1. what is spastic dysarthria due to? due to bilateral damage of the upper motor neuron tracts of the pyramidal and extra - pyramidal tracts ( has an effect on both sets of lower motor neurons ) 2. describe the speech and the reason why it sounds that way. speech is slow effortful and has a harsh vocal quality increased tone, but also has weakness, reduced range of motion and decreased fine motor control in many of the same muscles. 3. describe the role of upper motor neurons in spastic dysarthria. role of upper motor neurons in spastic dysarthria : review of anatomy : umn are part of cns. they originate in the cortex and brainstem. umn are grouped into pyramidal and e - pyramidal tracts. umn ( pyramidal - direct pathway from cortex and course down to the lmn ) - umn are divided : cortex to cranial nerves ( corticobulbar tract ) cortex to spinal nerves ( corticospinal tract ) pyramidal tract is responsible for transmitting neural impulses for discrete skilled movements down to the lower motor neurons, which sends them to the muscles. speech is a discrete skilled mvmt. damage to parts of the pyramidal system serving speech will result in weakness and slowness in the musculature, i. e., weak slow movements of the tongue, lips, velum etc. umn ( extrapramidal - indirect pathway from cortex to lmn ) originate in the cortex and brainstem with numerous interconnections including the reticular formation and the red nucleus. umn of extrapyramidal system eventually synapse w / lmn of cranial and spinal nerves. extrapayramidal system is responsible for maintaining posture, regulating reflexes and monitoring muscle tone ( done at the same time the pyramidal is transmitting its neural impulses ) normally, the pyramidal and e - pyramidal work together resulting in allowing complex movements effortlessly. damaged to extra and pyramidal systems weak and slow muscle mvmt ( pyramidal ) weakness, increased muscle tone ( spasticity ) and abnormal reflexes ( ex - pyramidal ) 4. describe the effects of the difference between bilateral damage and unilateral damage to the umn. spastic dysarthria : bilateral damage to both pyramidal and ex - pyramidal systems that innervate speech. ( affects tongue, lips, velum, larynx ) significance of bilateral damage : speech production muscles


to the umn. spastic dysarthria : bilateral damage to both pyramidal and ex - pyramidal systems that innervate speech. ( affects tongue, lips, velum, larynx ) significance of bilateral damage : speech production muscles will be weak, slow, ( weak and slow mostly in the tongue and lips ) spastic ( most noticeable in laryngeal muscles and maybe velum – causing incomplete vp closure during the production of non - nasals ) and have abnormal reflexes. ( unilateral damage causes unilateral upper motor neuron dysarthria. this is not as serious because most of the cranial n. serving speech ( except lower face and tongue ) receive bilateral innervation from the umn of pyramidal and expyramidal system ) 5. describe the different etiologies of spastic dysarthria. etiologies of spastic dysarthria stroke : most common cause of spastic dysarthria. must have either 2 or more strokes ( bilateral ) in cerebral hemispheres or one in the brainstem ( right and left pyramidal and expyramidal tracts are very close in the brain stem ). als results in progressive degeneration of lmn and umn. some people begin with involvement in lmn and exhibit flaccid dysarthria and weakness in the legs and muscle atrophy some begin with umn involvement demonstrate spastic dysarthria, hyperactive gag and jaw reflexes and swallowing disorders. eventually both umn and lmn are affected and result in mixed dysarthria. hi can produce widespread damage ( stretched and torn axons, lacerated brain tissue and blood vessel hemorrhage ) ms is a suspected immunological disorder that results in the inflammation or complete destruction of the myelin sheath covering the axons. ms can affect myelin anywhere w / in cns ( cerebral hemispheres, cerebellum, brainstem, and spinal cord ) so depending on where the damage is.. this will be the dysarthria exhibited i. e., ataxic dysarthria, mixed dysarthria ). brainstem tumor, cerebral anoxia, viral or bacterial infections in the cerebral tissue 6. describe the speech characteristics of spastic d imprecise consonants ( not helpful diagnostically — common characteristic among dysarthrias ) 1. abnormally short voice onset time for voiceless consonants 2. incomplete articulator


the cerebral tissue 6. describe the speech characteristics of spastic d imprecise consonants ( not helpful diagnostically — common characteristic among dysarthrias ) 1. abnormally short voice onset time for voiceless consonants 2. incomplete articulatory contact 3. incomplete consonants clusters harsh vocal quality “ friction of air ” characteristic harshness occurs when air leaks through a partially open glottis. perhaps caused by purposeful partial abduction of vf to help prevent spastic muscle tone in larynx from closing the glottis too tightly during speech. they let some subglottic air leak through their tense, partly abducted vf. strained - strangled vocal quality ( noticeable characteristic, but not always present ) sound created by subglottic air being forced through a narrow, tightly constricted larynx due to spasticity of vf causing tight hyperadduction of the vf hypernasality caused by spasticity in the velum which slows and reduces its range of movement ( not as severe as that seen in flaccid d. and does not include nasal emission as in flaccid d. ) monopitch ( one of the most obvious characteristics ) caused by overall tenseness of laryngeal muscles resulting in a reduced ability to contract and relax ( contracting and relaxing vf is what helps us vary our pitch ) monoloudness caused by overall tenseness in laryngeal muscles ( by increasing and decreasing vf tension, the larynx can precisely regulate the amount of subglottic air that passes through the glottis. short phrases - probably due to speaking through a tight larynx. the energy required to force air through the tightly adducted vf is great so they shorten their utterances. frequent inhalations interrupt the rhythm of speech slow rate of speech caused by reduced speed and range of movement in articulators. weakness in articulators may contribute to slower speaking rate. slowed rate may be the result of speaking against tight adduction of the vf not really a problem, but there may be some abnormal respiratory movmts. deviant movemtns can cause reduced inhalation and exhalation, uncoordinated breathing patterns and reduced vc. 7. of the speech characteristics what are the most definitive? phonation and prosody are the most definitive in spastic d 8. what are some defining non - speech characteristics of spastic dysarthria and how might they be treated


7. of the speech characteristics what are the most definitive? phonation and prosody are the most definitive in spastic d 8. what are some defining non - speech characteristics of spastic dysarthria and how might they be treated? additional defining non - speech characteristics : 1. emotional liability known as the pseudobulbar effect may be due to damage to areas that inhibit emotions crying is more common than laughing embarrassing to person. distressing to family treatment limited. drugs ineffective. effect lessens with recovery 2. drooling : most prominent in spastic d. probably due to impaired oral control of saliva and possibly to swallowing. client often reports that the injury resulted in the production of too much saliva. embarrassing treatments : behavioral – cuing to swallow. drugs. surgery spastic dysarthia vs flaccid d. 9. define bulbar and pseudobulbar palsy bulbar palsy : atrophy and weakness in muscles innervated through the medulla. ( tongue, velum, larynx and pharynx ) ; a name for flaccid dysarthria pseudobulbar palsy : ( false bulbar palsy ) means weakness and slowness to the same muscles. ( tongue, velum, larynx, and pharynx ) ; a name for spastic dysarthria 10. describe the difference between spastic and flaccid dysarthria. difference betw. spastic and flaccid dysarthria the distinction between the two is their different etiologies. bulbar palsy : lower motor neuron ; pseudo bulbar palsy : umn 1. spastic d bilateral damage to upper motor neurons of the pyramidal and extrapyramidal systems. flaccid d. damage to lower motor neurons check medical reports for site and type of lesion. 2. hypernasality is more severe in flaccid d. and has nasal emissions. hypernasality may appear more intermittent in spastic d. 3. spastic d may have a tight, strained strangled voice quality ( but not always : it may more frequently have a harsh vocal quality instead ) 4. spastic d. : may have pseudobalbar effect ( emotional liability ) and drooling. 11. what are the key evaluation tasks and what are you looking key evaluation tasks : 1. conversation / reading : hypernasality, imprecise consonants, monopitch / loudness, reduced stress


( emotional liability ) and drooling. 11. what are the key evaluation tasks and what are you looking key evaluation tasks : 1. conversation / reading : hypernasality, imprecise consonants, monopitch / loudness, reduced stress, short phrases, 2. amr : slow 3. vowel prolongation will evoke the phonatory deficits ( harsh voice quality, strained - strangled voice quality, low pitch 12. what are some possible areas of focus for treatment? possible areas of focus : 1. decreasing hyperadduction of the vf 2. increasing articulatory precision ( artic. therapy ) 3. prosody ( more natural intonation 4. hypernasality ( lifts etc. ) 5. respiration is usually not affected. 13. what is the treatment for the processes that may be affected by spastic d. 1. hyperadduction : ( duffy says little success in reducing hyperadduction ) forget any exercise that does not include speech easy onset of phonation to make softer glottal closures. yawn - sigh : ( similar to the above ) perhaps begin with yawn sigh to initiate easy onset of phonation. articulation : ( weakness, reduced speed of movement, and reduced range working on imprecise articulation. what is the purpose of tongue / lip stretching and strengthening exercises? to reduce hyper - tonicity and increase speed and rom ; watch out — may be counterproductive and increase hyper - tonicity. 1. client reads words. clinician ( not looking ) tries to identify words. if unable to understand, tell the client what was wrong with the production. * * 2. exaggerated consonants : overarticulation * * 3. minimal contrast drills ( just like articulation ) treatment of prosody * * contrastive stress drills * * teaching appropriate phrasing pitch range exercise and intonation markings ( on read passages ) might work if the client is able to demonstrate ability to reduce tenseness in vf during conversation enough to make pitch changes. treatment of resonance ( sluggish velum ) palatal lift ( hyperactive gag reflex may make this difficult ) exercises ( only after surgical tx when closure can be achieved ) biofeedback with nasal mirror for nasal emission ; use of see scape increased loudness ( use visual feedback voice light and vu meter or a sound level meter ) this may work simply because the person opens their mouth which will increase intelligibility and encourages overarticulation.


volume 10, number 7 — july 2004 emerging infections : what have we learned from sars? given the current size and mobility of the human population, emerging diseases pose a continuing threat to global health. this threat became reality with the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome ( sars ). the emergence of a disease requires two steps : introduction into the human population and perpetuated transmission. although preventing the introduction of a new disease is ideal, containing a zoonosis is a necessity. the lessons that we have learned from sars were the topic of a meeting of the royal society on january 13, 2004, in london, england. zoonoses are responsible for most emerging infectious diseases, including infections caused by ebola virus, west nile virus, monkeypox, hantavirus, hiv, and new subtypes of influenza a. in the case of sars coronavirus ( sars - cov ), serologic evidence indicates that the virus was spread through interspecies transmission from wild game markets in guangdong, china ( malik peiris, university of hong kong ). this finding led to bans in the wild meat trade from nan shan zhong ( guangzhou respiratory disease research institute ) similar to the ban on eating nervous system tissue from cows that was implemented after new variant creutzfeldt - jakob disease emerged in britain. ecologic changes, concomitant with increasing contact between humans and animal disease reservoirs, contribute to zoonoses. the emergence of sars was facilitated by increased contact between people and animal disease reservoirs as the wild meat industry expanded recently. global warming will likely contribute to the spread of dengue beyond tropical regions ( tony mcmichael, national centre for epidemiology and population health, canberra, australia ). habitat fragmentation by deforestation may increase the contact between people and reservoir species. for example, hemorrhagic fever virus has been linked to deforestation in south america. containing an emerging disease depends on rapidly designing and implementing a control strategy appropriate to the epidemiology of the disease. interdisciplinary and international collaboration occurred with unprecedented rapidity during the sars outbreak. the network of laboratories in 17 countries organized by the world health organization ( who ) coordinated information sharing ( david heymann, who ) and was instrumental in rapidly identifying the etiologic agent of sars ( 1 ) and in fulfilling koch ’ s postulates ( 2 ) ( albert osterhaus, erasmus university, rotterdam ). as is typical of an emerging disease, no vaccines or drugs to combat sar


the etiologic agent of sars ( 1 ) and in fulfilling koch ’ s postulates ( 2 ) ( albert osterhaus, erasmus university, rotterdam ). as is typical of an emerging disease, no vaccines or drugs to combat sars existed, making quarantine, patient isolation, travel restrictions, and contact precautions the only means of limiting transmission. mathematic models provided a framework for evaluating alternative control measures and making predictions about the course of the epidemic ( 3, 4 ). previously, similar models had guided public health policy, for example, in halting an outbreak of hoof and mouth disease in the united kingdom in 2001 ( 5, 6 ). one of the complications in setting parameters in an emerging disease model is the difficulty in estimating epidemiologic limits from the initially small sample sizes. thus, openly sharing data and analysis of key model parameters are vital. the model must be appropriate to the nature of the disease and the accuracy of the parameter estimates ( 7 ). stochasticity inherent in transmission dynamics will be particularly pronounced when infection prevalence is low. population heterogeneity and the network structure of human interactions will affect the spread of an emerging disease. in the 2003 sars outbreak, healthcare workers were at particular risk ( 8 ) and acted as bridges carrying the infection from the hospital and causing community wide epidemics. high - risk “ core groups ” have been a major focus of hiv / aids models for years ( 9 ), but the movement of sars patients into the core ( i. e., the hospital ) adds a further complication ( 3 ). the two waves of sars clusters in toronto ( robert maunder, mount sinai hospital, toronto ) highlight the need for surveillance even after an outbreak appears extinguished. management of the sars epidemic also demonstrated that public service infrastructure, which affords the greatest chance of success ( 3 ), is essential to the rapid containment of an outbreak. in areas most affected, contact tracing was important ( 10 ). in guangdong, police departments tracked down contacts of infected persons, who were then followed up for 10 days after exposure. evaluating the surge capacity of public health services and hospitals is one way to assess the preparedness of a medical system. the case - fatality rate is a key determinant of the public health impact of an emerging disease and was high for sars at approximately 15 % ( 11 ). the relationship between infectiousness and onset of symptoms is also important. patient isolation has greater potential as a control strategy if


key determinant of the public health impact of an emerging disease and was high for sars at approximately 15 % ( 11 ). the relationship between infectiousness and onset of symptoms is also important. patient isolation has greater potential as a control strategy if the illness can be diagnosed before the person becomes infectious ( roy anderson, imperial college london ). in contrast, persons infected with influenza virus are highly infectious before they become symptomatic. the rapidity of pathogen turnover means that evolution in pathogen populations can occur on a time scale that is epidemiologically relevant. indeed, sars - cov evolved during the course of the sars outbreak in china ( 12 ). similarly, influenza is perpetuated in the human population by the evolution of new antigenic variants every year ( robin bush, university of california, irvine ) ( 13 ). even if the transmissibility of an emerging disease is initially below the threshold necessary to sustain it in a population, the potential for the organism ’ s evolution to higher levels may exist ( 14, 15 ). thus, one should not become complacent about diseases that are repeatedly introduced through zoonosis, but teeter on the edge of sustainability within the human population. the success with which who coordinated the global collaboration in containing sars galvanized the world health assembly to grant who greater authority to verify outbreaks, conduct investigations of outbreak severity, and evaluate the adequacy of control measures. the outcome of this new authority will depend on integrating the expertise of public health officials, medical doctors, and epidemiologists worldwide with guidance from disease transmission models. the sars outbreak demonstrated that an epidemic in one part of the world is not just an individual nation ’ s problem but a global problem. - kuiken t, fouchier ra, schutten m, rimmelzwaan gf, van amerongen g, van riel, et al. newly discovered coronavirus as the primary cause of severe acute respiratory syndrome. lancet. 2003 ; 362 : 263 – 70. - fouchier ra, kuiken t, schutten m, van amerogen g, van doornum gj, van hoogen bg, aetiology : koch ’ s postulates fulfilled for sars virus. nature. 2003 ; 423 : 240. - lloyd - smith jo, galvani ap, getz wm. curtailing transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome within a community and its hospital. proc r soc


decennial abc : q as in quality with regard to wikipedia, many people ask about the quality of the content, whether one can trust the information, how reliable the whole thing is. we then explain about our procedures, and yes, amazingly they work. but – how about the quality of earlier, ‘ traditional ’ encyclopedias? it is not a tit - for - tat - response if the question is returned to them. in the middle ages, quality meant that the writer of an encyclopedia was a faithful compiler of already existing texts. the encyclopedias were more like anthologies. when in early renaissance the person of an author received a different status then also the requirements for a good encyclopedia started slowly to shift. publishing an encyclopedia was and is not only a scientific or educational, but above all a commercial enterprise. of course, a thorough and newly written, up - to - date text costs a lot of work of a skilled lexicographer. in his myth of the britannica, harvey einbinder named a lot of examples for low quality but also some reasons. the 1963 edition of eb told anecdotes about the youth of francisco de goya, about his involvement in street gangs and a trip to rome. einbinder : ‘ no documentary evidence exists describing this trip, but the idea that goya joined a group of bull - fighters fits the popular image of the artist. ’ ( s. 122 / 123. ) britannica showed a lot of dubious or dated articles because it is difficult to write a good article on a complicated subject ; copyediting costs time and time is money. taking over an article from a previous edition is cheaper than writing it new. and this given the fact that britannica authors have not been paid well. britannica claimed in 1960 that, from 1950 on, 34 million words in 49, 000 articles had been revised. but that does that mean? with in total 38 million words in 42, 000 articles, does that mean that several articles had been altered several times, einbinder asked. ( s. 265. ) ‘ apparently ’ this is how it went : if someone made some minor changes in an article then all words of the article were counted as ‘ revised ’. ( s. 279 / 280. ) maybe someone likes to calculate how many million words are ‘ revised ’ in english wikipedia every day? 1 comment » leave a reply - wikimedia conferentie nederland 2012 with ‘ father of wikipedia ’ - wca : deputy chair of the


the aeronca c - 2 was the first truly light airplane certified by the department of commerce, bureau of aeronautics and produced in substantial numbers in the united states. safe, economical, and easy to fly, this delightful but unassuming monoplane changed the face of aviation by tapping a new market, that of private aircraft ownership. this aeronca is the production prototype ; it first flew on october 20, 1929. the single - seat aeronca c - 2 and the two - seat c - 3 capitalized on the enthusiasm of the post - lindbergh flight era by offering small and affordable designs to the general public. during the depression, while many larger aircraft proved to be too expensive to operate, the aeronca c - 2 sold for under $ 1, 300 and could be rented for only $ 4. 00 an hour. this aeronca flew for 10 years with several owners. gift of aeronca, inc. country of origin : united states of america wingspan : 10. 9 m ( 36 ft ) length : 6. 1 m ( 20 ft ) height : 2. 1 m ( 7 ft 6 in ) weight, empty : 184 kg ( 406 kg ) weight, gross : 318 kg ( 700 lb ) top speed : 180 km / h ( 80 mph ) engine : aeronca e - 107a, 26 hp manufacturer : aeronautical corporation of america, cincinnati, ohio, 1929 fuselage : steel tube, fabric cover wings : wood with fabric cover x626n ; 1929 single - seat, light sport monoplane ; aeronca e - 107a engine ; low - wing, tailwheel design. the aeronca c - 2 of 1929 was the first truly light airplane certified by department of commerce, bureau of aeronautics and produced in substantial numbers in the united states. safe, economical, and easy to fly, this delightful but unassuming monoplane changed the face of aviation by opening a market never before successfully tapped - that of private aircraft ownership. the aeronautical corporation of america, a small company whose name was shortened to aeronca, was formed in 1928 at lunken airport near cincinnati, ohio. aeronca bought production rights to a small and light airplane designed solely for recreational flying by french - born jean a. roche, senior aeronautical engineer for the u. s. army air service. the airplane, engineered for production by roger e. schlemmer of the university of cincinnati ' s aeronautical school, was designated the c - 2 ( roche ' s hand - built plane being considered the first of the type ). work began on


the airplane, engineered for production by roger e. schlemmer of the university of cincinnati ' s aeronautical school, was designated the c - 2 ( roche ' s hand - built plane being considered the first of the type ). work began on the production prototype in 1929 and it first flew on october 20, 1929. painted bright yellow and orange, it was assigned registration nx626n. before the aeronca c - 2, purely recreational aircraft were rare. there was almost no private ownership during the decade following world war i for the open - cockpit biplanes had to work to earn their keep. even the barnstormer ' s jenny - despite inexpensive price and romantic images - was strictly a commercial venture that bore little resemblance to the luxury of owning an automobile. by the late 1920s and early 1930s, aircraft manufacturers began to cater to the lucrative but limited market of the wealthy sportsman pilot. charles lindbergh ' s 1927 flight from new york to paris in the ryan nyp spirit of st. louis heightened public awareness of the airplane, but, ironically, it was the depression that further promoted the emergence of light airplanes by making larger aircraft too expensive to operate. these factors, and advances in airframe and engine technology, set the stage for one of the most significant trends in aviation between the wars when it became possible for a significant segment of american society to own and fly an airplane. the first c - 2s that aeronca demonstrated at aviation expositions around the country won enthusiastic acceptance during the latter half of 1930. squat and bug - eyed, the diminutive aeronca c - 2 was a simple airplane with modest performance and delightful flying characteristics. its steel - tube fuselage and wooden wings were covered with fabric and braced with wires. the pilot, seated before a stick and rudder bar, had just four instruments : oil temperature, oil pressure, nonsensitive altimeter, and tachometer. the single - seat c - 2 was powered by a two - cylinder aeronca e - 107 engine rated at 26 - 30 hp. in 1929, the aeronca c - 2 sold for $ 1, 495. by mid - 1930, the price had dropped to $ 1, 245 as a result of the depression. c - 2s were economical at 1 cent a mile for oil and gas, and they could often be rented for just $ 4. 00 an hour. furthermore, they were simple to fly, easy to maintain, and had no bad characteristics to spring on a novice pilot. by 1931, more than 100 c


oil and gas, and they could often be rented for just $ 4. 00 an hour. furthermore, they were simple to fly, easy to maintain, and had no bad characteristics to spring on a novice pilot. by 1931, more than 100 c - 2s had been sold and aeronca introduced the two - seat c - 3, with an aeronca e - 1 13 36 - 40 hp engine. with seating for two side - by - side, the c - 3 offered greater utility than the c - 2 and quickly became popular as a trainer. " airknockers " or " flying bathtubs, as they were affectionately known, made it possible for the average person to fly. other light aircraft began to appear but the aeronca style remained popular and c - 3 production ended in 1937 with more than 500 produced built. nx626n flew for ten years with a variety of owners. in 1940, it was reacquired by the aeronca company for display at its new factory in middletown, ohio. in 1948, after the establishment of the national air museum in 1946, the aeronca company answered a call by the smithsonian institution to various companies and organizations for historic aircraft and donated the first aeronca, c - 2 nx626n. the c - 2 was restored 1976 and was briefly displayed in the general aviation gallery.


reflections, questions, speculations december 2, 2009 alice ’ s adventures in wonderland. what is preconceived as a children ’ s story may actually hold lessons that can be applicable to both children and adults. is this simply an addition to keep adults enticed during a bedtime story? or could the story be meant solely for adults, with the outrageously inappropriate references and joking yet truthful morals? or, contrastly, was the story just a gift to a young alice liddell whom lewis carroll adored? what is the significance of the other characters? what of the characters, perhaps based on real figures of alice liddell ’ s life, that are thrown in and out of the text randomly? and what of the size of the characters? if a playing card is a standard, are the other characters just as minute? again, regarding size, what about alice ’ s own size and her frequent transformations? could it signify the difference between lewis carroll and his young, untouchable love alice liddell? what of the word play, rhyming, and utter nonsense? is there true meaning or are we reading too much into a story meant for a simple interpretation? is overanalyzing ruining a work of art? is the story even a work of art? or is it simply an old man secretly laughing at the frantic questions intellectuals ( or students, like myself ) ask themselves? is it just a dream? or is it a lazy ending, a poor explanation for a world of possibilities? or is it an ending meant for the younger audience that would prove to be satisfactory ( to them )? what is alice ’ s adventures in wonderland, truly? leave a reply % d bloggers like this :


caligula - emperor julio - claudian page on caligula from an annotated gallery of the first 12 emperors of ancient rome. caligula - paper on caligula, by jay key history has not been kind to caligula, and for good reason, due to the lasting volumes of maniacal and savage anecdotes depicting a mad ruler. however, during his first year in office, caligula was effective and somewhat politically capable to be ruler of the world, and his vicious maneuvers were a necessary part of his political agenda - - to return rome to caesar ' s form of rule. chronology by barbara f. mcmanus who says caligula ' s " behavior demonstrates what can happen when absolute power is combined with a total lack of responsibility and respect for others. " gaius caligula of rome article on the madness of caligula, schizophrenia, which got worse after his illness in a. d. 37. crazy caesars of rome madness among royals frequently comes from inbreeding, but that wasn ' t the case with the julio - claudians. caligula had epilepsy and appears to have suffered from post - encephalitic schizophrenia. from your guide, the names and dates of rule of the emperors from augustus in 27 b. c. to numerian ( 285 a. d. ). an online encyclopedia of roman emperors articles on julio - claudian and flavian emperors with timeline for emperors through constantine xi ( xiii ) palaeologus. stemmata of the julio - claudian emperors the lines of consanguinity among the first five emperors are hard to keep straight. even with this chart, it will take time to unravel the bloodline, marriage and adoption threads, but it ' s a useful reference tool.


sat february 23, 2013 early in life we learn to count and to do simple arithmetic, but there ' s nothing simple about counting the animals - dogs, cats, and even rabbits - who are victims of the pet overpopulation problem. if i were to ask you how much is one plus one, you would probably answer “ two ”. but in the pet world, sometimes one plus one can equal pretty large number if you ’ re talking about animals that are allowed to breed unchecked. experts say that the average female cat could have three litters in one year, each with up to six kittens in a litter. the average female dog could have about two litters per year, but one litter could have 8 puppies. that means that one female pet that continues to breed and her offspring that also continue to breed could result in tens of thousands of cats or dogs in just a few years. it ’ s no wonder that around six million animals are surrendered to animal shelters in this country every year, and that almost half – or about three million companion animals – must be euthanized because there are just too many of them and not enough homes. while it may make you sad to think of all those animals who never have a chance to show someone what great pets they could have been, the saddest part for me is that pet overpopulation is easily prevented. all it takes, is for owners to have their female dogs and cats spayed and their male animals neutered. if you think it is too expensive to have your pet “ fixed ”, it may surprise you to learn that it costs more to raise one litter of puppies or kittens than to have your dog or cat spayed or neutered. if finances are tight and your budget has little room in it for veterinary surgery, check online for lower cost opportunities in your area. call your local animal shelter and ask if they can help. many states, including alabama, have a low - cost spay - neuter clinic that offers affordable options. you might start by talking with your own veterinarian, to see if you can work out a payment plan. this is the right time to get your pet spayed or neutered, because this tuesday is world spay day, established to remind everyone of the important role each of us plays in preventing pet overpopulation. make sure your dog or cat is not contributing to the problem – become part of the solution, so that someday, one plus one really will equal two when you ’


as the first postage stamps issued by the bureau of engraving and printing, the series of 1894 holds a unique position in u. s. philately. generations of collectors have referred to the series as the ' first bureau issue '. the stamp designs were the legacy from the american bank note company dies, to which the bureau added ' triangles ' in the upper corners. until july 1894, when the first stamps of the series was issued, private companies had printed all postage stamps under contracts with the post office department. series of 1894 stamps are categorized in three groups based primarily on whether or not watermarked paper was used and on color. the series includes thirteen denominations, ranging from one cent to five dollars. issued in july 1894, the first denomination of the first group was the 6 - cent garfield stamp. most of the other stamps were issued in the fall of 1894, though the 8 - cent sherman was not issued until march 1895. the bureau of engraving and printing issued all stamps in this first group on unwatermarked paper, just as the american bank note company had done. a decision was made in 1895 to print stamps on watermarked paper. series of 1894 stamps that had only recently appeared on unwatermarked paper now appeared again on paper with a double - line usps watermark. they were the first postage stamps printed on watermarked paper and constitute the second group of stamps in the first bureau issue. the third group in the first bureau issue includes stamps whose colors were changed to conform to universal postal union regulations. the 1 - cent franklin was changed from blue to green and the 5 - cent grant from chocolate to blue. in order to avoid confusing postal clerks and the public, the 10 - cent webster, previously printed in green, was reissued in brown and orange brown, and the 15 - cent clay, previously printed in blue, was reissued in olive green.


think about how small a half cup of ice cream, a standard serving size, looks in a large bowl. when it doesn ' t look like much, the tendency is to compensate and add more. the more room on your plate, the more food you are likely to eat. if a smaller plate is not available at your next holiday party, resolve not to fill your plate to overflowing. most of us have the tendency to eat whatever amount of food has been offered. researchers call this " compulsion completion. " it means that when you see a portion of food, your mind drives you to finish the entire amount regardless of the size of the portion. food portions have increased substantially in the last 20 years. you can see the change yourself by going to http : / / hp2010. nhlbihin. net / portion and taking the portion distortion quiz. one example given is for cheesecake. the typical piece of cheesecake is now more than twice as big, which translates into 380 extra calories. another reason you may eat more is because there are more choices. the challenge to controlling how much you eat during the holiday season is due in part to the variety of special foods that are offered. variety is a driving force behind how much we eat. if we think there are more options, we are likely to want to taste all of them. try having just a few different foods on your plate at one time. at your next holiday gathering, before you start filling up your plate, take a minute to see what your options are. when possible, choose a smaller plate. cut a holiday treat into a smaller size before serving yourself. and, finally, take note of how many choices there are and resolve to eat only a few. by the time the new year arrives, you ' ll be on your way to making that resolution a reality. lynn little is a family and consumer sciences educator with university of maryland cooperative extension in washington county.


newport news, va. a? dieters often fear fat, but it actually is crucial to good health. the trick is to eat foods with the right kinds of fat and avoid the others. some tips from nutritionists : 1. understand what " good " fats do. the body uses these substances for many functions, including creating energy, maintaining cells, transporting vitamins and creating hormone - like compounds that help regulate blood pressure and heart rate. healthy fats also can help lower bad cholesterol levels. 2. go for monounsaturated fats a? good food sources include olive oil, fish oil, avocados and olives a? yes, fruits can contain healthy fats a? and most nuts. 3. polyunsaturated fats a? soybeans, whole - grain wheat and vegetable oils, including corn, saffron, sunflower and soy, contain these fats. 4. a? and omega - 3 fatty acids. these types of polyunsaturated fats appear to lower the risk of coronary artery disease and may guard against irregular heartbeats and high blood pressure. go for salmon, herring, flaxseeds, walnuts and leafy green vegetables. 5. limit trans and saturated fats. trans fats are common in commercial baked goods such as crackers and cookies, as well as in fried foods like doughnuts. saturated fats are most often found in animal products ( full - fat dairy and red meat ), partially - hydrogenated oils such as crisco and coconut, palm and other tropical oils. 6. use moderation. all types of fat are high in calories, so keep portions small. a handful of nuts a? roughly 25 almonds, for example a? is all you need for a snack. if you ' re cooking with olive oil, spray a small amount into a non - stick pan or lightly brush the oil onto meat, fish or vegetables before grilling. 7. eat well and exercise. weight gain doesn ' t come from fat ( or carbohydrates ) per se a? it comes from too many calories overall and not enough activity.


kolkata : arsenic contamination in groundwater has assumed menacing proportions in west bengal as nine districts including kolkata are severely affected, an assembly committee report said. studies conducted by the experts of jadavpur university found traces of arsenic in tubewells of jadavpur, alipore and tollygunge in kolkata. " but a detailed study of kolkata ' s groundwater should be taken up by the cmc and public health engineering department immediately, " said saugata roy, chairman of the last assembly ' s standing committee on public health. in its last report, the committee pointed out that indiscriminate withdrawal of groundwater for irrigation was a prime reason for increased arsenic concentration in groundwater. similarly, withdrawal of groundwater for drinking and other domestic purposes without any significant recharge contributes to health hazards, too. other factors mentioned include the burning of fossil fuels in power stations and copper ore smelting. the slow poisoning by arsenic has become widespread in districts like malda, murshidabad, nadia, hooghly, howrah, north and south 24 - parganas. as most of the rural and urban population was dependent on water from tubewells or deep tubewells, the contamination has spread rapidly. according to the committee, the eastern part of the river bhagirathi is seriously affected and murshidabad is the worst hit. though the state government has set up three water treatment plants at malda and murshidabad, projects for north and south 24 - parganas are yet to take off as a result of centre - state stand - off regarding financial participation. similar hassles have put the surface water treatment projects for nadia and murshidabad on the backburner, the report observed. the kaliachak plant at malda was the worst hit. " the plant was inaugurated in november 1995. but till date nothing has progressed, " said the report. it suggested long - term groundwater management strategies and popular technologies to detoxify water in the affected areas.


animal species : sergeant baker, hime purpurissatus richardson, 1843 the sergeant baker is probably named after governor phillip ' s orderly sergeant, william baker. the species is commonly seen by divers in on the new south wales coast. the sergeant baker can be recognised by its long tapering body, blotched colouration and its behaviour. the species is commonly observed by divers as it perches on the substrate with its head raised. adult males and females are easy to tell apart. several of the anterior rays of the first dorsal fin are greatly elongated in males, nearly reaching the adipose fin. the elongated dorsal fin rays can be seen in the middle image. the sergeant baker is probably named after governor phillip ' s orderly sergeant, william baker. sergeant baker came to australia as a corporal of marines on the transport ship charlotte. he was reported to have been a keen fisherman, and possibly the first white settler to have caught this species. it grows to about 68 cm in length. this species is endemic to australia. it is recorded from temperate waters from the central western australian coast to southern queensland. the map below shows the australian distribution of the species based on public sightings and specimens in australian museums. click on the map for detailed information. source : atlas of living australia. distribution by collection data feeding and diet dietary items include molluscs, fishes and crustaceans. it is reported to be a poor to fair table fish. - edgar, g. j. 1997. australian marine life : the plants and animals of temperate waters. reed books. pp. 544. - glover, c. j. m. in gomon, m. f., glover, c. j. m. & r. h. kuiter ( eds ). 1994. the fishes of australia ' s south coast. state print, adelaide. pp. 992. - hutchins, b. & r. swainston. 1986. sea fishes of southern australia. complete field guide for anglers and divers. swainston publishing. pp. 180. - kuiter, r. h. 1993. coastal fishes of south - eastern australia. crawford house press. pp. 437. - kuiter, r. h. 1996. guide to sea fishes of australia. new holland. pp. 433. mark mcgrouther, collection manager, ichthyology


by don trotter should we teach our children about nature? hello fellow earthlings and welcome to the garden. in our ongoing attempt to bring nature back into your gardens we have not really touched on one of the most important reasons why natural / organic gardening is so smart. our children and the children of our communities, regardless of their socioeconomic background, really deserve to know as much as we can teach them about how nature works. the obvious classroom for this knowledge is the garden. let ’ s take a walk and discuss some of the ways we can increase awareness of the natural world for our kids. as our society continues to sprawl into open spaces that once surrounded our communities, we are continuing to lose precious native areas that once allowed us to take our families on hiking trips or picnics. these spaces continue to shrink and our choices for immersing our children ’ s inherent curiosity in a natural place are getting fewer by the week. this is where the home garden, parks, or community / botanical gardens come in very handy. consider the amazing questions your children will ask you while they ponder the relationship between the soil and a plant or why certain bugs eat plants while other bugs eat them. this is something we gardeners can teach without having to resort to long trips that are excruciatingly boring to kids. there is a classroom right outside the front or back door. opportunities to increase the vocabulary of our children to include such words as environment, or to give them an opportunity to make their own sense out of how things in nature work is definitely worth the minimal investment in time on our parts. last year i made my annual pilgrimage to the flower fields in carlsbad ( california ) to admire the beauty of the colors and to see what new evolutions this wonderful place had made. i was enthralled by the myriad of questions being lobbed at a teacher who had taken her third or fourth grade class on a field trip. the children were more interested in how the plants grew than they were about the obvious eye candy the flowers provide. i grew up with these fields and the gladiolus fields that are now becoming homes closer to the coast highway. i never tired of considering all the possible ways these plants grew. i used to come up with some very creative theories and often shared them with my grandfather who was a farmer of local tomatoes. i remember once asking him on a sunny day if the stuff they were spraying on the plants was suntan oil so the plants could receive more sun power. after busting out laughing


often shared them with my grandfather who was a farmer of local tomatoes. i remember once asking him on a sunny day if the stuff they were spraying on the plants was suntan oil so the plants could receive more sun power. after busting out laughing ( of course, i was hurt ), he took the time to tell me about insects that ate the plants and that the stuff they were spraying was a poison for the insects. my next question, of course, was why the good bugs he had told me about weren ’ t eating all of the bad ones. he thought for a moment and said that was a good question. i was lucky enough to have a farmer in my family and my grandfather was an oracle of wisdom. he used conventional methods of farming but helped me grow my gardens without chemicals. constant exposure to agricultural chemicals ( including ddt ) took his life way too soon, but his wisdom remains with me today. no one has to be an expert biologist or horticulturist to give their children insights on how nature works. in the end kids will make their own conclusions on how things “ really ” work. nature excites their imaginations and feeds their tireless hunger for knowledge. it also gets them out from in front of the bloody nintendo machine. they will get an opportunity to breathe in nature, just watch them grow. when my nephew brandon was very young he used to be fascinated by snails. he could watch them for hours. it reminded me of my interest in ant behavior in the vacant lot by my house when i was much younger ( before imported fire ants ). brandon showed all the signs of a born scientist, his curiosity and attention to detail was astounding. he shared his theories about snails and his insights were both hilarious and astute. it was very entertaining. while more land may not be possible for many, there are an abundance of local places where a child ’ s exposure to nature can take place. my favorite places are botanical gardens and regional parklands. by taking our children to these natural places they will get a better idea of their heritage and of their role in preserving the beauty of the natural world. in closing this column i would like you to encourage your children to get involved in the home garden, as well as giving them opportunities to experience nature away from the home. they will bloom like the flowers you let them grow and pick. it only makes sense to familiarize them with what is likely the only planet on which they will live. next time we will be discussing the purpose of


autumn 1998 ( 6. 3 ) the man who loved too much by jean - pierre guinhut, french ambassador to azerbaijan nizami, poet of the most famous version of " leyli and majnun. " " leyli and majnun " is an immortal love story sometimes compared to " romeo and juliet " though it predates shakespeare in oral tradition by more than 1, 000 years. today, it is still one of the most popular epics of the middle east and central asia among arabs, turks, persians, afghans, tajiks, kurds, indians, pakistanis, and, of course azerbaijanis. the story ' s influence extends beyond eastern tradition. if we go back to the middle ages at the time of the troubadours and crusaders of the 11th - 13th centuries, we discover that much of western courtly literature can be traced to oriental literature which, in turn, has influenced more recent works such as the 13th century german epic by gottfried von strassburg " tristan und isolde, " the early 13th century french fable, " aucassin et nicolette, " as well as william shakespeare works of the 16th century and innumerable others. jean - pierre guinhut ( pronounced geh - noo ), the french ambassador to azerbaijan, is an orientalist at heart and a connoisseur of eastern culture and philosophy. a polyglot, he is fluent in azeri, turkish, persian, arabic, english and french. for the last 30 years, he has both studied as well as worked in diplomacy in egypt, qatar, iran, libya and now azerbaijan. his extensive experience and knowledge give him a broad scope that few contemporaries enjoy or can equal. publishing such an article as guinhut ' s in azerbaijan international is rather unusual for us as it is longer than our usual articles and tends to be more academic in style. however, we found guinhut ' s treatment of the topic to be extremely valuable. he not only places the poem in its historical regional context, but also sheds light on its various philosophical interpretations. in the process of preparing this article, the ambassador supplemented his own reference works with materials he discovered in baku ' s institute of manuscripts. some of the miniatures featured on these pages are from treasures found there. this year, 1998, marks the 90th jubilee of the first staging of the opera " leyli and majnun " by azerbaijani composer uzeyir hajibeyov. its first performance was staged on january 25, 1908


treasures found there. this year, 1998, marks the 90th jubilee of the first staging of the opera " leyli and majnun " by azerbaijani composer uzeyir hajibeyov. its first performance was staged on january 25, 1908 at the taghiyev music comedy theater in baku. it was the first work ever created in the italian musical genre in the muslim world. perhaps, some of you have enjoyed seeing the enactment of " leyli and majnun " at the opera and ballet theater in baku a few nights per year and listening to the talented alim gasimov play majnun. hajibeyov ' s version of the story is an enormously successful synthesis between east and west, and between european classical music and oriental culture. but we ask : what are the origins of this work? coming from where? and meaning what? to whom? let me share a few observations and memories about this landmark legend as a former scholar and amateur with the view of giving those of you who liked the play or those who may wish to see it, a hint of its orientalist luster, having first read the story of " leyli and majnun " in arabic ( majnun leyla ), many years ago, i was delighted to see it on screen some years later in a popular cinema in the outskirts of peshawar ( western pakistan ). the movie aptly fit all the criteria of the sub - continent ' s film industry : musical, full of splendor and deeply emotional. when the lovers eventually met at the end and died from the insanity of their love ( amour fou ), the entire audience, composed mainly of afghani fierce fighters and pathan merchants, was sobbing. in fact, the theater was so emotionally charged that i myself wasn ' t able to hold back the tears. the film was in urdu. the actors were famous and extremely handsome. and the music - traditional indian raga - was celestial. you ' re familiar with the question : " if you were deserted on an island, what dozen books would you want to have with you? " no doubt i would stuff my luggage not only with that pakistani version of the story but also with another book, inspired by the leyli - majnun legend - the french book " le fou d ' elsa " ( the madman of elsa ), the oriental - inspired french divan published in 1963 by louis aragon ( 1897 - 1982 ), one of europe ' s greatest poets. aragon ' s leyla in real life was elsa


fou d ' elsa " ( the madman of elsa ), the oriental - inspired french divan published in 1963 by louis aragon ( 1897 - 1982 ), one of europe ' s greatest poets. aragon ' s leyla in real life was elsa triolet ( born kagan ), a pretty russian immigrant with an unpredictable, hot temper. aragon was crazy about her. influenced by his great passion, he wrote some of france ' s most famous verses, such as : " un jour, elsa, j ' ai cru te perdre. cette agonie, pour moi, n ' aura jamais de fin " ( each day, elsa, i ' ve cried about losing you. that agony, for me, will never have an end ). " le fou d ' elsa " is a series of poetic reveries set on the eve of the collapse of the sultan of boabdil ' s granada by pressure from catholic king ferdinand and queen isabella ( 1492 ). the themes and topics of the bedouin majnun tradition are revived in these poems and include the period of peaceful friendship between youth, the sudden and absolute love that begins with just a glance, the separation caused by fate brought about by the refusal of the bride ' s family, the long wait to see one another and the rare occasions where the couple actually met. another similarity between aragon ' s work and the oriental traditions of courtly love is that the poems are intermingled with poetic prose. many have been deemed so beautiful that they were set to music. these are modern versions of " leyli and majnun. " but let ' s examine some of the origins of the original legend. the beginning - the arab aura in fact, the competitions were so revered that seven of the best poems were hung as national treasures in the place most sacred to arabia - the ka ' bah, the shrine in the center of the great mosque in mecca. right : statue to nizami in the center of baku. an elaborate poem by prince imru ' al qays is still taught in arabic literature classes. it begins : " kifa, nabki, min zikra habibin oua manzili, ala sikkat el ' liqua " ( my friends, let ' s stop here and weep, in remembrance of my beloved, on her traces, here at the edge of the dune ). the scene is dramatic and the reader ( or the listener, as it may be ) is at once immersed in an


let ' s stop here and weep, in remembrance of my beloved, on her traces, here at the edge of the dune ). the scene is dramatic and the reader ( or the listener, as it may be ) is at once immersed in an atmosphere of nostalgia and sorrow. the time for love has passed. the beloved will never return, and the lover so carefully portrayed in the poem remains prisoner of his own endless wounded passion, fueled by the evidence of the missing beauty and memories of happier days gone by. but he loves this anguished confinement and cannot stop loving it, sealing an irreversible fate. the story of leyli and majnun is of the same tradition. majnun is left at the crossroads between death and madness. at first he becomes mad and his poetry becomes his salvation. he survives his sorrow because he is living in another realm with his mind wandering amidst poetic symbols. poetry, in the context of " poesis " of the ancient greeks, becomes his " creation. " and for this reason, he does not die out of pain but stokes it alive, renewing it daily. trying to ease the pain in the boy ' s heart, majnun ' s father takes him to a sacred temple to ask for god ' s help. however, instead of praying for relief from his madness, majnun pleads, " dear god, for your own sake and for the sake of love, let my love grow stronger with each passing hour. love is all i have, all i am, and all i ever want to be! " without this emotion, majnun knows his life would be deprived of all meaning. eventually, majnun retreats to the wilderness, preferring the company of wild beasts to that of men. there he communes with the animals and recites his poetry. he continues to decline and eventually dies, out of madness, having exhausted all symbolic and psychological desire. left : scene from hajibeyov ' s opera, leyli and majnun. upon his final meeting with his beloved, he no longer wishes to live and cannot prevent his death and so he dies, contented. leyli dies as well. the conclusion clearly elaborates the death of the lovers, but not the death of love. in some versions of the story, it is leyli who dies first and then afterwards majnun. lying upon her tomb, he passes away, guarded by his only friends, the wild animals. so many art miniatures have been painted depicting this scene from nizam


of the story, it is leyli who dies first and then afterwards majnun. lying upon her tomb, he passes away, guarded by his only friends, the wild animals. so many art miniatures have been painted depicting this scene from nizami ' s lines. they were especially prevalent between the 15th and 17th centuries, inspired by the miniature schools of tabriz, isfahan, shiraz, herat and bukhara. today, these paintings can be found in st. petersburg, paris, london and tehran. at least one such original manuscript is kept in baku at the institute of manuscripts. despite the age of the story, it still has a profound effect on modern audiences, especially youth. why? always in the past, love had been a matter of privacy. union between a couple had been a matter of family diplomacy. the dilemma still causes trauma today, especially for eastern families who have settled in the united states. consider southern california, for example, where 1 million iranians reside. many families have been devastated by the existential contradictions between oriental traditions and the impact of the western sexual liberation ideology of the 1960s and 70s ( see the film : my beautiful laundret ). for this reason, even up to the contemporary period, in most oriental countries for any youth or lover who has experienced passionate love the identification or association to majnun or leyli is immediate. keep in mind that the essence of this poetry is still alive enough to communicate to any gathering of young people a sort of collective ecstasy, just by listening to this traditional love and court poetry. the story still affects youth today just as the troubadour or ashug ' s song did eight or 10 centuries ago. i myself have met young arab lovers who could not face the distress of an impossible love and ended up dying either by becoming mad or by committing suicide. this brings us to consider the very nature of majnun as understood through the ages. first, and foremost, majnun is a poet and that sets him apart from others. he is able to create a sanctuary within his soul, from which he re - creates his love in the poems he recites. eventually, his idealized portrait of leyli differs so much from her real personality that she ceases to be the object of his love. the gaps between the pristine purity of majnun ' s feelings and the commonness or " petitesse " of leyli as an object of his feelings diverges. right : miniature : majnun in the desert among the


of his love. the gaps between the pristine purity of majnun ' s feelings and the commonness or " petitesse " of leyli as an object of his feelings diverges. right : miniature : majnun in the desert among the wild animals, bukhara ( 1648 ). down through the ages, the arab, as well as turk and persian, memorialists and moralists have written about the trappings of poetic psychology which nourishes its own existence as a substitute for the real experience of love. in this sense, the emotion of love may be no more than a pretext for poetic inspiration. for example in the story when leyli wants to express her own feelings of love to majnun, he reproaches her : " do not speak, for you disturb me from my love for leyli! " at this point, it is obvious that majnun has created an idealized portrait of her that is so completely different from her real self that she has stopped being the object of his love. certainly, majnun is not a revolutionary character. he removes himself from the social order, despite the fact that he was born into royalty and privilege, and could have profited from his family ' s wealth. at first, he remains in the city and accepts his new status fatalistically as someone deranged in the eyes of his compatriots. he becomes majnun ( the word means " mad one, " possessed by demons or jinn ). never - theless, majnun still expects his friends to stay with him and deliver his messages and poems to his beloved, but only under the condition that they will not harm her and her clan. he seeks no revenge, neither does he revolt. and last, but not least, majnun the poet expects his audience to heed his poems and remember him by reciting his verses to others. note the inseparable union between poetry and music in arabic, as well as in persian, turkic and urdu traditions that date back as far as history records. the inclination of even the simplest people for classical love poetry, particularly when recited or sung, is obvious. in arabic poetic tradition, the first verses of poems are devoted to love stories - a tradition which has not changed even up through our modern period. the word for " poem " is called " qassida " and its introductory section is the " nassib. " by the way, both words are still in contemporary use in the azeri language


not changed even up through our modern period. the word for " poem " is called " qassida " and its introductory section is the " nassib. " by the way, both words are still in contemporary use in the azeri language. the nassib was also used by musicians for its own sake in establishing the mood in the introduction. love poetry became the source of most musical inspiration. to this day, the orient remains faithful to its traditions. traditional musicians transmit their artistic knowledge from master to disciple. they rarely play music without singers, and rarely do they sing except classical poetry, mainly love poems. this is the living reality that connects the north moroccan city of fez to kashgar, an oasis city in the uighur region of western china. anyone who is interested in this topic can detect it everywhere. the origin of mugam which hajibeyov used in his interpretation of " leyli and majnun " is certainly based on this very ancient tradition. this provides us with an easy transition from the arabs to the persians, whose immemorial culture was present in the arab jahiliyah period far before mohammad ' s revelation. even the koran itself is a monument of poetic and epic language, even if it warned of the duplicity of poets and the dangerous fascination of musicians. after the arab conquest, iranian music was forced to become secretive and clandestine, and music instruments were reduced in size and were performed only in private circles. the question is : who won in the end? i ' m convinced both iran and islam both did. this may explain why the same heritage has been interpreted in different ways between those living in iran and those from other regions of the middle east. but the same thing could be said about other decisive religious dogmas. it is certainly true about the interpretation of our legend, " leyli and majnun " - leyli va majnun ( azeri ) or majnun leyla ( arabic ), or lili - o majnun ( persian ). iranians may not have been more religious than arabs, but they showed an exceptional propensity in mastering islamic heritage and theology. as we noted before, persians were present and influential in mecca far before the time of prophet mohammad, of whom salman - e pak ( salman, the pure ) was among the closest friends. he was an iranian christian. in the iranian tradition, the character of majnun has been given the status of a mystical hero. simply his philosophy was nothing more than st


- e pak ( salman, the pure ) was among the closest friends. he was an iranian christian. in the iranian tradition, the character of majnun has been given the status of a mystical hero. simply his philosophy was nothing more than striving to draw closer to god on the highest level. human love served as an initiation to divine love and enabled the believer to reach a level of spirituality, which would bring a normal human being to the very limits of mental coherence. this experience has been described in the most rational terms, first by plato ( the banquet, the republic ), then by descartes, himself, who states in his discours de la methode, that having reached the limits of reason by practicing systematic doubt, he found himself suddenly close to mental alienation. even the koran describes the impact of revelation on prophet mohammad ' s mind, and refers to the accusations of madness directed to him by mecca ' s skeptical society with that most appropriate word, " majnun. " another common source of iranian poets and scholars during the golden age of oriental philosophie des lumieres ( ichraq of the 12 - 13th century ) is the ancient greek philosophical heritage called the prime sciences ( al - olum al - awai ' il ). one of the major contributions of plato to humanity is certainly the belief that there are several stages to understanding the nature of man, the world and the divine. passionate love ( ishg ) for the beauty of a creature gradually brings lovers to the love of all creatures and the beauty which is vested in them and then to the love of pure beauty, which is the eternal idea of beauty itself. in islamic terms, this means god himself, because nothing else is eternal and beauty is a part of his being ( al - jamil ). there is a traditional muslim saying : " god is beautiful and likes beauty. " this is one of the pillars of the iranian perception of majnun, who is perceived as a mystic. leyla, therefore, is an instrument of god - woman as a way to god. women are, like gardens, inseparable from the vision of paradise. and the belief in a better life, void of deceit, cannot be disassociated from the idea of the temporary nature of life in this world ( dunya ). creatures are not forbidden to fulfill their material destiny, whose pleasures and afflictions have to be understood as progressing many steps forward. in this respect the islamic scriptures include those very


idea of the temporary nature of life in this world ( dunya ). creatures are not forbidden to fulfill their material destiny, whose pleasures and afflictions have to be understood as progressing many steps forward. in this respect the islamic scriptures include those very human and modern words : " god knows that you cannot help thinking of women. " but it is clear for mystics as well as those who are more inclined with secular concerns that there is a gradation between the love of creatures and the love of god himself, the creator. those who are called, who are tempted by god and take the risk of becoming god ' s friends, know that god replies and that his love must prevail above everything else, including human reason. this explains why there are so many names of god that can be translated as epithets of passionate love. ( see the middle ages scholastic theory about the divine attributes. ) for the mystic, god is loving but he is also jealous and takes revenge at will. but he also listens and always comes back to his friends, whose souls must be both satisfied and satisfying. this sentence has been considered by generations of poets and mystics as the key words of the revelation : " ya ayyatuha ' l nafsu ' l mutma ' inna, irji ' i ila rabbika, raziyatan marziya. " ( thou, appeased soul, come back to thy lord, satisfying and satisfied ). one can understand how and why such a strong mystical tradition appeared in the persian society, after the teachings of muhyiddin ibn arabi ( " the greatest sheikh " ) and abu yazid al bastami ( died 874 ), and how the society has benefited from this providential drama of majnun, where leyli is mainly a reminder of god, and the experience of an impossible love, the regenerating initiation to a heavenly future. abu daoud al - isfahani, the most famous oriental analyst of the psychology of love, explains in his book ( kitab ez - zahra, the book of the rose ) that the nature of total love implies that it be kept secret. once revealed, it becomes a mere fact of life. moreover, it is dangerous to disclose the longings of love because god would be jealous. a first conclusion against such a background is that poetic love contradicts, in principle, the secret of love, which it violates by publishing it in the middle of the city. majnun


longings of love because god would be jealous. a first conclusion against such a background is that poetic love contradicts, in principle, the secret of love, which it violates by publishing it in the middle of the city. majnun ' s sin is worse than sexual license because it violates the secret of love ( urbiet orbi ). herein lies the very reason why leyli ' s family, leyli ' s tribe, leyli ' s cultural environment reject majnun the poet - the mad majnun. he is no longer a human being because of this experience. his public disclosure of his most intimate feelings, which were supposed to be kept secret ( until the negotiated decision of the families to marry their children as lovers ) has led first to the separation of the couple and the consequential effect on majnun ' s reason. but god gives and takes what he wants, and he may even accelerate the course of destiny to those who, intentionally behave against him and themselves. that is why most interpreters and writers in the iranian tradition and the turkic ones as well, view majnun as a pure and absolute martyr of divine love. however, such interpretation is not in the original arab legend, unless one concludes that the mecca episode should thus be viewed when majnun asks god to make his love for leyli irreversible. another aspect should be kept in mind in the frame of the oriental tradition of courtly love, which differs from the occidental one. in eastern tradition, the mad love which leads to death and to god, is chaste love. many traditionalists in the muslim world have referred to the islamic tradition which states that separated lovers who die are considered totally purified and go to heaven - platonic idyll. this is not because of puritanism ; on the contrary, it is because the death of virgin lovers is viewed as a major scandal that god would not tolerate without proper retribution against those who had killed them. western tradition in the middle ages is just the opposite. the lovers are not separated and prevented from being together before consummating their love. separation follows because they have realized their love against society ' s wishes or against the law. romeo, tristan and lancelot were consumed by their passion. their ill - fated life is but the consequence of their own behavior. they are punished for their love. as aragon said on this matter, " en amour, tout interdit. " ( in love, everything is


were consumed by their passion. their ill - fated life is but the consequence of their own behavior. they are punished for their love. as aragon said on this matter, " en amour, tout interdit. " ( in love, everything is forbidden. ) that simple statement combines both oriental and western tradition in one sentence. in the persian world, the mystic tradition of majnun gave birth to innumerable works, mainly in the form of " gazals, " ( love poems on the archetype form of the poet hafiz ) or " akhbar " ( recollections on illustrious persons of the past ). this form continued between the 9th - 12th century. then comes the period of nizami. his influence became so wide and so deep that it has influenced all the major thinkers and writers in the persian language after him. for geographical reasons, we will come back to more discussion about him in the last section of this article - azerbaijan. at about the time of nizami, the shape of poetic writing starts to change. it becomes " mathnawi, " like rumi ' s long epic and narrative poems, comprised of independent verses but characterized by internal rhyme and rhyming of couplets. after nizami, the most famous poet of the leyli and majnun narrative was jami ( 1414 - 1492 ), a poet of herat ( now afghanistan ) who was initiated into the nakshbandi sufi order. his influence on ottoman literature was immense, especially on ahmad sinan beheshti, who also lived in herat for awhile. a french translation of his divan was made in 1805 by chezy. poets writing in ottoman and other classical turkic languages found their inspiration mainly in the sufi traditions, in nizami and jani, as well as fuzuli. keep in mind two names : mir ali shir nava ' i ( known as the prince of poets ) and mohammad ali khan ( prince of khakand ) who wrote in chagatai ( turkmenistan ) and died when he was only 20 years old in 1842. first placed under the authority of the caliphates of damascus, then of baghdad, with numerous arab amirs, the region that is actually azerbaijan today enjoyed, from the beginning, the fresh cultural input brought by the arab conquest which was incorporated into an ancient persian heritage. from the 5th century b. c., the persian empire ' s northern border extended to darband, now in daghestan.


from the beginning, the fresh cultural input brought by the arab conquest which was incorporated into an ancient persian heritage. from the 5th century b. c., the persian empire ' s northern border extended to darband, now in daghestan. the seljuk ( turkish ) dynasties and tribes slowly took over from this rich heritage ( 11th to 14th century a. d. ) and became progressively integrated to the turkic languages area, though remaining under iranian domain ( but, in reality, under uninterrupted turkish authority ) up to 1804 when the russians took ganja and to 1823 when the qajars of tehran relinquished their rights on the area that is now known as northern azerbaijan and eastern armenia. for all these reasons, evidence of the leyli and majnun legend so common to the muslim world, is to be found early in azerbaijan though mainly in the wake of persian tradition. the arab context of the drama was not considered unusual ( its nomadic and aristocratic environment being consolidated by the seljuk experience ) and the mystical interpretation was familiar, due to shi ' ite islam. ( just this summer, bibi - heybat ' s burial place and mosque which is recognized as a holy site, has been restored in baku. bibi - heybat is acknowledged as the daughter of the 7th imam of shi ' ism ). consequently, persian education and turkic sensitivity both gave rise to the two main streams of the majnun cycle : the persian treatment by nizami ganjavi and the turkish one by mohammad fuzuli. nizami ' s legacy is immense as one of the strongest artistic and intellectual personalities of the second half of the 12th century. his works were known in every part of the oriental world at that time. his " khamsa " ( five poems ) includes the love story of " leyli and majnun. " nizami was commissioned by the shirvanshah ( abul - muzaffar akhsitan ) in 1188 a. d. to write the story ; he completed it in 1197. ( the shirvanshah ruled shirvan and darband. his capital was first shemakhi but was moved to baku from 1234 onwards. the shirvanshah palace can be seen inside the ancient inner city, ichari shahar, today and still stands as a landmark of architectural elegance ). but nizami was neither a court poet nor a politician. he was a humanist who described nature with fe


" of the gitanos in spain. in azerbaijan, mugam is the immemorial tradition of the western part of the country, the mountainous karabakh, specifically shusha, the wounded heart of the country where male, female and young boys ' voices are equally talented and praised. thus, in the genius of hajibeyov, music and poetry were reunited as was the practice in the original arab poetry. it ' s just that with hajibeyov, the larger musical genre takes the shape of an italian opera, where the orchestra gives floor to traditional instruments which accompany the solo recitatives. this unique blend of symphonic orchestra and mugam first performed in 1908 effectively amplified the strength of the dramatic effects of the story. there are other works inspired by leyli and majnun ' s legend. in 1947, for example, gara garayev ( 1918 - 1982 ) based a symphonic piece by the same name on nizami ' s model. though garayev was considered the best azerbaijani composer, the delicacy of this music does not really belong to oriental aesthetics, but rather fits with the charm of gara garayev ' s master, dmitri shostakovich. for an eye witness account of the event, see " leyli and majnun " - 90th jubilee, the opera that shaped the music of a nation by ramazan khalilov in ai 5. 4, winter 1997. the new national music comedy theater is now under construction on the exact location of the original taghiyev theater. it is scheduled to open soon. the future is veiled from our eyes. the threads of each man ' s fate extend well beyond the boundaries of the visible world. where they lead, we cannot see. who can say that today ' s key will not be tomorrow ' s lock, or today ' s lock not tomorrow ' s key? ( page 3 ) dearest heart, if i had not given my soul to you, it would have been better to give it up for good, to lose it forever. i am burning in love ' s fire ; i am drowning in the tears of my sorrow... i am the moth that flies through the night to flutter around the candle flame. o invisible candle of my soul, do not torture me as i encircle you! you have bewitched me, you have robbed me of my sleep, my reason, my very being. ( 15 ) time passes, but true love remains. the life of this world is,


not torture me as i encircle you! you have bewitched me, you have robbed me of my sleep, my reason, my very being. ( 15 ) time passes, but true love remains. the life of this world is, for the most part, nothing but a succession of illusions and deceptions. but true love is real, and the flames which fuel it burn forever, without beginning or end. ( 31 ) every breeze that blows brings your scent to me ; every bird that sings calls out your name to me ; every dream that appears brings your face to me ; every glance at your face has left its trace with me. i am yours, i am yours, whether near or far ; your grief is mine, all mine, wherever you are. ( 103 ) in the garden, the leaves were falling like tears. the flowers had cast off their many - colored summer gowns and donned the somber robes of autumn. the silver of the jasmine had lost its luster ; the rose wept petals as it mourned the passing of summer ; the narcissus bade its companions farewell and made ready to depart... as the garden slowly withered, so did layla : her spring was over, made winter by the freezing finger of fate, by the icy touch of life ' s most trying tribulations.


you ’ ve got mail : a history of the post office for more than two centuries, neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night has kept american letter carriers from delivering the mail. but with the usps facing $ 6. 5 billion in losses so far this fiscal year, it now seems like budget woes might do what the weather couldn ’ t. ( at least on saturdays. ) in this episode, the history guys will explore the rise – and fall – of the post office system. most of us think of the mail primarily as a communications medium, but in the early days of our nation ’ s history, it served a vitally important political function as well. national politicians used the mail to reach a geographically - scattered electorate, and citizens used it to engage one another on the important issues of the day. if that weren ’ t enough, we also have the postal system to thank for the nation ’ s early road network. so what would it mean for our country if the mail only came a few days a week — or not at all? when you think about the post office, do you think “ pillar of democracy ” or just “ bloated bureaucracy? ” what would you most like to know about the history of the mail? please help us shape this episode — post your thoughts, stories, and questions below!


" diabetes mellitus, " more commonly referred to as " diabetes, " is a condition that causes blood sugar to rise to dangerous levels : a fasting blood glucose of 126 milligrams per deciliter ( mg / dl ) or more. most of the food you eat is turned into glucose, or sugar, for your body to use for energy. the pancreas, an organ near the stomach, produces a hormone called insulin. this hormone is necessary for the body to be able to use sugar or glucose, the basic fuel for cells in the body. insulin ' s role is to take sugar from the blood into the cells. when your body does not produce enough insulin and / or does not efficiently use the insulin it produces, sugar levels rise and build up in the bloodstream. when this happens, it can cause two problems : how diabetes develops 1. right away, the body ' s cells may be starved for energy. 2. over time, high blood glucose levels may damage the eyes, kidneys, nerves or heart. there are two main types of diabetes : type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes. both types may be inherited in genes, so a family history of diabetes can significantly increase a person ' s risk of developing the condition. types of diabetes precursors to diabetesin addition to full - blown diabetes mellitus, there are precursors to the disease : untreated diabetes can lead to many serious medical problems, including heart disease and stroke. that ' s why it ' s important to be aware of the symptoms as well as the risk factors and to take appropriate steps to prevent and treat insulin resistance and diabetes. this content was last reviewed on 6 / 28 / 2012.


beyond just great fun and entertainment, certain toys also foster cognitive development. experts say that building blocks encourage kids to be creative and use their imaginations. other advantages of building blocks include the development of problem - solving and frustration tolerance skills, as kids learn to overcome failure. a great example of that is greyson maclean. at age eleven greyson invented brickstix ; reusable cling decals for toy building blocks. greyson has been playing with building blocks for years. when he was only nine years old, he realized there was a “ market need ” in the building blocks world. greyson was frustrated with the regular stickers that came with brick sets. if he put them on, he couldn ’ t get them off. plus, they were limited. he wanted to customize his brick creations into different stories, but there wasn ’ t a product in the market that would allow him to create and identify the scenarios alive in his mind. the young inventor realized he needed stickers that could be detached and reused just like his bricks. some days he wanted a brick to be a newspaper, another day a clock, a control panel, a window … he told his mom about the problem. he told her he wanted to be able to add details to his builds, and have the ability to change his mind and make something else. she thought it was a great idea. so greyson ’ s family started working. that ’ s how brickstix were born. and just like that, from a creative child ’ s mind a product idea came to life, giving greyson maclean and his family the opportunity to open a toy company, brickstix llc, and enter one of the largest toy categories in the united states. in 2010 toy building sets alone totaled $ 2. 1 billion dollars in us sales. congratulations, greyson! you are an inspiration to both kid and adult inventors.


martina liebsch, director of policy for caritas internationalis, traveled to brazil in june to attend the united nations conference on sustainable development. she also visited a caritas project in the region and reports back on caritas ’ efforts to help flood survivors. “ in my 67 years i have not seen something like this, ” says a woman in brazil whose house was destroyed during powerful floods in january 2011. she now lives in a modest house with her sister, who takes care of her. the deadly mixture of heavy rains filling the rivers and fatal landslides damaged the city of nova friburgo and fertile land nearby. worst hit was san jose do vale do rio preto, where some of the houses are literally standing in the river. today those houses that still stand are damaged and inhabitable, though the rivers that caused the damage now look very small and innocent. although the disaster happened over a year ago, the signs of devastation are still apparent. the director of caritas nova friburgo showed us the place right behind caritas where a landslide stripped off part of an apartment building and damaged the caritas building. once you are sensitized you suddenly realize that the landscape is full of these scars : signs of erosion and places where parts of the hill just came down, destroying buildings or damaging them so much that the authorities declared them inhabitable. climate change is more and more visible and we have to get prepared for these kinds of emergencies happening more often. according to official figures, 25, 000 people lost their houses because of the disaster. churches opened their buildings and hosted affected people as a temporary solution. then people started to move in with family members — or, if they had nowhere else to go, back into their damaged houses in spite of the danger. a caritas colleague in nova friburgo, himself affected by the emergency, is upset as he talks about the ongoing situation. there are still 7000 people without proper shelter or new housing, and many feel that corruption and bureaucracy are hindering the construction of new houses. in a valley near nova friburgo, small scale farmers produce the vegetables necessary to feed the population of rio. during the floods, mud and water streaming down from the hills covered the fields and the crops were destroyed. those who lived there thought they would need at least a year or more to get back on track, but in fact, it only took them 5 months ; the valley looks as if nothing has ever happened there. jose magalhaes, emergency coordinator of caritas


by martin nanawa, childfund philippines rice, biscuits, canned goods and bottled water sold briskly at the local supermarket in malita, philippines, as typhoon bopha approached the islands in early december. food supplies would have to last days, possibly weeks. this, at least, is what panic - buyers reasoned as they crowded the store. many families could not store much, however, as they would need to haul all their essentials to designated evacuation centers. but time was on their side, as authorities had called for families to evacuate two full days before the typhoon would strike on dec. 4. malita is a town in davao oriental, on the eastern seaboard of mindanao island in the southern philippines. no strangers to the tempests that the pacific ocean would occasionally send them, the residents of malita fully understood their vulnerability to typhoons, as well as the flooding and landslides often found in their wake. a 2011 typhoon, washi, which wreaked considerable harm, was their most recent reminder of this danger, at least until typhoon pablo, the local name for bopha. the storm was forecast to cross right over northern mindanao and past the western visayas island group. residents in malita braced for the worst, supported by childfund and other humanitarian and government agencies that had helped them create emergency response plans. these efforts toward preparedness saved lives. early warning systems, successful evacuations and storm shelters all helped ensure that as many people as possible were able to protect themselves from harm. childfund has been working in malita for 28 years now and deeply understands the local community ’ s geographical risks. childfund ’ s local partner organization is staffed almost entirely by former sponsored children who grew up there. partner organization manager maribel says, “ the malita river makes the community vulnerable to flooding and landslides. malita is also vulnerable to tsunamis from the pacific. ” these risk factors are why childfund has been working with local authorities to improve disaster preparedness. childfund supports and complements government programs, directing efforts and resources toward supporting these measures. childfund ’ s youth association in malita also joined a local group associated with the national disaster risk reduction and management council. there they were trained in first aid, evacuation plans, water safety and rescue. parents of sponsored children also signed up at the barangay ( village ) office to assist with distributing relief supplies. thelma oros, a disaster risk reduction management ( drrm ) officer for malita, says the local disaster plan


upon reading chapter two in the course textbook about research methods, i came across the section about facilitated communication. with facilitated communication, the facilitators unknowingly guided the fingers of the children toward the keyboard, and the resulting words were coming from the facilitator ' s minds, not the minds of the children. i enjoyed reading about the various examples, but the one which struck me as the most interesting was the part about ouiji boards. according to the textbook, a ouiji board is " a popular device used by spiritualists to communicate with the dead. " i consider a ouiji board as a fun and interesting game to play with my friends when we are bored. when using a ouiji board, everyone puts their hands on a central pointer which is guided around to spell various things like names, ages, and anything else a " spirit " wants to tell the participants. i myself have never been able to successfully communicate with the dead with a ouiji board but a group of people i know were able to " successfully " contact the dead when they tried. when i asked them about it they were all convinced that they had reached another world. i admit, the stories that they told me were so elaborate and they were so convinced, that it was hard for me not to believe them. although there are no studies which can prove that ouiji boards are real, or that it is even possible for a spiritualist to contact the dead, when others tell stories about their experiences, it is hard not to get wrapped up in the excitement. the excitement is what often helps guide the central pointer and even though the participants may think that there is another force guiding the pointer, it is the participants who are doing all of the work. here is an example of a man who had an experience in which he was able to contact a spirit and when you watch his account it is very tempting to believe him even though there is no research to back it up. does anyone else agree with me that it is easy to get caught up in all of the anecdotes and believe something as unbelievable as ouiji boards? does anyone have any accounts of being able to successfully contact the dead?


illegal demand for rhino horns for use in traditional asian medicine has soared in recent years. as a result, rhino deaths by poaching hit an all - time high in 2010, and 2011 is likely to beat that number. last year, the owner of the rhino & lion nature reserve near johannesburg, south africa, proposed a new idea to help save rhinos : poison their horns. by injecting the horns with cyanide — a process that would not harm the rhinos but could sicken or even kill anyone who tried to consume “ medicine ” made from the horns — ed hern theorized that he could disrupt the market for illegal rhino horns. a year later, hern and his rhino rescue project have taken the idea further. they are now proposing instead to inject an anti - tick parasiticide into rhinos ’ horns. “ the treatment is for the benefit and improved health of the animal — but it is highly toxic to humans, ” hern ’ s daughter lorinda, who serves as the reserve ’ s marketing manager, said last week at a press conference. symptoms of ingesting the drug cocktail — developed by a veterinarian at rhino & lion nature reserve — include nausea, vomiting and disruptions of the nervous system. in addition to the parasiticide, a pink dye would also be injected into the living animals ’ horns. although this would not change the horns ’ outward appearance, the dye would show up in horns or powders passed through airport x - ray scanners, helping officials to identify the illegal materials being transported by smugglers. the third step would involve implanting a gps device in the horns of living rhinos ( to help track horns after poachers kill an animal and before the horns are ground into powder ). they also propose creating a database of rhino dna to help link seized rhino horn to its area of origin, which could make it easier to prosecute poachers. the rhino rescue project ’ s facebook page discusses how last year ’ s idea of using cyanide gave way to a less lethal alternative : “ our original idea of poisoning the horns was circumvented by the need to treat the horn, and thus the animal, against parasites instead. furthermore, our legal advisors strongly advised against the idea of intentionally poisoning horns. ectoparasiticides are not intended for consumption by humans, and are registered as such. although not lethal in small quantities, [ they ] remain extremely toxic … because of these side effects, the treated rhinos and their horns have to be


. ectoparasiticides are not intended for consumption by humans, and are registered as such. although not lethal in small quantities, [ they ] remain extremely toxic … because of these side effects, the treated rhinos and their horns have to be visibly identifiable to avoid ingestion of treated horns by people. we then realized that the treatment of the horns with a mixture of ectoparasiticides coupled with an indelible dye would go a long way to helping us achieve our goal of protecting all rhinos in south africa from poaching. ” the herns said they will make the parasiticide cocktail available to other private rhino owners. other groups are not so sure about the effectiveness or ethics of the treatment. “ if it makes people sick, it will surely make animals sick, ” an endangered wildlife trust spokesperson told south africa ’ s news24. “ what if the rhinos use their horns to scratch themselves? the toxins may enter the bloodstream and have an effect. every rhino is an individual with unique behavior. our main concern is that this treatment is not damaging rhino or other wildlife. ” ironically, the use of poison to protect rhinos comes at a time when many poachers are poisoning rhino carcasses to hide their tracks. dead rhinos attract flocks of vultures, which can alert rangers to recent poaching activities. poachers are killing rhinos, chopping off the horns, and then poisoning the carcasses to kill any scavengers, including the endangered cape vulture ( gyps coprotheres ). “ vultures feed in groups. so, one poisoned rhino carcass can kill at least 50 vultures at one go, kerri wolter of the vulture conservation programme told johannesburg ’ s the citizen last week. “ this is frightening considering the fact that in southern africa, we only have 2, 400 pairs of breeding cape vultures. ” photo by johann snyman via flickr. used under creative commons license


in the swedish language, there are lots of different avledningar, or bound morphemes that you can add to words to change their part of speech as well as their function in a given context. some examples of avledningar are : - for - ( when unemphasized ) and there are many more. but two avledningar that have been particularly useful to me in speaking swedish are - aktig ( pronounced / ’ ak : tig / ) and - massig ( pronounced / ’ mes : ig / ). so what do these suffixes mean? well, - aktig could be translated as the english suffix - like, as in ‘ cat - like ’ ( kattaktig ) or ‘ machine - like ’ ( maskinaktig ). what ’ s interesting here is that swedish also has the suffix - lig, which comes from the same place that the english - like comes from, but has a much closer connection to english - ly in meaning. in the case of english, - ly was an early grammaticalization of the word like, and with time its form and meaning as a suffix has changed. more recently, the same word like has been grammaticalized a second time ( which is why we still pronounce it [ lajk ] ) to mean what - like means today as a suffix. here ’ s an example of a word with the suffix - aktig in a sentence : michael phelps ar verkligen fiskaktig nar han simmar. – michael phelps is really fish - like when swims ( lit. when he swims ). - massig is also a very useful avledning. it corresponds to the english suffix - wise : svenskabloggen pa transparent. com har mycket att erbjuda innehallsmassigt. – the swedish blog at transparent. com has a lot to offer content - wise. there is a suffix - vis in swedish which comes from the same place as - wise, but it is not used in the same way. for example, gradvis isn ’ t exactly the same as ‘ grade - wise ’ or ‘ degree - wise ’, but rather means ‘ gradually ’ or ‘ bit by bit ’. hope i have been able to enrich your swedish vocabulary! good luck using these avledningar!


it has been said that no one can understand the mind of the medieval knight, and the implication is that his blend of arrogance, quick temper, risk - taking and irrationality is a thing of the past. curiously enough, the automobile has created its own species of knights. lulled into a false sense of security by the armour around him, flattered by the speed which he controls with the touch of the foot, arrogant towards those with inferior mounts or with no mounts at all, the modern motorist will display chivalry towards an attractive woman, pay grudging deference to the owner of a vehicle which is clearly superior, but otherwise behave with stupid over - competitive hostility to every other road - user. the clearest conviction of the modern motorist is that every other driver is in the wrong ; he is driving too fast, too slowly, too timidly or too aggressively. even the carnage of the multiple accident leaves him relatively unmoved ; the massacre of a few peasants had much the same effect on a feudal baron ’ s emotions. like the medieval predecessor, the knight of the road goes into the lists and challenges all comers. this is the melee where he can work off his repressions and the ill - temper which everyday life engenders. some drivers are worse than others but few of us have a completely unblotted escutcheon. perhaps we are not so remote in thought from our distant ancestors as we like to believe. — philip warner, the medieval castle