teachingemails

Value of time

2007-03-13T21:13:00.000-07:00

Value of time

In transport economics, the value of time is the opportunity cost of the time that a traveller spends on their journey. In essence, this makes it the amount that a traveller would be willing to pay in order to save time, or the amount they would accept as compensation for lost time.
One of the main justifications for transport improvements is the amount of time that travellers will save. Using a set of values of time, the economic benefits of a transport project can be quantified in order to compare them to the costs (thus forming the basis of cost-benefit analysis). In particular, savings (or, for that matter, increases) in travel time form part of the change in consumer surplus for a transport project.
Values of time are used to calculate the non-monetary costs incurred as part of a journey, so that the generalised cost of the journey (a combination of both monetary and non-monetary costs) can be calculated.
The value of time varies considerably from person to person and depends upon the purpose of the journey, but can generally be divided into two sets of valuations: working time and non-working time. This division is appropriate because the value of working time (i.e. time spent travelling in the course of work) is calculated differently from the value of non-working time (i.e. time spent travelling outside work).

Working time

Working time is subject to the forces of the labour market, and can thus be valued in a relatively straightforward manner. The value of working time is the opportunity cost of that time to the employer, which is generally equivalent to the wages of the worker.
For example, if a worker on a salary of £20 per hour travels to a meeting, the value of time in that case is £20 per hour, because that is the amount the employer would be willing to pay to reduce travel time (as travel time can be considered to be "wasted", i.e. not spent working).
In practice, time spent travelling on certain modes (e.g. train) can sometimes be used to carry out some work, whereas time spent using other modes (e.g. car) may not be available at all, so the value of time may not exactly match up with the salary of the traveller - for example, if the £15/hour employee could carry on doing some work on a train journey to the meeting, but couldn't do so if they drove there, then the value of time on the train journey might be lower, as the employer is less willing to pay to save time on that mode.
The UK Department for Transport calculates average values of time for travel on various modes of transport so that these values can be used to appraise transport projects as part of its New Approach to Appraisal [1]. Some examples are given below in 2002 prices:
Car drivers: £26.43 per hour
Car passengers: £18.94 per hour
Bus passengers: £20.22 per hour
Rail passengers: £36.96 per hour*
Underground passengers: £35.95 per hour*
Walkers: £29.64 per hour
Cyclists: £17.00 per hour
/* Skewed by London wages

Non working time

This is time spent outside work, which might include journeys to and from work and leisure journeys. Since this time is not valued in a market, it can only be estimated from revealed preference or stated preference analysis techniques, where the real or hypothetical choices of travellers between faster, more expensive modes and slower, cheaper modes can be examined.
For example, if a traveller has a choice between a coach which takes six hours and costs £10, or a train which takes four hours and costs £30, we can deduce that if the traveller chooses the train, their value of time is £10 per hour or more (because they are willing to spend at least £20 to save two hours' travel time).
The difficulty in narrowing down the actual value of time from a pair of choices means that hypothetical situations are generally used (the stated preference technique) to deduce values of time.
The value of non-working time is linked strongly to utility theory.

Specially for you

2007-03-13T01:08:00.000-07:00

Specially for you

Sometimes in life, you find a special friend;

Someone who changes your life

just by being part of it.

Someone who makes you laugh

until you can't stop;

Someone who makes you believe

that there really is good in the world.

Someone who convinces you

that there really is an unlocked door

just waiting for you to open it.

Blue Planet

2007-03-12T03:38:00.000-07:00

MOTIVATING STUDENTS

2007-03-10T06:59:00.000-08:00

MOTIVATING STUDENTS

Some students seem naturally enthusiastic about learning, but many need-or expect-their instructors to inspire, challenge, and stimulate them: "Effective learning in the classroom depends on the teacher's ability ... to maintain the interest that brought students to the course in the first place" (Ericksen, 1978, p. 3). Whatever level of motivation your students bring to the classroom will be transformed, for better or worse, by what happens in that classroom.

Unfortunately, there is no single magical formula for motivating students. Many factors affect a given student's motivation to work and to learn (Bligh, 1971; Sass, 1989): interest in the subject matter, perception of its usefulness, general desire to achieve, self-confidence and self-esteem, as well as patience and persistence. And, of course, not all students are motivated by the same values, needs, desires, or wants. Some of your students will be motivated by the approval of others, some by overcoming challenges.

Researchers have begun to identify those aspects of the teaching situation that enhance students' self-motivation (Lowman, 1984; Lucas, 1990; Weinert and Kluwe, 1987; Bligh, 1971). To encourage students to become self-motivated independent learners, instructors can do the following:

Give frequent, early, positive feedback that supports students' beliefs that they can do well.

Ensure opportunities for students' success by assigning tasks that are neither too easy nor too difficult.

Help students find personal meaning and value in the material.

Create an atmosphere that is open and positive.

Help students feel that they are valued members of a learning community.

Research has also shown that good everyday teaching practices can do more to counter student apathy than special efforts to attack motivation directly (Ericksen, 1978). Most students respond positively to a well-organized course taught by an enthusiastic instructor who has a genuine interest in students and what they learn. Thus activities you undertake to promote learning will also enhance students' motivation.

General Strategies

Capitalize on students' existing needs. Students learn best when incentives for learning in a classroom satisfy their own motives for enrolling in the course. Some of the needs your students may bring to the classroom are the need to learn something in order to complete a particular task or activity, the need to seek new experiences, the need to perfect skills, the need to overcome challenges, the need to become competent, the need to succeed and do well, the need to feel involved and to interact with other people. Satisfying such needs is rewarding in itself, and such rewards sustain learning more effectively than do grades. Design assignments, in-class activities, and discussion questions to address these kinds of needs. (Source: McMillan and Forsyth, 1991)

Make students active participants in learning. Students learn by doing, making, writing, designing, creating, solving. Passivity dampens students' motivation and curiosity. Pose questions. Don't tell students something when you can ask them. Encourage students to suggest approaches to a problem or to guess the results of an experiment. Use small group work. See "Leading a Discussion," "Supplements and Alternatives to Lecturing," and "Collaborative Learning" for methods that stress active participation. (Source: Lucas, 1990)

Ask students to analyze what makes their classes more or less "motivating." Sass (1989) asks his classes to recall two recent class periods, one in which they were highly motivated and one in which their motivation was low. Each student makes a list of specific aspects of the two classes that influenced his or her level of motivation, and students then meet in small groups to reach consensus on characteristics that contribute to high and low motivation. In over twenty courses, Sass reports, the same eight characteristics emerge as major contributors to student motivation:

Instructor's enthusiasm

Relevance of the material

Organization of the course

Appropriate difficulty level of the material

Active involvement of students

Variety

Rapport between teacher and students

Use of appropriate, concrete, and understandable examples

Incorporating Instructional Behaviors That Motivate Students

Hold high but realistic expectations for your students. Research has shown that a teacher's expectations have a powerful effect on a student's performance. If you act as though you expect your students to be motivated, hardworking, and interested in the course, they are more likely to be so. Set realistic expectations for students when you make assignments, give presentations, conduct discussions, and grade examinations. "Realistic" in this context means that your standards are high enough to motivate students to do their best work but not so high that students will inevitably be frustrated in trying to meet those expectations. To develop the drive to achieve, students need to believe that achievement is possible -which means that you need to provide early opportunities for success. (Sources: American Psychological Association, 1992; Bligh, 1971; Forsyth and McMillan, 1991 -1 Lowman, 1984)

Help students set achievable goals for themselves. Failure to attain unrealistic goals can disappoint and frustrate students. Encourage students to focus on their continued improvement, not just on their grade on any one test or assignment. Help students evaluate their progress by encouraging them to critique their own work, analyze their strengths, and work on their weaknesses. For example, consider asking students to submit self-evaluation forms with one or two assignments. (Sources: Cashin, 1979; Forsyth and McMillan, 1991)

Tell students what they need to do to succeed in your course. Don't let your students struggle to figure out what is expected of them. Reassure students that they can do well in your course, and tell them exactly what they must do to succeed. Say something to the effect that "If you can handle the examples on these problem sheets, you can pass the exam. People who have trouble with these examples can ask me for extra help." Or instead of saying, "You're way behind," tell the student, "Here is one way you could go about learning the material. How can I help you?" (Sources: Cashin, 1979; Tiberius, 1990)

Strengthen students' self-motivation. Avoid messages that reinforce your power as an instructor or that emphasize extrinsic rewards. Instead of saying, "I require," "you must," or "you should," stress "I think you will find. . . " or "I will be interested in your reaction." (Source: Lowman, 1990)

Avoid creating intense competition among students. Competition produces anxiety, which can interfere with learning. Reduce students' tendencies to compare themselves to one another. Bligh (1971) reports that students are more attentive, display better comprehension, produce more work, and are more favorable to the teaching method when they work cooperatively in groups rather than compete as individuals. Refrain from public criticisms of students' performance and from comments or activities that pit students against each other. (Sources: Eble, 1988; Forsyth and McMillan, 1991)

Be enthusiastic about your subject. An instructor's enthusiasm is a crucial factor in student motivation. If you become bored or apathetic, students will too. Typically, an instructor's enthusiasm comes from confidence, excitement about the content, and genuine pleasure in teaching. If you find yourself uninterested in the material, think back to what attracted you to the field and bring those aspects of the subject matter to life for your students. Or challenge yourself to devise the most exciting way topresent the material, however dull the material itself may seem to you.

Structuring the Course to Motivate Students

Work from students' strengths and interests. Find out why students are enrolled in your course, how they feel about the subject matter, and what their expectations are. Then try to devise examples, case studies, or assignments that relate the course content to students' interests and experiences. For instance, a chemistry professor might devote some lecture time to examining the contributions of chemistry to resolving environmental problems. Explain how the content and objectives of your course will help students achieve their educational, professional, or personal goals. (Sources: Brock, 1976; Cashin, 1979; Lucas, 1990)

When possible, let students have some say in choosing what will be studied. Give students options on term papers or other assignments (but not on tests). Let students decide between two locations for the field trip, or have them select which topics to explore in greater depth. If possible, include optional or alternative units in the course. (Sources: Ames and Ames, 1990; Cashin, 1979; Forsyth and McMillan, 1991; Lowman, 1984)

Increase the difficulty of the material as the semester progresses. Give students opportunities to succeed at the beginning of the semester. Once students feel they can succeed, you can gradually increase the difficulty level. If assignments and exams include easier and harder questions, every student will have a chance to experience success as well as challenge. (Source: Cashin, 1979)

Vary your teaching methods. Variety reawakens students' involvement in the course and their motivation. Break the routine by incorporating a variety of teaching activities and methods in your course: role playing, debates, brainstorming, discussion, demonstrations, case studies, audiovisual presentations, guest speakers, or small group work. (Source: Forsyth and McMillan, 1991)

De-emphasizing Grades

Emphasize mastery and learning rather than grades. Ames and Ames (1990) report on two secondary school math teachers. One teacher graded every homework assignment and counted homework as 30 percent of a student's final grade. The second teacher told students to spend a fixed amount of time on their homework (thirty minutes a night) and to bring questions to class about problems they could not complete. This teacher graded homework as satisfactory or unsatisfactory, gave students the opportunity to redo their assignments, and counted homework as 10 percent of the final grade. Although homework was a smaller part of the course grade, this second teacher was more successful in motivating students to turn in their homework. In the first class, some students gave up rather than risk low evaluations of their abilities. In the second class, students were not risking their self-worth each time they did their homework but rather were attempting to learn. Mistakes were viewed as acceptable and something to learn from.

Researchers recommend de-emphasizing grading by eliminating complex systems of credit points; they also advise against trying to use grades to control nonacademic behavior (for example, lowering grades for missed classes) (Forsyth and McMillan, 1991; Lowman 1990). Instead, assign ungraded written work, stress the personal satisfaction of doing assignments, and help students measure their progress.

Design tests that encourage the kind of learning you want students to achieve. Many students will learn whatever is necessary to get the grades they desire. If you base your tests on memorizing details, students will focus on memorizing facts. If your tests stress the synthesis and evaluation of information, students will be motivated to practice those skills when they study. (Source: McKeachie, 1986)

Avoid using grades as threats. As McKeachie (1986) points out, the threat of low grades may prompt some students to work hard, but other students may resort to academic dishonesty, excuses for late work, and other counterproductive behavior.

Motivating Students by Responding to Their Work

Give students feedback as quickly as possible. Return tests and papers promptly, and reward success publicly and immediately. Give students some indication of how well they have done and how to improve. Rewards can be as simple as saying a student's response was good, with an indication of why it was good, or mentioning the names of contributors: "Cherry's point about pollution really synthesized the ideas we had been discussing." (Source: Cashin, 1979)

Reward success. Both positive and negative comments influence motivation, but research consistently indicates that students are more affected by positive feedback and success. Praise builds students' self-confidence, competence, and self-esteem. Recognize sincere efforts even if the product is less than stellar. If a student's performance is weak, let the student know that you believe he or she can improve and succeed over time. (Sources: Cashin, 1979; Lucas, 1990)

Introduce students to the good work done by their peers. Share the ideas, knowledge, and accomplishments of individual students with the class as a whole:

Pass out a list of research topics chosen by students so they will know whether others are writing papers of interest to them.

Make available copies of the best papers and essay exams.

Provide class time for students to read papers or assignments submitted by classmates.

Have students write a brief critique of a classmate's paper.

Schedule a brief talk by a student who has experience or who is doing a research paper on a topic relevant to your lecture.

Be specific when giving negative feedback. Negative feedback is very powerful and can lead to a negative class atmosphere. Whenever you identify a student's weakness, make it clear that your comments relate to a particular task or performance, not to the student as a person. Try to cushion negative comments with a compliment about aspects of the task in which the student succeeded. (Source: Cashin, 1979)

Avoid demeaning comments. Many students in your class may be anxious about their performance and abilities. Be sensitive to how you phrase your comments and avoid offhand remarks that might prick their feelings of inadequacy.

Avoid giving in to students' pleas for "the answer" to homework problems. When you simply give struggling students the solution, you rob them of the chance to think for themselves. Use a more productive approach (adapted from Fiore, 1985):

Ask the students for one possible approach to the problem.

Gently brush aside students’ anxiety about not getting the answer by refocusing their attention on the problem at hand.

Ask the students to build on what they do know about the problem.

Resist answering the question "is this right?" Suggest to the students a way to check the answer for themselves.

Praise the students for small, independent steps.

If you follow these steps, your students will learn that it is all right not to have an instant answer. They will also learn to develop greater patience and to work at their own pace. And by working through the problem, students will experience a sense of achievement and confidence that will increase their motivation to learn.

Motivating Students to Do the Reading

Assign the reading at least two sessions before it will be discussed. Give students ample time to prepare and try to pique their curiosity about the reading: "This article is one of my favorites, and I'll be interested to see what you think about it." (Sources: Lowman, 1984; "When They Don't Do the Reading," 1989)

Assign study questions. Hand out study questions that alert students to the key points of the reading assignment. To provide extra incentive for students, tell them you will base exam questions on the study questions. (Source: "When They Don't Do the Reading," 1989)

If your class is small, have students turn in brief notes on the day's reading that they can use during exams. At the start of each class, a professor in the physical sciences asks students to submit a 3" x 5" card with an outline, definitions, key ideas, or other material from the day's assigned reading. After class, he checks the cards and stamps them with his name. He returns the cards to students at a class session prior to the midterm. Students can then add any material they would like to the cards but cannot submit additional cards. The cards are again returned to the faculty member who distributes them to students during the test. This faculty member reports that the number of students completing the reading jumped from 10 percent to 90 percent and that students especially valued these "survival cards." Source: Daniel, 1988)

Ask students to write a one-word journal or one-word sentence. Angelo (1991) describes the one-word journal as follows: students are asked to choose a single word that best summarizes the reading and then write a page or less explaining or justifying their word choice. This assignment can then be used as a basis for class discussion. A variation reported by Erickson and Strommer (199 1) is to ask students to write one complex sentence in answer to a question you pose about the readings and provide three sources of supporting evidence: "In one sentence, identify the type of ethical reasoning Singer uses in his article 'Famine, Affluence, and Morality.' Quote three passages that reveal this type of ethical reasoning" (p. 125).

Ask nonthreatening questions about the reading. Initially pose general questions that do not create tension or feelings of resistance: "Can you give me one or two items from the chapter that seem important?" "What section of the reading do you think we should review?" "What item in the reading surprised you?" "What topics in the chapter can you apply to your own experience?" (Source: "When They Don't Do the Reading," 1989)

Use class time as a reading period. If you are trying to lead a discussion and find that few students have completed the reading assignment, consider asking students to read the material for the remainder of class time. Have them read silently or call on students to read aloud and discuss the key points. Make it clear to students that you are reluctantly taking this unusual step because they have not completed the assignment.

Prepare an exam question on undiscussed readings. One faculty member asks her class whether they have done the reading. If the answer is no, she says, "You'll have to read the material on your own. Expect a question on the next exam covering the reading." The next time she assigns reading, she reminds the class of what happened the last time, and the students come to class prepared. (Source: "When They Don't Do the Reading," 1989)

Give a written assignment to those students who have not done the reading. Some faculty ask at the beginning of the class who has completed the reading. Students who have not read the material are given a written assignment and dismissed. Those who have read the material stay and participate in class discussion. The written assignment is not graded but merely acknowledged. This technique should not be used more than once a term. (Source: "When They Don't Do the Reading," 1989)

Holly Wood Actress Naomi Ellen

2007-03-09T11:58:00.000-08:00

Holly Wood Actress Naomi Ellen

Naomi Ellen Watts (born September 28, 1968) is a British-Australian actress most famous for her roles in the film remakes of The Ring and King Kong, as well as her Academy Award-nominated role in the film 21 Grams.

Biography

Early life
Watts was born in Shoreham, Kent, England, where she lived until the age of eight. Her parents, Peter and Myfanwy Watts, separated when she was four years old, and when she was seven, her father died. Following her father's death, her mother relocated the family to the town of Llangefni (more specifically Llanfawr Farm), on the Isle of Anglesey in North Wales, where they lived with Naomi's grandparents, Hugh and Nikki Roberts. Although her mother occasionally moved the family around Wales and England, usually to follow boyfriends, she always ended up returning to Llangefni. Watts lived there until she was 14. Then, during a trip to Australia, her mother became convinced it was "the land of opportunities" and moved the family to Sydney in 1982. Her grandmother Nikki was Australian, which made it easier to obtain the documentation necessary, since Naomi and her family were entitled to Australian citizenship.
Her father was a sound engineer with Pink Floyd (his manic laugh is featured in The Dark Side of the Moon) and her mother (who also contributed a line to Dark Side of the Moon's "The Great Gig in the Sky") is described by Watts as a hippie "with passive-aggressive tendencies" who used to threaten to send her and her brother to foster care to convince her grandparents to take care of the family, since her mother had virtually no money after her father's death

In Sydney, she attended several acting schools (and in the very first lesson in the first school, she met Nicole Kidman, with whom she shared a taxi home from class and is still good friends). In 1986 she took a break from acting and went to Japan to work as a model, but the experience, which lasted for about four months, was fruitless. Watts describes it as one of the worst periods of her life. Upon returning to Australia, Watts went to work for a local department store and from there she went to work as assistant fashion editor with an Australian fashion magazine. She only returned to acting when a casual invitation from a colleague to participate in a small play rekindled her passion for the scenic arts and prompted her to quit her job and dedicate herself completely to making it as an actress.

Career
Watts' career began in Australian television, where she appeared in commercials and television melodramas such as Home and Away and Brides of Christ. She was featured in a supporting role in the acclaimed 1991 Australian indie film Flirting, which starred future Hollywood up-and-comers Nicole Kidman and Thandie Newton. As Watts made the transition from Australia to the United States, she landed a supporting role in the little-seen 1995 film Tank Girl, playing the part of "Jet Girl."

Finding quality roles at first proved difficult for Watts in the Hollywood system, as she appeared in the short-lived series Sleepwalkers and numerous B-list productions such as films like Children of the Corn. Gradually, Watts garnered supporting roles as in Dangerous Beauty.

However it wasn't until 2001, when Watts caught the attention of critics and audiences as she appeared in David Lynch's highly acclaimed Mulholland Drive. The film, which premiered at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival, won Watts high praise. She won the National Society of Film Critics Award as Best Actress and the National Board of Review award as Breakthrough Performance of the year. Watts worked with director/screenwriter Scott Coffey on Lynch's Mulholland Dr., where Watts had her breakout performance, her next film the semi-autobiographical Ellie Parker grew out of the friendship forged between Watts and Coffey. Soon after the quality and importance of Watts' roles improved and quickly shot the actress to the top of the Hollywood A-list. In 2002, she starred in one of the biggest box office hits of that year, the English language remake of the Japanese horror film, The Ring. The following year, she starred in the film Ned Kelly opposite Heath Ledger, Orlando Bloom, and Geoffrey Rush; as well as the Merchant-Ivory film Le Divorce with Kate Hudson. It was her performance opposite Sean Penn and Benicio Del Toro in director Alejandro González Iñárritu's 21 Grams that earned Watts her first Academy Award nomination as Best Actress.Since then Watts has been one of the most in-demand actresses. She produced and starred in the well-received independent picture We Don't Live Here Anymore. She reunited with Sean Penn and Don Cheadle in The Assassination of Richard Nixon, teamed up with Jude Law and Dustin Hoffman in David O. Russell's ensemble I ♥ Huckabees, and starred in the sequel to the Ring, The Ring Two. Aside from balancing both independent projects as Ellie Parker, she managed to star in the biggest remake of them all, 2005's King Kong. The role, which was immortalized by Fay Wray in the original, proved to be Watts' most commercial film yet. Directed by The Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson, the film won high praise and has since grossed more than $400 million worldwide.
Watts starred in The Painted Veil with Edward Norton and Liev Schreiber, released in December 2006.
In May 2006, Watts was named a special representative to the U.N. program for HIV/AIDS.

Personal life
Watts previously dated director Daniel Kirby and most famously actor Heath Ledger for several years. Since 2005, Watts has dated actor Liev Schreiber. They are currently expecting their first child.
Watts is a close friend of Benicio Del Toro, with whom she co-starred in 21 Grams. After filming her most recent movie, The Painted Veil, she converted to Buddhism, claiming, "I have some belief but I am not a strict Buddhist or anything yet. There was a lot of excitement and energy there."
Watts divides her time between homes in Sydney, Los Angeles, and London.

YOGA VS WHISKY

2007-03-08T21:20:00.000-08:00

YOGA VS WHISKY

Pic1: it takes years of practive to do this Asana

Pic2: it takes only 6Pegs of Whiskey to do the above Asana
So why practice. Just have Whiskey

Anna Nicole Smith

2007-03-08T09:46:00.000-08:00

Anna Nicole Smith

Vickie Lynn Marshall (November 28, 1967 – February 8, 2007), better known under the stage name of Anna Nicole Smith,[1] was an American model, actress and celebrity. Her highly publicized marriage to oil business executive and billionaire J. Howard Marshall, 63 years her senior, resulted in speculation that she married the octogenarian for his money, which she denied. Following his death, she began a lengthy legal battle over a share of his estate; her case, Marshall v. Marshall, reached the U.S. Supreme Court on a question of federal jurisdiction.
Born and raised in Texas, Smith dropped out of high school and first married at the age of 17. She first gained popularity in Playboy, becoming the 1992 Playmate of the Year. She modelled for clothing companies, including Guess jeans. She starred in her own reality TV show, The Anna Nicole Show. In the months before her death, she was the focus of renewed press coverage surrounding the death of her son, Daniel Smith.

Smith on the red carpet for the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards in Sydney. (Photo by Toby Foraggio)
Birth name
Vickie Lynn Hogan
Born
November 28, 1967 Houston, Texas, USA
Died
February 8, 2007, aged 39Seminole Hard Rock Hotel, Hollywood, Florida, USA
Official site
www.annanicole.com

Early life
She was born Vickie Lynn Hogan in Houston, Texas,[2] the only child of Donald Eugene Hogan (born July 12, 1947) and Virgie Mae Tabers (born July 12, 1951),[3] who married on February 22, 1967.[4] Her father then left the family; he and Virgie divorced on November 4, 1969. Virgie's oldest child, Vickie's half-brother, is David Luther Tacker, Jr. (born 1966).[5] Vickie Hogan was raised by her mother and aunt, Elaine (Todd) Tabers, wife of Virgie's brother, Melvin Tabers.
Virgie, who worked as a law enforcement officer in Houston for 28 years, subsequently married Donald R. Hart in 1971.[6] Their child was Donald Ray Hart, Jr. (born 1972).[7] After Virgie married Donald Hart, Vickie Hogan changed her name to Nikki Hart.[8] Virgie and Donald Hart divorced in 1983. Virgie then married Joe D. Thompson (1987, divorced 1991), James T. Sanders (1996, died 1996), and James H. Arthur (2000).
Vickie's father Donald married Wanda Faye Atkinson in 1970 and had the following children: Donna Hogan (born 1971), Donald Ray Hogan (born 1973), and Amy Hogan (born 1975).[9][10] Donald and Wanda were divorced in 1978.[11] Donald married Carolyn S. Vandver in 1996.
Vickie attended Durkee Elementary School and Aldine Intermediate School in Houston. When she was in the 9th grade, she was sent to live with her mother's younger sister, Kay Beall, in Mexia, Texas.[12] At Mexia High School, Vickie failed her freshman year; she quit school during her sophomore year.[13]
While working as a waitress at Jim's Krispy Fried Chicken in Mexia, she met Billy Wayne Smith, who was a cook at the restaurant. The couple married April 4, 1985;[14] she was 17 and he was 16. The next year, she gave birth to their son, Daniel Wayne Smith. She and Billy separated in 1987 and she moved to Houston with one-year-old Daniel. They were officially divorced February 3, 1993, in Houston.[15]
Initially, she found employment at Wal-Mart, then as a waitress at Red Lobster, but was unable to make a sufficient living for herself and Daniel.
She then became an exotic dancer, and in 1991, began taking modeling and voice lessons. In October of that year, she saw an ad in the newspaper to audition for Playboy magazine.

Playboy and modeling career

Anna Nicole Smith
Playboy centerfoldappearance
May 1992
Birthplace
Houston, Texas
Birthdate
November 28, 1967
Date of death
February 8, 2007
Measurements
38"DD - 26" - 38"
Height
5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)
Weight
140 lb (64 kg)
Preceded by
Cady Cantrell
Succeeded by
Angela Melini
Playmate of the Year(PMOY) for
1993
PMOY preceded by
Corinna Harney
PMOY succeeded by
Jenny McCarthy

Smith's career took off after she was chosen by Hugh Hefner to appear on the cover of the March 1992 issue of Playboy, where she is listed as Vickie Smith, wearing a low-cut evening gown.[16] Smith said she planned to be "the next Marilyn Monroe".[17] Becoming one of Playboy's most popular models, Smith began a trend for a more voluptuous look although her breasts were surgically enhanced.[citation needed] Smith was chosen to be the 1993 Playmate of the Year. By the time of her PMOY pictorial, she had settled on the name Anna Nicole Smith.

Smith secured a contract to replace supermodel Claudia Schiffer in the Guess jeans ad campaign in a series of sultry black and white photographs. Guess capitalized on Smith's strong resemblance to sex symbol Jayne Mansfield and put her in Jayne-inspired photo sessions.[citation needed] In 1993, before Christmas, she modelled for the Swedish clothing company Hennes & Mauritz H&M. She was dressed in underwear and arranged in seductive poses. She appeared on big posters in Sweden and Norway. The fact was widely discussed in media and more.
A photograph of Anna was used by New York magazine on the cover of its August 22, 1994 issue titled White Trash Nation. In the photo, she appears squatting in a short skirt and cowboy boots as she eats chips. In October 1994, Smith's lawyer initiated a $5,000,000 lawsuit against the magazine claiming unauthorized use of her photo and that the article had damaged her reputation. Her lawyer said that Smith was told she was being photographed to embody the "All-American-woman look" and that they wanted glamour shots. He further stated that the picture used was taken for fun during a break.[18]

Marriage to Marshall

While performing at Gigi's, a Houston strip club, in October 1991, Smith met elderly oil billionaire J. Howard Marshall and they began a relationship. During their two-year relationship, he reportedly lavished gifts on her and asked her to marry him several times.[19] She divorced her husband Billy on February 3, 1993, in Houston.[20] On June 27, 1994, Smith, 26, and Marshall, 89, married in Houston.[21] This resulted in a great deal of gossip about her marrying him for his money.[22] Though she reportedly never lived with him,[23] Smith maintained she loved her husband and that age did not matter to her.[citation needed] Thirteen months after his marriage to Smith, Marshall died on August 4, 1995, in Houston.

Inheritance court cases

The neutrality of this article is disputed.Please see the discussion on the talk page.

Within weeks of J. Howard Marshall's death, Smith and her husband's son, E. Pierce Marshall, battled over her claim for half of her late husband's US$1.6 billion estate. She temporarily joined forces with J. Howard's other son, James Howard Marshall III, whom the elder Howard had disowned. Howard III claimed J. Howard orally promised him a portion of his estate; like Smith, Howard III was also left out of J. Howard's will.[24] The case has gone on for more than a decade, producing a highly publicized court battle in Texas and several judicial decisions that have gone both for and against Smith in that time.[25]
In 1996, Smith filed for bankruptcy in California as a result of a $850,000 judgment against her for sexual harassment of an employee. As any money potentially due to her from the Marshall estate was part of her potential assets, the bankruptcy court involved itself in the matter.[26]
Smith claimed J. Howard orally promised her half of his estate if she married him. In September 2000, a Los Angeles bankruptcy judge awarded her $449,754,134. In July 2001, Houston judge Mike Wood affirmed the jury findings in the probate case by ruling that Smith was entitled to nothing and ordered Smith to pay over $1 million in fees and expenses to Pierce's legal team. The conflict between the Texas probate court and California bankruptcy court judgments forced the matter into federal court.[27]
In March 2002, a federal judge vacated the California bankruptcy court's ruling and issued a new ruling but reduced the award to $88 million. In December 2004, a three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the March 2002 decision, affirming the Texas Probate jury findings that no misconduct had occurred, Smith was not one of J. Howard Marshall's heirs and that the federal courts lacked jurisdiction to overrule the probate decisions of a Texas state court.[28]
The U.S. Supreme Court decided in September 2005 to hear the appeal of that decision. The Bush administration subsequently directed the Solicitor General to intercede on Smith's behalf out of an interest to expand federal court jurisdiction over state probate disputes.[29] After months of waiting, Smith and her stepson Pierce learned of the Supreme Court's decision on May 1, 2006. The justices unanimously decided in favor of Smith; Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote the majority opinion (see Marshall v. Marshall). The decision did not give Smith a portion of her husband's estate, but affirmed her right to pursue a share of it in federal court.[30] On June 20, 2006, E. Pierce Marshall died at age 67 from an "aggressive infection". His widow, Elaine T. Marshall, now represents his estate.[31] The case has been remanded to the 9th Circuit to adjudicate the remaining appellate issues not previously resolved.
After Anna’s death the New York Times reported that the case over the Marshall fortune “is likely to continue in the name of Ms. Smith’s infant daughter.”[32]

Film and television career

Although her film appearances in The Hudsucker Proxy and Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult were highly publicized in 1994, little was done to further Smith's acting career. Her first starring role was as Colette Dubois, a retired spy seeking revenge for the murder of her husband, in the action/thriller To the Limit (1995).
Smith next starred in the action/thriller Skyscraper (1997), which she also produced, as a helicopter pilot, Carrie Wisk,[33] who lands on a high rise building and, upon learning it has been taken over by terrorists, becomes engaged in a deadly fight to save hostages.
Both films, and Smith's performances in them, were usually critically panned. During the course of the litigation over her late husband's estate, her career stalled. Her legal battle, her increasing weight, and her reportedly bizarre behavior made her regular fodder for late night television comedians.

In 2002, she debuted in her own reality TV series on the E! cable network, The Anna Nicole Show.[34] The series focused on her personal and private life in the manner of other reality shows, such as the ratings hit The Osbournes. One of the recurring guests on the show was interior designer Bobby Trendy of West Hollywood, CA, who often feuded with lawyer Howard K. Stern.
The debut of the The Anna Nicole Show was the highest rated series on the network, but critics blasted it and ratings dropped with each successive week. However, it achieved a cult status among some, particularly college fraternities.[17] The show was cancelled in February 2004 due to "creative differences," but has retained some life in reruns and on DVD releases.
Smith's next appearance on the big screen was as herself in Wasabi Tuna (2003), about a group of friends who kidnap her dog, Sugar-Pie, on Halloween. She appeared as herself again in Be Cool (2005), a crime/comedy about the film and music industries that stars John Travolta, Uma Thurman and The Rock. In September 2005, she starred as Lucy in Illegal Aliens, which she also produced, a sci-fi/comedy about beautiful space aliens saving the earth from evil.[35] This is scheduled for release in May 2007.[36]

Smith as spokesperson

In an interview on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Smith was asked what her "Playmate diet" consisted of. She instantly replied, "fried chicken". In October 2003, she became a spokesperson for TrimSpa, which helped her lose a reported 69 lb (31 kg).[37]
In November 2004, she appeared at the American Music Awards to introduce a musical performance and attracted attention because of her slurred speech and behavior. During her live appearance, she threw her arms up and exclaimed, "Like my body?".[38] Smith murmured other comments and alluded to TrimSpa. The incident became comic material for presenters throughout the rest of the program.[39]
The following day, her appearance was featured in the news. Tabloids speculated that Smith was under the influence of pills or some other controlled substance. Her representatives explained that she was in pain due to a series of grueling workouts. They further asserted that she had difficulty reading the prompter because she was not wearing her contact lenses.[citation needed]
After reportedly losing some 80 lb (36 kg), Smith returned to her trim shape from the early 1990s.[citation needed]
In March 2005, at the first MTV Australia Video Music Awards in Sydney's Luna Park, she spoofed Janet Jackson's wardrobe malfunction by pulling down her dress to reveal both breasts, each covered with the MTV logo.[40]
Smith has also been featured in advertisements for the animal rights group PETA. Spoofing Marilyn Monroe's "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" segment in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, a 2004 ad states "Fur-free blondes are best." In another ad the following year, Smith posed with her dogs in a campaign against Iams dog food for their alleged cruelty to animals.[41]
In 2006, Smith gave up modeling, although she remained a spokesperson for TrimSpa.[citation needed]

Personal life

Birth of daughter
Smith announced on June 1, 2006, in a video clip posted on her official website that she was pregnant. "Let me stop all the rumors," she said, while floating on an inflatable raft in a swimming pool. "Yes, I am pregnant. I'm happy, I'm very, very happy about it. Everything's goin' really, really good and I'll be checking in and out periodically on the web, and I'll let you see me as I'm growing."[42]
Though her announcement did not provide any details, in an interview with Larry King on CNN's Larry King Live, Smith's longtime personal attorney Howard K. Stern said that he and Smith had been in a secret relationship for "a very long time" and then appeared to contradict that contention when he said they were confident he fathered the baby because of the timing of the pregnancy, which appeared to imply that there was at least one other possible father.[43] Her ex-boyfriend, entertainment photojournalist Larry Birkhead, steadfastly maintained his contention that he is the baby's father and filed a lawsuit to challenge paternity.[44]
Smith's daughter, Dannielynn Hope Marshall Stern, was born September 7, 2006, at Doctors Hospital in Nassau, Bahamas. The Bahamian birth certificate records the father as Howard K. Stern.[45]
A judge in the United States ordered that DNA tests be performed to determine who is the biological father of Dannielynn. Following Smith's death, Debra Opri, the lawyer of Larry Birkhead, asked for an emergency DNA sample to be taken from the corpse. Smith's lawyer, Ron Rale objected strongly to this request.[46] The request was denied by a judge, instead ordering Smith's body preserved until February 20.[47]
According to a story published in the New York Daily News, Donna Hogan, Smith's younger half-sister, has said that the model froze the sperm of her second husband, Marshall, prior to his death. The newspaper says Hogan wrote in her unpublished manuscript about her sister, entitled Train Wreck, that "To her family, she hinted that she had used the old man's frozen sperm, and would be giving birth to Howard Marshall's child".[48] However, the publisher of Hogan's book described the newspaper's claims as a hoax.[49] On February 9, 2007, Zsa Zsa Gabor's husband Frédéric Prinz von Anhalt said that he had a decade-long affair with Smith and could potentially be the father of her infant girl, Dannielynn.[50] Alexander Denk, a former bodyguard for Anna Nicole Smith, has reportedly told the tabloid television program "Extra" that he had an affair with his former employer, and that it's possible he could be Dannielynn's father.[51] Mark Hatten aka Mark "Hollywood" Hatten recently has come forward to claim that he is the father of Anna Nicole Smith's little girl, Dannielynn. He is currently in prison. Hatten lived with Anna Nicole for 2 years.
On February 14, 2007, TMZ.com wrote that Smith had been given a prescription for methadone under a false name while she was in her eighth month of pregnancy.[52] The Medical Board of California launched a review into the matter; the prescribing doctor, Sandeep Kapoor, said his treatment was "sound and appropriate."[53]

Death of son
Main article: Daniel Wayne Smith
Smith's 20-year-old son, Daniel Smith, died on September 10, 2006 in his mother's hospital room while visiting her and his newborn sister.[54] After the coroner labeled the death "reserved," Smith hired forensic pathologist Cyril Wecht to perform a second autopsy.[55]
His death certificate was issued on September 21, 2006, so that he could be buried.[56] While Smith remained in the Bahamas with Dannielynn and Stern, Daniel's family in the United States, including his father, Billy Smith, gathered with friends on October 7, 2006, in Mexia, Texas, for a memorial service. Daniel was buried at Lake View Cemetery on New Providence, Bahamas, on October 19, 2006, almost six weeks after his death.[57]
Dr. Wecht announced on Larry King Live that the procedure he performed on September 17, 2006, showed that Daniel died from a lethal combination of Zoloft, Lexapro and methadone. Although he explained that methadone is used in the treatment of heroin and morphine addiction, Wecht said he had no information to make any conclusion why Daniel was using the drug. On February 8, 2007, Wecht said on Fox News that he still had no information about how Daniel obtained methadone.

Commitment ceremony with Stern
On September 28, 2006, Smith and Howard K. Stern exchanged vows and rings in an informal commitment ceremony aboard the 41-foot catamaran Margaritaville off the coast of the Bahamas. She wore a white dress and carried a bouquet of red roses, while he wore a black dress suit with white shirt. Although they pledged their love and made a commitment to be there for one another before a Baptist minister, no marriage certificate was issued and the ceremony is not legally binding.[58]
After the ceremony, they landed on the island of Sandy Kay where they had a party and celebrated with champagne and apple cider that had been brought over for the occasion by sailboat.[23]
Regarding the questionable timing of the ceremony, Smith's attorney in Nassau, stated, "They needed a little adrenaline boost because things have been so hectic and devastating in their life recently,"[59] The photos of their ceremony were sold through Getty Images to People Magazine for around $1,000,000.[60]

Residency in the Bahamas
Anna Nicole Smith and Howard K. Stern were reportedly staying in the Bahamas to avoid paternity testing of her daughter in the United States.[61] In late 2006, Smith was granted permanent resident status in the Bahamas by Immigration Minister Shane Gibson. On February 11, 2007, newspaper photographs were published showing Smith lying clothed in bed in an embrace with Gibson.[62] Opposition politicians in the Bahamas accused the minister of improper behavior.[63] Gibson resigned as a result of the controversy and claimed that the photos, taken by Stern, were innocent.[64]
The basis of Smith's permanent residency status was the claim that she owned a $900,000 mansion, which she said was given to her by a former boyfriend, real estate developer G. Ben Thompson of South Carolina. Thompson asserted that he loaned Smith the finances to purchase the property, but that she failed to repay the loan, and was attempting to regain control of the property.[65] Thompson sued to evict Smith from the property in Bahama Court, and received a default judgment against her when she failed to respond to the eviction, or appear in court on November 28, 2006.[66] Ford Shelley, son-in-law of G. Ben Thompson, claimed that methadone was found in Anna's bedroom refrigerator while the mansion was being reclaimed.[67]

Death and funeral
Main article: Death of Anna Nicole Smith

Wikinews has news related to:
Anna Nicole Smith dies
On February 8, 2007, Smith was found unresponsive in room 607 at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida. According to Seminole Police Chief Charlie Tiger, at 1:38 p.m. (18:38 UTC) Smith's bodyguard Big Moe, who was a trained paramedic,[68] called the hotel front desk from her sixth floor room. The front desk in turn called security, who then called 911. At 1:45 p.m. the bodyguard administered CPR before she was rushed to Memorial Regional Hospital at 2:10 p.m and pronounced DOA at 2:49 p.m.
A phone call was released to the public on February 13, 2007 involving Seminole police and the local 911 operators, saying:[69][70]
“
We need assistance to Room 607 at the Hard Rock. It's in reference to a white female. She's not breathing and not responsive...actually, it's Anna Nicole Smith.
”
The medical examiner's office has reported that they intend to release the precise cause of death the week of March 5.
Since her death, various legal battles have ensued, regarding the will, the paternity of her daughter, and her final resting place, resulting in a delay in her burial. Smith was finally buried March 2 at Nassau's Lakeview Memorial Gardens and Mausoleum in a plot adjacent to her son, Daniel. Various entertainment news programs reported Smith's mother plans to continue fighting to have her daughter and grandson exhumed and reburied in a Texas family plot.

FoolzParadize

2007-03-07T23:47:00.000-08:00

FoolzParadize

2007-03-07T23:20:00.000-08:00

The Will You Mary Me Poem

2007-03-07T22:44:00.000-08:00

The Will You Mary Me Poem

I was sitting at my desk

Pondering what to say

"Lord, please give me inspiration!

"Earnestly I prayed

With a pad in the left hand

And a pen in the right

I was a man on a mission

Needing a poem for tonight

They say roses a red

And violets they are blue

No--that's a pansy beginning

And that will never do

The sun shining bright in the day

The moon glowing in the night

No--that won't work either

It just doesn't sound right

You can see my dilemma

A poem to construct

Feeling broken and defeated

I wanted to give up

Then it came to me

In a vision like a dream

A picture of the woman

God has prepared specially for me

I chuckled to myself

How could I've not seen

With five simple words

This poem is complete

(name), will you marry me?

Perfect Love, Perfect Friend

2007-03-07T22:41:00.000-08:00

Perfect Love, Perfect Friend

Because you are my love,

I know the joy that comes from

feeling closer to someone

than I've ever felt before.

Because you are my love,

I know the passion of wanting

to share everything I have,

everything I am with you

and only you.

Because you are my friend,

I know that I can count on you

to hold my hand

through the rough times

and to be there

to share the good times, too.

Because you are my friend,

I'll always have someone

to make me smile;

just when I need it most,

to encourage me when I'm feeling

confused or doubtful.

And I know that I must be

one of the luckiest people

in the worldto have someone like you-

the perfect love,

the perfect friend.

Once In Every Lifetime

2007-03-07T22:38:00.000-08:00

Once In Every Lifetime

Once in every lifetime, someone comes along,

The one special heart

You've been waiting for your whole life long.

Once in every lifetime, God sends an angel from above,

To make your life complete

Who you can give your endless love.

When a love like this comes, make any sacrifice,

For the best things in life

Seldom come along twice.

There is no love that compares to yours and mine,

A love from heaven that only comes

"Once In Every Lifetime."

Cloud in a Bottle

2007-03-07T22:30:00.000-08:00

Cloud in a Bottle

Have you ever wondered how clouds form? Clouds are formed when water vapor is cooled enough to form tiny water droplets. This is exactly what happens when moist air rises in the atmosphere, cools, and water droplets form into clouds. Making your own cloud is a popular experiment in many science books, but you should know that the results are not very striking. Yes, you'll see a very faint cloud (very faint), but it's a little tricky.

Materials:
1-liter, clear plastic bottle with cap , water, matches
Adult supervision is required!

Experiment:

1. Place just enough warm water in the bottle to cover the bottom.
2. The goal of this next step is to get some smoke particles into the bottle. Light a match and let it burn for a few seconds. Blow the match out and immediately place the head of the match in the bottle. Let the smoke from the match fill the bottle. After a few seconds, the smoke will seem to disappear, but the invisible particles are still floating around in the bottle. All of this happens fairly quickly.
3. Screw the cap on the bottle being careful not to let too much smoke out of the bottle.
4. Squeeze the sides of the bottle really hard 6 or 7 times (more squeezing may be necessary). Squeeze the bottle again, hold the squeeze for a few seconds and then quickly release the squeeze. The second you release the squeeze, you should see the formation of a little fog in the bottle. This is the cloud! How it works:-->

How Does It Work:

Even though we don't see them, water molecules are in the air all around us - it's called water vapor. When the molecules are bouncing around in the atmosphere, they don't normally stick together. Squeezing the sides of the forces the molecules to squeeze together or compress. Releasing the pressure allows the air to expand, and in doing so, the temperature of the air becomes cooler. This cooling process allows the molecules to stick together more easily forming tiny droplets... and clouds are nothing more than tiny water droplets!
The smoke in the bottle also helps this process. Water particles will group together more easily if there are some solid particles in the air to act as a nucleus. The invisible particles serve as the nucleus and help in the formation of the cloud. Clouds on Earth form when warm air rises and its pressure is reduced. The air expands and cools, and clouds form as the temperature drops below the dew point. The invisible particles in the air may be in the form of pollution, smoke, dust or even tiny particles of dirt.

Additional Information:

Sources for this information included the Exploratorium website and the National Hands-on Science Institute.

Quotes

2007-03-07T04:41:00.000-08:00

Quotes

Look to make your course regular, that men may know beforehand what they may expect.
The place of justice is a hallowed place.
If a man be gracious and courteous to strangers, it shows he is a citizen of the world.
God's first creature, which was light.
People usually think according to their inclinations, speak according to their learning and ingrained opinions, but generally act according to custom.
I do not believe that any man fears to be dead, but only the stroke of death.
It is as natural to die as to be born; and to a little infant, perhaps, the one is as painful as the other.
It is natural to die as to be born.
The great advantages of simulation and dissimulation are three. First to lay asleep opposition and to surprise. For where a man's intentions are published, it is an alarum to call up all that are against them. The second is to reserve a man's self a fair retreat: for if a man engage himself, by a manifest declaration, he must go through, or take a fall. The third is, the better to discover the mind of another. For to him that opens himself, men will hardly show themselves adverse; but will fair let him go on, and turn their freedom of speech to freedom of thought.

BUILD AN ELECTRIC MOTOR

2007-03-07T04:32:00.000-08:00

How does a motor change electrical energy into motion? An electric current produces a magnetic field. This magnetic field can be attracted to or repelled by a permanent magnet. This attraction or repulsion can cause movement in a wire that carries an electric current.

You will need the following materials:

1 meter (3 feet) of 22-gauge or 24-gauge solid-core insulated wire
e.g. Radio Shack catalog # 278-1215
2 disk magnets
e.g. Radio Shack Catalog # 64-1888
2 insulated test cables with a clip on each end
e.g. Radio Shack catalog # 278-1157

(2 pieces of above insulated wire can also be used)

a plastic cup
two large rubber bands
two jumbo size (2-inch) paper clips
D-cell battery
wire strippers
waterproof marking pen
optional holder for D-cell
e.g. Radio Shack catalog # 270-403

Take the 3-foot piece of insulated wire. Starting about 3 inches from the end of the wire, wrap it seven times around the D-cell battery to form a coil. Wrap the ends of the wire a couple of times around the coil to hold it together.

Use the wire strippers to remove the insulation from the two ends of the coil.
Straighten the larger loops of two paper clips.

Turn the cup upside down and place a magnet on top in the center. Attach another magnet inside the cup, directly beneath the original magnet. This will create a stronger magnetic field as well as hold the top magnet in place.

Put two large rubber bands around the base of the cup.
Insert the straightened paper clips into the rubber bands, so they stand upright over the bottom of the cup.

Rest the ends of the coil in the cradles formed by the paper clips. Adjust the height of the paper clips so that when the coil spins, it just clears the magnets. Adjust the coil and the clips until the coil stays balanced and centered while spinning freely on the clips. Good balance is important in getting the motor to operate well.

Once you have determined how long the projecting ends of the coil must be to rest in the paper-clip cradles, you may trim off any excess wire.
Attach one of the clip cables to each paper clip just above the rubber bands. You may need to readjust the clips to make sure the coil still spins freely.

Hold the other ends of the clip leads against the two poles of the D-cell battery. If the coil is well balanced on the clips, it will rotate to a near horizontal position. The magnetic field created by the electric current in the coil aligns itself with the magnets.

The coil may not continue to turn, because the current continues to flow through the coil its magnetic fields stays aligned with the magnets. To get the coil to continue rotating, the current should be turned off when the coil is aligned with the magnets. This can be done by coating part of one of the bare wire ends of the coil.

Remove the coil from the paper clips. Hold the coil vertically. Use the permanent marker to paint the TOP HALF of one of the two end wires. Allow the ink to dry for a few seconds, and apply a second coat. Allow several second again for the ink to dry, and then hang the coil on the paper clips again.

Connect the D-cell battery again, and give the coil a gentle spin. If it doesn't keep spinning on its own, check to make sure that the coil assembly is well balanced when spinning, that the projecting end has been painted with black pen as noted, and that the coil and the magnet are close to each other but do not hit each other. You might also try adjusting the distance separating the cradles: This may affect the quality of the contact between the coil and the cradles. With a little adjustment, your motor will spin rapidly when connected to the battery. (A holder for the battery will allow you to make the connections without holding them in place.)

Bad BDA

2007-03-06T21:39:00.000-08:00

Bad BDA

This article was first published in January 1999.

Andrew Cavelli of Adelaide's Quickco Motorsport has been a Ford fan from way back. He's also had a heap of experience in modifying and race-preparing Escorts for both himself and his customers. Around mid-1998, Andrew bought a 1970 Escort 2-door with the intention of replicating a BDA racecar and competing in 'Classic Rally' style tarmac events.
Those unfamiliar with the mechanical pedigree of the all-conquering Escorts of the '70s might be asking - so what's a BDA Escort, anyway? Fast-rewind back to the early Sixties. Ford in the UK wanted more power from their Cortina engine and decided to use a Lotus-designed twin cam, 8-valve head on the Ford four. The Lotus Cortina was the result - a fast little car that performed well on both the road and the track. When the Escort replaced the Cortina, the engine made the jump into the new body. But while the Lotus twin cam was a huge success, by this time its power output limit had been reached. Enter Cosworth with another head for the 1600 Ford block - this time a 4 valves per cylinder jobbie christened the BDA.

The initials were in reference to the hi-po car's engine twin cams being belt driven ('BD'), while the 'A' simply identified it as the Series A. The engine used solid skirt flat top pistons to give a high compression ratio of 10.0:1 and the Cosworth-designed aluminium head featured valves that sat at 45 degree incline, forming a semi-hemispherical combustion chamber. The intake manifold was cast integrally and was designed to accept a choice of either dual Weber 40DCOE/48 carbs or Dellorto 40 DHLA/Es.
After Cosworth finished integrating the package, it gave an impressive 115hp at 6500rpm and a torque peak of 112ft-lb at 4000. It could sprint the 'Type 49' Escort to 60mph in around 8.5 seconds. But what was most relevant was its tuning potential in motorsport. By enlarging valve sizes, changing the cams and slightly raising the compression ratio, a lot more power was released. All right then, the BDA was a pretty potent piece of machinery...
The engine fitted to the car that you see here is the Cosworth-Ford BDA twin-cam, but the displacement in this beast has grown from 1600 to 1800cc. Assembled by both Andrew and his co-driver Mike Dale, the bottom-end now uses the latest and greatest billet steel crank that delivers a stroke of 82mm. The bores are 83.5mm in diameter and in these slide forged Omega pistons that push the compression ratio up to 12.5:1. Steel Carillo-style 'H-beam' conrods are bolted together with ARP items. Vandervel rings and bearings are used throughout the engine.
A Formula Ford dry sump system ensures the are no oil surge problems inside the engine, and also relieves a few more ponies due to the lack of crankshaft windage. Also on the topic of engine safety, a custom one-off aluminium radiator keeps a lid on the twin-cam's fever. The work-of-art Cosworth head got treated to a pair of Kent billet cams that deliver a total of 400 thou lift and definitely give the car a purposeful idle. While the head was off, it underwent some mandatory porting and polishing (enough to flow 265hp) and was treated to moderately larger valves - an effective modification as proven in the 1970's rally scene.

Equally competition-oriented is the raunchy induction system which uses twin 45mm Webers mounted on the standard RS intake manifold. A pair of Carter pumps located in the boot provide a 6psi fuel supply to the carburettors. To achieve the best results, the carbs have been thoroughly tuned and re-jetted while the car was strapped down on a chassis dyno. The ignition side of things is taken care of by a high energy ignition with a magnetic pick-up, plus Top Gun leads and NGK '7' spark plugs inside the combustion chamber. On the exhaust side of the head, there's a custom set of hand made tuned-length extractors that use 1¾ -inch primaries flowing into a mandrel bent 2½ -inch system with a single muffler.

So how much power has been pulled from this little Pommy Ford four pot? Andrew has had the car dyno'd at Turbo Tune and seen 125kW (167.5hp) at the wheels - which has been translated by the guys to around 164kW (220hp) at the flywheel! Mike says the engine was built more for torque than outright power, but 220hp sure isn't anything to be sneezed at in a 900-odd kg (1980lb) car!
Backing the strong four is a twin-plate AP racing clutch and pressure plate, plus a Quickco steel flywheel which transfers torque to a 5-speed Quaife gearbox containing straight-cut close-ratio gears. The standard RS1600 hydraulic clutch actuation has been fitted. Such an elaborate Quaife gearbox set-up is unlikely to ever give problems!

Putting the 1800's mumbo to the tarmac is a competition-style full floating ZF LSD (commonly dubbed the 'baby atlas') spinning a 4.6:1 ratio. To the centre of the diff connect billet Romac axles which reach outward to a special Quickco rear brake conversion kit. This comprises 280mm solid discs and single piston calipers, while at the front are the reputable AP 4 pot calipers biting massive 300mm vented discs. A racing set of carbon/metallic pads gives the braking system the desired stopping abilities.
No brake booster is used, as there is a Quickco adjustable pedal box along with a brake balance bar control located inside the cabin. A brake booster is not as effective in this type of car, as at any one time there can be minimal engine vacuum available to assist the pedal. But to aid tight corner manoeuvres, a hydraulic handbrake helps Andrew to tuck the nose in and step the back end out.
Designed for tarmac use, the suspension setting is usually very low, but in the photos shown here the car has been raised about 2 inches. It uses adjustable Koni shocks front and rear, a front Quickco adjustable short-stroke coil-over arrangement plus an alloy anti-dive kit also at the front. At the front, around 2-2½ degrees of negative camber is dialed in along with about 1mm of toe-in and 3½ degrees positive castor. Atop each strut tower rests a spherical bearing to replace the original rubbers, which don't offer the same amount of driver control.
The rear end is made up of a Quickco fabricated system that includes single leaf springs, two top radius arms and an adjustable Panhard rod to maintain the correct geometry. The rear shock towers have also been turreted to achieve the correct shocker angle. The car rides on a set of Performance 14x7 alloy wheels wearing 205/60 Falken GRBs for maximum possible traction.
On-board is a typical example of a purebred racecar - nothing that's unnecessary has been spared the flick! The standard "double bubble" dashboard remains in place and contains a comprehensive array of gauges, while fronting the front seat passenger is a Terratrip rally computer, Halda rally Tripmaster and various switches. Andrew and co-driver Mike sit in a pair of carbon fibre/Kevlar Velo GP200 race seats and communicate on the Terraphone intercom system while being safely strapped in by 6-point OMP harnesses.

There's also that serious looking Safety Devices steel roll cage installed with extra strengthening added. In addition, there's a fire extinguisher system installed to the car, with two nozzles inside the cabin and another two under the bonnet - intended to save the Cosworth gem in the event of a fire. To keep the feel of the era when the original cars stood in the spotlight, the car has been sprayed in BDA Escort period colours: they came in either white, white or white! Within the boot resides the battery (as it could no longer be fitted in BDA Escort engine bay), along with a 60-litre fuel tank containing 100 octane and the dry sump system components.

After the exhaustive transformation of what was originally a stock-standard Escort (remember?), had been completed, it was booted straight out into the rough-and-tough of competition. Realistically aiming to manage only a Top 10 placing, Andrew and co-driver Mike Dale were only too pleased to learn they had what it took to convincingly maul the opposition in the annual Adelaide Classic Rally. Against Ferrari V12s, a V8 Iso Rivolta, Falcon GTs and other classic performance cars, the Escort just wiped them!
Then it was off to the Mallala circuit where we photographed the car in action. Even though the car had never been raced there before, it was soon reeling off low 1.21/1.22s, a time comparable to some of the vastly experienced club racers that make it out there at every meeting...

Huh? Isn't a car supposed to gradually work its way to the top?!

NATIONAL ANTHEM OF INDIA

2007-03-06T03:48:00.001-08:00

NATIONAL ANTHEM OF INDIA - INDIAN NATIONAL ANTHEM

" Jana Gana Mana Adhinayaka Jaya He
Bharat Bhagya Vidhata
Punjab Sindh Gujarat Maratha
Dravida Utkala Banga
Vindhya Himachal Yamuna Ganga
Ucchala Jaladhi Taranga
Tubh Shubha Name Jage
Tubh Shubha Ashisha Mange
Gahe Tubh Jaya Gata
Jan Gan Mangaldayak Jay He
Bharat Bhagya Vidhata
Jaye He ! Jaye He ! Jaye He !
Jaye,Jaye,Jaye,Jaye He "

Translation of The national anthem- Jana Gana Mana In English
Thou are the ruler of the minds of all people, dispenser of India's destiny.

The name rouses the hearts of Punjab, Sind, Gujurat and Maratha. Of the Dravid and Orissa and Bengal.
It Echoes in the hills of Vindhyas and Himalayas, mingles in the music of Yamuna and Ganga and is chanted by the waves of the Indian Sea.

They pray for your blessing and sing thy praise. The salvation of all peaople is thy hand, thou dispenser of India's destiny. Victory, Victory, Victory to thee.

The Jana Gana Mana was composed by Shri Rabindranath Tagore and first sung at the Calcutta session of the Indian National Congress on December 27th, 1911. It was adopted as the National Anthem of India on 24th January, 1950 by the Constituent Assembly. The first stanza( out of five stanzas) of the song forms the National Anthem.

FLAG OF INDIA

THE NATIONAL FLAG OF INDIA is in tricolour of deep saffron(Kesari) at the top, white in the middle and dark green at the bottom in equal propotions.The flag is a horizontal tricolour in equal proportion of deep saffron on the top, white in the middle and dark green at the bottom. The ratio of the width to the length of the flag is two is to three. In the centre of the white band, there is a wheel in navy blue to indicate the Dharma Chakra, the wheel of law in the Sarnath Lion Capital. Its diameter approximates the width of the white band and it has 24 spokes. The saffron stands for courage, sacrifice and the spirit of renunciation; the white, for purity and truth; the green for faith and fertility. The design of the National Flag was adopted by India's constituent assembly on 22nd july, 1947. It's use and display are regulated by a code. The Indian flag symbolizes freedom. The late Prime Minister Pandit Nehru called it a flag not only of freedom for ourselves, but a symbol of freedom for all people.

National Emblem of India

The National emblem is a symbol of contemporary India's reaffirmation of its commitment to world peace and goodwill.
The National Emblem of India is a replica of the Lion of Sarnath, near Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh State. The Lion Capital was erected in the 3rd century BC by Emperor Ashoka to mark the spot where Lord Buddha first proclaimed his gospel of peace and emancipation..
It is symbolic of India's reaffirmation of its ancient commitment to world peace and goodwill. In the original, there are four lions, standing back to back, mounted on a abacus with a frieze carrying sculptures in high relief of an elephant, a galloping horse, a bull and a lion separated by intervening wheels over a bell-shaped lotus. Carved out of a single block of polished sandstone, the capital is crowned by the Wheel of the Law (Dharma Chakra).
In the state emblem adopted by the Government of India on 26 January 1950, only three lions are visible, the fourth being hidden from view. The wheel appears in relief in the center of the abacus with a bull on the right and a horse on the left and the outlines of the other wheels on extreme right and left. The bell-shaped lotus has been omitted.
The four lions (one hidden from view) - symbolising power, courage and confidence - rest on a circular abacus. The abacus is girded by four smaller animals - guardians of the four directions: the lion of the north, the elephant of the east, the horse of the south and the bull of the west.The abacus rests on a lotus in full bloom, exemplifying the fountainhead of life and creative inspiration. The motto 'Satyameva Jayate' inscribed below the emblem in Devanagari script means 'truth alone triumphs'

National Animal of India-THE TIGER.

The magnificent Tiger Panthera tigris (linnaeus), the national animal of India, is a rich-colored well-striped animal with a short coat. The combination of grace, strength, power has earned the tiger great respect and high esteem. Indian tigers are famous all over the world and one of the main attractions for the lovers of wild life. They are the crowning glory and the light of the Indian wild life.
Tough, muscular, majestic tigers roam about the Sunderbans of Bengal "burning bright in the darkness of the night." The natives of the forest worship the tiger as the deity that gives them honey and wax. The Sunderbans are their main habitat for their thick forests of Sunder trees. They feed on fish, cattle and sometimes human beings. The man-eaters are the most dreaded of all wild beasts. It is a common belief that a tiger does not harm anyone who has offered prayers to him. Tigers are fast runners, excellent swimmers and their eyesight is strong.
To check the dwindling population of tigers in India, which came down to just 1,827 in 1972, massive conservation program was initiated in April 1973, known as the 'Project Tiger'. This project aims to maintain a viable population of tigers in India for scientific, economic, aesthetic, cultural and ecological values. Since then, the tiger population has shown a gradual increase and the census of 1989 puts the tiger population of the country at 4,334. So far, 19 tiger reserves have been established in the country under this project, covering over 29, 716 sq. km. forest area.

National Bird of India-THE PEACOCK

Peacock is a large and majestic bird. It has got a long and beautiful tail. Both the peacock and the hen have crest. But the crest of hen is smaller in size. The main body of the cock is mottled brown in color. Especially, the metallic green color found on the lower neck is very attractive. Though peacocks are beautiful looking birds their calls are loud and coarse.
They move in-groups and they are normally spotted in the forests, villages and nearby fields. They are shy in nature. It feeds on lizards, snakes, grains and insects. The hen lays a maximum of five eggs, which are in pale cream color.
The significance of peacock is attached to cultures of India, Far East, Ancient Persia, Greek and Christian. In Hinduism, the image of the god of thunder, rains and war, Indra, was depicted in the form of a peacock. In south India, peacock is considered as a 'vahana' or vehilce of lord Muruga. The figure of peacock is painted in various Islamic religious buildings. In Christianity, the peacock was also known as the symbol of the 'Resurrection'.
In India people believe that whenever the cock spread its tails in an ornamental fashion, it indicates that rain is imminent. In a way it is partly true. At the sight of dark clouds the bird outspreads its tail and starts dancing in rhythmic fashion. Most of the folklore including Bharatha Natyam has got special dancing poses for the peacock dance.

National Flower of India- THE LOTUS

Among the various flowers of Indian sub-continent, the flower Lotus is regarded with divinity and grace. Often, Goddesses Lakshmi and Saraswathi are associated with the flower lotus. Even Lord Siva, who wanted to escape the wrath of the Lord Saneeswaran, morphed himself into the shape of a bee and took asylum inside a lotus. Buddhists regard this flower as a sacred one.
Lotus symbolizes purity, beauty, majesty, grace, fertility, wealth, richness, knowledge and serenity. They are found in white and pink colors in general and they grow in shallow and murky waters. Some blue colored flowers are also sighted. These flowers enjoy a warm sunlight and intolerant to cold weather. Hence they cannot be seen blossoming in the winter. The floating leaves and flowers have long stems, which contains air spaces to maintain buoyancy.
The plant is having various uniqueness attached to it. Though the large leaves of the plant are floating on the surface of the water, even a drop of water is not accommodated on top of the leaves. Perhaps, they are teaching the human beings, to lead a life of non-attachment and avoid the worldly pleasures.
Depending upon the level of water in the tank, the stems will rise. In this fashion, it is guiding the human beings to rise upto the situation leading to a genuine elevation in their lives. As the world famous 'Thirukural' says,
"Vellathanayathu malar neetam manthartham ullath thanyathu ouyarvu"signifying, in relation with the water level of a tank, the stem will rise. In the same way, depending upon their ambitions and thoughts, human beings can elevate themselves in their life.
In Indian religious epics, references of lotus are made, in relation with eyes and feet of divine persona. For instance "Kamala Kannan" referring Lord Krishna with the contextual meaning, a person having eyes with the color of the pink lotus. Also, it is coupled with the feet of deities. "Kamala Patham" means lotus feet implying the feet of the god. "Charan Kamala Patham" implying, submit oneself in totality, at the lotus feet of the god.

National Tree of India-THE BANYAN TREE.

THE BANYAN TREE-Called the Indian fig tree( Ficus bengalensis) grow over a large area. The roots then give rise to more trunks and branches. Because of this characteristic & longevity, the Banyan tree is considered immortal & sacred and is an integral part of the myths and legends in India. Even today, the banyan tree is the focal point of village life and the village council meetings under the shade of this huge shade-giving tree.

National Fruit of India-THE MANGO

The fruit Mango,of the tree Mangifera indica, is one of the most widely cultivated fruits of the tropical world. This juicy, delicious fruit is a rich source of Vitamins A, C and D. In India there are hundreds of varieties of mangoes, in different sizes, shapes and colours etc. Mangoes, have been cultivated in India since time immemorial. The famous Indian poet Kalidasa sang its praises.King Alexander relished its taste, as did the Chinese traveller Hieun Tsang. Akbar, the Moghal emperor planted over 100,000 mango trees in Darbhanga, known as Lakhi Bagh(India).

NATIONAL ANTHEM OF INDIA

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NATIONAL ANTHEM OF INDIA - INDIAN NATIONAL ANTHEM

National Emblem of India

National Animal of India-THE TIGER.

National Bird of India-THE PEACOCK

National Flower of India- THE LOTUS

National Tree of India-THE BANYAN TREE.

National Fruit of India-THE MANGO

THE BUDDHA

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THE BUDDHA

"Enlightenment, for a wave in the ocean, is the moment the wave realises it is water."Thich Nhat Hanh

WHAT IS A BUDDHA?

A Buddha is a person who has developed all positive qualities and eliminated all negative qualities. A Buddha was an "ordinary" human like you and me before he/she became enlightened. Enlightenment is compared to awakening, as a person suddenly expereinces a complete transformation of body and mind from sleeping to waking up. One could say that a Buddha represents the very peak of evolution, as he/she is omniscient or all-knowing.

Our teacher, Sakyamuni Buddha, is one among the thousand Buddhas of this aeon. These Buddhas were not Buddhas from the beginning, but were once sentient beings like ourselves. How they came to be Buddhas is this.
Of body and mind, mind is predominant, for body and speech are under the influence of the mind. Afflictions such as desire do not contaminate the nature of the mind, for the nature of the mind is pure, uncontaminated by any taint. Afflictions are peripheral factors of a mind, and through gradually transforming all types of defects, such as these afflictions, the adventitious taints can be completely removed. This state of complete purification is Buddhahood; therefore, Buddhists do not assert that there is any Buddha who has been enlightened from the beginning.His Holiness the Dalai Lama from 'The Buddhism of Tibet '

The historical Buddha, Shakyamuni or Gautama Buddha, lived about 2,500 years ago in India. However, he was not the first Buddha, and will not be the last either. He taught that during this eon (very long time period, maybe comparable to the life-time of the universe as we know it), there would be 1,000 fully enlightened Buddhas who would introduce Buddhism (after it has been totally forgotten). The numbers one to three in this eon are Krakucchanda, Kanakamuni, Kashyapa, then comes Shakyamuni (the historical Buddha some 2,500 years ago), and the next Buddha will be called Maitreya.[1]
A Buddha is different from "God" in the Christian-Judeo-Islamic sense in that he/she is not the creator of the universe, is not omnipotent (all-powerful), but the state of Buddhahood can be reached by every living being (although it may take many lives). However, a Buddha is omniscient (knows everything) and can be of tremendous help to other living beings when thy are open to his advice.

SHAKYAMUNI BUDDHA'S LIFE STORY

Prince Siddharta Gautama was born some 2,500 years ago as a prince in what is now called Lumbini in Nepal. At his birth, many special signs appeared. His father asked a sage living in his kingdom for advice on his son. The sage predicted that Gautama would become either a great King or a great spiritual teacher.
The King wanted his son to be his successor and tried to keep him far away from all matters of life that could incline him to a spiritual life. Gautama usually spent his life in his father's palace, surrounded by all the possible luxuries of the time. He proved to be a special child, being quite intelligent as well as an excellent sportsman. He married to a beautiful woman he loved, and they had a son.
When Gautama was 29 years old, he discovered there was much suffering in the world around him. Traditionally it is explained that he suddenly recognised the problems of sickness, old age and death when visiting the city. Being shocked by the suffering of all living beings, he decided to search for way to end it. He left his wife and child, the palace and even his royal clothes, and started out on a spiritual quest.
Gautama studied under various teachers and followed their practices until he mastered them all. His first teacher was Alara Kalama who taught a form of meditation leading to an exalted form of absorption called "the state of no-thingness", a state without moral or cognitive dimension. Gautama saw this was not going to solve suffering, and continued his search. The next teacher was Udraka Ramaputra who taught him meditative absorption leading to “the state of neither perception nor non-perception”. Again, Gautama realised this was not the state he was looking for. (Both Alara and Udraka are by some scholars considered to be Jain followers.)Next, he tried extreme ascetic practices at Uruvilva in North India, with five other ascetics who turned into his followers. In the end, Gautama nearly died of starvation. After about six years of searching, he realised that just wearing down his body did not generate new insights, but rather leads to weakness and self-destruction. When he decided to give up extreme asceticism, his five students left him.

He then sat down in a place now called Bodhgaya (North India) under a Bodhi-tree and decided not to get up anymore until he discovered the truth. Just a short time later, he became a fully enlightened Buddha. This means that he actualised all positive potentials of a sentient being and rid himself of all negative qualities. With this, he realised the true nature of existence and suffering (emptiness), and how suffering can be ended. (On the left is a descendant of the original Bodhi tree in Bodhgaya.)

Seven weeks after enlightenment, the Buddha gave his first discourse in Sarnath, near Varanasi (see image on the right). Here he taught the 4 Noble Truths. The Buddha continued to

teach during his life, until passing away at the age of 81.

The Buddha once summarised his entire teachings in one sentence:

"I teach about suffering and the way to end it".

The main disciples of the Buddha are also known as the Great Arhants: Shariputra, known for his understanding of the Abidharma teachings; Maudgalyayana, known for his psychic powers; Mahakashyapa, the great ascetic; and Ananda, the personal attendant of the Buddha who recalled every word the Buddha spoke.

The Buddha's life is also sometimes summarized in the so called 'Twelve Deeds of the Buddha'. See the Samye website for a description of these.

ZEN STORY - LIKE A PILE OF BULLSH**

Dongpo of the Song Dynasty went to meditate with Chan Master Foyin at Golden Mountain Temple. After Su Dongpo had experienced a total relaxation of body and mind, he asked Chan Master Foyin, "Chan Master, what do you think of my sitting posture?" "Very magnificent. Like a Buddha!"
Su Dongpo was very delighted to hear that. Chan Master Foyin then asked him, "Scholar, what do you think of my sitting posture then?" Su Dongpo, never giving up any chance to tease and jeer at Chan Master Foyin, immediately replied, "Like a pile of bullsh**." Chan Master Foyin was very delighted to hear the answer and did not utter another word.
Su Dongpo thought he had beaten Chan Master Foyin because the Chan Master was wordless while being compared to a pile of bullsh**. He was so proud of himself that he told everyone he met, "Today I won."
This news soon reached Su's sister Su Xiaomei. She asked him, "Brother, how was it that you beat Chan Master today?" Su repeated the whole story vividly to his sister. Su Xiaomei, talented and smart as she was, told Su Dongpo straight to his face, "Brother, you actually lost. It is because Chan Master's mind is actually that of a Buddha that he could see you as a Buddha. As your mind is like a pile of bullsh**, you, of course, saw him as a pile of bullsh**." Su Dongpo, realizing his Chan practice was far inferior to Chan Master Foyin's, was speechless.

Moral: Chan does not depend on knowledge but upon the capacity to awake. Chan is not about eloquent debate but intuitive wisdom. Don't think all Chan masters handle encounters with sharp words. Sometimes, when they are silent and don't communicate via words and language, they can still utter the same deafening Dharma sounds.By Ven Master Hsing Yun, from Merit Times.

LINKS

For a very extensive life story of the Buddha on the web, visit Buddhanet or click here. See also the page on Body, Speech and Mind of the Buddha of the Tibetan Government.

Just for fun:

Now there's a man with an open mind - you can feel the breeze from here!Groucho Marx
One day a young Buddhist on his journey home, came to the banks of a wide river. Staring hopelessly at the great obstacle in front of him, he pondered for hours on just how to cross such a wide barrier. Just as he was about to give up his pursuit to continue his journey he saw a great teacher on the other side of the river. The young Buddhist yells over to the teacher, "Oh wise one, can you tell me how to get to the other side of this river?"The teacher ponders for a moment looks up and down the river and yells back, "My son, you are on the other side".

Note:

[1]: See the Bhadrakalpika Sutra, translated into English in 4 big volumes as: 'The Fortunate Aeon - How the 1000 Buddhas become enlightened'.

Buddha Teachings

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Buddha Teachings

Buddhism is a philosophy of life expounded by Gautama Buddha ("Buddha" means "enlightened one"), who lived and taught in northern Inda in the 6th Century B.C. The Buddha was not a god and the philosophy of Buddhism does not entail any theistic world-view. The teachings of the Buddha are aimed solely to liberate sentient beings from suffering.

The Basic Teachings of Buddha which are core of Buddhism are-

The Three Universal Truth

The Four Noble Truth

The Noble Eightfold Path

In Buddhism, the law of karma, says "for every event that occurs, there will follow another event whose existence was caused by the first, and this second event will be pleasant or unpleasant according as its cause was skillful or unskillful." Therefore, the law of Karma teaches that responsibility for unskillful actions is born by the person who commits them.

After his enlightenment, he went to the Deer Park near the holy city of Benares and shared his new understanding with five holy men. They understood immediately and became his disciples. This marked the beginning of the Buddhist community. For the next forty-five years, the Buddha and his disciples went from place to place in India spreading the Dharma, his teachings. Their compassion knew no bounds, they helped everyone along the way, beggars, kings and slave girls. At night, they would sleep where they were; when hungry they would ask for a little food.

Whenever the Buddha went, he won the hearts of the people because he dealt with their true feelings. He advised them not to accept his words on blind faith, but to decide for themselves whether his teachings are right or wrong, then follow them. He encouraged everyone to have compassion for each other and develop their own virtue, "You should do your own work, for I can teach only the way."

Once the Buddha and Ananda visited a monastery where a monk was suffering from a contagious disease. The poor man lay in a mess with no one looking after him. The Buddha himself washed the sick monk and placed him on a new bed. Afterwards, he admonished the other monks. "Monks, you have neither mother nor father to look after you. If you do not look after each other, who will look after you? Whoever serves the sick and suffering, serves me."

BASIC TEACHINGS OF BUDDHA

The Three Universal Truth

1. Nothing is lost in the universe

2. Everything Changes

3. Law of Cause and Effect

The Four Noble Truths

1. Life is suffering;

2. Suffering is due to attachment;

3. Attachment can be overcome;

4. There is a path for accomplishing this.

The Noble Eightfold Path

1. Right View is the true understanding of the four noble truths.

2. Right Aspiration is the true desire to free oneself from attachment, ignorance, and hatefulness. These two are referred to as Prajña, or wisdom.

3. Right Speech involves abstaining from lying, gossiping, or hurtful talk.

4. Right Action involves abstaining from hurtful behaviors, such as killing, stealing, and careless sex.

5. Right Livelihood means making your living in such a way as to avoid dishonesty and hurting others, including animals. These three are refered to as Shila, or morality.

6. Right Effort is a matter of exerting oneself in regards to the content of one's mind: Bad qualities should be abandoned and prevented from arising again; Good qualities should be enacted and nurtured.

7. Right Mindfulness is the focusing of one's attention on one's body, feelings, thoughts, and consciousness in such a way as to overcome craving, hatred, and ignorance.

8. Right Concentration is meditating in such a way as to progressively realize a true understanding of imperfection, impermanence, and non-separateness.

The last three are known as Samadhi or Meditation.

However, there are many sects of Buddhism and there are different kinds of Buddhist monks all over the world. The life and customs of Buddhist monks are not only different and unique but consists of a spiritual meaning and their daily life follows a strict schedule that revolves around meditation, study of scriptures, and taking apart in the ceremonies. There are Buddhist shrines, Buddhist monasteries, where monks live, Gompas and Buddhist Stupas all over the world. However, Tibet is perhaps the only Buddhist country which has Dalai Lama, the Buddhist monk and a spiritual leader, as its political leader too. All monks have special uniform called robes, the color of which can tell you about his status in the monastery such as the brownish orange robe is the color of wise, elderly monks.

Though originated in northern India, Emperor Ashoka helped to spread Buddhism into South East Asian counties such as Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand and Indo-China, from where it moved on to influence people in the Himalayan kingdoms of Sikkim, Bhutan, Nepal, Tibet, Mongolia, Central Asia along with China, Korea, Vietnam and Japan. Today, Thailand has 95% of Buddhist population, the highest in the world with Cambodia, Burma, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Tibet, Laos, Vietnam, Japan, Macau and Taiwan following soon behind.

Devotees reaffirm their faith in the five principles called Panchsheel:

1. Do not to take life

2. Do not to steal

3. Do not to lie

4. Do not to consume liquor or other intoxicants

5. Do not to commit adultery

Famous Buddha Quote, Sayings & Proverb

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Famous Buddha Quote, Sayings & Proverb

Neither fire nor wind, birth nor death can erase our good deeds.

Fill your mind with compassion.

The Four Reliances First,

rely on the spirit and meaning of the teachings,

not on the words; Second, rely on the teachings,

not on the personality of the teacher;

Third, rely on real wisdom, not superficial interpretation;

And fourth, rely on the essence of your pure Wisdom Mind, not on judgmental

perceptions.

We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make our world.

To be idle is a short road to death and to be diligent is a way of life; foolish people are idle, wise people are diligent.

Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so, let us all be thankful.

Pay no attention to the faults of others,

things done or left undone by others.

Consider only what by oneself is done or left undone.

What we think, we become.

Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one getting burned.

Do not overrate what you have received, nor envy others.

He who envies others does not obtain peace of mind.

An insincere and evil friend is more to be feared than a wild beast; a wild beast may wound your body, but an evil friend will wound your mind
Words have the power to both destroy and heal. When words are both true and kind, they can change our world.

Anger will never disappear so long as thoughts of resentment are cherished in the mind. Anger will disappear just as soon as thoughts of resentment are forgotten.

Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.

Words have the power to both destroy and heal. When words are both true and kind, they can change our world.

On life's journey Faith is nourishment,

Virtuous deeds are a shelter,

Wisdom is the light by day and Right mindfulness is the protection by night.

If a man lives a pure life nothing can destroy him;

If he has conquered greed nothing can limit his freedom.

One of his students asked Buddha, "Are you the messiah?"

"No", answered Buddha.

"Then are you a healer?"

"No", Buddha replied.

"Then are you a teacher?" the student persisted.

"No, I am not a teacher."

"Then what are you?" asked the student, exasperated.

"I am awake", Buddha replied

Buddha Purnima Legends

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Buddha Purnima Legends

The three most significant events in the life of Great Buddha occurred on the same day. His birth, enlightenment and death (nirvana), all happened on a full moon night in April/May. This makes the day - called Buddha Purnima or Buddha Jayanti - all the more sacred for Buddhists. The Buddha was born Siddhartha Gautama in 544 BC, to King Shuddhodhana and Queen Mayadevi, rulers of Lumbini, Nepal. According to legend, Siddhartha's wife Yashodhara, his charioteer Channa, his disciple Ananda and his horse Kantaka were also born on Buddha Purnima day. Buddhism was originally a sect within the Hindu way of life. Its originator had the personal name of Siddharta, and the surname Gautama. He belonged to the Sakya clan of the Kshatriya or warrior caste. He married and had a son, Rahula. But after some years he left his parents, wife and child. The king, his father, had three palaces built for him, and at the age of sixteen gave him forty thousand dancing girls. Yet thirteen years later Gautama left everything to find, in his own words, "the incomparable security of a 'Nirvana' free from birth and endless reincarnation." One day, as he sat in meditation under a bodhi tree, he became the "enlightened one". The "enlightenment" took place in Gautama's thirty-sixth year. His death occurred around the age of eighty. His day was divided between itinerant preaching in the morning and receiving visitors for discussion at night, with the afternoons reserved for private meditation. He gathered a number of followers. He was strongly opposed by the Brahmins for teaching that gifts to the Buddhist order were of more merit than the sacrifices, which Hindus practiced.

Buddha Nirvana

Shortly before his death, Gautama assembled the members of his order, and gave final instructions. "Be lamps to yourselves," he bade them. "Betake yourselves to no external refuge. Hold fast to the truth as a lamp. Hold fast as a refuge to the truth. Look not for refuge to anyone besides yourselves." In the Dharma or teaching, little Buddha did not discard the substructure of primitive Hinduism, but rather built upon it. He seems not to have doubted the existence of gods and of evil spirits. His concern was uniquely with deliverance. To obtain liberation the disciple must put into practice the "Four Noble Truths". "They are, in sequence, that existence involves suffering, that the cause-of suffering is desire and the clinging to existence, that the way to escape from suffering and existence is to be rid of these desires, and to be delivered one must follow the eightfold path mapped out by the enlightened one." "Buddha preached a religion devoid of speculation, and it is only on this premise that his accent on suffering can be understood." Buddha denied there was a soul. "The self-denial he advocated was literal, a denial of self-hood with its mirage of an individual and personal soul."The founder of Buddhism postulated that life is a stream of becoming. There is nothing permanent in the empirical self.Throughout life all his sermons, exhortations, and counseling had only one theme, Nirvana. Yet the important question for him was not, 'What is Nirvana?' but, 'How is Nirvana attained?'The way that leads to the extinction of suffering is the holy eightfold path, namely right understanding, right-mindedness, right speech, right action, right living, right effort, right attentiveness, and right concentration." "Original or 'authentic' Buddhism is accurately called atheistic, not as though the gods of Hinduism or Brahman were explicitly denied, but because nowhere in his 'religion' did great Buddha provide that a transcendent deity should be invoked or even that his existence should be formally acknowledged.

Buddhist Tradition

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Buddhist Tradition

Buddhist ritual for celebrating the three-in-one occasion are naturally elaborate. The day falls in the Vaishaka month of the Indian calendar. For the Tibetans, it is the full moon day in the fourth month of the Tibetan calendar.

On Buddha Jayanti, the buddhist monastries all over the world echo with prayers, sermons and recitations of Buddhist scriptures. In monasteries, religious halls and homes, Buddhist monks and followers do readings of the holy scriptures through out the day before the Buddha's statue. Some of the people just listen to these holy prayers and sermons and give alms to the monks.

On the next day, it is a Buddha Jayanti custom to display a gigantic figure of Lord Buddha to all the followers. Hundreds of small shrines are visited and worshipped. People form large groups and parade through the streets, chanting prayers in the praise of the Lord for that He has given us. The buddhist households put red, white, yellow and blue flags flyings on their roof tops.

As a Buddha Purnima tradition, the followers and monks offer flowers, candles and fruits to the statue of Lord Buddha. They also light incense in front of the statue. The Mahabodhi tree, where Buddha attainted enlightenment is visited by people from all over the world. They offer many things to the tree also. They also put coloured flags to the tree.

Buddhist Tradition

In Buddhism, the rituals involves elaborate prayers and hours of meditation. Puja or prayer offering is a means of devotion and offering to God which leads to higher spiritual level (i.e. enlightment. The prayers begin with invoking a sangha. This is followed by the three prostrations performed by the sadhaka or dharma student. The three prostrations are the three gates or three aggregates-

1. The body

2. The speech

3. The mind.

They also signify the identification of the student with the three bodies of the Buddha: Dharmakaya, the Smbhogakaya and the Nirmanakaya .

These prostrations are also known as the five point prostrations. Five parts of the body that touch the ground are the two palms, the two knees and the forehead. These five points suggest the five elements of earth, water, fire air and space, the five wisdoms emanating from the five Buddha families and the five Buddha energies.

Through these act of prostration one has to surrender oneself to Buddhas of the three times (past, present, and future) and ten directions. The folded hands possesses deeper meaning. The ten fingers touching each other signify the ten directions.

The right hand stands for the male, active, yang energy while the left hand stands for the female, receptive, yin energy. Together they give rise to the Buddha's enlightening activity of upayakaushalya in which both wisdom and bliss are harmoniously blended for the benefit and ultimate enlightenment of all other sentient beings.

These offerings to the deities and the three Jewels can be followed by the Bodhisattva vows, the 100-syllable Vajrasattva mantra, mandala offerings, and the seven-line prayer of Guru Rinpoche and mon-lam prayers . Subsequent to this the devotee or supplicant can practice meditation on shunyata or emptiness. The prayers are concluded by rejoicing in the good deed and merit of others, requesting the Buddhas to teach and not enter in parinirvana. Dedications of the merit accumulated by us as a result of these prayers are then dedicated to all sentient beings.

Buddhism In India

2007-03-03T10:35:00.000-08:00

Buddhism In India

Buddhism flourished during the reign of King Ashoka (274 - 232 B.C.).

In the 2nd cent. before Christ King Kanishka sponsored a fourth religious council at Kashmir, at which the Sanskrit canon of the scriptures is said to have been fixed. This fixation was demanded by the new schism that broke between two radically different concepts of Buddhism, to become known as Mahayana (great vehicle) and Hinayana (small vehicle).

Kanishka promoted other changes. The relics of Buddhist saints came to be worshipped, images of Buddha were made objects of popular veneration, monasteries were opened to temporary residents and students who were taught secular subjects, and, in general, Buddhism was further transformed from an exotic cult to a religion of the many.

Until the rise of the Gupta dynasty around 320 A.D., Buddhism fairly held its own in India. But under the Guptas Hinduism became dominant. In spite of several brilliant representatives, the Buddhist religion declined on Indian soil -partly by absorption into the Hindu tradition which made Buddha an incarnation of its god Vishnu, partly by the Moslem invasion which was intolerant of Buddhist anthropocentrism, and partly by the exportation of the valid Buddhist spirit into Tibet, Mongolia, China, Java, and Japan.

Two types of Buddhism are easily recognized: the Mahayana in China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Tibet, and Nepal; the Hinayana in Thailand, Burma, Ceylon, Cambodia, India and Indonesia.

Quotes for Success

2007-03-02T18:46:00.000-08:00

"The great successful men of the world have used their imagination…they think ahead and create their mental picture in all its details, filling in here, adding a little there, altering this a bit and that a bit, but steadily building - steadily building."

Quotes for Success

2007-03-02T18:45:00.000-08:00

Pity the man who inherits a million and isn't a millionaire.Here's what would be pitiful,if your income grew and you didn't.

Quotes for Success

2007-03-02T18:44:00.000-08:00

"When a man feels throbbing within him the power to do what he undertakes as well as it can possibly be done, this is happiness, this is success."

Quotes for Success

2007-03-02T18:43:00.000-08:00

“There are three ingredients in the good life: learning, earning and yearning.”

Quotes for Success

2007-03-02T18:42:00.000-08:00

“There are three ingredients in the good life: learning, earning and yearning.”

Quotes for Success

2007-03-02T18:40:00.000-08:00

The successful always has a number of projects planned, to which he looks forward. Anyone of them could change the course of his life overnight.”

Quotes for Success

2007-03-02T18:39:00.000-08:00

"Would you like me to give you a formula for success? It’s quite simple, really. Double your rate of failure. You are thinking of failure as the enemy of success. But it isn’t at all. You can be discouraged by failure or you can learn from it, So go ahead and make mistakes. Make all you can. Because remember that’s where you will find success."

Quotes for Success

2007-03-02T18:38:00.000-08:00

"Most successful men have not achieved their distinction by having some new talent or opportunity presented to them. They have developed the opportunity that was at hand."

Quotes for Success

2007-03-02T18:36:00.000-08:00

"The person who gets the farthest is generally the one who is willing to do and dare. The sure-thing boat never gets far from shore."

Quotes for Perseverance

2007-02-24T06:49:00.002-08:00

"Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan, 'press on' has solved, and always will solve, the problems of the human race."

Quotes for Perseverance

2007-02-24T06:49:00.001-08:00

Quotes for Perseverance

2007-02-24T06:49:00.000-08:00

Quotes for Perseverance

2007-02-24T06:48:00.000-08:00

"Some men give up their designs when they have almost reached the goal; While others, on the contrary, obtain a victory by exerting, at the last moment, more vigorous efforts than ever before."

Quotes for Perseverance

2007-02-24T06:47:00.000-08:00

"All great masters are chiefly distinguished by the power of adding a second, a third, and perhaps a fourth step in a continuous line. Many a man has taken the first step. With every additional step you enhance immensely the value of your first

Quotes for Perseverance

2007-02-24T06:46:00.001-08:00

"Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no help at all

Happy Valentine's Day...

2007-02-24T00:16:00.000-08:00

Romantic Tips Very intresting plz read it...........

2007-02-24T00:11:00.000-08:00

1. Spread rose petals all over the bedroom.

2. What could be more classic than a fine gold locket with your photo inside? (Maybe a photo of the two of you.)

3. Bring home one small, unexpected gift each week.

4. Write a classic, romantic, passionate, handwritten, heartfelt love letter. Most adults haven't written a love letter since high school. (Why not? Have we lost our youthful idealism, or have we just gotten lazy?)

5. When traveling, give your partner a bouquet of roses; one rose for each day that you'll be away. Attach a note that says something like this: "These three roses represent the three days I'll be away from you. They also symbolize the love, joy, and laughter we share together."

6. Say "I love you" at least three times a day.

7. Guys: Surprise her by performing one of her chores for her. (And not something easy like carrying the groceries in from the car, but something that requires some time and effort -- like cooking all the meals over a weekend, or cleaning the entire house.)

8. Ladies: Send him a letter sealed with a kiss. (Use your reddest lipstick.)

9. Hold hands.

10. On your yearly romantic checklist, make plans for Valentine's Day -- well in advance!
1. Spread rose petals all over the bedroom.
2. What could be more classic than a fine gold locket with your photo inside? (Maybe a photo of the two of you.)
3. Bring home one small, unexpected gift each week.
4. Write a classic, romantic, passionate, handwritten, heartfelt love letter. Most adults haven't written a love letter since high school. (Why not? Have we lost our youthful idealism, or have we just gotten lazy?)
5. When traveling, give your partner a bouquet of roses; one rose for each day that you'll be away. Attach a note that says something like this: "These three roses represent the three days I'll be away from you. They also symbolize the love, joy, and laughter we share together."
6. Say "I love you" at least three times a day.
7. Guys: Surprise her by performing one of her chores for her. (And not something easy like carrying the groceries in from the car, but something that requires some time and effort -- like cooking all the meals over a weekend, or cleaning the entire house.)
8. Ladies: Send him a letter sealed with a kiss. (Use your reddest lipstick.)
9. Hold hands.
10. On your yearly romantic checklist, make plans for Valentine's Day -- well in advance!

The Debt Unpayable

2007-02-24T00:07:00.000-08:00

What have I given,

Bold sailor on the sea?

In earth or heaven,

That you should die for me?

What can I give,

O soldier, leal and brave,

Long as I live,

To pay the life you gave?

What tithe or part

Can I return to thee,

O stricken heart,

That thou shouldst break for me?

The wind of Death

For you has slain life's flowers,

It withereth

(God grant) all weeds in ours.

Digital Photography

2007-02-24T00:01:00.000-08:00

On the South Downs

2007-02-23T23:58:00.000-08:00

Light falls the rain

On link and laine,

After the burning day;

And the bright scene, Blue, gold, and green,

Is blotted out in gray.

Not so will part

The glowing heart

With sunny hours gone by;

On cliff and hill There lingers still

A light that cannot die.

Like a gold crown

Gorse decks the Down,

All sapphire lies the sea;

And incense sweet

Springs as our feet

Tread light the thymy lea.

Fade, vision bright!

Fall rain, fall night!

Forget, gray world, thy green!

For us, nor thee,

Can all days be

As though this had not been!

Quotes for Opportunity

2007-02-22T23:40:00.000-08:00

"In a free society, every opportunity comes with three obligations. First, you must seize it. You must mold it into a work that brings value to others. Second, you must live it. Opportunity is nurtured only by action. Third, you must defend the freedom to pursue opportunities. You must embrace these three obligations as if the future of the United States depended on it. In fact, it does

Quotes for Opportunity

2007-02-22T23:39:00.002-08:00

"A man who misses his opportunity, and monkey who misses his branch, cannot be saved."

Quotes for Opportunity

2007-02-22T23:39:00.001-08:00

"We are continually faced by great opportunities brilliantly disguised as insoluble problems."

Quotes for Opportunity

2007-02-22T23:38:00.002-08:00

"Small opportunities are often the beginning of great enterprises

Quotes for Opportunity

2007-02-22T23:38:00.001-08:00

"Opportunities? They are all around us…there is power lying latent everywhere waiting for the observant eye to discover it."

Quotes for Opportunity

2007-02-22T23:37:00.000-08:00

"Opportunity…often it comes in the form of misfortune, or temporary defeat."

Quotes for Opportunity

2007-02-22T23:36:00.002-08:00

"A wise man will make more opportunities than he finds."

Quotes for Opportunity

2007-02-22T23:36:00.001-08:00

"In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity

Quotes for Opportunity

2007-02-22T23:35:00.000-08:00

Spend eighty percent of your time focusing on the opportunities of tomorrow rather than the problems of yesterday.

Quotes for Opportunity

2007-02-22T23:33:00.001-08:00

"Each problem has hidden in it an opportunity so powerful that it literally dwarfs the problem. The greatest success stories were created by people who recognized a problem a turned it into an opportunity."

poem for the day

2007-02-17T02:07:00.000-08:00

poem for the day
Deity of the ruined temple! The broken strings of _Vina_
sing no more your praise. The bells in the evening proclaim not
your time of worship. The air is still and silent about you.

In your desolate dwelling comes the vagrant spring breeze. It
brings the tidings of flowers--the flowers that for your worship
are offered no more.

Your worshipper of old wanders ever longing for favour still
refused. In the eventide, when fires and shadows mingle with the
gloom of dust, he wearily comes back to the ruined temple with
hunger in his heart.

Many a festival day comes to you in silence, deity of the ruined
temple. Many a night of worship goes away with lamp unlit.

Many new images are built by masters of cunning art and carried
to the holy stream of oblivion when their time is come.

Only the deity of the ruined temple remains unworshipped in
deathless neglect.

No more noisy, loud words from me--such is my master's will.
Henceforth I deal in whispers. The speech of my heart will be
carried on in murmurings of a song.

Men hasten to the King's market. All the buyers and sellers are
there. But I have my untimely leave in the middle of the day, in
the thick of work.

Let then the flowers come out in my garden, though it is not
their time; and let the midday bees strike up their lazy hum.

Full many an hour have I spent in the strife of the good and the
evil, but now it is the pleasure of my playmate of the empty days
to draw my heart on to him; and I know not why is this sudden
call to what useless inconsequence!

poem for the day

2007-02-17T00:56:00.000-08:00

Thy gifts to us mortals fulfil all our needs and yet run back to
thee undiminished.

The river has its everyday work to do and hastens through fields
and hamlets; yet its incessant stream winds towards the washing
of thy feet.

The flower sweetens the air with its perfume; yet its last
service is to offer itself to thee.

Thy worship does not impoverish the world.

From the words of the poet men take what meanings please them;
yet their last meaning points to thee.

Day after day, O lord of my life, shall I stand before thee face
to face. With folded hands, O lord of all worlds, shall I stand
before thee face to face.

Under thy great sky in solitude and silence, with humble heart
shall I stand before thee face to face.

In this laborious world of thine, tumultuous with toil and with
struggle, among hurrying crowds shall I stand before thee face to
face.

And when my work shall be done in this world, O King of kings,
alone and speechless shall I stand before thee face to face.

I know thee as my God and stand apart--I do not know thee as my
own and come closer. I know thee as my father and bow before thy
feet--I do not grasp thy hand as my friend's.

I stand not where thou comest down and ownest thyself as mine,
there to clasp thee to my heart and take thee as my comrade.

Thou art the Brother amongst my brothers, but I heed them not, I
divide not my earnings with them, thus sharing my all with thee.

In pleasure and in pain I stand not by the side of men, and thus
stand by thee. I shrink to give up my life, and thus do not
plunge into the great waters of life.

poem for the day

2007-02-17T00:54:00.000-08:00

He it is, the innermost one, who awakens my being with his deep
hidden touches.

He it is who puts his enchantment upon these eyes and joyfully
plays on the chords of my heart in varied cadence of pleasure and
pain.

He it is who weaves the web of this _maya_ in evanescent
hues of gold and silver, blue and green, and lets peep out
through the folds his feet, at whose touch I forget myself.

Days come and ages pass, and it is ever he who moves my heart in
many a name, in many a guise, in many a rapture of joy and of
sorrow.

Deliverance is not for me in renunciation. I feel the embrace of
freedom in a thousand bonds of delight.

Thou ever pourest for me the fresh draught of thy wine of various
colours and fragrance, filling this earthen vessel to the brim.

My world will light its hundred different lamps with thy flame
and place them before the altar of thy temple.

No, I will never shut the doors of my senses. The delights of
sight and hearing and touch will bear thy delight.

Yes, all my illusions will burn into illumination of joy, and all
my desires ripen into fruits of love.

The day is no more, the shadow is upon the earth. It is time
that I go to the stream to fill my pitcher.

The evening air is eager with the sad music of the water. Ah, it
calls me out into the dusk. In the lonely lane there is no
passer-by, the wind is up, the ripples are rampant in the river.

I know not if I shall come back home. I know not whom I shall
chance to meet. There at the fording in the little boat the
unknown man plays upon his lute.

poem

2007-02-17T00:53:00.000-08:00

The same stream of life that runs through my veins night and day
runs through the world and dances in rhythmic measures.

It is the same life that shoots in joy through the dust of the
earth in numberless blades of grass and breaks into tumultuous
waves of leaves and flowers.

It is the same life that is rocked in the ocean-cradle of birth
and of death, in ebb and in flow.

I feel my limbs are made glorious by the touch of this world of
life. And my pride is from the life-throb of ages dancing in my
blood this moment.

Is it beyond thee to be glad with the gladness of this rhythm?
to be tossed and lost and broken in the whirl of this fearful
joy?

All things rush on, they stop not, they look not behind, no power
can hold them back, they rush on.

Keeping steps with that restless, rapid music, seasons come
dancing and pass away--colours, tunes, and perfumes pour in
endless cascades in the abounding joy that scatters and gives up
and dies every moment.

That I should make much of myself and turn it on all sides, thus
casting coloured shadows on thy radiance--such is thy
_maya_.

Thou settest a barrier in thine own being and then callest thy
severed self in myriad notes. This thy self-separation has taken
body in me.

The poignant song is echoed through all the sky in many-coloured
tears and smiles, alarms and hopes; waves rise up and sink again,
dreams break and form. In me is thy own defeat of self.

This screen that thou hast raised is painted with innumerable
figures with the brush of the night and the day. Behind it thy
seat is woven in wondrous mysteries of curves, casting away all
barren lines of straightness.

The great pageant of thee and me has overspread the sky. With
the tune of thee and me all the air is vibrant, and all ages pass
with the hiding and seeking of thee and me.

poem

2007-02-17T00:51:00.000-08:00

Over my thoughts and actions, my slumbers and dreams, she reigned
yet dwelled alone and apart.

Many a man knocked at my door and asked for her and turned away
in despair.

There was none in the world who ever saw her face to face, and
she remained in her loneliness waiting for thy recognition.

Thou art the sky and thou art the nest as well.

O thou beautiful, there in the nest is thy love that encloses the
soul with colours and sounds and odours.

There comes the morning with the golden basket in her right hand
bearing the wreath of beauty, silently to crown the earth.

And there comes the evening over the lonely meadows deserted by
herds, through trackless paths, carrying cool draughts of peace
in her golden pitcher from the western ocean of rest.

But there, where spreads the infinite sky for the soul to take
her flight in, reigns the stainless white radiance. There is no
day nor night, nor form nor colour, and never, never a word.

Thy sunbeam comes upon this earth of mine with arms outstretched
and stands at my door the livelong day to carry back to thy feet
clouds made of my tears and sighs and songs.

With fond delight thou wrappest about thy starry breast that
mantle of misty cloud, turning it into numberless shapes and
folds and colouring it with hues everchanging.

It is so light and so fleeting, tender and tearful and dark, that
is why thou lovest it, O thou spotless and serene. And that is
why it may cover thy awful white light with its pathetic shadows.

poem

2007-02-17T00:48:00.000-08:00

When I bring to you coloured toys, my child, I understand why
there is such a play of colours on clouds, on water, and why
flowers are painted in tints--when I give coloured toys to you,
my child.

When I sing to make you dance I truly now why there is music in
leaves, and why waves send their chorus of voices to the heart of
the listening earth--when I sing to make you dance.

When I bring sweet things to your greedy hands I know why there
is honey in the cup of the flowers and why fruits are secretly
filled with sweet juice--when I bring sweet things to your greedy
hands.

When I kiss your face to make you smile, my darling, I surely
understand what pleasure streams from the sky in morning light,
and what delight that is that is which the summer breeze brings
to my body--when I kiss you to make you smile.

Thou hast made me known to friends whom I knew not. Thou hast
given me seats in homes not my own. Thou hast brought the
distant near and made a brother of the stranger.

I am uneasy at heart when I have to leave my accustomed shelter;
I forget that there abides the old in the new, and that there
also thou abidest.

Through birth and death, in this world or in others, wherever
thou leadest me it is thou, the same, the one companion of my
endless life who ever linkest my heart with bonds of joy to the
unfamiliar.

When one knows thee, then alien there is none, then no door is
shut. Oh, grant me my prayer that I may never lose the bliss of
the touch of the one in the play of many.

poem

2007-02-17T00:46:00.000-08:00

thought

2007-02-08T10:18:00.000-08:00

LaurenI am thankful for God, Jesus, my friends, and holidays. I am most thankful for my family because they love me and I love them.

thought

2007-02-08T10:15:00.000-08:00

TiffanyI am thankful for my aunts and uncles, friends, God, pets, Christmas, toys, and my school. Most of all I am thankful for my grandparents because they love me and they give me toys.

poem for the day

2007-02-07T19:16:00.000-08:00

Spring and Fall to a young child
Margaret, are you grievingOver Goldengrove unleaving?Leaves, like the things of man, youWith your fresh thoughts care for, can you?Ah! as the heart grows olderIt will come to such sites colderBy and by, nor spare a sighThough worlds of wanwood leafmeal lie;And yet you will weep and know why.Now no matter, child, the name:Sorrow`s springs are the same.Nor mouth had, no nor mind, expressedWhat heart heard of, ghost guessed:It is the blight man was born for,It is Margaret you mourn for

poem for the day

2007-02-07T19:15:00.000-08:00

There was an old man with a beard`
There was an Old Man with a beard,Who said, "It is just as I feared! -Two Owls and a Hen,Four larks and a Wren,Have all built their nests in my beard!"

poem for the day

2007-02-07T19:13:00.000-08:00

The Expulsion from Eden
In either hand the hast`ning angel caughtOur ling`ring parents, and to th` eastern gateLed them direct, and down the cliff as fastTo the subjected plain: then dissapeared.They looking back, all th` eastern side beheldOf Paradise, so late their happy seat,Waved over by that flaming brand, the gateWith dreadful faces thronged and firey arms:Some natural tears they dropped, but wiped them soon;The world was all before them, where to chooseTheir place of rest, and Providence their guide:They hand in hand with wand`ring steps and slow,Through Eden took their solitary way.

poem for the day

2007-02-07T19:04:00.000-08:00

`So we`ll go no more a-roving`
So we`ll go no more a-rovingSo late into the night,Though the heart be still as loving,And the moon be still as bright.For the sword outwears it`s sheath,And the soul wears out the breast,And the heart must puase to breath,And Love itself have rest.THough the night was made for loving,And the day returns too soon,Yet we`ll go no more a-rovingBy the light of the moon.

poem for the day

2007-02-07T19:03:00.000-08:00

The silver swan`
The silver swan, who living had no note,When death approached unlocked her silent throat,Leaning her breast against the reedy shore,Thus sung her first and last and sung no more:Farewell all joys, O death come close mine eyes,More geese than swans now live, more fools than wise

poem for the day

2007-02-07T18:58:00.000-08:00

Lines from Endymion
A thing of beauty is a joy for ever:Its loviliness increases; it will neverPass into nothingness; but still will keepA bower quiet for us, and a sleepFull of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing.Therefore, on every morrow, are we wreathingA flowery band to bind us to the earth,Spite of despondance, of the inhuman dearthOf noble natures, of the gloomy days,Of all the unhealthy and o`er-darkened waysMade for our searching: yes, inspite of all,Some shape of beauty moves away the pallFrom our dark spirits

poem for the day

2007-02-07T18:56:00.000-08:00

Snow
In the gloom of whiteness,In the great silence of snow,A child was sighingAnd bitterly saying:`Oh,They have killed a white bird up there on her nest,The down is fluttering from her breast!`And still it fell through that dusky brightnessOn the child crying for the bird of the snow.

poem for the day

2007-02-07T18:54:00.000-08:00

`Trail all your pikes`
Trail all your pikes, dispirit every drum,March in a slow procession from afar,Ye silent, ye dejected men of war!Be still the hautboys, and the flute be dumb!Display no more, in vain, the loftly banner.For see! where on the bier before ye liesThe pale, the fall`n th`untimely sacraficeTo your mistaken shrine, to your false idol Honour!
from ALL IS VANITY

poem for the day

2007-02-07T18:50:00.001-08:00

Holy Sonnet
Death be not proud, though some have called theeMighty and dreadful, for thou art not so;For those whom thou think`st thou dost overthrowDie not, poor death, nor yet canst thou kill me.From rest and sleep, which but they pictures be,Much pleasure, then from thee much more must flow;And soonest our best men with thee do go,Rest of their bones, and souls` delivery.Thou art slave to Fate, chance, kings, and desperate men,And dost with poison, war and sickness dwell,And poppy or charms can make us sleep well,And better than they stroke; why swell`st thou then?One short sleep past, we wake eternally,And death shall be no more, Death thou shalt die

poem for the day

2007-02-07T18:46:00.000-08:00

Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802

Earth hasd not anything to show me more fair:Dull would he be of soul who could pass byA sight so touching in its majesty:This City now doth like a garment wearThe beauty of the morning: silent, bare,Ships, towers, domes, theatres, and temples lieOpen unto the fields and to the sky;ALl bright and glittering in the smokeless air.Never did a sun more beautifully steepIn his first splendour valley, rock or hill;Ne`er saw I, never felt, a calm so deep!The river glideth at his own sweet will:Dear God! the very houses seem asleep;And all that mighty heart is lying still!

poem for the day

2007-02-07T18:45:00.000-08:00

At Lord`s

It is little I repair to the matches of the Southron folk,Though my own red roses there may blow;It is little I repair to the matches of the Southron folk,Though the red roses crest the caps, I know.For the field is full of shades as I near the shadowy coast,And a ghostly batsman plays to the bowling of a ghost,And I look through my tears on a soundless-clapping hostAs the run-stealers flicker to and fro,To and fro: -O my Hornby and my Barlow long ago!

poem for the day

2007-02-07T18:43:00.001-08:00

`Much Madness is divinest Sense`

Much Madness is divinest Sense -To a discerning Eye -Much Sense - the starkest Madness -`Tis the MajorityIn this, as All, prevail -Assent - and you are sane -Demur - you`re straightaway dangerous -And handled with a Chain -

poem for the day

2007-02-07T18:41:00.000-08:00

`Much Madness is divinest Sense`

poem for the day

2007-02-07T18:33:00.000-08:00

`Much Madness is divinest Sense`

poem for the day

2007-02-07T18:31:00.000-08:00

Sonnet 29

When in disgrace with Fortune and men`s eyes,I all alone beweep my outcast state,And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries,And look upon myself and curse my fate,Wishing me like to one more rich in hope,Featured like him, like him with friends possessed,Desiring this man`s art, and that man`s scope,With what I most enjoy contented least,Yet in these thoughts myself almost despising,Haply I think on thee, and then my state(Like to the lark at break of day arisingFrom sullen earth) sings hymns at heaven`s gate,For they sweet love remembered such wealth brings,That then I scorn to change my state with kings.

poem for the day

2007-02-07T18:30:00.000-08:00

Ozymandias

I met a traveller from an antique landWho said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stoneStand in the desert ... Near them, on the sand,Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,Tell that its sculptor well those passions readWhich yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,That hand that mocked them and the heart that fed;And on the pedestal these words appear:"My name is OZYMANDIAS, king of kings:Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"Nothing beside remains. Round the decayOf that colossal wreck, boundless and bareThe lone and level sands stretch far away.

poem for the day

2007-02-07T18:29:00.000-08:00

Up in the Morning Early

Cauld blaws the wind frae east to west,The drift is driving sairly;Sae loud shrill`s I hear the blast,I`m sure it`s winters fairly.CHORUS:Up in the morning`s no for me,Up in the mornings early;When a` the hills are cover`d wi` snaw,I`m sure it`s winter fairly.The birds sit chittering on the the thorn,A` day they fare but sparely;And lang`s the night frae e`en to morn,I`m sure it`s winter fairly.CHORUS:Up in the morning`s no for me,Up in the mornings early;When a` the hills are cover`d wi` snaw,I`m sure it`s winter fairly.

poem for the day

2007-02-07T18:28:00.000-08:00

The Sick Rose

O Rose thou art sick.The invisible wormThat flies in the nightIn the howling storm,Has found out they bedOf crimson joy:And his dark secret loveDoes they life destroy.

poem for the day

2007-02-07T18:26:00.000-08:00

Western wind when wilt thou blow

Western wind when wilt thou blowthe small rain down can rainChrist if my love were in my armsand I in my bed again

poem for the day

2007-02-07T18:24:00.000-08:00

`Tagus farewell`

Tagus farewell, that westward with they streamsTurns up the grains of gold already tried:With spur and sail for I go seek the ThamesGainward the sun that showeth her wealthy prideAnd to the town which Brutus sought by dreamsLike bended moon doth lend her lusty side.My king, my country, alone for whom I live,Of mighty love the wings for this me give.

PROVERBS

2007-02-02T20:21:00.000-08:00

EVERY DOG HAS HIS DAY.
EVERY MAN FOR HIMSELF AND GOD FOR US ALL.
EVERY MAN MEND ONE. ALL SHALL BE MENDED.
EVERY MAN HAS HIS PRIDE.
IN EVERY FAULT. THERE IS FOLLY.
EVERY DOG IS A LION AT HOME. WHERE EVERY HAND FLEECETH. THE SHEEP GOES NALED.
EVERY MAN IS MAD ON SOME POINT.
EVERY ONE IS WITTY FOR HIS OWN PURPOSE.

EVERY ONE'S FAULTS ARE NOT WRIT ON THEIR FOREHEADSTEN.

PROVERBS

2007-02-02T20:05:00.000-08:00

APES.THE ESCAPED MOUSE EVER FEELS THE TASTE OF THE BAIT. IT IS HARD-FOUGHT FIELD WHERE NONE ESC

PROVERB

2007-02-02T20:02:00.000-08:00

NEVER DBETTER BE ENVIED THAN PITIED. ENVY SHOOTS AT OTHERS AND INJURES HERSELF. ENVY IES.

Valentine's Day Preparation

2007-02-02T04:42:00.000-08:00

Prevention is better than cure........ ......... ......... !!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!

Love is everything it's cracked up to be. That's why people are so cynical about it. It really is worth fighting for, being brave for, risking everything for. And the trouble is, if you don't risk everything, you risk even more.
~Erica Jong~

If I could reach up and hold a star for every time you've made me smile, the entire evening sky would be in the palm of my hand.
~Ramesh Bhati~

Love is eternal -- the aspect may change, but not the essence There is the same difference in a person before and after he is in love as there is in an unlighted lamp and one that is burning. The lamp was there and was a good lamp, but now it is shedding light too, and that is its real function. And love makes one calmer about many things, and that way, one is more fit for one's work.
~Vincent Van Gogh~

Love - a wildly misunderstood although highly desirable malfunction of the heart which weakens the brain, causes eyes to sparkle, cheeks to glow, blood pressure to rise and the lips to pucker.
~Author Unknown~

I don't understand why Cupid was chosen to represent Valentine's Day. When I think about romance, the last thing on my mind is a short, chubby toddler coming at me with a weapon.
~Ramesh Bhati~

Love is a symbol of eternity. It wipes out all sense of time, destroying all memory of a beginning and all fear of an end.
~Author Unknown~

Very.Meaningful.Lines

2007-02-02T04:18:00.000-08:00

Very Meaningful Lines

Yesterdays

2007-02-02T04:09:00.000-08:00

N i g h t * L i g h t s * * ....by P o o j a

2007-02-02T03:54:00.000-08:00

Wildlife Pictures

2007-02-01T01:14:00.000-08:00

AGE IS NO BAR

2007-01-31T07:33:00.000-08:00

AGE IS NO BAR

THE QUALITY OF YOUR VISUALIZATION WILL DETERMINE HOW QUICKLY YOU WILL ACHIEVE YOUR GOAL. SINCE MOST OF US ARE UNAWARE OF THE POWER OF VISUALIZATION, WE GIVE LITTLE THOUGHT TO WAHT WE ACTUALLY DESIRE. BUT FOR A PERSON WHO VISUALIZES AND THE PERSON WHO IMAGINES, AGE IS NO BAR TO ACCOMPLISH HIS DREAMS.

TEMBA CHIRI SHERPA IS THE YOUNGEST MAN TO CONQUER THE WORLD’S HIMALAYAN PEAK, THE MOUNT EVEREST. WHEN ASKED HOW HE MANAGED TO REACH AT THE TOP, THE YOUNG BOY REPLIED “WHEN I STARTED I KNEW WHERE I WANTED TO GO AND WHAT I TO DO TO GET THERE . I PAINTED A VIVID PICTURE IN MY MIND THAT I HAVE TO REACH AT THE TOP.”

TEMBA CHRIR SHERPA, CLIMBED THE GREATEST HEIGHT AT THE AGE OF 16. THE YOUNG BOY STARTED CLIMBING AT THE AGE OF 13 YEARS. HE SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED 46 DAYS OF COURSE CONDUCTED BY THE NEPAL MOUNTAINEERING ASSOCIATION. DHOLKA FOUNDATION HAD SPONSORED HIS FIRST ATTEMPT TO CLIMB EVEREST . BECAUSE OF BAD WEATHER HE HAD TO RETURN THOUGH HE WAS VERY CLOSE TO THE SUMMIT. HE LOST NOT ONLY HIS WEIGHT BUT FIVE FINGERS ALSO, THREE FROM THE RIGHT HAND AND TWO FROM THE LEFT . WHEN HE WAS BACK FROM THE UNSUCCESSFUL ATTEMPT TO ALIMB AT THE TOP OF HIMALAYAS PERHAPS HE SAID “MOUNT EVEREST YOU HAD DEFEATED ME BUT I WILL RETURN AND I WILL DEFEAT YOU BECAUSE YOU CANNOT GET ANY BIGGER BUT I CAN”

IN HIS SECOND ATTEMPT HE JIONED A SPANISH TEAM ON THE RECOMMENDATION OF THEMBA SERKU TREKKING AGENCY OF KATHMANDU AND HE SET A NEW WORLD RECORD OF CONQUERING MOUNT EVEREST AT THE YOUNGEST AGE . CONGRATULATION!

Short SMS Jokes

2007-01-29T01:38:00.000-08:00

Short SMS Jokes
Friendship is a network tht needs: no recharge! no roaming! no validity! no activation! no signal problems! juz dont switchoff ur Heart.!

Definition of a Nurse A young and beautiful woman who fingers u in all places n holds ur hand and then expects ur pulse to be normal

Teacher: What r the people of Turkey called? Student: I don't know. Teacher: They r called Turks, now What r the people of Germany called? Student: They r called Germs.

A newly married girl got first class in her B.Ed exams. Her husband sent telegram to her parents - Ruby First Class in Bed!

2 days of powrcut in Delhi had made life miserable worst affected was "Delhi metro statin where families of Banta n Santa were stuck for 48 hrs on.... Escalators

He said... Do u love me just coz my father left me a fortune? She said... No stupid, I'd love u no matter who left you the money!

"Room Service? Can you send up a towel?" "Please wait someone else is using it."

I want to share Everything with you. Your JOYS, Your SADNESS, Your HAPPY MOMENTS Every single second of day Let us START with your ATM Password first.

There is always a "DRIVE SLOW" board near boy's schools, but not near girl's college .. Why? COZ vehicles automatically go slow....

History Teacher : From where to where did the mughals rule ? Student: Sir, I am not sure but I think from page 15 to 26.

Q: What kind of food does a race horse eat?A: Fast food

hey listen she asked me ur details...so i gave her u r cell number. so she will meet u soon.... her name is smile.... i think she came.

2day, 2morrow & 4ever, there will be 1 heart that would always beat 4 u. U know whose?? YOUR OWN

Heartbeats are countless .... Spirits are ageless .... Dreams are endless..... Memories are timeless.... A friend like you ....... Priceless!!!

Museum administrator: That's a 500 year old statue you've broken.Banta Singh: Thank God! I thought it was a new one!

Pattern Photography

2007-01-29T01:24:00.000-08:00

Fwd: Very Cute Dolls

2007-01-29T01:06:00.000-08:00

O Captain! My Captain!

2007-01-27T07:37:00.000-08:00

O Captain! My Captain!
by Walt Whitman
O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done, The ship has weather'd every rack,
the prize we sought is won, The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,
While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring; But O heart! heart! heart!
O the bleeding drops of red, Where on the deck my Captain lies, Fallen cold and dead.
O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells; Rise up- for you the flag is flung- for
you the bugle trills,

For you bouquets and ribbon'd wreaths- for you the shores
a-crowding,
For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning;
Here Captain! dear father!
This arm beneath your head!
It is some dream that on the deck,
You've fallen cold and dead.
My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still,
My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will,
The ship is anchor'd safe and sound, its voyage closed and done,
From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won;
Exult O shores, and ring O bells!
But I with mournful tread,
Walk the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.

A Refusal to Mourn the Death, by Fire, of a Child in London

2007-01-27T07:36:00.001-08:00

A Refusal to Mourn the Death, by Fire, of a Child in London
by Dylan Thomas
Never until the mankind making
Bird beast and flower
Fathering and all humbling darkness
Tells with silence the last light breaking
And the still hour
Is come of the sea tumbling in harness
And I must enter again the round
Zion of the water bead
And the synagogue of the ear of corn
Shall I let pray the shadow of a sound
Or sow my salt seed
In the least valley of sackcloth to mourn
The majesty and burning of the child's death.
I shall not murder
The mankind of her going with a grave truth
Nor blaspheme down the stations of the breath
With any further
Elegy of innocence and youth.
Deep with the first dead lies London's daughter,
Robed in the long friends,
The grains beyond age, the dark veins of her mother,
Secret by the unmourning water
Of the riding Thames.
After the first death, there is no other.

"Ring out, wild bells" from In Memoriam

2007-01-27T07:35:00.001-08:00

"Ring out, wild bells" from In Memoriam
by Lord Alfred Tennyson
Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky,
The flying cloud, the frosty light:
The year is dying in the night;
Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.
Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.
Ring out the grief that saps the mind
For those that here we see no more;
Ring out the feud of rich and poor,
Ring in redress to all mankind.
Ring out a slowly dying cause,
And ancient forms of party strife;
Ring in the nobler modes of life,
With sweeter manners, purer laws.
Ring out the want, the care, the sin,
The faithless coldness of the times;
Ring out, ring out my mournful rhymes
But ring the fuller minstrel in.
Ring out false pride in place and blood,
The civic slander and the spite;
Ring in the love of truth and right,
Ring in the common love of good.
Ring out old shapes of foul disease;
Ring out the narrowing lust of gold;
Ring out the thousand wars of old,
Ring in the thousand years of peace.
Ring in the valiant man and free,
The larger heart, the kindlier hand;
Ring out the darkness of the land,
Ring in the Christ that is to be.

For the Union Dead

2007-01-27T07:34:00.001-08:00

For the Union Dead
by Robert Lowell
"Relinquunt Omnia Servare Rem Publicam."The old South Boston Aquarium stands
in a Sahara of snow now. Its broken windows are boarded.
The bronze weathervane cod has lost half its scales.
The airy tanks are dry.
Once my nose crawled like a snail on the glass;
my hand tingled
to burst the bubbles
drifting from the noses of the cowed, compliant fish.
My hand draws back. I often sigh still
for the dark downward and vegetating kingdom
of the fish and reptile. One morning last March,
I pressed against the new barbed and galvanized
fence on the Boston Common. Behind their cage,
yellow dinosaur steamshovels were grunting
as they cropped up tons of mush and grass
to gouge their underworld garage.
Parking spaces luxuriate like civic
sandpiles in the heart of Boston.
A girdle of orange, Puritan-pumpkin colored girders
braces the tingling Statehouse,
shaking over the excavations, as it faces Colonel Shaw
and his bell-cheeked Negro infantry
on St. Gaudens' shaking Civil War relief,
propped by a plank splint against the garage's earthquake.
Two months after marching through Boston,
half the regiment was dead;
at the dedication,
William James could almost hear the bronze Negroes breathe.
Their monument sticks like a fishbone
in the city's throat.
Its Colonel is as lean
as a compass-needle.
He has an angry wrenlike vigilance,
a greyhound's gently tautness;
he seems to wince at pleasure,
and suffocate for privacy.
He is out of bounds now. He rejoices in man's lovely,
peculiar power to choose life and die--
when he leads his black soldiers to death,
he cannot bend his back.
On a thousand small town New England greens,
the old white churches hold their air
of sparse, sincere rebellion; frayed flags
quilt the graveyards of the Grand Army of the Republic.
The stone statues of the abstract Union Soldier
grow slimmer and younger each year--
wasp-waisted, they doze over muskets
and muse through their sideburns . . .
Shaw's father wanted no monument
except the ditch,
where his son's body was thrown
and lost with his "niggers."
The ditch is nearer.
There are no statues for the last war here;
on Boylston Street, a commercial photograph
shows Hiroshima boiling
over a Mosler Safe, the "Rock of Ages"
that survived the blast. Space is nearer.
When I crouch to my television set,
the drained faces of Negro school-children rise like balloons.
Colonel Shaw
is riding on his bubble,
he waits
for the blessèd break.
The Aquarium is gone. Everywhere,
giant finned cars nose forward like fish;
a savage servility
slides by on grease.

Because I could not stop for Death (712)

2007-01-27T07:32:00.000-08:00

Because I could not stop for Death (712)
by Emily Dickinson
Because I could not stop for Death –
He kindly stopped for me –
The Carriage held but just Ourselves –
And Immortality.
We slowly drove – He knew no haste
And I had put away
My labor and my leisure too,
For His Civility –
We passed the School, where Children strove
At Recess – in the Ring –
We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain –
We passed the Setting Sun –
Or rather – He passed us –
The Dews drew quivering and chill –
For only Gossamer, my Gown –
My Tippet – only Tulle –
We paused before a House that seemed
A Swelling of the Ground –
The Roof was scarcely visible –
The Cornice – in the Ground –
Since then – 'tis Centuries – and yet
Feels shorter than the Day
I first surmised the Horses' Heads
Were toward Eternity –