Power of Social Media

Power of Social Media – and Business! 

Recently we have been seeing this unprecedented upsurge in the online sales and distribution market. With the emergence of technology and the internet, most of the processes have become convenient now.

With the advent of social media, the business market has been able to take a huge leap and invest in social media sites for businesses. The social websites have been coming up with these innovative communicational features which leave you relieved as well as stunned the same time. They have colossally contributed to redefining the word 'Marketing' by large. 

The social media platforms are no more for fun and chatting only - they have been quite constructively utilized for business purposes of almost all types. Great marketing strategies over social media can bring remarkable success to your business, creating excellent brand recognition, building B2C relationships and help you develop a network.

Let’s take a look at some of the monumental social media websites which are fantastical underneath the welcome page! 

Facebook: Facebook is an excellent social networking site which was founded in 2004 as communication platform. This was developed with a purpose to connect the students of Harvard with one another through a common communication platform. Today, Facebook is the most influential social network with very innovative interactive features and options. People make use of those features for miscellaneous purposes. The platform has come in handy as the business industry conducts massive marketing activities over this platform.

LinkedIn: LinkedIn is one of the more professional social networking sites. LinkedIn Groups is a great venue for entering into a professional dialog with people in similar industries and allows a place to share content with like-minded individuals. It's also great for posting jobs and general employee networking.

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Dont' worry, I've thought of everything (famous last words). Social Media is like a torch in the night. Illustration by Megan Jorgensen.

Instagram: Instagram is a photo and video sharing platform, currently owned by Facebook, Inc. It was created by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger and launched in October 2010 exclusively on iOS. As the further innovations were introduced in the platform, people also saw the opportunities as to how to constructively utilize the available communicational resources for their business purposes. 

YouTube: As we all know, Youtube is a free video sharing website which was launched in 2005. It is the most popular site over the internet in regards to video sharing platforms. People now have utilized even this platform to use it for their respective purposes. There are huge marketing and advertisement campaigns being run over it by worldwide recognized brands. 

It’s just great how these platforms have been built up by brilliant people keeping in mind all the constructive objectives. They’re remarkable examples of ingenuity and milestones accomplished by people. Jobs which are usually performed by specific websites such as Geebo, eBay, DomesticSale, IGO, Daraz.pk etc – can also be performed over these platforms through their various innovative features developed for masses' absolute convenience. We hope to see more substantial innovations in coming days catering to people’s respective objectives with brilliant resourceful aptness.

Life and Teachings of Jesus

The Life and Teachings of Jesus

About 70 years before the Jewish uprising against Rome, Jesus, the founder of Christianity, was born in Bethlehem, a town in southern Palestine. Information about the early life of Jesus comes from accounts written by Jesus' disciples after his death.  These accounts, called the Gospels, or good news, make up the first four books of the New Testament of the Bible.

According to the Gospels, Jesus grew up in Nazareth, studied with priests in the synagogue, and learned the trade of a carpenter. As a young man, Jesus began preaching to the poor. The Gospels also say that Jesus performed miracles such as healing the sick. Many people who heard Jesus or witnessed the miracles believed he was the Messiah. The Greek word for messiah was Christios. Followers of Jesus eventually became known as Christians.

The large crowds Jesus attracted when he preached worried Jewish and Roman authorities. Some Jewish officials considered him a troublemaker bent on challenging Hebrew laws. Others rejected Jesus's claims to be the Son of God. Denounced by his enemies, Jesus was arrested and taken before Pontius Pilate, a Roman official. Pilate saw Jesus as a threat to Rome's authority in Palestine. As a result, Jesus was condemned  to die. He was executed according to Roman customs by crucifixion, or being nailed to a cross to die of exposure.

In his teachings, Jesus stressed love for God and compassion for other people. A person's chief duties, he said, were to “love the Lord thy God with all thy heart” and to “love thy neighbor as thyself”. In parables, short stories with simple moral lessons, Jesus taught people how to show kindness to one another. Jesus offered his followers a loving and forgiving God. He thought that earthly richers were unimportant and that people who were humble, merciful and unselfish, would be rewarded with eternal life.

The teachings of Jesus were rooted in Hebrew religious traditions. For example, Jesus preached obedience to one God, to the Ten Commandments, and to other Hebrew laws of the Old Testament. In addition, like the ancient Hebrew prophets, Jesus condemned injustice and criticized false pride. As a result, the Hebrew ethical world view became a fundamental part of Christianity.

In the New Testament, the Apostle John quotes Jesus as saying, “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.” The symbol of Christ as a shepherd appears in much early Christian art. Photo by Elena.

Hidden - a novel

Hidden a novel by Catherine McKenzie

(Excerpt)

Despite being only five hundred miles away from one another as the crow flies, there are no direct flights between my Springfield and Jeff's.

I consider driving to the funeral, but since I don't think I can stand that much time alone with my thoughts, I take a connecting flight through one of those hubs whose terminals splay out like spokes on a wheel. An hour there, an hour lay-over, an hour to the other Springfield, and I'll be there.

I'll. Be. There.

But what am I even doing here, on my way to Springfield, on my way to the funeral I told Zoey I wouldn't be attending?

The day after the day, after the shouting, the crying, what I hope was the worst day of my life, I managed, somehow, to pull a cloak of normalcy around me. I sat at my desk, answered my phone and emails, and processed paperwork.

For the next three unfortunates who were being terminated, I pretended I wasn't the object of stares, of whispers, of questions, of doubt. In my silence, I hoped, I'd reinforce the hasty explanations I gave on the ride home with Lori, and that would be that. If I was lucky, there'd be some other event, or someone else, to talk about tomorrow.

At midday, an email went out to the memeers of the HR department. It had been decided that someone from the company should attend the funeral. Be an envoy. Say a few nice things about how devoted Jeff was, how well liked. It wouldn't be a pleasant mission, so a volunteer would be appreciated.

The email felt like a bomb sitting in my inbox.

Where my co-workers expecting me to diffuse it?

As the minutes ticked away and no one their raised hand, my chest started to constrict and I worried I might start hyperventilating. I wanted to go, and I knew at the same time that it was the last thing I should be doing.

In the end, I couldn't help myself.

I'll go, I wrote and hit Send before sanity restored itself.

As my email pinged into my department's inboxes, I imagined I heard a collective sigh of relief. Oh, thank God, a dozen people were thinking – or so I imagined. I won't have to be surrounded by sad people, or search for the right words to say. Besides, my thoughts ran on, she should be the one to go, anyway.

Shouldn't she?

The complicated nature of love, griefs, truth, and the place they hold in our lives... Illustration by Elena.

Hidden

Hidden a Novel by Catherine McKenzie

When Tish leaves my room, I realize I can't stay in this town any longer. Coming here in the first place was probably a massive mistake. Before, I had questions. Now, I have answers, but can I believe them? Can they possibly be true? If only there was a way to verify them, to not have to rely on the word of someone I don't know and, instinctively, don't trust.

I check online and if I don't care about arriving in the middle of the night, I can get home. I throw on my clothes, zip up my suitcase, and drive the car back to the rental place.

I have half an hour to wait at the airport, and those minutes of being alone in a crowd give me an idea. Maybe there is a way I can check some of the things she said. Maybe there's some certainty I can seek from a third party.

It's late, but it isn't too late for that.

I use my phone to find a number on the company website and call.

“John Scott,” he says, his voice rough and slightly slurred. “Hi, John, this is Claire Manning.”

A pause. Ice clicks in a glass. “Claire. My goodness. We didn't get a chance to speak... the other day. I'm so sorry for your loss.”

“Thank you.”

“I... did you need something?”

I can't think of any way to say this that won't make him think I'm crazy, but I have to go ahead anyway, and at least I have recent widowhood to fall back on if I ever need to explain myself.

“You were at that retreat, right? The one in Palm Springs?”

“Sure. It was excited. He... had fun. Look, this is going to sound nuts, but do you remember getting a prize pack there? A kind of gift bag?”

His ice clinks again, a deep swallow. “Um, oh, yes. That's right. Would you still happen to have it, by any chance?”

“What's all this about?”

I almost hang up, but I have to know ore than I care what he thinks of me.

“Could you check? It's important. And hard to explain.”

“Yes, all right. Let me ask Cindy.”

He clunks the phone down and I hunch over in my seat, a cramp of nervousness attacking my stomach. I take a few deep breaths and straighten myself up, looking out the black windows at the sihouette of the mountains that surround this Springfield.

A thud. A scrape. “Claire You still there?”

“Still there.”

“Cindy had it. She's such a pack rat.” He chuckles. A bag crinkles. “You want the inventory.”

“You still have the whole thing?”

“It was in her processing area. She has this kind of staging area where she keeps stuff before she turns in into crafts.”

“Give me a sec. Okay, one mini-album of photos fro the office, courtesy of Jeff. He used one of those programs, like a computer thing -”

“Yes, I remember.”

“Of course. Ha! Tom's going to die when I show him this one.”

“Was there anything else?”

“Oh, yes. Sorry. There's a macrame picture frame. That must be from that crone from the other Springfield, and a book of... poetry it looks like. Ah, yes, the golf girl's daughter.”

“Would you mind... is there an inscription in there?”

“Let me check.” The pages flip. “Here we go. “I'm proud mama.” Huh. What an odd thing to write.”

“Kind of, yeah.”

“That's it. Did you need anything else?”

“What? Oh, no. Only... did you notice if Jeff was... spending any time with anyone in particular over the weekend?”

He chuckles again. “You mean his dinner companion? I wouldn't worry about that. He rebuffed her pretty hard. Though I couldn't see why. Flirting never hurt anyone, am I right?”

Some secrets should stay hidden. Illustration by Elena.

Appeal of Christianity

The Appeal of Christianity

From humble beginnings in Palestine, Christianity spread to the eastern cities of the Roman Empire and then throughout the entire Roman word. Scholars have suggested many reasons for the widespread appeal of Christianity.

The simple, direct message of Christianity appealed to many people. The poor and oppressed found hope in the God who loved people regardless of their place in society. Equality, human dignity, and, above all, the promise of eternal life were comforting teachings. Many educated people who had rejected the Roman gods and the mystery religions turned to Christianity. To them, the Christian emphasis on a life of moderation and discipline echoed Greek and Roman philosophies.

The work of dedicated missionaries such as Paul was made easier by the unity of the Roman Empire and the ease of travel between cities. In the eastern Mediterranean, the use of a common language, Greek, and the concentration of people in cities contributed to the early success of Christianity. Furthermore, many early Christians were women who brought other members of their families ino the faith/ In some Christian communities, women conducted worship services and enjoyed equality with men.

During the troubles of the later Roman Empire, the old mystery religions lost vitality. As Christianity gained in strength, more people adopted the religion. Eventually, Christians developed an efficient, dynamic church organization. The Christian Church maintained unity among its members and ensured the survival of the new faith.

The blood of the martyrs”, wrote one Roman “is the seed of the Church. Photo of  the St.Thomas Church, Huron Street, Toronto by Elena.

Church Organization

  

The Christian Church developed gradually during the first few centuries A.D. At first, bishops ranked as the highest officials. Each bishop administrated the churches in a territory called a sea. Below the bishops were priests, who conducted worship services and taught Christian beliefs. As the Church expanded, archbishops were appointed to oversee the bishops. An Archbishop's territory was called a province. The type of organization in which officials are arranged according to rank is called a hierarchy.

As the Church hierarchy emerged, women lost their influence in Church government. They were not allowed to become priests or conduct the Mass, the Christian worship service. But women continued to play a prominent role in spreading Christian teachings across the Roman world.

In time, the bishop of Rome acquired a dominant position in the Church by claiming that Peter, the chief Apostle, had made Rome the center of the Christian Church. The bishop of Rome eventually took the title pope, or father of the Church. Bishops in the eastern Mediterranean cities such as Constantinople, Alexandria, Jerusalem, and Antioch opposed the pope's claim to be supreme ruler of the church.

Together, the clergy, which included archbishops, bishops, and priests, helped keep Christianity alive in the early years of persecution. The clergy also maintained order and discipline in the Church. For example, bishops and archbishops met in councils to decide which ideas or practices the Church would accept. In 325 A.D. Church officials met in Nicaea in Asia Minor, where they drew up the Nicene Creed, a statement of basic Christian beliefs. 

Persecution and Toleration

Unlike other religions within the Roman Empire, Christianity aroused official persecution because Christians refused to worship the emperor. Roman authorities had excused Jews from emperor worship out of respect for their ancient traditions. Bu Roman authorities saw Christians as dangerous troublemakers because they were winning converts throughout the empire.

Official policy alternated between brutal persecution and toleration. Emperors tended to use Christians as scapegoats, especially when political or economic conditions were bad. Both Peter and Paul perished in Rome under the persecution of the emperor Nero.

Persecution strengthened rather than weakened the new religion. During periods of intense persecution, some Christians renounced their faith. But many others became martyrs, people who suffer or die for their beliefs. Christians believed that  martyrs received God's special favor. “The blood of the martyrs”, wrote one Roman “is the seed of the Church.” Many people were impressed by a faith that inspired such devotion in its followers, and they converted in great numbers.

The emperor Constantine officially recognized Christianity. In 313 A.D., he introduced a policy of official toleration by the Edict of Milan. Christianity achieved its greatest triumph in 395 A.D., when it was proclaimed the official religion of the Roman Empire.

Each bishop administrated the churches in a territory called a sea. Picture by Elena.

Golden Age of Athens

Golden Age of Athens

In 477 B.C., more than 160 delegates from Greek cities met on the island of Delos. They formed a defensive alliance to guard against possible future Persian attacks. The alliance was called the Delian League. Athens, the greatest commercial and naval power, dominated the alliance from the start. The larger cities-states supplied ships, and the smaller ones made annual payments. Athenians collected the tribute, commanded the league's fleet, and dictated policy. In 454 B.C., as evidence of its dominance, Athens moved the league treasury from Delos to Acropolis.

Through its control of the Delian League, Athens established an empire. Riches from trade and tribute poured into the city. In an atmosphere of prosperity, Athenians enjoyed their greatest political freedom ever, and Greek culture bloomed. The period following the Persian Wars has often been called the “Golden Age of Athens.”

The chief architect of Athenian policy during this period was Pericles. The son of a noble family, Pericles had received an excellent education and had won fame as a general, statesman, poet, and philosopher. Between 461 B.C. And 429 B.C., Pericles dominated Athenian political life.Because of his many achievements, he came to symbolize Athenian greatness.

Pericles undertook an ambitious building program to beautify Athens. In 480 B.C., the Persians had destroyed the city and its sacred shrines. For years, the ruined temples served as reminders of the Persian menace. But Pericles proposed to rebuild the temples as monuments to the greatness of Athens. Atop of Acropolis, Athenians built the dazzling, white marble Parthenon (Pahr thuh NAHN), a temple to Athena. Phideas (FIHD ee uhs), considered the greatest sculptor of his day, carved a huge statue of Athena that stood inside the temple. Outside, there was another statue of Athena so large that returning sailors could see it far out at sea.

In addition to building temples, Athenians strengthened the defensive walls that connected Athens to the busy port of Piraeus. These building programs employed thousands of workers and attracted stonemasons and artisans from all over Greece. At the same time, talented artists, philosophers, and poets converged on Athens, making it the center of Greek culture. Pericles called Athens the “school of Greece” for its artistic and intellectual achievements as well as for its political system.

The past. Photograph by Elena.

The Height of Athenian Democracy

Democracy, which had been developing in Athens over many years, reached its peak under the leadership of Pericles. He opened all political offices to any citizen. He also arranged payment for jurors so that poor citizens as well as the wealthy could serve/ Furthermore, citizens employed in the building projects no longer depended on noble families for a living and felt freer to voice opinions in the Assembly.

Athens had a direct democracy – that is, all citizens had the right to attend the Assembly and cast a vote. Only a minority of Athenians were citizens. Therefore, the entire citizen body could meet in open discussion, and citizens did not elect people to represent the, Pericles believed that Athenian democracy owed its success to shared values, loyalty to the city, and a willingness to do public service.

But Athenian democracy was far from complete. Citizens had time for public service largely because they owned slaves who worked their land and ran their businesses. Most residents of Athens were not citizens and had no say in government. Furthermore, the many Greeks who flocked to Athens from other cities were considered foreigners and were usually denied citizenship. Women, too, had no political rights. Although Athenian democracy was limited, it served as the model for other Greek city-states.

The Peloponnesian Wars

Otheer Greek city-states resented Athenian success and power/ Some of them formed an alliance called the Peloponnesian League. This alliance was headed by Sparta. In 431 B.C., a dispute between Athens and Corinth, a member of the Peloponnesian League, flared into a major conflict. War engulfed all of Greece as Athens and its allies battled the Peloponnesian League. At the outset, the Athenian navy triumphed on the seas. But a Spartan army marched north into Attica and surrounded Athens, forcing Pericles to move the people inside the city walls. The overcrowed conditions that resulted caused an outbreak of plague. Over a third of the Athenian population, including Pericles, died.

Fighting dragged on for 27 years. Until the Athenian navy was destroyed and both sides were exhausted. Finally, with help from from the Persian navy, Sparta blockaded Athens while Spartan armies again surrounded the city. Facing starvation, Athens surrendered in 404 B.C. Sparta's allies in the Peloponnesian League called for the destruction of Athens. However, Sparta spared the city out of respect for Athens role in the Persian Wars.

The Peloponnesian Wars cost Athens its navy, its empire, and for a time its democratic form of government. Although Athens remained the cultural center of Greece, it never regained the power it had enjoyed during its golden age.

After the Peloponnesian Wars, the Greek city-states continued to fight among themselves, and Persia continued to encourage disunity. For all 100 years, the Greek city-states were at war, first against Persia and then among themselves. The struggles took a devastating themselves. The struggles took a devastating toll in lives and sapped the resources of the cities. Yet as you will read, this period was marked by great achievement in the arts and philosophy.

Remembering the past and the present. Photograph by Elena.

Achaean Civilization

Achaean Civilization

About 2000 B.C., the Achaeans, an Indo-European people like the Hitites and Aryans, invaded the Greek peninsula from the north. The Achaeans settles in one region for a few generations. They they pushed further south. As they conquered new territory, the intermarried with the people already living in the Greek peninsula. Eventually, the Achaeans extended their contests over the Peloponnesus, the southern half of Greece.

The Achaeans expanded their empire through warfare and trade. By about 1400 B.C., they controlled the Aegean and probably occupied Knossos. They built strong fortress cities on the mainland. Each city was ruled by a warrior king. Riches from trade and war loot allowed Achaean rulers to fill their palaces and tombs with gold treasures. Outside of each walled city, traders, merchants, artisans, and farmers lived in small villages that paid tribute to the king.

The Achaeans built on the achievements of Minoan civilization. Artisans at Mycenae reproduced Minoan designs on their jewelry, pottery, and tools. The Achaeans also learned writing from the Minoans. Achaean writing, called Linear B, consists of signs adapted from Minoan Linear A.

Ancient Civilization. Photo by Elena.

The Trojan War

Around 1250 B.C., the Achaeans banded together under the leadership of the king of Mycenae to attack Troy, a rival commercial power. Troy controlled trade routes between the Aegean and Black seas. After a long and devastating war, the Achaeans emerged the victors.

Scholars first learned  about the Trojan War from the Iliad the Odyssey, two of the best-known epic poems in the world. The poems were probably composed by Homer, a blind Greek poet, about 750 B.C., long after the fall of Troy. Homer based his poems on stories that had been passed on by earlier generations. Some scholars question whether Homer actually existed. Others have suggested that the Iliad and Odyssey actually existed. Others have suggested that the Iliad and Odyssey were the work of several poets. The ancient Greeks, however, believed that Homer was a real person.

According to the Iliad, the tragic struggle occurred because Paris, a Trojan prince, kidnapped Helen, wife of the king of Sparta. The Spartan king and his brother, King agamemnon of Mycenae, enlisted the  help of other rulers and eventually involved all of Greece in the effort to rescue Helen. After ten years of war, the Achaeans destroyed Troy and drove the Troyans into exile. In the Odyssey, Homer described the wandering and adventures of the Achaean warrior Odysseus after the fall of Troy.

Until the late 1800s, historians considered the Iliad and Odyssey to be fiction. The poems, which mixed stories of gods and goddesses with legends of human heroes, seemed to have no historical value. However, Heinrich Schliemann, an amateur archaeologist, believed otherwise. He thought Troy had really existed, and he set out to prove it.

Schliemann began to excavate a site in northwestern Asia Minor that matched Homer's description of Troy. Digging revealed the ruins of an ancient city, but Schliemann soon discovered that at least nine cities had been built at different times on the time spot. Finally, the charred wood and destruction found on one level suggested that this was the city actually destroyed by the Achaeans. Later, Schliemann excavated the site of Mycenae, which was also described by Homer.

In ancient times, as today, people often rebuilt a city that had been destroyed by war or natural disaster. The new city would be built on the ruins of the old city. Picture by Elena.

Pusha

Pusha, various images from the past and the present

Push - selfie.

Aquarius Friends and Family

Aquarius Friends and Family

• Strengths: Idealistic, universal, spontaneous
• Weaknesses: Bizarre, unreliable, uncertain
• Interactive style: Abstract, objective, cool

Friendship is extremely important to most Aquarians. For them, it often assumes an idealistic, global, and universal significance more than a personal one. Consequently, most of their friendships are tinged with a highly abstract and objective quality – cool rather than passionate. Rarely interested in committing themselves to daily or even weekly contact, Aquarians will contact you while they are on the run or when one their latest active exploits has simmered down or momentarily come to rest. Thus you should not count on them as a pillar of stability but rather as an interesting sidelight in your life – one that can be both entertaining and a bit special.

It's bet to have just one or tow questions for your speedy Aquarius friend – especially ones that can be posed and answered in a rapid-fire-interchange. As far as help with moving, planning, arranging functions, making lists for work and future plans, and shopping for hard-to-find items, you had better not count on it. To Aquarius friends, help is something they can offer only in their spare time, which is already probably extremely limited or nonexistent. Then there is the problem of contacting them, which is also difficult. It's best to leave a voicemail or give a heads-up email several days or even a couple of weeks before you need assistance.

Communication and keeping in touch with the Aquarius friend: Although they are generally good communicators, Aquarians are probably the ones who will contact you rather than the other way around. Not only are they difficult to reach, but they also prefer being the ones who initiate conatct, depending on when, where and how it suits them. Too often this will come smack in the middle of something you are presently busy with, and once you find it impossible to respond to their spontaneous gestures, they may prove even more difficult to contact in the future. Aquarians have to feel that you truly need them urgently, first of all, and, secondly, your attempt to communicate has to strike them in exactly the right way and at the right moment.

Borrowing money from the Aquarius friend: Don't depend on Aquarius friends for loans, even thous that have been agreed to or promised. Chances are that just before they are about to deliver, with all the best intentions, they spent the money elsewhere. So spontaneous are they with outlays of cash that they absolutely cannot be counted on to fulfill fixed financial obligations. If you can interest them in what you will do with the money, however, they may look on the loan as an interesting investment and come through with even more than you asked for. This awakening of their interest is worth developing over time, since it is likely to pay off in a generous outlay of cash.

Asking for advice: Aquarians are not ones to give lengthy advice. Normally they can tell you what they think in a few words and do not need time to mull things over. Usually they are perceptive when it comes to objective issues, but they are not particularly talented in the areas of psychological observation, human emotions, and the darker side of life. Sometimes they outright refuse to get involved in discussions of depressing or unhealthy matters, not only out of dislike but also out of principle. It's best to limit your requests for advice to areas that they have shown adeptness for dealing with, particularly in technical matters.

Visiting the Aquarius friend: It is difficult to visit and Aquarius friend since they are often not at home. Furthermore, if they are there but are fully engaged in a professional or private matter, they may not answer the bell or a knock at their door. Aquarians' full engagement with the matter at hand, which of course can change from minute to minute, frequently precludes even visits that have been scheduled well in advance, so be forewarned not to make assumptions or get your expectations up. You may find it better to suggest that they visit you, giving them a wide range of choices and allowing each of these to span a period of several hours or even days when they might drop in.

Celebrations and entertainment with the Aquarius friend: Fun-loving Aquarians enjoy celebrating special occasions and going out on the town for a good time. However, because of their rapidly changing schedules, it usually works best to make the decision to celebrate or go out on the spur of the moment. Following such impulses, you are both likely to have a great time in a wide range of activities, from a simple meal or drink to a full-blown binge of entertainment possibilities. You will find Aquarians inexhaustible in their ability to have a great time, only posing a problem when you try to put on the brakes and bring things to a halt.

Aquarians' fascinating qualities and quick minds attract people who seem willing to overlook or forgive their wayward tendencies. Illustration by Elena.

Aquarius: Love

Aquarius: Love

Strengths: Spontaneous, natural, enjoyable.

Weakness: Flighty, superficial, unreliable

Interactive style: Lively, animated, particular.

The Aquarius First date, suggested activities

Aquarius first dates are, for the most part, lively and fun-loving. Not interested in hassles or complications, these colorful personalities just want to have a good time. An opportunity to get to know you better and possible deep involvements lie somewhere way down the tracks.

To stay on the rails with Aquarius first dates, you should offer a few choices of restaurants, bars, clubs, or concerts for them to pick from  Don »t be surprised if they have already decided what they want to do, probably five or ten minutes befor you see them. This is not a good idea to make fixed plans before hearing what they have to say at the present moment.

Aquarius first dates move very quickly, both mentally and physically, and they are hard to keep up with. Moreover, you had better take advantage of the first few seconds that you have their attention or have caught their eye, for they are apt to disappear rapidly in the crowd. Do not be surprised if, when trying to pick them up, they suddenly drop all interest in you and turn toward someone else at a party or other social gathering. These ephemeral creatures are hard to pin down, particularly on fist meeting unless the find you highly attractive.

With Aquarians, the fist date is likely to be the last unless you come up with something unusual. Bored with the same old routines,m Aquarius first dates expect a special experience; in particular, they want an activity tailored to their peculiar needs and wants. Listen carefully to what they say and make decisions accordingly if you want to survive the first fifteen minutes together.

Activities involving media and music or danging are good bets. Staring off with a quiet dinner by candlelight is not usually. Aquarians' speed – your romantic intentions toward them will be too blatant, and the time required to sit opposite you in one place will be excessive.

Their first dates are turned off by assumptions you make about them or any obviously practiced routines you fall into that demonstrate your inflexibility and unresponsiveness to their individuality.

Aquarius first dates will be startled and impressed if you can manage to take the lead in whirlwind style and sweep them off their feet. Avoid penny-pinching attitudes such as patting yourself on the back for finding such a good deal for food or entertainment. While respectful or your Aquarius first date's privacy be your liveliest self by flamboyantly leading the way to the next mutually pleasurable experience.

Aquarius first dates will be impressed by the more unusual aspects of your personality and behavior. If they find you truly funny, this is a big step in the right direction. Most Aquarius first dates will show little if any interest in a depressed, unhappy, or troubled personality.

Normally, a couple of bad looks or negative remarks are enough to send Aquarius first dates scurrying off in a flash. Thus if you are truly interested in them, avoid sending any negative signals that could be even remotely interpreted as a brush-off. Smiling, laughing, and above all responding to their light chatter are recommended. Avoid teasing them about their little idiosyncrasies and peculiarities.

If they are not interested, you may never get a second chance since Aquarius first dates can be quite unforgiving of a premature advance. It may work out much better for you to hang back and wait for them to make the first move or, at the very least, flash an unequivocal green light for you to do so.

Governed by the revolutionary planet Uranus, Aquarians tend to be modern, forward-looking individuals who are unusual and accepting of this quality in others. Illustration by Elena.

Exploring the Past and Present

Exploring the Past and Present

An information explosion has taken place, and scientists have gained vast stories of new knowledge in such fields as informatics, space and medicine. Mass communication has helped spread this knowledge. Schools and universities have expanded their courses of study to cover massive amounts of new information. In addition, an increasingly literate public is reading about the latest discoveries.

People are also taking a new interest in the past. Many records of the past have been stored in museums. In the postwar period (after 1945), museums have opened their doors to millions of people. They have mounted well-planned, lively exhibits. Science museums have let people explore complicated space age technology. Museums of art and archaeology have allowed people to learn about other societies.

Proud of their ancient heritages, nations as Egypt and China have allowed museums in other countries to display treasured artifacts. In the 1970s, an exhibit of treasures from Tutankhamon's tomb traveled to the United States and Western Europe. A world tour of Chinese artifacts included 3,000-year-old Shang bronzes and terra cotta figures that had guarded the First Emperor's gave. These exhibits have increased people's curiosity about other people's cultures.

Museums have also collected modern works of art. People flock to see the works of twentieth century masters such as Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse. Competition among museums and private collectors to buy modern works of art has caused prices of these pieces to skyrocket.

In the late XXth century, the center of the art world shifted from Paris to New York, and this brought tremendous changes to people around the globe. New nations emerged in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. Since 1945, these nations and the developing nations of Latin America have taken a prominent role in world affairs. Improved communication and transportation have put people from different parts of the world in closer touch with each other than ever before. In addition, nations have been tied more closely together by economic needs.

In both developed and developing nations, education has contributed to wide-spread changes. In the United States and Western Europe, college attendance soared in the postwar period. Dozens of new colleges and universities were opened. In the same period, developing nations worked toward increasing literacy rates. Many students from these nations attended universities in the United States and Europe.

Important changes have occurred in the workplace. Working conditions, hours, wages, and fringe benefits have been improved. New inventions have led to the growth to revolutionize industry. On farms, new high-yield crops and machinery have changed the way food is produced.

The movement of people from rural areas to cities has been a worldwide phenomenon in the latest years. In cities and their suburbs, people have easier access to education, jobs, and various forms of popular entertainment. 

Patterns of change in the latest years have also affected women. In developed countries, women have entered the workforce in increasing numbers. Women in many countries have expanded their roles in public life.

All these patterns of growth and change continue to pose challenges to all nations. As in the past, individual societies are developing their own ways of meeting these challenges.

Research scientists working with engineers and technicians have made many advances in technology. Photo by Elena.

Darwin's Dangerous Idea

Darwin's Really Dangerous Idea

Adaptation by natural selection is among the most successful and influential ideas in the history of science, and rightly so. It unifies the entire field of biology and has had a profound influence on many other disciplines, including anthropology, psychology, economics, sociology, and even the humanities. The singular genius behind the theory of natural selection, Charles Darwin, is at least as famous as his most famous idea.

You might think that my contrarian view of the limited power of adaptation by natural selection would mean that I am “over” Darwin, that I am ready to denigrate the cultural/scientific personality cult that surrounds Darwin's legacy. Quite to the contrary, I hope to celebrate that legacy but also to transform the popular understanding of it by shedding new light on Darwinian ideas that have been neglected, distorted, ignored, and almost forgotten for nearly a century and a half. It's not that I'm interested in doing a Talmudic-style investigation of Darwin's every word; rather, my focus is on the science of today, and I believe that Darwin's ideas have a value to contemporary science that has yet to be fully exploited.

Trying to communicate the richness of Darwin's ideas puts me in the unenviable position of having to convince people that we don't actually know the real Darwin and that he was an even greater, more creative, and more insightful thinker than he was been given credit for. I am convinced that most of those who think of themselves as Darwinians today – the neo-Darwinians – have gotten Darwin all wrong. The real Darwin has been excised from modern scientific hagiography.

The philosopher Daniel Dennett referred to evolution by natural selection – the subject of Darwin's first great book, On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection = as “Darwin's dangerous idea.” Here I propose that Darwin's really dangerous idea is the concept of aesthetic evolution by mate choice, which he explored in his second great book, The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex.

Why is the idea of Darwinian mate choice so dangerous? First and foremost, Darwinian mate choice really is dangerous – to the neo-Darwinists – because it acknowledges that there are limits to the power of natural selection as an evolutionary force and as a scientific explanation of the biological world. Natural selection cannot be the only dynamic at work in evolution, Darwin maintained in Descent, because it cannot fully account for the extraordinary diversity of ornament we see in the biological world.

It took Darwin a long time to grapple with this dilemma. He famously wrote, “The sight of a feather in a peacock's tail, whenever I gaze at it, makes me sick!" Because the extravagance of its design seemed of nu survival value whatsoever, unlike other heritable features that are the result of natural selection, the peacock's tail seemed to challenge everything that he had said in Origin. The insight he eventually arrived at, that there was another evolutionary force at work, was considered an unforgivable apostasy by Darwin's orthodox adaptationist followers. As a consequence, the Darwinian theory of mate choice has largely been suppressed, misinterpreted, redefined, and forgotten ever since.

Aesthetic evolution my mate choice is an idea so dangerous that it had to be laundered out of Darwinism itself in order to preserve the omnipotence of the explanatory power of natural selection. Only when Darwin's aesthetic vies of evolution is restored to the biological and cultural mainstream will we have a science capable of explaining the diversity of beauty in nature.

 (From the book The Evolution of Beauty. How Darwin's Forgotten Theory of Mate Choice Shapes the Animal World – and Us. By Richard O. Prum).

Given that sexuality is an instinct is traditionally defined as a hereditary behaviour unique to a species, varying little from one member to the next, the variety of our sexual tastes is curious. Photograph by Elena.

Bear in Myth and Legend

Bear in Myth and Legend

By Boria Sax, excerpt from The Mythical Zoo, Animals in Myth, Legend and Literature.

Of all animals, the bear is probably the one that most clearly resembles human beings in appearance. Even apes cannot stand fully upright, and only walk with difficulty. The bear, however, can run on two legs almost as well as a human. Like a person, a bear looks straight ahead, but the expression of bears are not easy for us to read. Often the wide eyes of a bear suggest perplexity, making it appear that the bear is a human being whose form has mysteriously been altered. Bears, however, are generally far larger and stronger than people, so they could easily be taken for giants.

Perhaps the most remarkable characteristic of bears is their ability to hibernate and then reemerge at the end of winter, which suggests death and resurrection. In part because bears give birth during hibernation, they have been associated with mother goddesses. The descent into caverns suggests an intimacy with the earth and with vegetation, and bears are also reputed to have special knowledge of herbs.

At Drachenloch, in a cave high in the Swiss Alps, skulls of the cave bear have been found facing the entrance in what appears to be a very deliberate arrangement. Some anthropologists believe this is a shrine consecrated to the bear by Neanderthals, which would make it the earliest know place of worship. Others dispute the claim; true or not, the very idea is testimony to the enormous power that the figure of the bear has over the human imagination.

The cult of the bear is widespread, almost universal, among people of the Far North, where the bear is both the most powerful predator and the most important food animal. Perhaps the principal example of this cult today is the one followed by the Ainu, the earliest inhabitants of Japan. They traditionally adopt a young bear, raise it as a pet, and then ceremoniously sacrifice the animal. Eskimo legends tell of humans learning to hunt from the polar bear. For the Inuit of Labrador, the polar bear is a form of the Great Spriti, Tuurngasuk. The name of Arthur, the legendary king of Britain, derives from “Artus,” which originally meant “bear”.

The Great Golden Bear overtaking the Transit Commission System Map. Photo taken by Elena.

Countless myths and legends reflect an intimacy between human beings and bears. The Koreans, for example, traditionally believe that they are descended from a bear. As the story goes, the tiger and the female bear had watched humans from a distance, and they became curious. As they talked together on a mountainside one day, both decided that they would like to become human. An oracle instructed them to first eat twenty-one cloves of garlic, and then remain in a cave for one month. They both did as instructed, but after a while the tiger became restless and left the cave. The mother bear remained, and at the end of a month she emerged as a beautiful woman. The son of Heaven, Han Woon, fell in love her and had a child with her., Tan Koon, who is the ancestor of the Koreans.

The Greek deity Artemis, whose name literally means “bear”, was the goddess of the moon, the hunt, and animals. The bear was also sacred to Diana, her Roman equivalent. In a story from the Roman poet Ovid, the god Jupiter disguised himself as Duana, and then raped her nymph companion Callisto. On realizing that Calliston was pregnant, Diana banished the young girl from her presence. Eventually Callisto gave birth to a boy named Arcas. Juno, the wife of Jupiter, turned Callisto into a bear and forced her to roam the forest in perpetual fear. Arcas grew to be a young man. He went hunting in the forest, saw his mother, and raised his bow to shoot her. At that moment, Jupiter looked down, took pity on his former mistress, and brought both mother and son up to Heaven, where they became the constellation of the great and little bear. This is only one version of the story among many, but the Arcadians traditionally trace their origin to Callisto and her son.

The ancient Hebrews, who were herders, regarded carnivorous animals as unclean, and the bear was no exception. In the Bible, the young David protected his flock against bears (1 Samuel 17:34). The bear became a scourge of God when small boys followed the prophet Elisha and made fun of his bald head. Elisha cursed them, and two she-bears came out of the woods and killed the children (2 Kings 2:23-24). According to tradition, however, Elisha was later punished with illness for his deed.

The Tingit and many other Indian tribes on the northwest coast of the North American continent have told stories of a young woman who was lost in the woods and was befriended by a bear. At first she was afraid, but the bear was kindly and taught her the ways of the forest. Eventually she became his wife. She grew thick hair and hunted like a bear. When the couple had children, she at first tried to teach them the ways of both bears and human beings. Her human family, however, would not accept the marriage, and her brothers killed her husband, whereupon she broke completely with the ways of humans.

No longer greatly feared, the bear has become a symbol of vulnerability. Everybody in the United States who was born before the 1970s or so has seen posters with Smokey the Bear, who was created during World War II to warn people that Japanese shelling might begin a conflagration in the woods of America. When the war ended, the United States Forest Service retained Smokey as a symbol in a campaign to prevent the careless ignition of forest fires. Far from being bestial, he has a rather parental image. He wears human clothes and a forester's hat. His facial expression is mature, friendly, and a little melancholy. Yet if Smokey seems almost absurdly civilized, his role remains that of bears since archaic times – protector of the wild. 

The enormous size of the bear, together with its similarity to human beings, often makes it an object of both awe and derision. Photograph by Elena.

Winds of Time

Winds of Time

Near the site of the Alexandrian Library there is today a headless sphinx sculpted in the time of the pharaoh Horemheb, in the Eighteenth Dynasty, a millennium before Alexander. Within easy view of that leonine body is a modern microwave relay tower. Between them runs an unbroken thread in the history of the human species. From sphinx to tower is an instant of cosmic time – a moment in the fifteen or so billion years that have elapsed since the Big Bang. Almost all record of the passage of the universe from then to now has been scattered by the winds of time. The evidence of cosmic evolution has been more thoroughly ravaged than all the papyrus scrolls in the Alexandrian Library. And yet through daring and intelligence we have stolen a few glimpses of that winding path along which our ancestors and we have traveled.

Cassandra's Mirror. Photo by Elena

For unknown ages after the explosive outpouring of matter and energy of the Big Bang, the Cosmos was without form. There were no galaxies, no planets, no life. Deep, impenetrable darkness was everywhere, hydrogen atoms in the void. Here and there denser accumulations of gas were imperceptibly growing, globes of matter were condensing – hydrogen raindrops more massive than suns. Within these globes of gas was first kindled the nuclear fire latent in matter. A first generation of stars was born, flooding the Cosmos with light. There were in those times not yet any planets to receive the light, no living creatures to admire the radiance of the heavens. Deep in the stellar furnaces the alchemy of nuclear fusion created heavy elements, the ashes of hydrogen burning, the atomic building materials of future planets and lifeforms. Massive stars soon exhausted their stores of nuclear fuel. Rocked by colossal explosions, they returned most of their substance back into the thin gas from which they had once condensed.

Here in the dark lush clouds between the stars, new raindrops made of many elements were forming, later generations of stars being born. Nearby, smaller raindrops grew, bodies far too little to ignite the nuclear fire, droplets in the interstellar mist on their way to form the planets. Among them was a small world of stone and iron, the early Earth.

Winds of Time - Part II

Within easy view of the leonine body of the headless sphinx sculpted in the time of the pharaoh Horemheb, in the Eighteenth Dynasty (a millennium before Alexander), is a modern microwave relay tower. Between these two symbols of the Human civilisation runs an unbroken thread in the history of the human species.

From sphinx to tower is an instant of cosmic time – a moment in the fifteen or so billion years that have elapsed since the Big Bang ; and almost all record of the passage of the universe from then to now has been scattered by the winds of time.

The evidence of cosmic evolution has been thoroughly ravaged. And yet through daring and intelligence we have managed to reveal some of the secrets of the Universe.

… For ages after the explosive outpouring of matter and energy of the Big Bang, the Cosmos was without form. There were no galaxies, no planets, no life. Deep, impenetrable darkness was everywhere, hydrogen atoms in the void. Here and there denser accumulations of gas were imperceptibly growing, globes of matter were condensing – hydrogen raindrops more massive than suns. Within these globes of gas was first kindled the nuclear fire latent in matter.

A first generation of stars was born, flooding the Cosmos with light. There were in those times not yet any planets to receive the light, no living creatures to admire the radiance of the heavens. Deep in the stellar furnaces the alchemy of nuclear fusion created heavy elements, the ashes of hydrogen burning, the atomic building materials of future planets and lifeforms. Massive stars soon exhausted their stores of nuclear fuel. Rocked by colossal explosions, they returned most of their substance back into the thin gas from which they had once condensed.

We are the Glory and the Dim Memory of the Cosmos (quotations from Megan Jorgensen). Illustration: Cosmology by © Megan Jorgensen.

Champollion and Ancient Egypt

Champollion and Ancient Egypt

In 1801 a physicist named Joseph Fourier was the prefect of a departament of France called Isère (Fourier is now famous for his study of the propagation of heat in solids, used today to understand the surface properties of the planets, and for his investigation of waves and other periodic motion – a branch of mathematics known as Fourier analysis). While inspecting the schools in his province, Fourier discovered an eleven-year-old boy whose remarkable intellect and flair for oriental languages had already earned him the admiring attention of scholars. Fourier invited him home for a chat. The boy was fascinated by Fourier’s collection of Egyptian artefacts, collected during the Napoleonic expedition where he had been responsible for cataloguing the astronomical monuments of that ancient civilization.

A hieroglyphic inscription roused the boy’s sense of wonder. “But what do they mean?”, he asked. “Nobody knows”, was the reply. The boy’s name was Jean François Champollion. Fired by the mystery of the language no one could read, he became a superb linguist and passionately immersed himself in ancient Egyptian writing.

France at that time was flooded with Egyptian artifacts, stolen by Napoleon and later made available to Western scholars. The description of the expedition was published, and devoured by the young Champollion.

As an adult Champollion succeeded; fulfilling his childhood ambitions, he provided a brilliant decipherment of the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics. But it was not until 1828, twenty-seven years after his meeting with Fourier, that Champollion first set foot in Egypt, the land of his dreams, and sailed upstream from Cairo, following the course of the Nile, paying homage to the culture he had worked so hard to understand. It was an expedition in time, a visit to an alien civilization.

“The evening of the 16th we finally arrived at Dendera. There was magnificent moonlight and we were only an hour away from the Temples: Could we resist the temptation? I ask the coldest of your mortals! To dine and leave immediately were the orders of the moment: alone and without guides, but armed to the teeth we crossed the fields… the Temple appeared to us at last… One could well measure it but to give an idea of it would be impossible. It is the union of grace and majesty in the highest degree. We stayed these two hours in ecstasy, running through the huge rooms… and trying to read the exterior inscriptions in the moonlight. We did not return to the boat until three in the morning, only to return to the Temple at seven… What had been magnificent in the moonlight was still so when the sunlight revealed to us all the details.

We in Europe are only dwarfs and no nation, ancient or modern, has conceived the art of architecture on such a sublime, great and imposing style, as the ancient Egyptians. They ordered everything to be done for people who are a hundred feet high (Champollion). Image : Fantasy Haunted of Magic Castle Witch © Meg Jorgensen (Elena).