Ordinary events

William Labov, University of Pennsylvania

In most sociolinguistic studies of the speech community, narratives of personal experience play a prominent role. Within the sociolinguistic interview, narratives are one of the primary means of reducing the effects of observation and recording. In dissecting the stylistic shifts within the interview, narratives consistently show a shift towards the vernacular—that is, towards the first-learned style of speech that is used in every-day communication with friends and family (Labov 2001). Many of the results of this concentration on narrative are incorporated into the figures on style shifting of linguistic variables (Trudgill 1974, Cedergren 1973). Because the elicitation of narrative is such an important methodological step, attention turned to narrative structure (Labov and Waletzky 1963, Labov 1972). The distribution of linguistic features in the construction of narrative has been the focus of a number of studies (e.g., Schiffrin 1981, Silva-Corvalan 1973). Several recent publications have focused on the narratives as a whole (Laforest 1996, Butters 2001). More than anyone else, Ron Macaulay has brought to the forefront the emotional and social dimensions of personal narrative (1991). In his exploration of the discourse features of the Ayrshire dialect, narratives play the most prominent part—not only in the discourse particles that are tied to narrative structure, but in the way that linguistic constructions are used to convey the full emotional impact of the events being recounted. The impact of his work is considerably heightened by the quality of the many narratives that he cites in full. From the outset, Macaulay realized the importance of the central themes of human experience in his sociolinguistic interviews; as an interviewer,

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he was able to draw forth the full eloquence of the Scots speakers of Ayrshire and Glasgow.

The narrative.
This report will deal with a single narrative recorded by Macaulay. It was originally reported in his paper on “Polyphonic monologues,” dealing with the role of direct quotation in narrative (1987), and then incorporated into his1991 book in Chapter 11 on “The Use of Quoted Direct Speech.” I have been thinking about this narrative since I first read Macaulay’s paper, re-telling it to various audiences, and re-analyzing it from several points of view. It is told by Ellen Laidlaw, whose narratives are cited at many points in Macaulay’s work. Laidlaw was 69 when she was interviewed in 1978. She was from a solidly working-class background: the daughter of a coalman, who left school at 16, and was twice married to men who held manual jobs at a local factory. The narrative concerns her father’s death. Laidlaw’s mother had been taking care of him in his final sickness. Though it is a narrative of personal experience, the experience is her mother’s, as retold by the daughter. It was introduced by an abstract: “He just lay doon on the settee and turned over and that was him gone, and then told in detail. The story is reproduced below in the transcriptional style that is useful for the narrative analysis to follow. Each independent clause is lettered as a separate line, and all finite clauses dependent on it are indented below. (1) Ellen Laidlaw: An account of her father’s death

a b

And it was an exceptionally good afternoon, and she put him out in a basket chair, sitting at the window ootside in the garden.

c d

She went in on the one bus and came back on the same bus, because the conductress says to her, "Thought you said you were going for messages [shopping]", she says.

Labov e f g "So I was."

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"Well," she says, "I'm awful glad I'm no waiting on you," she says. "You coudnae have got much because you've got the same bus back."

h i j k l

"Ach well," she says, "I don't like the idea of leaving him too long," and she went up the road. She noticed his basket chair was there, but he wasnae there. She never thought anything aboot it, because it was too warm.

m She thought he'd naturally gone inside, n and when she went in, he was lying on the settee. o p q r s t And she's auld-fashioned, very tidy, very smart. Everything had to go in its place. She took off her coat, hung it up, put away her shopping bag, and she says, "It's rather early for wer tea—wer dinner, so I'll go and ask him if he wants a coffee." u v And she made the coffee, and she went through

w and shook him to ask him if he wanted tea. x y z And he dropped off the settee in front of her. And she just--her mind just broke, and she's never known what it is since.

Macaulay points out that this extraordinary story must have been reconstructed from Laidlaw’s mother’s account, even if her mind had been disordered as a result of the events. We find several indirect quotations from her mother (j, l, m) but also direct quotation (e.h, t). The quoted exchanges with the conductress (d,e,f,g,h) might have

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been from her mother, but they also could have been from the conductress. It is this reconstructed conversation that is the focus of Macaulay’s analysis. The dialogue, and particularly (h), provides a dramatic anticipation of the tragedy.

By the use of quoted direct speech Laidlaw has transformed what would otherwise have been a straightforward third-person account of her mother’s actions on the day that her father died into a dramatic narrative in which the perspective varies with different speakers. (1991:192).

In what follows, I would like to pursue Macaulay’s insights further by considering the relation of this dialogue to the central problem of polarization and integration of the participants. Though we begin with the assumption that the events reported did in fact occur, the account is indeed “constructed,” as Macaulay points out. Following the model of Labov 1997, I will attempt to show that this construction is best understood as built upon the skeleton of causally-linked events that is required for the creation of any narrative structure. The “reportable” events form a selection of the events that we can infer did occur but also include a variety of events that are not in themselves reportable and are not part of the causal chain required for a coherent narrative. These “ordinary events” will be the main focus of this account: how they relate to the central narrative task of conveying the narrator’s experience to the listener.

Temporal organization and evaluation
Following the method of Labov and Waletzky 1967, we can first examine the temporal organization of the narrative. The Orientation is confined to a single clause (a), which establishes the time. The place and the participants are incorporated in the first narrative event of the complicating action, (b), which introduces her mother, her father and the situation: a sick man left alone on the front porch of the house. The action continues to the final resolution (x), the negative evaluation of that resolution (y), and the coda (z) which brings us back to the present with the present perfect clause modified by since [that happened]. The analysis is not so simple,

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however, since the sequence of temporal junctures is broken by a series of clauses with extended temporal ranges, as shown in Figure 1. This series plainly forms an evaluation section. It deals with the perceptions, thoughts and character of the protagonist, and is marked nu irrealis predicates. Clause (j) reports the perception of a negative situation. Clauses (k-m) continue in an irrealis mode, reporting misperceptions that prevailed through w, and terminated only with the tragic event ( x). Clause (n) is another restricted clause, reporting the situation that continues again through (w)—her father’s location on the settee in the living room. There follow the two free clauses (o,p) that describe her mother’s general character—material that might have been placed in an orientation section. A glance at (2) makes it plain that this evaluation section delays the advancement of the action, a delay that would normally precede and evaluate the main point of the narrative.1 However, there can be no doubt that clause (x) is the central point of the narrative, and the evaluation section is separated from it by a long series of less important events (q-v). What follows in the analysis will attempt to account for this displacement of the evaluation section.

The displacement of the orientation clauses (o-p) downward in the narrative is a not uncommon device for evaluation, postponing information that interprets events to the place where they are most relevant. Whether or not this characterization of her mother continues to the very end of the narrative, beyond the death of her father, is not known.

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(2) Temporal ranges of clauses in “An account of her father’s death.”

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The assignment of praise and blame.
Narratives that center on conflict, violence, sickness and death are normally concerned with the assignment of responsibility for these events, and this narrative is not an exception. Many such narratives are constructed to polarize the participants, so that the protagonist conforms to all community norms and the antagonist violates them. But narratives told by a family member, like this one, are frequently organized as integrating narratives, told in a way that minimizes guilt, and relieves participants of responsibility for the outcome. The issue in the Laidlaw narrative is evident: her mother left her father alone: if she had been present when he suffered whatever attack was responsible for his death, she might have been able to prevent it. It is not unlikely that this sense of guilt and dereliction of duty contributed to her mother’s mental decline. The narrative construction is plainly designed to mitigate this guilt on four counts:

(a) She brought him outside because it was an exceptionally pleasant afternoon . (b-h) She did her shopping as quickly as possible because she did not wamt tp leave him alone. (j-m) When she saw his chair empty she thought that he had gone inside because it was too warm, and her conjecture was confirmed by seeing him (n) on the settee. (t-w) Her following actions were only concerned with his welfare.

The dramatic dialogue (d-h) identified by Macaulay as anticipating the tragedy testifies most strongly to her mother’s concern, Her mother states plainly, “I don't like the idea of leaving him too long,” but the strongest testimony comes from the third-party witness, the conductress, who volunteers the opinion that her mother had shopped so quickly that she “coudnae have got much.” This is further confirmed by the objective fact that she returned on the same bus that she had taken to town. This section of the narrative therefore integrating rather than polarizing, mitigating the assignment of blame for her father’s death. The actual quotations may have

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been provided by her mother, by the conductress, or by Laidlaw herself from more fragmentary indications.

Participant actions
To understand the narrative construction as a whole, it is useful to consider the chart of participant actions (3). This correlates the overt actions of the three participants as reported by Laidlaw (excluding reported internal thoughts). The capital letters at left label the correlated time periods in which participants’ actions are correlated. The actions in brackets are not reported by Laidlaw, but are necessary additions that are inferred from the others and are not correlated exactly with the overtly reported events. Laidlaw’s mother is in contact with her father at three points in the narrative: when she first put him outside, when she saw him lying on the settee, and when she shook him. zzzdhe is in contact with the conductress during the conversation on the bus returning. In almost all narratives of personal experience, we view the actions through the eyes of the narrator. In this narrative of vicarious experience, the animator (Laidlaw) allows us to view the action through the eyes of her mother. As in the more general case, no flashbacks are permitted, and we learn about events that took place outside of her mother’s view only as she gets evidence of them. As a result of this ironclad “no flashback” rule, we cannot place the critical actions of Laidlaw’s father in time. At some point between A and J, her father became ill, went inside, and lay down on the settee. The exact time when he died is not known: he may or may not have been alive when his wife saw him lying on the settee. He might actually have died at any time after she entered the house and during the unmeasured length of time it took to put away the shopping, that is, between K and R.

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(3) Chart of participant actions in the Laidlaw narrative.

sat outside [became ill] [went inside] [lay on settee] [died]

put him out went in on bus [shopped] [got on bus] “So I was” “I’m awful glad I’m no waiting” “You couldna have got much...” “I don’t like leaving him” came back on bus noticed he wasn’t there “I thought you were going shopping”

seen on settee

went in took off coat hung it up says, “I’ll go...” made coffee went through

dropped off

shook him mind broke

The assignment of guilt is therefore not fully resolved by the fact that the period of shopping B to I was as short as possible, as the conductress testified. The assignment of responsibility involves the concept of causation. It will be helpful to move to a more abstract form of analysis and examine the causal relationship between the events involved.

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The causal skeleton
In order to understand the narrative construction better, it is helpful to reconstruct the basis on which the narrative is built (Labov 1997, 2001). We begin with the concept of a reportable narrative and reportability. It is generally true that most turns at talk are occupied by short utterances, usually a single sentence or less, while narratives require much longer turns, and the automatic re-assignment of speakership to the narrator when other turns intervene (Sacks 19??). Events that are socially ratified as justifying such extended turns and re-assignment are reportable and narratives that include such events are reportable narratives (Labov 1997).2 Any given narrative is constructed about a most reportable event: that is, an event that is the least common and has the largest consequences for the welfare and well-being of the participants. Reportability is then the joint product of frequency and effect upon the welfare of the participants. Except under the most unusual circumstances, death is a most reportable event.3 Though there can be some disagreement about which of several competing events is the most reportable in some narratives, clause (x) is the most reportable event of the Laidlaw narrative. When a person decides to tell a narrative, it is usually a decision to describe the most reportable event. Laidlaw had made the decision to give an account of her father’s death. However, it is obvious that a narrative that simply replicates clause (x) would not be a narrative in the sense defined here. This is not simply because of the need for temporal junctures, implying more than one event. It is also a product of the inverse relationship of reportability and credibility. To the extent that an event is reportable, it is also uncommon, rare and unlikely. The more unlikely it is, the less credible. This inverse relationship between credibility and reportability creates the major problem of narrative construction. For unless a narrative is one of the special genre of “tall tales,” rejection as Reportability is not of course an invariant feature of events, but relative to many features of the social situation: competition with other concerns, relation of the participants, and setting. Thus almost any event may be reportable at a family dinner, while only a small number are reportable to a committee of Congress.

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a falsehood is equivalent to total failure for the narrator with a consequent loss of social standing. The problem of establishing credibility for the most reportable event is equivalent to answering the question, “How did this [extraordinary thing] come about?” It is therefore necessary to provide an answer in the form of some preceding event which was the cause or motivation of the most reportable event. This is a recursive process: this preceding event must be explained in turn, and an answer must be provided to the question, “and what brought that about?” A solution to the problem of narrative construction therefore requires the narrator to locate an event in the series which does not require such a motivating precursor, an event for which the question “Why did you [or he] do that?” is meaningless or silly. All narrators do in fact solve this problem, and they do locate such an event. It is in fact, the orientation of the narrative, which describes a setting or situation that is a common, expected and ordinary event. The answer to the question, “Why would you set your father out in the basket chair on a good afternoon?” is “That is what I would always do on a good afternoon!” and any person who would ask such a question would rightfully be covered with confusion. The basic narrative procedure for creating a narrative about a [most] reportable event can be summarized as a recursive rule of narrative construction:

Given an event ri, that is unaccounted for, locate an event ri-1 for which the statement “rn happened because ri-1” is true.

This rule produces a narrative chain, a skeleton of events linked by their causal relations. It is terminated when the event is not “unaccounted for.” As we have seen, the events that are found in orientation section are accounted for: they need no accounting since the behavior of the participants is expected given the time, the place and their characer. When a most reportable event r0 is input to the rule, it produces the a chain of n events:

This social fact is the basis of Macbeth’s response to the report of his wife’s death, “There would have been time for such a word.” The pressure of competing events was so great, that this death was not then reportable.

Labov (5) r0 r-1 r-2 . . . . rn

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The narrative chain is in effect a causal theory of the narrative. For any given person telling any given narrative, the rule of narrative construction provides the required answer to the initial question, “Where shall I begin?” which is the Orientation rn. We sometimes hear this question in so many words, but an overt formulation is not required., No narrative can be told until the initial question is answered. There is of course no single answer to the initial question, any more than there would be a single solution to providing an event ri-1 to the rule of narrative construction. Different narrators will construct different causal chains and arrive at different orientations. On reflection, one can see that the orientation, which seemed at first glance to be the least interesting and least evaluated part of the narrative, is in fact the basis of the narrator’s causal theory, and the ordinary events that comprise the orientation carry great significance in the ultimate assignment of praise or blame. What follows the most reportable event? The series of complicating actions that follow the most reportable event can be called the resolution of the narrative, but it is not yet clear to me if the end of the narrative can be characterized by an event with specific characteristics. In any case, a narrative is normally terminated by a coda which brings the narration’s point of time back to the present, and is not a part of the narrative chain.

Following this logic, we can isolate the narrative chain of the Laidlaw narrative as six events drawn from the 26 narrative clauses as shown in (6).

Labov (6) r0 r-1 r-2 r-3 r-4 r-5 r-6 x w t n l,m c,d b a

Ordinary events He dropped off the settee [dead] in front of her because she shook him to ask him if he wanted coffee because she had made him coffee because when she saw him lying on the settee she thought he was all right because she had gone in and returned in a hurry because she had left him in the basket chair because it was an exceptionally good afternoon.

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In the story as told, the event r-3 is the crucial event that leads to the catastrophe r0: that Laidlaw’s mother thought her husband was alive and well. In the story as told, this conviction is first formed when she sees that the basket chair is empty (j,k) and persists when she sees him lying on the settee (n), and this is the motivation that leads to the causal chain r2-r1-r. In the narrative chain (6) the individual events of (l,m,n) are combined into a single event r-3. In a similar way, the various events of the shopping trip (d-i) appear as the single event r-4, that she went and returned in a hurry. The construction of the narrative chain then permits the telling of the story as the inverse narrative chain (7)

r-6 r-5 r-4 r-3 r-2 r-1 r0

a b c,d l,m n t w x

Because it was an exceptionally good afternoon she left him in the basket chair and so she went and returned in a hurry so she thought he was all right when she saw him lying on the settee so she made him coffee so she shook him to ask if he wanted coffee and he dropped off the settee [dead] in front of her.

The inverse chain (7) would be an acceptable and coherent narrative from the point of view of causal structure. It is intelligible and coherent. But it does not include any evaluation of the events, and it omits many of the overt actions of the participant action

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chart (3). In order to understand narrative construction, we must consider how these various elements are incorporated into the causal chain, and what their contribution is to our understanding of the final catastrophe (x-y).

Elaborating the narrative chain
The narrative chain (6) abbreviates the shopping trip to a single clause, omitting entirely the conversation with the conductress (d-h). The conversation embodies observations about her mother’s actions after the fact: they do not motivate these actions or influence the actions that followed. We have already seen the motivation for their inclusion as evaluative material; they provide a third-person confirmation that her mother made the shopping trip as short as possible. Furthermore, the conversation allows her mother to state her own position, that she“didn’t like the idea of leaving him too long.” The first half of the narrative is therefore dominated by this addition to the narrative chain, which shows Laidlaw’s mother as conforming to norms of appropriate behavior.

The second such elaboration is the expansion of r-3 into the step-by-step series of j,k,l,m. In the initial chart of temporal ranges, this section formed part of the narrative’s evaluation section, and there is no doubt that this elaboration is evaluative. The negative

She never thought anything aboot it

contrasts the real event (that she thought he was alive and well) with an alternative reality in which she would have thought something was wrong and behaved differently. One can easily reconstruct a situation where Laidlaw’s mother told the story to her and blamed herself at this very point: she should have thought that something was wrong. This elaboration gives the justification for her thinking that all was well (that since it was warm, he must have gone inside), and seeing him on the settee (n) only confirms her earlier formed opinion and motivates what follows. While the first elaboration relieves her mother of guilt for having been away too long, the second shows her coming to a wrong conclusion for which she might have been blamed, and undoubtedly blamed herself.

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The third elaboration returns us to the anomaly first noted in this narrative: that the evaluation section is widely separated from the most reportable event by a series of narrative clauses:

q r s t

u v

And she made the coffee, and she went through

The events underlying these narrative clauses did not appear in the narrative chain, because they are not causally linked to what follows them. None of the causal connections in (8) hold:

w she shook him to ask him if he wanted tea v because she had gone through u because she had made the coffee t because she had said, “ . . . . I’ll go ask him“ s because she had put away her shopping bag r because she had hung it up q because she had taken off her coat

Rather, these events are implementations of what preceded them.

p Everything had to go in its place So q she took off her coat r and she hung it up

Ordinary events s and she put away her shopping bag t and then she says, “I’ll go and ask him if he wants a coffee” So u She made the coffee v and she went through w and she shook him

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The actions indicated by (q, r, s) are sequential, but are each connected in parallel as implementations of the general principle expressed in (p). The actions indicated by (u, v, w) form a second temporal sequence that are all implementations of the intention expressed as (t). These implementations are ordinary events. None of them are reportable in themselves, nor are they required to explain why the event following them occurred. There are no limits to the number of such implementations that can be inserted between any two causally linked actions. For example, we might have had

q q’ q’’ q’’’ r

She unbuttoned her coat And pulled her arm out of the right sleeve and then the left sleeve Then she took it by the collar and hung it on the hook

The insertion of these ordinary events poses the same kinds of problems that were faced in the original analysis of the role of irrealis verbs (Labov and Waletzky 1967). If a narrative is an account of what actually happened, why do we find clauses dealing with what did not happen? The answer given was that these irrealis verbs evaluate the events that did occur by comparing them with an alternate reality in which other events take place. Here we are faced with events that are not reportable in themselves, and are not required to complete the chain of causation on which the narrative is built. Why are they there? or to put it more concretely, what is their effect?

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The insertion of these intermediary, implementing actions has the effect of slowing down the forward movement of the narrative, just as if it were in slow motion. It has the same evaluative force as any other linguistic device that suspends the action: parallel progressive verbs, negatives, or free clauses. Altogether, they represent the slow accomplishment of a narrative event whose completion triggers the one that follows. Attention to small and ordinary events is a common device used by the directors of films to heighten tension in anticipation of an attack or an imminent catastrophe. As the camera focuses on these ordinary events—unlocking a door, entering a room, preparing a meal—events which have no evident interest in themselves, the audience is alerted to the fact that something terrible is about to happen. In this respect, narratives of personal experience have more in common with film than with extended works of literature. In Laidlaw’s narrative, the sense of oncoming harm has already been signaled by the exchange with the conductress. The insertion of the sequence of ordinary events (q-v) intensifies further the effect of the extraordinary denouement (x,y). Thus the contrast of the ordinary and the extraordinary is a third evaluative device in this narrative construction. As in other effective narratives of personal experience, these are simple events and they revolve about basic objects. Laidlaw’s mother did not hang up a “light spring coat with a belt in the back”; she hung up her coat. She did make a “steaming pot of good, strong java”; she made coffee. This is the warp and woof of experience, free of literary devices. Indeed, it is the very objectivity of these objects and events that adds to the credibility of the story and intensifies the emotional content. In this story, the ordinary events play a dual role. In addition to the sense of delay and expectation, they underline the terrible effect of the catastrophe upon Laidlaw’s mother. The critical unknown of the story is the time of her husband’s death. It might have taken place during the abbreviated shopping trip. In that case, her mother’s tidy, deliberate actions would have no effect upon anyone but herself. But it is also possible that her husband was alive when she came back to the house. In that case, if she had gone immediately to him she might have been able to help—giving him medicine, calling for an ambulance, or at the very least being on hand to comfort him in his last moments. One can imagine the heavy accusation that Laidlaw’s mother must have laid against herself: “If I had only. . .” Though the first elaboration relieves her of any charge of careless

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neglect, and the second protects her from being seen as a foolish or thoughtless woman, the third brings home with force the burden of guilt that this terrible event laid upon her. It is with the style of a loving daughter that Laidlaw says, “she's auld-fashioned, very tidy, very smart.” Her narrative gives us a deeper understanding of why “her mind just broke, and she's never known what it is since.”

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Butters, Ronald R. 2001. Presidential Address: Literary Qualities in Sociolinguistic Narratives of Personal Experience. American Speech 76:227-235. Cedergren, Henrietta 1973. The interplay of social and linguistic factors in Panama. Unpublished Cornell University dissertation. Johnstone, Barbara 1988. Local color: orientational detail in midwestern personal narrative. v……..In K. Ferrara et al. (eds), Linguistic Change and Contact: NWAV XVI. Austin, TE: Dept of Linguistics, U. of Texas. Pp. 152-159. Labov, William. 1972. Language in the Inner City. Chapter 12: The transformation of reality in narrative syntax. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. Labov, William 1997. Some further steps in narrative analysis. Journal of Narrative and Life History 7:395-415. Labov, William 2001. The anatomy of style. In P. Eckert and J. Rickford (eds), Style and Sociolinguistic Variation. Cambridge: U. of Cambridge Press. Pp. 85-108. Labov, William and Joshua Waletzky 1967. Narrative analysis. In J. Helm (ed.), Essays on the Verbal and Visual Arts. Seattle: U. of Washington Press. Pp. 12-44. Reprinted in the Journal of Narrative and Life History 7:3-38. Laforest, Marty (ed.) 1996. Autour de la Narration: Les Abords du récit conversationnel Montreal: Nuit Blanche Editeur. Macaulay, Ronald 1991. Locating Dialect in Discourse. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Macaulay, Ronald K. 1987. Polyphonic Monologues: Quoted Direct Speech in Oral Narratives. IPRA Papers in Pragmatics. 1:1-34. Schiffrin, Deborah. 1981. Tense Variation in Narrative. Language 57: 45-62. Silva-Corvalán, Carmen. 1983. Tense and Aspect in Oral Spanish Narrative: Context and Meaning. Language 59(4): 760-780. Trudgill, Peter. 1974. The Social Differentiation of English in Norwich. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

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Wonder Woman

Diana Prince

Wonder Woman's Powers

Divine Empowerment

Directly after being sculpted from clay, several Olympian gods granted attributes to Diana.

Superhuman Strength

Granted by Demeter (Goddess of the Earth). Diana is literally as strong as the Earth because of her link to the planet granted to her by Demeter. She is said to be "stronger than Hercules". Wonder Woman is as strong as Superman himself and able to physically outmatch other beings such as Supergirl.

Superhuman Durability

Granted by Hermes (the Messenger God). Wonder Woman is capable of unassisted flight by gliding on air currents.

Superhuman Speed

Granted by Hermes (the Messenger God). She is able to think, react and move at superhuman speeds. According to Flash, she can easily keep up with him if he is at regular cruising speed (but not at top speed).

Superhuman Reflexes

Superhuman Agility

Wonder Womans's agility is far beyond that of even an Olympic level athlete, as is her balance and coordination.

Superhuman Stamina

Enhanced Healing Factor

Oneness With Fire

Granted by Athena (Goddess of Wisdom). "The Sight of Athena" apparently grants her increased insight. For example, Diana can often detects others' emotions, and is now so fully immune to Doctor Psycho's illusions that she usually is not even aware of what illusions he is attempting to project. Charisma

Animal Empathy

Enhanced Senses

Enhanced Vision

She also possess the "Hunters Eye" which allows her to always hit her mark. She can see to far greater distances than any normal human. After a short period of blindness, Athena bound her own vision to her champion, not only restoring her sight, but granting her further insight as well.

Enhanced Sense of Smell

Enhanced Hearing

Dimensional Teleportation

Hand-to-Hand Combat (Advanced)

Wisdom of Athena

Granted by Athena (Goddess of Wisdom). Diana possesses great wisdom and intelligence, though the degree varies from author to author. She is among the smartest and wisest members of the Justice League of America, along with the Martian Manhunter and Batman.

Diana has exhibited heightened proficiency with languages, being able to speak her native Themysciran, Ancient and Modern Greek, English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Mandarin Chinese (she expressed "difficulty" with the tones of Cantonese during an interview with Lois Lane), Russian and Hindi. Plus, through precise muscle control, she can mimic other people's voices for short conversations (on the telephone). It is more difficult, for her to mimic a mans voice than another woman's voice.

Master Tactician and Strategist

Granted by Athena (Goddess of Wisdom). Diana is an accomplished strategist and tactician, trained in the arts of leadership, persuasion and diplomacy, and possesses a great deal of courage as well. She is a gifted leader. Diplomacy

Expert pilot. Can fly the Invisible Jet with ease. Master combatant:

Diana is an expert at using her tiara as a boomerang.

Wonder Woman's Weaknesses

Vulnerability to Piercing Weapons

Diana is extremely resistant to blunt force attacks and has a vast tolerance for pain. However, she is more vulnerable to piercing weapons, such as arrows and bullets.

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I remember a recurring dream from my childhood and so on throughout various other times in my life.  I was in the neighbor's front yard. There were four houses strung together. Friends and my community. I could be at any given home playing on any given day and at any given time.  I freely roamed the neighborhood like the boss I was;)

In the dream, I am re-learning how to fly.  The feeling is that I know how to do it but I have to walk myself through the steps.
They are:

Turn your focus inward

Gather a flaming red ball of light in your belly
Let the ball of light burn and grow until an explosive energy burns inside of you
Summon all of your power and connect with the burning ball within
Explode outward
Jump as high as you can
Jump again

any you'll start to float down a little gentler
soar a touch higher
until you suspend there at a new and better angle
After hovering a while and getting used to the feeling
You stretch the light energy

pushing it out from your fingers and toes
as you start to glide
gently twisting
definitely soaring

There are times to go inward and gather the light.  Simmer and feed the flaming red ball, gather its strength until it is needed once again.  This energy that is available to us to manifest and create abundance our lives.

Creative Flow.

I engage my creative energies to experience flow.

For me, flow is that time and space where ideas pop and a design comes together and represents what I was really trying to say or the feeling I was hoping to get across.

Flow feels like movement towards spirit.

Flow feeds the meter.

Flow is energizing, not exhausting.

When I've created something, I am confident that I have lived the highest version of myself that day.


Monday, June 7, 2010

Watermelon Tourmaline

Watermelon Tourmaline

Birthstone Month:
Tourmaline is one of the two gemstones associated with the month of October.

Being one of the two accepted birthstones for the month of October, Tourmaline is one of the zodiac gemstones for Libra and Scorpio.

Chemical Symbol:
The general symbol for Tourmaline is (Na, Ca)(Li, Mg, Al)(Al, Fe, Mn)6(BO3)3(Si6O18)(OH)4

Chemical Make-up:
Tourmaline is made up of the complex Aluminum Borosilicate element, and depending upon the color of the gemstone, one or more of a number of metal ions, usually Iron, Magnesium and Lithium.

History & Lore:
The name Tourmaline is widely accepted as being derived from the Singhalese expression tura mali, which when translated means “stone of many or mixed colors”.

Tourmaline is often referred to as the rainbow gemstone, due to the huge amount of colors that it is available in. This was certainly believed by the ancient Egyptians who believed that when Tourmaline traveled from its home in the earth's core to the surface, it did so along a rainbow, which subsequently gifted the gemstone with all of the colors of the rainbow.

Tourmalines exhibit piezoelectricity and when these stones become warm they become electrically charged – positively at one end and negatively at the other, acting like a magnet and strong enough to attract small particles of dust or ash. It is for this reason that the Dutch of old used Tourmalines to clean their pipes!

As with most gemstones, ancient civilizations credited Tourmaline gems with magical and mystical powers, including having the power to guard against danger and misfortune. Tourmalines are said to have an especially strong influence over friendship and love, lending permanence and stability to both. Tourmaline gems help to amplify psychic ability / energy and are an excellent aid to increasing self-confidence and understanding. Tourmaline is believed to help assist with tranquil sleep, calm nerves, improve concentration and creative processes and to be an aid to curing cancer.

Watermelon Tourmalines believed to be particularly effective in helping one recover from emotional problems. It is also believed to have the combined metaphysical properties of both Green and Pink Tourmaline.

It is believed that Green Tourmaline is particularly useful with energizing and rejuvenating the wearer, which can stimulate creativity and bring success and prosperity.

Pink Tourmaline is believed to represent harmony, joy of life, and lust. It vibrates the heart chakra allowing the wearer to open themselves to many levels of love. It is also believed to inspire spirituality and creativity well enhancing the one's willpower.

Watermelon Tourmaline is a unique gemstone highly valued by collectors. The vast majority of the stones mined tend to be heavily included, with the clean gems being much more rare and naturally more expensive.

There are known Tourmaline deposits throughout the world including, Afghanistan, Africa, Brazil, Italy, Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, Myanmar (Burma), Nigeria, Pakistan, Siberia, Sri Lanka, Tanzania and the United States (California, Connecticut, Maine and Utah). The majority of Watermelon Tourmalines on the market today are mined in Newry, Maine by the Plumbago Mining Corporation®.

Tourmaline (regardless of variety) is rated at 7 – 7.5 on the Moh's Scale of Hardness and as such is suitable for all jewelry uses and is considered durable enough to be worn everyday.

Found in an amazing variety, the sheer number of available Tourmaline colors is second to none and unmatched by any other gemstone. Tourmalines can be found in shades of blue, black, brown, colorless, green, orange, pink, red, yellow and other colors in varying shades and hues, varying from completely transparent to opaque. In addition to this there are also known occurrences of bi-color, tri-color, multi-color and “Cat's Eye” Tourmalines, ensuring that the Tourmaline truly is a gemstone that is available in a color to suit all styles and tastes.

A Tourmaline gemstone viewed from different angles will result in differing color intensities being visible. The only one thing that you can be sure of is that the deepest coloration will always be shown along the stone's main axis. When selecting a Tourmaline, go with the color that you like but generally try to steer clear of any stone that is cut too dark.

Watermelon Tourmalines are bi-colored stones with a green border enveloping a red center and often obscure or heavily included. Eye-clean stones are one-of-a-kind and are highly sought after by gem collectors and connoisseur.

Watermelon Tourmalines are presently enjoying strong demand, but for the moment pricing remains reasonable. When considering buying a Watermelon or any other Bi-color Tourmaline for that matter, pay particular attention to color separation and be sure to select a stone that does not suffer from numerous heavy inclusions as these will have a detrimental effect on the overall worth of the gemstone.

Common Cuts:
Owing to the fact that Tourmaline crystals are long and narrow in shape Tourmaline gems are most commonly, although not exclusively cut into square or rectangular stepped shapes. Watermelon Tourmalines are often cut into thin slices similar to its namesake.

Routine Enhancements:
Watermelon Tourmalines are occasionally heat-treated in order to lighten colors and to remove “silk” (a form of natural imperfection / inclusion).

Care & Cleaning:
Use warm, soapy water and a soft brush to clean Tourmaline. Ultrasonic cleaners are generally safe. Never use chemicals such as hydrofluoric acid or ammonium fluoride to clean Tourmaline because it can erode the stone. Much like many gemstones, Tourmaline should be kept away from prolonged exposure to extremes of heat and light as this can cause permanent color change. Always keep your Watermelon Tourmaline jewelry in a fabric-lined box, away from other jewelry, in order to avoid damage / scratching.

1 comment:

  1. Actually, the MOST desirable Watermelon Tourmalines are TRI-colored. If you think of a cut watermelon, you will see that there is a thin green rind on the outside. However, before you get to the red flesh of the watermelon, there is also a thin WHITE layer between the green and the red. As with Ametrine, the best Watermelon Tourmalines show distinct and well-demarcated layers, rather than a fuzzy blending of colors at the margins.


Culture: What is it Exactly? Essay

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Many people believe that your culture defines who you are as a person, as well as in society. When in retrospect, culture is something that you have no control over. You are brought up in a certain way that your family has been brought up for generations. No amount of schooling or experience, can help shape or control who you really are as a person. Sure, in your lifetime you can see extraordinary things that might change your view or opinion on certain subjects, but overall, your culture is what defines you. For many people, it is strange and weird to see something out of the ordinary when it comes to doing thing different. For example, what some might consider to be an insult, others might see it as common courtesy. What type of foods that might be deemed as foul and disgusting in one culture, might be seen as an everyday source of nutrition for another. Culture is a part of who we are, and what we believe in, even if sometimes it seems a little crazy. I believe that is comes down to two main things when dealing with culture. One is how you were raised in this world by your family, and two, your religious side or background and how it all ties you together as the person you are.
Being raised in a Hispanic household, there were a lot of different things that went on that could have been consider, a little out of the ordinary. Our culture is a big part of who we are as a people, and family. For example, no matter how successful you think you might get in life, you can always have a family member in your tree to let you know that you aren’t doing that great. This is in no mean shape or form of disrespect, or even a put down, it is just how we are as a people. When someone see’s you succeeding in life, they usually give you a har...

... middle of paper ...

... are as a person. It comes from family and how they were raised, and how they raised you, and how you will raise your children, and so on. Culture is something that is always going to be a part of you no matter what. Doesn’t matter if you have a fancy degree form a private school. Doesn’t matter if you’re an owner of a successful business, and it doesn’t matter how much money you have or make. In the end, a person has to know where they come from and remember their roots in life.

Works Cited

Bragg, L. (2001). Deaf Wrold . New York and London : New York University Press.
Merrell, F. (2003). The Mecivans a Sense of Culture. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press.
Mindess, A. (2006). Reading Between The Signs . Boston London : Intercultural Press.
Nemoianu, V. (2010). Postmoderism & Cultural Identities. Washington D.C.: Catholic University of America Press .

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Duhaime's Law Dictionary

Contract Law Definition:

That body of law which regulates the formation and enforcement of contracts.

Related Terms: Contract, Quid Pro Quo, Acceptance, Accord and Satisfaction, Freedom of Contract

That body of law which regulates the enforcement of contracts.

Contract law is the basis of all commercial dealings from buying a bus ticket to trading on the stock market.

Contract law is a species of private law.

Contract law has its origins thousands of years as the early civilizations began to trade with each other, a legal system was created to support and to facilitate that trade.

Babylon contract

Historically, the natural reaction of a trader to a broken promise would be to use violence to encourage compliance. If the use of force became the norm, emerging markets would be doomed and mired in violence. Hence, the law developed to enforce promises, instead of one-to-one violence, the threat of state enforcement.

A Babylon contract is pictured, left.

The English and French developed similar contract law systems, both referring extensively to old Roman contract law principles such as consensus ad idem or caveat emptor. There are some minor differences on points of detail such as the English law requirement that every contract contain consideration.

More and more states are changing their laws to eliminate consideration as a prerequisite to a valid contract thus contributing to the uniformity of law, all driven by the exigencies of international commerce.

Contract law can seem like quicksand with its doctrines and exceptions but in reality, 99.9% of contracts are complied with, and of those that go to Court, the Courts are alive to people trying to get out of their deals by pleading some remote contract law point and usually do not support it.

Without the expectation that a Court will enforce a contract, the commercial system would fall apart.

See the extensive articles in Contract Law in the Legal Resources section of duhaime.org.

Categories & Topics:


MEPS 254:163-176 (2003)  -  doi:10.3354/meps254163

Phenotypic and genotypic population differentiation in the bivalve mollusc Arctica islandica: results from RAPD analysis

Sebastian P. Holmes*, Rob Witbaard, Jaap van der Meer

Nederlands Instituut voor Onderzoek der Zee (NIOZ), Postbus 59, 1790 AB, Den Burg, Texel, The Netherlands

ABSTRACT: The bivalve mollusc Arctica islandica is an important commercial species with a presumed panmictic dispersal strategy, and is widely distributed throughout much of the soft sediment benthos of the North Atlantic continental shelf. Previous studies have shown that there can be gross morphological differences between populations, which has led to the suggestion that this may be reflected in genotype. So far, only one study has examined the population genetics of this species, revealing, depending upon location, that populations are only genetically distinct at a macroscale (>1000 km), thereby supporting the assumption of panmixia. Examination of the quantitative morphological traits between 5 different populations (4 North Sea and 1 Canadian) determined that all populations could be readily identified from their unique morphologies (shapes/growth patterns) derived from 2 factors resulting from a principal components analysis. Investigation, using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis, into the genetics of the populations, to indirectly assess whether the observed phenotypic differences could be related to potential differences in genotype, revealed that all populations were genetically distinct (between populations overall phiST = 0.662) from each other even at a microscale (<25 km) (phiST = 0.719). However, no correlation between genetic distance, morphological distance and/or geographical distance, whatever metric was applied, could be obtained. It is concluded that although phenotypic differences can be used to distinguish between populations of A. islandica, it should not and cannot be used to infer genetic differences in the absence of further studies. What is interesting is that the results from the genetic analysis dispute the presumption that the dispersal patterns of A. islandica is in any shape or form panmictic. This has very important consequences for the management of the species. The results are discussed with reference to the possible mechanisms responsible for maintaining a high degree of genetic diversity between the populations that were studied.

KEY WORDS: Arctica islandica · Dispersal · Genotypic · Panmixia · Phenotypic · RAPD

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The structure of svyatoslavite, a pseudo-orthorhombic polymorph of CaAl2Si2O8, has been solved from a crystal twinned on (100) and refined to an R1 value of 0.024, calculated for the 1788 unique observed (|Fo| ≥ 4sF) reflections. The structure is monoclinic, P1211, a 8.220(5), b 8.951(5), c 4.828(5) Å, β 90.00(5)°, V 355.2(5) Å3. The structure of svyatoslavite is based on a three-dimensional framework of SiO4 and AlO4 tetrahedra with Ca2+ ions at the interstitial sites. There are two Ca sites, Ca1 and Ca2, with occupancy factors of 0.919(4) and 0.081(4), respectively. The Ca1 site is coordinated by six O atoms with Ca1–O bond lengths in the range 2.417–2.599 Å, with one long seventh Ca1–O bond of 3.068 Å. The Ca2 site is 6-coordinated with Ca2–O bond lengths in the range 2.380–2.775 Å. Framework of tetrahedra in svyatoslavite, as well as tetrahedral frameworks in other M2+[Al2Si2O8] polymorphs (M2+ = Ba2+, Ca2+), is based on an orthogonal network, i.e., a network with the angles between adjacent edges equal to either 90 or 180°. Growth of orthogonal nets is modeled using structural automata, which are finite automata adapted for the description of crystal structures. State diagrams for svyatoslavite and dmisteinbergite automata consist of four states each. The anorthite automaton is more complex as it contains eight states. The paracelsian automaton is remarkable in that it consists of 16 states and its state diagram has the topology of a four-dimensional cube (hypercube). During crystallization of the Ca[Al2Si2O8] melt, metastable phases with the svyatoslavite and dmisteinbergite topologies form first and then either dissolve or transform to anorthite. In terms of complexity of structural automata, this means that the less complex phases (svyatoslavite and dmisteinbergite) evolve into more complex anorthite structures. The observed sequence of phases corresponds to the increasing structural complexity of the solid system.

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Jane Hurwitz (author)

Publisher: Perfection Learning ISBN: 9780789158925

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The first monarchies date back to about the time civilization began. Many existing monarchies have survived for centuries. The monarchy of Great Britain is more than 1,000 years old. Reading Essentials in Social Studies.

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Scientific Questions, Investigations, Conclusions, Results, & Errors

bias statistical sampling or testing error caused by systematically favoring some outcomes over others
conclusion a summation of what is learned from an experiment
constant a quantity that, under stated conditions, does not vary with changes in the environment
control the group treated normal to which the experimental group is compared
data recorded observations from experiments
data table a framework for organizing data measured or recorded from an experiment
dependent variable the factor measured or observed to obtain results (sometimes referred to as the responding variable), usually graphed on the y-axis
direct relationship when two or more variables are related and change together
evidence facts or signs that help one to form an opinion based on observations
experimental group exposed to all conditions of the experiment except the experimental variable
procedure detailed, step-by-step directions for conducting a science experiment which allow duplication
hypothesis a testable explanation for an observation or scientific problem
independent variable the one factor in an experiment that is determined and changed by the experimenter (sometimes referred to as the manipulated variable), usually graphed on the x-axis
inverse relationship relationship of variables: when one increases, the other decreases
mass a measure of the amount of matter in an object
qualitative involving quality or kind, recorded with a characteristic that cannot be expressed in numbers
quantitative the measured amount, recorded with a number
result outcome, usually of an experiment
scientific evidence data found using a scientific process
temperature average kinetic energy (movement) of molecules in an object
theory a well-tested explanation of some aspect of the natural world
thermometer instrument used to measure temperature (average kinetic movement of molecules in an object)
variable factor that can change in an experiment
validity the extent to which a test measures what it claims to measure
interpret to determine the patterns and trends from data/information
Sample Size number of individuals in the experimental and control groups
Property special quality or feature of a substance or an organism that may be used for identification
Mean one of the measures of a central tendency; the sum of numbers in a set divided by the number of pieces of data
Balance an instrument for weighing or equality between the totals of both sides
Spring Scale tool used to measure weight or force
Toxic having the affect of poison
Corrosive any substance that oxidizes metal or flesh
Radioactive substance with an untestable nucleus that loses energy by emitting particles or electromagnetic waves
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Cause and Effect

Sampson Iruoha

Many people to date have assumed the existence of the phenomenon of “Cause and Effect”, but without being able to grasp its underlying working they have mostly been unable to be convinced that it absolutely exists in every circumstance, without fail or exception.

The grasping of the underlying working that relates all effects to particular causes, in a manner that can be logically followed, requires that the one who desires this understanding becomes more familiar with the working that brings to him his own fate.

In other words, he has to become aware, through direct experiencing, of the relationship between the conditions that form for him to experience and what issues from him in the form of his inner attitude, his thoughts, words and actions. Only that individual, who seeks this clarification and deeper understanding, can himself discover, along his own path of personal experiencing, the strict and unbreakable link between cause and effect. This is so because only he can experience the beginning as well as the end, in a complete and unbroken manner, in order then to make the necessary connections.

For the human spirit, which is the animating core of man, the beginning of the process is his inner attitude, which forms the foundation for his thinking (carried out with his frontal brain), which precedes his words or his speaking, as well as his physically visible actions. Paying more attention to what comes up from within him can, therefore, allow him to see connections between his actions and his fate, that is, what comes to him for his experiencing; either inside of him (psychically) or in his physical environment.

The capacity to make these necessary connections has been increasingly lost to mankind, due to their desiring of mainly that which they can see and examine with their physical senses and tools.  This mainly physical desiring, be it in the context of resource gathering, or love, or happiness, or any other context, has meant that their inner attitudes have been mostly inclined towards what is earthly and physical. This simultaneously and automatically manifests as a desire for the physical and earthly in all that they seek to pursue and to understand, also with regards to the scope of their perceptive capacity.

This means that with the narrow focus on the physically tangible and the earthly, man can only see so far and so deeply.  A person in this state cannot see the beginning that leads to what then comes to him as his fate or the condition he is obliged to live through. He cannot make a connection between “Cause” and “Effect” in his life, in spite of his seeing this phenomenon play out in the happenings around him, also in Nature, which he is able to follow from the beginning to the end as an objective observer.

But only the conviction that comes from seeing, and thus experiencing this happening also in his own life, can allow him to steadfastly plant good seeds with his thinking, speaking and acting, in spite of pressures that might push him to do otherwise. Only the person who can consistently plant such seeds as lead to his spiritual growth, would grow to see those beneficial fruits that man is supposed to bring to bear also in his material surroundings.

And because the phenomenon of “Cause and Effect” never ends, there would never be an end to the discoveries that he would make in the course of his own expansion and growth, whilst on earth and also after he has left it.

Contemplating this issue is very difficult for the man or woman of today because we have, over several millennia, formed for ourselves a world in which the desiring for true knowledge is discouraged. In this world, the desire for what is superficial is promoted and is supported by the mindset, structures and institutions that this desiring has led to as its fruit. And since the yield is always much more than the planted seed, mankind have become overrun by and entrapped within the narrow world of their own making.

This narrow world also has very rigid walls, making the sounding of alarms on the outside of it imperceptible to many within it. In this state, the nourishment that is meant for the spirit of man, which does the actual experiencing and living, has been cut off, because the spirit requires for its nourishment, growth and expansion, the recognitions of lawful truths. Lawful truths are revealed in every single happening and would be recognised as soon as the earnest desire for it awakens within the onlooker, and as he presses forward accordingly.

The currents of energy that come to the spirit when it makes these recognitions, bring about the simultaneous expansion of the spirit of man, as well as the transformation or enhancement of its environment. This transformation also includes the expansion of the environment in question and the enhancement of its permeability to light radiations; that is, to clearer recognitions of the way things actually come together in the Universe. The rate of this perception also increases with an increase in  one's application of the recognised truths, because he sows the seeds of wanting to see more truths with each of such applications. He can therefore recognised as much in an hour as he allows himself to.

With the clearer recognitions the ones concerned also apply the received currents in new ways that further the blossoming of their smaller and greater surroundings, as an expression of the joy that they then possess, and gratitude to the One that has sent the possibility; for contraction due to ignorance leads to pain and grief, while expansion (which is always associated with seeing more clearly and broadly) leads to more joy and true happiness.

“What is Energy? A Call to the Spiritual Core of Man” goes deeper in its description of the currents of energy that govern and uphold Creation or the Universe. It seeks to alert the reader or listener to his (her) ability to draw these currents in the course of his living and being, his sowing (planting) and reaping, and the inherent responsibility to use or direct these currents well.

The author hopes to convey to the reader or listener, through the depth and expanse of the details revealed in this work, that there now exists on earth complete and gapless explanations about the workings in the Universe or Creation. It would then be up to the willing listener or reader of “What is Energy? A Call to the Spiritual Core of Man” to follow up on what is revealed therein, for his own obtainment of this now available Help, which made the writing of this work at all possible.

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1 Day White Water Rafting Tour
You do not require any prior experience in rafting or even know how to swim. INCREDIBLE would be an understatement for this unbelievable adventurous water sport on the longest river in the world â€“ the River Nile. White water rafting will take a stimulat

6 Days African Big Five Safari

11 Days Gorilla and Tanzania Safari

11 Days Tanzania - Uganda Adventure

10 overlooked animal families to see in Kenya

    10 overlooked animal families to see in Kenya
    The first thing that most people think of when they come to Africa is the Big Five.

    Kenya has an incredible diversity of wildlife species owing to its two rainy seasons a year and the different types of wildlife habitats in the various parks, reserves and conservancies. There is plenty to see in addition to the Big Five. Here are just 10 other iconic animal families that you could see around our camps.

    1. Bovidae
    Bovidae is a family of cloven-hoofed mammals and constitutes some of the most common creatures found in Africa. In Kenya this family has a wide range of members which vary greatly in size and coat colour. These include bohor reedbuck, Chandlers mountain reedbuck, bushbuck, Cape buffalo, Kirk’s dik dik, common duiker, eland, gerenuk, Grant’s gazelle, Thomson’s gazelle, Coke’s hartebeest, Jackson’s hartebeest, impala, lesser kudu, klipspringer, oribi, suni, steenbok, topi, common waterbuck, defassa waterbuck and white-bearded wildebeest.

    2. Suidae
    Kenya’s charismatic warthog is part of the Suidae family. Warthog travel in small groups called sounders and are named so because of the small bumps found on their faces.

    3. Giraffedae
    This family comprises only two members, the okapi, found in the dense rain forests of the DRC and the giraffe, endemic to Africa’s open savannahs and a popular sight in Kenya’s reserves. These include the Maasai giraffe and reticulated giraffe.

    4. Canidae
    This carnivorous family are generally social animals that live together in family units or small groups and are characterised by their long muzzles, uprights ears, long legs and adapted teeth. In Kenya you will find Canidae such as the bat-eared fox, black-backed jackal, golden jackal, side-striped jackal and African wild dog.

    5. Mustelidae
    As the smaller, but no less ferocious, carnivores of the bush, you can find both the honey badger and zorilla on safari. Most Mustelidae family members have short legs, short, round ears, and thick fur. They are also solitary, nocturnal animals, so are best spotted on a night game drive.

    6. Felidae
    The cats that inhabit Kenya are some of the popular wildlife attractions outside of the Big Five. Caracal, cheetah, genet cats, serval cats and African wild cats all feature in our parks.

    7. Hyaenidae
    Some more unusual looking animals belong to the Hyaenidae family, including the infamous spotted and striped hyenas as well as the rarer aardwolf. This family often has a bad reputation among both locals and visitors, but are in fact fascinating creatures to watch.

    8. Viverridae
    A common sight on the plains of Africa are members of the Viverridae family, including the African civet, banded mongoose, dwarf mongoose, marsh mongoose, slender mongoose and white-tailed mongoose.

    9. Primates
    The primates of Africa are some of the most unique and enigmatic of all of the continent’s creatures. You might just come across the olive baboon, yellow baboon, greater galago, lesser galago, patas monkey, sykes monkey or vervet monkey around our camps.

    10. Tubulidentata
    The nocturnal aardvark uses its long pig-like snout to sniff out food during the night. They spend the daylight hours in dark underground burrows to avoid the heat of the day and so are mostly only spotted after the sun goes down.

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Caroble Coffee Table

Caroble is a coffee table made of five pieces, making for easy construction and packaging. Fabric wrap stretches over the crossbeams and buttons into the underside of the table. Having a detachable wrap allows for easy customization where the consumer can change out material color or material. The inspiration for the name of the table is Wallace Carothers, the inventor of nylon. Wrap is featured in a woven nylon, but a good alternative wrap material would be woven cotton.


Though the caretakers’ position is different from the wwoof program, it has the same requirements:

A genuine desire to live simply and become more aware of our relationship to the elements and all sentient beings, and how our actions affect others.

Physical, mental and emotional stability.

No smoking (nicotine or anything else) and no alcohol.

Being accountable for one’s actions.

Financial resources to cover personal needs such as food, clothing, medical care, transportation, etc.

No adherance to religious (or other) dogmas. In other words: an open mind.

An interest in nonviolent communication and pure listening, and cultivating a non-reactive, “zero state” when communicating.

A commitment to investigating stressful thoughts and stories.

A willingness to consider that authenticity and honest, conscious communication* are more important than being right.

The capacity to differentiate between reality and the stories which obscure it.

A willingness to own one’s projections and communicate simply, directly, and honestly.

The ability and willingness to commit to a daily schedule.

The ability to follow instructions and a flexible attitude with daily projects in particular and with life in general.

Skills in gardening or building and/or housekeeping and/or land maintenance.

A genuine love of the land and an understanding of “The Great Turning” which we are currently in the midst of on this beloved planet.

* Conscious communication by Cynthia Kane:

To speak consciously, clearly, and concisely without anxiety
To respond instead of react
To speak in a way that’s kind, honest, and helpful
To know when to speak and when to stay quiet
To stay engaged when listening
To express yourself so that others can hear you
To nip potential problems in the bud before they become meltdowns

We also ask that NO toxic products or artificial fragrances are used here, whether in mosquito repellants, shampoos, hair rinses, deodorants, perfumes, dish soaps or laundry detergents. Many people who visit are chemically sensitive AND we want to honor the land by not using chemicals!
No kerosene lamps or paraffin candles either. Many people don’t realize that paraffin is a petroleum-based substance and very toxic.

All wwoofers, sevadars and caretakers pay a $100 deposit, half of which is returned when they leave. (For caretakers, it is $100 per person.)

“Caretakers” are here as a couple—and OCCASIONALLY as families with children. The adults each offer 18 hours per week tending the gardens, caring for some of the animals, and doing whatever needs doing. (Mending fences, broken water pipes, etc.) Children also offer time, caring for animals and the gardens, learning what it is like to participate in a co-created community.

Sometimes I am here while caretakers are here and somtimes I am off island.

Caretakers have their own private cottage, which overlooks the ocean—with high speed internet*—and their own outdoor shower, composting toilet and clothes line for drying clothes. They also have access to two hand-carved Timor temples, a yoga & massage room, which also has a dvd player, beautiful gardens, and an ancient forest which borders the sanctuary.

* We do not have (or want) WIFI at the sanctuary so we have ethernet cables only

When I am off island, the caretakers care for all of the wonderful animals with whom we share this land. (At present, we have 5 goats, a donkey, 4 cats, 2 peacocks, and a dog.)

Several of the caretakers who have been here over the years have returned two or three times and they recommend it to family and friends. If the exchange is MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL, caretakers are welcome to stay for prolonged periods.

This means that if they are benefiting from being here AND if the land, animals, and other guests and retreatants are benefiting from their presence.

Caretakers pay $5 per month, per person, towards the water bill, and pay for propane—for hot water and a 4-burner stove with an oven—and provide sawdust for their composting toilet. (There is a wood mill in Hilo, where it can be obtained for free.) Collecting the sawdust is not part of the weekly hours but done in your own time.

Once a week, all wwoofers, sevadars, paying guests, caretakers (and retreatants, if they wish) meet in council, which is a way of speaking and listening from the heart.
Council is a non-hierarchical form of communicating; a wonderful opportunity for discovering more about one another and a time to share one’s insights and dreams, discoveries, edges, suggestions and whatever else is arising.

Our one policy, for retreatants, wwoofers, sevadars, guests, and caretakers is very simple: if you lose or break something, please fix or replace it. (If Rashani loses or breaks something of yours, she will do the same!) Mutual accountability nurtures healthy and sustainable relationships.)

Kipukamaluhia is a substance-free sanctuary and an ideal space for those who cherish elegant, voluntary simplicity, for those who revere sobriety, self inquiry, beauty, direct communication, mindfulness and integrity, and for those who are nourished by, and love to connect with and care for, gardens, orchards, and animals. And for those who value contemplative inquiry as well as interacting with other like-minded & like-hearted people.


This work investigates the permissibility and viability of property rights on the celestial bodies, particularly the extraterrestrial aspects of land and mineral resources ownership. In lay terms, it aims to find an answer to the question Who owns the Moon? The first chapter critically analyses and dismantles with legal arguments the issue of sale of extraterrestrial real estate, after having perused some of the trivial claims of celestial bodies ownership. The only consequence these claims have on the plane of space law is to highlight the need for a better regulation of extraterrestrial landed property rights. Next, the work addresses the apparent silence of the law in the field of extraterrestrial landed property, scrutinizing whether the factual situation on the extraterrestrial realms calls for legal regulations. The sources of law are examined in their dual dimension that is, the facts that have caused and shaped the law of extraterrestrial real estate, and the norms which express this law. It is found that the norms and rules regarding property rights in the celestial realms are rather limited, failing to define basic concepts such as celestial body. The following chapter examines precisely this issue, pondering whether asteroids and comets are immovable land-like territorial extensions that cannot be legally appropriated, or floating movable goods, capable of being captured and reduced into private ownership. The employment of the spatialist and functionalist approaches, the use of the criterion of actual movability from orbit by human action, and original theories such as the analogy between the legal status of asteroids and icebergs, are considered, concluding that some extraterrestrial resources are not, legally speaking, celestial bodies. An examination follows of the relationship between appropriation under international law, and civil law appropriation, namely whether the non-appropriation principlein the Outer Space Treaty on the international plane, results also in the prohibition of the appropriation of the celestial bodies on the private property rights plane. It is offered that, while appropriation of land can exist outside the sphere of sovereignty, its survival is dependent upon backing from a sovereign entity, yet such endorsement would be unlawful as a means of national appropriation. The next chapter answers to the main question of this thesis, offering that de lege lata the extraterrestrial realms, as a commons, belong to everybody and nobody. The contents of Res communis is duly scrutinized. Res publica is then presented together with the Public Trust Doctrine. The commons regime currently accepted by most space actors is being challenged on two fronts. On the left, the adepts of the Common Heritage of Mankind paradigm have enacted the Moon Agreement, effectively planting the Marxist standard in the lunar soil. The egalitarian regime of extraterrestrial resource development would sanction the culture of entitlement, favouring a fair outcome over fair process. Such an approach has failed on earth and is poised to fail in outer space, as argued in the following chapter. On the right, the adepts of the frontier paradigm seek to promote individualism, competition, economic liberty, efficiency and laissez-faire economics all linked to a privatization of the international public domain. The frontier paradigm has proven its worth on our planet, and it most likely will do so in the extraterrestrial realms. Property rights are a useful engine and, in al likelihood, a precondition for pushing forward the development of the extraterrestrial realms. Securing property rights would be more beneficial to humankind, compared to the alternative of keeping the extraterrestrial realms undeveloped. The last chapter addresses the lex lata status of materials extracted from the Moon, these pertaining to the

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Orchid and bambooWhat is Gua Sha Therapy?

When is Gua Sha used?

Where is Gua Sha applied?

Sha is raised primarily at the Yang surface of the body: the back, neck, shoulders, buttocks, and limbs.  On occasion, Gua Sha is applied at the chest and abdomen.

How is Gua Sha applied?

The area to be Gua Sha-ed is lubricated with oil.  The skin is then rubbed with a round-edged instrument in downward strokes.  One area is stroked until the petechiae that surface are completely raised.  If there is no Blood stasis the petechiae will not form and the skin will only turn pink.

What kind of instrument is used to Gua Sha?

A soup-spoon, a Jade Stone with rounded edges, or slice of water buffalo horn is used in Asia.  I have found that a simple metal cap with a rounded lip works best and is by far more comfortable to the patient.

What does the type of Sha indicate?

The color of the Sha is both diagnostic and prognostic.  Very light colored Sha can indicate Deficiency of Blood.  If the Sha is fresh red, it is of recent penetration.  If the Sha is purple or black, the Blood stasis is long-standing.  If brown, the Blood may be dry.  Dark red Sha can indicate heat.

How fast will the petechiae fade?

What are the benefits of Gua Sha?

In most cases the patient feels an immediate shift in their condition particularly in their pain or sense of constraint.  Gua Sha moves stuck Qi and Blood, releases the Exterior mimicking sweating, and moves Fluids.  In a modern medical construct these fluids contain metabolic waste that congested the surface tissues and muscles.  Gua Sha promotes circulation and normalizes metabolic processes.  It is a valuable treatment for both external and internal pain, and facilitates the resolution of both acute and chronic disorders.

Is Gua Sha Safe?

Gua Sha is a completely safe technique, but it is serious medicine.  Knowing when to use it and what to expect from treatment is as important as good technique.  People who live in chronic pain often erect emotional defenses to cope with it or can feel completely hopeless.  Having that pain ‘touched’ and relieved can be unsettling, even shocking.  It is good to be moderate in activity after treatment, even rest.  I have always told my patients after treatment: no drugs, booze, sex, fasting, feasting or hard labor, including working out, for the rest of the day.  In other words, mellow mode.


Hernanie Ocean Blue

These blogs explain the method of constructing plan approval, constructing line leisure / city planning and getting an occupation certificate. I’ve additionally included an article on methods to find a dependable contractor. Please remember to keep copies of every part, Councils are notorious for dropping recordsdata !

In the photograph, all of the shelves are spherical. You possibly can choose round, sq., or rectangular platforms. Additionally, the image shows shelves with sides on them: I am including sides for the cabinets in these directions because they can be fairly tough to make and your cat will prefer it just high-quality without them. In order for you, you may affix a kitty bed with sides on top of one of many cabinets.

Taking a extra contemporary flip, Traverse City, Michigan-primarily based Craven Building’s Ready Constructions (formerly Cottage in a Day) manufactures a small range (6 models, each with some layout variants) of small, attractive, eco-pleasant prefabricated cottages. Square footage ranges from 182 to 750 sq ft, and prices, depending on format, from $49,500 to $206,000 plus delivery, a price which incorporates set up (inside Michigan; out of state can incur further installation and allowing prices) and excessive-end, environmentally-pleasant kitchen and toilet fixtures.

This little hanging picket birdhouse is enticing, easy to make, and contains a clear plastic again for peeking inside at the nest and baby birds. Grasp the birdhouse in a protected area inside view from a window and watch because the dad or mum birds build their nest, incubate the eggs and feed the simple wooden birdhouse requires only fundamental woodworking abilities and instruments, and takes solely about an hour to build from pine, cedar, redwood or simply about any items from the scrap bin. I used bits of pine from a reclaimed shelf unit, reducing the price and conserving usable wooden out of the landfill.

We’ve all heard about building nightmares – whether or not it be the architect who fails to submit plans to Council, to builders absconding with deposits and shoddy / dangerous workmanship. The irony is that it costs more to place proper mistakes than it does to construct / design properly in the first place. So how do you go about discovering reliable & educated Contractors ? Obviously word of mouth recommendations are one of the best.


Think about it.. It all makes sense now.. WHAT If All THE GAMES AFTER Rial Mil AGE ANA m GAMES GARE SHOWING THE EXTINCTION. HI;. Pokemon gold silver and crystal, the team rockets mention that their fall was over two years ago, so I don't think this is the case. Pokemon conspiracy extinction


Ambient Findability: What We Find Changes Who We Become

Reviewed October 31st, 2006 @ 02:44PM

[Book Cover] Ambient Findability: What We Find Changes Who We Become

Ambient Findability by Peter Morville took me back to my days of college. I initially purchased this book due to it’s high reference from other respected designers and developers. My first inclination was that the book would be about SEO or something along those lines. Though the book was small, it packed a big punch of information! I was pleasantly surprised at what this book had to offer.

This book went much deeper than I expected. As a disclaimer, I had many of my coworkers laugh when I told them the title of the book I was reading. However, I had a quick response as to what the book contained as the author quickly defines both ambient and findability. The author starts by giving background to how we come to find things. Not just as humans, he takes it to an even smaller scale discussing how ants find their way during their long journeys. Though this may seem odd, it helps to really put things into perspective. How do we find things? Do we all find things the same way? In relation to the web — what words or phrases do we use to find things? Do we use broad terms or more specific (long tail) terms?

This book is very tough to review, as I felt it was packed with so much information. The only way for me to really elaborate would be to put it into context, and by that time you could have read the book. The information packed in this book has really opened me up to an array of new questions related to searching. Outside of the context of the web, how do people find things? Inside of the web, how do people find things? I constantly monitor our analytics at Barbour Publishing, Inc. and watch how people find us, and where they go from there. Did they get the answer they were seeking? Was their search relevant? What terms did they use? What order were the terms? What punctuation is used? What did some of the other similar searches look like? What did their other searches look like? What did the spellings look like? So many aspects to look into — and then refine to make sure people can find the information they are seeking. Sometimes simple ‘like’ queries aren’t enough. Sometimes the index needs to be refined to incorporate stopwords, mis-spellings, aliases, and other pertinent information. Understanding the core principles, findings, and research will help you build a strong foundation and core.

I have found this to be extremely valuable and applicable to web development and answering the deeper questions. As stated earlier, this book is rather small in size but packs a big punch content wise. The author avoids ‘fluff’ or trying to tell stories, and simply dives into the core (which is sometimes even scary) — which is often times backed by a significant amount of research and supplemental resources.

Though this book is not directly related to web development — the lessons learned here can be applied to that medium. If you are a web developer, SEO expert, or simply want to know how people find things (and their decision process) — then this a book for you.