North Platte Community College hosted its annual Inter-High Scholastic Competition and TECH-Knowledge & Skills Discovery Day on Wednesday at the North and South Campuses of the college.

The theme for Inter-High Day this year is “Spotlight on Success.” Students from 28 area schools took nearly 900 tests in the Inter-High Scholastic competition. In the TECH-Knowledge and Skills competition, more than 120 students represented 21 high schools.

Awards were presented to the top three individual finishers in all categories. They also received a certificate for up to three credit hours of free tuition to be used at MPCC this summer. First place winners were awarded with $500 Mid-Plains Community College Area scholarships. The schools also competed in divisions.

Results of NPCC’s Inter-High Day are:

Accounting:

First - Megan Stokey, North Platte High School

Second - Megan Trierweiler, St. Patrick’s

Third - Carissa Rayburn, Brady

Art:

First - Alissa Rosentrater, Wallace

Second - Amber Nelson, Elwood

Third - Brooklyn Nordhausen, Wauneta-Palisade

Athletic Training:

First - Maegan Hiatt, Hershey

Second - Sage Schmidt, Medicine Valley

Third - Brittany Lawrence, St. Patrick’s

Biological Science:

First - Jordon Laubry, Eustis Farnam

Second - Jocy Nelson, Sutherland

Third - Calyn Werkmeister, Maywood

Business Communications:

First - Libby Jensen, Dundy County Stratton

Second - Abby Daffer, Southwest

Third - Sam Staggs, Sutherland

Chemistry:

First - Megan Kelley, Southwest

Second - Alec Fox, Paxton

Third - David Trierweiler, St. Patrick’s

Dramatic Arts:

First - Alex Roc, McCook

Second - David McCown, Maxwell

Third - Karni Doyle, Callaway

Fire Science/EMS:

First - Kris Kopetzky, South Platte

Second - Chris Werth, Eustis Farnam

Third - Tristan Johnson, Arnold

Grammar & Composition:

First - Grace Magill, Arnold

Second - Christi Christner, Wauneta-Palisade

Third - Bailee Clark, St. Patrick’s

Health Occupations:

First - Sabine Vanhaaren, Cody-Kilgore

Second - Jamie Smith, St. Patrick’s

Third - Taylor Ellison, Callaway

History:

First - David Trierweiler, St. Patrick’s

Second - John Klintworth, Medicine Valley

Third - Joey Anderjaska, Hayes Center

Information Technology:

First - Jared Brosius, St. Patrick’s

Second - Hayden Pollmann, Wauneta-Palisade

Third - Nathaniel Maxcy, Sutherland

Introduction to Business:

First - Cody Ballew, Elwood

Second - Dawson Brunswick, McCook

Third - Chance Kennicutt, Wallace

Literary Analysis:

First - Justin Hardwick, Paxton

Second - Rebekka Ralston, Sutherland

Third - Izzy Fox, Dundy County Stratton

Mathematics:

First - Megan Siebrandt, McCook

Second - Hayden Pollmann, Wauneta-Palisade

Third - Isaac Langan, McCook

Music Performance (Instrumental)

First – Sohyeon Yi, Cody-Kilgore

Second - Matti Mickelsen, Medicine Valley

Third - Brandon Montgomery, Brady

Music Performance (Vocal):

First - Nathan Rick, Hitchcock County

Second - Rachel Gordine, McCook

Third - Alisha Heelan, Garden County

Music Theory:

First – Josie Burke, Sutherland

Second – Matti Mickelsen, Medicine Valley

Third – Mason Harouff, Hayes Center

NPCC Facts:

First - Cheyanne Loeffler, Paxton

Second - Valerie Most, Brady

Third - Alexis Franzen, Brady

Personal Finance:

First - Cassandra Medina, Sutherland

Second - Marley Sandberg, Sutherland

Third - Ian Bridge, North Platte High School

Physics/Engineering (session one):

First - Cody Trump, Cody-Kilgore

Second - Kyle Halsted, North Platte High School

Third - Chet Krajewski, Garden County

Physics/Engineering (session two):

First - Lane Vasa, Arthur County

Second - David McCown, Maxwell

Third - Dakota Seng, Callaway

Word Processing:

First - Brooke Scott, Hitchcock County

Second - Tristan Johnson, Arnold

Third - Rebecca Lorens, Dundy County Stratton

Results by Division are:

Division 1 –

First – St. Patrick’s

Second – Sutherland

Third – McCook

Division 2 –

First – Cody-Kilgore

Second – Medicine Valley

Third – Hitchcock County

Division 3 –

First – Wauneta-Palisade

Second – Arnold

Third – Elwood

Results of NPCC’s TECH-Knowledge & Skills competition are:

Autobody:

First – Aaron Stegman, Garden County High School

Second – Joel Anderson, Garden County High School

Third – Jon Jackson, Franklin High School

Automotive/Diesel:

First – Philip Hammer, North Platte High School

Second – Logan Mull, North Platte High School

Third – Wesley Hoatson, North Platte High School

Building Construction (teams):

First – Walker Wolff, Ivan Rosfeld, Austin Wobig and Wyatt Galloway of Cody-Kilgore High School

Second – Lucas French, Jayson Rezek, Nick Hahn and Calvin Carsten of Sutherland High School

Third – Brock Alexander, Caleb Kleewein, Justin Cosler and Clancey Barnum of Stapleton High School

Electrical:

First – Tyler Daniels, Franklin High School

Second – Walker Wolff, Cody-Kilgore High School

Third – Ivan Dobesh, North Platte High School

Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning:

First – Wesley Hoatson, North Platte High School

Second – Logan Mull, North Platte High School

Third – Blaker Morrissey, Maxwell High School

Welding:

First – Dillon Schultz, North Platte High School

Second – Colton Thompson, North Platte High School

Third – Trevor Hanna, Stapleton High School

North Platte Community College hosted its annual Inter-High Scholastic Competition and TECH-Knowledge & Skills Discovery Day on Wednesday at the North and South Campuses of the college.

The theme for Inter-High Day this year is “Spotlight on Success.” Students from 28 area schools took nearly 900 tests in the Inter-High Scholastic competition. In the TECH-Knowledge and Skills competition, more than 120 students represented 21 high schools.

Awards were presented to the top three individual finishers in all categories. They also received a certificate for up to three credit hours of free tuition to be used at MPCC this summer. First place winners were awarded with $500 Mid-Plains Community College Area scholarships. The schools also competed in divisions.

Results of NPCC’s Inter-High Day are:

Accounting:

First - Megan Stokey, North Platte High School

Second - Megan Trierweiler, St. Patrick’s

Third - Carissa Rayburn, Brady

Art:

First - Alissa Rosentrater, Wallace

Second - Amber Nelson, Elwood

Third - Brooklyn Nordhausen, Wauneta-Palisade

Athletic Training:

First - Maegan Hiatt, Hershey

Second - Sage Schmidt, Medicine Valley

Third - Brittany Lawrence, St. Patrick’s

Biological Science:

First - Jordon Laubry, Eustis Farnam

Second - Jocy Nelson, Sutherland

Third - Calyn Werkmeister, Maywood

Business Communications:

First - Libby Jensen, Dundy County Stratton

Second - Abby Daffer, Southwest

Third - Sam Staggs, Sutherland

Chemistry:

First - Megan Kelley, Southwest

Second - Alec Fox, Paxton

Third - David Trierweiler, St. Patrick’s

Dramatic Arts:

First - Alex Roc, McCook

Second - David McCown, Maxwell

Third - Karni Doyle, Callaway

Fire Science/EMS:

First - Kris Kopetzky, South Platte

Second - Chris Werth, Eustis Farnam

Third - Tristan Johnson, Arnold

Grammar & Composition:

First - Grace Magill, Arnold

Second - Christi Christner, Wauneta-Palisade

Third - Bailee Clark, St. Patrick’s

Health Occupations:

First - Sabine Vanhaaren, Cody-Kilgore

Second - Jamie Smith, St. Patrick’s

Third - Taylor Ellison, Callaway

History:

First - David Trierweiler, St. Patrick’s

Second - John Klintworth, Medicine Valley

Third - Joey Anderjaska, Hayes Center

Information Technology:

First - Jared Brosius, St. Patrick’s

Second - Hayden Pollmann, Wauneta-Palisade

Third - Nathaniel Maxcy, Sutherland

Introduction to Business:

First - Cody Ballew, Elwood

Second - Dawson Brunswick, McCook

Third - Chance Kennicutt, Wallace

Literary Analysis:

First - Justin Hardwick, Paxton

Second - Rebekka Ralston, Sutherland

Third - Izzy Fox, Dundy County Stratton

Mathematics:

First - Megan Siebrandt, McCook

Second - Hayden Pollmann, Wauneta-Palisade

Third - Isaac Langan, McCook

Music Performance (Instrumental)

First – Sohyeon Yi, Cody-Kilgore

Second - Matti Mickelsen, Medicine Valley

Third - Brandon Montgomery, Brady

Music Performance (Vocal):

First - Nathan Rick, Hitchcock County

Second - Rachel Gordine, McCook

Third - Alisha Heelan, Garden County

Music Theory:

First – Josie Burke, Sutherland

Second – Matti Mickelsen, Medicine Valley

Third – Mason Harouff, Hayes Center

NPCC Facts:

First - Cheyanne Loeffler, Paxton

Second - Valerie Most, Brady

Third - Alexis Franzen, Brady

Personal Finance:

First - Cassandra Medina, Sutherland

Second - Marley Sandberg, Sutherland

Third - Ian Bridge, North Platte High School

Physics/Engineering (session one):

First - Cody Trump, Cody-Kilgore

Second - Kyle Halsted, North Platte High School

Third - Chet Krajewski, Garden County

Physics/Engineering (session two):

First - Lane Vasa, Arthur County

Second - David McCown, Maxwell

Third - Dakota Seng, Callaway

Word Processing:

First - Brooke Scott, Hitchcock County

Second - Tristan Johnson, Arnold

Third - Rebecca Lorens, Dundy County Stratton

Results by Division are:

Division 1 –

First – St. Patrick’s

Second – Sutherland

Third – McCook

Division 2 –

First – Cody-Kilgore

Second – Medicine Valley

Third – Hitchcock County

Division 3 –

First – Wauneta-Palisade

Second – Arnold

Third – Elwood

Results of NPCC’s TECH-Knowledge & Skills competition are:

Autobody:

First – Aaron Stegman, Garden County High School

Second – Joel Anderson, Garden County High School

Third – Jon Jackson, Franklin High School

Automotive/Diesel:

First – Philip Hammer, North Platte High School

Second – Logan Mull, North Platte High School

Third – Wesley Hoatson, North Platte High School

Building Construction (teams):

First – Walker Wolff, Ivan Rosfeld, Austin Wobig and Wyatt Galloway of Cody-Kilgore High School

Second – Lucas French, Jayson Rezek, Nick Hahn and Calvin Carsten of Sutherland High School

Third – Brock Alexander, Caleb Kleewein, Justin Cosler and Clancey Barnum of Stapleton High School

Electrical:

First – Tyler Daniels, Franklin High School

Second – Walker Wolff, Cody-Kilgore High School

Third – Ivan Dobesh, North Platte High School

Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning:

First – Wesley Hoatson, North Platte High School

Second – Logan Mull, North Platte High School

Third – Blaker Morrissey, Maxwell High School

Welding:

First – Dillon Schultz, North Platte High School

Second – Colton Thompson, North Platte High School

Third – Trevor Hanna, Stapleton High School

Six more of the books I've completed as part of the series of twenty-five. I have twenty-one of the books completed (as of today) with the other four two be finished by the end of the week. I have a few more pieces to figure out for the installation of the work. Things are going well so far.

A progress report about this project on my blog.

Sign up for my newsletter if you would like monthly updates of what I'm up to with my work.

@Bangalore International airport.

Love the light on his head :)

Ask me anything here

"In the grand tradition of generals and surrealists, we have been playing games. People learn things better through the open-ended, empathetic participation in knowledge-making that games allow. Just dispensing information to people-- though at times enlightening-- can also encourage apathy or forgetfulness. Lately, we have been using games to critically examine the dynamics and assumptions of larger social givens.Our new game SET was inspired by toy collectors, tourists, and museum curators. Throughout the game, players "play" by intervening and reorganizing existing groups of objects, thus questioning categories by constructing and redrawing them. In foregrounding the player's relation to the categories, SET explores the value of one's authorship in the production of knowledge. While games often risk normalizing power relationships by setting social roles and rules in stone, we have tried here to do just the opposite."

People learn things better through the open-ended, empathetic participation in knowledge-making that games allow. Just dispensing information to people-- though at times enlightening-- can also encourage apathy or forgetfulness. A project developed by Erik Carver and Marisa Jahn, SET is a game that critically examines the dynamics and assumptions of larger social givens. It's a game inspired by toy collectors, tourists, and museum curators. Throughout the game, players "play" by intervening and reorganizing existing groups of objects, thus questioning categories by constructing and redrawing them. In foregrounding the player's relation to the categories, SET explores the value of one's authorship in the production of knowledge. While games often risk normalizing power relationships by setting social roles and rules in stone, SET tries to do just the opposite.

--

Erik Carver

Erik Carver is an architect and artist. He is a founder of the Institute for Advanced Architecture (advancedarchitecture.org)-- an organization dedicated to advancing architecture through research, exchange, and exhibition-- as well as the Common Room exhibition space (common-room.net) and the interdisciplinary art group Seru. He lives in Brooklyn and teaches architecture at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Erik has worked for the firms of Diller+Scofidio, Laura Kurgan, and Lyn Rice before starting his own practice. These designs have included a student center renovation, an art museum, apartment renovations, a vacation home, exhibitions, a performance space/bar, an expo pavilion, schools, offices and an interpretation center.

His work has appeared in Volume magazine, Art in America, and Nature, and he has shown work and lectured at venues including Exit Art, the Ise Foundation, and Columbia's Neiman Gallery, and the Storefront for Art and Architecture (NYC), The Institute of Contemporary Art (Philadelphia), CAVS (MIT), Basekamp (Philadelphia), the Contemporary Art Center (North Adams, MA), and Pond (San Francisco).

Marisa Jahn

Of Ecuadorian and Chinese descent, Marisa Jahn is an artist whose work explores, constructs, and intervenes natural and social systems. In 2000, Jahn has co-founded Pond: art, activism, and ideas (www.mucketymuck.org), a non-profit organization dedicated to showcasing experimental art. Jahn has presented and exhibited work in museums, galleries, and spaces at venues such as The Institute of Contemporary Art (Philadelphia), the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (San Francisco), ISEA/Zero One 06/08 (San Jose, CA), MoKS (Estonia), the Moore Space (Miami), the Museum of Contemporary Art (North Miami), in galleries and public places in Tokyo, Honduras, Estonia, Turkey, North America, and Taiwan. Jahn's work has been reviewed in Art in America, Frieze, Punk Planet, Clamor, San Francisco Chronicle, the Fader, Artweek, Metropolis, the Discovery Channel, and Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). She has received awards and grants such as the Robert & Colleen Haas Scholarship, MIT Department of Architecture Fellowship (2005-8), CEC Artslink, and is an artist in residence at the MIT Media Lab (2007-9) and at the Headlands Center for the Arts (2008). She received her BA from UC Berkeley and an MS from MIT's Visual Arts Program. She lives between Boston and New York, where she functions as the Immediator of art-activist campaigns for The Church of Stop Shopping/Reverend Billy. www.marisajahn.com, www.mucketymuck.org

Wisdom according to Bikuben Kollegiet.

North Platte Community College hosted its annual Inter-High Scholastic Competition and TECH-Knowledge & Skills Discovery Day on Wednesday at the North and South Campuses of the college.

The theme for Inter-High Day this year is “Spotlight on Success.” Students from 28 area schools took nearly 900 tests in the Inter-High Scholastic competition. In the TECH-Knowledge and Skills competition, more than 120 students represented 21 high schools.

Awards were presented to the top three individual finishers in all categories. They also received a certificate for up to three credit hours of free tuition to be used at MPCC this summer. First place winners were awarded with $500 Mid-Plains Community College Area scholarships. The schools also competed in divisions.

Results of NPCC’s Inter-High Day are:

Accounting:

First - Megan Stokey, North Platte High School

Second - Megan Trierweiler, St. Patrick’s

Third - Carissa Rayburn, Brady

Art:

First - Alissa Rosentrater, Wallace

Second - Amber Nelson, Elwood

Third - Brooklyn Nordhausen, Wauneta-Palisade

Athletic Training:

First - Maegan Hiatt, Hershey

Second - Sage Schmidt, Medicine Valley

Third - Brittany Lawrence, St. Patrick’s

Biological Science:

First - Jordon Laubry, Eustis Farnam

Second - Jocy Nelson, Sutherland

Third - Calyn Werkmeister, Maywood

Business Communications:

First - Libby Jensen, Dundy County Stratton

Second - Abby Daffer, Southwest

Third - Sam Staggs, Sutherland

Chemistry:

First - Megan Kelley, Southwest

Second - Alec Fox, Paxton

Third - David Trierweiler, St. Patrick’s

Dramatic Arts:

First - Alex Roc, McCook

Second - David McCown, Maxwell

Third - Karni Doyle, Callaway

Fire Science/EMS:

First - Kris Kopetzky, South Platte

Second - Chris Werth, Eustis Farnam

Third - Tristan Johnson, Arnold

Grammar & Composition:

First - Grace Magill, Arnold

Second - Christi Christner, Wauneta-Palisade

Third - Bailee Clark, St. Patrick’s

Health Occupations:

First - Sabine Vanhaaren, Cody-Kilgore

Second - Jamie Smith, St. Patrick’s

Third - Taylor Ellison, Callaway

History:

First - David Trierweiler, St. Patrick’s

Second - John Klintworth, Medicine Valley

Third - Joey Anderjaska, Hayes Center

Information Technology:

First - Jared Brosius, St. Patrick’s

Second - Hayden Pollmann, Wauneta-Palisade

Third - Nathaniel Maxcy, Sutherland

Introduction to Business:

First - Cody Ballew, Elwood

Second - Dawson Brunswick, McCook

Third - Chance Kennicutt, Wallace

Literary Analysis:

First - Justin Hardwick, Paxton

Second - Rebekka Ralston, Sutherland

Third - Izzy Fox, Dundy County Stratton

Mathematics:

First - Megan Siebrandt, McCook

Second - Hayden Pollmann, Wauneta-Palisade

Third - Isaac Langan, McCook

Music Performance (Instrumental)

First – Sohyeon Yi, Cody-Kilgore

Second - Matti Mickelsen, Medicine Valley

Third - Brandon Montgomery, Brady

Music Performance (Vocal):

First - Nathan Rick, Hitchcock County

Second - Rachel Gordine, McCook

Third - Alisha Heelan, Garden County

Music Theory:

First – Josie Burke, Sutherland

Second – Matti Mickelsen, Medicine Valley

Third – Mason Harouff, Hayes Center

NPCC Facts:

First - Cheyanne Loeffler, Paxton

Second - Valerie Most, Brady

Third - Alexis Franzen, Brady

Personal Finance:

First - Cassandra Medina, Sutherland

Second - Marley Sandberg, Sutherland

Third - Ian Bridge, North Platte High School

Physics/Engineering (session one):

First - Cody Trump, Cody-Kilgore

Second - Kyle Halsted, North Platte High School

Third - Chet Krajewski, Garden County

Physics/Engineering (session two):

First - Lane Vasa, Arthur County

Second - David McCown, Maxwell

Third - Dakota Seng, Callaway

Word Processing:

First - Brooke Scott, Hitchcock County

Second - Tristan Johnson, Arnold

Third - Rebecca Lorens, Dundy County Stratton

Results by Division are:

Division 1 –

First – St. Patrick’s

Second – Sutherland

Third – McCook

Division 2 –

First – Cody-Kilgore

Second – Medicine Valley

Third – Hitchcock County

Division 3 –

First – Wauneta-Palisade

Second – Arnold

Third – Elwood

Results of NPCC’s TECH-Knowledge & Skills competition are:

Autobody:

First – Aaron Stegman, Garden County High School

Second – Joel Anderson, Garden County High School

Third – Jon Jackson, Franklin High School

Automotive/Diesel:

First – Philip Hammer, North Platte High School

Second – Logan Mull, North Platte High School

Third – Wesley Hoatson, North Platte High School

Building Construction (teams):

First – Walker Wolff, Ivan Rosfeld, Austin Wobig and Wyatt Galloway of Cody-Kilgore High School

Second – Lucas French, Jayson Rezek, Nick Hahn and Calvin Carsten of Sutherland High School

Third – Brock Alexander, Caleb Kleewein, Justin Cosler and Clancey Barnum of Stapleton High School

Electrical:

First – Tyler Daniels, Franklin High School

Second – Walker Wolff, Cody-Kilgore High School

Third – Ivan Dobesh, North Platte High School

Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning:

First – Wesley Hoatson, North Platte High School

Second – Logan Mull, North Platte High School

Third – Blaker Morrissey, Maxwell High School

Welding:

First – Dillon Schultz, North Platte High School

Second – Colton Thompson, North Platte High School

Third – Trevor Hanna, Stapleton High School

"And above every possessor of knowledge, There is one more learned"

(Qur’an Yusuf – Joseph 12:76).

Afiche realizado para la clase de serigrafia brindada por Chuck Sperry, Chris Shaw y Jon Paul Bail en la Free University of San Francisco.

Poster made for Chuck Sperry's, Chris Shaw's and Jon Paul Bail's class on Screen Printing at the Free University of San Francisco.

Gracias a Melanie Cervantes por las fotos!

freeuniversitysf.org/

Camera: Polaroid SX-70 Sonar One Step w/ ND Filter

Film: Impossible Project PX600 UV+ Black Frame

Technique: Double Emulsion Lift onto Noble VAT Paper

'Roid Week - Day #3 - Image #2

"In the grand tradition of generals and surrealists, we have been playing games. People learn things better through the open-ended, empathetic participation in knowledge-making that games allow. Just dispensing information to people-- though at times enlightening-- can also encourage apathy or forgetfulness. Lately, we have been using games to critically examine the dynamics and assumptions of larger social givens.Our new game SET was inspired by toy collectors, tourists, and museum curators. Throughout the game, players "play" by intervening and reorganizing existing groups of objects, thus questioning categories by constructing and redrawing them. In foregrounding the player's relation to the categories, SET explores the value of one's authorship in the production of knowledge. While games often risk normalizing power relationships by setting social roles and rules in stone, we have tried here to do just the opposite."

People learn things better through the open-ended, empathetic participation in knowledge-making that games allow. Just dispensing information to people-- though at times enlightening-- can also encourage apathy or forgetfulness. A project developed by Erik Carver and Marisa Jahn, SET is a game that critically examines the dynamics and assumptions of larger social givens. It's a game inspired by toy collectors, tourists, and museum curators. Throughout the game, players "play" by intervening and reorganizing existing groups of objects, thus questioning categories by constructing and redrawing them. In foregrounding the player's relation to the categories, SET explores the value of one's authorship in the production of knowledge. While games often risk normalizing power relationships by setting social roles and rules in stone, SET tries to do just the opposite.

--

Erik Carver

Erik Carver is an architect and artist. He is a founder of the Institute for Advanced Architecture (advancedarchitecture.org)-- an organization dedicated to advancing architecture through research, exchange, and exhibition-- as well as the Common Room exhibition space (common-room.net) and the interdisciplinary art group Seru. He lives in Brooklyn and teaches architecture at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Erik has worked for the firms of Diller+Scofidio, Laura Kurgan, and Lyn Rice before starting his own practice. These designs have included a student center renovation, an art museum, apartment renovations, a vacation home, exhibitions, a performance space/bar, an expo pavilion, schools, offices and an interpretation center.

His work has appeared in Volume magazine, Art in America, and Nature, and he has shown work and lectured at venues including Exit Art, the Ise Foundation, and Columbia's Neiman Gallery, and the Storefront for Art and Architecture (NYC), The Institute of Contemporary Art (Philadelphia), CAVS (MIT), Basekamp (Philadelphia), the Contemporary Art Center (North Adams, MA), and Pond (San Francisco).

Marisa Jahn

Of Ecuadorian and Chinese descent, Marisa Jahn is an artist whose work explores, constructs, and intervenes natural and social systems. In 2000, Jahn has co-founded Pond: art, activism, and ideas (www.mucketymuck.org), a non-profit organization dedicated to showcasing experimental art. Jahn has presented and exhibited work in museums, galleries, and spaces at venues such as The Institute of Contemporary Art (Philadelphia), the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (San Francisco), ISEA/Zero One 06/08 (San Jose, CA), MoKS (Estonia), the Moore Space (Miami), the Museum of Contemporary Art (North Miami), in galleries and public places in Tokyo, Honduras, Estonia, Turkey, North America, and Taiwan. Jahn's work has been reviewed in Art in America, Frieze, Punk Planet, Clamor, San Francisco Chronicle, the Fader, Artweek, Metropolis, the Discovery Channel, and Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). She has received awards and grants such as the Robert & Colleen Haas Scholarship, MIT Department of Architecture Fellowship (2005-8), CEC Artslink, and is an artist in residence at the MIT Media Lab (2007-9) and at the Headlands Center for the Arts (2008). She received her BA from UC Berkeley and an MS from MIT's Visual Arts Program. She lives between Boston and New York, where she functions as the Immediator of art-activist campaigns for The Church of Stop Shopping/Reverend Billy. www.marisajahn.com, www.mucketymuck.org

パチュリー・ノーレッジ (Lolita)

| 東方Project

CN: XinSquare

Helper: NwkRoxas

Photo: Rico

Studio: Ikigai

FB: www.facebook.com/ASDgraphy/

The knowledge centre on the edge of the first phase of Masdar in Abu Dhabi.

I am indebted to John Fielding (www.flickr.com/photos/john_fielding/) for posting an aerial shot of Holy Trinity, and my interest was piqued by the timber-framed building with the triple gable at the east end. Turned out this was the Lady Chapel, and more of that later. So, on my way back home to Kent, I called in to see if it looked as remarkable in the flesh as in photographs.

I arrived at Long Melford, after being taken on a magical mystery tour in light drizzle from Wortham, down narrow and narrower lanes, under and over railway lines, through woods, up and down hills until, at last, I saw the town laid out beyond the church.

I parked at the bottom of Church Walk then walked up past the line of timber framed houses, the tudor hospital and the tudor manor house.

Holy Trinity sits on top of the hill, spread out, filling its large churchyard and the large tower not out of proportion.

Inside it really is a collection of wonders, from brasses, the best collection of Medieval glass in Suffolk, to side chapels, and behind, the very unusual Lady Chapel.

------------------------------------------

The Church of the Holy Trinity, Long Melford is a Grade I listed parish church of the Church of England in Long Melford, Suffolk, England. It is one of 310 medieval English churches dedicated to the Holy Trinity.

The church was constructed between 1467 and 1497 in the late Perpendicular Gothic style. It is a noted example of a Suffolk medieval wool church, founded and financed by wealthy wool merchants in the medieval period as impressive visual statements of their prosperity.

The church structure is highly regarded by many observers. Its cathedral-like proportions and distinctive style, along with its many original features that survived the religious upheavals of the 16th and 17th centuries, have attracted critical acclaim. Journalist and author Sir Simon Jenkins, Chairman of the National Trust, included the church in his 1999 book “England’s Thousand Best Churches”. He awarded it a maximum of 5 stars, one of only 18 to be so rated. The Holy Trinity Church features in many episodes of Michael Wood's, BBC television history series Great British Story, filmed during 2011.

A church is recorded as having been on the site since the reign of King Edward the Confessor (1042–1066). It was originally endowed by the Saxon Earl Alric, who bequeathed the patronage of the church, along with his manor at Melford Hall and about 261 acres of land, to the successive Abbots of the Benedictine Abbey of Bury St Edmund’s. There are no surviving descriptions of the original Saxon structure, although the roll of the clergy (see below) and the history of the site extend back to the 12th century.

The church was substantially rebuilt between 1467 and 1497. Of the earlier structures, only the former Lady Chapel (now the Clopton Chantry Chapel) and the nave arcades survive.

The principal benefactor who financed the reconstruction was wealthy local wool merchant John Clopton, who resided at neighbouring Kentwell Hall. John Clopton was a supporter of the Lancastrian cause during the Wars of the Roses and in 1462 was imprisoned in the Tower of London with John de Vere, 12th Earl of Oxford and a number of others, charged with corresponding treasonably with Margaret of Anjou. All of those imprisoned were eventually executed except John Clopton, who somehow made his peace with his accusers and lived to see the Lancastrians eventually triumphant at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485.

The dates of the reconstruction of the church are derived from contemporary wills, which provided endowments to finance the work

In 1710 the main tower was damaged by a lightning strike.[3] It was replaced with a brick-built structure in the 18th century and subsequently remodelled between 1898 and 1903 to its present-day appearance, designed by George Frederick Bodley in the Victorian Gothic Revival style. The new tower was closer to its original form with stone and flint facing and the addition of four new pinnacles.

The nave, at 152.6 feet (46.5 m), is believed to be the longest of any parish church in England. There are nine bays, of which the first five at the western end are believed to date from an earlier structure.

The interior is lit by 74 tracery windows, many of which retain original medieval glass. These include the image of Elizabeth de Mowbray, Duchess of Norfolk, said to have provided the inspiration for John Tenniel's illustration of the Queen of Hearts in Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

The sanctuary is dominated by the large reredos, of Caen stone and inspired by the works of Albrecht Dürer. It was installed in 1877, having been donated by the mother of the then Rector Charles Martyn.

On the north side is the alabaster and marble tomb of Sir William Cordell who was the first Patron of the Church after the dissolution of the Abbey of Bury St Edmund's in 1539. On either side of the tomb are niches containing figures that represent the four Cardinal virtues of Prudence, Justice, Temperance and Fortitude.

The sanctuary also holds one of the earliest extant alabaster bas relief panels, a nativity from the second half of the 14th century. The panel was hidden under the floor of chancel, probably early in the reign of Elizabeth I, and was rediscovered in the 18th century.[6] The panel, which may be part of an altar piece destroyed during the Reformation, includes a midwife arranging Mary's pillows and two cows looking from under her bed.

The Clopton Chapel is in the north east corner of the church. It commemorates various Clopton family members and was used by the family as a place of private worship.

The tomb of Sir William Clopton is set into an alcove here, in the north wall. An effigy of Sir William, wearing chain mail and plate armour, is set on top of the tomb. Sir William is known to have died in 1446 and it is therefore believed that this corner of the church predates the late 15th-century reconstruction. There are numerous brasses set in the floor commemorating other members of the Clopton family; two date from 1420, another shows two women wearing head attire in the butterfly style from around 1480, and a third depicts Francis Clopton who died in 1558.

There is an altar set against the east wall of the chapel and a double squint designed to provide priests with a view of the high altar when conducting Masses.

The Clopton Chantry Chapel is a small chapel at the far north east corner of the church, accessed from the Clopton Chapel. This was the original Lady Chapel and is the oldest part of the current structure. After John Clopton's death in 1497, his will made provision for the chapel to be extended and refurbished and for him to be buried alongside his wife there.[10] The chapel was then renamed, while the intended Chantry Chapel became the Lady Chapel.

The tomb of John Clopton and his wife is set in the wall leading into the chapel. Inside, the canopy vault displays faded portraits of the couple. Also displayed is a portrait of the risen Christ with a Latin text which, translated, reads Everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. A series of empty niches in the south wall most likely once held statues of saints. Around the cornice, John Lydgate's poem "Testament" is presented in the form of a scroll along the roof, while his "Lamentation of our Lady Maria" is along the west wall.

The Lady Chapel is a separate building attached to the east end of the main church. In an unusual layout, it has a central sanctuary surrounded by a pillared ambulatory, reflecting its original intended use as a chantry chapel with John Clopton's tomb in its centre. Clopton was forced to abandon this plan when his wife died before the new building was completed and consecrated; so she was buried in the former Lady Chapel and John Clopton was subsequently interred next to her.[12]

The stone carving seen in the Lady Chapel bears similarities to work at King's College Chapel, Cambridge and at Burwell Church in Cambridgeshire. It is known that the master mason employed there was Reginald Ely, the King's Mason, and although there is no documentary proof, it is believed that Ely was also responsible for the work at Holy Trinity, Long Melford.[13]

The chapel was used as a school from 1670 until the early 18th century, and a multiplication table on the east wall serves as a reminder of this use. The steep gables of the roof also date from this period.

The Martyn Chapel is situated to the south of the chancel. It contains the tombs of several members of the Martyn family, who were prominent local wool merchants in the 15th and 16th centuries, and who also acted as benefactors of the church. These include the tomb chest of Lawrence Martyn (died 1460) and his two wives. On the floor are the tomb slabs of Roger Martyn (died 1615) and his two wives Ursula and Margaret; and of Richard Martyn (died 1624) and his three wives.

Originally, the Martyn chapel contained an altar flanked by two gilded tabernacles, one displaying an image of Christ and the other an image of Our Lady of Pity. These tabernacles reached to the ceiling of the chapel, but were removed or destroyed during the English Reformation in the reign of King Edward VI.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Trinity_Church,_Long_Melford

---------------------------------------------

The setting of Holy Trinity is superlative. At the highest point and square onto the vast village green, its southern elevation is punctuated by the 16th Century Trinity Hospital almshouses. Across the green is the prospect of Melford Hall's pepperpot turrets and chimneys behind a long Tudor wall. Another great house, Kentwell Hall, is to the north. Kentwell was home to the Clopton family, whose name you meet again and again inside the church. Norman Scarfe described it as in a way, a vast memorial chapel to the family.

Holy Trinity is the longest church in Suffolk, longer even than Mildenhall, but this is because of a feature unique in the county, a large lady chapel separate from the rest of the church beyond the east end of the chancel. The chapel itself is bigger than many East Anglian churches, although it appears externally rather domestic with its triple gable at the east end. There is a good collection of medieval glass in the otherwise clear windows, as well as a couple of modern pieces, and a very mdern altarpiece at the central altar. Jacqueline's mother remembered attending Sunday School in this chapel in the 1940s.

The intimacy of the Lady Chapel is in great contrast to the vast walls of glass which stretch away westwards, the huge perpendicular windows of the nave aisles and clerestories, which appear to make the castellated nave roof float in air. An inscription in the clerestory records the date at which the building was completed as 1496. Forty years later, it would all have been much more serious. Sixty years later, it would not have been built at all. A brick tower was added in the early 18th Century, and the present tower, by GF Bodley, was encased around it in 1903. As Sam Mortlock observes, this tower might seem out of place in Suffolk, but it nevertheless matches the scale and character of the building. It is hard to imagine the church without it.

I came here back in May with my friend David Striker, who, despite living thousands of miles away in Colorado, has nearly completed his ambition to visit every medieval church in Norfolk and Suffolk. This was his first visit to Long Melford, mine only the latest of many. We stepped down into the vast, serious space.. There was a fairly considerable 19th Century restoration here, as witnessed by the vast sprawl of Minton tiles on the floor, although perhaps the sanctuary furnishings are the building's great weakness. Perhaps it is the knowledge of this that fails to turn my head eastwards, but instead draws me across to the north aisle for the best collection of medieval glass in Suffolk. During the 19th century restoration it was collected into the east window and north and south aisles, but in the 1960s it was all recollected here. Even on a sunny day it is a perfect setting for exploring it.

The most striking figures are probably those of the medieval donors, who originally would have been set prayerfully at the base of windows of devotional subjects. Famously, the portrait of Elizabeth, Duchess of Norfolk is said to have provided the inspiration for John Tenneil's Duchess in his illustrations to Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland, although I'm not sure there is any evidence for this. Indeed, several of the ladies here might have provided similar inspiration.

The best glass is the pieta, Mary holding the body of Christ the Man of Sorrows. Beneath it is perhaps the best-known, the Holy Trinity represented in a roundel as three hares with their ears interlocking. An angel holding a Holy Trinity shield in an upper light recalls the same thing at Salle. Other glass includes a fine resurrection scene and a sequence of 15th Century Saints. There is also a small amount of continental glass collected in later centuries, including a most curious oval lozenge of St Francis receiving the stigmata.

Walking eastwards down the north aisle until the glass runs out, you are rewarded by a remarkable survival, a 14th century alabaster panel of the Adoration of the Magi. It probably formed part of the altar piece here, and was rediscovered hidden under the floorboards in the 18th century. Fragments of similar reliefs survive elsewhere in East Anglia, but none in such perfect condition. Beyond it, you step through into the north chancel chapel where there are a number of Clopton brasses, impressive but not in terribly good condition, and then beyond that into the secretive Clopton chantry. This beautiful little chapel probably dates from the completion of the church in the last decade of the 15th century. Here, chantry priests would have celebrated Masses for the dead of the Clopton family. The chapel is intricately decorated with devotional symbols and vinework, as well as poems attributed to John Lidgate. The beautiful Tudor tracery of the window is filled with elegant clear glass except for another great survival, a lily crucifix. This representation occurs just once more in Suffolk, on the font at Great Glemham. The panel is probably a later addition here from elsewhere in the church, but it is still haunting to think of the Chantry priests kneeling towards the window as they asked for intercessions for the souls of the Clopton dead. It was intended that the prayers of the priests would sustain the Cloptons in perpetuity, but in fact it would last barely half a century before the Reformation outlawed such practices.

You step back into the chancel to be confronted by the imposing stone reredos. Its towering heaviness is out of sympathy with the lightness and simplicity of the Perpendicular windows, and it predates Bodley's restoration. The screen which separates the chancel from the south chapel is medeival, albeit restored, and I was struck by a fierce little dragon, although photographing it into the strong south window sunshine beyond proved impossible. The brasses in the south chapel are good, and in better condition. They are to members of the Martyn family.

The south chapel is also the last resting place of Long Melford's other great family, the Cordells. Sir William Cordell's tomb dominates the space. He died in 1581, and donated the Trinity Hospital outside. His name survives elsewhere in Long Melford: my wife's mother grew up on Cordell Road, part of a council estate cunningly hidden from the High Street by its buildings on the east side.

Simon Knott, January 2013

www.suffolkchurches.co.uk/Longmelford.htm

Translating the above Sanskrit quote -

'May there be happiness in the whole world!!'

The Hindu culture is one the most oldest and unparallel in many a ways, where these lines where written thousands of years ago.

Where the level of knowledge they procured was of profound depths and of the highest order ever.

Where the physical, mental and spiritual sides of the human being was mapped much beyond the reach of morden science!

Where the sages had already discovered the ultimate truths and theories of natural forces, which many morden Scientists have inspired from!!

I m proud to be a Hindu, an Indian and a Human being!

We all shud be in our own ways.. and make the best of our life and pass on a great legacy for our children.

I got this great article from one of friend who is studying Vedic Science-

HMV Company had once published a pamphlet giving the history of gramophone record. Gramophone was invented by Thomas Alva Edison in the 19th century. Edison, who had invented many other gadgets like electric light and the motion picture camera, had become a legend even in his own time.

When he invented the gramophone record, which could record human voice for posterity, he wanted to record the voice of an eminent scholar on his first piece. For that he chose Prof. Max Muller of Germany, another great personality of the 19th century. He wrote to Max Muller saying, "I want to meet you and record your voice. When should I come?" Max Muller who had great respect for Edison asked him to come on a suitable time when most of the scholars of the Europe would be gathering in England.

Accordingly, Edison took a ship and went to England. He was introduced to the audience. All cheered Edison’s presence. Later at the request of Edison, Max Muller came on the stage and spoke in front of the instrument. Then Edison went back to his laboratory and by afternoon came back with a disc. He played the gramophone disc from his instrument. The audience was thrilled to hear the voice of Max Muller from the instrument. They were glad that voices of great persons like Max Muller could be stored for the benefit of posterity.

After several rounds of applause and congratulations to Thomas Alva Edison, Max Muller came to the stage and addressed the scholars and asked them, "You heard my original voice in the morning. Then you heard the same voice coming out from this instrument in the afternoon. Did you understand what I said in the morning or what you heard this afternoon?"

The audience fell silent because they could not understand the language in which Max Muller had spoken. It was `Greek and Latin' to them as they say. But had it been Greek or Latin, they would have definitely understood because they were from various parts of Europe. It was in a language which the European scholars had never heard.

Max Muller then explained what he had spoken. He said that the language he spoke was Sanskrit and it was the first sloka of Rig Veda, which says "Agni Meele Purohitam." This was the first recorded public version on the gramophone plate.

Why did Max Muller choose this?

Addressing the audience he said, "Vedas are the oldest text of the human race. And Agni Meele Purohitam is the first verse of Rig Veda. In the most primordial time, when the people did not know how even to cover their bodies and lived by hunting and housed in caves, Indians had attained high civilization and they gave the world universal philosophies in the form of the Vedas.”

Such is the illustrious legacy of my country!

When “Agni Meele Purohitam” was replayed the entire audience stood up in silence as a mark of respect for the ancient Hindu sages.

This verse means:

"Oh Agni, You who gleam in the darkness, To You we come day by day,with devotion and bearing homage. So be of easy access to us, Agni, as a father to his son, abide with us for our well being."

So, take good care friends!! :-)

ITU Workshop on "Future Trust and Knowledge Infrastructure", Phase 1, 24 April 2015.

Mr. Chaesub Lee, TSB Director.

© ITU/D. Woldu

Mask by Tom Banwell

Taking a break around the library

This beauty is Amber Shepherd.

On of the roads to knowledge is the one that links my Kindle and my computer. Kindle are really awesome ereaders.

For the dailyshoot nº663.

Subject:

Make a photograph of a path, road, or trail that leads the viewer's eye through the frame.

The first-ever ICC Knowledge Assembly took place in Paris on 27 May 2019.

...it did kill the cat.

25sec exposure shot on Olympus E-30.

Polaroid Styles

Masdar City, Abu Dhabi

Designer: Hu Haichao, Zhang Zhimin, Zhang Suyu (胡海超，章志敏，张苏予)

1956, July

Knowledge is strength - Strive to make sure that within twelve years our nation's most needy scientific institutions can reach the world's advanced levels

Zhishi jiushi liliang - Zhengqu zai shi'er nian nei shi women zui jixude kexue bumen nenggou jiejin shijie xianjin shuiping (知识就是力量 - 争取在十二年内使我国最急需的科学部门能够接近世界先进水平)

Call nr.: PC-1956-009 (Private collection)

More Chinese propaganda posters? See: chineseposters.net/

I love books. I love reading - be it for pleasure or for learning and I feel sad if a day goes by with out me picking up a book and reading.

cesarharada.com

hiromiozaki..com

Expanding the hyper relations to the world :

to make it simple : a chair. It looks like an isolated object, but if you scratch the surface, it is made of wood, the wood has been manufactured, transported, extracted, planted... The chair isn't an isolated object anymore, it a part of a system, it has a meaning within its context but stands-alone equaly well.

A knowledge object shares similar tracability and operative capacities. Internet technology facilitates greatly this tracability with meta informations, and internet users usualy don't "scratch the surface" ; they access the object by the meta tags surrounding the knowledge object.

==The Old Pandora's Onion==

We can simplify and map out the onion skins in and around the knowledge object:

{ { { { { { { data } content } meta-data } file } semantic context } www } knowledge }

I call this pandora's onion because we don't know at which stage the information is better transmitted : at the data level, or the semantic level, or the contextual level, or...?

However, meta-data is descriptive level of the object, it does not inform about the meaning but connects the content meaning to the semantic context.

Internal semantic mecanism

One wonders what is the charateristic of the knowledge object, Karin Knorr Cetina proposes : "Knowledge objects are different than everyday things and are defined as unfolding structures that are non-identical with themselves." So if a knowledge object A exists and a similar knowledge object B is produced, they fold on each other : the quantity of semantical meaning does not add, it is considered as one. But that's in the pure semantic world : in the hyperworld, all object have meta data attached, which link to them to their semantical context, a network of objects.

Mechanically an knowledge object can be related to the concept of "concept". A concept is usualy an association of "small" knowledge objects, classified by similarities and differences. We ignore what is the smallest constitutive component of a concept, all we know is that it is somehow "linked" and assembled into bigger, more complex concepts. Once classification has happened all sorts of operations can happen.

==The new semantic network of old Pandora's onions and its operations==

Say, we associate knowledge object A, and knowledge object B :

koA_koB -> koAB : association, collage

koA_koB -> koC : fusion, creation of a new object

koA_koB -> koABC : transfert and byproduct

koA_koB -> koA'B' : transformation of both A and B, denaturation

There are many more operations we could do, but this is enough to continue.

We can now propose networks of knowledge objects, and even computational models : the fabrication of new knowledge objects by successive operations.

The meaning does not reside anymore in the singular knowledge object, but in the activated network of knowledges objects via meta informations, a semantic network.

==The usage of knowledge objects==

Ultimately AcademiXML attemps to describe singular knowledge objects as " unfolding structures that are non-identical with themselves", in order to facilitate the computation of new ideas by logic combinatory techniques.

In the case of Hiromi Ozaki, this association process is motivated by pleasure-seeking and navigation, hopping from a hyperlink to another, trying to describe this journey bit by bit, knowledge object after knowledge object, all connected.

==The signifiance and effect of knowledge object on human cognition==

I like to compare roman alphabet and chinese ideograms. Many will advocate roman characters (phonetic) are more advanced and modular than chinese characters that remain very direct illustrations of material concepts. Roman languages uses phonetic characters to describe an object, chinese character uses ideogram to describe an object : chinese might not know how to pronounce a word, they can understand the meaning by association of concepts in singular ideograms.

We can do a parallel by comparing the semantic charge of a roman word and of a letter and of a word : the word contains a concept (if not many), zooming out, using knowledge object theory to make bigger and bigger networked objects we increase the complexity of the semantic network and the potential for creating new concepts.

Describing a knowledge object as a network of concepts simplifies and encourages semantic network development, facilitate user associative intelligence and offer an immense combinatory potential.

Did you enjoy the explanation of knowledge object?

A - Who's the crazy nerd who wrote that?

B- I like the idea. I dont understand, sounds cool.

C- I knew about knowledge object, I just read to check if the author know what he/she's talking about.

Do you think knowledge object formatting could help you memorize and creating new ideas, new associations?

A - I don't need it, I have my stickies and my fountain pen

B- I think it needs simplification

C- You forgot everything about cybernetics and learning systems, where does the system learn (not the reader)?

Do you like the yellow background colour?

A- I wish it was white or cream

B- I did not notice it, now you say I like it.

C- This dissertation should not be anywhere but cyberspace you renegade

Will you use Academixml to write and share your knowledge?

A- I got better things to do than playing teenager hacker video-games

B- Make a text editor that supports AcadmiXML and seamlessly help me publish it online, I'm up for it

C- I invented internet, get real.

Majority of A :

You are our declared enemy, and this is why I love you so much. Only death will separate us or if Arsenal looses against Tibet. You have a solid honnest education and I am very sorry to make you loose your time with this questionnaire. Have a break, maybe jump the last page and sleep, this paper got you really tired and challenged your scholastic authority.

Majority of B :

You could be a member of my family or a collegue, nice and friendly, well-meaning but slightly lazy and suspicious. You live in london zone 2 and you take the bus, you are not vegetarian but you try to reduce your carbon footprint on internet. You might use AcadmiXML as a happy user but will not report the bug, even if you got the software for free.

Majority of C :

You are a hacker. We are not extreme enough for you, you are disapointed, you think we should die soon. We took programing together at Uni but you were not there most of the time, you were in the CIA database adding fake beards on american officials. We really love you and want to work with you someday to fill or incompetencies but we might actually have no proof of your tangible existence but this ACDC T-shirt of 1979.

Open Space during the conference on change and Knowledge Management by KMI

Composite photo, Deb's Knowledge Management and Change Management at the Westin, Gateway, Arlington, VA

FRAME an Energized Approach to Adaptive Change,

Smart Process AND Lasting Results

Smithsonian contributions to knowledge

Washington :Smithsonian Institution,1848-1916.

biodiversitylibrary.org/page/9049972

I seek refuge in Allah from Satan, the outcast.

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.

Allah’s peace be upon Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W), the glorious Prophet of Islam, and on his Companions and his followers.

TASAWWUF

"There is no doubt that Tasawwuf is an important branch of Islam. The word itself may have been derived form the Arabic word "Soof" (Wool) or from "Safa" (cleanliness), but its foundation lies in one’s personal sincerity in seeking Allah’s nearness and trying to live a life pleasing to Him. Study of the Quran, the Hadith, and the practical life of the holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) and his faithful Companions provide unmistakable support to this reality." (Hazrat Moulana Allah Yar Khan (R.A)

SUFISM, AN ESSENTIAL PART OF ISLAM

Doubts exist not only in the minds of the Muslim faithful but also among the Ulema, notably the exoteric about Tasawwuf and its votaries. Often they lead to misunderstanding, as if Shariah and Tariqah were two separate entries, or that Tasawwuf was some obscure discipline foreign to Islam, or that it was altogether above the established laws and injunctions of our Religion. To help remove these misgivings and to reassure seekers, as well as scholars, our Sheikh Hazrat Moulana Allah Yar Khan (R.A), Sheikh Silsila Naqshbandia Awaisia, wrote Al-Jamal Wal Kamal, Aqaid-O-Kamalaat Ulmai-e-Deoband, Binat-e-Rasool (S.A.W), Daamad-e-Ali (R.A), Dalael-us-Salook, Ejaad-e-Mazhab Shia, Hayat-un-Nabi (S.A.W), Hayat Barzakhia, Ilm-o-Irfan, Niffaz-e-Shariat Aur Fiqah-e-Jaferia, Saif-e-Owaisi, Shikast-e-Ahdai Hussain and Tahkeek Halal Haram books.

BIOGRAPHY

Sheikh Allah Yar Khan was born in Chakrala, a remote village of Mianwali District of Pakistan, in 1904. He completed his religious education in 1934. The very year, he met Shaykh Abdul Rahim, who took him to the shrine of Shaykh Allah Deen Madni. By Divine Will his spiritual connection was right away established with the saint of the 10th century Hijra (sixteenth century) and he started receiving spiritual beneficence. His sublime education in Sufism, signifying progressive spiritual growth and advancement, continued for about twenty-five years. In 1962 he was directed to carry out the propagation of Prophetic blessings - a noble mission that he accomplished with singular enthusiasm and devotion for a period spanning half a century. Anybody who visited him was duly rewarded with a share of spiritual bliss as per his/her sincerity and capacity. Shaykh Allah Yar Khan's mission produced men and women of deep spiritual vision and distinction.

Although Hazrat Moulana Allah Yar Khan (R.A) have lived a major portion of his life as a scholar, with the avowed mission of illuminating the truth of Islam and the negation of fallacious sects, and this would appear quite removed from Tasawwuf, yet the only practical difference between the two, namely the use of the former as a media to expound the truth, and the latter to imbue people with positive faith. Nevertheless, people are amazed that a man, who until the other day, was known as a dialectician and a preacher of Islam, is not only talking of Mystic Path, but is also claiming spiritual bonds with the veteran Sufi Masters of the Past. This amazement is obviously out of place in the view of Quranic injunction: This is the bounty of Allah which He gives to whom He wills. (62:4)

THE PURIFICATION OF THE SOUL

The purification of the soul always formed part of the main mission of the Prophets; that is, the dissemination and propagation of the Devine Message. This responsibility later fell directly on the shoulders of the true Ulema in the Ummah of the last Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W), who, as his genuine successors, have continued to shed brave light in every Dark Age of materialism and sacrilege. In the present age of ruinous confusion, the importance of this responsibility has increased manifold; of the utter neglect of Islam by Muslims has not only driven them to misery, but also grievously weakened their bonds of faith in Allah and His Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W). The decay in their belief and consequent perversion in their conduct has reached a stage that any attempt to pull them out of the depth of ignominy and the heedless chaos of faithlessness, attracts grave uncertainties and apprehensions rather than a encouraging will to follow the Shariah, to purify the soul and to reform within. The Quranic Verse: Layers upon layers of darkness… (24:40) provides the nearest expression of their present state.

SHARIAH & SUFISM

Any action against the Sunnah (Prophet’s way of life) cannot be called Sufism. Singing and dancing, and the prostration on tombs are not part of Sufism. Nor is predicting the future and predicting the outcome of cases in the courts of law, a part of Sufism. Sufis are not required to abandon their worldly possessions or live in the wilderness far from the practical world. In fact these absurdities are just its opposites. It is an established fact that Tazkiyah (soul purification) stands for that inner purity which inspires a person’s spirit to obey the holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W). If a false claimant of Sufism teaches tricks and jugglery, ignoring religious obligations, he is an impostor. A true Sheikh will lead a believer to the august spiritual audience of the holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W). If you are fortunate enough to be blessed with the company of an accomplished spiritual guide and Sheikh of Sufism, and if you follow his instructions, you will observe a positive change in yourself, transferring you from vice to virtue.

ISLAM, AS A COMPLETE CODE OF LIFE

Islam, as a complete code of life or Deen, was perfected during the life of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W). He was the sole teacher and his mosque was the core institution for the community. Although Islam in its entirety was practiced during that blessed era, the classification and compilation of its knowledge into distinct branches like ‘Tafsir’ (interpretation of the Quran), Hadith (traditions or sayings of the holy Prophet- SAWS), Fiqh (Islamic law), and Sufism (the soul purification) were undertaken subsequently. This Deen of Allah passed from the holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) to his illustrious Companions in two ways: the outward and the inward. The former comprised the knowledge defined by speech and conduct, i.e., the Quran and Sunnah. The latter comprised the invisible blessings or the Prophetic lights transmitted by his blessed self. These blessings purified the hearts and instilled in them a passionate desire to follow Islam with utmost love, honesty and loyalty.

WHAT’S SUFISM

Sufism is the attempt to attain these Barakah (Blessings). The Companions handed down Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) teachings as well as blessings to the Taba’een. Their strong hearts were capable of infusing these blessings into the hearts of their followers. Both aspects of Islam were similarly passed on by the Taba’een to the Taba Taba’een. The compilation of knowledge and its interpretation led to the establishment of many schools of religious thought; famous four being the Hanafi, the Hanbali, the Maliki, and the Shafa'i, all named after their founders. Similarly, in order to acquire, safeguard and distribute his blessings, an organized effort was initiated by four schools of Sufism: The Naqshbandia, the Qadria, the Chishtia, and the Suharwardia. These schools were also named after their organizers and came to be known as Sufi Orders. All these Orders intend to purify the hearts of sincere Muslims with Prophetic lights. These Sufi Orders also grew into many branches with the passage of time and are known by other names as well. The holy Quran has linked success in this life and the Hereafter with Tazkiyah (soul purification). He, who purified, is successful. (87: 14) Sufi Orders of Islam are the institutions where the basics of Tazkiyah (soul purification) and its practical application are taught. They have graded programs in which every new seeker is instructed in Zikr-e Lisani (oral Zikr) and is finally taught the Zikr-e Qalbi (Remembrance in heart).

ZIKR-E QALBI

However, in the Naqshbandia Order, Zikr-e Qalbi is practiced from the very beginning. Adherence to the Sunnah (Prophet’s way of life) is greatly emphasized in this Order, because the seeker achieves greater and quicker progress through its blessings. The essence of Zikr is that the Qalb should sincerely accept Islamic beliefs and gain the strength to follow the Sunnah with even greater devotion. ‘If the heart is acquainted with Allah and is engaged in His Zikr; then it is filled with Barakaat-e Nabuwwat (Prophetic blessings) which infuse their purity in the mind and body. This not only helps in controlling sensual drives but also removes traces of abhorrence, voracity, envy and insecurity from human soul. The person therefore becomes an embodiment of love, both for the Divine and the corporeal. This is the meaning of a Hadith, “There is a lump of flesh in the human body; if it goes astray the entire body is misguided, and if it is reformed the entire body is reformed. Know that this lump is the Qalb”.’

PAS ANFAS

Recent History Khawajah Naqshband (d. 1389 CE) organized the Naqshbandia Order at Bukhara (Central Asia). This Order has two main branches – the Mujaddidia and the Owaisiah. The former is identified with Sheikh Ahmed Sirhindi, known as Mujaddid Alif Sani (literally: reviver of the second Muslim millennium), a successor to Khawajah Baqi Billah, who introduced the Order to the Indo- Pakistan sub-continent. The Owaisiah Order employs a similar method of Zikr but acquires the Prophetic blessings in the manner of Khawajah Owais Qarni, who received this beneficence from the Holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) without a formal physical meeting. The Zikr employed by the Naqshbandia is ‘Zikr-e Khafi Qalbi’ (remembrance of Allah’s Name within the heart) and the method is termed ‘Pas Anfas’, which (in Persian) means guarding every breath. The Chain of Transmission of these Barakah, of course, emanates from the holy Prophet- SAWS.

SPIRITUAL BAI’AT (OATH OF ALLEGIANCE

It is necessary in all Sufi Orders that the Sheikh and the seekers must be contemporaries and must physically meet each other for the transfer of these blessings. However, the Naqshbandia Owaisiah Order goes beyond this requirement and Sufis of this Order receive these Barakah regardless of physical meeting with their Sheikh or even when the Sheikh is not their contemporary. Yet, it must be underscored that physical meeting with the Sheikh of this Order still holds great importance in dissemination of these Barakah. Sheikh Sirhindi writes about the Owaisiah Order in his book ‘Tazkirah’: ‘It is the most sublime, the most exalted, and the most effective…and the highest station of all others is only its stepping stone.’ By far the greatest singular distinction of the Naqshbandia Owaisiah Order is the honor of Spiritual Bai’at (Oath of Allegiance) directly at the blessed hands of the holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W).

SHEIKH HAZRAT MOULANA ALLAH YAR KHAN (R.A)

The Reviver Sheikh Allah Yar Khan was born in Chikrala, a remote village of Mianwali District of Pakistan, in 1904. He completed his religious education in 1934. The same year, he met Sheikh ‘Abdul Rahim, who took him to the shrine of Sheikh Allah Deen Madni. By Divine Will his spiritual connection was immediately established with the saint of the 10th century Hijra (sixteenth century CE) and he started receiving spiritual beneficence. His sublime education in Sufism, signifying progressive spiritual growth and advancement, continued for about twenty-five years, after which he was directed to undertake the propagation of Prophetic blessings - a noble mission that he accomplished with singular zeal and dedication for a period spanning half a century. Anybody who visited him was duly rewarded with a share of spiritual bliss commensurate with his/her sincerity and capacity. Sheikh Allah Yar Khan’s mission produced men and women of deep spiritual vision and eminence. He authored eighteen books, the most distinguished being Dalael us-Sulook (Sufism - An Objective Appraisal), Hayat-e Barzakhiah (Life Beyond Life) and Israr ul- Haramain (Secrets of the two holy Mosques). He was undoubtedly one of the most distinguished Sufi saints of the Muslim Ummah and a reviver of the Naqshbandia Owaisiah Order. He passed away on 18 February 1984 in Islamabad at the age of eighty.

THE CHAIN OF TRANSMISSION OF NAQSHBANDIA OWAISIAH

1. Hazrat Muhammad ur-Rasool Allah (Sall Allah-o Alaihi wa Sallam), 2. Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq (Radhi Allah-o Unho), 3. Hazrat Imam Hassan Basri (Rahmat Ullah Alaihi), 4. Hazrat Daud Tai (Rahmat Ullah Alaihi), 5. Hazrat Junaid Baghdadi (Rahmat Ullah Alaihi), 6. Hazrat Ubaid Ullah Ahrar (Rahmat Ullah Alaihi), 7. Hazrat Abdur Rahman Jami (Rahmat Ullah Alaihi), 8. Hazrat Abu Ayub Muhammad Salih (Rahmat Ullah Alaihi), 9. Hazrat Allah Deen Madni (Rahmat Ullah Alaihi), 10. Hazrat Moulana Allah Yar Khan (Rahmat Ullah Alaihi).

THE SPIRIT OR RUH

The spirit or Ruh of every person is a created reflection of the Divine Attributes and it originates in Alam-e Amar (Realm of Command). Its food is the Light of Allah or the Divine Refulgence, which it acquires from the Realm of Command through the holy Prophet Muhammad (may Allah’s choicest favors and peace be upon him), whose status in the spiritual world is like that of the sun in the solar system. The Quran refers to him as the ‘bright lamp’. Indeed, he is the divinely selected channel of all Barakah. All Exalted Messengers themselves receive these Barakah from him.

LATAIF

The human Ruh also possesses vital organs like the physical body; through which it acquires its knowledge, food and energy. These are called Lataif (singular Latifah: subtlety). Scholars of various Sufi Orders have associated them with specific areas of the human body. The Naqshbandia Owaisiah Order identifies these Lataif as follows. First - Qalb: This spiritual faculty is located within the physical heart. Its function is Zikr. Its strength increases one’s capacity for Allah’s Zikr. Second – Ruh: The site of this Latifah, which is a distinct faculty of the human Ruh, is on the right side of the chest at the level of Qalb. Its primary function is concentration towards Allah. Third – Sirri: This is located above the Qalb and functions to make possible Kashf. Forth – Khaffi: This is located above the Ruh and functions to perceive the omnipresence of Allah. Fifth – Akhfa: This is located in the middle of chest, at the centre of the first four Lataif and makes it possible for the Ruh to perceive the closeness of Allah, Who is closer to us than our own selves. Sixth – Nafs: This Latifah is located at the forehead and functions to purify the human soul. Seventh – Sultan al-Azkar: This Latifah is located at the top centre of the head and serves to absorb the Barakah of Allah into the entire body, so that every cell resonates with Zikr.

FIVE EXALTED MESSENGERS OF GOD

There are Five Exalted Messengers among the many known and unknown Messengers of Allah. They are Hazrat Muhammad, Hazrat Nuh (Noah), Hazrat Ibrahim (Abraham), Hazrat Musa (Moses), and Hazrat Esa (Jesus), peace be upon them all. Hazrat Adam is the first Prophet of Allah and the father of mankind. Each Latifah is associated with a particular Prophet. The Barakah and lights from Hazrat Adam (peace be upon him), descend on the first Latifah Qalb; its lights are reflected from the first heaven and are yellowish. The second Latifah is associated with Hazrat Nuh and Hazrat Ibrahim (peace be upon them). Its lights descend from the second heaven and appear as golden red. The lights descending upon the third Latifah are from Hazrat Musa (peace be upon him) and are white. One the fourth Latifah, the lights of Hazrat Esa (peace be upon him) descend from the fourth heaven and are deep blue. The fifth Latifah receives its Barakah directly from the holy Prophet Muhammad (may Allah’s choicest favors and peace be upon him). The lights associated with this Latifah are green, descend from the fifth heaven, and overwhelm all the first four Lataif. The Lights descending upon the sixth and seventh Lataif are the Divine Lights, whose color and condition cannot be determined. These are like flashes of lightening that defy comprehension. If Allah blesses a seeker with Kashf, he can observe all of this. The vision is slightly diffused in the beginning, but gradually the clarity improves.

SULOOK

Stages of the Path After all seven Lataif of a seeker have been illuminated with Divine Lights through Tawajjuh of the Sheikh and his Ruh has acquired the ability to fly, the Sheikh initiates its journey on the sublime Path of Divine nearness. The Path is known as Sulook, and its stages are not hypothetical imaginations but real and actually existing stations on the spiritual Path. These are also referred to as Meditations, because a seeker mentally meditates about a station while his/her Ruh actually ascends towards it. The first three stations that form the base of whole Sulook are described as; Ahadiyyat, a station of Absolute Unity of Divinity. It is above and beyond the seven heavens. It is so vast a station that the seven heavens and all that they encompass are lost within Ahadiyyat as a ring is lost in a vast desert. Its lights are white in color. Maiyyat station denotes Divine Company, ‘He is with you, wherever you might be.’ This station is so vast that Ahadiyyat along with the seven heavens beneath are lost within it as a ring is lost in a desert. Its lights are green in color. Aqrabiyyat station denotes Divine Nearness, ‘He is nearer to you than your life- vein.’ Again, Aqrabiyyat is vast as compared to Maiyyat in the same proportion. Its lights are golden red and are reflected from the Divine Throne. It is indeed the greatest favor of Almighty Allah that He blesses a seeker with an accomplished Sheikh, who takes him to these sublime stations. The final station that a seeker attains to during his/her lifetime becomes his/her Iliyyeen (blessed abode) in Barzakh and his/her Ruh stays at this station after death.

ZIKR

Why is Zikr Necessary for Everyone? Allah ordains every soul in the Quran to Perform Zikr. This not only means reciting the Quran and Tasbeeh but also Zikr-e Qalb. It is only through Zikr-e Qalbi that Prophetic Lights reach the depths of human soul and purify it from all vice and evil. Zikr infuses a realization of constant Divine Presence and a seeker feels great improvement in the level of sincerity and love towards Allah and the holy Prophet- SAWS. Such levels of sincerity, love and feelings of Divine Presence can never be obtained without Zikr. It would be a mistake to believe that Zikr may be a requirement only for the very pious and virtuous people. Zikr provides the Prophetic blessings which are in effect the life line of every human soul. It transforms even the most corrupted humans into virtuous souls by bringing out the best in them. The fact is that Zikr is the only way to achieve true contentment and satisfaction in life. The holy Quran has pointed to this eternal fact that it is only through Zikr Allah that hearts can find satisfaction. Such satisfaction and peace are the ultimate requirements of every person, regardless of religion, race and ethnicity. Practicing Zikr regularly removes all traces of anxiety and restlessness, and guides the human soul to eternal bliss and peace.

KHALIFA MAJAZEEN

Hazrat Moulana Allah Yar Khan (R.A), during his life time in 1974, presented a nomination list to Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W), during Maraqba, of expected Khalifa Majazeen for Silsila Naqshbandia Awaisia. Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) approved some names, deleted some of the names, and added down the name of Major Ghulam Muhammad as also Khalifa Majaaz of Silsila Naqshbandia Awaisia (which was not previously included in the list)

The approved names at that time included:

1. Mr. Muhammad Akram Awan Sahib,

2. Mr. Sayed Bunyad Hussain Shah Sahib,

3. Mr. Major Ahsan Baig Sahib,

4. Mr. Col. Matloob Hussain Sahib,

5. Mr. Major Ghulam Muhammad Sahib of Wan Bhachran Mianwali,

6. Mr. Molvi Abdul Haq Sahib,

7. Mr. Hafiz Abdul Razzaq Sahib,

8. Mr. Hafiz Ghulam Qadri Sahib,

9. Mr. Khan Muhammad Irani Sahib,

10. Mr. Maolana Abdul Ghafoor Sahib,

11. Mr. Syed Muhammad Hassan Sahib of Zohb.

These Majazeen were authorized to; held Majalis of Zikar (Pas Anfas) in their respective areas, arrange Majalis of Zikar in neighboring areas, train them on the way of Sulook, prepare them for Spiritual Bai’at (Oath of Allegiance), and present them to Sheikh Hazrat Moulana Allah Yar Khan for Spiritual Bai’at at the Hand of Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W), in the life of Hazrat Moulana Allah Yar Khan (R.A), and were all equal in status as Khalifa Majaaz of Hazrat Moulana Allah Yar Khan (R.A).

Presently we are following Hazrat Major ® Ghulam Muhammad Sahib, Khalifa Majaaz of Hazrat Moulana Allah Yar Khan (R.A).

If the student hasn't the background knowledge (schema) to make connections to a text, then comprehension becomes a real challenge.

A teacher's job is to help provide background knowledge before they start reading.

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This man was sharing tales of history, Native American culture and living skills. I always find it very interesting to learn more and could listen for hours.

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Knowledge, like water, is vital to life. The stream of water connects the two figures. The water is symbolic of the passing of knowledge from generation to generation.

"Out of all of the confusions in life it seems that love is the hardest to understand."

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The Thirty-Second Session Session of WIPO's Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (IGC) took place in Geneva, Switzerland from November 28 to December 2, 2016.

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