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Franklin Graham, Ukraine and the Biblical World View
April 12, 2022 July 18, 2022 ~ phroneticchristian
It wasn't hard to suss out what Billy Graham believed. A self-defined premillennial dispensationalist, his Crusade sermons usually featured some disaster or tragedy he clipped from the newspaper. The world was going to Hell. His steady drumbeat was "accept Jesus Christ as your personal savior" right now before its too late. The late Michael "iMonk" Spencer called this house- on-fire tactic, "wretched urgency". Graham's political theology was highly influenced by two prominent Presbyterian churchmen: his father-in-law and oil magnate J. Howard Pew, who stood up his career. Both were John Birchers whose anti-communist End Times paranoia fed into conservative politics and evangelical religion. The Birchers are back. And they're winning.
In the 1960's, Graham's creation, Christianity Today, had nothing positive to say about Rousas Rushdoony and the fledgling Christian Reconstruction movement. It was still bent on revivalism in saving America one soul at a time. Dispensationalism held sway, and Russia was foreign enemy #1 of the USA. Even Reagan said that Gog must mean the communist Russia that set itself against God. Anti-communism was a useful scaremongering resource that filled many ministry coffers. "We are like people under sentence of death, waiting for the date to be set. We sense that something is about to happen… We are now on a collision course", warned Graham. Back then, the Soviet Union was the anti-Christ. Once scorned, Dominionist theology that Christians are ordained to rule and reign is embraced by a majority of evangelicals. "Rushdoony provided a way to sacralize these ideas". And Putin's Russia is the darling of the Religious Right. Funny how far evangelicalism had come.
Following Reagan's "tear down that Wall", evangelicals began to look inward for enemies of Christ. And there were plenty of domestic targets. Billy Graham maintained that if all of us could come to the cross, Christ is the solution to all the problems that beset America. But evangelicals began to realize slow motion-saving people from the satanic End Times wasn't immediate enough to bring America back to its founding Christian principles. America's strongest adversary was itself: abortion, homosexuality and trans-genderism were the sins destroying the national fabric.
The Bible hasn't changed since the 1960's, but the evangelical biblical world view has. Jerry Falwell emerged from fundamentalist isolation to wonder, that if a super-majority of Americans still believed in morality, why is America having such problems? "We must look for the answer to the highest places in every level of government." Falwell – with his "I Love America" rallies –, Pat Robertson, and a host of others set in motion a pro-family political machine, creating partnerships between Christians who never had talked to each other previously. "There are bigger issues now," as his son, Jerry Jr. explained. "We can argue about theology later after we save the country." Previously other-worldly focused evangelicals started to contemplate the biblical reordering of society, which would lead to the Second Coming of Christ. Raised on a steady diet of liberal humanist conspiracies, this was an existential war against the satanic control of America. The centerpiece strategy was to seat Christians into the hands of power. Or usurp it, as in the Capitol insurrection – "marching under Jesus's banner to implement God's will to keep Trump in the White House."[i]
"As the process of dominion extends the authority of Christians over more and more areas of life," wrote Gray North, "we will see the creation of a comprehensive theocracy." Francis Schaeffer claimed he didn't want a theocracy. But at the same time, as his son Frank recounted, "we were calling for civil disobedience, the takeover of the Republican Party, and even hinting at overthrowing our 'unjust pro-abortion government.'"[ii] Sara Diamond rightly recognizes Schaeffer as an early influencer of dominion theology.[iii] Rushdoony, once a bête noir had now become the éminence grise of theocratic Christian Right politics.
And so, finally, back to the original question. What is Franklin Graham's "Biblical World View"? His father was a Johnny-one-note revivalist. Praying that God will save the nation has nothing to do with old-fashioned revivalism. Franklin's focus has shifted towards the "new normal" mandate to take dominion. Dominionism is "being used to bring together a new and determined Moral Majority for the 21st century." And Franklin is a believer: "Speaking of regime changes—we need one in this country!"
"The issue is FREEDOM, the freedom to make our own choices." Franklin was hailing the Canadian truckers' convoy as "riding against oppression". His father, on the other hand, preached freedom in Christ: "Have you honestly faced the truth of your so-called 'freedom'? You see, in reality you aren't free; instead, you are ruled by your own lusts and desires… Instead give your life to Jesus Christ and discover what it means to be truly free." It's quite a jump from saving souls one at a time to saving America, and truckers' "freedom". Somewhere along the line, Franklin's biblical world view lost the simple purity of the Gospel message.
"They shut the churches down. This is what the communists did in Eastern Europe", Graham warned. Speaking with Todd Starnes, Franklin reminded him that thousands of pastors and priests were slaughtered under the Soviet Union. The same could be said for today, as the horrors of Bucha come to light. Hospitals bombed, civilians executed, children shot, women raped, churches under siege. Russian soldiers running amok, mercenary death squads, abduction and mass graves, intentional terror targeting – like the train station massacre with "for the children" scribbled on the rockets. Shutting down of churches and killing of pastors – apparently Franklin cannot see that this is happening now!
But hey, who cares? Not Franklin; he's been as quiet as a mouse over war crimes committed by Russia. And yes, a minister – the Dean of the Slavic Evangelical Seminary in Kyiv – was among the hundreds of murdered civilians. Yet Franklin is preoccupied with refugees coming into America. "What's going on at our southern border is out of control."
In 2015, Franklin tried to find some silver lining in Putin's heavy-handed assistance to the Assad government – which included attacks on civilians using cluster bombs, chemical weapons, and thermobaric weapons. "What Russia is doing may save the lives of Christians in the Middle East," Graham said. The truth is different. "Russia's military intervention contributed to untold suffering for millions of Syrian civilians". The same war crimes are being committed daily in Ukraine.
Interesting which sides Franklin Graham's moralistic worldview picks. Graham has made several "non-political" trips to Moscow, to have photo-op chats with both Putin and Orthodox prelates, and came away asserting that "many Americans wished that someone like Putin could be their president." Just before the invasion was underway, he made a plea to pray for Putin – neglecting to solicit prayers for Ukraine. Graham intends to make up for that omission with a trip to preach in Ukraine. (He's billed it as an Easter service. But it's not Orthodox Easter (April 24); just another grim day of misery and violence that Ukrainians have suffered for two months. And the days to come will get much dirtier, with the arrival of Russian general Dvornikov – dubbed the Butcher of Syria. With his appointment, many fear "a significant escalation and deliberate 'terror campaign' in Ukraine." Russian media assures its viewers that genocidal vengeance – a "final solution" – is in the plans.
This is not just total war – Ukraine is a Holy War, with Patriarch Kirill urging true patriots to eradicate scum and traitors. Putin's war is about the survival of a totalitarian dictatorial regime. Dominionists want to defeat their democratic regime. Graham and Kirill are attempting to reach the same goal from opposite poles. Both, as Kirill defined it, "are talking about human salvation, something much more important than politics."
Which is why, at Graham's "Easter" celebration, we'll hear a hearts and prayers sermon, preaching that sinners need to come to Christ. Meaning everyone aside from Franklin, and his rationalizing and minimizing criminal wrongdoing by Trump. Years of soft-peddling murderous Putin should grieve him deeply as well. Graham praised Putin as inspirational. Either he didn't listen to Putin's rhetoric threatening Ukraine since the 2014 Crimean take-over, or chose to ignore his barely concealed hatred – that the "Ukrainian authorities are illegitimate and Russia has to be prepared to act to protect compatriots". If it were me praising Putin's high moral standard, I'd be embarrassed to show my face in a Ukraine victimized by a hero who embodies his own Christian values. This is not just a shooting war; there is the second, fundamental war of ideas that drove it. It's impossible to express remorse for one without repudiating the other. As Mark Silk points out, "as for his issuing a prophetic denunciation of Russia, I'm not holding my breath. It would mean disavowing an alliance he has been involved in for years."
More fundamentally, it would clash with his Dispensational/Bircher/Dominionist-inspired "Biblical World View". Ukraine shows us how, that if his theology were realized, it would lay waste to our own country. Maybe the one we should be praying for most fervently on Easter is Franklin himself. And, our future as a democracy.
[i] An online petition calling for Graham's firing collected more than 24,500 signatures, claiming Graham spread "discredited election conspiracy theories" and "white nationalist terrorism,"– which it contended led to the riot at the U.S. Capitol. https://julieroys.com/petition-franklin-grahams-firing-capitol-riots/
[ii] Ken Kersch, Conservatives and the Constitution (London: Cambridge Univ. Press, 2019), p. 281
[iii] Sara Diamond, Roads to Dominion, (New York: Guilford Press, 1995) p. 246.
Posted in Christian America, Christian Patriots, Death, Dispensationalism, Dispensationalism, Dominionism, Donald Trump, Franklin Graham, Ideology, Left Behind, Putin, Russia, Ukraine, War
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One crucial thing you need to know about quick craft ideas is its advantages for you even others surrounding you. Well, doing some craft projects at home can help us reducing home decorating budget up to 70%. In fact, you also can open your own craft business to earn more money from house. This craft project is very interesting and exciting for everyone no matter how old are they. Nowadays, numerous creative craft ideas and tutorials are available on internet and some other media such as magazine.


So after having a child and moving my practice to a different location, I decided that it was necessary to re-evaluate the WATER Method. After all, its important to do a little introspection every now and then. After some thought I realized that something wasn't quite right.
If you're not familiar with the WATER Method, go ahead and check out my explanation of it on my main page. Basically WATER stands for Words, Actions, Thoughts, Emotions and Results – the Five things you can change about yourself and the world around you. But then it dawned on me that a fundamental idea was missing in all this.
The idea was the Rules, or core values, that we have that shape many of the Words, Actions, Thoughts and Emotions we have about issues in our lives. Ever have a negative thought or idea about yourself, or call yourself names, like "stupid" or "fat"? Sometimes these are based in negative rules we have about ourselves and the world around us, and sometimes those Rules have to change.
Granted, I'm usually not one to go around suggesting that we change many of our Core Values or Rules. Most of the time those Rules are a good thing, but every now and then they're not. In future posts, I'm going to go into this concept a bit more, so we can get a sense of what we can expect from changing the Rules we have set up that may be hurting us.
Gratitude helps me change my feelings and thoughts and focus on the positive, not eh negative.


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Q: Distortion of embedding in Hilbert space Given an injective linear map $T$ between Banach spaces $X$ and $Y$, let
\begin{equation} d(T) = \sup \left \{ \frac{||x||_X}{||Tx||_Y}: x \in X \mbox{ is nonzero } \right\} \cdot ||T||_{\mathrm{op}} \end{equation}
Let \begin{equation} c(X,Y) = \inf \Bigl\{ d(T): T \mbox{ is an injective linear map from } X \mbox{ to }Y \Bigr \}. \end{equation}
Let $\ell^p_n$ be $\mathbb{R}^n$ with the $p$-norm and let $\mathcal{H}$ be an infinite dimensional Hilbert space. I would like to know if $c(\ell^1_n,\mathcal{H}) = O((\log n)^k)$ for some $k$. Alternatively, is it the case that $c(\ell^p_n,\mathcal{H}) = O_p((\log n)^{k(p)})$ for every $p > 1$?
There is a lot of literature about the Banach-Mazur distance but I have been unable to find information about linear embeddings (rather than isomorphisms). On the other hand, there is a well known result of Bourgain which asserts that a metric space with $n$ points can be embedded in $\mathcal{H}$ with distortion $O(\log n)$, but I don't know if this can be done in a uniform linear way.

A: You are asking what is the Banach-Mazur distance between $\ell_p^n$ and the Hilbert space of dimension $n$.  The answer is $n^{|1/p-1/2|}$. You can find this in many books; in particular, the book of Tomczak-Jaegermann. It does not change anything if you use the Lipschitz analogue of the Banach-Mazur distance.
It is trickier to compute $c(\ell_p^n,L_r)$, which is the minimum of the Banach-Mazur distance from $\ell_p^n$ to subspaces of $L_r$.  The order of magnitude is known for every $p$ and $r$ up to a constant that depends on $p$ and $r$, but for some $p$ and $r$ I think the exact values are not known.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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Charles Leadbeater
British author and former advisor to Tony Blair, Charles Leadbeater knows all too well how to handle the pressure. He published the book We-think in 2008, which explores how sites such as YouTube and MySpace exemplify the mass creativity phenomenon. He has been an adviser to the British government on matters of the internet and the 'knowledge-driven economy as well being an advisorto a huge range of organisations from the BBC and Vodafone to Microsoft and Channel 4 television.
In the 80s, Leadbeater quickly became noticed following his regular contributions to Marxism Today, a theoretical magazine of the Communist Party of Great Britain. Following his successful post here, he was appointed Industrial Editor and Tokyo Bureau Chief at the Financial Times. Big publications were far from alien to Leadbeater, and in the 90s he went on to work at The Independent, where he created what was then a column; Bridget Jones Diary with the assistance of Helen Fielding, the novel's author. In 2005, Leadbeater was ranked by Accenture as one of the top management thinkers in the world.
In 2010, Leadbeater opened the Incubate, an annual multidisciplinary arts festival held in Tilburg, the Netherlands which ran for just over a decade. In 2014 he coined the term 'Endies' which he defined as 'being employed but having no savings of disposable income. He used this word to refer to the increasing number of Londoners struggling on modest incomes, following the 2008 credit crunch.
Book Charles Leadbeater

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
#include <aws/waf/model/GetPermissionPolicyRequest.h>
#include <aws/core/utils/json/JsonSerializer.h>

#include <utility>

using namespace Aws::WAF::Model;
using namespace Aws::Utils::Json;
using namespace Aws::Utils;

GetPermissionPolicyRequest::GetPermissionPolicyRequest() :
    m_resourceArnHasBeenSet(false)
{
}

Aws::String GetPermissionPolicyRequest::SerializePayload() const
{
  JsonValue payload;

  if(m_resourceArnHasBeenSet)
  {
   payload.WithString("ResourceArn", m_resourceArn);

  }

  return payload.View().WriteReadable();
}

Aws::Http::HeaderValueCollection GetPermissionPolicyRequest::GetRequestSpecificHeaders() const
{
  Aws::Http::HeaderValueCollection headers;
  headers.insert(Aws::Http::HeaderValuePair("X-Amz-Target", "AWSWAF_20150824.GetPermissionPolicy"));
  return headers;

}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


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Shearings Holidays, Featherstone Male Voice Choir
Following the Christmas break, choir rehearsals started again on 10 January. We are starting the new decade with another busy and rewarding year of performances. Our 2020 concerts have been uploaded to the website, and there are likely to be more added as the year progresses.
One or two deserve special mention: firstly, the concert on 30 May with Risca Male Voice Choir at St Giles' Church in Pontefract. This is a well-respected Male Voice Choir from South Wales, who are celebrating their fiftieth anniversary and, as part of their celebrations they are visiting Yorkshire for a weekend. They are bringing fifty singers with them and, together with us, should make a very special sound in the church. Proceeds will go to the Prince of Wales Hospice.
The other very special concert is in Wakefield Cathedral on Saturday 26 September, with the magnificent ladies' choir – Chanterelles. We all remember how good they are from their visit to Featherstone. Please let your friends know about this concert so that we can fill the Cathedral.
Once again, we will be visiting Ypres in May, and will be singing at Menin Gate and other memorable venues in the area. It is always a very moving, yet enjoyable, trip.
We hope you enjoy reviewing our web site, and look forward to seeing you at one of our concerts.
Welcome to the Shearings Holidays Featherstone Male Voice Choir Website. Please have a browse around. If you want to contact the choir, become a patron, find out when and where concerts are held or even join, then please click on the tabs on the top of this page.
Our Male Voice Choir meets twice weekly in the small town of Featherstone which lies on the A645 between Pontefract and Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England. The choir has singers from ages 40 something to 89 and has a welcoming and friendly atmosphere. The choir's musical repertoire is very varied and includes all types of music including songs from the shows, songs made famous by Elvis Presley and Westlife, calypsos and spirituals as well as songs written by the great composers such as Handel, Puccini and Verdi. It also performs traditional choral and Christmas music. Concerts are performed in the local area and beyond, often supporting charities and good causes.
Shearings Holidays Male Voice Choir would like to thank Jack Tams for building and maintaining this Website, also Gillian and Baines LTD of Knottingley for funding it.
Now listen to us sing
Comrades in Arms (Extract)
We are now linked with the Greater Manchester Police Male Voice Choir on www.gmpmvc.co.uk
Featherstone Male Voice Choir is proud to be a member of the Association of Yorkshire Choirs who support Choirs and choral societies throughout Yorkshire. For more information log on to their website on http://yorkshirechoirs.co.uk/
Contact our Secretary, Peter Malpass, on 07809648549
or by email at [email protected]
Or the Treasurer, Richard Hirst by email on [email protected]
Or our Concert Secretary, Peter Trevor at [email protected]
or phone 07368521463
Our Publicity Officer is Paul Fowler who can be contacted by email at
For further information about forthcoming events, or to book the choir, contact


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Tag: Queen Street
Burger Fighter
Published on August 5, 2018 by Michael NusairLeave a comment
Location: 1181 Queen Street West, Toronto
Website: https://www.facebook.com/Burger-Fighter-Hot-Shawarma-187553741995504/
I must have driven by Burger Fighter a few dozen times, but I never gave it a second thought until it was featured on the @zachdoesburgers Instagram account (you should probably be following him, along with @burgerlab_to if you like burgers and you're on Instagram).
Burger Fighter is an extremely unassuming hamburger/shawarma restaurant, so it's easy enough to assume the burger is going to be lousy (Nader's Middle Eastern Grill & Bakery in Mississauga comes to mind).
The burger is not lousy. It's actually quite good! Not only that, it's ridiculously inexpensive — I ordered the lunch special, which comes with a cheeseburger, a generous amount of fries, and a drink for $7.99. Even McDonald's isn't that cheap. That's nuts.
And it's a good quality burger. It's certainly not the best cheeseburger I've ever had — the flavour could have been a bit beefier, I wish there were more crust from the griddle, and the American cheese wasn't quite as gooey as it should have been. But the grind is nice and coarse, it hasn't been overhandled, and it's quite juicy despite being cooked all the way to well done.
It has a pleasant (if somewhat mild) beefy flavour that's sadly obscured by the many toppings (they globbed on an obscene amount of ketchup and mayo, along with the usual lettuce, tomato, and pickles).
The bun, too, could have been better; it was a bit too dense and much too big for the patty, resulting in a bun-to-beef ratio that's way off.
But for the price, and for how unimpressive the place looks from the outside, it's a shockingly good burger. I actually quite enjoyed it, and the fries were downright excellent.
Categories Reviews•Tags burger, Burger Fighter, Canada, cheap, cheeseburger, food, French fries, fries, griddle, griddled, hamburger, Hot Shawarma, Ontario, Queen Street, Toronto
Kitson and Co.
Published on July 16, 2017 by Michael NusairLeave a comment
Website: http://www.kitsonandco.com/
Sometimes, you just wanna stop eating your burger, slap your hand on the table, walk back into the kitchen and shake everybody's hand. Sometimes a burger is so delightfully great that it just makes you want to do something. Especially when you're in a place that doesn't even specialize in hamburgers, and the burger's greatness is all the more improbable. A great burger from a random sandwich shop? That just makes my day.
It's a pretty simple cheeseburger: "Classic Double Cheeseburger with lettuce, tomato, onions and Kitson & Co. secret sauce"
It's an amazing example of a classic, no-frills fast-food-style burger executed perfectly. You've got the gooey American cheese, the crusty griddled patties, the Big-Mac-esque secret sauce, the sesame seed bun, and the classic veggies. It's all there.
Those patties are top notch; the flavour could have been a bit beefier, but it's hard to complain too much when all of the other elements are right where they should be. They were also ever-so-slightly too densely packed, but again, it's hard to complain too much when the overall package is so damn satisfying. The patties are cooked to a perfect medium rare with a nice layer of dark brown crust on the exterior. They're also super juicy; that alone is reason enough to celebrate.
The melty American cheese adds creaminess and a nice salty tang; I kinda wish that there was only one slice instead of two, as I feel like two slices of cheese on a double cheeseburger starts to overwhelm the meat, but that's more of a personal preference than anything else. Two slices is the standard, so it's hard to fault them for that.
The tangy secret sauce is pretty much exactly what you think it's going to be — it works great with the cheeseburger and, more importantly, it doesn't get in the way.
Even the bun was surprisingly great: soft, fresh, and perfectly toasted, it somehow manages to stand up to that very juicy, messy burger without ever feeling overly substantial. The beef to bun ratio? On point.
As for the fries, they were crispy, creamy, and flavourful; as great as the burger was, the fries might have been even better.
Categories Reviews•Tags American cheese, burger, Canada, cheeseburger, double burger, double cheeseburger, food, griddle, hamburger, Kitson and Co, Ontario, Queen Street, restaurant, review, Toronto
Skyline Restaurant
Published on March 19, 2017 by Michael NusairLeave a comment
Website: http://www.theskylinetoronto.com/
I wasn't crazy about the Skyline Restaurant on my first visit, but that was before the recent change in ownership; I figured another try was probably in order.
My first impression was how delightfully cheap the burger is; for twelve bucks with a hefty side of fries, it's very much on the low end of what you'd expect to pay from a restaurant like this in Toronto.
It's a no-frills hamburger, topped with lettuce, tomato, pickles, onion, and mayo. The waitress asked if medium was okay; it was. And the grilled patty was indeed cooked to a perfect medium, with a rosy pink interior.
Griddled burgers are so ubiquitous in this city that a grilled burger is almost a novelty these days. I like a griddled burger as much as the next guy, but cooking a hamburger patty on a grill gives it a bit of a smoky flavour and a unique character, so it's always nice to have that option.
It's especially nice when the burger is as good as it is here; with its satisfying punch of beefy flavour, it's very obvious that they're using above-average beef. It's not the juiciest burger that I've ever had, but it's very far from dry, and the texture was about 95% where it should be (it was just a bit too finely ground, making it ever-so-slightly tougher than it needed to be, but that's a very minor complaint).
The toppings were mostly quite good, though the very thickly-sliced tomato was a bit mealy. And the soft, fresh bun — lightly toasted — suited the burger well.
As for the fries, they were amazing. Perfectly crisp and perfectly tender, with just the right amount of salt — very close to fry perfection.
Categories Reviews•Tags burger, diner, food, French fries, fries, grilled, GTA, hamburger, Ontario, Parkdale, Queen Street, review, Skyline Diner, Skyline Restaurant, Toronto
The Carbon Bar
Published on January 29, 2017 by Michael NusairLeave a comment
Location: 99 Queen Street East, Toronto
Website: https://thecarbonbar.ca/
I've been pretty anxious to check out The Carbon Bar ever since I watched this drool-inducing video; if you can watch that and not want to immediately hop into the nearest car, subway, or bus to get to The Carbon Bar, you're clearly made of stronger stuff than I am.
The Carbon Bar is primarily a barbecue joint — albeit an upscale one, with prices to match — and has a burger that definitely fits the theme. Specifically, it's topped with a fat slice of smoky brisket (along with American cheese, charred and pickled chili peppers, lettuce, pickles, and burnt onion aioli).
It's really tasty. The patty has an impressive amount of crust from the griddle and is cooked to a nice pink medium rare — it's clearly above average. It had a really good texture, and in the bites I got of the patty alone, a rich, satisfying flavour that you only get from great quality beef.
But there's a lot going on here. The patty, as great as it is, feels like a supporting player in its own hamburger.
The generous slice of smoked brisket — probably about the thickness of the patty itself, if not a bit thicker — is the dominant flavour here. I mean, I'm not really complaining; the brisket was amazingly tender, unctuously fatty, impressively smoky, and had a generous amount of seriously tasty bark. It was easily the best BBQ brisket I've had in Toronto. But the burger tastes more like a brisket sandwich with a burger patty than a hamburger with brisket.
The cheese, too, was stronger than it needed to be. The menu calls it American cheese, but it definitely had the taste and texture of regular cheddar (and a fairly sharp one at that). It was a bit overpowering.
The other toppings were all pretty great, particularly the charred and pickled chili peppers — they do an amazing job of cutting the richness of the patty, the brisket, and the cheese. The sweet, fresh brioche bun was nearly perfect, though it did lose structural integrity towards the end (I had to eat the last few bites of the burger with a fork and knife).
Still, whatever faults I have as a burger purist — I really wish I could taste the patty a bit better, since it was clearly pretty amazing — there's no question that what they're serving here is delicious.
As for the fries, yeah, they're delicious too. Perfectly fried, perfectly seasoned, can't stop eating.
Categories Reviews•Tags BBQ, brisket, burger, Canada, cheeseburger, French fries, fries, hamburger, Ontario, Queen Street, Smoked, The Carbon Bar, Toronto
Doomie's
Published on June 5, 2016 June 8, 2016 by Michael NusairLeave a comment
Website: http://doomiestoronto.com/
I honestly never thought that I'd be reviewing a veggie burger for this blog. I mean, I try my best to avoid reviewing hamburgers made with any meat other than beef, so a veggie burger seemed completely out of the question.
Then I saw some pictures of the Big Mac clone at Doomie's. I kind of had to try it.
For the unaware, Doomie's is an L.A. export whose M.O. is serving vegan versions of over-the-top junk food like chili cheese fries, chimichangas, and of course, hamburgers. "Vegan" and "health food" tend to go hand in hand, but I'm sure even vegans want to eat deep-fried junk every now and then.
I feel like I need to preface this review by saying that I went into Doomie's with a completely open mind. I realize that I'm a bit of a burger snob, but good food is good food. If the veggie burger here were delicious, I'd be more than happy to sing its praises.
That being said? This might be one of the worst hamburgers that I've had in my entire life.
I ordered the Big Mac clone, which isn't technically on the menu. The waitress jokingly pointed out that any resemblance to that particular burger is purely coincidental (since no one wants to incur the wrath of ol' Ronald's lawyers). But it's available if you ask for it.
It looks impressive, I'll give it that. Aside from the fact that the watery sauce was leaking from the burger like blood from a gut-shot corpse, it looked impressively like the real deal.
Eating it was a challenge. I'm not sure why the sauce was so thin, but it completely soaked through the bun and made the burger impossible to eat without a handful of napkins. And the parts of the bun that weren't soaked through with sauce? They were either suffused with grease, or sogged up by mushy cheese (yes, mushy cheese — more on that in a bit).
Of course, eating this burger was also a challenge because of how gross it was. I mean, let's not beat around the bush.
Those veggie patties are going to haunt my dreams. I just don't think that food science is able to accurately replicate the taste and texture of beef. If you're going to serve a veggie burger, your best bet is to not even try, and just serve something in a patty shape that tastes good.
Doomie's, sadly, tries to replicate beef. The results are flat-out horrifying.
The veggie patties here have somehow managed to take everything I hate about frozen burgers, and magnified it tenfold. That rubbery, vaguely hot-dog-like texture you get from really cheap frozen patties is here in spades, but where this patty goes horribly wrong is the flavour. It just tastes off to a degree that's downright surprising. I don't even know if I can describe that flavour, other than to say that it tastes like you left a frozen patty out in the sun until it turned suitably rancid. It was flat-out disgusting.
Then there's the cheese, which — though it actually tastes close enough to the type of processed cheese you'd find on a Big Mac — has that aforementioned mushy texture. Imagine taking shredded up tissues and soaking them with cheese-flavoured water, and you've got a pretty good idea of what to expect.
The other toppings were all fine, aside from the watery sauce (which, to be fair, tasted pretty close to the real thing). But when your burger features two patties as foul as these on unpleasantly sodden bread, the toppings are completely irrelevant.
As for the fries, they were battered — not my favourite — but for that style of fry, they were pretty good.
Categories Reviews•Tags Big Mac, burger, burger fail, Canada, cheeseburger, Doomie's, French fries, fries, GTA, hamburger, Ontario, Queen Street, review, Toronto, vegan, vegetarian, veggie burger
The Opera House Grill
Published on December 20, 2015 December 20, 2015 by Michael NusairLeave a comment
Location: 737 Queen Street East, Toronto
Website: https://www.facebook.com/theoperahousegrill/
I'm going to keep this one relatively brief. If you've read my recent rant about the Opera House Grill's inclusion on Toronto Life's new list of the city's 25 best burgers, then you already pretty much know what I think about this burger: it's made with a frozen patty, and it doesn't belong within a million miles of any kind of "best of" list.
Still, that's not to say that it's the worst thing ever. It's actually pretty okay, as far as frozen burgers go. The Shaggy Burger (the one that made Toronto Life's list) is an impressively ridiculous behemoth of a burger. Piled high with sweet griddled onions, crispy onion rings, bacon, tsatziki, and a healthy mound of cheddar cheese, not to mention the standard burger toppings like lettuce, pickles, and tomato, it's pretty much the definition of a kitchen sink burger.
And I won't lie: it's pretty good in the middle. It's topping overload, but everything in the pile is fairly tasty, and it all tastes pretty good together. The big mound of shredded cheddar cheese never quite melts as much as it needs to, but aside from that the toppings are solid.
Where the burger really falls apart (figuratively — the bun held up surprisingly well to all the toppings) is around the perimeter of the burger, where all of the many condiments begin to fade away. That's when you really taste that hot-doggy, mediocre frozen patty, and realize that greatness is simply never going to be in this burger's vocabulary.
As for the fries, they clearly came out of the same freezer as the burger patty, and were about as middling as you'd expect.
Categories Reviews•Tags bacon, burger, Canada, cheddar, cheeseburger, east end, frozen burger, frozen fries, GTA, hamburger, onion rings, Ontario, Queen Street, The Opera House Grill, Toronto, Toronto Life
Rose and Sons Swan
Published on December 6, 2015 by Michael Nusair2 Comments
Location: 892 Queen Street West, Toronto
Website: http://www.roseandsonsswan.com/
Magnificent. That's really the only word I can think of to describe the awe-inspiringly delicious burger they serve at the Swan. I wanna be very clear about this right up front, so that if you're just skimming this review you know what's what: this is one of the best burgers in the city. You need to try it.
Swan, for the unaware, is a venerable diner that went under and was promptly snatched up by Rose and Sons' Anthony Rose. Though they apparently had some pretty serious kinks to work out in their first couple of months of operation, if this burger is anything to go by, they've solved the hell out of whatever problems they had.
When I ordered, the waitress asked if I was okay with medium rare, which to me is right up there with "would you like some free ice cream?" in the pantheon of great questions. Medium rare is the perfect way to cook a burger, so yeah, I'm okay with that.
The menu describes the banquet burger as coming with "house ground chuck, perth pork bacon, Ontario cheddar, brioche bun, lettuce, tomato, onion & pickle," and oh man. It's all hits, no misses. Perfection.
I have to start with that patty, which was everything you'd want it to be. Cooked somewhere between medium rare and rare with a nice sheen of crust from the griddle, it had a magnificently beefy flavour and the perfect balance of substance and tenderness. I wanted to bust into the kitchen and shake the chef's hand; he knows his way around a burger, that's for sure. I haven't had one this flavour-packed and richly satisfying since Bymark — all without the extra-large price tag or the uncomfortably stuffy room.
It's topped with with a generous piece of thickly cut, smoky, and unctuously rich bacon, which kicked up the tastiness without ever getting in the way.
Alarmingly, on first glance the slice of cheddar cheese appeared to be completely unmelted, but on the inside it was gooey enough to satisfy. Some cheddar can be a little bit too sharp for a hamburger, but I think it should be pretty clear by now that this kitchen isn't going to make a rookie mistake like that; the cheese here was nice and mild, just as it should be.
Also just as it should be? The fresh, lightly toasted and fluffy brioche bun, which gave the burger a perfect beef-to-bun ratio.
There were a handful of condiments on the side; I spread a very moderate amount of the garlicky aioli on the top bun, but everything else is completely unnecessary. The balance of cheese, bacon, and the magnificent patty is already perfect; mess with it at your own peril.
The fries were pretty great too, because of course they were. If you're making a burger this great, I'm pretty sure you're not going to mess up the fries.
I'm really excited to go back and try the burger again, because if it's consistently this good? It's a very strong contender for the best hamburger in the city. This, as you can imagine, is not a claim that I make lightly.
Categories Reviews•Tags Anthony Rose, bacon cheeseburger, banquet burger, burger, burger perfection, Canada, cheeseburger, diner, French fries, fries, GTA, hamburger, medium rare, Ontario, Queen Street, Rose and Sons, Swan, Toronto


text:
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/loose.dtd">

<title>NumericOpenQuestion</title>
<meta name="date" content="2014-05-07">
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="../../../../stylesheet.css" title="Style">

JavaScript is disabled on your browser.

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edu.ucla.wise.commons

Class NumericOpenQuestion

java.lang.Object

edu.ucla.wise.commons.PageItem

edu.ucla.wise.commons.Question

edu.ucla.wise.commons.OpenQuestion

edu.ucla.wise.commons.NumericOpenQuestion

public class NumericOpenQuestion
extends OpenQuestion

This class is a subclass of OpenQuestion and represents an numeric open ended
 question on the page

Field Summary

Fields

Modifier and Type
Field and Description

java.lang.String
decimalPlaces

java.lang.String
maxSize

Instance Variables

java.lang.String
maxValue

java.lang.String
minValue

java.lang.String
width

Fields inherited from class edu.ucla.wise.commons.Question

LOGGER, oneLine, requiredField, stem

Fields inherited from class edu.ucla.wise.commons.PageItem

cond, html, itemType, name, questionTranslated, translationId

Constructor Summary

Constructors

Constructor and Description

NumericOpenQuestion(org.w3c.dom.Node n)

Constructor for a numeric open question

Method Summary

Methods

Modifier and Type
Method and Description

java.lang.String
formFieldHtml()

Renders form for numeric open question

char
getValueType()

Default item stores value as an integer; override necessary only for
 other value types.

java.lang.String
printSurvey()

print survey for numeric open question - used for admin tool: print
 survey.

java.lang.String
renderResults(Page page,
             DataBank db,
             java.lang.String whereclause,
             java.util.Hashtable data)

Renders results for numeric open question.

Methods inherited from class edu.ucla.wise.commons.OpenQuestion

countFields, knitRefs, makeHtml

Methods inherited from class edu.ucla.wise.commons.Question

getAvg, getRequiredStem, isRequired, listFieldNames, makeStemHtml, toString

Methods inherited from class edu.ucla.wise.commons.PageItem

IsPageItemNode, MakeNewItem, readForm, renderForm, renderForm

Methods inherited from class java.lang.Object

equals, getClass, hashCode, notify, notifyAll, wait, wait, wait

Field Detail

maxSize

public java.lang.String maxSize

Instance Variables

width

public java.lang.String width

minValue

public java.lang.String minValue

maxValue

public java.lang.String maxValue

decimalPlaces

public java.lang.String decimalPlaces

Constructor Detail

NumericOpenQuestion

public NumericOpenQuestion(org.w3c.dom.Node n)

Constructor for a numeric open question

Parameters:

n - XML DOM structure from which the details of the question are
            obtained.

Method Detail

getValueType

public char getValueType()

Description copied from class: PageItem

Default item stores value as an integer; override necessary only for
 other value types.

Overrides:

getValueType in class PageItem

Returns:

char The flag type is returned.

formFieldHtml

public java.lang.String formFieldHtml()

Renders form for numeric open question

Overrides:

formFieldHtml in class OpenQuestion

Returns:

String returns empty string here.

printSurvey

public java.lang.String printSurvey()

print survey for numeric open question - used for admin tool: print
 survey.

Overrides:

printSurvey in class PageItem

Returns:

String HTML format of the this question block to print the
         survey.

renderResults

public java.lang.String renderResults(Page page,
                             DataBank db,
                             java.lang.String whereclause,
                             java.util.Hashtable data)

Renders results for numeric open question.

Overrides:

renderResults in class PageItem

Parameters:

pg - Page Object for which the results are to be rendered.

db - Data Bank object to connect to the database.

whereclause - whereclause to restrict the invitee selection.

data - Hashtable which contains results.

Returns:

String HTML format of the results is returned.

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Asian Pacific Development Center
Asian Pacific Development Center is powered by its rich heritage of AANHPI advocacy and exists today to serve and support all immigrant, and refugee communities with a whole health, community-based engagement approach…
SeizingPsych
SeizingPsych, Inc., is a charitable nonprofit organization that assists individuals and families living with mental illness. Our programming provides crisis grants, resources, educational materials, other related goods and services. Additionally, we provide…
Colorado Mama Tribe
Colorado Mama Tribe provides support, resources, and community to women raising children with medical and special needs in Colorado. Studies have shown that people in care-giving role are twice as likely to…
WeeCycle
WeeCycle supports Colorado infants and toddlers by providing essential baby gear and supplies to families in need. We collect, "weecycle" and match new and gently used baby essentials with those that need…
CHEER Colorado
Our Mission CHEER Colorado is committed to raising spirits and empowering people into action that supports health and wellness and inclusion and diversity in the Colorado LGBTQ+ community and beyond. Our Values…
Dash for Smiles
Dash for Smiles raises awareness for cleft lip and palate and supports our local cleft clinics. For more information visit www.dashforsmiles.org or email dashforsmiles@gmail.com.
Catholic Charities, Samaritan House & Shelter Services
Samaritan House has been a Denver staple since 1986. Since that time, thousands of people have been served and found safe shelter, nutritious meals, and support services at Samaritan House. Today, our…
Jeffco Human Services Foundation
Jeffco Human Services Foundation is a nonprofit created to incubate and promote innovations that fuel prosperity for all families. One of the programs directly impacted by our effort is Jeffco Prosperity Partners…
Rose Andom Center
The Rose Andom Center offers a path to hope and healing for people who have experienced domestic violence. We cultivate and maintain partnerships with over 20 community and city agencies, creating a…
Project Safeguard
Project Safeguard assists survivors of gender-based violence in utilizing the civil legal system to increase safety and move forward from the trauma of their victimization. Specifically, we support survivors with obtaining and…


Large open 2 story in one of Ankeny s most desired neighborhoods. This home feels new, but has all the benefits of a resale. The sod is established, blinds are installed, fridge is included and many other upgrades have been done. The main level features a gorgeous kitchen with white cabinets, stunning counters, stainless appliances, and a tile backsplash. The living room has tons of natural light and a gas fireplace. Upstairs there are 4 large bedrooms and a convenient second floor laundry. The Large master bedroom offers plenty of room for your furniture and has a spa-like bathroom and walk-in closet. The unfinished lower level is definitely usable and would be a perfect rec room, toy room, or work out area. The 3 car garage has plenty of room for your vehicles and storage. Outside you will find a nice, flat lot that is much larger than normal. Located in NW Ankeny close to schools, parks, and trails. Be sure to check this one out soon. Homes this nice tend to sell quickly!


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text:
Topic: Best Film - Florida Film Critics Circle
Author Topic: Best Film - Florida Film Critics Circle (Read 2507 times)
Best Film - Florida Film Critics Circle
« on: Dec 24, 2005, 12:19 PM »
'Brokeback Mountain' accumulates accolades
By Steve Persall, Times Film Critic
Ang Lee's revisionist western Brokeback Mountain was named 2005's best film by the Florida Film Critics Circle, and it corralled another three awards in the annual poll.
Lee's sensitive handling of a love story between two Wyoming cowboys also was honored as the year's best work by a director, for its screenplay by Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana, and for Rodrigo Prieto's cinematography. No other films were multiple winners.[/color]
Brokeback Mountain is scheduled to open in select Tampa, St. Petersburg and Oldsmar theaters Jan. 6.
Actors portraying dead celebrities were popular among voters. Philip Seymour Hoffman's impersonation of author Truman Capote in Capote earned the best actor prize, and Reese Witherspoon's portrayal of country music legend June Carter in Walk the Line won best actress.
Amy Adams was named best supporting actress for playing a perky country bumpkin in Junebug, and Paul Giamatti's turn as a boxing manager in Cinderella Man won supporting actor.
The slapstick martial arts comedy Kung Fu Hustle was selected as best foreign language film. Wallace and Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit was chosen as best animated movie.
Werner Herzog's Grizzly Man, culled from the video diaries of doomed wildlife explorer Timothy Treadwell, was voted best documentary.
The critics tapped Terrence Howard for the Pauline Kael breakout performer of the year award, named for the late New Yorker film critic. Howard was selected for his acclaimed performances in Hustle and Flow, Crash and Get Rich or Die Tryin'.
The Florida Film Critics Circle was formed in 1996 and is made up of of 15 newspaper, magazine, freelance and online journalists across the state, including Steve Persall and Philip Booth of the St. Petersburg Times. Its Web site is www.floridafilmcriticscircle.org SOUTHEASTERN FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION: Brokeback Mountain was named best film by the association, which has 46 members in nine states, including Persall.
The group's top 10 list continued, in order: Good Night, and Good Luck; Capote; Crash; A History of Violence; The Constant Gardener; Syriana; Cinderella Man; King Kong; and Walk the Line.
Brokeback Mountain was also honored for best direction and adapted screenplay. Capote's Hoffman and Transamerica's Felicity Huffman were named best leading actors, and Giamatti and Adams led the supporting actor categories.
The survey also honored Cache as best foreign film, Crash for original screenplay, March of the Penguins as top documentary and Wallace and Gromit as best animated film.
An inaugural category, the Gene Wyatt Award in honor of a member who died in 2005, was given to Junebug for its admirable depiction of Southern culture.
[/size][/font]
http://www.sptimes.com/2005/12/24/Artsandentertainment/_Brokeback_Mountain__.shtml


text:
Q: EF CodeFirst bidirectional 1 : 0 or 1 relationship I have 3 entities; Groups, Scopes, Vlans
What I'm trying to accomplish:

*

*A Group can have many Scopes

*A Group can have many Vlans

*A Scope must have a Group

*A Vlan must have a Group

*A Scope can have a Vlan

*A Vlan can have a Scope

So kind of a soft relationship between vlans and scopes.
When not setting vlan or scope as a requirement EF complains about not knowing the principal of the relationship, So how do I fix this soft one to one relationship?
My Models:
public class Group
{
    public Group()
    {
        Scopes = new HashSet<Scope>();
        Vlans = new HashSet<VLAN>();
    }
    [DatabaseGenerated(DatabaseGeneratedOption.Identity)]
    public int Id { get; set; }
    public ICollection<VLAN> Vlans { get; set; }
    public ICollection<Scope> Scopes { get; set; }
}
public class Scope
{
    [DatabaseGenerated(DatabaseGeneratedOption.Identity)]
    public int Id { get; set; }
    public virtual VLAN Vlan { get; set; }
    public virtual Group Group { get; set; }
}
public class VLAN
{
    [DatabaseGenerated(DatabaseGeneratedOption.Identity)]
    public int Id { get; set; }
    public virtual Scope Scope { get; set; }
    [Required]
    public virtual Group Group { get; set; }
}

A: There is a similar problem on SO, related to bidirectional Zero-to-One relationships:
Implementing Zero Or One to Zero Or One relationship in EF Code first by Fluent API
I've tried the same approach on your schema and it works.
See my FluentAPI configuration below:
protected override void OnModelCreating(DbModelBuilder modelBuilder)
{
        base.OnModelCreating(modelBuilder);

        modelBuilder.Entity<VLAN>()
            .HasOptional(vlan => vlan.Scope)
            .WithOptionalPrincipal();

        modelBuilder.Entity<VLAN>()
            .HasRequired(vlan => vlan.Group);

        modelBuilder.Entity<Scope>()
            .HasOptional(scope => scope.Vlan)
            .WithOptionalPrincipal();

        modelBuilder.Entity<Scope>()
            .HasRequired(scope => scope.Group);

        modelBuilder.Entity<Group>()
            .HasMany(group => group.Scopes);
        modelBuilder.Entity<Group>()
            .HasMany(group => group.Vlans);

}

To be sure, that it suites your needs, see the generated SQL for VLANs and Scopes tables:
CREATE TABLE [dbo].[Scopes] (
[Id]       INT            IDENTITY (1, 1) NOT NULL,
[VLAN_Id]  INT            NULL,
[Group_Id] INT            NOT NULL,
CONSTRAINT [PK_dbo.Scopes] PRIMARY KEY CLUSTERED ([Id] ASC),
CONSTRAINT [FK_dbo.Scopes_dbo.VLANs_VLAN_Id] FOREIGN KEY ([VLAN_Id]) REFERENCES [dbo].[VLANs] ([Id]),
CONSTRAINT [FK_dbo.Scopes_dbo.Groups_Group_Id] FOREIGN KEY ([Group_Id]) REFERENCES [dbo].[Groups] ([Id]) ON DELETE CASCADE);

CREATE TABLE [dbo].[VLANs] (
[Id]       INT            IDENTITY (1, 1) NOT NULL,
[Scope_Id] INT            NULL,
[Group_Id] INT            NOT NULL,
CONSTRAINT [PK_dbo.VLANs] PRIMARY KEY CLUSTERED ([Id] ASC),
CONSTRAINT [FK_dbo.VLANs_dbo.Scopes_Scope_Id] FOREIGN KEY ([Scope_Id]) REFERENCES [dbo].[Scopes] ([Id]),
CONSTRAINT [FK_dbo.VLANs_dbo.Groups_Group_Id] FOREIGN KEY ([Group_Id]) REFERENCES [dbo].[Groups] ([Id]) ON DELETE CASCADE);


text:
function feature = feature_AK_real_handRightMoveApartRelRoot(mot,varargin)
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
% Feature value 0: wrist not moving away from root
% Feature value 1: wrist moving away from root at velocity greater than humerus_length*thresh
%
% Parameters:
% thresh ...... threshold for decision whether a velocity is "greater than zero", relative to humerus_length

humerus_length = sqrt(sum((mot.jointTrajectories{trajectoryID(mot,'relbow')}(:,1) - mot.jointTrajectories{trajectoryID(mot,'rshoulder')}(:,1)).^2));
thresh = 1.5;
if (nargin>1)
    thresh = varargin{1};
end

femur_length = 1/2*(sqrt(sum((mot.jointTrajectories{trajectoryID(mot,'lhip')}(:,1) - mot.jointTrajectories{trajectoryID(mot,'lknee')}(:,1)).^2))...
	                       + sqrt(sum((mot.jointTrajectories{trajectoryID(mot,'rhip')}(:,1) - mot.jointTrajectories{trajectoryID(mot,'rknee')}(:,1)).^2)));

feature = feature_velRelPointNormalPlane(mot,'rwrist','root','rwrist','root');
feature = feature ./ femur_length;
% feature = feature >= humerus_length*thresh;


I once dated a guy who, in my opinion, was overly concerned with how other people perceived him. This concern wasn't limited to people in a position to offer him a job or people he may have had a crush on at some point. In fact, it didn't seem limited at all.
This was hard for me to relate to. Not that I don't ever care what people think of me. It's just that more often than not I don't think to think about it.
When it comes to complete strangers, the kind who will likely never ever see me again, I am typically fine looking the anonymous fool -- especially in those cases where being seen in an unflattering way has little or nothing to do with my actual character.
OK. Sometimes we flub up BIG TIME. And sometimes people can't help but laugh or think we're total idiots. But, in my opinion, they're not responding to me as a person; they are responding to my role as some extra in the background of their personal movie. I'm just the comedic relief whose name (if they bothered to scroll the credits) they would never manage to match up to the dunce I am playing.
What's wrong with being the entertainment in those cases? What's wrong with providing the stranger that happened to witness your belly flop, or skirt flipping up, or spinach sticking in your teeth, or toilet paper trailing down your pant leg a great punch line to use at dinner some evening?
I've been in these situations. Sometimes, in the middle of it all, I begin to imagine the story that someone might end up telling as a result of my misstep. Often the story tickles me so much that I begin to laugh. Then, I imagine that story ".... and then, get this, she just starts laughing..." which makes me laugh more "... like she's nuts or something..." and more "... and then tears are streaming down her face..." until all I am is a gift of laughter ready to be unwrapped.
One year, the company I worked for sent every employee (two departments at a time) off into the woods. Facilitated by "Leadership is Everyone's Business" team leaders, my co-workers and I participated in leadership-building exercises. One in particular made a huge impression.
The exercise itself was relatively inconsequential. Every one put on a blindfold and was handed a piece of rope that had been twisted and looped through into a kind of loose knot. The objective was to untangle everything.
I couldn't see what was happening, but I could hear some individuals calling out suggestions and I could feel the rope being tugged this way and that as folks experimented with different approaches. At some point, a facilitator tapped me on my shoulder and quietly whispered that I could take off my blindfold.
With my newly available sight, I could help the rest of my co-workers! I tried to find ways to make my suggestions sound as credible as they were without disclosing my special privilege. After some time, a facilitator tapped me on the shoulder and quietly whispered that it was time to put my blindfold back on.
A few moments later, I heard my friend Anna announce "Hey everyone, my blindfold is off!" She then proceeded to call out instructions.
Where had I gotten the idea that it would be against the rules to explain that my blindfold was off? My mind was reeling. What other assumptions had I been making in my life? How many of the constraints I felt bound by were actually self imposed? How could I avoid this sort of thing in the future?
One of my life goals formulated as a result of this exercise. I want to be limited only by constraints that are real. And, if a constraint is self-imposed, it better be purposely self-imposed!
My father was a counselor at my high school. As a school employee, he was required to arrive at school by 7 am, much earlier than my fellow students. As a school employee's daughter (with no other means of transportation), I was required to arrive at the same ungodly hour.
Making my dad late was not an option. If the span between waking up and walking out the door didn't leave me with enough time to get showered and get dressed, guess who was going to have a very embarrassing day at school? It took some serious hustling to avoid arriving on campus with drool caked on my face.
Unfortunately, I was not much of a morning person back then. I should have know better than to hit snooze again and again in the morning, but I didn't. I often had to rely on a "real" alarm -- my father's audible footsteps echoing down the hall on his way to the kitchen. Yikes! This meant I had to jump out of bed, zoom in and out of the shower, and throw clothes on all in the time it took him to have breakfast and pack his lunch.
One morning, for no reason I'm aware of, I woke up early. With plenty of time left after getting ready for the day, I decided to pack my dad's lunch. When he made his way into the kitchen, we had breakfast together then headed off to school.
I had enjoyed that. So the next day I tried hard to wake up early again. It was difficult, but I managed to get up with enough time for a repeat performance of the morning before. The third day was even more difficult, but I dragged myself through it. Ta da!
Then, on the fourth day, my teenage need for sleep outweighed my intentions and I was back to my normal routine. On our way out of the door, my dad asked "Where's my lunch?"
My heart sank -- suddenly the thoughtful little "bonus" I had offered as a gift felt like something I was obligated to continue. Where was my praise? It wasn't until then that I realized I had been expecting praise and was kind of resentful I hadn't received any. I didn't say anything, but I didn't pack his lunch again either.
I decided then that a gift should only be out of selfless inspiration. As a friend, a daughter, a partner, a good citizen there are plenty of things I do that have the weight of obligation tied to it. There are also plenty of things I do where I expect something in return. But, it's only when my sense of inspiration outweighs any sense of obligation or expectation that I consider something truly a gift.
Looking back, I realize it wasn't much of a gift I had offered my father.
I would love the ability to demonstrate the difference between reading a story and listening to it. Recently, I was talking to a friend about one possible way to approach this: I could create a written version of a story I normally tell then post it along with a link to a polished, recorded telling of that same story.
"You're going to kill it." she warned me. She went on to describe her experience with this. A story that she once told with ease had become awkward and stilted after she captured a version in writing.
That made me nervous, but I decided to try my hand at it anyway. To be cautious, I picked a small story, something I typically tell as a little anecdote, that I wouldn't fall apart over if I stopped being able to tell it. Writing it was enjoyable, though it took longer than I expected. It felt as if every line I started was actually part of another, bigger story. After trimming those parts out (and placing them in a notebook for safekeeping) I was done!
This last Tuesday, I had a chance to tell it. Awkward and stilted, I stumbled through the beginning. Something was different. I could hear the words coming out of my mouth, but it didn't feel like a story. Usually, when storytelling (even when I'm flubbing it) I feel a connection to the story and to the listener -- I feel as if I am a conduit of some sort. But this time, I felt like I was just speaking. I glanced at the story (sat with it a moment, in my head) and noticed it was just a thin sliver, there was no room for me to walk around! It hit me then, I was thinking about the slice I had captured in writing.
When writing, I am like one of the blind men in the blind men and elephant story. In my opinion, this is fine for writing (or at least, for my level of writing). On paper, there is only so much I can chew or hold up to the reader at once. For this reason, putting on the blind fold helps me focus.
What I learned on Tuesday was that I need to remember to take off the blind fold. I need to tell the whole elephant.


The $54 bln bid puts an extra $12 bln onto the value of its rival's equity. Cigna is playing hard to get for good reason, though. The possibility of other suitors gives its defense validity. Cost savings and the implied return on investment also suggest Anthem has wiggle room.
People enter the office building of health insurer Anthem in Los Angeles, California February 5, 2015.
U.S. health insurer Cigna on June 21 rebuffed a $54 billion merger proposal from rival Anthem, saying it was "deeply disappointed" with its suitor's actions, and that the offer was inadequate.
Anthem is offering 31.4 percent stock and 68.6 cash, valued at $184 a share. The offer would give Cigna shareholders 23.7 percent of the combined company. Anthem is also offering its target three board seats out of a planned 13 in the combined company.


Scotland's leading electronic music studio and school. Learn from the professionals.
The tide may be beginning to turn against Apple for pro audio and video users..
Past student Dubrovnik - UK continues to smash it with this interview and mix for Constant Circles - new music coming soon from him.


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text:
Sports News of Wednesday, 24 November 2021
Source: www.mynigeria.com
Gernot Rohr can't be sacked without recourse to contract terms
Super Eagles Coach, Gernot Rohr
The Chairman, Senate Committee on Sports and Youth Development, Senator Obinna Ogba, has cautioned sports enthusiasts, who have been calling for the sack of the Super Eagles coach, Gernot Rohr, to exercise some patience.
Speaking after defending the 2022 budget of the ministry before the Senate Committee on Appropriation, Ogba said that sacking of a coach is not as easy as they think because it is a contract.
Many Nigerians were not impressed by the Super Eagles lacklustre performance against Cape Verde, which ended 1-1. Hence, sports enthusiasts have been calling for his sack without further delay.
Senator Ogba continued: "Yes, so many persons have called for his sack. It needs to be discussed because there was an agreement with the sports operators in football.
"There is a way you will sack him, and if you don't pay him certain amount of money, FIFA will ban Nigeria and when they ban us, you will complain. Why not allow football operators discuss the issues by finding a way out?
"Mind you, part of the agreement is for him to qualify Nigeria for Nations Cup, and he has done that. No matter how he qualified.
"The next thing is the World Cup, and it is still on. For me, I am not Amaju Pinnick, who is the president of NFF. But I am also a board member, and I can tell you authoritatively that among us, many have asked that he should step aside. But it is not something you say for saying sake.
"It has to be a discussion, meetings, and so many things have to be taken into consideration. Even if it warrants sacking him, we will sack him, otherwise we allow him be," he stated.
Ogba debunked the insinuation that there are crises in sports. "In every situation, some persons will like something and others will not like it. But we have to look for the best."
On the budget of the ministry, he said it is very inadequate, adding that something needs to be done about it. According to him, the N5billion earmarked for the ministry cannot take the ministry anywhere.
NFF intensifies search for Rohr's replacement
Gernot Rohr sacked as Super Eagles coach.
NFF denies Gernot Rohr's rumoured sack
Super Eagles coach Gernot Rohr says Maduka Okoye is his first-choice goalkeeper
Onuachu is key to Eagles future – Rohr
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AFCON 2021: The tottem in Buhari's phone call and cheap excuses for the Eagles
FG'll review forex policy to boost investment - Osinbajo
Most people didn't expect me to be this happily married –D'banj
Beginning of the end of an era and 2023 presidential election


text:
Art & Design|Museum Defends Antiquities Collecting
https://nyti.ms/OjIDab
Museum Defends Antiquities Collecting
By RANDY KENNEDY AUG. 12, 2012
Over the last five years, the Cleveland Museum of Art has been at work on one of the largest building programs of any art institution in the country, a $350 million project that has been unveiled in sleek new stages and will be completed by 2013, adding 35,000 more square feet of gallery space.
But the museum has also been building in less visible ways and is set to announce on Monday the acquisition of two high-profile ancient artifacts that seem certain to draw attention not only to the institution's expansion but also to the complicated long-running debate about antiquities collecting by museums.
The world of antiquities collecting has been reshaped fundamentally over the last several years, after battles between American museums like the Metropolitan Museum of Art and countries like Italy that have demanded the return of pieces they say were illegally taken from their soil. In 2008, the Association of Art Museum Directors adopted standards that led most of its member museums to stop collecting artifacts that were not demonstrably in legitimate public or private collections before 1970, an internationally recognized cutoff date. Objects that surfaced later are more likely to have been stolen from archaeological sites or illegally exported. But those guidelines allow for discretion.
"Recognizing that a complete recent ownership history may not be obtainable for all archaeological material and every work of ancient art," the museum directors' group says, its members "should have the right to exercise their institutional responsibility to make informed and defensible judgments about the appropriateness of acquiring such an object." It adds: "The museum must carefully balance the possible financial and reputational harm of taking such a step against the benefit of collecting, presenting and preserving the work in trust for the educational benefit of present and future generations."
David Franklin, who took over as director of the Cleveland Museum in 2010 to usher in the era of its expansion, has adopted one of the more staunchly pro-collecting stances among American museums.
And so when two rare opportunities came Cleveland's way — a stunning marble portrait from around the time of Christ thought to be that of Drusus Minor, son of the Roman emperor Tiberius, one of only about 30 such Drusus portraits known to have survived from antiquity; and a beautifully preserved Mayan cylinder vessel with a painted battle scene from A.D. 600-900 — the museum did not pass them up.
The Cleveland Museum's new portrait of Drusus Minor has no ironclad record pre-1970. Credit The Cleveland Museum of Art
Though the Mayan vessel is in photographs that place it in New York City in 1969 and was published as part of a notable New York collection in 1973, neither object has an ironclad record going back earlier than 1970.
The marble head, in particular, for which Mr. Franklin said the museum paid a "significant amount" of its yearly acquisition budget, is likely to raise questions. It was sold at auction in 2004 in France and has no publication record before 1970. But the museum said it believed its history could be traced back to the late 19th century as the property of a prominent family in Algiers.
The marble head was sold to the museum by Phoenix Ancient Art, a leading antiquities dealer in Geneva and New York that does business with many major museums. In 2004, one of the gallery's owners pleaded guilty in Manhattan to a federal misdemeanor charge of falsifying a customs document about the origin of an ancient drinking vessel.
That same year, the Cleveland Museum bought a bronze sculpture of Apollo from Phoenix Ancient Art that some believe was made by the classical Greek sculptor Praxiteles. But the origins of the bronze, which will play a starring role in the museum's new galleries, have been under a cloud of suspicion since the museum bought it. (In 2007, the Louvre withdrew a request to borrow the statue for a Praxiteles show after the Greek government claimed the statue had been fished out of international waters and belonged to Italy.)
Mr. Franklin said he believed that the gallery and the museum knew enough about both the marble head and the cylinder to be confident that they had not been illicitly taken. "We've done our due diligence," Mr. Franklin said, "and we feel that both these objects have a pre-1970 provenance."
Beyond that, he said, he wants to send a signal that museums should continue to collect important ancient art under the right circumstances.
"Museums should still be buying antiquities, and we shouldn't shirk that responsibility, and I think it's almost an ethical responsibility," he said. "We don't want to drive these kinds of objects into private collections forever. Or to see all of them end up abroad." (The new collecting standards have also made it hard for private collectors to sell objects or to donate them to museums, a situation they say is creating a growing category of orphaned artifacts.)
A Mayan vessel with a painted battle scene from A.D. 600-900. Credit The Cleveland Museum of Art
While the collecting guidelines are a worthy way to try to discourage looting and black-market trade, Mr. Franklin said, museums also need to consider carefully the long-term effect on their curatorial strengths. "What drives most curators is the desire to purchase and to build a collection," he said, "and if all they're going to do is provenance research day after day, it's necessary but it's certainly not inspiring, especially for young curators."
Such a view of acquisitions alarms those who feel that museum collecting continues to be a catalyst for the black market.
"Buying poorly documented objects from disreputable dealers is akin to looting an archaeological site and destroying the historical record," said Jenifer Neils, a professor of art history at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, who earlier served for six years on the museum's curatorial staff and is an archaeologist with experience in Greece and Italy. "While such objects may be aesthetically beautiful, museumgoers are robbed forever of their cultural context."
The Cleveland Museum is not the only museum that has decided to use its discretion to make exceptions to acquisition guidelines. On a Web site established by the Association of Art Museum Directors for listing acquisitions that cannot be shown to have been in circulation before 1970, 13 institutions besides Cleveland have posted pictures and histories of objects they have acquired. The Metropolitan lists 15 objects obtained in recent years.
One of them, for example, a Greek statue from the mid-second to the first century B.C., was a gift of a donor who bought the piece from Phoenix Ancient Art in 2001. The statue, which came fully into the Met's collection in 2010, is believed to have been in a German collection in the late 1970s, but no report of its existence was published until 2007.
"Such overlife-size bronze statues are extremely rare, especially ones of the quality of this piece," the Met explains on the Web site, in justifying its acceptance of the statue as a gift. "It represents a major class of Hellenistic honorific statuary not otherwise represented in the museum's collection."
Mr. Franklin said that the Cleveland Museum would also publish a photograph and information about the marble head on the Web site. But in discussing the new acquisitions, he emphasized that he believed the museum was taking the right course for its own future and for the antiquities.
"It's to the benefit of these objects not to be shunted away into the dark but to exist," he said, comparing many artifacts in the market these days to children of divorce. "It's almost as if the objects themselves need a bill of rights."
Correction: August 14, 2012
An article on Monday about the Cleveland Museum of Art's purchase of two ancient artifacts omitted part of the name of the school where Jenifer Neils, who commented on the acquisition of antiquities, is a professor of art history. It is Case Western Reserve University, not Case Western University.
A version of this article appears in print on August 13, 2012, on Page C1 of the New York edition with the headline: Museum Defends Antiquities Collecting. Order Reprints| Today's Paper|Subscribe
Antiquity Market Grapples With Stricter Guidelines for Gifts JULY 12, 2012


text:
/**
 * This class is entity for recording track.
 * Namely, this class has recorded sound data.
 * @constructor
 */
export declare class Track {
    private id;
    private dataBlocks;
    /**
     * @param {id} id This argument is track ID.
     */
    constructor(id: string);
    /**
     * This method gets array that contains recorded sound data.
     * @return {Array<Float32Array>}
     */
    get(): Float32Array[];
    /**
     * This method appends recorded sound data as `Float32Array`.
     * @param {Float32Array} dataBlock This argument is instance of `Float32Array` that has recorded sound data.
     * @return {Track} Return value is for method chain.
     */
    append(dataBlock: Float32Array): Track;
    /**
     * This method clears data blocks.
     */
    clear(): void;
    /**
     * This method determines whether contains recorded sound data.
     * @return {boolean} If track has recorded data, this value is `true`. Otherwise, this value is `false`.
     */
    has(): boolean;
    /** @override */
    toString(): string;
}
//# sourceMappingURL=Track.d.ts.map