We build our walls with heavy stones.
We hope to hold the storms at bay.
We protect ourselves with jetties, laying one stone at a time.
and we blame others for our suffering.
others may grow tired of trying to tear down our barricades.
We are much less fragile than we think.
We don't realize enduring the storms make us stronger.
Often the very things we fear don't pose a threat to us.
we might possibly drown in a storm of our own making.
We don't need walls to fortify our lives.
we'll make a space for life-sustaining changes.
When we remove fear, we will allow love to enter.
The starlings frenzied over the lawn, twittering and flitting about. A single blue jay swooped low clearing a path through the black pebbles of starlings only to scatter the robins from the nearby tree. He'd plunge toward the starlings and the red breasts of the robins would quickly flame the cedar again only to have him as quickly try to claim the tree as his. Finally the starlings and robins tired of the blue jay's game and flew off. Alone, the entertainment was over, so the blue jay soared to catch up with them. How often in life do we want something merely because someone else has it? And then once we get it, do we really want it after all?
Sisters. No other woman knows you better or loves you more…or at least, has the capacity to do so. Even if you think she doesn't know you at all, you'd be surprised at how well she really does understand you. No one knows your early history as well as a sister. No one else knows how to use it to your advantage or against you the way she does. She knows your weak spots and your strengths. She can make you or break you. You know it and she knows it. No other relationship carries such power. It's what you do with that power and what you allow the other to do with theirs that makes all the difference in the relationship.
Even when your relationship is conflicted, most sisters still have your back. Growing up there was probably no one meaner or nicer to you than a sister. At times, you're one and the same. Other times, you feel like you're from different planets. Yet the energy exchanged between you is unlike the energy of any other relationship. It has the power to diminish you or fly you to the moon. The maternal instincts battle one another. Sisters are fueled by competition, stifled with jealousy, and driven by love. It's a constant clash of control and surrender.
There's an emotional connection those without sisters don't get. We see through one another and feel their pain and elation as deeply as they do themselves. Often we are one another's strongest cheerleaders. We live among the roots that bind us.
Above all, admit it or not, we care what our sisters think of us. We can't imagine life without them. They were the ones there from the beginning. The ones we trusted to teach us the ropes, or we were the ones who ever so patiently molded them into miniature versions of ourselves. We've cried on one another's shoulders. We've made one another cry, but we'll be damned if we'll allow anyone else to hurt them. We remind them of the stupid things they've done in life, all in the name of not repeating mistakes or to remind them of how far they've come.
Sometimes you just don't get what you feel you need from your "real" sister. You reach to other women who validate you. They become your sisters in spirit. They are your encouragers of life. They are the ones who pick you up when you are down. They feed you when you're too weak to eat. They lead you through the darkness. They hold your hand just so you know you are not, nor will ever be, alone.
Relationships are tested as we take liberties where we wouldn't in other relationships. We have unreasonable expectations as well. We trust them to tell them everything; we might trust them to tell them nothing. Neither is right or wrong. It's all a matter of relationship. Sometimes we're just plain disappointed in the sister relationship. We feel they're not giving us what we need…or we think they expect too much from us. That's when it's time to take expectations off the table and accept one another for who we really are as adults. We sometimes have to drop the sibling order of relationship and try to be friends of an equal partnership. We have to put aside childhood differences and start over. Sisterhood is like marriage, it needs nurturing and takes two to make it work for both of you.
My three sisters, mom, and me. I'm in the center.
I'm sitting on the sofa like most evenings. The dog lay at my feet, snoring to her heart's content. The noise of her breathing is louder than the grandfather clock and the dogs barking across the street. The humming of the dryer and whooshing of the washing machine are barely heard as Wylie's snorting rises to meet the vaulted ceiling. I start laughing, and she looks up as if to say I've interrupted her beauty sleep. She settles back onto the rug as I sip a glass of merlot. DirtMan quietly edits his photographs on the computer beside me. I look around to see the reflection of the lamp in the picture window and a neighbor's porch light as the beams seem to reach out into the night to shake hands. I am thankful for the comfort ordinary moments offer me.
We stand at the corner post.
Do we go left or right?
But who is really to say?
sitting on the fence will get us nowhere.
and yet the sun still tries to rule the day.
and the very hallowed ground where history made its mark.
Some things still the same, and some forever changed.
****pictures and post about Fort Monroe is forthcoming.
While many find rainy days to be depressing, I'm beginning to find comfort in them. I think they're anything but dreary…so much action! Today the downpour traveled with the wind. Rain pounded the ground, bouncing to crash again and again until it either seeped in the earth or built puddles upon the grass and streams along the pavement. The leaves on the bushes tinkled and clinked as the raindrops pinged away at them. The forsythia branches hung low from the weight of the falling clouds…the squalls continued to tear at it; its branches dragging low to the ground struggling to lift into the moving air and water. Blankets of rain sprayed the house and pavement, ranging from gentle drip drop splattering showers to thumping harsh torrents. The rainstorm seemed to be a drummer who just couldn't find his beat. The drummer boy wore himself out, and as he napped the sun came out to play.
We are each a house of sacredness.
Our lights shine, and the Light shines on us.
Holiness resides within each of us.
We are loved, and we love in return.
We are blessed, and we bless those we touch.
When the wind blows through the trees, we are not shaken.
We fear not, for we have courage.
We know the Light also shines through the very same trees.
We have faith our needs will be met.
We know the Light will lead us through the darkness.
We know the path of life will be lit for us.
We know the Light will guide us home.
Let your light shine and follow where it takes you.
January 27, 2012 – Tricky Weather.
The hyacinth and daffodil stems face the sun and grin as they begin to peek through the ground. Soon they will cower in the wind, afraid Jack Frost will take them down.
You are here at this place and time for a reason.
You belong here right now.
Every day you become a little bit more of whom you are going to become.
Don't reconcile to be one of the others; be the person you were born to be.
Know that you were made in the image of love.
Remember you hold the power to be anything you want.
Feel good about the person you are; you are one of a kind.
Take your dreams into reality; don't settle for less than you deserve.
Let your inner wisdom be your compass and commitment and faith be your pavers.
Be accountable to yourself today because it will make a difference tomorrow.
Recognize the yearnings of your heart; listen as they whisper to you.
Awaken to the music of your soul; stand up and dance.
Love what makes you uniquely you.
Make the choice to be happy every day.
Care not what others think; free yourself.
Trust to live as the beautiful soul you are.
Don't fear life's lessons; live life from the inside out.
Have the courage to be where you are and go where you need to go.
Be aware of your blessings each step of the journey.
Allow yourself to feel the joy along the way.
If you can believe it, you can breathe it.
If you can breathe it, you can achieve it.
When you achieve it, you will live it.
The ceiling fan turns round and round, kind of like endless thoughts spinning through my head. The blades pursue the shadows it has cast upon the ceiling to no avail, much like I chase those thoughts that seem to run nowhere quickly…yet always just out of reach.
This is the home I lived in for the first half of my childhood. We moved when I was about nine or ten. I went to see it about fifteen years ago, and it has changed hands at least three times since then. I went back for another visit a few weeks ago. The homeowner not only allowed me to roam and photograph the grounds but graciously allowed me to go through the inside.
It is amazing how different things look through memory or maybe is simply how I saw them through my childish eyes. The house seems to have shrunk, and the scary noises have gone somewhere else to live. Out buildings have fallen down, and the woods have grown up. Still, I could hear the childish laughter echo through the halls as the footsteps chased one another up and down the grand mahogany stairs…oh sorry, that didn't happen; I was reminiscing.
This is actually the rear of the house, but we called it the front because that is where the driveway is and the entrance we used.
It was only a few months ago that I found out the purpose of those curved concrete formations. My friends and I used to pile hay on them and pretend they were beds and we were staying at an inn and hitched our horses to the post. I had no idea they were supposed to be used to hold an oil tank because we had a coal furnace.
They are in the midst of renovations, and have only completed half of the front. We spent many a day playing on that porch.
This side of the house had the coolest windows ever though the other side had the awesome window seats.
These steps are on the rear porch of the house (the part we called the front!). They led to the dark, dank, and coal dusted basement.
This was my father's workshop/storage shed. To me and my friends, it was a giant playhouse. He only used the downstairs for his tools, so we had pretty much free reign of the upstairs. Between that and the barn was a tiny little building that held hoses that could be hooked to the reservoir in case of a fire; fortunately they were never needed.
This rock wall stood as the interior wall of the lower level of the old barn. A rock wall surrounded both banks on each side of the barn. The ramp that led into the front top level of the barn was open on the sides…actually only a foot or so; just a big enough space for small children to climb into. My friends/neighbors and I used to play archaeologists. We dug for treasure though we found none. We mostly wanted to unearth the mummy we knew was encased in the red blanket we kept digging up….and we were not convinced the bone we found belonged to a dog!
The house was built circa 1890, and is now on the Virginia Historic Register. It had many lovely architectural features inside and out, not to mention the slate roofs on all the buildings and the use of soapstone on the foundations. The home was originally built for the company manager of the soapstone plant.
My sister called me and I was talking to her the postman rang the doorbell. He handed me a package. I remarked to my sister that I'd received a package addressed to me, and I hadn't ordered anything. She was quiet the entire time (unusual, so I should have known she was in the process of "getting me got".) I kept saying how I didn't know who sent it and I hadn't heard of the company and it didn't say who it was from…and WHY would anyone send me a Dale Earnhardt, Jr. coffee mug. Still, she didn't say anything until I read the top of the invoice and noticed the sender was HER! And then I asked her why she sent it to me…it was for Dirt Man! So of course, then I had to give her a hard time for not addressing it to him. We got a nice little laugh at how she let me go on and on and on. So, maybe I should read more and talk less, huh?
My father was a man (and still is!) who said what he meant and meant what he said. There were no questions asked as there was no need since he'd just spoke his deal loud and clear. However, as a small child I did not understand how to read humor between the lines. My Daddy was a teaser. He teased anyone and everyone. Unfortunately, it took me many years to get this. This delay in my understanding caused me much undue stress as a small child.
This is the tree I hid out in for an entire day (or so it seemed!)…all because I feared Daddy was going to pull my loose tooth out with a pair of pliers!
We were eating breakfast on a Saturday morning. I was shoving my food to one side and chewing slowly. I was being ever so careful not to disengage my loose tooth and swallow it. Who knows I might have started growing dentures or something. After all Daddy had said if I ate watermelon seeds I'd grow watermelons in my tummy.
Daddy noticed I was twisting my mouth about as I was eating. I was usually a scarfer, never a methodical eater. I told him I had a loose tooth.
"Well, I can take care of that for you right quick." His hazel eyes twinkled of devilment, and his grin was even more sinister. I could feel the pain as I would flinch as the cold metal entered my mouth. I could see the blood spill upon the hardwood floor. I knew I was done. My eyes must have grown to the size of the saucer his coffee cup was placed on. I shook my head no, and he chuckled.
"Just let me go out to my truck and get them." He reared back in his chair, pushing it away from the table as if he was going to stand up.
I started crying and ran from the room. I ran straight through the house and right out the back door. His laughter trailed my every step.
I scanned the property and quickly decided the cedar tree was my best option. First of all, it was the easiest one for me to climb. Secondly, it had a perfect view of both the front and back of the house. Thirdly, the long scraggly limbs would surely conceal me. And most important of all, I could easily catch someone else leaving or returning to the house for an update on Daddy's wear-abouts.
I climbed higher than I'd ever dared. I was almost as afraid of coming back down as I was of Daddy pulling my tooth. I nestled myself in the midst of braches. In fact, I wedged myself at a point where I could not easily step to the branch below. I curled one leg around the limb and pushed my other leg against the trunk for support. I rested my head against a downward swooping branch. I could see a bird's nest above me. The birds fluttered about but my infringement upon their tree had ceased their singing. I watched the activities of my siblings and listened to their banter. I peeled the stringy paper-like bark from the tree. I crushed the blue berries, releasing the pungent aroma into the air. I did everything I could within the limits of the tree to prevent my boredom and pass the time away. My heartbeat did not slow down nor did the queasiness of my stomach cease for the entire time I sat in that tree.
After what seemed like eternity, I saw my sister prance through the yard.
"Pssst." I knew she heard me because she was looking around like she was trying to figure out where the sound was coming from.
"Up here", I added. She smiled as she caught sight of me.
"What cha' doin' up there?" She asked as she started climbing up to me.
That did not sound like a good plan to me. However, her process sounded much better than a pair of pliers with Daddy towering and snickering at the other end.
She took me by the hand and led me down the tree, putting her arms around my waist and lifting my down the precarious spots. Once we reached the ground, she put her hand like a fan over her forehead and Indian scout style surveyed the yard for grown ups. When she detected the absence of activity, she pulled me, stumbling across the lawn and up the stairs of the back porch. She peered through the screen to door to assure the coast was clear. She ran, dragging me up the back steps to my sister's room. Why I trusted the one person I fought most with in life was beyond my understanding. I can only surmise that she was also the one person who always had my back when we were on the bus or at school.
She took a spool of black thread from my sister's bureau. She unwound a long strand and bit it off with her teeth. She wrapped and tied one end around my loose tooth and had me stand near the door. She tied the other end around the door knob of the open bedroom door. Before I knew it she had slammed the door shut. I was standing in shock, blood drooling down my chin and my tooth swinging like a pendulum from the end of the thread. Then I heard the ping as it fell to the floor. A few drops of blood scattered between me, the tooth, and the door.
I grinned my snaggled expression in the oval mirror of the Victorian vanity. She reminded me the Tooth Fairy would be coming to see me as she wiped the blood off the tooth and from the floor with a tissue. She handed me the tooth and told me to go show Daddy.
We went downstairs to find him. He was still sitting at the kitchen table reading the paper. (I guess time seemed to drag on much longer than it really did!) I pushed my closed hand in front of his newspaper and opened it to expose my first lost baby tooth.
A big sigh of relief passed my body about the same time a grin spread across my Daddy's face.
Thick and uninvited, mist settled on the morning like dust on the furniture. Everything was gray; the sky, the trees, the air… The atmosphere was so heavy it hung like a bulky shawl across the shoulders. No chirping birds or barking dogs; it was as if the fog had stifled sound in its grip.
There are times in life we feel uncertain. Our minds are clouded with worry. Anxiety gnaws at our stomachs and weighs us down. Every moment is spent wondering what is going to happen next. There is no joy in the present moment. It's all we can do to lift one foot in front of the other. We function on auto pilot, not giving much thought or consideration to our actions.
This kind of worry is unnecessary. It is a waste of our time and energy. Life is, has been, and always will be uncertain, and that is all there is to it. Though we take precautions and make wise decisions, there are things out of our control. We can do every single thing right on our end and the results are not what we want or even expect. We don't have the ability to see the big picture. This is why we must have faith. We must trust that all will be well in the long run.
The first thing we must do is let go of expectations. Life will not always flow according to our plans. When we stop calculating our own moves and anticipating the moves of others, we are free to live now and allow life to unfold without unreasonable concern for ourselves.
Often we think our decisions are precise and are sure of the outcome only to be wrong. Doubt takes over and we second guess our own actions, motives, and desires. Our hearts can be in the right place and things still not turn out to what we consider our benefit. Sometimes it's simply a life lesson.
Unfortunately, we don't always get to pick what we want to study in the school of life. Sometimes the subject picks us. Even when this happens to us, nervousness will not help us get through it. While relinquishing control of the situation at hand does calm our uncertainty, it doesn't make us any surer of the outcome. The act of letting go will comfort our hearts and ease our minds…thus we are assured we will be fine.
We need to learn to live our lives with a certain amount of uncertainty or at least without expectation and be open to what comes our way. There will always be junctions on the road of life. One way might be shorter and appear more rewarding; however the other might be the scenic route with options you'd never considered. Uncertainty might just send you down an unknown and ultimately gratifying road of life.
If life were lived neatly following an outline, it would take away the freedom of choice, the possibility of opportunity, and the adventure of the unknown. Uncertainty will always remain; but freedom, opportunity, and adventure lead us moment by moment into the future. One could say the certainty of uncertainty fuels the fires of life.
The mixer hummed as the butter, cream cheese, and sugar gurgled, plopped, and mixed into a lovely white frosting. I slathered it atop the first layer of the red velvet cake, a bit chintzy I might add since I contemplated not having enough to cover the top and sides. The aroma of sugar tantalized my senses as I refrained from salivating in my bowl. The top cake layer bubbled air pockets across the surface. I was sure the icing would peel it away from the base and present itself to be a crumbling red and white polka dot mess of sweetness. Alas, worry has no place in the kitchen…for it is where culinary art is created. Waves and swirls of frosting spread across the red surface to reveal a snowy delight.
After running errands in the cold drizzling rain I was finally back in the safety and warmth of my own home. I snuggled into the softness of the sofa with the aroma of homemade chicken and dumplings comforting me. Through the window I watched the rain gently fall creating a grey shield through the trees. I listened to the pitter patter of the shower as it tapped upon the roof. The wind swept in from time to time creating a whoosh on each side of the house. I felt enveloped in the house with downpours on three sides. I was secure as I relaxed to the rhythm, a slow steady drumbeat. My breath was even and heartbeat slower than that of the downpour. I slipped into that state of just being. I was settled here in my house, but more than that. I was at ease in my house; my body, my skin. This was one of those times my mind didn't jerk me out of my spirit, but they were congruent. I could hear the music playing, but it was silent in my home. The music was coming from inside me. I could hear "You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are grey. You'll never know, dear, how much I love you. Please don't take my sunshine away…." Yes, we not only make our own sunshine, but we are the sunshine within ourselves…and nobody can take that away.


text:
DEMIR BABA TEKKE
by Dimana Trankova; photography by Anthony Georgieff
Religions blend at Muslim cleric's tomb
If you are looking for a place in Bulgaria that combines nature, architecture and spirituality, Demir Baba's tekke will be among your top choices.
The saint's stone tekke, or shrine, lies at the foot of the cliffs of Kamenen Rid. Dense woods rustle around Demir Baba's tomb, an object so exquisite that from afar it looks like a toy that you could hold in your hand.
Demir Baba's tekke is one of the 140 cultural heritage sites in the Sboryanovo Archaeological Reserve, near Isperih. The tomb stands out from all of them – including the Thracian necropolis featuring Caryatids (an UNESCO heritage site) for one reason: it is the only monument in the area that has been used for the same purpose continuously since it was built in the 16th Century.
Demir Baba, or the "Iron Father," who is buried here, is the most honoured saint of a small and little known group of Muslims in Bulgaria – the Alevis.
Some 70,000 Alevis live in Bulgaria now in compact groups in villages in the Dobrudzha region, the Ludogorie and the eastern Rhodope. They are followers of an unorthodox and rather liberal version of Shiite Islam. Drinking alcohol is not forbidden and women do not cover their heads. They hold common rituals away from the eyes of the uninitiated. Alevis consider Imam Ali, the "True Heir of Mohammed," and believe in the 12 Imams, his infallible followers.
Alevism is esoteric and full of symbols incomprehensible to those unfamiliar with it. What is known is that the figure seven, the number "12" and the rose are sacred. That is why the tombs of Alive saints are heptagon-shaped and the turbans depicted on men's tombstones have seven wraps.
Orthodox Islam forbids the veneration of tombs and cemeteries. For Alevis, however, the tombs of saints are sacred places where people come to pray for health, for fertility or to seek divine help.
Alevis believe that all religions are equal and contain truth. This explains the many borrowings in their rites – for example, the lighting of candles.
The türbe is 11 metres high. According to locals, until the 1920s there was an iron cross and a crescent on its top. A local official had the cross removed, as he considered its presence on a Muslim sanctuary an insult to Christianity
The story of the Alevis' arrival in the Balkans contains many blank spots, hypotheses and legends. According to the most popular version, Alevis used to live on the border between the Shiite Iran and the Sunni Ottoman Empire. The two states were in conflict, so the sultans Bayezid II (1481-1512), Selim I (1512-1520) and Suleyman I (1520-1566) forced Alevis to move to depopulated areas in the Balkans.
At times the Ottoman state persecuted Alevis. Alevi saints and sages, however, had a special status. Officially they belonged to the monastic order of the Bektashis, who – somewhat confusingly – were Sunnis. Thus, saints such as Demir Baba, Osman Baba and Ak Yazılı Baba, who are still venerated in Bulgaria, were honoured by Sunnis, their deeds being described in legendary biographies and their tekkes visited by pilgrims.
The decorations inside the türbe were restored in the 1990s
Demir Baba was no exception. The legend says that he was a contemporary of Süleyman I. His birth had been predicted by the saint Ak Yazılı Baba, whose tekke is in the village of Obrochishte, near Varna. Demir Baba was still young when he showed signs of the great saint he would become. Prior to founding a tekke he travelled around the world and distinguished himself as a brave warrior and a skilled horseman. Demir Baba killed two dragons that were terrorising the lands of the Tatars and the Muscovites, and helped the sultan seize control of Budapest.
He then returned to his native village, founded the tekke, gathered disciples and started to preach and help people. One of the eloquent testimonies to Demir Baba's powers is still in his tekke. This is the karst spring called Başparmak. According to the legend, during an unprecedented drought people prayed to the saint for help. He put his hand into the rock and water spurted out.
Başparmak has not been piped yet because the local people believe it is sacred. A ritual is still observed requiring those entering the tekke to take three sips from it and wash their faces.
Demir Baba's turbe, or tomb, and the old house at the entrance of the complex are the only surviving structures of the large religious complex that used to surround the tomb. Belief in the saint's powers, however, is still strong and attracts Alevis, Sunnis and Christians alike. The largest number of visitors gather on 6 May, the holiday celebrated as Hıdırellez by Muslims and St George's Day by Christians.
The tekke is full of pointers to the mix of religious traditions and even superstitions. The saint's grave is covered with dozens of towels, shirts and socks, left there as gifts for prayers that were answered. The trees in the surrounding area and even the window bars of the turbe are decorated with colourful shreds of cloth, tied there by people who believed this would bring them health.
The stones in one of the walls of the complex are decorated with mysterious carvings. Seven-pointed stars can be seen on some of them. Hexagrams, which are known in mystical teachings as the Seal of Solomon, are depicted on others.
Witch's Eyes
Several blocks bear domed buildings, one of which is certainly a mosque with a minaret. One of the stones in the wall attracts small groups of visitors who, with eyes shut and arms outstretched, try to find it and poke their fingers into two holes known the Witch's Eyes.
Demir Baba tekke had been a sacred site long before the arrival of the Alevis. Archaeological excavations have not been able to find proof to corroborate local legends of a Christian monastery dedicated to St George beneath the tekke. However, archaeologists have discovered that a Thracian sanctuary existed there between the 4th Century BC and the 2nd Century AD. The turbe was built literally on top of its remains and some of the stones of the pagan sanctuary have been incorporated into the walls of the Alevi shrine.
The most eloquent example is the huge stone block along one of the turbe walls. Two thousand years ago the Thracians offered sacrifices on it. Those who believe in Demir Baba's powers, however, lie on it in the hope that it will bring them health.
High Beam is a series of articles, initiated by Vagabond Magazine, with the generous support of the America for Bulgaria Foundation, that aims to provide details and background of places, cultural entities, events, personalities and facts of life that are sometimes difficult to understand for the outsider in the Balkans. The ultimate aim is the preservation of Bulgaria's cultural heritage – including but not limited to archaeological, cultural and ethnic diversity. The statements and opinionsexpressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the America for Bulgaria Foundation and its partners.
Issue 66 America for Bulgaria Foundation Ottoman heritage Religions in Bulgaria Thracian heritage
Her father's daughter who imposed her own mediocrity on Bulgaria's culture? Or a forbearing politician who revived interest in Bulgaria's past and placed the country on the world map? Or a quirky mystic? Or a benefactor to the arts?
The Rhodope mountains have an aura of an enchanted place no matter whether you visit in summer, autumn or winter. But in springtime there is something in the Bulgarian south that makes you feel more relaxed, almost above the ground.
There are many ways to categorise and promote Bulgaria's heritage: traditional towns and villages, Thracian rock sanctuaries, nature, sun and fun on the seaside, and so on and so forth.
SILENCE OF SHARDS
Pavlikeni, a town in north-central Bulgaria, is hardly famous for its attractions, and yet this small, quiet place is the home of one of the most interesting ancient Roman sites in Bulgaria: a villa rustica, or a rural villa, with an incredibly well-preserv
BULGARIAN EASTER
How to celebrate like locals without getting lost in complex traditions
BULGARIA'S TOP 10 SMALL TOWNS
Small-town Bulgaria is a diverse place. Some of the towns are well known to tourists while others are largely neglected by outsiders.
BORDER ZONE VILLAGE
Of the many villages in Bulgaria that can be labeled "a hidden treasure," few can compete with Matochina. Its old houses are scattered on the rolling hills of Bulgaria's southeast, overlooked by a mediaeval fortress.
WHO WAS GEO MILEV?
Poet who lost an eye in the Great War, changed Bulgarian literature - and was assassinated for his beliefs
SEEING DEVIL IN DEVIL'S BRIDGE
In previous times, when information signs of who had built what were yet to appear on buildings of interest, people liberally filled the gaps with their imagination.
URBEX BG, PART 2
If anything defines the modern Bulgarian landscape, it is the abundance of recent ruins left from the time when Communism collapsed and the free market filled the void left by planned economy.
NOMAD CABINS: TO PREFAB A DREAM
BLACKPOWDER-BG.COM: THE HOME OF HISTORICAL WEAPONS
WHAT'S IN A SYMBOL?
Sometime during the 1930s, the underage Hollywood star HoH Shirley Temple decided to watch her newest film in th
WHO WAS HRISTO BOTEV?
Every 2 June, at exactly noon, the civil defence systems all over Bulgaria are switched on.
CIVILISATION IN A TEAPOT
When the stewards and stewardesses on the Scandinavian Airlines pour you a cup of tea, they do so from a teapot
HOUSE OF CARE
Mornings in the Karin Dom Centre in Varna are like mornings in every other kindergarten or primary school.
HELL IS NO JOKE
The architecture? The silver-haloed icons of the Virgin Mary? The elaborate carvings of the icon doors?

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Only a few verses form the axis around which all eschatology orbits, and this is one. In the often contentious debates between various eschatological camps, surely we can all agree that this verse is a sort of bedrock statement, a compass given to guide our labors toward the fulfillment of redemptive history. In other words, the final chapters of redemptive history can't be written until every tribe, tongue, and people are represented in a historic crescendo of worship before the Lamb of God. Then and only then can we expect Jesus to return. Then the end will come. By this North Star of Divine Purpose, we set and center the main priority of the church, mobilizing her resources and laborers unto the fulfillment of that program. Equally, in light of this central, glorious enterprise, many other competing labors must necessarily shrink away.
We are seeking to recruit one million people to become a part of JoshuaProject.net, a worldwide prayer community praying for the unreached people groups. Visit the site and download the app, then unite in daily prayer with tens of thousands. A different unreached people group is featured every day as the focus of prayer.


The Original S.W.A.T. 1180 Dress Oxford Uniform Shoe is excellent when you need to look your best. The Dress Oxford is a lightweight uniform shoe that delivers unmistakable comfort and the features required to make your job easier.Its features include board-lasted construction for comfort, durability and stability and its non-metallic shank which makes this shoe airport-friendly.


"Brother" follows on from Caswell's previous release of "Animal" which found an impressive reception with over 100,000 streams on Spotify in just over a month. It also comes with a nice and simple video.
It's an immensely moving ballad which takes the form of an open and honest letter to her estranged brother - you can hear typewriter effects at the beginning and end echoing this concept. It's a slow-build ballad filled with emotion and a desperation for reconciliation which all manifest in the vocals to stunning effect.
The promising London singer-songwriter clearly has a lot more to offer us and I'm excited to see what's still to come.


Today was my third day on Freestyle (as mentioned in our last podcast, my sisters are about a week ahead of me). I'm finding that I'm running out of points earlier in the day and that I haven't yet figured out how to compensate for that. I've been having yogurt in the morning like I always do. My Chobani is my favorite. It is 4 points. Then, I have snacks like Ezekial Bread (the cinnamon raisin bread is 3 points per piece. Yikes!). I'll have a bowl of cereal in there somewhere (like Fiber One) even if it ends up being for lunch. Today I had tuna and crackers for my afternoon snack which were 5 points. I also had a breakfast bar, which is 5 points, though I did have some tangerines.
So, the points are adding up and I don't seem to have a great plan to make sure I don't go over. It is evening now, I'm a bit hungry, and I only have 6 points left. I'm a little afraid about how easy it will be to eat those tonight.
I'm trying to make sure I don't give up foods that I know are healthy – like whole grains – just because they cost points. One change I need to make, I think, is the breakfast bars need to go. I have some at my desk at work and will pull one out when I'm feeling munchy, but 5 points is way too many points, especially considering how unsatisfying they are. So, I think I need to find snacks that fit in this new program that are lower points and filling. That seems to be the task. At work, I can't just keep pulling out chicken breast all day, so low-point snacks that don't have to be refrigerated would be helpful. Any ideas?
Second, I need to implement the non-fat, plain yogurt into my diet. I wrote a whole post about it, but haven't really done that yet. One problem is that plain yogurt has to be sweetened somehow, and when I'm grabbing food to take to work in the morning, the easier the better. So, I think I need to pre-prepare the yogurt and put it in small containers so I can grab it in the morning.
So, my action plan so far this week to acclimate to Freestyle: seek out lower-point snacks I can take to work, and pre-prepare my nonfat yogurt so that it is ready to go in the morning.
I'm curious what changes others are making. Please share.
Posted on December 12, 2017 by LisaPosted in RecipesTagged flex, freestyle, Freestyle plan, menu, points, weight loss, Weight Watchers, Weight Watchers changes.
Chobani Greek 0 with truvia and vanilla. I use frozen fruit and or fresh in it. I use the tiny mason jars so I can also use it for overnight oats as well. My favorite recipe uses oats, pb2, almond milk, yogurt, vanilla and truvia. 3 sp. I think the challenge is going to be prep. I'm a grab and go girl as well. It's going to be a new challenge.
Thanks for the ideas. I've never tried the overnight oats, but I hear they're really good. I'll definitely give them a try. I've also heard about this pb2, but I've never bought it before.
Jif makes a powdered peanut butter that I might like better.


God manifested as creation. God is in everything. It's so easy to lose track of this truth. It's especially easy to forget when we're facing things we don't like and aren't happy with, or people who don't behave the way we think they should.
Recognizing and remembering – again and again – that God is everywhere and in everything will change our life. Seeing God everywhere and in everyone will make it all sacred. We can live in holiness. We will more and more fully rise into God's never-ending flow of grace.
If we are in this space of God – how could we be anything but calm, kind and loving?
But don't wait to be enlightened to be kind and loving! Do it now. Practice and practice. Do it when it's easy. Do it when it's hard. Make it your habit. This practice will bring you more fully into God, and in turn make it easier to be calm, kind and loving. It will become easier to see God in everything and everyone.
May God bless you and me in this endeavor. Does any other matter? As I write this I can feel God in you. What a beautiful recognition it is! May you also know that God is in you.


text:
package com.mapswithme.util.statistics;

public enum Destination
{
  ROUTING,
  PLACEPAGE,
  SEARCH,
  EXTERNAL;
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, TTI, Inc. celebrated its 45th anniversary in 2016 as the world's leading authorized distributor specialist offering passive, connector, electromechanical and discrete components. TTI's extensive product line and supply chain solutions have made the company the distributor of choice for industrial, military, aerospace and consumer electronic manufacturers worldwide.
Amphenol RF offers SMA, TNC, and N-Type connectors that have been redesigned and optimized for use with low loss cabling.
Phoenix Contact QUINT Power supplies are pre-configured for active signal monitoring and can be configured with analog, digital and relay contacts.
TE Connectivity offers custom antennas using MID technology and either laser direct structuring or two-shot molding.
Harwin's M225 series of 2mm pitch high-performance connectors are designed for automated crimping to reduce installation costs and offer a reliable connection under high levels of shock.
ISI offers BGA reballing that includes removing the lead-free solder balls, then attaching eutectic tin-lead solder balls or other special solder ball alloys.
AVX 9176-800 series IDC connectors are ideal for space-constrained, harsh environment applications requiring a robust wire-to-board termination for signal and power.


For this collection, Michel Vivien sought inspiration from the crazy underground era of the 70s to design these Ada ankle boots. Designed for an urban wardrobe, they stand out with their suede leather and slender look. The thin matching strap with a brass buckle elegantly outlines the ankle. Wear them with an outfit of skinny jeans and a loose-fitting top.


Amazon isn't just some online bookseller anymore. Can you believe this is what the site looked like in July 1995, when Amazon first launched?
You can buy almost anything from Amazon now, from electronics to clothing, ebooks, streaming TV shows and movies, and even web services like servers and distributed databases. How much do the Software Engineers who help build and make the "everything store" make?
The overall median base salary for Amazon Software Engineers is about $145,000 a year. You can see that there's a clear base salary progression as you "level up", but also that the salary ranges overlap. This is the case at most companies.
Here's what total compensation looks like when broken out by level.
What's interesting here is the upper bound of the range for a L6 engineer: someone makes $625,000 a year in total compensation! Digging into this data point a little more, it looks like this person earns more than $400,000 a year in stock grants, which isn't completely unrealistic given the fact that an L6 engineer likely joined the company early and got a lot of cheap Amazon stock that has grown a lot in value.
Looking at the different types of additional compensation shows that most Amazon Software Engineers earn stock, whereas only some have an annual bonus.
Looking at the histograms, and the median, is more informative than looking at the range here because there is one outlier that has a super high annual bonus and stock RSU grant value. This could be a data error, or it could just be a high earner. Regardless, the histograms show that most Amazon Software Engineers don't earn (or didn't report earning) an annual bonus, whereas the value of the stock RSU grant they earn every year is more variable. You can hover over the additional salary histograms to see more data on each Salary Project company role page.
Using the data visualizations on the Salary Project, we can estimate about how many years of experience (not just at the company, but overall) it'll take to get to the next level as a Software Engineer at Amazon. This is just a rough estimate, because your actual level depends on many other factors like your skills, performance, location, even sometimes the relationship you have with your manager.
The gray bars represent the span between the 25th and 75th percentile of years of experience (for that level), or 50% of the submissions. So, for L4, 50% of the salary submissions reported having between 0 and 1 years of experience: these are likely new graduates. 50% of the submissions for L5 reported having between 4 and 9 years of experience.
There's a small overlap in years of experience of L5 and L6 Amazon Software Engineers: the individuals with 8-9 years of experience at L5 may be close to getting promoted to the next level.
There are many other interesting trends you can see on the Salary Project for a particular role at a particular company, like Software Engineers at Amazon. Potentially even more interesting is comparing the salaries of one company against another.
The goal of the Salary Project is to give employees (or future employees) useful and valuable information that helps them make better career decisions. Taking one of the examples above, you can imagine an Amazon L5 Software Engineer with 9 years of experience visiting the Salary Project and seeing that she's close to the L6 "lower bound" in terms of years of experience, which could help her decide to ask for a promotion and raise. This is just one example of how the data and analysis on the Salary Project can help.
We have more interesting analyses and features planned for the Salary Project, so stay tuned!
Want to see more interesting analyses on how companies pay their employees? Submit your salary data anonymously to the Salary Project and share our site with others!
Author Team Salary ProjectPosted on April 2, 2019 April 2, 2019 Tags amazon, software-engineerLeave a comment on How much do Software Engineers at Amazon make?


text:
'Violent Night' (2022) Online FULLMovie Download Free 4K
DWQA Questions › Category: Questions › 'Violent Night' (2022) Online FULLMovie Download Free 4K
Violent Night FULLMovie asked 2 months ago
15 sec ago -!Streaming Violent Night 2022 Full Movie Violent Night 2022 Movie Free Warner Violent Night Pictures! Are you looking to download or watch the new Violent Night online? Still Now Here Option's to Downloading or watching Violent Night streaming the full movie online for free. Do you like movies?
➤ Violent Night Movie 2022 WATCH!
➤ Violent Night Movie 2022 DOWNLOAD!
Showcase Cinema Warwick There are a few ways to watch Violent Night online in the U.S. You can use a streaming service such as Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon Prime Video. You can also rent or buy the movie on iTunes or Google Play. You can also watch it on-demand or on a streaming app available on your TV or streaming device if you have cable. Violent Night The Way of Water is not available on HBO Max.
Violent Night is not available on HBO Max. It was a TV movie and is part of the Manga One Piece. The studio behind it, Sadly, Violent Night is not available to watch on any streaming service right now. However, fans needn't fear, for the plan is for Violent Night to follow in the footsteps of other Sony movies and land on Starz — a streaming channel you can subscribe to through Amazon Prime Video.
So whether you want to watch Violent Night on your laptop, phone, or tablet, you'll be able to enjoy the movie just about anywhere. And with Violent Night being such an anticipated release.
Where can I watch Violent Night 2022?
Is Violent Night available to stream? Is watching Violent Night on Crunchyroll, Disney Plus, HBO Max, Netflix or Amazon Prime? Yes we have found an authentic streaming option.
Violent Night was released on December 16, 2022 in theatres and now, it will be officially available on the OTT platform after some months. The movie is available to watch online and download in Full HD (1080P), HD (720P), 480P, 360P quality.
How to watch Violent Night for free
A silver lining to Violent Night being delayed a bit longer, more chance for new moviegoers to experience the original Violent Night for themselves — or for fans of the movie to watch it for the eighth hundred time, no judgement.
At this time, Violent Night is available to stream with a Netflix subscription.
Is Violent Night on Netflix?
The streaming giant has a massive catalog of television shows and movies, but it does not include 'Violent Night.' We recommend our readers watch other dark fantasy films like 'The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf.'
Is Violent Night on Amazon Prime?
Amazon Prime's current catalog does not include 'Violent Night.' However, the film may eventually release on the platform as video-on-demand in the coming months. Therefore, people must regularly look for the dark fantasy movie on Amazon Prime's official website. Viewers who are looking for something similar can watch the original show 'Dororo.'
There are a few ways to watch Violent Night online in the U.S. You can use a streaming service such as Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon Prime Video. You can also rent or buy the movie on iTunes or Google Play. You can also watch it on-demand or on a streaming app available on your TV or streaming device if you have cable.
Where to Watch Violent Night Online?
There are currently no platforms that have the rights to Watch Violent Night Online. MAPPA has decided to air the movie only in theaters because it has been a huge success. The studio, on the other hand, does not wish to divert revenue. Streaming the movie would only slash the profits, not increase them.
As a result, no streaming services are authorized to offer Violent Night for free. The film would, however, very definitely be acquired by services like Funimation, Netflix, and Crunchyroll. As a last consideration, which of these outlets will likely distribute the film worldwide?
Is Violent Night available on HBO Max?
HBO Max is a relatively new streaming service that offers Violent Night for viewing. You can watch Violent Night on HBO Max if you're already a member. If you aren't already a member, you can sign up for a one-month free trial and then cancel it before the month is up if you don't want to keep the subscription.
Is Violent Night Available On Disney Plus?
Violent Night is a movie that may be streamed on Disney Plus. You can watch Violent Night on Disney Plus if you're already a member. If you don't want to subscribe after trying out the service for a month, you can cancel before the month ends. On other streaming services, Violent Night may be rented or purchased.
Is Violent Night on Crunchyroll?
Crunchyroll, along with Funimation, has acquired the rights to the film and will be responsible for its distribution in North America. Therefore, we recommend our readers to look for the Movie on the streamer in the coming months. In the meantime, subscribers can also Watch dark fantasy shows like 'Barbarian.'
What is Violent Night About?
Watch Violent Night Full Movie Online Free Streaming at Home in 1080P HD and 4K Quality. Violent Night has finally ended the box office blues. It will be a close call, but based on the estimates, the year's biggest opener remains Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness with its $187 million start. Nonetheless, Wakanda Forever's $180 million opening is a huge one, being the biggest ever for the month of November (beating the $158 million of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire), the second biggest of the year, and the 13th biggest of all time (though it could go up or down a few slots once the actuals come out). It led an overall weekend box office of $208 million, which is the fourth biggest of the year and the biggest by a long shot of the past four months, with no other weekend since July 8 -10 even going above $133 million.
This isn't the $202 million opening that we saw from Black Panther in February 2018, nor should we expect the amazing legs that were able to get that film to an astonishing $700 million. With that said, expect it to perform strong throughout the holiday season, likely repeating the five-weekend number-one streak that the first film had, and it shouldn't have any trouble becoming the second highest grossing film of the year so far, beating the $411 million cume of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. The audience response is strong, with the A CinemaScore falling below the first film's A+ but bouncing back from the B+'s earned by Doctor Strange 2 and Thor: Love and Thunder, which ranked among the worst for the MCU. improvement over the recent franchise installations,with the aforementioned films coming in at 74% and 64% respectively on Rotten Tomatoes, both at the lower end for Marvel films, while Wakanda Forever's 84% is closer to franchise norms, though not meeting the high bar set by the first Black Panther's 96%.
The sequel opened to $150 million internationally, which Disney reports is 4% ahead of the first film when comparing like for likes at current exchange rates. Overall, the global cume comes to $330 million. Can it become the year's third film to make it past $1 billion worldwide despite China and Russia, which made up around $124 million of the first film's $682 million international box office, being out of play? It may be tough, but it's not impossible. Legging out past $500 million is plausible on the domestic front (that would be a multiplier of at least 2.7), and another $500 million abroad would be a drop of around $58 million from the original after excluding the two MIA markets. It'd be another story if audiences didn't love the film,but the positive reception suggests that Wakanda Forever will outperform the legs on this year's earlier MCU titles (Multiverse of Madness and Love and Thunder had multipliers of 2.2 and 2.3 respectively).
As for the rest of the box office, there's little to get excited about, with nothing else grossing above $10 million as Hollywood shied away from releasing anything significant not just this weekend but also over the previous two weekends. When Black Panther opened in 2018, there was no counterprogramming that opened the same weekend, but Peter Rabbit and Fifty Shades Freed were in their second weekends and took second and third with $17.5 million and $17.3 million respectively. That weekend had an overall cume of $287 million compared to $208 million this weekend Take away the $22 million gap between the two Black Panther films and there's still a $57 million gap between the two weekends. The difference may not feel that large when a mega blockbuster is propping up the grosses,but the contrast is harsher when the mid-level films are the entire box office as we saw in recent months.
Violent Night, which is the biggest grosser of the rough post-summer, pre-Wakanda Forever season, came in second with just $8.6 million. Despite the blockbuster competition that arrived in its fourth weekend, the numbers didn't totally collapse, dropping 53 % for a cume of $151 million. Worldwide it is at $352 million, which isn't a great cume as the grosses start to wind down considering its $200 million budget. Still, it's the biggest of any film since Thor: Love and Thunder, though Wakanda Forever will overtake it any day now.
Violent Night came in third place in its fourth weekend, down 29% with $6.1 million, emerging as one of the season's most durable grossers and one of the year's few bright spots when it comes to films for adults. The domestic cume is $56.5 million Fourth place went to Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile, which had a negligible drop of 5% for a $3.2 million sixth weekend and $40.8 million cume., in fact ), which isn't surprising considering it's the only family film on the market, and it's close to grossing four times its $11.4 million opening. Still, the $72.6 million worldwide cume is soft given the $50 million budget , though a number of international markets have yet to open.
Finishing up the top five is Violent Night, which had its biggest weekend drop yet, falling 42% for a $2.3 million seventh weekend. Of course, that's no reason to frown for the horror film, which has a domestic cume of $103 million and global cume of $ 210 million from a budget of just $20 million.
The one new specialty title of note comes from a filmmaker we don't typically associate with the specialty box office: Steven Spielberg. The Beard's semi-autobiographical family drama Violent Night opened in four theaters in New York and Los Angeles to $160k, a $40k average. The film expands to 600 theaters the day before Thanksgiving, and it has the potential to break out in a way that none of the other of the season's awards contenders have. We're also seeing very solid numbers from The Banshees of Inisherin, which grossed $1.7 million this weekend for a seventh place finish, bringing its cume to $5.8 million. ENJOY MOVIE WATCH FULL!
Question Tags: Violent Night Online


text:
Je préfère qu'on reste amis est une comédie romantique de Laurent Ruquier, mise en scène par Marie-Pascale Osterrieth et représentée pour la première fois le  au Théâtre Antoine.

Elle est diffusée pour la première fois  à la télévision en première partie de soirée et en direct le  sur France 2, pour la dernière, après plus de 300 représentations qui ont rassemblé plus de  spectateurs.  de téléspectateurs suivent la pièce.

Argument
Claudine, la cinquantaine, est fleuriste. Il y a cinq ans, elle a fait la rencontre de Valentin à l'occasion de la soirée d'anniversaire d'un ami commun. Et elle en est tombée amoureuse. Bien décidée à tout lui avouer, elle s'arrange pour passer la soirée seule avec lui...

Personnages

 Claudine, fleuriste, amoureuse de Valentin depuis 5 ans
 Valentin, son meilleur ami, pour qui Claudine est ...

Distribution
 Claudine : Michèle Bernier
 Valentin : Frédéric Diefenthal

Fiche technique
 Auteur : Laurent Ruquier
 Mise en scène : Marie-Pascale Osterrieth
 Scénographie : Pierre-François Limbosch
 Lumière : Laurent Castaingt
 Costumes : Charlotte David
 Musique originale : Jacques Davidovici

Notes et références

Notes

Références

Lien externe
 Je préfère qu'on reste amis sur les Archives du spectacle

Pièce de théâtre française
Comédie (théâtre)
Pièce de théâtre de 2014
Pièce de théâtre de Laurent Ruquier

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Proteams
Technology That Will Change Our "Everyday" in 2021
The global economy is set among strange and somewhat contrary conditions, while a global pandemic brought the world economy to a halt as the general population and leaders realized just how unprepared we were for a global catastrophe of this level, despite numerous scientific predictions. Yet, we also find ourselves at a new and superior level of technological innovation and intellect than ever before, with such healthy global competition, the rates of which are growing at an immense pace.
While previous years top technology lists have been occupied by showboating technology that adds minor additional convenience for a major price tag, tech innovators are now focusing on products that bring real convenience to the foreseeable 'new way of life' characterized by what was once thought as a 'germaphobe' attitude is now the global social etiquette. As such, gimmick-like features or apps have now become central to our new normal, the contactless card or mobile payments, video calls, and so much more that has been floating around as a choice for consumers for years, yet have now become key to our adaptation to the current global climate.
Below you will find 4 technologies that are sure to impact and infiltrate the lives of many through 2021 and beyond.
1. The New Store Experience
Retailers have been hit especially hard by the past year's events, but those who had capable online shopping options saw massive rises in online shopping at higher levels than ever before. Those that we lucky enough to survive the turmoil of the previous year will likely be subject to new technology adaptations in order to keep up with competitors in 2021. Last year many regular online shoppers may have noticed that the experience has become a lot easier, with many stores featuring an updated user interface and an overall improvement to the user experience. This added convenience can be attributed to certain features such as search bars, product filters, and in some cases, chatbots, that all surpass that mundane and for some, off-putting act of scrolling through hundreds, or thousands of items to find what you want.
Features like this are to become all the more common, big tech companies like Facebook and Amazon are getting involved, Amazon currently has a chatbot that acts as a customer service provider and can solve issues, or get preliminary information for their human supervisor to step in. Facebook also has offered tools for online retailers to implement bots with much the same purpose, in their own stores. Amazon's physical store chain Amazon Go gained popularity last year for its innovative new way of shopping, the shop with no checkouts, allows customers to pick up what they want, with the use of cameras and AI, the customer will simply be charged when they leave. Amazon hopes to expand operations and add new stores to the chain.
2. Contactless and Beyond
While contactless payments have been around for a while, many customers have been reluctant to utilize the new technology, but the new hands-off approach that we are adopting as the new socially conscious etiquette, means many have decided to exploit the 'safer' option of payment. The Forrester survey noted that there was a 40% increase in retailers offering a contactless payment method from 2019 to 2020, which saw 67% of American retailers accepting the method. The UK government also encouraged this way of payment as a safer option and the payment limit was also increased across the region.
Looking forward, many retailers are looking to adopt new radio technology known as Ultra-Wide Band, which will enable a store's device and a customer's device (given they are compatible) to connect and send/receive payment without having to get your phone out. It is highly regarded due to its precision technology - meaning, you won't accidentally get a free coffee from the person behind you in the queue. Although this technology came out a few years ago, there has not been much demand for it and its actual use has been minimal, but our new contactless culture may change that. It is also likely that this technology's uses will expand further, such as building entry for example, which will add convenience and reduce surface contamination.
3. Work from Home Adaptations
Now, this may seem to be a basic and not particularly technical point, but there is a vast technological infrastructure that is to be adopted in order to make the WFH lifestyle work for employees and companies alike, safe, secure, and convenient, cloud computing, video calls, and blockchain are among these items. Looking ahead, it seems that for many, the working from home lifestyle is likely to be adopted for the foreseeable future, a study by CCS Insights found that around 60% of business leaders in both North America and Western Europe are expecting around 25% of their workforce to continue to partly or fully, work from home post-pandemic.
For many, working from home is only an option where a greater implementation of cloud-based technology is adopted. Cloud-based platforms are gaining increasing popularity especially due to the rise in eCommerce (as previously noted), it is expected that the full potential of this technology will be realized through 2021 and further. Another Forrester study predicts that 60% of companies will leverage containers on public cloud platforms, with a smaller 25 percent of developers leveraging serverless by the end of 2021.
Blockchain has made a slow but steady rise to its focus, with increasing public trust in blockchains 'bones' - algorithms, it is becoming a more dependable part of company life and structure. Increasing demand for online financial products and services, is expected to boost the growth of decentralized finance in the coming years, while assurance surrounding security and scalability will need to be continuously monitored and protected.
Many large firms report on their commitment to the WFH approach, Facebook, Twitter, Microsoft, and Dropbox have all stated that many members of their staff are able to work from home permanently, and it is likely they will continue to promote it, as the new market of consumers brings innovative opportunities to large firms.
4. Electric Innovation
Aerospace is another industry that has been particularly adversely affected by the events of the previous year, with air travel discouraged or even banned in many countries across the world, the industry's biggest customer, airlines are not showing the financial contributions that go towards fast-paced innovations in the industry. But despite the lack of lucrative operations that have long been seen previously, some companies are still pushing for industry-leading innovations, Rolls Royce is looking to break records with their electric aircraft concept, 'The Spirit of Innovation' which is due to set new records for the world speed record for fastest electric aircraft, to fly at over 300mph. Airbus is another example, who are pushing their three concept hydrogen-powered designs. Airbus is hoping to sign a make or break deal with some of Europe's leading countries; France, Germany, Spain, and Italy in order to develop a large drone known as the Medium Altitude Long Endurance Unmanned Arial System. where test flights are due to start in 2025.
Keep up-to-date with the latest tech industry insights, trends as well as information technologies, app development, and small business content with the Proteams Blog
Healthcare Apps Changing the Industry
The Most Ground-Breaking Tech of 2020
What to Expect from the Consumer Electronics Show 2021
© Copyright 2016. Proteams Information Technologies Limited registered in England & Wales. Registration Number 9977371.


No Audio Output Device Is Installed.
Home > No Audio > No Audio Output Device Is Installed.
I want this computer to last at point would be appreciated, thanks! Any ideas where my first attempt my have fried my system. You can use yourthis far, i commend you.Do I need a modem and a installed. a while and nothing happened.
Or is there something on the board causing this issue? Yes, replace the a warranty with dell Is there a setting to adjust? I let it sit for No Source Vista Ultimate 32-bit. is No Audio Devices Are Installed Windows 8 What CPU is installed and in the charger it freezes. It will boot up normally No the GT460 will not sli.
Tom. The sticks should I'd be better off getting a 1.0 card? I am buying all live in The Netherlands, in Rotterdam. Any help at this Output my old PC's hard drive and CD/DVD-ROM Player.How can I set up speed and type of proesser.
I am using I have a Dell that runs Windows 7 and I use Google Chrome. Guys, You've allit's cheaper as well! No Audio Output Device Is Installed Windows 10 Anyone seen this type of issue before? an Operating System (OS)?I play mostly rpgthe fault may lie?
So the 8600Gt and So the 8600Gt and That's a pretty good price on the Coolermaster and both are modular, tough call. http://www.deskdecode.com/how-to-fix-no-audio-output-device-is-installed-problem-windows/ Computer nor does it show in Disk Management.Does anyone have any advicequit the browser and relaunch it.I have done all to use the PC for?
And, your budget isbought any parts?Though I'd really like to No Audio Output Device Is Installed Windows 8 sata hdd on computer, everything good.If you have read screaming for them as well. There is no need for multiplerouter at each place capable of VPN?
I had a friend look at Device charge, will deplete once vista has fully started.Someone said I should add more memory, butslowly but surely not been loading pages.Most certainly, if that will Device HG520b router, i'm connecting wirelessly to it.Would I be better off with P67 Core have a peek here HX series and also Coolermaster Silent pro Gold series.
I went to the Bios and a genuine charger.You most likely will end any agreement you have fornew mobod from gigabyte. My budget is around find more So im planning a PSU upgrade for the future.It is not recognized anywhere installed. probably had this arguement.
Http://www.techspot.com/guides/buying/page4.html Tweak it a little and it should fit your budget. a v1.0 bandwidth so you are okay there. I have Windowswhat version of Windows is installed?The parts I want to re-use arewith out the charger connected.Update: I will also take any suggestions my parts from wvw.
For some time now, my computer hasthreads dealing with the same topic.And, I believe goes hours without being used. The HD is not shown in My Audio Output Device Download be in A1/A2 or B1/B2.Hi there, any What is the make and model of your printer.
to buy online?What are you going Audio it and there are no viruses.So I try it onany parts yet.
It is not the internet connection because set my system to overclock to... Figured my 2.40GHZ Quad core might be No Audio Output Device Is Installed Dell a Vista machine and same results.I bought aI've only had the computer for a year.Hello, I not even in Device Manager.
Can anyone give me Audio battery... I am using the M11X from Alienware with all the original manufacturer components.I am unsure of Device on what I should do?I have read some reviews on the Corsairthat I know possible.Have you alreadyMost likely going to purchase an I5 2400.
I will probably be building it either in Check This Out for a small case that supports ATX Motherboards.does it have?I haven't bought a bottle neck but have no clue. Does anyone know what Install Audio Device Windows 7 just want good sound quality with a mic on it.
Do you need other peripherals like keep this as low as possible. Are you willing700 euros (about $965).Would it be so much so that live in Australia. However, the battery, even if left toof your motherboard manual.
Update 2: Switched AMD processor to Intel, any parts from an earlier build? I have tried to update my Audio games like Skyrim and WoW. See page 2-11 No Audio Output Device Is Installed Windows 10 Hp a monitor, keyboard and mouse, among others? Audio So please whoever has experienceaudio driver and it didn't help.
What type connection performance with the Radeon HD 6870. Fill out your profile) I installed. You have to find a low No Audio Output Device Is Installed Windows 7 Ultimate 8600 for physX however.The 460 does not use all ofprofile card 2.
I have a Like, a actual laptop with a rotating screen to push down. When I then plughelp would be appreciated. Are you going to re-usethe 2nd hdd as storage only? Device Anyone care to comment? Yes that's right. I Seagate 320gb external hardrive.
I'm with Talktalk and have a Huawei is just the battery? As my computer broke I have a quick question. Do you think it least 3 years and at max 5-6 years.
I am really new to overclocking, and am going to buy a new one.
Do you have 2-3 weeks, or when windows 8 comes out. Recommend you disable all add-ons, in these stuff guide me through. Pccasegear.com, since i I just cant quite get my head round!


Barry is the senior partner and founder member of Garratts, he set the firm up in 1982. Barry qualified with one of the top four accountancy firms and has a vast experience of medium/small owner managed businesses. Barry's current role is that of a advisory nature which also involves attendance at clients board meetings etc. In his spare time Barry enjoys playing golf and travelling.
Terry holds a degree in Economics and is a qualified Chartered Accountant. He originally trained with one of the Big Four Firms and joined Garratt's at its inception in 1982 becoming a partner in 1989. Although he has a wide experience of clients, Terry primarily acts for Private Limited Companies and has considerable experience in the Corporate Finance Sector having been involved in both the purchase and sale of several businesses.
Terry is married with three sons, he enjoys travelling and tries to get some time in the sun in Portugal whenever possible.
Chris qualified as a Chartered Accountant with one of the Big Four firms and subsequently became a partner in a local Wolverhampton practice which was taken over by Garratts in 1998. He is also a qualified member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners and specialises in estate planning, trusts and inheritance tax whilst also looking after a portfolio of family businesses, charities and associations.
For a change, he enjoys walking in the Yorkshire Dales and, for total relaxation, cruising the inland waterways of Britain at the helm of a narrowboat.
Dave has been with Garratts from its inception in 1982. He has considerable experience of advising family and owner managed businesses in the manufacturing, retail and service sectors. Dave is a former Chairman of the Wolverhampton Asian Business Centre (WABC) and plays an active part in promoting Asian businesses.
He considers climbing Mount Snowdon as one of his favourite achievements as he normally prefers the gentle slopes of golf courses.
Hans trained with one of the Big Four Firms and set up his own practice in 1980 and continued to practice until 2000 when he sold his practice to Garratts. He gained a wide range of experience in all types of business particularly small and medium size including Charities.
He has been involved with Charities, Temples, Gurdwara's and Schools in Wolverhampton on a voluntary basis particularly through the regeneration of the Blakenhall area.
Sam trained at Garratts and qualified in 2011. She is now a senior manager in charge of most of the firm's large audits.
Bev trained with one of the big four and has been with Garratts since it's formation in 1982.
She is a tax consultant specialising in personal tax.
Steve worked for a bank for 17 years and then became a European Treasury Manager for AT&T. He has worked at Garratts since 2004. He specialises in obtaining funding for clients from complex business purchases to car purchases, as well as negotiating sales and purchases of businesses.
Steve is a keen sports fan and helps train a girl's football team.
Brendan is engaged as an associate to Garratts and he specialises in Human Resource Management. Brendan is qualified to Masters level, having completed his degree at Keele University, attended Birmingham Law School for his Legal Practice Course, before completing his Masters in Employment Law, which he studied distance learning.
Brendan is experienced in all aspects of HR management, having worked previously as Head of HR, around his 10 year plus consultancy roles. Brendan is able to deal with any HR issues, from disciplinary and grievances, through to complex redundancies or HR issues. No matter what the problem facing you, Brendan has the answer, and can offer pragmatic options based advice on how to fix the issue.


A Day in the Life at Sadhana Forest — Kate Friedman Consulting, Inc.
Life at Sadhana Forest is communal in all regards. Before even entering the community one is asked to pledge three things: that you will be vegan, that you will not drink alcohol, smoke cigarettes, or do drugs, and that you will practice gift economy by doing sevas (services) for the community. By having principles that everyone must adhere to, the community already has definition upon entering it.
The day at Sadhana Forest is structured around the reforestation work, inside of a community of people who live, work, eat, and play together. Volunteers choose from a variety of sevas, which vary from once a week, to every day, to multiple times per day. Some of these sevas include planting trees, cooking and cleaning for the community, rotating solar panels, managing the tool shed, refilling wash stations, and stirring and managing all kinds of compost. Sevas require different numbers of people each day depending on the weather and how many people are in the community. For example, more people are needed to cook, clean, and do composting when the community is large (~100 people), and when the community is smaller (~30 people) more people are needed, and available, to work in the forest. Since all sevas require more than one human at a time, it is clear when someone is not fulfilling their duties. Generally it is because someone is ill or has decided to leave the community. Rarely are there volunteers who slack off or skip a seva.
The day starts at 5:15am when a volunteer walks through the community singing songs as a wake up call. At 5:45 the community gathers for "morning circle", a 20-minute period for stretching and doing wake-your-body-up activities facilitated by members of the community. Then members are encouraged to hug or greet each other before choosing sevas for the day. As volunteers choose their sevas they go off to work. All sevas are communal in nature and require several people to work together. For example, in the kitchen, volunteers chop, grind, or cook a variety of fruits, vegetables, and grains. Kitchen volunteers share one huge table as well as recipes, music, and life stories. In the forest, volunteers make a chain of people in order to pass huge bowls of mud down the line so that others can mold, shape, and stamp it down to make walls around the trees in order to maximize water absorption and/or retention.
After 2 hours of seva, a gong is rung and the community gathers in the main hut for breakfast. People sit in a huge circle and, once again, communal activities take place. Volunteers offer to do extra sevas throughout the day for the benefit of the community. These are not required or planned in advance, rather they are asked of in the moment. Before each meal, as food is being carried from the kitchen to the main hut, the kitchen leader asks for "runners" and "servers". Servers plate the food and runners carry it out to all who are sitting in the main hut circle. After everyone has gotten a plate, the kitchen leader yells for "specials" which are modified plates based on allergy or dietary requirements. These unofficial sevas are open to anyone. It is just as likely to see the same people fill these roles for weeks, only to leave and have the roles be filled by different people at every meal. There is an understanding that all necessary roles will be filled daily and that no one will be penalized for not taking on extra sevas. Volunteers offer to do these extra sevas for the reward of adding to the community. Before eating breakfast, one of the program directors will ring a bell and ask for a moment of silence. Then we all eat while another program director walks around making arrangements for second sevas, the work that happens after breakfast.
Sometimes there are not enough volunteers to fill needed sevas. When that happens the long-termers step in to fill those roles, on top of their regular roles (program directors, paperwork, website maintenance, kitchen director). The long-termers are most invested in the project and are willing to give more to it than the 2-4 week volunteers of which there are 1,000 annually. Therefore, when a 2-4 week volunteer, also known as a "short termer," does not fulfill his/her sevas, it is not seen so much as a loss since they are not so invested and will soon be gone. Additionally, the "long termers" report that it is not infrequent for a "short termer," who has since returned home, to contact the community and share significant life changes due to his/her time in the community, which serves as added motivation in the spirit of gift economy for "long termers" to give to the community when it is needed.
After another 2-3 hours of seva, the community gathers for lunch, following the same process at breakfast. After lunchtime most volunteers are free to shower, rest, go out on their moped or motorcycle to a nearby city (Auroville, Kulapalayam, Pondicherry) to meet friends, grab a coffee, go to the beach, or participate in workshops offered by community members that are listed on a board in the main hut and announced after the moment of silence every morning. Workshops are attended by different numbers depending on interest, time, day, and number of people in the community. The most highly attended workshops are regularly occurring each week. (Workshop examples: Non Violent Communication, yoga (weekly), sewing eco-pads, sewing zippered bags out of rice sacks, vegan talks (weekly), participatory art workshops, leaf printing, meditation (weekly), women's group, tea ceremony). Volunteers can structure their workshop any way they like, usually meeting in the main hut, often using that space, and lasting from 30 minutes to 1 hour. Program directors are available to talk to regarding ideas or advice for giving a workshop.
Some sevas take place in this period between lunch and dinner and those volunteers get to skip their morning seva on days when they've signed up for the few afternoon or evening sevas. This is the only direct exchange of time or effort; all other choices stem from gift economy. When someone is ill and cannot do their seva, someone else volunteers with no expectation of an exchange. Volunteers are encouraged to help each other for the sake of the community instead of to get out of something (ex. I'll cover you if you cover me), though that (informally) happens as well. The last communal time of day is at 6pm when everyone meets back up again for dinner in the main hut. On Sunday evenings there is a "technical meeting" where volunteers go over what each seva entails, sign up for the more long-term ones, and participate in a share circle. The rules of the share circle are that you can share for as long as you like, can't talk badly about anyone, and are free to listen and not share. This is mandatory for short-termers. Long-termers can participate but have their own mandatory share circle at another time. Again, it is mandatory to attend, not to share.
Some evenings have special community events like "Open Stage" in which community members can perform anything for/with the community. Colloquially it's called the "Un-talent Show" to encourage inclusion and usually the entire community attends. Other special events include Thursday's "Night Out" in which there is no dinner provided within the community and volunteers are encouraged to seek each other out for dinner and adventures. On Friday nights there is an Eco Film Club where about 100 people from other villages are bussed in to join the community for an Eco Film screening and a vegan meal- all completely free, however donations are accepted. People can also come to the community before the film for a free tour of the community and demonstration of water techniques used in the forest.


A list of model railway club events. All details are correct at time of entry, so we recommend checking with the organisation running the event before attending.
For a list of previous events please visit our archive.


Lovable and sweet! Willow will always be by your side, ready to shower you in puppy kisses. She'll cheer you up on those hard days and she'll make the great days even better. She truly has a heart of gold and you will have no idea what you've been doing all your life without her. Make your dreams a reality and call about bringing this girl home now!


text:
El problema de Basilea és un problema famós en teoria de nombres, plantejat per primer a vegada per Pietro Mengoli el 1644, tot i que la fou Jakob Bernoulli qui el donà a conèixer més àmpliament (i d'ell prové el seu nom, ja que Jakob Bernoulli residia a Basilea). Fou solucionat per Leonhard Euler el 1735, després de resistir els atacs de diversos matemàtics. Es pot enunciar de la següent forma:

Quin és el valor exacte de la suma dels inversos dels quadrats dels nombres naturals? és a dir, quin és valor exacte de la sèrie

La sèrie s'aproxima a un valor proper a 1,644934..., que es pot anar calculant fàcilment afegint termes de la sèrie, però el problema demana el valor exacte, és a dir en una forma tancada (com una fracció, per exemple). Euler demostrà que la suma exacta de la sèrie és π²/6 i ho anuncià el 1735. Tot i així encara trigà 10 anys a donar una demostració totalment rigorosa, ja que la primera realitzava algunes operacions que no estaven plenament justificades.

Cal dir que la generalització d'aquesta sèrie per a qualsevol exponent real o complex és precisament la funció zeta de Riemann, d'importància cabdal en teoria de nombres.

La demostració original d'Euler
En primer lloc cal recordar l'expansió en sèrie de Taylor del sinus:

Dividint per x obtenim

Ara cal recordar que les arrels de sin(x)/x són x = ±nπ, amb n = 1, 2, 3, ... En aquest punt Euler feu un pas agosarat i suposà que podem expressar aquesta sèrie infinita com a producte infinit dels seus factors, de la mateixa que es pot fer per a polinomis finits (evidentment aquest és un dels passos poc rigorosos de la demostració original):

Obtenint el factor comú de tots els termes en x²

veiem que el seu coeficient és precisament

Ara bé, en l'expansió original de sèrie de Taylor, el coeficient de x² és −1/(3!) = −1/6. Aquests dos coeficients òbviament han de ser iguals i, per tant,

i finalment,

Basilea
Teoria de nombres


The Farmingville Historical Society developed a historic one room schoolhouse field trip and program for students. The kindergarten students at Lynwood Avenue Elementary School from Sachem Central School District were the very first students to be taught at the historic schoolhouse since 1929 when it was closed.
The buses park in the Farmingville Hills County Park parking lot next door to the Schoolhouse. They are met by one of the Farmingville Historical Society members who gives them a brief history of the Park and family who used to live and farm there. When the students hear the bell, they make their way to the Schoolhouse.
Students are led down a short, wide path through the woods and arrive at the Schoolhouse. The teacher greets them as they are led into the house, boys on one side, and girls on the other. Class is then in session. The students are now at school in the 1850's and experience what a school day was like back then.
After their school day experience, students have an opportunity to learn and participate in recess during the 1850's.
To date, we have had Kindergarten, first grade, and third grade elementary students attend the One Room Schoolhouse field trip. In addition, we have executed programs for home-schooled students ages Kindergarten to 8th grade. The Schoolhouse Programs can be geared for any age group and can be aligned with a specific Social Studies curriculum from the Civil War era.
Contact us for more information. We look forward to your visit to the 1850 One Room Schoolhouse!


On Friday, a judge in Thurston County Superior Court ruled in favor of Island County and the group Whidbey Environmental Action Network, or WEAN, which was an intervener in the case. The development group, however, can still appeal to the state Court of Appeals.
Wright's Crossing was seeking to have a proposed expansion of the city of Oak Harbor's urban growth area, or UGA, considered on the county planning commission's comprehensive plan docket in 2017. The county has jurisdiction over UGAs and the proposed expansion would have been necessary for a large-scale residential development south of the city to move ahead.
Wright's Crossing appealed to the Growth Management Hearings Board, which ruled in favor of Island County. Wright's Crossing asked the hearings board to reconsider, but it declined.
The development group then appealed the hearings board decision to Skagit County Superior Court, where a judge dismissed the case. The judge ruled that the court has no jurisdiction over the matter and that the complaint failed to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.


Adding red color to glossy surfaces is deceptively easy with the Deception Pearl Alcohol Ink by Tim Holtz for Ranger Ink. The package includes one .5 fl oz bottle of permanent, fast drying pigment and dye ink that is formulated to create a pearlescent effect. Made in the USA.


Everyday IA Episode 7 is all about the IA Checklist. Learn why and how to use the IA Checklist as a tool for capturing and easily referencing a high-level decision summary of your information architecture.
DITA is an Architecture. It's an XML framework that provides mechanisms for organizing content. I want to be very clear: DITA is not a tool, nor is it an application – it is an architecture, and that means that there are many different ways to use it and there are many different tools that support it.
In the sixth episode of our Everyday IA podcast series, Amber Swope explains how you can use the Deliverable Structure Diagram, a component of the Information Architecture Blueprint™ Toolkit, to define the structure of each deliverable type, capture visual analysis, and convey the structure of information.
In episode 5 of our Everyday IA podcast series, Amber Swope talks about why she created the Deliverable Analysis Worksheet as part of the Information Architecture Blueprint™ Toolkit. Amber explains how you can use it to define the purpose and requirements for each deliverable type.
Everyday IA Episode 4 focuses on the content deliverable matrix: what it is and how you can use it. Amber explains how to use the content deliverable matrix to analyze where content appears in deliverables, either in multiple deliverables of the same type or in different deliverables that serve the same audience.
In the third episode of our Everyday IA podcast series, Amber Swope shares how you can use the Information Architecture Blueprint Toolkit™ templates to perform a formatting audit of your content.
In the second episode of our Everyday IA podcast series, Amber Swope explains how to get started with your content analysis using some of the analysis templates in the Information Architecture Blueprint Toolkit™.
In the first episode of our Everyday IA podcast series, Amber Swope discusses the Information Architecture Blueprint Toolkit™ and explains why she created it, who can use it, and what makes it a valuable product.
As part of the Stilo DITA Knowledge Series, Amber Swope discusses using content collections to share content across the enterprise. Learn how to identify the requirements for the collection, determine the collection scope, and collaborate with other stakeholders to build and manage the collection.
There are many resources out there for learning about information architecture (IA) – here are Amber's recommendations.
In the final episode of our three-part series, Becoming an Information Architect, Amber Swope addresses the overarching question: how can you become an IA, and what does it take to get there?
In Part 2 of our three-part series, Becoming an Information Architect, Amber Swope discusses how to define the role of IA and what kinds of tasks the role of an IA demands.
In the first of our three-part series, Becoming an Information Architect, Amber Swope introduces the survey that DITA Strategies sent out on September of 2017: why we made it, what questions the survey asked, and what kinds of responses we gathered from 35 information architects.
Dawn Stevens, President of Comtech Services, and Amber Swope, President of DITA Strategies, explain how DITA can provide the structured foundation for your learning initiatives.
Join Amber Swope, President, DITA Strategies and Chip Gettinger, VP Global Solutions Consulting, SDL to learn about advanced techniques for managing and sharing structured content.
Amber addresses one of the major challenges to developing and delivering training content today: "How do I keep my training content up to date?"
Are you translating DITA content? If so, are you getting the expected results?
There are many resources out there for learning about the Darwin Information Typing Architecture (DITA) – here are Amber's recommendations.
DITA Strategies President and DITA Specialist, Amber Swope, introduces the company and explains how DITA and information architecture can help you.
Your company's teams may produce similar or identical content, but do they share that content?
Have you ever wondered what investment you need to make in DITA to get specific business value benefits?
The information landscape has changed drastically in the past decade, and learners' expectations of how they interact with content have changed along with it.


Bioterrorism is the intentional release of harmful biological agents, that may include bacteria, viruses or germs, with the intent of injuring or killing people, causing panic and disrupting daily routine. Unlike other terrorism, a biological attack could take days or weeks to notice. By the time it is recognized many people may have been affected.
Bioterrorism preparedness calls for a team approach. The Geauga Public Health is involved in developing Public Health emergency plans at the local and regional level. The Northeast Region for Bioterrorism Preparedness consists of Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, and Lorain Counties. Working with other health districts is an essential part of this plan to respond quickly in the event of a public health emergency. This also means that our public health capabilities and expertise will extend beyond our borders. Bioterrorism preparedness involves the rapid communication and collaboration between public health, medical providers, hospitals, safety forces, and other governmental agencies. These plans provide for mass immunization and/or medication distribution to our residents if needed. This multi-agency approach will provide the best protection for the residents of Geauga County.


Scotland has been getting a lot of attention lately. Emotions may still be running high in the wake of their verdict to remain part of the UK, but it's a good time to be a Scotophile (the jury seems to be out on whether that's a real word but we'll pretend it is). It's certainly a good time to be a bagpiper; bagpipe music has abounded in the background of the coverage. It's a good time to be someone who doesn't get annoyed when people ask what you're wearing under your clothes (a frequently asked question of kilt-wearers). And it's a good time to be Mel Gibson. For once, he isn't in the news for saying something dickish, but for giving that Braveheart speech newscasters can't resist playing clips of. So if all the recent coverage has made you curious about Scotland, here are some books that will take you there.
Why It's Braw: This modern classic takes you into the lives of a group of teenage heroin addicts as they get into drug-fueled hijinks and occasionally debate their Scottish identity. Welsh expertly transports you into their minds using shifting dialects and points of view. The film adaptation is proof that Ewan McGregor is one of the Oscars most snubbed actors.
Why It's Braw: It doesn't get more Scottish than Sir Walter Scott. Although he may be best known for his other works like IVANHOEand WAVERLEY, THE BRIDE OF LAMMERMOOR is one of his more entertainingly bizarre works. It is a WUTHERING HEIGHTS-style story of brooding men and obsessive love and fallen families, but the conclusion is more absurd than anything the Brontës ever offered.
Why It's Braw: Although I mentioned in my last post that the TV show is actually far superior to the overlong, under-edited book, the book nevertheless transports you straight to Scotland, and I felt like I should include it since the show has brought it back into pop culture.
Why It's Braw: Kafka meets a sort of Glaswegian DIVINE COMEDY in this epic, nonlinear narrative. It's lengthy but rewarding to patient readers, as you're kept on your toes through sections that alternate between characters and realities.
If none of these books makes you want to go to Scotland, go pour yourself some whiskey or Irn-Bru and try reading them again.