Mar
5
Pinarello F3:13 FP Ultegra: An Affordable Bike for Weekend Enthusiasts
March 5, 2010 | | Leave a Comment
The Fisher Price Deluxe Cover ‘n Play Bouncer baby seat is by far the best baby shower gift I received. It is the best baby product I can ever imagine, and thanks to the reasonable prices that you can usually count on Fisher Price for, it doesn’t cost a fortune either!
It is a lightweight plastic seat that can hold babies up to 25 pounds, but is fine for the smallest of babies as well. We have been putting our baby in it since he was two weeks old. He loves it! He is only two months old now, so he isn’t really doing much bouncing yet, but that is not the best part about this baby seat. The best part is the Calming Vibrations feature. It has a little switch on the bottom that makes the whole seat vibrate gently. It is the greatest thing! Every time we put our baby in it and turn on the vibrations, he gets super relaxed and stops crying.
This seat has allowed me to actually get things done around the house while the baby is awake. My baby tends to want to be held all the time while he is awake, unless he is in his Fisher Price Baby Bouncer. I open the blinds in the living room and place him next to the window, and he will sit happily relaxing with the vibrations.
There is a handle on the top that has two little toys and a mirror attached. My son is not really old enough to grab them yet, but he will swing at them happily. The handle is removable, which is great for when he is sleeping in it, or for traveling. Yes, traveling. We have become so attached to the baby bouncer that we brought it with us when we went on vacation.
Another great thing about the bouncer is that it has a blanket attached. This way, I don’t have to worry about putting him in warm clothes first thing in the morning; I just put him in his seat and cover him up with the blanket, while I go about getting dressed. The seat cover and blanket are removable and machine washable, for the inevitable times when baby makes a mess.
Sometimes, we forget to turn the vibrating switch off, because it’s so quite we tend to forget that it is on. However, it only uses one D battery, and even after leaving it on all night several times, we have only changed the battery once in the six weeks we have been using it.
This baby bouncer is so great, that I got one for my mom’s house, since she baby-sits him often. She loves to take the seat out on the patio, where he can sit and feel the warmth of the sun while she reads.
The Fisher Price Cover ‘n Play Baby Bouncer only costs about $25.00, and it comes in three different designs: bunny, safari, and pets. They also have many other designs of bouncers that all have the calming vibrations feature. Some don’t have the attached blanket and have more toys, and others are more expensive and have features such as music and moving toys.
Check them out on Fisher Price’s website.
http://www.fisher-price.com/fp.aspx?st=2002&e=thumb&ppage=1&ppagesize=6&pcat=bgb&selCat=bgb&ccat=bgb&ctype=article&site=us
Feb
26
The Princess and the Frog Coloring Pages
February 26, 2010 | | Leave a Comment
Slate tile countertops and backsplashes are a beautiful way to add value and function to your home. With a little bit of planning, a 3-day weekend and the right tools, you can create a beautiful kitchen by installing stylish slate tile countertops.
Planning to Install Slate Tile Countertops in Your Kitchen
Your first task when you install slate tile countertops is to choose tiles: with endless choices in color, size, design and arrangement, this is no simple feat.
Once you've determined how you would like the end result to look, gather your tools—putty knife, tiles (of course), grout, adhesive, sealant, paint trays or buckets for mixing, sponges for cleaning up, diamond wet saw for cutting tiles if necessary to suit your design—and prepare to eat take out for the next few days as you give your new slate tile kitchen countertop time to dry between phases.
Install Slate Tile Countertops in Your Kitchen: Step by Step
1. Strip the old countertop laminate or tile.
2. If the surface is imperfect, nail down thin plywood and/ or cement board to create a solid base. Consider before you do this, whether or not you will then need to take out the sink, stove, dishwasher, et cetera to adjust for the added height. Use thinset mortar to secure these to each other and your kitchen countertop. Allow the mortar to set before moving onto the next step, overnight and up to 24 hours. You don't want it to move while you're installing your slate tiles.
3. Double check your layout before you begin to set the tile. Mark where changes will be made with a pencil if you like. Cut some tiles to fit the edges before you begin, but not all as your layout may change as you progress.
4. Organize your tiles so that you place them in your chosen design. Start with an inside corner if possible so you can track the pattern. Leave enough room between for grout, and take into account the tile widths on the backsplash so that you leave a large enough gap in the back. Also, predetermine whether you will line up the grout lines on the counter and the backsplash exactly or space the counter grout lines half way between the backsplash tiles.
5. Tile in sections, mixing small amounts of adhesive (according to manufacturer's instructions) as you go. Make sure that you keep the tiles straight and follow the grout lines. Double check your work at the end of each section. If anything is crooked or out of place, you'll need to fix it before it sets. Install the borders last. Allow the adhesive to drive for up to 24 hours, checking back after a couple of hours to clean any adhesive that has oozed over the tile edges or into the grout lines.
6. Next, tile your backsplash in the same way, being sure to follow your predetermined grout lines, follow your layout and leave a 1/8 inch gap between the first row of backsplash slate tiles and the countertop tiles. Use spacers to keep the tiles from sliding and tap them with the side of your fist to set. Start from the bottom row and tile up, stopping every so often to check your work, fix any mistakes and clean up after yourself. Allow to dry for 24 hours.
7. Porous tiles will need a coat of sealant before you grout. Apply the sealant according to manufacturer's directions after the adhesive has dried completely, then allow the sealant to dry for 24 hours.
8. Grouting is the next step. Again, mix small amounts and work in sections, cleaning up by wiping a damp (not too wet!) sponge at a diagonal across the grout lines. Scrub tiles with a clean dry cloth if it's at all hazy. Cover with cardboard when you're done and ready to move onto grouting the backsplash. Grout the backsplash with the same technique.
9. Allow everything to dry, set and settle for three days, then go back and apply a sealer over the tiles and grout liberally, allowing it to be absorbed, then wipe away the excess with a dry cloth.
10. Every year, clean the grout with special cleaners available especially for the purpose, and follow up with another coat of sealant.
11. Enjoy your beautiful new slate tile kitchen countertops and backsplash!
Sources
The Family Handyman
Slate Stone
Extreme How To
Feb
25
Book Review: Misfit McCabe by LK Gardner-Griffie
February 25, 2010 | | Leave a Comment
Introduction
In the early Church, devotion among Catholic faithful's to St. Joseph was not widespread. While neither was it unknown, it took centuries for the Catholic Church to extend its understanding of St. Joseph’s role in the process of salvation. In the 16th century, popular devotion to St. Joseph flourished when St. Teresa of Avila became one of his greatest champions (O’Connell, 2005). Prominent figures in the Catholic Church also spoke highly of Joseph, chief among them, St. Augustine and St. John Chrysostom.
Moreover, according to O’Connell, Venerable Pius IX during the 19th century declared St. Joseph to be the Patron of the Universal Church. By doing so, the Supreme Pontiff acknowledged that God had put the Holy Patriarch in charge of His household, the Church. Pope Pius XII instituted the feast of St. Joseph the Worker in 1955. It could be said that the apex of the veneration of Joseph came in the early 1960’s when Pope John XXIII inserted Joseph’s name into the Roman Canon of the Mass. However, after the Second Vatican Council devotion to Joseph waned. Today though there are signs of a revival of popular devotion to Joseph.
Persons in the Holy Family
According to Vidko (2004), the hierarchy of persons in the Holy Family includes: Our Lord Jesus had first place, Mary second, and St. Joseph third. But according to hierarchy of authority, St. Joseph as lawful husband and father of the family had first place, Mary second, and Jesus Christ, Child of Mary and foster son of St. Joseph, third place.
O’Connell further stated that the Gospel served as the foundation for the devotion and theology of Joseph. According to him, God communicated to Joseph in dreams as He did to St. Joseph. Providence arranged that the Pharaoh placed Joseph over of his household; God put St. Joseph in charge of the Holy Family. Joseph brought the Israelites to Egypt in time of famine; St. Joseph brought the Holy Family to Egypt to escape Herod’s Deicidal designs.
The Gospels clearly record that God selected Joseph as the putative father of Jesus and the virginal spouse of the Immaculate Mother of God. God entrusted Jesus and Mary to Joseph’s care. Joseph was the Head of the Holy Family. Not only tradition, but also Scripture attests to this marvelous truth. That is why the angel appeared to Joseph in a dream telling him to take Mary and the Christ Child to Egypt.
The Roman Catholic Church’s avers, through its fourth commandment: “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land which the Lord your God gives you.” According to the fourth commandment, God has willed that, after him, we should honor our parents and those whom he has vested with authority for our good (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2005). The fourth commandment is addressed expressly to children in their relationship to their father and mother, because this relationship is the most universal. It likewise concerns the ties of kinship between members of the extended family. It requires honor, affection, and gratitude toward elders and ancestors.
Joseph as the father
According to the New Advent (2005), although Joseph was not the biological father of Christ—he did not physically generate Jesus—but he was the putative father and the legal father of Christ. God willed that the world would know Joseph as the father of Jesus Christ to cloak for a time the mystery of the Virgin Birth of Our Lord.
New Advent further cited that Mary herself says to her Son in the Temple, “your father and I have been looking for you”(Lk 2:48). After professing that Joseph did not physically generate Christ and that the Blessed Virgin Mary conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, we can assert that Joseph is in a real sense the father of Jesus. St. Augustine says that Joseph was the father of the human spirit of Christ.
Moreover, St. Luke in his Gospel mentions that Joseph was of the House of David (Lk 1:27). Joseph and the Holy Virgin were related. Providence had arranged that Joseph the putative father of Jesus, the Son of David, also belonged to the royal House of David.
Devotion towards Joseph
O’Connell contended that while scripture records not one word of Joseph’s, the glimpse of Joseph that the Gospel served as a foundation for the devotion and theology of Joseph, along with the belief of many saints that Joseph of the Old Testament prefigured St. Joseph. Devotion to Joseph, O’Connell believed, largely derived from realization that he possessed a supremely exalted vocation and mission. To prove his point, he cited one of the stanzas from the hymn Te Joseph Celebrent expresses the sublimity of Joseph’s vocation:
Other saints receive their beatitude after death
They receive their glory when they have won the palm:
But thou, by a strangely happy lot, hadst even during life,
What the blessed have in heaven—the sweet society of thy God.
Kavanaugh and Rodriguez (1980) likewise stated that no less than the great Doctor of the Church, St. Teresa of Avila, took St. Joseph as her patron. Known as one of St. Joseph’s most zealous devotees, St. Teresa said that her beloved patron came to her rescue in better ways than she knew how to ask for and never failed to grant any of her petitions.
Moreover, according to Binet (1980), further proof of the Church’s belief in the devotion to St. Joseph is the fact that the Holy Ghost has willed to make the genealogy of the glorious St. Joseph known to us so exactly, that we need only read the Gospels of St. Matthew and St. Luke to be acquainted with all his ancestors. By birth he is a prince of the royal house of David; his ancestors are the patriarchs, the kings of Juda, the great captains of the people of God, the most illustrious among the sons of men. Yet this descendant of David was reduced to obscurity, and lived a poor and humble life.
The liturgical feasts dedicated to St. Joseph and The Holy Family
The Oblate of St. Joseph (2005) provided a comprehensive listing of the liturgical feasts dedicated to St. Joseph and the Holy Family as follows:
· Eastern Commemoration of St. Joseph’s Passing – Coptic Egyptians celebrate this feast in their monasteries Abîb 26 (July 20 in the old Julian calendar, and now August 2 in our current Gregorian calendar reformed in 1582).
· Feast of St. Joseph – Tenth-century calendars in the East compiled in the Palestinian monastery of St. Saba mention the feast of St. Joseph. The menology (liturgical calendar of saints) of Basil II commemorates St. Joseph on the actual day of Christmas, and the flight into Egypt on the following day.
· Feast of Mary and her husband Joseph – Other Synaxaries celebrate this event on December 26; on the Sunday before Christmas the feast of Jesus' ancestors from Abraham to Joseph, the husband of Mary; and on the Sunday within the octave of Christmas the feast of St. Joseph together with King David and James the brother of the Lord.
· March 19, the earliest liturgical feast of St. Joseph in the West, remains to this day his principal feast.
· The liturgy of the hours of St. Joseph – A Benedictine monastery at Liege had an Office to celebrate the feast as early as the thirteenth century, and the Franciscans adopted a nine-lesson Office in 1399.
· Feast of the espousals – In 1537 the Franciscans adopted it to be celebrated on March 7, and soon after the Servites for March 8, and the Dominicans for January 22. A 1550 work invites people in Holland to celebrate the recently instituted feast on January 15.
· Feast of the Patronage of the Ring – celebrated every July 10 for the “venerated the holy Virgin together with her husband.”
· Feast of the Patronage of Saint Joseph – decreed to be celebrated as a second class double on the third Sunday after Easter
· Votive Mass of St. Joseph – a practice as early as the late thirteenth century votive Masses in honor of St. Joseph
· Feast of the Holy Family – celebrated on January 22 as a positive understanding of St. Joseph's true role.
· Feast of the Flight into Egypt: The Redemptorists (and so also the Archconfraternity of the Holy Family, which they directed in Liége) celebrated the Feast of the Flight into Egypt on the fourth Sunday of April
· Inclusion in the Rites for the Sick and the Dying: In 1920 the Pious Union of the Transitus of St. Joseph received a ten year permission to add special prayers to St. Joseph in the votive Masses for the dying and for a happy death celebrated at their Church in the Trionfale Quarter of Rome, and the permission was soon extended to all priests and houses of the institute.
· Feast of Saint Joseph the Worker: The encyclical letter of Pius XI issued on March 19, 1937 named St. Joseph, who “belongs to the working class,” as the patron of the Church's campaign against atheistic communism.
Sources:
Binet, Pere. (N.D.) Divine Favors Granted to St. Joseph. USA: Tan Books and Publishers, Inc.
Dogmatic Constitution on the Church. Lumen Gentium. Proclaimed By His Holiness, Pope Paul VI on November 21, 1964
Kavanaugh, K. and O. Rodriguez. (1980). The Collected Works of St. Teresa of Avila, USA: ICS Publications, p. 53
New Advent. (2005). Popular Devotions. Retrieved October 27, 2005, from http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12275b.htm
Oblate of St. Joseph. (2005). St. Joseph in Liturgy. Retrieved October 27, 2005 from http://www.osjoseph.org/stjoseph/liturgy/partA.php
O’Connell, John. Devotion to St. Joseph. Retrieved October 27, 2005 from http://www.catholic.net/rcc/Periodicals/Faith/MARAPR99/devotion.html
Schulte, A.J. (2003). Catholic Encyclopedia Online Edition. Retrieved October 27, 2005 from http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04276a.htm
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. (2005). Catechism of the Catholic Church. http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/pt3sect2chpt2.htm
Vidko, Podr�aj. (2004). The Heart of Saint Joseph. Retrieved October 27, 2005 from http://www.sspx.ca/Angelus/2004_April/Heart_St_Joseph.htm
Feb
15
When Im with You
February 15, 2010 | | Leave a Comment
Chances are that if you have a computer then you have had an instant messenger chat with someone. This is a great way to talk back and forth with someone who lives far away, without racking up a huge phone bill. It's also simple if you just want to quickly say something that doesn't require you to email or call the person.
I started using Microsoft's msn more than a decade ago and still use it to this day. The problem is that since then, almost everywhere you look there is a new IM from another company who wants you to use their program. The top contenders are Msn, Yahoo, ICQ and AOL instant messengers. Before I knew what was going on I had every one of those programs running on my computer, taking up valuable space and system process and bogging down my work and computer speed.
I tried to only have one or two going at a time, but it's hard to stay in touch with people that only have one of those programs, when you don't have that specific IM online. After years of these kinds of headaches I started searching for a better way. I eventually stumbled upon something called Trillian. It is software that combines all of the most popular IM software and lets you just use one program to chat with anyone on the other messengers.
The Pros
This program supports AIM, ICQ, MSN, Yahoo Messenger, and IRC
You can logoff or uninstall all the rest IM software, you won't need them
Program is completely free with no limitations
No popup or spyware
Can transfers files to and from friends
Hundreds of emoticons
The Cons
The emoticons you're used to using with your other messenger might not be in Trillian and might not look the same if it is there.
Overall
You get an A+ program that saves your sanity and keeps you from having to juggle friends and a ton of messengers daily. Stick with this one. It's a winner. More than 30 million people have downloaded this program and it is rated very highly because of its perks, usability and skins.
The Future
Coming soon will be Trillian Astra which is a new update to the old Trillian. The creators have completely updated this program, complete with a new look and even more features. One of the things they are adding is the ability to get offline messages when you sign on. A capability that only Yahoo! messenger had and now even Msn messenger has it.
Feb
15
Zhu Zhu Pets, Zu Zu Pets, Zoo Zoo Pets the Realistic New HamsterToy
February 15, 2010 | | Leave a Comment
Greek mythology bestows upon us numerous stories that many find appealing, such as the Prometheus myth. Johann Wolfgang Goethe, who considered himself paganistic but believed in divinity, takes this titanic myth and presents to his audience a different approach to the creation of mankind. Naturally, if one knew the Prometheus myth, he or she would be quicker to associate Prometheus with the theft of fire from the gods rather than the creation of mankind; however, Goethe writes about Prometheus in a setting before Prometheus is punished by the Greek god Zeus for stealing precious fire and displays stronger and more thoughtful characteristics of the titan.
Almost unnoticeably does Goethe make a reference to Prometheus's theft of fire; Goethe writes it so that Prometheus says “meinen Herd” – or “my fireside” – displaying an innocent tone, suggesting he did not steal fire but owns the glowing warmth. Many of Goethe's traits are clearly portrayed through “Prometheus,” including his belief in intellectual independence, clarity of thought, confidence in human nature, and affirmation of life. Prometheus's character is further enhanced by Franz Schubert, one of the composers who set Goethe's Prometheus text to music, who turns the piece into a powerful tonal drama.
The musical texture of Schubert's setting of Goethe's “Prometheus” bears a strong resemblance to an operatic scene, consisting of appropriate techniques for a text that illustrates a critical moment in Prometheus's life and thoughts. First, Schubert introduces the story with a piano introduction, which maintains great importance all within six measures of forte musical aggressiveness. As the piano tempestuously bangs in on three B-flats, thereafter descendingly outlining the B-flat major triad, Schubert makes no intricate preparation to flow into the next key: the next measure suddenly sounds in A-flat major and is immediately followed by an E-flat major harmony in measure three, which the audience may hear as a plagal cadence in E-flat major.
Ironically, the plagal cadence – also known as the “amen cadence” because of its constant use in hymns – ends the first phrase, foreshadowing Prometheus's address to the gods and playing on the idea that this is a poetic anti-hymn critiquing religion. The second phrase of the piano introduction – measures four through six – is just a sequence of the first three measures beginning on the descending outline of the E-flat major triad but ending on a stronger cadence – a perfect authentic cadence (D major to G minor) – instead. Another musical implication is sounded out to the audience: the phrases are continually descending, foreshadowing Prometheus's fated downfall after the events depicted in Goethe's text.
Furthermore, Schubert's juxtaposition of two successive phrases in different keys represents a mixture of thoughts, but not necessarily within one character. The tonally ambiguous first six measures present conflict even before Prometheus boldly addresses the gods. The conflict between weak and strong is heard between the two successive phrases, each ending in plagal and authentic cadences, which can be seen as the weak and strong forces, respectively. Prometheus and Zeus can be characterized by these two short, clashing three-measure phrases, but to say who is truly the stronger or weaker of the two is undeterminable with only six measures of the story told thus far.
Besides presenting the audience with conflict, the piano introduction serves as a “reflection period” for Prometheus and the audience. Goethe's text portrays Prometheus well, but only a section of the mythological character's life is presented to the audience. The sudden bang on the piano with no gradually increasing introduction tells the audience that they are being thrust into the middle of an ongoing argument: it is safe to assume there were preceding events before the piano sounded that serve as justification for Prometheus's bold claims once his speech begins. As the piano plays for six measures, Prometheus is thinking of how and what to say to the gods.
When Prometheus, as the singer portrays him, finally enters in a recitative there is a strong aura of scorn heard in both the voice and thunder-like G minor piano accompaniment tremolo, imitating a distant rumble on Mount Olympus. Although Prometheus has a strong and solid commanding tone, he is not looking to subdue Zeus; Prometheus's song is of blame against the gods. Prometheus's commanding statements are not out of arrogance, but a comeback perhaps from a prior statement made by Zeus: if Zeus thinks he can intimidate Prometheus, Prometheus's only reply is to be audacious. In Prometheus's explosive speech directed solely at Zeus for the first stanza, each sentence is pitched almost inconceivably higher than the last, heightening the sense of unrestrained condemnation. The audience knows Prometheus is directly addressing Zeus in the first stanza not only because he says Zeus's name, but because “Zeus” is extended for two and half beats, tied across the bar-line, as if Prometheus is calling Zeus out by shouting up to the distant heavens, past the rumbling Mount Olympus and making sure Zeus knows he's being addressed here and now. Schubert ends the first stanza with Prometheus simply telling Zeus “you envy me,” a very forward statement to make to such a high figure. Thus, Schubert treats the last word of the stanza, “benedeist,” as an introduction of a new thought – the destitution of the gods – which Schubert continues with a brusque outpouring of fury in the next stanza.
At the beginning of the second stanza, Prometheus directs his speech to all the gods, not just Zeus. Originally, Prometheus's lines “I know nothing more wretched / beneath the sun than you gods!” were a part of the first stanza in Goethe's text, but Schubert cleverly cuts the first two stanzas according to whom Prometheus makes his address. Moreover, as Prometheus's flaring frustration builds up through the first stanza, the first two lines of Schubert's second stanza continue until the singer's increasing tension hits the high E-natural above middle C on “als euch Götter!”, more forcibly said than sung, and ending on a dramatic half cadence in E-flat minor.
After a slight pause for Prometheus to regain his composure, Schubert changes the mood by switching the tempo to etwas langsamer – or somewhat slower – when Prometheus begins to sarcastically damn the gods. As Prometheus continues to accuse and belittle the gods in a lingering arioso, he sings of “offerings” and “prayer.” These references to church ceremonial clearly urged Schubert's mastermind to compose an accompaniment written in four-part harmony, like typical Bach chorale music. The rising chromaticism suggests a feeling of rising terror or intimidation, most likely felt by the gods whose consciences are being picked at by a mere titan, for Prometheus is still singing with rising passion despite the slower tempo.
Still in etwas langsamer tempo, the tense of Prometheus's soliloquy changes from the present to the imperfect in the third stanza since no moment in the present can be attended without the past. Contrary to Prometheus's sarcasm in the previous etwas langsamer section, Prometheus sorrowfully begins to sing about the helplessness of childhood after a short pause before the change in moods which is clearly heard in the key change to D minor. The short pause between musical stanzas offers Prometheus a quick moment of reflection before he begins sharing his flashback to childhood. Upon reminiscing, the audience catches a drift of warmth and can hear in the music Prometheus's ability to feel compassion. The audience is also exposed to Prometheus's vulnerability: he, who has great physical strength, admits to once experiencing a pitiful life. During Prometheus's retrospective moment, the piano accompanies him with simply rhythm and more tonal clarity than the previous sections, as if written for a child to play. Prometheus's childhood flashback ends in an ambiguous cadence and almost immediately interrupted by another outburst.
Prometheus's consequent outburst, unlike in the first stanza, is a series of rhetorical questions. Here, Prometheus is, in a sense, telling his own myth. Schubert's musicality helps the audience imagine the brute war between the gods and titans – an event preceding this speech and one reason Prometheus carries such strong feelings of contempt toward the gods – by setting the text to uproarious diminished-sevenths. Right in the middle of the stanza is the climax of realization – Prometheus's apex of intellectual independence and clarity of thought – when he sings “Did you not accomplish it all yourself, sacred, ardent heart?” The word for heart – “herz”- indicates compassion and is on a passing tone set on a F-natural, the highest note in the whole piece and generally the most troublesome note to sing for a singer in Prometheus's voice range. Upon reaching the climactic F-natural, Prometheus has come to the realization that the only resource for his emancipation from fear and subserviency to the higher beings is himself while the piano sounds the most monumental chords in the whole song, emitting a victorious glow.
Unfortunately, Prometheus's realization remains suspended on the dominant of E-flat minor and is never to be resolved. Opposing the victorious glow, the lack of resolution is a sad realization for the audience. This unresolved suspension gives Prometheus a false sense of victory and predicts Prometheus's eventual downfall: his victory over Zeus and the gods will not be a full victory despite his increasing confidence and strength displayed throughout the song.
The following stanza continues with more rhetorical questions, but in a changed tempo set to geschwinder which is meant to arouse Prometheus's growing agitation. The agitation fades away slightly before Prometheus asks, “Did not almighty Time and eternal Fate, my masters and yours, forge me into a man?”. The marked fortissimo at the beginning of this phrase imitates the sound of Prometheus hammering away at the creation of mankind. A descending sequence of chromatic harmony continues through Prometheus's question; hearing a torrid arrangement of chords where flats change to sharps and sharps to natural musically illustrates the formation of human beings being molded by Prometheus. Additionally, Prometheus intends to continue his condemnation of the gods; he wants to crush their sense of dominance. Schubert helps Prometheus achieve this by setting the words “und deine” – “and yours” – on anticlimactic pitches to be uttered in contempt, not hesitance; thus, Prometheus towers over the gods musically.
Prometheus's final expression of ascendancy begins in the final stanza, marked kräftig, the introductory tempo of the song. The final stanza is again prepared with a piano introduction in C major, a solid tonality. As the piano plays alone for four measures, Prometheus is given another “reflection period” before making his final proclamation. He returns to speaking in the present tense. Schubert sets the music so that the last six words of Goethe's text are repeated; the repetition puts emphasis on “dein nicht zu achten wie ich!” – “and ignore you, as I do!” – to continue belittling the gods until the very end. Schubert keeps the solid tonality of C major until the end, giving hope to Prometheus musically, although the audience knows that his future is far from triumphant. Schubert musically presents hope in order to comply with Goethe's trait of optimism. The solid C major tonality also gives hope to the new race that Prometheus is sculpting: mankind. The fact that “Prometheus” starts ambiguously in one key and solidly ends in another key – an unusual characteristic for pieces generally composed at the time – demonstrates the changeability of life. As Goethe would have it, the changeability of life is not lamented; Schubert's musical hope shows confidence in human nature.
For the titan race to be considered a “dumb race” – all brawn and no brains – Prometheus certainly demonstrates otherwise with his intellectual independence and ability to mock and bellow a command at Zeus, the highest of all gods. Schubert displays his understanding of Goethe's intentions in writing “Prometheus” through his genius musicality that can be heard and understood through the intensity of emotion without having to know what the words being sung actually mean, demonstrating that music is the superior means of communicating strong emotion.
Bibliography
Angert, Erica Brady. Rhetoric, Form, and Sovereignty in Schubert's “Prometheus,” D. 674.
Horowitz, Anthony. Myths and Legends. New York: Kingfisher Books, 1994.
Johnson, Graham. “Prometheus” in The Hyperion Schubert Edition, vol. 34.
Jolle, Jonas. “Prince poli & savant': Goethe's Prometheus and the enlightenment” in The Modern Language Review, vol. 99, no. 2 (2004): 394-423.
Mackworth-Young, G. “Goethe's “Prometheus” and Its Settings by Schubert and Wolf” in Proceedings of the Royal Musical Association, 78th Sess. (1951-1952): 53-65.
Schubert, Franz. Schubert's Songs to Texts by Goethe. New York: Dover Publications, 1979.
Wellbery, David E. The Specular Moment: Goethe's Early Lyrics and the Beginnings of Romanticism. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press, 1996.
Feb
9
70th Anniversary of “Wizard of Oz” Brings Back 1990 TV Biopic on L. Frank Baum
February 9, 2010 | | Leave a Comment
Dr. Oz took questions from the audience and one was from a professional basketball player. The question was about increasing physical recovery rates after hard workouts. The answer was applicable to almost anyone, in many walks of life, not just professional athletes.
Dr Oz stated that good nutrition was the best way to help speed recovery times. One of the foods he mentioned, and the one item the athlete had never heard of, was Goji berry. There was some information he missed about how soon after workouts food(s) should be eaten.
First of all, forget the junk foods. Complete and whole foods are the only foods that can supply complete and whole nutrition, and they should be eaten as soon as possible after a workout. Food digestion, and the ensuing nutrient uptake at the cellular levels, are best obtained if the food is eaten within fifteen minutes after the workout. The longer one waits to eat, and the longer before food is digested and available to replenish the cells, the slower the recovery time. Also, the cells begin to accept fewer and fewer nutrients the longer the time between workout and eating. A balance of protein and carbohydrates will help restore depleted energy more quickly than one or the other separately.
On the subject of Goji berry: Goji was originally from the Himalayas and has been used for centuries for health and wellness. See my article on Goji, Wolfberry and hemp for more information. Goji is one of the most complete sources of healthful foods known to man but there can be possible problems.
Not all goji is created equal, nor do all goji berries and goji related items remain equal to the end user. Most raw food products that are imported into the US are irradiated. Irradiation kills all life forms. If the goji you eat has been irradiated, you're paying a high price for small red berries with no, or very little, nutritional value.
Goji berries are grown in the US and suppliers can be found on the Internet. I have found various growers by surfing the net and they have newsletters and other information available. Be sure your sources do not irradiate, spray or otherwise neutralize or contaminate the product.
Goji berries usually come in dried form and I haven't seen any that are frozen. If you get goji berries you'll need to put them in the freezer or take other precautions to keep them from spoiling or getting moldy, especially if you live in a humid climate. We had some spoil while in the cupboard in the original package, the package had never been opened and we live in the desert. If it doesn't spoil, no matter what it is, it isn't a live, whole food. Goji berries should be a whole and vital food and will spoil if not consumed quickly or frozen. Goji juice may be a viable choice but it is expensive and many sources are MLM which drives the price up even more. All juices that are sold in supermarkets have to be cooked or pasteurized. That may or may not be the case with Goji berry juice, but would suspect it is. Cooking kills the enzymes and can change an alkaline food to acidic. Orange juice is an example.
I find a better choice to be a complete, well rounded, whole foods diet . Goji berries are a healthful treat and supplement, but don't stand alone as a fix-all for poor lifestyle, diet and exercise choices. No one thing does.
Ref: Personal experience as a professional athlete, from health seminars, teaching health a wellness, writing about health and fitness for twenty-five years and input from students and readers.
Feb
7
Lose Weight Realistically
February 7, 2010 | | Leave a Comment
When drug companies who produced diet pills realized that ephedra was going to be removed from the market, those companies realized that they must find another natural supplement that could be used for weight loss. One of the ideas these companies came up with was to promote weight loss by reducing cortisol levels and balancing blood sugar.
Cortisol is one of the hormones that is released by the adrenal glands in excess when you’re chronically stressed, which many of us are these days. Like other hormones, cortisol is essential to good health but damaging when it’s too high or too low. Chronically high cortisol increases appetite, especially for sugar and carbohydrates; creates weight gain around the middle; contributes to short term memory loss; depletes bone and suppresses the immune system. Extended periods of high cortisol also increase your risk for breast cancer. If your cortisol is elevated for years on end, eventually you’ll end up with tired adrenals, never-ending fatigue and unstable blood sugar that may lead to diabetes.
Ideally you would revive your adrenals and reduce your cortisol levels by reducing and managing stress, eating well, exercising moderately and getting plenty of sleep in a dark room.
If you need a little extra help, the new generation of supplements such as Relacore and Cortislim are designed to reduce cortisol levels by helping you relax and stabilizing your blood sugar. The primary ingredient is an extract of magnolia bark (Magnolia Officinalis Cortex), which has a long history of use in Chinese medicine for “wind-stroke, cold damage, headache, cold and heat, fright qi, blood impediment and dead muscle (from Subhuti Dharmananda of the Institute for Traditional Medicine). The term “fright qi” probably comes closest to describing the condition of chronic stress, which Dharmananda says is associated with “emotional distress …digestive disturbances associated with fear and anxiety, and shortness of breath due to emotional turmoil.”
Along with the magnolia, both Cortislim and Relacore contain some vitamin C and calcium. Cortislim also contains chromium, which is a trace mineral that helps stabilize blood sugar; L-theanine, an amino acid found in green tea that promotes relaxation, and a handful of other ingredients that promote balanced blood sugar.
Relacore contains a bit of B vitamins, magnesium, and a bit of herbs that promote relaxation and stable blood sugar.
Source Naturals has a product called Relora that contains magnolia and Phellodendron amurense. There’s not a lot of research available on Phellodendron, but in Chinese medicine it’s used as an anti-inflammatory and to help balance blood sugar.
Chinese medicine texts warn against the use of both magnolia and phellodendron if you have digestion problems.
Feb
7
Stem Cells Move Toward Stroke Damage
February 7, 2010 | | Leave a Comment
Recently surveys on public attitudes toward space exploration taken by the Dittmar Associates firm had some disquieting news for NASA. It seems that there is a high level of apathy toward NASA programs on the part of 18 to 25 year olds. There seems to be a number of reasons for this phenomenon.
This demographic is not really accustomed to thinking very far ahead. People who are 18 to 25 years old have grown up with NASA programs consisting of space shuttle flights going in circles in low Earth orbit and an International Space Station that seems to be endlessly under construction for purposes that remain unclear to many people.
NASA Administrator Michael Griffin believes that planned expeditions to the Moon and Mars hold much promise as more engaging endeavors. Unfortunately these voyages of discovery are years or even decades in the future. The typical college student is more interested in getting an education, finding a first job, and hooking up with the opposite sex than with undertakings that are scheduled to take place when they will be in their thirties or older. Also, issues like terrorism and the environment seem more relevant than space adventures that are far in the future.
NASA Public Affairs are pondering ideas for engaging young people more in what the space agency does. These ideas include more use of the internet to convey messages and images; the recent partnership between NASA with Google would seem to be a good step in that direction. Other ideas include celebrity endorsements, partnerships with youth-oriented media (i.e. MTV), and events like the Olympics and NASCAR.
Space analyst Jeff Foust, however, suggested in a recent Space Review article that the problem may not be so much the medium as the message. The same Dittmar survey that suggested youth disinterest in NASA also showed a much stronger interest in space tourism and other commercial space activities. Foust suggests that the reason is that space tourism ventures hold out the promise of people to be participants rather than spectators in space travel.
The most exciting space events of recent years have not been space shuttle missions, but private ventures like the winning of the X Prize by SpaceShipOne. Space tourism and other commercial ventures hold a more immediate promise for excitement than a mission to the Moon not scheduled to take place for ten to twelve years in the future. Sub orbital barnstorming may take place before this decade is out. Two companies, SpaceX and Rocket Plane/Kistler are working on space craft capable of taking people to low Earth orbit under the Commercial Orbital Transportation Systems (COTS) program, partly financed by NASA. Therein lays part of a solution to NASA's problem.
Very wisely, NASA has embraced the commercial space sector which it has hitherto ignored or even, in some cases, hindered. Besides the COTS program, NASA has cosponsored a competition known as the Centennial Challenges, designed to foster the development of technologies that might prove useful for space ventures such as tethers and space elevators. A recent Centennial Challenge competition, designed to simulate a lunar landing, was participated in by a team from a company called Armadillo Aerospace, founded by computer game magnate John Carmack.
NASA could do far worse than publicizing COTS and the Centennial Challenges as well as future missions to the Moon and Mars. Fostering public participation in NASA missions, using the internet, would be another good idea.
In the meantime, as young people grow older and the first human expeditions beyond low Earth orbit grow nearer, will support for such programs increase? Perhaps. But the Dittmar Survey suggests that some work needs to be done in explaining the relevance of such undertakings. With so many problems like terrorism and environmental threats, why do space exploration at all. There are many good reasons, ranging from gaining scientific knowledge to fostering commercial development, which need to be talked about more.
Also some education of another kind is in order. The Dittmar Survey suggested that roughly a quarter of the 18 to 25 year old demographic doubts that the Apollo Moon landings ever happened at all. Disquieting news indeed.
Feb
2
Antique French Country Medicine Cabinet
February 2, 2010 | | Leave a Comment
Like most young adults that grew up in a small town, I could not wait to move to the big city. The thrill of the nightlife, meeting new people, and fast-paced lifestyle appeals to most teenagers and young adults. But when you get married and have a few kids, you once again long for a sleepy little town. You want to see your children enjoy nature, and enjoy the things you did as a child that are not available in a large city. The search for a country property is a roller-coaster ride. It seems there are fewer and fewer acreages available these days. And the ones that are available are out of most famlies' budgets. Not to worry though, there are some great tips available to make your country acreage search go more smoothly.
The first thing a family should do is find out what amount their budget can handle for housing and land. You need to not only have the cost of the property in mind, but also remember there are other costs involved including realtor fees, closing costs, and down payments. Put pen to paper or grab your handy calculator and try to find out your absolute maximum amount, and stick to it! After you have your figures in mind, and then begin checking your credit scores. There are three major credit agencies that report to banks, and other lending institutions. Although they attempt to keep your information current, there are often many mistakes found. It is wise to contact these three credit agencies by mail or online. Once you have purchased and reviewed your reports from Experian, Transouth, and Equifax; you will need to correct any errors. It is a good idea to begin this process several months before you intend to purchase so you will have plenty of time. Once your credit information appears correct, it is time for the daunting task of locating a mortgage lender. This part of the process seems to be very intimidating to most people. But you need to stand your ground and shop the best deal. Do not be tempted to go with a lender because the loan officer was “nice”. Just like any other salesman, these loan officers want your money. Be smart and find the type of loan terms that suit your family's budget.
After you receive a pre-approval from a lender, the fun part begins! Finding your new property in the country is so very exciting, but it a huge job. Locate a realtor that specializes in country acreages in the area you wish to move. If this agent does not have a property listed you like, they are at least normally knowledgeable about what is available with our agents in their area. Hopefully your agent will make the land search a serious search, but unfortunately many agents will push for their larger commission sales instead. If you find you would do better on your own, there are many resources to locate acreage property. Browse the local newspapers for real estate and “For Sale by Owner” properties.
Feb
1
Mona Lisa Et La Culture De Masse: Hommage Ou Désacralisation?
February 1, 2010 | | Leave a Comment
Les disques durs et les autres peripheriques de stockage procurent la technologie de base regissant l'enregistrement de donnees.
C'est cependant Ie systeme de fichiers qui offre la structure hierarchique des volumes. et repertoires dans lesquels sont enregistres les fichiers individuels, et Ie modele organisationnel qui permet ensuite au systeme de localiser les donnees, quel que soit leur emplacement sur Ie disque.
Le systeme de fichiers est generalement integre au systeme d'exploitation, bien que certains de ces systemes d'exploitation prennent en charge plusieurs systemes de fichiers et permettent de selectionner celuiqui doit etre utilise.
De nos jours, Ie systeme de fichiers Ie plus couramment utilise est base sur une table d'allocation de fichiers, ou FAT, qui garde une trace des donnees sauvegardees dans chaque cluster d'un disque. n s'agit du systeme de fichiers employe a l'origine par DOS, et qui continue d'etre pris en charge par la quasi-totalite des systemes d'exploitation des PC actuels.
Ce chapitre examine les structures de disque sur lesquelles s'appuie DOS pour implementer Ie systeme de fichiers FAT.
Il traite ensuite des fonctionnalites additionnelles proposees par les nouveaux systemes de fichiers tels que la FAT32 ou Ie NTFS de Windows NT.
Structures de disque FAT
Pour gerer les fichiers d'un disque et permettre Ii l'ensemble des applications de beneficier systematiquement de la meme interface pour acceder au systeme de fichiers quel que soit Ie materiel de stockage utilise, DOS cree plusieurs structures sur Ie disque.
Ces structures sont les memes pour tous les systemes d'exploitation qui utilisent Ie systeme F AT, y compris Windows 9x et Windows NT.
La liste suivante presente l'ensemble des structures et zones definies par DOS et utilisees pour gerer un disque. Nous avons pour cela respecte au mieux leur ordre d'apparition secteurs de demarrage des partitions maitre et etendue secteur d'amorcage du volume, repertoire racine , tables d'allocation de fichiers (FAT) .
Chaque zone d'un disque a sa propre fonction et vise un objectif precis. Si rune de ces zones est endommagee, Ies consequences sont souvent flicheuses.
Les dommages causes de ces structures sensibles entrainent generalement des efIets en cascade, limitant racces Ii d'autres zones du disque, ou engendrent d'autres problemes d'utilisation du disque.
A titre d'exemple, DOS n'est pas en mesure de lire et d'ecrire des fichiers si la FAT est endommagee ou corrornpue.
C'est pourquoi it est indispensable de bien connaitre ces structures de donnees, de maniere pouvoir les reparer en cas de besoin.
La reconstruction des tables et zones speciales du disque est essentielle pour recuperer les donnees.