I am so ready for fall. This simple fall sangria recipe is full of juicy pear and cinnamon flavors. If you love sangria, you are going to love this simple pear sangria.
Make this delicious sangria by the bucketful, it is perfect for a party!
Fall is in the air and the holidays are just around the corner. I love to make sangria when people are coming to visit. It is fruity and is a fun way to dress up wine.
I am going to let you in on a little secret…it is actually one of the best-kept wine secrets! Have you shopped at your local Grocery Outlet lately? If you haven't, you are going to be in for a huge surprise.
I spoke to Tony, the store manager, and he told me that often large wineries bottle their expensive overages under different labels so that the winery doesn't oversaturate their label. Think of it this way, a large famous winery makes too much wine. They limit how many bottles they make to keep their wines higher in demand. So they bottle the excess under a different label name and price it much lower.
Grocery Outlet then buys up these wines to offer to their customers. (YAY!!) Now not every wine is a hidden gem, but you would be surprised!
Look how big this wine department is! Your eyes are not deceiving you, you see a lot of $4.99 price signs…and that is before their wine sale.
This is the chardonnay I used to make in my easy white wine sangria recipe. $4.99 a bottle. I can't say no to a deal like that. This chardonnay not only makes a delicious sangria, but it is also perfect for this pear cocktail.
You are going to love all of the fresh ingredients in this fall sangria recipe!
Grocery Outlet has everything you need for fall entertaining. There is a huge cheese department so you can offer cheeses with the wines you buy. And, they had several varieties of gluten-free crackers!! Dip them into this Hot Cream Cheese Dip!
If you are looking for a great Cabernet, you can't go wrong with this bottle!! Did you know that many of Grocery Outlet's wine buyers live in Napa? They know wine!
Not only that, but their store wine manager knows the wines in the store. Just ask them what the wine club buyers are coming in and buying by the case. Tony laughed that the wine club members always seem to know when the good wines are coming in.
Let's get back to this pear sangria recipe!
There isn't a right or wrong answer to this. There are many sangria recipes out there that use either red or white wine. You mull in seasonal fruit, so if you use a sweet or dry wine, you can customize the flavor easily with what you add in.
Use red wine with oranges, vanilla, and cranberries for a holiday sangria.
Fresh peaches and stone fruits with white wine makes a nice chilled sangria that you can enjoy poolside.
Add apple cider to white wine for a fall harvest sangria.
A fruity fall sangria recipe that is perfect for the holidays.
In a large container, add all ingredients.
Cover and allow to sit overnight.
I love this! The flavors are spot on for Fall!
Yum! I am loving this fall twist on sangria! 🙂 I just might have to whip up a pitcher of this for Thanksgiving dinner this year.
I always think of sangria as a summer drink, but this is a great way to bring it in to autumn. It looks really refreshing too.
Oh now, this is something I need to try asap, it sounds absolutely delicious!
Such wonderful flavours and so wonderfully seasonal too, pears are definitely all over my recipes at the minute.
I don't think we have one of these stores around here, but it looks like they have some awesome deals. And the sangria is calling my name!
Yummy! What a great idea! I have got to try this ASAP. This looks so good!!
I am so sad we don't have this store near me! These deals look amazing!
I stopped by Grocery Outlet recently also. I was so impressed by the wine prices and selection (and will be going back for the sale!) and also the friendliness of the staff. This delicious fall Sangria is perfect for the season and even better knowing it's an affordable sip!


Collected primarily from the "Collins Gem Guide to Flags": Collins Publishers (1986).
This data file contains details of various nations and their flags. In this file the fields are separated by spaces (not commas). With this data you can try things like predicting the religion of a country from its size and the colours in its flag.
10 attributes are numeric-valued. The remainder are either Boolean- or nominal-valued.
George H. John and Ron Kohavi and Karl Pfleger. Irrelevant Features and the Subset Selection Problem. ICML. 1994. [View Context].
Ron Kohavi and George H. John and Richard Long and David Manley and Karl Pfleger. MLC++: A Machine Learning Library in C. ICTAI. 1994. [View Context].
Wl/odzisl/aw Duch and Karol Grudzi nski and Grzegorz Stawski. SYMBOLIC FEATURES IN NEURAL NETWORKS. Department of Computer Methods, Nicolaus Copernicus University. [View Context].


That up there is me making sandwiches for the cast and crew. The cast and crew is thirty strong. And when I say strong, I mean STRONG. Like Tom.
What is Babydoll? You ask?
Babydoll is the upcoming smash hit single from my already classic album of the year 2011, The Life Equation.
Introducing: The Living In The Future Snapback Trucker Cap!


Being young and healthy often makes Nevada's young adults believe they are immortal. For this reason, many Generation Xers and Millennials tend to stay away from estate planning. They do not necessarily stay away from it because it necessitates contemplating their own mortality but simply because they do not believe they need it.
Young adults often think of estate planning as something that the elderly and wealthy do. They often fail to take into account serious accidents or illnesses that can strike at any time. Even if an individual fully recovers, there could be at least some time when he or she is unable to make health care and financial decisions. Without powers of attorney and medical directives, family members will have to go to court to obtain the right to act on behalf of their loved one — even if only temporarily.
In the event of death, the laws of the state of Nevada would govern who receives an individual's assets, and they may not go to the person or persons the decedent would have chosen. Furthermore, family members would be forced to undergo a sometimes lengthy and expensive probate process. The first step of that process is for the court to appoint someone to administer the estate, and it may be someone that the decedent would not have chosen.
Even though it is never too late to do some estate planning, it is better to have a plan in place while young and healthy. After that, it may only need to be reviewed to ensure that it still reflects the individual's wishes. Furthermore, having an estate plan will give his or her family members peace of mind.


text:
17 Jun 1996 Environmental Policy Task Force News
Posted at 16:17h in Articles by The National Center
Grassroots Activists to Protest Clinton's Property Rights and Other "Crimes" at "March of Crimes" Protest: Protesters to Don Clinton Masks and Prison Uniforms to Symbolize Administration's Crimes Against Public
For Immediate Release: June 17, 1996
Contact: David Ridenour or Bob Adams at (202) 507-6398
Property rights and wise use activists from all over the country visiting Washington as part of the Alliance for America's "Fly-in for Freedom" will hold a "March of Crimes" protest outside the White House on Tuesday, June 18, beginning at 10:00 A.M. The protest will feature demonstrators donning Clinton masks and prison uniforms and carrying signs specifying Clinton Administration crimes against the public. Among the crimes to be featured in the "March of Crimes": President Clinton's ongoing "War on the West," the FBI "Filegate" scandal, the Administration's attack on private property rights and the Whitewater affair, among others. The protest is sponsored by the American Land Rights Association and The National Center for Public Policy Research.
"During his campaign for the presidency, Bill Clinton vowed to 'put people first.' Apparently, he meant they would be the first in his cross-hairs," said David Ridenour, Vice President of The National Center for Public Policy Research. "By opposing common-sense reforms to such abusive and counter-productive environmental laws as the Endangered Species Act and by opposing legislation that would offer a modicum of private property rights protections, the President certainly hasn't been putting people in the West first — he's waging war on them."
Also appearing at the "March of Crimes" protest will be the "People for the West Players," a singing troupe that travels throughout the country telling the plight of Westerners at the hands of radical environmentalists through song. The group includes teen-aged children of western timbermen, miners and ranchers who have lost their livelihoods due to environmental excess.
"Bill Clinton's favorite past-time appears to be in ducking responsibility," said Bob Adams, Project Director for Environmental and Regulatory Affairs at The National Center for Public Policy Research. "He's ducked responsibility for the FBI 'Filegate' scandal and ducked responsibility for Whitewater and Travelgate. Little wonder that he's managed to duck responsibility for the very human suffering occurring in the rural West that he helped create."
In recognition of the President's chief hobby, a duck — and duck calls — will also be prominently featured at the protest.
The American Land Rights Association is a grassroots activist organization based in Battleground, Washington, dedicated to the "wise use" of natural resources and private property rights. It has a membership of some 20,000.
The Environmental Policy Task Force is a project of The National Center for Public Policy Research, which is a non-profit, non-partisan educational foundation established in 1982. The EPTF seeks innovative solutions to environmental problems — solutions that help save the environment and American families, not government bureaucrats.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Editor's Note: These scores are from the previous versions of the Wechsler (WISC and WPPSI) tests. We are currently collecting data for a comparison of the current versions of these tests, as well as the current Stanford-Binet version 5. Please visit Data Collection: Old and New IQ Test Score Pairs to submit your scores for this important comparison. Thank you.
For more information on the supplemental use of the Stanford-Binet form L-M (SB L-M) please read Don't Throw Away the Old Binet by Dr. Linda Silverman and Kathi Kearney, and Current Use of the Stanford Binet, Form L-M by by Barbara Gilman, M.S. and Annette Revel, M.A.
Note: the data points in this table were obtained by voluntary submission, and children represented here were already confirmed to be of extreme intelligence by means of current IQ testing before being tested with the supplemental SB L-M. Because of this, it might appear that "all" children tested with the SB L-M gain higher scores than on current instruments; in fact, the data makes no such statement.
n/r 139 x x x 123 134 7/9, 9/2 3 ?
n/r = Not Reported data was not reported by the original tester.
VIQ = Verbal IQ as measured on WPPSI-R or WISC-III.
PIQ = Performance IQ as measured on WPPSI-R or WISC-III.
Full Scale = Full Scale IQ as calculated from VIQ and PIQ as measured on WPPSI-R or WISC-III.
subtest abbreviations are described below.
64 data lines in the table represent 58 children tested. Children marked in the "note" column are the same child (two A's are one child, two B's are one child, etc.), with multiple test results. 47 children were tested with the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children version III (WISC-III); 17 (marked with *) were tested with the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence, revised edition (WPPSI-R). Three of the six children tested twice were tested once each with the WPPSI-R and the WISC-III; the other three children were tested twice, several years apart, with the WISC-III. Age for each test is provided in years/months format.
An average of 5.4 subtest ceilings were reached by the children on the WPPSI / WISC tests. The number of subtest ceilings ranged from 2 to 12 ceilings. The specific subtest ceilings reached are reported in the data. Most common ceilings occurred on the Vocabulary, Information, Similarities, Comprehension and Arithmetic subtests on the verbal side and Block Design on the performance side of the WPPSI-R or WISC-III.
Average score change from WPPSI / WISC to Stanford Binet form L-M (SB L-M) for this sample is 27.4+. The range of score changes from the WPPSI / WISC to the SB L-M is -12 to 76 points increase in WPPSI / WISC full scale to SB L-M Pinneau correction or deviation formula score. Only 4 of the 63 children's scores decreased when subsequently tested using the SB L-M; one child's score showed no change.
15 children reached the ceiling on the SB L-M. This means these children received a "plus" on their reported score and/or received credit for questions answered in the Adult Superior III level of the test, the highest level available. SB L-M ceilings were reached by children ranging from age 8 years, 0 months to age 11 years, 5 months.
Other potential factors, including identified or suspected learning disabilities, testing conditions, and other factors are not documented in the data.
There are 42 boys, 21 girls and 1 unknown child represented in the data.
WPPSI-R verbal subtests include information, similarities, comprehension, vocabulary, arithmetic, and sentences (optional). WPPSI-R performance subtests include picture completion, block design, object assembly, mazes, geometric design and animal pegs (optional, not included in table because no child represented hit a subtest ceiling in this subtest).
WISC-III verbal subtests include information, similarities, comprehension, vocabulary, arithmetic, and digit span (optional). WISC-III performance subtests include picture completion, block design, coding, picture arrangement, object assembly, and symbol search (optional) and mazes (optional).
The number under each subtest is the number of children who reached the ceiling on that subtest; no data is available on whether the child just reached the ceiling, or exceeded it, and if so, by how many questions. This data was not consistently provided by the testers.
This table may not be reproduced in any form without permission.


On June 14, 2016, four researchers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory were preparing to ship a waist-high, ape-like robot named RoboSimian off-site. They had built the bot to rescue people from dangerous situations that human rescuers can't hack. The scientists swapped one lithium-ion battery for a fresh one, then left for lunch to let the new power supply charge.
Exploding lithium-ion batteries are not new news. Last year's hottest Christmas present, the hoverboard, was a bit too hot. You can't take an e-cigarette on a plane because it might combust in the cargo hold. And if you have a Samsung Galaxy Note 7…well…better luck in your next phone pick.
But the magnitude of RoboSimian itself—and that of other lithium-powered NASA projects—set its battery fire apart. "In general, a single lithium ion cell is dangerous, but it can't cause a gigantic explosion," says Jay Whitacre, a Carnegie Mellon professor of materials science and engineering who used to do battery science at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Cell phones typically have a single cell; RoboSimian had 96. If you've seen what a Samsung device can do to your hand, imagine what this robot could have done to the rest of you.
After the initial battery burst, an intern from the next lab over climbed through a window and sprayed RoboSimian with a CO2 fire extinguisher. But the fire persisted—he needed water to quench this combustion, despite NASA's safety protocol, which called for a Class D extinguisher (no such extinguisher was around, anyway).
Another intern called the fire department. Firefighters, with the benefit of breathing masks, eventually rolled RoboSimian outside by a handle, like some kind of Mad Max Radio Flyer, and killed the fire with water.
So what actually happened here? The final report on why the fire erupted in the first place isn't ready, says Brett Kennedy, head of the RoboSimian project. But they do have some details about The Incident.
Lithium-ion batteries have a positive side (anode) and a negative side (the cathode), separated by a liquid electrolyte, which is highly flammable. When the battery is charging, ions move from the positive side to the negative side. "When you charge a battery, you put a current through it," says Whitacre. "And you do it until the battery hits its max voltage. When it hits its max voltage, you should stop that current." If you don't halt that flow, the battery can fail and, sometimes, explode.
But based on initial analysis, one cell of the battery was damaged and sent misleading information to the monitoring equipment. As a result, individual cells became overcharged—and kablooie.
While Whitacre couldn't confirm or deny a specific hypothesis—his evidence coming only in the form of this non-forensic video—he did notice one thing: It all happened fast, not in the slow-burn way of many battery fires.
Lithium-ion batteries are "an essential part of power in NASA," Lee said in her presentation. They're on the Curiosity rover, the OSIRIS-REx craft that just launched itself to an asteroid, the Juno Jupiter mission, and the space station, as well as other current and future ventures.
Plus, adds Whitacre, they're incredibly common in the aerospace sector generally and satellites in particular.
These batteries make good aerospace solutions because they pack wallops of energy relative to their size, hold a high amount of charge over their lifetime, and don't lose that charge quickly when left alone. That's exactly what you want in a space battery, which has to live long and prosper in the vast, empty off-Earth.
And so on systems that actually fly, NASA's batteries undergo tons of oversight, from procurement to test after test after test. If a battery had inherent flaws, says Whitacre, engineers would know long before it went to space. "I'd be surprised if we ever saw this kind of thing occur in a flight project," he says.
But if a battery cell or its management system happened to fail—or, as in RoboSimian's case, failed to foresee a problem because of one cell's faulty readings—a spacecraft may have inadequate shielding to contain the potentially resultant explosion. Shielding is heavy and every ounce counts when you're trying to heft stuff to space.
RoboSimian is a non-flight technical project, and JPL is currently looking at how it can be used to "assemble orbital structures, like super big telescopes," says Kennedy. If future ape-y robot ever went to space, it would go through the full zoo of tests. But because this particular robot wasn't meant to fly, it—and all other ground-based NASA projects—was subject to less rigor. On top of that, some agency protocols are out-of-date, Lee said in her presentation, before stating that the agency needs to improve and update.
Because you know what they say: With great power comes great responsibility.


text:
Guest Post: Why Might a Company Throw its Directors Under a Bus?
In the following guest post, Francis Kean takes a look at the lessons from the U.K. Serious Fraud Office's recent attempts to criminally prosecute executives of companies that have entered into a deferred prosecution agreement. Francis is a Partner, Financial Lines, at McGill and Partners. A version of this article previously was published as an alert for clients of McGill and Partners. I would like to thank Francis for allowing me to publish this article as a guest post on this site. I welcome guest post submissions from responsible authors on topics of interest to this blog's readers. Please contact me directly if you would like to submit a guest post. Here is Francis's article.
Earlier this month two former senior executives at Serco were formally acquitted of fraud when the Serious Fraud Office said it would not be offering any further evidence in the trial. This is not the first time following an admission of criminal activity by a company in exchange for a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) that the subsequent criminal proceeding against the individuals allegedly implicated in the crime has collapsed. Indeed, the SFO has also failed to secure a single conviction against an individual following any of the Deferred Prosecution Agreements which it has entered into with UK companies since the system was first introduced eight years ago by the Crime and Courts Act 2013.
Although the reasons for the collapse of this case (following an admission by a Serco subsidiary in 2019 of three offences of fraud and two of false accounting) appear to relate to errors made by the prosecution in its approach to disclosure rather than there necessarily being no case for the defendants to answer, it represents another serious set-back for the SFO. What if anything does it tell us about the risk of further such prosecutions being brought against senior executives?
There is a common and understandable assumption among company directors that, provided they have not been dishonest, they will be looked after by the companies they serve. They rely on their company both to indemnify them in respect of any liabilities they many incur and to buy adequate D&O insurance on their behalf. For as long as the interests of the director and the company coincide and provided the company remain solvent, this reliance is perfectly reasonable. It is where there is scope for divergence of interest or to put it more colourfully of being thrown under the bus that dangers may lurk for the directors.
Why Would a Company Throw its Directors Under the Bus?
Since the financial crisis in 2008, there has been a relentless focus by regulators and prosecutors on the theme of personal accountability at board level. The enhanced risk of follow on prosecutions against individuals after a company has admitted a relevant offence has been recognised ever since this new weapon was first introduced into the SFO's arsenal. The temptation on a company which has unearthed probable criminal activity to enter into a DPA can be considerable since it offers an opportunity to protect its reputation, pay a fine, limit legal defence costs and move on. Unlike in the US, there is no equivalent of a DPA for individuals in the UK (although there has been some suggestion that they may be introduced in the future). A problem associated with this disparity is that the "stay of out jail" cards which DPAs offer companies, come with a specific price tag which is "cooperation" with the SFO. This term carries a specific meaning. In Guidance on this issue with respect to DPAs the SFO state:
"Considerable weight may be given to a genuinely proactive approach adopted by P's management team when the offending is brought to their notice….. Co-operation will include identifying relevant witnesses, disclosing their accounts and the documents shown to them. Where practicable it will involve making the witnesses available for interview when requested. It will further include providing a report in respect of any internal investigation including source documents."
The danger for individuals
In practice, in order for a company to avail itself of the considerable advantages of entering into a DPA, the "cooperation" required will extend to making available to the SFO, both oral and documentary evidence of those directors and other senior managers whom the SFO may wish to investigate. The product of the company's own internal investigation must often also be provided on the basis that any legal privilege which the company may have over such reports is waived. The question as to whether any such individuals may later be interviewed as suspects or indeed prosecuted is almost always deferred and addressed as part of a separate investigation commenced after any DPA is agreed and sanctioned by the Court. If the decision to prosecute is taken, in a sense the directors have already lost. This is because, even if ultimately acquitted, they will have been subjected to the intense pressure of criminal proceedings and will have needed to access often very significant funds to mount their defence. The Serco case for example involved the disclosure of 1.3 million documents and the investigation itself began in 2013
A Celebrated Case
Perhaps the best known example of a collapsed case against individuals following a DPA was the prosecution in January 2019, brought against a number of senior managers of Tesco, the well-known high street U.K. food retailer for fraud and false accounting. The case concerned the restatement by the company of its financials following disclosure of the fact that there had been a £250 million overstatement of its profits in the 2013-14 accounting period. The criminal offence which the company successfully persuaded the Court to defer in relation to this restatement was an offence of false accounting contrary to s.17 of the Theft Act 1968.
The director of the SFO stated he was satisfied that there was a realistic prospect of conviction of this offence. This was based on the allegation that the U.K. finance director was personally responsible for the truth and accuracy of the financial data submitted to head office, and that both he and others "were also aware of improper recognition of commercial income" but that despite the opportunity to put things right "….they failed to take any of these opportunities and instead concealed the true position". The company paid a fine of £129 million in respect of the offence. The judge in the subsequent criminal trial against the individuals who were supposedly guilty of this offence directed the jury to acquit on the basis that the evidence against them was simply too weak.
Just because there have not yet been any successful DPA follow on prosecutions against individuals, this does not mean that they are not a cause for concern for directors. The aim is to avoid being caught up in criminal proceedings in the first place. Whilst that may not always be possible, access to the right legal advice at an early stage might make a significant difference. The Serco case took eight years to bring to trial and the costs probably run to millions of pounds. Perhaps the key take away for senior managers is that there is real value in taking personal responsibility at the time of their appointment for gaining an understanding of the triggers for and limitations of legal representation costs cover under both the company indemnity and the D&O insurance policy.
Tags: Criminal prosecution, Deferred Prosecution Agreements, serious fraud office, United Kingdom
Kevin LaCroix
Kevin M. LaCroix is an attorney and Executive Vice President, RT ProExec, a division of R-T Specialty, LLC. RT ProExec is an insurance intermediary focused exclusively on management liability issues.
Read more about Kevin LaCroixKevin's Linkedin ProfileKevin's Twitter Profile
Del. Court Dismissal Denial Has Important SPAC-Related Litigation Implications
The Top Ten D&O Stories of 2021
SPACs' Structural Conflicts, Shareholder Litigation, and Judicial Review
Guest Post: VW Dieselgate: Minority Shareholders File Suit Against D&O Settlement


(A) At the direction of the Council and Manager, conduct studies and make recommendations on matters relating to planning and zoning issues.
(B) At their request, assist the Council and Manager in the resolution of complaints and concerns registered by the town's citizens, governmental agencies, or other entities.
(C) All Board reports, recommendations, or requests for actions shall be coordinated, as appropriate, with other Town boards working through the Manager and Council.
(D) The Board shall prepare no later than March of each year, a written report to the Council outlining major actions taken over the past year in planning and zoning, and outlining recommended actions the respective departments, Manager and Council should take in the outlying years. This report shall be consulted in the preparation of the budget and Capital Improvement Plan of the Town.
(E) Because the Board is advisory in purpose, no Board member shall make, or have the authority to make, any contractual or financial obligations or arrangements on behalf of, or for, the Town.
(A) There shall be 7 members of the Board, 6 being appointed by the Council for 2-year staggered terms with 3 members' terms expiring in 1 year and 3 members' terms expiring in the following year. The seventh member shall be a citizen living in the town's extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) and shall be appointed by the County Commissioners (Commissioners) in accordance with G.S. § 160A-362. All members shall serve without compensation. The terms of office shall commence on July 1 and end on June 30, 2 years later, unless appointed to fill a vacancy, in which the term would begin immediately and end when the term was scheduled to end.
(B) All members shall be residents of the Town's planning and zoning jurisdiction.
(D) Only the Commissioners have the authority to remove the ETJ member from the Board. Any ETJ vacancy shall be filled by the Commissioners.
(E) All members of the Board shall have equal rights, privileges and duties with regards to all matters within the Town's planning and zoning jurisdiction.
After over a year of work, including public input and participation from the Planning Board as well as other advisory boards, on December 19, 2013 the Town Council voted to approve an update to River Bend's Comprehensive Plan.
to review the Comprehensive Plan.
The purpose of the Board is to advise the Town Council (Council) and Manager on planning and zoning issues to include, but not be limited to, establishment or revision of districts, regulation and restriction of the erection, construction, reconstruction, alteration, repair or use of buildings, structures or land in accordance with G.S. § 160A-382. The Board shall work on other issues assigned by the Council or Manager. The Board shall propose principles, goals, and methods, and offer guidance to the Council and Manager on planning and zoning issues.


Tommy and Hannah's session on film was one for the books – we explored Union Station and the Capitol Building and had such a great time! They were the winners of our Portrait Session giveaway in honor of our new website launch last month! Not only did we get to spend time with Hannah and Tommy, but we got to meet their pup Weston!
Want to check out other engagement sessions?


I was given the immense honor and privilege of choreographing the debut dance film produced by Blendid.tv, a new international multi-media art production company. The film will drop on Jan. 25 and we are releasing teaser posters every 2 days. Here are the first four.


text:
Foundation of Love
Love is not the ultimate bedrock, or final truth, upon which all stands. It is the final manifestation of two necessary predicates: Truth and Freedom. If I do not know how to love – that is, know what is the truth about how to act in Love – then I cannot love. I may try to love in my own wisdom or base it off the examples of the world, but ultimately I will either misunderstand the meaning of love entirely (as Orual did with Psyche in Lewis's Till We Have Faces) or else run against the moral reef and break my ship apart. Truth, then is of utmost importance.
But how am I to perform this action, except from a position of freedom? This reveals two points. First, if I am not allowed to love in the true manner set down by whatever authority I appeal to, then it is definitely impossible for me to love. If for example, a totalitarian state sets up such policies that restrict me from "rejoicing in the truth" or "not delight[ing] in evil" or even "not envy[ing]" (1 Cor. 13), then I cannot love – at least, not as Christ would define it (but this is to assume a Biblical definition of love). Secondly, if a "benevolent" God made it a necessary part of our nature to perform those aforementioned acts, then I would necessarily "love", but it would not be of free choice, so can I truly be said to "have love"?
Thus, Truth is dependent on the Freedom of a person to apprehend it, and Freedom on the Truth of the state of a man, whether his mind is determined of his own will, or else by political power or by metaphysical necessity. This is depicted in the figure below.
By these arguments, we have determined that Love is not itself – or rather, is not self-referentially true – but rather is defined as something, or some action, or some state of being. But what is this? Why not sooner ask Love itself what it is? Surely Love can give an answer as to what It is. But it has! Love has spoken! And this is the Word which Love says:
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." – 1 Cor. 13:4-7
Love, then, has a definition. But this means that all talk of "Love is love" is nonsense. Love is not love; rather, "Love is patient," love "does not envy," and so forth. In fact, we may go so far as to say, "God is Love," and if Christ is God, then Christ is the physical manifestation of Love. But that means Love is a person. Love has a name. Christ, therefore, is the manifestation of Truth and Freedom (the necessary foundations of Love) acting as two distinct natures in One person. We revise our previous diagram:
In order to love, then, it is sufficient to know Christ. But we remember that Christ Himself as not a philosopher or historian or academician; rather, he acted. Thus, "to know Christ" is not knowledge of the usual sort, confined to books and arguments and papers, but includes actions, movements, life, a Way. So we must follow this Way, or else be left behind in our understanding of Love.
Furthermore, to "be free" is as basic a building block to our pursuit of Truth as it is to living life itself. If I did not believe I was free this moment to write these words you now read, then I would throw down my pen and jump out the window of my room. This draws out the importance of hope to fight despair in our lives, a point which I will not go into detail here. Needless to say, whether one is a confirmed political libertarian or a staunch metaphysical determinist, due to the interplay between Truth and Freedom (as was already established) each lives life with the assumption that one has the freedom to live it. But this implies that the true manifestation of Freedom is Life. Therefore, we change our diagram yet again to reflect these two developments of following the Way and living Life:
More development will be necessary to connect any causal interplay between Truth and Way, and Life and Way. Whatever the case, it will by this point be apparent to even the newer adherents to the Christian faith that this diagram of the manifestations of Love and its foundations is the very definition Christ gave to Himself. Thus, in order to know Truth, and life Life freely and fully, and to Love truly, one need only follow Christ in the Way He leads us. This is to know Him in the fullest sense: "My goal is to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His suffering, being somehow conformed to His death" (Phil. 3:10).
It is significant throughout the preceding discussion that Truth did not change in any of the diagrams. This is due to the fact that Truth is the same in its apprehension as it is in its manifestation – or, if you like, it is the bedrock both of questions of epistemology and of ontology, though this is not an exact analogy. Freedom is manifested in Life and Love in the Way of the Cross, but Truth does not manifest itself. It simply is. Just as "I Am that I Am" is the only self-referential statement in the Bible which has and requires no explanation, so it is with Truth, which has neither predicate nor consequence. It simply is… "I Am that I Am."
May 27, 2021 laoc0on
1 corinthians 13bibleChristfreedomgodlove is loveontologicalphilosophytheologytruth
Affirmation of Values
There exists among the shared experience of those civil, rational, and nobly inclined persons of the earth a comprehension of values without which the happy haze of a good life would not daily exist, and if denied by all its members the civilization within which they reside would utterly fail. While the values may subtly change in degree or description from person to person, and to a greater extent from culture to culture, what is not often denied is that these values change in kind from one to the next, and never that they do not exist at all.
That these values are shared is implicit in the set of persons who partake in a civilized society; that is, they are its builders and defenders at best, and are neutral with respect to its flourishing at worst. Such persons recognize the intrinsic value of truth, being able to deter the stirrings of emotion for the benefit of their own powers of reason, and are thus inclined to consider a wealth of perspectives and evidences different from those they themselves hold. From such an explication, we may divine a deeper maxim from this set of persons: theirs is an aspiration to an image of civic nobility. This maxim does not require that those who hold to it are themselves the perfect bearers of such an image, but rather in striving toward it the ideal of civilization is obtained: not perfection, but progress toward perfection. This is the essential message of the apostle Paul to the Philippians when he wrote:
– Philippians 3:12-14
In this way, the argument for striving toward the noblest ideal of mankind is made, and the daily struggle of civilization toward the image which its individuals bear is described in the broadest of strokes. But often now, as in times past, the good intentions of broad political philosophy for the purpose of individual study and meditation have been corrupted precisely in the exploitations of those ambiguities in which the "better angels of our nature" once played their mystic chords (Lincoln, 1st Inaugural Address, Mar. 4, 1861). This is the danger of modernity: where once there might have been consensus on the definitions of common English words as "perfection" or "civic nobility", we must now dissect with excruciating precision those terms, or else at the end of the pilgrimage of perfection face the guillotine for the betterment of society, and while the blade shrieks on its rails to sunder another wrecker of society, quail under the massive cry for "Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite!"
Before defining the image impressed upon all men, and for which all who desire the better civilization over its present form strive, let us consider an example of how the ambiguity inherent in simple terms can be corrupted to a state far from the original intent of its author. The impressionist Claude Monet, a man who interpreted the world through the strokes of a brush, painted a woman holding a parasol. The woman wears a white dress and stands in a field, her scarf like the colored grasses around her fluttering in the breeze, a red flower or clasp pinned near her waist, her hair a combination of blues and greens reflecting the subtle shades of the parasol; a moment caught forever on canvas. Much might be said of the painting, as in through swirls of color the sense of Nature in movement is evoked, but in moving it remains fastened to a deeper stillness around which all points revolve, and which itself does not move – T.S. Eliot's "still point of the turning world" (Eliot, 1st of Four Quartets) – or the fashion in which the woman is in some way like the clouds in the background, or the grasses in the foreground, or further how the absence of definition in the face renders her identity intractable, and yet acquires the identity of all who behold her, as they become the woman in that moment in the field.
Woman with a Parasol, Monet, 1886
That the painting is of a woman with a parasol, may be in question, though the title of the painting ought to put it beyond doubt. That deeper themes cry out from their simpler forms, requires a trained eye. But that the painting is beautiful, should be evident to the apprehension of all who can still perceive the beautiful things of this world. This was almost certainly the original intent of the artist; to make something that is beautiful, and can be appreciated as such in its own right. Yet beauty is a simple concept, and yielding as the petals of a lily under a brute's finger.
Extending this example, we consider next such a brutish pressure. Among the academic circles of today exist many collections of persons whose ultimate objective, cloaked though it might be behind such virtuous words as "progress", "equality", or "social justice", is the disintegration of such values as should be plainly affirmed by all mankind. From this perspective, one might imagine the painting to be, not of a woman, but of an ideological construct, presented as simplistic and unidentifiable, yet rife with elemental discord. The painting in fact revolves around the unnatural color of her hair, a symbol of social rebellion in which the binary nature of sexuality is discarded, or the redness of the clasp, evoking implicit bias against the character of the woman, much as Hawthorne's scarlet letter had done, and in so doing reveals the social oppression of womanhood within the beholder.
This is not to say that any of the preceding points are necessarily true or false, but rather that such a discussion misses the point entirely. Monet's ultimate purpose was to create something beautiful, not fashion a weapon. But by exploiting the vagueness of the art form, proponents of certain ideologies well-versed in rhetorical fencing have lured the blank and naïve woman out of the picture, painted upon her an image after their own likeness, and skewered her through the heart.
Here, then, is the first inkling of transcendent values placed within man, and here too the hope for their shared affirmation. For even as closed academic circles sound the death knell of beauty by supplanting it with revolutionary ideology, yet the woman remains beautiful for a future and distant generation unfamiliar with the sophistry of her critics. Beauty remains above and apart from all persons, and does not change with argument, however well reasoned, just as a tree would not cease to be a tree even if Socrates himself asserted otherwise.
The preceding deliberation reveals the first affirmation: that values exist, in whatever form; that they are fixed and unchanging with respect to human argument; and that they appear to impress themselves upon humanity from without.
The second affirmation follows from the first: that there is an ideal, or image, to which all humanity attempts to conform.
The truth of this second affirmation should be plain to all who have followed the reasoning thus far. Though the curve and form of that image may yet be in question, yet it cannot be denied that there exists this ideal. For just as the woman who applies cosmetics does so to conform to that society's definition of feminine beauty, and even as this yields a delineation between values of culture and values universally acknowledged, it is the latter that is not disproved by the desire that all women be called beautiful. Similarly, rarely will an employer be confounded by a prospect interviewed with the phrase "I abhor hard work!", for such would almost certainly deny the interviewee the opportunity for gainful employment at that place of business. That is, there is an image of the ideal employee impressed upon the mind of the interviewer, formed through experiences both successful and adverse, to which the man or woman before him is compared. And this does not begin the procession of representatives from which this second affirmation is divined, for what corporate executive would deny competence in his own field of business? Or what coach would disavow the primacy of victory and his success at producing a team capable of achieving it? Or what few politicians would recuse themselves from office over questions of integrity? – though this last example may border on an exception, however great their protestations.
From these points, we peek through the keyhole and attempt a narrow view of the Glorious Hall beyond. But how can we begin to perceive the Image impressed upon us? What process, or what frame of mind, marks the first step upon the pilgrimage of discerning those values which transcend what can be seen or felt or touched? That their effects are evident in nature is beyond question, and more so in their absence, as a poor navigator of the oceans will quickly find his vessel lost or broken upon the rocks, and everything of value lost, up to and including his life. Thus Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes declared, "The life of the law has not been logic; it has been experience."
We may begin the path by setting our whole selves apart from influences that may corrupt our thinking, that these values which are self-evident may allow their way with us. This is the ancient practice of holiness, one much lauded in the Judeo-Christian tradition and often forgotten in modern times. And it is by this act or practice that one may see the Image within which all values find their source, just as the old saying affirms: "Without holiness no one will see the Lord" (Hebrews 12:14). Practically defined, it means to leave behind the things of man: his cities, his works, and his many words, and seek asylum in the quiet places of the world, without and within, that this Image may make itself known to us. And this is not a single journey or final discovery, for to treat it as such merely reveals the immaturity present within each who first tread these ways, and once upon returning declare "Enlightenment!" and proceed to write books about it and spread their newfound holiness like a stillborn child from hand to hand through the arms of modern television. And thus shall be the fate of all who regard the first fragile steps as itself the achievement, and not the echoes of a new and better direction.
With the knowledge in hand that it is not by fanciful speeches or thundering pronouncements, but a daily following of this Path, that we may know what is the Source of these values, the affirmations which follow are almost certainly beyond doubt for any who honestly seek after truth, and cannot be denied without contradiction by their opposition:
Affirmation Three: that Truth exists, and that it can be objectively known.
Affirmation Four: that Reason is an intrinsic property of humanity above all other known species, and can be used to apprehend truth.
Affirmation Five: that the attitude of one's life is primarily dictated by influences early in that life, and that there are institutions which positively or negatively affect it.
Affirmation Six: that perseverance, sacrifice, discipline, and individual application to a worthwhile goal will yield success of intrinsic value.
Affirmation Seven: that inherent to the previous six affirmations, those who uphold these truths must of necessity be among those of the living, that they have the liberty to daily walk this path, and that they may possess what they of right earn through efforts of mind and hand.
November 17, 2020 laoc0on
artbeautyhistorichistorymeaningoppressionphilosophypoliticalpoliticssocial oppressionsocietytheologyvalue


text:
PhD EssayEssay ExamplesTo Use or Not to Use Singlish "Aiyah! so Headache!"
Last Updated 15 Apr 2020
To Use or Not to Use Singlish "Aiyah! so Headache!"
Category Essay Examples
Victoria University of Wellington School of Linguistics and Applied Languages Studies WRIT 101 – Writing English Assignment 2 – Persuasion Due Date: 20 September 2004 Name of Student: Chor Teck Daryl Toy To Use or Not To Use Singlish "Aiyah! So Headache! " + In recent years, there has been much concern on how Singaporeans use English. While some consider Singapore Colloquial English or Singlish as an undeniable part of being a Singaporean, others including the Government, deem it inferior, even condemn it, and support the use of Singapore Standard English almost relentlessly (Tan 2002).
I shall attempt to address the following question, "Should Singlish be accepted and used or be abandoned? " I believe we need to use both Singlish and Standard English in order to be effective life-long communicators. We shall look into this argument in the context of education, the sociolinguistic understanding of diglossia and code-switching, and the role of teachers in guiding students in the language acquisition process. Firstly, let us look at the development of English that eventually led to this language controversy in Singapore.
English is one of the four official languages recognised in Singapore. It is the language medium used in education, in administration, and in the workforce, and is often used at home nowadays, along with the other 'mother tongues'. Some, especially the younger families, have adopted English as their first language. Out of this multi-lingual background comes Singlish, which blends English with the other local languages, accents, dialects and slang. Singlish is used in informal ccasions, especially among children, adolescents, and the less-educated. If we were to spend some time mingling with Singaporeans and listening to the way we converse with each other, we may catch colloquial phrases like, "Why you so like dat? " "Eeee! You so kiasu one! " "Dun play-play with me! " "Do your work lah! " Such familiar terms can also be detected in local television programmes, like Under One Roof and Phua Chu Kang Pte Ltd, and in local films, like Army Daze, Money No Enough and I Not Stupid.
Haven't found the relevant content? Hire a subject expert to help you with To Use or Not to Use Singlish "Aiyah! so Headache!"
Indeed, Singlish has become an unofficial Singaporean icon, which I think, our friends from other countries can use to identify and differentiate who we are from other Asians! While Singlish is widely used in Singapore, it is often treated with disgust, even disdain and aversion, especially by the highly-educated and 'language-purity' advocates. Singlish is viewed as an embarrassing reflection of Singaporeans being 'uncouth' and 'uneducated', as contrast with Standard English. As former Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong once commented, "Poor English reflects badly on us … and makes us seem less intelligent or competent. (Tan 2002) As Singlish is seen as 'poor English', attempts, such as the government-supported "Speak Good English Movement", are set to propagate the proper use of the language among Singaporeans, mainly through the education system. Despite the various efforts made in condemning and even banning the use of Singlish in Singapore, there is no denying that using this locally-conceived language is very much a part of being a true-blue Singaporean. We use it in our daily lives with our families, friends and even at work in our conversations.
Linguists have noted that most children in Singapore would acquire Singlish first from their homes or in kindergartens, rather than Standard English (Gupta 2001, Deterding 1998). In some studies conducted on language acquisition, it is observed that adults used the low variety of a language to communicate with their children, who in turn use it to communicate with their peers (Ferguson 1959). In accordance to the language phenomenon of diglossia, it is argued that children would acquire language initially through its non-standard, colloquial, low variety, before learning its standard high variety through formal education.
In line with the view mentioned above, some might feel that a little dose of Singlish used sometimes in the formal language acquisition process can help relax the already tense and stressful study atmosphere. Surely it would provide some lighter and humorous moments to the classroom. During my teaching stint in the primary school, I remember that my students would listen amusingly to my teaching, and appreciate my efforts in explaining complex terms with some occasional 'lahs' and 'lehs'.
Students, especially those yet to be competent enough to communicate in English, would find it easier to use a bit of Singlish to speak up in class at the initial stage of their learning. After all, don't most students sometimes find it daunting to use the language they are learning, with an almost gripping fear of being ridiculed for their errors? Surely they would choose to approach the language through its low variety first, before working their way towards the high.
Allowing them to use Singlish as a basis might help to create a safe environment for our students to eventually acquire Standard English in their language learning experience. However, as an English language teacher, I do advocate the need to use Standard English as part of our linguistic repertoire, since it is the language of administration, economy, and communication in Singapore, and a channel to communicate with other countries. As teachers, while we teach Standard English with its different genre, conventions, functions and its importance, we should gradually encourage our students to use the language in their lives.
Nevertheless, we should bear in mind in our teaching our students' linguistic background, which includes Singlish. Therefore, I suggest that we should use the sociolinguistic understanding of diglossia and code-switching in the language teaching and learning process. We, as parents and teachers, want our children and students to learn to communicate effectively as they grow. Therefore, we should teach them to identify and realise for themselves the different domains in which they have to switch between using Singlish and Standard English.
We can do so through the means of modelling, conducting observations and discussions, to help them to differentiate the occasions for using Standard English or Singlish, and the various reasons for switching between these two varieties of language. For example, we use Standard English in answering questions, in writing, in presentations, and in sitting for examinations or tests, so as to get good grades as the examiners are able to comprehend what we present in our answers, and be convinced of our competency in acquiring the standard language. We also use Standard English as an essential tool to learn more about the world we live in.
However, we use Singlish instead, when conversing with our family members and friends, ordering food from hawkers, and especially when idly chatting among ourselves. We would be seen as being 'snooty' or 'distant' if Standard English is used for these informal occasions. Using Singlish is also a way to make us feel at home with other Singaporeans, both local and overseas. In making such references to their prior knowledge and authentic life experiences, we help our students to realise how to switch between Singlish and Standard English according to the different domains.
Thus, students can learn to be effective 'language-variety-switchers', and in turn feel proud of their Singaporean linguistic repertoire (Deterding 1998). To conclude, while we acknowledge the 'popular' use of Singlish among our students and Singaporeans, the use of Standard English should be strongly advocated as well. Singaporeans must realise the importance of learning Standard English, so as to be able to exercise our language repertoire confidently as effective life-long communicators.
Indeed, the mastery of Standard English, together with the use of Singlish and our mother tongues, should imbue in us a sense of pride for our unique Singaporean language heritage. To Use or Not To Use Singlish "Aiyah! " "Headache so much for wat?! " "Use BOTH Singlish and Standard English lor! " Word Count: 1225 words References: Deterding, David 1998. Approaches to Diglossia in the Classroom: The Middle Way. REACT 2 (November), 18-23. Ferguson, Charles A. 1959. Diglossia. In Dell Hymes (ed. ) 1964. Language in Culture and Society. NY: Harcourt. 429 – 439. Holmes, Janet 2001. (2nd ed. An Introduction to Sociolinguistics. London: Longman. 27 – 34. Expat Singapore Pte. Ltd. Language – Singlish http://www. expatsingapore. com/general/language. htm (13 March 2001) Gupta, Anthea Fraser 2001. Linguistic Ecology of Singapore. Paper given at GNEL/MAVEN Conference "The Cultural Politics of English as a World Language" Freiburg, 6-9 June. Gupta, Anthea Fraser. Language Varieties – Singapore Colloquial English (Singlish) http://www. une. edu. au/langnet/singlish. htm (8 April 2004) Tan, Hwee Hwee 2002. A War of Words Over 'Singlish', TIME Asia 160 (29 July), 3
To Use or Not to Use Singlish "Aiyah! so Headache!". (2016, Dec 10). Retrieved from https://phdessay.com/to-use-or-not-to-use-singlish-aiyah-so-headache/
GFPP 2023 Politics of South-East Asia Topic: Singapore under Lee Kuan Yew Group :B Members' Names : Chan Xin Ying 214765 Muganthini A/P Kumaran 214956 Ranjani A/P Selvarajan 214951 Teaw.
Country Environment Analysis – Singapore
Essay type Analysis
Country Environment Analysis - Singapore Date: 12/05/2012 Course: BUAD 6500 Prepared For: Dr. Stanford A. Westjohn Prepared By: Emtithal Alhumood, John Baker, Nora Dillon and Yuhong Fu Table of Contents:.
Varieties of English
Varieties of English, such as Singlish, have an important role to play in contemporary society. Discuss. Different varieties of English, such as the interesting variety used in Singapore, known as.
The Krashens Input Hypothesis Education Essay
Stephen Krashen 's input hypothesis seeks to explicate how persons get linguistic communication, and how this apprehension of linguistic communication acquisition applies to 2nd linguistic communication scholars ( 1982, p..
Executive Summary FJ Benjamin is a Singapore based fashion and lifestyle company. The company distributes major clothing brands and accessories, and is one of the leading fashion distributors in Singapore..
How Important Is English in Business
May 2012 ARTICLE PREVIEW To read the full article: Sign in or Register for free. HBR Subscribers activate your free archive access » http://hbr. org/2012/05/global-business-speaks-english/ar/1 Global Business Speaks English by Tsedal Neeley Ready or not, English is now.


text:
Legendary actor Sidney Poitier, who broke barriers and stood for justice and Black lives during the most tumultuous times of the civil rights movement, has died.
Poitier, whose iconic 71-year career, included starring roles in "A Raisin in the Sun," "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" and "Uptown Saturday Night," was 94. His cause of death has yet to be confirmed.
In an exclusive phone call with the Black Press of America, Bill Cosby said he will miss his long-time friend and co-star.
"He was honored by AFI. And, along with many stars of the stage, screen, politics and higher education who came out to speak, I brought with me the paperback of his autobiography and I said of all groundbreaking movies that Sidney starred in this book is the real story of this man and his journey," Cosby remarked. "I am honored to have been close enough to him and work and work on serious matters.
According to PBS, Poitier moved to New York City at age 16 after living in the Bahamas for several years with his family. In the Big Apple, he found work as a janitor at the American Negro Theater in exchange for acting lessons. From there, he took up acting roles in plays for the next several years until his film debut in the racially charged, "No Way Out."
Race and social justice would become central themes in much of his work throughout the '50s and '60s.
A Broadway play focused on the life of the Bahamian born star, who earned his first Academy Award nomination in 1959 for his work in "The Defiant Ones," is in the works.
As noted in the New York Post, the nomination was significant to America as he was the first African American to be nominated for Best Actor. That role also earned him a Golden Globe win and a BAFTA Award.
NDG 12/30: Bishop Desmond Tutu the latest in a long list of Black icons lost in 2021
Poitier broke even more barriers in 1963 with his hit film "Lilies of the Field." The following year, Poitier became the first African American to ever win the Best Actor at the Academy Awards.
His career continued to climb for several more years. In 1967 he starred in "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner," an interracial romance comedy that ruffled feathers in America. Then came other memorable films, "They Call Me Mister Tibbs," the sequel to the controversial blockbuster "In the Heat of the Night," and "Uptown Saturday Night" opposite Cosby.
He released several more works; "The Measure of a Man: A Spiritual Autobiography (2007)" "Life Beyond Measure: Letters to My Great-Granddaughter (2008)."
Marichelle Samples
Roma Osowo
Marilyn Mosby
Previous articleDr. Helen Chavis Othow
Next articleDenise Wooten


Why not build from scratch?
What do you get with PortalProdigy?
Why should an organization operate their systems over the Internet?
Why are organizations using PortalProdigy more appreciated by their board members, staff, constituents, customers, vendors, prospects, members and the community?
When can the public start using our website and all that amazing functionality the site?
The PortalProdigy is an Internet Operating Platform developed for businesses and nonprofit organizations.
Portal Prodigy, Inc. has isolated the best website features, processes and practices on the Internet and rolled them up into a uniform, easy to implement and reasonably priced Operating Platform. Using the PortalProdigy Internet Operating Platform, small and medium sized organizations can leverage the web without complications, without programming, without headaches and without changing the way they do business. PortalProdigy evens the Internet playing field against the largest competitors.
Do you ever get the feeling that your organization could be doing so much more to take advantage of the Internet?
It can! The web is more than just a place to hang your brochure. It's a sophisticated machine for conducting all kinds of organizational activities. Contrary to what you've probably heard, taking advantage of this powerful phenomena doesn't require overhauling your organization nor does it require major investment. PortalProdigy makes it easy to leverage the web without complications, without programming, without headaches and without changing the way you do business.
How? By focusing on the real power of the web.
Put aside all the nonsense about the "new" economy and the power of the web boils down to one word…..
You can have more interactions with more customers, more prospects, more suppliers, more employees, more members, more supporters, more constituents and more investors than ever before – faster than ever before – spending less money than ever before.
Think about it. Before the web, interaction was one on one, linear, labor intensive and expensive.
Today, it's all changed! You could be interacting with millions of people simultaneously via the automation of the Internet a thousand times faster at a fraction of the cost.
Many organizations are leaping ahead of their competitors by automating the three fundamental organizational interaction types which are super accelerated by the Internet. We call it "Internet Interaction Management ™"
You can leap ahead by implementing PortalProdigy, the only website configuration tool that can have you conducting transactions, sharing knowledge and building community -- instantly! It's all prefabricated. You simply add your organization's personality and go.
At PortalProdigy, we've studied the very best the Internet has to offer. Then we adopted the greatest features, processes and practices from Internet pioneering organizations of all types and rolled them up into a uniform, easy to implement and reasonably priced package.
Implement Portal Prodigy today and by tomorrow your organization can be online doing everything listed below and more!
PortalProdigy was developed to save your organization time and money while increasing its ability to accomplish its mission. PortalProdigy provides a central facility which affords everyone involved in your operation the opportunity to participate remotely, guided by standardized practices and procedures. Using a simple Internet Browser any authorized employee, customer, vendor, prospect, volunteer, staff, constituent, advisor, members or contributor can perform virtually any and all administrative and operational activities and the results are immediately available to the organization in real time.
You could hire a programmer and use some page builder to develop your website from scratch. But then, that's probably what you'd end up with, a website.
Would you build your entire accounting system from a spreadsheet application? Or, would you use QuickBooks?
PortalProdigy is a complete system. It took a full staff of experienced engineers and programmers several years to build, test and document PortalProdigy. Why would you re-invent the wheel? While you and your managers are playing software developer, your competition will be online with PortalProdigy leaving you in the dust.
PortalProdigy comes complete and ready to go. No need to add modules. Just add personality and you are up and running instantly. You don't even need to install expensive servers and bandwidth. We run the equipment for you.
Oh, and by the way. PortalProdigy comes with a WYSIWYG (What you see is what you get) page builder installed. Just in case you need to build pages from scratch. It's like using a word processor in your browser window only it automatically converts your work into HTML when you save it. You don't even have to know how HTML works. It's easy to use and can be operated from a browser anywhere.
Instant Internet functionality is what you get. Your installation is fully equipped with all the functionality we've developed. It's simply a matter of choosing configurations and loading your content.
Secure Online Administration Menu – When PortalProdigy activates your Web Interaction Management Website, you'll be provided an administrator login and password. Using your Microsoft Internet Explorer browser, you'll login to the Administration menu which provides access to configuration and control of the entire system. The features you'll be able to control immediately are described in the following paragraphs.
Contacts Feature - Maintain detailed records on individual contacts such as prospects, customers, members, employees, etc. The individual Contact Records serve not only as a place to record and lookup contact information such as ad-dresses and phone numbers but also a link into other features related to individual contacts including event registration records, contact management, advocacy participation, contributions, purchases, exchanges and more. The Contact database further serves as a data merge source for message broadcasting via email, fax or printed communication features.
Contact Management & Tickler/Notes Feature - Task, Action and Prospect Organizer - Provides for the attachment of notes and event triggers to records within many of the features of PortalProdigy. Special fields are provided within each note allowing for categorization by status, type, follow-up date, and delegation contacts so that they may become part of any assortment of planning, reminding, delegating and task organizing systems that can be easily customized to each organization's private PortalProdigy installation.
Public Relations Feature – Provide permitted visitors an opportunity to create and update their own Press Release Template and Biographical Record and send press releases. Media contact records are stored in the contact database and classified by medium, news category and geography. Permitted visitors enter press re-lease copy into the website form and indicate media contact preferences by medium, news category and geography and PortalProdigy delivers the press release in HTML format via email to the appropriate media contacts. Media Contacts can click on a link in the email press release they receive and are brought to the organization's site where they can not only read detailed information on the sender of the press release but also search the biography database for other people and companies of interest. This feature is especially ideal for professional and trade associations, advocacy groups and sporting leagues.
Companies - Maintain records on individual companies, including their relation-ship to individual contacts when applicable. Individual Company Records serve not only as a place to record and lookup contact information such as addresses and phone numbers but also a link into other features which relate to companies.
Credit Apps - Add, view, report, approve and decline credit applications.
Broadcaster - Create message templates which execute manually, upon schedule or when triggered by a process event to broadcast email messages to specified individuals, contact types or interest groups. Includes the ability to insert variable data from an assortment of PortalProdigy features. Also can be used to export contact data into .CSV format files which may be used with any fax broadcasting or word-processing software with merge capabilities.
Directories Feature – Create public contact directories for an unlimited number of categories such as Board of Directors, Members, Users, Experts, Media Contacts, Service Technicians, Sales Reps, etc. Individual directory access may be constricted to visitors with specified security permissions and display only information specified in their administrative setup. Includes sophisticated directory re-cord search interface.
Discussions and Web log (Blogger) - Create public or private Discussion Forums. Provide visitors the ability to interact with each other or with specified groups. Includes searchable archives make this feature ideal for propagating user self-help groups. Powerful hyperlink insert tool makes this a serious community builder.
Ask the Expert – Many experts will pay for the opportunity to be listed as an expert contact on your organization's website because this feature provides them with a special one on one lead situation. Define your expert categories, enter expert member types into the contact database or let them signup online. Visitors link to the Ask the Expert page and post their question, select an appropriate expert category and submit. Each expert in the category receives a copy of the question via email and responds privately to the submitter. Unlike discussion forum, blogging and newsgroups, Ask the Expert conversations are private between the expert and the submitter.
Document Library - Maintain a visitor friendly cataloged, searchable and browsable document library that includes documents stored in their original file formats such as HTML, PDF and TXT. A database record with descriptive information and administrative controls is created for each document imported into the website. Documents can be assigned viewing security levels, expiration dates, catalog locations, topics, and index keywords and phrases. The Document Library can serve as a knowledgebase for visitors and the organizing store house for unlimited website pages. It's easy for permitted users with no website or HTML programming experience to import documents directly from their computer or network into the organization's website. Documents created in MSWord, Publisher, and other desktop publishing software are quickly made part of the website with no programming required.
Events Manager – Schedule programs and events, enter details and import event brochures, registration forms, maps, etc from any computer into event records on the organization's website in order to furnish visitors with an event calendar, pro-gram information and signup ability. Event details, contact information, registration limits, seating inventory, pricing and payment options can all be input, up-dated, tracked and reported. Visitors can register and pay online using credit cards or other payment options. Attendance lists and badges can be printed locally from any printer connected browser. Event notice email broadcasts may be scheduled in advance and sent automatically when appropriate. If desirable, a view current registrants link can be available to visitors.
Online Product Catalog – Feature, display, demonstrate and sell your organization's products online. Define an unlimited number of product categories and hierarchy of sub categories. Enter detailed descriptions, categorize products, display pictures, setup inventory and selection by colors and sizes, enter initial inventory quantities, attach full featured multimedia product brochures, and track inventory manufacturer, purchasing and cost information.
Exchange Engine - Create public participation exchanges such as resume and job posting boards, vendor operated catalogs, trainer or speakers bureaus, and other visitor operated organization sponsored bazaars or markets. Define a virtually unlimited number of exchanges which can be public or private, free of charge or on a fee paid basis. Payment for participation can be accepted online using credit cards or other payment options. The Exchanges Feature differs from the Online Product Catalog Feature in that it fosters commerce or exchange between a de-fined group of external participants, such as members and service providers, which does not involve your organization directly.
Legislative and Regulatory Calls to Action Feature - Rapidly mobilize constituents into a focused force. Broadcast Calls to Action messages via email to specified individuals, contact types or interest groups. The messages include a hyperlink recipients can click, bringing them to the website's issue position and education page. Respondents can choose to respond online to their legislative, regulatory, judicial or executive branch representative as predetermined by an Administration setup function. Each LRCA project can include suggested response messages to aid respondents in developing their own message. Respondents type their message into the website LRCA response form. PortalProdigy uses their zip code entry to determine the respondent's correct legislative, regulatory, judicial or executive branch representative and sends their message.
Membership Types – Provides a highly flexible system for offering, promoting, signing-up and managing members online. Not to be only narrowed to "member-ships" as in a club or association. Instead, think of members as a specifically privileged group such as employees, specific department staff, managers, contributors, parishioners, reporters and journalists, constituents, vendors, customers, prospects, etc. Classify groups of contacts in order to control access to specific website functionality and to trigger events specific to given membership types -- events such as billing, program notifications, surveys, news delivery, exchange announcements, press releases, etc. You can even use Membership Types to sell or control subscriptions to publications and other features. Memberships can be free or fee based. Renewal invoices are generated automatically for the appropriate monthly, quarterly or yearly membership term and automatic privilege cancellation can be set for unpaid membership terms.
News - The News Feature provides a rapid entry interface used by Administration to enter news items. Headlines are displayed on the homepage where visitor can click on individual items of interest to view the detailed news record.
Publication Manager - Provides a publishing facility which fosters the regular publication of newsletters, releases, briefs, reviews, etc. with consistent format from issue to issue. An unlimited number of custom Publication Templates may be created ahead of publication for printed format, HTML format and email text format publications. Multiple content and editorial contributors can participate simultaneously adding and updating content at their convenience until date of publication. Publications can be automatically broadcast to specified individuals, contact types or interest groups via email. Print format Publications can be merged with name and address data from the Contact Database for specified individuals, contact types or interest groups and printed on any remote users printer or saved to a digital file and brought to a digital printing service such as Staples, Sir Speedy, Kinkos, etc. for printing. Past publications may be displayed online in public or private archives based on type and topic.
Surveys - Conduct surveys online. Create surveys with an unlimited number of questions using multiple choice, true/false, rating or text answer formats. Survey notices can be automatically broadcast to specified individuals, contact types or interest groups via email. Message recipients click on a link bringing them to the corresponding website survey page where they answer questions and submit their results. Survey results are stored by PortalProdigy and reported when needed.
Orders Feature – Manage and fulfill orders for products as well as events, exchanges, membership and Press Releases.
Invoicing – The Invoicing Feature is used to print and post invoices. It provides the option to print invoices to a printer or to create in HTML format for electronic delivery by email.
Statements – The Statements Feature is used to print statements of financial transaction activity for a specified period including previous balance, new in-voices, payments received, and current balance owed. It provides the option to print statements to a printer or to create in HTML format for electronic delivery by email.
Membership Billing – The Membership Billing feature is used create and post invoices for membership fees. It provides the option to print the membership invoices to a printer or to create in HTML format for electronic delivery by email.
Payments – The Payments Feature is used to enter payments and apply payments, credit memos and debit memos to Orders. It is also used to create credit memos and issue refunds.
Chargebacks – The Chargeback Feature is used to enter bank charge-backs for unpaid deposits such as NSF checks, credit card charge denial, or protested credit card charges. It provides a convenient method of entering and posting charge-backs as a batch.
Fulfillment – The Fulfillment Features provides an automated process for fulfilling Product Orders. It provides the ability to select Order Items for fulfillment based on specified criteria, assigns the selected Order Items to a batch, produces a picking list for the batch, provides the ability to adjust the fulfillment and processes the results, updating the Orders.
Promotion Codes - A powerful tool for increasing sales, attracting new customers, and generating repeat sales from existing customers. PORTALPRODIGY's Promotion Code feature greatly simplifies the process of creating and managing promotions for both products and services. It also makes it easy to target specific categories of customers offering specialized promotions to targeted groups.
Inventory Entry – The Inventory Entry Feature is used to enter new inventory. It provides a quick and simple method of updating inventory.
Inventory Adjustment – The Inventory Adjustment Feature is used to enter manual adjustments to inventory. This is used to adjust inventory quantities up or down based on a physical count or for damaged goods.
About Us - The About Us Feature provides a boilerplate entry form for creating an About Us page in accordance with traditional website best practices. During site setup, Administration can use this feature to create the organization's About Us page.
Contact Us - The Contact Us Feature provides a boilerplate entry form for creating a Contact Us page in accordance with traditional website best practices. During site setup, Administration can use this feature to create the organization's Contact Us page.
Color Scheme - Mechanism for customizing the graphic look and feel of the website through the selection of color for specific objects, backgrounds and fonts used by the site's templates.
Table Builder Utility - A boilerplate entry form for creating an Our Experience page in accordance with traditional website best practices.
Greeting Utility - Provides a boilerplate entry form for creating and maintaining the organization's Home page in accordance with traditional website best practices.
Universal Site Settings - The Features – Universal Site Settings Feature provides for configuration of the website, its functionality and feature activation. Administration can turn features on and off from this console as well a set certain universal property, limit, requirement, selection list and topic values for specific features.
Logo and Name Utility - The Logo and Name Feature provides an interface for importing brand graphics into the website which are used in the website template to customize its appearance to project the organizations image in accordance to its standard motif.
Site Style Template Chooser - Provides for the selection, from a catalog of available templates, of a specific pre-designed graphic website style which is the basis of visitors' visual experience of the site. The selected template becomes the visual foundation of the entire visitor's portion of the website. The selected tem-plate can be customized using the Color Scheme and Universal Site Settings con-soles.
Security and Special Interest Groups - Security Groups are used to control visitor access to the website and its features. Special Interest Groups are used to isolate specific contact records for the purpose of inclusion in certain features. For example, inclusion in a directory, exchange or a specific email broadcast.
Utilities – A set of specialized tools generally used for data and website maintenance, data import, and configuration.
advertise jobs, products and services.
accept applications, resumes, credit applications, service requests, etc.
initiate calls-to-action and facilitate massive "grass roots" lobbying and petition-ing response campaigns.
create a searchable repository of corporate documents, manuals, forms, etc.
promote communication among tens of thousands of geographically diverse peo-ple who share a common interest.
sell and download digital content such as books and music.
Why are organizations using PortalProdigy more appreciated by their board members, management, staff, constituents, customers, vendors, prospects, members and the community?
It's simple. PortalProdigy makes Internet implementation simple, quick and easy. Furthermore, dealing with your organization becomes simpler, faster, easier and less costly.
The World Wide Web gained mass appeal faster than any technology in history, including the wheel. That's true! Why? Because it is fantastic. It brings people closer together and that's who you do business with -- people. You've heard it before, the separation between the have's and have not's is getting wider fast. Don't be left behind. You must implement real Internet functionality now, not some cheap flat web brochure, or you'll be left behind. PortalProdigy will get you there quickly, easily and economically.
When can the public start using our website and all that amazing functionality?


text:
2022-09-01 September 1, 2022 - 2023-01-07 January 7
Tokyo Game Show 2022 (Starts)
Tokyo Game Show 2022 starts on September 15, 2022, and Atlus has confirmed to be present.
September 16, 2022 @ 7:00 am EDT - 7:50 am EDT
Sega / Atlus Tokyo Game Show 2022 Live Stream
Sega and Atlus will have a live stream for Tokyo Game Show 2022 featuring their latest titles.
October 8, 2022 @ 4:00 am EDT - 7:00 am EDT
Persona Super Live P-Sound WISH 2022 Concert (Day 1)
The first day of the "Persona Super Live P-Sound WISH 2022: Crossing Journey" concert.
The second day of the "Persona Super Live P-Sound WISH 2022: Crossing Journey" concert.
Persona 5 the Stage #4 Final Starts
The fourth and final part of the Persona 5 the Stage performance series has been announced to take place from October 20 to October 23, 2022.
Persona 5 Royal Release (Xbox One, Xbox Series, PC, Game Pass, PS5, Nintendo Switch)
Persona 5 Royal for the Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Windows PC, and Game Pass will be released worldwide on October 21, 2022.
Persona 5 Royal x Fullmetal Alchemist Mobile Collaboration Starts (Japan)
A collaboration between Persona 5 Royal and Fullmetal Alchemist Mobile begins on November 4, 2022.
November 28, 2022 @ 5:00 am EST - 7:00 am EST
13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim 3rd Anniversary Celebration Live Stream
The third anniversary live stream for 13 Sentinels:: Aegis Rim will take place on November 28, 2022.
December 23, 2022 @ 6:00 am EST - 8:00 am EST
Sega New #18 Christmas Special! Featuring Persona 4 Golden
The remastered version of Persona 4 Golden will be featured during the Sega New live stream on December 23, 2022.
January 7 @ 1:00 am EST - 3:00 am EST
13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim Orchestral Concert
The 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim orchestral concert will take place on January 7, 2023.