If you are planning to arrive after 3 PM please contact the property in advance using the information on the booking confirmation. This property accepts University student and teachers only. All guests are required to present valid University ID cards at check-in.


The video below appeared as stimulation for both MYP4 and MYP5 tasks with the same name. The exercise here, of course, include more questions/tasks.
In any case, the video demonstrates an explosive reaction between two gaseous elements. Mixtures of the two gases are contained in three different plastic bottles with a rubber bung at the mouth. The reaction is initiated by introducing a lit match next to a small hole on the side of the bottle covered with a small cello (scotch) tape.
Explain why there was a difference in the loudness.
Now that you know what the gases are and why their explosiveness varies, determine the theoretical ratio of the two gases in a 500-ml bottle that would produce the loudest bang.
Look up the enthalpy of combustion of the relevant element (or the enthalpy of formation of the product) and determine the amount of energy the above mixture would generate.
If you were to prepare a plastic bottle canon containing the volumetric ratio of the gases identified in 4 and set it off, would it generate the amount of energy calculated in 5? Why or why not?
What would be a better composition to use in a 500-ml bottle to generate the loudest bang? Why?
stoichiometry, stoichiometric ratio, mole ratio, volumetric ratio.
, theoretical ratio, experimental ratio, energetics, enthalpy of combustion, enthalpy of formation, energy change.


The headquarters of Rietumu Bank has been the venue of a thematic business lunch of the Latvian Aviation Association "Financial Services and Insurance in Aviation".
The participants of the event were leading Latvian entrepreneurs, top managers of big companies and experts in aviation, finance and insurance.
The discussion was held in the context of developing a strategy for further development of the aviation industry. As emphasised by the organisers, aviation transport and accompanying services are now one of the most dynamically growing industries not only in Latvia, but worldwide, retaining huge potential.
The entrepreneurs and experts participating in the discussion talked about the opportunities and prospects of financing and insurance in the aviation business, with account of factors such as the international nature of operations and industry-specific risks.
In turn, Member of the Board of the Latvian Aviation Association Arturs Kokars emphasised the necessity for tighter cooperation with banks, "Companies operating in the aviation industry have expressed their own specifics and requirements, which must be considered with regard to financing. Therefore, it is important to develop the exchange of information with the financial sector to allow banks to offer customised products that meet such requirements.
In the course of the discussion, it was noted that the aviation industry evokes a wide response and support on the state level. Thus, a memorandum on cooperation was signed between the Aviation Association and the Ministry of Transport of Latvia at the Riga Aviation Forum in May, anticipating even closer cooperation for the maximally efficient development of the industry.


Lieberman TD, Flett KB, Yelin I, Martin TR, McAdam AJ, Priebe GP, Kishony R. Genetic variation of a bacterial pathogen within individuals with cystic fibrosis provides a record of selective pressures. Nat Genet. 2014 Jan; 46(1):82-7. PMID: 24316980; PMCID: PMC3979468.
Smith LS, Zimmerman JJ, Martin TR. Mechanisms of acute respiratory distress syndrome in children and adults: a review and suggestions for future research. Pediatr Crit Care Med. 2013 Jul; 14(6):631-43. PMID: 23823199.
Herrero R, Tanino M, Smith LS, Kajikawa O, Wong VA, Mongovin S, Matute-Bello G, Martin TR. The Fas/FasL pathway impairs the alveolar fluid clearance in mouse lungs. Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol. 2013 Sep; 305(5):L377-88. PMID: 23812636; PMCID: PMC3763035.
Hunter RC, Klepac-Ceraj V, Lorenzi MM, Grotzinger H, Martin TR, Newman DK. Phenazine content in the cystic fibrosis respiratory tract negatively correlates with lung function and microbial complexity. Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol. 2012 Dec; 47(6):738-45. PMID: 22865623.
Skurnik D, Davis MR, Benedetti D, Moravec KL, Cywes-Bentley C, Roux D, Traficante DC, Walsh RL, Maira-Litràn T, Cassidy SK, Hermos CR, Martin TR, Thakkallapalli EL, Vargas SO, McAdam AJ, Lieberman TD, Kishony R, Lipuma JJ, Pier GB, Goldberg JB, Priebe GP. Targeting pan-resistant bacteria with antibodies to a broadly conserved surface polysaccharide expressed during infection. J Infect Dis. 2012 Jun; 205(11):1709-18. PMID: 22448004.
Tanino Y, Chang MY, Wang X, Gill SE, Skerrett S, McGuire JK, Sato S, Nikaido T, Kojima T, Munakata M, Mongovin S, Parks WC, Martin TR, Wight TN, Frevert CW. Syndecan-4 regulates early neutrophil migration and pulmonary inflammation in response to lipopolysaccharide. Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol. 2012 Aug; 47(2):196-202. PMID: 22427536; PMCID: PMC3423465.
Bera MM, Lu B, Martin TR, Cui S, Rhein LM, Gerard C, Gerard NP. Th17 cytokines are critical for respiratory syncytial virus-associated airway hyperreponsiveness through regulation by complement C3a and tachykinins. J Immunol. 2011 Oct 15; 187(8):4245-55. PMID: 21918196; PMCID: PMC3186836.
van den Berg E, van Woensel JB, Bos AP, Bem RA, Altemeier WA, Gill SE, Martin TR, Matute-Bello G. Role of the Fas/FasL system in a model of RSV infection in mechanically ventilated mice. Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol. 2011 Oct; 301(4):L451-60. PMID: 21743025; PMCID: PMC3191752.
Herrero R, Kajikawa O, Matute-Bello G, Wang Y, Hagimoto N, Mongovin S, Wong V, Park DR, Brot N, Heinecke JW, Rosen H, Goodman RB, Fu X, Martin TR. The biological activity of FasL in human and mouse lungs is determined by the structure of its stalk region. J Clin Invest. 2011 Mar; 121(3):1174-90. PMID: 21285513; PMCID: PMC3049393.
Gaffin JM, Shotola NL, Martin TR, Phipatanakul W. Clinically useful spirometry in preschool-aged children: evaluation of the 2007 American Thoracic Society Guidelines. J Asthma. 2010 Sep; 47(7):762-7. PMID: 20653495; PMCID: PMC2943961.
Lipke AB, Matute-Bello G, Herrero R, Kurahashi K, Wong VA, Mongovin SM, Martin TR. Febrile-range hyperthermia augments lipopolysaccharide-induced lung injury by a mechanism of enhanced alveolar epithelial apoptosis. J Immunol. 2010 Apr 01; 184(7):3801-13. PMID: 20200273; PMCID: PMC2865890.
Tanino Y, Coombe DR, Gill SE, Kett WC, Kajikawa O, Proudfoot AE, Wells TN, Parks WC, Wight TN, Martin TR, Frevert CW. Kinetics of chemokine-glycosaminoglycan interactions control neutrophil migration into the airspaces of the lungs. J Immunol. 2010 Mar 01; 184(5):2677-85. PMID: 20124102; PMCID: PMC4113427.
Smith LS, Gharib SA, Frevert CW, Martin TR. Effects of age on the synergistic interactions between lipopolysaccharide and mechanical ventilation in mice. Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol. 2010 Oct; 43(4):475-86. PMID: 19901347; PMCID: PMC2951878.
Matute-Bello G, Frevert CW, Martin TR. Animal models of acute lung injury. Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol. 2008 Sep; 295(3):L379-99. PMID: 18621912; PMCID: PMC2536793.
Smith LS, Kajikawa O, Elson G, Wick M, Mongovin S, Kosco-Vilbois M, Martin TR, Frevert CW. Effect of Toll-like receptor 4 blockade on pulmonary inflammation caused by mechanical ventilation and bacterial endotoxin. Exp Lung Res. 2008 Jun; 34(5):225-43. PMID: 18465402.
Matute-Bello G, Wurfel MM, Lee JS, Park DR, Frevert CW, Madtes DK, Shapiro SD, Martin TR. Essential role of MMP-12 in Fas-induced lung fibrosis. Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol. 2007 Aug; 37(2):210-21. PMID: 17446527; PMCID: PMC1976544.
Lee JS, Wurfel MM, Matute-Bello G, Frevert CW, Rosengart MR, Ranganathan M, Wong VW, Holden T, Sutlief S, Richmond A, Peiper S, Martin TR. The Duffy antigen modifies systemic and local tissue chemokine responses following lipopolysaccharide stimulation. J Immunol. 2006 Dec 01; 177(11):8086-94. PMID: 17114483; PMCID: PMC2665269.
Dhanireddy S, Altemeier WA, Matute-Bello G, O'Mahony DS, Glenny RW, Martin TR, Liles WC. Mechanical ventilation induces inflammation, lung injury, and extra-pulmonary organ dysfunction in experimental pneumonia. Lab Invest. 2006 Aug; 86(8):790-9. PMID: 16855596.
Tan RJ, Lee JS, Manni ML, Fattman CL, Tobolewski JM, Zheng M, Kolls JK, Martin TR, Oury TD. Inflammatory cells as a source of airspace extracellular superoxide dismutase after pulmonary injury. Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol. 2006 Feb; 34(2):226-32. PMID: 16224105; PMCID: PMC2644184.
Matute-Bello G, Lee JS, Liles WC, Frevert CW, Mongovin S, Wong V, Ballman K, Sutlief S, Martin TR. Fas-mediated acute lung injury requires fas expression on nonmyeloid cells of the lung. J Immunol. 2005 Sep 15; 175(6):4069-75. PMID: 16148156.
Altemeier WA, Matute-Bello G, Gharib SA, Glenny RW, Martin TR, Liles WC. Modulation of lipopolysaccharide-induced gene transcription and promotion of lung injury by mechanical ventilation. J Immunol. 2005 Sep 01; 175(5):3369-76. PMID: 16116230.
Wurfel MM, Park WY, Radella F, Ruzinski J, Sandstrom A, Strout J, Bumgarner RE, Martin TR. Identification of high and low responders to lipopolysaccharide in normal subjects: an unbiased approach to identify modulators of innate immunity. J Immunol. 2005 Aug 15; 175(4):2570-8. PMID: 16081831.
Lee JS, Frevert CW, Matute-Bello G, Wurfel MM, Wong VA, Lin SM, Ruzinski J, Mongovin S, Goodman RB, Martin TR. TLR-4 pathway mediates the inflammatory response but not bacterial elimination in E. coli pneumonia. Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol. 2005 Nov; 289(5):L731-8. PMID: 16024722.
Brégeon F, Delpierre S, Chetaille B, Kajikawa O, Martin TR, Autillo-Touati A, Jammes Y, Pugin J. Mechanical ventilation affects lung function and cytokine production in an experimental model of endotoxemia. Anesthesiology. 2005 Feb; 102(2):331-9. PMID: 15681948.
Matute-Bello G, Liles WC, Frevert CW, Dhanireddy S, Ballman K, Wong V, Green RR, Song HY, Witcher DR, Jakubowski JA, Martin TR. Blockade of the Fas/FasL system improves pneumococcal clearance from the lungs without preventing dissemination of bacteria to the spleen. J Infect Dis. 2005 Feb 15; 191(4):596-606. PMID: 15655784.
Levy MM, Baylor MS, Bernard GR, Fowler R, Franks TJ, Hayden FG, Helfand R, Lapinsky SE, Martin TR, Niederman MS, Rubenfeld GD, Slutsky AS, Stewart TE, Styrt BA, Thompson BT, Harabin AL. Clinical issues and research in respiratory failure from severe acute respiratory syndrome. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2005 Mar 01; 171(5):518-26. PMID: 15591472.
Martin TR. Direct lung injury by bacteria: clarifying the tools of the trade. Crit Care Med. 2004 Nov; 32(11):2360-1. PMID: 15640664.
Moriyama K, Ishizaka A, Nakamura M, Kubo H, Kotani T, Yamamoto S, Ogawa EN, Kajikawa O, Frevert CW, Kotake Y, Morisaki H, Koh H, Tasaka S, Martin TR, Takeda J. Enhancement of the endotoxin recognition pathway by ventilation with a large tidal volume in rabbits. Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol. 2004 Jun; 286(6):L1114-21. PMID: 14633514.
Lee JS, Frevert CW, Wurfel MM, Peiper SC, Wong VA, Ballman KK, Ruzinski JT, Rhim JS, Martin TR, Goodman RB. Duffy antigen facilitates movement of chemokine across the endothelium in vitro and promotes neutrophil transmigration in vitro and in vivo. J Immunol. 2003 May 15; 170(10):5244-51. PMID: 12734373; PMCID: PMC4357319.
Brégeon F, Roch A, Delpierre S, Ghigo E, Autillo-Touati A, Kajikawa O, Martin TR, Pugin J, Portugal H, Auffray JP, Jammes Y. Conventional mechanical ventilation of healthy lungs induced pro-inflammatory cytokine gene transcription. Respir Physiol Neurobiol. 2002 Aug 30; 132(2):191-203. PMID: 12161332.
Frevert CW, Goodman RB, Kinsella MG, Kajikawa O, Ballman K, Clark-Lewis I, Proudfoot AE, Wells TN, Martin TR. Tissue-specific mechanisms control the retention of IL-8 in lungs and skin. J Immunol. 2002 Apr 01; 168(7):3550-6. PMID: 11907118.
Humbles AA, Lu B, Friend DS, Okinaga S, Lora J, Al-Garawi A, Martin TR, Gerard NP, Gerard C. The murine CCR3 receptor regulates both the role of eosinophils and mast cells in allergen-induced airway inflammation and hyperresponsiveness. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2002 Feb 05; 99(3):1479-84. PMID: 11830666; PMCID: PMC122216.
Park WY, Goodman RB, Steinberg KP, Ruzinski JT, Radella F, Park DR, Pugin J, Skerrett SJ, Hudson LD, Martin TR. Cytokine balance in the lungs of patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2001 Nov 15; 164(10 Pt 1):1896-903. PMID: 11734443.
Cooke KR, Hill GR, Gerbitz A, Kobzik L, Martin TR, Crawford JM, Brewer JP, Ferrara JL. Hyporesponsiveness of donor cells to lipopolysaccharide stimulation reduces the severity of experimental idiopathic pneumonia syndrome: potential role for a gut-lung axis of inflammation. J Immunol. 2000 Dec 01; 165(11):6612-9. PMID: 11086106.
Mehlhop PD, van de Rijn M, Brewer JP, Kisselgof AB, Geha RS, Oettgen HC, Martin TR. CD40L, but not CD40, is required for allergen-induced bronchial hyperresponsiveness in mice. Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol. 2000 Nov; 23(5):646-51. PMID: 11062143.
Frevert CW, Matute-Bello G, Skerrett SJ, Goodman RB, Kajikawa O, Sittipunt C, Martin TR. Effect of CD14 blockade in rabbits with Escherichia coli pneumonia and sepsis. J Immunol. 2000 May 15; 164(10):5439-45. PMID: 10799910.
Brewer JP, Kisselgof AB, Martin TR. Genetic variability in pulmonary physiological, cellular, and antibody responses to antigen in mice. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 1999 Oct; 160(4):1150-6. PMID: 10508801.
Pivniouk VI, Martin TR, Lu-Kuo JM, Katz HR, Oettgen HC, Geha RS. SLP-76 deficiency impairs signaling via the high-affinity IgE receptor in mast cells. J Clin Invest. 1999 Jun; 103(12):1737-43. PMID: 10377180; PMCID: PMC408386.
Noviski N, Brewer JP, Skornik WA, Galli SJ, Drazen JM, Martin TR. Mast cell activation is not required for induction of airway hyperresponsiveness by ozone in mice. J Appl Physiol (1985). 1999 Jan; 86(1):202-10. PMID: 9887132.
Yamamoto T, Kajikawa O, Martin TR, Sharar SR, Harlan JM, Winn RK. The role of leukocyte emigration and IL-8 on the development of lipopolysaccharide-induced lung injury in rabbits. J Immunol. 1998 Nov 15; 161(10):5704-9. PMID: 9820552.
Cooke KR, Krenger W, Hill G, Martin TR, Kobzik L, Brewer J, Simmons R, Crawford JM, van den Brink MR, Ferrara JL. Host reactive donor T cells are associated with lung injury after experimental allogeneic bone marrow transplantation. Blood. 1998 Oct 01; 92(7):2571-80. PMID: 9746799.
Spergel JM, Mizoguchi E, Brewer JP, Martin TR, Bhan AK, Geha RS. Epicutaneous sensitization with protein antigen induces localized allergic dermatitis and hyperresponsiveness to methacholine after single exposure to aerosolized antigen in mice. J Clin Invest. 1998 Apr 15; 101(8):1614-22. PMID: 9541491; PMCID: PMC508742.
Cooke KR, Nishinakamura R, Martin TR, Kobzik L, Brewer J, Whitsett JA, Bungard D, Murray R, Ferrara JL. Persistence of pulmonary pathology and abnormal lung function in IL-3/GM-CSF/IL-5 beta c receptor-deficient mice despite correction of alveolar proteinosis after BMT. Bone Marrow Transplant. 1997 Oct; 20(8):657-62. PMID: 9383229.
Fox-Dewhurst R, Alberts MK, Kajikawa O, Caldwell E, Johnson MC, Skerrett SJ, Goodman RB, Ruzinski JT, Wong VA, Chi EY, Martin TR. Pulmonary and systemic inflammatory responses in rabbits with gram-negative pneumonia. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 1997 Jun; 155(6):2030-40. PMID: 9196112.
Adler H, Beland JL, Del-Pan NC, Kobzik L, Brewer JP, Martin TR, Rimm IJ. Suppression of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1)-induced pneumonia in mice by inhibition of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS, NOS2). J Exp Med. 1997 May 05; 185(9):1533-40. PMID: 9151890; PMCID: PMC2196291.
De Sanctis GT, Itoh A, Green FH, Qin S, Kimura T, Grobholz JK, Martin TR, Maki T, Drazen JM. T-lymphocytes regulate genetically determined airway hyperresponsiveness in mice. Nat Med. 1997 Apr; 3(4):460-2. PMID: 9095183.
Miyajima I, Dombrowicz D, Martin TR, Ravetch JV, Kinet JP, Galli SJ. Systemic anaphylaxis in the mouse can be mediated largely through IgG1 and Fc gammaRIII. Assessment of the cardiopulmonary changes, mast cell degranulation, and death associated with active or IgE- or IgG1-dependent passive anaphylaxis. J Clin Invest. 1997 Mar 01; 99(5):901-14. PMID: 9062348; PMCID: PMC507898.
Mehlhop PD, van de Rijn M, Goldberg AB, Brewer JP, Kurup VP, Martin TR, Oettgen HC. Allergen-induced bronchial hyperreactivity and eosinophilic inflammation occur in the absence of IgE in a mouse model of asthma. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1997 Feb 18; 94(4):1344-9. PMID: 9037055.
Cooke KR, Kobzik L, Martin TR, Brewer J, Delmonte J, Crawford JM, Ferrara JL. An experimental model of idiopathic pneumonia syndrome after bone marrow transplantation: I. The roles of minor H antigens and endotoxin. Blood. 1996 Oct 15; 88(8):3230-9. PMID: 8963063.
De Sanctis GT, Merchant M, Beier DR, Dredge RD, Grobholz JK, Martin TR, Lander ES, Drazen JM. Quantitative locus analysis of airway hyperresponsiveness in A/J and C57BL/6J mice. Nat Genet. 1995 Oct; 11(2):150-4. PMID: 7550342.
Martin TR, Ruzinski JT, Wilson CB, Skerrett SJ. Effects of endotoxin in the lungs of neonatal rats: age-dependent impairment of the inflammatory response. J Infect Dis. 1995 Jan; 171(1):134-44. PMID: 7798654.
Oettgen HC, Martin TR, Wynshaw-Boris A, Deng C, Drazen JM, Leder P. Active anaphylaxis in IgE-deficient mice. Nature. 1994 Aug 04; 370(6488):367-70. PMID: 8047141.
Martin TR, Cohen ML, Drazen JM. Serotonin-induced pulmonary responses are mediated by the 5-HT2 receptor in the mouse. J Pharmacol Exp Ther. 1994 Jan; 268(1):104-9. PMID: 8301545.
Martin TR, Ando A, Takeishi T, Katona IM, Drazen JM, Galli SJ. Mast cells contribute to the changes in heart rate, but not hypotension or death, associated with active anaphylaxis in mice. J Immunol. 1993 Jul 01; 151(1):367-76. PMID: 7686942.
Martin TR, Takeishi T, Katz HR, Austen KF, Drazen JM, Galli SJ. Mast cell activation enhances airway responsiveness to methacholine in the mouse. J Clin Invest. 1993 Mar; 91(3):1176-82. PMID: 8450046; PMCID: PMC288074.
Skerrett SJ, Martin TR. Recombinant murine interferon-gamma reversibly activates rat alveolar macrophages to kill Legionella pneumophila. J Infect Dis. 1992 Dec; 166(6):1354-61. PMID: 1431253.
Martin TR, Ruzinski JT, Rubens CE, Chi EY, Wilson CB. The effect of type-specific polysaccharide capsule on the clearance of group B streptococci from the lungs of infant and adult rats. J Infect Dis. 1992 Feb; 165(2):306-14. PMID: 1730897.
Skerrett SJ, Henderson WR, Martin TR. Alveolar macrophage function in rats with severe protein calorie malnutrition. Arachidonic acid metabolism, cytokine release, and antimicrobial activity. J Immunol. 1990 Feb 01; 144(3):1052-61. PMID: 2104909.
Griscom NT, Martin TR. The trachea and esophagus after repair of esophageal atresia and distal fistula: computed tomographic observations. Pediatr Radiol. 1990; 20(6):447-50. PMID: 2392361.
Skerrett SJ, Schmidt RA, Martin TR. Impaired clearance of aerosolized Legionella pneumophila in corticosteroid-treated rats: a model of Legionnaires' disease in the compromised host. J Infect Dis. 1989 Aug; 160(2):261-73. PMID: 2760483.
Martin TR, Galli SJ, Katona IM, Drazen JM. Role of mast cells in anaphylaxis. Evidence for the importance of mast cells in the cardiopulmonary alterations and death induced by anti-IgE in mice. J Clin Invest. 1989 Apr; 83(4):1375-83. PMID: 2784802; PMCID: PMC303831.
Martin TR, Feldman HA, Fredberg JJ, Castile RG, Mead J, Wohl ME. Relationship between maximal expiratory flows and lung volumes in growing humans. J Appl Physiol (1985). 1988 Aug; 65(2):822-8. PMID: 3170432.
Martin TR, Gerard NP, Galli SJ, Drazen JM. Pulmonary responses to bronchoconstrictor agonists in the mouse. J Appl Physiol (1985). 1988 Jun; 64(6):2318-23. PMID: 2457008.
Martin TR, Rubens CE, Wilson CB. Lung antibacterial defense mechanisms in infant and adult rats: implications for the pathogenesis of group B streptococcal infections in the neonatal lung. J Infect Dis. 1988 Jan; 157(1):91-100. PMID: 3275727.
Albert RK, Martin TR, Lewis SW. Controlled clinical trial of methylprednisolone in patients with chronic bronchitis and acute respiratory insufficiency. Ann Intern Med. 1980 Jun; 92(6):753-8. PMID: 6770731.


Our next Second Sunday Hike will be on April 12th at 1pm, and we will again begin at the Swimming Beach after meeting at the main office. We will travel west and then east a bit over 2 miles along the blue and white trails. With the weather turning, we expect to see many more birds and buds on the trees. We look forward to seeing you as well so please join us!
What to Bring: Don't forget to bring water and dress appropriately! We hope to see you here on the 8th and at many more Second Sundays to come! A Vehicle Permit will be required. Purchase one by the day at $5.00 or Annually for $25.00 and get into ALL Kansas State Parks for the rest of the year.
Location Details: Located just 3 miles west of Lawrence off of Clinton Parkway.


text:
Awakening: My Story
It all began at the end of 2009. I was going through a lot at the time, but the worst was watching my father's failing struggle against lung cancer. Each day being worse than the day before, he slowly withered away. And towards the end I just wanted him to die. I just wanted his suffering to stop; all the worrying made everything bleek and gray and nothing seemed fun anymore. It took all the joy out of life.
Although I knew that worrying was pointless, I couldn't seem to help myself. No matter what I tried there was no controlling it. But somewhere, I found that curious. Why couldn't I just stop? There was obviously no point to it – whatever's going to happen will inevitably happen regardless of how I feel about it, I figured.
So I decided to learn how to stop the worrying.
And so it happened, that one day when I was discussing this plight with some friends, one of them said something that I believe set in motion something truly remarkable.
"You should try being more in the present moment," he said, in effect, kick-starting the thing.
I don't remember how I responded, but I immediately knew that he had said something important. Once I got home that night I went online and looked for more information on "being in the moment." I soon discovered some guy on YouTube, an Australian buddhist monk whose dharma talks had been filmed and put up online, and I watched almost all of them.
This gave me a glimpse of what Buddhism was about, and although this guy had talked briefly—and somewhat vaguely—about this thing called enlightenment, I soon found others who openly discussed it. I learned that enlightenment wasn't something mythical, it was something real, something that ordinary people like myself could attain. It was something that could be achieved by pretty much anyone who just put his or her mind to it.
But what was enlightenment, I kept asking. All they really told me was that it was the end of suffering. But I didn't mind their vagueness – the end of suffering was exactly what I was looking for. And I started to believe that it was really possible – it seemed that a lot of people had already found this thing. I read all of their stories, and the more I read, the more I was convinced that this was the pinnacle of human experience; the ultimate destination – there was simply no greater accomplishment known to man.
I soon decided that I have to become enlightened. Whatever it took, I would do it. But it wasn't because it was such a great achievement; it was because there was a deep urge inside telling me that this is what I'm supposed to do. And I knew that I would never be truly content unless I knew for myself.
And I was in desperate need of relief.
But then my father died. And while it was painful at first, my suffering subsided quickly after that. His suffering had ended – and with it, did mine. There was no need to worry for him anymore.
After that, things started to line up for me. Yet, although everything was mostly fine now, the pull towards enlightenment still remained. In fact, that drive inside of me was getting stronger by the day.
I had found an online community of people that shared my aspirations, and there were some enlightened people there too. At least they said they were.
"You become enlightened by practicing meditation," I was told.
They gave me some pretty simple instructions, and said that if I just followed them, enlightenment would be assured. Though the instructions were simple, executing them was not. I don't know if you've tried it, but sitting in meditation is just plain boring. You were supposed to "investigate phenomena" which I figured was about as boring as it gets. And when one of the enlightened guys finally said that I would have to sit for years before I could expect any significant progress, I knew that I would never pull this meditation thing off. I couldn't sit for five minutes, let alone five years.
So I went off looking for something different. I immediately found others who promised that enlightenment could be attained in no time at all, which I really liked. Instant enlightenment.
They taught something called Advaita Vedanta, and their core idea was basically that everybody is already enlightened – we just have to recognize it. And that, they told me, only takes an instant (although I later learned that sometimes you have to wait a very long time for that instant to come.)
These guys were saying that our true nature is Consciousness itself – and the recognition of this truth is what enlightenment is. More specifically, you were supposed to have an experience of Pure Consciousness, whatever that meant, at which point you had 'awoken' and would thereby be considered enlightened.
After reading a few books the picture became clearer.
Supposedly, the world as we know it is just an illusion. All of our ordinary everyday life is nothing but an appearance in consciousness – not some special magical consciousness, but simply our ordinary everyday field of experience – and as such, it's not only the substratum of that experience, but the ultimate reality of everything.
In other words, there is no material objective universe. There is no time and space out there. There is only experience; only sense perceptions – just like in a dream. But unlike a dream, there's no real reality outside. There's nothing outside of these perceptions – there is no outside.
Since I knew that we could never verify what's beyond our own experience, it seemed to me that this new alternative model was at least logically viable. One of the infinitely many possibilities, I thought, was that there's absolutely nothing out there – but that would also be infinitely unlikely.
But according to that same logic, our ordinary consensus model of reality—the universe-model—would then also be infinitely unlikely; it would just be another one of infinitely many possibilities.
I had no reason to believe what the Advaita people were saying, but I had no reason to believe the ordinary universe-model either. There was simply no way of telling which one was correct.
But I couldn't stop wondering either. My curiosity had awoken and now I wanted the truth. I wanted proof. None of the books I read could offer any more than empty claims. I wanted some real arguments, not dogma. Was reality an independently existing universe of time, space, matter and forces like modern science thinks it is? Or was reality simply my own field of experience like the proponents of Advaita Vedanta claims? I desperately wanted to know. Either of these two models was acceptable – I just wanted the truth. But no matter where I looked I couldn't find any proof, evidence or reason to suppose one over the other.
It was quite a shock to realize that we basically knew nothing. We could never seem to rise above the level of speculation. What's the point of investigating the universe, I thought, when we don't even know if it exists? Should we just take it on faith? How's that any better than what religion does? Science guys always criticize religious people for believing a bunch of arbitrary stuff, but it seemed to me that that was exactly what they were doing themselves. They were stuck in the same trap that they were ridiculing others for falling into.
Having no luck looking at eastern philosophy, I turned to western. I soon discovered Kant – and holy shit was I excited. At last, I had found someone who was thinking outside the box. I could instantly see that he was onto something. I plowed back and forth through those old texts with a newfound energy, determined to figure out what it all meant.
Eventually I got it. It suddenly became clear. I could derive from his philosophy my own irrefutable proof that would at last end all questions.
I had through Kant discovered the truth about the world.
It was exactly as the Advaita people believed it to be – all of material existence is merely apparent. Objectivity isn't factual, but conceptual. My own subjectivity—this field of alive awareness—is exactly ultimate reality itself.
All. Is. Consciousness.
I began to write. I wanted to express my insights clearly, both to myself and to others – so I wrote and rewrote until my thoughts had crystallized into something very refined and profound. The result eventually found its way onto this website – at first in the form of my articles, and later, in a much more in-depth, detailed and thorough form – my book.
I had also realized that not only was our consensus model of reality—the one in which we exist as space-time entities in a physical universe of particles and forces—a complete and utter fabrication, but it practically impedes any chance of awakening. This model inevitably forces us to see ourselves as subjects (entities with perceptual capabilities) perceiving objects (piles of atoms) in effect maintaining the very division we seek to overcome. So, unless this model is abandoned as a means of experiencing, there's no hope of ever healing the split.
That's what I later found out experientially; that awakening to enlightenment means the moment-to-moment division of experiencing into subject and object finally ceases. No longer does it feel like I'm a subject in here, behind the eyes, watching an object out there in the world – instead, there's only seeing, hearing, touching, tasting and thinking – and nowhere are there any objects to be found nor any subject watching them.
When my writing frenzy had somewhat subsided, I could conclude the following things: My insights into the nature of reality had a profound effect on my everyday experience. It was a hollowing out of the solidness and the physicalness of perceived reality. It felt less and less like a solid material world and more and more like wisps of dream stuff. And I felt less and less like a body, and more and more like a free floating cluster of sensations.
I understood that I didn't exist, that nothing did – that it was all merely a flow of phenomenality. It was the notion of 'no-self' in its most radical form. But I still felt very much like a distinct player in the game. I still felt like a subject, and it still felt like there were objects.
I still wasn't enlightened.
And then I discovered another author to whom I owe everything. He wrote under the name Wei Wu Wei and had published 8 books in the 60s and 70s.
I read those books like I have never read anything before.
The books detailed exactly how the illusion of objectivity was maintained; how the mechanism of separation operates – and more importantly, how to dismantle it.
We experience by means of dividing what is nothing but pure experiencing into the subject I take myself to be and into the objects that make up the world. In other words, when I conceptualize a percept, that is, when I imagine it into existence as an 'object' by means of regarding it as such (which demonstrates the importance with which the universe-model plays into how we perceive reality,) I thereby imagine myself into existence as its subject. I do so because that's the only way I can account for the seeming presence of that object. I mean, how would I otherwise explain its presence in my view? How can I see it unless I exist as its subject? That's simply how perceiving works in the universe-model – subjects perceive objects.
I understood that in order to awaken, we must suspend this incessant turning of percepts into objective concepts. But that can't happen if we still believe that subjects and objects are real. If you still think that the universe-model is an accurate depiction of what's actually going on, you'll simply never stop seeing things in terms of subjects and objects. But you can't stop believing stuff purely by will. You must have a deep and thorough understanding of exactly how and why those beliefs are false.
But I had already gone through that. And the world became less solid by the day.
And so it happened that one day the hollowing out had finally reached a point where I no longer perceived reality in terms of the old model. The persistent conceptualizing ceased and experiencing was no longer divided.
The separation vanished.
Objects disappeared, and so did I as their subject. What remained was simply pure experiencing – seeing, hearing, feeling, smelling, tasting and thinking – pure undivided consciousness.
Phenomenally, it's not a blank, as one might think judging from the description of it – there being no observer and nothing perceived and all. It's rather that the conceptual model that's superimposed over experiencing—the model wherein there's a subject perceiving an object, both existing independently of one another, in a universe that also exist independently of them—completely disintegrates—that is, vanishing entirely as a means of experiencing—which in a sudden moment of awakening reveals the transcendent non-dual nature that was hidden underneath.
That's what happened.
And I sat down, exhaled, and took it all in.
I was finally there.
And it was fucking awesome.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Basic meets fashion in these comfortable fine jersey tank tops, worn layered or alone.
4.5 oz. 100% combed ringspun cotton fine jersey (Heather is 93/7 combed ringspun cotton/polyester). White is sewn with 100% cotton thread for easy garment dyeing. 1/4" single needle binding on neck and armholes. Side seam construction for exceptional quality and durability. Double needle hem bottom for a clean, finished look. EasyTear™ label for additional comfort and ability to brand as your own. CPSIA compliant tracking label in side seam.


The Office of Special Counsel, which enforces the Hatch Act, has issued new guidance for the political activity of federal employees. Our union is working on this issue. Based upon the concerns raised by our union and others, OSC partially revised its advisory on Friday.
We will still be working to make certain the rights of federal employees are protected and will continue to keep our members informed. In the meantime, you can read more about it here.


The effects of a merger deal between CNET and Ziff-Davis in July are rippling overseas. CNET announced Wednesday that it would buy Asiacontent.com's entire stake in CNET Asia, a joint venture the two companies had set up in March 1998, for $6 million in cash. The buyout would give CNET full ownership of the seven local CNET Web sites that Asiacontent.com had been developing.
Asiacontent.com would thereby lose the prestige of having big, foreign brand names under its roof. The company would be left with little more than a fledgling e-solutions business.
Ziff-Davis also runs sites across Asia, including a joint venture with a Softbank media entity in Japan, one of the most lucrative markets in the region. Asiacontent was not making significant inroads in Japan.
Adam Power, who heads CNET Networks in Asia, said, "ZD has lots of people on the ground here. When CNET in Asia came to us with a joint-venture partner, [we decided] that Asiacontent.com has done a great job, but there is an opportunity to mirror the success we had in the U.S. after the merger."
Asiacontent executives say they are glad to have the cash, but CNET's move casts some doubt on Asiacontent's ability to please its other high-profile partner, the online advertising company DoubleClick.
Asiacontent.com maintains that the joint venture it set up with DoubleClick Media in October 1999, DoubleClick Media, is a long-term relationship, in which DoubleClick would have to wait a decade to buy out Asiacontent's stake.
But the exclusive sales network arrangement that DoubleClick has with CNET Asia ends at the end of this year. According to CNET Networks' Power, Ziff-Davis has a wholly owned sales force in Asia. All sides are still exploring what to do next, he said, with no firm commitments as yet.
Asiacontent.com was one of the first Asian Internet companies to list on the Nasdaq. It closed at 69 cents on Tuesday in the U.S. before CNET's announcement.


text:
A project by Genetic Support Foundation.
Genetics & Newborn Screening|
Congenital Hearing Loss|
Congenital Hearing Loss
Congenital hearing loss (or hearing loss from birth) is when someone has a reduced ability to hear sounds like other people do, and can range from mild to moderate to severe. Hearing loss is one of the most common birth defects in newborns, affecting approximately 1 to 2 of every 1000 babies every year. People who have hearing loss at birth or before the development of speech are said to have "prelingual" hearing loss. It is important to note that not all prelingual hearing loss is congenital. As we age the number of people diagnosed with hearing loss (called prevalence) increases with about 65% of those older than 70 being affected. Those who develop hearing loss after the development of normal speech have "postlingual" hearing loss.
There are three different types of hearing loss:
Conductive hearing loss occurs when the outer or middle ear is affected and sound is not able to be transmitted through the ear. This may be due to a malformation or obstruction (e.g. fluid in the ears).
Sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) occurs when the inner ear is affected, and may be due to differences with the hair cells (sensory hearing loss), central auditory pathway (central loss), or when there is an abnormality in how sound is transmitted from the inner ear to the brain (auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder).
Mixed hearing loss occurs when there is both conductive and sensorineural hearing loss.
What causes hearing loss?
Hearing loss can be caused by both hereditary (genetic) and environmental (nongenetic) factors, or due to a combination.
For those with congenital hearing loss about 50-60% will have an underlying genetic cause, which means that they have a specific change in their genetic material that has caused the hearing loss. In developed countries, this increases to about 80% for those with congenital hearing loss. The chances that hearing loss is genetic is impacted by age of onset, family history, laterality (one or both ears), type of hearing loss, and whether there are other features or health problems.
Common environmental factors that cause hearing loss include exposure to specific infectious agents either during the pregnancy (prenatal) or after (postnatal), exposure to certain medications (called ototoxicity), chronic ear infections or fluid in the ears (chronic otitis media), being born premature, significant noise exposure through occupation or recreation, injury to the ear, or aging. The most common infectious agents that cause congenital hearing loss include viruses called toxoplasmosis, rubella, cytomegalovirus (CMV), and herpes — all together these are called the TORCH "organisms." Of these, CMV is the most common, and affected individuals may present either at birth or later in infancy with hearing loss.
What are the genetic causes of congenital hearing loss?
Genetic causes of hearing loss may be classified as syndromic or non-syndromic. Syndromic means that the genetic cause is associated with a combination of other health problems or physical differences, such as eye, kidney, or skin abnormalities. More than 400 genetic syndromes are thought to be associated with hearing loss. Non-syndromic means that the genetic cause is only associated with hearing loss. It is important to note that some syndromic hearing loss may initially present with only hearing loss (so can mimic non-syndromic) but individuals develop other health concerns later in childhood or adulthood. This is one of the reasons a genetic evaluation with genetic testing is recommended for all children who have congenital hearing loss.
About 70-80% of congenital hearing loss is non-syndromic sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL), while the remaining 20-30% is syndromic. Genetic hearing loss may be inherited in a multiple ways. For non-syndromic hearing loss, it may be inherited in an autosomal recessive (75-80%), autosomal dominant (15-20%), X-linked (<2%), or mitochondrial pattern (<1%). The most common non-syndromic genetic cause is due to pathogenic variants in the GJB2 gene (also called Connexin 26). Other genes that can cause congenital hearing loss include GJB3 (Connexin 31), GJB6 (Connexin 30), and KCNQ4.
What type of genetic or other testing may be recommended?
For infants and children identified to have hearing loss it is important that they undergo a thorough evaluation. In addition to a complete hearing evaluation, a detailed review of their medical history (including prenatal), family history, and physical examination should also be done to help identify the underlying cause for their hearing loss which may aid in establishing appropriate management or treatment approaches.
Multiple organizations have published guidelines for the evaluation of infants and children found to have hearing loss — including the American College of Medical Genetics (ACMG), Joint Committee on Infant Hearing (JCIH), and International Pediatric Otolaryngology Group (IPOG). In summary, it is recommended that:
CMV testing to be done on all with non-syndromic or sensorineural hearing loss.
Temporal bone imaging should be considered.
Genetics evaluation should be offered to families of infants and children with hearing loss in which a environmental cause is not known.
Genetic testing (multigene panel or single gene testing) should be offered to all patients with sensorineural hearing loss.
If a genetic syndrome is suspected, genetic testing should be targeted towards the suspected syndrome to confirm diagnosis.
Click here to learn more about scheduling a genetic counseling appointment for pregnancy-related questions.
Click here to learn more about scheduling a genetic counseling appointment for infertility or preconception questions.
Click here to learn more about scheduling a genetic counseling appointment for questions about pediatric or adult genetic conditions.
Last updated on Aug 27th, 2019
© 2021 Patient Library
Schedule a personalized consultation with one of our certified genetic counselors.


text:
TRMembers Login
Since 1985, we have been continuously working to strengthen the dynamics of Turkey's economy and to carry its potential to the world with our founding institutions, members and business councils. We are an extensive business platform that brings together all the various colours of Turkey's private sector.#BusinessDiplomacy
DEİK
Founding Institution and Corporate Members
Board of Executives
DEİK's Members of Honor
General-Secreteriat
Country Based Business Councils
Special Purpose Business Councils
Sectoral Business Councils
Introduction Film
DEİK's Activity Reports
Country Infographics
Contact For Press Services
Members Login TR
TURKEY-AFRICA ECONOMY AND BUSINESS FORUM ONLINE EDITION
Turkey-Africa Economic and Business Forum (TABEF), jointly organized online for the very first time by Turkish Ministry of Trade, the African Union and Foreign Economic Relations Board of Turkey (DEiK), was opened on Thursday October 8, 2020 with the attandence of President of Turkey H.E. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkish Minister of Trade H.E. Ruhsar Pekcan, Economic Affairs Commissioner of African Union Commission (AUC) H.E. Victor Harrison, President of DEiK Mr. Nail Olpak and Coordinating Chairperson of DEiK/Turkey-Africa Business Councils Ms. Berna Gozbasi.
The global, digital-first and two-day Forum will provide access to hot business topics discussed during 10 panel sessions, 43 high-level speakers, live networking among 2.500 participants from Turkey and 71 countries (46 African countries), G2B meetings and virtual exhibiting booths on October 8-9 2020.
Top 5 sectors of the participant companies are Agro-Industry, Building & Infrastructure,
Trade & Distribution, Manufacturing and Energy.
About 68.000 people watched the opening session of the Forum's livestream on social media.
H.E. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President of the Republic of Turkey
Turkey is proud to have contributed to African countries in their fight against the novel coronavirus with Turkish-made respirators, masks and overalls, the country's president said on Thursday.
"The peoples of Africa were unfortunately left to their fate in the face of the virus while Western developed countries were engaged in mask wars," Recep Tayyip Erdogan said during the Turkey-Africa Business Forum organized by Turkey's Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEIK) via video link.
Erdogan underlined that the Turkey-Africa Health Partners Platform could facilitate comprehensive and permanent cooperation between the two sides.
"The essence of our relations with Africa is sincerity, brotherhood and solidarity," he said, adding that Turkey has never held short-term interests towards the continent.
Ankara does not approve designs to sustain the colonial practices of the past through new methods, he asserted, adding that as a country that has never partaken in colonialism, Turkey refuses to approach the continent in an arrogant or bossy way.
He underlined that Turkey did not see African countries as only markets for Turkish products, but rather sought win-win cooperation.
"We would like to win together, to succeed together, to walk together [with Africa]."
Trade Relations
Erdogan noted that trade volume with the African continent, which was $5.4 billion in 2003, reached $26.2 billion in 2019.
"We should not allow the negativities caused by the pandemic to slow down the momentum we have got in our relations," Erdogan said adding: "We have to take it [trade volume] to over $50 billion in a few years.
The total value of projects undertaken by Turkish companies across Africa has reached approximately $70 billion, he said, adding the market value of Turkish investments across the continent has exceeded $6 billion.
Underlining Turkish companies' critical role in overcoming the infrastructure and superstructure deficiencies in Africa, he stressed: "Turkish companies apply a unique model, from technology transfer to knowledge and experience sharing, from capacity investment to increase in joint ventures."
He also noted the Turkish firms have contributed to generate local employment and production in the countries where they are operating.
"Turkish investors, who meet most of their workforce needs locally, did not make the mistake of importing workers from abroad like many foreign companies.
"More than 100,000 African labourers have gained employment opportunities thanks to Turkish investors," Erdogan added.
Turkey will be among the fastest-recovering countries from the novel coronavirus pandemic, its top trade official said Thursday.
H.E. Ruhsar Pekcan, Minister of Trade of the Republic of Turkey
According to the latest OECD report, Turkey -- after China and South Korea -- will be among the least affected countries by the global economic downturn caused by the pandemic, Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan said during the Turkey-Africa Business Forum, organized by Turkey's Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEiK).
At the event, participants are discussing post-pandemic economic relations between Turkey and Africa, as well as several other topics such as e-commerce, agriculture and free trade agreements, she noted.
Pekcan underlined that the forum was hosting business people from 81 countries, of which over 60 of were African nations, adding that more than 50 international speakers would speak at the event.
"Turkey prioritizes the concept of win-win with Africa relations," she underlined.
Pekcan said that while Turkey defends its rights and benefits, it attaches importance to the rights of the least developed countries as well.
She recalled that Turkey's bilateral trade was up by 7%, reaching $26.2 billion last year and stranding at $18.2 billion in the first nine months of 2020 despite the virus outbreak.
Trade and investment between the two sides will expand further in the coming period, Pekcan added.
Mr. Nail Olpak, President of Foreign Economic Relations Board of Turkey (DEiK)
2063 Africa vision
Nail Olpak, chairman of the DEIK, said: "We can develop more investment and cooperation projects, including PPP [public-private partnerships], especially in areas such as health, transportation, engineering and architecture, banking, manufacturing and industry where information technologies are used.
During his speech, Olpak noted Pekcan's ongoing efforts to establish logistics centers in Africa, saying these centers are very important in terms of supply chains.
He said the 2063 vision of the African Union and its goals in manufacturing, industrialization and value-added production, which are set to transform Africa into a global power center, also shaped Turkey's economic relations with the continent.
The biggest problem, on the other hand, of the Turkish private sector in Africa is the financing of its activities, he said, adding that though Turk Eximbank provided intensive support for these operations, more support was needed.
H.E. Prof. Victor Harison, the Economic Affairs Commissioner of African Union Commission
Pandemic-hit Africa
Victor Harison, the Economic Affairs Commissioner of African Union Commission, said the COVID-19 pandemic had damaged the Africa continent deeply, with 1.5 million people infected and 36,000 dead.
Before the pandemic, Africa's GDP growth forecast for 2020 had been 3.4%. The current predictions are between minus 4.9% and minus 2.1%, Harison stated.
The inflation rate is currently over 5% in several African countries, he added.
The continent needs to raise its manufacturing exports and reduce the use of processed goods to close its fiscal gap, said Harison.
Other Press Releases
EXPECT BIG CHANGES FROM VIRUS: TURKISH BUSINESS GROUP
TURKEY-SLOVENIA BUSINESS FORUM
Turkey - Slovenia Business Council
TURKEY, LITHUANIA SET $1B TRADE VOLUME TARGET
Turkey - Lithuania Business Council
AFGHANISTAN BUSINESS AND INVESTMENT MEETING
Turkey - Afghanistan Business Council
WE ARE MUCH STRONGER WITH OUR 97 FOUNDING INSTITUTIONS AND MEMBERS
Copyright © 2021 - Foreign Economic Relations Board - All Rights Reserved.


Don't Go to Jail for Driving Without a License!
If you have been stopped and charged with driving on a suspended or revoked the license, you may be worried that your driving privileges will be taken away for a longer period of time or that you may even face incarceration. You want an experienced, knowledgeable and aggressive lawyer to protect your rights. You want attorney Michael Curtis Greenberg.
At the Law Offices of Michael Curtis Greenberg, we have zealously fought for the rights of people facing traffic and criminal charges in Pennsylvania and New Jersey since 1991. Most of our new clients come to us because they've heard about our proven record of success, and know that we are always willing to take the difficult and challenging cases. They understand that we are committed to minimizing the consequences of a conviction for driving without a license.
For a free initial consultation, contact our office online or call us at (800) 608-1350.
When you hire us to defend you on a charge of operating a motor vehicle without a license, we will leave no stone unturned in our efforts to obtain an acquittal. We will carefully listen to your story so that we fully understand the facts. We will review the police reports and question all potential witnesses so that we can build and present the strongest arguments on your behalf.
We will also examine the actions of police and prosecutors, ensuring that there was probable cause for the traffic stop and that you were properly notified of your rights.
We will be your advocate throughout the legal process, from arraignment through plea negotiations to trial, if necessary.
Don't put your license in further jeopardy or risk going to jail. Let us fight to protect your rights!
We offer a free initial consultation. Evening and weekend consultations are available upon request. We will come to visit you, if necessary. All major credit cards are welcome, and we also accept PayPal.
To set up a meeting, contact us by e-mail or call our office at (800) 608-1350.


The Chilcot inquiry into the events leading up to the invasion of Iraq, and the decision to commit more troops to the NATO campaign in Afghanistan bring foreign affairs back up the agenda, though in truth the years of calm on the international stage were few and far between. More accurately still, the recent years in which the UK itself was directly involved in overseas conflict were few and far between- only really between the Falklands War and the defence of the ethnic Albanian population in Kosovo, if Northern Ireland is considered separately. Yet this time of relative peace for us coincided with horrific conflicts which claimed the lives of millions, from the Iran/Iraq war to the Congo, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Mozambique, Angola, Rwanda and beyond. British troops may have seen little action outside Northern Ireland in that period, but the blood was certainly flowing fast enough.
Twenty years on from the fall of the Berlin Wall, it is hard to imagine that people then seriously contemplated the idea that we were seeing 'the end of history'(to borrow the title of Francis Fukuyama's famous book). The great conflicts were over, it was thought. Democratic capitalism had won and, to all intents and purposes, the smaller nations could fight each other or their own people, without disturbing that settlement. How wrong this world view turned out to be.
One of the many factors underestimated by the optimists was the extent to which localised conflicts would inevitably impact more widely upon a globalised world. Failed states, for example, don't just blight the lives of their inhabitants, but force millions of refugees around the world, destabilise their neighbours, and provide a base from which perils from terrorism to the drugs trade can thrive.
I have always believed that the world cannot turn its back on failed states, for self-interested as well as humanitarian reasons. I remain cautiously of the view that intervention in Afghanistan is the right thing to do, although aspects of the conflict such as the unmanned US missile drones that have killed so many civilians are repugnant and counter-productive. If we walk away now, the collapse of the Afghan government could unleash even deeper horrors on its people, and send another two million people over the borders as refugees- as happened before 2001. The war itself causes instability in Pakistan, and for entirely understandable reasons angers many muslims, but what dangers must follow from the return of the Taleban to power?
Listening to the evidence being given to Chilcot, I remain equally sure that we were wrong to join the invasion of Iraq- just as I did when I voted against the government in the run up to war. Toppling Saddam Hussein was greatly to be desired, but it seemed clear then and clear now that the coalition was not prepared for the aftermath, and could not guarantee safety for the Iraqi people in the carnage that followed. Intervention remains a necessity- it may, in fact, become even more essential as climate-driven conflict adds to the world's woes. Yet the lessons of these two conflicts that have claimed the lives of many brave British soldiers and so many Afghans and Iraqis is that we must be clear and consistent about the reasons; accept that military action alone is but a small part of the story, and know that we will rarely be able to walk away in a hurry.


Yet again, TME was one of the sponsors of the Robolid tournament organized by the Microrobotics Association of the University of Valladolid. The event was held from 26 to 29 April 2017, and nearly 30 teams with ca. 50 robots took part.
The contest part included eight categories: sumo, minisumo, Japan-sumo, trackers, sprinters, sprinter-kids, drones, and test programming. The event also included conferences, workshops, and lectures on robotics. The tournament attracted ca. 800 visitors.
We would like to congratulate all the participants and we hope that your passion for robotics will bring you more and more joy!


text:
Joseph Hermann Mohr (* 10. Januar 1834 in Siegburg; † 7. Februar 1892 in München) war ein deutscher katholischer Priester, Hymnologe, Kirchenliedkomponist und Texter.

Kindheit und Jugend
Joseph Mohr wurde ebenso wie Engelbert Humperdinck im heutigen Stadtmuseum Siegburg geboren, wo sein Vater Lehrer an der damaligen Elementarschule war. Er studierte ab 1852 in Bonn Philosophie und Theologie, 1853 trat er in Münster in den Orden der Jesuiten ein. Nach dem Ende des Studiums unterrichtete er bis 1862 vorwiegend Gesang am Kolleg des Ordens in Feldkirch. Ab 1863 studierte er in München Rhetorik und in Maria Laach Theologie. 1866 wurde er zum Priester geweiht.

Wirken

Nachdem die Jesuiten im Kulturkampf 1872 aus Deutschland vertrieben worden waren, hielt Joseph Mohr sich in Frankreich, Belgien und in den Niederlanden auf. In dieser Zeit schrieb er auch das Kirchenlied Ein Haus voll Glorie schauet. Die ursprüngliche sechste Strophe
Viel Tausend schon vergossen
mit heil'ger Lust ihr Blut,
die Reihen stehn fest geschlossen
in hohem Glaubensmuth

diente zur Zeit des Nazi-Regimes wegen ihrer textlichen Parallelen zum Horst-Wessel-Lied der Nationalsozialisten als Bekennerlied des freien christlichen Glaubens. In das katholische deutschsprachige Gesangbuch Gotteslob wurde 1975 nur die erste der sieben von Mohr gedichteten Strophen übernommen (GLalt 639), ebenso in das neue Gotteslob von 2013 (GL 478). Vier weitere dichtete Hans W. Marx, ein Pseudonym für Friedrich Dörr.

Mohr würdigte die "Schönheit des Gregorianischen Chorals" als einzige geeignete Musik für das Mysterium der heiligen Messe. Um bei seiner Erforschung und Wiederherstellung mitzuwirken, trat er in den Verein zur Erforschung alter Choralhandschriften behufs Wiederherstellung des cantus S. Gregorii des Trierer Dommusikdirektors Michael Hermesdorff ein. Dieser Verein, dem weitere bedeutsame Forscher wie Robert Eitner, François-Auguste Gevaert, Joseph Pothier, Anselm Schubiger und Raymund Schlecht beitraten, leistete im deutschsprachigen Raum die wahrscheinlich bedeutsamsten Beiträge zur Restitution des Gregorianischen Chorals.

Den kirchlichen Volksgesang empfahl er für den außerliturgischen Gottesdienst, z. B. Andacht und Prozession. Das künstlerische Niveau des damaligen "kirchlichen Volksgesangs" wurde von ihm als teilweise verrohtes "andachtsstörendes Geschrei" kritisiert, weshalb er eine selbstverfasste Gesangslehre herausgab (s. unten).

Von Mohr stammt auch die im Rheinland bevorzugte Melodie zu Maria, breit den Mantel aus, eine neue Melodie zu Christoph Bernhard Verspoells Dir jubeln Engelchöre und Johann Georg Franz Brauns Heilig bist du, großer Gott (Gotteslobalt Köln Nrn. 946, 918, 919)

Aufgrund des während des Kulturkampfes erlassenen Jesuitengesetzes sah er sich genötigt, aus dem Jesuitenorden auszutreten, um nach Deutschland zurückkehren zu können, und fand schließlich in München als Weltpriester und Kirchenliedforscher große Anerkennung in hohen Kirchenkreisen.

Ehrungen
 Josef-Mohr-Straße in Siegburg

Werke (Auswahl)
 Cantate, Kirchengesangbuch. Kösel & Pustet, Regensburg 1873 (95. Auflage 1922)
 Cäcilia, katholisches Gesang- und Gebetbuch. Verlag Friedrich Pustet, Regensburg / New York / Cincinnati 1874 (; 36. Auflage 1927)
 Jubilate Deo!, vierstimmige Ausgabe von Cäcilia. 1877
 Anleitung zur kirchlichen Psalmodie. 1878
 Lasset uns beten, Diözesangesangbuch (unter abweichenden Titeln) in Würzburg, Salzburg, Bamberg, Speyer, 1881
 Cantiones Sacrae: a collection of hymns and devotional chants for the different seasons of the year, the feasts of our Lord, of the Blessed Virgin, of the saints, low masses etc.: arranged for four mixed voices. F. Pustet, Ratisbon 1878 ().
 Die Pflege des Volksgesanges in der Kirche. Verlag Friedrich Pustet, Regensburg / New York / Cincinnati 1885
 Psälterlein, Diözesangesangbuch Basel/Freiburg (Br.), 1891

Literatur
 Hans-Peter Bähr: "… o mög das Lob von allen dir wohlgefällig sein!" Zu Leben und Werk des Siegburgers Joseph Mohr. in: Mauritius Mittler, Wolfgang Herborn: Temporibus tempora. Festschrift für Abt Placidus Mittler (= Siegburger Studien XXV). Siegburg 1995, S. 331–365.
 Bernd Distelkamp: "Ein Haus voll Glorie schauet…" Zum 175. Geburtstag des Kirchenliedkomponisten Joseph Mohr. In: Heimatblätter des Rhein-Sieg-Kreises, 77. Jahrgang, 2009. Hrsg. im Auftrag des Geschichts- und Altertumsvereins für Siegburg und den Rhein-Sieg-Kreis e. V. von H. Fischer, W. Herborn und A. Korte-Böger. Rheinlandia Verlag, Siegburg 2009, ISBN 978-3-938535-57-8, S. 146–165.
 Bernd Distelkamp: "Ein Haus voll Glorie schauet…" Der Siegburger Kirchenliedkomponist Joseph Mohr (= Siegburger Blätter, Heft 21). Siegburg 2009; blattwelt.de (PDF; 429 kB).

Weblinks

Kirchenmusiker
Kirchenliedkomponist
Kirchenlieddichter
Künstler (Rhein-Sieg-Kreis)
Römisch-katholischer Geistlicher (19. Jahrhundert)
Jesuit
Person (Siegburg)
Deutscher
Geboren 1834
Gestorben 1892
Mann

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


As an artist, I get art block all the time. Its the worst feeling when you sit down purposely to draw and you can't think of anything to create. You scroll through your phone trying to desperately find a reference to inspire you but to no avail.
I'm here to tell you it happens to all of us. But I'm also here to share some advice I have acquired over the years of doing art. I'm not guaranteeing these will all work for you, everyone is different. But you might get something out of it, and I hope it helps! Disclaimer: this is for drawing for fun, not doing art you are getting paid for.
For me, if I'm struggling to bring myself to draw or can't think of anything to draw in the first place, I focus on subjects I enjoy. Don't force yourself to draw something you don't want to draw. For example, video games. I love them. So I will go through the games and characters I like and maybe choose one to focus on. Make it your own with trying different styles and colors too! Remember, you don't have to make a masterpiece every time you draw. Allow yourself to doodle and experiment.
Another great thing to do while uninspired is look at other people's art, especially artists you love and follow. When I see a beautiful piece that someone has created it makes me want to improve and maybe try a different style or technique. Pinterest and Instagram are great platforms to find new artists. That being said, never copy anyone else's art. You can take inspiration from it but never copy it and claim it as your own. That is art theft. That has happened to me and I was beside myself reporting it online where it was posted and trying to get the person to take it down. Its an awful thing to do.
Lastly, if you just aren't coming up with anything and you are getting frustrated, don't force yourself. Drawing is supposed to be enjoyable and you shouldn't feel like its a chore. Don't stress yourself because you can't create at that exact moment. Maybe take a break and scroll through social media and find inspiration, or do something else entirely. Don't take the fun out of it for yourself, or you may find yourself drawing less and less, or stressing when you do. I've been there.
I would like to share an example of art I did to break art block! I focused on a character I liked and played around with a new shading technique.
It's a traditional drawing of Moira from Overwatch.
I hope this helped! Enjoy creating.


text:
Niel Mackenzie FREEMAN
Date of birth 21 April 1890
Occupation Barrister
Address Virginia Street, Newtown via Geelong, Victoria
Next of kin Thomas William Freeman, Virginia Street, Newtown via Geelong, Victoria
Enlistment date 3 March 1915
Rank on enlistment 2nd Lieutenant
Unit name 24th Battalion, 7th Reinforcement
Embarkation details Unit embarked from Melbourne, Victoria, on board HMAT A73 Commonwealth on 26 November 1915
Rank from Nominal Roll Lieutenant-Colonel
Unit: 31st Battalion
Promotion date: 1 February 1918
Recommendations (Medals and Awards)
Mention in Despatches
Awarded, and gazetted, 'London Gazette', second Supplement, No. 30448 (28 December 1917); 'Commonwealth Gazette' No. 57 (18 April 1918).
Fate Returned to Australia 22 May 1919
Miscellaneous details (Nominal Roll) *given name two spellings Niel and Neil
Distinguished Service Order
'For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty when his battalion was attacked by the enemy after a preliminary bombardment of great intensity. Though his right flank was exposed by the enemy attack, he held his position with the greatest determination, and repulsed the enemy, inflicting heavy casualties. When reinforcements arrived he personally directed their dispositions under a very heavy enemy barrage, and continued to send clear and encouraging reports upon the situation. He was able eventually to cover the gap on his flank and to consolidate the position. On a subsequent occasion he rendered great assistance in supporting an attack and in consolidating a captured position. His courage and devotion to duty were beyond all praise.'
Source: 'Commonwealth Gazette' No. 120
Date: 7 August 1918
Other details Medals: Distinguished Service Order, 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal


text:
Jo Baker Interview, plus links to author biography, book summaries, excerpts and reviews
Author Biography | Interview | Books by this Author | Readalikes
Photo: Ed Marshall/Timeout/Camera Pre
Jo Baker
Jo Baker Biography
An interview with Jo Baker
Jo Baker discusses the inspiration for her novel, Longbourn, and how daunting it was to work with Jane Austen's characters.
Is it safe to assume you have long been a fan of Jane Austen and in particular of Pride and Prejudice?
That's pretty safe. In fact, I can't even remember when I first read Pride and Prejudice – it seems like I've always known it. Jane Austen's work was my first real experience of grown-up literature, and I've kept on returning to her work throughout my life; I just love her books – I'm a sucker for all that buttoned-up desire and wish-fulfillment. But also, as a writer, I admire her – the immaculate prose, the deft plotting, the briskness of the characterization. I didn't, though, for a moment consider trying to write like her. It's impossible to do nowadays without shifting into parody – which is something I really did not want.
When did you first get the idea to write Longbourn and was there a specific incident that sparked the idea? Can you talk a bit about how your family history in some ways inspired this book?
As a child, reading Jane Austen, I became aware that if I'd been living at the time, I wouldn't have got to go to the ball. I would've been stuck at home, with the housework.
We've got some battered old silver cutlery at home, which we inherited from my great aunt. She and her sisters had been in service, and she always said the silverware was a gift from her employer when she left—my grandmother maintained, however, that she'd nicked it. Just a couple of generations back, my family were servants.
And so once I was aware of that – of that English class thing – Pride and Prejudice began to read a little differently. I noticed other presences. A footman enters, a housemaid is told to run along and do something. I also began to realize that some things that seemed to just "happen" – notes arriving, carriages being brought round, meals being served – would of course require human agency to make them occur. I became fascinated by these little flickers of activity: I started to see a whole other life going on below the surface of the book.
But Longbourn really began to take shape when I got snagged on the line "the very shoe-roses for Netherfield were got by proxy." It's the week before the ball, the weather is far too bad for the Bennet girls to venture forth, and so they send a servant out to get soaked on their behalf. And that made it really stark for me. A maid has to trudge out in the rain, and get soaked to the skin, just to get these frivolous little decorations for the other women's dancing shoes.
Then, reading Jane Austen's letters, I stumbled across a reference to two sisters whom she employed to do some sewing for her. Their surname was Baker. Okay, it's a common name, but still, the coincidence struck me! It seemed a confirmation of my instincts.
Any hesitation about reimagining a classic? How did you dream up your main characters?
I did hesitate. I hesitated for ages. I'd been thinking about this book for years before I first put pen to paper. That said, I don't really think of it as a "re-imagining". For me it's a "reading" of the classic. I just happen to "read" it a bit more intensively than might be usual, to include some elements that Austen didn't actually write.
I'll admit that Austen was peering over my shoulder while I was writing. Metaphorically speaking. But, again, when it came to characterization, I didn't want to write like her; I wanted to develop characters who could hold their own alongside hers, who would create space for themselves, who would be noticed in a crowded room. On a more personal level, I wanted to write characters who interested me, and kept surprising me. And they did.
The Bennets don't always come off as very sympathetic to their servants. Do you think there was a real divide in terms of those upstairs having any remote idea of the sheer amount of work being done downstairs?
There certainly was a sliding scale of familiarity between servants and their employers. In the poorer households, family members would work alongside their servants, and the relationship could be quite close – a servant would often be thought of as a family member. But the richer and more elite the household, and the more servants there were, the less personal contact there would be between the family and the staff. In the grander houses, lower servants were not expected to make eye contact; it's as if they're not really there – or not fully real, not considered persons in their own right. Everything would be managed through the senior staff. And yet the relationship there is also incredibly intimate, in terms of personal care, nakedness, and the body.
So the Bennets are somewhere in the middle of that scale. Not as aloof and distant as relations between staff and family might be in the grandest houses, like Pemberley, or even Netherfield, but not as informal as they might be between a grocer's family and their maid. Mrs. Bennet is, in her own way, very attached to Mrs. Hill, and entirely dependent on her. But she never once thinks of Mrs. Hill's wellbeing; the very idea would be ridiculous. She is there to perform a function. When it comes down to it, servants are the white goods of their day – the washing machines and dishwashers. One only really gives them any thought at all if they stop working.
I'm sure it was daunting but was it also fun to write this book, to bring to life in your own way all these delicious characters—the Bennets, Mr. Darcy, Wickham, Collins etc.—and have them mingle with your own?
It was. Both things. Daunting and fun. One thing that quickly became apparent as I was writing, was that I began to care a good deal about some of Austen's less prepossessing characters – the embarrassing mother, the gauche sister and the socially inept cousin. We aren't all blessed with confidence and wit and beauty – some of us find ourselves standing alone at the edge of the party, clutching a warm glass of white wine and trying to look like we're having fun – but that doesn't make our feelings and experiences any less valid.
Writing the book was also a chance to examine some of these characters from another angle – Wickham, for example. When you consider the age of the girls he preys upon, from a modern perspective, his behaviour seems more sinister than just fortune-hunting.
What kind of research did you do into what working class/domestic life was like at that time?
The domestic detail in Longbourn was gathered from a lot of sources: history books, contemporary domestic guides and recipes and practical research – like cleaning the floors with tea, which I still do. And some of it just comes out of my lived experience. In the village where I grew up there was an old Georgian vicarage, rather decrepit, that still had all its outbuildings – stables, stores, even a (disused, thankfully) "necessary house" with multiple wooden seats in a row; round the back, in the lower garden, there was a door that opened into the space underneath, so that it could be shoveled out. We used to play in the outhouses and grounds as children – it's all been redeveloped now, but this became Longbourn, when I was writing the book.
I was keen, too, to show that there was more heterogeneity below stairs than we might otherwise realize. Austen herself, living in rural Hertfordshire, mentions in a letter the black servant of a neighboring household; these servants were often freed slaves, brought over from the family's estates in the Caribbean.
This seemed to fit with the Bingleys in Pride and Prejudice, who had been in "Trade" in the north of England. The Triangular Trade – in slaves, and sugar – was the foundation of much of the wealth of the period, and there were centres in several northern ports, particularly Liverpool and my hometown of Lancaster. So that's where that aspect of the book came from.
One of the most striking parts of Longbourn takes place during the Napoleonic war. It's a chilling description of the wartime experience. Why did you choose to tell this part of the story?
There's a throwaway line of Lydia's, when she's filling her sisters in on gossip that they'd missed while Jane was ill at Netherfield: "a private had been flogged." To the family it's not a subject for polite conversation, but I found myself stuck on this line, thinking about what it really meant, about the reality of soldiering in this period. I found myself thinking about not the dashing Militia officers in their scarlet coats, but the ordinary foot-soldiers who came back from the front lines damaged, scarred.
What do you think Jane Austen would make of Longbourn?
I dread to think.
And I'd be terrified to meet her (if such a thing were possible). Aside from the outrage I've committed in writing Longbourn, I have such a massive crush on her, as a writer, that I'd be completely incapacitated by it. I'd be shambolic, stammering and self-conscious, and if she deigned to say anything to me at all, I wouldn't be able to put two words together in reply.
But then I also identify with her. The Letters – which are of course incomplete – really do give an insight into the woman, as well as the writer, and the work. She can be sniffy and irritable, as well as loving and loyal and brilliantly generous – there's a wonderful sequence where she writes warm and supportive letters to her niece, advising her about a novel she has written. But then, when you read on, you come upon another letter to someone else, in which she gripes about the unrealistic niece, the messy book, and the bother of it all. To get these real, honest glimpses of her is brilliant.
So what is next for you? Any other classics you are thinking of taking on?
Moby Dick from the whale's point of view.
But I have started work on the next book. I'm really excited about it. It's different from Longbourn in many ways, but there are similar themes – war, exodus, love; finding a place for yourself in an uncaring world.
I've completely fallen for my central characters again.
Jo Baker discusses The Undertow and describes how a piece of family history became the catalyst for her story.
You drew inspiration from your own family story when writing The Undertow. When did you first learn of this family history and what made you decide to turn it into a novel?
I don't think I would ever have come to write the book at all if it wasn't for a piece of family history I stumbled on through a chance encounter in Valetta, Malta, where I was on a writers' residency some years ago. At the time, I was working on my previous book, The Telling.
I used to go to the Barrakka Gardens - a beautiful place on the harbor walls. On one occasion an elderly gentleman struck up a conversation with me. A mine of local information, he was soon pointing out buildings of historical interest, including an old hospital where, he told me, the wounded from Gallipoli had been treated. My great grandfather had served, and died, at Gallipoli - that was all I knew about him. I told the old fellow about this, saying that of course, having died there, my great-grandfather wouldn't have actually been in Malta. But, he told me, the ships refueled and took on supplies there on their way out. I realized that I was standing where my great grandfather may well have stood, ninety years previously, in radically different circumstances. The sense of connectedness, of time, gave me goose bumps.
When I returned home, I started researching my great-grandfather. There was not much known and there were no photographs, but the more I found out, the more fascinated I became, and the more aware of the starkness of his existence. He had grown up in a slum. No wonder he went to sea at fourteen. When he passed through Malta in 1915, he was on his way to die a very nasty, working-class death, trapped in the boiler room of his ship. I also came upon his post-card collection (which appears in the book), which revealed to me something of him as a person. The postcards, selected by him, preserved by his widow and then his son, showed him to be so alive to the world. He didn't just go for the tourist shots - he had, for example, amassed a large collection of pictures of the excavations of Pompeii. He had an artist's or a writer's alertness to the world, I felt, though he never had the slightest chance of realizing that. I, on the other hand, had had the privilege of an Oxbridge education, and had been brought to Malta simply to write. What lay between us, and between the astonishing differences in our life-chances, was simply ninety years. I had to explore that.
The Undertow follows one family through multiple generations, which you describe as a sort of narrative relay, with each character passing the baton to the next. Which time period was your favorite to write about?
Each period had its own pleasures and challenges, but I particularly loved writing the sections set in Battersea in the early part of the century, partly because the streets I'm writing about have disappeared - not just the houses, but the actual layout of the city there, the street-scape. Being close to the docks, the streets were flattened in the Blitz, and then built over after the war. It's a particular pleasure to reconstruct something that no longer exists - out of old maps, daydreams, and from stomping round the remaining neighborhoods in Battersea.
I also loved writing the Malta sections - both the present day and the World War I section. I enjoyed working out the continuities and differences over time. And, when so much of the novel is set in England, it was wonderful to let rip on Mediterranean color and sunshine!
Did you especially identify with any one character? Or were they all connected for you?
I identify with them all; they are all, in different ways, fractured and flawed, but still struggling with what life throws at them. Which is, I think, something everyone can relate to. But I do feel most sympathetic towards Billy, who has the least ability of any of the characters to articulate his emotions.
There are a few links that run throughout all of the narratives - objects that are passed down, the name "William" which each generation shares in some way - and one of them is a sinister figure who comes into the family's life after WWI. Did you always plan to have a "villain" in the story, or did he develop as you went along?
Sully was always there in the Gallipoli section of the story, taunting William, and I always planned for him to return... then he just kept cropping up as I wrote through the later sections. Like a bad penny, as William describes him. I realize now that he represents the dark side of inheritance, the things you don't want to know about your family. For Will, in particular, he is an unwelcome reminder of where he comes from and everything he's trying to leave behind.
This novel was originally published in the UK as The Picture Book. What, for you, is the significance of the US title, The Undertow?
The U.S. title captures - rather nicely I think - one of the novel's main themes: the pull of history. History drags characters under, or side-swipes them out of the course they had foreseen for their lives. At times the undertow is literal - drowning, near drowning, fear of drowning - and at times it is more metaphorical - distractions and diversions, failures, unexpected changes in circumstances.
Each generation of the family experiences war in a different way, but either personal experience or the memory of war is an important part of their lives. Was this a theme you set out to explore, or was it just a product of following a family through the 20th century?
As I was writing the novel, I thought of it as a story of family and war, and a family at war. Even not experiencing war is an issue in the book - Will is seen somehow to be deficient in not having served. I also wanted to think about individuals' experience of the current war - the global War on Terror - in relation to that of the earlier World Wars.
Did you have any particular literary inspirations while writing The Undertow?
Like most writers I read voraciously and promiscuously, and so it's almost impossible to know exactly what leaks through and influences my work, and what just left me impressed and satisfied as a reader. As part of my research I made a point of reading the novels of the period, not just the history - for texture and detail. Of course, because this book ranges over the 20th Century, there were a lot of novels to choose from; but I think readers could notice references (or reactions) to the work of E M Forster, Elizabeth Bowen, Graham Greene, and Kingsley Amis, amongst many others.
I don't know if it was exactly an influence, but I was also going through a full-on literary crush on Cormac McCarthy at the time of writing. His sentences are so lean, so active, and he has this extraordinary ability to convey so much about the emotional state of emotionally-inarticulate people.
What is your writing routine? Do you write at a particular time of day or in a particular place?
The Undertow was written mostly at night. I was juggling a full-time job and two small children so sleep was the only thing I could cut back on. I'd wake at 3 am, go downstairs, and work till 7 am when the kids woke up (known in our house as 'The Sylvia Plath shift'). If it wasn't for insomnia I would never have been able to complete the novel at all.
Obviously, that kind of schedule isn't good in the long term; I was able to quit my day job when I sold the book, and can now work at more reasonable times. I write in a coffee-shop in town; first draft is always with a notepad and fountain pen, then redraft onto computer.
Turning to popular culture for a moment, have you watched the TV series Downton Abbey and do you think that fans of the series will find some similarities in the first sections of The Undertow?
I think readers will find similarities, but very much from a below-stairs point of view. I'm fascinated by the period Downton Abbey explores - a time of massive historical events and the social change that comes with them. The book's focus though, is on the working class experience. They don't have succession to worry about, so much as survival. They start the century with nothing: they have only their lives and their wits to call their own. I think the stakes are higher for them as a result.
What project are you working on now?
I'm very excited about my next book; I don't want to jinx anything, though, so I'm keeping quite quiet about it...
Unless otherwise stated, this interview was conducted at the time the book was first published, and is reproduced with permission of the publisher. This interview may not be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the copyright holder.
Books by this Author


text:
Avions d'Israel / Aircraft from Israel
Un Blog dédié à l'armée de l'air Israelienne et à ses compagnies aériennes de type commerciales / A dedicated blog to Israel Air Force and its Commercial Airlines
(En - 21 Oct 2013) Israel Air Force Implement Major Structural Changes
Following changes in the scale of the Air Force's missions and responsibilities, the position of Chief of the Air Group will be divided by two brigadier generals and a new officer will be appointed to oversee coordination with the Ground Forces. These represent the most significant structural change in the Air Force has undergone since the Yom Kippur War.
The changes were required in response to the changing nature of the threats with which the IDF will contend in the coming years, as they enable the Israel Air Force to better respond to the shifting geopolitical climate in the Middle East and to the changing nature of combat. Under these changes, the Chief of IAF Air Group position will be split into two positions – Chief of Aerial Operations and Chief of the Air Group, which will deal with instruction and training.
The role of Chief of Aerial Operations will be filled by Brigadier General Tomer Bar, the current commander of the Tel Nof Airbase. The current commander of the Hatzerim Airbase, Brigadier General Tal Kalman, will be appointed as Chief of the Air Group.
The Operations Division will now come under the command of the Chief of Aerial Operations and will consist of three colonels who will oversee all operations divided into the following categories: strike operations; defensive operations (including most of the active air and missile-defense systems); and joint operations with the IDF Ground Forces.
The Air Intelligence Group will also be augmented by a new operations division which will oversee effective coordination between intelligence and operations in the Air Force.
The operations staff of the Israel Air Force has not undergone organizational restructuring on this scale for the past forty years. The historic change represents more than just an expansion of positions, it reflects the wider growing expectations and responsibilities borne by the Air Force in the current age of regional uncertainty.
Publié par jkkljkljkljkl à 8:25 AM
Blog View Statistic
(En - 31 Oct 2013) Israel strikes Syrian military ...
(En - 29 Oct 2013) EL AL Israel Airlines Finalize ...
(Fr - 28 Oct 2013) Israël mène un raid de représai...
(En - 24 Oct 2013) El Al presents new Boeing 737 a...
(Fr - 23 Oct 2013) Israël aurait bombardé un convo...
(En - 22 Oct 2013) - Israeli planes reportedly ove...
(En - 21 Oct 2013) Israel Air Force Implement Majo...
(Fr - 18 Oct 2013) IAI veut vendre son Kfir en Europe
(En - 17 Oct 2013) The First Flight on the Hercule...
(En - 11 Oct 2013) IDF holds flight exercise ahead...
(En - 11 Oct 2013) Boeing Delivers EL AL Israel Ai...
(Fr - 09 Oct 2013) Déroutement cause moteur d'un a...
(Fr - 09 Oct 2013) Un drone s'est abîmé en mer au ...
(Fr - 07 Oct 2013) Bientôt le Wi-Fi dans quelques ...
(En - 03 Oct 2013) Israeli scientists unveil lates...
RamatGader
jkkljkljkljkl


Congratulations - you're pregnant! This is an exciting time for you and your family. During these nine months, you'll probably experience lots of changes, particularly in your eating habits. As you crave different foods, be aware of the risks of harmful foodborne bacteria. It can cause foodborne illness and can harm you and your baby.
In this section, you'll find out more about foodborne illness and how to prevent it. You'll also learn how to prevent certain foodborne risks during your pregnancy that can be particularly harmful to you and your unborn baby, such as Listeria and Toxoplasma. It's all presented in an easy-to-understand, question-and-answer format!
Food Safety Matters! Food safety is not only important while you're pregnant, but it's key to keeping you and your family healthy for a lifetime. Lifelong Food Safety tells you how to prevent foodborne illness in four easy steps. If you have questions or concerns about specific foods, don't miss Safe Eats. It's your easy-to-use guide to selecting, preparing, and eating foods safely.


Download Monjour in your choice of 320k mp3, FLAC, or just about any other format you could possibly desire. This is absolutely the best time and place to buy this album digitally.
Monjour kicks it all off.
Make sure you buy all the tracks because the album has been designed to be a complete 50 minute immersive experience.


Diversity can be as simple and as rich as a different point of view.
The Social Justice thru the Arts institute presents students with an art project that celebrates diversity and researches identity through the study of selfies.
Understand the role of art in social justice advocacy through intercultural dialogue.
Recognize and see each other in various roles as individuals and creators of community.
Nurture individual and collective voice through the creative process while teambuilding and problem solving.
Encourage open exploration of identity and community to support belonging and trust.
Build relationships and connections to feel heard and understood.
Understand the importance of equity, access, and justice within and across communities.
Envision, create and design a community mural and present about the work and the process.


Bob Hairstyles 2018 – This Bob Hairstyles 2018 ideas was upload on July, 9 2018 by Buster Abshire. Here latest Bob Hairstyles 2018 gallery collection. Download other ideas about Bob Hairstyles 2018 in our other blog. Click on images to print Bob Hairstyles 2018 in high resolution.
You can print this Bob Hairstyles 2018 photos for your collection. Don't forget to rate and comment if you interest with this Bob Hairstyles 2018 ideas. Please contact us if it contains a copyright.
Related Post "Bob Hairstyles 2018"


text:
Q: Have a ViewController behind/revealed when an animation is done In my app, I would like to have a door, and the user swipes the door, I would like an animation to show the door opening up, and behind the opening door is a visible viewController. How could I go about doing this? Could someone please point me in the right direction?
Thanks in advance!
Kurt

A: Stacked up two views and link UISwipeGestureRecognizer to the top view which will act as the door, and when user swipes, just do normal UIView animation to move top view to a position. (if it's a sliding door. otherwise, do some transformation or else..)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Sep 16, 2016 Ample attachments Mining machines and our product offering. Komatsu . Iron ore. Copper. Gold. *data after 2016 is estimated by. Komatsu.
Results 1 - 15 of 32 Buckets - Mining Shovels Machine Type . makes attachments for a wide range of industries Shop by equipment type.
Large Fleet of Mobile Mining Equipment Available For Sale. Over 300 major pieces of machinery and equipment located at Koolyanobbing, Western trucks, excavator, graders, prime movers, as well as other attachments and accessories.
Iron ore mining in Australia: Top-of-the-range machine performance and service support. These include cutting tools, toolholders or crawler track components.
During World War II, the company focused on making shovels for iron ore, copper, (later known as P&H Mining Equipment) purchased Joy Mining Machinery.
Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and, since the 1880s, has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. Coal-cutting machines were introduced in the 1880s.


Sinoenergy Corporation is a manufacturer of compressed natural gas , vehicle and gas station equipment as well as an operator of CNG stations in China. The company also manufactures a wide variety of pressure containers used in the petroleum and chemical, metallurgy, electricity generation and food and brewery industries. Sinoenergy was founded in July 2004 and is based in Qingdao, Shandong.


These days, we often see vehicle manufacturers offering vehicles that are 4WD. 4WD stands for 4 Wheel Drive. Technically, these are vehicles that allow the torque produced by the engine to be received by all 4 wheels. Among the many different kinds of wheel drivetrains, this is the one that is able to provide the most torque to all wheels and hence mostly seen in off road vehicles.
4L, 4H, and 2H are transfer case settings. The transfer case is the machine that gets power from the transmission system and is responsible for distributing this power to the vehicle's axles. 4L means low range 4WD transfer case setting. 4H is the high range 4WD transfer case setting. 2H, lastly, means 2 wheel drive high range transfer case setting.
To better understand the difference between 4L, 4H, and 2H, let us discuss when they are best used.
4L is best used on slippery surfaces. This means that they are used in wet zones and sandy areas. Obviously, it is best to use the 4L setting when running through mud too. They are best used in shallow waters and in steep hills. Simply put, the 4L setting is used if you need to creep along in slow speed. This specific transfer case setting doesn't provide a lot of traction to the vehicle, but more than twice the torque.
You are probably wondering what the difference is between torque and traction. Well, here we go. Torque, simply put, is the turning force that's delivered by the engine. Big engines deliver more torque and vice versa. Traction on the other hand, is about the friction between the car's wheels and the road surface. More friction means more traction and so on.
To help you understand the difference between the two, let's consider a situation where two vehicles are receiving a new set of tyres each. One is a 4200cc SUV and the other one is a 1000cc hatchback. Assuming that the old set of tyres is equally worn out in each of the two vehicles, the drivers will get almost the same amount of traction. However, the torque is different and it depends on the engine output. Each car has an engine with a different capacity hence the difference in torque delivered to the wheels. Torque varies when you shift gears; traction depends on the surface and the tyres.
4H, on the other hand, is the setting you need to use when you are running your vehicle in high speeds. In other words, it is best to use the 4H setting when you are in snow or ice, slipper conditions, extremely muddy areas, and the like. Also, it is best to use the 4H setting when you need a lot of traction in areas that are not steep. It is likewise important that you are aware that using 4H in areas that are not slick will cause a lot of wear to your tires.
Lastly, we have 2H. 2H is the transfer case setting that you will use on normal occasions. In other words, this is the transfer case setting that is best used in ordinary days when you are not off road. In this setting, the 2 rear wheels are engaged on the high end gear of the transfer case. Since this is the setting best used for driving around, you are sure that your tires will not get worn out as fast as they would with the other two settings.
Generally, if you have a 4WD vehicle there will be a lot for you to know. Having an off road vehicle can indeed be lots of fun as it will allow you to go places and enjoy driving at the same time. If you are the adventurous type of person, a 4WD is surely for you. But of course, you must make sure that you are well aware of the many different things you can do with your vehicle and be able to use it at its utmost best – no matter where you are or what you plan to do.


text:
The German Girl sweeps from Berlin at the brink of WWII to Cuba on the cusp of revolution, to New York in the wake of September 11th, before reaching its deeply moving conclusion in the tumult of present-day Havana. Based on a true story, this novel gives voice to the joys and sorrows of generations of exiles, forever seeking a place called home.
Oh, wow. This book. THIS BOOK.
Did I cry? Why, yes, yes I did. I'm starting to think it would be impossible not to, because let's be honest, my heart is normally made out of stone when it comes to books making me emotional. But by god, I cried.
The German Girl tells the story of two girls: Hannah, a Jewish pre-teen living in Berlin just before the start of World War 2, and Anna, a young girl living in modern-day New York City. Their two stories span multiple generations and the globe, and tell the tale of immigration, revolution and rampant anti-semitism in a world that is so damn cruel. Anna, wanting to more about her deceased father, convinces her mother to travel with her to Cuba to meet her great-Aunt and the only remaining member of his family, Hannah. Her desperate search for information about a man she has never met, frames the story of the family's escape from Nazi Germany to the island of Cuba and tells of the great dangers of living in two countries torn apart by political conflict.
Formerly of great wealth, Hannah and her family leave everything behind to escape the horrendous treatment at the hands of the Nazis - and let's be honest, quite a few of Germany's non-Jewish everyday population. Truth be told, I had never heard of the MS St. Louis and the journey that it took from Germany to the Caribbean island of Cuba in 1939, but now I know that it will be something that will always stay with me. The ship represents, in my mind, the disregard that the world sometimes shows towards people in need and the actions of Cuba, Canada and the United States and the consequences, are truly abhorrent.
Hannah feels as though she could have been a real passenger on that ship. The German Girl is impeccably research and her characterisation, and that of the other members of her family and her friends, is hauntingly well-realised and heartbreakingly human. Hannah's perspective of the catastrophic events that are taking place around her feels incredibly real and it is believable of her girl of her young age. Tales surrounding the events of World War 2, do not normally take their viewpoint from a person so young (apart from The Book Thief, which I felt has the same feel as The German Girl) and it is something that makes the novel and the real-life events it takes its inspiration from, only more horrifying and saddening to read about.
Overall, a moving and hard-hitting read. Brava!