Elaine Aron's popular book, The Highly Sensitive Person, shines a light on those of us who are sensitive to noise, lighting, colors, textures, and other stimuli. There's an excellent Highly Sensitive Person quiz online that I recommend taking.
But what about those of us who are sensitive to the unseen world of energy?
Highly Sensitive Witches are people who have a relationship with the spirit world or energy around them. They see, feel, hear, and/or know things that are beyond this realm.
Have you ever felt a shiver during a ritual, or when a particular god or goddess was called upon?
Has a god or goddess ever given you a sign?
Have you ever felt drained by someone, or, uplifted by an interaction (workshop / ritual / etc.)?
Have you ever 'just known something' that was impossible for you to know?
Have you ever had a coincidence that was too strange to explain?
Have you ever heard a word within your mind just moments before someone else says it out loud?
Have you ever had a dream or daydream that came true (a premonition)?
Have you ever seen a ghost or any other spirit or apparition?
Have you ever manifested something?
Have you ever thought about someone and received a message from them at the same moment?
Have you ever sent a psychic message that was received by someone?
Have you ever sent healing energy to someone, and discovered they made a recovery or breakthrough shortly thereafter?
Did you have an invisible childhood friend or pet?
If you answered yes to two or more questions, you might be a Highly Sensitive Witch.
Energy is all around us – it's what makes up the world from a physics point of view. Think about wireless energy and how impossible that sounded just thirty years ago. And yet, now, most of us are using wireless technology every day.
I believe psychic energy is much the same — mysterious now, but someday, it may be commonplace and easily accessible. Tapping into that energy, being aware of its currents, and interpreting our findings is part of our paths. Otherwise, why would we have these traits?
Whenever I notice a coincidence or this kind of occurrence, I experience a positive feeling, but it wasn't always this way. When I was younger and I experienced things I couldn't explain, it used to scare me a little. Things can get pretty otherworldly very fast. However, I'm not afraid anymore. I see it as confirmation that I'm on the right path, and possibly that I should act on my intuition.
Like 18% of Americans, I can see ghosts from time to time, usually from the corner of my eye. They appear as translucent-white blue energy. For many years, I dismissed these 'weak visions,' because I had no knowledge of what they were. Until the impossible happened.
One night, I was walking around in a graveyard, and I thought I saw a ghostly energy running around an old tree. It looked like a little kid, playing a game. A name came to my mind – Bobby. I said it out loud, wonderingly. The figure stopped. I glanced down at the nearest tombstone – the first name was Robert. I gasped and immediately froze.
After a moment, the spirit started running around the tree again, not caring that I had a connection to him and knew his name before seeing his tombstone. Then, I realized there were two spirits running around the tree. It looked like they were chasing each other. The energy was very playful. Another name came to my mind – Michael. I looked down at the next tombstone, prepared to freak out, but instead, it read Abigail. I laughed at myself and how silly I was. That is, until I saw the very next tombstone. The name Michael was carved into it.
There's no rational way to explain how I knew those names before seeing the tombstones. Of all the names to pick from, the chances are less than 0.1% for me to get both correct.
That moment was a monumental marker for me – it was proof that I couldn't go back to the way I thought things were. There was some kind of magic within me – a connection to the spirit world. I knew things that couldn't be known, and I couldn't unknow them.
I tried to talk with the ghosts. I told them about the other side, and told them to go to the light, but they ignored me. They seemed happy, so I left.
Extrasensory perception, or ESP, is another kind of energy sensitivity available to Highly Sensitive Witches. I can't tell you how many times a word pops into my head and someone says it out loud. It's almost as if the word is hanging in the air, ready to be picked like an apple by the brain.
Another example of ESP is locating things or people, like my faery godmother did when she helped the police locate missing people. While I don't have quite as strong of a connection, I have had my share of amusing interactions.
"I can't do that." He breathed hard. "My name is Ronald Duckett."I laughed, thinking he was putting me on. He wasn't wearing a name tag, so I asked him to show me his driver's license. He pulled one out from deep within his pocket. Sure enough, his name was Ronald Duckett.
Premonition is another form of energy sensitivity that Highly Sensitive Witches may have. Have you ever had a dream or a daydream that came true? Have you ever had thoughts about a person only to find they were in harm's way? While I have no idea how this works (timey wimey?), I hear about this kind of occurrence fairly regularly and have experienced it in small doses.
My greatest example of manifestation was when I was walking from the parking lot of the Renaissance Fair to the gate. I was twenty-three, and feeling particularly on-point with my spirituality lately, as I had been creating art, meditating, and practicing yoga nearly every day. "Okay, universe. I'd like to manifest a red feather." I smiled at myself and continued walking toward the gate.
Just a few steps later, I came across the biggest, curliest red feather I'd ever seen in my life! I picked it up in awe, my heart clamoring in my chest.
That was the most instantaneous manifestation I'd experienced, and I should note that it doesn't usually happen that strongly or quickly. Sometimes it takes years to manifest what you envision, if you manifest it at all.
Another sensitivity with energy could be the ability to heal people, such as with reiki or shamanism. Simply put, some people are able to transmute negative energy and replace it with good energy, even over long distances. They can make the person well again through chakra balancing and meridian tuning, or shamanism.
The awareness of where a person has energy blockages and removing them is a highly specialized skill.
I've found that my highly sensitive energy waxes and wanes. I don't completely understand why or how, which is frustrating. I'd like to be able to wield it more regularly, but it comes and goes as it wants.
There are a few ways to try to turn it on. I've noticed that the more I'm in tune with myself, the more I practice my path, participate in ritual, meditate, do yoga, walk in nature, avoid energy-draining people, eat less-processed and vegetarian / vegan / raw food, and avoid annoying noises, the more I have the potential to be in touch with that magical energy. It makes sense if you think about it — the less your body is bogged down with energy-wasting activities, the easier it is to be connected to pure spirit.
Of course, with many psychic experiences, we see as if 'through a glass, darkly.' My results aren't always clear or 100% correct. But even though the scientific method, aka repeatable outcomes, rarely works with this energy, I still believe in the importance of this type of sensitivity. It's a connection worth recognizing and cultivating.
As I mentioned earlier, I use this energy as a sign that I'm on the right path. Sometimes, when a coincidence occurs, I dig deeper into the situation or person. I'm always intrigued with what I find. Sometimes it's nothing, and sometimes the connection keeps getting stronger and stronger, and I find I have a wonderful new friend.
We're ahead of our time as far as any technology for this energy goes, but we should remember that this was also a very ancient practice. The Oracle at Delphi was filled with Highly Sensitive Witches — the women there practiced premonition for hundreds of years. The many forms of shamanism also go back to before recorded time.
It's nice to know that there isn't as much fear of these gifts as there once was. Our ancestors suffered for centuries with the fear of persecution by people who misunderstood these connections, and thought they were evil. Nowadays, our pagan paths and the internet give us a connection with a community of like-minded people. We can discuss our connection to the unseen world and not feel isolated or strange. It's such a relief to hear you're not the only one who had these kind of experiences.


The Low family connection in the textile trade started in 1913 and today Lows of Dundee Ltd is still a family owned and managed business operating from its office headquarters in Dundee, Scotland. The business operates two separate Divisions, Commercial Horticulture and Coated Fabrics with warehousing facilities in Errol, Scotland and Blackburn, Lancashire. Substantial stocks in excess of 1.5 million pounds are held ensuring our customers receive quality products backed up with prompt deliveries enabling the Company to gain accreditation to ISO9001.
The Horticultural Division is a leading national distributor of commercial horticulture products. We stock a vast range of carefully chosen products. Currently, we are buying directly from factories from about 15 countries around the world, offering some of the best products and prices in the industry.
The Coated Fabrics Division is a specialist distributor of Coated Fabrics and Industrial Textiles with large stocking facilities in our large warehouse in Blackburn, Lancashire. Our product range supplies fabrics to the transport industry, architectural structures/marquees and awnings, printing industry, marine boat covers and speciality products for a wide range of end uses.


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Real-time fMRI Proves Promising for Treating Tourette Tics
| Original story from Yale University
Complete the form below and we will email you a PDF version of "Real-time fMRI Proves Promising for Treating Tourette Tics"
Characterized by repetitive movements or vocalizations known as tics, Tourette Syndrome is a neurodevelopmental disorder that plagues many adolescents. A study conducted by Yale researchers has trained adolescents with Tourette Syndrome to control their tics through an imaging technique that allows patients to monitor the function of their own brain in real time.
This study is published in Biological Psychiatry.
The study utilized real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging neurofeedback (rt-fMRI-NF), which is a relatively new technique with great potential for treating neuropsychiatric disorders, according to Michelle Hampson, senior author and associate professor in the Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging. "It is a non-invasive, neuroscience-based intervention for training human brain function towards healthier patterns," Hampson said.
Although researchers have explored the clinical utility of this technique in treating conditions from depression to Parkinson's disease, this study marks the first time that it has been tested as a clinical intervention for Tourette Syndrome.
The study enrolled individuals with Tourette Syndrome ages 11 to 19 years who displayed a certain frequency of tics as measured by the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale. Subjects were tasked with alternately raising and lowering activity in the supplementary motor area, a brain region associated with tics in Tourette Syndrome, which was displayed to them as a real-time graph during the brain imaging scans. The researchers found a significant reduction of tics in subjects during the training, which exceeded symptom improvements in a control condition (the control condition was designed to induce similar placebo and motivation effects but did not involve real neurofeedback), suggesting that the neurofeedback may be helpful for treating Tourette symptoms.
"Currently available treatments for tics in Tourette Syndrome include behavior therapy and pharmaceuticals, but not everyone responds. This is the first study of its kind showing that rt-fMRI-NF has potential as a treatment for Tourette Syndrome," said Denis Sukhodolsky, co-author and associate professor in the Yale Child Study Center. This was an early stage study with a small sample size, but the promising results should encourage further research, said the investigators.
Reference: Sukhodolsky, D. G., Walsh, C., Koller, W. N., Eilbott, J., Rance, M., Fulbright, R. K., … Hampson, M. (2019). Randomized, sham-controlled trial of real-time fMRI neurofeedback for tics in adolescents with Tourette Syndrome. Biological Psychiatry, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2019.07.035
Spatial Transcriptomics
Diagnosing Infectious Diseases

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Dressing casually for a man may be more complicated than it seems. A smart casual look is intentional and takes forethought, and may even be more complicated than dressing up for a night on the town. "Smart casual" means you look like you're in charge, but too cool for a necktie.
Don't try to look younger than you really are. If you are north of 40 years old, the graphic tees, skinny jeans, and baseball cap worn backwards just makes you look like a man-child.
Jeans? Yes. But keep it simple and make sure they fit. Huge logos, overly baggy jeans, ripped jeans and sagging jeans that leave your underwear showing are a whole different type of casual, and that's not the intentional "smart casual" look you want.
Don't try to be Mark Zuckerberg. He's famous for doing a lot of things very well, but dressing isn't one of them. He can get away with wearing the same jeans-and-hoodie combination every day because he's fabulously wealthy. You can't.
This is a big one, and that intentional casual look you're going for will be completely ruined when you're wearing your ten-year-old Walmart sneakers. You can leave the shiny black Oxfords for more formal occasions, but striking a balance in footwear is key, and this is what ties together the entire outfit. Keep in mind too, that pants that fit – and don't hang all the way to the floor – will showcase those new casual kicks even better.
A great pair of sneakers may be just the thing, but a good casual wardrobe will mix it up a little with some comfortable, but stylish walking shoes, like these Puma State X Vashties (available from Stadium Goods). A good walking shoe says "casual," but it also says you're also a little more sophisticated.
Image courtesy of Stadium Goods.
Another big mistake in going for the casual look is not taking proper care of your sneakers – dirty shoes will quickly degrade your intentional look. Can sneakers be cleaned? Absolutely. Nike recommends using a soft-bristled brush to clean the outsole, and then mixing warm water and a little laundry detergent, and then applying it with a soft brush to the affected area. Follow up with warm water to remove the detergent, and then air dry.
The intentional casual look doesn't call for neckties, but a less formal blazer or sport coat, worn over a solid colored tee or pullover, will accentuate your looks. You can wear it with a button-down shirt, but you don't have to. A basic tee or polo shirt by itself is okay, but pair it with a casual blazer, and now you're the man in charge. Feel free to roll up the sleeves.
The "scruffy" look that is somewhere between a five o'clock shadow and a full beard is in style, but not everyone can pull it off. George Clooney can do it with aplomb. Steve Bannon, on the other hand, looks like a hobo. It can be a great casual look if you have the face for it.
Mark Zuckerberg notwithstanding, smart casual means not sticking to a uniform. Jeans-and-tee every day, for most of us, is just lazy. Don't be afraid to mix it up a little, add some color and even an accoutrement or two.


Comparing to ordinary equipment, efficiency can be increased 80%,speed is eigLD times.
Microwave means electromagnetic wave with the frequency between 300 MHZ and 300 GHZ,the water molecule of the material to be heated is polar molecule,under the effect of quick change of the high electromagnetic wave,resulting the motion and mutual friction of polar molecules,changing the microwave enerLD into heat enerLD,and increasing the temperature of the heated material and resulting in the whole process of heating and puffing,so as to reach the purpose of heating.
microwave has penetrability and changes with the frequency,the depth of penetration normally from several mm to tens of cm,both the outside and inside of the material can be heated at the same time,therefore avoiding the phenomenon of overheating of the outside while the inside uncooked.Microwave heating changes the heated object to be the heating object,no heat conduction will be necessary.It takes short time for the poor heat conductivity material to reach the heating temperature.The efficiency will be increased LDly by using the microwave,and also the productivity and the quality.
Microwave heating has both heat effect and biological effect,can sterilize and proof mold in lower temperature.Because of the rapidly heating within short time,microwave heating can mostly save the activity,color and nutritious parts of the material.
Microwave has different functions for material with different dielectric properties,this is beneficial to heating process,because water molecule absorb microwave the LD.The part containing high water absorbs more microwave power than the one containing the less water,this is the selectivity of the microwave .While heating wood and paper,this feature can be used to heat and dry homogeneously.Please pay attention that some material will absorb the microwave better at higher temperature,the positive feedback causes the temperature of this material to increase dramatically.It's necessary to set reasonable heating process.
The microwave can be controlled in the heat conducting room made of metal and waveguide tubes,so there will almost be no leakage of microwave,no the harm of radiation and the disposal of harmful gas,no waste heat and dust,thus LDly improving the working environment and intensity of labour.


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La Malfa ist der Familienname folgender Personen:

 Giorgio La Malfa (* 1939), italienischer Politiker
 Ugo La Malfa (1903–1979), italienischer Politiker

Siehe auch:

 Doug LaMalfa (* 1960), US-amerikanischer Politiker

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Home - News - N12.8m contract scam: Court orders arrest of NIMC's official
N12.8m contract scam: Court orders arrest of NIMC's official
A Federal High Court, Abuja, has issued a bench warrant for the arrest of a Principal Manager with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Ms. Jamila Ahmad Muhammed, for failure to appear in court over allegations of corruption.
Muhammed and a former Director-General of the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mounir Gwarzo, are being prosecuted by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) over their complicity in N12.8 million contract scams.
Gwarzo is facing a 6-count charge bordering on abuse of office for awarding several contracts to Outbound Investment Limited, a private company where he doubled as a Director even while he was DG of SEC.
On her own part, Ms. Muhammed, as director of Outlook Communication Limited, is facing an 8-count charge of gratification and abuse of office for running a private company while in the employment of the federal government, as her company was awarded contracts to the tune of N4, 372, 080 by SEC.
According to ICPC, their actions were contrary to Sections 12 and 19 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000, and punishable under the same sections.
Details from the charge sheet revealed that the former SEC boss, between December 2016 and March 2017, allegedly awarded contracts for the supply of 12 units of air-conditioners, 16, 000 litres of diesel and four units of refrigerators at the total cost of N8, 454, 000 to his own company.
The air-conditioners and refrigerators were to be supplied to the Lagos Zonal office of SEC at the cost of N3, 499, 200, while a total of N4, 954, 400 was allegedly awarded for the supply of diesel to the headquarters on two occasions in February and March, 2017 respectively.
Ms. Muhammed's offences according to the charge sheet included allegedly receiving N4, 372, 080 contracts through her company, for the production of radio jingles on E-Dividend for broadcast in the three northern zones of the country, including N1, 080, 000 for the production of the same jingles in Hausa and Pidgin languages.
The arraignment of both accused persons was slated for Tuesday 18th February, 2020 before Justice O. A. Adeniyi, but for the absence of Ms. Muhammed, who was said to be sick and on admission at the National Hospital, Abuja.
Her counsel, S. M. Yusuf, told the court, "The second defendant is sick. I confirmed from people close to her that she is in National Hospital."
The counsel to ICPC, George Lawal, while responding to the argument prayed the court to issue a bench warrant on the accused maintaining that there was no medical report to back the claim of ill-health by her counsel.
Justice Adeniyi, after listening to both counsel, ruled that Ms. Muhammed should be arrested immediately and kept in ICPC custody. He then adjourned the matter to 5th March, 2020.


11h00: First group tees off in Fourball Alliance Competition.
Non Golfer Head & Neck Massage sessions.
09h00: First group tees off in Betterball Stableford Competition.
Non Golfer Head & Neck Massage session.
19h00: Cable Car to top of mountain & Braai dinner.
09h00: First group tees off in Individual Stableford Competition.
13h30: Prize Giving, Finger Lunch. Group departs after prize giving.
Celebrate Women's Day with us at Euphoria Golf Estate and Hydro.


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Jungkook Net Worth 2023 – Bio, Career, Family, Earnings
Jungkook Net Worth 2023: Jungkook whose full name is Jeon Jung-kook is a South Korean singer and songwriter. As of 2022, Jungkook's net worth is $24 million. He accumulated his net worth through singing and song writing career. He is a member of the famous BTS band and this Korean brand has a fan following from all over the world. Jungkook is a popular singer and has won the MTV millennial award for his impact as a global influencer on social media.
Jungkook has also set a new record on social media, as in January 2022, Jungkook's first Instagram post created a stir in the world of social media by garnering more than one million likes in just two minutes and set a new record. As likes on his Instagram post have become a topic of gossip everywhere. As he has surpassed the Guinness Book of World Records in this matter. Earlier, Jungkook broke the record of 1 million likes in three minutes held by Juliette Frere of Brazil.
1 Who is Jungkook?- His Bio
2 BTS Jungkook- Complete Profile Summary
3 Jungkook Net Worth 2023
4 Jungkook Net Worth 2023 Growth in Last Years
5 Jungkook's Family, Girlfriend & Relationships
6 About Career of BTS Jungkook
Who is Jungkook?- His Bio
BTS member Jungkook's full name is Jeon Jungkook, born on 1 September 1997, his age is 25 Years Old as of 2022. He was born and raised in Busan, South Korea and holds a South Korean by nationality and he has belief in Christian religion. Jungkook completed his schooling from the Baekyang Elementary & Middle School, Busan, South Korea. Then he completed his high school from the Singu Middle School, Seoul, South Korea under arts in 2017.
Then he went to Los Angeles, USA to work on his dancing skills and after that, he appeared in a music video for Jo Kwan and even worked as a backup dancer for Glam. In this we will update you about Jungkook Net Worth 2022, Jungkook's Family, Girlfriend & Relationships, about career of BTS Jungkook.
Drake Net Worth 2023
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BTS Jungkook- Complete Profile Summary
Name Jungkook
Full Name Jeon Jung-kook
Date of Birth 1 September 1997
Birth Place Busan, South Korea
Currently Live in Busan
Profession Singer and Songwriter
Nationality South Korean
Ethnicity Korean
Hometown Busan, South Korea
Zodiac Sign Virgo
School/High School Baekyang Elementary & Middle School, Busan, South Korea and Singu Middle School, Seoul, South Korea
College/University Global Cyber University, South Korea
Education Qualification Graduate
Jungkook Net Worth 2023
As per the latest news Jungkook Net Worth 2023 is $24 Million and her earns this money by singing and collaborations. He has a monthly salary of approx. $350k with an annual income of $4 Million as of November 2022. Besides all his Worth, he earns around $62k each year through Live performances, Concerts, Shows, etc.
Also including his personal Investments, Real estate, Stocks he earns a handsome income. Separately from this, he also Charges to the Brands for Endorsements which helps in increasing the net worth.
Jungkook Net Worth 2023 Growth in Last Years
Net Worth in 2022 $24 Million Dollar
Net Worth in 2018 $8 Million Dollar
Jungkook's Family, Girlfriend & Relationships
Jungkook's father's name is Mr. Kook, who works in SK telecom and his mother's name is Mrs. Kook who is a realtor by profession. He has one elder brother too with name as Jeon Jung-Hyung. His relationship status is unmarried he was rumoured to be dating Jeong Ye who is a K Pop star. As per some news, Jungkook was also in an alleged relationship with Ko So Hyun but guys we cant confirm this relationship as it is rumour and till now Jungkook has not confirmed about it.
Rishi Sunak Net Worth 2023
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About Career of BTS Jungkook
Jungkook statured his career in the year 2013 as a member of popular K Pop band BTS which is a south Korean boy band. He has sung 3 songs for the band including hit singles Begin and Wings and he also sung songs like Euphoria and Love Yourself. As a matter of pride of the fan of this band, Jungkook's Euphoria and My time were at number 84 at US Billboard top 100.
No wonder BTS is the most successful K-pop group right now. It's popularity increased globally the previous year, soon after their chartbuster "Dynamite," BTS's first ever English-language single. This BTS singer is also the producer of BTS band's 2 top tracks Love is not over and Magic Shop.
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Rishi Sunak Net Worth 2023 – Bio, Income, Properties, Political Career


Contributed by the Heat Transfer Division of ASME for publication in the JOURNAL OF HEAT TRANSFER. Manuscript received January 7, 2015; final manuscript received July 16, 2015; published online October 21, 2015. Assoc. Editor: Antonio Barletta.
The knowledge of thermal transport characteristics is of primary importance in the application of foams. The thermal characteristics of a foam heavily depend on its microstructure and, therefore, have to be investigated at a pore level. However, this analysis is a challenging task, because of the complex geometry of a foam. The use of foam models is a promising tool in their study. The Kelvin and the Weaire–Phelan foam models, among the most representative practical foam models, are used in this paper to numerically investigate heat transfer and pressure drop in metallic foams. They are developed in the "surface evolver" open source software. Mass, momentum, and energy equations, for air forced convection in open cell foams, are solved with a finite-element method, for different values of cell size and porosity. Heat transfer and pressure drop results are reported in terms of volumetric Nusselt number and Darcy–Weisbach friction factor, respectively. Finally, a comparison between the numerical predictions obtained with the two foam models is carried out, in order to evaluate the feasibility to substitute the more complex and computationally heavier Weaire–Phelan foam structure with the simpler Kelvin foam representation. Negligible differences between the two models are exhibited at high porosities.
Plateau, J. A. F. , 1873, Statique Expérimentale et Théorique des Liquides Soumis aux Seules Forces Moléculaires, Gauthier-Villars, Paris, FR.
Lord Kelvin (Sir William Thomson), 1887, " On the Division of Space With Minimum Partitional Area," Acta Math., 11(1–4), pp. 121–134.
Oberkampf, W. L. , and Roy, C. J. , 2010, Verification and Validation in Scientific Computing, Cambridge University Press, New York.
Kaviany, M. , 1995, Principles of Heat Transfer in Porous Media, Springer-Verlag, New York.
Carman, P. C. , 1937, " Fluid Flow Through Granular Beds," Trans. Inst. Chem. Eng., 15, pp. 150–166.
Bear, J. , 2013, Dynamics of Fluids in Porous Media, Dover Publications, New York, Chap. 5.
Cunsolo S, Iasiello M, Oliviero M, Bianco N, Chiu WS, Naso V. Lord Kelvin and Weaire–Phelan Foam Models: Heat Transfer and Pressure Drop. ASME. J. Heat Transfer. 2015;138(2):022601-022601-7. doi:10.1115/1.4031700.


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Go to May 2017 schedule
2017 | Monday
Evening of one-act opera: The Nutcracker Suite, Iolanta
Anton Grishanin
Anna Nechaeva
Mezzo soprano
Svetlana Shilova
Pavel Valuzhin
Edem Umerov
Alexander Naumenko
Vyacheslav Pochapsky
Opera company
Bolshoi Opera
Valery Borisov, Chorus Master
Damir Ismagilov, Lighting Designer
Premiere of this production: 28 Oct 2015
Libretto by Modest Tchaikovsky after "King René's Daughter" by Heinrich Hertz
Iolanta plus Nutcracker
Iolanta and Nutcracker were commissioned from Tchaikovsky by the Mariinsky Theatre management. It is thought that the idea of uniting the one act opera and two act ballet into a single production to be shown on the same evening originated with the then director of the Imperial Theatres Ivan Vsevolozhsky.
In July 1891 Tchaikovsky began composing the music for Iolanta, starting off with the Iolanta and Vaudemont duet. He was full of enthusiasm. The composer wrote to his brother Modest: "I'm in love more than ever with the subject of Iolanta, and your libretto is quite perfect… Oh yes, I will write an opera such that the audiences will weep". By September the music to all intents and purposes was completed and by December – so was the orchestration.
The première of Iolanta (and of the ballet Nutcracker) took place at the Mariinsky Theatre on 6 December 1892. Tchaikovsky wrote to his brother Anatoly: "The opera and ballet had great success yesterday. The opera in particular was to everyone's liking. The night before we had a rehearsal with the Emperor. He was enraptured, called me to the box and uttered a mass of sympathetic words. Both were staged magnificently, and the ballet was even too magnificent: the eyes tire of such sumptuousness".
A year later, on 11 November 1893, Iolanta was given its first performance at the Bolshoi Theatre. In all there have been six productions of Iolanta at the Bolshoi (in 1893, 1899, 1917, 1940, 1974 and 1997).
In 2015 Iolanta was presented for the first time at the Bolshoi Theatre together with its 'lost twin' Nutcracker though, true, in the form of the Symphonic Suite rather than the two-act ballet. But, for all that, Tchaikovsky and Vsevolozhsky's idea of uniting the two works into a single production, rather than simply presenting them as a double bill on the same evening, was realized.
The production is by Sergey Zhenovach, the artistic director of The Theatre Art Studio, and an acknowledged maître of giving major works of literature a new lease of life on stage. Working with him on the production were his permanent co-authors: scenographer Alexander Borovsky and lighting designer Damir Ismagilov.
Sergey Zhenovach:
It will doubtless come as quite a surprise when, to start off with, the orchestra plays the suite with curtain down, after which the performance itself - Iolanta - gets underway! The task which faced us was to think up one story, one composition. And it even seems to me now that without Nutcracker, it would have been less interesting. Even before the events in the opera start to unfold, the music of the Nutcracker Suite shows us Iolanta's inner world. This incredibly poetical, fairy-tale-like suite is our heroine's inner music.
The story is indeed very poetical. The first thing one has to avoid at all costs in Iolanta is a homespun, naturalistic interpretation. As soon as the action begins to acquire a homespun character, this subtle, fragile, naïve opera simply disintegrates. It was therefore vital that our production be poetical. Our aim was to locate a real, human story through these poetic images: what is light, what is darkness, what is blindness and the recovery of sight, what are these "two worlds of the flesh and of the spirit"? We had above all to find a figurative, spatial expression of the poetic language of the opera. To create a world of darkness and a world of light.
Iolanta is a very pure, naïve, radiant opera, but by no means as simple as it seems. In terms of character, I would compare it to Mozart's Die Zauberflöte. It is an imaginary tale with philosophical meaning, and a serious subtext. And its philosophical content today is very distinct and clear.
Iolanta, the blind daughter of the King of Provence, is telling her nurse, Martha, that she is full of some unknown longing. Iolanta's friends, Brigitte and Laura, try to cheer her up by singing songs and bringing her flowers. Martha also tries to comfort Iolanta by singing her favorite lullaby. This sends Iolanta to sleep.
Enter Alméric, King René's sword-bearer. He informs the castle porter, Bertrand, that very soon the King will be arriving with a famous Physician who, it is hoped, will cure Iolanta's blindness. The trumpets sound, announcing the arrival of the King. King René enters accompanied by the Moorish Physician, Ibn-Hakia. The King explains that Iolanta has been betrothed from infancy to Robert, Duke of Burgundy, and is soon to marry him, but the Duke does not know that his future wife is blind. Indeed, Iolanta herself is totally unaware of her misfortune. Iolanta has been brought up by her father in this remote castle. He surrounded her with loyal retainers and forbade them on pain of death to tell her the truth. Ibn-Hakia says that the only hope for Iolanta is to inform her of her disability and then, so long as she passionately wishes to recover her sight, she will do so. King René is full of doubts and fear for his daughter's future.
Robert, Duke of Burgundy, and his friend Count Vaudémont, appear. They are impressed to find a beautiful garden in such a wild, remote spot. They are, however, puzzled to see a notice which threatens with death anyone entering it without permission. Robert is downhearted for he is soon to be united in matrimony with some Iolanta whom he has never met, while his heart already belongs to another.
A girl appears on the terrace. Vaudémont is struck by her beauty. Hearing unfamiliar voices, the girl, who is in fact Iolanta, suggests to the strangers that they rest under the shade of the trees and hurries off to fetch them some wine. Robert does not trust the stranger and decides to leave. Vaudémont enchanted by Iolanta's beauty and stays behind. When Iolanta returns he tells her of the great impression she has made on him and asks her to pick him a red rose in memory of their meeting. Iolanta hands him a rose, but it is a white one. Vaudémont repeats his request and again he is given a white rose. He begins to suspect something is wrong with the girl. To make sure, he picks a bunch of roses and asks Iolanta to tell him how many flowers there are in the bunch. Iolanta explains that to count them she needs to touch each flower. Vaudémont realizes that Iolanta is blind and tells her so. He starts to describe to her the wonders of God's world which she is destined never to see, but Iolanta argues that eyesight is not necessary to appreciate the beauty of the world.
Voices are heard: the King enters, followed by Physician Ibn-Hakia and servants. René is horrified when he learns that Vaudémont has told Iolanta of her disability and finally suggests that she should try Ibn-Hakia's course of treatment. Iolanta remains indifferent to the idea which makes the Physician lose all hope. Noticing that Iolanta is very much taken by Vaudémont, King René tells Vaudémont that he will be executed unless his daughter recovers her sight. Iolanta then begs the Physician to cure her.
A fanfare of trumpets announces the arrival of the Duke of Burgundy who, with a group of armed knights, is hurrying to the rescue of his friend. Robert is amazed to see King René. Vaudémont confesses to Robert that he is in love with Iolanta, the latter's betrothed, and asks him to tell the King that he, Robert, has given his heart to someone else. René consents to the marriage of Iolanta and Count Vaudémont. Shouts of joy are heard, and Iolanta, who has recovered her sight, appears at the castle door. Overjoyed, King René hurries to embrace his daughter and then leads Vaudémont up to her. Everyone gives passionate thanks to God for her recovery.


Unless otherwise noted, the ELA and math assessments are administered annually in grades 3-8.
Regarding teacher evaluation, this table reflects the first year that student assessment data will be incorporated into teacher evaluations, not necessarily the school year that a teacher will receive an evaluation. Some states will use 2014–15 data as a baseline year to measure student growth. Other states will use 2014–15 assessment results as the first of multiple years of data that will be rolled into a teacher's evaluation. The nuances and variations across states make it nearly impossible to compare policies without oversimplifying the information.
Additional information can be found on www.achieve.org/ClosingtheExpectationsGap2014.


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Carmauç (en francès Carmaux) és un municipi del departament francès del Tarn, a la regió d'Occitània. S'hi va dur a terme la Vaga de Carmauç entre els anys 1892-1895.

Demografia

Administració

Agermanaments
  Neckarsulm

Referències

Municipis del districte d'Albi


Ms. Hanadi I. Soudah-Younan is the Acting Dean of Arts and the Chairperson of the English Department at Bethlehem University.
She earned her Masters of Arts in English from Brigham Young University, Utah. She is a PhD candidate in Comparative Literature from SUNY at Stony Brook, New York.
She is a full time member of the English Department. Her primary interests are in the teaching of English and World literature, critical theory, and research that focuses on identity.
She presented a number of papers on the issue of Palestinian identity at local and international conferences and forums. She is an active member in a number of women, social, religious and educational institutions, associations and societies. She served as the National President of the YWCA of Palestine. She is a board member of Al-Liq'a Center for Religious and Heritage Studies in the Holy Land and the Helen Keller School for special education. Ms. Younan is an alumna of Bethlehem University, class of 1986.


The Student Services staff maximizes the instructional programs throughout the district through the delivery of specialized services such as: student attendance and enrollment, home hospital and home school.
Questions regarding student records, attendance, and registration, interdistrict/intradistrict transfer and home-based instruction for health reasons may be directed to this department at 270-854-0050.
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Attendance matters from the first day of school until the last day.
Please click here to see the district student absences and excuses policy.


Inspector Ofsted thumbed through his note book in an attempt to review the evidence he had collected. He had certainly written a lot, but the problem was he just didn't know how valid and reliable it all was. "If only the methodology had not gone missing", he thought, "the mystery would be solved". But sadly, nobody knew where the methodology was or even where to begin looking for it ….
In a recent post, I recounted what seemed to me to be a sorry tale. I have been asking Ofsted questions about their inspection methodology, particularly how their social care inspectors avoid selecting samples of work which are unrepresentative of the work done by the local authority they are inspecting. What precautions, if you like, do they take to avoid selecting just examples of poor work or just examples good work, when they choose cases to 'sample' or 'track'?
Published sources cast no light on this issue. Reference is made to inspectors making "proportionate decisions ... in order to secure a representative judgement" but how they take these decisions and what 'proportionate' means remains mysterious.
After much wasted effort trying to explain my Freedom of Information Act request I seem to have hit Ofsted's buffer stops. The well has run dry. It appears that nobody there knows the answer to my question. Put another way there seems to be a massive black hole in the inspectorate's methodology.
Does that matter? You bet it matters! If, as seems to be the case, Ofsted inspectors just roll up to inspect child protection and children's social care with no prior thinking about how they are going to get a sample of work which truly represents the standards of work achieved by the authority, then the inspection is a lottery. One authority might just be unlucky and have lots of poor cases selected resulting in a verdict of 'inadequate', while its neighbour may be lucky in only having good cases selected for inspection.
And we all know the consequences. An authority that fails an inspection usually has to reorganise, fire staff and hire new ones. It is likely to lose committed staff as morale slumps. Those who remain are likely to be disorientated by the frantic pace of change. Their work will suffer. Service users are also likely to suffer, as all attention is diverted towards managing the results of the inspection, not the service they receive. Some of that might be justified if the eventual result was guaranteed to be accurate, and the ultimate consequences constructive. But all I have learnt recently suggests the opposite.
"Inspectors select samples that reflect the full range of the local authority's work with children. Throughout the inspection, they ask social workers, their managers and leaders to identify good practice and practice they think they can improve, so that inspectors can evaluate the quality and extent of this work.
"Inspectors meet regularly with local leaders to discuss their findings and give them an opportunity to challenge any findings they feel are not representative.
Nicely put, I'm sure. It's good to know that they give people the opportunity to challenge their findings. But that's just politeness and common sense. What I wanted to know is how Ofsted ensures that the cases selected are representative and that the findings of the inspection are valid. I don't think they've told me that!
Back to square one perhaps?


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Why is waste and its management such an important issue?
There is no such thing in Nature as the concept of waste: everything follows a "circle of life" where old, used or discarded materials decompose and transform into raw materials ready to regenerate life. We used to live more attuned to this law of Nature but modern consumerist lifestyle has got us obsessed with production and consumption. We are bombarded with products full of unnecessary packaging and plastics which we promptly toss in the wastebin. The more we consume and grow as a population, the bigger our waste footprint. A poor system of waste management adversely impacts health, livelihoods and the environment. This is why it becomes imperative for us to take measures to fix our current waste management system.
What's wrong with our current waste management system?
Everybody knows that our current centralised waste management system is a failure. Never mind the irregularities with which our garbage is collected, when it is finally picked up, it is simply collected then dumped into open landfills that continue to be filled up past their life expectancy and carrying capacity. Space, as we all know, is a contested acquisition in our congested urban cities. These dump yards are unsightly and unhygienic; what is worse is that unsegregated waste releases toxic gases which are harmful for the environment and our health. The current system, with its tipping fee model, in fact, incentivizes the mixing and accumulation of waste since payment is tied to the weight of garbage collected. Safety equipment for those working with garbage are nonexistent, much like for the landfills. These are expected to be scientifically treated to minimize damages to health and environment. In practice, none of that happens. In the midst of all these, as citizens we continue with our lives, unconcerned about the consequences of our collective waste. As long as it is out of our sight, we are content complaining about the state of waste management without making any efforts to contribute towards improving it.
As a solution to this failed centralised system, the Corporation of Chennai proposes to shift towards privatisation and incineration which are both ineffective options with negative social and environmental impacts. Chennai would profit more to look towards a decentralised waste management system which includes resource recovery parks, recycling units, compost and biogas plants, segregation at source and the inclusion of informal waste pickers. With the current centralised model, Chennai spends 20% of its annual revenue budget, roughly 624.5 crore a year to which the incineration proposal made by the Corporation would require an additional 1300 crore. There is no potential annual revenue in this model whereas in a decentralised model, each ward of Chennai can recover 50 lakh from a year of composting, recycling and reusing collected waste. In environmental terms, a decentralised model would eliminate the transportation of waste by trucks and thus reduce emissions by 19 lakh metric tonnes.
What's wrong with centralised waste disposal?
There are several reasons why centralisation is not an effective way to handle waste. The requirement of waste collection varies depending on each zone, since the nature and amount of waste varies depending on population and income levels. A central system would simply divide the money and resources without looking to flexibly adjust to the local situation. It also makes it difficult to monitor whether waste is being properly handled. Since centralisation also entails picking up waste from all the different wards and dumping it in one or two major landfills, considerable money is wasted on environmentally unfriendly options such as trucks for transportation. Anyone who has seen one of these open trucks can immediately remember that such options are unhygienic and unpleasant. Finally, and this is an important point, waste is only the end result of an entire chain of production, consumption, use and rejection. It's easy to throw away garbage but just because it is out of our sight doesn't mean that it has disappeared. Waste continues to accumulate while lack of available space is rapidly becoming a serious issue. As citizens, we need to collectively rethink the way we are creating endless amounts of waste since this is an unwanted problem that is not going away. Right now it is only the vulnerable and the poor who are suffering from our poor waste management system but the problem will soon catch up with us all.
What is incineration? Is it a good solution to get rid of the waste?
Incineration is a technology that relies on high temperature to combust discarded waste and is currently being advertised as a sustainable source of energy. This kind of definition can makes us feel that incineration is the perfect solution to get rid of our mounting garbage trouble. But it fails to capture the considerable downsides of incinerators. Sure this method seems to be making use of something people have rejected as unusable but the promoters of incineration fail to take into account that 90% of the waste discarded can in fact be reused or recycled. Instead of pushing for a societal change of attitude towards the way waste is generated, used and discarded, incineration encourages the continuation of the same attitude of wastefulness. Unlike in the West, we mostly produce organic or wet waste but incineration requires a high percentage of dry waste to generate electricity. As a result, instead of looking for options to reuse and recycle the existing dry waste, a demand for dry waste is created. Plastics are especially prized because they are effective in generating the most energy. As you can guess, there can be no good, environmentally speaking, coming from a demand for more plastics.
Why not go for privatisation?
If you have had any experience with existing private enterprises dealing with waste, you would know that privatisation does not imply an accountable and successful waste management system. Private companies also have fewer obligations than the government to give their workers proper work conditions. It's unjust that vulnerable and poor communities have to deal with harassment and insecure livelihoods. Put yourself for a minute their place: would you be motivated to give your best at work if you were poorly paid and weren't given full work benefits? There are important reasons to value waste pickers, not only are they taking care of our own waste, but they are currently the only ones recycling in India. They find wealth in our waste, collecting materials that can be reused and thus reducing our collective problem of growing waste. Furthermore, private companies follow a tipping fee model that encourages malpractices such as leaving waste unsegregated or mixing waste with sand in order to increase the total quantity of waste. Finally, the very composition of a private company does not require it to be answerable to anyone but its shareholders, which is why private enterprises have poorer accountability towards citizens and the government than public ones.
Okay, but why can't the government take care of this?
While it's true that the government is responsible for handling the city's waste management, this cannot be done without the cooperation and active participation of each individual. It's virtually impossible to expect the government to separate the waste if we as citizens are handing out all our plastic, kitchen and sanitary waste mixed together. Mixed waste is extremely dangerous for the environment and consequently our health since it releases dangerous toxins into the earth, the water bodies and the air. There's no reason why we should not do our bit when we are all equally affected by the consequences, especially when it is something as simple as separating our own waste at the time of disposing it. All it takes is three different sets of bins and forming the habit of throwing our dry, wet and sanitary waste in the right ones. Finally, expecting the government to take care of everything makes us forget that we are currently buying and throwing things in an irresponsible manner since we do not take full responsibility of the consequences of our waste. With a little bit of effort and initiative on our part, we can make the shift to a decentralised and sustainable mode of waste management.
A decentralised system follows the 'Proximity Principle', meaning waste is treated as close to the the place of generation as possible. Logistically it means doing away with large scale polluting methods such as using vehicular means to transport waste to a centralised dump yard. Instead it means leaning on methods such as segregation at source. Mixed waste results in toxics negatively affecting the environment and public health so the simple act of separating one's waste would contribute enormously to avoid that. Furthermore it is only through segregation that the use of precious resources can be maximised with the help of options such as composting, recycling and biogas. Centralisation is a very top-down model that cannot take into account the specific requirements of each locality. This is necessary since the nature and quantity of waste depends on the socio-economic habits of citizens.
In contrast, a decentralised system would require stakeholders to take ownership of their area and actively coordinate and participate in creating a clean and hygienic environment. It would be easier to ensure that there is regular door-to-door collection, proper segregation, suitable treatment of labour, and qualified standards for the different waste management methods. Fundamental to the idea of decentralisation is the idea that each waste generator tries to minimise and manage the waste to her/his own capacity: the householder segregates and composts, the producer designs less wastefully and creates a take-back system for the waste her/his product generates, and the corporation ensures door-to-door collection and a more sustainable infrastructure for waste management. We cannot reverse all the waste generated nor the harmful practices of dealing with it but we can work together towards a system of waste management that does not deny us our right to a clean and pollution-free environment.
The capital of Kerala, Trivandrum, is an excellent example of a nearly successful decentralised system. It's an example of the wonders that can be achieved if the government, citizens, social enterprises and NGOs worked together to tackle a collective problem. Like Chennai, Trivandrum also used to have a regular centralised system. However, the city was forced to look for an alternative system when the villagers living around its dump site drew a human chain and fought against the continuation of mindless dumping. Now, thanks to government subsidies or free distributions, most households have opted for either pipe composting or compost bins. Former waste pickers have been given a social upgrade as they have been trained as technicians to assist citizens on issues of setting up and maintenance. There are social enterprises who service their waste management, picking up citizens' garbage and their excess compost. They also offer people technical support for their compost bins. The city has a community biogas plant, resource recovery facility, community composting unit, and an organic market. Several of Trivandrum's bulk waste producers such as resorts and gated communities have their internal biogas plant or composting unit. This is not to say that Trivandrum has a perfect decentralised system: it needs to find a way to deal with its sanitary waste which is currently being burned in households. However Trivandrum is definitely an example that proves that if all the different stakeholders come together, there is no reason why the impossible shift can't be achieved.
How and from where do I start?
A good starting point is learning to segregate your waste correctly. This will ensure that there is no mixed waste reaching landfills thus preventing harmful toxins from being released into the surrounding atmosphere, ground and water. Get yourself three containers. One is for wet or biodegradable waste which is essentially your kitchen waste, vegetables and fruit peels, etc. Biodegradable waste is usually plant or animal matter which breaks down naturally with the exposure of heat, oxygen and microorganisms. The other bin is for the dry or non-biodegradable waste, products made of plastic, metal or glass that do not have the capacity to naturally decay and decompose would fit that category. It is important to that non-biodegradable waste should be further divided into medical waste and e-waste since the last two contain hazardous properties that need to be treated separately. Dry waste can be stored for long periods without fear of smell and decay and should be periodically sent off for recycling. Finally there must be separate arrangements made for your sanitary waste keeping in mind that there are human beings handling our waste. Therefore let us be careful to wrap sanitary waste and mark it so that waste pickers are not forced to deal with unpleasant and unhygienic materials. Making segregation our second nature will already make a huge contribution towards a more sustainable waste management system. It will hopefully lead us to become aware of our consumption and waste habits and helps us make more conscious decisions regarding those patterns.
Is there no easier alternative to composting?
When most of us think of composting there's an kneejerk reaction of wrinkling up the nose and letting out a heartfelt "Eww" but this just shows how alienated we've made ourselves from Nature. If you take a minute to think about it, there's no reason why it should be revolting. You unpeel a banana and toss the peel into the bin. So far nothing disgusting. But would any of us volunteer to dig our hands into that bin to pick it up? Waste acquires its "yuck" factor when it's all mixed up. Now imagine if you were to take that peel and instead place it in a compost bin and find a few weeks later fresh and free nutrient-rich humus. Sure it's not as simple as that but all composting really requires is for us to get the hang of the four necessary elements to it: the right amount of aeration, carbon/brown organic matter (dry leaves, straw, paper, coco peat) nitrogen/green organic matter (vegetable leftovers, fruit peels, tea bags, plant cuttings) and water (moisture). There's no denying that the initial stage of composting requires a lot effort but once you get the hang of it, it becomes second nature. The benefits are multiple: the waste content that needs to be thrown away reduces and so does the smell. Then there is free compost that is excellent for gardening, consequently a great push to maintain a little garden of your own--nothing like safe chemical-free vegetables or flowers! Finally there is a sense of satisfaction of knowing you are contributing positively towards the environment: wet waste in itself decomposes naturally but buried under solid or sanitary waste in landfills, it produces methane which is worse for our planet than carbon dioxide.
What if I don't have the space and time for this?
Composting isn't a time-consuming activity. It requires a minor adjustment of tossing your wet waste into the the compost pit instead of the dustbin and the occasional, perhaps weekly, mixing of the heap. It's true that the process of decomposition requires a delicate balance of the amount of moisture and dryness to be maintained but successful composters swear by a few attempts of trial and error to inculcate a sense of what to feed into the compost according to its requirement. If you focus on four things--organic matter, moisture, oxygen, and bacteria--then pretty soon it becomes second nature to know exactly what needs to be supplemented to avoid a stinking or rotting batch. But in the worst case scenario where someone just doesn't have the time or space to compost personally, a decentralised model includes community composting. This means people just need to find a convenient time to drop off their organic waste. With a system like that, all it takes is a quick stop during the morning walk or on the way to work and you would essentially reduce the accumulation and smell of waste in your house and contribute to a more sustainable and useful waste management system.


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The Lewis Henry Morgan Lectures
Give a Man a Fish: Reflections on the New Politics of Distribution
James Ferguson is Susan S. and William H. Hindle Professor in the School of Humanities and Sciences and Professor in the Department of Anthropology at Stanford University. He is the author of Global Shadows: Africa in the Neoliberal World Order and the coeditor of Culture, Power, Place: Explorations in Critical Anthropology, both also published by Duke University Press.
Preface and Acknowledgments
2015. "Preface and Acknowledgments", Give a Man a Fish: Reflections on the New Politics of Distribution, James Ferguson
Preface & Acknowledgments
Authorial Self-Fashioning in a Global Era: Authorial Prefaces to Translated Editions of Twentieth-Century Chinese Fiction
Literature by Other Mediums: Revisiting Lu Xun's Preface to Outcry
Lorenzo Valla's Radical Philology: The "Preface" To the Annotations to the New Testament in Context
Preface: Critique of Naturalizing Reason
Preface to a Collective Pedagogical Document
Defining the "Finest": A Northern Song View of Tang Dynasty Literary Culture in the Wen cui
The Threshold of Fiction: Revisiting the Origin of the Novel through Danish Literature


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Second Opinion LIVE!
Alzheimer's Disease and the Key to Finding Better Treatments
Guest Shellie Williams, MD
Guest Reed Tuckson, MD
Host Matt Birnholz, MD
Host Michael Greenberg, MD
Currently more than 5.4 million Americans are living with Alzheimer's disease, a number that could triple by 2050 unless advances are made in early...
Currently more than 5.4 million Americans are living with Alzheimer's disease, a number that could triple by 2050 unless advances are made in early detection, treatments and prevention. Second Opinion Live hosts Dr. Michael Greenberg and Dr. Matt Birnholz discuss the many benefits for patients who receive an early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease, one of which is the ability to participate in a clinical trial, with guest Dr. Shellie Williams from The University of Chicago Medical Center and the Alzheimer's Association.
Our Second Opinion Live hosts also discuss the latest national survey on the state of American Health with Dr. Reed Tuckson from the United Health Foundation.
Broadcast Funding for this program was provided in part by the Alzheimer's Association and its free nation-wide Alzheimer's clinical trials matching service - TrialMatchTM.


Johannes Gutenberg introduced his printing press to the world in 1439. The device, with its ability to move the type, started a social revolution, and I have no doubt, the morning after the announcement, Mister Gutenberg found himself besieged by authors wanting to get their books printed.
Getting our works, our visions, and our efforts before the reading public has always been the biggest challenge to a writer. Move forward several hundred years to 2017, examine the printing landscape and discover the new social revolution occurring. We've entered the world of not printing books. The downloadable, transportable, adaptable audiobook has invaded.
As of the date of the article, Audible, the largest producer of audiobooks, stated its subscribers would listen to over 2 billion hours of narration in 2016.
My case for why authors need to grab onto this phenomenon and hang on for dear life has been made. Classics are being converted. I have listened to Jane Austen's Persuasion, as well as Hemingway's Old Man and the Sea and The Snows of Kilimanjaro. I also "read" my scriptures with sound buds in my ears.
All of us search for more readers, or in this case, listeners. I started converting my books to audio midsummer last year. Six of my eight novels have been completed and are available on Audible, Amazon, and iTunes. I plead guilty of trying to enlarge my fan base. Along my route to more sales, I stumbled on the fact that working with other talented, motivated, gifted artists was fun. I recommend converting your books for the enjoyment of working with the producers, if you cannot find any other reason.
Last August 2016, I attended a writing symposium for the Western Writers of America in Dodge City. One of the presentations considered audiobooks and the author turned her discussion into an infomercial for the company that converted her books. No problem with that, I respect loyalty. I spoke to her after her hour.
"You enjoyed working with company (located in Seattle)," I asked.
"They charged you," I desired clarification.
I thanked her, and left feeling a bit of pity for her. The company I use does not charge me a dime, allows me to negotiate my own contracts (within reason) with the producer I select, and supports me with the marketing.
I won't stoop so low as the writer in Dodge, and brag about who I use by name, but if you have questions about converting to audiobooks, and you want a biased, (there, I said it) opinion, contact me.
This entry was posted in Resource Tips and tagged audiobooks, self-publishing, writing a novel. Bookmark the permalink.


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Foreclosure Crisis Fueled Dramatic Rise of Racial Segregation: Study
Displacement of black and Latino households was so dramatic, crisis should be seen as a 'mass migration event' says lead author of paper
Sarah Lazare, staff writer
Black and Latino neighborhoods faced home loss at three times the rate of white areas. (Photo: Jeff Turner/flickr/cc)
The foreclosure crisis that drove approximately 9 million people across the United States from their homes disproportionately displaced black and Latino households and led to a spike in segregation along racial lines, a new study finds.
In fact, displacement was so dramatic that Matthew Hall, assistant professor at Cornell University and lead author of the study, told Common Dreams that the crisis should be seen as a "mass migration event."
"We found that the racial patterns of the foreclosure crisis are shocking and perhaps even more stark than we knew before," said Hall, who is a demographer.
The Cornell University analysis Neighborhood Foreclosures, Racial/Ethnic Transitions, and Residential Segregation was published online in late April and is set to be included in the June issue of American Sociological Review.
Examining foreclosure rates in urban areas between 2005 and 2009, researchers found that black neighborhoods faced 8.1 foreclosures per 100 homes, and Latino neighborhoods faced a rate of 6.2 per 100 homes.
This compared with the average of 2.3 foreclosures per 100 homes in white neighborhoods, meaning that majority black and Latino neighborhoods faced home-loss rates at approximately three times that of white areas.
A report summary explains that "white households were significantly more likely to leave areas with high foreclosure rates, while black and Latino families entered these neighborhoods out of necessity or to seek newly affordable housing options."
This led to the re-segregation of urban areas.
Researchers concluded that overall segregation jumped dramatically during this period, growing by 50 percent between Latinos and whites and 20 percent between blacks and whites, as people of color moved into neighborhoods vacated by white people.
"This really was a crisis that hit African-Americans and Latinos especially hard," said Hall.
"But the foreclosure crisis has not ended," Hall added. "There are still a large number of foreclosures that are unresolved and homes that are somewhere in the foreclosure process, which can take years. The impacts of the crisis on segregation have therefore not been completely borne out."
Despite Pain and Record Death, Why Is the Stock Market So High?
The Nation Must Have the Moral Courage To Carry on the Work of Martin Luther King Jr.
Poor People's Campaign MLK Day Message to Biden: Act on Bold Agenda to Heal Nation
Biden's Inauguration Gives Us New Hope, but the Movement for Justice Must Continue to Build on Its Own Agenda
Economy, Rights, U.S.
Race, Civil Rights, Poverty


In PF Collins' 40+ years of providing warehousing and crating services, we have made thousands of wooden crates for domestic and international shipments. From large offshore oilfield equipment to a time machine movie prop, we've packaged it all. But none were as special as the crate we recently made for our new friend Killick, a Newfoundland dog travelling to Alberta with his family.
In making their travel plans, Killick's owners decided to drive to Alberta but hoped to make the trip a little shorter for Killick by flying him on Air Canada. Upon arrival to see him off at St. John's International Airport, they discovered that his dog carrier did not meet the specifications for air travel. For air transport, airlines require that animals have enough space to turn around while standing, to stand and sit straight, and to lie in a natural position. Killick's carrier did not meet the requirements for his size and, therefore, he was grounded.
As Killick's owners and the Customer Service Agent tried to come up with an alternative solution, one of PF Collins' Drivers happened to be picking up cargo and overheard the conversation at the Air Canada counter. He suggested the owners contact his Manager to find out if PF Collins could build a crate that would meet Air Canada's regulations and ensure Killick's comfort and safety.
Upon receiving the call, along with dimensions and pictures of a small wooden carrier to be used as a template, PF Collins' Warehouse Manager asked the Materials Handlers to build a custom crate.
To meet Air Canada's specifications, the crate required specific materials, including half-inch plywood, wire mesh, hinges, and locks. Furthermore, due to Killick's size, considerable ventilation was needed. Holes were drilled in the plywood and mesh was cut to exact measurements. Markings were also applied to meet air transport regulations.
The biggest challenge to constructing the carrier was adding enough structural framing to support a very large and heavy Newfoundland dog while meeting the airline's height and width restrictions. Killick would need to be secure, safe, and comfortable during loading, offloading, and while in-transit. He would also have to endure a stopover and overnight in Toronto.
Once the carrier was finished, pictures and dimensions were forwarded to Air Canada to confirm that it met their requirements. It did, and once final approval was received, PF Collins delivered the crate to Air Canada in preparation for Killick's trip.
Before embarking on his journey in his new carrier, Killick and his owners dropped by to say thanks to our Warehouse team for their help. Another satisfied customer!
For more information on our warehousing and crating services, please contact your nearest PF Collins office. We offer a full range of Warehousing, Packaging & Distribution services to assist with all your storage and materials management needs.


Australian Dollar (AUD) has been like watching paint dry since April. As long as support at 0.92 remains intact we have to assume the bear market rally is too. But with the break down in the CAD the Aussie is probably on borrowed time.
The secular bear cycle in commodities is due to end near the end of this year.
BofA Warns Euro Bank Stocks Are Rolling Over, "Negative For All Risk Assets"
Despite the recent significant weakness in the broader European and US equity indices, European bank stocks are only just beginning to resume their larger downtrend (as the hopes of a Draghi put remained firm until the last few days of BES debacle). As such, BofA's Macenil Curry believes, they are likely to be the catalyst for the next leg of "risk off" and in that environment EURUSD should continue to suffer.
European bank stocks are resuming their downtrend. The 6 month topping formation (Head and Shoulders Top) points to further downside in the sessions and weeks ahead.
Downside targets seen to 130.52/126.83 (approximately 8%/11% lower from current levels) before renewed basing.
While intra-day and daily charts say that €/$ risks a further corrective squeeze higher, bounces must be sold.
The combination of vulnerable European bank stocks and poor price action say that €/$ should continue lower to 1.3104 and below.