text:
negative self image
The Critics Among Us and Those Who Raise Us
The standard method to make a child to dislike himself is to contrast him with a sibling, one alleged to be superior in behavior or personality. It takes a kind of misbegotten skill, however, to use the technique on every one of your offspring. The destructive parent tells son X he isn't as well-behaved as his brother Y. Meanwhile, the mom or dad complains to Y that he isn't as smart as X.
"Try to be more like X. I'm only saying this for your own good."
Both end up disliking themselves and their competitor, not knowing the other receives the same treatment.
Therapists, were they loathsome enough, might put such caretakers on commission, since they drive droves of the walking wounded to an eventual meeting with a counselor.
Ah, but wordy wickedness was practiced even in ancient times. Some parents unknowingly model their actions after the Greek god Momus, so foul he was expelled from Olympus, the gods' heavenly home.
Aesop included Momus in a couple of his fables. In one he presides over a competition between a man, a bull, and a house. This ungodly judge gave no trophies, finding fault with them all. The man's failure was to hide his heart, causing Momus to claim he could therefore not evaluate the merit of his makeup. The bull fell short because his horns included no eyes, the better to guide him whenever he charged.
My own favorite, however, was the umpire's indictment of the house. The god of blame found the residence lacking in the wheels needed to avoid difficult neighbors. Momus might have a point here.
Critics also attract their own critics. A world famous musician on the downside of his career gave the local music scribes a name: eunuchs. Why? "Because they can't do it." Meaning, in his case, they wrote in complaint of him because they lacked his musical talent to perform.
The player's bitterness revealed one of the dangers of being the target of denigration: becoming like the person who castigated you.
The "eunuch" example is odious. The extremity of such word-use is the point. Exaggeration is valuable to those who wish to damage; injure in an indelible, lasting way. We can all remember personal examples.
Who do verbal abusers and bullies aim for? Those weaker (children, subordinates) and the targets who betray their vulnerability, terror, or timidity by facial expression, downcast gaze, words, neediness, or posture. These are the preferred victims, though anyone will do. Protest their sarcasm and they'll say you can't take a joke.
Rise higher and you encounter a few jealous backstabbers. Fall down and you serve some as a doormat. But don't discount life's frustrations as a driver of lashing out under pressure. Almost everyone has a boiling point.
The right criticism is worthwhile. Corrective instruction and rigorous expectation by a mentor or supervisor are both necessary and inevitable. One only finds resilience in taking on that which is painful and challenging. If we received 24/7 adulation and applause, whether inside ourselves or out, the world of excellence would be beyond us.
Still, one must distinguish between those whose words can help or spur us on and the people intent on our obliteration. When you have been raised by folks who pretend the former, but shoot for the latter, confusion follows. Life requires us to identity disguises. False friends display affection so long as we are of use, not longer.
With therapeutic guidance it is possible to improve at ferreting out adversaries, the wolves clothed as sheep or protectors; those who vilify and believe your weakness is their strength.
Remember, no one is so fine a judge of character as to be foolproof. Disappointment and hurt contribute to the price we pay for love and participation in the human group.
Some flee from appraisal and keep out of range of the quiver full of arrows we all carry at times. Here is the best argument not to run, captured in the last line of a quote from a Holocaust survivor, Elie Wiesel.
"The opposite of life is not death, it's indifference."
He did not survive the murder of family and friends to die inside, but to live with people, many of whom were kind.
The first two photographs, both taken on May 24, 2019, come from Shasta County, south of Redding, California. The first is by Angela Walfoort, the second by Monica Leard. The final image is the work of Hans Hillewaert: Angola at Dawn on the Kunene River, seen from Epupa Falls, Namibia. It is sourced from Wikimedia Commons.
anxiety, parenting, psychotherapy, relationships	"for your own good, becoming the thing you hate, being too sensitive, bullies, comparing your children, necessary criticism, neediness, negative self image, signs of vulnerability, the price of love, verbal abuse	11 Comments
The Search for Besties and Soulmates
An old Groucho Marx joke tells us, "I wouldn't want to be a member of any club that would have me as a member." Indeed, we often find ourselves hoping for an acceptance hard to come by, from just the right one; from a group or person who recognizes we are special: special in terms of our best qualities on our best day. The "other" uncovers us and discovers us as we'd like to be seen. When the connection clicks, we discover he has the characteristics we desire, as well.
Yes, we want a fitting kind of recognition: the key to our lock. True, we pursue enough money to live comfortably. Respect is sought for our good work, too. But lots of people accomplish those goals, even receive applause, yet don't obtain understanding of their best inner self, the self they want to be appreciated.
Isaiah Berlin touches on this in Two Concepts of Liberty:
What I may seek to avoid is simply being ignored, patronized, or despised, or being taken too much for granted, in short, not being treated as an individual, having my uniqueness insufficiently recognized, being classed as a member of some featureless amalgam, a statistical unit without identifiable, specifically human features and purposes of my own.
We want acknowledgement from the proper person or group: a mate, our family; a religious community, perhaps. I must underline, man wants to be recognized in a particular way. Thus, if seen as "the handsome guy" or "the hot chick," he may yet lack fulfillment when such a quality masks what is underneath.
I'd venture most of us wish to hear, "You are the one. You are the essential one" (for me or our group or our work), depending on the identification we are yearning for. I have encountered people with admirable lives, who perhaps never knew what was missing until such recognition came to them. If it came.
Recent research implies that the individuals we seek in friendship or love may be predetermined in some portion. Dr. Carolyn Parkinson, a UCLA cognitive scientist, described the possible "chemistry" enabling closeness in the New York Times article below:
Our research suggests that friends might be similar in how they pay attention to and process the world around them. That shared processing could make people click more easily and have the sort of seamless social interaction that can feel so rewarding.
Is this what some mean when they refer to a relationship as beshert (meant to be)?
Life can be thought of as an insecurity making machine. Among the young, ever-present photo-phones and internet bullies guarantee it. In the distant world of villages and small groups your place in society was not so hard to create, competition not so feverish. Your name was known and you might have been the sole local craftsman with a particular skill or the only medical doctor. There was value in being a big fish in a medium-sized pond. You were a solo-proprietor of your small business, a cottage industry, or the family farm, not today's wage slave. The modern world makes almost all of us anonymous.
Aging, too, can reduce one's sense of value. Beyond a certain span, women and men must work harder to hold their place. The body gives in to inertia, gravity, and fatigue. Defined features and figures blur, distractions challenge, flagging energy requires an extra cup of coffee.
But the lack of recognition is more generally present than in any one societal sector. Here is how Vincent van Gogh put the dilemma in an 1880 letter to his brother Theo:
Many a man has a bonfire in his heart and nobody comes to warm himself at it. The passers-by notice only a little smoke from the chimney, and go their way. …
No wonder the modern world also is fertile ground for demagogues who appeal to a portion of those with little sense of distinction, but much displacement. Many struggle for existence and dignity. In some cases machines replaced their labor. Life diminishes them. If a political figure conveys that he sees them, hears them, and understands them, they feel connected, enhanced. Even those leaders who might be better able to improve their lives can appear less attractive.
The former leader enlarges their sense of themselves. He resonates.
A man or woman does not simply want to own things, he wants the respect and acknowledgement offered in another's measure of his value and stature. Indeed, the last 100 years demonstrate that many will sacrifice even their freedom for the worth conferred by a man or a movement in which the beleaguered soul believes he is important.
What can one do to find this kind of recognition?
Do not hide. Show the best of yourself. Step forward. Join, do not retreat.
You never know, even to your last day, when someone might comprehend and esteem you as significant in the world. The smoke signals from van Gogh's bonfire may finally be noticed and read by others who value the message.
Which makes me think of my late friend, Mel Nudelman. Mel was an old friend in both senses of the phrase — I'd known him since the 1970s. At age 87 he was devasted by the loss of his wife of 50 years. To his credit, he fought through and grieved his broken heart, even making a new girlfriend! And so, Mel lived as he always did: learning, taking classes, counseling others, being with his children and grandchildren, offering friendship to young and old; ever curious about politics, music, sports, medicine, and the world. All this until death came in his 90s.
Put differently, Mel was open to life and whatever it would reveal to him; whatever it would reveal to others about him. He had something to offer the world and was recognized.
My advice then, to you and to myself, is to keep learning and keep being open to "possibility," including the possibility there are things yet unseen, unexpected, or unacknowledged to enlighten us (and enlighten others about us) if only we keep our eyes open, our hearts open, and our guard down (at least some of the time).
If we keep looking, perhaps the right one yet will look back.
The top image is called Fall in Love. It is sourced from http://www.larsen-twins.dk via Wikimedia Commons. It should be noted, however, that the link does not lead to an active site. If anyone has such a link for Larsen Twins Orchids, I be grateful. The van Gogh Self Portrait with Straw Hat dates from 1887.
advice, psychology, psychotherapy, relationships	besties, causes of insecurity, chemistry between two people, effects of aging on self-concept, meant to be, need for acceptance, negative self image, recognition, signs of insecurity, soulmates, the appeal of populist demagogues	15 Comments
The Long-lasting Toxicity of Parental Labels
When I treated adults who had been verbally abused by their parents, I sometimes wondered if they needed a stain remover more than a therapist. The disfiguring mark was not on the surface, however. Below the scalp, the mistreatment created a misunderstanding of their human qualities and mangled the internal mental machinery; warped their reasoning about themselves. I will offer some thoughts on the confusion caused — the fouled self-image the abused soul believes to be true, not recognizing the phony bill of goods he received.
Epistemology is a word you might not know, but frames how the negative label distorts the victim's thoughts about himself. Epistemology is the study of knowledge. The field is important because it deals with how we process information to determine what is true (factual) and how we distinguish what is supported by evidence rather than a matter of belief, misunderstanding, or a misapplied label.
When did our tarnished child become discolored? He almost always was the target of family criticism, outside bullying, or both. The young one's actions were mocked. Names were called over and over. I'll concentrate on the home. Children are not in a position to find another one.
Kids need whatever protection parents provide, even as little as it is. No matter what, they must stay close to the caretakers when they are small. No Plan B exists, no reason to expect more kindness outside the family than in.
The small one's dependency on the parents requires belief in the latter's competence and knowledge about the world.
Think of the child as both who he is objectively, that is, how we might evaluate him in the absence of any bias; and as a social construct: the person described in the adjectives and nouns of the parents' choosing, regardless of who he is in reality.
The child holds little knowledge of the world other than what is offered in the house. He claims no other authoritative information to suggest the social construct/label is wrong. Since parents are the first and primary authorities, nothing suggests they are misguided. Especially if their words are characterized as being "for your own good."
Any hope of parental love, approval, and protection would depend on the ability to persuade the parent that the label has been misapplied. The small one cannot afford (even to himself, even were he able to put the concepts and words together) to challenge the parents' description of him without causing internal terror. Such awareness would require his recognition of the dilemma he is in: a tiny person at the hands of powerful, disturbed adults upon whom he is dependent. The opinion of the home's commanders is therefore taken for truth. Only if the girl or boy can accept the verdict and do better to please those in charge might he have a chance. This necessary bit of self-delusion allows him to hope his situation might be changed by something in his control.
He already accepts the truth of something for which the evidence is weak or nonexistent. Use of his cognitive equipment is thereby impaired from an early age.
Since the label now must be considered valid, let's think of how the labelers treat our growing child as a personality, and how they respond to his behavior:
The boy's character, nature, and existence are seen as unworthy. The parents communicate — sometimes just by a look — that he doesn't measure up. His presence alone is displeasing. No matter how inoffensive he might be in a given moment, he inhabits the status white bigots confer on people of color. The latter would need to vanish in order to make the racists happy. The child, to produce the same result for mom and dad, would have to, as well.
Mistakes (and every child makes lots of them) are used by the authority as evidence the label is valid.
Any behavior that is objectively good is either minimized in importance or ignored. No amount of proper behavior nor rational argument is sufficient to change the overseer's verdict.
All of this is bad enough by itself. Worse, however, the child carries not only a dishonest label, but a warped way of thinking about himself. The internal mental machinery continues to inflict damage — even in the absence of the parents — when he takes on the world outside. Thus, whatever success he achieves there, it is never enough.
The past becomes present.
Too often the adult will carry the internalized words wherever he goes, continuing to search unconsciously for people who are like his folks (since their authority and value have not yet been overturned), and think about his own worth in the way he was taught. He remains characterologically flawed in his very existence. He believes he is a person who behaves in negative or inadequate or foolish ways, and someone whose strengths are trivial in contrast to all of the qualities inside that count against him.
The individual lacks self-awareness. He continues to see himself in terms of the social construct given by his parents. Moreover, the deforming quality of his thought has doubtless led him to many errors in dealing with the world, further confirming the verdict he received from the biased jury at home.
Only with enough unhappiness might the pain cause him to challenge the internalized parental voice, or seek treatment which will encourage such a process. His descent into the suffering can actually be the first step to discarding the social construct he was given, alter those self-defeating behaviors he since adopted, and transform his self-image. Without opening the emotion attached to the humiliating label, therapy is not likely to succeed. Indeed, had verbal persuasion by himself or others worked, counseling wouldn't be needed.
The mountain top of truth — knowledge of who he is — is a long distance away. But, as the old Chinese proverb tells us, "a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."
parenting, psychology, psychotherapy, relationships	"for your own good, dependency on parents, discounting your positive qualities, internalization of negative beliefs, negative labels applied by parents, negative self image, signs of insecurity, thinking errors in victims of abuse, toxic parents, verbal abuse	23 Comments
Confession and Psychotherapy
An old Woody Allen joke goes something like this. The comedian is talking about problems in deducting the cost of therapy on his income tax return. He wanted to make it a business expense, but the government insisted it was "entertainment."
They compromised by making it a religious contribution.
Therapy is a little like that, no joke.
Carl Gustav Jung, one of Freud's disciples, wrote about the likeness between therapy's confessional function and Sacrament of Penance in the Catholic Church. For those who aren't Catholic, the faithful individual is expected to enter a small partitioned booth, where a priest will hear his confession of sins without being able to see who is speaking to him. If the penitent is thought to have fully disclosed his wrong doing, shown sincere remorse for the transgression, and if he performs whatever acts of penance are required by the priest to make amends, he is absolved of his sins.
Although I am not Catholic, I've long thought the Catholic Church was on to something therapeutically important here. That is, the human need to admit to another human being, out loud, something of which one is ashamed, in order to cleanse the metaphorical stain this person carries inside. Other religions handle this differently, often permitting and encouraging confession in the form of prayer directly to a supreme being.
But for therapists, the human interaction is essential — the telling and the listening and the seeing eye to eye — even if your ultimate, otherworldly reward according to religious doctrine doesn't require it.
In part because, while heaven can wait, the guilt-ridden mortal is troubled right now — here on earth — in his relationships with other people; troubled by the secret that stands between him and a need for acceptance by someone who knows, really knows him. An intimacy he does not think he can risk.
Even if he believes the gods will forgive him, his problem is lower on the food chain: he fears the disapproval of the creatures made of flesh and blood.
We learn the lesson "not to tell" early.
We make mistakes, lots of them. And especially when you are young, there is the potential for an enormous amount of painful judgment being rendered concerning those "mistakes," some justified, some not.
Kids are prone to feeling guilty. When we are small, we are entirely dependent upon the good will of our parents. Without them, we are at the world's mercy, unable to fend for ourselves. Equally important, they inform us of our value to them — by their words to us, physical expressions of affection or violence, the time they spend (or don't spend) in play or attention to our needs, in angry outbursts or self-sacrifice; and in looks that display tenderness, disappointment, rage, understanding, or indifference.
Some amount of parental disapproval is inevitable and necessary. Indeed, it is required to civilize us. But since there is no competing panel of experts to counter any misplaced verdict rendered by the parent (who is the child's judge, jury, and headsman) even enormous miscarriages of justice by a cruel and abusive elder tend to stand without refutation.
You are guilty!
You are bad!
Off with your head!
Most children do not have anywhere to go with this. There is not only no court of appeals, but since they have been made to feel ashamed, kids are unlikely to turn to anyone else to recount their alleged misdeeds and risk the possibility of further painful disapproval, not to mention the sense of having betrayed the parent by reporting out what has happened. Moreover, the child continues to need the parent's good will. Carrying a grudge against the parent, expressing it directly to that parent (at least when one is very young) is dangerous — likely to produce more disapproval still.
Better to accept the parent's condemnation. At least that way, the little one may still hold on to the hope that by changing for the better he can achieve the love and approval that has been wanting.
Even for rebellious youth, there tends to be a portion of the parent's negative opinion that is indelible. Sort of like a tattoo, it is written on the personality, the sense of self. This metaphorical image of the tattoo overlays and alters the self-image. And like the tattoo, it is the product of a painful engraving; not easily removed, but still present long after the moment of imprint, reminding you of your iniquity.
Whether the child does his best to "behave" or knowingly misbehaves, he will disappoint a parent who cannot be satisfied even by perfection, who undermines self-esteem; the kind of parent who tells you to "run fast, get ahead," and then finds ways to trip you up or tie you in knots that make any forward movement difficult.
Almost certainly, the young one will do some things that are less than admirable: perhaps raging, stealing, lying to avoid more disapproval, or violating curfew; as well as forgetting something the parent wanted him to remember, day dreaming, performing poorly in school, withdrawing from contact with the family, and acts of alleged ingratitude; or visits to a sexual or drug-involved dark-side in a search for acceptance and love or a simple self-distracting escape from inner misery. There is no end to the list of things that can be considered offensive, real or imagined. Perhaps just as troubling, the youth will think contaminating, "bad" thoughts.
I wish he (she) were dead.
I wish I had a different father (mother).
Some few will grow out of this desperate experience and achieve a gift of self-cleansing and self-soothing that requires neither confessor nor therapist; others will be able to rationalize their early life misbehavior into benign disappearance. But for too many, by hook or by crook, by word or by deed or by thought or by feeling, there will be guilt under the surface, however bright and shiny the surface may seem.
That is where psychotherapy and the psychotherapist's role as a confessor comes in.
The "confession" usually doesn't happen at the beginning of therapy. Trust in the therapist must be earned by the counselor.
But come it does, often in the middle of a course of therapy, but sometimes very late.
It goes something like this:
There is something I haven't told you. (Eyes now looking down). I haven't told anyone. Ever.
No small amount of courage is required to tell the things that cannot be told. Until this point the patient has carried his secrets inside — these awful, disqualifying, contaminating things that make him unworthy — the history of thought and action he believes would cause everyone and anyone to reject him, "if only they knew."
Unlike the priest in the confessional, it is important the patient knows the therapist and the therapist knows the patient's identity. Otherwise, any absolution is too generic, too cheaply won, not specific enough in its application to the "sinner."
The therapist must be non-judgmental. The counselor's office is not a court of law. The purpose is healing, not retribution. There is no automatic amends to be made, although sometimes it will be therapeutic to do so. If needed, the patient may discover that writing a letter (even an apology that is never sent) can be helpful; sometimes the grave site of a deceased parent can be visited. Atonement can also be found in acts of future kindness or projects dedicated to improving the human condition.
But often, no atonement is required because the patient comes to realize he was the victim, not the victimizer. And that his failure…
was being born a boy when the parent wanted a girl
or an intellectual when dad wanted an athlete
or a tom boy when mom wanted a little lady
or an introvert when the parents hoped for an extrovert
or simply that one of the elders was threatened by the growing child for reasons defying explanation.
And that with enough poking and prodding, resentment and ridicule, the authority figures triggered and tripped the child into behavior that could be used as further cause, if any was needed, for affixing guilt; as if the guardians were unsatisfied until they could create flaws to justify their history of disapproval.
The therapist will help the patient look at the "guilty" acts or thoughts from many sides. The therapist is a witness of sorts, someone who has to hear you (however horrible your action might have been or seems to have been), meet your gaze and see the guilt in your eyes, and still accept you, even then.
One or more others might need to be told the same story now revealed to the healer, again face-to-face, so that the patient (in telling it and observing the reaction of the person being told) comes to know he is acceptable and forgivable, not only in the eyes of the counselor, but also by a select soul whose love and respect outside the consulting room are important. Great care must be taken if others are to be told, however, for some of the potential listeners will only add to the accumulation of negative judgments that already burden the patient, while a few people will be unnecessarily injured by the knowledge and should be spared.
What then might be the result of such therapeutic exposure for the patient who has chosen his therapist well, and made no unfortunate choices of disclosure to family or friends?
In the best cases, the light and air that are allowed into the room holding the dark secret can transform it, making it seem less terrible, less disqualifying. Internal repugnance diminishes. The weight or responsibility attached to the transgression is shifted and reduced. You feel purified.
There is freedom and grace in this, as in the confessional booth. An unburdening.
The simple act of another human being listening to you — still caring for you and about you. Believing in you and your value.
You are no longer alone — alone with a secret that makes you feel like a pariah; disqualifies you — only you, however irrational that thought is — from membership in the human community.
Now, at last, it is possible for you to reevaluate and affirm yourself.
And life — a better life — goes on.
The top image is The Confession by Pietro Longhi, thought to have been painted in the 1750s. The photo that follows is called Blinded by the Lights, authored by Suicide Girls from Los Angeles, CA, USA. The last image is the work of Reytan. It shows a number of confessional booths. All are sourced from Wikimedia Commons.
advice, psychotherapy, religion, wisdom	absolution, confession and therapy, guilt, ingratitude toward parents, making amends, negative self image, parental abuse, penance, rebellious behavior, shame	2 Comments


Turin - Italy coach Antonio Conte has called for patience from critics ahead of a friendly against England which he hopes will give him an idea of much work is still required for his side to be competitive at next year's European Championships.
The 45-year-old can at least expect a warm welcome from the Juventus supporters in the crowd on Tuesday as he guided the club to three Serie A titles before taking over from Cesare Prandelli in the wake of a second successive first-round exit from the World Cup last year.
However it has been anything but a smooth transition.
The former Italy international midfielder's demands to have more access to the national squad have been batted away by Serie A clubs and recent reports claimed Conte's request to be able to coach Italy part-time while coaching a club were denied.
On the pitch, Italy remain unbeaten in competition following their early exit from Brazil with three wins and two draws from five Euro 2016 qualifiers so far, but the Azzurri are far from the finished article.
While Conte said he expects the encounter to be of value, he stressed Italy remain a work in progress.
"These games against top sides like England help us because as a squad we have to grow. It will give us a chance to see all our players in action and show us what they have," Conte told media in Turin on Monday.
"Right now we're trying to work to create something positive but people have to wake up and realise that a major generational change is going on in this squad.
"The young guys coming in need time, and support. It's not going to happen overnight.
"The Euros are next year so we don't have a lot of time. But to achieve any dream, you have to work really, really hard. And that's what we're trying to do."
Conte welcomes number one goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon back to his starting line-up after he missed their 2-2 Euro 2016 qualifying draw with Bulgaria on Saturday due to fever.
Buffon said: "It hasn't been the most relaxing of times for the squad recently.
"But it's much better to have this kind of nervous energy than a general feeling of apathy, which in general leads you on the road to defeat."
Italy have made changes throughout their five-man midfield as well, although the focus will be on the inexperienced strike partnership of Brazil-born Sampdoria striker Eder and Graziano Pelle of Southampton.
Eder came off the bench to hit an 84th minute leveller for Italy in Sofia, in the process silencing the critics who hit out at his call-up alongside Argentinian-born Palermo forward Franco Vazquez.
Conte - who spent 13 trophy laden years at Juventus as a player picking up amongst other silverware five Serie A titles and the Champions League crown in 1996 - said it had been a very emotional moment to return to the ground where he experienced so much success as coach.
"Obviously I had very strong emotions today, coming back to the stadium, walking into the dressing room and on to the pitch. Yes, it was very emotional," remarked Conte.
"I had three fantastic years here, and so there's a lot of great memories.
"I'm curious to see how we fare against England. But national games are always tough. You saw that against Bulgaria, although we deserved a lot more from that game than we got."


text:
Wed, 18 Jan 2012 | Marketing Communications
Exhibit 14-6 VNU
provides lists for purchase
^vnu business media
LIST KBftBltracr.L til J pit
Exceed Your Expectations enil ft.B DULL ID* NAH»
iwmim has led to increased effectiveness. The most commonly used lists are of individuals who have already purchased direct-mail products.
The importance of the list has led to a business of its own. It has been estimated that there are over 38 billion names on lists, and many companies have found it profitable to sell the names of purchasers of their products and/or services to list firms. Companies like A. B. Zeller and VNU Business Media (Exhibit 14-6) provide such lists on a national level, and in most metropolitan areas there are firms providing the same service locally.
While direct mail continues to be a favorite medium of many advertisers, and projections are that the market will continue to grow, this medium has been seriously threatened by the Internet. Between 1996 and 2001 direct-mail expenditures rose at the rate of 6.15 percent per year while Internet expenditures increased at the rate of 95 percent.18 Interestingly, the Internet is both a threat and an opportunity, as Internet companies have increased their expenditures in direct mail to drive potential customers to their sites. For example, AOL frequently mails disks with free time to induce trial of its Internet service. Nevertheless, the direct-mail business has experienced lower response rates from customers than in the past and has seen many advertisers shift dollars from this medium to the Net.19 Many companies, particularly in the business-to-business market, have shifted from print to online catalogs, and legal problems have also hurt the industry.
Catalogs Major participants in the direct-marketing business include catalog companies. The number of catalogs mailed and the number of catalog shoppers have increased significantly since 1984, with sales growing by an average of 11.4 percent each year between 1996 and 2001. Catalog sales are expected to reach $16.3 billion in 2006.20
Many companies use catalogs in conjunction with their more traditional sales and promotional strategies. For example, companies like Pottery Barn, Nordstrom, and JCPenney sell directly through catalogs but also use them to inform consumers of product offerings available in the stores. Some companies (for example, Fingerhut and Alloy) rely solely on catalog sales. Others that started out exclusively as catalog com panies have branched into retail outlets, among them The Sharper Image, Lands' End, and Banana Republic. L.L. Bean recently opened a superstore on the East Coast. As you can see by the following examples, the products being offered through this medium have reached new heights as well:
• The 2002 Neiman Marcus Christmas catalog was used to introduce the 2004 Cadillac XLR—MFRP $85,000. Cadillac produced only 101 of the "Neiman-Marcus XLRs—99 for sale through the catalog, 2 for charity. They sold out in 14 minutes! (Exhibit 14-7)
• Victoria's Secret featured a $1 million Miracle Bra in its Christmas catalog. Modeled by supermodel Claudia Schiffer, the bra contained over 100 carats of real diamonds as well as hundreds of semiprecious stones.
• Saks' Holding Co., a division of Saks Fifth Avenue, offered a pair of Mercedes-Benz convertibles in a catalog, with bidding to start at $50,000.
• Hammacher Schlemmer featured a $43,000 taxicab and a $34,000 train set in its Christmas catalog.
• The Sharper Image offered a $375,000 silver saddle in its catalog (though it didn't sell any).
In addition to the traditional hard copies, catalogs are now available on the Internet for both consumer and business-to-business customers. In some instances in the consumer market the catalog merchandise is available in retail stores as well. In others, the catalog and retail divisions are treated as separate entities. For example, if you purchase through the Eddie Bauer catalog, you can exchange or return the merchandise to the retail stores. Victoria's Secret products must be returned to the catalog department. At the Gap, the catalog is used to supplement the inventory in stock, and phone orders for different sizes and so on can be made from the store and shipped for free.
Broadcast Media The success of direct marketing in the broadcast industry has been truly remarkable; over 77 percent of the U.S. population report that they have viewed a direct-response appeal on TV.21 Direct-response TV is estimated to have generated more than $79.3 billion in sales in 2002—with projections of $108.2 billion by 2006. However, forecasts are for slower growth in the next few years, averaging 8.8 percent through 2007.22
Two broadcast media are available to direct marketers: television and radio. While radio was used quite extensively in the 1950s, its use and effectiveness have dwindled substantially in recent years. Thus, the majority of direct-marketing broadcast advertising now occurs on TV, which receives the bulk of our attention here. It should be pointed out, however, that the two-step approach is still very common on the radio, particularly with local companies.
Direct marketing in the broadcast industry involves both direct-response advertising and support advertising. In direct-response advertising, the product or service is offered and a sales response is solicited, through either the one- or two-step approach previously discussed. Examples include ads for magazine subscriptions, CDs and tapes, and tips on football or basketball betting. Toll-free phone numbers are included so that the receiver can immediately call to order. Support advertising is designed to do exactly that—support other forms of advertising. Ads for Publishers Clearing House or Reader's Digest or other companies telling you to look in your mailbox for a sweepstakes entry are examples of support advertising.
Direct-response TV encompasses a number of media, including direct-response TV spots like those just mentioned, infomercials, and home shopping shows (teleshop-ping). And as noted in Chapter 10, Internet TV has recently been introduced.
Infomercials The lower cost of commercials on cable and satellite channels has led advertisers to a new form of advertising. An infomercial is a long commercial that ranges from 30 to 60 minutes. Many infomercials are produced by the advertisers and
Exhibit 14-7 Neiman-Marcus is one of many successful catalog companies
Destroying Adwords
Adwords or Pay Per Click advertising is essentially the 21st century equivalent of direct marketing, allowing advertisers to test ideas in hours rather than months. Learn more about Google Adwords and PPC advertising.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


A thing of the day, once a day, every day, that's the thing, and today the new VESSELS album has landed. Helioscope is the name of the new album, first impressions are good ones, expansive post-rock euphoria done the Vessels way, those build-and-break dynamics, and more words than you might be expecting, not just an instrumental band. The new Vessels album is a thing for another day though, seeing as it comes out on March 21st; we'll kick in with some radio play this coming Sunday, that's how we like to spend our Sundays, kicking in with radio play. We'll hit you with an album review in a few weeks time, we're likeing what we hear first time around.
"The Associated Press, Shepard Fairey, and Mr. Fairey's companies Obey Giant Art, Inc., Obey Giant LLC, and Studio Number One, Inc., have agreed in principle to settle their pending copyright infringement lawsuit over rights in the Obama Hope poster and related merchandise.
Mr. Fairey used an AP portrait photograph of Mr. Obama in making the Hope poster. Mr. Fairey did not license the photograph from the AP before using it. The AP contended that Mr. Fairey copied all of the original, creative expression in the AP's photograph without crediting or compensating the AP, and that Mr. Fairey's unlicensed use of the photograph was not a fair use. Mr. Fairey claimed that he did not appropriate any copyrightable material from the AP's photo, and that, in any event, his use of the photograph constituted a fair use under copyright law.
In settling the lawsuit, the AP and Mr. Fairey have agreed that neither side surrenders its view of the law. Mr. Fairey has agreed that he will not use another AP photo in his work without obtaining a license from the AP. The two sides have also agreed to work together going forward with the Hope image and share the rights to make the posters and merchandise bearing the Hope image and to collaborate on a series of images that Fairey will create based on AP photographs. The parties have agreed to additional financial terms that will remain confidential.
"I am pleased to have resolved the dispute with the Associated Press," said Mr. Fairey. "I respect the work of photographers, as well as recognize the need to preserve opportunities for other artists to make fair use of photographic images. I often collaborate with photographers in my work, and I look forward to working with photos provided by the AP's talented photographers".
While Shepard claims to still believe that he is in the right in this issue due to fair use, both this settlement and his post-lawsuit behaviour says that he is, at least, being much more careful about appropriating imagery. It sounds like the settlement may result in a series of licensed AP/Shepard Fairey collaborations and Shepard has recently been giving photographers credit for basing his work on their photos and starting to call the work collaborations between him and the photographers, so I'm guessing that he's licensing those images.
For artists, it's too bad that this didn't end up in court as a test of fair use, but the suit certainly wasn't helping Shepard, so it's no surprise that he is now working towards a settlement.
But it looks like it isn't all over, with a separate lawsuit continuing against Obey Clothing for pretty much the same reasons. Perhaps the issue of fair use will be sorted out there.
ALBUM: BIG'N – Dying Breed (Africantape) – Back then, back when big abrasive noise was flowing out of Chicago (and over here things were lurching in Camden), back when Scissormen were slicing over here, Jesus Lizard over there, when violent skin burning abrasions were happening everywhere and noisestorms of alternative guitar bands were brewing up under every stone you turned, back then, in the early 90's, there was a band called Big'n. Now, Big'n were a relatively well kept secret to most, part of what can now be described, in a tongue in cheek kind of way, as pre-post rock - that big distorted noise-rock sound that boiled up in the alternative 90's. Never as big as say Tar or Naked Raygun, Chicago's Big'n took what you might say was an already proven formula and shoved it all right up there to the maximum.
They made some great records back in the 90's; they kind of fell apart before the support systems of the internet and such really got there to carry the word out like it does for these kind of commercially unrealistic bands now – beautifully uncompromised noise bands that no seriously record company was ever going to bankroll. Those electric networks do carry the word now though, bands can't actually completely die in these days of the internet, and it seems word of this scathing noise juggernaut that was (and is) Big'n has spread enough to warrant this collecting together of some singles, some unreleased tracks, things off compilations and such. That's right, sixteen slices of now difficult to find Big'n abrasive knee-skinning goodness gathered together in one neat convenient place.
Actually, this all sounds very fresh and very now, not a million miles away from that new Poino album that came out a couple of weeks back, not a million miles to a lot of bands making their early moves now. This is serious bass-heavy discordant (yet well made) noise rock of the highest order, think Colossamite style big blackess, think non-stop rumbling roll of riffs and throaty screams for vocals, think SkinGraft noise, think classic left-field Chicago noise rock that always make like some kind of optimist club. This is a collection of edgy recordings made between 1990 and '95, jagged recordings, awkwardly shouty recordings, car-wreck-good and pecking at your head in the most passionate of ways. All the songs from the early seven inchers remastered from the original tapes along with some demo versions of album tracks and those two massive AC/DC covers that came out as part of the SkinGraft series of four way split seven inch tributes to Angus and company – how outrageously deranged is that filthy version of TNT!
Most of the time Big'n deal out a low-end discordant rolling rumble of a sound, it is a familiar sound now, lots of bands do this, but they were one of the early wave and they still sound fresher than most. Excellent sixteen track compilation, if you know them already then you'll be delighted to have these things thought lost all gathered neatly together. If you never heard of them then this is as well worth investigating now as Big'n were back then… Dirty deeds indeed, fine fine band that we almost forgot about, fine fine compilation that pulls it all together in an excellent way.


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Seat ibiza. Best photos and information of model.
Unverified car This page is about Seat ibiza has not been verified by our moderators. We offer our apologies for the inconvenience. If you want to help this project become better - you can be the moderator of our project. To send a form of communication and its application to add or correct for at least two cars. Thanks for the help!
Seat ibiza relates to the amazing brand Seat.
I want to tell you the following story. When I moved to Italy, 1 liter of gasoline cost 04.01 euros and 03.01 euros diesel, so I needed a reliable and economical car, which I could use in the city and on the highway. The most popular cars in Italy are Golf 5 and the Fiat Grande.
Fiat Punto. Golf for me was definitely expensive option, but the Fiat Punto is the best option. That's exactly why we bought this car. In the market we met five door version 2009g.v. 1.2 8v with 65 hp and for a decent price. Buying a car with his wife accepted fine: beautiful machine with simple characteristics and beauty.
Ride in a car for 2 months and have been on for a long time, if one day I rode on the new Seat Ibiza 2009. 5 door, 1.2i 12v 3 cylinder 70 hp, tires R15. I was delighted with the car! As soon as I got in the car, I immediately felt its sporting character: the car is made for the driver! Scale devices in wells, white light with red arrows, low landing (seat height adjustable up to you). In general, everything is much higher than in the Fiat: plastic interior, seats. The size of the car, I want to note that Fiat is not suitable to their class, the designers wanted to make it a good size, but in the end turned out as always. Ibiza is less than Fiat, but when you sit in it and feel the interior as if you "hug." Virtually all parts of higher quality than Fiat: algorithm wiper, lighter location, seating position, the process of opening the tailgate. Fiat to pressing a button on the key fob, the lid bounces a bit, and then open it as you like, though Climb hand between the bumper and the cover, though mazh hands. SEAT to have to click on a beautiful large icon with the letter S (seat), in particular at its upper part, while the bottom is formed handle. Beautiful, comfortable, and most importantly clean.
In operation for Fiat lamp lights that indicate a fault lights. Although everything was in order. When I came to the service, it looked its experts, smiled and replied without thinking: Qesto perche l'italiana. This translated means: It's because she is Italian. The idea was such that it is normal for Italian cars can ignite something that is not the case. That was the reason for selling the car. I quickly sold it and bought the same money Ibiza.
As for the speakers. Three cylinders and 70 hp can work wonders. 2 times I opened the hood to make sure that the volume is 1.6 or greater. The machine starts to get under way with the lowest speed. 8 valves and the same amount in the Fiat were enough to drive on the motorway, as well as in the city, but the ride is not caused nor any emotion. Me going and going. Ibiza at once pleased with the high-spirited behavior. My garage is under the house, and exit from the insanely steep rise of about 45 degrees along the arc. Car I never warm up, started and drove off. So Fiat almost stalling when lifting. Very clearly there are 5-speed manual gearbox, adjustable short, clear, with a thud. I had a Toyota Celica, sound like, and there is an exemplary case. Ibiza on the freeway accelerate to 150-165 km / h Aerodynamics, engine power, handling - all clear. Fiat at more than 130 km / h had no desire to go. Both cars weigh the same (about 1075 kg). But on the track Ibiza much better account of itself. In turns Ibiza too surprised, for a subcompact mediocre complete more than worthy. Consumption, the city I was 7.5 - 8 liters. On the track 5-8 l. at a speed of 100-160, respectively. German engine more powerful. At 130 km \ h - just 4000 rpm, which I consider the normal range. Cut-off in 6400 approximately. After traveling on motorways at speeds of 130-160 oil level has not changed.


text:
import sys
from esd import ESDParser

esd = ESDParser()
esd.setEsdName(sys.argv[1])
esd.parse()
print esd.toBuildString()

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
November 23, 2016 Arts & Entertainment » Art
Print Club of Roc takes Brockport
By Rebecca Rafferty @rsrafferty
click to flip through (2)
Bob Conge's digital drypoints, "Poolside with E.E. Cummings" is part of the Print Club of Rochester's anniversary show that is currently displayed at Tower Fine Arts Gallery in Brockport.
"Monroe and Vicinity Biennial: The Print Club of Rochester Anniversary Exhibition"
Through December 9
Tower Fine Arts Gallery, 180 Holley Street, Brockport
Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.Free | 395-5253; brockport.edu/academics/fine_arts
Our region has an impressive set of printmakers who consistently breathe new life into the medium, whether they employ traditional techniques or flout convention. Under the direction of its energetic president, Adam Werth, The Print Club of Rochester is celebrating its 86th anniversary with an exhibition currently on display at SUNY Brockport's Tower Fine Arts Gallery.
"The annual members show continues to grow into a larger, more community-based exhibition," Werth says. "In years past it was presented in more intimate and private venues as a show by members of the print club for members of the print club." By presenting the show at SUNY Brockport, the club gains visibility with a larger community, and the work and artists are accessible to students enrolled in visual art programs both at the University as well as nearby Brockport High School, he says.
In addition to leading the club, Werth is an avid collector of prints and a printmaker himself. His giant monoprint, "The Feeling I Get," provides instant impact. Positioned facing the entrance of the space, the simple print is of huge, stark, call-caps letters that read: "BIG DISAPPOINTMENT." Printed using cheap materials, and offering it for $1, Werth is basing the value of the work entirely on its message.
He says he means for the work to be ambiguous, requiring the audience to make judgments regarding its intention, but that it is both a reflection of the arenas where he has been let down, "politically, in the art world, in humanity..." as well as the fear of letting others down. "I am interested in self-reflection and action as a means to self-actualization," he says.
This print is a continuation of Werth's series that also includes the work "I AM BETTER THAN THIS," which was featured in Rochester Contemporary's "Under Pressure" exhibit earlier this year. That one is just as stark; its title text is printed on a small piece of crumpled and uncrumpled paper, forming the very picture of "(un)certainty."
The subject matter in Wendy J. Forrest's woodcut prints have the artist living up to her name. The sylvan scenes are alternately cheerful and stark — "Summer Birches" is a bright flash of energetic ink, while "Snowy Pine" is a stripped down, bleak yet beautiful winter vista.
Nicholas H. Ruth's radiant screenprint and colored pencil work, "Alone at Last," features two communications towers that feel vaguely figurative, and immediately conveys a sense of technology both extending and hampering connection. Beyond the subjects, cloudlike forms in an empty landscape seem to crackle with static energy, and acidic colors edge into a trippy, surreal territory.
Take a spin around Ruth's website and you'll see more work in this vein, as well as his concise artist statement. "In my work, I spontaneously explore the anxious and funny ways in which we litter our lives with the artifacts of our desires," he writes. "Our buildings are covered with satellite dishes, extending our reach at the same time that we withdraw to the interior."
Tarrant Clements' untitled, bold carborundum collagraphs combine geometric patterns presented in pleasant asymmetry with flat, vibrating hues. Depth is derived from wispy texture applied to some planes.
Slideshow Monroe and Vicinity Biennial: Print Club of Rochester Anniversary Exhibition
Monroe and Vicinity Biennial: Print Club of Rochester Anniversary Exhibition
By Rebecca Rafferty
Click to View 3 slides
Bob Conge, maker of rad collectible art toys under the name Plaseebo, has two large, digital drypoint prints in the biennial. The technique is one he developed to create images that have similar line qualities as engravings, without the use of metal plates and acids.
From an ongoing series, Conge's "Poolside with E. E. Cummings" and "Poolside with Picasso" each depicts nude figures in roughly rendered lines, and allusions to the artistic style of each print's respective subject. Conge says that the prints are not intended to be pretty pictures; he wants them to "evoke the raspy and raw emotion of an encounter with the force" of what he perceives would have been the individual's persona.
"I am exploring portrait-like images of painters, poets, writers, etc. whose work I am moved by and wish I could have known personally," Conge says. "The common visual and conceptual thread in the series is the "stage" of an outdoor pool where people present themselves with few of the defensive daily trappings that often disguise who they are. The pool is like a "No Mans Land" in a war, where we are all unclothed in neutral territory."
The exhibit's juror, Cynthia Hawkins, director and curator of SUNY Geneseo's Lederer Gallery, selected Elizabeth Durand's dreamy intaglio monoprint "Walking Mavis at Night" for the Best in Show award. Durand combined layered images of terrain, a topographical map, and the silhouette of a frolicking dog with subdued and slightly electric pigment.
"Durand fragmented the page as a triptych to portray the narrative and also turned what might have become a mere night scene into a temporally displaced spatial scene making it slightly surreal," Hawkins writes.
Tags: Art, Art Review, Print Club of Rochester, SUNY Brockport, Cynthia Hawkins, Adam Werth, Wendy J. Forrest, Tarrant Clements, Bob Conge, Slideshow
More Art »
Film review: 'Ralph Breaks the Internet'
'Under Pressure' print show returns to Roco
Effectively deceptive
UUU Art Collective creates space for emerging creatives
"Depatriarchalizing" event to be staged in Planned Parenthood parking lot
Review: "The 66th Rochester-Finger Lakes Exhibition"
More by Rebecca Rafferty
ART | 'The Art of Connection'
RECREATION | ROC SweatFest
ART | 'Process & Purpose'
Painting for the people
Indigenous Environmental Activism in Art
Rochester Art Collectors grows support for makers
Art House Exhibition @ The Yards


Prepaid electric meter users are facing hassles standing in long queues for hours to recharge their power cards amid a shortage of recharge points.
Besides, technical glitch and limited logistics are for which more than 1.5 million prepaid meter users find recharging their cards through bank booths troublesome.
They have complained about shortage of recharging facilities and queuing up at the existing recharging points for hours.
Top officials of the power distribution utilities, however, have told New Age that prepaid card recharging facilities like vending stations and mobile transaction will be increased soon.
Prepaid meter user Kazi Nasirullah, owner of a residential building at Mohammadpur in the capital, recharges six prepaid cards with minimum Tk 7,000 as power tariff in a month.
On Thursday, Nasirullah failed to recharge the cards in his first attempt as the card reader of First Security Islami Bank's Mohammadpur branch went out of order.
The bank officials told New Age that the machine was not working for the last four days.
Nasirullah then went to a Network Operation and Customer Service centre of Dhaka Power Distribution Company at Lalmatia and recharged his cards.
'I often face problems in recharging the cards as the number of recharge points is too few,' he said.
Sharmeen Ahmed, a tenant of Mohammadpur area, shared her experience saying it often took three hours in queue to reach the money transaction booth of a bank if there was a technical glitch.
Shaheen Reza, a tenant of Lalbagh area, said in case a recharge point failed to operate, users of that particular area would move to the neighbouring point, which would thus get overcrowded.
According to six power distributing utilities' data, currently there are 1,584,454 prepaid electric meter users across the country.
DPDC supplying power to 11.7 lakh consumers installed 271,954 prepaid electric meters in Dhaka till July.
There are 85 vending stations including DPDC's NOCS and 10 commercial banks from where prepaid electric meter users can recharge their smart card.
Dhaka Electric Supply Company so far has installed 1.5 lakh prepaid electric meters among its 8.7 lakh power consumers.
There are 40 points from where DESCO prepaid electric meter users can recharge smart card.
'Additionally, prepaid meter users can pre-pay power tariff using DESCO apps and mobile transaction through Bkash, Gpay and Rocket,' said DESCO managing director Shahid Sarwar, a retired brigadier general.
Bangladesh Power Development Board supplying power to 26 lakh consumers in Comilla, Chittagong, Mymensingh and Sylhet zones, has installed 10.5 lakh keypad pre-payment electric meters accepting currency-transacted power consumption.
BPDB's prepaid metering project official has told New Age that prepaid electric meter users can recharge their smart card at 39 sales and distribution points across the four zones.
Besides, he says, they can take the service using mobile transaction facilitated by mobile operators Robi and Grameenphone.
BPDB has installed 30,000 prepaid electric meters in Bogra and Sirajganj, which are now operated under Northern Electric Supply Company's jurisdiction.
NESCO supplying power to around 14 lakh consumers in Rangpur and Rajshahi zones will install five lakh prepaid electric meters soon, its managing director Zakiul Islam has told New Age.
West Zone Power Distribution Company has installed 70,000 prepaid electric meters among its 11 lakh consumers.
Currently, WZPDCO prepaid smartcard holders can pre-pay power tariff at 16 vending stations, including some commercial banks.
Observing that consumers are reluctant to take recharging services from bank booths, WZPDCO managing director Shafique Uddin says that the company will increase mobile transaction facilities for the prepaid electric meter users.
Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board supplies power to 11.5 lakh consumers under 80 REB associations across the country.
Of the consumers, only 62,500 consumers so far are using prepaid electric meters.
The prepaid electric meter users can purchase power through currency transfer facilities at 25 points, says a BREB official.
BREB chairman Moin Uddin, a retired major general, has told New Age that the number of recharge points will be increased soon following the growing demand of prepaid electric meter.
According to power, energy and mineral resources state minister Nasrul Hamid, the government has taken up a plan to bring all the power consumers under pre-payment metering coverage in phases.


If you have any fan art you'd like to send in, just e-mail it to me at aaaSempre@yahoo.com as an e-mail attachment. Please read the Submissions FAQ before sending in your art. This makes it easier for me! Thanks!


text:
View All Publications Training in Orthopaedic Team Science
Thanks to an NIH T32 grant, orthopaedic surgery resident John Thompson is taking a year off from his residency to devote himself to research with clinical and research mentors, including Thomas Clemens, right.
Thomas Clemens is no stranger to translational research. "I've spent my entire career in clinical departments working with physicians on translational research projects," says the vice chair for research in the Johns Hopkins Department of Orthopaedic Surgery. "What struck me when I joined Hopkins was that the surgeons and residents were so busy, they simply had no time to collaborate with us on research projects. We may as well have been on different planets." This separation, popularly known as the "bench-to-bedside gap," severely impedes the translation of new discoveries into clinical practice.
Today, however, Clemens has a powerful new mechanism for closing the bench-to-bedside gap: a National Institutes of Health-sponsored training program called TOTS, short for Training in Orthopaedic Team Science.
Clemens believes that the key to developing meaningful translational research studies is to create multidisciplinary teams. "I took a page from what industry does," he says. "They form big teams that comprise people from very different backgrounds. Here, we're consolidating the entire program, bringing surgical faculty, residents and Ph.D. basic scientists together on projects."
Because residents are key to its success, the TOTS program sponsors a dedicated research year for an orthopaedic resident to collaborate with clinical faculty and a basic science team to address an important question related to diagnosis or treatment of a musculoskeletal disorder.
The first TOTS-sponsored project joins faculty from several Johns Hopkins departments, including dermatology, orthopaedic surgery and radiology, to study infection in bone via a mouse model in which they can monitor the bacterial burden with fluorescent bacteria. The aim is to apply their research to treating infection after orthopaedic implant surgery, with the goal of avoiding costly revisions.
Clemens believes this project exemplifies how effective the team approach can be in developing translational research. "You can't expect busy surgeons to make a genetically altered mouse or to work in a wet lab culturing cells. That's our bailiwick," he says. "Conversely, I wouldn't know how to deliver biologic molecules during surgery, but I can learn the basics from my surgical colleagues. It's all about teamwork: the surgeons to provide input on the most pressing clinical questions and the researchers to develop the methods to study them.
"The applied nature of orthopaedic science is ideal for translational approaches," he continues. "The great diversity of problems that affect the musculoskeletal system provides unique opportunities for training in a wide range of fields, including basic cell biology, genetics, bioengineering, biomechanics, regenerative medicine and public health." With the support of the T32 grant, the Hopkins Orthopaedic Department is poised to take a lead role in developing the next generation of therapies that will greatly benefit patients with disorders of the musculoskeletal system, such as osteoporosis and arthritis.


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Ravens and Anvils: symbolic meanings
I know I will get the question often in the future, so I'll just summarize some of my thoughts and mainly extracts from other sites here for reference. Makes it easier than explaining it all over again and again :-)
Countless cultures point to the raven as a harbinger of powerful secrets. Moreover, the raven is a messenger too, so its business is in both keeping and communicating deep mysteries.
It is a bird closely connected with battle and the Celtic goddess Morrigan, who was a remarkable prophetess (connecting oracle themes with the raven).
Raven symbolism of wisdom and knowledge-keeping is connected with the Welsh hero Bran, the Blessed whose name means raven. Bran was the holder of ancestral memories, and his wisdom was legendary.
Odin was also known as the Raven God. He had many daughters known as Valkyries who could transform into ravens.
There is much more to this enigmatic and intelligent bird than death, darkness and destruction. Raven is a trickster, a protector, a teacher. and a bringer of great magic.
The symbolic meaning of the Raven in Native American Indian lore describes the raven as a creature of metamorphosis, and symbolizes change/transformation.
In some tribes, the Raven is considered a trickster because of its transforming/changing attributes.
Often honored among medicine & holy men of tribes for its shape-shifting qualities, the Raven was called upon in ritual so that visions could be clarified. Native holy men understood that what the physical eye sees, is not necessarily the truth, and he would call upon the Raven for clarity in these matters.
Foremost, the Raven is the Native American bearer of magic, and a harbinger of messages from the cosmos. Messages that are beyond space and time are nestled in the midnight wings of the Raven and come to only those within the tribe who are worthy of the knowledge.
The Raven is also called upon in Native ritual for healing purposes. Specifically, the Raven is thought to provide long-distance healing.
The Raven is also a keeper of secrets, and can assist us in determining answers to our own "hidden" thoughts. Areas in our lives that we are unwilling to face, or secrets we keep that harm us – the Raven can help us expose the truth behind these (often distorted) secrets and wing us back to health and harmony.
More info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_depictions_of_ravens
The anvil stands in connection with the old-northern divinities of the smith's art. New life forge, beginnings create, new get going is the spiritual message which he transports. Anvil is a symbol of the virtue, bravery and strength.
A symbol of the earth and of matter. It corresponds to the passive and feminine principle, as opposed to the hammer, which denotes fecundation.
The anvil is a symbol of universe being forged and can also represent martydom.
More info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anvil
Those are common interpretation of both symbols. Finally, I'd like to add a definition of the combination as per http://www.thefreedictionary.com/To+be+on+the+anvil:
"To be on the anvil": to be in a state of discussion, formation, or preparation, as when a scheme or measure is forming, but not matured.
- Swift.
So, these are common meaning. What do they mean to me? That you'll have ask me next time we meet each other if you're interested :-)
References: search google for raven symbolism and anvil symbolism.
Veerapandian(non-registered)
Super and informative.
Satishkumar Dharamsey Pallicha(non-registered)
Enlightening info.
Ravens and Anvils: symbolic meanings El Capitan Gigapan
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© Dominique Karg


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UFC 216: Breakdown, Predictions
UFC 216 has been understandably overshadowed by the recent tragic events in Las Vegas, but the promotion hopes to put on a spectacular event on Saturday to give the city a much-needed boost.
The main event of UFC 216 is likely to provide the type of action fans will be looking for. Tony Ferguson and Kevin Lee fight for the interim lightweight title, with a lot more than a belt on the line. The winner positions himself to potentially get a crack at Conor McGregor in the Irishman's first fight since his foray into boxing, which would provide a massive payday.
The co-main event also represents a special opportunity for both fighters. Flyweight champ Demetrious Johnson is seeking to make history by breaking Anderson Silva's record of 11 consecutive title defenses, while young challenger Ray Borg looks to stop him and shock the world.
Let's break down the two main matchups of UFC 216, starting with the co-main event.
Demetrious Johnson (c) vs. Ray Borg:
'Mighty Mouse' is more than a 10-1 favorite in this matchup, and it's hard to argue with that line. The flyweight champion has cleaned out his division several times, facing every style of opponent and dominating them in all facets of MMA. There's a reason he is ranked the #1 pound-for-pound fighter: there's no one on the UFC roster with as complete of a game as Demetrious Johnson. He has outstruck the best strikers in his division. In his last fight, he submitted a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt. There simply aren't many holes in the game of 'Mighty Mouse'.
But Ray Borg does have his chances, however slim they may be. He's 24 years old and clearly improving leaps and bounds with every fight. He comes from a great camp in JacksonWink, where he's undoubtedly studied Johnson and come up with a solid game plan.
Borg won't be able to outstrike Johnson and he'll have a hard time taking 'Mighty Mouse' to the ground. But where he excels is in the scrambles and grappling transitions, and that's where he'll look to make the fight ugly and try to catch Johnson by surprise.
Still, it's hard to pick against the champion in this matchup. He's faced more proven athletes in the past and defeated them with ease, and he should make easy work of Borg and break Anderson Silva's record.
Prediction: Demetrious Johnson by submission (third round)
Tony Ferguson vs. Kevin Lee
The main event pits together two lightweights at different stages of their careers. Ferguson has been on a tear over the past few years, facing a tough lineup in the sport's most challenging division and running through them all. He last beat former champion Rafael Dos Anjos, and before that he took out other top-10 opponents like Edson Barboza and Josh Thompson.
Lee, on the other hand, has only recently burst onto the scene. The 25-year-old has put together five straight wins, but not against opponents as fearsome as Ferguson. He's talked the talk better than most in the sport, and so far he's been able to back up the bravado. But while Ferguson has proved himself on the big stages, Lee is still looking to do so.
He'll have to show massive improvements if he wants to get through a fighter like Ferguson. Lee has spectacular takedowns and ground-and-pound, but he's shown that his striking ability still has a ways to go before it is on an elite level. He'll need to take Ferguson down as soon and as often as possible, and when he does he will look to control him and get to his back, as he's won his last three fights by rear-naked choke.
Ferguson's style is unlike anyone else's in the UFC. He has solid wrestling fundamentals that will make it hard for Lee to take him down, but on the feet Ferguson is an enigma. He constantly presses forward, attacking from strange angles and throwing punches, elbows and kicks in an unorthodox rhythm. Few fighters have been able to figure out his style, and most of his recent opponents have found themselves on the end of a vicious beating or caught in Ferguson's trademark D'arce choke.
Much like the co-main event, experience plays a big factor in this fight. Lee has the tools to be an elite fighter for years to come, but this may be too big of a step at this stage of his career. Look for him to have early success with a takedown or two before succumbing to Ferguson's pressure as he gets dragged into deep water.
Prediction: Tony Ferguson by TKO (round 4)
Demetrious JohnsonKevin LeeRay BorgTony Ferguson
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The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale is perhaps the most widely-used self-esteem measure in social science research. Dr. Rosenberg was a Professor of Sociology at the University of Maryland from 1975 until his death in 1992. He received his Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1953, and held a variety of positions, including at Cornell University and the National Institute of Mental Health, prior to coming to Maryland. Dr. Rosenberg is the author or editor of numerous books and articles, and his work on the self-concept, particularly the dimension of self-esteem, is world-renowned.
There is no charge associated with the use of this scale in your professional research. However, please be sure to give credit to Dr. Rosenberg when you use the scale by citing his work in publications, papgers and reports. The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale may be used without explicit permission. However, the Rosenberg family would like to be kept informed of its use.
Self Esteem: What Is it?


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Paul von Colindres OFMCap (* 28. Oktober 1696 in Colindres, Kantabrien, Spanien; † 7. Juni 1766 in Wien) war ein spanischer Kapuziner und Generalminister (Generaloberer) des Gesamtordens.

Leben und Wirken
Er entstammte einer adligen Familie und hieß ursprünglich Pedro Francisco Antonio Oruña y Calderón de la Barca. Sein Bruder Juan Antonio Oruña († 1748) amtierte ab 1744 als Bischof von Osma. Die Eltern waren Pedro Antonio de Oruña und Manuela Calderón de la Barca.

Er studierte Jura, wählte den geistlichen Stand und lehrte kirchliches sowie weltliches Recht an der Universität Valladolid. An der Universität Salamanca erwarb er das Doktorat in Kirchenrecht. Bald berief man ihn als Domherr an die Kathedrale von Salamanca.

Pedro Francisco Antonio Oruña y Calderón de la Barca trat 1725 in den Kapuzinerorden ein und erhielt den Ordensnamen Paulus, nach Kapuzinersitte verbunden mit seinem Herkunftsort. Er hieß daher im Orden Bruder "Paul von Colindres". Aufgrund seiner Gelehrsamkeit und seiner Frömmigkeit stieg er dort rasch auf. Der Ordensgeneral Hartmann von Brixen ernannte ihn 1727 zum Sekretär der spanischen Provinz. Von 1727 bis 1733 begleitete Paul von Colindres den Oberen auf seinen ausgedehnten Visitationsreisen, wobei er am 28. Januar 1731, zu Freiburg im Breisgau, der Hauptstadt von Vorderösterreich, spanischen Soldaten in ihrer Muttersprache predigte. Ab 1735 lebte er fünf Jahre lang als Missionar im afrikanischen Oran und wurde 1746 Ordensminister der Provinz Spanien. Als er General-Definitor der Kapuziner geworden war, bot ihm König Ferdinand VI. das Bistum Barcelona an, was er jedoch aus Bescheidenheit ablehnte. Im Amt des Definitors nahm er am Generalkapitel von 1747 teil, das Sigismund von Ferrara zum Ordensgeneral erkor.

Am 8. Mai 1761 wählte man Bruder Paul von Colindres zum 43. Generalminister des Kapuzinerordens. König Ferdinand IV. erhob ihn am 10. Juli 1762 zum Granden von Spanien. In seiner Generalatszeit visitierte er eifrig die Klöster und bereiste zu diesem Zweck sein Heimatland, Italien, Frankreich, Deutschland und Österreich. Im Oktober 1765 hielt er sich in Bonn auf, ebenso in Köln, wo ihm der Weihbischof Franz Kaspar von Franken-Siersdorf seine Aufwartung machte. Im Dezember weilte Paul von Colindres im Kapuzinerkonvent Bruchsal und traf mit dem Speyerer Fürstbischof Kardinal von Hutten zusammen.  Vom 17. bis zum 26. Januar 1766 besuchte der Generalobere Bamberg und wohnte im dortigen Kapuzinerkloster. Dann kam er in das Kapuzinerkloster Speyer. Hier übernachtete Paul von Colindres und besuchte das Rathaus sowie den Speyerer Dom, bevor er nach Mannheim an den kurfürstlichen Hof weiterreiste. Die zeitgenössischen Quellen bezeichnen ihn bei dieser Gelegenheit als bescheiden, freundlich und leutselig. Alle Berichte betonen, dass er angebotene Fahrgelegenheiten grundsätzlich ablehnte und alle Wege zu Fuß zurücklegte.

Der Ordensgeneral befand sich im Juli 1766 in Wien, wo er an einem "hitzigen Brustkatarrh" (wohl Lungenentzündung) erkrankte und im dortigen Kapuzinerkloster verstarb. Er wurde in der berühmten Wiener Kapuzinerkirche, der Begräbnisstätte der Habsburger, nahe beim Grab des seligen Marco d'Aviano beigesetzt. Seine Grabplatte mit Chronogramm ist erhalten; die Trauerpredigt erschien im Druck.

In seiner Geburtsstadt Colindres ist das "Colegio Público Fray Pablo de Colindres" nach ihm benannt und man hat ihm ein Denkmal errichtet.

Literatur
 Johann Christian von Stramberg, Anton Joseph Weidenbach: Denkwürdiger und nützlicher rheinischer Antiquarius, II. Abteilung, Band 10, S. 616, Koblenz, 1861; (Digitalscan)
 Melchior a Pobladura: Litterae circulares superiorum generalium Ordinis Fratrum Minorum Capuccinorum (1548-1803), Band 1, S. 274 ff., Institutum Historicum Ord. Fr. Min. Cap., 1960; (Ausschnittscan 1), (Ausschnittscan 2)
 Bonifazio da Nizza: Ritratti degli nomini illustri dell'istituto de'Minori Capuccini promossi, o destinati a dignita ecclesiastiche, Teil 2, S. 35–37, Rom, 1804; (Digitalscan)

Weblinks

 Webseite der nach ihm benannten Schule mit Porträtgemälde und genauen Lebensdaten
 Webseite zu berühmten Persönlichkeiten von Colindres (spanisch)
 Webseite zum Familienwappen Oruña, mit Erwähnung des Kapuzinergenerals

Einzelnachweise

Adliger
Grande von Spanien
Römisch-katholischer Geistlicher (18. Jahrhundert)
Domherr
Jurist im Kirchendienst
Rechtswissenschaftler (18. Jahrhundert)
Kirchenrechtler
Kapuziner
Spanier
Geboren 1696
Gestorben 1766
Mann
Generalminister des Kapuzinerordens

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Lester Grinspoon
Dr. Lester Grinspoon (USA, 1928) is Associate Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. Now one of the most respected and outspoken proponents of cannabis, Dr. Grinspoon originally set out to prove it was a harmful drug. In 1967 he began research to scientifically define the dangers of marijuana. His studies led him to a surprising conclusion, the opposite of his hypothesis. Cannabis was not the dangerous drug that he, and the general public, had been led to believe it was. His book Marijuana Reconsidered (1971) reflected this reversal of opinion and was followed by several more, including Marijuana: The Forbidden Medicine in 1993.
Because of his inability to travel a Skype interview with museum director Ben Dronkers was shown during the ceremonies in Amsterdam and Barcelona.
Marihuana reconsidered
Lester Grinspoon, born on 24 June 1928 in Newton, Massachusetts, USA, founded the Annual Review of Psychiatry and the Harvard Mental Health Letter, of which he was editor in chief for 15 years.
His interest in cannabis dates back to the 1960s, when recreational use of the plant was on the rise. Grinspoon's research began in 1967 under the assumption that cannabis was a very dangerous drug. He hoped to write a book in which the many dangers of cannabis were scientifically supported. As he learned more about the plant, its long history and unique properties, his plan changed.
Since the publication in 1971 of his by now classic book Marihuana reconsidered he has lobbied tirelessly for rehabilitation and against criminalization of the plant.
Cannabis as a medicine
While writing Marihuana: the forbidden medicine, together with co-author James Bakalar, Grinspoon came to the conclusion that the public at large had been misinformed and mislead about cannabis. Published in 1993, this book made a formidable contribution to the debate on and the knowledge of the medicinal properties of cannabis.
One can safely state that no one has meant more to the rediscovery of cannabis as a medicine than Lester Grinspoon.
On his website Lester Grinspoon gathered thousands of testimonials from people using cannabis medicinally. Grinspoon himself saw the powerful effects of cannabis when his young son was diagnosed with cancer and had to undergo chemotherapy and radiotherapy. In Marihuana: the forbidden medicine, he talks about this experience in several passages.
Authoritative expert on cannabis
Since 1967, Grinspoon has grown to become one of the world's most authoritative experts on cannabis. He has testified before the US Congress and in a large number of court cases, and has appeared in dozens of documentaries. In 1990, he received the prestigious Alfred R. Lindesmith Award from the Drug Policy Foundation for his scientific contributions.
The second website launched by Grinspoon, Marijuana-uses.com, is aimed at non-medicinal use: cannabis as a source of inspiration, to stimulate creativity and ideas and to deepen the user's appreciation for music, art and nature.
In the introduction to the site, Grinspoon writes:
"Every age has its peculiar folly, and if Charles Mackay, the author of the mid-19th century classic, Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds, were alive today he would surely see 'cannabinophobia' as a popular delusion along with the 'tulipmania' and 'witch hunts' of earlier ages. I believe that we are now at the cusp of this particular popular delusion which to date has been responsible for the arrest of about 20 million US citizens. I also believe that future historians will look at this epic and recognize it as another instance of the 'madness of crowds'. Millions of marijuana users have already arrived at this understanding."
Media: videos and photos
Video conference between museum founder Ben Dronkers and Harvard Emeritus Professor Lester Grinspoon.jpg
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Lester Grinspoon & Ben Dronkers video conference - Cannabis Culture Awards 2012
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