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Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Joe Neal's Purple martin saga: Birds gather in stages to head to their roosting area after sunset

Purple Martins are already on wires when I arrive at 7:10 PM, but there are only 8, plus many more starlings. I've decided to watch how the pre-roost gathers itself before heading off to the night roost only one mile south. By 7:20 the number doubles, but still far short of thousands here last night.

Welcome to southeast Springdale, heart of northwest Arkansas's busiest industrial area, adjacent the Springdale airport. We've had a 101 degree day and I'm in the welcome shade of an 18 wheeler, part of the fleet maintained by Northwest Technical Institute for teaching and testing potential drivers. I'm constantly scanning for new martin arrivals during the next 20 minutes.

This mostly flat country is part of the former Osage Prairie. Native Indians from what is now Missouri hunted bison here. And in a region otherwise dominated by the rugged terrain of the White River, settlers preferred open lands and bountiful prairie grass, as did builders of the pre-Civil War telegraph and Butterfield stage, both not far from where I'm sitting. It may also be why martins of the post-breeding season gather here.

At 7:40 I've only seen 40 birds, but suddenly at 8:03 there are a couple of hundred! First they swirl, then settle down and arrange themselves tightly on wires, mainly folded wing-to-folded wing. Orderly ranks, like soldiers on parade.

So how long have there been these high summer martin gatherings here? I don't have an answer, but just south there's a shady trailer residential area called Whistler Park. Main road in: Purple Martin Drive.

As the sun drifts toward setting over Springdale, 8:15 PM, martins are pouring in. My current count: at least 1,275, give or take 100 . . . or so . . .  like counting/estimating winter blackbirds . . . and more arriving.

Sundown at 8:26 seems a trigger. Wires and tree tops are leafed-out with martins, but then suddenly, as on cue, well-ordered martin ranks lift off, transformed into energetic swirls. Like someone among the martin hosts has yawned and said she's ready for bed. Martins are steadily slipping south. At 8:30 I can see that only half of the sundown swirl returns to perch.

At 8:36 there's another bail-out, with most wires empty. But it's no single big flight to roost, no single leader and a bunch of followers, more like a flowing stream than a flood. But they steadily abandon the 18-wheeler lot. Thin swirls and individuals head the one mile south. By 8:40 I can see maybe 200 birds.

8:41 PM, and all is now mainly quiet here on the martin pre-roost front. Inevitably, there is the putative last of the last of martins to leave pre-roost for night roost. The place seems empty, but nearby, dogday cicadas rage on in chorus, raging, raging for this wonderful summer evening.

It's been one hour and half since I arrived. Zero is the number of martins I see at 8:45, but I can hear a few calls of what I assume are stragglers. Why is the first the first to go roost and why is the last the last?
Why choose this busy industrial hub rather than say, a pristine uninhabited island in Beaver Lake? Is some Methuselah-like collective martin heritage recalling days of Indian grass, sawtooth sunflowers, and hordes of native pollinating bees and flies, ripe and ready for aerial plucking by hungry martins?

8:50, slice of moon up and mainly dark. I'm considering as I fold up my chair and head home, well
entertained, and with many questions. JOE NEAL written about July 23, 2012 experience.

The big Purple Martin roost in northwest Arkansas that Bo Verser first saw on NEXRAD radar July 17 is within Springdale city limits, about two miles north of Lake Fayetteville. David Oakley and I found the roost last night right at dark. It is in Springdale's industrial area, with birds using mid-sized trees in an older, densely developed residential neighborhood.

Prior to locating this roost, Joan Reynolds and I estimated we saw between 6,000 to 9,000 birds July 21 on Parsons Road, approximately 3 air miles northeast of the actual roost. Last night David Oakley and I located another pre-roost north of Parsons Stadium in Springdale about 1 mile from the actual roost.

Birds on Parsons Road were watering at a big open pond adjacent powerlines. Many birds near the stadium were taking advantage of a limestone gravel parking lot, perched on the ground and possibly collecting limestone grit, either to aid in digesting insect exoskeletons or as a calcium supplement.

Martin numbers near Parsons Stadium were easily as high as on Parsons Road. It appears martin numbers using the roost may range roughly between 12,000 and 18,000.

This morning's NEXRAD showed the Springdale martin roost dispersing mainly to north and east, which would send at least part of this flock out over the lower parts of Beaver Lake -- Lost Bridge, Indian Creek, and the dam site.  The radar also shows big rings at Tulsa and the Lake Ouachita. JOE NEAL written about July 22, 2012 experience.

Last night, Joan Reynolds and I estimated a minimum 6000-9000 Purple Martins vocalizing energetic  BREETS and CHURS, and packed shoulder-to-shoulder, on low trees and high wires crossing big open fields at Sonora east of Springdale. As birds came in they made low passes over a big farm pond, rippling the water surface, maybe getting a last drink before roosting.

I was absolutely certain they were about to roost in trees along Parsons Road. That was around 8 PM as the sun was going down. Time for high fives, but then, off they went in ragged swirls, mainly east, toward the old Butterfield Coach Road (265) on Springdale's east side, to roost . . . somewhere . . .

Bo Verser sent me an email on July 17 with a weather underground image of a "martin roost ring" showing up on radar northeast of Fayetteville, maybe on Beaver Lake. He wrote,  "Of course it takes thousands of birds exploding skyward as they leave their roost to create these radar rings."  We're talking about an enormous, donut-shaped swirl. I was unaware of this martin concentration until Bo's email.

The ring appeared on NEXRAD (Next-Generation Radar), a network of Doppler weather surveillance radars operated by National Weather Service. The other ring he'd seen involved the huge and well-known Purple Martin roost on Lake Ouachita.

My Beaver Lake friends Bob and Patti French at Lost Bridge were still seeing good numbers of martins near their nest boxes, but nothing like thousands. I ran this by Joan, who lives near the lake and she checked with others including biologist Alan Bland of the Army Corps of Engineers. He hadn't seen anything, either. I emailed Flip Putthoff, outdoor editor for the Morning News. He wrote back that he'd been on Beaver Lake at Rocky Branch in recent early mornings and had seen no martin swirl.

Were last evening's thousands the whole roosting flock, or just a part that pre-roosts at Sonora? Is the roost just east, or miles further away?

This morning I again looked at the NEXRAD link Bo Verser supplied. Again, Purple Martins are exploding from the roost in a vast swirl, but not mainly southwest toward Fayetteville, but northeast seemingly over Beaver Lake. Somewhere.   JOE NEAL written about July 21, 2012 experience.

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Hawks surprising people all over

My sister Ruth called a couple of weeks ago about a big hawk that appeared suddenly in their suburban Atlanta yard. She's not a card-carrying member of the bird watching community, and neither is my brother-in-law Bob, but both are observant. They'd never seen anything like this. Bob emailed me photos of what appears a young Red-tailed Hawk.

I didn't think much more about this until two days ago, when Rose Ann Barnhill called. "There's three Plumbeous Kites right here!" One looked like a juvenile. Rosie is out every working day in central Fayetteville's Wilson Park. She wouldn't have missed any kind of kite if present all summer. As a UA grad student, she studied the birds of Belize for two years. Naturally enough, common Tropical birds appear unannounced in her conversation. She immediately corrected Plumbeous to Mississippi Kite.

Then I had an email from Judith Griffith at Ninestone Land Trust in Carroll County. She's just seen three Broad-winged Hawks . . . She walks the place every day. Red-tailed and Red-shouldered Hawks are regulars, but not broad-wings.
Finally, Joan Reynolds and I birded the state fish hatchery at Centerton last Wednesday. Of shorebirds there were Killdeers (41+), Least Sandpiper (5), and Lesser Yellowlegs (1). Relatively speaking, hawks were sparse, but there was a constant raspy WHEEEE! WHEEEE! Imitated expertly by local jays, this proved impatient, fledgling Red-tailed Hawks.

In sum, this is suddenly hawks season on our avian calendar. They appear in places where earlier they weren't. If instead of hawks it was a sudden appearance of a Bald Eagle, the change would be obvious. They wouldn't just go previously unobserved.

My assumption is these sudden hawks probably nested nearby. Taking into account nest building, egg laying, incubation (around 30 days) and young in the nest (around 45 days), red-tails have been in the same locale for at least three months.

During this period, "low hanging fruit" -- that is, easily caught opossum roadkill, bunnies, rats, and snakes -- must become relatively exhausted. So it's off to the new world, to fresh territory, where food is plentiful, the livin' easy. Maybe a backyard, where all of a sudden . . . hungry hawks assess your prized Chihuahua (just kidding).

Saturday, July 14, 2012

Terns, blazing star and sweet corn: A day at Beaver Lake with Joe Neal

Flying out over the lake, the tern looks big and white against numerous Purple Martins at Beaver Lake dam. Caspian? There’s color in the bill, black on the head, and maybe dark (?) in the primaries. Common? I whip out my spotting scope when it keeps trying to settle on a buoy pitched in racing boat-generated tsunamis.

Maybe 120 martins suddenly flush out of the campground over us. Hunting grasshoppers in weeds by the shore, a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher exposes it sensation reddish pink armpit.

Between boats, and hence fewer tsunamis, the buoy settles and the tern finds a perch. Tail clearly extends beyond the tips of the primaries. The legs and bill are orangey, not red. Forster's! A Fish Crow AH-Ahs in agreement up by the bathroom.

Despite hundreds of Beaver Lake trips, this all looks new. Most of my Beavers have been December-January, cold and quiet, with nothing but shivering and trying to avoid north wind, plus shuttered vacation homes, maybe the yodel of a Common Loon, the occasional Long-tailed Duck, barren hills. But today's mid-July Beaver is full of people, lake jammed with boats, RV campers with their ACs and TVs. Blue-gray Gnatcatchers patrol the cedar glades.

The Dam Site Loop cut-off between Indian Creek Park and the dam perfectly illustrates different Beavers. It's barren in winter; I whiz right through, hopping lake view to lake view for a rare duck. Not today. At one spot there's an extensive patch of prairie dock (Silphium terebinthinaceum) with majestic green masses of elephant ear leaves and brilliant yellow flowers atop a lanky stalk. Not so impossibly impressive, but still begat of botanical royalty, surrounding flowers include gray-headed coneflower and grayish mountain mint,shouts of glades and prairies. No whizzing past and ignoring, unless our social order has us in metaphorical mind-numbing shackles.

Several species of goldenrods spring right out of a big shelf of rock in the dam's north park. And seemingly right out of no soil or seemingly no soil, impossibly tiny white Houstonias and the first purple blooms from Spanish Needles.

In last winter's Beaver, just out from this glade, a Western Grebe mixed in with flocks of Horned Grebes and an Eared Grebe. I set up my scope in an empty parking lot with my coat zipped. Grebes and gulls, yes, but no flowering goldenrods, no freshly minted fence lizards on limestone rocks. Today the parking is jammed. Young folks in scuba gear and bikinis own grebe land.

Then it's time to head home. The hurry on highway 62! Those metaphorical shackles! A patch of purple gay feathers in the ditch forces a slowing, reminds me of a different time. Another mighty Silphium, compass plant, is in full bloom. Got to slow for that.

Here and there, in the shade alongside 62, a pick-up full of green produce; man and a simple handmade sign: "sweet corn."

Monday, July 9, 2012

Joe Neal angry (deja vu) over abuse of critical wildlife habitat by 'barbarians'

Cattle Egrets, Great Egrets, and Little Blue Herons are in the middle of an active nesting season in the mixed-species rookery on a sandy Arkansas River island just off the mouth of the Mulberry River. Joan Reynolds and I canoed out there yesterday. Snowy Egrets are in the vicinity; we didn't see them nesting, but this doesn't mean they weren't there. We canoed and kept our distance to minimize disturbance, so we could easily have missed them. This island is just down river from Frog Bayou WMA. It looks like a good season.

There were also 25-30 vultures of both species, hunkered down adjacent the rookery, with dead and injured birds visible along the edges by the river. In such places, nature can seem cruel and wasteful. Yet, we offer thanks for many healthy young egrets. Our vulture friends are doing their part for the great cycle. We could see big catfish in the shallows – doubtless another competitor for fallen baby birds.

What we didn't find, but hoped for, were nests of endangered Least Terns. We did have a fly-over by three terns, but observed no nests. Unfortunately, nesting habitat of the past few years was replaced by the telltale signs of barbarians: human and dog footprints everywhere, beer cans and other trash, food debris, paper waste I assume was toilet, and improbably, broken metal parts of at least two big sun screens, stuck in the sand and just left with other garbage midst suitable tern habitat.

One would like to believe if the modern heirs of George Washington in the Congress of the United States saw fit to pass an Endangered Species Act --  and law enforcement agencies from Feds in helicopters and powerful boats to our state and local law enforcement agencies sworn to enforce said act -- the 4th of July barbarians who trashed one small bird island in the Arkansas River, and perhaps this year's nest attempt on that island by a beautiful protected bird -- would suffer the logical consequence of profligate ignorance.

Realistically, the only solution is for these islands to be declared "Closed Areas" during the tern nesting season, probably June-August, much as some other parts of state and federal public lands are closed to protect critical wildlife values. Closed, Entry Prohibited – and actively enforced. Legitimate boaters and ethical anglers would understand and support. It would inconvenience barbarians.

This single island is a tiny link in the bird's considerable range.  Every part of a link counts, of course, but there are larger populations nesting in places where, hopefully, educators have opened minds about our world's wonderful potential and common law holds barbarians accountable until they learn to appreciate.

Friday, July 6, 2012

Joe Neal's June 5, 2012, prairie birding

When I took off for Maysville yesterday, my goal was Swainson's Hawk and home by noon. Instead, damn the heat/full speed ahead, I wound up prairie flower admiring, starting out with a remarkable display of purple gay feathers at Stump Prairie along highway 59 at Siloam Springs. At Gentry, walked Eagle Watch Nature Trail where I found a rare Terry Stanfill (1) and a less rare but also interesting Neotropic Cormorant (1; second Ozarks record) perched on a snag helpfully adjacent a Double-crested Cormorant.

A Swainson's Hawk flew over me just southwest of Maysville (OK side of state line). Come noon, I took a break under spreading black shade and refreshing light breeze at Maysville Cemetery. Being a practical person, I settled down for a mid-summer nap. I was not alone as a shade-seeker.

A Horned Lark northeast of Maysville flew from a bean field to stand in the only patch of shade for two miles. Grasshopper Sparrows were along roads in three places. One had young out of the nest, another was carrying a grasshopper in that big bill, and a third was singing from barbed wire -- in the shade. This singer exhibited prominent gold feathers in the front of the eyebrows (supraloral) and in the leading edge of the wing (alula, primary coverts). Usually I see and hear them a long ways away, in bright sun of an open field. I couldn't decide if it had more color than most, or if shade and hence less sun glare pumped up the color.

Despite my best efforts, I was wilted by yesterday's onslaught of 102 degrees and drought. But, according two stalwarts of former prairies of western Benton County, compass plant and gay feather, you either embrace the heat or get out of the kitchen. Even if we have modified and ecologically ruined most of their habitat, wilt is not the game for compass plant, gay feather, and certainly not Dickcissels, singing all the day in full song. Bring it on, full speed ahead.

These creatures are visual placeholders for an entire prairie ecosystem, much of it now missing from northwest Arkansas. In our race for the good life, we've given up our natives. Paraphrasing Aldo Leopold, we have lost many parts. How many can we do without? How many do we need? We've given up Greater Prairie-Chickens that once lived where today we see patches of flowering gay feathers. Do we become impoverished because we won't or we can't accommodate anything that isn't a cow or a giant chicken house? It has to do with scale and the balance required in order to move forward in an ecological sense.

On the way back , just when I'd given all hope for human beings: an unattended vegetable stand in a patch of shade along highway 12 near Eagle Watch, in sight of flowering gay feathers. Remarkably, it runs on the honor system. Tomatoes, $4, put money in the box. It doesn't make a difference if you are D or R, black or white, left or right, gay or straight, care or don't care about earth's ultimate fate. All you have to believe in is vine-ripened tomatoes.

Sunday, July 1, 2012

Joe Neal finds wildlife getting along well where native plants dominate

For sample photos from several trips to Chesney Prairie, use this link to Flickr

If drought and heat is supposed to constrain bobwhites, gay feathers, switch grass, or compass plants, somebody quick run out to Chesney Prairie Natural Area and give them the bad news. Even though tough leaves on ashy sunflowers curl just a bit, Dickcissel young are out of the nest, chasing down their own grasshoppers.

Short-tailed fledgling Scissor-tailed Flycatchers are on the wing and keeping the long-tailed folks busy. Red-headed Woodpeckers, who prefer dead trees anyway, seem spunky as ever.

At one point, while admiring a patch of purple gay feathers well-attended by green-headed bees with yellow-striped abdomens, I could hear 1, 2, 3 -- no, actually 4 bobwhites -- calling back and forth. I flushed one suddenly right underfoot, and heard peeping young nearby. Whistled BOBWHITE! carries nicely through blue sky glare and dry air.

It's not exactly headline news that early high heat and spreading drought generally impact biota and birders, of course. Today I walked slowly, wore a sunhat, ducked into whatever shade was available. Growth of various sunflowers may have slowed and this could account for what seemed a listless performance on the part of today's American Goldfinches, just now starting to nest. But native bluestem grasses are green and thriving, as in an oasis, especially when compared to fescue and bermuda pastures just beyond. Long ago stripped of their deep-rooted and therefore drought-hardy native plants, these pastures are inexorably baking into sand-colored deserts.

Prairies came to northwest Arkansas 9000 to 5000 years ago during high a time of high heat and low rain termed the Hypsithermal. Annual rainfall was estimated at 10 inches rather than 40 we expect. The Great Plains spread east along with drought-hardy plants and animals. We got our bison and prairie chickens then, and quickly lost them as we eliminated prairie.

The fact that climate change can have big impacts isn't just a bunch of wild speculation spread by liberal scientists. Native Indians who lived in the Ozarks over the past 10,000 years stored food and sometimes camped in deep, dry rock overhangs that protected plant and animal remains from deterioration. One of the biggest ones I've visited is Cob Cave along the walking trail up to Eden Falls in Lost Valley of the Buffalo National River. Local hot dry times are well-documented in animal bones, plant fibers, and various stored seeds characteristic of the Great Plains.

I don't want to stir flat earth society partisans by bringing up this stuff. But are headed there again? If high heat and drought becomes a long term feature here, it favors plants and animals like those of a prairie oasis, disfavors poorly adapted monocultures like fescue.

Out on Chesney today, Red-winged Blackbirds are feeding young. In the pastures, cows fret about the future.


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Me Time + The Best Ever {Salmon Chowder}

Suffice it to say, with Babycake's being sick for almost 2 weeks, plus me getting said sickness, I have not had a lot of alone time. The first time I was able to take a shower by myself and sleep in my own bed in 9 days (rather than on my toddler's floor), it was like sweet freedom. So when my inlaws' offered to watch Babycakes on Saturday and keep her overnight, I said yes before they had time to change their minds :) What did I do with all this me-time?!  Well, first I grocery shopped alone and savored the peace and quiet; then I went on a thrift store shopping tour with some girlfriends looking for new blog photography props; then I had a lovely Indian meal with those girlfriends and we talked (without getting interrupted 8 times, heavenly!!) and laughed; then, I came home and made salmon chowder at 9pm. I'm weird, I know. But I loved every minute!!

Introducing The Best Ever Salmon Chowder:

I really can't say enough good things about this soup. It is absolutely perfect. I would not change a thing.

Savory. Scrumptious. And full of nourishing ingredients -- like salmon, carrots, sweet potatoes, and cashews... This is truly a meal that your entire family will love.

What's that about the cashews, you say?  Well, I used what's called a "cashew cream" instead of the traditional half and half used in chowders. Basically, you soak some raw cashews in water for a couple hours, then you drain away the water. Add fresh water & puree...and it makes a lovely dairy-free cream alternative.

Even if you are a dairy drinker/eater, you should give this recipe a try. Cashews are so good for you!!

  • What do you do for me-time?

Salmon Chowder

The best Salmon Chowder I've ever eaten!

2 cups
Raw Cashews
1 cup
Water (used for soaking, then drained)
1 cup
Water (to puree with the soaked cashews)
Carrots (thinly sliced)
1 tablespoon
Vegan Butter (I used earth balance, or sub regular butter)
Sweet Onion (diced)
2 tablespoons
Minced Garlic
Sweet Potato (peeled & cubed)
2 tablespoons
Parsley (diced)
64 ounces
Chicken broth
4 tablespoons
Nutritional Yeast Flakes
3⁄4 pounds
Wild Salmon

  1. Ahead of time, soak your 2 cups of cashews in 1 cup of water for 3 hours.
  2. After 3 hours, drain the water out of the soaked cashews and discard.
  3. Add 1 cup of fresh water in with the soaked cashews and puree them with an immersion stick blender... then set aside.
  4. In a large stockpot, saute thinly sliced carrots, garlic, onion, and vegan butter for approximately 5 minutes, or until onion is softened and slightly browned.
  5. Add in diced sweet potato and saute for an additional 5 minutes. Potatoes should not get brown.
  6. Add in all remaining ingredients except for the salmon.
  7. Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat to medium to simmer for approximately 10 minutes.  Potatoes should be softened.
  8. Add in thawed wild salmon. The boiling soup will cook it in about 8 minutes.
  9. Once salmon is cooked through, use a fork to flake it into small pieces.
  10. Serve with a nice french bread (optional).

Yields 6 Servings

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Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Fairness And Thinking Before Flaming

I recently listened to a podcast and thought that I heard someone say something incredibly stupid. But, I waited before turning on the flamethrower. As I slept on the quote, and thought about what was said a little more deeply, I came to the conclusion that the quote was not a misstatement. The person obviously meant what he said.

From what I know of the person, the quote reflected his real life political opinions. The individual in question would, if pressed, stand 100% behind the beliefs revealed by the quote. He would probably state that anyone who didn't believe the way he does is a horrible person.

At what point do I just trash an idea for a post? The Nosy Gamer is a blog about video games, and unless writing about either the in-game political antics of EVE Online players or issues that specifically affect video game players, I try to avoid politics. I don't really want to get into a ideological fight on the blog. I do that way too often on Twitter as it is.

Some may say my stance on real money trading and associated in-game behavior is a stance based on my real life values. I believe that the same rules that apply to the new player mining in an asteroid belt in his shiny new Venture should also apply to the most jaded of null sec alliance leaders. And vice-versa. I rather suspect some people are tired of the rules lawyering posts I occasionally write whenever a controversy erupts in the EVE community.

I do think that many people share my belief in treating everyone as equally as possible. The biggest example in my mind is the controversy that surrounded the EVE Online gambling website SOMERblink in October 2013. Despite openly violating the EVE Online EULA, SOMERblink was allowed to conduct business because, as an affiliate of, Somerset Mahm fell under the EVE Time Code Bazaar Rules which overrode the EULA. The controversy finally ended when CCP informed all of the Game Time Code (now PLEX) resellers that their player affiliates must follow the EULA, although not before SOMERblink held a firesale to milk the every last drop out of its ISK laundering scheme.

Getting back to the subject of a podcaster's sincere political beliefs reflecting in his attitudes in a video game, I'm not sure if I will use the quote. I'm tempted to just move on. If I do wind up using the quote, I need to make sure I use the quote properly. Going negative and just attacking a person is often counterproductive. I'd rather try to go for some sort of positive change, or express a positive ideal to strive for. But as I said before, I may just let the whole idea drop as I'm not sure if the potential payout is worth the effort.

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Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Speed, or lack thereof

I survived my first speed workout. I learned a lot in the process. And the learning process feels very similar to what I imagine it would feel like to be hit by a truck.

The speed thing really is an entirely different experience than endurance. Here are my Cliff's Notes:

Endurance -- try to pre-occupy your brain with thoughts of anything else but what you are doing. Zone out.
Speed -- just shut your brain off completely, you'll need that extra oxygen.

Endurance -- try to just keep going
Speed -- try to go until you find that line between as fast as possible and puking

Endurance -- find a rhythm, your arms, legs and breathing all working together "zen-like"
Speed -- just try to move everything as fast as possible until you fear one of your limbs may bust loose and go flying through the air

Needless to say the first of my speed workouts was a very humbling experience. But I think it will really help me so I'm determined to stick with it.

And now I have numbers...actual workout base my training and progress off of. Its really a whole new ball game now! One that hopefully ends with a winning season. ;)

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Friday, 27 August 2010

Coffee Break: The Internet - Good, Bad or Ugly?

Good morning Racers! How are we all this fine Friday morning? I hope it finds you well and raring to go! I’ve got a selection of teas, coffees, water and other beverages plus different snacks so please help yourself as we settle down for another coffee break.

For those who might be a little confused. I’m Rebecca Stonebridge - although most of you will probably know me better under the host of pen names I’ve had through my years as a Novel Racer; A. Writer, Paige, The Secret Writer, Emily Tootsweet… I’m staying as Rebecca Stonebridge for now ;o)

The Internet. For me it’s both a devil and a godsend.

When I started writing many many moons ago, I wasn’t connected to the internet. Writing really was a solitary thing for me. I had my ideas for my novels and my laptop - that was it. I didn’t even have a desk. I just sat on my bed and wrote. Then I got the internet connected to my laptop. I started my first writing blog, which didn’t get many hits so I started a new one and slowly I started to mingle with other writers. I also joined the Novel Racers. If it wasn’t for the Novel Racers and the other writers I talked to online, I doubt I would still be writing. I don’t know any writers in ‘real life’ so meeting writers online has given me confidence to keep writing. The advice and support I’ve found online has helped me massively. And that is why I say the Internet is a godsend.

But there is also a downside. The internet is a devil because it just holds far too many distractions. If it’s not Facebook, it’s writing my blog, reading blogs or twittering on Twitter. I know for a fact that I faff about far too much on the internet for my own good. I need to learn to switch off the damn thing so I can get some work done.

Recently I’ve witnessed the bad side to the internet with people being bullied and spammed and it made me think about how much we use the internet and do we really need it? Could you live without the internet? Could you gladly smash up your modem and live a happy life or would your world fall apart without Facebook/Twitter/Blogs?

So my question today is: The Internet. Is it a godsend, a devil or a bit of both for you??

P.S. Can I just remind Racers that the idea of a NR meet has been mentioned? And if you pop on the ‘other blog’ we can discuss the when’s, the where’s and the who’s…

Annieye said...

Sorry to wake you up so early - I'll have tea, please. This is a brilliant post, Rebecca, and one which is worth me spending 15 or so minutes of my precious early morning writing time on!

I totally agree with everything you say. Facebook, particularly, can be an dangerous and evil internet tool. I have seen first hand what power it can wield. I know someone who has lost their job (in the police force) because of something they posted as a status and one of my kids had a horrific experience with someone they had accepted as a friend. This person started pestering them by phone and was bordering on physically stalking them. Fortunately, after changing their mobile phone number and 'unfriending' things seem to be OK now.

I think as long as you are careful the internet doesn't steal too much of your time and replace real relationships, it is a brilliant tool. For me, it gives me the friendship of other writers, both published and unpublished, and valuable tips and advice.

Spending hours on social networking sites is not real life, though, and never can be, but the internet is here to stay and we have to learn how to live with it instead of for it.

I've only just started twittering, since acquiring an i-phone, but a colleague warned me the other day that the 'IT police' where I work do try to find staff on twitter, and if tweets prove that staff have been twittering at work we could be disciplined. People have already been hauled over the coals for posting on FB on blackberrys and i-phones.

So, for me, unless I jack my job in, I'm afraid I must stay on the edges of the cyber world and use the time I spend online wisely. Time is the most precious thing we possess.

Leatherdykeuk said...

Without the internet I would never have been published. Only once have I actually printed out 400 pages and sent them off in real life. It was a small fortune I couldn't afford regularly -- even now I baulk at entering competitions and anthologies that require hard copies.

I also do a lot of online research. What might take me a three-day weekend to research an obscure fact from the dead sea scrolls at the british library now takes me a few minutes online.

Serendipity (Christine) said...

Tea please! Great post and topical for me. I've just returned from a holiday abroad leaving behind laptop and mobile phone and I loved it. I'm not so sure I would want to be without the internet as it is brilliant for research but it has made me definitely decide to give up Facebook etc - I calculated the time I'm on there and frankly, it could be more time for writing... :-)

Debs said...

I love the Internet especially for research and have spend many happy hours checking out information for my WiP.

However, I'm also on Facebook and Twitter and know that I seem to lose hours there that previously I'd spent writing. I do check my emails at work, but wouldn't look at Twitter or Facebook.

I do enjoy visiting other peoples blogs and have learnt so much about writing from the Internet, so all in all I do think it's a good thing, in moderation.

sheepish said...

Hi sorry I missed yesterday but we went to the coast so I could have a swim and to a large diy shop to buy some tiles[but thats another story] I should have gone on line to see if I could order the tiles!!!!
A very intersting topic. I think the internet is like the Curates Egg ...... 'good in parts' I find it very useful for research which living in France is not available to me in other ways. I also love the interaction of the Racers, also not available to me here, my French is good but not up to discussing the finer points of writing and reading.
I do not 'twitter' and only visit facebook very occasionally so blogging is my only social vice. I still manage to spend quite a lot of time wandering through the web.
The internet is the same as any other human invention, brilliant but open to subversion.

Karen said...

Sorry I'm late, got my mum staying!

Internet is good, good, good - but can be terribly distracting. It's brought my writing on in leaps and bounds - I'd go as far as to say I wouldn't have had any short stories published at all if I hadn't joined Story a Fortnight, so I'm indebted.

I haven't got into Facebook and Twitter so much, but still love connecting with people via my blog :o)

Denise said...

Sorry I'm late, had a couple of days away in the drizzle of Brighton :-)

I also think I've gained more than lost with the internet. I've met so many people, found out about courses and joined the novel racers. I do lose time with blogs and facebook, but a lot of the time that's also talking about writing. Hearing other people's successes and setbacks makes me feel part of a community that I'd rarely encounter elsewhere.

Graeme K Talboys said...

Days late. Distracted by all the shiny things on the internet. :-)

Despite the dark side the internet is a true lifeline for me. I'm virtually housebound these days and it is the only way I can keep in touch with people, do research (Google street view is excellent), buy books, buy some more books, oh yes and you can buy books. And, as already mentioned, it has revolutionised the way I work with my publishers.

Downside - the games (although I'm a better poker player than I ever was). But, did I mention, you can buy books.


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Indian Government approves plans to construct 10 nuclear reactors

EBR Staff Writer Published 18 May 2017

The Indian Government has given consent to construct 10 pressurized heavy water reactors (PHWR) in a bid to boost the domestic nuclear power program in the country.

The new nuclear power plants will hold total installed capacity of around 7000MW.  Currently, India has 22 operational plants, which hold nuclear power capacity of 6780MW.

With projects currently under construction, the country is expected to generate another 6700MW of nuclear power by 2021-22.

The new units are being developed under Make in India initiative to transform Indian nuclear power sector.

By offering manufacturing orders to domestic industry, the new project is expected to generate up to 33,400 jobs in direct and indirect employment.

The ten reactors are said to be part of India’s latest design of 700MW PHWR fleet with an advanced technology.

The new reactors are expected to be constructed at Mahi Banswara of Rajasthan, Chutka of Madhya Pradesh, Kaiga of Karnataka and Gorakhpur of Haryana.

According to Press Information Bureau (PIB), the 10 PHWR project will result in a significant augmentation of nuclear power generation capacity, and bring about substantial economies of scale and maximise cost and time efficiencies by adopting fleet mode for execution.


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This isn't turning into Conjunto Great Quote of the Day, but this one is good from Santiago Jiménez from the interview in ¡Puro Conjunto! , which is a great book.

he said "I thought that accordion music had a very happy rhythm, simple though it might have been, but very happy--which is the thing in music that makes people happy: happiness."

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Cloistered Dominican Nuns Corpus Christi Monastery

The Monastic Life of the Dominican Nuns

OPnunsmenlo1Dedicated to a contemplative life, Dominican nuns are “called by God, like Mary, to sit at the feet of Jesus and to listen to His words.”  (Luke 10:39) This is a call to be His disciple, to listen, to reflect, to contemplate, to see and to love deeply.  The discovery of the Divine Mystery is what makes the life of a contemplative vital to our world.  To be a contemplative is to be willing to stand “near the cross of Jesus” (John 19:25) and to be transformed into Christ and to encounter Him in His Passion, Death and Resurrection and to be intercessors for the needs of our world.

Prayer is the center and heart of our life.   Our monastic enclosure, with silence, study, work and penance contribute to the growth within us of a life of prayer and a living and loving relationship with God.

      The external act of withdrawal to enter the cloister is only the beginning of a life-time of gradually embracing a whole new set of values which brings one into intimate contact with God and His creation.  Enclosure is not a restriction imposed from without, but a force of attraction from within alluring one to God.  Enclosure is the religious observance that supports withdrawal from distractions and superficialities and calls for a quality of depth in the pursuit of God, a life of charity, and a stable conversion of life which leads to a deeper communion with our world through intercession and reparation.

      By the practice of silence, we learn to use speech for the sake of truth and love.

      In our Constitutions, it is stated that “The methodical study of sacred truth, according to the capacity of the individual, is a fruitful preparation for lectio divina and an aid to human maturity.” (LCM # 100 I ).  St. Dominic recommended some form of study to the first nuns as an authentic observance of the Order.  It not only nourishes contemplation, but also removes the impediments which arise through ignorance and informs the practical judgment.  In this way it fosters the fulfillment of the evangelical counsels with a more enlightened fidelity and encourages unanimity of mind.  By its very constancy and difficulty it constitutes a form of asceticism and aids mental equilibrium.”  (LCM # 100 II)

      The daily schedule of the nuns makes provision for the general plan of work by which our prayer life is fostered and fulfilled.  Work and study projects are organized within the framework of Dominican monastic life.  The common good takes into consideration all the essential elements of monastic life: obedience, poverty, interpersonal relationships and group interaction, the liturgy, private prayer, study, lectio divina, recreation and rest, enclosure and silence.  The contemplative nun finds God hidden in her daily chores as well as in special projects that demand intellectual pursuits. In purity of heart and ardent love she seeks God everywhere and like the bride in the Song of Songs, she can claim: “I found Him Whom my heart loves.”  (Song of Songs 3:4)

      There is the regular monastic rhythm of each day with its scheduled time for prayer, work and meals in common.  This requires an implicit need to sacrifice one’s natural inclination and personal interest with regard to work assignments and use of time.  There is the constant self discipline needed to maintain a quiet atmosphere and the sustained effort toward inner attentiveness to the presence of God and His Word as it comes to us in each moment.  There are the implications of an enclosed life without escape either from one’s own inner self and its struggles or from the demands of common life and fraternal charity, as well as respect between women of differing backgrounds, temperament and personal mannerisms.

There is no greater gift than the invitation of God to unwrap the gift of His Love in prayer and contemplation.  It takes this serious and consistent attentiveness to God’s Presence to ensure that we are not restless wanderers but true pilgrims and wise and prudent virgins who are watchful and ready, open and receptive, passing through the world and illuminating it.  Like Dominic, we are joyful in transmitting the message of hope to our world by “being” present to God and to each other.


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Wednesday, 23 January 2013

Challenge #35 - Cute and Girly

Happy Wednesday crafters!

It's Helen here and I'm hosting this challenge this fortnight.

First of all I would just like to say thank you to all who entered our 'Flowers and Lots of Them' challenge.  Don't forget to come back on Friday to see who has won that challenge!

For today's challenge I have chosen.....

Cute and Girly

We'd like to see anything cute and girly on your cards or projects - a nice, easy one for everyone!

Main Prize...

To spend in the Nutcrafters store...
Remember you have to use a Nutcrafters image to qualify for this prize!!

2nd Prize...
2 Digi stamps or 1 stamp sheet of your choice from Nutcrafters...(subject to availability)

We would love it if you could come and visit our blogs so if you click on our names it will take you to each of our blogs.  So without further ado, here's some gorgeous inspiration for you from our fabulous DT:

(to follow)

We all hope you are able to join in our challenge this fortnight!!

Simply leave your details in the Inklinks before 5pm Tuesday 5 February.

Please don't forget to come back Friday to find out who is the lucky winner of challenge 34.

Helen & the rest of the Nutcrafters DT girls

PS - if you can't see the Inklinks tool, please leave a link to your entry in the comments section.

Anne-Marie said...

This is my entry in your Challenge.

Anne-Marie x x

Sandra H said...

Gorgeous cards ladies and another great challenge x

Marie said...

Lovely challenge, thanks.

Bettina L. said...

I don't see mr linky. Here's my entry:

Bettina xx

Judy said...

Fabulous creations from the DT. Thank you for having this challenge.

Here is the link to my entry

lalkygirl said...

here is my entry

tracey x

Soma Das said...

Here's my entry..........

jackid said...

here's my entry

and thanks for picking me as one of your top 3 for challenge 33

jean said...

great challenge, here is my link, thankyou xx

jean said...

great challenge, here is my link, thankyou xx

Denise said...

Here is my entry for your cute and girly challenge :)

Stempelhexe said...

This is my entry in your Challenge.

Deanne Clarke-Saunders said...

My card can be found here:

Mian said...

Here´s my entry:

Hugs Mian

cotnob said...

Another fab challenge, no linky - my card is here:

Bettina L. said...

Can't see linky:

chrissy xx said...
Thank you soooo much for the Challenge.

Kym's Crafty Cards said...

What a lovely challenge and what lovely DT cards.

Here is my card for this challenge

Best wishes

Kym xxx

Liesbeth said...

I made a card, link from my blog:
gr. Liesbeth

Linda said...

Thanks for the great challenge, DT creations are gorgeous!

Linda V

Fiona said...

fab's my card..

Janice said...

Lovely Dt cards and a great challenge. Here is my entry


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Tuesday, 29 July 2014

Challenge #73...Email Entries

You will find our recent challenge here and you find our challenge #71 winners & top 3 here

Hello Crafters
It's Gemma here...i have received an email entry from a lovely lady called Sheila S. from Hull, here's her Gorgeous summery card for our Summer Celebrations Challenge...
Thank you Sheila S. for your entry to our recent challenge...
Remember if you don't have a blog don't worry as you can still enter by emailing Katie at nutcraftersenquiries@gmail.com or email me on gemslittlecreations@ymail.com we would be delighted to add it to our entries for you!!
hugs and xxx
Gemma, Katie and the rest of the fabulous team

Sandra H said...

Lovely card

Debbie said...

Wow this is a beauty Sheila.love it. Hugs x


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Thursday, 5 March 2009

The Randomness of the Weather

You can tell I'm British. I'm always moaning about the weather. But it was random yesterdayy. And kind of annoying. I looked out my window when I got up, thought how lovely it looked. Set off for college. Bit chilly, but not so bad. And then it started to snow! Just ranodmly, these massive snow flakes dropping out the sky. I was in my nice white coat, had to put the hood up, but I can't really see with it up. And I got absolutely coated with snow. The aboniable snowwoman, that's me :D.

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Thursday, 9 April 2009

B-17s Over Berlin

This is a very interesting book, made up of first hand accounts of people involved with the 95th Bomber Group during WWII.

The accounts are very well organised, mostly in a chronological order. What I found really surprising was the number of people who were taken prisoner, and who evaded being taken prisoner, after being shot down and parachuting out. I also didn't realise that there were ten people in a B-17. They must've been massive! It was really very interesting to read.

However, I would've preferred fewer longer contributions, as it was difficult to get a sense of the people involved, only of the details in a few separate incidents. Also, at three hundred ish pages, it's rather long for a collection of accounts ranging from a paragraph or so up to about three pages in length. Quite disjointed feeling at times, especially as there would sometimes be two or three people involved in telling the same account...

All the same, it was an interesting book, although I recommend you read it a bit at a time to avoid it getting too repetitious and confusing. I have to admit I'm not a great fan of short stories in the first place--I prefer to read something a bit longer and with a bit more substance (as you may have noticed given that I have a tendency to read books with 700odd pages...).

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Trouble With the Mortgage? We Can Help.

Jon Wu first came to NeighborWorks® Southern Mass in January of 2009, after attending one of our foreclosure clinics. At that time, he was struggling to make his mortgage payments because he was out of work with medical issues. His wife had also lost her job. Working with NWSOMA staff member, Joe Madaio, Jon began to understand the paperwork required to request a mortgage modification from his lender. He also worked hard with Joe to be persistent in several submissions of the paperwork to his lender and was finally able to get some relief on his mortgage with his first modification. In 2011, Jon was struggling again, this time with a different lender when his mortgage was sold. His disability became permanent and his wife was out of work for the second time. Again, working with Joe through multiple submissions of paperwork, the lender asking for more and different financial information each time, he was able to secure a lower payment for a period of time. Eventually, that became a permanent change in the mortgage with the payment at a level that Jon can sustain.
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New York-based Dwight School opens in Seoul

By Kim Young-won
  • Published : Aug 19, 2012 - 20:31
  • Updated : Aug 19, 2012 - 20:31
Dwight International School Seoul opens on Monday in Sangam, western Seoul, with the aim of improving living conditions for foreign residents and attracting more foreign investment, the city government said.

The campus of the Dwight School, a New York-based private school, will be the fourth international campus of the institute following three others in Vancouver, Beijing and London.

The Seoul campus will offer courses for students in kindergarten through high school.

“The opening of Dwight International School following that of Dulwich College Seoul in Banpo (southern Seoul) in September could encourage more foreign investment in Seoul and make the city an educational hub,” said Kim Myong-joo, director of the support centers for foreigners.

Students with Korean nationality are eligible to enroll in the school only when they have had at least three year’s residence overseas. The proportion of Korean students will be limited to 20 percent or below.

Around 50 teachers from 14 nations will teach 300 students of 25 different nationalities in English. The student-to-teacher ratio is 7 to 1.

The yearly tuition fee cannot exceed 25 million won ($22,000) for three years from the school’s opening, according to the city government.

The city’s 22nd international school has adopted the international baccalaureate, an internationally accredited course, for all grades to ensure the quality and contingency of education.

The school aims to open the Northeastern Asian headquarters of the International Baccalaureate Organization and hold an IB convention in Seoul.

Seoul City has been developing the Sangam district along with the Magok district, both in western Seoul, into business hubs by attracting international research centers and companies.

The Dwight School was founded in 1872 by Julius Sachs, a founder of the College Board, which conducts the scholastic assessment test and advanced placement test in the U.S.

By Kim Young-won (


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The Best Legal Advice

Find a Medical Malpractice Attorney for Free

Find a Medical Malpractice Attorney for Free

By on Feb 1, 2016 in Medical Law, Medical Malpractice, Personal Injury Law |

If you find yourself in a situation where you need a medical malpractice attorney, don’t let the fear of legal fees hold you back. Statistics show that approximately 93% of these cases are resolved before they ever go to trial.  While this can make the entire experience less expensive, legal costs can still add up quickly.  Those individuals that are thinking about hiring an attorney for a malpractice case may be pleased to know that they may be able to find one for free.  It might take a little bit of time and research but it can be done.  Here are a few options to consider.

Pro Bono Attorneys

Start by looking for medical malpractice attorney offices in your area.  You will want to place a phone call to their office and ask if anyone is completing pro bono work.  While you may not get a positive response, you will not know until you actually try.  Some attorneys may connect with your case on a personal level, and they may be able to help you at no charge.

New Attorneys Under Supervision

Another option would be to contact new attorneys that are still working under the supervision of a more experienced legal team. They may need to get some experience in the courtroom and build a good case record. If you have a strong case, they might be willing to take it on at no charge because it will ultimately help them to get more experience and show off their abilities. Just make sure the attorney is working under the supervision of an experienced firm so that you are sure to get the best service.

Contingency Programs

 Some attorneys offer a contingency program that allows you to access legal support at no upfront cost. In this case, the attorney would take on your medical malpractice case on the contingency that they only receive payment if you win. This can be a smart option because it alleviates the financial burden from the client while adding some extra incentive for the attorney to make sure the case works out in your favor. There are several highly qualified New York medical malpractice attorneys that work primarily on contingency based fees. This is the best place to start if you want to know your options for medical malpractice compensation.

No matter what direction you are planning on going, you will see that just because the attorney is completing the work for free does not mean that you should go without great service.  If you believe that you are not getting the service that you deserve then you should not feel bad about letting the attorney go and moving on.  Even though you might want to win your case, working with an attorney that you are not comfortable with can make this very difficult.  You need to work with an attorney that will listen to you and that will follow through with what they say they will do.


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Finally, this effort is feeling conclusive, which I hoped for from the outset 2+ yrs ago. With the discovery of the socialist emergence from the "Jewish settlements in the Pale," the pure negativity of academic oligarchy the possibility of scientific rehabilitation in an aboriginal context. Cultural "fleshing" will continue with reprints of currently-relevant recently-historical experiences, often gangster, while "the Pale" experience is solidified upto present revolutionary efforts. The hope is to create a hinge with which to restore revolution as evolution after the excessively long period of oligarchic occupation -since 500BC.

Then, probably, the entire blog will be consolidated and "put to rest" with the first wikified writing about the occupy dialectic two years ago.

Farewell letter to John Penley

The critical inquiry into the occupy movement began with the hypothesis that "there is a copy of the problem in the solution."  A copy of the problem was indeed found, and it is the Dialectic. Occupy's John Penley assisted greatly identifying real-world examples of the problem in the highly-paranoid "Hedges faction" of Occupy.

There should be no doubt that you contributed greatly (in a positive way) to the Dialectic VS Geist discussion (that describes antagonism leading to synthesis as the death of spirit and abstraction).  My inquiry was initated by a post of yours complaining about the dishonesty and divisiveness of the Occupy Wall Street leadership (Occupy is NOT a leaderless group).  This led me to Fithian's leadership training video and an occupier who very clearly linked it to the dialectic process.  With the, well, abstracted knowledge, I have been able to "sniff out" the formation process of Plato's "Republic" simply by a dialecitian's attack of a well-modeled abstraction (usually my own).

Old-school of protesting relies on recruiting numbers of bodies to assault high-powered meetings, such as the DNC, many of them admittedly "loosely wrapped." The problem is that mental deficiencies are at the root of the dialectic; Plato, for one, only believed what he saw in his head; he was disconnected from surrounding reality, opposed abstraction, and thus helped invent synthesis as a substitute for reality.  With the simply abstraction VS antagonism test, a dialectic can be exposed nearly instantly because he or she has no alternate stratagem to accomplish synthesis.  Often the antagonism is veiled, as it was historically during Plato's time, or now as part of experimental (or CBT) psychology.  Nonetheless, we know many of the attributes; we have just had difficulty centralizing (or abstracting) a model so as to exclude the part of protest that negates progress.

In short, I see that a disproportionate number of your "FaceBook friends" are dialectical (though not you, of course) probably because you need bodies for your continued anti-war efforts.  Further, there is a tendency to unfairly smear Obama, when in fact there are many opportunities to point out his weakness in ways that a) give Republicans reason to vote for him (DEA and capital bail-outs) and b) give him a good idea of where we want him to go.

The power of the dialectic for me is that it extends my Empathy Model, my life-work, out of my own mind and into the real world of the unempathic.  The empathy approach is only useful for empathic people, though, as the unempathic can't possibly conceive of what it is as they lack the necessary working neurology.  To them empathy is something to exploit either to get people to feel sorry for them and give them resources, or to leverage as part of a confidence scheme or outright ambush.  But, they definitely know what the dialectic is; that is their common tool, and they can now be addressed about empathy issues in ways that they can comprehend. (Invariably the run away, but watch your back(!), and it may be better to deal with them outright.)

The dialectic discussion gives a central point for an all-encompassing abstraction with which to model politics.  (This, alone, is a good reason for dialecticticians to attack abstraction.)  Dialectics also closely connects to the didactic method, and the two comprise nearly all instructional education (as seminars and rote learning), and most of psychology as well (as cognitive behavior therapy that is empirically derived).  Since this discussion expresses the same (whole system) modeling goals as the empathy model, the singular goal should be empathy (which we find in Geist).  So, if we implement empathy into protesting, the political model is not focus entirely on fighting the war machine (by going to prison), or focusing too closely on specific other causes (with the hopes of small victories while we wait for class warfare).

With a well-abstracted model, a very small group can apply highly-moral actions against those who want to destroy all that is nice and natural. The reason this can succeed is that most people--as normal people--are receptive to empathic ideas even at a sub-language level, such as through body-language, and that the effect will spontaneously spread.  "Spreading the word" overtly should, then, lead to very quick change, especially if the group is able to adapt quickly to changes in the hearts of those in power, such as Nancy Pelozi's support for medical marijuana.  As things are, Pelozi's conversion will be ignored because, as one of your allies said, "all dems are warmonger-ers."

Shifting further to the empathy component (in that a successful group would have to be all-empathic), our social abilities (especially of love and the abilities of beauty) are evolutionary--Darwin said that.  What that means is that nature is central to the effort, and from support for nature, the industrial complex you are attacking will fall.  My Rattlesnake Rebellion model suggests taxation on corporate size, which would break up all the biggest corporations into smaller pieces (that would be more responsive and efficient).  Further, the size issue with respect to low empathy at the high levels of control, suggests that the only way to break the war monopoly is to break up the nation in to semi-autonomous states.  (This latter idea makes the most sense, but is invariably ignored showing the effects of the dialectic on political minds of otherwise sensible people.)

Needless to say, because I recognize the totality of dialectical control, I don't expect this message to you to have any immediate impact, but I am absolutely confident in its "correctness."  This confidence is supported by an old-school German who instantly recognized my writing about Hegel's Dialectic as describing the very worst thing that has happened to his country--Adolf Hitler's Nazism.  He also independently recognizes it in Occupy, my primary source of evidence.

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Summer of Kindness with the Infinite Smile Project

This past summer, we partnered with the Infinite Smile Project, a non-profit dedicated to performing and promoting acts of kindness; to promote being kind to one another in our dance camps. The result of this partnership and the encouragement of kindness proved to be far more rewarding and heartfelt of an experience for the instructors, dancers, and parents involved then anyone could have hoped and intended for. The Infinite Smile Project‘s mission is to ‘ to bring happiness, joy and a more fulfilling life through acts of kindness and a philanthropic spirit…belief that with the consistent presence of kindness and charity in both children and adults we can create a more cohesive community and change our world for the better’.

OC Dance Productions incorporated kindness and ISP’s beliefs into our curriculum by implementing the ‘Summer of Kindness’ campaign over a course of 5 days of dance summer camp. On the first day of camp the ‘Summer of Kindness’ campaign was presented to the camp dancers and parents by the instructor and each dancer was given a ‘kindness bucket’ to decorate. The class then collectively decided on various acts of kindness and nice gestures that they could do in and out of the dance studio, such as helping a dancer with a step or cleaning up one’s room at home. These acts of kindness were written down on a kindness chart and served as a visual guide for everyone to track the dancers’ progress with their kindness acts by adding a star sticker (remember those tiny metallic star sticker charts in grade school?) to the chart as well as onto the kindness giver’s bucket every time an act of kindness was completed. As well, with each completed kindness task, the dancer wrote  (or the instructor for the dancer is he/she could not write well yet) onto a colorful sheet of paper what he/she did and clipped it to their bucket on placed inside the bucket. The parents were encouraged to keep their eyes and ears open to their dancer(s) performing acts of kindness around the house and to acknowledge it, this extra motivation could prompt their kid(s) to continue doing these acts of kindness long after camp had ended. It was also OCDP and ISP’s hope that by spreading the idea of being kind to one another, that it would be a step in the right direction in eradicating the bullying epidemic in school and other children to teen environments. On the last day of camp the dancers performed for their parents then received a sparkly kindness wands for all their generous efforts the past week.

It was evident that there was an overwhelming sense of confidence and camaraderie with the camp dancers with their enthusiastic willingness to help one another as well as display that compassion in their homes. The kids felt fulfilled by the response from others with their acts of kindness, and that was enough, it was rewarding to feel confident in themselves and knowing that their parents were proud of their new found or flourished confidence. Many of the parents expressed how this mentality and program is exactly what needs to be implemented more in our community and that is why we want to continually support and share ISP’s efforts. Read an excerpt below on our ‘Summer of Kindness’ Campaign at our city of Rancho Santa Margarita classes, which was published in the Coto Living Magazine this past September.

Although the ‘Summer of Kindness’ Campaign has ended, you and your kid(s) can look forward to other program through ISP that is year long as well as promoting the kindness movement through their storybook ‘Dylan & Delany’s World of Kindness‘. Currently ISP is hosting a Kindness Art Contest in which the entrants (ages 17 and under in the US) are able to draw and submit a storybook character to join Dylan & Delany and not only that but the character will have an associated charity and kindness story. The drawings will be voted on by the public in November and the winner will win $1000 for a college fund or to be donated to their favorite charity. Want to know more about the contest and how your child(ren) can enter? Click here!


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CRA Description

The Ocoee Community Redevelopment Area (CRA) encompasses 1,070 acres along the State Road 50 corridor. The activities and programs offered within a Community Redevelopment Area are administered by the Community Redevelopment Agency. A six-member board governs operation of the Agency. The Board includes city commissioners and other persons appointed by the local government. The Board implements city policy regarding redevelopment and the expenditure of funds received by the Agency from local taxing authorities.CRA revenues are derived from incremental financing where existing taxing authorities continue to receive the same level of funds as they did in the base year, while the CRA receives the increase in funds (the increment) that is generated by higher property values and other tax sources.The CRA has the ability to do things that local governments may not, such as to leverage local public funds with private dollars. Most CRAs are limited to 30 years of existence, which may be extended to 40 years by local action. Any funds remaining when the CRA ends will be returned to the taxing authorities that contributed to the CRA trust fund.CRA Vision Statement:Creating a future for the Ocoee CRA that will include centers of vibrant, urban, mixed use development that ensure enhanced pedestrian and automobile connectivity, flexible land uses, a diverse economic base, a mix of housing types, a shared responsibility of infrastructure financing, open space as a public amenity, and enhanced image and development form.The existing land uses in the Ocoee CRA are shown in the map below:
CRA Map 1


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28 September 2012

Timeline September 28 & 29

September 28
1066  William the Conqueror, the Duke of Normandy, invaded England.
1781  American forces, backed by a French fleet, began the siege of Yorktown Heights, VA, during the Revolutionary War.
1901  Ed Sullivan, Sunday night TV variety show host, was born.
1924  Two US Army planes landed in Seattle, WA, having completed the first round the world flight in 175 days.
1928  Sir Alexander Fleming notices a bacteria-killing mold growing in his laboratory, discovering what later became known as penicillin.
2000  Former Canadian Prime Minister (15th) Pierre Elliott Trudeau died at age 80

September 29
1758  Horatio Nelson, English naval commander, was born. Died Oct. 21, 1805.
1901  Enrico Fermi, Nobel Prize wining physicist (helped develop the atomic bomb), was born in Rome.
1907  Gene Autry, American actor, singer, and businessman was born.
1935  Jerry Lee Lewis, Rock singer and musician, was born.

26 September 2012

Timeline September 26 & 27

September 26
1580  Sir Francis Drake finished his circumnavigation of the Earth.
1777  British troops occupied Philadelphia during the American Revolution.
1789  Thomas Jefferson was appointed America's first secretary of the state and John Jay the first chief justice.
1898  George Gershwin, composer of operatic music and Broadway musicals, was born in Brooklyn, NY.
1973  Concorde made its first non-stop crossing of the Atlantic in record-breaking time.

September 27
1389  Cosimo de Medici, Florentine ruler, was born. Died Aug. 1, 1464.
1722  Samuel Adams, American revolutionary leader, was born.
1779  John Adams was named to negotiate the Revolutionary War's peace terms with Britain.
1825  The first locomotive to haul a passenger train was operated by George Stephenson in England.
1972  Gwyneth Paltrow, actress, was born.

24 September 2012

Timeline September 23 to 25

September 23
There are now 99 days remaining until the end of the year!
63 BC  Augustus Caesar, 1st Roman Emperor,  was born in Rome. Died Aug. 19, 14 AD.
1780  American Revolution: British Major John André is arrested as a spy by American soldiers exposing Benedict Arnold's change of sides.
1806  The Lewis and Clark expedition returned to St. Louis from the Pacific Northwest of the United States.
1846  Astronomers Urbain Jean Joseph Le Verrier, John Couch Adams and Johann Gottfried Galle collaborate on the discovery of Neptune.
1908  University of Alberta in Alberta, Canada, is founded.
1920  Mickey Rooney, actor, was born.

September 24
1664  The Dutch Republic surrenders New Amsterdam to England.
1869  Financiers Jay Gould and James Fisk tried to corner the gold market, sending Wall Street into a panic and leaving thousands of investors in financial ruin. Black Friday.
1950  Forest fires black out the sun over portions of Canada and New England. A blue moon is seen as far away as Europe.  [I remember this!]
1960  The USS Enterprise, the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, was launched at Newport News, VA.

September 25
1066  The Battle of Stamford Bridge marks the end of the Viking invasions of England.
1493  Christopher Columbus set sail from Cadiz, Spain, with a flotilla of 17 ships on his second voyage to the Western Hemisphere.
1513  Spanish explorer Vacso Nunez de Balboa crossed the Isthmus of Panama to reach the Pacific Ocean.
1843  Melville Bissell, American inventor of the carpet sweeper, was born.
1929  Barbara Walters, TV personality, was born.
1932  Glen Gould, Canadian pianist, was born. Died Oct. 4, 1982.
1956  TAT-1, the first submarine transatlantic telephone cable system, was inaugurated.
1969  Catherine Zeta-Jones, Welsh actress, was born.

20 September 2012

Timeline September 20 to 22

September 20
1519  Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan set out from Spain on a voyage to find a western passage to the Spice Islands in Indonesia.
1842  Sir James Dewar, Scottish chemist, was born
1870  Italian troops took control of the Papal States, leading to the unification of Italy.
1873  Panic swept the New York Stock Exchange in the wake of railroad bond defaults and bank failures.
1951  Guy LaFleur, Hockey Hall of Famer, was born.

September 21
1756  John Loudon McAdam, Scottish inventor of macadamized road construction, was born.
1866  H G Wells, English novelist, historian and science fiction writer, was born.
1874  Gustav Holst, English composer and teacher, was born.
1937  The Hobbitt by J R R Tolkien was published.
1957  Perry Mason starring Raymond Burr premiered on CBS.

September 22
1776  Nathan Hale was hanged as a spy by the British during the Revolutionary War.
1791  Michael Faraday, English physicist and chemist, was born.
1792  The French Republic was proclaimed.
1862  President Abraham Lincoln issued the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, declaring all slaves in rebel states should be free as of Jan. 1, 1863.
1888  The first issue of National Geographic Magazine was published.
1989  Songwriter Irving Berlin died at age 101.

18 September 2012

Ottawa Branch September Meeting

Date             Saturday,  Sept. 22, 2012; 1:00 – 4:00 PM
Location       Diefenbunker, 3911 Carp Road, Carp, Ontario
Topic            Diefenbunker Tour
Contact         program@ogsottawa.on.ca

Meeting starts at 1:00 p.m. for coffee & announcements.
Tour commences at 2:00 p.m. (1 hour tour)
Please note that there are quite a few stairs. We can make use of the elevator.
We also have a couple of wheelchairs on hand.
The Branch is covering the cost of the tour. So no charge for this tour!

Timeline September 16 to 19

September 16
1893  Hundreds of thousands of settlers took part in a land run in Oklahoma`s "Cherokee Strip."
1908  General Motors was formed in Flint, Mich., by William Durant.
1959  The first successful photocopier, the Xerox 914, was introduced in a demonstration on live television from New York City.
1966  The Metropolitan Opera opened its new home at New York City's Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.
1987  Two dozen countries signed the Montreal Protocol, a treaty designed to save the Earth's ozone layer by calling on nations to reduce emissions of harmful chemicals.

September 17
1730  Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, German officer, who helped the cause of US independence, was born.
1775  American Revolutionary War: The Invasion of Canada began with the Siege of Fort St. Jean.
1787  The US Constitution was completed and signed by a majority of delegates attending the constitutional convention in Philadelphia.
1972  The comedy series M*A*S*H* premiered on CBS.
1976  NASA unveiled the space shuttle Enterprise.

September 18
53      Trajan, Roman Emperor was born. (d. 117)
1502  Christopher Columbus landed at Costa Rica on his fourth, and final voyage.
1709  Samuel Johnson, English critic, biographer, essayist and poet, was born.
1809  The Royal Opera House opened in London, England.
1819  Jean-Bernard Leon Foucault, French physicist and inventor of the Foucault pendulum, was born.
1895  John Diefenbaker, Canadian attorney, statesman and 13 th Prime Minister of Canada, was born.

September 19
1777  American soldiers won the Battle of Saratoga during the Revolutionary War.
1839  George Cadbury, English social reformer and chocolate manufacturer, was born.
1851  William Hesketh Lever, English entrepreneur, who built the Lever Brothers firm, was born.
1957  The US conducted its first underground nuclear test in the Nevada desert.

13 September 2012

Timeline September 13 to 15

September 13
122   Construction of Hadrian's Wall began.
335   Emperor Constantine the Great consecrated the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.
1759  During the final French and Indian War, the British defeated the French on the Plains of Abraham overlooking Quebec City.
1759  James Wolfe, British general, died.
1819  Clara Schumann, German pianist and composer, was born.
1857  Milton Hershey, American chocolate manufacturer, was born.
1943  Chiang Kai-shek became president of China.

September 14
1769  Alexander von Humboldt, German naturalist and explorer, was born.
1814  Francis Scott Keys wrote "The Star-Spangled Banner" after witnessing the British bombardment of Fort McHenry Maryland during the War of 1812.
1975  Pope Paul VI declared Mother Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton the first US-born saint.

September 15
1254  Marco Polo, Italian explorer, was born.
1776  British forces occupied New York City during the American Revolution.
1940  The Royal Air Force inflicted heavy losses on the Luftwaffe as the tide turned in the Battle of Britain during WW II.

Beechwood Talk, September 30

The Friends of The Beechwood Cemetery Foundation will be hosting a historical lecture on the early history of Beechwood and Ottawa, given by local historian Glenn Wright on Sunday, September 30, 2012.
The event will take place at Beechwood, the National Cemetery of Canada, 280 Beechwood Ave. The talk will begin at 2:00pm, and will be followed by light refreshments.

Space is limited, so please register by calling 613-741-9530 or emailing info@beechwoodcemetery.com.

For the genealogists in the group, Ottawa Branch sells a CD of the Beechwood Monument Inscriptions. It is available form the OGS e-Store at http://www.ogs.on.ca/ogscart/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=2. The index to the names is available on The Ottawa Cemetery Index at http://ogsottawa.on.ca/cemeteries/index.php .

11 September 2012

Timeline September 11 & 12

September 11
1297  Battle of Stirling Bridge: Scots jointly led by William Wallace and Andrew Moray defeat the English.
1936  US President Franklin D Roosevelt dedicated Boulder Dam (now Hoover Dam) in Nevada by pressing a key in Washington to signal the start up of the dam's first hydroelectric generator.
1939  World War II: Canada declares war on Germany.
1962  The Beatles recorded their first single, "Love Me Do" and "P.S. I Love You," at EMI studios in London, England.
1997  Scots voted to create their own Parliament after 290 years of union with England.
2001  Suicide hijackers crashed two airliners into the World Trade Center in New York, causing the 110 story twin towers to collapse. Another hijacked airliner hit the Pentagon and a fourth crashed in a field in Pennsylvania.

September 12
1492  Lorenzo de'Medici, Florentine ruler 1513-19, was born.
1609  English explorer Henry Hudson sailed into the river that bears his name.
1818  Richard Gatling, American inventor, was born.
1954  Lassie made its TV debut on CBS.
1959  Bonanza premiered on NBC.
2003  Country musician Johnny Cash died at age 71.

09 September 2012

Timeline September 9 & 10

September 9
1583  Sir Humphrey Gilbert, English explorer & adventurer died.
1754  William Bligh, English admiral who commanded the HMS Bounty, was born.
1943  Allied forces landed at Salerno and Taranto during WW II.
1956  Elvis Presley made the first of three appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show.
1969  In Canada, the Official Languages Act came into force, making the French language equal to the English language throughout the Federal government.

September 10
1846  Elias Howe was granted a patent for the sewing machine.
1929  Arnold Palmer, golfer, was born.
1955  Gunsmoke premiered on CBS. It ran for 20 years.
1989  Hungary stopped enforcing East German visa restrictions and opened it borders. A flood of emigration led to the fall of the Berlin Wall two months later.

06 September 2012

Ottawa Branch September Meeting

Date             Saturday,  Sept. 22, 2012; 1:00 – 4:00 PM
Location       Diefenbunker, 3911 Carp Road, Carp, Ontario
Topic            Diefenbunker Tour
Contact         program@ogsottawa.on.ca

Meeting starts at 1:00 p.m. for coffee & announcements.
Tour commences at 2:00 p.m. (1 hour tour)
Please note that there are quite a few stairs. We can make use of the elevator.
We also have a couple of wheelchairs on hand
The Branch is covering the cost of the tour. So no charge for this tour!

Timeline September 6 to 8

September 6
1492  Christopher Columbus sailed from La Gomera in the Canary Islands, his final port of call before crossing the Atlantic for the first time.
1620  The Pilgrims sailed from Plymouth, England, on the Mayflower to settle in North America. (Old Style date; September 16 per New Style date.)
1757  Marie-Joseph Lafayette, French soldier and statesman, who aided colonists in the American Revolution, was born.
1888  Joseph P Kennedy, American businessman and ambassador to Great Britain, was born.
1895  Walter Robert Dornberger, German engineer, who directed construction of V-2 rocket, was born.
1952  Canada's first television station, CBFT-TV, opened in Montreal.
2007  Luciano Pavarotti, Opera singer, died at age 71.

September 7
1533  Queen Elizabeth I (1558-1603) was born at Greenwich.
1901  The Boxer Rebellion in China officially ended with the signing of the Boxer Protocol.
1912  David Packard, American engineer & cofounder of Hewlett-Packard Co., was born.
1927  TV pioneer Philo T Farnsworth succeeded in transmitting an image through purely electronic means by using a device called an image dissector.
1936  Rock musician Buddy Holly was born Charles Hardin Holley in Lubbock, Texas.
2008  The US Government took control of the two largest mortgage financing companies in the US, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

September 8
1504  Michelangelo's David was unveiled in Florence.
1664  The Dutch surrendered New Amsterdam to the British, who renamed it New York.
1761  Marriage of King George III of the United Kingdom to Duchess Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.
1841  Antonin Dvorak, Czech composer, was born.
1930  3M began marketing Scotch transparent tape.
1930  The comic strip "Blondie" by Chic Young was first published.
1941  The siege of Leningrad by German forces began during WW II.
1966  The TV series "Star Trek" premiered on NBC.

05 September 2012

Timeline September 4 & 5

September 4
1781  Los Angeles was founded by Spanish settlers.
1888  George Eastman registered the trademark Kodak and received a patent for his camera that used roll film.
1957  Ford Motor Co. began selling its ill-fated Edsel line.
1998  Google was founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, two students at Stanford University.

September 5
1698  In an effort to Westernize his nobility, Tsar Peter I of Russia imposed a tax on beards
for all men except the clergy and peasantry.
1774  The first Continental Congress assembled in Philadelphia, PA.
1793  The Reign of Terror began during the French Revolution.
1916  Frank Shuster, Canadian comedian, was born.
1916  Frank Yerby, American novelist, was born.
1929  Bob Newhart, actor & comedian, was born.

03 September 2012

Timeline September 2 & 3

September 2
1666  The Great Fire of London broke out and burned for three days, destroying 10,000 buildings including St Paul's Cathedral.
1752  Great Britain adopted the Gregorian calendar, nearly two centuries later than most of Western Europe.
1877  Frederick Soddy, British chemist, Nobel laureate was born.
1945  Japan formally surrendered in ceremonies aboard the USS Missouri, ending WW II.
1969  The first automatic teller machine to use magnetic-striped cards was opened to the public at Chemical Bank in New York.
1985  A US-French expedition announced that it had located the wreckage of the Titanic about 560 miles off Newfoundland.

September 3
1189  England's King Richard I (The Lion Heart) was crowned in Westminster Abbey.
1658  Oliver Cromwell, the Lord Protector of England, died.
1724  Guy Carleton, 1st Baron Dorchester, British soldier and Governor of Quebec was born.
1783  The Treaty of Paris between the United States and Great Britain officially ended the Revolutionary War.
1803  English scientist John Dalton began using symbols to represent the atoms of different elements.
1939  Britain and France declared war on Germany, two days after the Nazi invasion of Poland.
1976  The unmanned US spacecraft Viking 2 landed on Mars to take the first close-up, colour photos of the planet's surface.

01 September 2012

Reopening of the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa Archives

John Reid's Anglo-Celtic Connections this morning, which I have copied verbatim, included mention of the

Closed for nearly a year the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa Archives at Christ Church Cathedral in downtown Ottawa will be reopening on Tuesday September 4 on a limited basis with regular opening on Mondays and Tuesdays only. The hours are 9:00am - noon; 1:00-4:00pm

There is a new entrance off the parking lot near Queen Street. Archivist Glenn Lockwood has consolidated everything from the former vault, now demolished, into the main shelving so space is at a premium. Retrievals may take a bit longer.  For the next two years researchers should note that the Archives will not be accessible to the physically challenged, nor will there be access to washrooms. Consider delaying your visit for a few weeks unless your need is urgent.

The archives website is at www.ottawa.anglican.ca/Archives.html

Thanks to Brian Glenn for conveying this information.

Timeline September 1

September 1
1875  Edgar Rice Burroughs, American novelist, who wrote the Tarzan stories, was born.
1902  A Trip to the Moon, considered one of the first science fiction films, was released in France.
1905  Alberta and Sackatchewan became the 8th and 9th provinces of Canada.
1914  The last passenger pigeon, a female named Martha, died in captivity in the Cincinnati Zoo.
1939  WW II began as Nazi Germany invaded Poland.


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Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Craziest. Day. Ever.

What mom schedules TWO well child checkups at 8:20 followed by TWO dentist appointments at 9:30?  THIS MOM!  What am I--crazy?  YUP.

So, today started off with the Berry boys headed for an adventure to the doctor and dentist.  The doctor appointments were for Tim's 8 year check up and Danny's 2 year check up.  While both are doing fine, growing well, and developmentally great, Danny was getting very antsy.  The office was very hot, so I was sweating like a crazy person.  Then, I couldn't remember if we had well water or city water.....and I couldn't remember if Danny had his one year blood work done.  (BEST.  MOM.  EVER.).  Anyway, turns out we have CITY water, which means we have fluoride and don't need fluoride supplements.  And according to the doctor, Danny never did have his 1 year blood work done, so I guess I'll be taking care of that later this week.  Again--BEST.  MOM.  EVER.

So, we finish up at the doctors and head to the dentists.  Tim and Josh both have cavities that need to be filled.  The visit starts off well--both boys were complete troopers.  Danny decided to let out his inner demon (honestly--the kid could put a 35 year old opera singer to shame).  They had to close the door because Danny was being so loud (and at this point, I'm super embarrassed).

Both boys finish up and we have to wait to be called to check out.  Tick. Tock.  Tick.  Tock.  Yup--we finish up at 10:20 and it's 10:45.  We should have been checked out by now.  Danny decides to poop.  Great.  He comes to sit down next to me and OH.  MY.  GOSH.  There is a LOG hanging out of his diaper!!!!  There is now POOP on the chair!  This frazzled, embarrassed mom just became completely mortified.  I had to ask the office staff if there was something I could use to clean up the poop.  They said they'd clean it up, but I did say that I didn't mind.  I asked for a bathroom key and proceed to swing Danny over my arm, grab a diaper, and head for the bathroom.  I get in the bathroom, strip him down--there's poop all over his clothes (yuck).  I have to use the trash can that's used for paper towels that people dry their hands with because I have no other options.  I'm literally bathing him with paper towels to clean up his mess. In this smelly, yucky process, someone walks in.  I apologize.  I keep cleaning him up.  Finally, he's clean and I put on his diaper and shoes.

Who doesn't bring a change of clothes for her 2 year old?  THIS MOM!  So....Danny goes back in the waiting room with his diaper and shoes on.  We get lots of stares.  I'm mortified.  I apologize profusely for the poop explosion, but that doesn't make me feel less mortified.  Finally, it's 11:00.  They apologize to us for misplacing our files (after Timmy had been called back TWICE more even though he'd already been seen), they gave the boys another popsickle, and we went on our merry way.

Phew.  I am so blessed to have three, beautiful, healthy boys.....but I really hope I don't have another day like today any day soon (that's a lot of days).


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“I am disappointed in Reggie Rockstone for wearing ‘Adldas’” – Criss Waddle

Hiplife musician, Criss Waddle says he was disappointed in Hiplife Grandpapa Reggie Rockstone for wearing ‘Adldas’ track suit to the 2016 Vodafone Music Awards ceremony.

Reggie Rockstone who wore the track suit to the Vodafone Ghana Music Awards (VGMA) said he was wearing it in solidarity with dancehall artiste, Shatta Wale.

According to the AMG boss in an interview with Dr Pounds on Hitz FM, he did not know why a leader will also contribute to the ‘Bie gya’ controversy between him and Shatta Wale, instead of resolving it.

“When the issue started Prodigal of VVIP reach out so we resolved it, but Reggie didn’t act right,” he said.

He explained that Reggie Rockstone as a leader could have maintained peace between them.

“As a Godfather of hiplife music, you can’t be a man in your house and watch your kids misbehave,” he said.

Criss Waddle said Reggie Rockstone was taking sides when he could have been the best person to resolve whatever differences they had, adding “What kind of picture was he trying to paint when he wore ‘Adldas’?

The ‘Bie gya’ controversy began when Criss Waddle first announced publicly that he was about to release a song titled ‘Bie gya’ featuring Stonebwoy.

Shortly after that, Shatta Wale also released a song with same title.

“When you speak the truth, people say you are disrespectful. Someone from VIP, Prodigal hit me up on FaceTime and was like he didn’t like what was going on. Why do we even call him the Grandpapa? He doesn’t act right. No grandfather will be at home with children and allow them to do whatever they want.”

“I lost respect for him when he did that,” he added.

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[Photos] Kumkum Bhagya Barbeque, a national sensation

The 2015 GJA Photojournalist David Andoh was there to capture 30 scenes of the Kumkum Bhagya barbeque party.

Kumkum Bhagya is now a serious national sensation. These 30 moments tell you why.

See Pictures Below:

kumkumm kumkum kum ku kumkkum babagy bagya chilling

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Tag Archives: wes welker

Chicken-Fried News: Challenge accepted

At this point, nearly every athlete, politician and celebrity has been called out to participate in the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. If you haven’t been, then you just aren’t that important. Oklahoma native and NFL wide-receiver Wes Welker was recently challenged to participate by the coach of his former college, who also extended the challenge

Kickin’ it

It was an eye-opening experience. “After you saw all these athletic facilities and the shape that a lot of these fields were in, it was just very bothersome, knowing that it was happening in our city.” McLaughlin spoke with Keith Sinor, the athletic director for the Oklahoma City Public Schools, who was on that trip.

Hair today

Credit: Brad Gregg The gridiron star has a gorgeous wife, a brilliant NFL career and enough money to buy a small island, or Rhode Island, for that matter. But now, the guy who had a noticeably receding hairline is complete with a head full of bushy hair. Give the aging wide receiver some credit. Welker

Kraft, cheesed

Credit: Brad Gregg Welker, who was a high school star at Oklahoma City’s Heritage Hall, signed a two-year contract with the Denver Broncos for $6 million a year after last season. Kraft tried to blame Welker’s agent, David Dunn, saying that Dunn had misjudged Welker’s value and the Patriots offered the receiver a better deal

The sporting life

By: Brad Gregg In separate ventures, the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Kevin Durant and the New England Patriots’ Wes Welker have teamed up with Hal Smith Restaurant Group to bring two very different concepts to town. Durant’s restaurant, which will feature Southern cuisine and more traditional steakhouse fare, will be in Bricktown adjacent to Toby Keith’s

Facebook fumble

Credit: Brad Gregg Her post urged fans to check out the Wikipedia page chronicling the tumultuous past of Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis. “Proud of my husband and the Pats,” she wrote. “By the way, if anyone is bored, please go to Ray Lewis’ Wikipedia page. 6 kids 4 wives. Acquitted for murder. Paid a family

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Information on the latest vitamin D news and research.

Find out more information on deficiency, supplementation, sun exposure, and how vitamin D relates to your health.

Vitamin D literally grasps infant from certain death

The beginning of the emergency room visit looked bad for the 16-month-old infant. He was in full cardiac arrest. His heart had stopped beating (asystole) but the Swiss hospital crew applied advanced cardiac life support and got the infant’s heart beating once again. When the child’s blood work came back, the doctor immediately noted his calcium was about one-third of what it should be (his ionized calcium was .42 instead of between 1.15 – 1.5), and so the doctor administered IV calcium.

While this was occurring, one of the team noted bowing (curving) of the child’s legs and his wrists were swollen, so the doctor included a vitamin D blood test to the additional blood tests. The child’s vitamin D level was 5.7 instead of in the normal range of 30-100 ng/ml.

On more careful exam, the doctor noted frontal bossing (front of head sticks out), a rachitic rosary (beading along the rib where bone and cartilage meet), hypotonia (muscle flabbiness) and wide wrists and ankles. These are the common signs of vitamin D deficient rickets.

The doctor gave the infant 5,000 IU/day of vitamin D for 3 months resulting in a 25(OH)D level of 65 ng/ml (the FNB/IOM committee members would not be happy). This paper, in today’s edition of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, has reproductions of the infants wrist x-rays before and after the vitamin D. The before x-rays look like the x-rays of the children whose parents are unjustly arrested for child abuse, but after 3 months of vitamin D, the x-rays looked perfectly normal.

Chehade et al. Acute Life-Threatening Presentation of Vitamin D Deficiency Rickets. J Clin Endo and Metab. July 27, 2011 Current Issue.

After the medical team stabilized the child, the doctor obtained a dietary history from the parents; the only group that would be satisfied is La Leche League. For the first 10 months of his life, the infant got nothing but breast milk and for the last 4 months got nothing but breast milk and a little rice water. His dark skin and lack of sunlight, combined with his mother’s belief that breast milk alone is all children need to thrive, condemned him to severe rickets and a serum calcium low enough to stop his heart from beating.

When I practiced emergency medicine in the 1970s and 80s, I saw similar cases of asystole and can tell you that the few who survive asystole often have brain damage. Not this child; he thrived once his body got what most breast milk does not have (95%) and that is vitamin D. As Professor Bruce Hollis is about to prove to the world, that simply means 95% of lactating women are vitamin D deficient. A few lucky breast-feeding infants have mothers wise enough to take 5,000 IU of vitamin D daily. Those women have plenty of vitamin D in their breast milk, enough to make this Swiss nightmare only a memory of the new FNB dark ages.

If only the recent FNB had the courage to address all the women with levels below the 20 ng/ml (the level the FNB said was adequate). They know the main way to address the 25% of women with such levels is food fortification, but they chose not to make any food fortification recommendations. Rather, they dispensed advice they know most of these women will not follow. May God and the souls of the lost children forgive them.

  About: John Cannell, MD

Dr. John Cannell is founder of the Vitamin D Council. He has written many peer-reviewed papers on vitamin D and speaks frequently across the United States on the subject. Dr. Cannell holds an M.D. and has served the medical field as a general practitioner, emergency physician, and psychiatrist.

2 Responses to Vitamin D literally grasps infant from certain death

  1. ecoharmony@sympatico.ca says:

    Actually Dr. Cannell, La Leche League would be very UN-happy! This sarcastic and false remark has no place in such an article and reflects poorly on the Vitamin D Council and their work. Pls don’t buy into the common myths abt this organization. Do yr. homework first and instead of relying on hearsay and thus slandering a whole organization, pls go on their website or speak with one of their Leaders and find out exactly what information they give mothers abt breastfeeding, and abt Vitamin D. I think you’ll find that they are (and hv been) way ahead of even most physicians on this subject. It was at least 5 years ago that I learned fm them that the alternative to using Vit.D supplements for infants (which continue to be pushed hard by everyone who comes in contact with a new mom) was to increase Vit.D in the mom. I think you owe it to yourself to speak with La Leche League and clear up some of your misconceptions.

    • Brant Cebulla says:

      ecoharmony, thank you for the comment. The Vitamin D Council has actually been in contact with La Leche League since this blog post, and you can expect a new blog post on the matter within the next two weeks, speaking on the very points you have made.


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Fine Heirloom Sewing, Smocking and Hand Embroidery

"Baby will be well and smiling in little garments made by Mother, Auntie, Grannie and loving friends!"

Please join me as I teach the old fashioned techniques and skills needed to sew baby clothes. You will find lessons that start at the very beginning and take you step by step as we sew little baby clothes together. May you find much joy and pleasure in making them.
It's easy and it's fun!!

Visit My Heirloom Sewing Webshop

Thursday, July 26

Cafe au Lait on a Sunday Morning

A very favorite place in Baton Rouge is Coffee Call.

We all love the Cafe au Lait there.

And we're crazy about the Beignets.
They were making them by the ton last Sunday to keep up with the long line of people waiting for them.

The lady on the right, in the background, is cutting out the dough.
They never stop.

Traditionally, beignets are a square but these "fingers" are more popular.  I think it's because they cool faster (they come to you straight from the fryer) so you can eat them quicker and you can get way more powdered sugar on them.

They make us smile!

And we always clean our plate.

All Designs Are Copyright Protected copyright 2012 Jeannie Baumeister

1 comment:

Jan said...

I wish there was someplace here in my neck of the woods in Idaho that made those delicious looking goodies!

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