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Tuesday, August 6, 2013

So yea, that happened about 6:45 or so this morning! I did this:

We do them from standing and are supported by our instructor Diana.  She comes to each person and puts her arms around their waists to support them as they arch back and over.  Here is my progression (I am in a 3-week yoga boot camp, btw):

  • Week 1 - Day 1 - She came to me FIRST and I said "I can't" immediately and in my mind was all like, no, no way, I am too big, too out of shape, this isn't gonna happen, etc. She said "trust me" and put her arms around my waist, told me to stand with my feet wide, inhale, lift up my ribs, arms overhead, and start to bend backward.  I did and I went back some, I am not sure how far, it felt like 3 inches... HA.  The weird thing was that when I came back forward I just felt this immense sadness and burst into big ugly sobs. Thankfully we go straight to child's pose after backbending so I could just cry into my sweat towel...  (I later learned from talking to more experienced yogis that backbends are heart openers and can release all kinds of pent up/repressed/stifled emotions - it was really good that I released something. I know what it was and may blog on that at another time).
  • Subsequent days last week I would try the backbend, but was not over my mind hurdle, and Diana said to me on Friday "You are going to have to start trusting me." I decided to let things go for the following weeks and my goal was to get to the full backbend by the end of the boot camp.
  • Week 2 - Day 1 - I was excited to try the bend! I was ready to go and when Diana came to me I went for it and pushed back and stretched and when I felt like I couldn't do anymore I started to resist the bend and she said "Do you have any idea how close you are to the floor?!?"  I said, "no" as I flailed my arms and flung myself awkwardly upright and got into child's pose. After class a friend came up and said "you know, you almost had it! Good Job!"
  • TODAY - I wasn't thinking too much about it. I was hoping to go as far as I did yesterday. And I lifted and bent back and let one arm go and then I let my mind go and the next thing I knew I hear Diana saying "THERE IT IS" and I felt my hands hit the mat and I hear myself saying "WOW! Oh WOW! and I was in a full bridge backbend!!!  I heard clapping and wooo-ing! And Diana said "ok, release down and go into child's pose." And I couldn't believe it!!! I DID IT!  And as I sat up on the mat I burst into tears, but they were good ones.  I enjoyed my minute or two of rest before we moved on.
After we finished the class Diana said to everyone "Let's give Mylynka a hand for that back bend!" and everyone cheered and clapped and I felt overwhelmed and AWESOME!  A few people came up to me after class and hugged and congratulated me!  One lady said, "It looked so effortless, like you do them all the time." Wow! I wish I could have seen it! LOL

I am learning on this journey to let go of my Jr. High self, the one who can't, the one who thinks she isn't good enough, is too fat, and isn't able.  I am finding that I CAN if I just let go and if I listen to my body and just try.

Thursday, July 25, 2013

Getting Ready for Yoga Boot Camp

As I sit here typing I am having a cup of decaf... in the morning!  I have been weaning off of coffee because it is not allowed as part of the 21-day Yoga Boot Camp I am starting tomorrow.  *cries*  We have our first meeting, yoga session, and orientation tomorrow morning AT SIX A.M.  *cries more*  to get our notebooks and all of the information on what we will be eating, drinking, doing over the next three weeks.

I am excited, nervous, and a bit scared to fail, but I think this is a great time for me to take on this challenge.  According to Diana, the owner of the yoga studio I go to, this boot camp is a 21-day detox for the mind, body, and spirit.  It is a cleanse and a resetting of the self.  I need all of that.

It comes at a perfect time, too!  I will be achieving my 21st day in a row of exercise on Sunday and when this boot camp is over I will be at 40 consecutive days of exercise!!  When this is all over I am going to treat myself to a facial and a session of Thai Massage.  After all the detox I am sure my body will need it! :D

As for the boot camp, I will write a detailed blog about it tomorrow after I receive all my instructions and, of course, will blog during the experience.  For now here is what I know:

  • Yoga M-F 6-7am
  • Week 1 - cut out all processed foods
  • Week 2 - cut out all animal products
  • Week 3 - there will be a 48hr fast at some point then we'll eat kitchari which is supposed to be pretty tasty.
  • Journaling
  • Breath work
  • Sweat therapy
Here is what I am hoping to get from it:  A restart.  I need to defog my body and my brain, pop loose whatever it blocking my mind and keeping me stuck in this same spot in my dissertation process.  I think it is going to be a challenge, but I am up for it.

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Not every day is a great day.

I didn't drink enough water today and could really tell. It is amazing the difference it makes.  I also did not eat a single proper meal today and felt like crap. I didn't want to exercise at all but made myself do 20 minutes of yoga poses just to MOVE MY BODY. I can honestly say I felt better for doing it and had a spinach, strawberry, acai, & Greek yogurt smoothie after.

Day 18 is done!

Tomorrow is another day and will be a better day!

Saturday, July 20, 2013

I cannot believe I have exercised for 2 solid weeks and am already wanting to do tomorrow's work out! I need to strengthen my weak core. My lower back aches a lot and I think that is because of 3 things:
  1. My belly is big and the muscles are weak causing my back to overcompensate.
  2. I am not keeping my core engaged enough during some yoga poses and my back is having to overcompensate.
  3. I have TERRIBLE posture, especially seated at my desk.
So, I looked around for specific exercises to do and found this:

According to the descriptions on Gaiam's site this kit will:

  • Stretch and strengthen your spine
  • Alleviate back pain
  • Improve your overall midsection
  • Strengthen core muscles to prevent injury
  • Unique peanut-shape supports the spine and lower legs
  • Increase range of motion
  • Correct posture and form

It comes with:

  • Anti-Burst CoreFit Ab Ball; free of the most harmful phthalates
  • Strong Core & Back Workout DVD
  • Bonus Downloadable Back Pain Relief Workout
The two 10-minute workouts include:
  • “Core Focus” targets those hard-to-reach places helping you build strength throughout your midsection
  • “Strong Core and More” adds more challenge with standing moves requiring greater control and concentration
The Bonus “Back Pain Relief,” delivers a 10-minute stretch routine. (YAY!)

So, I ordered it (on Amazon) and it has already arrived.  I think I will attempt all 30mins tomorrow and see how it goes! I'll let you know!

DAY 15 - CORE & BACK HERE WE COME!! I am 2/3 the way to forming a habit!!!

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Gone Streaking

Hello Blogger, my Old Friend
I've come to post on you again
Because a vision softly creeping,
Left its seeds while I was sleeping,
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of the Interwebz....

(apologies to Simon & Garfunkel)

So first things first:  HELLO!! *waves*

So, about this streaking...  yea, I've been doing it! And I love it!!

Oh, um, sorry, this isn't the naked, run out on a baseball field/basketball court/down the office hall kind that was so prevalent in the 1970s... Oh, the Seventies... *wistful sigh*  It IS, however, exercising in an unbroken streak for, like, always!  I first heard of the idea from my friend Christie, she applies it to running - in fact I think it is a runner's "thing" - and then I co-opted it for myself.

The concept is simple: Run every day at least one mile.

That is it. Every day. One mile and from what I hear, once you get suited up and go, you don't just run your mile and stop, you run your mile and keep going. It sounded cool and easy, you know, if I was a runner... but I am not a runner. I am a 265lb 41.33 yr old obese women who has been exercise adverse My. Entire. Life... what to do, what to do?  Oooh, Oooh! I know! I know!

So, I thought about it for a few weeks, probably a month, or three... *ahem* Then one day, I don't know why, I got a Groupon to a yoga studio a few minutes from my house.  Then a few weeks later I sucked up all my insidious Jr. High School doubt and went to yoga... And I loved it! I found a groovy studio with an awesome vibe and cool people and, and, and I just wanted to go back and keep going back.

And then it happened... I became a streaker.  As of this moment I have been to the yoga studio (or done yoga with a DVD at home (once)) for the past 10 days.  TEN DAYS!! I have EXERCISED for 10 days CONSECUTIVELY!  Woooo! And get this, I LIKE IT!

I mean I TRULY LIKE IT! I like the classes (I've been to a variety of classes at the studio... that is another blog post) and I like exercising everyday.  I am feeling pretty awesome and the weirdest thing is happening, something that I do not think has happened in all of my 41.33 years...

I can't explain it and I don't want to.  What I want to do is to keep streaking!

For more info on streak running go to the United States Running Streak Association.

To find a yoga studio in your area check out this directory from Yoga Journal.

And lastly, because the song is stuck in my head and probably yours, too:

Thursday, March 14, 2013

My Quarterly Post

So, as I am wont to do, I have let the blog languish for approximately 3 months. I am apparently really good at quarterly posts! HA

Today's post is pretty much a cut and paste of a FB discussion a friend, and fellow fit-at-40 struggler, and I had this morning.

It all stemmed from my sharing of this article from the awesome site MindBodyGreen. If you haven't been there you should go.  Go there now and read the article. It is short. I'll wait. :D

Ok, so "relaxing about food" was the topic that led to the following:

Me: [about the article post] This. Exactly! YES!! (for me anyway)
Friend: I am the same way. I need to do this as well. One of my friends mentioned how she changed her relationship with food and she was able to lose weight. I have become obsessed with this comment. What does this mean? I asked her a million questions and still no insight into what this means.
Me: You know, just yesterday I was thinking on this very thing. Last year I lost 20lb "without even trying" and I was revisiting HOW that was even managed. I did 1 key thing... "gave up" meat - which really just forced me to not eat fast food and to eat LOTS more fruit, veg, and legumes. I was "veggie" for about 8months total. I realize it wasn't that I was giving up meat, it was that I gave up FAST FOOD, and I mean all types... processed food in general. I felt better, I looked better (skin-wise), and I really didn't miss fast food.
Me: I went back to eating meat, because, well, meat is delicious... but unfortunately I fell back into my bad habits of waiting too long to eat, snarfing food in my car (from a bag), and then being guilty for "being bad" - of course that slippery slope led to "well I am already "off track" now I'll have this (insert "bad food" here)." I have to get back to a healthy relationship with ALL food. I have tried WW, I have tried restrictive diets, Slim-Fast, Phen-Fen (remember those pills?), all crap crap crap. And when the only thing I was cutting out was meat (read: fast food) I was at peace with food. I was trying more things on menus, I was NOT eating in my car!!! I was shedding pounds WITHOUT ACTIVELY TRYING. I need to revisit this. And this time keeping good quality lean meat and "giving up" fast food.
Me: And I also stopped "counting" - tracking calories, fat, carbs, sodium IS EXHAUSTING and emotionally draining. I did measure out fats & carbs until I got a grasp on REAL portion sizes, but let the veg & fruit fill half my plate. I think why I get so mad at myself is that I KNOW what I need to do, I just don't do it! WOW... this turned into what should be one of my blog posts! HA!
Ok, so this was less a conversation and more me talking about my experiences/thought processes.  I think what it boils down to for me is that I am tired of food being BAD. I am tired of feeling guilty if I want French fries on occasion. I am tired of feeling shame for enjoying a delicious dessert with my husband (or on my own).  I am tired of hearing women (mostly) talk about "being bad" because they had a full-fat latte... and *gasp* a biscotti.  I am sad that I wasted so much of my life (20+ years!!!) fretting about a tablespoon of this and a 1/2c of that... 250calories of this and 12oz of that... meal replacements - shakes & bars.... instead of just ENJOYING MY LIFE.
When I took "meat" - really FAST FOOD - out of my life I was so much happier... and I wasn't obsessing. You know what I WAS doing? Eating well! Cooking at home. Packing healthy lunches. EATING VEGETABLES... and fruit... and legumes.
So you know what? I am gonna do that again... I need to be FAST FOOD FREE and VEGGIE FULL!
Who's with me?


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My Mummy's Photoshoot

Lots of the My Mummy Does images are of real breastfeeding mums and their families and friends from Ashton, Leigh and Wigan. We had such a fantastic day on the photoshoot, and we hope that you’ll agree that all of the photographs are wonderful. We’re very proud of all of the My Mummy Does supporters that took part in the shoot and it was great to see so many happy and confident mums breastfeeding around Wigan.

We hope that you enjoy all of the photos and if you'd like to share your breastfeeding story you can become part of the My Mummy Does community here.

Recent Supporters

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Family Fun Day

Wigan Breastfeeding Network Peer Support and WLCT invite you to a Family Fun Day on Saturd...>

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Breastfeeding Awareness Week ran from 24th June until 28th June 2013. Two events took plac...>

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Get in touch

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Saturday, May 5, 2012

Impatiens balsamina

Scientific Name: Impatiens balsamina
Common Name: Garden Balsam, Touch-Me-Not, Rose Balsam or Camellia-flowered Balsam
Family Name: Balsaminaceae
Origin: Tropics of Asia

Water: Medium
Light: Full Sun
Soil: Well drained

Form: Upright
Plant Uses: Flower plant, flower bed, container, mass planting, border, ground cover
Special Features: Certain parts of the plant has medicinal properties e.g. flowers are used to soothe burns and scalds and treat snake bites. While the juice of the leaves is used to treat warts. In Korea, bruised red garden balsam petals are used as dye to colour their fingernails.

More pictures

More information on how to grow the plant, click here

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Share your thoughts about this plant here :-D You may include your experiences/tips to grow it successfully.


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Friday, December 14, 2007

Bud Must Go!

Lets talk about Allen R. "Bud" Selig. For those of you who have been living on another planet, he is the commissioner of Major League Baseball. He is the man who famously threw up his hands and had no idea what to do when the all star game, in his home city of Milwaukee, was tied and the teams were soon running out of pitchers. Bud has buried his head in the sane about performance enhancing drugs for so long, that he was finally forced to take action. More stringent rules were set in place. Players started to get busted, but it wasn't enough. So the Mitchell investigation was born.

As you all know by now, the year long investigative report was finished and handed out to the public yesterday. Names were named (ha ha Roger Clemens) but many were missing (how do you have an investigation and not have Sammy Sosa or Mark McGwire in it?). The details were mostly based on testimony by two former MLB clubhouse employees looking to reduce their potential prison sentences (other than what was already uncovered in the BALCO investigation). It makes for some interesting reading.

Just ask Selig. Oh yeah, he hasn't read it yet.

What? That's right. The Commissioner of Baseball held a press conference to talk about the over 400 page findings of the Mitchell report, yet the man in charge of baseball didn't read it. How can you hold a presser, take questions from the press, and literally have no clue what you are going to talk about other than being briefed by your people? Is that a joke? He sounded like a complete fool. Selig claimed he will act on each one if Mitchell's 20 recommendations. Ask him what those 20 are, I bet he couldn't name them.

He also said he will "act swiftly on a case by case basis" when it comes to punishment of the players named in the report. How can one act swiftly when they haven't read all the facts? The guy is a complete buffoon and made a fool of himself yesterday. He should be asked to resign now.

There is only one person worst than Selig, union chief Donald Fehr. Is there a bigger pompous windbag in America? If there is, his name is Spencer Pratt and he lives in Los Angeles. Other than him, I can't see it. During his press conference on behalf of the players union, Fehr did his usual talking down to everyone routine, acting as if he is smarter and better than everyone in the room. I cannot stand him.

Don't even get me started about the hypocrisy of George Mitchell being in charge of this investigation, yet holding a seat on the board of the directors of the Boston Red Sox. Here's one for you, how many current Red Sox were implicated in this report? That would be ZERO.

Bud and his cronies: Well done!

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<< Home Page | Perry Index

Perry's Index to the Aesopica

Fables exist in many versions; here is one version in English:

A donkey saw a lyre lying in a field. He approached the instrument and as he tried to strum it with his hoof, the strings resounded at his touch. 'What a beautiful thing,' said the donkey, 'but completely inappropriate, since I don't know anything about music. If only someone better equipped than myself had found it, my ears would have been delighted by heavenly melodies!'
So it is that talents often go to waste because of some misfortune.

Source: Aesop's Fables. A new translation by Laura Gibbs. Oxford University Press (World's Classics): Oxford, 2002.
NOTE: New cover, with new ISBN, published in 2008; contents of book unchanged.

Perry 542: Gibbs (Oxford) 404 [English]
Perry 542: Phaedrus 6.14 [Latin]

You can find a compilation of Perry's index to the Aesopica in the gigantic appendix to his edition of Babrius and Phaedrus for the Loeb Classical Library (Harvard University Press: Cambridge, 1965). This book is an absolute must for anyone interested in the Aesopic fable tradition. Invaluable.


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11am-The Lordy Belance Show

In this stellar talk show, Lordy talks about anything she desires, be it entertainment, news, politics, celebrities, issues she really cares about (e.g. child abuse, bullying), or holidays. She also hopes to get her listeners involved (e.g. give advice, let them participate in contests), as well as hold charitable events (e.g. telethons, auctions) for causes such as breast cancer awareness. For fun, Lordy likes to tell jokes, do karaoke, and share works that either she or her favorite authors wrote. Lastly, Lordy plans on sharing some of her own music on the show.


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Wednesday, July 30, 2014

I want to be ........

I want to be ____________. Please fill in the blank.
Here are 10 suggestions that might help:
1.       …like her (add name) _______ because she’s pretty and thin.

2.       …successful in my career

3.       …financially comfortable

4.       …married

5.       …a mom

6.       …like them, popular and accepted

7.       …free from physical pain

8.       …healthy and well

9.       …live my dream to be a _______ (fill in blank)

10.   …young again
Too often I’ve been personally consumed with all my wants and desires, that I missed what God had for me.

Have you? Are you always wanting, wishing and longing for something? A desire. Fulfilled dream. The need to be fulfilled. We all have an insatiable longing for fulfillment. In our jobs, marriages, singleness, in retirement, life.

I recently heard an incredible message at church that jolted me out of my self-consuming haze. It challenged me to return to that place of abandon and surrender to the Lord that I know brings true fulfillment.
The message was about being ready; ready to meet the Lord when He returns. That day will be experienced by everyone, whether you’re a believer or not. We will all see Him. Some will be ready. Some won’t. As I think about that day, my longings and desires to be like someone else, to be successful, smarter, prettier, thinner, whatever, are fading in light of reality.

Being ready for THAT DAY takes a lot of preparation. It’s parallel to what a bride does before she meets her groom to pledge her abandoned love and commitment to him for a lifetime. That’s a day she has dreamed about and looked forward to her whole life. She thinks about it, talks about it with her friends, plans and daydreams about that day. She wouldn’t dare meet her groom without proper preparation.
I want to be ready when I meet Jesus face to face, whether it’s by me going to heaven or Him returning in my lifetime. I want my focus to change from trying to fulfill all my longings and wants myself, to being fulfilled and excited as I prepare to meet Him.

Something has happened since I’ve intentionally taken my focus off all the things I thought I wanted, and just focused on the one thing that really matters, which is Him. It’s not effortless because the world tugs and pulls, bringing clatter and chaos along with it. What I’ve noticed is opened doors to things that support my dream career. I’ve noticed a rest and contentment. I’ve noticed that the fulfillment I’ve longed for is becoming my reality. I feel His fresh touch again.
I want to be ready for my Groom, adorned with grace, mercy, wisdom and love. I don’t want to be clothed in selfishness, sinfulness and self-centeredness. I want Him to find me busily about His business, not trying to force my own way. I want to meet Him at the altar prepared and ready.

I want to be ____________. What is your answer? Share it below.
In continuous preparation,

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Name Your Holiday

Every day is a holiday to someone; a reason to celebrate. There are some wacky national holidays with the stamp of Congress on them.

Today, July 16, is National Fresh Spinach Day. Yesterday was Tapioca Pudding Day (Yuck!) and also Cow Appreciation Day (go hug a cow).

Today, on National Fresh Spinach Day, we’re to add something healthy to our diet. However, tomorrow, the 17th, is Peach Ice Cream Day. I guess you’re to counteract the fresh spinach with ice cream?

July 17th is also National Yellow Pig Day. Really! If you don’t believe me, you can read about it here:

Who came up with these bizarre holidays? And how do these holidays get inducted into the national holiday hall of days (heehee).

Anyone can declare a holiday just to have a reason to celebrate, but for it to be made official really does take an act of Congress.

So, I’m making up my own kooky holiday. Here goes…

Today, I declare July 16th as “Make Up Your Own Holiday” Day.

Today is the day you think of something you want to celebrate, then name it. It must be something of great significance to you.

This holiday will not need an act of Congress to be real for you and me. It can be a personal accomplishment, a victory, a new revelation or vision. It can be whatever you want it to be.

I’m declaring my holiday as Letting Go Day. If Congress approved it, it’d be called National Letting Go Day.

As I write this, I’m in the process of letting go of lots of stuff. Some are commitments to good things, but just because they’re good doesn’t mean I should say yes.

I’ve been trying to control the direction of my life. Things I want, situations, circumstances, people. I know better, but it’s in my nature to want things to go a certain way….my way.

I’ve secretly held on to negative, sinful thoughts that were buried underneath fear, worry, anger and resentments. My twisting, entangled thoughts demanded all my focus at the same time.

I’ve also had the wrong mindset regarding a non-profit single-parent ministry I founded. I wrongfully assumed I had to do it all and do it well. I have a day job, a husband, new grandbaby, elderly mom, friends, writing projects and more. I’m just the founder. God will provide gifted, talented people to do it all and who’ll do it well; much better than I can.

Following a recent burn out, and feeling I’d failed God, I took a step back from everything. God was then able to show me that He never intends for me to do it all; that my relationship with Him isn’t based on anything I do! It’s based on grace alone.

I’ve now taken all my focus off everything.

Except one.

HIM. Only my relationship with Him. That’s all. That’s my focus. My thoughts have smoothed out and my heart is no longer heavy. When I smile it’s for real.

As I let it all go, and place it on Him, He refills me. Peace, rest and a fresh touch. O yeah!

I gladly step aside.

This makes me want to celebrate! Happy Letting Go Day!!

What is your holiday today? What do you want to celebrate? Name it! And share it below.
Let the celebrations begin,

Thursday, July 3, 2014

I’m very excited today to introduce my very first blog guest! Many of you know him, but most of you don’t.
He’s never considered himself a writer, but I do. He’s written everything from detailed specs for fire engines, pumpers and ambulances, to his personal testimony.

He’s also written a couple of devotionals he shared at a Celebrate Recovery leadership meeting. That is what I’m sharing with you today, a piece he wrote titled, “Miracles.”

I am partial to him and yes, I do play favorites. He’s very witty, funny, intelligent, and has much to say about many things. I am sure this is the first of many stories and/or devotionals that will be penned by my very own, Donnie Webster, my sweet husband. I’ve edited his in-person version to a readers’ version.

Today I am going to talk about some miracles that are going on right here around us.

Webster Dictionary defines a miracle as an event or action that apparently contradicts known scientific law.

In the Bible there are many examples of miracles: The parting of the Red Sea by Moses that allowed the Israelites to escape the bondage of the Egyptians. The time Jesus raised a man named Lazarus from the dead.

I have had people tell me that miracles like these no longer happen today.

They do.

How many of you know what a pecan tree looks like and are able to picture it in your mind?

Now envision a pecan.

A pecan weighs around an ounce and is a little over an inch long. If I were to take a pecan and put it in the ground, add some water, it would eventually grow to a 70 – 100 foot tall tree, weighing thousands of pounds. It would be like nothing that pecan you first pictured in your mind.

By the way, if anyone is interested, the second largest pecan tree in the state of Georgia is just a few miles from here on Marks Road between here and Mansfield.

Now picture a can of Salmon. Think about it for a few seconds.

And no, the miracle is not that a man can put a dead fish in a can and then 5 years later take it out, eat it and not get sick. That is not the miracle.

This fish is born in a freshwater stream that is only inches deep. After hatching, the fish travels downstream and eventually into the ocean. Salmon have traveled up to 1500 miles one way from their place of birth.

After living several years in the ocean, the fish leaves the ocean, travels upstream where it first came from, and lays its eggs in the SAME stream where it was born.

What or WHO does the navigation there? Think about it… the navigation!

Now, picture a mirror. It can be a handheld one or big like one in your bathroom. All of us look in the mirror every day.

The next time you look in a mirror at yourself, you are looking at a MIRACLE.

God has created you by taking a single cell from your mother, and a single cell from your father. He combined two cells. Over a period of 9 months it produces millions of cells that became a living, breathing person.

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb,”Psalm 139:13.

You see the pecan, the salmon, and the person that you are. These are all proof of things that science cannot explain. This is proof that MIRACLES DO EXIST.

The next time you think you’ve never seen a miracle or wish you could witness a miracle, they’re happening all around us. We just need to be willing, to be willing to see them from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the author of all miracles.

What other miracles can you think of? They're all around us and endless if you take the time to look around and see.


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RockPaperShotgun- ArmA III Review

RPS:ArmA III is great. Arma II aside, there’s nothing else like it. As time goes on will only get better – but, at launch, it feels a little like moving sideways rather than forwards.

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Product Developer: ide group

For the last 2.5 years I've been working at ide Group with an experienced team of industrial designers and engineers, on a range of client projects in the medical and consumer fields. I specialise in front end design work including user needs research, concept exploration, hand and computer renderings, surface modelling, client presentations, facilitating usability evaluations and presentation models.

Project examples

  • Surgical Applicator: developing the aesthetic language for a surgical applicator - a new product that dispenses a lifesaving drug
  • Pitch Presentation: working alongside the directors and marketing team to developing the design language and graphics for ide's corporate presentations.
  • Sketching Workshops: facilitating sketch practice sessions to help ide staff keep up their sketching skills.
  • Office Revamp: designing acoustic wall features for the meeting rooms and director offices.
  • Breakthrough Devices: understanding user needs through a series of interviews and feeding that knowledge into concept ideation for a new breakthrough product in the medical field.
  • Smart Technologies: looking into the future role of technology in medical products.
  • HIV Diagnosis: Working as part of a team to develop the Atomo Rapid HIV diagnostic test for new markets.
  • Electrical Savings: Developing the design language and production plan for the e*star energy monitor.
  • Consumer Products: taking a consumer product from ideation, to marketing, detailing, testing and now small run manufacture in China.

At ide I have had the opportunity to develop my competency in the following areas:

  • Design Inputs: using a variety of research methods to understand complex problems and user needs, creating design briefs that encompasses marketing needs, human factors, user needs, manufacturing requirements and regulations.
  • Vision setting: developing style guides and mood boards for visual guidance.
  • Ideation: taking project and product requirements through to a wide and comprehensive exploration of feasible solutions, facilitating brainstorming workshops with staff and clients.
  • Prototypes and models: from card to foam to production finish 3D models - assisting clients in visualising our answers to their needs.
  • CAD: surface modelling and detailing concepts, production drawings and liaising with suppliers and manufacturers.
  • Visualisation: marker renderings and Keyshot renderings combined with Adobe skills result in presentations that capture the imagination.
  • Client presentations: building rapport with clientelle, delivering clear, concise and compelling presentations.
  • Usability evaluations: planning and recruiting, developing protocols, facilitating usability evaluations, reporting on data and observations, making recommendations for the next design iteration.

Related Work


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Tag Archive | "Kassydi Montgomery cumberland"

Kassydi Montgomery’s offense leads Cumberland to split

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Kassydi Montgomery’s offense leads Cumberland to split

Posted on 25 February 2015 by Allen

Kristen Abell tossed a complete game and Kassydi Montgomery belted a two-run homer and drove in the winning run with a double in the eighth inning, as Cumberland split a doubleheader with Union University on a cold and wet Wednesday at the CU Softball Field.

The Bulldogs (1-1) dropped the first game, 10-2, with three errors leading to five unearned runs by Union (8-6). Abell worked around an error and stranded the bases loaded in the fifth and sixth innings to pick up the victory.

Kaleigh Pearce hit a line drive solo homer in the second inning and Montgomery’s two-run home run gave Cumberland a 3-2 edge in the third. The Bulldogs held onto the one-run lead until the seventh when Alex Williams dumped a two-out single into short rightfield, plating Summer Cross, who had singled with one out, and sending the contest to extra innings.

The eighth inning brought the international tiebreaker rule and Abell was able to strand Carter Mansolino at third base in the top of the inning.

In the bottom half Katelyn Nowakowski started at second and took third on a wild pitch. Vienna Benavides fouled out and Katelynn Stoll struck out before Montgomery’s shot to the wall that hit of the glove of Cross and fell to the turf, allowing the winning run to cross the plate for the win.

Abell (1-0) gave up three runs on seven hits with three walks and one strikeout. Her only punchout of the game came with the bases loaded and two outs in the seventh, a swinging third strike of Carlie Brickley to end the inning.

Kelly Robey (6-5) suffered the loss in relief, giving up an unearned run on three hits with eight strikeouts in 4.2 innings. Williams started the second game for Union, allowing three runs on three hits with five strikeouts.

Benavides singled twice for the Bulldogs, who had just six hits and stranded only one runner in the victory.

Williams belted a three-run homer in the first inning of the opener and Union plated five runs, two earned, in the fifth inning thanks to an error and a passed ball to break open another 3-2 contest. Whitney Christian collected three hits, drove in a run and scored another in the contest for Union and Madison Tennyson was 2-for-3 with two runs scored as well.

Robey got the win in relief in that contest as well, giving up one hit with six strikeouts in 4.1 innings.

CU starter Leah Newsome (0-1) suffered the loss, allowing five earned runs on 10 hits in 4.1 innings.

Union struck quickly in the first game, with Tennyson drawing a leadoff walk and Cross reaching when Giselle Delgado dropped the throw to first on a sacrifice bunt. Two batters later Williams’ line drive just cleared the centerfield wall for a 3-0 advantage for the visitors.

The Bulldogs cut into the deficit in the third when Stoll was hit with one out and Nowakowski dumped a single into short center. With two outs Madison Gonzalez drilled an 0-2 pitch into the gap in leftcenter, plating both runners to cut the Union lead to 3-2.

The flood gates opened in the fifth when Reagan Schrader singled to start the frame and Williams reached on an error by Montgomery. The runners went to second and third on Mansolino’s sac bunt and Schrader scored on a wild pitch.

Christian’s single between short and third plated Williams and Hailey Cummings followed with a single to left. Annette Castaldo then singled to rightcenter, scoring a run, and Nowakowski’s throw to the plate allowed Castaldo to take second on the play.

Emily Bennett’s grounder through the middle pushed across another run before Tennyson struck out but reached on a passed ball. Castaldo also scored on the passed ball for an 8-2 Union lead.

Union plated two more runs in the seventh, starting when Castaldo reached on a throwing error by Pearce. She went to second on a wild pitch and Tennyson singled with one put, putting runners on the corners. Cross’ groundout plated a run and Schrader drove home the final run of the game with a two-out single to center.

Union jumped on top again in the second game when Schrader hit a solo homer in the first inning, but Pearce’s solo shot to center tied the contest in the second.

Union reclaimed the lead with a run in the third thanks to back-to-back two-out doubles from Tennyson and Cross, but Benavides singled off the glove of Brickley in leftfield to start the bottom half and Montgomery drilled a 3-0 pitch well over the wall in rightcenter with one out for a 3-2 CU advantage.

Union loaded the bases in the fifth on two-out singles by Brickley and Tennyson and a walk to Cross, but freshman Brittany Rasmussen made a nice sliding catch on a line drive by Schrader to end the threat.

In the sixth Mansolino reached on an error and walks to Christian and Cummings loaded the bases again before Brickley’s strikeout.

Cumberland has changed its schedule for the coming weekend and will take on Taylor University in a single game Friday at Noon. The two teams will meet again Saturday at 10:30 a.m. followed by Taylor and Tennessee Wesleyan at 12:30 p.m. and the Bulldogs and Wesleyan at 2:30 p.m.

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Phillip Escott: Question and Answers

Please, let everyone know about yourself? I’m Phillip Escott, co-writer/director of Cruel Summer. I also help create additional material on re-releases of classic genre films for boutique labels like Arrow Video, 88 Films and Eureka Entertainment here in the UK. I started off as a writer for cult genre websites like Joe Horror/Wildside Cinema and… Read More »

Category: Q&A

Cruel Summer Review

Every now and again when we trudge through the low budget filth and villainy we get in our beloved genre, some so bad they are, some just bad, we do occasionally come across a hidden gem that needs writing about and world needs to know about, Cruel Summer is one of these Gems. Now, the… Read More »


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The “Q” branch of the Indian Police arrested six Sri Lankan Tamil refugees yesterday on the charge of planning to embark on an illegal boat journey to New Zealand.

The Hindu reported that they were arrested when they had assembled near a school in the city to plan their boat journey.

The arrested persons had been identified as K. Jayaraj (34) and A. Chandrakumar (36) of Sri Lankan camp at Rayanur in Karur district, C. Pradeepan (27), R. Prabu (25) and M. Pradeep (21) of Sri Lankan camp in Kottapattu and S. Sreshwararaja (34) of Irubuthipatti in Karur district, The Hindu said citing sources.


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Fairness and balance not strange: minister

September 17, 2017

Communications Minister Mitch Fifield says expecting the ABC to be fair is a tenet of journalism.

The Turnbull government insists a push to legislate that the ABC must be "fair and balanced" will not change anything about the public broadcaster's existing editorial policies.

The change to the ABC Act - yet to be brought to parliament - is part of a deal the government did with One Nation in exchange for passing its overhaul of media laws.

Communication Minister Mitch Fifield told ABC TV on Sunday there was no need for any uproar about the proposed change as fairness and balance "are not strange or new journalistic concepts".

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Thursday, June 27, 2013

Great Sites: Chaco Culture National Historical Park: Part 3: Chetro Ketl

Chetro Ketl
Original Collonades are filled in

Mayans in New Mexico?   In the Chaco Culture National Historical Park there is a Great House built by the ancestral Puebloan culture that is a glaring example of the influence of the Mayan culture.  If you look closely at the front wall facing the plaza at Chetro Ketl, you can see that it “was originally built as a row of masonry columns which once held horizontal timbers to support a roof over an open cloister-like porch.”   This quote is from the guide book provided by the NHP.  It goes on to say, “Sometime later the spaces between the columns were filled with masonry to completely close the passageway.”  And later the area was divided further into smaller rooms.
Chetro Ketl
Artist's Rendering by Courtney Miller
To give you an idea of what it would have looked like originally, I have drawn a sketch with the porch as it was before it was filled in.  “Pillars and colonnades are features of prehistoric architecture in central Mexico, but were unknown to the American Southwest before the Bonito Phase.”  Note the similarity of style in the drawing with the buildings in the Mayan city of Palenque.  This is just one more piece of evidence that there was extensive trade between the Chaco Culture and the Central American cultures.

Mayan building in Palenque
Note colonnaded porches
Chetro Ketl is due east of Pueblo Bonito.  A line extended from the front wall of Pueblo Bonita bisects the heart of Chetro Ketl and they are clearly visible to each other.   There are many similarities between the two, but some striking differences as well.  Chetro Ketl’s floor plan is more the traditional rectangular design as opposed to the unique “half moon” shape of Pueblo Bonito.

Chetro Ketl was also the termination point of three great roads.  Just to the northeast an ancient stairway hewn into the canyon wall led to a prepared roadway at the top of the bluff.  This road once led north to the village known today as Aztec ruins.  Due south there is the remnants of another stair leading out of the valley and connecting with a north-south road that led to the southern outliers.
West and a little south there is the remnant of a stairs that once connected to a short road to the Great House “Pueblo Alto”.  Watch a video on this stairs.  You can still see the final steps terminating in one room, part of a small house of about 30 rooms and five kivas.  All that remains of the stairway above the house are the holes where supports were placed and a few stairs hewn in the rock cliff.  Above the bluff a 16-20 foot road led to Pueblo Alto.  Typically, the first stop for visitors.  The steps would have landed on the roof of the back room and then a grand rock staircase would have brought the visitor into the front room.  A regal entrance onto the canyon floor just behind the Great House, Chetro Ketl.

The ancestral Puebloans built over 200 miles of roads connecting most, if not all, of the pueblos of the Chaco world.  These roads were 16 to 20 feet wide and bordered by berms of soil or loose rock and often filled with soil to keep them level .  “The roads are not simple trails following the easiest routes, but are straight for miles, connecting points not in sight of one another, and disregarding rough terrain.”

Chetro Ketl also hosts both subterranean Kivas, which are common and tower Kivas built on the third floor which was peculiar to this era in the canyon.  See the Kivas.

Chetro Ketl is a fascinating site to visit and should definitely be on your list when you visit Chaco Culture National Historical Park.

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Great Sites: Chaco Culture National Historical Park, part 2: Pueblo Bonito

Aerial view of Pueblo Bonito
It is the largest of the Great Houses at Chaco Canyon and possibly the largest anywhere in North America.   It is the most thoroughly investigated and excavated and there is good evidence that the massive structure was intricately pre-planned down to its odd placement in the canyon.  For instance, the thickness of the walls on the ground floor rooms indicate that it was planned to be five stories high from the beginning although construction, started in 850 A.D., would take 200 years to complete.

Aerial view of Pueblo Bonito
Note the remains of "Threatening Rock"
in upper right
And it was placed too close to the canyon wall indicating that its placement was based on a higher
purpose.  Despite a large piece of the canyon wall, later named “Threatening Rock”,  that had broken loose and would undoubtedly fall someday, they stubbornly stuck to their plan.  Threatening Rock did come down and knocked out a good portion of the back wall January 1941 (note the rock pile in the lower left of the picture above).  Something about that spot made it critical that it be placed there.

What is the structure?  It is Pueblo Bonito at Chaco Culture National Historical Park in northwestern New Mexico.

Another interesting anomaly is the design of Pueblo Bonito.  The floor plan is in the shape of a “D” or, as our tour guide pointed out, a “half moon”.  Looking at the aerial view are you seeing another striking similarity to the moon?  The craters?  Well, before we get too carried away, the round kivas would have been covered!   Most Great Houses were square or rectangular or, if they had a curved wall, it was in front of the courtyard.  But almost always, the back wall was straight. (Of course, other would be houses that were unplanned or built on covered ledges like at Mesa Verde).   At Pueblo Bonito, the entire back wall is curved and the wall in front of the courtyard is straight.

Tour of Casa Rincanada
Canyon wall between Pueblo Bonito and Chetro Ketl
is in the background
An interesting phenomenon resides between Pueblo Bonito and Chetro Ketl, the Great House to the east, according to our guide.  This cliff face produces great acoustics.  The field between Pueblo Bonito and Chetro Ketl showed signs of use, but was not used for agricultural purposes.  Our guide speculates that it was a community gathering place.  The sound from drums and flutes played next to the cliff face would have carried across the valley.

Although Pueblo Bonito probably contained over 800 rooms in its heyday,  research suggests that very few people lived in the Great Houses permanently.  For instance, there were very few burials found in the canyon.   This would suggest that the Great Houses in Chaco canyon were more like resorts than villages.  Goods from all over the southwest, Central America, and the east support the theory that Chaco Canyon was a central trading hub.  It is more likely, that people came to the canyon to trade their goods and while there experience the lavish ceremonial events staged in the Great Kivas, large dance fields, and great plazas.

Pueblo Bonito would have been a most impressive place to visit back then.  With the best architecture and construction, oversized rooms,  grand courtyards, huge Kivas, and massive storage facilities, it would have been a spectacle.   It was like no other place in the southwest.  Even in a canyon where Great Houses dotted the valley and canyon rims, it was (and is) unique.

Imagine approaching this enormous, five-story “hotel” covering three acres with an enormous courtyard in front where dancers in brightly colored costumes were dancing to the thundering beat of massive foot drums, melodious flutes, rattles and chanting singers.  A massive round Kiva sitting in the center of the courtyard held impressive ceremonial rituals.  I imagine that it might have been like going to New York City on business and taking in Broadway plays and shopping.

These cylinder jars from Pueblo Bonito contained chocolate!  It was in liquid form and imported from Central America for elite guests.  In some Maya ceremonies a cacao beverage was frothed by pouring the liquid from one vessel to another.  The Maya were known to ground cacao beans, mix them with spices, chilies, and water, and frothed the drink for consumption either hot or cold.  In addition to this exotic drink, trade with Central America included rare Quetzal feathers and parrots.

Thursday, June 13, 2013

Great Sites: Chaco Culture National Park part 1

Part 1: Introduction to the Park

Approaching Chaco Canyon
Fajada Butte can be seen in the distance
Recently, I revisited Chaco Culture National Park.  It is one of the most magical/mystical places I’ve ever been to.  There is nothing else there—no amusement park, no big city, no hotels or restaurants, no residents (other than National Park staff)—just the remains of the ancient Puebloan center we call Chaco today.  Even though you may occasionally be passing other tourists, you cannot help but feel a personal connection as you wander among these large and imposing silent ancient structures and wonder what happened here.

This beautiful site is located in north-western New Mexico.   I usually come into the park from Hwy 550 either from Bloomfield (north) or from Albuquerque (south).   I turn off US 550 at CR 7900--3 miles southeast of Nageezi and approximately 50 miles west of Cuba (at mile 112.5). This  route is clearly signed from US 550 to the park boundary (21 miles). The route includes 8 miles of paved road (CR 7900) and 13 miles of rough dirt road (CR7950).   But if you are coming in from I40, take the Thoreau exit north Hwy 371, after Crown point turn east on hwy 9, then north on Hwy 57 all the way to the park entrance.  Click for more specific directions

Be sure to check “Traffic and Travel Tips” on the National Park Service web site before leaving.  Sometimes the roads leading in (which are dirt roads) are closed.

The park is open every day from 7:00 a.m. to sunset. The Visitor Center is open from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The Visitor Center is closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas Day, and New Year's Day but the park's roads, sites, trails and campground remain open.

I have stayed at the campground before both with a travel trailer and with a tent.  Be aware that there are no hookups in the camp ground but there is a bath and restroom facility.  Note that the roads in are rub-board most of the way, so batten down the hatches and check for rain—you don’t want to attempt these dirt roads when they are muddy.  If you set up a tent, make sure you are not right below the canyon rim.  If there is even a small rain storm, water from all around will cascade down over the rim and flood you; I know because we got drenched one summer.  So place your tent away from the rim on high ground.

Park tours of the ruins are excellent and I highly recommend you join one.  There were two each day we were there.  Just check with the visitor center for time and location.
The main, excavated ruins are easily accessible from a paved road inside the park.  But if you are a hiker, there are some great hiking trails to remote sites.  And experiencing the ruins from the rim is awe inspiring.

Next week, I will talk more about the ruins and their significance.

Thursday, June 6, 2013

Cherokee Witchcraft: How the medicine men dealt with a Raven Mocker

Part 4

The Raven Mocker witch
could shape-shift into a raven
The most feared Cherokee witch, the one they called “Raven Mocker”,  was not completely invincible.  The skilled medicine man knew the signs of the Raven Mocker and its malicious intents.  He knew that the Raven Mocker preferred the nights and that he preferred preying on the sick and the weak.  So, when a loved one was sick, these special medicine men (or women) were sought out and asked to sit with their loved one through the night.
There were numerous methods that were known to enable the detection of the witch.  The Raven Mocker, according to accounts recorded by James Mooney, “… flies through the air in fiery shape, with arms outstretched like wings, and sparks trailing behind … Every little while as he flies he makes a cry like the cry of a raven”.  [refer to the previous article from Native American Antiquity:  Cherokee Witches: Kâ'lanû Ahkyeli'skï]
Ayunini (Swimmer)
Famous Cherokee Medicine Man

Another method, quoting from “The Swimmer Manuscript” by James Mooney, revised and edited by Frans Olbrects (Swimmer was a famous Cherokee medicine man that was Mooney’s principle informant on the history, mythology, … medicine and botany of the Cherokee), “This work consists in smoothing a small heap of ashes, about 20-25 centimeters in diameter, aside from the hearth, and occasionally dropping a tiny pinch of finely crushed tso’ lagayo-nli (“old tobacco,” Nicotiana rustica L) on it; the center of the hot ashes are thought of as representing the patient’s cabin; any particle of the tobacco dust catching fire, to the right or to the left of the center, indicates the position from where the witch is approaching.  If the dust alights on the center of the ashes it is a sign that the witch is right overhead, and should the tobacco, as it drops on the center, take fire with a crack or a burst, it shows that the witch has already entered the room.  In this case the burst will cause the death of the witch within four days, if she is one of the kind that has fasted for four days to attain her occult power; within seven days if she is one of the kind that ‘has got the utmost’”

It was also believed that by drinking a special mixture, sometimes called the “witch’s tea”, the
consumer could “see” the witch in his natural form and, thereby, cause the witch’s death.  According to Alan Kilpatrick, in his book “The Night Has a Naked Soul”, “… the four ingredients of this exotic brew (which were crushed and steeped in water) were algae collected from rocks in a mountain stream, phosphorescent wood extracted from a putrified stump, and two species of insect plants (Cordyceps) that contain the hallucinatory properties of ergot and lysergic acid diethylamide.”

Witches, whether a Raven Mocker or just a common witch, were blamed for a person’s sickness.  When interrogating a patient, the medicine man would usually ask if the patient knew “who put the thing [curse] under them” that disrupted their healthy condition.  The medicine man didn’t treat the sickness as we think of it today, they worked to remove that which was interrupting their health by restoring harmony and balance.  So, a treatment would not only include medicine but required the appropriate prayers or conjures to address the complete health of the patient.  A person’s physical health was linked with his mental health and both had to be addressed to be well.  It bothers me that our doctors today have not learned this and rarely address both when treating their patients.  It is too easy to just prescribe a drug and hope it drives out the sickness.


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Sunday, April 04, 2010

Flying High on SSRIs

Now that the FAA has lifted the ban on pilots using SSRI antidepressants, perhaps you'd like to read this commentary excerpt from another natural health advocate -
"Dr. Peter Breggin, a court certified psychiatric expert and author of numerous books on psychiatric drugs, reveals how GSK not only concealed negative studies, but also manipulated data about Paxil-induced suicidality so that actual suicide attempts in clinical trials were underreported, while attempts by subjects taking a placebo were inflated. According to Dr. Breggin, drug companies settle almost all lawsuits out of court in order to seal incriminating scientific data. “This deprives the FDA, medical profession and public of critical information on drug safety and efficacy,” he says.
There were 39,000 adverse event reports submitted to the FDA’s Medwatch, according to award-winning investigative reporter, Robert Whitaker. And that number is said to represent only about 1% of the actual number of adverse events. “So, if we get 39,000 adverse event reports about Prozac,” Mr. Whitaker said in an interview for Street Spirit in August 2005, “the number of people who have actually suffered such problems is estimated to be 100 times as many, or roughly four million people.”  Complete article

Anonymous said...

This is a very interesting blog and so i like to visit your blog again and again. Keep it up.

Anonymous said...

This is astounding data. The pharmaceutical industry lobby is very strong. It can influence from Congress to FDA and everything in between.

Obviously, when billions are at stake, results are skewed.


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Saturday, August 16, 2014

After the Rain

Following a night of rain with intermittent thunderstorms, we headed down to the Forum Nature Area this morning.  A mild west breeze had developed behind the storm system and pockets of blue appeared in the overcast as we circled through the bottomland refuge.

On the restored prairie, summer wildflowers were beginning to fade and the scene was now dominated by the bright purple of blazing star, the purple-pink heads of thistle and the glow of various goldenrods; pockets of white hibiscus also adorned the wooded prairie.  Eastern phoebes, eastern bluebirds, American goldfinches and eastern kingbirds foraged on the grassland while indigo buntings, gray catbirds, northern cardinals and yellow-billed cuckoos moved through the riparian woods.  Along the margins of the seasonal lake, green herons and a lone great blue heron stalked the shallows, killdeer and a few migrant shorebirds patrolled the mudflats and small flocks of mallards and Canada geese drifted on the calm waters.

Though we may yet face periods of intense summer heat, the transition toward fall is now evident in central Missouri.  Last night's rain cooled the air but the vegetative explosion of spring and early summer has passed and the demand for moisture has diminished; much of the rain will thus enter our streams and seasonal wetlands, preparing the landscape for the spectacular flocks of autumn.


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• Branch Name:Conway Main
  • Service Type:Full Service Brick and Mortar Office
  • State & County:South Carolina - Horry
  • City or Town:Conway
  • Zip Code:29526
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Office Address:424 Main Street, Conway, SC 29526
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424 Main St, Conway, SC 29526

Bank of America Conway Main branch is one of the 4566 offices of the bank and has been serving the financial needs of their customers in Conway, Horry county, South Carolina for over 48 years. Conway Main office is located at 424 Main Street, Conway. You can also contact the bank by calling the branch phone number at

Bank of America Conway Main branch operates as a full service brick and mortar office. For lobby hours, drive-up hours and online banking services please visit the official website of the bank at You can edit branch details by clicking here if you believe the information is incomplete, incorrect, out of date or misleading.

  • Monday:09:00 - 17:00
  • Tuesday:09:00 - 17:00
  • Wednesday:09:00 - 17:00
  • Thursday:09:00 - 17:00
  • Friday:09:00 - 18:00
  • Saturday:Closed
  • Sunday:Closed

Bank of America Conway Main is open Monday to Friday and closed on Saturdays and Sundays. The branch opens at 09:00 in the morning. Working hours for Conway Main branch are listed on the table above. Note that this data is based on regular opening and closing hours of Bank of America and may also be subject to changes. Please call the branch at to verify hours before visiting.

  • Bank Name:Bank of America
  • Bank Type:National Bank
  • FDIC Insurance:Certificate #3510
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500 Main Street, Conway, SC 29528
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Week Four- Hidden Letters in Life

Monday, February 8, 2010

Guilty Pleasures-Long hot soaks in the tub

Calgon take me away! No luxury of daytime soaks for me but the two little ones came out all squeaky clean today.

Jen February 8, 2010 at 4:56 PM

What a cute picture!!

Julie February 8, 2010 at 5:58 PM

I love that shot!!

Lucia February 8, 2010 at 6:27 PM

Kim February 8, 2010 at 9:03 PM

Now that looks heavenly! I love all the colors reflecting in the bubbles!

Marcie February 9, 2010 at 12:50 AM

So cute! Makes me wanna have a bath party this week.

Jess February 9, 2010 at 1:19 AM

What a creative picture! Awesome guilty pleasure.

About PROJECT 365

Simply it is just an excuse to stop and look at the world around me in a different way. I am embarking on this project with a group of friends, most of which are much more experienced photographers and will hopefully mentor me through this photo journey. We will be taking one picture a day for a year and every week we will focus on a different subject/idea. The start date for me will be Monday Jan 25th. I will have the theme listed for each week and up to 7 pictures displayed. The older pictures will be moved to the archive section where they can be veiwed and will remain. My hope is to learn how to use my new camera equipment, train my eye, and become a more creative photographer over the coming year.

Weekly Themes

Week 1- Colors

Week 2- Personal Treasures

Week 3- Guilty Pleasures

Week 4- Hidden Letters in Life

Week 5-Children

Week 6- Looking Out Your Back Door

Week 7- Textures

Week 8- Items Around Your House

Week 9- Looking Up

Week 10- Self Portrait

Week 11- Structures

Week 12- Notions

Week 13- Springtime

Week 14- Landscaping

Week15- Animals

  © Free Blogger Templates 'Photoblog II' by Ourblogtemplates.com 2008

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What, We Worry? by Robert Gore

Over the weekend hundreds of thousands of computers around the world were afflicted by ransomware called WannaCry that encrypts files and makes them inaccessible unless the owner forks over a Bitcoin payment. The ransomware exploited a bug in Microsoft software of which the company was aware and for which it had made available a patch. However, users had to download the patch, and for an older version of software, users had to pay for it, so many computers were still vulnerable. Although the hackers who distributed the ransomware are unknown, apparently they used an exploit codenamed ETERNALBLUE, originally developed by the NSA, to penetrate Microsoft’s software.

A computer security expert discovered a kill switch in WannaCry that stopped the program from spreading by diverting it to a dead-end on the internet, but there may be a variant that does not have the kill switch. It is unknown how far the program will spread or what havoc it will ultimately wreak. What is crystal clear, however, is what many computer experts have warned of for years: many of the world’s computers and much of the infrastructure, including the internet, is highly vulnerable to disruption or outright shutdown.

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Thursday, November 17, 2005

Speaking Truthfully about Stem Cell Research and Human Cloning

There is at present no issue in biomedical ethics more fraught with misconceptions and exaggerated expectations than the field of stem cell research, especially research involving human embryos. To help us separate the facts from the fiction, the Center called upon Carter Snead, associate professor at the Notre Dame Law School, to deliver our semi-annual Schmitt Lecture, which was entitled: “Speaking Truthfully About Stem Cell Research and Human Cloning.” Professor Snead’s lecture was delivered on Wednesday afternoon, November 16, 2005, to a large crowd in the main auditorium of McKenna Hall at Notre Dame.

Professor Snead is uniquely qualified to discuss the moral, scientific and legal ramifications of stem cell research and human cloning. Before joining Notre Dame’s law faculty this year, Professor Snead was general counsel for President Bush’s Council on Bioethics. While serving on the Council, Professor Snead advised its members on the legal and public policy dimensions of numerous ethical questions arising from advances in biomedical science and biotechnology. He was the principal drafter of the Council’s 2004 report, “Reproduction and Responsibility: The Regulation of New Biotechnologies,” a comprehensive critical assessment of the governance (both public and private) of the activities at the intersection of assisted reproduction, human embryo research, and genetics.

In his energetic and engaging lecture, Professor Snead argued that, contrary to much popular rhetoric, science itself provides no answer to the moral question of whether it is licit to do research on human embryos or to clone human beings. He further claimed that the best moral argument for the maximal protection of the embryo was based on equality, claiming further that this was not a religious argument, but one accessible to all in the public debate.

The aim of the Schmitt Lecture Series—which in the past has featured such distinguished lights as Gilbert Meilaender, Mark Siegler, Paul Griffiths, Stanley Fish, Jean Bethke Elshtain, and Michael Baxter—is to provide an occasion to reflect on the ethical, political and religious dimensions of science and technology. It is difficult to imagine a topic which answers more directly to the charge of the Schmitt Lecture than the topic discussed by Professor Snead.

The lecture was well-attended by Notre Dame’s Schmitt Fellows, those graduate students in the Schools of Science and Engineering who are the principal recipients of the generosity of the Arthur J. Schmitt Foundation to the University of Notre Dame. It was for the sake of honoring that generosity that the Schmitt Lecture Series was founded.

A reception immediately followed the lecture in McKenna Hall, and then a special group of Center guests, including the Schmitt Fellows and a cross-section of Notre Dame faculty, convened at the Morris Inn for a dinner in honor of Professor Snead. After dessert, Professor Snead generously agreed to take more questions from the audience. In this lively question-and-answer period, we were especially pleased to see how many of those questions came from Schmitt Fellows, who found this topic deeply compelling. In the end, the day was a great success, and a fitting tribute to Arthur J. Schmitt’s desire to help form young persons in the fields of science and engineering not only as people of technical expertise, but also as moral leaders in their fields.

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Mission Statement

To enable individuals with sickle cell anemia to live lives to the fullest extent possible unhampered and uncompromised by their sickle cell conditions. To increase the knowledge and understanding of sickle cell disease as a health problem through professional standards of administration, health care, public relations and fundraising.

Betty Jackson

Administrative Assistant

Cheryl Minor

Social Worker

Donna Thaxton

Executive Director

Vision Statement

The Northeast Louisiana Sickle Cell Anemia Foundation (NLSCAF) endeavors to remove socioeconomic and medical barriers presented by Sickle Cell Anemia in the lives of individuals, families, and communities, thereby, maximizing the enjoyment of life.

Parishes Served:

Caldwell - East Carroll - Franklin - Jackson - Madison - Morehouse - Ouachita - Richland - Tensas - Union - West Carroll

Office Hours:

Monday through Thursday  8:30am - 3:30pm

Friday  8:30am - 12:30pm

© Copyright 2016 ~ Northeast Louisiana Sickle Cell Anemia Foundation


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Wednesday, July 18, 2012

creative process ...

The creative process is tricky for me - life has a way of getting in the way.   I started working with sketchbooks at the beginning of the year to help me capture my fleeting thoughts, ideas and visions.  I was never organized enough to carry a sketchbook with me and I always thought that my ideas (being so remarkable at the time - at least in my mind) would never escape me. But thoughts and dreams are mere wisps and are easily overcome by everyday life.  Here today and gone tomorrow - what was that great idea for a painting that I had?  Something had to change and that something was me.

working in my sketchbook
I've  taken to using my sketchbook to record thoughts, words, doodles, paint colors, magazine tear sheets and random musings.  It helps.  It is way more fun than I ever thought it was.  I always dove into art straight away without a warm up or a stretch.  Sometimes it worked and sometimes - nothing.  I have to say that I have been so productive and energized with capturing my ideas - it spills onto other aspects of life.

collected ideas
It starts with some clippings, some color, some pattern, a paper towel roll dipped in paint, torn paper, a colorful clip and a smear of paint.  Looks fun doesn't it?

green and red thoughts

Those collected bits sometimes come together to form a random yet "finished" sketchbook page.  An old picture informs the feeling which in turn brings up colors and then words.  This might be all that ever comes of my thoughts on the subject or it might lead me to create a piece of art.

yellow, happy thoughts

Once you get going - it is really hard to stop.  Sometimes all you need is a quote or a word to get you going.  Knowing that your sketchbook is "for your eyes only" makes it easier to put it all out there ... the good, the bad, and the ugly.  ( I realize that I just quoted titles of two movies which really does date me). Now you might notice that I'm sharing a bit of my inner vision but that is my new approach to just letting go.  Not easy for me to do - sometimes.

my blue period - just like Picasso - not quite

My new found love of sketchbooks have opened me up to new ideas, exploration, a place to play with new techniques and a chance to warm up before I dive right in.  It's a confidence builder and I  want to recommend it to anyone who has a million ideas floating around but no net to catch them with.

Beach Rose by Ellen McHale

Sometimes a page from your sketchbook will inspire you to create something like a piece of art, a fabulous meal, a line of poetry or a garden bed.

Beach Birds

Sometimes it will open you to a new technique or style of work that you always wanted to try but secretly were afraid of.  It has been fun to see my thoughts captured in a book that is all for me and that I can go back to when inspiration seems to have dried up.  Everyone should have a sketchbook and you don't even have to sketch!

"Walk this way" ~Aerosmith

In the immortal words of Aerosmith, "Walk this way" - I hope you will decide to follow me over to my new website and blog soon to be appearing in August.  I am so excited about the new site and I hope you will be too.

Last night my beloved surprised me with tickets to the Aerosmith concert.  He knows that I'm secretly (not so secretly) in love with Joe Perry.  Our seats were incredible - a softball throw to the catwalk that Steven Tyler worked so well!  These guys rocked and put on an incredible show.  From Steven Tyler's "Dream On" to Joe Perry and his guitar - bands today need to take a page from their rock and roll text book.  Did someone say they are in their 60s?  I don't believe it - dream on.

See you in August same time - new place.


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Tiny Projects

  • Emoji's and being created for the chat. The mascot is already set, all I need are a few suggestions of what expressions the mascot should have. (This is one of the Goals on the Artist Community)

Ideas for the Wiki

  • Cleaning: This means that anything unrelated or generally useless images and files will be deleted.

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Why Doesn’t AdWords Respect PPC Agencies?

Ok, buckle in because it’s time for a good, old fashioned rant. Before I begin, for the sake of this post I will refer to professionals who manage AdWords accounts for clients as agencies, mainly because what I’m about to say applies just as much to a solo consultant as it does to an agency that does not reach the size or status to have a dedicated AdWords rep.

Without further ado, let’s do this!

I have been in the PPC game for a long time. I have been in the marketing game in general for even longer. I have seen a lot. But the way AdWords treats agencies who manage PPC accounts for others drives me absolutely nuts. I was inspired to write this post because it is once again time for the quarterly changing of the guard in non-dedicated AdWords reps. Mostly, this passes without much fanfare. Generally it consists of receiving cheerful emails from the new rep, sometimes politely saying, “No thanks, I’ve got this” and sometimes scheduling calls. Overall, it does not impact what I do or how I do it.

But sometimes, I will end up with an overly enthusiastic or worse, overly aggressive rep on one of my client’s accounts and that is where I start to get seriously annoyed. When this happens, generally AggressoRep (TM) will start out with the usual intro emails and then if ignored or pushed off, will respond by emailing me and my client with all kinds of detailed “helpful suggestions” about how the client’s account could be managed better. And I end up answering all kinds of questions that were not previously in the client’s mind. And worse? Sometimes clients want to “try” what the AgressoRep is suggesting because “they work for AdWords so they really know what works.” This happens with long time and/or sophisticated clients, not just those who don’t fully get PPC or who don’t fully trust us yet.

You know what? Maybe there is a reason that we have not implemented Call Only Campaigns right now. Maybe we don’t have particular keywords or sets of keywords in our campaigns or negative lists because we have a solid CLIENT BUSINESS REASON not to. No, we don’t want to add a ton of broad match terms to “increase exposure” – thank you very much. I could go on citing more examples, but those of you who have encountered AggressoReps in the wild already know all too well what I’m talking about!

Listen, I get that AdWords has these reps for their own reasons. And, that on its face, having reps is for the most part, a good thing. But the continued failure to understand the agency/client dynamic by AdWords is ridiculous. It’s hard to not feel, as an agency that falls into this category, that AdWords not only does not understand us, but that they are actually borderline hostile toward agencies who manage AdWords accounts. I really hate to even type that, but I think it is important to at least consider the notion, publicly.

So AdWords, let me break it down for you, so that hopefully you might understand what agencies want, need and bring to the table (if you care to know)…

#1 Respect For Our Relationships With Our Clients

We work hard to find clients and retain our clients. Once we have a client on board with us, we work hard to do the best job we can for them to maximize their return on their AdWords investment. Clients come in all shapes, sizes, configurations and past PPC experience levels. We ask them for their trust to manage campaigns on their behalf. They hire us because they value the expertise and experience we bring to the initiative that they do not inherently have. They rely on us to act responsibly on their behalf.

When you have AgressoReps contact our clients directly, it undermines everything we have worked so hard to create between ourselves and our clients. Now, this may not seem like a big deal to you, but trust me, it really is. I am sure I am not alone in having worked with clients who are coming off of or experienced in their past a very bad agency relationship. Getting that type of client (and there are sadly WAY too many out there) to really buy in to what we can do AND then trust us to execute it takes a tremendous amount of patience and work on our part. When we have achieved that goal state of partnership with our clients for their AdWords campaigns and you barge in with no knowledge of what has historically happened for the client in the PPC space, you are potentially putting at risk all that we have worked so hard to create. We do not appreciate this. At all.

#2 The Revolving Door Is Exhausting

I’m not saying that all AdWords reps are AggressoReps. In fact, many I have encountered are not. They are persistent, but usually don’t cross the line into aggressive territory. But having someone new assigned to our accounts every three months is tiresome. Even if you are interested in having a chat with a rep to see what they have to say about a particular client’s account or about what is happening at AdWords in general, who has the time to keep starting over every few months with someone who may or may not be worth our time to talk to? You clearly have the resources to employ lots and lots of reps. Why not consider having a better program for small or medium sized agencies? This would be a serious win-win scenario. You could have teams that work with PPC professionals who manage accounts for a wide variety of advertisers and agencies could get better quality support. That seems like such a no-brainer, that again it lends credence to the notion that you are not interested in helping agencies in this way.

#3 If You Took Better Care Of Us Your Revenue Would Increase

We work on behalf of clients in your platform and are making decisions and recommendations daily that impact how much advertisers spend with you. How we work and the results we produce for our clients are also directly responsible for what THEY think of the money they are spending in your platform. Our goals are largely aligned with yours, after all. We want to work with as many clients as possible, produce the best possible results for them through AdWords and maintain those relationships over the long term. All of these things are good not just for us, but also for you! When our clients are happy, they keep spending money in your platform! You could do a lot more to foster relationships with smaller agencies.

To AdWords’ credit, the Twitter team is really responsive to tweets. That is a step in the right direction, but more resources in this area would be better and smarter.

#4 Stop Assuming Accounts Not Part Of An MCC Are Not Professionally Managed

Not every agency uses the MCC for their accounts. I don’t know if this is part of what helps to create situations where AggressoReps are even in the picture? But if it is, you need to realize that professionally managed accounts are just different in their needs from advertiser managed accounts. Perhaps creating a place in the account profile set up where a user can be identified as the agency tasked with managing the account could differentiate non-MCC accounts as professionally managed versus advertiser managed?

So What Could Be Done?

If I were in charge of this program, I would start by treating agencies of all sizes as real potential partners or at the very least powerful ambassadors for your products. I understand that part of the reps’ job is to get advertisers to spend more in AdWords. And, I can’t really completely fault you for doing it. After all, Google is a mega-corporation with huge earnings pressure. But, you could be a lot smarter about how you do things, especially when it comes to agencies. If you help us, it only helps our clients, which in the end should certainly be our shared goal.

I’m sure others have some thoughts on this topic. I would love to hear them (and hopefully AdWords would too!). So, sound off in the comments or hit me up on Twitter (@NeptuneMoon).

  1. This article is 100%, spot-on, drop-dead true. Thank you for sharing this, you’re absolutely right and everything you talked about and discussed is valid and happening to many agencies. It’s a bad situation. Quick question – do you think that sharing these thoughts will upset Google in any way? My only concern is Google, being the powerhouse that it is, will do something negative in response to this, but I don’t think that will be the case.

    • Neptune Moon says:

      Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

      Is your question whether there will be negative repercussions for me? If so, I don’t think so, as this is not the first time I’ve written a piece like this. And, so far I have not had any issues. In fact, I got a thank you for your feedback tweet from the AdWords Twitter team, who said they passed the post along to “the team” so at least someone at AdWords has read it…

  1. […] Why Doesn’t AdWords Respect PPC Agencies?: It’s been a while since we’ve had a good old fashioned rant. We’re definitely due for one…and this is a good one. From aggressive reps to constant changing of the guard, AdWords seems to disrespect PPC agencies. Get more insights from the post. […]

  2. […] Why Doesn’t AdWords Respect PPC Agencies? — I will keep this short. This is the best Search Scoop article I have ever found. Period. […]

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A Review of Black Ops 3 Eclipse DLC

A few days late to the party but here is our brief look into the new Black Ops 3 DLC

Set in what could be mistaken for 1970’s Japan, there is a very oriental theme to this map which makes a room solely based on disco seem out of place. A medium sized maps with sharp turns and building dotted around the place, I wouldn’t suggest using a sniper rifle as it seems more close quarters, I’ll be using the haymaker or argus, but that’s just me.

A futuristic revamp of the classic map Terminal, another medium sized map with great possibility for a game of Mike Myers, try not to be taken back by the sheer amount of detail put into every building, if you spend any time looking out at the skyscrapers piercing through the cloud you’ll notice planes flying high which is a nice touch, it would not surprise me to see Dubai in 20 years to have airports like this.

The setting has been taken straight from Mad Max, everything screams post apocalyptic world but we still get send to fight in it, a seemingly endless supply of tunnels is a campers dream, a central bridge that I make it my mission to defend from you scum, again, you really can use any gun on this map, I’d avoid a shotgun because of the range but don’t let me put you off.

Set above a volcano with plenty of opportunities to fall to your death, a map large enough but with enough cover and building so you can use any weapon of your choosing. Not that anyone asked but I’ll be using an assault rifle for this map, and if I’m feeling cowardly I’ll change to a sniper rifle.

Zetsubou No Shima

If you don’t like spiders avoid this map, the dogs have been replaced by spider, there are webs over some of the perk machines. There are so many things to discover in this map, you can build the shield again, a gas mask, a machine, KT-4. And alters to use with skulls.
Quite a dark map so it easy to miss things so bear that in mind when searching for things. And be sure to water your seeds! It’ll be worth it.

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Friday, March 28, 2014

Pitch It (Warm Ups Vol. 1.24)

I've been fairly busy the past couple of weeks. Ya, it happens. One of many things on my over sized plate is the MOOC launched. In the first week of the course I've done some reading, attended a course hangout to listen to a panel of industry experts, met virtually with 2 of the people in my assigned group (one from Serbia, one from Iraq... very cool) and produced my comic book idea pitch (one of the assignments for week 1).

Here's my pitch... and some daily sketches (day 72 was a warm up / concept sketch for my story idea)

Young Aamav defies the antiquated laws of the land unleashing the wrath of a mighty sea kraken upon his island home

Draw like you mean it!

03.17 Day 71 - Anatomy study from Dynamic Figure Drawing

03.18 Day 72 - Sans ref

03.19 Day 73 - Anatomy study from Dynamic Figure Drawing or Dynamic Anatomy (I don't remember)

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Tuesday, March 13, 2012

The "Emo" killings and the role of the state in Iraq

The expression "the fish rots from the head down" tells us much about the problems Iraq currently faces, especially the task of creating a more tolerant and democratic political culture. While Western analysts continue to obsess over political Islam and what other cultural "essence" may be the cause for the Middle East's political instability and violence, the answer to the region's problem may be much more simple. This becomes clear when we consider the recent killings of Iraqi youth who are known as subscribing to "Emo" (from "emotional"), a form of Western "punk" culture.

The problem in Iraq, as elsewhere in the Middle East is the state, not Islam or some free-floating sectarianism that inheres in the region's inhabitants. Iraq's problems are most certainly not the result of a a small and apolitical sub-culture, namely the "Emos," despite a Ministry of Interior memo posted on its website on February 13, 2012 (see above image) which implicitly justified the use of violence against so-called "Emo" youth.

In the memo, the "Emo" were described as "devil worshipers." According to Colonel Mushtaq Talib al-Muhammadawi, the Ministry's Morality Police would go into every school in Baghdad and "eliminate" them. Such rhetoric was an incitement to violence, as were statements by a number of clerics and organizations associated with Muqtada al-Sadr's movement that "Emos" were a "plague" on Iraqi society. The Ministry's memo was subsequently removed following extensive criticism from clerics, civil society organizations and human rights organizations both inside and outside Iraq, and al-Sadr backtracked on his earlier comments, saying the "Emos" should be eliminated through the law..

Nevertheless, the recent killings of Iraqi youth point to the problems created by the state throughout the Middle East. In Egypt, Anwar al-Sadat released Muslim Brothers and radical Islamists in 1971 to attack secular and leftist supporters of the former regime of Gamal Abdel Nasser as he attempted to consolidate his power.

The Iranian regime uses is semi-volunteer militia, the Basij, to arrest youth who do not dress and behave according to its definition of Islamic norms as well as to attack its opponents, such as the civilian demonstrators who protested disputed presidential elections in June 2009. In Syria, the Bashar al-Asad's Ba'thist regime uses a shadowy group of thugs known as al-shabiha ("ghosts") to attack and kill pro-democracy demonstrators. During the Tahrir Square uprising in Egypt, thugs known as al-baltigayya (al-baltijiya) - literally from the Turkish for "axe carrier" - beat up protestors with state approval.

The problems in Iraq are not a problem of Western culture penetrating Iraq but part of a larger regional efforts to suppress cultural pluralism and social difference that originates with political authority. This effort is part of those who I have referred to in the past as "sectarian entrepreneurs" to create a new political culture of authoritarianism which seeks to thwart efforts by the region's youth and democracy activists generally to draw the Middle East out of its "democracy deficit."

At least one organization has suggested that the number of Iraqi youth who have been killed in recent months ranges from 90-100. The attacks have been particularly brutal, with youth murdered by being stoned and having their skulls crushed with cement blocks, with the bodies often deposited in garbage dumpsters. However, this attack is really an extension of attacks which began on Iraq's gay population which were publicized in 2009. The attacks on "Emo" youth is symptomatic of a larger attack on social and cultural difference in Iraq. A vulnerable segment of the Iraqi populace - youth who are attracted to Western culture and lifestyles - becomes a diversion from the real problems facing Iraq.

The attacks on Iraqi youth include not just "Emo" youth but a larger subsection of the Iraqi populace, namely gay people. These groups have been lumped under the same category of "Satanist" youth. Such rhetoric has prompted groups like the Sadrists and its militia, the "Promised Day Brigades," to call for their "elimination," even though leader Muqtada al-Sadr has subsequently called for this process to "take place under the law."

However, who and what is the law today in Iraq? How can the rule of law be said to prevail when Iraq's main law enforcement agency was itself responsible for inciting violence against those who choose to pursue a different lifestyle. The situation becomes even worse when we consider that the so-called "Morals Police" received permission to enter Baghdad schools to root out "Emo" culture.

Having spoken with Iraqis about the killings, some say the concern with "Emo" youth is that many Iraqis do not understand the culture they represent. Media assertions that the "Emo" are actually "blood suckers" (massasay dima') has made many Iraqis uncomfortable. The long spiked hair, tight clothing, pierced earrings and the make-up that "Emo" youth often wear have drawn parallels with vampires, as was evident in an al-Sumaria television program broadcast on March 2nd of this year.

Worse still, "Emo" youth has become associated with an even more ostracized segment of Iraqi society, namely gays. As science informs us, sexual preference is biologically transmitted, not an individual choice. In other words, people do not choose their sexual preference. However, gays in Iraq, as in many other societies, are being told to make a choice - change their sexuality, or face dire consequences.

To his great credit, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani has come out against the killings which, through Abd al-Rahim al-Rikabi, his Baghdad representative, he called “terrorist attacks.” Many clerics, such as Muhammad al-Yaqubi, have said that the remedy to this unpopular youth culture can only be through education, and not through violence.

However, there have been recent reports that the killings will stop during the forthcoming Arab Summit in Baghdad only to begin again after it ends. If these reports are true, they certainly implicate security agencies in the killings as what other force would be able to stop the killings according to a politically defined time frame?

But education is not the current Iraqi state's goal. Rather than focus on more dangerous issues facing Iraqi youth, such as high rates of drug usage, lack of education and high rates of unemployment, Iraqi prime minister Nuri al-Maliki remained quiet in the face of Ministry of Information incitements to violence against young people whose only crime is their form of dress. He has said nothing in response to sectarian groups who have railed against a culture which is asserted to be alien to Iraqi society.

Iraq experienced 35 years of brutal Ba'thist rule under Saddam Husayn, suffered under two devastating Gulf Wars, and then under the UN sanctions regime imposed on Iraq in the 199os, the most destructive ever imposed on a modern state. All this turmoil was followed by the intense sectarian based violence that followed the US invasion of 2003. A country brutalized by dictatorship, war and economic deprivation, Iraq needs political leadership that emphasizes national reconciliation and devotes its oil wealth to confronting its extensive social problems, not in tolerating violence against youth who only seek freedom of cultural expression.

No democracy can flourish in a society which practices intolerance and seeks to suppress social and cultural difference. Why isn't the Ministry of Interior's so-called Morality Police seeking out criminal organizations which sell drugs or attempting to root out pervasive government corruption?

Let's stop blaming Islamism, tribalism and other cultural "isms" for a more basic problem - a political elite which seeks to manipulate fears and social anxieties to create a new authoritarian political culture, one that attempts to force Iraqis to conform to a new sectarianism. It's time for the Iraqi parliament, media and powerful political figures - not just Iraqi cleric and human rights organizations - to both condemn the killings of "Emos" and gays and to open a national dialogue in Iraq on how to promote tolerance and cultural pluralism.

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