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Weird Words 2: "ITCH YOUR IMAGINATION"Contests,News,Weird Words Horror Fiction Contest Samuel Zimmerman
Presenting the final tale in our Weird Words 2 short fiction contest, an imaginative one from Rod Labbe
By Rod Labbe
Hello, world.
My name is Lisa, and today's my 14th birthday. Last year, I had a stale Halloween cake and some cheapo presents bought at Goodwill. This year, it's zip, zero, nada. No big whoop. I'm still better off than before, a heckava lot better off, even without a cake.
I miss Debbie and think about her every day. She's gone away to a school for disturbed children. I just can't picture my baby sister being there, with all those nutty kids. I just can't. It wasn't her fault. I suppose I could say it wasn't my fault, either, but what difference would that make?
I'm writing this down in a notebook I stole from CVS. If the story's published by a magazine, I might be able to buy a house for Debbie and me. We'd be safe—as long as we don't have an attic.
It's the attic I can do without.
By Lisa Jean Marlowe
Part One – The Scratching
I'd just gone to bed when I heard a scratching sound coming from my bedroom wall. It was faint and seemed to be moving in a straight line. I immediately thought: Mice? Or rats? Yikes!
For a few minutes, I wasn't sure what to do…then, I carefully tip-toed across the threadbare indoor-outdoor carpeting, trying to be as quiet as possible. Squeak! I accidentally stepped on my cat's rubber banana, and the scratching stopped.
Whatever sleep I got was full of bad dreams. In one, the wall had broken open, and there were shriveled monkeys inside. Rotten, hungry monkeys, with glistening eyes like peeled grapes. The dream bothered me for days, especially after…well, heh, I'm getting ahead of myself.
My mother and father were in the kitchen when I shuffled downstairs at 8 AM. Debbie was watching TV, an old episode of Spongebob Squarepants, when he was still funny. Of course, my parents were already drunk, no big whoop.
"Jesus, why are you up so fucking early?" Ma slurred. She was cooking Spam; her nightgown was splattered with spots of grease, and the spots had formed a smiley face.
I sat at the table and yawned.
"I didn't sleep so good last night. There were noises in my walls."
"Noises? What kinda, hick! noishez," dad hiccupped. He had scrambled eggs on his chin, and my stomach did a slow churn.
"Scratching sounds. Like a mouse."
He laughed, coughing up a glob of egg. "There ain't no mice around here. Itch yer
imagination. Stop eatin' so much junk at night, and you won't have nightmares."
"I heard 'em, too," Debbie said, thoughtfully peeling an orange. "They scared me."
"Feh. Mice." Ma picked her false teeth with a fork. "Come on, girls. We live in the city, not the frickin' country."
"It's true! I did hear 'em!" Debbie whimpered.
My father winked mischievously. "Tell you what. Mice like cheese. If we put a hunk in the attic, and it's gone tomorrow, we'll have proof there's a mouse. Great idea, huh?"
PART II: Going Up There!
Dad's "great idea" for bait was a slice of Kraft American cheese, and he couldn't even take the plastic off without getting the piece all squishy. He finally managed to unwrap a whole slice and gave it to me for safekeeping. Debbie and I followed him to the attic door, both of us biting our bottom lips nervously as he fumbled with the key.
"What if it's waitin' for us?" Debbie whispered. "What if…"
"Fer Christ's sake, it's a mouse, not a fuckin' rhinoceros. Calm down."
He opened the door, and Debbie squeezed my hand. "Aren't you gonna turn on the light, Daddy?"
"No, we're goin' up in the dark. What a dumbassed question."
He tugged on the light chord, and I heard a click from somewhere in the attic.
"C'mon," he ordered. We obediently fell into step behind him.
The attic was a big room with dirty windows. There were boxes of junk, and I saw my Etch-a-Sketch and Debbie's old Creepy Crawler set. I went to grab for a ragged Archie comic, and my foot went through a cracked floor board.
"What the fuck are you doing?!" dad hollered.
"I didn't mean to!" I hollered back. "The board's already broken!"
I pulled my foot out and promptly bumped into a pile of magazines. It tipped over in a wave.
"Christ almighty, stay still and don't touch nuthin', why doncha!"
"Jeez, I'm sorry."
"Yeah, you look like you're sorry." He yawned. "Might as well put the bait right here. Good a place as any."
Being the dutiful daughter, I did as I was told.
Minutes passed. We all stood staring at the cheese.
"Huh. Ain't nuthin' gonna show with us standin' around like a coupla shitstains," Dad sneered. "Might as well go– "
Something moved near a box.
"A rat!" I shrieked, pointing. "It's a hairy rat!"
He practically had a heart attack. "Where? Where?! Tell me where!"
Debbie screamed and jumped down the stairs two at a time.
"There! Oh, my Gawd!"
"Come on, ya filthy bastid!" He readied himself, hands balled into hammy fists, scrambled eggs on his chin. "Come on!"
Our cat, Omar, casually strolled out from behind the box and meowed.
"Sheeit. Some fuckin' rat. You kids are always imaginin' the worst."
Later, once we were alone, I told Debbie I'd seen a monkey. "It was dried-up, with eyes like peeled grapes…a monkey who's rotted for years inside our walls, tryin' to find his way out."
Debbie clapped her hands over her ears. "Stop trying ta scare me!"
"I'm not trying to scare you."
"You are, too, and you'd better stop!"
Part III – That Evening
At 11:30, Debbie mentioned the attic again. I was babysitting, and we were in the living room watching TV.
"Do you think the cheese is gone?" she asked, biting into a chocolate donut.
"I dunno. Why doncha check?"
"Uh-uh, not me."
She coughed, and a soggy piece of doughnut somersaulted under the television set.
"Ugh, Debbie, that's gross."
"I'm tellin' Ma you're watchin' nasty movies on cable."
"Oh, shut your trap. You're watchin' 'em, too."
"Yeah, but I'm not enjoying it."
I switched the channel to Saturday Night Live.
"I heard a noise. In the kitchen."
"Yeah? So?"
"Go and see."
"It's your imagination. Eat your donuts and don't drop any more on the floor."
We went back to not talking for a while.
"Lisa. Lisa!"
"What, now?!"
A small blur cut the air and landed flapping on Debbie's head. A bat!
"Eeeeee!" my sister screeched. "Get it off me, get it off me! Liiiisssaaaa! Hellppp!"
Frantic, I rolled a magazine into a club and swatted her noggin as hard as I could. The bat squeaked, fell off and tried to fly away. I got really panicky and smashed its skull with my father's bowling trophy.
Debbie wouldn't let me see if she'd been bitten. I knew that bats carried Rabies, so I called 911, ate one of Debbie's chocolate sugar donuts, and waited.
Part Four – The Cheese
My folks weren't exactly thrilled to have to their party-time cut short. My mother could barely talk, and dad had trouble standing without help from the nearest doorway.
"Bats!" he roared in my ear, giving me a good blast of his whiskey breath. "Why'd ya have to leave the fuckin' windows open for, huh?"
"You're the one who left them open, 'membah? You wanted fresh air after ma cooked that cabbage!"
"Don't sass me, you bitch! You shoulda closed them. What the fuck you got for brains, mush?"
He stomped off and began swearing at my mother. Before long, they were involved in one of their typical rip-roaring fights.
My parents. My wonderful parents.
I hated them so much.
You're probably wondering what Debbie was doing during all this craziness. Luckily, she hadn't been bitten, but the doctors were still going to do some tests on the dead bat. The EMT guys left, and Debbie had gone to her room.
I didn't hit the sack until after one o'clock. Too bad I had to kill that bat. Killing is bad…but sometimes, you just don't have much of a choice.
First thing I did the next morning was knock on Debbie's door.
"Hey, can I come in?"
"Yeah," she said, sounding ok.
"Feelin' any better?"
"A little. I heard noises in my wall again last night. Think it could be another bat? I hope not!"
I leaned against her bureau and grinned. "I told you, Deb, it's a monkey."
"Stop! I don't wanna hear no more!" she moaned, sinking deeper into the bed.
"I'm only kidding."
"It's tromma, Lisa! Tromma! I thought for sure that bat was gonna suck my blood. I'd be a vampiah! With fangs!"
"We can check the cheese this morning," I said, changing the subject. "I'll see if Daddy's awake."
The kitchen was a wreck…chairs and tables tipped over, broken glass everywhere, and someone had even vomited on the living room shag rug. My parents were gone and so was the car. I avoided cutting my feet and grabbed a hammer from dad's tool drawer.
"They're not home," I yelled to Debbie. "You stay in bed. I'm goin' up alone."
As I climbed the attic stairs, my imagination wandered. What if I saw another bat? What good would a hammer be? And what if there was something bigger in the attic, something much bigger than a bat?
I stopped on the landing, blinked, and shot down stairs–my hammer raised like an Olympic torch.
Debbie was waiting by the door. She had a sheet wrapped around her shoulders.
"Whattsa matter, Lisa? What'd you see?"
"The cheese. It's…it's…gone!"
A loud howling came from the attic, louder and louder, until and the hair on our necks rippled.
"Leesey! Omar followed you again!!"
Without thinking, I rushed back up; I had to save Omar!
At the top of the stairs, I found out what had been making the scratching.
Two brown animals were perched on the edge of the board I'd broken—brown monkey-things with wrinkled faces and peeled-grape eyes blacker than ink. Thick red tongues wagged in and out of their mouths like obscene party favors.
My dream monsters!
They were alive and real and eating what was left of our cat. I stood frozen to the spot, thinking, and then went downstairs.
"Where's Omar?" Debbie asked. "Is he all ok?"
"No. He's dead. They ate him."
"Ate him?! Who? Who ate him?"
"The monkeys."
"The monkeys? You mean, they're real?"
"Yep. At least two, but there's probably more."
And that's when I got the idea.
Part Five – Monkey see, Monkey do.
"You'll have to speak louder, I can't understand a word you're sayin'."
My mother's skin was pale beneath her orangey mask of Cover Girl.
"Enunciate yer words, Lisa. E-nun-ci-ate! You ain't a moron, are ya? Andy, what is she saying?"
"Damned if I know. These kids are always talkin' gibberish." He closed the frig door and stumbled into the living room.
"Oh, fuck! Who the hell hurled on this goddamned carpet?"
My mother rubbed her bloodshot eyes. "You did, asshole. You had to put that fake bacon on your Spam omelet. I warned ya, don't do it. You'll get sick, but noooo. Never listens to me, nooo."
"Yeeyech! Goddammit, that's sickening."
"Never mind the puke. Come in here and see what your daughters are doin'."
He glared at me. "So, what is it this time. More friggin' mice?"
"I heard glass breaking in the attic."
"Christ!" he muttered, going past me.
At the attic door, I motioned for Debbie to stay in her room.
"Where's the fuckin' key? I can't do nuthin' without the key."
"I dunno. Maybe it's unlocked."
"I locked this door yesterday, and the key was right here. Didja take it?"
"Try the knob, daddy," I meekly replied.
"Turnin' the goddamned knob won't do a bit of good." But he did just that. The door pulled open, and he tripped backwards, almost losing his balance. Instantly, a rotten smell smacked us like an invisible boxing glove.
"Jesus Christ! That's some raunchy stink! And who left the light on?"
"I dunno. It wasn't me."
"Whatevs. Let's go the fuck up and please, don't break nuthin' this time, ok?"
I stared at his feet in front of me. He was wearing two different socks, and one had a big hole in the heel.
The attic was quiet…and smelly. No monkeys. And they'd taken Omar. All that was left was a pool of blood on the floor.
"What's that red stuff, Daddy?"
"Red stuff? Where? I can't see nuthin' but the mess you made."
"Near where we put the cheese."
"Hmmm. What's this?" He touched a finger to the wet puddle. "How did…"
In an instant, a monkey jumped from around a box and had hold of my father's neck. He was caught completely off-guard, falling hard to his knees. Three more monkeys flew from the floorboard hole and were on him, ripping and chewing.
"Jesus Christ, don't just stand there like a friggin' goon, get 'em off! These fuckers have sharp teeth! Ow, ow, owwwww! Son of a bitch!! Get them OFFFF!!!"
A spray of blood exploded like a garden hose, and I didn't move. I wanted to see him die. It didn't take long.
I backed down the stairs, bumping into Debbie. She'd wrapped the sheet around her head, like a shroud.
"Just like kitty," she laughed. "The monkeys, the bats. And now, daddy, too. Daddy, tooo…"
"Sshh, you'll spoil it!" I put a hand over her mouth, but Debbie squirmed away, leaving a glob of drool between my fingers.
Our mother was coming upstairs. Each step groaned under her weight. "Who was that yellin'? And where's your drunken father?" she demanded.
Debbie giggled. "He's in the attic. He wants you."
She hauled her fat ass to the attic landing. "Hey, dickhead! What's with all the commotion? Come on down and have a drinky-poo. I'm lonely."
I noticed she had on fluffy blue bedroom slippers. For some reason, I've never forgotten those slippers.
I took out the key I'd hidden and locked the door.
"They deserved it," I said.
We hugged each other and listened to the screams from above.
Part Six – Now
That's about all there is to tell.
Debbie's in school, and I'm on the road. No one ever found a trace of my parents, unless you want to call a piece of fluffy blue slipper a trace. Those stinky monkeys sure were hungry.
No more Spam omelets. No more drinking and puking on the rug. No more making our lives miserable.
I'm glad.
Sometimes, though, when I'm walking by the woods or waiting for a ride, I get this funny feeling they know where I am. The monkeys. Maybe they've followed me…
Eh. I just tell myself: itch your imagination.


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Compare vehicles
Click 'compare' to add up to 3 vehicles to compare against their specifications.Compare now
Mercedes-Benz C Class 2.1 C220 CDI BlueTEC Sport 7G-Tronic Plus 4dr PALLADIUM SILVER / SAT NAV
Key factsPrint summary
HPI CLEAR / * MUST BE ONE OF THE BEST EXAMPLE'S ON THE MARKET * / MERCEDES - BENZ SERVICE HISTORY / MOT'D TILL MAY 2019 / PRISTINE EXAMPLE THROUGH OUT / DRIVES LIKE BRAND NEW / NATIONWIDE DELIVERY AVAILABLE / P/X WELCOME / FINANCE CAN BE ARRANGED / FIRST TO SEE WILL BUY!!! , Silver, * Best example on the market *, £14,850
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- 201902225206209
- 2014
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Vehicle summary
|Body style
|Engine size
|2143 cc
|Fuel type
|Number of doors
|Number of seats
|Gearbox type
|CO2 emissions
|110 g/km
|Insurance group
|Standard manufacturer's warranty (miles)
|No details available
|Standard manufacturer's warranty (years)
|3 years
|Standard paintwork guarantee
|No details available
Performance & economy
|Fuel consumption (urban)
|52.3 mpg
|Fuel consumption (extra urban)
|76.4 mpg
|Fuel consumption (combined)
|64.2 mpg
|0 - 60 mph
|7.4 seconds
|Top speed
|145 mph
|Engine power
|168 bhp
|Engine torque
|295.04 lbs/ft
|1442 mm
|Height inclusive of roof rails
|No details available
|4686 mm
|2840 mm
|2020 mm
|Width including mirrors
|No details available
|Fuel tank capacity
|41 litres
|Minimum kerb weight
|1570 kg
|Interior features
|Exterior features
|Outside Temperature Display
|Exterior Mirrors - Heated and Electronically Adjustable, Folding and Automatically Dimming Exterior Drivers Mirror
|12V Socket in Centre Console
|Heated Windscreen Wash
|Automatically Dimming Rear - View Mirror
|17in Alloy Wheels
|Electric Windows (4) - One-Touch Opening and Closing Including Obstruction Sensors
|Multi - Function Steering Wheel - Controls Audio and Onboard Settings
|Double Cup Holders - in Centre Console
|3 - Spoke Steering Wheel - in Nappa Leather
|Sports Seats
|Cruise Control with Speedtronic Variable Speed Limiter
|Rain - Sensing Windscreen Wipers
|Loudspeakers with Frontbass
|Front Seats with Electrical Height/Back Adjustment
|Tinted Glass All Round - Green
|Trip Computer - in Multi - Function Display Showing Current Fuel Consumption
|Upholstery - Artico Leather with Contrast Stitching
|Sun Visors with Illuminated Vanity Mirrors
|Centre Console
|Steering Column with Adjustable Height and Reach
|Four Way Partially Electric Seat Adjustment
|Garmin Map Pilot Navigation System
|Audio 20 CD Including Touchpad with Media Interface Port for iPod/iPhone, High Resolution 7in Multi-Media Colour Display, USB Port, SD Card Clot
|Automatic Climate Control - Two -Zone
|Rear Seats - Split Folding 40/20/40
|Front Centre Armrest with Storage Compartment
|DAB Digital Radio
|Heated Front Seats
|Central Storage Compartment, Glove Compartment - Illuminated
|Third Brake Light
|Airbag - Front Passenger with Extended Adaptivity
|Airbags - Front Sidebags (Combined Thorax/Pelvis Bag), Windowbags
|Alarm System with Interior Protection
|Central Locking with Interior Switch, Automatic Locking and Crash Sensor with Emergency Opening Function
|Active Parking Assist with Parktronic
|Electronic Stability Programme (ESP)
|Childproof Locks - Manually Operated for Rear Doors and Electrically Operated for Rear Power Windows
|Tyre Pressure Monitoring System
|Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS) with Adaptive Brake System
|Reversing Camera
|Airbag - Kneebag for Driver
|ISOFIX Child Seat Attachment Points with Top Tether in the Rear
|Tirefit with Tyre Inflation Compressor
|Direct-Steer Speed Sensitive Steering
|Centre Rear Seat Belt
|Airbag - Driver
|Hold Function
|LED High Performance Headlamps Including Integral LED Daytime Running Lights
|Head Restraints for Driver and Front Passenger 4-Way and in Rear 2-Way Adjustability
Please note
This includes MPG figures which are calculated under European Standards, in test conditions, and will vary under normal driving conditions. The information displayed above describes the typical specification of the most recent model of this vehicle. It is not the exact specification for the actual vehicle being offered for sale which may vary. Specifications for older models may also vary. Please contact us prior to purchase to confirm the exact specification of this vehicle.
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Big Questions
Philosophy is the creative and critical reflection on enduring questions concerning the nature of the world and our place in it. For example, philosophy asks metaphysical questions about what exists, epistemic questions about what we can claim to know, and ethical questions about the nature of the good life and right action. In addition, philosophy involves the study and practice of good reasoning and clear thinking, skills that are essential to any discipline or profession.Check out the UAA Ethics Center
The Department of Philosophy
Philosophy, as the center of the humanities, the foundation for the sciences and the core of the liberal arts, supports the mission of CAS and the 2017 UAA Strategic Plan by preparing Alaskans to become knowledgeable and contributing citizens in a diverse world. Members of the department are committed to the pursuit of excellence in teaching, research, and public service, and seek to extend the mission of the University by promoting freedom of inquiry, integrity in study and action, and the transmission of knowledge and understanding. Faculty advance scholarship, research, and learning in the history of ideas and ethics. They contribute to the vitality of the natural and social sciences, health professions, art, education, government and public policy, business, technology, and justice studies. The department's emphasis on intellectual strenuousness uniquely prepares students for variety of graduate studies as well as public leadership. Through community engagement, faculty and students raise public discussion of significant issues and provide leadership in addressing conflicts and solving problems in Alaska and beyond.
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Norwegian Breakaway Appearsby Paul Motter | 2.26.13
The largest ship ever built in Germany is now afloat and ready for her final interior finishing touches before sea-trials.
The largest and the biggest ship ever to emerge from Meyer Werft, Papenburg
Norwegian Breakaway, the largest ship ever constructed in Germany, was floated out of the covered building dock, number II, of the MEYER WERFT shipyard in Papenburg, Germany this morning. The 146,600-ton ship has been under construction inside this building since September 2011. The building is known as the second largest covered structure in Europe (the largest is for building aircraft).
Inside the building are steel cutting lasers, dry docks which can be filled with water, cranes, etc. The ships are built in a dry dock which is then filled with water. When the ship is ready to appear the doors of the building are opened and the ship is pulled out into the River Ems by tugboats.
Beginning at approximately 7 am, February 26, (Germany time), the massive 4,000 passenger ship with her signature hull artwork designed by pop icon Peter Max, departed building dock II as the first ship to depart bow first. Most ships come out backwards and then perform a maneuver to turn around in the river. But as the largest ship ever built here, it was decided it would be better not to require her to turn around. The River Ems is fairly narrow, and ships must traverse the length of it to reach the North Sea before they can start service, and process known as "the conveyance" of the river.
Are you planning to take Breakaway? Tell us here: Norwegian Cruise Forum
Norwegian Breakaway has an overall length of 324 meters, and is 39.70 meters wide. The ship's float out represents a major milestone in the vessel's construction as it denotes that the ship has now moved into the final phase of construction with delivery taking place in just 58 days.
"Norwegian Breakaway represents a significant achievement both for MEYER WERFT and Norwegian Cruise Line in terms of innovation and design," said Kevin Sheehan, Norwegian Cruise Line's Chief Executive Officer. "Celebrating her float out today brings us closer to her much-anticipated delivery on April 25 when she will make her debut in Europe before arriving in her homeport of New York City on May 7. We can't wait."
"This new vessel is a further milestone for us. Its construction complies with the latest safety standards, and the ship meets all valid environmental regulations. Beyond that Norwegian Breakaway includes a lot of unique design elements and technical innovations," said Bernard Meyer, Managing Partner of MEYER WERFT.
Following the float out, tests were carried out in the harbor and the ship was berthed alongside the yard's outfitting pier. On March 4, the first crew members will move into their staterooms on board, and begin to familiarize themselves with the ship, readying her for guests. Norwegian Breakaway's conveyance down the river Ems towards the North Sea, where she will prove her seaworthiness, is scheduled for March 10 (weather permitting).
Are you planning to take Breakaway? Tell us here: Norwegian Cruise Forum


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Part 1: 'The Black Woman'
Paradise is for believing men and women.
We often hear speakers in Friday prayer or in admonitions talking about Paradise and all of us find our hearts, minds and thoughts tuned on to that 'frequency'. However, majority of the speakers talk about Paradise as if it were a house for men only. Reality is not like that. Paradise is for the believing men and women. The only price for it is sound belief in Allaah, love of Allah and His Messenger salla Allaahu alaihi wa sallam, and obedience to Allaah and His Messenger salla Allaahu alaihi wa sallam. In what follows are the glad tidings given by the Messenger of Allaah salla Allaahu alaihi wa sallam, to some of the women among his companions.
* Narrated 'Aisha radhiya Allaahu anha: I did not feel jealous of any of the wives of the Prophet as much as I did of Khadija (although) she died before he married me, for I often heard him mentioning her, and Allaah had told him to give her the good tidings that she would have a palace of Qasab (i.e. pipes of precious stones and pearls in Paradise), and whenever he slaughtered a sheep, he would send her women-friends a good share of it. [Sahih al-Bukhari]
* Anas reports that the Messenger of Allaah, salla Allaahu alaihi wa sallam, said: 'The best women of mankind are four: Mariam daughter of `Imraan, Assiya wife of Pharaoh, Khadija daughter of Khuwailid, and Fatima the daughter of the Messenger of Allaah.' [Bukhari and Muslim] * Narrated Abu Huraira: Jibreel (Gabriel) came to the Prophet and said, 'O Allaah's Apostle! This is Khadija coming to you with a dish having meat soup (or some food or drink). When she reaches you, greet her on behalf of her Lord (i.e. Allaah) and on my behalf, and give her the glad tidings of having a Qasab (palace in Paradise) wherein there will be neither any noise nor any fatigue (trouble).' [al-Bukhari]
* Narrated 'Ata bin Abi Rabah: Ibn 'Abbas said to me, 'Shall I show you a woman of the people of Paradise?' I said, 'Yes.' He said, 'This black woman came to the Prophet and said, 'I get attacks of epilepsy and my body becomes uncovered; please invoke Allaah for me.' The Prophet said (to her), 'If you wish, be patient and you will have (enter) Paradise; and if you wish, I will invoke Allaah to cure you.' She said, 'I will remain patient,' and added, 'but I become uncovered, so please invoke Allaah for me that I may not become uncovered.' So he invoked Allaah for her.' [al-Bukhari]
The aforementioned ahadeeth clearly state the stature of some of the women given the glad tidings of Jannah (Paradise). What can the women of today do in order to achieve that pinnacle of success, Paradise? To do so one MUST learn how these women lived, how they behaved, how they spoke, how they dressed, how they walked, etc. In this issue of al-Mu'minah we will try to learn from the black woman mentioned in the last Hadith, insha'Allaah. The black woman is not even known by her name, or her exact whereabouts, rather she is known by her deeds, her faith, her modesty, her chastity, and for her being an inmate of Paradise. And, in the end, that is what matters most. When Abdullah Ibn Abbas radhiya Allaahu anhu said 'this black woman', he did not mean to point at her race or to belittle her in any way. Indeed, he but meant to teach the people around him a great principle of Islam which is mentioned in the verse, [in the meaning of] : 'O people! We have created you from a man and a woman and made you into peoples and tribes so that you may know each other, verily the most honorable among you in the sight of Allah are the most pious.'
The same principle is mentioned in the Hadith: 'Allaah does not look at your pictures (shapes) and bodies but He looks at your hearts (and your deeds). ' [Muslim] She (the black woman) was physically sick, yet she sought cure in the du`a of the Messenger of Allaah, salla Allaahu alaihi wa sallam. She knew that the one who cures, ash-Shaafee, is Allaah, and Allaah would answer the du`a of His Messenger salla Allaahu alaihi wa sallam. We conclude from that du`a heals all diseases be they of the body or of the heart. When commenting on this Hadith, al-Hafidh Ibn Hajar said: 'It is inferred from this hadith the cure of diseases through du`a and supplication to Allaah (wa al-iltijaa' ilaa Allaah) is the most successful way of healing, but this cannot be fulfilled unless two conditions are satisfied: pure intention and sincere trust in the effectiveness of the du`a, and righteousness and reliance on Allaah.
The fact that the Prophet salla Allaahu alaihi wa sallam said: 'If you wish, be patient and you will have (enter) Paradise' is a proof for the virtue and reward of patience during sickness. In another Hadith, he, salla Allaahu alaihi wa sallam, says: 'Whenever a hardship affects the Muslim, he will be forgiven for it even when he is picked by a spike.' [Muslim] And in another Hadith, also narrated by Muslim, Ummu as-Sa'ib cursed fever, to which the Prophet salla Allaahu alaihi wa sallam told her: 'Do not curse fever, for it takes away the sins like the blaze [fire] takes away the impurities of iron.' The black women preferred the suffering of this world to getting the eternal reward of Paradise! She suffered from sickness, yet her pain and discomfort did not force her to forego pleasing Allaah! And no matter who one is, if one is in the path of Allaah, one will encounter difficulties, because Paradise is rounded by hardships. If things are easy and life is rosy, then one must check oneself; are we following the true Islam? Especially in this western environment it may be difficult for a young woman to wear the dress of modesty, the hijab (even though it is mandatory), not to talk to men and keep away from them (which is also mandatory), except if necessary.
All these may be difficult to achieve for some in the beginning, but when one overcomes herself for the sake of Allaah, then all the other obstacles become baseless. So, how to overcome oneself? By knowing Allaah by His names and attributes; by loving and obeying Allaah and His Messenger, salla Allaahu alaihi wa sallam; and then the help of Allaah will come, insha'Allaah. She (the black woman) preferred being patient, but could not tolerate that her honor, her modesty and her chastity be damaged or even touched, nor that any part of her body be uncovered, though she had no control over it. Indeed she was a real slave and servant of Allaah; she was a faithful, a believer, a Muslimah, a righteous and pious woman, a truthful woman, and she was loyal to Allaah and His Messenger, salla Allaahu alaihi wa sallam. Not only having these awe-inspiring qualities, she was also a wise and a great woman, as her memorable words rang ...: '... but I become uncovered, so please invoke Allaah for me that I may not become uncovered.' If words are to be written in Gold, these words should be written in gold ... Remember this simple equation: Iman + Suffering + Patience = Paradise It can also be inferred that the righteous Muslim woman inherently loves to be covered, loves modesty and chastity and hates revealing her body and her beauty. The black woman, radhiya Allaahu `anha could sustain being so sick but could not bear to be uncovered in front of people.
The issue, one must understand, is not of black or white or Arab or non-Arab, rich or poor, noble[with lineage] or not, it is rather of a creed so deeply rooted in the hearts of Muslims like blood flows in the arteries and veins of people. They are those who are totally committed to Islam. Fourteen Hundred years of history showed that Muslim women could sustain hunger, poverty, sickness but could never sustain disobeying Allaah. The wife would tell her husband when leaving for work: 'Fear Allaah in us, for we can sustain hunger and thirst but we cannot sustain Hell fire [i.e. do not acquire unlawful earning].' Dear sisters, ask yourself what made Khadija radhiya Allaahu `anha be greeted by Allaah Subhanahu wa Ta`ala and by Jibreel alaihi as-Salaam. sk yourself what made Khadija be rewarded a Palace in Jannah as no one can imagine. Reading the biography of Khadija and others like her in greatness, one would wish to be at their service; to carry their shoes, wash their clothes, to serve them in any possible way and get du`a from them. It is sad that we just don't know the great personalities of this Ummah. If only we strive to study the lives of the righteous that preceded us, we would find in them immense guidance for our existence, and if we know them and follow them we could be in the forefront of mankind ...
It is said, 'Iman (faith) is not by hope, it is rather what occurs in the heart and is proved by the deeds [maa waqa`a fil qalbi wa saddaqahul-`amal].' We leave you to think about this and pray to Allaah to make us all among the dwellers of Paradise and to bestow upon us the faith and the patience that lead us to Paradise. And to bless the present Muslim Ummah with many women like the black woman, radhiya Allaahu `anha (may Allaah be pleased with her), who help us focus on the straight path ... Acknowledgment: Some of the ideas were expressed in an article written by Haled Abu Sail which appeared in the Da`wah magazine, Iss. 1514, page 32.


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As you well know, I week in and week out share with you the fruit of the effort of my own study. On a special occasion like this when we're a little out of the ordinary flow of things, I exercise a little bit of liberty. And that's welcomed, by the way, because there are things I like to deal with that we don't deal with in the normal book studies that we do on the Lord's day. And in the last month or so I completed writing a commentary on 1 Peter. It was a spiritually cathartic experience for me. I have preached through 1 Peter several times in the many decades that I have been here. I have studied it numerous times. I've gone in and out of it in connection with other studies. But this particular exercise of writing the commentary took me down and kept me down in a condensed period of time in which I found some riches and some wonders in 1 Peter that don't necessarily grab me when I'm going so slowly through it.
I want to have you open your Bible to 1 Peter for just a moment. And I want to do something that's really out of character, I just want to give you an overview of the whole book. I said overview, right? This is the bird's eye view, not the worm's eye view. Carrie sang that beautiful song, "The Way of the Cross, I will walk the way of the cross," which was written in honor of the Scottish covenanters which were martyred and persecuted for the cross who were thrown out of their churches and hunted down and burned at the stake and occasionally drowned as well. The way of the cross for them symbolized suffering. And that's the way Peter sees it also. And I want to draw you into a very practical aspect of the cross.
At the heart of Peter's letter is the cross. Chapter 1, notice verse 18, "Knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ." In chapter 2 and verse 24, again Peter makes reference to the cross and Christ's sacrifice there. Chapter 2 verse 24, "And He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross that we might die to sin and live to righteousness, for by His wounds you were healed, healed from sin."
In chapter 3 and verse 18, Peter again goes back to the cross. "For Christ also died for our sins once for all, the just for the unjust in order that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh but made alive in the Spirit." And then in the fourth chapter and the thirteenth verse, one more time Peter refers to the sufferings of Christ. Peter's references to the cross, the blood of Christ, the sacrifice of Christ, the substitutionary death of one who was just for the unjust give us the heart of this letter. He wants to make sure that his readers understand and are refreshed and reminded, as we heard in that last choir song, to remember the sacrifice of Christ. And Peter affirms that it was His death that purchased our salvation. It was His death that was a substitution for us. He reminds us that it was one death, one time, once for all that is applied to all who believe. And so Peter made very clear the necessity of the sacrifice of Christ, the efficacy of this sacrifice of Christ, the aspect of imputation, the aspect of substitution, the aspect of propitiation or satisfaction. But while that is the heart of this letter, it is not the body of this letter. It is the beating heart of this letter that the body of this letter is about something other than the cross. The body of this letter is about handling suffering.
Go back to chapter 1 again. Handling suffering. This was written to suffering Christians. This is not an evangelistic letter. Peter is not rehearsing the glories of the cross as a means of evangelism. In fact, in verse 1 he says that he is writing to those who reside as aliens in this world who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father by the sanctifying work of the Spirit that you may obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood. And he offers grace and peace to them in the fullest measure. He is talking to believers here. And yet he makes such a repeated point about the cross. His attention, however, is not to use the cross as a means of evangelism, these are the chosen, these are the sanctified, these are the obedient, these are those who have made their covenant with Christ. These are the ones who receive grace and peace in the fullest measure. These are the ones, according to verse 3, who have been born again, born again to a living hope, born again through the resurrection. These are the ones who have obtained an inheritance in verse 4, an imperishable inheritance reserved in heaven. These are the ones who are protected, verse 5, by the power of God through faith for a salvation to be revealed in the last time. So he's writing to believers and yet the heart of the letter is the cross. But the body of the letter is about their suffering.
Let's look at chapter 1 verse 6, "In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while if necessary you have been distressed by various trials that the proof of your faith being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining is the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls."
Peter's talking about triumphing in suffering. He's talking about going through various kids of trials which prove the validity of your faith which test it the way fire tests gold in which yields to you praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ, the full outcome of the salvation of your souls. This is about triumphing in suffering. In chapter 2...in chapter 2 there is also this same emphasis. Verse 19, "We have been blessed, of course, to have had the sacrifice of Christ on our behalf but that does not preclude our suffering." In fact, verse 19 says, "This find favors, favor with God, if for the sake of conscious toward God a man bears up under sorrows when suffering unjustly." Verse 20, "For what credit is there if when you sin and are harshly treated you endure it with patience? But if when you do what is right and suffer for it, you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God." Here you find that though God saved you, you find favor with God when you suffer triumphantly. In fact, in verse 21 it says, "You've been called for this purpose." You've been called to suffer and to suffer triumphantly. In chapter 3 verse 9, the assumption in chapter 3 verse 9 is that somebody is doing you evil and somebody's insulting you and he says you are not to return evil for evil, or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead, for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing. And the implication is when you receive evil and you receive an insult, you give back a blessing because that's what God ultimately is going to give you in glory for all your suffering. Down in verse 13 he says, "Who is there to harm you if you prove zealous for what is good?" Verse 14, "But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed and do not fear their intimidation, do not be troubled but set apart or sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, maintain your submission to Christ in the midst of your suffering, always be ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence. And keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame." And again he says just hang in there and take the suffering because you've been called to this.
Now you drop down into chapter 4 again and you look at verse 12. "Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you." Another way to describe suffering. "Which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you." Don't be surprised when you suffer, that's not a strange thing, that's not an alien experience. "But to the degree...verse 13...that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing so also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exaltation for if you're reviled for the name of Christ, you're blessed." Down in verse 19 of chapter 4 he says, "Also let those also who suffer according to the will of God and trust their souls to a faithful creator in doing what is right." You're going to suffer, you have to endure it with a right attitude, keep on doing right, set your hope on the inheritance to come in the future on the revelation of Christ's glory, rejoice in the midst of your suffering, be blessed because the Spirit of glory, the Spirit of God rests on you...all that is calling us to triumph in suffering.
Now you come down to chapter 5 verses 7 through 9 and again the implication is you're in the middle of life's problems. You're going to have anxiety, casting all your anxiety on Him, or all your care upon Him because He cares for you. Just remember this, be of sober spirits, sober mind, be alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. But resist him, firm in your faith knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren in the world. You're going to suffer at the hands of persecutors, you're going to suffer at the hand of slanderers, you're going to suffer at the hand of evil people. You're going to suffer at the hand of those who revile you. You're going to suffer from Satan, that prowling roaring lion who is your adversary.
But you're not alone, the same experiences of suffering that you're going to go through are the very ones that your brethren have always gone through in the world as well.
So the heart of the letter is the cross and the body of the letter is suffering. How does it all come together? It is exactly here that Peter does something that no other New Testament writer does, he does a most interesting thing. He does something you would never really think to do. He uses the death of Christ, follow this, he uses the death of Christ not as his main point. That in itself is remarkable. Because everywhere else in the epistles where the death of Christ appears, it's the main point. But here it's not the main point. In fact, can you believe this? Peter uses the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ on the cross as an illustration of another point. This is the only place I know of in the New Testament where a writer does this. The issue is suffering and triumph in suffering. And in order to triumph in suffering you must be able to commit that suffering to the purposes of God, right? You must. You have to be able to know as it says in chapter 1 verse 7 that it's proving your faith, that it's testing your faith and refining it, that it's going to result in eternal praise and glory and honor when you see Jesus Christ. You have to know that some day your suffering is going to cause you to have joy inexpressible and full of glory, that some day your suffering is going to bring about the full salvation of your soul. You have to know that in your suffering you find favor with God. And when you bear up under sorrow while suffering, God is pleased. You have to know... chapter 2 verse 25... that your suffering brings you to the shepherd and guardian of your soul, it drives you to God, that your suffering in chapter 2 verse 23 causes you to keep entrusting yourself to God. You have to know in chapter 3 that your suffering, verse 14, brings blessing, that your suffering, verse 15, causes you to submit to the lordship of Christ in your life, whatever the cost. That your suffering also, chapter 3 verse 15, allows for you to give an account for the hope that is within you in the midst of that suffering. It causes your faith and your hope to be put on display. It causes in chapter 3 verse 16 your critics to be ashamed when you triumph in suffering. When you triumph in suffering, it's not something strange happening to you. According to chapter 4 verse 13, you should rejoice because when Jesus comes in His glory, you will rejoice at the reward for your suffering. Chapter 4 verse 19, suffering again according to the will of God causes you to have a greater trust in your faithful creator and it purifies you so that you become more righteous.
Now all that simply says that suffering is the path to glory, it's the path to victory, it's the path to purity, it's the path to blessing, it's the path to eternal blessing. And the greatest illustration of this is the cross because the cross was THE greatest act of suffering in history, is that not so? It was the greatest suffering that anyone has ever gone through. It was the greatest pain, and I don't simply mean the pain of scourging, a lot of people were scourged, I mean the pain of sin bearing by a sinless one, the pain of death by the author of life, the pain of hatred by the one who was love, the pain of alienation from the Father by the One who was one with the Father for all eternity. There was no suffering even close to that. That was the greatest experience of suffering by anyone who ever lived and out of it came the greatest triumph. Is that not so? And that's Peter's whole point. Go back to chapter 1 verse 21.
The One who died, the Lamb, verse 19, who shed His precious blood, the One foreknown before the foundation of the world who appeared in these last times for the sake of you, who through Him are believers in God who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory so that your faith and hope are in God. What happened as a result of the death of Jesus Christ? It was the worst travesty of justice ever in the history of the world, is that not true? It was the most unjust cruelty ever because He was the only perfectly righteous individual. He didn't deserve to be treated the way men treated Him. He didn't deserve to be treated the way God treated Him. It was the greatest suffering and the greatest injustice and it achieved the greatest end. It was for the sake of you, verse 20, who through Him are believers in God. How did we come to be believers in God? Through the work of Christ, right? Through the work of Christ. That's a source of our faith and hope in God. Turn over to chapter 2 verse 21. Christ suffered for you, it says in verse 21, this is Peter's key, right here, this phrase, "Leaving you an example."
You say, "Wait a minute...wait a minute. That's liberal theology. That's heresy. Jesus didn't die as an example." He didn't die only as an example, but Peter's using Him as an example. He's using Him as an illustration. The main point again here is not the death of Christ, the main point is triumph in suffering and Jesus' triumph in suffering is the greatest illustration of that ever because it was the greatest injustice and the greatest suffering that achieved the greatest goal, the greatest end. And in that sense He leaves you an example. He leaves you an example. In the middle of the suffering He committed no sin, He didn't get angry with God, He didn't become unrighteous, He didn't start doing wrong, He didn't collapse under the suffering. He never said anything at all that was in any way sinful, there was no deceit in His mouth. And while He was being reviled He didn't revile in return. While suffering He uttered not threats. He just kept entrusting Himself to the one who judges righteously. There's the principle, folks, listen...when you go through suffering, do what Jesus did, don't sin with your mouth or in any other way, don't get angry, don't revile, don't seek vengeance, don't utter threats, just trust yourself in the care of God because God has already proven that in the worst possible suffering He achieves the greatest end. That's the point. There He was in verse 24 and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross that we might die to sin and live to righteousness for by His wounds you were healed...there it is. Because you were continually straying like sheep but now you've returned to the Shepherd and guardian of your souls, it was Jesus' suffering, the greatest suffering the world has ever known, the worst injustice the world has ever seen that achieved the greatest end, the salvation of sinners. He brought us back to God. And in that sense, He's an example to us to trust God's purposes in our pain. You see?
Down in chapter 3 verse 18...well back up to verse 17, "It's better...he says...if God should will it so that you suffer for doing what is right than doing what is wrong." Why? "For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust." And what came out of that? "In order that He might bring us to God." If God can accomplish His absolute best through the absolute worst in the life of His Son, believe me, don't ever question what He can accomplish in our suffering.
And Peter concludes it all in chapter 5 verse 10 and 11. "And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace who called you to His eternal glory in Christ will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you." Does that sound like something you'd like to be perfected, confirmed, strengthened and established? God will do that after you have...what?...suffered a little while. And Peter can't contain himself any longer so he bursts out in verse 11 in a doxology, "In Him be dominion forever and ever amen."
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Coconut Cheesecake w/Lilikoi Glaze
I can't imagine anything more amazing than Lilikoi (passion fruit) and Coconut on the same plate, can you?
The flavors sing together in perfect harmony to create a delicious, unforgettable taste explosion in your mouth. This Coconut Cheesecake with Lilikoi Glaze is one of my favorite deserts!!
2 cups sweetened flaked coconut
8 whole graham crackers, broken
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, diced
4 8-ounce packages Philadelphia-brand cream cheese (do not use reduced-fat or fat-free)
2/3 cup sugar
1 15-ounce can cream of coconut (such as Coco López)
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
5 large eggs
Glaze and compote:
2 teaspoons water
1/4 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
10 passion fruit (about), divided
3 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons sugar, divided
1 cup diced peeled pitted mango
1 cup diced peeled cored pineapple
8 1/3-inch-thick slices star fruit, diced
Special equipment: 1 9-inch-diameter springform pan with 2 3/4- to 3-inch-high sides
Ingredient info: Look for cream of coconut in the super market's liquor section.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Blend all ingredients in processor until finely ground and sticking together, 1 to 2 minutes. Press crumb mixture onto bottom and 2 1/2 inches up sides of 9-inch-diameter spring form pan with 2 3/4- to 3-inch-high sides. Bake crust until golden, 14 to 15 minutes. Cool crust on rack. Increase oven temperature to 425°F.
Blend cream cheese in processor until smooth, scraping sides and bottom of bowl. Add sugar. Using on/off turns, process to blend, scraping sides and bottom. Add cream of coconut, vanilla, and salt; blend 20 seconds, stopping to scrape sides. Add eggs 1 at a time; process to blend after each addition. Pour filling into crust.
Bake cheesecake 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 250°F. Bake until center is softly set, about 1 hour 35 minutes longer. Turn off oven. Keeping door closed, cool cake in oven 1 hour. Refrigerate cake, uncovered, at least 12 hours or overnight.
Glaze and compote:
Place 2 teaspoons water in small cup; sprinkle gelatin over. Let stand until gelatin softens, about 10 minutes. Place small strainer over 2-cup measuring cup. Reserve 1 passion fruit for compote. Cut remaining passion fruits in half, 1 at a time, and spoon fruit (including seeds) into strainer. Using flexible rubber spatula, press until 1/2 cup pulp (fruit and juices) is released into cup. Reserve a few seeds from strainer for garnish. Pour 1/2 cup passion fruit pulp into small saucepan. Mix in 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons sugar. Stir over low heat until sugar dissolves and bubbles form at edge of pan. Add gelatin mixture and stir 1 minute to dissolve. Cool 10 minutes; pour into center of cheesecake. Rotate and tilt cake until glaze is spread evenly over top. Sprinkle reserved seeds over glaze. Chill cake to set glaze, at least 1 hour. DO AHEAD: can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and keep chilled.
Combine diced mango, pineapple, star fruit, and remaining 1 tablespoon sugar in medium bowl. Mix in fruit (including seeds) from 1 reserved passion fruit. Chill compote until ready to use, up to 2 hours.
Cut around pan sides to release cake. Remove pan sides. Cut cheesecake into wedges. Serve with compote


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Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition Tournament
With regular tournaments being held all over Ireland (including Dublin and Cork), it's time Galway got it's chance to fight the good fight.
Rupture will be held in 091 Labs (above Kennedy's pub) in Eyre Square on Saturday 15th October, where Galway's finest fighters can battle it out on a number of Xbox 360's to prove their worth in Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition. With a €10 entrance fee and a chance to win quite a bit more, Rupture will be an incredibly intense and fun competition, as players are travelling from all over to compete. And for the full effect, we'll be showing the grand finals on a big screen!
Registry will take place between 12-1pm on Saturday 15th October, with the tournament starting soon afterwards. So be sure to turn up early to secure your place in the tournament, and to warm up with a few casual fights too.


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Learn 3D Modeling In Photoshop At Your Own Speed
(PRWEB) February 26, 2013
Software training firm InfiniteSkills Inc. this week released its "Learning 3D Modeling in Photoshop Tutorial," a course designed to explore the little known 3D capabilities that come with the Extended version of Photoshop.
Photoshop Extended offers virtually unlimited possibilities for creating 3D images. Users can create colorful, highly textured 3D text and 3D object models like a soda bottle, a coffee cup, or composite models like a Space Shuttle, and then export those images using a variety of 3D file types.
With InfiniteSkills' Learning 3D Modeling in Photoshop, users can uncover the mysteries of this little-used but amazingly powerful tool and begin creating striking, dynamic 3D models in a matter of hours.
Learning 3D Modeling in Photoshop Training Video - DVD
Course author Jeff Sengstack is an expert in the Adobe Creative Suite software package. He worked as a radio DJ in college, and spent the first decade of his professional career in audio and video production for television. He currently teaches audio and video production on the college level, and has written several instructional books for Adobe products.
Sengstack's brings extensive experience in both the teaching and practice of digital audio and video production to his training. In Learning 3D Modeling in Photoshop, Sengstack's conversational style makes it easy to pick up complex techniques such as working with camera angles and move tools, working with 3D text, and employing textures and maps.
Sengstack also covers finishing techniques such as lighting and light angles, merging multiple 3D layers, as well as animating techniques.
As Sengstack explains, "3D inside Photoshop is like some mysterious treasure buried deep inside Photoshop. Hardly anybody uses it, but it is an amazing feature, there is so much you can do with it."
Free demo videos and a full list of course contents can be found on the Learning 3D Modeling in Photoshop training page of the InfiniteSkills website:
InfiniteSkills offers its Learning 3D Modeling in Photoshop Tutorial either as a DVD or a direct download from the company website at a retail price of $49.95. All InfiniteSkills titles and formats are compatible with Mac and Windows operating systems. Shipping is available around the globe. Additionally, InfiniteSkills tutorials are supported by project files which correspond to examples in the videos, allowing users to work alongside experienced instructors right on their computer or iPad.
About InfiniteSkills Inc.
A leader in the field of software training, InfiniteSkills strives to offer the highest quality training available at an affordable cost. InfiniteSkills tutorials are task-oriented instructional videos, teaching complex skills by providing hands-on examples and guiding users as they carry out critical objectives. InfiniteSkills offers a comprehensive range of software titles available as DVDs, digital downloads, and in iPad editions, keeping with company aim of delivering professional training to customers anywhere they want to learn.


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I have found that far too many people think that they must either start themselves or their kids on a really bad guitar, and will only "step up" to a better model if they show real interest or improvement in playing. Well, of course the problem with this is that we never want the instrument to actually "hold us back", but very often it does…even by our own choosing! This is usually due to financial reasons, but truthfully, if that is a major concern, as it should be, you can still get many great guitars that will not discourage you from playing at all, and at an affordable price, too!
A perfect example is Gibson. Here we have a maker of truly fine instruments, yet able to keep a consistency of quality at many price points. This also includes the Epiphone line, which is decidedly lower-priced, and aimed at a wide audience of people who want good playability and quality at a truly affordable price. If you watch my Gibson online lessons, you'll see that I am equally at home on the Gibsons as well as the Epiphones, and in fact, I simply loved all the guitars! It's so smart when a guitar maker really makes the effort to keep a consistency amongst their products, so that a prospective or returning buyer really knows that they can expect good quality, regardless of price.
Sure, some guitars are always going to be more "luxurious" than others, and their prices will be adjusted accordingly, but I think the real test is when a maker can "bring in" an economy brand that still delivers the goods, and most of all, encourages you to pick it up and play it! This is the true test of a good guitar builder, and in my opinion, there's only one way to build them, and that's with playability and great sound! This can be achieved at every price point level. After all, look at some of the vintage guitars that are so prized right now…..many of them were really the "economy" models of their day!
So, always choose your guitars wisely, never, ever let them hold you or anyone else back and always be sure to feel encouraged to play the one that's in your hands! Sometimes you'll see that it will just "call out" to you, just begging to be played!!


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ICD-10 Code I83.222
Varicos vn of l low extrem w ulc of calf and inflammation
Diagnosis Code I83.222
Short Description: Varicos vn of l low extrem w ulc of calf and inflammation
Long Description: Varicose veins of left lower extremity with both ulcer of calf and inflammation
Version 2019 of the ICD-10-CM diagnosis code I83.222
Valid for Submission
The code I83.222 is valid for submission for HIPAA-covered transactions.
Code Classification
- Diseases of the circulatory system (I00–I99)
Information for Medical Professionals
Code Edits
The following edits are applicable to this code:
Adult diagnoses - Adult. Age range is 15–124 years inclusive (e.g., senile delirium, mature cataract).
Diagnostic Related Groups
The diagnosis code I83.222 is grouped in the following Diagnostic Related Group(s) (MS-DRG V35.0)
Convert to ICD-9
- 454.2 - Varicos leg ulcer/inflam (Approximate Flag)
- Inflammation of left calf co-occurrent and due to varicose ulcer
- Inflammation of lower leg due to varicose ulcer
- Ulcer of left lower leg
- Varicose veins of left lower limb
Index to Diseases and Injuries
References found for the code I83.222 in the Index to Diseases and Injuries:
- - Varix (lower limb) (ruptured) - I83.90
- - leg (asymptomatic) - I83.90
- - left (asymptomatic) - I83.92
- - leg (asymptomatic) - I83.90
Information for Patients
Varicose Veins
Varicose veins are swollen, twisted veins that you can see just under the skin. They usually occur in the legs, but also can form in other parts of the body. Hemorrhoids are a type of varicose vein.
Your veins have one-way valves that help keep blood flowing toward your heart. If the valves are weak or damaged, blood can back up and pool in your veins. This causes the veins to swell, which can lead to varicose veins.
Varicose veins are very common. You are more at risk if you are older, are female, have obesity, don't exercise, or have a family history of varicose veins. They can also be more common in pregnancy.
Doctors often diagnose varicose veins from a physical exam. Sometimes you may need additional tests.
Exercising, losing weight, elevating your legs when resting, and not crossing them when sitting can help keep varicose veins from getting worse. Wearing loose clothing and avoiding long periods of standing can also help. If varicose veins are painful or you don't like the way they look, your doctor may recommend procedures to remove them.
NIH: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
- Telangiectasia (Medical Encyclopedia)
- Varicocele (Medical Encyclopedia)
- Varicose and other vein problems - self-care (Medical Encyclopedia)
- Varicose vein - noninvasive treatment (Medical Encyclopedia)
- Varicose vein stripping (Medical Encyclopedia)
- Varicose veins and venous insufficiency (Medical Encyclopedia)
[Read More]
ICD-10 Footnotes
General Equivalence Map Definitions
The ICD-10 and ICD-9 GEMs are used to facilitate linking between the diagnosis codes in ICD-9-CM and the new ICD-10-CM code set. The GEMs are the raw material from which providers, health information vendors and payers can derive specific applied mappings to meet their needs.
- Approximate Flag - The approximate flag is on, indicating that the relationship between the code in the source system and the code in the target system is an approximate equivalent.
- No Map Flag - The no map flag indicates that a code in the source system is not linked to any code in the target system.
- Combination Flag - The combination flag indicates that more than one code in the target system is required to satisfy the full equivalent meaning of a code in the source system.
Present on Admission
The Present on Admission (POA) indicator is used for diagnosis codes included in claims involving inpatient admissions to general acute care hospitals. POA indicators must be reported to CMS on each claim to facilitate the grouping of diagnoses codes into the proper Diagnostic Related Groups (DRG). CMS publishes a listing of specific diagnosis codes that are exempt from the POA reporting requirement.


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Penobscot Theatre Opens THE SUGAR BEAN SISTERS Tonight
The historic stage at the Bangor Opera House once again transforms - this time into a ramshackle Florida swamp dwelling for the Maine premiere production of The Sugar Bean Sisters.
This deliciously quirky, offbeat, Southern Gothic comedy of romance, murder and alien abduction plays at Penobscot Theatre Company from tonight, January 30 - February 17th.
The Nettles Sisters are determined to escape spinsterhood - Willie Mae (Irene Dennis) by going to Salt Lake City to find a good Mormon husband and Faye (A.J. Mooney), by hopping on the spaceship when the "space people" return for another visit. After a disastrous daytrip to Disney World, where Willie lost her prized Eva Gabor wig on Space Mountain, Faye prepares for the return of her celestial visitors on this, the very anniversary of that fateful day.
When a disturbance in the sugarcane field reveals a strange bird-like woman (Jasmine Ireland), a chain of extraordinary events is set in motion.
Artistic Director, Bari Newport directs what the LA Weekly calls "a wildly funny script." She says, "Though certainly exuberantly wacky, in The Sugar Bean Sisters, playwright Nathan Sanders tells an autobiographical, moving story of family and faith - it is both weird and wonderful."
Steve Gormley and Philappa Harvey round out the cast as Bishop Crumley and the Reptile Woman.
The ancient, mystical, swampy world is created by Florida based set designer Sean McClelland and is enhanced by the lighting design of Tonry Lathroum, whom Newport knows from West Virginia.
The design team also includes sound design by Brandie Rita (Annie), Costume Design by Rebecca Wright (Annie, Always Patsy Cline, Ink) and properties design by Meredith Perry (Annie, Becky's New Car, Always, Patsy Cline).
Don't miss The Sugar Bean Sisters at the historic Bangor Opera House from tonight, January 30 - February 17th. Performances run Wednesdays through Sundays. Half season subscriptions (3 shows) start at only $75 and individual ticket prices range from $22-$36. Group, Senior and Student discounts available. Purchase tickets, subscriptions and gift certificates online at www.penobscottheatre.org, or through the Box Office at 207-942-3333.Penobscot Theatre Company is America's Northeastern-most professional, year round theatre company, owners of the historic Bangor Opera House, a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization, producing a wide variety of plays and musicals each season. Follow PTC on Twitter (@PTCtheatre) and become our fan on Facebook (facebook.com/PenobscotTheatre) for behind-the-scenes info, photos and fun throughout the season. For a complete list of show times, pricing and more information about the season visit www.penobscottheatre.org. Pictured: The Sugar Bean Sisters: A.J. Mooney, Jasmine Ireland & Irene Dennis.


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Is 'gaming addiction' a real disorder?
By John D. Sutter, CNN
(CNN) – Late last year, a video producer and I visited South Korea, which is said to be the global hub for gaming addiction, as well as gaming addiction treatment.
There we met with three young men who had been in some form of treatment for their obsession with video games — everything from "talk therapy" with counselors to "virtual-reality" treatment, which is designed to create negative associations between the player and the game they can't stop playing.
We met a 17-year-old who said he felt like online games were "pulling him" away from the real world. Others said they had contemplated suicide or played for up to 20 hours per day. The obsessions came with real consequence for these young men. Some had damaged relationships with family members; one found himself unemployed and unable to dig out of a rut.
But can these obsessions be classified as Internet or gaming addiction?
For an expert opinion, I turned to Dr. Charles O'Brien, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania and chair of the working group that will determine whether such disorders make an official list in the United States. The group decided to recommend that more research be conducted before Internet addiction could be listed as an official disorder in the United States.
The following transcript of our conversation is edited for clarity and length:
CNN: What does the research on gaming and Internet addiction say, in general?
O'Brien: That's a very good question. The DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) committee that I chair has been totally guided by research data. There are a lot of people who want us to add all kinds of conditions to the DSM. Besides Internet addiction or gaming addiction, there's jogging addiction, sex addiction, food addiction. There are all kinds of pressures, but we go by the data, and we go by data in referee journals.
We think (Internet addiction) is something. I even went to Beijing to visit a hospital that is dedicated to what the Chinese call Internet addiction, and it was full of young men who had been brought in by their parents because they had been spending hours a day and neglecting their studies and their health, even, playing these various games. Typically it's "World of Warcraft" that they're playing. But they don't really have what we consider to be evidence (that this is a disorder).
CNN: Is there anything that's known for sure about Internet addiction?
O'Brien: There have been clinical studies. They're all anecdotes. As a clinician, I think I've seen a few cases, but they were very variable. And there are a lot of things we don't know. Such as, is this a phase that someone is going through?
Even in my own family, I have a son who was 13 and 14 and was spending hours a day playing Internet games. They do it in groups. Their partners may be in China or Japan. They do it on the Internet. And they neglect their studies. Eventually, he kind of outgrew it, and now he's in college and is an honors student.
It's not a clear enough syndrome that you can say at this point it's clearly a disease — that it's an illness or a sickness. But we're open to that idea. Certainly, it does seem to be that way, but we have to have more evidence.
CNN: What threshold would it have to cross to be its own disorder?
O'Brien: We would need studies done in multiple sites. People would have to get together and decide on criteria for the diagnosis. And we put some potential criteria in the write-up, in the appendix for DSM-5. For example, a natural history. What happens to these people? How do they respond to treatment? What treatment seems to work? There are a lot, well, not a lot, but a significant number of American therapists who are treating cases like this, but they are generally writing up studies as clinical experience. This is not evidence. You have to do careful studies.
CNN: Since there are people who are treating gaming addiction, do you think that's safe? Or is it potentially dangerous?
O'Brien: It's not dangerous. Typically they're treating it with talk therapy. I don't know of any studies where any medications have been used. But you can't consider it science when people are just reporting interesting cases. That's not the kind of thing that we look for.
CNN: Is it possible gaming or Internet addiction could be linked to other disorders, like anxiety or depression? And this is just the way the person copes or acts out?
O'Brien: Exactly. There are some people who are seeing a therapist and it's interpreted that they're sort of escaping into a computer and using this to deal with their anxieties. Or maybe they have bipolar disorder or obsessive compulsive disorder. But these are just theories. There needs to be some evidence based on a significant number of cases. How are the cases similar?
CNN: How long have people been looking into this issue?
O'Brien: The literature really began in the 2000s.
CNN: How long does it typically take for a new disorder to be accepted?
O'Brien: It depends on how rare it is. Most of the disorders we have now are just age-old disorders.
One of the disorders that's very prominent today is post-traumatic stress disorder, PTSD. And you probably saw the Time magazine cover showing one soldier or veteran commits suicide every day. But we didn't even have the diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder until about 1980. And it was there. It's not as if Napoleon's troops didn't have this or Washington's troops didn't have it.
But it hadn't been described. People weren't as well trained in behavioral observations and writing them up and so-forth. It was described for the first time in the 1980s and it now turns out to be a fairly common disorder and people get PTSD from various kind of trauma … it's not just war.
We've made a lot of progress with PTSD, and I think it would be a good model for Internet addiction.
CNN: Is there any good information about what happens in the brains of Internet addicts?
O'Brien: I found maybe five or 10 articles of brain imaging studies of Internet addicts. They found that the changes were very similar to those seen in compulsive gambling.
CNN: What does that mean, exactly?
O'Brien: Addiction is a learned behavior. For example, we do a lot of studies with cocaine addicts and nicotine addicts and alcoholics. And when you show an alcoholic or cocaine addict cues that look like people taking cocaine or the smell of cocaine or things like that, the brain lights up in the reward centers, or the pleasure areas, the same areas that light up when people or animals eat delicious food or have sex or engage in any behavior that leads to a feeling of pleasure.
CNN: So people who have an obsession, or possibly an addiction, to games or the Internet, their brains light up in that same way?
O'Brien: Exactly. And it becomes really an intense learned effect. We find that if we give them even a brief cue exposure, even before it reaches the level of consciousness, their brains are already activated. It becomes a very strong reflex, and this is why it's so hard to stop. You probably have friends who have tried to stop smoking many times, and they keep going back because it's a learned behavior. Even though they consciously want to stop, the drug has pretty much taken control of them.
CNN: When you went to that hospital in China, what were the cases like? What is it like for a person who exhibits symptoms of gaming or Internet addiction?
O'Brien: Well, it's just like anybody else who begins playing Internet games. It starts off like everyone else. This is a multibillion-dollar industry. People are buying these things. But then they just gradually spend more and more time doing it, and they begin neglecting other activities and their friends. Their friends are on the Internet.
There was a terrible case that was in the newspapers last year in South Korea, where this couple who had a real baby were so involved with the virtual baby and doing things with the virtual baby that they neglected their real live baby and the baby died. To me that's the most dire, horrible thing that I've ever heard of. These people were clearly obsessed with it but that doesn't tell me that they had a disorder that we could define scientifically.
CNN: Do you think it's possible?
O'Brien: Oh yes, sure. We just don't think the way to go about doing a classification system of mental illness is that you can just put things in too readily. It took a while before PTSD was described and identified and it made it into the DSM.
CNN: So it doesn't discount the reality of those symptoms or the possibility that it is a disease?
O'Brien: That's right. My personal belief is that eventually it will become an official disorder because more and more people are going to do studies on it, and we're hoping to facilitate that."


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Local officials are hoping a blitz of advertising will attract vacationers to Lafourche Parish.
"We want to get people while they are planning a vacation," said Julie Barrilleaux, the parish's special projects coordinator.
Local officials are hoping a blitz of advertising will attract vacationers to Lafourche Parish.
"We want to get people while they are planning a vacation," said Julie Barrilleaux, the parish's special projects coordinator.
Lafourche this year received a $500,000 grant to continue marketing efforts aimed at mitigating the lingering concerns after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
The parish originally received $2.1 million from BP to promote tourism. Of that, $600,000 is remaining, and the Lafourche Parish Council recently approved a plan to spend the new $500,000 award.
The grant was awarded competitively, and the parish is in the running for another $500,000 grant, Barrilleaux said.
This week, the Parish Council approved allocating most of that money for a campaign of television commercials aimed at wooing travelers. The money will be used as an extension of the existing Dig In campaign.
About $400,000 of the new money will be spent on 12-week television ad campaigns in Alexandria, Shreveport and Monroe; Dallas and Houston; Biloxi and Jackson, Miss.; Mobile, Ala.; and Pensacola, Fla., according to the contract with W.L. Gaiennie Co., a Houma marketing firm the parish hired.
The ads will not focus on one offering but attempt to showcase charter fishing, swamp tours, restaurants, bed and breakfast establishments and other amenities.
"We want to let as many people as possible know about what we have to offer in Lafourche Parish," Barrilleaux said. "We want to appeal to as many interests as we can."
The money will also be used to design new websites for various nonprofit attractions such as the Larose Civic Center, the Center for Traditional Boat Building in Lockport, the Bayou Playhouse, the Cut Off Youth Center and the Laurel Valley Plantation, according to the contract.
The Gaiennie Co. will also design a destination guide helping visitors find parish attractions.
The plan took some heat from some parish councilmen who thought the money would be better spent on Internet advertising.
"People can just skip right through television commercials nowadays," said Councilman Jerry Lafont.
Barrilleaux said television ads have performed well, and the money has previously been used for social media and Internet outreach.
The parish used the original grant money to sponsor events, design websites for charter fishermen and produce advertising campaigns on television, radio and billboards, besides the Internet.
"I was very surprised, going to New Orleans, the lack of knowledge people had about us," Barrilleaux said. "So we thought that was very beneficial. Especially when we handed out info about the fairs and festivals. They were amazed we had all these things."


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Perdue Stadium
Since our gates opened in 1996, the Shorebirds have become an integral part of the Delmarva community. As the only professional sports team in the area, our team and our stadium are one of the staples of the Eastern Shore. Spawned by the efforts of Franklin P. Perdue, a man whose leadership, vision and commitment to small town values, helped him build one of the most successful companies in America.
7th Inning Stretch, LP purchased the Shorebirds in 2007 from Comcast Spectacor. Since acquiring the team, 7th Inning Stretch has gone to great length to improve the fan experience and Arthur W. Perdue Stadium itself. A new state-of-the-art sound system was installed, the interior of the park was freshly painted and the kids area was paved and upgraded to feature more inflatables for kids.
As we enter our 20th season, it is our goal to continually look for ways to improve our stadium and the fan experience.
Arthur W. Perdue Stadium Stats & Firsts
Total Attendance: 4,644,176 fans
Largest Single-Season Attendance: 324,412 (1997)
First Pitch: April 17, 1996 vs. Columbus - 'Birds won 4-2


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Dr. Fred L. Johnson III, associate professor of history at Hope College, will present the address "Let it not be in vain" on Wednesday, Feb. 17, at 7 p.m. in the Maas Center auditorium.
The public is invited. Admission is free.
In the talk, Johnson will be reflecting on implications of Christ's life and death for the choices people make. "We can never adequately repay the gift Christ gave us, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't try," he said.
Johnson will be speaking through the "Last Lecture Series" organized by the college's Alcor chapter of the national Mortar Board honorary society to feature members of the faculty.
The title of the lecture series, which the chapter initiated during the 2008-09 school year, is rhetorical. The lectures are not literally presented as the last that the speakers will deliver at Hope, but are meant to highlight the advice that they would most want to share if the event was indeed the final opportunity for them to address the college's students. The professors are being asked to reflect on their careers and lives, and to think deeply about what matters to them and about what wisdom they would like to impart.
The concept was inspired by the "Last Lecture" delivered at Carnegie Mellon University by Dr. Randy Pausch on Sept. 18, 2007. Pausch, a member of the Carnegie Mellon faculty who had terminal pancreatic cancer -- a fact known at the time that he spoke -- presented "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams." He died on July 25, 2008, at age 47.
Johnson joined the Hope faculty in the fall of 2000. His primary field is 19th century U.S. history, specifically the Confederacy during the Civil War. His other areas of study include the U.S. in the 20th century, the U.S. military and Africa.
His most recent publication, which he co-wrote with Tayannah Lee McQuillar, is the book "Tupac Shakur: The Life and Times of an American Icon," published in January by Da Capo Press of Cambridge, Mass.
His 2004 documentary "The Klan in Michigan, Part I: Reconstruction," which he created with former Hope communication professor Dr. David Schock, won a State History Award from the Historical Society of Michigan in 2005. His current scholarship includes working on a book project, "America's Blind Spot: U.S. Foreign Policy in Africa from 1945 to Present," from which he wrote a chapter ("The Chasm is Wide: Unspoken Antagonisms between African Americans and West Africans") for the 2008 book "The United States and West Africa."
In addition to his scholarly work, Johnson is the author of three novels: "Bittersweet" (2002), "A Man Finds His Way" (2003) and "Other Men's Wives" (2005).
During the college's Homecoming Weekend in 2002, Hope's students elected him recipient of that year's "Faculty Appreciation Award." The graduating class chose him to deliver the Commencement address in May of 2003, and in May 2005 the graduating Class of 2005 presented him with the 41st annual "Hope Outstanding Professor Educator" (H.O.P.E.) Award. He has most recently been asked by the Mortar Board organization to make a presentation for its "Last Lecture Series."
Johnson received his bachelor's degree from Bowie State College in Maryland, and his master's and doctorate from Kent State University in Ohio. His past career experiences include serving as a corporate trainer and as an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps.
Mortar Board is a national honor society that recognizes college seniors for outstanding achievement in scholarship, leadership and service, and provides opportunities for continued leadership development, promotes service to college and universities, and encourages lifelong contributions to the global community. Since its founding in 1918, the organization has grown from the four founding chapters to 227 collegiate chapters with nearly 250,000 initiated members across the nation.
The Alcor chapter has existed at Hope since the 1936-37 academic year, although it did not become part of the national Mortar Board organization until 1961.
The chapter also sponsored a "last chance talk" during the 1960s. The idea back then was to invite a faculty member to express his/her ideas under the hypothetical assumption that this would be the last opportunity to address the student body. The late Dr. D. Ivan Dykstra, professor of philosophy, delivered the first "last chance talk" in the spring of 1962.
The Maas Center is located at 264 Columbia Ave., on Columbia Avenue at 11th Street.


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Galco Paddle Lite Holster - Carry Lite Series
Want a high grade leather paddle holster for a low price? Galco's Paddle Lite Paddle Holster is the answer. At a fraction of the price of many of Galco's other leather holsters, the Paddle Lite remains one of the most popular holsters on the market today. Available for many semiauto pistols and revolvers, the Paddle Lite is available for right or left handed shooters and comes in black.
Galco Wisteria Gun Holster Handbag
Out of stock
Galco Front Pocket Horsehide Holster
There is no faster draw than having your hand already on your holstered weapon. What's even better, is that nobody will ever know that your legally carried weapon is in your hand. Galco's Front Pocket Horsehide Holster is a high-quality, deep-concealment carry rig that is deisgned for small semiautomatic pistols and revolvers.
Galco Hornet Leather Belt Holster
The Galco Hornet Leather Gun Holster is another fantastic innovation from Galco Gunleather that allows you to carry a smaller revolver like the Smith & Wesson J Frame or Taurus 85 in either a strongside or crossdraw position. It is available in black leather for right handed gun carriers.
Galco SC2 Inside-the-Pants Concealment Holster
The Galco SC2 IWB Concealment Holster is a high quality holster that rides perfectly inside the waistband. It can accommodate full-size pistols, sub-compact pistols and revolvers, and more. It fits belts up to 1 3/4" wide, comes in black, and is available in right handed configuration.
Galco M5X Matrix Series Paddle Holster
$31.16 - $31.20
The Galco M5X Paddle Holster packs plenty of great features into an extremely affordable concealed carry holster. This paddle holster has a smooth look, dual tension screws, and a very comfortable paddle that allows for easy on/off. Additionally, it is very comfortable for those who spend much of their time in a vehicle and on the road. Available in right or left hand draw, the M5X Holster is available for a selection of commonly carried firearms.
Galco Combat Master Leather Belt Holster
$73.56 - $73.60
A deeply detailed and hand-molded leather holster, Galco's Combat Master Belt Holster is an open-top leather holster that makes it easy to conceal larger defensive handguns. It is available black or tan and in right or left hand designs. The Combat Master fits these popular firearms and more:
- Beretta 92/96/M9
- Browning Hi-Power
- Colt King Cobra
- Dan Wesson .357
- Glock 17, 19, 22, 23
- H&K USP 9mm, .40, .45
- Kimber 1911 3", 4", 5"
- Para USA 1911
- Ruger LCR .38
- S&W J Frame 36
- Taurus PT92 & PT99
- Many more weapons!
Galco DEL Gun Holster Handbag
Out of stock
Galco SOB Small-of-Back Concealment Holster
Out of stock
The Galco SOB Small of Back Holster is a highly concealable holster that can hide compact to full-size firearms with ease. Its a great option for those that want an alternative to traditional belt carry. The SOB Holster fits a huge variety of semiautomatic pistols and revolvers. It comes in black or tan and is offered for right and left handed shooters.
Galco Yaqui Slide Leather Belt Holster
Galco's Yaqui Slide is a simple yet reliable holster that can securely hold your pistol or revolver without fear of it falling out. The Yaqui Slide is offered for right and left hand shooters in a choice of tan or black leather.
Galco Vertical Holster Component for Shoulder Holster Systems
$80.00 - $88.00
Galco Tuck-n-Go Inside-the-Waistband Holster - Carry Lite Series
$30.36 - $30.40
On a budget and need deep concealment for your favorite carry gun? Look no further than Galco's Tuck-N-Go IWB Holster. The Tuck-N-Go allows your shirt to remain fully tucked in while your firearm remains completely concealed. Made from premium Center Cut Steerhide, the Galco TuckNGo holster will satisfy any budget, big or small!
Galco Pax Gun Holster Handbag, Black$274.95
Out of stock


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VERGENNES — Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) has announced a new $6,723,732 Defense Department contract with UTC Aerospace Systems based in Vergennes to develop and test improved guidance systems for U.S. munitions, which would allow greater precision and avoid damage to innocent bystanders and property.
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WEYBRIDGE — Weybridge Elementary School is taking very seriously its mission of building students a bridge to a better future.
In fact, every student in the small community school spent last week building a total of 10 bridges — not in the same vein as Middlebury's $16 million Cross Street Bridge that can support multi-ton vehicles, but rather tiny spans made out of popsicle sticks designed to withstand at least 5 pounds of weight.
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Clippings article published Oct. 23, 2008
Let's talk about editorials and this newspaper's perspective over the past eight years.
Since 2000, this editor has been roundly criticized — and applauded — by readers reacting to editorials on the national or international scene. Many of those editorials have been about the elections with George W., about the invasion of Iraq, the economy, and what I have considered to be the misguided policies of the Bush administration.
Contrary to some publications, editorials are written with the premise of the piece clearly stated and one side of the issue boldly supported. Very few editorials are middle-of-the-road essays that point out both sides of the issue and let the reader decide which group of facts has the most validity. Picking one side of the issue and defending that point of view is precisely what editorials should do. And, yes, that means the editorials are biased. Of course they are. They reflect my research and my point of view. That doesn't mean, however, they are not supported by facts or credible evidence that counters an opposing agenda.
But why write about those issues when that's the purview of national publications, some critics ask, then suggest we write solely about local and state issues.
It's a good point, and frankly, I would do my job better if I made it a priority to always include a local editorial to accompany any editorial on the world or national scene. Two shorter editorials would almost always be preferable.
But when the issues get mixed up with people's emotional framework, rational discussion often falls by the wayside and partisan politics enters the fray. The strategic reasons for invading Iraq or not, for example, get lost within the emotional context of patriotism, God and country, and supporting the troops.
"Never in living memory has an election been more critical than (this) — that's the quadrennial cliché, as expected as the balloons and the bombast. And yet when has it ever felt so urgently true? When have so many Americans had so clear a sense that a presidency has — at levels of competence, vision and integrity — undermined the country and its ideals?"
That was the opening paragraph of The New Yorker's endorsement of Sen. Barack Obama for president on Oct. 13. It continued: "The Presidency of George W. Bush is the worst since Reconstruction, so there is no mystery about why the Republican Party — which has held dominion over the executive branch of the federal government for the past eight years and the legislative branch for most that time — has little desire to defend its record, domestic or foreign … Meanwhile, the nominee, Sen. John McCain, (has) played the part of a vaudeville illusionist, asking to be regarded as an apostle of change after years of embracing the essentials of the Bush agenda with ever-increasing ardor."
That this presidential election is the most critical of our times is a debate for historians decades hence, but certainly a record 93 percent of the American populace, according to recent polls, say we are going in the wrong direction. And certainly these two major party candidates offer stark differences in style and in the policies they would pursue.
It is no surprise to readers of this paper that we enthusiastically endorse Sen. Barack Obama for president. We are impressed with his coolness under fire; his thoughtful and deliberate approach when addressing difficult issues; his skills as a campaigner, organizer and director of a massive undertaking these past 18 months that delivered a consistent message of hope that has inspired tens of millions of supporters. And he has done it with honor, integrity and clarity of purpose.
Democrat Tom Costello, a veteran legislator serving Rutland and Brattleboro, has an uphill battle in challenging incumbent Brian Dubie as the state's lieutenant governor. But Costello's pragmatic approach to the issues, experience in bipartisanship as a former legislator, and his 'can-do attitude' when it comes to reaching resolution on problems facing the state earn him this paper's endorsement in an effort to unseat Dubie and bring new energy to the state's second-highest post.
Costello is a likeable "Joe-Six-Pack" kind of guy who, even though he has a law degree, feels more comfortable talking in half sentences, tossing in a few choice words that come from his days as a Marine, and talking about practical measures to solve problems rather than whining about obstacles or politics. After six years of dodging the issues, his frankness is refreshing.
"Our present administration is not dealing specifically and effectively with these problems which are solvable," Costello told the Independent last week in reference to re-licensing Vermont Yankee, financial hardships for Vermont's seniors, and attracting new jobs to Vermont. "My experience is to work together in an aggressive way, but to work together and find a solution ... There is no reason why we can't make these things happen. That's been my experience."
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