Celebrating Christmas in July? Lisa shares a couple of festive ideas.
Baking polymer clay is supposed to be easy, but that's not always the case. Here are some tips for successful polymer clay baking.
Editor, Tari Sasser, shares her pick for this week's Designer of the Week – a stunning, art bead-filled creation from Ahowin!
On her post this week, she'll show you how she cuts a turtle pendant out of fish leather!
Jeweled and rubber stamped buttons are easy to make with resin clay.
Jean has a giveaway of a fabulous book about soutache and bead embroidery. Stop by, check out her review, and sign up for a chance to win this hip, fascinating, great jewelry design book!
The June selection for the Inspired by Reading Book Club was, "The Bucolic Plague" by Josh Kilmer-Purcell. Come check out what Andrew and the others made for the blog hop!
Today is the Reveal for June's selection of the Inspired by Reading Book Club! We read, "The Bucolic Plague" by Josh Kilmer-Purcell. We all agreed that it was a really fun book and that there was no shortage of imagery to pull from. The book is about two Manhattanites that become gentlemen farmers in a small town in upstate New York. With a healthy dose of humor, the book chronicles their transitions and explores the ideas of truth and beauty.
I really enjoyed the book... so much so that I'm going to do a follow up post just on my thoughts about it.
As we were getting together for the in-person meet up at Allegory Gallery, the sky went dark and the wind started shaking the trees and knocking over flower pots! Amy Roadman and Laurel Ross braved the weather to talk about the book and share what they made.
Here's one of the pieces that Laurel made. She said that she was inspired by the color descriptions on page 22. The author describes the black and white set against the orange of the maple trees. The multi-strand necklace is made of glass rounds, faceted crystal, ebony with aluminum bands, and white howlite rounds.
I really like how she was able to extract some of the details and turn it into a very wearable and contemporary piece. It just goes to show that the pieces inspired by the book don't have to be so literal in translation.
Laurel also made a pair of earrings! These ones were really fun! She made a pair of dangly dead fly earrings. The flies were vintage brass stampings that she patinated with ammonia. They're suspended from almond-shaped gunmetal earwires.
Amy made a matching set! Here she is modeling the necklace and earrings.
Here is the set that Amy made. The pieces are made of wood, copper discs, glazed ceramic, and bone. She repurposed an old bone earring and made it into the focal of the necklace. The pendant is a reference to the bones found in the crypt and the bones found in the garden plot. The red beads are supposed to symbolize the many different fruits mentioned throughout the book, like the cherries, strawberries, and tomatoes. Amy said that they were also supposed to reference the Red Roof Inn. The wood is supposed to epitomize the dark, rich earth and nature, and the discs are a subtle nod to the mention of money and finances in the book. Close to the toggle is a key charm, which is from when they open the house up.
Here's a close-up of the earrings she made.
I really like her pieces! I think got a very urban flare and I told her that they looked very chic. I love warmth and richness of the wood, copper and red beads and the bright pop of white with the bone.
Laurel and Amy both did an amazing job!
Here's the piece that I made! Like Laurel, I was inspired by the Zombie Flies! I took an image of a black fly and printed them out on shrink plastic in various sizes. I then attached them to a sterling silver chain. I love the tinkling sound it makes when the flies dangle together.
Although the flies are the dominant element of this piece, I hid some other little pieces to symbolize different parts of the book.
Like Amy, I used a key charm. I wanted it to symbolize homeownership and the unlocking of one's path.
I had a fine silver charm in my stash that my sister, Cynthia, designed. It has a tree on it. I used it to represent nature and country living. I stamped it on the back with "1802", which is when the Beekman was built and is a part of their business name.
For the closure, I incorporated a sterling silver heart toggle. I used it in the piece because this book is a love story to me. I say this not just because of Josh and Brent's relationship in the book, but because it's about falling in love with a house... falling in love with a simpler life... falling in love with one's Best Life and learning how to love all these things.
For the in-person meet up, I made some recipes found in the back of the book. One of them was the Garth's mom's margaritas from the Christmas party. (Book club was definitely fun!) The other thing I made was the infamous Pink Stuff made by Michelle in the book. The Pink Stuff was definitely... interesting and very PINK! The flavor was pretty good and it harkened to a sense memory of something I had as a child that my grandmother made. The recipe was definitely in "party ratio", because even though there were three of us, it hardly looked like we made a dent in it. The appearance was somewhat frightening though. I should have put it in a vintage Jell-o mold or something to make it look a little less... interesting.
To add to our bounty, Amy brought some fresh fruit that was mentioned in the book.
It was a really fun evening and I've grown to look forward to our monthly meet ups! It's nice to take a break from everything going on and celebrate reading and creativity! The book club has provided an opportunity to get to know friends better and meet new people.
Aren't they fabulous? She used the jade dragon as her source of inspiration. Her polymer clay technique makes the clay look like real stone and the carving is phenomenal! CLICK HERE to read more about her process and her inspiration.
The next book for the book club is, "The Cookbook Collector" by Allegra Goodman. For this year's full list, CLICK HERE. The in-person meet up is scheduled for Tuesday, July 30th from 6PM to 9PM. The Reveal will take place on Wednesday, July 31st! If you're interested in keeping up with what we're doing, CLICK HERE to visit our Facebook group page. We also have a Pinterest board with supplemental inspiration. CLICK HERE to view that.
Design contest news! Check out the big prizes available for winners of this year's JTV Designer Showcase Challenge!
The polymer clay community has gone global! Learn about a new book that shows off the works of hundreds of international artists.
Gaea shares her June Etsy finds in a gorgeous treasury, full of texture and color! They would be perfect for working on your challenge piece with!
Make your own unique and colorful head pins... using nail polish!
Jean tries a bit of Jewelry Therapy, making a lovely bracelet to relax during the exciting, event-filled week!
Andrews shares the evolution of the Allegory Gallery Annex space!
Yesterday, Jan Durkin taught a class on making Woven Wire Bezel Pendants at the new Annex space. People came from all over Southwestern Pennsylvania to join us! It's very exciting to see the Annex buzzing with life. Jan is a patient and thorough teacher and did a great job pushing the students to complete their projects and create beautiful pieces of wearable art.
It's an educational experience for all of us. With each class, we learn more about the space and what needs to happen to make it function at its best.
Here are the pieces that the students made! Aren't they beautiful! I think they did most excellent! Some of them have never worked with wire before and I think they all did an amazing job! I'm really proud of them and all the work they were able to accomplish! Bravo, students! Bravo, Jan!
The next classes that we have lined up are for Maria Richmond's Brio Scribble Earrings and Buttoned Up Pendants. They are both on June 29th. I think they're really stunning and the techniques are very useful. I think one of the best things about these classes is that they are so affordable! One class at a national convention can run up to $200! You can take both classes for $80! Space is limited, so sign up ASAP! I think that's AMAZING! To check out the classes that we have coming up, CLICK HERE.
If you're in New York City, consider celebrating the work of an amazing artist, who's life was cut short. Plan on attending Amelia Geocos' art show. Twenty of her paintings will be up, plus videos, and fashion items like clothes and jewelry. The show is on Thursday, June 27th, 2013 from 6PM to 11PM. The money raised from this event will go towards the Amelia Geocos Memorial Scholarship Fund at the School of Visual Arts. This scholarship helps make artistic education possible for other young artists. CLICK HERE to find out more about the art show and about this very worthwhile cause.
This past Thursday, we had the ribbon cutting ceremony for the new Annex space! It's very exciting. We have come a really long way so far. There's still a lot of work that needs to be done, but we are taking things one step at a time. I am pleased with the transformation so far.
The June selection for the Inspired by Reading Book Club is "Bucolic Plague" by Josh Kilmer-Purcell and in the book they talk about "wabi sabi". It's a Japanese aesthetic philosophy about finding beauty in the imperfections and embracing the often times chaotic and unpredictable forces of nature. It's not about attaining absolute perfection or rather the illusion of perfection, but accepting the truth of a material.
The Annex is by no means perfect. It's very "wabi sabi". We know that it's not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but we wanted to push forward and work through things. We are also working with a limited budget that we've been scrimping and saving for since we took the lease out on the place nine months ago. So it'll take time. I hope that people can appreciate the work that we've already put into it to get it where it is now and be patient with us while we continue to work on it and improve it.
The edges are rough, but that's what makes it beautiful. The defects and obstacles are teachers, giving us lessons in making the space function and flow best. They are reminders that this is the beginning of a journey and that the future is bright with possibility and potential. It's only up from here!
It was coming on 11PM and I was still not finished with work for the day. The previous day's frustrations had delayed my progress. I was fully prepared to get my second... no, third... no, fourth wind and buckle down for a few more hours of work. I use the word "work" interchangeably to refer to tasks that need to get done that I am not particularly fond of. PaperWORK is at the top of that list. It seems like there is a never ending pile that multiples with wild abandon. If they were dollar bills, I'd be a millionaire!
Next to the keyboard was a blob of polymer clay. Cat hair was sticking to it and I'm sure there was a seed bead or two stuck in the surface. I had a few leftover chunks laying around from my last Inspired by Reading creation and some molds that I had carved. And there was temptation. I had hours of work still to do, but there were these pieces of clay looking at me... begging me to pick them up.
I had no plan. I just picked one of them up and started conditioning it while I worked on some emails. And then... the Hatchling was born. It wasn't as quick as all that, but I kept adding to it and adding to it.
Here is the front and back of the Hatchling. It's constructed from polymer clay with a wire armature and a few screws and some vintage glass pearls for the eyes.
Before I knew it, the sun was coming up. There was a strange satisfaction in the piece that I made. There wasn't a purpose or a reason. I just made it because I wanted to. In between the multiple baking times and the cooling down, I did a little work, but I was happily creating and nothing else mattered.
Here are the side views of the Hatchling. I looked at pictures of baby birds of prey and reptiles. In all of the pictures, the feet always seemed impossibly big and the eyes incredibly round. The wide foot stance definitely helps distribute the weight and for a piece that's composed of polymer clay.
I still have a lot to do before it's finished. I have to prime and paint the sculpture and coat the eyes. The vintage glass pearls started to bubble after the sixth baking. While they seem large and vacuous, I didn't want them to chip or off-gas and distort the clay. Once the piece is painted, I'll perhaps pour a light coating of resin to make the eyes really pop and shine.
It felt good again to just make something that wasn't for something else. I create scenarios for myself where I have to create things on a regular basis to keep the creative juices flowing, but sometimes it's just better to let things develop as they would naturally. Sometimes it's good to let ideas hatch.
After a particularly stressful day, I stepped out on the porch. It was surprisingly cool and I instantly regretted not taking a walk earlier in the day to enjoy the distinctively nice weather. Soon it'll be too hot and muggy to enjoy a leisurely stroll without getting overly sticky.
As I thought about my day and all the things I didn't do that I wanted to do, I noticed how bright it was outside (after 9PM) and looked up. I saw the moon, looking like a glowing egg precariously balanced in the loose clutches of some straggly branches.
Before I realized I was even doing it, I was laughing. I was laughing at myself... or maybe at the moon... or maybe at the mental image of an awkward bird poking its head from the Egg Moon. I don't know. Perhaps this was a grade A example of lunacy.
What I do know is that I work a lot. It seems like I am always in the middle of something and trying to make something happen. And while I enjoy what I do for the most part, there are days when it seems harder than usual or necessary. Over the years, I've learned to cut myself a little more slack... I've come to terms that I can only do so much and there are limitations to what I can accomplish. It's a hard concept to come to terms with, especially for a workaholic like myself. I have to remind myself of this simple fact every now and then to keep it fresh in my mind.
I think where the friction arises comes from the intersection of my own expectations of myself and those of others. For example, I expect my friends and colleagues to be loyal or that they won't take advantage of me or that the work I do is not in vain. I hold them to the same principles that I hold myself to. And I know that it's stupid.
"Expectation breeds disappointment." This was a lesson that I was taught early on. In her thick Filipino accent, my mother constantly said, "Don't count the chicks before the eggs hatch." With this logic, I could wait all the rest of the nights of my life for the Egg Moon to hatch, but it never will.
The message I took away from my moment out on deck wasn't to abandon hope and retire to the loony bin. It was that if there is something that I want or there is something that I feel is important to express, I have to be the one to do it... I have to be the one to say it. I can't expect others to want to do what I feel is right. I can't expect someone to care about what I care about. I can't expect others to acknowledge my feelings without expressing them first. Bottling everything up only hurts me and there's no room for growth or a way to alleviate a situation. I can't change anyone else. I can only change myself and my expectations.
The Egg Moon will only hatch when I give life to the little fledging within. The bird of my imagination can only take flight if I give it wings and allow it to soar. Wishing and waiting for something that will never be is only a lesson in frustration.
Are you participating in the June installment of the Inspired by Reading Book Club? The next blog hop is Tuesday, June 25th! Our selection for June is "Bucolic Plague" by Josh Kilmer-Purcell. It's a charming and funny story of two Manhattanites who become gentleman farmers! Even if you don't plan to participate in creating a piece inspired by the book, I definitely recommend this book!
Our next book is, "The Cookbook Collector" by Allegra Goodman. If you are interested in seeing the complete list for the year, CLICK HERE.
We're so excited to invite Jan Durkin as a teacher to Allegory Gallery! This will be her first time teaching at our store and the second class to be held at the Annex! She will be teaching how to make a Woven Wire Bezel Pendant. Aren't they pretty? I think this makes a really stylish and elegant pendant.
To find out more about the class, CLICK HERE. If you're interested in signing up, you can do so online or in-person at our East Main Street location.
We were fortunate enough to have Pittsburgh-based writer and blogger, Melissa Firman to join us for the June installment of Words in Process. I enjoyed this event immensely. Amy Yanity has done such a great job of organizing a roster of interesting and diverse writers to feature. It is nice to see this little project developing and witness the intimate and encouraging atmosphere it creates. We are truly lucky to live in an area with so many creative people!
Here's a picture of Amy introducing Melissa.
Melissa read some excerpts from her forthcoming "new adult" novel and talked about the synergy between her blog and her writing process. What she read gave me shivers.
Melissa also offered advice on promoting one's book with the internet and blogging.
The second half of Words in Process is an open mic. The audience is encouraged to share their work and their process. It was interesting to see that all of the readers have a blog. Amy opened the floor with two poems, one silly and one sad. CLICK HERE to check out her blog.
Up next was Tom Beck. He shared a funny story about a detective on vacation. CLICK HERE to view his blog.
After Tom went, Joe Stierheim shared a piece from a forthcoming novel set in the Appalachia about a girl with blue eyes. CLICK HERE to take a look at his blog.
Suzannah Paul shared a piece from her blog called, "The Mother of Exiles". CLICK HERE to see more of her work on her blog, The Smitten Word.
One of the highlights of the evening were the fabulous cupcakes made by Keith. He brought red velvet cupcakes flavored with chocolate liquor. The beautiful arrangement reminded me of a bouquet of hydrangea flowers.
The next Words in Process is on Tuesday, July 16th from 7PM to 9PM. Our next featured writer is Christina Springer. She is a poet and performance artist from Pittsburgh. Hope you can join us!
When I was growing up in Florida, there weren't as many opportunities to see art. (At least it seemed that way at the time. Coming from a working class family, there wasn't exactly a rush to see the latest exhibit.) One of the pieces that I did see at the local museum was by Georgia O'Keeffe and it was burnt in my subconscious. I painted dozens of big flowers floating over imaginary horizons. I wallpapered by grade school teacher's refrigerator with my imitations. It wasn't until much later that I discovered that Georgia O'Keeffe painted more than just flowers... and it revolutionized how I viewed art.
For this week's prompt, I decided to pick one of her skull paintings. To find out more about Georgia O'Keeffe's work, CLICK HERE. To find out more about this particular painting, CLICK HERE.
"From the Faraway, Nearby" by Georgia O'Keeffe, 1938, 36 X 40.125 inches.
You have until the next Flash Fire Challenge prompt goes up on Monday, June 24th to complete your piece.
I made this piece for the Flash Fire Challenge AND as a commission for a customer. She saw me working with the Frida Kahlo component (I had it laid out with some other beads) and said that she wanted it! Two birds with one stone!
I used the Now That's a Jig! to create the organic armature of the bib-style necklace. I then wired the beads she selected in tones of yellow and green into the open tracery.
It fits her personality. She likes big and bold jewelry.
Ever have a Reese's Cup moment when designing a piece of jewelry? Lisa is sharing her latest.
A pretty pattern on a bag prompted the design for a new necklace.
ABS editor, Tari, selects Susan McClelland's quirky, art bead-filled design for her Designer of the Week piece. Check out Susan's gorgeous necklace!
Aren't found objects fun? Join Cyndi to see what she does with ceramic insulators!
Don't you love when a new tool does your job for you? I cut all my felt necklace parts with one pass in the eBosser.
You can replicate the look of kiln fired clay with air drying resin clay and brass stencils!
Jean previews an exciting blog hop and reveal hosted by Carmi Cimicata, using Dazzle-it's great new Chinese Knotting book by Fernando DaSilva! Come see the excitement!
Andrew created a pair of summery earrings for a customer. Check them out!
It has been a long road getting the Annex ready. It started with a conversation and slowly grew into something real. We still have a lot of work to do to get it just right, but it'll take time to learn the needs of the space and adjust accordingly.
Here are some of the pictures of space in process.
It basically started out as a storage unit for the building. It became a repository for all the leftover construction materials and random pieces of furniture left by previous tenants.
This is what will be the future internet office. Notice the faux wood paneling and stained wallpaper.
It's hard to tell from this picture, but we selected this place for the space. It doesn't look like much, but we've poured a lot of energy into transforming it from a dumping ground into a classroom.
After we cleared the junk out, we had to remove the wallpaper. It was coming up in sections and it had absorbed 40 years worth of odors and smells.
We tried to keep tidy while we were working and ended up clearing the space out periodically.
The next step was to prime the wood paneling and the walls. We wanted the space to feel light and bright.
Another challenge came in the form of the ceiling. The acoustic tiles that line it also soaked up smells and was a dingy yellow color. We had to paint it.
This is a picture of my studio. It was during the wallpaper scraping process.
Here is the space after we went over the primer and added the accent color to the wainscoting. I also cleaned the window (which was filthy and covered in duct tape residue) and hung drapes.
This image also shows some of our furniture. We still need to soundproof the side wall, change out the lights, get more equipment (like a TV screen and a camera to help blow up and demonstrate smaller projects). Little by little, it has come along and will continue to improve.
I still need to move my studio into the space and unpack, but this is a quick snapshot of what the studio looks like after the wallpaper was removed and the walls were painted. I wanted something bright and bold. I liked this saturated blue green and thought that it was very invigorating.
The new art exhibition on the Project Wall at Allegory Gallery is now up! It's an AMAZING show and I hope that you'll take a few moments to either stop in and check it out in person or take a look at it online. I have posted the entire show to the online shop. CLICK HERE to view the artwork and if you're so inclined, you can also purchase Diane's amazing artwork there as well.
The show is simply charming. Diane has a knack for transforming everyday items and found objects into a tribe of whimsical characters. Diane gives life to each of her creations and imparts definite personalities to each of the members of this fantastical society of nature-inspired hanging sculptures.
We will also be hosting a creative writing contest based on the "Spirits of the Earth Tribe". Details will be posted shortly.
Last night, we hosted Open Table Tuesday at Allegory Gallery. It's an informal gathering where you can create in a group setting. There's no fee. There's no instruction. It's just good solid making amongst other creative minds.
Before we had the store, I was acutely aware of the solitude my practice as an artist created. I would champ at the bit for the next big show or art event, so that I could see "people of my tribe". There's just something magical that happens when you get a group of creative people together. When the doors of our space finally opened, I knew that I wanted to offer an event like this. Gina Chalfant and Karen Shablik encouraged me to host the event and told me stories about their own experiences with groups like this. I didn't know how it would go and honestly, the first couple attempts were a little sad. But eventually things started to shape up and develop.
Last night was a wonderful evening; lots of laughs and show-and-tells. I'm really pleased that this project is taking off and people are coming out every second Tuesday to leave their cares behind and have a good time.
A customer came in the other day and fell in love with the jadeite-colored Czech glass teardrop beads. She wanted me to make a pair of earrings for her that were dangly and fun. I wrapped-wrapped the beads onto a chain and hung them from simple earwires. I think they're perfectly "summer"!
Not too long ago, I was looking up some of the famous artists who had been through this area. One of them was Frida Kahlo, who stayed at Falling Water! After finding that out, I brought out all the art books and looked at her paintings again and played Julie Taymoor's biopic about the artist repeatedly. So for this week's challenge, I decided to feature a painting by Frida Kahlo. To find out more about Frida's work, CLICK HERE. To find out more about this painting, CLICK HERE.
"Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird" by Frida Kahlo, 1940, 16 X 24 inches.
You have until the next Flash Fire Challenge prompt goes up on Monday, June 17th to complete your piece. Have fun and I can't wait to see what you make!


Blue Skies Again is a 1983 American comedy film directed by Richard Michaels and written by Kevin Sellers. The film stars Harry Hamlin, Mimi Rogers, Kenneth McMillan, Robyn Barto, Dana Elcar and Joseph Gian. The film was by Warner Bros. released on April 29, 1983.


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Ћирилометодијевистике је део славистике и истовремено је суштина славистике као интердисциплинарно развојно истраживање. Њен истраживачки предмет је живот и дјела Ћирила и Методија у свим својим савременим и научним димензијама, укључујући и оне ученика Климент у Охриду, а Наум до 893. године у Плиски и Преславу.

Главне истраживачке теме курса су појава и ширење глагољицом и ћирилицом.

Извори

Литература

Портал
 Портал за кирилометодиевистика

Види још
 Старословенски језик
 Српска редакција старословенског језика
 Хрватска редакција старословенског језика - Хрватскословенски језик
 Словеначка редакција старословенског језика
 Руска редакција старословенског језика
 Чешка редакција старословенског језика

Ћирилометодијевистике

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Home Culture Theater UniverSoul Circus at State Fair Grounds
UniverSoul Circus at State Fair Grounds
by Russ Bickerstaff
UniverSoul celebrates 20 years in existence with a performance a tour that comes to town this month. The multicultural, multinational, blend of music, theater and circus arts makes it to the Wisconsin State Fairgrounds on 640 S. 84th St. in West Allis Sept. 17 - 21. What had started as a dream to put together a single evening of entertainment for a full family continues into its third decade with interactive theatrical performances that mix circus arts with Pop, Classic R&B, Latin, Hip Hop, Jazz and Gospel music.
For more information on the circus, visit them online.
Here's a look at what they do courtesy of YouTube:
Curtains Wisconsin State Fair Theater Music Demetri Martin
Russ Bickerstaff
Russ Bickerstaff is a theater critic and aspiring author living on the south side with his wife and two daughters.
Read more by Russ Bickerstaff

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Early Child Development Center at Island University Celebrates 20 Years of Excellence
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Music renditions, string performances, art exhibitions and campus tours! Those were some of the highlights at the 20th anniversary celebration of the Blanche Davis Moore Early Child Development Center (ECDC) at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, held in the ECDC library on Dec. 9.
The ECDC is an elementary school serving students K-3 through sixth grade and is jointly operated by the Corpus Christi Independent School District (CCISD) and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. One of ECDC's many attractions is that the school presents its entire curriculum via dual language instruction. This means enrolled students get the advantage of becoming bilingual, as half of instructional time is in English while the other half is in Spanish.
"We're excited about our 20-year anniversary," said Dr. Criselda Castillo, Principal of the ECDC. "When this school was established, it had a mission to develop children who are proficient in English and Spanish as part of the dual language program. I believe we have been successful in this venture."
Roman Deleon, a sixth grade student at the ECDC, couldn't agree more and gushed about his school and teachers.
"I love my school. I can't believe it has been here for 20 years," said Deleon. "I like how nice the teachers are here and how we are like one big family."
It's not surprising to hear the ECDC students give their school glowing remarks. Last year, the ECDC was recognized as a Texas Honor Roll school and students have recorded outstanding marks on their State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) tests.
"We continue to thrive, not only in the dual-language program, but also in the arts as well," said Castillo. "I always hear positive feedback from colleagues about ECDC students, even well after their graduation."
Dr. Frank Lucido, Professor of Education at the Island University, who also works with the ECDC, believes the dual-language program is the greatest accomplishment achieved by the school.
"The Spanish-speaking students, who come here with knowledge of only their home language, are fully literate in English by the second grade," said Lucido. "That's a great accomplishment because in most other schools, it takes children several more years to become biliterate."
Faculty Center Lactation Room Adds to Campus Options for Nursing Moms
Wed, October 23, 2019
Three-Time Islander Alumnus, Now Doctoral Candidate, Pens Children's Book
Tue, October 22, 2019


Damage from an explosion at the Meridian plant in Strathroy, October 22, 2018. Photo courtesy of Greg McClinchey.
The Ministry of Labour and the Ontario Fire Marshal's Office are investigating after an explosion at a magnesium diecast manufacturing plant in Strathroy.
Emergency crews, including firefighters from stations in Strathroy and Mount Brydges, were called to the Meridian plant on High Street East around 7 p.m. Monday. It's believed a piece of machinery had caught fire, leading to the explosion.
"As explosions go, I suppose it was a minor explosion, but certainly enough to do some structural damage to Plant A – the diecast plant," said Strathroy-Caradoc CAO Greg McClinchey.
Two employees who were hit by falling debris were treated for minor injuries.
An exact damage estimate has not been released. The plant, one of three in Strathroy owned by Meridian, was closed Tuesday with no word on when it will re-open.
McClinchey said he isn't speculating on what may have caused the explosion.
"We can only report what our firefighters saw, so we will leave that to the Fire Marshal's office and the investigators to determine what the actual cause was," said McClinchey.


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The Advisory Group oversees a model of robust member engagement and reports on that engagement to the Board of Trustees. The Advisory Group reviews proposals submitted by the Assemblies, along with other groups that report to it, and passes to the Board those which it believes would meaningfully contribute to CTBUH's mission. Advisory Group members and the committees in which they participate are largely taken from the Designated Expert pool of CTBUH organizational members.
The Advisory Group is composed of 12 assembly chairs; three regional representatives, taken from chapters, regional/city committees, and regional representatives; eight functional committee chairs; and three discretionary seats, as determined by the Board of Trustees.
Qualifications and Roles
Members Milestones Qualifications and Roles
* To see 12 Assemblies, view full CTBUH Leadership Structure
Angela Chang
President, Taipei Financial Center Corporation
Taipei, China
Don Davies
President, Magnusson Klemencic Associates
Seattle, United States
Jerry Jackson
Vice President – Architecture, Engineering, Construction, Dassault Systèmes
Managing Principal, Perkins & Will
De Ming (Derry) Yu
Assistant Project Director - Construction, Suncity Group Holdings
James Zheng
President & Co-CEO, Goettsch Partners
CTBUH Poised for Growth: New Volunteer Opportunities and Leadership Changes
CTBUH would like to tell you about a pivotal new model for the organization that is more member-driven and offers greater opportunities for a broader range of members to make a meaningful difference in the Council's activities.
Advisory Group Convenes at 2018 Middle East Conference
The CTBUH Advisory Group had the opportunity to meet at the 2018 Middle East Conference to further hone the core mission of the group and its role in the success of the Council.
Four New Chapters Formed in 2018
In 2018, CTBUH established four new Chapters in Hong Kong, Philadelphia, Scandinavia and Seattle, more than have ever been established in a single year.
TAIPEI 101 Hosts "Global Tall: Trends, Drivers and Challenges"
TAIPEI 101 hosted an event called "Global Tall: Skyscraper Trends, Drivers and Challenges" to discuss the global trends of skyscraper construction, the forum saw valued guests from industry participants, government agencies and academia, including: CTBUH Advisory Board member Joseph Chou and CTBUH Executive Director Antony Wood.
Additional Members Sought for CTBUH Advisory Group
The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat has opened a call for additional Advisory Group Members
CTBUH Seattle Fall Forum
CTBUH Seattle held its 2017 Fall Forum, kindly hosted by CallisonRTKL, on the topic of Building Resiliency & Design Optimization.
How are Cities Responding to Urbanism?
CTBUH Australia held its first national symposium in Brisbane entitled "How are Cities Responding to Urbanism?" where both local and international speakers presented, including Board member Ahmed Abdelrazaq.
Call for New Leaders
Contribute to one of CTBUH's Leader Groups to help us further our important mission! The Council seeks colleagues with a range of skills to support our valuable initiatives.
Fire & Life Safety Workshop, Shanghai 2014
The Fire & Life Safety Working Group hosted a productive technical workshop at the 2014 Shanghai Conference joined by CTBUH Advisory Board member Simon Lay. Among the top concerns raised by the audience discussion was the issue of fire safety for social housing environments. .
CTBUH Names New Fellows
Johannes de Jong, KONE, and Peter Weismantle, Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture, have been named Fellows.
CTBUH Advisory Group Member Takes Up Presidency of SFPE
CTBUH Advisory Group member Carl F. Baldassarra, PE, FSFPE takes the office as President of the Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE) for 2014.
Samsung Senior Exec Presents on Tall-Building Tech Advances
Over 60 people attended a presentation by Ahmad Abdelrazaq, CTBUH Board member and Head of Samsung's High-Rise and Complex Building Division, on using technology in building construction.
Board of Trustees Names Two Fellows
Two individuals have been named as Fellows of the CTBUH: Ahmad Abdelrazaq of Samsung C&T Corporation and Felino Palafox Jr. of Palafox Associates.
CTBUH India: High-rise Building Technology
CTBUH Chairman Timothy Johnson, of NBBJ, and CTBUH Advisory Group Member Ahmad Abdelrazaq, of Samsung, recently spoke at a CTBUH seminar on building technology.
CTBUH Makes New Leader Appointments
The Council is pleased to announce the appointment of two new members to the Board of Trustees, Dennis Poon and Steve Watts.
Advisory Group Qualifications and Roles
Advisory Group leaders and committee members are drawn chiefly from the Designated Experts of CTBUH organizational members in good standing. Volunteers should:
Have a record of professional accomplishment relating to the inception, design, research, construction, occupation,or operation of the built environment.
Maintain the highest ethical standing in the industry.
Advocate for, and work to grow, the Council and support programs to serve members.
Advance the international scope and diversity of the Council.
Functional Committees Reporting to Advisory Group
Academic, Teaching and Research: Facilitates the sharing of teaching and research practices from tall building and urban programs among CTBUH members.
Awards Juries: Determines award winning projects across multiple categories for the annual Tall and Urban Innovation Award Conference, held between April-May.
Equity, Diversity,and Inclusion: Advocates for greater equity, diversity,and inclusion within the industry and the built environment.
Editorial and Expert Peer Review: Ensures that information in CTBUH publications, research and products have accurate information and are aligned with CTBUH policies and stances.
Future Leaders: Builds the pipeline for the next generation of CTBUH leaders.
Height and Data: Reviews the latest developments in the tall building industry for possible additions or revisions to the official criteria used to define, measure,and study tall buildings.
Programs: Determines themes and programming for conferences and other educational events.
Regional Representation: Includes the network of members active in local and regional activities on behalf of CTBUH.
Terms and Time Commitment
Volunteers serve a three-year term.
Depending on the role, volunteers may spend between 2-10 hours per month on CTBUH business. Those serving in leadership roles should expect the commitment to be on the higher end of the range; those participating in assemblies and topical committees will be on the lower end of the range. During certain times of the year, such as during annual or awards conferences, this time commitment may be greater.
Questions? Please contact the CTBUH Membership Department, [email protected].


text:
A Revolutionary Idea To Reduce Plastic Bottle Waste
By Joelle Renstrom | 7 years ago
By now, most of us have been programmed to recycle. I don't really think about it anymore, except to notice when recycling bins aren't around and I have to sheepishly chuck a water bottle or yogurt container in the trash. Actually, I feel guilty simply for buying bottled water, as I should really be carrying around a reusable water bottle with me. Plastic bottles, mostly from bottled water, comprise a huge amount of waste all across the globe. In 2008, the European Union, which is generally regarded as more environmentally friendly than the U.S., shipped over 13 million tons of plastic bottles to landfills. In 2012, Americans generated 32 million tons of plastic waste. Here in the U.S., plastic accounts for about 13% of solid waste, largely because only about 9% of plastics are recycled. So if recycling isn't the answer, or at least not the only answer, what else can we do?
Here's a radical idea: let's eat those plastic water bottles.
It's an idea that's so crazy, it just might work. Or so thinks Skipping Rocks Lab, which recently won a 2014 Lexus Design Award. The Lab's founders, students at the Royal College of Art and Imperial College London, use something they call "Ooho," an edible gel that can hold water thanks to a cooking method called spherification, which involves creating a caviar-like sphere out of liquids. Pretty much any liquid can be made into a sphere (or more commonly, a bunch of tiny spheres), using this method. Folks who have watched Top Chef may have seen something like this on episodes featuring contestants who practice molecular gastronomy.
The difference here is that the spheres need to be bigger than caviar if they're going to contain enough water to drink. That's where Ooho comes in. The design students who developed it use a double membrane and frozen water, which allows an Ooho sphere to contain about one liter of water. The double membrane also prevents contamination and allows for the possibility of putting a label between the two membranes. The membrane is also much stronger than it looks — one of the designers likens it to the "skin of a fruit," and they've made spheres so thick that they could actually bounce.
The gel enclosing the water is made from calcium chloride and brown algae, and while it's safe to eat, it's understandable that people might not want to. But that's not a problem — the sphere is biodegradable. In its current incarnation, it's "very easy to make" (you can even make them at home), but there are a few hurdles, such as the one-use nature of the spheres — there's no way to reseal them. And despite the strength of the membrane, if the spheres were to be mass produced, they'd need to be stronger to withstand shipping, as well as contain foods or liquids other than water. And they're a little slurpy to use, but hey, we're all willing to dribble for the sake of the environment, right?
Earthquakes: Risk Of A Big San Andreas Quake Now 3 Times More Likely
A Massive Black Hole Is Devouring A Sun A Day And It's Still Growing
Aliens Visited Earth In 2017 According To A Harvard Professor
Glowing UFO Spotted Over Hawaii By Multiple Witnesses


text:
Temario JAPA, 51, 3 (2003)
Autor: Aperturas Psicoanalíticas
JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN PSYCHOANALYTIC ASSOCIATION
___________________________________________________________________ Volume 51 2003 Number 3
Linda C. Mayes
Partnering with the neurosciences
PLENARY ADDRESS
Sydney E. Pulver
On the astonishing clinical irrelevance of neuroscience
Manfred E. Beutel, Emily Stern, and David A. Silbersweig
The emerging dialogue between psychoanalysis and neuroscience: neuroimaging perspectives
Marcia Cavell
The social character of thinking
Arnold Wilson
Ghosts of paradigms past: The once and future evolution of psychoanalytic thought
Richard M. Gottlieb
Psychosomatic medicine: The divergent legacies of Freud and Janet
Karlen Lyons-Ruth
Dissociation and the parent-infant dialogue: A longitudinal perspective from attachment research
Richard K. Hertel
Analyzing the traumatic impact of childhood visual impairment
PANEL REPORTS
Jonathan Dunn
Have we changed our view of the unconscious in contemporary clinical work?
Kathleen A. Lyon
Unconscious fantasy: Its scientific status and clinical utility
Leo Jaffe / Joshua Ehrlich
JAPA REVIEW OF BOOKS
To Subscribe to JAPA call 1-800-627-0629
Postmaster: Send address changes to Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association, The Analytic Press, Inc., 101 West Street, Hillsdale, NJ 07642.
Periodicals postage paid at Lawrence, KS.
E-mail: JAPAmail@aol.com
Sponsored Links : No Frills Flyer, Food Basics Flyer, Valu-Mart Flyer, Rexall Flyer, IGA Flyer


We'll wager that this spacious restaurant and bar was originally intended as a different kind of "nightlife option." Sure, Live Sports has plenty going for it as a sports bar: The TVs are big and show a variety of sports; there are more drink options than you'll know what to do with (who orders ouzo at a sports bar?); and the food's pretty good. But this place was designed for stripping. There's an unused stage in the main room, and upstairs there's a private area with couches. All that's missing is a pole. It's fun to sit in one of the huge booths, enjoy a Rockets game and imagine the perfect sports-watching environment.


text:
Q: replace with fade effect I want to replace an .image with some text, I can do that with following code:
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But how can I remove the .image with the the fadeOut effect and then replace it?
I have tried following but it doesn't work.
$(this).parents().find(".image").fadeOut().replaceWith('some text');

A: You can pass in a callback function to some jQuery functions to call that function when it has done doing things defined in itself. Go ahead and search if .fadeOut method accepts callback function. If it does, then replace your image with text in that function. Actually, it does.
$(this).parents().find(".image").fadeOut(1000, function() {
    $(this).replaceWith('some text');
});

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Bellingham is a unique place where small business is celebrated and the concept of buying local and buying from your neighbors is espoused. When Katie's Cupcakes went on the famed show, Cupcake Wars, all of Bellingham collectively held their breath. It was thrilling to have our little town on the map for our delicious eats. Katie's Cupcakes did a celebration party for their episode and served all four of the cupcakes from the show.
My awesome assistant, Kristen, and I went with friends. She and I are united in our love of all things cupcakes (despite being perpetually on a healthy food eating plan) and when we found out we could buy tickets to this special event, we were all in.
The evening did not disappoint. I never thought (in a million years) that I could be cupcake'd out but after 4 **full-sized** cupcakes (full-sized, people, full-sized!), I felt physically ill. It was not the fault of the cupcakes. They were AMAZING (psst: if you're in Bellingham, or want to make the drive, they're serving 4 packs of the winning cupcakes for 1 more week. You can pre-order them here but you have to order by Thursday).
The best part about the night was the Q&A session. Of course, I wanted to know all about the behind-the-scenes. I've done enough TV to know that there are lots of interesting little background stories to get the show looking as good as possible and Katie and her assistant did not disappoint in sharing some of the fascinating and surprising behind-the-scenes. I raised my hands what felt like a gazillion times and asked lots of questions (everything from, 'who pays for the flights?' to 'do they provide all the ingredients?' to 'do they coach you to answer questions a certain way?'). We're sworn to secrecy for the answers but I'll just say that both Kristen and I were wowed by Katie's answers and her humble, hard-working nature. It came through clearly and we are so proud that she's a Bellinghamster! I hope you had a great weekend – this week is looking crazy fun at work and I am excited to get back to soap.
Oh what a fun experience and sounds like it was a wonderful night.
I think that all "reality tv"/TLC shows are scripted… Why do they call it that anyway? They should call it phony-ality. My aunt found out that a lady who did a "CakeBoss" episode said that it was scripted. They made her act snobby, demanding, & miserable…not to mention ruin her cake by squirting various colors of icing all over it when they brought her upstairs to look at it. I think it's season 1 "bridezilla" or similarly titled if anybody wants to see it.
My cousin did cake/cupcake decorating for a while. Family birthdays, a bridesmaid party, friends birthdays…she did a great job! Might have her make my bday cake! Now my mouth is watering for those cupcakes…(drool lol) I need to stop all this talk abt sugary sweets. Haha!
I loved Bellingham when we visited. You are very lucky to be there and have family close by. I would love the cupcake with the cookie in it…oh to dream!
Wish I could be there, it sounds fun! Especially the Q&A session.
It was definitely the best part of the evening!


text:
APS mulling schedule change
Updated: 11:36 AM MST Feb 27, 2015
Megan Cruz
General Assignment Reporter
The newsroom phones have been ringing off the hook with parents concerned their children would be losing some classes because of the cost of implementing the controversial PARCC exam in Albuquerque Public Schools.They heard the district was thinking about eliminating courses, including the arts, in order to cut costs next year.Action 7 News went straight to the president of the APS school board for answers. President Analee Maestas said no electives will be cut next year."We're not going to allow that to happen because we do value the fine arts," she said.But, she say students' schedules could be changing. Right now, APS has what's called a block schedule."With the block schedule, students meet twice a week, and if you miss one class in a block schedule, you've basically have missed half a week of instruction," said Maestas.Maestas says officials are weighing some different scheduling formats that would have students take each subject every day. She says it's not about saving money. It's to address the district's declining graduation rate, which fell to 62.5 percent last year, from 68.7 percent the year before."We are concerned," she said.The entire school board will discuss the different schedule options at its meeting Friday morning. Action 7 News will be there to tell you how your child's schedule may change.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. —
The newsroom phones have been ringing off the hook with parents concerned their children would be losing some classes because of the cost of implementing the controversial PARCC exam in Albuquerque Public Schools.
They heard the district was thinking about eliminating courses, including the arts, in order to cut costs next year.
Action 7 News went straight to the president of the APS school board for answers. President Analee Maestas said no electives will be cut next year.
"We're not going to allow that to happen because we do value the fine arts," she said.
But, she say students' schedules could be changing. Right now, APS has what's called a block schedule.
"With the block schedule, students meet twice a week, and if you miss one class in a block schedule, you've basically have missed half a week of instruction," said Maestas.
Maestas says officials are weighing some different scheduling formats that would have students take each subject every day. She says it's not about saving money. It's to address the district's declining graduation rate, which fell to 62.5 percent last year, from 68.7 percent the year before.
"We are concerned," she said.
The entire school board will discuss the different schedule options at its meeting Friday morning. Action 7 News will be there to tell you how your child's schedule may change.


text:
Contractual penalty clauses: Supreme Court clarifies the law
Kennedys Law LLP
United Kingdom December 15 2015
Cavendish Square Holding BV v El Makdessi; ParkingEye Ltd v Beavis [04.11.15]
Supreme Court holds that clauses in question are enforceable; guidance provided in relation to the application of the penalty rule.
The Supreme Court has considered the often criticised rule for differentiating between liquidated damages clauses (LADs) and unenforceable penalty clauses. While its judgment stops short of radical change, it provides welcome guidance for future application.
As a result of this judgment, employers may propose higher damages figures at the contract negotiation stage where justified by some legitimate interest. Contractors will need to consider when to push back and should ask employers to outline the grounds on which they justify their figures.
The judgment reaffirms that where parties are properly advised and of comparable bargaining power, there should be a strong initial presumption that they are the best judges of what is legitimate. This tips the balance back in favour of freedom of contract and courts may be less inclined to interfere with agreed terms in future.
While further guidance is awaited, it is worth considering the following questions when negotiating LADs:
Is there a legitimate interest? Contractors should be wary of agreements where the employer's interest in performance goes beyond the purely financial. Projects with a reputational risk, for example, might see employers seeking to agree greater damages amounts.
Is the proposed amount out of all proportion to the legitimate interest? InParkingEye, the appellant was charged £85 for exceeding the parking limit by one hour. While it is highly unlikely that anyone would expect to pay £85 for an hour of parking, it was deemed reasonable in the circumstances. The extent of the innocent party's interest will be a persuasive factor.
Has the clause been clearly drafted? The ruling has blurred the lines between primary and secondary obligations. It will be a 'matter of substance, not form' when assessing the true nature of a clause. We can expect judges to look past the drafting when determining whether a clause is either primary or secondary in nature.
The use of LADs is common practice in construction contracts. They provide for payment of a pre-determined damages amount in the event of a particular breach. Traditionally, the amount would need to be a genuine pre-estimate of the loss, otherwise it would be deemed an unenforceable penalty. This is commonly known as the penalty rule.
The existing rule was established in Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Co Ltd v New Garage and Motor Co Ltd [1914], which proposed four tests for identifying a penalty clause:
Is the penalty sum extravagant and unconscionable?
For non-payment breaches, is the penalty sum larger than the unpaid amount?
Is the penalty sum payable in a number of events of varying gravity?
A clause would not be penal only by reason that it was impossible to pre-estimate the true loss.
These conjoined appeals provided the Supreme Court with an opportunity to consider the application of the rule in both a commercial and consumer context. Cavendish related to a share sale agreement that sought to limit competition by the seller. ParkingEye centred on an £85 charge for overstayed parking.
In both cases, the Supreme Court concluded that the clauses were enforceable.
However, the most important part of the judgment relates to revisions to the penalty rule. The leading judgment described the existing rule as "an ancient, haphazardly constructed edifice which has not weathered well". The new test is to ask whether the clause is a secondary obligation which imposes a detriment on the contract breaker out of all proportion to any legitimate interest of the innocent party in the enforcement of the primary obligation.
This wording maintains the position that the rule will only apply to secondary obligations. Its purpose is to regulate the remedies available when a breach of a primary obligation occurs, not the primary obligations themselves. In addition, the proportionality element acknowledges that the four tests in Dunlop still have a part to play when assessing straightforward damages clauses. The real change is that such proportionality will now be assessed against the "legitimate interest" of the innocent party.
The Court accepted the concept established by recent authorities that an innocent party's interest in performance of a primary obligation may extend beyond compensation. Where some other commercial justification exists, a clause will not fall foul of the penalty rule purely because a genuine pre-estimate of the loss is exceeded. The new test will be to weigh this and other factors, such as the commercial background, against the innocent party's interest and determine whether the amount is justified in all circumstances.
Kennedys Law LLP - Conor Rodgers
Liquidated damages
Limiting and disclaiming liability: one clause can make all the difference *
Employers may reserve the right to unilaterally amend employees' contracts of employment *
Recent cases have clarified the rules about what evidence is admissible in court *
Reservation of rights: failing to reserve rights may cost insurers dearly *
Harris v Perry and Perry *
Related United Kingdom articles
Case update on penalty clauses *
Cavendish and ParkingEye win 2-0 on penalties *
Cavendish Square Holding BV v Makdessi : ParkingEye Ltd v Barry Beavis (2015) *
From NEC3 to NEC4: 'evolution not revolution'? * - Hong Kong
Hong Kong Court of Appeal takes a practical view on the penalties rule upholding a liquidated damages clause * - Hong Kong
Enforceable liquidated damages clause or unenforceable penalty clause? Court of Appeal finds the former in recent case * - Hong Kong
Jeremy Mitchell
" The articles are of a good quality. I often print out articles or otherwise note them for bringing to the attention of my colleagues. I find Lexology a helpful and enjoyable update on current issues and would like to continue reading it."


The January 2014 Executive Board Meeting Minutes have been posted.
The December 2013 Executive Board Meeting Minutes have been posted.
The November 2013 Executive Board Meeting Minutes have been posted.
This is a personal invitation for our IPMS membership to attend the 2014 National Convention celebrating the 50th Anniversary of IPMS. It describes the program we are planning and the local attractions in the Tidewater, Virginia area.
The October 2013 Executive Board Meeting Minutes have been posted.


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Website written, designed and developed by Jerry McTigue.
Copyright 2018 Gerard G. McTigue. All Rights Reserved.


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Itt is pH neutral so it will help both acidic and alkaline soils. It will also improve your soil tilth, whether it's sandy or clay. The organic material contained in it adds nutrients to the soil, makes the soil more hospitable to beneficial organisms, and improves drainage-even as it helps to retain precious moisture.
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If you have anything that you'd like to ask then please get in touch. You can use our live chat feature on the side of each page (desktop only). Got a question? Ask away! If it's not as urgent, you can also send an email to the address below and we'll get back to you as soon as we can. This is usually within 24 hours (Monday to Friday). In the rare instance that it is slightly longer please bear with us and we will get to you as soon as we can.
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Back in March 2013 a bug appeared on Myki equipment across the Melbourne tram network – readers rejecting user input while stuck displaying an "In service" message onscreen. A few months on, they seem to have fixed part of problem – but missed a more important one.
How to tow a broken down bus?
I've written before about people trying to drive down Melbourne's supposedly car-free Swanston Street, but the traffic jam I found yesterday in the Bourke Street Mall really makes me wonder how stupid some drivers are.
On the weekend Victoria switched over the daylight savings time. Meanwhile on the railways, they have some trouble of their own keeping track of time.


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Dogecoins pouring in for Jamaican bobsled team
Here's how to Internet like a pro: Take a story that elicits images of a beloved movie from childhood ("Cool Runnings") and somehow find a way to mix that with Reddit's meme du jour (doge).
UPDATE: The team got funded. According to the official Crowdtilt donations page, some $120,000 has been raised.
Dogecoins represent a quarter of that total. The Dogecoin Foundation saw more than 27 million XDG donated, and all the activity actually doubled the value of the currency in about 24 hours. Given Dogecoin's instability these last two days, the foundation actually had to exchange the money into Bitcoin before a donation in USD could be made.
The planets aligned this weekend, as the Jamaican bobsled team qualified for the Olympics in Sochi.
Forty-six-year-old (!) Winston Watts, half of the two-man bobsled team, has already made a reference to "Cool Runnings, the Second Generation" in an interview with UK newspaper The Telegraph.
What's more, Watts mentioned his team needs to raise money for the trip to Russia.
"In truth, we still don't really know at the moment if we'd even have enough funds or sponsorship to fly to Sochi itself for the Games itself," he told the newspaper. "It all depends. Our families need to be taken care of first. If there's no funding, who knows?"
The number to hit is $80 thousand.
And Reddit has already put a dent in that figure with Dogecoin donations alone.
At the time of writing, 4.2 million Dogecoins — or the equivalent of about $2900 — have been raised.
Dogecoin users who want to see Jamaican bobsledders in Sochi can donate to the following address: DCLmwBUiY9EE8ND6FYtDfbFsiQD8LAZvAZ
For other avenues of crowdfunding, keep an eye on Team Jamaica's Twitter account, at @JamaicaOlympics.
#Donations
#Jamaica
NFTs and crypto provide fundraising options for breast cancer awareness
Dogecoin-funded Jamaican bobsled team recovers lost equipment
Mark Cuban's Dallas Mavericks offer cashback rewards on Dogecoin purchases
US national figure skating body adopts Bitcoin donations


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SONG OF THE DAY: Ritmo Sabroso
Global diaspora of various beginnings combined with digital communications has made the world smaller while also not acknowledging the digital gaps that still exist and how there are always going to be shadows for the forgotten. Been thinking on what I am as a human, accepting my status as white male in America, yet also realizing I'm not entirely like a lot of other white males. Been thinking of myself as unwhite lately, because I'm externally identified as white, most certainly, but I try my best to not perpetuate a lot of that shit with my own actions. It's impossible to detach yourself from how others identify you, including systems built on biases which benefit you, but it's also very possible to actively not embrace that shit, and definitely you can do the work to not perpetuate the ugly side of that.
And yet I went to a home funeral yesterday, where we stood around the grave that the family dug, and they played a couple old bluegrass songs at the foothills of the Blue Ridge mountains, and there's a cultural context to all this for me – greater Appalachian roots which came from Scottish highlands… a common theme in the eastern half of the U.S. But also I'm a product of various immigrant diasporas – one quarter Polish with a variation on "fisher" surname, a quarter Scandinavian, part German-ish as filtered through Pennsylvania mountains… but standing at home-cooked funeral, outside, old folks playing old instruments, singing old songs about finally being free, it's all cultural at molecular and unexplainable level that's not evil. The history of globalization and empire and dominant cultures, even within the framework of racial divisions, is one where dominant cultures consumed and suppressed even other cultures within what we now see as the same.
It will be interesting to see how this shifts in the near future, now that we have these handheld devices that educate as well as delude us, and so many cultural things are cross-pollinating each other. And yet also, we're experiencing a vast superficial knowledge of more, while knowing deeply less. Someone once told me about the difference between knowing one square inch a mile deep, and one square mile an inch deep, and how superficial knowledge doesn't actually allow for root knowledge, and can easily be washed away. As I helped dig a grave this past week, I thought about that, as we dug shovelful by shovelful, down through the silt, luckily not too red clay, far deeper than one normally digs, because that's how deep you have to go for safe eternal resting space. I don't come from high and mighty people, despite the privilege I do have, and there's a lot of cultural pieces that were lost because of that. I knew drug culture better than people playing banjos, although there was crossover, like an old dude called Rocky Top who had drank himself out of Nashville who sat around the poker table at Tank's house where my folks went every weekend, picking songs. But I do know piecing it together, and how to get shit done when it needs to be done, rather than planning and talking and thinking about it forever.
Humanity is no more fucked now than it's ever been. But there's a lot of hard work that needs to be done. Not discussed and delegated and argued and talked over and hashed out and endless circles of discourse and spirals of power hierarchies that destroy actual collective work ever getting done. There's enough work for all of us to just get to doing in our own lives, daily. And that helps establish new cultures, new cross-pollinations that aren't appropriation or assimilation or suppression and oppression, but actual shared physical acts of working together. The arts falls into this as well, because the arts is the fun work you do after the hard work is done. And fuck man, nobody wants to just do the hard work seven days a week without doing the fun work too. Every somber Sunday morning needs a feral Saturday night. Life needs contrast in order to not be mundane to the point of just sitting around waiting for death. It feels a lot of times like our one inch deep knowledge of the square mile of today's existence is severely lacking, at least to me. But ain't shit to do about it except get to work going deeper.
Label Labyrinth: Appalachian studies, caveman molecules, Family Tree, global warming, Krupert's jukebox
SP4C3 0TH3RW1S3 W4ST3D BL3SS3D...
S1TT1N' 0N S0M3TH1NG FL4T, W1TH...
SONG OF THE DAY: Run Through It
P1CTVR3S 0F W1NT3R P0ST3D...
SONG OF THE DAY: Tahoultine
L3G3NDS 0F TH3 1LL3G1T...
TH3 G3NTR1FY1NG MVR4L...
C0NT3MPL4T1NG WH4T M0V1NG...
PR0GR3SS SL0WLY CL1MBS VPW4RD...
SONG OF THE DAY: Dirt Boys
N1H1L1SM SVGG3STS TH1S...
S4M3 GL0W1NG 0RB 1N TH3 SKY...
3C0N0M1C C0ND1T10NS...
MY C0LL3CT10N 0F H0M13S...
CH3CK1NG B4NK B4L4NC3 0NL1N3...
B0RN 1N 4 PL4C3 C4LL3D F4RMV1LL3...
SONG OF THE DAY: Going Home
1MM0B1L3 C4MP3R TR41L3RS...
W4W4 H4Z3LNVT C0FF33...
N3W-F4NGL3D HVG3 VNBL3M1SH3D...
WH1T3 QV4RTZ CHVNK TH3 S1Z3 0F MY...
BL3W 0FF 4 W0RK C0NF3R3NC3...
SONG OF THE DAY: Smooth Operator (Chopped Not Slop...
H0T3L H4LLW4Y C4RP3T1NG...
TH3 4L03 PL4NT H4S F41L3D T0...
T00K KVM1 Y4M4SH1T4...
N3TW0RKS 1N N4TVR4L S3NS3...
L1TTL3 G0LD R3S1N BVDDH4S...
B33CH TR33 SC4R1F1C4T10NS...
SONG OF THE DAY: Sausalito
C0NSVM3 4N 1D3NT1TY...


For the past thirty to forty years, cultural analysis has focused on developing terms to explain the surpassing of modernity. Discussion is stranded in an impasse between those who view the term modernity with automatic disdain-as deterministic, Eurocentric or imperialistic-and a booming interest that is renewing the study of modernism. Another dilemma is that the urge to move away from, or beyond, modernity arises because it is viewed as difficult, even unsavoury. Yet, there has always been a view of modernity as somehow difficult to live with, and that has been said by figures we regard today as typical modernists.
McNamara argues in this book that it is time to forget the quest to surpass modernity. Instead, we should re-examine a legacy that continues to inform our artistic conceptions, our political debates, our critical justifications, even if that legacy is baffling and contradictory. We may find it difficult to live with, but without recourse to this legacy, our critical-cultural ambitions would remain seriously diminished.
How do we explain the culture we live in today? And how do we, as citizens, make sense of it? This book suggests these questions have become increasingly difficult to answer.
Buy Surpassing Modernity by Andrew McNamara from Australia's Online Independent Bookstore, Boomerang Books.
Andrew McNamara is an art historian and Professor, Visual Arts at Queensland University of Technology, Australia. His publications include: Sweat-the subtropical imaginary (2011); An Apprehensive Aesthetic (2009); Modern Times: The Untold Story of Modernism in Australia, with Ann Stephen and Philip Goad (2008). He is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities.


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Home >Mint-lounge >Business-of-life >When my dining table was my headquarters
Utsav Bhattacharjee (left) of Reculta, an HR tech start-up, works out of his duplex apartment with his team. Photo: Pradeep Gaur/Mint
When my dining table was my headquarters
5 min read . Updated: 02 Oct 2018, 08:35 AM IST Rashmi Menon
Three start-up founders explain the challenges (and some joys) of going from the bedroom to the work station every single day
Separating work and personal life is a herculean task when you are building a company. But it gets even more challenging when your personal space becomes your work space too. This is a challenge a lot of start-up founders are familiar with, especially when they find that the first casualty of this inter-flow is the dining table which transforms into a workstation.
"It gets very difficult to bifurcate personal and work life because work hours stretch crazily, especially when it's peak season or delivery deadlines are looming," says Utsav Bhattacharjee, co-founder of Reculta, an HR tech start-up, who shares his three bedroom duplex apartment in Delhi with three people who work in Reculta.
Bhattacharjee, 30, now has become very particular about maintaining a routine. "It doesn't matter who is up or not. I finish breakfast by 9.30am and make sure I am there to welcome the other team members when they walk in because if there is no one to open the door, people feel irritated. I also make sure that they don't walk into a completely disarrayed house. It's a ritual that I have internalized," he says. The other thing he's trying to inculcate is to make sure his non resident staff leaves by 7pm. "These are small things but it also helps us, who are living here, to have some personal space," he says.
Recalling the time when he began his start-up from his three bedroom apartment, Ankit Jain, co-founder of cloud-based call management system, MyOperator, says that he would lock his bedroom, which he shared with his co-founder and brother, and would open it again only at night when everyone had left. This made sure his personal space remained intact. Having no fixed timings meant people coming in at all hours. "A lot of times it would be difficult, especially if someone decided to come early to office. Then there would be some guys who would cook food in the kitchen and make the place messy. But, you have to compromise on those things," he says.
Like Bhattacharjee, Jain was also personally disciplined about certain things like dressing up formally. "In fact, I wear more informal clothes now than what I used to when I was working from my home," he says.
Landlord trouble
Hard-pressed for funds, working from home suits a fledgling company provided you have a good relationship with the landlord or the owner of the apartment. "No one really rents out their residential property to a bunch of start-up guys. We were lucky that we found a house, where we knew the owner personally," says Bhattacharjee. The start-up has now found a commercial space within 100 metres of their current property, where they will move by early next year.
While Bhattacharjee and his two co-founders were upfront about their intentions, Jain's start-up began in a covert manner from his flat in Dwarka, New Delhi. As the team grew, Jain was "kicked out" after some of his neighbours complained about the constant flow of people visiting the apartment. "Since, it was an apartment on the ground floor, the sales team would spend the whole day at the adjacent park making calls. Probably the society people complained about this," he says with a laugh.
Initials hires
According to Jain, one of the advantages of starting from an apartment was that "it acted as a good filtering criterion". He recalls people coming for interviews and turning back when they saw the office was a residential flat. It was only after the first five employees and a prototype of the technology was ready, that the rejection ratio dipped.
At Reculta, the founders faced another issue. The team had two women and as more employees, mostly men, were added, it became imperative that washrooms be separated. "The men were just not concerned about keeping the washroom clean. So we demarcated one of the toilets as 'women only'," he says.
Ankit Jain of MyOperator worked out of his apartment in Dwarka. Photo: Ramesh Pathania/Mint
Client meetings
The employees may adjust to the informal setting of an apartment with makeshift workstations. But what about clients meetings? Ambika Satapathy, 29, co-founder of Odisha-based ZooFresh Foods, an agri-tech start-up, says she prefers to meet clients' at their office. At Reculta, they have hired a few seats in a co-working space, despite it being a drag on their resources. "It is necessary not only to keep up appearances but also to make sure that we were keeping the team insulated from such meets. When the team sees a client coming in, the entire atmosphere changes," says Bhattacharjee.
Jain recounts an incident when a potential client from Chennai insisted on coming to the office before making the payment. "I didn't have enough employees and I couldn't buy a new place overnight. The best I could do was make my apartment look more like an office. So, I asked a few friends to come over and help me with this, which they would later describe as the 'Munnabhai makeover'," he says. Jain put up "official" posters about timing, regulations found through Google, everywhere in the flat. "My friends stayed back so that it looked as if we had more employees," he says. In the end, the client was impressed and invested ₹ 2 lakh, which acted as seed money for Jain.
Family invasion
Both Jain and Bhattacharjee strongly discouraged their parents and relatives from staying with them or disturbing them during work hours. Meanwhile, Satapathy, who stays close to her in-laws has no such luck, so she has set up a few ground rules to ensure the in-laws and relatives take her work seriously. "I have made it clear that I can't run any errands or attend family functions from Monday to Saturday between 10am and 6pm. Another thing I have put in place is no official visits after 9pm and before 9am," says Satapathy, who works out of her two bedroom bungalow with sprawling lawn and backyard in Kalahandi, Odisha.
Although home office may have the comfort and the freedom, as a company grows, the founders have felt the need to shift to a formal office space. "Initially, a lot of people, who had worked with us in the apartment, weren't comfortable working in the new office environment. They felt the apartment environment was better because we had the comfort, there were no timing issues and one could sit anywhere one wanted to. But we have to leave behind certain things when you're growing and move forward," feels Jain.
Satapathy's reason to move to an office space is different. When the team increases, which it will in the coming months, she believes that she will lose the privacy of her home. "Also, for my employees, in order to find the company an attractive employer, I want an office environment. And especially in a small town, it's a status symbol for them to tell their relatives, friends, clients that they work in an office rather than in someone's home," she says.


Coconut has a hollow center with a little liquid when mature. The hollow center is surrounded by three concentric layers. The innermost layer is the edible part of the coconut, the middle a hard shell, and the outermost layer is a fibrous husk, which can be used to make charcoal. Charcoal is a formless mass of carbon and can be made from most carbonaceous materials. Coconut shell charcoal is widely used as domestic and industrial fuel, and also used to produce activated carbon.
Charcoal has a wide application. Besides as the fuel that cooks steaks, hotdogs, and hamburgers on outside picnic, charcoal is also used in many other processes, like: purifying metals in certain metallurgical treatment and remove organic compounds such as chlorine, gasoline, pesticides, and other toxic chemicals from water and air. Activated charcoal has a super absorptive surface, and is widely used in purifying metals and in the gas masks in war.
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All lyrics and images are copyrighted to their respective owners. Laura M. Buitrago PILLOWTALK (español) Lyrics are provided for educational purposes only.
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text:
struct confm_st
{
	bool background;
	char pad1[3];

	int num_childs;

	char* server_root;
	char** preload_paths;
};

struct confm_st* confm_new(const char* confpath);
void confm_free(struct confm_st* confm);

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub