduct cooperative training activities. In order to bolster the USG capacity to counter the growing threat, the Department will continue to lead the interagency Technical Support Working Group (TSWG), which conducts technology development in order to effectively combat advances in terrorists' methods. In 2004, the TSWG will conduct rapid prototyping and development of counterterrorism technologies for chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear countermeasures; explosives detection and improvised device defeat; infrastructure protection; physical security; surveillance, collection and operations support; and tactical operations support. In addition, the Department will continue its joint counterterrorism R&D projects with the United Kingdom, Canada, and Israel to leverage funding and capitalize on technology developments by foreign partners with advanced R&D programs.
Example of an FY 2002 Achievement:
Summary: Indicators, Results, and Targets
Indicator #1: Degree of Support for Combatant Commanders' CT Exercise Programs and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS) Sponsored, No-Notice CT Exercise.
FEST participated in two of the Combatant Commanders' national- and international-level counterterrorist exercises.
FEST participated in two national- and international-level counterterrorist exercises and the CJCS-sponsored, no-notice counterterrorist exercise.
No exercises scheduled because of Operation Enduring Freedom.
Co-chaired the CSG Exercise Sub-Group and developed the next 18 month, national- and international-Level exercise schedule.
Finalized Exercise Sub-Group's Operating Charter.
The FEST participates in two of the Combatant Commanders' national- and international-level counterterrorist exercises, the CJCS no-notice exercise, and the National Level Top Officials (TOPOFF) Exercise.
The FEST participates in two national- and international-level counterterrorist exercises and the CJCS-sponsored, no-notice counterterrorist exercise.
Indicator #2: Degree to Which Currently-Funded Technical Support Working Group (TSWG) Research Projects are Completed On-Time and Within Budget and the Degree to Which the Number of Projects Accepted is Increased. (New Indicator)
Seventy-five percent of currently funded research projects completed on time and within budget.
Seventy-five percent of currently funded research projects completed on time and within budget.
Five percent increase in the number of research projects accepted.
Seventy-five percent of currently funded research projects completed on time and within budget.
Five percent increase in the number of research projects accepted.
Means and Strategies by Target
The FEST participates in two national- and international-level counterterrorism exercises and the CJCS-sponsored, no-notice counterterrorism exercise.
• Work closely with the Department of Defense and other USG agencies to develop an exercise scenario that reflects the current counterterrorism threat environment and ensure that it meets USG counterterrorism training requirements.
• Liaise with U.S. embassy country teams and host nation officials to garner the will of other nations to participate; later, coordinate their participation in the exercises.
• Participate in a year-long series of planning conferences to ensure that exercise planning/ preparation are on course and address any diplomatic/ political issues associated with the exercises.
• Ensure that adequate staff are assigned to each exercise.
Complete 75 percent of currently funded TSWG research projects on time and within budget; increase the number of projects accepted by 5 percent.
• Obtain adequate funding.
• Work closely with Department of Defense co-chairs of the TSWG and interagency partners in order to identify the requirements of the counterterrorism community; present those requirements to industry, academia, and federal sources to bid project proposals; and evaluate proposals.
• Prioritize proposals that are deemed acceptable and allocate funding accordingly.
• Utilize cooperative R&D agreements with the United Kingdom, Canada, and Israel to leverage funding contributions.
Summary: Verification/Validation and Crosscutting Activities
Performance Goal 1
Coalition partners identify, deter, apprehend, and prosecute terrorists.
Verification and Validation
The Department's Bureau of Counterterrorism (S/CT) conducts program reviews of all bilateral and multilateral consultations to ensure that they occur, assess the accomplishments of the consultations, and review the status of the program.
The ATA program produces an annual report to Congress that details the accomplishments of the program. In order to ensure that training is having its intended effect, ATA conducts program reviews using course-specific evaluations to assess the unit's skills in the areas for which it was trained.
The UN CTC receives and reviews all reports submitted by member states detailing the states' efforts to implement UNSCR 1373. The U.S. Mission to the UN summarizes the reports in a reporting cable.
Crosscutting Activities
In coordinating bilateral and multilateral consultations with foreign partners the Department coordinates with representatives from other USG agencies, including the Departments of Defense, Justice, and Treasury; the FBI; the CIA; and the NSC, to ensure that appropriate experts are present valuable information exchanges occur.
ATA training is coordinated with other USG agencies through the interagency Training and Assistance Sub-Group, which includes representatives from the FBI and the Departments of Defense, Treasury, and Justice.
Performance Goal 2
U.S. and foreign governments actively combat terrorist financing.
Verification and Validation
• EB monitors the number of names designated under E.O. 13224; EB and IO monitor the number of names submitted to the UN 1267 Sanctions Committee; and EB and IO monitor the number of foreign countries submitting names to the Sanctions Committee.
• S/CT conducts program reviews to ensure the status of the FTO list timeliness of the designation.
• The financial systems assessment team that conducts the assessment and the service providers that conduct training and/or provide technical assistance produce After Action Reports. S/CT conducts program reviews to review the status of the counterterrorism finance training and technical assistance program.
Crosscutting Activities
• The Department designates names under E.O. 13224 in conjunction with the Departments of Justice, the Treasury and Homeland Security. The Department of the Treasury designated certain names under E.O. 13224 in conjunction with the Departments of State, Justice and Homeland Security.
• The Department submits names to the UN 1267 Sanctions Committee following thorough interagency coordination and consultation.
• The Department designates FTOs in conjunction with the Departments of Justice and Treasury.
• In order to counter terrorist financing, the Department works with other USG agencies such as the Departments of Justice, Treasury and Homeland Security; the FBI, and CIA.
Performance Goal 3
Coordinated international prevention and response to terrorism, including bioterrorism
Verification and Validation
• The Counterterrorism Security Group's Exercise Sub-Group will track the progress of both the domestic and international counterterrorism exercise program. The International Counterterrorism Guidelines, signed by the National Security Advisor in January 2001, provides guidance and instructions on carrying-out international counterterrorism response.
• TSWG produces an annual report that assesses the status of current research projects and the ability to accept new projects.
Crosscutting Activities
• In providing support to the Combat Commanders' counterterrorism exercises, the Department coordinates primarily with the FBI, CIA, and the Departments of Defense and Energy.
• The TSWG works with numerous USG agencies including the Departments of Defense, Justice, Treasury, Agriculture, Commerce, Health and Human Services, Energy, and Transportation; the CIA; FEMA; the FBI; and EPA.


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Lightning Chronicles
A. G. Moye's anything and everything blog and his works.
Monday, December 2, 2013
Character Interview
Interview with Neil Armstrong Andrews, Captain of the Marauder!
The one question on every one's mind is; what is it like to make love to an Alien?
Neil laughs then replies, "You have to understand the circumstances. She made herself invisible, coming to me while I was dreaming of making love to my now dead, Carrie. She was cold feeling to me like she was dead, so my dream didn't alert me she was real. In my mind I was kissing her and telling her I loved her still because I thought she was Carrie."
How could you not know?
Again he laughed. "I suspected it was a real person when they left my bed and I woke up. When I viewed the tape and no one was visible but the door to my quarters opened, then closed, I suspected it had to be Sockan, the ghost white female with purple lips" He paused for a minute thinking and then added, "Later, I learned her body temperature was lower than ours, hence the cold feeling along with her lips feeling cold. I guess I was lucky all her body parts were the same as us humans." He chuckled but still blushed, being slightly embarrassed about his actions.
How were you able to put together the group to design and build the Marauder?
His face became serious when he spoke. "I was still unable to leave the state, being on probation from my release from prison, but I used the Internet to my advantage. Through others, I was able to take my basic design and turn it into what you see now. The original ship only needed a few people to operate but when I contacted a others, the Chinese and Australian government became involved after the USA refused to even talk to me. The ship became twice as big as I originally intended, thus the need for a larger crew."
What was the original mission of the Marauder?
"At first it was just to tool around the solar system and visit various planets and moons. Then I was contacted by this Russian that claimed he could build a faster than light drive. It turned out the concept was from another, he just figured out how to make it work. So the mission then was set up to do either, with the stated purpose of a ten year mission to explore."
They didn't want you in command because of your violent past, but since you put up most of the money for the mission, they felt you deserved to be Captain in name only. How did you feel about that?
He just shook his head then thought a moment. "They thought I had a violent temper and was unsuitable for command of the crew. Janice and I were at first adversaries but she realized we had to become a team for this ship to accomplish its mission. The Chinese tried to pull a fast one and place their command team aboard the Marauder, but we had the feeling they would do just that so never kept them posted when it was ready."
So you slipped away? He nodded yes, waiting on my next question.
You mentioned Carrie, who was she?
A pained look crossed his face as he answered. "She was so full of life, always happy with a smile and a song on her lips. She was the best thing that ever happened to me in my life besides winning the lottery. Her death was hard to bear."
He wiped a tear away then looked at me for my next question.
When did you finally feel like you were the Captain in charge?
"Right after the Aliens boarded the Marauder, then I found out what their true intentions were, taking action that everyone believed saved our lives and the ship."
What made you decide to include Aliens as part of your crew?
"At first I was shocked to know that they had survived. I thought when I took off with the Marauder that they were spaced when the connector to the orbiting spaceport was torn in two. Poopa was the one that finally made me realize I had two choices, make them part of the crew or dump them out of the airlock. I chose to accept their word of honor not to harm a single human, even though I knew some were cannibals."
I was just forming my next question when Neil said,
"This is all I have time for right now, I am needed back on the bridge."
With that Neil stood up and offered me his hand to shake, so I did.
Talk Back, I'm listening!
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A. G. Moye
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NWSB Editor and Writer Chris Anderson dishes on why you should love the Portland Timbers after their victory over the Seattle Sounders on Sunday. With the Los Angeles Galaxy up next and the Seattle Sounders right around the corner, the Timbers knew that they had to turn their season around fast. Players mentioned include Kris Boyd, David Horst, and Freddy Montero.
Big win over Sounders FC! Timbers love parade time…
N.Y. Red Bulls vs. Whitecaps FC blog: love 'em & hate 'em
NWSB Editor, Insider and Vancouver Whitecaps writer Chris Anderson brings us his Love Em & Hate Em recap from Wednesday nights match up with the New York Red Bulls. Not a win, but we did earn a point in the 1-1 draw. A fast paced game with a ton of scoring chances, no one could grab the winner. Late goals proved pivotal in this draw, with magnificent play from Martin Bonjour.


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Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the draft agreed on Tuesday did not require tough new measures against Tehran.
But it does call for countries to be vigilant in their trade with Iran, Mr Lavrov said.
Diplomats said on Tuesday the draft agreed by the foreign ministers of the five permanent Security Council members and Germany would impose new sanctions.
Mr Lavrov stressed the draft resolution did not mention strict sanctions, but would call on "countries to be vigilant in developing trade, economic, transport and other relations with Iran so that these relations are not used to transfer illegal, banned materials that can be used in nuclear affairs".
"For as long as the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) has unresolved issues regarding Iran, these restrictions will remain in force," he said.
The new draft envisages direct talks with Tehran that would include the United States, he added.
The draft resolution "confirms that in the case of the fulfilment of all conditions contained in the IAEA decisions, the six [countries] will be ready to start talks with Iran on the entire range of relations including trade and economic relations, security issues," he said.
'Peaceful' programme
The German foreign minister said on Tuesday after talks in Berlin with his counterparts from the US, France, the UK, Russia and China that the powers had agreed to a new draft resolution on fresh sanctions.
The US and its European allies want a third set of sanctions over Iran's refusal to suspend uranium enrichment.
Iran insists its nuclear programme is for energy, not military purposes.
The draft will be submitted by Germany, France and the UK for discussion by the full Security Council.
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Keen Category: Love Advice
Your relationship has progressed to the point where you're ready to commit to living together. It's not quite marriage, but close enough, right? And, after all, this is what you've wanted. You can visualize it now, even before it happens: a happy couple watching movies together, enjoying gourmet dinners and spontaneous affection. Well, you get the idea.
Ok, now for the reality. Before you take this step, there are 5 items you must consider and discuss; topics that absolutely need to be addressed before you so much as drop a box of your things at his/her apartment (or house).
1. Finances. A tough subject to approach, yet it is imperative that you understand what your financial obligations are. Are you splitting everything equally? Mortgage or rent, food, bills, personal items, and more? At the checkout, do you divide that receipt completely in half? IF you feel that you are overwhelmed with too much of the financial burden, you're on fertile ground for a breeding resentment.
2. Household chores. You're not moving in so that your partner gets free maid service, or a yard crew to keep the lawn mowed. Who is going to clean the house? Will chores be shared? What about laundry? Do you each do your own, or is one person going to take care of it? What about doing the dishes after dinner or making the bed and picking up stuff lying around the house?
The point is, you should make a list of all household chores and assign it to either you, you partner, or both. Make sure your list includes everything from taking out the garbage to creating a place for putting mail. You will be so happy you did this.
3. Shopping. Yes, shopping. It's a huge dent in the timetable of your life, yet it needs to be done. Which of you is going to be responsible for ensuring that the grocery list of items makes it to your cupboards? If your partner doesn't "care" what you purchase at the store, or doesn't care to provide any input as to what goes into his or her mouth, lucky you! Except when that same partner complains that there is "nothing to eat" in the house. This task is something that must be assigned to someone - or both of you!
4. Cooking/Meal Preparation. This is a biggie. Does your partner just assume that food will magically appear every night? Who is going to prepare meals? Does your partner expect a huge breakfast? Are you going to be expected to make lunches in the morning as you both frantically get ready for work? Or, maybe you will be expected to prepare them the night before so they are ready when you both go to work? What about dinner? What are your partner's expectations? When it's your partner's turn to cook (if you expect to take turns) are you getting a Lean Cuisine fresh from the microwave, but you are expected to put together a five-course dinner? Okay, so maybe you like to cook. But do you like it when it's expected that you do all the cooking? Again, determine what is acceptable for you both. "If I cook, you clean" and on days that "you cook, I clean" and so on.
5. Entertainment and Television. If you want to watch Gray's Anatomy and he's into Dog the Bounty Hunter, you will totally regret not setting down television rules. Most households have a minimum of two televisions and high-speed Internet, so, basically you can go watch whatever you want. Setting out who rules the remote will save you a ton of argument later. Why? Because maybe the location of your other television set isn't as comfortable as the main one. Maybe your other TV is a 30" flat panel, and the main one is a 55" flat panel. Sound familiar?
Moving in together can signify that you are both very committed to your relationship and to making it work. It should be an exciting time and full of new adventures as you both take the next step with each other. Please, don't get so caught up in the fantasy of what it "will be like" without first addressing the realities of life. If you talk about these things before you move in, it saves a lot of frustration, resentment, and unpleasant surprises after you move in! Now go forth and make it a great Day!


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"Reality, as Nabokov never got tired of reminding us, is the one word that is meaningless without quotation marks."Was Pippa Middleton the beginning of the end?
Penguin would have thought it a sure-fire win. An in-law of the royals (and not just any in-law, but the one the press nicknamed "Her Hotness" when she burst onto the scene at her sister's wedding to the second in line) imparts the secret of -- not curing the King's Evil, no, something much more 'of our time': brilliant parties year round.
They handed Pippa a £400,000 advance, and she handed them Celebrate: a year of British festivities for family and friends. And it flopped! Only 2000 copies sold in its first week. In a nation of 65 million people! Plus the Commonwealth!
It wasn't the first celebrity title to flop -- earlier, a book by Alec Baldwin on fatherhood failed even more spectacularly, not surprisingly, I think you'll agree -- but maybe because of the personality in question, it was the first time I noticed the word "bubble" being used. When was the bubble going to burst on celebrity titles (most often memoirs, naturally, followed by -- you guessed it -- cookbooks)?
Well, it looks as if the answer may be 'Now'. With the 2014 sales figures totted up, and various biggies in the book industry weighing in, including the editor of The Bookseller, whose impeccable adjective they used in their headline, The Guardian reported 'Exhausted' readers shun celebrity memoirs as autobiography sales fall.
I, for one, am not disturbed at the idea that the self-indulgent celebrity memoir (which I once saw described as being either the ghostwritten account of 'How I got to be what I am', or ghostwritten advice on 'How you can get to be what I am') may be going into a tailspin.
The great memoir, on the other hand, is my working week and Sunday rest in this moment of my life. What makes a great memoir? I like what the American writer and memoirist Ta-Nehisi Coates said: "Great memoir requires great courage and an appetite for sincere self-skepticism. To do this, you cannot fucking lie."
My appetite for memoir has become such that I'm even reading a book about the appetite for memoir, David Shields's Reality Hunger. Shields maintains that we are living in the Age of Memoir. "Urgency attaches itself now more to the tale taken directly from life than one fashioned by the imagination out of life", says Shields. "Novel qua novel is a form of nostalgia." I am not sure it is The age of the memoir - but it surely is My age of the memoir. In the sense of, my age. This was the theory also of Geoff Dyer, who was the first writer who drew my attention to this phenomenon -- he called it "Reader's block", though I learned in this book that he didn't invent the term, David Markson did -- of realising, after many years of gorging on them, that you're having a hard time getting excited any more over invented plots and invented characters.
Never say never (and I'm always still up for classics, maybe because characters like Becky Sharp -- Vanity Fair being the next I plan to read -- have by now become real, with quotation marks, pace Nabokov, and I'll be forever grateful to David Shields for his paraphrase quoted above) but right now, I'll take a good memoir over any other book.
And if you are looking for a good memoir, you can't do better than a writerly memoir. Writers do it better! They know how to write, above all. But also, I am a big fan of how often they write a whole book on an aspect of their lives, rather than attempt to set down the whole shebang.
Here are the writerly memoirs I've got on my table right now:
I rearranged the chair and sat at the desk. And then I looked at the walls to check out the power points so I could plug in my laptop. The hole in the wall nearest to the desk was placed above the basin, a precarious socket for a gentleman's electric razor. That spring in Majorca, when life was very hard and I simply could not see where there was to get to, it occurred to me that where I had to get to was that socket. Even more useful to a writer than a room of her own is an extension lead and a variety of adaptors for Europe, Asia and Africa.
Odd, intimate, witty: Revertigo : an off-kilter memoir by Floyd Skloot
I'm actually not sure if the whole book is odd, intimate and witty, as I haven't read it yet, but the last part, which I have read, is. Also touching and heart-breaking. It's about mothers, and about memory, intense and intertwining subjects for anyone over a certain age. A family friend, leafing through an old "East End Temple Young Family Set" recipe book from the 1950s discovers that Skloot's mother, who had never cooked a day in her life, had contributed a recipe for Veal Italienne "Sklootini" to it.
From the moment I saw the recipe, I felt I had to cook it. As avid about cooking as my mother was about not cooking, I saw this as a chance to complete something for her. It would be a tribute to her intention, as I understood it, in submitting the recipe, in presenting herself as the kind of person who cooked such a dish.
Hypnotic, disquieting, hard-boiled: My dark places: an LA crime memoir by James Ellroy, in which "America's greatest crime writer investigates his mother's murder" -- and his obsession with it.
My father put me in a cab at the El Monte depot. He paid the driver and told him to drop me at Bryant and Maple. I didn't want to go back. I didn't want to leave my father. I wanted to blow off El Monte forever. It was hot--maybe ten degrees more than L.A. The driver took Tyler north to Bryant and cut east. He turned on Maple and stopped the cab. I saw police cars and official-type sedans parked at the curb. I saw uniformed men and men in suits standing in my front yard. I knew she was dead. This is not a revised memory or a retrospective hunch. I knew it in the moment--at age ten--on Sunday, June 22nd, 1958. I walked into the yard. Somebody said, "There's the boy." I saw Mr. and Mrs. Krycki standing by their back door. A man took me aside and kneeled down to my level. He said, "Son, your mother's been killed." I knew he meant "murdered."
Fierce, hilarious, astute: The Professor and Other Writings by Terry Castle
A whole 300+ pages of "autobiographical writings" which I'm reading for the second time, there's so much to enjoy: the hilarious "Desperately seeking Susan" recollection of Susan Sontag, "Travels with my mother" about taking her mother (who takes mournful pleasure in noting that Castle is beginning to resemble David Hockney) to see a Georgia O'Keeffe exhibition, and "My heroin Christmas", about a holiday spent under the spell of Art Pepper's Straight Life, a book whose Reality Hunger credentials I vouched for in a "What I'm Reading" from 2010.
Warm, frank, virtuosic: Inside a pearl by Edmund White
If you read lots of Edmund White, you may think you've already read this -- a book on Paris, love, sex, and, in general, being "the kind of guy who always wants to be elsewhere". I did. But no, it's new, and he's still in form, as in:
When I broke up with him (I found the rancid smell of menthol cigarettes daunting), all he did was warn me that I was getting old and should settle down before it was too late. "Tu viellies, Edmond," he hissed. If only he'd known how many more decades of gallantry lay before me. Which didn't stop a reporter from the London Times from calling me and asking me politely, with a nice Oxford stutter, what I thought of "intergenerational sex". I answered him sincerely and described my relationship with Michael, who's twenty-five years younger than me. A few days later, as we were about to board a plane to London, Michael opened a newspaper and found an article about ourselves headlined "The Frisky Old Goat Is Still At It".
Obsessive, personal, loving: Famous builder by Paul Lisicky
I've just noticed the first quote on the back is from none other than the Frisky Old Goat. "This book shows all the vital signs of genius. In Famous builder Paul Lisicky asks the tragic American question: who are you if you've recreated yourself? And he answers it: you are alone, vulnerable and fully loaded."
"Lisicky." What? I try to project my name toward the ridged roof of my mouth. I try to keep my jaw loose, my eyes animated, secure. I think: Smith, Stevens, Bishop. "Li-sick-y," I say again. "Paul Lisicky." How do you spell that? I note the hushed quality of the bank teller's voice, the tender, quizzical lift of her penciled-in brow. She leans in closer to me, palms flattened against the counter as if I've just told her my condition is terminal.
And for those of you who like the classics:
Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell
I can point to one or two things I have definitely learned by being hard up. I shall never again think that all tramps are drunken scoundrels, nor expect a beggar to be grateful when I give him a penny, nor be surprised if men out of work lack energy, nor subscribe to the Salvation Army, nor pawn my clothes, nor refuse a handbill, nor enjoy a meal at a smart restaurant. That is a beginning.


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Well last night I only watch some of a young chow-fat movie so maybe that played a part in my dream. Only issue is I think he's chinese and I watched like 5 minutes of it before the wife told me to turn the tv to cartoons so my son can go to sleep.
My dream started after 7am when I turned off my alarm. I went back to sleep granted my tv was OFF. I began to dream that My clan and I was walking through a bamboo forest and my second in command was a beautiful Japanese woman. I'm black so in my dream was odd I was white with fuedal japan garb on. I went from being in the body to camera man mode to see who I was which resembled woody harelson. No kidding. Well as we moved on we saw a river and the small fortress where we needed to talk to their higher. As I cross all of a sudden I have a pet elephant the size of a dog. yes came out of no where and I had a rope connected to it to my hand and I was its watcher/protector. As we crossed the river a few of the people moved into their small fortress and it became a ghost town. to call them out this is the chant we gave. This chant stood out so much after I woke up I typed it in my smart phone. "Shenza shayu shaku shayu oya" maybe it was my mind just making gibberish. As I looked it up on google I get different meanings; Shaku is "grateful", shayu A large snake, Name of a person protected by the Ashvins, Sleeping, Resting, Oya (Alternative spellings: Oiá, Iansã, Iansan), is the Undergoddess of the Niger River. could not find what shenza could mean. My group and I chanted that like a battle cry many times. The people finally let us in to talk. after that the dream kind of got weird. the elephant understood English. There was an issue it kept pulling away from me. when I talked to it did it like me it gave me a growl, when i asked did it hate me gave an animal yes on top in the eyes it resembled human emotions (best of my description). After a few more minutes I woke up because inside the mini fortress I was in a fancy American high end kitchen all white with food. so then I woke up like huh? maybe its just my mind looking for something to feed off of, IDK. But again that war cry stood out. seem natural to me when rolling off my tongue. hopefully its the best spelling for how its sound. just oya sounded like d-"ay" instead of "a" in about, if you can understand my logic.
Fuedal Japan
Tell us about your first lucid dream - and your latest. We want all the juicy details. Also share results of dream challenge experiments.
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|Slide 10 from Fifty Shades of the Common Core
Reflections and Understanding about Independent Work in the Common Core Literacy Block: Part 3
8 comments
- Miss 27 said...
Thank you so much for taking the time to write and share these last three posts. I love looking into other classrooms. We've had a lot going on in my school and district this year. We have a new superintendent, a new administrator and many, MANY new programs, requirements, schedules and procedures. Not to mention only K-2 use the Common Core Standards and 3-12 use our state standards. That's a whole other issue...
I've been very interested in learning and implementing meaningful independent centers for my first graders. You've given me a lot to ponder and a great place to start tweaking and revising their independent centers.
Thank you again for all you do and share!
- November 07, 2013
- Lisa Gray said...
Hi Jen,
Loved this series of posts! Thank you for sharing. The Shades of Meaning Station is great. I had to move mine away from the Guided Reading Table too. (: Quick question...when do you pull each group for guided reading? Do they have a scheduled time when they come to you or do you pull them from a literacy station?
Thank you,
Lisa Gray
- November 07, 2013
- Carla said...
Oh my...when do you sleep, Jen? What a wonderful post filled with useful tips for application! I just found the Fall fluency sentences from Primary Polka Dots last week, and I love the freebie. Let's face it...what a great motivator to use our students own words for fluency.
Carla @ Comprehension Connection
- November 07, 2013
- Tony Shaw said...
You have a very comprehensive blog Jen. Well done.
- November 09, 2013
- Alvaton Leader in Me said...
I bout your shades of meaning and picture of the day, the day I read this? I love your literacy stations cards and how you have the students names in their numbered groups. Do you sell this on tpt? I'd love to snag a copy!
- November 12, 2013
- Jennifer Jones said...
Email me and I'll send you my cards, etc.
- November 13, 2013
- WillowRoom said...
This post has been so helpful- thank you for sharing your routines with us! I just purchased some of your fluency cards and was wondering how many cards you ask the students to read each day. Do you ask the students to read the cards for three consecutive days and then answer the questions or answer after three rotations at the fluency center? Thanks for your feedback- I want to make sure I'm using the material correctly!
- July 18, 2014
- Elaina Brooks said...
Thank you for the posts! It has been so helpful to read this series just before I really launch our reading workshop. I am a second year teacher and I used Daily 5 last year and didn't feel like I ever quite got the hang of how to make it rigorous or relevant enough to the CCSS. So reading this series has really helped me to see how I can run a reading workshop that build independence and raises the bar.
I have the same question as Lisa: When are you meeting with groups if every group is at a lit center for both rotations? Also, do you use the work done during these centers as evidence for grades? I had a hard time with that last year. Thank you!
- September 01, 2014


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I am linking up for the second week in a row(yay! go me!) with Amber over at My three bittles on her 52 Weeks link up! Random acts of kindness at their finest! Go check her blog out!
So this week was about giving back. I have had some health related questions lately and didn't get the answers I wanted, or that I could understand(let's be honest). Sometimes you are given so much information from a Nurse, or Doctor that it can be absolutely overwhelming and questions that you have are skipped over, or just forgotten. That's were my friend Amanda came in, one of my computer friends ;). Amanda is a Nurse in California and I reached out to her with my questions and for advice. She does this for a living, so I didn't want to bother her with this and made sure it was okay that I asked her if she minded me asking her "nurse questions". Of course being the sweet person she is, she didn't mind at all and I randomly text her my questions, she responds and helps me so incredibly much.
So I mailed her off one of these as a thank you...
...a gift card to her favorite store, Victoria's Secret. Her random acts of kindness in my life, made me want to give back to her. She didn't expect it, nor did she want it. I reached out to her close friend to find out what she liked and sent the gift off. She was soooo thankful and really for what she helped me through, she deserved a lot more.
And that is it! She was happy and I was so grateful for her kindness. I know certain people in certain professions get taken advantage of by friends/family because of what they do for a living. I didn't want her to feel that I was taking advantage of her.


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Pub/Bar of the Month March 2015: The Kings Head, Bristol, UK
The Kings Head, Bristol, UK
Bristol, as any local will tell you, is not short of a decent boozer.
If you're looking for a city for your next pub crawl, the unofficial capital of the West Country will not disappoint and you can take your pick from the latest metropolitan, minimalist specialist beer bars or opt for somewhere more historic.
I'm happy in either but settled on the more traditional offering the last time I paid a visit. The pub I chose was The Kings Head, an assuming little single-roomer, dating from around 1660, on a wide road leading into the city from Temple Meads station.
Squeezed into a terrace of shops, the frontage is modest to say the least. The building is tall but narrow with a single window at ground level. It's not the sort of place to turn heads, unless you know what lies behind the front door.
Inside, the atmosphere is immediately warm and inviting. Victorian-style floral wallpaper offsets a ceiling that's been stained brown over time.
To your immediate right are some seats to take advantage of the natural light from the bay window, some of which sparkles in the glass set into the ancient, ornate bar back.
Room Within a Room
What the room lacks in width it makes up for in length, continuing past the bar stool drinkers at the counter, down a narrow corridor created by a rather wonderful enclosed snug on the right-hand side.
This room within a room is known as the Tramcar Bar, presumably because of its elongated shape and curved extremities. The wall dividing it from the rest of the pub doesn't fully reach the ceiling, so it's not entirely separate, but you can close the door if you want more privacy.
Inside, a settle with red cushions runs along one side, its varnished old woodwork cracked over time but still featuring the bell pushes that once promised waiter service.
A mirrored wall on the other side feigns an impression of breadth and above it runs a gilded frieze that boasts the selection of drinks once popular in the establishment: 'Cordials, London Gin, Jamaica Rum, Irish & Scotch Whiskey, French Brandy, Port & Sherry'.
There's no mention of beer there but that's made up for by a splendid old panel behind the bar advertising 'Burton Ales and Dublin Stout' and also a collection of framed Good Beer Guide 'We are in It!' stickers that reveals the esteem the pub has long enjoyed for its cask ales.
Today, there are five on offer, with West Country breweries as fixtures. Butcombe Gold, Otter Amber and Sharp's ubiquitous Doom Bar are joined by guest beers – on my visit Exmoor Gold and Harveys Sussex.
The beer is clearly enough of an attraction in itself, but if you want to enjoy a little heritage during your city crawl, then The Kings Head is one pub you really shouldn't miss. At the very least it should be your first port of call as you head from the station.
The Kings Head, 60 Victoria Street, Bristol BS1 6DE
Tel. (0117) 929 2338
Opening Hours: 11–11.30; 12–11.30 Saturday; 12–2.30, 6.30–11.30 Sunday