To help you get to know us better, we present some informative Frequently Asked Questions. If you still have more questions, any of our ministers and practitioners will be happy to help.
The InSpirit Center for Spiritual Living is an open, affirming, diverse spiritual community that welcomes individuals wherever they may be on their spiritual paths. Recognizing and honoring the universal spiritual truths and principles that underlie the world's various religions, we attract participants from a wide variety of faith traditions and religious experiences. We hold Sunday Celebration services in Mission Viejo, CA and also offer a wide variety of classes, workshops and activities.
We have many "sister" communities in the region, including San Juan Capistrano, Saddleback Valley, Huntington Beach, Newport-Mesa/Irvine, Seal Beach, Fullerton, Long Beach, Whittier, Claremont, Riverside, Redondo Beach, Los Angeles and San Diego.
The InSpirit Center for Spiritual Living is affiliated with the world-wide Centers for Spiritual Living. We accept tax-deductible contributions and contribute a percentage of our gifts/offerings to headquarters.
What is the Centers for Spiritual Living?
The Centers for Spiritual Living is an interfaith community that includes churches, study groups and ministries around the world and is one of several "new thought" movements that oversees and licenses ministers. Headquartered in Golden, Colorado, the Centers for Spiritual Living is the umbrella organization under which the InSpirit Center for Spiritual Living and other member ministries reside. The Centers for Spiritual Living also publishes Science of Mind Magazine. Other New Thought organizations include the International New Thought Alliance (INTA), the Affiliated New Thought Network (ANTN) and Association of Unity Churches.
How do I become a member of InSpirit Center for Spiritual Living?
Several times a year, we hold new member informational sessions, which will help you understand more about our organization and our spiritual philosophies. At this time, formal membership requirements include attendance at these New Member sessions and a commitment to be an active and contributing member of the InSpirit Center. Periodically, we have "New Member Sundays," in which we formally welcome new members into our spiritual community.
What classes or workshops do you offer?
As interest dictates, the InSpirit Center offers a variety of workshops and classes, including accredited classes, beginning with our basic Foundations course through Practitioner studies. Workshops are offered on either a fee or love offering basis. There is a set fee for the accredited courses.
Please let the Minister or any Practitioner know if you have interest in any of these classes. The Centers for Spiritual Living website has a lot of information on our teachings, classes and books/materials.
What financial obligations are there?
We do not have any membership dues or special fees; however, members of the InSpirit Center are expected to be "conscious contributors" — that is, active givers of their time, talents and treasures.
We actively teach the principles of Abundance, which affirm that when we give of our time, talents and treasures, knowing that they are God's blessings to and through us, we more fully experience and express God's Divine Flow in our lives. We are so very grateful for those individuals who have made the decision to give freely from this place of Prosperity Consciousness, because they support our awesome Sunday Celebration services. We know that it is with this Consciousness that the InSpirit Center for Spiritual Living realizes our vision of being a flourishing and nourishing spiritual community.
Our philosophy was founded by Dr. Ernest Holmes, a self-taught philosopher who rigorously studied all of the world's spiritual paths for most of his life. In 1927, he wrote The Science of Mind, which synthesized the truths that he discerned were present throughout all of the world's faiths. That book is the foundation of the principles we study and teach. Ernest Holmes never intended to begin a new faith; eventually, he was persuaded to allow a church to be created to assure that the principles he synthesized would outlive him.
Ernest Holmes used the terms "Science of Mind," which he described as the synthesis of the truths running through all of the religions of the world and "Religious Science" interchangeably. He believed that religion and science were truly complimentary and named his original organization the Church of Religious Science to demonstrate this. He believed that, eventually, science would prove what the mystics have been saying for thousands of years about the nature of God, human beings and the universe: that God is the energy of the Universe and operates according to basic spiritual principles or "laws." Holmes espoused the idea that there is One Divine Power and Presence that operates in and through each of our lives, automatically and according to our beliefs.
"The Christian Bible, perhaps the greatest book ever written, truly points a way to eternal values. But there are many other bibles, all of which, taken together, weave the story of spiritual Truth into a unified pattern. All races have had their bibles as all have had their religions; all have pointed a way to ultimate values, but can we say that any of them has really pointed THE WAY? It is unreasonable to support that any one person or race encompasses all truth and alone can reveal the way of life to others. Taking the best from all sources, the Science of Mind has access to the highest enlightenment of the ages. The Science of Mind reads everyman's bible and gleans the truths therein contained. It studies all people's thought and draws from each that which is true. Without criticism, without judgment, but by true discrimination, that which is true and provable may be discovered and put to practical use." (from The Science of Mind, pps 113-114).
Are "religious science" and "science of mind" the same things?
Essentially, they both are terms used to describe our philosophy.
There are a wide variety of organizations that teach spiritual philosophies that are very similar to those of Religious Science, including Unity and Divine Science. There are various associations that support these organizations, such as the Affiliated New Thought Network (ANTN), the International New Thought Alliance (INTA) and the Association for Global New Thought (AGNT).
The term "New Thought" refers to the teaching that God is inside and not outside of us and that we need no intercessor or intermediary between us and God. It also relates to the idea that each of us is a divine, unique emanation of God, for whom life is a process by which we awaken and recognize this truth.
What do you believe about meditation?
Meditation is the time-honored technique for taming, training and transforming the mind. We endorse all forms of meditation, from creative visualization to the more traditional mind-stilling techniques, as a means for becoming open and receptive to God. We believe that meditation allows one to more fully commune with God and thus experience a feeling of unity with all of life. Thus, there is no right or wrong way to meditate. However and whenever you are able to connect with the presence of God can be considered a meditative experience. Some people meditate while hiking, gardening or exercising. Others may do so more formally, using meditation pillows, music or guided meditations. Just as there are many paths to God, so too there are many ways in which to meditate.
We do not pray from a place of beseeching or begging. Instead, we pray from a place of knowing that that which we seek is already done in the mind of God. Thus we pray to wake up and recognize that which is already so and the structure and words of our prayers are intended to assist us in this process.
The term affirmation is normally associated with a verbal statement that is made about some goal that we are trying to achieve or some experience that we desire to have. However, the act of affirmation is really much more than that. It is an act of faith. It is the ability to put aside your doubt and fear in order to act as if your desired goal were already a reality. In this sense, an affirmation can be any statement, act or symbolic gesture that affirms the reality of your intentions. Through the process of affirmation we "act as if" our highest aspirations were already a reality.
What Is a licensed Practitioner?
A licensed Religious Science practitioner is an individual who is licensed by the Centers for Spiritual Living as a spiritual counselor, after having completed four years of studies. They are in service to you and others to take prayer requests and pray on them during the week. They are also available after the service in our prayer circle and are responsible for holding prayerful vigil and consciousness for our Center. As licensed professionals, the Practitioners are available for private counseling sessions upon appointment, for a session fee.
Our church has many licensed Practitioners. Please feel free to discuss your needs with them.
What do you believe about sin?
We believe that the original meaning of sin was simply to fall short of or "miss the mark" of spiritual perfection. Thus, we see sin as simply an activity that produces an undesirable effect in our lives or the lives of others, but which is not evil or necessarily bad.
We do not believe in being punished for sins or having to seek penitence, nor do we believe in "original sin" or that we are sinful by nature. We do not condone acts that harm others and we strongly support the "Golden Rule" in terms of how we treat all beings on this planet.
We do not deny the appearance of evil. We teach that evil does not exist as a force or power in the world. That which is called "evil" is merely the obstruction or inversion of the only power acting, which is God. The obstruction of God's expression always occurs in the mind by the false beliefs that we hold. According to our philosophy, the only presence acting in the universe is God, which is always good. Evil is merely the way that we withhold our expression and experience of that good by accepting false beliefs into our minds.
We believe that, since the only power acting anywhere is God, the devil simply cannot exist as a force acting in opposition to God's expression through Spirit. Therefore, there really is no devil. There is only the manifestation of falsely held beliefs within our minds, which produces that appearance of some sinister invisible force or being, acting in our lives. To blame unpleasant conditions and circumstances on the devil or anyone else, is a way of avoiding responsibility for our own experience of life.
We believe that heaven and hell are states of mind here on Earth. We experience heaven to the extent that we are aligned and in harmony with the fundamental nature of God and Life itself.
Hell is a state of mind that arises when we forget our true nature and experience chaos and negativity in our lives, rather than peace and flow. It is a mental state in which we believe that negative things are happening uncontrollably to us and a state in which we choose not to move forward or change our beliefs. The truth is that we create our own heaven or hell, depending upon what thoughts or beliefs we choose to hold.
We teach the eternality of life. We accept that our physical bodies operate within a natural cycle of birth and death. Even though we may have a body, we are never just our body. What we really are is life immortal and infinite that animates our body. As we become increasing identified with our divine and eternal nature, our underlying fear of death begins to dissolve and our experience of life become more joyous.
Dr. Michael Beckwith, Founder of Agape Church in Los Angeles, refers to our body as a "wardrobe," that serves as our physical expression of the Divine for this particular lifetime. When we die, we "shed" this wardrobe and take on another one; however, our eternal soul carries the experiences and energy from past lives into the next life.
We neither endorse nor reject any particular theory or concept of reincarnation. Since life is eternal, there are an unlimited number of possibilities for its evolvement after the experience of physical death. We accept the on-goingness of life and we deal with what is before us in the present moment.
Everything that occurs in our lives is simply the out-picturing of our consciousness operating through the Law of Mind. Therefore, those events that seem to be miraculous in nature are actually the Law acting at a level beyond our awareness. God operates in many dimensions beyond our five senses and has a grand pattern or master plan that we often do not perceive. Miracles or synchronicities tend to occur more and more frequently as we become more awake and aware. As we evolve our consciousness, what previously seemed miraculous becomes a natural, normal and understandable way of life.
In our philosophy, Christ is viewed as a universal principle rather than a person. It is the principle of God expressing through humanity. Jesus of Nazareth — Jesus the Christ — was a human personality through which the Christ Principle or Divine Personality, expressed itself on Earth. The principle of Jesus Christ represents the mystical marriage of our inner spirit with our outer personality. This union produces an expression of Life that includes both, yet is greater than either. The potential for this expression lies within each one of us. Therefore, Jesus the man is viewed as a great example for humanity, rather than the great exception. We can point to many other great examples of humanity, such as the Buddha, Gandhi, Mother Teresa and Krishna.
Ernest Holmes came from of a Christian tradition. He studied all of the world's religions and synthesized what he saw to be the truths running through them all, free of any particular dogma. He began the philosophy with the intention that all churches, especially Christian ones, might embrace the philosophy and incorporate those teachings into their own. When that did not happen on a large-scale basis, he allowed the people around him to talk him into starting a church to make sure that the teachings would endure.
His original intention was not to start a new religion. Our philosophy comes out of the Christian tradition in the sense that we believe in the teachings of Jesus and the Bible and use them to create a "Heaven on Earth." We do not believe that an individual has to accept Jesus as a personal Savior to be "saved." Instead, we believe that each of us embodies the Christ Consciousness as a principle and that Jesus the man was one of many enlightened beings that have walked this planet. We also do not view the Bible as being the only and literal word of God. We honor and support the Bible as being one of many sacred texts that contain universal spiritual truths.
Our philosophy is a New Thought philosophy and many people with New Age leanings are attracted to our teachings and practices. We do not consider our philosophy to be a New Age Religion and we do not overtly espouse nor condemn New Age practices such as tarot card reading, psychics, laying on of hands, etc. We honor all paths that lead to God, whether they be Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, New Age or any other spiritual paths.
Is this the same as Scientology?
No. Unlike a cult, we teach that each individual has the power over and the responsibility for his or her own life. We highly discourage the following of or dependence upon any one person, including our founder Ernest Holmes or any present ministers or teachers. We challenge people to think for themselves and only believe what rings true for them. One must look into one's own heart for truth.
No, Ernest Holmes did study with a host of spiritual luminaries, including Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of Christian Science. Religious Science attracts many from the Christian Science tradition, who tend to find our teachings to be broader in scope and more "open at the top" than Christian Science, which was Holmes' intention.
Do you go to doctors?
Absolutely. We believe that all is God and that God is expressed through doctors and medicine just as God is expressed through all of the physical universe. We believe in spiritual as well as physical healing. Our Ministers and Practitioners often work in conjunction with doctors and other physical and mental health practitioners to facilitate healing. We see the value in non-traditional healing modalities such as naturopathic medicine, massage, yoga, chiropractic medicine and other modalities as ways to support and nurture our body temples.
FAQ adapted from the student workbook for a workshop entitled, "QuickStart" created by Lloyd Strom. Answers also written by various licensed Practitioners within the Centers for Spiritual Living, particularly Christine Tillotson.
We believe in the individualization of the Spirit in US, and that all PEOPLE are incarnations of the One Spirit.
We believe in the externality, the immortality, and the continuity of the individual soul, forever and ever expanding.
For more information please visit the Centers for Spiritual Living.
We are very proud to say that our InSpirit Center for Spiritual Living, Orange County has a fine staff of dedicated teachers that show up every week to make our world a better place by providing a safe and sacred space for kids to fully and joyfully express.
Please join us on Sundays at 10:30 a.m. for nursery care for children from birth-4 years-old. Our youth ministry programs are held at 10:30 a.m. for children of all ages, including nursery, youth, tweens and teens.


text:
Kano 2023: Will Gawuna make an easy sail?
By Nigerian Tracker
When Kano state governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje won his victory at the supreme court on January 20, 2020, attention has focused on who will succeed the governor by the time he completed his second term on May 29 2023.
The governor faced a serious battle as he geared towards clinching victory during the 2019 general elections, the March 9 gubernatorial elections in Kano generated controversy as the electoral umpire refused to declare a substantive winner till a rerun was conducted on March 23 2019.
But before then, the political atmosphere was seriously charged in Kano which is regarded as the hotbed of Nigerian politics ,the frosty relationship between governor Ganduje and his erstwhile Deputy Professor Hafiz Abubakar which made the latter resigned his position as Deputy Governor of the state on 4thAugust 2014.
Hafiz Abubakar's resignation on August 4 2018, made the second most powerful stool vacant in Kano, and the choice of Professor Hafizu's successor later fell on a former Kano state commissioner of Agriculture Nasiru Yusuf Gawuna.
Gawuna's choice by governor Ganduje was seen as a way to gain popularity towards general election , now the attention has shifted to who succeed Governor Ganduje in 2023.
Political observers are of the opinion that Gawuna, the deputy governor must have an interest in contesting the number one seat in Kano, his Boss governor Abdullahi Ganduje has been dreaming to become the governor of the state since 1999 and realized that ambition in 2015.
But the present APC arrangement in Kano is a merger of many political bigwigs , Malam Ibrahim Shekarau's school of political thought to who back the government to come back to power for the second time.
Another thing that may propel the deputy governor to contest the 2019 general elections was his wealthy experience in politics from his time as chairman of the cosmopolitan Nassarawa local government to his days as Kano state commissioner of Agriculture.
But in Kano only one deputy governor has it well with his boss when it comes to cordial relationship.
On return to civil rule ,Late Governor Muhammad Abubakar Rimi does not have an easy relationship with his deputy the Late Alhaji Farouk Bibi Farouk, the second republic state House of assembly have to impeach Bibi Farouk and late Alhaji Abdu Dawakin Tofa was appointed who subsequently becomes the governor after the resignation of Late Governor Muhammadu Abubakar Rimi.
For the aborted third republic, the relationship between governor Kabiru Ibrahim Gaya and his late Deputy Alhaji Ahmad Usman will not be understood because the republic was overthrown by General Sani Abacha after a short stint.
When Nigeria return to civilian rule on May 29 1999 , Kano state governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso and his deputy Abdullahi Umar Ganduje had a smooth relationship up to the time they were defeated by Malam Ibrahim Shekarau in the 2003 general elections.
But when Malam emerged as Governor in 2003, speculations went round that he doesn't have a cordial relationship with his deputy late Engineer Magaji Abdullahi.
When Malam Ibrahim Shekarau was seeking for second term in the year 2007 he was challenged by his late deputy Late Engineer Magaji Abdullahi, the sour relationship between the two political giants did not end well as Malam Ibrahim Shekarau picked another Deputy in person of Abdullahi Tijjani Muhammad Gwarzo.
When Malam Ibrahim Shekarau finished his tenure in 2011 ,his deputy Abdullahi Tijjani Muhammad Gwarzo left the party that brought them to power and cross carpet to ACN ,Malam Shekarau's anointed candidate Malam Salihu Sageer Takai was not able to make it at the polls as he was defeated by the duo of Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso and Abdullahi Umar Ganduje.
In the history of Kano state politics only Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso anointed his Deputy to succeed him during the 2015 general elections and they fell apart after Ganduje became Governor.
What will be the fate of Deputy Governor Nasiru Yusuf Gawuna on the eve of 2023 general elections?
Many political bigwigs will be hoping to succeed Ganduje within the APC apart from the challenge they may face from the opposition PDP.
These days political discussion have mellowed down in the state because politicians have today focused their attention of how to contain corona pandemic.
Party Crisis:Kano Youths Group reconcile Shekarau ,Danbilki
Late Governor Abubakar Rimi asked Kano state Television (ARTV) to start transmission from Government House
Galadima Knocks Nigeria Sports Handlers Over Laziness in Talent Development,
By Abdulgafar Oladimeji.
Former chairman, Nigeria Football Association , NFA Ibrahim Galadima(MFR) has faulted the administration, promotion and development of sports in Nigeria, noting that the continuous degenerating global status of Nigeria on the sporting arena could be attributed to laziness.
The outspoken sports administrator stated that the absence of clear cut policies on how sports should be driven in Nigeria constitutes parts of the factors that has enrolled Nigeria on the path of total failure.
Galadima in his remarks on ( Thursday)at a one day workshop organized by Sports Writers Association of Nigeria, SWAN Kano state chapter held at the conference hall of the Kano state Sports Commission with the theme "Early Warnings and Security Vigilance At Sports Events, he said "we re yet to clearly structure and drive the message clearly to say whether we are in sports for business or for leisure purposes."
"our sports is going through difficult times, certainly, the Kenyans have a clear concentration, they have shown clearly where they belong by dominating marathon races, recently they came to Kaduna and stamped their dominance.
"The abundant talent in Nigeria remained untapped, no age group graduation, even if you are in Chad, you are considered as a foreign based athlete, we are now so lazy in identifying talents." Galadima lamented.
He alleged that lack of trust and confidence has sent sponsors out of the industry, adding that potential brand sponsors are shying away from injecting their monies into the industry for the fear of unaccountability.
TRIBUTE TO PROF. IBRAHIM AGBOOLA GAMBARI CHIEF OF STAFF TO THE PRESIDENT FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA🇳🇬, AN ASTUTE LEADER, AND GLOBAL STATESMAN AT 76th
By Alh. Dr Bello Al- Adam
On behalf of myself and my family, I join millions of friends and well-wishers to felicitate with a renowned diplomat and international statesman on this special occasion of your 76th Birthday.
My family and I are proud to be associated with you, therefore we heartily congratulate you for a life of exploit in Diplomacy, Academia, and Administration, both at National and International levels.
Indeed, you are an epitome of leadership and *AN OUTSTANDING ORBITER OF A GREAT AFRICAN VISION* for your good work and the selflessness in Promotion of Diplomacy, Democracy and Developments.
May Almighty Allah (SWT) continue to give you more Protection, sound Health, Longer Years of Fruitful Living and Greater Fulfilment of your aspirations to the highest level
Your unwavering support and succour for the downtrodden and your relentless pursuit for the betterment of Humanity towards ensuring a Developmental stride in the country have not gone unnoticed. They are laudable, commendable and well appreciated by Mr.President.
On this day, I wish you the best life has got to offer, *while praying that Allah increases you in Health and keep protecting you against hypocritical enemies of our president and the Government which you serve unflinchingly*.
Kindly accept the assurances of my esteem regards, Happy many more years in returns Sir.
ONCE MORE, HAPPY BIRTHDAY SIR
Alh. Dr. Bello Al-Adam
Eating Excessive Fats Causes Heart Attack
By Auwal Musa Umar
The term "Malnutrition" was derived from the combination of two words "Mal" and "Nutrition" which refers to "Bad Nutrition".
Malnutrition can be caused by over-nutrition (excess energy or nutrient intake) or undernutrition (deficient energy or nutrient intake).
The concept of malnutrition usually considered as a condition that results when the cells do not receive an adequate supply of the essential nutrients because of poor diet or poor utilization of food.
In some instances, it presents because people do not or cannot eat enough of the foods that provide the essential nutrients to satisfy body needs.
At other times people may eat well-balanced diets but suffer from diseases that prevent normal usage of the nutrients.
Overnutrition has become a larger problem in some parts of the world than undernutrition. Overeating and the ingestion of large doses of various vitamins and minerals (without a prescription) are two major causes of over nutrition worldwide.
Firstly, people supposed to understand the BASIC courses of Nutrient Deficiency; a nutrient deficiency set in when a person lacks one or more nutrients over a period of time.
Kano ,Now has a New Nutrition Policy and Action Plan-PS Balarabe
Nutrient deficiencies classified as primary or secondary. Primary deficiencies are caused by inadequate dietary intake. Secondary deficiencies are caused by something other than diets, such as a disease condition that may cause malabsorption, accelerated excretion, or destruction of the nutrients. Nutrient deficiencies can result in malnutrition
INDIVIDUALS AT RISK FROM POOR NUTRITIONAL INTAKE
Teenagers may eat often but at unusual hours. They may miss regularly scheduled meals, become hungry, and satisfy their hunger with foods that have low nutrient density such as potato chips, cakes, soda, and candy.
Foods with low nutrient density provide an abundance of calories, but the nutrients are primarily carbohydrates and fats and, except for sodium, very limited amounts of proteins, vitamins, and minerals.
Teenagers are subject to peer pressure; that is, they are easily influenced by the opinions of their friends. If friends favor foods with low nutrient density, it is difficult for a teenager to differ from them.
Crash diets, which unfortunately are common among teens, sometimes result in a form of malnutrition.
Pregnancy increases a woman's hunger and the need for certain nutrients, especially proteins, minerals, and vitamins. Pregnancy during adolescence requires extreme care in food selection.
The young mother-to-be requires a diet that provides sufficient nutrients for the developing fetus as well as for her own still-growing body. Many factors influence nutrition in the elderly, depression, loneliness, lack of income, inability to shop, inability to prepare meals, and the state of overall health can all lead to malnutrition.
Nutrition has many effects some the cumulative effects of nutrition; there is an increasing concern among health professionals regarding the cumulative effects of nutrition.
Cumulative effects are the results of something that is done repeatedly over many years. For example, eating excessive amounts of saturated fats for many years contributes to atherosclerosis, which leads to heart attacks.
Years of overeating can cause obesity and may also contribute to hypertension, type 2 (non-insulin-dependent) diabetes, gallbladder disease, foot problems, certain cancers, and even personality disorders.
Deficiency Diseases when nutrients are seriously lacking in the diet for an extended period, deficiency diseases can occur.
The most common form of deficiency disease in Nigeria among women of reproductive age is iron deficiency, which is caused by a lack of the mineral iron and can cause iron-deficiency anemia, which is particularly common among children and women.
Iron is a necessary component of the blood and is lost during each menstrual period.
In addition, the amount of iron needed during childhood and pregnancy is greater than normal because of the growth of the child or the fetus. Rickets is another example of deficiency disease.
It causes poor bone formation in children and is due to insufficient calcium and vitamin D. These same deficiencies cause osteomalacia in young adults and osteoporosis in older adults.
Osteomalacia is sometimes called "adult rickets." It causes the bones to soften and may cause the spine to bend and the legs to become bowed. Osteoporosis is a condition that causes bones to become porous and excessively brittle.
Too little iodine may cause goiter, and a severe shortage of vitamin A client's ability to buy and prepare food can lead to blindness.
Auwal Musa Umar Is the President (ANDs/IDN)Association Of Nigerian Dietitians/Institute of Dietetics in Nigeria. Kano state chapter.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Q: `link_to` with parameters for an Engine route (While this discusses Blacklight engine, I believe the question is actually purely about Rails.)
Continuing my quest from scope around mount ineffective? (tl;dr: make the engine routes obey the same :locale scope as application routes), after digging through Rails source.
Currently, I have this setup:
# config/routes.rb
Rails.application.routes.draw do
  Blacklight::Engine.routes.default_scope = { path: "(:locale)", locale: /en|ja/ }
  mount Blacklight::Engine => '/'

  scope "(:locale)", locale: /en|ja/ do
    # ...
  end
end

This makes the routes work properly. However, I had this view code to generate the alternate-language links to the current page (guided by link_to the current page plus/merged with a param [duplicate]):

  <% locales.each do |locale| %>
    <% next if locale == I18n.locale %>
    <%= link_to params.permit!.merge(locale: locale) do %>
      <img src="<%= url_for "/img/flag/#{locale}.png" %>"/>
    <% end %>
  <% end %>

That link_to fails when the current page is an Engine route. This is due to this piece of code in actionpack:
# lib/action_dispatch/journey/formatter.rb
# Skip this route unless a name has been provided or it is a
# standard Rails route since we can't determine whether an options
# hash passed to url_for matches a Rack application or a redirect.
next unless name || route.dispatcher?

With link_to options, &block syntax that I use above, name is nil; and dispatcher? is false for an engine route. (If I pass that check by inserting a name by force, I get a nonsensical URL like .../assets?action=index&controller=saved_searches&locale=ja).
I'm getting desperate here, almost to the point where I'm thinking the best way to deal with this is regexp. This atrocity works:
<%= link_to request.base_url + request.original_fullpath.sub(%r{(?<=/)#{I18n.locale}}, locale.to_s) do %

Is there no way to generate the correct URL properly?

A: Another totally hacky solution is to copy the engine routes to your local routes.rb and add a warning that triggers on gem update to check them for changes. :(

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
// BridgeDb,
// An abstraction layer for identifier mapping services, both local and online.
//
// Copyright 2006-2009  BridgeDb developers
// Copyright 2012-2013  Christian Y. A. Brenninkmeijer
// Copyright 2012-2013  OpenPhacts
//
// Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
// you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
// You may obtain a copy of the License at
//
// http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
//
// Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
// distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
// WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
// See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
// limitations under the License.
//
package org.bridgedb.virtuoso;

import java.sql.Connection;
import java.sql.DriverManager;
import java.sql.SQLException;
import org.bridgedb.sql.SQLAccess;
import org.bridgedb.utils.BridgeDBException;
import org.bridgedb.utils.Reporter;

/**
 * Virtuosos specific wrapper.
 *
 * Still in test so user name and password hard coded in.
 *
 * This code has not been used in many months and has a HIGH risk of being broken.
 *
 * @author Christian
 */
public class VirtuosoAccess implements SQLAccess{
    /** JDBC URL for the database */
    private String dbUrl;// = "jdbc:mysql://localhost:3306/irs";
    /** username for the database */
    private String username;// = "irs";
    /** password for the database */
    private String password;// = "irs";

    /**
     * Instantiate a connection to the database
     *
     * @throws BridgeDBException If there is a problem connecting to the database.
     */
    public VirtuosoAccess() throws BridgeDBException {
        Reporter.warn("VirtuosoAccess class used!. There is a high risk that this code will not work.");
        try {
            Class.forName("virtuoso.jdbc4.Driver");
            //if (dbUrl.equals("jdbc:mysql://localhost:3306/irs")){
            //    throw new BridgeDBException ("Saftey Error! "
            //            + "jdbc:mysql://localhost:3306/irs is resevered for March 2012 version");
            //}
            this.dbUrl = "jdbc:virtuoso://localhost:1111";
            this.username = "dba";
            this.password = "dba";
        //} catch (SQLError er){
        //    String msg = "Problem loading in MySQL JDBC driver.";
        //    throw new BridgeDBException(msg);
        } catch (ClassNotFoundException ex) {
            String msg = "Problem loading in virtuoso JDBC driver.";
            //Logger.getLogger(MySQLAccess.class.getName()).log(Level.SEVERE, msg, ex);
            throw new BridgeDBException(msg, ex);
        }
    }

    /**
     * Retrieve an active connection to the database
     *
     * @return database connection
     * @throws BridgeDBException if there is a problem establishing a connection
     */
    @Override
    public Connection getConnection() throws BridgeDBException {
        try {
            Connection conn = DriverManager.getConnection(dbUrl, username, password);
            return conn;
        } catch (SQLException ex) {
            System.err.println(ex);
            final String msg = "Problem connecting to database.";
            //Logger.getLogger(MySQLAccess.class.getName()).log(Level.SEVERE, msg, ex);
            throw new BridgeDBException(msg, ex);
        }
    }

}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


On the north east side of Attica peninsula and close to the International Airport of Athens lies the beautiful seaside town of Rafina. With small block of flat expanding around the bay, Rafina is a relaxing resort away from the noisy crowds of central Athens. Rafina is also an important port serving ferries to the neighboring island of Evia and some of the Cycladic islands like Mykonos, Paros, Naxos, Syros and Santorini. The port of Rafina is only 15 km from the airport of Athens.


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A long but successful battle for medical marijuana
Sen. Mike Folmer
For The Lebanon Daily News
In his Gettysburg Address, President Lincoln said: "The world will little note, nor long remember, what we say here, but can never forget what they did here." The same can be said for the work of the many advocates in passing Senate Bill 3, medical cannabis. Little of what was said about their efforts may be remembered, but no one will forget what they did to get this much needed and long overdue measure enacted into law.
As a student of history, a thought occurred to me on April 17, the day the governor signed SB 3: what would I have done in times past?
For example, April 19, 1775, a group of American patriots twice stood before what was then the strongest army in the world to stand up for their rights and their freedoms. Would I have stood with these patriots on the village green of Lexington and the bridge at Concord, Massachusetts?
Later that same year, June 17, 1775, other patriots stood behind trenches dug overnight, rocks, and fences to again face the British army. As the Americans' ammunition ran out, some broke and ran while others fought hand-to-hand to the bitter end. What would I have done?
Finally, about a half-hour before midnight on April 14, 1912, the pride of the ocean, RMS Titanic, struck an iceberg, foundered, and sank early the next morning with a tremendous loss of lives. Would I have given up a seat on one of the few lifeboats for someone else?
Thanks to the issue of medical cannabis, I now have a better idea what I would have done during these times. April 17, 2016, was the day SB 3 was signed into law. But, the three weeks before were trying ones.
The Senate had twice passed medical cannabis legislation — the second time, SB 3, a 69-page bill. SB 3 as it returned from the House had become a 154-page bill with questions and concerns. Should the Senate concur in the House amendments without addressing these issues or risk losing the entire bill by amending it?
Frustrated advocates called for concurrence. They were afraid. I understood and felt their fears. After three weeks of careful consideration and draft after draft of possible changes, we decided to amend — to make sure it worked. There were many who disagreed. It was a lonely feeling to not agree — the Senate seemingly standing alone.
Then, despite all the hard work over the previous three weeks in drafting amendments to address various issues, we learned additional — technical — amendments were needed. As the remaining two days of April Session wound down, we feared action would be delayed until May's Session — more delays, frustrations, fears, and tears for the long-suffering advocates. Even as we rushed to finish changes, address additional issues, and answer questions, the clock ticked away. It would have been easier to simply concur and hope changes could be made later. Our time and our ammunition in support of making changes was running out.
But, the Senate overwhelmingly approved the changes and the bill itself — for a third time. However, there were other issues of importance that also had to be voted. Would SB 3 be lost in the mix of these other issues — would we lose our seat in the line?
Fortunately, it all worked out. SB 3 passed the Senate 42-7, passed the House 149-46, and was signed into law by the governor. It was long — but successful — especially the final week.
Folmer, of Lebanon, represents the 48th Senate district, which includes all of Lebanon County and portions of Dauphin and York counties.


In November 2017, Vortex was certified to the ISO 9001:2015 standard. Previously, Vortex was certified under the ISO 9001:2008 standard, and has been ISO-certified for nearly 10 years.
ISO 9001 is an international standard that specifies requirements for a management system. By gaining ISO 9001:2015 certification, ISO 9001 acknowledges that Vortex has demonstrated the ability to consistently provide products and services that meet customer and regulatory requirements. In essence, the ISO 9001 standard acknowledges Vortex's credibility as a reliable and consistent supplier of material handling equipment and technical services to the dry bulk solids industry.
Among the major changes of ISO 9001:2015 versus ISO 9001:2008 was a transition of emphasis from "preventative actions" and "required documentation" to "top-down leadership and communication" and "business opportunity/risk assessment." This communication emphasis includes more open communication with customers and suppliers, and greater information transparency within the organization and its shareholders. Over time, Vortex will gather data on the effectiveness of these communication channels and refine their approaches to best communicate with internal and external audiences.
To improve internal transparency, Vortex top management created a document to assess both short-term and long-term opportunities and risks for the company's operations, and developed strategies for how those opportunities and risks will be approached to improve the business. Vortex top management also developed a long-term business plan to provide employees and stakeholders with a clear understanding of the company's goals and strategic objectives for the future.


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Review: The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 and 3/4 – The Musical (Ambassadors Theatre)
The musical adaptation of Sue Townsend's book arrives in the West End
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Sarah Crompton
Michael Hawkins as Adrian and Cuba Kamanu as Nigel
© Pamela Raith
BBC Radio Four is currently repeating its broadcast of Adrian Mole: the Prostrate Years, where the once-teenage diarist has become 39, sad and dyspeptic. This jolly musical, on the other hand, based on the first book in Sue Townsend's clear-eyed epic, with a book and lyrics by Jake Brunger and music and lyrics by Pippa Cleary, takes us back to his first, more optimistic incarnation. It's very good fun.
It's also a clever bit of marketing to bring the show – first seen in 2015 at Leicester's Curve, then produced at the Menier Chocolate Factory in 2017 – to the Ambassadors just as the school holidays begin, as the perfect outing for teenaged children and their parents. The parents will like the 1980s references to Malcolm Muggeridge, Mrs Thatcher and Dallas on TV; the teenagers may recognise something of themselves in Adrian and his friends, as they struggle with the pains of growing up and the idiocies of the adult world.
The best lines remain Townsend's. "My new year's resolution is to help the poor and ignorant; starting of course with my parents," Adrian writes, poignantly. And the musical's greatest loss is her acerbic, ironic tone, her kindly yet fierce vision of a world going slowly mad thanks to the actions of its inhabitants. The book's greatest pleasures were always in the gaps between Adrian's high aspirations – "I read Pride and Prejudice last night. It is very old fashioned" – and the low compromises he has to cope with.
In place of this poised tone, the musical substitutes well-observed farce and high emotion. It is a very loud, rather tiring night; I found I was enjoying episodes such as the high-energy school disco and Adrian's alternative nativity play which sends Mary to the family planning clinic and makes the inn keeper an evil capitalist, while simultaneously wishing them just a little less broad and energetic.
The moments that worked best for me were the quieter ones; Adrian's mother Pauline's songs of regret and disappointment; the way that his love Pandora is always dreaming of doing good – in one of the wittiest lyrics she and Adrian sing of a world domination in which they "save the NHS/Dress the homeless from BHS" – the running jokes about the lessons of The Female Eunuch.
Yet there's no doubting the commitment and panache of Luke Sheppard's direction and Rebecca Howell's choreography which fill Tom Roger's slickly changing set with life and action. The cast seem to be having a ball. In particular, Amy Ellen Richardson brings the sweetest of voices and a real strain of sadness to Pauline and John Hopkins is tremendous fun as Mr Lucas, the deep-voiced charmer next door, sweeping her off her feet in a passionate tango.
But the show stands or falls on the kids at its heart and on opening night Michael Hawkins was a wonderfully confident Adrian, Matilda Hopkins a charmingly bolshie Pandora and Charlie Stripp all but stole the show as bullying Barry.
Menier Chocolate Factory
Adrian Mole
Jake Brunger
Pippa Cleary
Luke Sheppard
The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 3/4
Amy Ellen Richardson
Rebecca Howell


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Reliable Broker as a Prerequisite for Successful Trading
Wild elephants visit BBQ restaurant everyday.
Horse meat gang arrested, product sent to China and Vietnam.
369 new Covid-19 patients in Thailand
Three new millionaires in Thailand.
ThaiResidents.com – Thai Local News – Thai News
Thailand shines in key global surveys
August 5, 2016 August 25, 2016 ThaiResidents Team 0 Comment 2016, good, in, live, place, polls, retire, surveys, Thailand, to
IS Thailand one of the best places to live in? Maybe. It's a difficult and quite subjective question. But according to several polls, studies or surveys by various agencies using various means of measurement, it probably is.
In its latest study, the World Economic Forum decided to use a different approach to measure the progress of nations apart from wealth.
It's called the Happy Planet Index, which measures health and happiness not in isolation but against a crucial new gold standard for success: sustainability.
The formula takes the well-being and longevity of a population, measures how equally both are distributed, then sets the result against each country's ecological footprint.
In this calculation, the most successful countries are those where people live long and happy lives at little cost to the environment.
And Thailand is among the top ten beating wealthy Western countries. The top 10 are Costa Rica, Mexico. Columbia, Vanuatu, Vietnam, Panama, Nicaragua, Bangladesh, Thailand and Ecuador. It says when it comes to people's ability to live good lives within sustainable limits, Latin American and Asia Pacific countries are ahead of the crowd (140 countries).
In another survey last year, the country was listed as one of the world's 25 best places to retire in by International Living, a North America-based magazine for retirees.
International Living's Annual Global Retirement Index released on January 1, 2015, listed Thailand at number 10. The report combined several real-world insights about buying and renting, benefits and discounts, cost of living, fitting in, entertainment and amenities, health care, infrastructure and climate of each of the 25 countries.
Another website, moneyunder30.com has listed Thailand among the 10 best counties for working abroad. Among the reasons supporting the choices are low cost of living, access to stunning scenery, and excellent food as well as a great place to teach English.
For years, scores of foreign business and industries have been expanded or relocated to Thailand both in the financial and real sectors, namely, automobile, chemical and banking to name but a few. Among foreign expats coming to work in Thailand are Japanese, Koreans and Westerners while lately the Chinese are the majority of tourists visiting Thailand.
We have heard time and again stories along this line from the Thai associates of the Japanese. After years of living in Thailand, most Japanese expats would be very upset or very sad if they are called back to Japan or posted elsewhere up to a point where they think that would be a punishment because living in Thailand as an executive is a luxurious and happy life for them compared to living in Japan.
In fact, there is a study as to why the Japanese love living or traveling to Thailand. The key is they like the Thai style, the sa-buy, sa-buy style, which they lack. While in Japan, a very competitive society, they have to be something like perfectionists in whatever they do to an extent that they become stressful. In Thailand, you can relax, living quite an easy life and also don't have to worry about earthquake, volcano eruption or tsunami.
But of course, Thailand like other countries, has its own weaknesses as well. Traffic is bad, people sometime behave the way you don't like or understand, it has double pricing to name but a few issues but overall, it's not a bad place to live in.
Like what Marc Faber, a world famous Swiss investor, investment advisor and fund manager, writer of the famous report called Gloom Boom & Doom, who chooses to live in Chiang Mai, has said that he knew riding a motorbike in Thailand is quite risky but he has five motorcycles. So he added that he must be akin to a very optimistic guy, riding a motorbike in Thailand!
CAPTIONS:
TOP: Flowing along with life on the Chao Phraya River in a very Thai sa-buy, sa-buy style: Photo: Reinhard Link
INSET: Life in this country is great even on Chiang Mai's highlands particularly at Wat Phrathat temple which sits atop Doi Suthep mountain. Photo: Mith Huang
By Kowit Sanandang
ThaiResidents Team
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Young motorcycle racers arrested in Bangkok
November 25, 2017 Songpol Kaopatumtip 0
Thai Navy Seal dies rescuing trapped boys
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Big waves wash garbage onto Khao Lak beach
June 28, 2017 ThaiResidents Team 0
Thai Residents – Thailand Expat Community
Thai Local News
Thairesidents.com is an English-language news site that publishes timely and interesting Thai news on various subjects. Aside from daily general news, our wide-ranging coverage focuses on key sectors such as Thai Local News, Thailand News, tourism, money, property, lifestyle and tips while also concentrating on compelling global developments.
Ours is a talented and experienced team of journalists and our readers are mainly foreigners residing in Thailand.
Contact us or Advertise with us :
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Calling all social justice artists!
Create a series of collaborative, visual and or performance art.
Download our Arts of Resistance flyer here.
*Sponsored by the Community of Living Traditions www. communityoflivingtraditions.org .
← FLAGS Multifaith Youth Peace Program – Join us this summer!


White Houseboats offers River Murray experience with luxury houseboats where the river is deep and wide and the scenery starts to become really interesting. You can enjoy the scenes of Murry River in the Morning, past times at Lagoons on the River and at sunset send off the day with Murry River. You will also enjoy many more scenic beauties that are waiting for you in our White Houseboats.


Looking for cafes in Subang Jaya – SS15, USJ & More? Nowadays, having a dining experience isn't just about the food anymore. Of course, food is still a central factor in deciding where to eat, but more and more people are also looking at food aesthetics, food specialty, as well as the interior (or exterior) and decorations.
📍 Address: No. 53 Jalan SS15/5A, 47500 Subang Jaya, Selangor.
📍 Address: A9-G, Jalan SS15/4D, 47500 Subang Jaya, Selangor.
📍 Address: No. 12A, Jalan SS12/1B, SS12, 47500 Subang Jaya, Selangor.
📍 Address: A-02-1 (1st Floor), Menara Rajawali, Jalan SS15/8, 47500 Subang Jaya, Selangor.
📍 Address: 6, Jalan SS13/4, Subang Jaya Industrial Estate, 47500 Subang Jaya, Selangor.
📍 Address: 64-1, Jalan SS15/4d, 47500 Subang Jaya, Selangor.
📍 Address: 49, Jalan USJ 21/10, USJ 21, 47630 Subang Jaya, Selangor.
📍 Address: 54-1, Jalan USJ 9/5P, 47620 Subang Jaya, Selangor.
📍 Address: First Floor, 112, Jalan SS15/4b, 47500 Subang Jaya, Selangor.
📍 Address: 20 Ground Floor, Jalan SS15/4B, 47500 Subang Jaya, Selangor.
📍 Address: 73A, Jalan SS15/8A, 47500 Subang Jaya, Selangor.
📍 Address: No.46G, Jalan SS15/4C, 47500 Subang Jaya, Selangor.
📍 Address: 12, Jalan SS13/3B, 47500 Subang Jaya, Selangor.
And there we go! 13 cafes in Subang, each different from the rest! 😍 Do you have any other quaint cafes in Subang & SS15 to recommend?
Which cafe in Subang would you recommend?


We offer a range of evening courses in Chinese language and culture, catering for students who wish to learn or improve their level of Chinese for business, social or further studies purposes. The classes are offered on every Tuesday and Wednesday from 18.30-20.00 on the UCD Belfield Campus. All students from our evening course are welcomed to join our Chinese Corner for free!
We offer language courses for all Chinese language learners from beginner to advanced levels. We also provide cultural courses such as Chinese Painting and Chinese Calligraphy for our students. The evening courses run three terms a year, each lasting 10 weeks.
All students are welcome to meet fellow Chinese enthusiasts and practice Chinese in the Chinese Corner every Monday evening, from 18.30 to 20.30 in UCD. We prepared various topics and activities which can help you improve your Chinese, as well as getting to know China better!
Our experienced, native-speaking Chinese language teachers are selected and trained by the Office of Chinese Language Council International (Hanban). They are motivated, enthusiastic and they are also great fun!
There is a low student-tutor ratio in our evening classes. The average number of students in each class is 4-10, so that each student can participate actively in class and progress quickly.
Our students are invited to experience Chinese culture in the workshops and activities launched by the UCD CII.
Our students have the opportunity to meet Chinese learners from all over the world. They can quickly gain confidence using the Chinese language in an international, relaxed, friendly and encouraging environment.
Completed HSK level 1 / knowledge of Pinyin and some basic structures,such as"是…的","有"字句etc.
Minimum 200 commonly used words and related grammar patterns, such as " 已经…了",the adverb of degree" 最",the pair of conjunctions"因为…所以…"etc.
Minimum 400-500 commonly used words,and related grammar patterns, such as "verb+得",the structure" 越来越", " verb+着", etc.
Minimum 500-600 commonly used words,and related grammar patterns, such as "verb+得",comparative sentence "A 比B +…很多/一点儿", the structure" 把 " , etc.
Completed HSK level 3/minimum 600 commonly used words, basic level of daily communications in Chinese.
Minimum 800 commonly used words, basic level of daily communications in Chinese .
This is a skills orientated course starting with the origins of Chinese characters and the art of Chinese calligraphy. It acquaints students with the characteristics of the Official Script, focusing on the basic strokes and forms of written Chinese characters. Students will learn to concentrate on the movement of the brush. The emphasis is on the techniques, methods and practice of brush writing.
Our experienced and enthusiastic teachers are established Chinese calligraphers. Due to their vast experience in teaching Chinese calligraphy, our teachers will create a comfortable atmosphere in which you can learn the ins and outs of this art. All participants will get personal assistance and the opportunity to fulfill their own wishes within this course.
This course is for art lovers everywhere. All levels from beginner and upwards are welcome. The class is taught by a highly qualified and experienced teacher who has qualified in the field of Art in both China & Ireland can cater for all types of groups.
In addition to joining the course you will also have some fun and make some new friends along the way and learn Chinese and Chinese culture.
Ms. Chunzhu Wang, graduated with a BA Hons Arts Degree in the Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology (IADT). She is skilled in Chinese Ink Art and how to master and work with the different materials and inks. She has lectured in Chinese ink art in UCD Confucius Institute for almost 4 years.
This course is designed to teach students the ancient practices of Chinese traditional martial arts, to learn about the history, philosophy and cultures of Kungfu, mainly focused on Taichi. This course is suitable for beginners and improvers.
1) To enable the student to maintain good health.
2) To practice mental health.
4) To integrate moral values into your life.
5) To attain a higher level of consciousness.
Mr.Qiyuan Huang, started to practice Chinese traditional martial arts at the age of 11. He majored in the styles of southern traditional martial arts inherited from family and learned Chen style and Yang style of Tai-chi from renowned masters.
This course explores the fundamental concepts, theories and methods underlying Traditional Chinese Medicine. It is suitable for all students who are interested in Chinese medicine and Chinese culture.
in treating skin conditions, hormonal disorders, digestive problems, gynecological conditions and much more.
4) To reduce the pain and disorders in neck, shoulders, hips, back, arms, highs, legs and ankle by experiencing Tui Na medical massage.
constitution, using the practice of food therapy.
Doctor Su pin Chen, a senior Acupuncture Consultant Director of Shanghai Acupuncture College Ireland, Executive Council member of European Association of Head Acupuncture. She has been practicing in Ireland since 1985.
*Please bring your online payment receipt / Check and Photo ID when you first come to the class.
*Course books cost €25 ( Textbook+ Workbook), and can be purchased when you come to the class.
* After the second class, no refunds will be granted. Course book fees are not refundable.
* We don't take cash.
Minimum 200 commonly used words and related grammar patterns, such as " 已经…了",the adverb of degree"最",the pair of conjunctions"因为…所以…"etc.
Minimum 500-600 commonly used words,and related grammar patterns, such as "verb+得",comparative sentence "A 比B +…很多/一点儿", the structure" 把" , etc.
The course is for students with minimum experience, allowing them to learn basic techniques including how to handle the Chinese painting brush with ink and color, to execute brush strokes professionally as well as to develop skills in drawing different subjects.
This course is for students who wish to develop great fitness, health, longevity and inner peace through Tai-chi.
Mr.Qiyuan Huang, started to practice Chinese traditional martial art at the age of 11. He majored in the styles of southern traditional martial art inherited from family and learned Chen style and Yang style of Tai-chi from renowned masters.
This course introduces the basic concepts, theories, methods underlying acupuncture and and Chinese herbal medicine to students who are interested in learning the fundamentals of Chinese medicine.
Doctor Su pin Chen, a senior Acupuncture Consultant Director of Shanghai Acupuncture College Ireland, Executive Council member of European Association of Head Acupuncture, she has been practicing in Ireland since 1985.
*Course books cost €25( Textbook+ Workbook), and can be purchased when you come to the class.
*After the second class, no refunds will be granted. Course book fees are not refundable.
In the modern age, the first and most important benefit of Traditional Chinese Martial Arts is Health. Professor Liu will be teaching regular Health Regimen classes in UCD Confucius Institute.
This is a traditional part of Chinese Wushu, and translates directly to "Healthy Body Chi Skill". It combines mental discipline with breathing and physical actions. Stretching the body, following clear focussed direction to achieve a flexible, supple and healthy body.
This class will include exercises from Eight Trigrams boxing, Five Animals Games, Daoyin Shu, and the Book of Changes exercise.
We at UCD Confucius Institute are delighted to offer students an ideal chance to practice Chinese after class – Chinese Corner.
We hope it will become an important place where students of Chinese meet with native speakers of Chinese and practice speaking what they have just learned in class.
Here, you can practice with other Chinese learners and also native Chinese speakers. Our teachers will be there as well to coordinate and help you correct pronunciation and grammar.
Chinese painting is one of the oldest continuous artistic traditions in the world. The earliest paintings were not representational but ornamental; they consisted of patterns or designs rather than pictures. Early pottery was painted with spirals, zigzags, dots, or animals. It was only during the Warring States Period(403-221 B.C.) that artists began to represent the world around them.
Painting in the traditional style is known today in Chinese as guó huà (国画), meaning 'national' or 'native painting', as opposed to Western styles of art. Traditional painting involves essentially the same techniques as calligraphy and is done with a brush dipped in black or colored ink; oils are not used. As with calligraphy, the most popular materials on which paintings are made of are paper and silk. The finished work is then mounted on scrolls, which can be hung or rolled up. Traditional painting is also done in albums and on walls, lacquerwork, and other media.
In this course, the students will learn how to paint a range of popular subjects using Traditional & Contemporary Chinese Brush Painting techniques. Projects gradually increase in difficulty, and feature such subjects as swallows, bamboo, wild orchids, plum blossoms, pandas, horses, peonies and more.
Three ten-week courses will be run from January, April and September each year. Each week will have one session of one and half hours. Class sizes will be limited to approximately five to ten students.
No previous knowledge of Chinese is required for this course. Anyone with an interest in Chinese calligraphy is eligible.
The course will give students an introduction to various key aspects of Chinese calligraphy. Students will be given a general overview of the history of Chinese calligraphy, the features of the main styles, and calligraphic writing techniques. Students will have the opportunity to learn how to write characters in tsao-shu (cursive script) style.
Four basics of calligraphy – brush, ink, paper, ink-stone.
• Introduction to the ways of holding a brush and brush writing techniques.
• The strokes and basic structures of Chinese characters.
• Introduction and appreciation of some calligraphy works.
• Copying and writing characters in tsao-shu (cursive script) style.
Students are expected to gain a perceptual knowledge of Chinese Calligraphy and have a good understanding of the characters' structures. At the end of the course, students will be able to hold the brush, write correctly and copy characters in tsao-shu (cursive script) style. The course is intended to promote students' interest in Chinese calligraphy and to lay foundations for further study.
Three ten-week courses will be run from January, April and September each year. Each week will have one session of one hour. Class sizes will be limited to approximately ten students.


In December we shared a post that made our Instagram blow up. Seems like we shared what everyone else was thinking and boy did it get a lot of likes, shares and comments.
As you can see from the unedited, this is gorgeous, colourful makeup and skin has texture and pores.
Yes, some of you might be able to achieve this look slightly better but no one can achieve the finished effect how the makeup looks in the edited version without digital editing.
1. To show that all skin has texture. From the downy hairs everyone has on their face to pores and blemishes. Makeup WILL NOT hide texture but it WILL mask colour.
2. Because of social media and filters, when a talented makeup artist puts out work that is completely unedited, it's seen as bad quality.
THIS HAS GOT TO STOP we have got to stop comparing super talented people with unachievable photos.
There is space in this world for both but trying to make a comparison is like comparing a banana to an orange. You can peel them both and they are both fruit but that's where the comparisons stop.
3. Because a lot of people take what they see at face value, even when they know skin has been softened, eyes and teeth have been whitened and filters have been applied, this makes their expectations above and beyond what a makeup artist can actually achieve. We now need to manage expectations rather than just do an amazing job that makes you feel great.
We can NOT compare with computers, retouching, digital art so STOP comparing.
Create your art, be happy, love what you do, give people confidence, help people feel fantastic. Love your work. You are amazing and you are enough.
The intention of this blog post and photo is not to slur on anyone's work. It is to raise awareness of what and what isn't achievable in make-up.
1. That make-up artists felt inferior because they can't achieve perfect flawless skin, perfect eye makeup and just flawless perfection. They know and understand that the finished photos they are comparing their work to is edited / retouched with filters applied but this doesn't stop them from feeling that they are not good enough. We have one thing to say to this – STOP COMPARING YOUR WORK TO A COMPUTER'S WORK because that's what it is – digital art and there's nothing wrong with digital art but we cannot compare our hand drawn art to digital art. It simply has a different result.
2. That people feel they aren't enough. They're not pretty enough, their features are too big / too small / too wonky / not perfect. I have young people complaining that their skin has pores (you would die without your skin having pores) I have people complaining about their blemishes, texture of their skin, fine lines, wrinkles, under eye bags, scars – you name it, apparently it is not good to have ANYTHING any more (what happened about having character, being unique and original? Why do people want to look like clones of each other (with the drag queen look) Yes, it may be hard to embrace what makes you look different but I say you should wear it with pride. And once again, STOP COMPARING YOURSELF TO DIGITAL ART – do we really want a world where we all walk around looking like characters from a computer game?
3. It is affecting our mental health.
Life is already pressured enough without all these unrealistic comparisons.
To finalise, in the words of our SFX tutor, Laura Odette Phipps " before editing you had to have talent and dedication to capture beautiful photos as a photographer and produce high quality work as a makeup artist. All editing does is make both fields easier to achieve perfection with less talent and work and has no place in either field. Editing photos also sets unrealistic expectations to consumers who perhaps do not know images are edited etc and thus makes our job as makeup artists all that much harder as customers believe they can have poreless, flat skin and will never be happy.
When selling any product/skill editing should be banned as technically this is false advertising.
So, what would I like to see change?
I would like a reality check from time to time. I would like influencers / makeup artists / models / actors / retouchers etc. to share before and after photos so we can see what people / skin / features really look like.
I would like there to be more self-acceptance in the world and people helping each other to achieve this.
I would like to celebrate the human race. All of it. The good, the bad and the ugly.
Signing off for now – I would love you to share your thoughts in the comments box.