Pessoal, hoje (às 12:50) recebi a noticia de que passei de ano direto na escola e que estou, conseqüentemente, de férias! Isso significa que  vou me dedicar 150% ao Greed Online…

Previsão de lançamento: ??/??/20?? ( Não especificada )

Desenvolvimento:  [///\\\\\\\]30%

Staff: Contratamos Spriters, mandem curriculum para pedro.paparounis@Hotmail.com

Recently I came across a brand called “Kurta Kompany” at Sobo Central in Tardeo. Very desi and traditional with a touch of bohemian too but mostly extremely vibrant and beautiful. Colorful kurtas to dress your occasions. Speaking of Kurtas – Global Desi by Anita Dongre - a store I always visited and never bought from (Oh I have a long list of those stores. You do too?) I mean I dont know what works or doesn’t. Its a bit of mood, price, staff, service, collection. I guess all of these have to align inorder for a purchase to happen you know something like the shopping planets or something. Anyway – I have a family wedding extravaganza coming up and I had to pick up a kurti for one of the functions and I just got really lucky. Its this bandhni print kurti sleeveless with diamond like shimmering buttons. I love it. I cant wait to put it on and look like a newly wed bride in red!

Pilgrimage Statistics

Consecutive Days Riding: 48                             Consecutive Days Blogging: 49

Today’s Mileage:  10                                        Total Trip Mileage: 419

Holidays and Holy Days on November 26:

Waqf al Arafa – Islamic observance day during Hajj when pilgrims pray for forgiveness and mercy.

Day of the Covenant – Baha’i celebration of the covenant given in the last will and testament of Baha’u'llah

Holidays and Holy Days on November 27:

Eid al-Adha – Islamic Feast of Sacrifice. The most important feast of Islam. It concludes the Hajj and is a three-day festival recalling Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son in obedience to Allah.

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I hope that everyone has recovered from the Thanksgiving Day feasting!  I would like to start off by apologizing to my Muslim and Baha’i friends for failing to note the significant Holy Days associated with yesterday.  I was preoccupied with getting my posting up so my mother could see it as she visited my sister’s gathering.  I would also like to ask everyone to hold the Hajj pilgrims in your prayers. There has been severe flooding in Saudi Arabia and a many pilgrims have died.

As I ride the bike today and note the mileage and calorie count climb, I am reminded of the simple truth about journeys. One might take a break to replenish supplies and energy, but then you have to get back on the road or risk being overwhelmed with the urge to sit “just a little while longer.”  It felt good to indulge in a feast of celebration but it feels good to return to my bike and the pilgrimage.

I decided to use today’s posting to address an issue I left unfinished from the beginning of this journey.  What the meaning and significance of my Pilgrim Symbol?  During this holiday season I am sure there have been a number of shocked and puzzled individuals who have goggled the term” Pilgrim” expecting to see hats with buckles and the Mayflower.  Instead they found this strange, reclined humanlike figure surrounded by a multitude of foreign symbols. I know this is the case as this aspect of my Blog site is the most consistently reviewed by outside searches! Perhaps it’s time I reveal the meaning of the symbols I used to create the image. 

The Human Form:

1)      Reclining human form – this is representative of the stationary aspect of my journey and the fact that my bike is one you recline into rather than sit perched on the seat.

2)      The contrasting halves to the human form – this is representative of the dualistic experience we often have of our physical body.  It is the source of pleasure (light) and pain (dark), we often celebrate it as the vehicle on our journey but then curse it for the desires associated with it.  The whole mind/body or physical/spirit dilemma is wrapped up in this dualism.

3)      The Yin Yang symbol – this is the Chinese symbol pointing to the illusion of dualism, that they are forces locked into an eternal spinning dance.  In addition, within each region is the seed of the other.  If you look close enough at Life you will find that Death often prepared the way for it. The purpose of this symbol is to pull the viewer out of this illusion to see both as part of a process. Reality is about the dance between life and death, between good and evil, it transcends these dualities. This insight represents an important part of my intellectual philosophy which is why it comprises the figures’ head.

The Wheel: literally represents the wheel of my bike, but is full of symbolic meaning. 

4)      Ouroboros: The snake grasping it’s tail – is a symbol in many early faiths for the cyclical nature of things; the eternal return as cycles that begin anew as soon as they end, like a day or the seasons. The importance of seeing our journey as a series of cycles embedded within each other represents a personal insight that helps me to “keep things in perspective.”

5)      The Zen Circle – represents the entire universe in a single, perfect stroke.  Although simple, it is difficult to paint successfully and thus must be done with a clear mind focused on the task. This reminds me to always strive for mindfulness!

6)      The Buddhist Eight Spoked Wheel – one of the early symbols of Buddhism, it represents the Eight Fold Path, the path towards Enlightment.  Each spoke represents one of the “right” forms of wisdom, ethical conduct and moral development. My youngest son was quick to point out to me that some of the spokes do not touch the outer part of the wheel.  I noted that this indicates that I fall short of following the dictates of all of the spokes.

7)      The Compass Points – are represented by the horizontal and vertical spokes embedded within the circle. A reminder to always check our “bearings,” to look up from our path to ensure that we still on the desired path and not lost.

8)      The Quadrants of a Mandala – the horizontal and vertical spokes also divide the circle into quarters. The teaching Mandala of the eastern faiths (i.e. The Buddhist Wheel of Life) typically has as a structure of a circle divided into four components. This reminds me that parts of the cycles of life may look and feel significantly different, but if you step back, you will see them as part of the whole.

      The Staff: my actual staff is not nearly so straight, but sturdy and bent like the back of an old man.

9)      The Walking Stick – pilgrims throughout the world are often seen with a staff as they prod along on their journey.  As a hiker I can attest to the usefulness of a walking stick; to test the ground before us, to lean on and to anchor us as we climb up and down the ridges and peak along the path.  One of my artist endeavors are Taoist Walking Sticks, wall hangings made from sticks, roots, bones, seeds and feathers.  I find these things on my hikes and nature walks.

A Taoist Walking Stick by StationayPilgrim

10)  Grasping the Staff – the reclining figure holds the staff as a reminder that we can’t make this journey alone, we need support at times, whether that be in the form of words of guidance, encouragement or just a hug to lighten the emotional load.

11)  The Cross – the universal symbol of Christianity.  A symbol of sacrificial love and redemption, a reminder of the “devotional” path to the divine.  For me personally it is also a reminder of my Christian roots, the years of Catholic education continue to form a part of my supportive foundations.

12)  The Prayer Flag Banner – I have talked before about the use of prayer flags in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition.  This is a reminder that we carry with us the needs and struggles of those we love know and meet along our path; that every step we take, all of our actions serve to “flutter” the prayer flag, sending these offerings of praise and prayers of request to “the heavens.” Whether in good or difficult times, we should remember those we carry with us.

       The Top of the Staff: The source of illumination and direction

13)  The Chalice and Flame – the symbol for my Unitarian Universalist faith.  Holding high the light of pluralism, love, understanding and acceptance. For me this represents the shared communal knowledge that helps to light my way.

14)  The Godhead – one of the most sacred symbols of Hinduism is the Sacred Om.  It represents not only the sacred sound (mantra), but is a visual symbol of the various states of consciousness (waking, sleeping, dreaming and God consciousness).  In the upper part of the symbol is a small point (consciousness of God) that is separated from the other forms of consciousness.  The consciousness of God is not found outside of us, although it maybe perceived as being outside, but deep within us.  However, our realization of this fact is blocked by or identification with our body and ego. Placed at the top of the staff, it is a reminder of the mystical knowledge and experience that continues to fuel my journey and provide an inner source of light.

15)  Neptune’s Trident or Hindu Trihsula – one viewer noted that the upper portion of the staff appeared to be a trident; a water symbol and representative of creativity.  I hadn’t seen this till she pointed it out, highlighting that symbolic images are always interpreted through the viewers’ eyes and experiences.  In the Hindu faith, this is symbolic of the irresistible force of transcendental reality and of the three powers: Will, Action and Wisdom.  I cannot look at the image now without seeing the trident, representative perhaps of my Zodiac water sign (Pisces) and my expanding creativity.

       Background Features: I did not include these features initially but added them as I began the Pilgrimage recognizing them as important to the process of the journey.

16)  The Disappearing Tracks – the tire and staff tracks; we should travel through life aware of the marks we leave of our passage.  I believe the most important traces are not great monuments, but are how we touch others, hopefully in positive loving ways. Also, I think it goes without saying, we should not leave any road kill (victims) along our path!

17)  The Sky, Mountains, and Water – one of the defining features of Taoism is its use of nature to illustrate the lessons and process of life. An openness and admiration of nature (the growth/beauty and death/ugliness) allows the messages and insights to come to us, and promote the possibility of Nature Mystical Experience.

18)   The Road or Pathway – we are all on a path, heading somewhere.  Some people like a populated path, other prefer one “less travelled.” Some people want a mapped out path, others prefer to make their own. Some people choose the smoothest they can find, others like to “mountain bike” it.  Existentialists believe that we must find our own meaning or purpose in life, that meaning defines our path.  Being a teacher, parent, artist, lover, blogger gives my life meaning. Our meaning has to conform to life’s challenges, like growing old, but it is largely a matter of choice! We choose our path and we can always choose to change it!

One last note before I leave this discussion, concerning the difference between signs and symbols.  Generally speaking signs are denotive, they represent an object or direction. Like a wheelchair figure on the handicap sign or the “danger” message of the skull and cross bones.  Where as symbols are more connotive, they are meant to arouse emotions and maybe representative of something else. Like a swastika, which is a Hindu sign of peace that now evokes a sense of “evil” in the western world. Some signs and symbols have a universal quality and have meaning easily recognized by different cultures, others are unique and a person must “learn” the meaning of the sign or the appropriate emotions and ideas associated with a symbol.

My Pilgrim’s Symbol is meant to be connotive and arouse emotions and thoughts in the viewer.  You may see what I had intended, or as represented by the trident example, you might see things I had not intended.  Are you wrong and I’m right?  No!  I believe that useful symbols allow a person to see what they need to see, present them with some lesson/thought for them to process.  I would only ask the viewer to take an open approach to the experience of the symbol.  If you see more meanings then I noted these are potentially useful personal insights!  If you pull back in horror or out of rejection, these are potentially insightful personal reactions!

Yesterday we had another exciting staff day.

It was the first one with Kathryn W so to ease her in we started the day with a bacon sandwich and a cup of tea.

We discussed projects, such as the ‘Source Young Artists’, who will be handing their Silver Arts Award work in to be moderated next week. We also planned ahead for projects that will start early next year.

Part of the work we want to do is to improve the services we offer on our website. We need your input so we can tailor it to your needs. To help us with this you can fill in a short questionnaire.

Click here to take the survey.

Watch this space to find out more about our up and coming work.

We finished of the day with a TED Talk by Emily Levine which we’d like to share with you:

Yesterday morning, all RMR staff old and new gathered in the Mid Mountain Lodge for the 2009-2010 Staff Orientation Day. With 150 staff packed into one room and the snow falling steadily outside, the excitement was palpable as we all met and discussed how we can make this the best season Revelstoke Mountain Resort has ever had.

We heard speakers from all facets of Revelstoke Mountain Resort, including mountain operations, skier services, retail, sales and marketing, real estate, and Nelsen Lodge. We’re all on the same page, and we’re all excited to open on Saturday!

Retail Manager Colette Poirier had a really great message that staff took away: we’re all working here because we love the mountain, we love Revelstoke, and we want to have the best possible time out on the mountain. YOU – our friendly visitors and adventurous locals – are here for the very same reasons. We’re just like you, and you’re just like us. We all love to play outside in the snow, and so we’ve got a special bond that we all share (relatives who question our sanity when we happily tromp around in -30 degree temperatures, rejoice over blizzards and can argue the merits of ski and snowboard gear for hours).

We’ve got a great team at Revelstoke Mountain Resort, and rest assured that I’ll try to introduce all of them to you throughout the ski season. They might point you to a choice parking spot, sell you your lift ticket, help you choose the right equipment, tune your skis, check your ticket, keep the lifts turning, man the radios to keep the resort running smoothly, groom the runs, patrol the mountain, or inspire you with their enthusiastic ride breaks – and they’ll do it all with a big smile.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/revelstoke/4136060339/

Do you have a staff story that you’d like to share? Leave a comment or email me!

Music copyright is a very hot issue at the moment, and so Lost in CCI recommends a recently published and highly topical special issue of the journal Information, Communication and Society (Vol 12.2) edited by CMCI’s Professor Andy Pratt with Martin Kretschmer.
The article is titled: ‘ Copyright, and the Production of Music’, and here is a web cast of Martin and Andy in a discussion at the Oxford Internet Institute accessible from the journal web page, http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/title~db=all~content=g910534795

Martin and Andy’s editorial is ‘LEGAL FORM AND CULTURAL SYMBOL: Music, copyright, and information and communications studies’. In it they argue that writers in information and communication studies often assume the stability of objects under investigation: network nodes, databases, information. Legal writers in the intellectual property tradition often assume that cultural artefacts exist as objects prior to being governed by copyright law. Both assumptions are fallacious.

Their introduction conceptualizes the relationship of legal form and cultural symbol. Starting from an understanding of copyright law as part of systems of cultural production, it is argued that copyright law constructs the artefacts it seeks to regulate as objects that can be bought and sold. In doing so, the legal and aesthetic logic of cultural symbols may clash, as in the case of digital music (the central focus of this special issue).

Artists working in any medium and writers expressing themselves in any form or genre are invited to submit work for the fifth issue of ITCH Online. The “theme” is: ?*

ITCH is a creative submissions magazine started by CMCI’s own Dr Mehita Iqani and Bell-Roberts Publishing in 2003. It features a variety of writing as well as visual and multimedia work. It is South African-born but internationally relevant.

Submissions are loosely categorised as MetaText (non-fiction, essays, polemic, book reviews and more), SubText (narrative, short stories, plays and more), PreText (poetry, experimental writing, sound art and more) and NonText (graphics, drawings, photography, film, animation and more). ITCH aims to create a space for creative expression and exchange; it is an experimental media project and submissions are open to anyone.

*For details, including an explanation of the mysterious “?”, go to: http://itch.co.za/submissions/

Always good to catch our creative team trying out new ideas, in this case literally trying to get inside the heads of our brand’s characters. Groundbreaking.

Another dynamic meeting for the groundbreaking team

Paul Phillips (right) lights his torch from the torch of the previous runner

The Olympic Torch Relay hit Prince Edward Island last weekend, and by all accounts, runners and onlookers alike found the experience to be very touching. But my favourite story is about the last person to carry the torch on P.E.I., Holland College employee Paul Phillips, who took it for a 300 metre run on the Confederation Bridge.

Paul is the mail porter at the Aerospace Centre in Summerside. I don’t know him very well, but whenever I’ve been at the Aerospace Centre, it’s easy to see the genuine affection that staff and students have for him, and how much pride he takes in his work.

Kim Gallant, the Industrial Trades and Technology secretary, has worked with Paul ever since he started at the college. She brought Paul’s participation in the torch run to my attention and gave me some background on this outstanding employee.

“Not a day goes by that Paul isn’t bringing laughter to the staff lounge and hallways.  We are very lucky to have him on staff with us,” she told me.

“In the spring of 1999, Paul came through the Aerospace Centre on a tour. While there, Paul indicated that he was very impressed with the centre, adding that he would like to work here.  He asked if there may be a position available.“

Howard Sheppard, who was program manager at the time, picks up the story.

“I said that it may be possible and to contact me on Monday. About 8 a.m. on Monday morning he called to see what I’d found out. I asked him to send in a resumé, and before noon he and Myrna [his mother] were there with it. His resumé was very well done and included quite a lot of community work and training courses…. I forwarded his resumé, a memo recommending the creation of a new position, and funding information to Personnel and discussed it with Dr. McMillan [now Holland College’s president]. Everyone agreed that it would be well worth the effort, the position was created, and Paul was hired for a six month trial period.”

The 34-year-old has been there more than 10 years now, and is considered an integral part of the Aerospace Centre team.

Paul’s involvement in the torch relay has an element of mystery to it. I spoke with his mother, Myrna, about the experience.

“He had such a day! We don’t know who submitted his name,” she said. “We were sent the information to fill out, but we’re not sure who suggested him in the first place. We are so grateful and humbled that somebody did that for him.”

Paul and his parents on Confederation Bridge

Myrna said the organizers and people working on the relay were amazing.

“They called the night before to make sure he was ready to go, and from the moment that he walked into the school to register they were upbeat and enthusiastic,” she recalled.

Although he originally didn’t intend to buy his torch, Paul changed his mind after running his leg of the relay.

“I was just too excited,” he told me, “I had to get one.”

The torch is kept safely at home, except for the other day, when he donned his torch relay suit and brought in the torch for a picture with Aerospace Centre staff.

Paul said it was an awesome feeling lighting his torch on the Confederation Bridge and when I asked him if he’d do it again, he responded with a resounding “Yes!”

Paul and some of the staff of the Aerospace Centre

Paul was bubbling over with excitement, pride, and confidence when I spoke to him on the phone; these are traits that he shows at work every day.  His mother credits the staff at the Aerospace Centre, and Kim Gallant and Howard Sheppard especially, for welcoming Paul into the workplace.

“You need acceptance first,” she noted. She recounts how Paul’s face lit up when he saw Kent Sheen, Program Manager for the Industrial Trades and Technology programs, at the relay to cheer him on.

It’s plain to see that Paul’s a special guy. Not because he has Down syndrome, but because he takes on life’s challenges with an infectious enthusiasm, humour, and a heck of a lot of style.

I can’t wait to hear what his next adventure will be.

Many thanks to Kim Gallant and Myrna Phillips for providing me with information.

Door staff at nine bars in Liverpool are to wear headcams in a bid to make the city a safe place at night…. From BBC News. Full story

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