Trunk or Treat Ideas for 2012

Many churches have found trunk or treat an effective way to connect with their community as parents look for alternatives to trick or treating. Here are some ideas for a more effective trunk or treat.

Plan ahead and get people involved. Many trunk or treats were started by the youth or children's ministries but in order to make it as successful as possible recruit help from other members of the church.

Include live music. If the church has a praise band or other music group include them in the activities. This will bring in young adults and people who don't have children.

Trunk or Treat Ideas for 2012

Serve food. Hot dogs, hamburgers, pizza and something healthy for the adults is a sure way to increase attendance and encourage people to stay longer.

Include games. Kids love games. They don't have to be tied to Halloween. Anything that kids will enjoy playing will work.

Set up a craft area. Many kids enjoy creating something and crafts make a nice addition.

Have members present and visible. Consider having T-shirts printed so members are easily identified. Children and adults may have a number of questions and clearly identifying members will make it easier for people to get answers.

Have a welcome table. Use it to let people know what is going on and any costs involved. Create a flyer that lets people know what is available and other events going on at the church. If the church is having another special event consider printing up an invite ticket with free admission printed on it.

Collect email addresses. At the welcome table have a prominent signup where parents can put their email address to find out more about other things going on at the church. List categories that they can check off such as worship, children's activities, Boy and Girl Scouts, daycare, etc.

Share the Gospel. Hand out a Christian trunk or treat tract that ties the candy into the great gift that God gives.

Promote, Promote, Promote. Create flyers and posters and put up around the community. Send an announcement to local radio and TV stations and newspapers. Post on Facebook and online communities.

Start Early. Planning should be underway in August or September. First step is to decide what you want to include and who is going to be in charge. As soon as the structure is set up, start recruiting people who can help and work on the promotion right after that.

Trunk or Treat Ideas for 2012
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Mike Vitamvas is a partner in Memory Cross which creates origami tracts and coloring cards that are used to share the Gospel, teach children Bible stories and help them memorize Scripture. Tracts and coloring cards are available specifically designed for trunk or treats or to hand out for Halloween. The website is: http://www.memorycross.com

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Impact of Social Media on Society

"Do you have Facebook?"
"Yes, of course. But I don't think you can find me, as there are too many people who have the same name as me. Try searching with my surname as well."
"Hey, you celebrated your birthday in K-Box, right? I saw the photos in your Facebook."
"Bro, I saw your comments about the YouTube video that I've posted in my blog. I'm happy that you are also deeply moved by the 'Dancing Peacock Man' as well."

Social media or "social networking" has almost become part of our daily lives and being tossed around over the past few years. It is like any other media such as newspaper, radio and television but it is far more than just about sharing information and ideas. Social networking tools like Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and Blogs have facilitated creation and exchange of ideas so quickly and widely than the conventional media. The power of define and control a brand is shifting from corporations and institutions to individuals and communities. It is no longer on the 5Cs (e.g. condominium, credit cards and car) that Singaporeans once talked about. Today, it is about the brand new Cs: creativity, communication, connection, creation (of new ideas and products), community (of shared interests), collaboration and (changing the game of) competition.

In January 2010, InSites Consulting has conducted an online survey with 2,884 consumers from over 14 countries between the ages of 18 to 55 years old on social networking. More than 90% of participants know at least 1 social networking site and 72% of participants are members of at least 1 social networking site. On the average, people have about 195 friends and they log in twice a day to social networking sites. However, 55% of the users cannot access their social network websites at work. In the past, not many adults were able to make more than 500 friends, but with social media, even a child or teenager can get to know more than 500 people in a few days by just clicking the mouse. Social media has devalued the traditional definition of "friend" where it means trust, support, compatible values, etc. Although we get to know more people, we are not able to build strong bond with all the people whom we met as our available time is limited. Hence, there is an upcoming social trend of people with wider social circles, but weaker ties (people we don't know very well but who provide us with useful information and ideas).

Impact of Social Media on Society

Social media also influences people's buying behaviours. Digital Influence Group reported that 91% of the people say consumer reviews are the #1 aid to buying decisions and 87% trust a friend's recommendation over critic's review. It is thrice more likely to trust peer opinions over advertising for purchasing decisions. 1 word-of-mouth conversation has an impact of 200 TV ads. With the prevalence use of social media, there is numerous news related to it from the most viewed YouTube video on "Armless pianist wins 'China's Got Talent'" to Web-assisted suicide cases (e.g. New Jersey college student who killed himself after video of him in a sexual encounter with another man was posted online). Thus, does social networking make us better or worse off as a society?

Positive Effects of Social Media

Besides having opportunity to know a lot of people in a fast and easy way, social media also helped teenagers who have social or physical mobility restrictions to build and maintain relationships with their friends and families. Children who go overseas to study can still stay in meaningful contact with their parents. To a greater extend, there is anecdotal evidence of positive outcomes from these technologies.

In 2008, President-elected Obama won the election through the effective use of social media to reach millions of audience or voters. The Obama campaign had generated and distributed huge amount of contents and messages across email, SMS, social media platforms and their websites. Obama and his campaign team fully understood the fundamental social need that everyone shares - the need of being "who we are". Therefore, the campaign sent the message as "Because It's about YOU" and chose the right form of media to connect with individuals, call for actions and create community for a social movement. They encouraged citizens to share their voices, hold discussion parties in houses and run their own campaign meetings. It truly changed the delivery of political message.

Obama campaign had made 5 million "friends" on more than 15 social networking sites (3 million friends on Facebook itself) and posted nearly 2,000 YouTube videos which were watched over 80 million times. At its peak, their website, MyBarackObama.com, had 8.5 million monthly visitors and produced 400,000 blog posts. In order to ensure that their contents were found by people, the Obama campaign spent .5 million on Google search in October alone, 0,000 on Advertising.com, 7,000 on Facebook in 2008, etc. Currently, Obama's Twitter account has close to 6 million followers.

In 2010, after the earthquake happened in Haiti, many of the official communication lines were down. The rest of the world was not able to grasp the full picture of the situation there. To facilitate the sharing of information and make up for the lack of information, social media came in very handy to report the news about the affected area on what happened and what help was needed. Tweets from many people provided an impressive overview of the ongoing events from the earthquake. BBC covered the event by combining tweets from the work of its reporter Matthew Price in Port-au-Prince at the ground. Guardian's live blog also used social media together with the information from other news organisations to report about the rescue mission.

It has been two years since CNN officially launched iReport as a section of its website where people can upload video material, with contact information. During the Haiti crisis, CNN had published a range of social media material but not all the materials were verified. The editorial staff would vet the reports from the citizen journalists and labeled them differently compared to unverified contents. On Facebook, a group, named "Earthquake Haiti", was formed to show support and share updates and news. It had more than 14,000 members and some users even pleaded for assistance to the injured Haitians in the group. Using email, Twitter and social networking sites like Facebook, thousands of volunteers as part of Project Ushahidi were able to map reports sent by people from Haiti.

The most impressive part of the social media's impact on Haiti is the charity text-message donations that soared to over million for the victims in Haiti. People interested in helping the victims are encouraged to text, tweet and publicize their support using various social networking sites. The Global Philanthropy Group had also started a campaign to ask wealthy people and celebrities, like Ben Stiller and John Legend to use Twitter and Facebook to encourage others to give to UNICEF. An aid worker, Saundra Schimmelpfennig, allowed the advice from other aid workers and donors to post on her blog regarding to choosing which charitable organisations to support. In the meantime, donors were asking questions in Twitter, Facebook and blogs about their donations and endorsements of their favourite charities. After every crisis, the social media for social cause becomes a more effective medium to spread the word.

Negative Effects of Social Media

There are always two sides of every coin. Social media is just a tool or mean for people to use. It is still up to the users on how to use this tool (just like a knife, can help you to cut food or hurt others). Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project and Elon University's Imagining the Internet Center conducted a study on "The Future of Online Socializing" from the highly engaged, diverse set of respondents to an online, opt-in survey consisted of 895 technology stakeholders and critics. The negative effects presented by the respondents included time spent online robs time from important face-to-face relationships; the internet fosters mostly shallow relationships; the act of leveraging the internet to engage in social connection exposes private information; the internet allows people to silo themselves, limiting their exposure to new ideas; and the internet is being used to engender intolerance.

Some respondents also highlighted that there will be development of some new psychological and medical syndromes that will be "variations of depression caused by the lack of meaningful quality relationships", and a "new world society". The term, "Social Networking", has begun to deceive the users to believe they are social creatures. For instance, spending a couple of hours using Farmville and chatting with friends concurrently does not convert into social skills. People become dependent on the technology and forget how to socialise in face-to-face context. The online personality of a person might be totally different from his/her offline character, causing chaos when the two personalities meet. It is apparent in online dating when the couple gets together in face-to-face for the first time. Their written profiles do not clearly represent their real-life characters. It is more enticing for people to type something that others want to hear than saying the truth.

Besides the "friendship", creators of social networking sites and users redefine the term, "privacy" in the Internet as well. The challenge in data privacy is to share data while protecting personally identifiable information. Almost any information posted on social networking sites is permanent. Whenever someone posts pictures or videos on the web, it becomes viral. When the user deletes a video from his/her social network, someone might have kept it and then posted it onto other sites like YouTube already. People post photographs and video files on social networking sites without thinking and the files can reappear at the worst possible time. In 2008, a video of a group of ACJC students hazing a female student in school on her birthday was circulated and another video of a SCDF recruit being "welcomed" (was hosed with water and tarred with shoe polish) to a local fire station made its way online.

Much news has been reported about online privacy breach in Facebook and Facebook is constantly revising their privacy policy and changing their privacy controls for the users. Interestingly, even when users delete their personal information and deactivate their Facebook account, Facebook will still keep that information and will continue to use it for data mining. A reporter asked whether the data will at least be anonymized. The Facebook representative declined to comment.

In the corporate world, human resource managers can access Facebook or MySpace to get to know about a candidate's true colours, especially when job seekers do not set their profiles to private. Research has found that almost half of employers have rejected a potential worker after finding incriminating material on their Facebook pages. Some employers have also checked the candidates' online details in Facebook pages to see if they are lying about their qualifications. Nowadays, younger generations have a complete disregard for their own privacy, opening doors to unwelcome predators or stalkers.

Impact of Social Media on Society
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Raymond Tay
Founder & Trainer of Leader's Wheel LLP

Having strong interest in personal development and helping others.

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California New Home Communities

Looking to buy a new home in California? Here are some of the state's most attractive new home communities.

Cordova, provided by Brookfield Homes in Chula Vista, offers two-story townhomes, with prices beginning is the mid 0,000s. Chula Vista - a very desirable coastal city south of San Diego - is a place where you can enjoy the simple, peaceful surroundings. Visit their website to learn more.

The New Riata from Elliott Homes is the latest series of energy-efficient private residence homes in Folsom. Featuring seven floor plans, that offers three to five bedrooms, ranging between 1,777 and 3,246 sq. ft. Pricing starts in the upper 0,000s. View The New Riata online for additional information.

California New Home Communities

Donatello at Serrano, by Greenbriar Homes, is a custom home community in El Dorado Hills. The scenic surrounding of the existing oak trees is thanks to thoughtful preservation. These luxury houses range from 4,095 to 5,430 sq. ft. on one-half to one-acre lots. For more information see Donatello at Serrano from Greenbriar Homes online.

Saddleback II in Tallus Ranch, provided by Meritage Homes, is a new subdivision with houses priced from the mid 0,000s. These quality-built, competitively priced homes have three floor-plans to select from - 2,112 to 3,100 sq. ft. Saddleback II in Tallus Ranch by Meritage Homes can be viewed online to find out more.

Country Faire, a Raymus Homes' community in Linden, has 70 customizable floor plans to choose from. House lots are 8,000 sq. ft., which offer residents quiet living, and plans offer 1,500 to 3,000 sq. ft. that are three to five bedrooms. Visit their website for more details.

Canterbury, by Ryland Homes, is a new housing community in Beaumont. Buyers can choose from floor plans ranging from 3,094 to 3,935 sq. ft., with up to seven bedrooms, starting in the upper 0,000s. To learn more about Canterbury from Ryland Homes, visit the community online.

Cambridge Lane at Columbus Square, from William Lyon Homes, provides townhomes in the city of Tustin. Starting in the upper 0,000s.These houses range in size - 1,114 to 1,599 sq. ft. - and offer two-to-three bedrooms, with garages. Find more about Cambridge Lane at Columbus Square, by William Lyon Homes, online.

California New Home Communities
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New Homes Section's easy to use website gives you tons of information about home builders, new home communities, new homes in California and home builder incentives. Visit New Homes Section during your search for a new home and home builder information.

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Inexpensive Kids Birthday Party Locations

While throwing your child a birthday party is high on any parents list, most people don't want to spend a fortune for the celebration. Depending on the time of year and your budget, there are some great options for the location of the party (other than your home).

If you do decide to throw a party outside your home, be sure to include your child in the location decision. If the child is young, you may want to bring them to the location prior to the party so that they can get comfortable and excited about the upcoming event. Most kids look forwarding to opening their presents at the end of their party. So whatever option you choose, make sure you set aside a special place where all the party goers can place the birthday gifts.

1. Town Park Shelter. Many local communities offer rental shelters at the parks where they have picnic tables, grills and play equipment for the kids. The older children can go play while the adults hang out. The food doesn't have to be gourmet, instead keep it simple and easy like barbecuing hot dogs or burgers or a couple baked lasagnas with salad. Follow up with a fun birthday cake from your local warehouse club, grocery store or your own kitchen.

Inexpensive Kids Birthday Party Locations

2. Fast Food Restaurant. Both McDonald's and Hardees offer kids parties that include a party hostess, food and cake at reasonable prices. The other great thing about these restaurants is that many have Playlands or plastic ball pits so that the kids can be entertained while the adults chit-chat and relax a bit.

3. Children's or Science Museum. If you have a larger budget, a local science or children's museum can be a great place to hold a birthday party. Some places have party hostesses and provide some supplies, so just check what they provide in your city. You may only need to bring a birthday cake and presents.

4. Movie Theater. Many towns have inexpensive or dollar show theaters that will rent out the entire theater or give you big group discount as well as discounts on snacks and soda. Some theaters will let you bring in some of your own snacks and a cake so just check and see what can be done at your local theater by speaking with the manager.

5. Neighborhood Club House. If you live in a planned community, chances are that you have a club house in your neighborhood or apartment complex. Often these rooms are either free or can be rented for a nominal fee by residents. The club house would likely give you more room than your home, but it would still be close enough that you could set up the birthday party relatively easily. Not to mention, you don't have to clean your house!

6. Local Fire Department. Often times, local fire departments have rooms that they will allow local residents utilize for free or for a nominal fee. Some fire departments will even give the children of a private birthday party a tour of the department and let them try on some of the firefighters' gear and get their photos taken. These pictures make great keepsake gifts for all the children.

Inexpensive Kids Birthday Party Locations
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Can't make the birthday party or need a unique birthday gift this year? All About Gifts & Baskets has a huge selection of Kids Birthday Gift Baskets for any age. From candy to cookies, chocolate to books, let us take care of all your gift basket needs. Shop online and ship direct to the birthday boy or girl.

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Ackee and Saltfish - Jamaica's National Dish

Ackee is the national fruit of Jamaica; ackee and saltfish is the national dish.  The ackee tree grows in various places in the world where it has many non-edible uses but it appears to be used for food only in Jamaica.  

Ackee trees originated from West Africa in the 1700s aboard slave ships. Its botanical name is Blighia sapida, named for Captain William Bligh who introduced this strange plant to England in the 18th century. The whole ackee fruit is not edible because the unripe fruit contains toxins. The outer skin of an ackee starts off as a yellowish-green color and turns red as it ripens. When ripe, the ackee breaks open naturally while still on the tree. Inside this unusual fruit are three very large shiny black seeds, each surrounded by a creamy yellow "aril" (almost like a fleshy bag covering each seed).  These fleshy arils are the only part of the fruit you can eat.    

Once ripe, the big shiny seeds are thrown away along with the outer part of the ackee. The remaining golden arils are then carefully cleaned, boiled and cooked properly. Usually you will find it sauteed with onions, tomatoes and dried, salted codfish to create Jamaica's delicious national dish, ackee and saltfish. This is a Sunday breakfast favorite, often served with roasted breadfruit and, if you didn't know better, looks almost like scrambled eggs on your plate!  

Ackee and Saltfish - Jamaica's National Dish

If eaten before it's ripe, ackee is poisonous. It contains Hypoglycins A & B which can cause what is known as Jamaican Vomiting Sickness, a type of fatal hypoglycemia which triggers vomiting and seizures. This is quite rare, however, because Jamaicans know how to properly harvest and prepare ackee! And, in fact, ackee is very nutritious. It contains a lot of protein, unsaturated fats, and is rich in essential fatty acids, zinc and vitamin A.

If you just can't get to Jamaica to enjoy this beloved delicacy, canned ackee is a major export of Jamaica, at more than US million in value, and remains popular in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., and wherever there are large communities of Jamaicans. While U.S. imports were banned for many years, the FDA now certifies ackee processors and carefully inspects their final product. Jamaica's processing plants vigilantly monitor the quality, ripeness and hypoglycin levels of the fruit they purchase from growers.  Today, Jamaica has competition from Mexico, Costa Rica, Florida, and other Caribbean islands that have recognized the nutritional value of the fruit as well as its mounting value as an export product.   

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Visit http://www.keepitjiggy.com for loads of information about Jamaica, its history, its food, travel information reggae music, its artists, and resources for locating those hard-to-find collectibles in the genre.

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Social Networking, The Pros and Cons of Social Networks

Social Networking has become increasingly popular nowadays as there are a lot of sites that offer this service. MySpace and Friendster are two of the most popular sites that aim to build communities of people who share common interests and activities, or who are interested in exploring the interests and activities of others.

THE PROS

A social networking site is like a virtual meeting place where people can hang out and discuss different topics. Anything under the sun, in fact. Some use these networking sites to promote their blogs, to post bulletins and updates or to use them as a bridge to a future love interest.

Social Networking, The Pros and Cons of Social Networks

These are just a few of the reasons why social networking is getting a lot of attention lately -- it makes life more exciting for many people.

THE CONS

However, it would be best to make sure that safety and security are the topmost concerns of the social networking site that you currently use. This is because social networking sites require or give you the option to provide personal information such as your name, location, and email address. Unfortunately some people can take this as an opportunity for identity theft. They can copy your information and pretend to be "you" when engaging in illegal activities. Bad news! So be cautious with what you enter into an online networking site.

You could fall into the trap of someone who pretends to be somebody else. For example, they might offer you a job or want to meet up with you just to get your money. This can lead to cyberstalking, where the stalker uses electronic media such as the Internet to pursue or harass you.

THE CONCLUSION

So take your time and be careful in choosing who to trust so you can hopefully avoid this sort of unpleasant thing happening to you. Apart from that, social networking is great thing.

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Top 25 Undergraduate Schools

With competition rising fiercely for admission into a good undergraduate school and the choice of subjects, school curriculum expanding with it, choosing the best undergraduate school can be confusing. There are large, small, public, private, urban and rural undergraduate schools to select from; while some are appealing because of their inviting locale in a countryside setting or in the midst of a cosmopolitan setting others lure the students with their state-of-the-art facilities and distinguished host of teachers.

The list of top 25 undergraduate schools listed below have many diverse traits and distinct characteristics, however the common thread running through them is that of the promise of the best education ever. The undergraduate school curriculum of these top 25 schools is unparalleled and makes them stand apart as the institutions of great learning.

Best Ivy undergraduate school

Top 25 Undergraduate Schools

Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut Yale president Richard Levin is a leader and a visionary and has been tireless in his efforts to change ED admissions policies, making it a one of the many reasons for it being the vied for the number one position and topping the student's list for admissions. A big attraction of the undergraduate experience for students is the residential-college system. Students live in one of twelve colleges, each with its own distinct personality, under the guidance of a master and a dean.

Best School for Entrepreneurs

Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pa.

Six of the campus's 10 undergraduate schools offer entrepreneurship courses. The Smeal College of Business and the College of Engineering are the most natural partners, with joint programs to show engineers how to run businesses and to teach business students the latest technology. Hotel-management students operate two on-campus hotels and conference centres where they're involved in everything from food service to staffing the front desk while the College of Communications focuses on entrepreneurship in the Information Age.

Big 10 School - Northwestern University, Evanston, Ill

Comprising of six undergraduate schools, Northwestern University attracts students with diverse aspirations including budding actors, journalists, engineers and teachers as well as a host of liberal-arts students. Each school is world renown and attracts the best minds from across the globe. Set in Evanston at the edge of the bustling Cosmo polis of Chicago, Northwestern offers its students the best of both worlds.

Best Architectural School - Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts

President Charles Vest initiated an ambitious billion construction program at MIT which includes the Steven Holl's Simmons Hall, a aluminium-clad dormitory as well as the Fumihiko Maki's expansion of the Media Lab. The more famous building is that of the Stata Center, a computer-science landmark by Frank Gehry containing labs for the "intelligence sciences" and connected corridors and public spaces to encourage spontaneous collaboration. MIT calls it an "intellectual village."

Best school of for Arts - Juilliard School, New York, N.Y.

With a history of more than a hundred years, Julliard is known as one the most famous undergraduate school of arts and can boast of an impressive alumni list the likes of the actor Kevin Kline, violinist Itzhak Perlman and choreographer Lar Lubovitch. To celebrate this glory, the school has introduced new choreography, productions and performances. Only a few select students comprising of musicians, dancers and actors get chosen every year to showcase their talent in the Juilliard Theatre right next to Lincoln Centre. That's the best inspiration for any aspiring star.

Best Library- Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts

Harvard's library system ranks with the best of any kind in the country, even as compared to the Library of Congress. The collection which includes more than 15 million volumes, 5.5 million microforms, 6.5 million manuscripts and 5 million other research materials such as photographs, maps and recordings is the largest in the world. Harvard's digital collection is particularly strong, and is hugely beneficial for students who want access to any existing online journal

Best Riding School - Hollins University, Roanoke, Virginia

Situated in the breathtaking locale of Virginia's horse country, Hollins undergraduate school is known for its exceptional training for equestriennes. The school is a regular winner of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference championship, and the Hollins team has won ten times in the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association. Although many Hollins students work with horses after graduation as trainers, riders or veterinarians, the school also offers a strong liberal-arts program and a highly regarded creative-writing curriculum. It is famous for its celebrity alumni the likes of Margaret Wise Brown, Annie Dillard and Lee Smith.

Best undergraduate school for diversity-Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut

Dean of Admissions Nancy Meislahn believes that only a large cross section of society from across the globe can contribute to the intellectual diversity of an educational system. Wesleyan's student population comprises of one third coloured people and 7% international students. An additional 15% are the first in their family to attend a four-year college. It offers a huge diversity of shared learning and wide range of perspective to the classroom.

Best Tech Savvy School - Dartmouth College, Hanover, N.H

This undergraduate school has been in the forefront of technological revolution ever since professors John Kemeny and Thomas Kurtz, forty years ago, not only realized the importance of computers but were responsible for creating the computer language BASIC. It is known to have the first e-mail programs and an early campus computer network. Dartmouth was also the first Ivy to install WiFi on campus. The school offers free software to students so they can turn their laptops into telephones using the school's WiFi.

Best Fitness School - University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia

Following the adage of Thomas Jefferson, the founder of UVA, who advocated that a strong body makes the mind strong, UVA offers both varsity competitors and weekend warriors some of the best fitness facilities in the country. Students benefit hugely from the four indoor recreation centres, which together make up 300,000 square feet of pools, running tracks, weight rooms and classrooms for yoga and kickboxing. The school also maintains a 23-acre park for outdoor field sports and jogging.

Best Honor Code - Haverford College, Haverford, Pa.

The honor code is central to the college's values and includes every aspect of academic and social life. Rob Killion, Director of Admissions says that the founder, Haverford expects people to learn from one another, debate and argue with one another--but to do so respectfully. It is an academically rigorous liberal-arts college that advocates take-home and non-supervised exams as well as students living in dorms, without resident advisers

Best school for studying abroad - Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts

The mission at Tufts is simple - to teach students to be world citizens. Tufts likes students who want to study abroad which translates into a strong language requirement, and a chance to learn a new culture in one of Tufts's own centres in countries like Germany, Chile, China or Ghana. About 40% of Tufts juniors are travelling across the world during the academic year.

Best School for Politics - George Washington University, Washington, D.C

With a campus close to the World Bank and a stone's throw away from the White House, GWU is a dream college for every Political Science major. Many of the professors are consultants to top government officials thus bringing a real, practical and intelligent perspective to the classroom. The school also encourages internships at government agencies, think tanks and advocacy organizations.

Best school for Double Majors - Rice University, Houston, Texas

Rice allows its students to explore their passions and requires them to commit to their majors only in the Junior Year unlike most schools who ask for it in the Sophomore Year. With an ambitious student body, many of them go for double majors. The most common combination is science and humanities. The school is best known for its engineering and science curriculum, but the social sciences are also becoming strong.

Best school for Greeks with brains- University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich

Michigan is known for its multi-disciplinary approach including everything from music to medicine. A good eclectic mix of academics and a lively social life, it offers its students everything. About 15% of undergrads go Greek, which students say helps them find a friendlier community within the vast student population. Fraternities and sororities are especially popular with the many out-of-state students.

Best school for Hot and Dry - Pomona College, Claremont, Calif.

Pomona is one of five colleges of the Claremont University where students experience the best of both worlds - the academically challenging environment of a small New England liberal-arts college with year-round California sunshine. A combination that is attractive and motivating, the applications are up by almost 30% in the last few years. Students also can explore the academic and social resources of the other Claremont colleges, including Pitzer, Harvey Mudd and Scripps. But none of the colleges will be tapping a keg during "dry week," a tradition at the start of the year during wherein no alcohol is allowed on campus.

Best State University - University of Texas at Austin

Although University of Texas Austin has attained the distinction of a laid-back campus, it is no place for slackers. With 50,000 students (more than any other school in the country), UT boasts some of the nation's best business, law and engineering schools. Besides football, it has 900 student organizations that should keep you going.

Best school for landing a job - Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pa

Practical approach and hands-on experience is the most important part of life at Carnegie Mellon. The school has 12 programs including computer science, engineering and drama which are very famous. The school takes pride in being on the cutting edge in every field and encourages students to think about applying what they learn to the real world. About 70 percent of Carnegie Mellon students have a job offer when they graduate.

Best school for Health Careers - University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, N.C.

One of the top public universities in the US, UNC-Chapel Hill offers students a choice of more than 50 majors. But the main attraction for future doctors, nurses and other health professionals is the opportunity to study at a campus with all health disciplines in one place. The School of Nursing and the School of Public Health both have undergraduate programs. At the School of Medicine, undergrads can earn degrees in radiology science or clinical laboratory practice.

Best school for Individualists - Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio

Oberlin comprises of the College of Arts and Sciences and the Conservatory of Music. It has a unique approach to life and learning and the undergraduate school curriculum offers innovative subject matter like - Death and the Art of Dying, American Mixed Blood, and Destination: L.A. The student-run Experimental College lets undergraduates teach courses of their own creation, like Making Your Own Mobile or Mythology and Epic Storytelling in "Lord of the Rings." This eccentricity is very rewarding and Oberlin graduates have more Ph.D.s than alumni of any other liberal-arts college.

Best school for city haters - Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y.

Cornell's rural, upstate New York campus is bounded by deep gorges, spectacular scenery and a beautiful rural setting. However, it has one of the most rigorous and challenging curriculum that draws only the best minds. The school's greatest attraction is its academic diversity, with top-ranked undergraduate schools of engineering, arts and sciences, architecture, hotel administration, industrial and labour relations, agriculture and human ecology.

Best school for city lovers - New York University, New York, N.Y.

With the Olsen twins Mary-Kate and Ashley lending NYU some of its fame, it is a school loved by the urban and the hip. Despite the 9/11 catastrophe, it continues to draw crowds of talented students. One of the top attractions is the Tisch School of the Arts, which nurtures future actors, dancers and screenwriters. The business school is also highly rated, and students can take advantage of internships on Wall Street. The campus of NYU is not structured in the strictest sense; in fact buildings scattered throughout the Greenwich Village, most students like to believe that they have the whole city as the campus to explore.

Best Military School - U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Md.

The four-year undergraduate curriculum at Annapolis is tough and technically oriented, with core requirements in engineering, natural sciences, humanities and social sciences. Traditions play a huge part in campus life. "When you first show up for classes in the fall, students begin counting down the number of days until the Army-Navy game," says Cmdr. Tim Disher, admissions officer. Graduates become commissioned officers in the Navy or the Marine Corps.

Best undergraduate school for scholarships - Berea College, Berea, Ky.
The 1,500 students at Berea come from families with average household incomes of only ,000, and 80% have grown up in southern Appalachia, a region that spans nine states with some of the most remote and poor rural communities in the country. Berea's mission is unique in that it believes in promoting education by giving scholarships to the poor but deserving. All students get full-tuition scholarships, although they do have to pay for their room, board and books. However, scholarships are available for those as well. Students are required to work--many of them at jobs on campus that help to keep Berea's costs down.

Best Surf and Ski School - University of California, Santa Barbara

It is known to be the most beautiful campus located at the edge of the Pacific. UCSB also boasts Nobel Prize winners on its faculty, top research centres in science and technology and an extensive study-abroad program. Aside from the top academics, the various recreation programs offered attract many of the students. The campus has its own beaches where students can surf, and the Big Bear ski resort is just a few hours' drive away.

Top 25 Undergraduate Schools
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Free Home Appraisal Calculator - How to Use Them and Where to Find One

Using a free home appraisal calculator online could save you a lot of money when trying to sell or buy your next home. The question is where can you find one and how do you use it once you do find one. This article will explain where to find a free home appraisal calculator and how to use the appraised value of your home to your advantage.

If you are trying to sell your home in this buyer's market then you must know how much your property is really worth. Many people list their home for sale not knowing how to price it properly. You want to price your home slightly less than the market value. This will generate more buyer traffic and hopefully get you multiple offers. Using one of the free online appraisal tools is a good idea if you need a ball park figure. There are a few recommended sites that I use to get my estimates. These sites are easy to use and only take a few seconds. The estimate they provide is usually based on historical sale data. All you do is enter your address and a little info about the home and in a few moments you will have a reasonable value.

Another method is to use a realtor. Ask several experienced real estate agents to give an appraisal. Most agents will do this for free in hopes of getting your listing. Make sure they know your neighborhood and they understand you want to sell the home fast.

Free Home Appraisal Calculator - How to Use Them and Where to Find One

Once you know the value of your home you can price it correctly. I recommend pricing the home about one to two percent less than the calculated value. Use these free tools and price your home right, and you might just sell your home a little faster.

Free Home Appraisal Calculator - How to Use Them and Where to Find One
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Free Home Appraisal Calculator - Get a free home appraisal at one of our recommended sites. Also get experienced real estate agents in your area to bid for your business at http://www.free-home-appraisals.info. These are great ways to save money when selling or buying your next house.

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Which is the Easiest Language to Learn? Rating the 14 Most Popular Course Offerings

Which is the best language to learn? Which is the easiest?

Two different questions, often uttered in the same breath. But that's okay, because there will be only one answer. Whichever language you wholeheartedly choose to study will be both the best and the easiest. However, here's some help choosing.

The choices.

Which is the Easiest Language to Learn? Rating the 14 Most Popular Course Offerings

Here is the Modern Language Association's 2002 list of the most commonly studied languages at university level in the United States. I have not included ancient languages like Latin, Biblical Hebrew, or Sanskrit, special purposes languages like American Sign Language, or U.S. heritage languages, like Hawaiian or Navajo since the choice of those languages follows a different dynamic:

1. Spanish
2. French
3. German
4. Italian
5. Japanese
6. Chinese
7. Russian
8. Arabic
9. Modern Hebrew
10. Portuguese
11. Korean
12. Vietnamese
13. Hindi/Urdu
14. Swahili

Difficulty, according to Uncle Sam

First, consider some cold facts. The U.S. State Department groups languages for the diplomatic service according to learning difficulty:

Category 1. The "easiest" languages for speakers of English, requiring 600 hours of classwork for minimal proficiency: the Latin and Germanic languages. However, German itself requires a bit more time, 750 hours, because of its complex grammar.

Category 2. Medium, requiring 1100 hours of classwork: Slavic languages, Turkic languages, other Indo-Europeans such as Persian and Hindi, and some non-Indo-Europeans such as Georgian, Hebrew and many African languages. Swahili is ranked easier than the rest, at 900 hours.

Category 3. Difficult, requiring 2200 hours of study: Arabic, Japanese, Korean and the Chinese languages.

Will you get a chance to practice this language?

Now, consider another important factor: accessibility. To be a successful learner you need the chance to hear, read and speak the language in a natural environment. Language learning takes an enormous amount of concentration and repetition, which cannot be done entirely in the classroom. Will you have access to the language where you live, work and travel?

The 14 most popular courses according to a combination of linguistic ease and accessibility.

1. Spanish. Category One. The straightforward grammar is familiar and regular. It is also ubiquitous in the Americas, the only foreign language with a major presence in the insular linguistic environment of the U.S. Chances to speak and hear it abound. It is the overwhelming favorite, accounting for more than fifty percent of language study enrollment in the MLA study.

2. French. Category One. Grammatically complex but not difficult to learn because so many of it's words have entered English. For this vocabulary affinity, it is easy to attain an advanced level, especially in reading. It is a world language, and a motivated learner will find this language on the internet, in films and music.

3. German. Category One Plus. The syntax and grammar rules are complex with noun declensions a major problem. It is the easiest language to begin speaking, with a basic vocabulary akin to English. Abstract, advanced language differs markedly, though, where English opts for Latin terms. It values clear enunciation, so listening comprehension is not difficult.

4. Italian. Category One. It has the same simple grammar rules as Spanish, a familiar vocabulary and the clearest enunciation among Latin languages (along with Romanian). Italian skills are easily transferable to French or Spanish. You might need to go to Italy to practice it, but there are worse things that could happen to you. It is also encountered in the world of opera and classical music.

5. Russian. Category Two. This highly inflected language, with declensions, is fairly difficult to learn. The Cyrillic alphabet is not particularly difficult, however, and once you can read the language, the numerous borrowings from French and other western languages are a pleasant surprise. It is increasingly accessible.

6. Arabic. Category Three. Arabic is spoken in dozens of countries, but the many national dialects can be mutually incomprehensible. It has only three vowels, but includes some consonants that don't exist in English. The alphabet is a formidable obstacle, and good calligraphy is highly valued and difficult to perfect. Vowels are not normally written (except in children's books) and this can be an obstacle for reading. It is ubiquitous in the Muslim world and opportunities exist to practice it at every level of formality.

7. Portuguese. Category One. One of the most widely spoken languages in the world is often overlooked. It has a familiar Latin grammar and vocabulary, though the phonetics may take some getting used to.

8. Swahili. Category Two Minus. It includes many borrowings from Arabic, Persian, English and French. It is a Bantu language of Central Africa, but has lost the difficult Bantu "tones". The sound system is familiar, and it is written using the Latin alphabet. One major grammatical consideration is the division of nouns into sixteen classes, each with a different prefix. However, the classes are not arbitrary, and are predictable.

9. Hindi/Urdu. Category Two. The Hindustani language, an Indo-European language, includes both Hindi and Urdu. It has an enormous number of consonants and vowels, making distinctions between phonemes that an English speaker will have difficulty hearing. Words often have clipped endings, further complicating comprehension. Hindi uses many Sanskrit loans and Urdu uses many Persian/Arabic loans, meaning that a large vocabulary must be mastered. Hindi uses the phonetically precise Devanagari script, created specifically for the language. Predictably, Urdu's use of a borrowed Persian/Arabic script leads to some approximation in the writing system.

10. Modern Hebrew. Category Two. Revived as a living language during the nineteenth century, it has taken on characteristics of many languages of the Jewish diaspora. The resultant language has become regularized in grammar and syntax, and the vocabulary has absorbed many loan words, especially from Yiddish, English and Arabic. The alphabet has both print and script forms, with five vowels, not normally marked. Vowel marking, or pointing, is quite complex when it does occur. Sounds can be difficult to reproduce in their subtleties and a certain amount of liaison makes listening comprehension problematic. It is not very accessible outside of a religious or Israeli context.

11. Japanese. Category Three. Difficult to learn, as the vocabulary is unfamiliar, and the requirements of the sound system so strict that even the many words that have been borrowed from English, French and German will seem unrecognizable. With three different writing systems, it is forbiddingly difficult to read and write. Also, social constraints may impede useful interaction.

12. Chinese. Category Three. Whether your choice is Mandarin or Cantonese (the MLA survey does not make a distinction, oddly enough). It is the most difficult language on this list. It includes all of the most difficult aspects: unfamiliar phonemes, a large number of tones, an extremely complex writing system, and an equally unfamiliar vocabulary. Personal motivation is absolutely essential to keep the student on track. On the positive side, it is easy to find, since Chinese communities exist throughout the world, and Chinese language media, such as newspapers, films and TV, are present in all these communities.

13. Vietnamese. Category Three. This language belongs to an unfamiliar family of languages, but it does borrow much vocabulary from Chinese (helpful if you already speak Chinese!). It has six tones, and a grammar with an unfamiliar logic. It's not all bleak, however, Vietnamese uses a Latin derived alphabet. The chances of speaking this language are not high, though there are 3 million speakers in the USA.

14. Korean. Category Three. Korean uses an alphabet of 24 symbols, which accurately represent 14 consonants and 10 vowels. However, the language also includes 2000 commonly used Chinese characters for literary writing and formal documents. Speech levels and honorifics complicate the learning of vocabulary, and there is liaison between words, making them hard to distinguish. The grammar is not overly complicated and there are no tones. It borrows many Chinese words, but the language is unrelated to other languages of Asia.

The most important factor of all: personal motivation

The third, most important factor is up to you. The easiest language to learn is the one that you are most motivated to learn, the one you enjoy speaking, the one with the culture that inspires you and the history that touches you spiritually. It is useless to try to learn a language if you are not interested in the people who speak it, since learning a language involves participating in its behaviors and identifying with its people.

So, consider all three factors: motivation, accessibility and linguistic ease, in that order, and come up with the final list yourself. The bad news is that no language is really easy to learn, but the good news is that we humans are hard wired for a great amount of linguistic flexibility, as long as we know how to turn on the learning process. If the rewards and benefits of the language are clear to you, you will be able to get those rusty language synapses sparking in your head and start the words rolling. Bonne chance!

Which is the Easiest Language to Learn? Rating the 14 Most Popular Course Offerings
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Dominic Ambrose has taught languages for over twenty years, from Middle School to Community College, from adult ed to ESL to TOEFL training. He has also traveled as a teacher educator to many Eastern European countries as well as South America, including three years with the Romanian Ministry of Education. Presently, he lives in Paris writing full time, mostly about film and fiction, but he is still fascinated by languages. To see his blog, click on the link: http://dominicambrose.wordpress.com

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History of the Celtic Druids

The Druids were an ancient order of Celtic priests in the societies of Western Europe, Britain and Ireland. The Celtic Druids served their communities by combining the duties of seer, priest, poet, philosopher, historian, scholar, teacher, doctor, astronomer and astrologer. The Celts had developed a highly sophisticated religious system, with three divisions of men who were held in exceptional honor; the lowest division were called the Ovates, the second division were called the Bards and then the Druids. The ovates were the healers and seers; the bards memorised the songs, poems, and stories of the tribe (historians); while the druids taught moral philosophy and were experts in the workings of natural science.

The Celtic Druids were advisers to the rulers of that time, acted as judges in the event of disputes, supervised executions and even controlled the legal system. They were held in such respect that if they intervened between two armies they could stop the battle. The Druid priests and priestesses acted as mediums through which the spirits could be summoned and heard, with rituals throughout the history of the Celtic Druids being enacted in sacred groves of oak trees and circles of standing stones

The first surviving and fullest account of the druids and their religion is that given by Julius Caesar in his Commentarii de Bello Gallico, book VI, written in Gaul in 59-51 BC. Overall, not much can be said of the druids with assurance as the sources of information about them is limited. However they continued to feature prominently in later sources of Irish myth and literature. Thus, the history of the Celtic Druids presents many obscurities and our main literary sources date back to the 2nd century BC with Pliny and The Commentaries of Caeser.

History of the Celtic Druids

"The principal point of their doctrine", Caesar wrote, "is that the soul does not die and that after death it passes from one body into another."

Caesar continued:

"With regard to their actual course of studies, the main object of all education is, in their opinion, to imbue their scholars with a firm belief in the indestructibility of the human soul, which, according to their belief, merely passes at death from one tenement to another; for by such doctrine alone, they say, which robs death of all its terrors, can the highest form of human courage be developed. Subsidiary to the teachings of this main principle, they hold various lectures and discussions on astronomy, on the extent and geographical distribution of the globe, on the different branches of natural philosophy, and on many problems connected with religion".
-Julius Cesar, "De Bello Gallico", VI, 13

After the first century BC the continental druids disappeared entirely and were referred to only on very rare occasions. However, there is some evidence that the druids of Ireland survived into the mid- to late-seventh century. In the De Mirabilibus Sacrae Scripturae of Augustinus Hibernicus, there is mention of local magi who teach a doctrine of reincarnation in the form of birds.

During the first millennium, Celtic and Druid spirituality was preserved by the Christian clerics who performed the valuable service of recording many of the stories and myths by which the oral teachings of the Druids were conveyed. People who think that Druidry was destroyed with the coming of Christianity fail to understand the resilience of spiritual teachings when they are encoded in myths and stories: and it is thanks to the clerics' recording of these tales that we can be inspired by them today. St Patrick also recorded all of the old Druid laws in Ireland - providing us with invaluable information on the ethics and social structure of Celtic Druid culture.

DRUID'S CIRCLES
A Druid's Circle is a popular name for circles of standing stones such as Stonehenge, which is the most famous example. These are also known as the "Temples of the Druids". Great mounds of earth were also built where the practice of seeking rebirth within the Earth was performed (in which initiates would sit in darkness awaiting the time of their rebirth). The best example of this is found at New Grange in Ireland, where a shaft is oriented to the Winter Solstice sunrise, so that the dawn rays can bathe the initiate in sunlight after his or her vigil through the night.

History of the Celtic Druids
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Irish Astrology is about bringing awareness of the Celtic Symbols used in the Druid belief system. They were used as early as the Vedic, Greek, or Roman systems. Click here for more info on Celtic Symbols and here for lovely Free Screensavers

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