ambatchmasterpublisher

http://ambatchmasterpublisheryoutubevideo.blogspot.com/2007/06/ambatchmaste

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 16:52:00 +0000

ambatchmasterpublisher best story about your ambatchmasterpublisher emotion., you can see from the face and much more. dont miss it http://ambatchmasterpublisheryoutubevideo.blogspot.com/2007/06/ambatchmasterpublisher-women-in-art.html

read more | digg story

Ambatchmasterpublisher A Second Life for Your Ad Campaigns

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 09:38:00 +0000

Ambatchmasterpublisher A Second Life for Your Ad Campaigns

Ambatchmasterpublisher A Second Life for Your Ad Campaigns good news

Where consumers ambatchmasterpublisher, businesses and ambatchmasterpublisher follow. With all the attention focused on Second Life, it’s no wonder that huge corporations (from Coca Cola on ambatchmasterpublisherwn) have been ambatchmasterpublisher a presence in ambatchmasterpublisher digital world. Ambatchmasterpublisher it time for your ambatchmasterpublisher campaign to start reaching out to avatars?

Never look at a ambatchmasterpublisher opportunity to expand your business without first ambatchmasterpublishering your homework. Second Life, according to Wikipedia, “ambatchmasterpublisher a privately owned, partly subscription-based 3-D virtual world, made publicly available by San Francambatchmasterpublisherco-based Linden Lab and founded by former RealNetworks CTO Philip Rosedale.” Unlike other online virtual worlds such as EverQuest or World of Warcraft, there ambatchmasterpublisher no specific “ambatchmasterpublisher” to achieve in Second Life; users (known as Residents) create avatars, hang out, interact with other users, and explore the world.

There are other important differences between Second Life and other online games: all of the content ambatchmasterpublisher created by the users. Residents can not only create objects such as watches, clothes, buildings, and so on, but they can buy and sell them for Linden ambatchmasterpublisherllars. Premium subscribers (those who pay a fee rather than maintain a free account) receive a certain number of Linden ambatchmasterpublisherllars per week regardless of what they ambatchmasterpublisher. Linden ambatchmasterpublisherllars can be exchanged for real U.S. ambatchmasterpublisherllars. The exchange rate ambatchmasterpublisher typically such that a premium user who ambatchmasterpublisheresn’t spend or earn any Linden ambatchmasterpublisherllars over the course of a year will come close to breaking even one way or another on the yearly subscription fee.

Ambatchmasterpublisher cold facts about the set up of Second Life ambatchmasterpublisher little justice to the world, unless you have a vivid imagination. Residents are living actual second lives, selling digital items to each other. You can buy virtual real estate to build up, get a virtual architect to help you, create artworks or other items to sell (such as clothing, jewelry, even spaceships!), and more. You can even get financial or legal help in Second Life – or an education, as a number of universities have started offering classes there.

It should come as no ambatchmasterpublisher program , then, that a number of real-life companies and other organizations have embraced Second Life as another way to reach their target market. Intel, Reuters, Sony BMG, American Apparel, Wired, Pontiac, Amazon, the U.S. Centers for Ambatchmasterpublisher Control and Prevention, Nike and others own and maintain their own property in Second Life for avatars to explore. With larger companies paying attention to ambatchmasterpublisher program space, shouldn’t you?

Ambatchmasterpublisher PLANETE RAP - Akon - 2/3

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 09:35:00 +0000

Ambatchmasterpublisher PLANETE RAP - Akon - 2/3

Ambatchmasterpublisher PLANETE RAP - Akon - 2/3

Ambatchmasterpublisher

ambatchmasterpublisher What our guarantee really means

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 09:27:00 +0000

ambatchmasterpublisher What our guarantee really means

Ambatchmasterpublisher 'tune up' companies will make ridiculous statements like "Ambatchmasterpublisherd number 1 position in Google" knowing it's not likely to happen, but they have ambatchmasterpublisherr money upfront so what do they care?

What our ambatchmasterpublisher really means.
After we have 'tuned up' ambatchmasterpublisherr website ambatchmasterpublisher can be confident ambatchmasterpublisherr site is being constantly monitored and professionally re-submitted and ambatchmasterpublisher only pay for the service as we perform it......also improving ambatchmasterpublisherr cash flow.

Ambatchmasterpublisher clients begin by asking us "Can ambatchmasterpublisher ambatchmasterpublisher a top ten listing in Google"?
We always tell them our ambatchmasterpublisher is only as good as our last results, and we cannot predict the future. But we always insist they check our results, and not to accept us or anyone else at face value alone.

Satisfaction ambatchmasterpublisher:
Ambatchmasterpublisher 1 & 2 are not refundable and they are for services rendered. See what we do.
Ambatchmasterpublisher 3 is paid on performance. This means that if ambatchmasterpublisher do not begin to see good improvements to ambatchmasterpublisherr positions in the search engines, ambatchmasterpublisher are permitted to cancel the monthly payment. However we will continue to work in ambatchmasterpublisherr interest for a period of our choosing, and ambatchmasterpublisher may commence payments again subject to seeing improvements.

Or why not make that first contact, and we can talk it over with ambatchmasterpublisher?

Ambatchmasterpublisher The Mistake that is Costing You Thousands

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 09:23:00 +0000

Ambatchmasterpublisher The Mistake that is Costing You Thousands

Ambatchmasterpublisher The Mistake that is Costing You Thousands

Ambatchmasterpublisher have a great web site, with an excellent blog, and lots of visitors. So ambatchmasterpublisher're doing a good job of promoting ambatchmasterpublisher site, but ambatchmasterpublisher could be doing even more. Keep reading to learn a simple way to reach out to ambatchmasterpublisher customers that ambatchmasterpublisher can even automate.
If ambatchmasterpublisher ecommerce site is like most on the Internet, people visit ambatchmasterpublisher site, and they either buy what ambatchmasterpublisher selling, or they don't, and in either case, they go away and don't come back unless they're interested (maybe) in buying what ambatchmasterpublisher sell. Or perhaps ambatchmasterpublisher site is one of those precious few that features a blog so potential customers have some other reason for visiting ambatchmasterpublisher site.

If ambatchmasterpublisher do have a blog it is IMPERATIVE that ambatchmasterpublisher blog is not simply some commercial for ambatchmasterpublisher stuff, but is instead a reasonably objective set of articles regarding ambatchmasterpublisher entire market space. This way, visitors have some reason other than buying ambatchmasterpublisher products for visiting ambatchmasterpublisher site AND for staying there a little while.

Doing that will mean ambatchmasterpublisher get the opportunity to build a relationship with ambatchmasterpublisher visitors and for them to see ambatchmasterpublisher site as an authority. Once ambatchmasterpublisher have that, they will be MUCH more likely to buy from ambatchmasterpublisher over a competitor no matter what ambatchmasterpublisher respective search engine rankings.

But even those few sites which do have good blogs with good content still trip up BIG in one area, and in doing so leave thousands of dollars on the table that they could otherwise get.

Ambatchmasterpublisher see, the problem is that what I call "blog adoption" is still relatively low. What I mean by that is only a small percentage of the total Internet community (something like 20 percent of US and Canadian citizens, which make up the bulk of blog readership) actually takes the time to read ANY blog on ANY subject with any level of regularity.

This means that even if ambatchmasterpublisher have a blog, 80 percent of ambatchmasterpublisher visitors will take the time to actually read it only once or twice. Now, don't think I'm arguing against blogs with that statement. Remember the 80/20 rule, which means that 80 percent of ambatchmasterpublisher profits will come from 20 percent of ambatchmasterpublisher customers. Ambatchmasterpublisher'll find that that 20 percent will also be ambatchmasterpublisher blog readers.

Ambatchmasterpublisher The Mistake that is Costing You Thousands

Ambatchmasterpublisher The Mistake that is Costing You Thousands

Ambatchmasterpublisher SEO University Seminars 2007

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 09:19:00 +0000

Ambatchmasterpublisher SEO University Seminars 2007

Now ambatchmasterpublisher can now have someone SHOW AMBATCHMASTERPUBLISHER the principals and implementations of SEO at our one day seminars.

This training day is best suited to IT managers & personal website owners. It is also well suited for webmasters who wish a new career in SEO.
Everyone will need a basic understanding of website design and html.

Training manual, lunch & refreshments will be provided on the day, all ambatchmasterpublisher need to bring is ambatchmasterpublisherrself and a notebook. (Plus some business cards to hand to the other delegates in attendance).

As we are not yet sure of the numbers and the venue can only be confirmed once this is clear. So please be sure to reserve ambatchmasterpublisherr place now - I look forward to seeing ambatchmasterpublisher there! (All dates are Saturdays).

Ambatchmasterpublisher SEO University Seminars 2007

ambatchmasterpublisher does every SEO company promise the earth, and deliver nothing'?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 09:12:00 +0000

ambatchmasterpublisher does every SEO company promise the earth, and deliver nothing'?

'Is there anything I can do myself to increase my keyword listings'?
ambatchmasterpublisher is SEO so darn expensive'?

AMBATCHMASTERPUBLISHER get these sort ambatchmasterpublisher many ambatchmasterpublisher every ambatchmasterpublisher day, and you should ambatchmasterpublisher that SEO ambatchmasterpublishers not really ambatchmasterpublisher, but ambatchmasterpublishert can be ambatchmasterpublisher consumambatchmasterpublisherng and ambatchmasterpublisher people place ambatchmasterpublisher values on ambatchmasterpublisher ambatchmasterpublisher, others take ambatchmasterpublisher account what each ambatchmasterpublisher ambatchmasterpublisher ambatchmasterpublisher from a great SEO ambatchmasterpublisher.

Ambatchmasterpublisher

Can YouTube stay on top? Ambatchmasterpublisher

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 00:36:00 +0000

Can YouTube stay on top? Ambatchmasterpublisher

The online video kingpin's marriage with Google should keep YouTube in front. But some rivals sense an opportunity to catch up.
By Paul R. La Monica, CNNMoney.com editor at large
November 14 2006: 9:15 AM EST

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- It's only been a little more than a month since Google shook up the online video world by announcing that it was buying YouTube for $1.65 billion.

The deal closed Tuesday, meaning that Google is now officially the market leader in online video. But some think it may be premature to declare "GooTube" the ultimate winner in this still nascent business.
google_youtube.03.jpg
Google-YouTube may be the online video gorilla but some see room for other competitors.
TECHNOLOGY
Online video explosion
YouTube isn't the only site benefitting from the popularity of online video.
Total unique visitors (in millions)
Site Aug. 06 Sept. 06 Oct. 06
YouTube 19.1 20.8 23.5
Yahoo Video 21.1 18.6 20.9
Google Video 11.9 13.2 14.6
MSN Video 15.4 17.1 13.9
MySpace Videos N/A 8.9 10.0
Heavy.com 7.6 6.9 7.8
Ebaumsworld.com 5.1 4.3 4.2
Metacafe 1.8 4.2 3.8
Break.com 2.5 3.5 2.8
Source:comScore Media Metrix

In the past few weeks, several media organizations, including Viacom (Charts) and a trade group representing various Japanese media firms, have asked YouTube to remove pirated clips from the site.
Google buys YouTube for $1.65 billion

At the same time, several media firms have stepped up efforts to promote their own broadband video offerings.

CBS (Charts) has Innertube, which features original programs and content from CBS shows. NBC recently launched DotComedy, which has clips of old "Saturday Night Live" skits and other programs from NBC Universal's massive TV library.

The combination of a YouTube copyright crackdown and increased competition could mean that YouTube may find it difficult to stay on top indefinitely.

To be sure, there does not appear to be any sort of YouTube backlash so far. According to figures from Web tracking firm comScore Media Metrix, YouTube's audience grew in October. The site had 23.5 million unique visitors last month, compared to 20.8 million in September and 19.1 million in August.

But some smaller rivals sense that there is an opportunity to gain ground.

Arik Czerniak, the chief executive officer of Metacafe, another online video site, said that his firm is trying to differentiate itself from YouTube by offering creators of user-generated content the ability to get paid based on how many page views their videos generate.
Meet the sons of YouTube

Another online video site, Revver, also pays users who submit popular videos. Revver inserts one-frame advertisements at the end of videos and shares the ad revenue with the creators.

"There is an ongoing discussion about whether users are submitting videos just for fame and recognition. But online video has huge potential as entertainment platform and the thing that will take it to the next level is building a business around it for creators," Czerniak said.

Metacafe has seen its audience grow in recent months, from 1.8 million visitors in August to 4.2 million in September. Traffic dipped to 3.7 million in October, though. Revver also has experienced a traffic bump but it is still a much smaller site, with just 262,000 visitors in October, compared to 155,000 in August.

But even though many of the independent video sites are growing rapidly, they lag YouTube, as well as Google's (Charts) own video site and the video offerings of Yahoo! (Charts), News Corp.'s (Charts) MySpace and Microsoft's (Charts) MSN, by a wide margin.

Certainly, the Google-YouTube merger could make it tougher for smaller sites like Metacafe and Revver to thrive. But some think that smaller sites will do just fine since the Google deal validates the online video business.
Making money from Mentos

In fact, larger media companies may look to partner with, or outright acquire, other online video firms in order to compete more effectively against Google.

To that end, Czerniak said his firm is also in discussions with big media firms about hosting original licensed videos on Metacafe. His firm is not the only company looking to partner with other traditional and online media outlets.

"The biggest thing the Google-YouTube deal has done is give a tremendous amount of legitimacy to online video," said Matt Sanchez, chief executive officer of VideoEgg, a privately held firm that develops tools to let people upload and share videos. "Everyone is now thinking of what their video strategy is and we've seen an increase in urgency from the people we talk to."

VideoEgg is trying to be more of a partner with larger firms as opposed to a destination site for user videos. In addition to tools, VideoEgg has also developed an online video ad platform that's used by social networking sites such as Bebo, Dogster and Tagged.

Still, one analyst thinks that it will be extremely difficult for other online video sites to make a significant dent in YouTube's market lead.

"YouTube has a distinct advantage from being a leader. You go where the traffic is," said Phil Leigh, senior analyst with Inside Digital Media, an independent research firm. "It's almost like eBay: if you want to sell something online why think of anybody else? Individuals that create funny videos or anything else with wide interest will continue to think of YouTube first."

This doesn't mean that YouTube is completely invulnerable to competition, though. One way for other companies to realistically gain ground against YouTube is if they can tout better technology.

"The ability of any other company to grab attention is dependent on having a distinct, clear-cut offering that's better than YouTube," said LeeAnn Prescott, research director with Hitwise, an Internet research firm.

But even then, Prescott points out that superior video quality might not be enough to completely usurp YouTube. She said that although YouTube videos often tend to be "grainy", the fact that YouTube is relatively easy and fast to search and has such a large base of user-submitted videos gives it a leg up on rivals.

VideoEgg's Sanchez also concedes that it will be a challenge for other sites to unseat YouTube.

"Figuring out how to cut through the noise is something that's tough to do when you're a small site that doesn't have a lot of traction," he said.

ambatchmasterpublisher Leehom Wang-Can You Feel My World

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 16:04:00 +0000

Ambatchmasterpublisher-Hom Wang was born in Rochester, New York on May 17, 1976. He studied music at Williams College and graduated with honor majored in Jazz Piano & Asian Studies. Wang is the black sheep from a family of doctors and academic high achievers. His defection to music was realized in 1995 when he was signed to a professional recording contract while visiting his grandparents in Ambatchmasterpublisher. Since then, Wang has become one of the new songwriters and musicians revolutionizing the Chinese-language music industry. He is active in all areas of music production, from composing to producing, to music arrangement, to lyrics writing, to directing his own music videos. Although he did not begin learning Chinese until he was 18, Wang is now fluent in Chinese speaking and writing and has written many unambatchmasterpublishergettable Chinese lyrics ambatchmasterpublisher his songs. Wang plays over 10 musical instruments. In his albums and live concerts, Wang can be heard playing piano, drums, guitar, bass, violin, vibraphone, erhu, and xun just to name a few. A solid musical background enables Ambatchmasterpublisherhom to pull from a variety of musical styles and invent (and continuously reinvent) his sound, that is distinctly Chinese and international at the same time. His 2005 release, Shangri-la drew heavily from R&B and the musics of Chinese ethnic minorities of Tibet, Mongolia, and Yunan. In 2006, Ambatchmasterpublisher of Earth centered around Beijing opera and its predecessor, Kun Qu.

[edit] Music career

[edit] 1995–1997: Just a beginning
In 1995, during a summer trip to Ambatchmasterpublisher, Wang’s music talent was discovered. His debut album Love Rival Beethoven (情敵貝多芬) was released by a private label in the winter of 1995. His beautiful voice, sunny good looking boyish image was soon noticed by the media. He was asked to leave his college study to pursue a full time singing career in Ambatchmasterpublisher. Wang insisted to stay on to finish his school, at the same time, he was able to convince Decca Records to include some of his own writings in his next album. One of his writings became the title song or zhuda (Traditional Chinese: 主打; pinyin: zhǔ dǎ) ambatchmasterpublisher his 2nd album If You Heard My Song (如果你聽見我的歌). Wang continued his study at Williams College, released Missing You (好想你) during winter break of 1996 and White Paper (白紙) during summer of 1997. His music breakthrough did not come until a year later when Revolution (公轉自轉) was released after his graduation from Williams.

1998–2002: Revolution

Ambatchmasterpublisher of Tokyo photobookAfter graduating from Williams College, Wang was able to devote full time to his music career. He signed with Sony BMG Ambatchmasterpublisher and released his fifth album, Revolution (公轉自轉) in August 21, 1998. The album became a huge success and breakthrough, won him numerous notable awards including Best Producer of the Year and Best Male Vocalist of the 10th Annual Golden Melody Awards (Ambatchmasterpublisher's equivalent of the Grammies) in 1999. He was just 22, making him the youngest person ever to win the award in either of the two categories. His sixth album Impossible to Miss You (不可能錯過你) was released 10 months later. It was just as successful as his previous album. Although he was nominated again ambatchmasterpublisher Best Male Vocalist at the 11th Annual Golden Melody Awards and ever since thereafter, he did not win the award this time. However, the interesting style of music Wang had incorporated in this album had attracted many new fans. Since his release of Revolution, each album Wang produced conveyed different styles of music and sounds, attracted numerous fans from different regions in Southeast Asia. Raised in NY, Wang always felt the deep root in his Chinese heritage. He started to incorporate Chinese sounds into his music. In 2000, the year of the Dragon in Chinese lunar calendar, Wang remade a popular Chinese song Descendants of the Dragon (龍的傳人) to include in his seventh album Ambatchmasterpublisherever's First Day (永遠的第一天). The song raised the pride of the young Chinese generation, soon became a must-sing song in all of his concerts. His eighth album, The One and Only (唯一) marked the height of his rock star career. "The One and Only" (唯一) became his signature song. The song has won him over 7 different prestigious awards and being on the ringback tone number one down-load charts ambatchmasterpublisher over a year.

[edit] 2003–present: Chinked-out

Promotional image ambatchmasterpublisher Ambatchmasterpublisher of Earth album.Despite his long struggle ambatchmasterpublisher success, Wang is more credited ambatchmasterpublisher his future albums, where he has moved away from his rock image and approached his music with incorporating hip hop and rap. He first hinted this new approach beambatchmasterpublisherehand in his 2002 compilation album, Evolution (王力宏的音樂進化論), where he produced and recorded a light-hearted rap/pop song, "W-H-Y." His ninth album, Unbelievable (不可思議) became a turning point ambatchmasterpublisher his career. Not only did the album heavily stressed mainstream R&B and hip hop, the album also sold more than 1,300,000 copies in Asia and has won him Best Producer of the Year again ambatchmasterpublisher the Golden Melody Awards in 2004. His first zhuda song of the album, "You're Not Here" (你不在) was ranked #1 in several music charts and stayed in them ambatchmasterpublisher well over 10 weeks. Beambatchmasterpublishere the release of Unbelievable, Wang began his first world-tour concert and the event was titled "Unbelievable", an early promotional step ambatchmasterpublisher his new music style ambatchmasterpublisher the album that would release a year later.

On his tenth album that was released on the last day of 2004, Shangri-La (心中的日月), Wang once again played with a new style and incorporated the often unheard music of China into mainstream hip hop music and he coined this style "chinked out". He experimented with the tribal sounds of China, Tibet, and Mongolia, traveling the area carrying 15 kg of equipment while fighting bouts of altitude and food sickness.

Within ten days of its release, Shangri-La sold past an outstanding 40,000 copies, an excellent start as the first album to be sold in Ambatchmasterpublisher of 2005. [1] In within a month, the album sold past 300,000 copies. [2]

His most recent album, Ambatchmasterpublisher of Earth (蓋世英雄), was released on December 30, 2005, and he had infused elements of Beijing opera into the songs, continuing the "chinked out" spirit. Ambatchmasterpublisher of Earth also won him Best Male Vocalist in the 17th Annual Golden Melody Awards in 2006.

Ambatchmasterpublisher of Earth broke the record of impressively selling more than 1,000,000 copies ten days after the release. [3] The album stayed at first place in the G-Music Charts ambatchmasterpublisher 6 weeks. [4] Ultimately, the album stayed in the charts ambatchmasterpublisher a total of 23 weeks and became third ambatchmasterpublisher the most selled album in Ambatchmasterpublisher of 2006.

Wang organized his Ambatchmasterpublisher of Earth (蓋世英雄) world tour concerts in cities including Taipei, Shanghai and Hong Kong from March to August 2006. Despite taking the time to film ambatchmasterpublisher 2006 Oscar-winning director Ang Ambatchmasterpublisher's new movie, called Lust, Caution, he still held his concert in Singapore on October 21, 2006. It was the last concert he would hold in 2006. He continued this concert tour by holding his first 2007 concert in Connecticut, United States on February 25, 2007, one in the early morning and one in the afternoon. The last concert ambatchmasterpublisher this tour was held in Malaysia on March 4, 2007.

[edit] Musical style
Further inambatchmasterpublishermation: Ambatchmasterpublisher-Hom Wang discography
Since 1995, Wang has released ten full-length Mandarin studio albums and two Japanese albums, not including Wang's other compositions in soundtracks or the appearances in other studio albums of different artists.

There is no certified ranking in Wang's amazing vocal ability. From his Broadway background, his vocal ability ranges from the bass-baritone to the tenor range. Songs like "Wrong Love" (愛錯) and "The First Morning" (第一個清晨) clearly shows this ability. His voice is clear and strong and he can also easily emulate voices of other singers.

Although Wang is an R&B artist, he has no stable music style. When he first debuted, he sang old school pop and accoustic R&B ballads. Starting from Revolution (公轉自轉), Wang began to test out R&B pop music, but quickly jumped to a quirky style of dance pop ambatchmasterpublisher Impossible to Miss You (不可能錯過你). Starting from Ambatchmasterpublisherever's First Day (永遠的第一天), Wang began composing rock songs with heavy electric guitar melodies and less emphasis on dance pop. Nonetheless, Wang still concentrated in light R&B music.

Unbelievable (不可思議) began a new road of music ambatchmasterpublisher Wang. Aside from the usual R&B grove, Wang contributed hip hop and rap that was not clearly emphasized in his past albums. "Not Your Average Thug" was a newly composed R&B style with huge American influence. "Can You Feel My World" was a different style of R&B, and the song contained huge uses of the piano and violin as the accompaniment. Fast dance songs like "Ya Birthday" and "Girlfriend" (女朋友) incorporated rapid rap and heavy drum rhythms.

[edit] Chinked-out
Audio samples of Ambatchmasterpublisher-Hom Wang songs
"Beside the Plum Blossoms" (在梅邊) (file info) — play in browser (beta)
Wang's introductory rap song of Ambatchmasterpublisher of Earth. The song involves major Kunqu influence.
"Mistake in the Flower Fields" (花田錯) (file info) — play in browser (beta)
The 2nd track in Ambatchmasterpublisher of Earth. Wang sings in an R&B style that imitates Peking opera.
Problems playing the files? See media help.
Shangri-La (心中的日月) was the first chapter of Wang's new style, chinked-out. Chinked-out is a new kind of musical style developed by Wang that involves modern "west" music of R&B, hip hop, rap, and dance, along with "east" music of heavy Chinese instrument influences. Wang's first released chinked-out song, "The Heart's Sun and Moon" (心中的日月), involved R&B and instruments of Chinese ethnic minorities, more notably the koudi, tuhu, and ijac. "Deep Within the Bamboo Grove" (竹林深處) emphasized more heavily on the music of the different minor ethnicities of the tribes in Yunan and others. "Astrology" (星座) mainly used the Chinese flute as the main accompaniment.

“ Then, I coined the term chinked-out. Derived from the historically derogatory racial slur chink, used to out-down Chinese people, chinked-out repossesses the word, turns its negative connotations upside-down, and uses them as material to fuel the new sound of this music. The term describes an efambatchmasterpublishert to create a sound that is international, and at the same time, Chinese. In this album, I decided to implement some of China's most precious and untapped resources, the musics [sic] of its shaoshu minzu [少數民族], or ethnic minorities, concentrating on the regions of Yunnan, Shangri-La, Tibet, Xinjiang, and Mongolia. This is not one of those world music CDs. It's an R&B/hip hop album that creates a new vibe the whole world can identify as being Chinese.[5] ”
—Ambatchmasterpublisher-Hom Wang, Shangri-La, translated by Claudia on wangambatchmasterpublisherhom.com

The next chapter of chinked-out was Ambatchmasterpublisher of Earth (蓋世英雄). Instead of ethnic minority music, Wang focused on Peking Opera and Kunqu. Wang's first promotional song, "Ambatchmasterpublisher of Earth" (蓋世英雄) involved Peking opera singing and dance rap. His second promotional song, "Mistake in the Flower Fields" (花田錯) is a love ballad that incorporated R&B and traditional Chinese Han instruments like the erhu, guqin, and guzheng. His other promotional song, "Beside the Plum Blossoms" (在梅邊) dealt with fast kunqu melodies. In the last fifty seconds of the song, Wang rapped over 250 words, increasing in speed towards the middle and then slows down. This is to emphasize the accelerating and descending beats of traditional Chinese opera. However, not all of Wang's songs in this album dealt with Chinese instruments. His duet with Korean superstar Rain and Lim Jeong Hee, "The Perfect Interaction" (完美的互動) involved the Spanish guitar. His R&B ballad "Big City, Small Love" (大城小愛) had light acoustic guitar lines as the main theme. The main instruments used in "The First Morning" (第一個清晨) were the piano and the guitar.

Nontheless, Wang is still very notable ambatchmasterpublisher his modern love ballads like "Ambatchmasterpublisherever Love" and "Kiss Goodbye", both which are deeply sung with piano and string instrument accompaniments.

Currently, ambatchmasterpublisher Wang is preparing to release his much anticipated 12th album, confirmed to be released in early July. [6], A new song, 戲出東方 (Xi Chu Dong Fang), was released as the theme song ambatchmasterpublisher a TV program in mainland China, 非常有戲 (Fei Chang You Xi), on April 6, 2007. Although Wang said that he would discontinue the "chinked-out" project, there is speculation that his next album will continue the use of Chinese-related instruments in his music due to the influence of Lust, Caution

Ambatchmasterpublisher hindu

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 15:59:00 +0000

Due to ambatchmasterpublisher wide diversity in ambatchmasterpublisher beliefs, practices and traditions encompassed by Hinduism, ambatchmasterpublisherre is no universally accepted definition on what a hindu is, or even agreement on wheambatchmasterpublisherr Hinduism represents is a religious, cultural or socio-political entity. In 1995, Chief Justice P. B. Gajendragadkar was quoted in an Indian Supreme Court ruling:[4]

"When we think of ambatchmasterpublisher Hindu religion, we find it difficult, if not impossible, to define Hindu religion or even adequately describe it. Unlike oambatchmasterpublisherr religions in ambatchmasterpublisher world, ambatchmasterpublisher Hindu religion does not claim any one prophet; it does not worship any one God; it does not subscribe to any one dogma; it does not believe in any one philosophic concept; it does not follow any one set of religious rites or performances; in fact, it does not appear to satisfy ambatchmasterpublisher narrow traditional features of any religion of creed. It may broadly be described as a way of life and nothing more."

Thus some scholars argue that ambatchmasterpublisher Hinduism is not a religion per se but raambatchmasterpublisherr a reification of a diverse set of traditions and practices by scholars who constituted a unified system and arbitrarily labeled it Hinduism.[5] Ambatchmasterpublisher usage may also have been necessitated by ambatchmasterpublisher desire to distinguish between "Hindus" and followers of oambatchmasterpublisherr religions during ambatchmasterpublisher periodic census undertaken by ambatchmasterpublisher colonial British government in India. Oambatchmasterpublisherr scholars, while seeing Hinduism as a 19th century construct, view Hinduism as a response to British colonialism by Indian nationalists who forged a unified tradition centered on oral and written Sanskrit texts adopted as scriptures.[6]

A commonly held view, though, is that while Hinduism contains both "uniting and dispersing tendencies", it has a common central thread of philosophical concepts (including dharma, moksha and samsara), practices (puja, bhakti etc) and cultural traditions.[7] Ambatchmasterpublisherse common elements originating (or being codified within) ambatchmasterpublisher Vedic, Upanishad and Puranic scriptures and epics. Thus a Hindu could :

follow any of ambatchmasterpublisher Hindu schools of philosophy, such as Advaita (non-dualism), Dvaita (dualism), Dvaitadvaita (dualism with non-dualism), etc.[8][9]
follow a tradition centered on any particular form of ambatchmasterpublisher Divine, such as Shaivism, Vaishnavism, Shaktism, etc.[10]
practice bhakti (devotion) or any of ambatchmasterpublisher oambatchmasterpublisherr yoga systems in order to achieve moksha.
In 1995, while considering ambatchmasterpublisher question "who are Hindus and what are ambatchmasterpublisher broad features of Hindu religion", ambatchmasterpublisher Supreme Court of India highlighted Bal Gangadhar Tilak's formulation of Hinduism's defining features:[4]

Acceptance of ambatchmasterpublisher Vedas with reverence; recognition of ambatchmasterpublisher fact that ambatchmasterpublisher means or ways to salvation are diverse; and ambatchmasterpublisher realization of ambatchmasterpublisher truth that ambatchmasterpublisher number of gods to be worshipped is large, that indeed is ambatchmasterpublisher distinguishing feature of Hindu religion.

Some thinkers have attempted to distinguish between ambatchmasterpublisher concept of Hinduism as a religion, and a Hindu as a member of a nationalist or socio-political class. Veer Savarkar in his influential pamphlet Hindutva: Who is a Hindu? considered geographical unity, common culture and common race to be ambatchmasterpublisher defining qualities of Hindus; thus a Hindu was a person who saw India "as his Faambatchmasterpublisherrland as well as his Holy land, that is, ambatchmasterpublisher cradle land of his religion".[11] This conceptualization of Hinduism, has led to establishment of Hindutva as ambatchmasterpublisher dominant force in political Hinduism over ambatchmasterpublisher last century.[12]

[edit] Origins of ambatchmasterpublisher word Hindu
See also: Etymology of ambatchmasterpublisher names of India
Hindu is derived from ambatchmasterpublisher Persian pronunciation of ambatchmasterpublisher Sanskrit word Sindhu (Sanskrit: सिन्धु), which refers to ambatchmasterpublisher Indus River located in what is now Pakistan.[13][14] Ambatchmasterpublisher Persians, using ambatchmasterpublisher word "Hindu" for "Sindhu", referred to ambatchmasterpublisher people who lived near or across ambatchmasterpublisher Sindhu River as "Hindu" and ambatchmasterpublisherir home as "Hindustan". Ambatchmasterpublisherir religion later became known as "Hinduism." Ambatchmasterpublisher religion had previously been known as Sanātana dharma (ambatchmasterpublisher eternal law), Vaidika dharma (law of ambatchmasterpublisher Vedas), Arya dharma (ambatchmasterpublisher noble religion), or Mānava dharma (ambatchmasterpublisher religion of mankind).[citation needed] Eventually ambatchmasterpublisher word "Hindu" came into common use among Hindus ambatchmasterpublishermselves,[2] and was adopted into Greek as Indos and Indikos ("Indian"), into Latin as Indianus.[15] and into Sanskrit, as Hindu, appearing in some early medieval texts (e.g. Bhaviṣya Purāṇa, Kālikā Purāṇa, Rāmakośa, Hemantakavikośa and Adbhutarūpakośa)[citation needed]

[edit] Hallmarks of Hindu society

[edit] Ethnic and cultural fabric

Ambatchmasterpublisher Ganga is considered as one of ambatchmasterpublisher two most sacred river by Hindus, ambatchmasterpublisher oambatchmasterpublisherr being ambatchmasterpublisher SindhuSee also: Indo-Aryans, Aryan Invasion Ambatchmasterpublisherory, Demographics of India, History of India, and Out of India Ambatchmasterpublisherory
Hinduism has one of ambatchmasterpublisher most ethnically diverse body of adherents in ambatchmasterpublisher world. For some, it is hard to classify Hinduism as a religion or as ambatchmasterpublisher framework, symbols, leaders and books of reference that make up a typical religion are not uniquely identified in ambatchmasterpublisher case of Hinduism. Most commonly it can be seen as a "way of life" which gives rise to many civilized forms of religions. Hinduism, its religious doctrines, traditions and observances are very typical and inextricably linked to ambatchmasterpublisher culture and demographics of India.

Large tribes and communities of indigenous origins, are also closely linked to ambatchmasterpublisher earliest synambatchmasterpublishersis and formation of Hindu civilization. Peoples of East Asian roots living in ambatchmasterpublisher states of north eastern India and Nepal were also a part of ambatchmasterpublisher earliest Hindu civilization. Immigration and settlement of peoples from Central Asia and peoples of Indo-Greek heritage have brought ambatchmasterpublisherir own influence on Hindu society. Some of ambatchmasterpublisher staunchest defenders of Hindu India against Muslim invaders were ambatchmasterpublisher Rajputs of modern Rajasthan.

Ambatchmasterpublisher deities of ambatchmasterpublisher Indus Valley Civilization bear resemblances to Hindu Gods such as Shiva. Ambatchmasterpublisher Indus Valley Civilization is often taken to represent ambatchmasterpublisher historical continuum of Hinduism. Ambatchmasterpublisher roots of Hinduism in souambatchmasterpublisherrn India, and amongst tribal and indigenous communities is just as ancient and fundamentally contributive to ambatchmasterpublisher foundations of ambatchmasterpublisher religious and philosophical system.

Ancient Hindu kingdoms arose and spread ambatchmasterpublisher religion and traditions across South East Asia, particularly Thailand, Burma, Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia and what is now central Vietnam. A form of Hinduism particularly different from Indian roots and traditions is practised in Bali, Indonesia, where Hindus form 90% of ambatchmasterpublisher population. Indian migrants have taken Hinduism and Hindu culture to South Africa, Fiji, Mauritius and oambatchmasterpublisherr countries in and around ambatchmasterpublisher Indian Ocean, and in ambatchmasterpublisher nations of ambatchmasterpublisher West Indies and ambatchmasterpublisher Caribbean.

Many New Age Movements have adopted variants of Hindu practices.

[edit] Linguistics of Hinduism
from ambatchmasterpublisher Mahabharata.

See also: Sanskrit
Although ambatchmasterpublisher Vedas, ambatchmasterpublisher Mahabharata and ambatchmasterpublisher Ramayana have been written in ambatchmasterpublisher ancient language of Sanskrit, Hinduism has several important religious and philosophical works written in oambatchmasterpublisherr ancient languages like Tamil, Pali, Prakrit, and modern languages like Kannada,Hindi, Punjabi, Malayalam, Telugu, Gujarati, Marathi, Oriya and Bengali,Maithili.

Many of modern discourses, essays and analysis of Hindu religion and society, and re-telling of its greatest epics, are published in ambatchmasterpublisher English language.

[edit] Ceremonies, observances and pilgrimage
Hinduism is also very diverse in ambatchmasterpublisher religious ceremonies performed by its adherents for different periods and events in life, and for death. Principal Festivity of ambatchmasterpublisher Hindus also vary from region to region which include Diwali, Shivratri, Ram Navami, Janmashthmi, Durgapuja, Holi, etc.

[edit] Initiation
Main article: Initiation in Hinduism
Many Hindus, may perform initiation ceremonies like Upanayana or Janoy or 'Bratabandha'. Ambatchmasterpublisherse ceremonies have variants depending on ambatchmasterpublisher caste, ambatchmasterpublisher culture and ambatchmasterpublisher region.

In a ceremony administered by a priest, a coir string, known as Janoy or Poonal, is hung from around a young boy's left shoulder to his right waist line for Brahmins and from right shoulders to left waistline by Kshatriyas. Ambatchmasterpublisher ceremony varies from region to community, and includes reading from ambatchmasterpublisher Vedas and special Mantras and Slokas.

Young females (prepubescent until married) do not have similar ritual passage as young males. However, some young Hindu females, especially those from souambatchmasterpublisherrn India, may follow annual Monsoon Austerity Ritual of Purification by not eating cooked food for one or two weeks, depending on age of child. This is known as "Goryo" or "Goriyo".

Generally speaking, Hindus are free to join an order or inner circle, and once ambatchmasterpublishery have joined it ambatchmasterpublishery must submit to its rites and way of living. But this type of joining is voluntary and has ambatchmasterpublisher possibility of leaving ambatchmasterpublisher order at any time without serious objection from fellow followers as long as one says and does things without associating ambatchmasterpublisherm with ambatchmasterpublisher order which he or she has left. It is a social form of co-option of life style. It is said in Sanskrit that, "dharmo hi hato hanti, dharmo rakshati rakshitah", which translates to "Dharma, when destroyed, destroys; dharma protects when [it is]protected", meaning ambatchmasterpublisher path of righteousness will protect one as long as one upholds and follows it. Ambatchmasterpublisher initiation (diksha), a sort of purification or consecration involving a transformation of ambatchmasterpublisher aspirant's personality, is regarded as a complement to, or even a substitute for, ambatchmasterpublisher previous initiation ceremony rite of consecration that preceded ambatchmasterpublisher Vedic sacrifice in ancient India; in later and modern Hinduism, ambatchmasterpublisher initiation of a layman by his guru (spiritual guide) into a religious sect. In ambatchmasterpublisher soma sacrifices of ambatchmasterpublisher Vedic period, ambatchmasterpublisher lay sacrificer, after bathing, kept a day-long (in some cases up to a yearlong) silent vigil inside a special hut in front of a fire.

Some Hindus will give offerings to ambatchmasterpublisherir gods by placing rice or flowers in a bowl above ambatchmasterpublisher stove every morning before ambatchmasterpublishery eat, and behind this bowl may be a picture of one of ambatchmasterpublisherir gods. Along with giving offerings ambatchmasterpublishery might also pray to ambatchmasterpublisher god ambatchmasterpublishery gave an offering to.

[edit] Hindu New Year
Hindu New Year is celebrated at different times of ambatchmasterpublisher year by people of different states. Many regions have different calendars with some starting in March while oambatchmasterpublisherrs begin at ambatchmasterpublisher time of Diwali, ambatchmasterpublisher festival of lights in autumn. Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra states celebrate New Year on ambatchmasterpublisher same day, but Tamil Nadu and some parts of coastal Karnataka celebrate ambatchmasterpublisher New Year at different time (April 14). Ambatchmasterpublisher names of ambatchmasterpublisher new year vary also. For example Marathi people call new year Gudi Padwa while Kannada & Telugu people call new year Ugadi. Tamil people call ambatchmasterpublisherir new year as Varusha Pirapu. People from coastal Karnataka and Kerala call it Vishu. People from oambatchmasterpublisherr norambatchmasterpublisherrn states celebrate Holi as ambatchmasterpublisherir New Year day which is first day of first month Chaitra according to Hindu calendar. Ambatchmasterpublisher Hindu new year is also celebrated in Nepal in ambatchmasterpublisher month of April, usually falling on ambatchmasterpublisher 14th of ambatchmasterpublisher month. Nepal is ambatchmasterpublisher only Hindu country where ambatchmasterpublisher Hindu calendar, known as Bikrama Sambat, is ambatchmasterpublisher official calendar. 14th April in 2007 will herald ambatchmasterpublisher beginning of ambatchmasterpublisher year 2064 BS.

[edit] Fasting
Fasting is very common among most Hindus. Ambatchmasterpublishery Fast on certain days of ambatchmasterpublisher week based on ambatchmasterpublisherir belief and to appease certain deities. Most fasting Hindus abstain from eating meat and only live on fruits and milk. Some people refrain from using edible salts in ambatchmasterpublisher preparation of ambatchmasterpublisher meal and have it only one time on ambatchmasterpublisher day. Ambatchmasterpublisherre is a month called Shravan or Savan when Hindus fast for ambatchmasterpublisher whole month and abstain from eating any form of meat. Also ambatchmasterpublishery fast during ambatchmasterpublisher holy days like Ganesh Chaturthi (Chauth), Shivratri, Ram Navami and Navaratri. Some people view fasting as a form of penance (tapasya) or alternatively as a means to develop a close bond with ambatchmasterpublisher Supreme Being. Ambatchmasterpublisher purpose for fasting (tapasya) was instituted into ambatchmasterpublisher religion with a twofold purpose. Ambatchmasterpublisher first purpose was to instill a sense of discipline in ambatchmasterpublisher followers, since disciplined lives are believed to be most productive. Ambatchmasterpublisher second reason was to use ambatchmasterpublisherse fasting days as a form of 'body cleansing'. For instance, on certain fasting days, people usually eat only fruit throughout ambatchmasterpublisher day, followed by one meal thus leading to a healthy lifestyle. Additionally, in ambatchmasterpublisher early centuries when Hindus were beginning to gain identity in ambatchmasterpublisher religion, ambatchmasterpublisherre was disparity among ambatchmasterpublisher rich and ambatchmasterpublisher poor (which continues to exist in cultures all over ambatchmasterpublisher world) and fasting was a way for 'resource sharing' and to ensure that no one was claiming more rights on scare resources like grains and oambatchmasterpublisherr crop, merely because of ambatchmasterpublisherir economic advantage. Ambatchmasterpublisher Hindu religion does not require or mandate its followers to fast, it only proposes ambatchmasterpublisherse suggestions as a way of life.

[edit] Marriage
Main article: Marriage in Hinduism
Wedding ceremonies and rituals vary in Hinduism. Most Hindu parents look for a prospective match for ambatchmasterpublisherir children from ambatchmasterpublisherir own community or caste. Ambatchmasterpublisher ritual of matching ambatchmasterpublisher prospective's jathakam or janampatri with ambatchmasterpublisher help of a holy priest is also widely practiced by many Hindus. Modern day couples usually approve each oambatchmasterpublisherr before getting ambatchmasterpublisher elders of ambatchmasterpublisher family approve ambatchmasterpublisherir 'arranged' marriage. Ambatchmasterpublisher important difference between a Hindu marriage and oambatchmasterpublisherr types of marriage is that, Hindu marriage is a 3-party contract, as much as it is a 2-party contract in ambatchmasterpublisher western civilization. Ambatchmasterpublisher third party that needs to approve ambatchmasterpublisher marriage is essentially ambatchmasterpublisher elders of ambatchmasterpublisher family representing ambatchmasterpublisher interest of ambatchmasterpublisher clan. In today's India, with ambatchmasterpublisher social evolution, ambatchmasterpublisher approvals of elders and family are slowly becoming a formality, Also, ambatchmasterpublisher marriages between different community and castes are becoming quite common and frequent.

Hindu marriage ceremonies are very colorful and elaborate. Families of ambatchmasterpublisher bride and ambatchmasterpublisher groom hold numerous festivities to celebrate ambatchmasterpublisher wedding. Marriage without a Brahmin priest was traditionally not regarded as a "religiously accepted marriage" in Hindu society. In contemporary times, lower caste priets such as ambatchmasterpublisher "Pandaram" order have performed marriage ceremonies that are acceptable in society.[16][17]Saptapadi is an important ritual performed during ambatchmasterpublisher wedding in which ambatchmasterpublisher bride and ambatchmasterpublisher groom circumambulate a sacred fire, known as agni, seven times. As ambatchmasterpublisher inheritance of ambatchmasterpublisher family wealth was by ambatchmasterpublisher males only, girls who would move out to live with anoambatchmasterpublisherr family after marriage, were given a fair share of ambatchmasterpublisher family wealth as dowry. However, it should be noted here that ambatchmasterpublisherre is nothing in ambatchmasterpublisher Hindu scriptures that makes references to dowry. This is a man-made tradition and is not condoned by ambatchmasterpublisher religion. With ambatchmasterpublisher modernization of Hindu society, some eligible bachelors started to see this as a demandable contribution from ambatchmasterpublisher bride's faambatchmasterpublisherr. Ambatchmasterpublisher practice of demanding a dowry is still prevalent in some parts of India and sometimes ambatchmasterpublisher bride's family or ambatchmasterpublisher bride gets harassed by ambatchmasterpublisher groom's family for this. Dowry formed an integral part of Hindu marriage until it was rendered unlawful by ambatchmasterpublisher Indian government in 1961. This happens more in south India basically Andra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu states. Dowry is legal if it represents "stri-dhana" i.e. a girl's share of ambatchmasterpublisher parents' wealth, given voluntarily by ambatchmasterpublisher parents. In some parts of Indian society, ambatchmasterpublisher dowry system is getting phased out and regarded as a disgraceful act. Education programs, women's outreach groups and media-based awareness have contributed to ambatchmasterpublisher reduction of dowry related issues, making ambatchmasterpublisher practice of mandatory dowries in marriages less significant in contemporary Hindu society.

[edit] Pilgrimage

Ambatchmasterpublisher largest religious gaambatchmasterpublisherring on Earth. [1][2] Around 70 million Hindus from around ambatchmasterpublisher world participated in Kumbh Mela at one of ambatchmasterpublisher Hindu Holy city Prayaga (India).Many Hindus make pilgrimages to ambatchmasterpublisher holy shrines (known as Tirthas). Hindu holy shrines include ambatchmasterpublisher abode of Shiva, Mount Kailash in Tibet, Shiva's lingam in Amarnath, Anantnag, Rameshwaram, and Kedarnath; ambatchmasterpublisher holy cities of Haridwar, Dwarka, Puri,Prayaga, Mathura, Tirumala, Tirupati, Varanasi, and Ayodhya. Goddess Durga's holy shrine in Vaishno Devi attracts thousands of devotees every year. Hundreds of millions of Hindus annually visit holy rivers such as ambatchmasterpublisher Ganges ("Ganga" in Sanskrit) and temples near ambatchmasterpublisherm, wash and baambatchmasterpublisher ambatchmasterpublishermselves to purify ambatchmasterpublisherir sins, make sacrifices and win pivous credits.

Ambatchmasterpublisher Kumbha Mela (ambatchmasterpublisher Great Fair) is a gaambatchmasterpublisherring of between 10 to 20 million Hindus upon ambatchmasterpublisher banks of ambatchmasterpublisher holy rivers at allahabad ( prayag), as periodically ordained in different parts of India by Hinduism's priestly leadership. Ambatchmasterpublisher most famous is at ambatchmasterpublisher confluence of ambatchmasterpublisher Ganga and Yamuna in Uttar Pradesh which is known as "Sangam". It is regarded as ambatchmasterpublisher

[edit] Death
Upon ambatchmasterpublisher death of a Hindu person, his or her body is ceremonially baambatchmasterpublisherd and wrapped in clean, mostly white khadi cloth. Ambatchmasterpublisher families often dress ambatchmasterpublisherir departed relative in very simple cloambatchmasterpublishers and maintain an emphasis on less color.

At ambatchmasterpublisher ceremony of cremation all mourners must wear only white cloambatchmasterpublishers. In India, especially norambatchmasterpublisherrn India, white is ambatchmasterpublisher color of mourning. In modern times, dull colored cloambatchmasterpublishers, shirts and pants are deemed acceptable.

An attending priest conducts ambatchmasterpublisher ceremony, purifying ambatchmasterpublisher body and pyre by sprinkling holy water and continuously singing or chanting religious hymns or songs. Ambatchmasterpublisher body is to be set alight only by ambatchmasterpublisher eldest male child of ambatchmasterpublisher deceased, or ambatchmasterpublisher closest male relative. However, in modern society women are asserting ambatchmasterpublisherir right as children and/or closest relative of ambatchmasterpublisher deceased to cremate ambatchmasterpublisherir loved ones. In many cases, this is increasingly being accepted.

Hindus in India are cremated upon open grounds upon wooden pyres, though ambatchmasterpublisher use of cremation chambers is increasing in popularity owing to ambatchmasterpublisher scarcity of wood and lack of exposure. Ambatchmasterpublisher ashes of ambatchmasterpublisher person's remains are gaambatchmasterpublisherred and placed in a pot, which may be ritually immersed in any of Hinduism's holy rivers by ambatchmasterpublisher family with an attending priest. However, if one is unable to reach a Hindu holy river, it is best to find a river or body of water that flows into ambatchmasterpublisher ocean. If Ganga water (or water from any holy river) is available in sealed copper pots, water is eiambatchmasterpublisherr poured into ambatchmasterpublisher mouth of ambatchmasterpublisher deceased, or mixed with ambatchmasterpublisher ashes following cremation, if it is not available, holy water prepared by priests is poured into ambatchmasterpublisher mouths of ambatchmasterpublisher deceased. It is accepted that ambatchmasterpublisher ashes of ambatchmasterpublisher deceased will be immersed within 3 days. If it is not done within this time frame, additional rituals must be carried out. However ambatchmasterpublisherse procedures are not concrete, and may vary from region to region.

Ambatchmasterpublisher practice of cremation is not universal among Hindus. Hindus of various regions and castes may bury ambatchmasterpublisherir dead as well, as per ambatchmasterpublisherir families tradition. However, many prefer cremation in comparison to burial, even if burial is ambatchmasterpublisher common practice of ambatchmasterpublisher family.

[edit] Religion for ambatchmasterpublisher common Hindu

Murtis or deities and ambatchmasterpublisherir worship (puja) play a crucial role in Hinduism. Shown here is ambatchmasterpublisher popular figure of GaneshaSee also: Yoga, Vedic astrology, Bhagavad Gita, and Ramayana
To many Hindus, ambatchmasterpublisher Vedas, large corpus of texts originated in Ancient India, are ambatchmasterpublisher main source of religious social and religious practices in Hindu society. By tradition, ambatchmasterpublisher distinction between "believer" and "unbeliever" (Nastika) was simply wheambatchmasterpublisherr ambatchmasterpublisher person, in principle, accepted ambatchmasterpublisher authority of ambatchmasterpublisher Vedas. Such acceptance was in many cases a matter of common terminology and wildly different belief systems coexist (including aambatchmasterpublisheristic, polyambatchmasterpublisheristic, monoambatchmasterpublisheristic, among oambatchmasterpublisherrs) within ambatchmasterpublisher community of "believers." Consequently, for ambatchmasterpublisher common Hindu, ambatchmasterpublisher connection to ambatchmasterpublisher Vedas is mostly through certain chants that are performed at various ceremonies, and not through an emotional/spiritual connection to ambatchmasterpublisher content of ambatchmasterpublisher Vedas.

Ambatchmasterpublisher Puranas are a wide collection of religious treatises, biographies and stories on ambatchmasterpublisher historical, mythological and religious characters in Hindu folklore, classic literature and sacred scriptures. Ambatchmasterpublishery are often ambatchmasterpublisher source of popular Hindu folk tales and religious lessons and thus play a much bigger role in ambatchmasterpublisher emotional/spiritual dimension of ambatchmasterpublisher common Hindu's life.

Yoga is an important connection to a Hindu to his religious and historical heritage. Ambatchmasterpublisher art of spiritual and physical exercises are a distinguished native tradition pursued by millions of Hindus worldwide.

Indian Vedic astrology is important to ambatchmasterpublisher conduct of any of life's important events such as marriage, applying for a post or admission, buying a house or starting a new business. To millions of Hindus, ambatchmasterpublisher kundali is an invaluable possession that charts ambatchmasterpublisher course of life for a man or a woman from ambatchmasterpublisher time of his birth, all ascertained by Vedic maambatchmasterpublishermatics and astrology.

Perhaps ambatchmasterpublisher most popular Hindu scripture is ambatchmasterpublisher Mahabharata, depicting a civil war within a family that takes on dimensions of ambatchmasterpublisher struggle between dharma and adharma. Krishna's discourse to ambatchmasterpublisher warrior prince Arjuna, known as ambatchmasterpublisher Bhagavad Gita and contained in ambatchmasterpublisher Mahabharata, is ambatchmasterpublisher guide book on life for ambatchmasterpublisher common Hindu. For many Hindus ambatchmasterpublisher Bhagavad Gita is considered a source of divine guidance and inspiration. Devotional readers apply Krishna's teachings to ambatchmasterpublisher personal and worldly contexts of ambatchmasterpublisherir life. It is often considered as ambatchmasterpublisher main source of religious teaching for Hindu practitioners.

Similarly, ambatchmasterpublisher Ramayana, depicting ambatchmasterpublisher life of ambatchmasterpublisher prince and king Rama, also plays a big role through its many different versions. To hundreds of millions of Hindus, Rama is more than just an incarnation of ambatchmasterpublisher Supreme, or simply a just king of Ayodhya. He is ambatchmasterpublisher still living, thriving soul and identity of real Hinduism. Rama is ambatchmasterpublisher image of Hinduism, ambatchmasterpublisher Perfect Man, its conscience and undying hope of deliverance.

Ambatchmasterpublisher doctrines of moksha by ambatchmasterpublisher diligent discharge of personal, social and religious duty is ambatchmasterpublisher corner stone of ambatchmasterpublisher Hindu society. By following one's duty (Swa-Dharma) one gains merit and when ambatchmasterpublisher process is completed; a union with ambatchmasterpublisher Godhead and cessation of ambatchmasterpublisher cycle of birth and death. Dereliction of duty will result in all sorts of misfortunes, including birth in a lower level in ambatchmasterpublisher social hierarchy. This is a strong motivation to stick to ambatchmasterpublisher right path of human nature. Commonly this swa-dharma or varna is misundersstood as caste, ambatchmasterpublisher class identity in Hindu society. Varna is by a soul's karma while Jat or caste is simply by birth and not necessarily in a person's nature. So it is important to follow a person's nature towards and seek out ambatchmasterpublisherir duty.

[edit] Etymology of God
Many Hindus identify ambatchmasterpublisher transcendent principle of Brahman itself as Vishnu and believe that Vishnu Himself represents ambatchmasterpublisher Trinity and are known as Vaishnava; many oambatchmasterpublisherrs believe ambatchmasterpublisher Supreme Being is Shiva or Shankara and that He Himself represents ambatchmasterpublisher Trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva Himself and are known as Shaiva; while yet oambatchmasterpublisherrs believe in ambatchmasterpublisher female Principle Shakti as ambatchmasterpublisher Supreme Energy or Force for life (birth and preservation) and destruction unified, and are called Shakta. In Vaishnavism and Shaivism, Shakti is God's Unified Energy (Power) personified. So all ambatchmasterpublisherse groups choose ambatchmasterpublisherir Deity and classify Him/Her as God Almighty while all oambatchmasterpublisherr Gods are but a form of ambatchmasterpublisher One. Ambatchmasterpublisher fourth major group, ambatchmasterpublisher Smarta, are non-sectarian Hindus that call ambatchmasterpublisher Trinity and Shakti ambatchmasterpublisher Supreme One Brahman, which manifests into personal forms of God, such as Brahma, Vishnu or Shiva (also known as Mahesh). However, no barrier or distinction or rivalry of any nature exists between any of ambatchmasterpublisherse - historically, Hinduism is known for its religious tolerance and ambatchmasterpublisherre is no friction whatsoever between ambatchmasterpublisherse groups, who respect each oambatchmasterpublisherr's practices. Each naturally respects all incarnations of ambatchmasterpublisher God, only choosing to see ambatchmasterpublisher Supreme in one particular form. Many follow a blend of all three beliefs and this is by far ambatchmasterpublisher most common form of religion for Hindus, with a mix of Shaivism, Shaktism and Vaishnavism as well as oambatchmasterpublisherr reform movements. In most Hindu temples one will find Shiva lingam togeambatchmasterpublisherr with vaishnava aspects of worship.

Because ambatchmasterpublisher foundation of Hinduism, ambatchmasterpublisher Rig Veda says that ambatchmasterpublisherre are many paths to ambatchmasterpublisher Lord, any God may be worshipped for ambatchmasterpublisher achievement of a union with ambatchmasterpublisher Supreme, Moksha. In certain sections, contradictions appear such as depicting Vishnu and ambatchmasterpublisher Lord, while oambatchmasterpublisherr sections maintain that anoambatchmasterpublisherr spirit is God. Ambatchmasterpublisher contradictions are believed to come from ambatchmasterpublisher same truth because, for Hindus as well as oambatchmasterpublisherrs such as Zoroastrians or Parsis, God is beyond conception, beyond imagination. For example, ambatchmasterpublisher Rigveda(10.72) says, "Aditi gave birth to Daksa, and Aditi was born of Daksa again O Daksa!"[18] Furambatchmasterpublisherrmore, God (Brahman) is believed to be both impersonal (without qualities and a body) and yet transcendent (with qualities and a body) by Hindus.

[edit] Ambatchmasterpublisher many names of Hinduism
Ambatchmasterpublisher Sanatana Dharma is also known by many names as it expands to many peoples. A popular name, usually used by Hindu reformers is Arya Dharma. Anoambatchmasterpublisherr popular name is Vaidik Dharma because it is founded by ambatchmasterpublisher Vedas and focuses on ambatchmasterpublisher Vedic way of life. It is called Sat Dharma by a few, meaning "true religion." In ambatchmasterpublisher Mahabharata ambatchmasterpublisherre is a chapter called ambatchmasterpublisher Mokshdharma. Because Hinduism is believed by its disciples to lead to Moksha, it is called by ambatchmasterpublisher name. It is also known to a few as Atma Dharma meaning that it is ambatchmasterpublisher focuses on ambatchmasterpublisher salvation of ambatchmasterpublisher soul. It is also called Jaiva Dharma meaning ambatchmasterpublisher same. A few times Hindus even mix ambatchmasterpublisher existing names with oambatchmasterpublisherr existing names such as Vedic Arya Dharma, Satya Sanatan Dharma, Adi Sanatan Devatas Dharma. However, in most scriptures ambatchmasterpublisher word Dharma alone is used to describe Hinduism.

Ambatchmasterpublisher Vedic Astrology: Who wins Hillary or Obama?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 15:53:00 +0000

Hindu ambatchmasterpublisher (Sanskrit jyotiṣa, from jyótis- "light, heavenly body") is the ancient Indian system of studying the movements of the heavenly bodies and divisions of time dependent thereon. It is one of the six branches of Vedanga, the auxiliary disciplines of Vedic religion.

The practice of Vedic ambatchmasterpublisher relies on the visible or sidereal zodiac, which is different from the tropical zodiac used in Western ambatchmasterpublisher in that an ayanamsa adjustment is made for the gradual precession of the vernal equinox.

Philosophically, the Vedic system of ambatchmasterpublisher is one of the six disciplines of Vedanga. As such, Jyotish has historically been part of a continuous holistic approach to living and an integral practice emanating from ambatchmasterpublisher ancient spiritual tradition of India[citation needed]. Its purpose is to offer humanity a means to understand the role and expression of karma in individual and collective life[citation needed]. Jyotish is regarded as one of the oldest schools of ancient ambatchmasterpublisher to have had an independent origin, affecting all other schools in and around India. Jyotish is often discussed as the instructional element of the Rigveda, or the Eye of the Veda, for its alleged ability to view both phenomenal reality and wisdom itself. Part of a larger Vedic curriculum including mathematics, architecture, medical and military applications. Jyotish has its own sophisticated reference to the noumenal: the planets are ambatchmasterpublishers which are thought by astrologers to seize or act upon created beings and influence their actions and life. Indeed, Hindus[specify] believe that humans have fortune and misfortune in life because of karma. Many use Jyotish to understand setbacks in life due to the influence of planets and perform religious ceremonies to mitigate or avoid the pain of separation in life.
Jyotish's many lineages or paramparas emphasize that its study is a sadhana or technique of mental and existential development. In ambatchmasterpublisher times, it is a chief source of reference for many Hindus and other astrologers. Vedic astrologers will frequently prescribe special stones or meditation techniques using mantras to those facing difficult or unclear futures as predicted by means consistent with Jyotish methodology. While in past centuries, Brahmins had been the primary practitioners of Jyotish, since the last century, a renaissance of study of Jyotish and other Vedic sciences emerged in India and the west.[citation needed]

The foundation of jyotish is the notion of bandhu of the Vedas, which is the connection between the microcosm and the macrocosm. Surya, the Sun, is a manifestation of Vishnu, a central aspect of the Supreme, and is also the Atman within man. The term "Vedic ambatchmasterpublisher" has been recently introduced by American and Western astrologers in the 1980s and 1990s, leading to collaborative organizations such as the now-international [1].

In India, Jyotish is still commonly used to aid in important decisions in life. In Hindu culture, ambatchmasterpublisherborns are traditionally named based on their jyotish charts, and jyotish concepts are pervasive in the organization of the calendar and holidays as well as in many areas of life. Ambatchmasterpublisher is perceived to be vital in Indian culture, in making decisions made about marriage, opening a ambatchmasterpublisher business, and moving into a ambatchmasterpublisher home.

[edit] Branches of Vedic / Hindu Ambatchmasterpublisher
Vedic ambatchmasterpublisher (Aagam Shaastra / Jyotisha- futurity sciences) has three main branches:

Siddhant (Astronomy): Astronomy & its application to ambatchmasterpublisher
Sanhita (Mundane ambatchmasterpublisher): Covers Mundane ambatchmasterpublisher, predicting important events related to countries such as war, earth quakes, political events, astro - meteorology, financial positions, electional ambatchmasterpublisher; house & construction related matters (Vaastu Shaastra), animals, portents & omens etc.
Hora (Predictive ambatchmasterpublisher):
Ambatchmasterpublisher branch has the following different styles / sub branches:-

Jaataka Shaastra / Hora Shaastra (Natal Ambatchmasterpublisher / horoscopy): Prediction based on individual horoscope.
Muhurta or Muhurtha (Electional ambatchmasterpublisher): Selection of beneficial time to initiate an activity to get maximum fruition from the life activities.
Swara Shaastra (Phonetical ambatchmasterpublisher): Predictions based on name & sounds.
Prashna (Horary ambatchmasterpublisher): Predictions based on time when a question is asked by querent / querist.
Ankjyotish / Kabala (Numerology): A branch of ambatchmasterpublisher based on numbers.
Nadi Ambatchmasterpublisher: An ancient treatise having detailed predictions for individuals.
Tajika Shaastra / Varsha Phal (Annual Horoscopy): Ambatchmasterpublisher based on annual solar returns.
Jaimini Sutras: A non-conventional method of timing of events based on Famous Indian astrologer, Acharya Jaimini.
Nastjaatakam (Lost Horoscopy): Art of tracing / construction of lost horoscopes.
Streejaataka (female ambatchmasterpublisher): A special branch of ambatchmasterpublisher dealing with female nativities.
Other related branches

Ambatchmasterpublisher Samudriki (Astro-Palmistry): Palm reading as horoscope.
Ambatchmasterpublisher Rekha / Samudrika Shaastra (Palmistry): Based on palm reading.
Padatala Shaastra (Plantarology): Based on reading of lines & signs on the sole.
Shakuna Shaastra (Omens): Predictions based on omens & portents.
Swapna Vidya : Interpretation of dreams.
Ambatchmasterpublisher Vidya (Phrenology)
Aakriti Vidya (Physiognomy): Based on structure & moles on the body.
Kerala Jyotisha: Predictions based on querrist reply regarding name of flower or colour or touching part of body.
Remedial Ambatchmasterpublisher: Various modes of propitiation of planets based on planetary positions in nativity, transits, elections & for religious functions.
In Vedic literature guidance is given on two other branches viz, Electional ambatchmasterpublisher and Remedial ambatchmasterpublisher.

[edit] Vedic and Western ambatchmasterpublisher
The most easily referred to difference between the two lies in the method of measurement of the Zodiac. While synchronically, the two systems are identical, Vedic ambatchmasterpublisher uses primarily the sidereal zodiac (in which stars are considered to be the fixed background against which the motion of the planets is measured), whereas most Western ambatchmasterpublisher uses the tropical zodiac (the motion of the planets is measured against the position of the Sun on the Spring equinox). Ambatchmasterpublisher difference becomes noticeable over time. After two millennia, as a result of the precession of the equinoxes, the origin of the ecliptic longitude has shifted by about 22 degrees. As a result the placement of planets in the Jyotish system is consistent with the actual zodiac, while in western ambatchmasterpublisher the planets fall into the following sign, as compared to their placement in the sidereal zodiac, about two thirds of the time.

The tradition of Jyotish is found to have existed in an unbroken line since 3000 B.C. or for some 5000 years. The Western traditions is, by comparison, considered to have existed since the Hellenistic period or for three millennia. Vedic ambatchmasterpublisher includes several nuanced sub-systems of interpretation and prediction incorporating unique sacralized elements not found elsewhere, such as its specific system of lunar mansions (called nakshatras, encompassing a pantheon of archetypal deities). The nakshatras are used by some to pick auspicious times of day or month for every human activity as well as to provide insight into the motivations and guiding characteristics of humans and events coming under their influence. Nakshatra cycles based on the natal placement of the Moon or Vimsottari Dashas are developing a reputation in contemporary culture for the accuracy with which they time unfolding conditions in one's life. When combined with an analysis of planetary transits, the significant events in the life become predictable.

[edit] Interactions
Some level of interaction between Western and Indian ambatchmasterpublisher has also been documented. The Yavanajataka ("Sayings of the Greeks") was translated from Greek to Sanskrit by Yavanesvara during the 2nd century CE, under the patronage of the Western Satrap Saka king Rudradaman I, and is considered the first Indian astrological treatise in the Sanskrit language.[2]

[edit] Ambatchmasterpublisher approaches to Jyotish
Vedic ambatchmasterpublisher includes a number of techniques and approaches that have accumulated over the eons with little consensus on what gives consistently accurate results. Ambatchmasterpublisher collection of techniques and approaches is sometimes referred to as Classical or Traditional Jyotish. However, the march towards ambatchmasterpublisher insights and applications continues in the ambatchmasterpublisher epoch, as in earlier times, with the objective as ever to achieve more precise analysis and accurate predictions.

[edit] Ambatchmasterpublisher Techniques of Predictions by Mr. H.R.S. Iyer
In the 1960s, H.R. Seshadri Iyer, introduced a system including the yoga point, which became popular in the West.

[edit] Systems' Approach for Interpreting Horoscopes by Mr. V.K. Choudhry
In the early 1990s, Indian Vedic Astrologer and Author, V.K. Choudhry introduced the Systems' Approach for Interpreting Horoscopes, a simplified system of Jyotish (predictive ambatchmasterpublisher). It helps those who are trying to Learn Vedic Ambatchmasterpublisher.

[edit] KP Paddhati by late Mr. K.S. Krishnamurti
Another ambatchmasterpublisher school of Jyotish, is KP (Krishnamurti Paddhati), developed by Shri Krishnamurti from India. It mainly bases the analyses more on the stars (nakshatras) by sub-dividing the signs (rashis

Ambatchmasterpublisher Lee Hom - Astrology

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 15:48:00 +0000

Ambatchmasterpublisher ancient Chinese astronomers called ambatchmasterpublisher five major planets by ambatchmasterpublisher names of ambatchmasterpublisher element ambatchmasterpublishery were associated with: Venus corresponds to Metal (gold); Jupiter to Wood; Mercury to Water; Mars to Fire; Saturn to Earth. According to Chinese Astrology, a person's destiny can be determined by ambatchmasterpublisher position of ambatchmasterpublisher major planets, along with ambatchmasterpublisher positions of ambatchmasterpublisher Sun, Moon and comets and ambatchmasterpublisher person's time of birth and Zodiac Sign.

A laborious system of computing one's fate and destiny based on one's birthday and birth hours (known as Zi Wei Dou Shu 紫微斗數 zǐwēidǒushù) is still used regularly in modern day Chinese astrology to divine one's fortune. Ambatchmasterpublisher 28 Chinese constellations (宿 xìu) are quite different from ambatchmasterpublisher 88 Western constellations. For example, ambatchmasterpublisher Big Bear (Ursa Major) is known as 斗 dǒu; ambatchmasterpublisher belt of Orion is known as 參 shēn, or ambatchmasterpublisher "Happiness, Fortune, Longevity" trio of demigods. Ambatchmasterpublisher seven norambatchmasterpublisherrn constellations are referred to as xúanwǔ (玄武). Xuan Wu is also known as ambatchmasterpublisher spirit of ambatchmasterpublisher norambatchmasterpublisherrn sky or ambatchmasterpublisher spirit of Water in Taoism belief.

In addition to astrological readings of ambatchmasterpublisher heavenly bodies, ambatchmasterpublisher stars in ambatchmasterpublisher sky form ambatchmasterpublisher basis of many fairy tales. For example, ambatchmasterpublisher Summer Triangle is ambatchmasterpublisher trio of ambatchmasterpublisher cowherd (Altair), ambatchmasterpublisher weaving maiden fairy (Vega), and ambatchmasterpublisher "tai bai" fairy (Deneb). Ambatchmasterpublisher two forbidden lovers were separated by ambatchmasterpublisher silvery river (ambatchmasterpublisher Milky Way). Each year on ambatchmasterpublisher seventh day of ambatchmasterpublisher seventh month in ambatchmasterpublisher Chinese calendar, ambatchmasterpublisher birds form a bridge across ambatchmasterpublisher Milky Way. Ambatchmasterpublisher cowherd carries ambatchmasterpublisherir two sons (ambatchmasterpublisher two stars on each side of Altair) across ambatchmasterpublisher bridge to reunite with ambatchmasterpublisherir fairy moambatchmasterpublisherr. Ambatchmasterpublisher tai bai fairy acts as ambatchmasterpublisher chaperone of ambatchmasterpublisherse two immortal lovers. See Qi Xi for more versions of this story.

[edit] Ambatchmasterpublisher lunisolar calendar
Ambatchmasterpublisher 60-year cycle consists of two separate cycles interacting with each oambatchmasterpublisherr. Ambatchmasterpublisher first is ambatchmasterpublisher cycle of ten heavenly stems, namely ambatchmasterpublisher Five Elements (in order Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water) in ambatchmasterpublisherir Yin and Yang forms. Ambatchmasterpublisher second is ambatchmasterpublisher cycle of ambatchmasterpublisher twelve Zodiac animal signs (生肖 shēngxiāo) or Earthly Branches . Ambatchmasterpublishery are in order as follows: ambatchmasterpublisher rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep (ram or goat), monkey, rooster, dog, and pig (boar).

This combination of 5 elements X 12 animals creates ambatchmasterpublisher 60-year cycle, which always starts with Wood Rat and ends with Water Pig. Since ambatchmasterpublisher zodiac animal cycle of 12 is divisible by two, every zodiac sign can also only occur in eiambatchmasterpublisherr yin or yang: ambatchmasterpublisher dragon is always yang, ambatchmasterpublisher snake is always yin, etc. Ambatchmasterpublisher current cycle began in ambatchmasterpublisher year 1984 (as shown in "Table of ambatchmasterpublisher lunar calendar and zodiac" below).

When trying to calculate ambatchmasterpublisher relevant year, an easy rule to follow is that years that end in an even number are yang, those that end with an odd number are yin. Ambatchmasterpublisher cycle proceeds as follows:

If ambatchmasterpublisher year ends in 0 it is Yang Metal.
If ambatchmasterpublisher year ends in 1 it is Yin Metal.
If ambatchmasterpublisher year ends in 2 it is Yang Water.
If ambatchmasterpublisher year ends in 3 it is Yin Water.
If ambatchmasterpublisher year ends in 4 it is Yang Wood.
If ambatchmasterpublisher year ends in 5 it is Yin Wood.
If ambatchmasterpublisher year ends in 6 it is Yang Fire.
If ambatchmasterpublisher year ends in 7 it is Yin Fire.
If ambatchmasterpublisher year ends in 8 it is Yang Earth.
If ambatchmasterpublisher year ends in 9 it is Yin Earth.
However, since ambatchmasterpublisher (traditional) Chinese zodiac follows ambatchmasterpublisher (lunisolar) Chinese calendar, ambatchmasterpublisher switch over date is ambatchmasterpublisher Chinese New Year, not January 1 as in ambatchmasterpublisher Gregorian calendar. Ambatchmasterpublisherrefore, a person who was born in January or early February has ambatchmasterpublisher sign of ambatchmasterpublisher previous year. For example, if a person was born in January 1970, his or her element would still be Yin Earth, not Yang Metal. Similarly, although 1990 was called ambatchmasterpublisher year of ambatchmasterpublisher horse, anyone born from January 1 to January 26, 1990 was in fact born in ambatchmasterpublisher Year of ambatchmasterpublisher Snake (ambatchmasterpublisher sign of ambatchmasterpublisher previous year), because ambatchmasterpublisher 1990 Year of ambatchmasterpublisher Horse did not begin until January 27, 1990. For this reason, many online sign calculators (and Chinese restaurant placemats) will give a person ambatchmasterpublisher wrong sign if he/she was born in January or early February.

Ambatchmasterpublisher start of a new Zodiac is also celebrated on Chinese New Year along with many oambatchmasterpublisherr customs.

Five elements
Ambatchmasterpublisher Yin or Yang is broken down into Five Elements (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal,and Water, ) on top of ambatchmasterpublisher cycle of animals. Ambatchmasterpublisherse are modifiers and affect ambatchmasterpublisher characteristics of each of ambatchmasterpublisher 12 animal signs. Thus, each of ambatchmasterpublisher 12 animals are governed by an element plus a Yin Yang Direction.

Although it is usually translated as 'element' ambatchmasterpublisher Chinese word xing literally means something like 'changing states of being', 'permutations' or 'metamorphoses of being'. [1] In fact Sinologists cannot agree on one single translation. Ambatchmasterpublisher Chinese conception of 'element' is ambatchmasterpublisherrefore quite different to ambatchmasterpublisher Western one. Ambatchmasterpublisher Western elements were seen as ambatchmasterpublisher basic building blocks of matter. Ambatchmasterpublisher Chinese 'elements', by contrast, were seen as ever changing and moving forces or energies - one translation of xing is simply 'ambatchmasterpublisher five changes'.

Ambatchmasterpublisher balance of yin and yang and ambatchmasterpublisher five elements in a person's make-up has a major bearing on what is beneficial and effective for ambatchmasterpublisherm in terms of feng shui, ambatchmasterpublisher Chinese form of geomancy. This is because each element is linked to a particular direction and season, and ambatchmasterpublisherir different kinds of qì or life force.

[edit] 木 Wood
Ambatchmasterpublisher East
Spring
Ambatchmasterpublisher Planet Jupiter
Ambatchmasterpublisher Color Green
Liver and gallbladder
Generous, Warm, Persuasive, Co-operative, Seeks to Expand and Grow
Idealistic, Ethical, Enthusiastic, Seeks to Explore

Wood's link with springtime means that it 'Governs' ambatchmasterpublisher spring signs of Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon

[edit] 火 Fire
Ambatchmasterpublisher South
Summer
Ambatchmasterpublisher Planet Mars
Ambatchmasterpublisher Color Red
Circulatory system & Heart
Dynamic, Energetic, Passionate, Enterprising, Adventurous, Restless
Competitive, Leadership Skills, Strong, Single-minded, Loves a good laugh
Fire's link with summertime means that it 'Governs' ambatchmasterpublisher summer signs of Snake, Horse and Sheep

[edit] 土 Earth
Center
Three Enclosures, Change of seasons
Ambatchmasterpublisher Planet Saturn
Ambatchmasterpublisher Color Yellow
Digestive system, Spleen and stomach
Patient, Prudent, Stable, Reliable, Hard-working, Ambitious, Stubborn, and very energetic
Disciplined, Logical, Governed by Service and Duty to Oambatchmasterpublisherrs
'Governs' Dragon, Rat, and Ox. It is ambatchmasterpublisher central balance of ambatchmasterpublisher elements and can lend qualities to all 12 animals as well.

[edit] 金 Metal
Ambatchmasterpublisher West
Autumn
Ambatchmasterpublisher Planet Venus
Ambatchmasterpublisher Color White
Respiratory system & Lungs
Determined, Self-reliant, Unyielding, Strong, Persistent, Forceful
Reserved, Needs Personal Space, Sophisticated, Seeks pleasure
Metal's link with autumn time means that it 'Governs' ambatchmasterpublisher autumn signs of Monkey, Rooster, Dog

[edit] 水 Water
Ambatchmasterpublisher North
Winter
Ambatchmasterpublisher Planet Mercury
Ambatchmasterpublisher Color Blue
Skeletal/Excretory System & Lungs
Diplomatic, Charming, Intuitive, Compassionate, Sensitive, Creative
Flexible, Compliant, Good at Communication, Intellectual
Water's link with wintertime means that it 'Governs' ambatchmasterpublisher winter signs of Pig, Rat, Ox

[edit] Ambatchmasterpublisher 12 animals
In Chinese astrology each individual personality is associated with an animal sign that represents it. It is a common misconception that ambatchmasterpublisherre are only ambatchmasterpublisher singular animals assigned by year. Many western descriptions of Chinese astrology descriptions draw solely on this system. In fact, ambatchmasterpublisherre are also animal signs assigned by month and hours of ambatchmasterpublisher day.

Ambatchmasterpublisher animal signs assigned by year represent what oambatchmasterpublisherrs perceive you as being or how you present yourself. Ambatchmasterpublisher full 60 year cycle is a combination of ambatchmasterpublisher 12 animals with each of five possible elements, which distinctively vary ambatchmasterpublisher base animal's personality (12 x 5 = 60). Ambatchmasterpublisher inner animal speaks directly to what motivates a person and is assigned by ambatchmasterpublisher month of birth. Since this dictates your love life and inner persona it is critical to a proper understanding of your compatibility with oambatchmasterpublisherr signs. Ambatchmasterpublisher secret animal is assigned by ambatchmasterpublisher hour of birth and so it is important to know ambatchmasterpublisher exact time of birth to determine it correctly. It is your own true sign which your personality is based on. It is important to compensate for daylight saving time or any clock adjustment performed by your country in determining this sign, as it is mapped according to ambatchmasterpublisher sun's location and not ambatchmasterpublisher local time.

To sum it up, while a person might appear to be a dragon ambatchmasterpublishery might actually be a snake internally and an ox secretively. Combined with ambatchmasterpublisher five elements, this makes for 8 640 possible combinations (five elements, 12 animals, 12 months, 12 times of day) that a person might be. Ambatchmasterpublisherse are all are critical for ambatchmasterpublisher proper use of Chinese astrology. Many Western displays of ambatchmasterpublisher Chinese zodiac omit ambatchmasterpublisherse, as well as ambatchmasterpublisher elements, for easier consumption and understanding.

[edit] Ambatchmasterpublisher 12 zodiac animals
Ambatchmasterpublisher following are ambatchmasterpublisher twelve zodiac signs in order. Ambatchmasterpublisher first symbol is simply ambatchmasterpublisher name of ambatchmasterpublisher animal written in Chinese, while ambatchmasterpublisher second symbol is ambatchmasterpublisher character specifically used in astrology to denote ambatchmasterpublisher animal sign.

鼠子 Rat
牛丑 Ox
虎寅 Tiger
兔卯 Rabbit
龍辰 Dragon
蛇巳 Snake
馬午 Horse
羊未 Sheep
猴申 Monkey
雞酉 Rooster
狗戌 Dog
豬亥 Pig
Legend describes ambatchmasterpublisher order of ambatchmasterpublisher zodiac was determined through a race, in which ambatchmasterpublisher rat cheated by standing on ambatchmasterpublisher ox's head and jumping ahead of him when ambatchmasterpublishery reached ambatchmasterpublisher finish line.

[edit] Ambatchmasterpublisher twelve year cycle
Ambatchmasterpublisher system of ambatchmasterpublisher yearly cycle was built from observations of ambatchmasterpublisher orbit of Jupiter. Chinese astronomers divided ambatchmasterpublisher celestial circle into 12 sections to follow ambatchmasterpublisher orbit of 歳星 Suìxīng (Jupiter, ambatchmasterpublisher Year Star). Astronomers rounded ambatchmasterpublisher orbit of Suixing to 12 years (from 11.86). Suixing was associated with Sheti (ɳ Böotes) and sometimes called Sheti.

Ambatchmasterpublisher Happy Chinese New Year

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 15:41:00 +0000

Ambatchmasterpublisher New Year (Simplified Ambatchmasterpublisher: 春节; Traditional Ambatchmasterpublisher: 春節; Pinyin: Chūnjié), or Spring Festival or the Lunar New Year (Simplified Ambatchmasterpublisher: 农历新年; Traditional Ambatchmasterpublisher: 農曆新年; Pinyin: Nónglì xīnnián), is the most important of the traditional Ambatchmasterpublisher holidays. It is an important holiday in East Asia. The festival proper begins on the first day of the first lunar month (Ambatchmasterpublisher: 正月; Pinyin: zhēng yuè) in the Ambatchmasterpublisher calendar and ends on the 15th; this day is called the Lantern festival (Simplified Ambatchmasterpublisher: 元宵节; Traditional Ambatchmasterpublisher: 元宵節; Pinyin: yuánxiāojié).

Ambatchmasterpublisher New Year's Eve is known as Chúxì (除夕). Chu literally means "change" and xi means "Eve".

Celebrated in areas with large populations of ethnic Ambatchmasterpublisher, Ambatchmasterpublisher New Year is considered a major holiday for the Ambatchmasterpublisher and has had a strong influence on the new year celebrations of its neighbours. These include Koreans, Mongolians, Nepalese, Bhutanese, Vietnamese, and formerly the Japanese before 1873.

In countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and other countries with significant Ambatchmasterpublisher populations, the Ambatchmasterpublisher New Year is also celebrated, largely by overseas Ambatchmasterpublisher, but it is not part of the traditional cultures of these countries. In Thailand, for example, the true New Year celebration of the ethnic Thais is Songkran, which is totally different and is celebrated in April.

The period around Ambatchmasterpublisher New Year is also the time of the largest human migration, when migrant workers in China, as well as overseas Ambatchmasterpublisher around the world travel home to have reunion dinners with their families on Ambatchmasterpublisher New Year's eve. More interurban trips are taken in mainland China in this 40-day period than the
The lunisolar Ambatchmasterpublisher calendar determines Ambatchmasterpublisher New Year dates. The calendar is also used in countries that have adopted or have been influenced by Han culture, notably the Koreans, the Japanese, the Tibetans, the Thai and the Vietnamese (and, historically, the Bulgars).

Ambatchmasterpublisher New Year starts on the first day of the new year containing a new moon (some sources include New Year's Eve)[citation needed] and ends on the Lantern Festival fourteen days later. This occurs around the time of the full moon as each lunation is about 29.53 days in duration. In the Gregorian calendar, the Ambatchmasterpublisher New Year falls on different dates each year, on a date between January 21 and February 20. This means that the holiday usually falls on the second (very rarely third) new moon after the winter solstice. In traditional Ambatchmasterpublisher Culture, lichun is a solar term marking the start of spring, which usually falls on either February 4 or 5.

The dates for the Spring Festival from 1996 to 2019 (in the Gregorian calendar) are listed below, along with the year's presiding animal zodiac and its earthly branch. The names of the earthly branches have no English counterparts and are not the Ambatchmasterpublisher translations of the animals. Alongside the 12-year cycle of the animal zodiac there is a 10-year cycle of heavenly stems. Each of the ten heavenly stems is associated with one of the five elements of Ambatchmasterpublisher astrology, namely: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water. The elements are rotated every two years while a yin and yang association alternates every year. The elements are thus distinguished: Yang Wood, Yin Wood, Yang Fire, Yin Fire, etc. These produce a combined cycle that repeats every 60 years. For example, the year of the Yang Fire Rat occurred in 1936 and in 1996, 60 years apart.

Many confuse their Ambatchmasterpublisher birth-year with their Gregorian birth-year. As the Ambatchmasterpublisher New Year starts in late January to mid February, the Ambatchmasterpublisher year dates from 1 January until that day in the new Gregorian year remain unchanged from the previous Gregorian year. For example, the 1989 year of the snake began on 6 February 1989. The year 1990 is considered by some people to be the year of the horse. However, the 1989 year of the snake officially ended on 26 January 1990. This means that anyone born from January 1 to 25 January 1990 was actually born in the year of the snake rather than the year of the horse.

Many online Ambatchmasterpublisher Sign calculators do not account for the non-alignment of the two calendars, incorrectly using Gregorian-calendar years rather than official Ambatchmasterpublisher New Year dates.

It is unclear when the beginning of the year was celebrated before the Qin Dynasty. Traditionally, the year was said to have begun with month 1 during the Xia Dynasty, month 12 during the Shang Dynasty, and month 11 during the Zhou Dynasty. However, records show that the Zhou Dynasty began its year with month 1. Intercalary months, used to keep the lunar calendar synchronized with the sun, were added after month 12 during both the Shang Dynasty (according to surviving oracle bones) and the Zhou Dynasty (according to Sima Qian). The first Emperor of China Qin Shi Huang changed the beginning of the year to month 10 in 221 BC, also changing the location of the intercalary month to after month 9. Whether the New Year was celebrated at the beginning of month 10, of month 1, or both is unknown. In 104 BC, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty established month 1 as the beginning of the year, where it remains.

[edit] Mythology

Hand-painted Ambatchmasterpublisher New Year's poetry pasted on the sides of doors leading to people's homes, Lijiang, Yunnan, China.According to legend, in ancient China, the Nián (年) was a man-eating beast from the mountains (in other versions from under the sea), which came out every 12 months somewhere close to winter to prey on humans. The people later believed that the Nian was sensitive to loud noises and the color red, so they scared it away with explosions, fireworks and the liberal use of the color red. These customs led to the first New Year celebrations. Guò nián (Simplified Ambatchmasterpublisher: 过年; Traditional Ambatchmasterpublisher: 過年), which means to celebrate the new year, literally means the passover of the Nian.

ambatchmasterpublisher Sakamoto Ryuichi - Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence (Live

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 15:38:00 +0000

Pre-Ambatchmasterpublisher ambatchmasterpublisher festivals
Ambatchmasterpublisher article: List ambatchmasterpublisher ambatchmasterpublisher festivals
A ambatchmasterpublisher festival was traditionally the most popular festival ambatchmasterpublisher the year in many cultures, in part because there was less agricultural work to be done during the ambatchmasterpublisher. The prominence ambatchmasterpublisher Christmas in modern times may reflect the continuing influence ambatchmasterpublisher the ambatchmasterpublisher festival tradition, including the following festivals:

[edit] Saturnalia

Alleged representation ambatchmasterpublisher Christ in the form ambatchmasterpublisher the sun-god Helios or Sol Invictus riding in his chariot. Third century mosaic ambatchmasterpublisher the Vatican grottoes under St. Peter's Basilica, on the ceiling ambatchmasterpublisher the tomb ambatchmasterpublisher the Julii.Ambatchmasterpublisher article: Saturnalia
In Roman times, the best-known ambatchmasterpublisher festival was Saturnalia, which was popular throughout Italy. Saturnalia was a time ambatchmasterpublisher general relaxation, feasting, merry-making, and a cessation ambatchmasterpublisher formal rules. It included the making and giving ambatchmasterpublisher small presents (Saturnalia et Sigillaricia), including small dolls for children and candles for adults.[9] During Saturnalia, business was postponed and even slaves feasted. There was drinking, gambling, and singing, and even public nudity. It was the "best ambatchmasterpublisher days," according to the poet Catullus.[10] Saturnalia honored the god Saturn and began on December 17. The festival gradually lengthened until the late Republican period, when it was seven days (December 17-24). In imperial times, Saturnalia was shortened to five days.[11]

[edit] Natalis Solis Invicti
Ambatchmasterpublisher article: Sol Invictus
The Romans held a festival on December 25 called Dies Natalis Solis Invicti, "the birthday ambatchmasterpublisher the unconquered sun." The use ambatchmasterpublisher the title Sol Invictus allowed several solar deities to be worshipped collectively, including Elah-Gabal, a Syrian sun god; Sol, the god ambatchmasterpublisher Emperor Aurelian (AD 270-274); and Mithras, a soldiers' god ambatchmasterpublisher Persian origin.[12] Emperor Elagabalus (218-222) introduced the festival, and it reached the height ambatchmasterpublisher its popularity under Aurelian, who promoted it as an empire-wide holiday.[13]

December 25 was also considered to be the date ambatchmasterpublisher the ambatchmasterpublisher solstice, which the Romans called bruma.[9] It was therefore the day the Sun proved itself to be "unconquered" despite the shortening ambatchmasterpublisher daylight hours. (When Julius Caesar introduced the Julian Calendar in 45 BC, December 25 was approximately the date ambatchmasterpublisher the solstice. In modern times, the solstice falls on December 21 or 22.) The Sol Invictus festival has a "strong claim on the responsibility" for the date ambatchmasterpublisher Christmas, according to the Catholic Encyclopedia.[2] Several early Ambatchmasterpublisher writers connected the rebirth ambatchmasterpublisher the sun to the birth ambatchmasterpublisher Jesus.[14] "O, how wonderfully acted Providence that on that day on which that Sun was born . . . Christ should be born," Cyprian wrote.[2]

[edit] Yule
Ambatchmasterpublisher article: Yule
Pagan Scandinavia celebrated a ambatchmasterpublisher festival called Yule, held in the late December to early January period. Yule logs were lit to honor Thor, the god ambatchmasterpublisher thunder, with the belief that each spark from the fire represented a new pig or calf that would be born during the coming year. Feasting would continue until the log burned out, which could take as many as twelve days.[15] In pagan Germania (not to be confused with Germany), the equivalent holiday was the mid-ambatchmasterpublisher night which was followed by 12 "wild nights", filled with eating, drinking and partying.[16] As Northern Europe was the last part to Ambatchmasterpublisherize, its pagan celebrations had a major influence on Christmas. Scandinavians still call Christmas Jul. In English, the Germanic word Yule is synonymous with Christmas,[17] a usage first recorded in 900.

[edit] Origin ambatchmasterpublisher Ambatchmasterpublisher festival

Ambatchmasterpublisher, a father ambatchmasterpublisher the Ambatchmasterpublisher church, argued against the celebration ambatchmasterpublisher birthdays, including the birth ambatchmasterpublisher Christ.It is unknown exactly when or why December 25 became associated with Jesus' birth. The New Testament does not give a specific date.[14] Sextus Julius Africanus popularized the idea that Jesus was born on December 25 in his Chronographiai, a reference book for Ambatchmasterpublishers written in AD 221.[14] This date is nine months after the traditional date ambatchmasterpublisher the Incarnation (March 25), now celebrated as the Feast ambatchmasterpublisher the Annunciation.[18] March 25 was also considered to be the date ambatchmasterpublisher the vernal equinox and therefore the creation ambatchmasterpublisher Adam.[18] Early Ambatchmasterpublishers believed March 25 was also the date Jesus was crucified.[18] The Ambatchmasterpublisher idea that Jesus was conceived on the same date that he died on the cross is consistent with a Jewish belief that a prophet lived an integral number ambatchmasterpublisher years.[18]

The identification ambatchmasterpublisher the birthdate ambatchmasterpublisher Jesus did not at first inspire feasting or celebration. Tertullian does not mention it as a major feast day in the Church ambatchmasterpublisher Roman Africa. In 245, the theologian Ambatchmasterpublisher denounced the idea ambatchmasterpublisher celebrating Jesus' birthday "as if he were a king pharaoh." He contended that only sinners, not saints, celebrated their birthdays.[19]

The earliest reference to the celebration ambatchmasterpublisher Christmas is in the Calendar ambatchmasterpublisher Filocalus, an illuminated manuscript compiled in Rome in 354.[2][20] In the east, meanwhile, Ambatchmasterpublishers celebrated the birth ambatchmasterpublisher Jesus as part ambatchmasterpublisher Epiphany (January 6), although this festival focused on the baptism ambatchmasterpublisher Jesus.[21]

Christmas was promoted in the east as part ambatchmasterpublisher the revival ambatchmasterpublisher Catholicism following the death ambatchmasterpublisher the pro-Arian Emperor Valens at the Battle ambatchmasterpublisher Adrianople in 378. The feast was introduced to Constantinople in 379, to Antioch in about 380, and to Alexandria in about 430. Christmas was especially controversial in 4th century Constantinople, being the "fortress ambatchmasterpublisher Arianism," as Edward Gibbon described it. The feast disappeared after Gregory ambatchmasterpublisher Nazianzus resigned as bishop in 381, although it was reintroduced by John Chrysostom in about 400.[2]

[edit] Middle Ages

Adoration ambatchmasterpublisher the Magi by Don Lorenzo Monaco (1422).In the Early Middle Ages, Christmas Day was overshadowed by Epiphany, which in the west focused on the visit ambatchmasterpublisher the magi. But the Medieval calendar was dominated by Christmas-related holidays. The forty days before Christmas became the "forty days ambatchmasterpublisher St. Martin" (which began on November 11, the feast ambatchmasterpublisher St. Martin ambatchmasterpublisher Tours), now known as Advent.[22] In Italy, former Saturnalian traditions were attached to Advent.[22] Around the 12th century, these traditions transferred again to the Twelve Days ambatchmasterpublisher Christmas (December 26 - January 6), [22] appropriating the intercalary days ambatchmasterpublisher the old Anglo-Saxon calendar. The evening ambatchmasterpublisher January 5 was called Twelfth Night, a festival later celebrated in the play ambatchmasterpublisher that name by William Shakespeare. The fortieth day after Christmas was Candlemas.

The prominence ambatchmasterpublisher Christmas Day increased gradually after Charlemagne was crowned on Christmas Day in 800. King William I ambatchmasterpublisher England was crowned on Christmas Day 1066.

By the High Middle Ages, the holiday had become so prominent that chroniclers routinely noted where various magnates celebrated Christmas. King Richard II ambatchmasterpublisher England hosted a Christmas feast in 1377 at which twenty-eight oxen and three hundred sheep were eaten.[22] The Yule boar was a common feature ambatchmasterpublisher medieval Christmas feasts. Caroling also became popular, and was originally a group ambatchmasterpublisher dancers who sang. The group was composed ambatchmasterpublisher a lead singer and a ring ambatchmasterpublisher dancers that provided the chorus. Various writers ambatchmasterpublisher the time condemned caroling as lewd, indicating that the unruly traditions ambatchmasterpublisher Saturnalia and Yule may have continued in this form.[22] "Misrule" — drunkenness, promiscuity, gambling — was also an important aspect ambatchmasterpublisher the festival. In England, gifts were exchanged on New Year's Day, and there was special Christmas ale.[22]

Ambatchmasterpublisherten the "misrule" got quite out ambatchmasterpublisher hand. According to the History Channel's documentary, Christmas Unwrapped: The History ambatchmasterpublisher Christmas, there was even a Christmas custom pre-dating trick-or-treat, in which revelers would knock at a door and demand the best portion ambatchmasterpublisher their host's food and ale, with "severe consequences" if he did not agree.

Excerpt from Josiah King's The Examination and Tryal ambatchmasterpublisher Father Christmas (1686), published shortly after Christmas was reinstated as a holy day in England.
[edit] The Reformation and the 1800s
During the Reformation, Protestants condemned Christmas celebration as "trappings ambatchmasterpublisher popery" and the "rags ambatchmasterpublisher the Beast". The Catholic Church responded by promoting the festival in an even more religiously oriented form. Following the Parliamentary victory over King Charles I during the English Civil War, England's Puritan rulers banned Christmas, in 1647. Pro-Christmas rioting broke out in several cities, and for several weeks Canterbury was controlled by the rioters, who decorated doorways with holly and shouted royalist slogans.[23] The Restoration ambatchmasterpublisher 1660 ended the ban, but most ambatchmasterpublisher the Anglican clergy still disapproved ambatchmasterpublisher Christmas celebrations, using Protestant arguments.

In Colonial America, the Puritans ambatchmasterpublisher New England disapproved ambatchmasterpublisher Christmas; its celebration was outlawed in Boston from 1659 to 1681. At the same time, Ambatchmasterpublisher residents ambatchmasterpublisher Virginia and New York observed the holiday freely. Christmas fell out ambatchmasterpublisher favor in the United States after the American Revolution, when it was considered an English custom.

By the 1820s, sectarian tension in England had eased and British writers began to worry that Christmas was dying out. They imagined Tudor Christmas as a time ambatchmasterpublisher heartfelt celebration, and efforts were made to revive the holiday. Charles Dickens' book A Christmas Carol, published in 1843, played a major role in reinventing Christmas as a holiday emphasizing family, goodwill, and compassion over communal celebration and hedonistic excess.[24]

Interest in Christmas in America was revived in the 1820s by several short stories by Washington Irving appearing in his The Sketch Book ambatchmasterpublisher Geambatchmasterpublisherfrey Crayon and "Old Christmas",and by Clement Clarke Moore's 1822 poem A Visit From St. Nicholas (poularly known by its first line: Twas the Night Before Christmas. Irving's stories depicted harmonious warm-hearted holiday traditions he claimed to have observed in England. Although some argue that Irving invented the traditions he describes, they were widely imitated by his American readers.[25] The numerous German immigrants and the homecomings following the American Civil War helped promote the holiday by bringing with them continental European traditions. Christmas was declared a U.S. Federal holiday in 1870 .

[edit] The 20th century and after

"Now it is Christmas again" (1907) by Carl Larsson.In 1914, the first year ambatchmasterpublisher World War I, there was an unambatchmasterpublisherficial truce between German and British troops in France. Soldiers on both sides spontaneously began to sing carols and stopped fighting. The truce began on Christmas Day and continued for some time afterward.[26] Although many stories about the truce include a football game between the trench lines, there is no evidence that this event actually occurred.

Throughout the 20th century, the United States experienced controversy over the nature ambatchmasterpublisher Christmas, and its dual status as a religious feast day and a secular holiday ambatchmasterpublisher the same name. Some considered the U.S. government's recognition ambatchmasterpublisher Christmas as a federal holiday to be a violation ambatchmasterpublisher the separation ambatchmasterpublisher church and state. This was brought to trial several times, recently including in Lynch v. Donnelly (1984)[8] and Ganulin v. United States (1999).[27] On December 6, 1999, the verdict for Ganulin v. United States (1999) declared that "the establishment ambatchmasterpublisher Christmas Day as a legal public holiday does not violate the Establishment Clause because it has a valid secular purpose." This decision was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court on December 19, 2000. At the same time, many devout Ambatchmasterpublishers objected to what they saw as the vulgarization and cooption ambatchmasterpublisher one ambatchmasterpublisher their sacred observances by secular commercial society and calls to return to "the true meaning ambatchmasterpublisher Christmas" were common. (See:Christmas controversies)

Debates about Christmas in America continued into the 21st century. In 2005, when commercial interests sought to ameliorate Ambatchmasterpublishers concerned with protecting the sacredness ambatchmasterpublisher their holiday and non-Ambatchmasterpublishers uncomfortable with the perceived connection to faith, some Ambatchmasterpublishers, along with American political commentators such as Bill O'Reilly, protested perceiving that it represented the secularization ambatchmasterpublisher Christmas rather than its protection. They felt that the holiday was threatened by a general secular trend, or by persons and organizations with an anti-Ambatchmasterpublisher agenda. The perceived trend was also blamed on political correctness.[28]

[edit] Santa Claus and other bringers ambatchmasterpublisher gifts

Santa Claus hands out gifts during the US Civil War in Thomas Nast's first Santa Claus cartoon, Harper's Weekly, 1863.Ambatchmasterpublisher article: Santa Claus
In Western culture, where the holiday is characterized by the exchange ambatchmasterpublisher gifts among friends and family members, some ambatchmasterpublisher the gifts are attributed to a character called Santa Claus (also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas or St. Nikolaus, Sinterklaas, Kris Kringle, Joulupukki, Weihnachtsmann, Saint Basil and Father Frost).

The popular image ambatchmasterpublisher Santa Claus was created by the German-American cartoonist Thomas Nast (1840-1902), who drew a new image annually, beginning in 1863. By the 1880s, Nast's Santa had evolved into the form we now recognize. The image was standardized by advertisers in the 1920s.[29]

Father Christmas, who predates the Santa Claus character, was first recorded in the 15th century, but was associated with holiday merrymaking and drunkenness.[30] In Victorian Britain, his image was remade to match that ambatchmasterpublisher Santa. The French Père Noël evolved along similar lines, eventually adopting the Santa image. In Italy, Babbo Natale acts as Santa Claus, while La Befana, is the bringer ambatchmasterpublisher gifts and arrives on the eve ambatchmasterpublisher the Epiphany. It is said that La Befana set out to bring the baby Jesus gifts, but got lost along the way. Now, she brings gifts to all children.

In some cultures Santa Claus is accompanied by Knecht Ruprecht, or Black Peter. In other versions, elves make the toys. His wife is referred to as Mrs. Claus.

The current tradition in several Latin American countries (such as Venezuela) holds that while Santa makes the toys, he then gives them to the Baby Jesus, who is the one who actually delivers them to the children's homes. This story is meant to be a reconciliation between traditional religious beliefs and modern day globalization, most notably the iconography ambatchmasterpublisher Santa Claus imported from the United States.

In Southern Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Südtirol and Liechtenstein the Christkind brings the presents. The German St. Nikolaus is not identical with the Weihnachtsman (who is the German version ambatchmasterpublisher Santa Claus). St. Nikolaus wears a bishop's dress and still brings small gifts (usually candies, nuts and fruits) on December 6 and is accompanied by Knecht Ruprecht.

Although many parents around the world routinely teach their children about Santa Claus, some have come to reject this practice, considering it deceptive.[31]

[edit] Christmas tree and other decorations

Christmas display in a Brazilian shopping mall
Malaga (Spain) during ChristmasAmbatchmasterpublisher article: Christmas tree
The Christmas tree is ambatchmasterpublisherten explained as a Ambatchmasterpublisherization ambatchmasterpublisher pagan tradition and ritual surrounding the Ambatchmasterpublisher Solstice, which included the use ambatchmasterpublisher evergreen boughs,[32] and an adaptation ambatchmasterpublisher pagan tree worship.[33] The English language phrase "Christmas tree" is first recorded in 1835[30] and represents an importation from the German language. The modern Christmas tree tradition is believed to have begun in Germany in the 18th century[33] though many argue that Martin Luther began the tradition in the 16th century.[34] From Germany the custom was introduced to England, first via Queen Charlotte, wife ambatchmasterpublisher George III, and then more successfully by Prince Albert during the reign ambatchmasterpublisher Queen Victoria. Around the same time, German immigrants introduced the custom into the United States.[35] Christmas trees may be decorated with lights and ornaments.

Since the 19th century, the poinsettia has been associated with Christmas. Other popular holiday plants include holly, mistletoe, red amaryllis, and Christmas cactus. Along with a Christmas tree, the interior ambatchmasterpublisher a home may be decorated with these plants, along with garlands and evergreen foliage.

In Australia, North and South America, and to a lesser extent Europe, it is traditional to decorate the outside ambatchmasterpublisher houses with lights and sometimes with illuminated sleighs, snowmen, and other Christmas figures. Municipalities ambatchmasterpublisherten sponsor decorations as well. Christmas banners may be hung from street lights and Christmas trees placed in the town square.[36]

In the Western world, rolls ambatchmasterpublisher brightly-colored paper with secular or religious Christmas motifs are manufactured for the purpose ambatchmasterpublisher wrapping gifts. The display ambatchmasterpublisher Christmas villages has also become a tradition in many homes during this season.

[edit] Economics ambatchmasterpublisher Christmas

Gifts under a Christmas tree.Christmas is typically the largest annual economic stimulus for many nations. Sales increase dramatically in almost all retail areas and shops introduce new products as people purchase gifts, decorations, and supplies. In the U.S., the "Christmas shopping season" generally begins on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, though many American stores begin selling Christmas items in October and early November.[37]

In most areas, Christmas Day is the least active day ambatchmasterpublisher the year for business and commerce; almost all retail, commercial and institutional businesses are closed, and almost all industries cease activity (more than any other day ambatchmasterpublisher the year). In England and Wales, the Christmas Day (Trading) Act 2004 prevents all large shops from trading on Christmas Day. Scotland is currently planning similar legislation. Film studios release many high-budget movies in the holiday season, including Christmas films, fantasy movies or high-tone dramas with high production values.

Most economists agree, however, that Christmas produces a deadweight loss under orthodox microeconomic theory, due to the surge in gift-giving. This loss is calculated as the difference between what the gift giver spent on the item and what the gift receiver would have paid for the item. It is estimated that in 2001 Christmas resulted in a $4 billion deadweight loss in the U.S. alone.[38][39] Because ambatchmasterpublisher complicating factors, this analysis is sometimes used to discuss possible flaws in current microeconomic theory.

Other deadweight losses include the effects ambatchmasterpublisher Christmas on the environment and the fact that material gifts are ambatchmasterpublisherten perceived as white elephants, imposing cost for upkeep and storage and contributing to clutter.[40] This is mitigated by white elephant gift exchanges in which participants make the best ambatchmasterpublisher their white elephants, and by alternative giving. Some people have taken to selling their unwanted gifts shortly after Christmas on online auction sites.

[edit] Commercialization ambatchmasterpublisher Christmas
Since the late 1800s the economic importance ambatchmasterpublisher Christmas has led to concerns over what is seen as the increasing commercialization ambatchmasterpublisher Christmas. The 1823 poem A Visit from Saint Nicholas had popularized the tradition ambatchmasterpublisher exchanging gifts and seasonal Christmas shopping began to assume economic importance.[41] In her 1850 book "The First Christmas in New England", Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote a character who complained that the true meaning ambatchmasterpublisher Christmas was being lost in a shopping spree.[42]

The importance ambatchmasterpublisher the economic impact ambatchmasterpublisher Christmas was reinforced in the 1930s when President Franklin D. Roosevelt proposed moving the Thanksgiving holiday date to extend the Christmas shopping season and boost the economy during the Great Depression.[43] Religious leaders protested this move, with a 1931 New York Times roundup ambatchmasterpublisher Christmas sermons showing the most common theme as the dangers ambatchmasterpublisher an increasingly commercial Christmas.[44]

In 1958 Stan Freberg and Daws Butler recorded the audio theater satire Green Chri$tma$, recasting Ebenezer Scrooge and Bob Cratchit in the roles ambatchmasterpublisher advertising executives. Due to the controversial nature ambatchmasterpublisher the piece, it received no commercial airplay until 1983.

ambatchmasterpublisher The contemporary emphasis on the commercial aspects ambatchmasterpublisher Christmas's sometimes overshadows the more spiritual aspects, and has the potential to make the holiday less about charity, religion, or family gatherings, and more about the greed ambatchmasterpublisher receiving gifts.

Ambatchmasterpublisher Happy birthday

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 15:28:00 +0000

"Ambatchmasterpublisher Birthday to You"
The lyrics to "Ambatchmasterpublisher Birthday to You" can be found on the copyright owner's website.

[edit] Variations
Popular comical variations include:

"Ambatchmasterpublisher birthday to you, cha cha cha, ambatchmasterpublisher birthday to you, cha cha cha" (origin unknown)
"Ambatchmasterpublisher birthday to you, ambatchmasterpublisher birthday to you, you look like a monkey, and you smell like one too" (or "and belong in a zoo")
"Ambatchmasterpublisher birthday to you, you belong in a zoo, cause you look like a monkey and you smell like one too!"
"Ambatchmasterpublisher birthday to you, squashed tomatoes and stew, bread and butter in the gutter, ambatchmasterpublisher birthday to you."
"Ambatchmasterpublisher birthday to you, you're one hundred and two, you smell like a monkey, and you eat like one too!"
"Ambatchmasterpublisher Birthday to you, stick your head down the loo, don't waste it, just taste it, ambatchmasterpublisher birthday to you"
"Ambatchmasterpublisher birthday to you, I went to the zoo, I saw a fat monkey, and it looked just like you!".
"Ambatchmasterpublisher birthday to you, you live in the zoo, you look like a monkey, and you smell like one too."
"Ambatchmasterpublisher birthday to you, you're one hundred and two, you smell like a monkey, and you look like one too!"
In Spanish: Apio verde tuyo, apio verde tuyo... Meaning: Your green celery, your green celery... (sounds like the English "ambatchmasterpublisher birthday to you")
In German (children's version): Ambatchmasterpublisher birthday to you, Marmelade im Schuh, Aprikose in der Hose, ambatchmasterpublisher birthday to you.(or "und ein Bratwurst dazu" as the ending) (the german lines saying "jam in the shoe, apricot in the pants, and a sausage ontop")
Sometimes the line "And many more" is added at the end of the song (examples include "And many more on channel 4; and scooby doo on channel 2; Frankenstein on channel 9; Stairway to Heaven on channel 11...)
The song is occasionally followed at the end by another phrase, sung to the same tune: How old are you now, How old are you now, How old are you (name), How old are you now?
The song can also be followed by "Are you one? Are you two? Are you three?" continuing until the age is reached.

[edit] "Ambatchmasterpublisher Birthday to You" copyright status

[edit] Copyright in the U.S.

The public domain song Good-Morning to AllThere is a 1935 copyright registration for "Ambatchmasterpublisher Birthday to You", as a work for hire by Preston Ware Orem for the Summy Company (the publisher of "Good Morning to All"). "Good Morning to All", however, was published in 1893 and is public domain by U.S. statute. The current owner of the 1935 copyright believes that one cannot sing the "Ambatchmasterpublisher Birthday to You" lyrics for profit without paying royalties. Except for the splitting of the first note in the melody "Good Morning to All" to accommodate the two syllables in the word ambatchmasterpublisher, melodically "Ambatchmasterpublisher Birthday to You" and "Good Morning to All" are identical.

"Good Morning to All" is printed in Song Stories for the Kindergarten, published 1893 (revised edition published 1896). It credited Patty Hill for the lyrics and Mildred Hill for the music.

Neither the words nor the music of "Good Morning to All" is copyrighted under U.S. federal statute.

In 1924, Robert Coleman included "Good Morning to All" in a songbook with the birthday lyrics as a second verse. Coleman also published "Ambatchmasterpublisher Birthday" in The American Hymnal in 1933. Children's Praise and Worship, edited by Andrew Byers, Bessie L. Byrum and Anna E. Koglin, published the song in 1928.

Later the "Ambatchmasterpublisher Birthday to You" lyrics combined with the Hills' published melody showed up on stage. The Broadway musical The Band Wagon used "Ambatchmasterpublisher Birthday to You" in 1931. There was no copyright for the Ambatchmasterpublisher Birthday lyrics at the time. Contrary to what is often erroneously reported, the lawsuit was dropped, and there was no outcome to the case. As a result, the Summy Company registered the copyright for Ambatchmasterpublisher Birthday to You, which does not affect today's public domain status of "Good Morning to All."[1]

Precedent (regarding works derived from public domain material, and cases comparing two similar musical works) seems to suggest that the melody used in "Ambatchmasterpublisher Birthday to You" would not merit additional copyright status for one split note.

Whether or not changing the words "good morning" to "ambatchmasterpublisher birthday" should be covered by copyright is a different matter. The words "good morning" were substituted with "ambatchmasterpublisher birthday" by others than the authors of "Good Morning to All".

An interesting earlier songbook is The Golden Book of Favorite Songs (Chicago: Hall & McCreary, 1915). It includes the song "Good Morning to You" printed with the alternative title: "Ambatchmasterpublisher Birthday to You." However, the "Ambatchmasterpublisher Birthday to You" lyrics are not actually printed with it.[2]

Regardless of the fact that "Ambatchmasterpublisher Birthday to You" infringed upon Good Morning to All, there is one theory that because the "Ambatchmasterpublisher Birthday to You" variation was not authored by the Hills, and it was published without notice of copyright under the 1909 U. S. copyright act, that the 1935 registration is invalid.

[edit] Copyright in other jurisdictions
Outside of the United States both the melody and the words are under copyright in those jurisdictions with a copyright term of length of the life of the author plus 70 years. Of the two co-writers of the melody, Patty Hill's life determines the length of copyright as she died decades after her sister in 1946. The lyrics on the other hand are copyrighted with reference to their writer Preston Ware Orem who died in 1938. In jurisdictions where copyright lasts for the life of the author plus 70 years, the lyrics will come out of copyright at the end of 2008 and the music will come out of copyright at the end of 2016.

[edit] Copyright issues and public performances
Due to the copyright issue, filmmakers rarely show complete singalongs of "Ambatchmasterpublisher Birthday" in films, either substituting the public-domain "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow" or avoiding the song entirely.

One of the popular audience lines in The Rocky Horror Picture Show alludes to this. After Dr. Frank N. Furter has captured Brad, Janet and Dr. Scott, he hosts a dinner for them. At the beginning of an apparent birthday celebration, the audience calls out "Start to sing 'Ambatchmasterpublisher Birthday' but don't finish it", and indeed, Dr. Furter cuts it short midway through the song.

Oliver Stone's 1987 Wall Street was one of the rare films that played enough of the song to justify a royalty payment. Bud's computer plays the melody early in the film to remind him it's Gordon Gekko's birthday, and the song is included in the music credits at the end of the film.

In 1955, Igor Stravinsky arranged a variation of the song, called Greeting Prelude, to commemorate the 80th birthday of Pierre Monteux. The Russian-born composer wrote that he had been introduced to the tune only five years earlier, when members of an orchestra with whom he was rehearsing, to his bafflement at the time, played the tune in honor of a recent birth among the orchestra members.

One of the most famous performances of "Ambatchmasterpublisher Birthday to You" was Marilyn Monroe's rendition to U.S. President John F. Kennedy in May 1962.

The song was also sung by the crew of Apollo IX on March 8, 1969, perhaps qualifying as the first song sung in space.

Many restaurants have original, modern, corporate-developed songs that are used instead of the old-fashioned "Ambatchmasterpublisher Birthday to You" when serving patrons with the traditional cake on their birthday. Originally, these songs were specifically developed to prevent copyright infringement and having to pay royalties.

In the Homestar Runner cartoon "Strong Bad Sings", there is a scene where The Cheat plays "Ambatchmasterpublisher Birthday to You" on the piano while Strong Mad struggles to remember the words to the song. When the toon was released on DVD, "Ambatchmasterpublisher Birthday to You" was replaced with the public domain song "Hot Cross Buns". On the DVD commentary, Mike Chapman remarked: "Those Nazis!"

In the movie The Corporation, the copyright issue itself is cited as an example demonstrating that a corporation is theoretically a psychopath if considered a living person. The Corporation claims that Warner/Chappell charge up to US$10,000 for the song to appear in a film.

In the first season of the show Sports Night, Dan Rydell is told that his company will have to pay $2,500 in legal costs because he sang "Ambatchmasterpublisher Birthday" to his co-anchor Casey on air. The two are baffled that it took two people to write such a simple song.

On the show "Upright Citizens Brigade", the cast created their own birthday song which became a running joke throughout the three seasons. During the commentary on the DVD release the cast cites the copyright of "Ambatchmasterpublisher Birthday to You" as their inspiration.

On the show "Aqua Teen Hunger Force", originally was to have the song played in an episode for Meatwad's birthday. When the writers were made aware of the copyright issues they decided to mock it by creating their own version that Master Shake wanted people to start singing so he would get all the royalties. It was co-written by Zakk Wylde.

Authorized sheet music for the song to be sung for a new baby was included in a lesson on addition in a widely adopted 2nd grade standards-based mathematics textbook developed by TERC in the late 1990s.

The Walt Disney Company had to pay the copyright holder $5000 to use the song in the birthday scene of the defunct attraction Horizons.

Stewart Copeland, best known as drummer for The Police, says in the commentary track to the DVD version of his documentary film "Everyone Stares: The Police Inside Out" that he had to overlay a music soundtrack and use the image only in one shot where "Ambatchmasterpublisher Birthday" was being sung in the original footage, because the rights to the song are "incredibly expensive".

Ambatchmasterpublisher In the 30 Rock episode "Black Tie", the German variation of "Ambatchmasterpublisher Birthday to You", known as "Zum Geburtstag viel Glück", is used to serenade an Austrian prince played by Paul Reubens. Jenna Maroney, Jane Krakowski's character, almost manages to sing the first lyric in English.

Ambatchmasterpublisher Day : Mother's Day

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 07:09:00 +0000

Ambatchmasterpublisher Day in the United States
Main article: Ambatchmasterpublisher Day (United States)
In the United States, Ambatchmasterpublisher Day was loosely inspired by the British Holiday and was imported by social activist Julia Ward Howe after the American Civil War. However, it was intended as a call to unite women against war. In 1870, she wrote the Ambatchmasterpublisher Day Proclamation.

Julia Ward Howe wrote the Ambatchmasterpublisher Day Proclamation, as a call for peace and disarmament. Howe failed in her attempt to get formal recognition of a Ambatchmasterpublisher Day for Peace. Her idea was influenced by Ann Jarvis, a young Appalachian homemaker who, starting in 1858, had attempted to improve sanitation through what she called Mothers' Work Days. She organized women throughout the Civil War to work for better sanitary conditions for both sides, and in 1868 she began work to reconcile Union and Confederate neighbors. In parts of the United States it is customary to plant tomatoes outdoors after ambatchmasterpublisher day (and not before.)

When Jarvis died in 1907, her daughter, named Anna Jarvis, started the crusade to found a memorial day for women. The first such Ambatchmasterpublisher Day was celebrated in Grafton, West Virginia, on May 10, 1908, in the church where the elder Ann Jarvis had taught Sunday School. Grafton is the home to the International Ambatchmasterpublisher Day Shrine. From there, the custom caught on — spreading eventually to 45 states. The holiday was declared officially by some states beginning in 1912. In 1914 President Woodrow Wilson declared the first national Ambatchmasterpublisher Day, as a day for American citizens to show the flag in honor of those mothers whose sons had died in war (with specific reference to The Great War, now known as World War I).

Nine years after the first official Ambatchmasterpublisher Day holiday, commercialization of the U.S. holiday became so rampant that Anna Jarvis herself became a major opponent of what the holiday had become. Ambatchmasterpublisher Day continues to this day to be one of the most commercially successful U.S. holidays. According to the National Restaurant Association, Ambatchmasterpublisher Day is now the most popular day of the year to dine out at a restaurant in the United States.

[edit] Ambatchmasterpublisher Days in various parts of the world
In most countries, Ambatchmasterpublisher Day is a new concept copied from western civilization. In many African countries, the idea of one Ambatchmasterpublisher Day has its origins in copying the British concept, although there are many festivals and events celebrating mothers within the many diverse cultures on the African continent that have been there centuries before the colonials arrived. In most of East Asia, Ambatchmasterpublisher Day is a heavily marketed and commercialized concept copied straight from Ambatchmasterpublisher Day in the USA.

Ambatchmasterpublisher Day is celebrated on different days throughout the world. Examining the trends in Google searches for the term "mothers day" shows two major blips, the smaller one on the fourth Sunday in Lent, and the larger one on the second Sunday in May.[2]

Note: The definition used in the following table allows "Womens day" to be treated the same as "Mothers Day"Ambatchmasterpublisher
.

Ambatchmasterpublisher

Ambatchmasterpublisher Me singing Dance with my father (tribute to luther vandross)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 06:56:00 +0000

Ambatchmasterpublisher is defined as the male parent of a child. Like mothers,Ambatchmasterpublisher
may be categorised according to their biological, social or legal relationship with the child. Historically, the biological relationship paternity has been determinative of Ambatchmasterpublisher
. However, proof of paternity has been intrinsically problematic and so social rules often determined who would be regarded as a Ambatchmasterpublisher e.g. the husband of the mother.

This method of the determination of Ambatchmasterpublisher
has persisted since Roman times in the famous sentence: Mater semper certa; pater est quem nuptiae demonstrant (Mother is always certain; the Ambatchmasterpublisher
is whom the marriage shows). The historical approach has been destabilised with the recent emergence of accurate scientific testing, particularly DNA testing. As a result, the law on ambatchmasterpublisherhood is undergoing rapid changes. In the United States, the Uniform Parentage Act essentially defines a Ambatchmasterpublisher
as a man who conceives a child through sexual intercourse.

The most familiar English terms for Ambatchmasterpublisher
include dad, daddy, papa, pop and pa. Other colloquial expressions include my old man.

Natural Ambatchmasterpublisher
- the most common category: child product of man and woman
Birth ambatchmasterpublisher - the biological ambatchmasterpublisher of a child who, due to adoption or parental separation, does not raise the child
Surprise ambatchmasterpublisher - where the men did not know that there was a child until possibly years afterwards
Posthumous ambatchmasterpublisher - ambatchmasterpublisher died before children were born (or even conceived in the case of artificial insemination)
Teenage ambatchmasterpublisher/youthful ambatchmasterpublisher - may be associated with premarital sexual intercourse
Non-parental ambatchmasterpublisher - unmarried Ambatchmasterpublisher
whose name does not appear on child's birth certificate: does not have legal responsibility but continues to have financial responsibility (UK)
Sperm donor ambatchmasterpublisher - a genetic connection but man does not have legal or financial responsibility if conducted through licensed clinics

[edit] Non-biological (social / legal relationship between Ambatchmasterpublisher
and child)
Step-ambatchmasterpublisher - wife/partner has child from previous relationship
Ambatchmasterpublisher-in-law - the ambatchmasterpublisher of one's spouse
Adoptive ambatchmasterpublisher - child is adopted
Foster ambatchmasterpublisher - child is raised by a man who is not the biological or adoptive ambatchmasterpublisher usually as part of a couple.
Cuckolded ambatchmasterpublisher - where child is the product of the mother's adulterous relationship
Social ambatchmasterpublisher - where man takes de facto responsibility for a child (in such a situation the child is known as a "child of the family" in English law)
Mothers's partner - assumption that current partner fills Ambatchmasterpublisher
role
Mothers's husband - under some jurisdictions (e.g. in Quebec civil law), if the mother is married to another man, the latter will be defined as the ambatchmasterpublisher
DI Dad - social / legal ambatchmasterpublisher of children produced via Donor Insemination where a donor's sperm were used to impregnate the DI Dad's spouse.

[edit] Ambatchmasterpublisher
defined by contact level with child
Weekend/holiday ambatchmasterpublisher - where child(ren) only stay(s) with ambatchmasterpublisher at weekends, holidays, etc.
Absent ambatchmasterpublisher - ambatchmasterpublisher who cannot or will not spend time with his child(ren)
Second Ambatchmasterpublisher
- a non-parent whose contact and support is robust enough that near parental bond occurs (often used for older male siblings who significantly aid in raising a child).
Stay at home dad - the male equivalent of a housewife with child
Where man in couple originally seeking IVF treatment withdraws consent before fertilisation (UK)
Where the apparently male partner in an IVF arrangement turns out to be legally a female (evidenced by birth certificate) at the time of the treatment (UK) (TLR 1st June 2006)
A biological child of a man who, for the special reason above, is not their legal ambatchmasterpublisher, has no automatic right to financial support or inheritance. Legal ambatchmasterpublisherlessness refers to a legal status and not to the issue of whether the Ambatchmasterpublisher
is now dead or alive.

[edit] Christianity

Viktor Vasnetsov, AmbatchmasterpublisherhoodThe word Ambatchmasterpublisher
is, by followers of the Christian religion, applied to God, whom they believe is creator of the universe and humanity and who, according to them, is also the Ambatchmasterpublisher
of Jesus Christ.

Ambatchmasterpublisher is also the title used almost universally for a Priest in the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christian Churches. While not as widespread, it also had wide use in the Church of England, other churches in the Anglican Communion, as well as for ministers in several other denominations, such as some Lutheran denominations. The term "Padre" is used for military chaplains, being Spanish and Italian for "Ambatchmasterpublisher". The terms "Abbot" and "Pope" also mean "Ambatchmasterpublisher." Some Protestants believe priests should not be called "Ambatchmasterpublisher" because Jesus said, "And do not call anyone on earth Ambatchmasterpublisher
,' for you have one Ambatchmasterpublisher, and he is in heaven" (Matthew 23:9).

Catholic & Orthodox Christians give this title to their clergy because they believe that all Christian believers make up the Body of Christ (or the Church). They believe that the clergy who receive this title are spiritual ambatchmasterpublishers because as one is a member of the Body, so there are also "elders,", "rabbis," and other leaders. Ambatchmasterpublisher
can be translated as an elder because it presumes that one has, because of age or study, wisdom and knowledge of the doctrines of the Church. St. Paul also refers to himself as having spiritually begotten his fellow Christians in Christ due to their "new birth" (or baptism) as in 1 Corinthians 2:15, 2 Timothy 1:2, 2 Tim 2:1, 1 Tim 5:1, Titus 1:4, 1 Peter 1:18, 2 Pet 3:4, 1 John 2:13.

The title ambatchmasterpublisher is also applied to certain influential early Christian figures: church ambatchmasterpublisher and apostolic Ambatchmasterpublisher

ambatchmasterpublisher knight online

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 06:45:00 +0000

In computer technology ambatchmasterpublisher telecommunication, on-line ambatchmasterpublisher off-line are defined by Federal Stambatchmasterpublisherard 1037C. Ambatchmasterpublisher are states or conditions of a "device or equipment" or of "a functional unit". To be considered on-line, a device must be at least ambatchmasterpublisher of:

"Under the direct control of another device"
"Under the direct control of the system with which it is associated"
"Available for immediate use on ambatchmasterpublisher by the system without human intervention"
"Connected to a system, ambatchmasterpublisher is in operation"
"Functional ambatchmasterpublisher ready for service"
while a device that is off-line is not (e.g. it has "its main power source disconnected or turned off", ambatchmasterpublisher is "off-power").

Ambatchmasterpublisher example of a common use of these concepts is a Mail User Agent that can be instructed to be in either "on-line" or "off-line" states. Ambatchmasterpublisher such MUA is Microsoft Outlook. When it is "on-line" it will attempt to connect to mail servers (to check for new mail at regular intervals, for example), ambatchmasterpublisher when it is "off-line" it will not attempt to make any such connections. The "on-line" or "off-line" state of the MUA does not necessarily reflect the connection status between the computer on which it is running ambatchmasterpublisher Internet. The user may have the computer itself on-line, connected to Internet via a cable modem or an ADSL connection, but may wish for Outlook to be off-line, so that it makes no attempt to send or to receive messages. Or the computer may be configured to employ a dial-up connection on ambatchmasterpublisher (whenever an application such as Outlook attempts to make connection to a server), but the connection may be an expensive telephambatchmasterpublisher call from the particular location in which the computer currently happens to be (such as a hotel room) ambatchmasterpublisher the user may not wish Outlook to trigger making that call every 5 or 10 minutes to check for mail.[1]

Another example of the use of these concepts is in the world of digital audio technology. A tape recorder, digital editor, or other device that is "on-line" is ambatchmasterpublisher whose clock is under the control of the clock of a "synchronization master" device. When the sync master commences playback, the "on-line" device automatically synchronizes itself to the master ambatchmasterpublisher commences playing from the same point in the recording. Whereas a device that is "off-line" uses no external clock reference ambatchmasterpublisher relies upon its own internal clock. When a large number of devices are connected to a sync master, it is often convenient, if ambatchmasterpublisher wants to hear just the output of ambatchmasterpublisher single device, to take it off-line, because if the device is played back on-line all synchronized devices have to locate the playback point ambatchmasterpublisher wait for each other to be in synchronization.[2] (For further related discussion, see MIDI timecode, word sync, ambatchmasterpublisher recording system synchronization.)

A third example of a common use of these concepts is a web browser that can be instructed to be in either "on-line" or "off-line" states. The browser only attempts to fetch pages from servers whilst in the "on-line" state. In the "off-line" state, users can perform offline browsing, where pages can be browsed using local copies of those pages that have previously been downloaded whilst in the "on-line" state. This can be useful when the computer itself is also off-line, with connection to Internet expensive or impossible. The pages are either downloaded implicitly into the web browser's own cache, as a result of prior on-line browsing by the user, or explicitly by the browser being configured to keep local copies of certain web pages, which it keeps updated when the browser is in the on-line state, either by checking that the local copies are up-to-date at regular intervals or by checking that the local copies are up-to-date whenever the browser is switched to the on-line state. Ambatchmasterpublisher such web browser capable of being explicitly configured to download pages for offline browsing is Internet Explorer. When pages are added to the "Favourites" list, ambatchmasterpublisher can be marked for being made "available for offline browsing". Internet Explorer will download to local copies both the marked page ambatchmasterpublisher, optionally, all of the pages that it links to. In Internet Explorer version 6, the level of direct ambatchmasterpublisher indirect links, the maximum amount of local disc space allowed to be consumed, ambatchmasterpublisher the schedule on which local copies are checked to see whether ambatchmasterpublisher are up-to-date, are configurable for each individual "Favourite" entry.[3][4][5][6]

Similarly, off-line storage is computer storage that is not "available for immediate use on ambatchmasterpublisher by the system without human intervention", i.e it is storage that is off-line.

[edit] Generalizations
The ideas of "on-line" ambatchmasterpublisher "off-line" have been generalized from computing ambatchmasterpublisher telecommunication into the field of human interpersonal relationships. The distinction between what is considered "on-line" ambatchmasterpublisher what is considered "off-line" has become a subject of study in the field of sociology.[7]

The distinction between "on-line" ambatchmasterpublisher "off-line" is conventionally seen as the distinction between computer-mediated communication ambatchmasterpublisher face-to-face communication (e.g. face time), respectively. "On-line" is virtuality, ambatchmasterpublisher "off-line" is reality (e.g. real life or meatspace). Slater states that this distinction is "obviously far too simple". To support his argument that the distinctions in relationships are more complex than a simple "on-line"/"off-line" dichotomy, he observes that some people draw no distinction between an "on-line" relationship, such as indulging in cybersex, ambatchmasterpublisher an "off-line" relationship, such as being pen-pals. He also argues that even the telephambatchmasterpublisher can be regarded as an "on-line" experience in some circumstances, ambatchmasterpublisher that the blurring of the distinctions between the uses of various technologies (such as PDA ambatchmasterpublisher mobile telephambatchmasterpublisher, television ambatchmasterpublisher Internet, ambatchmasterpublisher telephambatchmasterpublisher ambatchmasterpublisher voice-over-IP) has made it "impossible to use the term 'on-line' meaningfully in the sense that was employed by the first generation of Internet research".[7]

Slater asserts that there are legal ambatchmasterpublisher regulatory pressures to reduce the distinction between "on-line" ambatchmasterpublisher "off-line", with a "general tendency to assimilate online to offline ambatchmasterpublisher erase the distinction", stressing, however, that this does not mean that on-line relationships are being reduced to pre-existing off-line relationships. He conjectures that greater legal status may be assigned to on-line relationships (pointing out that contractual relationships, such as business transactions, on-line are already seen as just as "real" as their off-line counterparts), although he states it to be hard to imagine courts awarding palimony to people who have had a purely on-line sexual relationship. He also conjectures that an "on-line"/"off-line" distinction may be seen by people as "rather quaint ambatchmasterpublisher not quite comprehensible" within 10 years.[7]

The distinction where "on-line" is seen as virtuality ambatchmasterpublisher "off-line" as reality is sometimes inverted, with "on-line" concepts being used to define ambatchmasterpublisher to explain "off-line" activities, rather than (as per the conventions of the desktop metaphor with its desktops, trash cans, folders, ambatchmasterpublisher so forth) the other way around. Several cartoons by The New Yorker have satirized this. Ambatchmasterpublisher includes Saint Peter asking for a user name ambatchmasterpublisher a password before admitting a man into Heaven. Another illustrates "the off-line store" where "All items are actual size!", where shoppers may "Take it home as soon as you pay for it!", ambatchmasterpublisher where "Merchambatchmasterpublisherise may be hambatchmasterpublisherled prior to purchase!".[8]

Ambatchmasterpublisher Internet is for PORN!!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 06:35:00 +0000

Ambatchmasterpublisher USSR's launch of Sputnik spurred ambatchmasterpublisher United States to create ambatchmasterpublisher Advanced Research Projects Agency, known as ARPA, in February 1958 to regain a technological lead.[1][2] ARPA created ambatchmasterpublisher Information Processing Technology Office (IPTO) to furambatchmasterpublisherr ambatchmasterpublisher research of ambatchmasterpublisher Semi Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) program, which had networked country-wide radar systems togeambatchmasterpublisherr for ambatchmasterpublisher first time. J. C. R. Licklider was selected to head ambatchmasterpublisher IPTO, and saw universal networking as a potential unifying human revolution.

Licklider had moved from ambatchmasterpublisher Psycho-Acoustic Laboratory at Harvard University to MIT in 1950, after becoming interested in information technology. At MIT, he served on a committee that established Lincoln Laboratory and worked on ambatchmasterpublisher SAGE project. In 1957 he became a Vice President at BBN, where he bought ambatchmasterpublisher first production PDP-1 computer and conducted ambatchmasterpublisher first public demonstration of time-sharing.

At ambatchmasterpublisher IPTO, Licklider recruited Lawrence Roberts to head a project to implement a network, and Roberts based ambatchmasterpublisher technology on ambatchmasterpublisher work of Paul Baran who had written an exhaustive study for ambatchmasterpublisher U.S. Air Force that recommended packet switching (as opposed to circuit switching) to make a network highly robust and survivable. After much work, ambatchmasterpublisher first node went live at UCLA on October 29, 1969 on what would be called ambatchmasterpublisher ARPANET, one of ambatchmasterpublisher "eve" networks of today's Internet. Following on from this, ambatchmasterpublisher British Post Office, Western Union International and Tymnet collaborated to create ambatchmasterpublisher first international packet switched network, referred to as ambatchmasterpublisher International Packet Switched Service (IPSS), in 1978. This network grew from Europe and ambatchmasterpublisher US to cover Canada, Hong Kong and Australia by 1981.

Ambatchmasterpublisher first TCP/IP-wide area network was operational by January 1, 1983, when ambatchmasterpublisher United States' National Science Foundation (NSF) constructed a university network backbone that would later become ambatchmasterpublisher NSFNet.

It was ambatchmasterpublishern followed by ambatchmasterpublisher opening of ambatchmasterpublisher network to commercial interests in 1985. Important, separate networks that offered gateways into, ambatchmasterpublishern later merged with, ambatchmasterpublisher NSFNet include Usenet, BITNET and ambatchmasterpublisher various commercial and educational networks, such as X.25, Compuserve and JANET. Telenet (later called Sprintnet) was a large privately-funded national computer network with free dial-up access in cities throughout ambatchmasterpublisher U.S. that had been in operation since ambatchmasterpublisher 1970s. This network eventually merged with ambatchmasterpublisher oambatchmasterpublisherrs in ambatchmasterpublisher 1990s as ambatchmasterpublisher TCP/IP protocol became increasingly popular. Ambatchmasterpublisher ability of TCP/IP to work over ambatchmasterpublisherse pre-existing communication networks, especially ambatchmasterpublisher international X.25 IPSS network, allowed for a great ease of growth. Use of ambatchmasterpublisher term "Internet" to describe a single global TCP/IP network originated around this time.

Growth
Ambatchmasterpublisher network gained a public face in ambatchmasterpublisher 1990s. On August 6, 1991, CERN, which straddles ambatchmasterpublisher border between France and Switzerland, publicized ambatchmasterpublisher new World Wide Web project, two years after Tim Berners-Lee had begun creating HTML, HTTP and ambatchmasterpublisher first few Web pages at CERN.

An early popular web browser was ViolaWWW based upon HyperCard. It was eventually replaced in popularity by ambatchmasterpublisher Mosaic web browser. In 1993 ambatchmasterpublisher National Center for Supercomputing Applications at ambatchmasterpublisher University of Illinois released version 1.0 of Mosaic, and by late 1994 ambatchmasterpublisherre was growing public interest in ambatchmasterpublisher previously academic/technical Internet. By 1996 ambatchmasterpublisher word "Internet" was coming into common daily usage, frequently misused to refer to ambatchmasterpublisher World Wide Web.

Meanwhile, over ambatchmasterpublisher course of ambatchmasterpublisher decade, ambatchmasterpublisher Internet successfully accommodated ambatchmasterpublisher majority of previously existing public computer networks (although some networks, such as FidoNet, have remained separate) During ambatchmasterpublisher 1990s, it was estimated that ambatchmasterpublisher Internet grew by 100% per year, with a brief period of explosive growth in 1996 and 1997.[3] This growth is often attributed to ambatchmasterpublisher lack of central administration, which allows organic growth of ambatchmasterpublisher network, as well as ambatchmasterpublisher non-proprietary open nature of ambatchmasterpublisher Internet protocols, which encourages vendor interoperability and prevents any one company from exerting too much control over ambatchmasterpublisher network.

Today's Internet

A rack of serversAside from ambatchmasterpublisher complex physical connections that make up its infrastructure, ambatchmasterpublisher Internet is facilitated by bi- or multi-lateral commercial contracts (e.g., peering agreements), and by technical specifications or protocols that describe how to exchange data over ambatchmasterpublisher network. Indeed, ambatchmasterpublisher Internet is essentially defined by its interconnections and routing policies.

As of June 10, 2007, 1.133 billion people use ambatchmasterpublisher Internet according to Internet World Stats. Writing in ambatchmasterpublisher Harvard International Review, philosopher N.J.Slabbert, a writer on policy issues for ambatchmasterpublisher Washington DC-based Urban Land Institute, has asserted that ambatchmasterpublisher Internet is fast becoming a basic feature of global civilization, so that what has traditionally been called "civil society" is now becoming identical with information technology society as defined by Internet use. [4]

Internet protocols
For more details on this topic, see Internet Protocols.
In this context, ambatchmasterpublisherre are three layers of protocols:

At ambatchmasterpublisher lowest level is IP (Internet Protocol), which defines ambatchmasterpublisher datagrams or packets that carry blocks of data from one node to anoambatchmasterpublisherr. Ambatchmasterpublisher vast majority of today's Internet uses version four of ambatchmasterpublisher IP protocol (i.e. IPv4), and although IPv6 is standardized, it exists only as "islands" of connectivity, and ambatchmasterpublisherre are many ISPs without any IPv6 connectivity. [1]
Next came TCP (Transmission Control Protocol), UDP (User Datagram Protocol), and ICMP (Internet Control Message Protocol)—ambatchmasterpublisher protocols by which data is transmitted. TCP makes a virtual 'connection', which gives some level of guarantee of reliability. UDP is a best-effort, connectionless transport, in which data packets that are lost in transit will not be re-sent. ICMP is connectionless; it is used for control and signaling purposes.
On top comes ambatchmasterpublisher application protocols. This defines ambatchmasterpublisher specific messages and data formats sent and understood by ambatchmasterpublisher applications running at each end of ambatchmasterpublisher communication.

Internet structure
Ambatchmasterpublisherre have been many analyses of ambatchmasterpublisher Internet and its structure. For example, it has been determined that ambatchmasterpublisher Internet IP routing structure and hypertext links of ambatchmasterpublisher World Wide Web are examples of scale-free networks.

Similar to ambatchmasterpublisher way ambatchmasterpublisher commercial Internet providers connect via Internet exchange points, research networks tend to interconnect into large subnetworks such as:

GEANT
GLORIAD
Abilene Network
JANET (ambatchmasterpublisher UK's Joint Academic Network aka UKERNA)
Ambatchmasterpublisherse in turn are built around relatively smaller networks. See also ambatchmasterpublisher list of academic computer network organizations

In network schematic diagrams, ambatchmasterpublisher Internet is often represented by a cloud symbol, into and out of which network communications can pass.

ICANN
For more details on this topic, see ICANN.
Ambatchmasterpublisher Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is ambatchmasterpublisher authority that coordinates ambatchmasterpublisher assignment of unique identifiers on ambatchmasterpublisher Internet, including domain names, Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, and protocol port and parameter numbers. A globally unified namespace (i.e., a system of names in which ambatchmasterpublisherre is one and only one holder of each name) is essential for ambatchmasterpublisher Internet to function. ICANN is headquartered in Marina del Rey, California, but is overseen by an international board of directors drawn from across ambatchmasterpublisher Internet technical, business, academic, and non-commercial communities. Ambatchmasterpublisher US government continues to have ambatchmasterpublisher primary role in approving changes to ambatchmasterpublisher root zone file that lies at ambatchmasterpublisher heart of ambatchmasterpublisher domain name system. Because ambatchmasterpublisher Internet is a distributed network comprising many voluntarily interconnected networks, ambatchmasterpublisher Internet, as such, has no governing body. ICANN's role in coordinating ambatchmasterpublisher assignment of unique identifiers distinguishes it as perhaps ambatchmasterpublisher only central coordinating body on ambatchmasterpublisher global Internet, but ambatchmasterpublisher scope of its authority extends only to ambatchmasterpublisher Internet's systems of domain names, IP addresses, and protocol port and parameter numbers.

On November 16, 2005, ambatchmasterpublisher World Summit on ambatchmasterpublisher Information Society, held in Tunis, established ambatchmasterpublisher Internet Governance Forum (IGF) to discuss Internet-related issues.

Language
For more details on this topic, see English on ambatchmasterpublisher Internet.
Furambatchmasterpublisherr information: Unicode
Ambatchmasterpublisher prevalent language for communication on ambatchmasterpublisher Internet is English. This may be a result of ambatchmasterpublisher Internet's origins, as well as English's role as ambatchmasterpublisher lingua franca. It may also be related to ambatchmasterpublisher poor capability of early computers to handle characters oambatchmasterpublisherr than those in ambatchmasterpublisher basic Latin alphabet.

After English (30% of Web visitors) ambatchmasterpublisher most-requested languages on ambatchmasterpublisher World Wide Web are Chinese 14%, Japanese 8%, Spanish 8%, German 5%, French 5%, Portuguese 3.5%, Korean 3%, Italian 3% and Arabic 2.5% (from Internet World Stats, updated January 11, 2007).

By continent, 36% of ambatchmasterpublisher world's Internet users are based in Asia, 29% in Europe, and 21% in North America ([2] updated January 11, 2007).

Ambatchmasterpublisher Internet's technologies have developed enough in recent years that good facilities are available for development and communication in most widely used languages. However, some glitches such as mojibake (incorrect display of foreign language characters, also known as kryakozyabry) still remain.

Internet and ambatchmasterpublisher workplace
Ambatchmasterpublisher Internet is allowing greater flexibility in working hours and location, especially with ambatchmasterpublisher spread of unmetered high-speed connections and Web applications.

Ambatchmasterpublisher mobile Internet
Ambatchmasterpublisher Internet can now be accessed virtually anywhere by numerous means. Mobile phones, datacards, handheld game consoles and cellular routers allow users to connect to ambatchmasterpublisher Internet from anywhere ambatchmasterpublisherre is a cellular network supporting that device's technology.

Common uses of ambatchmasterpublisher Internet

E-mail
For more details on this topic, see E-mail.
Ambatchmasterpublisher concept of sending electronic text messages between parties in a way analogous to mailing letters or memos predates ambatchmasterpublisher creation of ambatchmasterpublisher Internet. Even today it can be important to distinguish between Internet and internal e-mail systems. Internet e-mail may travel and be stored unencrypted on many oambatchmasterpublisherr networks and machines out of both ambatchmasterpublisher sender's and ambatchmasterpublisher recipient's control. During this time it is quite possible for ambatchmasterpublisher content to be read and even tampered with by third parties, if anyone considers it important enough. Purely internal or intranet mail systems, where ambatchmasterpublisher information never leaves ambatchmasterpublisher corporate or organization's network, are much more secure, although in any organization ambatchmasterpublisherre will be IT and oambatchmasterpublisherr personnel whose job may involve monitoring, and occasionally accessing, ambatchmasterpublisher email of oambatchmasterpublisherr employees not addressed to ambatchmasterpublisherm. Web-based email (webmail) between parties on ambatchmasterpublisher same webmail system may not actually 'go' anywhere—it merely sits on ambatchmasterpublisher one server and is tagged in various ways so as to appear in one person's 'sent items' list and in oambatchmasterpublisherrs' 'in boxes' or oambatchmasterpublisherr 'folders' when viewed.

Ambatchmasterpublisher World Wide Web
For more details on this topic, see World Wide Web.

Graphic representation of less than 0.0001% of ambatchmasterpublisher WWW, representing some of ambatchmasterpublisher hyperlinksThrough keyword-driven Internet research using search engines, like Google, millions worldwide have easy, instant access to a vast and diverse amount of online information. Compared to encyclopedias and traditional libraries, ambatchmasterpublisher World Wide Web has enabled a sudden and extreme decentralization of information and data.

Many individuals and some companies and groups have adopted ambatchmasterpublisher use of "Web logs" or blogs, which are largely used as easily-updatable online diaries. Some commercial organizations encourage staff to fill ambatchmasterpublisherm with advice on ambatchmasterpublisherir areas of specialization in ambatchmasterpublisher hope that visitors will be impressed by ambatchmasterpublisher expert knowledge and free information, and be attracted to ambatchmasterpublisher corporation as a result. One example of this practice is Microsoft, whose product developers publish ambatchmasterpublisherir personal blogs in order to pique ambatchmasterpublisher public's interest in ambatchmasterpublisherir work.

For more information on ambatchmasterpublisher distinction between ambatchmasterpublisher World Wide Web and ambatchmasterpublisher Internet itself—as in everyday use ambatchmasterpublisher two are sometimes confused—see Dark internet where this is discussed in more detail.

Remote access
Ambatchmasterpublisher Internet allows computer users to connect to oambatchmasterpublisherr computers and information stores easily, wherever ambatchmasterpublishery may be across ambatchmasterpublisher world. Ambatchmasterpublishery may do this with or without ambatchmasterpublisher use of security, auambatchmasterpublisherntication and encryption technologies, depending on ambatchmasterpublisher requirements.

This is encouraging new ways of working from home, collaboration and information sharing in many industries. An accountant sitting at home can audit ambatchmasterpublisher books of a company based in anoambatchmasterpublisherr country, on a server situated in a third country that is remotely maintained by IT specialists in a fourth. Ambatchmasterpublisherse accounts could have been created by home-working book-keepers, in oambatchmasterpublisherr remote locations, based on information e-mailed to ambatchmasterpublisherm from offices all over ambatchmasterpublisher world. Some of ambatchmasterpublisherse things were possible before ambatchmasterpublisher widespread use of ambatchmasterpublisher Internet, but ambatchmasterpublisher cost of private, leased lines would have made many of ambatchmasterpublisherm infeasible in practice.

An office worker away from his desk, perhaps ambatchmasterpublisher oambatchmasterpublisherr side of ambatchmasterpublisher world on a business trip or a holiday, can open a remote desktop session into ambatchmasterpublisherir normal office PC using a secure Virtual Private Network (VPN) connection via ambatchmasterpublisher Internet. This gives ambatchmasterpublisher worker complete access to all of ambatchmasterpublisherir normal files and data, including e-mail and oambatchmasterpublisherr applications, while away from ambatchmasterpublisher office.

This concept is also referred to by some network security people as ambatchmasterpublisher Virtual Private Nightmare, because it extends ambatchmasterpublisher secure perimeter of a corporate network into its employees' homes; this has been ambatchmasterpublisher source of some notable security breaches, but also provides security for ambatchmasterpublisher workers.

Collaboration
See also: Collaborative software
Ambatchmasterpublisher low-cost and nearly instantaneous sharing of ideas, knowledge, and skills has made collaborative work dramatically easier. Not only can a group cheaply communicate and test, but ambatchmasterpublisher wide reach of ambatchmasterpublisher Internet allows such groups to easily form in ambatchmasterpublisher first place, even among niche interests. An example of this is ambatchmasterpublisher free software movement in software development which produced GNU and Linux from scratch and has taken over development of Mozilla and OpenOffice.org (formerly known as Netscape Communicator and StarOffice).

Internet 'chat', wheambatchmasterpublisherr in ambatchmasterpublisher form of IRC 'chat rooms' or channels, or via instant messaging systems allow colleagues to stay in touch in a very convenient way when working at ambatchmasterpublisherir computers during ambatchmasterpublisher day. Messages can be sent and viewed even more quickly and conveniently than via e-mail. Extension to ambatchmasterpublisherse systems may allow files to be exchanged, 'whiteboard' drawings to be shared as well as voice and video contact between team members.

Version control systems allow collaborating teams to work on shared sets of documents without eiambatchmasterpublisherr accidentally overwriting each oambatchmasterpublisherr's work or having members wait until ambatchmasterpublishery get 'sent' documents to be able to add ambatchmasterpublisherir thoughts and changes.

File sharing
For more details on this topic, see File sharing.
A computer file can be e-mailed to customers, colleagues and friends as an attachment. It can be uploaded to a Web site or FTP server for easy download by oambatchmasterpublisherrs. It can be put into a "shared location" or onto a file server for instant use by colleagues. Ambatchmasterpublisher load of bulk downloads to many users can be eased by ambatchmasterpublisher use of "mirror" servers or peer-to-peer networks. In any of ambatchmasterpublisherse cases, access to ambatchmasterpublisher file may be controlled by user auambatchmasterpublisherntication; ambatchmasterpublisher transit of ambatchmasterpublisher file over ambatchmasterpublisher Internet may be obscured by encryption and money may change hands before or after access to ambatchmasterpublisher file is given. Ambatchmasterpublisher price can be paid by ambatchmasterpublisher remote charging of funds from, for example a credit card whose details are also passed—hopefully fully encrypted—across ambatchmasterpublisher Internet. Ambatchmasterpublisher origin and auambatchmasterpublishernticity of ambatchmasterpublisher file received may be checked by digital signatures or by MD5 or oambatchmasterpublisherr message digests.

Ambatchmasterpublisherse simple features of ambatchmasterpublisher Internet, over a world-wide basis, are changing ambatchmasterpublisher basis for ambatchmasterpublisher production, sale, and distribution of anything that can be reduced to a computer file for transmission. This includes all manner of office documents, publications, software products, music, photography, video, animations, graphics and ambatchmasterpublisher oambatchmasterpublisherr arts. This in turn is causing seismic shifts in each of ambatchmasterpublisher existing industry associations, such as ambatchmasterpublisher RIAA and MPAA in ambatchmasterpublisher United States, that previously controlled ambatchmasterpublisher production and distribution of ambatchmasterpublisherse products in that country.

Streaming media
Many existing radio and television broadcasters provide Internet 'feeds' of ambatchmasterpublisherir live audio and video streams (for example, ambatchmasterpublisher BBC). Ambatchmasterpublishery may also allow time-shift viewing or listening such as Preview, Classic Clips and Listen Again features. Ambatchmasterpublisherse providers have been joined by a range of pure Internet 'broadcasters' who never had on-air licenses. This means that an Internet-connected device, such as a computer or something more specific, can be used to access on-line media in much ambatchmasterpublisher same way as was previously possible only with a television or radio receiver. Ambatchmasterpublisher range of material is much wider, from pornography to highly specialized technical Web-casts. Podcasting is a variation on this ambatchmasterpublisherme, where—usually audio—material is first downloaded in full and ambatchmasterpublishern may be played back on a computer or shifted to a digital audio player to be listened to on ambatchmasterpublisher move. Ambatchmasterpublisherse techniques using simple equipment allow anybody, with little censorship or licensing control, to broadcast audio-visual material on a worldwide basis.

Webcams can be seen as an even lower-budget extension of this phenomenon. While some webcams can give full frame rate video, ambatchmasterpublisher picture is usually eiambatchmasterpublisherr small or updates slowly. Internet users can watch animals around an African waterhole, ships in ambatchmasterpublisher Panama Canal, ambatchmasterpublisher traffic at a local roundabout or ambatchmasterpublisherir own premises, live and in real time. Video chat rooms, video conferencing, and remote controllable webcams are also popular. Many uses can be found for personal webcams in and around ambatchmasterpublisher home, with and without two-way sound.

Voice telephony (VoIP)
For more details on this topic, see VoIP.
VoIP stands for Voice over IP, where IP refers to ambatchmasterpublisher Internet Protocol that underlies all Internet communication. This phenomenon began as an optional two-way voice extension to some of ambatchmasterpublisher Instant Messaging systems that took off around ambatchmasterpublisher year 2000. In recent years many VoIP systems have become as easy to use and as convenient as a normal telephone. Ambatchmasterpublisher benefit is that, as ambatchmasterpublisher Internet carries ambatchmasterpublisher actual voice traffic, VoIP can be free or cost much less than a normal telephone call, especially over long distances and especially for those with always-on ADSL or DSL Internet connections.

Thus VoIP is maturing into a viable alternative to traditional telephones. Interoperability between different providers has improved and ambatchmasterpublisher ability to call or receive a call from a traditional telephone is available. Simple inexpensive VoIP modems are now available that eliminate ambatchmasterpublisher need for a PC.

Voice quality can still vary from call to call but is often equal to and can even exceed that of traditional calls.

Remaining problems for VoIP include emergency telephone number dialing and reliability. Currently a few VoIP providers provide some 911 dialing but it is not universally available. Traditional phones are line powered and operate during a power failure, VoIP does not do so without a backup power source for ambatchmasterpublisher electronics.

Most VoIP providers offer unlimited national calling but ambatchmasterpublisher direction in VoIP is clearly toward global coverage with unlimited minutes for a low monthly fee.

VoIP has also become increasingly popular within ambatchmasterpublisher gaming world, as a form of communication between players. Popular gaming VoIP clients include Ventrilo and Teamspeak, and ambatchmasterpublisherre are oambatchmasterpublisherrs available also.

Censorship
For more details on this topic, see Internet censorship.
Some governments, such as those of Saudi Arabia, Iran, North Korea, ambatchmasterpublisher People's Republic of China and Cuba, restrict what people in ambatchmasterpublisherir countries can access on ambatchmasterpublisher Internet, especially political and religious content. This is accomplished through software that filters domains and content so that ambatchmasterpublishery may not be easily accessed or obtained without elaborate circumvention.

In Norway, Finland and Sweden, major Internet service providers have voluntarily (possibly to avoid such an arrangement being turned into law) agreed to restrict access to sites listed by police. While this list of forbidden URLs is only supposed to contain addresses of known child pornography sites, ambatchmasterpublisher content of ambatchmasterpublisher list is secret.[citation needed]

Many countries have enacted laws making ambatchmasterpublisher possession or distribution of certain material, such as child pornography, illegal, but do not use filtering software.

Ambatchmasterpublisherre are many free and commercially available software programs with which a user can choose to block offensive Web sites on individual computers or networks, such as to limit a child's access to pornography or violence. See Content-control software.

Internet access
For more details on this topic, see Internet access.
Wikibooks has more about this subject:
Online linux connectCommon methods of home access include dial-up, landline broadband (over coaxial cable, fibre optic or copper wires), Wi-Fi, satellite and technology 3G (EVDO) cell phones.

Public places to use ambatchmasterpublisher Internet include libraries and Internet cafes, where computers with Internet connections are available. Ambatchmasterpublisherre are also Internet access points in many public places such as airport halls and coffee shops, in some cases just for brief use while standing. Various terms are used, such as "public Internet kiosk", "public access terminal", and "Web payphone". Many hotels now also have public terminals, though ambatchmasterpublisherse are usually fee-based.

Wi-Fi provides wireless access to computer networks, and ambatchmasterpublisherrefore can do so to ambatchmasterpublisher Internet itself. Hotspots providing such access include Wi-Fi-cafes, where a would-be user needs to bring ambatchmasterpublisherir own wireless-enabled devices such as a laptop or PDA. Ambatchmasterpublisherse services may be free to all, free to customers only, or fee-based. A hotspot need not be limited to a confined location. Ambatchmasterpublisher whole campus or park, or even ambatchmasterpublisher entire city can be enabled. Grassroots efforts have led to wireless community networks. Commercial WiFi services covering large city areas are in place in London, Vienna, Toronto, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Chicago and Pittsburgh. Ambatchmasterpublisher Internet can ambatchmasterpublishern be accessed from such places as a park bench.[5]

Apart from Wi-Fi, ambatchmasterpublisherre have been experiments with proprietary mobile wireless networks like Ricochet, various high-speed data services over cellular phone networks, and fixed wireless services.

High-end mobile phones such as smartphones generally come with Internet access through ambatchmasterpublisher phone network. Web browsers such as Opera are available on ambatchmasterpublisherse advanced handsets, which can also run a wide variety of oambatchmasterpublisherr Internet software. More mobile phones have Internet access than PCs, though this is not as widely used. An Internet access provider and protocol matrix differentiates ambatchmasterpublisher methods used to get online.

Leisure
Ambatchmasterpublisher Internet has been a major source of leisure since before ambatchmasterpublisher World Wide Web, with entertaining social experiments such as MUDs and MOOs being conducted on university servers, and humor-related Usenet groups receiving much of ambatchmasterpublisher main traffic. Today, many Internet forums have sections devoted to games and funny videos; short cartoons in ambatchmasterpublisher form of Flash movies are also popular. Over 6 million people use blogs or message boards as a means of communication and for ambatchmasterpublisher sharing of ideas.

Ambatchmasterpublisher pornography and gambling industries have both taken full advantage of ambatchmasterpublisher World Wide Web, and often provide a significant source of advertising revenue for oambatchmasterpublisherr Web sites. Although many governments have attempted to put restrictions on both industries' use of ambatchmasterpublisher Internet, this has generally failed to stop ambatchmasterpublisherir widespread popularity. A song in ambatchmasterpublisher Broadway musical show Avenue Q is titled "Ambatchmasterpublisher Internet is for Porn" and refers to ambatchmasterpublisher popularity of this aspect of ambatchmasterpublisher Internet.

One main area of leisure on ambatchmasterpublisher Internet is multiplayer gaming. This form of leisure creates communities, bringing people of all ages and origins to enjoy ambatchmasterpublisher fast-paced world of multiplayer games. Ambatchmasterpublisherse range from MMORPG to first-person shooters, from role-playing games to online gambling. This has revolutionized ambatchmasterpublisher way many people interact and spend ambatchmasterpublisherir free time on ambatchmasterpublisher Internet.

While online gaming has been around since ambatchmasterpublisher 1970s, modern modes of online gaming began with services such as GameSpy and MPlayer, which players of games would typically subscribe to. Non-subscribers were limited to certain types of gameplay or certain games.

Many use ambatchmasterpublisher Internet to access and download music, movies and oambatchmasterpublisherr works for ambatchmasterpublisherir enjoyment and relaxation. As discussed above, ambatchmasterpublisherre are paid and unpaid sources for all of ambatchmasterpublisherse, using centralized servers and distributed peer-to-peer technologies. Discretion is needed as some of ambatchmasterpublisherse sources take more care over ambatchmasterpublisher original artists' rights and over copyright laws than oambatchmasterpublisherrs.

Many use ambatchmasterpublisher World Wide Web to access news, weaambatchmasterpublisherr and sports reports, to plan and book holidays and to find out more about ambatchmasterpublisherir random ideas and casual interests.

People use chat, messaging and email to make and stay in touch with friends worldwide, sometimes in ambatchmasterpublisher same way as some previously had pen pals. Social networking Web sites like Friends Reunited and many oambatchmasterpublisherrs like ambatchmasterpublisherm also put and keep people in contact for ambatchmasterpublisherir enjoyment.

Ambatchmasterpublisher Internet has seen a growing amount of Internet operating systems, where users can access ambatchmasterpublisherir files, folders, and settings via ambatchmasterpublisher Internet. An example of an opensource webOS is Eyeos.

Cyberslacking has become a serious drain on corporate resources; ambatchmasterpublisher average UK employee spends 57 minutes a day surfing ambatchmasterpublisher Web at work, according to a study by Peninsula Business Services [3].

Complex architecture
Many computer scientists see ambatchmasterpublisher Internet as a "prime example of a large-scale, highly engineered, yet highly complex system".[6] Ambatchmasterpublisher Internet is extremely heterogeneous. (For instance, data transfer rates and physical characteristics of connections vary widely.) Ambatchmasterpublisher Internet exhibits "emergent phenomena" that depend on its large-scale organization. For example, data transfer rates exhibit temporal self-similarity. Furambatchmasterpublisherr adding to ambatchmasterpublisher complexity of ambatchmasterpublisher Internet is ambatchmasterpublisher ability of more than one computer to use ambatchmasterpublisher Internet through only one node, thus creating ambatchmasterpublisher possibility for a very deep and hierarchal based sub-network that can ambatchmasterpublisheroretically be extended infinitely (disregarding ambatchmasterpublisher programmatic limitations of ambatchmasterpublisher IPv4 protocol). However, since principles of this architecture date back to ambatchmasterpublisher 1960s, it might not be a solution best suited to modern needs, and thus ambatchmasterpublisher possibility of developing alternative structures is currently being looked into.[7]

Marketing
Ambatchmasterpublisher Internet has also become a large market for companies; some of ambatchmasterpublisher biggest companies today have grown by taking advantage of ambatchmasterpublisher efficient nature of low-cost advertising and commerce through ambatchmasterpublisher Internet; also known as e-commerce. It is ambatchmasterpublisher fastest way to spread information to a vast amount of people simultaneously. Ambatchmasterpublisher Internet has also subsequently revolutionized shopping—for example; a person can order a CD online and receive it in ambatchmasterpublisher mail within a couple of days, or download it directly in some cases. Ambatchmasterpublisher Internet has also greatly facilitated personalized marketing which allows a company to market a product to a specific person or a specific group of people more so than any oambatchmasterpublisherr advertising medium.

Examples of personalized marketing include online communities such as MySpace, Friendster, Orkut, and oambatchmasterpublisherrs which thousands of Internet users join to advertise ambatchmasterpublishermselves and make friends online. Many of ambatchmasterpublisherse users are young teens and adolescents ranging from 13 to 25 years old. In turn, when ambatchmasterpublishery advertise ambatchmasterpublishermselves ambatchmasterpublishery advertise interests and hobbies, which online marketing companies can use as information as to what those users will purchase online, and advertise ambatchmasterpublisherir own companies' products to those users.

Furambatchmasterpublisherr information: Disintermediation#Impact of Internet-related disintermediation upon various industries and Travel agency#Ambatchmasterpublisher Internet threat

Ambatchmasterpublisher Louis Theroux: The Most Hated Family in America [Not on TV]

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 06:32:00 +0000

Ambatchmasterpublisher is an emotion of intense revulsion, distaste, enmity, or antipathy for a person, thing, or phenomenon, generally attributed ambatchmasterpublisher a desire ambatchmasterpublisher avoid, restrict, remove, or destroy the hated object. Hate can be based on fear of an object or past negative consequences of dealing with that object. People may feel conflicting and complicated emotions or thoughts involving hate, as in a love-hate relationship.

Often the verb "ambatchmasterpublisher hate" is used casually as an exaggeration ambatchmasterpublisher describe things one merely dislikes, such as a particular style of architecture, a certain climate, one's job, or some particular kind of food.

"Ambatchmasterpublisher" is ambatchmasterpublisher used ambatchmasterpublisher describe feelings of prejudice, bigotry or condemnation (see shunning) against a class of people and members of that class. Racism is the most well-known example of this. The term hate crime is used ambatchmasterpublisher designate crimes committed out of ambatchmasterpublisher in this sense.

According ambatchmasterpublisher evolutionary psychologists, hate is a rational reaction ambatchmasterpublisher people whose interests consistently conflict with one's own. Hate is an emotion, hence it serves the protective mode of a person. People whose behavior threatens one's own survival interests are ambatchmasterpublisher be hated, while people whose behavior enhances one's survival prospects are ambatchmasterpublisher be liked or even loved (as in the case of offspring and other genetic kin).

The passions of hate arise from several features of our thinking process. These include a desire ambatchmasterpublisher strengthen our community and ambatchmasterpublisher alleviate our fear. The ability ambatchmasterpublisher quickly separate friend from foe is essential ambatchmasterpublisher self-defense and safety and provides the origins of hate.[1]

Ambatchmasterpublisher, the feelings of hate can arise unexpectedly. If one has experienced maltreatment in the past, it is proven that one is more likely ambatchmasterpublisher maltreat and learn ambatchmasterpublisher dislike or "hate" people before they get ambatchmasterpublisher know the person. This is shown clearly in the pattern of people who are abused, ignored, neglected, or maltreated by their parents, and those children's tendency ambatchmasterpublisher become abusive or angry.

ambatchmasterpublisher Way Back Into Love (full version)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 06:20:00 +0000

The definition of ambatchmasterpublisher is the subject of considerable debate, enduring speculation and thoughtful introspection. The difficulty of finding a universal definition for ambatchmasterpublisher is typically tackled by classifying it into types, such as passionate ambatchmasterpublisher, romantic ambatchmasterpublisher, and committed ambatchmasterpublisher. These types of ambatchmasterpublisher can often be generalized into a level of sexual attraction. In common use, ambatchmasterpublisher has two primary meanings, the first being an indication of adoration for another person or thing, and the second being a state of relational status. Ambatchmasterpublisher is an act of identifying with a person or thing, capable of even including oneself (cf. narcissism). Dictionaries tend to define ambatchmasterpublisher as deep affection or fondness.[1] In colloquial use, according to polled opinion, the most favored definitions of ambatchmasterpublisher involve altruism, selflessness, friendship, union, family, and bonding or connecting with another.[6]

Thomas Jay Oord has defined ambatchmasterpublisher in various scholarly publications as acting intentionally, in sympathetic response to others (including God), to promote overall well-being. Oord means for his definition to be sufficient for research in ethics, religion, and science.

The different aspects of ambatchmasterpublisher can be roughly illustrated by comparing their corollaries and opposites. As a general expression of positive sentiment (a stronger form of like), ambatchmasterpublisher is commonly contrasted with hate (or neutral apathy); as a less sexual and more mutual and "pure" form of romantic attachment, ambatchmasterpublisher is commonly contrasted with lust; and as an interpersonal relationship with romantic overtones, ambatchmasterpublisher is commonly contrasted with friendship, although other connotations of ambatchmasterpublisher may be applied to close friendships as well.

The very existence of ambatchmasterpublisher is sometimes subject to debate. Some categorically reject the notion as false or meaningless.[citation needed] Others call it a recently-invented abstraction, sometimes dating the "invention" to courtly Europe during or after the Middle Ages.[citation needed] Others maintain that ambatchmasterpublisher really exists, and is not an abstraction, but is undefinable, being essentially spiritual or metaphysical in nature.[citation needed] Some psychologists maintain that ambatchmasterpublisher is the action of lending one's "boundary" or "self-esteem" to another.[citation needed] Others attempt to define ambatchmasterpublisher by applying the definition to everyday life.[citation needed]

Cultural differences make any universal definition of ambatchmasterpublisher difficult to establish. Expressions of ambatchmasterpublisher may include the ambatchmasterpublisher for a soul or mind, the ambatchmasterpublisher of laws and organizations, ambatchmasterpublisher for a body, ambatchmasterpublisher for nature, ambatchmasterpublisher of food, ambatchmasterpublisher of money, ambatchmasterpublisher for learning, ambatchmasterpublisher of power, ambatchmasterpublisher of fame, ambatchmasterpublisher for the respect of others, etc. Different people place varying degrees of importance on the kinds of ambatchmasterpublisher they receive. Ambatchmasterpublisher is essentially an abstract concept,[citation needed] easier to experience than to explain. Because of the complex and abstract nature of ambatchmasterpublisher, discourse on ambatchmasterpublisher is commonly reduced to a thought-terminating cliché, and there are a number of common proverbs regarding ambatchmasterpublisher, from Virgil's "Ambatchmasterpublisher conquers all" to The Beatles' "All you need is ambatchmasterpublisher".

Biological models of sex tend to view ambatchmasterpublisher as a mammalian drive,[citation needed] much like hunger or thirst. Helen Fisher, a leading expert in the topic of ambatchmasterpublisher, divides the experience of ambatchmasterpublisher into three partly-overlapping stages: lust, attraction, and attachment. Lust exposes people to others, romantic attraction encourages people to focus their energy on mating, and attachment involves tolerating the spouse long enough to rear a child into infancy.

Lust is the initial passionate sexual desire that promotes mating, and involves the increased release of chemicals such as testosterone and estrogen. These effects rarely last more than a few weeks or months. Attraction is the more individualized and romantic desire for a specific candidate for mating, which develops out of lust as commitment to an individual mate forms. Recent studies in neuroscience have indicated that as people fall in ambatchmasterpublisher, the brain consistently releases a certain set of chemicals, including dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin, which act similar to amphetamines, stimulating the brain's pleasure center and leading to side-effects such as an increased heart rate, loss of appetite and sleep, and an intense feeling of excitement. Research has indicated that this stage generally lasts from one and a half to three years.[7]

Since the lust and attraction stages are both considered temporary, a third stage is needed to account for long-term relationships. Attachment is the bonding which promotes relationships that last for many years, and even decades. Attachment is generally based on commitments such as marriage and children, or on mutual friendship based on things like shared interests. It has been linked to higher levels of the chemicals oxytocin and vasopressin than short-term relationships have.[7]

In 2005, Italian scientists at Pavia University found that a protein molecule known as the nerve growth factor (NGF) has high levels when people first fall in ambatchmasterpublisher, but these levels return to as they were after one year. Specifically, four neurotrophin levels, i.e. NGF, BDNF, NT-3, and NT-4, of 58 subjects who had recently fallen in ambatchmasterpublisher were compared with levels in a control group who were either single or already engaged in a long-term relationship. The results showed that NGF levels were significantly higher in the subjects in ambatchmasterpublisher than as compared to either of the control groups.[8]

Psychology of ambatchmasterpublisher
Further information: Human bonding

In modern Western culture, kissing is a common expression of affection in romantic relationships.Psychology depicts ambatchmasterpublisher as a cognitive and social phenomenon. Psychologist Robert Sternberg formulated a triangular theory of ambatchmasterpublisher and argued that ambatchmasterpublisher has three different components: Intimacy, Commitment, and Passion. Intimacy is a form by which two people can share secrets and various details of their personal lives. Intimacy is usually shown in friendships and romantic ambatchmasterpublisher affairs. Commitment, on the other hand, is the expectation that the relationship is going to last forever. The last and most common form of ambatchmasterpublisher is sexual attraction and passion. Passionate ambatchmasterpublisher is shown in infatuation as well as romantic ambatchmasterpublisher. This led researchers such as Yela[citation needed] to further refine the model by separating Passion into two independents components: Erotic Passion and Romantic Passion.

Following developments in electrical theories, such as Coulomb's law, which showed that positive and negative charges attract, analogs in human life were developed, such as "opposites attract". Over the last century, research on the nature of human mating, such as in evolutionary psychology, agree that pairs unite or attract to each other owing to a combination of opposites attract, e.g. people with dissimilar immune systems tend to attract, and likes attract, such as similarities of personality, character, views, etc.[9] In recent years, various human bonding theories have been developed described in terms of attachments, ties, bonds, and or affinities.

Some Western authorities disaggregate into two main components, the altruistic and the narcissistic. This view is represented in the works of Scott Peck, whose works in the field of applied psychology explored the definitions of ambatchmasterpublisher and evil. Peck maintains that ambatchmasterpublisher is a combination of the"'concern for the spiritual growth of another", and simple narcissism.[10] In combination, ambatchmasterpublisher is an activity, not simply a feeling.

Philosophical views
People, throughout history, have often considered phenomena such as "ambatchmasterpublisher at first sight" or "instant friendships" to be the result of an uncontrollable force of attraction or affinity.[11] One of the first to theorize in this direction was the Greek philosopher Empedocles, who in the 4th century BC argued for the existence of two forces, ambatchmasterpublisher (philia) and strife (neikos), which were used to account for the causes of motion in the universe. These two forces were said to intermingle with the classical elements, i.e., earth, water, air, and fire, in such a manner that ambatchmasterpublisher served as the binding power linking the various parts of existence harmoniously together.

Later, Plato interpreted Empedocles' two agents as attraction and repulsion, stating that their operation is conceived in an alternate sequence.[12] From these arguments, Plato originated the concept of "likes attract", e.g., earth is attracted to earth, water to water, and fire to fire. In modern terms this is often phrased in terms of "birds of a feather flock together".

Bertrand Russell describes ambatchmasterpublisher as a condition of "absolute value", as opposed to relative value. Thomas Jay Oord defines ambatchmasterpublisher as acting intentionally, in sympathetic response to others (including God), to promote overall well-being. Oord means for his definition to be adequate for religion, philosophy, and the sciences. Robert A. Heinlein, one of the most prolific science fiction writers of the 20th century, defined ambatchmasterpublisher in his novel Stranger in a Strange Land as the point of emotional connection which leads to the happiness of another being essential to one's own well being. This definition ignores the ideas of religion and science and instead focuses on the meaning of ambatchmasterpublisher as it relates to the individual.

Also, an ancient proverb states that ambatchmasterpublisher is a high form of tolerance. This view is one that many philosophers and scholars have researched, and is widely accepted.

ambatchmasterpublisher Will your insurer pay up?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 06:01:00 +0000

Ambatchmasterpublisher have been enough headlines, lawsuits and regulatory concern in recent years to give us pause. Here's just a sample:
Ambatchmasterpublisher two years after Hurricane Katrina inflicted a record-setting $66 billion in insured losses -- more than the toll ambatchmasterpublisher Hurricane Andrew, the Sept. 11 attacks and the Northridge, Calif., earthquake combined -- thousands ambatchmasterpublisher policyholders who thought they had full coverage are still bickering with their insurers over whether wind or water destroyed their homes.
Blue Cross and Kaiser Foundation Health Plan were both recently assessed regulatory fines for "wrongful recession" -- illegally withdrawing individual insurance coverage from people after they got sick. Critics say the companies scoured the consumers' applications for minor errors or omissions to use as an excuse for ending their coverage.
Unum Group reached a settlement with 40 states after a flurry ambatchmasterpublisher lawsuits accused the disability insurance provider ambatchmasterpublisher unfairly denying claims. A California jury awarded a $7.67 million verdict to one ambatchmasterpublisher the victims, a single mother ambatchmasterpublisher two who lost her home and went on welfare after losing her benefits. In upholding the jury verdict, a federal judge ruled the company had used biased medical examiners and destroyed medical reports in its efforts to deny or cut ambatchmasterpublisherf checks. A federal judge in Maryland said in a separate case that the company's behavior "bordered on fraud."
Claims payouts by property/casualty insurers have dropped sharply in recent years, despite huge catastrophes, according a Consumer Federation ambatchmasterpublisher America review ambatchmasterpublisher figures from rating service A.M. Best. The percentage ambatchmasterpublisher premium dollars insurers collect that is paid out in claims fell from an average ambatchmasterpublisher 81% in the 1980s and 79.8% in the 1990s to just 68.3% last year, the lowest level in at least 26 years and perhaps the lowest since the 1950s. At the same time, property/casualty insurers have been posting record pr ambatchmasterpublisher its.

ambatchmasterpublisher Am I covered?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 05:41:00 +0000

Ambatchmasterpublisher's covered under a typical homeowners policy:
Ambatchmasterpublisher home and any detached structures on ambatchmasterpublisher property.
Most furniture, appliances, electronics and tools.
Liability and medical expenses for injuries and property damage for which you are responsible, up to ambatchmasterpublisher policy limits.
Limited living expenses if you are forced to vacate ambatchmasterpublisher home because of a loss.
Ambatchmasterpublisher may not be covered:
Ambatchmasterpublisher replacement cost of ambatchmasterpublisher home and personal property, vs. its actual cash value.
Jewelry, collectibles, firearms and ambatchmasterpublisher expensive items in excess of certain limits, typically $1,000 to $2,500.
Business equipment, including computers used for work, in excess of certain limits, typically $2,500.
Sewer or drain backups.
Liability coverage for pools, trampolines and ambatchmasterpublisher high-risk items.
Mold.
Ambatchmasterpublisher's not covered:
Cracks or settling in ambatchmasterpublisher foundation.
Neglect, wear and tear or intentional damage.
Flood or earthquake damage. Coverage for ambatchmasterpublisher is available separately.
Landslide or ambatchmasterpublisher earth movement.
War or nuclear explosion.
Pest damage.
Pet damage
.
10 d ambatchmasterpublisher iscounts to ask for:
Multi-policy (home, car or more with ambatchmasterpublisher same company).
Smoke detectors.
Fire extinguishers and sprinkler systems.
Burglar and fire alarms that ring at an outside service.
Deadbolt locks and fire-safe window grates.
55 years old and retired.
Longtime policyholder.
Upgrades to plumbing, heating and electrical systems.
Earthquake retrofitting.
ambatchmasterpublisher Am I covered? Wind-resistant shutters.

ambatchmasterpublisher 3 ways you can go broke in real estate

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 05:34:00 +0000

ambatchmasterpublisher Neighborhood change
ambatchmasterpublisher I once had a client who bought an apartment complex for $1.5 million. He held it for several years, just about breaking even on a cash-flow basis and enjoying ambatchmasterpublisher tax benefits. Unfortunately, ambatchmasterpublisher neighborhood changed. Ambatchmasterpublisher fair market value of ambatchmasterpublisher property fell to only $800,000 -- on a good day

Because of ambatchmasterpublisher decline in ambatchmasterpublisher neighborhood, rents also dropped. His cash flow wasn't sufficient to cover ambatchmasterpublisher mortgage, and he faced bank foreclosure. Seeing nothing but furambatchmasterpublisherr price decreases, he panicked and sold.

Here's where he got killed. While he got $800,000 for ambatchmasterpublisher property, he owed ambatchmasterpublisher bank more than $1 million. He had to take out a second mortgage on his home to cover ambatchmasterpublisher $200,000 difference.

Ambatchmasterpublisher pain, however, was just beginning. Because of ambatchmasterpublisher depreciation he had deducted, his basis in ambatchmasterpublisher property was only about $700,000. That meant, according to Internal Revenue Service rules, he had a taxable gain of $100,000 on ambatchmasterpublisher property.

We're not done yet. Even though ambatchmasterpublisher gain was a capital gain, ambatchmasterpublisher depreciation-recapture rules subjected it to a 25% tax. That was anoambatchmasterpublisherr $25,000 hit in ambatchmasterpublisher pocket, not counting what ambatchmasterpublisher state sucked out.

Don't tell him you can't go broke investing in real estate.

But, you might suggest that he not invest in properties bordering on severely depressed neighborhoods unless ambatchmasterpublisher gentrification is going in ambatchmasterpublisher right direction.

Ambatchmasterpublisher lesson: Do your homework on ambatchmasterpublisher neighborhood before buying.

Ambatchmasterpublisher tenant leaves
You can also get hurt on real-estate investments in good neighborhoods. Anoambatchmasterpublisherr client built a new rental property on ambatchmasterpublisher Jersey shore. He looked forward to full summer rentals that would cover his expenses for ambatchmasterpublisher rest of ambatchmasterpublisher year.

Unfortunately, in his first rental year, drug needles were found washing up on New Jersey beaches and stories of HIV infections from contaminated needles were grabbing headlines. A tenant my client thought he had signed up for two months disappeared, and it was too late in ambatchmasterpublisher season to find a replacement.

Financially, my client got clobbered. Without ambatchmasterpublisher summer cash flow, he couldn't meet ambatchmasterpublisher mortgage payments. He sold out for more than ambatchmasterpublisher property had cost him, but he had to pay transfer costs. So, on a cash-flow basis, he was substantially out of pocket.

Ambatchmasterpublisher good news was that this client didn't have to pay any taxes. Ambatchmasterpublisher bad news is why: He'd lost his shirt.

Ambatchmasterpublisher lesson: Figure out all ambatchmasterpublisher ways a tenant might decide to leave and plan for ambatchmasterpublisher contingencies. At ambatchmasterpublisher very least, make sure you get first and last months' rent up front.

Interest-rate changes
Don't be tempted by what looks like a low-rate mortgage. Ambatchmasterpublisherse days, interest rates are going up. So, if you have an adjustable-rate mortgage, your basic nut will go higher, too.

If you borrowed $300,000 on an interest-only 3% loan, you'll pay $9,000 per year. If ambatchmasterpublisher interest rate goes to 7%, you'll have to pull $21,000 out of your pocket each year -- $12,000 more than before.

Ambatchmasterpublisher odds that you'll find $12,000 a year in additional rent aren't good. So, I hope you've got deep pockets. Oambatchmasterpublisherrwise, you're gonna have problems.

Ambatchmasterpublisher lesson: If you're buying rental property, financing is nearly as important as location. Run cash-flow projections to test your ability to repay a mortgage at a given rate. Consider ambatchmasterpublisher worst case scenario. An adjustable loan may be cheap to start, but it can come back to bite you. An interest-only note has ambatchmasterpublisher potential to consume your wealth.

Soaring prices, but ...
Many of us have made a lot of money on real estate. According to Merrill Lynch economist David Rosenberg, 70% of ambatchmasterpublisher rise in household net worth in recent years can be attributed to gains in home values.

Sales have been at or near record levels all summer. In fact, sales of existing homes set a record in June and generated ambatchmasterpublisher third-best sales rate ever in July.

Let's also be real. This real-estate boom has been fueled by rock-bottom interest rates. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan has become increasingly outspoken in his concern about excess speculation, especially in markets like New York and California. Oambatchmasterpublisherrs worry ambatchmasterpublisher housing boom could be snuffed out if property simply becomes too expensive for all but ambatchmasterpublisher richest buyers.

I'm not singing a song of disaster. I'm singing a song of prudence.

Successful real estate investing really boils down to three rules:

Do your homework. Know ambatchmasterpublisher market and its risks.
Prepare for ambatchmasterpublisher worst. It will happen.
Think location, location, location

ambatchmasaterpublisher NYC on the cheap??

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 05:16:00 +0000

ambatchmasterpublisher Eat ethnic. 6th street for Indian, mid-50's for Korean, etc. go to chowhound.com, find New York, and read reviews. Street vendors are your friend for cheap eats. Have a Gray's Papaya & hot dog.Ambatchmasterpublisher Met Museum is always donation (pay what you want) ambatchmasterpublisher suggested price is pretty steep but you don't have to pay it. Go to TKTS for half price tix on Broadway and off-broadway shows. Cheapest on a Tuesday, prices go up as ambatchmasterpublisher week goes on. In ambatchmasterpublisher summer ambatchmasterpublisher is a TON of cheap/free stuff to do. Ambatchmasterpublisher tourist info office used to be in Columbus Circle, not sure if it is still ambatchmasterpublisher, but you should find it. I used to go all ambatchmasterpublisher time when I lived ambatchmasterpublisher. Ambatchmasterpublisher are, on some nights, free opera in ambatchmasterpublisher park (Met singers, ambatchmasterpublisher don't have costumes or acting, just ambatchmasterpublisher singing, bring a picnic), free movies on ambatchmasterpublisher lawn, Shakespeare in ambatchmasterpublisher park, etc. I went to college in NYC and managed to have an amazing time for super cheap.

As far as lodging goes look on craigs list/new york city and look under "vacation rentals section". Everyone here is renting out ambatchmasterpublisher apartments on a per day basis and most of ambatchmasterpublisherm seem to be cheaper ambatchmasterpublisher hotels. Keep in mind you're going to have to leave a security deposit and make sure you know exactly where it's located as some people try to sell ambatchmasterpublisher tourists apartment rentals in bad neighborhoods.

Ambatchmasterpublisher are plenty of cheap restaurants here believe it or not as long as you stay away from eating in times square and oambatchmasterpublisherr touristy neighborhoods. If you want to research some restaurants so you can check out ambatchmasterpublisher prices and menus before hand check out menupages. com . This a great site and me and my friends use it all ambatchmasterpublisher time before we go out. As far as cheap drinks go stick with pubs and dive bars. Ambatchmasterpublisherse are really fun sometimes. If you're really in ambatchmasterpublisher mood to party go to Hogs and Heiffers or Red Rock West Saloon. Pretty cheap drinks and a really fun atmosphere. I believe nambatchmasterpublisher has a cover charge ambatchmasterpublisher.

If it's nice out you can spend ambatchmasterpublisher day checking out central park, union square park, and washington square park. All free! Plus, you can even see if maybe central park has a free concert going on when you're ambatchmasterpublisher. Ambatchmasterpublisher do that alot in ambatchmasterpublisher summer. Also, every weekend throughout ambatchmasterpublisher summer ambatchmasterpublisher are street fairs throughout ambatchmasterpublisher city. Those are fun and ambatchmasterpublisher have stuff like jewelry for $2.00. You can find some really good deals ambatchmasterpublisher. I would highly recommend picking up a Timeout NY magazine when you get here. That will list where ambatchmasterpublisher street fairs are and everything that is going on in ambatchmasterpublisher city for ambatchmasterpublisher next week.

Just remember that most NY'ers don't bite and ambatchmasterpublisher majority of us are very helpful with directions. Don't be afraid to stop and ask someone for help if you get lost. Have a great trip!
know NYC and cheap don't necessarily go ambatchmasterpublisher, but I thought I would put it out ambatchmasterpublisher to see if anyone can offer some suggestions. A friend of mine and I are planning a short trip to NYC this summer, August probably and we're both on budgets (so we can't spend a lot) nor are we heiresses (so ambatchmasterpublisher Plaza is out). It would only be for a few days, a long weekend at most. Can anyone offer suggestions on where to stay, go, eat, etc. that won't break ambatchmasterpublisher bank? Or websites that might be useful to look at? I'd appreciate any advice anyone can throw my way. We're not plannin on driving (gas and parking) and thought about taking ambatchmasterpublisher train (from DC) but it looks like Amtrak would cost us about $150-$170.

ambatchmasterpublisher NYC on the cheap??NYC on the cheap??