Apple Opens Up More Ways To Get Paid On The iPhone, Adds Key New Features. Apps Hit 800 Million Downloads

           

iPhone apps have been downloaded 800 million times, and there are now more than 25,000 apps in the iTunes store. Apple is detailing some of the new features in the next version of the iPhone OS in apress conference going on live right now. The new OS, iPhone 3.0, will support 1,000 APIs. Apple seems to be giving a lot of extra love to paid apps, which will gain the ability to sell additional levels, subscriptions, virtual goods, or extra content from right within the app.

The new APIs will also support peer-to peer applications via Bluetooth, which will be great for head-to-head games. Maps will be able to be embedded directly into the apps, and apps can now talk to accessories such as an FM transmitter or a blood pressure monitor. But Apple is not opening up background processing, which would allow more than one app to be running at once—a feature already common on Android and other phones. Apple says it takes up too much battery life.

Apple is also opening up push notification APIs for developers. This will allow apps to incorporate email, IM, and other messaging services. Meebo for instance, created a native iPhone app using the new API, which it demoed onstage. Apps will also finally be able to tap into the iTunes music library on the iPhone. (About time). And they will be able to handle streaming video as a feature.

And they save perhaps the most requested feature until near the end (’natch): Cut-and-paste. You double-tap a word to highlight it, drag the edges to highlight a block, shake to call up an “undo” button. Finally. Why was that so hard?

Another much requested feature: landscape support (when you tilt the iPhone horizontally, the screen goes into landscape mode). Now all apps can have it, including e-mail. And email will support MMS. Again, this is all just basic stuff.

Taking a cue from Android, Apple is finally adding search to every app. So now two years later, you can search your emails and think that it is a gift. But it is not just email. Apple is adding Spotlight to the iPhone: one place where you can search across all apps: your calendar, notes, iTunes library.

The IPhone 3.0 SDK is available to developers starting today. CrunchGear has a full rundown of all the announcements.

Some stats from the press conference:

• There are now more than 25,000 iPhone apps in the iTunes Store.


• iPhone apps have been downloaded 800 million times.


• 96 percent of all apps are approved


• The developer SDK has been downloaded 800,000 times


• 50,000 companies have joined the program


• 13.7 million iPhones were sold in 2008

The White Elephants in The Room

This has been a troubling, frustrating week, and I feel a professional obligation to write about it. It won’t all be clear, but maybe it will do the job. I’m a graduate student at a prominent school in the DFW area and this week, I learned the lesson of the white elephant. According to Wikipedia, a white elephant is a valuable possession which its owner cannot dispose of and whose cost (particularly cost of upkeep) exceeds its usefulness. This week I learned white elephants are running rampant through higher education causing damage you can’t see until it is almost too late.

Take my inmate education analysis project in another class for example. I am having a hard time just connecting on the phone with people who work on the issue in higher education. Daniel Pink’s conceptual age thinking seems non-existent in this world. The mindset of the people I am dealing with is prehistoric; anachronisms abound in the 21st Century. It is unacceptable to me that people in positions of authority in higher education fail to respond to simple e-mails and phone calls, but it seems clear that the white elephants have run amok on some campuses. I don’t mind parasites, but I do object to the cut-rate ones. I wonder if the inmate education types I’m dealing with have taken on the negative personality traits and social behaviors of their inmate charges. For example, in this day and age of instant communications, two community college coordinators on two different campuses 1500 miles apart spent 10 days dodging my calls and e-mails. This might sound harsh, but in a best case scenario I’m dealing with professional ineptitude. In a worst-case scenario, the inaction and lethargy I am experiencing at the hands of college personnel shows contempt for scholars, scholarship, and all things scholarly. There is a herd of white elephants charging through higher education, but you can’t see them until it’s too late. And they’re carrying bags of disdain for anyone who gets in their way. There is a bag of disdain for faculty. There is a bag of disdain for academia. But most of all there are bags of disdain for students. It is all the more troubling because at the very institutions responsible for developing human capital, values such as teaching, learning and community building are dead on arrival. The white elephants have run amok, and I am afraid they can’t be stopped.

Themes of disdain and contempt dominated my life in higher education this week because I started running into white elephants everywhere. I am still shaking my head about Monday, a day heavy with the weight of an inexplicable demonstration of disdain and contempt for scholarship.

It started when, excited and proud, I attended the doctoral dissertation defense at the invitation of a good friend. It was scheduled well in advance. In the conference room, I tried to imagine how I might feel defending three years or more of difficult scholarship and sacrifice. But my pleasant daydream quickly evaporated. One of the dissertation committee members was absent and couldn’t be found! After an interminable wait without word, the committed decided to proceed. By the time I left the conference room 90 minutes late, I just felt numb. When contempt and disdain collide in your face with honor and joy, you get numb. White elephants always leave me numb.

On my campus, the biggest and most powerful white elephant is the Regents Scholar species. What is a Regents Scholar? A Regents Scholar is a tenured professor who does not show up for a doctoral student’s dissertation defense. Just look for the big empty executive chairs in the dissertation defense conference room and you’ll know where you won’t find the Regents Scholar species of white elephant. One of these powerful pack leaders was recently a no show for a dissertation defense. In my program, there are only one or two defenses a year, maybe every two years. Several urgent phone calls were made but after a 30-40 minute delay without word from the white elephant, the two faculty members on hand decided to proceed. The candidate—who is brilliant—is one of the best students ever to go through this particular program. It wasn’t until the defense was completed that word came from the white elephant. “I profusely apologize for my absence” she trumpeted in a phone message to a committee member. It was a flippant apology delivered too late for inappropriate and unprofessional behavior. It would have been better to call in sick or say nothing. Instead, what we all experienced was a harmful lesson delivered with negative reinforcement. I took it personally. The white elephant’s behavior shows a complete disregard for professional protocol and contempt for everything I hold dear in higher education.

I have since learned white elephants, especially Regents Scholars, are very busy people. They deliver keynote addresses all over the world for customers who pay big bucks. They choose wealthy mates and drive really really big cars. Some ignore phone calls and e-mail. Others string you along but never do anything. What fulfilled and productive people these white elephants must be! With so much going on, I can now understand why even the most powerful white elephants can’t make time for lowly dissertation defenses. I am told this sort of thing goes on all the time and there are no consequences for these people. That should change. White elephants need to be held accountable for their actions. It’s what we demand of our students. There are lots of challenges to overcome on the road to a doctorate. I just never figured I would have to keep looking over my shoulder in order to protect myself from the charge of the white elephants.

IL-5 Wrap Up and Election Night Party

Congratulations Mike Quigley.

In a close race with terrible turnout, Quigley won the Democratic primary with about 22 percent of the vote, followed by John Fritchey and Sara Feigenholtz with 19 percent and 17 percent respectively.

It’s  no surprise to anyone who’s read this blog that I favored Sara Feigenholtz in this race.  I thought she was the most honest, sensible and gutsy candidate in this field who I knew would stand up and fight for issues - like healthcare reform - that we badly need to fix.  Though that being said, I respect other candidates in the field who were also smart, capable and would make good members of congress as well.

The good news is we still have Sara Feigenholtz in the Illinois General Assembly and G-d knows we need all the capable and sane minds in that government turned circus of late.

I attended the Feigenholtz election night party at the Metro across from Wrigley Field.  Despite the disappointment in the election results, I think I speak for many people when I say that her supporters felt that there’s a ton of work to be done with Sara as a State Representative and that in no way does the election result say anything about the campaign she ran and the person she is.

Fellow State Rep. Susanan Mendoza, representing the SW Side of Chicago, came out on stage to greet the supporters.  She’s an absolutely talented legislator who is sharp as a whip.  If you have not seen her interview on Chicago Tonight from two weeks ago, I strongly suggest you watch it.  She possesses the type of no-nonsense and down to earth style that is so unusual yet needed in our elected officials.

State Comptroller and Sara Feigenholtz endorser Dan Hynes came out next to say a few words and introduce Sara.  He played the consummate veteran and respectable elected official role.

Sara’s message to the audience was classic Sara Feigenholtz - classy, hopeful and witty.  She encouraged everyone to support Mike Quigley and pledged to work with him as a congressman.  Furthermore, she looked forward to going back to Springfield to represent her district to fight the good fight.  She kept saying how much she loved the district she represents and I think that feeling is mutual.

One final thought…I understand that “election fatigue” effected voter turnout.  I understand that a special election is not as attractive as a presidential race.  I understand that voters are pissed from Blagojevich and Burris…But come on people!  Voting is the ultimate Democratic tool.  We as citizens must exercise our right to vote.  Getting to the polls and casting votes is a small sacrafice to pay for participating in our country’s governance.  Let’s remember that.

Socks

I’m going to start this post of on a really random note: Where are all my socks? I have six single socks that don’t have a mate. Two of these were socks I got for Christmas. Two months ago. Where did they go already? How does this happen? It’s one of those big mysteries, I guess!

After finishing so much stuff yesterday, I’ve had a hard time getting started on school work today (and yes, posting this entry is only allowing me to procrastinate more). It’s kind of inevitable - after a really productive day I think “wow, I’m so ahead of the game now!” and think I can take a day off. But no! I need to stop with this bad habit so when I get home tonight, I’m going to have dinner and then get working on this geography paper until Lost comes on at 9pm.

I have my reading program tonight. It’s week 9 of 11, so it’s almost finished. I have mixed feelings about this. I absolutely love working with the kids and seeing their progress. But I’m also getting to the point where the amount of prep is starting to weigh me down and get in the way of my other school work. I feel bad saying that because I do truly enjoy running the program, but it takes me about 2 hours per week to get everything prepared. Then it’s another 2 hours per week for travel time and the hour the program runs. So, it’s a lot to do each week - although once I start data entry and analysis I’ll wish the program had never ended!

Tomorrow is going to be another busy day. I have class from 10am-11:20am - thankfully Thursday is presentation day so there is no homework to do beforehand. Then I’m running my very first participant through a study! I’m nervous and excited about this. I’ve never run a participant before so I’m kind of worried about messing up somehow or being disorganized (you wouldn’t believe the number of questionnaires there are to keep track of!) but at the same time, I’m looking forward to gaining the experience doing this.

I should be finished and home by 1:30 but I’ll have a busy night of homework to do. I want to get my geography paper written by Sunday, March 1st. Now that I’ve made a public commitment, maybe I’ll actually hold myself to this! It’s not due until March 13th, but my calendar for March is crazy so I’m needing to get some things done early (by a week or more in some cases) just to have time for everything.

Even though I haven’t been productive with school work today, I did work out on the elliptical trainer for 20 minutes and I did some ab exercises! Finally! I’ve been meaning to add them to my routine for months, but I usually hate them so I’ve been putting it off. Perhaps if I see some results I will learn to love them. I kept to a low number of reps so hopefully I won’t be sore tomorrow. It’s when my abs get sore that I’m less likely to continue with it, since it’s kind of uncomfortable!

Anyway, I have to head out soon and I won’t post later tonight unless I’ve finished a good chunk of homework.

Feeling under-represented? Well you should, and here's why.

Being that 2008 is a presidential election year, I recently found myself looking for transcripts of the speeches given by the candidates – as I like to remove myself from the dramatical pauses and blinking-sign-lead applauses and get down to what is actually being said. Upon doing so, I stumbled across a website that sparked my curiosity. As a conscious, informed, and concerned citizen, I have been an avid writer to my representatives since I was in junior high school. I have watched as the letters changed from paper and pen to e-mail to the now widely used electronic form straight on the rep’s website. Unfortunately, with this transition came increasingly less personalized responses. Although they come much faster now, often hours or a few days after my initial complaint, er.. ehem, suggestion, they are completely soulless and only pertain to my concerns in that I checked the box “Energy Policy” before I began writing. In fact, my father and I once wrote completely different letters, explaining different aspects and details of the same subject, and received the same word-for-word response. Yes, I must admit, I no longer have to wait 3 months to receive a scrawled e-mail reply, but at least then I knew my voice was being heard. It is with this feeling of fear that my country is slipping from my hands before my eyes, that I am so far removed and out of touch that even when I take the time to write I am not heard, of growing apathy among my generation towards our government, that I take this time to inform you of the reason why you and I are feeling this way. 

In the writing of the Constitution, the Founding Father’s (obviously) developed a two house system to rectify the complaint about state size versus equal representation. The House of Representatives is supposed to be based on the number of citizens in a given state. In Article 1, Section 2, of the U.S. Constitution, it is written, “The number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty thousand,” meaning the Founding Fathers idealized an electorate size of about 30,000 people per House representative. Our local representative to the House is Lynn Woolsey, who currently serves both Sonoma and Marin counties. According to the 2006 census, Marin and Sonoma counties have a combined number of registered voters of 378,803. This means there should have been 12 representatives in the House, not 1. How can this be, you ask? For some reason, in 1929, Congress passed the Permanent Apportionment Act to cap the number of representatives in the House at 435. Why would they do that? I have no idea. Although being an historian with plans to investigate this much further in due time, I currently have not found any compelling reason for Congress to have passed this act other than that the literal “House” – the room where the House Rep’s meet to discuss and vote on issues - was getting too crowded. But should historical preservation of the House’s meeting site take precedence over representation? In fact, England’s House of Commons and Germany’s Bundestag – both the equivalent of our House of Representatives – both have more representative members than the U.S. House, despite their populations being about 16% and 27% of the U.S., respectively. It is my opinion that by capping the number of House Representatives, our own government has counteracted the original intent of the 2 House system – one of equal representation, and one directly proportional to population – and we are starting to see the long-term effects of this decision in the way things are happening today. There are many questions and concerns that arise in the reader of this new information that I do not have space or time to answer in this article. So, I will point you to your answers, where I found them, at www.thirty-thousand.org. It is my personal belief that our system has been broken by legislature and is getting increasingly more corrupt, despondent, and far way from the values of the American people. If you believe as I do, this issue cannot be more pressing and important than now, in the wake of the inauguration of another president. Although the election of the figurehead of our nation and a third of the balance of power is important, once the flash bulbs have burnt out, the styrofoam columns have been packed away, and the inauguration has taken place, life will return to the hum and lull that it has been for the past several decades, regardless of who gets elected. Where Congress continues passing 600 page acts of which they know little about, allocating monies to hometown projects in order to secure themselves another 2 years, and racking up our national debt. And, in the off-chance that we are stirred from sleeping in our cozy little materialized comfort-driven middle-class suburban beds by hearing about something that Congress has done that’s upsetting, our concerns are forwarded to an answering machine and replied by an android who didn’t read our letter in the first place. We have all heard the phrase “Knowledge is Power.” Now, you have knowledge, but it will not become powerful unless you do something with it.

Rehna tu translation

A non-hindi speaking friend of mine had asked me the meaning of “Rehna tu” song from Delhi-6. Since I love translating songs, I couldn’t stop myself from translating it instantly Prasoon Joshi’s great as ever. Without much frill, posting the translation. I am not much clear about the deeper meaning of the last stanza. Any suggestion people?

Rehna tu, Hai jaisa tu

Stay as you are

Thoda sa dard tu, Thoda Sukun

A little pain, a little relief

Rehna Tu, Hai Jaisa Tu

Stay as you are

Dheema Dheema jhonka, Ya phir junoon

A gentle breeze, a strong gust of wind

Thoda sa resham, Tu hamdam

A little silky, you are my love

Thoda sa khurdura

A little rough

Kabhi tu adh jaaye, Ya ladh jaaye

Sometimes you are stubborn, Sometimes you end up fighting

Ya khushboo se bhara

Sometimes (you are) full of fragrance (sweetness)

Tujhe badalna na chahoon

Don’t want to change you

Rati bhar bhi sanam

Not even a bit

Bina sajawat milawat

Undecorated, Unaltered

Na zyaada na hi kam

Neither more nor less

Tuhje chaahon, jaisa hai tu

I like you, just the way you are

Mujhe teree barish mein beegna hai ghuljana hai

I want to drench myself in rain (of your love).. I seek union with you

Tujhe chaahon, jaisa hai tu

I like you, just the way you are

Mujhe tere lapat mein jalna rakh ho jana hai

I want to get burnt in your tresses…burn away to ashes

Tu zakham de agar

If you torment me,

Marham bhi aakar tu lagaaye

You soothe me too

Zakham mein bhi mujhko pyaar aaye

Even in pain also, I find you adorable

Dariya oooo dariya

Doobne de mujhe dariya

Doobne de mujhe dariya

Let me sink in your love (river-like)

Rehna Tu, Hai Jaisa Tu

Stay as you are

Thoda sa dard tu, Thoda Sukun

A little pain, a little relief

Rehna Tu, Hai Jaisa Tu

Dheema Dheema jhonka, Ya phir junoon

A gentle light breeze or a strong gust of wind

Haath thaam chalna ho

If we hold hands and walk

To dono ke daye haath sang kaise

Then how our right hands will be intertwined

Haath thaam chalna ho

If we hold our hands

To dono ke daye haath sang kaise

Then how our right hands will be intertwined

Ek daaya hoga, ek baaiya hoga

Only the left and right hands can join

Tham le, haath yeh thaam le

Hold my hands…hold my hands dear

Chalna hai sang thaam le

Hold my hands…in the journey (of life)

Funnel Of Love

Here I go,

Going down, down, down,

My mind is a blank,

My head is spinning around and around,

As I go deep into the funnel of love.

It’s such a crazy, crazy feeling,

I get weak in the knees,

My poor old head is a reelin’,

As I go deep into the funnel of love.

I tried and I tried, to run and hide,

I even tried to run away,

Ya just can’t run from the funnel of love,

It’s gonna get ya someday.

It’s such a crazy, crazy feeling,

I get weak in the knees,

My poor old head is a reelin’,

As I go deep into the funnel of love.

I tried and I tried, to run and hide,

I even tried to run away,

Ya just can’t run from the funnel of love,

It’s gonna get ya someday.

Here I go, going down, down, down,

My mind is a blank,

My head is spinning around and around,

As I go deep into the funnel of love,

Deep into the funnel of love,

Deep into the funnel of love.

58 Reverse Funnel System *Personal* Sales In 7 Measly Weeks.

To Kill an American

Written by an Australian Dentist

You probably missed this in the rush of news, but there was actually a report that someone in Pakistan had published in a newspaper, an offer of a reward to anyone who killed an American, any American.

So an Australian dentist wrote an editorial the following day to let everyone know what an American is…so they would know when they found one. (Good one, mate!!!!)

‘An American is English, or French, or Italian, Irish, German, Spanish, Polish, Russian or Greek. An American may also be Canadian, Mexican, African, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Australian, Iranian, Asian, or Arab, or Pakistani or Afghan.

An American may also be a Comanche, Cherokee, Osage, Blackfoot, Navaho, Apache, Seminole or one of the many other tribes known as native Americans.

An American is Christian, or he could be Jewish, or Buddhist, or Muslim. In fact, there are more Muslims in America than in Afghanistan. The only difference is that in America they are free to worship as each of them chooses.

An American is also free to believe in no religion. For that he will answer only to God, not to the government, or to armed thugs claiming to speak for the government and for God.

An American lives in the most prosperous land in the history of the world.

The root of that prosperity can be found in the Declaration of Independence, which recognizes the God given right of each person to the pursuit of happiness.

An American is generous. Americans have helped out just about every other nation in the world in their time of need, never asking a thing in return.

When Afghanistan was over-run by the Soviet army 20 years ago, Americans came with arms and supplies to enable the people to win back their country!

As of the morning of September 11, Americans had given more than any other nation to the poor in Afghanistan.

The national symbol of America, The Statue of Liberty, welcomes your tired and your poor, the wretched refuse of your teeming shores, the homeless, tempest tossed. These in fact are the people who built America.

Some of them were working in the Twin Towers the morning of September 11 , 2001 earning a better life for their families. It’s been told that the World Trade Center victims were from at least 30 different countries, cultures, and first languages, including those that aided and abetted the terrorists.

So you can try to kill an American if you must. Hitler did. So did General Tojo, and Stalin, and Mao Tse-Tung, and other blood-thirsty tyrants in the world. But, in doing so you would just be killing yourself. Because Americans are not a particular people from a particular place. They are the embodiment of the human spirit of freedom. Everyone who holds to that spirit, everywhere, is an American.’

The All-American Rejects - Gives You Hell: Full Narrative Version

Change of regime in the USA : strategic implication for the Indian subcontinent

Obama’s takeover could actually be a dampener for all those hoping to see more positive action in favour of India. His primary concern will be restoration of the US economy. US strategic interests in Asia will therefore be intimately tied in with strategies for growth of the US economy. In spite of rhetoric, economic calculations will impose restrictions on where and how far Obama will go. It seems most unlikely that Obama will increase overseas military commitments and war or surgical strikes against Iran is most unlikely unless Iran deliberates provokes US into a position where it will be embarrassed internationally if it does not retaliate. Obama will try to hold the “line” rather than expand or contract. His main tactic will be to retain the bluster to outshine Bush in foreign affairs but basically do nothing. He will try to achieve more with bluffs and diplomatic pressure and nerve wars rather than do anything that escalates military commitments. He will be under pressure to be seen not to retreat compared to Bush’s legacy, which will be a dampener for those within and outside US who hope that Obama will reverse many of the aggressive Bush moves.

For the subcontinent, Obama’s main strategic steps will be to reassure and to a certain extent increase cooperation with India mainly in the economic arena. Obama will also see to it that Indian regimes are not penalized at the elections by not taking aggressive retaliatory measures against Pakistan. Obama’s tactic will be to increase public visibility of military collaboration with India, and a declared programme of strengthening defence capabilities of India, and maybe even some kind of enhanced NATO type guarantee of alliance/protection in case of third party aggression. Similarly Obama will see to it that any Pakistani regime is not penalized by the people, by holding off India from POK. If India can bargain here properly, it can wrangle out an agreement to station troops on the eastern border of Afghanistan as part of a strategy of anti-terror and disruption of Taleban supply lines to the POK.

The key here again will be to stabilize rather than expand. This is here where Obama and US policy will begin to unravel. The situation in the Afghan+Pakistan front needs expansion and dynamic rather than stabilization. Stabilization of control would mean the beginning of loss of initiative on NATO part and the turning point of the campaign. The reason static war would be disastrous for the US, is because of the peculiar ground situation. So far the anti-US forces have been fighting Chinese Red army style mobile warfare. Such war style can only be matched by continuous positional movement and encirclement of mobile warriors. As soon as this movement is lost, the mobile warriors gain advantage. For now, in an unfamiliar and unaccustomed territory, positional static NATO can be picked off at ease by its opponents.

Obama’s concentration on economic affairs out of necessity, is likely to lead to less stress on foreign affairs that are seen to be expensive and without direct long term benefits. This in turn is likely to lead to less clarity on strategic military objectives, and a corresponding confusion in the military command over operations. It will not be as if Obama himself will be directly responsible, but his preoccupation with internal affairs and priority to world economic manipulation will lead to a neglect of military expansion and therefore adoption of stop-gap stabilization tactics. Obama will try to get India onboard for the US economic recovery programme, and formulate joint policies to counter China. Strategically, this can benefit the entire Indian subcontinent, especially those economies in a position technologically and educationally to benefit from such US-India relationship - especially India, Bangladesh and SriLanka. But this will also be a great opportunity for India to push through in strategic initiatives of its own about the central Asian republics. India can shrewdly play around to force US acceptance of Indian military presence, if India offers to provide substantial military and economic help directly to the Afghan government. Most diplomatic pressures are only effective when the other party realizes that the pressurizing party will go ahead and do something anyway - and that it is better to join in before it is too late to appear to be a reliable “friend”.

US current needs coincides with India’s on the economic front, primarily against Chinese capture of world markets, and I think there will be no problems in the evolution of collaboration here. But overall this economic movement will subtly and in a very complex way, leave its mark on the military/political strategic scenario, whereby the US and the NATO will ultimately retreat from the Afghan front. This is both a danger as well as an opportunity for India, if it has the correct leadership.

BARRACK OBAMA APPROVES INDIA WAR PAKISTAN if needed

Psychology: Questions to Consider.

Growing Up In An Alcoholic Household

If someone close to you has, or has had, a drinking problem, the following questions may help you in determining whether alcoholism affected your childhood or present life:

1. Do you find yourself constantly seeking approval, acceptance, and affirmation?

In certain aspects, yes.  It’s not that I seek accolades or status and power, it’s moreso trying to balance the awful negativity of my own mind.  I am self-aware enough to realize that some of these things I feel have no true basis and yet… Still I feel them.  It helps me in those heavier times to hear the approval from those I love - helps me remember that it really just is “my stupid head”.

2. Do you fail to recognize your own accomplishments?

Hahahaha….  Do I even have to answer this one?  See Question 1.  It directly relates to this one.  Honestly, as I’m growing older and working through some of the issues, i have far fewer problems seeing my “worth”.  It’s not always clear and it’s not always easy but compared with five years ago - it’s a huge difference.

3. Do you fear criticism?

I used to.  It really kept me from doing a lot of things.  I hated it because I am self-critical to a fault and then to add insult to that injury… It’s a double-rejection and I couldn’t handle it.  I don’t see it the same anymore.  Honestly, it’s probably because I care less.  Those who want to be critical or criticise my choices, talents or ideas have no place in my life anymore.

4. Do you overextend yourself?

Yes.

5. Have you had problems with your own compulsive behavior?

Not really.  I tend to catch my “compulsions” before they run too rampant.  I guess that defeats the purpuse of having them but… My compulsions tend not to be of the “garden variety”.

I am not an excessive spender, addict or gambler.

I don’t drive recklessly.

My biggest compulsion when faced with painful situations is to run.  I want to hide and run where no one can hurt me anymore.

6. Are you a perfectionist?

Yes.

7. Do you feel uneasy when your life is going too smoothly? Are you continually anticipating problems?

Wow.  The simplest answer:  Yes.

I constantly anticipate problems because there has never been a point in my life where I had the chance to just stop and “catch my breath”.  It’s always been that struggle to push forward only to come within fingertips of realizing a dream, only to have Life pull the carpet out from underneath of me.  It’s happened time and time and time again.

I’ve never gotten a break.  I’ve had to work for everything and anything I’ve ever gotten in this world.  Not just the typical “work for it” character building.  I’ve had to push hard enough to cry and to bleed, over and and over and over again.

It’s why I have no faith in the promises of others anymore.  It’s never been proven to me that they hold any weight at all.

8. Do you feel more alive in the midst of a crisis?

If by alive - you mean emotionally pained?  Sometimes.  And that’s temporary for me after all, because at a certain point, when the pain is too heavy, I simply shut myself down.

9. Do you respond with anxiety to authority figures and angry people?

Yes.  I am relatively meek when it comes to authority figures.

10. Do you still feel responsible for others, as you did for the problem drinker in your life?

No.

11. Do you care for others easily, yet find it difficult to care for yourself?

Dear God, yes.

12. Do you isolate yourself from other people?

See Question 11.

13. Do you feel that individuals and society in general are taking advantage of you?

Sometimes.  Depends on the individual.  I don’t feel that society as a whole takes advantage of me.

14. Do you have trouble with intimate relationships?

Only in forming them.  It takes a great deal of trust to get me to that point and it’s one of my hardest hurdles - to trust.

15. Do you confuse pity with love, as you did with the problem drinker?

No.  Never did.

16. Do you attract and seek people who tend to be compulsive?

No.

17. Do you cling to relationships because you are afraid of being alone?

I used to.  I got over that when Ana left.  I had to make peace with the person I was (and am).  I had to learn to - at the very least - accept myself, flaws and strengths alike.

18. Do you often mistrust your own feelings and the feelings expressed by others?

Mine, no.  Others, yes.

19. Is it hard for you to express emotions?

Incredibly and almost impossibly.

20. Do you think you’ve been affected by someone else’s drinking?

Gee… You tell me, Einstein.

Marc Gafni Press Releases

PRESS RELEASES

Rabbi Starts Jewish Outreach Organization

The Palm Beach Post - January 5, 1989

An Orthodox rabbi whose activist style has sometimes made him the center of controversy is starting a Jewish outreach organization with classes and other programs designed to draw more people into Jewish life. Rabbi Mordechai Gafni will kick off the new enterprise, called the Center for Jewish Living, with a lecture at 7:30 tonight at Spanish River High School, 5100 Jog Road, in Boca Raton.

Rabbi Urges “Revolution” In Values Gafni’s Controversial Speech Part of Classes

The Palm Beach Post - January 6, 1989

Nothing less than a “revolution” will stir south county Jewry out of complacency and into a life devoted to Judaism, Rabbi Mordechai Gafni said Thursday night. Speaking to about 250 people at Spanish River High School, Gafni said: “To my mind, there is no greater tragedy than South Florida. . . . We’d like to start a revolution of Torah values.” Gafni, who left the pulpit of the Orthodox Boca Raton Synagogue last year amid differences with…

Boca Rabbi Accepts Job On West Bank

The Palm Beach Post - July 22, 1989

An Orthodox rabbi whose activist style won both friends and enemies among local Jews has accepted a religious post in the Middle East. Rabbi Mordechai Gafni, 28, said he will leave in September or October for a two-year post as rabbi of Zufim, a Jewish settlement on the West Bank. The new community is on the western edge of the occupied territory, about 2 miles east of the Israeli city of Kefar Sava. Gafni said the community has only 10 families now, but has plans for about…

The New Orthodoxy: The New Rabbi of the Boca Raton Synagogue Expects to Make Waves

Sun-Sentinel - July 24, 1987

By Carol Brzozowski, Staff Writer

The name Mordechai Gafni may not ring a bell in Palm Beach County yet.

But as the Orthodox rabbi settles into his new position as the first full-time rabbi for the Boca Raton Synagogue, he has hopes of being a ”clanging cymbal” for God.Gafni, 26, just may do that. If he were a Christian, his style would be called evangelical.

Gafni immediately is forthright about his lifestyle, should there be any questions on the topic: ”I’ll be making about $40,000 to $44,000, I drive a 1984 Topaz and I own eight suits.”

Gafni has come from New York to the fledgling Boca Raton Synagogue, the only Orthodox synagogue in Boca Raton, and one of three in Palm Beach county.

Its construction is the bloodline for the Orthodox body. Orthodox Jews walk to the synagogue on the Sabbath and its construction has made it easier for the Jews to worship.

”People were moving here because they knew we were here,” said Dr. Gary Lieber, a spokesman and founding member of the synagogue.

Just a few weeks into his position, Gafni is making plans in an effort to get involved. He is constantly on the telephone, talking with religious and secular community leaders. On the drawing board is a plan for some type of ”demonstration” in regards to the papal visit.

”Judaism has got to be a moral and social force,” Gafni said. ”Not just to make pronouncements, but to become involved.”

”We were looking for someone to shake the bushes, to make the synagogue a dynamic place,” Lieber said of the search for a rabbi. ”We’re looking to make the congregation the Jewish center in south county. With a mouthpiece like him, we want to let people know we’re here. We’ve essentially done the groundwork.”

Gafni ambitiously speaks of a few of his plans, one of which is to create a national Jewish retreat center on the synagogue’s property.

”Why not?” he said. ”The assumption is that everything operates out of New York. (Studies show) there are 75,000 Jews in Palm Beach County.”

Yet South County Jewish Federation studies also show that the affiliation rate of local Jews is 13 percent, half the national average.

”Boca in general is extremely materialistic and completely self-involved,” Gafni said in interpreting the statistics.

”Younger people come to Florida to escape and be unaffiliated.”

Gafni said he doesn’t condemn the acquisition of material goods and adds that Hebrew scriptures show that God created the world and the world is to be enjoyed.

As a spiritual leader, Gafni said he will attempt to guide his congregation into emphasizing aspects of life that transcend material goods.

”So you’ve got the Porsche, the pool and the boat. What happens when you die? What do you have then? What did life mean? There must be a purpose to life. Living a meaningful existence is more pleasurable than owning a Porsche.”

Thus, the synagogue becomes what he calls the ”pleasure center.”

Gafni did not say how much membership in the synagogue will cost, but said, ”Any Jew can come to High Holy Days even if they can’t pay. And no Jew ever will be turned away for lack of funds — ever, ever.”

Although the Boca Raton synagogue structure is complete, Gafni said there is still more work to do on the inside and the work that is being planned will introduce some new twists on established ideas.

For instance, men and women are seated separately in Orthodox synagogues and typically women are out of the sight of the men, either behind a screen or in the back of the synagogue.

Plans for Boca Raton Synagogue (the word ”Orthodox” is intentionally omitted) still separate men and women, but women are not out of sight. Structurally, the synagogue is in a semicircle, focusing on the center of worship: the Torah and the Eternal Light.

”There will be an opportunity within the synagogue context for women to express themselves in a public manner, which is completely within the (Hebrew) law,” Gafni said. ”Men or women will be able to get up and give a talk about a religious issue.

”We will have orthodoxy with a small ‘o’ and Halakhah (Jewish law) with a capital ‘H.’ ”

He calls it the new Orthodoxy. Orthodox Judaism usually evokes the stereotypical image of long beards, curly sideburns and black coats — and a separation from the rest of society.

The ”new” Orthodox Jew is the upwardly mobile doctor, lawyer, stockbroker or other person integrally involved in society, yet set apart from others in similiar professions by a belief system that emphasizes religious law and spiritual values.

A prime example of that was Gafni’s ”outreach” lectures on Wall Street. He once did a lecture on Wall Street called ”Jewish Sexual Ethics.” He also conducted lunchtime scripture studies in a prestigious Manhattan law firm.

Orthodox Judaism is attractive to young Jews, Gafni said, because ”young people are looking for something that’s real. People intuitively sense that which is authentic and I think there’s a desperate yearning for authenticity.” Gafni is an example of the attractiveness of Orthodoxy to young Jews. He had become so immersed in it that by 23 he was teaching Bible at Yeshiva University.

”There’s nothing as exciting as traditional Judaism,” Gafni said. He wants to turn what he feels is a stereotype of Orthodox Judaism from ”backward, anti-feminist, anti-science” to ”real exciting, progressive system of life.”

In New York, Gafni recruited young people by walking into public schools with a shofar (the administration did not know of his actions). Children who recognized the shofar — a ram’s horn used for ceremonies — were targeted as recruits for his Jewish Public School Youth Project. He turned his efforts into a string of clubs with a budget of $500,000.

If Gafni initiates the project in Florida, he won’t be staging any press conferences.

”It would be difficult to do it in Florida schools,” he said. ”If I do it, I won’t announce it.”

Gafni is critical of some other Jewish and non-Jewish religious groups (For instance, he asks, ”What’s Jewish about Reform Judaism?”) although he adds that he believes he will have a good working relationship with other clergy.

”I believe we have the most correct system,” he said of Orthodox Judaism. ”I believe there are moments of truth in others.”

What are the dietary restrictions that some Jews follow to “keep kosher” (the laws of kashrut)?

http://joi.org/qa/kosher.shtml

One can find the source of the laws of Kashrut in Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy. There are four main laws, written within these books, upon which all laws are based. These rules are: “You shall not cook a kid in its mother’s milk” (Exodus 23.19); “You shall set apart the ritually clean beast from the unclean” (Leviticus 20.25); “You must not eat flesh torn by beasts” (Exodus 22.30); and “You shall not eat anything that dies a natural death” (Deuteronomy 14.21).

How strictly one observes kashrut varies not only within the denominations but, like the observance of Shabbat, from family to family.

There are a number of foods that have already been predetermined by the Torah and interpreted by the rabbis as either kosher or non-kosher.

Prohibited Fowl: Bat, cuckoo, eagle, hawk, heron, kite, lapwing, ostrich, owl, pelican, stork, swan, and vulture.

Permitted Fowl: Capon, chicken, dove, duck, geese, pigeon, and turkey.

Prohibited Fish and Seafood: Catfish, eel, porpoise, shark, whale, clam, crab, frog, lobster, octopus, oyster, scallop, shrimp, and snail.

Permitted Fish and Seafood: Anchovy, bluefish, butterfish, carp, cod, flounder, fluke, haddock, halibut, herring, mackerel, pike, porgy, red snapper, salmon, sardine, seabass, shad, smelt, sole, trout tuna, weakfish, and whitefish.

Meat restrictions: All animals that chew their cud and have a split hoof are kosher. This includes cattle, sheep, goats, and deer, and excludes horses, donkeys, camels, and pigs.

Meat must be killed according to the laws of shechitah, laws written that govern how an animal that is to be eaten must be killed.

Once a beast has been slaughtered, it must be salted properly in order to remove excess blood.

Egg restrictions: Eggs from non-kosher birds are not kosher. Eggs with bloodspots are not kosher.

There are no holidays in which the laws of kashrut are not in effect. There are a few, however, when there are extra restrictions on what you can and cannot eat. The holiday that has the most restrictions on what we can and cannot eat is Passover.

The Rabbi Rocks

by Tracey Wong Briggs

USA Today - August 17, 1987

Rabbi Mordechai Gafni of Boca Raton, Fla., has produced Jewish Pride, a rock album appealing to Jewish youth. The LP, set for USA-wide release Sept. 1, includes songs written by Lenny Solomon and performed by young Jewish musicians. Rappin’ Jewish, by Danny Furst, says: “La-die-doo, I’m a Jew ’cause I think it’s cool/ Yeah, I eat kosher meat ’cause I ain’t no fool/ Ask me anything you want to, but I will repeat/ I say being Jewish makes me groove to the beat.’

Rabbi rolls out Jewish rock album

Associated Press/St. Petersburg Times - August 17, 1987

BOCA RATON - A 26-year-old rabbi is using rock ‘n’ roll to appeal to Jewish youth in a way they can understand.

Mordechai Gafni, spiritual leader of the Boca Raton Community Synagogue, has produced what he calls the first Jewish rock ‘n’ roll album, set for national release Sept. 1.

I’m looking to create a revolution in Jewish life, he said. Music speaks to people. I want this to become a major outreach tool to bring young people back to Judaism.

The album, titled Jewish Pride, includes a danceable theme song of the same name, a ballad called Minyan Man and a rap song Rappin’ Jewish written by Danny Furst.

A sample of the lyrics:

La-die-doo, I’m a Jew ’cause I think it’s cool

Yeah, I eat kosher meat ’cause I ain’t no fool

Ask me anything you want to, but I will repeat

I say being Jewish makes me groove to the beat.

Letter by Rabbi Causes Flap in House Race

The Associated Press Political Service - November 2, 1990

BOCA RATON, Fla. (AP) _ An endorsement letter sent to 50,000 Jewish voters was written by a controversial rabbi using a different name, the Republican congressional candidate has acknowledged.

Scott Shore faced a jeering political crowd Thursday when he confirmed the letter was written by former Boca Raton Rabbi Mordechai Gafni. He was once censured by the local rabbinical association for inappropriate behavior, but the censure was later withdrawn.

The letter was signed by Rabbi Marc Gafni, a name Gafni said he adopted when he moved to Israel two years ago.

It also was addressed to “my fellow Democrats” even though Gafni’s last registration was as a Republican.

Shore refused demands from the audience at Temple Beth El that he apologize for the letter.

The audience of more than 250, including many supporters of the incumbent Democratic U.S. Rep. Harry Johnston, hooted when Shore claimed he wasn’t trying to deceive voters about Gafni’s true identity.

Johnston, who attended the forum to debate Shore, also noted Gafni said in the letter that he had been a supporter of John F. Kennedy. Gafni was 3 years old when Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, Johnston said.

Gafni, who was Shore’s rabbi while in Boca Raton, was active in protests such as one against Pope John Paul II’s visit to Miami in 1987, where he dressed in concentration camp clothing.

PBS Special - Soul Prints - Your Path to Fulfillment (DVD)

Starring Marc Gafni            Fox Lorber (Publisher) - April 10, 2001

http://dvd.idealo.com/prices/P20008840135K2.html

Soul Prints - Your Path to Fulfillment - MARC GAFNI 790658993808 Rabbi Marc Gafni compares a person’s individual spirit to the uniqueness of their fingerprint, dubbing the former a “soul print.” In this 73-minute lecture, he describes the principles and practical applications of his philosophy culled from his study of many religious and ethnic traditions. The essence is to better appreciate the life you have and redirect your energy in the parts that make you unhappy. He promises the viewer “access to the precise and gorgeous nature of your spirit,” suggesting exercises like making a list of the 10 most important things in your life. He offers mantras and stories from Buddhism, Russia, West Africa, and his own ministry–even singing a short “soul print song” a cappella. Much of his advice is common sense (If you treat the waiter badly, he will treat you badly), but he presents it in an energetic and inspiring manner. However, this PBS Special is interrupted so frequently with shots of an enthusiastically applauding audience that one might think he was selling a food preparation gadget rather than inner peace. Unfortunately, the effect is that of a hard sell for material that should speak for itself. –Kimberly Heinrichs

Publisher  Fox Lorber

UPC      790658993808

Release   2001-04-10

Format   DVD

Mpaa rating   NR (Not Rated)

Primary Contributor   Marc Gafni

Features Color

Running Time 60

Sarodor #0151 - The Dark Guard

Act I - Episode 151

April and Emma prowl the halls of the Vixen Temple on their search for Derek. Corridors twist and turn in every direction, the black depths punctuated by the dancing orange glow of torches every few hundred feet.

They round a corner and are met by the echoes of a distant crash. Suddenly a loud commotion fills the air. Shouts and painful cries rush to them from down the corridor, followed by the sounds of metal clashing against metal.

“A battle,” April whispers. “Something big is happening down there. We have to find another way.”

The girls turn around…and gasp.

Two dark figures stand before them, torch light glinting off the cold metal of their drawn swords. Their armour is black, almost organic, covered with intricate patterns that run across its surface like veins.

April and Emma take an uneasy step backward. Suddenly there is a soft sound of metal scraping against stone. April whips around to find a third figure standing behind her. She draws her sword.

“You must be April,” the figure says. His voice is cold but commanding, infinitely calm.

April narrows her eyes, trying to discern the face hidden beneath the helmet. “Who are you?”

“We’re the new Temple Guard,” he says with a slight bow. “Please hand over your weapons. You are trespassing here.”

“Where’s Derek?” April asks, ignoring the request.

“Give us your weapons and we’ll take you to him.”

A snarl curls across April’s lips. She raises her sword. “You’re not getting my sword. Take me to Derek now.”

“April,” the guard says, extending his palm in a gesture of restraint. “There is no need for battle. We will escort you to Derek peacefully - just give us your weapons.”

April hesitates. She looks at Emma, then at the other two guards standing nearby with their swords at the ready. She turns back to the leader. “Tell me: what would you do in my situation?”

The guard considers for a moment, then nods. He raises his sword…

First published:

23 October, 2004

Credits:

Arizona by Dark_Whisper

Outlander from DAZ

M3 Fantasy Armor from RDNA

Knights Of Desolation from RDNA

Glamdring Sword by kelc

Wall by ?

Torch by ?

Esme by Stormi

Ultimate Fire by romanceworks

Sir Lorial vs Derek