The weather is getting warmer, yippppeeeee!!!!! Who else is excited????? With a heat wave forecast and temperatures predicted to soar to 30 degrees I am trying to think of some ways that the little ones can have fun outside like I used to when I was little.
Brace yourselves I have the most amazing product that I really do wish was also suitable for adults as I would be getting straight into it and I know a few friends that would want to join me!!
Sadly, this only holds up to approximately 5 stone 7lb (about 80b, 36kg) so that's most adults out of the picture – lucky for the kids lol.
Little man thought Christmas had come early when a box arrived and I showed him the contents an inflatable roller wheel. His eyes almost popped out of his head and he grinned from ear to ear. Then he wanted to play with it straight away. I should have thought that one through better.
Note to self – show the kids new toys when we are ready to play with them and not before.
The box was enormous in comparison to little man but he was determined to get this set up as fast as possible.
He managed to unbox it quickly and got to work setting it up.
His first attempt at pumping up the inflatable failed miserably when he decided that he would use his bottom.
Attempt two. Pumping by foot. With his little legs, little man did struggle, so mummy came to the rescue. It took me about 12 minutes to pump up with a very excited boy ready to dive in.
This has been designed with roly-poly fun in mind. The roller is the perfect size for my little man and also his sisters, it's colourful and has balls that roll around inside when they play. The roller is for both indoor and outdoor use (grass is better to avoid punctures) but, I found it best to use in the garden as there is far more space.
It's fun not only to roll around you can also climb through it or make a fort!
This little guy and his sisters thought mummy was fabulous getting this super fun inflatable for them to play with. But, what they don't know is that it's not just really good fun it's also good for enhancing their coordination skills. In addition it's also perfect for teaching the children to play nicely not only by sharing but playing together by rolling each other around. It's a great form of exercise as they need to use different muscles whether they are rolling themselves or their siblings and visually stimulating with all the bright colours.
The Thumbs Up Roller Wheel can be found on Amazon, Prezzy Box and Ebay.
Would you be tempted to get one of these for your child(ren), grandchild, niece, nephew – or if your an adult, are you as keen to have a go in one as I am?
This looks like a really fun thing to play for children. I can't wait for fun things like these with them them over summer. Thanks a lot for sharing this!
It really is a fun toy, you can see little man grinning in those photos.
Hey this looks really cool box of fun to play with children. It also looks much more better than that exercise ball which people use for beaches. Maybe if you have swimming pool nearby your location, they could have fun there. Just A Suggestion.
If only. I don't think the local pools would allow us to use it as it's quite big. It's still plenty of fun on the grass though.
We do!!! Your kids will love it.
Oh wow this looks like SO much fun! My children would adore playing with this, we love outdoor play.
We use it on the grass and so if they fall out there is a nice soft landing.
It looks like an amazing activity for summer. exciting and so much fun for kids. Thanks for sharing.
It isa fantastic summer toy, mine really love playing with this. I use it to bribe them to get their homework done.
Aw I have to agree, I kind of wish that they could create an adult version because the thumbs up roller wheel looks like so much fun, although if it can only take 5KG then I am pretty sure that I would break it haha! I will just have to content myself in watching the kids having fun in the colourful wheel instead.
Ha, we could race each other although I should mention I suffer from motion sickness lol.
Oh my goodness, that would make me so sick! I have always hated things that roll and spin, but I know most kids love that stuff. Glad they enjoyed it!
Ha, I think I'd be the same although I really want to have a go!!! The kids loooove it!
Oh my gosh! It's soooo cute! Would love to have that for my girls because they like anything that's bouncy and rolling.
I am sure they would love it. It's also easy to deflate and inflate so taking it to the park is also an option.
Yes I'm keen to go in one!!!! They look like so much fun, if only they were around when I was a child. I just love that they are easy to inflate as well!
It's super easy to inflate and great fun to use. I wish I could join in the fun!
The little man is so funny! Too much effort that never even paid off and mummy had to come to the rescue! Oh kids! Anyway, that roller is just awesome for his playtime although he should get ready for a lot of spinning , rolling and hopefully he doesn't get sick ..
Lol, I probably would have but he was rolling for ages and loved it!
this roller wheel is just perfect for children. Seems they enjoyed a lot.
This looks fantastic! The laughing faces say it all!
They sure do!!! This is really great fun!!!
They're going to love it. Mine have been rolling around in theirs all summer!
You can take it to the park too. Mine are playing with this as much as they can when the weather is okay.
Ha, if only Becca. Unfortunately this allows for children's weights only. They'd be devastated if I broke it.


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In his letter to the Colossians, the apostle Paul mentions Tychicus and Onesimus, whom he sent to the Colossians specifically to convey information (and presumably also to deliver the letter). In his letter to Philemon, Paul discusses Onesimus and his abscondence as slave from his master and subsequently contrition, conversion and return. But as casual and friendly as all this may seem, there is something quit suspicious about the whole affair.
Most forms of early Christianity were illegal in the Roman empire (on account of them being "atheistic", that is without idols, and their objections to the obligatory worship of the state and emperor) and Paul would have been very careful with using his friends' real names. When a fugitive slave got caught he was severely punished, and by harboring a runaway, Paul himself was violating Roman law (whilst in prison). Paul would also have been very careful to not openly discuss politics, or refer to certain military events, lest he be taken for a revolutionary rather than a theologian (Acts 21:38).
Escaped slaves were punished severely and Paul would not have sent one half way through the empire carrying a self-incriminating letter.
Paul wrote Colossians and Philemon mere years before the Great Jewish Revolt would culminate into general Titus' destruction of the temple of YHWH, which in turn meant the end of Judaism as it had existed for a millennium. The magnitude of this disaster can not possibly be overstated, but what might help is to imagine that on 9/11 not just the World Trade Center was destroyed but also the heart of Washington DC, and that millions of Americans had been hanged in the streets and the rest deported to Afghanistan.
Paul saw the holocaust of 70 AD coming, and his writings largely dealt with trying to prevent it, namely by hammering on the importance of unarmed resistance and respectful dialogue. The temple was finally destroyed simply because certain Jewish factions (known as Zealots) foolishly decided to raise up arms against the Roman army. The evangelists, who wrote after the destruction, largely dealt with the question of what was to become of the Jewish mission to be a blessing to all people (Genesis 12:3).
It seems unlikely that Paul would invest his precious resources into a note that was both violently incriminating and theologically rather flimsy, and more so that this flimsy letter went viral in the early Christian world. In those days, correspondence was colossal, and it's an enigma why Paul's letter to Philemon became one of the most popular texts in human history.
The obvious answer is that we moderns have this work pegged entirely different from how the original audience viewed it.
http://www.abarim-publications.com/Meaning/Onesimus.html
Labels: Biblical characters, Scripture Theory
Was the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil bad from the start? Nah... That tree, including its fruits, was as perfect as the rest of Paradise, even 'a delight to the eyes and desiring to make wise'.
But Adam and Eve misapplied the fruits by eating them. Try eating a MacDonald's billboard and you'll get it. Also see Proverbs 3:5.
http://www.abarim-publications.com/Misunderstanding_Bible/Tree_Knowledge_Bad.html
The story of Jannes and Jambres is not Biblical, but fortunately ALL WRITING is God-breathed and useful for teaching.
All proof is welcome, but not if it's no proof.
To declare that the Bible is the one and only Word of God, folks most often cite 2 Timothy 3:16. There Paul seems to inform Timothy that the Bible is God-breathed, in stark contrast to other writings, which are the mere fumblings of man. What very few of these folks seem to notice is that just eight verses prior, Paul refers to the legend of Jannes and Jambres, which is wildly extra-Biblical (2 Timothy 3:16).
Let's, therefore, have a calm and composed look at the wisdoms dispensed in 2 Timothy 3:15-16:
http://www.abarim-publications.com/Bible_Commentary/God_Breathed.html
The noun πυρ (pur) means fire and both these words, as well as English' many "pyro-" words, stem from the widely attested Proto-Indo-European root paewr- meaning fire (and our word "pure" doesn't, in case you were wondering). Up to the age of electricity, all artificial light came from fire, and since light has since deep antiquity represented wisdom, fire represented a means to get it.
In early human cultures, fire sat literally at the center of the tribal community. It literally kept people together and at night guided wayward members back home. A tribe's central fire rendered light and warmth, but also kept wild animals at bay. People prepared their food on fire and burned their wastes in it. Later people even learned to disinfect non-combustible items (combustible and living items were disinfected with water and soap; Numbers 31:23), which aligned fire-purification with water-washing and explains the "baptism with fire" mentioned in Matthew 3:11. Later still, people learned how to extract metals from stone and how to build hotter fires to make ever stronger metals.
The hotter a people could make their fire, the stronger these people could make their tools and weapons. That correlated the quality of a people's wisdom (that is: their practical skills and understanding of science and technology) both with their chances with the forces of nature and their international clout (Daniel 3:19).
The hotness of a fire in turn correlates to energy density, that is: how much energy you can pack into a unit of space, and thus how much work you can generate. This in turn translates to a general principle that also explains human fervor, enthusiasm and powers of persuasion. In our modern age we don't build actual fires anymore, but the nation that can pack the most energy in one device (such as an A-bomb) is still king of the hill. Fortunately for all of us, the Internet has enveloped the world in a lattice of blazing fire and it's becoming increasingly difficult for evil men to vest large amounts of energy in evil things. Mankind's central fire has never been this big and this hot, and never has so much waste and accumulated garbage been so festively consumed.
http://www.abarim-publications.com/DictionaryG/p/p-u-r.html
Always wanted to read the Gospel of John in the original Greek but you don't read Greek? Then check out our groovy free online Interlinear New Testament. The Greek words have their English translations beneath them and come with links to their respective Dictionary articles and explanations of their grammatical forms and functions:
http://www.abarim-publications.com/Interlinear-New-Testament/John/John-1-parsed.html
Golgotha is the name of the place where Jesus was crucified. The gospels of Matthew, Mark and John mention the name Golgotha, but add that this name means κρανιον τοπος (kranion topos; meaning: place of a skull, Matthew 27:33, Mark 15:22, John 19:17). Luke merely mentions that the place was called Skull, using the same wording (Luke 23:33; by some translations interpreted as Calvary). It's obviously very important that the reader realizes that the death of Jesus occurred on The Skull, but what's with that? Every detail of the gospels was carefully chosen and nostalgia was certainly not a concern. It must mean something.
Jesus dies "at the Skull" -- what's with that?
Driven by nostalgia and super-hero worship, early Christian relic-hunters scoured Jerusalem's immediate environs in search for a place that looked like a skull, and Jerusalem's lands being quite cavernous, it didn't take them long to find one. Quite conveniently, the place they identified as the Skull happened to already be enclosed by a Venusian temple from the time of emperor Hadrian. True to form they re-declared it holy, put a fence around it and began to charge admission.
Others believed that the place called Skull was in fact a place of execution or burial, assuming that there would be skulls all over the place. But a place like that would first of all violate Jewish law and would not exist (Numbers 19:16, Deuteronomy 21:23, also see Ezekiel 39:15 and Josephus, Apion.ii-29-30, "not to let anyone lie unburied"), secondly be known by a plural epithet (skulls), and thirdly more likely be known as a place of bones rather than just of skulls. Still, the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea, in which Jesus was buried, was close to where He was crucified (John 19:41), and tombs usually existed in clusters or necropoleis (Matthew 8:28, 27:52). The second century document called Epistula Apostolorum explicitly states that not the place of Jesus' crucifixion but rather the place where he was buried was called Kranion, or Skull (verse 9). But still, there seems to be very little reason to refer to an entire graveyard as Place of the Skull, then or now.
Slightly more critical Bible critics realized that the ratio between the importance of Golgotha in the gospels and the importance of Golgotha in the rest of ancient writings was thoroughly askew. Why would the evangelists emphasize a place that no one else ever mentions? They surely were not tour guides pitching an important landmark for us to visit, because if they had been, they would certainly have also told us where that place precisely was. They don't.
http://www.abarim-publications.com/Meaning/Golgotha.html
Labels: Biblical characters, Greek, Hebrew, Scripture Theory
The name Ζευς (Zeus) belongs to the chief deity of the Greeks, who was known to the Romans as Jupiter. The genitive of Zeus is Dios (Διος), which corresponds to an ancient Proto-Indo-European root that expressed brightness of sky and secondarily clarity of vision. From that root come the familiar words dio and deus, meaning god, divine, meaning godly, and diva, meaning deified (feminine), as well as the name of the Vedic deity Dyaus Pitra (Bright-Sky Father).
Several New Testament names derive either from the name Zeus, or from its parent root and one peculiar adjective: διοπετης (diopetes), which combines διος (dios) and either the verb πετομαι (petomai), meaning to fly, or the verb πιπτω (pipto), meaning to fall. It denotes something both divine and falling or having fallen, and appears to have been used for sacred objects that apparently had come falling out of the sky.
This word is used only once in the New Testament, namely in Acts 19:35, which reads: "the city of the Ephesians is guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of the [or: that being the] διοπετης (diopetes)." Also note the obvious similarities with the qualities of both Jesus (Colossians 1:15, John 3:13 and 6:38), satan (Luke 10:18, Revelation 12:9) and Lucifer (Isaiah 14:12).
http://www.abarim-publications.com/DictionaryG/z/z-e-u-sfin.html
Labels: Biblical characters, Greek
The name Blastus occurs only once in the Bible. Acts 12:20 tells us how Herod Agrippa I had grown vexed about the people of Tyre and Sidon. What he was so upset about isn't told but the people of Tyre and Sidon were fearing his intervention and managed to entice Herod's chamberlain Blastus to plead for peace. During this meeting Herod met his untimely demise but what became of Blastus, the story doesn't tell.
The name Blastus is the same as the noun βλαστος (blastos), meaning shoot, bud, embryo, germ or even blossom. The phrase ο του βλαστος καιρος literally means "the season of (its) blastos" and denotes Spring.
http://www.abarim-publications.com/Meaning/Blastus.html
Why the word Agape does NOT describe a mushy feeling but rather a measurable force
The familiar noun αγαπη (agape) is commonly translated with "love" but it's not that simple, or perhaps simpler than that. Agape does not describe a feeling, and certainly not a mushy feeling. In stead it describes a natural force that is felt in some way or form by every entity in the universe from atoms up to entire societies. Einstein once quipped that gravity is not responsible for people falling in love, but it appears that it might indeed.
In the material universe there are four natural forces. Two of these are small scale and operate only within the atomic nucleus, but the other two are large scale and those are the two forces from which all goings on in the universe derive. These two large scale forces are electromagnetism and gravity.
Electromagnetism is carried by photons and when photons are absorbed by a material particle, this particle obtains private motion, or motion relative to (usually away from) neighboring particles. This is where heat comes from. Heat is the same thing as particles going their own way, and the more energy particles privately absorb, the harder they bounce against their neighboring particles. Heating up a liquid like water causes individual water molecules to go wild, until they eventually get so excited that they jump out of the pool and become steam.
Since the universe is a giant fractal and everything complicated derives from something less complicated which is still essentially the same (this is called self-similarity), the mental equivalent of photonic absorption is getting mentally excited. The mind is constituted by what it knows, which in turn determines what it observes, which in turn determines its level of excitement. Excitement doesn't lead to more knowledge, but knowledge leads to observation, which in turn leads to the excitement of what one already knows. Excitement of what one knows sets one on a path that differs from someone who has not the identical knowledge plus excitement.
The signature autonomy of all living things comes from the private motion obtained by the absorption and conversion of photonic energy. The amount of photonic energy a particle can absorb is effectively limitless, and so is the degree of private excitement and thus the separation from other individuals. Fortunately for all particles and minds alike: absorbing energy increases one's mass and that in turn increases one's gravity.
Gravity is a force that is inherent to the mass of individual particles, and this force drives particles toward each other. On the individual scale, gravity is truly minute, and when a particle is even the least bit excited, its energy of motion totally overwhelms its gravity. But the magic of gravity is that it works collectively, and is in that regard the polar opposite of electromagnetism, which works individually.
In any widely dissipated cloud of particles, all particles go their own way due to their levels of electromagnetic excitement. But all their tiny bits of gravity work together and form a common center. The particles fly all over the place but the final sum of all their movements is a very small resultant movement toward that center. It's like playing roulette, in which nearly half of the throws end on red numbers (particle moves one way; the player wins) and nearly half of the throws end on black numbers (particle moves the other way and is back to where it started; the player loses and is back to where he or she started). But a very small amount of throws ends on the green zero. The little green zero is why the house always wins, and it's also the reason why a huge cloud of excited particles slowly contracts.
When particles interact, and this is what they do in clouds, they emit photonic energy. This energy gets picked up by particles they bounce with, which is why particles in a cloud end up having the same temperature. At the edge of the cloud this energy of motion gets beamed into space. That means that the cloud as a whole cools off. The more the particles move toward their common center, the more they cool off and the more they cool off the more they move toward their common center. If the cloud is big enough, the gravity at the core can become so incredibly strong that atomic nuclei merge. This creates heavier elements and it also turns the previously glowing cloud into a blazing star. If the star is big enough, it can ultimately become a black hole, and that's a special thing all together.
http://www.abarim-publications.com/DictionaryG/a/a-g-a-p-et.html

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Mozilla has confirmed that the next major upgrade to its open source browser will be known as Firefox 4.0.
The organization's current roadmap has version 4.0 arriving in November 2010, with the first beta hitting in June.
Previously, developers had planned to follow Firefox 3.6, the last major release, with Firefox 3.7 around the middle of the year. But the vagaries of Mozilla versioning have changed. The former Firefox 3.7 will be released as Firefox 3.6.4.
Speaking via Air Mozilla this afternoon, lead Firefox developer Mike Beltzner said that the primary aim of Firefox 3.7 was to cut down on crashes caused by plug-ins. Mozilla has managed to do so with a beta known as "Lorentz," which offers so-called "out of process plug-ins," or OOPP, that operate independently of the browser proper, and this will arrive with version 3.6.4, currently in beta.
The Firefox trunk is still numbered 3.7, but this will soon change, as Mozilla works to deliver Firefox 4.0 by the end of the year.
In an effort to improve the real-world performance of the browser, Beltzner and crew will offer a new interface with version 4.0. "Something UI designers have known for a long time is that the simpler an interface looks, the faster it will seem," Beltzner said. "The less the user has to take in with their eye, the quicker they can process it and the quicker the entire application will seem. So we're actually looking at making our interface faster by changing the way it looks."
The open sourcers will remove various user controls to put fewer pixels between the user and the browser, and they intend to kill modal dialogues and reduce interruptions at startup. Existing dialogues will be replaced by message bubbles specific to individual tabs, so you can still navigate to other parts of the browser when they pop up. And if possible, Beltzner said, the browser will get to the point where updates are applied in the background. "This is one of the most frequent cases where startup is slow to the user."
To improve navigation, 4.0 will add a "switch to tab" tool for reducing the number of tabs and facilitating jumps between them, and a dedicated application tab that lets you return to frequently used services. This will replace the existing "home" button. "Always locked to the left of your tab strip, this will provide the same interaction that your home button does, but it will be much more useful, always easy to reach."
Mozilla is also planning a central permissions manager for controlling what sites get access to what data, a new add-on manager that lets you install extensions without a restart, and tools for backing up and sharing data. Backup and sharing will involve integrating the browser with Mozilla's existing Weave service.
Yes, the new browser will benefit from Jetpack, the new add-on development platform designed to ease the creation of add-ons and improve compatibility with the browser. Beltzner also said that Mozilla is looking into new ways of alerting users to third-party cookies.


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Book Review|Toni Morrison: First Lady of Letters
Toni Morrison: First Lady of Letters
Toni Morrison, 2008.CreditCreditDamon Winter/The New York Times
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By James McBride
By Toni Morrison
In 1982, when I was a 24-year-old reporter at The Boston Globe, I was sent to cover Harvard University's Hasty Pudding Woman of the Year ceremony. The award that year went to the jazz vocalist Ella Fitzgerald. The ceremony took place in a theater packed with students. When Fitzgerald stood at the podium to offer her thanks, a young voice suddenly piped out, "Sing, Ella!" A second student shouted, "Please sing, Ella!" A chorus quickly enveloped the room. "Sing, Ella!" they shouted, "Sing, Ella, sing!"
I watched, fuming. Fitzgerald had already sung. She sang for 40 years. In clubs and juke joints, at weddings and dances, in sweatboxes, filthy bars and rancid watering holes, even at a Harvard class reunion two decades before. As a child, she was a musical genius, born with perfect pitch. When she was 15, her mother died, and she essentially wandered around New York City in the mid-1930s as a homeless teenager, until the bandleader Chick Webb gave her a gig — and Webb had to be talked into it, because female singers were adornments in those days. She sang her way to the top of the music world. Now at 64, she was feeble, nearly blind, the diabetes that would plague her until the end of her life some agonizing years later already crippling her ability to walk. And these privileged kids, some of whom had marched in a giddy parade earlier dressed in tutus and clown costumes in a time-honored Harvard tradition that was somehow venerable because, well, they'd been doing it at Harvard for decades, wanted her to sing. Sing your own damn selves, was my thought.
But the First Lady of Song was gracious. She stood at the microphone, and sang a soft a cappella verse from the 1930 song "I've Got a Crush on You." She forgot the lyrics in the middle, then remembered them, and ended by pointing at the kids and singing "I love you … and you … and you. …" They loved it. It was gorgeous madness.
Toni Morrison receiving the Nobel Prize in literature, Stockholm, 1993.CreditAssociated Press
I still remember that event 37 years later. I remember Fitzgerald's grace, her style, her silent understanding of the moment. I had no reason to be angry. It was her moment, not mine. She was the First Lady of Song. She endured more pain and suffering than I knew or would ever know. Her pain and joys were hers to guard, to share, to translate into her art as she saw fit. She had the benefit of wisdom, which I, a young hothead, did not.
Which brings to mind another first lady in her field.
Toni Morrison, the author and Nobel Prize winner, turned 88 on Feb. 18. I have never met Morrison. And while you'll likely see a donkey fly before you see her stand before a bunch of Harvard undergraduates and sing on demand, the fact is Toni Morrison is very much like Ella Fitzgerald. Like Fitzgerald, she rose from humble beginnings to world prominence. Like Fitzgerald, she is intensely private. And like Fitzgerald, she has given every iota of her extraordinary American-born talent and intellect to the great American dream. Not the one with the guns and bombs bursting in air. The other one, the one with world peace, justice, racial harmony, art, literature, music and language that shows us how to be free wrapped in it. Morrison has, as they say in church, lived a life of service. Whatever awards and acclaim she has won, she has earned. She has paid in full. She owes us nothing.
Yet even as she moves into the October of life, Morrison, quietly and without ceremony, lays another gem at our feet. "The Source of Self-Regard" is a book of essays, lectures and meditations, a reminder that the old music is still the best, that in this time of tumult and sadness and continuous war, where tawdry words are blasted about like junk food, and the nation staggers from one crisis to the next, led by a president with all the grace of a Cyclops and a brain the size of a full-grown pea, the mightiness, the stillness, the pure power and beauty of words delivered in thought, reason and discourse, still carry the unstoppable force of a thousand hammer blows, spreading the salve of righteousness that can heal our nation and restore the future our children deserve. This book demonstrates once again that Morrison is more than the standard-bearer of American literature.
She is our greatest singer. And this book is perhaps her most important song.
Close your eyes and make a wish. Wish that one of the most informed, smartest, most successful people in your profession walks into your living room, pulls up a chair and says, "This is what I've been thinking. …" That's "The Source of Self-Regard." The book is structured in three parts: "The Foreigner's Home," "Black Matter(s)" and "God's Language." There are 43 ruminations in all. It opens with a stirring tribute to the 9/11 victims, then fans out into matters of art, language and history. It includes a gorgeous eulogy for James Baldwin, a powerful address she delivered to Amnesty International ("The War on Error," about the need for a "heightened battle against cultivated ignorance, enforced silence and metastasizing lies") and meditations on the thinking behind several of her early important novels. The bursts of rumination examine world history, skirt religion, scour philosophy, racism, anti-Semitism, femininity, war and folk tales, and are dotted with references to writers like Isak Dinesen and the deeply gifted African novelist Camara Laye. There's even a tidbit or two about her closely guarded personal life. But the real magic is witnessing her mind and imagination at work. They are as fertile and supple as jazz.
It is through jazz, actually, that one can best understand the imaginative power and technical mastery that Morrison has achieved over the course of her literary journey. No American writer I can think of, past or present, incorporates jazz into his or her writing with greater effect. Her work doesn't bristle with jazz. It is jazz. Her novel of the same name is an homage to the genre. Jazz eats everything in its path — rock, classical, Latin. Like the great jazz musicians who evolved out of bebop and moved to free jazz, and whose later work demands listening, Morrison's later novels are almost as enjoyable listened to as read. That is why, I suspect, she spends exhausting hours in the studio recording her books, instead of letting actors do the job. She's the bandleader. She wrote the music. She knows where the song is going.
One way to appreciate Morrison's supreme blend of technical and literary creativity — without reading a word of her books — is to listen to the unedited version of Nina Simone's recording of the swing-era song "Good Bait," made famous by Count Basie. Simone, a singer and musical genius, doesn't vocalize on the recording. She plays piano. She begins with a gorgeous, improvised fugue, is joined by a bassist and a drummer and leads the trio in light supper-club swing, and intensifies into muscular Count Basie-like, big-band punches. She then breaks loose from the trio altogether and blasts into a solo, two-part contrapuntal Bach-like invention, which develops momentarily into three parts. She blows through the fugue-like passages with such power you can almost hear the bassist and drummer getting to their feet as they rejoin. But she's left them. She's gone! She closes the piece with a flourishing Beethoven-like concerto ending, having traveled through three key changes and four time signature changes. That's not jazz. That's composition. It's also Toni Morrison.
It bears mentioning that young Nina Simone auditioned for entry into Philadelphia's Curtis Institute of Music, America's premier music institution, and was turned down, a snub she never forgot. Similarly, Morrison was not a favored child in the publishing industry or any other kind of industry in her young years. She was born in Lorain, Ohio, to lower-middle-class parents. After graduating from the historically black Howard University and getting an M.A. from Cornell, she taught in two different states and raised two boys as a single mother before settling into an editing job in New York, where she unearthed several important black writers, including Toni Cade Bambara and the gifted poet Henry Dumas. Her generosity toward young writers is not well known outside the industry, hidden by a shy, cautious personality and a straightforward, matter-of-fact persona. A few years ago she recounted to an interviewer that as a young girl, she had a cleaning job in a rich white person's home. Her employer yelled at her one day for being a useless cleaner. She ran home in distress. Her mother told her to quit, but her father, a steelworker, gave her a stern lecture that Morrison never forgot: "Go to work, make your money and come home. You don't live there."
I am so glad she took his advice. I used to believe that God created Toni Morrison for the voiceless among us, that He knelt down and encouraged a little black girl in Lorain, Ohio, to whisper "I want blue eyes" to her friend Chloe Wofford, who, 30 years, two children, one divorce, one name change and more than four cities later, would sit down at age 39 and stick a pin in the balloon of white supremacy, and in the hissing noise that followed create "The Bluest Eye," one of the greatest sonnets in the canon of American literature. But I don't believe that anymore.
Toni Morrison does not belong to black America. She doesn't belong to white America. She is not "one of us." She is all of us. She is not one nation. She is every nation. Her life is an instruction manual on how to be humble enough, small enough, tiny enough, gracious enough, heartful enough, big enough, to do what Ella Fitzgerald did at Harvard 37 years ago. To take an unknowing audience in the cradle of her hand and say, "I love you … and you … and you. …" To love someone. It's the greatest democratic act imaginable. It's the greatest novel ever written. Isn't that why we read books in the first place?
James McBride is an author, musician and distinguished writer in residence at the N.Y.U. Carter Journalism Institute.
350 pp. Alfred A. Knopf. $28.95.
A version of this article appears in print on , Page 10 of the Sunday Book Review with the headline: Jazzed. Order Reprints | Today's Paper | Subscribe
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The Radical Vision of Toni Morrison
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'A Mercy'


Recruiting staff is very time consuming and very expensive as a result. Instead why not hire temporary / contract staff from Firstaff who will provide you with top-notch talent? As we all know, you may need extra staff to cover various times – long term sickness, maternity leave, a new project or occasionally to cover peak seasons. Lets look at the top 5 reasons to hire temporary staff.
Firstaff have access to a large talent pool of excellent candidates available for temporary and contact roles, so you can avoid the headache and hassle normally associated with hiring a new employee. The temporary employee is there to do the job you require them to do. This also can be an excellent way to get to know a person and see how they fit into your company culture, should the role then turn out to be required on a permanent basis.
Do you require specialised skills to complete a project? Then this is the perfect time to hire temporary staff to complete a particular job. Once the job is then complete the temporary employee is no longer needed. This is an excellent way to get a job done faster – hiring the skills required.
You simply pay for the temporary employee by invoice, saving on benefits and you have no additional costs associated either, no HR/accountancy costs. Firstaff take care of all the administrative details and payroll for your temporary employee, leaving you to focus on running your business.
Quick placement – we will cover you for those times when you require temporary / contract roles, to cover sick-leave / maternity-leave / a new project. Just pick up the phone and let us know the skills you require and we will have someone out to you as soon as possible.
Get what you need done now – not next week or next month – If you are experiencing a delay in getting something done – Get someone in to help overcome the issue – be it staff shortage or skills shortage. Time is money after all.
Since 1967, Firstaff has long standing partnerships with many leading organisations in Ireland for recruiting permanent / contract and temporary roles. All our temporary staff accrue holidays and bank holidays like any other employee. We fully comply with all employer related legislation and we treat all our temporary employees the same as any other employee. We always deliver highly competent, efficient and professional staff.


The Vulcain Deck is the brand new edition to the Ethic DTC range. Taken from the Incredible Vulcain complete, this deck is 12STD compatible and comes with regular 8mm axles and spacers too.
Available in 2 sizes and colours, this is perfect for anyone's perference.


Embrace PAIN????? Heard that before? Most of the people you see accomplish far more than others it is because of this simple truth. Being uncomfortable can become your greatest asset……. Being comfortable should make you rethink your current condition. If you are comfortable it's time to get UNCOMFORTABLE……Because you can accomplish more than your current state. Take time to watch today's short clip and DON"T JUST LISTEN…….DO!!!


21 January 2019, at 10:58a.m.
Joe Mackinder, Ocko's vet at Rainbow Equine Hospital, Yorkshire, diagnosed equine metabolic syndrome. He provided a low sugar diet plan to help Ocko lose weight safely and because the horse was in such a bad way he prescribed medication to hasten her weight loss and help her laminitis.


John Conroy Menswear, South Main Street, is to close later this month. Mr. Conroy confirmed the closure to the Leader on Monday December 11.
"I would like to thank all my customers for all their continued support over the last 17 years," Mr. Conroy said on Facebook.
He added: "It's been a pleasure to have your custom." The shop will close on December 24.


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Agents of SHIELD 7.02 Review: Know Your Onions
Author: Tatiana No Comments Share:
Agents of SHIELD delivers some high stakes in its second episode, as "Know Your Onions" puts a very clear deadline on saving the future or being stuck forever in the past. Along the way, they also debate time-travel morality and throw in an epic MCU tie-in.
"Know Your Onions" makes excellent use of guest stars like Patton Oswalt, Darren Barnet, and Nora Zehetner. All three help flesh out life before HYDRA and SHIELD, even if the gaps aren't perfectly filled in yet. Who knows? Maybe a spin-off series on Disney+ could take care of that.
Ballad of The Super Soldier Serum
Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge) and Yo-Yo (Natalia Cordova-Buckley) get the chance to suit up in their 1930s dresses and officially join the mission. While Simmons works to get the bullet out of Freddie's contact (Zehetner), the team starts putting the pieces together of how the timeline gets from Freddie (Barnet) to Wilfred Malick.
The vial of green liquid he stored in a bootlegged bottle is in fact the key ingredient to the super soldier serum that first appeared in World War II, thanks to Johann Schmidt. That's right, the show went full MCU and put the agents on the path to potentially stopping Red Skull of all people. Going out in style, for sure.
Freddie's close connection to that crowd can only mean he's deeper in the HYDRA swamp than previously imagined. And thus ensues a moral dilemma with Daisy (Chloe Bennet) advocating his premature death, LMD Coulson (Clark Gregg) adamantly opposed, and Yo-Yo suggesting he be healed with love.
As one half of the squad works through that difficult decision, Agents of SHIELD cleverly juxtaposes the other half actively trying to save his life. Deke (Jeff Ward) and Mack (Henry Simmons) are pretty wrapped up in his dead dad, tortured mom sob story… Until Mack tries to check the contents of Freddie's secret shipment, that is.
That's when the gun comes out, and things start to get complicated. In fact, once the walkie talkie – a technology that hilariously fascinates everyone throughout the episode – starts working again, Daisy gives Deke a terrifying order. Take Freddie out before he can be the vehicle to take out thousands.
It's a classic time travel scenario. But in this case SHIELD only has 17 minutes to resolve it, so it doesn't quite get the justice it deserves. A few calming words from Mack, even as he realizes who he's dealing with, make Deke lower his weapon until the villains of the current day show up: the cops. Timely, no?
Mack ably defends his group from the Chronicom-led robocops as they wait for the rest of the team, but Deke loses Freddie in the chaos. With the Zephyr about to teleport out of this time in just a few minutes, they're at a loss for how to ensure history is preserved.
The Start of a Marvelous Friendship
Ernest Koenig (Oswalt) is actually much more of a softie than expected, which winds up being a major turning point in not only the episode but all of SHIELD history. For one, he's one of the first characters to point out simply and clearly that you can't punish someone for crimes they haven't committed yet, no matter how much of the future you know.
I'll take this moment to briefly point out his character flaw, which is time-specific sexism. He and Simmons engage in a few moments of so-called banter throughout the episode, with him calling her some term for women and her responding things like, "I'm a biochemist, not a bird." I have almost loved how Agents puts strong and complicated women at the forefront, but dragging out lines like these just to remind the audience that sexism was more obvious in the past felt out of place in the moment.
That being said, hopefully her words got through to Koenig and helped shape SHIELD into the powerful force – full of powerful women – that it is today. One of those women, of course, being Melinda May (Ming Na Wen) who awoke rather changed after dying and being saved by Simmons. Enoch (Joel Stoffer) is tasked with keeping her on the ship when all she wants to do is help the team, which leaves him with a lot of synthetic skin to repair when all is said and done.
Thankfully, Coulson arrives in time to talk her down – although her apathetic response to his resurgence leaves everyone wondering what's wrong with her. Not to mention that her "You still are [dead]" broke my Philinda heart into a million pieces. Coulson isn't really himself anymore, is the same true for May? This is actually a recurring theme, because Yo-Yo at one point freezes instead of using her speed – making her wonder if the shrike affected her powers.
But all of that heaviness is considerably lightened by Koenig's presence on the Zephyr, as he marvels over the apparently alien technology and directs them to the Hell's Harbor where Freddie is meant to take his secret stash. He is even the one who tries to stop Freddie himself, preaching peace and love instead of violence. Who knew he actually thought his charge was a good kid all along?
Of course, he gets shot for his effort, but Freddie makes a clean escape and keeps the timeline intact. So intact that Enoch misses the Zephyr by mere seconds because he stopped to try to help Koenig. Which means that he's able to stay behind and work for him, providing him with both SHIELD history and Chronicom technology that Koenigs will use for decades to come. It's a bittersweet way to say farewell to Fitz's best friend – if indeed this is farewell – but it's a full circle journey that only a show as brilliant as Agents of SHIELD can pull of.
With all that being said, grab yourself a barracoolada and wait for Sousa to grace our screens next week!
Tags: agents of shield, Reviews
Who is Agent Daniel Sousa?
Agents of SHIELD 7.01 Review: The New Deal
Tatiana	View all posts
Lover of comic books and television shows about comics books.
Clark Gregg Added to Agents of SHIELD Wondercon!
REVIEW: Ms. Marvel #20 – "Subversive Agenda"


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Swing dancing in the Washington, DC-metropolitan area. Providing education and instruction in swing music and dance.
Established in August 2008, American Swing Music and Dance Association is an educational and charitable organization dedicated to keeping this uniquely American form of musical and dance expression alive and thriving.Swing music and dance begins in the late 1920s and continues to today. The music covers jazz, big band, jump blues, boogie woogie, rock and roll, net-swing, as well as electro swing! The dance has grown and changed and had many incarnations as the dancers adapted to contemporary music. It has been called Lindy Hop, Jitterbug, Bop, Hand Dance, Balboa, Shag, East Coast Swing, Bal-Swing, West Coast Swing, and many others.
Inseparable from each other, swing music and dance have been an integral part of American popular culture for over 80 years.
American Swing Music and Dance Association's mission is to educate the public on the history and evolution of this art form by providing both instructional dance courses and live music events.
The benefits of swing dancing are numerous. Too often, modern education emphasizes book learning without providing necessary social skills; the rise of the internet means people have less human and face-to-face social interaction. Students who engage in social dance develop valuable social skills at the same time they are engaging in a healthy physical activity. By providing educational and instructional programs, AmericanSwing.org helps foster an appreciation for the historical importance of the art form while creating a new generation of dancers.
Teaching Jitterbug and Lindy Hop since 1994, Gottaswing's eight-week beginner and intermediate classes have set the gold standard in swing dance instruction. Classes are open to dancers of all ages, no partner required (we rotate partners in class). In addition to our regular classes, we also offer specialty classes: aerials, team performance, Balboa, and advanced styling, to name but a few. To find out more, visit Gottaswing.com.
Main Header Images provided by Markasimonson - Photography.
A financial statement from the Virginia Office of Charitable and Regulatory Programs is available upon written request.


Incredibly beautiful & spacious home with pool & spa in excellent Richardson schools. FIVE bedrooms and 3.1 baths with three living areas, office, split bedrooms, & great back yard. Wood & tile throughout downstairs. Grand entry is flanked by front office & stacked formals. Downstairs Master Bedroom has large bathroom & a generous walk-in closet. Corian-style counters, SS appliances, & a breakfast bar. Plantation Shutters in front and blinds throughout. Original owner added many upgrades in the original build plan, including a 5th bedroom & 3-car garage. Other more current upgrades include wood flooring, electric gate, pool, and sprinkler system with irrigation drip lines in front & back yard for plants.
I was searching for a Property and found this listing (MLS® #14010229). Please send me more information regarding 627 Olympic, Richardson, TX, 75081-5159. Thank you!
I'd like to request a showing of 627 Olympic, Richardson, TX, 75081-5159 (MLS® #14010229). Thank you!


By the time this reaches the paper, the Lake Minnetonka Association's 9th Annual Clean Up event will be over. During the event, volunteer SCUBA divers search various areas of the lake bottom and bring in trash and treasures. This event highlights the need for us all to do our part in keeping Lake Minnetonka clean.
This event requires a Special Event Permit from the Lake Minnetonka Conservation District. The permit requires the submission of an Aquatic Invasive Species Prevention Plan to assure all necessary steps are taken to keep unwanted invasive species out of our lake – a good thing.
The prevention plan I submitted with the permit application included a requirement that all watercraft not already residing on Lake Minnetonka arrive clean and dry (inside and out), that all divers' gear arrive clean and inspections of both. Upon review, LMCD Executive Director Greg Nybeck called me and said he was concerned because Prior Lake's Clean Up event was the week prior and many of the divers would be participating in both events. Prior Lake is infested with zebra mussels. He said he would add the requirement that no boats participating in Prior Lake's event the week before the Lake Minnetonka event would be allowed to participate in the Lake Minnetonka event. Greg asked if I would be agreeable to that, and after a few seconds' thought – yes of course I would.
First of all, thanks to Greg and the LMCD. The Lake Minnetonka Association has been calling for agencies to step up and aggressively protect Lake Minnetonka for years. Greg's action is a clear demonstration of what we have been advocating. Secondly, thanks to Greg for setting a high standard for future action for the LMA and others to follow.
As we have notified the divers, I have been receiving some pushback. ("Divers do not transport zebra mussels! What gives the LMA the right to require more than the MN DNR recommends? This is a public lake – you cannot prevent us from entering.").
While there is some truth in all of these sentiments, these are exactly the reasons zebra mussels and other aquatic invasive species (AIS) are moving – it always seems to be someone else's issue.
Over the years, it seems every group I speak to or encounter – lakeshore owners, anglers, boaters, SCUBA divers, sailors, marina operators, transporters, dock installers, etc. – claim their group is clean and others' are the carriers. The LMA does not have explicit 'rights' in a case like this, but we do have responsibilities and obligations to set an example. And Lake Minnetonka is a public lake, but when the LMA hosts or the LMCD permits an event inviting participants who could be bringing AIS, we have a trust to uphold and we should set an example.
Please, don't become complacent, as I had. Please, all lake users, take the extra steps – every time you come to enjoy Lake Minnetonka. Make sure your boats, trailers, equipment are clean and thoroughly dry at least five days after leaving another lake (infested or not). Please everybody, urge your fellow lake users to adopt this 'strong medicine' ethic. This is what it will take to make sure Lake Minnetonka remains clean for all to enjoy.


Welcome to Young Life West Central!
Young Life is for everyone who wants to get the most out of life. Whether you are in middle school, high school or college; whatever your interests or abilities; no matter who you hang out with — Young Life welcomes you. If there is a Young Life club or camp near you, check it out!
To locate Young Life nearest to you, you can refer to the list of related websites links on the right or visit the Young Life Locator.
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I didn't eat dinner until about 9:00 p.m. last night. That is so unlike me! Once I got home from work, I couldn't stay still long enough to make myself a meal and eat. Reason being? It was 70 DEGREES outside!
My Garmin Forerunner 410, wireless earbuds (thanks mom!) and my HR monitor. I was out the door before I knew it.
After my run, I sat outside on my stone patio (for about 10 minutes before needing to get up and go again).
Seeing the patio lights on makes my heart sing but, I couldn't sit around for long. I grabbed a string cheese and bottle of water for the road and took my dogs for a walk while it was still light and warm outside.
After reading some of your comments yesterday, I know I'm not alone in this. I almost always feel guilty when I go for a run and leave my dogs behind so, I made up for it by taking them for a long walk at the park. We walked until it was dark outside, and then, only then, was I finally ready to settle down and eat dinner.
My original dinner plans changed due to how late it was and my hunger level. I really couldn't wait much longer so, I made something quick! A turkey and cheese sandwich with lettuce and mayo.
Food tastes even better at 9:00 p.m. Or maybe it's just because I was so hungry. At any rate, it really hit the spot!
What's your go-to running gear?


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Home Uncategorized 1941 – Minden is war ready
1941 – Minden is war ready
Recently I had an online chat with Minden native Hooker Campbell. He mentioned an interesting story about his grandmother, Minden historian Thomas Campbell, and her service as an air raid watcher locally during World War II.
The story involved Mrs. Campbell using the walkway around the cupola of the old 1905 Webster Parish Courthouse in her duties to look out for enemy planes. Now to some that might seem silly, right out of Steven Spielberg's movie 1941, with west coast residents fearful of a Japanese invasion. However, the fear was real in our area, heightened by the nearby Barksdale Field of the Army Air Corps. My mother and grandmother lived on First Street, directly behind the old Ferguson Memorial Tabernacle of the First Baptist Church. Momma spent much of the war fearing that the hangar-like structure would draw an attack from enemy planes. The conversation with Hooker got me thinking about how Minden placed itself on war footing in the days after Pearl Harbor, so today's Echo will be a look at how local residents prepared for war in the days of December 1941.
Even though the sudden attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise, the sense of a looming war had long been in the air.
The draft had begun at the start of 1941 and many local men had already been summoned for service. My father had been inducted on March 17, 1941. In addition, our city had spent the summer and early fall in the midst of the battles between the Red and the Blue Armies as the United States conducted war games in the area. Those conflicts brought General Patton to Minden and thousands of soldiers. Many spent recreation time at the Minden High School gymnasium and at parties and programs held locally to entertain the troops. Even more significant was the newly opened Louisiana Ordnance Plant, after the awarding of the contract for construction in June 1941, the plant had been under construction and heading toward its eventual May 1942 opening. The coming of the LOP had necessitated the creation of the Webster Council, headed by former Louisiana Tech president, E. S. Richardson. It would be Richardson's job to oversee the logistics of coordinating local government and business for the arrival of the plant and the huge impact it would have on local life. Once war came, Richardson's duties would expand into working with civil defense authorities to coordinate their activities. So, it seemed in some ways the city knew war was coming and sprang to duty.
The first local newspaper to be published after the attack was the Webster Review of Tuesday, December 9, 1941, and it reflects the rapid steps to action taking place in Minden. The banner headline stated, "U. S. At War With Japan," and many articles on page one were war related. The Hands Drive-In Theater at McIntyre was showing President Roosevelt's address to the nation at 9:00 p.m. that night. The paper had a local personal news semi-gossip column called "Pick-Ups" in that article it was reported that the Women's Department Club encouraged everyone to decorate their homes and business houses for Christmas as usual, to keep up the spirit of Christmas for the children. Mayor Floyd Culbertson called for a meeting of the City Defense Council to make plans for civilian defense work. While the Mayor said drastic black-outs or air raid warnings will not begin immediately, air raid wardens, volunteer firemen, peace officers and ordinary citizens were requested to hold themselves in readiness for any action. Police Juror J. M. Pearce, head of the Parish Defense Council planned to meet with the City group and being plans for similar actions by the parish group. A war-related announcement was the inception of the Minden Shell Plant Bus Line which would offer six busses a day between Minden and the LOP site for construction workers and stated "Watch for the Blue Busses" as they ran between Wilson's Care on the Shreveport Road and the construction site.
Editor Kathleen Cox of the Review penned a call to arms to local residents opining that "the United States has been caught napping at her post of duty" but stated that "Minden citizens, like the people throughout the nation, have received the news with outward calm, but a certain grimness indicated by a firmer set of the lips, bodes no good for the perfidious Japanese whose peace envoys were in Washington smirking and bowing while making pretended peace talks, which proved to be nothing more than efforts to lull our suspicions to enable them to stab us in the back." In those years, the Minden High School student newspaper, the Minden High Monitor was published inside the local newspaper and its issue also touched on the war.
The editor of the Monitor included an editorial called How Youth Can Defend America. He rhetorically asked, "What can I do?" and answered with three suggested actions. First, faithfulness and reverence toward religion. Second, conserve materials which the country needs for its armed services. Third, use your valuable time in your education to prepare yourself to be a producing member of our nation. The author seemed to take that message to heart. He would go on to attend the United States Military Academy where he would serve as First Captain of the Corps of Cadets and receive a commission as a 2nd Lt. in the newly created United States Air Force. His service to our country would continue until October 1983, when he retired as Lieutenant General Arnold W. Braswell. Gen. Braswell is 93 and resides today in Virginia.
By the time the Review came out on December 16, local activity was moving into high gear. Working together the city and parish Defense Councils had set up Civilian Defense Registration for December 19 and 20. Local residents were asked to go to their regular polling places on those days where Clerk of Court Tom Campbell would have registrars present. Citizens were needed to fill roles as air raid wardens, auxiliary police and firemen, nurses and first aid workers, truck drivers, clerks, cooks and housewives. It was stated that "in a few days practice alerts and blackouts will be held and we must be ready."
Another expressed need was cooperation by local physicians as the Selective Service Board expected the rush of inductees would tax the doctors presently working in the program, Dr. S. F. Martin, Dr. C. M. Baker, Dr. J. B. Benton and Dr. R. E. Smith. At the same time, it was announced that the enlistment standards for the U.S. Navy had been relaxed and those turned down for many different problems, among them varicose veins, missing teeth, hay fever, or hernias, would now be accepted, so long as they demonstrated an IQ above 75.
The LSU Extension service pitched in with suggestions; encouraging farmers to do several things to help the war effort: 1) extend the life of farm machinery by maintenance and repair, order parts now if needed as they will be scarce soon; 2) save mature seeds from frost. Editor Braswell of the Monitor called on all students and local residents to unite and pull together as Americans to support our war effort. Still some signs of peacetime life remained. The newly opened Minden Bowling Center, located in the Drake Building downtown invited residents to try bowling and experience mild exercise conveniently located right on Main Street.
The registration for civilian workers got off to a big start with over 6500 residents of Webster Parish signing up.
Interestingly, while Minden registered about 1800 volunteers we were topped by Springhill where 2100 agreed to help.
With registration complete committees were working to classify and assign the volunteers to various jobs. It was also announced that a new plant for refining octane gasoline would be established at Cotton Valley. Residents were asked to join in the Red Cross War Relief Drive by pledging half-a-day's pay toward the parish goal of $5000. Additionally, the management of Southern Bell requested phone customers to refrain as far as possible from using long distance calling on Christmas and New Year's Day to keep the phone lines open for government emergency use. Silas Mason Company, building the LOP announced that to support the war effort, construction workers on the plan would no longer be granted deferments from military service, the company felt it could build the plan with workers ineligible for service and the US needed the capable men in uniform today.
By the end of December, as the first month of war came to an end, the newspaper was dominated by stories related to the war effort. The Women's Department Club and the Junior Service League were launching a door-to-door canvass to raise funds for the Red Cross. Minden businessman C. O. Holland was named head of the parish War Savings Committee to supervise the sale of war bonds in the parish. Two defense housing projects were announced for Minden. The first was a planned installation of 210 prefabricated houses on land owned by Mrs. L. K. Watkins in the area that is today Bymo Drive and Drew Lane. The plans never came to fruition, but were touted as needed for defense and ammunition plant workers. The second was a trailer housing project specifically for shell plant workers to be created at the former site of Camp Myer, the local CCC camp. Today that site is occupied by the Christian Church at Minden in the old Louisiana Technical College buildings. It appears that camp did come into use as after May 1942 when the LOP began full operation Minden was swarmed with workers and tent cities and new housing areas did proliferate in our area. The need for housing in Minden placed the community on the list of key defense cities in which the WPA was monitoring changes in occupancy and rental rates along with a check for price gouging.
In a political story, Mayor Floyd Culbertson turned down Governor Sam Jones' offer to appoint him District Attorney of the 26th Judicial District to fill the vacancy to be left when DA Robert F. Kennon was called to active duty on January 1. Culbertson cited the need for him to continue to prepare the city of Minden for war efforts and also that at age 33, he was subject to induction into the military. Surprisingly, after declining the appointment and winning reelection as Mayor in April 1942, Culbertson later ran for the vacant D. A. job but was defeated by A. M. Wallace of Bossier. Following his loss in the D. A. election, Culbertson resigned as Mayor to enlist in the U. S. Army as a Lieutenant.
Another sign of the coming war changes to Minden was the announcement by Parish Council head J. M. Pearce of the coming appointment of a Tire Rationing Board for the parish. Members to be announced by Pearce would supervise the implementation of the national regulations in the parish. Minden Cotton Oil and Ice called on its customers to save burlap feed bags as the new regulations by the Office of Price Management prohibited the mutilation, slashing or damaging of burlap bags. The company would pay for all bags returned in good condition.
Thus as 1942 dawned, Webster Parish had answered the call to arms and many local residents were doing their part to help our nation. From perches on the roof of the courthouse to keeping your burlap feed bags, Minden settled in for the long nearly four years of war yet to come. That reaction is another Echo of our Past.
Minden Historian John Agan's column appears Tuesdays in the Minden Press-Herald.Special to the Press-Herald.


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HomeWhat is Joint Hypermobility Syndrome?
What is Joint Hypermobility Syndrome?
Joint hypermobility syndrome is a benign connective tissue disorder that is also known as Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome Hypermobility Type III. With this condition, joints have an abnormally wide range of motion, which can potentially cause pain, soft tissue injury or joint instability.
People with joint hypermobility symptoms often have unique abilities, including:
The thumb can be moved down and back to contact the forearm.
The little fingers can be extended back beyond 90 degrees.
When standing, the knees have a bowing appearance from the side.
When fully extended, the arms bend further than normal (beyond straight).
The ability to place hands flat on floor with forward bending and straight knees.
Joint hypermobility syndrome is typically an inherited condition. Hypermobility is also called being double-jointed.
What Are the Symptoms of Joint Hypermobility Syndrome?
As a benign condition, many people with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome Hypermobility Type III present no symptoms and require no treatment. In fact, some athletes like ballet dancers and gymnasts can actually benefit from the extra flexibility!
However, there are still instances where joint hypermobility syndrome can present bothersome symptoms like:
Pain or stiffness in the joints
Joints that easily dislocate
Thin or stretchy skin
Clicking joints
With joint hypermobility syndrome, there can also be a higher instance of joint dislocation and sprains. Conditions like scoliosis (a curvature of the spine) have a more common presence in people with hypermobile joints, which can lead to back pain.
How Is Joint Hypermobility Syndrome Treated?
If it's becoming difficult to live with joint hypermobility syndrome, a combination of pain management, physical therapy and controlled exercises can help ease symptoms.
Because joint hypermobility syndrome can lead to an increased risk of injuries, managing the condition may also include treating short-term injuries. Fortunately, as we age and become less flexible, joint hypermobility tends to decrease.
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The percentage of the population that is affected by joint hypermobility syndrome, according to Scientific American.
Managing Joint Pain
If left untreated, symptomatic joint issues can develop into more complex conditions, which is why seeking treatment for problematic joint hypermobility syndrome is recommended.
Specializing Doctors
Our orthopaedic specialists can evaluate joint hypermobility syndrome and determine the best plan for treatment.
What is the outlook for a patient with joint hypermobility syndrome?
This condition is considered benign, which means it's generally harmless. However, those with symptoms may benefit from specific exercises, activity modification and education about the condition.
What causes joint hypermobility syndrome?
This is a hereditary condition. If you have flexible joints, one or both of your parents probably do too!


A unique astrological Christmas decoration featuring a constellation of the stars and celestial bodies of Cetus the Whale. Made in the UK in two gorgeous metallic finishes.
Dreaming of a star filled Christmas? We adore adding Christmas touches to our home throughout December and these constellation inspired Christmas decorations add a beautiful festive feel. Hang on table centres, fireplaces, door knobs, kitchen cupboards and Christmas trees.
The constellation of Cetus the Whale is the fourth largest constellation in the sky and was first catalogued by Ptolemy in the 2nd Century. Rather fittingly, Cetus sits in an area of the sky known as the "water" along with other constellations with a watery theme including Aquarius and Pisces. The stars of Cetus are faithfully recreated in this gorgeous Christmas decoration.
Create a whole night sky of constellations by adding more from our constellation collection which includes Monocerous the Unicorn, Lupus the Wolf and Cygnus the Swan among others.
Our Cetus Whale Christmas decoration is made from poplar wood with a silver or bronze metallic surface applied to the front. The constellation pattern is engraved in the metallic surface.


Brandon Twp.- On Monday night, the township board made a resolution, 6-0, that they were in opposition to legislation that would allow township boards the option to have its elected offices appear as nonpartisan on the ballot. Trustee Kris Kordella was absent with notice.
"Personally I am in the middle on this, because I always thought we up here should be working as nonpartisan people because we work for the township and the residents, and once we're in office the job really is pretty nonpartisan," said Township Supervisor Kathy Thurman.
The Michigan Township Association (MTA) has asked their member townships to take a stance on the issue, which was originally brought up in 2012. Recently, MTA discovered that a state representative plans to introduce and actively promote legislation to make nonpartisan township offices optional to townships.
"We don't vote party lines, but I think that people want to identify you as, in my view, as liberal or conservative," said Treasurer Terri Darnall.
The reasons given by the MTA for not wanting nonpartisan elections were all supported by the board. The reasons given are that partisan elections are inherent in the culture and traditions of Michigan township government, townships and counties are statutory governments, part affiliations help voters know a candidate's values, township board composition should change as electors' expectations and ideologies change, township board decisions can reflect an expansive or a limited role of government consistent with party ideologies, partisan local elections are instructive to voters as to how state and national partisan elections work and, because the nonpartisan section is at the bottom of a long ballot, "voter fatigue" results in fewer votes in the nonpartisan section of the ballot.
"The board also stated that the inability to hold a primary election to narrow down candidates is a reason they oppose the possible legislation."I'm opposed to it completely for all the reasons they said," said trustee Jayson Rumball.
One issue that board and community members brought up is that voters want to vote for those with similar ideologies to themselves.
Trustee Bob Marshall agreed, as did former trustee and resident Scott Broughton.
"One of the small little snippets that people have to look on the ballot and see if our ideology aligns with theirs, is that R or that D afterwards," said Marshall. "I know there are some arguments that say it doesn't matter, I say it does matter. Briefly, when I was on the trail, putting signs up or getting petitions sighed, here's how the questions went: one, what does a trustee do? I'm not holding people accountable for this, but they don't pay attention to local politics as much as we think they do. Second question was, now that they know what I do, questions about taxes obviously. But the third question was, are you a republican or a democrat?" said Broughton.
Since the board voiced their opposition and gave reasons, it will go back and be noted by MTA when they are discussing their position on the topic.


text:
Las elecciones estatales de Nayarit de 1987 tuvieron lugar el domingo 5 de julio de 1987, y en ellas se renovaron los siguientes cargos de elección popular en el estado mexicano de Nayarit:

 Gobernador de Nayarit. Titular del Poder Ejecutivo y del Estado, electo para un período de seis años no reelegibles en ningún caso. El candidato oficialmente electo fue Celso Humberto Delgado
 18 Ayuntamientos. Compuestos por un Presidente Municipal y regidores, electo para un período de tres años no reelegibles de manera consecutiva.
 48 Diputados al Congreso del Estado. Electos por una mayoría de cada uno de los Distritos Electorales y 8 de Representación Proporcional.

Resultados Electorales

Gobernador
 Celso Humberto Delgado

Municipios

Ayuntamiento de Tepic
 Remigio Rosales Vega

Ayuntamiento de Compostela
 Heriberto Conde Valdés

Ayuntamiento de Santiago Ixcuintla
 Hugo Andrés Ortega

Ayuntamiento de Ixtlán del Río
 Héctor Javier Sánchez Espinoza

Ayuntamiento de Acaponeta
 José Miguel Aguilar Ruiz

Ayuntamiento de Tuxpan
 Rafael Martínez Corona

Véase también
 Elecciones estatales de México
 Nayarit

Nayarit
Elecciones de Nayarit

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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text:
Tete-a-tete with the man behind 'Waderai ka Beta'
Avanti loves the Karachi crowd, says director
People and cities: An artist's muse
Artist Hamra Abbas discusses her romance with society and culture.
Taneeya Hasan June 18, 2012
KARACHI: Oscar Wilde's famed saying, "Art is the most intense mode of individualism", seems to be the gist of photographer/artist Hamra Abbas' work. At a small gathering at the ArtNow office in DHA Phase 5 on Friday, the young artist spoke to a captivated audience about her inspiration — the culture and people of the various cities across the world where she has lived.
Abbas explained that her work is a visual translation of her state of mind at a given time. For instance, the time she spent living in Istanbul explains the Ottoman influence in some of her art pieces. It is not rare for an artist to consider a city as their muse, and Abbas proudly states that she also incorporated the milieu of Berlin and New York in her art, to share her experiences of the two cites.
While her main medium is sculpture, her work explores a diverse range of materials such as paper, plasticine, fibre glass, photography and video to suggest modalities of interpretation.
Her love for miniatures was born when she dabbled in macro photography; and when she felt she had been "trained in a classical, traditional way", she returned to stone and clay and opted for plasticine to channelise her creative streak.
One of Abbas' most recent ventures, "Idols", is a collection of miniatures made from plasticine. One would expect a sculptor to say that making faces was the most gratifying stage of this project, but Abbas says it was the experience of human bonding that mattered to her the most."I feel human interaction that serves as raw material for these miniatures is a prerogative. It makes one feel like more of a human than just a faceless consumer because people start looking at you differently."
Abbas worked on these faces while she was living in New York and — in order to feel what the American dream tastes like — she invited people from the working class and made miniatures that resemble their faces. "The economic meltdown and financial crisis made me want to observe the common man and bond with him on a deeper level," said Abbas, as she spoke to the crowd.
Moreover, Abbas shared anecdotes of her life which showed that her mind and body inhale cultural dynamics and exhale art. Abbas stated that she used her pregnancy and hormonal imbalance to her advantage by indulging in cathartic experiences and churning them into art.
Some of her most discussed works include The Woman in Black, a visual ode to "women empowerment that became evident during the Lal Masjid tragedy in 2007". Others include God Grows on Trees, Lessons on Love and Paradise Bath.
Abbas was the proud recipient of a jury prize at the 9th Sharjah Biennial in 2009. Her work has been included at one of Australia's largest art festivals, the Biennale of Sydney (2006), along with the International Incheon Women Artists Biennale in Korea (2009) and Asian Art Biennial in Taiwan (2011). Currently, she is in Karachi and will be exhibiting her work at the Canvas Galley from June 19.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 19th, 2012.
A.Khan | 9 years ago | Reply
I am waiting for her art to be exhibit in Sweden
Art exhibition: Wrestling with Vermeer
Architecture on canvas in the colours of summer
In her father's shoes: Artist captures rural scenes in simple lines and vibrant colours


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