St Margaret's church is not so much a building as a community of people. Each one has a story of how they have met with God, or rather how God has met them.
Here at St Margaret's you can meet with God yourself.
We are from all kinds of backgrounds but we have this in common: we believe that Jesus' message is as relevant now as when it was first spoken.
Every Sunday and in weekday small groups we read a part of the Bible and see how we can apply it to our lives.
We meet because we believe what the Bible teaches us about the way to live God's way. We also meet with others who have found that following the living person of Jesus makes a difference to their lives and the lives of those around them. In the face of so much wrong-doing in the world, we don't pretend we are saints, as we say 'There but for the grace of God go I'!
God gave us the gift of life but we turned from the source of life.
God has come to us in Jesus Christ to live, die and rise for us, dealing with sin, destroying death and defeating evil – for they deny us life – and restoring true life to us in all its fullness.
God invites us to step into the new life of Christ that Jesus has made available to us, by turning to Christ and believing in him – that Jesus died so that we might live – by immersing ourselves in his risen life through baptism, and by living the life of Christ in the gift of his life-giving Spirit, following Jesus faithfully in the new community of the Church, his own body.
There are millions of committed, active followers of Christ around the world. We are part of the Church of England which itself is part of the Anglican church around the world.
Who runs it and how is it paid for?
The church is a community not a one man band! So dozens of people from the village and area help to run the services, organise youth and children's work and keep the church open for visitors.
Church members give generously to the church (there is no central funding, it is all raised locally). This pays for a full time minister and the upkeep of our very old building. Kevin Flanagan is our vicar and he is also responsible for St Peter's in Church Lawford.
Village events are one important way of raising money to keep the building in good order, and they are fun!


Walking tours are one of my favorite things to do when I travel. During my recent trip to Washington DC, I walked one morning as dawn broke to see what I think is the best of DC. You can do my Washington DC Top 5 Sites Walking Tour in one day. Or you spend as much time as you want at each of the spots. When you are tired, take a break. Traveling isn't a speed test or endurance race, it's supposed to be relaxing. So go at your own pace, and enjoy the day!
Pace yourself there are lots to see in Washington DC. Don't try to do it all in one day. (I had a crazy day doing it as fast as I did it.) I recommend Walking this at your own pace.
One place I didn't get to see was the US Bureau of Engraving and Printing tours. It's a fascinating tour. You need tickets so go early to 14th Street and get your tickets after 8:00 am each day. After all, who doesn't like to see a money factory? The ticket will give you entrance at a specific time, so you can see these sites and maybe finish at the US Bureau of Engraving and Printing tour.
The National Mall in Washington DC is easy to get to by Metro which I recommend doing. There are always things to do and see there; you can enjoy music, speeches, and National events. The National Mall is better known for the monuments. It is part of the National Parks system, established by President Theodore Roosevelt and in 2016 we celebrate the 100th anniversary of The National Parks system.
I picked this as one of my favorites because of my Uncle Bill, who served and never got the recognition he deserved, in a war that has never ended.
When I think of the White House, I think of three buildings. I think of it this way because I believe the office of the presidency is bigger than one person. I include the White House, Blair House the guest house to the White House and Eisenhower Executive Offices. All three are located within a few blocks of each other so look for all of them. If you want to take a tour of any of the buildings, you must get a ticket or ask your representative for a special admission pass and tour. The security is very high around all of these locations.
His home is not here. But, the Vice President's Residence located on the grounds of the United States Naval Observatory (USNO), the white 19th Century House at Number One Observatory Circle in northwestern Washington, D.C., was built in 1893.
Across from the White House is a classic view. It is also the location for the cover shot for the post. I am listing Andrew Jackson's statue as one of the Washington DC's 5 Best Sites. It is the best site because people don't know about it and the view is nostalgic. This location is an American iconic look at our history because it captures out roots from the Civil War Statue, the White House, the American flag and the Washington Monument.
It is hard to pick one photo to represent the entire Smithsonian because it is many buildings, housing many exhibitions. Even the National Zoo is part of the Smithsonian. Every part of the Smithsonian and all the many parts of the Smithsonian are remarkable from Flight to National History to Fine Art. I love art, so I picked Renwick Gallery. All of the Smithsonian's are free.
The Capital is still under construction – but, hopefully, the renovation will be done by the Presidential inauguration.
The Chambers of House of Representative – I am not happy with our representatives, so it's not on my list but, might make yours.
The Supreme Court – it's a little further to walk for my one-day walking tour, and I had to think about how to make it a one day walking tour. On other trips to DC, I have seen the Supreme Court. I started coming here with my father when I was ten years old. DC is the first place my dad took me on a vacation when my twin brother and sister were born and we had recently moved to Connecticut. I spent more time seeing the National Mall. But, I think its a must see.
I am glad I went. Believe me, when I say, my travel will keep going back to Washington DC Top 4 Sites and many others because every time I go to DC, I am inspired.
Smithsonian, Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial: Get off at Smithsonian Metro Stop (on Blue line).
White House: Farragut West Metro Stop (on Blue line). You could also walk from the Smithsonian stop up 15th street.
Tidal Basin/Jefferson Memorial: Smithsonian Metro Stop (on Blue line). Go at sunrise, its beautiful light and not as hot.
National Building Museum: Gallery Place/Chinatown metro stop (Yellow line). On F and 5th street. They do cool exhibits. This summer is icebergs.
Georgetown: Rosslyn Metro Stop (Blue line), there is a circulator bus that will take you across the bridge to Georgetown or you can walk.
Meridian Hill Park – U Street Metro Stop (Yellow line) 15th and W Street. Lovely, picturesque park.


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Johns Island Food Pantry Volunteer
Our Lady of Mercy Community Outreach Services, Inc.
Our Lady of Mercy Community Outreach is recruiting for a weekly Thursday food pantry volunteer at the Johns Island location. Volunteer duties include restocking the shelves and assisting clients shop based on our pantry guidelines. The shift is from 10am to 2pm.
9 More opportunities with Our Lady of Mercy Community Outreach Services, Inc.
About Our Lady of Mercy Community Outreach Services, Inc.
P.O. Box 607, 1684 Brownswood Road, Johns Island, SC 29457, US
The mission of Our Lady of Mercy Community Outreach is to build equitable communities and empower individuals to reach their full potential by providing basic and emergency needs, education, employment and health services
Our Lady of Mercy Community Outreach Services has been an anchor in the Sea Island community since before Hurricane Hugo in 1989 and in the eastside of Charleston at the Neighborhood House for over 100 years. We operate two campuses - one on Johns Island that serves residents of Johns, James, and Wadmalaw Islands, West Ashley (inside 526), Adams Run, Meggett, Ravenel, Hollywood, Edisto Island - and the other in the Eastside Community of downtown Charleston that serves residents of downtown Charleston and West Ashley (outside 526). We were founded by the Sisters of Charity of Our Lady of Mercy in 1989 and we are a 501c3 organization.
1684 Brownswood RoadJohns Island, SC 29455
Thursdays from 10am to 2pm

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Breaking news: Jewish woman killed in Ukraine
A Jewish woman was killed in the separatist stronghold of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine overnight, The Jerusalem Post has learned.
The woman, whose name has not yet been released, had worked in the city's Jewish kindergarten, according to the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, which provides aid to Jews in the war zone.
In a separate incident, a minibus was hit by rocket fire three hundred meters away from the Donetsk synagogue Wednesday morning during morning prayers. The Rabbi sent his congregants away from the synagogue for their protection.
Regular distribution of humanitarian aid at the synagogue will continue today, the community announced on its Facebook page, calling on people to pray for the victims.
Dovid Mondshine of the Federation of Jewish Communities of the CIS has expressed interest in evacuating the Jewish community to the nearby Russian city of Rostov, which has become a popular destination for Ukrainians fleeing their civil war.
Photo: The children of the Jewish community of Donetsk in better days
*** Click here to join our Emergency Campaign ***
PrevEnerJew FSU continues to surprise
Teacher at FJC Preschool Killed in Donetsk, Ukraine; Rockets Land Near SynagogueNext


text:
Q: How to create object from arrays of row in laravel Elequent Here I want to make the array inside "property" to an object where the key of the object will be the value of 'key_name' column of product_property table
[{
    "sort_order": 1,
    "name": "Samosas",
    "visible": 1,
    "description": null,
    "property": [
        {
            "product_uuid": "95be9cf4-7121-492b-8725-762e6353ac51",
            "key_name": "categories",
            "key_value": "Starter"
        },
        {
            "product_uuid": "95be9cf4-7121-492b-8725-762e6353ac51",
            "key_name": "print_order",
            "key_value": "1"
        }

    ]
}]

This is what I want
[{
    "sort_order": 1,
    "name": "Samosas",
    "visible": 1,
    "description": null,
    "property": {
        "categories": "Starter",
        "print_order": "1"
    }
}]

I tried with Product::with('property')->get() and it results the first array.
Is there any Eloquent way to do that or raw sql or Query Builder?
Looping throw the result and make that object is possible but here i want something from SQL end
$products = Product::with('property')->get();
foreach ($products as $product) {
    $array = [];
    foreach ($product->property as $property) {
        $array[$property['key_name']] = $property['key_value'];
    }
    $product->properties = $array;
}

This looping giving me the results but its from php end
public function property(){
    return $this->hasMany(ProductProperty::class, 'product_uuid', 'uuid');
}

The Product model
Product table
"sort_order",
"name",
"visible",
"description",

Product Property table
"product_uuid",
"key_name",
"key_value"

Thanks in advance

A: $products = Product::with('property')->get();
foreach ($products as $product) {
    $array = [];
    foreach ($product->property as $property) {
        $array[$property['key_name']] = $property['key_value'];
    }
    $product->properties = (object) $array;
}

Add object. It will convert this to a std object.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Q: Detect camera rotation on Microsoft Surface? Is there a reliable way to determine if a camera is rotated on the Microsoft Surface?
Basically, I want to know if a specific camera is built into the device (as it will then rotate with the device), is there a way to query this?
My problem is that when the user rotates the device, my camera view is flipped, I cannot however assume that I should just rotate the read frames as the active camera may be an external USB camera.
I'm reading the cameras using the Media Foundation APIs.

A:
Basically, I want to know if a specific camera is built into the device [...] is there a way to query this?

With UWP, you can check the camera's DeviceInformation's enclosureLocation.panel property, which is either:

*

*front/back/etc for an integrated camera or

*unknown for an external camera

An full example is available in the CameraStarterKit sample.

However, if you can't use UWP, it should still be possible to find the underlying information.  With MF, you should be able to access MF_DEVSOURCE_ATTRIBUTE_SOURCE_TYPE_VIDCAP_SYMBOLIC_LINK.
This will be something like
\\?\usb#vid_046d&pid_0843&mi_00#6&2314864d&0&0000#{e5323777-f976-4f5b-9b55-b94699c46e44}\global

A built-in camera is supposed to register its physical location in
HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\InternalDeviceModification\{GUID}

Where the value of the PLD_Panel key should be a DWORD with values very similar to the Panel enum referenced above.
Here, 6 means unknown. So you should be able to check for the presence of this registry key and, if present check its value.  I suspect this is similar to what UWP does under the hood.
Failing that, you can also hack in support by hardcoding some values for camera vendor and product ID's or MF_DEVSOURCE_ATTRIBUTE_FRIENDLY_NAME's.


This powerful and independent princess can look after herself and doesn't need a Jedi to save her in our Child Star Wars Deluxe Princess Leia Costume. This member of the Rebel Alliance is ready for whatever the Dark Side may throw at her.
Brilliant item and super fast despatch. My niece is over the moon with her birthday present!
My seven year old granddaughter loves this costume. She wasn't to keen on the wig but loved wearing everything else. The fabric is very good and value for money.
Dress and belt were fine.... Luckily we didn't need the wig as my daughters hair is long and could do the style ourselves.... Wig was poor quality really.


One hopes, when one is an "aspiring" writer, that once one gets within sight of being published, impostor syndrome will go away.
No such luck. Here I am with a contract, and the stupid brain weasels are still very much wrapped around my brain.
I just sent in my author homework. And now I'm utterly convinced the editor and other staff are going to be rolling their eyes, convinced they made a bad deal and they need to do whatever they can to rid themselves of this idiot.
It's nonsense, I'm sure. If there are problems with what I sent in, I'm sure they'll let me know and work with me to fix it. But even knowing that, I keep expecting the worst.
The thing with Impostor Syndrome is that you can't let it paralyze you. Sure, feel inferior. Go ahead and believe that you're a terrible writer and nobody will ever like your work. But don't let it stop you. Tell your brain to shut the hell up and get back to work. Eventually, you'll come out the other side and recognize the BS for what it is.
And then be prepared to do it over and over and over again. I do it all the time as a teacher, and as a writer. It stinks, but what else are you going to do?
Authors For Families Kicks Off April Auctions!
Well, here we are: Release Day!


Today's post is a post about an exciting parcel I received recently from the company WaxBox and I have to say it is the nicest smelling parcel I have ever received!
WaxBox is a monthly subscription service but it's not your usual monthly box subscription of beauty products or food or even pet products, WaxBox is a monthly subscription service dedicated to wax melts and small candles. I think it's a fabulous idea and I couldn't wait to open my box which was the May WaxBox, as I said the box smelled beautiful, even our post lady commented on how nice it smelled when she delivered it.
I'll show you what was in my May WaxBox and then tell you all the information you need.
The box the products come in is a standard cardboard box, it was well sealed and had my name and address on the front and the box had been posted with Royal Mail recorded delivery. I thought the box was adequate and well sealed, I'd rather a company just use a regular cardboard box than charge more because of packing costs so I found the box and packaging to be absolutely fine.
The contents of the box were wrapped in Black tissue paper and there was a little sticker saying "enjoy" on it with a love heart which I thought was a nice touch. Stuck onto the inside of the lid of the box was a list of all the products inside, with the name of the company and a description of each product.
Once I'd removed the tissue paper the first thing I saw was an envelope with my name on. The products were safely encased in what I call "brown paper spaghetti like stuff" but I am pretty certain there is a "proper" name for this type of packing.
Inside the envelope was a really nice note from the lovely lady Paula who had contacted me regarding me reviewing the box, I thought this was a really nice thing to do, a lovely personal touch.
So now onto the bit you've all been waiting for, what products did I get in my box? I will list them below with the name of the company in bold then the name of the product and the description of the product from the information in the box and then the best bit, how it smells. Because this is an unboxing review post I have not yet burned the wax melts and candles but I will be checking back on my blog and You Tube channel to let you know how I got on when using them.
Heart & Home - Fresh Linen Wax Melt - Refreshing, clean and pure. Wrap your senses in the comforting scent of freshly laundered sheets and fluffy towels. This wax melt smells lovely, it really is a nice fresh scent and does remind me exactly of fresh clean fluffy towels, this sort of scent is the sort of scent I would go for if I were buying a candle.
Butterfly Scents - Red Velvet Cake - Sweet rich red velvet cake, full of chocolate goodness. This small wax melt smells divine, it has a gorgeous sweet smell and really does smell of cake, it has a vanilla scent to it but you can smell chocolate too and it has little pinky red sparkles on top, perfect! Again this is a scent I would go for when buying a candle. On the back of the business card in the packet there was a 10% discount code off your next order from Butterfly Scents, which I thought was a nice touch.
Totally Tarty Licious - Raspberry Lemonade - Ice cold lemonade with sweet undertones of juicy raspberries. This has a lovely scent and is a mix of sweet and fresh and it really does smell of raspberries and lemonade, it's a lovely scent and one that's perfect for the time of year. I really like how there are pieces of red and white inside the pink candle too.
Scented Heaven - Black cherry bomb/Cherry apple - Lovingly handmade soy wax melts. These smell amazing and exactly as the names would suggest they are heavily scented of cherry which is one of Simon's favourite candle scents. Now I'm not a connoisseur of scents but I could smell cinnamon too, these smell lovely and if you've been reading my blog for a while you'll know I love anything heart shaped so these were a definite winner for me, even though Simon appears to have claimed them for his own!
Cali's Handmade Candle Co - Baby Powder - Smells just like the popular brand of baby powder. Our melts are hand poured in Yorkshire using natural soya bean wax and high quality fragrance oils. This is a lovely scent and does smell just like baby powder, I love scents like this one, nice and fresh and clean smelling, a really lovely scent and smells just like the description, lovely!
Country Candle Company - Amber and Lavender - A rich and sophisticated opening of citrus notes including bergamot, lemon, tropical pineapple and fresh apple mixed with nuances of rose and spicy highlights of black pepper. The herbal heart combines classic lavender with rosemary, sage patchouli and amber. The musky, sweet base closes with mossy notes. Being brutally honest as I always am, when I saw this I thought "oh no" because lavender is one of the scents I hate the most, I just don't like herbal type scents, they're just not me but to be fair when I opened this and smelled it, because it has the amber in and the other things too it isn't too over powering and smells quite nice, it isn't something I would perhaps choose myself but it isn't what I thought it would be and does smell quite nice and fresh and I'm interested to burn it and see how it smells. The shape of this is a bit like cubes of jelly which I liked and thought was useful because you can burn as much or little as you like.
The WaxBox is £10.00 plus £3.95 postage and packaging and the boxes are sent out via Royal Mail second class recorded delivery, the boxes are sent out between the 1st and the 7th of each month. To order this May box you must sign up before the 15th of May so you'll need to hurry scurry if you like the sound of this box but if you order after that date it will roll over to the June box instead so if you'd prefer a surprise maybe sign up after the 15th for the June box. The products inside the box will always meet the value of the box but more often than not they will exceed the value of the box.
You can also purchase the subscription as a gift so if you know someone who loves candles this would be a great gift for them.
I think the WaxBox is a really great idea, especially if like me you always go for the same scents when looking at candles and wax melts, I like that the products are small candles and wax melts too as I've only recently over the last 12 months been able to burn candles because of an accident Simon had involving fire so I only ever buy or look at small candles and wax melts anyway so the contents of the box are perfect for us but if you do like bigger candles the box gives you the opportunity to try scents and brands you might never have tried or heard of, I wouldn't ever have picked up the lavender and amber melt but it does actually smell nice so it's good to be taken out of my comfort zone a little and try new things. I think the WaxBox is a great idea, a great way of trying out new scents and brands and if you're a candle lover this is right up your street, you'll love it and it would make a lovely gift for someone too so it's great you can buy a subscription as a gift for someone. I like that the postage is recorded delivery so you're not waiting for ages for your parcel to arrive too and the products were packaged well and safely and all the information you need is in the box, there is also a FAQ section here on the website. Overall I think it's a great box with lovely products inside and it's the most amazing smelling parcel you'll ever have delivered, whats not to like? My favourite pick from the unboxing is definitely the Red Velvet Cake and Simon's is the Black Cherry Bomb/Cherry Apple but we might think differently and love something else more when we've burned them, I'll keep you posted on my blog and You Tube channel.
If you would like to sign up to WaxBox you can do so by clicking onto this link.
WaxBox also have Twitter here, Instagram here, Facebook here and Pinterest here.
Do you love candles? Let me know which product you liked the sound of most from the May WaxBox in the comments below.


text:
Sonoran Arts Network
Tohono Chul Art Gallery
A(MAZE)ING MAPS AND LEGENDS
Reviewed by C.J. Shane
Tohono Chul Art Gallery is always a wonderful place to visit not only for all the great art exhibits over many years, but also simply because the gallery is located in such a beautiful desert botanical garden.
The current exhibit, A(Maze)ing Maps and Legends, is well worth seeing despite the somewhat muddled theme of the exhibit. The curator's statement tells us that the exhibit "….unveils puzzling explorations into the varied realms of cartography and the structured systems of their legends." Does the word "legend" here refer to a key to a map or to a traditional story? And what is a "structured system of a legend?" The statement further says that maps can refer to "unique paths carved by the creative process." That is, if the artwork doesn't seem to have anything to do specifically either with maps or legends, then it must have to do instead with "the creative process." That's really stretching the idea of maps and legends. It's no surprise then that there are quite a few artworks in this exhibit that don't seem to have much to do with maps or legends.
We'll take up the issue of art statements and writing about art below. First, however, let's begin with some of the works in this exhibit that do fit well into the maps theme.
Shirley Wagner
Shirley Wagner takes up the age-old human urge to see what's over the hill in her assemblage piece Wanderlust. A vintage map appears beneath layers of transparent and translucent layers. Tools we associate with measurements – ruler, protractor, triangle tool – suggest the many ways we attempt to discover where we're going and how far we must travel to arrive there. The tools suggest the ever-present attempt to find our way. The number five in metal suggests how we use numbers to find places – street addresses, number of miles along a trail, how many hours until we arrive. The overall effect is both beautiful and a reminder of what's involved in wandering.
Other artists have a different take on maps. Margaret Suchland tells us that her collages refer to "mental mapping." Two beautiful collage/watercolor paintings by Yasmin Al-Mutawa include maps, technical drawings, and medical text anatomical illustrations to create beautiful works that Stay Connected and ask the question, Are We There Yet? the rhythmic sweep of both works suggest how we are often caught-in-the-stream of life despite our continuing efforts to draw, map, and illustrate events.
Carolee Asia
Robert Renfrow's Cultural Mapping addresses ancient people's movements and mapping of the earth surface. His work looks at geoglyphs, those large-scale earth surface designs created by ancient people from rocks and other durable features. Interestingly, geoglyphs have been taken up by some contemporary artists working in the area of environmental art.
Carolee Asia's Atlas Project is one of the very few works in the exhibit that integrates both the concept of maps and of legends as stories in one work. Her colorful three-dimensional atlas both maps the world and tells the story of Eurybia, the Greek goddess of navigation and of the seas. She watches over us as we set off in our ships to explore.
Another work involving maps and sailing ships, or in this case boats created of maps, is Kathleen Koopman's Navigating the Desert Seas. Koopman explains her fascination with maps as evoking the "blurry terrain of memory, imagination as well as travel, exploration and journeying to the unknown, literally and metaphorically." Just as important as exploration is Koopman's investigation of water and the importance of water in the desert. She views her boats as metaphors for the preciousness and scarcity of water in the desert.
Unfortunately Koopman's work is displayed very high in the main gallery that has a ceiling that must be at least 12 feet high. The boats are well over most viewers' heads, far too high for most of us to get a very good look. The same problem appears with a David Adix sculpture mounted where the wall intersects with the 12-foot high ceiling.
Koopman's artwork involving boats and her fascination of water is but one of several works in the exhibit which addresses an unstated but obvious theme of this exhibit - environmental art. Although the definition of environmental art is still emerging and is definitely flexible, in this context it means artworks motivated by ecological consciousness.
Kathleen Koopman
William Lesch
A prime example of this unstated theme is the work of photographer William Lesch. He presents us with two large-scale montages of aerial photos of surface mines in southern Arizona. His informative artist's statement tells us that he wasn't interested in providing a document of destruction. He saw the changes caused by mining as huge abstract earth sculptures which transformed into "road maps of our way of life, the results of the decisions we had made to extract these minerals for our steel and copper."
His montages are not documentary, but instead an artistic piecing together of multiple views of earth movements caused by mining. The results are beautiful and colorful and rather horrifying when you think of what you are seeing.
There are other examples of environmentally-related works in the exhibit, among them Karen Bellamy's Fracking, Alexandra Bowers' Remembering and Tom Baumgartner's visually-rich prints showing gila monsters, hummingbirds, and Sonoran Desert landscapes with native cacti.
Ruben Urrea Moreno
Another ecology-related artwork that is the best example of map-legend/story integration in the exhibit is Ruben Urrea Moreno's Mother Nepal. Moreno's is a quite different kind of mapping. Here we see the mapping of water and the nopal cactus. The mapping involves rain, roots and the trails made by ants in the dirt, the desert coyote and jack rabbit, the flowers, the fruit, the sun, the human child and the legendary mother watching over all. Moreno told me that this female figure is Mayo Medicine Woman named Maclovia Borbon Moroyoqui. As for me, I saw Dolores Huerta who has been so important to the people of our bioregion .
Reading the curator's statement and all the artists' statements for this exhibit and then seeing the artwork brought to mind a Wall Street Journal article a few years back by Eric Gibson titled "The Lost Art of Writing About Art." Here "writing about art" refers not to art critics or arts journalists but instead to the curators' statements and artists' statements that appeared with the artwork at a Whitney Biennial in New York City. Gibson reports numerous complaints from artists and art critics who described the writing about art as "unalloyed gibberish." Gibson also noted that the public was not consulted because the art world mavens considered the public a bunch of philistine know-nothings.
Here's an example of the unalloyed gibberish from the Whitney exhibit: "…invents puzzles out of nonsequiturs to seek congruence in seemingly incongruous situations, whether visual or spatial……inhabits those interstitial spaces between understanding and confusion." We conclude that artists' statements and curators' statements had become so incomprehensible at the Whitney that no one could make sense of them. Gibson reports that those who complained were demanding more accessible writing, including the radical notion that the writing might be enjoyable to read, too.
As mentioned, the curators' statement in A(maze) Maps and Legends veers toward this inaccessibility as do several of the artist's statements. The ideas and concepts underlying any exhibit are significant and worth considering when viewing the art. In this case, the obfuscation of maps and "structured systems of their legends" lacks clarity.
This obfuscation is carried over into the artworks, many of which seemed to have only the most tenuous relationship to either a map or a legend. Artists can become quite clever at writing artist's statements that are stretched to fit the theme of an exhibit, or which are confusing to the point that we cannot decipher what the artist thinks about his/her artwork. The reason why many artists so dislike writing artist's statements is because they think they are supposed to write this "unalloyed gibberish." Not so.
Wouldn't it be far more helpful to art viewers if we wrote our statements in a clear and simple way? I think gallery visitors will thank curators and artists for helping us to more easily understand and contemplate the art we are seeing.
Needless to say, artists, curators, and galleristas should always remember how important it is to check statements for grammar, spelling, and syntax errors. There's a fair amount those kinds of problems as well in this exhibit's statements.
And yet, despite the fuzziness in the curator's and artists' writing about art, the artwork is, for the most part, very good and definitely worth seeing.
Learn more about Tohono Chul Park and Art Gallery here> http://tohonochulpark.org/
Sonoran Arts Network copyright 2013-2019


Two hundred education sessions on a wide variety of HVAC construction topics and the biggest HVAC market trade show in the world.
Those of some of the reasons ASHRAE says members should attend the society's 2016 winter meeting in Orlando, Florida. The meeting will take place Jan. 23-27 at the Orlando Hilton. The annual AHR Expo HVAC construction trade show will take place Jan. 25-27 at the Orange County Convention Center next door.
Educational session subjects will include applications, standards, guidelines, codes and design-building work, officials say.
For registration information on the HVAC market event, go to www.ashrae.org/orlando and www.ahrexpo.com for details on the HVAC construction trade show.


Sometimes it takes me longer, and costs me more money, than if I just hired a pro. But that's the cost of learning, right?!
During my first 2 years of managing rentals, I was convinced that I didn't need to research the contractors that I was hiring. After all, I thought I knew enough about everything to supervise the quality of their work. Yes, I was over confident.
I also had built up a small list of trusted contractors, that I felt comfortable with, and used them frequently. This was all well and good until my favorite contractors started getting more expensive jobs, and were too busy to take my service calls.
Then one day, I needed help and didn't know who to call. Specifically, I needed a locksmith, and I needed it quickly.
So, I signed up for Angie's List.
That was 6 months ago, and I've been using Angie's List ever since. Honestly, I don't know how I lived without it. I had known about the review site for a long time, and knew that it could help me find a reputable contractor in almost any industry, but… I was being cheap, and I didn't want to pay $22/year for the service.
If I could go back in time, I would have signed up sooner. When I looked up "locksmiths" in my area, I found multiple options with an A+ rating, and glowing reviews. The top vendor even had a 20% off coupon exclusively for Angie's List members. Perfect. So I called and made an appointment.
Conclusion: It pays for itself!
After the locksmith performed his magic, the bill was $190, minus 20% ($38). So, you see, by using Angie's List, I not only hired a reputable contractor, but the savings from the exclusive coupon covered the cost of my membership! It paid for itself in one use!
I highly recommend Angie's List for every Landlord and Property Manager.
They even have a fantastic mobile app (itunes, android), so you can find contractors on the go!
Lucas is the Chief Landlordologist at Cozy. He has been a successful landlord for over 10 years, with dozens of happy tenants and a profitable income property portfolio.
Read more about Lucas's story.
I feel like this recommendation should come with a disclaimer.
While Angie's list can be a helpful resource, top-rated companies are sometimes only as good as the ad fees they are willing to purchase, as a majority of the Angie List's profit comes from ad sales and rank-change fees versus their consumer membership fees.
As discussed in the "TIME" article by Brad Tuttle on 9.21.13 (http://business.time.com/2013/09/21/guess-whos-getting-some-pretty-awful-reviews-user-review-sites), along with several other earlier resources (Consumer Reports: http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/2013/09/online-ratings-services/index.htm; Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2013/09/10/aint-it-time-to-say-goodbye-to-angies-list/), these ratings are not driven by local consumer reviews alone, but also by willingness of a company to purchase their ranking status. Angie's List is not alone in this practice.
One should never blindly trust an individual online review or review site. It's important to remember that although review sites like this can be very helpful in vetting vendors – what could be better than a recommendation from a trusted, respected source – there is a major incentive for companies to purchase these accolades and an established precedence of them doing so.
A referral from local real estate agents and rental housing associations that deal with a high volume of area vendor requests is a great place to start or to use as a resource to cross reference with the information found in online review sites.
There are never any guarantees. It is always possible to have a negative or difficult experience with any company, well-reviewed or not. As a consumer and landlord, one would be remiss in not fully understanding where the information being provided is coming from and what service membership fees will actually get you.
Thanks for bringing this up. You are so right! It's critical to understand where Angie's list gets its revenue – much of which is from the vendors themselves – to buy ranking in the search results. Thus is similar to how google features paid listings at the top of their search.
I agree that the best way to find a contractor is through referrals of close friends, family, or other real estate pros in your neighborhood. But that doesn't make the vendors AL any less quality.
The bottom line is that every landlord need to do their research – even for those companies on AL.
When I don't have a strong reference from a friend, I then either have to do a google search, search the yellow pages, or use a review site when I need a contractor.
At least with Angie's list, I know the reviews are legit (because I've seen my own reviews posted) and I have some recourse to hurt their reputation if they perform poorly. Angie's list actually calls each of the members to proactively get reviews after a search is performed. The audible recordings will soon be available for anyone to listen too – which is pretty cool. Maybe I'll hear my voice on the site one day.
In my opinion, any legitimate reviews are better than none, and if I can offset he cost of the AL membership with exclusive coupons with quality vendors – then that's just the icing on the cake.
I really appreciate your comment. It's comments like this that help us all learn from each other. Cheers!
Thanks for doing my homework for me. I think I'll follow your lead and sign up myself. I got a hot water heater and some other items to replace to ready my home for sell.
Cool! I was pleasantly impressed when I signed up. But just in case you aren't, they have 110% guarantee if you cancel within the first year. They even pay you a little extra for your trouble. It's kind of a no-brainer.
I'd like to find rent as low as $300 a month and I'd be willing to settle for just one private room with one private bathroom no matter how ugly the place looks as long as it is stable.
It's amazing people by doing nothing make so much money in Canada and US.