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Posts Tagged 'travel'
Book Review: Doing Good… Says Who?
Posted by: revjmk on: January 12, 2016
Doing Good… Says Who? Stories from Volunteers, Nonprofits, Donors, and Those They Want to Help by Connie Newton and Fran Early, Minneapolis: Two Harbors Press, 2015, 163 pp.
Shortly after I turned 18, during my first year of college, I spent my spring break on a mission trip to the hills of Appalachia. With high hopes, I imagined that my unskilled hands and loving spirit were going to change the lives of the poor, needy, helpless souls we would serve in Jesus' name. On my first day, I spent nine hours scrubbing the baseboards of an old tuberculosis hospital, alongside one other shiny young volunteer and an old local deployed as our supervisor. I had volunteered to depart from the group and go with him because he was said to be wise and full of stories, but he spent the day in silence in another part of the building. He made it clear that he knew exactly what we were good for–washing baseboards, and not much else.
He was right, of course. We had lots of enthusiasm, little skill, and enormous amounts of unconscious prejudice. By the end of the day, left with nothing but silence and chapped hands, my self-centered idealism had been cracked open. It was a lesson in humility, service and perspective that I have valued ever since.
I wish this book had existed then, and that someone had given it to me before that first mission trip experience. I'm doubtful that it would have pierced my fantasies of "rescuing the poor from despair" with one week of unskilled labor, but it might have settled my expectations down or at least given me a resource to fall back on once I fell from such a great height of naive arrogance.
As they write in the introduction:
How do any of us go about recognizing what we don't understand in another culture? How can we know when our efforts are actually "doing good?" Does it matter? In the stories that follow, it matters. (ix)
Fran Early and Connie Newton have assembled a collection of stories based on their years of experience living and working among the people of Guatemala and those good-hearted souls who want to improve their situation. These stories are collected from hundreds of interviews, woven together into five themed chapters. Each chapter is a story in itself, compiled from the many interviews into a single narrative. The stories themselves are powerful juxtapositions and memorable misunderstandings, and they range from recovering a stolen toilet to a disastrous offer of a $10,000 gift to a women's co-operative only made possible by cakes and tamales. You'll meet arrogant doctors and amazing ones; hardworking yet clueless funders; local women whose expertise is invaluable; and a cross-section of volunteers and local Guatemalans you will come to love.
I was initially disappointed with the authors' decision to condense and co-mingle the stories into a single narrative. It felt a bit concocted or processed to me, and I wanted the raw experience that I thought I would glimpse in a direct interview. However, upon further reflection, I realized that's part of their point. If we travel or talk or read about people who are poor or foreign or struggling, we imagine we can have real, unadulterated access to other people's lives. We can't. Their strategy refuses to let us indulge in the illusion that, by this book, we too are somehow getting the real story. While we can grow in compassion and understanding, chances are we won't ever fully be able to part from our own lenses to see things as others do. Such depth requires years of listening, living and learning, much as the authors have tried to practice. What we get here is, in fact, more helpful–it is the critical lens we need to question our perspective and learn to listen more carefully.
(And if you, like me, still worried that the narrative was not authentic enough, or you are bothered that stories take too many liberties, or you care about research methods and this kind of looseness makes you uncomfortable, start with the appendix. The appendix gives a thorough accounting of their research methodology and documentation of sources. Start there, your questions will be answered, and you will be at liberty to appreciate the stories and their contribution.)
Early and Newton identify five guiding principles or key concepts that anyone interested in helping out another community should come to understand. Each of these principles makes up a chapter of the book, one of the interwoven narratives that illustrates the theme, as would a case study. These themes are:
Respect and value people
Build trust through relationships
Do "with" rather than "for"
Ensure feedback and accountability
Evaluate every step of the way
These guiding principles would be helpful tools for local church mission committees; mission trip participants; university service learning centers and students; any congregation or organization interested in forming partnerships (whether international or interfaith or just intercity/suburb); social work students; ministry students; Teach for America volunteers; NGO and non-profit boards of directors; and so many more. Any of these groups of good-hearted souls would benefit from a group reading and discussion of the stories, the guiding principles, and how they impact their work.
I typically make frequent notes and underlines in reading a study text, but not this time. Each story deserves to be taken as a whole, like the people they represent. They are not a frozen image or an inspiring quotation. There is no anecdote that can capture the complexity of reality. Only relationship, mutuality and listening with care can begin to get you there.
This book is so helpful, so necessary. I'm disappointed my 18 year-old self didn't have it, but I'm glad to have it now, and plan to share it widely.
Tags: Book Review, books, church, ministry, mission, mission trips, travel
Day Fourteen: Mystery Revealed
In: Reflections | Sabbatical
The Dome of the Rock, looking from the front of the al-Aqsa Mosque
It's hard not to be captivated by the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. The stunning gold dome and blue tile stand out boldly against the creamy white Jerusalem stone everywhere else, and its beauty is unparalleled in the city. I was fascinated before I even arrived. Having read so much about the history of the city, I had attached all kinds of sacred meaning to the historic Temple Mount, now known as the Haram al-Sharif, or Noble Sanctuary. This giant platform hovers over Jerusalem, its activities invisible to those below except for the shiny gold of the Dome of the Rock.
This "high place" has a long and tangled history as a holy place. Although there is no archeological evidence and some scholarly debate, many believe it was the original site of Solomon's Temple. It was definitely the site of the Second Temple, built by Herod the Great in the first century before Christ. Herod took a natural hill and extended it out with fortified walls into the 35-acre platform that still exists. In 70 CE, the Romans destroyed that temple as part of their attempts to quash Jewish uprisings. The only thing remaining from Herod's magnificent temple is the Western Wall, which was one of the walls of the platform, not the temple itself. In the Byzantine era, the Christians ignored the remains, and even used the platform as a dump.
View of the Haram al-Sharif from the Mount of Olives. The small gray dome on the left is the al-Aqsa Mosque.
When Caliph Omar conquered the city peacefully in 637, he recognized it as a holy site and cleaned it up as a Muslim shrine. He adopted the Jewish tradition that the large outcropping of rock was Mount Moriah, site of Abraham's near-sacrifice of his son (Isaac or Ishmael, depending on your faith tradition). He also began the tradition of the Temple Mount as the site of Mohammed's night journey to Jerusalem, making it the third holiest site in Islam. Omar built a small wooden mosque at one end of the platform, the original al-Aqsa Mosque. Caliph al-Malik built the Dome of the Rock at center of the platform in 691, enshrining the rock outcropping. It has been restored and rebuilt many times. With the exception of the short occupation by the Crusaders in the 12th century, the Haram al-Sharif (the name of the whole platform, which means the Noble Sanctuary) has remained in Muslim hands and cared for as a holy site.
Aerial view of the Haram al-Sharif, showing the gardens and smaller buildings surrounding the Dome of the Rock.
Unlike all the other sacred sites in Jerusalem, it is forbidden to wandering travelers. You must pass through extra security to enter, and non-Muslims are only permitted on the Haram al-Sharif for a few hours in the morning. The rest of the time, it is reserved for prayer for the Muslim community. I had not realized before our trip that it was open to visitors at all, so I felt privileged and amazed to walk around and see it with my own eyes.
Security to enter the Haram. On the left, security to get to the Western Wall. On the right, to the Haram.
The Haram itself was a beautiful array of buildings, gardens and fountains. The beautiful Dome of the Rock is at the center, and the oft-rebuilt al-Aqsa Mosque takes up the southern side. On the surrounding sides are an array of smaller buildings used as Qur'anic schools and administration buildings, along with several smaller shrines and statues. The whole place did indeed feel like a sanctuary. Gathered in small circles on plastic chairs, separate groups of men and women sat studying the Qur'an and praying together. The trees and the gardens, the buildings and the people invited peaceful attention to the glory of God. Unlike the gawdy gold domes on many state capitols here in the U.S., the ornate blue tiles and reflective gold dome did not feel like an ostentatious display. It was the crown jewel of the city, the most beautiful human space to complement and glorify the beauty of God's presence.
Circles of women gathered on the Haram for Qur'anic study
A group of men gathered at another spot on the Haram. These small gatherings made the whole platform feel like a church campus.
We were met by Dr. Mustafa Abu Sway, a scholar of Islam at al-Quds University and a friend of one of our leaders. He gave us a rich insight into the history of the holy place, but what stands out in my memory is the perspective he offered on the present realities of Muslim life in Jerusalem. The Israeli police have confiscated more and more buildings on the Haram, for use as security outposts. Although the site is Muslim property, there are uniformed, armed police everywhere. The government has instituted age limits for permission to worship at the mosque on Fridays (the Muslim holy day). The age limits vary between 40-50, and they are always announced on Thursday evening. No one under that age is able to come to worship at the Haram. Israeli security claims this is an effort to prevent demonstrations and violence. Palestinians must have a special pass to enter Jerusalem at all. In 2008, the government revoked the rights of more than 4,500* Palestinians to enter the city. Many of them were lifelong residents of Jerusalem, and lost their employment when their passes were revoked. Even more, they lost their right to pray and worship at the Haram.
Dr. Mustafa Abu Sway speaking to our group in front of the al-Aqsa Mosque
Dr. Abu Sway told us about the bureaucratic tangle of building permits for Palestinians in Jerusalem. For Jews, a building permit is easy to obtain and costs less than $2,000. For Palestinians, the process takes many years and costs over $30,000. He and his wife finally got permission to build a home for themselves after five years of waiting for a permit, and their home was to be built on land that his wife's family had already owned for many years. Many of his friends have become impatient with the permit process and constructed homes without a permit. Just a few weeks back, one of his fellow professors had his home of ten years demolished when the authorities discovered it was built without a permit.
Dr. Mustafa Abu Sway climbing the steps toward the Dome of the Rock
As non-Muslims, we were not permitted to enter the Dome of the Rock or the al-Aqsa Mosque. This has nothing to do with Islamic custom, attire, theology or anything else. Always in the history of Islam, non-Muslims have been welcome to enter any mosque, and even to pray there in their own tradition. However, the holy spaces on the Haram have been closed to non-Muslims as an act of solidarity with Palestinians in the West Bank, who are forbidden from entering Jerusalem and praying there. The leaders of the community felt that it was unfair for non-Muslims from across the world to have access to this sacred site when faithful Muslims a few miles away were denied the right to pray and worship there.
Listening to these stories, I felt even more grateful for the opportunity to visit the Haram at all. It felt like an act of gracious hospitality to open the Noble Sanctuary to visitors, even in a limited way. It was indeed a forbidden space, a place of mystery to many—to Orthodox Jews who are not allowed to enter because rabbis have declared it too sacred; to Muslims in the West Bank denied the right to pray in their own holy place; to Christians and tourists too intimidated by the security restrictions; to all those faithful pilgrims so caught up in their own holy sites that they do not venture into the holy site of another faith.
When the Psalmist writes about the tribes going up to pray together in unity, this is the glorious mountain of which he or she speaks. Dr. Abu Sway said that, before the restrictions, more than 400,000 people would gather on the Haram for Friday prayers during the last week of Ramadan. Imagine such a mass of people gathering at one place in peace. Imagine the nations of the world, with their many names for God, coming together to pray as one. This is the spot where the Psalmist imagined it could happen. The faiths of Jerusalem exist side-by-side, shoulder-to-shoulder, yet we cannot yet unite our voices in prayers and in peace.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: "May they prosper who love you.
Peace be within your walls, and security within your towers."
For the sake of my relatives and friends I will say,
"Peace be within you."
For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek your good.
*Corrected number: I originally remembered this as 400,000, instead of 4,500. Thank you to Dr. Abu Sway for the correction. See a link with more information in his comment below.
Tags: Dome of the Rock, Haram al-Sharif, Islam, Jerusalem, Macedonian Ministries, Mustafa Abu Sway, Noble Sanctuary, Palestine, pilgrimage, sabbatical, travel, travelogue
Day Thirteen: Silence and Music
Today was our free day in Jerusalem. Apart from morning prayer and evening prayer, we had no obligations for the day, and we were free to explore on our own. While some in our group were eager to take in new sights, I felt overwhelmed by the rich experiences so far. I needed solitude, silence and space more than anything.
Beautiful gardens of the Garden Tomb
The one thing I did want to see was the Garden Tomb, so I walked a short distance from the hotel with a group first thing in the morning. The Garden Tomb was the discovery (invention?) of Major General Charles George Gordon, a British general in the late 19th century. Whether from historical doubts or simply dislike of the Orthodox and Roman Catholic Church of the Holy Sepulchre, he identified an area on the east side of Jerusalem, near the Damascus Gate, as the "true" site of Golgotha and the tomb of Jesus. The rock face does look a lot like a skull, even though it is currently covered up by a bus depot. There is a tomb there, and quite a large one, along with a large cistern and Roman-era wine press.
Gordon's Golgotha, as it appeared in the 19th Century
Gordon's Golgotha, as it appears today, with the mouth filled in for a bus depot
Scholars have since expressed major doubts about this site as a possible true location for Jesus' crucifixion and burial, but the site still attracts major groups of pilgrims from across the world, especially Protestants. Yet still I wanted to come. Yet still they want to come. I suspect that their reason is the same as mine—whether or not the Garden Tomb has any historical or archeological connection to Jesus, it still looks just like I always imagined Jesus' tomb would look. The site may not fit history, but it fits the picture in my head.
The Garden Tomb
Inside the Garden Tomb
The caretakers of the site have transformed it into a luscious garden, with multiple gathering spaces for tour groups. They offered our small, disorganized band the opportunity to celebrate communion together—they provide the elements, we perform our own liturgy. Unlike the noisy, jostling competition at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Garden Tomb was quiet and invited solitude, rest and contemplation. Although it was no less man-made than the Holy Sepulchre, it was like an Olmstead park, designed to look natural and create a sense of peace and communion with the natural world. I loved it. I don't know what it actually looked like when Mary Magdalene mistook Jesus for a gardener outside the tomb, but this is what I wanted it to look like.
One of my favorite parts of this visit was our tour guide. A Methodist pastor from England on sabbatical, she made me feel like we were getting a tour from the Vicar of Dibley.
There is reason to be cautious, of course, when holy sites conform too readily to our expectations. In some ways, the Garden Tomb felt like a Walt Disney production, designed to make all those who entered feel like it was the "happiest place on earth." Its conformity to all my fantasies made me doubt it even more, and question what those fantasies said about me and my theology. Yet it offered me a great deal of solace to contemplate the resurrection story taking place in this beautiful, tranquil location. As I have been saying throughout this trip, it's not about what may or may not have happened here 2,000 years ago (or more). It's about connecting the ancient story to the presence of the living Christ in our midst. The beauty and serenity of the Garden Tomb gave a visual aspect to my faithful imagination of the resurrection story.
The area surrounding the Garden Tomb was simply beautiful and serene.
From there, one other member of the group departed for the other side of the city. He wanted to walk the Via Dolorosa, and I wanted to revisit the Church of St. Ann, which is at the start of the Via. When we were there on our first day in Jerusalem, we sang as a group. People urged those of us in the group with strong singing voices to take our turns at a solo, but I was not ready. In the moment, I felt like my voice wasn't ready, and that it would feel too much like a performance and not enough like prayer. Still, I was haunted from the time we left by the desire to sing Mallotte's "The Lord's Prayer" in that space. It felt like an offering I needed to leave in that place, so I returned with only one companion.
When we arrived, another tour group was gathering to sing. Their faces were Asian, but they sang in perfect English, "Amazing Grace" and a contemporary praise song about "my chains are broken." They might have been from anywhere in the world. When they left, there was a break. I offered my companion the chance to sing, since he is also a musician, but he declined. I knew I might not have another chance, so I closed my eyes, moved to the front, and began to sing "The Lord's Prayer."
Since I was a little girl, I have sung songs to God as my most intimate form of prayer. Even now, I will go to the church I serve when no one else is there, just to sing into the silence of the sanctuary. It felt like such an amazing gift to be (almost) alone in such a busy place, with tour groups filing in and out. My voice was far from perfect, because I was battling a cold at the time, but the space was so resonant it sounded full anyway. As the song worked through to its high notes and climax, I kept my eyes closed, but I could hear the scuffle of feet as people entered the sanctuary. Even in those few seconds, I could feel the tension—should I stop and make room? I didn't want to perform for people, could I just quit? I decided that this was my offering, my prayer, and I should finish what I had begun.
The simple stone Church of St. Ann
When I opened my eyes, there were three Greek orthodox priests in full beards and vestments standing a few feet away, looking stern and surrounded by a large group of pilgrims. I quietly slipped to my seat, and they proceeded forward to sing and pray an entire short service together. I listened with delight to the echo of their strong chants from the rafters, the murmured prayers of the faithful circling the walls, still a bit nervous from having been overheard in my own song. When they finished, I bowed my head as they began to leave, trying to be inconspicuous. Suddenly, one of the stern-looking priests tapped my shoulder, "Bravo! Bravo!" he practically shouted, grinning widely and surrounded by gestures of approval from all the pilgrims. One of the last, an older gentleman, asked me if I was Czech. I told him I was American, and found out they were Bulgarian.
My companion left to continue down the Via Dolorosa. Even though my mission was accomplished, I felt such a sense of peace and joy that I did not want to leave. One by one, more groups came and went from the chapel, and I sat and listened to their songs. A group from Malaysia sang "How Great Thou Art" and the doxology. A group from Texas and Mexico offered "Sing Alleluia to the Lord," and "Alleluia, Alleluia" in English and Spanish. Two members of the group began a duet in Spanish with many verses. Everyone else left, but they continued singing. The tour guide returned to urge them on once, twice, three times—but they concluded their song without leaving. A German group sang one tune I recognized, and one I did not. An English group sang "Amazing Grace," with all the verses.
One of the groups singing at St. Ann's
When I knew the songs and they sung in English, I joined my voice to theirs. Otherwise, I just sat and listened. My soul reached a deep level of bliss in that place. From all over the world, people came and made their offerings in many languages. I meditated on all the prayers and songs those walls had heard, reflected and absorbed over the centuries. The sanctuary itself is simple and plain, with grayish white stones stacked high. Its true beauty is only made known when people come inside and begin to praise God. The acoustics take over, and even mediocre voices are transformed into glorious praises.
The amazing stone ceiling at St. Ann's
After nearly two hours there, the priest and I were the only ones left. He told me that the groups were finished for the day, but invited me to stay for as long as I desired. Alone, I returned to the front of the sanctuary and began to sing again—a reprise of "The Lord's Prayer," "It is Well with My Soul," "I Love You, Lord," and more. My songs were my prayer, from a place of deep joy and ecstasy in praising God in that place. Soli Deo Gloria.
I found space, solitude and silence, but I also found music and movement and beauty. Thanks be to God.
Tags: Church of St. Ann, Garden Tomb, Holy Land, Lord's Prayer, Macedonian Ministries, peace, pilgrimage, sabbatical, travel, travelogue
Book Review: The Art of Pilgrimage
The Art of Pilgrimage: The Seeker's Guide to Making Travel Sacred, by Phil Cousineau, Conari Press, 1998, 254 pp.
I purchased two books on pilgrimage before my trip, to read along the journey. I wanted this journey to be more than exciting travel—I wanted to encounter the Spirit there. As you can see if you've been reading the posts surrounding this one, that hope was more than fulfilled. Cousineau's book offered the right insights and provoked the right questions to open me to the pilgrimage experience.
Cousineau does not write from a Christian perspective, and he takes a broad view of pilgrimage. A pilgrimage, he says, is a "transformative journey to a sacred center." (xxiii) That might be the Holy Land, but it might also be any ancient ruins, or a natural phenomenon, or the home of a favorite author, or the grave of a pop star, if those places are sacred for the traveler. This book aims to help travelers become pilgrims by bringing them to mindfulness or "soulfulness, the ability to respond from our deepest place." (xxvii)
Through storytelling from famous pilgrims, mythical travelers and ordinary people, Cousineau walks through the various stages of the pilgrimage experience. First, there is longing—the inward desire to see the world differently, to be challenged and changed, to find themselves anew and live life more fully. Then comes the calling and the departure, followed by more about the way of the pilgrim. Unlike tourists, pilgrims travel with intention, with the desire to see the sacred in every moment and discover meaning in every encounter. As such, the practices of reflection, walking, reading, writing, and being present in time become as much a part of the journey as the sights themselves.
Cousineau uses the metaphor of the labyrinth to understand the pilgrimage journey, inviting pilgrims to get lost in the deep places of their spirit, including room for brooding. I read this chapter just after Day Ten of my pilgrimage, and I connected with the struggles he described as a part of the transformative nature of the journey. At the center of the labyrinth is the arrival, the experience of arriving at that sacred place, both inward and outward.
I especially appreciated the final chapter, "Bringing Back the Boon." Cousineau recognizes that a pilgrimage is not just about the pilgrim. If we are given the opportunity to be a pilgrim, it is not just for ourselves—we have a mission responsibility to return back and share what we have learned and experienced. There is work to be done when we return to help us remember the journey, and all that we learned. I feel like I am doing that work now—looking at pictures, completing blog post reflections, reading and reflecting, preparing to share with my congregation.
Cousineau's book is an excellent resource for anyone who is interested in moving from a tourist to a pilgrim, and yearning to make their travel a more sacred experience. Pilgrimage doesn't require a journey halfway around the world. You can engage a pilgrimage spirit for a trip into your own backyard. Cousineau will help show the way.
Tags: Book Review, books, journey, Macedonian Ministries, Phil Cousineau, pilgrimage, sabbatical, The Art of Pilgrimage, travel, travelogue
Day Twelve: Recreation
After the deep emotional and spiritual work we had been doing on our first few days in Jerusalem, all of us were relieved for a day of recreation in the desert. The day's agenda included a trip to Qumran (where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered), swimming in the Dead Sea, a cable car ride to the Monastery of the Temptation, and exploring the Tel as-Sultan in Jericho. All of these destinations were fascinating, but they did not carry such a burdensome weight of spiritual history. I was ready to engage the day with the joy and delight of new experiences.
Leaving behind the green of Jerusalem as we enter the Judean wilderness
We drove out of the city by going over the Mount of Olives, which is 2600 feet above sea level. In less than 20 miles, we dropped nearly 4000 feet—the shores of the Dead Sea are almost 1400 feet below sea level, the lowest place on earth. Our ears were a-popping! On the way, we again took one of the new roads built by the Israelis to facilitate Jewish settlements in the West Bank, which ran like a direct highway into the Judean wilderness. Our driver, Talib, pointed out that Palestinians were not allowed to drive on this road, but used the old Roman road that wound through the towns of Bethany, Bethphage and more. Everywhere you go in Israel/Palestine, you are confronted with the struggle over control of land and property.
A truck with Palestinian plates drives parallel to us on the Roman Road, unable to use the new highway.
An Israeli settlement in the West Bank.
We also saw many Bedouin encampments along the way. Israel has given the Bedouin citizenship rights, but demanded that they settled down from their nomadic practices. The encampments we saw in the Judean wilderness were rudimentary, although we saw evidence in the Galilee of towns and schools built especially for Bedouin communities. The major cultural shifts away from nomadic life among the Bedouin have not come easily, and poverty is in evidence everywhere.
A Bedouin settlement
The highlight of the Bedouin territory, especially for those of us who are the parents of young children, were the camels. There were camels everywhere! They caught us by surprise on the way down, but we vowed to have our cameras at the ready for our return. We all wanted a photo of the camels to show our children when we returned.
One lonely camel, whose picture is fuzzy because it was taken out the bus window at full speed.
Our first stop was Qumran, where the famous Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered by a young Bedouin boy in a cave in 1947. Between 1947 and 1956, nearly 1,000 scrolls were found in nearby caves, preserved almost perfectly for 2,000 years. They represent copies of Hebrew Bible books, along with community rules and logs from the Essene community. The scrolls have made major impacts on biblical scholarship, and it was fascinating to look out on the hillside and see the caves where they were found. Next time I see a note in my study bible about "Q4," I'll know that it refers to a scroll found in Cave 4, which I saw with my own eyes.
A reproduction of one of the Dead Sea Scrolls, on display at Qumran
Cave 4, where several scrolls were found
Qumran has since become a site of major excavations, uncovering the community life of the Essenes. The Essenes were a Jewish sect that existed from the 2nd century BCE to the 1st century CE. They chose to withdraw from the Second Temple practices and follow a stricter community rule which included common meals, ritual baths, celibacy and group living. Many think John the Baptist had some connection with the Essenes. The Qumran site has uncovered their cisterns, aqueducts, dining area, and many ritual baths, along with artifacts and Dead Sea scrolls that detail life in the community. It was fascinating to imagine a community living in the desert in such ascetic conditions.
Steps for the ritual bath, divided into three sections. One for those unclean going in, one for those clean going out, with the middle section to separate them from one another.
The remains of a first-century latrine at Qumran.
From Qumran, we completed our descent to the shores of the Dead Sea, where we donned swimsuits and took a dunk in the famous salt and mineral-laden waters. Swimming in the Dead Sea was just pure fun. Each of us cast aside our concerns about body image or looking graceful, and just acted like children at the beach. Any hope of dignity soon disappeared when the knee-deep mud at the water's edge caused most of us to fall in immediately, covered in the (supposedly beautifying) Dead Sea mud. The 28.5% salt and mineral content makes it impossible to sink in the Sea, but it also is challenging to get any parts of your body to stay under the water! As a group, we laughed and laughed as each of us tried to shift our weight and get our feet underneath us into a standing position, only to see them bounce to the surface again. Once we got the hang of floating, we even engaged in some synchronized swimming, much to the amusement of ourselves and our colleagues on the shore.
Synchronized swimming in the Dead Sea
Like our "polar plunge" in the Sea of Galilee, floating in the Dead Sea felt like the healing waters of baptism. Casting off any cares and concerns, I just let my body get covered in mud and float around awkwardly in the water. Our tour guide told us, with a wink and a smile, that a swim in the Dead Sea minerals will make you look 10 years younger. I'm not sure my skin felt that much smoother, but my heart definitely felt lighter from the joy and playfulness of the place.
Check it out: no hands AND no feet in the water, yet still we float! How cool is that?
After cleaning up and changing from our swim, we headed into Jericho (part of the West Bank). You wouldn't think that the forbidding monastery built into the cliff cave on the Mount of Temptation (traditional site of Jesus' 40 days in the wilderness) would also be a site of joy and playfulness, but when you have to take a cable car ride to get there, it has a certain amusement park feel to it. Our group piled into three cable cars to make the five minute ascent to the top. We laughed and took pictures of the amazing view, and someone even started a light-hearted Hava Nashira, with each car singing one part of the round.
The cable car for the ride up to the Mount of Temptation
Can you see our destination? On the left, almost to the top of the mountain, the monastery hangs off the cliff.
Waving and taking pictures and singing "Hava Nashira"
The monastery is only 350 meters above sea level, which doesn't sound like much until you remember that you're starting near the Dead Sea, which is nearly 1400 feet below sea level—so it's actually a steep climb. At the top, the monastery itself hovers out over the sheer cliff face, looking over a series of caves that have served as hermitage sites for Christian monastics since the first centuries after Christ. We got our exercise with more switchback steps on the mountainside, but it was worth the workout to see the spectacular view from the monastery. On the right were the hillside caves, and on the left were the monastery cubicles built off the side of the mountain. Although this was first developed as a monastic site by the Byzantines in the 5th century, it was abandoned and destroyed and not rebuilt until the late 19th century. This site was not for those who are afraid of heights!
Once we got to the top, we still had to climb all these steps to reach the monastery.
Looking out from the monastery to the caves in the cliff. These are the kinds of caves Jesus would have spent time in during his temptation in the wilderness. You can't tell from the photo, but they are hundreds of feet up the cliff, nearly impossible to reach.
Hanging off the side of the cliff, looking back at the monastery and the caves.
After a cable car descent, lunch and a little shopping, we explored Tel as-Sultan, the site of historic Jericho. The signs all claim that Jericho is the oldest continuously-occupied city in the world, dating back at least 12,000 years. As we climbed the archeological site, we saw the remaining walls of mud brick dwellings from several periods before Christ, along with black layers indicating the city's destruction. Despite the wealth of archeological information found in the city, there is no evidence of that the famous walls ever "came a-tumblin' down." The most interesting and impressive find doesn't look like much in the photo, but it is a Neolithic tower, a stone structure built sometime around 10,000 BCE, probably for worship. It was amazing to stand on the hilltop and imagine that human beings had been making a way of life in this desert for millenia.
The circular stone tower at the center dates back to the Neolithic period in Jericho.
If you look closely, you can see various layers of brick, and even the two layers of black indicating fires.
Me in Jericho, the oldest continuously-occupied city in the world, with mud-brick Bronze Age homes in the background.
When we piled back into the bus to return to Jerusalem, the air was full of laughter and joy. The tour guide teased us for our obsession with the camels, and we teased each other for rocking the cable cars, buying goofy souvenirs, getting stuck in the mud, and not losing as many wrinkles as we had hoped after our dip in the Dead Sea. We agreed that, even if the outside didn't show it, we all felt younger at heart after our boisterous fun. Friendship, laughter, playfulness, joy—these are part of the pilgrimage experience, too. This day of recreation was just as holy as the days of serious contemplation, and we were re-created, renewed in joy and love.
Camels! Look at all the camels!
Tags: camels, Dead Sea, Dead Sea Scrolls, Holy Land, Jericho, joy, Macedonian Ministries, Mount of Temptation, pilgrimage, Qumran, sabbatical, travel, travelogue
Day Eleven: Birthplace of Hope
Oh little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie.
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by.
Yet in thy dark streets shineth the everlasting light,
The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.
Philip Brooks certainly could never have imagined modern Bethlehem when he penned those lyrics in 1867, but today's Bethlehem represented for me the meeting place of hope and fear, the place where everlasting light shone in dark streets.
Today's Bethlehem is in the occupied West Bank. To visit the place of Jesus' birth, we had to pass through the Israeli checkpoint and giant security wall erected to prevent the Palestinians from having access to their land or Israel. After listening to Noora's story the day before, we had a chance to see with our own eyes the conditions of occupation.
The security wall blocks all view of Bethlehem from outside, erasing its presence from the landscape.
As tourists, we were not subject to the same scrutiny as local Palestinians, but we saw the long lines as we passed by the checkpoint. We saw the teenagers with machine guns looking warily at old men and young women with babies. We drove on a road built for the Israeli settlers, a road that Palestinians were not allowed to use to access their own towns, a road whose impassibility created a barrier that separated families from one another. The wall cut across the land like an ugly scar. Once we got inside the wall, we saw the passionate expressions of resistance painted on it.
Graffiti inside the security wall
This is the town of Jesus' birth.
Two thousand years ago, Jesus too was born under an occupying army, cut off from his family by a Roman decree that sent them on the road to Bethlehem.
The fortress-like exterior of the Church of the Nativity
The Church of the Nativity, which preserves the traditional site of Jesus' birth, is built like a fortress. It's the oldest surviving church in the country, built by the Byzantines in the fifth century. It was only saved from destruction by the Persians because it had a mosaic over the entrance featuring the three wise men. Their image resembled the Persians themselves, so they left the church intact. When the Crusader armies became the occupiers, they built major fortifications around the building, and expanded the church with new art and decoration. They even blocked up the doors so they were only four feet high, so that no soldier on horseback could enter in battle. Jesus' birthplace looked a lot like the checkpoint—one narrow entrance into the space behind the high wall.
Members of our group waiting to enter the narrow door to the Church of the Nativity
The narrow door of the current checkpoint for Palestinians to enter or exit Bethlehem
The church itself was dark, and the supposed site of Jesus' birth was buried underground in a tiny grotto, laden with tapestries and candles and stones and silver décor. It didn't feel to me at all like a humble stable. Like the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, it was oppressive with the weight of Christendom, rather than the light of the living Christ.
An immense number of decorative lamps in the chancel of the Church of the Nativity
Ornamental altar area at the Church of the Nativity
Beneath this decorative display is the traditional site of Jesus' birth.
But the everlasting light does shine in the dark streets of Bethlehem today, bringing hope into this place of so much fear. The Christ-light is alive and well at Diyar, the Palestinian Christian organization founded by Dr. Mitri Raheb, author of I Am a Palestinian Christian and pastor of Christmas Lutheran Church in Bethlehem. We met with Dr. Raheb for an hour, and listened to his theological reflection on what it means to be a pastor in Bethlehem today. His words, his presence, his church's ministries are giving birth to hope in Bethlehem today, and they inspired us with hope as well.
Raheb himself was immediately impressive as a theologian with the heart of a pastor and skill of a visionary leader. I was captivated by his analysis of contextual theology for Palestinian Christians, who dwell in the land where it all began. He spoke powerfully of the deep losses sustained by the Palestinian people since 1948. The greatest loss, he said, was not the land—it was their narrative. They had lost their story, their continuity of worship from the time of Christ, their culture as a people. This, he said, was far more important to reclaim—and, thankfully, reclaiming it is not dependent on political liberation, change from the outside or the end of the occupation. That work begins right now.
His congregation, Christmas Lutheran Church in Bethlehem, stepped out in faith to begin this work in their community, to become an outreach community by founding Diyar. As he told the story of Diyar's founding, his church could have been anywhere, in any location. They were a small church, only about 220 people. When he first had a vision of launching a community outreach program, the congregation was hesitant. They were already struggling to pay the bills—how could they take on more? Weren't they there to worship God first? How could they reach out to others when they were barely taking care of themselves? Shouldn't they just hunker down and do their best to keep the church going through occupation? Instead of those questions of scarcity, they focused instead on the theological questions of mission: Where is God? Who is my neighbor? What is the vision of the best possible future, and how do you get there? Christ's call to service prevailed, and God's grace has been abundant.
The sign for Diyar, listing many of the programs they offer.
Founded in 1995, Diyar now serves more than 60,000 people a year (Muslims and Christians) through their programs. Diyar means "home," and they describe themselves as a "Lutheran-based, ecumenically-oriented organization serving the whole Palestinian community." They offer cultural programs and civic engagement training, health and wellness ministries (including a women's sports league), higher education, and programs for children, parents and seniors.
The congregation itself is still small (no one can move into or out of the West Bank, conversion is not a reality in Israel, and the community is predominately Muslim), but they no longer see themselves as barely holding on. Their ministry to the community has revived their sense of mission and their vitality as a congregation. Following God has given them a sense of freedom and purpose that no amount of oppression or occupation can suppress.
All the fortifications of occupying armies and all the might of empires, whether past, present or future, cannot keep hope from being born again and again and again in the City of Bethlehem. The hopes and fears of nations and their peoples meet in this tiny place. May God's everlasting light continue to burn brightly there.
Tags: Bethlehem, Christmas Lutheran Church, Church of the Nativity, Diyar, Holy Land, Macedonian Ministries, Mitri Raheb, pilgrimage, sabbatical, travel, travelogue
Day Ten: Lament
Posted by: revjmk on: February 9, 2012
After the morning at the Holy Sepulchre and the early afternoon at Wujoud, I felt emotionally and mentally exhausted. It's taken me all these days and hours of writing to begin to grapple with the information and experiences and revelations of that day. When a few members of our group planned to continue on to the Western Wall, in spite of the intensity and length of the day so far, I first thought they were crazy. I just wanted some time away to think and pray over everything we had experienced. In my writing up to this point, I have made sense of my feelings and had some time to process the day. On the day itself, and especially at this moment, I just felt worn down and broken apart by the experience. I wanted to huddle under the covers and cry. That's when I realized that the Western Wall was exactly where I needed to go.
Of all the sites in the Holy Land, the Western Wall has always been the place I most longed to see. My spirit is captivated by the idea of a place where people go to mourn. I first learned of the wall as the Wailing Wall, where the Jewish people mourned the destruction of the temple. I think there is a part of me that has never felt like I had permission to lament, like weeping was somehow a sign of my failure, or that it communicated to the people around me that they had failed me. Yet the truth is that much of what is broken in our lives and in our world deserves lamentation. The older I get, the more I think that the world needs our weeping as much as our rejoicing, calling out all that is broken, crying over the pain and sorrow that afflict us, and mourning for what cannot or will not be. The Western Wall, in my mind, was the place to take our sorrows, cry out to God, and know that God hears our affliction.
I knew before we arrived that the Wall might not match my expectations, but I was still drawn there. The women's side is only one-third the size of the men's side, so it was crowded. There were women of every age—young mothers wearing their babies, old women with canes and walkers, and an enormous number of schoolgirls in uniform, each one bowing toward the wall with their faces buried in prayer books. I found my way to one of the plastic chairs, about three people back from the wall itself. As soon as I closed my eyes and opened my heart to God, the tears started to flow, just like I'd always imagined. Many others had tears on their faces, but no one was really wailing. Still, my sniffles and occasional sobs were drowned out by the mumbled prayers of the women around me and singing of the men on the other side, so I felt completely free to lament. My heart's sorrows poured out before God, like crashing waves hurling themselves on the shore until they flattened out and returned calmly to the sea.
Sign at the entrance to the Western Wall Plaza
I began with my personal lament for the day—for the exhaustion, and for my longing for home and family and church as I knew it. Then I cried for the pain we had seen that day—for the brokenness and fighting at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, for the way that Christendom has piled gold on Jesus' tomb rather than finding the living Christ, for the hardship of the Palestinian people in Noora's community and the Jewish people praying next to me, for the convoluted and seemingly intractable conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians, for all the wars of the world.
When I had finished weeping for those things, I drew myself together to find the prayers from my congregation. I had invited anyone to send written prayers with me, and promised to pray for each one of them and tuck them into the cracks in the wall. I had not opened the prayers at all until I pulled them out of my backpack at the Western Wall, and began to read the outpouring of people's deepest concerns and longings. The tears began to flow again immediately. I have been the pastor of this small community for more than six years, and I have come to know each family very well. I know many of their pains and sorrows and struggles very well, and I love these people dearly. As I made my way through their prayers, I lamented for the brokenness that each one carries. When I finished the written prayers, I went through the list of names and imagined each person sitting in their place in the sanctuary. I cried for their sorrows, for their worries, for the heartbreaks of their lives. I wept because I loved them, and their pain deserved lament.
I moved on to my family, my friends, myself—just letting the tears and the grief flow freely. I felt like I was leaving the grief in the place where it belonged, with all the accumulated sorrows of others. I wasn't leaving it behind, but I was sharing it with God, laying it out plain, refusing to hold it inside anymore. Lamentation was liberation, and the Wall was everything I needed it to be—a safe place to weep, for as long as I desired.
The prayers from my church, prayed for individually and placed together in an opening in the Wall.
The challenge came when I was ready to leave. I made my way forward to the Wall itself, and found a hole big enough to hold the entire envelope full of prayers from my congregation. I noticed that the Jewish folks around me were walking backwards away from the Wall, as a sign of respect and deference for the former Temple Mount. I started to walk backwards away, keeping my eyes on the Wall, but my soul was ready to turn around. I wanted more than anything to turn my back on the weeping and face the world again. Backing up made me feel tied to the sorrow, to the longing, to the lamentation, rather than to the hustle and bustle of the people passing on the plaza. In spite of all that is broken in this pain-filled world, we have life and have it abundantly. As the Psalmist says, "Weeping may endure for a night, but joy will come in the morning." I was ready to turn toward the dawn.
I knew how to get to the lamentation at the Wailing Wall, but I didn't know how to get out of it. As a Christian, my usual place of weeping is the cross, which always points to the resurrection. For those pious Jews around me praying at the wall and carefully backing away so as to keep it in their sights, what is the path from lamentation to joy? I know it is there (see Psalm above), but I don't know the way. As I watched the schoolgirls backing away, I wondered how they turned mourning into dancing (again, a reference to the Hebrew scriptures). In deference to the traditions of the holy site of another faith, I dutifully backed away from the Wall, but what I really wanted to do was to place the prayers in the Wall, literally and figuratively, then turn and walk away without looking back. As important as it is to have a place of lament for this broken world, it is even more important to turn and face forward again with hope, to look toward the things of life and walk boldly into them.
When I was finally able to turn away from the Wall and face forward again, I felt exhausted, but somehow lighter than before. All the angst and conflict of the day had been left behind, but I was spent. I made my way back to the hotel for evening prayer, thanked God for familiar comfort food like spaghetti on the hotel buffet at dinner, and crawled in bed by 8:30 p.m. It's taken me three days of writing to finally work through the power of that one holy day.
Tags: Holy Land, lament, mourning, prayer, sabbatical, travel, travelogue, Wailing Wall, Western Wall


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text:
angular.module('ngSocketMock', []).
  service('ngWebSocketBackend', [function () {
    var connectQueue = [], pendingConnects = [],
        closeQueue = [], pendingCloses = [],
        sendQueue = [], pendingSends = [];

    function MockWebSocket (url) {};
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      pendingSends.push(msg);
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    MockWebSocket.prototype.close = function () {
      pendingCloses.push(true);
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      pendingConnects.push(url);

      return new MockWebSocket(url);
    };

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angular.module('ngSocket', []).
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      var NGWebSocket = function (url) {
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        this.sendQueue = [];
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        Object.freeze(this._readyStateConstants);

        this._connect();
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
The Constitution Failed
July 4, 2020 in News & Opinion
07/03/2020 Ryan McMaken
Contrary to a certain nostalgic nationalist myth that still endures, the US Constitution as first conceived was never intended to limit government power. The primary purpose of the Convention of 1787 was to increase federal power, as the older constitution of 1776 (i.e., the "Articles of Confederation") was regarded by centralizers as being too "weak." The older constitution was built on a consensus model, and required acquiescence from a supermajority of member states to do much. The overwhelming preponderance of government power lay with the states themselves, which were in their own right too weak to demand much from their citizens.
Nonetheless, this loose union of states had functioned well enough. The states, working in voluntary union, had fought off the most powerful empire of the 18th century during the Revolution. The Massachusetts state militia had put down Shays' rebellion without any federal help. Americans, for the most part were more free and better fed than the populations of Europe, the wealthiest region of the world. Thanks to the liberal ideology spread by the Revolution, slavery was in decline nationwide. Indentured servitude was on the way out. The restrictive feudalism of old was disappearing.
Yet, the wealthy elite, like Hamilton and Washington and Madison (in his counter-revolutionary phase) wanted something else. They wanted a federal system that could force payment of federal taxes. They wanted a bigger navy. They wanted a federal army that could march into the interior and threaten farmers with destruction, as Washington did during the Whiskey Rebellion. In short, they wanted a Constitution that would centralize power, and grow it.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Q: Is there any reason to use a regular lock over a recursive lock? When a thread tries to acquire a recursive lock again that it already holds, rlock.acquire() allows the thread to continue and does not block the thread.
When, on the other hand, a thread tries to acquire a regular lock that it already holds then the thread is then just stuck in a deadlock.
The second case seems to me like just a source of trouble since it is a situation that cannot be easily recovered from (the thread is just stuck on the lock.acquire()) and that is kinda hard to diagnose (no exception is thrown or anything, the thread is just stuck).
I have seen it quite a few times so far that someone actually wanted to use an RLock but instead used a regular Lock and spent a while debugging that problem. While on the other hand I never encountered a situation where a Lock would have actually been better. It could arguably be used when there is a really critical part of the code that should not be accessed by the same thread twice at a time, but for that to happen the code inside that critical part would need to call itself, which would be something that should be quite obvious to the programmer.
So, is there any case where an Lock is better than an RLock? And if not, should language designers keep providing the regular Lock at all?

A: Assuming these are Python lock objects the documentation shows that they are quite different.  The main differences between the two are:

*

*A Lock can be released by any thread not just the thread that acquired it

*An Rlock can only be released by the thread that acquired

*An Rlock must be released once for each time it is acquired by the thread

So a Lock allows you to build threading schemes where the lock is acquired in one thread but released in another thread.  One example might be a pipeline of threads processing a piece of work, the work distributer gets the lock but it's released by the last thread in the pipeline.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


My life is a weird one.
Personality: hyper, weird, crazy sort of, loves making friends, is easy to make friends with. and I like cookies. I come up with random plots.
Book: vampire academy. twilight. Dealing with dragons. mark of the druid.


First you need to decide how you are going to take the pictures for you photo booth. There are plenty options to choose from, it just depends on your budget and what you want. If none of these options work for you, you can have your guests take pictures from their smart phone and share them on their social media pages. You can create a special wedding day hashtag and ask guests to use it so it's easier to find pictures from your big day.
Digital Camera: You can use a digital or DSLR camera because it already has a setting for a shutter release remote. If you don't have one, ask friends and family members if they have one to borrow.
IPad: IPads are useful because there are several apps that allow you to create a photo booth on your IPad. Many of these apps such as the Wedding Booth, CustomBooth, or Simplebooth apps allow you to print, send, and save the pictures to an online album.
Instant Camera: Instant cameras are a little expensive but allow you to take pictures and immediately print the picture straight from the camera.
Tripod: This is to set up whatever you are using to take your pictures so that the camera is sturdy and doesn't move.
Remote Shutter Release: A remote shutter release is a remote that you can use for your digital camera or IPad to help you take pictures while your device is on a tripod. You can find them relatively cheap and order them from Amazon or EBay. Using a remote shutter release also gets rid of the need to have someone at the photo booth taking pictures the entire night.
One of the biggest components for the photo booth is to create a backdrop. You can use a variety of things for a backdrop or use a simple backdrop and make it ornate with the accessories and props. The design and decorations of the backdrop depend on your wedding's theme and whether it is indoors or outdoors.
Outdoors: If the wedding is outside you can do several things to make the outdoor elements part of the backdrop. You can hang a variety of frames that would be used as both props and a backdrop. Or, for example, if you are having a vintage themed wedding by a barn, you can use stacks of hay for seats and hang streams of burlap for the backdrop. If you love crafting, you can make a backdrop out of plywood and paint it so that it matches your outdoor wedding theme.
Indoors: For indoors weddings, you don't have the outside elements to help with your backdrop, but you can get creative and use a lot of other things to enhance your photo booth. You can use anything from patterned fabric to balloons. If you want a monogram or special design, you can create a backdrop on Photoshop and get it printed. Don't be afraid to get creative and hang streamers, garland and decorative flowers from the wall or a rod.
You're going to need some props for your photo booth! Props can range anything from household items to more DIY crafts. You can use old hats and Halloween costumes. If you want guests to write personal messages in their pictures, put mini whiteboards or chalkboards with the props. You can even print out K Couture's FREE fun mustache cutouts printable and hot glue them to lollipop or Popsicle sticks. Once you have all your props, make a prop table or bring a large trunk to fill with all of the props.
If you aren't going to use an instant camera, you can set up a printer that connects to the digital camera or IPad wirelessly. Guests will be able to print a copy of the picture for the guest book and keep one for themselves. Set up a table next to the photo booth with a printer, scrapbook, and notecards. Guests can put one of the pictures in the scrapbook and use the notecards to write letters to the bride and groom and put it next to their picture.
Now that you know how to create your own DIY photo booth, it's time to put it together! Follow these quick steps to put together your fabulous photo booth for your wedding!
Find a spot within your reception or cocktail hour to assemble the photo booth. You want a spot that has a lot of lighting and room for everything.
Hang up the backdrop and decorate the space. You can add lighting, chairs, pillows and other accessories to make the booth really unique.
Put together the camera, tripod and remote shutter release. Make sure it is spaced out from the backdrop so that it is not at a weird angle and will capture everyone in the picture. Double check to make sure it works. If you are using a digital camera or IPad, make sure it's fully charged or next to an outlet so that it can be plugged in throughout the event.
Set up the props in a trunk or table next to the booth so guests can go through and pick which props they want to use for the booth. This is also where you would put the white or chalkboard for guests to write messages for the pictures.
On the other side of photo booth put a table with a scrap book, pens, notecards and a printer. You can add other last minute wedding decorations like candles and flowers throughout the booth to make it match your wedding décor.


Since then, the Egyptian government took steps to implement his release. They publicized Fahmy's nationality renunciation in their Official Gazette. The Canadian government also received assurances from the Egyptian government that a decision had been taken to release him and that his departure from the country was imminent. This includes assurances made by officials from the Foreign Ministry, Justice Ministry and Interior Ministry, according to the Canadian officials. Such assurances led the Canadian government to declare that Mr. Fahmy's release was "imminent." But it did not happen.
So what did Canada do? It published a short written statement by a junior minister calling the situation "unacceptable" and asking for Fahmy's "full and immediate release" and "consideration of a general amnesty." Such sheepish whimpers are woefully inadequate when it comes to enforcing an agreement reached with a sovereign state regarding a citizen's release from detention. Canada should now begin real advocacy to ensure that Egypt honors its agreement to release Mr. Fahmy from Egypt. There is no legal impediment to his immediate transfer to Canada. Yet calls from Canadian society and politicians for Prime Minister Harper to pick up the phone to personally intervene in the case have so far fallen on deaf ears.


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Home News It Starts With Wine, a new wine documentary on Amazon Prime Video.
It Starts With Wine, a new wine documentary on Amazon Prime Video.
Wine Enthusiast Media, a New-York based broadcaster, has launched a new wine documentary series, It Starts With Wine, on Amazon Prime video at $1.99 or £2.49.
In this first season, viewers can travel to Uruguay, Argentina, and California.
Three episodes are available now, each centered on one place, each revealing what is at the heart of wine and winemaking: people. "Great wines are about special places and special people," says Alberto Antonini, the oenologist at Bodega Garzón in Uruguay, the featured location in the first episode.


Our Hinsdale Office, located in the heart of historic, downtown Hinsdale, is led by Managing Broker Terri Doney. She is a solid industry professional who believes in the highest standards of customer service.
The Hinsdale agents represent a seasoned group of professionals who have experienced many different real estate markets and conditions. This is a close office with a dedicated agents who work together to get their properties sold and clients satisfied.


text:
Parking garage talks suggest warming relationship between Breckenridge, Vail Resorts
News | October 14, 2018
Eli Pace
epace@summitdaily.com
The South Gondola Lot is full on Wednesday, March 14, in Breckenridge. Vail Resorts owns the parking lot, and as town officials consider the best way to add parking spaces in Breckenridge, much of the focus has turned to the resort-owned property. Whether Vail Resorts and the town can reach a deal, though, remains to be seen.
Hugh Carey / hcarey@summitdaily.com
As Breckenridge officials and Vail Resorts continue trying to hash out a deal that would land the town's long-awaited parking garage on resort-owned land, the most encouraging aspect of the negotiations so far could be how the two sides are now talking about each other.
The town has been eyeing a new parking garage for years. Elected leaders almost pushed forward with plans to build one on two town-owned surface parking lots — Tiger Dredge and F Lot — earlier this year before a late offer from Vail Resorts stalled those plans.
Vail Resorts, which owns Breckenridge Ski Resort, maintains three parking lots in Breckenridge: the Gold Rush, North and South Gondola lots. Because the South Gondola Lot isn't as deep in the town core as Tiger Dredge and F Lot are, it's widely seen as a better location to build a parking structure in the downtown area.
At bitter odds this spring, each side seems to be holding out hope now that — however unlikely it may appear at this point — they might still find common ground that both adds skier parking in the town core and gives the town what most residents feel like is a best-case scenario for a downtown parking garage.
"We hope to be able to work through things with the town and partner with them to build parking on the South Gondola Lot," a resort spokeswoman wrote in a Friday email following a request for interview. "We don't want to comment beyond that at this point and risk derailing our discussions."
At the same time, Breckenridge Mayor Eric Mamula has been highly complimentary of recent discussions, saying they've been productive in rebuilding the town and Vail Resorts' working relationship even though the two remain at a stalemate over the issue of ownership.
"I think we've made great strides; I think our relationship is definitely better," the mayor said, adding that he doesn't know if they are "ever going to get anywhere on South Gondola" but recent talks have been "good."
Ideally, council would like for the town to buy the land — or a piece of it — from the resort at fair market value, but Vail Resorts has been unwilling to consider such a sale, the mayor said.
Obtained through an open records request, Vail Resorts' latest proposal suggests the town could lease the South Gondola Lot to build a garage and surface parking on the property.
In the latest offer to the town, the Vail Resorts proposes a long-term lease with an initial term of 50 years and subsequent, renewable long-term extensions. To lease the property, the town would either pay Vail Resorts $400,000 annually — with that amount increasing by 2 percent every year — or give Vail Resorts a share of the winter profits, based on the number of parking spaces currently on the property and the number added by the town.
Per Vail Resort's latest offer, the town would have to build a structure with at least 597 parking spaces in it, while also paving and striping the remaining portion of the South Gondola lot.
As the property owner, Vail Resorts would have to approve all aspects of the parking structure's development, including its size, capacity, location, orientation on the property, interior and exterior designs, signage, plans and specifications — along with the construction schedule, budget and timeline — while the town would cover all the operational and maintenance costs.
The town would manage the parking structure's pricing and strategy, except at times the mountain is open for winter operations, when Vail Resorts would take over control.
"It's difficult for (town council) to take tax money, build something and not have complete and utter control over it," Mamula said.
In a second proposal, Vail Resorts offered to sell the town another resort-owned parking lot, the Gold Rush parking lot across the street from the North and South Gondola Lots, for $7 million, provided the town builds a parking garage with at least 860 parking spaces on the property.
The town would have to construct a bridge or tramway connecting Gold Rush to the North Gondola Lot and Main Street, according to the proposed agreement. Once built, the town would own the property and the parking structure, controlling its operations and paying all operational and maintenance costs.
If the town has any interest in Gold Rush, elected officials haven't shown it yet. Town council has repeatedly rejected the idea, based on the anticipated high cost of construction and other concerns. For the mayor, Gold Rush is a "non-starter."
"It's too expensive," Mamula said of the parking lot, adding that another major issue there would be getting people across the street. The town already has that problem at Park Avenue and council has no desire to replicate it at Gold Rush.
Attention then turns back to the South Gondola lot.
For Mamula, there could be some "wiggle room" on the town's part in allowing Vail Resorts control over designs and other features of a parking garage on the property, but he doesn't see much leeway on who controls its operations.
If negotiations are unsuccessful, council will likely consider building "intercept" parking structures on the outskirts of town, Mamula said, with the idea of capturing traffic before it gets into the downtown area and using public transportation to ferry visitors into the town core.


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WENDY J LEWIS
SCULPTOR PAINTER
INSTALLATIONS/LARGE FOUNTAINS
DRAWINGS/PAINTINGS
Wendy Lewis is a sculptor of fountains and kinetic works that use a magical mix of motors and found materials to engage her audiences. She is also a painter and designer. Her many awards include prestigious grants from Proyecto Ace in Argentina, the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, residencies at Moulin à Nef in France, a residency at Europos Parkas in Lithuania, commissions from the Montclair Art Museum and the Morris Museum, a fellowship from Skidmore College, and a residency at Sculpture Space in Utica, New York.
Wendy has exhibited in galleries, universities, and alternative spaces throughout the United States, and abroad. She served on the board of trustees of City Without Walls in Newark for several years. Her MFA in Sculpture is from SUNY Albany, her BFA in Painting is from the Akademie der Bildenden Kunste in Munich, Germany. She has been teaching art for many years.
you can find more help in the help center anytime. To learn more about creating a site from a blank template click here
© Copyright Wendy Lewis. All Rights Reserved. Unless otherwise indicated, all text and images on this web site are the property of Wendy Lewis. The contents of this site may not be reproduced or published in any form, in whole or in part, without the prior written permission of the artist. Contact her directly for further information. All materials are provided for research and study purposes only and the copyright of the owners is hereby acknowledged.


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AGO OPINION TOPIC: INITIATIVE AND REFERENDUM
AGO 2014 NO. 2 > Jan 16 2014
Whether Statewide Initiative Establishing System For Licensing Marijuana Producers, Processors, And Retailers Preempts Local Ordinances
Initiative 502, which establishes a licensing and regulatory system for marijuana producers, processors, and retailers, does not preempt counties, cities, and towns from banning such businesses within their jurisdictions.
Local ordinances that do not expressly ban state-licensed marijuana licensees from operating within the jurisdiction but make such operation impractical are valid if they properly exercise the local jurisdiction's police power.
AGO 2014 NO. 4 > Mar 28 2014
Whether RCW 43.135.055(1) Supersedes The Delegation Of Authority To The Transportation Commission To Set Toll Rates And Ferry Fares
RCW 43.135.055(1), as most recently amended by Initiative 1185 and previously by Initiatives 960 and 1053, does not amend or repeal approval the legislature has granted in other statutes for the imposition or increase of fees, and makes no distinction as to when legislative approval must take place.
USE OF INITIATIVE TO CALL FOR FEDERAL CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION
An initiative, under Article II, § 1 of the Washington Constitution, may be used for the purpose of applying to the federal Congress to call a convention for proposing amendments to the United States Constitution in accordance with Article V thereof.
AGLO 1977 NO. 4 > Jan 24 1977
INITIATIVE AND REFERENDUM ‑- LEGISLATURE ‑- PROCESSING OF INITIATIVE TO THE LEGISLATURE ‑- SUBMISSION OF ALTERNATE PROPOSAL
(1) An initiative to the legislature, if enacted by the legislature, is not subject to gubernatorial veto.
(2) An initiative to the legislature may be rejected either by formal action, by informal inaction prior to the end of the regular session to which the initiative was submitted, or by the passage of an alternative measure to be submitted to the voters along with the initiative at the next ensuing regular general election.
(3) An alternative to an initiative to the legislature need not be passed at the regular session to which the initiative itself was submitted but, to be effective, such an alternative must be passed in time to permit its submission to the voters at the same general election as the one at which the rejected initiative, alone, would be required to be voted upon if an alternative measure had not also been enacted.
CRIMES ‑‑ INITIATIVE AND REFERENDUM ‑‑ EFFECTIVE DATE OF DEATH PENALTY INITIATIVE
The provisions of Initiative No. 316, defining the crime of aggravated murder in the first degree and providing for a mandatory sentence of death with respect to that degree of murder, do not apply to offenses committed prior to July 1, 1976.
INITIATIVE AND REFERENDUM ‑- LEGISLATURE ‑- AMENDING INITIATIVE ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE ‑- SUBMISSION OF ALTERNATIVE PROPOSAL
Consideration of various alternatives which are available to the legislature under Article II, § 1 (Amendments 7 and 30) and Article II, § 41 (Amendment 26) of the Washington Constitution upon certification and transmittal to it of an initiative to the legislature; adoption and amendment; rejection and submission of alternative proposal to voters; time for certification of initiative to legislature.
AGO 1971 NO. 6 > Feb 2 1971
INITIATIVE AND REFERENDUM ‑- CORPORATIONS ‑- FINANCING AN INITIATIVE OR REFERENDUM CAMPAIGN WITH FUNDS OF OUT-OF-STATE CORPORATION
The provisions of RCW 29.79.490 (6) are applicable to a corporation whose principal office is, or a majority of whose members or stockholders have their residence outside, the state of Washington, even though such corporation may possess a certificate of authority to transact business within the state of Washington under RCW 23A.32.020.
INITIATIVE AND REFERENDUM ‑- COVERAGE OF EMPLOYEES OF THE WASHINGTON STATE FERRY SYSTEM UNDER INITIATIVE NO. 207
Employees of the Washington state ferry system are not subject to the jurisdiction of the Washington state personnel department created by Initiative No. 207.
AGO 1973 NO. 12 > May 17 1973
ELECTIONS ‑- INITIATIVE AND REFERENDUM ‑- POLITICAL ADVERTISING ‑- ELECTORAL CAMPAIGN FINANCING
RCW 29.18.140, which previously required the filing of certain reports of campaign contributions and expenditures made or incurred in connection with a campaign for nomination at a partisan election, has been repealed by § 50 of Initiative No. 276 (chapter 1, Laws of 1973); however, the provisions of RCW 29.85.270 which require all political advertising to be identified as to its sponsorship and the political party of the candidate (if any) remains in effect notwithstanding its apparent repeal by § 20 of Referendum Bill No. 25 because that referendum bill was totally repealed by § 50 of Initiative No. 276 before § 20 thereof had become effective.
AGO 1996 NO. 13 > Aug 6 1996
Vote required to authorize Tribal-sponsored electromechanical gaming
1. Under the Washington State Constitution, article 2, section 24, an initiative authorizing forms of electromechanical gaming not previously authorized would require a sixty percent majority vote to be effective. 2. The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. §§ 2701 et. seq. ) does not preempt state authority to set state policy on gambling, or to determine the procedures by which state gambling laws will be adopted and/or modified.


Deepan Sivaraman is an Indian Theatre director, Scenographer, and Academic. He is the founder of Oxygen Theatre Company based in Thrissur, Kerala. Deepan's work is best understood as a theatrical experience that is at once dense and incisive. It offers a richly evocative interweaving of performative imagery, strong ensemble work by the actors and a sharp textual commentary.
Sivaraman received Charles Wallace India Trust Award in 2003, Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award and Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Awards in 2011 and 2010 respectively. Deepan served as the Artistic Director for the International Theatre Festival of Kerala(ITFOK) for 2014 edition which had a curatorial focus on transition, gender, and spectatorship. Deepan Sivaraman currently is an Associate Professor of Performance Studies at School of Culture and Creative Expressions at the Ambedkar University in Delhi.


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Children's Literature Interest Group: Interview with Sally Grindley
Sally Grindley began writing in 1984 while she was working for a children's book club. Since 1995 she has been writing full time and has recently won the Smarties Prize. She now has some fifty titles in print. Shhh won the Children's Book Award in 1992 and was shortlisted for the Smarties Prize. Wake Up Dad won the 1989 Best Books for Babies Award and There's a Monster In Our House Who Eats Books was Highly Commended in the 1997 Right Start/Petit Filous award, shortlisted in the 1998 Sheffield Children's Book Award and selected by the Young Book Trust in 1998 as one of the '100 best books'.
Where does your inspiration come from?
From everywhere and nowhere. You can write a story about anything. It's a question of freeing your mind and going on a voyage of discovery. It's about seizing a subject and looking at it from every direction, until you find what appeals to you most about it and can express what you feel in your own unique voice. It's about looking for the humour, the sadness, the pain, the opportunity, the hope and the joy in situations big and small and describing how as human beings we might deal with them – even when we've transmogrified ourselves into mice or bears to present our findings!
What comes first – plot, character or situation?
I've never plotted a book in my life, so it's certainly not that! It's usual a tiny snippet of an idea that I mull around in my head until I find a way in to start expanding upon it. Characters then begin to suggest themselves and become fleshed out as their journey progresses. The plot unfurls en route, and I can be three-quarters of the way through a story before I know how it's going to end.
Do you ever get writer's block? What do you do about it?
Sometimes the ideas don't come quite as fast as I'd like, but I've never suffered from writer's block.
Do you have favourite authors or books yourself? Who are they?
I don't get much chance to read books by other children's authors – and it can be rather humbling to do so - but I admire Michael Morpurgo.
What was your favourite book(s) when you were a child?
My all time favourite is THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS, with WINNIE THE POOH a close second.
How much does your editor change what you write?
It all depends on how well I've written! I've rarely had to change much in terms of plot. An editor provides an objective view and will suggest where things can be tightened up, point out inconsistencies, suggest ways in which characterisation might be improved – all areas in which as an author you can be too close to see that there's room for improvement.
Do you feel a tension between writing what you know will sell and writing what you would like to write?
No, because I don't think too much about whether what I want to write will sell, though my editors haven't always gone along with ideas I've suggested, in which case I've had to go back to the drawing board.
At what stage in your writing process do you use a computer?
I use a computer right from the beginning, unless I'm writing a picture book, in which case the early stages are drafted out by hand on a folded paper dummy.
What control do you have over your book cover (and your illustrations)?
On occasion I've had no control at all over the cover, which is unacceptable but it happens. Mostly, I have the opportunity to comment. I always have sight of and am able to comment on illustrations for a picture book.
Do you write with a particular age group in mind? How does the target age group affect your writing?
I write across the board for toddlers to pre-teens, so I always have to be aware of my target age group, and it will affect my writing to a large degree in terms of concept, content and language level. But I believe children should be challenged and stretched, so I'm not afraid to present difficult themes and words that might require a dictionary.
What do you think you would be if you weren't an author?
I think I'd be working in theatre, perhaps as a director.
At what stage did you know you wanted to become an author?
I didn't know at all, though I always enjoyed dabbling in words. It was only when I was working for a children's book club that I fell into being a children's author.
What advice would you give to an aspiring writer?
Read everything you can get your hands on and practise, practise, practise.
Sally's website
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The inexplicably named Hockey is the latest band from the Pacific Northwest to stockpile praise in the press and blogosphere. Based in Portland, Oregon, the four-piece group play a brand of electo-tinged dance pop that doesn't shy away from copious handclaps and catchy '80s-style hooks. Vocalist Ben Grubin sounds something like a wordier Julian Casablancas with a penchant for vocal flourishes as he recounts highly self-referential tales on subjects like song-writing and credibility. The group's first single, "Too Fake" — which will be released on a 7-inch single 2 March 2009 — sounds something like the Rapture if they were fronted by Jamie Lidell.
The band self released the full-length Mind Chaos last year and were recently signed to Capital Records in the States and Virgin in the UK, where they've already accrued a healthy following. Check out some songs on their Myspace page.
Hockey is set to play a string of shows in New York City starting tonight at Union Hall with subsequent stops at Santos Party House, Mercury Lounge and Pianos. In February, they'll be hitting the UK.


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Q: error: incompatible types: String cannot be converted to char opp = JOptionPane.showInputDialog("Enter Method"); I am adding this a code this give below error:

// Printing in a dialog box import javax.swing.JOptionPane;

public class ExampleWorking {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        String  firstNumber,
                secondNumber,
                opp;
        int number1,
            number2,
            results;
        boolean use;
        firstNumber = JOptionPane.showInputDialog("Enter First integer");
        secondNumber = JOptionPane.showInputDialog("Enter Second integer");
        opp = JOptionPane.showInputDialog("Enter Method");
        number1 = Integer.parseInt(firstNumber);
        number2 = Integer.parseInt(secondNumber);
        use = boolean.parseBoolean(opp);
        if (use="+") {
            results= number1 + number2;
        }
        else{
            if(use="-"){
                results=number1 - number2;
            }
            else{
                if (use="*"){
                    results=number1 * number2;
                } else {
                    if (use="/") {
                        results=number1/number2;
                    } else {
                        System.out.println("Hello World");
                    }
                }
            }
        }
        JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null, "The Results is " + results , "Results", JOptionPane.PLAIN_MESSAGE);
        System.exit(0);
    }
}

Error

ExampleWorking1.java:21: error: incompatible types: String cannot be converted to char
opp = JOptionPane.showInputDialog("Enter Method");
1 error

A: Problem with your code is that you have multiple compilation errors, and although none of them corresponds to the error message you've added, fixing them will solve your problem.

*

*Your variable use is of type boolean, but you're trying to assign a String to it, which are incompatible types, and also is not needed in your case. You don't need a boolean variable for storing a sign.

*In all of your if statements, you're using operator = , which is used for assigning value to variable and not for comparison (for more information about assigning values, see  this tutorial). If you want to compare values, you should use == for primitive data types, and equals method for String - you can see why here.
Once you fix incorrect type of use variable and use proper comparison for your data type instead of re-assigning variable value inside of if condition, your code will be working fine.