I just finished reading the book #Girlboss, by Sophia Amoruso and it was pretty great:

Though I usually lean more toward fiction, in the last two years, I've begun to enjoy reading more non-fiction and memoirs. I enjoy hearing about the way other people overcome challenges through hard work in order find success.

This book was full of empowering words and motivational lessons for women (although the lessons can apply to anyone, of course). Also, spoiler alert: I love it when the answer to "Where did your success come from?" is "my own hard work" and "not giving up."

There are some business and relationship nuggets that can be plucked from Sophia's story, for sure, but I had to get used to her take-no-prisoners language. I have a feeling that if we met in real life, though, that we could be great friends. Her writing voice is unique and engaging and humorous.

Have you read his book? Or I should probably start by asking: do you even like reading memoirs? Do tell!

To the Summit

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of hiking to the top of my favorite mountain, Timpanogos. It's around an 8-hour round-trip hike and requires some serious stamina and stair-climbing skillz in some places. It's not a hike I recommend to people who just get the urge to go on a hike one day and think climbing a mountain would be a fun thing to do. While it is super fun (for me, at least!) and infinitely rewarding, you have to be prepared.

You have to take about 2 meals worth of food, as well as a lot of water (I'm talking several liters). You should take some toilet paper too, for answering nature's call out in the wilderness. You should probably take a jacket because it gets super windy at the summit and it can be chilly in the shade. You need to take excellent shoes because you will be hiking in them for at least 15 miles and (depending on the time of year) could be crossing several glaciers. You need to take a flashlight if you're starting your hike before dawn, and sunscreen for after the sun rises and when you are above the treeline. A first-aid kit, pain reliever, and hiking sticks are also good to consider.

With all that preparation, though, there is even more preparation that must take place days and even months ahead of time. You should hydrate yourself for at least the week leading up to the hike. Your shoes need to be broken in to avoid serious injuries. You should have taken several longer hikes in the months and weeks prior in order to get accustomed to the type of movement your body will be using and to adjust to the altitude change. Above all, you should study maps and learn from experienced hikers to better understand what to expect from the trail in terms of terrain and time.

This is not to say that it is impossible to hike without preparing (because any normal, healthy person can totally hike to the summit without serious repercussions), but you will be more exhausted, hangry, dizzy or nauseous with altitude sickness, and sore the following days. Every year, several people are airlifted from the mountain, and it is usually because they were poorly prepared.

That being said, the rewards are incredible. How many people have truly seen a sunrise from a mountain peak or watched the mist slowly dissolve from rows upon rows of mountains in the morning light? How many people have watched--in person--a pika building a nest out of twigs and leaves, or have born witness to a grouse strutting about unabashedly, or walked with mountain goats ambling along ridges and rock slides or seen a bull moose wading in a pond? How many people have actually walked through a meadow while a huge herd of deer runs by, or been so high up that even the soaring birds are flying beneath their view? How many people know what it feels like to have the hairs on your arms tingle while standing in the middle of gathering clouds, or know what it feels like to stand at the highest peak and then know how someone can feel so big and at the same time so small and proud and scared and thrilled...and how it can all be contained in a single human heart in a single moment.

Totally worth it, but it is a lot of work.

Recently, I've set a personal goal for myself that likewise requires a lot of preparation but that could potentially be just as rewarding. I knew well ahead of time that it was going to be a ton of work. It's a little arduous and can be discouraging but thus far the view is looking good, and I'm getting excited about reaching my goal. And who knows? Maybe once I'm at the top, I will see another peak in the distance that I'd love to climb. Or, maybe I'll feel inspired to climb it over and over again.

On our hike, we ran into that guy, who told us it was his 661st time reaching the summit, which is incredible! What an inspiration! Also, it could be a little intimidating to compare his 72 years of summit accruals to the handful of times I've been, but guess what? Every person's goals are different and I am at a different place in my life right now than he is. He told us one reason he continues to hike to the summit is to inspire other people. He said people can do hard things and that you're only as old as you think you are. True dat, guy. True dat.

Do you have a big goal that your are working towards or have already met? What is your mountain summit? What preparation went into it and what were the rewards?

4 Ways to Sketch, Part IV (Shapes)

On Instagram, I showed a sketch I had done of the same flower using four different techniques. I thought it would be helpful to dive into the types of sketching since each technique is used to hone in on different illustration skillz.

The last type of sketching is using basic shapes. This is the method I use to make my most realistic-looking pieces and allows for a little more evolution and correction than the other highlighted sketching techniques. Feel free to join in while we explore this type of sketching a little more:

First, you'll want to identify the main shapes that make up your subject. Imagine the subject as a bunch of geometric shapes with a sheet laid over them. Imagine the framework underneath the surface. Look for protrusions and curves, angles, and general shapes and lightly indicate them on your paper with a light touch:

Once you've identified the main shapes, connect them and go over them again, paying closer attention to detail with each pass. Draw over each line, still with a light touch, but correct shapes and angles you may have gotten wrong the first time around:

Repeat as many times as necessary, always refining the details and shapes you've already established. Keep a light touch the entire time, since the repetitions of your lines and shapes will naturally darken the lines and redefine the shapes. Continue until your corrected shape matches the subject. Notice and add in smaller details and shapes:

This type of exercise is ideal for learning how to notice the underlying skeletal structure of a subject. Knowing how to show that helps give your subject weight and volume. It is also a great platform to use if you're ready to start adding different values (tints and shadows) to your artwork.

This four-part series highlighted 4 of my go-to sketching methods and the illustration skillz they help develop. Did you find these how-tos helpful? If so, I'd love to know! Is there another sketching method you'd like to see? I'd love to hear what you think.

4 Ways to Sketch, Part III (Contour)

The third type of sketching is a standard contour. There are several ways to treat a contour sketch (like part II- continuous) but this is usually what comes to mind for me. Contour basically means an outline. Depending on the details of your subject matter, this can take a little or a long time, but you can decide how much detail you want to include. Care to join? Please do:

Before drawing, you'll want to identify the details closest to you and work your way out from there. I identified this set of petals that seemed foreshortened and the main perspective point. This is not to draw attention to that part of the drawing, since it will blend in once the drawing is completed, but it will be so much easier to draw (especially if using a pen without pencil sketching beforehand) if you know where to start:

Once you've laid down your starting point, begin working in the remaining details. The purpose for this exercise is to practice observation skills and line control. One thing to take note of when sketching using this method is to never intersect lines. Lines should touch other lines but never run through them.  Each artist is different, but I often like to include lines that appear in the subject but don't necessarily start and stop at other lines, such as wrinkles or folds:

Continue filling out the image, paying close attention to overlapping pieces and ensuring lines don't overlap:

I love how clean and light this type of sketching looks, and think it can make an excellent finished art piece if done correctly. Some people like to use this style for finished artwork, but I like to try my luck sketching this way with a pen.

So, what do you think? Do you like this kind of look? Have you done it before? I'd totally love to see!


Daigo Adachi uses clamp dyeing (Itajime Shibori*) techniques to create unique pieces of textile art. He explores new possibilities with clamp dyeing and blurring effects (nijimi), making everyday items with cloth and fabric patterned in this way. Traditional Japanese clamp dyeing techniques are rarely used these days, but he is interested in reviving them, adding his own interpretations and ideas along the way.
*Itajime Shibori (a type of cramp dyeing / shibori) was popular during the Edo period (1603-1867), but is rarely used these days.

Clamp dyeing and brush dyeing techniques add geometrical patterns and natural blurring to the cloth. The artist uses the same techniques each time, but each item has subtle differences, totally unlike a printed fabric. One way in which these unique patterns can be enjoyed is as a clutch bag. This piece was conceived as a “carrying canvas”.

Simple process produces unique patterns

The clamp dying process is simple. The cloth is folded concertina-style, then folded into triangles or squares. Wood blocks are placed on either side. The cloth can either be soaked in a bowl with dye in it, or a brush can be used to dye the cloth. Unfolding the dyed cloth reveals a series of blurred patterns with subtle differences, with each pattern unique.

Clamp dyeing design sense

Mr. Adachi's textile products is dyed more than once. After the cloth is dry, he then folds it in a different way, and use a different color dye or hot water, to create a unique fabric. Different patterns emerge from his various combinations of folding and dye colors. His creations are the culmination of studying the relationship between colors, patterns, dyes and fabrics.
Note: The patterns blur in a slightly different way each time. This subtle difference are part of handicrafts' charm and a sign of their uniqueness.

  • These are his tools of his craftsmanship: dyes, brushes and design notebooks. He records every detail in his notebooks: the blending ratio used in different dyes, how many times a fabric is dyed, and the results of numerous trials and experiments – all of these are noted down.

  • This picture shows him folding the cloth ready for a second dye. To add to the design’s complexity, he uses a different folding pattern the second time round.

  • After the cloth is dyed, he dries it and steams it. This process fixes the color to the cloth. He then washes away any surplus dye.


Special Education

Common special needs include challenges with learning, communication challenges, emotional and behavioral disorders, physical disabilities, and developmental disorders. Students with these kinds of special needs are likely to benefit from additional educational services such as different approaches to teaching, use of technology, a specifically adapted teaching area, or resource room.

In most developed countries, educators are modifying teaching methods and environments so that the maximum number of students are served in general education environments. Special education in developed countries is often regarded less as a "place" and more as "a range of services, available in every school." Integration can reduce social stigmas and improve academic achievement for many students.

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H.G. Matsyavatar Das

Wednesday, 29 April 2009

The Scienze of Meditation - Part II

Lecture by Matsya Avatara Dasa

Naples, Castello Angioino, 20th December 2008

Conference “The Science of Meditation”

The word Yoga comes from the Sanskrit root yuj, literally meaning "to unite, to connect". In fact Yoga is the science for the reintegration of the individual self with the supreme Self, of the infinitesimal consciousness with the cosmic Consciousness.

Bhagavad-gita describes various types of Yoga and in his very famous treatise on the Yogasutras constituting one of the foremost and most important Psychology Schools created by mankind, Patanjali defines eight stages of development of the Yogic discipline (Ashtanga Yoga) where meditation, dhyana, only constitutes the second-last stage.

Before entering a meditative state, the aspirant yogi must purify his mind and heart, abstaining from those activities that are contrary to the spiritual evolution (yama) and engaging in the activities that favor it (niyama). Next, one should become expert in keeping postures, or asanas, that enable us to become less disturbed by our body, and then learn the art of breathing, pranayama. By turning within and withdrawing the senses from their objects (pratyahara) and trying to focus our attention resources towards one direction (dharana) the yogi prepares for meditation proper, called dhyana, where the flow of one's attention is not distracted any more by external interference. This meditation will enable him to attain a stage of complete inner absorption, defined as samadhi. The stages that precede samadhi are required to solve the conflicts between the various psychic structures and functions, through the harmonization of personality, before aspiring to a complete absorption in the meditation seed, the bija, what to speak of the self.

The approach to meditation must be gradual, because first we need to develop some knowledge derived from the attainment of the awareness of small truths, without the recurring presumption of having conquered Reality, Truth, and final enlightenment. What happens during meditation is a continued and progressive realization of Reality that is slowly revealed until it becomes apparent, manifest, clear and natural, so natural that it is impossible to conceive something different from it.

For example, regarding the awareness of our being different from the body, it can come all of a sudden, as in the case of a diagnosed terminal disease, an irreversible degenerative pathology that forces the patient to concentrate not on the physical structure that is subject to that devastation, but on his real self. In this perspective, as reported in many ECM works in various Italian hospitals and health assistance centers, death should not be seen as a physical event, as something concrete, but rather as an abstract concept, because there is not a real end of something, but rather a transformation in something else. On the other hand, de-identification can happen as a progressive goal of an introspective process that enables us to understand the body as something that is external to us, with which we are not identifying. However, in this realization we see the body as a valuable instrument, useful and treasured, we can employ for further knowledge and experience.

The human body and the human personality are not the all-in-all of the person, but they are merely aspects of the person. The eminently divine part of ourselves considers such aspects, and thus the human dimension in general, as a limitation, a stricture, a sort of prison - the soul's cage in Plato's metaphor. However, we should not see it as something obsessive and oppressive, because it is a structure evolved by matter and its degree of evolution is comparable to the degree of elevation of the consciousness that lives in it. Therefore every person inhabits a particular body and, with it, carries a particular pathology or state of health.

The science of health or Ayurveda (the Sanskrit word ayur means life, strength, health) studies in details the nature of the human being and his relationship with a vast array of energies. It expands the scenario of interaction between body, psyche and intra-individual consciousness to an inter-individual level, therefore the behavior, as the sum of the actions of the individual, is considered as the result not only of one's individual apparatus, but also as the result of its interaction with the body, psyche and consciousness of others. This factor is very important because it is the basis of many conflicts that afflict man at present both at an individual level and at the collective level; often conflicts that we cannot solve internally are projected externally, on the people around us, both near and far.

The connection between the various elements of creation cannot simply be reduced to relationships but it permeates the entire Universe: just think of Bell's Theorem, enunciating that two particles in contact, sharing the same experience, remain in resonance and synchrony even when they are separated, and by activating a modification on one of them this variation also simultaneously extended to the other, in no time.

Thus in the Universe there is nothing that is separated from something else: everything is inside the network and, as on the micro level we can identify networks and neural circuits, on the macro level we can see much greater webs, that extend beyond the single individual.

In Vedas, in Gita, in the Upanishads, in the Yogasutras and in other texts of the Indo-Vedic tradition we can find descriptions of these concepts expressed in an incredibly specialized language and in general we find the vision of man as a creature that is composed by many "bodies" or layers, that go from the grossest to the subtlest and are not limited only to the material and psychic bodies.

In the above diagram we can notice that the material body is only the most external covering of man; this layer, made of gross matter and visible to all, is called annamaya kosha. Annamaya means energy of the food, because the physical body is sustained by food. At a subtler level it is possible to identify the energy field, prana, belonging to each human being, individual and specific for each living entity: this level is called pranamaya kosha. The physical body has no energy of its own, and would not even be able to stand without this vital energy, the energy sheath of prana, that enables it to move and makes it so valuable. This energy field is utilized by acupuncture, for example: when the energy that supports the physical body is not properly distributed, we can have some energy blockages.

Rising toward increasingly subtle levels, after the energy level we find the mind level, manomaya kosha, therefore the energy sheath depends on the mind. Thus pranamaya kosha directly depends on our mind, on our state of mind, and therefore it is not possible to develop ecological energies to support the body if we do not take care of the rehabilitation of the mind first. This is the message transmitted by the rishis, the Spiritual Masters that belong to the Indo-Vedic Tradition, a basic teaching on which we need to work immediately, because as explained by Krishna in Bhagavad-gita, the mind can be our best friend or our worst enemy. It can be the vehicle for the healing process or the cause for disease, infirmity or paralysis. Thus the mind is the priority in the search for health, even before the physical body, because the physical body depends on it, as in Juvenal's motto, “mens sana in corpore sano”. In general, mind and body are so inter-dependent and so interacting, that some damage in either of them is almost immediately transmitted to the other, therefore they must be treated at the same time. For this reason, Patanjali teaches that the first step on the path of spiritual realization, codified in his Yogasutras, some fundamental ethical norms (yama and niyama) for the harmonization of the psycho-physical structure. The mind sheath is supported by the intellectual sheath, vijnanamaya kosha. At the level of the psychic dimension intellect (buddhi) is constituted by deep beliefs on which people built their lives, consciously or unconsciously. Such deep beliefs lie in the intellect and are the support of the mental structure. Ananda means inexhaustible happiness, bliss. It cannot be compared to sense pleasure, as sense pleasure does not even constitute the shadow of such happiness. Euphoria, excitement, orgasm: they all have a beginning and an end, and therefore the wise people consider them as illusory products of human life. When the living being is completely satisfied in the self he does not have any other aspiration; one who feels ananda experiences a sense of communion with all creatures, wants to be a friend for everyone and becomes benevolent towards all living beings. In fact, conflicts are a symptom of dissatisfaction and suffering. Ananda is essential in order to remain healthy: a popular Neapolitan saying goes, "God helps the merry hearts". The intellectual sheath is thus supported by a sheath of bliss or essential joy, anandamaya kosha, fundamental for our physical well being, because inner satisfaction guarantees the harmonization and the balance of all the other structures - physical, energetic, psychic, while a depressed mood and negative emotions affect the immune system by depressing it through hormonal de-synchronization, as it was also explained in the lecture of Professor Genovesi.

Ananda belongs to atman: the real source of energy of the person is of spiritual nature. It is neither physical nor psychic, but spiritual energy, and besides ananda, its characteristics are eternity, sat, and consciousness, cit. We are spiritual entities, we are atman and sat, cit, ananda are characteristics that we cannot possibly lose, no matter what happens, because they are intrinsic, they cannot be separated from what we objectively and intimately are, although they may become more or less veiled by ignorance, neglected or atrophied.

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Regina Spektor used to actively repel any comparisons to chart-humping drama queens just by being Regina Spektor- her beautiful and clever yet naïve-sounding voice always running in different directions to the minimalistic music she made but fitting perfect all the same. Those days are gone. ‘Begin To Hope’ finds the Russian born New-Yorker caving in to whatever sort of pressure got to Alanis Morrisette years ago. ‘Better’ sounds like a Bon Jovi cast-off, there are Euro beats crashing into each other everywhere else and by ‘Edit’ it’s all starting to sound horribly similar. ‘Samson’ is the exception, sounding like a mainstream radio hit, a smoky backroom sing-a-long and a lonely confession all at the same time. And only ‘Fidelity’ retains the valuable majesty of before. You can mourn the quirks and out-of-this-world oddness that Spektor previously did so well but the biggest shame is the loss of her fantastic rainbow-coloured personality. Another one bites the dust.

BUILT TO SPILL- You In Reverse

Built To Spill singer/guitarist/all-round main man Doug Martsch has kept the world waiting five years for another BTS record. There were fears that his band’s Neil Young and Sonic Youth inspired sound might have become too slow and too snug to still matter but apparently 15 years in the game means you know a little something about the rules.

Martsch doesn’t hold back on any count. This isn’t a rowdy record but it does move in fantastically mysterious ways. There are great expanses of looping, overlapping instrumentation that go for minutes without vocals. When the words do arrive they are tender and memorable. There is a myriad of guitar sounds and quick, challenging sets of mood swings. It all adds up to some great tunes. It might clock in at eight minutes but ‘Goin’ Against Your Mind’ sounds like the neatest of jam rock. Up against the more muscular and distorted indie riffery sits the melancholy wonder of ‘Gone’, ‘Just A Habit’ and ‘The Wait’. At times the record feels half-hearted, drifting too far into dreary dream-pop territory but the gorgeous moments of ‘Conventional Wisdom’ and ‘Liar’ reel the whole thing back in.

If you fancy finding out where Death Cab, The Shins and Arcade Fire stole all their secrets from, you could do worse than start investigating here.


Monday, April 24, 2017

Hundreds of Faith Leaders to Hold March Urging Congress to Reject Trump’s Immoral Budget Proposal

 to protect the vulnerable

Washington, D.C.—Hundreds of clergy and lay leaders from across the country will gather for a prayer vigil in front of the United Methodist Building, 100 Maryland Ave., NE, at 12 p.m. on Monday, April 24th, to urge Congress to reject President Trump’s sinful and immoral federal budget proposal, which makes deeply destructive cuts to programs that address human needs in order to increase Pentagon spending.

The Christian clergy and lay leaders participating in the march are in the nation’s capital for the Lobby Day of the 2017 Ecumenical Advocacy Days for Global Peace with Justice. Close to 1,000 Christians will participate in the EAD conference over the weekend, which is organized around the theme, “Confronting Chaos, Forging Community: Challenging Racism, Materialism and Militarism.”

Rev. Dr. Leslie Copeland-Tune, an organizer for Monday’s public witness event, remarked, “The extreme nature of this proposed budget, which would cut funding for programs that help children, the elderly, those who have disabilities, and those protecting God’s creation, to build walls and tanks that we don’t need is sinful and immoral. It goes against our beliefs and values. We reject it. We say no to it. In fact, we say hell no to this sinful budget that would hurt the most vulnerable people in our nation!”

Monday, April 24th, at 12 p.m.

United Methodist Building, 100 Maryland Ave., NE
Washington, D.C. 20002

Rev. Dr. Susan Henry Crowe,
Rev. Traci Blackmon,
 Executive Minister of Justice & Witness Ministries, United Church of Christ
Rev. Jimmie Hawkins,
Director, Office of Public Witness, Presbyterian Church (USA)
Rev. Aundreia Alexander, Esq.,
Dr. Patrick Carolan,
Executive Director, Franciscan Action Network
Rev. Dr. Leslie Copeland Tune,
 Director, Ecumenical Poverty Initiative
Mr. Douglas Grace,
 Director, Ecumenical Advocacy Days
Rev. Noel Anderson,
 National Grassroots Coordinator, Church World Service
Bishop Jose Garcia,
 Senior Advisor for Prayer and Special Initiatives, Bread for the World
Rev. Dr. Timothy D. Boddie,
 General Secretary, Progressive National Baptist Convention

Ecumenical Advocacy Days is a movement of the ecumenical Christian community, and its more than 50 recognized partners

Monday, April 10, 2017

7 things you should know about the 2017 DHS immigration enforcement guidelines

By Ray Chen, Emerson National Hunger Fellow at the Office of Public Witness

On February 20, 2017, DHS Secretary John Kelly issued two memoranda [1, 2] that guides DHS offices and personnel on how the department will fulfill the executive orders President Trump signed earlier in January [1, 2]. The memos detail a radical departure from more community-friendly guidelines that were adopted towards the end of the Obama administration. Generally, there will be much stricter immigration enforcement and subsequent expansion of the immigration system. It is still unclear as to how these memos will affect immigration enforcement on the ground, but they provide us with general trends we need to be aware of.

1. These memos rescind all previous DHS guidelines except the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals and Deferred Action for Parents of Americans memos, including the memo that enforce sensitive locations, which grant churches a layer of protection when providing sanctuary, and memos that protect vulnerable populations.

All conflicting DHS guidelines were rescinded except for the 2012 DACA memorandum and the Nov 2014 DACA+/DAPA memorandum, which allow deferred action and work authorization for undocumented people who enter the country as minors and parents of US citizens or lawful permanent residents.

However, it is unclear what this will look in practice, but some clues offer us some insight on the following guidelines:
      Enforcement actions at sensitive locations. The sensitive location memo instructs ICE officers to avoid enforcement activity at places of worship, schools, medical facilities, religious or civil ceremonies, and public demonstrations. The memo protects the people who are housed in places of worship in the Sanctuary Movement. This guideline is currently still up on the DHS FAQ page. However, this may be only temporary, and it is important to note that there have been reports of enforcement actions adjacent to these sensitive locations (i.e. on public road next to a school).
      Protection for victims or witnesses of crime. On Tuesday, Apr 5, DHS spokesperson says that witnesses or victims of crime are not immune to deportation (the Hill). This can lead to decreased public safety, as undocumented people will be less likely to report crime.
      Protection for other vulnerable populations. Previous guidelines have deemed certain groups of people as not an enforcement priority for humanitarian reasons, such as primary caregivers of children, individuals with serious mental disabilities or physical illness, and pregnant and nursing mothers. However, the memo that allows for this flexibility was specifically named to be revoked in the new memos.

2. These memos end “catch and release,” which allowed undocumented people without criminal records to not be detained, and restrict exemptions from detention to a very few people, greatly increasing the population targeted for detention.

These memos specifically called for an end to “catch and release,” which loosely describes the practice of not detaining undocumented people unless if they meet certain criteria for priority removal such as having been convicted of a felony or being a gang member.

With these new guidelines, the only people exempted from detention are: People who are being removed from the US; People granted relief from removal or with valid immigration status in the US; People who withdraw an application for admission voluntarily and leave the US; People required to be released by statute, judicial order, or a binding settlement agreement; People granted parole under the DHS; People who an asylum officer finds has a “credible fear” of persecution or torture, pose no security risk, and agree to comply with any additional conditions of release.

Very few people fit the above criteria, and there would need to be massive expansion of detention facility and personnel to make these detentions a reality. The guidelines vaguely state that ”detention resources should be prioritized based upon potential danger and risk of flight.” The memos also specifically name a restriction on the use of parole, adding that parole can only be granted in “demonstrated urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefits.” Further regulations that clarify the use of parole power is expected.

3. These memos expand the definition of who is considered criminal, thus prioritizing the removal of virtually all undocumented people.

These memos rescind the Priority Enforcement Program, which restricted the criminal offenses that are prioritized for removal, and returns to the Secure Communities Program. Furthermore, it expands the department’s enforcement priorities to also people who have been
      convicted or charged with any criminal offense,
      committed acts that constitute a chargeable criminal offense,
      engaged in fraud or willful misrepresentation,
      have abused any public benefits programs,
      have a final order of removal, or,
      as deemed by an immigration officer, poses a risk to public safety or national security.

These criteria are broad and ambiguous, and can cover petty offenses such as jaywalking or even simply “improper entry by alien.” There is also a specific focus on immigration offenses committed at the southern border.

4. These memos restrict prosecutorial discretion and expand expedited removal so that more people are deported without due process of law.

In contrast to previous guidelines that encouraged prosecutorial discretion for vulnerable groups, these memos say that “shall not be exercised in a manner that exempts or excludes a specific class or category of aliens from enforcement of the immigration.” The General Counsel will issue further guidance on what this will look like in practice.

Furthermore, there is an expansion of the use of Expedited Removal that allows for the removal of arriving undocumented people at the discretion of immigration officers, without further judicial hearings or review. Before the memo, expedited removal had only been used within 100 air miles of the border for people who have only been in the US for less than 14 days and people arriving to the US by sea other than at a port of entry. This memo seeks to enforce removal without further hearings or review for anyone who cannot prove that they have been continuously present in the US for at least two years. The specific guidance has not yet been developed, and will be published in the Federal Register.

5. These memos call for increased state and local law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration enforcement agencies.

Under the Priority Enforcement Program that has now been dismantled, there has been a shift away from state and local law enforcement agencies assisting in the enforcement of federal immigration law. Returning to the Secure Communities program, local and state enforcement can detain an undocumented individual for up to 48 hours additional hours so that ICE officers can apprehend the person, regardless of the type of crime the person had been charged for. Many civil rights groups have criticized this hold as unconstitutional detention.

Furthermore, the memo calls for the expansion of the 287(g) program in the border region, which allow for written agreements between state and local governments to authorize their law enforcement agencies to perform the functions of a federal immigration officer. The 287(g) program had been restricted after it came under criticism for encouraging racial profiling behaviors from local law enforcement and putting communities in dangers as a result of fewer crimes being reported for fear of deportation.

The memo also calls for the expansion of the Criminal Alien Program (CAP), which is facilitated by increased state and local cooperation. CAP focuses on expediting securing a final order of removal for undocumented people who are incarcerated so that the person is deported without even being taken into ICE custody.

6. These memos call for the expansion of detention facilities & enforcement staff.

To implement the above policies, the memos call for the hiring of an additional 10,000 ICE agents and other associated operational, mission support, and legal staff, 5,000 additional border patrol agents, and 500 air and marine agents or officers. The memos also call for resources to be allocated to expanding detention capabilities and building a border wall. Congress will have to allocate enough funds in the federal budget to the DHS for the department to make this expansion a reality.

7. These memos create mechanisms to reinforce the narrative of the “criminal alien.”

Most ostentatiously, the memos establish the Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE) office, which will ensure that victims of crimes committed by undocumented people and the victims’ families have information about the offender. Furthermore, the memos call for a monthly report of data on alien apprehensions and releases that include “country of citizenship, convicted criminals and the nature of their offenses, gang members, prior immigration violators, custody status of aliens, and if release, the reason for release and location of their release, aliens ordered removed, and aliens physically removed or returned.” The memos also calls for a weekly report to the public of non-federal jurisdictions that release aliens from their custody, particularly spotlighting cities that have adopted “sanctuary” policies and do not fully cooperate with ICE officers.

In contrast to prior protocol, the memo declares that the Privacy Act as now only covering US citizens and lawful permanent residents, thus facilitating the release of personal identifiable information to the public by these regular reports and the VOICE office. Under the guise of transparency and accountability, the department is releasing information that can be used as fodder to feed the growing hysteria around “criminal aliens.”

The memos also cover other policy changes, such as ones to collect authorized civil fines and penalties from undocumented people and those who facilitate their presence, to return arriving unauthorized migrants to the contiguous country while they wait for their removal proceedings, regardless of their country of origin, and to change the definition of who qualifies as an unaccompanied minor.

Overall, these memos show that this administration seeks to greatly expand immigration enforcement, and that any undocumented person can be targeted for removal. However, it is unclear how these policies will actually look in practice. It is important to continue watching out for new guidelines that more specifically describe how these policies look on the ground.


Investigating dialectal differences using articulography

Martijn Wieling, Fabian Tomaschek, Denis Arnold, Mark Tiede, Franziska Bröker, Samuel Thiele, Simon N. Wood, R. Harald Baayen

Full Text: PDF   Paper Package: Wieling2015_1.3 tar.gz zip PID: 11022/

The present study uses electromagnetic articulography, by which the position of tongue and lips during speech is measured, for the study of dialect variation. By using generalized additive modeling to analyze the articulatory trajectories, we are able to reliably detect aggregate group differences, while simultaneously taking into account the individual variation of dozens of speakers. Our results show that two Dutch dialects show clear differences in their articulatory settings, with generally a more anterior tongue position in the dialect from Ubbergen in the southern half of the Netherlands than in the dialect of Ter Apel in the northern half of the Netherlands. A comparison with formant-based acoustic measurements further reveals that articulography is able to reveal interesting structural articulatory differences between dialects which are not visible when only focusing on the acoustic signal.

Journal of Phonetics 59, 122-143.


Tire Detailing

Tires are critical to the overall appearance of a car and yet are often overlooked. Considering the fact that tires are in continual contact with the road and suffer from adverse effects of road tar, dirt, grime, water, salt, brake dust, grease AND ultra violet radiation (UVR), ozone, and oxygen, it is understandable that they require great care. Over time, tire rubber simply degrades. As a matter of fact, vehicle manufacturers recommend, independent of tire mileage, that tires be replaced, typically after six years, as a means of preventing sudden failure!

From a detailer’s perspective, not only do we want tires to look nice (i.e. appear new), but we also want to protect them from the elements identified above. A properly cared for tire will add significantly to the overall appearance of a well-detailed vehicle. With this in mind, let’s first try to understand one of the most obvious negative visual features of a tire: tire browning.

Tire Browning: Blooming

Modern rubber formulas used by tire manufactures contain an ingredient called Antiozonant. An antiozonant is a chemical that tire manufacturers add to the tire rubber to help prevent rubber degradation (cracking, splitting, oxidizing, and overall deterioration) due to the rubber’s interaction with ozone (an odorless gas that is part of the air we breathe). Quite interesting is the fact that tire rubber is designed to constantly work the antiozonant to the outside of the tire as it rolls – in this way, the outside surface of the tire is continually replenished with fresh antiozonant. This process provides the positive result of ozone protection, but the negative result of tire browning – once the antiozonant gets exposed to the ozone in the air, it turns brown due to oxidation. The technical term for this effect is blooming. The next time you are in a parking lot, observe the tires on the vehicles you pass – most likely you will see a brownish film on the surface of the tires. As we will discuss in a moment, you can wash your tires with car wash soap or an all-purpose cleaner (APC), e.g. Purple Power Cleaner Degreaser, to remove some of the film, but it will simply return in a few weeks! Every time you drive your car, the antiozonant migrates its way to the outside of the tires. One thing you might be aware of is the fact that vehicles that sit for extended periods of time (months or years) often have tires that show evidence of cracking and drying (dry rot). This cracking occurs due to the fact that there is no opportunity for the tires’ antiozonant to migrate to the surface to provide protection.

An example of tire blooming/browning

An example of tire blooming/browning

Tire Cleaners

So, how can you successfully clean and protect a tires surface? As mentioned above, using car wash soap or an APC will enable you to remove some of the brown film from tires and this, in most cases, is all you will need. A word of caution. A trip to your local auto parts store will yield a number of products designed to clean tires. Some of these products contain harsh cleaners and detergents – using a harsh tire cleaner may also remove the outer layer of tire rubber and may have the detrimental effect of increasing tire blooming as more antiozonant will migrate and permeate the tire surface during flexing. As with every aspect of a car, use the least aggressive method first! This simply means to use the least aggressive cleaner and least aggressive cleaning method – if this does not work, move on to the next aggressive product and/or method.

As a first step, you will need to gently clean the tire surface. The tire cleaner you use needs to be strong enough to remove existing contaminants but not so strong that it damages the tire or wheel coating. I typically clean my tires using the same soap as I would use to wash my car (Meguiar’s NXT, Meguiar’s Gold Class, Optimum No Rinse, Pinnacle Body Work Shampoo, P21S Total Auto Wash, etc.) along with a soft bristle brush or wash mitt (the type of wash mitt is not crucial). As long as you use a reputable car wash soap, you should not have problems. Keep in mind that completely removing the ‘browning’ may not be possible – that is OK. Once you apply a tire protectant (dressing), the browning will disappear.

Tire Dressings

Evidence of silicone-based tire dressing sling

Evidence of solvent-based tire dressing sling

Detailed tire & wheel

Detailed tire & wheel


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What is the organizational structure of the high alumina brick?

Generally speaking, the structure of high alumina brick is composed of solid material and gaseous hole. Porosity is an important factor to affect the properties of high alumina brick at room temperature and high temperature, especially at high temperature, the resistance to corrosion of the refractory brick is greatly reduced. The original is trapped: pore forming high alumina brick molding material in the air is not completely excluded; material removal of water left after space; calcining is not sufficient, some decomposition salts were not decomposed completely, should not completely burning burning ingredients; material composition is not uniform, high temperature sintering shrinkage uneven.

But in some light high alumina refractory brick and fire brick production, it also introduced some specific holes evenly distributed. The existence of the air hole has a direct influence on the porosity, water absorption, bulk density and air permeability of high alumina brick.


Surgical Planning Laboratory

Arkadiusz Sitek Ph.D. (June 2007-November 2012)

Arkadiusz is a faculty scientist working with the nuclear medicine physics group in the BWH.

He graduated at the Warsaw University with a Master degree in physics in 1994 and he received his Ph.D. in Physics at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver in 1998.

Arek specializes in the medical image processing, analysis, visualization, physical data modeling, tomographic iterative image reconstruction, and computer programming. His main research interest are in the alternative three-dimensional medical image representations and visualizations. His research is concentrated in the areas of the Nuclear Medicine, MRI , and CT and in general medical physics.

E-mail: asitek at

Retrieved from "/pages/People/asitek"


Evaluative Research

Week Nine and Ten: 3/13–3/26

To quickly recap, our team is exploring the future of mixed reality, specifically how we might leverage the medium to better connect family members that are living apart.

How might we help families stay close even when they’re far apart?

After conducting a series of exploratory interviews and a generative workshop, we decided to focus on the parent-child relationship due to the level of interdependence we observed between children of the millennial generation and their parents. Although we ultimately imagine our solution being for other families as well (siblings, aunts and uncles etc.) investigating the parent-child relationship has become our tip of the spear strategy to understanding how families communicate.

Speed Dating

Following our exploratory and generative research phases, our team generated four concepts that we shared with Microsoft during our last presentation. Over the last week, we expanded upon our four initial concepts and planned a series of speed dating exercises with our different stakeholder groups. As I learned this week, a speed dating exercise is when you put concepts in front of stakeholders to get reactions.

We also created more thought-provoking variations of the original four concepts to help us test our solutions in different contexts and to better understand the social boundaries of each our participants (e.g. where is the boundary between intimacy and invasion of privacy?). Our plan is to speak with two adult children, one middle aged parent and two older parents with grandchildren.

The Mixed Reality Cafe

Concept Description: In this concept, we wanted to ways to create a greater sense of shared physical presence. In this scenario a brother enter a cafe in New York and the sister visits a cafe in Hong Kong. The cafes are physically indistinguishable — same chairs, tables, counter, food options, etc. The siblings can interact in this space and although they are thousands of miles apart, there’s the perception that they’re in the same physical space.

Concept Variations: We tested how people reacted to the concept in different settings (bar, restaurant, retail store etc.) and in different contexts from a casual conversation over coffee to the celebration of a major life event.

The Mixed Reality Cafe

Dropping In

Concept Description: In this concept we wanted to explore the idea of bonding around passive activities. Many of the people we interviewed said that they missed the mundane activities that they associate with being at home like watching movies and engaging in spontaneous conversation. Here we explored the idea of being able to “drop in” and out of a family dinner.

Concept Variations: We storyboarded this concept in a variety of settings — including public and private spaces and while engaging in more active and passive activities. Some variations included watching tv at home, showing up at the office, having a meal at a restaurant and visiting someone at a hospital.

Dropping In

Passive Connections

Concept Description: In this concept, we wanted to continue to ideate around the idea of “physical presence.” But this time, we wanted to explore more passive interactions by allowing family members to remotely influence one another’s physical spaces in subtle ways. Here we have a grandmother tending to her garden. She hears music which cues that her grandchildren are playing in their yard. She in turn begins to water her flowers which triggers the sprinkler system in her grandchildren’s backyard.

Concept Variations: We tested a variety of scenarios that ranged from more passive interactions, where a lighting system could notify remote family members that they were both in their respective kitchens, to more invasive scenarios where family members could actually manipulate one another’s environment (e.g. adjusting the lighting and temperature of your bedroom when you’re sick).

Passive Connections

The Virtual Care Package

Concept Description: Here we wanted to explore ideas around asynchronous communication and we wondered if there were better ways for sharing our experiences or even objects or gifts with remote family members. The “package” could contain video clips of fun things that we did throughout the day or virtual goods or games that could be enjoyed together later.

Concept Variations: We tested how people reacted to different levels of immersion, from experiences enabled through 2D mediums like photo and video to fully immersive 360 degree experiences. We also explored if the tangibility of the box/container added to the experience.

The Virtual Care Package

Our next steps will include hosting the speed dating exercises and synthesizing the feedback we receive from our all participants. With their insights, our hope is to select a single concept to flesh out further and to begin prototyping.

All of the concept variations can be found here.


Chrysler Group LLC and NASA have announced a three year alliance that will see the companies swapping notes on cutting edge technologies such as materials engineering and robotics.

The two companies share a history of collaboration. During the 1960s Chrysler built Redstone rockets for the Mercury Project and the boosters which helped put the first two Apollo spacecraft into Earth orbit.

Project teams that include technical specialists from each company have already been set-up, and Chrysler says it has already benefited from shared research on reliable surface navigation sensors.

Cross-pollination of ideas will also take place in areas such as wireless technology, radar, battery systems and other energy storage mediums. The goal of the non-reimbursable Space Act Agreement agreement is to leverage each organization's skills and expertise in these areas, but we're not likely to see a sub-orbital family car on the market anytime soon.


Shuangyan Han

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