text:
MAD Maps - ON THE LEVEL - BMW Magazine Feature Article in April/May 2017 Edition

Check out our feature article in the latest edition of the
BMW Rider's Magazine titled "ON THE LEVEL"!
We have a three page spread with an interview with our founder Jenny Lefferts!

By Miles Davis
Two wheel back roads touring – either solo or in small groups – has increased in popularity proportionate to America’s swift urbanization. As city pressures rise and boil over, men and women motorcyclists find themselves escaping for a few precious hours of wind-in-the-face fun and country riding. Many of the adventurous routes explored by meditative riders have grown into carefully guarded personal secrets.

Enter Jenny Lefferts, who has been crazy about motor biking for decades. She’s called, “Mad Jenny,” because she’s mad bout the ride, and also because she’s mad about sharing cherished back roads secrets with her fellow crazy riders. To share her knowledge of the back road ride, Jenny founded Mad Maps, best motorcycle journeys in
America; rides that might rival the best of Europe.

MAD Maps is actually an acronym for Motor Adventure Destinations.

These are the maps that have a method to their MADness. Jenny’s maps can be found online at Yet when I came across the MAD Maps booth at Sonoma Raceway, my interest was piqued. So I called Jenny and one fine spring day soon thereafter we met to discuss her project of revealing essential rides.
“What do you ride?” She wanted to know. I pointed unapologetically to my stately old CB900C curbside. Without a word she slipped my keys from my hand, pressed the starter button, and –tucking herself in – sped off around the corner wearing sandals and no helmet. “Nice comfortable cruiser,” she declared upon her return. Then, she began her
story of MAD Maps: “I inherited my love for the back roads from my father, a Canadian
professor of biology. He met Mom in Montreal, she was from Bermuda, and I appeared later in Ithaca where Dad was doing postgraduate research. With school out in the summers, he would pack the family into our VW Microbus and off we’d go exploring hidden North America. On one such trip when I was ten, we happened
to arrive at Mt. Rushmore during the time of the Sturgis Rally. I was quickly drawn to the mystique of the motorcycle. When we returned home, I discovered Pirsig’s Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. It occupied my nightstand for all the years I was growing up.

“My first motorized two wheeler was a 50cc Yamaha scooter, a plastic step-through that
sounded like a lawn mower. On it, I had the freedom of doing 50 mph, racing around San Francisco; even illegally crossing the Golden Gate Bridge several times. It wasn’t long before I felt the need to upgrade to something really spectacular, so I bought an awesome 250cc Honda Rebel. That little machine helped me to discover the back roads
of California. On weekends I would buzz down Skyline Drive to Hwy 84 with a stop at Alice’s Restaurant, never being intimidated by the bigger, showier bikes congregating there. The next day one would find me heading up to Guerneville for a swim at Johnson’s Beach along the Russian River.

These early discoveries from so many years ago generated a desire in me to share the pleasures of the back roads with other riders. One of my favorite sayings is from Ursula K. LeGuin, It is good to have an end to journey toward, but it is the journey that matters in the end. I think this essentially underscores the difference between traveling by a motorized two-wheeler and by car.

“Twenty years ago I met my husband-to-be one night in the Haight Ashbury. On our first
date I wore red jeans, chaps and a white angora sweater. I sat him tightly behind me on my Sportster, while my girl friend packed his best friend on the back of her Harley. The day was spent riding to Monterey and back, stopping at several of the two-wheeler’s popular Central Coast destinations. While steering the Sporty with my future
husband in tandem, his two arms clasped strongly around my waist, I learned the advantages that a motorcycle can offer a woman.

“We were married about a year later after a whirlwind romance. But I never gave him riding instructions, preferring for him to enroll himself into professionally run training classes. Instruction n the art of safe motorcycling is important, whether your riding is limited to running errands in town or spending solitary weeks on mountainous
back roads.

“These days with a national maps series covering the continental United States, I have
leaned that riders have a natural affinity for the scenic and less traveled road and this emphasis has been the key to MAD Maps success. Our scenic rides are created by a network of local scouts, who know the back roads like the back of their hand. MAD Maps has created a community of, riders, journalists and local enthusiasts. This community is the product: instead of relying on satellites in the sky, development depends on real
people on the ground.”

For someone like me who believes that motorcycles are more than anything
else – a euphoric trip to Never Land that hovers somewhere between spirit and matter,
the concept of MAD Maps is indeed a welcome one. The summary of life’s true successes are found in one’s inner advancement towards transcendence. Perhaps it is
by removing ourselves from all too familiar surroundings that new places in the heart
are chanced upon. Sometimes the solitary back roads of the world and of life are essential elements in the quest of our own self-knowledge. The trip, the bike and the
map: this could be the start of a memorable journey.

The next day I filled up the old Honda’s gas tank, stuffed a MAD Maps in to the tank bag
and set out to discover new places nearby that I thought I knew by heart.
—Miles Davis

Founded in 1999, MAD Maps, Inc.® is the premier creator and publisher of Scenic Road
Trip Content, with a comprehensive library of maps and digital spanning the continental United States.
If you are looking for the fastest way from A to B, forget it. MAD Maps is about finding the
most scenic routes with unusual and unique attractions. MAD Maps highlights the best stops along the way, offering customers a complete adventure from start to finish. MAD Maps’ philosophy is “Life is a Journey. Enjoy every Mile.”
With over a 1000 trips to choose from, your adventures
are limitless. DON’T GET LOST, GO MAD.
Or so the MAD Maps web site says. Planning a tour of the Pacific Coast? How about the Smoky Mountains, the Ozarks or practically anywhere else in the country? Then you need MAD Maps, a combination of conventional road maps with the know-how and where of expert motorcycle tour guides. If you’re looking for the fastest way from A to B, these are not for you. MAD Maps is about finding the most scenic routes with
unusual and unique attractions along the way.
Over 60 maps, printed on water-and tear-resistant paper, have been produced to date and more are coming constantly. All regions across the United States are covered, there are over 1000 moto-friendly routes and 5,000 points of interest in total. These rides are created by a network of local scouts, each who knows the back roads like the back of their hand, all with an eye for the best roads and scenery.
These contributors are a community of riders, journalists and local enthusiasts, real people on the ground, and they’re truly the product. Each detailed route is color coded and has easy-to-read road numbers, making it ideal for navigating from your tank bag. Each map is supplemented by route features, turn-by-turn directions, suggested stops and a helpful legend highlighting roadside attractions, parks and road-houses. You won’t miss a thing on your way to getting the most out of each
area you ride.

MAD Maps, Inc. is located in San Francisco, CA. Tel (415) 221-1232.
Company founder, Jenny Lefferts, has been a back roads enthusiast for years’ although her passion began long before she was licensed to drive.; its origins can be traced directly back to her dad’s road trip summer vacations in the ‘72 VW bus. Jenny
moved to San Francisco in 1987 and began searching the Bay Area for the best scenic roads: the seed for MAD Maps was planted.
MAD Maps is the recognized leader in their field, and considered by their customers as the “Go To” resource for expert scenic road trip content.

Shop bmw


Content-Type: application/http; msgtype=response

WARC-Identified-Payload-Type: text/html

WARC-Type: response

text:
[coreboot] Porting coreboot to Unknown Sis620/5595 Motherboard

Anders Jenbo anders at jenbo.dk
Fri Sep 17 01:44:19 CEST 2010

This board is a hard one to start out with i would say.

You should look in to getting the documentation for the SIS 620 chip
set. I see that the SIS 630 is supported by Coreboot v1 so you might
want to look in to porting that to v4 and then the SIS 620.

ons, 15 09 2010 kl. 18:30 -0300, skrev Hernan Freschi:
> Hello,
> I'd like to port coreboot to a motherboard I have. I dont have either
> brand or model (it's a generic OEM board).
> I'm not sure what info is needed so I have uploaded:
> lspci -xxxvvvnnn     http://pastebin.org/876731
> superiotool -deV   http://pastebin.org/876714
> I'd like to know if it's possible and what are the steps to get started.
> Thanks,
> Hernan

More information about the coreboot mailing list

warcinfo:
robots: classic
hostname: ip-10-148-41-166.ec2.internal
software: Nutch 1.6 (CC)
isPartOf: CC-MAIN-2017-30
operator: Common Crawl Admin
description: Wide crawl of the web for July 2017
publisher: Common Crawl
format: WARC File Format 1.0
conformsTo: http://bibnum.bnf.fr/WARC/WARC_ISO_28500_version1_latestdraft.pdf


text:
[Haskell] cabal conflicting rules

Claudio Nieder private at claudio.ch
Sun Oct 23 13:27:49 CEST 2011

I just get this output from cabal:

 cabal install leksah
Resolving dependencies...
cabal: dependencies conflict: ghc-7.0.4 requires array == however
array- was excluded because ghc-7.0.4 requires array ==

How can it be that the same package (ghc-7.0.4) asks for two different
versions (array / excluding each other?

More information about the Haskell mailing list


text:
[Mailman-Users] Edit options security flaw

Tokio Kikuchi tkikuchi at is.kochi-u.ac.jp
Tue Dec 14 01:07:15 CET 2004

Marius Amado Alves wrote:

> Sometimes version 2.1.5 lets a user A edit the options of another user B
> as follows.
> User A consults the member list (using his name and password normally).
> Here A picks an email address of user B. User A returns to the main
> page, enters address of B in the Edit options slot and presses Edit
> options. Normally Mailman requires a password, but sometimes IT DOES NOT
> and goes straight to the editable options list page.
> I'd like to know if somebody else has experienced this behavior.

Isn't the user A also the owner of the list ?
If he have logged in at the admin page and go to options page of any
member of the list, then the password input is passed. Go to the admin
page and click the Logout link. Then try again for user B.

Tokio Kikuchi, tkikuchi@ is.kochi-u.ac.jp

More information about the Mailman-Users mailing list


text:
python slowdown after a longish time of running (garbage collector)

Mahesh Padmanabhan news at
Sun Sep 1 02:49:29 CEST 2002

Thomas Jensen <spam at> writes:

> Michal Vitecek wrote:
>>  okay, thank you. it'll be pretty hard to describe it so much in detail,
>>  but here it goes:
>>     - the server waits on named socket and accepts clients' requests
>> via
>>       via stream where each command is a cPickled tuple (command,
>>       commandData,)
> Do you close the sockets manually or rely on the GC?
> I had a similiar problem recently when stress-testing a web-application.
> The GC apparently never got around to collecting the sockets, which
> resultet in lots of open sockets.
> I don't even know if the GC is supposed to handle sockets, but why not?
> Anyway, explicitly .close()'ing the sockets is probably always a good idea.

I don't know how GC is implemented in Python, but GC by its very
can only guarantee that it will close the socket eventually - it
cannot guarantee *when*.

Mahesh Padmanabhan

Replace nospam with prana to email me.

More information about the Python-list mailing list


text:
24 bit signed integer binary conversion help needed

Grant Edwards invalid at invalid.invalid
Fri Jan 8 22:24:36 CET 2010

On 2010-01-08, Robert Somerville <rsomerville at sjgeophysics.com> wrote:

> I am trying to read 24bit signed WAV format (little endian) data from a
> WAV file and convert it to 32 bit little endian integer format ... can
> anybody please tell me how to do the conversion from 24 bit to 32 bit
> with a snippet of Python code ???

def sext24(d):
    if ord(d[2]) & 0x80:
        return d+'\xff'
        return d+'\x00'
Grant Edwards                   grante             Yow! Am I having fun yet?

More information about the Python-list mailing list


text:
Search Mailing List Archives

Limit search to: Subject & Body Subject Author
Sort by: Reverse Sort
Limit to: All This Week Last Week This Month Last Month
Select Date Range     through

[protege-owl] Best approach for incorporating meta information

Alan Ruttenberg alanruttenberg at
Fri Feb 13 08:41:29 PST 2009

Hello Simon,

For representing the metainformation, you might consider the
Annotations that are available in OWL 2.

To keep the bulk of the annotations separate the idea would be to keep
them in a separate ontology that is imported into the main ontology.
If you want to "strip" the annotations, you don't do the import.

The only nit is the ability to annotate entities that can't naturally
be referred to outside the ontology proper: Axioms and anonymous
individuals. In this case you can include a minimal annotation in the
ontology proper naming the entity, and then attach the main
annotations to that name. E.g.

Instead of

SubClassOf( Annotation( rdfs:comment "Children are people." ) a:Child a:Person )

SubClassOf( Annotation( a:axiomName a:axiom1 ) a:Child a:Person )
and then in the imported metadata ontology file:

AnnotationAssertion( rdfs:label a:axiom1 "Children are people." )

On Fri, Feb 13, 2009 at 6:00 AM, Paradies, Simon
<simon.paradies.ext at> wrote:
> Hi Protégé community,
> Currently, I'm developing a Protégé plug-in that generates additional meta information which should be persisted somewhere (Ontology should remain OWL-DL at least).
> So far, I know about the following options to store meta information:
> - PropertyLists
> - setClientInfo() method
> - the KB itself
> - more?
> Ideally, I'd like to have my metadata incorporated with my actual data (even outside of Protégé) but on the other hand is should be easily separable/removable.
> The method (generated meta information) should be as future proof/versatile as possible, e.g. also working without problems with the database backend and other plug-ins as needed.
> That's why I'd like to avoid the first two options as they seem a bit to Protégé specific and maybe the meta information provided by the plug-in could be useful in other tools as well (Protégé 4).
> I tend to use the third option and to create a meta ontology which would need to be imported by an ontology using the plug-in.
> Ideally, all meta information could be removed by removing the meta ontology from the ontology.
> However, when I tested this in Protégé 3.4 OWL, the meta ontology was gone but its instances still dangled in the ontology. Is there a way to also remove instances of meta ontologies when it is removed from an ontology?
> In general, are there better ways for incorporating metadata (any design patterns etc.) for the specified case?
> Thanks
> Simon
> External service provider at Siemens AG
> Corporate Technology
> CT IC 1
> Otto-Hahn-Ring 6
> 81739 Munich, Germany
> Tel.: +49 (89) 636-41451
> Fax: +49 (89) 636-49438
> mailto:simon.paradies.ext at  <mailto:simon.paradies.ext at>
> Important notice: This e-mail and any attachment thereof contain corporate proprietary information. If you have received it by mistake, please notify us immediately by reply e-mail and delete this e-mail and its attachments from your system. Thank you.
> _______________________________________________
> protege-owl mailing list
> protege-owl at
> Instructions for unsubscribing:

More information about the protege-owl mailing list


WARC-Identified-Payload-Type: application/xhtml+xml

text:
Friday, December 13, 2013

Review: NEAC Annual Exhibition 2013

I've been trying to work out how to word this review of the 2013 Annual Exhibition of the New English Art Club 2013.  It might more accurately be described as a post mortem.

I've come to the conclusion that it's best just to highlight a salutary tale which is relevant to all art societies.  They all have their ups and downs - and this is a tale of a big dip.

Cover of the catalogue for the New English Art Club's Annual Exhibition 2013
painting by Michael Whittlesea
This year I've been preoccupied with the book I've been commissioned to write and hence visited the Annual Exhibition of the New England Art Club on the last day rather than nearer the beginning.

Normally I'm walking into an exhibition which already has lots of red dots.

This year as I started to go round, I began to realise that something very odd had happened.

I started in the Threadneedle Space. It's a space in which more contemporary styles do particularly well but is hard on work which is not strong. I wasn't particularly enamoured with what I saw (although it included some very good paintings) - but that happens in many exhibitions. You come across a room where the work has been selected and hung by somebody who has a very different eye for what he or she likes compared to you. That's OK - it's just a different way of looking at art. I don't expect everybody to like what I like either!

Threadneedle Space - included some very dark paintings and two prizewinners
BUT no work sold

I think very dark artwork has to be hung with a lot of space around it
otherwise it has a tendency to 'kill' other work.
(compare this to the same view in the 2012 Annual Exhibition
- see Review: New English Art Club Annual Exhibition 2012 )
I kept looking and then started up the stairs - and that's when it struck me. I went back down the stairs and slowly went round the room.

There wasn't a single red dot.

Absolutely no sales - on the very last day of the exhibition.

So, that's when I pulled out my pen and started to tour the exhibition slowly, looking for all the sales to see if I could see a pattern.

View of the West Gallery
NEAC 2013 - West Gallery, South Wall
By the time I got to the end I had my answer.  Below are the factors I identified.

  • This was an exhibition which, to me, didn't look like a NEAC exhibition. That's said from the perspective of this being an exhibition that I really look forward to seeing every year. It's also an exhibition by an art society which is highly rated and that a lot of my artist friends aspire to get into.  It certainly included quite a lot of work I liked however it also seemed to include many more dark paintings compared to previous years.  It lacked big "punctuation" pieces which were colourful and packed a punch - what I call the "come and look at me" paintings - or at least the hang didn't show them off if they were there. I looked back at last year and see I noted something quite similar.  The feel of the exhibition was quite different to previous years (see for example my review of New English Art Club Annual exhibition 2010). This suggested to me something had changed in the selection process.
    • So - if something had changed on the selection front - what was it?
A bay which looked much more like the NEAC exhibitions of old
  • a LOT less sales than usual! This was really very odd indeed.  This is an exhibition which sells consistently well year on year. In fact so far as I'm aware this is normally one of the best selling exhibitions held in the gallery. Based on the quantity of red dots, if I'd walked in a couple of days after the PV I'd be thinking something had gone wrong and sales were slow. However, I was walking round in the final hours of a 10 day exhibition.  Something was definitely very, very wrong. 398 paintings, prints and drawings were hung. I counted 44 sales although it's possible I may have missed some.  That represents 11% of the exhibition sold.
    • So - was it just that the selection looked different this year?
    • Could it be the economy? (That might be an easy excuse but is not a factor in my book given I review all the other exhibitions in this gallery)
    • Had the Affordable Art fair over at Battersea depleted art collectors' funds?
    • Or was there some other factor? Did they have bad weather on the PV day maybe?
Judith Gardner had a good exhibition - 4 out of 5 paintings sold.
She sold four small works all priced under £1,000 and one unsold large painting
She's also a member of The Small Paintings Group
- I've been a fan of Judith's work for a long time.
  • virtually all the sales were small works selling for less than a £1,000.  It was very clear that £1,000 was a significant threshold.  It was as if somebody had diverted all the art collectors with funds somewhere else! That to me meant that those art collectors with money had, for whatever reason, not turned up this year - or didn't like what they saw or didn't like the prices listed for larger pieces. If I sat down and counted the value of the work hung and then worked out the exhibition value, the percentage of sales to exhibition value would be a lot lower than the 11% calculated for the number of works sold.  Those artists who did well with respect to two or more sales of small works are:
Michael Whittlesea always manages to produce paintings which appeal to buyers
This year he sold three of his four small works
[Note: I worked for many years in a variety of roles involving business and performance analysis from management consultant for one of the "big" firms to senior manager within large organisations. My roles invariably had a focus on performance analysis and I was something of a specialist at one stage in performance indicators.  For me, the three primary business performance indicators for any art society exhibition are (1) number of works sold expressed as a percentage; (2) value of works sold expressed as a percentage of the value of works on view and (3) the average price of works sold.  Any artist member of an art society should expect that a report to members on the performance of an exhibition should include these three performance indicators.  A popular exhibition with lots of sales means more artists get to share the benefits of art collectors who are buying!  I'd also want to know who were the top selling artists.]
  • I also noticed that a lot of works by member artists were priced rather high.  In fact I'd go so far to say that in an era of very low inflation, the increases in the prices of paintings over the last five years or so has been absolutely huge.
    • There obviously had to be a reason why large paintings were not selling - could this be it? Price inflation on paintings was out of kilter with real inflation
    • Are artists selling less and hence trying to maintain income by pricing higher?
    • Are artists pricing higher to attract the type of art collector who can afford this sort of price?  It's certainly a strategy which has worked for some in the recent past - but certainly not all. It's also a strategy which requires targeted marketing to those art collectors with the funds to pay the prices.  They don't just turn up on the off chance!

Six artworks by Diana Armfield RA RWS NEAC PS
No sales
  • I spotted three NEAC members of the Royal Academy of Arts with no sales at all. Two of them - Ken Howard OBE PPNEAC RA RBA ROI and Diana Armfield RA RWS NEAC RWA Hon PS - have consistently sold well in the past. My jaw literally dropped when I saw Diana Armfield had no sales. I have been following her work for many years in exhibitions by different societies and have NEVER been to an exhibition which included work by Diana Armfield and seen a group of her works on the last day with no red dots. Her normal track record is 30-100% of works sold
  • The number of works by non-members selected from the open entry was very low.  I have asked before and I will ask again - can an exhibition really be considered an open exhibition when a tiny percentage of works are selected from the open entry? Also, in other exhibitions I've seen at the Mall Galleries some of the most interesting and appealing work came from non members! (see Review: Royal Society of Portrait Painters - Annual Exhibition 2013)
  • I wasn't wowed by the hang. I couldn't get my head round the hang until I realised that those hanging the exhibition had been faced with the challenge of having to work out where to place several very large sombre, very dark or very low key paintings. What was odd was they seemed to put these centre stage and give them prominence. By way of contrast, those paintings which were lighter, high key painting - particularly those which have demonstrated in the past the ability to lift and lighten a wall (eg paintings by Ruth Stage) - were squeezed into a corner where their impact was compressed rather than expanded!
    • So - was it the selection or was it the hang - or maybe a bit of both?
Wonderful artwork (yet again) in egg tempera by Ruth Stage NEAC
The work bottom left should have been occupying the centre of a large wall - it won The David Messum Prize

I met up with some of the members before I left and confirmed it wasn't my imagination that there were many fewer sales this year.

I also learned that:
  • newly elected members were responsible for the pre-screening stage of the open entry. While I fully understand the need to induct new members into the screening and selection process, surely this also needs to be also informed by the involvement of more senior members? This could be a more significant factor BUT for the fact that this exhibition now includes so few works from artists submitting via the open entry.
  • members hang the exhibition - but are they experienced members who are good at hanging exhibitions?  It takes a lot of skill to hang an exhibition effectively.  Some parts worked better than other parts.
  • this year NEAC cancelled their Annual Dinner for friends and collectors - usually held before the exhibition opened, in the Galleries.  In the past I was told that it has very often generated a lot of sales - particularly of larger works. It also meant that the exhibition got off to a good start because it opened to the public with red dots already in place.  It creates the right psychological context for creating a disposition to buy.  This year that was missing.
Overall, I concluded that it was very unlikely to be one single factor. It was much more likely that all the factors identified by me plus those identified by members probably conspired to produce a poor result in terms of sales.

What's missing for me

The New English Art Club started life as the English equivalent of the Impressionists.  This was the group that broke away from the Royal Academy.  It has for the most part maintained its tradition as being a group which is not aiming to be in the same place as the RA or its summer show.

However the RA used to have a tradition of filling the Small Wesson Room at the Summer Exhibition with small paintings by very good painters. It was a room which was not like the rest of the exhibition and always used to be jam packed with visitors and full of red dots.  Latterly, the RA have abandoned this tradition. This year selectors chose to include works which may have produced a conceptual statement but left some of us wondering whether it was a joke to mix up paintings by accomplished painters with those of rank amateurs.  For me it emphasised that the tradition of the Small Wesson Room is no more.

Today the focus of the New English Art Club is supposed to be on contemporary figurative painting - except it I don't think it is. It's missing something.

For me the exhibition of the New English Art Club must continue to be the exhibition that people aspire to be in.  It should be:
  • the exhibition that takes over and continues the tradition of the Small Wesson Room by focusing on the small paintings much loved by those who have a passion for collecting figurative art by accomplished artists and want to buy small paintings at affordable prices.   The far rooms of the North Gallery should be packed with paintings with red dots by those accomplished at packing a lot of quality into a small painting.
  • an exhibition that finds and highlights the emerging artists with something new to say in the field of figurative art.  This shouldn't be left to the new competitions such as the Threadneedle.
  • an exhibition that has a wonderful mix of the old and the new - in terms of painters and printmakers and draughtsman who have and are making their mark on the art world - and those who will do in future
  • an exhibition with a significant proportion of work coming from the juried open entry. This should be the exhibition where the experienced should be applying themselves to finding the future.
I was impressed by the drawings of Adele Henderson in the North Gallery who last year was awarded the New English Art Club drawing school scholarship. Here to me was an example of an artist who we should see a lot more of in the future.

Drawings in pencil and charcoal by Adele Henderson
- part of the exhibition of work by the New English Drawing School founded by Jason Bowyer.

There were a number of prizewinners - this one caught my eye before I realised it was a prizewinner. It shouted 'prizewinner' from its wall in the Threadneedle Space.

Winner of the Doreen Macintosh Prize
Drawing Class by Michael Kirkpride NEAC

However, I find it very disappointing that despite the 2013 exhibition having closed that the NEAC website still lists and displays the prizewinners from the 2012 exhibition!  One of my perennial comments in recent years has been that Art Societies must get better at marketing online as well as off!

Bottom line - this has not been a successful exhibition for many of the participating artists or the society or the Mall Galleries.

Some may say that a review should focus on the art.  For me the focus on the art should happen when I focus on the artist.  This is my review of 'the business end' of an exhibition - and what went wrong.

Let us never forget that practising artists need exhibitions to be successful. Art Societies must keep on top of making sure they deliver the benefits of association to their members. One of the excellent ways of doing this is through the exhibition as some other art societies (eg SWLA) demonstrate consistently year on year.

I wouldn't take the time with this review that I have if I didn't think a lot of the New English Art Club whose work has delighted me in the past.

I suggest that the NEAC Executive Committee think very carefully about how it organises (in terms of who does what) and markets its exhibition - and member artists - for the 2014 exhibition.

In the past I've very much regarded them as a leading art society within the UK.  It feels to me as if they stumbled and lost their way this year. I'm now thinking that they have a lot of ground to make up in the next year.

Jen Gash said...

Thanks for a brilliant report and insightful evaluation Katherine. I am fairly new to your blog and work, my introduction coming via Sophie Ploeg.

As a painter for many years, I always enjoy open exhibition for the variety, colour and challenge of the works - as you say, this seems to be missing here. I have also noted a reduction in "social" events attached to exhibitions of late. Building a tribe or community be it online or in real life is crucial and yes creating the climate to buy should never be underestimated! thanks Jen

Belinda Del Pesco said...

Insightful review. Thank you for the tour, as always, and the comparison to previous years' imagery. I suspect that this sort of break-down & analysis of a big exhibit is uncommon among artists. Swinging a paintbrush and crunching numbers are such different skill sets, but hats off to you for the interest (& ability) to do both.

Alastair Fraser said...

I think the Threadneedle Space does a disservice to those artists who have the misfortune to be exhibited in there, rather than in the Main gallery or even the North gallery. It's gloomy, partly down to the dark floor surface and top of the walls and ceiling and partly down to the lighting which I believe uses a different type of bulb and seems harsh compared to the other galleries.

Anthony Davis said...

Really Great article. I hope they listen.

On a side note - the website linked to Adele henderson's name is a different artist.
She's an american with the same name.


text:
Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Favorite Mormon Messages

Here are a few of my favorite Mormon Messages which relate to foster care and adoption:

Great quotes about service from the first clip:

"Perhaps when we face our Maker we will not be asked How many positions did you hold?, but rather, How many people did you help?"

" . . . We are happier and more fulfilled when we act and serve for what we give, not for what we get."

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Together We Rise

Together We Rise is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of America's foster children by funding programs that give them a sense of "normalcy, comfort, and belonging"  such as purchasing bikes for foster children, providing sports equipment and sports camp opportunities for them, and providing resources to help  youth who age out of the foster care system.

The statistics for youth who age out of foster care are very sobering, as I've referred to previously, and as you will see from the following clip:

 To learn more about Together We Rise visit their Facebook Page.  What a great cause!

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Our First Respite Placement

Our house has felt pretty empty now that we're back to a one-child family again so when our RFC called and asked if we were interested in providing respite care to a toddler for 5 days over Memorial Day Weekend I thought  "Why not?"
Foster parents can use respite care through other foster families when they are going on vacation or out of town and can't bring their foster child with them or if they just need a break.  I've heard caseworkers and others say that respite care is also a good resource and is recommended for foster parents to use to prevent from becoming burnt out.  Although we've used respite care before we've never taken any respite placements- until now.

When our RFC called about this respite placement- a 2 year old boy whom I will refer to as "Casey"- the only information I was told was his age and that he was brought into care because of DV (domestic violence) issues.  Consequently, I envisioned the worst-case scenario in my mind: lots of hitting, kicking, throwing, biting, etc.  However, I figured since my daughter has allready had experience with one physically aggressive foster sibling and this little boy would be younger and smaller than her, she would be able to hold her own and there would be no serious threats to her safety.  When I talked to Casey's foster mother and got some more info it sounded like any aggression Casey did display could be classified as typical 2 year old "I don't want to share my toys- I'm frustrated" aggression rather than any serious pathological violence to be worried about.  I also figured if this placement did end up being particularly challenging it was only for five days.

Fortunately, Casey was fairly easy to care for and he transitioned into our home quite naturally.  He was also a really cute little boy, by the way.   Although he and my daughter did have their share of  squabbles, for the most part they got along well and enjoyed playing together.

Casey did have a few tantrums/meltdowns, but they were short-lived and were almost always precipitated by trying to enforce a routine (bedtime, naptime) or trying to gently reprimand & redirect his behavior when he couldn't have things his way (like taking a toy from someone or hitting).  Two other bits of information that his foster mother shared with me beforehand which helped me understand where his meltdowns were coming from is that 1) He is an only child and not used to sharing and 2)  His mother was somewhat indulgent with him, so it's understandable that he would be upset when he didn't get his way all the time.

I pulled some tools out of my mental Love & Logic Parenting Toolbox and tried to put into practice a couple of parenting/relationship techniques on Casey when he would get upset. The first technique is simply to 1) Let him feel his feelings and validate them rather than trying to fix them right away.  The other practice was to 2)  Give him as much choice as possible in a situation so that he feels empowered and in control.  I'll elaborate on each.

As far as # 1 goes, letting him feel his feelings, I think many people have a tendency, when someone close to them expresses hurt, anger, or pain to try to "fix" the situation and make it all better- or even use a distraction so that the real problem doesn't have to be dealt with.  In fact, as a parent, I sometimes mistakenly believe that I must "protect" my child from any hurt or sad feelings she has because I don't want to see her in pain.  But realistically, what are the long-term effects and ramifications of brushing aside feelings and not talking them out?

Back to letting Casey feel his feelings: One instance where I let Casey simply "feel" his feelings without trying to distract him or make everything better is one night when he was having a particularly hard time at bedtime. He threw a tantrum about not wanting to go to bed, but underneath his frustration there was a lot of sadness and between tears he told me "I want my mom."   I was tempted to make everything all better by saying, "Don't worry- you'll get to see her next week at your visit!" and sound happy about it for his sake.  Instead I put my arm around him and said, "I'm sorry- that must be very hard. I bet she misses you so much, too."   But I couldn't just leave it at that.  The "fixer" in me had to add ". . . and you'll get to see her next week!"
Let me preface the next situation I had with Casey with these thoughts:   I think that a lot of times when a young child expresses a strong, unpleasant emotion by yelling or throwing a tantrum, the easiest and most automatic response a caregiver has is to do whatever it takes to stop the whining or crying.  Especially if you're in public and don't want to make a scene.  Sometimes a child's tantrum may be symptomatic of something else (that it's naptime, as a prime example, or that the child wants some extra attention.)  But many times- not always, but often- toddlers and little kids have learned to throw a tantrum with the express purpose of getting their way.

For example, say I'm at the checkout line at the grocery store and my child starts whining because they want a candy bar or treat.  I say "Not today." and their whining increases and turns into a full-blown tantrum.  How I wish this were just a hypotheitcal situation I'm using, but I am, in fact, speaking from experience.  Please don't tell me that you've never been "that parent" with "that child"!  As my child's tantrum escalates in loudness and intensity I sense (either imaginary or real) disapproving glances from onlookers that rhetorically ask, "Can't you control your child?".  Although I have tried, perhaps repeatedly, to set limits and tell my child "no" I cave in to avoid making a scene by grabbing a candy bar, tossing it into the cart and telling my child, in hushed and pleading tones, "Fine- stop crying."  My child does stop crying because they've gotten what they've wanted, but have I really "controlled" them- or have they controlled me?

Just as bad is when I don't give in to my child and because of this they begin moping or crying and I get even more of the judgmental "Can't you control your child?" looks.  I much prefer to get a warm smile, a knowing chuckle or even a "Been There Done That" look/comment instead.

So, having said all that, the other time I let Casey simply feel and express his feelings without shaming him or dismissing them was when he had what was probably his worst meltdown/tantrum the entire time he was with us. We also just so happened to be out in public- at a very crowded venue.

At one point (incidentally, naptime was approaching which didn't help matters) Casey started literally kicking his tiny legs and screaming at a pitch that rivals an ambulance siren, but rather than tell him to stop I decided to let him holler away till he got it out of his system. I was mindful, however, to push his stroller to a less crowded area so as not to disturb others.  I was hoping that the sunglasses I was wearing would magically deflect the obvious stares of those around me or somehow make me less conspicuous, but no- I could still feel those awful stares boring into me.  Perhaps I was a bit sensitive but I felt like holding up a sign in my defense that said- "Why, no, I can't control him. And incidentally, he's not my child."  Another sign:  "He's been separated from his family and is forced to live with strangers. Can you imagine the stress an adult- let alone a child- would feel if they were in such a situation?"  Which leads me to my final (and shortest) sign:  "HE'S TWO- give him a break!"

As far as the second technique of empowering children by giving them choices, I think it's especially important for a little person who is put into a situation which is totally out of their control (i.e. foster care) and they suddenly find themselves faced with diffferent routines, rules, norms, etc. to at least feel some amount of control and freedom of choice.  So, for example, when Casey protested getting ready for bed I would ask "Do you want to wear your Spiderman pajamas or your Cars pajamas?"  "As soon as you get into bed then I'll turn on the fish aquarium nightlite."   And then, of course, I would PRAISE HIM LIKE CRAZY for his choice: "I knew you could get in bed!  Now you can watch the fishies."  If he was sluggish coming to eat breakfast rather than getting upset (and annoyed) and telling him "Sit down and eat!" I would ask "What cereal would you like- this one or that one?  "Do you want milk or orange juice?"  It may just be little choices and seem like the simplest thing, but hopefully it helped to make him feel like he had at least some amount of control.

Incidentally, speaking of giving children choices versus controlling every choice they make, I remember reading the chapter in Bruce Perry's The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog about the Davidian children he worked with from the Waco compund after they were taken into state custody. Because David Koresh and others were so controlling of so many aspects of their lives, when these children were faced with making a simple choice such as "Do you want a baloney sandwhich or a peanut butter and jelly sandwhich?"  they would become distraught and caught off guard because they weren't used to choosing anything for themselves.


WARC-Truncated: length

text:
You are currently browsing the tag archive for the ‘dessert’ tag.

by LoriAnn

“What’s this doing out on the counter?” Baba asks.

“Oh no! I must have left it out this morning!” Mama replies (and it is now 9pm). No use crying over spoilt milk, so my brain starts turning… and then my fingers are turning the pages in our family cookbook to this favorite recipe! Hope you enjoy it as much as we have been all week!

Milk Cake

Happy Fathers' Day!We’d only been back in China a few days when Baba’s first Fathers’ Day (Babas’ Day?) came around. His gift hadn’t arrived in the mail yet (it did today!) but I wanted to do something special for him. In the U.S., I bought a silicone mini-bundt-cake pan at Goodwill, so I looked up a chocolate cake recipe and settled on the one below, originally from Recipezaar (I just halved all the ingredients; it took the same amount of time to bake). I wish I’d taken pictures, but we ate it too quickly, so you’ll have to settle for Tigger handing Baba his present.

Easy Chocolate Cake, no eggs or butter

Browse past posts by category, tag, or month.

Older Posts

Mama Sees collage


text:
In the final game of the rookie tournament, the Leafs‘ rookies were beaten soundly — to the tune of 7-1 — by their Ontario rivals, the Ottawa Senators.

Although I was not able to attend this game in person, fellow Leafs die-harder ‘Bell’ was in attendance for all of the games and has kindly provided some thoughts about the action (or was it inaction?) at the Aud last night, and the tournament as a whole.

Here is a rundown of our conversation, following the game.

GB: A 7-1 final? Â Ouch. Â Â

Bell: Â Reimer had a bad game, plain and simple. Â He isn’t ready yet, and might need to watch his back given the way Engelege played in relief of him. Â Kid came in and made some excellent saves. Â  Reimer looked like a guy who thinks he has a job already. Â Engelege played as though he was trying to take a job away from someone. Â And he just might.

GB: Â Given how Reimer progressed last season the Leafs‘ AHL backup role is probably still his to lose. Â  Good on Engelege for providing solid relief – he should earn a job somewhere, if not with the Leafs’ ECHL affiliate (Reading), then in another team’s system.

Bell: Â Well, it didn’t help that the D was weak again. Â  Blacker looked okay, when the play gets behind him he has trouble recovering, that was no exception tonight. Â  But when the play is in front of him and he is able to anticipate, he is solid. Â

GB: Â Assistant GM Jeff Jackson was complimenting his play the other day on the Fan. Â Probably ticketed back to the OHL, as he has eligibility remaining and the Leafs have so much depth.

Bell: Â Yeah, another year in the ‘O’ would be good for him. Â  He isn’t ready to make the jump yet, but the potential is certainly there, I think we’ve all seen that. Â  Gunnarsson and Manning are two other guys on the blueline who have flashed some potential also, although both struggled a bit tonight.

GB: Â I think Gunnarsson will be coming over from the SEL this season, so we should see him on the Marlies this year. Â  He wants to play in North America, and the team wants him here. Â  Like all prospects he has a few things to work on, but he is an intelligent player who has a lot of room yet to grow skill-wise. Â Keep an eye on him.

Bell: Â Speaking of which, how about Manning? Â  Sharp kid, but he’s got to get stronger. Â  Got tossed around like a rag doll out there. Â  Positionally, however, he looks solid. Â Makes smart plays with the puck also.

GB: Â He could make it as a shutdown defenseman, if he commits to adding some muscle. Â  Guys in his weight class only find success at the pro level if they are named Brian Rafalski, and he is not that type of player. Back to the WHL would be my guess, I think he is still eligible.

Bell: Â Wasn’t impressed with Joe Ryan. Â He got into it when an Ottawa guy hit his teammate knee-on-knee, good to see him standing up for the guy. Â Other than that, though – he’s done nothing except make bad plays. Â He’s my “going nowhere” guy, if I had to pick one. Â  Â

GB: Â He didn’t look sharp against the Penguins the other night. Â  Wasn’t reading the play well, has a lot of work to do if he wants to remain in the Leafs system. Â  So we’ve got your “going nowhere” guy … who is your “out of nowhere” guy?

Bell: Â John Kurtz. Â  Didn’t do anything too special, but was steady. Â  Very good stickhandler, decent skater, he has some moves. Â  For a guy who no one seemed to have heard of, he did a nice job. Â  People watching on TV probably didn’t notice him much, but at the game where you could see all of the play, he was far more of an asset than a liability. Â  Knows where to be, when he needs to be there, and what to do when he gets there, especially in the neutral zone.

GB: Â Certainly, he has looked good in the context of few really knowing much about him prior to the tournament. Â Could fly under-the-radar if he can keep the same sort of consistency with the Marlies. Â I don’t think he is going to be a big-time offensive threat, but could turn into a reliable defensive forward, quiet but steady. Â Maybe a Dave Reid or Garry Valk type.

Bell: Â Speaking of steady, you know who I really liked out there tonight? Â  Dale Mitchell. Â  Pure heart and soul player, goes all out on every play. Â  Wouldn’t be shocked to see him wind up wearing an ‘A’ on the Marlies this year. Â  Not the most talented guy but makes the most of what he has. Â The effort he puts forth on every shift puts a lot of the guys you might call more highly-talented players to shame.

GB: Â I couldn’t agree more. Â If only every player had his attitude.

Bell: [laughing] You mean like Stefanovich? Â  Most frustrating player there. Â  Had moments with the puck where he really looked like he could be something … and then he would disappear. Â  Too bad those moments where he flashes his abilities are so few and far between. Â  Â He’s a long ways off at this point.

GB: Well, even the Tin Man found a heart in Oz, so maybe Stefanovich can do that in the Q. Â  Project player, for sure.

Bell: Â Robert Slaney. Â Now there is a kid with heart. Â Wasn’t sure the first two games, but he’s gotten better with each one. Â  Forget about the end result for a second, this kid battled hard tonight, and the game before. Â  Work ethic is a visible thing, and you can see it with him.

GB: Â Agreed, it is a visible attribute, for sure. Â  Marlies’ fans ought to be pleased with him this season; if he can keep working as hard as he has, the points will come.

Bell: Â Some people may be tempted to knock Hanson and Stalberg for exactly that. They both looked really tired tonight, and just weren’t the same players they were in the first two games. Â  But I think it has more to do with the schedule than the effort they are putting in, they showed me too much in the first couple games to question their work ethic.

GB: Â I think you’re right. Â  Four games in five nights is a lot for anybody. Â  People need to remember that this tournament is these guys’ first real action since the offseason. Â  Not everyone is in prime physical condition just yet. Â  Training camp will solve issue that real quick, especially with Ron Wilson running the show.

Bell: Â The other college kid, Bozak, hasn’t looked too worn out. Â  He looked good despite the loss. Â He’s come to play, and to win a spot. Â That offseason program they put him on looks to have paid off.

GB: Â It was a cycling-based program from what I read, which is likely why his legs didn’t disappear as quickly as others’ did. Â  He’s probably the best bet to win a spot with the big club out of camp. Â He’s ready.

Bell: Â I’d really like to see Kadri get some games at the NHL level to start the season. Â  Give him a taste of the pros, then send him down before the contract stipulations kick in. Â  His effort throughout the tournament was impressive – tonight he did not back down, or let up, regardless of the score. Â He’s going to be special.

GB: Â I don’t know if that’s the best thing for him or not. Â  The question is, where do you play him? Â  There are a number of vets on the roster as it is, and assuming Bozak makes the big club there is nowhere really to play Kadri that would benefit him. Â  It’s a tough call. Â I can see where you are coming from, but in my opinion it would be better for him to go back to London, spend the season getting stronger, be a top player in the league and get that WJC experience. Â  There is no need to rush him, at this stage. Â

Bell: Â You don’t think he deserves a shot?

GB: Â It’s not about what he deserves, it’s about where to play him. Â Look at the depth chart – it’s easy to say you could bump a veteran, but you have to be careful with that when dealing with guys who have earned their stripes. Â  Even Bozak will have a hard time finding regular minutes at first, for the same reason. Â He’s never played an NHL game, so like everyone else not named Crosby or Ovechkin, he will have to start at the bottom (fourth line) and earn his way up. Â  Â  So the question is, how beneficial would fourth-line minutes be to Kadri, for the eight or nine games he would play before getting sent back to the OHL?

Bell: Â I think there is some value in it, but it depends on how the roster shakes out, for sure. Â  If a couple vets get waived or demoted the way Burke suggested they might, I could see it happen.

GB: Â I certainly won’t rule it out as a possibility. Â Kadri has played well and Burke is clearly impressed with him. Â  Either way, his future is a bright one. Â  Can’t wait to see him play with another fifteen pounds packed on.

Bell: Â I think, getting back to tonight’s game, that the team just looked spent. Â  I mean, it’s a rookie tournament, and the final scores really don’t matter. Â  Heck, it’s not even NHL-level competition these guys are facing. Â More like a cross between ECHL and AHL at best. Â  So it’s hard to judge how a guy will really do at the next level. Â  Â What you want to see out of something like this is which players have room to grow, who shows flashes of talent that can be tapped, that sort of thing. Â And I think there has been a lot to feel good about, regardless of whether the game was a 3-1 win or a 7-1 loss.

GB: Â You are right, it’s tough to gauge from this sort of event exactly what the future holds. Â  Gustavsson and Bozak look ready to make the jump at first glace, but the truth is the preseason will be a much better indicator of their immediate futures. Â  I would be willing to venture a guess thatÂ Stalberg and Hanson Â could see NHL action this season, based on where they appear to be in their development. Â  Â I think you can also derive from this tournament that Slaney and Mitchell will bring a lot of character, and a good dose of offense, to the Marlies as they continue to work toward future NHL roles. Â  And kids like Blacker, and especially Kadri, have given us something to look forward to in the coming years. Â Â

Bell: Â They certainly do. Â The thing I get out of this tournament is, despite the team’s poor overall play, the prospect cupboard is far from empty. Â  Â Â

GB: Â  That’s exactly right. Â  And that is what I, too, hope fans take away from this tournament. Â Not the final scores, but rather the potential seen in several players, and the room they have to develop and grow. Â  There is, for once, sense of hope for the future of this team and as you said, the cupboard is clearly no longer bare.

With thanks to Bell for providing his insights, post-game.

[email protected]

Comments are closed.


text:
By Maren John Mafuyai
♥ ♥ ♥

Returning from Accra, I found my father in his rafia dress smelling herbs, a black statue in his right hand from the shrine, his eyes red.

He entered his temple without asking me about my university program. I doubted if I did something wrong before I left Accra to Nigeria. As a History student, last semester I studied advance European History, fell in love with Napoleon the great and was successful with distinctions without any black record.

I climbed, and met him sitting upright on a wooden carved stool in front of a big calabash of water, his eyes closed.

“Asabe was opening her legs like a dog”, he said.

“Did someone tell you?”

He looked at the roof.
“The all knowing
The revealer
My Father
Show me my daughter now!”

When a straight lightning ray from his eyes flashed the roof before he spat in the calabash, the water surface therein turned a live T.V broadcast.

My younger sister, who was at the Federal University, was in a brown mini skirt sitting on a bed in a clean bedroom. Looking beautiful and matured, one could hardly guess she was just 20 in her second year studying Mass Com.

A door gave way,
an oldman entered smiling cunningly with a deep square face.

“Looking like sunlight.”

“Yes! You keep me waiting.”

“It was a traffic hold up, dear. In a jeep,
I was thinking of calling one of my pal about the visa since now, thinking to take you out, to Toronto…”

“Mention somewhere in America, she said. What will I do in Toronto?”

“Toronto is in America, dear. You don’t know?”

”But the name sounds like somewhere in Africa?”

“Ha ha ha ha! Why would I do that? I want to
take you there. As a professor of Communication, I presented a paper there 3 years back. And the city was beautiful.”

“I want to also go to Jerusalem.”

“This is like a stroll to town. I will connect you with the government, simple! If you have any problem, any failure, I promise to make your university program smooth and faster.”

“I don’t have any”, she said.

“Brilliant girl! Ha ha ha ha. Excellent, my darling. He pushed her down, deeped his hand into her skirt.”

My father abruptly stopped the magic, sprang and dashed out.

It was a mess! I felt sick and wished I was in Accra.

© 2014


text:
The Definitive Guide to File-Based Media QC

A lot can go wrong in the world of file-based media. With the increasing number of delivery requirements, regulations, and file types, and with so many more ways to get content to viewers, the linear supply chain is gone, and that means the number and types of files to send has increased, and the chance of making a mistake has gone up. Read on to learn about why this is happening, and how to ensure you can deliver your content with confidence.

What you'll learn:

  • What is QC
  • Why QC matters
  • Manual vs. Automated Media QC
  • Who can benefit from using Automated Media QC
  • How to choose a Media QC system

Learn more:
To learn more about Telestream's
Automated Quality Control software for file-based media, visit our website

To speak to a Telestream representative, email us.

Register to download this exclusive guide:


text:
It Is Real!

We’re here!  I live in Ohio … and I’m already loving it.  I know, you all very quickly tell me to wait until winter, and then when I say that I’m excited about that too, you say, the first one is fun but wait until the second.  Well, in any case, this CA boy is excited to actually experience seasons … there are four, right?

I’m so thankful for your prayers for us over the past months.  It has been, and still is, a whirlwind of transition, but this I know – Our God is Constant!  It’s always good, not always fun, but good to be reminded that this isn’t our home.  Not CA, not OH, not anywhere I can put my sight – for we live by faith and not by sight.  Oh how I’ve cherished the reality of a home so much grander than anything this world can offer.  But for now, we have an abode to lay our heads, and a really nice one (Thanks Duryea family for renting us yours!)

I know I don’t know you all yet, nor do I even know all that I don’t know about life and ministry at Leroy Chapel, but I promise you this —  I will labor with all the grace God supplies to walk deeply and passionately with my God so that I can stoke the fire of your souls to greater worship and genuine transformation.  I’m not going to call you to anything I’m unwilling to live out myself, I want transformation … in me, in my family, in this community, and in the world.

I so enjoyed preaching my last sermon at Northpoint (Follow Jesus – Hebrews 12:1-3) that I thought you all might like to hear it too.  So, before jumping into a new series at Leroy, we’ll begin where I always want to end – Running the race set before us because Jesus ran the race set before Him.

See you Sunday,

Pastor Mark

3 thoughts on “It Is Real!

  1. Dear Friends,
    Welcome to Ohio!!! I know you will have many offering hands during the move, and we will be glad to offer anything we can as well. As soon as you feel settled in/comfortable, we would like to offer a meal and more fellowship.
    By His Grace,
    David for Keri and the kids

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: Logo

You are commenting using your account. Log Out / Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. Log Out / Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out / Change )

Google+ photo

You are commenting using your Google+ account. Log Out / Change )

Connecting to %s


text:
Home » Society » Leadership is never democratic

Leadership is never democratic

The majority of people want to keep things as they are. They are conservative by nature. To change something one needs guts, vision or a desperate need. Than leadership appears. The rest is powerful management of what has been.

Those focused on economic growth only fear chaos and stand progress in the way

So don’t expect leadership from your politically chosen representatives. They forcefully try to please the voting majorities. Leadership and change is always outside politics.

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Log Out / Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. Log Out / Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out / Change )

Google+ photo

You are commenting using your Google+ account. Log Out / Change )

Connecting to %s

%d bloggers like this:


text:
This and that: National Cookie Month
Showing posts with label National Cookie Month. Show all posts
Showing posts with label National Cookie Month. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

31 days of .......................... Cookies

Where has October gone?  It is already the end and I don't think I even saw the beginning.. Does it feel the same for you?  October is a great food month.  Not only is it National Pizza Month, it is National Caramel Month, Dessert Month and Cookies Month.  Who in the right mind doesn't like October.

 g C is for Cookies that is good enough for me... C is for Cookies that is good enough for me.... Cookies, Cookies Cookies n.... I love Cookie Monster and Cookies..  So this month is perfect for me... the best month ever.

One of my favorite all time cookies in Peanut Butter Blossoms but because of a peanut sensitivity in the house I try to stay away from making anything with peanut butter so have had to come up with a new alternative.  I think I have come up with the perfect one.... This cookie is full of flavour and goodness.

Biscoff Chai Blossoms

adapted from Peanut Butter Blossoms Recipe

1 3/4 cup flour (I use 1/2 cup whole wheat and 1 1/4 cup white flour)
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp chai tea instant powder
1/2 cup  sugar ~ I use Morena Pure Cane Sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 egg
1/2 cup biscoff
2 Tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla
48 chocolate Hershey Kisses (I only got 36 cookies and used chocolate and pumpkin spice kisses)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees
In medium mixing bowl combine flour, soda, salt and chai tea.  Set aside.
In mixing bowl cream together both sugars and butter.
Add egg and mix well.
Add biscoff, milk and vanilla, blend on low speed until mixes
Slowly add dry ingredients and blend on low speed until stiff dough forms.
Shape in 1 inch balls.  Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.
Immediately after removing from oven press candy kiss into top of each cookie.  Press firmly so cookies crack around the edges.
Cool and enjoy.

I did say 31 days of cookies so here are some more great cookies for you to enjoy.....

Scandinavian Spice Cookies
Cobweb Cookies AKA Lace Cookies
Lemon Lime Sugar Cookies
Lemon Myers Shortbread Cookies
Peanut butter Cookies

Triple Chocolate Biscoff Cookies
Caramel Apple Oatmeal Cookies
Craisin White Chocolate Marshmallow Oatmeal Cookies
Pumpkin Biscoff Cookies
Shortbread Thumbprint Cookies

 I belong to a Fill the Cookie Jar Group and each month we are given a theme and make cookies.. Here are a few from there.  There are no pictures as I didn't get permission from the bloggers so will just leave you the links.  To find all the cookies that have been linked up to this group and more great cookie recipes head over to the Fill the Cookie Jar Pinterest Board.

From Calculus to Cupcakes ~ Soft Ginger Cookies
Hungry Little Girl ~ M&M Microwave Cookie for One
Six Feet Under Blog ~ Bacon Molasses Cookies
Spatulas on Parade ~ Orange Crinkle Cookies
Winelady Cooks ~ Witches Hat Sugar Cookies
Yesterfood ~ Dark Chocolate Chews
Edesia's Notebook ~ Orange Creamsicle Cookies

I also want to share with you a couple of recipes from a great friend Isabelle of Isabelle at Home.  She is always making cookies and I get alot of my inspirations from her.

Found this picture on Pinterest
no recipe but loved the picture

My next search took me to Pinterest and I thought I would search Thanksgiving and Christmas Cookies to help you with your holiday baking..  I am giving you the link to the direct bloggers page and not the pinterest page.

Christmas Cookies
Photo credit: Pinterest

There you go 31 days of Cookies.... Now onto to finding caramel and dessert recipes ~ I still have 2 days before this month is over.

Image and video hosting by TinyPic

LINKED UP TO;  Fluster Buster's Creative Muster, The Weekend Re-treat, Craft Frenzy Friday, Fun Fridays Link Party, Four Season Blog Hop, Make it Pretty Monday, Inspiration Spotlight


text:
Wednesday, October 29, 2014

If wishes were horses then beggars would ride

This adage has been rumbling around in my brain this week. I think I first heard it from my mother, but I can't be certain. I know it is one I have repeated to others time and again.

This has been a difficult week (and it is only Wednesday!). Another person I respected has disappointed me and this current situation has left me with a tight chest, shallow breathing, racing heart, and manic behaviour.

I find myself talking too fast, filling in the silences, running to the next thing - I know this behaviour well. I chatter away turning into a 'polly anna', when really what I want to do is a) go to bed and pull the covers over my head, or b) rail loudly against the injustices of the world.

I have been trying to connect with why the news of this week has rattled me so. Why I am endlessly reading posts about it on twitter, on facebook, on the internet.

I am just so mad. And sad. And disappointed.

And, at the heart of it, it brings up, for me, all the shitty things humans do to each other, and then justify in one way or another.

Someone I love very much was a victim of rape. It was someone she knew. Someone she had dated in the past. When she confronted him he told her to get over it. He told her 'it was just sex'. If it was 'just sex', why has it changed her life? Forever.

I don't pretend to understand all the different ways people choose to engage in sexual experiences with others. I really don't understand BDSM and I am not here to judge those that do, but what has made me very sad this week is that it feels, to me, in my limited understanding, that the part of it that involves violence against another person, rape fantasies, or 'hate f#$%ing' is beyond my understanding.

I really can not put into words what is upsetting about all of this, but I know to listen to my body, to my racing heart, to my 'still small voice', and to allow myself the permission to wish that it was not so.

To wish that people did not have to experience pain to experience pleasure, that women did not have to be raped by ex, or current partners, that people I respect did not have to fall so hard.

I am naive. I know that. But I do truly wonder if one can ever give consent for the things I have heard about in the news this week. Isn't there always a power imbalance of one kind or another? Teacher/student. Older/younger. More in love/less in love. Inexperience/Experience. Lonely/Predator.

I know that in the past I have done things, or gone along with things, because I didn't want to disappoint, I didn't want to be 'that girl', I didn't want someone to not like me.

I know that in the past I have not spoken up for all the same reasons, and also because I was ashamed.

"Here is an idea", someone I love posted recently on facebook, "Let's all be nice to each other."

That is a wish of mine too.

I know that 'if wishes were horses beggars would ride'.

I know that I will be walking for sometime yet.

  1. Yes, indeed. If wishes were horses then beggars would ride. The story you are talking about has gripped me as well. I don't usually follow something as closely as I have this. It is disturbing on so many levels. How can a person ever think it's right to assault another human being? And worse, get enjoyment out of doing so.

    1. It is disturbing on so many levels but especially triggering because of knowing someone very close to me who has experienced sexual assault. It is like driving by a car wreck. I keep following the story as it unfolds...and it is just getting worse and worse.

Add your thoughts....join the conversation.


text:
When acquiring a Masajes

This is the post excerpt.

When acquiring a Masajes , you should fully relax because the Masajes  therapist moves your system and joints. You do not need to try to help the therapist move your limbs and the body. Consider it becoming a puppet, with the therapist moving the body since they want and you simply along for your ride.

When you are in the giving end of any very helpful Masajes , be sure to look at the signs the recipient is showing. Throughout a deep-tissue Masajes , your body responds to pressure and muscles would really contract under your finger-tips. Ease through to the pressure whenever you approach bones and joints and also be guided with the response you get!

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Log Out / Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. Log Out / Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out / Change )

Google+ photo

You are commenting using your Google+ account. Log Out / Change )

Connecting to %s


text:
Loving the List, Not the Whole

I recently cane upon [This writing][ https://fetlife.com/users/2088137/posts/2364549%5D, and it some to me so much, I decided to use it as a writing prompt.  The whole thing could have been plucked out if my own brain, but this paragraph in particular resonated:

*Sometimes, you think that no one has ever loved you. You have almost flippantly doubted it, even when someone was saying it to you. Even if they are saying it to you today. Because, though you wouldn’t like to admit it, you’re not terribly sure that you love yourself. You reject all of the simpering notions in beauty magazines and you learn to say nice things about yourself when you look in the mirror. If someone asked, you could provide an objective list of your qualities. But you’re not sure that “loving yourself” is something you ever really learned how to do.”*

This is exactly what I feel every second of every day of my life.  Yes, I can list a while litany of qualities about myself that I’m sure other people love about me, things that we are “supposed” to like about ourselves… But just because someone loves a grocery list of things about me doesn’t override the overwhelming lesson I was taught very early on and for a very long time,  that the PERSON I AM is not worthy of love, just as she is, regardless of that list.  It’s a lesson taught not just by my parents, whose love has always seemed very much based on how “good” I was at any one given time.  It’s a lesson that has also been reinforced by the emotional demons created by the lifelong experience of never being “good enough” for ANYONE to love who WHO I WAS, rather than what I accomplished/what I looked like/how much I sacrificed for others.  Sure, some people love a very long grocery list of attributes about me, but NOBODY has ever loved ME, *ALL OF ME*, enough to not discard me.  Nobody has ever loved me enough to accept the ugly parts, the “crazy” parts, the self-destructive parts, the parts that are completely convinced that anyone who loves me is eventually going to replace me with someone better, or with nobody, because being ALONE is preferable to being with me.
Why this conviction? Because it’s happened EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. ANYONE had said they loved me, if I have the nerve to show any of those parts and be less than perfect, any time I had the nerve to be human and make a mistake, regardless of how much I apologize for it.

These same people who love me, then walk away when something goes wrong, are also the ones who always get the most angry with me when I mention feeling replaceable, disposable, unlovable.  It’s so hard to explain to someone who thinks you are wonderful that you don’t believe them, not because you think they are lying, but because you CAN’T see yourself that way. It’s like they are seeing you through glasses that make you look like someone you know you aren’t… Our perhaps it is you that are looking through such warped, dark glasses it is YOU that cannot see yourself clearly.

We all want love, love that will stick around when things get difficult, love that won’t turn on us when we are most vulnerable, when we ARE BEING UGLY, and that will accept our apology when we realize our ugliness hurt them.  But for me, that never seems to be my fate. Always the one forgiving others because GOD KNOWS, I know what it’s like to be perfectly human and fuck up, I’m always the one cut out of someone else’s life, the one discarded for her sins rather than forgiven for them.  Their lives go on as if I had never made any impression whatsoever, as though my presence or absence mean the same to them, while my every waking moment is filled with thoughts that this is just more proof of how irredeemable, how vile, how utterly worthless I am, more nourishment for the demons that cackle “we told you so” as they dig their claws deep into my heart and soul, reminding me why I put walls up against other people getting close to me in the first place.

Is there anyone out there who will love the WHOLE person that I am, rather than just the grocery list? Who will soot down with the demons and tame them, reassure them, fight them if necessary for their obedience?  No, it’s not EASY. If you want someone who will be EASY to love, buy a dog, or an “escort” who will be whoever you want her to be for the right price.  Love, REAL love, the kind that is truly soul-fulfilling, the only kind WORTH HAVING, is not always easy.  I’m not THAT much of a challenge, so long as you communicate with me often and honestly, but so often I turn out to be only good for 2 things where men are concerned: sex, and massage.

I have so many great friends… But nobody who has the potential for more than that, someone who is NOT a submissive (I have to have someone with Dominance as their primary state of being, even if they like to switch roles occasionally), who isn’t more than 10 years older them me, who ISN’T married to our with someone he has to hide me from (I am NOT a home wrecker, and I refuse to be anyone’s dirty secret), someone I’m physically attracted to.  That man is not anywhere to be seen.  And the lower I wait, the taller the walls become, the thicker the defenses around them become, and the more and more convinced I become that the earliest lesson I was ever taught, that the person I am at my core, beyond the list of things I try to cultivate to be a better person, is not really worthy of love.

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Log Out / Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. Log Out / Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out / Change )

Google+ photo

You are commenting using your Google+ account. Log Out / Change )

Connecting to %s


text:
Views from Across the Ocean

Hey there. Long time no write. I feel like I get worse and worse with each passing week, and for that, I am extremely sorry. Lots has happened since I last wrote to you, namely this:

Views from Across the Ocean

I moved to Hawaii.

Yeah, that’s a thing. A photographically beautiful thing. I got here earlier this week. I spent the first few days in a hotel before I could move into my apartment today. Now I’m sitting here on my couch wondering how in the world I managed to make the decision to pick up my entire life and move across the country to the middle of the Pacific Ocean. I should be playing Wiz Khalifa’s Young, Wild, and Free, yet I don’t feel that way entirely. I feel oddly anxious still. I mean, I’m not nearly as freaked out as I was in the days/hours/minutes leading up to my departure, but I’m definitely still in awe at this change of pace and scenery. Everything is so picture perfect yet daunting all at the same time.

Anyway. In the picture above, I’m on one of the beaches that makes up Waikiki. That giant land mass in the background is Diamond Head. I plan to conquer that beast during the two years I’m here. I’ve added a waterproof camera to my arsenal for added awesome. I’m on an island and completely surrounded by tropical fish and gorgeous blue water. What about that isn’t perfect for some photography? And my obligations are different this go around. This semester, as I begin my graduate work, I finish everyday (except Monday)  at 2 in the afternoon. As a student here, I get to ride the city bus for free. So let’s do the math:

Me + an island surrounded by tropical fish and blue waters + a waterproof camera + free bus rides + free time = all the photography one could ever dream of

I’m truly digging that equation.

The View

I hardly know what to do with myself. I just…this is all so new to me. I still wonder if I made the right decision, and I’m sure I won’t know the real answer for another few weeks or months (maybe even a year or once I’m done getting my Masters). I can’t help being worried, yet I find myself filled with the excitement of all the possibilities that lie ahead. I always think back to the words my “mom” said to me my senior year of high school:

Try, or else you’ll regret it.

Ever since that point, I have been trying different things in the hopes of figuring myself out and that of the world of around me. I have been working to not regret a thing, and in this very moment, I can’t say that I regret making this drastic move. And I hope I don’t come to regret anything about it.

So that is my life at this moment. I know I always promise to get back on track, and I will continue to keep working on being a better blogger. There’s always room for improvement, and since I have been photography free for a while now, I think I’ll have a fresh perspective. So sit back and enjoy the ride. We’re in Hawaii now, and things are about to get beachy. Aloha!

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: Logo

You are commenting using your account. Log Out / Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. Log Out / Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out / Change )

Google+ photo

You are commenting using your Google+ account. Log Out / Change )

Connecting to %s

%d bloggers like this:


text:
Pakistan Peoples Party Official

News, updates, events, photographs and other information

Bilawal Bhutto shocked at air crash near Havailian

Leave a comment

KARACHI, December 7: Chairman Pakistan Peoples Party Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has expressed deep grief and sorrow over the crash of Islamabad-bound plane near Havailian and loss of precious human lives on board the ill-fated flight.

PPP Chairman was shocked to hear the air crash in which47 passengers, including Junaid Jamshed, Deputy Commissioner Chitral, pilots, cabin crew, three foreigners and others lost their lives.

“Our thoughts and prayers go for the victims of crash and their families,” stated Bilawal Bhutto Zardari stressing upon PIA and other domestic airlines to improve their aviation operations and precautionary measures to avert such shocking accidents in the future.

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: Logo

You are commenting using your account. Log Out / Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. Log Out / Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out / Change )

Google+ photo

You are commenting using your Google+ account. Log Out / Change )

Connecting to %s


text:
New biomarker could reveal Alzheimer's disease years before onset

August 14, 2013

A study published today reported the identification of what may be the earliest known biomarker associated with the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease (AD). The results suggest that this novel potential biomarker is present in cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) at least a decade before signs of dementia manifest.

"If our initial findings can be replicated by other laboratories, the results will change the way we currently think about the causes of Alzheimer's disease," said Dr. Ramon Trullas, research professor at the CSIC Institute of Biomedical Research of Barcelona and lead author of the study that was published in Annals of Neurology. "This discovery may enable us to search for more effective treatments that can be administered during the preclinical stage."

Difficult Diagnosis

Alzheimer's disease affects more than five million Americans and is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States. At present, the only way to accurately diagnose the disease is by post-mortem neuropathological analysis. The relationship of currently known biomarkers with the cause of the disease is unclear, making it nearly impossible to diagnose preclinical stages of the disease with any real certainty.

The CSIC researchers demonstrated that a decrease in the content of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) in CSF may be a preclinical indicator for Alzheimer's disease; furthermore, there may be a directly causative relationship. The hypothesis is that decreased mtDNA levels in CSF reflect the diminished ability of to power the brain's , triggering their death. The decrease in the concentration of mtDNA precedes the appearance of well-known biochemical Alzheimer's biomarkers (the A?1-42, t-tau, and p-), suggesting that the pathophysiological process of Alzheimer's disease starts earlier than previously thought and that mtDNA depletion may be one of the earliest predictors for the disease.

In addition to enabling an investigation of the potential of mtDNA and Alzheimer's progression, the use of mtDNA as an index of preclinical Alzheimer's disease provides an important advantage over previous biochemical markers: the detection of this novel nucleic acid is unhampered by the technical difficulties associated with protein detection. mtDNA can be readily quantified by real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) or droplet digital PCR (ddPCR).

Quantitation of mtDNA

Prior to this study, researchers had not reported that circulating cell-free mtDNA could be detected in human CSF. But with this study, Dr. Trullas' team was able to both detect and reproducibly quantitate mtDNA using qPCR, carefully optimized by adhering to the MIQE guidelines.

To validate their qPCR findings, Dr. Trullas' team used Bio-Rad Laboratories' QX100™ Droplet Digital™ PCR system. Unlike qPCR assays, the QX100 system provides an absolute quantification of target DNA molecules without the need for a standard curve. In addition, an important factor for their CSF analysis was that the Droplet Digital PCR system did not require sample purification to remove PCR inhibitors, as is necessary for qPCR assays.

"Droplet Digital PCR allowed us to validate our initial qPCR measurements because it provides absolute quantitation at the single-molecule level without relying on a standard curve," said Dr. Trullas. "As the technology becomes more widely adopted, we anticipate that Droplet Digital PCR will be the future of detecting mtDNA in ."

Dr. Trullas hopes that other laboratories and hospitals will successfully replicate his group's research results, confirming that reduced mtDNA levels should be investigated as a possible cause of Alzheimer's disease. By finding a way to block this degeneration, clinicians may be able to diagnose and treat Alzheimer's disease before symptoms appear.

Explore further: Rare mitochondrial mutations—maybe not so rare?

Related Stories

Rare mitochondrial mutations—maybe not so rare?

June 8, 2013
French scientists have discovered that supposedly rare mutations in the mitochondria, the 'power plants' of human cells responsible for creating energy, account for more than 7% of patients with a mitochondrial disease manifesting ...

Mechanism that allows bacteria to infect plants may inspire cure for eye disease

August 4, 2013
By borrowing a tool from bacteria that infect plants, scientists have developed a new approach to eliminate mutated DNA inside mitochondria—the energy factories within cells. Doctors might someday use the approach to treat ...

Stopping Alzheimer's before first symptoms appear

August 13, 2013
New research just out in the journal Science Translational Medicine opens the door for the development of treatments capable of stopping Alzheimer's disease (AD) before its first symptoms, that is to say before any crucial ...

Study examines immunotherapy and cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers in patients with Alzheimer's disease

April 2, 2012
Immunotherapy with the antibody bapineuzumab in patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer disease resulted in decreases in a cerebrospinal fluid biomarker, which may indicate downstream effects on the degenerative process, ...

New approach could lead to blood test to diagnose Alzheimer's in earliest stage

May 29, 2013
Blood offers promise as a way to detect Alzheimer's disease at its earliest onset, Mayo Clinic researchers say. They envision a test that would detect distinct metabolic signatures in blood plasma that are synonymous with ...

Five CSF markers differentiate dementia, parkinsonism

August 28, 2012
(HealthDay)—Levels of five different cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers are able to improve differentiation between common dementia and parkinsonian disorders, according to a study published online Aug. 27 in the Archives ...

Recommended for you

Lifestyle changes to stave off Alzheimer's? Hints, no proof

July 20, 2017
There are no proven ways to stave off Alzheimer's, but a new report raises the prospect that avoiding nine key risks starting in childhood just might delay or even prevent about a third of dementia cases around the world.

Blood test identifies key Alzheimer's marker

July 19, 2017
A new study led by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis suggests that measures of amyloid beta in the blood have the potential to help identify people with altered levels of amyloid in their ...

Steering an enzyme's 'scissors' shows potential for stopping Alzheimer's disease

July 19, 2017
The old real estate adage about "location, location, location" might also apply to the biochemical genesis of Alzheimer's disease, according to new research from the University of British Columbia.

Brain scans may change care for some people with memory loss

July 19, 2017
Does it really take an expensive brain scan to diagnose Alzheimer's? Not everybody needs one but new research suggests that for a surprising number of patients whose memory problems are hard to pin down, PET scans may lead ...

Can poor sleep boost odds for Alzheimer's?

July 18, 2017
(HealthDay)— Breathing problems during sleep may signal an increased risk for Alzheimer's disease, a trio of studies suggests.

Hearing is believing: Speech may be a clue to mental decline

July 17, 2017
Your speech may, um, help reveal if you're uh ... developing thinking problems. More pauses, filler words and other verbal changes might be an early sign of mental decline, which can lead to Alzheimer's disease, a study suggests.

Please sign in to add a comment. Registration is free, and takes less than a minute. Read more

Click here to reset your password.
Sign in to get notified via email when new comments are made.