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text:
The Numinous Dead
March 30, 2015 • By Jacob Mikanowski
TUCKED AWAY in attics, hidden under altars, and sealed in neglected shrines in the provincial churches of Switzerland and southern Germany, a spiritual army lies sleeping. They look like skeletons, but they were saints once, for a time. Their bodies belonged to pagans, Christians, and Jews — Romans who lived between the first and fifth centuries AD. Pulled from the catacombs beneath Rome in the 16th century, they were venerated as martyrs, holy figures who died on behalf of their faith. Reassembled by priests and outfitted in splendid costumes by patient nuns, they were sent north of the Alps to fight on behalf of a resurgent Catholic Church.
The technical term for the movement of a relic from one place to another is "translation." But for the catacomb saints, simply being moved wasn't enough. As Paul Koudounaris writes in his new book Heavenly Bodies: Cult Treasures & Spectacular Saints from the Catacombs, the remains of the martyrs were "ideological weapons in the battle against Protestantism." Although they left Rome as raw bone, at their destination they needed to be armed, "not with lances and muskets, but with gold, silver, and precious stones."
In order to fight on behalf of the faith, the skeletons of the catacomb saints had to be transformed into works of bodily art. The results are astounding, and, for a modern viewer, deeply alien. Sumptuously jeweled, they wear suits of armor and bridal veils. Their bones are wrapped in gauze and tulle, and their ribs are covered in intricate patterns made from pearls and filigree wire. Wigs of golden ringlets sit atop their skulls. In their hands they hold bishop's crooks, palm fronds, and vials of their own desiccated blood. Gemstones fill the sockets of their eyes. They stare at us across a chasm that has as much to do with mentalité as with time.
In telling the story of these extraordinary relics, Koudounaris makes a case for them as neglected masterpieces of religious art. He traces their passage from their discovery in a Roman vineyard to their rise as ghostly foot soldiers of the Counter-Reformation to their downfall as victims of enlightenment skepticism and clerical greed. Along the way, he tells a story about the passing of an old form of spiritual practice and "the disenchantment of the world," which opens onto a consideration of lost forms of piety and religious practice.
The entrance to the catacombs was found by a group of vineyard workers on May 31, 1578. The discovery was an accident, but to the leaders of the church, it seemed like an act of providence. Across Europe, churches and the relics inside them had been destroyed in the religious wars following the Protestant Reformation. In the German lands of Central Europe, the problem worsened in the 17th century, as scores of shrines were destroyed in the Thirty Years' War. The catacomb saints seemed like the answer to a prayer. Not only could they be used to replace the hundreds of relics that had been lost in the wars, they also represented the endurance of the one true church. Martyrs who died defending the faith in the time of the Roman Empire provided a splendid parallel to the suffering of the devout in the present. More importantly, the bodies under the Via Salaria proved that the veneration of relics was an ancient tradition, and showed — in the face of iconoclastic opposition — that the church had remained true to its origins.
That the skeletons were martyrs was taken for granted, on not very convincing evidence. A capital "M" (thought to stand for "Martyr") anywhere near a gravesite was proof enough, even though it could well have meant "Marcus" or "Memoria." Vials of reddish powder were taken to be martyr's blood, although they were much more likely the remains of ancient perfume, the Roman equivalent of graveside flowers.
After papal specialists selected the bones of their chosen "martyrs," they carefully assembled their skeletons and then had them baptized, usually with the name of a virtue, like Felix (Happiness), Clemens (Mercy) or Munditia (cleanliness, elegance). Sometimes though, the name was a frank admission that they had no idea whom the bones really belonged to, and so some skeletons received titles such as St. Anonymous, St. Incognitus, or St. Innominiabilis (the unnamed). Once the bones had been named and cataloged, papal experts issued each body a certificate of authenticity and sent them on a dangerous voyage to the north under lock and key, usually in the company of a merchant or specialist "translator."
Despite their questionable status as actual martyrs, the catacomb saints quickly proved their efficacy as patrons and intercessors on behalf of their communities. Different saints found success with different groups. St. Munditia in Munich became the special favorite of the city's widows and impoverished female textile workers. St. Symphorosa served as a patron saint for the nuns at her cloister. When the sisters died, their own skulls were labeled and displayed so they could remain close to her. Some served as patrons of young couples and bakers. Others were found to be particularly effective at different kinds of miracles and cures.
St. Pancratius was known to cure fevers, nosebleeds, and a case of severe incontinence that put a woman's marriage in jeopardy. St. Leontius, whose bones "were purportedly those of a Roman noble who had been beaten with rods, cooked on a grill and finally beheaded," was said to be able to restore life to dead babies — but only for a moment, just long enough for baptism, so they could escape purgatory. St. Donatus protected against lightning strikes better than an actual lightning rod. St. Antoninus saved a nun from choking. St. Maximus used his powers to help the poor. His skeleton secreted a mysterious golden liquid, and was associated with the appearance of a white cat. The cat wandered around the village accepting alms. In return, the cat pointed the way to small amounts of life-saving treasure.
It can be hard to know just how to look at the catacomb saints, since their appearance confounds so many of our distinctions between the morbid and the sacred, the grizzly and the sublime. Many of the skeletons have a kind of camp splendor to them. The sheer quantity of jewels can make the bodies seem like the work of a Counter-Reformation Liberace. Koudounaris describes the clothing of one saint as "something like Roman armor imagined by Charles Lewis Tiffany" and another as looking like a "skeletal sock puppet." In trying to find suitable comparisons of my own, I came up with a list that ranged from Mexican ex-votos to Flemish danses macabres to Habsburg court portraiture, but none of these get at the mix of delirious grandeur, ostentation, and sheer bodily presence that makes these skeletons such singular works of art.
And yet, the deeper challenge posed by the skeletons in Heavenly Bodies has to do with the way they confront viewers with a type of religious faith that can now seem profoundly strange. Writing of nuns saved from choking and parishioners cured of crippling foot pain, Koudounaris uncovers a lost world of religious devotion, in which sanctified remains could control the weather, save souls from purgatory, and serve as all-purpose patrons, who "could be counted on to offer their miraculous powers to protect the community as a whole in times of crisis." It has become difficult for us to imagine the role of saints in the antique and medieval worlds where they fulfilled a range of functions, from benevolent vigilantes to divine intercessors to cherished friends. In The Cult of the Saints, his great study of the origins of sainthood in Late Antique Rome, Peter Brown wrote that his subject was the "joining of Heaven and Earth, and the role in this joining, of dead human beings." This system of belief was beautifully described by the historian William Christian in his numerous studies of Catholic practice in early modern Spain, in which he conjures a landscape thick with places in contact with the holy. Whole communities were bound together by pieces of wood and bone, and every roadside shrine was known to be capable of effecting miraculous cures or providing needed rain.
In becoming focal points of devotion for local communities, the catacomb saints passed out of the elite realm of Counter-Reformation theology and into that of folk Catholicism. In writing about the Walloon Catholicism of his Belgian childhood, Luc Sante describes it as a faith that
incorporates large and only partly digested gobs of pre-Christian animism, consists mostly of ritual and image-worship with little that could be termed theology, minimizes the Bible, selectively deploys some elements of the occult while condemning others, and derives its major emotional thrust from fear — rather than, say, pentecostal ecstasy.
I know this type of faith from my childhood spent in Poland, where on All Saints' Day seemingly everyone in the city would go to the cemetery to light candles and pray for the dead. Even though my family is Jewish, we would go to visit the grave of my Jewish grandfather, buried in a military cemetery in the north end of Warsaw. I know it too from the year I lived in northern Morocco, where the hillsides are dotted in the whitewashed tombs of saints. The belief in saints as intercessors and the power of the dead isn't confined to Catholicism. Islam has a strong tradition of venerating sacred places, especially the tombs of mystics and holy men. This system of beliefs is fading now though, thanks to pressure from more fundamentalist and scriptural forms of faith.
The same thing happened in the Catholic world, although in a different key. Modernity was not kind to the catacomb saints. Many of them fell victim to the forced secularizations that followed Napoleon's invasion of Germany. Whole monasteries lost their lands and churches were forced to sell their jeweled relics at auction. Ultimately though, a more insidious process led to the demise of the cult of the holy dead. To Protestants, the sight of pilgrims worshipping in front of relics had long seemed ridiculous, if not pagan, "the earnest and devout worship of a skeleton god." Visitors to German and Swiss churches described the shrines as "a truly hideous sight," "disgusting," "in the worst possible taste."
Gradually though, these same doubts began to infect the Catholic hierarchy. Archaeologists revisited the catacombs, and realized that most of the skeletons they had sent out dated to after Constantine's conversion to Christianity, and so couldn't have been martyrs after all. What's worse, the cult of the saints came to be seen as more and more of an embarrassment. As the 19th-century wore on, more and more of the saints were hidden away or sold off for scrap. In some places, local religious authorities had the skeletons buried in anonymous plots or stripped bare and thrown away. In others, they were stored in attics or displayed in provincial museums.
Max Weber called the process by which mysticism and tradition gave way to rational thought and scientific understanding the "Entzauberung der Welt" — "the disenchantment of the world." It's a development that might best be seen in a heartbreaking moment at the end of Giuseppe di Lampedusa's novel The Leopard. The novel takes place at the beginning of the 20th century, long after the Sicilian noble family at the novel's heart has passed its prime. The spinster sisters of the dashing Prince Fabrizio, The Leopard's hero, now live in Palermo, sharing their apartments with a collection of 74 relics. One day, a priest, alerted to the relics' dubious provenance by the local bishop, comes by to authenticate them and concludes that only five are genuine. The rest end up in a basket "overflowing with torn papers and cards, little boxes containing bits of bone and gristle," destined for the junk heap. A whole way of thinking disappeared into this junk heap. A whole spiritual landscape, dotted with miraculous shrines and thick with the presence of the dead, went with it.
Gone, but maybe not for good. Koudounaris ends his story with an anecdote about a church in Rottenbuch, Germany, which lost its catacomb saints to auction at the start of the 19th century. In 1977, however, they came back. The parishioners negotiated the purchase of their beloved martyrs — Primus and Felicianus — from a church in a neighboring town. Now, translated home, the skeletons are enthroned on their old altar. Reading Heavenly Bodies I found myself wishing that more saints would join them. Even in a world stripped of enchantment, there should be a place for the presence of the numinous dead, if not for wisdom, then for mercy.
Jacob Mikanowski is a graduate student in European History at UC Berkeley.
Jacob Mikanowski
Jacob Mikanowski is a writer based in Berkeley, California. More of his work can be found here.
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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The Attic Annex opened its doors in late November of 2015 shortly after completing the move of The Attic into our old location on the square at 108 N Church St. in Fayette. We knew that we were going to have much less space to display items, but we still wanted to be able to offer our customers a large selection and variety!
We found a second location at 205 N Main St. in Fayette and were able to hire a part-time staff to operate this additional store. We are now open Wednesday - Saturday 12 PM - 5 PM and by appointment at this location. The Attic is still open Monday - Friday 10 AM - 5 PM and Saturday 9 AM - 2 PM.
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text:
Cameron DuBois making world a better place with music
Montgomery singer/songwriter gradually releasing new music, and will perform Friday night at Taste
Cameron DuBois making world a better place with music Montgomery singer/songwriter gradually releasing new music, and will perform Friday night at Taste Check out this story on montgomeryadvertiser.com: https://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/entertainment/2019/11/24/cameron-dubois-making-world-better-place-music/4285483002/
Shannon Heupel, Montgomery Advertiser Published 1:23 a.m. CT Nov. 24, 2019 | Updated 2:47 a.m. CT Nov. 24, 2019
Cameron DuBois has skills.
The Montgomery singer/songwriter is focusing on making music, but in 2017 she completed a B.S. degree in environmental civil engineering from Auburn University.
"Now I'm doing (music) full time," DuBois said. "It's my second year."
Cameron DuBois performs Friday night at Taste in Montgomery. (Photo: Shannon Heupel/Advertiser)
You can catch this country gal performing Friday at Taste, 5251 Hampstead High Street, Montgomery. The show is from 7-10 p.m.
She has a new EP in the works, which is from a mix of songs that she and others have written. She's been gradually dropping songs ahead of the release.
The first single from the project is "The Home Place," which she released back in May. That one was written as a Christmas present for her family last year. It was a piece to remember her great-grandfather's house, which was demolished in April.
"I really love the songs," DuBois said. "I picked my favorite of those and ended up recording six songs, most of them out of Skaggs Studio in Nashville. I recorded a few at Wishbone Studios in Muscle Shoals."
In August, she released the video to her song "Lipstick & Chrome," which was written by Katie Barbour, Michael A. Curtis and Jimmy Thrasher. It's the same song she performed for a Montgomery Area Musicians Association event earlier this year at Lisenby's Music Shop in Prattville.
While DuBois had a passion for music since childhood, she was really shy growing up.
"I picked up a guitar when I was about 12 years old," DuBois said. "I taught myself. I would just sit in my room, I was such a shy person. I would never sing and play for people."
Fortunately, her parents were listening in. They convinced her to share her gifts. As she got older, she entered competitions, including the scholarship program Distinguished Young Women.
"I sang and played guitar," said DuBois, who graduated from LAMP in 2012. "I had a lot of people reach out to me afterwards and tell me, you should think about maybe pursuing this on the side while you're in college," she said.
Along the way to a degree from Auburn, she picked up extra music skills while touring and performing her songs throughout the southeast.
So are there any plans to put her environmental civil engineering degree to use?
"I'm not using it right now. I'm really trying to pursue (music)," she said. "I have it to fall back on, because you just never know in this industry."
Follow her Facebook @cameronduboismusic.
Contact Montgomery Advertiser reporter Shannon Heupel at sheupel@gannett.com.
Read or Share this story: https://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/entertainment/2019/11/24/cameron-dubois-making-world-better-place-music/4285483002/
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UPDATE: 360networks acquires U.S.-based telecom business
Lindsay Bruce
Vancouver-based 360networks Corp. on Monday announced the acquisition of Houston-based Dynegy Inc.'s communications business, just 21 months after the Canadian fibre company filed for bankruptcy.
David Byford, director of corporate communications for Dynegy in Houston, said the company has exited from the communications business due to poor results and it expects to reconstruct itself around its core energy businesses.
"We entered the business because it was our belief that a strong North American market for bandwidth would occur. This never fully met our expectations," Byford said.
Chris Mueller, spokesperson for 360networks in Seattle, said Dynegy has spent close to $1 billion dollars on U.S. assets, but is now trying to cut its telecom ties, which makes for good bargain shopping for 360networks.
"We are buying them for a fraction…sincerely a fraction off the replacement cost. And that is giving us route diversity, metro access. It's giving us inventory (and) it's giving us nearly 50 carrier customers," Mueller said.
He added that the acquisition will give 360networks deeper access within 10 American cities: Boston, Washington, Atlanta, Miami, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Houston.
He said 360networks acquisition of Dynegy should appear seamless to customers, but the purchase will not mean business as usual for Dynegy's Denver employees.
"We have a presence in Denver. We will continue to operate their network. We will manage their network with our people, and the Dynegy employees know that," Mueller said. "Essentially, us buying their network means that they are out of work…our people will begin operating their network at the close of the transaction."
Elroy Jopling, a Toronto-based analyst with Gartner Inc., said this acquisition puts 360networks on the fast track to recovery, but noted that with every fast track there are speed bumps along the way.
"Are they in over their heads from a financial perspective? There's a natural operation of taking and melding, rationalizing what they have through Dynegy with what (360networks) already have in the U.S.…and anytime you put two businesses together, it's never an easy operation," Jopling said.
The deal, which should close by the end of April, will give 360networks an additional 16,000 route miles of fibre-optics.
360networks can be found online at www.360.net.
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As we welcome the glorious hot weather this season, it's the perfect opportunity to take fitness out of the gym and become more active outdoors. Whether it be planning a run at the local park or garden activities with the little ones, it's important to be kitted out with the best equipment.
Here is our pick of the must-have sporting gear to help enjoy some fun activities in the sun.
No matter what workout we choose, it's important to wear clothing that offers optimum support and comfort. This classic sports top from John Lewis has breathable fabrics which will help to keep anyone cool and dry, with an elasticated fit ensuring a truly comfortable wear.
Choosing suitable sporting shoes is very important, because this ensures lightweight movement and comfort when exercising. This stylish flat knit trainer is the perfect choice to stay on trend this season – with a high-density in-sock which provides cushion in every step and a breathable mesh fabric to help feet stay cool.
It's great when kids can enjoy their outdoor surroundings with new and exciting ways to help stimulate their imagination. This activity pool will definitely spark enthusiasm, complete with an inflatable ball ramp and pool area for endless hours of fun. The enjoyment doesn't even have to stop in summer, as this activity pool is suitable for both indoor and outdoor adventures, making this a great product for all year-round use.
Outdoor activities are a great way to keep children entertained, and even better if it can help to improve their sporting techniques. This volley Strike game from the Early Learning Centre is a great way to encourage active fun in the garden. Not only can children improve their batting and coordination skills, but they can practice just in time for Wimbledon.
As the hot temperature continue to rise, it's important to stay hydrated for any outdoor activities. This insulated bottle from Go Outdoors is perfect for everyday use or for those planning a long sporting expedition. Try filling it with your favourite fruit juice or add some cucumber to your water for extra flavour.
Tell us your favourite sporting games using the hashtag #One4allTips with the handle @One4allUK on Facebook, @One4all.UK on Instagram and @One4allGiftUK on Twitter.


Once your order has been placed and paid for in full, it will be dispatched as soon as possible.
We use Australia Post and Couriers depending on where the product is going.
Delivery usually takes approximately 14 days but can take up to 4 weeks depending on availability of stock.
If no one is available to sign for the parcel, a collection card is left in your post box to arrange a re-delivery.
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text:
Path 64 or the Marketplace - Adelanto line is a  500-kilovolt power line that runs from the Adelanto substation near Adelanto, California in the High Desert to the Marketplace substation near Boulder City, Nevada. Path 64 is part of The Western Electricity Coordinating Council's links of electrical intertie paths in the western United States. Path 64 is part of the Path 46 transmission system in southeastern California. This power line is operated by Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP). This line, along with Path 27, the Intermountain DC line and other Path 46 powerlines, supply over 10,000 megawatts of electrical power to the Los Angeles area. Path 64 is an essential line for powering Los Angeles.

Route
The 500 kV power line begins at the Adelanto substation, where two 500 kV lines from the San Fernando Valley and another from Victorville terminate. On top of that, this is where the Adelanto inverter station or the southern terminus of the HVDC Intermountain line (Path 27) is also located. As the line leaves Adelanto substation, the 500 kV line follows Highway 395 for a distance northwest. At Kramer Junction (intersection with State Route 58), the line turns east. The power line then meets the other Path 46 power lines from Victorville along with the Intermountain DC line near Newberry Springs and runs parallels with them for a short distance; all of the lines at this point are now heading northeast. After a few miles, the line crosses over the other Path 46 and Intermountain DC lines and splits off of the corridor; heading towards the Interstate 15 where it runs alongside the highway through the desert until both descend into the Ivanpah Valley. Just prior to the California-Nevada border, the Path 64 line crosses the Interstate 15 once more before turning north and entering Nevada southeast of Primm where it rejoins with the Path 46 and Intermountain lines again north of the community. The now scattered power lines then head in a roughly northeast direction across the desert to the Eldorado - Marketplace - McCullough substation complex. Path 64 ends at the Marketplace substation, where Path 63, another long-distance transmission line from Arizona also terminates.

Power transmission capacity
The lone 500 kV power line can transmit 1,200 MW of electrical power.

References

Western Interconnection
Energy infrastructure in California
Energy infrastructure in Nevada

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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text:
using System;
using Android.Content;
using System.Drawing;
using Android.Views.Animations;
using SciChart.Charting.Model;
using SciChart.Charting.Model.DataSeries;
using SciChart.Charting.Modifiers;
using SciChart.Charting.Visuals;
using SciChart.Charting.Visuals.Animations;
using SciChart.Charting.Visuals.Axes;
using SciChart.Charting.Visuals.PointMarkers;
using SciChart.Charting.Visuals.RenderableSeries;
using SciChart.Data.Model;
using SciChart.Drawing.Common;
using Xamarin.Examples.Demo;
using Xamarin.Examples.Demo.Droid.Extensions;
using Xamarin.Examples.Demo.Droid.Fragments.Base;
using static SciChart.Charting.Modifiers.AxisDragModifierBase;

namespace Xamarin.Examples.Demo.Droid.Fragments.Examples
{
    [ExampleDefinition("Scatter Chart", description:"Create a simple Scatter chart", icon: ExampleIcon.ScatterChart)]
    public class ScatterChartFragment : ExampleBaseFragment
    {
        private readonly Random _random = new Random(42);

        public SciChartSurface Surface => View.FindViewById<SciChartSurface>(Resource.Id.chart);

        public override int ExampleLayoutId => Resource.Layout.Example_Single_Chart_Fragment;

        protected override void InitExample()
        {
            var xAxis = new NumericAxis(Activity) {GrowBy = new DoubleRange(0.1, 0.1)};
            var yAxis = new NumericAxis(Activity) {GrowBy = new DoubleRange(0.1, 0.1)};

            var rSeries1 = GetScatterRenderableSeries(Activity, new TrianglePointMarker(), 0xFFFFEB01, false);
            var rSeries2 = GetScatterRenderableSeries(Activity, new EllipsePointMarker(), 0xFFFFA300, false);
            var rSeries3 = GetScatterRenderableSeries(Activity, new TrianglePointMarker(), 0xFFFF6501, true);
            var rSeries4 = GetScatterRenderableSeries(Activity, new EllipsePointMarker(), 0xFFFFA300, true);

            using (Surface.SuspendUpdates())
            {
                Surface.XAxes.Add(xAxis);
                Surface.YAxes.Add(yAxis);
                Surface.RenderableSeries.Add(rSeries1);
                Surface.RenderableSeries.Add(rSeries2);
                Surface.RenderableSeries.Add(rSeries3);
                Surface.RenderableSeries.Add(rSeries4);

                Surface.ChartModifiers = new ChartModifierCollection
                {
                    new ZoomExtentsModifier(),
                    new PinchZoomModifier(),
                    new CursorModifier(){ ReceiveHandledEvents = true },
                    new XAxisDragModifier(){ ReceiveHandledEvents = true },
                    new YAxisDragModifier {DragMode = AxisDragMode.Pan}
                };

                new WaveAnimatorBuilder(rSeries1) { Interpolator = new DecelerateInterpolator(), Duration = 3000, StartDelay = 350 }.Start();
                new WaveAnimatorBuilder(rSeries2) { Interpolator = new DecelerateInterpolator(), Duration = 3000, StartDelay = 350 }.Start();
                new WaveAnimatorBuilder(rSeries3) { Interpolator = new DecelerateInterpolator(), Duration = 3000, StartDelay = 350 }.Start();
                new WaveAnimatorBuilder(rSeries4) { Interpolator = new DecelerateInterpolator(), Duration = 3000, StartDelay = 350 }.Start();
            }
        }

        private XyScatterRenderableSeries GetScatterRenderableSeries(Context context, IPointMarker pointMarker, uint color, bool negative)
        {
            var seriesName = pointMarker is EllipsePointMarker ?
                negative ? "Negative Ellipse" : "Positive Ellipse" :
                negative ? "Negative" : "Positive";

            var dataSeries = new XyDataSeries<int, double> {SeriesName = seriesName};

            for (var i = 0; i < 200; i++)
            {
                var time = i < 100 ? GetRandom(_random, 0, i + 10) / 100 : GetRandom(_random, 0, 200 - i + 10) / 100;
                var y = negative ? -time * time * time : time * time * time;

                dataSeries.Append(i, y);
            }

            pointMarker.SetSize(6.ToDip(context), 6.ToDip(context));
            pointMarker.StrokeStyle = new SolidPenStyle(Color.White, 0.1f.ToDip(context));
            pointMarker.FillStyle = new SolidBrushStyle(color);

            return new XyScatterRenderableSeries
            {
                DataSeries = dataSeries,
                StrokeStyle = new SolidPenStyle(color, 2f.ToDip(context)),
                PointMarker = pointMarker
            };
        }

        private double GetRandom(Random random, double min, double max)
        {
            return min + (max - min) * random.NextDouble();
        }
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


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I was first introduced to Scott at BEA in DC this past spring, and though I'd come across his blog, SlushPile.Net, in passing before, I began reading it in earnest after we met. I'm glad I did. He delivers a steady flow of commentary that is instructive and often funny. I've been enjoying it quite a bit so I'm glad he found some time to talk about the best book he read this year.I must say, it's a challenge. Sometimes I feel like I read so much that it all kind of runs together. And even though I KNOW there are great books, they kind of get dulled by all the others.Anyhow, looking back on the year, the book that I really enjoyed, and stands out because it was such a pleasant surprise was…Seaworthy by T.R. PearsonThis nonfiction book details the trans-Pacific journeys of William Willis. At an age when most people enjoy retirement, Willis built a raft by hand and sailed from South America to Australia. He set out on his first trip when he was sixty. He repeated the adventure when he was seventy. Willis was part hero, part idiot. The storyline itself is compelling enough, but Pearson's warm, sophisticated tone suits this tale impeccably.Thanks Scott!


The Service and Food Workers' Union (SFWU) is claiming victory in its battle with Air NZ . The company has conceded that the 250 SFWU check-in and services workers must remain on their existing contract (and conditions). Despite intense pressure from many quarters, Air NZ has failed to force these workers to accept cuts in their pay and conditiions under threat of outsourcing (which would have meant cuts to their pay and conditions). These workers decided neither option was acceptable, and were willing to fight outsourcing.
Meanwhile the Engineering Printing and Manufacturing Union (EPMU) is putting to the vote a deal they have negotiated to voluntarily give back conditions of the 1500 Air NZ baggage handlers and frontline staff they represent. If they had stood firm with the SFWU they could have stopped outsourcing (with a public campaign to put pressure on the majority owner, the Government, and the Board) AND held onto their existing Collectve Employment Agreement.
It would be good to see the EPMU members reject the Air NZ/EPMU deal that cuts take-home pay by several thousand dollars per worker (on average) - probably too much to hope for although the SFWU stand has won support from EPMU members.
Len, you're being thoroughly dishonest here. You know very well that the Servos' current position is a direct consequence of the EPMU's efforts to keep the work in-house. If the EPMU had behaved like the SFWU the work would have been outsourced. The SFWU is just lucky to have been small enough to be ignored. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out.
And by the way, where's this SFWU publicity campaign you speak of? I saw the Stop the Cuts campaign that was planned, directed, and paid for by the EPMU, but where was Jill's campaign?
Thanks for putting the EPMU position James. The point is that outsourcing and the deal cooked up in response to this threat by the EPMU and Air NZ both had the same outcome for the workers involved - wage cuts of several thousand dollars per year on average.
The SFWU position was to reject outsourcing (that would result in wage cuts), AND also reject making concessions to Air NZ (that would result in wage cuts).
The EPMU position was that it was better for the union leadership to engineer (excuse the pun) the wage cuts than let Swissport do it. The result was similar for the workers.
EPMU members and non-union workers on IEAs now face taking significant cuts in take-home pay pay while SFWU members' conditions are protected by their existing CEA up until it expires at the end of June, and for twelve months after that date or until a settlement on a renegotiated CEA is reached.
The point about the publicity campaign is that there wasn't one - not against outsourcing as such - because the EPMU stepped in and offered to negotiate a "competitive in-house solution" that would achieve the same or similar labour cost savings, so outsourcing was removed from the agenda (except as a background threat).
The SFWU opted out of this "in-house" process in January. At this point the EPMU could have done likewise, called the company's bluff on outsourcing and mounted a robust legal, public and political campaign against the company's attacks. After all Air NZ is a publicly-owned compnay and, despite company law, is vunerable to public and political pressure. There was nothing to lose and everything to gain from such an approach. The jobs were not able to be outsourced off-shore; they were not under threat of disappearing altogether.
It seems the EPMU's greatest worry (listen to Little on Checkpoint radio) was that many of the members wanted to take redundancy. Even in this respect the negotited deal lets workers down. If the jobs were outsourced to Swissport every single Air NZ worker leaving the job OR transferred over to the new employer (at least those covered by CEAs) would have stood to gain a redundancy payout. Under the EPMU/Air NZ deal only those leaving the job will get the full payout. The $3000 (or $4000) incentive payment will not make up for that loss of redundancy pay for many workers who want to stay on.
This is not to say that I am arguing for outsourcing. An inspection of Air NZ board minutes from 18 months ago revealed, the outsourcing bogey was raised precisely and only to extract concessions from workers - one way or another.
There was, I believe, an illegal breach of good faith involved in this whole process of deliberatey setting out to break an existing CEA. Air NZ should be before the courts on this account, not just on the grounds that they did not provide adequate information etc.
My contention is that the combined legal, political and industrial muscle of the SFWU and EPMU should have been brought to bear on the management. Back room deals with the employer by one union can only undermine workers strength.
Don't forget there are important issues for all unionised workers involved here - not the least the sanctity and value of a negotiated and signed-off CEA.
"An injury to one, is an injury to all", the old Wobblies' slogan, comes to mind.
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Then it's time to search for an IT outsourcing / KPO company in order to achieve all above positive aspects.


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Insince.re
15/11/2013 / Music :: Albums of the Years
Clive's Album of the Year 2012
2012 was a jolly fine year for music - or at any rate, music that I like. It was also the year in which I discovered a genre that took my ears by storm for some while, and which I can only attempt to name something like "technical instrumental djent-y metal-y stuff". Since that's such a crap name, go away and listen to Chimpspanner, Cloudkicker, Scale the Summit and Intervals, and you'll soon get the gist.
Chimpspanner - All Roads Lead Here
Just 6 tracks, but 100% awesome. Some incredible guitar work here from Paul Ortiz. If you haven't tried the genre give this a go. Top track: "Cloud City"
Grand Magus - The Hunt
Real good honest-to-horned-gods metal, from a Swedish power trio. Love JB's voice. If you don't like this, you don't like metal. It's that simple. Top track: "Silver Moon"
Max Richter - Recomposed by Max Richter: Vivaldi, The Four Seasons
I love Max Richter's minimalist neo-modern classical stuff, and if that's too poncy a sentence for you then I quite understand. But his reworking of Vivaldi's classic is absolutely sublime. I'm listening to it right now, in fact. Are you? Top track: "Winter 1"
Savage Messiah - Plague of Conscience
If you like your metal British, traditional, angst-free, long-haired, beer-fuelled and up-front, then Savage Messiah are for you. Fun fact: in the mid 2000s I was in a band with Savage Messiah's lead guitarist Joff Bailey. Top track: "In Thought Alone"
Tremonti - All I Was
I was never a huge fan of Creed, far preferring the heavier Alter Bridge and the preternatural Myles Kennedy's voice over the frankly-a-bit-whingey Scott Stapp's, but I didn't know what to expect when Mark Tremonti - guitarist for both bands - launched a solo album. What I got was bloody good though. Top track: "Brains"
Flying Colors - Flying Colors
Supergroups often end up somehow not quite equalling the sum of their parts, be it due to ego clashes, overhype, production nightmares or whatever. But sometimes it does in fact work out - see Velvet Revolver, Audioslave, Them Crooked Vultures and even the David Lee Roth band of the late 80s for details. And so it is with Flying Colors.
The pedigree of the lineup is unquestionable: on lead guitar we have Steve Morse - solo artist and main axeman for The Dixie Dregs and latterly Deep Purple, he is an absolute star in the six-string heavens and would be considered "most valuable player" in any normal band lucky enough to have him. Versatile, tasteful, and - like Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden - can take over flying the plane on tour if the pilot has a heart attack.
On bass is Dave LaRue, also from The Dixie Dregs and the Steve Morse Band, so we know he can keep up with ole Steve, but who has also held down the low end for John Petrucci, Vinnie Moore, Joe Satriani and Jordan Rudess among others. He knows his way around, shall we say.
On keyboards it's Neal Morse (lending the band a 40% Morse/non-Morse ratio that is unparallelled in the world of rock) from prog superluminaries Spock's Beard and Transatlantic, and while he does bother deities in his spare time, he's no slouch on the ivories so I'll let him off just this once.
Thumping the tubs, it's Mike "Yeah sure, I'll play on that" Portnoy, the busiest man in prog/rock. He should really need no introduction, but if you turned up here by accident and really need to know who MP is, go look up Dream Theater, Liquid Tension Experiment, OSI, Avenged Sevenfold, Stone Sour, Adrenaline Mob, The Winery Dogs, and probably your mate's band who didn't really get anywhere but bugger me their drummer was good. (Rumours of him starting a project with Geoff Tate called Sour Grapes remain unconfirmed.)
And on lead vocals we have Casey McPherson, who I'm not really that familiar with, though I gather he's lead singer for an outfit called Alpha Rev. Make of that what you will.
So this could be an album of endless prog wankery. Is it?
Honestly, no it's not - it's bloody good. Don't get me wrong - this is a prog-tinged rock album, and everyone in the band can (and does) hold up their end, but it's much more than a collection of 6-minute synchronised 32nd-note wankfests that gets samey after the first track (DT, are you listening to this?). This is an album of songs with hooks. You know, like they used to make? Back in the day? There are virtuoso passages, there are indulgences, but all of it works in context and you never get the feeling that anyone in the band is waiting for their bit so they can show off.
Damned fine album, that. Get on it.
Top tracks: "Blue Ocean", "The Storm", "Forever In A Daze"
Clive Murray
Rock guitarist and gentleman adventurer from a land before time.
AotY
Clive's Album of the Year, 2018
We appear to be smack-gob in the middle of another golden age of music, at least for the music I like.
Mirror cube solve
Solving my mirror cube in 4:06. (Video, duration 1:14)
4x4 solve
Here we see our hero solving the Supernova WuQue 4x4 M in a pretty poor time of 5:00. (Video, duration 1:13)
If R' D' R D means anything to you, you know the kind of thing I'm talking about.
G is for...
...Jon Gomm
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text:
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*
* This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
* it under the terms of the GNU General Public License. You should have
* received a copy of the GPL license along with this program; if you
* did not, you can find it at http://www.gnu.org/
*
* Software distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" basis,
* WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the License
* for the specific language governing rights and limitations under the
* License.
*
* The Original Code is Coreseek.com code.
*
* Copyright (C) 2007-2008. All Rights Reserved.
*
* Author:
*	Li monan <li.monan@gmail.com>
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#include <string>
#include <vector>

#include "ICorpusReader.h"
#include "UnigramRecord.h"

namespace css {

class UnigramCorpusReader : virtual public ICorpusReader {

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    virtual UnigramRecord* getAt(int idx);

    UnigramCorpusReader();

    virtual int open(const char* filename, const char* type);

    virtual long count();

 protected:
    std::string m_filename;

 protected:

    /**
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     * @element-type UnigramRecord
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    std::vector< UnigramRecord > m_items;
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#endif


In september 2011, a new artificial reef was created on Koh Tao. A liveaboard vessel was decommisioned and made safe for the environment and then sunk just off the south of Koh Tao. It was sunk just to the south of Koh Tao to make a new dive site and artificial reef.
A local film company filmed the sinking and even had camera on board.
There are no comments or experiences yet for M.V.Trident Wreck.


Download Jay Z My First Song MP3 and MP4. The best collections about Jay Z My First Song you can download with easy. Available for MP3 with 128kbps, 192kbps dan 256kbps quality and MP4 Videos with HD and best quality.


West Ham midfielder Felipe Anderson took a while to get his bearings in the Premier League, but the Brazilian is now looking like an excellent signing.
The £36m summer purchase from Lazio has scored four goals in his last four games and has started to repay the club record fee the Hammers paid for him.
He's settling in now…. most impressed with his tracking back and winning the ball back!
It's always a risk when you spend heavily on a player who hasn't played in the Premier League, but the 25-year-old is certainly beginning to find his feet in England.
The 3-0 win over Newcastle at the weekend showed the difference between the two teams in terms of quality in the final third. You get what you pay for, and the Magpies boss Rafa Benitez was keen to point that out after the game.
Hammers boss Manuel Pellegrini will now want to kick on and make it two wins from two against Cardiff City tomorrow night.


 Sin is what separates a person from God. In Gen. 2:16-17, God warned Adam and Eve to not eat of the "tree of the knowledge of good and evil…for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." When they disobeyed God and ate of the fruit of that tree, they entered into sin. God expelled them from the garden, separating them from access to the "tree of life" (Gen. 3:22-24). Thus, the natural processes that eventually lead to physical death were set into motion.
Are You Looking For Hope?
 A human being needs hope. It might be found in a goal that a person is working to achieve. It might be in a desire he's trying to fulfill. It might be centered in a relationship. It could be something that he sees as giving his life purpose. It could be a promise that someone has made that gives him hope. Whatever its source, a person will search for, and cling to, hope.
 It has long been said that the most effective advertising is word of mouth! That does not discount the value and importance of standard forms of commercial advertising, such as television, radio, newspapers, magazines, billboards, internet, and so on… If there was no value to commercial advertising, newspapers would pretty much shut down, radio stations would go off the air and television spots on the Super Bowl would not be running in the millions of dollars per spot.
 Two new outreach efforts have been launched here at Sunny Slope church of Christ. At the end of January we began podcasting all sermons and our daily radio programs. People throughout this nation and around the world can hear the word of God being taught everyday, for free! Anyone can go to our website at www.churchofchrist.com and click on the Subscribe To Our Podcast button and set up their smart phone or computer or both to receive the lessons automatically. There is no charge. The potential to reach souls with the gospel by this means is almost unimaginable.
Have Any Of These Thoughts Run Through Your Mind?
 As pointed out in the first article in this series there is no way to define goodness objectively without God. Any attempt to find a reliable standard of goodness without God fails. All human standards that might be suggested are subjective, based upon personal feelings at a given point in time. Feelings are different from person to person, and they change from point in time to point in time. True goodness is a constant truth that does not change, based upon our eternal God being the standard. The inability to define goodness without God is powerful proof of His existence.
Can There Be Good Without God?
 Is there really a God somewhere out there? Does God really exist? Is God just an invention of our minds to give us a sense of purpose and security? Could we be the result of some seeding process by an alien race far more sophisticated than us? Are we just a bunch of dupes for believing in a God we cannot see face to face? Is faith in God a hoax?
Where Are All Of Those Teachings Coming From?
 When Jesus was ready to ascend back to Heaven, following His death, burial and resurrection, He gave the apostles marching orders. He told them, "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen." (Matt. 28:19-20). The KJV begins this text "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations…" This has been called "The Great Commission" from Jesus to teach the gospel of salvation to all people everywhere throughout the world.
What About Our Lost Brothers And Sisters?
 How should we think about our brothers and sisters in Christ? In the New Testament alone we find the phrase "one another" at least eighty one times. A great many of those references, particularly beginning with the thirteenth chapter of John, have to do with our relationship with our fellow Christians, our brothers and sisters in Christ.


I'll be sharing my perspective on microlearning as part of the upcoming ATD Core 4 Conference in Toronto (September 10-11, 2018). During the session, we'll discuss fundamental microlearning principles and work through a framework for designing right-fit learning resolutions.
But before we dig into what microlearning is, we must first pause and clarify what it is not. Like any big trend, microlearning is surrounded by buzz, myths, and assumptions. Some of these come from practitioners who just don't understand the fundamentals. Others are born from vendor marketing as companies seek to capitalize on the trend but without any real depth. Whatever the reason, misconceptions have emerged and are rapidly cluttering the real value-added discussion around microlearning.
Here are the seven most common microlearning myths I encounter daily.
If you attend my microlearning session (or download the presentation), you'll quickly notice that the concepts and tactics I cover sound familiar. And they should—because microlearning isn't really all that new. The fundamental principles behind providing right-fit solutions are well established and rooted in learning science. They're also mostly common sense. We are just now coming to realize their potential within the modern workplace thanks to a confluence of factors, such as constantly shifting priorities and increasing role complexity, driving the conversation.
Ask people to define microlearning. A large percentage will go straight to duration and compare microlearning to traditional training. It's true that microlearning tends to be shorter. However, it's not the duration that matters. It's not about chunking big content into smaller content. It's the focus. Traditional courses often include tons of fluff or try to cover an excessive amount of information. This leads to lengthy seat times that don't fit into the day-to-day employee workflow or align with learning science principles. Microlearning is focused on a specific result and applies only the content necessary to achieve that result. This makes it shorter than a traditional course. So, it's not about duration. It's about focus.
By the way, that thing about human attention span being less than that of a goldfish is also a myth!
The use of video in training has exploded over the past few years thanks to technological improvements. Just 10 years ago, you needed a sizeable budget, heavy equipment, and professional help to produce a simple video. Today, high-quality content can be created with just a smartphone. This makes video a great format for microlearning, but it's not the only format. As with any training content, the medium should match the message and context in which it will be consumed. Why make a video when a job aid will do? Also, let's be clear, simply breaking up one long video into a series of short videos is not microlearning either.
Microlearning works when the organization knows what problem it is trying to solve. If you can define the desired result, required behaviors, and foundational knowledge, you can apply microlearning principles. After all, learning is learning. When and how these principles are used will vary based on both topic and context. The types of content used will also change, but microlearning principles, such as learning science and anytime/anywhere access, are equally applicable across workplace topics. This includes management training and (gasp) soft skills!
Classes aren't going away. E-learning isn't going away. Coaching definitely isn't going away. Microlearning isn't a replacement for your current learning strategy. It's an enhancement.
By applying microlearning principles, you can determine the best possible ways to use each of the tools in your training toolkit. Some may change. Others may stay the same. Overall, your impact on the business will be substantially improved by incorporating microlearning into your overall learning and support strategy.
There is a tremendous push in workplace learning to enable employees to own their development. I'm all for it, but I also recognize the limitations. People don't always recognize their own weaknesses (case in point, the Dunning-Kruger Effect). In addition to personal development needs, the organization's priorities will continue to evolve. Therefore, effective workplace learning is a balance of push and pull. Microlearning enables this balance by increasing employee support touchpoints and sustaining knowledge increases and behavior change long-term.
Millennials are no different than any other generation when it comes to their wants and needs in the workplace. This is especially true as related to learning and behavior change. Every employee is unique and therefore needs (and deserves) the right type of support. Microlearning improves your ability to focus on specific results and therefore adapt to the needs of the individual. In this way, microlearning works for everyone—regardless of demographics.
I hope you can join me at ATD Core 4 in Toronto on September 10-11, 2018, to explore the real value of microlearning. You can also check out The Ultimate Guide to Microlearning, which I wrote in collaboration with Axonify, to help kick-start your modern learning evolution.
Thanks for this short piece JD! As a learning psychologist, I agree with your points, especially regarding practitioners being out of touch with fundamentals of how humans learn and how to create more effective design frameworks by using evidence-based research. Microlearning seems to be just another word for many methods we already know and use it when we design learning.


Keywords: Ethics, chronic illness, intersectionality, religion, spiritual care.
Megan is a PhD candidate interested in the relationships among religion/spirituality, ethics and health. While in doctoral training, Megan has pursued fellowship as a Unitarian Universalist minister and brings a chaplain's heart to her research interests in medical sociology. She serves as a visiting assistant professor at Starr King School for the Ministry in Berkeley, teaching and advising students preparing to be religious leaders and chaplains. Megan holds a BA in Society & Health from Simmons College in Boston and a MA in Ethics and Social Theory from the Graduate Theological Union. Her doctoral dissertation project is a phenomenological study on the religious/spiritual experiences of women of color with congestive heart failure.
She can be contacted at [email protected]. Her personal website is www.meganruthdowdell.com .
Jhia's research interests stem from her experiences as a professional dance artist, a commitment to life-long learning, and her personal experiences. Her work routinely addresses questions such as: How do we know what we know? How do we communicate what we know? How are we understood by others? She enjoys hands-on opportunities to work with and among the very populations that inspire her, and she looks forward to delving deeper into research and program development for these communities.
Mel Jeske's research focuses on models, standards, and measurement used in biomedical research. Broadly speaking, her work focuses on social dimensions of knowledge production about human health and wellbeing. Mel's dissertation uses ethnographic methods to examine how biomedical modeling practices have changed in the 20th and 21st centuries. She traces how laboratory practices are altered through the development and deployment of computational technologies. Her previous work analyzed the emergence of the obesity research enterprise and the use of standards and measurement in biomedical obesity research.
Erin Johnson is a Cota-Robles Fellow with four years of experience in mixed methods research and evaluation, with a particular focus on increasing access to care for disadvantaged populations. Erin earned her Masters of Public Health from Emory University's Rollins School of Public Health, where she worked on several community-based HIV prevention projects. Since that time, Erin has worked at American Institutes for Research as a Research Associate. Erin's research interests focus on how social structures affect women's access to reproductive health care, particularly birth control and abortion. She is especially interested in decision making and communication, in terms of how patients choose to seek out health resources, how providers choose to offer health resources, and how patients and providers communicate.
Rashon is a doctoral candidate interested in how structural inequalities in society disproportionally marginalizes social and economic opportunities for survivors of public health epidemics. Her research is centered in documenting survivor narratives and community trauma in vulnerable populations. Her current project includes documenting how communities experienced disaster capitalism after the 2014-16 West Africa Ebola outbreak. Since 2007, she has served as a Behavioral Scientist at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control in cardiovascular disease prevention. She holds a masters in social psychology and program evaluation from Claremont Graduate University, and a bachelors in psychology from Tuskegee University. She can be reached at [email protected] or rashonlane.com.
Maya's research focuses on access to reproductive health care and the relationship between reproductive rights and gender equality. She examines how the law resists reforms aimed at gender equality and how this resistance differentially impacts women along lines of race and class. She is interested in exploring how abortion laws and policies filter into clinicians' provision of women's health care. Maya is a Professor of Law at the University of San Francisco School of Law. She earned a B.A. in English Literature from the University of Michigan and a J.D. from Harvard Law School. Her USF Law School faculty website is https://www.usfca.edu/law/faculty/maya-manian. She can be reached at [email protected].
Ashley Perez is a Graduate Dean's Fellow and a doctoral student in sociology. Her primary research interest is sexual health and behavior among minority populations, particularly looking at the intersections of race/ethnicity, sexuality, and gender. Ashley has worked on HIV prevention projects in the U.S., China, and Brazil. Ashley holds a BA in Public Health and ScM in Social and Behavioral Health Sciences from Brown University. She can be contacted at [email protected].
Key words: Aging, Alzheimer's disease, emotion work, death and dying, caregiver trauma, qualitative methodologies, ethnography.
Brittney Pond is a Doctoral Student in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Psychology in 2018 and completed a thesis in which she used ethnographic methods to study formal caregivers working with people who have Alzheimer's disease. Currently, she is a Graduate Research Assistant for UCSF studying tobacco use and lung cancer. Her main research interests focus on perceptions of aging, "dying well," and elder agency, especially for those with Alzheimer's disease. She is engaged in questions regarding emotion work, caregiver burnout, and qualitative methodologies.
Florencia Rojo is a Rosenberg-Hill Graduate Research Fellow and a doctoral candidate in sociology at UCSF. She is interested in understanding the intersections of multiple forms of violence. Her research explores transnational families' violence experiences across generations. Florencia has worked with diverse communities in the U.S. and Latin America on community health and violence prevention/intervention initiatives. Florencia has a BA in sociology from DePaul University in Chicago, IL.
Zoé's research work engages the colonization of South West Africa (now Namibia) and genocidal productions of African identities on the continent. She is the graduate student intern at both UCSF's Multicultural Resource Center and the LGBT Resource Center. Zoé received her MSc in Health, Community, and Development from the London School of Economics, and her B.A. in Political Science from the University of Pittsburgh. Her work seeks to merge political theory, visual studies, and critical approaches to science in service of a multidisciplinary means of articulating blackness(es)..
Rebecca is a doctoral student in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences at UCSF. She is interested in the intersection of race/class/gender and digital health, particularly crowdfunding for medical expenses. She is currently working with Dr. Kristen Harknett as a Graduate Research Assistant on the Shift Project, looking into work scheduled and family health. Prior to coming to UCSF, she served as an AmeriCorps member at WithinReach, a Seattle-based health access non-profit. She earned her B.A. in Sociology from Seattle Pacific University in 2016. She can be reached at [email protected].
A short paragraph describing your background, interests, current research, etc. that is 200 words or less, written in 3rd person narrative.


IEA's primary mission is the collection of data for use in planning, decision-making, assessment, and policy information at the University. The office also provides oversight, training, and support for assessment activities to effect a culture of assessment and continuous improvement across campus. Under the direction of the SACSCOC liaison, IEA is also responsible for creating and submitting reports to the SACSCOC accrediting body on behalf of the University.
In addition to the above functions, IEA serves as the Custodian of Records for the University. In this capacity, the office promotes efficient administration and management of state government records in compliance with federal and state regulations. The University Record and Information Manager coordinates and enforces the systematic control of all records, regardless of media, from creation or receipt of the record to the perpetual storage or destruction of the record, also known as Records Information Management.
The UWG Open Records Officer, housed in IEA, is designated to respond to requests for records submitted under the Georgia Open Records Act.
The Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Assessment's (IEA) primary mission is the collection of data (from both internal and external sources), and the timely analysis, distribution, and presentation of this information for use in planning, decision-making, assessment and policy formulation at the University. IEA is also responsible for ensuring the accuracy of vital University statistics, and for reporting these data to a broad spectrum of information consumers including regulatory entities, management, faculty, private organizations, and the general public. A major function of the Office is to respond to diverse requests for data from members of the University community, and to assist with research and assessment, as well as evaluation and analysis.
The Office further serves as records custodian for the University of West Georgia. In this capacity, it promotes an efficient administration and management of state governmental records in compliance with the Georgia Records Act and the Georgia Open Records Act. IEA advises other departments about appropriate records-keeping techniques and guides in developing records retention schedules.
The Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Assessment adopted the following five overarching goals as part of its strategic planning process to help carry out the departmental mission and to foster mechanisms to assess results and continuous improvement. Each goal advances one or more of the four University-wide strategic imperatives.
Annual strategic planning is essential for the continuous improvement of an institution and its units. The Institutional Effectiveness and Assessment Annual Report provides for an assessment of the unit's goals and progress made toward those goals during the fiscal year. The annual report provides a reflection on the past year's significant accomplishments while also identifying major challenges that should be addressed in the next fiscal year. The unit's report also provides a detailed account of yearly activities that support the University's strategic plan.
Below are links to the Annual Reports for IEA (formerly Institutional Research and Planning (IRP) for FY01 - FY14.


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Their Voices Won't Be Silenced
On 17 April, Kazim Kizil went to film a protest in Izmir, Turkey. People were demonstrating against irregularities in the voting process for the constitutional referendum, which granted president Recep Tayyip Erdogan new sweeping powers.
The rally didn't last long. Police intervened and detained around 20 people. Kazim was one of them. His camera was seen as a threat: the Turkish authorities did not want anyone documenting the crackdown.
A photographer and video-activist, Kazim has been filming stories of struggle and resistance since 2005, and documenting human rights abuses in Turkey. For years, he has known he could be arrested because of his work.
Across the world, human rights journalists like Kazim are using their words and their pictures to hold the authorities accountable, to document and try to prevent human rights violations, to support nonviolent protests and social movements and to fight for the right to freedom of expression.
Human rights journalists are arrested, defamed, criminalised and attacked. But across the world, they continue writing, filming, publishing, and taking photos of what oppressive regimes work so hard to hide.
On World Press Freedom Day, Front Line Defenders honours the work of Kazim Kizil, Poonam Agarwal, Esteban Vásquez and all human rights defenders who refuse to be silenced.
Kazim Kizil: Filming the Turkish resistance
Kazim Kizil is a documentary film-maker and video-activist. During the Gezi Park protests in 2013, he launched a citizen journalism network called Kamera Sokak, with the aim of documenting social resistance movements. In 2015 he filmed the documentary "The Tree of Eternity: Yırca Resistance", which tells the story of the villagers of Yirca, who successfully opposed the construction of a thermal plant in order to protect their olive trees and their land. Kazim has also produced several short films on human rights issues, including refugees, climate change and child labour.
According to his colleagues, "he participated in every form of resistance, demonstration, and social movement with his camera — becoming the eyes and ears of all who could not be there".
Since he was arrested on 17 April, Kazim has been held in pre-trial detention at Menemen Prison. Four days after his arrest, he was charged with "insulting the president": according to the prosecutor, some of his tweets sent before the protests contained derogatory comments towards Erdogan. The authorities haven't told him how long he could be held in prison or when the trial would start.
Since the attempted coup in July 2016, the human rights situation in Turkey has dramatically deteriorated. Freedom of expression is severely restricted and, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, 81 journalists were jailed in 2016 — more than in any other country. According to Amnesty International Turkey, thre are currently 120 journalists in jail.
More than 175 media outlets were closed in the space of five months and many media organisations now practice self-censorship in order to survive. On 29 April, Turkish authorities even banned Wikipedia, stating the website could be considered "a threat to national security". Because of Turkey's overly broad definition of terrorism, scores of human rights defenders and journalists have been arrested and charged with terrorism-related offences, often for speaking out about the Kurdish issue.
Location #TurkeyRights #Freedom of ExpressionViolations #Judicial Harassment #Arrest / Detention / Imprisonment


Hi there! Does anyone have a June Outline for their Virtual Parties that they wouldn't mind sharing with me. I would be forever grateful if so. Thank you in advance for your time and assistance! Have a great day!


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Alaska Resource Data File (ARDF)
Mount Burnett Zone
Prospect, Active
Commodities and mineralogy
Main commodities
Ir; Os; Pd; Pt; Rh
As; Cr; Fe; Sb
chromite; erlichmanite; ferroplatinum; iridosmine; magnetite; platiniridium; and several unnamed rhenium-arsenic-sulfur; rhenium-iron; platinum-antimony; and platinum-iridium-sulfur minerals.
Gangue minerals
diopside; hornblende; magnetite
Quadrangle map, 1:250,000-scale
Quadrangle map, 1:63,360-scale
-132.11463
Find additional scientific data near this location
Location and accuracy
The Mount Burnett Zone prospect was found in 2001. It is about about 0.4 mile east of Mount Burnett and about 0.2 mile east of the southwest corner of section 20, T. 70 S., R. 87 E. The location of this prospect is known only from a small-scale map on a web page, but it probably is accurate to within 0.1 mile.
Geologic setting
Geologic description
The Mount Burnett Zone is in the Union Bay complex, the largest of numerous small, Cretaceous mafic-ultramafic intrusive bodies scattered in a belt along the length of southeastern Alaska (Ruckmick and Noble, 1959; Lanphere and Eberlein, 1966; Brew and Morell, 1983; Gehrels and Berg, 1992). Many of these plutons are concentrically zoned, an unusual characteristic that has led to their classification as 'Alaska-type,' or 'Alaskan,' complexes (Noble and Taylor, 1960; Taylor and Noble, 1960; Wyllie, 1967; Jackson and Thayer, 1972). As mapped by Ruckmick and Noble (1959) and reinterpreted by Himmelberg and Loney (1995), the Union Bay complex consists of an outer layer of gabbro that is succeeded inward by magnetite clinopyroxenite, wehrlite, and a core of dunite. The dunite forms a vertical pipe about a mile in diameter. It is bordered on the east by narrow, nearly-vertical shells of wehrlite and clinopyroxenite, and on the west by a thick, layered sequence of wehrlite, clinopyroxenite, and gabbro that forms either a large recumbent fold or a lopolith. The complex intrudes probably Upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous argillite, tuff, and graywacke of the Gravina sequence (Gehrels and Berg, 1992). The bedded rocks are thermally metamorphosed to schist and gneiss for about 1,000 feet from the intrusive contact. Himmelberg and Loney (1995) suggest that the complex was emplaced during the last stages of Cretaceous regional folding, when the dunite underwent plastic deformation that resulted in a preferred orientation of the olivine.
There has been considerable sporadic reconnaissance sampling of the Union Bay complex for magnetite and chromite since at least 1929 and several attempts to locate concentrations of platinum-group-elements (PGE) (See CR013 for details of exploration in the complex prior to 1995). In the early 1990s, Maas and others (1995) collected placer samples in several streams on the north side of the complex and reported anomalous platinum and palladium in the concentrates. They also identified ferroan platinum, native osmium, osmium-iridium, and hollingworthite (a rhenium-platinium-palladium arsenide) in the concentrates and suggested that the source was in clinopyroxenite and wehrlite on the north side of the complex.
In 2000, Freegold Ventures Limited began exploring for PGE in the complex and they have located a number of prospects that they are currently working on in a joint venture with Lonmin PLC (www.freegoldventures.com/s/Home.asp; March 1, 2004). The Mount Burnett Zone was found in 2001 in magnetite clinopyroxenite cut by diopside dikes. Surface samples contained up to 11.5 grams of combined platinum and palladium per ton. Two holes were drilled in 2001 that intersected multiple horizons up to 8.8 feet thick with anomalous PGE values.
Van Treeck and Newberry (2003) studied these PGE deposits in detail and concluded that the PGE minerals are hydrothermal in origin and are associated with veins and lenses of magnetite that cut the mafic and ultramafic rocks of the complex. An early generation of hydrothermal magnetite associated with diopside dikes was formed from 575 to 700 degrees C; the PGE minerals are associated with an intermediate stage of hydrothermal activity marked by the deposition of magnetite and hornblende alteration that occurred between 475 to 575 degrees C; and a later generation of magnetite rimmed by interlayered chlorite and serpentine formed at less than 475 degrees C. They identified the following PGE minerals: ferroplatinum, erlichmanite, iridosmine, platiniridium, and several unnamed rhenium-arsenic-sulfur, rhenium-iron, platinum-antimony, and platinum-iridium-sulfur minerals. The source of the hydrothermal fluids is unknown but the absence of quartz suggests that the fluids are related to the mafic and ultramafic rocks.
Geologic map unit
(-132.116315358715, 55.7782431009747)
Mineral deposit model
PGE minerals associated with magnetite in pyroxenites of an Alaska-type mafic-ultramafic complex (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 9).
Mineral deposit model number
Age of mineralization
The PGE deposits are in a Cretaceous mafic-ultramafic complex and they are probably related to its emplacement.
Alteration of deposit
An early generation of hydrothermal magnetite associated with diopside dikes formed from 575 to 700 degrees C; the PGE minerals are associated with an intermediate stage of hydrothermal activity marked by the deposition of magnetite and secondary hornblende formed between 475 to 575 degrees C; and the last hydrothermal stage, marked by the deposition of of magnetite rimmed by interlayered chlorite and serpentine, formed at less than 475 degrees C.
Production and reserves
Workings or exploration
Extensive surface sampling and at least 2 diamond drill holes in 2001.
Indication of production
Brew, D.A., and Morell, R.P., 1983, Intrusive rocks and plutonic belts of southeastern Alaska: Geological Society of America Memoir 159, p. 171-193.
Fischer, R.P., 1975, Vanadium resources in titaniferous magnetite deposits: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 926-B, p. B1-B10.
Gehrels, G.E., and Berg, H.C., 1992, Geologic map of southeastern Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Investigations Series Map I-1867, 1 sheet, scale 1:600,000, 24 p.
Himmelberg, G.R., and Loney, R.A., 1995; Characteristics and petrogenesis of Alaskan-type ultramafic-mafic intrusions, southeastern Alaska: U. S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1564, 47 p.
Jackson, E.D., and Thayer, T.P., 1972, Some criteria for distinguishing between stratiform, concentric, and alpine peridotite-gabbro complexes: International Geological Congress, 24th, Montreal, 1972, Proceedings, Section 2, p. 289-296.
Lanphere, M. A., and Eberlein, G. D., 1966, Potassium-argon ages of magnetite-bearing ultramafic complexes in southeastern Alaska (abs.): Geological Society of America Special Paper 87, p. 94.
Maas, K.M., Bittenbender, P E., and Still, J.C., 1995, Mineral investigations in the Ketchikan mining district, southeastern Alaska: U.S. Bureau of Mines Open-File Report 11-95, 606 p.
Noble, J.A., and Taylor, H.P. Jr., 1960, Correlation of the ultramafic complexes of southeastern Alaska with those of other parts of North America and the world: Internnational Geological Congress, 21st, Copenhagen, 1960, Report, Part 13, p. 188-197.
Ruckmick, J.C., and Noble, J.A., 1959, Origin of the ultramafic complex at Union Bay, southeastern Alaska: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 70, 981-1018.
Taylor, H.P,. and Noble, J.A., 1960, Origin of the ultramafic complexes in southeastern Alaska: International Geological Congress, 21st, Copenhagen, Report, p. 175-187.
Van Treeck, C.J., and Newberry, Rainer, 2003, The Union Bay platinum prospect, SE Alaska, a hydrothermal PGE deposit (abs.): Canadian Insitute of Mining, Metallurgy, and Petroleum, Conference Montreal, May 4-7, 2003, 1 p.
Wyllie, P.J., 1967, Zoned ultramafic complexes, in Ultramafic and related rocks: New York, John Wiley and Sons, p. 83-84.
D.J. Grybeck (Applied Geology)
Last report date


Robert Görke, Anke Meyer-Bäse, Dorothea Wagner, Huan He, Mark R. Emmett and Charles A. Conrad.
Journal of Graph Algorithms and Applications, 14(2):165-197, January 2010.
Robert Görke, Marco Gaertler, Florian Hübner and Dorothea Wagner.
ACM Journal of Experimental Algorithmics, 14(1):1-31, December 2009.
Martin Holzer, Frank Schulz, Dorothea Wagner, Grigorios Prasinos and Christos Zaroliagis.
In: Proceedings of the 9th International Symposium on Experimental Algorithms (SEA'10), volume 6049 of Lecture Notes in Computer Science, pages 436-448. Springer, May 2010.
In: Proceedings of SPIE 7704: Evolutionary and Bio-Inspired Computation: Theory and Applications IV (2010), volume 7704. SPIE–The International Society for Optical Engineering, April 2010.
In: Algorithms and Data Structures, 11th International Workshop (WADS'09), volume 5664 of Lecture Notes in Computer Science, pages 339-350. Springer, August 2009.
In: Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Algorithmic Aspects in Information and Management (AAIM'09), volume 5564 of Lecture Notes in Computer Science, pages 152-165. Springer, June 2009.
Robert Görke, Daniel Delling, Christian Schulz, and Dorothea Wagner.
Karlsruhe Reports in Informatics 2011-12.
Robert Görke, Tanja Hartmann and Dorothea Wagner.
Karlsruhe Reports in Informatics 2011-11 (and invitational submision to a Special Issue of the ACM Journal on Experimental Algorithmics).
Robert Görke, Pascal Maillard, Andrea Schumm, Christian Staudt, and Dorothea Wagner.
Karlsruhe Reports in Informatics 2011-10.
Christof Doll, Tanja Hartmann and Dorothea Wagner.
Robert Görke, Pascal Maillard, Christian Staudt, and Dorothea Wagner.
Informatik, Uni Karlsruhe, TR 2009-10.
Department of Informatics, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT).
Oscar Fofie Lafou August 2010.


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DC Trawler
Jane the Ventriloquist identified
Jim Treacher Blogger
August 22, 2011 12:44 PM ET
That's the nickname I've given the woman in New Hampshire who used her own child as a puppet to launch what she thought were gotcha questions at Rick Perry. ("Ask him about evolution. Ask him why he hates science.") This delightful woman's name is Kristin Bunce, which is mentioned in exactly one story on the incident, a blog post on the NYT site. I'm kind of surprised they didn't scrub that part. But now we've got a name, so let's see what we can dig up about the esteemed Ms. Bunce, shall we?
Here's her Facebook page. Here she is with her kids. In front of the Louvre.
She hasn't used her daughter as a political prop yet, though. Just her son. Too bad she didn't make the lil' fella ask, "Pourquoi détestez-vous la science?"
Here's what she has listed on Facebook under "Education and Work":
Class of 1996 · MPP
MA Government
Chatham High School
Pretty sure that last one is supposed to be 1986. And I'm told the fact that she went to UT might explain why she hates Perry.
JWF has done some of the digging the MSM doesn't care to do, and he discovered that she's listed as an editor in the summer 2007 edition of the Harvard Law & Policy Review. And here's her wedding announcement from the Sept. 3, 2000 edition of the New York Times:
WEDDINGS; Marna Bunce, Silas Beane III
Marna Kristin Bunce, the daughter of Dr. Marna Louise Crim of Monroe, Ga., and Roy Karl Bunce of Longmeadow, Mass., was married yesterday to Dr. Silas Robert Beane III, the son of Rosa and Mr. Beane Jr. of Far Hills, N.J. The bride's father, a United Church of Christ minister, officiated at Stanley Congregational Church in Chatham, N.J.
Mrs. Beane, 32, is a senior policy adviser in Seattle for the United States Education Department. She graduated from Wellesley College. She received a master's degree in government from the University of Texas and a master's in public policy from Harvard. Her father is the director of development at Hampshire College in Amherst, Mass. Her mother is the reading specialist at the Monroe Elementary School.
Impressive! Working at the Department of Education must have taught her how to exploit children for political ends.
Google Books lists a Kristin Bunce from Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government as the author of a 1996 policy analysis exercise titled, "Americans are turned off by television coverage of politics and public policy: how CBS News can present complex issues and increase their audience." And we've now seen her answer: push your children in front of politicians and make them ask, "Why do you hate science?"
So that gives us some idea of where Ms. Bunce is coming from. She certainly isn't some dumb plumber asking why the government won't let her keep more of the money she's earned that's rightfully theirs. She's not some peasant. She's a well-connected, impeccably credentialed bureaucrat who isn't afraid to hide behind her own children to attack people she doesn't like.
And why do we need to know more about her, you ask? That's a good question. Well, why did we need to know more about Joe Wurzelbacher? Why did we need to know about his tax lien and lack of a plumbing license and the rest? All he did was ask a question about taxes and he was pilloried for it. Isn't that the new standard for any citizen who dares to ask questions of prominent people? Isn't that what they get for inconveniencing those in power? If not, why not?
P.S. The press considered it very, very important that Joe the Plumber's first name is actually Samuel. How interesting, then, that Marna Kristin Bunce goes by her middle name too. Why is she lying? What is she hiding?
Tags : treacher


THIS is what holy war feels like. And yet it hasn't even begun.
Over 16 tortured hours in a Sydney cafe, beamed live across the country, Australia changed forever.
Michael spoke on 9 Network in Australia this morning about the events unfolding at the Lindt Cafe in Martin Place in Sydney. One of the national newspaper syndicates reported on his comments.
A WAR correspondent who has been held hostage himself says he holds real fears Sydney's hostage situation could end in the worst possible way.
Sadly, another beheading video to comment on. Interview on Sunrise.
Michael was on an Australian morning show to discuss the shooting in Canada. Watch the clip on the Sunrise on 7 site.


325 Watt Motor. Tilt-up Head. 10-Speed Solid-State Control. 5 Quart Stainless Steel Bowl with Large Ergonomic Handle. Burnished Flat Beater, Burnished Dough Hook and Stainless Wire Whip. 2-Piece Clear Plastic Pouring Shield. 5 Rubber Feet. Power Hub for additional attachments. Unique Mixing Action. Height 13.9 in., Width 8.7 in., Depth 14.1 in. Weight 27.0 lbs. Height 18 in. with head tilted up.


Why I'm not your average wedding planner. And why I never intend on being one.
Why did I start wedding planning? I get asked this a lot. I guess maybe it's because I'm the only wedding planner in the Triangle that has flaming red hair and I don't sport Vineyard Vines gear every single day (don't get me wrong…that whale is hella cute). I became a wedding planner because I live outside of the box. I don't do the norm. I'm a creative, artsy, free spirit. I was inspired by brave brides like me who decided that today's traditional wedding business is for the birds. I wanted to highlight the fact that the wedding rules can get thrown right out the window. Don't pick sides. Don't wear white. Don't get married in a church. Don't have a catered reception. Don't listen to your mother-in-law. Do what's right for you as a couple, whatever that means to you. If granny rolls over in her grave I promise she will get over it. This should be your day, your way. Don't let anyone convince you otherwise.
So when you sit down with me, what can you expect? For starters I'm not very conventional. So our first meeting could take place in my office, walking the Greenway, at a Starbucks, or at Tasty Beverage having a beer. Whatever you are comfortable with. I want my brides to feel at ease. Weddings can be stressful. And so can financing them. I want my brides to know up front that I am doing this because it is my passion, not because I want to get rich. My rates are extremely reasonable for the services I provide. I go all out for my brides and I am there for them 100%, even after the wedding is over. All of my brides get a Bride Bucket (don't ask….can't give away all of my secrets you know!) when they plan their wedding with me. They also have not only my office number but my personal cell phone number. You wake up in a dead panic at 2 am on a Tuesday morning regretting your linen decision? Great. Call me. Want to work on table tops for 12 hours? Awesome! I'll bring some coffee and a camera to take pics so we can choose the best one later after we recover from a craft induced coma. Have a hankering for some Hobby Lobby first thing in the morning? I'll bring snacks and a credit card. I can be involved for as little or as much as you want me to. I also keep what I call Look books in my office which are just articles, pictures, and inspiration of wedding whatnots that I think are awesome. My brides are able to use every single resource I have….I keep no secrets. I want you to have your best wedding, whether it is a backyard event on a budget or an all expenses paid gala. You decide what works best for you. I am just here to help!
I don't want to be like everyone else. And neither do my brides which is why I love each and every wedding for different reasons. Not sure of exactly what you and your beloved want for your wedding day? No worries…..we can figure it out together. This isn't rocket science. It should be fun. That's why you give yourself plenty of time to get things figured out. A year is standard, 6 months is acceptable, and 3 months is just plain crazy but if that's what you want then who can argue with that? I've put together a wedding in less than 30 days with a shoestring budget (and let me tell you…that string was short and well worn). It CAN be done. Nothing is impossible. So take a deep breath and call or email me. I can help you make it to the finish line. All it takes is a little bit of work and a lot of communication.
Next Introducing Maid's Day…..How to thank your Bridesmaids without the stupid traditional gifts.


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Creating Reality
Retreating to Truth
People often ask me to help them make decisions. Sometimes these are situations where consciously weighing the pros and cons may be prudent. But more often than not, when the options are presented, it's reasonably clear what the person would like to do. They've already decided. What they're really asking is how to get aligned with the decision they've already made.
When someone asks me if they should quit their job, they've usually made the decision to quit already, even if they're still showing up to work.
When someone asks me if they should leave their relationship partner, they've usually left already, even if they're still living together.
Is this true all of the time? No, not always, but it's pretty common.
How can you tell if you've already decided and you're just blocking yourself from following through? One way is to ask yourself this: If you could snap your fingers and be on the other side of your pending transition, would you feel relieved?
Would your preferred option be relatively clear then? If so, that's a hint that you've already decided, and you're just working on coming to terms with that decision.
When people haven't figured out the how, such as how to transition, they often frame their challenge as if it's still about the what, such as what decision to make.
When the power aspect of a given path looks scary, we frequently go back and question the truth aspect. We tell ourselves that we're still trying to decide. Saying "I'm not sure" is easier than saying "I don't feel strong enough to do this." But saying "I'm not sure" keeps us stuck while the other approach helps us progress.
Retreating to truth is a socially acceptable pause button. We can devise endless justifications for indecision. We can claim to need more research, more advice, or more analysis. But when we retreat to truth in the face of a power challenge, we're applying the brakes instead of advancing.
If a challenge scares us and we know that we can delay it by retreating to truth-based questions, we'll behave like a computer stuck in an infinite loop. Should I stay or move on? Do I quit or recommit? We use ambivalence as a delay tactic. Ambivalence keeps us safe from the monstrous power challenge ahead.
How can we advance against power challenges that feel too big for our current level of strength?
We probe the challenge to find out how much strength is really needed. If we need more strength and skill, we acquire it. And if the challenge is too big to handle alone, we enlist the help of others. Then if the challenge is still too big, we accept that it's a big challenge, and we work on becoming strong enough to face it.
What we don't want to do is retreat back to truth by pretending that we haven't decided. We admit that we've decided, and we work on summoning the courage to face the challenge, even when we don't feel strong enough to face it yet. We step up.
Be wary of the trap of retreating to truth when you're facing a power challenge. Learn to say to yourself, "I know what I need to do, but right now I lack the strength to do it. I'll accept the truth of this decision, even though it's difficult to do so, and now I'll work on becoming strong enough to act in alignment with my truth."
When a power challenge arises in your life, honor it as such. Don't retreat back to truth. Be willing to say, "This is a power challenge, but right now I don't feel strong enough to deal with it." Then you can work on becoming stronger. But if you retreat back to truth, you won't build your strength; you'll just stay stuck.
Avoiding a power challenge brings confusion. Facing and accepting a power challenge brings clarity, even if you don't know exactly how you're going to tackle the challenge yet.
Tapping the Promise of Personal Growth
How to Network With Busy People – Part 2
The Best Guidance
Read Retreating to Truth by Steve Pavlina
As part of my website update project, I planned to spend a day or so cleaning up the first two years of my blog (2004…
This morning I was reading a small portion of The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda and came across this passage: What is duty after all?…
Completing Your Side Quests
There's an idea (from Hinduism, I believe) that if you want to dedicate yourself to a path of spiritual awakening, yet some seemingly lower desire…


4 Coming to [Jesus] as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, 5 you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
Today is the first Sunday of Advent, the time of year when we recall both God's promise to our fathers that one day He would send a Son of Adam to rescue us from sin and death and God's promise to us that one day that Son shall return in glory to vindicate all who trust Him. It is this Son who is the subject of Peter's epistle – for it is to Him that we come in faith. He is the One who was born of Mary; He who was conceived by the Spirit; He who is the object of our faith.
Peter describes Him as a living stone, the foundation stone of God's Holy City Jerusalem, the cornerstone of the Temple of God. This stone, Peter tells us, was rejected indeed by men – rather than bowing before Him in worship and praise, we crucified Him. So deep is our ailment as human beings that we rejected the One who would deliver us, killed the physician who would heal us, stoned the king who would rule over us.
Yet it is this stone, Peter tells us, that was chosen by God and precious. The One we crucified rose again from the dead. He is the Living Stone chosen by God to build up a Temple, a spiritual house, to the glory of God's Name and to establish a universal priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices to the Lord. So how does He build this Temple? Establish this priesthood? As the Living Stone, Jesus builds God's Temple out of living stones; He sends forth His Spirit and imparts His resurrection life to men and women and children who are, by nature, spiritually dead. He causes their hearts of stone to live, to beat again, that they might become living stones, members of a spiritual house, and priests of God Most High.
This Advent our sermons focus once again on Jesus in the Psalms. As we consider the psalms, I would remind you why God has given them to us in the first place – they are meant to be sung. God saved you that you might proclaim His praises, that you might offer up spiritual sacrifices, that you might offer up the fruit of your lips to God. Singing praise to God is not optional – it is the reason God delivered you from your sin. So sing – don't be self-conscious. Sing; don't make excuses. Sing; don't deprive the assembly of your voice. Make a joyful noise to the Lord all the earth!
As we gather in the Lord's presence to praise Him, therefore, let us lift up our voices with joy remembering that God has saved us so that we might praise Him. Let us not mumble; let us not be silent in coldness of heart; let us not complain or grumble at God's ordering our affiars. He saved us that we might offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. So reminded that we were saved to sing His praises, let us confess that we have failed to praise the Lord as we ought – and let us kneel as we confess our sin together. We will have a time of silent confession followed by the corporate confession in your bulletin.