text:
Post-traumatic stress disorder: remembering and recovering
By Sarah Chapman	 November 11, 2014 // 0 Comments
Today we remember the Fallen. In the stillness of the eleventh hour today, in this year one hundred years on from the start of the First World War, many of us will have in our minds the extraordinary image of the ceramic poppies 'planted' in the Tower of London"s moat and the words of Binyon's poem, For the Fallen, published in September 1914. We hear these lines of Binyon's in our acts of remembrance:
Boys enjoying an outing in 1912. How many would go to war and not come home?
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
But I'm reminded too of the lines that follow, with the image to which I keep returning: a photo of my 15 year old grandfather amongst a group of smiling boys, enjoying an outing, in the summer of 1912. I look at those boys and want to know their names and tell their stories. They must all have gone to war. How many came back?
They mingle not with their laughing comrades again;
They sit no more at familiar tables of home…
Grandpa joined up with his best friend Hubert. He was wounded at Messines, came home and lived a long life. But Hubert lies in Flanders.
The eloquence of the war poets is in contrast with the silence of the ordinary Tommy who came back and couldn't, wouldn't, describe the horrors of his experience of war. Other traumas sustained during peoples lives were generally not talked about and looking back from our own, more enlightened times, the degree to which people were required just to 'get on with it', whatever life threw at them, seems staggering. When my grandparents lost their first two sons, late in pregnancy, Grandpa was left to deal with their bodies. They never spoke of it.
What is PTSD?
Many traumatic situations, aside from military conflict, can cause great psychological distress which may result in lasting mental health problems. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is one of the most common of these and in the last 25 years there has been a lot of work to develop effective ways to prevent and treat it.
People with PTSD experience heightened arousal (such as sleep disturbances and being easily startled) and intense fear, reliving the trauma they've been through, and avoiding reminders of it.
Sandra's story
Sandra enjoying time with her family
"Unlike the unfortunate servicemen and women dealing with the aftermath of horrors experienced on the battlefields, I was diagnosed with PTSD after enduring the repeated cancellations of diagnostic surgery to determine whether or not I had a cancerous polyp. During a tortuous period of 13 weeks I experienced three devastating "in situ" cancellations. On two occasions I was actually gowned up and physically and emotionally prepared for surgery. Each time I was sent home with no future date for the surgery and the agonizing uncertainty of the nature of the polyp. Was it cancerous? Was it growing or spreading during this extended waiting time? Just 18 months earlier my husband had undergone surgery to remove an aggressive malignant melanoma and my biggest dread was wondering if I would have to tell my adult children that I too had cancer. Thankfully, after receiving wonderful and efficient treatment in the private sector, I received the fantastic news that the polyp was in fact benign.
However, the repeated traumas of cancellation and 13 weeks of intense anxiety had caused me to begin experiencing the debilitating effects of PTSD. I found myself unable to sleep for any length of time and when I did sleep I experienced traumatic dreams related to my experiences. I felt increasingly emotional. I experienced vivid flashbacks and felt in a permanent state of heightened anxiety and distress. I was alarmed by my inability to focus or concentrate. I wanted to avoid social occasions and as such I was unable to return to work as a primary school teacher for six months. I experienced a complete change in my personality and became withdrawn and anxious. Prior to my diagnosis of PTSD I had rarely missed a single day of teaching in the previous two decades!"
Preventing PTSD
Could something have been done to reduce Sandra's chances of developing PTSD as a result of her traumatic experience? A recent Cochrane review gathered the best available evidence on whether medicines are an effective way of preventing PTSD in adults. Unfortunately, whilst there are some indications that hydrocortisone may help prevent PTSD and reduce the severity of the symptoms, there is too little evidence to guide the use of medicines for PTSD. An earlier Cochrane review found no evidence that single session individual psychological debriefing is useful for preventing PTSD after traumatic incidents and the two trials with the longest follow-up reported adverse effects. The reviewers point out that the possibility of doing harm must be remembered and that what works as a treatment won't necessarily be helpful as a preventive measure.
Psychological therapies can help recovery
There's better news when it comes to treatment, with evidence from a Cochrane review supporting the use of psychological therapies for adults with chronic PTSD.
Trauma-focused cognitive behavioural therapy (TFCBT), non-TFCBT, and eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing (EMDR) were all found to be effective, with the strongest evidence supporting TFCBT and EMDR. These appear to have comparable benefits immediately after treatment but TFCBT and EMDR were better than non-TFCBT one month and four months after treatment.
TFCBT combines cognitive and behavioural therapies, aimed at helping the person to both think and act differently, through exposure to memories of the event. EMDR helps the person to reprocess their memories of the event.
The evidence isn't high quality. There were problems with the designs of the studies and we don't know whether these therapies have harmful effects. The reviewers note that drop-out from treatment is a signficant problem. There's plenty for future researchers to do in this area.
"EMDR gave me back my personality and way of life"
For Sandra at least, EMDR has helped her recovery, as she explains here.
"I consider myself very fortunate to have been diagnosed by a very knowledgeable psychiatrist who explained the possible benefits of EMDR therapy in overcoming the symptoms of PTSD. I found a very experienced EMDR practitioner and after an initial assessment we began to work on reprocessing my memories of the traumatic experiences.
EMDR involves using multisensory bilateral stimulation. It sounds complicated but in effect it required me to follow a light on a computer screen, whilst wearing headphones which made a sound in alternate ears in time with the light. In each hand I held a buzzer which operated in time with the other two inputs. My psychologist explained that while discussing and visualizing the traumatic events, the sensory input of the EMDR process enables the patient to reprocess the memories from the active memory into the long term memory and to be stored there without the emotional attachment.
I have found EMDR to be a very effective treatment for the extreme levels of disturbance I was experiencing. It has been a long process, no quick fixes, but so worthwhile and supportive. After over six months of weekly, then fortnightly, sessions of one hour I have finally reached a stage where I am now able to recall and talk about my experiences without becoming distressed and emotional. My sleep pattern is much improved, I am able to concentrate much better and I am no longer anxious and withdrawn. Best of all, I recently returned to work doing the job I love. From my own experience EMDR has been instrumental in giving me back my personality and my way of life."
Our thanks to Sandra for sharing her story.
Featured image PTSD art 2 from: http://meatandmarrow.blogspot.co.uk. EMDR collage from:http://www.clintontherapist.citymax.com
Amos T, Stein DJ, Ipser JC. Pharmacological interventions for preventing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2014, Issue 7. Art. No.: CD006239. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD006239.pub2.
Cochrane summary http://summaries.cochrane.org/CD006239/DEPRESSN_medications-to-prevent-post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd-a-review-of-the-evidence
Rose SC, Bisson J, Churchill R, Wessely S. Psychological debriefing for preventing post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2002, Issue 2. Art. No.: CD000560. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD000560.
Cochrane summary http://summaries.cochrane.org/CD000560/DEPRESSN_psychological-debriefing-for-preventing-post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd
Bisson JI, Roberts NP, Andrew M, Cooper R, Lewis C. Psychological therapies for chronic post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in adults. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2013, Issue 12. Art. No.: CD003388. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD003388.pub4.
Cochrane summary http://summaries.cochrane.org/CD003388/DEPRESSN_psychological-therapies-for-chronic-post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd-in-adults
Cochrane DAN Group
About Sarah Chapman
Sarah's work as a Knowledge Broker at Cochrane UK focuses on disseminating Cochrane evidence through social media, including Evidently Cochrane blogs, blogshots and the 'Evidence for Everyday' series for nurses, midwives, allied health professionals and patients. A former registered general nurse, Sarah has a particular interest making evidence accessible and useful to practitioners and to others making decisions about health. Before joining Cochrane, Sarah also worked on systematic reviews for the University of Oxford and the Royal College of Nursing Institute, and obtained degrees in History from the University of Oxford and in the history of women's health and illness in early modern England (MPhil., University of Reading).
Post-traumatic stress disorder: remembering and recovering by Sarah Chapman
is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International


The Tioga Ranch offers affordable professionally fully guided hunting packages for Texas Dall Rams year round, 7 days a week. The Dall Ram is one of the most hunted exotics in the United States and have been been hunted here at the Tioga Ranch for more then 40 years. The Texas Dall Ram makes a great hunt when stalked, you will need to be patient and pick a shot since they have great herding ability. Dall Rams are white and sometimes a golden color with an attractive main down the front of their necks. A mature Dall Ram will weigh as much as 125 lbs. For the most part the horns on a Texas Dall Ram will have a tight curl but sometimes they do flare out. We start hunting our mature rams when their horns reach a 3/4 curl, the majority of our rams we hunt will have a full curl and we also hunt rams with more then a full curl. Most Dall hunts are 1-2 days in length and are all fully guided hunts, we do have lodging on the premises for $120/night/person, and includes Dinner, Breakfast, and Lunch. Any hunting caliber rifle, muzzleloader, shotgun, pistol, or bow will work great for a Dall Hunt. Your guide will also skin and butcher your meat for you for $185, this includes the guide skinning your ram for a shoulder mount and processing the meat into steaks, chops, roasts, spare ribs etc. and vacuum sealing. All you need to do is bring a cooler 64 quarts or larger.
Texas Dall hunts start at $900.00-$1000.00 for 3/4 curl, the majority of the rams we hunt range between $1000.00-1500.00 for full curl rams, Larger 1-1/4 curl rams range between $1500.00-2000.00 and 1-1/2 curl and larger are $2000.00-4000.00. These rates includes your guide and field dressing.


Today I finished my first fischertechnik article for the Coding4Fun website. I guess it will take some days until the text is read, processed and published. I also think already about a follow up article of some more sophisticated models.
This entry was posted in microsoft and tagged .net, microsoft on June 6, 2006 by andreas.


text:
The agricultural basis of Umm an-Nar society in the northern Oman peninsula (2500-2000 BC)
Nasser Said al-Jahwari
This paper argues that the agricultural aspect of the Umm an-Nar economy has been largely ignored by researchers, due to an overemphasis on copper production and trade. This is true at the level of the smallest rural settlements, villages and settlements whose primary focus was agricultural production.The key social developments of this period have often been explained by linking them to the exploitation of copper ore and its trade with surrounding regions such as Mesopotamia and the Indus. However, this paper will argue - based on quantified pottery analysis - that it is during this time that we see the development, for the first time in the Oman peninsula, of widespread sedentary occupation that was based on small agricultural villages where there is no evidence of copper ore exploitation, thus suggesting that the economic basis of Umm an-Nar society was essentially agricultural.Furthermore, it will be argued that, through the use of a new survey methodology, it is possible to locate such settlements, even where they have left no traces of monuments, such as tombs or round towers. The methodology allows preliminary comparisons to be made between the intensity of occupation in different periods. The paper also argues that the Umm an-Nar period was one of the most intensive periods of occupation in pre-Islamic history.
Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy
Umm an-Nar
Agricultural villages
Sedentary occupation
Ubiquity analysis
Arts and Humanities(all)
al-Jahwari, N. S. (2009). The agricultural basis of Umm an-Nar society in the northern Oman peninsula (2500-2000 BC). Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy, 20(2), 122-133. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0471.2009.00315.x
The agricultural basis of Umm an-Nar society in the northern Oman peninsula (2500-2000 BC). / al-Jahwari, Nasser Said.
In: Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy, Vol. 20, No. 2, 11.2009, p. 122-133.
al-Jahwari, NS 2009, 'The agricultural basis of Umm an-Nar society in the northern Oman peninsula (2500-2000 BC)', Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy, vol. 20, no. 2, pp. 122-133. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0471.2009.00315.x
al-Jahwari NS. The agricultural basis of Umm an-Nar society in the northern Oman peninsula (2500-2000 BC). Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy. 2009 Nov;20(2):122-133. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0471.2009.00315.x
al-Jahwari, Nasser Said. / The agricultural basis of Umm an-Nar society in the northern Oman peninsula (2500-2000 BC). In: Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy. 2009 ; Vol. 20, No. 2. pp. 122-133.
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title = "The agricultural basis of Umm an-Nar society in the northern Oman peninsula (2500-2000 BC)",
abstract = "This paper argues that the agricultural aspect of the Umm an-Nar economy has been largely ignored by researchers, due to an overemphasis on copper production and trade. This is true at the level of the smallest rural settlements, villages and settlements whose primary focus was agricultural production.The key social developments of this period have often been explained by linking them to the exploitation of copper ore and its trade with surrounding regions such as Mesopotamia and the Indus. However, this paper will argue - based on quantified pottery analysis - that it is during this time that we see the development, for the first time in the Oman peninsula, of widespread sedentary occupation that was based on small agricultural villages where there is no evidence of copper ore exploitation, thus suggesting that the economic basis of Umm an-Nar society was essentially agricultural.Furthermore, it will be argued that, through the use of a new survey methodology, it is possible to locate such settlements, even where they have left no traces of monuments, such as tombs or round towers. The methodology allows preliminary comparisons to be made between the intensity of occupation in different periods. The paper also argues that the Umm an-Nar period was one of the most intensive periods of occupation in pre-Islamic history.",
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AU - al-Jahwari, Nasser Said
N2 - This paper argues that the agricultural aspect of the Umm an-Nar economy has been largely ignored by researchers, due to an overemphasis on copper production and trade. This is true at the level of the smallest rural settlements, villages and settlements whose primary focus was agricultural production.The key social developments of this period have often been explained by linking them to the exploitation of copper ore and its trade with surrounding regions such as Mesopotamia and the Indus. However, this paper will argue - based on quantified pottery analysis - that it is during this time that we see the development, for the first time in the Oman peninsula, of widespread sedentary occupation that was based on small agricultural villages where there is no evidence of copper ore exploitation, thus suggesting that the economic basis of Umm an-Nar society was essentially agricultural.Furthermore, it will be argued that, through the use of a new survey methodology, it is possible to locate such settlements, even where they have left no traces of monuments, such as tombs or round towers. The methodology allows preliminary comparisons to be made between the intensity of occupation in different periods. The paper also argues that the Umm an-Nar period was one of the most intensive periods of occupation in pre-Islamic history.
AB - This paper argues that the agricultural aspect of the Umm an-Nar economy has been largely ignored by researchers, due to an overemphasis on copper production and trade. This is true at the level of the smallest rural settlements, villages and settlements whose primary focus was agricultural production.The key social developments of this period have often been explained by linking them to the exploitation of copper ore and its trade with surrounding regions such as Mesopotamia and the Indus. However, this paper will argue - based on quantified pottery analysis - that it is during this time that we see the development, for the first time in the Oman peninsula, of widespread sedentary occupation that was based on small agricultural villages where there is no evidence of copper ore exploitation, thus suggesting that the economic basis of Umm an-Nar society was essentially agricultural.Furthermore, it will be argued that, through the use of a new survey methodology, it is possible to locate such settlements, even where they have left no traces of monuments, such as tombs or round towers. The methodology allows preliminary comparisons to be made between the intensity of occupation in different periods. The paper also argues that the Umm an-Nar period was one of the most intensive periods of occupation in pre-Islamic history.
KW - Agricultural villages
KW - Copper
KW - Pottery
KW - Sedentary occupation
KW - Ubiquity analysis
KW - Umm an-Nar
JO - Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy
JF - Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


My favorite way to spend quality time with my husband and kids is to have a family game night. We also get together with other families for game night, too. In fact, I'm working on scheduling the next one right now.
I think the perfect family game night includes fun board games, tasty snacks, and creates lasting memories. I absolutely love it when my daughter talks about things that happened during a previous game night because it shows how impactful those moments are to her.
If you want to ditch the screens for some quality bonding time with your kids, then here are my tips on how to host the perfect family game night.
Whether this is your first time planning a family game night or not, it's helpful to schedule a date and time. It gives everyone something to look forward to and ensures nothing else gets scheduled during that time.
Since we have younger children (ages 6 and 8 years old), we usually plan for Friday evening or Saturday late afternoon/early evening. When we first started having game nights, we planned for about 30 minutes to an hour. Over time, we've worked up to longer as our kids attention spans during board games grew, and we've added in snack breaks.
I highly recommend pre-selecting a handful of games. We found that trying to pick what to play took up too much precious time that was meant for playing. Instead, we choose two to four games ahead of time. We may not have time to play all of them, but then we know which ones to start with next time.
Every good party has snacks, right? We get snacky when we play, so we always plan for some food. It can be fun to pick a common theme for the games and snacks.
We also think about whether or not we'll be eating while playing or if we'll take breaks. For example, if we're playing card games, we steer clear of snacks that make hands too dirty or greasy. When we order pizza, we play a game and then stop to eat before starting the next game.
Some of our favorite snacks include pretzels, chips and salsa, snack mixes, veggies, fruit, and cookies.
Now that you know the basics of hosting your own family game night, why not invite another family over to join you? We have a few families who we get together with to play board games. Sometimes we all play together as a larger group, and sometimes the kids play their own game together while the adults play something else. These seven fun family games are great options!
I hope these tips help you with planning your next family game night. If your family also enjoys video games, check out fellow Toy Insider Parent Andrew Bennett's suggestions for Video Games the Whole Family Can Enjoy Together.
Darcy Zalewski is an avid gamer who believes gaming is an excellent family activity. Happily raising two little geeklings with her equally geeky husband in the land of cheese, aka Wisconsin. Darcy loves both video and board games, as they provide infinite family bonding opportunities. When she's not gaming, she's crafting, reading dystopian novels, or discussing one of her many fandoms. Her writing has also been featured on Babble, CafeMom, and Mom.me. Connect with her on Twitter at @darcyzalewski.
What do you think about How to Host the Perfect Family Game Night?


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We have an orphaned team that needs a great owner. We are just starting our sophomore league year . Defensive scoring is in parity with offensive scoring. Lots of ways to build a winning team.
We use groupme extensively for league chat and DM. Great group of owners that are very active and competitive short of the orphaned owner that went to jail (true story).
The team is in good shape. We are willing to work with the right owner w the team and roster/contract moves if they so desire.
Check out the team and league. If you're interested let me know. I'd be happy to get you into the groupme to meet the guys and make sure it's a good fit.


18th Street Arts Center is pleased to recognize Bill Kelley, Jr. as its first Curator in Residence. This new annual award for a California curator is a yearlong residency designed to support curatorial research and to promote the development of critical discourse in the field of contemporary art. Through this initiative, 18th Street Arts Center rewards innovative curators with time, space, and a $10,000 prize to investigate and develop ideas within a thematic framework fundamental to his or her practice.
Kelley is an independent curator, theorist and educator based in Los Angeles. His current research focuses on collaborative and collective art practices in the Americas. At 18th Street Arts Center, his residency will focus on Social Practice, a general term that is currently being widely used to define an amalgamation of trans-disciplinary art practices that have direct community involvement and social activism at its core, with an emphasis on investigating artists' methodologies for public engagement. More specifically, Kelley will investigate pressing issues within Social Practices, with a focus on Los Angeles as a point of entry while considering this genre within the context of its own history and global legacy.
Through a series of on-site public programs and writings to be featured in 18th Street Arts Center's annual catalog, Kelley will look to reconcile the many sites of cultural work and pedagogy this kind of practice occupies within today's art world while also considering its relationship to the history of art and theory, ranging from Feminist methodologies to Latin American Liberation Theology. Making connections across history and geography, discussions will center around the positioning of these kinds of practices in varying art and public contexts and the development of language and structure to support artists exploring this kind of critical trans-disciplinary political art.
Most recently, Kelley was co-curator of the 2011 Encuentro Internacional de Medellín (MDE11: Museo de Antioquia, Medellín, Colombia 2011-12). In 2009 he organized the collective research project Proyecto Cívico: Diálogos e Interrogantes for the Centro Cultural Tijuana, Mexico. Other recent projects include the exhibition ¿Por qué no te callas? Arte, activismo y medios de comunicación, Arte Actual, FLACSO, Quito (2008) together with a public month-long workshop named Laboratorio de Arte y Espacio Social (LAES), sponsored by the Museo del Banco Central del Ecuador. He is the former Director and current Editorial Adviser of the online bilingual journal LatinArt.com and teaches at Otis College's Graduate Public Practice program. Additionally, Kelley is currently completing his Ph.D. in Contemporary Art, Theory and Criticism at the University of California at San Diego (UCSD) and is co-editing an anthology of public and dialogical art practices in the Americas with Grant Kester. He graduated with a Master's in 19th Century Colonial Art Studies from the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque (UNM) in 2001.


On Tuesday the 29th May, Thomas Schmidt visited ECLA to give a lecture entitled "Why Lying is Wrong (When it is Wrong)". Schmidt, who teaches at Humboldt Universität zu Berlin's Department of Practical Philosophy and Normative Ethics, is regarded as one of Germany's most important writers in his field.
Thomas Schmidt began by defining exactly what lying is, and I would be lying if I were to tell you that it was an easy task. Or would I? Well, apparently I'd only be lying if I were making an assertion to you which I believed to be false in order to convince you of its truth.
I wouldn't be lying, however, if you simply overheard me lying to your friend—for you are only being lied to if you are the intended addressee of the lie. Interestingly, though, it would not stop being a lie even if I accidentally told you something true. Apparently, as long as I believe it to be untrue, it is a lie irrespective of whether it is in reality true or false.
We then looked at some theories that philosophers have traditionally put forward as to why lying is wrong. Schmidt dismissed the assertion that lying is wrong because it contains some kind of inherent logical conflict with the way language is intended to be used. He also, very interestingly, claimed that lies that have terrible consequences are not wrong because they have terrible consequences.
The consequences may indeed be terrible—for example a lie leading to a nuclear explosion—and yet, once the bomb has exploded, it is the explosion itself that we find to be the truly morally abhorrent event, with the lie just being an interesting related matter-of-fact. By the same logic, Thomas Schmidt ruled out any other consequences or facts related to lying—for example, intent to deceive—as the features that make them bad.
What Thomas Schmidt was attempting to look for was what makes lies wrong in themselves. He came to the conclusion that, disappointingly, we don't quite know what it is that makes lies wrong apart from the very fact that they're lies.
After going through the process of showing that it isn't any of the above related or conditional elements of lying that make lying inherently bad, all we are left with is the lie itself. In this way, it seems that when we say 'lying is bad,' what we're actually saying is something like 'lying….yuck!' We don't know quite what we don't like about them, but we realise that it's something in the lie itself rather than its consequences or conditions.
Some of the students in the lecture hall seemed unsatisfied with this answer. After having taken courses in meta-ethics over the last few terms, some were keen to understand how 'lies…yuck' could be a solid justification for condemning lying without identifying some inherent wrongness.
Thomas Schmidt, however, said that he had attempted to offer an explanation as to the 'wrongness' of lying whilst remaining 'meta-ethically neutral.' That is, without exploring a metaphysical theory of what it 'badness' ultimately is.
This was an interesting, and for some frustrating, exercise in analytical philosophy.


The Alesis TransActive 400 is a powerful amplifier solution for the modern electronic drummer. This high-quality wedge amplifier was designed specifically for performing, rehearsing, and recording with electronic drum kits. With premium audio components, TransActive 400 provides plenty of power to keep up with any band.
TransActive 400's true bi-amped design and 400 Watts of peak power ensure that your electronic drum kit sounds clear, loud, and punchy whenever you play. Its custom-tuned electronic crossover provides a superb frequency response that can handle the modern drum sounds found in today's music. With TransActive 400, the entire frequency range of the drum kit comes across with striking definition and clarity, so all your kick-drum, cymbals, and hi-hat sounds cut right through excessive stage volumes. Onboard bass, mid, and treble tone controls enable you to quickly tailor your drum kit to the demands of any performance or recording environment.
TransActive 400's lightweight construction and recessed handle make it easy to take this all-in-one drum amplification system on the road, to band practice, or to the studio. It comes built with a protective metal grill, robust wooden exterior, and rubber feet for powerful drum sound in a durable design. The angled front panel is ideal for seated playing and provides excellent sound projection. With TransActive 400, you'll be ready for your next gig–no matter where it takes you.
Input and output connections are laid out on the back panel and keep the top-mounted controls clean, clutter-free, and accessible during performance. Stereo 1/4-inch outputs connect TransActive 400 to outboard PA and recording gear. For private playing or rehearsing, drummers can use the headphone jack that automatically mutes the main outputs. Two TransActive 400 amplifiers can be connected via a stereo link for a big, stereo sound that'll shake the stage during live performances.


No, I'm not talking about all those who are graduating today from UMD, including several friends getting their PhDs in English (ah, inspiration!).
I'm talking about Second Life, the game in development by Linden Lab. Currently in beta test, this game may be what The Sims Online is not. I hope to get a beta account and provide some more details, but for now, check out their website and this article about it on Slate.


text:
Why Jesus' Humanity Matters To Us At Christmas—And All Year 'Round.
Gary B. Swanson
Though the conclusions of Egyptologists are not completely decided, there is general agreement over some of the more significant historic times of the pharaohs.
Ahmose was the founder of the 18th dynasty in the sixteenth century B.C. when he overcame the Asian/Semitic Hyksos and expelled them from Egypt. Two generations later, it was Thutmose I who, fearing the rising power of the Hebrew descendants of Israel, declared the death decree on all their male children. The historical and archaeological record, as it has been put together by scholars, contains a great many records of significant events.
But a very personal and poignant moment appears in the accounts of Thutmose's daughter, Hatshepsut. She is the very one who appears in the Scriptural account of the times. One day she "went down to the Nile to bathe, and her attendants were walking along the river bank. She saw [a] basket among the reeds and sent her slave girl to get it. She opened it and saw [a] baby. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. 'This is one of the Hebrew babies,' she said" (Exod. 2:5, 6).
At this the elder sister of the baby in the papyrus basket, who had been watching over it from a distance, presented herself to the daughter of the Pharaoh. "'Shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?'
"'Yes, go,' she answered. And the girl went and got the baby's mother.
"Pharaoh's daughter said to her, 'Take this baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay you.' So the woman took the baby and nursed him.
"When the child grew older, she took him to Pharaoh's daughter and he became her son. She named him Moses, saying, 'I drew him out of the water'" (vss. 7–10).
In this close and very personal way, Scripture provides the story in which the man who later led the children of Israel away from their oppression in Egypt was actually, historically, the adoptive son of Hatshepsut—the daughter of the pharaoh of Egypt.
It is sometimes—maybe too often—possible that even faithful and regular readers of Scripture may lose sight of the fact that the characters in the historical accounts were real, actual people. But these were not characters of myth. Right down to their DNA, they lived their everyday lives basically as we do today. They experienced hunger, sadness, pain, and even moments of elation just as we do. The daughter of pharaoh described there in the second chapter of the book of Exodus—authored personally by her own adoptive son—took her bath in the waters of the margin of the Nile River, "felt sorry" for the babe in that basket in the reeds, and adopted him as her own.
The accounts of characters in the Old and New Testaments tell of people who were as literally, physically existent at their times as that person standing ahead of you in this morning's supermarket checkout line. They were more—or it may be better to say "less"—than characters in a story. Hearing that she, at the age of 90 years old, would become a mother, "Sarah laughed to herself" (Gen. 18:12). Samson came back from Timnah, where he had fallen in love with a woman there and demanded of his father, "'Get her for me. She's the right one for me'" (Judg. 14:3). Out there in the desert waste of Sinai, the adoptive son of Hatshepsut angrily faced the children of Israel: "'Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?'" (Num. 20:10). David, while at home rather than out with his army where he should have been, "walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful." And he "sent messengers to get her" (2 Sam. 11:2, 4). These were real people, experiencing real human feelings.
And among the many other characters that appear in Scripture, there is one Other whose existence there—and in history—demands much greater attention.
Jesus, the babe born in a stable in Bethlehem at a universally pivotal moment in human history, was real people. Throughout His shortened life on this earth, He was subject to the entire range of human feeling, "tempted in every way, just as we are" (Heb. 4:15). The evidence of His personal humanity occurs throughout His story in the Gospels.
From His childhood, "Jesus grew in wisdom and stature" (Luke 2:52). And the Gospels refer frequently to personal moments in which He showed His humanness. At Jacob's well in Samaria, He asked a woman, "'Will you give me a drink?'" (John 4:7). More than once the Gospels mention Jesus' love for others. When a man came to Him, asking how he may inherit eternal life, "Jesus looked at him and loved him. 'One thing you lack,' He said. 'Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me'" (Mark 10:21). And the apostle John also observed, "Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus" (John 11:5). But he also vividly records the incident when just before Passover in Jerusalem, Jesus "made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables" (2:15). And, at other particularly emotional moments, Jesus was so moved that He wept (Luke 19:41; John 11:35).
In two of the Gospel accounts appears an unusually detailed and eye-witnessed experience of Jesus early in His ministry. One day He and His disciples encountered a man who was known to have been blind since birth. The disciples, with little apparent sensitivity to the man's disability but within his hearing, asked Jesus whether the man's blindness was the result of his own sin or that of his parents.
Jesus answered the question directly: "'Neither,'" He said (John 9:3). And then He turned to the blind man and, in an astonishing way, brought sight to him for the first time in his life. "He spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man's eyes" (vs. 6). From countless other examples of Jesus' healings in Scripture, it's clear that He could surely have restored the man's sight simply by word of command. But in this instance, He resorted to an act that, when you think about it, provided vivid evidence of His own, personal humanness. And in another encounter, He was witnessed as healing another of deafness through the application of His own, bodily saliva (Mark 8:33). Jesus was real people—real physical people.
This idea of Jesus' actual humanity, in fact, may be enhanced a bit further in thought about these two incidents in His life in which the very mundane mention is made of His saliva. As everyone knows by now, two millennia later, saliva may contain DNA evidence of one's ancestral origins. With this in mind, that first chapter of the Gospel of Matthew may come to mind in which Jesus' own lineage is traced back, generation by generation, to Abraham—and elsewhere in Scripture from Abraham to Adam himself. And, in doing so, one cannot overlook the fact that this splendid lineage actually includes adulterers, prostitutes, and murderers. The real humanity of Jesus Christ may be reflected in the almost casual mention of His saliva.
Jesus came to this earth "'wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger'" (Luke 2:12). Can it be possible to imagine a more commonplace, more earthly, origin than this? Jesus, too, was real people. He was that—and infinitely, transcendentally more. And for this we may be eternally thankful. It makes the promise of an eternity possible to us each.
Gary B. Swanson has authored articles and columns for the Adventist Review for more than 25 years. He retired from the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists as associate director of the Sabbath School/Personal Ministries Department.
William H. Shea, "Exodus, Date of the," The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Geoffrey W. Bromiley et al., eds. vol. 2 (Grand Rapids, Mich.: William B. Eerdmans, 1982), pp. 230–238).
Unless otherwise noted, all scriptural references are from The New International Version of the Bible.
A Behind-the-Scenes View of the Senate
Brian Peoples shares how Union College education prepared him to succeed.
Adventist Law Practitioners Discuss Religious Liberty Issues
Third convention drew lawyers, law professionals, and law students in the Philippines.


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Novels and books
Helping bridge the three-year-gap between Perfect Dark Zero and Perfect Dark, a trio of novels by author Greg Rucka delves into the life of Joanna beyond the events of the prequel, chronicling her early days with the Carrington Institute and the ongoing war with dataDyne. The first novel, Initial Vector, saw an early release before the Xbox 360 in 2005. The second and final chapter, Second Front, was released mid-2007. Read more about Greg at his official website.
Perfect Dark: Second Front
Second book in the trilogy of novels by Greg Rucka. Released on May 29, 2007.
"Welcome to the era of the hypercorporation, business entities so sprawling and vast that they field private armies and buy entire nations outright. These corporate empires-from Zentek to Core-Mantis OmniGlobal to dataDyne-are constantly engaged in covert battles for market dominance, and the general public sees and knows nothing as they are used as pawns in this global chess game.
Joanna Dark, an operative of the Carrington Institute, has sworn to bring down the dataDyne Corporation, the largest, most pervasive hypercorp in the world. But Joanna's vengeance is personal: She holds dataDyne responsible for the murder of her father and will do anything to bring them down. Returning from a field operation that turned bloody, she is exhausted, wounded, and in desperate need of downtime... but the murders of two prominent corporate officers have put the Carrington Institute on high alert. Someone out there is single-handedly redefining the term "hostile takeover" and has placed the CArrington Institute-and its enigmatic founder, Daniel Carrington-square in the gun sights of every hypercorp on the planet.
It appears that each murder has been carried out by none other than Joannna Dark.
In hopes of clearing her name, and the Carrington Institute, Joanna must battle ghosts from her past, high-tech mercenaries who want her dead and a killer who could be wearing anyone's face... "
Perfect Dark: Initial Vector
First novel expanding the Perfect Dark story set beyond the events of Perfect Dark Zero. Written by author Greg Rucka. Released on October 4, 2005.
"The year is 2020:
Corporations control everything. In the name of domination, these sprawling organizations have recruited their own military forces to fight clandestine battles against one another - a war fought in the boardrooms and won in the shadows, with the public none the wiser.
Ex-bounty hunter Joanna Dark has unwillingly seen the front lines of this war. Her run-in with dataDyne, the world's most powerful hypercorporation, has left her with a wound that only vengeance can heal. Daniel Carrington, the charismatic founder of the Carrington Institute, has been locked in an ongoing war with dataDyne for years and sees Joanna's deadly skills as the key to victory over their mutual enemy. But Joanna is young and lost, unable to accept her abilities as virtues or fully trust Carrington's intentions.
But when an explosive secret is unearthed - one that could finally bring down the threat of dataDyne once and for all - Joanna finds herself thrust back into the fight, one that brings her face to face with her past... and the forces shaping her future."
All Perfect Dark material © Rare. All other original content © 2003-2011 Perfect Dark Recon.
No copyright infringements intended. See the About section for more legal information.
Page last updated: 18 December 2009, 09:18 GMT


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Pantera, Slipknot to headline new Portugal fest
Pantera and Slipknot are to headline a new rock and metal festival launching in Portugal next year.
The inaugural Evil Live festival will take place on 28 and 29 June at Altice Arena (cap. 20,100) in Lisbon, with more acts to be announced.
Described as "a new festival dedicated to the heaviest sounds, in all its aspects, with a commitment to the diversity of genres and subgenres as its backbone", the Evil Live festival promises to deliver acts "from mainstream to alternative, from riffs and guitars to new, more contemporary trends and from established big names to emerging talent".
"Evil Live is sescribed as "a new festival dedicated to the heaviest sounds, in all its aspects"
A day pass costs €70 while a two-day ticket is priced at €120.
The event is organised by Lisbon-based concert and festival promoter Prime Artists, which deals primarily with guitar bands.
For more than a decade, the promoter has organised the annual heavy rock festival Vagos Open Air in Portugal's capital city but it was recently revealed that the event won't return in 2023.
In the last few months a slate of new rock festivals have been announced, including Ocesa's The World Is A Vampire, C3 Presents' Sick New World and Live Nation's Adjacent.


Congratulations Breumaster on your 21st live poll! As of 21-Nov-2018 9:10 PM Pacific your polls have 9,861 or more votes, for an average of 470 votes per poll.
This is the 2,234th Image poll. Such polls have a total of 4,074,039 votes for an average of 1,824 votes per poll.
Please try to relate this poll to the next poll when you have time.


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Cryptic & Friends
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Denis Barry
Denis Barry was born on February 19th, 1989 in the Lower Hudson River Valley of New York. His fascination with the artistic process began early on with sculpting clay. As this fascination grew, he was
instilled with the desire to share his creations with others, often giving clay toys to friends and family. His later formative years broadened this artistic inclination to encompass drawing, painting, and even some printmaking techniques such as block printing and silkscreening. During this time he was awarded First in various scholastic art competitions, and was able to pinpoint the successful elements to his body of work. The recurring term used by judges and peers to describe his work was "raw"; and so he used his collegiate years at Dutchess Community College and the Fashion Institute of Technology to refine and balance this almost visceral, "raw", quality. Under the guidance and tutelage of his professors, he was able to evolve his work to be bigger, bolder, and more raw, all the while remaining balanced, compelling, and approachable.
Barry Barsamian
Shannon Bee
Shannon recently graduated with an Associates in Visual Arts from Dutchess. When not pursuing her passion for sculpting, Shannon works at Cryptic Gallery assisting for each show.
Risa Tochigi, aka Boogie, is one half of the dynamic duo boogieREZ. Boogie is a Japanese American street artist who crafts detailed imaginary creatures, flowing abstractions and fun and uniquely creative loving characters. Her body of work taps into the flow of the streets and the vibrations of the dance culture. Her creative spirit blends the technical mastery of traditional Japanese prints with urban imagery, materials and locations.
She is an illustrator, painter and muralist who truly lives life to the fullest. She can't stop, won't stop creating! She works on a wide range of projects in a number of mediums. Recently, she has been deeply involved in using plywood to bring her illustrations to life. Her imagination and love of nature and design has led her to create many organically inspired pieces. Some of these projects include, No Boarders, ART @ WTC, Poughkeepsie Gateway Project, Amsterdam Whitney Gallery, Anderson Contemporary Gallery, Clinton Street Gallery, Cryptic Gallery, Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, Nord Anglia International School, Art 4 WTC, Jonathan Levine projects, O+ Positive festival, Sun Rise Steam Shack, Int-O Yellow, First Street Project, Gownus Mural Project, Raw Brooklyn, Star Street Art Project, Meeting Of The Styles.
John Breiner
(b. Poughkeepsie,N.Y. 1980)
Growing up in New York with an early love for Comics, skateboarding and graffiti John's maintained a career as an Illustrator / fine artist and muralist for well over two decades. While the focus of his personal work revolves around the reuse of found items, (specifically old paper, books and book jackets) he's also paints large-scale murals, various private commissions and designs as well as curated a number of group art shows and installations.
Domino Twist
Tattoo artist by profession; painter, sculpter, taxidermist, and then some on the side.
I would consider it an impossible task to stick with just one medium, there is far too much to explore for that. Our world is full of tools for creation and that is one of my many inspirations. Being raised in a home of animals lead me to my favorite subject matter, my other interests trickled from there. My current work has mainly revolved around the combination of disembodied critters and light hearted pastels; my assumption is that stems from an interest in horror and disney from childhood.
I love the freedom of the life I live and the people it's brought to me, I couldn't ask for a more rewarding career.
Elif Varol Ergan
After graduation for her PhD thesis and artistic studies she researched about underground art and contemporary illustrations in Europe and Japan. Her art mainly focused on parent-child relationship, sex discrimination, women's rights, feminism and human psychology. The characters in her early works can be outlined as uncanny, spooky and strange infants with pale faces, sharp teeth and shadows. There were heavy dose grotesque in the images, severe form deformations, sagging and melting forms merge and blend with intensive contrasts in red and black.
Her current artworks content is mostly focused on feminism, divine femininity, mysticism and women's identity. She illustrates rebel female characters and move away from all kind of definitions and identities of women which has been put by the male dominance. She uses mostly "witch and wicca" metaphors for her rebellion ladies whose behaviours totally against the common thoughts and belief of society.
She usually uses digital media, digital imaging and CNC-machined productions also sometimes combines traditional media such as acrylic, ink, silkscreening for the artworks
Christian Gallo
I was gifted a Polaroid camera at a young age and was constantly shooting everything with it. After the film started to become harder to attain I fell out of it. Later on, I received digital point and shoot mostly documenting graffiti I came across and concerts I would attend. Not until i took a Fine Art photography class in high school did my passion for the art form really develop.
Geddess
I have been making art as far back as I can remember. I was born on Nantucket Island to two painters who put a pencil in my hand at a very young age. I have always been heavily influenced by surrealism, especially the
work of MC Escher and Dali. When I left the island for the first time, at age 7, I was exposed to graffiti and my interest in manipulating letterforms began. Since I started tattooing in Chicago 2010, my
influences have become more contemporary and personal. The use of psychedelics and automatic drawing as meditation has changed the way I approach my artwork over the years. Lately, I find myself mostly inspired by fellow traditional tattooers, graff writers and calligraphic lines. I view my artwork as a visual psychedelic experience and primarily work as a tattooer and painter.
Glenn Probst
Photographer from the Hudson valley. Been shooting for 20 years. I shoot a little bit of everything.
Shannon Ramos
Shannon Ramos is an artist based in New York. Graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology with a BFA in Illustration. Her work conveys a dark, but colorful twist to capture emotion with attitude and it's own take on fashion, beauty and pop culture.
Tc Weaver aka rezones aka one half of the dynamic duo known as BOOGIEREZ is
a self taught visual artist.Starting out in the early 80's with graffiti art...The platform eventually brought him to graphic design, which transitioned to graphic design which eventually led him to photography. his primary sources of inspiration are his life's experiences as well as his environment.
pulling heavily from his trials and tribulations as a youth growing up in long island, Brooklyn, New Jersey and Poughkeepsie. Then folding in his love for hip hop as well as it's connecting elements (sci fi-anime, martial arts and comic books) he's been able to craft works that are oddly familiar but at the same time strikingly different.
STETZ
Stetz is a self-taught mixed media artist based out of Kingston, NY
Born into a family of perpetual travel, having moved from one place to the next while living out of, in, and on the four C's since birth: campgrounds, couches, cars, and casinos. This life of constant travel has given Stetz an endless source of inspiration. Opening him up to all forms of art even some he weren't aware of at the time.
In his youth Stetz had developed a speech impediment. Not being able to fully utilize his voice as an expressive outlet it was his aunt, a painter and teacher of the arts at university, who introduced him to the paintbrush shortly before she had passed away. Immediately realizing the pen and brush are a much stronger voice Stetz had begun scribbling on anything in his path. Carrying a marker since the age of 5 would enable him to draw on everything from car windows, to the back of paintings in hotel rooms, to bus benches, all just to kill boredom. Unaware that what he was doing would be the seed that later leads him into a life of illustration, design, publication, photography, videography, graffiti, fine arts, and street expression.
Over the years Stetz has fabricated a fast and loose painting style molded by the traditional arts and refined in the dark of night utilizing the quickness of the spray paint can. This love for creating public works of art has given much momentum to the lifestyle of perpetual travel allowing Stetz to show artworks and paint murals on an international scale.
John Stoltz
Born in 1977 in Middletown, N.Y., John Stoltz is an infamous artist, whose striking, pioneering artwork has depicted progressive interpretations as well as personal events. The birth of his talent was introduced during the Skater Revolution of the 1980's and was further influenced by comic book art. It was not long before his interest in animated design work was overtaken by the underground art world where he emerged as an up and coming Graffiti Artist. He experimented with one of the most powerful art movements in recent history and considers the realm of Graffiti to be his greatest inspiration. It provided him with an artistic stage for his gifted ability to transfer raw street art material to mixed media design. His life experiences and artistic explorations have been instrumental to his development as an Urban Artist. His unique style allows him to create beauty on multiple platforms while maintaining an extraordinary balance between optimism and subtle realism.
Early in his career he worked with Superegular Records where he created album covers for Hip Hop Artists signed to the music label. He has successfully sold his unique designs on everything from clothing to furniture, had multiple art gallery expeditions and has performed his live painting technique at music festivals across the region. 8 Hats High Inc. he was commissioned as a clean up artist for four animated commericials. May 2011 The Man Cave on the DIY network with Tony Lagussa, featuring John as the Graffitti Art Professional on set.
Developing logo designs for independent music artists. He continues to travel the music festival circuit displaying his live painting style and he is gathering an artist catalogue of pieces for display. He is an avid volunteer within the arts community.
Tony Vitek
Tony Vitek is an artist/sculptor from Middletown, NY who works with different mediums and is always experimenting with new styles and techniques to incorporate into his art. These particular 'Skullptures' ,as he likes to call them, are from a series of metal hanging sculptures using only recycled metals discriminately chosen for their particular shape; each piece manipulated and then constructed.


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Q: Thanks to the newly (purchasing/ purchased) printer, Which answer is correct in this sentence?

Thanks to the newly (purchasing/ purchased) printer, we now have fewer problems.

I think the answer is purchased because I think it means the printer was recently purchased but my teacher's answer is purchasing and I have no chance to ask for explanation.

A: "purchased" is correct. It refers to an action that has been completed - The printer has been/was purchased.
The continuous tense can't be used in this context - "a purchasing printer" is the one doing the action here, which means that the printer is purchasing something. This makes no sense unless the printer has some kind of AI inbuilt.
Here is an example where the continuous is valid:

*

*Thanks to the working generator, we now have electricity.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Listening devices are an excellent way to collect evidence and monitor a variety of situations. Audio spy products can also get the edge over video surveillance as they are a lot more discreet to use and therefore less thought and planning needs to be put into their usage.
Furthermore, their adaptability and versatility make them the ideal solution for both personal and professional use. This article looks to breakdown five of Spy Equipment UK's best-selling audio spy products, to help you make a more informed purchase.
Introducing our best-selling product of all-time, the Enduro Black Box Recorder. This is the ideal audio recorder for a number of reasons. Firstly, it's discreet; the device is very nonchalant and the fact it is pocket-sized makes it perfect for those taking audio while on the go. Ideal for long term deployment, especially within a car or other vehicle.
Its voice activation capabilities mean that when there is no sound in the vicinity of the device, it conserves battery life extremely well – so the listening device can remain in standby mode for 76 days. This recorder is also highly versatile as it is compatible with both Windows and Mac computers and the sensitivity of the microphone gives it a ten-metre radius.
Another hidden recorder, this time in the form of a USB memory stick. The Flash Drive Recorder Pro boasts a greatly improved battery life: it can now record up to 24 hours, has a standby time of 25 days, per charge and has a recording memory capacity of up to 288 hours. The device also possesses the ability to note the time and date of recorded files, making it easier than ever to keep track of the conversations around you.
Of course, like many of our products containing hidden recorders, at first glance, this looks like a regular everyday appliance. However, the GSM Double Plug Adapter contains a robust audio unit and is complete with an optional voice activation feature. This astonishing piece of equipment has an unlimited surveillance distance, allowing users to listen from anywhere. It is loaded with a UK SIM card that will need to be replaced with a relevant SIM depending on the country in which it's set up.
The Spy Pen Digital Recorder is a stylish ballpoint pen that can either be used as a normal stationary product or as an audio recording spy pen, and the subtle design makes it perfect for use anywhere. This multi-purpose product is extremely versatile and discreet: recordings can be started or stopped covertly by simply sliding the pen clip itself. The spy pen runs for 12 hours in recording mode and 8 hours in playback mode before requiring a 2.5-hour charge, and it has a listening radius of up to 8 metres.
The Listen Through Wall Device is a special amplifier that will detect the faintest of noises through walls, partitions and barriers. The listening device includes earphones, as well as bass and treble controls for audio adjustment. This product is highly versatile as it can be used to monitor both conversations in another room, as well as the presence of fluids in pipes and to determine mechanical issues.
Whatever your requirements, Spy Equipment UK has a range of listening devices to help you to listen to and record audio. If you're interested in any of our best-selling audio spy products, contact our professional and helpful team today.
You can also view a full list of our current and all-time best-sellers.


PamelaQuilts: Who is going to be the lucky winner?
Who is going to be the lucky winner?
Time to announce the winner of my giveaway for the Island Batik Getaway Blog Hop!
Congrats to Deb F - I've e-mailed you about sending you your prize!
I'm sure you will have as much fun with French Blue as I did!
Now it's time for me to kick back in my chair and enjoy a movie with my husband - but make sure you come back on Monday for a big announcement and another giveaway - have a great weekend.


Sorzabal Bellido, I. (2018, June 18). Fabrication and Characterisation of Antimicrobial Surfaces.
Ledger, G. (2017, October 19). X-ray Magnetic Circular Dichroism and Scanning Tunnelling Microscopy applied to Molecular Spintronics.
Wit, B. (2016, May 17). On-Surface Genesis of Complex Molecular Architectures Based on Polycyclic Aromatic Compounds.
Rasonabe, D. T. (2016, October 28). Towards Formation of Graphene on Cu(110) Surface from Thermal Decomposition of Perylene.
Barrett, S. D., Lucas, C., & Raval, R. (2012). Photon-Based Techniques. In K. Wandelt, & K. Wandelt (Eds.), Surface and Interface Science: Concepts and Methods Volume 1 (pp. 1-59). Weinheim: Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co.
Raval, R. (2012). Separation of chiral molecule using a bare metal surface.
Marks, A. G., Forster, M., & Raval, R. (2011). Direction Visualisations on Chirality in Two Dimensions.. Tetrahedron Asymmetry, 21, 1125-1134.
Mark, A. G., Forster, M., & Raval, R. (2011). Recognition and Ordering at Surfaces: The Importance of Handedness and Footedness. ChemPhysChem, 12, 1474-1480.
Forster, M., Dyer, M., Persson, M., & Raval, R. (2010). Assembly of Chiral Amino-Acids at Surfaces from a Single Molecule Perspective: Proline on Cu(110).. Topics in Catalysis, 54, 13-19.
Barlow, S. M., & Raval, R. (2007). Nanoscale insights in the creation and transfer of chirality in amino acid monolayers at defined metal surfaces. CURRENT OPINION IN COLLOID & INTERFACE SCIENCE, 13, 65-73.
Raval, R. (2006). Molecular Sociology. Nature, 442, 605.
Gong, X. Q., Raval, R., & Hu, P. (2005). CHx hydrogenation on Co(0001): A density functional theory study. J. Chemical Physics, 122.
Ortega-Lorenzo, M., Humblot, V., Murray, P., Baddeley, C. J., Haq, S., & Raval, R. (2005). Chemical Transformation, Volume Expansion and Kinetics Barriers to Creating the Chiral Phase of R,R-Tartaric acid on Cu(110).. Journal of Catalysis, 205, 123-134.
Raval, R. (2003). Methods and devices utilising adsorption of chiral molecules at a surface or interface.
Bloxham, L. H., Haq, S., Mitchell, C., & Raval, R. (2001). Dynamical Catalytic Responses in the Reaction of Trans-1,2-Dichloroethene on Pd(110. Surface Science, 489, 1-19.
Thomas, G. (n.d.). Structural studies of the adsorption of molecules on Cu(110). (PhD Thesis, University of Liverpool).


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Home / TOPOGRAPHICAL VIEWS / DUMONT D'URVILLE / 2nd Voyage 1837-1840 (issued 1842) / Canal de Samarang (Ile Java)
Canal de Samarang (Ile Java)
Lithograph of one of the canals in Semarang the port city on the north coast of Java, Indonesia. The French on the ships, Astrolabe and Zelee, under the command of Dumont D'Urville visited the town. Its old quarter features Dutch colonial architecture including … Read Full Description
S/N: VAPS-148-ASI-INDO–315985
Categories: Indonesia, East Indies, 2nd Voyage 1837-1840 (issued 1842), ASIA, DUMONT D'URVILLE, TOPOGRAPHICAL VIEWS
Lithograph with one tint.
Lithograph of one of the canals in Semarang the port city on the north coast of Java, Indonesia. The French on the ships, Astrolabe and Zelee, under the command of Dumont D'Urville visited the town. Its old quarter features Dutch colonial architecture including the landmark Lawang Sewu, a massive building that was the railway company's headquarters.the
France whose international standing had been overtaken by Britain's naval dominance, had not taken part in any major voyages of exploration in the C18th. So it was this aim that King Louis-Philippe instructed Dumont d'Urville to mount an expedition to explore the southern regions of Antarctica and the Pacific. The expedition left on two corvettes, the Astrolabe, under the command of Dumont d'Urville who had already sailed around the world on the Zelee.
The ships reached Port Famine at the end of 1838 and after a few days rest, headed further south on January 8th. They sighted their first ice floe the following day and a few days later at 59° 30'S 'an immense block in the form of a triangular prism' could be seen, glistening when the fog lifted. Dumont d'Urville's instructions were to follow Weddell's route and see how far beyond the Englishman's final latitude they could penetrate. His crew had been promised a bonus of 100 francs each if they reached 75°S and a further 20 francs for every degree further south. The ships reached 65° where they were confronted by an impenetrable ice floe. 'To the limits of the horizon on both east and west, spread an immense plain of blocks of ice…'. D'Urville at this point was forced to turn back and on March 7 the two ships left the South Shetlands.
After exploring the southern regions Dumont D'Urville the ships sailed to the Pacific visting many of the islands, Singapore, Batavia, and reached Hobart at the end of 1839.
After a short period of rest in Hobart the ships headed south again on January 1, 1840, this time reaching about 64°S and found themselves suddenly surrounded by icebergs. On January 19, land was sighted, it was completely covered with snow so high it was impossible to see the summit. D'Urville named the coast, Terre Adelie after his wife. The expedition had established the approximate position of the magnetic pole and d'Urville felt that their task had been accomplished and left Antarctica and headed for New Zealand.
The maps and views were published in the official accounts of the voyage and are the finest ever produced of Antarctica and intended to reflect France's rightful place on the international stage.
Embossed blind stamp "Gide Editeur Paris" denoting that is from the original edition of "Voyage au Pole Sud".
National Library Australia: Bib ID 3000254
P. Blanchard
Portraits of the Aboriginal Inhabitants
Flood at Maryborough – The Mary River, Looking from Baxter's Baths.
Valley of Jamberroo, Illawarra. sic (Jamberoo)
The Boatsheds, Pittwater.
Native Dwellings.
Distant View of Hobart Town, Van Diemen's Land, from Bluffhead.
[Coogee]


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Home About Us FAQ
About MedBiquitous | Membership | About Technology Standards
About MedBiquitous
What is MedBiquitous?
MedBiquitous is an international consortium of professional medical and healthcare associations, universities, commercial, and governmental organizations that develops and promotes technology standards for the health professions that advance lifelong learning, continuous improvement, and better patient outcomes. MedBiquitous also provides a forum to exchange ideas about innovative uses of Web technologies for healthcare education and competence assessment.
Why do the health professions need technology standards?
The health professions are undergoing a number of changes. Quality improvement and education have started to merge. Competencies are changing education and training. In addition, changes to how clinicians maintain their certification necessitate enhanced communications between specialty boards and educators. Realizing these changes across the many educators, certifying boards, and practice environments affected will be impossible without technology standards to bridge the gaps between these groups. Standards are essential to track clinical education and training, measure its efficacy, integrate education and improvement resources with systems at the point of care, deploy online courses in different environments, and link education and performance data to core competencies and curricula.
For example, MedBiquitous standards enable Dr. Doe's specialty board to communicate with his specialty society and track which of his maintenance of certification requirements he has completed. MedBiquitous standards also enable his hospital to deploy virtual patients and online compliance training created by a sister institution and communicate the effectiveness of that training to partner organizations. Standards allow Dr. Doe's medical school to integrate the systems that help them manage, evaluate, and deliver the curriculum.
MedBiquitous standards also help schools track their curriculum, resources, and learner data against competency frameworks. Standards make it possible for the learner to use this data after the program is complete – allowing the learner to get a complete picture of their progression in competence across their career. Programs can know what tasks a learner has been entrusted to do without direct supervision, facilitating career transitions and allowing learners to start training at the appropriate level.
Is MedBiquitous accredited?
Yes. MedBiquitous is accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) as a standards developer for information technology standards for healthcare education, professional competence assessment, scientific publications, and online communities for healthcare professionals. ANSI promotes and facilitates voluntary consensus standards and is the official US representative to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
How does MedBiquitous sustain itself?
Like other standards developers, MedBiquitous is supported largely by membership fees, which are tiered based on organization type and revenue. These membership fees support the creation of our standards. In addition, MedBiquitous receives funding from accelerated standards development projects.
Are the big organizations going to take control of the Consortium?
No. MedBiquitous is designed to give all members a voice in the standards development process. Within working groups, each non-profit, government, or industry member is allowed one vote. All materially affected parties, including non-members, can participate in the development of ANSI standards through our standards committee. In addition, the Board of Directors is structured to ensure cross-sector representation and includes a predominance of non-profit leaders in education. MedBiquitous encourages industry participation since their embrace of the developed standards is essential. If industry partners embrace the MedBiquitous standards, it is possible for educators and industry partners to create software tools that work together and further their common goals.
Who is using these standards?
Several organizations have implemented MedBiquitous standards to help them achieve their goals. See our list of implementers to see which organizations are implementers.
What do you get for joining?
For the cost of membership, your organization gets to: 1) define technologies that enable new models for health professions education, assessment, and quality improvement, 2) initiate new standards development activities and shape the Consortium's direction, 3) receive discounts on MedBiquitous meetings and education and much more. There are two tiers of membership: Basic Membership and Sustaining Membership.
Do I have to be a member to use the standards?
No. MedBiquitous standards are made available under a public license, so anyone can implement the standards without cost.
Can my organization join MedBiquitous?
We welcome new participants! You can apply for membership in the consortium, or apply to participate in the Standards Committee
About Technology Standards
What is the scope of development for MedBiquitous?
MedBiquitous focuses on developing technology standards for healthcare education, competence assessment, and quality improvement. MedBiquitous seeks to work with other standards developers whose work is complementary.
What is XML?
XML stands for Extensible Markup Language, a Web standard that makes it easier to exchange structured data over the Internet. For example, when you see John Doe, MD, pediatrics, you probably know that pediatrics is a medical specialty and that John Doe is a doctor's name. Computers can't interpret that information without some help. XML tags put information in context for computers. A XML member listing for Dr. Doe might look like this:
What are Web services?
Just as XML serves as a lingua franca for data, Web services serves as a lingua franca for applications. Web services allows disparate applications and machines to connect with one another through the Internet. These connected applications and machines are able to share information and work together as if they were parts of a single system. As a result, organizations can streamline interactions with partner organizations and save money. And users can find the content and services they seek in one place instead of jumping from website to website. For example, Amazon.com offers Web services that allow other organizations to integrate book searching and listing functionality directly into their existing websites. Instead of going to the Amazon.com website, users can stay on their favorite site to search for and purchase books through Amazon.
APIs are Application Programming Interfaces. APIs let applications work together and exchange data. APIs allow applications to get just the right amount of data that they need for the task the user is trying to accomplish, which makes them particularly useful for mobile computing. For example, an application may use an API to retrieve data on the medical schools accredited in a particular country. If the person using the application requests more detail on a specific school, the application can then retrieve the school's data and display that to the user. That way the user can access the most accurate an up to date information quickly and easily. MedBiquitous uses JSON and XML for its API standards.
If I use the standards, do I have to share my information?
No. Putting your content or data in a standard format does not expose it any way or imply that you intend to share that content with others. But if you do have a need to move data between systems, MedBiquitous standards provide a consistent format for the data and interface for the transaction.
What are the benefits of creating XML and Web services standards?
XML, Web service, and JSON standards make it easier to find information and conduct online transactions. In the airline industry, for example, there are standards for travel information that allow computer systems to exchange data with one another. These standards in turn enabled the development of software tools that allow Internet users to search several airlines for flights meeting their travel criteria.
In addition, standards can save programming and administrative time and effort, thereby saving money. Instead of building new applications from scratch, organizations can weave together standards-based components to create an integrated solution efficiently. Providing automated ways for systems to work together dramatically reduces the time and costs associated with importing new information into existing systems.
Technology standards also provide the opportunity for organizations to work together in new and innovative ways.


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October 27, 2014 May 4, 2016 Blog, Communications, Culture & Sports, Marketing, Social Media Leave a comment Canadian ForcesElloFacebookInstagrammarketingmedianetworknewsOttawaplatformQueen Elizabeth IIRoomsshootingsocialSocial Circlessocial mediaTsuTwitterupdateweeklyYouTube
Social Circles: This Week in Social Media (October 27, 2014)
Each week, Social Circles brings you the biggest news from behind the social networks. Keep up to date with the latest trends, breaking news, and expert analysis from across the web.
This week's wrap-up includes the web's newest platform which promises to pay users, updated privacy measures for Canadian military personnel, and Facebook's new app which takes mobile users back to the days of chat rooms.
October 16, 2014 May 4, 2016 Blog, Communications, Culture & Sports, Marketing, Social Media 1 Comment campaignCarletoncriticismhashtaghijackmarketingonlineOttawapromotionsocial mediasubversiontakeoverUniversity
Carleton's Anniversary Hashtag Gets a Makeover
Launching a hashtag to promote your brand often provides great potential to expand your reach, connect with fans, and use the power of the masses to help build up reputation. But as Ottawa's Carleton University found out today, it also provides rife opportunity for subversion.
The school launched a new public awareness campaign this morning to celebrate its 75th anniversary, that follows the theme "Distinctly Carleton."
As part of the launch, Carleton revealed a new website (as well as a special campaign page) and unveiled massive portraits of famous alumni like former Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson, writer Lynn Coady, journalist Nahlah Ayed, and Ravens basketball star Philip Scrubb, among others.
Part of the launch also included a hashtag campaign.
Save the Date for #DistinctlyCarleton! Oct. 15 at 10 a.m. River Building Atrium #ottnews pic.twitter.com/PLDMz5NwuJ
— Carleton U News (@CUnewsroom) October 8, 2014
It didn't take long for students and faculty to give the hashtag an entirely different meaning.
Bullying students #DistinctlyCarleton
— Lauren Montgomery (@LO_montgomery) October 15, 2014
Destroying a community garden? That's #DistinctlyCarleton
— Kelly B (@K_elly_B) October 15, 2014
Spending a gazillion dollars to restart a football team while cutting departmental budgets (not Sprott of course) #DistinctlyCarleton
— Christian Belisle (@Crizco91) October 15, 2014
March 28, 2014 May 4, 2016 Blog, Communications, Culture & Sports 1 Comment activismairportbridgeclicktivismmunicipalOttawaparkwaypedestrianpoliticsslacktivismTwitter
Twitter Activism on a Local Level: The Day a Bridge Tweeted
"I am frustrated….I am alone and cold and I have been left all alone here for a long time!"
These words make up the biography for the "Airport bridge" Twitter account. That's right, the airport bridge.
The Twitter account continuing to play up the non-human character.
Launched Monday of this week, the account personifies one of Ottawa's longest-running municipal disasters, a proposed pedestrian bridge originally scheduled to be completed in October 2011. Nearly three years later and $4.5 million over budget, the bridge remains incomplete.
The bridge has faced a number of problems, from faulty concrete that needed to be torn down and re-poured to rethinking its entire design. While the city expects the bridge to be complete by this year, no construction is currently underway.
As a result, one fed-up citizen decided to take the matter into her/his own hands, and where better to turn than social media?
After a relatively quiet first two days, the Huffington Post published a story about the Twitter account on Wednesday night, when it had 35 followers. By Thursday, the account had taken off. At the time of writing, the bridge's account was up to over 620 followers.
While the creator of the account has been extremely loyal to the idea of being a personified version of the bridge as opposed to revealing his/her identity, s/he has remained active in pursuing media attention.
January 12, 2014 May 4, 2016 Blog, Culture & Sports Leave a comment CanadaCarletonCISGee-GeeshockeyOntarioOttawaOUARavensUniversity
Ravens Survive Gee-Gees in Capital Battle
Published on The CIS Blog on January 12, 2014.
The stands were packed, the benches fired up, and the referees' whistles put away in this past weekend's big matchup between heated cross-city rivals #9 Carleton and Ottawa. And while the cliché of "the game being closer than the score reveals" is used a lot, it was certainly true in this one. Despite Ottawa outplaying the Ravens for much of the opening period, Carleton were able to escape with a lead after twenty minutes before opening up a 4-0 lead in the second, en route to a monstrous 5-2 victory.
The highly anticipated, crushingly physical game got off to a flying start for the Gee-Gees, who tested Carleton's backup goaltender Francis Dupuis early and often. Within the first seven minutes of play, the garnet and grey had created a flurry around the Raven net, outshooting the home side 7-0.
January 2, 2014 May 4, 2016 Blog, Culture & Sports Leave a comment CanadaCarletonCISGaelsGee-GeesGolden HawkshockeyLakeheadLancersLaurentianLaurierLionsMcGillNipissingOttawaOUAPaladinsPatriotesQueen'sRamsRavensRedmenRidgebacksRMCRyersonsportThunderwolvesTorontoUniversityUOITUQTRVarsity BluesVoyageursWarriorsWaterlooWindsorYork
OUA Men's Hockey Mid-Season Wrap-up
Published on The CIS Blog on January 2, 2014.
It's been thirty years, but the Queen's Golden Gaels finally find themselves back in the CIS Top 10 with OUA teams set to hit the ice again and enter the second half of the season. As the games begin to mean more and we come out of the turn and into the final stretch of the playoff push, here's five of the biggest storylines from the conference over the first half, and that are worth watching as we begin the second.
Gaels on Top
It took until the eighth week for Queen's to finally crack the top ten and take the eighth spot. In spite of three other OUA teams placing ahead of them in the voters' eyes, the Gaels find themselves atop the conference standings with a two-point lead on #5 McGill. More impressively, despite racking up two losses in overtime and three as a result of shootouts, the Gaels remain undefeated in regulation, the only team in the OUA who can claim that (the only other in CIS is the #1 Calgary Dinos).
November 9, 2013 May 4, 2016 Blog, Culture & Sports Leave a comment basketballCanadaCarletonCISGee-GeesLancersmen'sMustangsOntarioOttawaOUARavensUniversityWesternWindsorwomen's
Top Programs Kick Off Basketball Season in Ottawa
Published on The CIS Blog on November 6, 2013.
Some of the top men's and women's basketball programs in the country opened their seasons in Ottawa this past weekend, including both defending CIS champions. Here's our recap of those games:
Tough Start for Windsor
Following a strong regular season that saw them finish atop of the OUA West last season, the Windsor Lancers looked to rebound from a disappointing missed opportunity to play in the CIS Final 8 basketball championship last season as they lost to Lakehead in the OUA bronze medal game. However, things looked optimistic for the Lancers, who entered the season ranked sixth in the nation. Unfortunately for them, the schedulers weren't so kind, forcing Windsor to open their season on the road at the opposite end of the province against the no. 1 Carleton Ravens and no. 3 Ottawa Gee-Gees.
Coming off of their ninth national championship in the past eleven years, it should be no surprise that the Ravens entered the season ranked atop of the CIS Top Ten. Led by legendary coach Dave Smart and a returning class of standouts including Phil and Thomas Scrubb, as well as Tyson Hinz, Carleton looks poised to contend in achieving their campaign of "Again for Ten."
It was a high-profile affair to kick off the season at the Raven's Nest, with a good-sized crowd walking into the arena on a red carpet draped with Ravens cheerleaders on either side while the band provided a traditional university sport soundtrack. A rendition of the national anthem before the game topped off the classy beginning, and the game began.
It took only four seconds for Carleton to put up their first points of the season, as Thomas Scrubb dunked the ball on a fast break off of tip-off. From there, Carleton never looked back, in a game that didn't see a single lead change. Windsor was able to keep it close through the first quarter, trailing only 23-16.
August 3, 2013 May 4, 2016 Blog, Culture & Sports 1 Comment AbstractAlgonquinBytowneCanadaCliffhanger ProjectDigi60directorfilmfilmmakingJith PaulMayfairmoviesOntarioOttawaOttawa International Film FestivalOttawa MagazineTreepot Media
Published in Ottawa Magazine, May 2013 issue.
How a terrible accident a decade ago turned software engineer and government worker Jith Paul into a key player in Ottawa's film industry.
Many filmmakers would say they started on their path the second they picked up a camera as a child. Others realized if it the first time they watched a film that truly inspired them. For Jith Paul, however, it was the injury to a vertebra in his back that launched his film career. In 2002, Paul, who was working as a software engineer at the time, fell while working out at home, injuring his back. In the aftermath, he worked with an occupational therapist to relearn how to walk. But as he took care of his physical recovery, Paul's mental focus was on how to follow his dream of working in the film industry.
Now, just over a decade later, the 41-year-old finds himself overseeing–he jokingly labels himself president, CEO and janitor–Treepot Media, one of Ottawa's fastest-growing production companies. But how does someone make such a drastic jump–from a secure job consulting with the government to a player in the notoriously unpredictable film industry? "Sometimes you need a catalyst to reorganize your priorities in life," Paul says. "And after the back injury, I decided maybe film was something I wanted to try more than just as a whim."


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The legal aid system in Illinois is made up of dozens of independent not-for-profit organizations, ranging from one-lawyer agencies concentrating on a single legal issue to organizations with scores of staff members addressing a wide range of client needs.
In addition to representation by staff and pro bono attorneys, legal assistance is provided through telephone hotlines, web-based self-help materials, court-based advice desks, and walk-in clinics. In 2015, legal aid programs provided direct legal assistance to over 140,000 low-income individuals and families. Tens of thousands of others accessed web-based legal information.
The most common types of legal problems addressed by the legal aid system include family law (domestic violence, child custody, divorce, guardianship); housing law (evictions, foreclosure, conditions issues); consumer law (collections, repossessions, utility shutoffs, bankruptcy); immigration (citizenship, family reunification, asylum); and access to public benefits (Medicaid, SSI, SNAP, TANF).
Funding for the legal aid system comes from a wide variety of sources. The federal Legal Services Corporation is the single largest contributor to legal aid in Illinois, while the Lawyers Trust Fund is the largest funding source based in the state. Additional funding is provided by contributions from law firms and individual lawyers; support from bar foundations; government contracts; grants from foundations and corporations; fundraising events; and cy pres awards.
Despite the exemplary efforts of hundreds of legal aid staff members and thousands of volunteers, demand for legal services continues to exceed supply:
The 2005 Legal Aid Safety Net study [PDF] found that low-income Illinois residents received help for only one out of every six legal problems they face.
Outside of Cook County, only 118 full-time equivalent staff attorneys are available to serve the legal needs of low-income people in 101 counties.
Because of high demand, legal aid hotlines are able to answer less than half of the calls they receive.
An agency representing victims of domestic violence reports having to turn away one woman with a meritorious case for every client they accept.
The Lawyers Trust Fund is dedicated to addressing these needs and ensuring that all Illinois residents have meaningful access to justice.


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genre: nonfiction
issue: Vol. XXIV No. 2 (Summer 2011)
Back Seat, Front Seat
by Douglas Haynes and Alisha Laramee
nonfiction | Vol. XXIV No. 2 (Summer 2011)
by Douglas Haynes and Alisha Laramee on Jun 10, 2011 • 11:59 am
"It's Jordan's hottest weather in sixty-seven years," a radio weatherman says as we drive to the Baqa'a Palestinian refugee camp, where my new friend Hani grew up. In the back seat of Hani's Mitsubishi sedan, I am squeezed between two sweating women, a baby, and an overloaded diaper bag. My red, ankle-length skirt—which I bought specifically for visiting the conservative refugee camp—feels like a wet Band-Aid in the hundred-degree heat. Before leaving this morning, I ripped out the lining of the skirt. Even that sheer silk felt oppressive in the heat. My skirt is no doubt cooler, though, than the dress pants Hani and my boyfriend, Douglas, are wearing.
As a woman in Jordan, I am automatically relegated to any car's back seat. But the fact that Hani's wife Abra [the names of Hani's family members have been changed in this essay] sits here with me on the way to Baqa'a tempers my visceral reaction against the sexist allocation of car seats. After knowing Abra for just ten days, I've learned that she makes her own decisions, like choosing not to wear a headscarf over her shoulder-length, auburn-highlighted black hair. I also know that Hani chose to marry Abra because, in his words, he "wanted to be with an equal." This statement made me immediately like Hani, whose constantly dirty glasses and prematurely graying hair lend him an endearing seriousness. Hani's belief in the equality of the sexes has been calming the vocal feminist in me since I arrived in Jordan, where I'm beginning to see the possibilities for self-expression created by gender differences, instead of just the restrictions.
This doesn't change my sweltering in the shared body heat of the back seat, though. Abra sits on my left, holding her one-and-a-half-year-old son, Nabil. Jane, Abra's nanny from the Philippines, presses against my right side, the diaper bag in her lap. As we descend from the Jordanian capital, Amman—where Hani and Abra live—toward the Baqa'a camp, the stifling wind blowing through the open windows becomes too much for Abra. She insists that Hani turn on the air conditioning, which he had kept off to save gas, and he rolls up the windows just as we leave the highway and enter the refugee camp. The glass panes accentuate the differences between our eclectic posse in the car—three Palestinian Jordanians, two white North Americans, and a Filipina—and the people on the street.
Inside the camp stand rows of uninterrupted, sand-colored buildings. Kids in flip-flops and shorts play soccer in the street and wave at us. Men peer into the car windows. Women avert their eyes. I stare at all of them.
From an altitude of fifty miles, the Baqa'a refugee camp is recognizable on Google Earth as a gray, angular realm of concrete northwest of Amman, Jordan. The camp, as its residents call it, sits in a broad valley in the mountains of Biblical Gilead. To its south, the Amman suburbs bleed down from a high plateau. From twenty thousand feet, the camp's straight edges, grid streets, and tin roofs grow more defined against the surrounding villages, olive groves, and open fields. By five thousand feet, the camp nearly fills the computer screen and becomes a world.
The camp's artificial geography results from its sudden creation in 1968, when the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) resettled twenty-six thousand Palestinians displaced by the 1967 Arab Israeli war into tents at Baqa'a. The camp is now the largest in the Middle East outside of Gaza. More than one hundred thousand people pack into 14.1 square kilometers, and each family lives on an area of 96 square meters.
Among these thousands are my friend Hani's mother, three of his four brothers, three of his four sisters, and tens of in-laws, cousins, aunts, and uncles. Though all of Hani's siblings are older than twenty, six of them live at home with his mother. Hani, thirty-five, considers himself fortunate to be able to afford an apartment in cosmopolitan Amman.
In a country where institutionalized discrimination against Palestinians is common, Hani's escape from Baqa'a is extraordinary. He scored the highest of all Jordanian men on the country's general secondary exams, earning him a Fulbright Fellowship for graduate study in the United States, where he and I fast became friends.
During our two years together in graduate school, Hani often acted as both ambassador and host. He cooked feasts of homemade hummus and dish after dish of difficult-to-pronounce main courses while speaking with soft-spoken humility about his people's horrific recent history. After dinner, as I sat beneath a map of Palestine that dominated one wall of Hani's apartment and sipped sugary black tea boiled with mint, he would make thin pancakes called katayef and stuff them with cheese and pistachios. After dessert, regardless of how long we smoked fruit-flavored tobacco from Hani's Jordanian water pipe, or sheesha, he would always ask why I had to go so soon.
Six years later, after Hani returned to Jordan to teach, he and I reunited to feast again. This time, though, Hani ordered the food at an Amman restaurant called Farujnah ("Our Chicken"), where we went directly after Hani and Abra picked up me and my girlfriend Alisha at Queen Alia International Airport. Over fried chicken, lamb kabobs, and a table full of mezze, we discussed destinations for our three-week visit.
As Alisha and I had hoped, Hani's mother invited us to her home in Baqa'a for lunch after Friday prayers. I knew that a visit to the camp could only provide a momentary, fixed glimpse of life there, something like a satellite view from fifty miles above the earth. Nonetheless, such a firsthand view—like the immediate detail of Google Earth—might allow us to imagine daily life in the camp.
It would be difficult to drive through Baqa'a at over ten miles per hour without hitting something or someone. The streets are barely wide enough for two cars to squeeze through side by side. Add parked cars, pedestrians (there are few sidewalks), and children playing in the streets, and driving at a crawl becomes a necessity.
The rows of concrete houses in Baqa'a appear as if they've grown in fits and spurts. Hani explains that there were gardens next to many homes when he was growing up in the '70s and '80s. These were destroyed, though, as people enlarged their prefab shelters or built new concrete-block houses to accommodate their growing extended families. As many as four generations now live in most houses. In Hani's mother's home, there are three.
When we arrive at Hani's mother's house, we are greeted by his youngest brother, Farid, and his twenty something cousin, Dawud, on the steps of her front door, which opens onto the unpaved street. They both wear T-shirts and jeans and are clean-shaven, with wavy, close-cropped black hair like Hani's.
Hani, dwarfed by both men, approaches first and shakes their hands. Abra follows up the uneven steps in four-inch black heels, holding the baby. As Alisha meets Farid and Dawud, each of them says hello and slightly nods. Hani told us before we arrived that the men would not greet Alisha with a handshake, a culturally inappropriate breach of the barrier between the sexes. He didn't want her to embarrass herself by unknowingly extending her right hand, only to be met with stares.
After I shake hands with Farid and Dawud, they immediately lead me to a couch in the sitting room adjacent to the house's entryway, which is scattered with shoes. Then Hani's mother, Khulud, walks in, and Hani introduces her as "living history."
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Douglas Haynes's essays and poems have appeared in Orion, North American Review, Isotope, Bellevue Literary Review, and many other publications. He teaches writing and American literature at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh and lives in Madison, Wisconsin. / Alisha Laramee is a 2010-2011 Vermont Arts Council Creation Grant recipient. She is a faculty member at the Community College of Vermont and works for the Vermont Migrant Education Program. Her essays and poetry have appeared in the Christian Science Monitor, Harpur Palate, and The Leader, and she has an essay forthcoming in Vermont Life.


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