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Global gold market resilient amidst slower quarter: World Gold Council
The latest World Gold Council Gold Demand Trends report, which covers the period July-September 2013, highlights the resilience of the global gold market in what is traditionally a slower quarter for gold demand.
The continued growth in consumer demand across the globe and the strength of Asian gold demand overall, reinforces the patterns first seen at the beginning of 2013, clear evidence of the self-balancing nature of the global market.
Overall demand for gold in Q3 2013 was 869 tonnes (t), down 21% on the same period a year ago. However, demand remained strong across most countries and sectors.
The exceptions were gold-backed ETFs, which had net outflows of 119t this quarter, compared to 402t in Q2 2013, and India where the result of government intervention in the Indian gold market was to reduce demand by 71t this quarter.
Taking the year as a whole so far, the jewellery, bar and coin sectors are showing year-to-date increases, while technology demand remains robust. ETF investment demand is the notable exception, having weakened this year.
Consumer demand globally – the strength of jewellery and bar and coin demand in 2013 to date can be seen when compared against the first three quarters of previous years. As of the end of Q3 2013, demand stood at 2,896t, 26% higher than the same year-to-date figure in 2012.
Global demand for jewellery – far and away the largest component of global demand – was 487t in Q3 2013, compared with 462t in the same period last year, an increase of 5%. Demand was particularly strong in China, where the figure reached 164t, a rise of 29% compared to with the same period last year.
Robust growth in the jewellery sector was also seen in the Middle East, Turkey and, significantly, across South East Asia, beyond China. After eight years of decline, the US jewellery market had its third consecutive quarter of growth with a shift to higher carat items – signalling the re-emergence of aspiration and luxury as key drivers of gold jewellery in the US.
Global bar and coin demand – also showed a year-on-year increase, reaching 304t, a rise of 6% compared to the same period last year. This takes overall investment in bars and coins so far this year to 1,252t, a rise of 36% compared to the first three quarters of 2012.
Marcus Grubb, managing director, Investment at the World Gold Council said: "Consistent with the first two quarters of 2013, the global gold market remains resilient, underpinned by the continued shift in demand from West to East, strong demand in consumer categories and solid central bank and technology sectors. The growth we are seeing in jewellery, bars and coins in particular, demonstrates once again the unique diversity of gold demand, as different sectors increase in prominence at different points in the global economic cycle, clear evidence of the ebb and flow of what is an extremely liquid market."
The restrictions introduced by the Indian government on importing gold through official channels had the intended effect of substantially supressing demand, with total gold consumption in India standing at 148t in Q3, compared to 310t in Q2 of this year.
However, the strength of Indian demand in the first half of the year means that full year consumer demand is still on track to narrowly exceed the 2012 total. One side effect of this was that while global recycling of gold fell 11% compared to the same quarter in 2012, in India the recycling figure increased more than fivefold to 61t.
Marcus Grubb added: "The intervention of the Indian government in restricting gold imports to the country is obviously reflected in the official levels of demand this quarter, but this by no means indicates that the appetite for gold in India is waning. We have seen some increases in demand in other countries which have close links with India, some of which may be making its way back to the country through illicit channels, which have reopened in recent quarters following a long period of inactivity."
For the 11th consecutive quarter, central banks were net buyers of gold, purchasing 93t. Meanwhile demand in the technology sector was stable, at 103t.
The average gold price for the quarter was US$1,326/oz, down 20% on the same quarter last year. In value terms, gold demand in Q3 2013 was US$37bn, down 37% compared to Q3 2012.
The key findings of the report are as follows:
Continued consumer growth in China. Total consumer demand was 210t in Q3 2013, a rise of 18% compared to the same period last year.
Jewellery consumption in South East Asia, outside China, was also strong. Hong Kong was up 28%, Vietnam up 14%, Thailand up 57% and Indonesia up 19% on the same quarter last year albeit off low bases.
Jewellery growth in the rest of the world. Similarly, demand in the Middle East is up 9% for Q3 against last year and the US was up by 14%
Government regulations in India are dampening demand figures. India recorded a 32% decline in consumer demand compared to the same quarter last year. However year to date, demand remains robust, up 19% compared to the first three quarters of 2012, following the surge in demand sparked by two price falls earlier in 2013
Central banks continue to be strong buyers of gold, albeit at a slower rate. Q3 2013 was the 11th consecutive quarter of net purchases of gold
Gold demand and supply statistics for Q3 2013
Third quarter gold demand of 869t was 21% lower than Q3 2012; this is due primarily to the Indian government intervention in their domestic market, and the year-on-year fall in ETF investment.
Average price of gold in this quarter was US$1,326/oz, down 20% on Q3 2012
Global demand for jewellery was 487t in the quarter, up 5% on last year. US jewellery demand increased by 14% – the highest third quarter jewellery demand figure since Q3 2009
Investment in bar and coins saw robust demand, up 6% year on year to 304t
There was a net outflow from ETFs of 119t, as investors adjusted their portfolios
Net central bank purchases totalled 93t, 17% down on Q3 2012. Central banks have now been net purchasers of gold for 11 consecutive quarters
Demand in the technology sector was stable once again, totalling 103t, a rise of 1% on the same period last year
Total supply is 1,146t.
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Healthy Foods That Are High in Boron
Beneficial for bone health and more
Brittany Poulson, MDA, RDN, CD, CDCES
Brittany Poulson, MDA, RDN, CDCES, is a registered dietitian and certified diabetes care and education specialist.
annick vanderschelden photography / Moment / Getty Images
Boron is a trace mineral that is naturally found in many plant foods, such as fruits and legumes. It is also found in wine and beer and available as a dietary supplement. It may be beneficial for reproduction and development, brain function, immunity, and have anti-inflammatory effects.
In particular, boron may be beneficial for bone health and arthritis prevention, having possible roles in bone formation, calcium metabolism, and the function of vitamin D and estrogen.
More specifically, boron seems to help extend the time vitamin D and estrogen are available in the body. In addition, a study of postmenopausal women who ate 3 ounces of prunes each day had improved bone mineral density. Another review of boron found that in areas where boron intake was greater there seemed to be a lower incidence of arthritis.
A trace mineral is a mineral that your body only needs in small amounts. Boron is not considered an essential nutrient, mainly because there has not been enough research conducted to identify a defined biological role in the body for boron. With hope, future research will be able to identify a clear function of boron in the human body.
There is no set recommended dietary allowance for boron, however, the World Health Organization has proposed that an "acceptable safe range" for adults is 1 to 13 milligrams (mg) of boron per day.
Tolerable Upper Intake Levels (ULs) for Boron
To prevent toxicity, daily intake of boron should not exceed these values:
1 to 3 years: 3 mg
9 to 13 years: 11 mg
14 to 18 years: 17 mg
19+ years: 20 mgs
Foods High in Boron
In a review of boron in the diet, it was found that the five foods that contributed the majority of boron were coffee, milk, apples, dried beans, and potatoes.
While some of these foods, like coffee and milk, are lower in boron, the high amounts of these foods consumed made them top contributors. Take a look below at the foods high in boron.
Prune Juice
Prune juice does more than help keep your digestive system going. One cup of prune juice has 1.43 milligrams of boron. Prune juice also contains dietary fiber, potassium, phosphorus, and calcium - making it good for bone health, too.
Avocados are a great source of healthy fats and dietary fiber and are one of the top food sources of boron. One half cup of raw cubed avocado has 1.07 milligrams of boron. Avocados are also good sources of folate, vitamin K and copper.
A handful of raisins (1.5 ounces) is all you need to get in 0.95 milligrams of boron. Raisins also contain dietary fiber, potassium and small amounts of calcium and iron. Sprinkle some of these sweet dried fruits in your cereal, yogurt or oatmeal.
Peaches are high in boron, as well as vitamins C and A. One medium peach contains 0.80 milligrams of boron and just 63 calories. Fresh, frozen or canned peaches are all good sources of boron. Bite into a fresh, juicy peach as a snack, dice them up to make peach salsa, or toss some frozen peaches into a smoothie.
It makes sense that grape juice is high in boron, since raisins are high on the list, too. One cup of 100% grape juice contains 0.76 milligrams of boron. Grape juice also contains antioxidants like vitamin C and polyphenols. Besides drinking a cold glass of grape juice, you can add grape juice to vinaigrettes and sauces or make frozen juice pops for a fun treat.
You know what they say—an apple a day keeps the doctor away. Besides being one of the most popular fruits in the world, apples are full of beneficial nutrients, including boron. One medium apple has 0.66 milligrams of boron and also contains fiber, vitamin C, potassium, and other disease-fighting antioxidants.
One medium pear has 0.50 milligrams of boron and just over 100 calories. Pears are also a good source of dietary fiber, and contains vitamin C, copper, potassium and antioxidant polyphenols. Make sure to keep the skin on to reap the most benefits from your pear.
Peanut Butter and Peanuts
Peanuts are so versatile, pairing well in both sweet and savory recipes. They are also high in boron. One ounce of roasted and salted peanuts has 0.48 mg of boron, while 2 tablespoons of peanut butter has 0.46 mg of boron. Peanuts are also good sources of healthy mono- and polyunsaturated fats, plant-based protein, phosphorus, copper, niacin and folate.
Part of the legume family, beans are a good source of boron and full of inexpensive plant-based protein. One half cup of cooked (from dry) lima beans has 0.35 milligrams of boron, and 1/2 cup of refried beans has 0.48 milligrams of boron. Beans are also good sources of iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium and folate.
While not one of the highest sources of boron, the amount of potatoes consumed by many people contributes a meaningful amount of boron to the diet. One ounce of potato chips (about 22 chips) has 0.09 milligrams of boron while 10 french fries contains 0.08 milligrams of boron.
Potatoes are also good sources of potassium, vitamin C and dietary fiber (when the skin is left on). Instead of consuming deep-fried potatoes, like chips or fries, opt for healthier options such as a baked potato, oven-roasted potatoes, or simple mashed potatoes.
Many Americans drink several cups of coffee every day, making it a top contributor of boron in the American diet. One cup of coffee contains 0.07 milligrams of boron, as well as potassium, magnesium and niacin. Black coffee is also very low in calories and can contribute to your daily fluid intake.
Milk is widely consumed in the American diet. So while one cup of whole milk contains only 0.04 milligrams of boron, the amount of milk Americans consume still adds a relevant amount of boron to the diet. Milk also contains lots of bone-building calcium, vitamin D, and phosphorus.
Office of Dietary Supplements. Boron. Updated June 3, 2020.
Price CT, Langford JR, Liporace FA. Essential nutrients for bone health and a review of their availability in the average north American diet. Open Orthop J. 2012;6:143-149. doi:10.2174/1874325001206010143
Pizzorno L. Nothing boring about boron. Integr Med (Encinitas). 2015;14(4):35-48.
World Health Organization, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, International Atomic Energy Agency, eds. Trace elements in human nutrition and health. World Health Organization; 1996.
Institute of Medicine (U.S.), ed. DRI: Dietary reference Intakes for vitamin A, vitamin K, arsenic, boron, chromium, copper, iodine, iron, manganese, molybdenum, nickel, silicon, vanadium, and zinc: A report of the panel on micronutrients. Food and Nutrition Board, Institute of Medicine. National Academy Press; 2001.
USDA FoodData Central. Prune juice, 100%. Updated October 30, 2020.
USDA FoodData Central. Avocado, raw. Updated October 30, 2020.
USDA FoodData Centra. Raisins. Updated October 30, 2020.
USDA FoodData Central. Peach, raw. Updated October 30, 2020.
USDA FoodData Central. Grape juice, 100%. Updated October 30, 2020.
USDA FoodData Central. Apple, raw. Updated October 30, 2020.
USDA FoodData Central. Pear, raw. Updated October 30, 2020.
USDA FoodData Central. Peanuts, NFS. Updated October 30, 2020.
USDA FoodData Central. Beans, NFS. Updated October 30, 2020.
USDA FoodData Central. Potato, NFS. Updated October 30, 2020.
USDA FoodData Central. Coffee, brewed. Updated October 30, 2020.
USDA FoodData Central. Milk, whole. Updated October 30, 2020.
Meacham SL, Hunt CD. Dietary boron intakes of selected populations in the United States. Biol Trace Elem Res. 1998;66(1-3):65-78. doi:10.1007/BF02783127
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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When the world seems to fail you... don't you dare freaking fail yourself.
Well, where to begin? Being Asian, and therefore an even smaller minority than blacks and hispanics combined? Being naturally short? Being raised so completely innocent that I had absolutely no stonking clue how cruel other kids were in comparison, therefore leading to a rather traumatic loss of innocence? The fact that I use sarcasm and dryness as a coping mechanism?
No... Not really. Where to begin is really what this all ended up leading to: a complete loss of faith in humanity; the feeling that no matter how much good you do or you want to do, it's not gonna matter. Growing up, there really was no doubt in my mind how American children grew up to be just so... petty and selfish. Seeing how my cousins go through the problem of being either too smart for their own good, or dealing with peers with an ego bigger than their back can carry, it was obvious how even as I grew into adulthood, it was a cycle that wasn't ending. And through simple logical and calculation, I just knew that no matter what I do, I can't stop the cycle because it won't stop itself. It's something that makes me ask myself "Did I fail the world, or did the world fail me?". It may be the worst feeling of all, worse than having your sense of confidence taken away; because while a loss of confidence leads to sadness or grief, awareness of being truly unable to stop such a scourge just makes me feel... numb. Like I'm tired of feeling.
And yet, like some idiot, I keep on trying to do the right thing; whether it's making someone happy with a joke, a treat, or a simple helping hand; defusing a conflict, whether through peace and reason, or brutal but necessary honesty; or just doing something that can to some sort of good. The logical side of me says that it's pointless effort, but still, I try to do the right thing. Probably because I'm more like to listen that side of me that still wants to believe in something worth doing, as long as it helps someone who needs it. It's an incredibly stupid, incomprehensible thing, but there's always that side of me that just refuses to surrender because how I'm also tired of basically being told "You can't".
The world is going to beat you down, whether physically and mentally. And there is no doubt that at some point, you're gonna ask if what you're doing really does matter in the end. But you know what? Just keep on doing the right thing. The world can give you the worst situation, the most pathetic of humanity, the most unforgiving storm, but the only time it's over is when you fail yourself.


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Legacy Reader Digest: June edition
Every month, team Legacy will curate the essential online pieces for you to read, watch and listen to.
This June, we bring you a short essay on Bob Dylan's imperial phase of 1965-66;
a time portal into the Second Summer of Love with a classic Simon Reynolds interview with the Stone Roses;
six lifelong punks look back on their wild heyday;
a 1996 interview with the Manics in the build up to Everything Must Go
and a dip into the BBC Archive, with a chaotic Hendrix performance on the Lulu Show, and Carole King performing "A Natural Woman".
Bob Dylan and the "Hot Hand" – The New Yorker
"Dylan was exploding with things to say and sing. As he later acknowledged, it was as if he were taking dictation from somewhere, from somebody…
"I couldn't go on doing what I had been," he said later. "I was pretty wound up before that accident happened. … I probably would have died if I had kept on going as I had been."
Never Mind the Bus Pass: Punks look back at their wildest days
"Punk had a purpose. Every gig would benefit something: a rape crisis centre, a donkey sanctuary, an old people's home. It was positive. We wanted a nice world to live in. Only, this time, we weren't asking – we were telling…"
The Stone Roses, interview in Melody Maker, June 3rd 1989 by Simon Reynolds
"We're all anti-royalist, anti-patriarch. Cos it's 1989. Time to get real. When the ravens leave the Tower of London, England shall fall, they say. We want to be there shooting the ravens. "
Manic Street Preachers – Read Their Classic 'Everything Must Go' NME Interview From 1996
"You can't really fault Nicky, James and Sean for wanting to change their situation – choosing bouts of normality over chaos, plugging for optimism rather than self-immolation. Behind them lies an awful, unanswered lyric: "from despair to where?" Part of their job now is to respond to that poser…."
WATCH!
Jimi Hendrix is pulled off the air on 'Happening for Lulu' in 1969
Carole King sings "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman"
#bob-dylan #carole-king #james-mackey #jimi-hendrix #reader-digest #the-stone-roses
Artist Spotlight: Bob Dylan
The solo acts with the most No.1s on the Official UK Chart
What do all of these artists have in common? They are some of the solo artists that have achieved the most Number 1 albums on the Official UK Chart!
Carole King's Tapestry Celebrates 50th Anniversary
February 10 marked the 50th anniversary of the iconic album "Tapestry" by Carole King.
JIMI HENDRIX – LIVE IN MAUI
This November 20, Hendrix fans will be treated to a new documentary 'Music, Money, Madness… Jimi Hendrix In Maui', plus the 'Live In Maui' album, both featuring previously unseen material, chronicling this amazing chapter in Hendrix's career.
'ROUGH AND ROWDY WAYS' – OUT NOW
Our Artist of the Month Bob Dylan – voice of a generation, Nobel laureate and American treasure – today releases his first new studio album in eight years. And the reviews are in…
HENDRIX – BAND OF GYPSYS
Our very special 50th anniversary edition of Jimi Hendrix's legendary 'Band of Gypsys' album is out now.
ARTIST OF THE MONTH – BOB DYLAN
Fifty five years on from his domination of the UK album chart with five albums in the top twenty, and with the Nobel Laureate once again releasing new music with 'Murder Most Foul' and 'I Contain Multitudes', our Artist of the Month for May is the one and only Bob Dylan.
THIS WEEK IN ROCK
From charts to shows, record releases to record-setters – it's This Week In Rock…
Epic careers are launched, coveted awards are won and charts are topped – it's this week in rock…
Landmark releases, fascinating trivia and chart topping hits – it's This Week In Rock.


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Live Stream: Offline
PC Previews PS4 Xbox One 9
Closed Beta Preview: Need for Speed Fails to Up the Ante
On Oct 10, 2015, by Hayden Waugh
Over the years, Need for Speed has evolved from mere circuit racing into the bright, fast-paced world of street racing. However, it has arguably been one of the most up-and-down franchises of the last decade. With the glory days of Underground a distant memory, the series has now been rebooted by publisher EA with the help of one of their affiliate studios, Ghost Games.
The download size of the Need for Speed beta alone – a whopping 19GB – invites much promise: crisp visuals, an expansive setting, gameplay variety, and a touch of story. The good news for Need for Speed fans is that most of these ingredients were in the closed beta I recently got to play, and worked fairly well. However, it also had the same problems similar to versions before it, and its structure felt all too familiar.
I'm still on the fence about a couple of things I experienced in the beta. Firstly, Ghost Games decided to blend in-game graphics with real-time cutscene footage. Whilst this eliminates any backlash over cutscene quality, the integration of a mute main character certainly devalues the story of this reboot. Your little-known street racing rebel is taken under the wing of a local crew when spotted "doing a totally sick 100-foot drift." That's also the gist of the game's lingo: words like "bae" and "bruh" are a frequent occurrence and quite funny – EA is trying way too hard on this front.
Secondly, there's the open world of Ventura Bay. While it's quite pretty from mountaintop views on the outskirts of the city, 90 percent of the game is at night – with the other ten percent at dusk. I believe an open-world game of this stature should have a dedicated day/night cycle and, while it's understandable to stick to the street racing persona of night-time-only events, it would've been good to have some content built around the other half of the day.
But on the plus side, Ghost Games has made customising your vehicles a joy. There are stacks of options when it comes to paint, decals, car tuning and performance parts. All are reflective of your 'Reputation' level, which increases from completing races, dodging traffic, maintaining a high speed and all-around destruction of the city; basically, anything that would give the local council a headache. Some modifications are only available through completing missions with certain prerequisites, such as taking part in an event with a certain crew member.
The customisation system itself is deep and rewarding, and there's always a steady stream of Reputation experience and new parts being added to your garage. It was quite disappointing to see that some parts are purely cosmetic, as I saw no indicator that my new spoiler or side-skirts had an effect on overall drag resistance like previous NFS games. Even though the paint and decal side of things feels quite clunky when replacing certain layers in your design, the ease of adjusting a car's performance makes up for it. This, combined with additional tuning choices for more advanced parts, will decide whether your car is more adept at drifting or circuit racing. If you're having trouble with steering, your problem lies here.
Unfortunately, there's no real life to Ventura Bay when you're roaming its night-time streets and highways. Despite the introduction of small timed quests, allowing drivers to acquire bonus vehicle parts or Reputation from a specific location, I noticed the waypoint system needed tweaking. The latter is due to players not being able to mark a specific point on the map; it only works on racing icons and other points of interest. This is very problematic when trying to link up with friends online as you cannot select a friend's cursor as your waypoint. Furthermore, there appeared to be no benefit in linking up with friends in Need for Speed besides a small experience boost; not seeing any team-orientated events was both surprising and disappointing.
There are further hindrances when it comes to racing, too. Need for Speed's Sprint and Circuit races all have 'rolling starts' where you're separated from the other racers, behind the pack, each time. While it's simple enough to make up the lost ground, it's a poor choice of level design. These events are where I spent most of my time. The drifting races became rather uninteresting as points are all that matter and players can cruise around milking points from lengthy laps.
But the main goal in this new Need For Speed is to defeat five highly skilled drivers, known as Icons, in Ventura Bay. The Icons represent five different ways of playing (not vehicle classes): Speed, Style, Build, Crew and Outlaw. It's good EA has kept this formula, even if drag races have been scrapped from the game.
With less than a month before full release, it's hard to see Ghost Games and EA altering many of the limitations seen in the beta. Yes, the game looks good; yes, the soundtrack is only half-decent; yes, the car customisation is as absorbing as ever, but overall it ultimately fell short of expectations. This iteration of Need for Speed looks to be a title gamers may have played a year ago, five years ago, or even ten years ago. Unfortunately, it's largely a case of being more of the same, and lacks those special qualities that begs a franchise like this – about constantly climbing your way up a nocturnal street-racing ladder – to take risks.
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The problems are mostly personal preferences
P. Don Cornflakes
I feel like I'm the only person who liked NFS:The Run. The online races were simple but fun.
Need for Speed has typically had mute characters…it helps you get immersed. This is a reboot of the series, if you play Underground or Carbon or Undercover, you're mute.
"bae" and "bruh"? Have you been to car meets…ever? All the young people at car meets that are driving E30 and E36 M3s and Miatas and S2000s talk like that.
Also, you're going to hate on the game because its exclusively night time? In what way is this a bad thing? It really shows off the power of the game engine in terms of lighting and reflections.
"Unfortunately, there's no real life to Ventura Bay when you're roaming its night-time streets and highways. "
Have you driven around your own town at night?
What you also need to remember is that this Beta was not for testing features or bugs, it was an older build. It was admitted as such by Ghost Games many times that the main point of this beta was to test the servers.
dapaintrain
After playing the beta myself I enjoyed it but think the bigger problem lies with the gameplay mechanics handling felt pretty sub standard and no option to select manual transmission is worrying
Bellefs
They aren't supporting wheels so I'm not supporting them. EA Ghost is killing the NFS name. Rivals sucked and judging by the beta this will too.
SUPPORT THRUSTMASTER.. anyone with a wheel will probably refuse to buy this game. Even the crew supports wheels!
is the beta still up and going ?
No it ended about a week ago
Also played the beta and the biggest omission there is no possible way to select a manual transmission.
The game simply has you driving an auto with no way to change that
Cars handle like a want to be gran turismo or forza while racing an arcade style open world thankfully about an hour in your aloud to start modifying your car and alter the air pressure allowing you to get a better feeling ride.
Yes fully agree the story is so cringeworthy it's just terrible if the actors dropped the slang what they have to say could be said in as little as 10 seconds instead you have to endure 5 minute long cutscenes that serve as loading screens before some races and it's bad really bad.
Plus when you actually get your first taste of freedom your phone rings constantly for half an hour.
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From spotty to flawless in days. Make up looks amazing and I use a lot less.
From a teenager my skin has been prone to react badly to hormonal changes. In winter my skin dries out and invariably becomes quite red and flaky. But it's during the summer that my skin really reacts badly to heat, going from to dry and flaky to greasy and painfully spotty in a matter of a few days.
My skin was so bad at one stage that my dermatologist prescribed Roaccutane which I wasn't really happy taking.
I lead an active life and running around after my daughter Emily, having my own business and up keeping a home can leave me in a bit of a sweat.
And, Yes it's my skin that first bears witness to my hectic lifestyle. Spots are a real problem and over the years have left me with some facial scarring as well.
Luckily I am a beauty therapist and I know how to disguise the blemishes. However as time goes by I have begun to notice that make up has to be applied just that bit more liberally to maintain a flawless look.
A friend told me about CrocodOil and explained that it had worked wonders for her family's skin problems and that it might work for me.
I have been trying a combination of the Pamper face cream and Pure 100% Crocodile oil. I have also tried it out on several of my clients all of whom think the oil is fantastic. I use the face cream in the morning and last thing at night and a few drops of the oil during the day if there are any flare ups.
6.30 am. I got up early and washed and gently patted my face dry.
I then applied Pamper face cream all over my face and neck and then spot treated areas with a few drops of Pure CrocodOil.
9.30 pm. I applied the face cream again after gently washing and drying my face and again spot treated specific areas where I needed to.
In the morning the red, painful spots had virtually gone.
So I repeated the same process as the previous day.
My complexion had cleared quite dramatically and the scarring had really become a lot less noticeable.
My skin feels healthy and youthful again. My make up goes on so smoothly and evenly that I am using a lot less than before. My scarring is still reducing all the time.
One thing is for certain, as Emily grows up and if by chance she inherits my skin concerns, it's Crocodoil that I will be using to help her keep looking every bit as cute as she does today.


The YMCA NSW Junior Parliament empowers young people to speak up on behalf of their peers as their representative in the NSW Legislative Assembly.
The successful applicant will participate in a 5-day residential program during the September school holidays. This will involve on-camp educational sessions and two days at NSW Parliament debating Bills drafted by participants.
Tanya Davies is asking interested applicants to register their interest in representing their area as a Junior MP by emailing to Mulgoa@parliament.nsw.gov.au. A series of interviews will then be conducted to find the right person to represent their electorate.
Why you would be an excellent Junior Parliamentarian for Mulgoa?
If you could change or improve one thing in our area, what would it be?
Tanya Davies will only be taking expressions of interest until 5pm Friday 24 July 2015, so if you are interested, you better be quick!
For more information about the YMCA NSW Junior Parliament, visit http://www.ymcansw.org.au/centres/youth-government/ymca-nsw-junior-parliament1 or contact Ruby-Lyn Ward – ruby-lyn.ward@ymcansw.org.au or 02 9633 8251.


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USDA: Wind, Solar & Methane Hits on the Farm
John Davis February 23, 2011
Solar panels, wind turbines and methane digesters are big hits on American farms and ranches, that according to a new survey from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The 2009 On-Farm Renewable Energy Production Survey, the first-ever nationwide survey that looked at renewable energy practices on America's farms and ranches, shows that these types of energy sources have increased significantly over the last 10 years, with 8,569 operations making renewable energy across the country:
"These results indicate that farmers and ranchers are increasingly adopting renewable energy practices on their operations and reaping the important economic and environmental benefits," said U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. "At USDA we are committed to natural resource conservation, prosperity and energy independence in rural America. This survey gives us a benchmark against which we can measure our future successes."
According to the survey results, solar panels were the most prominent way to produce on-farm energy. In 2009, farmers on 7,968 operations nationwide reported using photovoltaic and thermal solar panels. The use of wind turbines was reported by farmers on 1,420 operations across 48 states. The use of methane digesters was reported by 121 operations in 29 states.
On the state level, California leads the nation with 1,956 operations producing renewable energy, accounting for nearly a quarter of all operations in the United States participating in this practice. Texas, Hawaii and Colorado were the other major states where farmers on at least 500 or more operations were producing their own renewable energy.
The survey goes on to show that farmers in nearly every state were able to save money by using their own, homegrown, renewable energy. More information is available here.
Solar, USDA, Wind


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Book Recommendation Underground Airlines
Some of our suggestions for "Underground Airlines" book searches. Get the complete book FREE for you, please register your account. We are happy to welcome you. Easy and Fast.
Underground Airlines by Ben H. Winters
Publisher : Mulholland Books
The bestselling book that asks the question: what would present-day America look like if the Civil War never happened? A New York Times bestseller; a Goodreads Choice finalist; named one of the Best Books of the Year by NPR, Slate, Publishers Weekly, Hudson Bookseller, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Kirkus Reviews, AudioFile Magazine, and Amazon A young black man calling himself Victor has struck a bargain with federal law enforcement, working as a bounty hunter for the US Marshall Service in exchange for his freedom. He's got plenty of work. In this version of America, slavery continues in four states called "the Hard Four." On the trail of a runaway known as Jackdaw, Victor arrives in Indianapolis knowing that something isn't right--with the case file, with his work, and with the country itself. As he works to infiltrate the local cell of a abolitionist movement called the Underground Airlines, tracking Jackdaw through the back rooms of churches, empty parking garages, hotels, and medical offices, Victor believes he's hot on the trail. But his strange, increasingly uncanny pursuit is complicated by a boss who won't reveal the extraordinary stakes of Jackdaw's case, as well as by a heartbreaking young woman and her child--who may be Victor's salvation. Victor believes himself to be a good man doing bad work, unwilling to give up the freedom he has worked so hard to earn. But in pursuing Jackdaw, Victor discovers secrets at the core of the country's arrangement with the Hard Four, secrets the government will preserve at any cost. Underground Airlines is a ground-breaking novel, a wickedly imaginative thriller, and a story of an America that is more like our own than we'd like to believe.
'The most timely of alternate history novels. Ben Winters has created a spellbinding world that forces the reader to look around—and to look within. This is a thriller not to be missed and one that will not be easily forgotten.' Hugh Howey It is the present-day, and the world is as we know it. Except for one thing: slavery still exists. Victor has escaped his life as a slave, but his freedom came at a high price. Striking a bargain with the government, he has to live his life working as a bounty hunter. And he is the best they've ever trained. A mystery to himself, Victor tries to suppress his memories of his own childhood and convinces himself that he is just a good man doing bad work, unwilling to give up the freedom he is desperate to preserve. But in tracking his latest target, he can sense that that something isn't quite right. For this fugitive is a runaway holding something extraordinary. Something that could change the state of the country forever. And in his pursuit, Victor discovers secrets at the core of his country's arrangement with the system that imprisoned him, secrets that will be preserved at any cost. 'It is a rare thing when a writer has a fresh new provocative idea – and then executes it beautifully. This is what Ben H. Winters has done in his novel Underground Airlines. Imagine an America in which slavery still exists. Now imagine a dramatic telling of the story.' James Patterson
The Last Policeman by Ben H. Winters
"[The] weird, beautiful, unapologetically apocalyptic Last Policeman trilogy is one of my favorite mystery series."—John Green, author of The Fault in Our Stars and Paper Towns Winner of the 2013 Edgar® Award Winner for Best Paperback Original! What's the point in solving murders if we're all going to die soon, anyway? Detective Hank Palace has faced this question ever since asteroid 2011GV1 hovered into view. There's no chance left. No hope. Just six precious months until impact. The Last Policeman presents a fascinating portrait of a pre-apocalyptic United States. The economy spirals downward while crops rot in the fields. Churches and synagogues are packed. People all over the world are walking off the job—but not Hank Palace. He's investigating a death by hanging in a city that sees a dozen suicides every week—except this one feels suspicious, and Palace is the only cop who cares. The first in a trilogy, The Last Policeman offers a mystery set on the brink of an apocalypse. As Palace's investigation plays out under the shadow of 2011GV1, we're confronted by hard questions way beyond "whodunit." What basis does civilization rest upon? What is life worth? What would any of us do, what would we really do, if our days were numbered? Ebook contains an excerpt from the anticipated second book in the trilogy, Countdown City.
Golden State by Ben H. Winters
From award-winning, New York Times bestselling novelist Ben H. Winters comes a mind-bending novel set in a world governed by absolute truth, where lies are as dangerous as murder. In a strange alternate society that values law and truth above all else, Laszlo Ratesic is a nineteen-year veteran of the Speculative Service. He lives in the Golden State, a nation standing where California once did, a place where like-minded Americans retreated after the erosion of truth and the spread of lies made public life and governance impossible. In the Golden State, knowingly contradicting the truth is the greatest crime -- and stopping those crimes is Laz's job. In its service, he is one of the few individuals permitted to harbor untruths, to "speculate" on what might have happened. But the Golden State is less of a paradise than its name might suggest. To monitor, verify, and enforce the truth requires a veritable panopticon of surveillance and recording. And when those in control of the facts twist them for nefarious means, the Speculators are the only ones with the power to fight back.
The Quiet Boy by Ben H. Winters
From the "inventive...entertaining and thought-provoking" (Charles Yu) New York Times-bestselling author of Underground Airlines and Golden State, this sweeping legal thriller follows a sixteen-year-old who suffers from a neurological condition that has frozen him in time—and the team of lawyers, doctors, and detectives who are desperate to wake him up. In 2008, a cheerful ambulance-chasing lawyer named Jay Shenk persuades the grieving Keener family to sue a private LA hospital. Their son Wesley has been transformed by a routine surgery into a kind of golem, absent all normal functioning or personality, walking in endless empty circles around his hospital room. In 2019, Shenk—still in practice but a shell of his former self—is hired to defend Wesley Keener's father when he is charged with murder . . . the murder, as it turns out, of the expert witness from the 2008 hospital case. Shenk's adopted son, a fragile teenager in 2008, is a wayward adult, though he may find his purpose when he investigates what really happened to the murdered witness. Two thrilling trials braid together, medical malpractice and murder, jostling us back and forth in time. The Quiet Boy is a book full of mysteries, not only about the death of a brilliant scientist, not only about the outcome of the medical malpractice suit, but about the relationship between children and their parents, between the past and the present, between truth and lies. At the center of it all is Wesley Keener, endlessly walking, staring empty-eyed, in whose quiet, hollow body may lie the fate of humankind.
Empire Of Lies by Raymond Khoury
Publisher : Forge Books
Empire of Lies is a sweeping thriller in the tradition of The Man in the High Castle, Fatherland, and Underground Airlines from New York Times bestselling author Raymond Khoury. "The best what-if thriller for a long, long time—makes you think, makes you sweat, and makes you choose, between what is and what might have been."—Lee Child Istanbul, 1683: Mehmed IV, sultan of the Ottoman Empire, is preparing to lay siege to Vienna, capital of the Holy Roman Empire, when a mysterious visitor arrives in his bedroom—naked, covered in strange tattoos—to deliver a dangerous, world-changing message. Paris, 2017: Ottoman flags have been flying over the great city for three hundred years, ever since its fall—along with all of Europe—to the empire's all-conquering army. Notre Dame has been renamed the Fatih Mosque. Public spaces are segregated by gender. And Kamal Arslan Agha, a feted officer in the sultan's secret police, is starting to question his orders. Rumors of an impending war with the Christian Republic of America, attacks by violent extremists, and economic collapse have heightened surveillance and arrests across the empire. Tasked with surveying potential threats, Kamal has a heavy caseload—and conscience. When a mysterious stranger—naked, covered in strange tattoos—appears on the banks of the Seine, Kamal is called in to investigate. But what he discovers is a secret buried in the empire's past, a secret the Sultan will do anything to silence. With the mysterious Z Protectorate one step behind, Kamal, together with Nisreen—a fierce human rights lawyer—is caught up in a race across the empire and time itself—a race that could change their world, or destroy it. Empire of Lies is being published as "The Ottoman Secret" in the UK. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
At Death S Door by Sherrilyn Kenyon
Publisher : Tor Books
#1 New York Times bestseller Sherrilyn Kenyon brings us the latest adventure in the Deadman's Cross saga with At Death's Door, an epic pirate fantasy perfect for her millions of Dark-Hunter fans Welcome to the latest Deadmen's Quest... Valynda Moore was born cursed. So when she dies as the result of a spell gone wrong and is trapped in the body of a voodoo doll, she expects nothing else from her messed up life. Until Thorn, leader of the Hellchasers, offers her a chance at redemption and a new life. But nothing has ever gone her way, for the Malachai, the very beast she and her crew of Deadmen have sworn to keep locked away, has risen. And this time he's taken prisoners. Valynda must keep her wits about her or be denied her salvation and forced to watch as the entire world falls into the hands of absolute evil. It's a demon-eat-demon world where the stakes have never been higher and either redemption or the ultimate betrayal waits for her at Death's Door. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Darktown by Thomas Mullen
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
"One incendiary image ignites the next in this highly combustible procedural…written with a ferocious passion that'll knock the wind out of you." —The New York Times Book Review "Fine Southern storytelling meets hard-boiled crime in a tale that connects an overlooked chapter of history to our own continuing struggles with race today." —Charles Frazier, bestselling author of Cold Mountain "This page-turner reads like the best of James Ellroy." —Publishers Weekly, starred review "In the way the story is told coupled with its heightened racial context, Darktown reminded me of Walter Mosley or a George Pelecanos novel." —Milwaukee Journal Sentinel "High-quality…crime fiction with a nimble sense of history…quick on its feet and vividly drawn." —Dallas Morning News "Some books educate, some books entertain, Thomas Mullen's Darktown is the rare book that does both." —Huffington Post Award-winning author Thomas Mullen is a "wonderful architect of intersecting plotlines and unexpected answers"(The Washington Post) in this timely and provocative mystery and brilliant exploration of race, law enforcement, and justice in 1940s Atlanta. Responding to orders from on high, the Atlanta Police Department is forced to hire its first black officers, including war veterans Lucius Boggs and Tommy Smith. The newly minted policemen are met with deep hostility by their white peers; they aren't allowed to arrest white suspects, drive squad cars, or set foot in the police headquarters. When a woman who was last seen in a car driven by a white man turns up dead, Boggs and Smith suspect white cops are behind it. Their investigation sets them up against a brutal cop, Dunlow, who has long run the neighborhood as his own, and his partner, Rakestraw, a young progressive who may or may not be willing to make allies across color lines. Among shady moonshiners, duplicitous madams, crooked lawmen, and the constant restrictions of Jim Crow, Boggs and Smith will risk their new jobs, and their lives, while navigating a dangerous world—a world on the cusp of great change. A vivid, smart, intricately plotted crime saga that explores the timely issues of race, law enforcement, and the uneven scales of justice.
Notes From The Underground by FYODOR DOSTOYEVSKY
Publisher : BEYOND BOOKS HUB
The author of the diary and the diary itself are, of course, imaginary. Nevertheless it is clear that such persons as the writer of these notes not only may, but positively must, exist in our society, when we consider the circumstances in the midst of which our society is formed. I have tried to expose to the view of the public more distinctly than is commonly done, one of the characters of the recent past. He is one of the representatives of a generation still living. In this fragment, entitled "Underground," this person introduces himself and his views, and, as it were, tries to explain the causes owing to which he has made his appearance and was bound to make his appearance in our midst. In the second fragment there are added the actual notes of this person concerning certain events in his life.—AUTHOR'S NOTE
Sense And Sensibility And Sea Monsters by Jane Austen
Publisher : National Geographic Books
New York Times bestseller An uproarious tale of romance, heartbreak, and tentacled mayhem inspired by the classic Jane Austen novel—from the publisher of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters expands the original text of the beloved Jane Austen novel with all-new scenes of giant lobsters, rampaging octopi, two-headed sea serpents, and other biological monstrosities. As our story opens, the Dashwood sisters are evicted from their childhood home and sent to live on a mysterious island full of savage creatures and dark secrets. While sensible Elinor falls in love with Edward Ferrars, her romantic sister Marianne is courted by both the handsome Willoughby and the hideous man-monster Colonel Brandon. Can the Dashwood sisters triumph over meddlesome matriarchs and unscrupulous rogues to find true love? Or will they fall prey to the tentacles that are forever snapping at their heels? This masterful portrait of Regency England blends Jane Austen's biting social commentary with ultraviolent depictions of sea monsters biting. It's survival of the fittest—and only the swiftest swimmers will find true love!


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Newsblog admin 2014-08-29T18:57:56+01:00
Updates, inspirations, new projects and invitations to participate in the growing field of this work…
Working With Subtle Energy: Embodied Skills & Capacities for Life
To promote the upcoming week-long workshop at Findhorn in Scotland this September (8-14), here is a new four-minute version of a recent interview, enjoy!
This event is now booking and all are welcome to join us for a whole week with the higher frequencies of consciousness – most especially of love, as we are also exploring in the current online course, and all this in the heart of the world-famous spiritual community. All the information on the week is here.
Life and Love in the Higher Frequencies
Reporting on the recent we-space events in North America…
The events in my North American tour – in Kansas, in California, and on Vancouver Island in Canada – broke new ground in ways of working with and embodying the higher frequencies of consciousness available to us now; ways which open us to new dimensions of we-space with immense implications for the development of the field of this work and our human evolution in consciousness:
** A new potency in how collective energetic containers are formed, held and deepened, and how higher frequencies are hosted there. Through alignment with the teachings and relational practices we are invited to work as collectives in ways which represent a considerable upgrade. Experience of the higher energies is increasingly spontaneous, even to those very new to the field, and points to much as-yet untapped potential;
** Layers of conditioned energetic imprinting at the level of human culture and of the individual are more quickly and transparently surfaced, presenced, and often transmuted with an ease and immediacy not known before. The ease with which processes now arise and unfold transcends the aspect of 'time taken', and resembles a kind of instantaneous combustion of inner structures which is profound and far-reaching; time as we have known it in process-terms is seemingly collapsed;
** A powerful frequency of higher Love becomes palpable, inclusive and uncompromising in the wholeness of its fiery embrace, as we are experiencing in the online course too (Awakening to a Higher Frequency of Love). We are being lived through Love in ways that transcend previous understanding and experience of love. We more appreciate how all Life is woven through and of Love, and that its invitation to us – primarily through the heart centre – is the new locus of our lives and centre of transmission out into the world. Such is the light of this Love that whatever we may have separated ourselves from before – apparently as 'not love' – is embraced. Lower vibrational experiences of love through which the personality is structured, for instance of unworthiness, scarcity or insufficiency, are discerned and hosted differently, so that our energetic investment there is withdrawn, to healing effect;
** An attuned and precise quality of presence through the relational practices, enabling us to surface and discern the vibrational character of particular imprinted structures, for example of fear, so as to hold and include these within a frame and frequency of higher Love. This enables more source-wounding to be presenced, often with systemic implications for the lineages through which much imprinting is inherited. The precision with which we are discerning and making distinctions within inner landscapes is upgraded, and reflects a more evolved capacity to attune through surface symptoms to source, now presencing there with more accuracy and ease;
** Nourishment from non-physical beings at higher dimensions of reality is also strengthened, through channelled teachings and dialogue (as in the online course). This allows high-vibrational information to be shared and disseminated, cohering we-spaces through a strong energetic transmission which is encoded with higher light-levels of life. While dialogue like this around themes of current inquiry in a group can be potent and inspiring, the impact of the transmission itself will probably be better understood through continuing research in forthcoming we-space experiments, such as in Findhorn in June.
I am grateful to all those who shared these spaces with me in great courage and vulnerability.
Inquiring into the Self and the Collective
Some inspiring days this week in the Findhorn spiritual community, Scotland, inquiring into traumatised imprints at the level of Self and Collective, in this case the community itself, as a means of bringing higher intelligence and movement down into some of the wounded structures here. The group worked at the interface of individual and collective wounding: how our disowned inner structures are carried into and expressed through relational and organisational community issues and processes, which we then dissociate from, so as to 'protect' the wounding and its restoration within ourselves.
Using subtle relational practices and systemic work to explore, presence and host ourselves in higher vibrational ways, thereby inviting and allowing the light and grace of awareness into our lives and more of the spaces-in-between, and illuminating especially the complex interweavings between the Self (and its self-preservation) and any collective in which we participate. How humbling it is to perceive the ways in which we project those wounded aspects of ourselves onto the collective level and then strive and usually struggle to heal there. The higher frequencies of Love available to us (which we will be working with in the upcoming online course) always invite and resource us 'to trace back to origin', so that we learn how to progressively take-back our 'problems' from 'the world' and host them within ourselves, where we once most needed and longed to be met and were not, thus fuelling our dissociation from wholeness.
High vibrational We-space work like this, when committed to within groups willing to represent their collective, reveals more of the higher evolutionary purpose in any human collective movement or structure, bringing next-level intelligence and understanding, compassion and creativity wherever the movement of life has slowed and we are recycling our woundedness through painful and repetitive symptoms.
Honouring all those drawn to working together at this level, and opening to further possibilities within the next collectives in the USA and Canada in March/April, and back here at Findhorn in September. A few last places also remain in the online course beginning next week.
[Photo by Guy Tal]
Personal Review of the Field of Higher Consciousness Work in 2017
For many of us, it's been a wild year. We've been taken to new edges and beyond. Many of you – like me – have received huge support through higher consciousness: we have surfaced new vulnerabilities and embodied more possibility, have cultivated new sensitivities and more capacity to contain the unimaginable.
It has often been hard. We have been stretched and opened, finding that few of the old ways will work anymore. Allowing in more consciousness changes everything. There is no resting place other than in more of our potential and purpose here, more of our shared and often grieving heart – together. In the events and practice-spaces of our lives, the higher consciousness that has become available is of a particular frequency. To me, its vibration is palpable, sometimes urgent, always loving. It comes as a gift and a blessing: moving and illuminating us wherever we will listen, dip deep within ourselves and act from this new place. Since the summer especially, the frequencies available through the subtle energy group-work have responded in potent ways to the commitment in many of us to grow and to embrace more of our woundedness on behalf of the whole human collective and its healing.
My own calling has changed. In one sense there is less choosing: a more embodied listening and alert capacity to follow through. I am in awe of the impact of this, and am often humbled as I discover new layers of resistance and fear. Many of you in many countries have joined me in the practices: learning to offer more of yourselves to life, bearing witness to what arises in you and with others, inquiring there and including more wholeness – and there is always more. Much more is available to us and we are supported in every essential step, more than we know. Higher consciousness is here to move in the world – embodied through us as we consent to craft a new world consciously, owning up to more of our responsibility in this.
Each of you who join me in this field is supported in a deeper surrendering and in a releasing of what no longer serves you, a presencing of what before was buried and not possible to bear, a re-ordering of priorities, and a consecration of yourself to the person you are here to become.
[Photo by Ronaldo Oliveira]
Recent Inquiry for Men
Deep inquiry, subtle listening and witnessing, laughter and healing – within my men's group over several days in Germany this month. Which inherited imprints are we still carrying and recycling in our lives, from where or whom, and how costly might it be to let these go, and how?
And as men, how do we dance between coming to stand and embody our own inner axis, our unique expression of divine essence – which can mean walking alone, while staying connected and true to each other?
In my new online course, "Awakening to a Higher Frequency of Love", these inquiries will continue, and be pursued too in virtual spaces for men and for women.
Higher Consciousness in We-Space – an Interview
As part of the recent Global Online We-Space Summit, I met with Michael Brabant who interviewed me on my Embodying Higher Consciousness work within we-space.
In the dialogue, I explore the nuanced and paradoxical nature of inviting higher consciousness and collective intelligence through subtle somatic experience and transparent relational spaces. We cover the importance of approaching and being in each practice-space and each moment freshly, being humble in our narrative of what arises within we-space and its broader implications, while also honouring how presencing of personal experience has far-reaching ripples in the collective at large. I highlight the importance of finding coherence horizontally with other practitioners in a group – fostering transparency and intimacy, and which you can watch a demonstration of in the other recorded practitioner-session here below.
While practicing like this, we seek to simultaneously nourish connectedness to higher vertical intelligence through moment-to-moment clarity. In our conversation I also cover how engaging in we-space can disrupt default cultural tendencies – to support each other to be present to what is actually occurring and the emotional impact of this, rather than colluding in each other's avoidance of the intensity of what is occurring in our world and in our emotional bodies. Enjoy the dialogue!
The Summit came about following the book published last year to which I contributed a chapter: "Cohering The Integral We-Space: Engaging Collective Emergence, Wisdom and Healing in groups" and which you can find here.
Higher Consciousness in We-Space – Practicing Online
As part of the recent Global Online We-Space Summit, I met with five fellow practitioners** to record an hour-long online we-space practice session, which you can now view here.
We began by speaking from our experiences of the inner and intersubjective spaces that open up through my Embodying Higher Consciousness practices, particularly when invoking higher frequencies of consciousness. As we allowed a deeper witnessing within and between ourselves to arise, we found ourselves participating in a powerful and emergent space, one where a higher stream of intelligence and frequency of love became palpable. For those versed in subtle energy relational practices, live we-space experiments such as these can become potent incubators for next-level skills and capacities, and can support committed practitioners to tap into the deeper multi-leveled potentials of their collective spaces. Enjoy the session!
** My fellow practitioners here are: Nancy Fabiano, Daniel Auf der Mauer, Ginny Nadler, John McCourt, and Eva Giedt, with my appreciation for taking part in the experiment.
Higher Consciousness for Young Men
Brotherhood of Men is a series of workshops to empower young men to become more authentic, courageous and vulnerable – a clearer channel for spirit and soul. We invite teachers and speakers to share their knowledge, teachings and wisdom. These events are non profit and hosted by the YoungVision association.
Through our questions, our dreams, our passion and pain as men, we find consciousness – and the possibility of discovering more in ourselves. Working creatively with awareness supports us in the many challenges and invitations of our lives. There are higher levels of consciousness available to us when we meet each other deeply, and in these two days we invite you to bring your questions and alive-issues, your problems and next-potential. We will be working in English, using dialogue, inner work, and systemic constellations, and we will be creative with language if any translation is needed. We also invite the presence of a few older men, to witness and support our work together.
– You can sleep in a dormitory or a hut
– Private rooms available for 29 €/ night
– 90 € (incl. Accommodation & organic food)
– This price doesn't include any payment for Stephen, please feel free to make a donation to him according to any benefit you feel you receive.
Send an e-mail to [email protected]. You will then receive a registration form.
For German speakers:
Ein Basiswortschatz in Englisch ist Vorraussetzung. Doch auch hier gilt: Brüder helfen sich. Solltest du dich also unsicher in der englischen Sprache fühlen, wird jemand da sein der dich bei der Übersetzung unterstützt. Weblinks: www.youngvision.info
A New We-Space Global Event
So appreciative of five fellow we-space practitioners with whom I've just recorded a we-space experiment for an upcoming Global Online Summit, in October this year – more information will be published next month. The Summit has grown from interest in the book last year to which I contributed a chapter: "Cohering The Integral We-Space: Engaging Collective Emergence, Wisdom and Healing in groups" and which you can find here.
A Celebration of Recent Teachings and Practices
A three-minute visual and musical celebration of the recent Californian event, enjoy!


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Q: "Cross-cast" attempt using static_cast failing; why? Why doesn't ths "cross-cast" work?
The following creates this object inheritance model:
     FOOD
    /    \
 CHEESE  CAKE

Here I attempt to static_cast a pointer from cheese to cake, making a cheesecake :D. I am getting the following error from Apple Clang/LLVM:

 ERROR: Static cast from 'Cheese *' to 'Cake *', which are not related by inheritance, is not allowed

But they ARE related by inheritance: they are siblings.
Why can't I cast a cheese to a cake, like I cast an int to a float? Why can't I "cross-cast" from derived objects which inherit from the same base class?
Minimal, complete, and verifiable example follows, with static_cast and dynamic_cast attempts included, to highlight errors.
#include <iostream>
#include <string>

class Food {
public:
    Food(std::string brand):brand_(brand) {}
    virtual ~Food() {};
    std::string brand() { return brand_; }
    virtual void cut()const { std::cout << "Food cut." << std::endl; }
    void eat()const { std::cout << "Food eaten." << std::endl; }
private:
    std::string brand_;
};

class Cheese : public Food {
public:
    Cheese(std::string brand):Food(brand) {};
    virtual void cut()const { std::cout << "Cheese cut.\n"; }
    void eat()const { std::cout << "Cheese eaten.\n"; }
};

class Cake : public Food {
public:
    Cake(std::string brand):Food(brand) {};
    virtual void cut()const { std::cout << "Cake cut.\n"; }
    void eat()const { std::cout << "Cake eaten.\n"; }
};

int main() {
    Food f("tbd");
    Cheese c("Cheddar");
    Cake cc("Cheesecake");
    Food * food_ptr;
    Cheese *cheese_ptr, *cheeseCake_ptr;
    Cake *cake_ptr;

    food_ptr = &f;
    food_ptr->cut();  //-> "Food cut."

    food_ptr = &c;
    food_ptr->cut();  //-> "Cheese cut." Result of virtual keyword.

    cheese_ptr = dynamic_cast<Cheese*> (food_ptr);
    cheese_ptr->cut(); //-> "Cheese Cut." The downcast worked

    food_ptr = &cc;
    cake_ptr = dynamic_cast<Cake*> (food_ptr);
    cake_ptr->cut(); //-> "Cake Cut." pointer reassignment and downcast worked.

    cheeseCake_ptr = dynamic_cast<Cheese*> (food_ptr);
    cheeseCake_ptr->cut(); //-> "Cake cut." Again, Food* dynamically casted to Cheese*

    /* ~~~ NOTE: THE FOLLOWING EXAMLES INTENTIONALLY THROW ERRORS ~~~ */

    /*
     Dynamic cross-cast attempt:
     ERROR: Assigning to 'Cheese *' from incompatable type 'Cake *'
     Dynamic cast: doensn't make sense, as the relationshiop between cheese and cake is not polymorphic
    */

    cheeseCake_ptr = dynamic_cast<Cake*> (cheese_ptr);
    cheeseCake_ptr->cut();

    /*
     Static cross-cast attempt:
     ERROR: Static cast from 'Cheese *' to 'Cake *', which are not related by inheritance, is not allowed
     Static cast: why doesn't this work? We know the data types.
     */

    cheese_ptr = &c;
    cake_ptr = &cc;
    cheeseCake_ptr = static_cast<Cake*> (cheese_ptr);

    std::cout << "\n\n";
    return 0;
}

A: not related by inheritance would mean on the same branch...
You should not mistake casting values for casting pointers (or the converse), they are different type conversion.
The int to float uses a function to convert a value of a given type to a value of the target type (note that this function can be explicit or implicit, it is implicit for that particular case ie. defined in the langage). In C++ you can implement this on custom class types by implementing a ctor for class A that is able to received a value of type B, or by implementing a cast operator for class B that returns a value of type A.
The Cake * to Cheese * do not convert values, but tries to view a given object in a different manner. It is sub-typing polymorphism (so you need to use dynamic_cast). Given your type hierarchy, a Cheese object can easily be viewed (not converted) as a Food object by using a Food pointer to point to a Cheese object (just like you can be viewed differently by different persons, (think the way friend, professor or doctor can apprehend you while you are always the same person!). It is clear (at least in your hierarchy) that a Cheese can't be viewed as a Cake, if it would be the case how the Cheese object would react to Cake's specific methods? You are an Animal, a Dog also, but it is difficult to imagine that I can view you as a Dog (you don't have 4 legs isn't it?...
Don't be fooled by your case. Ok it seems that the contents of Cheese and Cake are the same, but the given hierarchy tell the truth: there are not on the same branch, you can't get a Cheese pointer from a Cake pointer. C++ compiler protects you against this.
Now things change slightly if you use multiple inheritance like a CheeseCake inheriting from Cheese and Cake. Then given a CheeseCake object viewed through a Cheese pointer, it is possible to convert it to Cake pointer because a CheeseCake is both! Of course even in that multiple inheritance scenario, a Cheese object cannot be viewed as a Cake through pointers.

A: The error says it all, ERROR: Static cast from 'Cheese *' to 'Cake *', which are not related by inheritance, is not allowed. Even though they are siblings, they are not related through inheritance.
If you absolutely want to make cheesecake, you can do multiple inheritance.
    FOOD
   /    \
CHEESE   CAKE
   \     /
  CHEESECAKE

Like this:
class CheeseCake : public Cake, public Cheese

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With great amenities and rooms for every budget, compare and book your Frostproof hotel today. Recommended Properties ranked using exclusive TripAdvisor data, including traveler ratings, confirmed availability from our partners, prices, booking popularity, location and personal user preferences.Located in Frostproof, Florida, this holiday park features an outdoor swimming pool and motorhome connectivity.
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This Avon Park hotel is located near Sebring International Raceway and Avon Park Air Force Range.


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My new D800 just came in a few weeks ago, so I'm just learning some of the capabilities. I've paired it with an SB-910 flash, which is insanely powerful for a stock unit. I like to test things under controlled setups, but I don't usually keep any kind of studio or table set up. That means when the bug bites, I make stuff up.
In this case, my son wanted me to get a picture of these really cool insect eggs attached to the bottom of a leaf. What a great excuse for a DIY macro studio!
So I set about looking for something easy to put together while pouring some milk into my coffee. I happened to use the last drop – how fortuitous. The carton of milk was just the right size to house my leaf. Grabbing a utility knife, I went to work opening the front with a fold-down flap, removing most of the back, and making a tiny 'barn door' in one side.
The front flap acts to reflect light from an overhead skylight. In the back, I placed some black foam core, and the slit on the side was to fake a dark field look. The carton has one of those screw-top closures so that's where I'd suspend the leaf. Mounting the leaf took the most time, because I had to attach it to something that would keep it relatively still.
Plastic-coated garden wire, the same kind that used to come with trash bags to tie them up, was just the thing. I stripped off some of the plastic to expose the wire, and used white glue to attach it to the end of the leaf. This gave me both flexibility and just enough rigidity to pose the leaf. The wire was pushed up through the screw top opening and held with a tiny clamp.
Once the leaf was hanging, I set about placing the black backdrop and positioning the flash to fire through the slit in the side of the carton. This took a few test shots, and I had to end up flagging the front of the flash so it didn't bleed to the lens. Once all that was ready, I set up the shot in camera and snapped a few different variations.
In the end, I wanted some light coming through the leaf, and a little highlight on the edges. Since the inside of the milk carton is a glossy off-white, this provided enough bounce from the far side to give a hint of highlight on the trailing edges. The leaf itself is translucent and has a curvy surface, so I knew I could play with the grazing angle of the flash to get different highlights and patterns.
What I ended up with in the attached image is a glowing side contrasted by the reflective surface of the egg patch. The softer glow from the leaf provides a nice visual balance to the specular highlights on the egg cases. And the little cut-away where somebody made a meal of the leaf gives an interesting tension to the jagged outline of the rest of the leaf's edge.
Click the leaf thumbnail above to see a larger version in my gallery.


Hosts Tony Gaglione and Shawn Adams are taking their show Smacktalk Sports to another level at Sago's Baja Tavern every Tuesday night by partnering up with Nevada Beverage and Bud Light for the remainder of the 23 week contract. Nevada Beverage will be attending all events at Sago's along with sending professional photographers, Bud Light girls, and sponsored game nights that include beer pong tournaments, bags, and sports trivia nights. All the games will be for prizes given by Nevada Beverage which include dinners, drinks, tickets to special events in the Las Vegas area, and miscellaneous prizes.
"This is a huge opportunity for us to take the show to the next step, draw a much larger audience, and gain even more revenue for Sago's Baja Tavern," said host Tony Gaglione when asked about the partnership. "The partnership in general is just awesome, and we have to thank Kimberly Battistini of Nevada Beverage, Jason Godfery who is the owner of Sago's, and all of his staff for welcoming us into their establishment with open arms," said host Shawn Adams.
Sago's Baja Tavern is located near the corner of Tropicana and Fort Apache Road here in Las Vegas, the exact address of Sago's is 4790 South Fort Apache Road. Sago's offers its patrons a great atmosphere for sporting events with a massive projection screen in the very center of the dining area and six more big screens surrounding it. There are friendly staff members serving premium cocktails 24 hours a day, and games galore surrounding the bar area.
Nevada Beverage Company got its start in a small building on Main Street Las Vegas in 1948. Three years after incorporation, under the leadership of Pat Clark the business became part of the DeLuca Importing Company and in 1960, Pat Clark became Vice President of DeLuca Importing helping the company move to its larger warehouse. In 1976, then President, Pat Clark eliminated liquor and all but two beer products from their portfolio. Deluca retained the Coors franchise while the newly reformed Nevada Beverage Company retained the rights to the Anheuser-Busch franchise, each operating as solely owned and separate companies.
To keep up with the demand of its products and services, later that year Nevada Beverage Company built its present facility on Tropicana Avenue. The plant was state-of-the-art for the time. The Warehouse has been expanded three times since originally built and now contains 139,050 Sq. feet (65,375 square feet of controlled environmental warehouse space) and a majority of its workforce.
You can join in on all of the excitement that happens with Smacktalk Sports and their numerous local sports guests every Tuesday night from 7 p.m. PT until the show is over at 4790 South Fort Apache Road here in Las Vegas at Sago's Baja Tavern.