Identify design techniques applicable to CICS.
Recognize the different function of each component within CICS.
Identify aspects of the design that affects system performance.
Construct a design for passing data within a transaction.
Determine the best techniques for passing large amounts of data between routines within a single transaction: channels, temporary storage queues, commarea, and others.
Perform a design for web enablement.
Given a business application that uses a standard BMS screen, redesign it for a web application connected to CICS.
Given a poorly designed set of maps, redesign it to improve readability, usage, and accessibility.
Data can be queued and stored for internal or external processing.
Selected data, specified in the application program, can be routed to or from predefined symbolic intrapartition or extrapartition destinations.
Code a program to pass data between two programs using a transient data queue.
Print a report using a transient data queue.
Implicit locking on non recoverable and recoverable files.
Demonstrate exclusive control during updates of non recoverable resources.
Design a web service that will run under CICS.
Design and document a SOA web service for CICS. The instructor will provide a business problem.
Document the components in creating a basic web service using CICS as the server.
Design recovery file resources to be prepared for an immediate shutdown.


text:
Q: How to understand length contraction via Minkowski diagrams? Two objects of equal proper lengths are to be compared (let's assume that they can pass through each other). One object is moving with velocity $v$ in the $+x$-direction relative to the other. Let's assign this object frame $(t', x')$ and the "resting object" frame $(t, x)$.
Using (a qualitative) Lorentz' transformation:

Normally, length contraction is explained in the following way: In the above image, the green lines represent the start- and end of the object in the rest frame (for instance, the beginning and end of a measuring tape) and the blue- and green lines represent the start and the end of the object in the moving frame (for instance, a car). Clearly, as seen from the rest frame, the car is length contracted at instance $t = 0$, which agrees with what happens in reality.
However, as mentioned in the question Minkowski diagram and length contraction, the scale of the $x'$-axis isn't the same as a simple rotation of the $x$-axis. Instead, equal lengths seem to lie on a hyperbolas. This apparently explains why, when I look at the $x'$-axis ($t' = 0$), it appears that the measuring tape is longer than the car, since the right green line intersects the $x'$-axis at a larger $x'$-value than the blue one. The reason this does not work (since obviously, the tape should be shorter, not longer) is because of the scaling of the $x'$-axis.
My questions are:

*

*If the scaling is wrong, why is this picture so often used to explain length contraction? In images such as the one below, it seems to be assumed that the scale of both axes are the same.

*When drawing an opposite spacetime diagram (with $(t', x')$ forming a normal coordinate system), it works as expected. Is there a reason why it works one way but not the other? Basically, in all previous usage of spacetime diagrams, there has never been any mention of scaling. Is there a reason why it worked anyways?

A: UPDATED below.

In special relativity,
the two diagrams are consistent with each other.
To see this, I will draw in the tickmarks for space and time according to special relativity.
But first, some comments on your statement:

If the scaling is wrong, why is this picture so often used to explain length contraction? In images such as the one below, it seems to be assumed that the scale of both axes are the same.

*

*It is the Euclidean-scaling that is wrong (that is, inappropriate) for special relativity.
Instead, one should use the scaling according to Minkowski-spacetime geometry,
which [as you mention] uses the hyperbola as the "circle".

*In the image below (taken from Takeuchi's book) ,
it is not true that the "scale of both axes are the same". (The ratio of the drawn Euclidean-lengths is about 1.5 [using a ruler]. However, the ratio should be about 1.15 ($\approx 2/\sqrt{3}$, which is $\gamma=\frac{1}{\sqrt{1-(v/c)^2}}$ when evaluated for the velocity used in the diagram: $v=\frac{1}{2}c$.)
 So, again, the Euclidean-scaling is inappropriate.

Let me draw in the tickmarks in accordance with special-relativity.
It turns out that using "rotated-graph paper" makes this easier to do,
where the grid is modeled after the spacetime-paths of light rays
for a light-clock carried by the lab-frame.
Instead of $(1/2)c$,
I'm going to use $v=(3/5)c$ because the arithmetic is easier is thus easier to draw in the grid. For my choice,  $\gamma=5/4=1.25$ and $k=\sqrt{\frac{1+(v/c)}{1-(v/c)}}=2$.
(side comment: Velocities $v$ with rational Doppler factors $k$ lead to Pythagorean Triples, which leads to calculations with fractions.)

*

*Here your first diagram with the tickmarks included.

Note the symmetry of the situation: Each astronaut
measures the length of the other astronaut's ruler to be shorter by same factor $\gamma$.

*For the diagram from Takeuchi's book, I have drawn in the
analogous features.

(side comment:
The ticks from each clock ("light-clock-diamonds") are equal in area, in accordance with
the Lorentz boost transformation having determinant 1.
The grid directions in the rotated grid are along the light-cones of Minkowski spacetime [along the eigenvectors of the boost, with the Doppler factor and its reciprocal as their eigenvalues]. Hence, the boosted light-clock-diamond is "stretched" by a factor of $k=2$ is the future-frontward direction and by $1/k$ in the future-backward direction.)
Further info, see my answers in:

*

*Graphical explanation for length contraction

*What exactly is the meaning of length contraction?

*Confusion regarding length contraction

update:
This supports the comment I made in response to the OP's comment.
I made a Desmos visualization with Takeuchi's diagram and manually rescaled and positioned it as well as I could to match the grid.
Using the coordinates of the pairs-of-events each astronaut uses to measure the length of the moving rod, we approximately verify the length-contraction factor by calculating the ratio of computed-spatial-intervals using the $(t,x)$-coordinates of the lab frame.
Thus, the graph paper is accurate for describing the events in the lab frame.

However, this grid does not work for the moving frame. One cannot rotate this grid.... one must apply a lorentz-transformation to the grid. (My "rotated graph paper" makes this easier to do.)
https://www.desmos.com/calculator/cqvbvs8u9k

(Note: Takeuchi's example uses $v=(1/2)c$.)
Using the notation of my Desmos file,
$E=\left(7.5,7\right)$
 $A=\left(3.5,7\right)$
 $B=\left(2.165,4.35\right)$
$T_{diffLAB}=\left(E-A\right).y=0$
$X_{diffLAB}=\left(E-A\right).x=4$
$T_{diffAST}=\left(E-B\right).y=2.65$
$X_{diffAST}=\left(E-B\right).x=5.335$
$L_{ASTwrtAST}=\sqrt{X_{diffAST}^{2}-T_{diffAST}^{2}}=4.63030506554$ --this is not the Euclidean ruler-length on this diagram!
(Check it with a ruler and the Euclidean Pythagorean theorem!)
$L_{ASTwrtLAB}=\sqrt{X_{diffLAB}^{2}-T_{diffLAB}^{2}}=4$
$r_{GRAPHICAL}=\frac{L_{ASTwrtAST}}{L_{ASTwrtLAB}}=1.15757626639$
$g_{amma}=\frac{1}{\sqrt{1-\left(\frac{1}{2}\right)^{2}}}=\frac{2}{\sqrt{3}}=1.15470053838 $
...reasonably good agreement.
update:

Working backwards, with knowledge of $v=(1/2)$ and $\gamma=\frac{2}{\sqrt{3}}$ and that observed-length is 4,
the coordinates of $B$ should be:

$B_x=7.5-\gamma(\gamma(4)+v\gamma(0))=2.1666$

$B_t=7-\gamma(\gamma(0)+v\gamma(4))=4.3333$

So, the bottom line is:

*

*Takeuchi's grid is for lab-frame coordinates of events.
Determine the appropriate pairs of events for each astronaut's measurement.
Use the formula for the interval for each pair, and take the ratio.
Takeuchi's grid is not for moving-frame coordinates of events.

*My "rotated graph paper" grid
helps visually compare the intervals quantitatively,
 and can be more easily transformed to obtain the moving-frame
coordinates.
(You can still use the formulas, but my method can obtain the results graphically for velocities with rational Doppler factors.)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Lagos Business School (LBS) has been ranked among the top 50 business schools on The Economist magazine's 2018 EMBA ranking. The LBS Executive MBA programme ranks as 48th best in the world out of 65 schools featured on the list published today.
The Economist's EMBA ranking is a bi-annual list of the best providers of the Executive MBA programme across the world, and they are categorised based on two broad measures: personal development/educational experience and career development.
Being the only business school in Africa to feature in this year's ranking, LBS was judged by the quality of its EMBA participants, their work experience, the number of industry sectors from which they applied, their career progression, the quality of faculty, percentage of faculty with a PhD, among other criteria.
Lagos Business School MBA Director, Dr Uchenna Uzo, described the achievement as proof that the School has not deviated from its mission to provide high potential professionals with world-class management education.
Uzo added, "Our work here at LBS is being recognised across the globe, and we are committed to doing even more to transform business education and management practice in Africa and beyond by producing quality graduates who will change the status quo".
Other top institutions featured on the list are Yale School of Management, IE Business School and Arizona State University with whom Lagos Business School has just entered into a partnership for the International Accelerated Degree Programme (IADP).


U.S. SENATE —U.S. Senator Steve Daines today secured numerous provisions in the FY 2018 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act to increase Montana veterans' access to timely care for injuries they sustained while serving our nation. These provisions will reduce delays for new facility construction, expanding mental health treatment options and expanding access to veterans in rural areas.
Daines offered an amendment to the bill, which was marked up and approved by the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations today. The amendment ensures that veterans have equal access to all of the medical options available in their local community, to include medical marijuana in states where it is legal.
Daines also secured funding for two major construction projects that will commence later this year at Malmstrom Air Force Base. A new Tactical Response Facility will replace the nearly 60 year old hangar that currently houses the Vietnam-era UH-1N 'Huey' helicopters. A new missile maintenance facility will mitigate weather delays often associated with northern tier bases.
Funding for Medical Facility Leases to include the Missoula Community Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC) expansion. This follows legislation Daines introduced in January to provide the VA with the authorization to pursue this lease.
Increased Funding for the Construction of State Extended Care Facilities to include the 60-bed veterans home in Butte. The state of Montana provided its $5 million cost share for this effort in 2011, yet the project has languished on the VA's Priority Group 1 list for over five years.
Expanded Treatment Options for Veteran Suicide and Mental Health. At Daines' request, the bill encourages the VA to expand research into Magnetic EEG-Guided Resonance Therapy—a non-invasive therapeutic approach for the treatment of Post-Traumatic Stress and other neurocognitive disorders. The bill requires the VA to include a mobile capability to reach veterans in rural areas. Daines recently spoke at an event showcasing this therapuetic approach in Bozeman.
Legal Assistance for Veterans at Risk of Homelessness. At Daines' request, the bill encourages the Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) program to work with institutions like the University of Montana's Veterans Advocacy Clinic to provide pro bono legal assistance to at-risk veterans in their community.
Funding for the Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection. In January, Secretary Shulkin asked Daines for legislation giving him the authority to hold leaders accountable who received bonuses while engaging in scandalous behavior. Daines cosponsored three bills providing that authority, including the VA Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act recently signed into law by President Trump on June 23rd. This funding follows through on his commitment to bring needed change and reform to the VA.
Funding for an Interoperable Electronic Healthcare Record. Daines has repeatedly pressed DoD and VA leadership to pursue an Electronic Healthcare Record system. On June 5, Secretary Shulkin announced the VA's decision to abandon its aging VistA system in favor of DoD's successful MHS Genesis program.
Funding for Medical Community Care. In March, Daines co-sponsored the Veterans Choice Improvement Act which ensured that funding for Choice providers would not expire on an arbitrary date in August. This funding ensures veterans continue to receive care from their providers until Congress authorizes a more viable replacement.
Funding to Expand and Improve Women's Health. Additional funding supports a variety of gender-specific needs ranging from prosthetics to treatment for victims of sexual trauma.
Prioritization for Mental Healthcare Providers in Rural Areas. Veteran centers that provide resources for veterans over large areas, like those in Montana, face heavier use with lower levels of staff. Daines included language that directs the VA to prioritize rural access to mental health.
Prioritization for Funding Preventing Rural Veteran Suicides. The VA estimates that 20 percent of veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder have a substance abuse disorder and substance abuse is proven to lead to increased suicidal tendencies. Daines secured language that directs the VA to prioritize substance abuse counseling for veterans with PTSD.
Blue Water Navy Veterans. The bill extends coverage to Navy veterans exposed to Agent Orange in the territorial waters of Vietnam Daines has been pushing for the passage of the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act alongside a bipartisan coalition in the U.S. House of Representatives. This legislation would clarify existing law so that Blue Water veterans would be covered by the VA if they served within "territorial seas," or approximately 12 miles offshore of Vietnam. The Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act would make it easier for the VA to process Vietnam War veterans' claims for service-connected health conditions and alleviate a portion of the VA's backlog by extending presumptive coverage of Agent Orange benefits to these veterans.
Measures to ensure Discharge Review Boards (DRBs) give liberal consideration to petitions for changes in discharge status to honorable if the servicemember has PTSD, TBI or related conditions in connection with their military service.
Efforts to prevent the consolidation or relocation of any U.S. Air Force RED HORSE squadron.


The guys and I made a spontaneous trip into Cincinnati today after reading a news article about the USS LST 325 being docked for just a few days on the waterfront. We are studying WWII history this year and there is nothing like being able to walk through history rather than just reading about it.
The Purple People Bridge connects Ohio and Kentucky. This bridge is limited to pedestrians and cyclists.
Our afternoon began by parking near the Newport Levee in Kentucky and walking across the Ohio River into Ohio on the Purple People Bridge. This bridge was such a great way of connecting both sides of the waterfront in a family friendly way.
The USS LST 325 was the 325th Landing Ship, Tank built during and utilized during World War II. It is recorded that there were only a little more than 1,000 of these vessels built for use during WWII. More of this particular type of ship were made for use during the Korean and Vietnam Conflicts. The USS LST 325 is regularly docked in Evansville, IN, and can be toured there when in port.
The USS LST 325 is the last operational Landing Ship, Tank from World War II. This actual ship was utilized on the beaches of Normandy on D-Day. Being able to go aboard, talk with servicemen, and actually see the different areas of the ship were all incredible. It was especially significant to meet this veteran who was on board today who were among our servicemen that fought in World War II.
We entered the ship through the lower hull that would have been opened to allow the troops to storm the beach on that fateful day. Immediately, we were hit with the difference in temperature and lack of ventilation in this area. The space the quite large allowing the boys to imagine tanks and other larger pieces of equipment that would have been shipped in this area. During our visit, this specific space had a variety of educational exhibits. There were hatches open into side areas that contained storage of equipment, small artillery, and work areas as well as hatches in the floors to show the engine room.
The guys were able to see many functional areas of the ship to give them a glimpse into what life on this vessel would be like.
I think they were all in agreement that the hardest part might have been exchanging their beds for a bunk as an enlisted soldier. The thought of trying to sleep in these small quarters with so many other men on a bunk that swayed with each tossing of the waves was almost too much to fathom. Our thoughts had always been focused on the courage and strength soldiers exhibit on the battlefront. However, there are many other areas that we gained new respect for these men that choose to serve our nation.
As we went up on the top deck, it was amazing to see just how large a Landing Ship, Tank really is. In looking at the jeeps and other equipment in respect to the total size of the ship allowed us to get a better feel for its overall size. And to just think that this was considered to be a relatively small flat bottomed boat that was used only for small distances in order to maneuver up on to beaches.
Being able to talk with one of the veterans who is hosting this tour, our sons were enthralled by the canons and shells that were shot from them. This particular canon could shoot off 120 rounds per minute of the shells seen in this picture. It would take four men to fully operate this piece of weaponry.
We could not have a more wonderful day weather-wise to walk along the riverfront or visit this piece of American history. I am sure that our soldiers that were on that ship saw all kinds of weather, sickness, and experienced fears and loneliness that we did not experience today. I find myself struggling with the reality of the ship that we walked upon being on the front lines of battle. Sadly, it is just as hard for our boys to imagine life with America not at war. They do not personally know the horrors or loss of war. They do not understand how war has changed in so many ways since those days in the early 1940s. However, it is still saddens me that our young people are growing believing that war is the norm.
I am thankful for all our servicemen who have fought valiantly for the freedoms that we enjoy today. My prayer is that as a nation we will turn back to the One True God so that we will once again become a nation at peace both in this world and also with God.


UNITED NATIONS, June 18 -- With Mali the topic in the UN Security Council on June 18, UN Peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous claimed among other things that his support of the Malian military is subject to the UN's Human Rights Due Diligence Policy.
But Ladsous has refused not only to enforce but even to explain this supposed policy, for example on May 29, video here.
That day, Ladsous also refused to answer why he has run a procurement for drones to be based in Northern Mali, before receiving any approval for this.
As Ladsous read his speech, next to him sat his man in Mali, as in Cote d'Ivoire before: Bert Koenders. To his credit, Koenders indicated that he will answer questions after the Council's closed-door consultations. As long as it is not scheduled to overlap with other press briefings in and near the UN, the questions will include the Human Rights Due Diligence Policy and the below.
Background: what does UN Peacekeeping under Herve Ladsous do when photographs of its peacekeepers draped in the flag of breakaway Azawad in northern Mali come out?
As Inner City Press has reported, despite not having required Security Council approval, Ladsous has been soliciting drones or "unarmed unmanned aerial vehicles" for Mali. Inner City Press has twice asked UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric to explain the solicitation without approval, but no answer has been given.


Maui Bees' pure raw honey begins in the forests of Haleakalā, where bees gather nectar from blossoms like 'ōhi'a, silky oak and eucalyptus. Available at Mana Foods, Down to Earth, and other island stores. Or stop by the farm stand, 150 Pulehunui Rd., Kula, 280-6652, MauiBees.com.
with an avid following of coffee lovers and top chefs. Savor an exclusive, proprietary roast at Mama's Fish House. And enjoy Maui Upcountry Coffee's other fine roasts at home; available at Foodland, Pukalani Superette, Mana Foods, and Rodeo General Store. Or order online at MauiUpcountryCoffee.com.
Maui Tempeh Company is on a mission to prove how delicious vegan can be. Organic adzuki beans, grilled pineapple and finely shaved coleslaw are the ingredients inside a +Zuki burger; outside is a tender brioche bun. Stop by the factory or Upcountry Farmers Market, or order online. 331 Ho'okahi St., Wailuku, 446-9486, MauiTempeh.com.
4 WHAT THEY'RE PUDDING INTO IT MATTERS.
Tap into a tropical moment with a refreshing dessert from Stacey's Garden: coconut tapioca topped with chocolate, strawberry/guava, or liliko'i (shown). See website for retail locations. 286-2330, StaceysGarden.com.
Grandpa Joe's caramel corn is like having the circus come to town. Made by hand from a family recipe 70+ years old, it comes in tropical flavors like pineapple, coconut, and Kona coffee. Retail locations and online orders at GrandpaJoesCandyCompany.com.


text:
Q: My.Computer.Network.Ping(<>) always returns true I'm trying to monitor if the other PC's in our network are up or are shutdown. Following myresearch I found My.Computer.Network.Ping is way to do this.
Determine if remote Computer is available
MSDN
So i created a testproject where i'm pinging 5 workstations.
WS0001 (non - existant)
WS0002 (non - existant)
WS3102 (existant)
WS3207 (existant)
WS3306 (existant)

However method My.Computer.Network.Ping always returns true no matter if the workstation exists or not.
Question:
Would anyone know why it falsely returns true?
I'm using the method as following. m_Parameters("workstation") is one of the workstation metionned above.
If My.Computer.Network.Ping(m_Parameters("workstation")) Then
   'The PC is available in the company network
Else
   ' The Pc is unavailable in the company network
End If

Note : Using My.Computer.Network.IsAvailable does not resolve the issue. I want information about the other workstations not my own.
Note 2: Screenshot from my commandprompt
Translation: "Ping Request could not find host ws0001. Please check the hostname and try again." WS3320 is the computer of a colleague of mine. WS0001 is our "Test Workstation" which is now not running (since more then 5 months) and is no longer known in our domain.

Thnx for the help sofar!

A: Try using this method instead.
msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.net.networkinformation.ping%28v=vs.110%29.aspx


text:
Home Movies Actors Interview with Aimee Lynn Chadwick (Return of the Living Dead: Necropolis)
Interview with Aimee Lynn Chadwick (Return of the Living Dead: Necropolis)
For many fans, the Return of the Living Dead series came to an anticlimax with Necropolis and Rave to the Grave. While they may have failed to deliver in the same way as the original, one character that made them appealing was Becky, played with a tongue-in-cheek attitude by Aimee Lynn Chadwick. At first presented as the geek, during the action-packed finale to Necropolis Becky transforms into a Ripley-type heroine, although sadly the character would be underused during the final instalment, Rave to the Grave.
Having relocated from a small town in Massachusetts to the bright lights of Hollywood, Chadwick's first significant role came in 2004 with her appearance as a DJ in in the family comedy A Cinderella Story. She was then cast as Becky in the two-picture deal for Return of the Living Dead, both shot back-to-back in Romania and critically reviled upon release.
Having played both the hero and the zombie, Aimee reveals all about her experiences with the living dead.
What kind of movies did you enjoy when you were growing up and how did this develop into an interest in acting? Were you ever a fan of horror films and which in particular made the greatest impression on you?
Growing up I watched a lot of classics with my mom. Everything with Judy Garland, Mickey Rooney, Fred Astaire, All the old musicals, Shirley Temple…you name it. As I got older I started really get into movies that captivated my attention with their acting and performances. I guess I never really clung to one genre specifically for a long period of time, I really just enjoyed the art of cinema always.
How did first enter the movie industry and which project would you consider to have been your first big break? Have you found that work has come easy to you or has it been a struggle?
I first came to LA in 2001, at that time of my life I had to make a choice of what I really wanted, go to NYC and do THAT whole thing, or take the leap for LA, and get my Oscar. Upon arriving, things just seemed to fall into place. I found a manager, an agency, and was auditioning within the first three weeks. The life here in L.A., if this is what you choose, is always a struggle. You may book something one day and think 'THIS IS IT! MY BIG BREAK!' but, then a month later, the project just seems obsolete in the process of 'making it happen.' You always feel like you move forward, and as you do, fall two steps behind. The first project that felt like that, I would say, is The Cinderella Story. It was my very first studio production, and I was going to be working with Hilary Duff, and on a real movie. The struggles come after you shoot the movie, and have to find your next job. Some months are great, and some go by and totally miss you. The important thing is to just keep going full force, and keep your eye on the prize.
How did Return of the Living Dead come about? Were you looking for a horror project and what was it about the character of Becky and the scripts for Necropolis and Rave to the Grave that appealed to you?
I booked the character of Becky after coming off a shoot hosting a kids television show. While shooting, I had to ride a 50cc motocross bike during a Supercross race for the shot. I had never ridden before, and on one of the many takes I broke my pelvis and hip in three places. Needless to say, I wasn't suppose to walk for a really long time. I think it was five days later when my agent called me to tell me he was going to pass on the audition he had just got for ROTLD due to my condition. I just about DIED! I pleaded and promised him not ONLY was I GOING to go, that I would book it. At that time, I was BIG into zombies, and punk rock, and would watch ROTLD every night to fall asleep. It was meant for me to be in this movie. I knew it.
So I practiced walking everyday till the audition, it wasn't going well, and it hurt. The day of the audition, with my crutches and best friend in tow, I hobbled slowly to the casting. I took A LOT of pain medicine that day, and although every ounce of my body could still feel the pain I was being drawn by a force greater than me to go through with it. Once at the door, I hid my crutches and carefully walked in with my Texas Chainsaw Massacre lunch box, filled with gory, and zombie, pictures of myself that my friends and I experimented with. I wanted them to see, that not only should I get the part, but that I was an ACTIVE fan in the horror community. They asked why I was walking funny, and I joked It was my zombie walk. 1 month later I was flying first class on a plane to Romania, for 5 months to shoot 2 movies back to back. It was unreal.
Becky's character appealed to me, because she was a fun-intense, light-hearted girl. She had a heart. Despite being clumsy, and naive.
The cast and crew were made up of both veterans (William Butler, Peter Coyote) and newcomers (John Keefe, Jana Kramer), was there anyone in particular you were looking forward to working with and who did you bond with most on set?
I was of course excited to work with Peter Coyote. His résumé is extensive and I really love to learn from actor's who have fought the fight and are still working. I respect them. That , and I heard he use to be a huge hippie, and I thought that was awesome, I was curious to hear stories. I think all of us actors bonded together a lot. We were basically the only Americans in this new land and really had to look out for each other. It's not like we were on some high budget Hollywood movie set. We were in a very poor country, with no experience of the culture or language, not knowing the environment. It got scary sometimes, but after five months it felt like home. We all really felt like a family. I still talk to some of the actors all the time.
How come the filmmakers decided to shoot in Ukraine and Romania and was this an enjoyable experience? How would you compare this to shooting a film in America?
I'm guessing that it is cheaper to film in Romania? Personally, I think where we were shooting, gave a whole creepy feel to the film. The structures in that country are incredible. I'd shoot there again and again. Maybe for not so long next time. I don't think there is one single way to compare it to filming in America. There are hundreds of differences. Shooting there feels so guerrilla like, so surreal.
Aimee-Lynn Chadwick
Was it exciting to fire guns and taken on such an action role and did you perform any of the stunts yourself?
This was my first time ever holding a gun. I don't like guns, I don't even like fake guns, so I'm not going to lie, I was nervous. After firing a few rounds I got the hang of it and loved it. I felt Badass. The flamethrower was the best! Although, I heard this story that no one was checking the weapons for safety, perhaps just a rumor, but a stunt guy on the film being shot near us got his nose blown off practically using the same flamethrower. It backfired. Lucky I learned of the tale, AFTER I shot the flamethrower scenes. I would have been too scared to attempt it if I had heard that story before. The stunt I hated the most of course, was running. Which we did a lot. I dreaded it, because as it was, I could barely walk and had to put on the façade I could. You can see in some of the scenes where I run, I look totally funny doing it.
Were there any particular issues or problems that occurred with yourself or anyone else during filming and how did these affect the shoot?
One major problem that occurred, and was the reason for us staying for extra weeks at the end, was Jana Kramer getting sick, then going home, and having to recast her for the second film. The second film which we already shot some of (we did both movies OUT of sequence). So they had to recast Jana with Jenny Mollen for number 5, and rewrite the script basically in a lot of places. During that time, we changed A.D.s and D.P.s. Tom Callaway came in and pretty much saved all our asses toward the end. He was a real hero, especially to us actors. Getting in there and helping direct us. He will forever be awesome in my eyes.
The characters from Rave to the Grave do not seem to mention the incident from the previous film, even when zombies begin to appear. Was this not intended as a direct sequel to Necropolis, and why do you think none of the characters had learnt anything from the last movie?
As you can see, halfway through we had a huge problem. With the recasting, and changing. We began shooting 2 movies together, completely out of sequence. They were rewriting on the spot, to save money, and time and salvage all the footage we did get. It's an unfortunate event that I think if it didn't happen perhaps the movies would make a bit more sense. Everyone worked their butts off though to make a final product. No one can fully prepare for problems of that size to arise, and everyone did what they could. I give them all a lot of credit. Down to the editors, because we worked with the cards we were all dealt, and we got it done.
Becky was very pro-active and strong in Necropolis, yet she seemed extremely underused in Rave to the Grave, with her death seemingly uneventful. Do you feel that she deserved better treatment in the last film and were you disappointed that you were no longer the hero?
Of course I think she deserved better treatment! Even if it was fun to change into a zombie and die, it bothered me that she was a completely different human being in RAVE. I questioned it, but in the end I show up to work and to do my job. I had no control over what was attempted to be fixed in the storyline.
Was it enjoyable wearing the prosthetics for when you became a zombie and is it more fun to play a hero or a monster?
I LOVED wearing the prosthetics. I had so much fun. The makeup and FX guys were incredible. John Vulich, and Greg Funk, were so awesome to watch. I learned a lot that summer with those guys. It enhanced my latent passion for creating monsters and bloody messes. Being a zombie is the funnest , it's the whole appeal of being IN a zombie movie. Add that I have the chance to be the hero AND a zombie, hell, I have the best of both worlds.
Was there much gore cut out of either movie or did the filmmakers wish for them both to be more suggestive than graphic?
I know there was a some gore scenes that had to be cut out, not sure how many. It was a few years back now. It was everyone's intention to have as much of it remain IN the movie, that I do know. What is the point of making a gore, zombie flick, if there isn't GORE!??!
How have you managed to balance both your acting and music careers, as Necropolis and Rave to the Grave must have been a major commitment? How much of your life was taken by the preparing and shooting of those two movies and would you be willing to shoot two films back-to-back again?
Shooting both movies back to back till take it's toll back in LA. I missed my premiere of A Cinderella Story, missed out on auditions, my band fell apart, and didn't get back till mid September. When I did I had to start from square one again with my career. When you are on a roll with booking things it's hard to jump out of the radar, then come back in and have people really remember what your last project was. You have to be constantly IN the game. So yes, I felt like I missed out a lot shooting them both, but I never would take back that experience. I learned so much there. Would I do two movies back to back again? Of course, and at least now I would know how to tackle it.
Both Necropolis and Rave to the Grave were first aired on the Sci-Fi Channel in the US and were expected to receive a theatrical release in other countries, yet they went straight-to-DVD. What kind of release were you expecting the films to have prior to their completion and were you disappointed that they were not seen in cinemas?
I was hoping for a major release, we all were. But, that's the business, you just roll with the punches.
What kind of feedback have you received from fans of the series and would you say your Return of the Living Dead experience has been a positive one? Have you attended many conventions since the films' release and what kind of impact have they had on your career?
I've gotten great feedback from fans. Fans that understand as an actor, you work with the material you are given. You work with the situation you are handed best you can. In the end that is all you can do. I think every aspect of the whole process of ROTLD was a truly positive one for me. I had the experience of a lifetime I wouldn't change for anything in the world. After filming, I attended a few conventions, one being Fangoria. I always have a blast with the horror scene. Made so many great friends, and talented people.
It seems that the franchise has once again come to a standstill, with rumours of an inevitable sequel/remake possibly on the horizon. If you were ever offered the chance to return to the series would you accept and what do you wish you had done differently with regards to the last two films?
If I was offered a chance to do the series again, I would want a director that knows and is passionate about the genre the franchise, and I would want the budget to be a bit bigger. I was bummed when fans of the franchise felt like they got jipped of a sequel. I would want to be a part of THE BEST sequel to ROTLD that was ever made. I just don't think it's happened yet, but I think it could. At the end of the day, zombie movies are suppose to be fun. We had fun, creating the films and I'm sure in the future the superfans will watch these movies with a lighter heart, and find the humor in them as well.
Previous articleInterview with Dan Ellis (Gutterballs)
Next articleInterview with Elske McCain (Jessicka Rabid)
Interview with Sadie Katz (Wrong Turn 6)
Interview with Olivia Hussey (Black Christmas)
Interview with Chanel Ryan (Hobgoblins 2)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Australian Stories People History
Places Women Make - Unearthing the contribution of women to our cities
Author(s): Jane Jose
Places Women Make tells stories of women shaping the Australian city - its buildings, spaces, and social and political agendas.
Jane Jose takes a fresh look at city life, great places and the unsung urban heroines who made them. She explores the design of cities, the places we need and suggests urban life would be richer if women play more of a role in city design.
Places Women Make honours women place-makers from history, while speaking to a new generation of designers about the possibilities to come.
Jane Jose is an urbanist who has worked in the world of planners and architects. She was elected as an independent Deputy Lord Mayor of Adelaide in 1991. Since then she has worked closely with leaders in many Australian cities developing policies to make our cities more liveable. She cares deeply about urban places and spaces and how they improve people's lives. Jose graduated from the University of Adelaide and joined the ABC as a news journalist. She later wrote a weekly opinion column on city issues in South Australia. In 1996 she joined HASSELL architects and designers working in community engagement. Since then she has written urban policy documents including the village plans for the City of Sydney. Jose has been appointed to committees and boards with responsibility for major city development. In 2014 she was appointed as CEO of Sydney Community Foundation, an independent not for profit foundation and runs the Sydney Women's Fund. The mission of the foundation is to strengthen community life and help people to thrive in Australia's largest city
Publisher : Wakefield Press Pty, Limited
Imprint : Wakefield Press
Illustrations : 21 greyscale photographs
Author : Jane Jose


Quality Lakes Inc. was contracted to design a pond for a client in South Carolina. The challenge was meeting the permit requirements for maximum surface acreage and maximum storage capacity which limited the overall size of the pond. "By utilizing the lake design tools available through our partnership with The Mapping Network, we were able to design a pond to meet permitting specifications while maximizing fish habitat and access by bank anglers to all regions of the pond" said Mr. Bales.
This entry was posted in Lake Map and tagged lake, lake construction, lake design, Lake Map, pond construction, pond design, Quality Lakes, south carolina lake map, The Mapping Network, Trophy Bass, Trophy Lake on October 15, 2014 by Moderator.
Quality Lakes Inc. was contracted to design a pond for a client to use as a back-up fishing location for their guests on days the St. John's River was too rough for a guided trip. The challenge was meeting the permit requirements for maximum surface acreage and maximum storage capacity which limited the overall size of the pond. By utilizing the lake design tools available through our partnership with The Mapping Network, we were able to design a pond to meet permitting specifications while maximizing fish habitat and access by bank anglers to all regions of the pond. Construction is underway and should be wrapped up in October.
This entry was posted in Lake Map and tagged lake, lake construction, lake design, Lake Map, pond construction, pond design, Quality Lakes, south carolina lake map, The Mapping Network, Trophy Bass, Trophy Lake on January 13, 2011 by Moderator.
This entry was posted in Lake Map and tagged lake, lake construction, lake design, Lake Map, pond construction, pond design, Quality Lakes, The Mapping Network, Trophy Bass, Trophy Lake on September 16, 2010 by Moderator.


text:
Q: Getting a file via an API with the file name containing a plus sign We are currently working with an API for file upload and download.
We upload the file successfully, yet we can't download it. We have found that some of the files contain a '+' character which seems to be the issue here.
My question is, if we call the API like so :
nameoffile = "testing+test"
https://sitename/api/filesystem/nameoffile

Could there be another way of calling the API so the clients/browsers handle the name in the way we need them to?

A: Yes. You're talking about URLEncoding special characters: https://www.tutorialspoint.com/html/html_url_encoding.htm
In your case, a '+' character encodes to "%2B":
nameOfFile = "testing%2Btest"
url = "https://www.google.com/abc/"+nameOfFile


text:
How Jon Pardi Summoned Country Music Ghosts On 'Heartache Medication' Rolling Stone
Jon Pardi shared the secrets of songs from his new Heartache Medication album on Thursday night (Sept. The American country singer Jon Pardi born on 25th May 1985, is known for his neo-traditional style of music. He signed with the record label company Capitol Nashville and subsequently released three studio albums. Impressively, he made the Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay Charts with nine of his ten singles.
Jon Pardi – "Forever and Ever, Amen"As part of "Forever Country" cover series during the CMA Award's 50th Anniversary, Jon Pardi covers Grand Ole Opry Member Randy Travis' hit "Forever and Ever, Amen".
The internet has made the term "underrated" almost meaningless, but RaeLynn really doesn't get enough credit as one of the better pop-oriented songwriters and vocalists on the national touring circuit. Between a recent tour with Maren Morris and this chance to perform at last night's RSVP-only party, that might get rectified sooner than later. As for her set, a mix of prior album cuts and new tracks, plus a brief rendition of Ariana Grande's "Thank U (Next)" , got the crowd pumped for Pardi.
Jon Pardi is in a relationship. He is dating Summerfawn Duncan. She is a hairstylist and she owns The Tangled Salon & Spa. The couple was seen making their first public appearance in 2017 Country Music Awards where he won the award for New Artist of the Year. The couple started having an affair from June 2017. Jon's mother is also very fond of his girlfriend as regards to her Instagram post.
Still, it was the classic country music his grandmother exposed him to that set him on his path. She had this karaoke machine, and she'd play tracks and we'd sing along," he recalled. Pardi learned to play guitar at age 9 and was writing songs by 12; after high school he gave college a try before moving to Chico and forming a band that didn't last. Once in Nashville — where he lives today on a 15-acre spread with room to park the bus — it took him a while to get things going, he said, but eventually he landed a publishing deal and later signed a contract with Capitol Nashville. His debut album, Write You a Song," came out in 2014 to warm reviews if minimal radio interest.
Pardi split from McGrew in 2008, heading to Nashville to attempt to break into the country music business. While working as a lifeguard, he hawked his songs, landing a publishing deal 18 months after his arrival. Pardi began placing songs and attracting attention as a performer.
What I've noticed over the last few days with Jon Pardi, is if you were already a fan of his, and enjoyed California Sunrise. You are going to feel about his current album the way I do. If not, there will be mixed feelings, which you can see from the above comments. Not saying one is right and the other is wrong, just a simple observation.
The Nashville resident and originally a Clovis, California native, Summer's social media suggests the couple's been dating since June 2017. That's when the picture with her musician boyfriend first surfaced on the internet as she took to Instagram to share a photo together.
The singer's mate Dierks Bentley was at the event and took to Instagram to share the special moment of Jon's proposal that brought an ovation from the Music City crowd.
He grew up in Dixon, California, where he attended Dixon High School and graduated in 2003. He was interested in music since his childhood age and he had a dream of pursuing his career in singing since his early age. After high school, he moved to Nashville to pursue his music career.
The 34-year-old musician popped the question on stage on Wednesday night at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville during the second night of his back-to-back shows as part of his headlining Heartache Medication Tour.
Church's band member Jeff Hyde contributed the album's opening song Old Hat," which he originally recorded for his 2018 solo effort Norman Rockwell World. It boasts some Allmans-style twin-guitar harmonies and cutting-edge, beat-driven production even as it sings the praises of an old-school frame of mind.
Last year, Pardi and Alaina co-hosted the ACM Honors at the Ryman Auditorium, where they celebrated Alan Jackson by collaborating on Jackson's classic Chasin' That Neon Rainbow." The two singers and their teams felt their voices blended well enough to try a recorded collaboration.
Pardi co-produced Heartache Medication with Bart Butler, who also co-produced California Sunrise with the singer. The two are joined by Ryan Gore this time around as well.
The songwriting on this record is pretty terrible, and the drums are generally too loud and heavy. I love all the fiddle and steel though, it's so nice to see this kind of instrumentation of a mainstream album.
In 2017, Jon Pardi won New Male Vocalist of the Year at the Academy of Country Music Awards and New Artist of the Year at the Country Music Association Awards. He has also been nominated for two CMT Music Awards, one additional CMA Award and an American Music Award.
Twang, fiddle, steel guitar, songs about drinking and heartache, it's all here, and in ample doses, and from a guy who isn't just a bit player or 3rd tier personality in popular country, but a performer who's often getting to play to arenas, has two #1's on radio, five Top 5's, and another song climbing the charts as we speak that starts on the fiddle and features an honest to goodness steel guitar break. Pardi will also have his second #1 album in a row when the stats for Heartache Medication come in.
New album Heartache Medication, available now. Get a copy of Jon Pardi's upcoming album HEARTACHE MEDICATION" with every online ticket order; 2 ticket minimum.
Jon and his fiancée Summer are dating for two years. And now, it looks only a matter of time before they get married. Fans, meanwhile, are curious to know when this delightful duo decides to organize their big day and embrace each other as husband and wife.
Right now, a nation full of people that just finished watching Ken Burns' 16-hour Country Music" series, not having actively listened to the genre in some years, or ever, is turning to radio to see what's new that might be on a happy continuum with the historic country they just saw and heard. And in a lot of cases, they might be going: Huh? Unless they happen to tune in at a time when Jon Pardi 's rising single Heartache Medication" is playing, in which case they won't feel burned at all.
There's a lot of songs and subjects that this album talks about, and it could be sad like a loss, or just kind of down, but the songs lift you up. They put you in a higher place," Pardi said.
While it's nice to hear the fiddles and steel guitar, these two songs aren't very interesting. I also can't get past the flatness of his vocals. It sounds like country music, it feels like country music, but it doesn't make me want to listen to more.
The 34-year-old Dixon, California native and now Goodlettsville, Tennessee resident has already climbed some seemingly insurmountable ladders, for somebody so grounded in classic country: His last album, 2016's California Sunrise," was embraced by radio and had three singles in a row (Head Over Boots," Dirt on My Boots" and Heartache on the Dance Floor") go No. 1 on Mediabase's airplay chart. Now the question is whether he can make the leap from perennial opening-act-to-the-superstars to arena headliner status himself … and whether he can enjoy some of the same mainstream TV ubiquity that some of his bro"-ier counterparts have.
Indeed, no fewer than 50 of them — family members, old high-school pals, guys he used to work construction with — chartered a bus from nearby Dixon, where the country singer grew up, to come see him open for Dierks Bentley at the Toyota Amphitheatre.
Jon started writing songs when he was 12 years old. When he was 14, he formed his own small band in his school. He has been a very active member of the singing industry since 2012. He released his debut single, Missin' You Crazy" in March 2012. It debuted at number 58 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart for the week of April 14, 2012.
Pardi has been learning a lot as a perennial opener on Dierks Bentley's arena tours for a couple of years now, as well as opening for Miranda Lambert last year and headlining a CMT tour. But he's ready to take control of producing a full headlining show, especially at some historic country music venues.
Jon Pardi put his music where his mouth was on this record, making good on the promise to double down on his roots, and do it his way. Co-produced by Pardi himself and including seven Pardi co-writes, this is a guy on the cusp of breaking out taking a chance that the next trend in country music will be country music, and being willing to lead that charge or come back on his shield. He's even willing to cut against the grain by putting out a song called Old Fashioned" and another called Call Me Country" that confidently calls out what country music has become by referencing guys like Merle and Hank, and lyrics by Waylon and Willie, and how they've become ghosts on the radio.
Singer-songwriter Jon Pardi is taking over the country airwaves with his popular hit "Up All Night", and he brings the song to life during his energetic live shows. Combining gritty guitars with his southern drawl, Pardi gets fans wild and rowdy when he rocks the stage sporting his white electric guitar and matching cowboy hat. Whether he's taking a shot of Jack between songs or interacting with his fans, Pardi puts on one helluva performance that ticket buyers won't soon forget.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Bestselling country duo of all time Brooks & Dunn, comedian and singer Ray Stevens and record executive Jerry Bradley have been inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in a star-filled ceremony. Reba McEntire, Luke Bryan, Trisha Yearwood, Ricky Skaggs, Marty Stuart and Travis Tritt were on hand Sunday evening to pay tribute to the inductees during the event in Nashville, Tennessee. Brooks & Dunn, with 20 No. 1 hits, have sold more than 28 million albums in the U.S. Stevens is known for his novelty songs like The Streak," but also the Grammy-winning Everything is Beautiful." And Bradley, as the head of RCA Nashville, signed artists like Alabama and Ronnie Milsap, while promoting the outlaws of country music.
Categories Music Post navigation


text:
Q: trying to send a basic email to folder I am trying to send a basic email to a folderbut howerver, even though I do receive the email, the body is missing completely.
private void MailReport()
{

    string to = "arianul@gmail.com";
    string From = "ArianG@lr.co.za";
    string subject = "Report";
    **string Body = "Dear sir ,
 Plz Check d Attachment

";**

    bool send = sendMail(to, From, subject, Body);

    if (send == true)
    {
        string CloseWindow = "alert('Mail Sent Successfully!');";
        ClientScript.RegisterStartupScript(this.GetType(), "CloseWindow", CloseWindow, true);
    }
    else
    {
        string CloseWindow = "alert('Problem in Sending mail...try later!');";
        ClientScript.RegisterStartupScript(this.GetType(), "CloseWindow", CloseWindow, true);
    }
}

public bool sendMail(string to, string from, string subject, string body)
{
    bool k = false;
    try
    {
        MailMessage msg = new MailMessage(from, to);
        msg.Subject = subject;

        AlternateView view;
        SmtpClient client;
        StringBuilder msgText = new StringBuilder();
        view = AlternateView.CreateAlternateViewFromString(msgText.ToString(), null, "text/html");
        msg.AlternateViews.Add(view);

        msgText.Append("

  " + body);

        client = new SmtpClient();
        client.Host = "staging.itmaniax.co.za";
        client.Send(msg);

        k = true;

    }
    catch (Exception exe)
    {
        Console.WriteLine(exe.ToString());
    }
    return k;

}

<system.net>
<mailSettings >
  <smtp deliveryMethod="specifiedPickupDirectory" from="ArianG@lr.co.za">
    <network host="staging.itmaniax.co.za"/>
    <specifiedPickupDirectory pickupDirectoryLocation="C:\testdump\emaildump\"/>
  </smtp>
</mailSettings>

I have the feeling the problem lies with the body and the html as it is done with visual studio-2008.
Any advice perhaps?

A: it seems that you are missing the:
MailMessage msg = new MailMessage(from, to);
msg.Subject = subject;

msg.Body = body; <--- try adding this and see what happens.

msg.Body property is empty in your example, I guess that's why it doesn't send the body text.

A: You can try something like below.
protected void SendMail()
{
    // Gmail Address from where you send the mail
    var fromAddress = "Gmail@gmail.com";
    // any address where the email will be sending
    var toAddress = YourEmail.Text.ToString();
    //Password of your gmail address
    const string fromPassword = "Password";
     // Passing the values and make a email formate to display
    string subject = YourSubject.Text.ToString();
    string body = "From: " + YourName.Text + "\n";
    body += "Email: " + YourEmail.Text + "\n";
    body += "Subject: " + YourSubject.Text + "\n";
    body += "Question: \n" + Comments.Text + "\n";
    // smtp settings
    var smtp = new System.Net.Mail.SmtpClient();
    {
        smtp.Host = "smtp.gmail.com";
        smtp.Port = 587;
        smtp.EnableSsl = true;
        smtp.DeliveryMethod = System.Net.Mail.SmtpDeliveryMethod.Network;
        smtp.Credentials = new NetworkCredential(fromAddress, fromPassword);
        smtp.Timeout = 20000;
    }
    // Passing values to smtp object
    smtp.Send(fromAddress, toAddress, subject, body);
}

protected void Button1_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    try
    {
        //here on button click what will done
        SendMail();
        DisplayMessage.Text = "Your Comments after sending the mail";
        DisplayMessage.Visible = true;
        YourSubject.Text = "";
        YourEmail.Text = "";
        YourName.Text = "";
        Comments.Text = "";
    }
    catch (Exception) { }
}

For more information check Send Mail / Contact Form using ASP.NET and C#
I hope this will help to you.


text:
Kaymakli Underground City
Kaymaklı Underground City is one of the most important of the nearly two hundred underground cities in Cappadocia region. Located in Kaymakli Town, which is twenty kilometers from Nevşehir, the city dates back to 3000 BC.
Kaymaklı Underground City, which is one of the biggest ones with its capacity of 5 thousand people, is located on UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List since 1984.
The city has eight floors and is open to the first four floors of the city. There are large slab stones on the doors to the rooms and halls that are connected to each other with narrow corridors, wine cellars, water tanks, kitchen and storage warehouses, ventilation chimneys, churches, water wells.
The first floors of Kaymaklı, which was built in the Hittites period and expanded in the Roman and Byzantine periods and transformed into an underground city, were also separated into stables as in other underground cities.
Kaymaklı Underground City
The first floor of Kaymaklı Underground City consists of stables as animal shelter. The stables at the same time provide passage through many corridors to churches and other parts of their habitats. This passage is passed to the church on the second floor with a passageway that can be closed with the bolts.
On the second floor there is a baptistery in front of the church apses with a single nephew and two apses, and there are sections to sit on the edges. At the end of the church there is a cemetery that is thought to be important people or church officials. On the second floor, there are still 200-500 pounds of loose stones against the danger. It is thought that these stones, which are round and hollow in the middle, are used to see who is coming and if the enemy is to be removed with spears.
The third floor of Kaymaklı Underground City has a copper processing workshop as well as sections such as food storage, shirafane, kitchen and living areas. The large pit opened at the base of the workshop, which is also found in many andesite stones, is shown as proof that the copper processing methods known since prehistoric times are used exactly as they are here.
This narrow tunnel on the fourth and last floor, which can be reached through fairly narrow tunnels believed to be carved for defense purposes, was designed to overcome attacks that might occur. This floor also has sections such as an accessory store, a kitchen and a tandır place. On the other hand, the multiplicity and breadth of the production, processing and storage spaces on the fourth floor are shown as proof that the underground city dwellers continue their underground work on the ground as well.
Visiting days and times
April-October: 08.00-19.00
November-March: 08.00-17.00
Holiday Day: Only closed until 13:00 on the first day of religious holidays.
Entry Fee: 30 TL, valid for Müzekart
How to go Kaymaklı Underground City
Kaymaklı Underground City is located in Kaymaklı Town, which is 20 kilometers away from Nevşehir.
If you want to fly to Cappadocia by air, Turkish Airlines has daily flights between Istanbul and Nevsehir. You can be in any Nevşehir residential area with a 20-minute journey from Tuzköy Airport, which is 30 kilometers away from the center of Nevşehir. If you are thinking of going to Kayseri Airport, which is the alternative, like Turkish Airlines, Onur Air, Pegasus and SunExpress airlines also have flights from Kayseri Airport. It is possible to be in the cities of Nevşehir within 45 minutes from the airport which is 100 km away from the center of Nevşehir.
You can rent a car to get to the underground city or consider coming by taxi. However, you can easily reach Kaymaklı Underground City with Derinkuyu and Nigde dolmuses moving from Nevşehir Meteris Square.
Although all floors of the Kaymakli Underground City have not yet been fully explored, the richness of the cleared sections reveals that it is one of the largest and most populated underground cities in Cappadocia. For the purpose of defense in the city, which was carved out as an engineering wonder, measures like intelligent tunnels, trapped sections, a 10-kilometer tunnel connected to Derinkuyu Underground City were taken.


text:
international relations Dec. 4, 2012
Wintour Has Competition for the Ambassador Posts She Claims She Doesn't Want
By Adam Martin
SPL453563_010 Photo: Christopher PetersonChristopher Peterson/Splash News/Splash News? www.splashnews.com
Vogue editor Anna Wintour has long been rumored to be angling for an ambassador job, and on Monday Bloomberg started up the speculation again, reporting the Obama administration is considering Wintour for a post in London or possibly Paris. But she's got competition: Obama's campaign finance chair Matthew Barzun, who has already served as ambassador to Sweden, is reportedly in the running for the U.K. job, while Marc Lasry, a managing partner at Avenue Capital Management, reportedly "covets" the French job. A Vogue spokesman says Wintour, who was one of Obama's most high-profile fundraisers in the 2012 campaign, is "very happy with her current job."
Louis Susman, an Obama fundraiser and former Citigroup executive, is the current ambassador to the Court of St. James. Charles Rivkin, a fundraiser and former head of the Jim Henson Company, is ambassador to France. Neither is expected to stay for a second term. Wintour, through a friend, has denied any interest in ambassador jobs in the past. That might be good enough for a fashion world denial, but in the realm of politics, deploying anonymous third-party proxies and saying you're "happy in your current job" is basically code for "I'm waiting by the phone for the president to call."
matthew barzun
marc lasry
Wintour Has Competition for Ambassador Posts


text:
Nugents of Antigua
Lt Col Kingsley Foster, DSO, OBE
Kingsley Osbern Nugent Foster
Kingsley Osbern Nugent Foster was born in 1906 at Shenley, the home of his Foster grandparents. He spent a lot of his childhood in Antigua with his Nugent grandparents. Kingsley's parents, Colonel Osbern Foster and Monica Nugent, the daughter of Oliver and Mary Nugent, had met in Antigua when Osbern was posted there with the Northumberland Fusiliers. They married at the island's St John's Cathedral on 21st January 1906.
Kingsley came home to England to attend school at St. Faith's, Cambridge, from which he went to Clifton College, Bristol. In 1925 he joined the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers.
His father was by then second in Command of the Battalion. He had assumed command by 1932 when the Battalion returned to England from Shanghai. In July that year Kingsley married Audrey Geraldine Ballard. They had one daughter, Patricia.
In Bremen on VE Day, 1945.
Having already served in China and India, Kingsley was posted to Palestine. At the outbreak of the Second World War he was sent to North Africa with the Eighth Army. In 1944 he was given command of the 7th Manchester Regiment which invaded Holland at Wallacheren. For this he received the Order of the Golden Lion from the Dutch for outstanding service in the relief of their country. From there he worked for the Control Commission of Germany at Minden. Peace brought him back to England for two years in Darlington. The next foreign posting was Singapore and Malaya.
Kingsley, sitting, with daughter Patricia, father Osbern and grandmother, Constance
In 1950 KONF refused an appointment in India as a Brigadier and relinquished his appointment in Singapore as a full Colonel to return to the rank of Lt. Col. in order to command his own Regiment which was then ordered to Korea. He was killed in Korea in April 1951. In England the family lived mainly at The Old Mill House, Hildersham, Cambridge, the home of Kingsley's parents. After Kingsley's death, his widow, Audrey, was granted a grace and favour apartment at Hampton Court Palace.
The Mill House, Hildersham, in 1935
Military history was of great interest to KONF and as a very young man he started to collect military medals and built up a collection second to few in the British Isles, and was the greatest authority on the subject in the army. He had already published one book on the subject and was writing a second.
In the course of a lecture he gave at Army General Headquarters to the Commander in Chief's staff in April 1949 he told of a "lucky break in his collecting life" which
The Old Mill House painted by Aunt Muriel
happened during the army's occupation of Berlin in 1945. The Potsdam Conference to define occupation zones was underway and Colonel Foster managed to slip away into the Russian zone. Firstly he brought out into the Western zone members of the family of Prince Bismark. Then, at the invitation of an aristocrat friend of Prince Bismark, Baron Van Mirbach, a former court chamberlain, he made an audacious visit to Russian army headquarters in the city, climbed three floors then, in his words "nipped into the attic" from where he carried away in a laundry hamper the baron's "collection of medieval orders of chivalry such as a collector usually dreams about". "No one saw fit to comment on the unusual spectacle of a British Officer walking out of a Russian headquarters with a washing hamper".
The Baron, who had no heirs both his sons having been killed in the war, seemed motivated by hatred of Russians, gave what he called "the finest [medal] collection in Europe" to Colonel Foster. The final challenge was to bring the collection to England in which he succeeded by paying a nominal £100 in customs duty after pulling strings at the highest level.
Sadly the Van Mirbach decorations had to be sold to support his widow, but the rest of his considerable collection, specialising in the Peninsular War, is in the regimental museum at Alnwick Castle. Personal decorations of Colonel Foster and his father remain in the family.
Colonel Foster was laid to rest in a military cemetery in Busan
Colonel Foster, the most senior British officer to die during the Korean War, was laid to rest at a military cemetery in Busan.
Patricia Foster
(Sources: Pictures from the Foster/Nugent family archives.)
About Nugents of Antigua
How Nugents came to Antigua
Nugents in Ireland
Early Antiguan Nugents
Norman Origins
Dr Nicholas Nugent and the ending of slavery
Sir Oliver Nugent
Oliver Nugent, MBE
Lucretia, Lady Nugent
The Ledeatts of Antigua
Maria, Lady Nugent of Jamaica
Nugents of West Yorkshire
The Peter Family and the 'hedgehog letter'
George Nugent
Captain Oliver Gordon, RN
Antigua Grammar School
Nugent Homes and Estates
Major Kingsley Osbern Foster
Muriel Foster
Oliver Nugent, CBE
The Wittys of Whitstable
The Robertsons of Aldbourne
Scotts Hill, Antigua
Antigua at War
Nugent Genealogical Sources
Where they lie: Nugent Graves
Count Laval Nugent of Austria and Croatia
Major General Sir Oliver Nugent of Farren Connell
Betty's Hope - an Antiguan sugar plantation
Thomas Nugent of Montserrat
Antigua's neighbour St Kitts
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Q: Functional determinant approximation Let the Hamiltonian in one dimension be $H+z$, then I would like to evaluate $\det(H+z)$.
I have thought that if I know the function $Z(t) = \sum_{n>0}\exp(-tE_{n})$ I can use
$$\sum_{n} (z+E_{n})^{-s} \Gamma (s) = \int_{0}^{\infty}\mathrm{d}t\  Z(t)\exp(-zt)t^{s-1}$$
so i can use the zeta regularization to define the quotient
$$\log\det(H+z) - \log\det(H)= -\zeta'(0,z)+ \zeta'(0,0)$$
with $\sum_{n} (z+E_{n})^{-s}= \zeta (s,z)$. The derivative is taken on the variable $s$ ... at $s=0$.
However if $Z(t)$ is too hard to evaluate, can I make $Z(t)= \int \mathrm{d}x\mathrm{d}p\exp(-tp^{2}-tV(x))$ as an approximation to evaluate the functional determinant?? Thanks.


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WASHINGTON, Dec. 03, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- FTI Consulting, Inc. (NYSE:FCN) today announced the appointment of Brent McGoldrick as a Senior Managing Director in the Strategic Communications segment, deepening the firm's senior-level expertise in analytics, digital communications and opinion research. He will be based in Washington, D.C. and report to Brian Kennedy, the segment's Head of the Americas.
Mr. McGoldrick will lead a combined practice of the Digital & Creative Communications and Strategy Consulting & Research offerings in the Americas. By integrating these two critical communications functions, FTI Consulting is poised to offer clients in-depth, actionable data paired with the advanced tools necessary to target and deploy multi-stakeholder engagement campaigns in today's digital environment. Mr. McGoldrick will be assisted by Chris Broyles, current U.S. lead of the Digital & Creative Communications practice, and other senior professionals from FTI Consulting's multidisciplinary communications practices around the world.
"Data-driven insights and innovative communications strategies for C-suite and boardroom leaders are critical right now," said Mr. Kennedy. "Brent brings a unique skillset perfectly suited to our fast-evolving industry. Particularly in moments of challenge or opportunity – such as transactions, crisis scenarios, public affairs or corporate restructurings – he will provide additional leadership to the cutting-edge strategies we bring to bear on behalf of our clients."
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The semi-nomadic Yellow-faced Parrot (Alipiopsitta xanthops, previously Amazona xanthops / Salvatoria xanthops) is found in eastern and central Brazil and occasionally in the adjacent Bolivia. Their preferred habitat includes semi-arid scrubland habitats with low trees (cerrado). Their numbers are declining and they have alreadydisappeared in large areas of its former range.
This species is sometimes referred to as Yellow-faced Amazon, but recent research indicates that this species is much closer related to the Short-tailed Parrot (Graydidascalus brachyurus) and to the members of the genus Pionus. Their personality is supposed to be comparable to the Pionus parrot as well.
These parrots average 10.5 ins (27 cm) in length. Their plumage is mostly green, edged with dark green. The forehead, lores (the regions between the eyes and bill on the side of a bird's head), crown and ear-coverts are variably yellow, some older birds have entire head and abdomen yellow to orange; edge of wing yellowish-green. Front of forehead in many birds bare with plucked appearance. The tail is green with greenish-yellow tips; outer tail feathers with broad orange-red band. The bill is horn-colored with black base and their irises are yellow. The feet are greyish-flesh color and their cere pink.
Immatures have less yellow on head and abdomen, and their irises are dark.
Breeding has seldom been achieved in captivity. The basic requirement would be a compatible pair that needs to be isolated during the breeding season due to increased aggression towards other birds during this time; they also require spacious accommodation and a nest box 25 x 25 x 60 cm (10 x 10 x 24 ins) with entrance 8 cm (3 ins) in diameter.
They tend to be aggressive towards caretakers. The breeding season begins early May. The hen lays 2 to 4 eggs, which she incubates for 26 days. The young fledge when they are about 8 weeks old.


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Sicmaous council, community groups lobby for nurse practitioner
An attempt by the Sicamous Medical Clinic to add a nurse practitioner to their practice is getting support from a number of corners.
Tracy Hughes
An attempt by the Sicamous Medical Clinic to add a nurse practitioner to their practice to improve access to health care for local residents is getting support from a number of corners.
The clinic would need funding from the Ministry of Health to allow for the addition of a nurse practitioner, who were introduced to B.C. in 2005 to fill the gaps caused by a shortage of family doctors.
With their advanced training, nurse practitioners can provide care alongside doctors and other health professionals at a cost that is about half the average income of a family doctor. Such nurses are not replacements for family doctors but they are licensed to diagnose, prescribe medications, order diagnostic tests and treat many of the most common medical conditions.
Nurse practitioners are paid directly by a health authority.
Members of council voted at their Wednesday, Sept. 12 meeting to send a letter of support for the proposal as requested by Pam Beech, from the clinic.
"We all understand the reasons and agree with her (Beech)," says Mayor Darrell Trouton. "We have a number of good doctors in Sicamous, but some are getting older and looking to retire or take a little time off. There needs to be some assistance with keeping medical services in our community, instead of having people driving to Salmon Arm."
In addition to the support of local politicians, support has come from other community organizations including the Options for Sexual Health program, which operates in Sicamous two evening a month to provide information regarding sex, pregnancy, birth control and sexually transmitted diseases.
"… I am well aware of the overload of work under which our hard-working doctors are practicing to attempt to best serve the diverse needs of our population," writes Karen Offerman, a registered nurse with Options for Sexual Health. "But it is clear that additional support is necessary for us all here and that the addition of a nurse practitioner to their rural medical clinic would be of the utmost value to this community."
There is no word on when the ministry will make a determination about whether Sicamous would qualify for nurse practitioner funding.
Sicamous area resort looks to add RV spaces, seasonal dwelling units
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Maggie Sloan is a Research Analyst at adelphi specialising in the topics areas of sustainability entrepreneurship, green economy and resource efficiency.
Prior to joining adelphi, Maggie gained experience working for a risk reduction and climate change adaptation project sponsored by the EU's Disaster Preparedness Programme (DIPECHO) in Peru and on a World Bank renewable energy initiative in Indonesia. She improved her proficiency in quantitative analysis while working for an environmental engineering firm and consulting a client on the financial risks of Wetland Mitigation Banking at a former coal-fired power plant. While studying for her MA, she received professional dialogue facilitation training and events planning experience as lead event coordinator for TEDx Talks at her university. In this role, she gained confidence writing funding proposals and with team management.
Maggie received a Master of Science in Environmental Governance from the University of Oxford, with a concentration in corporate environmental management. Furthermore, she has an undergraduate degree with honours in International Relations from the University of Edinburgh, focusing on global political economy and EU environmental politics.


Aim Higher was founded by Stephen Jones and is based in the heart of Snowdonia in North Wales.
Mountains have been a part of Stephen's life for over 25 years. His experiences have led him from his native Ogwen Valley in Snowdonia to the Swiss and French Alps, other parts of Europe, Norway, and Central America as well as the UK, both in summer and winter.
A qualified Summer and Winter Mountain Leader as well as a former Royal Marine and Military Ski Instructor, Stephen has a wealth of experience to draw upon. As a qualified Rock Climbing Instructor, Stephen is able to offer a variety of climbing experiences both on indoor climbing walls and outside on rock.
Being an authorised provider under the Adventure Activities Licensing Service (AALS), allows Stephen to offer adventorous activities for under 18's including schools, youth groups, scout groups and families. He is also able to provide courses under the Hill and Mountain Skills banner which are accredited by Mountain Training.
A fluent Welsh speaker, Stephen is keen to promote the Welsh language, history, attractions and communities of Wales and Snowdonia in particular.
Stephen lives in the Ogwen Valley, North Wales with his wife and two sons.


I just found out that Bill Baren will be interviewing Guy Kawasaki on Wednesday, December 10, at 12 pm PST (3 pm EST) to discuss Guy's new book "Reality Check: The Irreverent Guide to Outsmarting, Outmanaging, and Outmarketing Your Competition."
I wrote about Bill's Time Experts Teleseminar offering in the past, and still think it is pretty cool. However, I've heard from folks who don't want to pay for the Time Experts program, so this is a great, free alternative (either to soak up Guy's thoughts or get a free test drive of the Time Experts offerings).
Guy has also offered the first chapter of his new book as a free download to all registrants. You can sign up at http://timeexpertstelesummit.com/guy.
If you've never heard Guy speak before, you should definitely check it out – he is awesome to listen to.


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Which Buddhism. Why…..
III. To heal the roots
To heal a great evil, which is what today's man suffers from, one must heal the roots first, because the roots are the deepest part of a tree, the deepest part of its visible body.
Many today place emphasis on the Christian roots of the European culture and civilization. In the Gospels, Jesus said that you will know a tree by its fruits. If the fruits of the tree called Europe which are gobbled up by almost everybody on earth today are rotten or poisoned, perhaps we should take a good look at the roots of that tree.
From a historical point of view, the early symptoms of the disease that is eating away at the heart of European culture cropped up around the XII century, when mysticism began to be mortified and was often persecuted by the Church. However the seeds of that disease must be searched for in the very roots of that culture.
In this search, we are provided valuable clues by the metaphor of the tree.
The Gospels say on different occasions and in different contexts that the good tree is the fruitful tree. It is true that Jesus often admonishes us not to seek material gain and not to take excessive pains to produce and accumulate. But he is even stronger in recommending us to put to good use, be it our talents or a vineyard, so that they bear fruits. We are told we must cut, uproot, and burn all that fails to bear fruits; the fig tree that fails to produce fruits in Winter, out of season, is cursed and let to wither. He who bears fruits will be rewarded with the heavenly Kingdom, he who fails to bear fruits is fated to eternal fire in Hell. This value set emphasizing productivity has affected European culture to such an extent that progress, growth, and quantity have ended up been regarded as its central ethical core.
Since the beginning of the modern age, the moral push that sustained the eschatological vision of the Christian world moved to sustain instead the realization of values that are, to be sure, supreme, like justice, equality and liberty, but belong to man's history and to man's world. In this way, the attention and commitment that had been devoted earlier to man's inner life shifted instead to sustain man's life in the world. Today's dominant mental attitude has all but forgotten what was pivotal in the earlier mystical, spiritual, religious and philosophical mindset: again, with the words of St. Augustin, a mystic, philosopher and theologian: "Don't go outside of yourself, get back to yourself: the truth lives inside man, and if you will find your nature unsettled, transcend yourself too" (De vera religione XXXIX). In modern times, the constant movement of man's center of gravity outwards, climaxes in the search for value and for the sense of one's life almost entirely in the world of relations that man entertains with the surrounding world.
In this situation, for the women and men of the third millennium, Buddhism can be a decisive factor in an authentic conversion.
Conversion in Buddhism is not conversion to Buddhism, it is not getting attached to a doctrine called Buddhism. Conversion is what was described by Dōgen in the Fukanzazengi with these words: 須らく回光返照の退歩を學すべし – subekaraku ekō henshō no taiho wo gakusubeshi – "it is essential to learn the backward step that turns light inward to make light in itself".
Buddhism can perform the function of showing contemporary man, in the West and in the East, the only thing that really matters, because, as the Gospels say, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Mt. 6,19-21). This indeed seems to be the biggest problem of today's man: not to know any longer where his treasure lies, and, as a consequence, to place his heart "where moth and rust … destroy, and where thieves … break in and steal". Buddhism can teach Western man, who is pointing outside of himself towards a world of eternal progress that leads nowhere, to stop, to return to his senses, to enlighten himself and look into himself, and starting from himself, his own treasure.
IV. How?
Insofar as the matter at hand is concerned, Buddhism has a great advantage over other religions: it has never worked on the idea of God. It has never thought "God". He whom Christians call God, for Buddhists is unthinkable. Buddhism does not need to free man from God, as advocated by the Christian mystics, because it has never lent substance and sustenance to the idea of God. Freed of God, man is also free from that part of himself that has been formed in God's own image and likeness.
Since in Buddhism there is no space for a belief and a thought named "God", and therefore there is not even a name for that object, we could say – using words taken from the languages of both Christianity and Buddhism- that what Christians call God, in Buddhism is perfectly empty, is there and is not there; in any event, it cannot provide a pretext to form an idea of God nor an idea of the "I" that confronts God. If we want to keep using the word "God" and want to keep using the Western philosophical lexicon, we can say that in Buddhism, God and man's soul are already not-two, because man meets himself in the act of experiencing that clear void. Man meets his own soul empty of God and of himself.
In contrast with Western religions and philosophies, Buddhism does not fear emptiness. Because it has always conceived of emptiness as nothingness, Western thought has never seriously confronted it. Instead, it has lent being even to emptiness. Having represented emptiness as nothingness, it has understandably turned away horrified from it.
For Buddhism, instead, emptiness is neither a being nor a noun, but an attribute, the most critical attribute of each and all things. It is the property that makes it possible for every thing to be what it is, a miraculous emptiness showing up. Buddhism is dwelling in the empty nature of reality, which neither moth nor rust will wear out, and where nothing is there to be stolen, to be lost or to be gained.
Buddhism is not an explanation of reality, a cosmology or an hermeneutic philosophy. It is neither a utopia nor a social doctrine after which one may wish to mould reality. It is not a doctrine nor an orthodoxy. It is not a therapy against individual psychological malaise. Buddhism is the index finger pointing to the way in which one can realize the undifferentiated experience of man and of …, of the relative and of the absolute, of the conditioned and the unconditioned, of the finite and the infinite. This is the experience of a profound unity that can be lived only through faith, in complete surrender and in coming to understand that human thought alone cannot provide the seal of warranty to reality.
While faith in Christianity is above all a movement of the spirit, a thrust of the heart beyond itself, an unconditioned opening up to God, in Buddhism, faith is an experience lived with body and soul, an act of pure and serene trust, that does not need to build an object, which is always the first step towards owning it. In synthesis, this experience consists in sitting in silence, the act of body, mind and soul we call zazen. Zazen is the act of faith, the faith in action because it is the concrete way, the position of body and soul of man that realizes this non-dual relation in the simple sitting down. If we employ a Christian lexicon, we can say that in zazen God and man are not two, because in zazen we are free both of God and of ourselves.
Or, in Dōgen's words:
自己の身心および他己の身心をして脱落せしむるなりjiko no shinjin oyobi tako no shinjin wo shite datsuraku seshimuru nari – "giving up our own body and soul and the body and soul of the other". Here, the relation is not sustained by the idea of myself or of you, here relation is identity, and nothing obstruct freedom.
At least among the long time practitioners of Zen this is not difficult to understand. Much more difficult is instead the realization and the transmission of the quid, the quality that transforms zazen into the religious act of a religious life and prevents it from turning, as is already happening to some extent under our own eyes, into a path to power, a way to acquire power, and, therefore, in the end, into a form of life that sustains itself on death. This is the quality that requires the ability to be great while remaining small, to be teachers while living as disciples, without the foolish ambition to accumulate, to appear and to count.
In order to play a vital role in the historical process underway, beyond taking part in the ritual meaningless pageants which we attend by invitation or on our own iniziative "so that there may be some Buddhists too" at the more or less round table of the "interreligious" banquet, with the hope, perhaps, to be entitled to receive a slice of the cake, it is first of all necessary to reform ourselves from the inside out. We need to give up our own formalistic, hierarchic and ecclesiastic drift, which absorb so much of our best energies, give life again to the spirituality of simplicity and gratuity, and cultivate the innocent heart instead of fostering the will to exercise power. If we are not able to convert our own heart first, our supposed capacity to practice zazen will have no meaning; it will end up becoming another of the preys, the quarries that the world of accumulation and of the "I" will be more than happy to bag and to put to good use. There are already many signs of this happening.
Tradition is not like inertial motion, nor routine iteration of acts and gestures, and transmission is not the same as owning certain notions and practices and exhibiting certificates of achievement, and, finally, taking care of this and of the generations to come is not the same as consolidating the station already attained and protecting one's own flock. The constant reform that makes the dharma wheel turn consists in going back to the vital emptiness every time it risks to get bogged down in computing profits.
V. Conclusions
Perhaps one will ask: we are facing a global, momentous crisis, a crisis that threatens the future of humanity and all that Buddhism can offer is this? In a world always at war with itself, Buddhism does not propose an alternative solution, does not come up with the project of a new world? It only says to take a break, to return to ourselves, to light up our lives with the practice of zazen and to bring witness the preciousness of innocence for our soul and for our life in our small everyday's world?
Yes, exactly. Buddhism can do for the world no more and no less than it can do for me, for each of us: and I can do for the others and for the world no more and no less than what I can do for myself. "Love your neighbor like you love yourself".
We cannot go back. An old man cannot become young again, and a dead man cannot come back to life, neither an individual nor the world can turn back the clock. We cannot get back to when the process that has led us where we find ourselves now started, and begin all over again, but this time differently, to avoid the mistakes we have made. But, while to get back is impossible, to start from zero, instead, is not impossible. Get back to the zero and start over and over again. Our own conversion can convert the entire world. Buddhism, in the West as in the East, can perform this function and this function only. It is not a recipe for a better world; it is not a doctrine that promises to transform this world if only we put it into practice. Buddhism is not about deluding oneself over illusions or waking up from them. It is adhering in thought and action to the path of the middle, which invests neither into achieving success, because success provides but a short respite from the abyss of the world of desires, nor into the self-punishing and desperate renunciation of the common pleasures of life which is like waiting for death.
In history, these two extreme poles appear in ever different forms. Today one of these poles seems to consist in the myth of the individual and collective growth and progress, while the other in the destruction of the self and in the rejection of this world exemplified by the many ways in which we benumb ourselves, such as ideological and religions fanaticism, drugs and overwork. Going back over and over to the middle way, as Buddhism suggests, is a never ending work, because the stake is eternal life.
In a world that exalts the unrestrained enjoyment of the here and now and the satisfaction of every conceivable wish, the lifestyle of Buddhists is the only valid proof of their commitment to the way they are witnesses to. In the West and in the East, Buddhism can furnish all the tools needed for this endless spiritual fine tuning but it should avoid the mistake made by Western civilization, and that is to transform the means into the end. Western Christianity has gradually transformed its churches from communities of persons helping each other travel along the road opened up by Jesus, into the Church, an institution that claims to be the repository of the thought and will of God, and that is therefore an end in itself, the aim. Buddhism must be very careful to avoid this kind of mistakes when it takes on institutional functions in Europe and in the USA.
The aim of Buddhism is the awakening that opens the path towards freedom from evil and towards peace. It is not to build one or more powerful and efficient religious institutions. A Buddhist institution, a small center, a convent or a centralized structure, does not betray its vocation only if it is at the service of the faith and of the practice of men and women on the path toward awakening. It is not charged with certifying the authenticity and value of anybody's way, it is not charged with assigning offices, titles or diplomas, nor to supply a substitute identity, a role or a status, a new mask with Buddhist features.
The awakening from delusions which we call the experience of Buddha is seeing with one's own eyes, that all forms are illusions and that it is supreme illusion to think that there is "something" that is not an illusion.
The same coming and going of the world,
Dependent and conditioned by something else, is,
Not dependent nor conditioned by something else,
nirvāṇa. This is the teaching (1).
Jisō Giuseppe Forzani & Mauricio Yūshin Marassi, October 2009.
(Translated into English by Mr. Carlo Geneletti)
(1)Nāgārjuna, Mādhyamakakārikā, Fundamental Verses of the Middle Way, 25, 9.
2 Responses to "Which Buddhism. Why….."
senshin Says:
Aprile 5th, 2010 at 10:40 am
This is excellent writing.
To "cultivate the innocent heart instead of fostering the will to exercise power." responds deeply within me.
Writings like this, however make me doubt if I want ANY MORE formal training within the structure of the established soto-school; which I am supposed to do after almost two decades since Tokudo.
And surely within the established forms there is a whole lot to learn.
Anyway you write : "Because it cannot escape from itself, Western civilization cannot escape from the global crisis in which it finds itself."
Tragic is : there is lots of money spent on plans to colonize space. I am not kidding… I have been following the last development on space science and it seems like an awful lot of money is spent on developing strategies to escape earth.
mym Says:
Thanks for your kind words, Senshin.
Yessir, when life has been established is… dead. This is the normal trend, it isn't because soto school is bad. There isn't a good school. Buddhism, or zen buddhism, is a lonely path. And, as you know, even if we could escape from earth we will bring with(in) us the "global crisis"
yushin
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