Happiness is our natural state, for each of us and for humanity as a whole, argues John Izzo. But that happiness is being stolen by insidious mental patterns that he depicts as thieves: the thief of control, the thief of conceit, the thief of coveting, the thief of consumption, and the thief of comfort.
He identifies five mindsets which he calls happiness thieves, and for memory convenience, he's made them all start with the letter C. Then he points out that they're shifty little sneaks, because they all disguise themselves to look like friends who are looking out for us, and want the best for us. Here they are. I think they overlap a bit, but it's good to have them all set out.
It occurs when we keep trying to force life to turn out the way we want it to, instead of accepting it as it comes. We're far more carefree when we give up caring so much about outcomes and results, before we allow ourselves to relax and enjoy peace of mind.
This is otherwise known as ego. We tend to overemphasise our own personal significance, and feel a great need to distinguish and set ourselves apart from others. It keeps us constantly measuring our rank, obsessing about where we fit in the world, checking our stats and wanting our personal footprints to be distinct. He challenges us instead to regard ourselves as small components of a significant whole. We've been brainwashed by a world which is all about 'finding ourselves'. Perhaps ancient tribal peoples who didn't place emphasis on self discovery for the individual were onto a better thing.
It's disguised as helpful ambition, and could even be called comparison or competition. We tend to convince ourselves that we live in a place of lack, and badly crave something someone else has got. That's a certain recipe for disappointment and envy. The great challenge is to develop our internal compass so we know what truly makes us content, instead of being dragged along by what matters to others. And we must remind ourselves frequently that life is a journey and not a contest.
This is not merely purchasing things but buying into the whole idea that happiness is to be found somewhere 'out there'. It's believing the insidious lie, 'I'll be happy when I have X.' He reminds us that the root of the word 'happiness' is misleading itself, since it's based on what's happening. If we forget all that and choose contentment, we'll be better off. This is purely a choice of our mind, and nothing to do with what's taking place.
He urges us to change our habits and reactions from time to time, rather than letting autopilot ones from our long-ago past cruise us through our lives.
So once we've trained ourselves to be on the lookout for each of these, the 3-step process he recommends is simply notice, stop and replace. It's all deceptively simple sounding, but I reckon if we follow his advice instead of just moving on to the next book on our list, it'll help us achieve what he promises. That's not necessarily our burning ambitions, but daily contentment. And I've been reflecting lately that life passes so quickly, that's what we're really looking for.
Reading books is like my bone marrow, something that runs deep in me which I'm pretty sure I'd be unable to live without. I've never tried stopping anyway. Perhaps I could pause for a fixed period of time, if someone offered me a huge sum of money, but I'd be counting down the days until I could start again. Lucky for me, reading is a good addiction to have. Whenever I hear people say they never read, I wonder what replacement could offer so much pleasure and so many benefits?
If they asked me in turn, 'What's the big deal about reading?' I have some answers prepared. In the past I might have replied, 'I dunno, I just love it.' But I get frustrated with that sort of answer. Although it's true that pure enjoyment is all the justification we need, it may come across as evasive, unhelpful and a bit lazy to people who may be really interested. My reasons below paint a more complete picture about the joy which comes from books.
1) Reading enables me to empathise with others who are nothing like me on the surface. It broadens my concept of our world, and helps me see that essentially we are all the same where it counts.
That sentence explains enough, but this blog post elaborates even more.
2) It gives me fuel for reflection and discussion. Without ideas from books to mull over, my tank would be empty.
3) It provides fodder for my favourite happy pastime, daydreaming.
There are all sorts of seemingly pointless things which brighten our days. One of mine is daydreaming about fictional characters, imagining extra scenes for them, and holding further dialogues and interactions. I might be walking along, inventing many ways in which one of the characters perceives another, that might not have come out in the author's original story. People who write fan fiction do the exact same thing, but I've never been brave enough to actually put mine out into the world, and nor would I want to. My own private conjectures might not gel with others, least of all the original creator, but they amuse me no end. And they draw me out of my own head into those of others, so I feel like I'm getting a holiday from myself.
Once years ago, a friend of mine was describing how she felt challenged to give up anything related to her own fertile imagination, because she thought it was infiltrating the rest of her life like some pernicious creeper. She said, 'I make sure never to imagine anything anymore. I only live in the current moment, and focus on what's directly before me.' That astounded me. I sat there thinking, 'There's no way I could ever renounce my entire imagination.' I couldn't help thinking she was throwing the baby out with the bath water and closing up a God-given gift, but that's the subject of another reflection some other day.
4) Reading gives me flashes of truth. An author might express something in such a way that resonates with what I know in my own heart but haven't formed into an opinion yet.
Those moments are like mental High Fives with the author, who may even be long passed away. They're heady enough to make me grasp things like universal consciousness, great minds thinking alike and truth being self-evident. And without reading, I'd miss so many of these moments. Some of them are strong enough to make me say, 'Wow, yes!' out loud.
5) Reading stories is the closest thing to magic and alchemy we've got.
I wrote a blog post about that here, so won't elaborate any further in this post.
6) Reading enables us to multiply the pleasure we get from our own life's events.
Here's a specific example to show what I mean. When I was a little girl, I loved everything to do with the Christmas season. Making tinsel wreaths at school, riding on Nipper and Nimble in the John Martins' toy department, singing Christmas carols, going to the Adelaide Christmas Pageant and meditating on the original Christmas story. You might think that would be enough for any young child, right?
At the age of eight or nine, I was reading Laura Ingalls Wilder's 'By the Banks of Plum Creek' for the first time, and toward the end I reached a chapter where there was a surprise meeting one winter night in the church. Laura, Mary and Carrie had no idea what to expect, but Pa and Ma were smiling and winking, as were the other adults hitching up their horses and crunching over the snow. As I read, I found myself on the edge of my seat, just as anxious to find out what was going on as Laura. It turned out to be an extravagant event with a decorated Christmas tree, which the girls had never seen before. Each branch was covered with gifts for the town's children. I loved seeing it unfold, sharing the moment of pleasure that happened about 100 years earlier. It made me so cheerful, I might as well have been there.
So my point is this. Was my own Christmas good? The answer is yes, of course. Did reading about Laura and Mary's Christmas make it even better? Absolutely, because I got to rejoice over the stroke of joy that happened to them. I felt they really deserved it. In any lifetime, moments of personal joy are lovely, but limited. And since joy is such a nice thing to experience, we might as well take the chance to add somebody else's to ours. And the most reliable way of doing this at short notice is through a book. To me, it will always be one of the best ways to multiply and our joy and lift our moods.
So those are my reasons for the endless appeal of books, which I'll never grow tired of. If you're a fellow reader, do my reasons match yours? And what do you say if people ask you?
For those of us who have reached adulthood, I'm sure we can remember moments when our childhood seemed to drag on forever. But then we get to a stage when we realise it flew by like the wind, and wish it hadn't been so fleeting. Those of us with kids of our own definitely have nostalgic moments of wishing they'd stayed little and cute for longer. In J.K. Rowling's novel 'The Casual Vacancy', the character Tessa reflects, 'How awful it was, the way tiny ghosts of your living children haunted your heart. They could never know, and would hate it if they did, how their growing was a constant bereavement.' Maybe you have to be a parent to get where she's coming from.
There seems to come a point when we realise that we'd taken all the good parts of childhood for granted. We blinked and missed the wonder and joy, while the restless discontent and urge to grow up filled our thoughts. I'm sure we share moments of longing to turn back the clock and have another crack at it, this time with the benefit of hindsight. I think these are all powerful reasons why several stories tend to introduce people I've called 'Evergreen Kids.' These are characters who never grow up. Readers can return to them time and again, knowing they'll be there for us. Just because time doesn't stand still for us, at least we can rely on some of our favourite characters remaining static.
I think there are two distinct categories of Evergreen Kids in our stories. I'll discuss them each in turn.
The evergreen kids who theoretically age at the same rate as the rest of us, but really don't.
These kids remain the same age for year after year, because we love them that way. Ash Ketchum has been a 10-year-old Pokemon trainer since the early 1990s. Bart Simpson is also perpetually 10 years old, making his same wise cracks and being a nuisance to the adults. And his sister Lisa will always be a child genius, because she'll never grow any older than 8.
My kids and I used to love watching the cartoon series 'Arthur' because the main family in it was a dead ringer for ours. But at this point in time Logan and Emma are 22 and 18, while Arthur and his little sister D.W. have remained 8 and 4.
The evergreen kid phenomenon is evident in mystery series too. In my early teens, I used to devour Trixie Belden novels. One day it dawned on me that for the girl detective to have solved that many mysteries at the age of 14, the year would have to contain far more than 52 weeks. Sometimes, I wish my time could expand like a sponge in a similar way.
Other kids in this category include such characters as Dennis the Menace, Ginger Meggs, Pippi Longstocking and Milly Molly Mandy. They need to stay the same age to please us readers and viewers, because if it's impossible for us to be immortal, at least someone can do it. There's no identity crises for these kids. They could truly make A.A. Milne's little poem their life motto.
But now I'll get on to the second category of ageless kids, who bring out the more sinister side.
The true evergreen kids who remain stuck at the same age, for whatever reason.
These lovable peculiar children have been living in a loop of the same day since the second world war. Although their ages evidently range between about 8 and 17, if you ask them, they may reply something like, 'I'm 86 and he's 92 and she's over 100.' They've lived the correct number of days to make them elderly, but since the current one is always September 3rd, 1940, they never age. If Miss Peregrine hadn't created the time loop, they would have been destroyed by a bomb that very night.
This makes them weird and wise in many ways. When their friend Jacob joins them from the 21st century, he's regarded as a bit of an oddity, because he's really 16.
This poor girl never grows older because she's a ghost. Myrtle was killed by accidentally coming face to face with a basilisk in 1943, and she's haunted that toilet block in Hogwarts ever since. She's perpetually crying, feeling sorry for herself, getting prickly when she hears her nickname, and checking out cute boys. Even as late as the events in The Cursed Child, she's willing to flirt with Albus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy because she was partial to their fathers. Then when the two dads rush in, she attempts to pick up where she left off with her former crushes too. No doubt she'll be doing the same for generations to come.
This young man's situation really creeps me out. He and his family unintentionally attained immortality by drinking from a supernatural water stream. Now they never age, and cannot die. They make this discovery accidentally, when they survive several disasters which would have proven fatal under normal circumstances. But it proves to be a high price to pay, when Jesse's young girlfriend, Winnie, sensibly decides to refrain from drinking the water, opting to grow old and die instead. The final glimpse of Jesse in the story Tuck Everlasting is of a lonely teenager who forever outlives everyone he grows fond of, and is denied the final rest of death.
He's the cute little enchanted cup from Beauty and Beast, who goes along with his mother, Mrs Potts, the teapot. They, and several other castle staff, have been put under a spell by the same enchantress who turned the arrogant young prince into a monstrous beast. When the spell gets broken, he becomes a little boy again, and presumably grows up the same as any other child.
So although the characters in Group 1 may make us envy their perpetual youth, those in Group 2 show the down side. We can't avoid aging. That's the bottom line, and it has to be a good thing. Maybe the best thing we can do is maintain a youthful heart in our older bodies. I like to think I've achieved that to some extent, because I feel essentially the same in my 40s as I was in my 20s, and even my teens (add some kilograms). It never stops surprising me, especially when I remember how staid and plodding my friends' middle aged parents used to seem, not to mention my own. I've reached the age where I'm willing to concede that perhaps that was just on the outside.
Have you experienced something similar, no matter what age you are now? Do you have a favourite evergreen kid of your own, either from my list or someone I've forgotten?
If you enjoyed thinking about these characters, have a look at my related list about characters who suffer from weird genetic diseases involving the passage of time.
Over the Easter holidays, we went to visit these very cool sand sculptures at Port Noarlunga foreshore, based on the story of Alice in Wonderland. Since I had a re-read of the book just recently, I thought I'd write a sort of review, illustrated by some of the photos I took. I call it a 'sort of' review, because Alice in Wonderland is quite a tricky book to pin down and have some sort of definite opinion of. But I'll have a try.
We all know the premise. Alice nods off to sleep while her sister reads a tedious book, then in her dreams, she follows an uptight little rabbit, who lands her in a weird and wonderful world where she has no idea what's going to happen next.
If you google the book, you'll find many theories about deep and symbolic meanings, ranging from drug use and sexual hang-ups through to loss of identity and coping with adolescence. I baulked at the thought of trying to match any of those with ideas of my own, because I didn't have any. So much of the story just seems to be a load of far-fetched waffle. At times I didn't blame those who wondered what substance Lewis Carroll might have been on while he wrote it. Yet jumping to that conclusion doesn't sit easy with me either, because lots of the characters' dialogue is sharp as a knife, indicating that he had his wits about him, which leads you to wonder whether he did, indeed, have some moral in mind.
I actually rather like some of the theories I read about childhood thought. For example, the beautiful garden Alice first spies through the tiny door may symbolise her expectation of what she thinks the world of adults will be like, a sort of ideal paradise which seems to promise beauty and order. Her main problem is that she can't get into it for so long, because circumstances make her the wrong size for the door at the right moment.
But when she finally does manage, Alice finds that garden is not all it's cracked up to be. For a start, there are gardeners busily painting white roses red, trying to avoid the wrath of an unhinged queen. Isn't the world of adults full of similar illusions, which we learn when we finally get there? (I can think of one.The magic slot in the wall of the bank appears to shoot out money whenever adults need it. But when we grow up, we quickly discover that it's limited, not to mention we have to put money in to draw from in the first place.) I remember wondering in my own childhood why grown-ups never seemed to be having as much fun as I anticipated when I got there. Well, we have to get there to find out, of course.
Surely whether or not we love or hate this story, we can recognise ourselves and some of our attitudes in the characters. I've had moments of being like the mock turtle, with his large, brimming eyes. When Alice asks what's upsetting him, the gryphon replies, 'It's all his fancy. He hasn't got no sorrow, you know.' I get him. Sometimes life is all a bit much, and we can't pinpoint why.
Perhaps our favourite characters may give clues to some of the attributes we feel deep down we should work on. To me, the most attractive character is the Cheshire Cat, who just grins on the outskirts of the action, declining to get involved. He's removed himself enough from all the bluster to figure out a bit of a secret. 'We're all mad here.' Only when you acknowledge that can you escape the feeling of chaos which overwhelms others at any time. Readers, represented by Alice, desire everything to make perfect sense. Maybe part of growing up is acknowledging that some things just don't make a lot of sense and never will. There's no point in trying to figure them out, because they elude explanation.
Do you think it's possible to simply enjoy our glimpse of the mad tea party without trying to theorise about it? Like most of us, Alice eventually gets tired of what seems to be pointless talk and storms off, but is it all as silly as it seems?
Hatter: Have some more tea.
Alice: I've had nothing yet, so I can't take more.
Hatter: You mean you can't take less. It's very easy to take more than nothing.
Is it possible that trying to force morals out of this crazy yarn makes us even more mad than the characters in it? It's not hard to imagine Lewis Carroll standing back like the Cheshire Cat, having a laugh at all the psychologists, professors, literary critics, students, reviewers and bloggers who have tried to wrap their heads around his story over the years. In his eyes, we might even be like the crazy duchess who tries to force a moral out of everything, because she just can't help it.
Duchess: Flamingoes and mustard both bite. And the moral of that is... birds of a feather flock together.
Alice: But mustard isn't a bird.
I expected this to be quite a difficult review to write, especially on the tail of what other, more learned people have had to say throughout the years. But maybe it's the easiest one ever.
Alice: I don't believe there's an atom of meaning in it.
King of Hearts: If there's no meaning, then that saves us a world of trouble, as we needn't try to find any.
I'm sure we've all come across a couple. It's the type of romance that crops up in the plots of stories every so often, to the extent that it's become a bit of a trope of its own. A male hero eventually falls in love with the little sister of a friend or former girlfriend, who has always been right under his nose, but overlooked because.... well, she's someone's little sister. This causes him to wonder, 'Why was I so blind?' and, 'Wow, when did she grow up to be so beautiful?' Some readers think this development is deeply satisfying, and others think it's a bit corny verging on predictable at times.
I think it can work well, but for that to happen, it has to meet the criteria I'm about to list. I'm going to focus on two fairly well known situations. In my opinion, one gets the thumbs up, and the other gets the thumbs down.
The first is Harry and Ginny, in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series.
The second is Laurie and Amy, in Louisa May Alcott's Little Women series.
For the sake of brevity, I'll be referring to the two authors as JKR and LMA. Now, here goes.
I can't bring myself to believe that LMA had this romance in mind during the first book. All through 'Little Women' my romantic chemistry feelers couldn't detect a spark coming from either side. Sure, Laurie paid obligatory visits to Amy while she was at Aunt March's house for quarantine during Beth's illness, but it was clearly as a favour to Jo and her family.
I read once that LMA grew fed up with fan mail demanding that she bring Jo and Laurie together. It's no secret that Louisa based Jo on herself, and Louisa always remained unmarried. To quote directly from her letters, 'I won't marry Jo to Laurie to please anyone. Girls write to ask who the little women marry, as if that's the only aim and end of a woman's life.' I can't help suspecting that she devised the Laurie and Amy twist on the spur of the moment. What if it was all a grouchy, 'I'll shut 'em up once and for all,' type of decision? Same as marrying Jo off to a middle-aged, pragmatic Professor like Fritz Bhaer, who was nothing like Laurie. It'll never be proven for sure of course, it's fun to make conjectures.
We readers like to trace romantic development for the same reason we enjoy character development. The Laurie/Amy romance in 'Good Wives' is condensed into a short space. It does make sense in a real time sort of way. LMA summarises their growing affection for each other as they exchange letters over a period of months. But all we have is a slim couple of chapters, and for a good portion of them, Amy is telling Laurie off. This plucked from nowhere sort of feeling leaves us feeling a bit unsatisfied.
However, with Harry and Ginny, vibes were always there from the moment she sees him at the train station when they were kids. Harry wasn't remotely interested in Ginny at the age of 11 and 12, but even though we're experiencing his point of view, clues are swirling around his head for canny readers to latch onto, even if Harry himself doesn't twig.
Ginny's unrequited crush was woven through the crux of the plot. In 'The Chamber of Secrets' she was pouring out her feelings in the diary to the supposedly sympathetic Tom Riddle. And when Harry eventually looks her way, it unfolds in a natural, gradual way over several books. He appreciates her jokes, he's crestfallen because he forgets that she has friends of her own waiting on the train, and one of his favourite scents in the love potion happens to be her perfume.
Harry and Cho Chang was a pairing which was marked with face-palming disaster from the start. She wouldn't have ever looked his way, except that she was depressed and desperately trying to recover from the death of Cedric Diggory, the man she'd truly loved. Cho kept bursting into tears during her awkward dates with Harry, but their tenuous relationship really hit the rocks when Marietta, Cho's two-faced friend, betrayed them all by telling Professor Umbridge about Dumbledore's Army. The romance which should never have even happened fizzled and burned, as we'd expect.
Harry's heroic deed was infused with significance while Laurie's was brushed aside.
When Harry discovers Ginny unconscious on the dungeon floor at Hogwarts, it's all tied messily in with her affection for him. Her relief is mixed with embarrassment and shame, and even in later stories, she makes the occasional regretful remark that even though others have forgotten Voldemort's opportunistic possession of her, she never will.
Laurie saves Amy when she plunges through the ice in the skating scene, but it's never mentioned that the March family even thank him! Once he performs his gallant deed, he disappears from the scene and goes home. As far as LMA is concerned at this stage, the true significance of the scene is between the two sisters. Laurie wasn't needed any further. Jo hadn't been talking to Amy, because Amy spitefully burned her little book of stories. She is now devastated because her resentment prompted her not to warn Amy about the thin ice. Rather than coming across as the young man saving the girl who'll later become his wife, Laurie is nothing more than a convenient plot device here.
There are many touching indications that Harry and Ginny were always on the same wavelength. They share a love of quidditch to the extent that she's the logical choice to take over his position as seeker when he's sidelined. They also exchange many secret grins at the antics of her brothers. In the play, 'The Cursed Child' their marriage comes across as strong after a couple of decades, because Ginny understands Harry and the depths of his personal history enough to give him the support he probably wouldn't have received from another woman.
With Laurie and Amy, you get the feeling that they're not really what the other needs for ultimate character development. He's been known to say he hates, 'fuss and feathers', while she loves them. Amy had a mercenary streak, prompting her to want to marry for money and position rather than love. It might have been nice to see her fall for somebody who caused her to renounce her former stance and make a loving sacrifice. But she goes and marries a rich boy anyway!
In 'Good Wives', Laurie makes statements which suggest that he's on the rebound. We're told, 'He consoled himself for the seeming disloyalty by the thought that Jo's sister was almost the same as Jo's self, and the conviction that it would have been impossible to love any other but Amy so soon and so well.' No Laurie, you're not thinking straight! Any woman would tell you it's not the same at all!
A few decades into their marriage, it still has that flinchy sort of feeling. In 'Little Men' and 'Jo's Boys', we see Laurie coming to share his feelings with Jo, because his wife doesn't quite understand him. Then Jo always sets him straight and sends him home smiling. Come on, that's not the way it should be. Does it come across a bit strange to anyone else that a man would think of his sister-in-law at these moments?
I think the theme of a hero falling for a friend's little sister can work well, with a couple of big BUTS. A romance without subtle signs and clues to trace along the way is as bad in its own way as a mystery novel without these things. We readers like to do a bit of work. Please give us the chance to be able to trace something back to its delicate, unfolding roots. Don't shove something entirely off the wall in our faces, and expect us to nod and take it as a surprise plot twist.
I can imagine JKR saying, 'It was always there. Did you get it?' (Same with Ron and Hermione, if it comes to that.) And I can also imagine LMA saying, 'Tada, you never saw that one coming, did you?' And I know which comes across most friendly and fair to me.
This is very much an Australian coming of age story focused on the secret life of boys. Charlie is woken up one night by Jasper, who has something important to show him. A fellow student, Laura Wishart is hanging dead from a tree in Jasper's secret glade. They are sure that if they go straight to the police, Jasper will be an instant suspect, as most people disapprove of him without even knowing him. They decide to hide her at the bottom of the billabong until they solve the crime for themselves. Jasper thinks the town recluse Jack Lionel was the murderer, and sets out to discover proof.
It's a shocking premise, and the way the story pans out would make a debater's dream, with black and white issues crossing over to several shades of grey. At the top of the list is the question of whether the two boys did the right thing. On the surface, Jasper may appear to be validating what the judgmental adults think of him, yet he's wise enough to see through their illusions of goodness and fairness, to predict that they'd never give him a chance.
Courage is a major theme, as is the tendency of people to tell white lies to enhance their image, so you don't know whether what you see is real or put on for show. I can see why it's compared with To Kill a Mockingbird, as several cowardly racists operate in a similar spirit to those in that book. Charlie even compares his peace loving father to Atticus Finch, thinking he has the smarts to be a lawyer, 'except then he'd have to stand for something.' We want to see what it will take, if anything, to make Dad take a stand. The fact that there's such a fine line between lack of courage and the wisdom to predict that your best efforts won't be of any use was interesting.
Words don't even mean all they seem to on the surface. Charlie and his best friend, Jeffrey Lu, share funny mutual insults, which are really screens for the fact that their friendship is the most valuable thing for both of them. Even though Jeffrey is never privy to the main plot point, he's one of the book's heroes. Always being knocked down and scrambling up again, the question of whether or not his cheerful optimism will ever waver drives us to read on.
There are several repeated motifs. Charlie often seems to be taking off his glasses to give them a wipe, to the point where I guessed it's probably meant to reinforce his vulnerability and bookish nature, just like his fear of insects. I started wondering why his glasses turn out to be such an indication of his character, since anyone could have his eye problems, including the mean thugs. Presumably, Charlie's love of reading made the problem easier to pick up. It might not come to light as quickly in those who shy away from reading.
I felt sometimes we were being prodded to share Charlie's opinions about everyone, and I did most of the time, but not always. Especially since he was willing to excuse one action (or non-action rather) of Jasper's, which I think did lead to a tragedy that should never have happened. Just because Charlie thought it was OK, I get the feeling the reader is supposed to nod along, and this reader didn't.
I'm not surprised to see that some younger reviewers have had to study this at school. Books with ambiguous, unanswerable questions with the potential to cause unending arguments are just the sort that often make it onto educational curricula. I think it should be read just to enjoy the tricky nature of some of Charlie and Jeffrey's conversations, such as the motives of the person who first discovered milk from a cow, or why the 26 letters of the alphabet are arranged the way they are, and who made the decision. It's set in the mid sixties, and the boys were having watermelon pip spitting competitions. Since they're all seedless these days, we've lost an iconic Aussie childhood ritual there.
I'll finish with a quote from the book which sums up the Australian summer heat. 'Either the earth is being devoured by the sun, or it is hurtling towards us like an enormous meteor.' But Charlie and his friends braved it anyway, because in their days, they didn't have the range of digital media options keeping them indoors as modern teens.
Overall, a potential Aussie classic that's well worth a read.
This has always been a human problem throughout the ages, but it's easier than ever to indulge in the 21st century, because we have so many outlets to toot our own horns. Our potential audience is not just neighbours in our close vicinity but people from all around the globe. Arguably, the wonders of social media give our narcissism cultural validation. The 1970s was called the 'Me Decade', and now there are claims that we've simply moved a step further to the 'iEra'. Christopher Lasch, in 'The Culture of Narcissism' suggests that it's simply the characteristic pattern of our culture. Ouch, I don't want to be swept along by that tide, but in our day and age, it's all too easy.
Several people have suggested that we just stop. Not only because it's a bad habit, but because it makes us miserable. They say don't check your social media updates as often, just be yourself without the obsessive time you spend on impression management, and if you're feeling unduly depressed, examine your heart to see whether or not it's simply because your brilliant post hasn't received as many likes, hearts, or shares as you'd hoped for (ouch again).
I think the advice to go cold turkey is easy to agree with, but harder to follow. Maybe this list of mine could be an added tool to scare us out of our narcissistic habits, for who wants to see ourselves mirrored in these dudes? I'm calling them the greatest narcissists, but hey, they would call themselves the greatest, full stop.
He was hailed as the most beautiful angel of all, the bright morning star. But this wasn't enough for him. His enormous ego and thirst for adulation led him to challenge God's position. Whoa, that's some serious narcissism.
This young man is the (anti)hero of Oscar Wilde's masterpiece. His initial reaction when his portrait is unveiled is heartache because he won't stay so gorgeous. He vows to give his soul if only he can keep his wonderful beauty while the portrait grows old and faded instead.
Belle's persistent suitor won't take no for an answer, because he truly believes he's too wonderful to resist for long. The hordes of village admirers do nothing to quench his vanity. In the movie, we see him saying, 'You are the most gorgeous thing I've ever seen,' and the scene pans out to show that rather than addressing Belle, he's standing before a mirror. He's prepared to take her by force toward the end, just because he can't stand the idea that she isn't head over heels in love with him, as every other girl seems to be. And whatever Gaston wants, Gaston gets, until now.
A biblical narcissist, he was Israel's first king. Saul started off okay, but succumbed to a deep need for everyone to call him the best, before he could relax. He built monuments in his own honour, and when he heard snatches of song that David was admired even more than he for his war conquests, he couldn't stand it. He set out to murder the perceived threat to his position on several occasions.
In a way, she was the female counterpart to King Saul. She had to stand before her magic mirror to reinforce that she was the fairest in the land before she allowed herself to get on with her day. And it was all for her personal glory. One day when she learns that another person is fairer, she sets off in a rage to have her killed, because being the second fairest in the land would be a disaster. Although she's the only female on this list, I'm sure there are as many girl narcissists as boys out there for real.
There's no reason why they all have to be human, either. C.S. Lewis gave us a very narcissistic horse. Bree was always anxious to make sure everyone was aware that he was a noble, Narnian war stallion, and not a common stable hack. The thought that rolling on his back might be a vulgar Calormene habit he's picked up horrifies him. He's always clear that he's the boss of the mission, and the spurs and reins are just for show. Toward the end, he's humbled and chastised when circumstances prove that he's not the brave, perfect steed he thinks he is. And as Aslan says, it makes him a much nicer horse.
Another animal, he's a llama throughout much of the story, although he starts off as a very spoiled, human brat. Even in his miserable transformed state, he keeps wanting to see the spotlight moved from the good-hearted Pacha back to himself, because he's the star! He's the teenage monarch who was prepared to demolish an entire peasant village to build himself a theme park in his own honour. Thankfully, he's young enough for some decent character development throughout the movie, where he learns empathy for others, in the nick of time.
While we're mentioning rulers, this one was played by Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 2004 movie version of Around the World in 80 Days. Clearly used to moving people as chess pieces, the prince demands that the trio of main characters come to his banquet, then insists on keeping the lovely Monique La Roche to join his harem. Their only way of enforcing her release is to threaten harm to the precious statue of himself, cast in the guise of the Thinker. It's well worth a watch.
He shows that narcissism will be alive and well in the future. The general public think he's a respected military hero, but his crew know him to be an arrogant and incompetent narcissist who will sacrifice them at the blink of an eye. He expends a lot of energy trying to foster his heroic illusion, and win the heart of Leela, whose one eye sees through him clearly enough.
Without giving away too much of his role in the Peculiar Children series, the considerable effort he expends to rise to the top is all for his own personal glory. He's easily seduced by imagining himself in history books of the future, and is known to stop what is happening, so he can make lofty quotes and speeches for that purpose.
He's the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher in Harry's second year at Hogwarts, who we first meet on a book tour for his autobiography, Magical Me. At that stage he comes across as an insufferable celebrity who has let fame go to his head. When Harry is placed in detention, Gilderoy's punishment is to get him to write replies to his extensive fan mail. He soon reveals himself to be more incompetent than his heroic memoirs and text books would have people believe. And at last, he's unveiled as a crook who has destroyed the real heroes, just to claim their glory for himself. He's prepared to blast Harry's and Ron's memories, not because he has anything against the boys, but because they know his shameful secret. What a guy!
A funny, but sort of sobering list. They're famous alright, but I doubt any of them would have wanted to be famous for being narcissists. As always, I'd enjoy reading your thoughts, not to mention any extra narcissists I may have missed.
The novella, Zooey, is named for Zooey Glass, the second-youngest member of the Glass family. As his younger sister, Franny, suffers a spiritual and existential breakdown in her parents' Manhattan living room -- leaving Bessie, her mother, deeply concerned -- Zooey comes to her aid, offering what he thinks is brotherly love, understanding, and words of sage advice.
I chose this book for my 2017 Back to the Classics challenge, for the category of a classic set in a place you'd like to visit. Franny and Zooey is set around New York, which I'd love to visit just once.
This classic is pretty well plot free. It's comprised of three conversations. Franny is at a restaurant with her boyfriend, Lane, trying to explain her disillusionment with their ego-driven society, which he doesn't understand. In the next scene, Zooey is having a bath when his mother Bessie bursts in, and tries to convince him to have a word with his troubled sister. Such a lot of the book takes place from behind the bath curtain, I'd recommend this as a tub read. Finally, he gets out, dries himself off and talks to Franny, where she lies on a couch in the living room. Couldn't get more basic, but the interesting nature of the dialogue kept me reading on.
She's attempting to resolve her crisis by reciting the Jesus Prayer (Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me), which she's read about in a book entitled 'The Way of a Pilgrim.' But her mental turmoil continues, and I found myself looking forward to whatever pearls of wisdom her 25-year-old brother might drop to help her out (and us, by extension).
There were hurdles to get over on the way to finding out. First, Salinger way overdoes the italics! Man, oh man! They just get in the way and become so annoying, It got to the point I couldn't stand the sight of them. Salinger is not only dictating how he thinks the reader should hear the characters' voices, but he makes them sound like duffers in the process, because nobody really adds that much emphasis so consistently. Do you think I'm exaggerating? Just read the book.
He also overdoes all the smoking. The year was 1955, and I know health risks weren't so well known then, but this family could still keep a tobacco company in business all by themselves. Ash trays are everywhere, including the bathroom. What a stale odour their house must have, and I felt as if I was passive smoking through the pages by the time I'd finished.
Thirdly, this is just a funny thing that occurred to me, but I couldn't help wondering if Salinger considered himself smarter than the average bear. He's writing about the Glass family, who were all considered super-intelligent from the time they were infant prodigies, and obviously felt he had enough genius to pull it off. Indeed, Zooey does come across as a very astute young man, well worth heeding. After asking Franny to seriously consider her motivation for reciting the Jesus prayer, he makes some pointed observations, and here are some of my favourites.
a) 'If you're going to do it, at least pray to Jesus as he was, and not as you'd like him to be' (which he says is probably a combination of Jesus, St. Francis of Assisi, their older brother Seymour, and Heidi's grandfather).
Overall, it left quite a positive impression. There's nobody quite like a brother for giving tough love. He knows her well enough to pinpoint the ways her mind was truly veering, perhaps better than she knew herself. And when it comes down to it, who else but a brother could be so blunt without her disowning him? As far as the ego question is concerned, he challenges her to focus on the good and sacred aspects of life, which are out there everywhere, and leave God to figure out what is or isn't ego driven. The pair of them remind me a bit of my two eldest kids, who have a similar age gap. It's a bit strange and short, with the feeling of a couple of random events pulled out of nowhere, and the descriptions come across like stage directions, but it's definitely engaging enough to finish.
If you're interested in pursuing the train of thought, some of Zooey's observations remind me of this book here, which was published recently.
I stumbled upon this book meme, hosted by Books are my Favourite and Best and had to have a try. It turned out to be such a lot of fun, I wish I'd done some of the earlier ones too. But at least I can participate in future ones for sure. The official instructions are here.
But here's a bit of background info from the blog. The meme was inspired by Hungarian writer and poet Frigyes Karinthy. In his 1929 short story, Chains, Karinthy coined the phrase 'six degrees of separation'. The phrase was popularised by a 1990 play written by John Guare, which was later made into a film starring Stockard Channing. Since then, the idea that everyone in the world is separated from everyone else by just six links has been explored in many ways, from 'six degrees of Kevin Bacon' to the science of connections. And now it's a meme for readers.
Today's starter is Room by Emma Donoghue, so we start with that one, and it's blurb.
Now for my 6 degrees of separation.
It's a chilling Australian domestic drama about Anna, a teenager who finds herself drawn to become friends with her father's ex-girlfriend, Edie. There is more to Edie than meets the eye, and her mental judgment snaps for a short period of time, in which she decides that keeping Anna prisoner in a tiny room, with all her favourite things, is the best course of action for both of them. My review is here.
Both have the word 'yellow' in their title. In this travel memoir, Kim and her husband Brian embark on a journey to travel around the world. They take with them a yellow envelope from a friend, full of money to distribute randomly to deserving people along the way, as they feel led. My review is here.
In this classic Victorian novel by Jules Verne, Phileas Fogg and his loyal man servant, Passepartout, do a similar thing to Kim Dinan, and embark on a trip around the world, and they also distribute their fair share of money along the way, although their motivation is different. However, they too experience their fair share of adventures and misadventures. My review is here.
At one stage, Fogg and Co. are forced to hire Kiouni, a female elephant, to help them traverse a certain length of their journey in India. They manage to make quite good friends with her. In this book, Jacob Jankowski forges a special bond with Rosie, another female elephant, when he's given the position of her trainer in a ramshackle circus during the Depression Era.
This is another story in which the main protagonists discover that life in a travelling sideshow is not all its cracked up to be. The magical circus operates from sunset to sunrise, delighting the audience, A pair of rival magicians groom their young proteges, Celia and Marcus, up for an intense competition. Little do they know the young pair will fall in love.
Catniss and Peeta are another young pair who are also forced to be bitter rivals in a cutthroat competition, and also happen to fall in love.
Voila, with just 6 degrees of separation, I've started with characters who are confined to a very tiny space, and ended with characters who are dumped in a wide open space to battle for survival. I'm liking this meme and look forward to next month's.


Any movie that has the actor, Mark Wahlberg as part of its cast is considered a high budget film since he doesn't come cheap. He got ranked as one of Forbes Highest paid actors, slightly higher Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson last in the year 2018.
If you want to know by how much, then you are in the right place as we will address that. Also be sure to stick around to find out his net worth, salary, age, wife, body measurements and so much more.
Mark Wahlberg's Net worth Is $225 Million.
According to a reliable source, Mark Wahlberg's net worth standings as of 2018 are approximately $225 million. His salary usually ranges from one gig to the other. However, as of 2017, Forbes released his salary at $68 Million which was closely followed by The Rock at $65 million.
Most of Wahlberg's hard earned cash comes from his acting career which dates as far back as 1993. However, his active years in the entertainment industry go much further back to 1984. So what was he doing then? Well, if you are as old as I am then you probably remember him as Marky Mark and also one of the original members of The New Kids on the Block.
Part of Mark Wahlberg's net worth is also a total of his rapping and modeling career. Yes, you heard it right. He used to be an underwear model for Calvin Klein and other known brands. Nowadays, he works as a film producer while handling his restaurant business when he is not busy getting buffed up for a movie role.
Mark Wahlberg is Married To Wife Rhea Durham.
Enough about Mark Whalberg's Net Worth, let's talk about his wife and married life.
Also Read. Wahlberg Family Tree and their net worth.
The film producer is currently a happily married man and father of four. The woman who stole his heart is none other than famous model Rhea Durham. She has graced readers on issues of Vogue, American, British Elle magazines and so much more.
The couple met some time back in the year 2001 when he was promoting one of his films in New York. She recollects one of their first dates at St. Patrick's Cathedral in the same city. It took them eight years of dating before finally tying the knot in the year 2009 at Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Beverly Hills.
The time gap should not alarm you as they were practically living together. Even before the couple's union, they already had three kids. Ella was born on September 2nd, 2003 followed by Michael on March 21st,2006 and finally Brendan born on September 16th, 2008. Their only child born in wedlock is their daughter, Grace on January 11th, 2010. There have been no marriage conflicts in their happy family. However, it is no secret that Rhea doesn't get along with her brother in law's wife, Jenny McCarthy.
Age: how old is Mark Wahlberg?
Time sure flies when you are transitioning from Marky Mark into one of the highest paid actors. According to his Wikipedia page, the TV star is currently of age 47. He was born on June 5th, 1971 making his star sign as that of Gemini.
Mark Wahlberg Height. How Tall Is Mark Wahlberg?
Usually, when Hollywood contacts him for a movie role, he engages in a new workout regime. As such he weighs roughly 172 pounds while standing at the height of 5 feet 10 inches. With the tones of bench presses and dumbells that he lifts, his chest and biceps measure 46 inches and 16 inches. Talk about body goals!
Mark's childhood was quite troubled considered he came from a broken family. His parents divorced in 1982 which scarred him being the youngest of kids. As a result, he had a run with one of Pablo Escobar's famous narcotics – Cocaine – at age 13. Racially foul-mouthed against black kids and Asians, the Wahlberg got sentenced to prison for assaulting a Vietnamese man on the street. However, he has done quite a bit of growing up and atoned for his past crimes and sins.
His first appearance into the limelight was on the quest of following his big brother, Donnie on the road to music stardom. However, their band soon broke up, forcing him to pursue a solo career. This led to many singles and collaborations which spiraled into advertising and finally into films. Mark had his first TV role was in the series, The Substitute in 1993 and has grown into blockbuster movies. He has done quite a lot of charities, engaged in the production and even co-owns a restaurant in his family's name.
Mark Wahlberg, the actor we know now is an entirely different man. We can't say if its money that changed him since his net worth has always been huge. Perhaps it's his loving wife and kids.
Alma Wahlberg Net worth, Children, Age, Current Husband, Ex-Husband, Divorce, Wiki bio.
Wahlberg Family Tree and their net worth.
← NBA YoungBoy Net Worth in 2018, Real Name, Birthday and Age.


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Wollongong council declares 'climate emergency'
By Desiree Savage
August 13, 2019 — 12.06pm
Environmental organisation Greenpeace has applauded Wollongong City Council's decision to declare a climate emergency, calling it "huge stuff".
Wollongong City Council's declaration brings the total number of NSW councils declaring or recognising climate emergencies to 16. The total was 17, with Wagga Wagga City Council also backing a motion, but this was later recinded amid community backlash against councillors.
Wollongong is the 32nd Australian council to declare climate emergency. Credit:Peter Rae
The City of Sydney council backed a similar motion in June to declare such an "emergency".
Wollongong Councillor Ann Martin moved the motion, which was debated for more than an hour at the council meeting on Monday evening, calling on the council to recognise the community is in a state of climate emergency.
The end result was a vote in favour to support the motion, and also called for a report to look at the best ways Wollongong can combat climate change.
Wollongong Mayor Gordon Bradbery. Credit:AAP
Councillor Leigh Colacino opposed the motion, arguing council was already doing a significant amount in the space.
Lord Mayor Gordon Bradbery offered his support over an issue he believed needed action.
"We can't change the world but we can do out bit," he said.
Wollongong is the 32nd Australian council to declare climate emergency, a move which is more to "stand in solidarity", Cr Bradbery said.
Cr Bradbery said the declaration identifies with "the concerns of people in the community".
"[The declaration] was to identity that there is a need for action, but it gave us a platform to highlight basically what we're achieving already," he said.
"We need to work with other agencies and groups in the city and to do our bit ameliorating global gas emissions."
Cr Bradbery said council would continue to improve and look at ways in which they could improve how the city affects climate change.
Environmentalist Susie Crick has also applauded the move, stating "one pebble dropped in the water creates many ripples".
The Australian councils are part of around 800 across the globe to have declared climate emergencies, encompassing more than 140 million people worldwide.
Illawarra Mercury with The Sydney Morning Herald
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The Client (1994) is a legal thriller written by American author John Grisham, set mostly in Memphis, Tennessee and New Orleans, Louisiana. It reflects the negative influence of TV and media over young children, mixed with various legal elements and suspense. The 1994 film based on the novel was directed by Joel Schumacher and starred Susan Sarandon, Tommy Lee Jones and Brad Renfro. The film was released on July 20, 1994. The film was so successful that it spawned a TV series of the same name, starring JoBeth Williams and John Heard. However, the TV version lasted only one season (1995-1996).
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The Orchestre de la Suisse Romande (OSR) is a Swiss symphony orchestra, based in Geneva at the Victoria Hall. In addition to symphony concerts, the OSR performs as the opera orchestra in productions at the Grand Théâtre de Genève.

History
Ernest Ansermet founded the OSR in 1918, together with Paul Lachenal, with a contingent of 48 players and a season of six months' duration. Besides Swiss musicians, the OSR players initially came from other countries, including Austria, France, Germany and Italy. Ansermet gradually increased the percentage of Swiss musicians in the orchestra, attaining 80% Swiss personnel by 1946. He remained the music director of the OSR for 49 years, from 1918 to 1967.

A Swiss radio orchestra based in Lausanne was merged into the OSR in 1938. Subsequently, the OSR began to broadcast radio concerts regularly on Swiss radio. The orchestra had a long-standing contract for recordings with Decca Records, dating from the tenure of Ansermet, and made over 300 recordings for Decca, starting in 1947 with Debussy's La mer. The OSR premiered many works of the Swiss composers Arthur Honegger and Frank Martin. During the directorship of Armin Jordan (1985–1997), the OSR continued to make recordings on the Erato label.

From 2005 to 2012, Marek Janowski was the artistic director and music director of the OSR. He conducted the OSR in recordings for the Pentatone label. In September 2008, his initial 5-year contract had been extended to 2015, but in January 2010, in a change to the September 2008 contract extension, Janowski and the OSR mutually agreed on the scheduled conclusion of his directorship of the OSR after the 2011–12 season.

Following the announcement of Janowski's scheduled 2012 departure, attempts to secure Bertrand de Billy and Kazuki Yamada as the OSR's next artistic leader did not come to fruition. In September 2010, the OSR named Neeme Järvi as its ninth artistic and musical director, and in parallel, Yamada as principal guest conductor, with both appointments effective as of 2012, with initial contracts of 3 years for both conductors.  Järvi has commercially recorded with the OSR for the Chandos label.  He concluded his OSR directorship after the 2014–2015 season.

Jonathan Nott first guest-conducted the OSR in October 2014. Following these concert appearances, in January 2015, the OSR named Nott its next music and artistic director, effective January 2017. The OSR formalised the new contract and relationship with Nott in March 2016. In February 2021, the OSR announced the conversion of Nott's OSR contract into an evergreen, open-ended lifetime agreement with no set final date.

Artistic and musical directors
 Ernest Ansermet (1918–1967)
 Paul Kletzki (1967–1970)
 Wolfgang Sawallisch (1970–1980)
 Horst Stein (1980–1985)
 Armin Jordan (1985–1997)
 Fabio Luisi (1997–2002)
 Pinchas Steinberg (2002–2005)
 Marek Janowski (2005–2012)
 Neeme Järvi (2012–2015)
 Jonathan Nott (2017–present)

References

External links

 Orchestre de la Suisse Romande official website
 Discogs.com page on discography of OSR

Musical groups established in 1918
Swiss orchestras
Decca Records artists
1918 establishments in Switzerland

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Stilt Walkers for Events in Kitchener, Cambridge, and Guelph.
A Stilt Walker can add entertainment to any event, especially events with large crowds. Our Stilt Walkers will juggle and/or make balloons while walking on stilts. The performance can easily be seen because the Stilt Walker is above the crowds.
There are three main types of Stilt Walkers. First, there are Stilt Walkers who do not talk but let their costume provide all the entertainment. Second, there are Stilt Walkers who talk and interact with the crowd. Kids enjoy the chance to speak to someone so tall! Lastly, there are Stilt Walkers who interact with the crowd and also perform a skill - most commonly, juggling. Big Smiles Company offers Stilt Walkers who interact with the crowd and perform a skill - whether balloon twisting and/or juggling.


In Balls of Fury, Randy Daytona (Dan Fogler) is a ping pong prodigy who decides to achieve his unfulfilled potential. He starts his training in a Chinatown noodle shop, naturally.
In Reno 911!, Lt. Jim Dangle (Thomas Lennon) takes you on a ride-along as the lead deputy of the Reno Sheriff's Department. He explains that his trademark short shorts are essential for increased mobility.
The Average Joe's is the name of the dodgeball team founded by Peter LaFleur (Vince Vaughn) representing his gym of the same name in the 2004 sports comedy film Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story. Wrench and dodgeball optional. If someone in your group wants to be Steve the Pirate, don't forget the bandanna!
In Balls of Fury, Karl Wolfschtagg (Thomas Lennon) is an Olympic ping pong player representing East Germany. He defeats prodigy Randy Daytona with ruthless play, setting off Daytona's tumble from grace.


Ana Roxanne is an intersex Southeast Asian musician based in Los Angeles. Born & raised in the Bay Area to immigrant parents, Ana's love for music and singing began through her mother's cd collection of 80's/90's R&B divas. Raised in the catholic church, she became a devout choir nerd and found any opportunity to sing, whether for religious mass, the jazz ensemble of her catholic high school, or karaoke at family gatherings. Her commitment to singing led her to a brief stint at a vocational jazz program in the cornfields of the midwest; in a remote town of 7,000 people, she began a formal study of jazz and classical music. During these years she would tour with various ensembles to beautiful old cathedrals in nearby cities and became enamored with the sacredness of choral music, as well as the enveloping sound of harmony. A near death experience, too, served as a connection between music and spirituality, and music as a healing art after facing tragedy.
In 2013, Ana was also fortunate enough to spend a few months in Uttarkhand, India where she met an incredible voice teacher who introduced her to classical Hindustani singing. Living and studying with this teacher deeply impacted her outlook on the voice as art. It was there that she began to see the singer - the Diva - as a symbol of divinity; that the unique power of one's voice comes from the vulnerability of using the body as an instrument. Be it romance, love, or worship of a deity - in order to access such depths of emotional expression, one must be willing to be intensely vulnerable, lay one's heart in the open air, expose what is kept hidden. This brief study was the catalyst that led her to finish her music study at the experimental Mills College in Oakland, CA, where she began to combine all of these influences into her current self-titled project. This album ~~~ was created during her last years residing in the Bay Area, a tribute to the great musicians who inspired her and the landscape where she spent her formative years.
In addition to the worship of R&B and pop divas, Ana's current practice explores themes of gender & identity. In October of 2018, she decided to come out publicly as intersex, and is dedicated to being a voice for her community and speaking out about social justice for intersex youth.


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Protest succeeds: Apple seeks audit of Chinese labor conditions
Stephen C. Webster
Technology giant Apple, Inc. said Monday it was asking the Fair Labor Association (FLA) to investigate working conditions at Chinese electronics manufacturer Foxconn, essentially caving to the demands of protesters who delivered over 250,000 petition signatures to the company last week.
Foxconn, which hires over 1 million Chinese workers, has been plagued over the years by reports of suicides, and in one instance last year, a group of about 300 people threatened to jump to their deaths if they weren't given better pay and working conditions.
Foxconn, which makes devices for companies like Apple, Microsoft, Sony, Intel and others, has said it plans to replace most of its workers with robots in the coming years. Meanwhile, the company keeps its human workers in small bunks on site, works them in 12-24 hour shifts, provides little food or medical assistance, and oversees their daily duties with military-like precision using advance surveillance techniques.
Apple, for its part, joined the FLA in January as criticism against Foxconn was mounting. They became the first tech company to partner with the Washington, D.C. group, which is dedicated to stamping out sweat shops throughout the world. Other FLA partners include Nike, Barnes & Noble, Liz Blaiborne, Inc., Puma AG and American Eagle Outfitters, Inc.
After last week's petitions, the company decided it was time to pull the trigger on their FLA membership rights, so Apple asked that the group to begin fair labor inspections of Foxconn's facilities.
"We believe that workers everywhere have the right to a safe and fair work environment, which is why we've asked the FLA to independently assess the performance of our largest suppliers," Tim Cook, Apple's CEO, explained in a media advisory. "The inspections now underway are unprecedented in the electronics industry, both in scale and scope, and we appreciate the FLA agreeing to take the unusual step of identifying the factories in their reports."
This is not the first time Apple has listened to its critics, either: after years of campaigning by environmental groups, Apple announced last year that it was initiating an e-waste recycling program that would accept any old Macs, PC, computer displays or mobile devices. They even offer to pick up the shipping tab, and if the company can turn a profit on any of the hardware turned in, customers receive gift cards for various amounts.


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Cape Cod Injury Lawyer Blog
Published By The Law Offices of John S. Moffa
Articles Posted in Product Liability
How Olympus Duodenoscopes Pose a Threat of Superbug Infection to Massachusetts Residents
February 26, 2017 | by John S. Moffa
When we go to the doctor or have a surgical procedure performed, we expect the physicians and nurses who perform the appointment or procedure to use the appropriate care. This includes not only the performance of the procedure but also preparing for it and preventing unnecessary infections. This same standard also applies to medical device manufacturers when it comes to designing and producing devices that mitigate against unnecessary harms like contamination and infection.
Recently, medical device manufacturer Olympus initiated a recall after reports stated that 100 patients became ill with antibiotic-resistant superbugs. The patients all were treated with one of Olympus' medical devices, called a duodenoscope, which is a camera used in surgeries. According to several reports, Olympus makes roughly 85 percent of the duodenoscopes that are available on the market today.
by John S. Moffa
Posted in: Medical Malpractice and Product Liability
Former Massachusetts State Trooper Sues Vehicle Manufacturer For Injuries Sustained Due to Faulty Gear Shift Device
January 3, 2017 | by John S. Moffa
A former Massachusetts State Trooper has filed a lawsuit against Fiat Chrysler, seeking damages he sustained after one of the manufacturer's vehicles pinned him against a wall. The officer, John J. Malone, suffered a torn ACL, fractures to both knees, and severe bruising that required hospitalization. The complaint names over 40 specific injuries that the plaintiff endured. It also states that the 69-year-old former professional will require a total knee replacement in the future.
Filed in federal U.S. District Court, the complaint states that the manufacturer failed to provide adequate warnings regarding a defect in its gear shift design and that it concealed information about its failure to address and fix the design defect. The factual allegations allege that the ZF Shifter is dangerous because the feedback mechanism is not adequate when it comes to providing a signal that the car has been shifted into the park position. Also, the plaintiff alleges that it lacks a mechanism that puts the car in park when the driver side door is ajar, and pressure is taken off the brake pedal.
This case is similar to another lawsuit involving a defective gear shifter, which was filed by former Star Trek Beyond star Anton Yelchin. In his lawsuit, he alleged that he was injured when his vehicle rolled away from his home down the driveway and pinned him between a pillar and a fence. The plaintiff was later declared deceased as a result of the accident and the injuries he sustained from the pinning. According to the police report, the vehicle was running, and the gear stick was set in the neutral position.
Posted in: Product Liability
Dept. of Transportation Launches New Vehicle Recall Campaign to Promote Driver Safety in Massachusetts and Elsewhere
November 13, 2016 | by John S. Moffa
Vehicle recalls are becoming more common, especially after the high-profile recall case against Volkswagen involving the company's false and misleading representations regarding the fuel-saving capacity of its cars. Airbag maker Takata Corporation also recently found itself in hot water when it had to initiate a massive recall of cars containing its defective airbag devices. In 2015, a total of 973 recalls were initiated regarding dangerous child safety seats, tires, vehicles, and components, encompassing 87.5 million different products.
A vehicle recall may give rise to a product liability action. If a manufacturer's product is unreasonably dangerous or suffers from a defect that rendered the product unreasonably dangerous during the manufacturing process, the manufacturer may be held liable for damages and injuries that occur as a result of the dangerous design or defect.
Posted in: Car Accidents and Product Liability
Massachusetts Appellate Court Upholds $5.9 Million Punitive Damages Award in Product Liability Action
April 18, 2016 | by John S. Moffa
There are many ways that product liability accidents can occur. Although people are familiar with cases involving motor vehicles, sporting goods, food contamination, and medical devices, countless product-related accidents occur on-the-job. In a recent action, a Massachusetts appellate court considered whether a supposedly defective product was to blame for a construction worker's death.
The case, Williamson-Green v. Equipment 4 Rent, Inc., involved the following facts. The decedent was working with a large piece of construction equipment called an articulating boom lift to inspect a rooftop of a building. While the plaintiff was perched in the basket at the end of the equipment's arm, the equipment fell over and toppled into the building, which resulted in the man's death. The decedent's wife filed a wrongful death claim and product liability claim against both the maker of the equipment and the rental company who leased out the device.
Posted in: Personal Injury and Product Liability
Massachusetts Court Dismisses Product Liability Claim for Lack of Standing
December 21, 2015 | by John S. Moffa
In Kerin v. Titeflex Corporation, a homeowner had installed a gas fire pit at his home that used Gastite CSST, a device that is common in both commercial and residential buildings and that is used to provide gas to stoves, fire pits, and other devices. The plaintiff filed suit against the maker of Gastite CSST, Titeflex Corporation, claiming that there was a product defect in the product's corrugated stainless steel tubing.
The plaintiff originally filed suit in Massachusetts federal district court. In his complaint, the plaintiff asserted four causes of action against the manufacturer: strict liability, negligence in design, negligent failure to warn, and strict liability for failure to warn. The plaintiff sought damages for the cost of replacing the Gastite CSST device with something that did not pose the same potential dangers.
The defendant challenged the complaint for lack of standing, and the lower court judge dismissed the case, finding the plaintiff's alleged injury too attenuated to support a claim for damages. The court also noted that the plaintiff had failed to appropriately allege the standard of care that applied to economic harm in a defective product lawsuit according to Massachusetts law.
FDA Issues Another Warning Letter to Bard Over Defective IVC Device
Although medical technology has worked wonders when it comes to helping us heal certain ailments or cope with other conditions, some medical products turn out to cause far more harm than good. Medical device maker Bard recently came under scrutiny after reports surfaced that its inferior vena cava (IVC) filters pose significant risks to patients. A few months ago, the FDA issued another warning letter to Bard, informing it of several violations associated with the IVC devices.
The filters were originally developed to help patients facing a high risk of pulmonary embolisms, which can lead to death if not treated properly. One of the most common treatments for pulmonary embolism sufferers is anti-coagulant medications, which prevent the blood from becoming too thick and coagulating. Some patients, however, are unable to take these blood thinning medications for a variety of reasons.
IKEA's Dressers Identified as Hazardous to Children, Linked to At Least Two Deaths
IKEA, a Swedish-based home retail service providing a line of affordable furniture and home goods, has found itself in hot water over claims indicating that the company's dressers and other furniture units pose serious dangers to children. Roughly 27 million units sold at IKEA's stores and through the website have been identified as posing tip-over risks to children if the furniture is not securely anchored to a wall.
Two specific reports filed with IKEA profiled separate tragic and devastating cases in which a child died as a result of a MALM style dresser tipping over and falling on or trapping the child. In one of the cases, a mother found her two-year-old son in his room trapped between an IKEA MALM style dresser that had tipped over and his bed. The toddler's face was blue, indicating that the dresser may have prevented him from breathing and resulted in suffocation.
Additionally, both IKEA and the United States Product Safety Commission ("CPSC") have received nearly 15 reports profiling tip-over accidents involving the specific line of IKEA furniture. Four of the incidents involved extensive injuries.
Product Liability (7)
Trip and fall (4)
Construction Accidents (2)
Alcohol Related Injuries (2)
Negligence (2)
Massachusetts Court Discusses Damages in Car Accident Cases December 28, 2021
Massachusetts Court Discusses Causation in Negligence Cases December 14, 2021
Massachusetts Court Declines to Uphold Premises Liability Claims Against an Insurer November 24, 2021
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Majsiak has extensive experience in preparing successful business plans with start-ups, turn-arounds, emerging growth companies and mature firms. I can prepare, analyze and critique a plan for your business from a financial and tax planning standpoint. This includes narratives and comprehensive profit and loss forecasting. I also have experienced marketing, legal and lending partners that can work with my clients as part of the business management process.


This survey is part of the ELIPSY Project, co-funded by EAHC, which aim is to develop a common methodology to assess Living donor (LD) in the psychosocial sphere.
There is no data about the current psychosocial follow-up practices among different European centres to evaluate the key points of the methodology and find out the differences between Kidney and Liver programs.
CONCLUSION: Results show that there is no consensus for LD psychosocial assessment practices; neither the methodology nor the professional that perform it nor psychological tests used nor the moment to carry it out.


The single breasted coat is crafted with a high quality wool-cashmere blend. The exquisite Italian tailoring is highly apparent in a classic coat like this and includes details such as peak notch lapels and satin lining. The clean cut adds to a more contemporary feel. Shown with the Cesaire sweater and the Adam boots.


The chain, owned by Restaurant Brands International Inc., announced a test run for the burger in 59 restaurants in the St. Louis area. Burger King says the sandwich will use patties from Redwood City, Calif.-based Impossible Foods Inc. The Impossible Whopper is flame-grilled like the regular Whopper and comes with the standard tomatoes, lettuce, mayonnaise, ketchup, pickles and onion.


Recently, when I go on a trip, I like to say a personal thank you to the people whose work I appreciate. Waiters, chambermaids, guides, and drivers do much to make a tourist's vacation pleasant, and a pretty card along with a tip adds a personal touch.
This fast and easy project could, of course, be easily adapted to saying thank you to anyone.
1. For some cards I used the fronts off old greeting cards. Just trim the front with scissors or a paper cutter.
2. For others, cut various sizes of printed cardstock. Suggested sizes include 4 x 6 inches, 6 x 6 inches, 5 x 7, or whatever you like.
3. Open a Word document and compose lines saying Thank You, Muchas Gracias, Merci Beaucoup, or whatever line of thanks you want. I used a couple of different fonts, 24 point size, with three dashes before and after the words. Leave space between the lines for cutting.
4. Print the document on printed paper - I used scrapbooking paper cut to size. Cut the lines apart, then trim as needed and apply to the back of the cardstock or card fronts that you prepared with double sided tape or a gluestick.
5. Add embellishments. I kept mine very simple, with stickers. Stamping would add great texture.
And there you have it. Sweet and simple.
What a lovely idea Lorrie..so simple and use what you have....enjoy your day..
Such a nice thing to do - our holidays always depend on the hard work of others on site (of course, after the hard work one does to actually earn a holiday!) and I love the personal expression of thanks.
We are going on a cruise in March...thanks for the idea!
Love this sweet, simple and very thoughtful idea and your header is gorgeous.
Thank you is a word easily overlooked nowadays, it seems.
use what you have...that is my way for this year.
This is a very nice idea and there's nothing nicer than receiving a handwritten note in the mail. I opened one last week that said "Merci" on the front and "That's French for Muchas Gracias" on the inside...very cute!
What a thoughtful way to show a special person that their service or help has been appreciated. Thanks for the tutorial, too.
Lorrie, I love this idea, and I will enjoy making a few small cards to carry in my purse.
Simple and lovely! Great idea...now I just need to schedule a card making session.
What a kind and lovely thing to do. There can't be many people who leave a personalised thankyou behind; staff is lucky if they get any kind of thankyou.
I am a big believer in thank you cards and I adore you idea of recycling old cards.
Love the paper hearts one post below.
Yes I like to do that too when I can.
I've taken ready-made cards along on trips for leaving notes and tips, so I like your idea of creating them yourself.
I like card-making and used to do it more. You remind me to let my heart -- and hands -- create a glimpse of heaven for someone who has touched me in some way!


**The Air Evolution 'SP' model is also available. This is the upgraded version recommended for audio systems that require additional inductance.
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Home/Business/China gives up two of its best-kept foreign exchange reserves @ Forex Factory
China gives up two of its best-kept foreign exchange reserves @ Forex Factory
admin Send an email July 29, 2019
From scmp.com
Beijing has for the first time revealed its return on the investment of its foreign exchange reserves and the share of US dollars in the stock. China's foreign exchange reserves generated an annual average return of 3.68 percent from 2005 to 2014, according to the Annual Report of 2018 issued by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (Safe) on Sunday. The agency did not give newer numbers. At the end of 2014, US dollar assets accounted for 58 percent of China's total foreign exchange reserves, down from 79 percent in 2005, the administration said, adding that the share of assets in the US currency was … ( full story )
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Our online shop makes it simple to browse through our entire range of ready meals and desserts – either by searching for meal type, collection or filtering by special diet. If you're new to the Oakhouse website, follow the steps below to order your food.
Click 'Add to Shopping Bag' on each meal or grocery item you'd like to order.
When you've finished choosing your food, go to your Shopping Bag and tap 'Proceed to checkout'.
Enter your login details if you have already registered with us.
If this is the first time you've shopped online with us, fill in your billing address and preferred delivery address. If you're ordering on behalf of someone else, you can use this section to arrange delivery to their address.
Choose from the available delivery dates.
Pick your preferred way to pay and enter your payment details.
Review your order to make sure you've included everything you want, and click 'submit'.
That's it. You should receive an email confirming your order within a few minutes.
If you order from us regularly, you can use the Quick Order function on our website to place your order in minutes. Simply enter the product codes of the meals you'd like, and tap 'Add to basket'. Then complete the order process in the usual way.
If you'd prefer to order meals over the phone, you can find the contact details for your local branch here.
Having an Oakhouse Foods account helps you get the most out of our online service. Use it to review past orders, create wishlists, and keep your contact, payment and address details up to date.
If you're ordering on behalf of a patient, relative or person in your care, you can use the Address Book function within your online account to add separate delivery addresses. That way, it's quick and simple to make sure our meals get to where they're needed.


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› Literature & Fiction
› Criticism & Theory
Two Solitudes
UPC / ISBN 0773524924
(see available options)
Author Hugh MacLennan
About Two Solitudes
Winner of the Governor General?s Award for Fiction Canada Reads Selection (CBC), 2013 A landmark of nationalist fiction, Hugh MacLennan?s Two Solitudes is the story of two peoples within one nation, each with its own legend and ideas of what a nation should be. In his vivid portrayals of human drama in First World War?era Quebec, MacLennan focuses on two individuals whose love increases the prejudices that surround them until they discover that ?love consists in this, that two solitudes protect, and touch and greet each other.? The novel centres around Paul Tallard and his struggles in reconciling the differences between the English identity of his love Heather Methuen and her family, and the French identity of his father. Against this backdrop the country is forming, the chasm between French and English communities growing deeper. Published in 1945, the novel popularized the use of ?two solitudes? as referring to a perceived lack of communication between English- and French-speaking Canadians.
Canadian Studies In The New Millennium, Second Edi...


All 3 major US indices are on bearish ground with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 indices falling more than 20% since the last highest peak.
Reporting season kicked off with Alcoa the first off the ranks this week. The 2nd quarter result was better than expected with 66 cents per share or $546 million. Although that represented a fall in profit of more than 18%, the results still topped expectations.
Shares in Freddie Mac and Fannie May were sold down this week with persistent worries that shareholders would be wiped out. Recurring rumors that Lehman Brothers were in trouble continued.
Apple shares were well supported ahead of the new iPhone launch on 22nd July. Some analysts are saying that as many as 1 billion phones could be sold worldwide in the first few days.
Japan's core machinery orders rose faster than expected at 10.4% in May but the news didn't have a huge impact with economists taking little hope from the results.
Australian Labour numbers in June were much stronger than expected with an increase of 29800. The market was only expecting an increase of 7500 jobs. The unemployment rate fell from 4.3% to 4.2%. Economists have said that the number is a lagging indicator and though the numbers were strong, leading data is pointing to a slowdown in Australia's economy.
Lenders in Australia were lifting variable interest rates independent of a rise by its central bank. Persisting problems in the credit markets has seen the wide spreads and increased cost of funding impacting on margins. This week saw St George Bank and Commonwealth Bank both lift variable interest rates on home loans.
The FTSE plunged into bearish territory this week with bad news from the housing market helping to fuel fears of a recession. Britain's largest mortgage lender said that average house prices fell by another 2% last month.
In economic news, 1st quarter GDP was revised downwards from 0.8% to 0.7%. In Germany, the trade deficit fell due to a 3.2% drop in exports. Spain is warning of a recession in the 2nd part of the year while Irish banks are also warning of recession.
But it was a decision by the Bank of England to not cut interest rates but to leave interest rates unchanged at 5% which triggered another sell off on European markets.
All eyes are currently on the geopolitical tensions between Israel and Iran. At the moment, oil prices are a huge factor in determining where interest rates are headed. Iran has been testing missiles in the Persian Gulf while Israel has been threatening a possible attack on Iran later on in the year. This has fuelled oil prices. If the geopolitical tensions ease, we could see a pull back in the price of oil. For now, not only are these high oil prices bad news for the global economy but also the stockmarkets where companies are seeing their profits eroded by the higher input costs.


Organic, sustainably sourced & packed with vitamins & minerals.
Why antler for dogs? Chances are you're already giving your dog something to chew on but antler are great because they are really long-lasting when compared to other treats (1-3 months with the right sized piece) and they don't stink or leave a gross residue like bones can.
Collected from naturally-shed deer antler and cut into dog-sized pieces, our antler are 100% natural - there is no additives, preservatives or processing.
Gnawing on an antler helps promote healthy teeth and gums by scraping away plaque and tartar build-up. Antler are also jam-packed with vitamins and minerals including calcium and phosphorous for strong, healthy bones.
Every year, deer naturally shed their antler and grow them back the following year making these chew..


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Sanchez joins Inter Milan from Man United on free transfer
The 31-year-old, who had been on loan at Inter this season, signed a contract until 30 June, 2023, the club added.
Inter Milan's Alexi Sanchez and Fiorentina's Franck Ribery chase after the ball during their Serie A match on 22 July 2020. Picture: @Inter_en/Twitter
MILAN - Manchester United's Chilean forward Alexis Sanchez has signed a three-year contract with Inter Milan, the Italian club announced on Thursday.
"Alexis Sanchez has joined the Nerazzurri on a free transfer," the Serie A side said in a statement.
🔝 | ANNOUNCEMENT@Alexis_Sanchez has joined Inter on a free transfer 👇https://t.co/2IbrSjiogi
— Inter (@Inter_en) August 6, 2020
Sanchez scored four goals for Antonio Conte's Serie A runners-up behind Juventus.
He was sidelined for nearly three months after undergoing surgery in October on tendon damage picked up while playing for Chile in a friendly against Colombia.
Sanchez joined United as part of the deal that saw Henrikh Mkhitaryan sign for Arsenal in January 2018, but failed to make an impact at the Premier League club.
He scored five goals in 45 appearances for United before following Belgian forward Romelu Lukaku to Inter in August 2019.
"Everyone at Manchester United wishes Alexis Sanchez all the best in his future career as he joins Inter Milan on a permanent transfer," the Premier League club said.
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In recent months, Ubisoft's Rainbow Six Siege has grown in player-base and popularity, and the esport is really starting to find legs and infrastructure within the industry.
However, Siege is an incredibly tactical game that, to new players, can be daunting. The multitudes of operators, the destructible walls throughout every map and the multi-faceted verticality of the game are all features that can be very difficult to grasp.
Here, I've collated a list of some of the main tips that I would recommend for new Rainbow Six players to get the most out of the game before eventually jumping in to competitive play.
I know tutorials aren't "cool", or ever particularly fun, but in Rainbow Six they are almost imperative for starters to learn some of the maps and the operators and equipment available to them. There are elements of the game that you won't find in almost any other first-person shooter, and you'll become seriously unstuck if you go into a Casual game with no clue how the game plays.
Not to mention, you earn 200 Renown (in-game currency) for each of the ten situations you complete, moving you closer to buying new operators as you progress through the ranks.
Speaking of operators, your choice of operator can be the deciding factor of the match before it even starts. I recommend playing with each one at some point to familiarise yourself with their weapons and their abilities – after all, there's no better way to learn than to play.
Obviously, some operators have higher or lower pick rates across Pro League, Ranked Play and Casual due to their abilities, but it is recommended to try even the less-popular ones when you start the game.
Just don't be the guy that picks Rook and doesn't drop the armour at the start of the round.
The destructible walls are what make Rainbow Six so different to any other FPS game. The fact that you can blast through a wall to reach a bombsite or the hostage opens the game to a whole new layer of tactics and interesting mechanical plays.
As an attacker, you could try out Sledge or Buck to break down walls between you and your objective. Alternatively, when defending, you can reinforce the walls most likely to be attacked and set up to prevent this from happening. You may use Pulse to see through walls you suspect someone is going to break in to, or pick Valkyrie to throw some cameras down pivotal lanes and pick off enemies before they even have the chance to break into your site.
Drones are criminally underused by players, even in Ranked, and this is something I'm certainly guilty of. As an attacker you get two drones: one which you start the round occupying, intended to scout out the map, find the objective and scout out enemy positions. The other you get following the "drone phase", usable at any time throughout the round.
Ideally, you want to get your initial drone set up tactically to be around the objective so you (or teammates) can look through it and make decisions based on which operators are in or around it. But be careful – your drone is destroyable, and if the enemy takes it out it's almost like having one less player on the battlefield.
Your second drone is to be used throughout the round, ideally before vaulting through a wall or running through the hole your helpful Thatcher teammate blasted out for you. The last thing you want is to run aimlessly straight into the barrel of an enemy gun when you could have simply droned the room and prepared to get the first shot on them.
Teamwork is incredibly important in Rainbow Six, especially when reaching Ranked and beyond. This isn't necessarily a game you can solo-carry your team to wins in every game.
That said, you want to play around what your team are doing. If you're defending and your whole team has taken a bunch of 3-speed operators that you know will be running aimlessly around the map, use someone like Mira or Echo who can sit back and hold the objective, preventing enemy players from getting to it.
On the attacking side, you might simply want to see which of your teammates has the defuser and go with them if you're playing Bomb. Often teammates all split at the start of the round, but guiding your defuser into the bombsite to play the objective can easily swing a round in your favour.
If not playing the Bomb game mode, make sure to take tactical equipment such as claymores or flash bangs that can assist your teammates when challenging gunfights or to watch their back.
As with all online multiplayer games, one of my most important recommendations is to go in with a friend or two (or four if, unlike me, you have that many friends). Learning the game becomes ten times easier when you can go through it together, and it also means you can communicate with your teammates about where you're pushing, which operators to use or which operators the enemy is running.
Using the callouts made available at the bottom of the map, players can take some time to learn the make-up and callouts of each map, and for a game that has so much depth, this becomes increasingly important the more you climb up the ranks.
So go out there with this guide and get involved!


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Are you one of the two in five adults who experience significant dizziness? Contact for a consultation.
"We take our balance for granted until we lose it through trauma or disease. You are never too old and it's never too late to exercise and regain your balance. Sitting is the killer and movement is the healer!"
Prof Margie H Sharpe
Our Principal, Prof Dr Margie H Sharpe, conducts individual consultations by appointment only. Contact for a consultation.
Initial consultations are normally one hour and subsequent consultations are normally thirty minutes. The Centre is open for appointments from Monday to Friday from 9.00am to 5.00pm. An after hour answering service is available for the convenience of patients and health professionals.
Contact for a consultation.
Patients, please note, the Centre is close to public transport and has parking, access and toilet facilities for the disabled. Street parking is readily available.
Non-attendance or a cancellation in less than 48 hours incurs the full consultation fee.
All patients are required to pay the consultation fee at the time of their visit. The Centre offers HICAPS, EFTPOS and Credit card facilities (except American Express and Diners Cards).


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Last post on : March 14, 2017
The New Trailer For 'Despicable Me 3' Has Arrived, Watch It Inside! (VIDEO)
Published On March 14, 2017 » 586 Views» By Z-rowe »
The first trailer for 'Despicable Me 3' did a great job of introducing us to the new, flashy villain Balthazar Bratt. They basically made us fall in love with him, and that's one thing this franchise always nails. They make lovable characters, even the evil characters.
This second trailer focuses more on the plot. It gives away more than the first trailer, so if you'd like to walk inside the theater knowing as little as possible about the movie, you might want to skip the trailer.
But who the f**k likes surprises anymore?
Steve Carell, Miranda Cosgrove and Russell Brand have all returned for this latest installment. It's scheduled to hit theaters June 30, and it could be one of the biggest releases of the summer.
Check out the synopsis and trailer below…
"Gru faces off against Balthazar Bratt, a former child star who grows up to become obsessed with the character he played in the '80s; and gets into some sibling rivalry when he meets his long lost twin brother, Dru."
Despicable Me 3SequelTrailer
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Growing out your hair takes time, and patience sometimes wears thin. During the course of one year, your hair grows at different rates, with a majority of your strands in their active phase. During active growing, some of your hair is resting and preparing to shed. This is perfectly normal. In some cases, however, the rate of hair growth may be a bit slower. Thyroid conditions and nutritional deficiency play a major role in hair growth and health.
Beat two eggs in a bowl with 2 tbsp. water. Use the fork to beat until fluffy. Apply to your hair, starting at the root and working outward to the tips of your strands. Allow to set for 10 to 15 minutes, and wash with a mild shampoo and warm water, suggests HairStyleCity.com.
Drink a daily cup of green tea to stimulate blood flow to your scalp. According to Hair Boutique, experts believe that green tea helps to increase blood flow throughout your body by relaxing blood vessels. This would promote rapid hair growth as the stimulation reaches your scalp.
Mix one mashed avocado with 1 tbsp. honey and 2 tbsp. olive oil in a bowl. The consistency of your mixture will be creamy, according to HairStyleCity.com. Apply throughout your hair from root to tip, and allow to remain in your tresses for up to 20 minutes. Wash out with a mild shampoo and warm water.
Snack on almonds or cashews throughout your day. Almonds and cashews are high in magnesium, according to Hair Boutique. Magnesium promotes healthy, faster hair growth by providing your hair with proper nourishment. Tofu, hard-boiled eggs and yogurt are also ideal foods for hair growth.
Mix together one mashed banana and one to two drops of almond oil in a bowl, making sure that it is mixed well. Apply to your hair and leave on for 15 to 30 minutes, allowing the hair mask to penetrate your follicles and individual strands. Wash out with a gentle shampoo and warm water.
Consume plenty of protein-rich foods, suggest Hair Boutique. Your hair is made up of complex proteins, making sense that dietary proteins would support rapid, healthy hair growth. Ideal foods for getting adequate protein include lean meats, poultry, nuts, seeds and beans.
HairStyleCity: Pamper yourself with a home made hair mask!
Can You Get Rid of Dry Hair With Food?


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Have questions for us? Contact CBD Cakes today to learn more about our dessert delivery and other delicious snacks in the Sydney CBD, Barangaroo, Haymarket, Pyrmont and the surrounding area.