text:
The 2 stocks I'm holding from the FTSE 100 and why
Kevin Godbold | Saturday, 11th March, 2017 | More on: III MNDI
Most of my investments are in smaller firms than those occupying the FTSE 100, but the attractions of two stalwarts from the large-cap index were too tempting for me to ignore.
Ticking along nicely
The first situation I couldn't pass by is the operational momentum and value on offer at paper and packaging firm Mondi (LSE: MNDI). The firm updated the market in February with full-year results and things are ticking along nicely. The headline figures show underlying earnings per share up 3% on a year ago, cash generated from operations lifting 10% and a return on capital employed running at 20.3%.
In that great litmus test of director sentiment, they hiked the dividend by 10%, from which I infer that their thoughts are warm and positive about the immediate outlook. That's encouraging because that's how I feel too.
Chief executive David Hathorn said the firm is driving growth by investing capital into the business. Operating profit cranked up around €50m during 2016 and he expects a further €30m gain in 2017 resulting from capital investment projects. However, as well as a capital investment pipeline, Mondi is growing through acquisition and spent €185m acquiring four other businesses last year.
It's hard to fault the operational progress it has achieved over the last few years and happily, that progress has translated into a steady move up in the share price, which I'm optimistic will continue. Even now, after such a long period of gains, the shares don't seem to over-value the firm. At today's share price around 1,874p, it trades on a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of just over 14 for 2018 and the forward dividend yield runs at 2.9%. City analysts following the firm expect forward earnings to cover the payout around 2.4 times.
With what I perceive as benign economic conditions around the world, I'm holding Mondi as a 'steady comer' in my portfolio.
Asset gains and a rising dividend
The other big-cap in my portfolio right now is 3i Group (LSE: III), the private equity firm that invests in smaller businesses and helps them grow.
I like the idea that by investing in big-cap 3i I get exposure to a portfolio of carefully chosen smaller firms without risking my capital on them directly. It uses its expertise and a network of professionals to guide its investee companies towards a step-change in growth, often supplying the capital needed to execute newly honed growth plans.
The company searches for businesses with enterprise values between €100m and €500m and aims to invest in the consumer, industrial, and business & technology sectors. Gains arrive when it is successful at pushing businesses onto a path of accelerating earnings improvements, often because of new expansion abroad. I reckon the best ways to measure its performance is to look at the firm's net asset value (NAV) and what the directors are doing with the dividend.
The news is good. The dividend is showing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) around 44% over the last five years or so and November's half-year report showed a 19% gain in NAV compared to the year before. At today's share price around 730p, the price-to-book value runs just above 1.32 and the dividend yield sits just above 3.1% for the year to March 2019, which doesn't strike me as an excessive valuation. I think 3i looks set to deliver further NAV gains from here.
Five more stocks with great long-term prospects
I'm keen on Mondi and 3I Group and believe there to be much more to come for investors with these two. However, to help you identify other potential winners for a balanced portfolio, The Motley Fool's top stock analysts produced an exclusive investment report called 5 Shares To Retire On.
The big-cap stocks featured in this research report have impressive records of dividend growth, which looks set to continue. Investing in these firms could drive decent portfolio returns to power your retirement fund. To find out more, download this free, no-obligation report today. Just click here.
Kevin Godbold owns shares in Mondi and 3I Group. The Motley Fool UK has no position in any of the shares mentioned. We Fools don't all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.


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Q: How to write web service in contrroller for this formated json in java While tring to use json data in java spring boot application, get an bad request message from postmain or application in web. Not able to find root cause of it.
Json Format used in application as follows
{
    "stateOfCharge": 30,
    "timeSpendAtDest": 30,
    "userId": 3745,
    "distanceInMeters": 2478.91864342829,
    "stationsList": [{
        "csId": 50,
        "csLat": 17.491125,
        "csLng": 78.397686,
        "energyLevel": "LEVEL1",
        "maxChargeTimeInMins": 720,
        "outPutRateInKw": 2,
        "price": 0.8,
        "distance": 126.31235091469274
    }, {
        "csId": 52,
        "csLat": 17.491168,
        "csLng": 78.398331,
        "energyLevel": "LEVEL2",
        "maxChargeTimeInMins": 480,
        "outPutRateInKw": 19,
        "price": 2.5,
        "distance": 85.98535639001425
    }, {
        "csId": 50,
        "csLat": 17.491125,
        "csLng": 78.397686,
        "energyLevel": "DCFAST",
        "maxChargeTimeInMins": 30,
        "outPutRateInKw": 350,
        "price": 15,
        "distance": 126.31235091469274
    }]
}

Controller written like this and getting 400 bad requeset responce in java
@PostMapping("/stations")
    @ApiOperation(value = "Get charging stations around 400 radius from the charging location.")
    @ApiResponses(value = {
            @ApiResponse(code = 200, message = "Success"),
    })
    public void findChargingStations(
            @ApiParam(value = "stateOfCharge") @NotNull @RequestParam Integer stateOfCharge,
            @ApiParam(value = "timeSpendAtDest") @NotNull @RequestParam Integer timeSpendAtDest,
            @ApiParam(value = "userId") @NotNull @RequestParam Integer userId,
            @ApiParam(value = "distanceInMeters") @NotNull @RequestParam Integer distanceInMeters,
            @RequestBody(value = "stationsList") @NotNull @RequestParam FindStations stationsList
            ) throws Exception {
        this.findChargingStationsService.getFilteredStations(stateOfCharge, timeSpendAtDest, userId, distanceInMeters,stationsList);
        return;
        }

FindStations is any interface for mapping fields
public interface FindStations {
    int getCsId();
    double getCsLat();
    double getCsLng();
    float getPrice();
    String getEnergyLevel();
    int getMaxChargeTimeInMins();
    int getOutPutRateInKw();
    int getDistance();
}

Can one help to sove the issue

A: You are sending some complex data to the backend. You may want to send it in the request body, not as request parameters.
You can use @RequestBody for that.
First, let's create some DTO classes for handling the data sent from the frontend:
public class StationRequest {
    private int stateOfCharge;
    private int timeSpendAtDest;
    private int userId;
    private double distanceInMeters;
    private List<Station> stationsList;

    public int getStateOfCharge() {
        return stateOfCharge;
    }

    public void setStateOfCharge(int stateOfCharge) {
        this.stateOfCharge = stateOfCharge;
    }

    // Other getters and setters omitted for readability. You may want to consider project Lombok
}

public class Station {
    private int csId;
    private double csLat;
    private double csLng;
    private String energyLevel;
    private int maxChargeTimeInMins;
    private int outPutRateInKw;
    private double price;
    private double distance;

    // Getters and setter omitted.
}

Let's create the controller:
@PostMapping("/stations")
public void findChargingStations(@RequestBody StationRequest stationRequest) {
    // Do some business logic
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Campbell on Life, Death, & the Afterlife
Cranky Scientist
Post by Cranky Scientist » Fri Feb 23, 2007 3:22 am
Fellow Associates,
In the "Did Campbell Convert" thread, the conversation took a lovely swerve into reincarnation, near-death experiences, and what happens to us after we die.
It seems like it was time to split off into a new thread. I invite all the lights and bulbs out there who have ever wondered about the switch being turned on and off to bring that discussion over here.
At the still point of the turning world. Neither flesh nor fleshless;
Neither from nor towards; at the still point, there the dance is,
But neither arrest nor movement. And do not call it fixity,
Where the past and future are gathered. Neither movement from nor towards,
Neither ascent nor decline. Except for the point, the still point,
There could be no dance, and there is only the dance.
I can only say, there we have been; but I cannot say where.
And I cannot say, how long, for that is to place it in time.
The inner freedom from the practical desire,
The release from action and suffering, release from the inner
And the outer compulsion, yet surrounded
By a grace of sense, a white light still and moving...
~Burnt Norton, T.S. Elliot~
[ This Message was edited by: Tree Hugger on 2003-03-08 02:26 ]
Painted Owl
Post by Painted Owl » Fri Feb 23, 2007 3:22 am
Reincarnation,is I believe the result of Hindu's taking the scripture in a purely literal sense.What was intended,and now I am quoting Alan Watts, was that from say hour to hour we are not the same person,personality as we think of it,is a long line or sting of memories of what we were, and we tend to define ourselves in a contenuity,becaues I would suppose it gives us a sense of order.
" The people whom enter a train to a given destination, are not the same people whom arrive there." Our bodies are constently dieing,and being renewed or regenerated.There is a similarity to many Christians whom read the bible literally.It is unfortunate that India's cast system was give birth by this wide spread misinterpertation.
Am I on topic as to the intent of this thread?
"Those whom know the most must mourn the deepest orr the fatal truth, the tree of knowledge is not that of life." Goethe
Martin_Weyers
Location: Odenwald
Contact Martin_Weyers
Post by Martin_Weyers » Fri Feb 23, 2007 3:22 am
I do agree: There is no constant ego, but a conglomerat of psychic energies. It's difficult to understand, that we are not what we think we are. So most people believe in the concretized idea of resurrection or reincarnation.
And maybe it's proper for them. I'm less optimistic than Campbell, that people could live with a deconcretized metaphor. It seems, that most people can not. It does only work for an elite of artists, mystics, academics, ...
Works of art are indeed always products of having been in danger, of having gone to the very end in an experience, to where man can go no further. -- Rainer Maria Rilke
[ This Message was edited by: Cranky Scientist on 2004-05-07 20:17 ]
Here's another example of Campbell talking about the afterlife, this time in response to an audience question. Here he compares the afterlife metaphors used by several different religious systems, both East and West.
In many traditions we find heavens and purgatories, both in the plural. This concept is present in all reincarnation systems: Jainism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and in the Persian system as well. The idea centers on persons in what might be called the "eternal sphere," in which their experiences reflect or recapitulate those of their lives in time.
Hell, properly, is the condition of people who are so bound to their ego lives and selfish values that they cannot open out to a transpersonal grace. It is beyond them to open themselves to something that will work as a spiritually transforming influence. They are therefore stuck with what they are, in this stunted place, for eternity. This is the Christian idea of Hell.
Christianity is the only religion that has the idea of a permanent condition called Hell. A mortal sin is regarded as an offense that condemns a person to Hell. Other religious systems view the Hell idea more as Christians do Purgatory -- that is, as a transit of purgation. One dies so bound to a limited system of values that one couldn't possibly open to the transcendence of the Beatific Vision of God in that condition. Purgatory is a pedagogical place and the ranges of Heaven are spread out according to the possibilities of one's spiritual realization.
When I was a little boy, I asked the nun who was my teacher, "If I go to Heaven will I have the same experience as Thomas Aqinas?
"Well," she said, "Your cup will be full, but it will be a little cup." That was not a bad answer.
Thou Art That, page 100
Clemsy
Location: The forest... somewhere north of Albany
Contact Clemsy
Post by Clemsy » Fri Feb 23, 2007 3:22 am
TH, et al,
Elliot's poem is perfect. I'll get to that later. Reincarnation became very attractive to me at an early age. My Catholic indoctrination undermined itself when in the first grade when I was informed that missing mass on Sunday got one damned to hell for all eternity. That they changed their policy later on matters not a wit. (I'm sure Christ banged his fist on the table at that board meeting!) Reincarnation made an elegant, poetic sense. That many cultures grew to this model in one form or another was very validating: Hindus, ancient Greeks, early Christians, some Native Americans, and more, I'm sure, that I'm not aware of. The Hindu model never appealed to me, although I could see its value: a culture in which any life form is a potential relative by necessity respects all life. That's a good thing. That the Hindus over generalized it into a social system is unfortunate, but any religion tends to over generalize into the social system.
The concept of Karma seems to follow that of reincarnation wherever you go. Early on I decided that even if not true, it's a great way to live: Karma demands you take personal responsibility for your life. I see a parallel between this and Campbell's 'follow your bliss'. When you are on your proper path, good things happen. There is a mystical quality to this that I, personally, can't deny. Coincidence is fine as far as it goes, but can be used as a blinder. Things happen. Elsewhere I've told the story of our move out of The City. Here's one item I didn't mention:
On our first visit to Saratoga Springs we passed a beautiful Victorian mansion that had been converted to apartments. We discussed how cool it would be to have the apartment with the top floor turret room. Some weeks later we decided to move to this most excellent of small American cities. We visited again and spent a weekend looking for an apartment to no avail. On our way home, we decided to check out that mansion. We walked out with a lease for the apartment with the top floor turret room. Karma, bliss, whatever.
Anyway, reincarnation is attractive to very many people. I wouldn't call it a religious belief, though. It's more a spiritual orientation. My mother believes in reincarnation! Catholics aren't allowed to! She doesn't care! I've also mentioned elsewhere when I, personally, left reincarnation behind. This is where Elliot's poem comes in.
Where the past and future are gathered.
Neither movement from nor towards,
Neither ascent nor decline.
Except for the point, the still point,
I like Eternity defined as timelessness. Surely, outside the perimeter of life time becomes irrelevant, if one can even discuss outside the perimeter of life. Past life, next life, this life, …all become meaningless in this context. Now, as an eternal point in an ever generating universe, is all. This leads to thoughts of 'concurrent' lifetimes, no? Instead of past life, the temptation is to say 'other life'. Perhaps my limited senses in this linear biological time stream blind me to the unity of all of my existences in the eternal now. (This would explain such oddities as Edgar Cayce, who came to reincarnation from a rather conservative Christian upbringing, and whose work is rather extensively documented.)
Be that is it may, or may not, my current stand on this is "So what?" It's interesting, it's fun, but all that matters is who you are and what you're doing now.
There is only the dance.
Location: Koh Samui
Post by Poncho » Fri Feb 23, 2007 3:22 am
There was a lot of good information on reincarnation in the earlier thread: Did Campbell convert? I've copied and pasted the relevant bits to save people switching back and forth between the two.
About the only joke that I know on reincarnation:
Consider the story of the two octogenarians on a park bench.
One asks the other: "Do you believe in reincarnation?"
"Well, Joe," replies Harry, "I've never really thought much about it."
"Maybe we ought to start thinking about it," says Joe. "One of us is going to go first. Let's agree that the one who is left behind will come to this park bench every Wednesday at 11:00 a.m., and the one who has departed will find a way of getting a message to him at that time about reincarnation and all those other things that are beyond our ken."
Harry agrees.
One month later, Joe dies peacefully in his sleep. Every week for several months, Harry takes up his station at the park bench at 11:00 a.m.
Then one Wednesday, at the appointed hour, he hears a voice, as though from afar.
"Harry, Harry, can you hear me?" the voice says. "It's Joe."
"Joe, for heaven's sake, what is it like?"
"You wouldn't believe it, Harry, about the only thing you do up here is make love. They wake you up at seven in the morning and you make love until noon. After lunch and a nap, you're at it again right through until dinner time."
"Good gosh, Joe, what are you and where are you?"
"I'm a rabbit in Montana!"
Campbell talks about Jung's psychological interpretation of a spiritual text. In fact, Jung was (I think in general, but at least in his later years) convinced, that there is a part of our consciousness that is independent from time and space.
In his autobiographical memories, written down by Aniela Jaffé, he is wondering about the possibility of a personal life after death. Not because he had a desire to live forth, he says, but because he had some experiences which made it believable for him.
What is much more important, and here, I think, he is very near to Campbell, is that he was convinced that there is an eternal consciousness: A part of our consciousness, he says, is beyond time and space. This is the same mystical view, like that which the Hindus call mythologically "Atman".
I think Kant was the philosopher (and in his tradition Schopenhauer) who made this point of view, which is known as "Philosophia Perennis", believable both for Jung and Campbell. (At least Jung had, in addition to that, shamanic visions and mystical experiences which consolidated this metaphysical view.)
Jung used "the self" generally related to personal psychological potentials, not in the sense of "Atman".
(Look at CALL TO ADVENTURE-forum!)
http://www.jcf.org/new/forum/viewtopic. ... forum=28&8
In my opinion, the return of personal consciousness to eternal consciousness is a mythological description of the philosophical insight, that "a part of your consciousness" belongs to eternity. (I don't like the expression "a part of our consciousness", because what is indeed eternal is not a part, but the non-separated TOTALITY of consciousness.) After death "you" (= your eternal self) will still be there, in the same sense like it is there now, while you are wondering about it. (After death you will not have to wonder about it anymore!) Today's "now" would not be eternal, if it would be separated from any "now" after your death or before you were born. "Now" is always the same: The eternal now is beyond time: Time and space are thought to be an expression of consciousness, not the other way round.
In POWER OF MYTH, Campbell interprets the idea of reincarnation as a mythological visualization of "Thou art That", which is the mystical insight, that it is always the same (unseparated) transcendental mystery, which incarnates in the (separated) forms of time and space.
That's why, in my opinion, Campbell's central spiritual belief was the Philosophia Perennis: The mystical insight into identity of all separated forms beyond the separating categories of time and space.
The "Christus Triumphans" is a Chritian symbol for exactly the same mystical insight: That it is always the same godlike mystery, which incarnates in the separated and mortal forms of time and space. I'm sure, that Campbell would have appreciated any other symbol, which represents the same idea, in the same way. Maybe he would have interpreted Tree Hugger's cyclic retreats and returns in the same way: Just another funny symbol for the same mystical insight. To come and go, come and go, ..., but in the essence to be always the same.
I have to admit that this idea of reincarnation is well above my head. I am having trouble understanding what this spirit or monod actually is.
My outer person/personality that everyone knows and loves and hates dies when my physical body/brain dies, is killed or simply "conks out" through over-use and dissipation. On death my spirit or monad or Witness or Christ within is released.
In some of the things I have read this inner part is pure and untouched by the way I've lived my life. It may have tried to help me through intuition or if I have accidently come into contact with it through for example a "peak experience". If that view is correct, I don't understand why it has any sins or blemishes that need to be burned off in purgatory or that must be resolved through another life. The things that have happened in this life are as a result of the way that I have chosen to live my life.
This week is the 50th anniversary of the death of Stalin, who was responsible for the deaths of at least 10 million people. I pity the poor monod who got the short straw and ended up inside him.
I guess that I had always assumed that the spirit within me was in some way linked to me. If you could separate it from my body it would be formless but it is still in some sense "me". When I physically died it is that inner part of me that is then transferred to another form up or down the scale of physical forms from Indra to ant or blade of grass (Prince Charles once told Camilla Parker Bowles, in a telephone conversation, that someone recorded and sent to the newspapers, that he wished that he could be reincarnated as one of her tampons/sanitary towels –and they say the English have no sense of romance!)
What's interesting for instance is "near death experiences", where people have died on the operating table, have had an "out of body" experience and have entered a tunnel and approached a bright white light. Sometimes they've entered a room where hooded men were sitting and have gone through their past lives and then been given the opportunity to return. When they've returned they've surprised the staff by recalling some of the doctors' conversation during their out of body experience.
I'm not sure therefore that I would agree with JC that reincarnation is a myth in the sense of being a symbol. What do others think? Thanks for your help.
Ivor Orr
I believe that models for spirit, whether it be reincarnation, heaven/hell, nirvana, etc., are essentially metaphors which are meant to direct us beyond to that for which language fails and fails utterly. Some people need these images to focus their attention on the Great Mystery, as it were. Very similar to Campbell's Masks of God analogy. Many get stuck on the mask.
maybe you should start a new thread about the idea of reincarnation as fact and as metaphor.
Campbell interprets the term in the mystical tradition. It is related to the mystical experience of the metaphysical unity of all phenomenal appearances. Aldous Huxley called it "perennial philosophy", and Campbell frequently referred to Huxley. Huxley interpreted his own mystical experiences. (They were evoked by drugs, but millions of people have had the same mystical experiences without external chemical support.) The philosophical concept he calls "perennial philosophy" is based on the concept of "philosophia perennis", coined by German philosopher Gottfried Wilhelm Leibnitz (1646 - 1716). The idea is briefly, that there's one transcendental mystery, that incarnates in the forms of time and space. We are incarnations of transcendence, and in this sense we are eternal, because the transcendental mystery is eternal. That is meant, when Campbell suggested to identify with the light, not with the bulb. Our bodies are like bulbs; What incarnates is the one transcendental light.
Reincarnation is a specific religious belief, just like heaven and hell and sitting with Jesus represent specific religious beliefs.
To me, it has seemed clear that Joseph Campbell viewed specific religious beliefs to be human efforts to concretize and understand the Great Unknown Mystery. Campbell preferred to consider those specific beliefs as metaphors for that unknown mystery, for the mysterium tremendum.
In my experience, metaphors feel much less comforting to most people than concretized religious beliefs do.
I have had a near death experience from anaphalactic shock. I spoke about it in another thread. Unfortunately, I deleted it -- one of my annoying habits.
I floated up above my body, I heard and saw all that was going on around me, my dead mother greeted me and told me that I had to go back because my family -- the people who love me -- would not make it if I died. It was too early. It wasn't my time to die. Nobody was ready. Go back.
And then an angry voice insulted me in the grossest terms possible and ordered my adrenal glands to immediately produce a large amount of adrenaline or I would die.
That angry voice was my own. Not an angel, not God, not Jesus, not even my dead mother's spirit as some of my more religious friends and family would like to believe.
The insult the voice delivered was the kind that would immediately produce an adrenaline rush if it was said to me in regular life in such an ugly and angry voice. It would produce a fight or flight reaction. In other words, it would produce the bodily hormone that counteracts anaphalcatic shock. I would live.
It was the same voice that narrates my dreams, although it seldom speaks in such an ugly tone. Sometimes the voice is impatient if my dreams keep sending me an image and I don't get it. The voice tells me to pay attention and gives me pointed clues. I didn't know for a long time that other people did not regularly dream in the same way.
I'm convinced that voice represents my Self, the Christ within, whatever you want to call it. Whatever it is, it's me. Not atman or anything outside the circle of me.
It is the wise part of me that always knows what to do. The unwise part of me, the part called my Ego, makes numerous blunders and mistakes.
My Self, the entire circle of me, knows exactly what to do and when to do it and how to do it. Unfortunately, I don't always have conscious access to the wisdom. Nor do any of us.
When my Self ordered my body to produce adrenaline, it did. Immediately. I went from dead, feeling nothing, to fully conscious and in great pain in a split second.
To my friends and family who believe in concretized religious ideas, my amazing recovery from death represented proof of God's existance. The fact that my dead mother spoke to me and told me to go back left many of them weeping with joy. It proved to them that she was in heaven and well and that when they died they would be with her for eternity.
Well, who am I to be a spoil sport?
I do not believe in concretized religious ideas, in heaven or hell, or in reincarnation. I have no idea what happens to our energy or spirit or soul when we die.
But I do believe that it was my Self doing the talking when I was croaked. My mother -- my personal memories of her and the archetypal mother of the collective unconscious -- resides within the circle that encompasses my Self.
Some of my therapist friends agree with that evaluation. And they think I need therapy to deal with my critical inner child or some such thing. They were appalled that my Self would say such ugly, unsupportive things to me.
Hey, I'm alive. You can't get much more supportive than that.
My experience, especially my meeting with my mother, brought joy to the hearts of my religious friends and relatives. They feel comforted knowing that she waits to greet them in Heaven when they die.
Now, me? I don't have to wait. She's part of my Self. She'll pop up whenever I need her. Metaphorically speaking, of course.
My devoutly religious sister hoped that my near death experience would bring me to the Lord. She hoped that I would convert. She's still hoping. It's good to know she'll never give up on me.
On 2003-03-07 08:40, Clemsy wrote:
"I believe that models for spirit, whether it be reincarnation, heaven/hell, nirvana, etc., are essentially metaphors which are meant to direct us beyond to that for which language fails and fails utterly. Some people need these images to focus their attention on the Great Mystery, as it were."
Don't forget that the metaphor reaches beyond mere words, death and temporal existence itself can be a metaphor for the our own transcendent existence. I always liked the Light bulb analogy martin mentioned, but to expand on that I thought of a new one.
Imagine instead of a body you had a musical instrument (genetics, socio-economic variables, and developed beliefs allow for what kind and quality of instrument), and the music that is played is the life you lead (peak experiences being the times at which the music is at its most resonant). Of course no man is an island, So, all of existence playing together form a symphony (or million piece hard rock band, depending on your viewpoint). Now comes the question of reincarnation.
If some part of what you identify with as yourself returns after death, what part is it? The instrument? Perhaps you were a beat up old violin in a past life and now you're a Stratavarious, no we are mostly perfect when we are born, quality comes through use. So, we must be the music, playing the same tune over and over till we get it so right that the whole piece, from start to end, is a peak experience, maybe ... I just don't think that leads itself to individuation. More likely it marks the eternal memory of an individual life (this is what the Buddhists would call dharma). Though once everyone is playing in perfect harmony, it might as well all be the same song.
No I think we, our eveternal spirits, are the musicians, unseen, unheard, only capable of speaking through their music, but without whom there would be no music. Indeed many of us rarely, sometimes never, play even one note (though I don't think that includes anyone here). Those are the musicians certainly destined to return until they learn how to play. Of course that only leave explanation of the conductor. But I'll leave that one to you to think up.
Well done, JR. I would say, perhaps, we all go back to/become/are the Conductor. We get another assignment, more sheet music and return to the orchestra.
Metaphorically speaking, of course.
Tree Hugger,
you're right, near death experiences can not supply evidence for afterlife. They provide a rich SYMBOLIC world. But symbolic for what? And out of which psychic abyss do these image arise? Here lies the mystery! It's much more mysterious than scepticists like Sagan believe, but the personages you are meeting while you are experiencing "near death" are symbolical representations, no question about it.
the music/instrument metaphor is a very nice metaphor and is capable of illustrating a real Campbellian view, because it can be related both to life as dance and cosmos as symphony - two of Professor Joe's favourite metaphors. In my opinion we (= our bodies) are the instruments, but at the same time we (= our "true selves") are the music, or at least the harmonies. I don't believe in a composer, not even in a conductor. But I believe in the music, and that it's our job to transform the sounds and harmonies into rhythms and melodies. To play our instrument is our job, not that of anyone else.
Martin, if you've never read Tolkien's creation story you really should try it. It's the first story in the Silmarillion, can't remember the name at the moment and my kid has the book upstairs.
In it the universe was created by Illuvatar as music, from beginning to end, then revealed in the field of time and space. It's really quite a beautiful story. I far prefer it to Genesis, with which it has many parallels.
"…but the personages you are meeting while you are experiencing "near death" are symbolical representations, no question about it."
Ooooh.. careful with that 'no question about it'! Who knows? Many are confident in the reverse. Who am I to say otherwise? As you say, being the music is more important anyway. Later on is a dream, and after death the most nebulous one.
"... being the music is more important anyway. Later on is a dream, and after death the most nebulous one."
Yes, it's nebulous, Clemsy, and I have had only a few flashes of clear light in the realms of mist so far. And it's no good to conduct in the mist.
Do you know the chapter "The symbol without meaning" in FLIGHT OF THE WILD GANDER? I'm neither a religious believer, nor I'm a scepticist. When I say "ONLY symbolical", I MEAN "only symbolical". When I say "mystery" I MEAN a Mystery. But the images are projected, no other way to deal with the last things. Eternity is an empty bottle, believe me. Nothing but mist in it. What is mysterious, is the projector, just you and me. Every image we are able to create, is borrowed from everyday's experience. It's only an allusion to eternity, like the apparition of Mom.
The way I see it, death is as a nebulous dream to life in the same way that waking life is as a nebulous to the dreamer. The appropriate cliche is "Perhaps our perception of life is the dream and all else is reality." Maybe there's more truth to that than cliche. I think if you took a straw pole of the accociates, you'd find most of us have had experiences that have tested our boundaries, perhaps even enough to begin questioning where reality stops and something else begins. Of course in order to do that you have to first define reality. Some of us skip the experience all together (more likely ignore it) and jump right into the defining.
This is essentially where Campbell began, being exposed to the scientific discoveries of the 20th century lead him to an irreconcilable rift between what he saw as logical scientific fact, and a religious doctrine that stated otherwise. Since the religions of the world weren't about to change their beliefs for him, I don't see how he could ever have reconstructed his faith in the face of his own knowledge. To me this also explains his aversion to remaining in the East and attaining enlightenment. How could he do so without throwing away totally his understanding of modern science. He was, in the end, bound to the temporal. Yet, not in the way most people are bound, that is in Samsara. I think it was his belief that science would somehow find a way of reconciling that rift between itself and religious doctrine, it just hadn't done so yet.
Maybe he did have some unexplanable experiences that spurred him on, I like to think so. I myself have had several, and it is my understanding of science today that leads me to believe that there may yet be an explaination just 'round the corner that goes beyond the psychological to the physical. Or maybe the cliche is right and the answers will be found when we treat the psycic as a wavelength of the physic.
Oh ... I've just remembered another joke:
The only person in my family who believed in reincarnation was my Uncle Norman. Uncle Norman would tell us this story.
"I remember one lifetime where I was a frog. A beautiful, beautiful, woman came by, she kissed me and I turned into a handsome prince. I tell you, women, they always want to change you."
Greetings from over the Silver Sea
[ This Message was edited by: ivor orr on 2003-03-10 07:15 ]
I don't want to cast doubts on your projection qualities.
I don't know anything about your projection qualities. But your memory is not so bad. I have quoted before from The Campbell Companion, pp. 104-105:
I think the idea of life after death is a bad idea. It distracts you from appreciating the uniqueness of the here and now, the moment you are living. For example, if you think that when you die your parents will be there and you'll live with them forever, you may no longer appreciate the significant moments that you share with them on earth.
It's interesting, that Campbell argues here pedagogically. Or maybe better: therapeutically; good is defined here as a an idea that is good for your psychological health, bad is defined as an idea that is bad for your psychological health. Philosophically, his argument could not withstand, because it's not logical: The idea of afterlife is a bad idea, if you are in the center of life, because it misguides your consciousness from the experience of life to an abstract concept or a vague idea. If you are facing death, the idea of an afterlife could be - pedagogically, not philosophically! - a good idea, so far as you have not yet transcended your body consciousness - so far as you are still identifying with the bulb, not with the light. Campbell tells (on p. 55) from the sutras: The Buddha is "asked how one person helps another face death." And the Buddha tells the story of a burning house. It's a good idea, to tell children in the house, that outside there is "a darling little goat cart", to make it easier for them to get out of the burning house...
But if you are identifying with the light, not with the bulb, with your deepest self and not with your body, with undifferentiated consciousness and not with ego consciousness, than there is no need to believe in that darling little goat cart; At the contrary, it would distract you from real life, to believe in such promises. If the person who is dying is an advanced or illuminated learner of the reality of undifferentiated consciousness, it will be no problem for him to get out of the burning house of life:
When you support someone who is dying, you are helping that person to identify with the consciousness that is going to disengage from the body. We disengage from various things all of our lives. Finally, we identify with consciousness and disengage from our bodies.
And so, the death of one for whom you feel compassion shouldn't be an affliction. Your attachment is the temporal aspect. Hence, you can reconcile yourself to feelings of loss by identifying with that which is not lost when all is lost: namely, the consciousness that informs the body and all things. This yielding back into undifferentiated consciousness is the return, and that is as far as you can think, as much as you can know. The rest is transcendent of all conscious knowledge.
Martin Weyers
[ This Message was edited by: Martin on 2003-03-10 16:31 ]
~The Campbell Companion, pp. 104-105:
I hope you are aware, that my thoughts about afterlife and universal consciousness (in Susie's afterlife-
thread) are not to be mixed up with those clerical ideas you brought up here! I know that you don't believe in plant consciousness or consciousness independent from brains, but I agree with every word of your message!
I thought this was a reaction on the afterlife-discussion in Susie's thread!
On 2003-04-24 15:18, Tree Hugger wrote:
The plant is alive. The plant eats sunlight and minerals, it drinks water, it digests, excretes, respirates, reproduces, and many plants have chemical defenses to aggressively protect themselves or attack other organisms.
Isn't that true also for cars and airplanes, machines and fabrics and supermarkets? (Replace water through petrol or money and so forth!) (Okay, reproduction is still the most difficult job! But it works!) All these positivist criteria are no evidence for consciousness.
My body consciousness knows what to do with food after I eat it. I'd starve to death if I had to consciously extract nutrients as I digested.
My body knows what to do in order to produce a child. If I became pregnant, my body consciousness would know exactly what to do with that embryo even before I was aware of its existance.
If I am under attack, my H-P-A axis jumps into action, filling my body with hormones that will prime my muscles to fight or run.
None of that is under the direct control of my conscious awareness. It takes place wihtout my Ego knowing about it.
Isn't that true for the planet earth as well, that she protects herself by constructing an atmosphere? And doesn't struggle for life and the work of the lowest chakras already take place at the level of atoms and molecules?
I think the mistake you and many scepticists - but surprisingly in the very same way also many very "spiritual" people! - are making is, that your understanding of consciousness is based on what we know (through experience or reading Freud), but not on that what we do not know.
Maybe Campbell was wrong about his grape-vine. But it was definitely no balderdash!
Ask your friend to become an associate!

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Disclosure: We were invited on this day out for the purpose of this review and all opinions are my own.
Last weekend we kicked off the school holidays in style with a trip to Drusillas Park in Sussex. It's somewhere we go once a year or so and it's always a really lovely family day out with so many different aspects to keep the children entertained. The weather was fantastic – so hot and sunny with very few clouds in the sky so we knew we were in for a really lovely start to the summer.
On this visit to Drusillas Park we decided to do things differently – and headed straight for the rides at the furthest side of the park. This ended up being a great decision as the children got onto all the rides straight away and really enjoyed themselves.
This year Drusillas Park have a new Go Safari area of rides which has replaced the previous paddling pool – and there is no sign of the old Thomas the Tank branding anymore either. Instead the train ride that we have come to know and love is now a really lovely safari train – complete with animal themed jokes and safari music.
There's also a hippo ride and a flying cheetah ride which were both great fun and worked well with the rest of the park. After these rides we went to the Hello Kitty area and the children loved that they were tall enough to go on all the Hello Kitty rides by themselves – and it was nice to be able to watch LP and Little Man being more independent too.
We then made our way to the Get Wet splash zone which wasn't very busy – due to us navigating the park in reverse. The children got straight into their swimmers and had a great time running in and out of the water jets. This area is fantastic – just the right size to be able to watch the children enjoying themselves and with well thought out flooring choices to make it a really safe space for children to play. It's the perfect splash park.
After a while the children had a break from their water fun and sat down with us to enjoy our picnic. Having a picnic really fit well with our day out but Drusillas Park does have plenty of places to buy refreshments as well. Afterwards the children had a while longer in the splash park before we dried them off and headed on our way to experience more of Drusillas Park.
The play areas at Drusillas Park are fantastic – there are so many of them, they cater for all ages and abilities and the children could have spent all day on them. In the end, they had half an hour of playing before we headed to the zoo.
The zoo at Drusillas Park is a real highlight and we grabbed Animal Spotter Books when we arrived so the children could collect stamps as they saw each different kind of animal. This sort of activity really keeps the children engaged whilst looking around the zoo and teaches them so much in the process too.
Drusillas Park has so many animals and the first ones we went to see were the lemurs in their walk through enclosure. This is a great space and let us go right up to the lemurs.
There was also a great lorikeet enclosure where we could pay £1 for a pot of nectar to feed the lorikeets. LP and Little Man loved this and getting to feed animals is always such a highlight of a trip to the zoo.
The rest of the zoo showed us so many different animals – otters, monkeys, flamingoes, owls, penguins, camels and meerkats. The variety of animals was fantastic and although there aren't many big animals the children loved all the animals at Drusillas Park – and so many were easy to spot in their enclosures too and being really sociable.
Our day out at Drusillas Park finished with ice creams and a trip to the shop to get our obligatory day out magnet. It was such a lovely, full day and the whole family really enjoyed it. Drusillas Park is somewhere you could easily stay from the time the park opens until it closes and we can't wait to visit again in the future.


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After a much-welcomed break of a few days, war was on again for the Waddington squadrons tonight. It was a bright, sunny day as the ground staff began to prepare the aircraft with 1,950 gallons of fuel and more than ten tons of bombs each, and the crews began their own preparations. Phil Smith was among a number of crews who took their aircraft on air tests during the day. Also on the air test with him was Pilot Officer Anthony Tottenham, a new pilot who would also accompany the crew of B for Baker on the operation tonight.
The target was Stuttgart and it was to be a big effort from both squadrons: 463 detailed seventeen crews and 467 had nineteen on the battle order, with at least one of them (skippered by Flight Sergeant Roland Cowan) taking a 463 Squadron aircraft as their own was not available. For Pilot Officers Roland Llewelyn and John Roberts it was to be a significant day. They were on their first solo operations as captains.
The first aircraft to depart Waddington, with Roberts at the controls, departed at 19.04 hours. They faced a flight of some 1500 miles, or almost eight hours in the air.
In all, a force of 863 bombers were sent to the city. Ten Mosquitos were sent on a diversionary raid to Munich in support of the Main Force, to drop spoof route markers and target indicators in a bid to look like the opening of a large attack. Meanwhile more Mosquitos were to attack Stuttgart ten minutes before the Main Force arrived, then twice more after it left. Other planned targets were to be the Amiens marshalling yards by 140 Halifaxes and Stirlings, an aero-engine factory at Woippy (near Metz) by 22 Lancasters and airfields in Holland by Mosquitos. Finally, other aircraft would be engaged on Serrate anti-nightfighter patrols, mining sorties, Resistance operations and some leaflet trips by Operational Training Unit crews.
The two Australian squadrons flew their aircraft via Reading to cross the coast near Selsey Bill, just east of Portsmouth. Not for the first time, the crew of Flight Lieutenant Jack Colpus encountered mechanical trouble in JA901. On this trip most of the crew felt ill from a defect in the oxygen system, and there was also a problem with the hydraulics that powered both turrets. The mid-upper gunner needed to refill the 'spindle' that supplied the system with oil "at least 40 times before getting to [the] target." At least on this occasion they reached their objective and returned safely: since late January, mechanical breakdowns had forced this crew to make two early returns from operations.
The first aircraft to fall to enemy action was shot down by a nightfighter over the Channel. The bombers crossed the French coast near Le Havre, where flak claimed another aircraft. South-west of Paris, the bombers turned towards the east for a long leg of some 350 miles. A number of crews complained that the length of this segment of the route made navigation difficult. "Suggest on such a long leg as tonight a route marker off track would have given a good check," said Flying Officer Alan Finch in his post-raid interrogation report. Perhaps this contributed to the loss of four aircraft which were shot down by flak on this leg.
An hour before reaching the target, Pilot Officer Colin James of 463 Squadron had a starboard engine catch fire and lose oil pressure. He feathered the engine but was struggling to maintain height on three. They jettisoned their two thousand-pounders, discovered they could now just about stay in straight and level flight, and so limped on to Stuttgart.
Seeing the large force of bombers approaching on their radar screens, the German nightfighter controllers had to judge where the likely target would be and subsequently where they should deploy their aircraft. Tonight they split their forces into two: one group was positioned near Metz, north of the bombers' outward track – perhaps drawn there by the Woippy force – and the second was even further to the north. The first group caught up with the main stream near Epinal. From here they fought a running battle all the way to the target, making a reported 24 attacks and in the process claiming ten bombers. Not far from Lake Constance on the Swiss-German border (which would become infamous as the site of one of the world's worst mid-air collisions in 2002), the diversionary Mosquitos continued another 120 miles east towards Munich. The Main Force, however, turned north towards the real target – Stuttgart. But the controllers were not deceived by the spoof flares and bombs at Munich. They moved their second group of fighters into the target area, waiting for the bombers.
During an operation, experienced crews would act as 'wind finders' for the entire force (Jack Colpus's crew were tasked with this role on this trip). The navigators of these crews would calculate the wind they were experiencing at regular intervals, and then transmit it back to Bomber Command headquarters, where it would be compared against the results of all other windfinders, and an average re-broadcast to the rest of the Main Force. Tonight, it was discovered that the wind was stronger than forecast and the stream was running late. The first Pathfinder markers dropped at 23.09, one minute before the planned zero hour but four minutes later than scheduled. Subsequent Pathfinders and Main Force crews were up to fifteen minutes late, and the attack became a little drawn-out. Some crews even dropped their bombs on a flare believed to have been a German decoy (possibly the one seen by Pilot Officer Victor Trimble, about 20 miles short of the target).
Reading the crews' post-raid reports in the Operational Record Books, the salient feeling is one of disappointment. The Pathfinders were late, and though there appear to have been short periods when the target indicators were reasonably concentrated there were other times where only a single Wanganui skymarker flare was visible. One crew were even forced to bomb the "estimated centre" of the position where they had just seen three Wanganuis fizzle out (this was the crew of Pilot Officer Fred Cassell, who had lost an engine earlier in the trip and were the last Waddington aircraft to bomb as a result). Many crews reported seeing incendiaries burning on the ground well short of the aiming point. The stream itself appears to have been reasonably concentrated however: at 23.24 hours no less than nine Waddington aircraft bombed in the same minute. One of them, captained by Flying Officer Jim Marshall, passed so close behind another aircraft it was thrown around by wake turbulence violently enough to upset the gyro compass.
Surprisingly, the target was only relatively lightly defended. The flak guns put up a loose barrage as the bombers arrived, and there was virtually no searchlight activity. Even so, the ground defences claimed three attackers. Many crews reported seeing fighters over the target and twenty three attacks were reported, but only two more bombers were shot down at this point.
After bombing, the stream flew on another twenty or so miles beyond the target before starting a big turn towards the south west (Jim Marshall's aircraft got a little lost here and ended up passing between Karlsruhe and Mannheim, a little to the north west of the intended track, a result of the compass upset they suffered over the target). Two bombers fell to nightfighters before the French frontier was reached south of Strasbourg, and flak claimed one more there as the bomber stream turned west towards the coast. A further two aircraft were shot down by radar-controlled nightfighters over France. A few crews complained that, once again, some bombers had jettisoned incendiaries on the way home. Pilot Officer Harold Coulson opined afterwards that Something Should Be Done to stop the practice as the route home was marked clearly by them, increasing the risk of fighter interception. The crew of one bomber bailed out near Beauvais on the final run to the French coast, though it was not certain whether or not this was due to enemy action.
The bombers finally crossed the enemy coast again near Dieppe, returning to their bases the same way they came out via Selsey Bill and Reading. Approaching Waddington just before four o'clock in the morning, the crew of 463 Squadron Lancaster ED606 – captained by Pilot Officer William Graham – could perhaps have been forgiven for relaxing just a tiny bit. After all, they had just completed their very first operation as a crew. They had flown deep into enemy territory, taken part in a massed bombing attack and were now back safely over a friendly country. But disaster struck while they were circling overhead the airfield awaiting their turn to land. A 625 Squadron Halifax, returning to its base at Kelstern (22 miles north east of Waddington), flew straight through the Waddington 'stack' and collided with the Lancaster. They crashed at Branston, just a couple of miles from Waddington. All on board both aircraft were killed.
All 467 Squadron aircraft returned safely, but as well as the men involved in the collision so close to home, 463 Squadron lost one more crew on this trip. ME573, captained by John Roberts, had been the first aircraft to depart Waddington earlier in the evening. Their Lancaster crashed just north of Stuttgart with the loss of all on board.
Roberts led one of a total of thirty six crews which failed to return from Stuttgart. Nine of these were known to have fallen to flak and seventeen to nightfighters. Two were believed destroyed in a collision over the channel. The remaining ten simply vanished. The two aircraft which collided near Waddington were in addition to these losses, as were a further three aircraft damaged beyond repair in landing accidents and one lost in a ditching. On the other side of the ledger, seven enemy fighters had been destroyed.
The general impression of the raid, according to one 463 Squadron crew, was that the attack "generally fell short." Another crew called it a "very poor prang." Pilot Officer James – who had suffered the engine failure an hour before the target, jettisoned his thousand-pounders and carried on to attack on three engines – said it was "not a very healthy trip." James also had to deal with the failure of the Monica early-warning system, half the guns in the rear turret and the entire mid-upper turret. In the circumstances this comment is a remarkable understatement.
Phil Smith's logbook shows that his target photograph was plotted some six miles south-west of the aiming point. He would not have been alone. The crews' initial impressions would prove correct when the photo reconnaissance results came in a week and a half later, showing that the raid was "scattered over a large area, mostly to the S.W. of the target."  Staggeringly, no bombing photographs, according to the Night Raid Report, showed evidence that any aircraft (out of the 778 that reported attacking the target) got within three miles of the aiming-point. Once again, the critical importance of the Pathfinders had been made clear. If the Pathfinders were on target, the bombs would fall on the target. But if the markers missed, so did the following bombs. On this occasion, the Night Raid Report records, the weight of the attack "evidently fell outside the town". Nevertheless, there did occur what it called "useful industrial damage," albeit in suburbs and outlying districts rather than in the city itself. It also records a direct hit on a large railway viaduct and damage to a number of factories, but cautions that, as American bombers had attacked the city after this operation and before photographic reconnaissance was able to be carried out, some of the damage found must also be attributed to that later raid.
While the Stuttgart raid was perhaps not the most successful in terms of damage inflicted, the Amiens force had better success. They caused heavy damage to the marshalling yards, for the loss of three heavy bombers. But the factory at Woippy escaped entirely when the attacking force found the target covered in cloud; all bombers brought their bombs home safely. The only other casualty from the evening's operations was one Mosquito which failed to return from a Serrate patrol.


The resort is situated on the ECR, conveniently located away from the crowded areas and still just 10 minutes away from Mahabalipuram and about 1 hour drive from Chennai.
Our resort is located 72 km from Chennai— an enjoyable 2-hour drive along the coastline will get you to The Village Retreat. OLA rides and private cabs are also available from the city.
From Puducherry, our resort is located at a distance of 88 km, a relaxing 2.5 hour drive away. OLA rides and private cabs are available from the city.


The Beaumaris Motor Yacht Squadron dress code policy is designed to establish and maintain an acceptable appearance to ensure sure that we do not to offend fellow members or visitors.
The Beaumaris Motor Yacht Squadron dress code policy applies to all persons entering the clubrooms.
• Everyone is expected to be well-groomed and wear clean clothing, free of holes, tears, or other signs of wear.
• Clothing with offensive or inappropriate messaging are not allowed.
• Footwear is required at all times.
• Head wear of any kind except for social events ie: Cocktail Parties, Melbourne Cup etc.
Please note: Clothing and grooming styles dictated by religion or ethnicity are exempt.


This organization will be called the Advanced Photon Source Users Organization (APSUO).
All badged APS users are APSUO members.
Annual User Meetings will be held at the APS site. The APSUO Steering Committee shall be responsible for the programs of the User Meetings. APSUO members shall receive appropriate advance notice of the Meetings.
A Steering Committee will conduct the business of the APSUO. Four members will be elected by the APSUO through an electronic voting procedure at the time of the User Meeting. The open election period shall precede the User Meeting by no less than two weeks, and will close at the User Meeting. All APSUO members and prospective users who attend the User Meeting are eligible to vote. The elected members' terms expire at the third following User Meeting so that, in general, the Steering Committee will have 12 regular members.
The Steering Committee is responsible for preparing a slate of qualified candidates and providing advance notice of the election to the APSUO membership. Any APSUO member may suggest candidates to the Steering Committee. In addition, nominations shall be accepted by petition of 0.5% or more of the APSUO members in support of a candidate.
To promote representation of smaller interest groups, a weighted system of voting shall be used. Each ballot may select up to four candidates, with the first choice assigned four points, the second choice assigned three points, and so on. Tie votes shall be decided by a coin toss.
The officers of the APSUO will be a Chair and a Vice-Chair. At the first meeting held after the dates of the User Meeting, the Steering Committee shall elect from its voting members a Vice Chair, who will be responsible for organizing the scientific program for the next User Meeting. At that User Meeting, the Vice-Chair will succeed the Chair. The former Chair will remain as a nonvoting ex-officio member of the Steering Committee until the following User Meeting.
Officers' terms on the Steering Committee shall be extended as needed to perform the above services.
The Steering Committee shall meet at the time of the User Meeting and at such other times as called for by the Chair or by a majority of the Steering Committee membership. A Quorum consists of a majority of the Steering Committee membership. Argonne National Laboratory will be responsible for providing administrative and financial support.
The APSUO shall be advisory to the Associate Laboratory Director (ALD) for the Advanced Photon Source.
Proposed changes to the bylaws shall be presented by the Steering Committee to the APSUO membership, who will cast votes through electronic means. An open voting period of no less than two weeks is required. These bylaws shall be amended by a favorable vote of two-thirds of ballots cast.


text:
Garth Brooks, Chris Christie and the News Media
Back in 2000 when country music superstar Garth Brooks took part in New York Mets spring training to raise money for his children's foundation, he quickly learned that major league pitching was not the only thing to which he had to adjust. Although Brooks was used to dealing with the press as an entertainer, he discovered that professional athletes have a much different relationship with the media.
"There are no reporters in Brooks's dressing room when he goes from town to town on a concert tour," Tyler Kepner wrote in a New York Times article about the musician's excursion into the world of baseball. "Fans do not know where he stays on the road. He gives interviews when he has a specific reason to do so. 'If I don't want to be got to, no one can touch me,' Brooks said."
Brooks's story comes to mind this month because of a series of news reports, columns and blog postings about another individual who now finds himself dealing with the press under a different set of rules – Republican gubernatorial candidate Chris Christie.
A widely circulated theory about Christie is that, in dealing with the news media, he has not completely adjusted from his former role as U.S. Attorney for New Jersey — which allowed him to set and control the agenda — to his new role as a candidate where everything is always on the table.
On the surface it sounds logical, especially after digesting the coverage about Christie's reaction to charges that he has awarded lucrative no-bid contracts in return for favors. Together, the news reports painted a picture of a candidate who was thin-skinned, angry at the media, and unfamiliar with what comes with the territory when one runs for political office. As Alfred Doblin wrote in The Record, "Candidate Christie still is not ready for prime time."
But there is another theory that also makes sense when applied to Christie's dealings with the media – and that is Kathleen Hall Jamieson's theory about storylines. Jamieson, an author who is regarded as an expert on political campaigns, contends that there are times when a storyline is so believable that its "facts" become taken for granted. As a result, journalists fail to question and challenge these storylines and end up producing news reports that support them.
In her book The Press Effect, Jamieson provides a series of examples to support her theory, such as unchallenged embellishments contained in the Willie Horton ad that was used in the 1988 presidential campaign. She describes these examples as "instances in which reporters failed to investigate and locate the facts that would have undercut the coherence of a story being told because the lens they adopted made fact-finding seem unnecessary or irrelevant."
Those are strong words and they are not likely to sit well with members of the media.
But let's take a look at the Christie case. Is he really having trouble adjusting to his new role as a candidate? Or is this just another storyline that has been taken for granted and now is being supported by news reports?
There are compelling arguments on both sides of this issue, and this is not something likely to be proved conclusively one way or the other. But it does make for good copy and great political theater. And maybe that's what New Jersey needs to get the citizenry interested and involved in the race for Governor, so they learn where the candidates stand on the critical issues confronting our state as opposed to learning — as we did during Chris Christie's April 6 press conference — that he was wearing a blue and orange tie because it was opening day for the New York Mets — the same New York Mets that once taught Garth Brooks a valuable lesson about dealing with the news media.
This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged Bergen Record, Chris Christie, Garth Brooks, Jon Corzine, Kathleen Hall Jamieson, New Jersey, New York Mets, New York Times, Willie Horton on April 15, 2009 by Rich Lee.
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text:
Iowa Man Drove 103mph Because His Wife Needed Feminine Hygeine Products
Goose Published: September 29, 2021
artisteer
An Iowa man is fighting the suspension of his driver license a year after his original offense, saying he was just speeding because his wife needed sanitary products.
According to court records, on September 14, 2020, Saleh Ali Nasr of Coralville was stopped by police for speeding on Highway 27 in Lee County. He was clocked at 103mph in a 65mph zone.
During the traffic stop, Nasr told the officer he was travelling at that speed because he had to get sanitary pads for his wife.
In October 2020, Nasr, now 23-years-old, paid the $314 ticket he received for driving 38mph over the speed limit. On October 2nd, the Iowa Department of Transportation informed him that his license was suspended.
Nasr went ahead and applied for an appeal, but on December 9th, the DOT upheld their suspension of the license. A second appeal went to a hearing, with Nasr's lawyer issue being whether or not the officer exhibited a personal bias against Nasr.
The judge, Kristine Dreckman, also considered whether or not Nasr's request for a driving improvement course had been properly considered, the Iowa Capital Dispatch reported.
Dreckman inevitably upheld the suspension of Nasr's driver license, finding none of his arguments to be good enough to justify a reduction of DOT's suspension.
Nasr then appealed that decision on June 18th, 2021, and was again denied by DOT Reviewing Officer Mike Raab.
Since, he's also applied for a judicial review of that decision, arguing the DOT's actions are unreasonable, arbitrary, capricious and an abuse of discretion.
The way I see it, regardless of whatever claims he's made against the officer, he was still travelling at a dangerous speed, and 38mph over the speed limit.
Hidden Pizza Gem 1 Hour Outside The Quad Cities
Having the best pizza in the Quad Cities has always been a fierce competition. I mean we even have our own version of pizza for goodness sake. While there are some incredible pizza joints in the Quad Cities, there are other pizza places that you need to visit. Geno's Pizza in Preston, IA is one of those places. It's less than an hour's drive from the Quad Cities and it's a spot you need to try.
Source: Iowa Man Drove 103mph Because His Wife Needed Feminine Hygeine Products


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The focus of this work is to identify the complicated social and psychological dynamics that produce teen girls with serious problems with depression, eating disorders, self-mutilation, and drug and alcohol abuse.
Mary Pipher, Ph.D. is a psychologist in private practice in Lincoln, Nebraska. She is also the author of The Shelter of Each Other: Rebuilding Our Families, Another Country: Navigating the Emotional Terrain of Our Elders, and Letters to a Young Therapist.


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HOME > Gallery > Artists > Leon Oks > INTERVIEW
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Leon Oks
Buffalo Grove, IL
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Gallery Direct Interview with LEON OKS
Leon has exceptional vision, combining dynamic movement and multiple perspectives with romanticism and emotion, to reveal joy and sadness in equal measures. With fluid brush strokes, he unites form and vivid color into a tapestry of unique inspiration that taps into a range of human experiences
I understand you were born in Russia. Could you tell us at what age you moved to the United States and what were the circumstances surrounding this move?
I was 40 years old when I came to this country. Like many immigrants, my family was seeking basic freedoms that were denied to us in the former Soviet Union. As an artist, I, of course, was particularly eager to have a chance to pursue my work in whatever creative direction I chose. This was not possible at all under the communist regime. Of course, that has somewhat changed now.
Did you receive most of your education in the United States and when did you decide to pursue the arts as a career?
I was formally educated in the USSR and graduated from the local art university in my hometown. I knew I wanted to be an artist from early childhood and can remember being age 6, drawing and painting whenever I could.
Sea Orchids
What formal or informal education have you found to be most useful?
I can say that the most useful education for me came from pure work on my own - the constant practice of painting whenever I had the chance. Additionally, I have to give credit to one specific artist who gave me lessons in his studio and passed down to me an understanding of what I call "real art". He molded my tastes and perceptions of art and opened my eyes to a lot of contemporary work, therefore freeing me creatively to go in all sorts of modern directions on my canvas.
During your career, who or what would you say has given you the most inspiration?
Apart from the artist I mention above, I am inspired by the Impressionists, and a group of 19th century Russian artists that centered around figures such as Serov and Repin. Also, there is reality itself in the forms that nature reveals to us and the people that I have encountered. I am greatly inspired when working with live models. Painting from nature, for example, was a vital experience for me in gaining my color sense.
Your work is all about the human experience. Could you tell us how your life experiences have influenced your work?
My childhood was bittersweet as I was growing up at a very difficult time and place. My family suffered greatly during WWII and the sadness of those times is most likely reflected in many of the faces of the figures on my canvas. However, almost all of my paintings have a positive energy and a pleasing palette, for it is important for me to convey that kindness and beauty can triumph over all.
Lyric Night
Your work is very recognizable. Could you tell us a how you developed this style and how your work has changed from the beginning of your career?
European art training at the time of my university days emphasized the draftsmanship and virtuosity of the Old Masters and I enjoyed that learning experience. However, I always wanted to try something new that looked unlike anyone else's work. As a teenager, my style was that of the Impressionists and right around age 23, it took a totally different turn as I began to experiment with more 20th century approaches. Even in my early work, you can see the "Imaginative Expressionism" that my paintings display today. My color palette was what kept changing and improving, reflecting the mood that I was experiencing at that time. Still today, however, when I am moved by the beauty of nature, I return to my Impressionist "youth"!
Could you tell us about your latest series of paintings and what inspired you to do them?
My most recent paintings have taken on a tinge of worldly reflection. I have been painting fantastical interpretations of current day concerns, but always with a glimmer of hope and optimism. I am experimenting with different color palettes and am also focusing more and more on sketching and working with live models.
Above the Moon
What are your favorite pieces of work that you have done and why are they your favorites?
My favorites are "Dream", "Party Girls" and 'Easter Island" just to name a few off the top of my head. "Dream" is simple in palette and composition yet still expresses a lot of emotion. "Party Girls" I like for the almost opposite reason in that it has a fairly intricate and specific structure with the figures weaving in and out of each other but also creating a pleasing unity. "Easter Island" was literally inspired by the sculptures on Easter Island. I have a strong response to those stony faces that are filled with such great symbolism and solemnity. I feel like my version does too.
Bird of Love
You have had many hi-lights in your career. Could you tell us what you feel has been your greatest success and most memorable experience during your career as an artist?
This is a difficult question to answer. I felt extremely honored to receive a first place award in the international competition "Just Painting 2005" that took place in Rome. Another highlight has to be my first solo show in downtown Chicago in 1998. My 2003 exhibit at the Divine Word Missionary in Techny, IL was a superb success and played a huge role in disseminating my name in the art world. In 2007, Art World Press published a monograph on my work that I am very proud of. It is available through Amazon.com.
What role do you feel your emotions play in the creative process?
My emotions are the protagonist, the antogonists, the chorus, the setting, the costumes, the lighting...everything! I depend on them for all my paintings and they rarely miss a performance.
As an artist, do you think you perceive the world differently from other people? Please explain.
I think so. I perceive things more fully. When I look at the trees, I don't just see the trees. I try to figure out what they express. I often humanize elements. I also pickup on details that most people don't find as important, and these details are significant in knowing how to create a successful canvas - one that can express harmony through color, composition, etc.
Because of your great success as an artist what advice would you give an aspiring artist just starting out in their career?
Firstly, know your fundamentals. Every craft or professional career has to be built on basic skills and knowledge. Master the technical, know your art history and gain confidence in your philosophy. It is your philosophy that will then give vision to your work - delineating you from your peers and making your work highly distinct.
I cannot emphasize enough how important it is for young artists today to NOT jump into the latest trend, fad, or commercial success. It is very easy to be seduced by an art world that regards sensationalism, shock, controversy as the artist's normal domain. Learn how to remain sincere to your own artistry so that you could rise above that kind of fray.
If I had to sum it up in three words: practice, practice and practice! I don't mean stay in art school until you are going gray, but WORK as much as you can. Surround yourself with the topics and images that inspire you. Put yourself in those situations as much as possible. For me, being out in the world of theater, music, nature, other countries, imparts something that I inevitably leave upon my canvas.
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Browse Study Guides
1.Summary
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The mother and Neal
Narrator and point of view
3.Theme and message
The short story "Gravel" by Alice Munro is narrated in the past tense by an unnamed first-person narrator. The dialogue, however, is in the present tense, and the narrator also inputs some present-tense sentences when she refers to her adult self, for example: "I am suspicious of people who talk like this, but I can't say that I have a right to be".
The narrator is unreliable. This is because when she experiences the events, the narrator is a child with a limited understanding of her circumstances: "I had not understood or even particularly noticed these changes at the time". Furthermore, her credibility is compromised because of her fragmented memories which cannot offer a full picture of the events: "I do know, though I don't remember it, that my father wept (...)"; "Beyond...
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Het meneer Konijn lied is een nummer van de Vrienden van meneer Konijn, een gelegenheidsformatie van Bekende Vlamingen en Nederlanders, dat ter gelegenheid van de inzamelactie De wereldreis van meneer Konijn van Q-music werd uitgebracht.

Het nummer, dat werd geschreven door Miguel Wiels, kwam op 8 december 2012 binnen in de Ultratop 50, stond een week op de hoogste positie en verbleef in totaal drie weken in de hitlijst.

Zangers
Sharon den Adel van Within Temptation nam de lead vocals voor haar rekening. Zij wordt bijgestaan door Sven Ornelis, Kurt Rogiers, Wine Lauwers, Wim Oosterlinck, Anke Buckinx, Showbizz Bart (presentatoren van Q-music), Vlaams minister Ingrid Lieten, Koen en Kris Wauters, Paul de Leeuw, Tom Boonen, Nathalie Meskens, Geert Hoste, Kim Gevaert, Herman Brusselmans, Thibaut Courtois en Stef Wauters.

Vlaamse Ultratop 50

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


This mushroom-shaped rattle is a lovely gift for every occasion. It is beautifully packed in a small cotton sack with a cute pompon.
The mushroom is easy to handle by a newborn baby's little hands. The rattle sound is soft and pleasant and it's going to subtly intrigue the baby's senses.
The rattle is made of organic cotton. It has 14 cm in length.


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keyboard_arrow_right Blog
keyboard_arrow_rightBest movie with Lady Gaga in 2022
Blender Mix
Best movie with Lady Gaga in 2022
Publié par Sébastien Ross
Lady Gaga is one of the most popular singers in the world. She has also starred in a few movies, including her new movie A Star is Born. This movie has been getting a lot of buzz, and many people are wondering if it will be as good as her other movies. Bradley Cooper stars alongside Lady Gaga in this new drama, and they both deliver amazing performances. If you're looking for a great new movie to watch, then A Star is Born is definitely worth checking out!
Lady Gaga has been in the entertainment business for over a decade.
She started out as a singer and then made the transition to acting.
Her new movie A Star is Born is getting a lot of buzz.
The movie is a drama and stars Bradley Cooper.
Many people are wondering if it will be as good as her other movies.
If you're looking for a great new movie to watch, then A Star is Born is definitely worth checking out! Lady Gaga gives an amazing performance in this new movie, and Bradley Cooper does an incredible job as well. Be sure to catch A Star is Born.
Concerning her Music ,
Gaga has said that she is influenced by fashion and that her music is a way of self-expression.
Her debut album The Fame was released in 2008 and topped the charts in several countries, including the United States, Canada, and Australia.
It earned her numerous awards, including two Grammy Awards.
Gaga's second album, Born This Way, was released in 2011 and topped the charts in more than 20 countries, including the United States, Canada, and Australia.
The album earned her a Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album.
Gaga's third album, Artpop, was released in 2013 and topped the charts in several countries.
In 2022, we expect Gaga to release new music and go on tour.
She may also star in another movie or tv show.
We hope she has a great year!
SPENCER MAYBE – Musician and artist


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Chronological list of the Doctors of the Church
SAINT AMBROSE (c. 340-397), BISHOP OF MILAN, Italy, a major opponent of Arianism, wrote and preached extensively [named a Doctor of the church, 1298].
Saint Augustine of Hippo (c. 354-430), North African bishop, author of Confessions, City of God, and numerous treatises, countered heretical movements, one of the most influential theologians of the Western church, called "Doctor of Grace" [1298].
Saint Jerome(c. 343-420), translated Old Testament from Hebrew into Latin and revised Latin translation of New Testament to produce Vulgate version of Bible, called "Father of Biblical Science" [1298].
Saint Gregory the Great (c. 540-604), pope, strengthened papacy and worked for clerical and monastic reform [1298].
Saint Athanasius (c. 297-373), bishop of Alexandria, dominant opponent of Arians, called "Father of Orthodoxy" [1298]
Saint John Chrysostom ("Golden-Mouthed") (c. 347-407), archbishop of Constantinople, homilist, writer of scripture commentaries and letters, patron of preachers [1568].
Saint Basil the Great (c. 329-379), bishop of Caesarea in Asia Minor, refuted Arian errors, wrote treatises, homilies, and monastic rules, called "Father of Monasticism of the East" [1568].
Saint Gregory of Nazianzus (c. 330-390), bishop of Constantinople, opponent of Arianism, wrote major theological treatises as well as letters and poetry, called the "Christian Demosthenes" and, in the East, "The Theologian" [1568].
Saint Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274), Italian Dominican, wrote systematically on philosophy, theology, and Catholic doctrine, patron of Catholic schools and education, one of the most influential theologians in the West [1568].
Saint Bonaventure (c. 1217-1274), Franciscan, bishop of Albano, Italy, cardinal [1588].
Saint Anselm of Canterbury (1033-1109), archbishop, called "Father of Scholasticism" [1720].
Saint Isidore of Seville (c. 560-636), Spanish bishop, encylopedist, and preeminent scholar of his day [1722].
Saint Peter Chrysologus (c. 400-450), archbishop of Ravenna, Italy, homilist and writer, counteracted Monophysite heresy [1729].
Saint Leo I, the Great (c. 400-461), pope, wrote christological and other works against the heresies of his day [1754].
Saint Peter Damian (1007-1072), Italian Benedictine and cardinal, ecclesiastical and clerical reformer [1828].
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux (c. 1090-1153), French Cistercian abbot and monastic reformer, called "Mellifluous Doctor" [1830].
Saint Hilary of Poitiers (c. 315-368), one of first Latin doctrinal writers, opposed Arianism [1851].
Saint Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787), founder of Redemptorists, preeminent moral theologian and apologist, patron of confessors and moralists[1871].
Saint Francis de Sales (1567-1622), bishop of Geneva, spiritual writer, patron of Catholic writers and press [1877].
Saint Cyril of Alexandria (c. 376-444), bishop, authored doctrinal treatises against Nestorian heresy [1882].
Saint Cyril of Jerusalem (c. 315-386), bishop, catechist, vigorous opponent of Arianism [1882].
Saint John Damascene (c. 675-749), Syrian monk, doctrinal writer, called "Golden Speaker" [1890].
Saint Bede the Venerable (c. 673-735), English Benedictine, called "Father of English History" [1899].
Saint Ephrem the Syrian (c. 306-373), counteracted Gnosticism and Arianism with his poems, hymns, and other writings [1920].
Saint Peter Canisius (1521-1597), Dutch Jesuit, catechist, important figure in Counter-Reformation in Germany [1925].
Saint John of the Cross (1542-1591), founder of Discalced Carmelites, called "Doctor of Mystical Theology" [1926].
Saint Robert Bellarmine (1542-1621), Italian Jesuit, archbishop of Capua, wrote Reformation-era doctrinal defenses, catechisms, and works on ecclesiology and church-state relations [1931].
Saint Albert the Great (c. 1200-1280), German Dominican, bishop of Regensburg, teacher of Saint Thomas Aquinas, patron of scientists, called "Universal Doctor" and "Expert Doctor" [1932].
Saint Anthony of Padua (1195-1231), first theologian of Franciscans, preacher, called "Evangelical Doctor" [1946].
Saint Lawrence of Brindisi (1559-1619), Italian Capuchin Franciscan, influential post-Reformation preacher [1959].
Saint Teresa of Ávila (1515-1582), Spanish Carmelite, initiated discalced Carmelite movement, prolific spiritual and mystical writer, first woman Doctor of the church [1970].
Saint Catherine of Siena (c. 1347-1380), Italian Third Order Dominican, mystical author, also active in support of Crusades and in papal politics[1970].
Saint Thérèse of Lisieux (1873-1897), French Carmelite, wrote spiritual autobiography describing her "little way" of spiritual perfection [1997].


Armchair (70 cm – 27 1/2" width) with four leg base, chromed, painted or veneered steel version. The upholstered shell with metal and plywood frame is available in leather, faux leather, fabric or customer's fabric. Fully removable cover version available upon request without a surcharge. Seat height: 44 cm. Dimensions: 71 x 68,5 x 68,5 cm.
The Saari collection is a seating system of chairs, armchairs, sofas and benches designed for restaurants, bars, hotels and lobbies. A synthesis of classic and contemporary, its sculptural shape is enhanced by a wide range of colors and materials. Available as chair, armchair, bucket seat and a one-, two- and three-seat sofa and bench. Wood and metal frame upholstered in fabric or leather is mounted on a four-leg steel base which can be lacquered, chromed or veneered. The armchair and bucket chair are also available with trestle base, with or without castors. Complementary pillows are available in two dimensions (50 x 37 cm and 45 x 32 cm – 19 5/8″ x 14 5/8″ and 17 3/4″ x 12 5/8″) with inserts made of down and covered in fabric, faux leather, leather, or custom fabric. The Saari Collection is GreenGuard certified.


The HFM-200/HFC-202 is Teledyne Hastings' flexible, general purpose series of mass flow meters and controllers. Featuring reliability and stability, the 200 Series is chosen by OEM's for its very stable performance with varying ambient conditions. A wide choice of elastomer seals make this flow controller compatible with most gases.
The HFM-200 / HFC-202 meters and controllers have flow ranges from 0-10 sccm to flows of 0-25 slm; provide analog outputs, are constructed of stainless steel and have normally closed valves. The full scale range is specified by the end user. A NIST traceable calibration certificate is standard. Many corrosive gases and pressures up to 1000 psig are easily measured. Cleaning for oxygen service is available.


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Giants, Scripture
GIANTS Part 1 – The Scriptures – Jeff Byerly
Posted by Jeff Byerly on 2020/05/18
"Come out of her my people…" – Paul
Verse of the day 11-28
GIANTS Part 1 – The Scriptures
Jeff Byerly
The Scriptures:
*There were GIANTS (Nephilim) in the earth in those days;
AND ALSO AFTER THAT,
when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men,
and they bare children to them,
the same became mighty men which were of old,
men of renown.
In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings that were with him, came and defeated the Rephaim (giants) in Ashteroth-karnaim and the Zuzim in Ham and the Emim in Shaveh-kiriathaim.
When they had gone up into the Negev, they came to Hebron where Ahiman, Sheshai and Talmai, the descendants of Anak (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim) were. (Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.)
Numbers 13:32-33
*32 So they spread a negative report to the Israelites about the land that they had scouted. They said, "The land that we explored and scouted is a land that eats up its inhabitants. All the people we saw in the land were huge. 33 We saw there the Nephilim [giants] In our own eyes we seemed like grasshoppers. We seemed like grasshoppers in their eyes too.
"The Emims (giants) dwelt therein in times past, a people great, and many, and tall, as the Anakims (giants); Which also were accounted giants, as the Anakims (giants); but the Moabites call them Emims."
20 (That also was accounted a land of giants (Rephaim) : giants (Rephaim) dwelt therein in old time; and the Ammonites call them Zamzummims; 21 A people great, and many, and tall, as the Anakims; but the Lord destroyed them before them; and they succeeded them, and dwelt in their stead
*Deuteronomy 3:11
"For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of giants; behold, his bedstead was a bedstead of iron; is it not in Rabbath of the children of Ammon? nine cubits (13.5 feet or 4.1 meters) was the length thereof, and four cubits the breadth of it, after the cubit of a man."
A people great and tall, the sons of the Anakim, whom you know and of whom you have heard it said, 'Who can stand before the sons of Anak?'
Then Joshua came at that time and cut off the Anakim from the hill country, from Hebron, from Debir, from Anab and from all the hill country of Judah and from all the hill country of Israel. Joshua utterly destroyed them with their cities.
*Joshua 14:12
Now then, give me this hill country about which the Lord spoke on that day, for you heard on that day that Anakim were there, with great fortified cities; perhaps the Lord will be with me, and I will drive them out as the Lord has spoken.
Now the name of Hebron was formerly Kiriath-arba; for Arba was the greatest man among the Anakim. Then the land had rest from war.
Joshua 15:13-14
Now he gave to Caleb the son of Jephunneh a portion among the sons of Judah, according to the command of the Lord to Joshua, namely, Kiriath-arba, Arba being the father of Anak (that is, Hebron). Caleb drove out from there the three sons of Anak: Sheshai and Ahiman and Talmai, the children of Anak.
All the kingdom of Og in Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth and in Edrei (he alone was left of the remnant of the Rephaim); for Moses struck them and dispossessed them.
Joshua said to them, "If you are a numerous people, go up to the forest and clear a place for yourself there in the land of the Perizzites and of the Rephaim, since the hill country of Ephraim is too narrow for you."
The border went down to the edge of the hill which is in the valley of Ben-hinnom, which is in the valley of Rephaim northward; and it went down to the valley of Hinnom, to the slope of the Jebusite southward, and went down to En-rogel.
Then they gave Hebron to Caleb, as Moses had promised; and he drove out from there the three sons of Anak.
*1 Samuel 17
The story of David and Goliath
*1 Samuel 17:4
Then a champion came out from the armies of the Philistines named Goliath, from Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. (somewhere between 9.5 to 10.5 feet or 2.9-3.2 meters)
1 Samuel 17:49-50
And David put his hand into his bag and took from it a stone and slung it, and struck the Philistine on his forehead. And the stone sank into his forehead, so that he fell on his face to the ground. Thus David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and he struck the Philistine and killed him; but there was no sword in David's hand.
*2 Samuel 21:19-22
19 And there was again war with the Philistines at Gob, and Elhanan the son of Jaare-oregim, the Bethlehemite, struck down Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver's beam. 20 And there was again war at Gath, where there was a man of great stature, who had six fingers on each hand, and six toes on each foot, twenty-four in number, and he also was descended from the giants. 21 And when he taunted Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimei, David's brother, struck him down. 22 These four were descended from the giants in Gath, and they fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants.
*1 Chronicles 20:4-6
Now it came about after this, that war broke out at Gezer with the Philistines; then Sibbecai the Hushathite killed Sippai, one of the descendants of the giants, and they were subdued. And there was war with the Philistines again, and Elhanan the son of Jair killed Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver's beam. (approximately 16-18 feet or 14.9-15.5 meters long and 2.5 inches or 6.35 cm thick. His spear's head weighed 600 shekels of iron [1 Sam 17:7] 15-18 lbs or 6.8-8.2 kg) Again there was war at Gath, where there was a man of great stature who had twenty-four fingers and toes, six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot; and he also was descended from the giants.
These were descended from the giants in Gath, and they fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants.
*Amos 2:9
Yet it was I who destroyed the Amorite before them, though his height was like the height of cedars (60-120 feet or 20-40 meters) and he was strong as the oaks; I even destroyed his fruit above and his root below.
*Luke 21:25-26
25 "And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; 26 men's hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken."
*Revelation 6:12-14 King James Version (KJV)
12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;
13 And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.
14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
*Jude 6
And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day. (Refers to Enoch)
Enoch 18:11. And I saw a deep abyss, with columns ⌈⌈of heavenly fire, and among them I saw columns⌉⌉ of fire fall, which were beyond measure alike towards the height and towards the depth. 12. And beyond that abyss I saw a place which had no firmament of the heaven above, and no firmly founded earth beneath it: there was no water upon it, and no birds, but it was a waste and horrible place. 13. I saw there seven stars like great burning mountains, and to me, when I inquired regarding them, 14. The angel said: 'This place is the end of heaven and earth: this has become a prison for the stars and the host of heaven. 15. And the stars which roll over the fire are they which have transgressed the commandment of the Lord in the beginning of their rising, because they did not come forth at their appointed times. 16. And He was wroth with them, and bound them till the time when their guilt should be consummated.
*Enoch 19:1-3
And Uriel said to me: 'Here shall stand the angels who have connected themselves with women, and their spirits assuming many different forms are defiling mankind and shall lead them astray into sacrificing to demons ⌈⌈as gods⌉⌉, (here shall they stand,) till ⌈⌈the day of⌉⌉ the great judgment in which they shall be judged till they are made an end of. 2. And the women also of the angels who went astray shall become sirens.' 3. And I, Enoch, alone saw the vision, the ends of all things: and no man shall see as I have seen.
*Revelation 9:13-15
13 Then the sixth angel sounded: And I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, 14 saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, "Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates." 15 So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released to kill a third of mankind.
Read Enoch Chapters 6-16 for background information starting at this link:
https://www.sacred-texts.com/bib/boe/boe009.htm
For more 444 articles on giants click here