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Friday 26 February 2016
7:30 am
Dihaoine, 25 An Gearran aig 7.30f
'The Dead Stations' concert ~ "No, the train never stops at any of the Dead Stations. They just chug past the window."
The Dead Stations is a story told through original music and animation which combines live performance, recorded actors and projections.
"A great ear for atmosphere and a knack for writing tunes that lilt and yearn" (The Guardian)
Mairi Campbell, singer, is turning heads and hearts with her music. Drawing on her native traditional background, a long and fruitful songwriting collaboration with David Francis and her natural ability to improvise she draws in listeners with stories of ancestry, hope, love and passion. Mairi was voted Instrumentalist of the Year at the MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards 2015.
"Her voice can stop the clock" (The Scotsman)
Mike Vass, fiddle, guitar and previous Composer of the Year, performed his acclaimed 'In the Wake of Neil Gunn' on Skye and supported our 1000th event in May 2014.
See the short video HERE
Written by Charlotte Hathaway with music and lyrics by Mike Vass, the live score is performed by Mike Vass, Mairi Campbell and Yoann Mylonakis with animation created by Nica Harrison and Atikah Zailani.
Read about it HERE in the Scotsman
The online booking system is now closed. Unless we state otherwise in the main text. just come to the door and buy your ticket there.


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subset: commoncrawl


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"If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else."– Booker T. Washington
Since I am typically extremely long-winded on things, I will begin this page with a short, to the point explanation.
My good friend, Lonnie Hendrickson, has had an extremely challenging time for the better part of a year now, and it has only become more challenging as of the last couple months – from a simple back and knee injury, from which he was expected to heal almost completely from over time, to becoming completely paralyzed from about his middle chest, down.
We have no resources at hand to prepare his home so that he can function safely as a paraplegic when they release him from the hospital. Nor do we have any resources to help with other things he will need that insurance and assistance programs will not cover, or will take months to cover (long after he will actually need them).
We have created this page to help let people know, in more detail, exactly what we are needing help with.
To put it simply, we need help with just about everything. This is completely new territory for all of us, and was absolutely unexpected. Skilled labor, materials, equipment, professional care, transportation, and finances to pay for it all. Large or small, any amount of help is enormously appreciated!
That said, the long-winded me will continue below for those of you who would like more details. And, if you would like to help, feel free to contact me (G.R. Bliss) in any of the following ways:
The Reptile Bliss Contact Page
Phone: (865) 247-8095
Through a time that leaves him without, let's band together and be Lonnie's Legs.(continue for more details)
A while back, we started a small "Pay it Forward" campaign through our social media accounts and websites to help our friend who had become temporarily disabled and was getting near to zero help from his insurance.
At the time I posted that, there were some very specific needs that definitely exceeded the average person's "pocket change" level of finances needed, but were also fairly doable with a modest amount of help. Some amazing people stepped up to help out, and we are more than grateful for that, though we never actually met our goals for that particular effort. In part, because we didn't push it too much because we were trying to honor his desire for privacy, and him not wanting to "make a big deal about it just to take care of this little bump in the road".
Well, the bump has unexpectedly grown… a LOT.
After several months of treatment, surgery, and being unable to get out of bed for more than a few minutes at a time for necessary things, he was showing some progress toward healing. Then, the infection set in. On January 21st 2019, just after 2 am, he realized he couldn't feel anything below his chest. He called us, and 911, and was immediately transported to the hospital again.
The infection had damaged his spinal cord to the point of paralysis, with a prognosis of "less than a 10% chance" of him ever regaining feeling or control below his chest.
As someone who has always been extremely independent and has always taken care of himself, this creates quite a list of challenges for him at this point, especially over the next year or so. High on that list is the cost and logistics of transitioning himself, his home, and his newly adjusted lifestyle in the safest way possible.
Unfortunately, the way things are with insurance and public assistance programs, getting approval – and therefore, any actual help from these programs that are in any way complete solutions, even at the minimum – can, and does take quite some time. Even then, until final approval for anything, there is still the chance that certain things will not be approved, even though they are, in actuality, very necessary.
Through all this, we are doing everything in our power to get what he needs taken care of. Some amazing people have stepped up and are helping him find ways to get through this.
We are hoping that the insurance, along with some of the programs that he's working on getting approved for will be able to take care of the obvious big-ticket items that he will absolutely need to simply get through each day – proper wheel chair, bed, portable lift (Hoyer, or similar), professional caregiver, etc. – but expedience seems to be lacking for some reason.
Not that it's uncommon, but it still creates huge challenge and, to be frank, some very real dangers, when it comes to keeping him from developing more issues that could send him back to the hospital after his release from this hospital stay.
This is why we are reaching out. This is why we are now giving more details, and why I'm letting you know exactly who he is. We've come to to the point where our resources are running out faster than the clock allows to get these things done.
Of course, ANYTHING HELPS, no matter how small, and ALL help is greatly appreciated!
But I want to be clear that at this point we are ALSO reaching out to those who have the BIG things to contribute! Not one of the things we are waiting for approval on is something that we can afford otherwise, nor do we have any resources to find temporary solutions until they are (hopefully) approved.
Aside from those things, there are things that will likely NEVER be included in those programs that we also have run out of resources for.
The short list of current efforts is as follows:
- Materials and help to convert the trailer he will be living in through his transition.
- Skilled labor to actually do/help with the conversion.
- Money to pay for anything that is not covered, that we don't receive as a donated service or material.
These are the most critical things at the moment, because they are not even being considered as covered at this point in time, but they need to be done ASAP!
How much money we will need through all of this is currently an unknown amount, though I can tell you that it will be in the thousands, possibly tens of thousands, depending on how he does after release from the hospital.
Waiting for the insurance companies, government programs, and public assistance programs to finish flinging red tape at each other will put Lonnie's well being at extreme risk through all of this if we do not at least get his basic needs taken care of. And most of those will not help with these particular needs anyway – they simply require them to be done. So, we're doing the best we can with what we have, and asking for ANY help that you may be able to provide that will get us closer to a safe and, at least a minimally functioning home through all of this.
What most of us never think about until we have to deal with it in our own lives – things I am just now learning, myself – is that even the wrong wheelchair can put him back in the hospital with serious issues. That he may be waiting for some of this equipment well beyond his release date means that we have to make sure that we have everything else done that we can, so we are able to deal with those issues until their processes are completed.
Donating through this link ensures that your funds will be earmarked and be used 100% toward the "Lift Up Lonnie effort".
Thank you for your support!
At this point, Lonnie's proposed release date is set for March 21st. As of now, we still do not have the help or resources to complete his home to a point of function by his release date (we're not too concerned about "pretty" right now. We can get to that later). We DO have some amazing people that have stepped up to offer their help, be even THEY will need help to get it done in time, so we're still reaching out for capable people and helpful resources to get his home ready.
- Reinforcing floors to handle the added weight of the equipment Lonnie will need to function daily.
- Widening/Adding doorways and removing the bathroom walls (to create roll-in accessibility).
- Converting a regular trailer home bathroom tub/shower area into a roll-in shower.
- Relocating toilet and bathroom sink to make them wheelchair accessible.
- Ramp/platform for access to the trailer, and loading/unloading into vehicles.
That is the absolute minimum we need completed before he can come home. Things like shelves, kitchen upgrades, etc., can be done once these things are completed, and we absolutely welcome solutions and ideas toward those things too! But for now, we're focusing on making it safe and functional for his initial transition period.
Having this particular list of projects completed before Lonnie comes home is critical because they are all things that are either needed for him to be able to physically enter the home (doorways/walls) or they are things that will not be able to be done with Lonnie and his necessary equipment there.
Thank you for taking the time to read this, and please share this with anyone that you think might be willing and able to help.
I will be updating this site with progress, and posting on FB when I can to update everyone.
HUGE THANKS to those who are already helping!
Click here for a little more about Lonnie
Donating through this link ensures that your funds will be earmarked and be used 100% toward the "Lift Up Lonnie effort".
Thank you for your support!


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|YMMV • Radar • Quotes • (Funny • Heartwarming • Awesome) • Fridge • Characters • Fanfic Recs • Nightmare Fuel • Shout Out • Plot • Tear Jerker • Headscratchers • Trivia • WMG • Recap • Ho Yay • Image Links • Memes • Haiku • Laconic
Ip Man is a 2009 film Very Loosely Based On the life of Bruce Lee's eponymous master.
Foshan in 1930s China is a place renowned for the number of martial arts schools in it, with the exception of the titular hero who wishes not to take in any disciples. When a troupe of upstart Northerners successfully beats up the other masters, though, it falls on Ip Man to defend Foshan's honour.
Fast forward to 1937, when the Japanese invade China. His mansion confiscated by the Japanese, Ip Man is forced to shovel coal to feed his family and learns of matches the Japanese are staging between their karate exponents and Foshan's former martial arts masters. When a friend's failure costs him his life, Ip Man's vengeful demolishing of ten Japanese pugilists draws the attention of the Japanese General Miura, leading via a run-in with bandits threatening a friend's factory to a final confrontation.
If you are looking for an in-depth biography of the master of Bruce Lee, you are looking in the wrong place. If you are looking for a great martial arts flick, albeit one that depicts how viciously foreign invaders treated the Chinese, you are in the right spot.
A sequel has been released end-April 2010 (very close to the UK release for another "IM2"), focusing on Ip Man's attempt to propagate Wing Chun in Hong Kong after the war. In doing so, he finds opposition from other martial arts masters as well as the British.
A "prequel," The Legend is Born, that doesn't even really qualify for In Name Only status sometimes gets lumped into this franchise, due to the reuse of a number of actors from the first two films.
Note for Western readers: The character name is rendered in traditional Chinese style, so "Ip" is the surname. Additionally, it is not a superhero name. Please do not be confused.
This film series contains examples of the following tropes:
- All Love Is Unrequited: In the "prequel" movie, Ip Man's brother is in love with a girl who is in love with Ip Man. There's also another girl who is in love with Ip Man. Meanwhile, Ip Man himself was too much of a Chaste Hero to notice either one's affection for him.
- Arrogant Kung Fu Guy: The series is loaded to the brim with these. Best examples being General Miura, a Four-Star Badass with Blood Knight tendencies, and Twister, a Complete Monster Western boxer. Also notable is Wong Leung, who grows out of it after some hard lessons.
- Asskicking Pose: True to genre convention, all the martial artists in the movies assume one before fighting. Somewhat Truth in Television, as most martial arts have a default 'ready' stance.
- Attack Its Weak Point: Part of Ip's defeat of the Twister.
- Authority Equals Asskicking: General Miura throws down with three guys in his first appearance and takes them down without much fuss. Ultimately he is the only one who actually manages to land real hits on our hero.
- Awesome Yet Practical: Ip stays away from fancy, over-the-top moves for the most part. His signature move is... punching people a lot.
- Twister is even worse: He doesn't use kicks at all, and only uses basic punches. However, thanks to his speed, incredible strength and sheer axcraziness, he still manages to murder Master Hung Lie-Nang.
- Both of the above are justified. Ip Man is a master of Wing Chun, the signature move of which is the chain punch. Twister is a western boxer, a style that does not use attacks with the feet at all.
- Twister is even worse: He doesn't use kicks at all, and only uses basic punches. However, thanks to his speed, incredible strength and sheer axcraziness, he still manages to murder Master Hung Lie-Nang.
- Backstab Backfire
- Badass: The eponymous character. Bruce Lee's master, mind.
- Badass Long Robe: Ip's.
- Beware the Nice Ones
- Big Damn Heroes: Training the Peaceful Villagers has been subverted, the factory workers are still getting their asses handed to them by the bandits - until Ip Man shows up and gives them the old what-for.
- Blood Knight: General Miura's character is defined by a desire to pit the Chinese martial arts against his Japanese karate.
- Call Back: Early in the second film, Wong Leung asks if Ip has defeated ten men at the same time.
- Casualty in the Ring: Master Hung
- Character Title
- Chekhov's Gun: Sato's actual gun. Used first to kill Liu, then to play "bang bang" with Ip Man's son, then to threaten Ip Man, then to shoot Ip Man, then Li Zhao turns it on him.
- China Wins The War: The closing narration of the first movie describes China's defeat of Japan without mentioning the involvement of other Allied nations, including the atomic bombs, the Soviet invasion of Japanese-held China, or the American occupation of Japan.
- Colonel Badass: Averted with Sato, who most definitely is not cool. Miura, on the other hand, is a Four-Star Badass and textbook example of the noble Samurai Warrior.
- Combat Pragmatist: A number of characters, not least the titular hero, who can easily go from smiling genially like the nice guy he is outside combat to kicking your joints in and raining Rapid-Fire Fisticuffs on your face and head. Subverted with Zealot Lin. The sequel takes Ip's Pragmatism to another level. Twister is also a Pragmatist, doing things like repeatedly slugging Master Hung in the face when he refuses to let go of the rope or hitting Ip just as the bell rings.
- Ip learned his pragmatism the hard way. It took a forced 180-split from an elderly medicine seller to teach him that improvisation was acceptable in Wing Chun.
- Conservation of Ninjutsu: Both played straight and averted, where both the titular hero and General Miura can throw down with multiple opponents with ease but Master Liu, who had been winning at the one-on-one Japanese-staged matches, tries to take on three at once and gets his ass handed to him.
- And it's implied that Liu only did it after he saw Ip Man watching and felt the need to show off.
- Curb Stomp Battle: Most of the fights in that the titular character is in. The film was explicitly meant to glorify him and be all nationalistic, though, plus the choreography is superb, avoiding any potential boredom. The opponents he Curb Stomps usually were Curb Stomping their opponents before he shows up, also helping to reduce the boredom and make the wins more impressive. An arguably deliberate Lampshade Hanging occurs in the final fight against General Miura, where Ip Man caps off by pinning the other guy against a pole and going to town while scenes of his practice on a training dummy are interposed.
- Damn You, Muscle Memory!: Ip Man accidentally kicks Twister after kicking has been banned in their match.
- David vs. Goliath: Ip Man versus the Twister in the second film is this very straight. The Hero may have got his Badass cred down pat earlier, but the Twister is not only physically larger, he had destroyed the Old Master who fought Ip to a draw and gleefully murdered him in cold blood, so there is a definite underdog vibe.
- Defeat Means Friendship: Double subverted with Wong Leung.
- Donnie Yen Is Going To Kick Your Ass: Seen in the above poster on the trope page, and here and here.
- The Dragon: Colonel Sato is this to General Miura.
- Establishing Character Moment: The Twister from 2 calls Master Hung a "yellow piece of fat" early on, and only gets worse from there.
- Even Evil Has Standards: General Miura isn't pleased with Colonel Sato murdering Chinese Warriors who lose in the daily bouts for food:
Miura: This dojo is a place of Martial Spirit, this (Holds Pistol to Sato's treacherous head) has no place here; never bring it here again. Have I made myself clear!!"
- Evil Brit: Twister and the brutal policeman in the sequel were pretty much. Seems that being a Complete Monster is a prerequisite to being a brit, which is a stark contrast to the Politically-Correct History that's often portrayed.
- To be perfectly fair, there are pretty heavy doses of Accentuate the Negative in the Hong Kong segments. The British certainly were NOT that englightened or innocent as is often portrayed, but a lot of the scenes in the film (particularly the copious officially-sanctioned use of Police Brutality to intimidate dissidents) dates back far before the film is set after said issues had been largely cleaned up (by WWII the British realized it was not a good idea to needlessly provoke their Chinese allies when both the KMT and CCP were calling for annexation and they themselves were heavily dependent on the anti-Colonial US for support, and even as early as the 30's police corruption on the scale we see in the film- particularly involving violence- was met with jail). However, in this case, one may well say that Some Anvils Need to Be Dropped.
- Also, it's implied that their British superiors weren't aware of the level of corruption and brutality, and bringing it to their attention is enough to get the head of the police fired. (Not that they particularly care about the Chinese, they just don't think it's appropriate behavior.)
- To be perfectly fair, there are pretty heavy doses of Accentuate the Negative in the Hong Kong segments. The British certainly were NOT that englightened or innocent as is often portrayed, but a lot of the scenes in the film (particularly the copious officially-sanctioned use of Police Brutality to intimidate dissidents) dates back far before the film is set after said issues had been largely cleaned up (by WWII the British realized it was not a good idea to needlessly provoke their Chinese allies when both the KMT and CCP were calling for annexation and they themselves were heavily dependent on the anti-Colonial US for support, and even as early as the 30's police corruption on the scale we see in the film- particularly involving violence- was met with jail). However, in this case, one may well say that Some Anvils Need to Be Dropped.
- Extremity Extremist: Invoked in the second film, where the British make kicking against the rules after Twister takes a few good hits.
- Flexible Tourney Rules: When Ip Man starts to win against Twister, the bloodthirsty Chinese-bullying british boxer, the referees "suddenly" remember that you're not suppose to kick in western boxing matches and call Ip Man on it; something they didn't bother to call on in the last match when Twister was having an orgasm beating a sick-and-elderly Chinese Warrior to death.
- Foregone Conclusion: Everyone watching the sequel already knows that he would survive the Japanese invasion of China and become Bruce Lee's martial arts master. Ip will also definitely have to prevail against the Twister in the second.
- Foreshadowing: In the second movie, Ip Man defeated Wong Leung who was fighting using a boxing stance. Fast forward to the later parts of the movie where Ip Man took on a British boxer.
- Four Eyes, Zero Soul: Sato.
- Freudian Excuse (Jin tries to offer it.)
- Fridge Logic: Master Hong, I know it's noble not to give up, but you're not going to win... and I don't think your wife and seven children care about honor as much as you do.
- Good Old Fisticuffs: Twister's boxing is brutally effective. Earlier subverted with the street fighting of Wong Leung and his friends, who get stomped by Ip.
- Heel Face Turn: Jin in the second film.
- Henpecked Husband: Jin accused Ip of being one when he refused to fight him in his house.
- Oh the irony, Jin himself becomes one in the second movie, but to his credit he is also a loving husband and father.
- Hey, It's That Guy!:
- The old medicine seller who schools a young Ip Man on improvisation in Wing Chun is Ip Man's real-life son and Wing Chun grandmaster, Ip Chun.
- If you're into Japanese Drama, you can recognize Kunio Murai as General Miura. Bonus points for Hiyoruki Ikeuchi (General Miura) being a Judo expert in real life.
- Kano is the powerful boxer 'Twister' Milos.
- Ricky Oh is Jin Shanzhao/Ip Tin-chi/Tanaka Eiketsu.
- Honor Before Reason (Ip Man himself obviously, and surprisingly enough Miura, who honors the code of the warrior even towards his Chinese enemies.)
- Ip rejecting the ten bags of rice after destroying the ten black belts. While he was obviously trying to make a point, as well as avenge Master Liu's death, you have to wonder just how many of his people Ip could've fed with all that rice.
- In the sequel, Master Hung offers protecting the honour of Chinese martial arts as the reason why he does not back down against the Twister.
- Hot-Blooded: Zealot Lin in the first movie, Wong Leung in the second.
- Improvised Weapon: Ip Man defeats a sword-wielding opponent with his wife's feather duster. He takes on Jin again later on with a long bamboo pole. In the sequel, he uses even more of these, such as wooden pallets and baskets/trays.
- In the Back (How Zealot Lin tries to defeat General Miura, and fails)
- Inferred Holocaust: The first movie concludes the final fight with the spectators overpowering the Japanese guards to get to the wounded hero, then cuts to him being taken to safety and later to his real-life success. What happens to the Foshan townsfolk as a result of the most probable Japanese response is left unknown.
- Invulnerable Knuckles: Averted; Ip's knuckles are clearly bruised after he finishes dealing with the Japanese pugilists.
- Irony: With all its anti-Japanese sentiments, the heart-stirring theme of the film, swelling with Chinese pride is composed by Japanese composer Kenji Kawai, famous for his unforgettable musical scores for the Ghost in the Shell films and the Anime adaptation of the Visual Novel Fate/stay night.
- Not necessarily, modern Japanese and Imperial Japanese are very different people. While some of the intended movie audience is indeed the nationalistic anti-Japanese crowd, the movie itself is explicitly anti-Imperial Japanese. To put it into analogy, If Mr. Kawai is a German, he would be like a modern German composing for an anti-Nazi Germany movie, in which there would be no irony because he is not a Nazi German.
- Karma Houdini: Jin. In the first film he begins as an Arrogant Kung Fu Guy incarnate, becomes a bandit, and then sells out the location of Ip Man to the Japanese. In the sequel, he's treated as an old friend and is seen happily married with a child.
- Then again, he is also deaf in one ear and his first scene in the second movie consists of him helping Ip Man.
- This is averted in a deleted scene where Miura has Jin killed after he sells out the location of Ip Man.
- And in Ip Man 2 Twister was not killed, or even at-least crippled, for murdering Master Hung and destroying his school.
- Then again, he is also deaf in one ear and his first scene in the second movie consists of him helping Ip Man.
- Karmic Death: The cruel Japanese Colonel Sato, who had shot Master Liu to death earlier for losing against Japanese fighters, eventually gets killed by a shot from his own gun after it is wrestled away from him. By Li Zhao, who he had smacked around for no good reason.
- Kung Shui: Jin smashes up some of Ip's stuff while the latter is merely dodging, before his son comes in, conveying a message from his wife to get serious. Ip does and prevents any more vases from getting broken.
Jin: (After breaking a vase) I'll pay for that.
Ip: You will.
- The Law of Diminishing Defensive Effort: Twister laughs off the attacks of Master Hung's students, taunting their weakness, but properly dodges and blocks Master Hung and Ip's attacks.
- Les Collaborateurs: Li Zhao, who does not revel in his new position unlike many others.
- In a deleted scene his fellow villagers beat him to death for being a sell-out after he kills Sato.
- "Fatso" for the British in the second movie. Like Li Zhao, he ends up betraying his boss and helps the Chinese.
- Lightning Bruiser: The Twister can take and dish it out well while still being fast enough to keep up with Master Hung and Ip.
- Lowered Monster Difficulty (Look closely at how the Japanese pugilists fighting Ip Man act, compared to those fighting Master Liu.)
- Justified in that Master Liu had been regularly humiliating the Japanese black-belts for quite some time then, and the best of the bunch couldn't resist taking a crack at the sub-human who had been kicking their asses one-on one. But when an unknown asks to fight 10 other people, those same best of the best probably took a pass on what they thought would be a ten-on one massacre. Turns out is was, but not in the way they imagined it, I'm sure.
- Martial Arts Do Not Work That Way: Subverted. Ip's Wing Chun generally eschews showboating and kicks much ass, while more showy pugilists don't fare well, and the toughest opponent thus far is the Twister, who sticks to boxing.
- Martial Pacifist (Unless provoked, anyway)
- Mook Chivalry (Averted with Master Liu's 3v1 fight, played straight with Ip Man's 10v1 fight.)
- Seemed more like Ip was just that good. He barely has breathing room at the start of the fight, and the Japanese students understandably start to lose morale after he not only fights back, but starts mowing them down like a thresher through wheat.
- While this might be understandable for the last two or three fighters, the students press him a little at the beginning and then proceed to stand around looking gobsmacked as soon as he hits back. They all politely look on while he puts one of them in an armlock and punches him in the face repeatedly, missing only a look of distinguished approbation and a monocle each to appear completely detached from the fight. Until they get their gobs smacked for real. They seem to recover a lot quicker from surprise when Master Liu smacks them around a bit, before they get their act together.
- They seem to lose their chivalry when they are down to four, though.
- The 10-man fight scene can be justified in that given what an honor-heavy culture WWII Japan was, a Japanese black-belt attacking a single fighter from behind when you've got 9 other buddies, might seem a little cowardly. At least from the start. Reason before Honor seems to take hold once they realize they just got put in the ring with the Chinese Terminator.
- People forget that it's actually hard to fight in a group effectively in martial arts outside of dogpiling. Being crowded limits your kicks, you can't do punches other than straight ones due to space restrictions. If you want to be "proper" in your forms and attacks some personal space is required. Martial artists also almost never receive training in group combat outside of historically military ones that might have been in use in the battlefield.
- Seemed more like Ip was just that good. He barely has breathing room at the start of the fight, and the Japanese students understandably start to lose morale after he not only fights back, but starts mowing them down like a thresher through wheat.
- Mouthy Kid: Young Bruce Lee.
- Never Bring a Knife to A Fist Fight: Jin's sword doesn't help him much against Ip Man. On the other hand, Ip has no qualms against arming himself.
- It does help. As much as Ip is at taking down his opponents, a competent opponent with a sword is a lot harder to get close to for a decent hit rather than an unarmed one. The solution? Extend his own reach with an impromptu weapon, even if it is a feather duster. Really the main issue here was how far he could go to score a hit and he knew that based on his style, he probably would expend more energy trying to land it and risk getting hit than just grabbing something.
- Nice Guy - Ip Man.
- Noble Demon - Miura, who is more motivated by patriotism in his viciousness than sadism like his cowardly-subordinate Sato, shows respect towards his Chinese enemies, and is in his own brutal way an honorable, traditional Japanese Warrior.
- No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Liberally used by the Japanese. The film doesn't bother hiding its nationalism. Two specific examples are Master Liu getting thrashed by three Japanese pugilists and Ip Man going to town on General Miura. Two examples in the sequal are Twister beating Master Hung to death, and Ip Man thrashing Twister's face towards the end of the final fight.
- Really, almost every fight in the first movie is incredibly one-sided leading to one of these... the only time it's averted is when the beatdown-er is a goddamn saint (... AKA Ip Man when he's not severely pissed off).
- Obfuscating Stupidity: Ip Man generally avoids direct confrontations and attempts to pass this onto his students.
Wong Leung: I bet you can go up against 10 men!
Ip Man: The best way to deal with it is to not fight at all.
Wong Leung: What happens if they have weapons?
Ip Man: (Briefly chuckles) Run.
- I wouldn't call that stupidity. Quite the contrary, in fact.
- Offhand Backhand (How General Miura Catches Zealot Lin Fighting Dirty)
- Old Master: Deconstructed with Master Hung, as exhaustion starts setting in during the match against Twister.
- Also discussed by Ip Man himself, who tells a student that no matter how good he is, his abilities will degrade with age.
- The Other Darrin: Donnie Yen plays the older Ip Man, while Dennis To is the younger version.
- Perspective Flip: An early part of both films involves a newcomer challenging established martial arts masters. Thing is? In the first film it's a villain doing so, who Ip puts in place. In the second, it's Ip himself who's the outsider. Pity that it was never commented on.
- Police Brutality: In the second film, a British policeman beats on editor-in-chief Kan.
- Politically-Correct History: Averted; the first film doesn't try to whitewash wartime Japanese behaviour, while the second doesn't shy from depicting Western racism.
- Played straight in other instances. To be more Communist-friendly, the first film does not mention that Ip Man was a Kuomintang supporter who left for Hong Kong to escape the Communists, not the Japanese.
- Pummel Duel: In the second.
- Rapid-Fire Fisticuffs: Liberally used by the titular hero.
- Truth in Television - kinda. Linking multiple straight punches in quick succession - also known as chain punching - is one of the cornerstones of Wing Chun, the southern Chinese martial art of which the Real Life Ip Man was a master. However, in practice students are advised to keep it to short bursts: it's impossible to maintain the initial striking power beyond a certain point (not to mention the risk of interruption), and to prolong it further is dangerous and impractical.
- They should also be taught not to use it as an entry technique. It's possibly one of the worst ways of closing distance and entering an opponent's guard short of putting your hands in your pockets and running forward with your chin out.
- The sequel has pummel duels. MUDAMUDAMUDAORAORAORA anyone?
- Truth in Television - kinda. Linking multiple straight punches in quick succession - also known as chain punching - is one of the cornerstones of Wing Chun, the southern Chinese martial art of which the Real Life Ip Man was a master. However, in practice students are advised to keep it to short bursts: it's impossible to maintain the initial striking power beyond a certain point (not to mention the risk of interruption), and to prolong it further is dangerous and impractical.
- Reality Ensues: Ip Man beats Miura and stands around dramatically while thinking about the cost of the war. Then he is shot. This is a particularly good example, since the film made it very clear that Ip would be killed if he didn't throw the match, even showing Sato's hand edging towards his holster in the middle of the fight.
- Real Men Wear Pink: At one point, Wing Chun is made fun of for being feminine. Without any shame, Ip Man admits that Wing Chun was invented by a woman.
- Reverse Mole: "Fatso" in the second film.
- Ring Out: The final fight against General Miura is on a raised platform with this as a defeat condition. In the sequel, Ip has to face the Hong Kong-based masters on a table, with getting off it as a defeat condition.
- Rival Turned Evil: While he and Ip Man never became friends until the sequel, Jin descended from martial artist rivalry to becoming a bandit and later selling Ip Man's last known whereabouts to the Japanese.
- Heel Face Turn: Jin in the sequel, which is something of a Karma Houdini moment.
- Roaring Rampage of Revenge (Ip Man's demolishing of the 10
judokakarateka may be one of these.)
- Seppuku: Miura's fate in a deleted scene.
- Sequel Hook: The second film ends with the introduction of young Bruce Lee.
- Showy Invincible Hero: The titular character Curb Stomps all his enemies, but the choreography is tight enough to minimise boredom.
- Minimize is an understatement, the fights are good enough to eliminate ALL boredom.
- YMMV. The choreography was great, but in a film that's ostensibly based on a true story having the title character fight, variously, a professional kung fu master, an armed bandit (while wielding a feather) and ten karate black belts at once without even receiving a scratch stretches willing suspension of disbelief. Especially since the movie has strong nationalistic themes and Bruce Lee is often portrayed as an undefeated fighter when he fought few regulation matches.
- Averted in the second film, where Ip defeats the Twister, but not before he gets knocked down a few times.
- Sleeve Rolling of Asskicking
- Smug Snake: Colonel Sato, who makes leering grins liberally, crosses the Moral Event Horizon not long after his first appearance, dishes out No Holds Barred Beatdowns liberally and keeps asking to (and getting denied from) Just Shoot our hero. His Karmic Death is much-welcomed.
- So Last Season: Beating up ten Japanese karate experts and a general is nothing compared to fighting a showy British boxer.
- Tactful Translation: After Ip Man beats up the ten Karate black belts and tells off the general, the translator gives the general a much more polite version of Ip Man's words.
- Tap on the Head: Both used and averted, as many mooks go down from a single strike to the head, but named characters are more resilient
- Those Two Guys: In IM 2, there's a pair of martial arts masters whose main role is to sit together and comment about the fights they're watching. They mock Ip Man during his "tryout" for the Hong Kong martial arts society and cheer him on when he's fighting Twister.
- Too Stupid to Live: You will say to yourself "No! Don't do that, you idiot!" when Zealot Lin decides to make a final attempt to attack Miura while his back is turned after their matched had been clearly finished, I guarantee it. At this point Lin was battered, bruised and likely internally bleeding, and he barely stood a chance against him when he was fresh.
- Training the Peaceful Villagers: Subverted, where our hero trains the workers at Quan's factory in Wing Chun to help them resist a group of bandits, only for the bandits to prevail anyway until Ip Man pulls a Big Damn Heroes moment.
- Translation Convention (In the Cantonese dub, Foshaners speak Cantonese while Jin's Northerners speak Mandarin. In the Mandarin dub, both groups of Chinese speak Mandarin. However, Japanese speak uninterpreted Japanese.)
- Trash Talk: The Twister mouths off about his perception on the supposedly inferiority of Chinese martial arts a lot. A LOT.
- Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny: <Insert fighting style here> vs. Wing Chun. Let's rock!
- Undefeatable Little Village: Master Yip trains his entire local village in wing chun to fight of bandits.
- Underestimating Badassery: Applied to Ip in the second film.
- Very Loosely Based on a True Story: The film's historical inaccuracies are discussed here.
- Warrior Poet: Ip Man
- Warrior Therapist: Ip Man becomes this accidentally. Between the first and second films, his friend Zhou Qing Quan loses his memory after being shot in the head by the Japanese. Zhou regains his memory after listening to Ip Man's match with Twister on the radio.
- Jin goes from a violent bandit to a Doting Parent and Henpecked Husband after being deafened in one ear by Ip Man.
- What the Fu Are You Doing?: Twister mocks the "dancing" of the martial arts demonstration.
- Whole-Plot Reference: Both films are very similar to Rocky IV. A fighter from an enemy nation shows up on the hero's home turf. The hero's rival-turned-friend gets killed in a match. The hero avenges the death in the ring without killing his opponent. Ip Man 2 even ends with the beaten up hero giving a speech on peace and tolerance, getting applause from his opponent's fans.
- Why Don't Ya Just Shoot Him: Colonel Sato insists on simply shooting Ip Man, but General Miura is having none of that.
- With My Hands Tied: In the second film, Wong Leung spends some time doing this.
- You Look Familiar: Both Sammo Hung and Louis Fan play different roles in the trilogy. Sammo plays Hung Chun-nam, a rival teacher in the sequel, while in the third movie, he plays Chan Wah-shun, one of Ip's kung fu teachers. Louis Fan plays the northern fighter/bandit/husband Jin Shanzhao in the first two movies, while in the third, he plays Ip's adopted brother/Japanese spy Ip Tin-chi/Tanaka Eiketsu.
- Don't forget Dennis To who played Jin Shanzhao's henchman in the first film, then he played the gang leader and student of Hung Chun-nam in the second film, and finally he played the young Ip Man himself in the third film.
- Ironically, both characters which Sammo Hung plays have asthma.


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10 Days to Becoming a Great Writer – Day 2
Today we are going to discuss the importance of revising ones content. I've divided the post into these following categories:
1. Grammar
Yes, it is boring and tiring but it still remains as a very essential part of your writing. Try to highlight (in your memory) words that you often misspell so you know them in the future. The only way to really get rid of this defect is by reading books a lot, not only do you get learn new words, improve your grammar but you also start reading faster.
Tip: You could always look at the Wikipedia entry for common misspellings and words that are frequently misused.
2. Misplaced words
I have to admit, ever since MS Word and other popular word processing applications started correcting misspelled words this problem has decreased dramatically. Albeit, they managed to fix misspellings but they did not manage to fix misplaced words or an irrational word order (except to a small degree). Never put your trust on a machine, be sure to always revise it your self! 🙂
3. Make someone else read it
OK, so no you've read it through, revised it and fixed all possible grammatical issues. Now what? A good idea would be to make someone else read your content and give feedback. Why?
Because generally we tend to miss mistakes we've made, after all we are reading the text with a subjective eye, right? Also, don't get all to frustrated if the reader gave you some negative feedback. This only benefits you… hopefully 🙂


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DocumentDB is the Azure no-SQL alternative that stores and queries JSON documents. See how our club data from WordPress can be converted to JSON using C# and stored in DocumentDB. The SQL-like query language will also be demonstrated.
Bill Wolff
Bill Wolff is an independent consultant, trainer, and architect specializing in Microsoft development technologies under the name Agility Systems. He served as the SharePoint Practice Director at Capax Global, Solutions Architect in the Microsoft Practice at Unisys Corporation, and ran the Microsoft Alliance at LiquidHub. He ran the consulting firm Wolff Data Systems for 15 years and directed armies of consultants in the dot com world. Bill is founder and President of the philly.NET user group, a previous INETA board member where he served as Vice President of the Speaker Bureau, and involved in several other user communities. Bill was a contributing author on several books. His certifications include trainer, systems engineer, developer, and Microsoft MVP.


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Are you looking to Earn income online?
Ofcourse Yes, But the majority of you couldn't find a way. So, that' why I am here with an Opportunity for you to Make Money as Cha Cha Guide. You will get this Opportunity on Website called ChaCha.com, which is a Question Answer site. Wanna know more about it? Let me explain it briefly.
What is ChaCha.com?
Chacha.com is a website providing Answers to your Questions. You can ask whatever you want and Cha Cha guides will answer it as soon as possible. Normally, it takes only a few minutes. This Website also provides answers via calls or Tests. You can call at 1-800-2-242-242 to Get your Answers. They will send you a text message on the same number from where you call ChaCha. So, it is one of the fastest problem solving sites.
Also Read:- Make or Save Huge money with MyPoints
How to earn Money with chacha.com?
As I already explained that there are Cha Cha guides who gives answers. But In between they have a 4 step process and in that 4 step process, they allow you to make via 4 different ways. And those are, Generalist, Expediter, Transcriber, and Cha Cha Guide. All these are different, but related jobs on this website, which you can use to make money online. Below is an explanation of these jobs.
- Generalist :- In this job you need to Answers Questions asked via a Calls or text messages, and you be paid per question criteria which means More questions, more money.
- Expediter:- In other words, Grammar checker. You just asked to check and correct grammar mistakes in all questions submitted at ChaCha.com. The paying criteria will be the same, Money per Question.
- Transcriber:- In this job, you will be asked to write down Questions asked through Calls. You need to write the exact thing asked by the user though audio call.
- Cha Cha Guide (Most famous):- I already explained,you need to Answers questions on their website and it is the highest paying job on this site. The majority of People from the world do this Job. So, I will advise you to do this, if you really wanna Make money from ChaCha.com.
How to Become Cha Cha Guide?
You need to follow the below given steps.
- Open This Link :- ChaCha Guide and Fill in all your details.
- After Filling in all details, you need to watch Introductory videos to make sure you are not a newbie.
- After watching the videos, you will be asked to take training. In that training, they will ask you 10 questions and you need to answer them correctly. So make sure you are correct before submitting any answer.
- Now, If you complete your training and Answer majority of questions correctly, then, you are done. Now onwards you can Make money by answering questions on ChaCha.com.
>>Another Website to Make money Answering Questions:- WebAnswers
Benefits of becoming a Cha Cha Guide:-
- One Big Benefit is, you can earn Money in your free time or you can earn while doing any other work. For example, Watching TV.
- If you have good English writing skills and God Knowledge, then you can earn a lot on this website.
So, that's it with the Article. I hope it will help you make money as Cha Cha Guide. If you any questions or confusion, feel free to ask via comments.
Hi Atinder, I didn't really heard about chacha. Is it good enough for revenue?
I want to make money from blogging. Can u help me ?
Hey atinder
Great guide you mentioned regarding chacha.com. Frankly speaking, i haven't heared before but, now i'm gonna try it once.
Thanks for post.
Anubhav Gupta
Hello Atinder,
This is my first time hearing about Chacha and it sounds like a great opportunity to me! I have so much free time at hand and I don't want it to go to waste. I can't wait to try it out! Thanks!
Hi Dylann
Cha Cha is good opportunity to make some income. You must give it a try.
I want to make money from blogging this is nice way to make money. People see tv and do drink in spare time if they do blogging in this time they can make money. I was doing waste of my free time before 12 months. from last 12 Months I have started blogging and now I am getting 3$ per day Hope in next 6 Months I will cross more than 10$ per day
Yes Sudheer you are right Blogging can earn everyone some money in their vacant time. I am happy you making God amount blogging.
Hi Atinder S Gill
It is great to see competition in money blogging is rising fast and smart bloggers are looking to every option for raising their online income.
The source you pointed in this post is really cool. One just have to fully exploit it and easily add many bucks in his regular income.
Thanks for sharing this wonderful resource having an interesting name Cha Cha. 🙂
Hello Mi Muba,
Thanks for your Valuable comment and Yes smart bloggers always looking to raise income using more methods.
Keep Reading.
Comments are closed.


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The website of a.s.r. uses cookies. We always place cookies, for example to make the website work properly and to be able to analyze the website completely anonymously. In addition, we place cookies that are not necessary, but are useful. With this you can give feedback or share our information on social media. Or to be able to show relevant advertisements on third-party websites. These cookies may collect data outside of our website. By clicking on 'Agree' you agree to the placing of these cookies. If you want to indicate which cookies you give permission for click on 'Change my settings'. Learn more? Read our cookie policy.
a.s.r. has a public duty to act as a responsible insurer and investor. As a proof a.s.r. has signed the following national and international standards and agreements:
a.s.r. signed the United Nations Global Compact in 2011. By signing the UNGC, a.s.r. has undertaken to embrace, support and implement within its sphere of influence thes principles relating to human rights, labour standards, the environment and the fight against corruption.
a.s.r. signed the PSI of the UNEP FI in August 2013. By adhering to these principles, a.s.r. demonstrates its belief in the need to integrate sustainability into its insurance operations. The objective of these principles is to reduce sustainability risks, develop innovative solutions and improve the operating performance of businesses in terms of social, economic and environmental aspects. Globally, 83 insurance companies have signed these principles (Benchmark date: July 2015).
a.s.r. signed the UN PRI in 2011. The 1,400 companies worldwide that endorse these principles together manage investments worth € 59 trillion. By applying the six UN principles for responsible investment, a.s.r. contributes to the development of a more sustainable financial system. a.s.r. gives a status update on its progress in meeting the Principles for Responsible Investment every year.
This covenant was signed by a.s.r. in August 2013. This is a public-private partnership between UNEP and the financial sector. The goal is to promote the integration of sustainability principles at al operational levels of financial institutions. This is achieved by integrating environmental, social and governance factors into an instition's risk assesment procedure.
As part of the UN Global Compact, a.s.r. signed the Call to Action and the Global Development Agenda in 2014. Through this initiative, the private sector calls upon governments to promote anti-corruption measures and to implement good governance principles.
a.s.r. signed the Paris Pledge for Action on 11 December 2015. In it, the signatories express their firm support for the new climate agreement that was signed during the Paris COP21. The Paris Pledge for Action is an initiative of the French presidency of the COP21, which calls upon al organizations, enterprises, regions, cities and investors to subscribw to the Paris Pledge for Action. Through this pledge, the organizations, including a.s.r., confirm their commitment to a safe and stable climate, in which the increase in temperature limited to well below 2 degrees Centrigrade.
a.s.r. is committed to customers who are unable or unwilling to pay their bills. We do this by actively helping them find a solution to their problems. We have signed the Ethical Manifesto with other large companies.
a.s.r. joined a group of companies that commit themselves to customers with late payments to help them proactively in finding a solution. This national coalition has laid down rules of conduct in an ethical manifesto.
The environmental policy of a.s.r. is aimed at maintaining the company's environmental performance at a socially responsible level. The principles for the policy are presented in the environmental policy statement. This statement is only available in Dutch.
In 2008, a.s.r. signed the government's third multi-year energy efficiency agreement (MYA3), in which was agreed that organizations would commit to the ambition to reduce their energy consumption by 2% every year, ultimately culminating in a 30% improvement by 2020 from benchmark year 2005.
In 2012, a.s.r. undertook to observe the Manifesto for Socially Responsible Purchasing and Business Practices (MVOI), an initiative by large businesses in the Netherlands supported by NEVI, the Dutch Association for Purchasing Management.
a.s.r. has been a member of the Dutch Association of Investors for Sustainable Development since 2009. This Assocation promotes awareness among investors of their contribution to sustainability, for instance by conducting different types of benchmark surveys. a.s.r. is included in the benchmark for responsible investments by insurance companies in the Netherlands.
MVO Nederland wants to inspire, connect and accelerate organizations on their way towards climate-neutral, circular and inclusive business models with robust and stable earnings to contribute to a sustainable and fair world. It does so by bringing together governments, institutes of knowledge, NGOs and trade unions, focusing on issues such as the climate, energy, commodities, materials, waste, the working population and empowerment.
The guidelines of the Global Reporting Initiative governing transparent reporting on (quantifiable) economic, ecological and social performance. The GRI G4 benchmark helps to present non-financial information in as structured, measurable and comparable a way as possible. The benchmark was established to compare the non-financial performance wherever possible.


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Sold Out
This premium cotton racer back tank bodysuit is a wardrobe must have and staple piece! Everyone needs a basic bodysuit in their life because they are so versatile and can be worn with almost everything! Wear it with shorts, jeans, under overalls (yes- those are back in style), a jumpsuit, under a blazer....shall we go on?? We recommend one of every color because you are going to love it that much!
Model Size Reference:
Type: Tops


text: Many people dread job interviews, but for others, it's their time to shine. This can make interviewing difficult, because the right person for the job isn't necessarily the smoothest candidate. The last thing you want is to hire a seemingly perfect candidate, only to realize their interview performance was all smoke and mirrors. Get it… Read more »


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Dear Colleagues,
The week started with great news when we learned SDCE's proposal for the Online CTE Pathways Grant was approved for $500,000, which will allow SDCE to create the first five (5) fully online synchronous Information Technology certificates in the state.
Also this week, several SDCE classrooms and faculty held events supporting original artwork from SDCE students including the Disability Support Programs and Services Adaptive Arts and Crafts students who held a fundraiser with art sales. Also, an exhibit at the Balboa Park Senior Lounge opened this week, which includes original artwork from SDCE Emeritus Program students. The exhibit will be on display through the summer months. Lastly, students from SDCE's Textile Surface Design Class held an open house in their classroom at Mid-City Campus to showcase projects created with Sashiko Embroidery, Eco-Printing and Natural Dying.
The Barrio Logan Association and the Logan Avenue Consortium installed a series of decorative banners on the streets of Barrio Logan, mounted on the City light poles. The banner designs commemorate the many public and special events that occur each year in Barrio Logan and SDCE is proudly sponsoring 12 banners to support this effort, and to bring greater awareness to Cesar E. Chavez Campus. See below for banner examples.
The SDCCD Board of Trustees held their annual retreat this week. Dean Cassandra Storey presented at the CCAOE (California Community College Association for Occupational Education) leadership academy on workforce development in Sacramento, and a team of SDCE superstars participated in LFM (Leading from the Middle) in Pomona. I was able to attend the monthly SDICCCA (San Diego and Imperial Counties Community College Association) meeting; the California Community College's Urban League Town Hall with the California State Chancellor; the Noncredit Workforce Task Force; the SDCCD Management Association Spring Luncheon and Service Awards, and also met with Phil Blair, Executive Officer of Manpower that included a tour of the Educational Cultural Complex.


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THE FUNNYThe Funny – it's a joyful background music for childrens themes. This instrumental track used a lot of upbeat drums, inspirational male voices and whistle melody. This instrumental track is built from individual loops and easy for cut! So you will not have difficulty creating an individual version exactly the length of your project! Especially upbeat tempo and nice arrangement will exactly suitable for your projects!
PERFECT FOR: children, kids video, fun and cheerful projects, photo slideshows, family movies or footage, wedding videos, business and travel, motivational corporate videos, commercials, youtube videos, advertising, radio, journey, films, web advertisements, any presentations and many many more, be free to experiment with this song and enjoy. MAIN INSTRUMENTS USED: Whistle, male vocal, ukulele, piano, accoustic guitar, drums.
First version (full track) Duration – 2:05
Second version (1:20) Duration – 1:17
Third version (0:30) Duration – 0:29
Fourth version (no whistle) Duration – 2:05
Comes both in .wav and .mp3 formats


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By: Michael Muyot, President, CRD Analytics / Founding Partner, The Analyst Desk/ Board member of Re>Think Local
I recently gave a talk called "the Predictive Power of Analytics" at the Senate Garage in Kingston, NY for the March Hudson Valley Tech MeetUp. By all accounts, this is one of the local organizations that is helping to build an actionable community. In partnership with Re>Think Local, where I joined the board in December of last year, I've found two groups of smart, creative and passionate people who are very mission oriented. It is inspiring to me to be part of a solution and what feels like the right side of history in the making.
As the son of a retired IBMer and elementary school teacher who both grew up in the Hudson Valley, I am extremely aware of the good times IBM brought by creating prosperity and security for so many families. I also witnessed first hand the painful struggles and economic despair when the majority of that prosperity was outsourced overseas to China and India. In many ways, the region is still recovering from the trials and tribulations and an economic model that no longer works: over-dependence on a single large company or a cluster of a couple of industries. The analysis has been done, and with this old model, the numbers simply don't add up to prosperity and vibrancy for all members of the community.
In my talk, I give examples of how I have helped large companies and even entire industries raise their value through revenue, share price and market capitalization. It always started with a strategic outcome, which would help them get to where they ultimately wanted to be. The challenge we face today here in the Hudson Valley is not incremental growth but a "Space Race" type of vision that people can really get behind. With most folks working so hard to survive, the thought of more work can be almost unthinkable. Yet, it is always said to be impossible until it's done.
One possible strategic outcome that would have big positive impacts would be to increase the median salary for the region from $24.5K to $45K. This is something that can be measured and easy for people of all walks of life to relate to in terms of the positive benefits for them and the people they know.
What I'm suggesting is approaching the challenge and solution with a better set of tools so that we can work smarter and more efficiently. The median salary, which currently is approximately $24.5K for the region, is something that is easy to track to make sure we are moving in the right direction towards our goal. This is something that we can understand, but that we often rely on our elected officials to improve. We can increase this number in very short order in 3 steps: 1) identify local businesses that could support jobs well above $24.5K, 2) unlock the obstacles that are keeping those businesses from hiring more people or form new businesses that could support higher paying jobs, and 3) put into place a way to measure the positive economic and social impacts of raising the median salary range, ensuring future support for more actions that drive value.
One of the risks I've identified through my research work on the top seven future industries, is not the risk of losing more jobs to overseas workers, but rather, the risk of losing more jobs to technology. More specifically, to robots, artificial intelligence, and algorithms right here in the U.S. The other big risk is having large investors from Silicon Valley & Wall Street come here to the Hudson Valley, buy up all of the farm land and just hire people as contract workers with no benefits or opportunity to move up. This is the danger of being 'Uberized," resulting in all of the economic value and prosperity being sucked out of our region and communities. This could actually have worse and longer lasting negative effects than when IBM moved the majority of its operations to China and India, because people might not have the chance to rebuild and regenerate due to their time and energy being drained by investors and companies outside the region.
The best way to predict the future is to create it. What I'm suggesting is that we focus on creating a better future for ourselves, our families and our communities by investing in our farmland and leveraging the technological solutions of precision agriculture, designed for large corporate agriculture, but re-designing it to support small-scale organic precision farming, thus aligning it with our strategic outcome of increasing the median salary to $45K.
Let me explain why and how.
During my talk, I explained why this is a realistic solution that will allow us to leap frog the process and secure our land by building and investing in organic precision farming. There is a strategic design that would allow for us to protect one of our most undervalued assets to create prosperity at every level of the value chain which would have positive first, second and third order impacts on every local small business community. Growing the industry of organic precision farming would create the first order impact: high paying quality careers for farmers and workers, as they will learn to make a good living by leveraging technology to increase their yield and profit. This in turn creates a demand for more expensive farming equipment and information systems to gather, analyze and predict the information that drives yield and profit, the second order impact. Farming equipment and information system careers pay well, and since they are tied to a local industry, will allow individuals working in them to stay local, resulting in even more new companies establishing themselves in the Hudson Valley. This will increase the median salary and benefits, better allowing for people to start buying homes once again, the root of any vibrant community. Also, with higher disposable income, people will be better able to buy healthier organic food, thus supporting the very industry that is providing them with a good living. Additionally, people will have more time to enjoy the local arts and culture, restaurants, outdoor activities such as hiking, kayaking, or spend more quality time with their friends and family.
The third order impact that will benefit, is increased tax revenue, including business sales taxes, income taxes, and property taxes from more people in higher tax brackets due to a higher level of quality careers and jobs. With more tax revenue, city governments can better invest in much needed infrastructure, transportation and educational improvements. Educationally, our children need to understand the high tech world they will be competing in; merely teaching them to memorize answers for an quarterly exam is not going to prepare them. It is crucial that every child has the opportunity and access to be part of the exciting industries of the 21st Century. One of the best ways to do this is to show them what that looks like, such as building a cutting edge industry like organic precision farming in the Hudson Valley, along with all of the derivative industries it will need to support it. Children will then be able to visit the farms and see organic precision technology in action. They will be able to sit next to a programmer and information analyst mapping out how to grow more organic tomatoes at more affordable prices. They will be able to tour a manufacturing facility where they are producing organic baby food being exported in large quantities to New York City, Greenwich and Boston. And hopefully they will get excited and see how they can be part of this new ecosystem of value creation right here in the community they grew up in, instead of dreaming about how to escape, because they don't see a future for themselves.
Is this a tall order? Maybe, but not if we all get behind it. It's not impossible, in fact, it's inevitable. I'm proposing that we protect, own and invest in our future. Let's not passively allow the future to happen to us, let's actively control our own destiny, and our children's future prosperity for generations to come. Contact me with your thoughts and feedback: firstname.lastname@example.com. Let's start planning our outcomes.
If you would like to read up on numerous examples of other communities that are doing excellent work within the scope of the Local Economy Solution, I suggest you check out michaelhshuman.com. Michael H. Shuman has written several books and articles on the best practices happening around the world. Michael and I are partnering together to work on building new local analytical tools to help expedite these solutions here in the Hudson Valley. Stay tuned.
Michael Muyot
Re>Think Local Board Member


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Tanzanite buying guideline, quality value buying in Tanzania.
Tanzanite jewel origin and gemstone buying guide.
Tanzanite is the found in Tanzania, and is found only in Arusha area called Mererani. Now Mererani ward is shifted to Manyara region due to administrative division of Arusha Region. Mererani is accessible by Road and by Air. Merarani Tanzanite Mines are near to Kilimanjaro International Airport, JRO. Several International Airlines lands at JRO, these are such as Turkish Airlines, Qatar Airways, KLM, Ethiopian Airlines and Condor Air. According to Tanzania law, it is prohibited to export raw Tanzanite, and most people visit Tanzania to buy and design their cut style. Mererani is located at foot of Mount Kilimanjaro, some 40 kms to Machame gate and 120 kms to Rongai route bordering Kenya.
Tanzanite is the blue/purple jewel type of the mineral zoisite (a calcium aluminium hydroxy silicate). Tanzanite is an extraordinary gemstone, unique jewel. It occurs in only one place worldwide and hence it is worth value is high than Gold or Diamond.
Use of Tanzanite is to make weary necklaces, wedding rings, ear rings, braces and watches. Sapphire and Ruby are jewels available in Area Mbuguni and Mererani.
Tanzanite Buying and Selling Guide.
How to buy quality Tanzanite value to your money?
Many Tourists who visit Tanzania for their vacation holiday and adventure travel also like to buy Tanzanite. Vacation holidays and adventure travel activities include Mount Kilimanjaro climbing, wildlife safaris, Tanzania nature tours, camping safaris, machame route trekking Kilimanjaro, budget camping safaris, cheap flight tickets bookings, flight ticket bookings, hotel reservations, Rongai route Kilimanjaro climb, maasai village tours, Chagga village culture tour Kilimanjaro, waterfalls tours and beach holidays.
Tourists need to get guidelines to buy genuine Tanzanite gemstone and hence experience real value of the money spent. Grading, cut and heat treatment affect quality of Tanzanite. So it is advised travelers to get help of Tour Operators Office to point out Tanzanite Dealers who sell quality gemstones.
To get advisor on buying Tanzanite and book Tanzania tours, pay with Moneybookers/Skrill
COntact us: [email protected]


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Natural Biogenics Forskolin
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To wrap up the season, me and SI NOW Associate Producer Steve Raum discussed the NFC and AFC West via podcast, like we did for every division leading up to the season. So, as I've done for every division, I want to write a short article outlining my most important thoughts for each team in the NFC and AFC West.
NFC West
Arizona Cardinals (13-3 last year)
The Cardinals season ended in disappoint after getting blown out by the Panthers in the NFC Championship game. They were dominant on both sides of the ball, but a knee injury to the hybrid stud safety Tyrann Mathieu in December was a big hit to their Super Bowl dreams; It showed in the title game when the Panthers put up 49 points against the Cardinals.
The Cardinals look to bounce back in a season that's truly Super Bowl or bust with Carson Palmer at the helm, a 36-year-old QB in prime position to win his first Super Bowl title. More importantly, though, is the man on the sidelines. Bruce Arians has coached the Cardinals to three straight 10-win -or -more seasons since taking over as head coach.
As long as Arians is coaching, Palmer is the QB, and Mathieu stays healthy, this team has big things written all over them. But that's asking a lot from two players who have dealt with multiple serious knee injuries in their career. The Cardinals are stacked, but have to keep their stars healthy to make a Super Bowl run.
Seattle Seahawks (10-6 last year)
Russell Wilson and the Seahawks got off to a slow start before dominating through the air in their last eight games. They started 2-4 before winning eight of their last 10 going into the postseason.
The offensive line is a serious concern, and probably the only one you can find on the team. Their defense is and has been stacked for four straight seasons, a primary reason for their success over those last four years (four straight 10-win seasons). Russell Wilson makes up for it with his incredible play-making ability, and I think he's a true MVP candidate this season. I like the Seahawks to regain their dominance at the top of this division before facing Cam Newton and the Panthers in a playoff rematch.
Los Angeles Rams (7-9 last year)
The Rams are moving to Los Angeles, but they're still going to stink. They haven't won eight games since 2006, yet Jeff Fisher seems to miraculously have stability at the head coaching position.
There's not much to say about the Rams besides the fact that they have Todd Gurley and Aaron Donald, two players that will make the Rams fun to watch on both sides of the ball.
Nonetheless, if you couldn't tell, I expect another disappointing season for the Rams.
San Francisco 49ers (5-11 last year)
The Niners are another team that will likely disappoint this year, but Chip Kelly taking over as head coach makes them an interesting watch. So does the QB battle, where Blaine Gabbert and Colin Kaepernick have been battling for the starting job all preseason long.
They were terrible on offense last year. Will Chip Kelly help improve that and maintain a coaching job in the NFL? If he can't, he may get the boot fairly quickly. His coaching style puts him on a short leash.
AFC West
Denver Broncos (12-4 last year, Super Bowl champs)
The Broncos are coming off a Super Bowl victory, but are losing their quarterbacks in the process. Trevor Siemian will be faced with a tough task in week one, and we'll probably find out a lot about him and this team right off the bat.
The defense is still elite despite missing tank DT Malik Jackson, but something about this team coming off a Super Bowl win in Peyton Manning's final season rubs me the wrong way. I expect them to be in the mix, but won't be surprised when they're watching the playoffs from the couch.
The Broncos have won five straight division titles. That streak ends this season.
Kansas City Chiefs (11-5 last year)
So who will win the division? Maybe the Chiefs, who had an incredible year last year after losing five straight games from weeks 2-6. They then won 10 straight into the playoffs before beating the Texans to advance to the divisional round of the playoffs.
The Chiefs were incredibly efficient on offense, and had an elite defense. They'll miss Justin Houston for a big chunk of the season, but Marcus Peters is going to be one of the best defensive backs in the game. I think the Chiefs have another good season headed by Alex Smith, and they'll win 10 games and return to the playoffs again. BUT, I don't think they win the division.
Oakland Raiders (7-9 last year)
The Oakland Raiders are returning to the playoffs for the first time since losing in the Super Bowl in 2002.
I love this Raiders team and think they're ready in Jack Del Rio's second year as head coach. Derek Carr will make the next step, Amari Cooper will be a big time receiver, and their defense will be drastically improved. Their offensive line is among the better groups in football, and they'll run the ball more to open up passing lanes for Carr and company.
The Raiders season over/under total is 8.5. Jump on the over while you can. The Oakland Raiders are back.
San Diego Chargers (4-12 last year)
The Chargers had a terrible season, and it started up front. Their offensive line was a mess, and it led to Philip Rivers putting this team on his back (no surprise). I think they'll be better this year and compete in big games. If not, though, Mike McCoy will see the door and get fired in the middle of the season.
I don't think the Chargers have a shot at this division, but they may ruin another team's hopes by competing in big division games.


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The coldest night… ever?!! February 27, 2014Posted by ourfriendben in Reiki, Reiki wisdom.
Tags: coldest night, environmental catastrophes, Gaia, global warming, Joni Mitchell, polar vortex, Reiki, Reiki the world
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"They paved paradise, put up a parking lot."
–Joni Mitchell
Tonight, the various weather services are predicting lows of -2 to -5 degrees F. here in my part of scenic Pennsylvania. If the temperature actually drops to -5, it will be the coldest it has ever been since I moved here in 1981. Friends who have lived here all their lives say it will be the coldest winter they have ever experienced.
We seem to be trapped in the jaws of global warming: the heat, methane and carbon gases we're giving off melting the polar ice caps and pushing polar cold down on us in winter, and the horrific, record-breaking heat and humidity, or heat and drought, depending on your location, battering us in summer. Thanks to our selfish, short-minded behavior, spring and fall have all but disappeared. As in "Game of Thrones'" Westeros, there are only two seasons: summer and winter. What have we done?!!
Our earth mother is not prepared to tolerate much more of this, as the massive tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, hurricanes, forest fires, and the like are proving. Not to mention outbreaks of dreaded old diseases like the plague, polio, smallpox, tuberculosis, and etc., diseases we thought had been conquered once and for all. We had better try to make amends while we still can.
Reiki people, please send Reiki to our beautiful planet, our earthly paradise. I like to do this by holding an "earth marble" in my hands (these beautiful marbles, with the continents and seas mapped out on them, are available inexpensively from the Land of Marbles website; Google it and see). Please send Reiki to all the creatures who share this world with us, that our greed may not destroy them. Please send Reiki to our fellow humans, that their eyes may be opened before it is too late. And please stay warm on this cold, cold night!
Just for today, love your Mother.
The Food Stamp Challenge. February 24, 2014Posted by ourfriendben in Reiki, Reiki wisdom.
Tags: food stamp challenge, food stamps, living on food stamps, Pope Francis, SNAP
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"Let us leave a spare place at our table, a place for those who lack the basics, who are alone."
—Pope Francis, @Pontifex
I've been reading a lot lately about the Food Stamp Challenge, in which people try to eat on $4 a day like those who receive SNAP (Supplemental Assistance Nutrition Program, formerly food stamps) assistance must do. Just this morning, I read about a group of students who took up the challenge for a week.
Given the cost of groceries at my house (and mind you, I cook our vegetarian meals at home from scratch), the thought of a $56 weekly grocery bill (for a family of two; each family member is allowed $4 a day, or $28 a week) is mind-boggling. And what if you lived alone and were only allowed $28?!
I guess if I were trying to live on $28 a week, I'd buy the staples the first week: a big bargain bottle of olive or canola oil, a cheap plastic set of salt and pepper shakers, curry powder, a shaker of Italian seasoning (oregano, basil, thyme and rosemary), and a bottle of hot sauce. I'd buy bags of rice and lentils (or yellow split peas), a big bargain box of spaghetti, and some cans of beans (black, pinto, kidney, whatever was on sale; I've found house-brand beans at 59 cents a can). Then I'd buy a can or two of crushed tomatoes (some brand is always on deep discount at our local stores), and a bag of small and therefore sale-priced onions.
Of course, I'd have my calculator with me. If there was enough money left, I'd buy the cheapest head of lettuce in the house, a bottle of vinegar or a lemon (whichever was cheaper), and either a bag of tiny apples (always on discount) or tiny apples combined with tiny oranges (ditto). If red bell peppers were on sale at 10 for $10, I'd get one or two of those as well.
This would allow me to make a simple dal with the lentils or split peas, an onion, and curry powder, and have it with rice. I could make a very simple spaghetti sauce with the crushed tomatoes, oil, Italian seasonings, and onion, and have it over pasta. I could saute an onion in oil, add a can of beans and some Italian seasoning, and serve it over rice with hot sauce, or saute the onion and seasoning, add the can of beans and a can of crushed tomatoes, add enough water to reach the preferred consistency, add rice or pasta if desired, and have soup.
If I'd been able to afford the fresh produce, I'd make a salad with the lettuce, diced red bell pepper, diced onion or diced apple, and dress it with a sprinkle of Italian seasoning and a splash of oil and vinegar or a squeeze of lemon juice. As long as I didn't add the dressing to the salad except for my own small bowl, leaving the rest plastic-wrapped, refrigerated, and undressed, I could hope to eat it for many meals to come, along with any of the dishes described above.
The following week, if I still had enough of my staples and seasonings, I could add potatoes, eggs, tacos or tortilla chips, salsa, and shredded cheese (on sale, two bags for $4, and of course, you only have to buy one). Maybe even butter and block cheese on sale. More lettuce and/or super-healthy coleslaw mix (green and purple cabbage and shredded carrot, often extremely inexpensive bagged). More bell peppers and onions on sale. More sale fruit. More sale pasta and crushed tomatoes. Maybe a few bags of frozen veggies.
Imagine, enjoying a salad with lettuce, coleslaw mix, chopped bell pepper and onion, and a sliced hard-boiled egg, maybe even a little shredded cheese! The secret is to stick to your Italian seasonings and black pepper and a splash of your bargain oil and vinegar; forget bottled dressings.
Could you really eat like this? Well, that depends on whether you were willing to shop in a discount grocery like Aldi or Bottom Dollar or Wal*Mart, whether you were willing to change the way you looked at food (such as skipping breakfast or eating leftover rice and beans for breakfast), and how many mouths you had to feed. (For every additional person, you could add more to the weekly menu, such as eggs, cheese and butter in the first week, while amping up the supplies of staples like pasta, beans and rice to serve as a base for your dishes. Mac'n'cheese, anyone? Butter, shredded cheese, a couple of beaten eggs, and maybe a splash of milk will get you there.)
I love to cook, so I know when I set these options out that they'll never taste as good as food that you can make with as many ingredients as you wish. They're bare-bones meals, and, having not gone to the store with my calculator and added up the cost, I can't even vouch for their SNAP affordability. I deplore the lack of fresh produce, and the rich, appealing salads that I make for our suppers. But at least these meals will be nutritious and filling.
I'm sure there are plenty of people who are wondering where the bread, pizzas, breakfast pastries, snack foods, frozen convenience meals, cereals, desserts, candies, chips, coffee, sodas, and above all, meat are in this scenario. But on $28 a week, stuff like that, plus all fast food and takeout, much less eating out, simply have to go. We don't like drinking plain water at every meal, either. We love pizza and takeout Chinese. We're okay with skipping breakfast, but we hate skipping both breakfast and lunch.
Take your calculator and do the math. What can you afford on $28 a week?
As Pope Francis says, let's save a space at our table for those who can't afford food, who are trying to survive on $28 a week. Let's be grateful that we can afford to eat as we please, and share our bounty with our neighbors, friends, and family. The winter before this, one of my dear Reiki friends brought homemade soup to my house every week or two, much to my partner Rob's delight. I often send my own hearty and warming creations along to my partner's son, my godson, and our neighbors, and bring them to a weekly gathering of friends.
Just for today, be grateful.
A gift is not a debt. February 23, 2014Posted by ourfriendben in Reiki, Reiki wisdom.
Tags: debts vs. gifts, Five Reiki Ideals, Five Reiki Precepts, Five Reiki Principles, Game of Thrones, gifts, House Lannister, Lannisters Always Pay Their Debts, Mikao Usui, nature of gifts, Reiki and gifts, Reiki gifts, Usui Founder
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The other night, my partner Rob and I were watching "Game of Thrones"—having finally received season three in the mail—and it was the first time I'd thought about the series for some time. I was reminded of one of the mottos of House Lannister, "The Lannisters always pay their debts." Because this is "Game of Thrones," the motto carries a sinister undertone: We repay good for good and bad for bad, so beware before you cross us.
For whatever reason—maybe because Christmas isn't that far behind us—this made me think of the difference between a gift and a debt. Many people go into overtime stress during the holiday season, trying to make sure that they send or give something to everyone who sends or gives something to them, and trying to make sure that the gifts are commensurate, even if they adore the person who gives them a tiny gift and despise the person who stuns them with a huge gift. A friend's in-laws once told us that they loved their parish priest, but didn't dare give him the really nice gift they'd planned on because they knew their monsignor would blow a gasket if some mere priest received a more expensive gift from them than he did. The shame!!!
A gift is not a debt. A gift is something given freely from a desire to please another person, to bring joy. The worth of a gift is not measured in money or status (designer shoes, the latest Apple or Xbox toys, executive seats at a sporting event), but by the time taken to thoughtfully choose something you know the recipient will love, be it a special cheese or plant or book or a hand-knitted scarf or craft-fair ring. The giver expects nothing in return but the delighted smile of the recipient, which brings joy beyond measure, repayment in full.
A gift is an occasion of gratitude, on the part of the giver as well as the recipient. A free Reiki session or share, what a wonderful gift! An afternoon spent sharing Reiki stories, practicing Reiki meditations and techniques like hatsurei-ho and hado breathing, enjoying many cups of tea and treats like fruit, nuts, and brown rice balls, what a wonderful gift! The opportunity to give or receive Reiju, what a wonderful gift! To be able to give or receive Reiki scholarships, what a wonderful gift! To find a great Reiki teacher or Reiki student, what a wonderful gift! To encounter or share wisdom from world traditions that can deepen Reiki practice, what a wonderful gift!
A gift is not a debt. There is no quid pro quo here, no expectation of return. The gift itself is all the joyous return the giver needs, a freeing of something into the world to increase our collective happiness quotient. Be it taking the time to say a thoughtful, kind word to a lonely old person who looks sad and adrift at the grocery ("What a beautiful scarf! You've really brightened my day!"), or paying for schoolbooks for a friend's kid who can't afford them, you would set what some have called good karma in motion.
And yes, those people might indeed pay it forward. But whether they do or don't, you have followed the Reiki Way by enacting two of Usui Founder's Principles (aka Precepts, Ideals): Be grateful, and Be kind. A gift is not a debt. A gift is just a gift. For you, and for the ones you give it to.
Just for today, understand the difference.
The secret of health. February 22, 2014Posted by ourfriendben in Reiki, Reiki wisdom.
Tags: Buddha, Buddha and Reiki, Buddha quotes, Five Reiki Ideals, Five Reiki Precepts, Five Reiki Principles, Mikao Usui, the Buddha, Usui Founder
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"The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, not to worry about the future, or not to anticipate troubles, but to live the present moment wisely and earnestly."
—The Buddha
Mikao Usui, the Founder of Reiki, was raised as a Buddhist and spent time in a Buddhist monastery before the enlightenment experience in which he received Reiki. No doubt he was aware of this saying, and no doubt it inspired him to shape his Five Reiki Principles (aka Precepts, Ideals) to help his followers achieve health of mind and body. He described them as "The secret art of inviting happiness, the miraculous medicine for all diseases."
At their most basic—and therefore most powerful—these directives are:
Just for today:
Don't get angry.
Don't worry.
Be grateful.
Work hard.
Be kind.
These sound simple, but, as any Reiki practitioner knows, are very hard to put into practice for longer than a few minutes at a time. The "secret art" is, as the Buddha says, living fully in the moment. Then it's easy to practice the Principles, since nothing is making you angry, there's nothing to worry about, and you can focus your attention on being grateful, working hard, and being kind.
Just for today, be healthy.
The purpose of life. February 20, 2014Posted by ourfriendben in Reiki, Reiki wisdom.
Tags: joy, purpose of life, Reiki and joy, Sri Sarada Devi
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"The purpose of one's life is fulfilled only when one is able to give joy to another."
—Sri Sarada Devi
Just for today, spread the joy.
Mind control. February 19, 2014Posted by ourfriendben in Reiki, Reiki wisdom.
Tags: Reiki, Reiki discipline, Reiki mind control, samurai wisdom, Suzuki Shosan
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"When you manage to overcome your own mind, you overcome myriad concerns, rise above all things, and are free. When you are overcome by your own mind, you are burdened by myriad concerns, subordinate to things, unable to rise above."
—Suzuki Shosan (1573-1655)
Just for today, practice the Five Reiki Principles.
The community of believers. February 18, 2014Posted by ourfriendben in Reiki, Reiki wisdom.
Tags: Pope Francis, Pope Francis Reiki lessons, Reiki, Reiki community, Reiki friends, Reiki outreach
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"No one saves oneself. The community is essential."
—Pope Francis @Pontifex
Are you alone in your Reiki practice, on your Reiki journey? Are you surrounded by skeptical siblings, outraged parents, uninterested or derisive coworkers?
Yes, you can still follow the Reiki Way in isolation. There are books, CDs, DVDs, websites, and blogs to help you. This is your virtual community, and we all should participate in it to grow in our practice. But how much better to combine the virtual with the real, to belong to a real-life, real-time Reiki community!
I urge you to stay in touch with your Reiki teachers and fellow students, to join nearby Reiki shares, to make as many Reiki friends as you can. (Shares and classes are a great way to make friends, but don't overlook holistic health expos, Reiki demonstrations, and the like.) Don't be afraid to contact Reiki people whose articles, blog posts, websites, or books have touched you; you can begin a dialogue that might lead to a lasting friendship.
In all these cases, the more friends you have, the more connections you make, the more support and advice you'll get when you hit a bump on the road or are just feeling down after your sister-in-law calls you a whacko or whatever. And it's just plain fun to get together for lunch or supper or an outing with Reiki friends when you can talk about Reiki along with everything else, or a few of you can gather at a friend's home to share Reiki and enjoy snacks and a chat.
The community may not be essential, as Pope Francis says, but I certainly understand why he says it. As John Donne said, "No man is an island." The more we reach out to others on the Reiki path, the more companions we'll have as we travel on our Way.
Just for today, reach out.
What is the question? February 17, 2014Posted by ourfriendben in Reiki, Reiki wisdom.
Tags: enlightenment, Five Reiki Ideals, Five Reiki Precepts, Five Reiki Principles, Mikao Usui, Reiki, Reiki path, Reiki Way, Usui Founder
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In the classic story, the seeker asks the guru, "Master, what is the answer?" And the guru replies, "What is the question?"
For most seekers, the question is along the lines of "How do I reach enlightenment?" For those of us who follow the Reiki Way, the answer is simple: Practice, practice, practice! Keep your feet on the path. And if you lose your Way, and stray from the path, return to it; it will be waiting for you, always, with joy, not judgment.
Longtime readers will recall this story, one of my favorites, that speaks to this question perfectly:
A man ran up to a wise old monk and asked if attaining enlightenment was difficult. "Oh, no," the monk replied, "it is not difficult."
Imagine the man's glee! "I knew it all along, there's a secret shortcut, I'll be enlightened tomorrow!" In our age of immediate gratification, when we can't stand waiting five seconds for our computer to come on, and waiting 10 minutes for our server to bring us our food causes outraged tweets and complaints, we can certainly relate.
But the monk hadn't finished speaking. "One has only to begin, and then continue."
Picture the horrified man slinking away, much like the rich man who'd approached Jesus and asked to be one of His followers, only to slink off when Jesus said He'd welcome him if he'd sell all his possessions and give the money to the poor.
What, me work?! And yet the fourth of Usui Founder's Five Reiki Principles (aka Precepts, Ideals) is "Work hard."
This does not mean running a marathon when walking a mile will do. What it does mean is deliberately and continuously doing your work, not looking ahead, not glancing behind, not congratulating yourself on your progress or berating yourself for not making more progress. Not getting angry if you're not living up to self-imposed goals or worrying if others seem far ahead. Just continuing to put one foot in front of the other and keeping on the path.
One has only to begin, and then continue. Ultimately, the question doesn't matter, and the answer is always before us.
Just for today, stay on the path.
Full moon, snow. February 16, 2014Posted by ourfriendben in Reiki, Reiki wisdom.
Tags: full moon, snow, snow poem, snowfall, winter
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With all the snow we've been getting lately, I've found myself getting up at all hours to check the accumulation on our deck (the easiest way to see how much has fallen and how much it's added to what's already there). In the dark of this morning—perhaps 1:30, perhaps 3—I saw that the sky had cleared and a full moon was shining in the branches of our enormous maple tree, cradled above the white ground like a crystal in a dreamcatcher.
Full moon, snow:
Light on light.
Intricate ice drops,
Chandelier crystals,
Cubic zirconia.
True and false and true.
Let us choose the light
But rest in the darkness,
For darkness offers no choice,
No deceit.
Just for today, value both the darkness and the light.
Valentine's poem. February 14, 2014Posted by ourfriendben in Uncategorized.
Tags: cardinals, snow, valentine poem, Valentine's Day, winter poems
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Cardinals on snow,
Cherries on cake frosting:
A happy valentine.