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Independent game developers face a lot of obstacles, from limited funding and AAA competition to marketing challenges and getting attention from an easily distracted press. But those hurdles can multiply when an indie developer decides to release a game on a console. Fez developer Phil Fish highlighted this fact last week, with a highly publicized complaint about being asked to pay tens of thousands of dollars in recertification fees to Microsoft in order to patch a known issue with the game.
Clashes between Microsoft and indie developers are not a new phenomenon. Since 2008, World of Goo co-creator Ron Carmel has been surveying 200 of his fellow independent developers about their feelings on various platforms. Last year's survey showed evidence that interest in Xbox Live Arcade was waning among developers, while interest in PlayStation 3 was surging. What's more, a 48 percent plurality of the developers described working with Microsoft on Xbox Live Arcade as "excruciating," a level surpassed only by individual cell phone carriers. Working with Steam, on the other hand, was considered "very easy" by 64 percent of developers in the survey.
Speaking to Ars Technica, Carmel clarified that those "excruciating" experiences centered on dealings with Microsoft Studios, the in-house publishing unit that releases independent XBLA games that don't have an established third-party publishing partner (like EA, Activision or Ubisoft). "Contract negotiations [with Microsoft Studios] are drawn out and adversarial," Carmel said. "I've heard many complaints about having to work with a producer, and their terms are the worst among all modern digital distribution channels." (Microsoft refused an opportunity to comment on this story.)
Not only does going through Microsoft Studios mean keeping your game exclusive to Xbox Live Arcade for a certain period of time after launch, but the outfit also takes an additional percentage of a game's revenues on top of the standard cut taken for all Xbox Live Arcade titles, Carmel said. "That's why we see savvy console developers like Supergiant [Bastion] and Klei [Shank] go through third-party publishers—those publishers get better terms from XBLA (directly) than a small developer could get from Microsoft Studios, and they can launch the game simultaneously on multiple platforms."
Avoiding that exclusivity clause is part of the reason Zeboyd games founder Robert Boyd said he didn't try for a full Xbox Live Arcade release for the recently released Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness Episode 3. Instead, Boyd adapted the Steam version of the game for the less popular Xbox Live Indie Games channel, which has much less stringent certification requirements, but also receives much less promotion from Microsoft. Boyd said he sees the XBLIG release as a "courtesy to our fans" that still allowed the game to be ported to "as many platforms as possible."
The past is history
Boyd praised Microsoft for doing some "great things" for the indie game community, including creating the Indie Games area as a proving ground for low-budget developers in the first place. But he worries that the company has "stopped progressing as far as fostering indie games go, at the same time that everyone else is focusing on indie development more and more." He cites Steam's easy post-launch updates, Sony's extensive outreach efforts to indie developers, and even Nintendo's increasing focus on digital distribution as signs that Microsoft is falling behind in this area.
"Sure, Microsoft has a full schedule on XBLA right now, but if they want to continue to attract top talent to their platforms for 2013, 2014, and beyond, they need to step up their efforts and be more accommodating of smaller developers," Boyd said. "At the very least, they need to ease up on their patch rules. It doesn't matter how good your QA team is—if you're making something with the kind of complexity found in your typical modern game, you're not going to catch every bug the first time around. I really feel for [Fez programmer] Renaud Bedard, since I know how frustrating it is to find [out] about a bug and not be sure how to fix [it]."
Not all indie developers are so negative about the hassles of Xbox Live Arcade publishing. Derek Yu, whose cult hit PC game Spelunky was recently adapted for XBLA, said he went in to the port knowing full well that there were additional costs to doing business on consoles. "It didn't deter me because I was committed to developing a console game," he said. "In my opinion, the entire process of console development is prohibitive—not just the expenses but also the selection process and the time invested into understanding the platform. You should only do it if you have the resources and really want to be on a console."
But those "prohibitive" console development hurdles don't even serve any real purpose, according to Braid developer Jonathan Blow. While strict certification requirements (and their attendant temporal and monetary costs) may have made sense back in the disc-only days, Blow says, the process has become actively harmful in releasing today's downloadable indie titles.
"The certification processes of all these platform holders were based on the idea that all these steps they test are absolutely necessary for software to run robustly, and that software robustness is super-important for the health of their platform and its perception by customers," Blow said. "But look at iOS. There is almost no certification process for iOS, so by the Microsoft/Sony/Nintendo theory, the apps should be crashing all the time, everyone should think of iOS as sucky, etc. But in fact this is not what is happening. There is no public outcry for more testing and robustness of iOS software."
Blow called out console makers for micromanaging developers with certification requirements, like the need to include that ever-present "do not to turn off their console when a game is saving" message. The time spent developing and testing for minutia like this adds up, he said, arguing it could be better spent working on the games themselves.
"The edge that both Apple and Valve have going into the future is that they both genuinely care about the end-user experience and want to make it as good as possible," Blow said. "Which coincidentally seems to be the place that these consoles are handicapped due to their corporate culture. Can anyone look at the current 360 or PS3 dashboards and legitimately say that those are products of an entity that deeply cares about user experience?"
While upstarts like Ouya are trying to remove all the barriers that give indie console developers such headaches, Blow fears the current certification model might be too "baked into the DNA" of the established console makers to be changed any time soon.
"If the actual way the next-gen consoles work is much like the way they work now, they will be functionally archaic in the marketplace," he said. "Keep in mind that they have to compete with the iPad 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9. Any idea what the iPad 5 or 6 are going to look like, how powerful they are going to be, what other user experience benefits they are going to have? I sure don't."


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365 inn is ideally located in the most central and historical area of Beijing( around Tian'anmen square). All major attractions are within short walking distance from our doorstep.
You will find restaurants, cafes, shops, supermarkets, tourism info spot and so much more... and feel the HUTONG culture in Beijing
It´s also close to the main transport system (bus and subway)
Open since April 2006, 365 inn has finished renovation at the end of December 2009
So, in 2010, 365 inn is the first opened hostel in Beijing, it's time to choose stay in 365 inn!!!
we are now bigger and better but we still have the same concern: offering you a place were you can feel at home with style and design.
We invite our fellow travellers to relax to music while reading our many books, enjoy in our lounge and surf our fast free internet.
Our guest kitchen is free for guests to indulge in some of their own home comforts.
we especially provide a wall for travellers to leave their paintings or handwritings on it.
We appreciate the importance of clean facilities, so you will notice we will be cleaning all day long.
FREE towels and linens
FREE internet in lobby & in rooms
FREE wireless internet connection in lobby
FREE luggage storage
FREE tour information
FREE hair dryer
FREE iron and iron board
FREE umbrellas
FREE refrigerator in guest kitchen
FREE African style drum & guitar
book exchange
to be continued...
1. 24 hours hot water
2. both heater & air condition
3. card phone
4. cash & credit card accept
5. shared shower for dorm
6. lundry service
7. towels and linen included
8. reading light
9. reading corner in the bar
10. 24 reception
11. accept booking by email and phone
12. visa extention helping
and more....

subset: commoncrawl


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Margaret Fuller: A New American Life
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Biography
"Thoroughly absorbing, lively . . . Fuller, so misunderstood in life, richly deserves the nuanced, compassionate portrait Marshall paints." -- Boston Globe
Pulitzer Prize winner Megan Marshall recounts the trailblazing life of Margaret Fuller: Thoreau's first editor, Emerson's close friend, daring war correspondent, tragic heroine. After her untimely death in a shipwreck off Fire Island, the sense and passion of her life's work were eclipsed by scandal. Marshall's inspired narrative brings her back to indelible life.
Whether detailing her front-page New-York Tribune editorials against poor conditions in the city's prisons and mental hospitals, or illuminating her late-in-life hunger for passionate experience--including a secret affair with a young officer in the Roman Guard--Marshall's biography gives the most thorough and compassionate view of an extraordinary woman. No biography of Fuller has made her ideas so alive or her life so moving.
"Megan Marshall's brilliant Margaret Fuller brings us as close as we are ever likely to get to this astonishing creature. She rushes out at us from her nineteenth century, always several steps ahead, inspiring, heartbreaking, magnificent." -- Rebecca Newberger Goldstein, author of Betraying Spinoza: The Renegade Jew Who Gave Us Modernity
"Shaping her narrative like a novel, Marshall brings the reader as close as possible to Fuller's inner life and conveys the inspirational power she has achieved for several generations of women." -- New Republic
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Children and Hospitality – Dusit Thani Maldives Celebrates Children's Day
Maldives Promotion House – On March 10th 2013 Dusit Thani Maldives celebrated Children's Day, recognising children and hospitality in the Baa Atoll. The resort invited 30 children and their teachers from the islands of Kihaadhoo, Dhonfanu and Dharavandhoo.
A fun programme of activities was organised aiming to instil hospitality awareness and values in young children, as well as pride in their home for being host to first-class international luxury resorts.
"We are extremely delighted to welcome the children of Baa Atoll on this day," said Desmond Hatton, general manager. "Our goal is to help them gain insight about operating a five-star resort and potentially embrace this industry for their future careers. This designated day gives us the opportunity to reflect on our role in developing the Baa Atoll community, while contributing to a sustainable future."
The programme included an educational behind-the scenes tour of resort operations, a buffet lunch in the main restaurant, meeting the management, and other enjoyable learning activities.


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The benefits of breast milk for babies are numerous. Lower rates of childhood obesity, decreased incidence of asthma and even better brain development are all linked with drinking more of mother's milk in infancy, and despite decades of research and promising marketing claims, the formula industry has not caught up to mother nature in the milk department.
But even if technicians could develop a better food for infants, researchers are now realizing that skipping the lactation phase would be problematic for mothers' health. In fact, not breastfeeding after giving birth seems to put women at higher risk for breast and ovarian cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and many other serious health conditions.
The mechanisms behind these increased risks are still being sorted out, but researchers think that by not engaging in the process that the body prepares for during pregnancy, many crucial systems can go out of whack. And the effects can last for decades after children are weaned.
"The normal physiology is breastfeeding after pregnancy," says Alison Stuebe, an assistant professor in the Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, who describes breastfeeding as the fourth trimester of pregnancy. When women cannot or choose not to breastfeed, "there are myriad consequences, and we're just figuring them out," she says.
This image, based on medical imaging and computer rendering by the Visual MD, reveals the some of the biological systems affected during lactation, many of which are now thought to have lasting effects on a woman's health.
Costs of not nursing
About 85 percent of U.S. women have at least one child, and based on information about the virtues of breast milk for all those babies, most health agencies recommend that when biologically possible and safe women breastfeed infants exclusively for the first six months with the option of introducing complementary foods in addition to breast milk through 12 months.
Almost three quarters of women in 2005 (the latest year for which data are available) started breastfeeding their infants shortly after birth. By six months, however, only 42 percent of women were still feeding their babies any breast milk at all (with 12 percent still feeding exclusively breast milk at that point). Considering the improved health outcomes for the infants alone, the U.S. could save about $13 billion each year on medical costs if 90 percent of women nursed their infants exclusively for the first six months, according to an analysis by led by Melissa Bartick of the Department of Medicine at Cambridge Health Alliance and Harvard Medical School, published March 2010 in the journal Pediatrics. And that sum says nothing of the money that might be saved on health costs for mothers if they breastfed, which Bartick estimates would be "significant."
In a study of data from 139,681 postmenopausal women in the U.S., those who breastfed for less than 12 months during their reproductive years had a higher risk for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, hyperlipidemia and hypertension than women who had lactated for more than a year in total. For example, among women who had children, those who did not breastfeed had a 42.1 percent chance of developing hypertension, where mothers who breastfed for at least 12 months had a 38.6 percent chance, according to an analysis led by Eleanor Schwarz, an assistant professor of medicine, obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences at the University of Pittsburgh, and published May 2009 in Obstetrics & Gynecology. For women who never become pregnant, many of their risks seem to be closer to those who have children and breastfed.
Mobilizing mothers' fat
Those breastfeeding benefits accrue in part because nursing can start to break down some of the fat that accumulates in women's bodies during pregnancy. At first, some mothers despair for their figures because having children generally leads to thicker midsections and thighs as women's bodies change to nourish a developing fetus and boost stores for feeding the baby once it is born. Although not optimal for long-term health, this extra weight serves an important evolutionary function.
"Clearly the woman's body is positioning itself to be able to put out an extra meal for another body, and it just takes saving calories," Schwarz explains. Producing milk for a single infant requires about 480 extra calories a day. Various analyses have come back with different information of the ability of breastfeeding to help women slim down more quickly after pregnancy. New research presented in March from Schwarz and Candace McClure, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Pittsburgh's Department of Epidemiology, found that women who had not breastfed had an average of about seven and a half additional centimeters of fat around their waists (as gleaned from CT scans).
But as Schwarz points out, "not all body fat is created equal." The fat that tends to accumulate during pregnancy is in part visceral fat, which sits around organs in the midsection and can put people more at risk for heart and other types of diseases. Their CT study also found that, of the 351 women aged 45 to 58, those who had children and not breastfed had 28 percent more visceral fat than those who had consistently breastfed.
Lactating women appear to be better at mobilizing these new fat stores than new mothers who are using formula. And not shedding those extra post-pregnancy pounds may put women at risk for complications in later pregnancies as well as metabolic syndrome and related health problems, Stuebe and colleagues noted in a January 2009 review article published in the American Journal of Perinatology.
One big concern about these additional fat stores is their potential role in upping chances for diabetes later in life. Pregnancy itself can decrease glucose tolerance and raise insulin resistance, hence the prevalence of gestational diabetes. But research is accumulating to suggest that the process of lactation works to re-establish the balance of these key sensitivities. According to a cohort analysis by Stuebe et al., the longer a woman had lactated during her reproductive years, the less likely she was to get type 2 diabetes, regardless of BMI, which can be a risk factor for the disease.
Women who develop gestational diabetes are generally thought to be at higher risk for developing regular diabetes later in life. But new research has shown that this increased risk is significantly lessened for women who breastfeed for more than nine months, Schwarz points out. She adds that being able to tell women who have had gestational diabetes that breastfeeding will lower their chances of getting diabetes later has given her and many of her patients renewed hope for their future health.
Helping heart health
Breastfeeding helps mothers' cardiovascular health in very specific ways, Schwartz found in her analysis of postmenopausal women.
"Women who reported longer histories of lactation had significantly lower rates of risk factors for cardiovascular disease, even after adjusting for sociodemographic and lifestyle variables, family history and BMI category," Schwarz and her colleagues concluded in their May 2009 analysis. In fact, those who had breastfed for more than 12 months were about 10 percent less likely to develop cardiovascular disease compared with women who had not breastfed.
Recent research has shown aortic calcification, a risk factor for stroke, heart attack and other cardiovascular complications, was "significantly more likely" to be found in mothers who had not breastfed than in those who had for at least three months—even after adjusting for lifestyle, family history, socioeconomic status, BMI and other health issues, according to a study led by Schwarz that was published in January 2010 in Obstetrics & Gynecology.
Schwarz and others are still trying to figure out why not nursing might lead to hardened arteries and other cardiovascular risk factors. One possible explanation hinges on cholesterol levels, which increase during pregnancy. For mothers who do not breastfeed, levels of triglycerides seem to take longer (by about three months) to reach pre-pregnancy levels. Nursing mothers also seemed to have higher levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL, or so-called "good cholesterol") while they were breastfeeding. But these shorter-term effects do not entirely clear up some of the questions surrounding heart disease later in life.
Better long-term heart health for breastfeeding mothers might stem in part from blood pressure, which was "significantly higher" in mothers who had not breastfed than in those who had (120 mmHg and 115 mmHg, respectively), according to the 2010 Schwarz study. Research has suggested that one in 29 cases of postmenopausal hypertension could be avoided if mothers breastfed for at least 12 months during their reproductive years.
Risks for cardiovascular disease in lactating versus non-lactating mothers seem to be firm regardless of BMI, which is usually a factor for both conditions. This finding "indicates that lactation does more than simply reduce a woman's fat stores," Schwarz and her colleagues wrote in their May 2009 paper. They proposed that hormonal stimulation is likely playing a substantial role.
The neurotransmitter oxytocin, which is released during nursing, seems to help women get to that "blissed-out state" many women have while breastfeeding, Stuebe says. And this relaxed state of mind can help women cope with all the stresses "that go with being a new mom." Simply getting the body in the habit of releasing this hormone by frequent nursing can pay off long after weaning. "Moms who breastfeed over long times get really good at releasing oxytocin" at other times, which activates the parasympathetic nervous system and can help alleviate stress later in life, Stuebe says.
Cutting chances of cancer
Perhaps the most well-known maternal benefit of breastfeeding is reduced risks for breast and ovarian cancers. New research is underscoring that link and shedding new light on some of the ways in which not nursing puts some women at higher risk.
For every 12 months a woman breastfed, her risk of breast cancer dropped 4.3 percent, Stuebe and Schwarz noted in a 2010 Journal of Perinatology paper. (Scientific American is part of Nature Publishing Group.) And for women who have a family history of breast cancer, breastfeeding seemed to decrease the risk of getting it, according to an analysis of data from more than 60,000 women led by Stuebe, published August 2009 in the Archives of Internal Medicine. Whereas the potent drug Tamoxifen can reduce risk for those with a mother or sister who had breast cancer by about half, "moms who had breastfed at all had about 60 percent less risk," Stuebe says. "That's a pretty significant statistic," she adds.
The mechanisms behind these statistics remain unclear. Women who had taken medication to suppress lactation also seemed to have a lower risk of developing breast cancer compared with women who gave birth but did not breastfeed, according to recent research by Stuebe and colleagues (though these drugs have questionable safety records). These findings hint that the changes in breasts that become engorged with milk that is not expressed could up the chances for breast cancer down the road.
Ovarian cancer risk also appears to be partially tied in with breastfeeding. When compared with women who had breastfed for at least 18 months, mothers who never breastfed had a 1.5-fold increased risk of developing ovarian cancer, according to one analysis. Another study, published November 2009 in Cancer Causes & Control, found that the protective effect of lactating on ovarian cancer was strongest if women had breastfed their last child.
One hypothesis for the ovarian cancer connection is that small infections that often occur during breastfeeding (known as mastitis) might serve to protect the body against tumors in the future. Antibodies that develop to fight the mastitis would persist in the body, and corollary evidence has shown that women who breastfed but did not have these antibodies were more likely to develop ovarian cancer than those who breastfed and did have the antibodies.
Assessing limitations
Although knowledge on the health rewards of breastfeeding only seems to be growing, many of these apparently protective effects do seem to diminish with time. In Schwarz's study of postmenopausal women, those aged 60 to 69 were only significantly less likely to get cardiovascular disease than those who had formula-fed if they had lactated for a total of 13 to 23 months, according to the analysis published last May. And women who were 70 to 79 years old appeared to be at about the same risk for cardiovascular disease as their formula-feeding compatriots—regardless of how much they had breastfed during their younger years.
Despite the multitude of studies on maternal health outcomes and breastfeeding, many are small or based on methodologies that can fall prey to unintentional biases. "Findings must be interpreted with caution," Stuebe and her colleagues noted in their 2009 American Journal of Perinatology paper. Although many studies try to control for lifestyle, they asserted, "women who breastfeed are more likely to engage in other healthy behaviors" and these are challenging to fully take into account. There also might be a sort of long-term feedback loop, in which women who were breastfed as infants would be more likely to breastfeed their own children, thus benefiting from both their own early breast milk diet and the effects of lactating themselves, as Schwarz has pointed out.
No matter how many factors researchers have controlled for, confounding variables continue to abound. Big questions about the complex relationship between breastfeeding and obesity remain. Although some studies have tied breastfeeding to faster weight loss, the dynamic is much more complicated. Being obese at delivery has also been linked to difficulty breastfeeding and decreased release of the hormone prolactin, which stimulates lactation, as Stuebe pointed out in her 2009 paper. So teasing out finer elements of causation—and possibilities for mitigation—continues to challenge researchers looking for effective ways to study breastfeeding.
The best way to study the effects of breast and formula feeding on mothers and children would be to design a long-term, randomized controlled trial, which is the research gold standard in many medical fields. But given the accumulated literature on the benefits of breastfeeding, such a trial would be "ethically problematic," depriving half of the mother-baby dyads, Stuebe and her colleague noted in their 2009 paper.
One subtle but central adjustment in both the research and popular opinion has been to shift the act of breastfeeding from the experimental group to the baseline assessment. "Breastfeeding is the standard to which all other feeding methods should be compared," Bartick says. "It's not best, it's not optimal—it's just normal." Although many of the results from studies that use formula feeding as a baseline remain valid, the mindset behind it is overdue for change, she says. When assessed as the norm, breastfeeding should not bestow benefits as much as formula feeding increases risks.
The research is still evolving, however, and Stuebe is not sure we have found all of the reasons breastfeeding should be a no-brainer health choice when it is an option. "I think there are going to be many answers," she says. "It's like saying, 'How does exercising improve health?' It's the physiological norm."
How Breastfeeding Benefits Mothers' Health
Feeding infants with breast milk has been shown to improve baby health and even IQ, but the benefits of breastfeeding also appear to stay with mothers for years to come, lowering risks of cardiovascular disease and cancer
The benefits of breast milk for babies are numerous. Lower rates of childhood obesity, decreased incidence of asthma and even better brain development are all linked with drinking more of mother's milk in infancy, and despite decades of research and promising marketing claims, the formula industry has not caught up to mother nature in the milk department.


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REACH village thrown a lifeline: Money problems for agency not solved, however
Mountain Projects might take control of the REACH village in Sylva, ensuring the low-income housing would remain available to area residents in need, especially victims of domestic violence.
This does not mean, however, that REACH of Jackson County, an anti-domestic violence agency, will have shed its well-publicized financial woes. The nine-unit village, built in 2001 for $1.1 million through federal and state loans, precipitated a money crisis for REACH because the nonprofit couldn't meet loan payments.
Even if Mountain Projects saves the village from foreclosure, REACH must come up with between $100,000 and $150,000 to keep operating for several more months until state grants come through (the financial heartbeat of many do-good agencies such as REACH).
North Carolina has taken to doling out grants about four months into each fiscal year, and as a result, agencies that desire solvency have learned to sock-away money. REACH has none in the piggybank. The agency has missed payroll a couple times, and had the water cut off to the village for nonpayment of bills, among other problems.
The Jackson County Board of Commissioners this week agreed to send a letter on Mountain Project's behalf asking for a community service block grant for $600,000.
Mountain Projects is a nonprofit that administers programs to benefit the needy and elderly in Haywood and Jackson counties. Patsy Dowling, executive director, said the federal loan agency and REACH asked Mountain Projects to take over the village. Initially, Mountain Projects balked at assuming a loan of $840,074, but with a plan in the works to seek grant money, the agency said OK. The remaining balance of the loan will be paid by the N.C. Housing Finance Agency.
"We are very happy that the county commissioners agreed to partner with Mountain Projects to apply for funds to allow Mountain Projects to take over the village," said Kim Roberts-Fer, executive director of REACH. "Our financial situation does not allow us to continue to maintain the village for the several months it will take for this process to be completed. We will be contacting (the note holders) to discuss possible ways to allow Mountain Projects to take over the project sooner. If no options are available within a few months, REACH will be unable to continue paying to maintain the property."


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This post introduces you to the board of directors of the Foundation for Religious Diplomacy: Terry C. Muck, Daniel C. Peterson, and John W. Morehead, and also the founder and chairman of the Foundation, Charles Randall Paul.
Dr. Terry C. Muck, Dean of the E. Stanley Jones School of World Mission and Evangelism at Asbury Theological Seminary
The official "Mission" statement of the seminary where Muck serves as a Dean is as follows: "Asbury Theological Seminary is a community called to prepare theologically educated, sanctified, Spirit-filled men and women to evangelize and to spread scriptural holiness throughout the world through the love of Jesus Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit and to the glory of God the Father."
And here are some excerpts from the from the Asbury Theological Seminary's Statement of Faith:
The following is a statement, in short form, of the Wesleyan-Arminian theological doctrines on which Asbury Theological Seminary was founded in 1923.Terry C. Muck is also co-author of the book Christianity Encountering World Religions: The Practice of Mission in the Twenty-first Century, an excerpt of which can be found in this follow-up post: "Consider this one aspect of the nightmare: the Buddhist world."
We believe:
God In the one God, Creator and Sustainer of all things, infinite in love, perfect in judgments and unchanging in mercy. God exists eternally in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit;
Scripture In the divine inspiration, truthfulness and authority of both the Old and New Testaments, the only written Word of God, without error in all it affirms. The Scriptures are the only infallible rule of faith and practice. The Holy Spirit preserves God's Word in the church today and by it speaks God's truth to peoples of every age;
Jesus Christ That Jesus Christ is God's Son incarnate, born of the Virgin Mary. He died for the sins of all, taking on Himself, on behalf of sinful persons, God's judgment upon sin. In His body he rose from the grave and ascended to the right hand of the Father where He intercedes for us;
Christians in Society That Christians are called to live in daily witness to the grace which comes to us in Jehttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifsus Christ, to preach the gospel to every person according to the command of Christ, and to declare God's insistence upon righteousness http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifand justice in all relationships and structures of human society;
Return of Christ In the personal return of Jesus Christ, in the bodily resurrection of all persons, in final judgment, and in eternal reward and punishment;
God's Ultimate Victory In God's ultimate victory over Satan and all evil and the establishment of His perfect kingdom in a new heaven and a new earth.
Dr. Daniel C. Peterson, professor of Islamic Studies and Arabic in the Department of Asian and Near Eastern Languages at Brigham Young University.
According to the MormonStories.Org website: "Peterson is known for his work as an apologist and scholar on subjects dealing with claims of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints." (link) Peterson and fellow Mormon Scott Gordon (President of the Foundation for Apologetic Information & Research--FAIR), are behind the Mormon Scholars Testify website (link), which Peterson proudly calls "a personal missionary enterprise" . That quote is from Peterson's Sic et Non blog (link), and in the same post Peterson also explains that he was inspired to start the Mormon Scholars Testify website after listening to the commencement speech given by Mormon Elder M. Russell Ballard (of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles), at the Brigham Young University graduation ceremony on December 15, 2007, titled "Sharing the Gospel on the Internet". Here is an excerpt from that speech (full text here):
Now, may I ask that you join the conversation by participating on the Internet to share the gospel and to explain in simple and clear terms the message of the Restoration. Most of you already know that if you have access to the Internet you can start a blog in minutes and begin sharing what you know to be true. You can download videos from Church and other appropriate sites, including newsroom.lds.org, and send them to your friends. You can write to media sites on the Internet that report on the Church and voice your views as to the accuracy of the reports. This, of course, requires that you understand the basic principles of the gospel. It is essential that you are able to offer a clear and correct witness of gospel truths. It is also important that you and the people to whom you testify understand that you do not speak for the Church as a whole. You speak as one member—but you testify of the truths you have come to know.It should be noted that Daniel C. Peterson is not, however, associated with the Ex-Mormon Scholoars Testify website.
John W. Morehead, founder and editor of the Sacred Tribes Journal.
In the first issue of "Sacred Tribes Journal", John W. Morehead addressed the question, "Why Sacred Tribes?". Here is how he frames the question in the opening paragraph:
New religious movements, New Age, Neo-Pagan, and minor non-Christian spiritual movements are a global phenomenon, and for over one hundred years have been the focus of evangelical critique and apologetic. In June 1980 the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization sponsored the "Consultation on World Evangelization" in Pattaya, Thailand. The purpose was to develop strategies for reaching unreached people groups. One of those groups was called "Mystics and Cultists," now referred to as new religious movements. The consultation formally recognized new religious movements as unreached people groups comprising frontier missions yet to be encompassed by the kingdom commissions of Christ.A little further down, Morehead bemoans the fact that while previous attempts at evangelizing these "cultists" (uh, that would be us) had helped "Christians differentiate between biblical orthodoxy and heresy", nevertheless this work in the fields of the Lord had not "translated into any substantial evangelistic and discipleship efforts among adherents of new religions." But then Morehead states that this "impasse" can be "overcome" by "the integration of contextualized mission principles into the apologist's task." Morehead then expands on that theme as follows:
Now in Britain, North America, Australia and New Zealand several evangelical practitioners have been pioneering some practical ways in which the twin disciplines of apologetics and missiology can be complementary practices in the effective proclamation of the gospel to adherents of alternate spiritual pathways. What these western practitioners have discovered in the field is that methodology does not have to become an "either/or" polarization, but rather a "both/and" blending of apologetics with contextual mission principles rooted soundly in the Bible.
Direct link to Morehead's article: http://www.sacredtribesjournal...
Charles Randall Paul, founder and chairman of Foundation for Religious Diplomacy.
This is from Dr. Paul's "Testimony" at the Mormon Scholars Testify website (link):
In midlife, I realized that the Heavenly Father I believed in needed a better public relations agent. The various scriptures did not persuade that he is a loving heavenly father—more an absentee Dad making big promises, but without follow-through. For a while, Joseph Smith's personal story about the close human family relation with God seemed too good to be true. I did not crave an all- powerful God as much as a persuasively loving God. God seemed distant to most people, and, therefore, I began pondering the thought that there might be a distant deity or no One at all.
I was blessed to meet two new people via their writings: the radical empiricist William James, who was open to More than categorical boxes of mechanism or idealism could contain, and the Christian existentialist Fyodor Dostoevsky, whose characters, especially in The Brothers Karamazov, moved me to see Christ in every aspect of the human soul. I came to believe in God the loving father through believing in the story of Jesus Christ who loved his heavenly Father. If this Jesus, the Lord of Dimitry, Ivan, and Alyosha, could vouch for the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, then I would pray to the old heavenly Father with confidence (again). William James reminded me that no one has ever been able to get to truth by jumping ahead of his or her subjective desires—that there has yet to be any education or esoteric learning that is the clear and obvious answer to all questions about the purpose of life and the nature of ultimate reality and happiness.
Philosophy is a useful skepticism that keeps us aware of our limited ability to understand things comprehensively; therefore we are wise to constantly explore without final affirmation or denial what might be true. Each religious tradition affirms a true way or ways of going, but none is so universally compelling that all humanity has chosen to follow it. So, the visit of the Father and the Son and other heavenly beings to Joseph Smith, and his ensuing distinctive, synthesizing revelations, are on the table with the rest of the human stories about the big questions. I believe the Latter-day Saints' restoration of 'open revelation from God' will turn out to be one of the most positive, influential stories for billions of people in coming centuries.
Related posts from this blog:
- Christian Demographics Fun Facts (Nov 2, 2009)
- "Africa became Christian by submission, not by conversion." (April 27, 2010)
- Because We Can: Syncretism from a Pagan perspective (May 25, 2010)
- "When you enter a village, swear by its Gods." (Because We Can, pt. 2) (May 26, 2010)
- Lady GaGa Prayer Candles (Because We Can, pt. 3) (May 27, 2010)
- Angelique Kidjo on Voodoo and Catholicism (May 29, 2010)
- More Prayer Candles, Please! (Jun 2, 2010)
- "On the permanent validity of the Church's missionary mandate" (What they mean by "dialogue", pt. 1) (Jul 27, 2010)
- Banding together in the Cretan fashion (Aug 20, 2010)
- "Playing the Fish" (What they mean by "dialogue", pt. 2) (Dec 27, 2010)
- The true story of how the Yaqui people were conquered and converted to Christianity (Jan 19, 2011)
- Did the Yaquis Convert to Christianity? (Jan 21, 2011)
- "We had no choice." Strategic syncretism in the face of Christianization.
- On the Non-Ineluctability of Christianization: Notes Toward a Grand Unified Theory of Pagan Resistance, Survival, and Revival (Mar 29, 2011)
- "You are ignorant of the very thing you worship" (What they mean by "dialogue", pt. 3) (Jun 30, 2011)
- Confessions of a Christian Missionary: "The old religion used to hold their life together. Now there is a void." (Nov. 28, 2011)
- An Orthodox theologian explains what he means by "Inclusivism" and "Tolerance" (Jan. 28, 2012)


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Kindergarten Events
Towne Meadows is hosting a Kindergarten Premier for future families on Wednesday, March 29, at 4 pm. A night for future Timberwolves to see classrooms and meet the teachers.
Sign up here for a time.
We are excited to welcome your kindergartner to Towne Meadows Elementary! To learn more about our school please take a look around our website and if you would like, please schedule a tour.
Gilbert Public Schools Kindergarten Program Highlights
We are excited to welcome our Kindergarten students and their families! Please read on for helpful information and resources.
We offer tuition-free, full-day Kindergarten programs at all of our 26 elementary schools, half-day morning Kindergarten at Burk, Accelerated Kindergarten at Highland Park, Meridian, Playa del Rey, Quartz Hill, and Val Vista Lakes, Dual-Language Spanish Kindergarten at Gilbert Elementary, and Traditional Kindergarten at Canyon Rim, Neely Traditional, and Spectrum.
Our Kindergarten students enjoy a challenging and comprehensive curriculum designed to provide the individualized attention they need to thrive while developing a lifelong love for learning.
- Convenient full-day and half-day Kindergarten options in a nurturing environment taught by certified and highly qualified teachers
- Dual Language Spanish Kindergarten option at Gilbert Elementary
- Half-day (morning) Kindergarten option at Burk Elementary
- Five Accelerated Kindergarten options at Highland Park Elementary, Meridian Elementary, Playa del Rey Elementary, Quartz Hill Elementary, and Val Vista Elementary.
- Three Traditional Academies (K–6) options including Neely Traditional Academy, Canyon Rim Elementary, & Spectrum Elementary
- Rigorous instruction in core academic areas that address the Arizona state standards in reading, writing, math, science, and social studies
- Rich opportunities that promote positive social skills and character development within a structured learning environment
- Recognized educational excellence and consistency in achieving high scores on statewide assessments
- Well-defined and tailored curriculum with high-quality academic programs and extra-curricular activities to meet your student's needs and strengths, including music, artistic expression, and physical education for the enrichment of the whole child
- Gilbert Public Schools Special Education Kindergarten programs provide quality early education for children with special needs.
Kindergarten Enrollment Steps & Information
To enroll a student in your local neighborhood Gilbert Public School for the upcoming school year please follow these instructions to complete online enrollment.
Gilbert Public Schools is an open enrollment district, therefore if you are interested in having your child attend Kindergarten at a school that is not your neighborhood school it is easy to apply through our online open enrollment. If you are not sure which school is your neighborhood school, please view the GPS school boundaries.
Visit our Online Enrollment Information Center to learn more and enroll today!
Kindergarten Age Guidelines
To register for kindergarten for the upcoming school year, children must turn 5-years-old prior to September 1st. Children who turn 5-years-old between September 1st and December 31st may be assessed kindergarten readiness through an early entrance screening to determine qualification for early entrance into kindergarten. Special Education kindergarten transition is available for special needs students.
Kindergarten Immunization Requirements
Arizona Law requires that students entering Kindergarten have had the following vaccines:
- 5 doses of DTap, DTP, or DT
- 4 doses of Polio (IPV)
- 3 doses Hepatitis B
- 2 doses MMR
- 1 dose Varicella* (*2 doses recommended by the CDC for full protection)
Where to Get Vaccinated:
If your insurance covers immunizations:
- Visit your healthcare provider
- Maricopa County Immunization Clinics
If you don't have insurance, your insurance doesn't cover vaccines, are on AHCCCS, are
Native American or Alaska Native:
Visit our Health Services information for more information on immunizations.
Kindergarten Early Entrance Screening Information
Early Entrance Screenings will take place in June prior to the school year of registration, and be completed prior to the first day of school. Early Entrance Screening will not be available once school has begun.
Early Entrance Screening Handbook
Online Early Entrance Screening Registration Instructions:
- All screening registrations must be submitted online.
- A non-refundable $90.00 fee will be collected at the time of registration and may be paid using Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or Discover Card. Once registration is completed, a confirmation will be sent via email indicating the date, appointment time, and location for your child's screening. Please download and read the Early Entrance Screening Handbook before your appointment.
- Screening sessions are subject to cancellation if minimum enrollment is not met.
- Registering online for screening does not in any way guarantee enrollment into kindergarten.
- Face coverings are optional.
- Only one adult may accompany each child registered for a screening. No other children are allowed at this time.
Screening Registration is completed online via Community Education's online system, Eleyo:
Questions about registration or payment?
Call the Community Education Department at 480-892-9089 prior to kindergarten screening registration, during business hours.
Questions about details concerning the screening or the process?
Call the Curriculum Department prior to kindergarten screening registration or your appointment at 480-497-3470 during regular business hours.


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Aug. 11, 2009— -- Genetically speaking, redheads are mutants. They may not wear capes or fight crime like the ones we see in comic books but, as a growing body of research shows, they might have special powers.
In the past five years, researchers have found that the genetic mutation responsible for redhead's ruby tresses and snow-white skin also makes them more sensitive to hot and cold -- and it could also make them a whole lot harder to numb up.
Past reserach has shown that, on average, redhead men and women require 20 percent more anesthesia than their non-ginger peers.
A recent study from the Journal of the American Dentistry Association also shows that redheads tend to be more afraid of going to the dentist and are twice as likely to avoid dental care -- presumably because their need for more numbing leads to unexpected complications in the dentist's chair.
These findings came as no surprise to me. As a redhead, I'm all too familiar with the medical peculiarities associated with my copper locks, though I had to learn them the hard way.
I was 18 and about to be put under for the first time in my life so that all four of my wisdom teeth could be removed.
I was prepped for the dental surgery, just waiting on the anesthesiologist, when the nurse assisting commented on my hair.
"Oh, a redhead," she said, her brow slightly furrowed.
Although I'm used to people making remarks about my hair, this is not the response I usually get.
"Yeah?" I said in a questioning tone.
"I always heard that redheads need more anesthesia than expected, but it's probably just an old wives' tale," the nurse said. "I wouldn't worry about it."
With this less-than-comforting send off, she left and the anesthesiologist came in. Apparently, he hadn't heard that particular old wives' tale because halfway through the surgery, I woke up.
Disoriented, slightly delirious from the drugs, but conscious nonetheless, I started flailing about, attempting to talk despite there being enough cotton in my cheeks to stuff a teddy bear.
It took two nurses, the dentist, and the receptionist to calm me down enough to give me more anesthesia. I think, just to be safe, they gave me enough to knock out a small elephant because the next thing I remember, I was waking up in my parents' bed some eight hours later.
Why Reds Need More Meds
If other redheads have dental traumas like this one, it's no surprise that we are more likely to have dentist-related anxiety, as researchers found recently.
Abbie Beacham, a behavioral scientist on this study and natural redhead, admits that her experience, too, fits the study's findings: "I often have had difficulty getting numb for procedures," she said. "Consequently, those who know me well know that I have a dental phobia."
But what's behind these ginger-specific traits? What's the deal with redheads and pain?
In the late 1990s, scientists discovered that red hair -- and a slew of traits that usually accompany it -- are the result of a mutation of the Melanocortin-1 receptor (MC1R) gene. For those with brown, black or blond hair, this gene produces a protein called melanin, which colors the hair and allows the skin to tan.
In redheads, the mutated MC1R gene produces pheomelanin instead, a protein that accounts for the flaming hair, pale skin, and freckles that we associate with carrot-tops.
As redhead research progressed, researchers found that MC1R mutations also affected the perception of pain and the effectiveness of certain drugs meant to block or numb the sensation of pain.
A study headed by Dr. Edwin Liem at the University of Louisville in Kentucky found that redheads are more sensitive to hot and cold, and are hurt by the cold at temperatures nearly 11 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than others. This group of researchers is also responsible for the study on redheads and anesthesia and the recent one about dentist-related anxiety.
The problem is, in some studies, researchers find that redheads are more sensitive to pain, while others find they're less sensitive.
Cutting Through the Conflict on Redhead Pain
Contrary to Liem's work, another group of researchers, based at McGill University in Montreal, have found that redheads are less sensitive to electric shock pain and more sensitive to the effects of certain pain-killing drugs.
Jeffrey Mogil, director of the pain genetics laboratory at McGill, heads up this research, offered his thoughts on this apparent contradiction.
One part of the confusion, says Mogil, is that he tests with analgesic, or pain-reducing, medication, while Liem's Louisville studies test for anesthetic, or pain-numbing, drugs.
"They work in different ways in the body," Mogil says. "It's like comparing apples and oranges."
Concerning the different pain findings, he says, "It's perfectly possible that the neural circuitry underlying heat pain and electric shock pain is different and these two findings can happily coincide."
But the research Mogil is currently working on shows that "redhead" mice are less sensitive to all kinds of pain, thermal pain included, so it looks like the conflict won't be completely cleared up any time soon.
OK, so being resistant to the very drug that will save you from feeling unnecessary pain may not seem like a super power but, according to Dr. Elliot Krane, director of Pain Management Services at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford in Palo Alto, Calif., this genetic glitch does have powerful implications for medicine.
"[It] goes way beyond redheads," he says. "For centuries, doctors observed drugs having varied effects on people ... and mindlessly chalked it all up to human variability."
But the MC1R research proves that our genes can preordain how drugs will react in our bodies. The study of this interaction between genes and drugs, called pharmacogenomics, is the cutting edge of drug research, according to Krane, and may one day lead to safer, person-specific prescriptions.
"It will be possible to tailor their dosage regiment to their genetic profile, improving drug efficacy while reducing adverse effects," Krane says. "All this is probably less than a decade from reality."
Redheads' Power for Good
If this is the case, then -- through our genetic quirks -- redheads have inspired research that may one day lead to safer medicine. We may not fight crime but I like to think that in this small way, redheads are using their mutant powers for good.
You know, saving the world one traumatizing dentist visit at a time.


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Reports that the Susan B. Komen Foundation has decided to stop funding Planned Parenthood triggered an angry letter from state Rep. Carol Alvarado, D-Houston, to the foundation's founder, Nancy Brinker.
Alvarado expressed her dismay that the foundation "has taken the remarkably anti-woman stance against funding lifesaving breast-cancer screenings for low-income and underserved women."
She also blames the foundation for bowing to "the propaganda and threats of extremist groups."
We've asked Brinker, a former ambassador, to respond to Alvarado's letter and to speculate on the future of the relationship between her foundation, which she founded to honor her sister, Susan B. Komen, who battled breast cancer.
We also asked Brinker to speculate about the possible backlash the foundation's decision might have on its fundraising efforts.
Alvarado wrote in her letter:
"This incredibly short-sided decision, based on what I can only imagine is the propaganda and threats of extremist groups, ends an amazing partnership that over the last five years has resulted in an incredible 170,000 breast exams and 6,400 mammogram referrals.
"There is so much good that we can do if we all put our differences aside and work TOGETHER. Although you have now injected yourself into the political theater, I hope that you will reconsider your decision and work to mend this now torn relationship that used to be about preventing and protecting women from breast cancer.
With Great Disappointment,
Carol Alvarado
Texas State Representative


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by Pink Lady
Hopefully you all caught the debut of the LUPEC Boston column in this week's issue of The Weekly Dig. As promised, here's a little more info on our favorite recipe for the Pink Lady, and a few notes on why I thought it an appropriate choice as the very first cocktail for our very first Dig column.
At first glance The Pink Lady appears to bear all the trappings of a "girly" drink – a feminine name, an approachable frothiness, a pastel hue. But the Pink Lady is no drink for the faint of heart: its tart-dry flavor is a far cry from the cloyingly sweet "girly" cocktails we're wary of in this modern era of drinking. And its boozy gin & apple brandy base packs a whallop. As Eric Felten wrote in his Wall Street Journal column on the topic, "though a tasty drink worthy of inclusion in the cocktail canon, the Pink Lady has found its reputation dogged by association with a dubious aesthetic." It is a cocktail that is easily underestimated. After enjoying one or two of these, though, I'm sure you'll agree: ladylike as she is, the Pink Lady kicks ass and takes names. She's a LUPEC kind of gal. Our favorite recipe is below:
1.5 oz gin
.5 oz applejack
.5 oz fresh lemon juice
.5 oz grenadine (preferably homemade)
1 egg white
Combine ingredients in a shaker and shake vigorously without ice.
Add ice; shake continue vigorous shaking. Strain into your favorite vintage cocktail glass. There are two classic cocktail lessons inherent in the making of a Pink Lady:
Lesson #1: Quality of ingredients: your drinks will only taste as good as the stuff you use to make them. Most of the cocktails the ladies of LUPEC Boston are intent on reviving were invented in the days before preservatives kept juices intact for weeks on end. When trying them out at home, you too should use the freshest ingredients you can find. For the Pink Lady you'll need fresh lemons and we highly recommend using homemade grenadine: the flavor is leaps and bounds beyond the stuff you can buy in a bottle, and it's really simple to make. Hanky Panky's recipe is below.
Combine equal parts pomegranate juice (Pom, par example) and sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer for 7 minutes. Remove from heat and add 1 tsp orange flower water for every 1/2 cup pomegranate juice used. Cool.
Lesson #2: Eggs in cocktails: We know, we know. The whole "egg thing" is a really weird concept for many classic cocktail novices, but I promise you, your trip down classic cocktail lane won't be nearly as fulfilling if you can't get over it. As you cozy up to the raw-egg-in-a-drink idea, ask yourself: when is the last time you ever heard of someone in America actually getting salmonella? And if I offered you a taste of delicious raw batter from the cookies I've just whipped up, would you decline? I thought not. If you're still having doubts, check out this recent article in the New York Times: see, eggs are HUGE in New York.
Once you're ready to take the egg plunge, get your biceps ready. For egg cocktails to reach the delicious, frothy state that is their hallmark, you've got to shake the bejesus out of them. First, however, the egg white must be emulsified, hence the instruction to combine all ingredients in your shaker and give 'em a good shake BEFORE adding ice. A very insightful post on the topic can be found on the Robert Huegel's Explore the Pour blog: the author advocates shaking ingredients ten times, then add just slightly more ice than the amount of standing liquid in your shaker.
After adding ice, shake…and shake…and shake…and shake your Pink Lady, remembering all the while that egg cocktails take time — a LONG time — but once they are perfect and complete in your cocktail glass, just seconds from slipping down your throat, they are oh so worth the labor and the wait.
Like anything worth doing, really.
Pink Lady photo borrowed from the Thinking of Drinking blog.


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Arise children of the fatherland
The day of glory has arrived
Against us tyranny's
Bloody standard is raised
Listen to the sound in the fields
The howling of these fearsome soldiers
They are coming into our midst
To cut the throats of your sons and consorts
To arms citizens
Form your battalions
March, march
Let impure blood
Water our furrows
What do they want this horde of slaves
Of traitors and conspiratorial kings?
For whom these vile chains
These long-prepared irons?
Frenchmen, for us, ah! What outrage
What methods must be taken?
It is us they dare plan
To return to the old slavery!
What! These foreign cohorts!
They would make laws in our courts!
What! These mercenary phalanxes
Would cut down our warrior sons
Good Lord! By chained hands
Our brow would yield under the yoke
The vile despots would have themselves be
The masters of destiny
Tremble, tyrants and traitors
The shame of all good men
Tremble! Your parricidal schemes
Will receive their just reward
Against you we are all soldiers
If they fall, our young heros
France will bear new ones
Ready to join the fight against you
Frenchmen, as magnanimous warriors
Bear or hold back your blows
Spare these sad victims
That they regret taking up arms against us
But not these bloody despots
These accomplices of Bouillé
All these tigers who pitilessly
Ripped out their mothers' wombs
We shall enter into the pit
When our elders will no longer be there
There we shall find their ashes
And the mark of their virtues
We are much less jealous of surviving them
Than of sharing their coffins
We shall have the sublime pride
Of avenging or joining them
Drive on sacred patriotism
Support our avenging arms
Liberty, cherished liberty
Join the struggle with your defenders
Under our flags, let victory
Hurry to your manly tone
So that in death your enemies
See your triumph and our glory!


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This is my favorite go-to recipe.
- 1 medium onion, grated (1 cup)
- 4 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving (optional)
- 1/4 cup plain dried breadcrumbs
- 1 large egg
- Coarse salt and ground pepper
- 1 pound ground beef sirloin
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium carrot, grated
- 1 can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes
- 1 can (15 ounces) tomato sauce
- 12 ounces spaghetti
- Heat broiler with rack 4 inches from heat source. In a medium bowl, mix 1/4 cup onion, 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning, Parmesan, breadcrumbs, egg, 1 teaspoon coarse salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper until combined. Add beef; mix gently until combined. With moistened hands, form beef mixture into 16 balls (each equal to 2 level tablespoons). Place on a rimmed baking sheet, and broil until lightly browned, 10 to 12 minutes.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium. Add carrot, remaining 3/4 cup onion, and remaining 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning; season with salt and pepper. Cook until vegetables are tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Add crushed tomatoes and tomato sauce; bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, and add meatballs. Cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce has thickened, 20 to 25 minutes.
- Ten minutes before meatballs are cooked, add pasta to boiling water; cook until al dente, according to package instructions. Drain and return to pot. Add meatballs and tomato sauce to pasta; toss to combine. Serve, with additional Parmesan if desired.


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Ustadh Muhammad alShareef gave a lecture about 5 years ago in Dallas, TX (Banu Ra'd) at an AlMaghrib Institute promotional event. The lecture was entitled "When Wolves become Shepherds: Devil's Dawah Techniques". It was recorded and later available for sale from EmanRush Audio (link). Part of the lecture focused on how Shaytaan or Iblees puts people in different levels in order of how to call them to evil. The following article is based on that part of the lecture.Shaytaan's steps to misguide us are many. Each and everyone of us would fall into certain level with Shaytaan and Shaytaan would take the appropriate steps according to what level a person would fall in to take that person to their destruction. If Iblees were to write a business book he would entitle it something along the lines of, 'Seven Levels for the Total Annihilation of Humans', and thus the title of this article – Seven Levels for the Total Annihilation of Humans by Iblees arRajeem.
The Seven Levels for the Total Annihilation of Humans
Level One: Shirk and Kufr (Associating partners with Allah and disbelief)
This is the highest level. When a person reaches the highest level, they actually become part of the army of Iblees. This is for people who have reached this level after turning their backs on the truth in arrogance or heedlessness after knowing it or hearing about it. This can be made analogous to how vampires or werewolves work. When a vampire or werewolf bites someone, the person who is bitten turns over to the other side. Continue reading 'Seven Levels for the Total Annihilation of Humans by Iblees arRajeem'


text: July 2022 Newsletter June 21, 2022newslettersallye This content is restricted to site members. If you are an existing user, please log in. New users may register below.Existing Users Log InUsername or EmailPassword Hover or click the text box below Remember Me New User RegistrationChoose a Username*First Name*Last Name*Address 1*Address 2City*State*Zip*Country*Day Phone*Email**Required field


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Website: http://www.informationbirmingham.com/arlington/index.htm
331 Cotton Avenue, Birmingham, Alabama 35211
From the Encylopedia of Alabama:Located in the Birmingham community of Elyton, Arlington Antebellum Home and Gardens is a historic house and grounds that are open to the public. The house, an excellent example of Greek Revival architecture, is the only antebellum mansion in the city and displays items relating to nineteenth-century life. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Jefferson County in 1970.The Arlington Antebellum Home and Gardens in old Arlington Antebellum Home and GardensThe original, modest four-room house on the site of what is now Arlington was constructed in 1822 by Stephen Hall, a settler from Georgia. The current house was constructed after 1842 by jurist and legislator William S. Mudd, who bought Hall's property, which included the home, outbuildings, and 16 surrounding acres, at public auction for $600. Mudd erected a sprawling mansion, which he called The Grove, on the property, and he and his wife, Florence Earle Mudd, raised nine children there. During the Civil War, General James H. Wilson, who conducted the largest Union raid into Alabama in the spring of 1865, established his headquarters at Arlington while planning his raid to destroy Confederate factories and munitions at Selma. Thus, the house emerged from the war unscathed.William S. Mudd (1816-1884) came to Alabama from William S. MuddAfter Mudd's death in 1884, Arlington was sold to prominent industrialist Henry F. DeBardeleben, who lived in it until 1884, when he sold the house and the remaining 33 acres to Franklin H. Whitney, a former Union cavalryman from Iowa. Whitney renamed the home Arlington, reportedly in honor of Arlington House in Virginia that was owned by the wife of Gen. Robert E. Lee and sits on a hill facing Washington, D.C. In 1902, Robert S. Munger, a wealthy cotton gin manufacturer, bought the property and undertook extensive renovations, adding indoor plumbing, electricity, and central heat. Upon Munger's death in 1924, his daughter Ruby and her husband Alex Montgomery took possession of the house and the remaining six acres. The property was the focus of numerous photographs taken in March 1937 by the Historic American Building Survey and may be viewed through the Library of Congress Web site. In 1953, a group of concerned citizens, including Hill Ferguson, president of the Jefferson County Historical Association, raised funds Manufacturer, inventor, and philanthropist Robert Munger and family Robert Munger and Familytoward the acquisition of Arlington. The city of Birmingham matched the amount and purchased Arlington to preserve it as a museum. Today, the home and grounds are managed by the city and the Arlington Historical Association, who have restored and authentically furnished the mansion.The large, eight-room, two-story white frame house is adorned with six Doric box columns and four center-end chimneys. A long piazza across the front protects the central entry, which includes a doorway based on a design by renowned architect Asher Benjamin as well as a paneled entrance with sidelights and full entablatures. Inside, the home displays a number of decorative art pieces from nineteenth-century America. In the hall are a pier table in the classical style made in New York around 1835, a tall case clock, a Sheraton-style settee, and an American tiger-maple fall front desk from around 1800. The Mudd Sitting Room contains a square grand piano that belonged to Alabama's Civil War governor Andrew Barry Moore. The hand-colored photograph of Florence Earle Mudd is thought to be the earliest photograph The Mudd Sitting Room in the Arlington Antebellum Mudd Sitting Roommade in Jefferson County. The Munger Parlor, which features a portrait of Munger, was originally an expansive double parlor separated by folding doors. The room also hosts a four-piece parlor set from Belle Mina, the Limestone County home of Thomas Bibb, Alabama's second governor.The second floor has four bedrooms with a fireplace in each. The bedroom in the northeast corner contains a large mahogany half-tester bed, bureau, and washstand purchased in New Orleans and brought to Birmingham by the Hassinger family in the late nineteenth century. A small cantilevered front balcony on the second floor was remodeled by the Mungers to span the width of the house.Behind the main house, a reproduction kitchen displays an assortment of nineteenth-century cooking implements. Nearby, off a brick pathway, is a period herb and vegetable garden and a boxwood allée leading to a gazebo. The Arlington Historical Association opens Arlington at Christmas and decorates each room in period holiday style. The facilities are also used for private occasions and weddings as well as for lectures on historical subjects.Additional Resources: Satterfield, Carolyn Green. Historic Sites of Jefferson County, Alabama. Birmingham, Ala.: Jefferson County Historical Commission, 1976; 46-49.HOURS: Tuesday -Saturday – 10:00 a.m. 4:00 p.m., Sunday – 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. Closed Mondays and city holidays.ADMISSION: $5.00 per adult and $3.00 per student 6 to 18 years old. Special rates available for groups. Docents provided with advance reservation. Rates subject to change.


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Last year lawmakers dragged out the payroll tax cut fight untl the 11th hour in December. It's not clear if they will do so again this month, when a temporary two-month extension expires.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Despite bipartisan support on Capitol Hill for extending a temporary payroll tax cut for the rest of 2012, lawmakers have yet to close the deal.
The reason? Same ol', same ol'.
With just 28 days left before the current two-month Band-Aid version expires, the sticking point for lawmakers is how to pay for an extension -- the very same reason that tripped them up when they tried to negotiate a full-year extension in December.
Douglas Elmendorf, director of the Congressional Budget Office, told the House Budget Committee on Wednesday that he estimates that extending the payroll tax cut for another 10 months will cost $100 billion.
The measure is expected to be part of a larger package that also extends emergency federal unemployment benefits and prevents a scheduled pay cut to Medicare physicians.
The payroll tax cut, if extended, would affect 160 million U.S. workers. It would reduce how much they pay into Social Security, thereby increasing their take-home pay. While normally they would have to pay 6.2% on the first $110,100 of their income for this year, the measure would reduce that to 4.2%. So a person making $50,000 would pocket an extra $1,000 a year -- or $83 a month -- as a result.
That reduced 4.2% rate was in effect for all of 2011 but is set to expire by March 1, barring any action by lawmakers.
Not everyone in Congress is in love with the idea of extending the measure. But there seems to be less argument about how doing so could help the economy in the short run.
"Extending the payroll tax cut through the end of the year will increase output and increase employment," Elmendorf told lawmakers.
He didn't offer specific numbers during the hearing. But in a briefing on Tuesday, he estimated that extending the payroll tax cut for 2012 could add 0.25% to the gross domestic product by the end of the year and reduce the unemployment rate by one- to two-tenths of a percent..
A similar economic effect could result from extending the unemployment benefits. Doing so could boost economic growth this year by 0.25% and create 250,000 jobs by the end of 2012, Elmendorf said.
That's because in both cases the money would go largely to people who are likely to spend most if not all of it. That, in turn, can spur demand for products and help bolster employment.
The select group of lawmakers designated to negotiate a final payroll tax cut deal will meet for the third time on Wednesday. There's no telling when they may conclude a deal but one constituency is hoping for some clarity soon.
As they were last year, payroll tax administrators are hoping Congress resolves the issue once and for all, according to Michael O'Toole, senior director of government relations of the American Payroll Association.
"Payroll systems and the federal payroll tax reporting scheme are not set up to accommodate more than one employee Social Security tax rate in a calendar year, let alone within the same quarter," he said.
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Take back your time, capital, and resources to focus on what you do best
Competitive businesses need to focus on their customers, and Lenovo Device as a Service (DaaS) helps you do just that. We'll take care of managing your entire device lifecycle so your employees can stay dedicated to clients.
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text:
Blogger creates pop-up culture
Coronado's Mrs. Lilien is the spirit behind one-day Etsy event in Mission Valley
Kelley Lilien's blog is an encyclopedia for the entertainer, with pink flamingo cocktail stirrers setting off her entries about wine-soaked outdoor dinner parties and the perfect cabana-hopping outfit.
But Mrs. Lilien, as Coronado's resident queen of chic is known to her online devotees, is a bit of a hermit. And she owns it. "I live in a bubble, and I love it," she says. "I think I live a very colorful boring life."
View the photo gallery: Sassy home decor
She loves the resort lifestyle her chipper neighborhood breeds — "I'm always on permanent vacation in my head, and Coronado supports that" — but the freelance graphic designer and blogger is making an appearance on the mainland today to celebrate San Diego's best creators at an Etsy Pop-Up event at Mission Valley's West Elm.
The event is one in a chain of national events sponsored by Etsy and West Elm to get cities buzzing about nifty things being made in their own backyards. The two crafty companies have been partnering since 2010, sharing a love of the handmade — and headquarters across the street from each other in Brooklyn.
Pop-ups have gained popularity in recent years as trendy short-lived events that transform a space for anywhere from hours to weeks. It's the retail equivalent of a flash mob and provides West Elm the perfect opportunity to give sellers who often do the majority of their business online access to physical retail space.
When it was San Diego's turn to host one of these events, finding a curator was a no-brainer for West Elm.
They looked to Portland native turned California girl Lilien to shape the event with the "Mrs." aesthetic she's been cultivating since she started her blog — which can be found at blog.mrslilien.com — in 2009. What started as a side project has led to two book deals with Random House and a dedicated following thirsty for her opinions on everything from the magnificent to the mundane.
"It's one of those things where you look over your shoulder and say, 'Wait, what?' " Lilien says. "It started out as just the crazy inner workings of what goes on in this head of mine, and it's kind of branched into this uber thing."
For her, West Elm's event is a chance to get artsy San Diegans out from behind their computer screens and interacting with the community. The sellers will be on-site to peddle wares to their eager neighbors.
"We're like L.A.'s little redheaded stepsister as far as being a hub for talent, but we have a great handful of extraordinarily talented people," Lilien says. "We're not L.A., and we're not New York, but it's San Diego, and we have stuff going on."
She scoured Etsy's treasure-troves for local sellers, stumbling upon crafters offering everything from quirky paper decorations to the classiest of cutting boards. There was no science to coming up with her nine darlings, just a whole lot of patient clicking until she stumbled upon things that tickled her fancy.
It's the same "nonprocessed process" that guides her in her daily quest to find blog topics for Mrs. Lilien, arbiter of elusive ladylike pleasures and bon vivant of the Internet.
"Sometimes it's an of-the-moment thing that makes my mind run like a kid cracked out on Kool-Aid, or it's a seasonal thing or something tongue-in-cheek," she says. "It's perfect sense and nonsense at the same time."
Most of all, it's her. The mother of two with a third on the way likes to keep her private life private, but that doesn't mean Mrs. Lilien is some cultivated facade.
Kelley Lilien is Mrs. Lilien, and she doesn't take any of it too seriously. Her blog is a sunny destination inspired by her adopted home, she says.
"It's about living your life to the fullest and indulging and simple pleasures," Lilien says. "Come visit. Check in. Go close to your screen. You might get a tan."
Her choices for the Etsy event fit this sun's-always-up, birds-are-always-chirping state of mind, she says. Featuring a custom photo booth, a DJ known for mixing for high-fashion names like Dior and tempting snacks from Sweet Cheeks Bakery, the event is meant to feel like a get-together for your most interesting friends.
"It's fun, it's light," Lilien says. "It's like having San Diego over for a drink."
Pop-up participants
Here's a who's who of the local Etsy sellers, courtesy of Mrs. Lilien herself.
Paper Pastries
Offerings: personalized stationery and stamps
Lilien says: "A shop that exemplifies snail mail in the brightest of lights."
Taryn St. Michele
Offerings: photographs and wall art
Lilien says: "I'm fully convinced that one of her fabby gold-foiled pieces can turn a dark, musty room into a fabulous one."
The Papier Studio
Offerings: paper party banners and wall décor
Lilien says: "Every party needs a standout piece like the banners + backdrops @ The Papier Studio."
The Seaside Sparrow
Offerings: bows in colors galore
Lilien says: "Handmade pieces that will drive any bow-wearing beauty crazy!"
Jamie Derringer
Offerings: original drawings, paintings and prints
Lilien says: "Lovely colorful, abstract pieces are a fabulous outlet for inspiration ... perfect in any office space!"
Wind N Sea Sail Co.
Offerings: nautical-themed goods made from recycled sails
Lilien says: "I fall hard for anything + everything nautical."
Velity Designs
Offerings: whiskey stones, which are ice replacements that keep drinks cold without pesky dilution
Lilien says: "Whiskey stones? Only every boozer's dream!"
Himo Art
Offerings: macramé wall hangings
Lilien says: "A unique + eccentric take on wall art."
Omni Butcher Blocks
Offerings: high-end cutting boards
Lilien says: "I believe that the best of food (should) be cut on the best of butcher blocks + these are just that... the best!"
Pop-up event
When: 1 to 6 p.m. today
Where: West Elm San Diego, 5080 Mission Center Road, Mission Valley
Admission: Free
Online: blog.westelm.com
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A San Diego insider's look at what talented artists are bringing to the stage, screen, galleries and more.
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Could Lung Cancer in Smokers vs. "Never-smokers" be Different Diseases?
PHILADELPHIA — Lung tumors in those who smoke and those who never smoked have different DNA alterations in the tumor genomes, according to results of a pilot study presented at the Ninth Annual AACR Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research Conference, held Nov. 7-10, 2010, in Philadelphia.
Based on the results of this study, Kelsie Thu, a Ph.D. candidate at the Cancer Agency Research Centre in Vancouver, Canada, suggested that "lung cancer in never-smokers should be studied as a separate group," and that lung cancers in smokers and never-smokers may represent two different diseases.
Thu and colleagues investigated the biology of lung cancer to determine how it is different in 30 patients who never smoked vs. 53 patients who were current or former smokers. The goal: to improve the current understanding of lung cancer development.
"A better understanding of the biology underlying lung cancer development will lead to improved detection and therapeutic strategies, and ultimately, will result in improved patient prognosis," she said.
Using genomic technologies, the researchers found regions of DNA that were altered in both the smoker and never-smoker groups, as well as regions of DNA altered preferentially in one group.
Besides having more epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations, which is typical, never-smoker tumor genomes had more DNA alterations than smokers altogether. This suggests there may be more genomic instability in never-smoker lung tumors and that they could develop through different molecular mechanisms, according to Thu.
"Hopefully, our findings will stimulate the research community to further investigate the differences between lung cancer in these two cohorts, which could ultimately lead to the discovery of novel molecular targets for the diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer in never-smokers," Thu said.
Follow the AACR on Twitter: @AACR #AACR
Follow the AACR on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/aacr.org
Subscribe to the AACR Scientific Podcasts via iTunes OR an RSS Reader to download the video podcasts and recordings of the press conferences.
The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, the AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes 32,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and more than 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants, research fellowships and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 18,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. Including Cancer Discovery, the AACR publishes seven major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. AACR journals represented 20 percent of the market share of total citations in 2009. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists.
Media Contact:
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(267) 646-0557
Press Room, Nov. 7-10:
(215) 418-2076


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Blind Item #1 - Easy Easy Easy
This B+ list mostly movie actor from a franchise has spent the past two weeks camped out at this B list mostly television actress' home. Even when the actress is not there or out of town the actor has been staying there. I wonder if he is ever going to find a place of his own. He had previously been residing at this former A list tweener's home. They have not officially broken up because Kneepads is doing a four stage breakup process in four consecutive issues.


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Golgi, Camillo
Golgi, Camillo kämēl´lō gôl´jē [key], 1844–1926, Italian physician, noted as a neurologist and histologist. He shared with Ramón y Cajal the 1906 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for work on the structure of the nervous system. He introduced (c.1870) a method of staining nerve tissue with silver nitrate that he used (1883) to demonstrate certain nerve cells (Golgi cells) in the central nervous system. He observed (1909) the Golgi apparatus, a part of the cytoplasm distinguishable by special staining and known as the Golgi bodies when in the form of separate particles. He recognized that the three types of malaria are caused by different protozoan organisms. Golgi taught at the Univ. of Pavia from 1875.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2023, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: Medicine: Biographies


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The Binghamton University basketball program has had its share of image problems thanks to many of the off-field indiscretions of its players, but don't you dare compare those animals to the ones in the actual zoo.
The whole Binghamton "zoo" motif began last week when five more players were tossed off the team for various offenses, prompting exasperated BU athletic director Joel Thirer to say, "Truthfully, if I'm the president? Who's running the zoo? "
Because Binghamton's basketball team is comprised of many African-Americans, Thirer's zoo imagery dances dangerously close to casual racism, but Amanda Padwa, the business manager for the actual Binghamton Zoo, cranks the insensitivity amp to 11, just for good measure. Padwa sent a pithy letter to the Binghamton Press where she calmly explains how comparisons between the team and the zoo are completely unfair to, you know, the zookeepers and caged wild animals under their care.
I am tired of hearing that blight on Binghamton University, the men's basketball team, being referred to as a "zoo." The Binghamton Zoo at Ross Park has just received re-accreditation by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, the industry's governing authority. We achieved this status by being in the top 10 percent of all the zoos in the country.
Our animal care, safety, employees and educational and service standards are set high and met accordingly. Not one of our tigers has been arrested with cocaine. No otter knocks over old ladies to shoplift condoms. Our bear doesn't have temper tantrums and storm off his exhibit. You won't find any of our lemurs busted for smoking pot. So, please, stop insulting zoos by comparing those criminals to us.
Amanda J. Padwa
Business Manager
Binghamton Zoo
To be fair, you won't find any of Binghamton's players cruelly plucked from their natural habitat and forced to spend their lives in a small enclosed space behind bars for the rest of their lives. Oh wait.
Please Stop Insulting The Zoo [The Quad]
At Binghamton, Division I Brings More Recognition And Regret [NYT]


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There have been several more responses to Spinrad's screed, in addition to Nick Mamatas' at Haikasoru and Jason Sanford's initial rant:
Editorial: The Dilemma of the Term "World SF" Redux at the World SF News Blog by Charles Tan — in which he is far kinder than many, but at the same time doesn't always pull his punches
Where Is International SF? at the SFWA Blog also by Charles Tan — in which he provides a long list of recommendations for international science fiction that people can really dig into
N. K. Jemisin dissects a specific point in Spinrad's essay — and she does not pull her punches.
Also a comment by Saladin Ahmed about using the downfall of Spinrad to praise other white writers who "really get it" as opposed to, you know, writers from the actual cultures involved. ((In my opinion, this is like committing a divide-by-zero infinite recursion of fail. It makes no sense and yet is the fail that keeps on failing.))
A Whiff of Colonialism at Publishers Weekly's Genreville by Rose Fox
And Rose Fox's post also has a link to Nisi Shawl's Appropriate Cultural Appropriation, which is light years ahead of anything Spinrad has to say. I wish I had known about it, say, a year ago.
You should really read that instead of Spinrad.
I'm currently popping the Internet popcorn for tomorrow. Sadly popcorn is a bit too expansive for bento boxes. There has been a lot of fuming on Twitter and on comments to currently existing blog responses to Spinrad, and it will almost certainly explode over the next few days.
And, Norman Spinrad?


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Humphreys, David
Humphreys, David, 1752–1818, American diplomat and poet, b. present Ansonia (then in Derby), Conn. His military talents and patriotism won the friendship of General Washington and a place on his staff during the American Revolution. From 1784 to 1786 Humphreys was secretary to a U.S. mission negotiating commercial treaties in Europe. While a member (1786–88) of the Connecticut assembly, he was one of the satirical Connecticut Wits. His own copious poetry was largely patriotic and didactic. Sent abroad (1790) as a secret agent, he later served (1793) as commissioner for Algerian affairs and then (1796) as minister plenipotentiary to Spain. On his return in 1802 he brought 100 merino sheep to improve New England flocks; in 1806 he set up a large woolen mill at Humphreysville (now Seymour), Conn., and developed a paternalistic community there for his orphan boy laborers.
See biography by F. L. Humphreys (1917, repr. 1971).
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2023, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: U.S. History: Biographies