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Category Archives: 2015 Books
On The Road by Jack Kerouac
Posted on March 24, 2015 by cleopatra
"I first met Dean not long after my wife and I split up."
Having read Kerouac's travelogue, The Dharma Bums a couple of years ago, I was really looking forward to this read, as On The Road is considered Kerouac's finest work. With great anticipation I picked up the book, began to read, and what did I find ……..???
A Roman a clef, with the characters acting as stand-ins for Kerouac and his buddies and their real life adventures, the novel traces their journeys as they travel back and forth across America between 1947 and 1950. This Beat Generation, or post-World War II writers, Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, William Burroughs and Neal Cassady are mostly drunk, high, stoned or looking for sex, throughout most of the novel. The rambling, sparse, uninteresting prose had me nearly catatonic about one-quarter of the way into the book and it was only with a supreme effort of will that I managed to finish. Brutal.
So what was the difference between The Dharma Bums and On The Road? Why did I love one and hate the other? Well, with The Dharma Bums, while there was drug use it somehow seemed more innocent and less destructive. The characters sincerely appeared to be grappling with the purpose of life. There was thought and philosophy and even some solid descriptions of the places visited. On The Road related the meaningless conduct of a bunch of miscreants who had no concern for anyone but themselves, were too stoned to think most of the time, and when they did, it was often complete nonsense. In real life, most of the characters died before their 40th or 50th birthdays from either a drug or alcohol-related death. Such a sad waste of life, with nothing romantically counter-cultural, or excitingly anti-establishment about it.
One interesting anecdote is that the manuscript for this book was typed on a continuous scroll of one hundred and twenty feet of tracing paper taped together, single-spaced without margins or paragraph breaks. A quirky writing method from a very experimental author.
The "On The Road" Scroll
Boott Cotton Mills Museum 2007
Posted in 2015 Books, 52 Books in 52 Weeks, American Lit, Author: Kerouac, Biography, Review	| 8 Replies
The Journal of William Sturgis
The Journal of William Sturgis: "1799 – On the 13th of February at 7 in the morning we saw the land ahead bearing about N East distant 2 leagues, which we soon found to be the high land about Port Banks, and a Cape to the Southward and Eastward of us distant 3 leagues, to be Cape Muzon."
In 1798, William Sturgis found a berth on the Eliza, a ship set to leave Boston harbour in the summer on a voyage to the Pacific Northwest to trade in the lucrative business of animal pelts. Sturgis had finished schooling at fourteen, afterwards being employed as a junior clerk in a trading office. With the unexpected demise of his father, Sturgis, knowing that he had to support a mother and sisters, decided to turn to the sea to make his fortune. He was only 17 years old.
Fur traders in Canada 1777
Because Sturgis had had experience in business, the captain of the Eliza asked him to be his assistant, and his quick adeptness at learning the native languages soon saw his rise in stature. The Americans generally coped well with the Indians while trading, and there were few altercations, but the precautions on board ship to assure safety were stringent and followed closely. Because of these safeguards, relations between the two were relatively harmonious and as Sturgis noted years later:
"I believe I am the only man living who has a personal knowledge of those early transactions and I can show that in each and every case where a vessel was attacked or a crew killed by them, [the Indians of the region] it was in direct retaliation for some life taken or for some gross outrage committed against that tribe. This is the Indian law, which requires one life for another, as inflexibly as we civilized nations exact the life of a murderer. The Indian did not forget, but silently waited his opportunity, and retaliated because his duty and his law required it of him."
Launch of the North West America at Nootka Sound 1788
C. Mertz
source Centre of Study for Pacific Northwest
With his faculty for the languages, Sturgis' dealings and contact with the Indians increased. He ensured he acted with complete honesty and openness to his Indian counterparts and, in consequence, often acquired more goods than your average trader, as the Indians were more amenable to people whom they liked. In fact, Sturgis became a great favourite with some of the Indians, sometimes to his detriment. One old Indian woman, to whom he gave the appellation, Madame Connecor, claimed, "All white men are my children," and insisted on hugging him and kissing him in public, much to the horror of Sturgis, who had to submit to this uncomfortable display of affection as "her tribe had many valuable furs to sell ……. (I) had no escape."
Sturgis became quite familiar with a Indian chief named Keow (or Cow), whom he quite admired and they struck up a perhaps unusual friendship:
"Keow was upon the whole the most intelligent Indian I met with. He was a shrewd observer of quick perceptions —– with comprehensive and discriminating mind, and insatiable curiosity. He would occasionally pass several days at a time on board my ship, and I have often sat up half the night with him, answering questions, and listening to remarks. …. his comments upon some features of our social system, and upon the discrepancies and inconsistencies in our professions and practice as Christians —- particularly in relation to war —- duelling —- capital punishment for depredations upon property, and other less important matters, were pertinent and forcible, and by no means flattering to us, or calculated to nourish our self conceit."
Puget Sound on the Pacific Coast (1870)
Yet, in spite of his good relations with the native people, Sturgis showed quite clearly that there was a careful balance that needed to be maintained in relations that often included lying, manipulation and trickery, a sort of dance practiced by both parties, accepted by both, and neither held in contempt or begrudged. It was a meeting, or indeed a confrontation, between two different cultures and attitudes that required patience, skill, wisdom and ingenuity to lay a viable foundation.
Later in the voyage, when the Eliza came across two other ships the Despatch and the Ulysses, they found the Ulysses in a state of mutiny and the officers of the two other ships had to arbitrate the dispute. It was agreed that the captain (Lamb) should be reinstated, with Sturgis, only a few month's previously an amateur sailor, as his second officer. The appointment was an enormous boost for Sturgis' career. The Ulysses continued to trade in furs, but when it eventually met up with the Eliza in Macao, Sturgis was happy to rejoin his old ship as third mate.
Sturgis also shares some fascinating information on the Indian female and comparisons to his own class.
"The females have considerable voice in the sale of the Skins, indeed greater than the men; for if the wife disapproves of the husband's bargain, he dares not sell, till he gains her consent, and if she chooses she will sell all his stock whether he likes it or not, or rather what she likes, he is obliged to approve of or afraid to disapprove of ………. In fact, the power of the fair sex seems to be as unlimited on this as on our side of the Continent ….."
Very intriguing that Sturgis sees his fellow women as having unlimited power ….. and this is 1799!
On his second voyage, this time on the ship Caroline, upon the death of its captain, all responsibility was turned over to Sturgis who returned the ship complete with profits from 3000 skins. When the ship return to Boston, he was officially made the master of it at twenty-two years old.
source GoHaidaGwaii
His third voyage was another success for Sturgis, and when he set out on the Atahualpa on his fourth voyage, it was not only as the commander of the fleet, but as a shareholder. His status and wealth continued to increase and in 1810 he abandoned his nomadic life at sea to marry Elizabeth Davis and became a partner in a shipping business called Bryant and Sturgis. From the years 1818 to 1840, their company directed more than half the business carried on from the United States to California.
Sturgis was seen as a laconic and somewhat stern man, but he was well-respected and lived life with a strong sense of duty and honesty. He died at the age of eighty-one and his eulogies and obituaries speak to his character:
" ….. his cool judgement and his considerable action under difficulties, stamped him as an uncommon man; and his extensive knowledge and his judicious inferences from it, made him a useful one ….. Hi strong intellect and clear judgment made him a wise and safe counsellor. Singularly independent and honest in the formation of his opinions; unswerving in fidelity to his convictions; of an impulsive temperment, guided by principle and made amenable to conscience, —- his character and career, honorable to himself and beneficial to others, leave his name to be held in remembrance as that of a wise, just, faithful and benevolent man ….."
In his final lecture, Sturgis expresses gratitude, that he had not caused any acrimony or bitterness in his dealings with the native population:
"I have cause for gratitude to a higher power —– not only for escape from danger, but for being spared all participation in the deadly conflicts and murderous scenes which surrounded me. I may well be grateful that no blood of the red man ever stained my hands —- that no shades of murdered or slaughtered Indians disturb my repose —– on the reflection that neither myself, nor any one under my command, ever did, or suffered, violence or outrage, during years of intercourse with those reputed the most savage tribes, gives me a satisfaction in exhange for which wealth and honours would be dust in the balance."
The integrity and honour Sturgis showed towards a native population, while being willing to alter his worldview to meet them on equal grounds, truly speaks to his character. Sturgis is a man I would have certainly been proud to know.
Posted in 2015 Books, American Lit, Author: Sturgis, Biography, Journal	| 8 Replies
The Ides of April
Posted on February 26, 2015 by cleopatra
Author: Mary Ray
Illustrator: Gino d'Achille (cover)
Era: 62 A.D.
Published: 1974 (first publisher unknown)
Award: None known
Age Range: 12 years old and up
Review: ★★★★
Senator Caius Pomponius Afer is murdered in his bed and the household slaves are taken into custody to face the sentence of death if even one has perpetrated this crime. Aulus, Pomponius' valet and the first slave to happen upon his master after the assassination, is suspected, but when he dies in prison, who will prove his innocence? Yet the slave list has been neglected and so, no one is aware that two of the slaves are missing. Where is Assinius, the Senator's steward, who had not been seen days before the murder? And Hylas, the Senator's Greek secretary is not in the party.
Arch of Nero (completed 62 AD)
Thomas Cole – 1846
Hylas, as it turns out, escaped detection in the house and is working steadfastly to find out who committed the dastardly deed. He is certain that it was not one of the servants, but who could have had the opportunity and motive to commit such a vile execution. Enlisting the help of Pomponius' son-in-law, Camillus Rufus, the nobleman and slave investigate, and unearth devious plots that could possibly rock the foundations of Rome's political body and cost them their lives.
Ray included various historical characters in her narrative including Thrasea Paetus, a Senator and former consul, who lived during the times of three Roman emperors, Caligula, Claudius and Nero. We also have a glimpse of Seneca and Emperor Nero whom Ray portrays in a realistic fashion.
The Cascatelli (View of Rome from Tivoli)
Thoma Cole
The real life of Publius Clodius Thraea Paetus is particularly compelling. By his actions in the Senate and in public life, he exemplified a man of honour and convictions, often going against the status quo in favour of principles. Upon Nero's murder of his own mother and the Senate's obsequious behaviour towards the Emperor, Paetus walked out of the Senate meeting, refusing to be part of it. His opposition to Nero continued and eventually his admirable ethics caught up with him. Nero contrived charges against him, accusing him of neglecting his senatorial duties and he was sentenced to death by his choice. At his suburban villa, he elected to have the veins in his arms opened and died with serene dignity.
While the mystery aspect of the story suffers from some contrived plot manipulation, this disappointment is balanced by the rich description of Rome and the historical detail painted within the pages of the book. It's certainly a story by which any child would be captivated.
An extended summary of the book can be found at my children's blog, Children's Classic Book Carousel.
Deal Me In Challenge #8 – Four of Hearts
Posted in 2015 Books, 52 Books in 52 Weeks, Ancient World, Children's Classic, Deal Me In Challenge, Rome	| 4 Replies
The Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson
"The sovereignty and goodness of GOD, together with the faithfulness of his promises displayed, being a narrative of the captivity and restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson, commended by her, to all that desires to know the Lord's doings to, and dealings with her."
On February 10, 1675 in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the Lancaster settlement was attacked by Indians and Mrs. Mary Rowlandson was taken captive along with a number of other settlers, including other members of her family. This short book chronicles the events of her capture, her travels with her captors and finally her release after 11 weeks.
For almost 50 years, the colonists and Indians had lived in relative peace, but increasing settlement and demand for Native land caused tension that eventually exploded in attacks on American settlements by the Indians and resulting retaliations. Indian raids were often violent and by the attack on Lancaster, the comfortable life that Mary had known with her husband and three children, was abruptly torn apart.
Mary turned to God in her fear and suffering and instead of lamenting her situation, she looked for lessons to learn from it. Her Puritan faith was rather rigid and the narrative comes across as very unemotional at times, but the religious and historical weight of her experiences are a valuable tool in understanding the people of those times. The book follows the traditional framework of the captive narrative, focusing on suffering, exile and redemption.
For more extensive information, Ruth at A Great Book Study has produced an excellent review of The Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mary Rowlandson. I had plans to write an extensive review but in the end, I just couldn't. Then I planned to answer the WEM questions as I did in my review of Saint Augustine's Confessions …. but when I looked at them, I just couldn't. I have only a basic knowledge of the Puritans and of conflicts between the Indians and colonists, so I hesitate to give even an uneducated judgement on Rowlandson's narrative. When I finished, I hadn't really connected with Mary or her narrative. Excepting what she communicated about her faith, there was an enormous gap in my understanding of her outlook and her judgements. This book left me feeling rather off-balance. Normally I hate reading a book from a modern perspective and ALWAYS put myself, or attempt to put my mindset, into the times about which I'm reading. For the first time, I had difficulty.
What I do know is that I need a "palate cleanser" with regard to Colonist-Indian relations, and so I've chosen to read The Journal of William Sturgis, a primary source document about a 17 year old boy who goes on his first voyage to trade furs with the Pacific Coast Indians.
Posted in 2015 Books, 52 Books in 52 Weeks, Author: Rowlandson, Biography, Classics, Non-Fiction, Review, WEM Project	| 11 Replies
Doctor Marigold by Charles Dickens
"I am Cheap Jack, and my own father's name was Willum Marigold."
And so we are introduced to Doctor Marigold, bestowed with such an unusual first name for a Cheap Jack in honour of the doctor who delivered him. I did not imagine him in the appearance of the rather dandified peasant-gypsy looking gentleman on the cover to the left, but I suppose that's beside the point. In any case, Doctor Marigold, as you know, is a Cheap Jack. For those who don't know what a Cheap Jack is (I raise my hand), it's a hawker who deals in bargain merchandise, anything from plates to frying pans to razors to watches to rolling pins and everything in between. Marigold has followed his father's trade like a good son.
Doctor Marigold 1868
E.G. Dalziel
source Victoria Web
Soon Marigold marries a woman who is not a bad wife by his estimation, but whoa, does she have a temper! She berates and torments her husband, and later beats their daughter, Sophy, while Marigold stands and watches. Why doesn't he intervene? Because it causes more of a ruckus than observing, and then people suspect that he is beating his wife. Wimp.
Sophy grows up especially attached to her father and fearful of her mother — no kidding. Yet with their vagrant lifestyle, she becomes ill and passes away. One fateful day, the now childless couple come across a mother beating her tearfully pleading daughter, and with a shrill scream his wife tears away and drowns herself in the river. Good riddance.
Lonely Marigold now roams the country alone, until one day he comes across a deaf and dumb child whom he purchases and calls Sophy. They are devoted to each other for years, until, when she reaches sixteen, he decides to have her educated and puts her in an institution for two years. When he returns she is thrilled to see him, but as they resume their lives, he learns that she has acquired a suitor. Old generous Marigold decides he cannot stand in the way of their love —- although Sophy is willing to give it up to stay with her father —- and allows them to marry. The couple then move to China and five or so years later return with Marigold's granddaughter for a reunion.
E.A. Abbey
Again, Dickens is somewhat of a trial to read. On one hand, his stories engage you for being overly maudlin and nauseatingly sentimental but I can never shake the feeling that he seems to think that as long as he uses affected emotional scenes and obscurely clever sentences, he can win adherents with such contrived effort. I find it almost insulting. However, as much as the first part of the story really irritated me, I must admit, I somewhat fell for it in the end. Perhaps Dickens achieved his desired effect after all.
This short story, so far is my least favourite of my Deal Me In Challenges. We'll see what next week brings.
Deal Me In Challenge #7 – Three of Clubs
Posted in 2015 Books, 52 Books in 52 Weeks, Author: Dickens, Classics, Deal Me In Challenge, English Lit, Reading England 2015, Review	| 10 Replies
"The Salinas Valley is in Northern California."
I usually don't worry about giving warning about spoilers but I've discovered that's because I normally read pre-1850-ish books and, while plot is important, there is much more from the book to be gained. However, 20th century literature, seems to rely a great deal on the story, and so I'm issuing a warning that his review does contain a few spoilers, therefore, continue at your own risk.
Written in 1952, Steinbeck considered East of Eden his magnum opus. At the time, Steinbeck was separated from his two young sons by divorce and he felt a need, not only to communicate with them through his creative medium, but to share family history in a manner that would make it a permanent record. Yet Steinbeck was also sensitive to his readers, aware that he would have to paint the well-known Salinas Valley of his youth with a vibrant brush of memories, in order to endow the people and the place with dynamic yet corporeal life. Writing in his journal on his first day of work on the novel, Steinbeck described his process: "But [I] try to relate the reader to the book, so while I am talking to the boys actually, I am relating every reader to the story as though he were reading about his own background …….. Everyone wants to have a family. Maybe I can create a universal family living next to a universal neighbor."
Rural Youth, Monterey California 1940
As in any good history, the historian wishes to imbue the characters with personality and, in this case, the Valley itself is a character, merging with the people to form a unique examination of this time in history. Steinbeck uses the Salinas Valley as a microcosm to examine human nature, both its strengths and its frailties, its goodness and its evil. As you read through the novel, you almost feel as if all the characters have a little of Steinbeck in their make-up. It's as if, through them, he was exploring not only family history, but also the history of man, the mutations caused by evil and the healing caused by goodness, set against the background of free will and choice.
With the use of the title East of Eden, Steinbeck brings in the biblical story of Cain and Abel, infusing both the relationship of the brothers, Adam and Charles Trask, and then Adam's two twin sons, Aron and Caleb, with the jealousy, impulses and sinful passions of the former. Both sets of brothers contend against each other, while still being bound by their ties of family and a rather strange type of love. The story of Steinbeck's own maternal family, the Hamiltons, parallels that of the Trask's, beginning with his grandfather, Samuel Hamilton, whom one could describe almost as a philosopher-farmer, down to the brief appearance of Steinbeck himself in the work. On the Trask side, Adam is the main focus, as are his two sons and their Chinese servant, Lee, who is himself a philosopher.
Salinas Valley 1940
For me, much of the embodiment of the novel was contained in the grave prophecy of Samuel Hamilton, just before Adam Trask purchases his land in the Salinas Valley: "There's a blackness on this valley. I don't know what it is, but I can feel it. Sometimes on a white blinding day I can feel it cutting off the sun and squeezing the light out of it like a sponge ……. There's a black violence on this valley. I don't know —- I don't know. It's as though some old ghost haunted it with unhappiness. It's as secret as hidden sorrow. I don't know what it is, but I see it and feel it in the people here." This "black violence" hovers over the story like a pall, and the characters are perpetually struggling to rise above it. Charles Trask battles against an inner hatred that nearly makes him murder his brother, Adam Trask contends against guilt and indifference, Caleb against a perceived inner badness which warps his actions and mars his character, Aron, the good and favoured son, becomes tormented by thoughts and events that are too evil to be conceived by his goodness, and Cathy, the mother of the twins, is pure evil, a psychopathic sociopath whose pathological desire for revenge drives her every action. There is an echoing of sins passed down through generations, and behaviours that resist change. While Lee and Adam discuss the story of Cain and Abel, they decide, quite wisely, that even though sins may be persistent, there is always choice:
"Don't you see?" he cried. "The American Standard translation orders men to triumph over sin, and you can call sin ignorance. The King James translation makes a promise in 'Thou shalt,' meaning that men will surely triumph over sin. But the Hebrew word, the word timshel — 'Thou mayest' — that gives a choice. It might be the most important word in the world. That says the way is open. That throws it right back on a man. For if 'Thou mayest' —– it is also true that 'Thous mayest not.' Don't you see?"
"Choice" is unarguably one of the most important words, yet healthy choice does not seem attainable by these characters, and the black violence of Hamilton's perception clouds out the sun. Throughout the novel, nearly every person, while occasionally getting a breath of fresh air, still appears to be drowning in it.
There were many parts of the book that were implausible. A Chinese servant who can not only speak English and philosophize better than a university professor, can also turn into a Hebrew scholar when need be, and then later gain as much knowledge as a doctor specializing in diseases of the brain. The reader is introduced to the token crazy religious person, yet this person had appeared the most balance and grounded character of them all, up until his conversion. And one of the main characters, while recognizing his sinful impulses, has absolutely no control over them, yet he is the hereditary son who remains to carry on the family name. Lee's discovery of timshel, or "Thou mayst", at the end of the book perhaps has an affect on the father, yet the son is changeless throughout, merely experiencing a rollercoaster of undisciplined actions and regrets.
Watsonville, Salina Valley
Yet in spite of the difficulties, Steinbeck attempted quite a feat with this novel and I can certainly appreciate his dream and his attempt to bring that dream to fruition. Writing the novel was more of an outpouring of creative spirit for Steinbeck: "I stay fascinated with East of Eden …. never has a book so intrigued me. I only hope other people enjoy reading it as much as I am enjoying writing it." Yet he did not exhibit any naiveté toward the reaction that his work was destined to elicit. Writing to his editor, he admitted: "You know as well as I do that this book is going to catch the same type of hell that all the others did and for the same reasons. It will not be what anyone expects and so the expectors will not like it." After publication, the critics remained curiously divided, the book being described as "one of Steinbeck's best novels" on one hand, and on the other drawing disparaging comments such as, "a huge grab bag in which pointlessness and preposterous melodrama pop up frequently as good storytelling and plausible conduct." Yet in spite of sometimes vicious criticisms, many readers enjoyed what the critics discredited and the book has become an enduring classic in its own right. As for me, I respect Steinbeck's effort and love for his work, and perhaps that is good enough.
"And this I believe: that the free, exploring mind of the individual human is the most valuable thing in the world. And this I would fight for: the freedom of the mind to take any direciton it wishes, undirected. And this I must fight against: any idea, religion, or government which limits or destroys the individual. This is what I am and what I am about. I can understand why a system built on a pattern must try to destroy the free mind, for that is one thing which can by inspection destroy such a system. Surely I can understand this, and I hate it and I will fight against it to preserve the one thing that separates us from the uncreative beasts. If the glory can be killed, we are lost."
Posted in 2015 Books, 52 Books in 52 Weeks, American Lit, Author: Steinbeck, Chunkster Challenge, Classics, Classics Club, Review	| 22 Replies
Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners by John Bunyan
Posted on February 8, 2015 by cleopatra
"In this my relation of the merciful working of God upon my soul, it will not be amiss, if, in the first place, I do, in a few words, give you a hint of my pedigree, and manner or bringing up; that thereby the goodness and bounty of God towards me, may be the more advanced and magnified before the sons of men."
John Bunyan was born in Elstow, a village near Bedford in Bedfordshire, and was baptized on November 28, 1628, the first son of Thomas Bunyan and his second wife. In 1644, he joined the Parliamentary army as a soldier and was active until 1647. The year 1655 saw him joining the congregational church at Bedford and the following year he was actively disputing with the Quakers, out of which was born his first book, Some Gospel Truths Opened. With the death of Oliver Cromwell in 1658 and the restoration of the monarchy, the persecution of Non-Conformists began. Bunyan was given every opportunity to conform by the surprisingly tolerant Royalists, but he was staunchly resistant to a compromise of principles that could weaken the faith of his followers. Prevented from preaching by various imprisonments, Bunyan turned to writing. Grace Abounding is a record of his spiritual experiences from his first meaningful encounter with God to his life of preaching.
Bunyan admits to having a lack of religion in his upbringing and it was only later, with some the influence from his wife, that he came to entertain thoughts of spirituality:
"But I observe, though I was such a great sinner before conversion, yet God never much charged the guilt of the sins of my ignorance upon me; only he showed me I was lost if I had not Christ, because I had been a sinner; I saw that I wanted a perfect righteousness to present me without fault before God, and this righteousness was nowhere to be found, but in the person of Jesus Christ."
After hearing a sermon preached from the Song of Songs, Bunyan was struck by the love of God and came to the following conclusions:
That the church and so every saved soul, is:
Christ's love, when loveless
Christ's love without a cause
Christ's love when hated to the world
Christ's love when under temptation, and under desertion
Christ's love from first to last
Birthplace of John Bunyan
Though Bunyan had moments of euphoric revelation and joyful epiphanies, his conversion was still fraught with doubts and fears. Had he abused God too much for forgiveness? Was forgiveness given to others but not to him? Like Esau, had he sold his birthright and would never be able to regain it? His agonies leapt off the page with a startling clarity:
"Yet I saw my sin most barbarous, and a filthy crime, and could not but conclude, and that with great shame and astonishment, that I had horribly abused the holy Son of God; wherefore, I felt my soul greatly to love and pity him, and my bowels to yearn toward him; for I saw he was still my Friend, and did reward me good for evil; yea, the love and affection that then did burn within to my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ did work, at this time, such a strong and hot desire for revengement upon myself for the abuse I had done unto him, that, to speak as then I thought, had I a thousand gallons of blood within my veins, I could freely then have split it all at the command and feet of this my Lord and Saviour."
Bunyan eventually is able to reason his way through his doubts and come to peace with his faith. He realizes that while he prayed fervently when he was in the midst of troubles, he neglected to pray for himself to avoid the pitfalls and temptations. The sense of being a sinner did not ever leave him completely, but as he grew, so did his understanding of the depth and breadth of the grace of God, and he was finally at peace.
Stained glass of Bunyan in prison
At the end of the book, Bunyan explains the cause of his imprisonment, which appears to be directly related to his refusal to use the Book of Common Prayer. When questioned by the justices, Bunyan stated that he would be pleased to use the Book, if the justices could so kindly point to him in Scripture where the particular book was referenced. The justices, however, viewed the Book of Common Prayer as second only to the Bible. Bunyan was stubborn, the justices unyielding, and so began Bunyan's time in the gaol. When released from prison in 1672, on a declaration of indulgence issued by the king under a new wave of religious tolerance, Bunyan returned to preaching, this time legally, and continue as the pastor of the Bedford Meeting, a position he had been given while languishing in prison a year before. In 1688, while visiting London, he contracted a fever and passed away on August 31st.
The title Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners comes from two Biblical scripture references:
"Moreover the law entered that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" Romans 5: 20-21
"This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief." 1 Timothy 1: 15
My absolute favourite part of this book was when Bunyan realized the impact of conversion. His fellow men and women were suddenly lovely to his eyes and he viewed them "like a people that carried the broad seal of heaven about them." What a transformative experience! Instead of being irked, or disdainful, or petty, or indifferent toward our fellow man, if we could see them as beloved children of God, how differently we might treat them!
A Timeline of the Life of John Bunyan
John Bunyan at the Gates of Heaven
I must say that while I liked this read, so far I'm finding the biography list rather quirky. Taken separately, the books have been enjoyable, but when taken together, they don't strike me as a concise, chronological order of biographies that perhaps expand ideas or give insight into changes in societies or thought. Ruth, I'd love to know what you thought of the novel list as a whole. The other remaining lists (plays, history and poetry) look much better, but I'm not that impressed with this one.
This book counts towards my Reading England Challenge and since Cat at Tell Me A Story has been doing such a wonderful job with educating us as to the English counties along with her novels, I thought that I should add at least a few photos of Bedfordshire, where the narrative takes place.
Elstow Stream
Bridge and Promenade
Bedford Bridge
Posted in 2015 Books, 52 Books in 52 Weeks, Author: Bunyan, Biography, Classics, English Lit, Reading England 2015, Review, WEM Project	| 12 Replies
The Plague by Albert Camus
"The unusual events described in this chronicle occurred in 194-, at Oran."
Albert Camus was born in 1913 in Algeria. His father was killed at the Battle of the Marne in World War I and he and his brother were raised by their mother in a state of poverty. He became a journalist, and during World War II, moved to Paris where he worked for an underground newspaper, and it was then that he began to craft his "philosophy of the absurd." The Stranger, published in 1942, was followed by The Plague in 1947, and in 1957 Camus won the Nobel Prize for Literature. Tragically he died in a car accident in the south of France at only 46 years old.
Often Camus is lumped in with the existential philosophy, but he rejected that appellation, claiming himself an absurdist. What is an absurdist? Well, I like to think of them as existentialists with hope. Absurdism is an idea that man is longing for meaning and clarity in a world that contains neither. The conflict between the search for a purpose and the lack of one, creates absurdism. Yet while Camus felt a meaninglessness in life, he wondered if man could create his own morality and follow it, even though his achievements would be fruitless.
St. Macarius of Ghent giving aid
to the plague victims (1672)
Jacob van Oost
The Plague is set in the town of Oran in Algeria, a town perhaps like any other, yet the citizens are so ingrained in their day-to-day activities, there is no real life or passion within its walls. When the plague arrives, their lethargic outlook and self-centred actions initially prevent them from seeing the danger that is so obviously present, as evidenced by the number of rats dying throughout the town. As the plague is finally realized and claims its victims, Camus employs a scientific and philosophical examination of how the people react to the pestilence, what emotions and actions are brought to the forefront and the significance of their struggle to survive, not only the plague but the day-to-day trials that they must face.
The Plague (1898)
Arnold Böcklin
Camus shows the futility of attempted comprehension of the events, when the priest, Father Paneloux, declares the plague a judgement from God on the sins on the people. In reality, the plague is not a moral judgement, nor anything that can be explained rationally, and therefore it is futile to try to rationalize it; one must simply accept the circumstances. The plague means death, no more nor less than any other death, and the only reaction should be to battle against it. Another character, Grand, decides to write a story perfect in its execution, but finally realizes his hopes are impossible. As we meet more and more characters in Oran, we see its paralysis in the life of these men and women who choose actions that are meaningless and therefore self-isolating. Because perfection cannot be obtained, a type of helplessness is portrayed, yet in a few characters we see another option. While some victims have quietly succumbed to the inescapable death, others choose to fight, which gives their struggle significance within the inevitable.
Each character plays an important part in Camus' philosophy, almost like a symphony, as Camus presses the loud pedal with one, and the soft with another. I'm still not sure how I feel about this tactic. On one hand, it really gives the reader the ability to scrutinize each person's part in the plague and, of course, Camus' philosophy, but on the other, the story perhaps suffers. With such close dissection, the humanness fades into the background as the emphasis is given to worldview over plot, and in some cases the plausibility of the character and his/her actions is sacrificed to communicate Camus' pet beliefs.
Plague in Ashod (1629)
With the existentialist worldview, the novel would have signified defeat in the face of a world devoid of hope and purpose, but Camus spurs us to vigilance and action. He may not believe in truth or God, but one gets the feeling that he wants to believe. It is as if he is waiting …… waiting for a sunbeam in a storm or a flower in the desert, and while he waits, he fights for the right to hope in what he tells himself is impossible.
Ultimately Camus struggled against his own belief system. When the Nazi's invaded France, he actively worked against them. He made a judgement that their actions were wrong and attempted to stop them, showing that he did indeed believe there was something worth fighting for in the world. Unlike the existentialists that I've encountered, Camus confronted the implications of his unbelief — and ultimately offered a solution, or at least a compromise with regard to his dilemma: while he still held to the absence of meaning within life, that did not mean that the search could not be rewarding. At the end of his book, The Myth of Sisyphus, Camus concludes, "The struggle itself toward the heights is enough to fill a man's heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy."
A Read-Along with Bookstooge – January 2015
The Plague Read-Along Update #1
Bookstooge's Update #1
Bookstooge's Final Review
Posted in 2015 Books, 52 Books in 52 Weeks, Author: Camus, Back To The Classics Challenge, Books in Translation, Classics, French Literature, Mini-Bio, Read-Alongs, Review	| 6 Replies
The Princess by Anton Chekhov
Portrait of Anton Chekhov (1886)
Isaac Levitan
This short story is my fourth read for my Deal Me In Challenge 2015.
What happened to Narcissus when he looked at his own reflection in the pool? This beautiful hunter from Boeotia fell in love with himself, and in fact was so deeply infatuated, in his self-obsession he fell into the pool and drowned. Not a very fitting end for one with so much promise.
Narcissus (1594-96)
In Chekhov's story we meet the Princess, a lovely young woman who arrives at an isolated monastery for a night's stay. She is so thrilled to be there, gushing effusively about the setting and the priests and brothers who have received her. She wants to forget her life in the city and the monastery and its occupants give her the tools to do so. But the reader soon realizes that her arrival, instead of being a moment of interest and delight, is instead looked upon with discomfort and even dread by the good brothers of the monastery, and one feels that the Princess, in spite of her outward joie-de-vivre and vivacious personality, is only noticing the benefits that she gets from her visit, without concern for anything or anyone around her.
Soon she meets Mikhail Ivanovitch there, a doctor whom she'd earlier employed in her service, but instead of a warm reception for her, the doctor's replies drip icicles. Our poor, puzzled Princess cannot understand ….. why the reserve, especially when she condoles with him upon the death of his wife, an event that is certainly sad, but of course, life must go on. When she mentions the mistakes she's made in life and the doctor agrees, she begs him to enlighten her. Perhaps she should have been more careful in what she asked for. Directly he begins to catalogue her offenses, taking her to task for her lack of sympathy, her greed, her complete disdain for the feelings of others ………. in fact, the whole system of life that she has built around her is false and cruel, breeding those traits, and choking out any love or caring. She has replaced God with herself, and therefore is no longer able to understand the creation in which she lives.
Oh! The Princess is hurt, she is distraught, she is devasted! That cruel, uneducated, ill-bred man! How could he speak so to her, to HER, a princess?! She must use her only defence against these horrid accusations, and so she begins to cry. The doctor is immediately contrite and leaves her. When they meet the next day, the princess is once again herself, gay and blithe as she prepares to leave, expecting everyone to admire and entertain her even as she promises to come again soon. The unpleasantness of the day before is blotted from memory as once more she strives to be the centre of the world.
The Unsmiling Tsarevna (1916-26)
Niktor Vasnetsov
In spite of the inclination to laugh at the princess' stupidity and complete self-absorption, this story is quite a tragic one. Her character is certainly one of a narcissist, and anything that exists around her, merely exists for her alone. She is devoid of the character traits that make one truly human and, therefore, is not much better than a beast.
On November 15, 1888, Chekhov wrote to his publisher, stating that he was writing a story about a "vile woman". Three days later Chekhov wrote, "I want to write protest stories this season —— I must learn the knack, but it bores me because I'm not used to it," which makes one wonder if the doctor's social protest was supposed to be the hub of the story. In any case, both character's roles offered a ripe opportunity for social and psychological examination. This was an excellent story that certainly makes me want to read more of Chekhov's works.
Deal Me in Challenge (#4) – Six of Clubs
Posted in 2015 Books, 52 Books in 52 Weeks, Author: Chekhov, Books in Translation, Classics, Deal Me In Challenge, Russian Lit	| 12 Replies
The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi
Posted on January 26, 2015 by cleopatra
"There was, once upon a time ……."
The Adventures of Pinocchio was originally serialized in the two years prior to its publication in 1883, and was written by the Italian children's writer Carlo Collodi. Initially Collodi had Pinocchio die a rather gruesome death at the end of chapter 15 (which is rather reminiscent of Hilaire Belloc's instructional children's poetry), but his editor urged another ending, so the reader was finally treated to an extra 21 chapters and a wise addition it was! The book has been translated into 240 languages and remains an icon in children's literature.
Pinocchio begins as a talking block of wood that is given to a woodcarver named Gepetto, who carves him into a puppet and tries to teach him sense, responsibility and moderation. Yet instead of being grateful to his creator, Pinocchio follows his own selfish inclinations and calamitous adventures are the result of his self-indulgent, thoughtless decisions.
From being defrauded of his money by a Cat and a Fox, nearly roasted in a fire, hung by his neck on a tree, arrested and thrown in jail, turned into a donkey, and eaten by a fish, one wonders why Pinocchio doesn't learn his lesson and become a good boy. But through these disastrous adventures, we see changes in Pinocchio that are like small flickering lights in the inky darkness of his character. Initially his zest for fun is nearly uncontrollable but, while it can seem doubtful on the surface, he steadily learns from each adventure, and at each temptation, he is able to put up more resistance. Pinocchio wants to be good, but his conscience is at continual war with his boyish enthusiasm and his childish lack of forethought and discipline. The blue fairy, who is like a mother to him and attempts to aid in his moral development, is harsh in her instruction, but Pinocchio benefits from this treatment, knowing she is looking out for his best interests. And in spite of her firmness, love is always in her actions:
"I saw from the sincerity of your grief that you had a good heart; and when boys have good hearts, even if they are scamps and have bad habits, there is always something to hope for: that is, there is always hope that they will turn to better ways …"
Eventually Pinocchio learns how dangerous it can be to follow your impulses of the moment, and that responsibility and hard work bring a maturity that is rewarded in a way, that fun and pleasure can never match.
Was I imagining it, or were there a number of Biblical allusions in the story? When Pinocchio buried his money, it reminded me of the parable of the talents, where the servant chooses selfishly to bury his money instead of making good use of it. With the large fish swallowing Gepetto, of course, this alluded to Jonah and the whale. And finally, all Pinocchio's catastrophic adventures that come about by his poor life choices and his eventual change of heart, are on parallel with the story of the prodigal son, who finally returns home to the one who truly loves him and has his best interests at heart.
The Return of the Prodigal Son (1773)
Pompeo Batoni
In spite of some of the more bloodthirsty episodes, this was truly a heart-warming story. That sentence sounds odd, I know, but I really appreciated the reality of Collodi's message. The company we keep has an enormous influence on the character that we will develop, and each of our decisions in life carry an import, sometimes with consequences that are not easily realized. For me, the most shocking part of the story was the episode where the Cat and Fox hung Pinocchio in a tree expecting him to die, but honestly in some bad decisions the outcome could be death, and it's important to realize that.
Finally, I'll share a few pictures by illustrator Fritz Kredel from my 1946 edition that are rather fun:
Posted in 2015 Books, 52 Books in 52 Weeks, Author: Collodi, Back To The Classics Challenge, Books in Translation	| 23 Replies


As experienced experts, Weidmüller supports their customers and partners around the world with products, solutions and services in the industrial environment of power, signal and data. They are at home in their industries and markets and know the technological challenges of tomorrow.
Weidmüller is continuously developing innovative, sustainable and useful solutions for individual needs.


Today I'm pleased to present a guest post by Chris Martin.
As a business owner, you recognize the importance of good customer service. So you provide options for your buyers, offer as many amenities as possible, and get to know what your customers want and need - and do it all with a big smile on your face.
Set up a different Facebook page for customer service. This will impress your customers because they know that you are taking your service seriously enough to create a dedicated page for it. But it also helps you because it allows you to view customer feedback in one place instead of paging through your news feed of messages on your standard business Facebook page. This customer service page can be branded similarly to your main page, but it should also display frequently asked questions as well as complete contact information for customers who have a problem or issue.
Use social media to respond to complaints quickly. Setting up an alert on your Facebook customer service page will notify you when someone has posted a complaint or question. And Twitter's built-in immediacy will allow you to see a customer complaint as it comes up on your feed. But most importantly, responding quickly lets all of your social media customers know that you value their feedback and are trying hard to provide the best service possible. That in itself will help boost your online reputation.
Use social media to communicate during a crisis. Emergencies happen - like your website or e-commerce site crashing, your supply chain being disrupted, your database being hacked, or even your phone system going down. This is when you can turn to social media to alert customers to what is happening. You can use Twitter, Facebook, or other sites to provide periodic updates about the problem and keep customers informed that you are actively trying to resolve the problem. This will help give your customers peace of mind in the midst of a crisis.
Use social media input for employee training. Not only can social media act as a communication channel for customer service, but it can provide a valuable training resource as well. If you take a few examples of questions, comments, or complaints that were posted by customers on your site, you can show them to your employees and instruct them on how to properly address these issues. Then if your workers are confronted with a similar problem in the future, they will know how to handle it correctly.
Use Facebook metrics (and those on other sites) to gauge customer response. One of the great things about Facebook is that it incorporates impressive business page tools and metrics to help you measure traffic and page views. You can easily see which topics, posts, and marketing initiatives are popular with customers and which ones aren't. Twitter, MySpace, and other sites have handy metrics as well. Paying attention to them can help you tweak your overall branding and marketing strategies.
When it comes to businesses, social media isn't just for marketing and community outreach anymore. It can be utilized as a tool to demonstrate your willingness and eagerness to provide your customers with service that exceeds their expectations.
Chris Martin is a freelance writer who writes for numerous websites and is also a ghostwriter for several blogs. In addition, he is an accomplished voice actor and an experienced sportscaster. Martin has also worked as a radio DJ, a traffic reporter, and a public address announcer for sporting events - and he actively monitors his online reputation on Reputation.com.
Nice tips. Aside from verbal customer service, there are a lot of things to consider as far as customer care is concerned.


How we learn is changing – shouldn't learning technology change too?
Having a fully trained staff is critical to doing good business, but getting there can be a massive, ongoing challenge. Did employees complete the required compliance training? Did they understand the information, have opinions on the content, do they have questions? Did they provide electronic signatures to verify they've understood the material? Depending on the content, completion of trainings can have critical, even legal, implications. The question then becomes: How can you track knowledge?
At Intralearn Software Corporation, we decided to tackle this question head on, and one thing we kept coming up against is that people learn differently now. Standard training courses are no longer…well, standard. I have learned from my own three millennial children that employees, particularly younger ones, prefer to learn from varied sources, in shorter bursts, and through different channels. Requiring employees to sit through that "Avoiding harassment in the workplace" video, followed by a few comprehension questions, just isn't the best way to communicate information.
So our first question was, Where does learning come from? Well, it comes from all over: videos, PowerPoints, news sources, blogs, Slideshares, even social sharing apps like Instagram. Formal training has been the purview of the human resources or training teams, but a lot of knowledge sharing is informal – conversations in the lunchroom, questions asked via email or over the cubicle wall, articles read on the Internet. That's valuable information that should be spread more widely throughout the organization.
However, our customers need to know what their employees know. Are the appointment setters up-to-date on HIPAA regulations? Has the entire staff been educated on changes to their 401k plans? Our challenge was to develop technology that made it possible for customers to design materials, provide learning access, and track results of training in their organizations so that everyone's training was up-to-date.
Next question: How can we make it easy to share information widely? Our learning solution NanoLearn allows our customers to curate content from lots of different sources and gather it in one space. Content contributors can come from anywhere in the company – they identify all the information they want to include, assign point values to knowledge mastery, determine how to validate that mastery, then share or assign their set of content as appropriate. Intralearn has appreciated SharePoint as a terrific content management platform for our existing product; NanoLearn built upon that experience to provide the tracking and validation integrated with SharePoint that gives an organization visibility into what their employees are learning.
We've been a Microsoft shop since the beginning, so building on Microsoft technologies was a natural for us. With SharePoint, we can supply the Web Services customers need to make data accessible to employees, on any type of system. We created our products to be field-configurable, built on Microsoft Windows Server, and utilizing Microsoft SQL Server to capture, contain, link, and report all activity. And we've intentionally focused on organizations that have also embraced Microsoft products and technologies. If an organization has implemented SharePoint or SQL Server and has an infrastructure that's Microsoft-based, then we have an ideal product for them.
Customers whose systems are built on Microsoft infrastructure can easily integrate with our learning management systems, so implementation is simple – LearningServer can be installed and running in a matter of hours, for example. The familiar interface and experience means end users can concentrate on learning the material, not mastering the learning software. Most learning management systems have to create their own content management system, but we don't need one because we have SharePoint. Thanks to the high level of integration, it takes less work to integrate products, there are fewer product development issues—and less time is spent getting to market.
Learning looks very different now than it did even five years ago, so we've built our solution to match. Collaboration support is built in, so our customers can encourage social learning among their staff. Automatically generated progress reports make it easy to track progress and skill attainment. And the solution is affordable: using Microsoft technologies from the beginning meant we could keep the cost of our systems low. Providing and tracking employee training can be a high-stakes logistical nightmare for organizations. Solutions built to reflect the changing way we share information make learning easier for employees and the companies they work for.


The Bucks County Mosquito Control Program will conduct an ultra-low volume (ULV) mosquito control operation to reduce high populations of mosquitoes capable of transmitting West Nile Virus Friday, September 21st, 2018 in Upper Southampton and Warwick Townships.
Warwick Township will be the area bounded by Guinea Lane, Turkey Trot Road, Stony Road and West Bristol Road.
In Upper Southampton Township, the locale to receive treatment will be the area bounded by Churchville Road, Strathmann Drive, Gravel Hill Road, and Street Road. An additional locale in Upper Southampton Township will be the area which includes just Princeton, Eagle and FairHill Roads.
Weather conditions and other unexpected events could delay or cancel this spray operation. If conditions do not allow application on September 21, 2018, subsequently Monday evening, September 24th, 2018 will serve as the back-up spray date.


text:
Non-Fiction Book: How the World Moves: The Odyssey of an American Indian Family by Peter Nabokov
Genre: History/American Indian culture/Race/Memoir
A compelling portrait of cultural transition and assimilation via the saga of one Acoma Pueblo Indian family
Born in 1861 in New Mexico's Acoma Pueblo, Edward Proctor Hunt lived a tribal life almost unchanged for centuries. But after attending government schools he broke with his people's ancient codes to become a shopkeeper and controversial broker between Indian and white worlds. As a Wild West Show Indian he travelled in Europe with his family, and saw his sons become silversmiths, painters, and consultants on Indian Lore. In 1928, in a life-culminating experience, he recited his version of the origin myth of Acoma Pueblo to Smithsonian Institution scholars.
Nabokov narrates the fascinating story of Hunt's life within a multicultural and historical context. Chronicling Pueblo Indian life and Anglo/Indian relations over the last century and a half, he explores how this entrepreneurial family capitalized on the nation's passion for Indian culture. In this rich book, Nabokov dramatizes how the Hunts, like immigrants throughout history, faced anguishing decisions over staying put or striking out for economic independence, and experienced the pivotal passage from tradition to modernity.
The Witches, by Roald Dahl
Doctor Sleep by Stephen King
IT by Stephen King (Books Made Into Movies)
A Dog's Way Home
Ready Player One – Movie Night
Ready Player One – Books Made Into Movies

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
After a few minutes in Bath's Colombian Company, I quickly realised that the warm feeling spreading through me wasn't just the effect of the silky smooth latte I'd been given by owners JP and Veronica.
From the homemade cakes on the counter to the mementos of JP's South American homeland and the affectionate smiles passed between the husband and wife team, every corner of this cosy coffee shop seems to ooze with a sense of love and care.
JP points to the photos of smiling Colombian coffee farmers on the wall, naming each one, telling me about their farms, their families and which one grew the delicious coffee I'm now sipping.
"When I set up The Colombian Company, I knew from the start I wanted to work directly with small producers. I grew up watching many of them struggling to compete with the big corporations so for me it's really important that the coffee farmers grow as we grow," JP explains. "I wanted to give something back."
The warm atmosphere that greets you as soon as you step through the door is the perfect combination of the cosiness of a traditional English cafe with a bit of Latin American fire. A pretty delicious combination too when you try it in the form of one of the Colombian Company's toasted sandwiches, stuffed with spicy guacamole from a secret family recipe.
From Colombia and Spain originally, JP and Veronica have lived in Bath for almost 30 years combined. They met in a bar in Bath, got married in the city's own Parade Gardens, and now have a family here. They love walking in the park where they were married and watching their son play for Bath City under 9s.
The coffee shop is very much a tribute to their heritage. Veronica shows me the Colombian coffee sacks JP uses to transport all the beans himself and the collection of traditional Colombian sweets and chocolate that customers can buy to take a little taste of Latin America home with them. "Like with the coffee, the money goes directly to local producers. We want every part of the shop to be as ethical as possible", she tells me proudly. I find my foot tapping along to the lively salsa music in the background and spy a poster for Spanish conversation classes hosted at the cafe.
But, Veronica adds, "We also wanted to pay tribute to our home here in Bath. We love living here. We wanted the cafe's interior to be a combination of all our favourite parts of our new home as well as our old ones. We made all these wooden tables and counters ourselves", she points to the lovingly polished surface my coffee is resting on.
"They're designed to make you feel as though you're in the South American forests where JP grew up, but made by us here out of local English wood."
She laughs, reminiscing about traipsing across most of the saw mills in the South West to find the perfect Douglas fir.
Tucked on the corner of Bath's cobblestoned Abbey Green, JP and Veronica's little Spanish haven is surrounded by the most beautiful and historic parts of the city. Far from being at odds with the quintessentially English view out of the window, the Colombian Company embraces the best of both worlds. And very successfully too judging by how warmly the coffee shop has been welcomed by Bath locals.
In every way what JP and Veronica have created is a match made in heaven – or more specifically, Bath.


text:
var util = require('util');

function iterate(o, fn) {
	Object.keys(o).forEach(function(key, i) {
		fn(o[key], key, o);
	});
}

function length(o) {
	return Object.keys(o).length;
}

function normalize(x) {
	if(!x || typeof x !== 'object') {
		throw new Error("Argument must be an Object or an Array.");
	}
	if(x.toObject) {
		x = x.toObject();
	}
	if(!Array.isArray(x)) {
		x = [x];
	}
	var arr = [];
	x.forEach(function(o) {
		var _o = o;
		if(o.toObject) {
			_o = o.toObject();
		}
		iterate(_o, function(v, p) {
			var _obj = {};
			_obj[p] = v;
			arr.push(_obj);
		});
	});
	return arr;
}

function combine(n, arr) {
	if(n === 1) {
		return arr;
	}
	var or = [];
	comb(n, arr).forEach(function(a) {
		var _a = {$and:a};
		if(a.length === 1) {
			_a = a[0];
		}
		or.push(_a);
	});
	return or;
}

function bitprint(u, arr) {
  var s=[];
  for (var n=0; u; ++n, u>>=1)
    if (u&1) s.push(arr[n]);
  return s;
}
function bitcount(u) {
  for (var n=0; u; ++n, u=u&(u-1));
  return n;
}
function comb(c, arr) {
  var s=[], n = arr.length;
  for (var u=0; u<1<<n; u++)
    if (bitcount(u)==c)
      s.push(bitprint(u, arr));
  return s.sort();
}

function Qweary(criteria) {
	this._query = {$and:[]};
	if(criteria) {
		this.is(criteria);
	}
	return this;
}

Qweary.isQweary = function(q) {
	if(q.toString() === new Qweary().toString()) {
		return true;
	}
	return false;
};

// util.inherits obliterates the prototype, so we can't add prototype methods until after
// the mongoose.Document inheritance is established.
function addToPrototype(Qweary) {

	Qweary.prototype.toObject = function() {
		if(this._query.$and.length > 1) {
			return this._query;
		} else if (this._query.$and.length === 1) {
			return this._query.$and[0];
		} else {
			return {};
		}
	};

	Qweary.prototype.toJSON = function() {
		return this.toObject();
	};

	Qweary.prototype.toString = function() {
		return "[object Qweary]";
	};

	Qweary.prototype.valueOf = function() {
		return {}.valueOf.call(this.toObject());
	};

	// Add a custom inspect method for Node.js (see: https://github.com/joyent/node/blob/master/lib/util.js)
	Qweary.prototype.inspect = function(depth) {
		return util.inspect(this.toObject(), undefined, depth); //this is old way that arguments are ordered, and it's current for Node 0.8.x
	};

	Qweary.prototype.is = function(obj) {
		this._query.$and = this._query.$and.concat(normalize(obj));
		return this;
	};

	Qweary.prototype.and = Qweary.prototype.is;

	Qweary.prototype.or = function(o) {
		o = normalize(o);
		var arg;
		if(o.length > 1) {
			arg = {$and:o};
		} else if(o.length) {
			arg = o[0];
		} else {
			arg = {};
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		return this.oneOf([this.toObject(), arg]);
	};

	Qweary.prototype.allOf = Qweary.prototype.is;
	Qweary.prototype.andAllOf = Qweary.prototype.allOf;
	Qweary.prototype.bothOf = Qweary.prototype.allOf;
	Qweary.prototype.andBothOf = Qweary.prototype.bothOf;

	Qweary.prototype.nOf = function(n, arr) {
		if(n > arr.length) {
			throw new Error("Number of required arguments exceeds number of arguments.");
		}
		if(n === 0) {
			return this.noneOf(arr);
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		this._query.$and = this._query.$and.concat({$or:combine(n, normalize(arr))});
		return this;
	};
	Qweary.prototype.andNOf = Qweary.prototype.nOf;

	["one", "two", "three", "four", "five"].forEach(function(num, i) {
		Qweary.prototype[num+'Of'] = function(o) {
			return this.nOf(i+1, o);
		};
		Qweary.prototype['and'+num[0].toUpperCase()+num.slice(1)+'Of'] = Qweary.prototype[num+'Of'];
	});

	Qweary.prototype.either = Qweary.prototype.oneOf;
	Qweary.prototype.andEither = Qweary.prototype.either;
	Qweary.prototype.eitherOf = Qweary.prototype.either;
	Qweary.prototype.andEitherOf = Qweary.prototype.eitherOf;

	// .not({linkedin:true})										=> .concat({linkedin: {$ne: true} })
	// .not({price:{$gt: 10}})										=> .concat({price: {$not: {$gt: 10} } })
	// .not({price:{$gt: 10, $lte:20}})								=> .concat({price: {$not: {$gt: 10, $lte:20} } })
	// .not([{linkedin:true}, {username:'Trey'}])					=> .concat({$nor: [{linkedin:true}, {username:'Trey'}] })
	// .not([{linkedin:true}, {username: {$ne:null}}])				=> .concat({$nor: [{linkedin:true}, {username: {$ne:null} }] })
	// .not({settings: {receive_email:true, other_setting:false}})	=> .concat({settings: {$ne: {receive_email:true, other_setting:false}}})
	Qweary.prototype.not = function(arr) {
		arr = normalize(arr);
		// multiple statements should be negated with $nor
		var not = {$nor:arr};
		if(arr.length === 1) {
			// transforms a normalized array of length 1 into a statement like {field: {$not: expression } }
			not = {};
			var field = Object.keys(arr[0])[0];
			var value = arr[0][field];
			if(value && typeof value === 'object') {
				var keys = Object.keys(value);
				if(keys[0][0] === '$') { // check if this is an object of mongodb operators (there should never be a mix of operators and non-operators) All mongodb operators start with '$'
					not[field] = {$not:value};
				} else {
					not[field] = {$ne: value};// simple object, negated with $ne
				}
			} else {
				not[field] = {$ne: value}; // primitive value
			}
		}
		if(arr.length) {
			this._query.$and = this._query.$and.concat(not);
		}
		return this;
	};
	Qweary.prototype.andNot = Qweary.prototype.not;

	Qweary.prototype.noneOf = Qweary.prototype.not;
	Qweary.prototype.andNoneOf = Qweary.prototype.noneOf;
	Qweary.prototype.neither = Qweary.prototype.noneOf;
	Qweary.prototype.andNeither = Qweary.prototype.neither;
	Qweary.prototype.neitherOf = Qweary.prototype.neither;
	Qweary.prototype.andNeitherOf = Qweary.prototype.neitherOf;

	return Qweary;
}

// We have to do the inheritance on instantiation, otherwise the test for instanceof Document won't work.
module.exports = function(mongoose) {
	// Inherit from Mongoose#Document. This causes causes Mongoose#Query to cast the Qweary using Qweary#toObject
	// See Query.prototype.find in Mongoose (https://github.com/LearnBoost/mongoose/blob/master/lib/query.js, line 194)
	util.inherits(Qweary, mongoose.Document);

	// extend the prototype to include our custom methods
	return addToPrototype(Qweary);
};

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Which market were impact the most by the plasticizer incident?
After Plasticizer Storm, Juice and Health Market Have Been Devastated the Most Severely.
They Lost More Than 30% Shoppers within One Month*.
What influenced categories have recovered?
What categories benefited from this event?
Which channels have been impacted the most?
What types of health food declined the most?


Our Technical Department is committed to customer satisfaction ensuring that fleet of vehicles and equipment is well maintained in line with internationally recommended guidelines at all times in order to provide a smooth ,cost effective and efficiently run operation to ultimately meet and exceed customer expectations.
To achieve this, we have a stringent servicing and preventative maintenance plan which is tailored to our customer's requirements. We work very closely with other departments and our network of suppliers to ensure that our support chain is constantly monitored and updated to provide an efficient service and to ultimately keep vehicle repair downtime to a minimum. We have a well-equipped workshop that support the vehicle fleet together with a skilled and highly motivated well trained experienced staff in the automotive and fire service industries.
We also provide flexible cost effective maintenance packages from basic vehicle and equipment servicing to a full Repair and Maintenance package,based on internationally recommended guidelines, which can be tailored to our customer's specific requirements.


A BizOps Engineer to join us in Boston.
As a member of the BizOps team you'll be working to support the rapid growth and expansion of the Boston office, Onboarding new starters and helping to keep things running smoothly.
Wiping computer and disabling accounts.
-Basic Scripting in any language such as Shell, Bourne, etc.


text:
Improved method for evaluating the quality of phenolic...
Improved method for evaluating the quality of phenolic resin bonds of Douglas fir Northcott, Philip Lachlan
The purpose and history of glue bond testing have been reviewed. Certain deficiencies of standard test methods have been elaborated, and the need for a more accurate test procedure stated. The objective of this particular research was to develop a test that would meet such a need. Experimentation was limited to Douglas fir veneers bonded with hot-press phenolic resin adhesives. The following requirements of an ideal method of estimating glue bond quality were used as a guide in selecting new designs. The foremost requirement is reproducibility of test results. Other essential features include a universally acceptable unit of measurement and a test specimen which is simple and economical to prepare. Other desirable features are that a maximum number of specimens be obtainable from a given sample, and that the method be adaptable to both research and production testing. The Glueline-Cleavage Test developed through this research meets all of the above requirements. The principle is to measure the force required to split or cleave a one inch square plywood specimen along the glue line by means of a "knife" or wedge. The action is similar to the splitting of any wood with a wedge except that the knife is particularly positioned along the glue line. Specimens for this purpose may be either cross-banded or laminated. If the data are to be directly comparable every detail of the specimen, manufacture, testing machine, and test procedure must be standardized. This requirement is common to all methods of test. For quality control purposes test specimens would be out from the plywood at an angle of forty-five degrees to the grain. Every glue line of the specimen may be tested. Special two-ply specimens have been designed for research purposes where accuracy is of the utmost importance. In this type, the material is cut so that the cells intersect the veneer surface at an angle of ten degrees. This small angle, plus the relative weakness of wood in tension perpendicular to the grain, tends to concentrate the stress in the glue line. This insures a glue line failure when the knife is applied in the correct direction. If the knife is not applied in the correct direction the specimen tends to split along the grain of the wood away from the glue line rather than toward it as intended. These research specimens are prepared from two edge-grain veneers glued with the springwood-summerwood bands crossed. Any cross-banding angle up to ninety degrees (common for commercial plywood) may be used. The strengths of matched phenolic-bonded Douglas fir glue lines were compared by five methods, four being mechanical and one relying on wood failure. The mechanical methods were the Block Shear, Glueline-Cleavage, Tension Normal to the Glue Line, and Tension Shear Tests. The Per Cent Wood Failure Method employed wood failure readings from the Tension Shear specimens as estimates of bond quality. The Glueline-Cleavage and Tension Shear Methods included several test specimen designs. The above-mentioned comparisons yielded the following information. (1) mechanical methods proved more accurate than those based upon wood failure estimations, (2) for quality-control purposes the Glueline-Cleavage Test was shown to be equal or superior to the other mechanical methods, and (3) the Glueline-Cleavage Test, when used with specimens designed for research purposes, proved of superior accuracy to all others tested. Additional advantages of the Glueline-Cleavage Method include: (1) the simplest possible test specimen shape and therefore simple and inexpensive manufacture, (2) a maximum yield of specimens from a given plywood sample (a valuable feature with experimental designs requiring large numbers of matched specimens), (3) a lower time requirement per test, (4) much less expensive machinery is required to perform the test, and (5) the exposure of every glue line for inspection purposes when research-type specimens are used. Although the Glueline-Cleavage Test is believed to be the most accurate method yet developed, imperfections remain and several further methods have been proposed for increasing its accuracy.
Improved method for evaluating the quality of phenolic resin bonds of Douglas fir
Northcott, Philip Lachlan
Master of Applied Science - MASc
Forestry, Faculty of
UBC_1954_A7 N63 I6.pdf -- 8.59MB


Bring the subtle colours of the ocean to your swimming pool or spa with Artisan Stone's Niebla range of glass pool tiles. From light aqua tones to deep ocean blues, this collection has something for every taste, and includes exclusive blends specifically manufactured for the Australian pool market.
Designed and made in Spain and employing leading Spanish, Italian and German technology, these tiles feature a breakthrough thermo-polymer backing system that allows for uninterrupted grout coverage.
Select from a range of exclusive blends including 364a, with a light and refreshing aqua tone, Caribe, with striking aqua tones that reflect the tropical waters of the Caribbean, Mar, a beautiful mid blue with inviting tones, Jonico, a deep blue reflecting the nature of the deep ocean and Marmara, a deep mottled aqua green, ideal for pools in garden settings.
At Artisan Stone, our reputation is based on our ability to supply the best products at the right price, and back them with the kind of service our discerning clientele expects. We have extensive industry experience behind us, and have helped many customers to successfully accomplish their building and landscaping goals.
As well as multiple stores in New South Wales and the ACT, we now have 3 state-of-the-art showrooms located in Sydney at 123 Harris St Pyrmont, in Narellan at Unit 1, 1 Orielton Road, Smeaton Grange and in Canberra at 45-47 Wollongong St, Fyshwick.
These showrooms contain innovative displays where you can see our tiles, pavers, cobblestones, wall claddings and glass mosaics just as they would appear in your home or design project. We have more than 200 products in our range and are confident we have everything you need to create something truly unique in natural stone.
Our extensive online catalogue gives you access to a huge selection of colours, textures and finishes with the click of a mouse or swipe of a screen, but the best way to decide if they're right for your home or design project is to see them in-situ by visiting our showrooms.
There, our experienced staff can help you with obligation-free advice on every aspect of your project. If you have questions in the meantime, you can also email us at inspired@artisanstone.com.au or call us on 1300 301 898. We're here to assist at Artisan Stone and we're ready to help you bring your ideas to life.


text:
On Sunday, Djokovic buried his recent Grand Slam failures by holding off Roger Federer 6-7 (7-9), 6-4, 7-6 (7-4), 5-7, 6-4 to win his second Wimbledon title in four years and his seventh major overall.
"I needed this win a lot," he said.
Federer, with the crowd at his back, pushed Djokovic to the brink of his lingering doubts.
And Djokovic wobbled, failing to close out the match leading 5-2 in the fourth set by dropping five consecutive games and one match point that Federer saved with an ace.
But in the end, Djokovic refused to fail. Playing the dogged brand of defensive tennis that is his specialty, the top-seeded Serb punched back returns and lured No. 4 seed Federer into long rallies, most of which Djokovic won. But he also pressed forward, took the offensive and protected his serve, which he lost three times only during his fourth-set lapse.
The 27-year-old Serb has reclaimed the No. 1 ranking he lost to Rafael Nadal last fall. He is back on his favorite surface, which has accounted for five of his seven majors. The monkey is off his back.
"I think Novak tried as much as he could to play offensive as well," said Federer, who hit more winners (75 to 68) and aces (29 to 13).
Djokovic eventually wore 32-year-old Federer down, breaking him early in the third set, buckling down in the third-set tiebreaker and then holding on to break him in the final game for a fourth time. Federer, seeking a record eighth Wimbledon crown, had been broken just once prior to the final.
"I don't know how I managed to do it," said a choked-up Djokovic on court after the nearly 4-hour match, later calling it the highest-quality Grand Slam final he'd taken part in.
Djokovic had lost four of his past five Grand Slam finals and was one defeat away from joining Ivan Lendl, Andy Roddick and Andy Murray as the only men in the post-1968 Open era to lose four major finals in a row.
His last major victory was at the 2013 Australian Open nearly 18 months ago, part of the reason he hired three-time Wimbledon champion Boris Becker at the start of 2014 to help him get him over the hump.
With his seventh major crown, Djokovic equals John McEnroe and Mats Wilander for eighth place in the Open era.
Djokovic dedicated the win to his family, his team and to his soon-to-be-wife, Jelena Ristic, who is pregnant. But last and not least he said it was for his childhood coach and muse, Jelena Gencic, who died last year.
"This is for her," an emotional Djokovic said.
It may not be 2011, but Djokovic can head to the summer hardcourt season that culminates at the U.S. Open considerably more angst-free.
"He can almost take a deep breath," said ESPN's Patrick McEnroe.
Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia and 2011 U.S. Open singles champ Samantha Stosur of Australia won the mixed doubles title with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Max Mirnyi of Belarus and Taiwan's Chan Hao-ching.


Note: This post was originally published on 9/22/15; Updated 11/21/18 for added value.
Video has been popular for quite a while now, particularly on social media, but did you know, by 2019, video will account for about 78 percent of the world's mobile data traffic?
That means most of the content people will be searching for and engaging with online will be in video form. So, is your association or chamber hopping on the video trend? If not, now's the time.
Have any long-term sponsors? Interview them and talk about how they've helped your organization (and industry) over time. Or, you could go in the opposite direction and introduce your new sponsors. You could even turn this into a recurring segment: Sponsor Spotlight!
If you have an upcoming event or conference, provide your members and followers with packing tips or advice for first-timers.
Speaking of events, go behind the scenes and film your staff getting ready/setting up. You could even film them opening up a box - or boxes - of swag (swag that attendees will receive, of course). That's ALWAYS exciting!
Have any recent success stories? The completion of a big project or advocacy advancement? Share them! People love a good celebratory video.
Create a 30-second member or volunteer testimonial. Remember, nothing is more powerful than word-of-mouth marketing!
Start a "News You Need" series. Whenever something "big" happens in your organization's industry, summarize it in video form.
Put together a "Call for" video - call for volunteers, call for speakers, etc. And encourage your members/followers to share!
Towards the end of the year, put together a "Best of" video, highlighting favorite moments from throughout the year. Or, take another approach and ask your staff and/or members to share some of their favorite moments.
If you have an annual conference, gather a few testimonials (for the event) onsite. That way, you can use it to promote your event in the future.
Speaking of event promotion, kindly request your speakers submit a 30-second video summarizing what their session is about. Then use those videos on your website and social media accounts to boost interest and drive registrations.
If your organization wins an award (or won an award recently), for example, Chamber of the Year, put together quick video explaining what the award stands for and thanking all those who made winning possible.
Remember, you don't have to have a massive budget or top-notch production team to create an engaging, sharable video. It's all about telling a compelling story.
Want more tips for marketing your association - through video and other forms (your website, social media, email, etc.)? Check out our free Small-Staff Guide to Association Marketing below!


I arrived in Rome early this morning [3 January 2017] on the first flight from Dublin, and I am staying in the 'Eternal City' until late on Thursday.
This must be my tenth visit to Italy, but it is over ten years since I visited Rome. This week I am staying at the Hotel Franklin Feel the Sound on Via Rodi.
The hotel is set in Rome's elegant Prati district, between the Vatican walls and Piazza Mazzini. I am just a few steps from the Vatican and the Sistine Chapel, and from here I can walk to Saint Peter's Basilica and Castel Sant' Angelo in just minutes.
If the weather is as good as it promises I hope to enjoy breakfast in the garden each morning.
The hotel, which is part of the Best Western Group, and is a music-themed hotel. The nearby metro stops Ottaviano and Cipro-Vatican Museums, and Ottaviano is on line A, the same line as the Spanish Steps and Termini Train Station.
Prati is known for its wide, sweeping avenues, elegant buildings, and modern European charm. The grid layout and elegant 'Art Nouveau' and 'Umbertino' style give Prati a unique personality, so that it has a distinct personality and a style reminiscent more of a quartier in Paris than a former marshland in Rome.
Wine bars, live music venues and international and classic Roman restaurants are spread throughout the neighbourhood and are mostly frequented by local Italians. Its convenient location above the Vatican and across the Tiber, its shopping streets and its restaurants are said to make it the Romans' best-kept secret.
Apart from pasta and wine, my only agenda is some sight-seeing strolls. With Rome on my doorstep and the Vatican just a few steps away, join me on walks and for my surprises over the next few days.
I am on my way to Rome this morning [3 January 2017] for the next few days. This is planned as a city break before returning to work, but it is also an opportunity to visit some important sites in Church history, and to have time for prayer and reflection.
All Saints' Church (Anglican), which was established in Jakarta in 1819, is the oldest English-speaking church in Indonesia. Today, the church is under the episcopal care of the Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Singapore.
The Deanery of Indonesia was established in 1993 with the hope of laying the foundations for the future Diocese of Indonesia. The Anglican Church in Indonesia is formally registered as the Gereja Anglikan Indonesia (Anglican Church of Indonesia), and reaches out to the indigenous people of Indonesia.
All Saints' Church in Jakarta dates from 1819 and is the oldest English-speaking institution in Indonesia. It was first a base for the London Missionary Society's mission to China, then a colonial chaplaincy and for the last 50 years has been an international church.
The name only dates from 1950. For over a century before that, the Dutch new it as Engelse kerk and the Indonesians as Gereja Inggris, literally 'the English Church.' At its foundation, the Church was a collecting station for missionaries trying to reach China, Japan and other Asian nations, and was bought in 1819 in the name of the London Missionary Society Mission Station in Batavia.
In 1843 the church became the Church of the British Protestant Community (BPC) because it became increasingly less of a missionary station and more a place of worship for the growing foreign community of Batavia (Jakarta).
At that time, the BPC Committee also became responsible for recruiting and paying chaplains. In 1950, the Church became known as All Saints' Church and has become an International Church of abbout 30 different nationalities and many church backgrounds.
In the USPG Prayer Diary, the Revd Henok Hariyanto, of the Church of the Good Shepherd, wrote this week about his work on the island of Batam in a poor slum community.
Pray for the Anglican Church of Indonesia as it pursues its mission to plant churches in the capital [Jakarta] and key cities.
I John 2: 29 to 3-6; Psalm 98: 2-7; John 1: 29-34.


We're excited to introduce you to our Salt Flats team! We come from diverse backgrounds, are experienced in disruption, and have the expertise to collaborate with you to build your company. This week, we'll hear from our co-founder, Jens Horstmann, pioneer in semiconductors, computer aided design tools, computer systems, early B2B online and mobile commerce, location-based services and automated retail, with over 30+ years of experience in the executive, technology and engineering roles.
I have been an entrepreneur since high school when I founded my first company in Germany doing analog systems and sensors over 35 years ago. My training in electrical engineering and computer science allowed me to apply problem solving technics to technology innovation. I've enjoyed working with students and young startups as much as seasoned executives in Fortune 100 enterprises. Roles include being a board member, investor, founder, inventor, engineer, CEO and CTO. I have a passion for aviation and often compare the complexity of risk taking and venturing to dealing with the uncertainty and need for real-time decision making while piloting.
I'm extremely lucky to have been part of an exciting journey through innovation, technology and disruption over 30 years in Silicon Valley. I've always strived to be a driver behind disrupting entire industries, and my first opportunity was LSI Logic, the creator and leader of Application Specific Integrated Circuits that enabled a new breed of computers. The design of system-on-a-chip solutions and later the design tools that needed to be invented to harness this new won ability spawned entire markets allowing scientists, engineers, military applications, early building automation and yes, even Hollywood movie makers, to leverage microchips. My role as an applications engineer gave me deep insights into how people were using our technology to disrupt their industries.
Perhaps the young company that leveraged these advances more than anyone else was Sun Microsystems. It allowed them to practically displace billion dollar companies like Digital Equipment Company (DEC), Silicon Graphics, IBM mainframes, and Cray Computers. By putting what people considered "impossible" in the form factor of a pizza box, we shrunk clunky computers and by reducing the price 10-fold, made them accessible to a wide audience of engineers. A multi-billion dollar company was born in just a few years. Once again, I was lucky to work with one of Sun's founders as microchip designer, systems engineer, architect and senior manager. We not only forced disruption by introducing faster networking, storage, etc. but through a highly methodical design approach were able to crank out a new computer generation every year, something that previously took 3 – 4 times as long.
The arrival of the publicly accessible internet in 1993 with the advent of a new breed of data-centers (now called Cloud) triggered new disruption that required different networking, graphics chips and tools. Even Sun, in our mind, wasn't inventing fast enough. A flurry of startups and now multi-billion dollar companies like Nvidia and Google were the result. I directed one of them, X1 Corporation, applying Machine Learning to Wall Street to assess risk and make certain predictions for the likes of Paul Tudor Jones and Swiss Bank. We were about 20 years too early but managed to repurpose our assets, now called pivot, into the travel industry.
A decade after leaving Sun I found myself taking on yet another market ready for disruption: the movie distribution business dominated by. For several years people had talked about video-on-demand, yet the leading startup Netflix was almost bankrupt in 2002. It occurred to us that the market was ready for retail automation and self-service. A red kiosk, later named Redbox in partnership with McDonalds, was created by a small startup called DVDPlay that was housed in Netflix's old headquarter. My meeting with Jim Keyes, the CEO of Blockbuster at the time, to discuss RedBox and reading his subsequent quote just months before his bankruptcy that "Neither Redbox (by now a billion dollar business) nor Netflix are even on the radar screen in terms of competition" was a key realization that most large enterprises don't see the future even if it's staring them in the face and that innovation may come from startups or unsuspected places.
Since the sale of DVDPlay and Redbox I've co-founded Crestlight Ventures, a venture capital firm helping startups to navigate the benefits (branding and distribution) and challenges of partnering with large corporations. The need to "produce" a startup or venture with heavy handed and agile project management, flexible funding and good IP management that both startups and enterprises can benefit from became key ingredients to Crestlight's model.
The idea of a place where corporate, universities, startups and venture capital collaborate to explore, experiment, test and then turn some ideas into successful new business models was born – the Innovation House.


text:
Juan de Bustamante fue un pintor barroco perteneciente a la escuela granadina de pintura.

Biografía
Es poco lo que se conoce de este discreto maestro andaluz activo en la segunda mitad del siglo XVII.

Discípulo de Pedro de Moya, desarrolló su actividad artística bajo la clara influencia flamenquizante de su maestro. En el taller de Moya fue compañero de Juan de Sevilla y, aunque su obra no se sitúa en la órbita canesca, la amistad con éste le permitirá moverse en los círculos próximos al arte desarrollado por los seguidores del más destacado alumno de Alonso Cano.

Su dominio del color se pone de manifiesto en la que acaso sea su mejor obra, la Incredulidad de Santo Tomás, óleo sobre lienzo de 220 x 177 cm, firmado en 1676. Pintado para la Iglesia de San Gil de Granada, en la actualidad se encuentra en la Iglesia de Santa Ana de la misma ciudad. El cuadro está compuesto por cuatro personajes, pivotando la escena alrededor de Jesús que se sitúa en el centro de la composición y que sujeta con su mano izquierda, la mano derecha del apóstol Tomás, que se encuentra arrodillado. La escena es observada por dos apóstoles que rodean a los protagonistas. Se desarrolla en un interior, y a la derecha del lienzo se observa un paisaje arquitectónico con cúpula, que recuerda el de la Visitación de Juan del Castillo, y también la pintura de Juan de Sevilla, San Jerónimo y San Gregorio, localizado en el Monasterio de San Jerónimo de Granada.

Hay que poner en relación con este maestro granadino, el óleo sobre lienzo de 167 x 201 cm, Bautismo de San Indalecio, situado en la Abadía del Sacromonte, y hasta ahora considerado de autor anónimo.

En el Museo de Bellas Artes de Córdoba se conserva una Anunciación de la Virgen firmada "F.JUA, DE BUSTAMANTE/F.F.", procedente de un depósito hecho en 1835 por los capuchinos de la Campiña Baja de Córdoba. La composición sitúa a la Virgen sentada en el lado derecho del cuadro con la mano izquierda sobre un libro apoyado en atril, y el ángel anunciador ocupando la parte izquierda del cuadro con un ramo de azucenas que ofrece a la Virgen. En el centro, dos angelotes sujetan un jarrón con flores que ofrecen al ángel anunciador. El estilo de la obra, de muy modesta ejecución, parece corresponder a la primera mitad del siglo XVII, como se indica en la ficha del Museo, lo que plantea un difícil encaje cronológico.

Recientemente ha aparecido una nueva obra de este autor en la Iglesia de San Isidoro de Oviedo. Se trata de un retrato del Exmo. Sr. D. Martín Carrillo Alderete, arzobispo de Granada, fallecido el 16 de junio de 1653.

Otro cuadro del pintor, una Asunción de la Virgen, se encuentra entre los fondos almacenados del Museo de Bellas Artes de Granada.

Bibliografía
 Antequera, Marino, Pintores granadinos I. Obra cultural de la Caja de Ahorros de Granada.
 Calvo Castellón, Antonio, Alonso Cano IV centenario. Espiritualidad y modernidad artística. La pervivencia de la poética de Cano en la pintura granadina, Junta de Andalucía y tf editores. pp. 396
 Exposición Huellas (2002) Catedral de Murcia. pp. 131

Enlaces externos

 Anunciación, Museo de Bellas Artes de Córdoba.

Bustamante
Pintores de Granada
Escuela granadina de pintura

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


This ship is definitely not sinking!
Welcome back to the dHarmic Evolution podcast with me James Kevin O'Connor, singer/songwriter, audio/video artist, and master storyteller. On today's episode, we go all the way to South Africa to chat with a talented lady, the beautiful Heather Waters!
Heather is an amazing lady who tells me to "go well!" Have you ever been told that? We had a great chat on this episode, and she tells me all about her musical experiences in her hometown, as well as when she went to the UK.
As what we do on dHarmic Evolution, you will get to hear clips from her awesome songs - you'll definitely feel the rhythm!
Heather coins the term "high school career!" I gotta use this more often! You should too!
Heather also shared about her experiences with SFN - what is it and how did it affect her? Listen in!
A blog that you too might want to check out - countingmyspoons.com! Check it out!


text:
Michael Jeandron | Southern California Personal Injury Trial Attorney
Michael Jeandron is a partner and trial attorney at Roberts | Jeandron Law representing wrongful death and personal injury victims in cases against insurance companies, corporations, and government entities. In trial, Michael brings a record of success to this clients, with victories including multiple seven figure jury verdicts. In 2018, Michael was named to The National Trial Lawyers top 40 Under 40 list of civil trial lawyers and in 2019 was named the Orange County Trial Lawyers Association Member of the Year.
Prior to joining the firm, Michael served as the spokesman for the Riverside County District Attorney's Office, the third largest prosecuting agency in the State of California. As the spokesman, Michael gave thousands of television, radio and newspaper interviews on issues such as multi-million dollar civil settlements, death penalty cases, gross vehicular manslaughter cases, and Marsy's Law enforcement (Victims' Bill of Rights Act). Among others, Michael has been quoted on FoxNews, NBC, CBS and TMZ.
Earlier in his career, Michael served as the District Director to now retired California Assemblywoman Bonnie Garcia. Additionally, Michael was appointed as a California delegate to the late U.S. Senator John McCain in the 2008 Presidential election.
Michael actively gives back to his community by working with local non-profit organizations. His passion for helping at risk youth led him to Big Brothers Big Sisters, where he was a Big Brother for eight years. Michael also helped raise money to grow the non-profit as an elected member of the board of directors.
Michael was born and raised in Palm Springs, CA and now lives in Newport Coast, CA with his wife, daughter and twin sons.
B.A. Political Science
Western State College of Law
J.D. cum laude
Outstanding Academic Achievement Award
Witkin Award for Academic Excellence
Tort Law Society, President
Law Review, Member
Victims of Drunk Driving
Injured Peace Officers and Firefighters
Ride Share Complex Litigation
The National Trial Lawyers
Consumer Attorneys of California
Orange County Bar Association
Orange County Trial Lawyers Association
ProVisors
Riverside County Bar Association
2015: Avvo Client's Choice Award
2018: Top 40 Under 40 National Trial Lawyers
2019: Orange County Trial Lawyers Association, Member of the Year