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You guys - it is HOT here. Did you notice the word all in capital letters? That's because I'm not fooling around. It's been in the 90s. It's still April! Wasn't I just complaining about the cold wet weather last week? And now Thatboy and I are sitting and watching television with all the fans going and all the windows open and all the doors open. Because it's April - it's too early for air conditioning.
And probably only exacerbating the warmth and beauty of the outside, Thatkid and I are both sick. I hate being sick when it isn't awful outside. No problem staying at home on the couch when it's cold and gloomy. But who wants to be stuck inside on a sunny day?
Neither of us has much of an appetite, but I have found myself to be ridiculously thirsty, so I'm trying to get as much nutrition as I can in the liquid form. Most of the time this means something nice and healthy, like smoothies teaming with greek yogurt, fruit, and not much else.
Sometimes however this means ice cream - the liquid form of ice cream that is - milkshakes! Maybe not high on nutrition, but hey, dairy is a protein, right? And the added calories only help my body fight off whatever's going on!
The idea of hazelnut and chocolate isn't a new one. Most of you have heard of Nutella, right? When I saw hazelnut and salted caramel ice cream in the store, I scooped it up. I knew it could only be improved with the addition of chocolate syrup. And I was right!
Hazelnut Chocolate Milkshake
3/4 cup milk
2 Tbsp chocolate syrup
2 scoops of hazelnut ice cream
- Combine ingredients quickly in a blender.
- Pour into cup, or just add a straw to the blender.


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Steve and his fuzzy companions have also been quite successful in their hunt for the rarest of rare beasts across Azeroth. For your viewing pleasure Ironsteve has put together what could almost be considered rare spawn wallpaper below.
- Stay away from elevators, edges of cliffs, tall structures, anywhere where falling is a possibility.
- Stick to green mobs. Green mobs you will be far more likely to hit/crit, and their aggro radius's are much shorter than higher level mobs.
- Clear the area! If you see something that you need to loot on the ground for example, and there are 10 mobs between you and it. CLEAR THEM. All of them. Especially those perky humanoid mobs that like to run away and grab all of their friends when they get low on health. Believe me, it's worth the extra minute or two of clearing.
- Stick to roads, don't run through packs of hostile mobs. Getting dismounted with four rabid bears and a handful of zombies chasing after you can be a quick death sentence.
- Don't go into caves, houses, castles, anything where you have to go INSIDE of something. If you feel you just have to or you'll explode, make sure the mobs are at least a few levels lower than you.
- Don't go afk, just don't. If you absolutely have to, hearth out or get to a "safe" spot and log out. The last thing you need is for hostile npc's to start spawning back in on top you, or worse -- for Deathwing to take you out while your toon was sitting around at some friendly quest hub waiting for you to come back.
- Don't do any escort quests. Some escort quests out there can spawn 3-4 mobs at a time, all of which are hell bent on seeing you very much dead. Usually the npc's we're escorting are incompetent fools that run off and pull more angry mobs and they don't even fight for themselves. Believe me, escorts = bad.
- If a particular quest line is getting noticeably difficult, stop. You can always come back to it when your a higher level.
- Most Importantly - BE AWARE of your surroundings. Pan your camera around, look behind your toon, watch for patrols, listen for that stealthy rogue sound, look to the sky (if it turns red - HEARTH).

subset: commoncrawl


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Usman HabibUp one level
Location: Calver, Hope Valley, Derbysire, UK
Institution: Cliff College, Manchester University
Contact: E-Mail
I am a registered PhD student with Cliff College, Calver, under the validation of The University of Manchester.
I am present working on a Research Topic that seeks to address the LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENTS IN THE NIGERIAN PENTECOSTALISM, With a case study of CHURCH OF GOD MISSION INTERNATIONAL (CGMI), founded by Late Archbishop Benson Andrew Idahosa. I am presently a Pastor under the same ministry and currently the Degree Principal of ALL NATIONS FOR CHRIST BIBLE INSTITUTE (ANFCBII) in BENIN CITY, NIGERIA.


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Tampa-based Sembler Investments has filed construction plans for a 340-unit apartment complex in the Sunrise City mixed-use district in Kissimmee's tourism corridor.
This would be the second multifamily community in Sunrise City, following the completion in 2018 of Integra's Sunrise Parc.
Sembler's 2nd Wave Development purchased the 11-acre site last year from master developer, Intram Investments, for $7.5 million. The property lies east of the Publix-anchored retail center, between Sunrise City Drive and Osceola Parkway.
Development Director Mark Sembler told GrowthSpotter the company was drawn to the Orlando market because of its strong economy, job growth and population growth.
"Orlando is really moving now, so that's what's driving us on the macro level," he said. "We love this area. It's up and coming with lots of new development, and it's reflective of the broader move into Osceola. It has great access to jobs, not only at the amusement parks but also to Lockheed Martin and NeoCity."
A Site Development Plan was filed with the county in October for the 4-story, interior corridor, elevator-served building. Sembler said the company expects to invest $65 million in the project, which will break ground in April and should be completed in two years with delivery of the first units in 18 months.
Sembler said the company is raising the bar on design and amenities with a 2-story clubhouse, saltwater pool, yoga lawn, gaming lounge with golf simulator and dog parks for large and small dogs.
"We've tried to amenitize it as much as we can," he said.
The building by Humphreys & Partners is designed around two interior courtyards with lush landscaping, hammock areas, a fire pit, putting green and bocce ball court. The ground floor courtyard-facing units will have patios with direct access to the common space.
Development Manager Alissa Sieben said special attention was paid to the landscaping, with trees and plants that are native to the area. "We want it to feel like you're a part of nature, even though you're surrounded by concrete," she said.
The developer sacrificed six apartment units to create a series of indoor-outdoor covered spaces called "caves" for social gatherings. The lounge cave will have a tvs, a fireplace, pool table, poker table and other games. There's also a designated bar/dining cave for entertaining, and a "functional fitness cave" and a coffee lounge cave.
"Our landscape architect is Dix.Hite," she said. "With them, it's not just about plants. It's about creating spaces that draw people outside."
Special attention was paid to the interior design and space planning of each apartment, Sieben said. Every apartment, regardless of size, will have a kitchen island with a farmhouse apron-front sink and seating.
"We tried to make it as unique as we could and use the space provided in a specialized way," she said. "We tried to think of everything. We have shelves in the shower and built in benches with storage under the window."
The unit breakdown is 181 one-bedroom units, 139 two-bedroom units and 20 three-bedroom units.
Hanson, Walter & Associates is the civil engineer, and First Florida is the general contractor.
Sembler said the proximity to Sunrise City Plaza was key in the company's siting decision. "It's great for our potential residents to be in a more suburban location but still have access to walkable retail," he said.
The 238-acre Sunrise City development has entitlements for 1,000 multifamily units, which could accommodate another 300-plus apartments. The project also has vacation home entitlements, but those units could also be converted to multifamily use, Intram VP Randy Hodge told GrowthSpotter.
"It's all zoned for uses that would permit multifamily, among other uses," he said. "There ultimately will be more multifamily there."
Hodge said the company is in the early planning stages now for the second retail phase at Sunrise City Plaza. "It's three outparcels south of where we are now," he said. "We can do up to 27,000 square feet."
Have a tip about Central Florida development? Contact me at firstname.lastname@example.com or (407) 420-6261, or tweet me at @LKinslerOGrowth. Follow GrowthSpotter on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.


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March 9
The Long Island Theatre Workshop will hold auditions for "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" as its April workshop.
Classes are structured in a workshop style with an audition, monologue, or acting workshop to begin the day followed by intensive rehearsals. Guest speakers/actors will work with students throughout the rehearsal process
Rehearsals: 4/23 – 4/26
Performance: 4/28
Open to all in grades 9-12
All interested should go to litheaterworkshop.com or firstname.lastname@example.com for an audition time.


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The Six Planes
1 — Transcendence
Having made the significant redirection of your life, of your purpose and goals, you experience, in the quiet of the night, or looking out at the world through calm eyes, that the material world is essentially spirit. The material world is essentially conscious energy. While the world seems very dense and solid, this solidity is only a beautiful power of spirit and higher consciousness to make itself dense, "to crystallize" itself and occupy time and space. You, by one means or another, receive the conviction or revelation that the external world is made up of an essence or an energy which you can perceive or feel. This essence is also the primary substance, or the essential reality, of everyone and everything that exists. You realize that your nature, your personal nature, is essentially conscious energy or spirit. This you behold with your own superconscious sight; and the world, you find, has never seemed so beautiful as it now appears. You see both the hard, physical forms and the subtle plays of essence and energy within and around all living things and every object, big or small.
Realizing for once, and hopefully forever, that the physical world is truly what physicists say — energy — you have a new attitude about the entire universe. You realize how fluid and how changeable your world can be with the right application of consciousness. You see that your thoughts and feelings are plays of energy and that they do have an impact, an interplay, with the vast universe. Your thoughts and feelings, as well as your actions, are interrelated with the way the world is now and the way it is becoming in the future.
Many people, you realize, take hallucinogenic drugs in the hope of catching a glimpse of this energy and consciousness which you now — with the feeling of being at home — behold so calmly and naturally.
You also see how important it is for your health to relax in the consciousness of the higher subtle energy so this dynamic force may most easily heal and rejuvenate the body which, after all, is truly a product of consciousness and energy.
Many who have this first experience of higher consciousness consider themselves enlightened and cannot conceive of higher levels of awareness beyond this staggering view of reality: that everything is consciousness and life is essentially conscious energy.
Reproduction of material without written permission is strictly prohibited.


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Daily Labor Report
No. 178
Thursday, September 15, 2005 Page A-6
EEOC Delays Implementing Reorganization
Of Field Office Structure, Pending GAO Report
A key House appropriations committee member has put the brakes on a pending field office reorganization at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission until the independent Government Accountability Office weighs in on the subject, but a commission official said he is optimistic that the plan will move forward.
Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va), chairman of the appropriations subcommittee with jurisdiction over EEOC, denied the agency's request for approval of the reorganization last month, pending release of a GAO report which is expected shortly.
"There's nothing out of the ordinary about this. We're just waiting for the results of the GAO report," Wolf's spokesman, Dan Scandling, told BNA Sept. 13. The committee expects the report "within the next couple of weeks," he said, adding that it is unclear what recommendations would be made in the report.
Nick Inzeo, director of EEOC's office of field programs, said the agency has been "working very closely" with both Capitol Hill staffers and the GAO and that he remains confident that the plan will be launched shortly.
"GAO has been doing a thorough job and wants to look at everything," he told BNA Sept. 14. "We think that after looking at everything, they will see that we've reached a good, fair, and effective plan to reposition the agency."
Inzeo said he is "optimistic, without question" that the GAO position will be favorable toward the proposed reorganization.
Downsizing Eight Offices
The reorganization plan would downsize eight district offices--Baltimore, Cleveland, Denver, Detroit, Milwaukee, New Orleans, San Antonio, and Detroit--into "field" and "area" offices with fewer management staffers, and would add two new offices in Mobile, Ala., and Las Vegas.
The proposal is an outgrowth of a February 2003 report by the National Academy of Public Administration, an independent research organization that called for major restructuring of the commission. Among the report's recommendations were a reduction in the number of field offices, a reorganization of headquarters, provision for electronic filing of complaints, and the establishment of a national call center.
Although EEOC officials have stressed that no jobs would be lost in the reorganization and that the plan is aimed at responding to the agency's current needs and the needs of its constituents, the reorganization plan also has drawn criticism from members of Congress, as well as the union that represents EEOC employees.
Stuart Ishimaru, the sole Democrat on the four member panel, voted against the plan when it was approved in July (131 DLR AA-1, 7/11/05). He contended that in downgrading offices and eliminating some regional attorney positions the plan would lead to weakening the agency's enforcement efforts and have a particularly negative impact on Southern states--a view that others at the commission have disputed.
Gabrielle Martin, president of AFGE's National Council of EEOC Locals and an attorney in the commission's Denver office, said Sept. 14 that the union was gratified by the congressionally mandated delay, but remains opposed to the reorganization. "EEOC clearly didn't work with constituent groups in developing this plan," she said.
The union will lobby to keep language calling for stricter congressional controls on EEOC in pending appropriations legislation, she said, and "will try to convince EEOC that the plan makes no sense."
Reorganization or Reprogramming?
Omnibus spending legislation enacted last November deleted House language that would have required EEOC to notify the appropriations subcommittee in advance of any restructuring or reorganization efforts. But Wolf's spokesman asserted Sept. 11 that the agency was still required to get committee approval before moving ahead with the field office changes.
"They call it a reorganization. But we call it a reprogramming, and any of those requests have to go through the committee," Scandling said Sept. 13.
EEOC's Inzeo responded that the agency is continuing to work closely with committee staff. "When the committee says we can go ahead, we will," he told BNA
By Nancy Montweiler
Daily Labor Report
No. 179
Friday, September 16, 2005 Page A-10
Correction Notice
A story on the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's proposed field office reorganization, appearing at 178 DLR A-6, 9/15/05 , should have stated that omnibus spending legislation enacted last November included House language requiring EEOC to notify the appropriations subcommittee in advance of any restructuring or reorganization efforts.
The story also omitted Seattle as one of the eight district offices scheduled for downsizing.


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CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Kaley Cuoco, 36; Elisha Cuthbert, 39; Ben Stiller, 56; Billy Idol, 66.
Happy Birthday: Weigh the pros and cons before you progress. Turn every negative into a positive, and keep your life simple, moderate and doable. An independent, do-it-all attitude will prove to work in your favor. Take note of what others do, but formulate and execute plans in a unique fashion. You won't be disappointed in the results you get. Your numbers are 8, 15, 21, 24, 30, 37, 46.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Take a backseat, be patient and listen carefully. You stand to win if you understand your place, value and the best way to gain by accommodating others. Don't take a risk with your health, reputation or investments. 3 stars
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): A sudden change will backfire if you take on too much too fast. Take a moment to work out the logistics, and you'll realize what's required if you want to become successful. Self-improvement projects are in your best interest. 3 stars
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Explore new possibilities, and use your skills to achieve something you want to conquer. Taking a diverse approach to life, work and happiness will bring stellar results and encourage exciting partnerships. Dedicate more time to educational pursuits and a promising future. 5 stars
CANCER (June 21-July 22): An incident will arise if you let your emotions take over. Focus on doing the best job possible, and you will receive recognition for a job well done. Refuse to let jealousy or insecurity cause a rift with someone you love. 2 stars
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Spend more time nurturing what you've worked so hard to build and the relationships that are meaningful to you, and you'll feel good about your accomplishments. Make arrangements that will help stabilize how you live and conduct your life. 4 stars
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Aim high and refuse to let anything or anyone stand in your way. Your expectations will exhaust you, but the rewards will replenish your soul. Hard work pays off, and wasting time arguing a moot point will slow you down. 3 stars
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Put your heart and soul into making your surroundings more convenient and comfortable. Your strength will come from doing what's best for you. Pay attention, expand your mind and put your energy where it will encourage prosperity and praise. 3 stars
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Refrain from sharing personal information or revealing how you feel. Be a good listener; it will give you the upper hand when dealing with peers, friends and relatives. Take a unique approach to life, and you'll enjoy more and stress less. 3 stars
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Be clear about what you want and plan to do. Speak from the heart, and address matters that will help you get ahead. Don't underestimate others or take on more than you can handle. Inconsistency will hold you back. 4 stars
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Make rational decisions. If you let your emotions take over, you will regret the promises you make. Put your health and personal needs first. Take a creative, energetic approach to work and how you handle money. Romance is in the stars. 2 stars
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Put more thought into investments, contracts and your lifestyle. Choose a healthy, fit way to live, and you will be happy with the results. Looking and feeling your best will give you the boost you need to do a good job. 5 stars
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Mull over how you feel about your relationships with others. Make a point to reach out to someone who shares your beliefs and long-term goals. A healthy conversation will help resolve issues that can hold you back. 3 stars
Birthday Baby: You are emotional, caring and persistent. You are unique and astute.
1 star: Avoid conflicts; work behind the scenes. 2 stars: You can accomplish, but don't rely on others. 3 stars: Focus and you'll reach your goals. 4 stars: Aim high; start new projects. 5 stars: Nothing can stop you; go for gold.
Visit Eugenialast.com, or join Eugenia on Twitter/Facebook/LinkedIn.
Want to get a link to your daily horoscope delivered directly to your inbox each weekday morning? Sign up for our free Coffee Break newsletter at mercurynews.com/newsletters or eastbaytimes.com/newsletters.


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It's our favorite time of year as we head towards the celebration of Christ's birth. Part of our annual tradition as we head into the winter holidays includes our Snow Day event!
This year kids got frosty at our 13th annual Snow Day held for the preschool in the church's courtyard. It's always a joy to see the faces of the keiki light up when they experience "snow"(which is really fifteen tons of finely chopped ice made possible by Unitek Solvent Services).
Organized by the Central Union Church Preschool Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) in conjunction with the church, our Snow Day event provides many children with their first winter experience with snow. Children came dressed in colorful winter attire, making snow angels, building snowmen and participating in snowball fights. The children were also able to visit with Santa and his elves for a nice story and some hot cocoa and cookies.
Snow Day is one of the preschool's favorite events and is the perfect way to end the year as we head into winter break. Thank you to Unitek Solvent Services who has partnered with us all these years, our amazing PTO and our parent volunteers, alumni and current family members who supported the event. What a great way to kick off the holiday season!


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Why you should just let your kids eat their Halloween candy
Do parents need to ration the candy?
On my first Halloween as a trick-or-treater my dad served me a milkshake on top of letting me gorge on candy, so while I started the night dressed as a clown, I ended it by channeling Linda Blair in The Exorcist. My little stomach could only take so much.
Clearly, toddler me needed an adult to set some limits on my sugar intake, but when we're talking about older kids, do parents need to ration the candy? According to one expert, the answer is no.
Let them eat candy
"The goal is to trust them to trust themselves," says registered dietitian Emily Fonnesbeck, "It's very normal for them to eat more than necessary on Halloween night and maybe even the day after."
A mom herself, Fonnesbeck recommends parents let trick-or-treaters enjoy their Halloween booty tonight and tomorrow, and accommodate a less hedonistic approach to consuming candy in the coming days. "Parents can use a flexible structure where they have set meal and snack times, and candy can be a part of those if the kids request it," she says.
This kind of approach is part of what noted nutritionist and author Ellyn Satter calls the Division of Responsibility in Feeding. Basically, Satter believes part of a parent's job is to trust a child to be responsible for whether they eat something, and for how much of it they do eat.
According to Fonnesbeck, trying to control a kid's candy intake on the big night can backfire, and limits their opportunity to learn about making good food choices for themselves, even when they've got a pillowcase full of candy.
She suggests parents use neutral language when describing food so as not to give too much power to any one food, food ingredient or food group. Sugar is just sugar, after all.
"If we make candy a big deal, it will be a big deal," she says. "If we talk about it like any other food, it's more likely that kids will be able to self-regulate their food choices to include a wide variety of foods instead of feeling preoccupied, worried or shameful for food choices."
According to Fonnesbeck, no child is too young to be capable of deciding for themselves whether they should eat Halloween candy, or anything else.
"Infants, toddlers, children and adolescents are all fully capable of self-moderation if parents and caretakers are careful not to overstep their boundaries in telling them to clean their plate or stop eating because they think they've had enough," she says. "That's where the lack of self-trust, rebellion or food shaming may occur that blocks their innate ability to know how to behave around food."
As long as there's a regular structure with meal and snack times where a variety of nourishing foods are served, kids learn to self-regulate. According to Satter's website, when little kids get to regularly eat as much as they want of high-calorie, low-nutrient foods (like Halloween candy), they don't go candy crazy when when they reach the older school-age years or adolescence and access to unsupervised sweets becomes more common.
Some experts advocate for limits
There are plenty, though, who say kids should not get to gorge on Halloween. According to the American Heart Association, kids under two shouldn't have any foods or beverages with added sugars, and this includes Halloween candy.
A recent study published in the organization's journal suggests children ages 2 to 18 should eat less than six teaspoons of added sugars daily—it only takes a couple candy bars to go over that limit.
Ultimately, it's up to us parents to decide how much candy a child has access to.
Deciding whether your child gets to eat just one piece or their whole haul can be the scariest part of Halloween.
[Originally published October 31, 2017]


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About Us
CESAR is a world-class training and consultancy organisation based in Johannesburg, South Africa. CESAR provides top-notch training and consultancy services, in different aspects of applied research, monitoring and evaluation, statistical analysis and evidence-based practice, to diverse organisations in the continent.
Our Vision
To contribute to a healthy and productive Africa through training and skills application.
Our Mission
- To be continuously involved in solutions and innovations through training and research.
- To contribute to a continent where practitioners make evidence-based decisions.
- To contribute to a continent where practitioners and organisations are equipped for innovations, solutions and excellence.
Why organisations use us across the world
We have experience in mixed (quantitative and qualitative) research methodologies
We have access to a pool of trained data collectors with tertiary qualification
We understand programme science and theory of change
We have a team of experienced staff who are dedicated to excellence
We have competitive rates
We have expertise and experience in impact evaluation of intervention programmes in sub-Saharan Africa
We adhere to ethical standards throughout the process
We have expertise in simple and complex data analysis methods needed to make sense of data
We are experienced in writing easy-to-digest research reports and infographic reports where appropriate
CESAR has trained delegates and done research work in:
29 Countries
4 Continents
- Angola
- Australia
- Belgium
- Botswana
- Burundi
- Congo
- England
- Ethiopia
- France
- Ghana
- Kenya
- Lesotho
- Madagascar
- Malawi
- Mozambique
- Namibia
- Netherlands
- Nigeria
- Pakistan
- Rwanda
- South Africa
- Sudan
- Swaziland
- Tanzania
- Tuvalu
- Uganda
- United States of America
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
Meet the Team
Our consultancy team includes a range of in-house research and evaluation experts including epidemiologists, statisticians, demographer, quantitative economist and public health practitioner. We also have a team of fieldworkers and data capturers. The team is backstopped by a fieldwork project manager and communications manager who ensure that deadlines are met, and communication is maintained with the client throughout the process.
We also collaborate with a network of industry leading experts and academic professionals who function as external consultants and resource persons for top-level projects. To name a few: Ms. Lebo Ramafoko – CEO, Soul City, and Professor Gill Nelson and Dr. Eustasius Musenge – Wits School of Public Health.
Braimoh Bello
Research Technical Leader
Braimoh Bello is a research specialist who has worked across a number of local and international research and evaluation projects. He has over 15 years' experience in research and evaluations with over 70 publications. He obtained an honours degree and a master's degree in Medical Microbiology, and then the Master of Science in Medicine (Epidemiology and Biostatistics) from the University of the Witwatersrand, before proceeding to Utrecht University in the Netherlands for PHD studies. Although he cannot sing, Braimoh likes to sing. He enjoys watching football and comedies.
Dr Khumbo Shumba
Medical Epidemiologist
Dr Khumbo Shumba is a medical professional with advanced Biostatistics and Epidemiology skills, combined with over eight years of work experience in public health, health project design and management, health research, and monitoring and evaluation. After hours, he is a cinephile, and enjoys reading scientific articles.
Thandile Komanisi
Business Development Manager
With a degree in Public Relations Management, Thandile Komanisi's passion is in business management and development. She is resourceful in sourcing and completing projects and is currently studying an Honours degree in Integrated Organisational Communications. When she is not maintaining and creating new relationships with clients, she enjoys watching stand-up comedy and surfing the net.
Rose More
Training Manager
As the Communications and Training Manager, Rose More is responsible for CESAR's training department. She holds a bachelor's degree in Communication Science and is completing her BA Honours in Media Studies. She says to herself that she works "with people and for people," which best captures her interest in communication and the media. Besides being passionate about her work, for self-care, Rose enjoys yoga four times a week and watches documentaries on Saturdays.
Rosaline Pineteh
Research Manager
Rosaline Pineteh holds a BSc in Biochemistry and an MSc in Public Health from Bournemouth University in the UK. Her research interests are in reproductive health and the use of data for action. She is proficient in research project implementation, as well as data analysis using statistical programmes including Stata. She has been involved in several projects which entailed monitoring and evaluation, tool development, data collection, data analysis, report writing and has co-authored seven project reports. She also supports CESAR's training as an assistant facilitator.
Meghan Malaatjie
Operations Manager
Meghan Malaatjie is currently the Office Manager at CESAR. She holds a bachelor's degree in Public Health from Monash University, and has recently obtained a postgraduate diploma in Public Health. Her interests in health promotion and epidemiology not only keep her driven, but also aids her desire to practice self-efficacy both in the workplace and in her personal life. In her free time, Meghan enjoys listening to spoken word poetry and hopes to master the art of sewing.
Catherine Naik
Research Associate
Catherine Naik is a research associate with a bachelor's and Honours degree in Public Health from Monash University. She is currently completing her Master of Science in Epidemiology at the University of Pretoria. Her work at CESAR involves data cleaning and analysis, extensively conducted using Stata. She has supervised data capture and managed data for numerous projects. She also facilitates training sessions in data analysis and data management using Stata.


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1. Introduction
The so-called Golden Section refers to the division of a line such that the whole is to the greater part as that part is to the smaller part - a proportion which is considered to be particularly pleasing to the eye. Here is a depiction of the principle:
whence we have the related Golden Ratio, (a + b)/a = a/b, usually represented by the lower case Greek letter 'phi' (f).
This equation has as its unique positive solution the irrational number
(1 + ) / 2 = 1.6180339... = f -------------- (i)
We read in the Wikipedia entry under this heading, "At least since the Renaissance, many artists and architects have proportioned their works to approximate the golden ratio - especially in the form of the Golden Rectangle, in which the ratio of the longer side to the shorter is the golden ratio...Mathematicians have studied the golden ratio because of its interesting properties."
Observe that the rectangle generated by removing a square from the original figure is similar to it, i.e. its sides too are in the ratio 1:f, and we may therefore write f/1 = 1/f - 1. This leads to the two interesting outcomes:
f 2 = f + 1 --------------------------- (ii)
1/f = f - 1 -------------------------- (iii)
As has been demonstrated in earlier pages (details here), the three prominent universal constants p, e and a are implied by the Hebrew letters and words of Genesis 1:1 and its Greek cognate, John 1:1. Here, it is proposed to add f to this list. However, before that becomes possible, it is necessary that we establish clear links between f and certain trigonometric ratios - this, in turn, requiring an appeal to simple principles of geometry.
2. A geometric derivation of the golden ratio
The following diagrams depict a regular pentagon - i.e. one whose vertices lie on a circle and whose sides and diagonals form isosceles triangles. Observe that each number represented is an angle expressed in degree measure.
Since each exterior angle of the pentagon is 360/5, or 72, it follows that each interior angle is (180 - 72), or 108 [see inset at (a)]. At (b), O represents the centre of the circumscribed circle. Angle DAC is half the angle subtended at the centre - its value is therefore 36. The remaining angles are readily calculated - significantly, all are multiples of 18.
In the following developments, each of the coloured triangles is observed to be isosceles, and the green and blue triangles, similar. Thus, in particular,
EB/BA = BA/QB, whence
It therefore follows that
and, setting the ratio BA/QB = x, we have
x = 1 + 1/x, or x2 = x + 1
x = (1 + ) / 2 = 1.618034... = f, the GOLDEN RATIO ---------------- (iv)
If the perpendicular, QR, now be dropped from Q onto AB (as in the diagram below), it follows that
BR/QB = f/2 = cos 36 = sin 54 -------------- (v)
Because the trigonometric functions are periodic, these results extend to limitless sequences of angles - as the following diagrams make clear.
The outline of a typical sine curve is here represented by a series of points, q being a multiple of 3. Observe that the graduations on the axes refer to q a multiple of 18. Clearly, sin 54 = sin 126 = -sin 234...= -sin 594 = -sin 666 =...
The corresponding cosine curve above similarly reveals cos 36 = -cos 144 = -cos 216 = cos 324 =...
Combining these observations therefore enables us to write
sin 666 + cos 216 = -f
f = - [sin (666) + cos (6.6.6)] ------------- (vi)
And what of 18, i.e. (6+6+6)? The following analysis shows that this angle too has a place in these proceedings. Here is the geometrical basis of the matter:
In triangle ANQ, sin 18 = NQ/QA = NQ/QB [triangle QBA isosceles] ----------------- (vii)
In triangle NBA, NB/BA = cos 36 = f/2 [from (v)], and
in triangle QBR, BR/QB = BA/(2.QB) = sin 54 = f/2 [from (v)]
Hence, NB = BA.f/2 and QB = BA/f
Clearly, therefore, NQ = NB - QB = BA.(f/2 - 1/f) = BA.(f2 - 2)/(2.f) and it follows from (vii) that
sin 18 = BA.(f2- 2)/2.f) / (BA/f)
= (f2 - 2)/2 = 1/(2.f) [since, from (ii) and (iii), f2 = f + 1, and f - 1 = 1/f]
f = cosec(18)/2 = cosec (6+6+6)/2 ---------------- (viii)
[Observe that each of the foregoing results - linking the golden section (f) with trigonometrical functions of particular angles - may be readly confirmed if one has access to a scientific electronic calculator.]
3. The triples of sixes spanning the Judeo-Christian Scriptures
Attention is here drawn to just two significant instances of the relationships involving 666, 6.6.6 and 6+6+6.
(1) In the Book of Revelation, 666 is offered as a key to the gift of wisdom (Rev.13:18). A detailed consideration of this visually-arresting number reveals it to be not only triangular, but uniquely so; this because each of its numerical attributes is triangular - and, further, that the sum of these is 216, or 6.6.6. Here is a reminder of these details:
Observe that the radix-dependent attributes contribute 72, and the absolute attributes 144, to the combined total of 216 - and that 666, 72 and 144, are multiples of 18.
But note too the triangular representations of 6 and 10 that occur at each of the three vertices of the larger triangles - where the angle in degree measure is 60, or 6.10. Clearly, this is a feature common to all numerical triangles.
(2) As we have seen in earlier pages on this site, a geometrical view of the numerics of Genesis 1:1 - the Bible's first verse - reveals a symmetrical structure in which 666-as-triangle features, in triplicate, within a triangular outline of 216, or 6.6.6 - i.e. the 6th cube. These facts are recalled in the diagram below.
At (a), we have the composite structure of 2701 - the sum of the 7 Hebrew words of the Bible's first verse, fairly read as numbers. The first 5 of these total 1998, or 3.666 (represented by the purple triangles); the last 2 (translated "and the earth.") total 703 (represented by the green central triangle). At (b), the outline triangle (rendered white) comprises 216, or 6.6.6, counters.
4. Conclusion
The foregoing analysis makes it abundantly clear that this universal constant, f - whose history stretches far back into antiquity, and which, for a variety of reasons, has long fascinated man - has substantial links with the Judeo-Christian Scriptures. Against the backcloth of the p, e and a connections drawn from the same sources, it is hard to believe that such matters are fortuitous. Everything points to the fact that these texts are divinely authored, and contain far more information than has, formerly, been supposed.
Vernon Jenkins MSc
2009/11/25 - corrected and extended
Return to whatabeginning.com
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In my previous post I discussed the genre of Greek popular-novelistic biography, and why I think that the NT Gospels, out of the broad spectrum of ancient biographical literature, most resemble this biographical subtype, on the basis of a number of structural and thematic parallels. Laying the groundwork for this comparison required a rather lengthy essay in my previous post. However, I plan to flesh out this comparison further in some subsequent posts, which will generally be shorter and focused on more specific issues.
In this post I will discuss the role of allegorical characters in popular-novelistic biographies, by discussing two important examples in the Alexander Romance, namely the role of Nicolaus in 1.18 and that of Lysias in 1.21, and how I think they can shed light on the possibility of allegorical characters appearing in the Gospels. I have discussed previously on this blog how certain characters in the Gospels, who play specific narrative roles and whose names match those narrative roles, could be allegorical inventions of the author.
In particular, I have discussed here how Joseph of Arimathea, whose city epithet transliterates to "Best Disciple Town" (formed by the Greek prefix ἀρι- ["best"] and μάθησις/μαθητής ["teaching/disciple"] with the addition of the suffix -αία as a standard indicator of place), could be an allegorical character who gives Jesus a proper burial as the "best disciple," after the others had fled. I have also discussed here how Barabbas, whose name means "son of the father," and who is pitted by Pontius Pilate against Jesus (the true Son of God) for the Jewish crowd's release, could be an allegorical character to show how the Judeans rejected their true Messiah in place of a military insurgent. I have also discussed here how Stephen, whose name means "crown," and who is martyred in Acts 7:54-60, could be a character invented to allude to the "crown of martyrdom" or "crown of immortality"–a phrase found in chs. 17 and 19 of the Martyrdom of Polycarp (a text that likely dates to the 3rd century CE)–but also a concept which may have dated back much earlier into the 1st-2nd centuries CE.
A common objection to identifying allegorical characters in this way is that names like "Joseph" and "Stephen" were common names, which could have just been the names of ordinary people that coincidentally aligned with their narrative roles. Richard Bauckham, for example, in Jesus and the Eyewitnesses (pp. 84) argues that the names that appear in the Gospels match real world frequencies, which "indicates the general authenticity of personal names in the Gospels" [1]. As I will discuss below, however, there are clear examples in the Alexander Romance of allegorical characters whose names likewise match common Greek names in the 5th-4th century BCE. As such, I do not think that it should be an expectation when studying the Gospels that allegorical characters will only have rare or unique names, nor that matching real world name frequencies implies that characters are not fictional.
Nicolaus, prince of the Acarnanians, in Alexander Romance 1.18-19
I discussed in my previous essay, "Greek Popular Biography: Romance, Contest, Gospel," how the taming of the wild horse Bucephalus (1.15) is an important moment in the Alexander Romance, which signifies that Alexander will be future ruler of the world. This scene is then followed up by the young Alexander competing in a chariot race at Pisa. There, he meets another youth named Nicolaus, who competes with him in the chariot race. Here is how the scene is described (1.18):
"Alexander went to the harbour and gave orders that a new boat should be launched and the horses with their chariots embarked. Then he went on and with him his friend Hephaestion and they sailed to Pisa. Landing there and taking lodgings, he gave orders to his servants about the care of the horses, and then with Hephaestion started on a walk. They were met by a man named Nicolaus, a fine young fellow, a prince of the Acarnanians, proud because he was relying on wealth and fortune, two undependable gods, and confident of his body's power. He came up and greeted Alexander and, wishing to learn why he was there, said: 'Greetings, young gentleman.' He replied: 'And greetings also to you whoever you may be.' The other said: 'Whom, pray, do you think you are addressing? Nicolaus, king of the Acarnanians.' And Alexander said: 'Do not be so haughty, King Nicolaus, as though you had a sure hold on your life today.' … Then Nicolaus, raging and despising Alexander's youth, for he had not learned the greatness of the spirit, spat at him and said: 'A curse on you!' Alexander, who had learned self-control, wiping off the spittle, and smiling ominously, said: 'Nicolaus, I swear by the holy sperm of my father and the holy womb of my mother, that even here I will conquer you in the chariot-race and in the country of the Acarnanians I will conquer you with my spear.' After this conversation, they parted in wrath."
This hostile exchange is then followed up by the chariot race in which Alexander not only defeats Nicolaus, but also tramples him after his chariot crashes, causing Nicolaus to die (just like in the classic film Ben-Hur!). Here is how the scene is described:
"The trumpet sounded the call to the contest. The starting-place was opened. All leaped forth on their cars. Then appeared the first contestant, the second, the third and the fourth. . . As for those coming in later, their horses were not well guided and had lost their spirit. The fourth driver was Alexander and behind him was Nicolaus, who did not wish the victory as much as the destruction of Alexander. For the father of Nicolaus had been killed by Philip in the war … Alexander knew this and wisely contrived when the first horses fell, to let Nicolaus pass him. And Nicolaus, thinking that he had conquered Alexander, went on, hoping to be crowned as victor. But after two or three stades, the right horse of Nicolaus collapsed and the whole chariot with the charioteer himself was overturned. And Alexander rushing on with his horses at full speed immediately killed Nicolaus. Alexander continued on."
This scene is then followed by Alexander being crowned at the Temple of Olympian Zeus, where another prophecy is given that he will be ruler of the world:
"So, crowned with the olive, he went up to the temple of Olympian Zeus. And the temple servant said to him: 'Alexander, just as you conquered Nicolaus, may you conquer also many enemies.'"
A couple things should be noted here. First, as Ken Dowden (Anthology of Ancient Greek Popular Literature, pg. 179) points out, the region of "Acarnania was not ruled by a king," meaning that there would be no "prince" Nicolaus. But even more importantly, Alexander's defeat of Nicolaus is given as a sign that he would "conquer many enemies." What does the name "Nicolaus" mean? As Dowden (pg. 181) explains,"It is probably relevant that Niko-laos means literally 'defeat people.'"
So, Alexander defeats Nicolaus as a sign that he would defeat people. Here, we have a clear example of an allegorical character being invented. And yet, "Nicolaus" was a common name in Classical Greece, showing how allegorical characters do not need to have rare or unique names.
What is further interesting is that this episode even shares a lot of similarities with Jesus being pitted against Barabbas in the Gospels. Alexander, prince of the Macedonians, is pitted against Nicolaus, prince of Acarnania, to see who will be the future ruler of the world. In like manner, Jesus the Son of God is pitted against Jesus Barabbas (Mt. 27:17), the "son of the father," who is described as an insurrectionist (Mk. 15:7), to see whom the Judeans will release at the Passover festival. The fact that the Judeans choose the military insurrectionist, in place of an apocalyptic prophet, most likely foreshadows their decision to wage war against the Romans, rather than await the coming of the true Kingdom of God, which resulted in the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE.
Both scenes are fictional. The Acarnanians did not have princes or kings, and as the Oxford Annotated Bible (pg. 1821) points out, "There is no evidence outside of the New Testament of such a custom by Roman governors" to release a chosen prisoner at the Passover festival. (I discuss how this episode is more likely based on the custom of selecting two identical goats during the Yom Kippur sacrifice, here.) Nevertheless, both scenes serve allegorical roles in pitting would-be kings and would-be messiahs against each other. The way that these popular-novelistic biographies use allegorical characters heightens the drama and symbolism in their narratives, but it is a kind of literary device that is ultimately not founded in historical fact.
Lysias, the divider, and the wedding of Philip in Alexander Romance 1.21
Another important scene with an allegorical character follows the defeat of Nicolaus in the Alexander Romance. Following his victory in the chariot race, Alexander returns to Macedon, only to find that king Philip is marrying another woman than his mother Olympias, namely Cleopatra Eurydice. During the marriage banquet a man named Lysias insults Alexander by insinuating that he is a bastard:
"There was a wit present called Lysias. He said: 'Philip, do not be excited or troubled, but take courage because of the youth of your new bride. She will bear you legitimate sons who will resemble their father.'"
Alexander is not only enraged by this, but even drives out Philip's marriage banquet. (This scene is based on mimesis of Odysseus driving out the suitors in Homer's Odyssey, and another major feature of popular-novelistic biographies that I will discuss in a subsequent post is how they tend to engage in mimesis of earlier literature; see here an essay about mimesis in the Gospels.) Here is how the scene is described:
"Alexander was very angry at these words, and, as he held a drinking-cup, he hurled it at Lysias and killed him instantly. Then Philip, sword in hand, rushed against his own son Alexander, wishing to slay him, but he slipped and fell near the couch. Then Alexander said: 'Philip, who hastened to take Asia and vanquish Europe, could not cross his own floor!' With these words, he took the sword from him and wounded those on the couches. And before you, were to be seen the battles of the Lapiths and the Centaurs, and the things that happened because of the wedding of Peirithous. For some of them crawled under the throne; and some danced with tables as though they were weapons; and others headed into dark places and fell. And there was a new Odysseus to be seen there as he went forth slaying Penelope's lovers. He then left Philip and went to his mother to do justice about this marriage which was an insult to her."
This second story has kernels of historical truth, but is ultimately fictional. As Dowden (pg. 182) explains about how this story mixes fact with fiction:
"This overcolored episode of the marriage banquet rather inverts historical truth. In 337 BCE Philip married Kleopatra, his sixth wife, who, as a native Macedonian, posed a special threat to Olympias (who came from Epirus), though there was no question of divorce. At the banquet, Attalos, a Macedonian general and uncle of Kleopatra, played the role assigned here to Lysias. But Alexander did not proceed to slaughter the wedding guests: rather, he fled with Olympias to Epirus, and was only able to return after a negotiated reconciliation."
As can be seen, Lysias is clearly a fictional character in this scene, who is replacing the role of the Macedonian general Attalus. Why change the name? Well, because it serves a clear allegorical purpose. As Dowden (pg. 182) explains, the name "Lysias means 'he who parts.'" And so this Lysias divides and "parts" the wedding of Philip by enraging Alexander. However, Alexander, who will not only conquer but also unite the world, responds by slaying Lysias the divider.
Once more, although it is here used allegorically, the name "Lysias" was common in Classical Greece. In fact, one of the most important Attic orators of the 5th-4th centuries BCE was named Lysias. And yet, the Alexander Romance still uses this name in an allegorical way. The main point to take away is that common names can still be used allegorically, so simply having characters named Joseph and Stephen in the Gospels does not imply that they were real people, especially when their names correspond to allegorical situations in the narrative.
-Matthew Ferguson
[1] An important problem with Bauckham's appeal to name frequencies is that there should be more men named Jesus (or Yeshua) in the Gospels and Acts (as well as Eliezer/Lazarus), if their characters' names matched real world frequencies, and yet this name is conspicuously absent for other figures besides Jesus of Nazareth, with a few exceptions, such as the Jewish sorcerer Bar-Jesus in Acts 13:6 and Jesus Barabbas in Matthew 27:17. (In the latter case, the name "Jesus" was probably even added to Barabbas to heighten his contrast with Jesus the true Messiah, as discussed above.) Likewise, most of the names that appear frequently in the Gospels are Old Testament names, which could explain how even names added to traditions outside of Jewish Palestine were still literary inventions. Provided that those inventing names in the Diaspora were basing them on OT names, they could have still arrived at a similar name frequency. For an additional list of problems with Bauckham's onomastic argument, see here.


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23 WTF facts about China
Their are many ways to describe China. Big, rich, poor, next to control the world, hot, cold, stunning, filthy, ancient and in some parts new. Fact is though China is at times an amazing place to visit and he who travels their shall make up their own mind whether they either love, hate, like or dislike.
Although before you do embark, here you can acquire some real facts about China that will leave you with think WTF, enjoy.
- Over 4,000 Chinese are named Aoyun which means "Olympics" – I don't know about you but I would hate my parents if they named me Aoyun and would change it as soon as I knew what my name meant.
- It's no joke the Chinese do eat cat, 10,000 of them are eaten per day in just the Guangdong province.
- The worlds tallest Man and Woman (unrelated) live in China – yeah, they come from where majority of people are below the average height
- On average about 34 children are born every minute in China! Now that's a lot of humping going on, especially considering how hard it is to become pregnant.
- Some people's jobs are to be professional fart smellers and can earn up to $50,00 per year! Is that not the biggest WTF ever?
- They have dwarf theme park. Yep its called 'Kingdom of the little people' where many dwarfs dress up, dance and sing – I mean don't get me wrong I think that is a little funny/odd/cute but isn't this a little discriminative?
- When Mao came into power there were so many suicides that people were actually too worried to walk by high rises, for the fear of someone landing on top of them. Now that's crazy
- China has an internet addiction rehab. It is run in military style and costs around $1300 per month but it actually works with a 70% success rate. Wow there must be some crazy as hell internet surfers in that clink, but imagine the cool things they would find. Maybe I should source some of them to work for me . . .hmmmm.
- 45 billion chopsticks are used per day in China
- Researchers wear Panda suits to fool the other pandas; they do this at the Hetaoping Research and Conservations Center to minimize contact with humans who prepare the panda cubs for the wild. How would you like to wear a panda suit to work every day?
- Wealthy people in China hire stunt doubles to serve their prison sentences for them. Whoa . . . someone's job is to go to jail, in china? No thanks.
- Ketchup (tomato sauce) originated from China from what used to be pickled fish sauce named ke-tesiap. I am glad it evolved into tomato sauce, I can tell you that much.
- The Chinese smoke shit and they don't even know it. It's true; they smoke on average 2.2 trillion cigarettes, of which some 400 million are fake containing, some nicotine, carbon monoxide and sometimes human feces and insect eggs.
- What makes that last fact even more disgusting is over 50,000 cigarettes in china are smoked every
- Over 35 million Chinese still live in caves
- Fortune cookies are not traditionally from China, they were invented in San Francisco in the 1900's
- There is a baby born ever 30 seconds with a birth defect in China
- On average 1.7 million pigs are consumed every day in china. That's a lot of pork.
- In China someone has the name "@" for which 2 parents in 2007 struggled for a name and they settled at, well @.
- The Chinese love their ping pong. It is the most popular amateur recreational sport in their country with about 300 millions players. That's about 10 times the amount of people who live in Australia!
- Facebook is banned in China. Along with Twitter and the New York Times.
- 50,000 dogs were slaughtered in 2006 because three people were killed by rabies. Owners were offered 63 cents each to commit the act of killing before the authorities were sent out to beat them to death. Yes even in front of their owners while walking them. Pretty gnarly for just 3 deaths out of a population of about 1.2 billion at that time.
- 100 million people in China live off less than US$1 per day
Now what are your thoughts about China . . . . ?


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By Brian D'Arcy, CP
From the book: A little bit of healing
If we are to heal our wounded church, prayer will be at the heart of it. Sadly we rarely hear any talk of prayer now in churches. Prayer does not come easily to me, but what is becoming increasingly real is a spirit of gratefulness. I'm not the only one.
There's an elderly Benedictine monk who lives in America called David Steinel-Rast who says that the beginning of all prayer is gratefulness. 'The starting point for grateful living is the under-standing that everything is given to us for free, as a gift, starting with life itself. So if we approach our lives that way, feeling like we are open for the surprise of what comes next, then we remain hopeful we can improve our lives', he says.
Gratefulness begins with being open to surprises. You may not even feel that you can be grateful, or you may feel that you are in-adequately grateful. Just stop and be surprised. Everybody can do that.
'Before you open your eyes in the morning you can stop and be surprised that you have eyes to open, because there are more than 40 million people in the world who do not have eyes or cannot see with them. You can go through your day and, moment by moment, be surprised about anything and everything,' he says.
'This is the beginning of being grateful because the next consideration is "How come I have this? How come this is given to me?" Once you become conscious that something's given to you and you didn't earn it, buy it or achieve it, then you recognise you have to be grateful for it. When you realise that everything is given to you, then you are already on the road to giving thanks.'
He suggests we should have an image of a small vessel filling up. If we keep the vessel small, it will always be overflowing. That means we will have enough and not want more. The problem with the modern world, he contends, is that we want more and more and are never satisfied. The little vessel becomes a huge tank which can never be filled. It means that we are never really grateful.
'The affluent society makes the vessel bigger and bigger and that is why we find that the poor people everywhere are much more grateful than the rich, who expect to have everything.'
He says the secret is to make our vessels smaller. 'We can do that by living frugally and by continually asking what we really need and by distinguishing our needs from our wants … It is very important to do this because, in the world in which we live, we cannot just go on taking more than our own share.'
There is no secret to a contented way of life. Start by being grateful. Make your mind up to live gratefully. Very soon it will become more than a feeling – it will become an attitude towards life. The moment you have an attitude of gratefulness, you will be happy.
The monk is absolutely right. If you want to find more about his way of life look up www.gratefulness.org.
We should be grateful to the Lord our God, for putting us to the test, as he did our forefathers. Recall how he dealt with Abraham, and how he tried Isaac, and all that happened to Jacob in Syrian Mesopotamia while he was tending the flocks of Laban, his mother's brother. Not for vengeance did the Lord put them in the crucible to try their hearts, nor has he done so with us. It is by way of admonition that he chastises those who are close to him. Judith 8:25-27


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Patrick Mahomes or Tua Tagovailoa? Tyreek Hill said he'd pick Tua 'accuracy-wise'
Tyreek Hill's defense of Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa continued this week when the receiver compared Tagovailoa to Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
Hill, who was traded to the Dolphins from the Chiefs for a plethora of draft picks this offseason, once again shot down concerns about Tagovailoa's arm strength in the first episode of his new podcast, "It Needed To Be Said." Hill even went so far as to say Tagovailoa was a more accurate passer than Mahomes.
"I've had a chance to see Tua throw the ball to myself. He's that dude, bro. A lot of people don't know — I'm not just sitting here just saying this because he's my quarterback," Hill said. "... He has a heck of an arm, he's accurate, he can throw the deep ball and he actually goes through his reads."
"Tua or Patrick Mahomes? Obviously, I'm going to go to [Mahomes] as the strongest arm," Hill said. "But as far as accuracy-wise, I'm going with Tua all day."
Tua or Patrick Mahomes? The answer might surprise you 👀 #FinsUp pic.twitter.com/dWb3etrtyd
— Bobby Shouse (@B_Shousejr) June 10, 2022
Coincidentally, Mahomes' and Tagovailoa's career completion percentages aren't far off from each other. Mahomes completed 66.1% of his passes from 2017-2021, while Tagovailoa completed 66.2% since 2020. So, technically speaking, Tagovailoa is the more accurate passer. But Mahomes does have 124 more passing touchdowns, 37 more wins, an MVP and a Super Bowl ring.
Hill also went on to say that he doesn't want to play with a quarterback who will just toss up a deep ball for him to go out and get. He wants a quarterback who will hit him "right in the breadbasket" so he can move with the ball. Hill also said he's added more routes to his game and could catch passes on short and intermediate passes as well as deep ones.
These quotes by Hill are eerily reminiscent of what new Las Vegas Raiders receiver Davante Adams said about Derek Carr this week. Adams claimed Carr and Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers are "really similar" in talent and ability, despite stats and personal accolades that would say otherwise.
This isn't the first time Hill defended his new quarterback, either. The newest Dolphins receiver tweeted a highlight montage of passes from Tagovailoa after a different tweet of a bad Tagovailoa pass made its way around social media in mid-May.
Can y'all chill or nah ? We talking about practice 😬😬😬 @Tua 🥱#Dimez # Uno #soulrunner pic.twitter.com/HO6QnRuZxD
— Ty Hill (@cheetah) May 12, 2022
What went wrong in KC?
Hill talked a lot about his Chiefs' departure as well in his first episode. Though he said he enjoyed playing in Kansas City under Andy Reid and with Mahomes and Travis Kelce — who he claimed is the greatest tight end of all time — Hill and his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, said they felt the receiver wasn't being properly utilized by the Chiefs during the 2021 season.
"There were a lot of times during the year that we felt that Tyreek was underutilized and wasn't fully appreciated and that they really weren't taking full advantage of his ability and talent," Rosenhaus said on the podcast. "... Tyreek wanted to be in Kansas City and we tried to do an extension with them."
The under-utilization part is a bit of a misnomer if you look at Hill's 2021 production. Statistically, Hill didn't perform any better or worse in 2021 than any other season he played at least 12 games. Hill caught a career-high 111 receptions on a career-high 159 targets and eclipsed 1,000 receiving yards for the fourth time since 2017. He did, however, finish with six fewer touchdowns in 2021 than 2020.
Hill added that at one point this past offseason he spoke with Reid and Mahomes for 30 minutes before contract negotiations broke down between Hill and the Chiefs. Hill said he didn't want to be the highest-paid receiver in the league, but he wanted to be paid $25-26 million.
"They won't even give me [that]," Hill said.
Ultimately, Hill did hit that $30 million mark after the Dolphins signed him to a four-year, $120 million extension with $72 million guaranteed following the trade. Now he'll just have to wait to see if all the positivity he's been spouting all offseason is real when the 2022 season starts in September.


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The construction of a building, residential or commercial, involves a lot of money so it becomes necessary for the buyers to be sure about the quality of construction completed is as per the building construction norms or not. Though one can satisfy himself by inspecting the building himself but it will not be possible for you if you do not have any technical knowledge or time required for this purpose.
So, in this condition, you must think of hiring a third party professional to inspect the building on your behalf. He will use his knowledge, experience, skills, and qualifications to examine the construction thoroughly and certify it as a defect-free construction. These experts are known as construction defect expert witnesses. Being a third party service, these experts can help in resolving disputes between the sellers and the buyers as they do not have any interest in that property.
In this way, a construction defect expert can offer a number of benefits to his client like:
A cheap and quick inspection
You can be sure about the effective, affordable and on time services when you hire a construction expert to inspect the building you are planning to buy. As compared to arbitration and litigation it is better to hire a third-party professional to inspect the building on the basis of his knowledge and experience in a time-bound manner. On the other hand, litigation and arbitration may take a long time to reach some conclusion. These professionals try to satisfy both, seller and buyer, by completing the process within a limited time period.
Keeping commercial relationships intact
When you hire a third party expert to find the defects in the construction then it does not affect the relationship between the buyer and the seller as the expert has no vested interest in that property. The evaluation is done without any external pressure. It also helps in sorting out the damages with mutual consent. In this way, the evaluation by a third party expert can help in maintaining commercial relationships appropriately.
Investigations can be carried out
The third-party expert hired for detecting defects in the construction can also be used to investigate the building thoroughly when required to report about the defects in it. They are empowered to do investigations that are important and meaningful in legal matters. They can help in resolving the issues with mutual consent of the seller and the buyer at a faster speed.
Handling technical issues effectively
The technical issues may or may not be handled effectively by the buyers due to lack of time, knowledge or experience. In this situation, you can hire a construction defect expert so that he can resolve technical disputes by asking questions as well as ensuring the right solution to the problems.
In this way, a construction defect expert can offer a number of benefits to the buyer of a building as discussed in this write-up. Being a third party service they have no vested interest in the property and for that reason, their process of examination and investigation of the building remains speedy, impartial and transparent.
Contact US:
Goodman Consulting Address:401 NE 139th St Suite 17 Edmond, OK Phone: (405) 474-2828


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The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
As of 17.30 Damascus time, intense fighting continues between Turkish proxy militants and the Kurdish led US proxy militia group SDF in Syria's Aleppo Governorate.
Although Turkish backed militants had previously exchanged fire with the SDF, the ensuring battle in the town of Ain Daknah appears to be the most intense instance of fighting to-date, between Turkish and US proxies.
Al-Masdar reports that heavy artillery fire is being exchanged between the SDF and Turkomen dominated groups flying under the SDF flag in addition to the pro-Turkish Sunni militant group Ahrar Al-Sham.
This development does not come as surprise, as Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has remarked that among the top priorities for Turkey in Syria is fighting Kurdish militants who in many cases have openly expressed solidarity with the Turkey based Kurdish terrorist group PKK.
Turkey prepares military operation against Syrian Kurds as Iraqi Kurds surrender
Erdgoan has been unambiguous in his refusal to allow Syrian Kurds the ability to gain any territorial or geo-political upper hand in Syria and other members of his government have been even more abrasive in stating their lack of reservations in respect of directly confronting a proxy militia of the United States, a fellow NATO member.
Turkey's own position as a US "ally" and NATO member has become increasingly tenuous over the Kurdish issue, over which Ankara and Washington find themselves on opposite sides of what for Turkey is a supremely important issue of national security, something that both Erdogan's AKP and the secular Kemalist opposition CHP agree upon. While Erdogan does and likely will still occasionally offer domestically aimed anti-Ba'athist rhetoric in respect of Syria, at this point this is just fodder for Erdogan's core supporters who continue to represent a Muslim Brotherhood style ideology with Turkish characteristics.
As for Turkey's actual role in Syria, it is now to restrain or even make gains against Kurdish militias. While this has caused extreme friction between Ankara and Washington, with Ankara accusing Washington of being behind Gulenist plots against Turkish sovereignty, the real decisive factor in Turkey's war against Syria Kurds will be Russia.
Turkey is next in line to be a Pakistan style "frenemy" of the US
Turkey's relationship with Russia continues to grow strong and crucially, Russia itself seems to be pivoting away from its historic sympathies with Middle Eastern Kurds and towards a cautious and pragmatic embrace of the reality that all of the major regional players, except for Israel, are now dead set against any Kurdish ethno-nationalist agitations. This is one of the few things that both Syria and Turkey agree upon, even though Ankara and Damascus still do not have diplomatic relations, stemming from Turkey's erstwhile support for Takfiri lead illegal regime change in Damascus.
On Monday of this week, Presidents Erdogan and Putin met in Sochi, a symbolic Russian city on the north cost of the Black Sea which is just a warm water boat-ride away from Turkey.
In the aftermath of the meeting, I described Russia's pivot away from latent Kurdish sympathies in the following way,
"During the most recent Astana meeting, Turkey openly objective to the participation of Kurdish groups in the so-called "pan-Syrian dialogue" which Russia has called for.
These objections are one of the unique areas where Iran, Turkey and Syria have a clear point of view while Russia's view is far more nuanced. Iran, Turkey and Syria are now on the same page in so far as they consider armed Kurdish led, US proxy militias in Syria to be a terrorist threat and a long-term security issue.
Russia by contrast, has previously welcomed the participation of "moderate" Kurdish factions in a political process to end the Syrian conflict and had previously been somewhat sympathetic to Kurdish demands for federal autonomy in post-conflict Syria.
The rationale for this much over-hyped and gradually closing schism is obvious enough. Syria, Iran and Turkey all have militant Kurdish terrorist groups operating on their own soil and the clear fear is that if one group gets an upper-hand over their respective central government, this could set a dangerous precedent in the region. This is why Turkey and Iran cooperated with Iraq on subduing ethno-nationalist Kurds in northern Iraq in the autumn of 2017.
Russia has always respected the sovereignty and territorial integrity of nations, but at the same time, due to historic links with Kurdish groups, Russia was willing to facilitate the meeting of some Kurdish demands, if possible. This is because, Russia would prefer Kurdish groups to see Russia as a guarantor of peace, rather than the United Stats which Iraqi Kurds have openly said let them down. It is also because in the past, Russia had explored the possibility of a Kurdish buffer-zone between traditional Arab allies and Turkey in order to add one more layer of protection against a once hostile NATO member in the region.
Today, both of these Russian rationales have largely been changed due to new realities on the ground. Russia's long-time ally Syria has recently stated that it views armed Kurdish groups occupying Syrian territory as no different than Takfiri groups doing the same, such as ISIS and al-Qaeda. In naming Kurdish militants as terrorists, Syria has affirmed that it is not planning on taking a soft-line against Kurdish ethno-nationalists after the conflict against Takfiri groups is inevitably won. With Iraq, Iran and Turkey all taking the same line, Russia is not about to fight for a non-state group against four states whose friendship with Russia is key to Moscow's ability to have good relations in the region and balance out would-be power struggles in the Middle East.
Secondly, with Turkey's relationship with Russia and its relationship with Iran improving at a fast pace and with Ankara's relations with Washington downgrading at an equally frantic pace, the idea of a 'buffer zone' is becoming largely outdated. Any would-be Kurdish statelete would be US/Israeli puppet state that would only strain the regional balance of power that Russia is so keen to stabilise.
Turkey and Iran will both be happy by Russia abandoning its moderate version of Project Kurd. In return, Russia will no be well placed to insure that after remaining issues are settled, Turkey does not end up permanently occupying Syria's Idlib, thus alleviating a grave concern of Damascus.
A longer term issue will be balancing out Iran's legal partnership with Syria against Israel's illegal but seemingly unstoppable threat to continue to occupy and strike Syrian targets under the pretext of Iran's presence (however limited) in Syria.
In this sense, Russia's deal-making with Turkey, could prove to be a useful precedent in working out a solution that keeps Syria safe once the conflict formally ends, while also insuring that Russia maintains good will with Iran, while acting to quietly restrain Israeli aggression. The progress Russia has made in terms of turning Turkey from an outspoken enemy of Syria into a country that cooperates with both Russia and Iran (as Syrian allies) is a significant achievement. Convincing Israel to cease its hostility against Syria while allowing Syria and Iran to pursue their alliance will be the next great task of Russia, as Russia is the only power capable of speaking on friendly terms with all parties in the Middle East, including the occupier entity.
It is clear that while Turkey and Russia still have a fair share of disagreements on regional security, that Turkey and Russia are now the key leaders on 'both sides' of the international community who will help to bring the conflict to the close in Syria".
Turkey replaces the US as Russia's key Middle Eastern partner from the "other side"
This is not to say that Russia gave Erdogan a "green light" for further attacks on the Kurdish dominated SDF such as the one currently taking place, however it does indicate that Russia will not step in, even in a quiet capacity to restrain such attacks as it may have done previously. To be sure, Russia will continue to seek a balance of powers in the region, but Russia's patience with the Kurds appears to have run out.
Instead, Russia is moving into a position whereby, Moscow will use the Kurds as leverage against protecting Syrian territory from future Turkish incursions. Turkey has been quietly setting up shop in Syria's Idlib Governorate in what can only be described as a prelude to an attempt at long term occupation. This has included the appearance of state-run Turkish post offices on Syrian territory. This is something Syria finds totally unacceptable and it is something that increasingly frustrates both Russia and Iran.
The United States, which previously endorsed Turkey's military adventurism in Syria, now realises that the presence of Turkish Army troops and paid up Turkish proxies in Idlib and elsewhere in Syria, is going to be one of the biggest long-term stumbling blocs to setting up a Kurdish zone of occupation in northern Syria, one which Kurds have said they hope will stretch from eastern Syria to the Mediterranean.
Against this background, Russia is in a position to both effectively guarantee a hands-off 'wink and a nod' approach to Turkey going after the SDF in Syria, while using this as future leverage to force a Turkish withdrawal from Idlib and nearby areas of occupation in Syria.
Turkey cannot afford to alienate Russia and the US at the same time and as Turkey and Russia's relationship is steadily becoming one of strategic and economic importance, while Ankara's relationship with the US is becoming one that is increasingly seen by Turkey as an infuriating dead-end, the choice for Turkey is becoming obvious.
Turkey has already expressed solidarity with Russia's calls for the US to leave Syria. This became most clearly expressed when the Turkish Prime Minister slammed the US for helping ISIS terrorist to safely evacuate from Raqqa. The statement was crucially made only hours after Sergey Lavrov blasted the US along roundly similar lines.
Russian FM Lavrov slams "most dangerous" illegal US presence in Syria – seeks US withdrawal
Turkey therefore is demonstrating that its statements on Syria are increasingly in-line with those of Russia, this is especially true in respect of statements intended for an international audience, as opposed to Erdogan's domestic rhetoric which ought to always been listened to in its appropriate context. Russian political leaders tend to speak in generally similar styles whether their remarks are intended for domestic or international consumption. The opposite is true of many Turkish leaders, including Erdogan.
Ultimately, Russia is allowing Turkey to do Syria's 'dirty work' while preserving the public status quo of Turkey and Syria being at odds, something which serves the domestic purposes of both the leaders of Turkey and Syria. At the same time, in failing to restrain Turkey, Russia is showing that it has dropped its opposition to Turkey's hard-line against Syrian Kurds, which itself is an admission of Syrian Kurds being disproportionately loyal to the United States whose goals in Syria are becoming increasingly and ever more stridently opposed by Russia.
Russia does not want Turkey to expand its influence in Syria but nor does Russia want a permanent or semi-permanent occupation of Syria by a US military using Kurdish ethno-nationalists as a fig leaf for their ambitions.
Syria, Turkey and the Kurds: A Devil's Triangle that only Russia can navigate
In this sense, just as Turkey under Erdgoan has chosen Russia over the US as an important superpower with whom to form a strategic partnership, so too has Russia chosen to deal with Turkey's concerns regarding Syria as a priority over those of the US with whom Russia cannot see eye to eye. By contrast, Russia can make important "win-win" or near "win-win" compromises with Turkey. This appears to be the immediate result of the most recent Putin-Erdogan meeting.
The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.


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Lofexidine may expand the treatment options available for managing withdrawal when buprenorphine and methadone are unavailable or undesirable.
All articles by Laura Stiles
Borderline personality disorder, a disorder that is often misunderstood by the general public, also raises questions for psychiatrists.
At 6 weeks of treatment, severely ill patients treated with adjunctive brexpiprazole had a greater reduction in PANSS total scores and CGI-S scores compared with those receiving placebo.
This research provides further support to compelling data linking inflammation and depression.
The researchers believe this study is the first to detect a statistically significant, unexpected inverse association between efavirenz use and depression.
The researchers found significant advantages from dialectical behavior therapy in all primary outcomes.
The Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson have announced the results of 2 long-term phase 3 clinical trials examining esketamine nasal spray in patients with treatment-resistant depression.
Widespread use of antidepressants may be contributing to long-term increased risk for weight gain.
Dr Stewart has held executive leadership positions in public behavioral health systems in Michigan, New York, and Pennsylvania. Her career has spanned 3 decades in public sector administration.
This study had a sample size large enough to assess the effect of circadian disruption on mental health disorders, and was the first to objectively measure patterns of rest and activity (using accelerometers).
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In April 2015 Alternet.com wrote;
"The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) recently released an in-depth report on terrorism in the United States. Covering April 2009 to February 2015, the report (titled "The Age of the Wolf") found that during that period, "more people have been killed in America by non-Islamic domestic terrorists than jihadists."
I have said this before in this blog site and in my newspaper columns; I am more afraid of domestic terrorists than the Taliban or ISIS.
Case in point: Three domestic terrorists, all evangelical white nationalists calling themselves The Crusaders, were arrested and convicted "of plotting to bomb an apartment complex where Somali immigrants lived and worshiped in Garden City (Kan.), following a four-week trial in Wichita."
The incident occurred in 2016 and the trial was concluded in April 2018 with their convictions.
When you Google "domestic terrorism," you will find a Wikipedia listing of only those prominent terrorist attacks, 13 in all, that resulted in death, injury or property damage. By far not a complete list.
And not all terrorist attacks are successful. Many are thwarted by authorities well before any one is killed. In January 2013 Jessica Zuckerman, writing for the Heritage Foundation, stated that there had been some 54 failed terrorist attacks between 9/11 and 1/13. Unfortunately, she failed to provide a listing of these failed plots of domestic terrorism.
According to the Cornell School of Law, "domestic terrorism" is defined by 18 U.S. Code § 2331. Definitions.
(5) the term "domestic terrorism" means activities that—
(A) involve acts dangerous to human life that are a violation of the criminal laws of the United States or of any State;
(B) appear to be intended—
(i) to intimidate or coerce a civilian population;
(ii) to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or
(iii) to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping; and
(C) occur primarily within the territorial jurisdiction of the United States
This catchall definition would include those who are inspired by their religious fervor and those who are plotting against the government for political purposes. Generally, as long as the terrorist plot is hatched by an American citizen or permanent resident and takes place on U.S. soil it is considered domestic terrorism.
While Wikipedia shows 13 "notable" domestic terrorist attacks, it fails to note others that either failed or did not gain national notoriety. Or those committed based on strictly racial profiles, such as the 1963 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama. Or the 2015 murders committed by Dylann Roof, the 21-year-old white supremacist who murdered nine African Americans during a prayer service at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church Charleston, South Carolina. Or the August 2017 United the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia that resulted with white supremacist James Alex Fields Jr. ramming his car into a crowd, killing Heather Heyer and injuring nearly 40 other people.
A more comprehensive listing of successful and unsuccessful domestic terrorist plots can be found under the heading of "Terrorism In The United States."
Still the small incidents, those that seem to make only local news, are left out of the count.
The Anti-Defamation League's (ADL) opening page has a single harrowing comment; "From Parkland to Pittsburgh, 2018 was a particularly active year for right-wing extremist murders." They continue in a report titled "ADL Releases New Report Highlighting Increase in U.S. Incidents of Murder and Extremism in 2018."
"In 2018, domestic extremists killed at least 50 people in the U.S., a sharp increase from the 37 extremist-related murders documented in 2017, though still lower than the totals for 2015 (70) and 2016 (72)… Every one of the perpetrators had ties to at least one right-wing extremist movement, although one had recently switched to supporting Islamist extremism. White supremacists were responsible for the great majority of the killings, which is typically the case."
White supremacist organizations were responsible for 78 percent of the domestic terrorist attacks in the United States.
There appears to be no comprehensive and up to date listing of Christian hate groups in the United States. The Southern Poverty Law Center and the ADL both maintain lists and interactive maps to explore. For the SPLC, if you take the three prominent Christian headings, there are some 103 Christian hate groups in the U.S. The ADL map provides general information concerning extremists incidents but no real specifics. And the numbers are not quite accurate.
The ADL map shows only one anti-Semitic incident occurring between 2017 and 2018. A short research of the Columbia Missourian found three at the University of Missouri. And it does not include those isolated incidents like the one I reported on in 2009 occurring at the local IHOP restaurant. Nor do these maps report on the marches that take place in an effort to intimidate.
All-in-all, the rate of discrimination and violence against minority groups perpetrated by domestic terrorist and extremist groups has been on the rise since the election of President Trump. We must remain vigilant and put an end to the domestic terrorists before they strike again.


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Right to homeschool in France to be curtailed –
In France a liberty right, that has enabled parents to home educate their children there, is about to be removed. A pretext for the new law, that has already provoked public resistance, is allegedly poor "socialisation" in the home.
Until now our western neighbour has been a haven for homeschoolers fleeing Germany's forced schooling. This could soon change. Largely unnoticed by the French public, a legal bill was introduced in the parliament of Paris (senate) on December 18, 2013. The legislative proposal by parliamentarians of the consevative partyis set to massively curtail the right to homeschool in France.
Politicians from culture and education committees justify the proposed bill by asserting that "socialisation" is a "goal of school education". In order for all children to experience an "undisturbed" development they need to "discover their peers' diversity of life conditions and cultures". Home education on the other hand doesn't allow for this "collective dimension" of going to a school. The bill maintains that home education must be an exception, limited to cases of disability only; it cannot be "…a pretext … for subjecting the child… to mental conditioning… ideological or religious".
In order to avert this drastic curtailment of parents' rights a French Internet petition is demanding the relinquishment of the legal bill. Until now more than 24.000 supporters could be won, the petioners are aiming at receiving 30.000 signatures. You don't need to be fluent in French to sign after having submitted your email address. A special software filters out multiple signatures automatically. .
Citizens fighting for freedom of education have received good reception not only in France but also in Belgium as well as in England. Not without reason the development towards socialisation of children is being closely followed in the so-called "motherland of democracy". A comment in one of the blogs calling for support of the petition puts it in a nutshell: "Come on friends – please sign this! We don't want the French to give our government any funny ideas!
However, in Germany no one needs to fear that politicians might be inspired by socialist ideas abroad when it comes to restricting freedom rights. In that respect we are perfectly self-sufficient. After all, the "idea" of collective schooling by force is a genuinely German invention. Credits for having put this into practice go back to the vanguard of German-socialism par excellence. After so many years that person is still alive and kicking – even in Paris.


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Community Question is a new category here at PW Homeschooling. Inspired by readers bold enough to email us with very challenging questions we could not adequately answer, we felt confident this would be a perfect venue for these type of questions. Thank you in advance for graciously sharing your knowledge and personal experiences.
The following question is from Sandy S.
"I'm the director of a tiny library in east TN and have just received a grant, some of which is to be spent on educational software.
What should I buy to support homeschoolers? (I've also asked our area homeschoolers.) I could use some suggestions."


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Based on the only novel by folksinger Richard Fariña, Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up to Me takes place in 1958, so by definition it was already a museum piece upon its release. That said, the film's narrative has parallels to the fraught climate on America's college campuses circa the early '70s, so it's not difficult to see why producers thought the picture might curry favor. Alas, the movie is aimless, episodic, and thematically murky, tracking the adventures of a young iconoclast while he bounces through friendships, clashes with administrators, a stormy romance, and finally an excursion to Cuba. Complicating matters is the participation of leading man Barry Primus. Although he handles the film's tasty period dialogue well, he was already in his thirties when he made the picture, so he's badly miscast. However, if these remarks give the impression that Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up to Me is a complete misfire, that's not the case. Better to say it's a frustrating movie infused with intelligence and a muddled sort of purpose.
The picture revolves around freethinking Gnossos "Paps" Pappadopoulis (Primus), recently returned to campus after a disappearing act that left some of his friends convinced he was dead. Our first introduction to the character conveys his weird combination of cleverness, insouciance, and self-involvement: While chatting up an Englishwoman with a room for let, he fakes a British accent as a means of lowering her defenses so he can get laid. Throughout the movie, he uses his considerable intellectual and verbal gifts to achieve various goals, some praiseworthy and some not. At his best, he forces a friend to acknowledge the danger of joining a group of revolutionaries in Cuba, and at his worst, he treats a woman contemptuously for having the temerity to find something other than his obnoxious monologues interesting. There's also some business about the protagonist's relationship with a drug dealer, though how that fits into the overall thematic mix isn't especially clear.
In lieu of a properly shaped storyline, the movie has idiosyncratic flavor, as well as the aforementioned happenin' lingo, so the thing lurches forward in fits and starts, with some scenes providing a gentle kick while others merely come and go without leaving an impression. By the end of the flick, most viewers will have had their fill, and then some, of the lead character's smug speechifying, seeing as how his primary goals appear to be gratifying his ego and satiating his somewhat indiscriminate lust. Are a few moments of amusement, some colorful patois, and a glimpse at the early days of collegiate freethinking reason enough to soldier through equal measures of consequential and inconsequential scenes all the way to the needlessly grim ending? Depends.
Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up to Me: FUNKY


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All images are clickable:)
konad nailart addict, konadicures,gradient manicures, water marbling, nail polishes, etc.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Essie Lollipop red&black konadicure
All images are clickable:)
27 comments:
wow, I like this! I read somewhere that this konadicure looks best with red and black and I was trying to imagine it, but you've captured it perfectly :)ReplyDelete
Yes I like this one!! You look very pretty like this! :-)ReplyDelete
Krissy, I agree, red and black go so well together:) thank you:*ReplyDelete
Romika, thanks:* I really like it, too:)
This is super super sexy. You do such amazing konadicures - I need to fly you out here to teach me!ReplyDelete
I love this combination, very beautiful.
That looks lovely, I love it!ReplyDelete
JacieO, you flatter me too much;) Thanks a lot:* I would sure love you to come!ReplyDelete
Saori, thank you:*
gildedangel, thanks:*
Meni je blazno blazno vsec!ReplyDelete
Love the colors and pattern! =)ReplyDelete
This is nice, I didn't really like Lollipop alone but with some black Konad, it is great :)ReplyDelete
This pattern is just gorgeus and this colour combination too.ReplyDelete
I love this red on you and that konad rocks.ReplyDelete
Tamara, me se veseli, da ti je tako všeč! hvala:*ReplyDelete
nihrida, thanks a lot:*
Ayuu, konad makes all polishes look better, right;) thank you:*
Biba, thanks:*
L, thank you:*
I think its so sexy too! In fact i designed "lingerie" nail with this stamp. Layered the flowers on the same plate over that delicate netting, looks just like sexy panties!ReplyDelete
gotta try it!
It is very nice. Sexy and elegant same time.ReplyDelete
This konadicure is the biggest drawback of having extra long nails! I love the look so much but I can't get a double stamp lined up properly. :(ReplyDelete
It looks perfect!
Wow, I love it! Very elegant!ReplyDelete
konADDICT, thank you:* I'll try it!ReplyDelete
Day, thanks:* I agree:)
Andrea, I know what you mean, I had to cut my nails a bit, and it's really hard to line up the images. Thank you:*
Eli, thanks a lot:*
hey babes, just to let you know, I nominated you for the Best Blog Award, you can find the details here: http://polishandpowder.blogspot.com/2010/01/best-blog-award.htmlReplyDelete
Thanks a lot, I'll go and check it:)ReplyDelete
Oh that is so pretty!ReplyDelete
Verry beautifull red, and with konad makes your nails so sexy ;) I like!ReplyDelete
- AnonymousJanuary 29, 2010 at 1:15 AM
I love the red and black combo, so pretty! The design is really cute too!ReplyDelete
This is the hottest mani I've ever seen! Gorgeous!ReplyDelete
Sanna, thanks:*ReplyDelete
Lyra, thank you:* *blush*
perfect10beauty, thanks:*
Kirsten, thanks a lot:*
Thanks, Thess:*ReplyDelete