BABY BJORN SYNERGY BLACK

The Popularity Papers: Book Three: Words of (Questionable) Wisdom from Lydia Goldblatt and Julie Graham-Chang

After spending six months apart in Book Two, best friends Julie and Lydia are reunited at last! Julie has said good-bye to the mean girls, and Lydia is ready to apply her hard-earned friendship lessons to founding their own crew. But bad news interrupts their reunion: their friend Sukie’s mother, ill for many years, has passed away. This shakes Lydia and Julie, who reevaluate their goals and decide to focus more on being supportive of the friends they have. Unfortunately, their well-meaning schemes almost immediately start to go awry, and everyone seems to be mad at them for reasons beyond their control. How can they be better friends when no one seems to want to give them the chance? As always, Julie and Lydia’s hilarious back-and-forth notes form the backbone of the novel, in which Amy Ignatow reveals all-too-real truths about friendship and loyalty.

P.P. SHRI LOKNATH TIRTH SWAMI MAHARAJ

P.P. (Paramhansa Parivrajakadracharya) 1008. Shri Loknath Tirth Swami Maharaj

The events unfolding in the temple of Goddess Kali presaged the birth of a Divine boy in the family of the Chakravarty's who were the priests of the Dhakeshwari temple. The wife of Chakravarty Babu, the temple priest, was sitting in front of Goddess Kali, watching her husband performing Pooja (worship). Suddenly her body was charged with a surge of Divine Energy which made her rotate like a top spinning about its axis. Her face was effulgent.

Thus with the blessings of the Divine Mother on Sunday 8th May 1892 on "Amrit Siddhi Yog" day, was born a Divine baby boy who was named as 'Yogeshchandra'.

Yogeshchandra was a very handsome and homely and had a natural attraction towards the Goddess right from childhood. He would sit in meditation with eyes closed in front of the Goddess. He had an elephantine memory and mastered all religious rituals like Sandhya, Pooja, etc. at a very early age. In the absence of his father, even in his childhood, he could shoulder the temple responsiblities.

Unfortunately the Chakravarty family had a heritage of a short span of life, and Yogeshchandra's father too expired prematurely. Thus, Yogesh had to stop his education after fifth standard and had to seek a job. He devoted his time to Goseva (serving the cows), Matruseva (serving his mother) and Jaganmata seva (serving the Divine Mother). The shock of his father's demise had made him introspective and he began to aspire for the eternal spiritual life. He prayed to the Goddess earnestly to give him a Guru who would guide him on the spiritual path.

Seeing his devoutedness and earnestness, the Goddess manifested herself and showed him his Satguru and also gave him the address of his residence. Bidding farewell to family Yogeshchandra left his home to meet his Satguru P.P. Atmanand Brahmachari. The Satguru conferred upon him "Brahmacharya Deeksha" as Yogeshchandra had vowed to remain celibate for the rest of his life and renamed him as Brahmachari Yogeshchandra Prakash. Later on, the Satguru also initiated him into Mahayoga / Shaktipaat Yoga / Sahaj Yoga / Siddhayoga / Kundalini Yoga by conferring on him Shaktipaat Deeksha or Vedha Deeksha.

After the Deeksha of Shaktipaat both the disciple and his Satguru went to Dhyan Sadhan Math where Satguru P.P. Shri Narayan Tirth Swami Maharaj, the Guru of P.P. Atmanand Brahmachari resided.

The Swami Maharaj was pleased to receive both his disciple and his disciple's disciple. Brahmachari Yogeshchandra served both his Satguru and Paramguru earnestly and performed meditation in their company for a period of two years. He got a variety of divine experiences and rapidly advanced spiritually.

Thereafter Satguru Atmanand Brahmacharya took Brahmachari Yogeshchandra Prakash back to his home to obtain consent of the mother of Yogeshchandra to give him Sanyas deeksha. Yogesh's mother gladly consented. Thereupon Yogesh obtained Sanyas Deeksha, committing himself to a life of total renunciation, from P.P. Swami Tripurling Saraswati at the age of 22 and was renamed as Swami Chinmayanand Saraswati.

Both Shri Chinmayanand Saraswati and his Satguru then returned to P.P. Narayan Tirth Swami Maharaj, who blessed both of them and placed the responsibility of spreading the Mahayoga message on the shoulders of young Chinmayanand. Satguru P.P. Atmanand now permitted Swami Chinmayanand to carve out his path independently.

Swami Chinmayanand thus set out for the Himalayas where he stayed in Tehri Garwhal performing constant spiritual practices for two years.

One day the "Chit Shakti" (Divine Power) instructed him to go to the South. Thus Swamiji left the Himalayas and reached Hathras. Here the Goddess in a vision asked him to go further South. A kind railway passenger gave him a ticket to Hoshangabad.

At Hoshangabad, some miscreants played a cruel trick upon Swamiji and recommended to him for staying a haunted house. The history of this house was that anyone who entered it was found dead the next day. But the miscreants were taken aback next day when in the morning they found Swamiji unscathed. Swamiji had not only defended himself but had also mercifully granted released to the tortured souls from their ghostly existence.

At Hoshangabad, P.P. Gulavani Maharaj became the disciple of Swamiji. Swamiji conferred Shaktipaat Deeksha upon him and several others. They all experienced the Divine Power operating upon themselves and were amazed at these experiences. Thus Swami Chinmayanand started spreading the Siddhayoga message.

After sometime Swami Chinmayanand obtained "Dandi Sanyas" from his Satguru and was renamed as Shri Loknath Tirth on 30-1-1927 Poush Vadya Dwadashi day. He travelled to various parts of India, propagating Siddhayoga. In between his travels he would go and stay in Kashi. His life was controlled by the Divine Mother and he would confer

According to Lavendarblue360, this is Corky and she's the oldest orca at Sea World in San Diego. Technically her name is Corky2 if anyone gives you a hard time. She's the sweetest and mothers a lot of the babies probably because she hasn't had any babies of her own. New trainers usually get in the water first with her because she's so gentile. (Thank you Lavendarblue360!)

INFORMATION ON THE ORCA:

The Orca or Killer Whale (Orcinus orca), less commonly, Blackfish or Seawolf, is the largest species of the oceanic dolphin family. It is found in all the world's oceans, from the frigid Arctic and Antarctic regions to warm, tropical seas.

Orca are versatile and opportunistic predators. Some populations feed mostly on fish, and other populations hunt marine mammals, including sea lions, seals, and even large whales. There are up to five distinct Orca types, some of which may be separate races, subspecies or even species. Orcas are highly social; some populations are composed of matrilineal family groups which are the most stable of any animal species. The sophisticated social behavior, hunting techniques, and vocal behavior of Orcas have been described as manifestations of culture.

Although Orcas are not an endangered species, some local populations are considered threatened or endangered due to pollution, depletion of prey species, conflicts with fishing activities and vessels, habitat loss, and whaling. Wild Orcas are usually not considered a threat to humans. There have, however, been isolated reports of captive Orcas attacking their handlers at marine theme parks.

The name "Orca" (plural "Orcas") was originally given to these animals by the ancient Romans, possibly borrowed from the Greek word ???? which (among other things) referred to a species of whale. The term "orc" (or its variant "ork") has been used to describe a large fish, whale or sea-monster. It is now considered an obsolete equivalent for "Orca."

The name "killer whale" is widely used in common English. However, since the 1960s, "Orca" has steadily grown in popularity as the common name to identify the species, and both names are now used. This change is partly due to a desire to remove their reputation as "killers”.

Orcas are distinctively marked, with a black back, white chest and sides, and a white patch above and behind the eye. Calves are born with a yellowish or orange tint, which fades to white. Orcas have a heavy and stocky body and a large dorsal fin with a dark grey "saddle patch" at the fin's rear. Antarctic Orcas may have pale grey to nearly white backs. Males typically range from 6-8 meters long (19-26 ft) and weigh in excess of 6 tons. Females are smaller, generally ranging from 5-7 meters (16-23 ft) and a weight of about 4 to 5 tons. However, an adult Orca's weight can be anywhere from 2,585 to 7,257 kg (5,700 to 16,000 lb), although males are heavier than females. The largest Orca ever recorded was a male off the coast of Japan, measuring 9.8 m (32 ft) and weighed over 8 ton (17,636 lb). Calves at birth weigh about 180 kg (350-500 lb) and are about 2.4 m long (6-8 ft). The Orca's large size and strength make them among the fastest marine mammals, often reaching speeds in excess of 56 km/h (35 mph).

Unlike most dolphins, the pectoral fin of an Orca is large and rounded — more of a paddle than other dolphin species. Males have significantly larger pectoral fins than females. At about 1.8 m (6 ft), the dorsal fin of the male is more than twice the size of the female's, and is more of a triangle shape — a tall, elongated isosceles triangle, whereas the dorsal fin of the female is shorter and generally more curved.

The Orca is an apex predator. They are sometimes called the wolves of the sea because they hunt in packs like wolves. On average, an Orca eats 227 kg (500 lb) of food each day.

Orcas prey on a diverse array of species. However, specific populations show a high degree of specialization on particular prey species. For example, some populations in the Norwegian and Greenland seas specialize in herring and follow that fish's migratory path to the Norwegian coast each autumn. Other populations in the area prey on seals. In field observations of the resident Orcas of the northeast Pacific, salmon accounted for 96% of animals' diet, with 65% of the salmon being the large, fatty Chinook.

Source: Wikipedia

INFORMATION ON SEA WORLD, SAN DIEGO:

With more than 100 million visitors since its opening on March 21, 1964, SeaWorld is San Diego’s No. 1 tourist attraction and one of the most popular marine parks in the world. SeaWorld is best known for its iconic symbol/mascot/signature animal, Shamu the Killer Whale, thrilling audiences since 1965. In actuality, Shamu is an umbrella name for several performing whales over the course of the park's history. The Shamu show is a spectacular show, and culminates with a giant tidal wave of water that

Lydia and Julie are best friends with one goal: to crack the code of popularity. Lydia’s the bold one: aspiring theater star, stick-fighting enthusiast, and human guinea pig. Julie’s the shy one: observer and artist, accidental field hockey jock, and faithful recorder. In this notebook they write down their observations and carry out experiments to try to determine what makes the popular girls tick. But somehow, the harder Lydia and Julie try to imitate the popular girls, the farther they get from their goal—and each other. Amy Ignatow understands friendship and the fifth grade, and she knows just how to wring humor out of ordinary and extraordinary moments.