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Teck Resources Ltd. has sold a 30 per cent stake in its Quebrada Blanca Phase 2 project to Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. Ltd. and Sumitomo Corp. for US$1.2 billion.
The Vancouver-based miner also says that its board has approved the project for full construction with first production expected in the second half of 2021.
Quebrada Blanca Phase 2 is a massive undeveloped copper project in Chile.
RELATED: Dam sale boosts Q3 profit for Teck Resources, but lower commodity prices sting
The Sumitomo deal will reduce Teck's estimated share of remaining contributions to build the mine to US$693 million.
Teck will retain a 60 per cent stake in the project, while ENAMI, a Chilean state agency, will hold a 10 per cent non-funding interest.
The project is expected to have an initial mine life of 28 years with 316,000 tonnes of copper equivalent production per year for the first five full years.
RELATED: Coal dust blowing from rail cars in Shuswap prompts project
"QB2 is one of the world's premier undeveloped copper assets and this transaction further confirms the value of the project," Teck's chief executive Don Lindsay said.
"This partnership significantly de-risks Teck's investment in the project, enhances our project economics and preserves our ability to continue to return capital to shareholders and reduce bonds currently outstanding."
The Canadian Press


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- This event has passed.
Flow Yoga
August 20, 2020 @ 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Instructor: Tibi
Flow yoga is a term given to a style of yoga where the practitioner moves dynamically form one posture immediately into another. The continuous flow of postures or asanas makes the class or practice become almost like a dance.
Generally, each movement into or out of a posture is made on an inhalation or exhalation. Flow yoga unites the breath with the movement in a choreographed sequence. The flowing movements may be combined with some longer holds of certain postures.

subset: commoncrawl


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Editor's Note: CNN's On the Road series brings you a greater insight into the customs and culture of Cyprus. CNN.com explores the places, the people and the passions unique to this eastern Mediterranean island.
Story highlights
Cypriot gas reserves in the offshore Aphrodite Field are estimated to be between 3.6 and 6 trillion cubic feet.
Cyprus' energy minister said the just a fraction of the gas reserves could serve the country for up to 25 years.
The energy minister believes it will take until the end of the decade before Cyprus sees any direct benefit from the gas.
Locked away deep beneath the sea off Cyprus' southern shores lays a treasure chest of natural gas that could ease the country's economic plight.
Still reeling from the infectious banking crisis that exploded at the beginning of 2013, Cyprus' government hopes the Aphrodite gas field, discovered two years ago, will help lift the country out of the economic doldrums.
Named after the goddess of love, the "Lady of Cyprus" gas field could contain up to six trillion feet of cubic gas.
Just 0.5 trillion cubic feet of gas could provide Cypriots with energy for 25 years, leaving ample reserves for export to Asia and Europe, Cyprus' Energy Minister Giorgos Lakkotryis told CNN in an interview.
But the minister was quick to stress that offshore gas operations would not solve Cyprus' economic anguish in the short-term.
"We do not depend on the offshore operations and the gas to come out of this recession," said Lakkotryis. "In the mid- and short-term we're looking at side effect benefits."
Read more: Cyprus country profile
Lakkotryis believes it will take until 2020 before Cyprus sees any direct benefit from the gas.
"A lot needs to be done. The cheap availability of energy is also going to allow us to create other industries such as petrochemicals and heavy manufacturing," he said
The minister added that multinational oil and gas companies as well as infrastructure projects aimed at converting gas to liquid would create jobs, spur growth and boost exports.
A long term project
Oil and gas giants Total, ENI and Texas-based Noble Energy have all secured contracts to operate in the Aphrodite field with extensive exploration and drilling set to begin in October 2014, lasting for 12 months, according to the energy ministry.
However, the 150-kilometer distance between the gas field and Cyprus' shores could delay operations.
"Because of the distance offshore, the field would require a pipeline to reach the mainland of Cyprus at which point it could be used for domestic economy or LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) export," said Keith Elliott, senior vice president of Eastern Mediterranean Region of Noble Energy.
The government says it is planning to finalize investment and build an onshore LNG plant while using Cyprus' proximity to the Suez Canal and its ties with Europe to exploit export opportunities in Asia and Europe respectively.
But Amit Mor, CEO of Eco Energy Financial and Strategic Consulting and former World Bank consultant, said that Cyprus "cannot economically justify even one LNG plant" based on current reserves.
He added that Cyprus could possibly build a plant if the country reached an agreement to liquefy excess Israeli gas from the country's Tamar and Leviathan fields, which are significantly bigger than Cyprus' Aphrodite field.
"Cyprus itself is a small market that does not justify the financing efforts," Mor said. "One LNG plant incurs $6 billion in construction costs. The development cost of a major offshore gas field could reach $4 billion (while) exporting natural gas via ships in liquid form is a very expensive and time consuming process."
According to Eurostat, Cypriot residents are subject to the highest electricity bills in the European Union because the country produces power by burning oil.
But by switching to gas and converting its power stations Cyprus could alleviate some of the financial burden on consumers.
"The Cypriot people need to much more patient. It takes a lot of time to discover and develop oil and gas fields. In the Gulf of Mexico and the North Sea for example it took 10 to 20 years," said Mor.
A brighter future
The discovery of gas and the inward investment from global energy companies is a silver lining for Cyprus at time of pervasive economic gloom.
In March, a banking crisis shattered the country's economy; destroyed Cyprus' second largest bank and threatened the life savings of thousands of residents.
Read more: Does Cyprus have the world's oldest wine?
Subsequently, the East Mediterranean island became the fourth country to receive a national bailout from the eurozone and the International Monetary Fund.
Charles Movit, senior economist at U.S.-based consultancy IHS, said the benefits of gas reserves could help Cyprus service its debt: "In the medium term, license fees for exploration and development could be helpful in closing the financing gap. Down the road, royalties and job creation could be a major plus."
With gas sources in the North Sea expected to decline over the next decade and few countries willing to invest in nuclear energy in the wake of the Fukushima disaster in Japan, Cyprus could also provide the answer to Europe's energy demands as it seeks to decrease its dependency on Russian gas.
"A pipeline between Israel and Cyprus to Europe via Crete and Greece would cost $6 billion to $8 billion… I think it is very important to conduct a feasibility study to see if this is economically viable," said Mor.
In the meantime, Cypriots struggling under the weight of a recession are hoping the government's predictions are correct and that gas could ultimately provide the basis for ending the economic crisis.
CNN's On the Road series often carries sponsorship originating from the countries we profile. However CNN retains full editorial control over all of its reports. Read the policy


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|Return to mvmeppc.mdwn CVS log
|Up to [NetBSD Developer Wiki] / wikisrc / ports
update for 6.1.5
[[!template id=port port="mvmeppc" cur_rel="6.1.5" future_rel="7.0" pkg_rel="6.0" changes_cur="6.0" changes_future="7.0" thumbnail="http://www.netbsd.org/images/ports/mvmeppc/mvme2600.gif" about=""" NetBSD/mvmeppc is the port of NetBSD to Motorola's PowerPC VME Single Board Computers (SBC). The first Motorola SBC (68k-based) was introduced in 1988. Motorola has continued development on 68k and PowerPC based SBC VME modules. Development activity on NetBSD/mvmeppc continues at a speed that depends on people's spare time and access to hardware. NetBSD runs on a subset of the now obsolete MVME160x family of PowerPC-based MVME boards, but support for more recent boards will be added as and when hardware becomes available to NetBSD developers. """ supported_hardware=""" ##Supported System Models * MVME160x family ##Boot Options **Supported:** * network **Unsupported:** * disk * CD-ROM * tape """ additional=""" * [NetBSD/mvmeppc FAQ](http://www.NetBSD.org/ports/mvmeppc/faq.html) * [NetBSD/mvmeppc History](http://www.NetBSD.org/ports/mvmeppc/history.html) """ ]] [[!tag tier2port]]


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|GASB Home | GASB Store | Project Pages | Financial Statement Users | News Center
|The GASB's Preliminary Views on Financial Projections
The GASB recently issued a Preliminary Views presenting the Board's initial thinking on what it believes are the key issues related to reporting financial projections. This reporting is meant to assist users of governmental financial information with assessing a government's financial health. This article provides an overview of the main issues raised in the document and the potential implications for users.
The newly updated and revised edition of What You Should Know about Your Local Government's Finances is now available for purchase—visit the GASB Store to order. Other new guide editions will be available soon
|Deferrals: What They Are and What the GASB Is Doing with Them
Deferrals are inflows and outflows of resources that have already taken place but that are not ready to be recognized in the financial statements as revenues and expenses. This article examines the nature of deferrals, addresses why it is important that governments are reporting them, and highlights the GASB's standards-setting in this area.
|A Guide to Better Understanding GASB Statements
Each of the Statements of Governmental Accounting Standards issued by the GASB since its establishment in 1984 is designed to provide taxpayers, legislators, municipal bond analysts, and others with information that is useful to their decision-making process regarding governmental entities. This article provides a primer on reading a GASB Statement by explaining the key elements that make up a Statement and describing what you can hope to learn by reading one.
|Let your voice be heard...
|Let the GASB know who you are:


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KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback is proposing a $10 million initiative to boost mental health services to targeted populations.
The initiative would direct funding to what Brownback called the most at-risk and challenging mental health patients to meet their specific treatment requirements. The program will not target residents who are receiving services through Medicaid.
The Republican governor announced the proposal Thursday in Kansas City, Kan., with Shawn Sullivan, secretary of the Department for Aging and Disability Services. Brownback also announced creation of a task force to evaluate the state's current mental health system and recommend improvements.
Brownback said in a recent interview with The Associated Press the state should examine whether it's providing sufficient mental health services.


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I have been so very very very very very slack in posting finished quilts this year… so I am going to spend the next couple of weeks playing catch up, just so you can see what I have been up to…. starting with this quilt…
This was a little baby quilt I made using a ton of half square triangles and lots of Lizzy House fabric. You can find details of the block I used on my original post…
I struggled to get a good photo of this quilt, but the stark lighting really highlighted the fabulous quilting that my friend and fellow Modern Domestic collegue, Michelle did.
The colours and prints are fun and bright and the there is just so many things to see in it – from ghosts to ducks to dinosaurs. I love Lizzy House's fabrics as they make every quilt you use them in just perfect.
The finished quilt has already been dispatched to the local Pediatric ICU and hopefully is doing the job of providing some comfort.
Quilt Details:
Block: 10 1/2 inch Octagon block
Fabric: Lizzy House fabric lines (Natural History, Catnap, Castle Peeps, Lovely Hunt. 1001 Peeps, Pearl Bracelets & Whisper)
Finished quilt size: 42 x 52 1/2 inches


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If your customers want flexibility and control when shipping their online purchases, your e-commerce site needs the Rating Application Programming Interface (API). This powerful API lets online shoppers compare, rate and select shipping services that best fit their needs and budgets. For example, your customers can choose express services when they need their packages right away and standard services when they have more time for delivery.
The Rating API is available in XML format. This API gives you greater flexibility by allowing you to format the rates and services data to suit your website or application's design and layout.
For single packages shipped from over 40 countries, the Rating API identifies all the available UPS domestic and international services and displays shipping rates based on the package's specifications. It can be used to dynamically generate a list of shipping services tailored for your customers' shipments.
You can also use the Rating API to create easy-to-understand menus from which your online customers can select the best shipping method. So give your customers a wider range of service levels and rates by adding the Rating API to your site.
The API requires XML/Web Services programmers to code and integrate. UPS provides a developer kit which includes a developer guide that explains how to integrate and code UPS functionality into your existing business applications or e-commerce website.
Learn About Integrating UPS Developer Kit APIs
UPS tracking solutions show the progress of your shipment every step of the way, across town or around the world.
Remarkable services that go beyond shipping and tracking to help you expand your business.
UPS Access Point™ offers the flexibility to collect parcels at UPS locations and
designated local businesses for your convenience.


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Samsung is riding high at the top of the smartphone market, and the latest Galaxy is expected to provide another boost. If you're one of the millions of people the world over who've bought the S4 already, or you're just planning to get your hands on one in the near future, then you'll be interested to learn exactly what it can do.
We've outlined our thoughts in the Galaxy S4 review, we've compared it to the HTC One, and we've created a guide to help you buy an S4. Now, it's time for some Galaxy S4 tips and tricks.
Motions and gestures
Samsung has added a number of options to control your phone with a gesture or motion of your hand. Go to Apps > Settings > My device > Motions and gestures and you'll find switches to turn on Air gesture, Motion, and Palm motion.
Motion: There are a lot of motion gestures available on the GS4. A "You have a new message" vibration can automatically trigger when you pick up your phone; holding the phone to your ear when on a contact page will auto call that person; and turning the screen face down will mute it are just a few. You can also hold a point on the screen and then move the phone to pan across an image, and you can tap and hold two points on the screen and tilt it back or forward to zoom in and out.
Palm motion: The palm motions are also the same as on the S3, offering you the ability to sweep your palm across the screen and take a screenshot, and also the option of covering the screen with your palm to pause audio or video.
Air gesture: The exciting additions are the air gestures. You can hold your hand above the sensor on the top right to bring the screen to life and get a sneak peek at notifications, missed calls, new messages, or the time and date. You can wave your hand up and down over the sensor to scroll pages, or left and right to browse horizontally. You can also wave left and right to answer a call, and you can tap and hold an icon and then wave to browse to the home screen where you want to drop it. The last option is Air view. It allows you to hover over an area to see a magnified portion, or to see something of the contents, like a tool tip pop-up (it's most useful with video clips).
Multi window and Smart screen
You can prevent the display from auto-rotating when you turn your phone to landscape view by pulling down the Notifications bar and tapping Screen rotation. You can also access it in Settings > Display. There are lots more handy options in Settings > My device > Smart screen, including:
- Smart rotation: Rotates based on the way you are viewing the screen, so you can lie down without flicking into landscape view.
- Smart stay: Checks to see if you are looking at the screen and keeps it on as long as you are looking at it.
- Smart pause: Pauses video when you look away from the screen.
- Smart scroll: Allows you to scroll a page by tilting your head, or by tilting your device.
It's worth mentioning that these features don't work so well in the dark because the phone can't see you properly. The scroll takes a little practice to use effectively.
Another great feature in here, which Samsung has been offering on its tablets, is the Multi window feature. Tick it and you can use the slide out panel (activated and dismissed by holding the Back button) to choose an app, and then drag a second app out, and have a split screen, with both apps open at once. You can browse the Web and watch a video at the same time or chat and read simultaneously; it's a nifty feature.
By default your new S4 will be noisy. Go to Settings > Sound and you can tweak which actions provoke audio feedback. You might want to uncheck the boxes next to Dialing keypad tone, Touch sounds, and Screen lock sound. Haptic feedback is enough to let you know that you've successfully pressed something.
The default options for ringtones, notifications, and alarm sounds are dull. If you'd prefer to use your own MP3s then you can. You can long press on the MP3 file that you want to use and then choose Set as then Phone ringtone. You can also go to Settings > Sound > Ringtones and hit the Add button at the bottom of the list and then use Sound picker to choose the right song and press Ok at the top right.
You could go to Apps > My files to explore and find your MP3s, tap and choose copy on the one you want to use, and then navigate to the Ringtones folder and paste it there. You could also post it in the Alarms or Notifications folders. Now if you go to Settings > Sound the file will be available in the relevant menu. If you can't find the right folder then just create a Media folder on your SDcard and create folders within it called Ringtones, Notifications, and Alarms. If you put MP3s in there then they'll appear in the Settings > Sound > Ringtones, Notifications, or Alarms list.
Before we leave sounds behind, go to Settings > Sound > Adapt sound, pop some headphones on and do the sound test to optimize your S4's sound for your own hearing.
There are lots of new camera features for the S4, too many to mention, but basic functionality is the same, you tap on the screen to direct the focus and tap the camera button to take a shot. You can also take still images while shooting video by tapping the capture button. The Mode button opens up a world of options from Best face, to Drama, to Panorama. There's also an Eraser option to remove unwanted people, and a Dual camera mode so you can superimpose yourself on top of the shot. You'll get best results with HDR shots, and you'll also find slow motion video can be a lot of fun.
You can use S-Voice and shout Shoot to take a photo hands-free.
When you review your photos in the Gallery app you can tap and hold on a photo in order to bring up tick boxes so that you can select a batch of images. Double tap or pinch zooms in and out. You'll find a host of built-in photo editing features are now present as well. When you are in an album in the gallery, you can swipe right to bring up a bar with all your albums on the left hand side, and then just skip to the one you want. There's also a Detect Text option which allows you to extract text from a photo and save it as a note, or share it via email or messaging (it does require a network connection to work, though).
Long press on any space on your home screen and you'll get options to set wallpaper, add app icons or folders, and add widgets. You can also reorganize your apps alphabetically by tapping Menu in the app drawer and then choosing View type.
You can't uninstall a lot of bloatware, but you can disable it and hide it. If you want to get rid of bloatware then go to Settings > Applications manager and swipe to All then choose the app you don't want to use and tap Disable. It will drop to the bottom of the list. You can also hide app icons from the app drawer by tapping Menu > Hide applications and then choose the ones you don't want to appear.
If the Dropbox app is pre-installed on your S4 then you might qualify to boost your 2GB of free storage with another 48GB, taking you up to a whopping 50GB for free. You should automatically get it when you log in to Dropbox, or you can go to the Dropbox website to find more details and check the conditions. Not all wireless carriers are participating in this promotion.
The onboard video player will not support every video format, so, if you're planning to transfer some videos onto your S4, make sure you snag an app like MX Player, which will play virtually any file format.
You can speed up your phone, just a little bit, by turning off some animations. Go to Settings > Developer options and turn off Windows animation scale, Transition animation scale, and Animator duration scale. If you don't see Developer options in your Settings then you can unlock it by going to Settings > About device and repeatedly tapping on Build number. While you're there, tap on Android version a few times and you'll get a Jelly Bean screen.
Fire up the WatchON app to access a personalized TV guide and set up your S4 as a TV remote. If you have trouble pairing your S4, try moving closer to the TV when you set it up.
If you have an AllShare Cast dongle, or Homesync or Wi-Fi Miracast support on your TV, or another device, then you can mirror your S4 screen. Go to Settings > Connections > Screen mirroring to try it out. You can also pull down the Notifications bar and expand the toggles for quick access to Screen mirroring.
We will return to this and add more Galaxy S4 tips as we discover them, but if you'd like to suggest something then please post a comment.
Editors' Recommendations
- 12 iOS 16.4 features that are about to make your iPhone even better
- Samsung may have just killed the Galaxy S10
- Could this be our first look at the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5?
- How to download YouTube videos on PC, iOS, Android, and Mac
- The Huawei Watch Ultimate looks like the perfect Apple Watch Ultra rival


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Things have calmed down quite a bit as the digital age has matured. Clients are less willing than before to fly photographers hither and yon, and when we do fly we can make due with lots less gear. Think more along the lines of two much smaller cameras, a small assortment of zooms and a bucket of radio triggered speed lights.
The biggest difference is probably losing the hassle of carting a hundred rolls of film around at a time and begging to keep them out of the x-ray machines. When you add in the lead lined bags we used to protect the film the weight and bulk really added up.
The last few times I flew for jobs I carried just a bare bones digital camera system with lenses and some extra batteries. Everything else was shipped ahead. And for the Craftsy.com course in Denver I brought one large Domke bag onto the plane with me and sent three cases of stuff with UPS. Nearly 200 pounds worth...
But flying has just gotten crappier and crappier. I'm flying out on Labor Day so I'm arriving at the airport two and a half hours before my flight. The Austin airport gets crazy. I'm flying out of the country so I can't do a complete online check in 24 hours in advance. A machine or a person has to look at my passport before I get my boarding stuff. You get to buy your meal in the air. Oh boy.
I'm supposed to consider this trip a fun and carefree jaunt but something in my brain won't let go. I've got a gear packing list in front of me. I've got multiple sets of batteries on the chargers so I can hit the ground running. I'm adding apps to my iPad to increase the flexibility of my communications and file manipulation options. I've tested my test camera with over 500 exposures. I have Google Maps for destinations in and around Berlin.
I have a travel folder with all the travel details and contact names. I have a camera bag toothbrush and a suitcase toothbrush.
It's all just too much. Once you've traveled as an obsessive/compulsive professional perfectionist with teutonic time intensity perspective I think it may be impossible to go back to a sleepier and more relaxed method of traveling.
How did the gear list pan out? One Samsung Galaxy NX camera body. One Samsung NX300 camera body. 16mm, 30mm, 60mm 2.8 Macro, 18-55mm kit lens. That's it. I'm leaving the 85mm 1.4 behind. It's too long for most of what I want to shoot and it's too heavy. It's also the one lens that, in this situation, could use OIS but doesn't offer it. I'm happy shooting the 60. If I need to get closer I do know how to crop. I'm also leaving the 18-200 behind. Also too big. And the long end really can make a photographer both lazy and removed. As it is I've got a pared down shoulder bag I don't mind carrying through a few airports.
My next blog should be from the road. Or the sky. Or whatever...


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Pitching Hollywood 2002
By Elizabeth English
Day 1: 6:AM Leaving Boulder, driving west (with my little dog, Zoe) in my red Jeep Cherokee to L.A., with much anticipation. Stopping for the night in St. George, Utah. The Jeep is full of Kinko's boxes loaded with 5 copies each of all 10 of the screenplays I plan to pitch to film producers. Another box is of "one-sheets" or "leave-behinds" (one-page synopses of each script) and one-sheet lists of all 35 of my titles & loglines, just in case. Plus my resume and credits, if someone asks for it. The fourth box is full of treatments, pilots and series or documentary concepts to pitch to television producers. And let's not forget the "right" clothes to wear to the pitches, meetings and parties! Which probably just means that one good black linen summer dress I have, despite the suitcases full of other stuff. Driving through the still-smoking forest fires in the Colorado mountains; much devastation and I'm saddened to see it like that.
Day 2: Getting an early start this morning, hopeful and exhilarated at the prospects before me! California, here I come! Driving through mountains and plains, then down into the magnificent other-wordly slick-rock formations of Utah, and to the desert of Nevada, passing the bright lights of Las Vegas, and on into California. Happy to at last see the roadside mileage sign: Los Angeles 222 miles. Stopping at the Mad Greek's in Baker to get one of their famous fresh strawberry milkshakes. Heat there is oppressive and stunning. Thank God for car air-conditioning! Driving south, passing L.A. and a new forest fire and heavy smoke, right next to the highway in El Cajon Pass, on the other side of the mountain range, and finally arrive at my mother's house in San Diego for a brief overnight visit.
Day 3: Noon-ish and off toward L.A. again, driving north. Still haven't seen the Pacific Ocean yet! I stop off in Oceanside to visit a cartoonist friend, Greg Williams (aka: Dark One), and pick up his art portfolio to pitch for him in L.A. to whomever may be looking for a talented animation artist and character designer, should I get that opportunity. Hey; ya never know who you'll meet! Or what they'll want to see. North of Oceanside, I finally get a glimpse of the ocean. Arrive in L.A., finally, and drive up the mountain on the 101/Ventura Freeway to my hotel in Thousand Oaks (they take pets and are affordable), but as I arrive at the reception desk, I get a cell-phone call from my wonderful agent, Terry Porter, of Agape Productions in Flat Rock, Indiana, and now in Beverly Hills. He invites me to come down and stay at the estate in Beverly Hills, where he's staying. I cancel my hotel reservations and head back down the 101 toward Beverly Hills, passing the famed HOLLYWOOD sign up on the hazy mountainside, arriving early afternoon at "my" little villa just off Wilshire Boulevard and almost next door to ICM (International Creative Management) offices.
Terry, dressed in a Hawaiian shirt, shorts, sandals and sunglasses, Southern California style, is waiting on the shady porch under the huge date palm and banana palm trees, bamboo grove and pink flowering bougainvillea vines. We unload my car into the 1930's Spanish hacienda-style villa, and put Zoe on a leash in the back garden under an orange tree by the pool. The mini-estate, owned by a famous Japanese woman actor/producer/writer, Chako VL, has 2 lovely villas and other apartments surrounding the pool. Chako is in Japan, at the moment, in development on her feature film. Two young Dallas, Texas film producers, Kenny and Kyle S., brothers, and also Terry's clients, are in one of the smaller apartments already. The two brothers are in L.A. looking to distribute their indie feature film, "Almost Time", and to finance an animation film, "Porky Pig". Terry and I will share a villa, separate bedrooms, but using the same kitchen and other rooms together. These 3 men have been living on take-out food, microwaved left-overs, ramen soup, and frozen pizzas, so I head off to the grocery store to get a real dinner to cook for them. OK, OK, so I start being Ms. Professional Screenwriter tomorrow, "Mom" this evening.
Day 4: Terry is up and working the phone first thing in the morning, setting appointments with VPs of development and creative executives of the production companies and studios, while I fix coffee and hover around, nervously. Here's how it works: 2 weeks ago, from his office in Flat Rock, Terry calls 20 or 30 production companies with which he has relationships and finds out what they're looking for, at the moment, then tells them about my material. If they're at all interested, he faxes or emails them one-page loglines and synopses of my work that fit their needs. Then he calls back a few days later to see if they want to get together in L.A. for a pitch meeting. Most say yes, and tell Terry to call them when we are in L.A. and they'll set a date and time. Terry's assistant has given Terry a long list of names and phone numbers of who wants what material pitched to them.
I had snail-mailed my BLUE SKIES, LITTLE JUMPING MOUSE and THE PLACE OF EMERALD LIGHT to Michael La C. at DreamWorks ("A Beautiful Mind", "Schindler's List", "Jurassic Park", "Shreck") animation before I left Boulder. I also sent Michael H. at Buena Vista Motion Picture Group (recent films: M. Night Shyamalan's "The Sixth Sense", starring Bruce Willis; "Pearl Harbor", starring Ben Affleck"; and "O Brother, Where Art Thou?", starring George Clooney) my A WILDERNESS WITHIN screenplay, so we hope to get in to pitch to those two studios. We get 2 appointments today to pitch 6 of my scripts! I dash off to walk the dog, and to shower and get dressed for the meetings. I worry that, because I'm: 1. A woman, 2. Over forty, 3. Do not live in L.A. area, and 4. Do not know anyone in The Business, the meetings will only be a cooly "polite" 10 minutes, and I'll be told, "We'll call you." And my screenplays will be tossed on a stack of other scripts, un-read forever.
Terry and I hop in the Jeep (very un-cool car to be sitting in a Beverly Hills driveway!) and head off to the Cindy Cowan production company for my first face-to-face meeting with a VP of development for a major Hollywood producer. I'm not nervous anymore and feel very confident, thanks to Terry's good vibes. He says this first one will be easy and that Cam C. is a very nice guy, not to worry at all. All of my screenplays are in the back of the Jeep, ready to be carried upstairs in my briefcase, as needed. We park and go to the back of the car to pull out the scripts I'm going to pitch, starting a ritual we'll continue for the next week, several times a day. I think I'm not nervous, but I simply cannot now remember what scripts to select, so Terry calmly reads off the titles to me: THE REALM OF EMERALD LIGHT, THE MEN OF STONE. He reminds me that they are looking for high-concept drama material. I have great hopes for my treatment and script, EMERALD, which was adapted from a novel by Italo Calvino, as I know Richard Gere is very interested in the original book, and Cindy Cowan is a friend of Gere's. I'm hoping she'll pass it along to him if she likes what I've written.
We dash across Sunset Blvd. and go through a palm-tree-filled lobby and upstairs to a tiny reception area, and then are ushered into Cam's office. We are offered something to drink, we say no thanks, sit and do some small talk for a few minutes, then Cam asks me what I have for him. I respond by asking him what specifically he'd like to see, and then verbally give him the 3 titles and logline pitches for the scripts I have in my briefcase. He asks for THE REALM OF EMERALD LIGHT first, and I pitch it to him, telling him the basic story and concept and why I feel it would be a great film for his company, either as a live-action feature or as an animation feature. He agrees to read the treatment and script and I hand it to him, along with another copy of the one-page synopsis. Then he asks what else I have, so I pitch him THE MEN OF STONE, because that one is a women's film somewhat like "Thelma & Louise" meet "The Witches of Eastwick". He is interested and we discuss potential casting choices. Then he asks if we have anything else and Terry suggests BLUE SKIES, a favorite of his. Cam asks to see it. Terry goes down to the car and brings it up, while I pitch it. He seems to like this one the best! He says he'll read all three and will get back to Terry on them.
Cam asks me about the Moondance film festival and we discuss that for a minute, and when I tell him that most winning scripts from Moondance have been sold or optioned, he asks me to describe one of them, so I just happen to mention one that won the first Moondance Columbine Award, BUENOS AIRES, by Olga R., and which was just recently offered a $5000 option. He asks what it's about and I say, " 'Casablanca' in Argentina." He asks me to look in the stack of scripts in the bookcase next to me and there sits Olga's screenplay, BUENOS AIRES! I pull it out and hand it to him, and he says he'll do a special read of it. I can't wait to call Olga and tell her the good news!
I ask Cam if I can give him a list of my other loglines and he says yes. He looks them over and says he thinks he'll stick with the 3 he has, for now, and Olga's Moondance script. We sense it's time to go, so we do. Outside on the sidewalk, I feel like jumping up and clicking my heels because it went so well! Terry says I did really fine and we worked like a team in there, so I'm pleased.
We have some time between the first pitch and the second, so we go to lunch. We stop at a classy little café called Chin-Chin, on Sunset Boulevard and take a table outside, ordering several plates of dim sum and iced tea. I call Olga on my cell-phone and tell her about finding her script at Cindy Cowan's. She's elated and asks to speak to Terry. They agree that Terry will be her new agent. As we're eating, I have to laugh, joyously, as the vision of me and my WGA signatory agent, both of us wearing sunglasses and dressed California casual, reading Variety magazine, making deals on a cell-phone, eating lunch between Hollywood pitches, on Sunset Boulevard, is a dream come true for me, after 10 years of slaving away at the computer keyboard in Boulder, Colorado. Not to mention the 7 days a week, 20-hour days/nights I'd just spent in the past month re-writing and updating all 10 of my scripts, loglines and synopses, in preparation for this!
Now it's off to meet with Jon E. at Orly Adleson's production company on Santa Monica Blvd. We park, gather up the screenplays we want to pitch, dash across the street and go upstairs to meet with Jon E. in his office. This time, I pitch THE DISCIPLE, THE MEN OF STONE and THE TEN. All goes well and I give Jon the list of my other loglines. Jon promises to follow up with Terry as soon as he's read them all. We head on back to Beverly Hills and I'm very happy everything is going so well! Surprisingly, everyone I've met is NICE! I thought I'd be a dolphin cruising in dangerous, "shark-filled waters" out here in L.A., but that's not the case at all. What a relief! I actually enjoy pitching and feel as if I could do this every day, no problem.
When we get back to the villa, Terry goes right back on the phone, setting appointments for tomorrow, while I run to the grocery store to get something for a celebratory dinner, as it's the multi-talented Kyle S.'s 21st birthday today.
Day 5: We get only one appointment today, but it's a biggie: Samuel D-S at the Robert Evans Company ("The Cotton Club", "Chinatown", "Urban Cowboy", "Marathon Man", "The Sun Also Rises", "Barefoot in the Park", "Rosemary's Baby", "Goodbye, Columbus", "Love Story", "The Godfather") at Paramount Pictures! He wants to have lunch outside the studio because of post-9/11 visitor security hassles. Of course, I'd really wanted to have the opportunity drive through those fabled arched Paramount gates, preferably in a chauffeured, black 1930 Rolls Royce town car, for the appointment, but I guess this'll do, for now. ;o)
We meet Samuel at Le Petit Greek restaurant in Larchmont Village. Samuel is a tall, good-looking, young John Malkovitch look-alike, and we sit down to order lunch. Terry picked the Greek place because I've lived in Greece and speak the language, so he thought I could impress Samuel a bit, I guess. Or at least it would help him remember us. Samuel doesn't want any pitches until we've finished lunch, so we chat about Greece, Moondance, Colorado, director Robert Evans' work, and Hollywood in general, until we're done with lunch. I was too anxious to eat much. By now, I'm feeling both nervous and excited, because this is such an incredible opportunity for me.
Samuel indicates that he's ready for my pitch now, so I launch into it, handing him the synopsis for THE DISCIPLE, which was the only one he'd previously agreed to consider. We discuss the plot twists, central theme and the characters, potential actors for the lead roles, and the fact that director Ridley Scott ("Black Hawk Down", "Gladiator, "Thelma & Louise", "Alien", "Blade Runner") had seriously considered directing it recently, but his money people eventually decided it was a bit too "sentimental and romantic" for a Ridley Scott action film. Samuel asked for the screenplay and then, when I asked him if he'd like to look at my other loglines, he noticed that THE DISCIPLE also comes in a female protagonist version. He really perked up at that and said he wanted me to send him that version as soon as I got back to Boulder. Terry gave me an "I-told-you-so!" smile. Samuel took the male protagonist version of the screenplay with him and promised to read it, but said he was really excited about reading the female version more. That really made me feel great!
As we leave the restaurant, I get a cell-phone call from an old friend, Matt M., whose wife, Melanie M., is a producer at Greystone Television and Films, for A & E's Biography and The History Channel. Matt invited Terry and I to meet him at his wife's office, so we drive over to North Hollywood. Matt had brought their 2 little girls to the office, along with a young falcon he's training, so we just chat a bit and made a date to meet at Matt and Melanie's ranch the next day. I had wanted to pitch my television series concepts and documentary TV ideas to Melanie, but it didn't seem like the right time to do so. Terry and I stop off at the Writers Guild office building and toured the library, meeting with librarian Karen P., after I re-registered all of my updated screenplays, treatments and TV series concepts, programs and pilots.
Day 6: An early start this morning. Off to Thousand Oaks, where Terry and I have a quick breakfast with Moondance screenwriter Linda, who gives me her screenplay to read, then we head up to Westlake Village and the Cloud Creek ranch for Larry Brody's TV Writer.com conference at Brodyfest II. I'm scheduled to be on a panel about film festival and writing competition strategies at 10AM. We park the Jeep in a pasture under some old oak trees so Zoe will have a cool, shady spot to stay. As we hike up to the ranch, a big bear of a man, Larry Brody (whom I'd never met before) comes down and gives me a huge hug, and saying, with a great deal of surprise "You're Elizabeth? You are so HOT!" (I guess he had expected me to be an old grandmotherly type.) Both of us are staff writers for ScreenTalk magazine and we sort of knew each other from e-mails and our newsletters, and one of my scripts had been a finalist at his TV Writer.com competition.
I went straight to sit on the outdoor panel, with about 75 enthusiastic attendees, under big canvas tents overlooking the valley. Among the other 4 panelists were Jeb Brody, Larry's son and NY film producer at Magnet Entertainment, and Richard Krevolin, author and USC professor in the cinema and television department. Terry was called to sit on the same panel, to discuss how to get an agent, what agents want to see, and etc. When Larry introduced me to the attendees, I kiddingly mentioned that I was the "token woman" on the panel. Larry got a big kick out of that and teasingly called me an activist and trouble-maker, which I certainly am!
After lots of great questions and answers, a fabulous lunch and schmooze-fest on the patio under the oak trees, Terry and I took off for a visit to Matt in nearby Malibu Lake. We found Matt outside, training the beautiful falcons. Melanie was at a birthday party with the 2 girls, so I didn't get a chance to pitch anything to her, again, though we had a very nice visit with Matt. Terry and Matt really hit it off, as I knew they would, and Matt was invited to Brody's for the party later that evening.
So it's back to Brody's ranch up in the hills, more panels, a break-out schmooze session and then an incredible catered dinner, fully-stocked bar and with a DJ for dancing under the stars. I am approached by a Chinese film producer and development exec. from Hong Kong and Beijing, Frank L., who offers me the opportunity to travel to China to present the Moondance films at a festival there. He also wants me to consider writing a script for a historical bio-pic he has in mind. I pitch one of my art film scripts, SPARE PARTS, to Jeb Brody, because it seems that his production company is looking for that kind of script. He agrees to read the script if I send it to his office in New York. Lots of people approach Terry to be their agent or to read their scripts and TV pilots. Larry Brody agrees to look at Greg Williams' cartoon art portfolio I brought, but we never seem to find time to do it. Many people asked for my card so they could send their material to the Moondance 2003 competition.
Also at the Brodyfest, I meet Anton D. and his Russian-born wife Irina. Anton and Irina have written and produced, via their Polar Picture company, several important films for the big TV networks. We agree to get together later to discuss film projects we might do together, including a mutual interest in a bio-pic about the Native American woman heroine, Sacajawea, who led explorers Lewis & Clark to the Pacific Ocean.
Midnight and time to take our leave. Goodbyes and hugs all around and Terry and I head down to the parking area. Matt walks us down to the car and as I am walking Zoe, she decides to do her business, and at that very moment, Matt finally asks, "So what did you want to pitch to Melanie?" Without hesitation, I launch into my moonlit pitches. He really loves the second one and says he wants to pitch it to his wife tomorrow. He promises that if she goes for it, I'll get credit for the idea. I ask to also be considered for writing and research on the project if it is a go, and Matt says that's a good possibility! As we drive back down to L.A., Terry says that was the strangest pitch session he ever saw, pitching in the dark while leashed to a dog pooping in the background.
Day 7: A Sunday and we're off to church. We go to the old, fabled Court Theatre on La Cienega, where Sanctuary is held. Many famous old-time movie stars have played here. The unusual church service was very enlightening and inspiring, and was accompanied by a really great rock band, led by a talented woman singer, Kathi P.. We then go to brunch at the popular Newsroom café in West Hollywood, right next to the NBC studios, and then back to the villa. I head off to the beach at Santa Monica with Kyle S. while Terry watches Zoe, as no dogs are allowed on the Santa Monica beach or pier.
Day 8: No meetings available today, so I do laundry and take a break. Terry calls many production companies, including DreamWorks, Imagine, Warner Bros, and Section 8 (George Clooney's prodco), at Warner Bros. which has produced such films as: "Harry Potter", "Superman", "The Matrix" "Batman", "Dances With Wolves", and "The Wizard of Oz". Michael La C. At DreamWorks tells us that, coincidentally, they are thinking of doing a live-action version by another writer of my feature animation story, so they can't look at my material…yet. But they do want to see adult animation projects. Imagine TV suggests we wait a few weeks to pitch to them because their VP of development is leaving and it would be better to pitch to the new person. Section 8 tells us to fax or email them a letter about the script I wrote for Clooney, BLUE SKIES, and tell them how and why Clooney would fit into the lead role. I dash off to Kinko's Beverly Hills to write up the letter and fax it to them. BTW, KInko's has valet parking in Beverley Hills.
George LeP., director/producer for L.A. Pictures calls and says he's got 2 VIP tickets to the IFP-sponsored L.A. Film Festival and would one of us like to go? I do, and Terry has plans to go up to Tarzana to meet Moondancer Ata S., an Iranian writer and film producer, so George and I head over to 8000 Sunset for the big IFP party. At the film festival venue, we see lots and lots of people standing in line to see Moondance workshop presenter Meg LeFauve's latest Jodie Foster film, "The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys". We hope it gets great opening weekend box office numbers! The balcony is filled with hundreds of international buyers and sellers, the music is good and loud, the vodka is flowing freely, donated by Skye Vodka, and the food is enough for two armies. I send my card to the L.A. Film Festival director as a courtesy and he sends me a message that he'll call when he's recovered from the festival.
I approach an interesting-looking man in an Armani suit and introduce myself. It turns out he's Grant R., an Italian film distributor and he asks to meet with me early some morning for coffee to discuss projects. Coincidentally, he's seen George's indie film, "Go Fish", and really likes it. George and I get invited into the inner sanctum, the Red Room, where the heavy-duty schmoozing and deal-making is going on, along with more free food and booze. George and I pitch our material to each other and people pitch stuff to us. I leave my card and Moondance promotional material laying around and strangely enough, people start calling me on my cell-phone within a few minutes, saying they're at the same place and want to know about Moondance. We even get our pictures taken by a news photographer for the festival.
Day 9: Two meetings set for 3 and 4 PM, so we have a "relaxing" morning, except for sending a fax of my BLUE SKIES synopsis to Nickelodeon, at their request, then not hearing back from them…yet. Section 8 asks Terry to have me FedEx overnight my BLUE SKIES and THE DISCIPLE scripts, so I do that. Jennifer R. at Imagine TV asks to have my credits faxed to her, so I run to Kinko's to do that. I call Ben Glass, an old friend who was stills photographer on most of Kevin Costner's films, starting with "Dances With Wolves", but he's not in town this week. At 2PM, we set off for Franchise Pictures ("The Whole Nine Yards" starring Bruce Willis; "Angel Eyes" starring Jennifer Lopez; "Get Carter," with Sylvester Stallone; David Mamet's "Heist," starring Gene Hackman and Danny DeVito; "Things You Can Tell Just By Looking at Her," featuring Glenn Close, Holly Hunter and Cameron Diaz; and "3,000 Miles to Graceland," starring Kurt Russell and Kevin Costner.) at a funky old building on Sunset Boulevard and a meeting with development VP, Leeza-Maria K. She takes us upstairs to the conference room, where I pitch my scripts THE DISCIPLE, BLOWING SMOKE and SPARE PARTS. Leeza says she's very excited about all three of them and can't wait to read them, That's music to my ears!
Next we hurry to meet Gloria F. at Mosaic Media and Atlas Entertainment on Sunset Boulevard. Atlas Entertainment has produced film successes including "Cool Runnings," "12 Monkeys," "City of Angels," "Three Kings," and the live-action version of "Scooby-Doo". I pitch several scripts to her, but after reading my logline list, she asks for THE UNICORN, because, she says, they only want "smart films". After returning to the villa, Terry contacts New Line Cinema, but the person he knew there is no longer at New Line and we can't get an appointment. Zoe starts barking like crazy, so I rush out to see what's up, and it's a woman, Trish, walking her dog past the villa. We stop to chat a bit and it turns out that she and her husband once worked with Oscar©-winning director Francis Coppola at Zoetrope. Only in Beverly Hills! After a quick take-out dinner from Debbie's on Wilshire, Terry and I catch an Inuit movie, "The Fast Runner". We like it, but it's too long: 3 hours.
Day 10: I get an early-morning call from Red Wagon Entertainment at Sony. They want me to come in to pitch at 6:PM tomorrow. I had planned to leave for Colorado tomorrow morning, but I can't pass up this opportunity. Terry tells me that a 6:PM meeting is the best, because that's often when they bring in food and drinks and meet only with their most important clients.
I've asked several people to come to the villa for a buffet dinner at 8 PM tonight. Anton and Irina D., along with Terry and his friend Angela, Moondancers Devo C. (a Moondance 2000 winner for her short film, "Peacock Blues") and her husband Scott R., both Moondance workshop presenters, and Marina G. and her husband Georg H.. Marina and Irina are two Russian documentary filmmakers (Marina's film, "The Prince Is Back", won the Moondance 2002 and she taught a workshop), and I want the two women to meet. An actor client of Terry's, Alexandra, will be here, too. She has just finished "Streetcar Named Desire", in which she played the role of Blanche. So it's off to the stores to buy the food and wine, clean house and set up the buffet. We'd all agreed not to talk about the film business, but of course, that's all we did discuss. I discover that Angela's son is Danny DeVito's L.A. agent, so I ask her to get my script, BLUE SKIES, to her son, because it was written for DeVito in the lead supporting role. Everyone came and enjoyed themselves and we all promised to do it again next time we're all in L.A.
Day 11: I decide to stay in L.A. a bit longer, and Terry gets me 2 fantastic appointments: one at Disney Studios, and the other with Mel Gibson in Santa Monica, the next day.
Day 12: I pitch my feature animation project, LEGEND OF THE GREEN DOLPHIN, to two acquisitions execs at Disney. I think it went well, except that one of the execs said I'd have to take out the pipe the old lighthouse-keeper smoked, as Disney does not allow any smoking in their films! I asked if he could be just holding an un-lit pipe, and they frowned at me for that. Oops! Then I pitched them a live-action, teen demographic script, WILDERNESS BABY. They liked it a lot, but said I'd have to delete all the scenes that were against clear-cutting and logging of the Oregon forests. Hmmm….
Then it was off to Santa Monica to meet with Mel Gibson. His receptionist took my script adaptation, BEOWULF, from me, said not a word, and disappeared down a hallway with it. I looked at Terry & said, "Is that it?" He shrugged and suggested we wait a few minutes. 10 minutes later, Mr. Gibson, himself, came out, holding my script up to his chest, grinning, and said that he'd been wanting to film this story for years! (the horrible, in my opinion, CGI film that came out later is NOT from my script!)
Day 13: Last day in L.A. Grant R., the Italian distributor arrives for coffee at the villa in the morning, just as Terry is leaving for the airport. Grant and I discuss the possibility of his company attaching to 2 of my scripts to distribute. We make a wish-list for EMERALD: Richard Gere to star, Anthony Minghella to direct and Giovanni Agnelli to produce. For BLUE SKIES, the wish list of attachments are: George Clooney to star, Penny Marshall to direct and Harvey Weinstein of Miramax to produce. Grant takes both scripts with him.
I get a phone call just when he leaves. It's Red Wagon at Sony. They want me to come in at 11:AM instead of 6PM, so I rush to get ready and drive off to Culver City!
What a thrill to drive through the gates of this major studio! I go through security, and they have a pass waiting for me. I park and go to another security guard, who gives me a map to the Hepburn Building. I walk through the studio lot, past many huge sound stages, and find the Hepburn building next to the Spencer Tracy building, (as is proper). I go upstairs to meet Pete C.. Red Wagon produced the Oscar©-winning "Gladiator", as well as "Girl, Interrupted" and both "Stuart Little" films. Pete and I chat about Moondance for a while, then he asks, "what have you got to show me?" so I pitch him 3 scripts, THE SONG OF HIAWATHA (feature animation), THE TEN and THE WILDERNESS WITHIN. He agrees to take the first 2, but not the 3rd one. He explains that it's a very big, very expensive period costume drama with an old man as the protagonist, and they can't risk doing a costly film without a major star, like Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks, Brad Pitt, Russell Crowe or Julia Roberts. Pete tells me that the Sony lot was formerly the old MGM lot, and there's lots of history here, going back to the 1920s. I tell Pete that my mother, Lenore English, worked here, too, when she was a silent film child star working for the original Goldwyn Studios, and with Charlie Chaplin, Tom Mix, and others!
I leave the first 2 scripts and synopses with Pete, who promises to give them a "weekend read", and go downstairs, still amazed at the niceness of all of the people I've met in L.A. Everyone is friendly, polite, interested, and inspiring. Not a "shark" among them, that I can tell! As I reach the stair landing, I see a 7-foot tall pole leaning up in the corner. It has huge brass plaques attached near the top with Latin words on them and I suddenly realize this was a prop carried by Russell Crowe in the "Gladiator" film. How uncool of me, but I wish I could get my picture taken with it!
I get horribly lost on my way back to the villa, but when I finally arrive, Angela comes by, after dropping Terry off at LAX and I give her the SPARE PARTS script for her son to pass along to Danny DeVito at Jersey Films ("Erin Brockovitch", starring Julia Roberts; "Pulp Fiction"; and "Get Shorty").
Then I get a call from Ata S., the Iranian writer/producer, inviting me to a dinner party at his house. He says he has a surprise for me, too. I pack up the Jeep and reluctantly leave Beverly Hills, heading up the Ventura Freeway again. Ata has catered in a delicious Iranian feast, Persian rugs and all, and has invited several of his friends. The surprise is a video interview with me and Ata by an Iranian TV producer for international cable TV. Also interviewed is a woman friend of Ata's, Alicia, who is a well-known line producer, and whose credits are totally amazing. We sit on cushions on the floor and talk shop all evening. I spend the night in Ata's guest room and plan to take off early for Colorado, but Ata sends me to an Iranian mechanic friend of his to check my car and give it an oil change before the long trip. Finally, about noon, I'm heading east to Colorado, on my way home, after a very happy and successful (I hope!) wonderful week in La La Land, The Dream Factory!


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I've recently got both SFCII Orion Pirates and the STCS Game by Jason Robinson fully operational, and I've brought a =bunch of modded ships both both games.
Including the Galaxy Voyagers.
Some of you are wondering what they are: In addition to doing Micro Machines for Star Trek, Star Wars, Babylon 5, Starship Troopers, Power Rangers and Spiderman, Galoob also made up a bunch of original Sci-Fi ships called Galaxy Voyagers, with bizarre weapons and power systems, including a number of Phaser types, and for some bizarre reason, I thought they had something to do with Star Trek: Voyager, all because of the naming similarities. Heh.
I've made counters and statistic files for some of the Galaxy Voyagers, and Don Miller and I for SFB and STCS did statistics for them. My favourite Galaxy Voyagers are the Gloid, a race of giant, guant skeletal beings.
Attached are two screenshots of the JR STCS game with the Galaxy Voyagers in action. The purple Pirathon Ship is an actual counter made from the top view of one of the Micro Machines.
Micro Machines Match.pngMicro Machines Match II.png


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This Sunday the #SundaySupper movement is joining PBS in their celebration of Julia Childs 100th birthday. Food lovers around the world are preparing and sharing Julia's recipes on Twitter and Facebook.
I grew up watching The French Chef along side my mother who made many of Julia's dishes, with mixed successes. To honor Julia, and bring back memories of cooking with my mom, I have decided to join the food bloggers and actually cook this week! I decided to prepare her Crème Brûlée from the book Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home. I've been making Crème Brûlée for years, but this is the first time I'm trying my hand at this recipe. I'm pairing it with 2006 Chateau Cameron Sauterne 100% Semillon | 14% alcohol | concentrated caramelized pear and almond flavors with a mildly sweet finish. The wine pairs nicely with the caramelized sugar coating and the hint of fresh orange and vanilla in the custard.
Crème Brûlèe3 cups heavy cream 1 vanilla bean or 2 tsp vanilla extract Grated zest of orange 6 large egg yolks ½ cup granulated sugar ½ cup light-brown sugar Equipment Eight 4 oz ramekins
a wire whisk
a sieve
a mixing bowl and a large (4 cup) measuring cup
a baking pan with 2 inch sides, large enough to hold all the ramekins
a propane blowtorch Preheat oven to 350 F Pour the cream into a 6 cup saucepan, stir in the vanilla bean and the orange zest and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat, cover the pan, and let steep for 5 minutes. Whisk the egg yolks and sugar in the mixing bowl for several minutes until the yolks are thick, pale yellow and form a fat, slowly dissolving ribbon when dropped from the whisk back into the bowl. Remove the vanilla bean from the hot cream. So as not to scramble the egg yolks, stir by dribbles half a cup of the hot cream into the yolks, stirring (not beating – you don't want to form bubbles). Adding it in a slow stream, stir in the rest of the cream. Set a sieve over a quart measure cup and strain the custard mixture thru it to eliminate any coagulated bits of egg and the orange rind. Skim off any bubbles from the surface of the custard. Arrange the ramekins in the baking pan and pour or ladle ½ cup of the custard into each, leaving ¼ inch oat the top for the glaze. Set the baking pan in the oven and pour in enough hot water to come halfway up the ramekins. Bake the custards for 30 to 35 minutes, until the tops are set but the custard in the center is still quite soft to the touch. Carefully remove the baking pan from the oven, and lift the ramekins from the hot water. Let them cool briefly, then chill thoroughly in the refrigerator, at least 4 hours. Either serve them as pots de crème, or glaze them as follows. Loosen the brown sugar and break up any lumps with your fingers. Sprinkle a tablespoon or so over each custard and smooth it gently with the back of a spoon, forming an even layer of sugar that completely covers the surface. Ignite the torch and direct the flame downward over a ramekin, always keeping the top of the flame about 8 inches above the sugar. Move the torch around constantly, shifting the focus of the heat as the sugar melts. When all the ramekins have been crusted, give them a few moments to harden, then serve.
"I think every woman should have a blowtorch" – Julia Child
This weeks line up from the #SundaySupper club is absolutely stunning! Please join us in making your favorite Julia Child dish and visit ENOFLY wine blog where Martin Redmond is meticulously pairing these scrumptious dishes.
Bon Appetit!
BreakfastRâpée Morvandelle by Cindy's Recipes and Writings Croissants by Cookistry Cheese and Bacon Quiche by Tora's Real Food
LunchTuna Salad Nicoise by Magnolia Days Blood Orange, Walnut, and Rocket Salad by Granny's Down Home Southern Cooking Croque Monsieur by Webicurean Spinach and Cream Cheese Pancakes by Happy Baking Days Julia's Chicken Salad by My Trials in the Kitchen Pissaladière Niçoise (Onion Tart with Anchovies and Black Olives) by The Wimpy Vegetarian Provencal Tomato Quiche by Are you hungry? Quiche Lorraine Spoon and Saucer Potato and Onion Soup (Potage Parmentier) by Shockingly Delicious
DinnerBouillabaisse by The Girl in the Little Red Kitchen Boeuf Bourguignon by Chelsea's Culinary Indulgence Orecchiette Con Broccoli Di Rape and Sausages by Doggie at the Dinner Table Boeuf Bourguignon by Hezzi D's Books and Cooks Veal Stew with Onions and Mushrooms with Baked Cucumbers and Boiled Potatoes (Blanquette de veau a l'ancienne with concombres au buerre) by Kimchi Mom Salmon en Papillote by Girlichef Poached salmon with cucumber sauce by Katherine Martinelli
Lobster Souffle and Deviled Chicken- Crispy Bits & Burnt Ends Roasted Chicken with Julia's Mustard Marinade by The Meltaways Wild Mushroom and Herb Stuffed Chicken- Mama Mommy Mom Puree of White Beans with Garlic and Herbs (Brandade á la Soissonaise) Avocado Pesto Poulet au Porto by Family Foodie
SidesHollondaise over Blanched Asparagus by The Little Ferraro Kitchen Scalloped Potatoes with Milk, Cheese, and Garlic (Gratin Dauphinois) by Home Cooking Memories Ratatouille by Basic N Delicious French-style country pate by There and Back Again White Bean Dip with Homemade Tortilla Chips Momma's Meals Oeufs à la Diable by What Smells So Good? Soubise by The Weekend Gourmet Ratatouille by Cupcakes and Kale Chips
Cream Cheese and Lemon Flan by Juanita's Cocina Strawberry Sherbert in Cooky Cups by Cravings of a Lunatic Creme Brulee by Wine Everyday Mousseline Au Chocolat by Small Wallet Big Appetite Peach Tarte Tatin by That Skinny Chick Can Bake Cinnamon Toast Flan by Vintage Kitchen Notes Dark Chocolate Crepes by Family Spice Crepes Fines Sucrees by Mangoes and Chutney Pommes Rosemarie:Apples Rosie The Daily Dish Recipes Espresso Soufflé by Chocolate Moosey Best Ever Brownies by In the Kitchen with Audrey Orange-Almond Jelly Roll Cake by Mrs. Mama Hen Orange Spongecake Cupcakes by Mama's Blissful Bites Orange Mousse with Greek Yogurt by Sue's Nutrition Buzz Frozen Chocolate Mousse by Big Bear's Wife
Wine Pairings by: Martin Redmond Relishing Food and Wine; Thanks to Julia Child!


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Emotions run high as Lake Junaluska task force votes for merger
A Lake Junaluska task force voiced overwhelming support last week for merging the 765-home community with the town of Waynesville before a packed audience of homeowners.
SEE ALSO: Ongoing coverage
The 14-member task force has spent 10 months weighing the future course of the community with century-old roots as a summer Methodist retreat. Financial solvency was the deciding factor for those in favor of being absorbed into Waynesville's town limits. The community does not have the critical mass nor economies of scale to go it alone, especially given the costly repairs it would face during the next decade to fix its crumbling infrastructure, task force members said.
"The staggering costs of replacing our water and sewer lines and roads and infrastructure will continue to fall on property owners at a rate many of us would not be able to absorb," said Don Rankin, president of the Lake Junaluska Property Owners' Organization and a task force member.
Only one member of the task force spoke in favor of autonomy, calling on Lake Junaluska's homeowners to band together and form their own, independent town instead.
"Lake Junaluska has a strong identity and history that I treasure," Mary Allen Conforti said in an impassioned speech.
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Conforti comes from a long lineage of Methodist preachers, whose descendents still make up the backbone and identity of Lake Junaluska today.
Indeed, the issue of maintaining its identity has been a cornerstone of discussions during the past year.
But the majority of the task force believes the choice isn't an either/or proposition. Joining the town of Waynesville would not compromise Lake Junaluska's identity — rather it is the only way to preserve it, they concluded.
"I think that the only way that the Lake is going to maintain its identity in the future is by being realistic about the economic realities that the Lake faces," said Kelley Bonfoey, a task force member and Junaluska resident.
Remaining autonomous could actually jeopardize Junaluska's identity if it plunges the community into financial insolvency, task force members maintained.
"Staying the same would be a money pit," said Ron Phelps, a Junaluska resident, task force member and retired businessman. "We are too small to take it on, my business instinct tells me."
Lake Junaluska faces roughly $10 million in street, water and sewer line repairs during the next decade, according to an engineering study commissioned jointly by the town of Waynesville and the Lake Junaluska Conference and Retreat Center. That cost would be absorbed and picked up by the town under a merger.
"Waynesville is better equipped to move quickly to address the problems," said Joe Stowe, a member of the task force.
Conference center on the line
The burden to Junaluska homeowners aside — the costly infrastructure repairs would be a drain on the already precarious bottom line of the Methodist conference center that lies at the heart of community.
The costly tab under a go-it-alone scenario would weaken the Lake Junaluska Conference and Retreat Center, according to Buddy Young, the director of Lake Junaluska's public works department and member of the task force.
"The most important factor to protect the identity of this community is the health of the conference center. It is not who we pay for water or who picks up our trash," said Young.
The Lake Junaluska Conference and Retreat Center hosts tens of thousands of visitors a year who flock to its campus for religious retreats and conferences. But it has been struggling financially. It barely broke even last year — marking only the second time in the past decade it didn't lose money.
But it was only accomplished thanks to generous donors who made more than $200,000 in unrestricted contributions to help cover general operating expenses and overhead.
Lake Junaluska Conference and Retreat Center has developed a 10-year plan for a major overhaul of its campus, including massive renovations and newly constructed facilities. Leaders hope the improvements will pay off, bolstering its status as a signature Christian retreat center as well as building a new line of secular resort business. (Read The Smoky Mountain News next week for an article detailing this campus master plan.)
Although some homeowners in the audience said they were willing to "dig a little deeper" to retain their autonomy, where would that leave the Lake Junaluska Conference and Retreat Center, asked Ron Clauser, chairman of the task force and a Junaluska resident.
"Who can't afford to do it is the conference and retreat center. They are the ones that can't afford to do it," Clauser said. "We need a strong conference and retreat center to do ministry for the United Methodist Church."
And if homeowners have money to spare, they should marshal their financial resources to donate to the fundraising campaign the conference center has launched to pull off the campus master plan, Clauser said.
Concerns over identity clearly weighed on task force members, even though they ultimately chose to cast their lot with the town of Waynesville.
Ed LaFontaine, a task force member, said it has been a "difficult and emotional issue" but one that came down to financial stability.
Ron Phelps, a task force member and Junaluska resident, also preached pragmatism when explaining his pro-merger position.
"Emotions are wonderful," Phelps said. "But sometimes an emotional response does not allow you to see a practical view. There is no denying it, it is change, and many of us have difficulties when change occurs. But change we must."
In the long view, Lake Junaluska has been on a constant trajectory of change, a slow but incremental departure from its traditional Methodist pedigree — one that is bound to continue as new homeowners move in.
"To stay the way we are is not an option," said Bill King, a Junaluska retiree who grew up coming to Lake Junaluska as a boy in the 1940s and 1950s, when the lake was populated by the families of Methodist preachers.
King recalled memories of those days, memories clearly shared by many in the audience.
"Jim Hart used to sell banana splits for 35 cents in the soda shop," King said.
But there's no soda shop anymore, and certainly not 35-cent banana splits, he said.
From the audience
Several members of the audience spoke up after the task force members made their speeches and voted, and most who came to the microphone decried the idea of merging with Waynesville.
Paul Starnes, a Junaluska property owner, said the Lake should not forever sell out its future over fear of short-term financial hurdles.
"Lake Junaluska is about much more than water and sewer and garbage and roads. These concerns must never be allowed to become more important than who we are and why we exist," Starnes said. "Economies of scale are also important but should not be allowed to dictate the future. Surely the God that motivated our founders to birth this institution will motivate this generation to save it."
Starnes said he fears Lake Junaluska could lose its religious ties and become "just another subdivision."
Some criticized the decision as too rushed. Despite an intensive, research-driven, analysis-rich process with myriad public input meetings, homeowners complained they haven't been able to digest the issue at the same pace as the task force.
"I feel like we are jumping into something here. I feel like we are going into something entirely too fast," said Gretchen Branning, longtime Junaluska property owner.
Many who spoke up at last week's meeting did so for the first time in the process, despite more than eight public meetings during several months that all allowed unlimited time for public comment and questions.
The time frame for a decision was accelerated in the past couple of months, however, as the task force realized the window was closing to consecrate a merger, should that be the direction the community wanted to take. The N.C. General Assembly must approve a merger, and the deadline for introducing a state bill is mid-March. The legislative window would not come around again for another two years.
This week, the results of a survey sent to all 800 property owners at Lake Junaluska will be publicly announced. The highly anticipated survey results will be a strong indicator of public sentiment. Are the concerns voiced at last week's meeting merely a vocal minority turning out at the 11th hour? Or is there truly a groundswell of opposition among homeowners over annexation into Waynesville's town limits?
Conforti, the lone task force member against merging with Waynesville, said she was disappointed there wasn't more of a groundswell in support of Lake Junaluska to form its own town.
But unlike the vast majority of those in the room who were well into their retirement years already, Conforti is far from that day — a year she pegs around 2045.
"I am old enough to remember Junaluska's past, but I am also young enough to envision its future — a future that I plan to be a part of in 30, 40, even 50 years," Conforti said. "I want to preserve what is desirable about Lake Junaluska so when it is my turn to retire here and have our grandchildren visit here, we still have a unique Lake Junaluska environment."
'We are one'
Those speaking in favor of a merger with Waynesville returned time and again to a simple fact: Waynesville is a first-rate town. It has exemplary leaders, a well-run town hall, a sound budget and healthy bank account, and generally has its act together.
The town's current leaders were also heralded as "progressive," a philosophical posture that by-and-large aligns with the unique demographics of Junaluska homeowners.
But can Junaluska always count on that?
"Waynesville is a wonderful place, but what happens when they change the city council or change the mayor in 10 years? How does that change Junaluska?" asked Jake Martinson, a Junaluska property owner. "This is irrevocable. We can't go back to where we are. We can't get out. We can't be independent."
Conforti, like her counterparts on the task force, agreed Waynesville is a "desirable" place.
"I stand firm in the belief that Waynesville and Junaluska enrich each other in numerous ways," Conforti said. "I feel that the current Waynesville leadership is supportive of Lake Junaluska's identity, but will that always be the case?"
Task force members repeatedly referenced the Hazelwood analogy — citing the former standalone town of Hazelwood on Waynesville's borders that went broke two decades ago and was taken in by Waynesville.
Phelps said Hazelwood was already part of Waynesville when he moved here, but even newcomers like himself quickly came to know it as "Hazelwood."
"And they don't even have a lake," Phelps said, pointing to the obvious geographic feature unique to the community. "The lake alone would guarantee our continued identity."
While Waynesville's leaders haven't formally weighed in — their vote will be held on March 12 — town board members have all but extended an open invitation to Lake Junaluska, if that's what their community wants.
"When you get down to it, it is about people," said Lee Galloway, a task force member and longtime former town manager of Waynesville. "I believe the town and community should join together as one. For 100 years, the lake and the town have been important to each other, supported each other and benefited from each other. We go to church together, share the same schools, the same social groups, volunteer for the same organizations — we are one."
Last modified on Wednesday, 06/03/2013


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James Earl Jones (born January 17, 1931) is an American actor of stage and screen, well known for his deep basso voice.
Jones portrayed Lord Tarvu in the 1964 Disney movie Be Nice, which mixed live action and animation. The film's saccharine tone and fanciful interpretations of Tarvunian lore have not won it many fans from within the church; indeed, many Tarvuists have taken offence at one particular sequence where it is seems as though Tarvu is having a drug-induced hallucination after he swallows an alcohol-soaked bee by mistake.


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I'm back from a road trip from Philly to Coachella and 4 glorious, ridiculous, absolutely incredible days in California. After two hours of sleep and a day working, I could not be more pumped to deliver you a dark, sultry, addictive new track from British dreamboat Ben Khan for tonight's late night listen.
I've had "Drive (Part 1)" on repeat all day and definitely added it to the Makeout Music Playlist for your hearing pleasure. The track is from Ben Khan's upcoming 1992 EP due out May 5th which you can pre-order now here! I'm already obsessed with the EP and can't wait to hear more new music and am looking forward to his full length album. His music is perfect for getting down in a live setting and I'm also hoping he heads over to the States to grace us all with those knee-weakening tunes in concert.
To keep up with Ben Khan, follow him on Facebook, Soundcloud, Twitter, and track future shows on Songkick here.


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British Education
Effective parent involvement in our schools enriches the educational experience of our children
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At the BSU, we not only look after the academic progress and achievement of our children and students but also regard emotional, physical health and wellbeing as a top priority.
As such we have developed and established a network of support, advice and care that enables children to flourish emotionally and socially, which will, in turn, help them to thrive academically.
Our Specialist Staff
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Here is a fully trained school nurse who is available throughout the school day to assist should a child fall ill or have an accident and become physically injured or hurt.
The British School Uppsala
The British School Uppsala (BSU)
Students will receive a healthy and well-rounded meal served each day. There is always a vegetarian alternative. Special meals are available upon request, for health or religious reasons.
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A school doctor is available when needed. If parents/ guardians should have any health questions related to the school situation, the nurse is available. The nurse is bound by a confidentiality clause concerning all sensitive student health issues.
The role of the student counselor is to offer guidance to students who have private problems or school issues that are a hindrance to their academic performance at school.
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It is the head of school who decides what kind of support a student needs and makes sure that the school draws up an action plan.
Health checks are carried out systematically in Sweden at specific grade levels. Parents are asked to complete a health questionnaire and also attend a meeting with the nurse/doctor at regular intervals. In addition, children are screened for visual and hearing impairment as well.
Vaccinations are carried out in Sweden by the schools during primary school education (grades: kindergarten-Grade Ten) where children attend.
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The British Curriculum leads to GCSE (at age 16) and A Level examinations (at age 18). These are qualifications that are recognised by universities and employers around the world.


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In what looks to be a declining market, the guardians of traditional religion are ramping up efforts to keep their flocks—or, in crass economic terms, to retain market share. Some Christians have turned to soul searching while others have turned to marketing. Last fall, the LDS church spent millions on billboards, bus banners, and Facebook ads touting "I'm a Mormon." In Canada, the Catholic Church has launched a "Come Home" marketing campaign. The Southern Baptists Convention voted to rebrand themselves. A hipster mega-church in Seattle combines smart advertising with sales force training for members and a strategy the Catholics have emphasized for centuries: competitive breeding.
In October of 2012 the Pew Research Center announced that for the first time ever Protestant Christians had fallen below 50 percent of the American population. Atheists cheered and evangelicals beat their breasts and lamented the end of the world as we know it. Historian of religion, Molly Worthen, has since offered big picture insights that may dampen the most extreme hopes and fears. Anthropologist Jennifer James, on the other hand, has called fundamentalism the "death rattle" of the Abrahamic traditions.
In all of the frenzy, few seem to give any recognition to the player that I see as the primary hero, or, if you prefer, culprit—and I'm not talking about science populizer and atheist superstar Neil deGrasse Tyson. Then again, maybe I am talking about Tyson in a sense, because in his various viral guises—as a talk show host and tweeter and as the face on scores of smartass Facebook memes—Tyson is an incarnation of the biggest threat that organized religion has ever faced: the internet.
A traditional religion, one built on "right belief," requires a closed information system. That is why the Catholic Church put an official seal of approval on some ancient texts and banned or burned others. It is why Bible-believing Christians are forbidden to marry nonbelievers and Muslims are warned not to socialize outside the faith. It is why Quiverfull moms home school their kids from carefully screened text books. It is why, when you get sucked into conversations with your fundamentalist uncle George from Florida, you sometimes wonder if he has some superpower that allows him to magically close down all avenues into his mind. (He does!)
Religions have spent eons honing defenses that keep outside information away from insiders. The innermost ring wall is a set of certainties and associated emotions like anxiety and disgust and righteous indignation that block curiosity. The outer wall is a set of behaviors aimed at insulating believers from contradictory evidence and from heretics like you who are potential transmitters of dangerous ideas. These behaviors range from memorizing sacred texts to wearing distinctive undergarments to killing infidels. Such defenses worked beautifully during humanity's infancy. They still work well for a child raised in an Afghani village and educated in a madrassa. But they weren't really designed for the current information age.
Tech-savvy mega-churches may have twitter missionaries, and Calvinist cuties may make viral videos about how Jesus worship isn't a religion it's a relationship, but that doesn't change the facts: the free flow of information is really, really bad for the product they are selling. Here are five kinds of web content that are like, well, like electrolysis on religion's hairy toes.
Radically cool science videos and articles. Religion evokes some of our most deeply satisfying emotions: joy, for example, and transcendence, and wonder. This is what Einstein was talking about when he said that "science without religion is lame." If scientific inquiry doesn't fill us at times with delight and even speechless awe at new discoveries or the mysteries that remain, then we are missing out on the richest part of the experience. Fortunately, science can provide all of the above, and certain masters of the trade and sectors of the internet are remarkably effective at evoking the wonder—the spirituality if you will—of the natural world unveiled. Some of my own favorites include Symphony of science, NOVA, TED, RSA Animate, and Birdnote.
It should be no surprise that so many fundamentalists are determined to take down the whole scientific endeavor. They see in science not only a critic of their outdated theories but a competitor for their very best product, a sense of transcendent exuberance. For millennia, each religion has made an exclusive claim, that it alone had the power to draw people into a grand vision worth a lifetime of devotion. Each offered the assurance that our brief lives matter and that, in some small way, we might live on. Now we are getting glimpses of a reality so beautiful and so intricate that it offers some of the same promise. Where will the old tribal religions be if, in words of Tracy Chapman, we all decide that Heaven's here on earth?
Curated Collections of Ridiculous Beliefs. Religious beliefs that aren't yours often sound silly, and the later in life you encounter them the more laughable they are likely to sound. Web writers like me are after eyeballs. We are attention whores, which means that if there's something ridiculous to showcase then one of us is guaranteed to write about it. We may post a nuanced exposé or a snarky list or a flaming meme, but the point, invariably, is to call attention to the stuff that makes you roll your eyes, shake your head in disbelief, laugh—out loud, rolling on the floor even—and then hit Share. Mega-church ministers, televangelists, Mormon missionaries, and Scientologists hate that.
The Kinky, Exploitative, Oppressive, Opportunistic and Violent Sides of Religion. Of course, the case against religion doesn't stop at weird and wacky. It gets nasty, sometimes in ways that are titillating and sometimes in ways that are simply dark. The Bible is full of sex slavery, polygamy and incest, but those verses used to be hard to find. Now they are catalogued at places like Evilbible.com. Alternately, a student writing about holidays can find a proclamation in which Puritans give thanks to God for the burning of Indian villages or an interview on the mythic origins of the Christmas story. Just-make-nicers who claim that Islam is a religion of peace have to deal with not only with articulate former Muslims like Ayan Hirsi Ali, Wafa Sultan, and Maryam Namazie, but also the many murderous commands of the Koran itself. And if the Catholic come home plea sounds a little desperate, it may well be because the sins of the bishops are getting hard to cover up. On the net, whatever the story may be, someone will be more than willing to expose it.
Supportive communities for people coming out of religion. With or without the net (but especially with it) believers sometimes find their worldview in pieces. Before the internet existed most people who lost their faith kept their doubts to themselves. There was no way to figure out who else might be thinking forbidden thoughts. In some sects, a doubting member may be shunned, excommunicated, or "disfellowshipped" to ensure that doubts don't spread. So, doubters used keep silent and then disappear into the surrounding culture. Now they can create websites, and today there are as many communities of former believers as there are kinds of belief. These communities range from therapeutic to political, and they cover the range of sects: Evangelical, Mormon, Jehovah's Witness, and (despite the threat) Muslim. There's even a web home for recovering clergy. Heaven help the unsuspecting believer who wanders into one of these sites and tries to tell members in recovery that they're all bound for hell.
Lifestyles of the fine and faithless. When they emerge from the recovery process former Christians and Muslims and whatnot find that there's a whole secular world waiting for them on the web. This can be a lifesaver, literally, for folks who are trapped in closed religious communities on the outside. On the web, they can explore lifestyles in which people stay surprisingly decent and kind without a sacred text or authority figures telling them what to do. In actuality, since so much of religion is about social support (and social control) lots of people skip the intellectual arguments and exposes, and go straight to building a new identity based in a new social network. Some web resources are specifically aimed creating alternatives to theism, for example, Good without God, Parenting Beyond Belief, or The Foundation Beyond Belief. Others are simply feisty or funky communities that leave tribal theism in the dustbin of history.
Interspiritual Okayness. This might sound odd, but one of the threats to traditional religion is interfaith communities that focus on shared spiritual values. Many religions make exclusive truth claims and see other religions as competitors. Without such claims, there is no need for evangelism, missionaries or a set of doctrines that I call donkey motivators (ie. carrots and sticks) like heaven and hell. The web showcases the fact that humanity's bad and good qualities are universal, spread across cultures and regions, across both secular and religious wisdom traditions. It offers reassurance that we won't lose the moral or spiritual dimension of life if we outgrow religion, while at the same time providing the means to glean what is truly timeless and wise from our old traditions. In doing so, it inevitably reveals the limitations of any single tradition alone. The Dalai Lama, who has lead interspiritual dialogue for many years made waves recently by saying as much: "All the world's major religions, with their emphasis on love, compassion, patience, tolerance, and forgiveness can and do promote inner values. But the reality of the world today is that grounding ethics in religion is no longer adequate. This is why I am increasingly convinced that the time has come to find a way of thinking about spirituality and ethics beyond religion altogether."
The power of interspiritual dialogue is analogous to the broader power of the web in that, at the very heart it is about people finding common ground, exchanging information, and breaking through walls to find a bigger community waiting outside. Last year, Jim Gilliam, founder of Nationbuilder, gave a talk titled, "The Internet is My Religion." Gilliam is a former fundamentalist who has survived two bouts of cancer thanks to the power of science and the internet. His existence today has required a bone marrow transplant and a double lung transplant organized in part through social media. Looking back on the experience, he speaks with the same passion that drove him when he was on fire for Jesus:
I owed every moment of my life to countless people I would never meet. Tomorrow, that interconnectedness would be represented in my own physical body. Three different DNAs. Individually they were useless, but together they would equal one functioning human.What an incredible debt to repay. I didn't even know where to start. And that's when I truly found God. God is just what happens when humanity is connected. Humanity connected is God.
The Vatican, and the Mormon Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and the Southern Baptist Convention should be very worried.
This article was first published at Alternet and Salon.com. Se encuentra en espanol aqui: http://pijamasurf.com/2013/09/por-las-siguientes-razones-es-muy-probable-que-la-religion-no-sobreviva-al-internet/
Valerie Tarico is a psychologist and writer in Seattle, Washington. She is the author of Trusting Doubt: A Former Evangelical Looks at Old Beliefs in a New Light and Deas and Other Imaginings, and the founder of www.WisdomCommons.org. Her articles can be found at Awaypoint.Wordpress.com.


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Summer is when most academics move to new affiliations or responsibilities. It is thus a good time to detail what needs to be done for RePEc data to remain accurate. There are close to 30'000 contact details listed in RePEc, yet only 466 have expired email addresses. You can help keeping this list short.
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If your email address changes, log in at the RePEc Author Service with your old address, then click on "Contact details" to amend your email address and any other contact details. Note: do not create a new account with your new email address. This would create a duplicate, and then links to and from your profile would disappear once the old account is deleted. Remember also to amend your affiliation(s) if necessary.
Note that starting next month, authors with obsolete email addresses will not count towards their affiliation's ranking. This is under the assumption that if the email address is not valid anymore, it must be because they have moved.
RePEc archive and series maintainers
If your email address is changing, or if there is a new person in charge, amend your series and/or archive templates. These are the *seri.rdf and *arch.rdf files in the root of your archive. There is no need to email us, as we extract from your templates the addresses for the monthly emails. However, if your RePEc archive moves to a new location, we obviously need to know about it.
Editor data is provided at two locations: by the RePEc Author Service and by the relevant publishers. In the first case, an email address change is handled as for a registered author. If you are not an editor anymore (and your editorship is listed in your RePEc profile), you can remove this by logging in at the RePEc Author Service: click on "Research" then "identified", check your old journal, and approve the removal. To add a journal you now edit to your RePEc profile, either look at the suggested research items (if your publisher put in your name in the RePEc data), or do a manual search with the journal title.
Your publisher may also provide directly your name and your email address to RePEc. Your can see this on the listing of your journal on EconPapers or IDEAS. There you see also a technical contact. This is where you need to email to request a change in the listing.


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