Polished concrete makes a wonderful fashionable surface for the veranda. Resin bound gravel is not just great for driveways, but causes an excellent contribution to the deck paving when combined with many other materials for textural contrast. Find the best quality stone you can afford then the patio will last longer and stay looking best for many years. A patio should never be designed in isolation without considering the rest of the garden. A well designed garden where all the elements are in scale with each other and the property will connect the house and garden. A balanced design which includes a patio or multiple patios will give the garden coherence and be sure that it is a pleasant, comfortable space in which to spend time.


Sign up for updates on dates and registration information.
Feedback Labs is committed to the belief that regular people—whether we call them beneficiaries, constituents, or citizens—should be driving the policies and programs that affect them.
This interactive workshop will equip you with the knowledge, skills and tools you need to listen and respond to feedback from the people you seek to serve. Stay Informed!
Understand each step of the feedback loop and learn how to close the loop.
Hone critical skills for creating buy-in, inviting dialogue and moving to action.
Come away with a custom feedback plan tailored to your organization.
Collaborate with stakeholders to design and implement a closed feedback loop.
The Crash Course is designed to lead participants through interactive exercises that introduce each stage of the feedback loop and provide implementation and design resources relevant to a participant's own work. Through expert instruction, robust learning materials (including written case studies for each stage of the loop), and experiential learning activities, participants gain an understanding of both the theory behind constituent feedback, as well as a practical set of skills for building feedback mechanisms in their own work.
Assess and manage participant expectations for the day.
Describe the process of closing the feedback loop.
Create an actionable feedback collection tool (e.g. survey, interview protocol, etc.).
Communicate course corrections to constituents in order to manage expectations and maintain organizational accountability.
Provide time and space for to reflect, ask lingering questions, and identify ways to integrate learning into organizational operations.
Connect the Crash Course to the Summit's focus on power.


RoadWarrior's Filtering tool allows you to filter Favorites and Stops based on preset options or your own custom requirements.
Why might you want to filter?
"I have so many favorites that my map looks cluttered with pins."
"Some days I only want to view current customers, not prospects."
"I only want to see locations that are open today."
To activate a Filter, tap the Filter icon at the top right of the screen. Depending on which you want to filter away, tap either the Stop or Favorite Filter tab.
Hide All: hides all Stops/Favorites.
Text Match: filters by words in a name or address. Only Stops/Favorites with the matching text will show.
Status: filters out inactive Stops/Favorites. For Stops, selecting Active hides all Stops on your Route that are checked in, unreachable, or closed.
For Favorites, selecting Active hides all Favorites that are not open according to availability.
Distance: only shows Stops/Favorites within a certain distance of your Start Point.
Create custom filters by using the Hashtag field (in the Notes section) of your Favorites.
Next, type that hashtag into the Hash Tags section of the filter screen, and make sure the filter is on.
For example, you might tag VIP customers by typing #VIP in the notes section of their Favorites. Then turn on the filter and type #VIP in the hashtag section of the Filter screen.
You can use multiple hashtags for more advanced filtering. When you use multiple hashtags, the filter defaults to "OR" mode--so any Favorite with either hashtag will still appear. When you enable Match every hashtag it changes to "AND" mode--so only Favorites with both hashtags remain.
For example, you might tag all Favorites as either #hot or #warm or #cold. On a day when you only want to visit favorites that are warm or hot, adjust the hashtag section of the filter to read: #warm #hot, with Match every hashtag disabled.
There are no Stops on my Route? The Stops I just added are not showing up? - it is likely that you have a filter on that is hiding the stops. Tap the filter button in the upper right corner of the planner, then tap Clear all filters at the bottom.


Ask a lousy question and your brain will give you a lousy answer. Why can't I lose weight? Because diets never work. Why can't I be successful? Because I always fails. Why does this always happen to me? Because I'm afraid.
Your brain, this wonderful computer will find the answer to the questions you ask it, so make sure you ask it the right questions, as the brain is primed to find the answers. Ask it a negative question it will come up with a negative answer. Ask your brain an enquiring question it will go away and search for different answers and will continue to do so even when you are not consciously thinking about it.
Just think about it. How many times have you had that light bulb moment? That ahh moment. You are just relaxing or drifting off and the answer to a problem, that solution just comes to mind. With at times no apparently prompting from you. The answer or answers that you have been searching for!
So instead of asking you brain why you can't do something, ask it how you can. Then when it comes up with the answer act upon it, as without action nothing will change. As only action will move you forward to where you want to go. To achieve your goals and dreams in life.
If you would like further help on how to do this you should look to contact a coach who can help with personal performance/development.


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Monday & Thursday 10 a.m. - 8 p.m.
Tuesday & Wednesday 11 a.m. - 8 p.m.
Friday noon - 7 p.m.
Hiawatha Community Center is located along California Ave. SW in the heart of West Seattle's vibrant Admiral District.
The building is in the center of Hiawatha Playfield, which has been designated an historic landmark. Out the front doors of Hiawatha is a full athletic field including track, baseball field, soccer/football field and tennis courts which are used jointly by the community center and West Seattle High School. The park also includes a wading pool, swings, picnic tables, benches and a lovely grassy knoll. Directly to the south is West Seattle High School. Alki Beach is down the hill to the north.


Protesters clashed briefly with police after the main rally, and at least a dozen people were arrested.There were scattered protests against the war last week, including a rally in Haifa at which several Knesset members were detained or beaten, but Monday's strike was the first large coordinated movement."The action itself is what is important, to show solidarity and to protest against the crimes," said Samir Haddad, a resident of Nazareth.
The call for a general strike drew an angry response from Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who urged his supporters to boycott businesses that joined.


text:
Biden nominates former Fed Chair Janet Yellen as treasury secretary
WASHINGTON, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President-elect Joe Biden on Monday unveiled his economic team, nominating Janet Yellen, former Federal Reserve chair, to lead the Treasury Department.
If confirmed by the Senate, Yellen would be the first woman to serve as U.S. treasury secretary in the department's 231 years of history. She would also be the first person to have served as treasury secretary, chair of the Council of Economic Advisors, and chair of the Federal Reserve.
Biden also selected Neera Tanden, who currently serves as president & CEO of the Center for American Progress, as director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and named Cecilia Rouse, dean of the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs, to lead the White House Council of Economic Advisers.
The two selections also will make history, as Tanden would be the first woman of color and first South Asian American to lead the OMB, and Rouse would become the first African American woman to lead the Council of Economic Advisers.
The president-elect also selected Wally Adeyemo, president of the Obama Foundation, as deputy secretary of the Treasury. If confirmed, Adeyemo would be the first Black deputy secretary of the Treasury.
Jared Bernstein and Heather Boushey were appointed as members of the Council of Economic Advisers. Bernstein served as chief economist to then-Vice President Biden in the Obama-Biden Administration before joining the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Boushey is a long-time economic counselor to Biden and currently serves as president & CEO of the Washington Center for Equitable Growth.
"President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris have chosen an accomplished, crisis-tested team, made up of historic trailblazers and representing a broad diversity of backgrounds and lived experiences, who will get to work on day one to build our economy back better - and ensure that every single American is in on the deal," Biden said in a statement.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
'America Needs Farmers'
Iowa State Fair visitors including Seth Pals, 19, left, from Orient, played a trivia game with Carroll County Farm Bureau member Rick Schultes from Templeton to learn more about Iowa agriculture and win prizes with the America Needs Farmers logo.
By DARCY DOUGHERTY MAULSBY
Farm News staff writer
DES MOINES – The fall football season kicked off a little early this year when the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation offered free "America Needs Farmers" t-shirts to the first 100 people who stopped by Farm Bureau Park each day of the 2011 Iowa State Fair.
The ANF gear quickly became one of the most coveted items around.
"People really wanted those shirts," said Polly Rinehart, who farms near Boone and volunteered at Farm Bureau Park, where visitors could play an ag trivia "tailgate toss" game to win ANF magnets, koozies and miniature plastic footballs. "The ANF campaign is great, because it is helping the non-farm public learn more about the importance of agriculture."
The Rinehart family, from Boone, helped promote the America Needs Farmers campaign during the 2011 Iowa State Fair. From left are Greg and Polly, and daughters Emily, 15, Elizabeth, 16, and Miriam, 19.
The IFBF and the University of Iowa Athletics Department are collaborating on efforts to help consumers understand the immense opportunities and challenges today's farmers embrace, and they are doing so under the ANF banner. This initiative was first undertaken in 1985 by former UI football coach Hayden Fry during the Farm Crisis and has been embraced by current Hawkeye coach Kirk Ferentz.
"We are honored for the opportunity to work with the Iowa Farm Bureau to help tell this important story," Ferentz said. "What Hayden said is as true today as it was 26 years ago: Iowa and America does need its farmers."
It's important to start the conversation about agriculture and understand what it means to feed a growing world population, especially since more Americans than ever before are two, three and four generations from the farm, said IFBF President Craig Lang, a fifth-generation dairy farmer from Brooklyn.
"Farming has changed a lot since 1985. The seeds we plant and the equipment we use has changed, but so has the need for food and energy," said Lang, who said he never dreamed that IFBF volunteers would distribute their 100 free ANF T-shirts in less than 15 minutes each day of the fair. "Much of the nation's innovation in renewable energy, medicine, building materials and diagnostic tools come from what we grow. Our goal remains unchanged – making sure consumers have safe, wholesome food choices at the grocery store."
Remembering the 1980s
The Iowa Farm Bureau Federation celebrated the America Needs Farmers campaign and Iowa's farmers by hosting a tailgate toss game at Farm Bureau Park each day at the Iowa State Fair. Iowa farmers and IFBF staff were on hand to visit the fairgoers about agriculture.
The ANF campaign will help showcase the miracles of modern agriculture to a national audience this fall. UI Athletics Department has designated its prime-time Big Ten Conference home game on Oct. 15 against Northwestern as "ANF Day at Kinnick."
The game, which will be televised on ESPN, will celebrate Iowa's and America's farmers, said Lang, who noted that the university expects ANF Day to become an annual event.
Some people have asked why the IFBF didn't partner with Iowa State University on the ANF campaign. It's because ISU didn't establish the ANF brand in the beginning, Lang said.
Fry introduced "America Needs Farmers" when his unbeaten and No. 1 ranked 1985 football team traveled to Ohio State for a nationally-televised game against the Buckeyes.
Iowa took the field that day with a yellow circle with the letters "ANF" affixed to the right side of their helmets, immediately above the Tigerhawk logo.
It was a topic of national conversation for the remainder of the season – a season that ended for the Hawkeyes in Pasadena, Calif., as the Big Ten Conference's representative at the 1986 Rose Bowl.
"I was one of the luckiest young men in the world to be raised on a farm until 10 or 11 years of age, and a lot of the things I learned on the farm I applied in coaching football," Fry said. "In the 1980s, the economic development of the farmer was going downhill, however, and by 1985, it was tragic closing down farms, people hurting."
Fry had recruited quite a few farm boys on his football team, and spoke highly of these well-disciplined, strong players, who he described as "the salt of the Earth." "I came up with the idea that America needs to know that the farmers need help. So I came up with the ANF decal -American Needs Farmers – and it was amazing the great response we got, not only in Iowa but across the nation."
For farmers like the Rineharts of Boone, the 1980s farm crisis marked a critical turning point.
"When ANF started in 1985, we needed to diversify our farm income and began growing vegetables," said Greg Rinehart, who noted that nearly one fourth of the income from his 900-acre farm, which includes corn and soybeans, now comes from fruits and vegetables. "We sell at local farmers markets from Boone to Des Moines, and this gives us an opportunity to meet consumers and help educate them about how safe our food supply is."
Carrying on a proud legacy
The new ANF campaign is helping share farmers' stories with even more consumers. In recognition of Fry's leadership position in support of America's farmers, the UI will designate the space between the west grandstand and the north grandstand of historic Kinnick Stadium "ANF Plaza." The UI Athletics Department will also create an ANF Wall of Fame inside ANF Plaza. The Wall of Fame will honor student-athletes at the UI in the sport of football who exemplify the tenacity, work ethic and character of the American farmer.
"I have always believed in embracing all the good things that Coach Fry built into the program, and ANF was one of his greatest," Ferentz said. "There is so much to be proud of in Iowa, and our prominent position in agriculture is one of them. It's important to keep that going, because agriculture is a part of the fabric of who we are as Iowans."
You can contact Darcy Dougherty Maulsby by e-mail at yettergirl@yahoo.com
The Iowa Farm Bureau Federation celebrated the America Needs Farmers campaign and Iowa's farmers by hosting a tailgate toss game at Farm Bureau Park each day at the Iowa State Fair. Iowa farmers and IFBF staff were on hand to visit the fairgoers about agriculture.


text:
La Golavanova ha vinto un premio in denaro pari a 100.000 dollari e la possibilità di rappresentare la Russia sia a Miss Universo 2012 che a Miss Mondo 2012. Al momento dell'incoronazione la modella era una studentessa di giurisprudenza presso l'università di Mosca.

Note

Altri progetti

Collegamenti esterni
Sito ufficiale di Miss Russia

Concorrenti di Miss Universo 2012
Miss Russia
Concorrenti di Miss Mondo 2012

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Police have identified the person killed Sunday in a car crash near Bondurant as Joseph Livingston, a junior at Southeast Polk High School.
Authorities have identified the person killed Sunday in a car crash near Bondurant as a teenager from Altoona.
Joseph Livingston, a 16-year-old junior at Southeast Polk High School, was pronounced dead at the scene after two cars crashed at 2:15 p.m. on NE 72nd St. north of Interstate 80, the Polk County Sheriff's Department said Thursday.
The 20-year-old driver of a northbound-traveling sedan, in which Livingston was a passenger, lost control of the vehicle. The sedan veered into the path of an SUV heading southbound which caused the SUV to strike the passenger's side of the sedan, police said. The driver of the SUV was also 20.
The SUV had four passengers, all of whom were transported to a local hospital along with the driver of the sedan, authorities said. Their conditions were not known Thursday.
One of those injured was a 5-month-old from Kellogg, police said. Another child in the vehicle was uninjured because of her properly-installed car seat.
Livingston, who grew up in Marshalltown, loved classic rock and recently taught himself to play a right-handed guitar, though he is left-handed, according to his obituary. He was described as an amazing son, brother and friend who loved the arts.
"He will be missed by so many of his friends and classmates," according to his obituary.


What Results Can Writing A Book Generate For Your Business And Career?
My community of budding authors is always curious about two things: how long is any of this going to take, and what results can I expect?
In terms of the results you'll get from writing a nonfiction book as an entrepreneur, I saw results before publishing my book. Well before my first book The Freedom Project came out, I started a social media campaign to draw attention to the upcoming publication of that book.


text:
Q: Stripe webhooks returning a response of 400 I am trying to get stripe webhooks to work on my node.js/express application. For some reason, the stripe cli keeps returning a 400 response. I am new to stripe. is there something I am doing wrong? I followed the docs and the secret key for this webhook is 100% correct and everything is configured properly.
routes/webhook.js

const express = require("express");
const router = express.Router();
const endpointSecret = process.env.WEBHOOK_SECRET;
const stripe = require("stripe")(process.env.STRIPE_SECRET_KEY);

// Use body-parser to retrieve the raw body as a buffer
const bodyParser = require("body-parser");

// Match the raw body to content type application/json
router.post(
  "/",
  bodyParser.raw({ type: "application/json" }),
  (request, response) => {
    const sig = request.headers["stripe-signature"];

    let event;

    try {
      event = stripe.webhooks.constructEvent(request.body, sig, endpointSecret);
    } catch (err) {
      response.status(400).send(`Webhook Error: ${err.message}`);
    }

    // Handle the event
    switch (event.type) {
      case "payment_intent.succeeded":
        const paymentIntent = event.data.object;
        console.log("PaymentIntent was successful!");
        break;
      case "payment_method.attached":
        const paymentMethod = event.data.object;
        console.log("PaymentMethod was attached to a Customer!");
        break;
      // ... handle other event types
      default:
        // Unexpected event type
        return response.status(400).end();
    }

    // Return a response to acknowledge receipt of the event
    response.json({ received: true });
  }
);
module.exports = router

server.js

const express = require("express");
const router = express.Router();
const connectDB = require("./config/db");
const cors = require("cors");
const app = express();
const env = require("dotenv").config({ path: "./.env" });
console.log(process.env.SECRET_MESSAGE);

//connect DB
connectDB();

//middleware
app.use(express.json({ extended: false }));
app.use(cors());
router.all("*", (_, res) =>
  res.json({ message: "please make a POST request to /stripe/charge" })
);
app.use((_, res, next) => {
  res.header("Access-Control-Allow-Origin", "*");
  res.header(
    "Access-Control-Allow-Headers",
    "Origin, X-Requested-With, Content-Type, Accept"
  );
  next();
});
app.get("/", (req, res) => res.send("API running"));

//routes

app.use("/pay", require("./routes/api/stripe"));
app.use("/pdf", require("./routes/api/pdf"));
app.use("/users", require("./routes/api/users"));
app.use("/auth", require("./routes/api/auth"));
app.use("/webhook", require("./routes/api/auth"));

const PORT = process.env.PORT || 5000;

app.listen(PORT, () => console.log(`listening on port ${PORT}`));

A: The reason it fails is that your server uses app.use(express.json({ extended: false })); for all routes.
This means that {a: 1, b: 2} can become {b: 2, a: 1} - object property order is not important - when in the webhook route (thus not "raw").
To fix this, conditionally apply the express.json() to non "/webhook" routes:
// server.js
app.use((req, res, next) => {
  if (req.originalUrl.includes("/webhook")) {
    next();
  } else {
    express.json({ limit: "1mb" })(req, res, next);
  }
});

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
New track at GC Foster College ready for use
by trackalerts.com Thursday, October 8, 2015 8:34 am
A large crowd was on hand at Wednesday's opening of the GC Foster College's newly relayed JA$170 synthetic track. BSW out of Germany won the bid for the job which was completed on time and without incident.
The thirty five year old institution was getting its second track after the old one was out of use for two years to the discomfort of the college, several meet organizers and schools who used it for training in preparation for competition.
Principal Dr. Joyce Graham-Royal who spoke after the cutting of the ribbon was elated to see the opening of the track in time for the new track and field season. She said that it will help the college to achieve its mission of producing world class coaches, teachers, athletes and recreational sports specialists.
She also addressed the fixing of the pool. She said that she intends to "jump in it" have it sorted out as soon as possible.
Maurice Wilson, who is Jamaica's technical leader at senior track and field events, head coach of Sprintec and the college as well as lecturer, welcomed the track. According to him all stakeholders will benefit from having the track in operation again.
TagsGC Foster College
Sprintec, GC Foster sign partnership deal
Classes resumed at GC Foster
GC Foster College closed


text:
September 27, 2000 in Social Responsibility News
Olympic Medallists Leave Permanent Legacy of the Games at Olympic Rendezvous @ SAMSUNG
Sydney, September 27th 2000 -- Sydney 2000 medallists are helping to create a permanent legacy of the Millennium Games by taking part in daily handprinting ceremonies at the Olympic Rendezvous @ Samsung.
In conjunction with Olympic Aid, Samsung is inviting all Sydney 2000 medal winners to leave their handprints at special hand-printing ceremonies taking place at 11:00 and 18:10 each day. The handprints are then autographed and displayed on a specially constructed wall inside the Spectator Centre at the Olympic Rendezvous @ Samsung, where they will remain until the end of the Games.
To date, over 70 Olympic medal winners have attended the handprinting ceremonies including:
 US Swimming 3X Gold Medallist, Lenny Krayzelburg
 Australian 200m Swimming Gold Medallists, Todd Pearson and Jacinia Vanlint
 US 400m Gold Medallist, Michael Johnson
 South Africa# Swimming Silver medallist, Terrance Parkins
 Australian Women# Gold Medal Water Polo Team
 China# Table Tennis Silver and Bronze Medallist, Liu Guoliang
 Italy# Fencing Gold Medal winning team
 Australian swimmer, Petria Thomas, 3X Medallist
Many countries have been represented at the handprinting ceremonies, including Australia, France, The Netherlands, Canada, US, Indonesia, Korea, Thailand and China, with many more planning to drop in during the last week of the Games.
At the completion of the Games, all the ink handprints will be donated to the Australian Olympic Committee in order to commemorate all Olympic Medallists.


It's that time of year again when I do something crazy for the Children's Hospital! Fancy donning your lycra and joining me….??
I'm an ambassador for the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital Charity, and every year or so I organise an insane Charity event to raise money for them. Last time I did White Collar Boxing (and won), the time before that I cycled from London to Manchester.
It was tough, but manageable (7 miles and 1500ft of climbing), ….and only took 30mins. Allowing for the down runs, and some rest/tiredness, I'm hoping that most riders will manage 10-12 runs in 8-10 hours.
I've got handful of riders lined up so far, some doing all day, some just a few runs. They include leading NW CEOs, a pro-cyclist and several notable Entrepreneurs (plus some surprise guest riders), but I'd love to get more people involved doing 1, 2 or 10+ runs?
I've already got a small handful of both national and local corporate sponsors (and still securing more) but have already raised close to £4000 before even commencing individual sponsorship; Sponsors are being rewarded with their business logos/names on bespoke cycling jerseys that all registered riders will receive, (plus logos on the on-route signage for higher donations). We've got a 'base camp' being set up at Arighi Bianchi; food and route planning all in place; plus Theo Paphitis is behind the campaign (and Ryman sponsoring the event) to maximise the PR/promo reach!
The focus this year is raising money to build a Helipad at the Hospital – unbelievably, being the UK's largest Children's hospital, the Air Ambulance has to land upto 30 mins away at Barton and have a 'blue light' road transfer. God forbid it's my daughter, Ava, in the air ambulance, but if it is, I would want her there ASAP! The Helipad will get her into the operating theatre within 2 minutes of the helicopter landing. The £3.9m we needed is now just about £600,000 short, so we are really close.
Can I twist your arm to get involved? Even for just a couple of runs…..?


Colleen De Reuck Quotes. Jar of Quotes, 2019. https://www.jarofquotes.com/view.php?id=i-dont-rate-myself-as-fantastic-talented-athlete-i-just-have-perseverance-im-cart-horse-i-work-hard-colleen-de-reuck, accessed .
My whole life isn't just involved with running. A good part of it, yeah. But my family is a big part and most important. That is why I can't do as much miles as the other girls do, because I'm on the go all the time.


Fellow Citizens, For years now we have dozed off at the wheel and it is time for us to pull into a rest stop, splash some cold water onto our faces, and regain our sense of civic duty & obligations.
Let us go back into history and find out where we started this UNLAWFUL, and UNCONSTITUTIONAL ATTACK on our beloved Constitution.
April 9, 1865 – Lee surrenders to Grant ending the US Civil War – The beginning of a MASSIVE USURPATION of Federal Powers over the Individual States. Note that no where in the 'Terms of the Surrender' does it mention any articles about any takeover of State's Rights. It only placed the soldiers on parole & to agree to not take up arms against the US Government.
I honestly can not believe, that with a war in progress, that the above listed states legislatures jumped on and Approved an act that was submitted to them by the US Federal Congress. Besides, remember now, in February of 1865, the above listed states were NOT PART of the UNITED STATES any longer. They had all seceded and were part of the Confederate States of America. The 13th Amendment is NOT Legal at all.
Then, on July 1st, 1868, Worth was removed from office by the US Military — Military Order 120 to be exact — and replaced with William Holden.
Then, in 1870, the 15th Amendment was 'Supposedly Ratified', however the returned documents, from the various states, were full of errors & some states had rewritten portions of the text of the Amendment. When you sign off on any contract between 2 parties, and it gets to its Conclusion, the 1st party can't change one single word, or comma, or semicolon, or anything without the consent of the 2nd party. And visa versa. Any contract, or agreement, becomes NULL & VOID! More on this is listed later on in this post.
15th Amendment Senate Joint resolution 8. Click to enlarge.
To be noted, The State of North Carolina's legal government had been overthrown by the Feds in 1868. NC was no longer the 12th state of the union, it had become the 39th state. See the above info from ncrepublic dot org & the military order.
This link below points out the errors and other items concerning ratification.
I am going to stop at this point. I know I have given you fine citizens a lot of info to digest. In closing, I want you to examine the above material, and don't just take MY WORD on it… do your own homework. You'll find that it is the TRUTH, The whole Truth, and Nothing BUT the Truth!
Our leaders today have been indoctrinated by lies & misinformation for years & years. Our Judges & lawyers do not know the actual law or how it came to be. All they know is what they were taught, by folks who were ALSO indoctrinated, by folks who were indoctrinated before them. It has been a real slippery slope for 150 plus years.
I will probably generate a 2nd Open Letter in the near future. Stay tuned!
Respectfully submitted by SilenceDogood2010 this Twenty Ninth Day of June in the Year of our Lord, Two Thousand and Fifteen.
Published Nov 19 2012 — This address by G. Edward Griffin, given in 1969, is as current as today's headlines. Mr. Griffin shows that the Leninist strategy for conquest involves two kinds of revolution. One is violent. The other is non-violent. While most people think only of violent revolution, the non-violent phase is where most of the action has been in the United States.
A.S. Herlong's notes from his speech to the HOUSE on January 10, 1963 — The Communist Goals. This is Page 7.
In case the link gets scrubbed, I am posted the 45 Communist goals below.
Respectfully submitted by SilenceDogood2010 this Twenty Eighth Day of June in the Year of our Lord, Two Thousand and Fifteen.
We have been dealt a blow. The recent 2 opinions via the Supreme Court is sort of like getting the wind knocked out of you. BUT — Don't FRET & Don't Panic — Yes we'll catch our breath shortly and all will be fine.
If you are NOT FAMILIAR with a young lady named KrisAnne Hall, you need to be. Please visit her website, listen to her podcasts & radio show, and follow her on Facebook & Twitter.
1. Stop signing ANY marriage license, even at the State Level.
Do you believe that Marriage is a covenant between an man, woman, and God? Then you have to act like it. Refusing to marry by any government sanction is the ONLY way you will defeat this mandate in court.
2. Relinquish your 501c3 status IMMEDIATELY. You don't need the IRS's approval to be tax exempt. That comes from the Constitution legally and from our Creator naturally. Who is your provider anyway? Remember, you can't serve two masters!
3. Start teaching your congregation to be God dependent instead of government dependent. Teach your congregation to stop marrying by license for government benefits. Teach your congregation to stop tithing for government benefits. Remember: seek ye first the Kingdom of God…NOT government benefits.
Respectfully submitted by SilenceDogood2010 this Twenty Seventh Day of June in the Year of our Lord, Two Thousand and Fifteen.
I stumbled across another WordPress Blog dated 2013. It lists the Crimes committed by Barack Hussein Obama / Barry Soetoro against the US. Constitution. Please visit the original site. I am copying / pasting the text ONLY in case the original gets scrubbed.
• In direct violation of ACA Law ( Section 36B ) ordered subsidies be paid under Federal Exchange. Article. I. Section. 1; Article II, Section 3.
• *Entered Treaty Agreement with Iran without Advice & Consent of the Senate. No agreement (including one with the UN) is valid without 2/3 Senate approval. Article II Section 2.
• Operation Choke Point program – Direct infringement on 2nd Amendment.
• Using EPA to "legislate" over States, Congress, and Federal Court; Article II Section 3; Article I Section 8; Direct violation of Presidential Oath.
• Used Executive Privilege in regards to Fast & Furious gun running scandal. When Government misconduct is the concern Executive privilege is negated.
• 2 Executive actions mandating private health information on patients be turned over to NICS – Violation of HIPPA law.
• Unilaterally issued new exemptions to immigration restrictions law that bars certain asylum-seekers and refugees who provided "limited material support" to terrorists. – Article 1 Section 1; Article I Section 8 Congress shall have the Power..to establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization.
• Information memorandum telling states that they can waive the work requirement for welfare recipients, thereby altering the 1996 welfare reform law. – Article 1 Section 1, ALL Legislative power held by Congress.
• Used NLRB to dictate to a business where they can do business. (Boeing Dreamliner Plant). No Constitutional authority to do so.
• NDAA – Section 1021. Due process Rights negated. Violation of 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th Amendments.
• Executive Order 13524 – Gives INTERPOL jurisdiction on American soil beyond law enforcement agencies, including the FBI.
• Obama took Chairmanship of UN Security Council – Violation of Section 9.
• ACA (Obamacare) mandate – SCOTUS rewrote legislation and made it a tax because there is no Constitutional authority for Congress to force Americans to engage in commerce. SCOTUS has no authority to Legislate or lay taxes. Article I Section 1 & 8.
• Going after states (AZ lawsuit) for upholding Federal law (immigration) -10th Amendment.
• The Independent Payment Advisory Board (appointees by the president). Any decisions by IPAB will instantly become law starting in 2014 – Separation of Powers, Article 1 Section 1.
• Congress did not approve Obama's war in Libya. Article I, Section 8, First illegal war U.S. has engaged in. Impeachable under Article II, Section 4; War Powers Act – Article II Section 3.
• Obama falsely claims UN can usurp Congressional war powers.
• Obama has acted outside the constitutional power given him – this in itself is unconstitutional.
• Bribery of Senator Ben Nelson and Senator Mary Landrey. (Cornhusker Kickback and Louisiana Purchase) Article II, Section 4.
• With the approval of Obama, the NSA and the FBI are tapping directly into the servers of 9 internet companies to gain access to emails, video/audio, photos, documents, etc. This program is code named PRISM. NSA also collecting data on all phone calls in U.S. – Violation of 4th Amendment.
• Directed signing of U.N. Firearms treaty – 2nd Amendment.
• Obama altered law – (A president has no authority to alter law) Delayed upholding the Employer Mandate Law (ACA) until 2015 – Individual Mandate will be enforced. A President does not have that authority – Article. I. Section. 1. All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States; The president "shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed" -Article II, Section 3; Equal Protection Clause -14th Amendment.
• Obama altered law – ACA Medicare cuts delayed until 2015. Article. I. Section. 1; Article II, Section 3.
• Obama altered law – Enforcement of eligibility requirements for ACA delayed until 2015. Article. I. Section. 1; Article II, Section 3.
• Obama wavered ACA Income Verification Article. I. Section. 1; Article II, Section 3.
• Obama altered law – Delayed ACA caps on out of pocket expenses until 2015. (when implemented premiums will skyrocket) Article. I. Section. 1; Article II, Section 3.
• Waived Federal provision that prevents U.S. From arming terrorist groups – Article I. Section 1; Impeachable under Article III, Section 3.
• Directed State Department HS to ignore law barring entry to U.S. those giving political or charitable aid to known terrorist groups. Article. I. Section. 1; Article II, Section 3.
• Obama shelves part of the ACA Law for Insurers, extending the life of non-qualifying (according to ACA) plans until Jan. 1, 2015. Article. I. Section. 1; Article II, Section 3. Violation of the Take Care Clause, Separation of Powers.
• Obama waved ACA individual mandate for those that lost their insurance. Article. I. Section. 1; Article II, Section 3. Violation of the Take Care Clause, Separation of Powers.
• Obama alters ACA law and exempts companies employing between 50-100 full-time workers from business mandate until 2016. Article. I. Section. 1; Article II, Section 3.
• In total, Obama has unilaterally altered ACA 24 times. Article. I. Section. 1; Article II, Section 3. Violation of the Take Care Clause, Separation of Powers.
A Constitutional law professor (even their students) should know better. The TRUTH is Obama was not a Constitutional law professor: "under no circumstances would an offer to Obama be tenured." "The thought that the law school could have made a tenure offer to a person with no academic writing was out of the question." Former University of Chicago Law School Dean Richard Epstein.
Clearly Obama has not respected or protected the Constitution. Obama has broken his oath to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States. Article II, Section 1.
Note: Executive Orders/Actions by the president were not designed for, nor do they give a president the authority to use as, a means to override or alter legislation or any other Constitutional violation. Executive Orders cannot defy Congressional intent.
Respectfully submitted by SilenceDogood2010 this Seventeenth Day of June in the Year of our Lord, Two Thousand and Fifteen.
Joseph P. Morgan w/ wife Sara (Not the JP Morgan of banking fame) Click to enlarge.
I happened to stumble across a comment on this site. It is on the 'ABOUT' page.
First time reader…but not the last time!
I grew up in the South, sat with my GGrandfather J.P. Morgan (not the JP Morgan of banking fame) who was a boy about 9 during The War of 1861. His father fought for the Confederacy, was wounded and eventually died from complications from his wounds. GGrandpa told me a lot about The War, as he called it, while sitting a rocking chair on our farmhouse front porch as I sat at his feet.
What he hold me conflicted with what I was being taught in school and what I read in the history textbooks. Following GGrandpa death and when I was out of high school and about 20 years old I got to thinking about what the history books and teachers had tried to teach me and wondered why it didn't match what GGrandpa told me. Out of curiosity, more than anything else, I began visiting libraries and reading history. Finally I came across some period newspapers, found some period documents, and other American period history documentation. Low and behold I quickly learned that what I had been reading and taught was about 99% false. I eventually came to the conclusion that some anti-liberty group was putting out propaganda and lies about America and its leaders' history.
When the real Word Wide Web was invented…not the one Al Gore invented…a world of period documentation opened up to me. I began to devour all that I could read and study. Over a period of my 75 years I learned the true history of America and our leaders. Not until I retired did I find time to begin writing down what GGrandpa Morgan had told me and what I learned about the truth of American history…and boy, was it dynamite to the revisionist propagandists, who I learned were the liberals-progressives-socialists-Marxist faction in America who are working hard to "transform" our free nation into a slave nations as Abraham Lincoln and his pro-industry co-conspirators did in the 1850-1860's.
I couldn't help but go peruse Mr. Barrs' site. It is FULL of great links and information. If you have school age children or grandchildren, I would urge you to use this as a learning tool.
Respectfully submitted by SilenceDogood2010 this Fourteenth Day of June in the Year of our Lord, Two Thousand and Fifteen.


Young women needed for rock video. The actors will actually mimic the song playing: Bass, Cello, Drums and Guitar. Must be able to dance around and smile during the performance.
Musical experience might be helpful but is not necessary. All Ethnicities encouraged to apply.
Please submit photo and state your experience and or enthusiasm.


Cedar roofing is one of the country's original roofing materials and has been used by homeowners for centuries. In the early days of home construction, the cedar shakes or shingles would be laid over specially spaced lathing strips that allowed the wood to naturally dry out. This gave these roofs a lifespan that withstood several generations.
However, in today's home construction, a different type of installation utilizing an underlayment and extra insulation is used in roofing. While this has the benefit of increasing the air tightness of your home and preventing water from leaking into your indoor spaces, it has the negative impact of preventing the cedar shingles from properly drying. This leads to excess moisture that causes premature discoloration and roofing deterioration.
Cedar roofing begins as a beautiful natural wood color, but through aging it will slowly transition to a soothing gray and silver. If you prefer the look of the original color, you will want to apply a semi-transparent stain over the cedar shingles. For best results, this stain should be applied within two weeks of the roof's installation. Manual brushing of the stain is preferred over spraying in order to prevent any blotching.
Check the shingles for any standing debris once or twice a month. Clearing organic-based debris, such as leaves and branches, will deter the growth of mold and mildew, two of your cedar roofing's biggest foes. When left unchecked, mold and mildew will seep into the wood and impact its quality.
Contact a professional to power wash your cedar roofing every one or two years. This will help clear off any sticking debris, mold, and mildew that has collected throughout the year. Be sure that a low pressure is used to prevent structural damage to the wood.
Consider nailing zinc or copper strips to the roof's ridge caps. These metals, when they react to rain, form a mild solution that is a natural deterrent to moss growth.
Regularly inspect your attic and roof ventilation. This means keeping any areas with ridge vents, roof vents, louvers, and soffit vents clear from debris and opened up to air flow. Good ventilation will help prevent heat and moisture from building up in your attic and impacting the integrity of your cedar roofing.
If you are interested in having cedar shakes installed on your Malvern home, we would be glad to show you all that is available. Our roofers atCertitude are continually being educated on all the roofing choices we offer, so that you can be sure you will receive the highest quality roofing materials and installation.
The natural look of cedar shake shingles add such beauty to a house and can make it seem so warm and inviting. Contact Certitude Home Improvements for a free estimate to have cedar shakes installed on your roof.


text:
The Opera Tattler
Reviews of Performances and their Audiences.
David Gockley
SF Opera's The Magic Flute (Bowden/Shafer)
* Notes *
A revival of The Magic Flute opened at San Francisco Opera last night. The production has been beset with casting changes since August, and two more were announced from the War Memorial stage by General Director David Gockley before the performance. Adler Julie Adams sang First Lady for Jacqueline Piccolino and Kathryn Bowden filled in for Albina Shagimuratova, both replaced artists were apparently ailing. All four substitutions were more than adequate, in fact, Efraín Solís as Papageno and Sarah Shafer as Pamina (pictured above, photograph by Cory Weaver), standing in for former Adlers Philippe Sly and Nadine Sierra, may have stolen the show.
Solís has a ton of charisma, and is an absolute delight. His voice has much warmth and liveliness. Shafer gave a distinctive and emotionally nuanced performance, quite a feat as Pamina can be a pretty flat character. Kathryn Bowden muscled through her arias, her Queen of the Night did not sound ravishingly beautiful but she definitely hit every note and it was impressive, if not a bit terrifying.
The three ladies, Julie Adams, Nian Wang, and Zanda Švēde, sounded wonderful and there was no shrillness at all. Greg Fedderly perfectly reprised his role as Monostatos and was entirely hilarious during the magic bell scene when Papageno enchants him and the male chorus. Paul Appleby was fine as Tamino, though somewhat wooden, his sound is bright and has good volume.
The orchestra did not shine under the baton of conductor Lawrence Foster. There were a lot of obvious errors, the balances were off and the playing was sloppy. In fact, the chaos made me feel seasick, and I had to close my eyes to regain a sense of stillness.
Jun Kaneko's production is still as adorable as ever. It is not a dramatic rendering and does not help explain what is going on in this opera, but the abstractness of the design helps keep the action moving and is attractive.
The English translation is awkward but seems to engage the audience. I often indulged myself in thinking of the original German lines as the performers sang. One has to feel for the non-native English speakers in this piece, accents are fairly noticeable and the words are a compromise at best, so can sound stilted even when sung by Americans.
* Tattling *
There were some whispers but the back of the balcony was relatively well-behaved.
Posted at 09:28 AM in David Gockley, Die Zauberflöte, Julie Adams, Opera Review, San Francisco Opera | Permalink | Comments (2)
My reflection on David Gockley's time as general director of San Francisco Opera is on KQED Arts.
I talked to a ton of people for this piece, and it was amusing to hear so many different stories and opinions. Definitely kept in mind the comments I've heard from readers of this blog, so thank you all for your help.
Posted at 01:06 PM in David Gockley, San Francisco Opera | Permalink | Comments (8)
SF Opera's 2015-2016 Season
September 11-27 2015: Luisa Miller
September 12-29 2015: Sweeney Todd
October 8-28 2015: Lucia di Lammermoor
October 20- November 20 2015: The Magic Flute
November 18- December 6 2015: Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
November 25- December 9 2015: Il barbiere di Siviglia
December 8-13 2015: Usher House and La Chute de la Maison Usher
May 27- July 3 2016: Carmen
June 12-29 2016: Don Carlo
June 14-July 1 2016: Jenůfa
David Gockley announced his last season at San Francisco Opera today. Leah Crocetto, Michael Fabiano and Thomas Hampson star in Luisa Miller. Gerald Finley is Sweeney Todd opposite Stephanie Blythe. Diana Damrau sings the title role of Lucia di Lammermoor. Greer Grimsley and Brandon Jovanovich sing in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. Calixto Bieito's production of Carmen features two casts. René Pape is Philip II in Don Carlo. Karita Mattila is Kostelnička in Jenůfa.
Posted at 01:20 PM in 2015-2016 Season Previews, David Gockley, San Francisco Opera | Permalink | Comments (10)
Gockley Announces Retirement
San Francisco Opera's General Director, David Gockley (pictured left, photograph by Terrence McCarthy), has announced his retirement in July 2016. He concludes a ten-year, seven-month tenure with the Company and a career spanning 44 years. Gockley, who will be 73 at the end of the 2015–2016 season, became the Company's sixth general director when he joined San Francisco Opera in January 2006. The announcement was made at a War Memorial Opera House press conference today.
Press Release | Official Site
SF Opera Annual Meeting 2014
San Francisco Opera's Annual Meeting for 2014 was held Thursday afternoon at Zellerbach Rehearsal Hall in San Francisco. Chairman of the Board John A. Gunn, Board of Directors President Keith B. Geeslin, CFO Michael Simpson, and General Director David Gockley all spoke. Both Geeslin and Gockley expressed concern over San Diego Opera's closing, since it has been well-run and has presented world-class talent. San Francisco Opera ran a deficit again, subscriptions continue to drop off, but the endowment is at an all-time high. The new Opera Center in the Veterans Building will start being built in January of next year. Once it opens, the plan is to program a Baroque opera each February, a family opera in March, and a contemporary opera in April. We also learnt that the DVD of San Francisco Opera's Porgy and Bess will be released next Tuesday.
Composer Carlisle Floyd joined us for the meeting, and was interviewed by David Gockley. Floyd's Susannah will be performed next season, and we were told about the composer's career. His next opera premieres in Houston. Three Adlers and one Adler alumna performed four pieces from Susannah: pianist Noah Lindquist; tenor A.J.Glueckert; baritone Hadleigh Adams; and soprano Rhoslyn Jones. Jones sang "Ain't it a Pretty Night" with particular poignancy.
During the reception after the meeting David Gockley asked me where I had been and I assured him I would make myself less scarce given that a Baroque opera is programmed this fall.
Posted at 09:52 PM in Adler Fellowship Program, David Gockley, San Francisco Opera | Permalink | Comments (2)
Auditions for the General Director 2013
The Auditions for the General Director of San Francisco Opera occurred last night after the matinée performance of Les Contes d'Hoffmann. The twenty-three singers in the Merola Opera Program performed, each accompanied by one of five apprentice coaches. There were some interesting tenors and mezzo-sopranos. The baritones, though all very loud and competent, seemed a little bland this year.
Mezzo-soprano Rihab Chaieb, tenor Issachah Savage, soprano Maria Valdes, mezzo-soprano Zanda Švēde, tenor Pene Pati, and mezzo-soprano Daryl Freedman were called back. Both of these tenors had a robust warmth and their own particular sound. Švēde was most distinctive of the these female singers, her voice is quite deep. Pati and Freedman were especially praised by David Gockley.
Of those not called back, Gockley seemed most enthused about baritone Chris Carr, soprano Aviva Fortunata, tenor Matthew Newlin, and bass-baritone Thomas Richards.
Posted at 11:40 AM in David Gockley, Merola Opera Program, San Francisco Opera | Permalink | Comments (0)
The Auditions for the General Director of San Francisco Opera occurred last night after the this season's last performance of Attila. The twenty-three singers in the Merola Opera Program performed, each accompanied by one of five apprentice coaches. This year there are many talented tenors. Many Mozart arias were heard.
Soprano Jacqueline Piccolino, tenor AJ Glueckert, mezzo-soprano Erin Johnson, soprano Rose Sawvel, soprano Elizabeth Baldwin, tenor Chuanyue Wang, mezzo-soprano Sarah Mesko, soprano Jennifer Cherest, and bass-baritone Hadleigh Adams were called back.
David Gockley seemed most enthused about tenors Yi Li, Andrew Stenson, and Chuanyue Wang. Li sang "Pourquoi me réveiller" from Werther, Stenson sang "Di rigori armato" from Der Rosenkavalier, and Wang sang "La mia letizia infondere...Come poteva un angelo" from I Lombardi alla prima crociata and "Dies Bildnis ist bezaubernd schön" from Die Zauberflöte.
San Francisco Opera's Annual Meeting for 2012 was held Thursday afternoon at the Intercontinental Hotel in San Francisco. Board of Directors President George H. Hume, CFO Michael Simpson, and General Director David Gockley all spoke. The outlook this year is better, though the company did run a deficit again, donations are up and they expect to break even in 2013. The most interesting plan we heard about was the Diane B. Wilsey Center for Opera, which is to be built on the fourth floor of the Veterans Building in the War Memorial complex. This will provide space to house most of the opera's operations including the costume shop, space for rehearsals, and a small performance venue. There will also be room to house an archive of San Francisco Opera's recordings on various media.
Four Adlers performed: soprano Marina Harris; mezzo sopranos Laura Krumm and Renée Rapier; and pianist Robert Mollicone. Rapier sang "All' afflitto" from Roberto Devereux , Harris sang "Einsam in trüben Tagen," from Lohengrin, and Krumm sang "Quis fais-tu, blanche tourterelle" from Roméo et Juliette.
Somehow I managed to spill ink all over both my hands at the very beginning of the meeting. The people next to me offered me tissues and wipes. Three mobile phones rang at different points during the proceedings.
This year's Auditions for the General Director of San Francisco Opera were this evening, featuring the participants of the Merola Opera Program. The quality of singing was consistent and very nice. We heard quite a few arias in English and Russian. Mezzo-soprano Deborah Nansteel, bass Peixin Chen, soprano Elizabeth Zharoff, bass-baritone Philippe Sly, soprano Xi Wang, tenor Cooper Nolan, soprano Marina Boudart Harris, baritone Goudong Fang, and mezzo-soprano Laura Krumm were called back. David Gockley seemed most enthused about Chen and Sly. Chen sang "Si La Rigueur" from La Juive and "La Vendetta" from Le Nozze di Figaro. Sly sang "O du mein holder Abendstern" from Tannhäuser and "Sibillar gli angui d'Aletto" from Rinaldo.
Posted at 10:53 PM in David Gockley, Merola Opera Program, San Francisco Opera | Permalink | Comments (0)
General Director of SF Opera
San Francisco Opera's General Director David Gockley has renewed his contract for 5 more years, and will leave the position in 2016. Nicola Luisotti will remain as Music Director until at least that time as well.
SF Chronicle | SF Opera's Official Site
Posted at 06:31 AM in David Gockley, News, Nicola Luisotti, San Francisco Opera | Permalink | Comments (2)
Heart of a Soldier Press Conference
Today the Communications Department of San Francisco Opera held a press conference on Heart of a Soldier, which will have a world premiere on September 10, 2011. General Director David Gockley told us a bit about how this came to be an opera. An array of individuals were introduced: Susan Rescorla, one of the people whose story is being told in this opera; James B. Stewart, the author of the non-fiction work the opera is based on; librettist Donna DiNovelli; composer Christopher Theofanidis; conductor Patrick Summers; and director Francesca Zambello. Zambello evidently came to Gockley with Stewart's book, saying that the story had operatic themes with two incredible love stories.
This was followed by a panel discussion moderated by Kip Cranna, who asked each person involved a few key questions. DiNovelli condensed Stewart's 320 page book into a mere 26. The piece is complete and has been workshopped in the last few days. Theofanidis took Tosca as his starting point and loves verismo. The work uses a full orchestra but also employs saxophone, bagpipe, and electric guitar.
The opera stars Thomas Hampson (Rick Rescorla), William Burden (Daniel J. Hill), and Melody Moore (Susan Rescorla). We got to hear a duet from the piece accompanied by piano, sung by Melody Moore and Austin Kness.
The audience consist of the press, board members, colleagues from other performing arts organizations, and San Francisco Opera staff. Everyone seemed very attentive.
Posted at 03:03 PM in David Gockley, Heart of a Soldier, Melody Moore, San Francisco Opera | Permalink | Comments (2)
Plácido Domingo's SF Opera Press Event
Today the Communications Department of San Francisco Opera hosted an event with Plácido Domingo in conversation with David Gockley. Domingo will be singing the title role in Cyrano de Bergerac, which opens Sunday, and Gockley spoke a bit about how this was arranged, why we are getting a production from Théâtre du Châtelet, and asked Domingo to tell us more about this opera. We heard about Alfano and how he was the contemporary of Janáček, Berg, and Schoenberg. It was pointed out that Domingo is singing two poets this season back to back, since he just finished as Neruda in Los Angeles Opera's Il Postino. The famous story of how Domingo flew in for the opening of the 1983-1984 season to fill in for an ailing Otello was recounted and he joked that 25,000 people claimed to have been there even though the opera house only seats 3,200.
Gockley had Domingo speak about taking on baritone roles, and made fun of his own voice, since he is a baritone. The music director, Maestro Nicola Luisotti, was also in attendance, and Domingo complimented Luisotti's fine baritone. As for Domingo himself, he said he does not pretend to be a baritone, but likes doing these interesting roles and has to color his voice very differently for them. At one point he had imagined that Simon Boccanegra would be his last role, and has done 28 performances. His voice is still in good condition, so he wants to sing everyday that he can, but to not sing one more day once he cannot. His next new baritone role is Athanaël in Thaïs, which he will perform in Paris and Valencia soon. He quipped that it was appropriate for his age, since Athanaël is a monk. Charmingly, he also said that Cyrano was likewise good for him in this way, since Cyrano is a "loser," and can be any age. On this more human side, we heard about what Domingo does in his downtime, and he apparently recharges by the results of his work. He is a Real Madrid fan and also watches telenovelas with his wife Marta, who was in attendance.
During the question and answer period Domingo was asked how he takes care of his voice, since he still sounds so youthful and fresh. One should not drink terribly cold water, and one cannot drink warm beer. Domingo finds it better to eat lunch late, around 2pm and then have dinner after his performance. Ideally as a tenor one should rest 3 or 4 days if possible. Questions were asked bout San Francisco's charm, and Domingo praised San Francisco Opera as one of the most important companies in the world. He did tease us about how there were some bad years before Gockley's tenure that were good for his company, Los Angeles Opera. The challenges of behing the general director out on the West Coast were discussed. It is difficult to get artists out here, in Europe a singer can get to different houses more easily and the euro is so strong.
Domingo was questioned about the recent Ring at Los Angeles Opera, and he conceded that perhaps two cycles would have been sufficient. That production was to have gone to Mannheim and Seville, but will not. It may still be produced in Korea or Argentina. He was asked about the recent simulcast of Rigoletto in Mantua that he participated in, and he told us he did not feel that opera in cinemas would steal the audience from the opera house.
The audience was quiet but a cellular phone rang during the aforementioned question about San Francisco as a city. David Gockley was kind enough to call on me for a question, and Nicola Luisotti was gracious enough to introduce me to Plácido Domingo. I encouraged the delightful North American editor of MusicalCriticism.com to have our photograph taken together with Domingo.
Posted at 08:07 PM in Cyrano de Bergerac, David Gockley, Nicola Luisotti, Plácido Domingo, San Francisco Opera | Permalink | Comments (10)
Opera in the Park 2010
San Francisco Opera's 37th Opera in the Park event was Nicola Luisotti's second as music director. The performance is entertaining every year, and this was no exception. The afternoon began with the overture to Le Nozze di Figaro, and gave us a preview of how this will sound when the latest revival opens on Tuesday September 21st. In keeping with this, Michèle Losier sang Cherubino's "Non so più," followed by Luca Pisaroni in "Non più andrai," and Danielle de Niese in "Giunse alfin il momento...Deh, vieni, non tardar." Dolora Zajick sang "La luce langue" from Macbeth stridently and Brian Mulligan sang "Avant de quitter ces lieux" from Faust sweetly. Marco Vratogna sang the Act III aria "Nemico della Patria" from Andrea Chénier, which David Gockley says we will hear soon enough at the War Memorial. "Pourquoi me réveiller" from Werther was sung by Ramón Vargas, and this opera opens for the first time in perhaps 25 years at SF Opera on Wednesday. The first half closed with David Lomelí, Leah Crocetto, Heidi Stober, and Brian Mulligan singing the famous quartet from Rigoletto, "Un di se ben rammentomi...Bella figlia dell'amore."
I had to leave at intermission, but I did hear the rehearsal of this performance earlier in the day. The second half started with the overture to Il barbiere di Siviglia, followed by Lucas Meachem in the famous "Largo al factotum." One does look forward to his Count in Le Nozze di Figaro and his fellow cast members Luca Pisaroni and Danielle de Niese, who sang "Là ci darem la mano." David Lomelí performed "La donna è mobile." Then there was much Puccini with Micaela Carosi singing "Vissi d'Arte," Leah Crocetto and Brian Jadge "Bimba, dagli occhi pieni," and Marcello Giordani in "Nessun Dorma." The performance ended with the usual "Libiamo ne'lieti calici" from La Traviata. I believe the encore must have been "O Sole Mio," sung by David Lomelí, Brian Jadge, Ramón Vargas, and Marcello Giordani.
The day started off rather foggy and cold, and the Maestro wore his white sweater instead of having it draped in his normal fashion. The Maestro sang a respectable "Non più andrai," whilst rehearsing the orchestra. The sun did come out, and I was able to convince Axel Feldheim to come to the park and sing the National Anthem with me for the second time in 24 hours.
General Director David Gockley was in his usual spot on stage much of the time and introduced groups of pieces. He inadvertently skipped over the two Mozart pieces after Cherubino's aria, and Luisotti teasingly said that Gockley "didn't know the season."
Posted at 09:38 AM in Adler Fellowship Program, David Gockley, David Lomelí, Dolora Zajick, Nicola Luisotti, Ramón Vargas, San Francisco Opera | Permalink | Comments (4)
This year's Auditions for the General Director of San Francisco Opera were yesterday evening, featuring the participants of the Merola Opera Program. All of the singers were very good, as were the pianists.
This year we only have one returning Merolino, Eleazar Rodríguez, who sang "Sì, ritorvarla io giuro," with those dizzying high Cs, from La Cenerentola. As for the new singers, Rebecca Davis was particularly impressive, as were Daniel Montenegro and Hye Jung Lee. Davis, accompanied by Natalia Katyukova, was probably the most polished, and her "Měsíčku na nebi hlubokém" (Song to the Moon) was gorgeous. She was called back to sing Magda's big number in La Rondine, and she did splendidly. Given that she sang the role recently at Opera San José, and she is perhaps the eldest of the Merolini, it all does make sense that she did so well.
Daniel Montenegro, accompanied by Michael Spassov, sounded very lovely indeed in "Una furtiva lagrima." His voice has an interesting metallic quality, and his head voice and chest voice sound uniform, without strain for the higher notes. When called back Montenegro sang "La mia letizia infondere," Oronte's aria from I Lombardi. It was a little less smooth, but still very beautiful. Hye Jung Lee sounded sweet in both "Durch Zärtlichkeit und Schmeicheln" and Zerbinetta's aria from Ariadne auf Naxos. Her accompanist was Jenna Douglas.
In addition to Rebecca, Daniel, and Hye Jung, David Gockley called back the very talented Sidney Outlaw, Kevin Ray, Nadine Sierra, and Ryan Kuster. Sierra was definitely the most attractive as far as looks and presence. Her one-shoulder black dress was striking, and her singing was strong as well.
Ao Li still has not made it to San Francisco, it seems. As usual, the Pride celebration was taking place during the last Sunday of the month at Civic Center, so we did start a few minutes late. Box E was well-behaved and attentive. A watch alarm was heard in the hall at 8pm. The floor must have been either not level or not smooth, because the singers had difficulty walking on and off stage.
Many, if not all, the Adlers were in attendance, including Leah Crocetto, Sara Gartland, Maya Lahyani, David Lomelí, Allen Periello, and Tamara Sanikidze. Also spotted was Eva-Maria Westbroek, who is currently singing Sieglinde here.
San Francisco Opera's Annual Meeting for 2010 was held yesterday afternoon, over in Zellerbach Rehearsal Hall A at the Symphony. Board of Directors President George H. Hume, General Director David Gockley, and CFO Michael Simpson gave reports as usual. Again, this year the outlook was on the gloomy side, though the endowment has recovered since last time. On the other hand, 50% of all donations to SF Opera come from just 19 people, a precarious situation to say the least. Full subscriptions continue to decline, there is an accumulated deficit, and many cuts were made. Plans afoot to solve the various problems include recapitalization, reconfiguring of the opera schedule, reducing fixed costs, investment in facilities, and building the endowment.
Gregory Henkel, Director of Artistic Administration at San Francisco Opera, also addressed us. He spoke about the joys and challenges of casting for the company, and about how splendidly the Merolini and Adlers did at the Met auditions.
Five Adlers performed, sopranos Leah Crocetto and Sara Gartland, mezzo soprano Maya Lahyani, countertenor Ryan Belongie, and pianist Tamara Sanikidze. Lahyani sang "Va, laisse couler mes larmes" from Werther with great beauty. Belongie sang Arsamene's aria "Sì, la voglio," from Serse. His transitions between the different parts of his voice were flawless. Gartland's "Deh vieni, non tardar" was very pretty. Crocetto and Lahyani gave a heartrending performance of "Scuoti quella fronda di ciliegio."
I was particularly ill-behaved at this meeting, for one thing, I was at least 5 minutes late, as the BART train ahead of mine was having mechanical issues. Secondly, I answered the survey that we were to fill out in my own deadly earnest yet entirely silly manner. I hope the person who has to read that gets a good laugh. Two cellular phones rang at different points whilst people were speaking.
In other news, we may well have Fleming, Radvanovsky, and Hampson to look forward to in coming seasons.
Don Giovanni in Berkeley
Il trovatore in San José
Aci, Galatea e Polifemo in SF
Wozzeck in NY
The Magic Flute in NY
Ermelinda in SF
Hansel and Gretel in SF
Manon Lescaut in SF
Le Nozze di Figaro in SF
Billy Budd in SF
Roméo et Juliette in SF
SF Opera's Future Seasons
How Standing Room Works
Official Blogs of West Coast Opera Companies
Portland Opera
San Diego Opera
San Francisco Opera
Seattle Opera
Vancouver Opera
SF Chronicle
SF Classical Voice
The Opera Tattler •


What does it mean handwritten words on white paper above wooden bark as background. Wooden retro bark background. Flat lay concept.
What does it mean handwritten words on paper above wooden bark as background. Wooden retro bark background. Flat lay concept with handwritten message.


You will be working for an organisation whose organisation is being injected with investment from their parent company, a multi-billion pound global outfit. Your new company is being developed into a centre of excellence for a particular product of theirs, whilst introducing new products and technologies enabling them to continue to provide quality products to multiple industries.
In this newly created position, you will be in charge of a small team of engineers and will lead from the front, using your previous experience within maintenance engineering. You will be in charge of creating SOP's for maintenance machinery, carry out risk assessments, create strategy for preventative maintenance and will be responsible for the maintenance systems on site.
In order to be successful in this Engineering Manager job, you will have previous experience within a maintenance engineering position and will have exposure in a supervisory or management role. Although this isn't an engineering role, you will have the capability to lead from the front and 'jump on the tools' if needs be. You will need to be an ambitious professional, as there is a lot of opportunity to grow internally and develop your knowledge in order to enhance your career.
You will receive a very competitive salary and excellent benefits package including a 25% discretionary bonus, private medical care, pension and 33 holidays per year (including bank).


Green Drinks is a monthly gathering to discuss myriad green topics! Visit www.greendrinks.org to learn about this month's theme.
A Food Shed Co-op representative will be on hand with information about the cooperative.


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From Emmy Award winner Dick Wolf and the team behind the "Law & Order" franchise, "FBI" is a fast-paced drama about the inner workings of the New York office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. First-class agents -- including Maggie Bell and Omar Adom "OA" Zidan -- bring all of their talents, intellect and technical expertise to tenaciously investigate cases of tremendous magnitude, including terrorism, organized crime and counterintelligence, to keep New York and the country safe.
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Cancer Breast Cancer Deaths Drop Almost 40 Percent From 1989
Breast Cancer Deaths Drop Almost 40 Percent From 1989
October 3, 2017 Loknath Das
According to the report, advances in early-detection mammography is one reason breast cancer deaths have decreased. Getty Images
A new report published by the American Cancer Society Tuesday in A Cancer Journal for Clinicians found deaths from breast cancer declined almost 40 percent between 1989 and 2015, equating to 322,600 deaths.
Between 1975 and 1989 breast cancer death rates increased 0.4 percent each year. However, after 1989 and through to 2015, deaths decreased 39 percent overall, according to the report. This drastic decrease can be attributed to advances in medications and treatment options.
What Does Survivorship Mean for Breast Cancer Patients?
Deanna Attai, a breast cancer surgeon at the University of California at Los Angeles, who was not involved in the study, said some of these advances include superior chemotherapy treatments, which were first developed in the 1980s, but have since been improved and are given after surgery to reduce the risk of recurrence, The Washington Post reported.
Other breakthroughs include tamoxifen, an anti-estrogen agent first approved in the 1970s, the drug Herceptin, which is used to treat specific types of tumors and drugs called aromatase inhibitors, which can also reduce recurrence when taken over a long period of time.
The report also attributes the decline in deaths to the advancement of early-detection mammography technology. However, behind skin cancer, breast cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed in U.S. women, and about 12.4 percent of women (1 in 8) will be diagnosed with it in their lifetime, according to the American Cancer Society.
Approximately 252,000 new cases of breast cancer will be diagnosed in 2017 in the U.S. and more than 40,600 of these diagnoses will be fatal, The Washington Post reported.
["Source-timesofindia"]
Cancer 1989,40,almost,breast,Cancer,deaths,Drop;,From,Percent
Philippines Eyes 'Two-Track' Talks With China: Envoy
Rafael Alunan (left) and Fidel Ramos (right) had talks aimed at improving relations. MANILA: The Philippines and China discussed setting […]
Using data science to beat cancer
he complexity of seeking a cure for cancer has vexed researchers for decades. While they've made remarkable progress, they are […]
Mao Kobayashi: Japanese cancer blogger dies at 34
A former Japanese newsreader who won legions of admirers after deciding to publicly chronicle her battle with cancer has died […]
50 Healthcare Business Ideas
If you're a healthcare professional or have an interest in working in the healthcare industry, there are plenty of different […]
Julia Louis-Dreyfus Raises Discussion-Worthy Points In Her Breast Cancer Update
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Such is the position, looked at in a very broad and general way, but there are diversities of opinion affected by the point of view of the observer, as well as by the class observed, and once more I offer my readers a patchwork of quotations. They are drawn from the police, from the clergy, ministers of religion, and missionaries, from schoolmasters and others. Drinking habits and the disorderliness resulting from them could not but be continually mentioned in the course of the long walks taken in all parts of London day after day with the picked police officers who were permitted to assist us during the revision of our maps; and we had the advantage of discussing these and other cognate subjects with their divisional superiors. For the rest, I, of course, attach no names to the opinions I quote, nor do I indicate the precise locality to which they bore reference, but only when needed indicate the class.
"There are various classes of women drinkers: the factory girl who drinks once in a way, the prostitute who drinks in the course of business and very seldom gets drunk, the laundry-woman who drinks by reason of the thirsty nature of her trade, and the married woman who drinks because her husband drinks." "'Women have lost all shame about entering a public-house, and as they never drink singly, the evil spreads." "Public-houses are more attractive than they were; ladies' saloon bars are to be seen everywhere. Publicans tell you that it is in response to a demand, but it is difficult to distinguish between cause and effect." Such are other police opinions.
... A parish nurse, working in the East End, said that "as to drink, there is more there among women than among men. They drink beer, or rather porter, not spirits, and always in company. When once inside a public-house, they stay there. For this reason she believed that if a law were passed (she was speaking in 1898) prohibiting children from fetching the dinner and supper beer, it would do distinct harm to East London.


Send to our email address (generally through Zelle), which is free and virtually immediate!
SWIFT, which costs the sender about $35, and takes about 3 days.
ACH, which costs the sender about $3. Generally 3 working days, but some banks up to 6 working days. Costs also vary.
Since about two years most banks, and certainly the larger ones, offer the service to be able to send money directly to someone's email address or cell phone number.
The banks don't perform this transfer themselves, instead, they use a third party, much like they use the services of SWIFT and ACH. The company "Zelle" is one of the major players in this "pay-to-email" arena and most large banks will use this, including Bank of America where we have our bank account. You should be able to find a link to transfer money to someone's email address in your online banking portal. In our case, send the payment to hugh@zenithherbal.com.
Below is a screenshot from our BoA account when we want to pay someone's email address.


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Home Taxes UBS Settles Tax Evasion Case with U.S. Government
UBS Settles Tax Evasion Case with U.S. Government
Scott Langdon
The nation of Switzerland has always been one of the prized goals for many of the world's leading tax evasion lawyers and investigators. In 2009, the largest bank in Switzerland, UBS AG entered into an agreement with the U.S. tax agencies that would allow it to pay a financial settlement along with the revealing of around 250 names of U.S.-based clients who were suspected of tax evasion in their home nation. Swiss banking secrets have always been prized highly by the authorities of the nation but the U.S. authorities took advantage of the 2008 economic crisis to push for a relaxation of these long in place Swiss laws.
The Beginnings of the U.S. Government vs. UBS in 2008
The onset of the 2008 economic crisis is an oft-debated subject in the financial sector with knowledge of the crisis something many experts now state they warned of. As Lehman Brothers fell in the U.S., the UBS banking giant seemed to be heading for the same outcome in Switzerland.
Eventually, the Swiss Government bailed out UBS as the U.S. Treasury Department and IRS began exploring the level of tax evasion in the European nation by U.S. nationals. As the crisis in the global economy hit its height in August 2008, executives from UBS were summoned to a meeting in New York with a delegation of U.S. officials headed by U.S. Department of Justice Tax Division Attorney Kevin Downing. The UBS Group and Swiss Government officials had faced similar proceedings before and simply reached a financial settlement to bring any investigation to an end.
In the Summer of 2008, Kevin Downing felt the Swiss bank was at its weakest in generations and sought to put pressure on the UBS AG Group and asked for the names of more than 50,000 U.S. nationals with secret Swiss bank accounts. With the case dragging on, UBS moved closer to the precipice of financial disaster and continued to push U.S. Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton to bring about an end to the confrontation.
An International Incident
The fact Secretary of State Clinton had been called into the debate regarding tax evasion and money laundering by foreign nationals in the Swiss banking industry. One of the biggest fears of Swiss officials was that any release of names of U.S. nationals with secret accounts would erode the trust in Swiss banking institutions among the wealthiest people in the world.
Bringing UBS to task involved political figures in The White House and their counterparts in Switzerland to the negotiating table with Swiss officials believing their entire financial future could be destroyed by the actions in the U.S. The crux of the case lay with the lack of tax payments by U.S. citizens who had largely inherited their wealth and others who opened accounts purely for the reason of evading the IRS.
The nation of Switzerland is one of the most important to the global economy and the financial sector as a whole. UBS is the second-largest manager of personal wealth in the with Switzerland itself managing around $2 trillion in assets for people and corporations around the world.
Reaching a Settlement with the U.S. Government
Various investigations into tax havens and offshore banking activities around the world have led to a consistent erosion of Swiss secret banking laws. Not only has the European nation found itself at the heart of many investigations it has also had to deal with making settlements with U.S. tax authorities that do not break the vast regulations regarding secrecy in the banking industry.
The first settlement in relation to UBS and the U.S. tax authorities came about in February 2009 when the banking giant agreed to pay around $780 million in compensation to the IRS. During the negotiations for the February 2009 decision, the number of secret accounts identified by the Swiss banking giant was reduced from over 50,000 to just 250.
In early August 2009, attorneys for the U.S. Government and those representing their counterparts from the Swiss Government and UBS attended a three-minute hearing at the U.S. District Court in Miami, Florida. At the hearing, U.S. Department of Justice lawyer, Stewart Gibson explained negotiations on July 31, 2009, had yielded progress both sides believed would lead to a settlement. Judge Alan Gold heard the two parties were working on the details of the settlement that would hinge on a breakthrough being made regarding the personal information of a number of U.S. citizens with secret Swiss bank accounts.
In an effort to protect the secret banking laws of Switzerland, the Government of the nation was unhappy with any so-called fishing expedition into the files of UBS by U.S. Government agencies. The initial settlement deal was designed to allow the secrecy laws to remain in place while complying with U.S. authorities in response to the requirements of the U.S. District Court in Miami.
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Boom Burger, the Jamaican-style burger group, is diversifying its offer and seeking to expand, as it opens its long-awaited second site and cocktail concept Boom Shack, in London's Brixton this weekend.
A Brixton site for Boom Burger was first discussed in 2014, but the group has taken until now to launch a second venue.
The new 21-cover site is set to open in Brixton on 26 November and marks the brand's move away from purely serving burgers, to focus on Jamaican-style cocktails and breakfast as well.
Original cocktail options will include the Jamaican Punch, with fresh fruit and juice plus rum, vodka or gin; and the Montego Breeze, with vodka, juices, and ginger ale.
The brunch menu will focus on brioche buns, with classic bacon, egg and cheese; plus fresh juices such as the Welcome to Jamrock, with mango, orange, pineapple and coconut water.
The evening menu will include hot ciabatta sandwiches, such as the Boom Cubano with ham, slow-cooked pork shoulder, Swiss cheese and hot peppers; or the Boom Sarnie with Scotch bonnet chilli beef, cheese, house-made bacon jam, and jerk mayonnaise.
Founder Joshua de Lisser, who opened the first Boom Burger in Portobello Road in 2014 following a successful eight-month pop-up at The Earl of Portobello pub, is also hoping Brixton could be the first of several more sites under the Boom brand.


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NEMANJA BJELICA
Grizzlies rout Warriors to avoid elimination, force Game 6
Jaren Jackson Jr., Desmond Bane and Tyus Jones each scored 21 points and the Memphis Grizzlies routed the Golden State Warriors 134-95 on Wednesday night to avoid elimination and force a sixth game in the Western Conference semifinal.
Curry injures left foot in Warriors blowout loss to Celtics
Stephen Curry went down with a left foot injury late in the first half and didn't return as Marcus Smart and the Boston Celtics routed the Golden State Warriors 110-88 on Wednesday night.
Klay Thompson dazzles from deep, Warriors beat Kings 126-114
Klay Thompson hit his first seven shots overall and initial six 3-pointers on the way to 23 points and seven assists, and the Golden State Warriors beat the Sacramento Kings 126-114 for their eighth straight victory.
Curry heats up late to lead Warriors over Rockets 122-108
Stephen Curry scored 21 of his 40 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Golden State Warriors to a 122-108 win over the Houston Rockets Monday night.
Stephen Curry, Warriors beat Kyrie Irving, Nets 110-106
Klay Thompson hit the biggest shot yet of his 2 1/2-year injury comeback, smoothly sinking a 3-pointer with 12 seconds left in the game to send the Golden State Warriors to a 110-106 victory over Kyrie Irving and the Brooklyn Nets.
Curry, Warriors stun James, Lakers 121-114 in opener
Stephen Curry had 21 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for the Golden State Warriors, who rallied from 10 points down to stun Lebron James, Anthony Davis and the new-look Los Angeles Lakers 121-114 in a season opener.
Bucks put Heat on brink, win 113-84 for 3-0 series lead
The Milwaukee Bucks are a win away from a sweep of the Miami Heat and a berth in the Eastern Conference semifinals.


The Raccoon may also appear for you as your animal guide. It may have different meanings if the Raccoon appears as your spirit animal. The Raccoons are known for their great night vision and curiosity.
Even though the raccoons are great swimmers, they love to live on the trees because this place helps them have control over the situation.
The raccoons are highly intelligent and very curious creatures, which can bring them troubles sometimes. These animals steal foods and other resources whenever they have the opportunity to do that.
But, you may didn't know that the Raccoon is a very powerful spirit animal that can bring you good luck and teach you many things.
In this article we will talk about the symbolism of the Raccoon as a spirit animal. We will tell you what the Raccoon as your animal totem may symbolize and what you should do if the Raccoon appears in your life.
Also, we will tell you something about the dreams in which the Raccoon may also appear as your spirit guide.
What Does the Raccoon Symbolize?
If the Raccoon appears for you, it is usually a symbol of your own curiosity and it will help you explore all the places and the things that you have never seen before.
Also, the Raccoon as your spirit guide will remind you that sometimes you need to wear different masks in your life. Raccoon people usually wear many masks in their lives because it helps them hide some aspects of their own personalities. The Raccoon as your spirit animal may also be the symbol of illusion and adaptability.
Masks. One of the most important spirit meanings of the Raccoon is wearing masks. The raccoon has a distinctive look due to its ringed tail and masked face. What does it mean? It means that sometimes it is necessary to wear different masks in your life. These maska are actually different versions of your personality. When you are at work, you need to be a worker or a boss, but when you are at your home, you have to take the role of a parent, etc.
Also, there is another situation when we use masks. If we have stolen something or if we have done somehing bad, we will wear the mask and we may escape from that situation without any consequences. But, when we stay alone at home, we will wear off the mask and we may feel afraid. In this situation we may be asking ourselves what if someone find out what we have done.
Exploring. As we have already mentioned, the Raccoon as a spirit animal is the symbol of exploration. It will help you explore all the options that you may have in a certain situation in order to get what you want. It means that you should be patient and make your decisions slowly. It is important to explore thoroughly all the opportunites that you have in front of you. This is the only way to make the right choice and to do something good.
If the Raccoon is your animal totem, then you will have the need to eat raw foods. In this case vegetables and fruits are a great choice for you.
Stealing. We all know that the raccoons are great thieves. They usually steal without any fear and they stay absolutely indifferent. If the Raccoon is your spirit animal, it can mean that you will also have the need to steal something from other people. It may not be something big, but you will steal it anyway.
In this case you should think well why you have the need to steal. What is your motive and how can you justify stealing? These questions may help you find the answers. You may not be self-confident enough, so you want to take something that is not yours.
Sometimes it may happen that you don't steal material things, but the time and the energy from other people.
Strength and Fearlessness. It is known that the raccoons are fearless animals. If someone has caught them while they were stealing, the raccoons will stay indifferent. These animals are very strong, both in physical and mental sense.
They stand firmly on the ground, even though the situation may be difficult. If the Raccoon is your spirit guide, it will teach you do the same. The Raccoon will give you strength and courage that will help you in many difficult situations in your life.
Curiosity. Curiosity is one of the most common raccoon traits. If the Raccoon is also your spirit animal, you may be very curious, too. Sometimes it may be good for you because it will help you discover many new and exciting things. But, sometimes it may also cause many troubles and problems in your life, so be careful.
Socializing. The Raccoon may also be a symbol of socializing. If the Raccoon appears for you, it may be the sign that you are a very shy person. But, after a certain period of time, when you get to know better people around you, you become a very sociable person and people simply enjoy in your company.
Adaptibility. Adaptibility is another characteristic of the raccoons. These animals are very adaptable, so they are able to live even within the city. If the Raccoon is your spirit animal, it means that it is necessary to adapt to certain situations sometimes. But, it will not be the problem if you choose the Raccoon as your animal totem.
If the Raccoon appears as your spirit animal, it can also ask you to give up of a certain situation, habit or person. Alternatively, the appearance of the Raccoon in your life can mean that you should accept all the gifts that the Universe is giving to you. As we have already said, the raccoons are highly intelligent animals.
The Raccoon as your spirit guide may also appear in your dream, so you should not ignore the message that this animal is bringing to you. If you see the Raccoon in your dream, it can mean that there are a lot of opportunities on your way, so you will be able to discover many things in a future period.
Also, you will have the opportunity to find out more about yourself and your own personality.
There are also some other interpretations of your raccoon dreams. If you see the Raccoon in your dream, it can be a symbol of deceit that you will experience in the near future. Also, this dream can mean that you will deceive someone. You are hiding something from other people and you have a lot of secrets. This dream may be warning you to be more honest with the people you love.
If you have dreamed about the raccoon in the wild or if you have caught the raccoon in your dream, then your dream has a positive meaning. It indicates that there are many positive changes in front of you, so you don't have to worry. You will use your creative energy and you will show your wisdom in many situations.
If you were feeling like a raccoon in your dream, it means that you should take advantage of a certain situation. If you have spoken to a raccoon in your dream, it means that some changes are going to happen in your life, but you will be able to overcome all difficulties.
You have seen in this article that the Raccoon is a very powerful animal totem. If you have the Raccoon as your spirit animal, you may wear many masks in the real life. Also, the Raccoon as your spirit animal may be a symbol of curiosity, intelligence and fearlessness. There are also many other meanings of the Raccoon that may appear as your animal totem.
We hope this article has helped you to understand better the symbolism of the Raccoon as a spirit animal. If the Raccoon appears in your life or in your dream, you should ask yourself if there is something in your life that you are trying to hide. It may be the time to stop wearing masks and to face all the difficulties and problems that you have in your life.
Also, you should face the hidden aspects of your own personality.
Now when you know all the meanings that the Raccoon as a spirit animal may have, it will be much easier for you to discover if the Raccoon is your animal totem. If it is, then you should let the Raccoon lead you through your life. If you choose the Raccoon as your spirit animal, it will give you strength and cleverness and it will help you deal with difficult situations in your life.
Sometimes it may be necessary to wear masks because it may be the only way to protect yourself and to explore many things that you would like to know.