Are you Camille Allard? If so, email [email protected] to claim this critic page.
It's a really unique experience. A large part of the game is focused on exploration and it is a true ode to orientalism. A gaming pleasure combined with the visual and sound beauty. Probably the best Anno episode in the history of the series.
Tropico 6 is an interesting but unambitious sequel. The game is pleasant but lacks of new features. It is still a funny experience with an atmosphere that makes you want to go on holiday and enjoy a cocktail in the sun.
Even if it has some good ideas, plays very well and is dashing technically speaking, Anthem is a huge disappointment. Because of its repetitivity and lack of real of real attractiveness in terms of story and characters, it feels more like a technological showcase without a soul.
Metro Exodus is a masterpiece. Only the silence of the main character is a major problem. The game have a breathtaking artistic direction and visual quality. The staging is exceptional, it allows to put in abyss deep characters. It is hard to imagine a better adaptation for the novel of Glukhoovsky.
One of the best simulation FPS on the market right now.
Mutant Year zero is a nice surprise. A very good tactical game with a lot of arguments to please fans of the genre. A beautiful artistic direction, interesting characters, a quality cast, an efficient and deep combat system, a dynamic exploration system... This is another approach to tactical and a must have in this type of game in 2018.
A very good port. If you don't have a PC and want to discover Civilization VI, head straight to this Switch version. The game is nearly identical, except it doesn't include the Rise and Fall extension nor the multiplayer mode. For the rest, it is the same game, the same pleasure that you can carry wherever you want. You will just have to be patient at the end of a game, because each turn will last quite a long time.
Jurassic World Evolution: Secrets of Dr Wu is a DLC full of good ideas. Playing with genetic is really fun and allows to create such unnatural dinosaurs behaviors, which is a nice nod to the two Jurassic World movies. However, this DLC lacks some more content to be a must have.
Clearly the game gives a "unfinished" feeling. OVERKILL'S The Walking have good ideas like horde system, customisation and skills for character et post-apocalyptic atmosphere in level design. Sadly, Artificial Intelligence is catastrophic, the game is repetitive and loading times are disastrous.
Battlefield V is a good surprise with a new teamplay system (support by intelligent heal mecanics), more destruction, customization and specialization system for weapons and vehicles. Definitively Battlefield V is a monumental shooter desptite a conventional singleplayer (who stay interesting).
Call of Cthulhu is an ode to Lovecraft and fantastic literature, a success in terms of atmosphere with a pleasant artistic part. Sadly, the game is too weak technically speaking. The main quest is interesting but players in search of an RPG with a bit of freedom will probably realize too soon that the game is actually a very linear experience.
CoD Black Ops 4 is a good game, where Treyarch succeeds in offering a AAA Battle Royale experience packed with goods ideas. The Zombie mode is bigger and exhilarating, but unfortunately the classic multiplayer mode doesn't offer anything really new. All that is not enough to make us all forget the solo campaign, who totally disappeared in this episode.
Divinity: Original Sin 2 Definitive Edition is probably one of the best old-school RPG you can find on console, a true masterpiece. The PC's version was almost perfect, this one follows the same path. Definitive Edition adds a new tutorial, new game mode (Story Mode) and a rework of Act III for the main campaign and it's great.


text:
Climate Change's Potentially Irreversible Impact on Antarctica's Ice Caps
Rohan Badani November 25, 2020 November 25, 2020 Trending News
If we take no action, our world will see rising sea levels as a result of melting ice caps
With more than half of the world's freshwater contained in an ice sheet, Antarctica has the potential to cause rising sea levels all across the globe. Because few countries are taking adequate action to solve the problem of Climate Change, Antarctica will soon reach a point where damage is irreversible. Although leaders have signed many documents and countries have made agreements, most nations, especially the United States, are not doing enough to address this problem.
If seeing a rise in tropical storms and wildfires doesn't scare you enough, then maybe finding out about the situation in Antarctica will be a wake-up call. Antarctica is a whopping 5.5 million square miles, making it larger than Europe. This means that irreversible damage to its ice caps can have global ramifications. Researchers at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) in Germany conducted a study that found if average temperatures rise 7.2 degrees Fahrenheit for a sustained time period, most of the ice in West Antarctica will crumble, leading to a global sea-level rise of 21 feet. The melting of this ice would put cities such as New York, Tokyo, and London underwater. If global temperatures rise by even more than 7.2 degrees, we could see even greater consequences: Researchers at PIK found that Antarctica will be "virtually ice-free (1)" and global sea levels will rise almost 200 feet.
Currently, climate change has led to much warmer water temperatures in the world's oceans; thus, when the water from the ocean rubs against the ice-caps, the ice-caps begin to melt. For instance, in West Antarctica, 25% of the ice is currently at risk of collapse. But there is a solution–––temporary and long-term. A temporary solution would be for countries to follow detailed plans such as the Paris Climate Accord. So far, 198 countries have signed this resolution, although the US is set to drop out in the next month, which ensures that Earth's average temperature does not rise by more than 2.7°F. If every country can follow this agreement, we can stall the effects of climate change until a sustainable long-term solution can be finalized. To help achieve the goals outlined in the Paris Agreement, different countries have taken different approaches to stall the effects of climate change. For example, various countries such as Canada and Singapore have implemented a carbon tax to encourage companies to convert to renewable energy. A carbon tax taxes companies based on the amount of CO2 emissions they emit, which will entice companies to limit their carbon emissions.
In the US, climate change can have a drastic impact on some of its largest cities. This is because of the rising sea levels that may drown certain cities. Right now, New Orleans is already sinking and some parts of the city are 15 feet below sea level. With the increase of tropical storms and rising sea levels, if we do nothing, the impacts of climate change will only worsen. In Miami, $6.4 billion worth of property is at risk of chronic flooding in the next 30 years. In Boston, 1 out of every 6 properties may be underwater by the year 2100. These issues of flooding are prevalent in coastal cities across the country and every governing body and entity on this planet must strive to use renewable energy to ensure that cities such as Boston are still standing in the next 100 years.
– Rohan Badani
Specktor, B. (2020, September 29). Antarctica could melt "irreversibly" due to climate change, study warns. Livescience.Com; Live Science. https://www.livescience.com/antarctica-ice-free-climate-change.html
Global warming may lead to practically irreversible Antarctic melting. (2020, September 24). Science News. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/global-warming-practically-irreversible-antarctic-melting
Aria Bendix. (2020, March 17). 8 American cities that could disappear by 2100 – Business Insider. Business Insider; Business Insider. https://www.businessinsider.com/american-cities-disappear-sea-level-rise-2100-2019-3#new-orleans-louisiana-is-already-sinking-1
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Download PDF of fatality rates for 1,055 vehicles, model-years 1994-2014.
In the 21 year period, 1995–2015, there were 819,753 people killed in U.S. automobile accidents. Compiling a listing that ranks vehicles by driver death rate can help identify the safest vehicles.
While driver death rates may be a strong indicator of vehicle crashworthiness and/or vehicle incompatibility there are many other factors which contribute to death rates, especially driver behavior—such as driving sports cars faster than minivans. Therefore, for some vehicles a high driver death rate may be more indicative of who was driving than the vehicle itself. However, a low driver death rate is most probably the result of both a safe vehicle and a safe driver. .


Ok!!! Keep your shirts on!! Baltimore Comic Con pictures will come soon enough but in the meantime let us start you off with the geekery from a few weeks ago.
In this zero episode of PCU, Join AItch as he hangs out with Patrick Strange and Ulysses Campbell from Fantastic Forum along with special guest Chris Gore as they geek out over Star Trek and other movies. Chris drops a possible hint at what the new Star Wars is about among other things so listen closely! Also Richard Epcar joins us briefly with a few quick words.


text:
Home » Transfers » Norwich and West Ham to make last-ditch move for ex-Newcastle full-back
Norwich and West Ham to make last-ditch move for ex-Newcastle full-back
Norwich City and West Ham United are both reportedly interested in bringing back Italy international Davide Santon to the Premier League, according to the Daily Mail.
The duo, who currently sit sixth and 17th in the standings respectively, are keen on signing the out-of-favour Inter Milan full-back before Monday's transfer deadline (23:00 GMT).
The 25-year-old, who has eight international caps for his country, has made just nine league appearances for the Serie A giants this season.
Santon, who played 94 games for Premier League rivals Newcastle United between 2011 and 2015, is wanted by Hammers boss Slaven Bilic this month as Carl Jenkinson's loan spell from Arsenal is set to be cut short due to injury.
Menawhile Canaries manager Alex Neil would like the Italian full-back to further strengthen Norwich's defensive ranks following the arrival of January additions Ivo Pinto and Timm Klose at Carrow Road.


text:
\section{introduction}
The study of the group of outer automorphisms $\Out(F_n)$ of the free group $F_n$ on $n$ letters is closely related to the study of the spaces on which  it acts. One such space is Culler-Vogtmann space, or ``Outer Space''. It was first introduced by Culler and Vogtmann in \cite{Vogt1} and it is based on regarding $F_n$ as the fundamental group of a graph. Another such space is obtained from a 3-manifold, $\sharp_n (S^2\times S^1)$ , the connected sum of $n$ copies of $S^2\times S^1$, which we will denote by $M$ for the rest of the paper. The fundamental group of $M$ is also $F_n$ and $\Out(F_n)$ acts on the sphere complex, which is a simplicial complex whose simplices correspond to systems of 2-spheres in $M$. Hatcher and Vogtmann used the sphere complex to prove a homological stability property of $\Aut(F_n)$ in \cite{HatcCerf}. Also, Gadgil \cite{Gad1} gave an algorithm to determine the embedded spheres in $M$ which correspond to the splittings of the free group $F_n$. In \cite{Gad2} Gadgil and Pandit stated  and proved a geometric and algebraic intersection number argument for the sphere complex of $M$, which again provides information about the nature of  the splittings of $F_n$ and hence of the complex of free factors related to these splittings. A relation between the simplicial automorphism group of the graph of free splittings of $F_n$ and $\Out(F_n)$ given by using sphere complex of $M$ can be found in \cite{souto1}.
\newline

Now let us fix a maximal sphere system $\Sigma$. This is a collection of isotopy classes of  disjoint and non-trivial 2-spheres in $M$ such that no two of which are isotopic and the complementary components are 3-punctured 3-spheres. By the intersection number of a torus $t$ we will mean the number $i(t,\Sigma)$ of components of intersection of $t$ with spheres of $\Sigma$ when the intersection is transversal. From now we assume that the intersections with spheres of $\Sigma$ are all transversal.

\begin{definition} We will say that a torus $t$ is  essential in $M$ if the image of  $\pi_1(t)$ is nontrivial in $\pi_1(M)$.
\end{definition}

The main goal of this paper is to define a ``normal form'' for an arbitrary homotopy class of an imbedded essential torus in $M$ with respect to a given sphere system,  which will amount to finding a representative with minimal intersection in the homotopy class. Naturally, we first need to show that such a nice representative exists in a given homotopy class of essential tori. This will be achieved by the following theorem:

\begin{theorem}\label{thm:main1}
Every imbedded essential torus in $M$ is homotopic to a normal torus and the homotopy process does not increase the intersection number with any sphere of $\Sigma$.
\end{theorem}
Secondly, we will prove the following theorem, which is analogous to \cite[Proposition 1.2]{H1} of Hatcher:
\begin{theorem}\label{thm:main2}
If $t$ and $t^\prime$ are two homotopic tori in $M$, both in normal form, then they are normally homotopic.
\end{theorem}
Here we define the notion of being \textit{normally homotopic} as follows:
\begin{definition} Two tori are said to be normally homotopic if there is a homotopy of $M$ changing one of the tori to the other one without introducing new intersections on the sphere crossings, hence through normal, but possibly immersed tori at each level.
\end{definition}

Using these two theorems, we will deduce:

\begin{corollary}\label{cor:1}
If a torus $t$ is in normal form with respect to a maximal sphere system $\Sigma$, then the intersection number of $t$ with any $S$ in $\Sigma$ is minimal among the representatives of the homotopy class $[t]$ in each $P$.
\end{corollary}

\subsection*{Motivation}
Hatcher in the paper \cite{H1} defined the notion of normal form with respect to a fixed sphere system and proved the existence of normal representatives of spheres in a given isotopy class of spheres in $M$. This leads to arguments about intersection numbers and minimal intersection conditions of these spheres and a correspondence between the free splittings of the free group $F_n$ and the embedded spheres in $M$ where $M=S^2\times S^1$, as in \cite{Gad2}.
\newline

We will extend this idea in this paper and look at imbedded  essential tori in $M$. This gives us a geometric interpretation of intersections of certain non-free group splittings and one might hope that it could be extended to other group splittings.
\newline

By a \textit{free splitting} of a group $G$, we mean the free product of two groups $A$ and $B$ so that $G$$=$$A\ast B$. By Kneser's conjecture, each splitting of the fundamental group of a closed three manifold as a free product corresponds to a sphere in the manifold. The details of this proof could be found in \cite{Hempel}.
\newline

By an \textit{amalgamated free product} of two groups $A$ and $B$ amalgamated along a group $C$, we mean the pushout of $A$ and $B$ when the maps $\alpha_1\colon C\rightarrow$$A$ and $\alpha_2\colon C\rightarrow$$B$  are group homomorphisms. It is denoted by $A\ast_C B$. When $C$ is a trivial group, we have a free product of $A$ and $B$. Similarly, an amalgamated free product of $A$ along $C$ ( or \textit{HNN extension} of $A$ along $C$) is defined to be the pushout of $A$ where $\iota_1,_2\colon C\rightarrow$$A$ are both homomorphisms and this universal group is denoted by $A\ast_C$. By a \textit{$\mathbb{Z}$--splitting} of a group $G$ we mean an amalgamated free product or an HNN extension of the group $G$ so that $C$ is isomorphic to $\mathbb{Z}$.
\newline

 It is known that the homotopy classes of essential imbedded tori in $M$ are in 1-1 correspondence with the equivalence classes of  $\mathbb{Z}$--splittings of $F_n$, namely, if the class of tori is separating it corresponds to an amalgamated free product and if it is nonseparating, it corresponds to an HNN extension of $F_n$. A proof of this is due to Matt Clay and can be found in \cite{CR}. The proof uses the connection between amalgamated free products (or HNN extensions) and the free splittings of $F_n$. These latter results are due to Shenitzer (amalgamated case) and Swarup (HNN case) and proofs can be found in \cite{STA}. This correspondence has some nice consequences which we consider as applications for our work. For example, there is an algebraically defined ``Dehn Twist'' notion on $\mathbb{Z}$--splittings of $F_n$ given in \cite{CLAYP}, which is used to generate fully irreducible elements of $\Out(F_n)$. This notion can be carried to tori in $M$ using this correspondence to find a topological way of generating fully irreducible elements, as in \cite{CR}. But before we attempt investigating such possible consequences, we need a notion of minimal intersection with respect to a given sphere system in $M$.
\newline

\subsection*{Acknowledgements}
I would like to thank Darryl McCullough for the suggestions, corrections and long discussions about the material throughout the preparation process which improved the text greatly and Kasra Rafi for giving the idea and the motivation for the paper and for his many useful suggestions.
\section{background}
We start by describing $M$ explicitly.
Since $M$ is a reducible 3-manifold, it has essential (not bounding 3-balls in $M$) 2-spheres which provide us with a rich algebraic structure. One way to describe $M$ is to remove the interiors of  $2n$ disjoint 3-balls from $S^3$ and identify the resulting 2-sphere boundary components in pairs by orientation-reversing diffeomorphisms, creating $S^2\times S^1$ summands.
 \newline

To give the connection between the two spaces on which $\Out(F_n)$ acts, first we need to define a few concepts. A \textit{sphere system}  is a collection of isotopy classes of disjoint and non-trivial  2-spheres in $M$ no two of which are isotopic. There is a simplicial complex associated to $M$ called the \textit{sphere complex} and denoted by $\SP(M)$, having isotopy classes of non-trivial 2-spheres in $M$ as vertices and sphere systems of $k+1$ spheres as $k$-dimensional simplices.
\newline

 The sphere complex has a subspace which is homeomorphic to Outer Space. This is the complement of the subcomplex which consists of sphere systems with at least one non simply-connected complementary component. For the details we refer to \cite{H1} and \cite{HV1}.
 \newline

 Throughout the paper, we will call 3-punctured 3-spheres either 3-punctured spheres or twice-punctured  3-cells(balls). These are analogous to pants in dimension 2. Hence we will denote them by $P$.
 \newline

 Using the essential spheres in $M$, we will be able to  define 3-dimensional versions of maximal curve systems and of pants decompositions for $M$ as follows:

\begin{definition}Given $M$ as above, we call a collection $\Sigma$ of disjointly imbedded essential, non-isotopic 2-spheres in $M$
a maximal sphere system if every  complementary component of $\Sigma$ in $M$ is a 3-punctured sphere.
\end{definition}

\section{tori in normal form}
Given an imbedded torus in $M$ and a maximal sphere system $\Sigma$, we can look at the number of intersections of the torus with the 2-spheres in each $P$, and define a notion of minimal intersection. In this paper we are particularly interested in the existence of a torus in a homotopy class which intersects the 2-spheres of a maximal sphere system $\Sigma$ minimally. There are certain pieces of a given torus in a $P$ that are particularly important for minimal intersection. They are:
\begin{enumerate}
\item  A disk piece, which is essential, in other words not parallel into any of the boundary 2-spheres and which has a single circle intersection with a single boundary sphere.
\item A cylinder piece, which is the topological boundary of a regular neighborhood of an arc connecting two different boundary 2-spheres.
\item A pants piece, which is the topological boundary of a regular neighborhood of a letter Y intersecting all three boundary components.
\end{enumerate}
\begin{definition}
Given an imbedded torus and a maximal sphere system $\Sigma$ in $M$, we say that the torus is in normal form with respect to $\Sigma$ if each intersection of the torus with each complementary 3-punctured sphere $P$ is a disk, a cylinder or a pants piece.
\end{definition}

Following Hatcher, we will show with the next theorem that any homotopy class of essential tori has a normal representative:

\begin{maintheorem1}
Every imbedded essential torus in $M$ is homotopic to a normal torus and the homotopy process does not increase the intersection number with any sphere of $\Sigma$.
\end{maintheorem1}
\begin{proof} The proof is analogous to the proof of Proposition 1.1 in \cite{H1} except that the homotopies are not necessarily isotopies as we do not have an analogue of Laudenbach's result for spheres given in \cite{LAUD} for tori, and consequently  we restrict ourselves to the homotopy classes instead of isotopy classes. As this result is of such importance in our work, we sketch the argument here.
 \newline

 Let us pick a representative $t$ from a homotopy class of tori.
 \newline

 As the first step, in each $P$, we regard each piece of the torus as consisting of sphere pieces inside $P$ and possibly concentric tubes connecting these sphere pieces to the boundary spheres of $P$. To do this, we first surger each piece of the torus along the intersection circles on the boundaries, starting from the innermost one, ending with the outermost one, resulting in a 2-sphere in $P$. On these sphere pieces, we reverse this surgery process by putting tubes between the sphere piece and the boundary spheres, in exactly the reverse order.
 \newline

  If $t$ is not normal, there will be a piece $F$ that meets a boundary sphere $S$ of a thrice punctured sphere $P$ in two intersection circles $C_1$ and $C_2$. Choose an arc $\alpha$ in $F$ connecting $C_1$ to $C_2$. Let $\alpha^\prime$ be an arc on $S\in$$\Sigma$ connecting $C_1$ to $C_2$. Reselecting $\alpha$ and $F$ if necessary, we may assume that interior of $\alpha^\prime$ does not meet $t$.
  \newline

   Let us call the tube portions of $F$ which meet $C_1$ and $C_2$ $T_1$ and $T_2$, respectively. Let us assume that $C_2$ was surgered before $C_1$.  Now, there is a homotopy of $t$ which is an isotopy on $F$ and whose effect is to slide the end of $T_1$ attached to the sphere part of $F$ along $\alpha$ to $T_2$ and finally out of $P$. Any tubes of $t$ inside of $T_1$ are slid along with it. If there are $r$ such tubes, at a certain point of the homotopy, they create $2r+1$ new intersection circles with $S$, $2r$ from the tubes inside $T_1$ and one from the intersection circle of the tube $T_1$ itself.
   \newline

   The intersection of $T_1$ with $P$ is now a cylinder. Since $\alpha$ is homotopic to $\alpha^\prime$, this cylinder along with any tubes inside it are homotopic to an imbedded position outside of $P$ near $\alpha^\prime$. During the homotopy, self intersections of $t$ may occur, but since the interior of $\alpha^\prime$ does not meet $t$, the final position of $t$ can be an imbedding. This homotopy eliminates $2r+2$ circles of intersection, giving a net decrease of 1 from the original position.
   \newline

 A sequence of such homotopies in each $P$ will give the desired homotopy in $M$. Since $t$ is essential, its image under a composition of such homotopies will not be disjoint form $\Sigma$ hence we will have a normal representative in the same homotopy class.
\end{proof}
\section{the universal cover}

A fixed maximal sphere system in $M$ gives a description of the universal cover $\widetilde{M}$ of $M$ as follows. Let $\PP$ be the set of twice punctured 3-balls in $M$ given by a maximal sphere system $\Sigma$ and regard $M$ as obtained from copies of $P$ in $\PP$ by identifying pairs of boundary spheres. Note that a pair might both be contained in a single $P$, in which case the image of $P$ in $M$ is a once-punctured $S^2\times S^1$. To construct $\widetilde{M}$, begin with a single copy of $P$ and attach copies of the $P$ in $\PP$ inductively along boundary spheres, as determined by unique path lifting. Repeating this process gives a description of $\widetilde{M}$ as a treelike union of copies of the $P$. We remark that $\widetilde{M}$ is homeomorphic to the complement of a Cantor set in $S^3$.
\newline

The universal cover $\widetilde{M}$ is modeled by a tree
$\widetilde{\Gamma}$, called the \textit{dual tree,} as follows. For each
copy $P$ in $\PP$ there is a vertex corresponding to the interior of $P$
and a vertex for each of the three boundary spheres, and there are three
edges connecting the interior vertex to the boundary sphere vertices. Hence there are two types of vertices: the valence-3 vertices indicating the 3-punctured spheres and valence-2 vertices indicating boundary spheres. To
obtain $\widetilde{\Gamma}$, identify the boundary vertices according to
how the corresponding sphere boundary components of the copies of the $P$
are identified to form $\widetilde{M}$.
\newline

We will call the union of the three edges for a copy of a $P$ a ``Y'',
since it is homeomorphic to a letter Y. We also write $\widetilde{\Sigma}$
for the union in $\widetilde{M}$ of the inverse images of the spheres in the
fixed sphere system.
\newline

Given a lift $\widetilde{t}$ of an imbedded torus in normal form, there is
a corresponding dual subgraph of $\widetilde{\Gamma}$ obtained by taking
the union of the Y's for the copies of the $P$ that meet
$\widetilde{t}$. We call this graph $T(\widetilde{t})$. The inclusion of
$\widetilde{t}$ into $\widetilde{M}$ is modeled by the inclusion of
$T(\widetilde{t})$ into $\widetilde{\Gamma}$, which is injective, hence we will have at most one component of $\widetilde{t}$ in each $P$. Note that
\begin{enumerate}
\item An extremal Y of $T(\widetilde{t})$, that
is, a Y that meets the rest of $T(\widetilde{t})$ in a single vertex,
occurs exactly when an intersection of $\widetilde{t}$ with a copy of a
$P$ is a disk. We will call such Y's type-1.
\item A Y meeting the rest of $T(\widetilde{t})$ in exactly two vertices
occurs exactly when an intersection of $\widetilde{t}$ with a copy of a
$P$ is a cylinder. These Y's will be called type-2.
\item A Y meeting the rest of $T(\widetilde{t})$ in its three boundary
vertices occurs exactly when an intersection of $\widetilde{t}$ with a
copy of a $P$ is a pair of pants. These are type-3.
\end{enumerate}
Since $\widetilde{t}$ is connected, $T(\widetilde{t})$ is also connected
and hence is a tree.
\section{the decorated graph}

To prove Theorem \ref{thm:main1}, we will provide a combinatorial description of the lift of a torus in terms of a tree defined in the universal cover of $M$. Such a lift equipped with a transverse orientation will be associated to a \textit{decorated graph}.
\newline

Let $t$ be an imbedded essential torus in $M$.
The image of $\pi_1(t)$ under the homomorphism induced by the inclusion $i\colon t\hookrightarrow$$M$ is an infinite cyclic subgroup of $\pi_1 (M)$, defined up to conjugacy. Fixing a specific lift of the inclusion to the universal cover, with image  $\widetilde{t}$, determines a specific subgroup in this conjugacy class, and a generator $\gamma$ of this subgroup acts as a covering transformation of $\widetilde{M}$ that preserves $\widetilde{t}$. Note that $\gamma$ does not interchange the sides of $\widetilde{t}$ since the image of $t$ is two-sided in $M$. There is a corresponding action of  $\pi_1(M)$ on $\widetilde{\Gamma}$ as simplicial isomorphisms. The generator $\gamma$ has an invariant axis which is topologically a line and $T(\widetilde{t})$ consists of this axis and finite trees meeting the axis. The action of $\gamma$ on $T(\widetilde{t})$ takes vertices to vertices and edges to edges. A fundamental domain for the action of $\gamma$ on $T(\widetilde{t})$ could be described as an arc on the invariant axis of $\gamma$ whose endpoints are translates by $\gamma$, together with some finite trees attached to this arc. Translates of these finite trees are all of the finite trees meeting the invariant axis of $\gamma$.
\newline

Motivated by Hatcher \cite{H1}, we will obtain the decorated graph with respect to the transverse orientation chosen as follows:
\newline

 We pick a transverse orientation of the lift $\widetilde{t}$ and label the sides; one with $+$ and the other $-$. This induces a corresponding orientation on $\widetilde{t}/\gamma$. Split $\widetilde{M}/\gamma$ along $(\widetilde{t}/\gamma)$$\cup$$(\bigcup$$\widetilde{S_i})$ where $\widetilde{S_i}$ are the spheres corresponding to the $\gamma$-orbits of the spheres in $\widetilde{M}$ which are disjoint from $\widetilde{t}$. Now, let $\widetilde{X_+}$ and $\widetilde{X_-}$ be the two components that contain copies of $\widetilde{t}/\gamma$ and define $S_+$=$\partial{\widetilde{X_+}} -\widetilde{t}/\gamma$ and $S_-$=$\partial{\widetilde{X_-}}-\widetilde{t}/\gamma$ where $\partial{\widetilde{X_+}}$ denotes the boundary of $\widetilde{X_+}$, etc. Note that $\widetilde{X_+}$,$\widetilde{X_-}$ and $\widetilde{t}/\gamma$ are compact submanifolds. See Figure \ref{fig:HOM2}.
 \newline

 We label the spheres $S_+$ with $+$ and the spheres $S_-$ with $-$. This gives a labeling of the vertices representing these spheres, which are extremal vertices of  $T(\widetilde{t})/\gamma$. For a disk piece of $\widetilde{t}/\gamma$, the corresponding two extremal vertices of $T(\widetilde{t})/\gamma$ will have the opposite signs. There will be no signs on a Y corresponding to a pants piece, since all spheres are intersected. For a  cylinder piece, one of the boundary spheres will not be intersected hence will be on one side of the torus and will correspond to a labeled extremal vertex on a type-2 Y. In particular if we have a torus with one of $S_+$ and $S_-$ empty, the corresponding graph will be some union of type-2 Y's, in other words finitely many extremal edges attached to the axis of $\gamma$ with one label on each of them, all labels the same. In this case, $t$ bounds a solid torus in $M$, $\widetilde{t}/\gamma$ bounds a solid torus $\widetilde{X_+}$ or $\widetilde{X_-}$ in $\widetilde{M}/\gamma$, and $\widetilde{t}/\gamma$ represents the trivial element in $H_2(\widetilde{M}/\gamma)$.
 \newline

\begin{figure}
\setlength{\unitlength}{0.01\linewidth}
\begin{picture}(100,90)
\put(20,0){\includegraphics[width=0.7\textwidth]{HOM2}}
\put(42,18){$U_2$}
\put(32,18){$U_1$}
\put(63,18){$U_3$}
\put(73,20){$U_m$}
\put(35,60){$T_1$}
\put(53,62){$T_2$}
\put(77,52){$T_m$}

\put(50,50){$\widetilde{X_+}$}
\put(50,30){$\widetilde{X_-}$}
\put(70,35){$\widetilde{t}/\gamma$}

\end{picture}
\caption{A schematic picture of $\widetilde{t}/\gamma$, the submanifolds $\widetilde{X_+}$, $\widetilde{X_-}$, and spheres $T_i$$\in$$S_+$ and $U_j$$\in$$S_-$.}
\label{fig:HOM2}
\end{figure}

\begin{figure}
\setlength{\unitlength}{0.01\linewidth}
\begin{picture}(100,60)
\put(20,0){\includegraphics[width=0.7\textwidth]{homb}}
\put(51,30){$+$}
\put(47,52){$+$}
\put(26,46){$-$}
\put(40,36){$-$}
\put(23,30){$-$}
\put(35,52){$+$}
\put(39,30){$-$}
\put(48,39){$-$}
\put(70,39){$+$}
\put(80,35){$-$}
\put(80,7){$-$}
\put(74,2){$-$}
\put(62,2){$+$}
\put(62,52){$-$}

\end{picture}
\caption{The relation between $\widetilde{t}/\gamma$ and $g_t$.}
\label{fig:homb}
\end{figure}

The above construction  will give the graph $T(\widetilde{t})/\gamma$ in  $\widetilde{\Gamma}/\gamma$ a ``decoration'' of signs  on the ending vertices resulting from the transverse orientation on the torus $\widetilde{t}/\gamma$. We will call this decorated graph $g_t$ since it will be shown that it is uniquely determined by the normal homotopy class of the normal torus $t$. See Figure \ref{fig:homb}.

\section{the uniqueness of normal form}
Let $\Sigma$ be a maximal sphere system and $t$ and $t^\prime$ be two essential tori in $M$. For the following two lemmas, assume that the images of $\pi_1(t)$ and $\pi_1(t^\prime)$ in $\pi_1(M)$ are conjugate, say to the subgroup generated by $\gamma$.

\begin{lemma}\label{L1}
 Let $t$ and $t^\prime$ be two homotopic tori, both in normal form with respect to $\Sigma$. Then their transverse orientations may be chosen so that the corresponding decorated graphs with respect to the axis of $\gamma$ are equal.
\end{lemma}
\begin{proof} Let $t$ and $t^\prime$ be as given.
Define, as before, $S_+$=$\partial{\widetilde{X_+}}-\widetilde{t}/\gamma$, $S_-$=$\partial{\widetilde{X_-}}-\widetilde{t}/\gamma$, and $S^\prime_+$=$\partial{\widetilde{X_+}}-\widetilde{t^\prime}/\gamma$, $S^\prime_-$=$\partial{\widetilde{X_-}}-\widetilde{t^\prime}/\gamma$. We pick transverse orientations on $\widetilde{t}/\gamma$ and  $\widetilde{t^\prime}/\gamma$. These transverse orientations determine transverse orientations on $S_+$, $S_-$, $S^\prime_+$ and $S^\prime_-$ in $\widetilde{M}/\gamma$, and hence $+$ and $-$ labeling of them so that $\widetilde{t}/\gamma$ is homologous to both $S_+$, $S_-$, and $\widetilde{t^\prime}/\gamma$ is homologous to both $S^\prime_+$ and $S^\prime_-$.
\newline

 Now, any homotopy from $t$ to $t^\prime$ lifts to a homotopy from $\widetilde{t}/\gamma$ to $\widetilde{t^\prime}/\gamma$. Therefore we may fix transverse orientations on $t$ and $t^\prime$ so that $\widetilde{t}/\gamma$ and $\widetilde{t^\prime}/\gamma$ represent the same element of $H_2(\widetilde{M}/\gamma;\mathbb{Z})$. Then, $S_+$, $S_-$, $S^\prime_+$ and $S^\prime_-$ all represent the same homology class.
 \newline

Assume  that $g_t$ $\neq$ $g_{t^\prime}$.
Suppose first that $T(\widetilde{t})/\gamma$ $\neq$ $T(\widetilde{t^\prime})/\gamma$. Then one of them, say $T(\widetilde{t})/\gamma$ contains an extremal Y, say $Y_0$, not in $T(\widetilde{t^\prime})/\gamma$.
\newline

Consider the valence-2 vertex of $Y_0$ which connects it to the rest of the graph. Let us call it $v$. Now, $v$ represents a 2-sphere, which is a component of the boundary of the 3-punctured sphere $\widetilde{P}$ associated to the middle valence-3 vertex of the $Y_0$. This 2-sphere separates $\widetilde{M}$ into two parts. One part contains exactly one of the spheres in $S_+$ and one sphere in $S_-$ and the other part contains all of the spheres of $S^\prime_+$ and $S^\prime_-$ and all but the one of the spheres of $S_+$ and $S_-$. We will call this latter part $\widetilde{M_0}$. But then, $S^\prime_+$ and $S^\prime_-$  represent zero in $H_2(\widetilde{M}/\gamma,\widetilde{M_0}/\gamma)$ and $S_+$ and $S_-$ do not. This contradicts the fact that $S_+$, $S_-$, $S^\prime_+$ and $S^\prime_-$ represent the same homology class in $H_2(\widetilde{M}/\gamma)$.
  \newline

Now we are reduced to the case that $\t$ and $\tprime$ have the same
topological graphs. We must prove that their orientations may be selected
so that the decorations are equal.
\newline

Suppose first that $[\t]$ and hence $[\tprime]$ are $0$ in
$H_2(\widetilde{M}/\gamma)$. Then each bounds a compact submanifold of
$\widetilde{M}/\gamma$, so the decorations each have either all plus signs
or all minus signs. If they agree, there is nothing to prove. If they are
opposite, we may reverse the orientation on one of them (not changing its
homology class, since the class is $0$) to make the signs all agree, and
again we are finished. So we may assume that $[\t]$ is nonzero in $H_2(\widetilde{M}/\gamma)$.
\newline

We have $\partial\widetilde{X_+}=T_1+\cdots+T_m-\t$ and $\partial\widetilde{
X_-}=\t-U_1-\cdots-U_n$ where $T_i$$\in$$S_+$, $U_j$$\in$$S_-$ and $m,n$$\in$$\mathbb{Z}$. Since $[\t]$ is nonzero, $m$ and $n$ are both at
least~$1$.
\newline

We have $H_2(\widetilde{X_+},\t)\cong \mathbb{Z}^{m-1}=\langle (T_1\rangle \oplus\cdots \oplus
\langle T_m\rangle)/(T_1+\cdots +T_m=0)$. This is a subgroup of
$H_2(\overline{\widetilde{M}/\gamma-\widetilde{M_1}},\t),$ where
$\widetilde{M_1}$ is the component of $\widetilde{M}/\gamma$ cut along $\t$
that contains $\widetilde{X_-}$.
\newline

In fact, we have
\[ H_2(\widetilde{X_+},\t)\subset
H_2(\overline{\widetilde{M}/\gamma-\widetilde{M_1}},\t)\cong
H_2(\widetilde{M}/\gamma,\widetilde{M_1})\ ,\]
the latter isomorphism by excision, and under
\[ H_2(\widetilde{M}/\gamma)\to
H_2(\widetilde{M}/\gamma,\widetilde{M_1})\ ,\]
the homology class $[\t]$ goes into the subgroup
$H_2(\widetilde{X_+},\t)$ and equals $T_1+T_2+\cdots+T_m=0$.
\newline

Now $[\tprime]=[T_{i_1}+\cdots+T_{i_r}+U_{j_1}+\cdots+U_{j_s}]$
corresponding to the extremal vertices of the graph that are
decorated with plus signs for $\tprime$. Under
\[ H_2(\widetilde{M}/\gamma)\to
H_2(\widetilde{M}/\gamma,\widetilde{M_1})\ ,\]
$[\tprime]$ goes to $[T_{i_1}+\cdots+T_{i_r}]$, and must equal $0$ since it
equals $[\t]$ in $H_2(\widetilde{M}/\gamma)$. Therefore it contains either
all or none of the $T_i$. That is, in the decoration for the graph obtained
from $\tprime$, either all the $T_i$ have plus signs or all have minus signs.
\newline

Applying the same argument to the minus side (with $\widetilde{X_-}$ in the role of
$\widetilde{X_+}$), we conclude that for the decoration obtained from $\tprime$, either
all the $U_i$ have plus signs or all have minus signs. That is, we have
\[ [\tprime]=[\epsilon T_1\cdots +\epsilon T_m + \delta U_1+\cdots +\delta
  U_n]\ ,\]
where $\epsilon,\delta\in\{0,1\}$.
\newline

Suppose that $\epsilon=\delta=0$ or $\epsilon=\delta=1$, that is, in the
decoration for $\tprime$ all extremal vertices have either plus signs or
minus signs. Then $\tprime$ bounds a compact submanifold of
$\widetilde{M}$, contradicting the fact that $[\t]$ is nonzero.
\newline

If $\epsilon = 1$ and $\delta=0$, then the decorations are the same and
there is nothing to prove.
\newline

In the remaining case, when $\epsilon = 0$ and $\delta=1$, we may reverse
the orientation on $\tprime$ to make the decorations equal, and the proof
is complete.
\newline

Therefore, since the decorations agree also, we have $g_t$ = $g_{t^\prime}$.
\end{proof}

\begin{lemma}\label{L2}
For two tori $t$ and $t^\prime$ normal with respect to $\Sigma$, suppose that the corresponding decorated graphs are the same. Then, $t$ and $t^\prime$ are normally homotopic.
\end{lemma}
\begin{proof}

We will construct a normal homotopy of $t^\prime/\gamma$ in $\widetilde{M}/\gamma$, moving it onto $t/\gamma$. This projects to a normal homotopy of $t^\prime$ onto $t$ in $M$.
\newline

 Since the decorated graphs are the same, both tori will have the  same type of piece in each $\widetilde{P}$. To describe the normal homotopy, we start at one of the endpoints of the arc giving the axis of $\gamma$.
\newline

 Let us call the first $\widetilde{P}$ on the axis of $\gamma$, $\widetilde{P_1}$. By normal isotopy, we may move $t^\prime/\gamma\cap\widetilde{P_1}$ onto $t/\gamma\cap\widetilde{P_1}$. On the next $\widetilde{P}$ along the axis, say $\widetilde{P_2}$, we may move $t^\prime/\gamma\cap\widetilde{P_2}$ onto $t/\gamma$$\cap$$\widetilde{P_2}$ without moving $t^\prime/\gamma\cap(\widetilde{P_1}\cap\widetilde{P_2})$. It may be necessary to move $t^\prime/\gamma$ on the other components of $\partial{\widetilde{P_2}}$ using a ``twist''. Figure \ref{fig:twist} illustrates such a twist.
 \newline

 \begin{figure}
\begin{center}
\includegraphics[width=0.8\textwidth]{TWIST}
\caption{A twist of one of the pieces on a boundary sphere.}
\label{fig:twist}
\end{center}
\end{figure}

 We continue along the axis of $\gamma$ in this way, until we reach $\widetilde{P_n}$ that meets $\widetilde{P_1}$. The isotopy moving $t^\prime/\gamma\cap\widetilde{P_n}$ onto $t/\gamma\cap\widetilde{P_n}$ can be accomplished without moving $t^\prime/\gamma\cap(\widetilde{P_n}\cap\widetilde{P_1})$, since if not, $t^\prime/\gamma$ would be a Klein Bottle.
 \newline

Now, we move to the finite tree branches on the axis of $\gamma$ and continue moving the pieces of $t^\prime/\gamma$  in each $\widetilde{P}$ corresponding to the Y's on branches, one after the other, fixing the already coinciding intersection circles we start with. Again, we might have the situation in Figure \ref{fig:twist}, so we might need to twist one intersection circle to make the pieces coincide. After a sequence of such homotopies we eventually reach an extremal Y, which must have one disk piece from each torus, one of the pieces with a twist, perhaps as in Figure \ref{fig:twist2}. Now, if we fill in the boundary spheres in this $\widetilde{P}$ with 3-cells, we will obtain a 3-ball, and by an isotopy we will be able to move one disk piece to the other one without moving boundary. Regarding the 3-cells as points, this determines an element of the braid group of two points in the 3-ball. This group is of order 2. But since the decorations are the same, the braid actually lies in the pure braid group of the 3-ball, which is trivial. So the disk pieces are isotopic relative to the boundary of $\widetilde{P}$.
\newline

\begin{figure}
\begin{center}
\includegraphics[width=0.8\textwidth]{twist2}
\caption{A disk piece and a twisted disk piece.}
\label{fig:twist2}
\end{center}
\end{figure}

 We observe that at each stage of each of these isotopies, we have a normal torus because each piece only moves within a single $\widetilde{P}$.
As the last step, we take the composition of these isotopies and project it into $M$ to see that the two tori are normally homotopic. Since self intersections are possible, at some levels we might have immersed normal tori during this final homotopy.

\end{proof}
Now the proof of Theorem \ref{thm:main2}, which we will state here again, will be clear:
\begin{maintheorem2}
If $t$ and $t^\prime$ are two homotopic tori in $M$, both in normal form with respect to a maximal sphere system $\Sigma$, then they are normally homotopic.
\end{maintheorem2}
\begin{proof} Let $t$ and $t^\prime$ be two homotopic normal tori. We start with Lemma \ref{L1} to see that two tori have the same decorated graphs and continue with Lemma \ref{L2} to conclude that they are normally homotopic.
\end{proof}

\begin{corollary1}
If a torus $t$ is in normal form with respect to a maximal sphere system $\Sigma$, then the intersection number of $t$ with any $S$ in $\Sigma$ is minimal among the representatives of the homotopy class $[t]$ in each $P$.
\end{corollary1}
\begin{proof} Let $i(t,S)$ denote the number of components of $t$$\cap$$S$. Suppose $t$ is normal but there is a torus $t_1$ which is homotopic to $t$ with $i(t_1,S)< i(t,S)$. Then, by Theorem \ref{thm:main1}, $t_1$ is homotopic to a normal torus $t_2$ with $i(t_2,\Sigma)\leq i(t_1,\Sigma)$. Now, by Theorem \ref{thm:main2}
, any two homotopic normal tori are normally homotopic, which implies $i(t,S)$$=$ $i(t_2,S)\leq i(t_1,S)$$<i(t,S)$, a contradiction. Therefore  $i(t,S)$ was minimal among the tori in $[t]$.
\end{proof}

\bibliographystyle{alpha}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaArXiv


"Brush, Floss, Baby," rapped by student Jonathan Lee Casas, tells viewers all they need to know about keeping their teeth clean while keeping it real.
Casas covers all the basics of maintaining proper dental hygiene, such as brushing, flossing and using mouthwash and fluoride.
Brushing and flossing your teeth daily is essential to keeping your teeth free of plaque, a biofilm of bacteria that develops on teeth and can cause gum disease and tooth decay. Rinsing with mouthwash regularly kills the bacteria that cause plaque and bad breath. Fluoride treatments, available at your dentist's office, are also vital for making teeth resistant to decay.
Perhaps the only downfall of "Brush, Floss, Baby" is that it was performed at a near-whisper, making it difficult to fully appreciate the performer's tight rhymes and sick flow. Seeing him do the "Ice Ice Baby" choreography while rapping "Brush, Floss, Baby" wouldn't hurt, either!
Good dental hygiene is as real as the streets. Watch "Brush, Floss, Baby" and learn all you need to know about having healthy teeth.


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text:
Heated plastic holds proteins
Imagine walking on a floor that your feet sometimes stick to and sometimes do not. Now imagine if that floor could sort people by causing those under a certain height to stop in their tracks while everyone over that height walked freely by.
Researchers from Sandia National Laboratory have found a way to switch the surface chemistry of a biochip that allows them to trap and release protein molecules.
The method could eventually allow protein molecules to be sorted by size, or even by types specific to different species, which would make it able to sense pathogens, including those intentionally released in acts of bio-terrorism, said Bruce Bunker, a principal number of the technical staff at Sandia National Laboratories.
The researchers' prototype sorting device consists of a tiny heating surface coated with an array of polymer chains. Polymers are long molecules made from small, repeating units.
At room temperature, these polymer molecules interact with water to swell to 10 times their normal size. At the same time a sheaf of water surrounds the swollen polymer, keeping other molecules away. "This ordered water not only promotes expansion of the polymer, but it forms a protective barrier that prevents... proteins from coming into contact with the chains," said Bunker.
Above a transition temperature of about 30 degrees Celsius, the ordered water formation breaks down, allowing the chains to contract and proteins to contact and stick to the polymer. "The net result is... proteins do not stick to the polymer at room temperature, but readily [stick] above the transition temperature," said Bunker.
Making proteins stick or not stick is simply a matter of changing the temperature of the heating surface, said Bunker. "When we put the coating on top of a micro heater device, we can thermally program the surface to grab or release proteins on command," he said.
The setup traps and releases proteins in a matter of seconds, and causes little damage to the fragile molecules, according to Bunker.
The tricky part of making the surface is making sure there are no bare spots, said Bunker. "If the [polymer] chains are spaced too far apart, bare patches open up between the chains when the film collapses above the transition temperature, allowing proteins to penetrate the film and stick to the underlying substrate," he said.
The heating device is a thin silicon nitride membrane striped with gold heater lines, and covered with a thin layer of silica, said Bunker. The silica "provides a platform for... the polymer film," he said. The chip can be added to devices that already contain electrical and fluidic connections, making the chip easy to replace, he said.
The current prototype traps relatively small numbers of protein molecules, said Bunker. "Only a single monolayer is adsorbed on surfaces in the existing device, so the total quantities of adsorbed protein are low." The researchers are looking to increase the surface area by using substrates that contain pores, he said.
The researchers' are also working to use the switchable films to sort different types of proteins, like large proteins from small, said Bunker. They found that in mixtures of large and small proteins, small proteins stick first and that are replaced over about 10 minutes by the large proteins. The researchers could use timing to sort proteins by size, said Bunker. "An example... would be the removal of... small concentrations of cell-signaling proteins -- cytokines -- from blood serum, which contains high concentrations of the large protein albumin," he said.
Ultimately the researchers are aiming to make the protein traps sort specific proteins or proteins from specific biological species, he said. The researchers' current approach involves using the protein traps to grab antibodies that in turn grab specific types of proteins," said Bunker. "Antibody monolayers are known to have the ultimate selectivity for [trapping] specific species from complex biological mixtures," he said.
Switchable films would be more economical than existing techniques, which use tethered antibodies, said Bunker. This is because the researchers' method is reusable, he said. "We can release the antibody film after the bio-species are adsorbed and then regenerate a new antibody film for the next separation or analysis procedure using the same or a different antibody," he said.
The researchers' technique is a combination of existing technologies that may eventually prove useful for separating certain types of proteins, said Ronald Siegel, a professor of pharmaceutics at the University of Minnesota. Separation is one operation that could be included on labs-on-a-chip, he added.
The method will have to be more extensively analyzed to see whether it can achieve the throughput and efficiency needed for such operations, however, he added.
The device could be used in practical microfluidic systems in as little as two years, said Bunker.
Bunker's research colleagues were Dale L. Huber, Ronald P. Manginell, Michael A. Samara, and Byung-Il Kim. The work appeared in the July 18, 2003 issue of Science. The research was funded by the Department of Energy (DOE) and Sandia National Laboratories.
TRN Categories: Microfluidics and BioMEMS; Biotechnology
Related Elements: Technical paper, "Programmed Adsorption and Release of Proteins in a Microfluidic Device," Science, July 18, 2003.
September 24/October 1, 2003
Radio tags give guidance
Laser made from single atom
Web searches tap databases
News briefs:
Reflective dust IDs substances
Rapid process shapes aluminum
3D display goes deeper
Artificial DNA stacks metal atoms
Teamed lasers make smaller spots
Glow shows individual DNA


text:
Lupe, Pharrell and Kanye Form Child Rebel Soldiers
Lupe Fiasco has revealed to Billboard.com that he has officially formed the group Child Rebel Soldiers (CRS) along with Kanye West and Pharrell Williams, and a full-length effort may be in the works.
After his show at Lollapalooza, where he performed the Thom Yorke-sampling "Us Placers," the only song they've released so far (on Kanye's Can't Tell Me Nothing mix-tape), Fiasco spilled the beans. "Now [our labels are] working it out," he said. "Whoever is going to pay is going to pay a whole hell of a lot. Everybody is excited, [but] 'Us Placers' is the only record we have."
As for Lupe Fiasco's The Cool, the follow-up to his 2006 debut Food & Liquor, Lupe said the album could be his last. "I'm just wearing down," he admitted. "I'm never doing mix-tapes again, not even Internet ones. My whole energy for making hip-hop music is slowing down. I've been doing it for seven years. I still don't think I'm famous. I'll do what I have to do to promote my next album, but I'm not enthused about doing seven albums. I'll do my three, and then I am going to keep moving to the next phase of life and maybe grow trees."
More Lupe Fiasco
Lupe Fiasco Announces New Album 'Drogas Wave'
Lupe Fiasco has revealed plans for his next album. Titled Drogas Wave, it's due out on September 28 via 1st & 15th/Thirty Tigers, and is cur...
Lupe Fiasco DROGAS Light
Long-time Lupe Fiasco fans will find something to appreciate on his sixth studio album, DROGAS Light, but it might be a poor introduction fo...
Lupe Fiasco 'DROGAS Light' (album stream)
Lupe Fiasco has been building up to the release of his latest album DROGAS Light with singles like "Wild Child," "Jump" and "Tranquillo," bu...
Lupe Fiasco "Tranquillo" (ft. Rick Ross & Big K.R.I.T.)
Before long, we'll finally be able to sink our teeth into the entirety of Lupe Fiasco's return, DROGAS Light. For now, though, we'll have to...
Lupe Fiasco "Jump" (ft. Gizzle)
Though he wasn't even going to put it out not long ago, Lupe Fiasco is set to follow up 2015's Tetsuo & Youth with a new disc titled DROGAS...


At Gower Law and Mediation, our attorneys focus on all aspects of family law in Encinitas, CA and the surrounding San Diego area municipalities of Carlsbad, Oceanside and Vista. We assist our clients with everything from pre-marital planning, separation agreements and mediation, to high conflict custody issues, domestic violence restraining orders and high asset property division. Since most divorce or custody cases involve several and often related issues, our lawyers strive to create a custom, cost-effective strategy for each of our clients.


Ellie James is a dreamer. She dreams of horses - all day long. She dreams of owning a horse, she dreams of owning a beautiful black stallion and she dreams of showing her amazing stallion at the Hamilton Royal Horse Show. And she doesn't just show her stallion, but the crowds scream for the pair, the judge can't take his eyes off of them, and Ellie and her horse win their class! The problem is, Ellie does much of her daydreaming at school, during class. Miss Hernandez, one of Ellie's fourth grade teachers, has had just about enough of Ellie's daydreaming. When will the girl stop dreaming and start paying attention?
One day during class, after being reprimanded yet again by Miss Hernandez, Ellie is once more daydreaming. She's looking out the window, imagining her stallion jumping over a big sign when suddenly, Ellie spots a REAL horse. She cries out to her teacher, telling her, and the whole class, that she just saw a horse. The other kids laugh and Miss Hernandez decides it's time to call in Ellie's parents. This daydreaming has to stop.
Poor Ellie. Nobody believes her. But she knows she saw a horse, and unlike the horse of her dreams, this horse was skinny, wobbly, and looked frightened. When Ellie's mom comes home from work and explains to the family about the horse that got away from her at the cat rescue - yes, the cat rescue - a horse that matches the description of the horse Ellie saw, she is finally believed. But what will become of that frightened, half-starved horse? Will Ellie be able to save the mare, and more importantly, will she ever get her OWN horse?
Horse Dreams is a sweet, Christian story of a girl who desperately wants her own horse. Told in the first person by Ellie, she tells the reader of the ways she will try to get her own horse; "begging, crying, and praying." When the first two don't work, Ellie turns to God and asks Him to help. There are some interesting talks that Ellie has with God when she admits, "there's a lot about praying that I don't understand," (pg. 69) such as when two people pray for opposite things - how does God know what to do? And if God can do anything, why hasn't he given her a horse? These questions will make young readers realize they are not the only ones with questions. There is a nice, easy flow to the narrative that will make it fun for pre-teens to read as Ellie takes them along for the ride.
Quill says: A nice, wholesome horse story that will keep young horse lovers engaged and turning the pages to see if dreams really do come true.


text:
G2K Fulfills Back to Science Mission, Plans Merger with Automation-in-Mapping Event
MARCO ISLAND, Fla.--Notwithstanding complaints about a few presentations that amounted to little more than sequencing progress reports, attendees generally agreed that G2K: Advances in Genome Biology and Technology I lived up to its slogan, "Back to Science."
The conference, which registrants commonly referred to as "the anti-Celera meeting," was held here February 5-8. The event was organized by GCorp, a nonprofit group that was established last year by the laboratory equipment company MJ Research.
Meeting organizers acknowledged that they conceived G2K as an alternative to the annual Genome Sequencing and Analysis Conference held by the Institute for Genomic Research, whose agenda many scientists contended has become too heavily influenced by Celera Genomics and other commercial interests. At an after-hours gathering where scientists, sales reps, and some newly made genomics millionaires talked shop near a keg of beer into the early morning, one conference cochair remarked that the atmosphere resembled earlier days of genomics research, when TIGR's meetings were held in Hilton Head, NC.
G2K was by no means devoid of commercialism, however. "MegaBus" drivers clad in Amersham Pharmacia Biotech golf shirts greeted conferees at the airport with chocolate microarrays, and on Monday night, Steve Lincoln pitched Incyte's new business strategy to a captive, if not captivated, dinner audience. About 75 percent of 483 attendees were from industry.
But an agenda packed with scientific lectures--all but six of which were presented by academic researchers--kept to a minimum traffic in the exhibit hall, where the wares of 38 vendors as well as 60 poster presentations were on display.
Francis Collins, director of the US National Human Genome Research Institute, kicked off the meeting with a speech detailing the revised timetable for the international Human Genome Project. While flashing a slide that portrayed a double helix made of dollar bills, Collins stressed the importance of public access to genome data. He said that while the ability to claim intellectual property is critical to pharmaceutical progress, obstructed access to genomic data is a problem. "It is not at all inappropriate to put a tollbooth on the road from basic science to product," Collins remarked. But too many tollbooths too early along the route could stand in the way of scientific progress, he warned.
Collins also remarked upon Human Genome Project priorities other than sequencing, which include cataloging human sequence variation, developing a standard set of cDNAs from the mouse and human genomes, and promoting developments in sequencing, microarray, and expression analysis technologies.
The three-day agenda included 17 presentations on genome projects. Among them: Sanger Centre's Stephan Beck presented work of the Human and Chicken MHC Sequencing Consortia; Sandra Clifton of the Washington University School of Medicine compared completed genomes to sample sequences of related genomes; and Andrew Simpson of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research in Sao Paulo, Brazil, talked about using open reading frame ESTs for determining genes and exon usage in complex eukaryotic genomes.
Among 10 functional genomics talks were: Audrey Goddard on Genentech's Signal Peptide Discovery Initiative; and Mathias Uhlen of Stockholm's Royal Institute of Technology on high-throughput pharmacogenetics.
The meeting's final day was dedicated to computational biology, and included a presentation by Richard Mural on the Genome Channel, a Java-based browser developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory for viewing genomic sequence annotation and links to related data and resources. Tim Hubbard of the Sanger Centre explained Ensembl, a joint project between Sanger and the European Bioinformatics Institute to add value to draft human genome data. Christian Rees discussed efforts by his Stanford University School of Medicine team to make web-based applications for visualizing and publicizing microarray results available on the web. Yannick Pouliot explained plans by the company DoubleTwist to provide a web-based computational environment that facilitates interpretation of draft human genome sequence.
G2K will be held again here next year, and organizers said it will be merged with the sixth annual International Automation in Mapping and DNA Sequencing meeting.
--Adrienne Burke
AGBT


Faculty within the IU School of Medicine Department of Emergency Medicine share their expertise and passion for discovery with future physicians through classroom instruction, hands-on clinical experiences and opportunities to publish original research. The department provides educational opportunities for medical students, residents and subspecialty fellows. This department's statewide clerkship instructs every medical student attending the school. An emergency medicine residency established in 1979, a combined emergency medicine/pediatrics residency and several clinical fellowships prepare residents for any job in emergency medicine around the globe.
The Statewide Emergency Medicine clerkship has received IU School of Medicine's Outstanding Clerkship award eight times since its inception in 2004.
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IU School of Medicine offers four ACGME-accredited emergency medicine fellowships: medical toxicology, clinical informatics, out-of-hospital care (EMS) and pediatric emergency medicine. In addition, the Department of Emergency Medicine offers two subspecialty fellowships in emergency ultrasound and disaster medicine.


text:
Lottery/Casinos
NSEW News
North, South, East, West Awesome Product News
Using the Law of Attraction to Win the Lottery
How Does a 7 Times Lottery Jackpot Winner Do It?
Happiness a New Age
The Heart of a Human
Not Your Mother's Cup of Tea
Thieves Can Now Steal Your Reputation!
The Bed Bug Epidemic
Coronavirus takes a serious turn in Russia, and Putin no longer radiates confidence
It was an unusually somber meeting. Less than a month ago, Putin had radiated confidence about his government's response to a growing global crisis, reassuring his citizens that the situation was "under control" thanks to early intervention measures. A few weeks later, Putin played the role of international rescuer, dispatching a planeload of medical supplies to New York's John F. Kennedy Airport.
How quickly things can change in the time of coronavirus. In his Monday videoconference, Putin took stock of a worsening situation.
"We have a lot of problems," Putin said. "There is nothing to boast about, and we must not let our guard down, because in general, as you and your specialists say, we have not passed the peak of the epidemic yet."
The trendline speaks for itself. While Russia has comparatively few cases compared with the United States or the hardest-hit European countries, the number of confirmed cases has surged in recent days. On Monday, Russia reported a record one-day rise in cases, with 2,558 confirmed over the previous 24 hours.
On Tuesday, Russia hit a fresh record: 2,774 confirmed cases. And Putin is coming in for serious criticism over his handling of the crisis.
In a recent essay, Tatiana Stanovaya of the Carnegie Moscow Center said the coronavirus pandemic had underscored Putin's isolation from ordinary Russians.
"One of the main topics today is why Putin is almost imperceptible in the coronavirus situation," she wrote. "He only addressed the nation briefly twice and went to the [coronavirus] hospital in Kommunarka, but he neither gave his own assessments of the crisis nor proposed a plan of action, but limited himself to scattered measures and general words. No drama, empathy or attempts to mobilize."
Putin, Stanovaya argued, does not wish to be associated with harsh or unpopular measures, leaving such chores to local subordinates. In the case of the coronavirus, the task of rolling out some of the most heavy-handed restrictions has fallen to Sergey Sobyanin, the mayor of Moscow.
The Russian capital has been the hardest hit by the virus. Officially, Russia has 21,102 cases, according to the government's official tracking website, and the death toll has reached 170. Around half of the country's recorded cases — 11,513 — are in Moscow, and 82 Muscovites have died.
Sobyanin has taken the lead in enforcing lockdown measures, including the introduction of a controversial digital tracking system designed to keep residents indoors.
A recent outbreak in China has also underscored the severity of the situation in Russia. Health authorities in Shanghai recently reported a surge in imported cases, tracing dozens of cases to a single flight that arrived in Shanghai from Moscow on April 10. Chinese authorities are also fighting an outbreak in city of Suifenhe, on the border with Russia's Far East, a wave of cases attributed in large part to Chinese nationals returning from Russia.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov on Tuesday deflected questions about the planeload of coronavirus cases that arrived in China, referring reporters to other agencies. But the spike in cases imported to China from Russia has raised a larger question: The reliability of Russian official statistics.
The Russian government says it has carried out over 1.4 million tests for Covid-19. But Moscow doctors have recently begun diagnosing patients as positive based on lung scans because of questions over the accuracy of the tests.
In his Monday videoconference, Putin said the next few weeks would be critical for determining whether Russia is able to effectively flatten the curve and reduce the spread of coronavirus. And he said that the Russian military "can and should be deployed here, if necessary."
The next two or three weeks may be critical for another reason. The Kremlin is still planning for an important date: the May 9 Victory Day parade, a major celebration to mark the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe.
The Kremlin says plans are still underway to hold the event, which centers around an impressive display of military hardware rumbling through Red Square. Officials are reviewing plans amid coronavirus. But this prestigious event — on a holiday that is an occasion for near-religious reverence in Russia — presents a hard deadline, and a hard problem, for Putin's anti-coronavirus campaign.
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← Why is the iPad the cheapest of the comparable tablets ?
A New York Times article (March 2, 2011) describes an effort to catalog the environmental impact of every step in the global supply chain of apparel, from cotton growth, to fabric, to dyes, textile manufacturing, packaging, shipping, retail through to the consumer. The factors considered include water, land, waste, chemicals, greenhouse gases impact and labor practices. The goal is to roll all of these measures across the supply chain into one score. Should supply chains focus on providing one score that summarizes these impacts or should there be a performance score across separate categories like the nutrition list for cereal ? How will such metrics impact retail competitiveness of the supply chain used for production ? Should consumer recycling of the used product, or the frequency of washes and type of detergent used, be included in this overall supply chains score ?
This entry was posted in Global Contexts, Supply Chain Issues, Sustainability and tagged Consumers, Global, Supply Chain, Sustainable, waste, Water. Bookmark the permalink.


The Northern Lights or Aurora Borealis - are an unpredictable, natural event, which occurs all year round. Because you need nightfall to spot them, the Northern lights begin to appear around the end of August, when the nights get darker. You can see them as late as at the end of April. During the darkest winter months, we have often seen the Aurora lights as early as 17.00. From our experience, the Northern Lights display seems to be at its best between 20.00-1.00. Obviously in April, when the days are already fairly long, you can see the Northern Lights at their best only later at night.
Already in September this year in Levi, we have witnessed this awe-inspiring phenomenon of breath-taking beauty almost every clear night, a promise to another amazing winter display?
In the old times, people in Finland believed that a giant fox in the sky created the Northern Lights by moving its tail. This is why in Finnish the Northern Lights are called "Revontulet", i.e. foxfires.
For Northern Lights alerts, see the frontpage of the Levi website.
You can buy the Levi Northern Lights mobile app for € 4.90 from App Store and Google Play Store.


JSI Tip 1444. IE doesn't display all the images on some pages?
Internet Explorer first downloads the HTML and then downloads the image files, two at a time. If all the images have not been displayed at the end of the fixed 5 minute time-out value, the remaining files are not downloaded. Pressing Refresh does not help, as it start the download from the beginning.
1. View a different page.
2. View the problem page. This causes IE to download images that are not in the cache.
NOTE: You may have to repeat this process if the page contains a very large number of images.


One of the reasons I love teaching Power Vinyasa Yoga is the creative process of drawing up the sequences I guide my students through. Sequencing a yoga flow is in many ways like choreographing a dance routine; it is a craft that is both artistic and scientific and can end in a beautiful piece of movement. In the modern yoga world where all mindful movement is yoga, there is now more room than ever to experiment and present unique flows to your classes. I like to consider myself a pretty creative sequencer, I am always playing around with unique chains of postures and different transitions between them.
After humbly receiving positive feedback from my students about these sequences, I wanted to take the time and share some of my current favorite transitions I have been utilizing in my own sequences. All teachers are welcome to take these and try them on in your own classes. All home practitioners are welcome to take these and try them on in your own practice.
If you are in the yoga world, then you have probably heard someone talking about "manifestation" at some point. Maybe someone in your local yoga studio was explaining to a friend about how they were trying to manifest a solution to a problem or perhaps your yoga teacher taught a class themed upon manifesting your best life. 'Manifestation' and the action of 'manifesting' are very popular buzz words in the yoga world; this idea that through focused thought and energy we might be able to create outcomes, objects, and even attract people that we need and desire out of the ether. I have always been a big fan of the concept and have more or less believed that manifestation was a possibility, although, I did not place a great amount of faith in it and generally saw abstract manifestation as a possibility but not at all a likelihood. That was until I decided to give manifestation a good honest try and discovered that manifestation can indeed be a powerful force that works.
Last year, I found myself in a dark place. I was working at a corporate marketing job that I loathed with every fiber of my being. I had come to the realization within this job that it was not just the company and the position I held within it that made me deeply unhappy; it was the industry of marketing that was the true problem. I recognized that I was in the wrong profession for myself and it was harming my mind and spirit.
I have two central passions in this life: writing and yoga. Though my primary career was in marketing, I always pursued my true passions on the side in my own time. I was always working on some sort of writing project whether it be a screenplay, novel, or article. And I had trained to teach yoga, teaching several classes per week in the mornings before or the evenings after my corporate job. It was in these devotions and crafts that I found light and life.
At that point in my life, I had come into a place where I desperately needed to make a transition out of full-time marketing and into some sort of working existence made of yoga and writing. For a while, I approached my wish for change from a very angry place: I was angry at the universe for not making me a highly sponsored Instagram yoga star and not landing me a book deal for my novel. Of course, directing negative energy at the situation did not move it into a positive space. And so, I decided to do something different.
I decided to give manifestation a go. Without being specific, I expressed to the universe what I wanted; an exit from my corporate job, a new financially stable career that included more yoga and writing and a new lifestyle to go with it. I wrote down my wishes, I made a vision board to represent them, I spoke about them to friends, and I meditated on them during my yoga practices. I trusted that something out there was listening to me and conspiring in my favor. Sure enough, a couple of months later, I was given an amicable outing from my marketing job, offered an abundance of yoga teaching opportunities, and landed a few freelance clients to help supplement my income. I transitioned away from a high-stress, fast-paced, regimented lifestyle into a new one that was flexible, steady, rewarding, and abundant in positivity.
As I began this new and glorious season of my life, I found myself in awe that I had evidently manifested this whole new career and lifestyle for myself. It had worked, it had really worked! And so, I wondered what else I could manifest.
Wanting to build my career and reputation as a writer, I decided that I would attempt to manifest being published. I did not necessarily mean becoming a New York Times best-selling author right away, but just being published in some form or other to add to my writer's resume. Within weeks of putting this out there into the ether, I was officially published by the new age publication Elephant Journal. The article I wrote for them began to trend, earning thousands of views, and I was soon featured on their website. I have since been able to publish two more articles with them.
Manifestation again worked in my favor a few months later, this time on the yoga front. When the teacher training programming I served as a coach for came to an end in June, I wondered about how I was going to make up for the pay I would no longer be receiving at the end of the program. I decided to manifest more opportunities in the yoga world that could take the place of coaching teacher training. Within two weeks, I was offered another permanent yoga class at a different studio and a corporate yoga gig. A month after that, I received an opportunity to teach for a private client for a higher rate of pay for yoga instruction than I had ever received before.
If the past year with all of these experiences have taught me anything, it is that manifestation is indeed possible when you dedicate enough energy to it and put enough trust in it. I continue to be amazed by what I have been able to manifest and I am excited to keep at it to see what else might be possible.
In addition to my own experiences, I have done a good amount of research on the philosophies surrounding manifestation. I have read articles, book chapters, and listened to podcasts all centered on the subject. Through all of my studies and experiments, I think I have identified a few basic principles for manifestation that I would like to share with you.
I think this is the most important principle of manifestation. When you choose to try and manifest something – whatever it is – I believe you have to ask for it humbly rather than demand for it aggressively. I feel that (the Universe/God/the Force/whatever-you-want-to-call-it) is much more receptive to a polite request than they are to a hard and firm order.
Everything I have read and listened to on the subject of manifestation more or less comes to this same conclusion. We must create space for our manifestations to come to fruition in different forms. Sometimes, our manifestations look very different than what we originally imagined or intended, but they ultimately provide us with what we need.
Think about my earlier example when I set out to manifest becoming a published writer. Though my end goal was – and still is – to become a published novelist, I did not specify that in my first attempt at manifestation around writing. Rather, I simply stated that I wanted to be published and I was open to that transpiring in any way. The result was publishing a short article in an online publication. It was not grand or life altering, but it was something. And perhaps that one manifestation will evolve into more.
Another more universal example: manifesting material abundance. If you specify to the universe that you want material abundance and thus you want to win the lottery, it is highly unlikely that the universe is going to reward you with the winning lottery ticket – if it was that easy, many would have done this already. If you, however, ask for abundance and remain open to that transpiring in various ways, you may receive. You could receive a new job offer that comes with a raise, you could receive new side hustle opportunities that bump up your income, or you may receive a reduced rate on a car or house payment that gives you some extra pocket money. The possibilities are endless as long as you are open to them.
We have to remember that whatever is out there is far wiser and more intelligent than we are. Sometimes this force will gift us with a manifestation that is not quite what we envisioned, but may ultimately be more valuable to us and our journeys, even if we do not fully understand it. So keep an open mind, an open heart, and receive and give thanks for what comes.
The powers at be do not operate on your timeline. Avoid putting a deadline on your manifestations. Those powers will decide when we are ready to receive, and we have to accept that.
We are not going to be successful in manifesting 100% of the time. Once again, the Universe/God/the Force/etc. see and know more than we know. Sometimes it/they might decide that what we are trying to manifest is actually not right for us, and we just don't know it.
We should always practice gratitude, but I think it is key to express gratitude when our manifestations are realized. When we successfully manifest, we should be sure to tell those powers at be that we are thankful. If we are consistent in giving thanks, we will probably receive more consistent blessings.
I believe that manifestation is real and we have the power to influence our own realities. I see manifestation as a branch of real magic; curious to understand, challenging to practice, impossible to master, but powerful in its potential. I encourage everyone to give manifestation a try and see what the possibilities are!
Have you ever manifested something before? What are your currently trying manifest? Tell me all below!
*All photos within this article were captured by my old travel buddy, Neil Bloem. Neil is a photographer and visual artist currently based in Lofoten, Norway. The natural beauty he captures is truly remarkable. I find myself in constant awe of his work. You can follow him on Instagram @coldxneil Enjoy the beauty he will fill your Insta-feed with!
Further exploration and interpreting of these beautifully strung together words leads to the discovery that each and every one of us is an incredibly powerful being with great potential to spark change and manifest good. We all come with our own unique strengths and sets of gifts, and when we believe in ourselves we can use those strengths and gifts to make ripples, even waves, for the greater good. You alone have the ability to do wonders.
Let me craft a simple example to help illustrate the potential power you hold to create good and have it ripple outwards towards growth.
Let's say that you are at Starbucks. You walk up to the cashier to order your coffee. The barista manning the cash register has had a tough morning; they are anxious, tired, and weary of abrasiveness customers rushing through the morning hours. Upon your turn at the register, you pause, you greet the barista a good morning, you ask them how they are doing, you smile at them, maybe you even joke with them; you provide a much needed friendly interaction filled with warmth and kindness. This elevates the mood of the barista which helps them to better serve more customers throughout the day with that same kindness and warmth, and all of those customers now touched by that kindness go forth and perhaps spread even more kindness and warmth. By simply being friendly, you have quite possibly elevated the energy of many people throughout the day.
The above scenario starts on a small scale and becomes larger as the momentum catches on. What about an even grander scale? Let's craft another scenario.
You are on the phone with your friend and through the natural conversations that take place in friendships, you tell this friend something that they really needed to hear. This friend also happens to be a teacher. Your friend-teacher goes to their class and in their lecture relates that something you told them to their students. This something deeply resonates with some of the students, and they go forth and use that message in various ways that impact more circles of people. Perhaps, maybe one of those students holds onto that something for years to come, allows it to inspire them to do something great that ultimately benefits many people. It could happen, and it could happen because you dropped that something, that stone of wisdom, into a calm surface of the ocean and made giant waves with it.
So you see, your words and actions have huge, enormous potential for growth and greatness. Furthermore, your simple thoughts have large potential too! Thoughts are not merely thoughts, they are vibrations of energy. In yoga and meditation, we believe that through the power of focused thought, we can eventually manifest those things we need or want. And so, by thinking positively and purposefully putting those thoughts into the universe, you can start to bring into reality more good. It's a bit of a 60's-Woodstock sentiment, but I truly believe this.
Sometimes it is so easy to doubt ourselves, to think of ourselves as too small, to believe that we are unable to make real and true impact in our time here on earth. The truth is, however, that we are each powerful beings of energy and light with every ability to touch this world in small and big ways. All you have to do now is to believe. So moving forward, believe in your worth, believe in your strength, believe in your power. Own it. Go on and make waves.
Whilst traveling around majestic Scotland this past October and learning more about the country's rich history, I was once again inspired by the idea of "warrior". The ancient peoples of Scotland were fearsome warriors who were nearly unbeatable when they united behind a cause and when they felt earnest conviction for a mission. Many other cultures have given history strong warriors as well that have carved pieces of history. The mental image of a powerful warrior, working to defend, to make change, and stopping at nothing to see justice done is riveting, but also thought-provoking. What if we harnessed some of that warrior determination, stamina, energy, and dedicated it towards the causes and missions that are important to us in our lives?
Now, before I go further, let me disclaim that I am not by any means suggesting we should all become traditional warriors like the ones mentioned above; we should practice ahimsa (non-violence) as much as we can –always if we can. What I mean to say, however, is that we could take that same ferocity of a warrior and apply to our individual and group missions in life. We could use that warrior fire to fuel and to manifest change and positivity in our world. Truth be told, we may need to be our most "warrior" selves now more than ever.
In many of the yoga classes taught today, you will probably find that many instructors encourage the class to "set an intention" for the practice. This setting of the intention is typically done within the first minutes of class and can either be specifically assigned by the instructor or left open for the student. The inspiration behind the use of intention in certain schools of yoga is that said intention becomes a point of focus for the mind along with the breath to keep it stable and steady as well as dedicating energy to the manifestation or strengthening of the intention; in this way, the yoga practice becomes more than just a physical practice, but a moving meditation on various levels. For me, the fact that we do set an intention, something to mentally, emotionally, and even spiritually focus on along with the physical postures and movements is what makes yoga so magical and I why I love it so deeply.
All that being said, it can be deeply challenging to choose an intention for your yoga practice and even more difficult to hold onto that intention throughout the class. Once you get going in the practice, it is very easy for the focus on the intention dwindle or even complete drop off. You may find yourself going over your to-do lists and what you need from the grocery store, or you may simply find yourself consumed by the physical efforts that are required of your body in the physical practice. Before you know it, class is cooling down and you never focused on your intention after the first sun salutation. This is completely normal and nothing to beat yourself up over – practice ahimsa (non-violence) – but obviously, we do want to work toward being able to hold our minds on an intention to strengthen our focus and the subject of the intention itself.
In yoga, we practice principles called the Yamas and Niyamas. These principles are essentially positive codes to live by – I often refer to them as the 10 Commandments of Yoga. Back in November around Thanksgiving time, I discussed Santosha, which translates to contentment or gratitude, and is one of the Niyamas. For that post, please click here. Today, I am moving onto another of the Niyamas: Saucha.
From Sanskrit, Saucha translates to "cleanliness" or "purity", and it applies to many different facets of our lives. Saucha is a concept, or in the definition of a Niyama – a positive duty – that I have come to value a great deal. When we talk about Saucha, we talk about cleanliness in our environments, in our bodies, and in our mental and spiritual spaces as well. The big idea is that when we regularly purify and keep clean these different areas of our lives, it allows us to live in our best health physically and emotionally, which then allow us to more freely pursue our spiritual journeys.
So what does it mean to practice Saucha in these various corners of our lives? Let's break down.
The practice of Saucha in environment means a few different things. The first is keeping clean our immediate living spaces; yes, this means cleaning your room, organizing your cubicle, clearing out the fridge every so often, and so forth. We need to have clean spaces to live and operate in, when we have our immediate environments clean and tidy, it allows us to operate more efficiently and healthfully which allows the mind to reflect that state of purity and order as well. Friends of mine have commented on how impeccable I keep my room and how I seem to be quite diligent about cleaning my apartment; this is because I really value having a nice, clean space for myself to live in and especially at home rest in.
Beyond our immediate living spaces, Saucha in relation to environment also means working to keep a clean community and ultimately world. Saucha would encourage us to adopt sustainable practices, to not litter, when we see litter to have a hand in helping to pick it up and dispose of it properly. For me, this means lending a helping hand every so often at a beach clean-up through my yoga studio, it also means being more diligent about recycling and actively working to reduce my plastic consumption, and at the very least, it means not littering myself. If we can all work to practice Saucha on a larger scale through small individualized means, it can equate to a cleaner and purer Earth for all, which is very important at this time.
The practice of Saucha in the body is much what you would think it be: taking care of your body, your temple. Saucha in the body means nourishing your body with whole foods, providing it with the necessary amount of sleep, moving it to keep its internal functions working well, sweating to cleanse from within. In many ways, this is the simplest part of the practice of Saucha; we all know that we should strive to take good care of ourselves, but it's often an area we fall flat in. Once you practice taking good care of your body, however, it is amazing the difference you feel; and that eventually translates from a physical space to a mental and emotional one as well.
That is the perfect transition into the final practice of Saucha; Saucha in the mind space. This area of the practice is a bit more challenging, and one could argue it is a bit subjective as well. The way I look at the practice of Saucha when it comes to the mind is cleaning out and releasing old thought patterns and mentalities and generally negative thoughts that are not serving in the present. Sometimes, we mentally cling to old ideas or ways of thinking about or working out happenings in our lives; when they no longer serve us, it is time to let them go and embrace new types of thoughts that are positive and do serve us. Just as it is important to regularly clean your bathroom and detox your body, it is also equally important to tend to the mind and emotions in such a way as well, constantly cleaning out so that nothing potent grows and always making space for good and light to come in.
As we transition into Spring, we enter into a season of cleaning, a season of Saucha. We resew and water the garden, we deep clean our homes, and we reorganize the disarrayed garage. This is a great time to reconnect with the idea of Saucha, recognize how good it feels to practice it, and then make a commitment to regularly practice Saucha more often throughout your daily life. Clean space, clean body, clean mind – feeling clean typically means feeling good and who doesn't want to feel good all of the time?
If you have read any of my previous yoga posts on this blog, then you will know that I am a firm believer that yoga is a great way to exercise not only the body, but also the mind and the spirit to strengthen and prepare for what goes on in life off of the mat. In yoga classes, or at least the ones I teach and take, we often theme the class – the sequence of postures, the music, the spoken words, and the energetic intention – to correspond with other aspects of life and the self.
Recently, I was meant to travel to Denver to visit with my good friends for the weekend. I was all packed and ready to go when just a few hours before my flight, I learned that an unusual snow storm had begun to blanket the Denver area and that because of it I would not be able to make the trip. Now, my first reaction was one of deep disappointment and even a bit of anger. I had been looking forward to the visit for months and now it was all off! Understandably, the circumstances darkened my mood.
I remembered, however, that life flows like water and you never know when the current is going to shift. Sometimes, you simply have to adapt, go with that flow, embrace it and see where it takes you while keeping an open mind. I decided to practice what I preach and shift my perspective about the Denver trip cancellation. Firstly, I was able to rearrange the trip for just two weeks later so it wasn't like all my hopes for Denver and seeing my friends were ruined; they were merely delayed. Secondly, I decided to look at my now free weekend as a blessing; I could now go to lunch with my cousin whose schedule and mine hadn't been lining up for a get together, I could now work on writing projects I hadn't had as much time to dedicate to as I would like, and I could simply relax. Once I took this mindset – once I adapted, embraced and went with the flow that the universe was pushing at me – all was well; it ended up being a great weekend in its own way with lots to be grateful for.
I took the experience as inspiration for the below yoga class. In this class, I talked to my students about adapting to the present, accepting and embracing what is, and going with it with a light sense of peace for it all. On the mat, this can mean adapting to how your body is feeling during the yoga practice, accepting how the body is doing without judgement or resistance, and simply continuing forward through the class as best as you can and with a sense of peace with where you are at that day. No solid plans to come in and nail a handstand or get that cool new posture you've been working on; simply coming in with an open mind to the practice and going with what comes. I then encouraged my students to take this off the mat as well by exploring where that adaptability and ability to go with the flow could be applied in their everyday lives.
The sequence is meant to representative of all of this and provide challenges that you must adapt to as they come; strange and unexpected transitions like Tibetan rolls, Baby Birds of Paradise as a peak posture – a rare but equally challenging and fun variant of the classic Birds of Paradise Pose, and a literal change in the direction of the class as this class was a Mandala flow – where you begin facing the front of the room but eventually end up facing the back of the room. From the feedback I received, my students really enjoyed the class for the sequence and the theme.
Here is the sequence that you are more than welcome to try and/or borrow!


text:
Win The Wonder Of You: Elvis Presley With The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra on CD
Pip Ellwood-Hughes October 21, 2016
Sony Music is proud to announce the release of The Wonder Of You: Elvis Presley With The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, on 21st October 2016. This remarkable new album is the follow up to last year's huge global phenomenon If I Can Dream: Elvis Presley With The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, which topped charts in the UK and worldwide and sold over 1.5 million copies.
The Wonder Of You focuses on the iconic artist's unmistakable voice with lush new orchestral accompaniment. Recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London with acclaimed producers Don Reedman and Nick Patrick, the album features Elvis' most dramatic original performances augmented with lush new arrangements by The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
Credit: Sony Music
The album spans a variety of musical styles that Elvis embraced, from rock and gospel to country and ballads, featuring beloved Presley classics along with several surprises. Standout tracks include a sultry new version of the "A Big Hunk O' Love," the glorious "Amazing Grace," the heartfelt emotion on "Kentucky Rain," a stunning new take on the classic "Always On My Mind," and the fun, upbeat "I've Got A Thing About You Baby."
"Elvis always loved the great, operatic vocalists," says Priscilla Presley, executive producer of The Wonder of You. "We often talked about his interest in recording material that allowed him to perform in that space. It's exciting to hear him on these recordings, performing with the world-class Royal Philharmonic Orchestra via the magic of Abbey Road Studios. He would have loved these performances and I'm very happy that we were able to make this dream come true for Elvis and his fans."
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