Sunday, February 28, 2010

Essential tips to prevent spinal cord injuries.

Another unfortunate day I had to spend in a hospital where a friend of mine is admitted due to spinal cord injury. She was writhing in pine in spite of sedatives. My heart cried seeing her discomfort.

I met her doctor and exchanged words about her condition and prognosis. He then handed me a pamphlet of tips to safe guard spinal cord. There was not much in it as we all know those basic things to prevent spinal cord injuries.

If one goes by the inconsequential statistics, there are about 300,000 people in India suffering from spinal cord injuries. Surprisingly, more people are affected in the age group of 16 to 30.

The most common cause is of course two wheeler accidents. Then comes the fall in bathroom.

Tips to prevent spinal cord injuries did not say anything about two wheeler riders. There were some fundamental information for car riders like wearing safety belts and asking children to sit in the back seat.

Very poor information coming from a leading hospital!

Wonderful Ways to Display Your Artwork

Ever in a quandry about how to hang your artwork? There are a variety of ways to showcase your favorite pieces. Here are just a few examples.

House Beautiful

One of the most common ways is to hang your art in a horizontal row. You will add interest if you hang an odd number of pictures or decorative items. The accessories on the table further enhance the art.

Houzz

Here is a clever use of frames. Hang some frames equidistant from one another. Again we see an odd number of frames which adds interest. Then place a three dimensional object on the wall inside each framed space. I also like to see empty frames overlapped on a fireplace mantel ledge. I am going to try this look in one of my redesign or home staging projects. Da Vinci watch out!

House Beautiful

This picture shows symmetry in the artwork hung on each side of the fireplace and assymmetry on the ledge. The picture on the mantel throws you off a bit , but I like it. Again , in my opinion, it adds interest and is in good taste. It's not what I would have predicted for the outcome of this room after the art was hung. That's what makes it dramatic.

House Beautiful

If you have a large built-in bookcse in one of your rooms, you can add drama or interest by hanging a piece of artwork in front of it. This is another look I really like. However, you have to be able to move the artwork to get to that Sherlock Holmes mystery you want to read. Don't know if I'd be wanting to move it each time. Notice how symmetrical everything is in the picture - the lamps, the tables, the glass candle holders on the table, the couches - all sort of bowing to this great piece of artwork! The symmetry creates a formal look.

House Beautiful

The resident of this space uses the available wall space to showcase artwork above the large windows. The white frames unify the grouping and they are spaced equally apart.

House Beautiful

This homeowner places a mirror in the middle of a very symmetrical grouping. Don't be afraid to mix decorative accents with your artwork. When you add the unexpected and use an odd number of pieces, you create interest.

House Beautiful

Another look I like and may try in one of my home staging or redesign projects. There is definitely no symmetry going on here - various pictures in different colored frames and different colored mattings arranged and overlapped to create a conversation piece. Just when you think you've got it all figured out, someone trumps you!

Have fun with your artwork. Experiment and be creative. Try cutting out the shapes of your frames from paper and place the arrangement on the floor to see how it will look before hanging it. Usually the more symmetry you create in a room , the more formal the look.

~ "Art is the window to man's soul." ~ Lady Bird Johnson

Thy Kingdom Come

One of the crazy things about biblical poetry is that it often looks like it's just saying the same thing over and over again in different words.

So, Psalm 5:

Hearken to my speech, O Lord,
attend to my utterance. [1]

You destroy the pronouncer of lies,
a man of blood and deceit the Lord loathes. [7]

Let all who shelter in You rejoice,
let them sing gladly forever -- protect them!
and those who love Your name exult in You. [12]

Usually, though, the repetition either intensifies the previous line, or offers the next little step. So in line 12 we rejoice, then we get more specific -- we sing. And then we get a more intensive version -- we exult!

Or in line 7, it looks a bit backwards -- God destroys, then he loathes? But what changes is the group; it's not just the liars, but the violent that are in trouble.

This all fits a little better when you've got the whole poem in front of you. But you have to go slow. As you can tell, it's really, really subtle at times.

That's how I'm taking the next couple lines of the Our Father. What has come before -- the calling of God Father and the desire that all would praise him -- implies that we're talking about the kingdom. But it's only in this line that that kingdom sensibility that lies behind everything Jesus hopes for and wants us to seek becomes clear and evident. If you had to summarize what the Our Father is about, this is it: thy kingdom come.

And beyond specifying the earlier lines, this line adds a new texture from the previous or the next -- that of an activity, an event. We are anticipating, asking for something to happen, something to finally and fully come into being, here, in our world. We're in the story of salvation, and we're praying for the happy ending that got promised back in chapter one. Or at least, a good ending for a chapter or volume. It's that Pauline notion of all creation groaning as something is being born. That's where this line puts us.

Hallowed Be Thy Name

How do you take this line? I'll tell you, I've always thought we're saying at this point, God, we worship you. God, you are the Lord. Etc.

But I did a little reading around and it turns out, no, this is actually a petition. We're saying "God, let your name be hallowed. Let everyone worship you."

And why do we ask for that? Well, because we believe that if they did, if the whole world worshipped God, then that would mean we were all trying to be like God, that is loving and generous and self-sacrificing. And what a wonderful world we could have if that were the case.

Statue of Reconciliation, Northern Ireland

The Twist: One could take what I just wrote and say this is a prayer for the conversion of the world to Christianity. But remember, this was Jesus' own prayer. This was what he said to God. So, it would be more precise to say that the Our Father is a prayer about the conversion of all people's hearts to the child-like openness, trust and generosity that Jesus had. A very different thing.

And frankly, much more challenging for Christians. Because hallowing God's name becomes not a matter simply of whether we go to Church or pray at night, but how we live our lives. It puts me in mind of a quote from G.K. Chesterton: "Christianity has not failed; it has never been tried."

(Can I Ask For Just a Little Bit More?)

A corollary to the Our Father cadences: I'm never quite sure what to make of singing the Our Father. In theory, I've got no problem with it. Song's a great way for a commmunity to pray together. But the versions of it that I generally hear at parishes are just dreadful. They sound like dirges. If you were outside the church at the moment they were being sung, you would think people were inside weeping.

That is not the right tenor (no pun intended) for the Our Father. It's a prayer of petition, yes, but it should express our desire to be open and our hopefulness for the kingdom. It needs a good amount of joy.

As I wander around I see a lot of parishes where they sing the Our Father. Cearly there's a desire to express that prayer in song. So, if you write liturgical music or you know someone that does, please, write us some good Our Fathers. It would be a great service to the Church. We really need them!

We Don't Need Personality

[I've posted two pieces today, both on the topic of the cadence of the Our Father. The first post is the one below this one.]

Have you ever had a presider lead the Our Father in a different rhythm than the group, or unwieldly slow? It's never a good idea, is it? It really throws the congregation. And then, they are paying attention to the priest, rather than the prayer. It becomes his prayer, that they're following. Not good, not right and not helpful.

Father Skeletor demands everyone FOLLOW! HIS! RHYTHM!

Still, I can appreciate why a presider would sometimes want to slow the group down. Some congregations whip through that thing like there's a storm 'acomin and they need to get to shelter. I always find those occasions terribly bittersweet. It's a lost opportunity -- there really is something uniquely special about the Our Father. It's a different kind of prayer than any of the others we say together, a prayer with real intimacy. When we rush through it, well, we might as well not even bother.

But presiders, the actual moment of saying the Our Father is not the time to "learn 'em". If you want us to go slower, say something about it at the beginning of Mass. Shoot, if theres' real trouble we could even practice! We don't have any trouble running through a song; why not run through the prayer? But a word (with perhaps a gentle reminder immediately before the prayer, i.e. "And now let us slowly/thoughtfully/prayerfully/did I already say slowly? pray the prayer Jesus taught us") will probably suffice.

One more note on this that I wish every presider would remember: During the big group prayer moments and songs, Turn. Off. Your. Mike. From the presider's chair, you might not be able to hear the difference, but in many churches when that mike is on, it's like the voice of God. It totally overwhelms the congregation. Even when you think you're being very clever and considerate and whispering, they still hear you -- and it sounds like for some strange reason you're whispering. Well-intentioned, but still not good or helpful.

Fr. Hardcharger is beginning mass. As he begins, "In the name of the father and the Son..." he notices, the mike isn't working. So he says, with volume, "There's something wrong with this mike."

And the congregation responds, "And also with you."

We Got Rhythm

Someone posted a comment over the weekend asking me to talk about the cadence (or rhythm) in which we say the Our Father. If each of us were to stop for a second and just imagine that prayer being said in church, I bet a lot of us would "hear" it something like this --

Our Father (pause),
who art in Heaven (pause),
hallowed be thy name (longer pause).
Thy kingdom come (pause);
thy will be done (pause)
on earth as it is in heaven (longer pause).
Give us this day (slight pause)
our daily bread (pause);
and forgive us our trespasses (pause)
as we forgive those (slight pause)
who trespass against us (longer pause).
And lead us not into temptation (pause),
but deliver us from evil (longer pause).

Now, those pauses have a lot to do with punctuation. Commas and semicolons get a pause, periods get a longer pause.

But you'll also note, there are places without punctuation where we still pause. For instance, "Give us this day (slight pause) our daily bread" presents one petition, yet we split it into two parts. Why? On some level, it's like my 6-year-old nephew said to me the other day: "That's just the way I roll."

Its origins probably also have something to do with our intuitive sense of poetry and rhythm. "Give us this day" and "our daily bread" each has two beats, as do a number of the other lines, so saying them as though they're separate ideas "sounds" right. "Thy kingdom come" and "thy will be done " likewise have the same meter, and so we say them in rhythm, even though the latter line actually belongs with "on earth as it is in heaven."

The danger, of course, of saying these lines this way is that the rhythm could obscure the meaning of what we're trying to say. It becomes sing-song, baby talk.

(OK, so actually, that's not baby talk, it's a different language sung by a cute toddler. But you get the idea.)

But is that the way we experience it? Clearly, each of us has to answer that for ourselves. Personally, I look around the church at that moment and see most people with their hands out in supplication or holding those of their family members around them, their eyes closed or turned up. And as we say the prayer, even with their silly nursery rhyme rhythm, it sure seems like we're all really speaking together directly to God. It might be the only time like that in the whole Mass, in fact.

I know for me it's always sort of a moment of clarity -- like, Lord, if we could boil all my desires down to their essence everything I've been thinking or worrying about during this Mass, and leave out all the unnecessary stuff, these words would be it. And if I could be exactly the person I want to be, no more trappings or ego or fear, just me, well the me at that moment, arms out and praying for openness to the kingdom, that's him.

Pyrmont (Theme Day: Passageway)

This passageway in the sandstone wall connects Pyrmont Point Park with Giba Park at the top of the cliff, in the inner west suburb of Pyrmont.

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants of this theme day

Saturday, February 27, 2010

VESTIDO AZUL DE CROCHÊ com gráfico e molde

From: Ana Maria Arthuso <anamariaarthuso@gmail.com>

Date: 2010/1/22
Subject: {Amigas_do_Crochê} VESTIDO AZUL DE CROCHÊ

Vestido azul de crochê

Com leques de pontos bem abertos.

Em dois tons de azul.

Para o nosso clima, é só tirar a gola, fazer um decote redondinho ou em V.

A manga eu também dispensaria.

Detalhes do ponto e do fecho na costa.

Fotos de revista oriental de álbum Picasa

GRÁFICOS E MOLDES

--
Bjs,
Ana Maria

Meus blogs:
http://pontosdaana.blogspot.com/
http://artesanaarthuso.blogspot.com/
http://mimospontosdaana.blogspot.com/

Pyrmont, boardwalk

The boardwalk along the foreshore of Pyrmont Point Park provides scenic views of Sydney Harbour and the city skyline. It will soon be officially named Stevedore Walk, to commemorate Pyrmont’s maritime workers and industries which were based on and around the site, from the mid 19th century until the second half of the 20th century.
Click here to view all participants of Scenic Sunday

Friday, February 26, 2010

Powerful earthquake strikes off Japan island of Okinawa

A powerful earthquake has struck in the Pacific Ocean, about 80km (50 miles) off the southern Japanese island of Okinawa.

A tsunami warning was initially issued, but later lifted. There are no reports of major damage or casualties.

The Japan Meteorological Agency gave the strength as 6.9 while the US Geological Survey put it at 7.3.

Japan is often hit by earthquakes. In 1995, a magnitude-7.2 quake in the port city of Kobe killed 6,400 people.

The latest tremor occurred at 0531 on Saturday (2031 GMT on Friday).

BBC News website reader Ivan Brackin, who lives on Yoron Island, said it was the biggest quake he had felt in his 40 years in Japan but there had been no visible effects in his area.

"We're 30 yards [metres] from the sea and no sign of a tsunami," he said.

"I woke up to violent shudders that lasted about six seconds then a pause followed by a couple of sharp jumps. Jumpers are the most dangerous so that sent me under the desk."

Blogging Funk

Last week I was in a workout funk.... You know when you just don't feel like working out, so you don't. This week I just haven't felt like updating my blog. Maybe it's because NOTHING blog-worthy has been going on.
I'm really anxious for spring to be here and just want to lay out by the pool. The most interesting thing that has happened is that I got this pretty new watch:

I am channeling my inner Rachel Zoe! I've been looking for a watch that is gold AND silver. I feel like I need to tie my jewelry together... My ring is white gold and I really love wearing gold jewelry. So this watch solves that problemo....

We are being lazy bones tonight. We had planned to go out to dinner at a new place we have been wanting to try. But instead we got steaks, twice baked potatoes, stuffed mushrooms, spinach salad, and garlic bread from Weldon's in Hot Springs. Everything is pre-made so all we have to do is pop it in the oven! (Not the steaks though - we will grill them ourselves.)
Hope you have a good weekend!

Location:Southwind Cove,Haskell,United States

40% Off Never Tasted So Good!

Our famous baby back ribs are a house specialty, not to mention a best seller. In true farm fashion, our ready-to-eat pork ribs are smoked three to four hours using our very own applewood from the orchards. By doing so, the tender rib meat has a sweet, mild apple flavor and easily pulls away from the bone.

Depending on your preferences, you may choose to order your ribs plain, but we have taken a liking to our sweet tangy BBQ sauce made with apple cider. Buy hey, we're a little biased, aren't we? Regardless, you make the call.

A typical rack of ribs weighs approximately 2.5 lbs. As a general rule, allow two ribs per person if serving as an appetizer or allow 1/2 slab per person if serving as an entree.

Although the ribs are ready to be eaten at the time of purchase, (and trust me, you'll want to) they can easily be frozen and reheated without affecting flavor. Just keep the foil lined bag the ribs are packaged in and preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Close the bag and bake in the center of the oven for a maximum of 15 minutes. Enjoy!

Enjoy 40% off Applewood Smoked Ribs on Thursday, March 4th and March 18th. Please call Eckert's Deli at (618) 233-0513 x5 to place your rib order. We'll be sure to have them packed an ready to go upon your arrival.

Revista Russa de Crochê Filet

De: Maria Cristina Aguiar <aguiar.mariacristina@gmail.com>

Data: 18 de Fevereiro de 2010 18:12

Revista Russa de Crochê Filet

Os Crochês da Cristina

CLIQUE AQUI PARA BAIXAR

Revista Moda pet em crochet

De: Vivi <zinzinha2006@gmail.com>

Data: 24 de Fevereiro de 2010 07:42

Download - Revista Moda pet em crochet

via Tita Carré - Agulha e tricot de robertagranada@gmail.com (by Roberta Granada Mendes Bortoluzzi) em 31/05/09

Faça seu download aqui.

__,_._,___

REVISTA DE ARTESANATO - LAVORI ARTISTICI ALL'UNCINETTO

From: Maria Cristina Aguiar <aguiar.mariacristina@gmail.com>

Date: 2010/2/24

Lavori Artistici all'uncinetto

Os Crochês da Cristina

CLIQUE AQUI PARA BAIXAR

Revista japonesa de pedraria

De: Cynthia augusto <aquilinoaugusto@gmail.com>

Data: 25 de Fevereiro de 2010 15:49

--
http://www.giftjap.info/detailed.php?n=354&page=9&ni=528

Cynthia Augusto
www.cynthiabe.blogspot.com

Pyrmont, old wharf

The pylons and remnants of an old wharf are seen here reflected in Johnstons Bay at Pyrmont. They have been retained as a 'pole garden', beside the parkland which was previously the site of the water police headquarters. It is now an extension of Pyrmont Point Park which will soon be renamed Pirrama Park, to recognise the original Aboriginal name for the Pyrmont peninsula.
Click here to view all participants of Weekend Reflections

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Eggs Anyone?

It all started when I decided that it would be a good idea to get some chickens. Well if you mail order them there is a 25 chick minimum. Of course I needed to get a few more for good measure and ended up with 32. We waited ~~AND WAITED~~ for the chicks to mature so we could get eggs. I even told the chickens that if they didn't start laying soon I would have to make some chicken and dumplings. WELL I sure did not know what I was asking for! We are down to 22 chickens and boy howdy when spring comes I will have eggs coming out my ears!! To solve the problem the kids have started a little business. I am so proud of them. They clean the eggs and call customers to get orders and even use the $ to buy chicken feed.

All this to show you our newest size of egg for those counting the calories!

do you see it on the right?

Nope it is not a bouncy ball!

Even my Moonshine had a hard time believing it.

This was really something we have had a few smaller eggs but this one beats them all!

Suicide bombings strike Afghan capital Kabul

The blast happened near a shopping centre in Kabul

At least nine people have died in a series of explosions and gunfire in the Afghan capital, Kabul, officials say.

A suicide bomber detonated his explosives and two other attackers were shot dead, a government official said.

A spokesman for the Taliban said the Islamist rebels claimed responsibility for the attacks, carried out close to a shopping centre and a hotel.

Kabul has been the target of sometimes deadly insurgent attacks, but has been relatively quiet for the past month.

On 18 January, Taliban bombers and gunmen attacked government targets and shopping malls in Kabul, killing 12 people.

Crying and shouting
The BBC's Martin Patience, in Kabul, says the first blast happened at 0630 local time (0200 GMT) on Friday, close to a large shopping centre.

Kabul police official Abdul Ghafor Sayedzada said two explosions happened near the nine-storey Kabul City Center shopping area, close to the Safi Landmark Hotel, the Associated Press reported.

A building in front of the hotel had caught fire, he said.

At least two smaller explosions were heard later along with gunfire.

Officials said two policemen had been killed in the attack, and there were reports of others injured. It was not clear whether any foreigners had been killed.

One eyewitness said that he saw one suicide bomber blowing himself up on the first floor of the hotel.

"I saw foreigners were crying and shouting. It was a very bad situation inside. God help me, otherwise I would be dead," one hotel worker, called Najibullah, said.

Sirens blared across the city and announcement from loudspeakers warned people to stay indoors.

It is not clear what exactly was the target of the attack or who carried it out, our correspondent says.

Although the shopping centre is in the heart of Kabul, our correspondent says the timing of the explosion - in the morning at the start of what is effectively the Afghan weekend - meant few people were likely to be in the area.

The violence comes as Nato and Afghan forces continue Operation Moshtarak, driving Taliban fighters from their strongholds in Helmand province, in the south of Afghanistan.

Snow Day!

Two on Monday, I promise!

SOS Cuisine

I came across the neatest website yesterday. It is not new by any means just new to me. I thought I would share it with fellow Canadians as this is the only one I know of like this here in Canada.

The site originates in Quebec and some of the reviews on the recipes are only in French there are some English but I think with more people using it then more English reviews will pop up so it will be easier for the french challenged to read the reviews.

I used to take hours cruising through all the websites of all the local grocery stores for their sales every week but not any more. SOS Cuisine does more than have the pricing all together in one spot it plans a menu complete with prep time and nutrition information and calculating the cost for the number of people for whom you cook. You can choose menu preferences such as budget, low calorie, and exclude certain foods. The site tracks what is on special at local supermarkets and chooses what recipes would be most economical to make each week. I also love the $1 max/serving recipes and often they are much cheaper than $1/serving.

Say you are out of just potatoes... you click on the SAVE MONEY Tab... and look down to potatoes and it will tell you who has the best deal on right now. Seriously isn't this cool!!!!

I will now share the website link: SOS Cuisine