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2 Chamberlain Ave Unit #2
Winthrop MA, 02152
(617) 846-2609
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the office will remain open. All patients are required to wear a mask. Everyone's temperature will be taken. Patients will remain in their vehicles until their appointment. If you have tested postivie for COVID-19, please notify us. Please click HERE to read more.
Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD) is a health problem involving the arteries that lead away from the core of your body, towards the periphery. (Legs, Arms and Head.) As a person ages the inside of their arteries become narrower as plaque deposits there. Due to decreased amount of blood, the tissues that the arteries supply get less oxygen and nutrients. This can cause cramps in muscles and even poor healing of cuts and bruises.
(Picture of PAD from http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov)
The risk factors associated with this disease are diabetes, smoking, uncontrolled levels of cholesterol in your blood and high blood pressure. Together these problems are the perfect storm in which PAD may develop over time.
**** Even if an artery in your leg becomes completely blocked by plaque, the lower part of your leg may still be receiving blood from other arteries that take over its workload! This is called collateral circulation. ****
One of the best ways to protect against PAD is to have your doctor monitor you for health problems that put you at risk and remove other risk factors within your control. With that being said, an Ankle-brachial Index (ABI) is a simple and painless test that your doctor can perform to diagnose PAD.
(Picture of an ABI being performed from http://www.svnabi.org)
Your brachial blood pressure, taken from both arms, is measured against the blood pressure taken from arteries on the top of your foot and the back of your leg. These measurements are then used in a formula to determine if the disease is present, and if so, at what level. In addition to arterial tests, many machines used to calculate ABI also measure the venous return in a patient to evaluate them for venous insufficiency simultaneously.
If you are diagnosed with PAD there are several treatment options depending on the severity of the disease. Medications for Blood Pressure, High Cholesterol, Unregulated Blood Sugar levels and medicine to prevent blood clots form forming may all be prescribed to help treat Peripheral Artery Disease. In the worst cases, where clots have completely occluded an artery, surgery may be deemed necessary to re-establish the blood flow.
PAD screenings should be a valuable tool in assessing your vascular health, especially in the lower extremity. PAD testing is performed in the office and is covered by most insurance plans. It is a mandatory test for diabetics, those with a family history of PAD and other vascular disorders. Dr. Garibaldi and Dr. Harper both utilize these methods to provide the best care they can for you and your family.


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Ways to Help
The Foundation relies on generous donations from members of Tri Sigma, friends and families, and alumnae/collegiate chapters. Corporations often match gifts made to the Foundation. Learn about the different funds you can give to and make an impact with a gift today!
Get Involved
We are always looking for interested Tri Sigmas to serve on one of a Foundation committees or Board. For more information, email Meghan Ward-Bopp Paden, Foundation Executive Director, at email@example.com.

subset: commoncrawl


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Minister of Public Works and Transport Kemal Dürüst has responded to the allegations made by the Greek Cypriot administration regarding Ercan Airport.
Recently, the Greek Cypriot administration, launched a campaign in the press, alleging that flights to and from Ercan Airport jeopardize flight safety.
Accusations that Ercan Airport constitutes a flight safety risk and the statements about the possibility of an accident are totally unrealistic Minister Dürüst said.
"Ercan Airport continues to operate safely today, as it did yesterday, and operates under International Civil Aviation Rules.
"The Greek administration claims that Nicosia FIR has to make interventions because of flight safety are totally unfounded and have a political agenda.
"Their representations are published for political purposes, and Ercan Air Traffic Controllers fulfil their obligations under international standards with trained personnel and the latest technological equipment.
The attempts of the Greek Cypriot administration to bring Ercan Airport into disrepute are deliberate. The whole of Ercan State Airport has developed from day to day and services are to international standards. This attitude of the Greek Cypriot administration stems from the fact that they assert that they are the only ones who have legitimate control of the Nicosia FIR (Flight Information Area).
Within the scope of SMART Programme, Ercan State Airport is among the airports such as Ankara, Istanbul, Izmir, Dalaman and Antalya airports that are equipped with the latest technology .
The assertion that Ercan State Airport poses the danger of a mid air collision over Cyprus air space and does not abide by the International Civil Aviation Organisation rules (ICAO), does reflect reality. All flights are safe. With the technological equipment that is available, the risk of accidents is at the lowest level," Dürüst said.
Kibris Postasi


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Playa las Americas Resort
Playa de Las Americas Beach is a tourist Mecca built at the end of the 1960's. It is adjacent to Los Christianos and the Adeje Coast locally know as Costa Adeje. Virtually free from the Canarian culture, it is a place where many people from northern Europe frequent throughout the year (higher in winter) due to its favorable geographic location and what some call eternal spring time. Recognized as a budget destination for some and up market for others, the now slang named Las Americas has been the primary destination for millions of European tourists for over 2 generations. Youngsters who came as adolescents who are now mothers and fathers have their sons and daughters visit Las Americas to repeat their youth and due to the safe and secure nature inspired by local authorities and local councils.
Massive development has allowed Las Americas to constantly reinvent itself over the years from the heady booze and fun vacations of the 80´s to today's pedestrian quarters lined with first rate hotels and restaurants. A mix and match setup that appears to appeal to all segments holidaymakers and vacationers alike.
With some streets full of British pubs, fish and chips restaurants, pizza parlors and other fast food establishments – it's like being at home for Brits who are not keen on Spanish food and wish to spend the night in the best night places and enjoy the days at the beach taking a sleep after a party night. For the non British visitor areas such as Fañabe and Costa Adeje offer a more cosmopolitan air along with the 5 star hotels and luxurious shopping in areas such as El Duque.
Its sun and leisure activities make it a paradise for the young. Long strolls along the extensive pedestrian coast are an absolute must at sunset. Its lovely man-made beaches are always crowded and nights are full of lights and noise. Tops for weather year round Las Americas is a guaranteed destination for those looking for sun and true service throughout Europe's colder months.
The dynamics of Playa De Las Americas and its continued renewal and refinement make it a destination to keep visiting even after a short time away for the dramatic changes that appear to follow trends dictated by the best European destinations.


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And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. ~Romans 8:28
In my previous post, A new hope, I shared with you the story of how I met Sarah-Jane. It's a fun and great story. But now it's important to add some texture to the story that helps you see there is much more to it than two people "connecting" via an internet website.
First of all, the most fundamental part of my life is my faith as a Christian. Having everything in the world in common, without this, would be pointless. With that in mind, the website I used was a Christian-themed service. However, just because it has Christian in the name, it doesn't mean everyone there shares your beliefs and values. So finding a pretty face and an engaging personality wasn't going to be enough.
While on the surface, being 3,000 miles away is inconvenient, to say the least, it does force you to really get to know one another without distractions. Of course, I would say nothing negative about the conventional method of dating and getting to know one another. But there is something about the way Sarah-Jane and I are wired, as well as difficult experiences from our past, that lead me to believe this was absolutely the perfect way for us. Besides, how else was I going to find the perfect woman hiding out in Rhode Island, of all places? We are each very deep feelers. What I mean by that is that we are very emotional people. As such, we are each vulnerable to getting carried away with emotions prematurely. But the distance really gave us no other choice but to talk about everything.
In doing so, we discussed our spiritual beliefs and values in great depth. We discussed just about everything you could think of. Money. Church. Ministry. Goals. Dreams. Disappointments. Heartbreaks. Families. We laughed…a lot. We even cried. We dealt with our fears, both real and imagined. We discussed very difficult topics. Even awkward ones.
In every single detail, we found incredible compatibility. There has never been a single thing in which either one of us have said, "I disagree, but we can work that out."
In all the topics we covered, among so many other "little" things, I found everything leading straight to God. I call them "bread crumbs". From things that, in and of themselves, don't determine compatibility, to very deep and personal things, everything left a trail straight to the feet of our Lord. The first of which is her name. Sarah-Jane. As I mentioned previously, my mom's first and middle names were Sarah Jane. Does this detail mean we're meant to be together? Of course not. But it sure is something more than a coincidence. Let me share with you why it's significant to me.
The day my mother was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer, we knew she only had weeks to live. As I sat alone with her in her hospital room that day, I was staring at the TV, but really, my focus was a million miles away. I thought Mom was asleep, but then she stirred for a moment. As I turned my head, I saw that she was looking at me. Then she said these words to me.
Who will pray for you when I'm gone?
She's been gone since March 20, 2009. I lost my number one human advocate. But in God's unmistakeable, unmatchable way, He has given me another Sarah-Jane who has taken up the mantle of praying for me with a heart of love and devotion.
Bread crumbs to the heart of God.
Many years ago, Sarah-Jane's grandmother told her something that has always stuck with her. Sarah-Jane's birthday is May 25. Her oldest son's birthday is September 25th. Sarah-Jane's grandmother's birthday was also on the 25th of the month. Her grandmother told her that special things will happen in her life relating to the 25th.
My birthday is February 25th, and my mom's was October 25th.
Bread crumbs.
Yes, these things may seem coincidental in nature. Maybe they are. Personally, I am not a believer in coincidence. At least, not when they relate to big things in life. Remember, these things are not what our relationship is based on. They are simply very cool details that God gives us to show He is in those very details. Whatever it is in your life that leads you to giving Him glory and praise…it's of God. End of story.
I also find the bread crumbs in the fact that we have this distance between us during this process. With her blessing, I'm sharing this detail about her. Due to some heartbreaks in her life, it was very important to her, even more than she knew at the time, to find someone who would fight for her. Someone who would be willing to overcome obstacles, who would battle inconvenience in order to pursue her. During this process, she has seen my determination. Something she has never felt before. I don't say this to lift myself up. It's simply to say that God knows what we need before we do. He knows the things we need to see in others, and ourselves, in order to receive and appreciate His blessings in our lives.
I shared a quote from Thomas Paine with her some time ago. I felt it summed up my feelings on overcoming obstacles in pursuing God's will. And with this, I'll close this post. Tomorrow, I'll share with you the feelings and events that led up to our initial face-to-face meeting.
What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly; it is dearness only that gives everything its value.


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Colorado Roadless Rule and DEIS Available for Public Comment
Proposed Colorado Roadless Rule and Draft Environmental Impact Statement Available for Public Comment; Public Open Houses Planned
Denver, CO, July 25, 2008 – Today the U.S. Department of Agriculture (Department) published in the Federal Register the proposed Colorado Roadless Rule to address the management of roadless areas on National Forest System (NFS) lands within the state of Colorado. The associated draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) is posted on the U.S. Forest Service Web site at http://roadless.fs.fed.us/colorado.shtml
People will have 90 days to comment on the proposed Colorado Roadless Rule. The comment period for the DEIS will begin on the day the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency publishes the Notice of Availability (NOA) in the Federal Register and will end the same day as the comment period for the Rule, which is October 23, 2008.
The U.S. Forest Service Rocky Mountain Region and the State of Colorado will host eight open houses for the public across the state the last two weeks of August as well as a July 29 meeting in the Washington, D.C. area to facilitate understanding of the proposed rule and provide comment opportunities.
The proposed rule and DEIS culminate ongoing, intensive, and cooperative work with the Colorado Governor´s office that began in 2005. The undertaking also represents the State of Colorado´s support for a roadless area protection strategy after years of concern over the effects of the 2001 Roadless Conservation Area Rule to the State of Colorado and its residents.
"Collaboration among the State of Colorado, local communities, and the U.S. Forest Service has resulted in a proposed roadless rule that provides the most effective way to manage and conserve National Forest System roadless areas in Colorado," said Colorado Department of Natural Resources Deputy Director Mike King.
The proposed Colorado Roadless Rule would conserve the natural integrity and character of Colorado roadless areas. It prohibits road building and tree cutting except for limited circumstances similar to those under the 2001 Rule as well as specific Colorado exceptions. These include temporary roads needed for fuels treatment to protect communities; roads needed to construct or maintain water and utility infrastructure; and temporary roads for exploration or development of the North Fork coal mining area.
The proposed rule would correct roadless area boundaries based on updated inventories.
"We are asking for public comments on how the rule has balanced national and local interests in the conservation and management of national forest roadless areas in the state of Colorado," said Rocky Mountain Regional Forester Rick Cables.
The State of Colorado Roadless Area Task Force completed significant public involvement activities in 2006. The proposed rule is built on ideas and concerns raised during that public involvement effort.
The rulemaking process began when then–Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns accepted Colorado´s petition in August 2007 and directed the Forest Service to begin rulemaking with Colorado as a cooperating agency. The Secretary´s decision followed the recommendation of the Roadless Area Conservation National Advisory Committee (RACNAC) to accept the Colorado petition. The RACNAC, which includes diverse representatives from the environmental community, industry, outdoor recreation and state and local government, was formed by the Secretary in 2005 to bring a national perspective to the state–specific petition and rulemaking process.
A notice of intent to prepare an EIS on "Roadless Area Conservation; National Forest System Lands in Colorado" was published in the Federal Register, December 26, 2007 (246, FR 72982).
The process will culminate with release of the final rule, EIS, and record of decision.
Additional Information, Comments or Questions
a. Information on the Colorado Roadless Rule and planned public meetings is available at http://roadless.fs.fed.us/colorado.shtml
b. Specific questions regarding the Roadless Rule or Draft EIS:
- Citizens with specific questions should call the Roadless Rule information line at 303–275–5567.
- News media: Contact the USFS Rocky Mountain Region Public Affairs Office at 303–275–5354.
c. Citizen Comments:
- Comments can also be mailed to Roadless Area Conservation – Colorado, P.O Box 162909, Sacramento, CA 95816–2909 or faxed to 916–456–6724.
- Hits: 4464


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I am a resident of Old Lyme and when my husband and I were told to evacuate we asked our dear friends Ed and Cindy Scarpati of Prospect if we could stay with them until the storm passed. We moved in with them on Sunday, Oct. 28 and while we were there several red alert phone messages came in from the Prospect Mayor Bob Chatfield.
I was so impressed how informative his messages were and his genuine concern for the residents of Prospect. He continued to leave messages for several days keeping everyone aware of what was going on in town. More towns should have a mayor that is genuinely concerned about their towns' residents. Thank you Mayor Bob.
Maureen Swarts
Old Lyme


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Alicia Klein
Vegan Taxi Wallet - Houdini - Magic Circus
Regular price $ 34.50
$ 0.00
The Imagery Collection: Bright prints on coated canvas, leather-free/vegan. The Magic Circus wallet celebrates the mystique of magicians like Houdini as well as colorful circus performers of old.
Features and Benefits :
- 3.5"w x 4"h x .5"d - an easy fit in a front pocket or small handbag
- gusseted coin pocket
- two card pockets hold 8 - 10+ cards. Inside coin pocket for extra security / outside center pocket for handy access to train or bus pass, hotel key, club membership, business and other card
- divided currency compartment to organize bills and receipts
- interior snap tab closure
- curved corners for comfortable front pocket wearability
- Gift packaged
Taxi Wallet® is a U.S. Registered Trademark of Vallavista Corporation.


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The last time I went to Houston and was browsing in Anthropologie, I came across the adorable creature kingdom hardware pieces they have. When I was thinking about things to make for Miss J's room, I remembered them and really wanted to make a place for her to hang her clothes, dress up stuff, etc. using one or more of those hooks.
Then, one day, I was looking around in Marshall's and spotted a silver deer hook. I immediately knew that I could make my own bronzed hook and for less money too.
I bought the hook for $5.99 (and I'm sure you can find these at places like TJ Maxx and Home Goods too. We don't have those here, so it's either Marshall's or Ross for me). Then I headed over to Lowe's and bought the two side hooks and this spray paint, Valspar Metallic in classic bronze. I can't remember if it was $3.98 or $4.98, so I counted it as $4.98 in my expense round up above.
I spray painted the hooks and was so pleased with the result! The spray paint went on perfectly and smooth. And now I still have a whole can to use on other projects. Plus, my daughter loves her little hanging station now. It's all part of a plan to make being responsible a bit more fun. She is enjoying picking out her clothes and putting them out so they are ready to go the next day.
Don't you just love it when a diy presents itself and you weren't even trying? Me too 🙂


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The Pakistani Telecommunications Authority has ordered the nation's mobile networks to implement a list filtering out almost 1,700 words described as "offensive and obscene" - but the chosen words have left many confused as to how the list was compiled in the first place.
Distributed to mobile networks on the 14th November, the list includes words and phrases deemed to be unsuitable for written communication by the nation's leaders. Sadly, while the list of Urdu words seems relatively straightforward, the banned English words are causing slightly more confusion.
"There are more than 1,600 words in the list including indecent language, expletives, swear words, slang etc, which have to be filtered," an unnamed source at a Pakistani mobile provider told AFP (opens in new tab) on the promise of anonymity, describing the censorship as "not good for the system."
In addition to a variety of obscenities too blue for publication here, the PTA has insisted that any SMS or MMS messages containing the words "creamy," "dome," "finger food," "glazed donut," "hobo," "hoser," "K Mart," "kumquat," "oui" and "Stagg."
As a result, Pakistani citizens will be prevented from ordering a dome constructed from tasty glazed donuts with creamy filling from a major US retail chain for use as finger food at a French-themed party to feature a main course comprised of a famous brand of chilli con carne with added fruits from a small tree in the Rutaceae family, to which travelling gentlemen of no fixed abode are welcomed alongside stereotyped Canadians.
Other perfectly innocuous terms filtered by the list include "backdoor," "breast," "Budweiser," "cocky," "deposit," "dope," "drunk," "femme," "harder," "headlights," "hostage," "hustler," "idiot," "joint," "period," "pussycat," "red light," "showtime," "spit," "tit," "tramp," "trisexual" and "virgin."
Two interesting entries on the list are "Dahmer," presumably a reference to notorious serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, and "Jack The Ripper," who find themselves on the same list as "gay" and "gay pride" as being objectionable to the Pakistani authorities.
A version of the list containing just the English - and, occasionally, French - language words and currently circulating on the web appears itself to be censored: entries 1,072 to 1,074 inclusive, which can be found between "upthebutt" and "urinate," are missing.
Thus far, the Pakistani Telecommunications Authority has not responded to a request for comment on the list, which is believed to be due to go live later today.


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I am exceptionally excited that Seneca and the Ethics of the Family has had an extremely positive review from Brad Inwood on the Bryn Mawr Classical Review, which is the classics review platform of note. It is the sort of review that starts to get to grips with your actual ideas and offers some genuine thoughts about the big picture stuff, which is really the best sort of BMCR to get in my view. It's also particularly because Brad Inwood is a really important voice in the field of Seneca studies who I hadn't had any previous contact with – it's great to find not only that he thinks the work has merit, but also that he's happy to say that to the BMCR readership.
June 8, 2017
January 15, 2015
New publication: review of The Oxford Anthology of Roman Literature
In the general spirit of 'every little helps', I'm delighted to share that my notice/short review of The Oxford Anthology of Roman Literature has appeared in the latest edition of The Classical Review. This was quite a fun one to write, mainly because of trying to get as much information as humanly possible into five hundred words and still provide a fair and accurate impression of what the book was about!
The bonus of the piece being quite that short is that it fits on one page of the journal and thus the preview page is essentially the whole thing! If you're interested, you can read it here.
November 25, 2014
Book review: The Ancient Curse – Valerio Massimo Manfredi
I understand Manfredi has written a number of classically-inspired works; this is the first I have read. It roams a little outside the usual realm of these things, because it decides to play not with the Romans but with the Etruscans, the civilization which preceded the Romans to the north of their city. The Etruscans are notoriously tricky to get a handle on, not least because reading Etruscan is a nightmare (helped mainly by texts written in parallel with Latin versions), and very little of it has survived. Manfredi builds his story on an actual bit of Etruscan culture, a thing called a Phersu which appears most famously in a tomb painting from the so-called Tomb of the Augurs. (If you're interested, there's a recent article about the state of Phersu research freely available here, and some reasonable photos of the frescos here.) Manfredi does not restrict himself to the scholarly consensus (or whatever its condition was in 2001 when the book first appeared); instead, he takes the nuggets of scholarly work and builds up a story that suits himself – one which he can then use to build up a plot that mixes supernatural terror with a police procedural murder whodunit. The Ombra Della Sera statue also plays a significant role in unravelling the mystery of what happened centuries ago and how it is connected to a modern case of tomb robbery.
I will freely admit that the Etruscans are not my home turf and so I can't really comment on Manfredi's manipulation of the ancient sources. However, a couple of things stand out. The first is the way Manfredi makes the fragmentary knowledge of the Etruscans a feature rather than a bug – part of the problem faced by his investigators is that they know so little of Etruscan culture, heritage and language that they are often groping in the dark for hypotheses. Yet at the same time, Manfredi's authorial voice allows him to claim knowledge of what Etruscan life was really like, particularly in a flash-back at the end of the novel to the events which ended in the tomb around which the plot revolves. There's an interesting interplay between the supposed 'lost' world of the Etruscans, the contemporary characters' lack of knowledge about it, and the author's imaginative reconstruction of what fills in the gaps. It's actually a really nice illustration of why fiction can help us think about academic subjects with a freedom that we don't have in rigorously formal academic writing (although obviously the usefulness of that depends on how much attention is paid to the things that academics think can't be ignored, but that's by the by).
March 4, 2014
Book review: Shadow of the Minotaur – Alan Gibbons
During my big trawl for books that were retelling the Minotaur myth in the context of London, I was pointed towards Shadow of the Minotaur. I didn't get my hands on it in time for the deadlines I was working towards, which actually is just as well – it's located not in London, but Brownleigh, somewhere whose main characteristic is very pointedly not being London. However, it's an interesting addition to my thoughts about how myth and place and space interact, particularly as the Minotaur seems to be a myth which offers a lot of scope for that kind of interpretative engagement.
Shadow is the first in The Legendeer trilogy, and while I haven't read the second and third books, I think I can see where we're going. From a literary point of view, I have to say that Shadow isn't particularly thrilling – it's fairly standard Young Adult 'young man coming to terms with his identity and this whole growing up thing and how he feels about his parents and adolescence and not fitting in and STUFF', which is all good standard material and themes, but I don't think the writing is strong enough to make it have an appeal beyond its target audience. However, from the classical reception point of view, Gibbons does a very interesting thing. He makes the entry-point into the world of myth a computer game, which turns out to not actually be a game, but a world existing in parallel to our own which has come under the control of the Gamesmaster.
September 18, 2013
Book review: Lavinia – Ursula Le Guin
There are two things I should fess up before we begin. First, I love Ursula Le Guin's Earthsea series. The Tombs of Atuan in particular formed a far larger part of my childhood's imaginative backdrop than it perhaps should have done. Second, I have a really uneasy relationship with classical reception books set in actual classical periods. It's one of the reasons I've yet to pick up Madeline Miller's Song of Achilles, despite the critical acclaim it has received, and it's one of the reasons that it took the SFF conference to shame me into picking up Lavinia at long last, despite the warm welcome it received among classicists. This is, I hasten to add, an extremely personal thing, and I don't mean for one minute to suggest that texts which try to rewrite or write alongside classical texts are a bad thing – that the Song of Achilles won the Orange Prize for Fiction in 2012 and Lavinia won the Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel in 2009 sort of undermines that line of argument anyway. But from my personal vantage point as a reader, I find these sorts of works vaguely unsatisfactory. I can't quite explain why. I suspect I'm not the only person to have this sort of reaction – when I said that I was reading Lavinia on Twitter, somebody responded to say that it was their favourite piece of classical reception, especially those parts which didn't retell the Aeneid. But I digress.
Lavinia is a conscious decision to take one of Virgil's most underplayed yet most important characters and put flesh on her literary bones. Lavinia, as I am sure you will all remember, is the princess of Latium, daughter of King Latinus, who will eventually marry Aeneas, give him a son, and thus begin the whole dynasty that will toddle on down to Augustus and Virgil's Rome. When Aeneas turns up, she is being courted by a variety of suitors, the chief of whom is Turnus; his outrage at Aeneas' interest in Lavinia is what causes war to erupt between the Trojans and the native Italians. So far, so standard patriarchy – woman as symbolic of rule of the realm, politics played out on the female body, and so on. Yet for a woman who is basically symbolic of whether we get to have Augustan Rome or not, Lavinia is weirdly absent from the poem – she does not speak, and her biggest moment is when her hair catches fire next to an altar during a sacrifice. Both her father and mother speak a lot for her, but there's not really any substance to her – she remains unrealised, a blank parchment upon which to impose the future empire.
August 20, 2013
Book review: Coalescent – Stephen Baxter
I picked up Coalescent because it was recommended in a panel at Swords, Sorcery, Sandals and Space – mind you, so were plenty of other books, but Coalescent got to the top of the queue because it felt like a good choice for summer holiday reading. I'm not going to discuss it from an SF perspective, mainly because I don't know the genre well enough to comment on how it tessellates with those expectations. What I found particularly interesting was the way that Baxter uses Roman Britain and late antiquity as a space for constructing a science fiction narrative which has consequences which spread into the distant future.
Warning: here be spoilers.
January 17, 2013
February 14, 2012
Book Review: On Not Knowing Greek – Virginia Woolf
Alright, this is technically more of an essay review than a book review, but never mind. Woolf's short essay is included in a collection of her criticism published by Hesperus, and while the other essays collected in this brief volume do look interesting, I want to concentrate just on this one for today. There's an electronic version of the text here, although the Greek quotations don't come through.
I should start by pointing out that for Woolf to write an essay on not knowing Greek was actually rather pointed in 1925, when the piece was first published. At that stage, in terms of the education of women, while Newnham and Girton were now well established at Cambridge, and Jane Harrison, Eugenie Strong and their successors had amply demonstrated women's competence in the field of classics, women still were not being given access to the same educational tools as men. Prep schools still put little boys into Latin at five or six, and Greek not long after, meaning that the girls who first encountered the languages later in the schoolroom were already many years behind their male peers. (This still happens – I first started Latin at age twelve, and then at Cambridge found myself in the company of young men who had started at six or seven, and even that difference created a confidence gap. Let's not mention my Greek, which I first began during my gap year, meaning I lagged behind anyone who had had the chance to do GCSE, let alone A-level.) For a female writer in the 1920s to talk about not knowing Greek was a markedly deliberate act, a spikier version of which appears in A Room of One's Own. It's a statement about privilege, about opportunity, about social status, about gender and about class.
That said, Woolf doesn't follow the point that the title implicitly makes (and arguably she doesn't need to). In fact, her implicit dialogue with her title continues since she demonstrates that she actually knows Greek well enough to pick apart the language and comment on "useless" translations. The 'not knowing' to which her title refers is instead the inability to know how the Greeks thought, to pick up the resonances that the original reader would have heard – the foreign language holds us in thrall, but we cannot fully grasp its power. The only way to get anywhere close is to get back to Greek in the original, and Woolf devotes several paragraphs at the end of the essay expounding on the inherent beauty of the language.
Her overall point fastens on a central tenet of early twentieth century ways of thinking about antiquity – that the Greeks reflect something somehow pure. The characters of plays who have since become familiar types, like the King and the Queen, have a freshness: "here we meet them before their emotions have been worn into uniformity". The Greeks become archetypal, even down to the language itself – "then, spare and bare as it is, no language can move more quickly, dancing, shaking, all alive, but controlled". This balance of vitality and restraint is what draws Woolf to Greek, as does the sense of the Greeks' paradoxical innocence: "their actions seem laden with beauty because they do not know that they are beautiful, have been born to their possessions, are no more self-conscious than children, and yet, all those thousands of years ago, in their little islands, know all that is to be known".
The academic in me is, of course, brimming over with comments about unhelpful attitudes to the purity of Greece and how that fits into a cultural contruct of Greece vs. Rome and general ideas of moral and artistic integrity associated with Greek and how that fits into wider social interpretations of the classical world. But all of that scholarly background noise doesn't detract from the beauty of Woolf's own writing – her own sparseness of expression, her own engagement with the texts, and her own very deliberate proof that, actually, she does know Greek.
January 24, 2012
Book review: The Good Supervisor – Gina Wisker
Back at the end of October, I went for an afternoon of supervisor training. The point of this experience was so that I could get a bit of advice on how to go about providing useful feedback to the undergraduate dissertation students who have been placed in my tender care this academic year. While my experience with my writing group has given me some experience with how to provide useful feedback, the power dynamic with peers is very different to that with students and, as became clear during the session, there are important differences between how one deals with undergraduates and graduate students.
During that training session, one of the books we were pointed to as a further resource was The Good Supervisor, which deals in the main with how to deal with Masters and doctoral students, although there is some discussion of how to transfer the concepts to undergraduate students (namely, remembering that the average undergraduate thesis is not going to be considered for publication and is thus allowed to be a little less ambitious and more directed than would be expected of graduate-level work). The contents page certainly promises a comprehensive survey of the issues a supervisor will experience, from managing your first contact with a student to how to provide after-viva care. (more…)
January 2, 2012
Book Review: The Lake of Dead Languages – Carol Goodman
A friend passed this on to me, saying that I would enjoy it immensely – and he was right. The Lake of Dead Languages is a murder mystery set at a girls' boarding school, The Heart Lake School for Girls, in the Adirondacks. The protagonist, Latin teacher Jane Hudson, is an old girl of the school who has come back to take up the position that has not been successfully filled since her own school days, when she was involved in a particularly nasty set of suicides that implicated the then-Latin teacher, Magistra Helen Chambers. Whispers of the curse of the school are raised when the pattern seems to be repeating itself – but could there be more to it than that?
Well, the answer is 'obviously', but the novel manages to weave its tale very cleverly indeed, and it took me a while to cotton on to what was going on (although I should add that I'm normally quite bad at guessing these things anyway). The book's strength is that the truth about what happened in the last year that Jane spent at Heart Lake is gradually revealed during her first year there as teacher; memories, new evidence and fresh realisations are pieced together by Jane as much as by the reader, and it's a nice twist on the unreliable narrator trope to make the narrator unreliable because she is not in full possession of the facts rather than because of deliberate deceit on her part. (more…)


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A really busy week it's been… So much so that I should have put up a "blog on vacation" sign in advance to make you all aware but I was too caught up in my situation I didn't really think about it until yesterday hence the mini-hiatus post. I will create a "blog on vacation" page in case I'll need it again for any future hiatus.
This wonderful day was lovely but very long. We had another family communion that we needed to attend. As the previous outfit we had bought for LO didn't fit we had to skip the church and go looking for an outfit. We managed to find a really cute pair of jeans from George by Asda which was cheap and cheerful. It also went really well with his denim shirt and brown moccasins shoes. I also did finger coils in his hair which lasted all day, which I am very surprised about.
We actually didn't get home from the communion party until 1:30am as it was our family gathering we had to stay behind to help out and both daddy and I don't drive so we had to wait for a lift from the family. LO was still full of beans – probably from the can of fizzy pop he drank at the party.
Our Sunday was a lie-in for us and time to recover. Daddy had to leave early for Manchester to watch the live game between Man. United vs Arsenal which was a "good game" (daddy's words). For LO and I, we stayed in all day and Lils came round – LO was thrilled to see him. We had a late dinner as no-one got up until 10/11am and had couscous with broccoli and some of the leftover fried chicken and goat meat from the party. It was delish! 🙂


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Jimi Hendrix once said that music doesn't lie. "If there is something to be changed in this world," he stated, "then it can only happen through music." And that's what Maryland-raised rapper Logic has devoted himself and his work to.
Born Sir Robert Bryson Hall II, Logic is unapologetically unlike most others in the business. Anyone who follows his career knows he isn't about the lifestyle so much as the message. The 27-year-old bi-racial musician grew up in poverty, and through his rise to fame, he's stayed true to a goal of advocating for equality, love and respect.
"I looked at where we are in the world and realized that millions of people listen to my voice, and I do have a voice," Logic said in an interview with Rolling Stone about his gold-certified album Everybody. The album speaks to topics like drug abuse, racism, domestic violence, suicide and mental health.
In terms of the issues the album tackles, Logic leaves no stone unturned, and fittingly, his music has touched so many. Millions came out for the first leg of the Everybody's Tour that began in Salt Lake City on July 7 and lasted through August 26 in Toronto — and director/photographer Mike Holland has been there for it all.
Holland, 23, is in charge of tour photography, but also manages other media content with director/photographer Justin Fleischer including the Everybody documentary on the iTunes deluxe album.
Holland describes the Everybody's Tour as the "live version of the album, which stands for peace, love, positivity and acceptance of anybody no matter who you are." As the lyrics state in 'Take It Back,' Logic's message is one of "equality for every man, woman and child regardless of race, religion, colour, creed and sexual orientation."
Life on tour is both demanding and fun. "Yes there's a lot of celebrating and some partying, but it's a lot of work," Holland says. "If you treat every night like the weekend it will catch up to you. But mainly it's nonstop travelling, which is exhausting, but equally amazing because you get to see so much of the country and world."
Holland talks about how he appreciates the ability as a photographer not only to experience great music, but also to "take a time out and look into the crowd." Seeing fans' reactions to the music, seeing them laugh and cry, creates the magic that translates through Holland's lens. "You can see how personally it affects so many people…and everyone in the crowd becomes a family. People go to these concerts by themselves, and by the end, they leave with a whole new group of friends."
Up until recently, Holland captured these moments on a camera he's used for six years — a Canon 5D Mark III — the same camera he used to make skateboarding videos back in high school. But there's nothing lackluster about the photos taken during the Everybody's Tour. Holland's technique, developed from raw talent, makes for remarkable shots regardless of equipment.
Holland says there are photos he's required to take every show such as close-ups and ones of each crowd. But the "perfect shot," for him, isn't during these moments, it is "the moment that's captured beautifully and can't be replicated in another show." And each performance merits instances like this: when Logic brings someone on stage or "funny, unexpected" bits unique to that night.
Holland continues, "We had 32 shows on tour, and it's really refreshing to have moments like that, that you haven't captured the other 31 times."
Holland actually broke his ankle on the first day of the Everybody's Tour. When Logic's management offered to bring in another photographer, Holland said he wouldn't have it because he'd been "waiting so long for this." For almost five weeks of the six-week tour, he figured out how to climb flights of stairs and navigate entire amphitheatres in a boot.
Like a true pro, Holland learned to be efficient. But he's used it — this wasn't his first time roaming the world with Logic and his crew. This marks his fourth official tour, and it all started on the Welcome to Forever Tour back in 2013 based on the musician's fourth mixtape. Holland was just a freshman in college, and he'd miss weeks of school at a time and says it wasn't easy. That tour, where Logic performed in small ballrooms or large bars instead of packed arenas, was a completely different experience for him.
"I just knew a lot of mutual friends who connected me to the Logic camp back when I was a freshman," Holland explains. "When I started with Logic in 2013 we traveled in one caravan that hooked up to a truck. … There was no catering and the shower situation was dismal. Now, we travel on four different high-end tour buses to every city. We get our own hotel rooms on the off-days. I'm just glad I did the struggle tour first so I can really appreciate this now."
During the first tour, Holland says that Logic gave him specific instructions about what he wanted for creative content. But now, even if the rapper, who Holland describes as "super hands-on," has an idea of what he wants photographed or documented, there's more freedom. "It's been five years and there is a great level of trust," he says.
Holland refers to Logic as Bob or "Bobby" and describes him as "a great friend and the best possible boss to have." In fact, during the last night of the American/Canadian leg of Everybody's Tour, Logic pulled him on stage: "I was taking pictures on the side of the stage of him rapping. The song cut into an instrumental part and he comes and grabs me and we start slow dancing in front thousands of people in the crowd."
Holland says there's "no one secret" to it all. "You have to non-stop work as hard as you can at your craft so that when you get the right opportunity or the right eyes, then it has the highest chance of working out for you."
With over 32K followers on Instagram, the director/photographer has become quite well known. You look at his photos and they exude life — you hear Logic spitting verse and diving deep into theatrical monologues. You feel the electricity of the crowd and witness what happens when people embrace art and a profound yet simple message of love for one another.
Along with his photography, Holland is releasing a documentary this autumn called "Seven Dates With Death." It's the story of the late Moreese Bickham, the oldest surviving man on death row, produced by Bickham's long-time friend Joan Cheever. But before that, he'll be back on the road for the 13-city European leg of tour starting October 19.
As for the future, Holland says he'll continue to strive toward goals of furthering his career and hopes to produce more documentaries for film or television. He also reveals that he'll follow Logic as the musician shifts gears to venture into the world of acting, editing and writing.
Working with Logic, Holland says, has always felt right — like being a part of his creative journey was bound to happen. "I knew I would end up working with him one day," Holland admits. "Even though that seems ridiculous, somewhere in the back of my head, I knew."
Words by Samantha Brodsky
Lead image by Justin Fleischer
Words by HQ


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Spartan Soul Group Class Launch July 2019
Due to my surgical recovery, I had lots of time to be inspired in 2019, so it brought to surface the creation of a new fusion class. I will serving at my studio starting July 11th at 6 pm. Location: 1200 west state road 434 suite 212 Longwood Fl 32750
This class is an evolution and transformation of all the skills in my pocket that I have learned over many years in the fitness & wellness industry.
Back in 2011, I was interested in energy medicine. I began training and eventually became a Reiki master in 2014.
Back in 2013, I also learned another energy medicine technique called Pranic healing. Both of these energy healing techniques, I've been using separately from any physical & wellness services that I have offered in the past, including medical yoga, chair yoga, restorative yoga, and more recently pilates.
I decided this year that we can actually fuse it all together and create fitness, wellness, and holistic healing services option in one amazing group class.
Here is the basic structure of the class. I will begin with Pilates. It will then continue into a Restorative Yoga practice. The last 20 minutes we will end with a guided meditation, and energy healing using Holy Fire Reiki
In the very near future, I will also be working with my personal trainer Lars Eric Rouville-Brown to create an amazing class that will fuse classic Fitness, with Yoga and Pilates. It will be called Spartan Soul Fitness.
If any of you are interested, please join me for a class in July at my studio Serenity Now Yoga Barre and Healing Arts Center in Longwood Florida .
The class will be held every Thursday evening from 6 PM to 7:30 PM. If you are interested please contact me personally. You can text me and I will set you up for the group class.
Dr. Milescu
mobile: 407-739-7183


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August 10, 2016 | Sentinel Colorado
Walmart goes for big buy-in at Porteos in Aurora
AURORA | Local economic development leaders have long looked at the vacant stretches of land south of Denver International Airport and seen dollar signs — lots of them.
Sitting near Interstate 70, the E-470 toll road and the airport, the largely undeveloped stretches of plains would make the ideal spot for large-scale development, officials say.
Read more.


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JayData provides a quick and easy way of defining data structures, which you might have seen previously in the tutorials. One of our main goals was to represent the data model as a strongly typed Javascript-native object model, so defining the model is essentially type definition.
This is how a model definition section looks:
var Department = $data.Entity.extend("$org.types.Department", {
Id: { type: "int", key: true, computed: true },
Name: { type: "string", required: true },
Address: { type: "string" },
Employees: { type: "Array", elementType: "$org.types.Employee", navigationProperty: "Department" }
var Employee = $data.Entity.extend("$org.types.Employee", {
Id: { type: "int", key: true, computed: true },
FirstName: { type: "string", required: true },
LastName: { type: "string", required: true },
Department: { type: "$org.types.Department", navigationProperty:"Employees"}
$data.EntityContext.extend("$org.types.OrgContext", {
Department: { type: $data.EntitySet, elementType: $org.types.Department },
Employee: { type: $data.EntitySet, elementType: $org.types.Employee }
As you can see it consists of two main parts. First we define the entity classes, then we define the context which is analogous with the database structure.
Entity description
Entities are the objects that make up your data. Entities are analogous to records in a relational database. In the entity description, you can define the fields (columns) that will make up each entity type.
Defining an entity is basically a class definition, for which we provide an extensive toolset. There are two ways to do this, with the $data.Class.define or the {type}.extend methods, the second is basically a user-friendly shortcut, so here I will use this, but if you see the other method used in example code, it does the exact same thing, with slightly different syntax and more functionality (that we do not use in defining the data model).
This is the generic form of an entity definition:
$data.Entity.extend("{type name}", {
{field name}: { type: "{field type}", [key: {true/false}], [computed: {true/false}], [validators] },
{reference field name}: { type: "{entity type}", inverseProperty: "{backreference}" },
{backreference field name}: { type: "Array", elementType: "{entity type}", inverseProperty: "{original reference}" },
//... further fields
The parameters are as follows:
- Type name: The fully qualified type name of the entity. According to our best practices, you should give a name to your context (eg. $org for the simplistic HR database in the above example), and define all types under its types collection.
- Field name: The name of the data field described.
eg. FirstName or LastModifiedDate/
- Field type: The field data type. Valid values for this can vary across providers. See below for a description of the most common types. You can also define reference fields, as shown above. Here the data type is an entity type you define here, eg.
- Key: A Boolean setting whether the field is a key field. False by default.
- Computed: A boolean setting whether the field is computed (read-only). False by default.
Reference and backreference fields define connections between entities, in a similar way to foreign keys in relational databases. For a reference to be valid, it must be marked in both directions, as a reference and a backreference field.
Backreference fields are more a technical information to help JayData determine the correct schema, and have limited use in filtering or in retrieving data.
The parameters in reference definitions are the following:
- (Back)Reference field name: The name of the field, according to our best practices, it is singular on the reference side and plural on the backreference side, and as all fields, should reflect the type of connection the fields represent.
eg. Department / Employees, Author / AuthoredArticles, State / Cities, etc.
- Entity type: The entity type on the other side of the reference.
eg. Department / Employee, User / Article, State / City, etc.
- Inverse property: The field name of the other side of the reference. This is vital, as this is where the system makes the connection between the fields, and creates the abstract representation of the relationship.
Ie. it is the backreference field name on the reference, and the reference field name on the backreference.
The most common data types are as follows:
- int / integer: An integer number. Range may vary across providers.
- number: A decimal number. Range and precision may vary across providers.
- datetime / date: Date type, locally represented by the JavaScript Date object. Range may vary across providers.
- text / string: A string. Maximum length may vary across providers.
- bool / boolean: A boolean value.
- blob: A binary object. Availability may vary across providers.
- Array: An array of values. It is used most frequently in backreference fields (see above). Support for non-reference array fields may vary across providers.
- Complex type: A custom value object type you defined on your context, but without creating an entity set for it. This way you can represent complex objects in your schema such as mail addresses, phone numbers, etc. Complex type fields are not references, but regular fields.
Support for complex types may vary across providers.
eg. $org.types.MailAddress
Validators are specific to data types:
- All data types (including complex types):
- required (boolean): The field must always be set.
- customValidator (function): Allows you to enter a custom Javascript function with a boolean return value to check validity.
- Integer, Number and Date:
- minValue (integer): Minimum numeric value.
- maxValue (integer): Maximum numeric value.
- String:
- minLength (integer): Minimum string length.
- maxLength (integer): Maximum string length.
- length (integer): The string must be exactly this length to be valid.
- regex (string): A regular expression to check validity.
- Array:
- length (integer): The array must be exactly this length to be valid.
As an additional example, here is an entity definition with all sorts of validators in it:
$data.Entity.extend("UserModel", {
Id: { type: "int", key: true, computed: true },
UserName: { type: "string", required: true, minLength: 6, maxLength: 15 },
Bio: { type: "string", required: true },
Avatar: { type: "blob" },
Zip: { type: "int", minValue: { value: 1000, message: 'min value 1000' }, maxValue: 9999 },
Birthday: { type: "date", minValue: new Date(Date.parse("March 21, 2012")), errorMessage: "min date message" },
Regex: { type: "string", regex: '\\wb\\w', errorMessage: "regex error" },
CustomValid: { type: "string", required: { value: true, message: 'required' }, customValidator: function (v) { return !v || v.length == 3 }, errorMessage: "custom error" }
Context description
Once you have your entities defined, you need to set up the database structure, which is done by the context description block. Here you can set which entities will be represented in individually queryable entity sets.
You should not create entity sets for value object types, only for true entities. As a rule of thumb, entities are types that have a key, and represent some sort of entity in the business domain, while value objects are just complex values without identity.
Entities would be articles, employees, cities, bank transactions, currencies, cars, etc. Value objects include mail addresses, phone numbers, mathematical constructs such as vectors, matrices, graphs and complex numbers, etc.
This is the generic form of the context description:
$data.EntityContext.extend("{type name}", {
{entityset name}: { type: $data.EntitySet, elementType: {entity type} },
//... further entitysets
The parameters are as follows:
- Type name: The type name of your context. According to our best practices, this should also be defined under the types collection of the context root.
eg. $org.types.OrgContext
- Entityset name: The name of the entityset (ie. table) described. Note that with remote services such as OData, this will be used as the name of the set, so must conform to the names in the service. (Which is the resaon why it's not pluralized in the example.)
eg. Employees or Employee
- Entity type: The above defined entity type that will make up the set.
eg. $org.types.Employee
Context creation
While not strictly part of the model definition, for JayData to work, you need to instantiate the context, using a storage provider. Here is an example with the WebSQL provider:
$org.context = new $org.Types.OrgContext({ name: "WebSQL", databaseName: "Organization", dbCreation: $data.storageProviders.sqLite.DbCreationType.DropTableIfChanged });
Or, with the OData provider:
$org.context = new $org.types.OrgContext({ name: "oData", oDataServiceHost: "http://localhost:49223/Organization.svc" });
This is where the context comes alive, and in the case of code-first providers like WebSQL and SQLite, the database is generated on the first run. The generic syntax of context creation is as follows:
{context object} = new {context type}({ name: "{storage provider name}", [storage provider options] });<strong> </strong>
The parameters are as follows:
- Context object: The object name for the context. According to our best practices, it should be the context field under your context root.
eg. $org.context
- Context type: The context type you have previously defined.
eg. $org.types.OrgContext
- Storage provider name: The storage provider you wish to use (see comparison chart of storage providers).
- Storage provider options: Specific options for the storage provider. See storage provider descriptions.


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Qualified energy management talent can seek opportunities in industries like airlines and utilities or as carbon credits traders, in designing implementation and management of energy management systems. Government organizations and regulatory bodies such as the BEE research institutes and other academic organizations, offer a host of roles for graduates like researchers business development officers, auditors traders consultants etc students with an MBA in Energy Management (currently offered only at the Management Development Institute, Delhi) can expect to be recruited at the mid-management level as consultants in various forms – both in the energy, as well as non-energy sector, which includes companies like Infosys, Tata Power, Reliance Energy, Suzlon Energy, ONGC, BHEL, L&T , Asian paints etc.
Like all other industries the current financial downturn has impacted the number of jobs and salary sizes in this industry as well. However, even during the slowdown companies have been hiring energy management professionals albeit in lower numbers and at lower ay packets. Last year, of the 12 students, 10 were successfully placed. Salaries depend on your degree and experience. So if you have an MBA in Energy management you can expect a salary of around Rs nine to ten lakh. This figure would obviously be lower in the case of an M Tech graduate who can expect to command around Rs four to five lakh annually institutes affected economies, MBAs had been offered sums as high as Rs 20 lakh and M Tech students were paid as high as Rs 10 lakh.
With the number of private companies venturing into the energy sector in India, the future for professionals in this industry is indeed bright. About 60 percent of world energy needs are satisfied by the oil and gas sector that faces a major talent crunch, as the contribution of alternative energy producing sectors like hydro, nuclear, coal, wind, solar, and geothermal. In the global energy pie increase the demand for professionals in this sector will increase as well, leading to rise in pay packets. The dearth of skilled manpower in this sector would also lead to a situation where professionals will have opportunities to shoulder bigger challenges and responsibilities much earlier in their career. This provides a great window of opportunity for energy professionals as they get invaluable management experience earlier in their careers.
Vouching for the immense number of global opportunities that graduates can consider Dean, Executive Postgraduate Programs, School of Energy Management says the rising number of MNCs like Suzlon, Cairns Energy Oracle Utility and AREVA has ld to increased options abroad. Additionally students also have the option of pursuing further education in fields like renewable energy management, energy trading and carbon financing fields that are generating a lot of attention in developing countries.
There are no under graduate degrees in energy management and only a few colleges have recently begun to offer engineering degrees in energy at the undergraduate level. In fact, not a single batch of energy engineering graduates has passed out yet. Even the B-schools and universities offering the MBA programs are very new. Thus, if one wants to pursue a program in energy management, it would have to be a management, M Tech or certificate program at the post graduate level. One needs to be an engineering graduate in order to pursue an M Tech in the subject. However, for a management degree, one can be a graduate in any discipline.
Institute Indicator
1) School of Energy Management , Management Development Institute Delhi
2) Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi
3) National Institute of technology Calicut
4) TERI University, New Delhi
5) National Productivity Council


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As my two year 'blogiversary' approached, I thought I would like to do a little something to show my appreciation to all of my blog's followers and visitors. That date has come and gone, but better late then never :o).
I first started blogging for fun and because I was so inspired by other crafters and challenges. I had no idea that I would get invited to join some amazing design teams and I would meet so many wonderful crafters in blogland. I want to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you for your support, visits and comments. I truly appreciate each one of you!
As a small token, I thought I would host a giveaway of my favourite stamp. Of course, monogamy is reserved strictly for my husband and when it comes to stamps I have plenty of love to go around. As new stamps are released, my favourite stamp changes (those designers are so clever and talented!). So, I decided that each time I have a new favourite stamp, I would have a new giveaway! This way, there are more chances of winning for everyone :o). I will continue this giveaway until my next blogiversary in February.
Let's get to my first favourite stamp then, shall we? I have to confess, this project has been done for a while now but I've struggled with finding time to post it so it isn't as fresh off the press as I would have liked. I'll do better next time :o).
First up is this adorable Dreamy Dragon by Wee Stamps for Whimsy. I just love Sylvia Zet's illustration style, so I wouldn't be surprised if more of her images make it to my favourites list. I thought this Dreamy Dragon would make a cute little lantern/night light for my son's room - he likes a little light left on when he goes to bed. After dark, it looks like the little dragon is sleeping in front of a full moon:
Paper - white Bazzill card, vellum, DP is from the Cabana line by Inque Boutique (in my stash from ages ago)
Stamps - Dreamy Dragon by Wee Stamps for Whimsy stamped with Memento ink and coloured with Prismas, sentiment is from a Crafter's Companion Popcorn the Bear set
Other - Martha Stewart border punch, Stampin' Up Floral Frames die for the base and the frame around the moon is from the Elegant Edges Cricut cartridge.
Entering this giveaway is super easy! Here is what you need to know:
- All you need to do to enter is leave a comment on this post telling me what your current favourite stamp or stamp company/artist is. I will draw randomly from all the qualifying comments. If you do not comment about your favourite stamp/company/artist, I will assume you do not wish to be entered in the draw.
And if you like reading the fine print, here you go:
- My favourite stamp giveaway is open to all of my followers and visitors. If you are reading this right now, you can enter. You do not have to be a follower, but if you like my projects, I would love it if you would. Please do not follow me with a 'blog candy only' account.
- There is no requirement to post about this on your blog, or put a link in your side bar or anything else that requires effort, but if you want to then go ahead.
- I will ship anywhere in the world that Canada Post will allow. Please give up to 3-4 weeks for delivery depending on where you live.
- Anonymous comments have been blocked as a result of spam issues. If you do not have an account to leave a comment you can still enter by sending me an e-mail at dlb5555athotmaildotcom. Put My Favourite Stamp Giveaway in the subject line and tell me your current favourite stamp/company/artist.
- This giveaway will remain open until midnight (mountain daylight time) April 30, 2013. I will announce the winner shortly thereafter, and if your comment allows e-mail replies, I will also send you an e-mail notifying you. If you are set up as no reply, then please be sure to check back.
- You will have 1 week to claim your stamp. If you don't, I will draw a new name from the hat.
Thanks so much for stopping by and for all your comments and support!
PS - my newest favourite is already on order, so a new giveaway will be coming soon!


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In February 2010, in a major victory for the grassroots movement, the USDA announced that it was dropping its plans for the National Animal Identification System (NAIS). The agency stated that is would refocus its efforts on "a new, flexible framework" that would apply only to animals moved in interstate commerce and encourage the use of "lower-cost" technology.
The USDA's announcement reflects the work done by people all over the country, speaking out against NAIS. Thank you to the thousands of people who called, wrote, organized meetings, and more. Dozens of organizations, from across the country and the full range of the political spectrum, worked together on this common cause. And we succeeded in making our voices heard.
The issue is not yet over, however. In 2011, the agency proposed the Animal Disease Traceability (ADT) rule. We have maintained an extensive archive of materials about the plan for NAIS because it remains relevant to understand the driving forces behind the new ADT proposal and the potential problems with what ADT could evolve into. For the most recent updates, visit our Animal Disease Traceability page.
There are also issues at the state level. Farmers in Wisconsin and Indiana continue to face mandatory premises registration under their state laws, while Texas is implementing new animal ID requirements that go beyond the federal requirement. We must work at both the state and federal levels to address this issue.
Explore the various pages of our section on animal identification:


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I am a new trainer looking for effective practices to get started
New to delivering training? These resources can help any interested individual gain skills for delivering content in many contexts. These skills are necessary in delivering training and professional development to adult educators.
This short handbook designed just for new presenters! This guide was created by a subgroup of the MN ABE Statewide Professional Development (PD) Committee.
This brief video details how to use the KOLB learning cycle to help you design effective training. This is part of a train the trainer course How To Run A Great Training Workshop.
This comprehensive training manual produced for the Maricopa Community Colleges focuses on instructional strategies that foster a deep approach to learning. The goal of the training is to have you deliver more effective training by applying instructional design principles throughout your own training.
This one-hour webinar, designed and hosted by Jane Meyer for LINCS, provided participants with strategies for effectively preparing for and delivering face-to-face trainings. The webinar focused on strategies and tips for engaging the audience and communicating the message during a face-to-face training.


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Top of my head :
Goody two-shoes. 1983 Thing villain with powerful mechanical boots.
Bird boy (new mutants)
Homer the happy Ghost (a late enrollee for Strange Academy?)
Big Mama from early 90's Punisher story. A Baltimore drug dealer based on drag queen Divine, she pinned the blame on her husband when Frank came around, he shot him and she still remains at large...


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Betway, a leader in online sports betting
Betway is an international sports betting brand which has established itself as one of the best online and mobile sports betting providers. Officially launched in 2006, Betway has went on to operate in a number of African countries including Zambia. Its simple-to-use platform perfectly suits sports betting fans across the globe who want to place their bets on-the-go without missing any of the action. Betway's betting platform is accessible on a number of devices such as mobile, tablet, desktop computer and more.
Why bet with Betway
Betway has simplified everything from the registration process to funding your betting account, right down to placing your bets. We bring you all your favourite sporting events all-year-round making sure you never miss out. Whether you prefer Live Betting or pre-game betting, we have you covered.
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I've read an astounding amount of Don DeLillo in the last two weeks – more than is healthy. White Noise, Mao II, Libra, and I'm just this short of finishing Underworld. My first time through for many of these, somehow. I've loved all of it except for White Noise, which I've read many times before. In fact, I sort of detest White Noise, and while it's clear why, I've been trying to come up with a concise term to explain my antipathy.
Came this morning. There is nothing that I hate more in American fiction than the zany. OK – that's a bit too much. But do you know what I mean when I say that? Underworld is not zany; Libra isn't either; White Noise is nothing but. Almost nothing but – there are a few good spots – but even these are tinged with it.
Pynchon is zany through and through, and that's why I don't like him. Most of the obsolescent "postmodern" novelists are zany.
David Foster Wallace is very, very zany – zany to the max – but for some reason I can tolerate him at times. Not Infinite Jest – whose very title proclaims the zane right from the book shelf – but Oblivion was quite good. I'll have to think about why this is so…
This is zany too, and it goes down a bit easier than the print equivalent.
But I'd be probably pretty gaggy were I to get the same in a film about the current or recent police actions. This, for instance, bothers. Not just this scene in particular, but the whole of the film.
The word zany comes from the Italian for, what is it, zanni or zanno, the servant character in commedia dell'arte. And there is something servile about it, something no man's a hero to their valet, and everyone's a valet, so throw the Beach Boys on the car radio and roll with it. But there aren't servants in America, right? So…
Oof. Sorry about that picture. Scares me too. It's a zanni, or a christmas-treasure statuette of one, available at the website that kindly stamped their image with their addy.
Anyway, sorry, free-associating away, priming the pumps toward full on blog return. But perhaps these are initial notes toward a project on the politico-aesthetics of the turn to and away from the zany. Featured topics will include psychedelia, pranksterism, Kurt Vonnegut (not that I'll read it or anything, but I'm sure it'll come up, and the hickup or hangup or tic that makes a candycolored mash (or M.A.S.H.) of grave things like war. Oh, and said project will also take up whatever has replaced the zany here and now, which is the unnamable thing that informs sentences like the following:
Barring a nuclear war or a full-scale economic collapse due to climate change, robot sex is very likely in the cards. (Flak Magazine)
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I'm not sure I could so delimit the zany that it squares exactly with the brand of American humor that I detest–usually, the term for me is "whimsy," or sometimes "twee"–whatever it is that describes people like Wes Anderson and Jonathan Safran Foer.
But I'm an ardent Pynchon fan, and predictably enough, I can't stand DeLillo. It's the didacticism that gets me with DeLil', the idea/expression means/end matrix. In some people's books, this gives him a kind of moral seriousness that saves him from the charge that sunk Barth & Co. But not for me–it makes it worse.
I guess there's a certain brand of "zany"–the one that matches with the picaresque–that runs from Cervantes, through Sterne, Nabokov, Cortazar, &c. that I like. And though the etymology is interesting, it would seem to hang Shakespeare's fools (not to mention Beckett) under the term, which would be a loss, no?
How defend my preference? It's sort of like when people accuse Wallace Stevens of thoughtlessly repeating the idealistic errors of Romanticism, when in fact he's taking romanticism as his object and point of departure. That's how I feel about Pynchon's relation to American escapism. . . If you keep layering the escapes, eventually you end up back in the real. Or, eventually, American escapism becomes so sedimented that it's where we live.
I am pro-zany, though I haven't read as much Delillo as I should.
And I can't get the player-thingies to work, but that may be my slow connection.
I missed Magnolia, so I can't really say. I liked American Beauty when I saw it, but I'm not sure what I'd think of it now. I kind of loved Boogie Nights, and Punch-Drunk Love might be as close as you could get to selling me on a romantic comedy, not to mention a movie with Adam Sandler, so I'm guessing that Am. Beauty's the right answer for you?
And yes, the fork makes sense. How to account for the difference between the two lines? Perhaps the line leading to DeLillo is more an accommodation to the bildungsroman? But where would that leave Invisible Man? Bildungsroman or picaresque?
OK, my bad. I'll have to watch Magnolia. Mentioning Louise Bourgeois drives home what I was thinking yesterday, that the terms are strongly gendered, and perhaps somewhat class-bound. Does zany get much applied to women? I think the term there is "cute", or my choice of "whimsy," although those terms are more open gender-wise. Louise Bourgeois, who I love, brings in another question, about the place of abjection, the grotesque. There's also a certain didacticism there, but one that I go for. . .(discussion for another day). BTW, have you seen this article? http://criticalinquiry.uchicago.edu/31n4/vol31n4_ngai.htm. It made me think twice about my use of "cute" as pejorative (although I guess it hasn't really stuck). My sense is that there will always be some residual space with these affects/stances, such that they can't be written off as simply mystificatory without exceptions. At least not by me. I remember Ngai mentioning to me that she thought about the "zany"–one of the affects she is interested, apparently–in relation to Ashbery. I don't know if you read much poetry, but something like "Daffy Duck in Hollywood" or the later Girls on the Run seems like a good test case here.
How do I feel once I've reached the real in Pynchon? More melancholy/alienated than ever. . . But also convinced that there may in fact be an outside in here somewhere.
I mean, American Beauty seems like an attempt to lay zany atop the sentimental novel. Which could work, but for reason I can't explain, doesn't. That pretty well defines the shape of the current–"Brooklyn"–dispensation in fiction, from Jonathan Franzen forward, that I'm not so into. . . Anyway, that's quite far from what I see in Pynchon. There are knives behind behind Dr. Hilarius's therapeutic grimaces.
Well, I'll stay out of the Pynchon/DeLillo thing, since I find I have interests and pleasures in both, and my main gripe with DeLillo is that, after a couple decades of at least trying, he wrote the repugnant Underworld, brutally violating his contract with me the reader that he wouldn't retail his sentimental childhood as a novel; as soon as he did that, he was just a putz.
But seriously, CR! Magnolia is not the right answer, even if the question is, American Beauty? It's infantile theology taking a buncha astonishingly clichéd faux-humans as puppets for extracting some tiresome lessons, and can't even distinguish between "connection" and force majeure.
But it's really subtle with the symbolism; I like it when the cop, you know, loses his gun, and he's all unmanned, but then he gets his gun back and he's all straightened up. For reals, was that the part that got you, or was it the insistent reference to verses from Exodus that sold you?
I mean, American Beauty seems like an attempt to lay zany atop the sentimental novel.
How weird is it that the "sentimental novel" in question is, um, Ulysses??????
I agree with your connection of this to the Brooklyn novelists tho.
Shit, just dropped my gun.
But seriously. Of course they both suck. The question is of relative rather than absolute value, or their usefulness as exemplars of two similar but distinctive satiric stances. I guess you're taking American Beauty in this game?
Come to think of it, the things not to like about Magnolia are very similar to the things I don't like about White Noise. But that screws up my argument, doesn't it.
I can't remember if I've mentioned this or not, but the theater around the corner from my house, which is showing excellent stuff like 4 months, 3 weeks, 2 days, only costs $24 / ticket. Woof. Good thing we don't have and can't afford a babysitter.
Anyway, what else is repugnant about Underworld, beyond the tour of the old neighborhood? Or is that it? I'm still figuring it out, the book, and would love to hear.
Don't stop with the youtube posts on my account! Did I _tell_ you to, noooo!
American Beauty was nice, but slick. I'm meh over it. Magnolia I never could watch since Rob said it was his favorite movie and he kinda scares me. (Clockwork Orange, though, always a fave.)
My friend is presenting on Velvet Goldmine in a few weeks, which I love —- not zany, but dreamlike — does this fit in your whole paradigm here?
Salman Rushdie is zany as a novelist, I think. I can't say that either the zaniness or the 'old neighborhood talk' (why would one object to that, the Bronx isn't all that well-known) in DeLillo, though. I don't think I'm capable of objectivity regarding DeLillo, as I've liked even the things most people think inferior, like 'Body Artist' and 'Cosmopolis'.
"beginning of the Body Artist is something like a master-class in still vital modernist narrative form."
Yes, and his ability to write like this, in this somewhat precious and stylized way, seems to me to make the big, spacious and more 'humane' vastnesses, but also 'human-size' in the Bronx sections, all the more remarkable. He's able to do both flesh-and-blood and art-gallery-cerebral.
But I like your 'discovery' of the word 'zany', and think it covers something that I most hate about much contemporary fiction. I'd been trying to figure out what it was that I couldn't stand in things like 'The Ground Beneath Her Feet' (while still liking much in the book because Rushdie is interesting) and 'The Island of the Day Before' (while hating it in every possible way.) I can see why you'd find it in 'White Noise', but also find it interesting that you'd discover this term through the work of the single novelist (at least who continues to produce, some of the others are merely alive, but refusing to produce 'zanis' and somehow not able to produce novels like DeLillo does which embrace what is new without getting that tedious hyped-up sound) who is most capable of avoiding doing it still; maybe 'White Noise' stuck out somehow, in relief to the rest of the books. I don't think Mailer ever succumbed to it, but I haven't read the thing on Hitler. The Picasso was still Mailer being Mailer, and it's profound (I don't think it matters in his case if it's not strictly fiction). Some of the fiction writers aren't able to write science fiction per se but end up sounding like it anyway. And the sci-fi writers keep trying to sound like 'real novelists' and they make a rather sad showing, I find. 'Spook Country' is bad in other ways besides 'zany', though.
It occurs to me that Michel Houllebecq is somewhat zany in that a novel like 'Platform' is about a relationship of marriage that quickly disintegrates into episodic pornography. It's stupid, because then the wife is killed and it's supposed to be as touching as if they had done something besides threesomes and foursomes and exhibitionistic sex after only a few months of marriage. I don't know whether that's quite exactly 'zany', or just insane.
This word is very useful, though, for identifying much of what is very empty in fiction of the last 10-15 years (and perhaps before, but I would have not thought to term 'White Noise' zany, just because DeLillo so rarely uses the style.)
I dunno. America/postmodern reality is pretty damn zany. The best satire, or (heaven forbid!) "didactic" novel need push only a little bit to expose the obscenity and pomposity of it all. Zany.
It occurs to me that Michel Houllebecq is somewhat zany in that a novel like 'Platform' is about a relationship of marriage that quickly disintegrates into episodic pornography. It's stupid, because then the wife is killed and it's supposed to be as touching as if they had done something besides threesomes and foursomes and exhibitionistic sex after only a few months of marriage. I don't know whether that's quite exactly 'zany', or just insane.
Ok, now we're going off into JG Ballard territory, which is not zany at all. "Zany" suggests to me some sort of anarchic comic exuberance, possibly once it's been defanged or domesticated down to something commercially palatable — but I would use "twee" or "precious" for when zany has worn its edge off.
"Zany" and "freakily disturbing" don't seem to go together at all to me. On the other hand, now that I think about some of the sex and the shit-eating scene in Gravity's Rainbow, I would seem to have messed all my categories up.


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I was born and raised in a really tough place in Brooklyn, New York called Brownsville. It was a horrible place to grow up and I have zero intentions on returning. When you grow up like that and you decide that the Brownsville life isn't for you, one starts to make plans. You think about the necessary steps to get out and what precise you will do when you make it out. Almost like those movies where some small town girl decides that she wants to be a star in Hollywood. She'll spend hours tip toeing through the tulips of her imagination. She pretends to make Oscar speeches and such. In Brownsville, I just imagined the day when I wouldn't have to think about getting shot at.
The caveat to those dreams and how ones imagination can take them to different places is the fact that more time is spent in future plans like the red carpet. I thought of a future where I didn't have to walk past where someone tried to kill me 20 years ago. Oftentimes dreamers don't enjoy the ride. They think about the destination and places little value on the journey or the great stories born along the way.
For so long I hated training programs for that reason. I was focused on a 4 hour marathon or a Boston Qualifier. It's like you think about crossing the finish line with your goal achieved but you can't recall some of the great experiences during your program.
I want to cherish every run. The 3, 6, 8, etc., mile runs that will have longer stories to tell...with more character.


text: Melody Maker magazine - Billy Corgan cover (6-12 December 2000) £9.99 Melody Maker magazine - Billy Corgan cover (6-12 December 2000) Good condition BILLY CORGAN speaks exclusively to The Maker on the eve of Smashing Pumpkins' final gig One and a half pages JAMES DEAN BRADFIELD - Exclusively gives us the first details of the new Manics album half-page PHILL JUPITUS - The 'Never Mind The Buzzcocks' team captain tells The Maker about his new stand-up video 'Quadrophobia', sleeping on Fatboy Slim's floor and posing on a scooter three-quarter page GREEN DAY - They are forgoing the Californian sun to come and play in rainy, cold Britain this week. We jetted out there to ask them why... 3 pages THE WONDER STUFF - The kings of early-nineties indie are back! Miles Hunt talks us through the wonder years... 2 pages AMEN - We join Amen on the road in Spain and witness near-death experiences, metal mayhem and bizarre onstage groping 2 pages J MASCIS - 1 page AT THE DRIVE-IN - Gig review 1 page REEF - Gig review half-page DANNY McCORMACK (THE YO-YOs) - 1 page Poster pages - Huey Morgan (Fun Lovin' Criminals) - Muse - Feeder [double page] - Less Than Jake - Crispian Mills - Sonya Aurora-Madan (Echobelly)


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Effectual Prayer Eph. 6:12,18 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO
This lesson is on effectual prayer. Sometimes we approach prayer like kids playing a game of pickup basketball. We're playing hard but we're still playing, nevertheless. It's not like pro ball at all. Yet in prayer, we are supposed to be the "pros." We are given a responsibility and a privilege to pray. So, we should be as effective in prayer as possible. In order to do be effectual in prayer, we need more:
Wrestling in prayer – Eph 6:12, 18 – we have the whole armor of God because we are involved in a fight [2 Tim 4:7; 1 Tim 6:12]. And this fight is against the strongest spiritual forces in the world apart from the Lord. Casual prayer isn't wrestling prayer. When you are wrestling in prayer, you are entreating God to overcome the power of the devil in a situation or a person's life. Many of us have wrestled in prayer at invitations where the destiny of a lost soul hangs in the balance of one decision whether to trust or reject Christ. Many of us have wrestled through the night in intercessory prayer. Wrestling prayer is effectual prayer.
Fervency in prayer – Jas 5:16 – what we pray about really needs to matter. Often, I have prayed for things without fervency. God might say, "If it doesn't mean anymore to you than that why should I answer you?" We need to ask God to give us fervent hearts in prayer so that our prayers will be effectual. Fervent prayer is effectual prayer.
Perseverance in prayer – Eph 6:18; Acts 12:5, 12-13 – staying with prayer until the answer comes or the peace of God comes [Phil 4:6-7]. In either case, the battle is won. There are times when we must devote ourselves completely to prayer and nothing else. Persevering prayer is effectual prayer.
Importunity in prayer – Lk 18:1-8 – verse 5 says "continual coming" – we need to keep coming to the Lord in prayer. Some of the things for which we pray are long-haul prayer requests and in faith we need to keep coming to God in prayer the whole way through. Some things just take a long time for God to accomplish. Continual prayer is effectual prayer.
Fasting in prayer – Matt 17:21 – if it is true that certain devils wouldn't come out without fasting and if it is true that Jesus and Paul spent time in fasting and prayer, then it must be true that there are certain spiritual battles that are not won without fasting and prayer. Fasting in prayer results in effectual prayer.
Submission in prayer – Jas 4:1-8 – in this passage we read, "ye ask not," [Jas 4:2], "ye ask amiss," [Jas 4:3], "ye lust," [Jas 4:1, 4-5], "ye double minded," [Jas 4:8]. We need to approach God humbly seeking his will, not our own. We need to be submitted to God in every area of our lives. We need to have his mind about the matters over which we are praying so that we are ready to receive his answer, not demand our own. Jesus was submitted to his Father in prayer. Submission in prayer results in effectual prayer.
Conclusion: The word of God is the most powerful physical force in the world. The Spirit of God is the most powerful spiritual force in the world. And prayer is the most powerful practical force in the world. God has given us this privilege of praying and we need to pray effectually.


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When I am wearing my white dress for freestyle riding (or artistic unicycling, to use the proper term), the fabric that's floating all around me in the air, makes me feel so elegant and light that I forget I am sitting on a unicycle.
I am happy the boys from LUUV asked me to wear that dress for our filming day. It had been sleeping in my closet after Janina's and my pairs routine at Unicon 14 in Kopenhagen and the Team Horst video shoot in Vienna a couple of years ago. Welcome back, white dress, I have more plans for you already.