As a Pagan, Samhain was a holy day for me. As a kid and a part-time, nominal Christian, I mostly had fun with the candy and costumes and pumpkins aspect. At this point in my life, I like the candy and costumes and pumpkins part of things, as well as the spiritual side.
I've put a glass out for departed friends so they can stay and partake. Every year on the thirty-first I take a moment to pause and remember my loved ones. My 'household spirits," if you will. Mostly they are animals but there are a couple of two-leggeds also. I even remember my grandfather fondly. I have put away much of the pain and bewilderment he caused and have learned to think of him with compassion. So his spirit would be welcome at my table, should it choose to come and visit.
The Japanese have the right idea. Their festival of the dead is called Obon. It lasts three days. and is full of music, dancing, big drums, and bonfires. The people dress in festive clothes and celebrate the joyous reunion with their beloved dead. On the last day, they give them a proper sendoff, with lighted lanterns floating down the waterways and out to sea. It's a beautiful scene at night.
Here is the best part: The Japanese people had a Lunar calendar, and changed it to a Solar calendar in the modern era. They liked the festival of Obon so much, that they celebrate it at the new time, which is earlier in the year, AND at the old Lunar time! Someday I want to go to Japan and watch the lanterns float down the river. Farewell, loved souls, we will welcome you again next year.
Halloween is my favorite day of the year. Even though I won't be doing much this year I still have a certain amount of anticipation. I've always loved the idea of putting on a costume and being someone else for a few hours. Exploring different parts of myself, showing off a little perhaps, having fun.
Though my costumes haven't been all that skillfully made, I've had fun with each one. I've been an aviator/aviatrix a few times. I've even had the silk scarf, leather hat, and goggles. I took a flight that way once! I've been Ellie Mae Clampett. I've been Dead Spock. I've been Athena. I've been a kenshi who really was "shi." I've been Emperor Palpatine. I've been a US infantryman. I was Galileo once, as I wrote about in another post. My earliest halloween costume was a devil costume when I was just a baby. The earliest costume I remember was when I was a robot, with a cardboard box body, dryer hose arms, and pliers for hands. I was so excited to dress up! I think I was four.
One of my favorite memories is of dressing up as the shortest Darth Vader who ever was. I'm only 5′ 3″ so it was a pretty big difference between me and good old Wafflepants! I was in college at the time, and went to French class in the costume. Later, I visited the Undergraduate Library. I went up to the information desk and asked where the plans were for the Rebel Base. "Maybe in the map library?" was the quizzical response. I had a lot of fun as Short Vader.
When I was a teenager, my mom would often take me to see my grandmother. I didn't really mind visiting. It was a little boring but not so bad really, and nice to get out of the house. She lived in a retirement community, basically senior living apartments.
One time they had a halloween party. There was pumpkin carving and anyone who knows me knows I'm all over pumpkin carving. That time was no exception. My favorite pumpkin, and one my mom still remembers too, was the cat pumpkin. He had ears and whiskers and everything. Everybody loved that cat pumpkin!
If you want to make your own cat pumpkin, make sure the eyes are fairly large when you cut them out and keep the pieces whole. Then trim those pieces down to nice triangular ear shapes. Secure them with bits of toothpick to the top of the pumpkin. Carve a small triangular nose and use three more toothpicks on either side for whiskers. You may need to whittle them a bit so they stick in more easily.
Everybody loved that pumpkin and I loved the memory!
Walk around and gather a bunch of colorful leaves. Enjoy the crisp fall day.
Pick a big leaf for the body, a smaller leaf for the head, long leaves for legs and arms, use clear tape to attach them. It's a simple project but you can use glue to attack other odd bits to make mustaches, skirts, hats, and almost anything else to your leaf creation. The limit is the imagination. And the fun is enjoying the process!
Finally, hang your leaf man or woman on the door. These usually do better outside, because you are likely to bring little critters in if you hang them inside. It's a really fun thing to do instead of a wreath!
How to cook beans in Nevada!
You will need: A bucket, water filter, rope, river, ground, firewood, paper, matches, a pot, spices, salt, a grate, rocks, a long stick whittled into a spoon, a large plastic tub of some kind, a water bottle, and beans.
First, take the bucket and the rope to the river. Carefully lower the bucket into the river and fill it with water. Haul the bucket up and take it back to camp.
Pump the water from the bucket through the filter and into water bottles. Take beans, add to large plastic container, and put water over the top. Set in the sun. Spend the next several hours going to town or doing camp chores.
Once the beans are somewhat softened, start a fire in the fire pit. Place the pot over it on the grate. The grate is probably something simple, like a wire rack balenced on rocks or cinder blocks. Put the softened beans in the pot, with more water, spices and salt. Bring to a boil and simmer for a couple of hours.
Eat for breakfast and lunch the next day, or until you run out, and it's time to make beans again.
These instructions will also work in northern Idaho.
It's natural to want to avoid risk, whether it is emotional or physical. Sometimes it's a good idea. But sometimes it can lead to increased suffering down the road. And for some people, like me, it can cripple you.
I've found that risk avoidance is just as dangerous as seeking it out. I'll give an example. It's just as dangerous to drive too slowly for the conditions as it is to drive too fast. If you drive too fast, you may lose control of your vehicle or hit an obstacle. If you drive too slowly, other people may hit you or get into accidents trying to avoid you. So the best path is (as usual) the middle path.
I was reminded of this when I saw that Richland, a small town in Washington State, has begun removing the swingsets in all it's school playgrounds. Their reason? Swings are dangerous.
I submit that learning to respond appropriately to danger is important to emotional and mental development. If you sometimes have danger in your life, you learn to either be careful or deal with pain. You learn fortitude and persistence. If you are always protected from all adversity and struggle, you will develop no strength. How strong would you be if an exercise machine did all the work for you? How good with money would you be if you never had to earn any of it?
Emotional risk is especially important to accept. I have had a problem taking criticism, so much so that it has hampered my ability to learn and left me very immature in many ways. This happened because I would always avoid truth that was painful, and take criticism or advice personally, so it hurt so much that I'd ignore that advice. It caused me to completely reject all manner of useful information.
Think about how crippling it would be if you refused to love anyone because you were afraid of losing them. It doesn't make any more sense to avoid advice or even criticism because you are afraid of pain. I say it because I constantly do it! And every day, I see more and more people who are afraid of risk. The American society seems to be terrified of risk, and avoiding it ultimately makes us weaker and less able to handle struggle or adversity.
We can stand up against fear, and at the same time maintain a reasonable level of safety. The key to all of this is to keep your goal in mind. Adversity builds strength. So don't try to avoid all risk. Make it okay to be hurt, a little anyway. Being hurt isn't the end. If you learn to recover from the small pains, the bigger ones will be easier to deal with. Life cannot happen without pain, so it pays to be strong.
In all the movies, TV series, and cartoon shows, comic books, lunch boxes, coloring books and art of all kinds, Tarzan is never shown with a beard. Even though he lives in the jungle and is definitely an adult male!
There's a reason for that. Are you ready?
Here's why and how. In the original book by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Tarzan's parents were marooned on the African coast and died when he was a baby. They had a cabin they had built with some of their things in it. When the baby was rescued by the female ape named Kala, she took him away from that place and raised him.
Later, young Tarzan rediscovered his parents' old home. He saw pictures of humans and realized that these were his people, not the apes. Not only did he learn to read from the picture books he found, he also learned other things about humans and so he shaved with his knife when he got old enough to grow a beard. I always liked Tarzan because he fought with his wits. He relied mostly on a rope till he got his knife, and though he was strong he knew he was far weaker than the other creatures he lived among. He never killed without need and he had a fine sense of justice.
As an additional point of interest, Tarzan did not live with chimps or gorillas, he lived with a large, intelligent and as yet undiscovered type of anthropoid ape.


TERAJ on "My Celebrity Life"
Its Indie Up Radio on the D-Hour Radio network and on this show as always we will be bringing you all the hits from new, amateur, unknown, and up and coming (R&B, Hip Hop, Pop, and Neo-Soul) artists! We'll be bringing you interviews from new, amateur, and independent artists. Don't forget to listen to all our Indie artists hits. We will be giving you all of this at the top of D-Hour!!! Its Saturday so just sit back relax and hang out with hosts Celebrity the Producer and Kandi K! On this show we will be talking with amazing Indie R&B singer Teraj and we will also be talking with fantastic Indie hip hop artist Semaj.


Tune in to the Cooking Channel on March 31, 2016, at 10:30 a.m. EST, and enjoy Chef Emeril Lagasse's visit to Christini's Ristorante Italiano!
We are absolutely thrilled to be visited by one of the most respected chefs in the industry.
The one and only Chef Emeril Lagasse recently paid a visit to the renowned Christini's Ristorante Italiano to tape a segment for Emeril's Florida, a premier show which airs on the Cooking Channel.
Chef Lagasse spends time with owner/restaurateur Chris Christini to enjoy spectacular, authentic Northern Italian cuisine and to talk about Chris' history and philosophy about what it takes to make a very successful restaurant. Be sure to tune in to see some of the other celebrities and dignitaries that have been drawn in by Christini's outstanding reputation.
Since 1984, Christini's has been serving the Orlando area with genuine Italian cuisine in an award-winning setting with the best service and food available in Central Florida. Christini's attention to detail and 45 years of experience in fine dining culminate in an astounding experience that has made the restaurant one of the most awarded establishments in Orlando. The satisfaction and delight of the patrons bring them back time and time again.
Reservations are strongly suggested. Call Christini's Ristorante Italiano at 407-583-4472. For more information about Christini's, including the menu, private dining options, and directions, please visit the website at http://www.christinis.com. View a clip from the show by clicking here.
Christini's has become the definition of fine dining in Orlando, known for their quintessential service and high-quality, classic Northern Italian cuisine. Superb dishes, excellent service, and a transcendent and comfortable ambiance all blend together to construct the definition of fine dining. Along with their distinguished service and high-quality dishes, they also have an award-winning selection of the finest wines from around the world, including Italy, California, France, Chile, Australia, and Germany, which complement your entire dining experience. Featuring authentic Italian cuisines and wine, Christini's is the epitome of fine dining and is dedicated to providing guests with excellence through every facet of their dining experience. View our commercial by clicking here.


What does she have planned?
Imran can't control his anger anymore. He is frustrated that his mum won't let him leave the house and hits Misbah. She flees from the house into the storm.
Sami goes out looking for Misbah. While out, he comes across a woman in the middle of the road and offers her a lift – it's Sinead.
Meanwhile, the storm has forced everyone inside and they are camped out at The Dog. Goldie decides to entertain everyone by dancing on the tables and Mercedes is creating expensive cocktails to sell – 'Storm in a Glass'.
Elsewhere, Lily is worried when she sees Romeo is outside in the storm, so when Prince is distracted, she sneaks out to check on him.


Being the father of a girl and an egalitarian I'm now more conscious of gender bias in toys and little people clothes.
Today whilst talking to my Mom about Christmas I mentioned how many of The Boy's toys will simply move to The Girl now, so there wasn't much I could think of to get her for Christmas.
Mom suggested that I might want to get her "more girly" things.
Of course I immediately said "no" very firmly and made it very clear The Girl would, as far as possible in our culture, be playing with non-gendered toys and wearing non-gendered clothes.
Unfortunately it looks like we're off to a bad start. Despite having said the exact same sort of things in the past, her mother has already been dressing her in plenty of pinks and purples.


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DCMI/ASIST Webinar: The Libhub Initiative: Increasing the Web Visibility of Libraries
In this webinar, Eric Miller, President of Zepheira, will talk about the transition libraries must make to achieve Web visibility, explain recent trends that support these efforts, and introduce the Libhub Initiative -- an active exploration of what can happen when libraries begin to speak the language of the Web. As a founding sponsor, Zepheira's introduction of the Libhub Initiative creates an industry-wide focus on the collective visibility of libraries and their resources on the Web.
DCMI joins as inaugural member of DLMA
DCMI, along with IMS Global) and the International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF), announce the formation of the Digital Learning Metadata Alliance (DLMA). The DLMA will focus on coordination of adoption and development of existing metadata standards in support of digital learning and education. For more information about DLMA, visit http://dlma.org and read the IMS Global press release at http://www.imsglobal.org/pressreleases/IMSPR20141024.pdf.
DCMI invites public comment on draft LRMI in RDF
DCMI invites public comment on a draft RDF specification for LRMI version 1.1. The draft RDF specification can be found at http://dublincore.org/dcx/lrmi-terms/drafts/2014-11-30/. The one month public comment period is from 1 December 2014 through 31 December 2014. The RDF specification is intended to embody the current Learning Resource Metadata Initiative version 1.1 term declarations at http://dublincore.org/dcx/lrmi-terms/.
Tutorials, presentations and proceedings of DC-2014 published
Over 236 people from 17 countries attended DC-2014 in Austin, Texas from 8 through 11 October 2014. Pre- and post-Conference tutorials and workshops were presented in the AT Executive Education and Conference Center and at the Harry Ransom Center with 90 people attending in each of the two venues on the University of Texas at Austin campus. Over 190 people attended the 2-day conference. Presentation slides of the keynote by Eric Miller of Zepheira LLC as well as presentations from the special sessions and the tutorials/workshops are available online at the conference website at http://bit.
Stewardship of LRMI specification transferred to DCMI
After lengthy deliberations, the leadership of the Learning Resource Metadata Initiative (LRMI) has determined that the stewardship of the LRMI 1.1 specification, as well management of future LRMI development, will be passed to DCMI and its long-standing Education Community. The LRMI specification on which schema.org educational properties and classes are based was created by the Association of Educational Publishers (AEP) and _blank">Creative Commons (CC) with support from the Bill Melinda Gates Foundation.
DCMI/ASIS Webinar - The Learning Resource Metadata Initiative, describing learning resources with schema.org, and more?
The Learning Resource Metadata Initiative (LRMI) is a collaborative initiative that aims to make it easier for teachers and learners to find educational materials through major search engines and specialized resource discovery services. The approach taken by LRMI is to extend the schema.org ontology so that educationally significant characteristics and relationships can be expressed. In this webinar, Phil Barker and Lorna M. Campbell of Cetis will introduce schema.org and present the background to LRMI, its aims and objectives, and who is involved in achieving them.
DCMI's first Governing Board officer transition
In the closing ceremony of DC-2014, DCMI exercised the first Governing Board officer transition under the Initiative's new governance structure. Michael Crandall stepped into the role of Immediate Past Chair as Eric Childress assumed the roles of Chair of DCMI and the Governing Board. Joseph Tennis became the new Chair Elect of the Board and will succeed as Chair at DC-2015 in São Paulo, Brazil. Information about the new DCMI governance structure can be found in the DCMI Handbook at http://wiki.
Simmons College and Infocom Corporation renew organizational memberships
DCMI is very pleased to announce the renewal of two of its organizational members for the coming year. The Graduate School of Library and Information Science at Simmons College in Boston, USA, has renewed as an Institutional Member and Infocom Corporation of Japan has renewed as a Supporting Member. The DCMI Supporting Member Program is open to all private sector companies that want to support DCMI financially in continuing its work to the benefit of a healthy metadata ecosystem.
Final Program published for DC-2014
The Texas Digital Library and the Conference Committee of DC-2014 in Austin, Texas on 8-11 October have published the final program of the DCMI International Conference at http://dcevents.dublincore.org/IntConf/index/pages/view/program14. Join us in Austin for an exciting agenda including 46 papers, project reports and best practice posters and presentations. Parallel with the peer reviewed program is an array of special sessions of panels and discussions on key metadata issues, challenges and new opportunities.
Preliminary Program published for DC-2014
The Texas Digital Library and the Conference Committee of DC-2014 in Austin, Texas has published the preliminary program of the DCMI International Conference at http://dcevents.dublincore.org/IntConf/index/pages/view/program14. The conference on Thursday and Friday, 9-10 October, features keynote speaker, Eric Miller, paper sessions, project reports, posters (including best practice posters and demonstrations), and an array of special sessions. Wednesday and Saturday pre- and post-conference events include tutorials and workshops: Training the Trainers for Linked Data, RDF Validation in the Cultural Heritage Community, Fonds & Bonds: Archival Metadata, Tools, and Identity Management, and Positioning DCMI & Dublin Core in the Metadata Ecosystem.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl