No allegation has been made that the student actually physically attacked fellow students, teachers, administrators, or the cop/resource officer. No allegation that he brought a weapon to school. He was arrested because they were unable to talk to him. I thought they all had to go through years of college education and certification to know how to talk to a child. All of them failed.
When L.A. Clippers owner Donald Sterling was recorded making racist remarks, the NBA forced him out of the league. Commissioner Adam Silver knew that an openly racist owner could not be tolerated in a league of mostly African-American players.
Like the NBA, most NFL players are African-American. If a Sterling-like revelation came out, or two or three or four of them, that would be disastrous to say the least. There's no amount the NFL wouldn't pay to prevent it.


Want to try some of these shoes pretty soon!
fabulous! great color and design.
Great quality & very comfy. It's medium size; perfect for what I need but not too bug to fill it with junk. I really like it because the design looks very original and I've gotten a few compliments for it.


text:
Nicki Minaj drops 3 new singles, one responding to Remy Ma: Download and streaming options
By Natelegé Whaley
After living it up at Paris fashion shows earlier this week, Nicki Minaj returned to the music Thursday, releasing three new singles — "Regret In Your Tears," "Changed It," and "No Frauds" — calling it a #3PackFromPARIS on Twitter. The latter two tracks both feature Lil Wayne, while "No Frauds" adds Drake into the mix.
Minaj seems to take veiled shots back at Remy Ma on "No Frauds." The Bronx rapper has been aiming disses Minaj's way for weeks, dropping two diss tracks, "Shether" and "Another One."
Listen to Minaj's new three pack on Tidal or Apple Music and download the songs on iTunes.
It's been close to three years since Minaj released her last studio album, The Pinkprint. She has appeared on a string of features, including "Make Love," her song with Gucci Mane. Her lyrics on that track sparked controversy, as many believed she was taking jabs at fellow rappers Remy Ma or possibly Azealia Banks.
Minaj has also recently featured on Ariana Grande's "Side to Side," Yo Gotti's "Down in the DM" and David Guetta's "Hey Mama," which also features Bebe Rexha and Afrojack, though none of the songs made nearly as much noise.
Mic has ongoing Nicki Minaj coverage. Please follow our Nicki Minaj hub here.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Home » News » Parenting » Meditation for Middle Schoolers Can Aid In Social-Emotional Learning
Meditation for Middle Schoolers Can Aid In Social-Emotional Learning
Last updated: 14 Apr 2019
New research finds practicing meditation as part of a school Quiet Time program helps middle school students enhance social-emotional competencies and reduce psychological distress.
Social-emotional learning (SEL) is gaining increased recognition as an important goal of education. Competencies include self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and goal-directed behavior. Developing these skills may help students perform better academically and enjoy enhanced emotional and social well-being.
"There's a strong body of research supporting the clear value of developing social-emotional competency for students. Middle school is an especially formative time and poses a major opportunity to provide students with the tools to develop positive social relationships, responsible decision-making, and healthy behaviors," said Laurent Valosek, the study's lead author.
Valosek is the executive director of the Center for Wellness and Achievement in Education. "We're encouraged by the results demonstrating the value of a Quiet Time program to enhance social-emotional learning and mental health in middle school students."
The controlled study compared over a four-month period, 51 sixth-grade students who took part in a Quiet Time program with twice-daily practice of Transcendental Meditation to 50 students from a matched control school within the same West Coast urban public school district.
The study, which appears in the journal Education, found a significant increase in overall social-emotional competency in the Quiet Time group compared to controls. The effects were particularly pronounced with high-risk subgroups, which experienced a significant increase on social-emotional competency and a significant decrease on negative emotional symptoms compared to controls.
Researchers compared the Quiet Time group to controls in the areas of decision-making, goal-directed behavior, personal responsibility, relationship skills, and optimistic thinking.
The study used the Devereux Student Strengths Assessment (DESSA) Mini teacher-rating scale for assessing social-emotional competence. It also used the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) Emotional Symptoms scale. One strength of the study is its use of the DESSA to obtain a teacher rating of student social-emotional competencies, rather than relying solely on student self-report.
Investigators believe the study findings have implications for schools looking to implement evidence-based programs for student social-emotional learning and mental health.
Source: Center for Wellness and Achievement in Education/EurekAlert
Photo: Students in the Quiet Time program had a significant increase in social-emotional competencies, as compared to the control school. Credit: Center for Wellness and Achievement in Education.
Nauert PhD, R. (2019). Meditation for Middle Schoolers Can Aid In Social-Emotional Learning. Psych Central. Retrieved on January 29, 2020, from https://psychcentral.com/news/2019/04/14/meditation-for-middle-schoolers-can-aid-in-social-emotional-learning/143906.html
Last updated: 14 Apr 2019 (Originally: 14 Apr 2019)
Last reviewed: By a member of our scientific advisory board on 14 Apr 2019


You are looking for alternatives to ManageRight, however, why not access the rankings of the best Telecom Expense Management Software companies based on strictly user reviews and sentiment. Our rankings are completely independent, transparent, and community driven. These Telecom Expense Management Software companies had to earn their way up and didn't just pay their way up.


text:
Archive for month: April, 2015
You are here: Home / Blog / JobLink / 2015 / April
Project ArchiTX: Canopy Restaurant
April 27, 2015 /in Uncategorized /by infotech
Dillion Kyle Architecture presents an homage to the trees and landscape of Texas. The architect employed walnut wooden features and a foliage supergraphic to create the narrative of Canopy in Houston. Project Canopy, Houston Architect Dillon Kyle Architecture Photographer Casey Dunn Canopy is a neighborhood restaurant located in a Houston's vibrant Montrose district. The restaurant design is an allegory of trees and landscape in general, and the city's famous live oaks in particular. The blue sky of the walls, earth tone of the floor, and walnut wood and green fixtures lend to the connections to meadows and forests. A blown-up photograph of a live oak was affixed to sliding panels that…
https://texasarchitects.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/lg_interior_table.jpg 231 378 infotech https://texasarchitects.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/logo.jpg infotech2015-04-27 13:54:182017-05-26 12:33:44Project ArchiTX: Canopy Restaurant
April 27, 2015 /in Membership /by infotech
Kathleen English, AIA, talks about bioswales the way others might talk about a nice deck or flagstone patio. For her, it is the must-have landscape feature. Long interested in sustainable design, English in recent years turned her professional focus toward the often-complex hydrology and water issues surrounding buildings. As a longtime Houstonian, she saw how the lack of water as well as its periodic overabundance affected the city and development in it. She wondered how design could accommodate rapid rainfalls and the city's notorious flash flooding in a more effective way, while maybe hanging on to more of the precious…
https://texasarchitects.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/lg_20150122_txarch_english_9506.jpg 231 378 infotech https://texasarchitects.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/logo.jpg infotech2015-04-27 09:06:202017-05-26 12:33:44Waterways
Rand Elliott's Word Paintings
For Rand Elliott, FAIA, the creative process transcends conventional divisions between artistic disciplines. For Elliott, language and architecture — the output of his professional practice — are intimately connected. Marfa Contemporary Gallery by Elliott + Associates Architects – photo by Scott McDonald, Hedrich Blessing "The words arrive before the architecture," writes Rand Elliott, FAIA, in his 2014 book, "Word Paintings." "Words, sentence fragments, dissimilar pairings of adjectives, and the imagining of a place yet to be created… The words liquefy and reform as an architectural spirit in time." Elliott's process for transforming a 1940s-era Gulf service station into the Marfa Contemporary…
https://texasarchitects.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/lg_word_painting_from_book.jpg 231 378 infotech https://texasarchitects.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/logo.jpg infotech2015-04-24 10:46:492017-05-26 12:33:44Rand Elliott's Word Paintings
TASA/TASB Exhibit of School Architecture — Call for Entries
The Texas Association of School Administrators and Texas Association of School Boards are seeking submissions for the 2015 TASA/TASB Exhibit of School Architecture. This program highlights new and renovated Texas schools and celebrates excellence in planning and design of the learning environment. The winning projects will be on display at this year's TASA/TASB Convention, taking place in Austin on October 2–4. The competition's highest award, known as "The Caudill," is named after Texas architect William Wayne Caudill (1914–1983), whose progressive concepts about school design are still influencing the field today. Projects can be awarded "Stars of Distinction" as recognition in one or more areas of distinction.…
https://texasarchitects.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/lg_tasa_tasb_image_1.jpg 231 378 infotech https://texasarchitects.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/logo.jpg infotech2015-04-23 14:24:452017-05-26 12:33:44TASA/TASB Exhibit of School Architecture — Call for Entries
Architects Talking to Architects: Danny Rigg, AIA
Danny Rigg, AIA, is an architect at Stern and Bucek Architects in Houston. He is chair of TxA's Career Building Committee and past chair of AIA Houston's Intern/Associate Network. You'll currently find him working on a variety of projects around Houston while gearing up for the 2015 Texas Architects Mentorship Program. Danny Rigg, AIA – photo courtesy Danny Rigg Where did you grow up? I was born in Houston, but I grew up in Tampa, Florida. The beaches were beautiful, but the alligators in the lake behind our house were terrifying. My kindergarten field trip included traveling to the moon in a…
https://texasarchitects.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/lg_img_1_danny_rigg.jpg 231 378 infotech https://texasarchitects.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/logo.jpg infotech2015-04-23 08:58:232017-05-26 12:33:44Architects Talking to Architects: Danny Rigg, AIA
Update on the Dallas Trinity Toll Road Controversy
April 7, 2015 /in Advocacy /by infotech
By: Bob Meckfessel, FAIA In 1998, Dallas voters approved a $246 million bond program to revitalize the Trinity River Corridor, a 20-mile swath of neglected floodway cutting through the city. The successful referendum promised many enhancements to the floodway in five key areas: recreation, flood protection, environment, economic development, and transportation. This last aspect — transportation — consisting mostly of the "Trinity Parkway," was pitched to voters with renderings of a context-sensitive road happily coexisting with lakes, trails, promenades, and signature bridges. The bond program was endorsed by AIA Dallas. However, in 1999, as designs began to be made public, AIA Dallas…
https://texasarchitects.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/lg_trinity_design_charette_report.jpg 231 378 infotech https://texasarchitects.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/logo.jpg infotech2015-04-07 13:01:042017-05-26 12:33:44Update on the Dallas Trinity Toll Road Controversy
Architects Talking to Architects: Zach Farrell, Assoc. AIA
April 2, 2015 /in Membership /by infotech
Zach Farrell, Assoc. AIA, works on corporate office and retail project for 5G Studio Collaborative in Dallas. He regularly participates in AIA events, including Architecture on Tap and Success Teams. When Zach is not working, you'll find him running, biking, or creating something at his home in East Dallas. Zach Farrell, Assoc. AIA – courtesy Zach Farrell If you had not studied architecture, what other profession would you have pursued? Physics, astronomy, medicine, or the fine arts — especially sculpture. A broad spectrum, I know. Most people have favorite tabs on their internet browsers that consist of ESPN Sports Center, NBC…
https://texasarchitects.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/lg_zach_farrell.jpg 231 378 infotech https://texasarchitects.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/logo.jpg infotech2015-04-02 14:53:172017-05-26 12:33:44Architects Talking to Architects: Zach Farrell, Assoc. AIA


text:
Endeavour: Complete Series One to Seven - Michele Buck [DVD]
All the episodes from the first seven series of the feature-length spin-off of ITV's long-running crime drama 'Inspector Morse', also including the 2012 pilot episode. Set in the mid-1960s, the show follows Endeavour Morse (Shaun Evans) in his younger years as a police constable. Working alongside his senior partner Detective Inspector Fred Thursday (Roger Allam) and PC James Strange (Sean Rigby), Morse engages in a number of investigations around Oxford, England. Series 1 episodes are: 'Girl', 'Fugue', 'Rocket' and 'Home'. Series 2 episodes are: 'Trove', 'Nocturne', 'Sway' and 'Neverland'. Series 3 episodes are: 'Ride', 'Arcadia', 'Prey' and 'Coda'. Series 4 episodes are: 'Game', 'Canticle', 'Lazaretto' and 'Harvest'. Series 5 episodes are: 'Muse', 'Cartouche', 'Passenger', 'Colours', 'Quartet' and 'Icarus'. Series 6 episodes are: 'Pylon', 'Apollo', 'Confection' and 'Degüello'. Series 7 episodes are: 'Oracle', 'Raga' and 'Zenana'. In the pilot episode 'Endeavour', after dropping out of Oxford University, Morse looks into the disappearance of a schoolgirl - a case which will shape his future. Finding himself ostracised from what becomes a murder investigation, Morse sets out on his own to seek justice.
Michele Buck (Executive Producer)
Russell Lewis (Executive Producer)
Damien Timmer (Executive Producer)
Russell Lewis (Writer)
Shaun Evans (Actor)
Sam Reid (Actor)
John Light (Actor)
Charlie Creed-Miles (Actor)
Roger Allam (Actor)
Sean Rigby (Actor)
James Bradshaw (Actor)
Anton Lesser (Actor)
Jack Laskey (Actor)
Abigail Thaw (Actor)
Sara Vickers (Actor)
Caroline O'Neill (Actor)
Jack Bannon (Actor)
Stephanie Leonidas (Actor)
Sam Ferriday (Actor)
ITV Global Entertaiment Ltd


text:
Simon Brown ist der Name folgender Personen:

* Simon Brown (Politiker) (1802–1873), US-amerikanischer Politiker
 Simon Brown, Baron Brown of Eaton-under-Heywood (* 1937), britischer Anwalt und Richter
 Simon Brown (Skirennläufer) (* 1942), australischer Skirennläufer
 Simon Brown (Autor) (* 1956), australischer Schriftsteller
 Simon Brown (Boxer) (* 1963), jamaikanischer Boxer
 Simon Brown (Fußballspieler, 1976) (* 1976), englischer Fußballtorhüter
 Simon Brown (Fußballspieler, 1983) (* 1983), englischer Fußballspieler

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


SAVE THE DATE! : SPALS, Inc.
The 25th Annual Speech Pathologists and Audiologists in Louisiana Schools Conference will be at the CAJUN DOME in Lafayette, La on October 12th and 13th, 2017! Join us for our SILVER JUBILEE!


text:
Pope Francis accepts Shimon Peres' invitation to visit Israel
Whatsapp Linkedin FB Messenger Telegram Twitter Reddit WeChat Pinterest Print Copy permalinkCopy to clipboard
https://str.sg/3jcq
VATICAN CITY (REUTERS) - Israeli President Shimon Peres invited Pope Francis on Tuesday to visit Israel, at his first meeting with the new Pontiff who has appealed for peace in the Middle East.
The Pope accepted the invitation "with willingness and joy", a Vatican spokesman said, but there was no indication when a trip would be made.
"I am expecting you in Jerusalem, not just me but the whole country of Israel," Mr Peres told the Pope in the presence of reporters after 30 minutes of private talks in the Vatican's Apostolic Palace.
Pope Francis, the former Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina, made an appeal for peace between Israelis and Palestinians in his Easter address last month.
A Vatican statement said they discussed prospects for a resumption of negotiations for a solution that would respect "the legitimate aspirations of the two Peoples, thus decisively contributing to the peace and stability of the region". They also agreed on the need for a political solution to the civil war in neighbouring Syria.
Both of Pope Francis' two immediate predecessors, John Paul II and Benedict XVI, visited the Holy Land, including Palestinian territories, in 2000 and 2009, respectively.
Mr Peres asked Pope Francis "to pray for all of us" and told the Pope that he would pray for him during a trip on Wednesday to the central Italian city of Assisi, where he will visit the tomb of St Francis, whose name Cardinal Bergoglio adopted when elected pope.
Pope Francis will travel to Rio de Janeiro in July to preside at the Roman Catholic Church's World Day of Youth, a gathering of young people from around the world. He is expected to visit his native Argentina early next year.
Whatsapp Linkedin FB Messenger Telegram Reddit WeChat Pinterest Print Copy permalink


text:
Happy Birthday to Me Again
The Vampire Underground
The Zombie Playground
The Monster Apocalypse
Author of the Happy Birthday to Me Trilogy
Posted in Film, Writing
How to Terrorize the Reader Through Description
Posted on July 8, 2018 July 8, 2018 by Brian
Watching Like a Writer is a movie review series that looks at films from the perspective of a fiction writer, complete with one writing takeaway, and an exercise that will help better your fiction!
Buffy the Vampire Slayers remains the best television show ever made having anything to do with vampires — it's also just the best show ever, period — but in the world of film, what are the best of the best when it comes to creepy, crawly vampire tales? It's time to look at the five best vampire movies! Sorry to say, but you're not going to see any of Edward or Bella here…
5. Let Me In (2010)
Good vampire movies are few and far between, and rarely are they brilliant. Matt Reeves' remake of the similarly effective Swedish film Let the Right One In does everything right, with two stellar performances by its young stars, Oscar-worthy cinematography, an eerie small town setting, and a story that is as slow and hypnotic as it is fascinating.
4. The Lost Boys (1987)
Joel Schumacher makes a lot of good movies and a lot of bad ones, but The Lost Boys is one of his very best. Featuring a huge ensemble cast including Kiefer Sutherland, Jason Patric, Jami Gertz, and a young Corey Haim, this very '80s cult classic has more laughs than scares but remains entertaining throughout.
3. From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)
Turning this movie on with the knowledge that it's a great vampire movie might make the watching experience confusing, given that no vampires show up until the second half. But once those vampires start wreaking havoc in a middle-of-nowhere Mexican bar, the fun really begins. George Clooney has never been more energetic on screen, and Quentin Tarantino's sparkling script never fails to surprise.
Now it's essential to go back a little bit further in time. Two of the best vampire movies ever come from nearly a whole century ago, when the film medium was only beginning to evolve. 1931 was one of the best years for monster movie horror, with the releases of both Dracula and Frankenstein by Universal Pictures. Bela Lugosi stars as the blood-thirsty vamp, and his career would never be the same. Dark, funny, endlessly evocative, Tod Browning's Dracula is a ghoulish delight from beginning to end.
1. Nosferatu (1922)
Many may scoff at wanting to see a silent movie but look, seriously, this (and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari) is must-see viewing for horror buffs. F.W. Murnau directed this truly creepy masterpiece of the macabre, an unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula that changed character names and places. Max Schreck played the vampire, and his haunting presence makes for one of the most memorable villains in movie history. Don't watch this one alone!
Watching Like a Writer
Something the silent film Nosferatu makes me think about is how to capture terror on the page not by dialogue or by action but by description. How can I describe the villain in a way that's so eerie and haunting that the reader gets a chill before the character's even done anything? What words can I use to make the antagonist truly frightening?
Look at the antagonist of your work-in-progress and think about how you've described him or her (or it). How is the description effective? How could you make it better?
Author: Brian
Previous Post The Sandra Bullock Files #19: Two if by Sea (1996)
Next Post How to Implement Red Herrings in Your Fiction


Pourciau Law Firm provides trustworthy counsel to our clients in the New Orleans area. Every asbestos case is a complex process, but with Pourciau Law Firm you will get a complete understanding and explanation every step of the way. Do not go through your asbestos case alone.
Our team at Pourciau Law Firm stands as a professional asbestos firm who believes in caring for each client with dignity, respect, and class. Our legal firm has been helping clients in the New Orleans area for 50 years, and our reputation of success speaks for itself.
Understanding your asbestos related legal matters as a client is another integral part of our process at Pourciau Law Firm . Our asbestos lawyers will fight for the needs of our clients in the New Orleans area courts. We will work tirelessly with our clients to bring the help and trusted counsel they need in their asbestos case.
We know the New Orleans area courts better than our own homes. Let us navigate through your asbestos matters, no matter how unprecedented they may seem. With 50 years of practice, we are confident we can offer professional help.


10 mins at 18 degrees.	2.	In a mixing bowl, add curd,oil, sugar and vanilla essence. Whisk well till the sugar completely dissolves.	3.	Add baking powder and baking soda and give a mix.	4.	Now add the flour in two shifts and whisk to mix well without lumps.	5.	Finally add flour dusted chocolate chips in the batter. Reserve a tbsp. of choco chips to sprinkle on top of muffins.	6.	In a muffin tray,place muffin liners, pour 2 scoops or ¾ level of batter on each cup.	7.	Bake in pre-heated oven for 20 to 25 mins. Remove and check in centre using tooth pick. If it comes out clean, the cupcakes are done.	8.	Cool the cakes completely in a wire rack and serve.


Love is a topic of songs and themes to movies. Love is a powerful force that sends us to the mountaintop. It's a passion that every heart was created to have filled; yet, love seems illusive. It seems easy to fall in love, but staying in love can seem impossible at times.
What do we tell people when life offers a different experience than what God's Word proclaims?
1 John 4:18 (NIV) tells us, "There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love." However, there are many people who struggle with fear.
Do you suffer from fear or insecurity? What about the fear of lack? Are you worried that God won't come through for you?
I have been literally worried sick about so many things.
I've worried about ONE single comment I said in a conversation, to the point that it kept me up at night.
How does a believer reconcile that love is supposed to cast out all fear, when most people seem to live in constant fear and worry?
The message is simple: God isn't mad at you … He loves you!
If you take away only one truth from this blog, it's this: "God's not mad at you." He forgives and restores, especially when we mess up. No matter how many times I tell people this truth, I'm amazed by the number of people that need to hear it.
There's only one place to find what you are looking for.
To show that God's Word is true, it's important to define that the love that never fails can only come from God Himself. It's the only love that will satisfy the soul.
What complicates the issue is we use the word "love" to describe everything from pizza to our children. Many think that it's all the same love, just different levels of intensity. God's love, agape love, cannot be found or created by the human spirit. It is only a fruit of God Himself experienced by us through the Holy Spirit. It is a love so deep, so devoted, and so unconditional that its ability to be shown and given to others can only come through the power of the Holy Spirit.
It must be experienced. For me, I like to spend time in solitude, whether in a deer stand, out for a run or just sitting with a cup of coffee. Being "too busy" is the ploy of the enemy. God's love is why we exist. It's when we sit in His presence that we get to experience His small still voice. I've found I can't give away (love) when I haven't sat in solitude and received it first.
What would society look like if starting on Valentine's Day going forward, we chose through the power of the Holy Spirit, to love with the love that comes from the Father, the love that keeps no record of wrong, the love that is not jealous, the love that never fails? … HIS LOVE.
Pastor James Sunnock and his wife Aileen have been married for 30 years and have three sons / daughters-in-law. Pastor James graduated with a Bachelors in Business Administration and is currently pursuing his Master's degree from Kings University. After running his own business for 10 years, Pastor James enjoyed a very successful sales career. In 1999, Pastor James left the corporate world and entered the pastoral internship program at Resurrection Life Church. In 2002, Pastor James became the Lead Pastor of Victory Life Church, in Battle Creek, MI. with 60 members. Today the church has grown to just over 1700 people and has been listed twice in Outreach magazine's top 100 fastest growing churches. The ministry is committed to attracting people to the Gospel of Christ and inspiring them to grow in their faith.


Prints from "The Black Hills Yesterday & Today"
Using historic photos taken from 1875-1935, photographer Paul Horsted has "re-photographed" the major towns (and many other areas) of the Black Hills of South Dakota, combining "then & now" into a unique form of art. Featured in a beautiful coffee-table book in full color "The Black Hills Yesterday & Today". ORDER THIS BOOK directly from Paul or get it Amazon. You can also order prints from this book below...the watermark on each photo will NOT appear on your print!
Locke & McBride image. Date unknown, estimate 1890's due to railroad. Area known as Pluma, between towns of Deadwood and Lead. In modern image, former railroad bed is now Mickelson Trail, used for hiking and biking. In distance, elevator hoist shaft of Homestake Mine is visible on mountaintop. Historic image courtesy Adams Museum & House. ©Paul Horsted, All Rights Reserved.


text:
« The -/+ Rating System Explained
Part V (MGS2: A Complete Breakdown)
By Mr Wolfe | October 28, 2012 - 8:12 AM | November 13, 2013 Commentary, Feature, Metal Gear Solid 2, Metal Gear Solid HD Collection, Theory
Unlike its beloved predecessor, MGS2 doesn't have multiple endings. This is a big deal, since the ability to earn a "heroic" ending not only gave the original some replay value, but it made your choices feel important by showing you the direct consequences of your failures or successes. The torture sequence (where you decide whether to submit at the cost of Meryl's life, or endure it and possibly save her) is impossible to beat if you're not determined, which means that the ending is in your hands. If you give up, Snake will later hold her lifeless body, ready to give up and die himself, confessing that he's not a hero — screaming out that he's "nothing". It's a genuinely touching scene, but it's not because the writing and acting is good: it's because you had the power to prevent it from happening with just a little more effort.
Kojima was very much aware of this fact, and obviously felt that players would be expecting the freedom to earn a "good" and "bad" ending again — which is why he decided to acknowledge it. However, you may need to read the Game Script to figure out how:
Snake      : You can find your own name. And your own
future...
Raiden     : Decide for myself...?
Snake      : And whatever you choose will be you.
Raiden     : I don't know if I can...
Snake      : I know you didn't have much in terms of choices this time. But
everything you felt, thought about during this mission is yours.
And what you decide to do with them is your choice...
There's meta significance to Raiden saying "I don't know if I can" in the above section of the ending. When Snake says "I know you didn't have much in terms of choices this time", Kojima points out that this is "An allusion to the fact that this game did not have a choice driven narrative." Raiden doesn't know if he can decide his own name and future, because unlike MGS1 the game doesn't have multiple endings! He's stuck with this one ending, no matter what we do in the game. The player might feel the same way. The inability to truly rebel against the Patriots and the S3 Plan is clear, so how can we ever change the outcome of this mission? It's simply not a choice-driven narrative.
Kojima's fascinating script note, which describes President Johnson's decision to complete his "pre-planned role" as a parallel to what happens to the player later on, proves that Kojima expected players to feel frustrated by their lack of freedom — or their lack of an alternate ending. There is no rebellion for us; no "heroic" ending. That's why Snake says that Raiden's real choice is not a different ending, but a different understanding of the whole thing. You see, Metal Gear Solid 2 does have multiple endings, but they are both hidden within the same scenes. Subjectivity creates multiple endings!
Look at the same bit of dialogue, emphasized differently than how David Hayter chose to read them, which I think is probably closer to the original intention:
Here are the two endings:
One is the bad ending, where you feel confused and disappointed by the fact that the game isn't as cool as the first one, and the fact that you didn't really thwart the Patriots, and everything was crappy in the end. You killed Solidus, but the Patriots wanted you to do it. You won the day, but you lost your sense of identity. It's a hollow victory, surrounded on all sides by questions.
The good ending is a liberation of the mind – an abandonment of the game's silly story, and a love for all of the genius and meaning hidden within the experiences. It's mental freedom, in the same way Snake obtained genetic freedom in the previous game, by not letting his past decide his future, even in spite of FoxDie's looming threat. Snake didn't know when he was scheduled to die, just as Raiden doesn't know when he'll wake up, so they both need to change their priorities and find meaning in something bigger than themselves.
No matter what Raiden does, he can't change the physical outcome of his mission, but when he asks "You mean start over?", he reveals the secret genius of the double-ending. Kojima adds another simple note in the script, which rephrases the question as simply "Start over?" Then, when Snake says "Yeah. A clean slate. A new name. New memories. Choose your own legacy. It's for you to decide. It's up to you," it's a challenge unlock the good ending. If, until this point, you were too emotionally invested and ignorant to appreciate the game thus far, these words are an invitation for you to get over it, look past the Refusal-Chair-disappointment, and see the game again through a new lens.
Let's do another take
Over the years I've come to hate Quinton Flynn. He's the English voice actor for Raiden, and while it may seem unwarranted to have such hard feelings against him, I've realized that he's responsible for much of the confusion, irritation, and unbearable inappropriateness of Metal Gear Solid 2's abundant cutscenes and conversations.
When you've been studying this game and its script for as long as I have, you start to pick up on things, like the way a line should be read, in the context of the story situation; how the character should be feeling, and how the punctuation in the script does a good job conveying that feeling (minus audio). As a hobby writer myself, I know the significance of an ellipses versus a question mark, for example. Pick the wrong one, and suddenly your character can seems stupid and confused, instead of just quiet and uncertain. Add a wrong exclamation mark, and suddenly your character is overreacting at a completely inappropriate moment, making them seem erratic. Little things like these can make and break a character's likability — especially if they keep happening — and especially if that character is the main protagonist, who you're supposed to relate to.
Obviously, it's the job of a voice actor to do justice to whatever material he's reading, not to go his own direction. A good actor will conform to what's on the page and pay attention to the greater context, not just toss in their own "take" on it like Quinton Flynn. His refusal to take the material seriously played a big part in ruining the character of Raiden for the Western world, I'm sure. When I first started playing the game, I used to think Flynn was doing a perfect job conveying what Raiden was all about: annoying, immature, and constantly out of step with the people around him. And to some extent, I think Raiden was supposed to come off as a delusional jerk. But now I see that it's Quinton Flynn who's annoying and out of step. He just doesn't care about the words he's saying. He's lazy and arrogant, and although I couldn't possibly compile all the tiny examples of his bad acting, I've picked a couple to demonstrate what I mean. For this one, I'll be doing some voice commentary too:
We should be thankful that Kojima stuck some notes into the script to help the actors, but it seems Flynn makes up his own whenever there isn't one. And when there is, he tends to overdo it and miss the point along the way, like when Raiden says to Olga, "So you joined hands with him to pay back a debt?" Indeed, there is a note in the script reading "a little sarcastically", but if you listen to him, he doesn't even respect the question mark at the end of the sentence! He forgot that it was a question first and foremost, and says it like he's accusing her instead. Small difference, you might say, but it makes Raiden seem like an asshole, at a time when he's supposed to be the victim of misinformation.
The worst, most agonizing example is of course when he says, "I'll decide for myself what to believe and what to pass on!" to the Patriot AI toward the end of the game. It kills me every time I hear it. Nobody in their right mind would say the way Quinton Flynn does. He literally turns it into a question! "I'll decide for myself what to believe in and what to pass on??" What the fuck, man! Do you have any idea how important that moment in the story — the moment when Raiden tries to adopt the wisdom of Snake in order to fight the Patriots' mind games — is supposed to be? Raiden's character arc, from a completely naive rookie to an enlightened disciple of Snake, is finally supposed to pay off. But thanks to Flynn it fizzles out and shits on itself. It almost sounds like a joke, because nobody would ever talk like that! I guess Kojima should have included a note in the script: "Please just read this the way it is written on the page, including the exclamation mark, and if you don't mind, pay some fucking attention to what's happening in the story at this point!"
Now we can't just blame Quinton Flynn, of course. The voice director was Kris Zimmerman, a fine lady who's done sound direction, casting, and even acting on dozens of TV shows, movies, and games in the past. She's done pretty much every Metal Gear game, and for the most part she must be pretty good.
Here's Flynn being interviewed by Ryan Payton, while Kris Zimmerman is in the background listening…
Are you picking up on the douchebagary too? He's a smug dumbass the whole time, and he basically admits to disregarding the intentions behind the dialogue and just ploughing through it without thinking. He actually makes fun of the idea of considering the character's motivation! The script was dense, it was like a phone book, and he wasn't going to playing around and think about the characters motivation! Who cares if nothing matches the script! The game is weird, long, and frankly a lot of work! Better to just make it up as you go along, like kids playing cops and robbers!
It's no wonder that innocuous lines like the "We managed to avoid drowning" ended up being comically infamous on the internet. "BEST LINE IN THE GAME" people say. Why? Was it really supposed to be that hilarious? Not at all. It was just terrible delivery.
Quinton Flynn's childlike "cool energy" and lack of consideration ended up making the line come off way too earnest, giving the impression that Raiden was proud of his accomplishment, and thus making Raiden seem like a complete idiot. You can look in the script and find it doesn't have notes next to it — meaning that it was meant to be played straight, as you would imagine, probably with a lot of exhaustion and frustration. Instead, it's now famously mocked, drawing comparisons to Tommy Wiseau's internationally lampooned movie The Room. Ouch.
I don't know why Kris Zimmerman, who generally seems to be a good voice director, didn't force Flynn to do extra takes and get it right. I can only assume they both looked at the "phone book" script and wanted to get the job over with as quickly as possible, so they rushed through it, took their money, and walked away.
Kojima's subtle, carefully layered story was bludgeoned thanks to these people, which is why he was surprised by how much people hated Raiden. Sure, it was risky, but he didn't intend for the character to be a Saturday morning cartoon character!
Oh and by the way, the actress who played Fortune is shit-terrible too. Was Kris Zimmerman even in the studio that day?
Tagged 9/11, AI, breakdown, colonel, complete, david, ending, federal hall, grand game plan, GW, jack, mgs2, name, part 5, patriots, plot, raiden, rose, script, snake, subjectivity, terrorism. Bookmark the permalink.


Abstract—Reproductive tract infections (RTIs) including sexually transmitted infections (STIs) is a public health importance as it adversely impacts the reproductive health of people. So this present study was conducted on 360 females of slum area of Jaipur city to assess the awareness about STI/RTI and their perception and practices. Prevalence of RTI/STI among females (15-49 years) of slum area of Jaipur was found 38.2%. Awareness regarding symptoms of RTI/STI, mode of its spread and its prevention was 39.7%, 33.6% and 28.6% respectively. Regarding treatment seeking behavior for RTI/STI more women from higher socioeconomic status as well as higher educational status were opting for taking treatment. This awareness not found to be affected by literacy level of females.
Perception and practices regarding choice of health facility for treatment of RTI / STI, it was observed that 57.8% females were of opinion that treatment for RTI / STI should be taken, 32.5% of the females actually took the treatment and 42.2% of females believed that there is no need of treatment. Maximum females (23.6%) believed that treatment should be taken from lady doctor. Among those who took the treatment, half (42.3%) of them took treatment from lady doctor.
Keywords: Reproductive Tract Infections (RTIs), Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs), Awareness, Perception and Practices.


text:
MICHIGAN WARRIORS HOCKEY
Military Camaraderie + Hockey = Healing
Stories/News
Become a Warrior
Metro Detroit Chevy Dealers
While we sell vehicles, we are also small business owners who care deeply about Metro Detroit. We are 38 local Chevrolet dealerships who have pooled our resources together to create The Metro Detroit Chevy Dealers Association which supports all things local.
We are committed to making a difference for hundreds of thousands of people in need right here in Metro Detroit. Aside from supporting local non-profits like the Michigan Warriors, we support local events, restaurants, musicians, artists, sports teams and businesses. In addition, we feature local venues, scenery, landmarks, music and people in our digital advertising campaigns. To learn more, please visit: chevydetroit.com/community
Detroit Red Wings Alumni
The purpose of the Red Wings Alumni Association has changed over the years. The Alumni Association raises money by playing some 25 charity games each season throughout Michigan and Ontario.
The main philosophy of the organization has not changed over the years; have fun and enjoy fellowship as a group, while raising money for charitable organizations and people in need of financial assistance. Each year, the Red Wings Alumni Association donates in excess of $40,000 to various charities in Michigan and Ontario.
To learn more, click here.
Howard and Howard Law
The Howard & Howard Community Reinvestment Fund is a charitable trust, funded annually by Howard & Howard's employees, which benefits our local communities.
Howard & Howard Community Reinvestment Fund has contributed over $5 million to support education and community enrichment since 1985.
To learn more about the company, click here.
Firm donates $12,500 to hockey program
Detroit Legal News Feb 22, 2019
Heroes' Movement
Heroes' Movement is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit that bridges the gap from therapy - whether mental or physical - to getting strong again through small group coached strength and conditioning workouts for any Veteran of the United States Armed forces for free.
Visit the website to learn more, click here.
Petite Taway
Petite Taway Inc offers web design, marketing, eCommerce solutions and consulting services to creative small businesses.
Deb works with small businesses that need help in getting their business or organization on the world wide web. She is also a social media expert and is happy to set up and train clients for their future success. Deb offers a discount for Veterans.
Rebirth Sports (Jerseys)
We are committed to giving every player, coach, and fan the opportunity to have the highest quality products through innovation and honest pricing.
To learn more, click here
Mary Anastasia Photography
Mary Anastasia Photo is an inclusive wedding and portrait photographer based in southeast Michigan.
To learn more, visit www.maryanastasiaphoto.com
Carter Hockey
Carter Hockey is a hockey accessory brand that is dedicated to making not only your game better, and easier, but is also about making the game itself better. Hockey has made our founder who he is as a person. It taught him how to be a team player, how to be a leader, and it gave him the foundation to be a pretty good U.S. Marine.
Carter Hockey knows the joys and pains of hockey players, and understands how beneficial a true partner can be for hockey players. We also know the ways that this beautiful game can help US Military Veterans. Hockey, by it's nature, promotes camaraderie, and many veterans when they exit active duty service miss that in a significant way. The two have a direct connection and that is why many veterans find themselves trying the game we all love.
To learn more, visit https://carterhockey.com/
Michigan Warriors Hockey Program
11800 Merriman Rd Unit 51796, Livonia, Michigan 48150
501(c)(3) Nonprofit Organization
©2020 Michigan Warriors Hockey Program
Privacy | Terms | Accessibility
site design petitetaway


Shooting Range in Poznan, cut those targets in half!
Jack Ryan or Dirty Harry? Either way, you'll find plenty of firepower to satisfy when you take your stag do out to a shooting range in Poznan. For a handful of Zloty you get to pull the trigger on everything from the legendary .357 Magnum to Dragunov sniper rifles. Our shooting range package gives you gun rental plus ammunition, so you're good to go: just turn up, get through the safety briefing and start blasting!
Your stag do is your last chance to do real boy stuff, so grab the opportunity with both hands. If you always wanted to know what it was like to unload a full clip while screeching 'Top of the world, Ma!', now's your chance to find out. Choose between the legendary Kalashnikov AK-47 or the light, efficient Uzi - or heck, fire 'em both. You'll be cutting your paper targets in half with a hail of bullets before you can say 'Get some'.
For the chance to brag bigtime, go for a sniper rifle and see if you can put a hole through the bullseye from longer distances. While your mates are playing Full Metal Jacket, you'll be humming the theme tune from Day of the Jackal. Question is, which one will you be: Bruce Willis or Edward Fox?


text:
As Good as It Gets is a 1997 American romantic comedy film directed by James L. Brooks and produced by Laura Ziskin. It stars Jack Nicholson as a misanthropic, obsessive-compulsive novelist, Helen Hunt as a single mother with an asthmatic son, and Greg Kinnear as a gay artist. The screenplay was written by Mark Andrus and James L. Brooks.
Nicholson and Hunt won the Academy Award for Best Actor and Academy Award for Best Actress, respectively, making As Good As It Gets the latest film to win both of the lead acting awards, and the first since 1991's The Silence of the Lambs. Also, Kinnear was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance. It is ranked 140th on Empire magazine's "The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time" list.
As Good as It Gets, 1997, James L. Brooks, Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt, Greg Kinnear, Cuba Gooding Jr., Skeet Ulrich, Shirley Knight, Yeardley Smith, Lupe Ontiveros, Jill the Dog, Jill, Timer the Dog, Timer, Billy the Dog, Billy, Bibi Osterwald, Ross Bleckner, Bernadette Balagtas, Jaffe Cohen, Alice Vaughn, Brian Doyle-Murray, Rebekah Johnson, Missi Pyle, Julie Benz, animal film, dog
Out-Links
IMDB - As Good as It Gets (1997)
DVD @ Amazon - As Good as It Gets (1997)
Google - As Good as It Gets (1997)
| Mobile Home | New Photos | Random | Funny | Films | Korean |
^o^ Animal Pictures Archive for smart phones ^o^


CulinaryClassics Cajun & Creole Webpages !!!
What is the Difference Between Cajun & Creole ??
enhances even the most everyday ingredients.
roux, a browned mixture of flour and oil.
holy trinity of chopped green peppers, onions and celery.
* BEIGNET: a light, square doughnut usually dusted with powdered sugar.
available in dry or liquid form.
Mississippi River delta soil; incredible flavor and texture.
covered pot with vegetables and seasonings, smothered; stewed.
* MEUNIE`RE: a popular butter sauce used on seafood.
that has a nutty flavor and smells like popcorn when cooking.
the base of many Cajun and Creole dishes.
* ZEST: a thin outer skin of an orange or lemon used as flavoring.


If you are looking for gifts, UK Luxe Brand Fortnum & Mason is the right destination for you. They offer tea of the highest quality in luxurious packaging, which makes their bestselling Royal Blend and Earl Grey Classic the perfect gift. Furthermore, they also offer a variety of hampers and cookies, as a gift for someone else or simply to yourself.
and send your purchases to our UK warehouse.
*Keep in mind, f you want to buy hamper, remember to pick items without alcohol because Buyandship cannot ship alcohol/wine to you!


text:
Q: 5V to 400V boost converter problem I am trying to make a boost converter that step up 5V to 400V. I am doing it for a geiger counter. I know that it's complicated, but it should be possible. Anyway, here is my schematic:
My problem is that I can't get the assumed output voltage. I tried to calculate the output voltage and everything sits perfectly. Here is my calculation:
But with these conditions I can only achieve about 30-50V.

I tried to decrease the switching frequency to 20kHz or vary the duty cycle, but it seems to not make a huge difference.
I read somewere that the inductor might need a bigger load, so I added a 400k resistor in parallel with the output, but still the same. The last I tried to change the inductor to 10mH and it worked!! Kind of... I got 100V. Which is better, but still not what I expected.
I know that the calculations may not be 100% accurate, but I would expect to get at least close to 400V. Probbably the best solution might be to use a different boost topology with some transformer, but I think it should be possible to achieve 400V with standard Boost converter. At least I want to find out what's wrong.  Is it caused by too small inductor or too low frequency? Do you have any ideas?
Thank you for help!

A: The voltage you get across the inductor is directly related to how fast you can stop the current flowing through it:
$$V = L \frac{di}{dt}$$
If you're hoping to get 400 V with a current of 32 mA, that means that dt must be no more than:
$$dt = \frac{L}{V}di = \frac{1.5 mH}{400 V} 32 mA = 0.12 \mu s$$
In other words, the current must drop to zero within 120 ns, which is not an easy thing to achieve. First of all, you're only driving the gate with an MCU pin (low voltage, limited drive current), which makes it difficult to change the gate voltage quickly. Second, the MOSFET itself takes some time to respond to a change in gate voltage. And finally, the distributed capacitance of the circuit, including the parasitic capacitance of the MOSFET, the diode and the coil itself, must be charged before the current will drop to zero.
As a first-order check, look at the self-resonant frequency of the coil itself. You will never be able to stop the current in the coil in less than a half-cycle of this frequency. This will put a limit on the maximum voltage that this circuit can achieve even if everything else is ideal.
Also, this is not a logic-level MOSFET. In order to get the switching characteristics shown in the datasheet, you need a 10 V gate signal. With only 5 V drive, you're probably not getting the full 32 mA you're expecting at the end of the "on" period. The rising voltage during the low portion of the drain voltage waveform is evidence of this.

A: The inductor must be low loss ferrite or iron dust type with low tan delta at, at least 10 MHz it also must be sufficiently large to not saturate at 32 mA.  The inductor also should have a self resonance in the order of 10 MHz.  all these parameters may not be able to achieved simultaneously.    Other folk have already mentioned using a higher gate drive voltage, and a schottky diode. I would also remove the 100 Ohm resistor and use a low impedance driver for the FET, the gate capacitance needs to be charged and discharged with a time constant appropriate for the gate to reach full voltage and also collapse even as fast as possible.  In conclusion this design may not be able to reach your chosen output voltage without exotic inductor and or FET.   The inclusion of a transformer and or doubler's would remove the constraints placed on the FET, inductor and diode in this design.
Good luck and keep us informed of your progress.
Barry

A: I would try increasing the inductor's value, then quadruple the voltage:

simulate this circuit – Schematic created using CircuitLab

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Last week, we spent a few days park hopping around Walt Disney World and grabbed some photos of current construction projects across the resort.
In Epcot, work on the new Guardians of the Galaxy attraction is well underway with the frame of the huge steel structure taking shape behind the former Universe of Energy and Wonders of Life pavilions. It's quite noticeable from locations inside and outside the park.
At Hollywood Studios, Toy Story Land is about to open, with construction there virtually complete at this point. Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge construction continues as the area is expected to open in late 2019, but from inside the park there are few vantage points that allow views of the work.
Outside the park, the Skyliner station has received its roof and work continues around the area. The towers can be seen leading from the station out across the parking lot towards the Caribbean Beach resort.
Heading into the TTC parking lot or towards the Magic Kingdom resorts, you're bound to notice the new traffic patterns and progress on the roadways all around the Magic Kingdom toll booths. New flyovers to carry traffic to and from the resorts are coming together quickly, and should help alleviate congestion coming into the Magic Kingdom area once completed.
The third parking garage at Disney Springs is taking shape, located just across Buena Vista Drive from the Lime Garage.
Down at the Coronado Springs, work continues on the massive tower currently under construction.
The project at the resort will also see a new restaurant opening over the lake, which is just beginning to take shape.
Thanks to photographer Matt Hopkins for many of the photos used in this article.
For the latest on Walt Disney World and other theme parks, attractions and more across the region, be sure to follow Touring Central Florida on twitter @TourCentralFL, @androckb, @Emmet_TCF, @JacobTouringCe1, and give our facebook page a like.


– dealing with Derek's shooting.
Incredibly, I do not think that is an exhaustive list. Although Bailey mentioned Derek, there have been a pretty large number of trauma by association experiences as well. I will never forget the horror that came over me when the doctors realized that they were operating on George, who was rendered unrecognizable after being hit by a bus.
The number of traumatic experiences the Grey Sloan doctors have gone through during 11 seasons of the show has gotten so large that it has long surpassed reality and in many ways, is just laughable. Granted, Grey's Anatomy is a very soap opera-like nighttime drama and I can forgive the writers for wanting to put the characters through the wringer. To the their credit, I have not reached the point where I feel jaded or emotionally unattached when Meredith goes through her 568th traumatic experience of the series.
My biggest pet peeve with this trope is the follow-up, or lack thereof, the writers sometimes give to the consequences of the traumatic experiences. This is actually a pet peeve I have with all of the Shondaland shows. Sometimes, we see the characters realistically struggle with healing and getting back to their normal lives after the trauma. Other times, the after effects of the trauma are completely bypassed, very likely due to constraints on time and pacing of other storylines.
That aside, the traumatic plane crash that Meredith, Cristina and Arizona survived has been pretty well-handled by the writers. Although I grew weary of Arizona's anger towards Callie because of the amputation, I appreciated that the writers did not just zoom through the physical and mental healing that one would expect a plane crash survivor to go through. That storyline was revisited last night, as Arizona learned that Alex was the one who actually performed the amputation at Callie's direction. I'm sure that there will be further ramifications of this revelation as the season progresses.
Most of the episode focused on Meredith's PTSD and her increased anxiety due to her inability to get in touch with Derek after learning he did not show up for his meeting in Washington, D.C. I wish that we could have gotten a bit more into Meredith's headspace. Without more insight, I got the impression that Derek being unaccounted for and the arrival of the plane crash victims caused Meredith to worry about something horrible happening to Derek. I know that Derek and Meredith were in a really good place in their relationship, but I would like to have known if she had even the slightest fear that Derek's disappearance could have been connected to the mystery woman. The last conversation between the couple should have completely eliminated this fear, but I would not fault her for considering it as she went through all of the worst case scenarios.
It would not be Grey's Anatomy if we did not have to watch two doctors in a romantic relationship act unprofessionally or inappropriately at the hospital – typically in front of at least one colleague. This week, is was Amelia and Owen's turn at bat. You know what's more annoying than watching a couple bicker over a patient because of a relationship-related problem? Involving Stephanie in the storyline. Blech.
I understand that growing pains should be expected on Grey's Anatomy when a new couple is trying to find their way. This is not necessarily my favorite part of the show, but I can tolerate it more when the disputes/drama feel true to the characters. Amelia being upset that Owen reluctantly accepted her breaking up with him was just weird and did not feel true to the character.
That aside, Owen opening up about his guilt about being responsible for signing off on the plane that crashed was my favorite aspect of revisiting the fatal events from a few seasons ago. Kevin McKidd was so great in that scene.
– I have mixed feelings about revisiting the plane crash trauma for dramatic purposes. As I mentioned before, I loved that the writers explored Owen's guilt about the crash. However, it was hard to really settle into the writers exploration of the PTSD experienced by the various characters involved in the crash because of the less than subtle foreshadowing about whatever is happening with Derek. I'm interested to see what will happen in next week's episode and if this heavy, ominous feeling throughout the episode was just the Grey's Anatomy writers toying with our emotions.
– I had completely forgotten that during the midst of all of this sisterly bonding, Maggie knew nothing about Lexie. Watching Meredith and Maggie learn more about each other is absolutely one of my favorite things about this season. I was much less interested in Stephanie and Jo learning about the crash and their reactions to it. I would have strongly preferred focusing on Maggie's reaction alone.
– Bailey might just be the Grey sisters whisperer. And yes, I know that Maggie's last name is Pierce, but I needed a pithy way of describing Bailey's ability to talk the sisters through their anxiety, so Grey sisters it is. It bears repeating, I really wish the writers would give Chandra Wilson and James Pickens more to do. They are far too talented for weekly pep talks and antidotes.
Kate's words were true on so many levels. Stephanie proclaiming that Kate regaining her memory was somehow all about her was just . . . ugh.
Overall, "One Flight Down" was a solid episode – not my favorite, but pretty entertaining. Owen and Meredith dealing with their respective guilt and PTSD, along with Maggie learning about the crash and Lexie, were the strongest parts of the episode. Stephanie and Jo continue to feel shoehorned in less than compelling ways, which is extremely frustrating because I would rather see that air time used for Bailey and Webber. I may revisit this episode after next week's episode airs, so that I can make a final call on the ominous feeling that weighed heavily over "One Flight Down." I suspect that this is not going to be a repeat of the happy ending we got when Derek returned home recommitted to his marriage and family.
What did you think of this week's episode of Grey's Anatomy? Sound off below!
Jocelyn, a Southern transplant to Philadelphia, was born and raised in Richmond, Virginia. To sum up her obsession about television, she is reminded of something Homer Simpson once said "I was raised in front of the TV and I turned out TV." Although not actually raised in front of the TV, she does hail from a family that loves a good show. She's always up for an impromptu binge watch of great shows like "Rome" and "The Wire."


text:
Home » Celebrities » Val Mercado Wiki: Age, Boyfriend, Family
Val Mercado Wiki: Age, Boyfriend, Family
Updated On: 05 Jun, 2018
27 Years 11 Month(s)
Aj Saudin (2017-Present)
5 Feet 7 Inches (1.70 m)
Val Mercado is popularly known as an aspiring model and fashion blogger. She is also well known as 'clothesmindedx3' on social media. Val rose to fame after she was linked with famous rapper Tyga. Alongside her career in modeling, she is also a journalist and also was a full-time nursing student in New York City.
Val Mercado Dating Television Actor
Val Mercado has been dating Degrassi: The Next Generation's actor AJ Saudin. The couple is reportedly dating since early 2016. The pair is often seen flaunting their photos on Instagram. Previously, on 25 May 2017, Val Instagrammed the picture of her with her boyfriend AJ and captioned the photo as "Baby & I are always matching."
Val Mercado shares the photo with her beau Aj Saudin on 25 May 2017. (Photo: Instagram)
The couple is often seen capturing cozy pictures together. Recently, on 29 May 2018, Val shared a photo with AJ hinting that they are in a buttery smooth relationship.
Back in 2016, Val was reported to be dating rapper Tyga. The dating rumors between Tyga and Val Mercado fueled after they were spotted together at Beverly Hills parking area.
How Does Val Mercado Summon Net Worth?
Val Mercado summons the net worth as the Instagram model and a fashion blogger. As a blogger, Val has earned the considerable money through her fashion career and affiliate products. She also added a fortune from her career in journalism.
Val also accumulates revenue from her YouTube channel that has over 580 hundred subscribers with over 20,573,192 views on her videos. Taking an insight into her Instagram, she has been seen promoting fashion-related affiliate products which help her to garner more wealth.
Glance At Val Mercado's Family
Val, age 26, was raised by her mother in New York. Her mother is shorter than Val and stands at the height of (1.49 m) 4' 11''. Val has hidden the information about her dad but, she has a great attachment to her mother. On 25 July 2015, Val shared a picture with her mom and mentioned her as a diva.
Val Mercado shares picture with her mother and mention her as a diva. (Photo: Instagram)
Val grew up along with her six siblings. One of her brothers works in the U.S. Army.
Model and vlogger Val Mercado was born in 1992 and was raised in New York City. She celebrates her birthday every year on 17 February. Val, who stands at the height of 1.7 m (5' 7"), has a body measurement of 35-25-36 inches. Also, she has a body structure with a body weight of 56 kg. Val was a full-time student at a nursing school in New York City. Later, she enrolled Bachelor of Arts in broadcast journalism, as per wiki.
Bethany Meyers, Nico Tortorella's Wife Wiki: Age, Family, Net Worth, Wedding
Amanda Steele Wiki: Boyfriend, Net Worth, Family
Damon Gupton Wiki, Wife, Gay, Net Worth
Kaitlyn Bristowe Married, Wedding, Husband, Pregnant, Boyfriend
Isaak Presley Wiki, Girlfriend, Dating, Parents, Family, TV Shows
Wilson Bethel Married, Wife, Girlfriend/Single, Gay, Dating
Julie Roginsky Wiki, Bio, Married, Husband, Salary and Net Worth
Norman Kali Wiki: Girlfriend, Engaged, Net Worth
Jill Marie Jones Married, Husband, Boyfriend, Net Worth, Ethnicity
Marston Hefner Wiki, Height, Family, Net Worth
Grace Helbig Wiki, Engaged, Married, Boyfriend, Dating, Net Worth


text:
Halloween  est le septième et dernier single du groupe de hardcore punk américain Dead Kennedys. Il est sorti en décembre 1982 sur Alternative Tentacles, avec en face B "Saturday Night Holocaust". La chanson est tirée du deuxième album du groupe, Plastic Surgery Disasters .

Sujet de la chanson
La chanson parle d' Halloween (Dead Kennedys formé à San Francisco où Halloween est une grande fête) et se demande pourquoi les gens ne le célèbrent pas tous les jours. Halloween souligne que les gens sont trop timides pour s'exprimer ainsi au quotidien à cause de ce que les autres pourraient dire; comme indiqué dans la phrase "Les gens dans la rue, ils pourraient vous regarder."

Charts

Références

Liens externes

Chanson américaine
Chanson de 1982
Single musical sorti en 1982


A delicious holiday cocktail just in time for the festivities: The Evergreen is surprisingly light on the palate, yet filled with layers of flavor. My goal was to combine a great variety of seasonal tastes into one holiday concoction that remains balanced and full of delicate flavors, yet strong enough to pack a warming winter punch.
The result is a whisky (Japanese spelling) based cocktail that takes you into the outdoors with not-so-subtle hints of pine and rosemary on the nose. However, it will bring you back in with an apple cider finish. Even though this is served cold, it is sure to warm you up!
Combine Japanese Whiskey, Pine Liqueur, and bitters into a mixing glass and stir with ice until well chilled.


text:
Why Are Heart Attacks Becoming More Common in Women Under Age 54?
There are a few reasons.
Jolygon / Getty Images
Heart disease is the most common cause of death in men and women, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). But some people still think of cardiac issues—particularly heart attacks—as a male problem. Unfortunately, a recent study suggests that, not only are heart attacks a concern for women, they're becoming more common among women of younger ages.
The study, which was published this past November in the journal Circulation, analyzed data from hospital surveillance of heart attacks in people between the ages of 35 and 74 in four communities in Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, and North Carolina. The researchers looked at the records of more than 28,000 people hospitalized for heart attacks between 1995 and 2014. Of those, a whopping 30 percent (8,737 patients) were under the age of 54.
The results showed that the annual number of hospitalizations for young people (meaning from the ages of 35 to 54) overall went up from 27 percent between 1995 and 1999 to 32 percent between 2010 and 2014. But the increase was even more notable for young women in particular: Specifically, young women accounted for 21 percent of reported heart attacks among women between 1995 and 1999, but they accounted for 31 percent of reported heart attacks among women between 2010 and 2014—a 10 percent jump. In comparison, young men accounted for 30 percent of heart attacks in men between 1995 and 1999 and 33 percent between 2010 and 2014.
"This is a really provocative study and it highlights some of the biggest issues we see in the world of preventative health, which is identifying people with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease," Nicole Weinberg, M.D., a cardiologist at Providence Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, California, tells SELF.
There are a few possible reasons behind this trend.
The study authors note that two major risk factors for heart disease—high blood pressure and diabetes—were increasingly common in young patients who had heart attacks. Specifically, 71 percent of young women with heart attacks in the study had a history of high blood pressure and 39 percent had a history of diabetes. For young men who had heart attacks, the numbers were 64 percent and 26 percent, respectively.
Both high blood pressure and diabetes have been linked to obesity, which could be another factor in the increase in heart attacks in young people, study coauthor Melissa Caughey, Ph.D., a cardiovascular epidemiologist at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, tells SELF. "Women under 54 have a higher prevalence of obesity and diabetes than men of the same age group, and the trend continues to rise," she points out.
Obviously, not everyone with diabetes or high blood pressure also has obesity—and patients with those risk factors aren't necessarily being identified and treated ahead of time, Dr. Weinberg says. "Even when women with these conditions are identified, they're not being aggressively treated or having interventional therapy," she says. "As a result, their prognosis isn't as good as those of men."
Stress—which can directly and indirectly raise your blood pressure—may also play a role, Johanna Contreras, M.D., a cardiologist and director of heart failure at Mount Sinai St. Luke's, tells SELF. That kind of stress might come from a traumatic or abusive situation, but your job, pressures at home, and other life stressors can build up without healthy coping mechanisms in place.
There are some things you can do to reduce your risk for a heart attack.
For starters, it's crucial that you regularly see your doctor, even if you feel fine, Jennifer Haythe, M.D., codirector of the Women's Center for Cardiovascular Health at Columbia University Irving Medical Center and cardiologist at New York-Presbyterian/Columbia, tells SELF. "Women should see their doctors at least annually and ask for cardiac risk assessment to be done," she says. This can include taking account of your age, weight, smoking habits, blood pressure, diet and exercise habits, as well as your lipid profile (which measures the levels of cholesterol and fat in your blood) and possibly even an electrocardiogram (which measures your heart's electrical activity).
If you do have any modifiable risk factors for heart disease, it's important to act on them, David Goff, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Division of Cardiovascular Sciences at the National Institutes of Health, tells SELF. That might mean making changes to what you eat, prioritizing quality sleep and stress management, or increasing physical activity. "By diagnosing and treating risk factors earlier, heart disease can be minimized in this population," Dr. Haythe adds.
Finally, if you have a family history of heart disease, tell your doctor about it so they can monitor your risk. "Having a family risk of heart disease makes all of this advice even more important," Dr. Goff says.
Still, don't assume that you're doomed to have a heart attack if it seems to run in your family. "Genetics and family history doesn't determine everything," Caughey says. "There are many steps you can take, such as adopting a healthy lifestyle, that can lower your risk even if you have a family history of heart disease."
You should also know the symptoms of a heart attack.
There are a few classic signs of a heart attack. The American Heart Association recommends calling 911 and getting to a hospital right away if you experience any of these:
Uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness, or pain in the center of your chest (this might last more than a few minutes or goes away and come back)
Pain or discomfort in one or both arms, your back, neck, jaw, or stomach
Shortness of breath with or without chest discomfort
Breaking out in a cold sweat
A feeling of fatigue that is new or unusual for you
But symptoms may present differently in women than in men. Women are more likely to have the less obvious symptoms—like nausea and a vague chest discomfort or tightness—rather than the stereotypical crushing chest pain. So it's important to seek medical attention if you're experiencing any new or distressing symptoms like these, even if you're unsure whether it's serious or not.
It's also important to be aware of the signs of an underlying heart issue, Laxmi Mehta, M.D., director of the Women's Cardiovascular Health Program and an associate professor of medicine at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, tells SELF—even if you're not necessarily dealing with a medical emergency like a heart attack. Many people have heart disease without knowing it, and it develops slowly over time and may not be obvious, the U.S. National Library of Medicine says.
Symptoms of heart disease include chest pain, ankle swelling, and shortness of breath, and these should be a tip-off that something requires your doctor's attention, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Addressing symptoms like these early on with your doctor may even help prevent a heart attack or stroke down the line.
Above all, pay attention to your body and don't be afraid to speak up to your doctor if you think something is off.
7 Heart Attack Symptoms in Women You Shouldn't Ignore
The Difference Between a Heart Attack, Stroke, and Cardiac Arrest
Heart Failure Rates Are Rapidly Increasing in the U.S.
Topicsnewsheart disease


Henry Wilson Philosophy! Catchy music! Multilingual! A true story! This is an excellent album. Favorite track: Força Da Imaginação.
I listened to all 9 songs a couple of times the last three days and, I feel and think they all are beautiful!
I love your work thoroughly, and it makes me happy that there are guys who create genuine beauty! Thank you!
This is a multimedia project by BIT, a digital artistic collaborative. In addition to the nine central compositions, every download ALSO includes a video file of the animated album cover by filmmaker Zach Christy, as well as a bonus track by Alex Sturbaum, a remix of "Força Da Imaginação" by Terrible, and the original toy piano demo of "Americana Falls" by Julian Korzeniowsky.
Agloe is a census-designated town in upstate New York. It's just up the road from Roscoe. You'll see signs for it on the highway, but you can't really visit it. That's because only kind of exists.
In 1937, the General Drafting Company created a rote copyright trap, the town of Agloe, New York. The trap worked like a charm— in 1962, Rand McNally proudly included Agloe on their American Road Atlas. However, our story takes an awfully strange turn here, for Rand McNally had an awfully good defense: the town of Agloe appeared on state census data.
After a bit of research, General Drafting found that in the early 1950s, a solo driver made his way through the town of Agloe, visible on his backseat atlas. Finding nothing but seemingly unclaimed land, he built a general store. Within a month, a family moved in just down the road. Over the next half a century, Agloe would continue to grow, eventually to include a gas station, a church, a park, a fishing lodge, a municipal building, and several houses. People were moving into a town that didn't technically exist.
I first read this story in early 2014 prompted by its sudden (and awkward) removal from the Google Maps database. Today, if you take a drive up to Agloe, you'll find a bunch of abandoned buildings, overgrown foundations, and a complete absence of people. A town that never existed came into being, and vanished just short of seventy years later. Nobody's exactly sure why.
Told through composition, field recordings, animation, and historic audio samples, "The Curious Appearance of Agloe, NY" is a project about the oddities of copyright law. It's a short meditation on hometown identity, kitsch Americana, and the bizarrely political implications of cartography. We sincerely hope you have as much fun listening to this project as we had making it.
All songs composed by Kirk Pearson, except "Ode to the American Village" by Hayden Arp and Kirk Pearson, "Americana Falls" by Julian Korzeniowsky, "The Ballad of Agloe, NY" by Alex Sturbaum, and all quotes, samples, and other derivative works outlined at the end of the credits.
All songs produced and engineered by Kirk Pearson, except "Ode to the American Village" by Hayden Arp and Kirk Pearson.
Album art by Zach Christy. Web assistance by Ilona Brand.
*Kirk Pearson* (Composition, Mandolin, Strings, Electronics, Field Recordings) is an electroacoustic composer and researcher. His compositions have appeared on NPR, the BBC, TEDx, and PBS. He presently studies composition and film at Oberlin College. This is his fourth record as director of the collaborative digital ensemble BIT.
*Zach Christy* (Album Art) likes to make things. A lot of those things are motion graphics and video projects. But others aren't. You can see some of those projects at zachchristy.com. This is his first record with BIT.
BIT is an ever-changing digital artistic collaborative, built by over seventy musicians, producers, programmers, and visual artists in ten countries. The first time many of the collaborators ever meet is on record.
*Brendan Smith* (Voice of the General Drafting lawyer, vocals on "A Spark Glows" and "Capillary Flow") studies musical theater at Ithaca College and sings with the New York rock group Jacobins (jacobinsmusic.bandcamp.com). This is his second record with BIT.
*William Passannante* (Voice of The General Drafting Audio Encyclopedia) is an actor, comedian, aspiring attorney, and graduate of Oberlin College. He likes bugs. This is his first record with BIT.
*Hayden Arp* (Production and Composition on "Ode to the American Town") composes music for listening and hails from Alexandria, Virginia. He currently studies at Oberlin Conservatory (www.haydenarp.com). This is his second record with BIT.
*Ella Hester* (Voice of the General Drafting Cartographer, Vocals and acoustic bass on "Mapmaker's Lament" and "I Was Born in a Paper Town") is a vocalist, bassist, and Brooklyn native soon to be in Chicago. Favorite foods include eggplant, ginger, pineapple, and Popeyes. This is her first record with BIT.
*Anna Marfleet* (Voice of the General Drafting Cartographer, Banjolele, Vocals on "Mapmaker's Lament" and "I Was Born in a Paper Town") is a singer, songwriter, and banjolele player who splits her time between Morningside Heights and the treacherous backwoods of upstate New York. Will work for $5 an hour or complimentary nouns. This is her first record with BIT.
*Sonia Bloom* (Voice of the General Drafting Cartographer, Vocals on "Mapmaker's Lament" and "Força Da Imaginaçao") is a sophomore at Oberlin College. She enjoys harmonizing and embracing her inner frisbro. This is her first record with BIT.
*Daniel Wenger* (Trombone on "Mapmaker's Lament) is a jazz trombonist from Washington Heights. He presently works as both a brass player and gardener, and is a music student at Ithaca College. This is his first record with BIT.
*William Bolles-Beaven* (Bass on "I Was Born in a Paper Town") is a second year composition major at Oberlin Conservatory. In the past he has gone to the Interlochen Arts Camp, Boston University Tanglewood Institute, and soundSCAPE music festivals for composition.This is his first record with BIT.
*Griffin Jennings* (Guitars on "I Was Born in a Paper Town") is a songwriter, guitarist and experimental composer attending Oberlin Conservatory. He is currently working on an album loosely based on the life and works of Maurice Sendak with friend and collaborator Hayden Arp. This is his third record with BIT. gjennings.bandcamp.com.
*Julia Ofman* (Voice of a paper town inhabitant, vocals on "I Was Born in a Paper Town" and "Força Da Imaginaçao") is a born and raised New Yorker, part-time musician and full time cheese eater. She recently graduated from Bates College in Lewiston, ME. Please hire her. This is her third record with BIT.
*Emma Morcroft* (Voice of the Agloe founder, vocals on "Força Da Imaginaçao") sings for the rock band "Lady and the Tramps." This is her second record with BIT.
*Terrible* (Electronic percussion, remix of "Força Da Imaginaçao") started for shits and giggles with a J-Lo sample. It's a celebration of fun and derivative sounds and liking music because it sounds good even if it doesn't have a point or an easy label. Terrible is Max Schaffer and all of his friends and everyone he loves, and anyone who cares enough to read this bio. This is his first record with BIT.
*Isabel Hanson* (Voice of the Agloe inhabitant, vocals on "Força Da Imaginaçao") is a rising senior at Williams College studying Anthropology and Public Health. She sings and plays the flute whenever there's occasion to. When she's home on Long Island, she sits in with The Huntingtones contra dance band. This is her first record with BIT.
*Caroline Kuhn* (Voice of the paper town inhabitant, vocals on "The Old Paper Corners") is a NYC-based singer and composer, and one third of the folk group The Ladles. Kuhn currently studies contemporary improvisation at New England Conservatory. This is her fourth record with BIT.
*Cole Blouin* (Narrative for "The Old Paper Corners") is a multi-stylistic guitarist, songwriter and occasional electronic musician from Maine, currently studying at Oberlin College. Although it's been a while since he's had any significant release, you can find his experiments and live tracks at www.soundcloud.com/coleblouin. This is his third record with BIT.
*Damon Smith* (Piano on "The Old Paper Corners") plays with the New York rock group Jacobins. He studies with the contemporary improvisation division of New England Conservatory where his music has been critiqued by the likes of Elvis Costello and Brendan Small. (jacobinsmusic.bandcamp.com). This is his fourth record with BIT.
*Julian Korzeniowsky* (Composition of "Americana Falls") has written original music for the American Composers Orchestra, The New York Philharmonic and Ethel String Quartet. He is a recent graduate of New England Conservatory. He can be reached at jfelix92@gmail.com. This is his fourth record with BIT.
Four ambient field recordings are used throughout the album, intended to mimic Agloe's environment across four seasons. These recordings were made in LaGrange, OH (May 2015), New Paltz, NY (August 2011), Oberlin, OH (September 2014), and Concord, Massachusetts (January 2014).
"Ode to the American Town," and all subsequent ideas of the city as organism are based on selections from D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson's "On Growth and Form," as well as the podcast segment "It's Alive?" from the "Cities" episode of "Radiolab," produced in 2008.
"Mapmaker's Lament" quotes "Tain't Nobody's Biz-ness if I Do" composed by Porter Grainger and Everett Robbins.
"I Was Born in a Paper Town" quotes "The Sunny Side of the Street," composed by Jimmy McHugh and lyrics by Dorothy Fields, and samples "The Sunny Side of the Street" performed by Peggy Lee and Benny Goodman, as well as "Six Underground" by Sneaker Pimps.
"Força Da Imaginacao" quotes "Força Da Imaginacao," composed by Beth Carvalho, samples "Light Will Keep Your Heart Beating in the Future" by Mike Doughty, as well as a segment from "Translation," an episode of Radiolab, distributed by NPR, voiced by Robert Krulwich, and produced by Jad Abumrad.
Dan Lewis, who introduced me to the story of Agloe through his newsletter, "Now I Know."
Julian Korzeniowsky, a wonderful friend and collaborator, who assisted with the development and narrative for this project.
Ed Vermue, the map expert of Oberlin College's special collections library, who located the original General Drafting map.
"The Curious Appearance of Agloe, NY" was based off of BIT's "The Agloe Project," which was never fully realized. Its additional contributors included Jacob Blizard, Larry Dunn, Arlene Dunn, Ilona Brand, Joe Martin, Zoë Madonna, Annie Zara, and JP Jennings.
a promised progress keeps them all aglow.
the myth of a future's what keeps them all alive.
life carried on, with perpetual fuel for the city.
Air's exchanged, in the ironclad lungs of industry.
there's no place without life we can hide.
Le Corbusier is dead, and his grids stretch throughout.
of the atlas, you'll see.
A ghost in a lost country.
and still we try our best to get it off the ground.
nineteen hundred and thirty three.
The time to put the pen to paper's now.
and if it was copied, everyone would see.
patch of houses on the side of the road.
Tucked into the back woods of New York.
My nonexistent home away from home.
the interstate was carved and like a capilary, flow.
clear as glass we saw a city called Agloe.
Cities don't appear from nowhere.
Yes, the liars and the thieves had copied.
Rand McNally fell through pits hidden by undergrowth.
just to hear the explanation under oath.
that our exploit was coincidence pro rata.
also does appear on census data.
one so small, forgettable, and bland.
somehow had a population here on land.
And so the search began.
I was born in a paper town, on the right of page 63.
Better living in two dimensions, better living through harmony.
The black stripe of the latitude line stretched as far as the eye could see.
It takes a village to raise a body, my village raised only me.
Ventured north past the scale diagram, but there wasn't much to see.
Walked east to the tear in my universe, and it felt empty.
Now I knew everyone around, I was born in a paper town.
Grab your coat, and get your hat.
Leave your worries at the doorstep.
I was born but I wasn't found, 'till a traveler gave a care.
Came armed with a map that had my name, but I saw I wasn't there.
He took a look towards the scale diagram, but there wasn't much to see.
Spread the ground past the tear in the universe, and it felt empty.
He stuck his sign post in the ground, I was born as a paper town.
When I was a little girl, used to walk right down the dotted line.
but you see now that I'm a little bit older now, I can realize the faults that I led.
So to finally strike my reality, I built this town inside my head.
just a patch of woods off side of the road.
with I map you didn't have to decode.
the imaginary city would grow.
only one road leads to Agloe so we go.
vir a vida, ele existiu.
this page to wander around.
and the ink that fades faster than you'd ever know.
with a bit of neglect, a paper will burn.
we'll be dust in the last.
or so it may seem.
Cities rise, and cities fall.
Some don't live long, if at all.
Cities breathe, they grow and thrive.
Something inside that keeps them all alive.
Americana's lead astray, as every city fades away.
The atlas called me long ago, but the land around me will grow.


I feel a bit under-qualified to be on this panel because I'm not a former leader of an international organization or a spiritual leader. I'm a development bureaucrat, working with international civil-servants, working for the last 26 years with the UN. (Walter Schwimmer: But you are doing good things underground.) Perhaps I also don't think I'm qualified because we're talking about identity and multiculturalism is the norm for me. I'm Canadian, which is a multicultural society, I have a father who is from Bosnia but who has a German background but who actually grew up in Austria. My mother is English, my wife is Swiss and we've lived in 8 countries.
When my children arrived in Geneva, Lausanne, and I asked them about the first day of school, because they've been moving throughout the world for the past sixteen years, they said, "Well, everything's okay, but everyone's white at the school." They've been living in Sri Lanka and other environments. So in some sense, multiculturalism is very much the norm, and it has also been the basis on which I've exercised my professional responsibilities because if you go back to the UN charter, 'a new headquarter of millennia development goals', but even going back further, I mean the preamble talks about we, the peoples of the United Nations, determined to reaffirm faith and fundamental human rights, and the dignity and worth of the human person and the equal rights of men and women, nations at large and, for these ends, to practice tolerance and live together with one another as good neighbors, and that's fundamentally the basis for the work I've been trying to do over the last years.
And the reason I said I'm not qualified is because I'm too much of a fan of multiculturalism and interreligious cooperation, but in fact, in the world today, as you have said very eloquently, too often those differences are exploited for the negative effect in terms of people dying, in consequence of development, in terms of the limit it gives on people's opportunities for better lives, whether they be from the south, the north, whether they be men or women.
I thought what might be interesting is to maybe give some personal reflections from the many countries I've worked in on perhaps what can go wrong in terms of intercultural or interreligious cooperation, but also what can go right and how the United Nations can perhaps make it go right more often, and I'll try to be fairly brief on this.
What could go wrong: well, in the introduction, it was referred to that for the last four years until about five months ago I had served as the senior UN's official in Sri Lanka, a fantastic country where I had served in 1984, a country I love and have affection for, a country of wonderful diversity, but a country which has had its progress hampered over the last 30 years at least by an extremely violent conflict which had many dimensions to it, but some of them were intercultural, some of them were interreligious.
But not only there, I had also served in Malaysia for 4 years, also a country that's progressed, but people forget that in Malaysia in 1969-70, things almost fell apart, and there were riots in Kuala-Lumpur triggered by elections, but riots that were on an ethnic basis. I also was fortunate to work in Sudan a long time ago in 1985-6, a country which is just split in two, a country which I think everyone now hopes there's a good future, but the results of that conflict for years, which had an intercultural, interreligious nature to it, were terrible: tens of thousands of lives lost and who knows about the opportunities that millions could have had that were lost. I worked in Bulgaria also as a UN resident coordinator, a country which does have a bright future, which joined the European Union about 5 years ago. And one which, of course, also had a period when all the ethnic, Turkish-Bulgarians had to take ethnic Bulgarian names and many of the Turks had to leave, and that was tremendous pain, tremendous loss to the country.
I worked in Butan, a country which I have a tremendous affection for, but sadly when I worked there, because of all sorts of tensions for various reasons, we had people leave the country who didn't want to, and we've had issues since then which have hampered the development and hampered in many ways a society which embodies some of the best values that we talk about. And too often in these countries I worked in, there were religious leaders who played on and accentuated these differences. And too often, there were political leaders who built their careers on making people identify primarily with their ethnic group, making them identify primarily with their religion rather than making them identify with the country as a whole or with the world as a whole. And in fact, sometimes, leaders misplace their responsibility and force people to identify in the worst way with a narrow identity rather than using that identity for the way it should be used which is to provide with more opportunities. In short, as it was said by the previous two speakers, the way in which ethnic and religious identity has been used in many places I've lived through my career has been frightening.
But in all these places I've lived, there are also very good examples of people using their religious values, people identifying in different ways, people identifying with cooperation. Again, Sri Lanka had been a multicultural, well-functioning society for a long time, and on a day to day basis even during some of the most difficult times, for example in 1983 when there were riots in Columbo based on an ethnic basis, neighbors of one ethnic group would give refuge to other ethnic neighbors at considerable risks to themselves in a very brave way. Even now, more recently, the people who came out of the terrible place they were when they were caught in-between a rebel group who used them as a shield, and a government who was trying to meet its military objectives, when they came out, there were lots of examples of individual kindness and understanding and various attempts by individuals to reach out. We were fortunate in Sri Lanka in a couple ways: in the UN, we had programs which tried to build bridges between young people using sports or using development projects for cooperation. I saw how these worked, and given a chance, people prefer to cooperate given a chance. People prefer to be friends given a chance. People prefer to understand each other if they were given that chance. We tried to reach out to different religions, I was very fortunate to become quite good friends with one of the senior monks in Sri Lanka, who had ties to all parts of society. But I think through those ties we try to build, we also try to make the different religions there understand better the role of the international community and to appreciate the value of inter-ethnic cooperation because, unfortunately, as in many other countries, sometimes, some of the religious leaders were the most radical in pushing forward the differences rather than the unity.
In Bulgaria, as you know, when the communist period ended, and the European state came out that Bulgaria is now, the Turkish minority was included, there often were coalition partners in the government, and I think their rights are protected, and I think that's a credit to the Bulgarians. Everyone knows that Malaysia has some problems but at the same time is probably amongst the most successful of countries in the world in increasing the living standard of its people, and it has been amongst the most successful in promoting foreign investment, and that's been through people trying to find a way to identify and trying to create a national identity. And then, of course, my home country, Canada, I feel most at home actually walking down the streets of Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal: people look like they're from all over the world. You have someone from China, someone from India, and then you have of course second generation/third generation who are a mix of everyone, Asians and Europeans and Carribeans; it's all there. And that actually makes me happy and hopeful to see it.
I'm not sure there's a complete answer to that, but I do believe that it's one of the key roles of the UN in the broadest sense to create conditions where people have an opportunity to be their best and to prevent those conditions where people unfortunately show their worst, and those conditions often come up when there's gross inequity, when there's poverty, when there's economic frustration and environmental issues. Those conditions come up when there's no communications. So I believe as an international civil servant that perhaps the most important mission that we have is to try to make the world as a whole, create those conditions where people have their own identity, but they have an identity based on the positive values in their religion, and they have an identity which realizes that they're part of a larger, global identity and that they need to respect different cultures and they need to operate and, if they do, their children will have more choices in life, they'll have more capabilities, and a lot of the energy and lives that have been wasted over many years through these exploitations of differences will end, and hopefully we'll have a need for the UN to do different things.
Mr. Buhne holds an M.A. from the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, Carleton University Ottawa, Canada. Since joining the United Nations 25 years ago, Mr. Buhne worked for many years in various countries in Asia, before serving as Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Bulgaria, Belarus and more recently Sri Lanka, where he served as Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator from 2007 until February 2011, a period which coincided with the violent resolution of the long standing conflict there.
Mr. Buhne's special professional interest lies in crisis prevention and recovery - and how climate change affects both man-made crisis and natural disasters. Neil Buhne joined UNDP's Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery (BCPR) in February 2011, as Director of the Geneva Liaison Office.


Hyderabad, March 21: Slamming Chandrababu Naidu for his irresponsible comments and making non-issues as serious ones and creating illusionary scenarios to create sympathy at a time when TDP ebb has being running deeper and deeper down, YSR Congress has said that the issue of IT raids has been again brought to the forefront to divert the poll focus and the ruling party is using bank data collected to Seva Mitra App to deposit money to buy votes.
In politics it is fair to criticize the leader's policies or the party's policies but what Chandrababu Naidu has been doing is attacking on the personal front which goes against the ethics and such talk comes out of pure desperation as the graph is drastically sliding with every passing day.
Be it the data theft, of the selective remark of our Party contestant PVP, everything which is not an issues is being shown as a major crisis and the leadership is turning to personal criticism.
The Operation Garuda, which was brought into the open by his sympathizer could be made up. while some things are coming out as they have planned but they could not get the reaction right. When data theft took place, there was large scale outburst.
It is now coming to reality as the bank account numbers so collected are being used to transfer money and volunteers going to the households and alerting the residents about the deposits and asking them to vote for their Party.
We will come out with full details in the days to come and will nail the malpractice, he said.